April 30, 2014 — Fovia Medical Inc. and Imperial College London, a science-based institution in biomedical research, announced a collaboration to bring High Definition Volume Rendering (HDVR) to minimally invasive robotic surgery.
The Hamlyn Centre at Imperial College London is working with Fovia on projects that combine the performance, quality and accuracy of HDVR with advanced robotic surgery technologies. The Hamlyn Centre aims to transform conventional minimally invasive surgery by improving the consistency, accuracy and safety of surgical robots, and through the development of new paradigms for human-robot interaction. To this end, the Hamlyn Centre is creating the next generation of miniaturized mechatronic devices with integrated imaging and sensing, while investigating new techniques for providing synergistic control between the surgeon and robot.
Fovia’s HDVR provides a virtual roadmap for robotic surgical teams by allowing the presentation of stereo images in real-time during both the planning and interventional phases of robot-assisted surgery. The highly flexible HDVR software enables full customization of the surgeon’s experience and provides invaluable coherence between preoperative scans of a patient and views of the operative field during the procedure. HDVR greatly enhances surgical guidance by using volumetric data in addition to polygonal models of anatomical structures, allowing for greater detail, precision and accuracy. Fovia’s on-the-fly, multiple phase opacity transfer function editor, advanced segmentation and tissue specific lighting controls provide maximum flexibility for faithful representation and manipulation of the desired anatomical targets.
The Hamlyn Centre’s integration of HDVR into its robot-assisted surgical guidance platform enables visualization quality and promises to improve patient outcomes in minimally invasive surgical procedures. This unique collaboration bridges the gap between two influential technologies: robotic surgery and tomographic imaging.
Guang-Zhong Yang, Ph.D., director of the Hamlyn Centre, said, “One of the Hamlyn Centre’s core missions is to develop cutting-edge, disruptive technologies and blue-sky ideas. By collaborating with leading companies such as Fovia, we hope to develop such technologies that will ultimately result in tremendous patient benefit with global impact.”
Fovia is excited about bringing High Definition Volume Rendering to the rapidly evolving field of minimally invasive robotic surgery. We are enthusiastic about working with the creative and innovative researchers at the Hamlyn Centre to help combine two complementary and rapidly expanding disciplines: advanced visualization and minimally invasive robotic surgery,” said Ken Fineman, CEO of Fovia.
For more information: www.fovia.com