Semi-Automatic Infrared Calibration for Augmented Reality Systems in Surgery

TL;DR

This paper presents a semi-automatic calibration method for AR headsets in surgical settings, using infrared markers and existing CAOS systems to improve accuracy and ease of use in augmented reality-guided surgeries.

Contribution

It introduces a direct, infrared-based calibration system for AR HMDs with CAOS, enabling fast, user-agnostic setup and improved spatial accuracy in surgical applications.

Findings

Relative-tracking errors of ~2 mm and 1.1° at short ranges.

Calibration accuracy of ~2 mm and 1.5° in holographic guidance.

Successful in-situ holographic guidance in a simulated surgical task.

Abstract

Augmented reality (AR) has the potential to improve the immersion and efficiency of computer-assisted orthopaedic surgery (CAOS) by allowing surgeons to maintain focus on the operating site rather than external displays in the operating theatre. Successful deployment of AR to CAOS requires a calibration that can accurately calculate the spatial relationship between real and holographic objects. Several studies attempt this calibration through manual alignment or with additional fiducial markers in the surgical scene. We propose a calibration system that offers a direct method for the calibration of AR head-mounted displays (HMDs) with CAOS systems, by using infrared-reflective marker-arrays widely used in CAOS. In our fast, user-agnostic setup, a HoloLens 2 detected the pose of marker arrays using infrared response and time-of-flight depth obtained through sensors onboard the HMD. Registration with a commercially available CAOS system was achieved when an IR marker-array was visible to both devices. Study tests found relative-tracking mean errors of 2.03 mm and 1.12{\deg} when calculating the relative pose between two static marker-arrays at short ranges. When using the calibration result to provide in-situ holographic guidance for a simulated wire-insertion task, a pre-clinical test reported mean errors of 2.07 mm and 1.54{\deg} when compared to a pre-planned trajectory.