Dual-Field Microscope Overlay for Surgical Awareness
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Microscopes provide high magnification but a narrow field of view, leading to reduced awareness of broader surgical cavities and potential incidents like bleeding, prompting surgeons to temporarily lose focus by removing their eyes from the eyepiece.
Innovation Solution
Implementing two optical imaging modules with a wider and narrower field of view, where the wider field data is processed to detect abnormalities and overlaid onto the narrower field view, allowing surgeons to maintain focus while being aware of incidents outside the magnified area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If a microscope provides high magnification, then the magnification capability is improved, but the field of view becomes narrow leading to reduced awareness of broader surgical cavity
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the visual information into two separate fields of view: a narrow high-magnification field for detailed surgical work and a wide low-magnification field for overall situational awareness. These two fields are captured by separate imaging modules and processed independently before being combined in the display, allowing simultaneous access to both magnified and overview perspectives without compromising either.
Solution Approach 2:
The display system embeds the narrow high-magnification field of view within the context of the wide low-magnification field of view. The overview image serves as the background context, while the magnified view is positioned within it, creating a nested visual hierarchy that allows the surgeon to maintain awareness of the broader surgical cavity while focusing on detailed work.
2Loss of information
If the surgeon removes eyes from the eyepiece to look with naked eye, then awareness of broader surgical cavity is improved, but focus is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges the narrow high-magnification field of view and the wide low-magnification field of view into a single integrated display output. This combination allows the surgeon to access both the detailed magnified view and the broader overview simultaneously without moving their eyes or losing focus, eliminating the need to remove eyes from the eyepiece while maintaining situational awareness.
Solution Approach 2:
The display system acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between the narrow microscope view and the wide naked-eye view. By processing and combining images from both fields of view, the display provides a synthesized visual representation that delivers both detailed and overview information to the surgeon's eyes through the eyepiece, maintaining focus while expanding awareness.
3Loss of information
If two optical imaging modules are used to provide both wide and narrow fields of view, then awareness of incidents outside magnified area is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display system is designed to handle multiple fields of view from different imaging modules through a universal processing and combination mechanism. The same display device processes both the narrow high-magnification images and the wide low-magnification images, combining them into a single integrated output that serves the dual purpose of providing detailed surgical view and broader situational awareness, thereby managing complexity through multi-functional design.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples relate to apparatuses, methods and computer programs for a microscope system, more specifically, but not exclusively, to the use of two optical imaging modules to obtain image data having a first and a second field of view. The apparatus comprises an interface. The interface is suitable for obtaining first image data of a sample from a first optical imaging module. The first image data has a first field of view. The interface is suitable for obtaining second image data of the sample from a second optical imaging module. The second image data has a second field of view. The first field of view comprises the second field of view. The apparatus comprises a processing module. The processing module is configured to generate an image output signal for a display of the microscope system. In some embodiments, the processing module is configured to process the first image data to detect an abnormality outside the second field of view. In this case, information on the abnormality is overlaid over the second image data within the image output signal. Additionally or alternatively, an overview of the first image data is overlaid over the second image data within the image output signal. The processing module is configured to provide the image output signal to the display.