Patent Application
20210199557
Surgical systems often incorporate an imaging system, which can allow the clinician(s) to view the surgical site and/or one or more portions thereof on one or more displays such as a monitor, for example. The display(s) can be local and/or remote to a surgical theater. An imaging system can include a scope with a camera that views the surgical site and transmits the view to a display that is viewable by a clinician. Scopes include, but are not limited to, arthroscopes, angioscopes, bronchoscopes, choledochoscopes, colonoscopes, cytoscopes, duodenoscopes, enteroscopes, esophagogastro-duodenoscopes (gastroscopes), endoscopes, laryngoscopes, nasopharyngo-neproscopes, sigmoidoscopes, thoracoscopes, ureteroscopes, and exoscopes. Imaging systems can be limited by the information that they are able to recognize and/or convey to the clinician(s). For example, certain concealed structures, physical contours, and/or dimensions within a three-dimensional space may be unrecognizable intraoperatively by certain imaging systems. Additionally, certain imaging systems may be incapable of communicating and/or conveying certain information to the clinician(s) intraoperatively.
In one general aspect, a control system for a surgical system is disclosed. The control system includes an imaging system and a control circuit coupled to the imaging system. The imaging system includes an emitter configured to emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR), a polarizing filter configured to polarize the EMR emitted by the emitter, and an image sensor. The control circuit is configured to detect the polarized EMR reflected from an airborne particulate as received by the image sensor, determine whether a particulate type of the airborne particulate is a naturally occurring particulate or a synthetic particulate based on a reflective characteristic of the polarized EMR, and adjust a control parameter of the surgical system according to the determined particulate type.
In another general aspect, a control system for a surgical system is disclosed. The control system includes an imaging system and a control circuit coupled to the imaging system. The imaging system includes a multispectral electromagnetic radiation (EMR) source, a polarizing filter configured to polarize EMR emitted by the multispectral EMR source, and an image sensor. The control circuit is configured to detect the polarized EMR reflected from a particulate in an aerosol as received by the image sensor, determine whether a particulate type of the particulate is a naturally occurring particulate or a synthetic particulate based on a reflective characteristic of the polarized EMR, determine whether to adjust a first control parameter or a second control parameter according to the determined particulate type, and adjust the first control parameter or the second control parameter accordingly.
In yet another general aspect, a control system for a surgical system is disclosed. The control system includes an imaging system and a control circuit coupled to the imaging system. The imaging system includes a multispectral electromagnetic radiation (EMR) source, a polarizing filter configured to polarize EMR emitted by the multispectral EMR source, and an image sensor. The control circuit is configured to detect the polarized EMR reflected from a particulate in an aerosol as received by the image sensor, determine whether a particulate type of the particulate is a naturally occurring particulate or a synthetic particulate based on a reflective characteristic of the polarized EMR, determine whether to adjust a first control parameter or a second control parameter according to the determined particulate type, and adjust the first control parameter or the second control parameter accordingly.
The novel features of the various aspects are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The described aspects, however, both as to organization and methods of operation, may be best understood by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. Patent Applications, filed contemporaneously, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:
Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. Patent Applications, filed on Mar. 15, 2019, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:
Applicant of the present application also owns the following U.S. Patent Applications, filed on Sep. 11, 2018, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:
Applicant of the present application also owns the following U.S. Patent Applications, filed on Mar. 29, 2018, each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:
Applicant of the present application owns the following U.S. Patent Applications, filed on Dec. 4, 2018, the disclosure of each of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety:
Before explaining various aspects of a surgical visualization platform in detail, it should be noted that the illustrative examples are not limited in application or use to the details of construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and description. The illustrative examples may be implemented or incorporated in other aspects, variations, and modifications, and may be practiced or carried out in various ways. Further, unless otherwise indicated, the terms and expressions employed herein have been chosen for the purpose of describing the illustrative examples for the convenience of the reader and are not for the purpose of limitation thereof. Also, it will be appreciated that one or more of the following-described aspects, expressions of aspects, and/or examples, can be combined with any one or more of the other following-described aspects, expressions of aspects, and/or examples.
The present disclosure is directed to a surgical visualization platform that leverages “digital surgery” to obtain additional information about a patient's anatomy and/or a surgical procedure. The surgical visualization platform is further configured to convey data and/or information to one or more clinicians in a helpful manner. For example, various aspects of the present disclosure provide improved visualization of the patient's anatomy and/or the surgical procedure.
“Digital surgery” can embrace robotic systems, advanced imaging, advanced instrumentation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data analytics for performance tracking and benchmarking, connectivity both inside and outside of the operating room (OR), and more. Although various surgical visualization platforms described herein can be used in combination with a robotic surgical system, surgical visualization platforms are not limited to use with a robotic surgical system. In certain instances, advanced surgical visualization can occur without robotics and/or with limited and/or optional robotic assistance. Similarly, digital surgery can occur without robotics and/or with limited and/or optional robotic assistance.
In certain instances, a surgical system that incorporates a surgical visualization platform may enable smart dissection in order to identify and avoid critical structures. Critical structures include anatomical structures such as a ureter, an artery such as a superior mesenteric artery, a vein such as a portal vein, a nerve such as a phrenic nerve, and/or a tumor, among other anatomical structures. In other instances, a critical structure can be a foreign structure in the anatomical field, such as a surgical device, surgical fastener, clip, tack, bougie, band, and/or plate, for example. Critical structures can be determined on a patient-by-patient and/or a procedure-by-procedure basis. Example critical structures are further described herein. Smart dissection technology may provide improved intraoperative guidance for dissection and/or can enable smarter decisions with critical anatomy detection and avoidance technology, for example.
A surgical system incorporating a surgical visualization platform may also enable smart anastomosis technologies that provide more consistent anastomoses at optimal location(s) with improved workflow. Cancer localization technologies may also be improved with the various surgical visualization platforms and procedures described herein. For example, cancer localization technologies can identify and track a cancer location, orientation, and its margins. In certain instances, the cancer localizations technologies may compensate for movement of a tool, a patient, and/or the patient's anatomy during a surgical procedure in order to provide guidance back to the point of interest for the clinician.
In certain aspects of the present disclosure, a surgical visualization platform may provide improved tissue characterization and/or lymph node diagnostics and mapping. For example, tissue characterization technologies may characterize tissue type and health without the need for physical haptics, especially when dissecting and/or placing stapling devices within the tissue. Certain tissue characterization technologies described herein may be utilized without ionizing radiation and/or contrast agents. With respect to lymph node diagnostics and mapping, a surgical visualization platform may preoperatively locate, map, and ideally diagnose the lymph system and/or lymph nodes involved in cancerous diagnosis and staging, for example.
During a surgical procedure, the information available to the clinician via the “naked eye” and/or an imaging system may provide an incomplete view of the surgical site. For example, certain structures, such as structures embedded or buried within an organ, can be at least partially concealed or hidden from view. Additionally, certain dimensions and/or relative distances can be difficult to ascertain with existing sensor systems and/or difficult for the “naked eye” to perceive. Moreover, certain structures can move preoperatively (e.g. before a surgical procedure but after a preoperative scan) and/or intraoperatively. In such instances, the clinician can be unable to accurately determine the location of a critical structure intraoperatively.
When the position of a critical structure is uncertain and/or when the proximity between the critical structure and a surgical tool is unknown, a clinician's decision-making process can be inhibited. For example, a clinician may avoid certain areas in order to avoid inadvertent dissection of a critical structure; however, the avoided area may be unnecessarily large and/or at least partially misplaced. Due to uncertainty and/or overly/excessive exercises in caution, the clinician may not access certain desired regions. For example, excess caution may cause a clinician to leave a portion of a tumor and/or other undesirable tissue in an effort to avoid a critical structure even if the critical structure is not in the particular area and/or would not be negatively impacted by the clinician working in that particular area. In certain instances, surgical results can be improved with increased knowledge and/or certainty, which can allow a surgeon to be more accurate and, in certain instances, less conservative/more aggressive with respect to particular anatomical areas.
In various aspects, the present disclosure provides a surgical visualization system for intraoperative identification and avoidance of critical structures. In one aspect, the present disclosure provides a surgical visualization system that enables enhanced intraoperative decision making and improved surgical outcomes. In various aspects, the disclosed surgical visualization system provides advanced visualization capabilities beyond what a clinician sees with the “naked eye” and/or beyond what an imaging system can recognize and/or convey to the clinician. The various surgical visualization systems can augment and enhance what a clinician is able to know prior to tissue treatment (e.g. dissection) and, thus, may improve outcomes in various instances.
For example, a visualization system can include a first light emitter configured to emit a plurality of spectral waves, a second light emitter configured to emit a light pattern, and one or more receivers, or sensors, configured to detect visible light, molecular responses to the spectral waves (spectral imaging), and/or the light pattern. It should be noted that throughout the following disclosure, any reference to “light,” unless specifically in reference to visible light, can include electromagnetic radiation (EMR) or photons in the visible and/or non-visible portions of the EMR wavelength spectrum. The surgical visualization system can also include an imaging system and a control circuit in signal communication with the receiver(s) and the imaging system. Based on output from the receiver(s), the control circuit can determine a geometric surface map, i.e. three-dimensional surface topography, of the visible surfaces at the surgical site and one or more distances with respect to the surgical site. In certain instances, the control circuit can determine one more distances to an at least partially concealed structure. Moreover, the imaging system can convey the geometric surface map and the one or more distances to a clinician. In such instances, an augmented view of the surgical site provided to the clinician can provide a representation of the concealed structure within the relevant context of the surgical site. For example, the imaging system can virtually augment the concealed structure on the geometric surface map of the concealing and/or obstructing tissue similar to a line drawn on the ground to indicate a utility line below the surface. Additionally or alternatively, the imaging system can convey the proximity of one or more surgical tools to the visible and obstructing tissue and/or to the at least partially concealed structure and/or the depth of the concealed structure below the visible surface of the obstructing tissue. For example, the visualization system can determine a distance with respect to the augmented line on the surface of the visible tissue and convey the distance to the imaging system.
In various aspects of the present disclosure, a surgical visualization system is disclosed for intraoperative identification and avoidance of critical structures. Such a surgical visualization system can provide valuable information to a clinician during a surgical procedure. As a result, the clinician can confidently maintain momentum throughout the surgical procedure knowing that the surgical visualization system is tracking a critical structure such as a ureter, specific nerves, and/or critical blood vessels, for example, which may be approached during dissection, for example. In one aspect, the surgical visualization system can provide an indication to the clinician in sufficient time for the clinician to pause and/or slow down the surgical procedure and evaluate the proximity to the critical structure to prevent inadvertent damage thereto. The surgical visualization system can provide an ideal, optimized, and/or customizable amount of information to the clinician to allow the clinician to move confidently and/or quickly through tissue while avoiding inadvertent damage to healthy tissue and/or critical structure(s) and, thus, to minimize the risk of harm resulting from the surgical procedure.
The surgical visualization system 100 incorporates tissue identification and geometric surface mapping in combination with a distance sensor system 104. In combination, these features of the surgical visualization system 100 can determine a position of a critical structure 101 within the anatomical field and/or the proximity of a surgical device 102 to the surface 105 of the visible tissue and/or to the critical structure 101. Moreover, the surgical visualization system 100 includes an imaging system that includes an imaging device 120, such as a camera, for example, configured to provide real-time views of the surgical site. In various instances, the imaging device 120 is a spectral camera (e.g. a hyperspectral camera, multispectral camera, or selective spectral camera), which is configured to detect reflected spectral waveforms and generate a spectral cube of images based on the molecular response to the different wavelengths. Views from the imaging device 120 can be provided to a clinician and, in various aspects of the present disclosure, can be augmented with additional information based on the tissue identification, landscape mapping, and the distance sensor system 104. In such instances, the surgical visualization system 100 includes a plurality of subsystems—an imaging subsystem, a surface mapping subsystem, a tissue identification subsystem, and/or a distance determining subsystem. These subsystems can cooperate to intra-operatively provide advanced data synthesis and integrated information to the clinician(s).
The imaging device can include a camera or imaging sensor that is configured to detect visible light, spectral light waves (visible or invisible), and a structured light pattern (visible or invisible), for example. In various aspects of the present disclosure, the imaging system can include an imaging device such as an endoscope, for example. Additionally or alternatively, the imaging system can include an imaging device such as an arthroscope, angioscope, bronchoscope, choledochoscope, colonoscope, cytoscope, duodenoscope, enteroscope, esophagogastro-duodenoscope (gastroscope), laryngoscope, nasopharyngo-neproscope, sigmoidoscope, thoracoscope, ureteroscope, or exoscope, for example. In other instances, such as in open surgery applications, the imaging system may not include a scope.
In various aspects of the present disclosure, the tissue identification subsystem can be achieved with a spectral imaging system. The spectral imaging system can rely on hyperspectral imaging, multispectral imaging, or selective spectral imaging, for example. Hyperspectral imaging of tissue is further described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,274,047, titled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GROSS ANATOMIC PATHOLOGY USING HYPERSPECTRAL IMAGING, issued Mar. 1, 2016, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
In various aspect of the present disclosure, the surface mapping subsystem can be achieved with a light pattern system, as further described herein. The use of a light pattern (or structured light) for surface mapping is known. Known surface mapping techniques can be utilized in the surgical visualization systems described herein.
Structured light is the process of projecting a known pattern (often a grid or horizontal bars) on to a surface. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0055819, titled SET COMPRISING A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT, published Mar. 2, 2017, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0251900, titled DEPICTION SYSTEM, published Sep. 7, 2017, disclose a surgical system comprising a light source and a projector for projecting a light pattern. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0055819, titled SET COMPRISING A SURGICAL INSTRUMENT, published Mar. 2, 2017, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0251900, titled DEPICTION SYSTEM, published Sep. 7, 2017, are incorporated by reference herein in their respective entireties.
In various aspects of the present disclosure, the distance determining system can be incorporated into the surface mapping system. For example, structured light can be utilized to generate a three-dimensional virtual model of the visible surface and determine various distances with respect to the visible surface. Additionally or alternatively, the distance determining system can rely on time-of-flight measurements to determine one or more distances to the identified tissue (or other structures) at the surgical site.
In various aspects, the heart of the camera 144 is the image sensor 135. Generally, modern image sensors 135 are solid-state electronic devices containing up to millions of discrete photodetector sites called pixels. The image sensor 135 technology falls into one of two categories: Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) and Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) imagers and more recently, short-wave infrared (SWIR) is an emerging technology in imaging. Another type of image sensor 135 employs a hybrid CCD/CMOS architecture (sold under the name “sCMOS”) and consists of CMOS readout integrated circuits (ROICs) that are bump bonded to a CCD imaging substrate. CCD and CMOS image sensors 135 are sensitive to wavelengths from approximately 350-1050 nm, although the range is usually given from 400-1000 nm. CMOS sensors are, in general, more sensitive to IR wavelengths than CCD sensors. Solid state image sensors 135 are based on the photoelectric effect and, as a result, cannot distinguish between colors. Accordingly, there are two types of color CCD cameras: single chip and three-chip. Single chip color CCD cameras offer a common, low-cost imaging solution and use a mosaic (e.g. Bayer) optical filter to separate incoming light into a series of colors and employ an interpolation algorithm to resolve full color images. Each color is, then, directed to a different set of pixels. Three-chip color CCD cameras provide higher resolution by employing a prism to direct each section of the incident spectrum to a different chip. More accurate color reproduction is possible, as each point in space of the object has separate RGB intensity values, rather than using an algorithm to determine the color. Three-chip cameras offer extremely high resolutions.
The control system 133 also includes a spectral light source 150 and a structured light source 152. In certain instances, a single source can be pulsed to emit wavelengths of light in the spectral light source 150 range and wavelengths of light in the structured light source 152 range. Alternatively, a single light source can be pulsed to provide light in the invisible spectrum (e.g. infrared spectral light) and wavelengths of light on the visible spectrum. The spectral light source 150 can be a hyperspectral light source, a multispectral light source, and/or a selective spectral light source, for example. In various instances, the tissue identification logic 140 can identify critical structure(s) via data from the spectral light source 150 received by the image sensor 135 portion of the camera 144. The surface mapping logic 136 can determine the surface contours of the visible tissue based on reflected structured light. With time-of-flight measurements, the distance determining logic 141 can determine one or more distance(s) to the visible tissue and/or the critical structure 101. One or more outputs from the surface mapping logic 136, the tissue identification logic 140, and the distance determining logic 141, can be provided to the imaging logic 138, and combined, blended, and/or overlaid to be conveyed to a clinician via the display 146 of the imaging system 142.
The description now turns briefly to
Referring again to the surgical visualization system 100 in
In one aspect, the critical structure 101 may be embedded in tissue 103. Stated differently, the critical structure 101 may be positioned below the surface 105 of the tissue 103. In such instances, the tissue 103 conceals the critical structure 101 from the clinician's view. The critical structure 101 is also obscured from the view of the imaging device 120 by the tissue 103. The tissue 103 can be fat, connective tissue, adhesions, and/or organs, for example. In other instances, the critical structure 101 can be partially obscured from view.
The imaging device 120 of the surgical visualization system 100 is configured to detect light at various wavelengths, such as, for example, visible light, spectral light waves (visible or invisible), and a structured light pattern (visible or invisible). The imaging device 120 may include a plurality of lenses, sensors, and/or receivers for detecting the different signals. For example, the imaging device 120 can be a hyperspectral, multispectral, or selective spectral camera, as further described herein. The imaging device 120 can also include a waveform sensor 122 (such as a spectral image sensor, detector, and/or three-dimensional camera lens). For example, the imaging device 120 can include a right-side lens and a left-side lens used together to record two two-dimensional images at the same time and, thus, generate a three-dimensional image of the surgical site, render a three-dimensional image of the surgical site, and/or determine one or more distances at the surgical site. Additionally or alternatively, the imaging device 120 can be configured to receive images indicative of the topography of the visible tissue and the identification and position of hidden critical structures, as further described herein. For example, the field of view of the imaging device 120 can overlap with a pattern of light (structured light) on the surface 105 of the tissue, as shown in
In one aspect, the surgical visualization system 100 may be incorporated into a robotic system 110. For example, the robotic system 110 may include a first robotic arm 112 and a second robotic arm 114. The robotic arms 112, 114 include rigid structural members 116 and joints 118, which can include servomotor controls. The first robotic arm 112 is configured to maneuver the surgical device 102, and the second robotic arm 114 is configured to maneuver the imaging device 120. A robotic control unit can be configured to issue control motions to the robotic arms 112, 114, which can affect the surgical device 102 and the imaging device 120, for example.
The surgical visualization system 100 also includes an emitter 106, which is configured to emit a pattern of light, such as stripes, grid lines, and/or dots, to enable the determination of the topography or landscape of the surface 105. For example, projected light arrays 130 can be used for three-dimensional scanning and registration on the surface 105. The projected light arrays 130 can be emitted from the emitter 106 located on the surgical device 102 and/or one of the robotic arms 112, 114 and/or the imaging device 120, for example. In one aspect, the projected light array 130 is employed to determine the shape defined by the surface 105 of the tissue 103 and/or the motion of the surface 105 intraoperatively. The imaging device 120 is configured to detect the projected light arrays 130 reflected from the surface 105 to determine the topography of the surface 105 and various distances with respect to the surface 105.
In one aspect, the imaging device 120 also may include an optical waveform emitter 123 that is configured to emit electromagnetic radiation 124 (NIR photons) that can penetrate the surface 105 of the tissue 103 and reach the critical structure 101. The imaging device 120 and the optical waveform emitter 123 thereon can be positionable by the robotic arm 114. A corresponding waveform sensor 122 (an image sensor, spectrometer, or vibrational sensor, for example) on the imaging device 120 is configured to detect the effect of the electromagnetic radiation received by the waveform sensor 122. The wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation 124 emitted by the optical waveform emitter 123 can be configured to enable the identification of the type of anatomical and/or physical structure, such as the critical structure 101. The identification of the critical structure 101 can be accomplished through spectral analysis, photo-acoustics, and/or ultrasound, for example. In one aspect, the wavelengths of the electromagnetic radiation 124 may be variable. The waveform sensor 122 and optical waveform emitter 123 may be inclusive of a multispectral imaging system and/or a selective spectral imaging system, for example. In other instances, the waveform sensor 122 and optical waveform emitter 123 may be inclusive of a photoacoustic imaging system, for example. In other instances, the optical waveform emitter 123 can be positioned on a separate surgical device from the imaging device 120.
The surgical visualization system 100 also may include the distance sensor system 104 configured to determine one or more distances at the surgical site. In one aspect, the time-of-flight distance sensor system 104 may be a time-of-flight distance sensor system that includes an emitter, such as the emitter 106, and a receiver 108, which can be positioned on the surgical device 102. In other instances, the time-of-flight emitter can be separate from the structured light emitter. In one general aspect, the emitter 106 portion of the time-of-flight distance sensor system 104 may include a very tiny laser source and the receiver 108 portion of the time-of-flight distance sensor system 104 may include a matching sensor. The time-of-flight distance sensor system 104 can detect the “time of flight,” or how long the laser light emitted by the emitter 106 has taken to bounce back to the sensor portion of the receiver 108. Use of a very narrow light source in the emitter 106 enables the distance sensor system 104 to determining the distance to the surface 105 of the tissue 103 directly in front of the distance sensor system 104. Referring still to
In various instances, the receiver 108 for the time-of-flight distance sensor system 104 can be mounted on a separate surgical device instead of the surgical device 102. For example, the receiver 108 can be mounted on a cannula or trocar through which the surgical device 102 extends to reach the surgical site. In still other instances, the receiver 108 for the time-of-flight distance sensor system 104 can be mounted on a separate robotically-controlled arm (e.g. the robotic arm 114), on a movable arm that is operated by another robot, and/or to an operating room (OR) table or fixture. In certain instances, the imaging device 120 includes the time-of-flight receiver 108 to determine the distance from the emitter 106 to the surface 105 of the tissue 103 using a line between the emitter 106 on the surgical device 102 and the imaging device 120. For example, the distance de can be triangulated based on known positions of the emitter 106 (on the surgical device 102) and the receiver 108 (on the imaging device 120) of the time-of-flight distance sensor system 104. The three-dimensional position of the receiver 108 can be known and/or registered to the robot coordinate plane intraoperatively.
In certain instances, the position of the emitter 106 of the time-of-flight distance sensor system 104 can be controlled by the first robotic arm 112 and the position of the receiver 108 of the time-of-flight distance sensor system 104 can be controlled by the second robotic arm 114. In other instances, the surgical visualization system 100 can be utilized apart from a robotic system. In such instances, the distance sensor system 104 can be independent of the robotic system.
In certain instances, one or more of the robotic arms 112, 114 may be separate from a main robotic system used in the surgical procedure. At least one of the robotic arms 112, 114 can be positioned and registered to a particular coordinate system without a servomotor control. For example, a closed-loop control system and/or a plurality of sensors for the robotic arms 110 can control and/or register the position of the robotic arm(s) 112, 114 relative to the particular coordinate system. Similarly, the position of the surgical device 102 and the imaging device 120 can be registered relative to a particular coordinate system.
Referring still to
Additionally or alternatively, time-of-flight from the optical waveform emitter 123 can be configured to determine the distance from the optical waveform emitter 123 to the surface 105 of the tissue 103. For example, a first waveform (or range of waveforms) can be utilized to determine the camera-to-critical structure distance dw and a second waveform (or range of waveforms) can be utilized to determine the distance to the surface 105 of the tissue 103. In such instances, the different waveforms can be utilized to determine the depth of the critical structure 101 below the surface 105 of the tissue 103.
Additionally or alternatively, in certain instances, the distance dA can be determined from an ultrasound, a registered magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT) scan. In still other instances, the distance dA can be determined with spectral imaging because the detection signal received by the imaging device can vary based on the type of material. For example, fat can decrease the detection signal in a first way, or a first amount, and collagen can decrease the detection signal in a different, second way, or a second amount.
Referring now to a surgical visualization system 160 in
d
A
=d
w
−d
t.
As disclosed herein, various information regarding visible tissue, embedded critical structures, and surgical devices can be determined by utilizing a combination approach that incorporates one or more time-of-flight distance sensors, spectral imaging, and/or structured light arrays in combination with an image sensor configured to detect the spectral wavelengths and the structured light arrays. Moreover, the image sensor can be configured to receive visible light and, thus, provide images of the surgical site to an imaging system. Logic or algorithms are employed to discern the information received from the time-of-flight sensors, spectral wavelengths, structured light, and visible light and render three-dimensional images of the surface tissue and underlying anatomical structures. In various instances, the imaging device 120 can include multiple image sensors.
The camera-to-critical structure distance dw can also be detected in one or more alternative ways. In one aspect, a fluoroscopy visualization technology, such as fluorescent indosciedine green (ICG), for example, can be utilized to illuminate a critical structure 201, as shown in
In still other aspects, the surgical visualization system 100 may employ two separate waveform receivers (i.e. cameras/image sensors) to determine dw. Referring now to
In another aspect, referring now to
The surgical visualization system 500 is configured to determine an emitter-to-tissue distance de from an emitter 506 on the surgical device 502 to a surface 505 of the uterus 503 via structured light. The surgical visualization system 500 is configured to extrapolate a device-to-tissue distance dt from the surgical device 502 to the surface 505 of the uterus 503 based on the emitter-to-tissue distance de. The surgical visualization system 500 is also configured to determine a tissue-to-ureter distance dA from the ureter 501a to the surface 505 and a camera-to ureter distance dw from the imaging device 520 to the ureter 501a. As described herein with respect to
Referring now to
The control system 600 is configured for implementing a hyperspectral imaging and visualization system in which a molecular response is utilized to detect and identify anatomy in a surgical field of view. The control system 600 includes a conversion logic circuit 648 to convert tissue data to surgeon usable information. For example, the variable reflectance based on wavelengths with respect to obscuring material can be utilized to identify the critical structure in the anatomy. Moreover, the control system 600 combines the identified spectral signature and the structural light data in an image. For example, the control system 600 can be employed to create of three-dimensional data set for surgical use in a system with augmentation image overlays. Techniques can be employed both intraoperatively and preoperatively using additional visual information. In various instances, the control system 600 is configured to provide warnings to a clinician when in the proximity of one or more critical structures. Various algorithms can be employed to guide robotic automation and semi-automated approaches based on the surgical procedure and proximity to the critical structure(s).
A projected array of lights is employed to determine tissue shape and motion intraoperatively. Alternatively, flash Lidar may be utilized for surface mapping of the tissue.
The control system 600 is configured to detect the critical structure(s) and provide an image overlay of the critical structure and measure the distance to the surface of the visible tissue and the distance to the embedded/buried critical structure(s). In other instances, the control system 600 can measure the distance to the surface of the visible tissue or detect the critical structure(s) and provide an image overlay of the critical structure.
The control system 600 includes a spectral control circuit 602. The spectral control circuit 602 can be a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or another suitable circuit configuration as described herein in connection with
The video input processor 606 is coupled to a camera 612 at the patient side via a patient isolation circuit 614. As previously discussed, the camera 612 includes a solid state image sensor 634. The patient isolation circuit can include a plurality of transformers so that the patient is isolated from other circuits in the system. The camera 612 receives intraoperative images through optics 632 and the image sensor 634. The image sensor 634 can include a CMOS image sensor, for example, or may include any of the image sensor technologies discussed herein in connection with
The laser pulsing control circuit 622 controls a laser light engine 624. The laser light engine 624 outputs light in a plurality of wavelengths (λ1, λ2, λ3 . . . λn) including near infrared (NIR). The laser light engine 624 can operate in a plurality of modes. In one aspect, the laser light engine 624 can operate in two modes, for example. In a first mode, e.g. a normal operating mode, the laser light engine 624 outputs an illuminating signal. In a second mode, e.g. an identification mode, the laser light engine 624 outputs RGBG and NIR light. In various instances, the laser light engine 624 can operate in a polarizing mode.
Light output 626 from the laser light engine 624 illuminates targeted anatomy in an intraoperative surgical site 627. The laser pulsing control circuit 622 also controls a laser pulse controller 628 for a laser pattern projector 630 that projects a laser light pattern 631, such as a grid or pattern of lines and/or dots, at a predetermined wavelength (λ2) on the operative tissue or organ at the surgical site 627. The camera 612 receives the patterned light as well as the reflected light output through the camera optics 632. The image sensor 634 converts the received light into a digital signal.
The color RGB fusion circuit 616 also outputs signals to the image overlay controller 610 and a video input module 636 for reading the laser light pattern 631 projected onto the targeted anatomy at the surgical site 627 by the laser pattern projector 630. A processing module 638 processes the laser light pattern 631 and outputs a first video output signal 640 representative of the distance to the visible tissue at the surgical site 627. The data is provided to the image overlay controller 610. The processing module 638 also outputs a second video signal 642 representative of a three-dimensional rendered shape of the tissue or organ of the targeted anatomy at the surgical site.
The first and second video output signals 640, 642 include data representative of the position of the critical structure on a three-dimensional surface model, which is provided to an integration module 643. In combination with data from the video out processor 608 of the spectral control circuit 602, the integration module 643 can determine the distance dA (
Preoperative data 650 from a CT or MRI scan can be employed to register or align certain three-dimensional deformable tissue in various instances. Such preoperative data 650 can be provided to the integration module 643 and ultimately to the image overlay controller 610 so that such information can be overlaid with the views from the camera 612 and provided to the video monitors 652. Registration of preoperative data is further described herein and in the aforementioned U.S. Patent Applications, including U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/128,195, titled INTEGRATION OF IMAGING DATA, filed Sep. 11, 2018, for example, which are incorporated by reference herein in their respective entireties.
The video monitors 652 can output the integrated/augmented views from the image overlay controller 610. A clinician can select and/or toggle between different views on one or more monitors. On a first monitor 652a, the clinician can toggle between (A) a view in which a three-dimensional rendering of the visible tissue is depicted and (B) an augmented view in which one or more hidden critical structures are depicted over the three-dimensional rendering of the visible tissue. On a second monitor 652b, the clinician can toggle on distance measurements to one or more hidden critical structures and/or the surface of visible tissue, for example.
The control system 600 and/or various control circuits thereof can be incorporated into various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein.
In certain instances, invisible (or imperceptible) structured light can be utilized, in which the structured light is used without interfering with other computer vision tasks for which the projected pattern may be confusing. For example, infrared light or extremely fast frame rates of visible light that alternate between two exact opposite patterns can be utilized to prevent interference. Structured light is further described at en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structured_light.
As noted above, the various surgical visualization systems described herein can be utilized to visualize various different types of tissues and/or anatomical structures, including tissues and/or anatomical structures that may be obscured from being visualized by EMR in the visible portion of the spectrum. In one aspect, the surgical visualization systems can utilize a spectral imaging system to visualize different types of tissues based upon their varying combinations of constituent materials. In particular, a spectral imaging system can be configured to detect the presence of various constituent materials within a tissue being visualized based on the absorption coefficient of the tissue across various EMR wavelengths. The spectral imaging system can be further configured to characterize the tissue type of the tissue being visualized based upon the particular combination of constituent materials. To illustrate,
An illustration of the utilization of spectral imaging techniques to visualize different tissue types and/or anatomical structures is shown in
Further, the imaging system 142 can be configured to tailor or update the displayed surgical site visualization according to the identified tissue and/or structure types. For example, the imaging system 142 can display a margin 2330a associated with the tumor 2332 being visualized on a display screen (e.g., display 146). The margin 2330a can indicate the area or amount of tissue that should be excised to ensure complete removal of the tumor 2332. The control system 133 (
Tissues and/or structures can also be imaged or characterized according to their reflective characteristics, in addition to or in lieu of their absorptive characteristics described above with respect to
In various instances, select wavelengths for spectral imaging can be identified and utilized based on the anticipated critical structures and/or obscurants at a surgical site (i.e., “selective spectral” imaging). By utilizing selective spectral imaging, the amount of time required to obtain the spectral image can be minimized such that the information can be obtained in real-time, or near real-time, and utilized intraoperatively. In various instances, the wavelengths can be selected by a clinician or by a control circuit based on input by the clinician. In certain instances, the wavelengths can be selected based on machine learning and/or big data accessible to the control circuit via a cloud, for example.
The foregoing application of spectral imaging to tissue can be utilized intraoperatively to measure the distance between a waveform emitter and a critical structure that is obscured by tissue. In one aspect of the present disclosure, referring now to
The waveforms 1124, 1125 are configured to penetrate obscuring tissue 1103. For example, the wavelengths of the waveforms 1124, 1125 can be in the NIR or SWIR spectrum of wavelengths. In one aspect, a spectral signal (e.g. hyperspectral, multispectral, or selective spectral) or a photoacoustic signal can be emitted from the emitter 1106 and can penetrate the tissue 1103 in which the critical structure 1101 is concealed. The emitted waveform 1124 can be reflected by the critical structure 1101. The received waveform 1125 can be delayed due to the distance d between the distal end of the surgical device 1102 and the critical structure 1101. In various instances, the waveforms 1124, 1125 can be selected to target the critical structure 1101 within the tissue 1103 based on the spectral signature of the critical structure 1101, as further described herein. In various instances, the emitter 1106 is configured to provide a binary signal on and off, as shown in
Based on the delay between the emitted wave 1124 and the received wave 1125, the time-of-flight sensor system 1104 is configured to determine the distance d (
where:
As provided herein, the time-of-flight of the waveforms 1124, 1125 corresponds to the distance din
d
A
=d
w
−d
t.
where:
In one aspect of the present disclosure, referring now to
The different emitted waves 1224a, 1224b, 1224c are configured to target different types of material at the surgical site. For example, the wave 1224a targets the obscuring tissue 1203, the wave 1224b targets a first critical structure 1201a (e.g. a vessel), and the wave 1224c targets a second critical structure 1201b (e.g. a cancerous tumor). The wavelengths of the waves 1224a, 1224b, 1224c can be in the visible light, NIR, or SWIR spectrum of wavelengths. For example, visible light can be reflected off a surface 1205 of the tissue 1203 and NIR and/or SWIR waveforms can be configured to penetrate the surface 1205 of the tissue 1203. In various aspects, as described herein, a spectral signal (e.g. hyperspectral, multispectral, or selective spectral) or a photoacoustic signal can be emitted from the emitter 1206. In various instances, the waves 1224b, 1224c can be selected to target the critical structures 1201a, 1201b within the tissue 1203 based on the spectral signature of the critical structure 1201a, 1201b, as further described herein. Photoacoustic imaging is further described in various U.S. patent Applications, which are incorporated by reference herein in the present disclosure.
The emitted waves 1224a, 1224b, 1224c can be reflected off the targeted material (i.e. the surface 1205, the first critical structure 1201a, and the second structure 1201b, respectively). The received waveforms 1225a, 1225b, 1225c can be delayed due to the distances d1a, d2a, d3a, d1b, d2b, d2c indicated in
In the time-of-flight sensor system 1204, in which the emitter 1206 and the receiver 1208 are independently positionable (e.g., on separate surgical devices 1202a, 1202b and/or controlled by separate robotic arms), the various distances d1a, d2a, d3a, d1b, d2b, d2c can be calculated from the known position of the emitter 1206 and the receiver 1208. For example, the positions can be known when the surgical devices 1202a, 1202b are robotically-controlled. Knowledge of the positions of the emitter 1206 and the receiver 1208, as well as the time of the photon stream to target a certain tissue and the information received by the receiver 1208 of that particular response can allow a determination of the distances d1a, d2a, d3a, d1b, d2b, d2c. In one aspect, the distance to the obscured critical structures 1201a, 1201b can be triangulated using penetrating wavelengths. Because the speed of light is constant for any wavelength of visible or invisible light, the time-of-flight sensor system 1204 can determine the various distances.
Referring still to
In various instances, the receiver 1208 can be mounted on a trocar or cannula, such as the trocar 1210b, for example, through which the surgical device 1202b is positioned. In other instances, the receiver 1208 can be mounted on a separate robotic arm for which the three-dimensional position is known. In various instances, the receiver 1208 can be mounted on a movable arm that is separate from the robot that controls the surgical device 1202a or can be mounted to an operating room (OR) table that is intraoperatively registerable to the robot coordinate plane. In such instances, the position of the emitter 1206 and the receiver 1208 can be registerable to the same coordinate plane such that the distances can be triangulated from outputs from the time-of-flight sensor system 1204.
Combining time-of-flight sensor systems and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), termed TOF-NIRS, which is capable of measuring the time-resolved profiles of NIR light with nanosecond resolution can be found in the article titled TIME-OF-FLIGHT NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY FOR NONDESTRUCTIVE MEASUREMENT OF INTERNAL QUALITY IN GRAPEFRUIT, in the Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, May 2013 vol. 138 no. 3 225-228, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, and is accessible at journal.ashspublications.org/content/138/3/225.full.
In various instances, time-of-flight spectral waveforms are configured to determine the depth of the critical structure and/or the proximity of a surgical device to the critical structure. Moreover, the various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein include surface mapping logic that is configured to create three-dimensional rendering of the surface of the visible tissue. In such instances, even when the visible tissue obstructs a critical structure, the clinician can be aware of the proximity (or lack thereof) of a surgical device to the critical structure. In one instances, the topography of the surgical site is provided on a monitor by the surface mapping logic. If the critical structure is close to the surface of the tissue, spectral imaging can convey the position of the critical structure to the clinician. For example, spectral imaging may detect structures within 5 or 10 mm of the surface. In other instances, spectral imaging may detect structures 10 or 20 mm below the surface of the tissue. Based on the known limits of the spectral imaging system, the system is configured to convey that a critical structure is out-of-range if it is simply not detected by the spectral imaging system. Therefore, the clinician can continue to move the surgical device and/or manipulate the tissue. When the critical structure moves into range of the spectral imaging system, the system can identify the structure and, thus, communicate that the structure is within range. In such instances, an alert can be provided when a structure is initially identified and/or moved further within a predefined proximity zone. In such instances, even non-identification of a critical structure by a spectral imaging system with known bounds/ranges can provide proximity information (i.e. the lack of proximity) to the clinician.
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can be configured to identify intraoperatively the presence of and/or proximity to critical structure(s) and to alert a clinician prior to damaging the critical structure(s) by inadvertent dissection and/or transection. In various aspects, the surgical visualization systems are configured to identify one or more of the following critical structures: ureters, bowel, rectum, nerves (including the phrenic nerve, recurrent laryngeal nerve [RLN], promontory facial nerve, vagus nerve, and branches thereof), vessels (including the pulmonary and lobar arteries and veins, inferior mesenteric artery [IMA] and branches thereof, superior rectal artery, sigmoidal arteries, and left colic artery), superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and branches thereof (including middle colic artery, right colic artery, ilecolic artery), hepatic artery and branches thereof, portal vein and branches thereof, splenic artery/vein and branches thereof, external and internal (hypogastric) ileac vessels, short gastric arteries, uterine arteries, middle sacral vessels, and lymph nodes, for example. Moreover, the surgical visualization systems are configured to indicate proximity of surgical device(s) to the critical structure(s) and/or warn the clinician when surgical device(s) are getting close to the critical structure(s).
Various aspects of the present disclosure provide intraoperative critical structure identification (e.g., identification of ureters, nerves, and/or vessels) and instrument proximity monitoring. For example, various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can include spectral imaging and surgical instrument tracking, which enable the visualization of critical structures below the surface of the tissue, such as 1.0-1.5 cm below the surface of the tissue, for example. In other instances, the surgical visualization system can identify structures less than 1.0 cm or more the 1.5 cm below the surface of the tissue. For example, even a surgical visualization system that can identify structures only within 0.2 mm of the surface, for example, can be valuable if the structure cannot otherwise be seen due to the depth. In various aspects, the surgical visualization system can augment the clinician's view with a virtual depiction of the critical structure as a visible white-light image overlay on the surface of visible tissue, for example. The surgical visualization system can provide real-time, three-dimensional spatial tracking of the distal tip of surgical instruments and can provide a proximity alert when the distal tip of a surgical instrument moves within a certain range of the critical structure, such as within 1.0 cm of the critical structure, for example.
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can identify when dissection is too close to a critical structure. Dissection may be “too close” to a critical structure based on the temperature (i.e. too hot within a proximity of the critical structure that may risk damaging/heating/melting the critical structure) and/or based on tension (i.e. too much tension within a proximity of the critical structure that may risk damaging/tearing/pulling the critical structure). Such a surgical visualization system can facilitate dissection around vessels when skeletonizing the vessels prior to ligation, for example. In various instances, a thermal imaging camera can be utilized to read the heat at the surgical site and provide a warning to the clinician that is based on the detected heat and the distance from a tool to the structure. For example, if the temperature of the tool is over a predefined threshold (such as 120 degrees F., for example), an alert can be provided to the clinician at a first distance (such as 10 mm, for example), and if the temperature of the tool is less than or equal to the predefined threshold, the alert can be provided to the clinician at a second distance (such as 5 mm, for example). The predefined thresholds and/or warning distances can be default settings and/or programmable by the clinician. Additionally or alternatively, a proximity alert can be linked to thermal measurements made by the tool itself, such as a thermocouple that measures the heat in a distal jaw of a monopolar or bipolar dissector or vessel sealer, for example.
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can provide adequate sensitivity with respect to a critical structure and specificity to enable a clinician to proceed with confidence in a quick but safe dissection based on the standard of care and/or device safety data. The system can function intraoperatively and in real-time during a surgical procedure with minimal ionizing radiation risk to a patient or a clinician and, in various instances, no risk of ionizing radiation risk to the patient or the clinician. Conversely, in a fluoroscopy procedure, the patient and clinician(s) may be exposed to ionizing radiation via an X-ray beam, for example, that is utilized to view the anatomical structures in real-time.
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can be configured to detect and identify one or more desired types of critical structures in a forward path of a surgical device, such as when the path of the surgical device is robotically controlled, for example. Additionally or alternatively, the surgical visualization system can be configured to detect and identify one or more types of critical structures in a surrounding area of the surgical device and/or in multiple planes/dimensions, for example.
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can be easy to operate and/or interpret. Moreover, various surgical visualization systems can incorporate an “override” feature that allows the clinician to override a default setting and/or operation. For example, a clinician can selectively turn off alerts from the surgical visualization system and/or get closer to a critical structure than suggested by the surgical visualization system such as when the risk to the critical structure is less than risk of avoiding the area (e.g. when removing cancer around a critical structure the risk of leaving the cancerous tissue can be greater than the risk of damage to the critical structure).
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can be incorporated into a surgical system and/or used during a surgical procedure with limited impact to the workflow. In other words, implementation of the surgical visualization system may not change the way the surgical procedure is implemented. Moreover, the surgical visualization system can be economical in comparison to the costs of an inadvertent transection. Data indicates the reduction in inadvertent damage to a critical structure can drive incremental reimbursement.
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can operate in real-time, or near real-time, and far enough in advance to enable a clinician to anticipate critical structure(s). For example, a surgical visualization system can provide enough time to “slow down, evaluate, and avoid” in order to maximize efficiency of the surgical procedure.
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein may not require a contrast agent, or dye, that is injected into tissue. For example, spectral imaging is configured to visualize hidden structures intraoperatively without the use of a contrast agent or dye. In other instances, the contrast agent can be easier to inject into the proper layer(s) of tissue than other visualization systems. The time between injection of the contrast agent and visualization of the critical structure can be less than two hours, for example.
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can be linked with clinical data and/or device data. For example, data can provide boundaries for how close energy-enabled surgical devices (or other potentially damaging devices) should be from tissue that the surgeon does not want to damage. Any data modules that interface with the surgical visualization systems disclosed herein can be provided integrally or separately from a robot to enable use with stand-alone surgical devices in open or laparoscopic procedures, for example. The surgical visualization systems can be compatible with robotic surgical systems in various instances. For example, the visualization images/information can be displayed in a robotic console.
In various instances, clinicians may not know the location of a critical structure with respect to a surgical tool. For example, when a critical structure is embedded in tissue, the clinician may be unable to ascertain the location of the critical structure. In certain instances, a clinician may want to keep a surgical device outside a range of positions surrounding the critical structure and/or away from the visible tissue covering the hidden critical structure. When the location of a concealed critical structure is unknown, the clinician may risk moving too close to the critical structure, which can result in inadvertent trauma and/or dissection of the critical structure and/or too much energy, heat, and/or tension in proximity of the critical structure. Alternatively, the clinician may stay too far away from a suspected location of the critical structure and risk affecting tissue at a less desirable location in an effort to avoid the critical structure.
A surgical visualization system is provided that presents surgical device tracking with respect to one or more critical structures. For example, the surgical visualization system can track the proximity of a surgical device with respect to a critical structure. Such tracking can occur intraoperatively, in real-time, and/or in near real-time. In various instances, the tracking data can be provided to the clinicians via a display screen (e.g. a monitor) of an imaging system.
In one aspect of the present disclosure, a surgical visualization system includes a surgical device comprising an emitter configured to emit a structured light pattern onto a visible surface, an imaging system comprising a camera configured to detect an embedded structure and the structured light pattern on the visible surface, and a control circuit in signal communication with the camera and the imaging system, wherein the control circuit is configured to determine a distance from the surgical device to the embedded structure and provide a signal to the imaging system indicative of the distance. For example, the distance can be determined by computing a distance from the camera to the critical structure that is illuminated with fluoroscopy technology and based on a three-dimensional view of the illuminated structure provided by images from multiple lenses (e.g. a left-side lens and a right-side lens) of the camera. The distance from the surgical device to the critical structure can be triangulated based on the known positions of the surgical device and the camera, for example. Alternative means for determining the distance to an embedded critical structure are further described herein. For example, NIR time-of-flight distance sensors can be employed. Additionally or alternatively, the surgical visualization system can determine a distance to visible tissue overlying/covering an embedded critical structure. For example, the surgical visualization system can identify a hidden critical structure and augment a view of the hidden critical structure by depicting a schematic of the hidden critical structure on the visible structure, such as a line on the surface of the visible tissue. The surgical visualization system can further determine the distance to the augmented line on the visible tissue.
By providing the clinician with up-to-date information regarding the proximity of the surgical device to the concealed critical structure and/or visible structure, as provided by the various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein, the clinician can make more informed decisions regarding the placement of the surgical device relative to the concealed critical structure. For example, the clinician can view the distance between the surgical device and the critical structure in real-time/intraoperatively and, in certain instances, an alert and/or warning can be provided by the imaging system when the surgical device is moved within a predefined proximity and/or zone of the critical structure. In certain instances, the alert and/or warning can be provided when the trajectory of the surgical device indicates a likely collision with a “no-fly” zone in the proximity of the critical structure (e.g. within 1 mm, 2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm or more of the critical structure). In such instances, the clinician can maintain momentum throughout the surgical procedure without requiring the clinician to monitor a suspected location of the critical structure and the surgical device's proximity thereto. As a result, certain surgical procedures can be performed more quickly, with fewer pauses/interruptions, and/or with improved accuracy and/or certainty, for example. In one aspect, the surgical visualization system can be utilized to detect tissue variability, such as the variability of tissue within an organ to differentiate tumors/cancerous tissue/unhealthy tissue from healthy tissue. Such a surgical visualization system can maximize the removal of the unhealthy tissue while minimizing the removal of the healthy tissue.
The various visualization or imaging systems described herein can be incorporated into a surgical hub system, such as is illustrated in connection with
Referring to
Other types of robotic systems can be readily adapted for use with the surgical system 2102. Various examples of robotic systems and surgical tools that are suitable for use with the present disclosure are described in various U.S. Patent Applications, which are incorporated by reference herein in the present disclosure.
Various examples of cloud-based analytics that are performed by the cloud 2104, and are suitable for use with the present disclosure, are described in various U.S. patent Applications, which are incorporated by reference herein in the present disclosure.
In various aspects, the imaging device 2124 includes at least one image sensor and one or more optical components. Suitable image sensors include, but are not limited to, Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) sensors and Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) sensors.
The optical components of the imaging device 2124 may include one or more illumination sources and/or one or more lenses. The one or more illumination sources may be directed to illuminate portions of the surgical field. The one or more image sensors may receive light reflected or refracted from the surgical field, including light reflected or refracted from tissue and/or surgical instruments.
The one or more illumination sources may be configured to radiate electromagnetic energy in the visible spectrum as well as the invisible spectrum. The visible spectrum, sometimes referred to as the optical spectrum or luminous spectrum, is that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to (i.e., can be detected by) the human eye and may be referred to as visible light or simply light. A typical human eye will respond to wavelengths in air that are from about 380 nm to about 750 nm.
The invisible spectrum (i.e., the non-luminous spectrum) is that portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies below and above the visible spectrum (i.e., wavelengths below about 380 nm and above about 750 nm). The invisible spectrum is not detectable by the human eye. Wavelengths greater than about 750 nm are longer than the red visible spectrum, and they become invisible infrared (IR), microwave, and radio electromagnetic radiation. Wavelengths less than about 380 nm are shorter than the violet spectrum, and they become invisible ultraviolet, x-ray, and gamma ray electromagnetic radiation.
In various aspects, the imaging device 2124 is configured for use in a minimally invasive procedure. Examples of imaging devices suitable for use with the present disclosure include, but not limited to, an arthroscope, angioscope, bronchoscope, choledochoscope, colonoscope, cytoscope, duodenoscope, enteroscope, esophagogastro-duodenoscope (gastroscope), endoscope, laryngoscope, nasopharyngo-neproscope, sigmoidoscope, thoracoscope, and ureteroscope.
In one aspect, the imaging device employs multi-spectrum monitoring to discriminate topography and underlying structures. A multi-spectral image is one that captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or by the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, including light from frequencies beyond the visible light range, e.g., IR and ultraviolet. Spectral imaging can allow extraction of additional information the human eye fails to capture with its receptors for red, green, and blue. The use of multi-spectral imaging is described in various U.S. Patent Applications that are incorporated by reference herein in the present disclosure. Multi-spectrum monitoring can be a useful tool in relocating a surgical field after a surgical task is completed to perform one or more of the previously described tests on the treated tissue.
It is axiomatic that strict sterilization of the operating room and surgical equipment is required during any surgery. The strict hygiene and sterilization conditions required in a “surgical theater,” i.e., an operating or treatment room, necessitate the highest possible sterility of all medical devices and equipment. Part of that sterilization process is the need to sterilize anything that comes in contact with the patient or penetrates the sterile field, including the imaging device 2124 and its attachments and components. It will be appreciated that the sterile field may be considered a specified area, such as within a tray or on a sterile towel, that is considered free of microorganisms, or the sterile field may be considered an area, immediately around a patient, who has been prepared for a surgical procedure. The sterile field may include the scrubbed team members, who are properly attired, and all furniture and fixtures in the area. In various aspects, the visualization system 2108 includes one or more imaging sensors, one or more image-processing units, one or more storage arrays, and one or more displays that are strategically arranged with respect to the sterile field, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
In one aspect, the hub 2106 is also configured to route a diagnostic input or feedback entered by a non-sterile operator at the visualization tower 21121 to the primary display 2119 within the sterile field, where it can be viewed by a sterile operator at the operating table. In one example, the input can be in the form of a modification to the snapshot displayed on the non-sterile display 2107 or 2109, which can be routed to the primary display 2119 by the hub 2106.
Referring to
The various visualization systems or aspects of visualization systems described herein can be utilized as part of a situational awareness system that can be embodied or executed by a surgical hub 2106, 2236 (
Although an “intelligent” device including control algorithms that respond to sensed data can be an improvement over a “dumb” device that operates without accounting for sensed data, some sensed data can be incomplete or inconclusive when considered in isolation, i.e., without the context of the type of surgical procedure being performed or the type of tissue that is being operated on. Without knowing the procedural context (e.g., knowing the type of tissue being operated on or the type of procedure being performed), the control algorithm may control modular device incorrectly or suboptimally given the particular context-free sensed data. Modular devices can include any surgical devices that is controllable by a situational awareness system, such as visualization system devices (e.g., a camera or display screen), surgical instruments (e.g., an ultrasonic surgical instrument, an electrosurgical instrument, or a surgical stapler), and other surgical devices (e.g., a smoke evacuator). For example, the optimal manner for a control algorithm to control a surgical instrument in response to a particular sensed parameter can vary according to the particular tissue type being operated on. This is due to the fact that different tissue types have different properties (e.g., resistance to tearing) and thus respond differently to actions taken by surgical instruments. Therefore, it may be desirable for a surgical instrument to take different actions even when the same measurement for a particular parameter is sensed. As one specific example, the optimal manner in which to control a surgical stapling and cutting instrument in response to the instrument sensing an unexpectedly high force to close its end effector will vary depending upon whether the tissue type is susceptible or resistant to tearing. For tissues that are susceptible to tearing, such as lung tissue, the instrument's control algorithm would optimally ramp down the motor in response to an unexpectedly high force to close to avoid tearing the tissue. For tissues that are resistant to tearing, such as stomach tissue, the instrument's control algorithm would optimally ramp up the motor in response to an unexpectedly high force to close to ensure that the end effector is clamped properly on the tissue. Without knowing whether lung or stomach tissue has been clamped, the control algorithm may make a suboptimal decision.
One solution utilizes a surgical hub including a system that is configured to derive information about the surgical procedure being performed based on data received from various data sources and then control the paired modular devices accordingly. In other words, the surgical hub is configured to infer information about the surgical procedure from received data and then control the modular devices paired to the surgical hub based upon the inferred context of the surgical procedure.
A surgical hub 2404, which may be similar to the hub 106 in many respects, can be configured to derive the contextual information pertaining to the surgical procedure from the data based upon, for example, the particular combination(s) of received data or the particular order in which the data is received from the data sources 2426. The contextual information inferred from the received data can include, for example, the type of surgical procedure being performed, the particular step of the surgical procedure that the surgeon is performing, the type of tissue being operated on, or the body cavity that is the subject of the procedure. This ability by some aspects of the surgical hub 2404 to derive or infer information related to the surgical procedure from received data can be referred to as “situational awareness.” In one exemplification, the surgical hub 2404 can incorporate a situational awareness system, which is the hardware and/or programming associated with the surgical hub 2404 that derives contextual information pertaining to the surgical procedure from the received data.
The situational awareness system of the surgical hub 2404 can be configured to derive the contextual information from the data received from the data sources 2426 in a variety of different ways. In one exemplification, the situational awareness system includes a pattern recognition system, or machine learning system (e.g., an artificial neural network), that has been trained on training data to correlate various inputs (e.g., data from databases 2422, patient monitoring devices 2424, and/or modular devices 2402) to corresponding contextual information regarding a surgical procedure. In other words, a machine learning system can be trained to accurately derive contextual information regarding a surgical procedure from the provided inputs. In another exemplification, the situational awareness system can include a lookup table storing pre-characterized contextual information regarding a surgical procedure in association with one or more inputs (or ranges of inputs) corresponding to the contextual information. In response to a query with one or more inputs, the lookup table can return the corresponding contextual information for the situational awareness system for controlling the modular devices 2402. In one exemplification, the contextual information received by the situational awareness system of the surgical hub 2404 is associated with a particular control adjustment or set of control adjustments for one or more modular devices 2402. In another exemplification, the situational awareness system includes a further machine learning system, lookup table, or other such system, which generates or retrieves one or more control adjustments for one or more modular devices 2402 when provided the contextual information as input.
A surgical hub 2404 incorporating a situational awareness system provides a number of benefits for the surgical system 2400. One benefit includes improving the interpretation of sensed and collected data, which would in turn improve the processing accuracy and/or the usage of the data during the course of a surgical procedure. To return to a previous example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine what type of tissue was being operated on; therefore, when an unexpectedly high force to close the surgical instrument's end effector is detected, the situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could correctly ramp up or ramp down the motor of the surgical instrument for the type of tissue.
As another example, the type of tissue being operated can affect the adjustments that are made to the compression rate and load thresholds of a surgical stapling and cutting instrument for a particular tissue gap measurement. A situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could infer whether a surgical procedure being performed is a thoracic or an abdominal procedure, allowing the surgical hub 2404 to determine whether the tissue clamped by an end effector of the surgical stapling and cutting instrument is lung (for a thoracic procedure) or stomach (for an abdominal procedure) tissue. The surgical hub 2404 could then adjust the compression rate and load thresholds of the surgical stapling and cutting instrument appropriately for the type of tissue.
As yet another example, the type of body cavity being operated in during an insufflation procedure can affect the function of a smoke evacuator. A situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine whether the surgical site is under pressure (by determining that the surgical procedure is utilizing insufflation) and determine the procedure type. As a procedure type is generally performed in a specific body cavity, the surgical hub 2404 could then control the motor rate of the smoke evacuator appropriately for the body cavity being operated in. Thus, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could provide a consistent amount of smoke evacuation for both thoracic and abdominal procedures.
As yet another example, the type of procedure being performed can affect the optimal energy level for an ultrasonic surgical instrument or radio frequency (RF) electrosurgical instrument to operate at. Arthroscopic procedures, for example, require higher energy levels because the end effector of the ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrument is immersed in fluid. A situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine whether the surgical procedure is an arthroscopic procedure. The surgical hub 2404 could then adjust the RF power level or the ultrasonic amplitude of the generator (i.e., “energy level”) to compensate for the fluid filled environment. Relatedly, the type of tissue being operated on can affect the optimal energy level for an ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrument to operate at. A situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine what type of surgical procedure is being performed and then customize the energy level for the ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrument, respectively, according to the expected tissue profile for the surgical procedure. Furthermore, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 can be configured to adjust the energy level for the ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrument throughout the course of a surgical procedure, rather than just on a procedure-by-procedure basis. A situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine what step of the surgical procedure is being performed or will subsequently be performed and then update the control algorithms for the generator and/or ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrument to set the energy level at a value appropriate for the expected tissue type according to the surgical procedure step.
As yet another example, data can be drawn from additional data sources 2426 to improve the conclusions that the surgical hub 2404 draws from one data source 2426. A situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could augment data that it receives from the modular devices 2402 with contextual information that it has built up regarding the surgical procedure from other data sources 2426. For example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 can be configured to determine whether hemostasis has occurred (i.e., whether bleeding at a surgical site has stopped) according to video or image data received from a medical imaging device. However, in some cases the video or image data can be inconclusive. Therefore, in one exemplification, the surgical hub 2404 can be further configured to compare a physiologic measurement (e.g., blood pressure sensed by a BP monitor communicably connected to the surgical hub 2404) with the visual or image data of hemostasis (e.g., from a medical imaging device 124 (
Another benefit includes proactively and automatically controlling the paired modular devices 2402 according to the particular step of the surgical procedure that is being performed to reduce the number of times that medical personnel are required to interact with or control the surgical system 2400 during the course of a surgical procedure. For example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could proactively activate the generator to which an RF electrosurgical instrument is connected if it determines that a subsequent step of the procedure requires the use of the instrument. Proactively activating the energy source allows the instrument to be ready for use a soon as the preceding step of the procedure is completed.
As another example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine whether the current or subsequent step of the surgical procedure requires a different view or degree of magnification on the display according to the feature(s) at the surgical site that the surgeon is expected to need to view. The surgical hub 2404 could then proactively change the displayed view (supplied by, e.g., a medical imaging device for the visualization system 108) accordingly so that the display automatically adjusts throughout the surgical procedure.
As yet another example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine which step of the surgical procedure is being performed or will subsequently be performed and whether particular data or comparisons between data will be required for that step of the surgical procedure. The surgical hub 2404 can be configured to automatically call up data screens based upon the step of the surgical procedure being performed, without waiting for the surgeon to ask for the particular information.
Another benefit includes checking for errors during the setup of the surgical procedure or during the course of the surgical procedure. For example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine whether the operating theater is setup properly or optimally for the surgical procedure to be performed. The surgical hub 2404 can be configured to determine the type of surgical procedure being performed, retrieve the corresponding checklists, product location, or setup needs (e.g., from a memory), and then compare the current operating theater layout to the standard layout for the type of surgical procedure that the surgical hub 2404 determines is being performed. In one exemplification, the surgical hub 2404 can be configured to compare the list of items for the procedure scanned by a suitable scanner for example and/or a list of devices paired with the surgical hub 2404 to a recommended or anticipated manifest of items and/or devices for the given surgical procedure. If there are any discontinuities between the lists, the surgical hub 2404 can be configured to provide an alert indicating that a particular modular device 2402, patient monitoring device 2424, and/or other surgical item is missing. In one exemplification, the surgical hub 2404 can be configured to determine the relative distance or position of the modular devices 2402 and patient monitoring devices 2424 via proximity sensors, for example. The surgical hub 2404 can compare the relative positions of the devices to a recommended or anticipated layout for the particular surgical procedure. If there are any discontinuities between the layouts, the surgical hub 2404 can be configured to provide an alert indicating that the current layout for the surgical procedure deviates from the recommended layout.
As another example, a situationally aware surgical hub 2404 could determine whether the surgeon (or other medical personnel) was making an error or otherwise deviating from the expected course of action during the course of a surgical procedure. For example, the surgical hub 2404 can be configured to determine the type of surgical procedure being performed, retrieve the corresponding list of steps or order of equipment usage (e.g., from a memory), and then compare the steps being performed or the equipment being used during the course of the surgical procedure to the expected steps or equipment for the type of surgical procedure that the surgical hub 2404 determined is being performed. In one exemplification, the surgical hub 2404 can be configured to provide an alert indicating that an unexpected action is being performed or an unexpected device is being utilized at the particular step in the surgical procedure.
Overall, the situational awareness system for the surgical hub 2404 improves surgical procedure outcomes by adjusting the surgical instruments (and other modular devices 2402) for the particular context of each surgical procedure (such as adjusting to different tissue types) and validating actions during a surgical procedure. The situational awareness system also improves surgeons' efficiency in performing surgical procedures by automatically suggesting next steps, providing data, and adjusting displays and other modular devices 2402 in the surgical theater according to the specific context of the procedure.
Referring now to
The situationally aware surgical hub 106, 206 receives data from the data sources throughout the course of the surgical procedure, including data generated each time medical personnel utilize a modular device that is paired with the surgical hub 106, 206. The surgical hub 106, 206 can receive this data from the paired modular devices and other data sources and continually derive inferences (i.e., contextual information) about the ongoing procedure as new data is received, such as which step of the procedure is being performed at any given time. The situational awareness system of the surgical hub 106, 206 is able to, for example, record data pertaining to the procedure for generating reports, verify the steps being taken by the medical personnel, provide data or prompts (e.g., via a display screen) that may be pertinent for the particular procedural step, adjust modular devices based on the context (e.g., activate monitors, adjust the field of view (FOV) of the medical imaging device, or change the energy level of an ultrasonic surgical instrument or RF electrosurgical instrument), and take any other such action described above.
As the first step 2502 in this illustrative procedure, the hospital staff members retrieve the patient's EMR from the hospital's EMR database. Based on select patient data in the EMR, the surgical hub 106, 206 determines that the procedure to be performed is a thoracic procedure.
Second step 2504, the staff members scan the incoming medical supplies for the procedure. The surgical hub 106, 206 cross-references the scanned supplies with a list of supplies that are utilized in various types of procedures and confirms that the mix of supplies corresponds to a thoracic procedure. Further, the surgical hub 106, 206 is also able to determine that the procedure is not a wedge procedure (because the incoming supplies either lack certain supplies that are necessary for a thoracic wedge procedure or do not otherwise correspond to a thoracic wedge procedure).
Third step 2506, the medical personnel scan the patient band via a scanner that is communicably connected to the surgical hub 106, 206. The surgical hub 106, 206 can then confirm the patient's identity based on the scanned data.
Fourth step 2508, the medical staff turns on the auxiliary equipment. The auxiliary equipment being utilized can vary according to the type of surgical procedure and the techniques to be used by the surgeon, but in this illustrative case they include a smoke evacuator, insufflator, and medical imaging device. When activated, the auxiliary equipment that are modular devices can automatically pair with the surgical hub 106, 206 that is located within a particular vicinity of the modular devices as part of their initialization process. The surgical hub 106, 206 can then derive contextual information about the surgical procedure by detecting the types of modular devices that pair with it during this pre-operative or initialization phase. In this particular example, the surgical hub 106, 206 determines that the surgical procedure is a VATS procedure based on this particular combination of paired modular devices. Based on the combination of the data from the patient's EMR, the list of medical supplies to be used in the procedure, and the type of modular devices that connect to the hub, the surgical hub 106, 206 can generally infer the specific procedure that the surgical team will be performing. Once the surgical hub 106, 206 knows what specific procedure is being performed, the surgical hub 106, 206 can then retrieve the steps of that procedure from a memory or from the cloud and then cross-reference the data it subsequently receives from the connected data sources (e.g., modular devices and patient monitoring devices) to infer what step of the surgical procedure the surgical team is performing.
Fifth step 2510, the staff members attach the EKG electrodes and other patient monitoring devices to the patient. The EKG electrodes and other patient monitoring devices are able to pair with the surgical hub 106, 206. As the surgical hub 106, 206 begins receiving data from the patient monitoring devices, the surgical hub 106, 206 thus confirms that the patient is in the operating theater.
Sixth step 2512, the medical personnel induce anesthesia in the patient. The surgical hub 106, 206 can infer that the patient is under anesthesia based on data from the modular devices and/or patient monitoring devices, including EKG data, blood pressure data, ventilator data, or combinations thereof, for example. Upon completion of the sixth step 2512, the pre-operative portion of the lung segmentectomy procedure is completed and the operative portion begins.
Seventh step 2514, the patient's lung that is being operated on is collapsed (while ventilation is switched to the contralateral lung). The surgical hub 106, 206 can infer from the ventilator data that the patient's lung has been collapsed, for example. The surgical hub 106, 206 can infer that the operative portion of the procedure has commenced as it can compare the detection of the patient's lung collapsing to the expected steps of the procedure (which can be accessed or retrieved previously) and thereby determine that collapsing the lung is the first operative step in this particular procedure.
Eighth step 2516, the medical imaging device (e.g., a scope) is inserted and video from the medical imaging device is initiated. The surgical hub 106, 206 receives the medical imaging device data (i.e., video or image data) through its connection to the medical imaging device. Upon receipt of the medical imaging device data, the surgical hub 106, 206 can determine that the laparoscopic portion of the surgical procedure has commenced. Further, the surgical hub 106, 206 can determine that the particular procedure being performed is a segmentectomy, as opposed to a lobectomy (note that a wedge procedure has already been discounted by the surgical hub 106, 206 based on data received at the second step 2504 of the procedure). The data from the medical imaging device 124 (
Ninth step 2518, the surgical team begins the dissection step of the procedure. The surgical hub 106, 206 can infer that the surgeon is in the process of dissecting to mobilize the patient's lung because it receives data from the RF or ultrasonic generator indicating that an energy instrument is being fired. The surgical hub 106, 206 can cross-reference the received data with the retrieved steps of the surgical procedure to determine that an energy instrument being fired at this point in the process (i.e., after the completion of the previously discussed steps of the procedure) corresponds to the dissection step. In certain instances, the energy instrument can be an energy tool mounted to a robotic arm of a robotic surgical system.
Tenth step 2520, the surgical team proceeds to the ligation step of the procedure. The surgical hub 106, 206 can infer that the surgeon is ligating arteries and veins because it receives data from the surgical stapling and cutting instrument indicating that the instrument is being fired. Similarly to the prior step, the surgical hub 106, 206 can derive this inference by cross-referencing the receipt of data from the surgical stapling and cutting instrument with the retrieved steps in the process. In certain instances, the surgical instrument can be a surgical tool mounted to a robotic arm of a robotic surgical system.
Eleventh step 2522, the segmentectomy portion of the procedure is performed. The surgical hub 106, 206 can infer that the surgeon is transecting the parenchyma based on data from the surgical stapling and cutting instrument, including data from its cartridge. The cartridge data can correspond to the size or type of staple being fired by the instrument, for example. As different types of staples are utilized for different types of tissues, the cartridge data can thus indicate the type of tissue being stapled and/or transected. In this case, the type of staple being fired is utilized for parenchyma (or other similar tissue types), which allows the surgical hub 106, 206 to infer that the segmentectomy portion of the procedure is being performed.
Twelfth step 2524, the node dissection step is then performed. The surgical hub 106, 206 can infer that the surgical team is dissecting the node and performing a leak test based on data received from the generator indicating that an RF or ultrasonic instrument is being fired. For this particular procedure, an RF or ultrasonic instrument being utilized after parenchyma was transected corresponds to the node dissection step, which allows the surgical hub 106, 206 to make this inference. It should be noted that surgeons regularly switch back and forth between surgical stapling/cutting instruments and surgical energy (i.e., RF or ultrasonic) instruments depending upon the particular step in the procedure because different instruments are better adapted for particular tasks. Therefore, the particular sequence in which the stapling/cutting instruments and surgical energy instruments are used can indicate what step of the procedure the surgeon is performing. Moreover, in certain instances, robotic tools can be utilized for one or more steps in a surgical procedure and/or handheld surgical instruments can be utilized for one or more steps in the surgical procedure. The surgeon(s) can alternate between robotic tools and handheld surgical instruments and/or can use the devices concurrently, for example. Upon completion of the twelfth step 2524, the incisions are closed up and the post-operative portion of the procedure begins.
Thirteenth step 2526, the patient's anesthesia is reversed. The surgical hub 106, 206 can infer that the patient is emerging from the anesthesia based on the ventilator data (i.e., the patient's breathing rate begins increasing), for example.
Lastly, the fourteenth step 2528 is that the medical personnel remove the various patient monitoring devices from the patient. The surgical hub 2106, 2236 can thus infer that the patient is being transferred to a recovery room when the hub loses EKG, BP, and other data from the patient monitoring devices. As can be seen from the description of this illustrative procedure, the surgical hub 2106, 2236 can determine or infer when each step of a given surgical procedure is taking place according to data received from the various data sources that are communicably coupled to the surgical hub 2106, 2236.
Situational awareness is further described in various U.S. Patent Applications that are incorporated by reference herein in the present disclosure, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. In certain instances, operation of a robotic surgical system, including the various robotic surgical systems disclosed herein, for example, can be controlled by the hub 2106, 2236 based on its situational awareness and/or feedback from the components thereof and/or based on information from the cloud 2104 (
One issue inherent to surgical procedures where surgeons rely upon imaging systems 142 (
In one general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a surgical system configured to utilize segments of images captured at a sampling rate via an imaging system 142 a multispectral light source to minimize the impairment of visualization due to various obstructions (e.g., surgical smoke). In one aspect, the surgical system can be configure to combine hyperspectral imaging with visible light imaging to minimize image interference caused by obstructions. The surgical system can, for example, be configured to detect aspects of underlying or obstructed portions of surgical instruments, the surgical site, or the surroundings by utilizing a separate wavelength or range of wavelengths of EMR. For example, the surgical system can utilize a frame from a sequential scanning device to transmit separate wavelength(s) of EMR, include a hyperspectral imaging device configured to scan both within and outside of the visible light spectrum, or a second imaging system configured to emit EMR at a different length than the first or primary imaging system. Accordingly, the surgical system can be configured to identify obstructed portions of image frames at a particular wavelength or set of wavelengths and interpolate or substitute portions of the obstructed image portions with unobstructed image portions of image frames obtained at other EMR wavelengths in order to provide a fully visualized, unobstructed image of the surgical site for the users.
In aspects utilizing an imaging system including a hyperspectral imaging device, the hyperspectral imaging device could scan at a particular rate (e.g., 240 frames per second) that would allow a portion of the emitted scan to include EMR from a near IR or UV laser source. Since those EMR at those wavelengths are not affected in the same manner as visible light to obstructions such as surgical smoke, fluids, and so on, the hyperspectral imaging device could be utilized to obtain images of shapes, contours, or features that exist in both the hyperspectral image and the corresponding visible light image. A control system of the surgical system, such as the control system 133 illustrated in
In particular examples, the imaging or visualization systems are described as including a hyperspectral imaging device or as utilizing hyperspectral imaging techniques. However, it should be noted that hyperspectral imaging is one particular type of multispectral imaging. In hyperspectral imaging, the wavelength “bins” are continuous, so hyperspectral imaging techniques are utilizing the entire EMR spectrum. Conversely, multispectral can mean that the “bins” are separated. In other words, a multispectral imaging system may sense EMR within, for example, the visible, mid-wave IR (MWIR), and LWIR portions of the EMR spectrum (there can be gaps that a multispectral imaging system does not sense in, e.g., the near IR (NIR) portion of the EMR spectrum and/or between MWIR and LWIR portions). The imaging or visualization systems and methods described herein should not be construed to be limited to any particular example, including examples describing hyperspectral imaging. In fact, the imaging or visualization systems and methods can broadly utilize any multispectral imaging devices and techniques.
In order to assist in the understanding of the aforementioned systems and methods, various examples will be described within the context of a video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) procedure. It should be understood that this is simply for illustrative purposes though and that the described systems and methods are applicable to other contexts and/or surgical procedures, however. A VATS procedure is a surgical procedure whereby one or more surgical instruments and one or more thoracoscopes (i.e., cameras) are inserted into the patient's chest cavity through slits positioned between the patient's ribs. The cameras are utilized to provide the surgeons with a view of the interior of the patient's chest cavity to allow the surgeon to properly position/move the surgical instrument(s) and manipulate tissue/structures within the chest cavity. Accordingly,
During a surgical procedure, various obscurants, such as surgical smoke clouds 3014 or other aerosols, fluids, gasses, tissues, structures, and so on, can move across the FOV 3020 of the imaging device(s) 3002 and thereby prevent the imaging system 132 from being able to fully visualize the surgical site, which can in turn negatively impact the surgeon's ability to perform the procedure. Many surgical systems 3000 include smoke evacuators 3008 to remove surgical smoke clouds 3014, other aerosols, and gasses from the body cavity being operated on. However, smoke evacuators 3008 may not be sufficient to remove all obscurants or there may be a delay associated with the removal of the obscurants during which the surgeon is unable to properly visualize the surgical site. Accordingly, systems and methods are needed to compensate for the presence of obscurants and allow for visualization of a surgical site through those obscurants.
In one aspect, an imaging system, such as the imaging system 142 illustrated in
In one aspect, a control system can be configured to utilize multispectral (e.g., hyperspectral) imaging to visualize a surgical site at multiple portions of the EMR spectrum and then provide a visualization to a user that is free from obscurants by replacing obscured portions of an image captured at one wavelength range with a corresponding portion of an image that is captured at another portion of the wavelength range that is not absorbed by the obscurant. One example of such an algorithm is shown in
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 executing the process 3050 can cause the imaging system 142 to sense 3052 EMR (e.g., via the imaging device 3002) at a first wavelength range (e.g., visible light) from the surgical site and then generate 3054 a corresponding first image therefrom. Correspondingly, the control circuit 132 can cause the imaging system 142 to sense 3056 EMR (e.g., via the imaging device 3002) at a second wavelength range (e.g., MWIR or LWIR) from the surgical site and then generate 3058 a corresponding second image therefrom.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can determine 3060 whether the first image is at least partially obstructed. The control circuit 132 can be configured to make this determination by detecting obstructions utilizing object recognition and other computer vision techniques. If the first image is not at least partially obstructed, then the process 3050 proceeds along the NO branch and the control circuit 132 can continue sensing 3052, 3054 EMR and generating 3054, 3058 corresponding images, as described above. If the first image is at least partially obstructed (i.e., there is an obstruction present within the image), then the process 3050 proceeds along the YES branch and the control circuit 132 can generate 3062 a third image by replacing the obstructed portion of the first image with the corresponding portion of the second image. If the second wavelength range was selected such that it is not absorbed by the obscurant, then the corresponding portion of the second image should be unobstructed. Therefore, the third image should provide an unobstructed visualization of the surgical site for viewing by the surgeon.
For the brevity, the process 3050 is described in the context of generating and combining two images captured at two different wavelength ranges; however, the imaging system 142 can be configured to sense and generate images at any number of wavelength ranges.
Another technique that can be utilized to compensate for obscurants present at the surgical site is to image sub-region interpolation, whereby portions of an image that are obscured, damaged, or otherwise interfered with can be replaced by corresponding portions of images from a synchronized image set. For example, a surgical control system could utilize lucky-region fusion (LRF) techniques to enhance the quality of the visualization provided to users by using multiple image frames. In one aspect, a control system can be configured to provide a visualization to a user that is free from obscurants by replacing obscured portions of an image with an unobscured portion of a previously captured image. One example of such an algorithm is shown in
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 executing the process 3100 can (e.g., via the imaging system 142) generate 3102 an image of the surgical site and then determine 3104 whether the image is at least partially obstructed, as described above. For example,
If the control circuit 132 determines 3104 that the image is not at least partially obstructed, then the process 3100 proceeds along the NO branch and the control circuit 132 can cause the imaging system 142 to continue generating images (i.e., visualizing the surgical site) for visualization of the surgical site, as described above. If the control circuit 132 determines 3104 that the image is at least partially constructed (e.g., as shown in the nth image frame 3160), then the process proceeds along the YES branch and the control circuit 132 can retrieve 3106 a prior image from the image set 3150. In one aspect, the control circuit 132 can successively retrieve 3106 one or more prior images from the image set 3150 until the control circuit 132 has located corresponding unobstructed image portions with which they replace the obstructed portion(s) of the first image.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can generate 3108 an updated image from the original image and the one or more prior images retrieved from the image set 3150. For example,
Another technique that can be utilized to compensate for obscurants present at the surgical site is to perform a comparative analysis of a set of synchronized imaging devices. A control system 133 could be configured to interlace multiple image portions generated by multiple synchronized imaging devices to generate a fused image. In particular, a portion of an image generated by a first or primary imaging system (e.g., the imaging system 142 shown in
One issue that is inherent to any surgical procedures and surgical instruments is controlling the surgical instruments in an ideal manner for the given patient and/or tissue conditions. To that end, some surgical instruments include sensors for sensing various parameters associated with the surgical instruments and/or the tissues being manipulated by the surgical instruments. However, some sensed data can be indicative of different states or conditions of the tissue and can thus be inconclusive absent additional data. Accordingly, a surgical system could incorporate data from an imaging system with other sensed data to resolve ambiguities and control surgical instruments ideally according to the determined state/condition of the tissue.
In one general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a control system configured to utilize of two sources of related, but not identical, data sources to differentiate between different states of a tissue being acted on by a surgical instrument. Such states that include, for example, fluid flow within the tissue and thermal impacts of energy directed by a surgical instrument on the tissue. The control system can be configured to control a surgical instrument, such as the surgical instrument 3290 described below.
In one aspect, sensors 3288 may be implemented as a limit switch, electromechanical device, solid-state switches, Hall-effect devices, MR devices, GMR devices, magnetometers, among others. In other implementations, the sensors 3288 may be solid-state switches that operate under the influence of light, such as optical sensors, IR sensors, ultraviolet sensors, among others. Still, the switches may be solid-state devices such as transistors (e.g., FET, junction FET, MOSFET, bipolar, and the like). In other implementations, the sensors 3288 may include electrical conductorless switches, ultrasonic switches, accelerometers, and inertial sensors, among others.
In one aspect, the position sensor 3284 may be implemented as an absolute positioning system comprising a magnetic rotary absolute positioning system implemented as an AS5055EQFT single-chip magnetic rotary position sensor available from Austria Microsystems, AG. The position sensor 3284 may interface with the control circuit 3260 to provide an absolute positioning system. The position may include multiple Hall-effect elements located above a magnet and coupled to a CORDIC processor, also known as the digit-by-digit method and Volder's algorithm, that is provided to implement a simple and efficient algorithm to calculate hyperbolic and trigonometric functions that require only addition, subtraction, bitshift, and table lookup operations.
In some examples, the position sensor 3284 may be omitted. Where the motor 3254 is a stepper motor, the control circuit 3260 may track the position of the closure member 3264 by aggregating the number and direction of steps that the motor has been instructed to execute. The position sensor 3284 may be located in the end effector 3292 or at any other portion of the instrument.
The control circuit 3260 may be in communication with one or more sensors 3288. The sensors 3288 may be positioned on the end effector 3292 and adapted to operate with the surgical instrument 3290 to measure the various derived parameters such as gap distance versus time, tissue compression versus time, and anvil strain versus time. The sensors 3288 may comprise a magnetic sensor, a magnetic field sensor, a strain gauge, a pressure sensor, a force sensor, an inductive sensor such as an eddy current sensor, a resistive sensor, a capacitive sensor, an optical sensor, and/or any other suitable sensor for measuring one or more parameters of the end effector 3292. The sensors 3288 may include one or more sensors.
An RF energy source 3294 is coupled to the end effector 3292 and is applied to the RF electrode 3296 when the RF electrode 3296 is provided in the end effector 3292 in place of the ultrasonic blade 3268 or to work in conjunction with the ultrasonic blade 3268. For example, the ultrasonic blade is made of electrically conductive metal and may be employed as the return path for electrosurgical RF current. The control circuit 3260 controls the delivery of the RF energy to the RF electrode 3296.
Additional details are disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/636,096, titled SURGICAL SYSTEM COUPLABLE WITH STAPLE CARTRIDGE AND RADIO FREQUENCY CARTRIDGE, AND METHOD OF USING SAME, filed Jun. 28, 2017, which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
In various aspects, the sensors 3288 of the surgical instrument 3290 can include sensors configured to detect or take measurements of various electrical parameters associated with a tissue acted on by the surgical instrument 3290, such as the capacitance or impedance of the tissue. In various aspects, the sensors 3288 can also include sensors configured to detect or take measurements of various physical parameters associated with the tissue acted on by the surgical instrument 3290, such as the temperature, viscoelastic compression (e.g., the tissue creep, time to stability, or rate of initial loading), or thickness (e.g., which can be detected upon first contact of the jaws with the tissue). Further, the image sensor 135 of the control system 133 illustrated in
In one aspect, a control system can be configured to control one or more operational parameters associated with the surgical system based on the state or condition of the tissue being acted on by a surgical instrument, which can be determined based on parameters sensed by the imaging system and other sensors. One example of such an algorithm is shown in
Accordingly, a control circuit 132 executing the process 3300 can receive 3302 a measurement of a first tissue parameter via the imaging system 142. As noted previously, the first tissue parameter can include, for example, the refractivity of the tissue at various wavelengths, the polarization of light reflected by the tissue, passive IR emissions by the tissue, or Doppler wavelength shift associated with the tissue.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can receive 3304 a measurement of a second tissue parameter via the sensor(s) 788. As noted previously, the second tissue parameter can include, for example, various electrical and/or physical characteristics of the tissue, such as the temperature, viscoelastic compression, or thickness of the tissue.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can determine 3306 a state or condition of the tissue based on the combination of the measurements of the received 3302, 3304 tissue parameters and then control 3308 the surgical instrument 3290 accordingly. The same measurement value for various electrical and/or physical characteristics of the tissue can be indicative of different conditions of the tissue, which can in turn necessitate different control adjustments to be applied to the surgical instrument 3290. Absent additional or supplementary information, a control system 133 may not control the surgical instrument 3290 correctly for the given condition of the tissue in situations where the tissue condition is ambiguous based on the measurement value for various electrical and/or physical characteristics of the tissue. Therefore, the presently described control system supplements the electrical and/or physical characteristic(s) sensed by the sensor(s) 3288 with a tissue parameter(s) sensed via the imaging system 142 in order to accurately ascertain the state or condition of the tissue and then control the surgical instrument 3290 in an appropriate manner. For example, different manners of controlling a surgical instrument 3290 could be appropriate in response to detecting an increase in the tissue temperature (i.e., the second tissue parameter received 3304 during the process 3300) localized to the end effector 3292 of the surgical instrument 3290. If the control system 133 detects a corresponding change in the polarization or refractivity of the tissue (i.e., the first tissue parameter received 3302 during the process 3300), then the control circuit 132 can determine 3306 that the tissue is suffering from collateral thermal damage and control 3308 the surgical instrument 3290 to decrease the instrument power level or provide a suggestion to the user to decrease the instrument power level. Conversely, if no corresponding change in the polarization or refractivity of the tissue is detected, then the control circuit 132 can determine 3306 that the tissue is not suffering from collateral thermal damage and control 3308 the surgical instrument 3290 to maintain or increase the instrument power level or provide a suggestion to this effect. As another example, different manners of controlling a surgical instrument 3290 could be appropriate in response to detecting the tissue impedance (i.e., the second tissue parameter received 3304 during the process 3300) for the tissue grasped by the end effector 3292 of the surgical instrument 3290. If the control system 133 detects no change in the tissue impedance while the imaging system 142 visualizes movement, creep, or compression of the tissue (i.e., the first tissue parameter received 3302 during the process 3300), then the control circuit 132 can determine 3306 that there is a subsurface irregularity in the grasped tissue.
The control system 133 described herein can be, for example, implemented on or executed by surgical instrument 3290, a surgical hub 2236 (
In one aspect, a control system, such as the control system 133 described in connection with
One issue inherent to surgical procedures using electrosurgical instruments is the smoke generated by the instruments. Surgical smoke can include toxic gas and vapors; bioaerosols, including dead and living cell material, blood fragments, and viruses; and mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds. Therefore, it is highly desirable to remove these particulates from the surgical site and, accordingly, smoke evacuators are generally utilized in surgical procedures that result in the generation of surgical smoke. However, it would be desirable to control smoke evacuators and other surgical devices (including surgical instruments) according to the type(s) of particulates being generated because different particulate types may necessitate different types of control adjustments to precisely control and mitigate the generation of smoke during the surgical procedure. A surgical system could, e.g., change the surgical instrument energy profile to generate less smoke and/or automatically control the smoke evacuator according to the type of particulate being generated.
In one general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a control system configured to detect the level of polarization of light emitted by an imaging system to determine a parameter of a particulate cloud and adjust the control parameters of a linked system or device accordingly. In one further aspect, the polarization of the EMR reflected from the detected particulates can be utilized in combination with the vectorization and quantity of the generated particulates to determine the source of the particulates, which can in turn be utilized to control the device(s) causing the generation of the particulates to improve visualization at the surgical site. In one further aspect, the polarization of the EMR reflected from the detected particulates could be utilized to determine whether adjusting the control parameters of an electrosurgical instrument or a smoke evacuator would be more effective at improving visualization at the surgical site.
During a surgical procedure, airborne particulates may be present at the surgical site. These particulates can include both naturally occurring particulates and non-natural or synthetic particulates. Naturally occurring particulates can be generated due to the interactions between the surgical instruments, such as an electrosurgical instrument, and the tissue being treated. Naturally occurring particulates can include, for example, dead and living cell material, blood fragments, and other biological material. Man-made or synthetic particulates can be introduced to the surgical site by surgical staff. These particulates can be embodied as smoke or aerosols present within or at the surgical site. Generally speaking, the presence of such particulates can be undesirable, so many surgical systems include a smoke evacuator to remove undesired smoke or aerosols from the surgical site. However, the imaging system can be configured to detect the particulates (i.e., smoke) generated at the surgical site and the control system can be configured to control various operational parameters of the surgical system or components thereof based on the characteristics or properties of the detected particulates. Some examples of such control algorithms are described herein.
Referring back to
In one aspect, naturally occurring particulates 3510 and synthetic particulates 3512 can be distinguished from each other based upon the reflective characteristics of the airborne particulates 3510, 3512 when subject to polarized EMR 3506. For example, a control system 133 can be configured to cause the emitter 3502 to pulse coherent EMR, with and without polarization, at multiple different wavelength in order to determine the distance to the body that is subject to the surgical procedure and define a range gate so that the control system 133 is only taking depolarization measurements from EMR 3506 reflected from particulates within the air space between the emitter 3502 and the body cavity and not from the body cavity itself. In particular, the control system 133 can be configured to cause the emitter 3502 to pulse coherent EMR at a first wavelength and a second wavelength. The first wavelength can be selected such that the EMR at the first wavelength is substantially non-interactive with naturally occurring particulates 3510 and synthetic particulates 3512 and can therefore penetrate smoke and be reflected from the body cavity. The control system 133 can then determine the distance to the body cavity via, for example, a time-of-flight sensor system 1104, 1204, as described in connection with
In one aspect, a control system can be configured to control one or more operational parameters associated with the surgical system based on the type of airborne particulates detected at a surgical site. Example of such algorithms are shown in
Turning now specifically to
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can receive 3604 the polarized EMR reflected from the airborne particulates at the surgical site (e.g., within the body cavity) and determine 3606 whether the detected particulate type is a naturally occurring particulate 3510 or a man-made particulate 3512. The control circuit 132 can differentiate between the different types of airborne particulates 3510, 3512 due to their different reflective characteristics when subject to polarized EMR. In particular, one of the types of the airborne particulates 3510, 3512 (e.g., man-made particulates 3512) could scatter polarized EMR at a higher rate than the other type (e.g., naturally occurring particulates 3510). This would decrease the degree of visualization of the scattering airborne particulate type or otherwise affect the manner in which the reflected EMR is received by the image sensor 135 of the imaging system 142. Therefore, this difference in visualization of the different types of airborne particulates 3510, 3512 can be characterized and utilized to identify the types of airborne particulates 3510, 3512 present at the surgical site (e.g., within the body cavity).
Accordingly, if the particulates are naturally occurring particulates 3510, then the process 3600 can proceed along the YES branch and the control circuit 132 can adjust 3608 a control parameter of the surgical system to a first state corresponding to naturally occurring particulates 3510. Conversely, if the particulates are man-made particulates 3512, then the process 3600 can proceed along the NO branch and the control circuit 132 can adjust 3610 the control parameter of the surgical system to a second state corresponding to man-made particulates 3512.
In another aspect, there could be various combinations of naturally occurring particulates 3510 and man-made particulates 3512 present within the body cavity. In such a case, the control circuit 132 could instead determine a relative ratio of the types of airborne particulates 3510, 3512 present within the body cavity (e.g., due to the relative degree by which visualization is reduced or impacted) and then control a surgical device or combination of surgical devices accordingly.
In yet another aspect, a control system can be configured to range gate the measurements and/or visualization based on the polarizing EMR source 3500. Such an aspect can be embodied by the process 3650 illustrated in
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 executing the process 3650 can cause the imaging system 142 to emit 3652 EMR at a first wavelength directed at a surgical site via, for example, a structured light source 152 and/or a spectral light source 150. In one aspect, the first wavelength can be a wavelength that is substantially non-interactive with the naturally occurring particulates 3510 and synthetic particulates 3512 that are to be imaged by the imaging system 142.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can, via the imaging system 142, receive 3654 the EMR reflected from the body cavity (i.e., surgical site) and define 3656 a range gate corresponding to the airspace between the emitter(s) of the imaging system 142 and the body cavity surface, as is described above.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can cause the imaging system 142 to emit 3658 polarized EMR at a second wavelength directed at a surgical site via, for example, a polarizing EMR source 3500. In one aspect, the second wavelength can be a wavelength that is substantially interactive with the naturally occurring particulates 3510 and synthetic particulates 3512 that are to be imaged by the imaging system 142.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can, via the imaging system 142, receive the polarized EMR reflected within the defined range gate, which could correspond to the airborne particulates 3510, 3512 located between the emitter(s) of the imaging system 142 and the body cavity surface. The control circuit 132 can then determine 3662 whether the detected particulate type is a naturally occurring particulate 3510 or a man-made particulate 3512 and adjust 3608, 3610 a control parameter of the surgical system to a first state or a second state, as is described above with respect to the process 3600 shown in
In another aspect, the surgical system can further be configured to track the movement of the airborne particulates throughout the course of a surgical procedure, which can in turn be utilized to characterize the movement and change in size or configuration of a cloud defined by the airborne particulates. By characterizing the movement of the airborne particulates over time, the surgical system can, for example, determine how well the smoke evacuation of the body cavity is performing and then adjust or provide recommendations to the user to adjust the location or magnitude of smoke evacuation or insufflation. For example, the surgical system could deactivating a first smoke evacuator or first insufflator and activate a second smoke evacuator or second insufflator to adjust the gaseous circulation currents within the body cavity and thereby mitigate any eddies within the body cavity (i.e., areas where the movement vectors of the particulates and/or gasses are zero or near zero) to improve smoke evacuation performance. As another example, the surgical system could adjust a motor or fan level of a smoke evacuator or insufflator to improve smoke evacuation performance.
In one aspect, the control system 133 can be configured to track and characterize the movement of airborne particulates by characterizing the detection of particulates across the cells or pixels of an image sensor 135. In particular, the control system 133 can determine at which pixels the image sensor 135 has detected particulates and then track the movement of the particulates over time across the pixel array of the image sensor 135. In one aspect, the control system 133 can be configured to divide an image obtained via an image sensor 135 into two or more pixel array sections, generate a movement vector corresponding to the generalized change in position by the detected airborne particulates from a first time instance to a second time instance, and then characterize the movement or change in configuration of the particulate cloud accordingly.
For example,
In one aspect, a control circuit 132 coupled to the image sensor 135 can be configured to track the movements of detected airborne particulates, calculate a generalized movement vector corresponding to the changes in position of the detected airborne particulates within the pixel array 3700 (which can represent the entire pixel array of the image sensor 135 or a subsection thereof), and then control various connected surgical devices, such as insufflators, smoke evacuators, and/or surgical instruments accordingly. In one aspect, the control system 133 including the control circuit 132 can be embodied as a surgical hub 2106, 2236 as described above under the heading SURGICAL HUB SYSTEM. In this aspect, the surgical devices can be communicatively connected to (e.g., paired with) a surgical hub 2106, 2236 and controlled according to the described systems and processes.
In another aspect, the control system 133 can be configured to utilize Raman spectroscopy techniques to determine vibrational/rotational aspects of the airborne particulates using, for example, near IR, UV, or a combination of near IR and UV wavelengths. Data derived from such techniques could, for example, provide information on the gas phase species (e.g., benzenes vs. aldehydes), which in turn could give insights into the type of tissue from which the particulates were generated or to the efficiency of the energy being applied to the tissue. The control system 133 can include, for example, a filter (e.g., a bandpass or notch filter) coupled to the detector to filter out elastic scattering of the source EMR, since the desired information of the species is contained in the inelastic scattering of the EMR. The signals generated by the image sensor 135 or another such detector (e.g., a CCD detector) according to the Raman spectroscopy techniques can be based on the intrinsic structural properties of the detected molecules. In particular, Raman spectroscopy is based on the concept that, e.g., a photon emitted by an appropriate emitter excites a molecule to a higher energy state, which causes the scattered photon to change frequency as a result of conserving energy from the vibrational/rotational change in the molecule. This change in frequency of the scattered photon can be utilized to characterize the type of molecule with which the photon interacted with by comparing the detected signal with pre-characterized data for a given excitation frequency according to the particular type of monochromatic light source utilized. The determined molecule type of the particulates could be utilized for a number of different applications, including providing specific data on relative amounts of potentially hazardous molecules being generated at the surgical site for safety monitoring purposes. The determined molecule type of the particulates could also be utilized to assess the effectiveness and health of the smoke evacuator system or a filter thereof.
One issue inherent to surgical procedures using electrosurgical instruments is the smoke generated by the instruments. Surgical smoke can include toxic gas and vapors; bioaerosols, including dead and living cell material, blood fragments, and viruses; and mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds. Therefore, it is highly desirable to remove these particulates from the surgical site and, accordingly, smoke evacuators are generally utilized in surgical procedures that result in the generation of surgical smoke. However, it would be desirable to control smoke evacuators and other surgical devices (including surgical instruments) according to the amount of smoke at the surgical site, the variation in the smoke cloud over time (e.g., whether a smoke cloud is actively accumulating or diminishing), and other such smoke cloud characteristics in order to precisely control and mitigate the generation of smoke during the surgical procedure. A surgical system could, e.g., change the surgical instrument energy profile to generate less smoke and/or automatically control the smoke evacuator according to the amount of surgical smoke being generated.
In one general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a surgical system configure to detect and characterize amorphous, three-dimensional particulate clouds generated during surgical procedures. The surgical system can be configured to detect the movements of the particulate cloud within the abdominal cavity and relative to the surgical site and then control various surgical devices, such as surgical instruments or a smoke evacuator, accordingly. In one general aspect, the present disclosure is directed to a control system configured to define a surface or boundary of a cloud or particulate cluster generated during a surgical procedure and analyze various characteristics of the defined cloud, such as the direction and rate-of-change of the boundary, to control various control parameters of a surgical system, such as the power level of a surgical instrument/generator or smoke evacuation motor control. In one further aspect, the control system can be configured to develop the boundary by defining a predefined density of the particulates based on the overall volume of the particulates or the size of the particulates. In another further aspect, the rate-of-change of the particulate cloud surface boundary can be utilized to directionally define the rate of change of the energy device or the smoke evacuation mechanism.
During a surgical procedure, airborne particulates 3751 may be generated due to the interactions between the surgical instruments, such as an electrosurgical instrument 3754, and the tissue 3760 being treated. These particulates 3751 can be embodied as a cloud 3752 of smoke or an aerosol present within or at the surgical site. Generally speaking, the presence of such particulates 3751 can be undesirable, so many surgical systems 3750 include a smoke evacuator 3756 to remove the particulates 3751 from the surgical site. However, the imaging system can be configured to image the particulates 3751 and/or smoke generated at the surgical site and the control system can be configured to control various operational parameters of the surgical system 3750 or components thereof based on the characteristics or properties of the imaged smoke. Some examples of such control algorithms are described herein.
In one aspect, a control system can be configured to control one or more operational parameters associated with the surgical system 3750 based on one or more characteristics associated with a smoke cloud generated at a surgical site. One example of such an algorithm is shown in
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 executing the process 3800 can detect 3802 the presence of airborne particulates within the FOV of the imaging system 142 using any of the techniques described above. In general, the image sensor 135 of the imaging system 142 can detect EMR emitted by a structured light source 152 and/or a spectral light source 150 and reflected by the airborne particulates to detect/image the particulates.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can characterize 3804 the particulate cloud defined by the detected particulates. In one aspect, the control circuit 132 can be configured to define a three-dimensional boundary of the particulate cloud to delineate an amorphous, three-dimensional construct whose density, volume, position, movement, and/or boundaries can be tracked over time. The boundary of the particulate cloud at the surgical site can be defined in a variety of different manners. For example, the particulate cloud boundary can be defined as the volume encompassing all of the airborne particulates detected within the FOV of the imaging system 142. As another example, the particulate cloud boundary can be defined as the volume having a threshold density of airborne particulates.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can determine 3806 whether one or more characteristics of the particulate cloud violate a threshold. Such tracked characteristics can include, for example, the density of the particulate cloud, volume of the particulate cloud, position of the particulate cloud and/or its boundary, movement of the particulate cloud and/or its boundary, and/or the rate of change or other derivative of any of the aforementioned characteristics. The threshold(s) for the tracked characteristics can be preprogrammed or dependent upon other parameters, such as the surgical context (e.g., the type of surgical procedure being performed). If a threshold is not violated, then the process 3800 can proceed along the NO branch and the control circuit 132 can continue as described above until, for example, a stopping criterion has been satisfied (e.g., the surgical procedure being completed). If a threshold is violated, then the process 3800 can proceed along the YES branch and the control circuit 132 can continue as described below.
Accordingly, the control circuit 132 can adjust 3808 one or more control parameters of the surgical system 3750. The control parameters that are adjustable by the control circuit 132 can include surgical instrument/generator energy level, smoke evacuator suction, visualization parameters, and so on. For example,
Initially, the electrosurgical instrument 3754 is not applying energy to the captured tissue 3760, as indicated by a first graphic 3890. Accordingly, the energy duty cycle of the electrosurgical instrument 3754 is zero, the smoke evacuator suction flow rate is at a base or default rate, and no smoke is being generated (because no energy is being applied to the tissue 3760). At time t1, the surgeon activates the electrosurgical instrument 3754 and begins applying energy to the tissue 3760, represented by the energy duty cycle increasing 3870 from zero to E3. Due to the application of energy to the tissue 3760, smoke begins to be generated at the surgical site, represented by the smoke cloud density sharply increasing 3862 from zero a period of time after t1. Further, in response to the energy being activated, the smoke evacuator flow rate can be increased 3882 by the control circuit 132 from Q1 to Q2 as the smoke evacuator 3756 begins attempting to remove the generated smoke from the surgical site. At this stage, the control circuit 132 can begin detecting 3802 the airborne particulates generated by the application of energy and characterizing 3804 the corresponding smoke cloud defined by the airborne particulates.
At time t2, the application of energy to the tissue 3760 has caused a smoke cloud 3752 to develop at the surgical site, as indicated by a second graphic 3892. The control circuit 132 can determine 3806 that the cloud density has exceeded a smoke cloud density threshold (e.g., as represented by D3). Accordingly, the control circuit 132 adjusts 3808 the electrosurgical instrument energy duty cycle control parameter by decreasing 3872 it from E3 to E2. The control circuit 132 can elect to make this adjustment because applying lower levels of energy to a tissue 3760 can result in less smoke being generated. In response, the smoke cloud density begins decreasing 3864 at time t1.
At time t3, the smoke cloud 3752 has decreased in size, but has not completely dissipated, as indicated by a third graphic 3894. The control circuit 132 can determine 3806 that the cloud density is not decreasing at a fast enough rate or that some other characteristic of the smoke cloud is violating some other threshold. Accordingly, the control circuit 132 again adjusts 3808 the electrosurgical instrument energy duty cycle control parameter by decreasing 3874 it from E2 to E1 in order mitigate further smoke generation.
At time t4, the smoke cloud 3752 has nearly dissipated, as indicated by the fourth graphic 3896. The control circuit 132 can determine 3806 can determine 3806 that the smoke cloud has violated another threshold, such as the cloud density being above a particular level (e.g., as represented by Di) for longer than a threshold period of time (e.g., as represented by t4). Accordingly, the control circuit 132 adjusts the smoke evacuator suction flow rate control parameter by increasing 3884 it from Q2 to Q3 in order to fully remove the smoke particulates from the surgical site.
It should be noted that the implementation of the process 3800 embodied by
Various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein may be employed in one or more of the following clinical applications. The following clinical applications are non-exhaustive and merely illustrative applications for one or more of the various surgical visualization systems disclosed herein.
A surgical visualization system, as disclosed herein, can be employed in a number of different types of procedures for different medical specialties, such as urology, gynecology, oncology, colorectal, thoracic, bariatric/gastric, and hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB), for example. In urological procedures, such as a prostatectomy, for example, the ureter may be detected in fat or connective tissue and/or nerves may be detected in fat, for example. In gynecological oncology procedures, such as a hysterectomy, for example, and in colorectal procedures, such as a low anterior resection (LAR) procedure, for example, the ureter may be detected in fat and/or in connective tissue, for example. In thoracic procedures, such as a lobectomy, for example, a vessel may be detected in the lung or in connective tissue and/or a nerve may be detected in connective tissue (e.g., an esophagostomy). In bariatric procedures, a vessel may be detected in fat. In HPB procedures, such as a hepatectomy or pancreatectomy, for example, a vessel may be detected in fat (extrahepatic), in connective tissue (extrahepatic), and the bile duct may be detected in parenchyma (liver or pancreas) tissue.
In one example, a clinician may want to remove an endometrial myoma. From a preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan, the clinician may know that the endometrial myoma is located on the surface of the bowel. Therefore, the clinician may want to know, intraoperatively, what tissue constitute a portion of the bowel and what tissue constitutes a portion of the rectum. In such instances, a surgical visualization system, as disclosed herein, can indicate the different types of tissue (bowel versus rectum) and convey that information to a clinician via an imaging system. Moreover, the imaging system can determine and communicate the proximity of a surgical device to the select tissue. In such instances, the surgical visualization system can provide increased procedural efficiency without critical complications.
In another example, a clinician (e.g. a gynecologist) may stay away from certain anatomic regions to avoid getting too close to critical structures and, thus, the clinician may not remove all of the endometriosis, for example. A surgical visualization system, as disclosed herein, can enable the gynecologist to mitigate the risk of getting too close to the critical structure such that the gynecologist can get close enough with the surgical device to remove all the endometriosis, which can improve the patient outcomes (democratizing surgery). Such a system can enable the surgeon to “keep moving” during the surgical procedure instead of repeatedly stopping and restarting in order to identify areas to avoid, especially during the application of therapeutic energy such as ultrasonic or electrosurgical energy, for example. In gynecological applications, uterine arteries and ureters are important critical structures and the system may be particularly useful for hysterectomy and endometriosis procedures given the presentation and/or thickness of tissue involved.
In another example, a clinician may risk dissection of a vessel at a location that is too proximal and, thus, which can affect blood supply to a lobe other than the target lobe. Moreover, anatomic differences from patient to patient may lead to dissection of a vessel (e.g. a branch) that affects a different lobe based on the particular patient. A surgical visualization system, as disclosed herein, can enable the identification of the correct vessel at the desired location, which enables the clinician to dissect with appropriate anatomic certainty. For example, the system can confirm that the correct vessel is in the correct place and then the clinician can safely divide the vessel.
In another example, a clinician may make multiple dissections before dissecting at the best location due to uncertainty about the anatomy of the vessel. However, it is desirable to dissect in the best location in the first instance because more dissection can increase the risk of bleeding. A surgical visualization system, as disclosed herein, can minimize the number of dissections by indicating the correct vessel and the best location for dissection. Ureters and cardinal ligaments, for example, are dense and provide unique challenges during dissection. In such instances, it can be especially desirable to minimize the number of dissections.
In another example, a clinician (e.g. a surgical oncologist) removing cancerous tissue may want to know the identification of critical structures, localization of the cancer, staging of the cancer, and/or an evaluation of tissue health. Such information is beyond what a clinician sees with the “naked eye”. A surgical visualization system, as disclosed herein, can determine and/or convey such information to the clinician intraoperatively to enhance intraoperative decision making and improve surgical outcomes. In certain instances, the surgical visualization system can be compatible with minimally invasive surgery (MIS), open surgery, and/or robotic approaches using either an endoscope or exoscope, for example.
In another example, a clinician (e.g. a surgical oncologist) may want to turn off one or more alerts regarding the proximity of a surgical tool to one or more critical structure to avoid being overly conservative during a surgical procedure. In other instances, the clinician may want to receive certain types of alerts, such as haptic feedback (e.g. vibrations/buzzing) to indicate proximity and/or or “no fly zones” to stay sufficiently far away from one or more critical structures. A surgical visualization system, as disclosed herein, can provide flexibility based on the experience of the clinician and/or desired aggressiveness of the procedure, for example. In such instances, the system provides a balance between “knowing too much” and “knowing enough” to anticipate and avoid critical structures. The surgical visualization system can assist in planning the next step(s) during a surgical procedure.
Various aspects of the subject matter described herein are set out in the following numbered examples.
Example 1. A control system for a surgical system, the control system comprising an imaging system and a control circuit coupled to the imaging system. The imaging system comprises an emitter configured to emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR), a polarizing filter configured to polarize the EMR emitted by the emitter, and an image sensor. The control circuit is configured to detect the polarized EMR reflected from an airborne particulate as received by the image sensor, determine whether a particulate type of the airborne particulate is a naturally occurring particulate or a synthetic particulate based on a reflective characteristic of the polarized EMR, and adjust a control parameter of the surgical system according to the determined particulate type.
Example 2. The control system of Example 1, wherein the surgical system comprises a smoke evacuator and the control parameter comprises at least one of a flow rate, a fan level, or a motor level of the smoke evacuator.
Example 3. The control system of Example 1, wherein the surgical system comprises an electrosurgical instrument and the control parameter comprises at least one of a power level or an energy profile of the electrosurgical instrument.
Example 4. The control system of any one of Examples 1-3, wherein the airborne particulate is one of a plurality of airborne particulates, the image sensor comprises a pixel array, and the control circuit is further configured to detect a change in detection of the plurality of airborne particulates according to the pixel array and characterize a movement of a surgical smoke cloud defined by the plurality of airborne particulates according to the detected change.
Example 5. The control system of Example 4, wherein the control circuit is further configured to determine a quantity of the plurality of airborne particulates, determine vectors of movement of the plurality of airborne particulates, and characterize the movement of the surgical cloud according to the determined quantity and the determined vectors.
Example 6. The control system of any one of Examples 1-5, wherein a surgical hub comprises the control system.
Example 7. A control system for a surgical system, the control system comprising an imaging system and a control circuit coupled to the imaging system. The imaging system comprises multispectral electromagnetic radiation (EMR) source, a polarizing filter configured to polarize EMR emitted by the multispectral EMR source, and an image sensor. The control circuit is configured to detect the polarized EMR reflected from a particulate in an aerosol as received by the image sensor, determine whether a particulate type of the particulate is a naturally occurring particulate or a synthetic particulate based on a reflective characteristic of the polarized EMR, determine whether to adjust a first control parameter or a second control parameter according to the determined particulate type, and adjust the first control parameter or the second control parameter accordingly.
Example 8. The control system of Example 7, wherein the surgical system comprises a smoke evacuator and the first control parameter comprises at least one of a flow rate, a fan level, or a motor level of the smoke evacuator.
Example 9. The control system of Example 7, wherein the surgical system comprises an electrosurgical instrument and the second control parameter comprises at least one of a power level or an energy profile of the electrosurgical instrument.
Example 10. The control system of any one of Examples 7-9, wherein the particulate is one of a plurality of particulates, the image sensor comprises a pixel array, and the control circuit is further configured to detect a change in detection of the plurality of particulates according to the pixel array and characterize a movement of the aerosol defined by the plurality of particulates according to the detected change.
Example 11. The control system of Example 10, wherein the control circuit is further configured to determine a quantity of the plurality of particulates, determine vectors of movement of the plurality of particulates, and characterize the movement of the aerosol according to the determined quantity and the determined vectors.
Example 12. A method for controlling a surgical system, the surgical system comprising an imaging system, the imaging system comprising an emitter configured to emit electromagnetic radiation (EMR), a polarizing filter configured to polarize the EMR emitted by the emitter, and an image sensor. The method comprises detecting the polarized EMR reflected from an airborne particulate as received by the image sensor, determining whether a particulate type of the airborne particulate is a naturally occurring particulate or a synthetic particulate based on a reflective characteristic of the polarized EMR, and adjusting a control parameter of the surgical system according to the determined particulate type.
Example 13. The method of Example 12, wherein the surgical system further comprises a smoke evacuator and the control parameter comprises at least one of a flow rate, a fan level, or a motor level of the smoke evacuator.
Example 14. The method of Example 12, wherein the surgical system further comprises an electrosurgical instrument and the control parameter comprises at least one of a power level or an energy profile of the electrosurgical instrument.
Example 15. The method of any one of Examples 12-14, wherein the airborne particulate is one of a plurality of airborne particulates, the image sensor comprises a pixel array, and the method further comprises detecting a change in detection of the plurality of airborne particulates according to the pixel array and characterizing a movement of a surgical smoke cloud defined by the plurality of airborne particulates according to the detected change.
Example 16. The method of Example 15, wherein the method further comprises determining a quantity of the plurality of airborne particulates, determining vectors of movement of the plurality of airborne particulates, and characterizing the movement of the surgical cloud according to the determined quantity and the determined vectors.
Example 17. The method of any one of Examples 12-16, wherein a surgical hub comprises the surgical system.
While several forms have been illustrated and described, it is not the intention of Applicant to restrict or limit the scope of the appended claims to such detail. Numerous modifications, variations, changes, substitutions, combinations, and equivalents to those forms may be implemented and will occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, the structure of each element associated with the described forms can be alternatively described as a means for providing the function performed by the element. Also, where materials are disclosed for certain components, other materials may be used. It is therefore to be understood that the foregoing description and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, combinations, and variations as falling within the scope of the disclosed forms. The appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, variations, changes, substitutions, modifications, and equivalents.
The foregoing detailed description has set forth various forms of the devices and/or processes via the use of block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples. Insofar as such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples contain one or more functions and/or operations, it will be understood by those within the art that each function and/or operation within such block diagrams, flowcharts, and/or examples can be implemented, individually and/or collectively, by a wide range of hardware, software, firmware, or virtually any combination thereof. Those skilled in the art will recognize that some aspects of the forms disclosed herein, in whole or in part, can be equivalently implemented in integrated circuits, as one or more computer programs running on one or more computers (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more computer systems), as one or more programs running on one or more processors (e.g., as one or more programs running on one or more microprocessors), as firmware, or as virtually any combination thereof, and that designing the circuitry and/or writing the code for the software and or firmware would be well within the skill of one of skill in the art in light of this disclosure. In addition, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the mechanisms of the subject matter described herein are capable of being distributed as one or more program products in a variety of forms, and that an illustrative form of the subject matter described herein applies regardless of the particular type of signal bearing medium used to actually carry out the distribution.
Instructions used to program logic to perform various disclosed aspects can be stored within a memory in the system, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), cache, flash memory, or other storage. Furthermore, the instructions can be distributed via a network or by way of other computer readable media. Thus a machine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing or transmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer), but is not limited to, floppy diskettes, optical disks, compact disc, read-only memory (CD-ROMs), and magneto-optical disks, read-only memory (ROMs), random access memory (RAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic or optical cards, flash memory, or a tangible, machine-readable storage used in the transmission of information over the Internet via electrical, optical, acoustical or other forms of propagated signals (e.g., carrier waves, infrared signals, digital signals, etc.). Accordingly, the non-transitory computer-readable medium includes any type of tangible machine-readable medium suitable for storing or transmitting electronic instructions or information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer).
As used in any aspect herein, the term “control circuit” may refer to, for example, hardwired circuitry, programmable circuitry (e.g., a computer processor including one or more individual instruction processing cores, processing unit, processor, microcontroller, microcontroller unit, controller, digital signal processor (DSP), programmable logic device (PLD), programmable logic array (PLA), or field programmable gate array (FPGA)), state machine circuitry, firmware that stores instructions executed by programmable circuitry, and any combination thereof. The control circuit may, collectively or individually, be embodied as circuitry that forms part of a larger system, for example, an integrated circuit (IC), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on-chip (SoC), desktop computers, laptop computers, tablet computers, servers, smart phones, etc. Accordingly, as used herein “control circuit” includes, but is not limited to, electrical circuitry having at least one discrete electrical circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one integrated circuit, electrical circuitry having at least one application specific integrated circuit, electrical circuitry forming a general purpose computing device configured by a computer program (e.g., a general purpose computer configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein, or a microprocessor configured by a computer program which at least partially carries out processes and/or devices described herein), electrical circuitry forming a memory device (e.g., forms of random access memory), and/or electrical circuitry forming a communications device (e.g., a modem, communications switch, or optical-electrical equipment). Those having skill in the art will recognize that the subject matter described herein may be implemented in an analog or digital fashion or some combination thereof.
As used in any aspect herein, the term “logic” may refer to an app, software, firmware and/or circuitry configured to perform any of the aforementioned operations. Software may be embodied as a software package, code, instructions, instruction sets and/or data recorded on non-transitory computer readable storage medium. Firmware may be embodied as code, instructions or instruction sets and/or data that are hard-coded (e.g., nonvolatile) in memory devices.
As used in any aspect herein, the terms “component,” “system,” “module” and the like can refer to a computer-related entity, either hardware, a combination of hardware and software, software, or software in execution.
As used in any aspect herein, an “algorithm” refers to a self-consistent sequence of steps leading to a desired result, where a “step” refers to a manipulation of physical quantities and/or logic states which may, though need not necessarily, take the form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It is common usage to refer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms, numbers, or the like. These and similar terms may be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities and/or states.
A network may include a packet switched network. The communication devices may be capable of communicating with each other using a selected packet switched network communications protocol. One example communications protocol may include an Ethernet communications protocol which may be capable permitting communication using a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The Ethernet protocol may comply or be compatible with the Ethernet standard published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) titled “IEEE 802.3 Standard”, published in December, 2008 and/or later versions of this standard. Alternatively or additionally, the communication devices may be capable of communicating with each other using an X.25 communications protocol. The X.25 communications protocol may comply or be compatible with a standard promulgated by the International Telecommunication Union-Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T). Alternatively or additionally, the communication devices may be capable of communicating with each other using a frame relay communications protocol. The frame relay communications protocol may comply or be compatible with a standard promulgated by Consultative Committee for International Telegraph and Telephone (CCITT) and/or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Alternatively or additionally, the transceivers may be capable of communicating with each other using an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) communications protocol. The ATM communications protocol may comply or be compatible with an ATM standard published by the ATM Forum titled “ATM-MPLS Network Interworking 2.0” published August 2001, and/or later versions of this standard. Of course, different and/or after-developed connection-oriented network communication protocols are equally contemplated herein.
Unless specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the foregoing disclosure, it is appreciated that, throughout the foregoing disclosure, discussions using terms such as “processing,” “computing,” “calculating,” “determining,” “displaying,” or the like, refer to the action and processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device, that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic) quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer system memories or registers or other such information storage, transmission or display devices.
One or more components may be referred to herein as “configured to,” “configurable to,” “operable/operative to,” “adapted/adaptable,” “able to,” “conformable/conformed to,” etc. Those skilled in the art will recognize that “configured to” can generally encompass active-state components and/or inactive-state components and/or standby-state components, unless context requires otherwise.
The terms “proximal” and “distal” are used herein with reference to a clinician manipulating the handle portion of the surgical instrument. The term “proximal” refers to the portion closest to the clinician and the term “distal” refers to the portion located away from the clinician. It will be further appreciated that, for convenience and clarity, spatial terms such as “vertical”, “horizontal”, “up”, and “down” may be used herein with respect to the drawings. However, surgical instruments are used in many orientations and positions, and these terms are not intended to be limiting and/or absolute.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims (e.g., bodies of the appended claims) are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to claims containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations.
In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that typically a disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms unless context dictates otherwise. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be typically understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
With respect to the appended claims, those skilled in the art will appreciate that recited operations therein may generally be performed in any order. Also, although various operational flow diagrams are presented in a sequence(s), it should be understood that the various operations may be performed in other orders than those which are illustrated, or may be performed concurrently. Examples of such alternate orderings may include overlapping, interleaved, interrupted, reordered, incremental, preparatory, supplemental, simultaneous, reverse, or other variant orderings, unless context dictates otherwise. Furthermore, terms like “responsive to,” “related to,” or other past-tense adjectives are generally not intended to exclude such variants, unless context dictates otherwise.
It is worthy to note that any reference to “one aspect,” “an aspect,” “an exemplification,” “one exemplification,” and the like means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the aspect is included in at least one aspect. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in one aspect,” “in an aspect,” “in an exemplification,” and “in one exemplification” in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same aspect. Furthermore, the particular features, structures or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more aspects.
Any patent application, patent, non-patent publication, or other disclosure material referred to in this specification and/or listed in any Application Data Sheet is incorporated by reference herein, to the extent that the incorporated materials is not inconsistent herewith. As such, and to the extent necessary, the disclosure as explicitly set forth herein supersedes any conflicting material incorporated herein by reference. Any material, or portion thereof, that is said to be incorporated by reference herein, but which conflicts with existing definitions, statements, or other disclosure material set forth herein will only be incorporated to the extent that no conflict arises between that incorporated material and the existing disclosure material.
In summary, numerous benefits have been described which result from employing the concepts described herein. The foregoing description of the one or more forms has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or limiting to the precise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The one or more forms were chosen and described in order to illustrate principles and practical application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the various forms and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the claims submitted herewith define the overall scope.
