Documentation and teaching of surgery with an eye movement driven head-mounted camera: see what the surgeon sees and does.

Abstract

A first proof of concept was developed for a head-mounted video camera system that is continuously aligned with the user's orientation of gaze. In doing so, it records images from the user's perspective that can document manual tasks during, e.g., surgery. Eye movements are tracked by video-oculography and used as signals to drive servo motors that rotate the camera. Thus, the sensorimotor output of a biological system for the control of eye movements evolved over millions of years is used to move an artificial eye. All the capabilities of multi-sensory processing for eye, head, and surround motions are detected by the vestibular, visual, and somatosensory systems and used to drive a technical camera system. A camera guided in this way mimics the natural exploration of a visual scene and acquires video sequences from the perspective of a mobile user, while the oculomotor reflexes naturally stabilize the camera on target during head and target movements. Various documentation and teaching applications in health care, industry, and research are conceivable.