Alignment Accuracy Visualization for Interventional Instruments
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Solution Overview
Problem
Interventional systems for image-guided procedures face challenges in accurately evaluating the alignment of instruments, leading to mental load and potential misjudgments, which can reduce navigation accuracy due to imperfect registration results.
Innovation Solution
A visualization system that aligns the position and shape of an instrument with its image, allowing for accuracy determination and visualization of insufficient regions, guiding the user's attention to critical areas for improved acceptance or rejection of alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the user manually evaluates the alignment between the determined position and shape of the interventional instrument and the x-ray images, then the user can assess the quality of registration, but this evaluation adds mental load and can result in misjudgments regarding the accuracy of the registration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system (the visualization device) that acts as a mediator between the registration system and the user. This device automatically calculates alignment accuracy metrics and presents them in an easily interpretable format, reducing the cognitive burden on the user while maintaining accurate assessment capabilities.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-evaluation by automatically computing alignment accuracy between the determined instrument position/shape and the x-ray images. The device independently generates accuracy metrics and visual feedback without requiring intensive user cognitive processing, allowing the system to serve itself in the evaluation task.
2Reliability
If the user inspects the alignment between the position and shape of the interventional instrument and the x-ray images to evaluate registration results, then the user can make informed decisions about accepting or rejecting the registration, but this inspection process consumes time and can lead to misjudgments under time pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of alignment accuracy metrics before the user needs to make a decision. By pre-computing and displaying accuracy information in advance, the system prepares the evaluation data ready for user review, eliminating the need for time-consuming on-the-spot analysis while the user is under time pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the manual visual inspection process (mechanical/cognitive system) with an automated computational system that calculates alignment accuracy using mathematical algorithms. This substitution transforms the evaluation from a time-consuming manual inspection to a rapid automated computation, reducing evaluation time while maintaining or improving reliability.
3Productivity
If imperfect registration results are accepted due to user misjudgment, then the procedure can continue, but the navigation accuracy during the image-guided interventional procedure is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements a feedback mechanism that provides the user with quantitative alignment accuracy metrics and visual indicators showing the quality of registration. This feedback loop allows the user to make informed decisions about whether to accept or reject registration results, preventing the acceptance of imperfect registrations that would compromise navigation accuracy while maintaining procedure continuity when registration quality is sufficient.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a visualization system (10) for visualizing an accuracy of an alignment of a position and shape of an instrument (33), which has been determined by a position and shape determination device (9), with an image of the instrument. The accuracy is determined for different regions of the instrument as defined by the position and shape and of the image, wherein among these regions at least one region is determined, in which the determined accuracy indicates that it is insufficient. A visualization is then generated in which the determined region is indicated on a representation of the position and shape and/or the image. This visualization guides a user's eyes to the region which should not be missed, while deciding whether, for instance, a navigation of the instrument during a subsequent interventional procedure should be based on this alignment, which in turn allows for an improved navigation accuracy.