A Cheap and Powerful Stereo Endoscope Lab Mock-Up for Robotic Surgery to Implement and Test Machine Vision and Augmented Reality Prototypes

Robotic surgery has reached a very high level of advancement, in particular, Da Vinci Xi robotic system allows the execution of surgical tasks of the highest precision. It offers advantages in terms of reduced blood loss, reduced postoperative hospital stay, and less postoperative pain. The disadvantage the surgeon has found is progressive tactile loss, a long training curve and very high cost. This can be overcome by using Augmented Reality and trying to combine the advantages of this technology. In AR-based applications, the key challenge is to ensure the highest degree of realism in blending computer-generated elements with the surgical scene. To implement new AR protocols and be able to perform pre-clinical tests without having to use the complex and expensive robotic vision system, it was decided to design a stereo endoscope laboratory mock-up (SELM), which reproduces the Da Vinci vision tool, so as to be able to have the instrument in any bioengineering laboratory. This paper presents our new vision system, that has stereoscopic vision, 5.5 mm diameter camera, 1280 × 720 resolution, 7–40 cm depth of field, 80° angle of view, and real-time imaging up to 30 fps. These data compared with the technical characteristics of the endoscope present in the Da Vinci Xi robotic system makes it possible to state that the use of this endoscope can replace in terms of visual quality, the endoscope of the Da Vinci and thus the development time of new robotic techniques and AR is less, compared to the classical realization of in vitro tests to be performed in robotic operating rooms.