AUTOMATIC XY CENTERING FOR DIGITAL MICROSCOPE

• US 20190313902A1
• Filed: 04/04/2019
• Published: 10/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 04/11/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Alcon Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Alcon Incorporated
• Inventors: Charles, Steven T.
• Granted Patent: US 11,219,364 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0025 characterised by electronic signal processing, e.g. eye models
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/0058 for multiple images
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/113 for determining or recording eye movement
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/13 Ophthalmic microscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/145 by video means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 3/152 for aligning
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 21/367 providing an output produced by processing a plurality of individual source images, e.g. image tiling, montage, composite images, depth sectioning, image comparison

Abstract

A method and system are described for automatically centering in an XY plane a field of view of a patient'"'"'s eye under high magnification during ophthalmic surgery. The method includes automatically moving the center of the field of view to the center of a circular image detected in a real-time video signal acquired from the field of view of the patient'"'"'s eye under high magnification during ophthalmic surgery. The system configured to perform the method has a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium accessible to the processor containing instructions executable by the processor to perform the method.

Claims

1. A system configured for automatically centering in an XY plane a field of view of a patient'"'"'s eye under high magnification during ophthalmic surgery, the system comprising:

a processor; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium accessible to the processor containing instructions executable by the processor for;

acquiring, from a photosensor, a real-time video signal representing a field of view comprising the patient'"'"'s eye under high magnification by a microscope, wherein the field of view comprises an en-face XY plane;

displaying on a display at least one view within the field of view corresponding to the real-time video signal;

detecting a circular image in the real-time video signal, wherein the circular image comprises a target image in the field of view;

determining the location of the center of the circular shape within the XY plane of the field of view;

determining the location of the center of the field of view in the XY plane;

comparing the location of the center of the circular image and the location of the center of the field of view;

upon determining a difference in the locations of the center of the circular image and the center of the field of view, transmitting a movement instruction to a motorized microscope support configured to move the location of the microscope field of view in the XY plane, wherein the movement instruction directs movement of the microscope field of view to place the center of the field of view at the location of the center of the circular image;

thereby automatically moving the center of the field of view to the center of the circular image detected in the real-time video signal acquired from the field of view of the patient'"'"'s eye under high magnification during ophthalmic surgery.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the center of the field of view corresponds to a set location on the display.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein the set location on the display is the center of the display.

4. The system of claim 2 wherein the display is a rectangular display and the set location on the display is a location at a mid-point between the long sides of the rectangular display.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the circular image corresponds to an illuminated portion of the inside of the patient'"'"'s eye viewable through a pupil of the eye.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the movement instructions transmitted to the motorized microscope head support comprise a parameter of velocity, wherein the value of the velocity is variable as a function of distance between the location of the center of the field of view and the center of the circular image.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the value of the velocity of the movement instructions increases with increasing distance between the location of the center of the field of view and the center of the circular image.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the value of the velocity of the movement instructions increases linearly.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the value of the velocity of the movement instructions increases non-linearly.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the magnification has a zoom having a value; and

the display has an area;

further comprising;

detecting, by the processor, executing instructions contained in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, a diameter of the circular image;

transmitting, by the processor, executing instructions contained in the non-transitory-computer-readable medium, an instruction to adjust the value of the zoom of the magnification so that the diameter of the detected circular image is fitted within a maximal portion of the area of the display;

wherein the transmitting of the instruction to adjust the value of the zoom is selected from (a) transmitting an instruction to the microscope to adjust an optical zoom of the field of view of the microscope; and

(b) transmitting an instruction to the display to adjust a digital zoom of the field of view of the real-time video signal.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the instructions contained in the non-transitory computer readable medium executed by the processor for the detecting of the circular image comprises a circle Hough transform algorithm.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the ophthalmic surgery comprises a vitreoretinal surgery.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the real-time video signal is a 3D video signal.

14. The system of claim 1, comprising an NGENUITY®

3D Visualization System.

15. A method of automatically centering in an XY plane a field of view of a patient'"'"'s eye under high magnification during ophthalmic surgery, comprising the steps of:

acquiring, by a processor executing instructions contained in a non-transitory computer-readable medium, from a photosensor, a real-time video signal representing a field of view comprising the patient'"'"'s eye under high magnification by a microscope, wherein the field of view comprises an en-face XY plane;

displaying on a display, via the processor executing instructions contained in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, at least one view within the field of view corresponding to the real-time video signal;

detecting a circular image in the real-time video signal, by the processor executing instructions contained in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, wherein the circular image comprises a target image in the field of view;

determining, by the processor executing instructions contained in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the location of the center of the circular image within the XY plane of the field of view;

determining, by the processor executing instructions contained in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the location of the center of the field of view in the XY plane;

comparing, by the processor executing instructions contained in the non-transitory computer-readable medium, the location of the center of the circular image and the location of the center of the field of view; and

upon determining a difference in the locations of the center of the circular image and the center of the field of view, transmitting, by the processor executing instructions contained in the non-transitory computer-readable memory, a movement instruction to a motorized microscope support configured to move the location of the microscope field of view in the XY plane, wherein the movement instruction directs movement of the microscope field of view to place the center of the field of view at the location of the center of the circular image;

thereby automatically moving the center of the field of view to the center of the circular image detected in the real-time video signal acquired from the field of view of the patient'"'"'s eye under high magnification during ophthalmic surgery.