Eye Accommodation Control for Hands-Free 3D Medical Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical imaging devices and instruments require complex and laborious user interfaces for 3-D control, which are not intuitive and often require hands-on operation, making them cumbersome for medical procedures.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus and method utilizing accommodation detection of the human eye to generate control signals for medical instruments and imaging devices, allowing hands-free control through natural eye accommodation states, correlating with depth dimension and other spatial directions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional 3-D control interfaces (such as special mice with 3-D control inputs) are used, then control capability in three dimensions is achieved, but device complexity and ease of operation deteriorate due to considerable practice requirements and laborious preparation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical 3-D control devices (special mice with physical controls) with an optical/biological system that detects natural eye accommodation states. This substitution eliminates the need for complex mechanical interfaces while maintaining 3-D control capability, as the eye's natural focusing mechanism directly provides depth information for controlling medical imaging devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The system leverages the eye's inherent accommodation function to provide control signals. Instead of requiring the user to learn and operate complex external controls, the system automatically detects the eye's natural focusing state and converts it into control commands, making the interface as intuitive as natural vision itself.
2Productivity
If hands-on operation is required for control, then precise control of medical instruments is achieved, but productivity deteriorates due to loss of hands-free capability during medical procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual hand operations with an automated eye-tracking system that detects accommodation states and generates control signals. This allows physicians to control medical imaging devices without using their hands, enabling them to perform surgical tasks while simultaneously controlling imaging functions through natural eye movements and focusing.
3Adaptability or versatility
If 2-D control interfaces are used, then device complexity is reduced, but control capability deteriorates due to inability to control depth dimension (forwards/backwards)
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds depth dimension control capability by detecting the eye's accommodation state, which naturally encodes distance information. When the eye focuses on near or far objects, the accommodation detection device measures this focusing effort and translates it into z-axis control signals, thereby extending 2-D interface control to full 3-D space without adding complex physical controls.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus, devices, and a method for generating a control signal for a medical instrument and/or a medical imaging device. The apparatus comprises: an accommodation detection device configured to detect an accommodation state of a human eye; and an output device configured to generate and output a control signal for the medical instrument and/or the medical imaging device on the basis of the detected accommodation state.