Surgical Tool UV Reactive Coating for Position Detection

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

In minimally invasive surgery, accurately detecting the position of surgical tools inserted into a patient's body is challenging due to the similarity in appearance with surrounding tissues, which hinders precise control and operation.

Innovation Solution

A surgical robot system that uses a UV reactive material on surgical tools, combined with visible and UV lighting, to differentiate the tools from the background in images captured by a camera, allowing for accurate estimation of tool position and direction through image processing.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If visible light imaging is used to capture surgical tools, then the surgical field can be visualized, but the surgical tool cannot be accurately distinguished from surrounding tissues due to similar appearance

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetool position detection accuracyVSAvoidtool-background differentiation difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSDifficulty of detecting and measuring

Solution Approach 1:

The surgical tool is coated with UV-reactive material that changes its optical properties by emitting visible light when exposed to UV light, creating a distinct visual signature that differentiates it from surrounding tissues in the captured image

Inventive Principle:

Principle #32Color changes

Solution Approach 2:

UV light is introduced as an intermediary illumination source that interacts with the UV-reactive coating on the surgical tool, causing it to emit visible light and become distinguishable from the background tissue without directly illuminating the tissue itself

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If UV light is used to illuminate the surgical tool, then the tool becomes distinguishable from the background, but the surrounding tissue cannot be visualized

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetool position detection accuracyVSAvoidsurrounding tissue image information

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system alternates between UV light illumination (to highlight the surgical tool) and visible light illumination (to visualize the surrounding tissue), capturing images at different time points and combining them to achieve both objectives

Inventive Principle:

Principle #19Periodic action

Solution Approach 2:

The imaging process is segmented into separate phases: one phase uses UV light to capture only the surgical tool information, while another phase uses visible light to capture the surrounding tissue information, and the results are integrated

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

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

Enables precise localization and control of surgical tools within the patient's body by isolating the tool's image from surrounding tissues, enhancing surgical precision and safety.

Implementation Method 1

a surgical tool coated with a UV reactive material emitting light in response to UV light radiated by the second lighting unit

Methodology Applied

Scientific EffectFluorescence: Fluorescence

Data Source

PatentUS9314309B2Surgical robot and method of controlling the same

Publication Date: 2016.04.19 SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO LTD

AI summary

A surgical robot including a slave device performing a surgical operation upon a patient and a master device controlling the surgical operation of the slave device. The slave device includes an image capture unit including a first lighting unit radiating visible light, a second lighting unit radiating UV light, and a camera capturing a visible-light image and a surgical tool coated with a UV reactive material emitting light in response to UV light radiated by the second lighting unit.