Method for positioning tag guide image and system

Abstract

To provide a tag guide image positioning method.SOLUTION: A tag guide image positioning method includes the steps of: defining a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system on the basis of tag spatial position information acquired by identifying a reference image of a body part of a patient with a reference tag installed and position direction data about a reference point and a direction of radiation medical equipment; estimating target coordinates representing a target point position in the coordinate system on the basis of a three-dimensional medical image of the part attached with reference markers corresponding to a target point and a reference tag position, and reference coordinates representing the reference tag position in the coordinate system; and outputting a positioning result on the basis of whether to adjust the positioning of the part on the basis of a distance between the target coordinates in the coordinate system and an equipment coordinates representing a reference point position of the medical equipment, and a determination result as to whether a pointing direction representing a medical equipment direction respectively matches a distance in a radiation treatment plan of the part and an incident direction of the medical equipment.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] FIELD This disclosure relates to image registration and, in particular, to methods and systems for tag-guided image registration. [Background technology]

[0002] Because uncharged neutrons cannot bend in an electric field like charged particles such as protons, it is difficult to realize a rotating beam design due to the limitations of the physical mechanism of the conventional Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) system. Meanwhile, for patients who undergo BNCT, the irradiation angle and irradiation 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 simulated positioning to ensure that the irradiation conditions meet the irradiation conditions required for the evaluation results.

[0003] However, in conventional manual positioning methods, for example, a medical physicist usually visually positions the affected area, such as a patient's tumor, within the range of the beam. In the positioning process, the affected area and features on the patient's body surface must first be located in a three-dimensional computerized tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET) image, and then the affected area is located by visually determining the quantified distance using standard measurement tools based on the distance of the affected area to the features in the image. However, since the positioning is in three-dimensional space, the final positioning must go through multiple judgments and confirmations in different dimensions. This positioning method not only varies in quantification accuracy depending on the visual acuity of the performer during visual judgment, but also increases the physical and mental burden of the patient, as the entire positioning process can take up to an hour.

[0004] Therefore, the development of a fast and highly accurate image registration method for BNCT and other radiation therapy has become one of the problems to be solved in the related technical fields. Summary of the Invention

[0005] An embodiment of the present disclosure aims to provide a method and system for tag-guided image registration that can overcome at least one drawback of the prior art.

[0006] One embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for tag-guided image registration used to establish and / or compare a spatial relationship between a particular part of a patient and a medical device, the method being implemented on a computer system, comprising: receiving at least one reference image captured by an image capture device of at least one reference tag positionally associated with a particular site; (2) identifying at least one reference tag included in at least one reference image using an image identification technique, and acquiring tag spatial position information of the at least one reference tag relative to the image capture device based on a spatial positional relationship of the identified at least one reference tag relative to the image capture device; (3) calculating a position of the medical device and a position of at least one target point based on the position of the at least one reference tag to obtain device coordinates and at least one target coordinate; (4) determining whether at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinate and obtaining a determination result; A step (4-1) of generating and outputting a positioning result as a basis for whether or not to adjust a particular part or medical device based on the judgment result; The present invention provides a method for tag-guided image registration, comprising:

[0007] In some embodiments, step (3) comprises: (3-1) A step of obtaining at least one reference coordinate representing the position of at least one reference tag in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, a device coordinate representing the position of the medical device reference point, and a pointing direction representing the medical device direction by defining a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on tag spatial position information, a medical device reference point of the medical device, and spatial position direction data of the medical device direction; The method includes a step (3-2) of estimating at least one target coordinate representing a position of the at least one target point in a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on a three-dimensional medical image of a specific site to which a target marker representing at least one target point and at least one distinguishable reference marker representing a position of at least one reference tag relative to the specific site are attached, and at least one reference coordinate in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system.

[0008] In some embodiments, when the number of the at least one reference tag is one, the image capturing device is fixed to the reference point of the medical device, and only one reference tag is affixed to a specific location, the method further includes, before step (3-1), a step (5) of externally acquiring position and orientation data including displacement data in space of the reference point of the medical device relative to the image capturing device, and direction data in space of the medical device direction relative to the image capturing device.

[0009] In some embodiments, when the image capture device is movable relative to the reference point of the medical device, at least one reference tag is affixed to a specific location, and a medical device tag is further provided in the patient space that corresponds in position to the medical device reference point and has a uniquely identifiable pattern. Step (1) includes receiving at least one reference image by the computer system, the at least one reference tag and the medical device tag being captured by an image capture device. Step (2) includes the computer system further identifying a medical device tag included in the at least one reference image and further obtaining position orientation data based on a spatial positional relationship of the identified medical device tag to the image capturing device.

[0010] In some embodiments, the position orientation data includes displacement data in space of a medical device reference point relative to the image capture device, and orientation data in space of a medical device direction relative to the image capture device.

[0011] In some embodiments, step (4) includes determining whether an estimated distance and a pointing direction between at least one target coordinate and an instrument coordinate in a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system match a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical instrument pointing direction included in a predetermined treatment plan, respectively, to obtain a determination result. Step (4-1) includes generating and outputting a positioning result as a basis for whether to adjust the positioning of a specific portion based on the determination result.

[0012] In some embodiments, step (4) further includes, when the judgment result indicates that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the pointing direction does not match the pointing direction of the predetermined medical device, 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 pointing direction and the pointing direction of the predetermined medical device.

[0013] In some embodiments, at least one reference tag is formed with an exposed, uniquely identifiable pattern.

[0014] In some embodiments, the image capturing device includes at least two cameras, and the method further includes, before step (1) or after step (4), capturing an image of at least one reference tag or a correction tag in space with the at least two cameras to correct the position of at least one reference coordinate or the correction coordinates of the correction tag in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system.

[0015] Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a tag-guided image positioning system for establishing and / or comparing a spatial relationship between a specific part of a patient and a medical device, the tag-guided image positioning system comprising: at least one reference tag installed at a position related to the specific part; an image capturing device configured to capture the at least one reference tag installed in a space where the patient is present and to capture the at least one positioned reference image; a memory module for storing a guided image positioning application; and a processor for executing the guided image positioning application including the above steps (1)-(4) or steps (1)-(4-1).

[0016] In some embodiments, the image capture device is fixedly installed in the space where the patient is located relative to the medical device reference point. At least one reference tag is attached to a specific location. The storage module further stores position and orientation data, including displacement data in space of the reference point of the medical device relative to the image capture device, and orientation data in space of the medical device direction relative to the image capture device.

[0017] In some embodiments, the tag guided image location system further includes a display module having a graphic interface disposed thereon and displaying the distance difference data and the angle difference data via the graphic interface.

[0018] The effects of the present disclosure are as follows. By using the fiducial tag and the medical device tag, a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system can be easily defined, and the device coordinates representing the position of the reference point of the medical device in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, the pointing direction representing the beam direction, and the reference coordinates representing the position of the reference tag as the positioning data of the specific part can be obtained. By using the target marker and the three-dimensional medical image of the specific part to which the fiducial marker is attached, at least one target coordinate representing the position of at least one target point in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system can be easily and relatively accurately estimated. In addition, based on the judgment result of whether or not the estimated distance between at least one target coordinate and the device coordinate in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system and the pointing direction representing the beam direction respectively match the predetermined distance and the predetermined beam incidence direction in the predetermined treatment plan of the specific part, a positioning result is generated and output as a basis for whether or not to adjust the positioning of the specific part, thereby assisting in quickly matching the positioning of the specific part to the positioning of the predetermined treatment plan before or during the execution of radiation therapy. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0019] The various aspects of the present disclosure are most easily understood by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawings. It should be noted that the various features may not be drawn to scale, in accordance with standard operating procedures in the industry. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or decreased for clarity of illustration. In order to make the above and other objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the present disclosure more clear and understandable, the accompanying drawings are set forth below. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a tag-guided image positioning system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a processor according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 3]1A is a schematic diagram showing a plurality of fiducial tags, a medical device tag, and their respective attachment positions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram showing a CT image with a plurality of fiducial markers stored in a storage module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional CT image view of a target point at a particular site of a patient planned in a prescribed treatment plan according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a planned entry direction of a given medical instrument in a given treatment plan according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a simulated environment according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] 11 is a flowchart illustrating a processor executing a positioning program according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 illustrates a spatial relationship of an identified tag to a lens of an image capture device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 9] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the distance difference between a target point and a predetermined treatment point in the Y-axis and Z-axis directions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 10] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the distance difference between a target point and a predetermined treatment point in the X-axis and Z-axis directions according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 11] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the difference in pitch angle in the YZ plane between a medical device direction and an incident direction of a specific medical device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating the difference in yaw angle in the XZ plane between a medical device direction and an incident direction of a specific medical device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0020] In order to more fully and completely describe the present disclosure, the following describes the embodiments and specific examples of the present disclosure, but they are not the only ways to implement or apply the specific examples of the present disclosure. Each of the embodiments disclosed below may be combined or substituted with each other in an advantageous situation, and one embodiment may be added to another embodiment, without the need for further description or explanation. In the following description, many specific details are detailed so that the reader can fully understand the following embodiments. However, the embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented without these specific details.

[0021] Additionally, spatially relative terms such as "lower," "upper," and the like are intended to describe the relative relationship of one part or feature to another part or feature in the drawings. These spatially relative terms include different orientations during use or operation of the device other than the orientation depicted in the drawings. The device may be otherwise positioned (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at other angles) and the spatially relative descriptions used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0022] As used herein, unless specifically limited to the article, "a," "an," and "the" can refer to the singular or the plural. It is further understood that the terms "including," "including," "comprising," and similar terms as used herein refer to stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, components, and / or parts, but do not exclude the stated or additional one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, components, parts, and / or groups thereof.

[0023] Please refer to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 exemplarily illustrates a tag-guided image positioning system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which is used, but not limited to, to position a specific part 200 (e.g., head) of a patient before or during a radiation treatment such as BNCT, to match the positioning of the specific part 200 in a predetermined treatment plan. In this embodiment, the tag-guided image positioning system 100 includes, but is not limited to, four reference tags 1, one medical device tag 2, one image capture device 3, one storage module 4, one display module 6, and one processor 5.

[0024] In this embodiment, these reference tags 1 are attached directly to, for example, four different and easily recognizable positions (for example, the positions of the between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, the tip of the chin, and the tips of the ears as shown in FIG. 3(A)) of these specific regions 200. However, in other embodiments, these reference tags 1 may be attached to extensions (not shown) of the specific regions 200 of the head such that the attachment positions correspond to, for example, the between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, the tip of the chin, and the tips of the ears, respectively.

[0025] In this embodiment, the medical device tag 2 is suitable for installation in the space where the patient is present, and has a corresponding relationship with a medical device reference point MDC (e.g., the center of a beam exit (not shown, also called beam center) of a BNCT device (not shown)). Each of the reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2 has a uniquely identifiable pattern formed on its exposed surface, for example, as shown in FIG. 3(A), each of the reference tags 1 has a different identification pattern for distinction.

[0026] In this embodiment, the image capturing device 3 is movably installed in the space where the patient is located relative to the medical equipment reference point MDC, and may include one or more image capturing modules (not shown, e.g., CCD), and captures multiple frames of reference images including these reference tags 1 and the medical equipment tag 2 each time a positioning process is performed.

[0027] In this embodiment, the storage module 4 is configured to store a three-dimensional medical image (e.g., a CT image or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image) of the specific site and the predetermined treatment plan. The predetermined treatment plan includes, for example, a predetermined distance between a medical device reference point MDC and a target point TTP of the specific site (e.g., the center point of the tumor TU shown in FIG. 4), and a predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP (pre-medical device pointing) in which a neutron beam is incident on the target point TTP (e.g., the predetermined beam incident pointing direction is a direction defined by a polar angle φ and an azimuthal angle θ shown in FIG. 5). It should be noted that in this embodiment, the three-dimensional medical image must be provided with a target marker representing the target point TTP and a plurality of distinguishable fiducial markers each representing the attachment positions of these fiducial tags 1. For example, the CT image shown in FIG. 3(B) is provided with only four fiducial markers corresponding to these fiducial tags 1 in FIG. 3(A).

[0028] The processor 5 is electrically connected to the image capture device 3, the storage module 4, and the display module 6, and executes a positioning program once based on a plurality of frames of reference images obtained in response to the current positioning process and received from the image capture device 3, to generate a positioning result corresponding to the current positioning program. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 2, the processor 5 includes, for example, an image identification module 51, a positional relationship acquisition module 52, a coordinate acquisition module 53, a coordinate system construction module 54, a target coordinate estimation module 55, a judgment module 56, and a positioning result generation module 57, and the operation of each will be described in detail in conjunction with the relevant description of the positioning program below.

[0029] In this embodiment, the display module 6 has a special graphic interface 61 and is controlled by the processor 5 so as to graphically display the positioning results from the processor 5 via the graphic interface 61 .

[0030] In this embodiment, the tag-guided image positioning system 100 can generally be used in combination with a collimator 300 in a simulated environment as shown in FIG. 6. In the example of FIG. 6, a dummy human body representing the patient is placed on a treatment bed 400 whose position and angle are adjustable. The collimator 300 is attached to a wall 500 (not shown) symmetrically to the center (not shown, hereinafter also referred to as a medical device reference point MDC) of a medical device exit (e.g., a beam exit) of a BNCT device (not shown) that penetrates the wall 500 adjacent to the treatment bed 400, thereby accurately acquiring a medical device direction MDD (also referred to as a beam direction) of a neutron beam generated by the BNCT device and emitted by the medical device exit. Four reference tags 1 are respectively attached to the head of the dummy human body at positions such as between the eyebrows, the tip of the nose, the tip of the chin, and the tips of the ears. The medical device tag 2 is, for example, attached to a specific upper position of a board of the collimator 300 aligned with the reference point MDC of the medical device. The image capture device 3 is mounted on a movable mounting frame 600. The storage module 4, the display module 6 and the processor 5 are implemented in a notebook computer 700.

[0031] Please refer to Figures 1, 2 and 7. Figures 1, 2 and 7 exemplarily explain in detail how the processor 5 executes the positioning program based on these reference images obtained by the current positioning process. The positioning program includes the following steps S81-S87.

[0032] First, in step S81, the image identification module 51 of the processor 5 identifies each reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2 included in the reference image of each frame by using an image identification technique.

[0033] Next, in step S82, the positional relationship acquisition module 52 of the processor 5 acquires the spatial positional relationship of the reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2 with respect to the image capture device 3 based on the position of the (lens of) the image capture device 3 and the image in which the reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2 are identified. More specifically, please refer to FIG. 8. The positional relationship of any of the identified reference tags 1 and the medical device tag 2 with respect to the image capture device 3 includes, for example, the displacement (i.e., x, y, z) of the center point CP of the tag with respect to the lens of the image capture device 3 on three axes (i.e., X, Y, Z) and the inclination (i.e., α, β, γ) of the normal vector NV of the tag with respect to the three axes. Therefore, the positional relationship corresponding to the tag may be expressed by a vector (x, y, z, α, β, γ). In some embodiments, the tag is rectangular, and the positional relationship between the image capture device 3 and the tag can be determined if the image capture device 3 can capture any corner position on the tag (e.g., the center point, the top left corner, the top right corner, the bottom left corner, the bottom right corner, etc.).

[0034] Next, in step S83, the coordinate acquisition module 53 of the processor 5 acquires tag spatial position information of the reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2 relative to the image capture device 3 based on the positional relationship acquired in step S82. In this embodiment, the tag spatial position information acquired by the coordinate acquisition module 53 includes a plurality of three-dimensional tag coordinates corresponding to the position of the image capture device 3 and respectively representing the positions of the reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2 (of their center points).

[0035] Then, in step S84, the coordinate system construction module 54 of the processor 5 defines a three-dimensional space coordinate system based on the tag spatial position information and the spatial position and direction data of the medical device reference point MDC and the medical device direction MDD related to the BNCT device, thereby obtaining a plurality of reference coordinates representing the positions of these reference tags 1 in the three-dimensional space coordinate system, device coordinates representing the position of the medical device reference point MDC, and a pointing direction representing the medical device direction MDD. More specifically, in this embodiment, the coordinate system construction module 54 first takes, for example, the three-dimensional tag coordinates representing the position of the medical device tag 2 as a reference point, and then obtains two vectors for the reference coordinates representing the positions of any two corresponding reference tags 1, respectively, relative to the reference points, and calculates the cross product of these two vectors to obtain the positional relationship of the positions of the two corresponding reference tags 1 to the position of the medical device tag 2. Since the position of the medical device tag 2 and the medical device reference point MDC have a correspondence relationship in spatial positions, the coordinate system construction module 54 directly inputs the positions of the known medical device tag 2 and the medical device reference point MDC to define the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, for example, with the position of the medical device reference point MDC as the origin of the coordinate system (i.e., device coordinates), and obtains multiple reference coordinates that respectively represent the positions of these reference tags 1 using the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, and a pointing direction that represents the medical device direction MDD (for example, a direction perpendicular to the wall 500 in Figure 6 and projecting).

[0036] It is particularly noted that in this embodiment, since the image capture device 3 is movable, the position of the medical device reference point MDC must be further determined by the acquired position of the medical device tag 2 based on the corresponding relationship with the position of the medical device tag 2. However, in other embodiments, particularly when the image capture device 3 is fixedly installed and the positional relationship between it and the medical device reference point MDC is known, the medical device tag 2 may be omitted, and the storage module 4 only needs to store the position and orientation data in advance. In other words, the position and orientation data includes the spatial displacement data of the medical device reference point MDC relative to the image capture device 3, and the spatial orientation data of the medical device direction MDD relative to the image capture device 3. Therefore, the image identification module 51 only needs to identify these reference tags 1 in step S81, the positional relationship acquisition module 52 only needs to acquire the positional relationship of these reference tags 1 relative to the image capture device 3 in step S82, and the coordinate acquisition module 53 only needs to acquire the three-dimensional tag coordinates representing the position of each reference tag 1 in step S83. In addition, in step S84, the coordinate system construction module 54 directly defines a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system with the medical device reference point MDC as the origin of the coordinate system based on all the three-dimensional tag coordinates representing the positions of the acquired reference tags 1 and the position and orientation data stored in the memory module 4, and can acquire multiple reference coordinates representing the positions of the reference tags 1 and the pointing direction representing the medical device direction MDD.

[0037] Next, in step S85, the target coordinate estimation module 55 of the processor 5 estimates target coordinates representing the position of the target point in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on the three-dimensional medical image stored in the storage module 4 and these reference coordinates in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system. More specifically, the target coordinate estimation module 55 acquires a marker positional relationship between the target marker and each reference marker based on the target marker representing the target point in the medical image coordinate system of the three-dimensional medical image and the three-dimensional mark coordinates of a plurality of reference markers representing the attachment positions of these reference tags 1, and can estimate the target coordinates in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on the acquired marker positional relationship and these reference coordinates in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system.

[0038] Then, in step S86, the judgment module 56 of the processor 5 judges whether the estimated distance and the pointing direction between the target coordinates and the device coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system respectively match the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP stored in the storage module 4, and generates a judgment result. In this embodiment, the judgment result can indicate that the estimated distance and the pointing direction respectively match the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP, or can indicate that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the pointing direction does not match the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP.

[0039] Finally, in step S87, the positioning result generating module 57 of the processor 5 generates a positioning result based on the judgment result, and outputs the positioning result to the display module 6, so that the display module 6 displays the positioning result via the graphic interface 61 as a basis for whether to adjust the positioning of the specific portion. More specifically, if the judgment result indicates that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the pointing direction does not match the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP, the positioning result generated by the positioning result generating module 57 includes distance difference data between the estimated distance and the predetermined distance and / or angle difference data between the pointing direction and the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP. See Figures 9 and 10. For example, the distance difference data may include a distance difference Δy (see FIG. 9) between the target point TTP and a predetermined treatment point PTP in the Y-axis direction (vertical direction), a distance difference Δz (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10) in the Z-axis direction (direction of emission of the medical device), and a distance difference Δx (see FIG. 10) in the X-axis direction (horizontal direction). See FIG. 11 and FIG. 12. The angle difference data may include, for example, a difference in pitch angle PA (pitch angle) between the medical device direction MDD and the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP in the YZ plane, and a difference in yaw angle YA (yaw angle) in the XZ plane.

[0040] According to the above example, since the positioning result includes distance differences in three dimensions (i.e., Δx, Δy, Δz) and pitch angle differences and yaw angle differences, with appropriate planning, the graphic interface 61 of the display module 6 can not only properly display the positioning result in the form of numerical values, i.e., distance differences, pitch angle differences, and yaw angle differences in three dimensions, but also display the positioning result as special patterns and corresponding numerical value tables combined with each other, so as to more clearly display the difference between the positioning result and the positioning of the specified treatment plan.

[0041] Thus, if the positioning result displayed on the graphic interface 61 shows that the three-dimensional distance difference (i.e., Δx, Δy, Δz), pitch angle difference, and yaw angle difference are all zero, it indicates that the positioning of the specific part 200 coincides with the positioning in the predetermined treatment plan; otherwise, the relevant staff controls the treatment bed 400 in FIG. 6 to adjust the specific part 200 based on the content of the positioning result. After the positioning of the specific part 200 is adjusted, the processor 5 executes the positioning program again based on multiple frames of reference images obtained by the image capture device 3 re-capturing the reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2, and by repeatedly executing the positioning program in this way, a positioning that coincides with the predetermined treatment plan can be reached relatively accurately and quickly.

[0042] In summary, by using the reference tag 1 and the medical device tag 2, the processor 5 can easily define the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system and obtain the device coordinates representing the position of the reference point MDC of the medical device in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, the pointing direction representing the medical device direction MDD, and the reference coordinates representing the position of the reference tag as the positioning data of the specific part. By utilizing the three-dimensional medical image of the specific part stored in the storage module 4 and marked with the target marker and the fiducial marker, the processor 5 can easily and relatively accurately estimate the target coordinates representing the position of the target point TTP in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system. The processor 5 generates and outputs a positioning result as a basis for whether or not to adjust the positioning of the specific site based on a result of determining whether or not the estimated distance between the target coordinates and the device coordinates in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system and the pointing direction representing the medical device direction MDD match the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP in the predetermined treatment plan for the specific site, thereby assisting in quickly matching the positioning of the specific site to the positioning of the predetermined treatment plan before or during the execution of radiation therapy. Therefore, the tag-guided image positioning system 100 of the present disclosure can reliably achieve the object of the present disclosure.

[0043] In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a correction method, which may be performed before or after the positioning method is performed. The image capture device includes at least two cameras, which capture at least one reference tag 1 or a correction tag in space to correct the position of at least one reference coordinate or the correction coordinate of the correction tag in the three-dimensional space coordinate system. Specifically, in the case of multiple cameras (e.g., two cameras), the correction tag may be used for correction. The correction tag may be any of the above-mentioned tags (e.g., the reference tag 1 or the medical device tag 2), and if the same tag is captured by multiple cameras, the tag may be used for correction.

[0044] In some embodiments, the present disclosure can be used for positioning in the aforementioned boron neutron therapy, as well as in other radiation therapy.

[0045] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may attach a medical device tag 2 to a surgical instrument. This differs from BNCT in that it determines whether the target coordinates of the patient in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. In other words, it is not necessary to determine whether they match a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP. Specifically, the medical device tag 2 is installed on the scalpel, and positioning can be performed by positioning the relative position between the medical device tag 2 on the scalpel and the target coordinates (e.g., tumor position) on the patient. Positioning can be performed continuously and dynamically so that the positions of the surgical instrument and the tumor can be grasped and adjusted at any time.

[0046] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may attach a medical device tag 2 to a biological sampling syringe. This differs from BNCT in that it determines whether the target coordinates of the patient in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. In other words, it is not necessary to determine whether they match a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP. Specifically, the medical device tag 2 is attached to the syringe, and the relative position between the medical device tag 2 on the syringe and the target coordinates (e.g., tumor position) on the patient can be determined to be located.

[0047] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may attach a medical device tag 2 to a catheter in minimally invasive surgery. It differs from BNCT in that it determines whether the target coordinates of the patient in a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. In other words, it is not necessary to determine whether they match a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP. It determines whether the target coordinates of the patient in a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. Specifically, the medical device tag 2 is installed on the catheter, and the relative position between the medical device tag 2 on the catheter and the target coordinates (e.g., tumor position) on the patient can be determined, thereby allowing positioning.

[0048] Although the present disclosure has been disclosed above in the form of an embodiment, it is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and a person skilled in the art may 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 is based on the scope defined in the appended claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0049] 100 Tag Guided Image Positioning System 1 Reference Tag 2 Medical Device Tags 3. Imaging device 4. Memory Module 5 Processors 51 Image Recognition Module 52 Position Acquisition Module 53 Coordinate Acquisition Module 54 Coordinate System Construction Module 55 Target coordinate estimation module 56 Judgment Module 57 Positioning result generation module 6 Display Module 61 Graphic Interface 200 Specific parts 300 Collimator 400 treatment beds 500 Wall 600 Mounting Frame 700 Laptop CP center point MDD Medical Device Direction MDC Medical Device Reference Point NV normal vector PA Pitch Angle PMDP Prescribed medical device pointing direction PTP Prescribed Treatment Point S81~S87 Step TU Tumor TTP target point YA Yaw angle x Displacement y Displacement z-displacement X-axis Y-Axis Z-axis Δx distance difference Δy distance difference Δz distance difference α Tilt β Slope γ Tilt φ polar angle θ Azimuth angle

Claims

1. 1. A method of tag-guided image registration used to establish and / or compare a spatial relationship between a particular part of a patient and a medical device, the method comprising the steps of: receiving at least one reference image captured by an image capture device of at least one reference tag that is positionally associated with the particular location; (2) identifying the at least one reference tag included in the at least one reference image using an image identification technique, and acquiring tag spatial position information of the at least one reference tag relative to the image capture device based on a positional relationship in space of the identified at least one reference tag relative to the image capture device; (3) calculating the position of the medical device and the position of at least one target point based on the position of the at least one reference tag to obtain device coordinates and at least one target coordinate; (4) determining whether the at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinate and obtaining a determination result; A method for tag-guided image positioning comprising:

2. The step (3) (3-1) A step of obtaining at least one reference coordinate representing the position of the at least one reference tag in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, the device coordinate representing the position of the medical device reference point, and a pointing direction representing the medical device direction by defining a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on the tag spatial position information, the medical device reference point of the medical device, and the position direction data of the medical device direction in the space; (3-2) estimating at least one target coordinate representing a position of the at least one target point in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on a three-dimensional medical image of the specific site to which a target marker representing the at least one target point and at least one distinguishable fiducial marker representing a position of the at least one fiducial tag relative to the specific site are attached, and the at least one reference coordinate in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system; 2. The method of claim 1, comprising:

3. The tag-guided image positioning method of claim 2, further comprising a step (5) of externally acquiring, before step (3-1), the position and orientation data including displacement data in the space of the reference point of the medical device relative to the image capturing device, and direction data in the space of the medical device direction relative to the image capturing device, when the number of the at least one reference tag is one, the image capturing device is fixed to the reference point of the medical device, and only one reference tag is affixed to the specific portion.

4. When the image capturing device can move relative to the reference point of the medical device, at least one reference tag is attached to the specific part, and a medical device tag having a pattern that corresponds to the medical device reference point and is uniquely identifiable is further provided in the space where the patient is present; The step (1) includes that the at least one reference image received by the computer system is an image of the at least one reference tag and the medical device tag captured by the image capture device; 3. The method of claim 2, wherein step (2) includes the computer system further identifying the medical device tag included in the at least one reference image and further obtaining the position orientation data based on a positional relationship in space of the identified medical device tag relative to the image capture device.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the position orientation data includes displacement data in the space of the medical device reference point relative to the image capture device, and orientation data in the space of the medical device direction relative to the image capture device.

6. The tag-guided image positioning method of claim 2, wherein the step (4) includes determining whether the estimated distance and the pointing direction between the at least one target coordinate and the device coordinate in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system respectively match a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device pointing direction included in a predetermined treatment plan, and obtaining the determination result.

7. The method of tag-guided image positioning of claim 6, wherein step (4) further includes, when the judgment result indicates that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the pointing direction does not match the pointing direction of the predetermined medical device, 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 pointing direction and the pointing direction of the predetermined medical device.

8. The method of tag-guided image registration of claim 1 , wherein the at least one reference tag is formed with an exposed, uniquely identifiable pattern.

9. The image capture device includes at least two cameras; The method for tag-guided image positioning according to claim 2, further comprising a step of photographing the at least one reference tag or a correction tag in the space with the at least two cameras before step (1) or after step (4) to correct the position of the at least one reference coordinate or the correction coordinate of the correction tag in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system.

10. 1. A tag-guided image localization system for establishing and / or comparing a spatial relationship between a particular part of a patient and a medical device, comprising: at least one reference tag located at a location relative to the particular site; an image capture device configured to capture the at least one reference tag so as to obtain at least one reference image positioned in the space where the patient is; a storage module for storing the guide image positioning application; a processor for executing the guide image positioning application; Equipped with The guide image positioning application includes: receiving at least one reference image captured by the image capture device of the at least one reference tag that is positionally associated with the particular site; (2) identifying the at least one reference tag included in the at least one reference image using an image identification technique, and acquiring tag spatial position information of the at least one reference tag relative to the image capture device based on a positional relationship in space of the identified at least one reference tag relative to the image capture device; (3) calculating the position of the medical device and the position of at least one target point based on the position of the at least one reference tag to obtain device coordinates and at least one target coordinate; (4) determining whether the at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinate and obtaining a determination result; Includes a tag guided image location system.

11. The step (3) (3-1) A step of obtaining at least one reference coordinate representing the position of the at least one reference tag in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, the device coordinate representing the position of the medical device reference point, and a pointing direction representing the medical device direction by defining a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on the tag spatial position information, the medical device reference point of the medical device, and the position direction data of the medical device direction in the space; (3-2) estimating at least one target coordinate representing a position of the at least one target point in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on a three-dimensional medical image of the specific site to which a target marker representing the at least one target point and at least one distinguishable fiducial marker representing a position of the at least one fiducial tag relative to the specific site are attached, and the at least one reference coordinate in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system; 11. The tag guided image location system of claim 10, comprising:

12. The image capturing device is fixedly installed in the space where the patient is located with respect to the medical equipment reference point; said at least one reference tag is affixed to said specific site; The tag-guided image positioning system of claim 11, wherein the storage module further stores the position orientation data including displacement data in the space of a reference point of the medical device relative to the image capturing device, and orientation data in the space of a direction of the medical device relative to the image capturing device.

13. Further comprising a medical device tag that is installed in the space where the patient is present and that corresponds in position to the medical device reference point and has a uniquely identifiable pattern; The step (1) includes the at least one reference image received by the processor being an image of the at least one reference tag and the medical device tag captured by the image capture device; 12. The tag-guided image positioning system of claim 11, wherein step (2) includes the processor further identifying the medical device tag included in the at least one reference image, and further obtaining the position orientation data based on a positional relationship in space of the identified medical device tag relative to the image capturing device.

14. The tag-guided image positioning system of claim 13 , wherein the position and orientation data includes displacement data in the space of the medical device reference point relative to the image capture device, and orientation data in the space of the medical device direction relative to the image capture device.

15. The tag-guided image positioning system of claim 11, wherein step (4) includes determining whether the estimated distance and the pointing direction between the at least one target coordinate and the device coordinate in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system respectively match a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device pointing direction included in a predetermined treatment plan, and obtaining the determination result.

16. The tag-guided image positioning system of claim 15, wherein step (4) includes, when the judgment result indicates that the estimated distance does not match the predetermined distance and / or the pointing direction does not match the pointing direction of the predetermined medical device, 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 pointing direction and the pointing direction of the predetermined medical device.

17. 17. The tag guided image location system of claim 16, further comprising a display module having a graphic interface disposed thereon for displaying said distance difference data and said angle difference data via said graphic interface.

18. The tag guided image location system of claim 10 , wherein the at least one reference tag is formed with an exposed, uniquely identifiable pattern.

19. The image capture device includes at least two cameras; The tag-guided image positioning system of claim 11, wherein the guide image positioning application further includes a step of photographing the at least one reference tag or a correction tag in the space with the at least two cameras before step (1) or after step (4) to correct the position of the at least one reference coordinate or the correction coordinates of the correction tag in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system.

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