Surgical system with haptic feedback based upon quantitative three-dimensional imaging

A method for determining force exerted onto tissue during a medical procedure comprising:

• moving a surgical instrument across a surface of a tissue structure to impart a force to deform different tissue surface locations of the tissue structure;
• capturing image information, which includes the surface of the tissue structure and the surgical instrument imparting the force to the tissue structure, indicative of deformation distances at the different tissue surface locations of the tissue structure;
• producing in a non-transitory memory device a quantitative three-dimensional (Q3D) model that provides a map of measures of tissue structure deformation for the contact between the surgical instrument and the tissue surface at the different locations of the tissue structure, based upon the captured image information;
• and
• determining a force exerted by the surgical instrument onto said tissue structure at at least one measured location of tissue structure deformation based upon, at least in part, a measure of tissue deformation at the at least one measured location of tissue structure deformation.

A method for providing virtual tissue palpation during medical procedures comprising:

• moving a surgical instrument across a surface of a tissue structure to impart a force to deform different tissue surface locations of the tissue structure;
• capturing image information, which includes the surface of the tissue structure and the surgical instrument imparting the force to the tissue structure, indicative of deformation distances at the different tissue surface locations of the tissue structure;
• producing in a non-transitory memory device a quantitative three-dimensional (Q3D) model that provides a map of measures of tissue structure deformation for the contact between the surgical instrument and the tissue surface at the different locations of the tissue structure, based upon the captured image information;
• and
• determining tissue stiffness at at least one measured location of tissue structure deformation based upon, at least in part, a measure of tissue deformation at the at least one measured location of tissue structure deformation
• producing haptic feedback indicative of the determined tissue stiffness at the at least one measured location of tissue structure deformation.