Relationship between workspace reduction due to collisions and distance between endoscope and target organ in pediatric endoscopic surgery

We investigated the relationship between workspace reduction due to collisions and the distance between the endoscope and target organ to develop a new algorithm for endoscope navigation in pediatric endoscopic surgery. Proper endoscope position is important for pediatric endoscopic surgery: the endoscope needs to get close to the target organ to obtain a suitable field of view. However, collisions between the endoscope and instrument are more likely to happen when the endoscope get close to the target. This reduces the workspace and complicates pediatric endoscopic surgery. We developed a simplified model of the endoscope and instrument to simulate the influence of the distance between the endoscope and target on the workspace reduction due to collisions. The simulation results showed how the workspace reduction was affected. Based on the results, we will perform further experiments to determine the appropriate endoscope position.