Systems and methods for removing occluding objects in surgical images and/or video

A method for removing an occluding object from a surgical image, the method comprising:

• capturing an initial image of a surgical site inside the patient during a surgical procedure with an image capture device;
• and
• executing a removal algorithm when the occluding object is detected in the initial image, the removal algorithm including:
• controlling the image capture device to capture a plurality of images;
• and
• applying an image filter to combine the initial image and the plurality of images and generate a processed image where the occluding object is removed from the processed image.

A system for removing an occluding object from a surgical image, the system comprising:

• an image capture device configured to be inserted into a patient and capture a video feed including a plurality of images of a surgical site inside the patient during a surgical procedure;
• and
• a controller configured to generate a collection of substitution pixels based on the plurality of images included in the video feed, a location of the occluding object, and a point of view of the image capture device when the video feed is captured,
• wherein the image capture device captures an initial image of a surgical site inside the patient during a surgical procedure, and when the controller determines that the occluding object is present in the initial image, the controller executes a removal algorithm, wherein the removal algorithm includes applying an image filter to the initial image to generate a processed image where the occluding object is removed from the processed image based on the collection of substitution pixels.