Automated Image Overlay for Angiography Follow-up
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current stem cell therapy for heart disease in angiography x-ray laboratories is cumbersome and error-prone due to manual alignment and identification issues during follow-up evaluations, leading to potential misalignment and misidentification of treatment sites.
Innovation Solution
Automatically recording imaging parameters during treatment and using them to acquire follow-up images, allowing for the overlay of treatment images with marked sites onto follow-up images to facilitate accurate evaluation of treatment results.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If manual film placement and alignment is used during follow-up evaluation, then the procedure can be performed with simple equipment, but the alignment accuracy and identification reliability of treatment sites deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical film placement and alignment system with an automated digital image registration system. The system uses computer-controlled overlay of stored treatment images with current follow-up images, eliminating the need for manual physical film handling and visual alignment by physicians. This substitution of mechanical/manual operations with automated digital processing resolves the contradiction by achieving high alignment accuracy through computational methods while maintaining equipment simplicity.
2Device complexity
If manual film placement is used to record treatment sites, then the system remains simple and inexpensive, but the reliability of treatment site identification deteriorates due to misalignment and misidentification
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical film placement system with an automated digital image registration and overlay system. The system automatically retrieves stored treatment images, registers them with current follow-up images using image processing algorithms, and displays the overlay to the physician. This substitution maintains relatively simple system architecture while dramatically improving reliability by eliminating manual alignment errors and misidentification risks through automated computational methods.
3Measurement precision
If automated image overlay is implemented, then the accuracy and reliability of treatment site identification improves, but the device complexity and system requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements image overlay functionality within the existing angiography system's computer and display infrastructure. The system uses the same image acquisition hardware, storage systems, and display devices already present in the angiography laboratory, adding the overlay capability as a software function rather than requiring entirely new specialized equipment. This multi-functional approach achieves high alignment accuracy while minimizing the increase in device complexity by leveraging existing system resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The system automatically performs image registration, overlay generation, and display without requiring additional manual operations from the physician. The computer system self-manages the retrieval of stored treatment images, the registration process using image matching algorithms, and the presentation of the overlay result. This automation achieves high precision while keeping the system relatively simple by eliminating the need for complex manual alignment mechanisms or specialized alignment equipment.
4Productivity
If manual film evaluation is used during follow-up visits, then the procedure can be performed quickly without complex processing, but the productivity and efficiency of treatment assessment deteriorates due to cumbersome procedures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual mechanical process of physically handling, aligning, and comparing films with an automated digital image overlay system. The system automatically retrieves stored treatment images, performs registration and overlay generation through computer processing, and displays the combined image to the physician. This substitution eliminates the time-consuming manual operations while maintaining ease of operation, as the physician simply initiates the overlay function and reviews the result without physical manipulation of films.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is a framework for facilitating image-assisted diagnostic evaluation. In accordance with one aspect of the framework, imaging parameters used in acquiring a treatment image of a portion of patient anatomy are automatically recorded during an imaging examination. The treatment image may indicate at least one location of at least one treated site. During a follow-up examination, a follow-up image of the portion of the patient anatomy may be automatically acquired using the recorded imaging parameters. To assist evaluation of treatment results, the treatment image with the indicated location of the treated site may be overlaid over the follow-up image.