OR Staff Proxy Tracking for AR Surgical Instrument Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical procedures lack an effective augmented reality interactive experience that enhances the real-world surgical environment with computer-generated sensory information, including visual, auditory, haptic, and olfactory feedback, which is crucial for improving surgical precision and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A surgical system comprising a camera system, unique identifiers, active sensors, and a surgical hub that tracks surgical staff members and instruments, enabling the overlay of virtual elements on an augmented reality device to provide real-time contextual data and enhance the surgical field visualization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If surgical staff members wear articles with unique identifiers and active sensors for tracking, then situational awareness and instrument tracking are improved, but device complexity and system cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines passive optical tracking (camera system detecting visual indicators) with active sensor tracking (sensors embedded in surgical articles) into a unified tracking system. The surgical hub integrates data from both sources to create comprehensive situational awareness, allowing the system to leverage the simplicity of optical tracking while supplementing it with the precision of active sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The surgical articles worn by staff members serve multiple functions: they contain unique identifiers for identification, embed active sensors for precise tracking, and display visual indicators for optical detection. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems while enhancing overall tracking capability.
2Measurement precision
If visual indicators are placed on surgical articles for camera detection, then passive tracking accuracy is improved, but the article design complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs visual indicators that may utilize color changes or distinct visual patterns on surgical articles. These indicators are designed to be detectable by camera systems while maintaining compatibility with surgical article constraints, achieving accurate optical tracking without excessive design complexity.
3Measurement precision
If the surgical hub processes both passive and active tracking data along with contextual data, then instrument identification accuracy is improved, but computational load and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical hub performs preliminary processing of tracking data by maintaining associations between visual indicators, active sensors, and surgical staff members before procedures begin. During surgery, the hub leverages these pre-established associations to quickly identify instruments and staff, reducing real-time computational requirements while maintaining high identification accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where the surgical hub continuously refines its instrument identification by comparing expected instrument locations (based on surgical workflow and staff positions) with actual sensor and camera data. This feedback loop improves identification accuracy over time while optimizing processing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A tracking system of operating room (OR) personnel and is configured to extrapolate the movement, position, orientation, and context of one or more of the active OR participants to determine the specific operation procedure in progress, the surgical instrument being used by the OR participant, and/or anticipated movement of the OR personnel. The system may further be configured to render a virtual element that includes an anticipated position of a surgical instrument, recommendations, guidance, warning, and surgical location information, as augmented reality (AR) content. The AR content is integrated in real-time with the live-feed of the surgical site, and aids the OR personnel in perioperative surgical procedures.