Ablation Probe Imaging Control for Precise Needle Deployment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical treatments for uterine fibroids face challenges in precisely deploying needles and predicting treatment volumes, particularly for less experienced physicians, and existing systems are not optimized for multiple needle/tine assemblies, with control mechanisms being less than ideal.
Innovation Solution
The system provides real-time imaging and feedback on a display screen to assist in the deployment of multiple needles or tines, allowing precise positioning and prediction of treatment volumes, with intuitive control mechanisms that minimize the need for manual data entry and enable repositioning without complete withdrawal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If real-time imaging and boundary projection is implemented, then needle positioning accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a virtual copy of the treatment volume and safety boundaries by projecting them onto the real-time ultrasonic image. This virtual representation allows the physician to plan and visualize the complete treatment geometry before actual needle deployment, improving positioning accuracy without requiring complex physical fixtures or guides in the surgical field.
Solution Approach 2:
The ultrasonic imaging system serves as an intermediary between the physical needle deployment and the virtual treatment plan. By overlaying projected boundaries and treatment volumes on the real-time image, the system mediates the physician's decision-making process, allowing accurate positioning through visual feedback rather than direct mechanical guidance.
2Productivity
If multiple needles are deployed simultaneously, then treatment efficiency is improved, but prediction of treatment volume becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary visualization of the complete treatment volume by projecting the boundaries and treatment zones on the real-time image before any needles are deployed. This allows the physician to see the cumulative effect of multiple needles upfront, maintaining full predictability of the treatment volume while enabling efficient simultaneous deployment of multiple needles.
3Ease of operation
If intuitive control mechanisms are provided, then ease of operation is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system allows the physician to directly manipulate the virtual treatment plan and boundaries through intuitive controls on the display interface. The system automatically updates the projection and provides real-time feedback, making the complex functions accessible through simple, self-explanatory interactions without requiring separate control panels or complex programming.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enhances the accuracy and efficiency of needle deployment, reducing the number of deployment attempts and minimizing damage to sensitive tissues by providing visual feedback and intuitive control, ensuring proper positioning and treatment within defined safety margins.
Implementation Method 1
the treatment device includes an ultrasonic imaging array with an adjustable field of view
Data Source
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Figure 3~3A
AI summary
A control handle of a treatment probe is manipulated to advance and/or deploy one or more treatment structures into tissue. The treatment probe is coupled to a display to show an image field including target tissue for treatment. Virtual treatment and safety boundaries are overlaid over the image field. The boundaries include virtual stop positions for the needle and tines. A joystick or directional pad on the probe handle, operable independently from the user interface to advance and/or deploy the one or more treatment structures, can be manipulated to adjust the size and/or position of these boundaries. Sensors within the probe detect the real-time position of the one or more treatment structures, and the sensed positions are displayed in real-time. The user can observe the display to deploy the one or more treatment structures to the displayed virtual stop positions.