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Sonic FlashlightTM Head: George D Stetten Contact: George D Stetten (george@stetten.com) Mailing address: Carnegie Mellon University Robotics Institute 5000 Forbes Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Associated centers: VASC, MRTC, SRI, and FRC Associated labs/groups: Visualization and Image Analysis and Human-Robot Interaction Group For more information, see this project's homepage.

This page last updated - January 1999.

Project Description

Our objective is to permit in situ visualization of ultrasound images so that direct hand-eye coordination can be employed during invasive procedures. A method is presented that merges the visual outer surface of a patient with a simultaneous ultrasound scan of the patient's interior. The method combines a flat-panel monitor with a half-silvered mirror such that the image on the monitor is reflected precisely at the proper location within the patient. The ultrasound image is superimposed in real time on the patient merging with the operator's hands and any invasive tools in the field of view. Instead of looking away from the patient at an ultrasound monitor, the operator sees through skin and underlying tissue as if it were translucent.

Two working prototypes have been constructed, demonstrating independence of viewer location and requiring no special apparatus to be worn by the operator. The method could enable needles and scalpels to be manipulated with direct hand-eye coordination under ultrasound guidance. Invasive tools would be visible up to where they enter the skin, permitting natural visual extrapolation into the ultrasound slice. Biopsy needles would no longer be restricted to lie in the plane of the ultrasound scan, but could instead intersect it. These advances could lead to increased safety, ease, and reliability in certain invasive procedures.

You may peruse the complete list of Sonic Flashlight^TM publications at the official Sonic Flashlight^TM website under the "our Publications" section.

The Sonic Flashlight^TM is patented under U.S. No. 6,599,247.

Personnel [Past Members]

	Name	Title	Email Address
	John Galeotti	Postdoctoral Fellow	jgaleotti@cmu.edu
	Roberta Klatzky	Professor	klatzky@cmu.edu
	Gaurav Shukla	Visiting Scholar	gas9@pitt.edu
	Mel Siegel	Associate Research Professor	mws@cmu.edu
	George D Stetten	Associate Research Professor	george@stetten.com

Recent publications [View all 32 publications]

• Learning in image-guided reaching changes the representation-to-action mapping
  B. Wu, R. Klatzky, D.M. Shelton, and G.D. Stetten
  Vision Sciences Society Meeting, May, 2007. [Abstract]
  Download: pdf [4078 KB] copyrighted

• Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters by Nurses using the Sonic Flashlight
  D.C. Wang, N.B. Amesur, R. Klatzky, A. Bayless, B. Mandella, C. Banks, G. Shukla, and G.D. Stetten
  Clinical and Translational Science Day,, May, 2007. [Abstract]
  Download: pdf [272 KB] copyrighted

• Design and calibration of a virtual tomographic reflection system
  D.M. Shelton, B. Wu, R. Klatzky, and G.D. Stetten
  International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI), April, 2007. [Abstract]
  Download: pdf [372 KB] copyrighted

• Virtual Tomographic Reflection for Psychophysical Analysis of the Sonic Flashlight
  D.M. Shelton
  doctoral dissertation, tech. report CMU-RI-TR-07-14, Robotics Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, March, 2007. [Abstract]

• Carotid Artery and Jugular Vein Tracking and Differentiation Using Spatiotemporal Analysis
  D.C. Wang, R. Klatzky, N. Amesur, and G.D. Stetten
  Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention (MICCAI 2006), Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Vol. 4190, October, 2006, pp. 654 - 661. [Abstract]
  Download: pdf [536 KB] copyrighted

• Interaction of Visual and Haptic Cues in the Image-based Perception of Depth
  B. Wu, R. Klatzky, D.M. Shelton, and G.D. Stetten
  Vision Sciences Society Meeting, May, 2006. [Abstract]

• Design and Calibration of a Virtual Tomographic Reflection System
  D.M. Shelton, G.D. Stetten, B. Wu, and R. Klatzky
  IEEE Symposium on 3D User Interfaces, March, 2006. [Abstract]

• Optical Merger of Direct Vision with Virtual Images for Scaled Teleoperation
  S. Clanton, D.C. Wang, V. Chib, Y. Matsuoka, and G.D. Stetten
  IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), Vol. 12, No. 2, March, 2006, pp. 277 - 285. [Abstract]
  Download: pdf [1328 KB] copyrighted

• First Clinical Trial of the Sonic Flashlight - Guiding Placement of Peripherally Inserted Central Catheters
  W. Chang, N. Amesur, D.C. Wang, A. Zajko, and G.D. Stetten
  2005 meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, November, 2005.

• Psychophysical Evaluation of In-Situ Ultrasound Visualization
  B. Wu, R. Klatzky, D.M. Shelton, and G.D. Stetten
  IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics (TVCG), Special Issue on Haptics, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Vol. 11, No. 6, November, 2005, pp. 1 - 10. [Abstract]