Surgical Microscope System with Automated Functionality Assignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical microscope systems require significant manual intervention and cognitive load for surgeons to adjust settings during procedures, leading to distractions and inefficiencies, especially when space is limited and additional assistants are not available.
Innovation Solution
A system that tracks the progress of surgical procedures to selectively assign relevant functionalities to input modalities, providing a visual overlay to facilitate easy access without diverting attention, using haptic or voice recognition inputs to minimize interruptions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If pre-set configurations are provided to help the surgeon adjust equipment settings, then the ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases and the surgeon still requires cognitive load to select and trigger the appropriate configuration
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically tracks surgical procedure progress and autonomously determines appropriate functionalities to assign to input modalities without requiring the surgeon to manually select or configure settings. The system serves itself by monitoring its own operational context and making intelligent assignments based on tracked progress, eliminating the need for surgeon intervention in configuration management.
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-assigns functionalities to input modalities based on predicted surgical procedure progress before the surgeon actually needs them. By tracking current progress and anticipating future needs, the system prepares the appropriate configuration in advance, so when the surgeon needs a function, it is already assigned and ready for immediate access without cognitive selection.
2Ease of operation
If the surgeon manually triggers pre-set configurations through GUI or footswitch, then the functionality is accessible, but the time is taken away from applying treatment to the patient
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically monitors surgical procedure progress through tracked events and autonomously assigns functionalities to input modalities without requiring any manual triggering action from the surgeon. The system serves itself by detecting procedure milestones and automatically configuring the appropriate functions, eliminating the time-consuming manual selection and triggering process while maintaining full accessibility to needed functionalities.
3Device complexity
If a limited number of pre-set configurations are supported for each user, then the device complexity is manageable, but the adaptability to different surgical needs is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically assigns functionalities to input modalities based on real-time tracking of surgical procedure progress rather than relying on static pre-set configurations. The assignment changes adaptively as the procedure progresses through different stages, allowing the system to provide unlimited adaptability to different surgical needs without requiring the surgeon to manage or select from a fixed set of configurations. The system evolves its configuration automatically throughout the procedure.
4Productivity
If the surgeon focuses on the surgical procedure, then the productivity is improved, but the ability to manually adjust settings when needed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system autonomously monitors surgical procedure progress and automatically assigns appropriate functionalities to input modalities without requiring the surgeon to divert attention from the surgical site. The system serves itself by detecting procedure milestones and configuring functions in the background, maintaining full ease of operation through automatic assignment while allowing the surgeon to maintain continuous focus on the surgical procedure without manual adjustment interruptions.
Data Source
AI summary
Examples relate to a surgical microscope system, and to a corresponding system, method, and computer program for a surgical microscope system. The system comprises one or more processors and one or more storage devices. The system is configured to track a progress of a surgical procedure. The system is configured to select two or more of a plurality of functionalities of the surgical microscope system based on the progress of the surgical procedure. The system is configured to assign the two or more functionalities to two or more input modalities of the surgical microscope system. The system is configured to generate a visual overlay with a visual representation of the two or more functionalities. The two or more functionalities are shown in relation to a visual representation of the two or more input modalities. The system is configured to provide a display signal to a display device of the surgical microscope system, with the display signal comprising the visual overlay.