Endoscope Voice Control for Noisy Surgical Environments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing endoscope systems lack efficient and flexible control mechanisms, particularly in noisy surgical environments, and require additional equipment setup, which can increase infection risk and operational complexity.
Innovation Solution
Integration of voice control technology with endoscopes, utilizing speech recognition and machine learning to decode voice commands, combined with physical input devices, and utilizing a machine-readable serial number for personalized calibration and training, to enhance control flexibility and reduce setup complexity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If voice control technology is integrated with endoscopes, then control flexibility and ease of operation are improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines voice control technology with the endoscope system by integrating a microphone, speech recognition processor, and command interpretation software into the existing endoscope control architecture. This merging allows voice commands to be processed alongside traditional control inputs, providing hands-free operation capability while maintaining the原有的 control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The endoscope control system is enhanced to accept multiple types of inputs (voice commands, physical buttons, foot pedals) and process them through a unified command interpretation layer. This multi-functional approach allows the system to adapt to different control modalities without requiring separate dedicated systems for each input type.
2Measurement precision
If personalized calibration and training data are stored for each surgeon, then measurement precision and adaptability are improved, but data management complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calibration by storing speech pattern data, accent information, and preferred command structures for each surgeon in advance. During the actual procedure, the speech recognition system retrieves and applies this pre-stored personalized data, eliminating the need for real-time adaptation and improving recognition accuracy without adding computational complexity during operation.
3Ease of operation
If voice control is used in noisy surgical environments, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability of command recognition deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The speech recognition system incorporates feedback mechanisms that continuously monitor the quality and clarity of voice commands. When background noise interferes with command recognition, the system can request repetition or clarification of ambiguous commands. The system also adapts to the specific acoustic environment of the surgical room over time, learning to distinguish between relevant voice commands and ambient surgical noises.
Data Source
AI summary
An endoscope with voice control. A data processor for the endoscope obtains voice training data for a specific surgeon, and/or information indicating spoken utterances associated with a surgical procedure for which the endoscope is to be used. Voice utterances signals are received from a surgeon during the surgery. Speech recognition technology decodes the voice utterance signals into commands to control the endoscope, based at least in part on the data obtained from the database, and control commands are issued to implement the decoded voice utterances. Concurrently with the accepting and decoding of voice utterances, the processor accepts and decodes control signals from at least one other input device. The processor issues control commands to components of the endoscope to implement the decoded other input control signals. The voice utterances are accepted, decoded, and executed concurrently with the other input control signals.