US 12,274,530 B2
Neuromodulation based nerve identification
Emad M. Boctor, Ellicott City, MD (US); Jeeun Kang, Baltimore, MD (US); Arthur L. Burnett, Baltimore, MD (US); Jin U. Kang, Glenelg, MD (US); and Maged Harraz, Ellicott City, MD (US)
Assigned to The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (US)
Appl. No. 17/277,224
Filed by The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD (US)
PCT Filed Sep. 17, 2019, PCT No. PCT/US2019/051585
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Mar. 17, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/061097, PCT Pub. Date Mar. 26, 2020.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/732,808, filed on Sep. 18, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2022/0031166 A1, Feb. 3, 2022
Int. Cl. A61B 5/00 (2006.01); A61B 90/00 (2016.01)
CPC A61B 5/0071 (2013.01) [A61B 5/004 (2013.01); A61B 5/0095 (2013.01); A61B 5/407 (2013.01); A61B 5/4381 (2013.01); A61B 5/4893 (2013.01); A61B 90/37 (2016.02)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method, comprising:
activating, by a surgical system that includes one or more devices, a voltage sensitive dye using neuromodulation,
wherein the voltage sensitive dye is activated based on the voltage sensitive dye binding to a cell membrane associated with a tissue of a patient, and
wherein activating the voltage sensitive dye causes a fluorescence and a photoacoustic effect;
obtaining, by the surgical system, imaging data regarding the tissue based on the fluorescence and the photoacoustic effect,
wherein the imaging data includes fluorescence images that depict the fluorescence and photoacoustic images that are based on the photoacoustic effect caused by activating the voltage sensitive dye, and
wherein the imaging data identifies a nerve map of at least one of:
one or more nerve bundles associated with the tissue of the patient, or
one or more nerve branches associated with the tissue of the patient;
causing, by the surgical system, the nerve map to be displayed,
wherein the displayed nerve map depicts different nerves using different colors based on one or more of a confidence level associated with a respective identified location of a nerve or a level of importance of a function of the nerve;
obtaining, by the surgical system and based on the voltage sensitive dye being activated using the neuromodulation, additional imaging data regarding the tissue over a threshold period of time after a performance of a surgical operation; and
determining, based on the additional imaging data, whether the tissue of the patient was damaged during the surgical operation.