Surgical Smoke Management via Image Analysis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical smoke management techniques rely on manual decisions by surgeons and nurses, which can be inefficient and may not adequately address the presence of surgical smoke, potentially hindering vision and releasing harmful substances.
Innovation Solution
A smoke management system that analyzes medical or surgical images to detect and characterize surgical smoke by modeling it as haze, estimating smoke severity through linear regressions and exponential calculations, and automatically engaging or disengaging surgical devices based on predetermined threshold values.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual decisions are made by surgeons and nurses for smoke management, then the system is simple to operate, but the efficiency and accuracy of smoke detection and management deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical smoke management system performs self-assessment by automatically analyzing video frames to detect smoke presence and severity, eliminating the need for manual assessment by surgeons and nurses. The system autonomously engages or disengages smoke evacuation devices based on its own analysis,实现ing self-service operation that improves efficiency without requiring complex manual intervention protocols
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical assessment (visual inspection by human operators) with an automated image processing system that analyzes video frames using smoke detection algorithms. This substitution of mechanical/manual processes with automated computational analysis improves detection efficiency and accuracy while maintaining system operability
2Reliability
If manual activation or deactivation of surgical equipment is used for addressing surgical smoke, then the device operation is simple, but the responsiveness and accuracy of smoke management deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The surgical smoke management system continuously monitors video frames during surgery, providing real-time feedback on smoke presence and severity. Based on this feedback, the system automatically adjusts the activation state of smoke evacuation devices, ensuring reliable smoke management while eliminating the need for manual monitoring and decision-making by surgical staff
Solution Approach 2:
The system autonomously determines when to activate or deactivate smoke management devices based on its own smoke detection analysis, performing self-service operation that improves reliability and responsiveness without requiring manual intervention. The system self-manages the entire process from detection to device control
3Object-affected harmful factors
If surgical smoke is not properly managed, then the surgical procedure can proceed without interruption, but harmful substances are released into the air and surgeon vision is hindered
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously analyzes video frames to provide real-time feedback on smoke severity, automatically adjusting smoke evacuation device activation to maintain safe air quality levels. This feedback mechanism ensures harmful substances are effectively managed while minimizing interruptions to the surgical procedure, as the system responds dynamically to actual smoke conditions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual smoke management actions with an automated system that continuously monitors and responds to smoke conditions through image analysis. This substitution ensures consistent and reliable smoke management that protects against harmful effects while maintaining surgical efficiency through automated, uninterrupted operation
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 system enables efficient and accurate detection and management of surgical smoke, improving surgical visibility, conserving gas, and reducing the need for frequent changes of gas tanks during procedures.
Implementation Method 1
estimating smoke severity based on attenuation along a line of sight due to atmospheric absorption and scattering
Implementation Method 2
estimating smoke severity based on attenuation along a line of sight due to atmospheric absorption and scattering
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for detecting, characterizing, and addressing surgical smoke are disclosed. In some embodiments, a surgical system receives image data representing an image of a surgical environment and generates sets of values based on the received image. The sets of values may include representations of atmospheric light in the image and representations of contrast values in the image. The system may determine from the sets of values whether predetermined smoke severity criteria are met, and may responsively automatically engage and/or disengage one or more surgical devices, such as a surgical smoke evacuation system and/or an image processing system (e.g., a video enhancement feature) configured to improve quality of smoky surgical images.