Pattern recognition in hyperspectral data acquired during surgical procedures: Differentiation between nerve and adipose tissue

Intraoperative nerve localization is extremely important during surgery, especially laparoscopy. This is particularly challenging when nerves show visual resemblance to surrounding tissue. An example of such a delicate procedure is thyroid and parathyroid surgery, where iatrogenic injury of the recurrent laryngeal nerve can result in transient...

Automated spectroscopic tissue classification in colorectal surgery

In colorectal surgery, detecting ureters and mesenteric arteries is of utmost importance to prevent iatrogenic injury and to facilitate intraoperative decision making. A tool enabling ureter- and artery-specific image enhancement within (and possibly through) surrounding adipose tissue would facilitate this need, especially during laparoscopy....

Differentiation between nerve and adipose tissue using wide-band (350–1,830 nm) in vivo diffuse reflectance spectroscopy

Background: Intraoperative nerve localization is of great importance in surgery. In certain procedures, where nerves show visual resemblance to surrounding adipose tissue, this can be particularly challenging for the human eye. An example of such a delicate procedure is thyroid and parathyroid surgery, where iatrogenic injury of the recurrent...

On mimicking diffuse reflectance spectra in the visible and near-infrared ranges for tissue-like phantom design

A novel methodology is presented to mimic diffuse reflectance spectra of arbitrary biological tissues in the visible and near-infrared ranges. The prerequisite for this method is that the spectral information of basic components is sufficient to mimic an arbitrary tissue. Using a sterile disposable fiber optic probe the diffuse reflectance...