Airway catheter contact pressure monitoring and safety control method and related devices

Abstract

The application provides a method and related equipment for airway catheter contact pressure monitoring and safety control, which expands pressure monitoring from single-point threshold to spatial pressure expression by acquiring contact pressure information and reconstructing pressure distribution map, solves the problem that the overall stress state is unknown, determines the pressure risk level corresponding to the pressure amplitude, spatial variation, time variation, contact duration state and operation context, realizes accurate differentiation of different contact types such as short-time support, continuous compression, concentrated compression and rapid surge, and eliminates the ambiguity of the same threshold corresponding to different risks in different scenarios, maps the pressure risk level to safety control actions such as speed limit, retreat, freeze, retreat or manual takeover request, when the pressure risk meets the recovery condition, the safety limit is gradually removed from high to low according to the risk level, forming a closed loop of contact pressure monitoring, risk grading, safety control and recovery unlocking, and reducing the occurrence of local compression, continuous compression, secondary compression and repeated alarm.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of medical robot and interventional device control technology, and in particular to a method and related equipment for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via airway catheter. Background Technology

[0002] With the development of bronchoscopic robots, transairway interventional robots, and flexible catheter navigation technology, transairway interventional systems have been applied to scenarios such as lung lesion biopsy, ablation, drug delivery, and interventional tool delivery. During the procedure, the flexible catheter needs to be advanced within the multi-branched, narrow, and soft airway, which can easily come into contact with, support, or compress the airway wall. Excessive contact pressure or prolonged contact time may cause local tissue damage and affect navigation accuracy and operational safety.

[0003] Existing trans-airway intubation systems typically use pressure sensors, actuators, or load monitoring units to detect single-point pressure, propulsion load, or drive current, comparing these values ​​to preset thresholds. When the detected value exceeds the threshold, the system issues an alarm or pauses, allowing the operator to decide whether to continue propulsion, decelerate, retract, or switch to manual control. This approach relies primarily on a binary judgment of whether a threshold is exceeded, which often fails to reflect the overall stress state between the intubation and the airway wall, and cannot effectively distinguish between short-term support contact, continuous compression, localized concentrated compression, and rapid pressure surges. Due to the lack of comprehensive assessment of factors such as pressure amplitude, rate of change, duration, and operational stage, the same threshold may correspond to different risks in different scenarios. Furthermore, post-alarm handling depends on operator experience, resulting in poor timeliness and consistency. After pressure recovery, the system may also lack confirmation of a stable state and execution feedback, easily leading to repeated alarms, re-compression, or excessively rapid resumption of propulsion. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, embodiments of the present invention provide a method and related equipment for monitoring and controlling contact pressure through an airway tube, in order to solve the problems of existing pressure monitoring methods having a single judgment, lacking comprehensive evaluation, and relying on experience for operation.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the embodiments of the present invention provide the following technical solutions:

[0006] The first aspect of this invention discloses a method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via an airway catheter, the method comprising:

[0007] Obtain contact pressure information and operational context through the airway tube, and determine the pressure distribution map of the airway tube based on the contact pressure information;

[0008] Based on the contact pressure information, the pressure distribution map, and the operational context, determine the pressure risk level that characterizes the pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure temporal variation, and contact duration.

[0009] The corresponding safety control action is determined based on the pressure risk level, and the airway tube is controlled to perform the safety control action; wherein, different pressure risk levels correspond to different safety control actions, and the safety control actions include at least one of speed limiting, yielding, freezing, retraction, and manual takeover request;

[0010] After the safety control action is performed, and when it is determined from the continuously acquired contact pressure information that the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions, the safety control restrictions corresponding to the pressure risk levels are released one by one in descending order of pressure risk level.

[0011] Preferably, the acquisition of contact pressure information and operational context via the airway duct includes:

[0012] Acquire pressure acquisition signals and operating context from multiple pressure acquisition points set in the airway tube;

[0013] Zero-point correction, drift compensation and filtering are performed on each of the pressure acquisition signals to obtain the contact pressure corresponding to each pressure acquisition point;

[0014] The stage pressure baseline is determined based on the operating context, and the contact pressures are corrected based on the stage pressure baseline to obtain contact pressure information.

[0015] Preferably, determining the pressure distribution map of the trans-airway catheter based on the contact pressure information includes:

[0016] Multiple contact positions and the corresponding contact pressures for each contact position are obtained from the contact pressure information;

[0017] Determine the relative positions of each of the contact points on the trans-airway duct;

[0018] Based on the contact pressure and relative position corresponding to each contact position, the contact pressures are spatially correlated to obtain a pressure distribution map.

[0019] Preferably, determining the pressure risk level characterizing pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure temporal variation, and contact duration based on the contact pressure information, the pressure distribution map, and the operating context includes:

[0020] The pressure amplitude and pressure-time variation are determined based on the contact pressure information.

[0021] Determine the spatial variation of pressure based on the pressure distribution diagram;

[0022] The contact duration is determined based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information;

[0023] A pressure risk score is determined based on the pressure amplitude, the pressure spatial variation, the pressure temporal variation, the contact duration, and the operational context.

[0024] The stress risk level is determined based on the stress risk score.

[0025] Preferably, the operational context includes at least one of the following: advance phase, turn phase, hold phase, retraction phase, tool extension phase, energy output phase, and recovery observation phase;

[0026] The step of determining the corresponding safety control action based on the pressure risk level includes:

[0027] Determine at least one of catheter advance control parameters, catheter steer control parameters, catheter position control parameters, tool action permission, and energy output permission based on the pressure risk level and the operating context.

[0028] A safety control action is generated based on at least one of the catheter advance control parameters, the catheter steer control parameters, the catheter position control parameters, the tool action permission, and the energy output permission.

[0029] Preferably, determining at least one of the following based on the pressure risk level and the operating context: catheter advancement control parameters, catheter directional control parameters, catheter position control parameters, tool action permission, and energy output permission, includes:

[0030] When the operational context is the propulsion phase, the upper limit of the propulsion speed, the retreat instruction, or the withdrawal instruction is determined according to the pressure risk level.

[0031] When the operating context is the steering phase, a steering gain or steering stop command is determined based on the pressure risk level;

[0032] When the operating context is the tool extension phase or the energy output phase, the tool movement permission and energy output permission are determined according to the pressure risk level.

[0033] Preferably, controlling the airway tube to perform the safety control action includes:

[0034] The safety control action is sent to the robot controller or the conduit driver;

[0035] Obtain the execution feedback returned by the robot controller or the duct actuator;

[0036] The safety control action is determined based on the execution feedback.

[0037] When the execution feedback indicates that the safety control action has not been performed, the pressure risk level is adjusted to a target pressure risk level that is higher than the current pressure risk level, and the safety control action is re-determined based on the target pressure risk level.

[0038] Preferably, when it is determined that the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information, the safety control restrictions corresponding to the pressure risk levels are gradually lifted in descending order of pressure risk level, including:

[0039] The pressure amplitude, pressure time variation, and pressure risk level during the recovery phase are determined based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information.

[0040] Determine whether the pressure amplitude, the pressure time change, and the pressure risk level meet the corresponding recovery thresholds within multiple consecutive control cycles;

[0041] If the corresponding recovery threshold is met in multiple consecutive control cycles, the current pressure risk level is reduced to the adjacent lower pressure risk level.

[0042] Remove the increased safety control restrictions at the current pressure risk level relative to the lower pressure risk level, and maintain the safety control restrictions corresponding to the lower pressure risk level.

[0043] Preferably, after obtaining the contact pressure information and operating context through the airway tube, the method further includes:

[0044] Determine the signal validity status and time synchronization status of each of the pressure acquisition signals;

[0045] Based on the valid status of each pressure acquisition signal, determine the number of failed pressure acquisition points;

[0046] When the number of failed pressure acquisition points reaches a preset number, or when the time synchronization status does not meet the synchronization conditions, input abnormal information is generated.

[0047] Based on the abnormal input information, the pressure risk level is increased by one level, and the propulsion operation via the airway tube is restricted;

[0048] The signal validity status and time synchronization status of each pressure acquisition point are continuously acquired, and the restriction set based on the input anomaly information is lifted after the signal validity status and time synchronization status continuously meet the input recovery conditions.

[0049] A second aspect of this invention discloses a trans-airway catheter contact pressure monitoring and safety control system, the system comprising:

[0050] The pressure acquisition module is used to acquire contact pressure information and operating context through the airway tube, and to determine the pressure distribution map of the airway tube based on the contact pressure information.

[0051] The pressure risk classification module is used to determine the pressure risk level, which characterizes the pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure time variation, and contact duration, based on the contact pressure information, the pressure distribution map, and the operating context.

[0052] A safety control module is used to determine the corresponding safety control action based on the pressure risk level, and control the airway tube to perform the safety control action; wherein, different pressure risk levels correspond to different safety control actions, and the safety control actions include at least one of speed limiting, yielding, freezing, retraction, and manual takeover request;

[0053] The recovery unlocking module is used to continuously acquire the contact pressure information after the safety control action is performed, and when it is determined that the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information, the safety control restrictions corresponding to the pressure risk levels are released step by step in descending order of the pressure risk levels.

[0054] The third aspect of the present invention discloses a computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, implements a method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via an airway duct as disclosed in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0055] The fourth aspect of this invention discloses a surgical robot, the surgical robot comprising a controller and a trans-airway duct drive mechanism;

[0056] The trans-airway duct drive mechanism is used to drive the trans-airway duct to perform propulsion, steering, holding and retraction operations;

[0057] The controller is configured to perform the method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via airway ducts as disclosed in the first aspect of the present invention.

[0058] Based on the above embodiments of the present invention, a method and related equipment for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via an airway duct are provided. By acquiring contact pressure information and reconstructing a pressure distribution map, pressure monitoring is expanded from a single-point threshold to a spatial pressure expression, solving the problem of unknown overall stress state. The method determines the pressure risk level corresponding to pressure amplitude, spatial variation, temporal variation, contact duration, and operational context, enabling accurate differentiation of different contact types such as short-term support, continuous compression, concentrated compression, and rapid surge, and eliminating the ambiguity of the same threshold corresponding to different risks in different scenarios. The pressure risk level is mapped to safety control actions such as speed limit, yielding, freezing, withdrawal, or manual takeover request. When the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions, safety restrictions are gradually lifted according to the risk level from high to low, forming a closed loop of contact pressure monitoring, risk classification, safety control, and recovery unlocking, reducing the occurrence of local compression, continuous compression, secondary compression, and repeated alarms. Attached Figure Description

[0059] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without creative effort.

[0060] Figure 1 A flowchart of a method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via an airway catheter, provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 2 A data flow diagram of pressure risk scoring and R0-R3 classification provided for embodiments of the present invention;

[0062] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a pressure risk safety handling state machine provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0063] Figure 4 This is a structural block diagram of a trans-airway catheter contact pressure monitoring and safety control system provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0064] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the distal contact pressure arrangement of the catheter provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0065] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0066] In this application, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0067] As can be seen from the background technology, the pressure monitoring of existing trans-airway tube systems mainly relies on binary judgment of a single threshold, which makes it difficult to distinguish different contact states by comprehensively considering pressure amplitude, rate of change, duration and operation stage. Furthermore, the handling after an alarm depends on the operator's experience, which can easily lead to problems such as inconsistent response, repeated alarms and unstable recovery control.

[0068] Therefore, embodiments of the present invention provide a method and related equipment for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via airway ducts. By acquiring contact pressure information and reconstructing a pressure distribution map, pressure monitoring is expanded from a single-point threshold to a spatial pressure expression, solving the problem of unknown overall stress state. The method determines the pressure risk level corresponding to pressure amplitude, spatial variation, temporal variation, contact duration, and operational context, enabling accurate differentiation of different contact types such as short-term support, continuous compression, concentrated compression, and rapid surge, and eliminating the ambiguity of the same threshold corresponding to different risks in different scenarios. The pressure risk level is mapped to safety control actions such as speed limit, yielding, freezing, withdrawal, or manual takeover request. When the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions, safety restrictions are gradually lifted according to the risk level from high to low, forming a closed loop of contact pressure monitoring, risk classification, safety control, and recovery unlocking, reducing the occurrence of local compression, continuous compression, secondary compression, and repeated alarms.

[0069] See Figure 1 This document illustrates a flowchart of a method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via an airway catheter according to an embodiment of the present invention. This method is applied to catheter safety control in airway intervention robots, bronchoscopic robots, or flexible catheter navigation systems, and includes:

[0070] Step S101: Obtain contact pressure information and operating context through the airway tube, and determine the pressure distribution map through the airway tube based on the contact pressure information.

[0071] Understandably, this involves acquiring contact pressure information and operational context via the airway duct, and simultaneously acquiring duct attitude, propulsion speed, steering input, and local airway geometry.

[0072] It should be noted that contact pressure information refers to the normal or equivalent contact pressure generated when the outer wall of the catheter or the distal curved section contacts the airway wall. Contact pressure information can be obtained by setting multiple pressure acquisition points along the airway catheter. Catheter attitude is used to determine the spatial orientation of the catheter tip within the airway, propulsion speed and steering input are used to characterize the current operational commands and motion state, and local airway geometry is used to provide information on structural constraints such as airway bifurcation and narrowing. These parameters, together with the operational context, serve as the input basis for subsequent pressure risk assessment and safety control decisions.

[0073] In some specific implementations of step S101, the process of obtaining contact pressure information and operating context through the airway tube specifically includes (processes A1 to A3):

[0074] Procedure A1: Acquire pressure acquisition signals and operating context from multiple pressure acquisition points set at the airway tube.

[0075] In the specific implementation process A1, raw signals Praw(i,t) from n pressure acquisition points are acquired in each control cycle, where i represents the pressure acquisition point number and t represents the acquisition time. Simultaneously, the catheter tip attitude Pose_tip(t), propulsion velocity Vpush(t), steering input Usteer(t), operating context Phase(t), and local airway geometry Gairway(t) are acquired.

[0076] It is understandable that the pressure acquisition signal is the raw electrical or optical signal output from each pressure acquisition point, and its amplitude changes with the contact pressure.

[0077] It should be noted that the pressure acquisition point can be implemented using a thin-film pressure sensor, a fiber optic pressure sensor, a flexible piezoresistive sensor, a pneumatic pressure conversion structure, or an equivalent pressure acquisition point obtained by inversion from the driving load.

[0078] The pressure acquisition points are preferably arranged with at least three acquisition points along the circumferential direction of the duct, or at least two acquisition rings along the axial direction, with each acquisition ring containing at least one acquisition point. Through a reasonable circumferential and axial layout, pressure information reflecting the spatial distribution of the contact between the duct and the airway wall can be obtained, and pressure acquisition signals can be obtained, providing a data basis for subsequent pressure distribution map reconstruction.

[0079] Understandably, operational context refers to the stages of catheter manipulation, such as advance, turn, hold, retraction, tool extension, energy output, or recovery observation. Different operational contexts correspond to different levels of pressure risk sensitivity and safety control requirements. For example, the advance phase is more sensitive to pressure changes, while the hold phase focuses more on the risk of continuous pressure.

[0080] Process A2: Perform zero-point correction, drift compensation, and filtering on each pressure acquisition signal to obtain the contact pressure corresponding to each pressure acquisition point.

[0081] In implementing process A2, firstly, zero-point correction is performed on each pressure acquisition signal Praw(i,t) based on the no-load zero point Pzero(i) to eliminate the initial deviation of the sensor under no-load conditions; then, temperature drift compensation is performed based on temperature or long-term drift coefficient to eliminate zero-point drift and sensitivity drift caused by changes in ambient temperature or long-term use of the sensor, resulting in the corrected pressure value Pcorr(i,t); subsequently, median filtering and first-order low-pass filtering are performed on the corrected pressure value Pcorr(i,t). Median filtering is used to remove single-cycle spike noise, and first-order low-pass filtering is used to smooth high-frequency noise interference, resulting in a stable and reliable pressure signal.

[0082] Specifically, the pressure acquisition signal is processed according to the following steps:

[0083] The first step is to write the contact pressure array signal (referring to multiple pressure acquisition points arranged along the circumferential or axial direction of the conduit to obtain pressure amplitude, distribution and contact arc) into the circular buffer according to the pressure acquisition point number i, and verify the sampling timestamp.

[0084] The circular buffer is used to store historical signal data from each pressure acquisition point, supporting subsequent filtering and baseline calculation; the sampling timestamp verification is used to ensure time alignment of data from each channel, avoiding distortion in the reconstruction of the pressure distribution map due to data asynchrony.

[0085] The second step involves obtaining the initial calibration pressure using Praw(i,t)-Pzero(i), and then obtaining Pcorr(i,t) based on the temperature compensation and sensor sensitivity coefficient. Here, Praw(i,t) is the original pressure acquisition signal of the i-th pressure acquisition point at time t, and Pzero(i) is the no-load zero-point value of the i-th pressure acquisition point.

[0086] Temperature compensation is used to eliminate sensor zero-point drift and sensitivity drift caused by changes in ambient temperature, while sensor sensitivity coefficient is used to convert voltage or light intensity signals into pressure values ​​with physical meaning.

[0087] The third step is to perform median filtering on Pcorr(i,t) to remove single-cycle spikes; then perform low-pass filtering to obtain Pr(i,t) used to control the cycle.

[0088] The median filter sorts the sampled sequence by a preset window length and takes the median value, which can effectively remove single-cycle abnormal spikes caused by electromagnetic interference or contact momentary jitter; the low-pass filter uses a first-order low-pass filter to smooth high-frequency noise, so that the pressure signal remains stable within the control cycle and avoids frequent fluctuations in the pressure risk score due to signal noise.

[0089] The fourth step is to update or freeze Pbase(i,Phase) based on Phase(t) and output the relative pressure, the validity of the pressure acquisition point, and the input quality label.

[0090] When the operational context is the hold phase, a longer time window is used to update the phase baseline Pbase(i,Phase); when the operational context is the advance phase or tool extension phase, the update of Pbase(i,Phase) is frozen to avoid erroneously absorbing continuous pressure as the normal baseline. Relative pressure is the difference between the correction pressure and the phase baseline, i.e., contact pressure information; pressure acquisition point validity is used to mark whether each acquisition point is in normal working condition; input quality labels are used to characterize the overall reliability of the input data, serving as a reference for subsequent pressure risk classification and safety control decisions.

[0091] The final output data of process A2 includes: relative pressure Pr(i,t), validity of pressure acquisition points, input quality label, and phase baseline Pbase(i,Phase).

[0092] During signal conditioning, anomaly detection and handling are also required. If multiple consecutive pressure acquisition points become saturated, a saturation label is output, marking the corresponding acquisition point data as unusable. If some pressure acquisition points fail but the remaining valid acquisition points can still cover at least two circumferential quadrants, a degraded estimation mode is entered, using the remaining valid acquisition points for pressure distribution estimation. If the coverage of valid acquisition points is insufficient, an input anomaly branch is triggered, at least entering the observation rate limit, and direct unlocking from high pressure retreat or emergency freeze to normal state is prohibited. The contact pressure array can be implemented by a physical pressure sensor, fiber optic sensor, flexible sensing layer on the outer wall of the duct, airbag pressure chamber, or driving load inversion model. However, regardless of the implementation method, a unified relative pressure Pr(i,t) and pressure acquisition point position mapping must be output to ensure the universality of subsequent pressure distribution map reconstruction and contact state estimation.

[0093] Process A3: Determine the stage pressure baseline based on the operating context, and perform baseline correction on each contact pressure based on the stage pressure baseline to obtain contact pressure information.

[0094] It should be noted that the stage pressure baseline refers to the reference pressure value when the catheter is in a state of no additional contact pressure at different operational stages. Because the airway geometry constraints and catheter orientation are different at different operational stages during the advancement of the catheter in the airway, its static contact state will also change. Therefore, it is necessary to establish a baseline for each operational stage.

[0095] Specifically, when the operating context is the hold phase, the catheter position is relatively fixed, and a longer time window is used to update the phase pressure baseline Pbase(i,Phase), so that the baseline can track slow environmental changes; when the operating context is the advance phase or the tool extension phase, the catheter is in an active movement state, and the rapid update of the phase pressure baseline Pbase(i,Phase) is stopped to avoid the continuous pressure being mistakenly absorbed as the normal baseline.

[0096] The baseline correction method is as follows: calculate the difference between the corrected pressure value Pcorr(i,t) and the stage pressure baseline Pbase(i,Phase), and take this difference as the relative contact pressure Pr(i,t), that is, Pr(i,t)=Pcorr(i,t)-Pbase(i,Phase), thereby eliminating the baseline drift caused by changes in the operating stage.

[0097] In some specific embodiments, after obtaining the contact pressure information and operating context through the airway tube, the process also includes inputting anomaly detection and handling procedures.

[0098] Specifically, the first step is to determine the signal validity status and time synchronization status of each pressure acquisition signal.

[0099] It should be noted that the signal validity status includes whether the pressure acquisition point is outputting normally, whether it is saturated, or whether it is malfunctioning; the time synchronization status includes whether the time synchronization error between the timestamp of each pressure acquisition point and the system control cycle is less than the preset synchronization threshold.

[0100] Secondly, based on the valid status of each pressure acquisition signal, the number of failed pressure acquisition points is determined. When the number of failed pressure acquisition points reaches a preset number, or the time synchronization status does not meet the synchronization conditions, or the conduit attitude is unavailable, input anomaly information is generated.

[0101] If the number of failed pressure sampling points does not reach the preset number but exceeds a certain threshold (e.g., the remaining sampling points can still cover at least two circumferential quadrants), then a downgraded estimation mode is entered; if the coverage is insufficient, an input anomaly is triggered. Based on the input anomaly information, the pressure risk level is increased by one level, and propulsion operations via the airway tube are restricted.

[0102] Preferably, the system should at least enter the observation speed limit and prohibit direct unlocking from high voltage yield or emergency freeze to normal state, ensuring that the system can still maintain basic safety protection when the input data is unreliable.

[0103] Finally, continuously acquire the signal validity status and time synchronization status of each pressure acquisition point, and remove the restrictions set based on input anomaly information after the signal validity status and time synchronization status continuously meet the input recovery conditions.

[0104] It should be noted that the preferred recovery conditions are: the failed pressure acquisition point is recovered, the timestamp synchronization error is less than the preset synchronization threshold, and there is no loss again for several consecutive control cycles, thereby avoiding frequent input anomaly triggers caused by accidental communication jitter.

[0105] In some specific implementations of step S101, the pressure distribution map through the airway tube is determined based on the contact pressure information, including (processes B1 to B3):

[0106] Process B1: Obtain multiple contact positions and the corresponding contact pressure from the contact pressure information.

[0107] It should be noted that the contact position includes the angular position of the pressure sampling point on the catheter ring and its position on the catheter axis.

[0108] Procedure B2: Determine the relative positions of each contact point on the trans-airway tube.

[0109] Understandably, the relative position can be obtained through a physical layout mapping table of pressure acquisition points, including the circumferential angle theta_i and the axial position z_i, where the circumferential angle represents the azimuth angle of the acquisition point on the circumference of the conduit cross section, and the axial position represents the distance of the acquisition point along the length of the conduit.

[0110] Process B3: Based on the contact pressure and relative position of each contact location, spatial correlation is performed on each contact pressure to obtain a pressure distribution map.

[0111] It should be noted that spatial correlation can be achieved using linear interpolation, spline interpolation, sensor neighborhood weighting, or projection reconstruction based on conduit geometry. This maps discrete pressure acquisition point signals to the circumferential angle and axial position of the conduit, forming a continuous or semi-continuous spatial representation of pressure, namely the pressure distribution map Pd(theta,z,t). The pressure distribution map reflects the circumferential contact arc segment of the conduit, the axial pressure distribution, and the location of pressure peaks, providing spatial dimensional information for subsequent contact state estimation and pressure risk classification.

[0112] It should be added that, based on the relative pressure Pr(i,t), the pressure distribution map is reconstructed and the contact state is estimated according to the following steps.

[0113] The initial data required includes: relative pressure Pr(i,t), pressure acquisition point location mapping, duct attitude, local airway geometry, and pressure history for the most recent Nobs control cycles. Specifically, the pressure acquisition point location mapping determines the spatial position of each acquisition point in the circumferential and axial directions of the duct; the duct attitude determines the spatial orientation of the duct within the airway; the local airway geometry provides information on structural constraints such as airway bifurcation and narrowing; and the pressure history for the most recent Nobs control cycles is used to calculate the pressure change rate and contact duration.

[0114] The processing steps are as follows:

[0115] The first step is to map the pressure acquisition points to the circumferential angle theta_i and the axial position z_i, forming a pressure distribution map Pd(theta,z,t). This mapping associates the discrete pressure acquisition point signals with the spatial geometric position of the conduit, providing a data foundation for subsequent analysis of pressure spatial variations.

[0116] The second step involves calculating the maximum pressure Pa = max(Pr(i,t)), the average contact pressure Pavg, the circumferential pressure gradient Pg = max (adjacent pressure difference), the pressure change rate Prate = dPa / dt, the contact arc Cb = the circumferential angle spanned by the pressure acquisition point exceeding the threshold, and the contact duration Td = the continuous time exceeding the threshold. Here, the maximum pressure Pa characterizes the peak contact intensity between the duct and the airway wall; the average contact pressure Pavg assesses the overall contact level; the circumferential pressure gradient Pg characterizes the concentration of pressure in the circumferential direction; the pressure change rate Prate characterizes the severity of pressure changes; the contact arc Cb determines the distribution range of the contact area in the circumferential direction; and the contact duration Td distinguishes between brief contact and continuous pressure.

[0117] The third step involves determining the contact state based on the maximum pressure Pa, circumferential pressure gradient Pg, pressure change rate Prate, contact arc length Cb, and contact duration Td. The criteria for localized concentrated pressure are a high maximum pressure Pa, a high circumferential pressure gradient Pg, and a small contact arc length Cb, indicating that pressure is concentrated in a small area, easily causing local mucosal damage. The criteria for sustained pressure are both a high maximum pressure Pa and a high contact duration Td, indicating a prolonged period of pressure between the catheter and the airway wall. The criteria for rapidly increasing contact are a high pressure change rate Prate and a maximum pressure Pa rapidly approaching or exceeding the stage pressure threshold, indicating that the catheter may have suddenly collided with the airway wall.

[0118] The fourth step is to record the contact status in the current control cycle, and retain the start and end times of the status and the pressure peak position. The start and end times of the status are used to record the duration of the contact status, and the pressure peak position is used to indicate the specific area on the conduit where the pressure is most severe. The above information serves as a reference for subsequent pressure risk scoring and safety control decisions.

[0119] The final data obtained include: pressure distribution map, contact state, maximum pressure Pa, circumferential pressure gradient Pg, pressure change rate Prate, contact arc Cb, contact duration Td, and pressure peak location.

[0120] Understandably, anomaly detection and boundary condition handling are also required during the contact state estimation process. If a single-point spike appears on the pressure distribution map but the adjacent pressure acquisition points and the next control cycle do not support the spike, it is marked as transient noise and removed during pressure distribution map reconstruction to avoid interference with contact state judgment due to occasional noise. If the pressure peak position moves continuously with the duct attitude, it is determined to be a real contact migration, rather than a false change caused by sensor drift or noise, and the system updates the contact tracking state accordingly.

[0121] It should be noted that the pressure distribution map can be obtained using linear interpolation, spline interpolation, sensor neighborhood weighting, or projection reconstruction based on duct geometry. Regardless of the reconstruction method used, the consistency of the pressure acquisition point location mapping must be maintained to ensure that the pressure distribution map accurately reflects the contact space distribution between the duct and the airway wall.

[0122] Step S102: Based on the contact pressure information, pressure distribution map and operating context, determine the pressure risk level that characterizes the pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure temporal variation and contact duration.

[0123] Combination Figure 2 The specific implementation process of step S102 shown is as follows (processes C1 to C5):

[0124] Process C1: Determine the pressure amplitude and pressure-time changes based on the contact pressure information.

[0125] It should be noted that pressure amplitude refers to the maximum contact pressure extracted from the contact pressure information, which is the core indicator for measuring the contact strength between the catheter and the airway wall; pressure time change refers to the pressure change rate, that is, the rate of change of the maximum contact pressure over time, which is used to characterize the severity of pressure change.

[0126] Process C2: Determine the spatial changes in pressure based on the pressure distribution diagram.

[0127] Understandably, pressure spatial variations include circumferential or axial pressure gradients, contact arc segments, and contact area estimations. The circumferential pressure gradient is the maximum pressure difference between adjacent pressure sampling points, used to characterize the degree of pressure concentration in the circumferential direction. The contact arc segment is the circumferential angle range spanned by pressure sampling points exceeding the threshold; small arc segments with high pressure indicate localized concentrated compression, while large arc segments with uniform pressure indicate planar contact.

[0128] Process C3: Determine the contact duration based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information.

[0129] It should be noted that the duration of continuous contact refers to the duration of continuous exceeding the threshold, which is used to distinguish between short-term support contact and continuous compression.

[0130] Specifically, the following parameters are calculated: maximum pressure Pa, average contact pressure Pavg, circumferential pressure gradient Pg, pressure change rate Prate, contact arc length Cb, estimated contact area Ca, and contact duration Td. The maximum pressure Pa is the maximum contact pressure value among all pressure acquisition points in the current control cycle, used to characterize the peak contact intensity between the duct and the airway wall; the circumferential pressure gradient Pg is the maximum pressure difference between adjacent circumferential pressure acquisition points, used to characterize the concentration of pressure in the circumferential direction; the pressure change rate Prate is the rate of change of the maximum pressure over time; the contact arc length Cb is the circumferential angle range spanned by pressure acquisition points exceeding the contact threshold; the estimated contact area Ca is the size of the contact area estimated based on the number and layout of acquisition points exceeding the threshold; and the contact duration Td is the number of consecutive control cycles exceeding the threshold.

[0131] Understandably, if the maximum pressure Pa is below the contact threshold Tcontact, the contact state is normal suspension or slight contact, indicating that there is no significant pressure between the catheter and the airway wall.

[0132] If the maximum pressure Pa exceeds the contact threshold Tcontact and the contact duration Td is short, the contact state is short-term support contact. This type of contact usually occurs when the catheter briefly relies on the airway wall for support at airway bifurcation or bend, which is within the normal operating range.

[0133] If both the maximum pressure Pa and the contact duration Td increase, the contact state is continuous compression, indicating that there is prolonged compression between the catheter and the airway wall, which may increase the risk of tissue damage.

[0134] If the contact arc Cb is small but the maximum pressure Pa and the circumferential pressure gradient Pg are high, the contact state is localized concentrated pressure, indicating that the pressure is concentrated in a small area, which can easily cause local mucosal damage and poses a high risk.

[0135] If the rate of change of pressure (Prate) increases rapidly, the contact state is a rapid increase in contact, indicating that the catheter may have suddenly collided with the airway wall, requiring emergency treatment.

[0136] The above-mentioned exposure status determination results serve as an important input for subsequent stress risk scoring, used to distinguish exposure events of different natures and assign differentiated risk weights.

[0137] Process C4: Determine the pressure risk score based on pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure time variation, contact duration, and operating context.

[0138] Specifically, such as Figure 2 As shown, the pressure risk score Pscore is calculated for each control cycle:

[0139] Pscore=b1×Samp+b2×Sdist+b3×Srate+b4×Stime+b5×Sctx (1).

[0140] In formula (1), Samp is the pressure amplitude score, which is obtained by normalizing the maximum contact pressure Pa relative to the stage threshold Tpa, and is used to reflect the absolute level of the current contact pressure; Sdist is the pressure distribution score, which is obtained by combining the circumferential pressure gradient Pg, the contact arc Cb and the contact area estimate Ca, and is used to characterize whether the pressure is concentrated. The more concentrated the pressure, the higher the score; Srate is the pressure change rate score, which is obtained by the pressure change rate Prate relative to the change rate threshold Tprate. The more drastic the change, the higher the score; Stime is the duration score, which is obtained by combining the contact duration Td relative to the duration threshold Ttd. The longer the duration, the higher the score; Sctx is the operating context score, which is obtained by combining the operating context Phase(t), propulsion speed Vpush(t), steering input Usteer(t) and local airway geometry Gairway(t). Higher values ​​are taken in propulsion, tool extension, energy output, narrow airway and bifurcation proximity regions, and lower values ​​are taken in observation or low-speed retreat.

[0141] As a preferred implementation, b1=0.30, b2=0.20, b3=0.20, b4=0.20, b5=0.10, and the stress risk score Pscore is limited to 0 to 1 to ensure that the scoring results are compared under a uniform dimension.

[0142] It should be added that the following intermediate state quantities are also output during the calculation of the pressure risk score Pscore: Pscore, main risk source label, pressure risk level, and level confidence score. The main risk source label identifies the main contributing factors to the current pressure risk, including excessively high pressure amplitude, concentrated pressure distribution, rapid pressure changes, excessively long exposure duration, or high operational context risk. The level confidence score characterizes the reliability of the current pressure risk level assessment. A higher confidence score indicates higher input data quality and better consistency among sub-scores; a lower confidence score indicates data degradation or inconsistencies between multiple sources. The intensity of safety control actions can be adaptively adjusted based on the confidence score.

[0143] It should be noted that the calculation method for the stress risk score Pscore is not limited to the weighted summation method described above. In other embodiments, Pscore can also be calculated using rule-based scoring, logistic regression, tree models, or time-series models. However, regardless of the calculation method used, at least three interpretable sub-scores from Samp, Sdist, Srate, Stime, and Sctx must be retained, and a traceable stress risk level must be output to ensure the interpretability of the stress risk score and the credibility of the stress risk level classification.

[0144] Process C5: Determine the stress risk level based on the stress risk score.

[0145] Combination Figure 2 As shown, a pressure risk score Pscore < 0.30 is considered R0 (normal), indicating that the current contact pressure is within a safe range and no special intervention is required; a pressure risk score Pscore < 0.50 is considered R1 (observation and speed limit), indicating a slight risk, requiring limiting the operating speed and close observation; a pressure risk score Pscore < 0.75 is considered R2 (high pressure yield), indicating a moderate risk, requiring proactive yielding to reduce pressure; and a pressure risk score Pscore ≥ 0.75 is considered R3 (emergency freeze), indicating a high risk, requiring immediate cessation of all actions and requesting manual intervention.

[0146] If a rapid increase in contact occurs and the rate of pressure change exceeds the high rate of change threshold, the pressure risk level will be raised to R3 even if the pressure risk score Pscore has not yet reached 0.75, because the instantaneous impact force of the rapid increase in contact may have caused tissue damage. If the tool has been extended or the energy output has been enabled, a pressure risk level of R2 or above will trigger energy gating, immediately suspending energy output and tool movement to avoid continuing operations that may aggravate the injury while the catheter is under pressure.

[0147] In some specific embodiments, when the pressure distribution map is inconsistent with the driving load or catheter posture—for example, a low pressure amplitude but a continuously increasing propulsion load, or local airway geometry indicating narrowing but no response from the pressure distribution map—the contact state estimation module outputs a multi-source inconsistency label. The pressure risk grading module adds a conservative factor to the operational context score and raises the pressure risk level by at least one level to adopt a more conservative safety strategy when sensor data are contradictory. If the multi-source inconsistency persists for more than a preset number of conflict cycles, the system enters a high-pressure yielding state or requests manual intervention, with the operator deciding on subsequent operations based on clinical judgment.

[0148] Step S103: Determine the corresponding safety control action based on the pressure risk level, and control the execution of the safety control action via the airway tube.

[0149] Different pressure risk levels correspond to different safety control actions, which include at least one of the following: speed limit, yield, freeze, retreat, and manual takeover request.

[0150] It should be noted that the operational context includes at least one of the following: advance phase, turn phase, hold phase, retreat phase, tool extension phase, energy output phase, and recovery observation phase.

[0151] In some specific implementations of step S103, the corresponding safety control actions are determined based on the pressure risk level, including (process D1 and process D2):

[0152] Process D1: Determine at least one of the following based on the pressure risk level and operating context: catheter advance control parameters, catheter steer control parameters, catheter position control parameters, tool action permission, and energy output permission.

[0153] Specifically, when the operational context is the advance phase, the advance speed limit, yield instruction, or retraction instruction are determined based on the pressure risk level. R1 is mapped to prompt and speed limit, preferably limiting the advance speed limit to 70% of the normal limit, allowing the catheter to continue to advance slowly while ensuring safety; R2 is mapped to pause advance, perform a low-speed yield of 1mm to 3mm, or output a retraction suggestion, reducing the contact pressure between the catheter and the airway wall through active yielding; R3 is mapped to freeze drive and prohibit further advance, immediately stopping all advance actions to prevent further pressure increase.

[0154] When the operating context is the turning phase, the turning gain or turning stop command is determined according to the pressure risk level. During the turning phase, the system prioritizes reducing the turning gain to make the turning action of the conduit smoother and gentler. The higher the pressure risk level, the greater the reduction in turning gain. The turning action is stopped at R3 to avoid the pressure concentration from being aggravated by continuing to turn under high pressure.

[0155] When the operation context is the tool extension phase or the energy output phase, the permission for tool movement and energy output is determined based on the pressure risk level. Energy output and tool movement are forcibly prohibited at pressure risk levels above R2, maintaining the catheter position. If energy output is enabled and the pressure risk level reaches R2 or above, energy gating is immediately triggered to pause energy output, preventing the continuation of ablation, sampling, or other procedures that may worsen tissue damage while the catheter is under pressure.

[0156] Process D2: Generate a safety control action based on at least one of the following: catheter advance control parameters, catheter directional control parameters, catheter position control parameters, tool action permission, and energy output permission.

[0157] Understandably, the corresponding safety control parameters are generated by querying the action table according to the pressure risk level, including speed limit, steering gain, yield distance, freeze indicator, energy gating indicator, and manual intervention indicator. The action table is a mapping table between pressure risk levels and safety control actions, combined with... Figure 2 As shown, R0 corresponds to normal operation, R1 corresponds to observation speed limit, R2 corresponds to high voltage yield, and R3 corresponds to emergency freeze.

[0158] It should be noted that safety control actions are not limited to robot drive commands. In other embodiments, safety control actions can also be manifested as navigation interface prompts, foot interlocks, energy generator gating, or remote operation terminal access restrictions. Regardless of the form of manifestation, it is essential to ensure that the safety control actions can be recognized by the execution terminal and return execution feedback to form a complete control loop.

[0159] In some specific implementations of step S103, the control of performing safety control actions via the airway tube includes (processes E1 to E4):

[0160] Process E1: Send safety control actions to the robot controller or duct driver.

[0161] It should be noted that safety control actions can manifest as robot drive commands, navigation interface prompts, foot pedal interlocks, energy generator gate control, or remote operation terminal permission restrictions.

[0162] Process E2: Obtain execution feedback returned by the robot controller or duct driver.

[0163] Understandably, the execution feedback is used to indicate whether safety control actions such as speed limiting, yielding, freezing, retraction, or energy prohibition have been acknowledged and taken effect by the controller or driver.

[0164] Process E3: Determine whether the safety control action should be executed based on the execution feedback.

[0165] Process E4: When the execution feedback indicates that the safety control action has not been executed, adjust the pressure risk level to a target pressure risk level that is higher than the current pressure risk level, and redetermine the safety control action based on the target pressure risk level.

[0166] Specifically, if the speed limit, back off, or freeze command is not confirmed, the status will be raised to R3 emergency freeze, prohibiting further advancement, prohibiting energy output, maintaining the current position, and requesting manual confirmation, so as to ensure that the system can still maintain the highest level of safety protection when the control command fails to be effectively executed.

[0167] Understandable Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a pressure risk safety handling state machine provided in an embodiment of the present invention. The state machine covers a complete closed-loop process from pressure risk level to safety control action mapping (step S103) and recovery observation and step-by-step unlocking (step S104).

[0168] Step S104: After executing the safety control action, and when it is determined from the continuously acquired contact pressure information that the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions, the safety control restrictions corresponding to the pressure risk levels are released one by one in descending order of pressure risk level.

[0169] The specific implementation process of step S104 is as follows (processes F1 to F4):

[0170] Process F1: Determine the pressure amplitude, pressure time variation, and pressure risk level during the recovery phase based on continuously acquired contact pressure information.

[0171] It should be noted that after entering the recovery observation state, the maximum contact pressure, pressure gradient, pressure change rate, contact duration, pressure risk score, and execution feedback are continuously monitored.

[0172] Process F2: Determine whether the pressure amplitude, pressure time change, and pressure risk level meet the corresponding recovery thresholds within multiple consecutive control cycles.

[0173] Understandably, the recovery conditions include: the pressure risk score Pscore being lower than the recovery threshold Trecover, the pressure change rate Prate being lower than the change rate recovery threshold Trate_recover, and the maximum contact pressure Pa being lower than the pressure recovery threshold Tpa_recover, and the feedback being effective. The preferred continuous stable observation window is Nstable = 5 control cycles, with an adjustable range of 3 to 10 control cycles; the recovery threshold is preferably 0.30.

[0174] It should be noted that the purpose of setting a continuous and stable observation window is to avoid misjudging the recovery state due to instantaneous fluctuations in the pressure signal, and to ensure that the pressure has indeed stabilized and dropped to a safe level before lifting the restrictions.

[0175] Process F3: When the corresponding recovery threshold is met in multiple consecutive control cycles, the current pressure risk level is reduced to the adjacent lower pressure risk level.

[0176] For example, the system releases restrictions in the order of R3 to R2, R2 to R1, and R1 to R0, that is, it first releases the most stringent restrictions corresponding to the highest level, and then releases the restrictions corresponding to the lower levels one by one.

[0177] Process F4: Remove the safety control restrictions that are increased for the current pressure risk level relative to the lower pressure risk level, and maintain the safety control restrictions that are the same as those for the lower pressure risk level.

[0178] For example, after descending from R3 to R2, the freeze drive and propulsion restriction specific to R3 are lifted, but the yield or pause propulsion restriction corresponding to R2 remains. After descending from R2 to R1, the yield command specific to R2 is lifted, but the speed limit restriction corresponding to R1 remains. The purpose of stepwise release is to avoid immediately and completely lifting all restrictions as soon as the pressure recovers below the threshold, thereby reducing the risk of secondary compression and repeated alarms during the recovery phase.

[0179] Understandably, if the stress risk score reaches the R2 threshold again or execution feedback is lost during the recovery observation period, the unlocking will stop and the system will revert to the corresponding stress risk level, and the recovery observation count will restart.

[0180] In some specific embodiments, when the pressure risk score fluctuates repeatedly around the R1 and R2 thresholds during the recovery observation period, the continuous stable observation window is extended while maintaining the current safety control actions. If the fluctuation is related to the respiratory cycle, the system recalculates the stage baseline within the same respiratory phase window to eliminate the interference of periodic pressure changes caused by respiratory motion on the recovery assessment; if the fluctuation is related to device actions, the system maintains energy inactivation or tool action suspension until the pressure risk level stabilizes and decreases.

[0181] In practical applications, when the execution and prompting interface does not receive execution feedback such as speed limit, back off, freeze, rollback, or energy prohibition, an interlock logic is triggered: further advancement is prohibited, energy output is prohibited, the current position is maintained, and manual confirmation is requested. This interlock is only released after execution feedback is restored, manual confirmation is valid, and the pressure risk score is lower than the recovery threshold, ensuring that the system does not automatically return to normal operation when safety control actions fail to be effectively executed.

[0182] It should be noted that the above-mentioned method for monitoring and controlling the contact pressure through the airway tube can be implemented in various ways, and the present invention is not limited to a single pressure acquisition or control implementation path.

[0183] Implementation Method 1: Circumferential Pressure Array Implementation. Four or more pressure acquisition points are arranged circumferentially along the distal curved section of the catheter, and the pressure acquisition module outputs the circumferential pressure distribution. This implementation method is suitable for determining which side of the airway wall the catheter is biased towards, and is particularly suitable for bifurcation inlets, narrow airways, and turning phases. The system determines localized concentrated pressure by comparing the circumferential pressure gradient Pg with the contact arc Cb, and prioritizes outputting actions that reduce turning gain or reverse yielding.

[0184] Implementation Method 2: Axial Pressure Array Implementation. Multiple pressure acquisition rings are arranged along the axial direction of the conduit, each ring having at least one pressure acquisition point. This implementation method is suitable for determining the cumulative pressure along the length of the conduit, and can distinguish between distal pressure, wall adhesion at bends, and proximal pushing. The system determines continuous pressure based on the contact duration Td and axial pressure distribution, and prioritizes outputting a pause in advancement or a slow retraction.

[0185] Implementation Method 3: Equivalent Pressure Inversion Implementation. When the catheter lacks a physical pressure acquisition point, the system estimates the equivalent contact pressure based on the propulsion load, drive current, catheter attitude, and local airway geometry. This implementation method is suitable for low-cost systems or retrofitting existing robot platforms. To avoid inversion errors, the pressure risk classification module increases the weight of the operational context score (Sctx) and triggers a more conservative R1 observation rate limit or R2 high-pressure yield safety control action when there is inconsistency among multiple sources.

[0186] Implementation Method 4: Respiratory Phase Adaptation Implementation. The system can use the respiratory phase as part of the operating context to update the pressure baseline and recovery threshold within the same respiratory phase window. This implementation method is suitable for scenarios where the pressure signal fluctuates significantly with the respiratory cycle, reducing false alarms caused by breathing while retaining the response to continuous pressure and rapid increases in contact.

[0187] In this embodiment of the invention, contact pressure is transformed from a single-point alarm signal into a reconstructable, scoreable, gradeable, controllable, and recoverable closed-loop control variable. The reconstruction of the contact pressure array and pressure distribution map solves the problem of spatial pressure representation, compensating for the deficiency that a single-point threshold cannot reflect the overall stress state; comprehensive judgment of multi-parameter contact states addresses the inability to effectively distinguish different contact types; Pscore multi-factor scoring and R0-R3 grading address the deficiency that the same threshold corresponds to different risks in different scenarios; automatic mapping from pressure risk level to safety control actions addresses the shortcomings of poor timeliness and consistency in manual response; and step-by-step unlocking after execution feedback confirmation and continuous stable observation addresses the shortcomings of secondary compression and repeated alarms during the recovery phase.

[0188] Corresponding to the method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via airway catheter provided in the embodiments of the present invention, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 4 The diagram shows a structural block diagram of a trans-airway catheter contact pressure monitoring and safety control system provided in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0189] It should be noted that this system belongs to the closed-loop control type of medical robot solution, employing a four-layer structure: perception layer, control layer, system layer, and clinical layer. Specifically, the perception layer completes contact pressure array acquisition, signal conditioning, and pressure distribution map reconstruction; the control layer completes contact state estimation, pressure risk scoring, and pressure risk level classification; the system layer completes safety control actions, interlocking gating, execution feedback, and recovery unlocking; and the clinical layer adjusts risk weights and safety boundaries based on operational contexts such as propulsion, steering, holding, tool extension, energy output, or recovery observation.

[0190] The system includes: a pressure acquisition module 100, a pressure risk classification module 200, a safety control module 300, and a recovery and unlocking module 400.

[0191] The pressure acquisition module 100 is used to acquire contact pressure information and operating context through the airway tube, and to determine the pressure distribution map through the airway tube based on the contact pressure information.

[0192] It should be noted that the pressure acquisition module 100 is installed on the catheter body or the distal curved section.

[0193] The pressure risk classification module 200 is used to determine the pressure risk level, which characterizes the pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure temporal variation, and contact duration, based on contact pressure information, pressure distribution map, and operating context.

[0194] The safety control module 300 is used to determine the corresponding safety control action based on the pressure risk level and control the execution of the safety control action through the airway tube; wherein, different pressure risk levels correspond to different safety control actions, and the safety control actions include at least one of speed limit, yield, freeze, retraction and manual takeover request.

[0195] The recovery unlocking module 400 is used to continuously acquire contact pressure information after performing a safety control action, and when it is determined that the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information, it releases the safety control restrictions corresponding to the pressure risk levels in descending order of pressure risk level.

[0196] In this embodiment of the invention, by setting a contact pressure array on the catheter and reconstructing a pressure distribution map, it is possible to identify concentrated contact areas on the circumferential, axial, or distal curved sections of the catheter, expanding from a single-point threshold to a spatial pressure expression. By comprehensively calculating pressure risk scores and classifying multiple pressure risk levels based on pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure temporal variation, contact duration, and operational context, short-term support contact, continuous compression, localized concentrated compression, and rapid surge contact can be differentiated and handled, reducing excessive shutdowns due to minor contact and inadequate handling of high-risk contact. By binding multiple pressure risk levels with safety control actions such as speed limiting, yielding, freezing, retraction, and manual takeover requests, pressure risks can be directly incorporated into the catheter control chain, shortening the response time under high-pressure contact. By executing feedback confirmation and recovery observation and step-by-step unlocking, it prevents the resumption of propulsion before safety control actions take effect or immediately after pressure decreases, reducing secondary compression and repeated alarms during the recovery phase.

[0197] To facilitate understanding of the pressure acquisition layout and pressure distribution map reconstruction of this invention, please refer to... Figure 5 This diagram illustrates the arrangement of pressure at the distal end of the catheter provided in this embodiment of the invention. It is mainly used to visually demonstrate the spatial layout of the pressure acquisition points on the curved section of the distal end of the catheter and their contact relationship with the airway wall.

[0198] like Figure 5 As shown, during the advancement or turning of the distal curved section 220 of the catheter body 210, its outer wall comes into contact with the airway wall. Multiple pressure sampling points P1, P2, P3, and P4 are arranged circumferentially on the distal curved section 220 to collect the contact pressure signal between the catheter and the airway wall. Preferably, the pressure sampling points are evenly distributed circumferentially, for example, four sampling points are distributed at 90° intervals to cover multiple directions around the catheter, thereby obtaining circumferential pressure distribution information of the catheter-airway wall contact. When the catheter deviates towards one side of the airway wall, the pressure sampling point in that direction will output a higher pressure value, while the sampling points in other directions will output lower values, thus allowing the determination of the catheter's deviance direction and contact orientation.

[0199] The output signals from multiple pressure acquisition points, after signal conditioning and spatial mapping, form a pressure distribution Pd, which characterizes the distribution of contact pressure between the outer wall of the catheter and the airway wall in the circumferential angle and axial position. The contact arc 230 refers to the circumferential angle range spanned by the pressure acquisition points exceeding the threshold, reflecting the size and concentration of the contact area between the catheter and the airway wall. The contact arc 230 and the pressure distribution Pd together form the basis for pressure spatial variation analysis; the determination of localized concentrated pressure relies on the characteristic of a small contact arc but high pressure amplitude and pressure gradient.

[0200] Local airway geometry 240 is used to represent airway structural constraint information at the current location, including parameters such as tube diameter, curvature, and wall proximity. This geometric information, as part of the operational context, participates in the correction of the pressure risk score: in narrow airways, bifurcation inlets, or areas with greater curvature, even if the contact pressure amplitude is the same, the pressure risk score will be increased accordingly to reflect the amplifying effect of local geometric constraints on the risk of tissue damage.

[0201] Figure 5 The diagram also illustrates the relationship of "risk correction," indicating that the local airway geometry 240, contact arc 230, and pressure distribution Pd work together to calculate the pressure risk score. The specific implementation of this correction mechanism is described in detail in step S102, where the operating context score Sctx takes a higher value in narrow airways and bifurcation-adjacent regions.

[0202] Figure 5 With the above Figure 1 The descriptions in step S101, such as "preferably, at least three pressure sampling points are arranged circumferentially along the catheter" and "determine the pressure distribution map through the airway catheter based on the contact pressure information," directly correspond to these points and are consistent with... Figure 1 This corresponds to the description in step S102 that "the operating context score Sctx is obtained by combining the operating context and the local airway geometry".

[0203] Another embodiment of this application provides a computer-readable storage medium for storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, is used to implement a method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure through an airway tube as provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0204] Computer-readable storage media include both permanent and non-permanent, removable and non-removable media that can store information by any method or technology. Information can be computer-readable instructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Examples of computer storage media include, but are not limited to, phase-change memory (PRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), other types of random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technologies, CD-ROM, digital versatile optical disc (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic tape, magnetic tape, disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other non-transferable medium that can be used to store information accessible by a computing device. As defined herein, computer-readable media does not include transient computer-readable media, such as modulated data signals and carrier waves.

[0205] Another embodiment of this application provides a surgical robot. The surgical robot includes a controller and a trans-airway drive mechanism.

[0206] Specifically, the airway duct drive mechanism is used to drive the airway duct to perform propulsion, steering, holding, and retraction operations. The controller is configured to perform a trans-airway duct contact pressure monitoring and safety control method as provided in any of the above embodiments.

[0207] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner. Similar or identical parts between embodiments can be referred to mutually. Each embodiment focuses on describing the differences from other embodiments. In particular, for system or system embodiments, since they are basically similar to method embodiments, the description is relatively simple, and relevant parts can be referred to the descriptions in the method embodiments. The systems and system embodiments described above are merely illustrative. The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the modules can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs. Those skilled in the art can understand and implement this without creative effort.

[0208] Those skilled in the art will further recognize that the units and algorithm steps of the various examples described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, computer software, or a combination of both. To clearly illustrate the interchangeability of hardware and software, the components and steps of the various examples have been generally described in terms of functionality in the foregoing description. Whether these functions are implemented in hardware or software depends on the specific application and design constraints of the technical solution. Those skilled in the art can use different methods to implement the described functions for each specific application, but such implementations should not be considered beyond the scope of this invention.

[0209] The above description of the disclosed embodiments enables those skilled in the art to make or use the invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via an airway tube, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain contact pressure information and operational context through the airway tube, and determine the pressure distribution map of the airway tube based on the contact pressure information; Based on the contact pressure information, the pressure distribution map, and the operational context, determine the pressure risk level that characterizes the pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure temporal variation, and contact duration. The corresponding safety control action is determined based on the pressure risk level, and the airway tube is controlled to perform the safety control action; wherein, different pressure risk levels correspond to different safety control actions, and the safety control actions include at least one of speed limiting, yielding, freezing, retraction, and manual takeover request; After the safety control action is performed, and when it is determined from the continuously acquired contact pressure information that the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions, the safety control restrictions corresponding to the pressure risk levels are released one by one in descending order of pressure risk level.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The acquisition of contact pressure information and operational context via the airway tube includes: Acquire pressure acquisition signals and operating context from multiple pressure acquisition points set in the airway tube; Zero-point correction, drift compensation and filtering are performed on each of the pressure acquisition signals to obtain the contact pressure corresponding to each pressure acquisition point; The stage pressure baseline is determined based on the operating context, and the contact pressures are corrected based on the stage pressure baseline to obtain contact pressure information.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, Determining the pressure distribution map of the airway duct based on the contact pressure information includes: Multiple contact positions and the corresponding contact pressures for each contact position are obtained from the contact pressure information; Determine the relative positions of each of the contact points on the trans-airway duct; Based on the contact pressure and relative position corresponding to each contact position, the contact pressures are spatially correlated to obtain a pressure distribution map.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the pressure risk level, which characterizes pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure temporal variation, and contact duration, based on the contact pressure information, the pressure distribution map, and the operational context, includes: The pressure amplitude and pressure-time variation are determined based on the contact pressure information. Determine the spatial variation of pressure based on the pressure distribution diagram; The contact duration is determined based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information; A pressure risk score is determined based on the pressure amplitude, the pressure spatial variation, the pressure temporal variation, the contact duration, and the operational context. The stress risk level is determined based on the stress risk score.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The operational context includes at least one of the following: advance phase, turn phase, hold phase, retraction phase, tool extension phase, energy output phase, and recovery observation phase; The step of determining the corresponding safety control action based on the pressure risk level includes: Determine at least one of catheter advance control parameters, catheter steer control parameters, catheter position control parameters, tool action permission, and energy output permission based on the pressure risk level and the operating context. A safety control action is generated based on at least one of the catheter advance control parameters, the catheter steer control parameters, the catheter position control parameters, the tool action permission, and the energy output permission.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that, Determining at least one of the following based on the pressure risk level and the operating context: catheter advance control parameters, catheter steer control parameters, catheter position control parameters, tool action permission, and energy output permission, including: When the operational context is the propulsion phase, the upper limit of the propulsion speed, the retreat instruction, or the withdrawal instruction is determined according to the pressure risk level. When the operating context is the steering phase, a steering gain or steering stop command is determined based on the pressure risk level; When the operating context is the tool extension phase or the energy output phase, the tool movement permission and energy output permission are determined according to the pressure risk level.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control of the airway tube to perform the safety control action includes: The safety control action is sent to the robot controller or the conduit driver; Obtain the execution feedback returned by the robot controller or the duct actuator; The safety control action is determined based on the execution feedback. When the execution feedback indicates that the safety control action has not been performed, the pressure risk level is adjusted to a target pressure risk level that is higher than the current pressure risk level, and the safety control action is re-determined based on the target pressure risk level.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, When it is determined that the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information, the safety control restrictions corresponding to the pressure risk levels are gradually lifted in descending order of pressure risk level, including: The pressure amplitude, pressure time variation, and pressure risk level during the recovery phase are determined based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information. Determine whether the pressure amplitude, the pressure time change, and the pressure risk level meet the corresponding recovery thresholds within multiple consecutive control cycles; If the corresponding recovery threshold is met in multiple consecutive control cycles, the current pressure risk level is reduced to the adjacent lower pressure risk level. Remove the increased safety control restrictions at the current pressure risk level relative to the lower pressure risk level, and maintain the safety control restrictions corresponding to the lower pressure risk level.

9. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, After obtaining the contact pressure information and operating context via the airway tube, the method further includes: Determine the signal validity status and time synchronization status of each of the pressure acquisition signals; Based on the valid status of each pressure acquisition signal, determine the number of failed pressure acquisition points; When the number of failed pressure acquisition points reaches a preset number, or when the time synchronization status does not meet the synchronization conditions, input abnormal information is generated. Based on the abnormal input information, the pressure risk level is increased by one level, and the propulsion operation via the airway tube is restricted; The signal validity status and time synchronization status of each pressure acquisition point are continuously acquired, and the restriction set based on the input anomaly information is lifted after the signal validity status and time synchronization status continuously meet the input recovery conditions.

10. A pressure monitoring and safety control system for airway tube contact, characterized in that, The system includes: The pressure acquisition module is used to acquire contact pressure information and operating context through the airway tube, and to determine the pressure distribution map of the airway tube based on the contact pressure information. The pressure risk classification module is used to determine the pressure risk level, which characterizes the pressure amplitude, pressure spatial variation, pressure time variation, and contact duration, based on the contact pressure information, the pressure distribution map, and the operating context. A safety control module is used to determine the corresponding safety control action based on the pressure risk level, and control the airway tube to perform the safety control action; wherein, different pressure risk levels correspond to different safety control actions, and the safety control actions include at least one of speed limiting, yielding, freezing, retraction, and manual takeover request; The recovery unlocking module is used to continuously acquire the contact pressure information after the safety control action is performed, and when it is determined that the pressure risk meets the recovery conditions based on the continuously acquired contact pressure information, the safety control restrictions corresponding to the pressure risk levels are released step by step in descending order of the pressure risk levels.

11. A computer-readable storage medium having a computer program stored thereon, characterized in that, When the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements a method for monitoring and controlling contact pressure via an airway duct as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

12. A surgical robot, characterized in that, The surgical robot includes a controller and a trans-airway drive mechanism; The trans-airway duct drive mechanism is used to drive the trans-airway duct to perform propulsion, steering, holding and retraction operations; The controller is configured to perform the trans-airway catheter contact pressure monitoring and safety control method as described in any one of claims 1 to 9.

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