Endoscopic vessel harvester with gyrosensor on handle for rotating camera view

Abstract

An endoscopic vessel harvesting tool uses an optics system to present of a video image to a user. As the tool is manipulated around all sides of the vessel to dissect and cut surrounding tissue and side branches, the orientation of the captured image rotates. A motion tracker (e.g., gyrosensor) in the tool detects the rotation. By detecting a rotational angular velocity of the harvester handle during the harvesting procedure, the camera view orientation is compensated before display to the user. When the handle is rotated, the detected rotation is used to provide an opposite (canceling) rotation of the camera view so that a steady orientation is presented on the display. Thus, a vertically upward direction (or any other desired reference direction) remains substantially fixed in the displayed video images.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.