An algorithm for accurate needle orientation.

For the early diagnosis and treatment, a needle insertion for biopsy and treatment is a common and important means. To solve the low accuracy and high probability of repeat surgery in traditional surgical procedures, a computer-assisted system is an effective solution. In such a system, how to acquire the accurate orientation of the surgical needle is one of the most important factors. This paper proposes a "Center Point Method" for needle axis extraction with high accuracy. The method makes full use of edge points from two sides of the needle in image and creates center points through which an accurate axis is extracted. Experiments show that the proposed method improves needle orientation accuracy by approximately 70% compared to related work in binocular stereovision system.