Surgical Instrument Sensor Tissue Identification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Surgeons face challenges in accurately identifying tissues and materials during surgery due to limited visual cues, especially with artificial implants, substances beneath tissues, and distinguishing between healthy and diseased tissue, which can lead to improper identification and intervention.
Innovation Solution
A surgical instrument equipped with sensors, such as laser sensors, near-infrared spectrometers, and thermography sensors, that transmit and receive data to analyze tissue composition, providing textual or graphical representations to aid in tissue identification and differentiation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If surgeons rely on visual identification alone, then the surgical procedure is simple and quick, but tissue identification accuracy deteriorates due to limited visual cues and inability to distinguish healthy from diseased tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical/visual inspection method with optical sensing technology. Sensors transmit light signals through tissue and detect refraction patterns, substituting the surgeon's visual identification process with automated optical measurement and analysis systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces light signals as an intermediary medium between the surgeon and the tissue. By transmitting light through the tissue and analyzing refraction patterns, the system provides indirect information about tissue properties that cannot be obtained through direct visual inspection alone.
2Loss of information
If surgeons use traditional visual inspection methods, then the surgical workflow remains simple, but the ability to detect substances beneath tissue and artificial implants deteriorates due to blocking and obscuration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces direct visual inspection with optical sensing that can penetrate tissue. By measuring light refraction patterns, the system retrieves information about subsurface structures and materials that are otherwise invisible or obscured by overlying tissue and implants.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the detection parameter from visual appearance to light refraction characteristics. Different materials (healthy tissue, diseased tissue, implants, substances) have distinct refraction patterns, allowing the system to identify them based on optical parameter variations rather than visual cues.
3Measurement precision
If surgeons perform detailed visual inspection to improve identification accuracy, then time consumption increases, but tissue differentiation capability remains insufficient due to similar appearance of healthy and diseased tissue
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces time-consuming visual inspection with automated optical sensing. The sensor system rapidly transmits light signals and analyzes refraction patterns to differentiate tissue types, providing immediate objective data without requiring prolonged visual examination by the surgeon.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where sensor data about tissue refraction patterns is immediately analyzed and presented to the surgeon. This real-time feedback enables rapid tissue differentiation and informed decision-making without delaying the surgical procedure.
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 sensor-equipped surgical instrument enhances tissue identification accuracy by providing real-time data analysis, helping surgeons differentiate between various tissues and materials, reducing the risk of misidentification and improving surgical precision.
Implementation Method 1
the sensor data comprises a measure of intensity of the laser light based on an incidence of refraction of the laser light onto the patient tissue
Implementation Method 2
the at least one sensor comprises a near infrared spectrometer sensor and the sensor signals comprise a multi-spectrum array of light in the visible spectrum
Implementation Method 3
the at least one sensor comprises a thermography sensor
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the present disclosure are presented for a surgical instrument having one or more sensors at or a near an end effector and configured to aide in the detection of tissues and other materials and structures at a surgical site. The detections may then be used to aide in the placement of the end effector and to confirm which objects to operate on, or alternatively, to avoid. Examples of sensors include laser sensors used to employ Doppler shift principles to detect movement of objects at the surgical site, such as blood cells; resistance sensors to detect the presence of metal; monochromatic light sources that allow for different levels of absorption from different types of substances present at the surgical site, and near infrared spectrometers with small form factors.