The Smart Image Pipeline - Year 4

The goal of this proposed research is to continue building a processing pipeline to support the development of smart imagery in surgical environments. We define smart imagery to be image data that goes beyond raw sensor data by incorporating extracted data, data from other sources that can be integrated in a meaningful way, and data that is entirely rendered (as opposed to captured directly from a sensor). Rendered imagery may consist of overlay data from an atlas or pre-operative database, data from disparate sensor sources (CT, MRI and ultrasound registered together with endoscopic imagery), data rendered from novel geometric positions, and data that highlights or enhances information that may not be explicit in the data of any singular sensor. Smart imagery is imagery derived algorithmically from a disparate set of sensors and integrated into a stable, controllable composite that maximizes information flow via the rendered image from the source devices and algorithms to the surgical team that is interpreting the imagery.