Artificial Landmark Array for Fluoroscopy Registration Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fluoroscopy-based navigation systems face challenges in accurately registering fluoroscopy images due to potential errors in mapping insufficient or inaccurately positioned markers, leading to registration errors that are not adequately addressed by existing technologies.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an artificial landmark array that can be tracked by a medical navigation system, allowing for verification of registration accuracy by comparing the image shadow of the array with its stored position, enabling flexible placement and removal during imaging, and facilitating non-invasive verification even in areas with limited natural landmarks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If an artificial landmark array is fixed on the patient during fluoroscopy imaging, then registration accuracy can be verified, but the procedure becomes more invasive and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by placing the artificial landmark array on the patient before the fluoroscopy imaging is performed. The landmark array is positioned and secured in advance, allowing the fluoroscopy images to be captured with the landmarks already in place. This ensures that when the images are later processed for registration verification, the landmarks are already in their final positions, eliminating the need for complex fixation mechanisms during the imaging process itself.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses an artificial landmark array as an intermediary object between the patient's anatomy and the fluoroscopy imaging system. These artificial landmarks serve as reference points that can be precisely tracked and mapped during imaging, providing a mediator that enables accurate registration verification without requiring direct fixation of the patient's anatomy itself. The artificial landmarks act as a bridge that simplifies the verification process while maintaining accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If conventional verification methods are used without artificial landmarks, then the procedure is less invasive, but registration accuracy cannot be reliably verified
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the copying principle by creating artificial landmark arrays that replicate known reference positions. These artificial landmarks are designed with specific geometric configurations and positions that can be precisely measured and tracked. By using these artificial copies of reference landmarks, the system can verify registration accuracy through quantitative comparison of the landmark positions in the fluoroscopy images against the known reference positions, providing reliable verification without requiring complex invasive procedures.
3Measurement precision
If the landmark array position is fixed during imaging, then registration verification is accurate, but the landmark array cannot be removed or repositioned
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by designing a system where the artificial landmark array can be dynamically positioned and removed. The landmark array is placed on the patient before imaging, and after the fluoroscopy images are captured and processed, the array can be removed or repositioned without affecting the accuracy of the registration verification. This dynamic approach allows the system to maintain verification accuracy during the critical imaging phase while providing flexibility for post-imaging adjustments or removal of the landmark array.
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method for verifying the registration of a fluoroscopy image, wherein an artificial landmark array is introduced into a radiation path of a fluoroscopy apparatus, the landmark array being trackable by a computer assisted, medical navigation system. A fluoroscopy recording is produced with the aid of the fluoroscopy apparatus, and a spatial position of the artificial landmark array at the time the fluoroscopy recording is produced is detected and stored. The fluoroscopy recording is registered onto previously acquired body image data of the navigation system using marking points mapped on the fluoroscopy recording, wherein the marking points are maps of markings on the radiation source. Verification is based on a correspondence between an image shadow of the artificial landmark array on the fluoroscopy recording and a position of the landmark array at the time the recording was produced.