Multi-modal Visualization for Tele-operated Surgery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Minimally invasive telesurgical systems face challenges in providing comprehensive and interactive visual feedback to surgeons, limiting their ability to visualize occluded portions of anatomical organs and accurately perform surgical procedures without diverting attention from the surgical site.
Innovation Solution
The method generates augmented images of anatomical organs using vectors representing depth, color, and tissue type, allowing for interactive visualization and virtual marking, which can be overlaid on live views, enabling surgeons to view occluded structures and measure distances without switching between independent images.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If traditional independent imaging modalities are used to visualize surgical sites, then comprehensive anatomical information is obtained, but surgeons must switch between multiple images which reduces surgical efficiency and increases complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple independent imaging modalities (endoscopic live view, pre-operative CT, MRI, or ultrasound images) into a single integrated augmented reality display. The processor fuses these different image sources and presents them as an composite view, allowing surgeons to see comprehensive anatomical information without switching between separate images or screens, thereby maintaining surgical efficiency while reducing information loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging system is designed to accept and process multiple types of imaging modalities (endoscopic video, CT scans, MRI images, ultrasound images) through a single unified platform. The system can dynamically switch between and integrate different imaging sources, providing universal visualization capability that maintains comprehensive anatomical information while simplifying the surgical workflow.
2Loss of information
If multiple independent imaging modalities are used to provide comprehensive views, then complete anatomical information is available, but the system complexity and difficulty of operation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple imaging modalities into a single integrated display system. The processor automatically fuses endoscopic live views with pre-operative imaging data (CT, MRI, or ultrasound) to create a unified augmented reality view. This consolidation reduces system complexity by presenting all anatomical information through one interface rather than requiring surgeons to manage multiple separate imaging systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The processor acts as an intermediary that automatically integrates and synchronizes multiple imaging modalities. It handles the complex task of aligning, fusing, and displaying different image types in real-time, shielding the surgeon from the underlying system complexity while providing comprehensive anatomical visualization through the augmented reality display.
3Ease of operation
If traditional imaging is used without augmented reality, then the system is simpler, but surgeons cannot visualize occluded portions of organs without diverting attention from the surgical site
Solution Approach 1:
The patent overlays augmented reality images showing occluded anatomical structures directly onto the live endoscopic view, adding a third dimension of information to the two-dimensional surgical field. This allows surgeons to visualize structures that would normally be hidden behind other tissues without looking away from the primary surgical site, as the additional anatomical information is superimposed in the same visual field.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges the live endoscopic view with pre-operative imaging data to create an augmented reality composite. This combination allows occluded portions of organs to be visualized simultaneously with the direct surgical field, eliminating the need for surgeons to divert their attention to separate images while maintaining ease of operation and focus on the surgical site.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If minimally invasive telesurgical systems are used, then invasiveness is reduced, but visual feedback comprehensiveness is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines real-time endoscopic imaging with pre-operative imaging modalities (CT, MRI, ultrasound) to create an augmented reality visualization system. This fusion provides comprehensive visual feedback that includes both the direct surgical field and occluded anatomical structures, compensating for the limited visual feedback inherent in minimally invasive telesurgical systems while maintaining their low invasiveness benefits.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds dimensional depth to the visual feedback by overlaying three-dimensional anatomical information from pre-operative imaging onto the two-dimensional endoscopic view. This enhances the comprehensiveness of visual feedback in minimally invasive telesurgery by providing multi-layered anatomical context without requiring more invasive surgical approaches.
Data Source
AI summary
Technology described herein can be embodied in a method of providing visual feedback during surgery. The method includes obtaining a set of vectors representing a model of an anatomical organ, the set produced from a representation of the organ as imaged under one or more imaging modalities. The method includes obtaining a set of pixel positions of a display device, wherein the pixel positions correspond to a view of the organ. The method further includes generating, using at least a portion of the set of vectors, multiple fragment-vectors for each pixel position in the set of pixel positions, the multiple fragment-vectors each representing a corresponding portion of the organ along a line-of-sight through the organ, and generating a pixel value for each pixel position in the set of pixel positions, and presenting, on the display device, an augmented image of the view of the organ using the generated pixel values.