Surgical Image Processing for Tissue Degeneration Analysis
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical resection methods place a heavy burden on operators due to the need for accurate judgment and memory, leading to increased surgical time and tissue damage, especially for inexperienced operators.
Innovation Solution
An image processing device that identifies tissue degeneration types in real-time and superimposes auxiliary resection lines on the surgical image, reducing operator burden by providing visual guidance for precise resection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If markers are added in the form of dots placed at intervals to minimize influence on tissue, then tissue damage is reduced, but operator burden increases due to the need for accurate judgment to imagine the resection line
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses image processing to create a visual copy (ressection line) that connects the discrete markers, replacing the need for the operator to mentally imagine the line. The system processes the captured image, detects marker positions, and draws a continuous resection line overlay that accurately represents the intended cut path, thus reducing operator cognitive burden while maintaining minimal tissue damage from dot-style markers
Solution Approach 2:
The image processing apparatus acts as an intermediary between the discrete markers and the operator's decision-making. It automatically processes the visual information from scattered markers, interprets their spatial relationship, and generates the continuous resection line guidance, eliminating the need for the operator to directly perform the complex judgment task of connecting dots while preserving the tissue-sparing benefit of intermittent markers
2Measurement precision
If a large number of markers are required for operators with poor experience, then resection accuracy may be maintained, but influence on tissue and surgical time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a visual copy of the resection line by processing the marker positions through image recognition algorithms. This automated line-generation capability allows the system to accurately determine the resection path even from sparse markers, reducing the need for numerous markers while maintaining high resection accuracy and decreasing surgical time
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of marker density requirements by introducing intelligent image processing. The system can accurately reconstruct the resection line from fewer markers by using algorithms that consider spatial relationships and tissue geometry, thereby reducing the number of markers needed while maintaining precision and shortening surgical time
3Measurement precision
If the operator must memorize discolored regions from blood vessel compression, then resection accuracy can be achieved, but operator burden increases due to memory requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The image processing system creates a visual copy of the discolored region boundaries by automatically detecting and processing the visual information from the compressed blood vessel areas. The system generates a resection line overlay based on the detected discoloration patterns, eliminating the need for the operator to memorize the region boundaries while maintaining accurate resection guidance
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the human cognitive system (memory and judgment) with an automated image processing system. The computer-based system detects, analyzes, and generates resection line guidance from the visual information of discolored regions, substituting the operator's memory function with automated pattern recognition and line-drawing algorithms, thereby reducing operator burden while maintaining precision
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to an image processing device, an image processing method, and a surgical system with which more accurate surgical resection can be performed in a shorter time. An identifying unit identifies the type of tissue degeneration in a mid-surgery image. In accordance with the identified type of the tissue degeneration, a drawing unit draws auxiliary information for the operator, the auxiliary information being to be superimposed on the mid-surgery image. The present disclosure can be applied to an endoscopic surgical system or the like that includes a display device, a camera control unit (CCU), a light source device, a treatment tool device, a pneumoperitoneum apparatus, a recorder, a printer, an endoscope, an energetic treatment tool, forceps, trocars, a foot switch, and a patient's bed, for example.