Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc.

Leland Stanford Junior University

Jeffrey M Dicarlo

Max J Trejo

Ian E McDowall

Tao Zhao

Stephen J Blumenkranz

Brian David Hoffman

Jonathan Michael Sorger

David C Shafer

William Jason Culman

Brian A Wandell

Geoff Richmond

Peter B Catrysse

Zhen He

Changmeng Liu

Curtis W Stith

Feng Xiao

Ian E Mcdowall

An apparatus may configure an illuminator to illuminate a scene with non-white light. The illuminator includes a plurality of color component illumination sources. The non-white light is light other than white light and is generated by a combination of light output by the plurality of color component illumination sources. The apparatus may also control a camera to capture, in a plurality of color channels of the camera, a frame of the scene illuminated with the non-white light and adjust pixel values of a color channel of the camera in the frame of the scene to decrease noise of the color channel in the frame of the scene.

Surgical system including a non-white light general illuminator

An illustrative apparatus may obtain an image frame captured by an image capture system in accordance with an auto-exposure parameter set to a first setting. The image frame may include a first image component associated with visible light and a second image component associated with non-visible light. The apparatus may determine a first auto-exposure gain based on the first image component and may determine a second auto-exposure gain based on the second image component. Based on the first and second auto-exposure gains, the apparatus may determine a second setting for the auto-exposure parameter. The second setting may be configured to be used by the image capture system to capture a subsequent image frame. Corresponding apparatuses, systems, and methods for managing auto-exposure of multi-component image frames are also disclosed.

Auto-exposure management of multi-component images

An image capture device may include an image sensor comprising a first pixel cell and a second pixel cell adjacent to the first pixel cell, a plurality of individual alternative light filters configured to filter non-visible light, one individual alternative light filter of the plurality of individual alternative light filters covering both a first set of pixels of the first pixel cell and a second set of pixels of the second pixel cell, and a plurality of individual visible light color filters covering pixels of the first and second pixel cells, the pixels of the first and second pixel cells covered by the individual visible light color filters being different from the first and second sets of pixels covered by the individual alternative light filters.

Method and system for enhanced image sensor timing

The technology described herein can be embodied in a method that includes receiving data representing information captured using a first sensor and a second sensor of a multi-sensor camera. The sensors are configured to capture a surgical scene illuminated by a light source configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to sensing capabilities of the first and second sensors, respectively. The method also includes receiving data representing information captured using a third sensor of the multi-sensor camera, the third sensor configured to capture the surgical scene as illuminated by a near-infrared light source, and generating a first visual representation of the surgical scene based on the data representing the information captured using the first and second sensors. The first visual representation is combined with the information captured using the third sensor to generate a second visual representation, and the second visual representation is presented on a display device.

Combining near-infrared information with colored images in image-guided surgery

Technology described herein can be embodied in a method that includes obtaining, using an imaging device, a plurality of images of a surgical scene, each image in the plurality of images being obtained under illumination by electromagnetic radiation in one of a plurality of wavelength ranges. The plurality of wavelength ranges are at least partially non-overlapping. The method also includes identifying a set of pixel values across multiple images in the plurality of images, wherein each pixel value in the set of pixel values is substantially representative of a particular portion of the surgical scene and determining, based on the set of pixel values and a chromophore model, a concentration of a chromophore in the particular portion of the surgical scene, wherein the chromophore model represents relationships between combinations of pixel values and chromophore concentrations.

Determining chromophore concentrations in tissues

An illustrative system includes an image sensor comprising a first pixel, a second pixel, a third pixel, and a fourth pixel. The system further includes a pixel-level broadband infrared cutoff filter that covers the second pixel and that is configured to prevent the second pixel from collecting infrared light having wavelengths included in a first range of wavelengths. The first, third, and fourth pixels are not covered by pixel-level broadband infrared cutoff filters configured to prevent the first, third, and fourth pixels from collecting infrared light having wavelengths included in the first range of wavelengths.

Medical imaging systems and methods

Color balancing algorithms for digital image processing require an accurate estimate of the physical properties of the ambient scene illuminant, particularly its spectral power distribution. An active imaging method and apparatus estimate these properties by emitting modulated light with a known spectral power distribution into a region of a scene. Backscattered light is detected and demodulated to separate output representing active emitter light from output representing ambient illuminant light. Using the emitter-related detector output and the known emitter spectral power distribution, the surface spectral reflectance function of the illuminated scene region can be computed. Subsequently, the spectral power distribution of the ambient scene illuminant can be computed from the surface reflectance function and the illuminant-related output of the detector. The estimated spectral power distribution can be used in standard color balancing algorithms for digital or film images.

Growing community of inventors

Austin, TX, United States of America

Jeffrey M Dicarlo