Acoustic Imaging Tip Location Estimation Using Offset Sensor
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ultrasound-guided medical procedures face challenges in accurately locating the tip of intervention devices like needles due to mechanical constraints that prevent sensors from being placed directly at the tip, resulting in offset sensor placement and uncertainty in tip location.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that utilize a single sensor placed on the intervention device's shaft, a few millimeters away from the tip, to estimate the tip's location in acoustic images by calculating an effective tip-sensor distance based on the sensor's known distance and the device's angular orientation relative to the image plane.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a sensor is placed on the intervention device shaft at a distance from the tip, then the device can be manufactured with standard mechanical constraints, but the tip location measurement precision deteriorates due to offset distance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary computational process that uses the known offset distance D and measured sensor position to calculate the tip position. The processor acts as an intermediary between the sensor measurement and the displayed tip location, applying geometric transformation based on the device orientation angle to compensate for the physical offset.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical solution (placing sensor directly at tip) with a computational approach. Instead of modifying the mechanical structure to position the sensor at the tip, the system uses mathematical calculations involving the offset distance D and orientation angle to determine tip position, substituting mechanical precision requirements with computational geometry.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are used to reduce tip location uncertainty, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the single sensor system self-sufficient by incorporating the known offset distance D as a predetermined parameter. The system uses the single sensor measurement combined with the stored offset information and calculated orientation angle to independently determine tip position without requiring additional sensors or external reference points.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms the problem from spatial (multiple sensor positions) to parametric (using offset distance D and orientation angle as variables). By changing the approach from adding more physical sensors to utilizing parametric relationships between the single sensor position, offset distance, and device orientation, the system achieves equivalent precision with reduced complexity.
3Measurement precision
If the sensor is placed closer to the tip to improve measurement precision, then tip location accuracy improves, but the sensor may interfere with the insertion procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sensor from the critical tip region and places it on the shaft at a safe distance. The sensor function is separated from the tip insertion function, allowing the sensor to be positioned where it does not interfere with the procedure while its measurement data is computationally processed to provide tip location information.
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
This approach provides more accurate and reduced uncertainty in estimating the tip's location, enhancing the safety and precision of interventional procedures without the need for additional sensors or costly system upgrades.
Implementation Method 1
a sensor signal from a passive acoustic sensor disposed on a surface of an intervention device disposed in the area of interest, the sensor signal being produced in response to an acoustic signal emitted by an array of acoustic transducer elements of the acoustic imaging system
Data Source
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AI summary
An acoustic imaging apparatus and method receive a sensor signal from a passive sensor disposed on a surface of an intervention device which is disposed in an area of interest, wherein the passive sensor is located at a fixed distance from the tip of the intervention device. A processor is configured to ascertain an estimated range of locations of the tip of the intervention device in an image plane by using the sensor signal and an estimated effective distance, projected onto the image plane, from the passive sensor to the tip of the intervention device.