CASE STUDY

Surgical Imaging

Project: Surgical Imaging

Services: Design, Engineering, Prototyping, Medical Devices, Prototyping

Imaging and Algorithms

Blur developed a medical device system for imaging blood flow velocity during coronary bypass surgery. The system operates on a principle in which a near-infrared laser is used to illuminate the area of interest. Moving blood cells create an interference pattern in the illumination that can be correlated to velocity.

01

Industrial Design

A surgical suite is a crowded environment. With space at a premium, we needed a cart solution that was minimalistic, yet had the capability and structure to mount a surgical arm. Our design concepts explored human factors of space manipulation, features like cord and computer storage, and the structure needed for the mounting arm.

Medical device industrial design sketches for laser and optical system

Medical device industrial design for laser and optical system

02

Engineering

We designed the laser and optical system, then developed the algorithms to be able to detect blood flow and correlate the interference patterns to blood flow velocity. We wrote software to implement the algorithms along with a control interface.

Mechanically, we developed the structural cart and the attachment of the off-the-shelf control arm. We also developed the head geometry to house the laser and optical systems, along with engineering the computer systems and cabling throughout the system.

All done under medical device design controls.

Pig Heart Testing under medical device design controls

Blood Flow Velocity Map under medical device design controls