Gaze-contingent Autofocus System for Robotic-assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery

A gaze-contingent autofocus system using an eye-tracker and liquid lens has been constructed for use with a surgical robot, making it possible to rapidly (within tens of milliseconds) change focus using only eye-control. This paper reports the results of a user test comparing the eye-tracker to a surgical robot's in-built mechanical focusing system. In the clinical environment, this intuitive interface removes the need for an external mechanical control and improves the speed at which surgeons can make decisions, based on the visible features. Possible applications include microsurgery and gastrointestinal procedures where the object distance changes due to breathing and/or peristalsis.