Analysis of Colour Distributions of Anodised Titanium Clips and the Heart Surface for Tracking

Intraoperative organ motion, induced by heart beat and respiration, poses special demands to robot-assisted surgery. Recognition of this motion is required for motion compensation by robotic systems. Colour markers allow for robust motion estimation by colour tracking schemes. Anodised blue titanium clips, which can be attached to the heart surface, are proposed as colour markers. Analyses show that their colour distribution is separable from the colour distribution of the heart surface, allowing for robust colour tracking.