System and method for enhancing picture-in-picture display for imaging devices used for surgical procedures

A surgical system for displaying image data, comprising:

• a support structure including a plurality of ports for facilitating introduction of a plurality of surgical instruments therethrough;
• a plurality of imaging units mounted on the plurality of surgical instruments for capturing a plurality of images, each imaging unit of the plurality of imagining units including a sensing unit, wherein each sensing unit automatically detects the presence and orientation of the other sensing units;
• and
• a display unit for displaying one or more picture-in-picture configurations of the plurality of images captured by the plurality of imaging units, the picture-in-picture configurations configured to display the plurality of images within a plurality of panels, wherein a first set of images from a first imaging unit of the plurality of imaging units appears to originate from a location of a first sensing unit of the first imagining unit in a second set of images from a second imaging unit of the plurality of imaging units when the first set of images are called up to visually aid a user of the system when transitioning from viewing the second set of images to viewing the first set of images.

A method of displaying image data, the method comprising:

• capturing a first set of images via a first imaging unit, the first imaging unit including a first sensing unit;
• capturing a second set of images via a second imaging unit;
• the second imaging unit including a second sensing unit, wherein the first sensing unit automatically detects the presence and orientation of the second sensing unit and the second sensing unit automatically detects the presence and orientation of the first sensing unit;
• displaying the image data in a picture-in-picture mode, via a display unit configured to display the first set of images in a first panel having a first size and the second set of images in a second panel having a second size, wherein the second set of images appears to originate from a location of the second imaging unit in the first set of images on the first panel when the second set of images are called up to visually aid a user of the system when transitioning from viewing the first set of images on the first panel to viewing the second set of images on the second panel.