Colour‐Guided Surgery: A Conceptual Framework for Multimodal Intraoperative Visualisation—A Narrative Review
Takashi Nonaka, Shintaro Hashimoto, Tetsuro Tominaga, Mariko Yamashita, Hiroki Katayama, Yuma Takamura, Syun Yamaguchi, Toshiyuki Adachi, Yusuke Inoue, Keitaro MatsumotoABSTRACT
Background
Intraoperative imaging has evolved beyond white‐light visualisation to include fluorescence imaging, colour enhancement, artificial intelligence (AI), and molecular‐targeted imaging. However, these modalities are typically used independently.
Methods
This narrative review synthesises current multimodal intraoperative imaging and presents representative clinical images and conceptual illustrations to demonstrate complementary visual information.
Results
White‐light imaging provides anatomical context; colour enhancement improves tissue contrast; fluorescence imaging adds functional information; AI supports real‐time recognition; and molecular imaging enables biologically specific visualisation. These modalities collectively form layered visual information that enhances intraoperative understanding.
Conclusions
Colour‐guided surgery is proposed as a conceptual framework integrating multimodal imaging into a unified intraoperative guidance system and may provide a conceptual basis for future evaluation of multimodal intraoperative guidance in robotic and minimally invasive surgery.