Extra-abdominal trocar and instrument detection for enhanced surgical workflow understanding

Franziska Jurosch, Lars Wagner, Alissa Jell, Esra Islertas, Dirk Wilhelm, Maximilian Berlet

Abstract: Video-based intra-abdominal instrument tracking for laparoscopic surgeries is a common research area. However, the tracking can only be done with instruments that are actually visible in the laparoscopic image. By using extra-abdominal cameras to detect trocars and classify their occupancy state, additional information about the instrument location, whether an instrument is still in the abdomen or not, can be obtained. This can enhance laparoscopic workflow understanding and enrich already existing intra-abdominal solutions.