Surgical Instrument Workspace Volume Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current minimally invasive surgical techniques lack effective methods for continuously visualizing the kinematic limits of surgical instruments during procedures, which can lead to inefficiencies and potential harm to patients, as surgeons need to determine these limits both before and during surgery.
Innovation Solution
The method involves generating workspace volumes indicating operational regions of reach for surgical instruments, referencing these volumes to image capture devices, and determining reachable workspace portions within the captured image data, allowing for real-time visualization and optimal instrument positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If workspace volumes are generated and referenced to image capture devices for real-time visualization, then surgical precision and safety are improved, but device complexity and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by generating workspace volumes and determining reachable workspaces before the surgical procedure begins and during setup phases. This allows surgeons to plan incisions and instrument placements in advance, knowing the kinematic limits of instruments beforehand, thereby improving surgical precision while managing complexity through advance preparation
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates virtual copies of the surgical workspace and instrument kinematics in the form of workspace volumes and reachable workspace visualizations. These digital representations allow surgeons to interact with and analyze instrument limitations without physical constraints, improving precision while keeping the actual surgical devices relatively simple
2Reliability
If workspace volumes are generated and referenced to image capture devices for real-time visualization, then surgical safety is improved, but computational load and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system computes workspace volumes and reachable workspaces in advance before real-time surgical execution. By performing these computationally intensive calculations during setup and planning phases rather than continuously during surgery, the system ensures surgical safety through thorough analysis while reducing real-time computational load and energy consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the level of computational detail based on surgical needs. Workspace volumes are generated with appropriate resolution and detail for each specific surgical context, allowing the system to maintain high safety standards through accurate modeling while optimizing computational resource usage by avoiding unnecessary calculations
3Productivity
If kinematic limits are visualized in real-time during surgical procedures, then instrument efficiency is improved, but system complexity and data processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements feedback by visualizing reachable workspaces and kinematic limits during surgical procedures. This real-time information feedback allows surgeons to adjust their techniques and instrument positioning to work within established kinematic boundaries, improving instrument efficiency while the visualization system manages complexity by presenting processed, interpretable graphical information rather than raw data
4Measurement precision
If workspace volumes are generated for multiple instruments and combined into composite workspace, then surgical planning accuracy is improved, but computational complexity and processing time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges individual workspace volumes of multiple instruments into a composite reachable workspace. This combination allows surgeons to see the collective capabilities and limitations of all instruments together, improving surgical planning accuracy by identifying optimal instrument assignments and协作. The system manages computational complexity by using efficient volume intersection and union algorithms, and by performing the composite calculation based on predetermined instrument configurations rather than continuous real-time computation
Data Source
AI summary
A method comprises generating a workspace volume indicating an operational region of reach. The method further comprises referencing the workspace volume to an image capture reference frame of an image capture device, and the image capture device captures image data. The method further comprises determining a reachable workspace portion of the image data that is within the workspace volume. In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining an unreachable portion of the image data that is outside of the workspace volume. In other embodiments, the method further comprises displaying the reachable workspace portion of the image data without the unreachable portion of the image data. In still other embodiments, the method further comprises displaying a false graphic in place of the unreachable portion of the image data.