Deformable Surgical Lighting with Color Correction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical lighting systems, both standalone and tool-integrated, face limitations in providing adequate illumination for large or deep surgical fields, requiring frequent repositioning and failing to dynamically correct color discrepancies, which can hinder surgical precision and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A deformable and shapeable surgical lighting system using elongate light emitting members made of a transparent elastomer matrix with scattered particles, coupled to a light source and spectrometer, allowing clinicians to bend and shape the lighting for desired illumination and integrating color correction through a computer processor.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a standalone illuminator with forward illumination scheme is used, then the illuminator can be positioned to illuminate a specific area, but the field of illumination is limited and planar, requiring frequent repositioning to illuminate large or deep surgical fields
Solution Approach 1:
The illuminator is designed with a flexible distal section that can be dynamically shaped by the clinician to conform to the surgical field geometry. This dynamic shapeability allows the illuminator to adapt to large or deep surgical fields without requiring frequent repositioning, as the light can be directed along the shaped path to cover the entire surgical area.
Solution Approach 2:
The illuminator transitions from a traditional planar illumination approach to a three-dimensional illumination path. The flexible distal section can be shaped to extend illumination into depth and across multiple planes, enabling comprehensive coverage of large or deep surgical fields such as port-based brain surgeries without requiring multiple repositioning actions.
2Productivity
If a tool-integrated illuminator is used, then hands-free illumination and effective light delivery are achieved, but the illumination direction and position are fixed with respect to the tool, limiting adaptability to different surgeons' needs
Solution Approach 1:
The illuminator integrates a flexible distal section that can be dynamically shaped during the surgical procedure to adjust the illumination direction and position. This allows the illuminator to adapt to different surgeons' needs and preferences while maintaining hands-free operation, combining the benefits of tool-integration with post-integration adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The illuminator is divided into a fixed proximal section (integrated with the tool) and a flexible distal section. The proximal section provides stable tool integration and light source connection, while the distal section can be independently shaped to adjust illumination parameters, enabling both hands-free operation and adaptive positioning.
3Illumination intensity
If conventional surgical lighting is used, then illumination is provided to the surgical field, but color discrepancies are not corrected, hindering surgical precision
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates a spectrometer that continuously measures the color temperature of the light source and provides feedback to a processor. The processor calculates color correction parameters and adjusts the illumination in real-time to maintain accurate color representation in the surgical field, ensuring surgical precision throughout the procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the spectral parameters of the illumination by selecting different LED chips with specific color temperatures (e.g., 5000K, 6504K, 9300K) based on surgical conditions and tissue type. This parameter adjustment, combined with spectrometer feedback, enables precise color correction to match natural daylight or specific surgical requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables flexible and efficient illumination of surgical sites, accommodating various surgical instruments and dynamically correcting color to enhance surgical precision and reduce the need for frequent repositioning, thereby improving surgical efficiency and accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
Embedded in the transparent elastomer matrix material are particles of a transparent material having a refractive index different from a refractive index of the matrix material dispersed in the elastomer matrix material so that light coupled into the elongate light emitting member is scattered and refracted out of the elongate light emitting member along its length
Implementation Method 2
Embedded in the transparent elastomer matrix material are particles of a transparent material having a refractive index different from a refractive index of the matrix material dispersed in the elastomer matrix material so that light coupled into the elongate light emitting member is scattered and refracted out of the elongate light emitting member along its length
Implementation Method 3
a spectrometer, a computer processor connected to the spectrometer, the light source connected to the spectrometer
Data Source
AI summary
A conductor-less, shape-able, surgical lighting system and methods for use in surgical applications in which a medical clinician, once having established a surgical site, can shape the lighting system to selectively illuminate desired volumes of the surgical site. The system includes preselected lengths of an elongate light emitting member formed of a transparent elastomer matrix material having a glass transition temperature of lower than or substantially equal to room temperature to render the elongate light emitting member bendable and shape-able. Embedded in the transparent elastomer matrix material are particles of a transparent material having a refractive index different from a refractive index of the matrix material dispersed in the elastomer matrix material so that light coupled into the elongate light emitting member is scattered and refracted out of the elongate light emitting member along its length. One end of the elongate light emitting member is coupled with a light source.