IP Library Granted Patent US 12,678,021
Granted Patent B2
US 12,678,021 · App. 16/991,695 · Granted Jul 14, 2026

Efficient and interactive bleeding detection in a surgical system

Inventors: Wenyi Zhao (Weston, FL); Catherine J. Mohr (Mountain View, CA); Jonathan M. Sorger (Belmont, CA)
Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.
A61B1/00009A61B1/00042A61B1/00045A61B1/00149A61B1/00193A61B1/04A61B1/0661A61B1/07A61B5/0059A61B5/02028A61B5/02042A61B5/0261A61B5/742A61B5/743A61B90/37G06T7/0016G06T7/11G06T7/269A61B1/043A61B2017/00119A61B34/30A61B90/36A61B2090/3614G06T2207/10024G06T2207/30096
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,678,021
App. No.
16/991,695
Granted
Jul 14, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A bleeding detection system may receive, from an image capture system during a surgical procedure, a first frame of data of a scene of a surgical site and identify, based on the first frame, a region of blood in the scene. The system may receive, from the image capture system subsequent to receiving the first frame, a second frame of data of the scene, the second frame including data representative of the region of blood. The system may estimate, based on the first frame and the second frame, motion of blood flow in the region of blood and generate data representative of a combined image comprising the second frame and a visual indicator indicating the motion of blood flow in the region of blood. The system may transmit, during the surgical procedure, the data representative of the combined image to a display unit for display of the combined image.

Claims (48)

1 . A system comprising:

a memory storing instructions; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to:

receive, from an image capture system during a surgical procedure, a first image of a scene of a surgical site;

identify, during the surgical procedure and based on the first image, a region of blood in the scene at a site of bleeding;

receive, from the image capture system during the surgical procedure and subsequent to the receiving of the first image, a second image of the scene of the surgical site, the second image including the region of blood in the scene;

estimate gross motion at each location included in a plurality of locations in the region of blood in the scene;

estimate, based on the first image, the second image, and the estimated gross motion, a direction of motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene;

generate, during the surgical procedure and based on the estimated motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene, a combined image comprising the second image and a visual indicator indicating the direction of the motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene; and

transmit, during the surgical procedure, the combined image to a display unit for display of the combined image.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more arrows that point in the direction of the motion of blood flow.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to perform one or more of turning on or turning off display, by the display unit, of the visual indicator in response to a predetermined user input.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein:

the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to select a region of the second image to be excluded from blood detection processing, and

the estimating of the motion of blood flow is not based on the selected region of the second image.

5 . The system of claim 4 , wherein the selected region of the second image is selected based on at least one of user input or information received from a surgical system used to perform the surgical procedure.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to direct the display unit to display a simulated blood flow of the blood flow in the region of blood in the scene.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to correct the gross motion at each location to estimate the motion of blood flow at each location.

8 . The system of claim 7 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the instructions to estimate the motion of blood flow at each location by correcting the estimated gross motion at each location to compensate for average tissue motion at each location.

9 . A method comprising:

receiving, by a bleeding detection system from an image capture system during a surgical procedure, a first image of a scene of a surgical site;

identifying, by the bleeding detection system during the surgical procedure and based on the first image, a region of blood in the scene at a site of bleeding;

receiving, by the bleeding detection system from the image capture system during the surgical procedure and subsequent to the receiving of the first image, a second image of the scene of the surgical site, the second image including the region of blood in the scene;

estimating, by the bleeding detection system, gross motion at each location included in a plurality of locations in the region of blood in the scene;

estimating, by the bleeding detection system based on the first image, the second image, and the estimated gross motion, a direction of motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene;

generating, by the bleeding detection system during the surgical procedure and based on the estimated motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene, a combined image comprising the second image and a visual indicator indicating the direction of the motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene; and

transmitting, by the bleeding detection system during the surgical procedure, the combined image to a display unit for display of the combined image.

10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more arrows that point in the direction of the motion of blood flow.

11 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

performing, by the bleeding detection system during the surgical procedure, one or more of turning on or turning off display, by the display unit, of the visual indicator in response to a predetermined user input.

12 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

selecting, by the bleeding detection system during the surgical procedure, a region of the second image to be excluded from blood detection processing,

wherein the estimating of the motion of blood flow is not based on the selected region of the second image.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the selected region of the second image is selected based on at least one of user input or information received from a surgical system used to perform the surgical procedure.

14 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

directing, by the bleeding detection system, the display unit to display a simulated blood flow of the blood flow in the region of blood in the scene.

15 . The method of claim 9 , further comprising:

correcting, by the bleeding detection system, the gross motion at each location to estimate the motion of blood at each location.

16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the correcting of the gross motion at each location is performed to compensate for average tissue motion at each location.

17 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed, direct one or more processors of a computing device to:

receive, from an image capture system during a surgical procedure, a first image of a scene of a surgical site;

identify, during the surgical procedure and based on the first image, a region of blood in the scene at a site of bleeding;

receive, from the image capture system during the surgical procedure and subsequent to the receiving of the first image, a second image of the scene of the surgical site, the second image including the region of blood in the scene;

estimate gross motion at each location included in a plurality of locations in the region of blood in the scene;

estimate, based on the first image, the second image, and the estimated gross motion, a direction of motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene;

generate, during the surgical procedure and based on the estimated motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene, a combined image comprising the second image and a visual indicator indicating the direction of the motion of blood flow in the region of blood in the scene; and

transmit, during the surgical procedure, the combined image to a display unit for display of the combined image.

18 . The computer-readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the visual indicator comprises one or more arrows that point in the direction of the motion of blood flow.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Aug 12, 2020
From: ZHAO, WENYI; MOHR, CATHERINE J.; SORGER, JONATHAN M.
To: INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS, INC.
Reel/Frame 053477/0233 →
Continuity (4)
Continuation 15863651 · Jan 5, 2018
Continuation 13947626 · Jul 22, 2013
Provisional Application 61675484 · Jul 25, 2012
Related Publication 20200367720A1 · Nov 26, 2020
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