OCT Visualization Virtual Surface Reflection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgeons face challenges in interpreting OCT images correctly due to the need for unconventional viewing angles in 4D-OCT, which can increase cognitive burden and complicate hand-eye coordination during surgical procedures.
Innovation Solution
A system for visualizing OCT signals that includes a display means for time-resolved image data and a control unit connected to the display. The control unit processes time-resolved OCT signals to create images with a virtual surface, allowing reflections of objects to be displayed on this surface, thereby enhancing spatial understanding and reducing cognitive load.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If 4D-OCT imaging is used to capture volumetric data in real-time, then the information content for surgeons is significantly increased, but the cognitive burden increases due to unconventional viewing angles
Solution Approach 1:
A virtual surface is introduced as an intermediary element within the OCT volume that reflects objects to create familiar mirror-image views. This virtual surface acts as a mediator between the raw 4D-OCT data and the surgeon's interpretation, transforming unconventional volumetric views into familiar 2D mirror images that reduce cognitive burden while preserving all volumetric information.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy or reflection of objects within the OCT volume by rendering them on a virtual surface. This copying mechanism generates familiar mirror-image representations that surgeons can easily interpret, while the underlying volumetric data remains intact for comprehensive analysis.
2Measurement precision
If 4D-OCT imaging is used to capture volumetric data, then depth information is improved, but hand-eye coordination becomes more difficult due to unconventional viewing angles
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual surface serves as a mediator that preserves depth information from the volumetric OCT data while presenting it in a familiar 2D mirror-image format. This allows surgeons to maintain accurate depth perception and hand-eye coordination by viewing reflected images that resemble conventional 2D microscopy views.
3Loss of information
If a virtual surface with reflections is added to the OCT image, then spatial understanding is enhanced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex mechanical optical elements with computational rendering methods. Instead of adding physical mirrors or complex optical paths to create reflections, the invention uses software-based volume rendering and ray-tracing algorithms to generate virtual reflections on a digital surface, thereby enhancing spatial understanding without significantly increasing hardware complexity.
4Manufacturing precision
If reflections of objects are displayed on a virtual surface, then tool-tissue interaction precision is improved, but the processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements partial rendering by calculating reflections only for relevant objects and regions within the volumetric data, rather than processing the entire volume. This selective approach maintains high precision for tool-tissue interaction visualization while reducing overall processing time through optimized rendering strategies.
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
The system improves the interpretation of OCT images by providing a virtual augmentation that reduces cognitive burden and enhances spatial understanding, allowing for more precise tool-tissue interactions and improved surgical accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) essentially is an interferometric method using broadband light with a short coherence length
Implementation Method 2
a virtual surface, with a reflection of the at least one object in the OCT image being ascertained on the virtual surface
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a system for visualizing OCT signals, having a display means designed for the time-resolved display of image data and a control unit, the control unit being configured to receive a time-resolved OCT signal of a selected field of view of a sample from an OCT system, to ascertain, on the basis of the OCT signal, a time-resolved OCT image having at least one object and having a virtual surface, with a reflection of the at least one object in the OCT image being ascertained on the virtual surface, and to control the display means to display the time-resolved OCT image on the display means. The present invention also relates to a corresponding method for visualizing OCT signals.