Optical assembly providing a surgical microscope view for a surgical visualization system

Abstract

A surgical device includes a plurality of cameras integrated therein. The view of each of the plurality of cameras can be integrated together to provide a composite image. A surgical tool that includes an integrated camera may be used in conjunction with the surgical device. The image produced by the camera integrated with the surgical tool may be associated with the composite image generated by the plurality of cameras integrated in the surgical device. The position and orientation of the cameras and/or the surgical tool can be tracked, and the surgical tool can be rendered as transparent on the composite image. A surgical device may be powered by a hydraulic system, thereby reducing electromagnetic interference with tracking devices.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A surgical visualization system comprising:
 a binocular viewing assembly comprising a housing and a pair of eyepieces, said eyepieces configured to provide a view of at least one display disposed in the housing;   an optical assembly disposed on the binocular viewing assembly, the optical assembly configured to provide a surgical microscope view of a surgical site, the optical assembly comprising at least one auxiliary camera;   an articulating arm, the binocular viewing assembly disposed on the articulating arm, the articulating arm configured to adjust a position of the binocular viewing assembly and the optical assembly; and   an image processing system in communication with the optical assembly and the display, the image processing system comprising at least one physical processor,   wherein the image processing system is configured to:
 receive video images acquired by the auxiliary camera, 
 provide output video images based on the received video images, and 
 present the output video images on the display so that the output video images are viewable through the eyepiece, 
   wherein the optical assembly is configured to provide a working distance that is adjustable between about 15 cm and about 45 cm.   
     
     
         2 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 1 , wherein the optical assembly is mounted to an isocenter positioning system. 
     
     
         3 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 2 , wherein the isocenter positioning system comprises elements configured to allow the optical assembly to be adjusted in three-dimensions such that a field of view of the auxiliary camera always includes a common point. 
     
     
         4 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 2 , wherein the isocenter positioning system comprises an isocenter track attached to the binocular viewing assembly, the isocenter track configured to allow the auxiliary camera to be moved to a plurality of locations along the isocenter track and to position the auxiliary camera such that at said plurality of locations said auxiliary camera said remains a fixed distance away from a common point. 
     
     
         5 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 4 , wherein said auxiliary camera comprises a Greenough configuration. 
     
     
         6 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 5 , wherein said auxiliary camera comprises a pair of optical paths oriented at an angle with respect to each other that converge at said common point established by said isocenter positioning system. 
     
     
         7 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 1 , further comprising a virtual touch camera configured to image a hand of a user, wherein the image processing system is configured to identify hand gestures based at least partly on the acquired images of the hand of the user to allow the user to interact with a graphical user interface provided on the display. 
     
     
         8 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 7 , wherein said hand gestures include gesturing with an optical tool held in said hand. 
     
     
         9 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 1 , further comprising a virtual touch sensor attached to the binocular viewing assembly, said image processing system being configured to use information from the virtual touch sensor in conjunction with image data from the virtual touch camera to identify gestures to allow the user to interact with a graphical user interface provided on the display. 
     
     
         10 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 1 , wherein said binocular viewing assembly is configured not to provide a surgical microscope view via an optical path from said eyepiece through an aperture in said housing. 
     
     
         11 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 1 , wherein said auxiliary includes a turning mirror or turning prism configured to reduce the thickness profile of said optical assembly. 
     
     
         12 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 1 , wherein said auxiliary camera comprises a pair of optical paths that do not share a common objective lens. 
     
     
         13 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 1 , further comprising a virtual touch input device configured to receive user input, wherein the image processing system is configured to identify commands based at least partly on the acquired input from the user to allow the user to interact with a graphical user interface provided on the display through a representation of the user's hand. 
     
     
         14 . A surgical visualization system comprising:
 a binocular viewing assembly comprising a housing and a plurality of oculars, the plurality of oculars configured to provide display views of at least one display disposed in the housing, the two display views corresponding respectively to a left-eye view and a right-eye view;   an optical assembly disposed on the binocular viewing assembly, the optical assembly comprising a left-eye camera and a right-eye camera configured to provide a stereoscopic surgical microscope view of a surgical site;   an articulating arm, the binocular viewing assembly disposed on the articulating arm, the articulating arm configured to adjust a position of the binocular viewing assembly and the optical assembly; and   an image processing system in communication with the optical assembly and the at least one display, the image processing system comprising at least one physical processor,   wherein the image processing system is configured to:
 receive video images acquired by the left-eye camera and the right-eye camera, 
 provide output video images based on the received video images, and 
 present the left-eye output video images via the left-eye display view and the right-eye output video images via the right-eye display view so that the output video images are viewable through the plurality of oculars, 
   wherein the optical assembly provides a convergence angle, the convergence angle being an angle between a left-eye optical path and a right-eye optical path at the surgical site.   
     
     
         15 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 14 , wherein the optical assembly is configured to provide a substantially constant convergence angle with changing working distance. 
     
     
         16 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 14 , wherein the left-eye camera comprises:
 a left-eye turning prism configured to direct light from the surgical site along a left-eye lens path;   a left-eye lens assembly configured to receive the directed light from the left-eye turning prism and to create a left-eye image;   a left-eye image sensor configured to capture the left-eye image and generate a left-eye video image.   
     
     
         17 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 14 , wherein the right-eye camera comprises:
 a right-eye turning prism configured to direct light from the surgical site along a right-eye lens path;   a right-eye lens assembly configured to receive the directed light from the right-eye turning prism and to create a right-eye image;   a right-eye image sensor configured to capture the right-eye image and generate a right-eye video image.   
     
     
         18 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 14 , wherein the left-eye camera and the right-eye camera are configured to acquire video images of the surgical site at a convergence point and wherein a distance from the binocular viewing assembly to the convergence point comprises a working distance. 
     
     
         19 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 18 , wherein the optical assembly is configured to provide an adjustable working distance between about 15 cm and about 45 cm. 
     
     
         20 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 16 , wherein the left-eye camera comprises a left-eye turning prism and the right-eye camera comprises a right-eye turning prism, the left-eye turning prism and the right-eye turning prism being configured to change their relative orientations thereby changing the convergence angle to provide the adjustable working distance. 
     
     
         21 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 18 , wherein the optical assembly is configured to provide a substantially constant convergence angle with changing working distance. 
     
     
         22 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 21 , wherein the left-eye camera and the right-eye camera are configured to adjust their relative orientation and position to provide the substantially constant convergence angle. 
     
     
         23 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 21 , wherein the left-eye camera comprises a left-eye prism assembly and the right-eye camera comprises a right-eye prism assembly, the left-eye prism assembly and the right-eye prism assembly being configured to adjust their relative orientation and position to provide the substantially constant convergence angle, wherein other elements of the left-eye camera and the other elements of the right-eye camera remain substantially stationary. 
     
     
         24 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 19 , wherein the optical assembly is configured to provide a sufficiently narrow convergence angle to provide stereoscopic imagery through an insertion tube. 
     
     
         25 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 24 , wherein the insertion tube has a width between about 25 mm and about 50 mm. 
     
     
         26 . The surgical visualization system of  claim 24 , wherein the sufficiently narrow convergence angle is also substantially constant with changes in working distance.