Subsurface Structure Registration for Surgical Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgeons face difficulties in conceptualizing and synthesizing a mental model of a surgical site from imagery captured by different imaging modalities, such as endoscopic and subsurface imaging, due to the different content and capture methods used.
Innovation Solution
An image registration system that identifies subsurface structures at a surgical site using subsurface imaging data and uses these structures to register endoscopic imaging data with additional imaging data from other modalities, such as preoperative 3D models, to create composite imagery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple imaging modalities are used to capture surgical site imagery, then the quantity and variety of anatomical information is improved, but the difficulty of synthesizing a unified mental model increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces subsurface structures (such as blood vessels, nerves, or other anatomical features) as intermediary reference points to bridge different imaging modalities. These subsurface structures serve as common landmarks that appear across multiple imaging types (endoscopic, ultrasound, CT, MRI), enabling the system to register and align diverse imaging datasets by matching these shared reference features rather than requiring direct visual similarity between all imaging modalities.
2Measurement precision
If imaging data from different modalities is registered using traditional feature matching, then the registration accuracy is improved, but the computational complexity and time required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and identifies subsurface structures from the imaging data as key registration features. By isolating these specific anatomical landmarks (blood vessels, nerves, etc.) that are visible across multiple imaging modalities, the system can focus computational resources on matching these salient features rather than processing entire imaging datasets, thereby reducing overall computational complexity while maintaining registration accuracy.
3Loss of time
If subsurface imaging is performed intraoperatively, then the timeliness of anatomical information is improved, but the complexity of integrating with preoperative imaging data increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs subsurface structures as universal reference points that serve multiple functions: they act as registration landmarks for aligning preoperative imaging (CT, MRI, ultrasound) with intraoperative endoscopic imaging, and simultaneously provide anatomical context for real-time surgical navigation. This multi-functionality allows the same subsurface structure identifiers to bridge temporal gaps between preoperative planning and intraoperative execution without requiring separate registration processes.
Data Source
AI summary
An illustrative image registration system identifies a subsurface structure at a surgical site based on subsurface imaging data from a subsurface image scan at the surgical site and uses the subsurface structure identified at the surgical site for a registration of endoscopic imaging data from an endoscopic imaging modality with additional imaging data from an additional imaging modality. The system provides a composite image of the surgical site, for display by a display device, based on the registration of the endoscopic imaging data from the endoscopic imaging modality with the additional imaging data from the additional imaging modality, wherein the composite image of the surgical site includes a first depiction of anatomy represented by the endoscopic imaging data integrated with a second depiction of anatomy represented by the additional imaging data. Corresponding systems and methods are also disclosed.