Endoscopic surgery is the standard of care for the treatment of diseases of the renal collecting system such as stones and tumors. By using small endoscopes, urologists can perform natural orifice procedures, minimizing morbidity for patients. However, current endoscopes used in urological surgery have a limited depth and field of view, leading to impaired visibility and complicating accurate localization within the intrarenal anatomy. Furthermore, surgeons need to rely on mental mapping between preoperative CT scans and surgical field, requiring higher expertise and increasing the mental workload. We are working on navigation technologies for such surgeries, using the methods such as Structure from Motion, SLAM, CT segmentation, and registration. We aim to close the gap between the preoperative scans and endoscopic video streams, and provide better visualization and navigation during surgeries, improving both surgeon and patient experiences. We aim to expand the project to other surgeries, and develop better methods for navigation.

Acar, A., Lu, D., Wu, Y., Oguz, I., Kavoussi, N., Wu, J.Y.: Towards navigation in endoscopic kidney surgery based on preoperative imaging. Healthc. Technol. Lett. 11, 67–75 (2024).