Interactive Endoscopy: A Next-Generation, Streamlined User Interface for Lung Surgery Navigation

Computer generated graphics are superimposed onto live video emanating from an endoscope, offering the surgeon visual information that is hiding in the native scene—this describes the classical scenario of augmented reality in minimally invasive surgery. Research efforts have, over the past few decades, pressed considerably against the challenges of infusing a priori knowledge into endoscopic streams. As framed, these contributions emulate perception at the level of the surgeon expert, perpetuating debates on the technical, clinical, and societal viability of the proposition.