Combining near-infrared information with colored images in image-guided surgery

A method comprising:

• receiving information captured using at least one of a first sensor or a second sensor of a camera having at least three sensors, associated with a surgical device, the first and second sensors configured to capture a surgical scene comprising biological tissues as illuminated by a first source and a second source configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to sensing capabilities of the first and second sensors, respectively;
• estimating, by one or more processing devices using the information captured using the at least one of the first or second sensors, information expected to be captured by a third sensor upon illumination of the surgical scene by a third source configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to sensing capabilities of the third sensor;
• generating a first visual representation of the surgical scene using (i) the information captured using the at least one of the first or second sensors, and (ii) the estimated information expected to be captured by the third sensor upon illumination of the surgical scene by the third source;
• and
• causing presentation of the first visual representation of the surgical scene on a display device associated with the surgical device.

An imaging system comprising:

• an image generator comprising one or more processing devices, the image generator configured to:
• receive information captured using at least one of a first sensor or a second sensor of a camera having at least three sensors, associated with a surgical device, the first and second sensors configured to capture a surgical scene comprising biological tissues as illuminated by a first source and a second source configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to sensing capabilities of the first and second sensors, respectively,
• estimate, using the information captured using the at least one of the first or second sensors, information expected to be captured by a third sensor upon illumination of the surgical scene by a third source configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to sensing capabilities of the third sensor,
• generate a first visual representation of the surgical scene using (i) the information captured using the at least one of the first or second sensors, and (ii) the estimated information expected to be captured by the third sensor upon illumination of the surgical scene by the third source, and
• cause presentation of the first visual representation of the surgical scene on a display 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:

• receiving information captured using at least one of a first sensor or a second sensor of a camera having at least three sensors, associated with a surgical device, the first and second sensors configured to capture a surgical scene comprising biological tissues as illuminated by a first source and a second source configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to sensing capabilities of the first and second sensors, respectively;
• estimating, using the information captured using at least one of the first or second sensors, information expected to be captured by a third sensor upon illumination of the surgical scene by a third source configured to emit wavelengths in the visible spectrum corresponding to sensing capabilities of the third sensor;
• and
• generating a visual representation of the surgical scene using (i) the information captured using the at least one of the first or second sensors, and (ii) the estimated information expected to be captured by the third sensor upon illumination of the surgical scene by the third source;
• and
• cause presentation of the visual representation of the surgical scene on a display device associated with the surgical device.