The publication "Redefining the Laparoscopic Spatial Sense: AI-based Intra- and Postoperative Measurement from Stereoimages“ has been accepted for the 38th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and is available via https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2311.09744. The publication is the result of a fruitful collaboration between Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Fraunhofer FIT, University of Bayreuth, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Authors are Leopold Müller, Patrick Hemmer, Moritz Queisner, Igor Sauer, Simeon Allmendinger, Johannes Jakubik, Michael Vössing, and Niklas Kühl.

A significant challenge in image-guided surgery is the accurate measurement task of relevant structures such as vessel segments, resection margins, or bowel lengths. While this task is an essential component of many surgeries, it involves substantial human effort and is prone to inaccuracies. In this paper, we develop a novel human-AI-based method for laparoscopic measurements utilizing stereo vision that has been guided by practicing surgeons. Based on a holistic qualitative requirements analysis, this work proposes a comprehensive measurement method, which comprises state-of-the-art machine learning architectures, such as RAFT-Stereo and YOLOv8. The developed method is assessed in various realistic experimental evaluation environments. Our results outline the potential of our method achieving high accuracies in distance measurements with errors below 1 mm. Furthermore, on-surface measurements demonstrate robustness when applied in challenging environments with textureless regions. Overall, by addressing the inherent challenges of image-guided surgery, we lay the foundation for a more robust and accurate solution for intra- and postoperative measurements, enabling more precise, safe, and efficient surgical procedures.

Today Karl Hillebrandt gave an exzellent inaugural lecture entitled „Die Geister, die ich rief ... – Eine kurze Geschichte der De- und Rezellularisierung“ and is now a private lecturer (Privatdozent) at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and habilitated in the field of "Experimental Surgery".

He is being honored for his achievements in the field of tissue engineering. His postdoctoral thesis is entitled "New approaches for the characterisation of decellularised tissues and the recellularisation of vessels".

Congratulations!

Today Simon Moosburner gave his inaugural lecture on "Liver Transplantation in Germany - Opportunities and Solutions for the Future". He is now – at the age of 28 (!) – a private lecturer (Privatdozent) at the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and habilitated in the field of "Experimental Surgery".

He is being honored for his achievements in the field of extracorporeal organ perfusion and organ transplantation. His postdoctoral thesis is entitled "Challenges and solutions in adults and children after liver transplantation".

Congratulations!

Prof. Dr. Moritz Queisner and Frédéric Eyl (Designer and Managing Director of TheGreenEyl) successfully applied to the Stiftung Charité for funding as a "science x media tandem".
The science x media tandems are the first programme in the new funding priority "Open Life Science". With this funding priority, the Charité Foundation is working to make the life sciences in Berlin more comprehensible and accessible to a broader public and to strengthen the trustworthiness of medical professionals.

Under the title "From Slices to Spaces", the tandem of Moritz Queisner and Frédéric Eyl is implementing a science parcours in which spatially complex research data from surgery and biomedicine will be made multisensually accessible to a broad audience through new visualization techniques. Building on research work on new imaging techniques by Moritz Queisner, they employ Extended Reality techniques. Due to their unique ability to link digital objects with the real environment of the viewers, the 4D images they generate are particularly suited for representing and conveying spatial information.

This is where the tandem's project comes in: 4D images are not only interesting for researchers to understand complex research data but can also provide laypeople with a less presupposing insight into research data and processes. Frédéric Eyl's media expertise will be used to make the specific visual knowledge from research comprehensible and experiential for non-experts. The science parcours is intended to integrate as a digital extension into the architecture of the new research building, "Der Simulierte Mensch", located on the premises of Charité. The parcours will include the facade, the inter-floor airspace, and the central glass surfaces within the building as its stations. By enabling users to explore 4D research data within the architecture and investigate it using their own smartphones in an AR application, concrete practices and deployment locations of new image-based technologies become experiential and comprehensible. This project not only enhances the perception of Charité and the scientific location of Berlin but also opens up places of knowledge creation to the public, making practices and techniques of life sciences more visible.