Development of Wide-Angle-View Laparoscope Using Wedge Prisms

We describe a novel robotic laparoscope system. It can be used to observe a wide area without moving or bending the laparoscope. The system consists of an endoscope with zoom facility and two wedge prisms at the tip. This new concept produces excellent characteristics as follows. Firstly, it can change the field of view even in a small space. Secondly, it is safe because it avoids the possibility of hitting internal organs. Finally, because it does not require a large mechanism for manipulation of the endoscope, it does not obstruct the surgeon’s operation. We performed basic characteristics evaluation experiment and in-vivo experiment. During evaluation, we confirmed that the positioning accuracy and image quality were acceptable for clinical use.