Integrated imaging system provides new focus for laparoscopy

The system is said to take advantage of variable focal length microlens systems pioneered by Hongrui Jiang, the Lynn H. Matthias and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of electrical and computer engineering at UW-Madison.

Laparoscopy (or keyhole surgery) is a minimally invasive technique used for procedures in the abdominal area, including surgery on the colon, stomach, oesophagus or reproductive organs. Surgeons conduct the procedure with the assistance of a video camera and long, thin instruments fed through three to five ports, or trocars, placed in small incisions in the abdomen.

In most current laparoscopic procedures, the camera presents several challenges - one of which is that the surgeon can’t operate it independently, said Charles Heise, a UW-Madison professor of surgery. “Another person must hold the camera, manipulate it, focus it, and move it in and out to clean it,” he says. “It has a limited field of view and it ties up one of the ports.”