# US 2020/0404128 A1 · Hyperspectral imaging in a light deficient environment

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- Number: US 2020/0404128 A1
- Document ID: US20200404128A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 16/663,246
- Filed: 2019-10-24
- Published: 2020-12-24
- Earliest claimed: 2019-06-20
- Assignees: Ethicon, Inc.
- Applicants: Ethicon LLC
- Inventors: Joshua D. Talbert; Donald M. Wichern
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20200404128A1

## CPC

- A61B 1/045: Control thereof
- A61B 1/0005: {combining images e.g. side-by-side, superimposed or tiled}
- A61B 1/043: {for fluorescence imaging}
- A61B 1/0638: {providing two or more wavelengths}
- A61B 5/0075: {by spectroscopy, i.e. measuring spectra, e.g. Raman spectroscopy, infrared absorption spectroscopy (A61B5/0071 takes precedence)}
- A61B 5/027: using catheters
- A61B 5/4887: {Locating particular structures in or on the body}
- A61B 5/489: {Blood vessels}
- A61B 5/4893: {Nerves}
- G06T 5/50: using two or more images, e.g. averaging or subtraction
- G06T 11/60: Creating or editing images; Combining images with text
- H04N 23/555: {for picking-up images in sites, inaccessible due to their dimensions or hazardous conditions, e.g. endoscopes or borescopes}
- H04N 23/56: provided with illuminating means
- A61B 5/0062: {Arrangements for scanning}
- A61B 5/0071: {by measuring fluorescence emission}
- A61B 5/0275: using tracers, e.g. dye dilution
- G06T 2207/10016: Video; Image sequence
- G06T 2207/10024: Color image
- G06T 2207/10032: Satellite or aerial image; Remote sensing
- G06T 2207/10068: Endoscopic image
- G06T 2207/10144: Varying exposure
- G06T 2207/10152: Varying illumination
- G06T 2210/41: Medical
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- G06T: IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- H04N: PICTORIAL COMMUNICATION, e.g. TELEVISION

## Abstract

Systems, methods, and devices for hyperspectral imaging in a light deficient environment are disclosed. A system includes an emitter for emitting pulses of electromagnetic radiation and an image sensor comprising a pixel array for sensing reflected electromagnetic radiation. The system includes a controller comprising a processor in electrical communication with the image sensor and the emitter, wherein the controller synchronizes timing of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation during a blanking period of the image sensor. The system is such that at least a portion of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter comprises one or more of electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 513 nm to about 545 nm, electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 565 nm to about 585 nm, or electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 900 nm to about 1000 nm.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A system comprising:
an emitter for emitting pulses of electromagnetic radiation, wherein the emitter comprises a plurality of electromagnetic sources, and wherein the plurality of electromagnetic sources comprises one or more of:
an electromagnetic source for pulsing electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 513 nm to about 545 nm;
an electromagnetic source for pulsing electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 565 nm to about 585 nm; or
an electromagnetic source for pulsing electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 900 nm to about 1000 nm;
an image sensor comprising a pixel array for sensing reflected electromagnetic radiation; and
a controller comprising a processor in electrical communication with the image sensor and the emitter;
wherein the controller synchronizes timing of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation during a blanking period of the image sensor.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the image sensor is configured to generate a plurality of exposure frames, wherein each of the plurality of exposure frames corresponds to a pulse of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter and produces a dataset corresponding in time with each pulse of electromagnetic radiation to generate a plurality of datasets corresponding to the plurality of exposure frames.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The system of claim 2, wherein the image sensor is configured to sense each of the plurality of exposure frames during a readout period of the pixel array, wherein the readout period is a duration of time when active pixels in the pixel array are read, and wherein a portion of the blanking period overlaps a portion of the next succeeding readout period.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The system of claim 3, wherein the plurality of exposure frames are combined to form an image frame.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter comprises a green wavelength of electromagnetic radiation, a red wavelength of electromagnetic radiation, and a blue wavelength of electromagnetic radiation.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the emitter is configured to emit, during a pulse duration, a plurality of sub-pulses of electromagnetic radiation having a sub-duration shorter than the pulse duration.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein one or more of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter comprise electromagnetic radiation emitted at two or more wavelengths simultaneously as a single pulse or a single sub-pulse.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein at least one pulse of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter results in an exposure frame created by the image sensor, wherein the system further comprises a display for displaying two or more exposure frames as an image frame.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter results in a hyperspectral exposure frame created by the image sensor, and wherein the controller is further configured to provide the hyperspectral exposure frame to a corresponding system that determines a location of a critical tissue structure within a scene based on the hyperspectral exposure frame.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The system of claim 9, wherein the controller is further configured to:
receive the location of the critical tissue structure from the corresponding system;
generate an overlay frame comprising the location of the critical tissue structure; and
combine the overlay frame with a color image frame depicting the scene to indicate the location of the critical tissue structure within the scene.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the blanking period of the image sensor corresponds to a time between a readout of a last row of active pixels in the pixel array and a beginning of a next subsequent readout of active pixels in the pixel array.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the controller is further configured to adjust a sequence of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter based on a threshold, wherein the threshold determines proper illumination of a scene in a light deficient environment.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein two or more pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter result in two or more instances of reflected electromagnetic radiation that are sensed by the pixel array to generate two or more exposure frames that are combined to form an image frame.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The system of claim 13, wherein the image frame is assigned a visible color for use on a display, wherein the visible color is 8-bit or 16-bit or n-bit.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein at least one pulse of the plurality of pulses of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the emitter results in a hyperspectral exposure frame created by the image sensor, and wherein the controller is further configured to provide the hyperspectral exposure frame to a corresponding system that identifies one or more critical structures in a body based on the hyperspectral exposure frame.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The system of claim 15, wherein the one or more critical structures in the body comprise one or more of a nerve, a ureter, a blood vessel, an artery, a blood flow, or a tumor.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the image sensor comprises a first image sensor and a second image sensor such that the image sensor can generate a three-dimensional image.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the emitter is configured to emit a sequence of pulses of electromagnetic radiation repeatedly sufficient for generating a video stream comprising a plurality of image frames, wherein each image frame in the video stream comprises data from a plurality of exposure frames wherein each of the exposure frames corresponds to a pulse of electromagnetic radiation.

### Claim 19 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the reflected electromagnetic radiation sensed by the image sensor results in a plurality of exposure frames that are combined to generate an image frame, wherein the image frame comprises a luminance frame comprising luminance data, a chrominance frame comprising chrominance data, and a hyperspectral frame comprising hyperspectral data.

### Claim 20 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the pixel array comprises pixels having a plurality of pixel sensitivities, wherein the plurality of pixel sensitivities comprises a long exposure and a short exposure.

### Claim 21 (depends on 20)

The system of claim 20, wherein the image sensor is configured to generate a hyperspectral frame of long exposure pixel data and short exposure pixel data.

### Claim 22 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electromagnetic sources of the emitter further comprises a red source for pulsing red light, a green source for pulsing green light, and a blue source for pulsing blue light.

### Claim 23 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the pulses of electromagnetic radiation are emitted in a pattern of varying wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, and wherein the emitter repeats the pattern of varying wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation.

### Claim 24 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein the pulses of electromagnetic radiation comprise:
a red wavelength of electromagnetic radiation;
a green wavelength of electromagnetic radiation;
a blue wavelength of electromagnetic radiation;
electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 513 nm to about 545 nm;
electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 565 nm to about 585 nm; and
electromagnetic radiation having a wavelength from about 900 nm to about 1000 nm.

### Claim 25 (depends on 1)

The system of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the pulses of electromagnetic radiation comprise a red wavelength, a green wavelength, a blue wavelength, and a hyperspectral wavelength such that reflected electromagnetic radiation sensed by the pixel array corresponding to each of the red wavelength, the green wavelength, the blue wavelength, and the hyperspectral wavelength can be processed to generate a Red-Green-Blue (RGB) image comprising an overlay of hyperspectral imaging data.