Method and System for Tag Guide Image Positioning

The tag-guided image positioning system addresses the inefficiencies of manual BNCT alignment by establishing a precise three-dimensional coordinate system for automated and accurate patient-part alignment, enhancing treatment plan adherence.

JP7709778B2Active Publication Date: 2025-07-17NATIONAL TSING HUA UNIVERSITY
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2023199141
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Priority Date
2023-08-24
Filing Date
2023-11-24
Publication Date
2025-07-17
Estimated Expiration
2043-11-24

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

Conventional manual positioning methods for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) are time-consuming and prone to inaccuracies due to visual judgment, increasing patient burden and complicating the alignment of neutron beams with treatment plans.

Method used

A tag-guided image positioning system using reference tags and a medical device tag to establish a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, enabling precise alignment of a patient's specific parts with treatment plans through automated image processing and coordinate estimation.

Benefits of technology

Facilitates rapid and accurate alignment of patient parts with treatment plans, reducing patient burden and ensuring precise neutron beam alignment for BNCT, and can be applied to other radiotherapies.

✦ Generated by Eureka AI based on patent content.

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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
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to image positioning, and particularly refers to a method and system for tag-guided image positioning.

Background Art

[0002] Since uncharged neutrons cannot be bent by an electric field like charged particles such as protons, it is difficult to realize the design of a rotating beam due to the limitations of the physical mechanism of conventional Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (hereinafter also referred to as BNCT) systems. On the other hand, for patients undergoing BNCT, the irradiation angle and size of the received neutron beam are determined by the evaluation results of the treatment planning system. Therefore, before actually performing BNCT, in order to ensure that the irradiation conditions meet the required irradiation conditions of the evaluation results, patients must undergo simulated positioning.

[0003] However, the conventional manual positioning method usually involves, for example, a medical physicist visually positioning a diseased part such as a patient's tumor within the beam range. In the positioning process, first, the positions of the characteristics of the diseased part and the patient's body surface must be calibrated on a three-dimensional computed tomography (CT) or positron emission tomography (PET) image, and then, based on the distance of the diseased part from the characteristics in the image, the position of the diseased part is determined by visually judging the quantified distance using a standard measuring tool. However, since it is a positioning in three-dimensional space, the final positioning must go through multiple judgments and confirmations in different dimensions. This positioning method not only has different quantification accuracies depending on the eyesight of the executor during visual judgment, but also may take about one hour for the entire positioning process, increasing the physical and mental burden on the patient.

[0004] Therefore, the development of a high-speed and high-precision image positioning method for BNCT and other radiation therapies has become one of the problems to be solved in the related technical fields.

Summary of the Invention

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

[0006] One embodiment of the present disclosure is a method for tag-guided image positioning used to establish and / or compare the relationship in space between a specific part of a patient and a medical device and executed by a computer system, comprising: Step (1) of receiving at least one reference image captured by an imaging device with at least one reference tag that is positionally related to a specific part; Step (2) of identifying at least one reference tag included in the at least one reference image using image identification technology and obtaining tag space position information of the at least one reference tag relative to the imaging device based on the positional relationship in space of the identified at least one reference tag relative to the imaging device; Step (3) of 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 and obtaining device coordinates and at least one target coordinate; Step (4) of determining whether at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinates and obtaining the determination result; Step (4-1) of generating and outputting a positioning result as a basis for determining whether to adjust a specific part or a medical device based on the determination result; A method for tag-guided image positioning is provided.

[0007] In some embodiments, step (3) comprises: By defining a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system based on the tag space position information, the medical device reference point of the medical device, and the position and orientation data in the space of the medical device orientation, at least one reference coordinate representing the position of at least one reference tag in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, the device coordinates representing the position of the medical device reference point, and the pointing direction representing the medical device orientation are obtained in step (3-1); Based on a three-dimensional medical image of a specific part to which at least one target marker representing at least one target point and at least one reference marker representing the position related to a specific part of at least one reference tag and distinguishable are attached, and at least one reference coordinate in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, step (3-2) of estimating at least one target coordinate representing the position of at least one target point in the three-dimensional spatial coordinate system, and including.

[0008] In some embodiments, when the number of at least one reference tag is one, the imaging device is fixed to the reference point of the medical device, and only one reference tag is attached to a specific part, before step (3-1), displacement data in the space of the reference point of the medical device relative to the imaging device, and step (5) of obtaining position and orientation data including direction data in the space of the imaging device for the medical device orientation from the outside are further included.

[0009] In some embodiments, when the imaging device can move relative to the reference point of the medical device, at least one reference tag is attached to a specific part, and in the space where the patient is located, a medical device tag with a pattern formed that is positionally corresponding and uniquely identifiable to the medical device reference point is further provided. Step (1) includes that at least one reference image received by the computer system is an image taken by the imaging device of at least one reference tag and the medical device tag. Step (2) includes that the computer system further identifies the medical device tag included in at least one reference image, and further obtains position and orientation data based on the positional relationship of the identified medical device tag in the space relative to the imaging device.

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

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

[0012] In some embodiments, when the determination 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 further 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 has a uniquely identifiable pattern formed thereon.

[0014] In some embodiments, the imaging device includes at least two cameras, and further includes a step of capturing at least one reference tag or a correction tag in space with the at least two cameras before step (1) or after step (4) 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.

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

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

[0017] In some embodiments, the tag-guided image positioning system further includes a display module on which a graphic interface is arranged and which displays distance difference data and angle difference data through the graphic interface.

[0018] The effects of the present disclosure are as follows. By using the reference tag and the medical device tag, the three-dimensional space 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 space 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 a specific part can be obtained. By using the three-dimensional medical image of a specific part with the target marker and the reference marker attached, at least one target coordinate representing the position of at least one target point in the three-dimensional space coordinate system can be easily and relatively accurately estimated. Further, based on the determination result of whether the estimated distance between at least one target coordinate and the device coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system and the pointing direction representing the beam direction match the predetermined distance and the predetermined beam incident direction in the predetermined treatment plan of a specific part, respectively, a positioning result is generated and output as a basis for determining whether to adjust the positioning of a specific part, so as to assist in quickly matching the positioning of a specific part to the positioning of the predetermined treatment plan before or during the execution of radiotherapy.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] 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 feature structures may not be drawn to scale according to the standard operating procedures in the industry. In fact, for clarity of explanation, the dimensions of the various feature structures may be arbitrarily enlarged or reduced. To make the above and other objects, features, advantages and embodiments of the present disclosure clearer and easier to understand, the accompanying drawings are described below.

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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] To describe the present disclosure in more detail and completely, embodiments and specific examples of the present disclosure will be described below. However, they are not the only forms for implementing or applying the specific examples of the present disclosure. Each example disclosed below may be combined or substituted with each other in a beneficial situation, or other examples may be added to one example, and no further description or explanation is required. In the following description, many specific details will be described in detail so that readers can fully understand the following examples. However, the examples of the present disclosure can be implemented without these specific details.

[0021] Also, spatial relative terms such as "lower", "upper", etc. are for explaining the relative relationship between one component or feature and another component or feature in the drawings. These spatial relative terms include different directions during the use or operation of the device other than the directions shown in the drawings. The device may be positioned separately (for example, rotated by 90 degrees or other angles), and the spatial descriptions used herein can be interpreted correspondingly.

[0022] In this specification, unless otherwise specifically limited to the article, "a" and "the" can refer to single or plural. As used in this specification, terms such as "include", "comprise", "contain" or similar terms indicate the described features, regions, integers, steps, operations, components and / or parts, but it should be further understood that they do not exclude one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, components, parts, and / or groups thereof described or added.

[0023] Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 exemplarily shows a positioning system 100 for a tag guide image of an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is used, for example, to make the positioning of a specific part 200 (for example, the head) of a patient coincide with the positioning of the specific part 200 in a predetermined treatment plan before or during the implementation of BNCT radiotherapy, but is not limited thereto. In the present embodiment, the tag guide image positioning system 100 includes, for example, four reference tags 1, one medical device tag 2, one imaging device 3, one storage module 4, one display module 6, and one processor 5, but is not limited thereto.

[0024] In the present embodiment, each of these reference tags 1 is directly attached to, for example, four different and distinguishable positions of these specific parts 200 (for example, the positions of the glabella, the tip of the nose, the tip of the jaw, and the tip of the ear shown in FIG. 3(A)). However, in other embodiments, these reference tags 1 may be attached to an extension (not shown) of the specific part 200 of the head such that their attachment positions respectively correspond to the glabella, the tip of the nose, the tip of the jaw, and the tip of the ear.

[0025] In the present embodiment, the medical device tag 2 is suitable for being installed in the space where the patient is located and has a correspondence with a medical device reference point MDC (for example, the center of the beam exit (not shown, also called the beam center) of a BNCT device (not shown)). Each of these reference tags 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 these reference tags 1 has a different identification pattern for distinction.

[0026] In the present embodiment, the imaging device 3 is movably installed in the space where the patient is located with respect to the medical device reference point MDC and may include one or more imaging modules (not shown, for example, CCD). Also, each time a positioning process is performed, a plurality of frames of reference images including these reference tags 1 and the medical device tag 2 are captured.

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

[0028] The processor 5 is electrically connected to the image capturing device 3, the memory module 4, and the display module 6, and executes a positioning program once based on a plurality of frames of reference images obtained corresponding to the current positioning process received from the image capturing device 3, and generates 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. The operations of each will be described in detail in accordance with the relevant description of the following positioning program.

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

[0030] In this embodiment, the tag guide image positioning system 100 can generally be used in combination with a collimator 300 in a simulation 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 can be adjusted. The collimator 300 is symmetrically attached to the wall 500 at the center of a medical device outlet (for example, a beam exit) (not shown, hereinafter also referred to as the medical device reference point MDC) that penetrates the wall 500 adjacent to the treatment bed 400 of a BNCT device (not shown), thereby accurately obtaining the medical device direction MDD (also called the beam direction) of the neutron beam generated by the BNCT device and emitted by the medical device outlet. Four reference tags 1 are respectively attached to positions such as the glabella, the tip of the nose, the tip of the chin, and the tip of the ear of the head of the dummy human body. The medical device tag 2 is attached, for example, to a specific upper position of the substrate of the collimator 300 that is aligned with the medical device reference point MDC. The image capturing device 3 is attached to 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 FIGS. 1, 2, and 7. FIGS. 1, 2, and 7 exemplify and 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 image identification technology.

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

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

[0035] Thereafter, in step S84, the coordinate system construction module 54 of the processor 5 defines a three-dimensional space coordinate system based on the tag space position information and the position and direction data of the medical device reference point MDC and the medical device direction MDD related to the BNCT device in the space. Thereby, 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 are obtained. More specifically, in the present embodiment, the coordinate system construction module 54 first uses, for example, the three-dimensional tag coordinates representing the position of the medical device tag 2 as a reference point. Thereafter, two vectors of the reference coordinates representing the positions of any two corresponding reference tags 1 with respect to the reference point are obtained, and the cross product of these two vectors is calculated to obtain the positional relationship of the positions of these two corresponding reference tags 1 with respect 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 corresponding relationship in space position, the coordinate system construction module 54 directly inputs the positions of the known medical device tag 2 and the medical device reference point MDC, and defines the three-dimensional space coordinate system with, for example, the position of the medical device reference point MDC as the origin of the coordinate system (i.e., device coordinates). Then, a plurality of reference coordinates respectively representing the positions of these reference tags 1 by the three-dimensional space coordinate system, and a pointing direction (for example, a direction perpendicular to the wall 500 in FIG. 6 and in the injection direction) representing the medical device direction MDD are obtained.

[0036] Particularly, in this embodiment, since the image capturing device 3 is movable, the position of the medical device reference point MDC must be further determined by the position of the acquired medical device tag 2 based on the correspondence relationship with the position of the medical device tag 2. However, in other embodiments, particularly when the image capturing device 3 is fixedly installed and the positional relationship between it and the medical device reference point MDC is known, the above-mentioned 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 displacement data of the medical device reference point MDC in the space relative to the image capturing device 3 and direction data of the medical device direction MDD in the space relative to the image capturing device 3. Therefore, the image identification module 51 only needs to identify these reference tags 1 in step S81, the position relationship acquisition module 52 only needs to acquire the position relationship of these reference tags 1 relative to the image capturing device 3 in step S82, and the coordinate acquisition module 53 acquires three-dimensional tag coordinates representing the positions of each reference tag 1 in step S83. Also, in step S84, the coordinate system construction module 54 directly defines a three-dimensional space 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 these acquired reference tags 1 and the position and orientation data stored in the storage module 4, and can acquire a plurality of reference coordinates representing the positions of these reference tags 1 and a 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 space coordinate system based on the three-dimensional medical image stored in the storage module 4 and these reference coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system. More specifically, the target coordinate estimation module 55 obtains the marker position relationship between the target marker representing the target point in the medical image coordinate system of the three-dimensional medical image and a plurality of reference markers respectively representing the attachment positions of these reference tags 1 based on the three-dimensional mark coordinates of the reference markers, and can estimate the target coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system based on the obtained marker position relationship and these reference coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system.

[0038] Thereafter, in step S86, the determination module 56 of the processor 5 determines whether the estimated distance between the target coordinates and the device coordinates in the three-dimensional space coordinate system and the pointing direction respectively match the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP stored in the storage module 4, and generates a determination result. In this embodiment, the determination 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 generation module 57 of the processor 5 generates a positioning result based on the determination result, and outputs the positioning result to the display module 6, whereby the display module 6 displays the positioning result via the graphic interface 61 as a basis for adjusting the positioning of the specific part. More specifically, when the determination 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 generation 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. Refer to FIGS. 9 and 10. For example, the distance difference data may include a distance difference Δy in the Y-axis direction (vertical direction) between the target point TTP and the predetermined treatment point PTP (refer to FIG. 9), a distance difference Δz in the Z-axis direction (emission direction of the medical device) (refer to FIGS. 9 and 10), and a distance difference Δx in the X-axis direction (horizontal direction) (refer to FIG. 10). Refer to FIGS. 11 and 12. The angle difference data may include, for example, a difference in pitch angle PA (pitch angle) in the Y-Z plane between the medical device direction MDD and the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP, and a difference in yaw angle YA (yaw angle) in the X-Z plane.

[0040] According to the above example, since the positioning result includes distance differences (i.e., Δx, Δy, Δz) in three dimensions and differences in pitch angle and yaw angle, for the graphic interface 61 of the display module 6, with an appropriate plan, the graphic interface 61 can not only appropriately display the positioning result in numerical form as distance differences, differences in pitch angle, and differences in yaw angle in three dimensions, but also display the positioning result as a special pattern and corresponding numerical table combined with each other to more clearly display the difference between the positioning result and the positioning of the predetermined treatment plan.

[0041] Accordingly, when the distance differences (i.e., Δx, Δy, Δz), pitch angle difference, and yaw angle difference in the displayed three dimensions are all zero according to the positioning result displayed on the graphic interface 61, it indicates that the positioning of the specific part 200 coincides with the positioning in the predetermined treatment plan. Otherwise, the relevant staff will perform control on 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 re-executes the positioning program based on a plurality of frames of reference images obtained by the imaging device 3 re-shooting these reference tags 1 and the medical device tag 2. By repeatedly executing the positioning program in this way, it is possible to reach a positioning that coincides with the predetermined treatment plan relatively accurately and quickly.

[0042] To summarize, in order to use 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 a specific part. 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 by using the three-dimensional medical image of the specific part stored in the storage module 4 and attached with the target marker and the reference marker. The processor 5 generates and outputs a positioning result as the basis for whether to adjust the positioning of the specific part based on the determination result of whether 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 respectively match the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP in the predetermined treatment plan of the specific part, so as to assist the positioning of the specific part to quickly match the positioning of the predetermined treatment plan before or during the execution of radiotherapy. Therefore, the tag-guided image positioning system 100 of the present disclosure can surely achieve the purpose of the present disclosure.

[0043] In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a correction method, and the correction method may be performed before or after the execution of the positioning method. The imaging device includes at least two cameras, and the at least two cameras image at least one reference tag 1 or a correction tag in the space 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. Specifically, in the case of a plurality of cameras (for example, two cameras), the correction tag may be used for correction. The correction tag may be any of the foregoing tags (for example, the reference tag 1 or the medical device tag 2), and if the same tag is imaged by a plurality of cameras, the tag may be used for correction.

[0044] In some embodiments, the present disclosure can be used not only for positioning in the aforementioned boron neutron capture therapy but also for positioning in other radiotherapy.

[0045] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may attach the medical device tag 2 to a surgical instrument. It is different from BNCT in that it determines whether the target coordinates of the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. In other words, it is not necessary to determine whether it coincides with a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP. Specifically, if the medical device tag 2 is installed on the scalpel and the relative position between the medical device tag 2 on the scalpel and the target coordinates of the patient (for example, the tumor position) is positioned, the positioning can be achieved. The positioning can be continuously and dynamically performed so as to grasp and adjust the position of the surgical instrument and the tumor at any time.

[0046] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may attach the medical device tag 2 to a biological sampling syringe. It is different from BNCT in that it determines whether the target coordinates of the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. In other words, it is not necessary to determine whether it coincides with a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP. Specifically, if the medical device tag 2 is installed on the syringe and the relative position between the medical device tag 2 on the syringe and the target coordinates of the patient (for example, the tumor position) is positioned, the positioning can be achieved.

[0047] In some embodiments, the present disclosure may attach the medical device tag 2 to a catheter in minimally invasive surgery. It is different from BNCT in that it determines whether the target coordinates of the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. In other words, it is not necessary to determine whether it coincides with a predetermined distance and a predetermined medical device pointing direction PMDP. Determine whether the target coordinates of the patient in the three-dimensional space coordinate system are adjacent to the device coordinates of the medical device tag 2. Specifically, if 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 of the patient (for example, the tumor position) is positioned, the positioning can be achieved.

[0048] Although the present disclosure has been disclosed as above in the embodiments, it does not limit the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the protection scope of the present disclosure is based on the scope defined in the appended claims.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0049] 100 Tag Guide Image Positioning System 1 Reference Tag 2 Medical Device Tag 3 Image Capturing Device 4 Memory Module 5 Processor 51 Image Identification Module 52 Position Relationship 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 Site 300 Collimator 400 Treatment Bed 500 Wall 600 Mounting Frame 700 Notebook Computer CP Center Point MDD Medical Device Direction MDC Medical Device Reference Point NV Normal Vector PA Pitch Angle PMDP Predetermined Medical Device Pointing Direction PTP Predetermined Treatment Point S81~S87 Steps 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 inclination β inclination γ inclination φ polar angle θ azimuth angle

Claims

1. A method for tag-guided image positioning used to establish and / or compare the relationship in space between a specific part of a patient and a medical device and executed by a computer system, comprising: Step (1) of receiving at least one reference image obtained by an image capturing device of at least one reference tag that is positionally related to the specific part; Step (2) of identifying the at least one reference tag included in the at least one reference image using an image recognition technique and obtaining tag space position information of the at least one reference tag with respect to the image capturing device based on the positional relationship in space of the identified at least one reference tag with respect to the image capturing device; Step (3) of 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 in the tag space position information with respect to the position of the medical device and the position of the at least one target point, and obtaining device coordinates and at least one target coordinate; Step (4) of determining whether the at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinates and obtaining a determination result; A method for tag-guided image positioning including the above steps.

2. The step (3) includes: Step (3-1) of defining a three-dimensional space coordinate system based on the tag space position information, a medical device reference point of the medical device, and position direction data in the space of the medical device direction, and obtaining at least one reference coordinate representing the position of the at least one reference tag in the three-dimensional space coordinate system, the device coordinates representing the position of the medical device reference point, and a pointing direction representing the medical device direction; Step (3-2) of estimating the at least one target coordinate representing the position of the at least one target point in the three-dimensional space coordinate system based on a three-dimensional medical image of the specific part to which a target marker representing the at least one target point and at least one reference marker representing the position related to the specific part and distinguishable from the at least one reference tag are attached, and the at least one reference coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system; The method for tag-guided image positioning according to Claim 1, including the above steps.

3. The number of the at least one reference tag is one. When the imaging device is fixed to the reference point of the medical device and only one reference tag is attached to the specific part, before the step (3-1), a step (5) of obtaining from the outside the position and orientation data including the displacement data in the space of the reference point of the medical device with respect to the imaging device and the orientation data in the space of the imaging device with respect to the direction of the medical device is further included. The method for positioning a tag-guided image according to claim 2.

4. When the imaging device can move with respect to the reference point of the medical device, at least one reference tag is attached to the specific part, and in the space where the patient is located, a medical device tag in which a pattern that is positionally corresponding to and uniquely identifiable from the reference point of the medical device is formed is further provided. The step (1) includes that the at least one reference image received by the computer system is an image obtained by the imaging device photographing the at least one reference tag and the medical device tag. The step (2) includes that the computer system further identifies the medical device tag included in the at least one reference image, and further obtains the position and orientation data based on the positional relationship in the space of the identified medical device tag with respect to the imaging device. The method for positioning a tag-guided image according to claim 2.

5. The position and orientation data includes the displacement data in the space of the reference point of the medical device with respect to the imaging device and the orientation data in the space of the imaging device with respect to the direction of the medical device. The method for positioning a tag-guided image according to claim 4.

6. 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 space coordinate system respectively match the predetermined distance and the predetermined medical device pointing direction included in a predetermined treatment plan, and obtaining the determination result. The method for positioning a tag-guided image according to claim 2.

7. The method for positioning a tag-guided image according to claim 6, wherein in step (4), when the determination 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 further 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 for positioning a tag-guided image according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the reference tags forms a uniquely identifiable pattern that is exposed.

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

10. A tag-guided image positioning system for establishing and / or comparing the spatial relationship between a specific part of a patient and a medical device, comprising: at least one reference tag installed at a position related to the specific part; an image capturing device installed in the space where the patient is located and configured to capture the at least one reference tag so as to obtain at least one positioned reference image; a storage module for storing a guide image positioning application; a processor for executing the guide image positioning application; and comprising: The guide image positioning application: step (1) of receiving at least one reference image captured by the image capturing device of at least one reference tag that is spatially related to the specific part; step (2) of identifying the at least one reference tag included in the at least one reference image using image identification technology, and obtaining tag space position information of the at least one reference tag with respect to the image capturing device based on the spatial position relationship of the at least one identified reference tag with respect to the image capturing device; 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 in the tag space position information for the position of the medical device and the position of the at least one target point, and obtaining device coordinates and at least one target coordinate in step (3); Determining whether the at least one target coordinate is adjacent to the device coordinate and obtaining a determination result in step (4); A tag guide image positioning system including the above.

11. The step (3) includes: By defining a three-dimensional space coordinate system based on the tag space position information, the medical device reference point of the medical device, and the position and direction data in the space in the medical device direction, at least one reference coordinate representing the position of the at least one reference tag in the three-dimensional space coordinate system, the device coordinates representing the position of the medical device reference point, and the pointing direction representing the medical device direction are obtained in step (3-1); Based on the three-dimensional medical image of the specific part to which a target marker representing the at least one target point and at least one reference marker representing the position related to the specific part of the at least one reference tag and distinguishable are attached, and the at least one reference coordinate in the three-dimensional space coordinate system, estimating the at least one target coordinate representing the position of the at least one target point in the three-dimensional space coordinate system in step (3-2); The tag guide image positioning system according to claim 10 including the above.

12. The image capturing device is fixedly installed in the space where the patient is located with respect to the medical device reference point. The at least one reference tag is attached to the specific part. The tag guide image positioning system according to claim 11, wherein the storage module further stores the position and direction data including the displacement data of the reference point of the medical device in the space with respect to the image capturing device and the direction data of the medical device direction in the space with respect to the image capturing device.

13. Further including a medical device tag installed in the space where the patient is located, corresponding positionally to the medical device reference point, and forming a uniquely identifiable pattern. The step (1) includes that the at least one reference image received by the processor is an image obtained by the image capturing device capturing the at least one reference tag and the medical device tag. The step (2) includes that the processor further identifies the medical device tag included in the at least one reference image, and further obtains the position direction data based on the positional relationship of the identified medical device tag in the space with respect to the image capturing device. The tag-guided image positioning system according to claim 11.

14. The position direction data includes displacement data of the medical device reference point in the space with respect to the image capturing device and direction data of the medical device direction in the space with respect to the image capturing device. The tag-guided image positioning system according to claim 13.

15. 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 space 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. The tag-guided image positioning system according to claim 11.

16. The step (4) includes that when the determination 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, 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 predetermined medical device pointing direction. The tag-guided image positioning system according to claim 15.

17. The tag-guided image positioning system according to claim 16 further includes a display module on which a graphic interface is arranged, and the distance difference data and the angle difference data are displayed through the graphic interface.

18. In the at least one reference tag, an exposed and uniquely identifiable pattern is formed. The tag-guided image positioning system according to claim 10.

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

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