Selective Transparency Rendering for Medical Device Spatial Clarity
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Solution Overview
Problem
During image-guided medical procedures, healthcare providers face challenges in accurately interpreting spatial relationships between virtual and real medical devices and images, particularly when multiple objects overlap, leading to potential misinterpretation and increased risk of patient harm.
Innovation Solution
The system employs selective-transparency rendering techniques to display medical devices in a virtual 3D scene, allowing only the nearest surfaces to be opaque while rendering other surfaces transparently, thereby enhancing the visibility of spatial relationships and reducing ambiguity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If all surfaces of medical devices are rendered opaque in a virtual 3D scene, then the devices are clearly visible, but spatial relationships between overlapping devices and images become ambiguous and difficult to interpret
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies selective transparency where different surfaces of medical devices are rendered with different transparency properties. The beginning surface (front-facing) is rendered opaque for clear visibility, while the ending surface (back-facing) is rendered transparent to allow viewing of underlying images and other devices. This local differentiation of visual properties resolves the contradiction by making each surface's transparency appropriate to its functional need in conveying spatial relationships.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the medical device surfaces into distinct portions (beginning surface and ending surface) and applies different rendering properties to each segment. This segmentation allows the front surface to provide clear device visibility while the back surface transparency reveals spatial relationships with underlying structures, effectively dividing the visual information into complementary parts that together solve the ambiguity problem.
2Quantity of substance
If multiple medical devices and images are displayed simultaneously in a virtual 3D scene, then comprehensive information is provided, but misinterpretation of spatial relationships increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs transparency changes (visual property modification) to distinguish between different types of information layers. By rendering the beginning surface opaque and the ending surface transparent, the system creates visual differentiation that helps healthcare providers correctly interpret the three-dimensional spatial relationships between multiple devices and images, thereby maintaining reliability despite displaying comprehensive information.
3Loss of information
If transparent rendering is applied to all surfaces, then spatial relationships are clearly visible, but the medical devices become difficult to distinguish from the background
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality differentiation by rendering the beginning surface opaque to ensure device prominence and visibility against the background, while rendering the ending surface transparent to enable viewing of underlying spatial relationships. This localized application of transparency maintains device distinguishability while still providing spatial clarity where needed.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for image guidance providing improved perception of a display object in a rendered scene for medical device navigation. The system can receive emplacement information associated with a medical device and determine an emplacement of a display object associated with the medical device. The system can further identify a selected surface of the display object and cause a display to display a selective-transparency rendering of the selected surface.