Camera Placement for Medical Supplies and Products

Abstract

The present disclosure is a camera arrangement for a surgical instrument that includes a camera (1). The camera arrangement has a direct lighting strand (8) that includes a plurality of LEDs, the light of which is directed directly onto a reading area (20). The camera arrangement further has an indirect lighting strand (8) that includes a plurality of LEDs, the light of which is directed indirectly onto the reading area via a reflective dome (4). The reflective dome (4) is positioned on the side of the two first lighting strands (6, 8) that faces away from the reading area (20).

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a camera arrangement illumination concept for a medical device, e.g., a surgical instrument, wherein the camera arrangement detects at least a machine-readable code attached to the medical device, e.g., the surgical instrument. [Background technology]

[0002] During surgery, surgical instruments are individually photographed, for example, to assemble a selection of instruments and make them available to the surgeon or surgeon. Such photography can be performed semi-automatically by manually selecting the instruments and performing electronic monitoring with a camera arrangement acting as a scanner.

[0003] (prior art) DE3917876A1 (filed by the applicant) discloses a system for loading surgical instrument sets. A reading head in the form of a handheld device is used to automatically read the barcodes attached to the instruments. On a monitor, the scanned instruments are automatically displayed to the user and recorded in a list as present.

[0004] In this situation, direct illumination units are known to make the individual machine-readable codes of the surgical instruments visible to the camera.

[0005] The IOSS document DMT100 discloses a camera arrangement designed as a desktop device with a camera eye on its top surface. During surgery, a user holds a machine-readable 2D Data Matrix code on a surgical instrument over the camera eye, which automatically reads the code. Multi-channel LED lighting is provided, and the appropriate channel is automatically selected from four lighting channels.

[0006] A similar device in principle for scanning data matrix codes, even from curved surfaces of surgical instruments of interest, is available from 2DSurgical under the product name Surgiscan or Surgiscan Ultra. This camera arrangement has an indirect lighting unit. The corresponding data sheet of the same name discloses 256-color LED lighting for constant or flashing operation. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a camera arrangement for scanning at least machine-readable codes, the recognition reliability and speed of which are improved compared to the prior art. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] Regarding the camera arrangement, this problem is solved by the feature combination of claim 1.

[0009] A camera arrangement for detecting / visually handling / inspecting and for use in handling medical devices, e.g., surgical instruments, according to the present disclosure, includes at least a first camera configured and designed to detect machine-readable codes on medical devices, e.g., surgical instruments. The camera arrangement includes a first direct illumination strand including multiple LEDs (i.e., multiple LEDs arranged on a first direct circular path, preferably centered around the first camera), whose light is directed directly toward a reading area or work area for the medical device and its code, preferably using an at least partially surrounding, preferably ring-shaped, diffuser. The camera arrangement further includes a first indirect illumination strand including multiple LEDs (i.e., multiple LEDs arranged on a first indirect circular path, preferably centered around the first camera), whose light is directed indirectly toward the reading area via a first, e.g., concave, reflective dome. The first (single or multi-piece) reflective dome is positioned on the side of the two first illumination strands facing away from the reading area. This camera arrangement enables various lighting scenarios and improves detection reliability. Rapid and sufficient detection reliability increases overall detection speed. The camera placement thus allows for higher throughput of the medical device to the user.

[0010] The term "medical device" includes, for example, the surgical instruments already mentioned, as well as other medical instruments, medical devices, medical device components, medical products, and medical consumer products.

[0011] As already mentioned, the reflector dome can be made up of several parts, for example of several surfaces, so that for the device, for example, a simple hollow rectangular parallelepiped is also conceivable.

[0012] Based on an assessment of the quality of the camera image on the surface of the medical device to be inspected (e.g. in terms of illumination and reflections), individual sections of the lighting strand can be controlled individually and their brightness can be adjusted to suit the situation to achieve ideal lighting for the reading process (uniform illumination of the code / minimization of reflections / maximization of contrast between the medical device and the code).

[0013] A further development stage is the combination of adaptive lighting as described above and a camera with autofocus capabilities (eg, voice coil motors or liquid lenses).

[0014] A technically simple further development with optimal illumination is provided if the two first lighting strands have approximately the same diameter in the sense of a double ring / double circular path and are adjacent to each other at their rear sides. It should be noted here that the two first lighting strands can be formed, for example, by ring- or circular-shaped printed circuit boards, each of which is equipped with a number of LEDs on both sides. In this case, the printed circuit board defining the circular path has a certain board width, and the LEDs within this board width can be radially offset from each other (but still be said to be on a circular path).

[0015] A further technically simple design with optimal illumination is provided if at least one of the two first lighting strands is arranged and / or attached to the circumferential inner edge of the first reflector dome. Preferably, a first (e.g. ring-shaped) diffuser is also arranged and / or attached directly or indirectly to the circumferential inner edge of the first reflector dome.

[0016] According to a first embodiment, the control software and the control unit are programmed to generate camera images, for which purpose the two first illumination strands can be controlled alternately and continuously. In a specific embodiment, for example, an exposure time of the first camera is 2 ms and a control frequency of the two illumination strands is 500 Hz.

[0017] Also disclosed is a method of operating a camera arrangement, in which exposure of a first camera is performed by sequentially and alternately controlling two first illumination strands, where autofocus is performed by, for example, a voice coil motor or a liquid lens.

[0018] According to a second embodiment, the control software and the control unit are each programmed to enable at least two (preferably a plurality) images of the first camera to be generated consecutively, each camera image being generated by activating only one of the two first illumination strands, and the optimal camera image generated with the optimal first illumination strand can then be automatically determined by comparing the at least two (preferably a plurality) camera images.

[0019] Also disclosed is a method of operating a camera arrangement, in which at least two (preferably multiple) exposures of a first camera are taken in succession, each exposure being taken by controlling only one of the two first illumination strands.

[0020] Convenient handling of the medical device is provided when the two first illumination strands are arranged approximately horizontally, the first reflective dome is installed above the two first illumination strands, and the reading area is arranged below the two first illumination strands, which means that the light beams of the LEDs of the first direct illumination strand (comprising at least one component) are directed downward, and the light beams of the LEDs of the first indirect illumination strand (comprising at least one component) are directed upward and enter the first reflective dome.

[0021] Handling of the medical device is further improved if a support, preferably a support surface, e.g., a support plate, is arranged below the reading area. The support surface also advantageously forms the lower boundary of the reading area, where the machine-readable code can be clearly imaged. The user can then place the medical device to be imaged on the support surface, or simply push the medical device across the support surface under the camera.

[0022] In a preferred embodiment, the first camera is positioned within a recess in the first reflector dome.

[0023] A second camera (i.e., preferably opposite the first camera) is positioned on the side of the reading area facing away from the two first illumination strands, the first reflective dome, and the first camera. The camera arrangement further comprises a second direct illumination strand including a plurality of LEDs, the light of which is directed directly toward the reading area using an at least partially surrounding (e.g., ring-shaped) diffuser. The camera arrangement further comprises a second indirect illumination strand including a plurality of LEDs, the light of which is directed indirectly toward the reading area, for example, via a second concave reflective dome. The second reflective dome is positioned on the side of the two second illumination strands facing away from the reading area. It should be noted here that the two second illumination strands (following the first illumination strands) can be formed, for example, by a ring- or circular-shaped circuit board, each with a plurality of LEDs mounted on both sides. In this case, the printed circuit board defining the circular path has a predetermined board width, and the LEDs within this board width may be radially offset from each other (but still be said to be on a circular path).

[0024] This camera configuration allows for additional lighting scenarios, further improving detection reliability. Due to faster and earlier sufficient detection reliability, the overall detection speed is further increased.

[0025] Supplemental lighting can be used in both the visible and invisible wavelength ranges, or its wavelength can be varied within various lighting scenarios, where the two cameras are set to different wavelength ranges from the visible, ultraviolet, and infrared groups.

[0026] In particular, if two cameras are facing each other (common optical axis), glare must be prevented, for which reason a bandpass filter is preferably provided.

[0027] A camera arrangement including a parabolic mirror can also be envisioned to optically magnify small barcodes and increase the reading area of ​​the machine-readable code. The parabolic mirror is positioned on the side of the reading area facing away from the two first illumination strands and the first reflector dome, and optically magnifies the machine-readable code due to its specific curvature. The distortion caused by this process is calculated from the image.

[0028] In the first embodiment, the parabolic mirror is convex.

[0029] In a second embodiment, the parabolic mirror is concave and the first camera is located at the focal point of the parabolic mirror. If an additional light source is located, for example, adjacent the focal point of the concave parabolic mirror and its light is directed indirectly through the parabolic mirror to the reading area, it will provide further improved illumination for the reading or working area, or even alternative lighting scenarios.

[0030] The machine-readable codes that can be read by the camera arrangement are in particular two-dimensional surface codes or barcodes, in particular data matrix codes, but can also be one-dimensional codes such as conventional barcodes. Furthermore, the camera arrangement can also be configured for optical character recognition (OCR).

[0031] Further features of the camera arrangement, in particular its electronic evaluation unit, allow for further adapted lighting scenarios for other applications, such as for example surface inspection or cutting edge inspection. In this case, the aforementioned read range of the machine-readable code is also the inspection range of the device.

[0032] Supplementary illumination in the UV range is useful, for example, to better detect contamination of the equipment.

[0033] The lighting strands may be circular or arc-shaped. The lighting strands may be polygonal with at least four sides and four corners. The lighting strands may also have interruptions. Preferably, the lighting strands are LED straps. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1] 1 illustrates a camera arrangement according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 10 illustrates a camera arrangement according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 10 illustrates a camera arrangement according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 10 illustrates a camera arrangement according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] Four embodiments of the present disclosure are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0036] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a camera arrangement according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0037] A (first) camera 1 is housed in a camera housing 2, with its lens directed downwards, for example, via a central recess 3 in a concave reflector dome 4. Illumination is provided by two lighting strands 6, 8, which are positioned and attached to the circumferential inner edge of the reflector dome 4.

[0038] The lower illumination strands are called direct illumination strands 8, and their LEDs (which are preferably evenly distributed around the circumference) each emit their light directly onto the machine-readable code, downwards onto the medical device (e.g., medical instrument), via a surrounding diffuser 9 (e.g., in the form of a ring). The diffuser 9 in front of the direct illumination strands 8 creates a greater diffusion of the light. This type of illumination produces dark field illumination.

[0039] The upper illumination strand, called the indirect illumination strand 6, has LEDs (which are evenly distributed around the circumference) that emit their light upward into the reflective dome 4, indirectly illuminating the medical device and its machine-readable code, respectively.

[0040] The inner peripheral edge of the reflective dome 4, the two illuminating strands 6, 8 and the diffuser plate 9 are approximately horizontal. At a distance a below the diffuser plate 9, a support surface 12 formed as a support plate is arranged, on which the medical device is placed. The distance a is dimensioned so that the camera 1 can capture a clear image of the medical device placed thereon with the machine-readable code facing upwards. This area is called the reading area.

[0041] Furthermore, the camera 1 is also able to image the surface of the equipment, the user of the camera arrangement being able to detect the contamination by observing a monitor (not shown) or evaluation software in a control unit (not shown).

[0042] Finally, the camera 1 is able to capture images of any cutting edges and cutting blades, respectively, present on the equipment, which the user can inspect and evaluate by viewing the evaluation software on the monitor or control unit.

[0043] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a camera arrangement according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] The components and functions from Figure 1, in particular the lighting, are implemented in the upper area. The contact surface 12 from Figure 1 is omitted. Instead, a further camera 11 is provided below the reading area 20, with its lens directed upwards from below the reading area 20.

[0045] The second illumination, which includes two second illumination strands 16, 18 in the 850 nm infrared range, makes the readout more robust to external light, especially if the second camera 11 has an 850 nm bandpass filter 13. The two illumination strands 16, 18, the second diffuser 19 and the second reflector dome 14 are positioned similarly to the upper arrangement described with reference to FIG.

[0046] FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a camera arrangement according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] The components and functions from FIG. 1, especially the lighting, are implemented in the upper area. The support surface 12 from FIG. 1 is omitted. Instead, a convex parabolic mirror 22 is positioned below the reading area 20. This parabolic mirror is positioned below the reading area 20, facing away from the first two illumination strands 6, 8 and the first reflector dome 4, and optically magnifies the machine-readable code due to its inherent curvature. The distortions caused by this camera arrangement are calculated from the images.

[0048] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a camera arrangement according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0049] The interaction of the two illumination strands 6, 8 with the diffuser 9 and the reflector dome 104 corresponds in principle to the first embodiment from Fig. 1, except that the reflector dome 104 does not have a recess for the camera 1. Instead, the camera 1 is positioned below the reading area 20 at the focal point 124 of a concave parabolic mirror 122 (which is also placed below the reading area 20). The concave parabolic mirror 122 opens upwards in the direction of the reading area 20.

[0050] Directly below the focal point 124 of the parabolic mirror 122 is positioned further indirect lighting 106, whose LED light (not shown) is directed first downwards and then indirectly via the parabolic mirror 122 onto the reading area 20. This provides further improved lighting and offers other alternative lighting scenarios.

[0051] Additionally, light from the upper two illumination strands 6, 8 passing through the medical device (e.g., instrument) is reflected to the reading area 20 via the parabolic mirror 122. In this process, the downward collimated light from the illumination strands 6, 8 is reflected to its focal point 124 via the parabolic mirror 122, following the arrows shown in FIG.

[0052] All embodiments of the camera arrangements shown in Figures 1-4 provide the following control options for a flicker-free camera image:

[0053] The two lighting strands 6, 8 are alternately driven at a frequency of 500 Hz. During control, only one of the two lighting strands 6, 8 is active. This results in different lighting scenarios that highlight different artifacts on different surfaces of the medical device (e.g., instrument). The frequency of the lighting strands 6, 8 is invisible to the user; it can be seen through the camera image. To compensate for this, the exposure times of the sensor and camera 1 are each set to 2 ms.

[0054] Another variation of lighting control is to control the camera 1 synchronously with the lighting strands 6, 8. In this case, for each newly captured camera image, only one lighting strand 6, 8 is activated. To present a "stable" camera image to the user, only the camera image of one lighting strand 6, 8 is displayed.

[0055] The synchronization of camera 1 with respect to the illumination corresponds to the following equation:

number

[0056] A frequency of 20 Hz (frames per second) is necessary to produce a smooth display of the camera image on a monitor (not shown) for the user. In this case, the frequency of camera 1 is obtained using the following formula:

number

[0057] To prevent flicker and to make the transitions between lighting scenarios, especially between lighting strands 6 and 8, invisible to the human eye, F light should be at least 100Hz.

[0058] (List of reference numbers) 1. Camera 1 2. First camera housing 3 recess 4;104 First Reflection Dome 6. 1st Indirect Lighting Strand 8. First Direct Lighting Strand 9 First diffuser 11 Second Camera 12 Second camera housing 13 Bandpass Filter 14 Second Reflection Dome 16 Second Indirect Lighting Strand 18 Second Direct Lighting Strand 19 Second diffuser 20 Reading Area 22 Convex parabolic mirror 106 Further indirect lighting 122 Concave parabolic mirror 124 Focus F light Lighting Frequency F camera Camera Frequency a distance m natural number n is a natural number or zero

Claims

1. A camera arrangement comprising a first camera (1) configured and designed to photograph a machine-readable code of a medical device, The camera arrangement includes a first direct illumination strand (8) having a plurality of LEDs whose light is directed directly onto the reading area (20); The camera arrangement further includes a first indirect illumination strand (6) having a plurality of LEDs whose light is directed indirectly through a first reflective dome (4) to the reading area; A camera arrangement in which a first reflective dome (4) is arranged on the side of the two first illumination strands (6, 8) facing away from the reading area (20).

2. 2. The camera arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the rear sides of the two first illuminating strands (6, 8) face each other.

3. A camera arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 2, wherein at least one of the two first illuminating strands (6, 8) is arranged and / or mounted on the circumferential inner edge of the first reflector dome (4).

4. A camera arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the two first illumination strands (6, 8) are continuously controllable to generate the camera image.

5. At least two camera images of the first camera (1) can be generated consecutively; A camera arrangement according to any of claims 1 to 4, wherein each individual camera image can be generated by controlling only one of the two first illumination strands (6, 8).

6. the two first illuminating strands (6, 8) are arranged substantially horizontally; 6. A camera arrangement according to claim 1, wherein the first reflective dome (4) is arranged above the two first illumination strands (6, 8) and the reading area (20) is arranged below the two first illumination strands (6, 8).

7. A camera arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a support (12) for the equipment is located below the reading area (20).

8. A camera arrangement according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first camera (1) is installed in a recess (3) in the first reflector dome (4).

9. a second camera (11) positioned on the side of the reading area (20) facing away from the two first illumination strands (6, 8), the first reflector dome (4) and the first camera (1); The camera arrangement further includes a second direct illumination strand (18) having a plurality of LEDs whose light is directed directly onto the reading area (20); The camera arrangement further comprises a second indirect illumination strand (16) having a plurality of LEDs whose light is directed indirectly through a second reflective dome (14) to the reading area (20); A camera arrangement according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a second reflector dome (14) is arranged on the side of the two second illumination strands (16, 18) facing away from the reading area (20).

10. 10. The camera arrangement according to claim 9, wherein the two cameras (1, 11) are adapted to different wavelength ranges from the group of visible light, ultraviolet and infrared light.

11. 8. The camera arrangement according to claim 1, wherein a parabolic mirror (22; 122) is arranged on the side of the reading area (20) facing away from the two first illumination strands (6, 8) and the first reflector dome (4).

12. 12. The camera arrangement of claim 11, wherein the parabolic mirror (22) is convex.

13. The parabolic mirror (122) is concave, The first camera (1) is positioned at the focal point (124) of the parabolic mirror (122); 12. The camera arrangement of claim 11, wherein further indirect illumination (106) is provided, in which light is directed indirectly onto the reading area (20) via a parabolic mirror (122).

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