Ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, control method, and computer-readable storage medium

Abstract

An embodiment of the present application provides an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, comprising: a robotic arm; an ultrasound probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasound signals, the ultrasound probe being connected to the robotic arm; a puncture needle, the puncture needle being connected to the robotic arm; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to: obtain a user-inputted blood vessel to be punctured; control the robotic arm to move the ultrasound probe to a body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, and control the ultrasound probe to transmit an ultrasound signal; generate a measured image based on the ultrasound signal received by the ultrasound probe; identify the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image to determine a puncture point; and control the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to complete the puncture from the puncture point. An embodiment of the present application also provides a control method and computer-readable storage medium for an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of medical devices, and in particular to an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, a control method for the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, and a computer-readable storage medium. Background Art

[0002] Ultrasound-guided vascular puncture is a necessary step in many interventional diagnostic and interventional treatment methods. The ultrasound-guided vascular puncture devices provided in related technologies still require manual operation to complete the vascular puncture steps, which requires high professional skills of the operator. It is hoped that automatic puncture can be achieved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above problems, the present invention is proposed to provide an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, a control method for the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, and a computer-readable storage medium that overcome the above problems or at least partially solve the above problems.

[0004] According to a first aspect of an embodiment of the present application, an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device is provided, comprising: a robotic arm; an ultrasound probe for transmitting and receiving ultrasound signals, the ultrasound probe being connected to the robotic arm; a puncture needle, the puncture needle being connected to the robotic arm; and one or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to: obtain a blood vessel to be punctured input by a user; control the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move to a body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, and control the ultrasound probe to transmit an ultrasound signal; generate a measured image based on the ultrasound signal received by the ultrasound probe; identify the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image to determine a puncture point; and control the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to complete the puncture from the puncture point.

[0005] According to a second aspect of an embodiment of the present application, a control method for an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device is provided. The ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device includes a robotic arm, and an ultrasound probe and a puncture needle connected to the robotic arm. The method includes: obtaining a blood vessel to be punctured input by a user; controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move to a body surface landmark point corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, and controlling the ultrasound probe to emit an ultrasound signal; generating a measured image based on the ultrasound signal received by the ultrasound probe; identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image to determine a puncture point; and controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to complete the puncture from the puncture point.

[0006] According to a third aspect of the embodiments of the present application, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a computer, the method described in the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application is implemented.

[0007] The ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, ultrasound-guided vascular puncture control method and computer-readable storage medium provided in the embodiments of the present application can automatically control the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe and puncture needle to complete the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture operation, thereby reducing the difficulty of operation and the workload of the operator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0009] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0010] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound-guided puncture device according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0011] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound-guided puncture device according to yet another embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the puncture point determined according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0013] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of aligning the detection center of an ultrasound probe with a puncture point according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0014] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the length change of a blood vessel to be punctured in a measured image during the rotation of an ultrasound probe according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0015] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the cross-sectional change of the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image when the angle between the ultrasonic signal detection axis of the ultrasonic probe and the body surface changes according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound probe and a puncture needle according to one embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram of an ultrasound probe and a puncture needle according to another embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 11 Schematic diagram of a force feedback component and a pressure measuring component according to one embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clear, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0020] The embodiment of the present application first provides an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, referring to Figure 1 , which includes: a robotic arm 10, an ultrasound probe 20, a puncture needle 30 and one or more processors 40.

[0021] The ultrasonic probe 20 is used to transmit and receive ultrasonic signals, and may be any suitable ultrasonic probe provided in the relevant technology in this field, without limitation.

[0022] The puncture needle 30 can be any suitable puncture needle provided by the relevant technology in the art. Different specifications of puncture needles may be required for different blood vessels to be punctured, and those skilled in the art can select according to actual needs. In actual use, depending on the type of operation, the needle lumen of the puncture needle 30 may need to be connected to different external devices. For example, during an interventional implantation procedure, it may be necessary to pass a guide wire through the needle lumen of the puncture needle 30. Those skilled in the art can make settings according to actual needs.

[0023] The ultrasound probe 20 and the puncture needle 30 are both connected to the robotic arm 10 , so that the robotic arm 10 can drive the ultrasound probe 20 to move to obtain a suitable ultrasound image. At the same time, the robotic arm 10 can also drive the puncture needle 30 to move to complete the puncture operation.

[0024] The robotic arm 10 can be any suitable robotic arm provided in the relevant art. The robotic arm 10 can be configured to drive the ultrasound probe 20 and the puncture needle 30 to perform any required movement operations during ultrasound-guided vascular puncture. By way of example, the robotic arm 10 has multiple interconnected arms, which can be connected by bearings, slide rails, etc., so that the arms can slide and rotate relative to each other, thereby driving the connected ultrasound probe 20 and puncture needle 30 to move with multiple degrees of freedom.

[0025] The ultrasound probe 20 and the puncture needle 30 can be connected to two independent robotic arms 10 respectively, or the ultrasound probe 20 and the puncture needle 30 can also be connected to different arms of the same robotic arm 10, which is not limited.

[0026] In some embodiments, reference Figure 2 The puncture needle 30 can be connected to the ultrasonic probe 20. In these embodiments, the movement range of the puncture needle 30 will be limited by the posture of the ultrasonic probe 20. This will simplify the action of the robotic arm 10 driving the puncture needle 30 for puncture, but it also puts forward higher requirements on the positioning of the ultrasonic probe 20. The ultrasonic probe 20 needs to move to a suitable position and be in a suitable posture to successfully complete the puncture operation.

[0027] In some other embodiments, the puncture needle 30 can be moved completely independently of the ultrasound probe 20 (eg Figure 1 This reduces the positioning requirements of the ultrasound probe 20, but places higher requirements on the movement accuracy of the robot arm 10.

[0028] Still available for reference Figure 1 In actual use, the patient 1 can lie on the operating table 2 (operating table), and one end of the robotic arm 10 can be fixed to any suitable location near the operating table (such as the headboard or edge of the examination table, or the ground or table near the operating table). It only needs to move the ultrasound probe 20 and puncture needle 30 within a range that covers the location to be examined. In some embodiments, one end of the robotic arm 10 can be fixed to a movable base 3, so that the ultrasound probe can be moved to any suitable location for operation according to actual use needs.

[0029] One or more processors 40 are electrically connected to the robotic arm 10, the ultrasonic probe 20, etc., so that they can control the movement of the robotic arm 10, control the ultrasonic probe 20 to transmit and receive ultrasonic signals, etc. The one or more processors 40 can be integrated into a terminal device, which can be a terminal such as a computer, a tablet computer, a mobile phone, or any other terminal capable of performing relevant functions. The terminal device can be electrically connected to the robotic arm 10 and the ultrasonic probe 20 through any suitable connection method such as a wired connection or a wireless connection to achieve electrical connection between the one or more processors 40 and the robotic arm 10 and the ultrasonic probe 20. In some other embodiments, the one or more processors 40 can also be integrated into the robotic arm 10 or the ultrasonic probe 20, without limitation. The one or more processors 40 can interact with the user in an appropriate manner. For example, the one or more processors 40 can be connected to a suitable interactive device, such as a mouse, a keyboard, a touch screen, etc.

[0030] During actual use, one or more processors 40 can obtain the blood vessel to be punctured input by the user. The following description will mainly take the femoral artery or femoral vein as an example of the blood vessel to be punctured for more detailed description. However, those skilled in the art will understand that the blood vessel to be punctured can be any blood vessel that needs to be punctured.

[0031] After obtaining the blood vessel to be punctured input by the user, one or more processors 40 can control the robotic arm 10 to drive the ultrasound probe 20 to move to the body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured and control the ultrasound probe 20 to emit an ultrasound signal. For example, when puncturing the femoral artery or femoral vein, the robotic arm 10 can be controlled to drive the ultrasound probe 20 to move to the patient's groin. Determining the body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured is a general skill that those skilled in the art should possess. The correspondence between these blood vessels to be punctured and the body surface landmarks can be pre-stored in a database associated with one or more processors 40. One or more processors 40 can call relevant data to determine the body surface landmarks, which will not be repeated here.

[0032] Next, one or more processors 40 can generate a measured image based on the ultrasonic signal received by the ultrasonic probe 20. The measured image is an image obtained by analyzing and processing the ultrasonic signal received by the ultrasonic probe 20 in real time. The specific analysis and processing methods can refer to the ultrasonic signal processing method provided in the relevant technology in this field, and will not be repeated here.

[0033] Next, the one or more processors 40 may identify the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image to determine the puncture point.

[0034] Image recognition technology can be used to identify the vessels to be punctured in the measured images. For example, image recognition technology based on a neural network model can be used to achieve this identification. Specifically, ultrasound images of the vessels to be punctured can be collected using big data and the neural network model can be trained to enable the neural network model to identify the vessels to be punctured. Several methods for identifying vessels to be punctured will be described in detail in the relevant sections below and will not be repeated here.

[0035] After identifying the blood vessel to be punctured, the puncture point can be determined. As an example, a point on the central axis of the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image can be determined as the puncture point. Alternatively, those skilled in the art can also select a rule for determining the puncture point based on the specific needs of the actual puncture, and there is no limitation to this.

[0036] After determining the puncture point, the one or more processors 40 can control the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 to complete the puncture from the puncture point. It can be understood that the one or more processors 40 determine the puncture point in the ultrasound image. Therefore, when actually controlling the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 to perform the puncture, the one or more processors 40 need to determine the path for driving the puncture needle 30 based on the position of the puncture point in the ultrasound image, the position of the ultrasound probe 20, and the relationship between the ultrasound image and the ultrasound probe 20, so as to ensure that the puncture needle 30 completes the puncture from the determined puncture point.

[0037] In some embodiments, the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device further includes a positioning member 50 for providing position information of a body surface landmark corresponding to the vessel to be punctured. When controlling the robotic arm 10 to move the ultrasound probe 20 to the body surface landmark corresponding to the vessel to be punctured, the one or more processors 40 may control the robotic arm 10 to move the ultrasound probe 20 to the body surface landmark corresponding to the vessel to be punctured based on the position information provided by the positioning member 50.

[0038] In some embodiments, reference Figure 3 The positioning member 50 may be a laser positioning device disposed above the operating table 2 , which may examine the body structure of the subject by emitting laser light, and thereby obtain positioning information of body surface landmarks.

[0039] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 4 The positioning member 50 may be a device capable of transmitting its own position information, and the relevant operator may place it in advance at the location of the body surface landmark.

[0040] In some other embodiments, the positioning member 50 may not be provided, and a camera may be provided on the robotic arm 10 or the ultrasound probe 20. The one or more processors 40 may identify the location of the body surface landmarks based on the images captured by the camera, and then control the robotic arm 10 to drive the ultrasound probe 20 to move. In these embodiments, marks that facilitate image recognition may be provided in advance at the body surface landmarks, such as with a black marker, to improve the efficiency of the one or more processors in identifying the body surface landmarks.

[0041] In some embodiments, when identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image, one or more processors 40 may first acquire a standard image, which includes the blood vessel to be punctured and the surrounding tissue of the blood vessel to be punctured. Then, the one or more processors 40 may identify the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image based on the standard image.

[0042] The standard image here refers to the image that should be obtained when performing ultrasound examination of the vessel to be punctured in a manner that complies with relevant standards in the field. Since individual blood vessels are generally not landmarks, the standard image should not only include the vessel to be punctured but also the surrounding tissue of the vessel to be punctured. This allows for significant differences between the standard images of different vessels to be punctured, and enables one or more processors to more quickly identify the vessel to be punctured with the assistance of these surrounding tissues. These surrounding tissues can include muscle tissue, organs, or other blood vessels surrounding the vessel.

[0043] The morphology of the blood vessels selected for puncture in ultrasound images is highly similar across patients. Therefore, standard images can be obtained from big data, and the same standard images can be used to identify the vessels to be punctured across patients. Standard images of different vessels to be punctured can be pre-stored in a memory, database, or other location associated with one or more processors 40. Upon receiving a user input of a vessel to be punctured, the one or more processors 40 can retrieve the corresponding standard image.

[0044] In some other embodiments, the standard image of the vessel to be punctured may also be patient-specific. That is, the standard image used for each patient may be different. This increases the workload of preoperative preparation, but also improves recognition accuracy. In these embodiments, the operator may need to perform an ultrasound examination on the patient in advance to obtain the standard image, and then store the standard image in association with the patient information in a memory, database, or other location associated with the one or more processors 40. When the user enters the vessel to be punctured, they should also enter the patient information so that the one or more processors 40 can retrieve the standard image of the vessel to be punctured associated with the patient information.

[0045] When identifying a vessel to be punctured based on the reference image, the one or more processors 40 may compare and analyze the measured image and the reference image to identify a vessel in the measured image that corresponds to the vessel to be punctured in the reference image. This vessel is the vessel to be punctured in the measured image. For example, the one or more processors 40 may compare and analyze feature points of each tissue in the measured image with feature points of each tissue in the reference image to determine the vessel in the measured image that corresponds to the vessel to be punctured in the reference image.

[0046] In some embodiments, one or more processors 40 can also obtain the matching degree between the measured image and the standard image, and control the robotic arm 10 to move the ultrasound probe 20 based on the matching degree until the matching degree between the measured image and the standard image is higher than a preset value.

[0047] It can be understood that in the above embodiment, one or more processors 40 only control the robotic arm 10 to move the ultrasound probe 20 to the body surface landmark point corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, which cannot ensure that the measured image is close enough to the standard image, and therefore the blood vessel to be punctured may not be successfully identified in the measured image. For this reason, in this embodiment, the matching degree between the measured image and the standard image is further obtained, and then the position of the ultrasound probe 20 is adjusted based on the matching degree until the matching degree between the measured image and the standard image is higher than the preset value, so as to ensure that the blood vessel to be punctured can be identified from the measured image.

[0048] In some embodiments, when the robotic arm 10 is controlled to move the ultrasound probe 20 based on the matching degree, the range of movement can be determined based on the matching degree. For example, when the matching degree is relatively low, a relatively larger range of movement can be selected, and when the matching degree is relatively high, a relatively smaller range of movement can be selected, thereby improving the efficiency of the adjustment.

[0049] When controlling the robotic arm 10 to move the ultrasound probe 20, any suitable movement method can be used. For example, the ultrasound probe 20 can be rotated or translated on the body surface, or the angle between the ultrasound signal emission axis of the ultrasound probe 20 and the body surface can be changed, etc.

[0050] In some embodiments, when identifying the vessel to be punctured in the measured image, the one or more processors 40 may further control the ultrasound probe to emit a Doppler ultrasound signal, and then identify the vessel to be punctured in the measured image based on the Doppler ultrasound signal received by the ultrasound probe. The Doppler ultrasound signal can display the blood flow and direction in the image. Therefore, the one or more processors 40 can identify the vessel in the measured image based on the Doppler ultrasound signal, and further distinguish between arteries and veins based on the direction of blood flow, thereby identifying the vessel to be punctured in the measured image.

[0051] Using Doppler ultrasound signals to identify the vessel to be punctured can prevent misidentification of other tissues as blood vessels. Furthermore, it can prevent confusion between the vessel to be punctured and surrounding vessels. For example, the femoral artery and vein are typically parallel, yet the Doppler ultrasound signal between the two can be significantly different.

[0052] Those skilled in the art may use both Doppler ultrasound signals and standard images to identify the blood vessel to be punctured, or use only one of them to identify the blood vessel to be punctured, or use other appropriate methods to identify the blood vessel to be punctured, without limitation.

[0053] In some embodiments, after controlling the robotic arm 10 to move the ultrasound probe 20 to a body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, one or more processors 40 can control the robotic arm 10 to adjust the posture of the ultrasound probe 20 so that the length direction of the ultrasound probe 20 is roughly perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured.

[0054] You can refer to Figure 5The ultrasound probe 20 usually has a length direction and a width direction, and one or more processors 40 adjust the initial detection posture of the ultrasound probe 20 so that the length direction is approximately perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured. At this time, what is presented in the measured image will be a transverse section of the blood vessel to be punctured 4. The range occupied by this transverse section in the entire measured image is relatively small. Therefore, there is still a large space in the measured image to display other tissues around the blood vessel to be punctured 4, thereby facilitating the use of the method described above to identify the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image.

[0055] The length direction here refers to the length direction of the detection surface of the ultrasound probe 20 (i.e., the plane that transmits the ultrasound signal). The direction of the blood vessel to be punctured is relatively fixed. Those skilled in the art can set the posture parameters of the ultrasound probe 20 for each blood vessel to be punctured in advance based on relevant anatomical knowledge, so that the length direction of the ultrasound probe 20 can be adjusted to a direction roughly perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured based on the posture parameters. The posture parameters can be set relative to body surface landmarks. For example, when performing femoral artery or femoral vein puncture, since the femoral artery or femoral vein is usually perpendicular to the inguinal ligament, the ultrasound probe 20 can be moved to the groin and the length direction of the ultrasound probe 20 can be adjusted to be parallel to the inguinal ligament.

[0056] As described above, in some embodiments, the movement of the ultrasound probe 20 needs to be controlled based on the degree of matching. In this embodiment, since the ultrasound probe 20 is already in a more appropriate orientation, when the movement of the ultrasound probe 20 is controlled based on the degree of matching, the ultrasound of the ultrasound probe 20 does not need to be changed, but is mainly moved in a translational manner.

[0057] In some embodiments, after determining the puncture point, one or more processors 40 can further control the robotic arm 10 to drive the ultrasound probe 20 to move so that the detection center of the ultrasound probe 20 is aligned with the puncture point, and then control the robotic arm 10 to drive the ultrasound probe 20 to rotate on the body surface with the puncture point as the center.

[0058] During the rotation process, one or more processors 40 can determine the change in the length of the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image, and determine the orientation of the ultrasound probe 20 when the length of the blood vessel to be punctured is the longest as the puncture orientation for controlling the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 for puncture.

[0059] The puncture direction here refers to the direction of the projection of the puncture needle 30 within the plane of the body surface. Generally speaking, during puncture, it is desired that the puncture direction is roughly the same as the extension direction of the blood vessel to avoid it touching the blood vessel wall while traveling in the blood vessel. In some embodiments described above, the ultrasound probe 20 is adjusted to a posture in which the length direction is roughly perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured. In this posture, the width direction of the ultrasound probe 20 should be roughly parallel to the blood vessel to be punctured. However, it is understandable that the above posture is determined based on body surface landmarks and anatomical knowledge, and in some cases there may be large errors. For this reason, this embodiment further rotates the ultrasound probe 20 to more accurately determine the puncture direction.

[0060] Specifically, after the puncture point is determined, the one or more processors 40 can control the robotic arm 10 to drive the ultrasound probe 20 to move so that the detection center of the ultrasound probe 20 is aligned with the puncture point. Figure 6 The detection center of the ultrasound probe refers to the center of the coverage range of the ultrasound signal emitted by the ultrasound probe, in other words, the center point of the measured image. One or more processors 40 can determine the moving direction of the ultrasound probe 20 based on the current position of the puncture point in the measured image to align the detection center of the ultrasound probe 20 with the puncture point 5, in other words, adjust the puncture point 5 to the center of the measured image.

[0061] The purpose of aligning the detection center of the ultrasound probe 20 with the puncture point is to ensure that the blood vessel to be punctured always appears in the measured image during the rotation of the ultrasound probe 20. Figure 7 During the rotation of the ultrasound probe 20, the coverage of the ultrasound probe 20 changes, so that the length of the blood vessel 4 to be punctured in the measured image will change. When the length of the blood vessel 4 to be punctured in the measured image is the longest, the length direction of the ultrasound probe 20 is parallel to the blood vessel to be punctured. One or more processors 40 can determine the puncture direction based on this direction to ensure that the puncture needle 30 can move in the blood vessel in a direction roughly parallel to the blood vessel wall.

[0062] After determining the puncture direction, the one or more processors 40 may determine relevant control parameters to control the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 to perform puncture from the puncture point along the puncture direction.

[0063] In some embodiments, one or more processors 40 may first rotate the ultrasound probe 20 90 degrees, that is, rotate the ultrasound probe 20 until its length direction is roughly parallel to the blood vessel to be punctured, and then perform a small rotation to improve the efficiency of determining the puncture direction.

[0064] In some other embodiments, the one or more processors 40 may also calculate the puncture direction according to the direction of the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image and the direction of the ultrasound probe 20 .

[0065] In some embodiments, after controlling the robotic arm 10 to move the ultrasound probe 20 to a body surface landmark point corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, one or more processors 40 can also control the robotic arm 10 to adjust the posture of the ultrasound probe 20 so that the ultrasound signal emission axis of the ultrasound probe 20 is approximately perpendicular to the body surface.

[0066] The ultrasound signal transmission axis here refers to an axis parallel to the propagation direction of the ultrasound signal. In some embodiments described above, the ultrasound probe 20 is adjusted so that its longitudinal direction is approximately perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured. In fact, the ultrasound probe 20 is adjusted in its orientation on the body surface. Figure 8 In this embodiment, what is adjusted is the angle between the ultrasonic signal emission axis of the ultrasonic probe 20 and the body surface, that is, the inclination angle of the ultrasonic probe 20 compared to the body surface. Therefore, there is no conflict between the two. The posture of the ultrasonic probe 20 can be adjusted to simultaneously achieve a length direction that is approximately perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured, and a ultrasonic signal emission axis that is approximately perpendicular to the body surface.

[0067] from Figure 8 It can be clearly seen in the figure that, due to the certain buried depth of the blood vessel, at some tilt angles, even if the ultrasound probe 20 is placed in the correct position, the blood vessel 4 to be punctured will not appear in the measured image. In this embodiment, the initial tilt angle of the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe 20 is set to be approximately perpendicular to the body surface. At this angle, as long as the ultrasound probe 20 is in the appropriate position, a cross section of the blood vessel 4 to be punctured can be observed in the ultrasound probe 20, thereby avoiding the situation where the blood vessel 4 to be punctured is completely absent in the measured image.

[0068] Similarly, in these embodiments, if the ultrasound probe 20 needs to be moved based on the matching degree between the measured image and the standard image, the angle between the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe 20 and the body surface may not be changed, but adjustment may be mainly performed by translation.

[0069] In some embodiments, after determining the puncture point, one or more processors 40 can also control the robotic arm 10 to move the ultrasound probe 20 so that the detection center of the ultrasound probe 20 is aligned with the puncture point, and the angle between the ultrasound signal transmission axis and the body surface at this time is determined as the initial angle. The robotic arm 10 is then controlled to rotate the ultrasound probe 20 around the puncture point, causing the angle between the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe 20 and the body surface to change. During the rotation process, the one or more processors 40 can track the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image to determine the end angle. The end angle is the angle between the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe and the body surface when the blood vessel to be punctured disappears from the measured image. The puncture angle is then determined based on the initial angle and the end angle when the robotic arm is controlled to drive the puncture needle for puncture.

[0070] The puncture angle refers to the angle between the puncture needle 30 and the body surface during puncture. During puncture, it is generally desirable for the puncture needle 30 to puncture the blood vessel wall at an angle of approximately 45 degrees to minimize puncture of the blood vessel by the puncture needle 30. A 45-degree angle relative to the body surface plane can be selected as the puncture angle, but the blood vessel wall is not always parallel to the body surface plane. Therefore, this angle does not necessarily ensure that the puncture needle 30 forms an approximately 45-degree angle with the blood vessel wall. Therefore, this embodiment uses the above-mentioned method to determine the puncture angle.

[0071] Still available for reference Figure 8 In the initial state, the ultrasound probe 20 is in the leftmost posture in the figure. During the rotation process, the cross-section of the blood vessel displayed on the measured image will change. When it is rotated to the rightmost posture in the figure, since the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe 20 is roughly parallel to the blood vessel wall at this time, the blood vessel cross-section in the measured image will disappear. One or more processors 40 can record the angle between the ultrasound signal transmission axis and the body surface at this time as the end angle, and then select an angle between the initial angle and the end angle as the puncture angle, for example, select the angle of the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe 20 in the middle position of the figure as the puncture angle.

[0072] In some embodiments, since the initial angle of the ultrasound signal emission axis of the ultrasound probe 20 is approximately perpendicular to the body surface, it can be considered that the ultrasound signal emission axis is also approximately perpendicular to the blood vessel wall at this time. When the blood vessel to be punctured disappears in the measured image (that is, when the ultrasound signal emission axis is at the termination angle), it can be considered that the ultrasound signal emission axis is approximately parallel to the blood vessel wall. Therefore, one or more processors 40 can determine the middle angle between the initial angle and the termination angle as the puncture angle, and the angle between the middle angle and the blood vessel wall is close to 45 degrees.

[0073] It is understood that during the actual puncture process, the puncture needle 30 is oriented along the direction of the blood vessel. Therefore, in the above embodiment, the ultrasound probe 20 should preferably maintain its longitudinal direction approximately perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured during rotation. That is, it should track the cross-section of the blood vessel to be punctured, while avoiding tracking the longitudinal interface of the blood vessel to be punctured. Furthermore, the ultrasound signal transmission axis should rotate in a direction that forms an acute angle with the blood vessel extension direction (the direction of needle insertion).

[0074] In some other embodiments, as described above, the one or more processors 40 may directly select an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the plane of the body surface as the puncture angle. Alternatively, the one or more processors 40 may estimate the angle between the blood vessel to be punctured and the plane of the body surface based on the measured image, and then calculate the puncture angle.

[0075] In some embodiments, one or more processors 40 can first determine the puncture point, then determine the puncture direction, and finally determine the puncture angle, and then calculate the control parameters based on the puncture point, puncture direction and puncture angle, and control the robotic arm 10 based on the control parameters, so that the robotic arm 10 drives the puncture needle 30 to complete the puncture from the puncture point along the puncture direction and puncture angle.

[0076] The order of determining the puncture direction and determining the puncture angle can be freely changed. However, as described above, it is best to track the cross-section of the blood vessel to be punctured when determining the puncture angle. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment, the step of determining the puncture direction can be performed first. In this step, the ultrasound probe 20 is adjusted to a position where the length direction is parallel to the extension direction of the blood vessel to be punctured. Then, the ultrasound probe 20 can be rotated 90 degrees with the puncture point as the center. At this time, the length direction of the ultrasound probe 20 is perpendicular to the extension direction of the blood vessel to be punctured, and then this orientation is maintained to perform the puncture direction step.

[0077] In some embodiments, reference Figure 9 The puncture needle 30 can be connected to the ultrasound probe 20. Specifically, the ultrasound probe 20 can be provided with a needle groove 21. The extension direction of the needle groove 21 can be the same as the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe 20, and the puncture needle 30 can be slidably disposed in the needle groove 21. The ultrasound signal transmission surface of the ultrasound probe 20 can be provided with a needle hole 22, and the needle groove 21 can be connected to the needle hole 22.

[0078] The robotic arm 10 can be configured to push the puncture needle 30 to slide in the needle slot 21. In such an embodiment, since the extension direction of the needle slot 21 is the same as the extension direction of the ultrasonic signal emission axis of the ultrasonic probe 20, and the needle exit hole 22 is set on the detection center, therefore, during actual puncture, the puncture direction of the puncture needle 30 will be the same as the width direction of the ultrasonic probe 20, the puncture angle will be the same as the ultrasonic signal emission angle of the ultrasonic probe 20, and the needle exit position coincides with the detection center of the ultrasonic probe 20.

[0079] In this embodiment, one or more processors 40 can move the needle exit hole 22 of the ultrasound probe 20 to coincide with the puncture point, and then use the method described above to adjust the posture of the ultrasound probe 20 to determine the puncture direction and puncture angle. The difference is that, in this embodiment, the ultrasound probe 20 can be directly maintained in the adjusted posture, and then the robotic arm 10 can be directly controlled to push the puncture needle 30 for puncture, that is, there is no need to convert the puncture direction and puncture angle into the control parameters of the robotic arm 10, thereby eliminating the calculation process of the control parameters of the robotic arm 10 and improving operational efficiency.

[0080] In other embodiments, referring to Figure 10, a needle groove 21 is provided in the ultrasonic probe 20, and a needle hole 22 is provided on the ultrasonic signal emitting surface of the ultrasonic probe 20, and the needle groove 21 is connected to the needle hole 22. The difference is that in this embodiment, the angle between the needle groove 21 and the ultrasonic signal emitting surface of the ultrasonic probe 20 is 45 degrees. Therefore, during the actual puncture process, after one or more processors control the needle hole 22 to move to coincide with the puncture point, it is only necessary to adjust the puncture direction without adjusting the puncture angle. The mechanical arm 10 can be directly controlled to drive the puncture needle 30 along the needle groove 21 to complete the puncture. For some blood vessels that are roughly parallel to the body surface (such as the femoral artery), this setting can ensure that the puncture needle 30 penetrates the blood vessel at an angle of roughly 45 degrees to the blood vessel wall, and can further improve the efficiency of the puncture.

[0081] In these embodiments, the projection of the needle groove 21 on the ultrasonic signal emitting surface can be parallel to the length direction of the ultrasonic probe 20, or parallel to the width direction of the ultrasonic probe 20. It can be understood that when its projection is parallel to the length direction, when adjusting the puncture direction, the length direction should be parallel to the extension direction of the blood vessel; when its projection is parallel to the width direction, when adjusting the puncture direction, the width direction should be parallel to the extension direction of the blood vessel.

[0082] In the above embodiment, the needle hole 22 can be set at the ultrasonic signal detection center of the ultrasonic probe 20, so that the needle hole 22 can be aligned with the puncture point more efficiently and accurately.

[0083] In some embodiments, reference Figure 11 The ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device also includes a force feedback element 60, which is connected to the puncture needle to measure the force applied to the needle tip. Force feedback element 60 can be, for example, a pressure sensor. Persons skilled in the art can determine the installation location of force feedback element 60 based on the type of force feedback element 60 selected, and this is not a limitation.

[0084] In this embodiment, when controlling the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 for puncture, the one or more processors 40 can control the puncture stroke of the puncture needle based on the force on the needle tip measured by the force feedback component 60. As an example, when the puncture needle 30 punctures the blood vessel wall, a sudden force change will occur. The one or more processors 40 can determine whether the puncture needle 30 has entered the blood vessel based on this sudden change. When the puncture needle 30 continues to move until the force on the needle tip increases, it means that the puncture needle 30 has abutted against the blood vessel wall on the other side. At this time, the one or more processors 40 can stop the puncture needle 30 from moving further to prevent the puncture needle 30 from puncturing the blood vessel.

[0085] In some embodiments, reference may still be made to Figure 10The ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device may further include a pressure measuring element 70, which is connected to the needle cavity of the puncture needle 30 to measure the pressure in the needle cavity of the puncture needle 30. The pressure measuring element 70 may be a device such as a hydraulic sensor. For example, the pressure measuring element 70 may be connected to the needle cavity of the puncture needle 30. When blood flows into the needle cavity of the puncture needle 30, the pressure measuring element 70 will sense the increase in hydraulic pressure. As described above, after the puncture is completed, it is usually necessary to deliver a guide wire or medicine through the needle cavity of the puncture needle 30. In order to prevent the pressure measuring element 70 from affecting the delivery of the guide wire, a three-way structure may be provided on the puncture needle 30. The pressure measuring element 70 may be connected to the needle cavity through one of the openings, and the guide wire or the like may enter the needle cavity through the other opening.

[0086] In this embodiment, one or more processors 40 can determine the puncture end point of the puncture needle 30 based on the needle cavity pressure measured by the pressure measuring piece 70 when controlling the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 to perform puncture.

[0087] Specifically, in some embodiments, when controlling the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 for puncture, one or more processors 40 can monitor the changes in the force on the needle tip measured by the force feedback component. When it is determined that the force on the needle tip has suddenly changed, the current first position of the puncture needle 30 is recorded. The first position is the position where the puncture needle 30 just enters the blood vessel to be punctured.

[0088] Next, one or more processors 40 can control the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 to continue moving a predetermined distance from the first position to the second position. This predetermined distance can be determined based on the diameter of the blood vessel to be punctured, and it is important to avoid the puncture needle 30 abutting against the other side of the blood vessel wall to prevent puncturing the blood vessel. In some other embodiments, one or more processors 40 can also continuously monitor the needle tip force measured by the force feedback component 60 and determine the position of the puncture needle 30 when the needle tip force increases as the second position.

[0089] Next, one or more processors 40 can control the robotic arm 10 to drive the puncture needle 30 to reciprocate between the above-mentioned first position and second position, and monitor the needle cavity pressure measured by the pressure measuring piece 70 during the movement, and determine the position with the highest needle cavity pressure as the puncture end point of the puncture needle 30.

[0090] Embodiments of the present application also provide a control method for an ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device. The control method can be executed by one or more processors, which can be integrated into the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, or the one or more processors can be integrated into a terminal device, which can be electrically connected to the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device so that the one or more processors can control the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device. The ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device includes a robotic arm, an ultrasound probe connected to the robotic arm, and a puncture needle.

[0091] Specifically, the method provided in this embodiment includes: obtaining the blood vessel to be punctured input by the user; controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move to the body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, and controlling the ultrasound probe to transmit an ultrasound signal; generating a measured image based on the ultrasound signal received by the ultrasound probe; identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image to determine the puncture point; and controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to complete the puncture from the puncture point.

[0092] In some embodiments, identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image includes: acquiring a standard image, the standard image including the blood vessel to be punctured and surrounding tissue of the blood vessel to be punctured; and identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image based on the standard image.

[0093] In some embodiments, the method further includes: obtaining a matching degree between the measured image and the standard image; and controlling the robotic arm to move the ultrasound probe based on the matching degree until the matching degree between the measured image and the standard image is higher than a preset value.

[0094] In some embodiments, identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image further includes: controlling the ultrasound probe to transmit a Doppler ultrasound signal; and identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image based on the Doppler ultrasound signal received by the ultrasound probe.

[0095] In some embodiments, the method further includes: after controlling the robotic arm to move the ultrasound probe to a body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, controlling the robotic arm to adjust the posture of the ultrasound probe so that the length direction of the ultrasound probe is approximately perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured.

[0096] In some embodiments, the method also includes: after determining the puncture point, controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move so that the detection center of the ultrasound probe is aligned with the puncture point; controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to rotate on the body surface with the puncture point as the center; determining the change in the length of the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image during the rotation process; and determining the direction of the ultrasound probe when the length of the blood vessel to be punctured is the longest as the puncture direction when controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle for puncture.

[0097] In some embodiments, the method further includes controlling the robotic arm to move the ultrasound probe to a body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, and then controlling the robotic arm to adjust the posture of the ultrasound probe so that the ultrasound signal emission axis of the ultrasound probe is approximately perpendicular to the body surface.

[0098] In some embodiments, the method also includes, after determining the puncture point, controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move, so that the detection center of the ultrasound probe is aligned with the puncture point, and determining the initial angle between the ultrasound signal emission axis of the ultrasound probe and the body surface; controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to rotate, so that the angle between the ultrasound signal emission axis of the ultrasound probe and the body surface changes; tracking the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image during the rotation process to determine the termination angle, which is the angle between the ultrasound signal emission axis of the ultrasound probe and the body surface when the blood vessel to be punctured disappears in the measured image; based on the initial angle and the termination angle, determining the puncture angle when controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle for puncture.

[0099] In some embodiments, the middle angle between the initial angle and the final angle is determined as the puncture angle.

[0100] In some embodiments, the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device further includes a force feedback component connected to the puncture needle, and the method further includes: when controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle, controlling the puncture stroke based on the needle tip force measured by the force feedback component.

[0101] In some embodiments, the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device further includes a pressure measuring piece connected to the needle cavity of the puncture needle, and the method further includes: when controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle for puncture, determining the puncture end point based on the needle cavity pressure measured by the pressure measuring piece.

[0102] In some embodiments, controlling the puncture stroke of the puncture needle and determining the puncture end point of the puncture needle include: when controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle for puncture, monitoring the change in the force on the needle tip measured by the force feedback component; when it is determined that the force on the needle tip has suddenly changed, recording the current first position of the puncture needle; controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to continue moving a predetermined distance from the first position as the starting point to reach the second position; controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to reciprocate between the first position and the second position, and monitoring the needle cavity pressure measured by the pressure measuring component during the movement; determining the position with the highest needle cavity pressure as the puncture end point.

[0103] The above describes the control method of the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device provided in the embodiment of the present application. Some specific technical details can be referred to the description of the relevant parts of the ultrasound probe above, which will not be repeated here.

[0104] The embodiments of the present application further provide a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a computer, implements the method described in any of the above embodiments. The specific implementation of the computer-readable storage medium can be referred to above and will not be repeated here.

[0105] Those skilled in the art will understand that all or part of the processes in the above-mentioned embodiment methods can be implemented by instructing related hardware through a computer program. The computer program can be stored in a non-volatile computer-readable storage medium. When the computer program is executed, it can include the processes of the embodiments of the above-mentioned methods.

[0106] Among them, any reference to memory, storage, database or other media used in the various embodiments provided by the present invention may include non-volatile and / or volatile memory. Non-volatile memory may include read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) or flash memory. Volatile memory may include random access memory (RAM) or external cache memory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available in various forms, such as static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDRSDRAM), enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), synchronous link DRAM (SLDRAM), memory bus (Rambus) direct RAM (RDRAM), direct memory bus dynamic RAM (DRDRAM), and memory bus dynamic RAM (RDRAM).

[0107] The technical features of the above embodiments can be combined arbitrarily. In order to make the description concise, not all possible combinations of the technical features in the above embodiments are described. However, as long as there is no contradiction in the combination of these technical features, they should be considered to be within the scope of this specification. The above embodiments only express several implementation methods of the present application. The description is relatively specific and detailed, but it cannot be understood as a limitation on the scope of the invention patent. It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this field, without departing from the concept of the present application, several variations and improvements can be made, which all fall within the scope of protection of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the patent in this application shall be based on the attached claims.

Claims

1. An ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device, comprising: robotic arm; an ultrasonic probe, used for transmitting and receiving ultrasonic signals, wherein the ultrasonic probe is connected to the robotic arm; a puncture needle connected to the robotic arm; as well as One or more processors configured to: Obtaining the blood vessel to be punctured input by the user; Controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move to a body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, and controlling the ultrasound probe to transmit an ultrasound signal; generating a measured image based on the ultrasound signal received by the ultrasound probe; Identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image to determine a puncture point; Controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to complete puncture from the puncture point; Wherein, the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device further comprises: a force feedback member connected to the puncture needle to measure the force applied to the needle tip of the puncture needle; The one or more processors are further configured to: When controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to perform puncture, the puncture stroke is controlled based on the needle tip force measured by the force feedback component; Wherein, the ultrasound-guided vascular puncture device further comprises: a pressure measuring piece connected to the needle cavity of the puncture needle to measure the pressure in the needle cavity of the puncture needle; The one or more processors are further configured to: When controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to perform puncture, determining the puncture end point based on the needle cavity pressure measured by the pressure measuring element; The one or more processors are specifically configured to: When controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to perform puncture, monitoring the change of the needle tip force measured by the force feedback component; When it is determined that the force on the needle tip has suddenly occurred, recording the first position where the puncture needle is currently located; Controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to continue moving a predetermined distance from the first position as a starting point to reach a second position; controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to reciprocate between the first position and the second position, and monitoring the needle cavity pressure measured by the pressure measuring element during the movement; The position where the needle cavity pressure is the highest is determined as the puncture end point of the puncture needle.

2. The device according to claim 1, wherein When identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image, the one or more processors are specifically configured to: Acquiring a standard image, wherein the standard image includes the blood vessel to be punctured and surrounding tissue of the blood vessel to be punctured; The blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image is identified based on the standard image.

3. The device according to claim 2, wherein The one or more processors are further configured to: Obtaining a degree of matching between the measured image and the standard image; The robotic arm is controlled to move the ultrasound probe based on the matching degree until the matching degree between the measured image and the standard image is higher than a preset value.

4. The device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: When identifying the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image, the one or more processors are further configured to: Controlling the ultrasonic probe to transmit Doppler ultrasonic signals; The blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image is identified based on the Doppler ultrasound signal received by the ultrasound probe.

5. The device according to claim 1, wherein The one or more processors are further configured to: After controlling the robotic arm to move the ultrasound probe to a body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, controlling the robotic arm to adjust the posture of the ultrasound probe so that the length direction of the ultrasound probe is approximately perpendicular to the blood vessel to be punctured.

6. The device according to claim 5, wherein The one or more processors are further configured to: After determining the puncture point, controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move so that the detection center of the ultrasound probe is aligned with the puncture point; Controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to rotate on the body surface with the puncture point as the center; determining a change in the length of the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image during the rotation process; The orientation of the ultrasound probe when the length of the blood vessel to be punctured is the longest is determined as the puncture orientation when the robotic arm is controlled to drive the puncture needle for puncture.

7. The device according to claim 1, wherein The one or more processors are further configured to: After controlling the robotic arm to move the ultrasound probe to a body surface landmark corresponding to the blood vessel to be punctured, controlling the robotic arm to adjust the posture of the ultrasound probe so that the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe is approximately perpendicular to the body surface.

8. The device according to claim 7, wherein The one or more processors are further configured to: After determining the puncture point, controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move so that the detection center of the ultrasound probe is aligned with the puncture point, and determining an initial angle between the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe and the body surface; Controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to rotate so that the angle between the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe and the body surface changes; Tracking the blood vessel to be punctured in the measured image during the rotation process to determine a termination angle, wherein the termination angle is the angle between the ultrasound signal transmission axis of the ultrasound probe and the body surface when the blood vessel to be punctured disappears in the measured image; Based on the initial angle and the end angle, a puncture angle at which the robotic arm is controlled to drive the puncture needle for puncture is determined.

9. The device according to claim 8, wherein The one or more processors are specifically configured to: An intermediate angle between the initial angle and the final angle is determined as the puncture angle.

10. The device according to claim 1, wherein The ultrasound probe is provided with a needle slot, an ultrasound signal emitting surface of the ultrasound probe is provided with a needle hole, the needle hole is communicated with the needle slot, and an angle between the needle slot and the ultrasound signal emitting surface of the ultrasound probe is 45 degrees. When controlling the robotic arm to drive the puncture needle to complete the puncture from the puncture point, the one or more processors are specifically configured to: Controlling the robotic arm to drive the ultrasound probe to move so that the needle hole is aligned with the puncture point; The mechanical arm is controlled to drive the puncture needle along the needle groove to complete the puncture.

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