A computer-implemented method for intraoperative medical instrument recognition includes receiving, from an imaging device positioned inside of a patient, an intraoperative imaging data stream that includes anatomy of a patient and at least one medical instrument. The method includes identifying one or more objects formed of a predetermined material present in the intraoperative imaging data stream and applying a shape recognition algorithm to the one or more objects to identify the at least one medical instrument. The method further includes generating a modified intraoperative imaging data stream that includes a visual characteristic applied to a region of the intraoperative imaging data stream corresponding to the at least one identified medical instrument. The method includes outputting a display of the modified intraoperative imaging data stream along with a graphical user interface (GUI) comprising a user interface element corresponding to the at least one identified medical instrument.