Fluoroscopic Calcification Tracking via Catheter Intermediary
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for tracking anatomical structures during surgery, such as fluoroscopy, face challenges due to unclear visibility and require manual initialization or the use of harmful contrast agents, which are sensitive to initialization and have side effects.
Innovation Solution
A system that inserts a catheter with a known structure into the patient, allowing for the detection and tracking of anatomical structures by synchronizing the catheter's movement with the anatomical structures, using sampling strategies like discrete structure forests to track the structures over time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If contrast agents are used to track anatomical structures, then tracking accuracy is improved, but patient safety deteriorates due to harmful side effects
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a catheter as an intermediary object to track anatomical structures indirectly. Instead of using harmful contrast agents to visualize the aortic root directly, the system tracks the catheter's position and uses it as a reference to infer the position and movement of the aortic root and associated calcium deposits. This eliminates the need for harmful contrast agents while maintaining tracking accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual model or copy of the anatomical structure's movement by tracking the catheter's position. The catheter's trajectory serves as a proxy or copy of the aortic root's movement, allowing the system to track anatomical structures without directly visualizing them using harmful contrast agents.
2Measurement precision
If manual landmark marking is used for tracking, then tracking can be performed, but operator time and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic detection and tracking of the catheter and anatomical structures without requiring manual landmark marking by the operator. The algorithm automatically identifies the catheter in fluoroscopic images, tracks its movement, and uses this information to track the aortic root and calcium deposits, eliminating the time-consuming manual initialization process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary automatic detection and initialization of tracking parameters before the surgical procedure begins or at the start of the procedure. By pre-configuring the tracking system to automatically recognize the catheter and set up tracking parameters, the system eliminates the need for time-consuming manual landmark marking during the surgery.
3Measurement precision
If semi-supervised trackers are used, then tracking performance is improved, but sensitivity to initialization increases
Solution Approach 1:
The catheter serves as a reliable intermediary that provides a consistent and easily detectable reference object for initialization. The catheter's distinct appearance and predictable movement patterns make it ideal for automatic detection, providing a stable foundation for initializing the tracking algorithm without the sensitivity issues that plague semi-supervised trackers.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking system is segmented into multiple independent components: catheter detection, catheter tracking, and anatomical structure tracking. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, with the catheter detection and tracking serving as a robust, initialization-insensitive foundation that drives the overall system performance.
Data Source
AI summary
Robust calcification tracking is provided in fluoroscopic imagery. A patient with an inserted catheter is scanned over time. A processor detects the catheter in the patient from the scanned image data. The processor tracks the movement of the catheter. The processor also detects a structure represented in the data. The structure is detected as a function of movement with a catheter. The processor tracks the movement of the structure using sampling based on a previous location of the structure in the patient. The processor may output an image of the structure.