Endoscopic orientation correction.

An open problem in endoscopic surgery (especially with flexible endoscopes) is the absence of a stable horizon in endoscopic images. With our "Endorientation" approach image rotation correction, even in non-rigid endoscopic surgery (particularly NOTES), can be realized with a tiny MEMS tri-axial inertial sensor placed on the tip of an endoscope. It measures the impact of gravity on each of the three orthogonal accelerometer axes. After an initial calibration and filtering of these three values the rotation angle is estimated directly. Achievable repetition rate is above the usual endoscopic video frame rate of 30 Hz; accuracy is about one degree. The image rotation is performed in real-time by digitally rotating the analog endoscopic video signal. Improvements and benefits have been evaluated in animal studies: Coordination of different instruments and estimation of tissue behavior regarding gravity related deformation and movement was rated to be much more intuitive with a stable horizon on endoscopic images.