To evaluate the application of intelligent auxiliary real-time image defogging technology in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC).

Clinical data of 128 patients with gallstones treated with LC in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from September 2022 to April 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 78 patients were male and 40 female, aged from 31 to 66 years, with a median age of 53 years. The informed consents of all patients were obtained and the local ethical committee approval was received. Intelligent auxiliary technology was adopted to identify and process the images. The grades and duration of different levels of fog identified by intelligent equipment were recorded. The defogging time was also recorded. The actual duration of fog and that identified by intelligent images were compared by the rank-sum test.

The duration of fog was ranged from 8 to 17 min, with a median duration of 13 min. Intraoperatively, the laparoscope was wiped for 3-11 times, with a median of6 times. The overall used time was 69-230 s, with a median time of 141 s. Application of intelligent defogging system could effectively identify the grade of fog generated during LC, and remove the fog as required. The processing time of single-frame image was 0.02-0.08 s, with a median time of 0.04 s. The success rate of image processing was 97%(15 522/16 000), which effectively shortened intraoperative image defogging time (Z=-2.167, P<0.05).

Intelligent auxiliary real-time image defogging technology is safe and feasible in LC, which can effectively process intraoperative fog, assist the surgeons to identify surgical margins, enhance surgical efficiency and lower the incidence of complications.