Label guide image positioning method and system

Abstract

A label guiding image positioning method comprises the following steps: defining a three-dimensional space coordinate system according to label space position information obtained by identifying a reference image of a patient part provided with a reference label and position and direction data of reference points and directions of radiation medical equipment; estimating a target coordinate representing the position of the target point in the system according to the three-dimensional medical image of the part marked with the target point and the reference mark corresponding to the position of the reference label and a reference coordinate representing the position of the reference label in the system; and outputting a positioning result as a basis for adjusting the position of the part according to a judgment result of judging whether the distance between the target coordinate in the system and the equipment coordinate representing the reference point position of the medical equipment and whether the direction representing the direction of the medical equipment accords with the distance in the radiotherapy plan of the part and the incidence direction of the medical equipment respectively. And rapid and accurate positioning is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to image positioning, and more particularly to a label-guided image positioning method and system. Background Art

[0002] Since uncharged neutrons cannot be turned by electric fields like charged particles such as protons, the physical mechanism limitations of existing boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) systems make it difficult to design rotating beams. On the other hand, for patients receiving BNCT, the irradiation angle and irradiation field size of the neutron beam they receive are determined by the evaluation results of the treatment planning system. Therefore, before actually performing BNCT, the patient must undergo a simulated positioning to ensure that the irradiation conditions meet the irradiation conditions required in the evaluation results.

[0003] However, the existing artificial positioning method is usually to locate the affected part of the patient, such as a tumor, within the beam range by visual inspection by a medical physicist. In the positioning process, the position of the affected part and the features of the patient's body surface must first be calibrated in a three-dimensional computerized tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET) image, and then the affected part is located based on the distance of the affected part relative to the features in the image and the use of standard measurement tools and visual determination of the quantified distance. However, since the positioning is in three-dimensional space, it is still necessary to complete the final positioning after multiple determinations and confirmations in different dimensions. This positioning method not only has different quantitative accuracy due to the eyesight of the performer during visual determination, but the entire positioning procedure may even take up to an hour, which will increase the physical and mental burden on the patient.

[0004] Therefore, for BNCT or other radiotherapy, how to develop a fast and highly accurate image positioning method has become one of the issues that the relevant technical fields want to solve. Summary of the invention

[0005] An object of one embodiment of the present disclosure is to provide a label-guided image positioning method and system, which can overcome at least one disadvantage of the prior art.

[0006] One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for label-guided image positioning, which is used to establish and / or compare the relationship between a specific part of a patient and a medical device in space, and is executed by a computer system. The label-guided image positioning method includes the following steps:

[0007] (1) receiving at least one reference image obtained by capturing at least one reference tag at a position relative to a specific part by an image capturing device;

[0008] (2) using image recognition technology to identify at least one reference tag contained in at least one reference image, and obtaining tag spatial position information of at least one reference tag relative to the image capturing device based on the identified positional relationship of the at least one reference tag in space relative to the image capturing device;

[0009] (3) calculating the position of the medical device and the position of at least one target point according to the position of the at least one reference tag to obtain a device coordinate and at least one target coordinate; and

[0010] (4) determining whether at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinate to obtain a determination result; and

[0011] (4-1) Based on the judgment result, a positioning result is generated and output as a basis for whether to adjust a specific part or medical device.

[0012] In some embodiments, step (3) comprises:

[0013] (3-1) defining a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system according to the spatial position information of the tag and the positional orientation data of the medical device reference point and the medical device direction of the medical device in space, so as to obtain at least one reference coordinate representing the position of at least one reference tag, a device coordinate representing the position of the medical device reference point, and a direction representing the direction of the medical device in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system;

[0014] (3-2) Based on a three-dimensional medical image of a specific part that is annotated with a target mark representing at least one target point and at least one reference mark representing at least one reference label that is relative to the specific part and can be distinguished, and at least one reference coordinate in a three-dimensional space coordinate system, estimate at least one target coordinate representing the position of the at least one target point in the three-dimensional space coordinate system.

[0015] In some embodiments, the number of at least one reference tag is one reference tag, and when the imaging device is fixed relative to the reference point of the medical device and only one reference tag is attached to a specific part, before step (3-1), the following steps are also included: (5) obtaining position and orientation data from the outside, the position and orientation data including the displacement data of the reference point of the medical device relative to the imaging device in space, and the direction data of the medical device relative to the imaging device in space.

[0016] In some embodiments, when the imaging device is movable relative to the medical device reference point, at least one reference label is attached to the specific part, and a medical device label corresponding to the medical device reference point and having a unique identification pattern is also provided in the patient's space, wherein:

[0017] In step (1), at least one reference image received by the computer system is obtained by capturing at least one reference tag and a medical device tag with an image capturing device; and

[0018] In step (2), the computer system further identifies a medical device tag contained in at least one reference image, and obtains position data based on the positional relationship of the identified medical device tag relative to the image capturing device in space.

[0019] In some embodiments, the position and orientation data includes displacement data of a reference point of the medical device in space relative to the image capturing device, and direction data of a direction of the medical device in space relative to the image capturing device.

[0020] In some embodiments, step (4) includes: determining whether the estimated distance and orientation of at least one target coordinate and device coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are respectively consistent with the predetermined distance and predetermined medical device orientation contained in the predetermined treatment plan to obtain a judgment result; step (4-1) includes: based on the judgment result, generating and outputting a positioning result as a basis for whether to adjust the position of a specific part.

[0021] In some embodiments, step (4) further includes that when the judgment result indicates that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the orientation does not match the predetermined medical device orientation, the positioning result generated by the computer system includes distance difference data between the estimated distance and the predetermined distance and / or angle difference data between the orientation and the predetermined medical device orientation.

[0022] In some embodiments, at least one reference tag is formed with an exposed and uniquely identifiable pattern.

[0023] In some embodiments, the image capturing device includes at least two cameras, and before step (1) or after step (4), the method further includes at least two cameras capturing at least one reference tag or a calibration tag located in space to calibrate the position of at least one reference coordinate or the calibration coordinate of the calibration tag in a three-dimensional space coordinate system.

[0024] Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a label-guided image positioning system for establishing and / or comparing the relationship between a specific part of a patient and a medical device in space, and the system includes at least one reference label, an image capture device, a storage module, and a processor. At least one reference label is set in a position related to the specific part; the image capture device is set in the space where the patient is located and is configured to capture at least one reference label to obtain at least one reference image that has been processed for positioning; the storage module is used to store a guided image positioning application; and the processor is used to execute the guided image positioning application, and the guided image positioning application includes the aforementioned steps (1) to (4) or steps (1) to (4-1).

[0025] In some embodiments, the image capturing device is fixedly disposed in the space where the patient is located relative to a reference point of the medical device; at least one reference tag is attached to a specific part; and the storage module also stores position and orientation data, which includes displacement data of the reference point of the medical device in space relative to the image capturing device, and direction data of the medical device in space relative to the image capturing device.

[0026] In some embodiments, the label-guided image positioning system further includes a display module, wherein the display module is equipped with a graphical interface and displays the distance difference data and the angle difference data via the graphical interface.

[0027] The efficacy of the present disclosure is that: due to the use of reference tags and medical device tags, a three-dimensional space coordinate system can be easily defined and the device coordinates representing the location of the device reference point, the direction representing the beam direction, and the reference coordinates representing the location of the reference tag as positioning data of a specific part can be obtained; using a three-dimensional medical image of a specific part marked with a target mark and a reference mark, at least one target coordinate representing the location of at least one target point in the three-dimensional space coordinate system can be easily and relatively accurately estimated; and based on the judgment result of whether the estimated distance between at least one target coordinate and the device coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system and the direction representing the beam direction respectively conform to the predetermined distance and the predetermined beam incident direction of the predetermined treatment plan for the specific part, a positioning result is generated and output as a basis for whether to adjust the position of the specific part, thereby assisting the positioning of the specific part before or during radiotherapy to quickly conform to the positioning of the predetermined treatment plan. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0028] The various aspects of the present disclosure will be most easily understood when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that various features may not be drawn to scale in accordance with industry standard operating procedures. In fact, the dimensions of various features may be arbitrarily increased or decreased for clarity of discussion. In order to make the above and other objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the present disclosure more apparent, the accompanying drawings are described as follows:

[0029] Figure 1 A block diagram illustrating the composition of a label-guided image positioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0030] Figure 2 A block diagram showing the composition of a processor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0031] Figure 3 A schematic diagram illustrating a plurality of reference tags and a medical device tag and their respective attachment locations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0032] Figure 4 A schematic diagram illustrating a storage module storing a CT image labeled with a plurality of reference marks according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0033] Figure 5 A three-dimensional CT image diagram of a target point planned in a predetermined treatment plan for a specific part of a patient according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0034] Figure 6 A schematic diagram illustrating a predetermined medical device incident direction planned in a predetermined treatment plan according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0035] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of a simulation environment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0036] Figure 8 A flowchart of a processor executing a positioning program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0037] Fig. 9 A schematic diagram illustrating the positional relationship of an identified tag relative to a lens of an image capturing device in space according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0038] Fig.10 A schematic diagram illustrating the distance difference between a target point and a predetermined treatment point in the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0039] Fig.11 A schematic diagram illustrating the distance difference between a target point and a predetermined treatment point in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0040] Fig.12A schematic diagram illustrating a pitch angle difference between a medical device direction and a predetermined medical device incident direction on a YZ plane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0041] Fig.13 A schematic diagram illustrating a yaw angle difference between a medical device direction and a predetermined medical device incident direction on an XZ plane according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0042] The reference numerals are described as follows:

[0043] 100: Label-guided image positioning system

[0044] 1: Reference label

[0045] 2: Medical device labeling

[0046] 3: Image capture equipment

[0047] 4: Storage module

[0048] 5: Processor

[0049] 51: Image recognition module

[0050] 52: Position relationship acquisition module

[0051] 53: Coordinate acquisition module

[0052] 54: Coordinate system establishment module

[0053] 55: Target coordinate estimation module

[0054] 56: Judgment module

[0055] 57: Positioning result generation module

[0056] 6: Display module

[0057] 61: Graphical interface

[0058] 200: Specific parts

[0059] 300: Collimator

[0060] 400: Treatment bed

[0061] 500: Wall

[0062] 600: Mounting frame

[0063] 700: Laptop

[0064] CP: Center Point

[0065] MDD: Medical Device Direction

[0066] MDC: Medical Device Reference Point

[0067] NV: Normal vector

[0068] PA: Pitch angle

[0069] PMDP: Predetermined Medical Device Direction

[0070] PTP: Predetermined Treatment Point

[0071] S81~S87: Steps

[0072] TU: Tumor

[0073] TTP: Target Point

[0074] YA: Yaw angle

[0075] x: displacement

[0076] y: displacement

[0077] z: displacement

[0078] X: Axis

[0079] Y: Axis

[0080] Z: Axis

[0081] Δx: distance difference

[0082] Δy: distance difference

[0083] Δz: distance difference

[0084] α: Inclination angle

[0085] β: Inclination

[0086] γ: inclination

[0087] φ: Polar angle

[0088] θ: azimuth DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0089] In order to make the description of the present disclosure more detailed and complete, the following is an illustrative description of the implementation and specific embodiments of the present disclosure, but this is not the only form of implementing or using the specific embodiments of the present disclosure. The various embodiments disclosed below can be combined or replaced with each other in beneficial situations, and other embodiments can be added to one embodiment without further recording or explanation. In the following description, many specific details will be described in detail so that the reader can fully understand the following embodiments. However, the embodiments of the present disclosure can also be practiced without such specific details.

[0090] In addition, spatially relative terms, such as "lower", "upper", etc., are used to conveniently describe the relative relationship of an element or feature to other elements or features in the drawings. These spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation shown in the drawings. The device may be otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or in other orientations), and the spatially relative descriptions used herein should be interpreted accordingly.

[0091] In this document, unless the context specifically limits the article, "a", "an" and "the" may refer to a single or multiple. It will be further understood that "comprising", "including", "having" and similar words used in this document indicate the features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements and / or components described therein, but do not exclude the described or additional one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0092] See also Figure 1 , exemplarily depicting a tag-guided image positioning system 100 of an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is used to assist in positioning a specific part 200 (e.g., head) of a patient in accordance with a predetermined treatment plan before or during radiotherapy such as, but not limited to, BNCT. In this embodiment, the tag-guided image positioning system 100 includes, for example, but not limited to, four reference tags 1, a medical device tag 2, an image capture device 3, a storage module 4, a display module 6, and a processor 5.

[0093] In this embodiment, the reference labels 1 are, for example, directly attached to four different and easily distinguishable positions of the specific part 200 (for example, Figure 3 However, in other embodiments, the reference tags 1 may also be attached to an extension (not shown) worn on the specific part 200 of the head, such as the center of the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, the tip of the chin, and the top of an ear.

[0094] In this embodiment, the medical device tag 2 is suitable for being set in the patient's space and has a corresponding position to the medical device reference point MDC, such as the center (not shown, also called the beam center) of a beam exit of a BNCT device (not shown), and each of the reference tags 1 and the medical device tag 2 has a unique identification pattern formed on its exposed surface. For example, each of these reference tags 1 has a different identification pattern for easy distinction, such as Figure 3 shown.

[0095] In this embodiment, the image capturing device 3 is movably positioned relative to the medical device reference point MDC to the space where the patient is located, and may include one or more image capturing modules (not shown, such as CCD), and captures multiple frames of reference images containing the reference tags 1 and the medical device tag 2 in each positioning process.

[0096] In this embodiment, the storage module 4 is configured to store a three-dimensional medical image of the specific part, such as a CT image or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image, and the predetermined treatment plan. The predetermined treatment plan includes, for example, a medical device reference point MDC and a target point TTP of the specific part (e.g. Figure 5 The predetermined distance between the center point of the tumor TU shown in FIG. 1 and the predetermined medical device pointing PMDP (pre-medical device pointing) of the neutron beam incident on the target point TTP (for example, the predetermined beam incident direction is determined by Figure 6 It is worth noting that in this embodiment, the three-dimensional medical image must be annotated with a target marker representing the target point TTP and a plurality of distinguishable reference markers representing the attachment positions of the reference labels 1, for example, Figure 4 The CT images shown are only labeled with the Figure 3 The four reference marks of the reference labels 1 in .

[0097] The processor 5 is electrically connected to the image capturing device 3, the storage module 4 and the display module 6, and is configured to execute a positioning procedure according to the multiple frames of reference images received from the image capturing device 3 corresponding to the current positioning process, so as to generate a positioning result corresponding to the current positioning procedure. Figure 2 As shown, the processor 5, for example, includes an image recognition module 51, a position relationship acquisition module 52, a coordinate acquisition module 53, a coordinate system establishment module 54, a target coordinate estimation module 55, a judgment module 56, and a positioning result generation module 57, and their respective operations will be described in detail below in conjunction with the relevant description of the positioning program below.

[0098] In this embodiment, the display module 6 is equipped with a unique graphical interface 61 and is controlled by the processor 5 , so that the display module 6 displays the positioning result from the processor 5 in a graphical manner via the graphical interface 61 .

[0099] In this embodiment, the label-guided image positioning system 100 can be used together with a collimator 300, for example. Figure 7 The simulation environment shown. Figure 7 In the example of FIG. 1 , a dummy body representing the patient is placed on a treatment couch 400 whose position and angle can be adjusted; the collimator 300 is mounted on the wall 500 in a manner symmetrical to the center of a medical device outlet (such as a beam exit) of a BNCT device (not shown in the figure, hereinafter referred to as a medical device reference point MDC) that passes through a wall 500 adjacent to the treatment couch 400, so as to accurately obtain a medical device direction MDD (or beam direction) of a neutron beam generated by the BNCT device and emitted through the medical device outlet; four reference tags 1 are respectively attached to the positions of the head of the dummy body, such as the center of the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, the tip of the chin, and the top of an ear; the medical device tag 2 is, for example, attached to the substrate of the collimator 300 and at a specific upper position aligned with the medical device reference point MDC; the image capture device 3 is mounted on a movable mounting frame 600; and the storage module 4, the display module 6 and the processor 5 are implemented in a laptop computer 700.

[0100] See also Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 8 , which exemplarily and in detail describes how the processor 5 performs the positioning procedure according to the reference images obtained in the current positioning process. The positioning procedure includes the following steps S81-S87.

[0101] First, in step S81 , the image recognition module 51 of the processor 5 uses image recognition technology to recognize each reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2 contained in each frame of reference image.

[0102] Then, in step S82, the position relationship acquisition module 52 of the processor 5 obtains the position relationship of the reference tags 1 and the medical device tag 2 relative to the image capturing device 3 in space by identifying the images of the reference tags 1 and the medical device tag 2 according to the position of the image capturing device 3 (the lens). Fig. 9 , for the positional relationship of any of the identified reference labels 1 and the medical device label 2 relative to the image capture device 3, for example, the displacement (i.e., x, y, z) of the center point CP of the label relative to the lens of the image capture device 3 in its three axes (i.e., X, Y, Z) and the inclination (i.e., α, β, γ) of the normal vector NV (normal vector) of the label relative to the three axes, respectively, then, the positional relationship corresponding to the label can be represented by a vector (x, y, z, α, β, γ). In some embodiments, the label is a rectangle, and as long as the image capture device 3 can capture any corner position on the label (e.g., the center point, the upper left corner, the upper right corner, the lower left corner, the lower right corner, etc.), the positional relationship between the image capture device 3 and the label can be located.

[0103] Next, in step S83, the coordinate acquisition module 53 of the processor 5 obtains the label space position information of the reference labels 1 and the medical device label 2 relative to the image capturing device 3 according to the position relationship obtained in step S82. In this embodiment, the label space position information obtained by the coordinate acquisition module 53 includes a plurality of three-dimensional label coordinates relative to the position of the image capturing device 3 and respectively representing the positions of (the center points of) the reference labels 1 and the medical device label 2.

[0104] Then, in step S84, the coordinate system establishment module 54 of the processor 5 defines a three-dimensional space coordinate system according to the label space position information and the position direction data of the medical device reference point MDC and the medical device direction MDD of the BNCT device in space, so as to obtain a plurality of reference coordinates representing the positions of the reference labels 1, device coordinates representing the position of the medical device reference point MDC, and the orientation of the medical device direction MDD in the three-dimensional space coordinate system. More specifically, in this embodiment, the coordinate system establishment module 54 first uses the three-dimensional label coordinates representing the position of the medical device label 2 as a reference point, and then obtains two vectors of any two reference coordinates representing the positions of two corresponding reference labels 1 relative to the reference point, and calculates the outer product of the two vectors, thereby obtaining the positional relationship of the positions of the two corresponding reference labels 1 relative to the position of the medical device label 2. Since the position of the medical device tag 2 corresponds to the medical device reference point MDC in space, the coordinate system establishment module 54 directly inputs the positions of the known medical device tag 2 and the medical device reference point MDC to define, for example, the three-dimensional space coordinate system with the position of the medical device reference point MDC as the origin of the coordinate system (i.e., the device coordinates), and obtains a plurality of reference coordinates representing the positions of the reference tags 1, and the direction representing the direction MDD of the medical device (e.g., perpendicular to and projected out of the medical device) through the three-dimensional space coordinate system. Figure 7 direction of the wall 500).

[0105] It should be particularly noted that, since the image capturing device 3 is movable in the present embodiment, the position of the medical device reference point MDC must be determined based on the corresponding relationship between the position of the medical device tag 2 and the position of the medical device tag 2. However, in other embodiments, especially when the image capturing device 3 is fixedly arranged and the positional relationship between the medical device reference point MDC and the medical device reference point MDC is known, the above-mentioned medical device tag 2 can be omitted, and the storage module 4 only needs to pre-store the position and orientation data. In other words, the position and orientation data includes the displacement data of the medical device reference point MDC in space relative to the image capturing device 3, and the direction data of the medical device direction MDD in space relative to the image capturing device 3; therefore, the image recognition module 51 only needs to recognize the reference tags 1 in step S81, and the position relationship acquisition module 5 In step S82, it is only necessary to obtain the positional relationship of the reference tags 1 relative to the image capturing device 3, and the coordinate obtaining module 53 obtains the three-dimensional tag coordinates representing the position of each reference tag 1 in step S83; and the coordinate system establishing module 54 can directly define the three-dimensional space coordinate system with the medical device reference point MDC as the origin of the coordinate system according to all the obtained three-dimensional tag coordinates representing the position of the reference tags 1 and the position orientation data stored in the storage module 4 in step S84, and obtain a plurality of reference coordinates representing the positions of the reference tags 1 and the orientation representing the direction MDD of the medical device.

[0106] Next, in step S85, the target coordinate estimation module 55 of the processor 5 estimates the target coordinates representing the position of the target point in the three-dimensional space coordinate system according to the three-dimensional medical image stored in the storage module 4 and the reference coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system. More specifically, the target coordinate estimation module 55 can obtain the mark position relationship between the target mark and each reference mark according to the three-dimensional mark coordinates of the target mark representing the target point in the medical image coordinate system of the three-dimensional medical image and the reference marks respectively representing the attachment positions of the reference labels 1, and estimate the target coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system according to the obtained mark position relationship and the reference coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system.

[0107] Afterwards, in step S86, the judgment module 56 of the processor 5 judges whether the estimated distance and the orientation of the target coordinates and the device coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are respectively consistent with the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device orientation PMDP stored in the storage module 4, so as to generate a judgment result. In this embodiment, the judgment result may indicate that the estimated distance and the orientation are respectively consistent with the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device orientation PMDP, or indicate that the estimated distance does not conform to the predetermined distance and / or the orientation does not conform to the predetermined medical device orientation PMDP.

[0108] Finally, in step S87, the positioning result generating module 57 of the processor 5 generates a positioning result according to the judgment result, and outputs the positioning result to the display module 6, so that the display module 6 can display the positioning result via the graphical interface 61 as a basis for whether to adjust the position of the specific part. More specifically, when the judgment result indicates that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the orientation does not match the predetermined medical device orientation PMDP, the positioning result generated by the positioning result generating module 57 includes the distance difference data between the estimated distance and the predetermined distance and / or the angle difference data between the orientation and the predetermined medical device orientation PMDP. For example, refer to Fig.10 and Fig.11 The distance difference data may include, for example, the distance difference Δy between the target point TTP and the predetermined treatment point PTP in the Y-axis direction (vertical direction) (see Fig.10 ), the distance difference Δz in the Z-axis direction (the direction of the medical device emission) (see Fig.10 and Fig.11 ), and the distance difference Δx in the X-axis direction (horizontal direction) (see Fig.11 ); and see Fig.12 and Fig.13 The angle difference data may, for example, include a pitch angle PA (pitch angle) difference between the medical device direction MDD and the predetermined medical device direction PMDP on the YZ plane, and a yaw angle YA (yaw angle) difference on the XZ plane.

[0109] According to the above example, since the positioning result includes the distance difference in three dimensions (i.e., Δx, Δy, Δz) as well as the pitch angle difference and the yaw angle difference, the graphical interface 61 of the display module 6 can be properly planned so that the graphical interface 61 can appropriately present the positioning result not only in the form of numerical values ​​but also in the form of specific patterns and corresponding digital tables that match each other, so as to more clearly show the difference between the positioning result and the positioning of the predetermined treatment plan.

[0110] Therefore, through the positioning result displayed by the graphical interface 61, if the displayed three-dimensional distance difference (i.e., Δx, Δy, Δz) and the pitch angle difference and yaw angle difference are all zero, this means that the position of the specific part 200 is consistent with the position of the predetermined treatment plan; otherwise, the relevant personnel can make the following adjustments according to the content of the positioning result. Figure 7 The treatment bed 400 is controlled to adjust the specific part 200. After the position of the specific part 200 is adjusted, the processor 5 re-shoots the reference images obtained by the reference labels 1 and the medical device label 2 according to the image shooting device 3, and executes the positioning procedure again. By repeatedly executing the positioning procedure, the positioning that conforms to the predetermined treatment plan can be relatively accurately and quickly achieved.

[0111] In summary, due to the use of the reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2, the processor 5 can easily define the three-dimensional space coordinate system and obtain the device coordinates representing the location of the medical device reference point MDC in the three-dimensional space coordinate system, the direction representing the medical device direction MDD, and the reference coordinates representing the location of the reference tag as the positioning data of the specific part; the processor 5 uses the three-dimensional medical image of the specific part stored in the storage module 4 and marked with the target mark and the reference mark, and can easily and relatively accurately estimate the target coordinates representing the location of the target point TTP in the three-dimensional space coordinate system; and the processor 5 generates and outputs the positioning result as a basis for whether to adjust the positioning of the specific part according to the judgment result of judging whether the estimated distance between the target coordinate and the device coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system and the direction representing the medical device direction MDD respectively conform to the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device direction PMDP of the predetermined treatment plan of the specific part, thereby assisting the positioning of the specific part to quickly conform to the positioning of the predetermined treatment plan before or during radiotherapy. Therefore, the label-guided image positioning system 100 of the present disclosure can indeed achieve the purpose of the present disclosure.

[0112] In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a correction method, which can be performed before or after executing the positioning method. The image capture device includes at least two cameras, and the at least two cameras capture at least one reference tag 1 or a correction tag located in space to calibrate the position of at least one reference coordinate or the correction coordinate of the correction tag in the three-dimensional space coordinate system. Specifically, when there are multiple cameras (for example, two cameras), the correction tag can be used for correction. The correction tag can also be any of the aforementioned tags (for example, reference tag 1 or medical device tag 2). As long as multiple cameras capture the same tag together, the tag can be used for correction.

[0113] In some embodiments, the present disclosure can be used for positioning in addition to the aforementioned application in boron neutron therapy, as well as in other radiation therapy applications.

[0114] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may also mark the medical device tag 2 on the surgical instrument. The difference from BNCT is that it determines whether the target coordinates on the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2; in other words, there is no need to determine whether the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing PMDP are met. Specifically, a medical device tag 2 is provided on the scalpel, and positioning can be performed as long as the relative position of the medical device tag 2 on the scalpel and the target coordinates on the patient (such as the tumor position) is located. Positioning can be performed continuously and dynamically to grasp and adjust the position of the surgical instrument and the tumor at any time.

[0115] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may also mark the medical device tag 2 on the biological sampling needle tube. The difference from BNCT is that it determines whether the target coordinates on the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2; in other words, it is not necessary to determine whether the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing PMDP are met. Determine whether the target coordinates on the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. Specifically, a medical device tag 2 is set on the needle tube, and positioning can be performed as long as the relative position of the medical device tag 2 set on the needle tube and the target coordinates on the patient (such as the tumor position) is located.

[0116] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may also mark the medical device tag 2 on the catheter used in minimally invasive surgery. The difference from BNCT is that it determines whether the target coordinates on the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2; in other words, it is not necessary to determine whether the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing PMDP are met. Determine whether the target coordinates on the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. Specifically, a medical device tag 2 is set on the catheter, and positioning can be performed as long as the relative position of the medical device tag 2 set on the catheter and the target coordinates on the patient (such as the tumor position) is located.

[0117] Although the present disclosure has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present disclosure. Anyone skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present disclosure shall be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for label-guided image positioning, characterized in that: The method for establishing and / or comparing the relationship between a specific part of a patient and a medical device in a space and executed by a computer system comprises the following steps: (1) receiving at least one reference image obtained by capturing at least one reference tag at a position relative to the specific part by an image capturing device; (2) using image recognition technology to identify the at least one reference tag contained in the at least one reference image, and obtaining tag spatial position information of the at least one reference tag relative to the image capturing device based on the identified position relationship of the at least one reference tag in the space relative to the image capturing device; (3) calculating the position of the medical device and the position of at least one target point according to the position of the at least one reference tag to obtain a device coordinate and at least one target coordinate; and (4) Determine whether the at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinate to obtain a determination result.

2. The label-guided image positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Step (3) comprises: (3-1) defining a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on the spatial position information of the tag and the positional orientation data of a medical device reference point and a medical device direction of the medical device in the space, so as to obtain at least one reference coordinate representing the position of the at least one reference tag, the device coordinate representing the position of the medical device reference point, and a direction representing the direction of the medical device in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system; and (3-2) Based on a three-dimensional medical image of the specific part, which is annotated with a target tag representing the at least one target point and at least one reference tag representing a position of the at least one reference tag relative to the specific part and being distinguishable, and the at least one reference coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system, estimate the at least one target coordinate representing the position of the at least one target point in the three-dimensional space coordinate system.

3. The label-guided image positioning method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The number of the at least one reference tag is one reference tag. When the imaging device is fixed relative to the reference point of the medical device and only the one reference tag is attached to the specific part, before step (3-1), the following steps are also included: (5) obtaining the position and orientation data from the outside, the position and orientation data including displacement data of the reference point of the medical device in the space relative to the imaging device, and direction data of the direction of the medical device in the space relative to the imaging device.

4. The label-guided image positioning method according to claim 2, characterized in that: When the image capturing device is movable relative to the medical device reference point, the specific part is attached with the at least one reference label, and a medical device label corresponding to the medical device reference point and having a unique identification pattern is also arranged in the space where the patient is located, wherein: In step (1), the at least one reference image received by the computer system is obtained by capturing the at least one reference tag and the medical device tag by the image capturing device; and In step (2), the computer system further identifies the medical device tag contained in the at least one reference image, and obtains the positional orientation data based on the positional relationship of the identified medical device tag relative to the image capturing device in the space.

5. The label-guided image positioning method according to claim 4, characterized in that: The position and orientation data include displacement data of the reference point of the medical device in the space relative to the image capturing device, and direction data of the direction of the medical device in the space relative to the image capturing device.

6. The label-guided image positioning method according to claim 2, characterized in that: Step (4) includes: determining whether the estimated distance and the orientation of the at least one target coordinate and the device coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are respectively consistent with a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device orientation included in a predetermined treatment plan, so as to obtain the determination result.

7. The label-guided image positioning method according to claim 6, characterized in that: The step (4) further includes that, when the judgment result indicates that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the orientation does not match the predetermined medical device orientation, the positioning result generated by the computer system includes distance difference data between the estimated distance and the predetermined distance and / or angle difference data between the orientation and the predetermined medical device orientation.

8. The label-guided image positioning method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The at least one reference tag is formed with an exposed and uniquely identifiable pattern.

9. The method for label-guided image positioning as claimed in claim 2, It is characterized in that The image capturing device comprises at least two cameras. Before step (1) or after step (4), the method further includes the at least two cameras photographing the at least one reference tag or a calibration tag located in the space to calibrate the position of the at least one reference coordinate or a calibration coordinate of the calibration tag in the three-dimensional space coordinate system.

10. A label-guided image positioning system, characterized in that: The system is used to establish and / or compare the relationship between a specific part of a patient and a medical device in a space, and comprises: at least one reference tag disposed at a position relative to the specific location; An image capturing device is disposed in a space where the patient is located and configured to capture the at least one reference tag to obtain at least one reference image after a positioning process; a storage module for storing a guidance image positioning application; and A processor is used to execute the guidance image positioning application, and the guidance image positioning application includes the following operations: (1) receiving at least one reference image obtained by capturing at least one reference tag at a position relative to the specific part by the image capturing device; (2) using image recognition technology to identify the at least one reference tag contained in the at least one reference image, and obtaining tag spatial position information of the at least one reference tag relative to the image capturing device based on the identified position relationship of the at least one reference tag in the space relative to the image capturing device; (3) calculating the position of the medical device and the position of at least one target point according to the position of the at least one reference tag to obtain a device coordinate and at least one target coordinate; and (4) Determine whether the at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinate to obtain a determination result.

11. The label-guided image positioning system according to claim 10, characterized in that: Step (3) comprises: (3-1) defining a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on the spatial position information of the tag and the positional orientation data of a medical device reference point and a medical device direction of the medical device in the space, so as to obtain at least one reference coordinate representing the position of the at least one reference tag, the device coordinate representing the position of the medical device reference point, and a direction representing the direction of the medical device in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system; and (3-2) Based on a three-dimensional medical image of the specific part, which is annotated with a target tag representing the at least one target point and at least one reference tag representing a position of the at least one reference tag relative to the specific part and being distinguishable, and the at least one reference coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system, estimate the at least one target coordinate representing the position of the at least one target point in the three-dimensional space coordinate system.

12. The label-guided image positioning system according to claim 11, characterized in that: The image capturing device is fixedly arranged in the space where the patient is located relative to the reference point of the medical device; The at least one reference tag is attached to the specific portion; and The storage module also stores the position and orientation data, which includes displacement data of the reference point of the medical device in the space relative to the image capturing device, and direction data of the direction of the medical device in the space relative to the image capturing device.

13. The label-guided image positioning system according to claim 11, characterized in that: Also included is a medical device tag disposed in the space where the patient is located and corresponding in position to the reference point of the medical device, the medical device tag being formed with a unique identification pattern, wherein; In step (1), the at least one reference image received by the processor is obtained by capturing the at least one reference tag and the medical device tag by the image capturing device; and In step (2), the processor further identifies the medical device tag contained in the at least one reference image, and obtains the position orientation data based on the positional relationship of the identified medical device tag relative to the image capturing device in the space.

14. The label-guided image positioning system according to claim 13, characterized in that: The position and orientation data include displacement data of the reference point of the medical device in the space relative to the image capturing device, and direction data of the direction of the medical device in the space relative to the image capturing device.

15. The label-guided image positioning system according to claim 11, characterized in that: Step (4) includes: determining whether an estimated distance and orientation of at least one target coordinate and the device coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are respectively consistent with a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device orientation included in a predetermined treatment plan, so as to obtain the determination result.

16. The label-guided image positioning system according to claim 15, characterized in that: The step (4) further includes that, when the judgment result indicates that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the orientation does not match the predetermined medical device orientation, the positioning result generated by the processor includes distance difference data between the estimated distance and the predetermined distance and / or angle difference data between the orientation and the predetermined medical device orientation.

17. The label-guided image positioning system according to claim 16, characterized in that: The device further comprises a display module, wherein the display module is equipped with a graphic interface and displays the distance difference data and the angle difference data via the graphic interface.

18. The label-guided image positioning system of claim 10, wherein: The at least one reference tag is formed with an exposed and uniquely identifiable pattern.

19. The label-guided image positioning system of claim 11, wherein: The image capturing device comprises at least two cameras, wherein before step (1) or after step (4), the operation further comprises the at least two cameras capturing the at least one reference tag or a calibration tag located in the space to calibrate the position of the at least one reference coordinate or a calibration coordinate of the calibration tag in the three-dimensional space coordinate system.

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