Two-Tier Tissue Specimen Analysis for Intraoperative Margin Detection

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current surgical oncology practices face challenges in determining whether cancerous lesions have been entirely removed during a surgical procedure due to labor-intensive and time-consuming microscopic pathologic evaluation of excised tissue specimens, which delays the availability of margin results, potentially requiring additional surgeries and treatments.

Innovation Solution

A two-tiered prediction model system is employed for intraoperative tissue specimen analysis, utilizing a first computationally efficient model to reduce the image dataset and minimize false negatives, followed by a second, more computationally intensive model to enhance accuracy in identifying false positives, thereby optimizing the analysis of tissue specimen margins.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If a single high-accuracy detection model is used to analyze all images, then false positive identification is minimized, but computational time and resource requirements become prohibitively high

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprediction accuracyVSAvoidcomputational time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The image dataset is segmented into two groups: a first group of images likely to contain artifacts and a second group of images unlikely to contain artifacts. This segmentation allows different detection models with appropriate computational complexity to be applied to each group, reducing overall computational time while maintaining high accuracy for critical cases.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

Different detection models are applied to different image groups based on their local characteristics. A first detection model with higher computational power is applied to the first group of images where artifacts are suspected, while a second, less computationally intensive model is applied to the second group. This local differentiation optimizes the balance between accuracy and computational efficiency.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #3Local quality

2Productivity

If a computationally efficient detection model is used to reduce the image dataset, then processing time is reduced, but false negative identification increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveprocessing speedVSAvoidfalse negative rate
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

A first detection model is applied preliminarily to the entire image dataset to identify and separate images likely to contain artifacts. This preliminary action creates a focused subset of images that require more intensive analysis, ensuring that computationally efficient filtering does not miss potential artifacts while reducing the workload for subsequent high-accuracy analysis.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The first detection model acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between computationally efficient processing and high-accuracy detection. It processes all images quickly to create a curated subset, which then serves as input for the second detection model. This intermediary step ensures that no potential artifacts are missed in the initial filtering while enabling efficient processing of the reduced dataset.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Measurement precision

If all images are analyzed with high computational power, then false positives are minimized, but the complexity of the system increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvefalse positive rateVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The detection system is segmented into two distinct detection models with different computational characteristics. This segmentation allows the system to manage complexity by assigning appropriate computational resources to different image groups, avoiding the need for a single overly complex model to process all images uniformly.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

High computational power is applied partially only to the first group of images where artifacts are suspected, rather than excessively applying it to all images. This partial application of computational resources reduces overall system complexity while maintaining high accuracy where it is most needed.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP4625352A1Systems for tissue specimen analysis and methods of operating the same
Publication Date: 2025.10.01 PERIMETER MEDICAL IMAGING AI INC
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AI summary

Systems and methods for tissue specimen analysis. Methods for tissue specimen analysis may include: retrieving a primary image data set including a plurality of images representing a tissue specimen margin; generating a reduced data set representing images having suspected artifacts based on a first detection model and the primary image set, the first detection model trained based on pathology-confirmed images and for prioritizing reducing false negative identification of artifacts while minimizing training penalization for false positive identification of artifacts; generating a prediction data set representing a subset of the reduced data set based on a second detection model and the reduced data set; and generating a signal representing the prediction data set for displaying one or more images predicting a true positive identification of a suspected artifact.