Determining chromophore concentrations in tissues

An imaging system for presenting feedback on a state of a surgical scene being operated at using a surgical device, the system comprising:

• an endoscopic camera that obtains a plurality of images of the surgical scene, each image in the plurality of images being obtained under illumination by electromagnetic radiation in a corresponding wavelength range, wherein the corresponding wavelength ranges are selected in accordance with a set of chromophores present in the surgical scene, and wherein any two of the corresponding wavelength ranges are at least partially non-overlapping;
• and
• one or more processing devices configured to:
• determine, based on the plurality of images, a concentration of each of one or more chromophores in the set at various portions of the surgical scene, wherein determining the concentration comprises:
• identifying a set of pixel values across multiple images in the plurality of images, wherein each pixel value in the set represents substantially a particular portion of the surgical scene,
• determining, based on a chromophore model, the concentration of each of the one or more chromophores corresponding to the set of pixel values across the multiple images, wherein the chromophore model represents relationships between combinations of pixel values and chromophore concentrations;
• generate, based on information about the concentration of each of the one or more chromophores, a representation of the surgical scene;
• and
• cause presentation of the representation of the surgical scene on an output device associated with the surgical device.

One or more machine-readable storage devices having encoded thereon computer readable instructions for causing one or more processing devices to perform operations comprising:

• obtaining, from an endoscopic camera, a plurality of images of a surgical scene, each image in the plurality of images being obtained under illumination by electromagnetic radiation in a corresponding wavelength range, wherein the corresponding wavelength ranges are selected in accordance with a set of chromophores present in the surgical scene, and wherein any two of the corresponding wavelength ranges are at least partially non-overlapping;
• determining, based on the plurality of images, a concentration of each of one or more chromophores in the set at various portions of the surgical scene, wherein the determining comprises:
• identifying a set of pixel values across multiple images in the plurality of images, wherein each pixel value in the set represents substantially a particular portion of the surgical scene, and
• determining, based on a chromophore model, the concentration of each of the one or more chromophores corresponding to the set of pixel values across the multiple images, wherein the chromophore model represents relationships between combinations of pixel values and chromophore concentrations;
• generating, based on information about the concentration of each of the one or more chromophores, a representation of the surgical scene;
• and
• causing presentation of the representation of the surgical scene on an output device associated with a surgical device.