Alternative-Reality Device for Vascular Access Site Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Vascular access can be challenging to obtain in patients who are older, obese, hypotensive, or have limited access sites due to injuries or intravenous drug abuse. There is a need to instantly visualize historical sites of vascular access to improve success rates.
Innovation Solution
An alternative-reality device equipped with a patient-facing camera, display screen, and electronic components that generate anatomical targets and track historical vascular access sites, allowing for real-time visualization and suggestion of potential access sites.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional vascular access methods are used without visualization tools, then the procedure is simple and quick, but the success rate is low and time-consuming in difficult cases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary visualization of historical vascular access sites and anatomical targets before the actual procedure. By pre-displaying annotated images showing previous access sites and anatomical landmarks, the healthcare professional can quickly review past attempts and plan the current procedure without time-consuming real-time analysis during the procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces an intermediary visualization tool that mediates between the healthcare professional and the patient's anatomy. The annotated images and historical site visualization serve as an intermediary layer that provides contextual information about previous attempts and anatomical features, enabling faster and more informed decision-making during the procedure.
2Loss of information
If multiple historical vascular access sites are tracked and visualized, then the information available for decision-making increases, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates visual copies or representations of historical vascular access sites through annotated images. Instead of complex 3D models or multiple sensors, the system uses processed images with graphical overlays showing previous access sites, anatomical targets, and success/failure indicators. This copying approach provides comprehensive historical information while keeping the system relatively simple.
Solution Approach 2:
The system merges multiple types of information (historical access sites, anatomical landmarks, success/failure status) into a single integrated visualization display. By combining these elements in one annotated image view, the system avoids the complexity of separate tracking and display systems for each type of data, while still providing comprehensive information for decision-making.
3Measurement precision
If real-time visualization of vascular access sites is provided, then the accuracy of site selection improves, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex mechanical or hardware-based tracking systems with image processing and computational methods. Instead of using multiple sensors, markers, or mechanical tracking devices, the system uses processed images with graphical overlays to visualize historical access sites and anatomical targets. This substitution maintains precision while significantly reducing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from 2D images to 3D spatial understanding by annotating historical access sites on anatomical structures. The graphical overlays and spatial relationships in the visualized images provide three-dimensional context about previous access attempts and anatomical landmarks, improving site selection precision without requiring complex 3D imaging hardware.
Data Source
AI summary
Alternative-reality devices and methods are disclosed for establishing and visualizing historical sites of vascular access, which are useful for evaluating potential sites of vascular access and improving the successes of obtaining vascular access. For example, an alternative-reality device includes anatomical target-defining instructions and vascular access site-tracking instructions in memory of the alternative-reality device for execution by one-or-more processors thereof. The alternative-reality device also includes a patient-facing camera configured to capture images or video frames for generating an anatomical target in the memory per the anatomical target-defining instructions and tracking the historical sites of vascular access in relation thereto with the vascular access site-tracking instructions. With a display screen of the alternative-reality device, a user can instantly see an environment including an anatomical portion of a patient to which the anatomical target corresponds, as well as graphical elements anchored to the anatomical portion indicating the historical sites of vascular access.