Catheter Pose Determination Apparatus for Brachytherapy
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Solution Overview
Problem
In high dose rate brachytherapy, determining the three-dimensional pose and shape of catheters within a person is cumbersome due to the difficulty in acquiring and filtering out unnecessary data, particularly when catheters are inserted to different depths, leading to inefficient data selection and user intervention.
Innovation Solution
A determination apparatus comprising a position determination unit, acquisition unit, and control unit that automatically determines and controls the acquisition of positions within the catheter, preventing unnecessary data acquisition by focusing on positions within the body, allowing for real-time tracking and simplifying the procedure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the user manually acquires tracked positions of the guidewire tip throughout the entire catheter length, then complete catheter pose and shape data are obtained, but unnecessary data from locations outside the living being are acquired, requiring additional filtering steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by automatically determining the catheter insertion depth and calculating the entry point into the living being before data acquisition. This preliminary information is used to pre-defin e the acquisition region, so that only positions within the relevant depth range are captured during guidewire tracking, eliminating unnecessary data from outside the body.
Solution Approach 2:
The system serves itself by using the determined catheter pose and shape data to automatically define the acquisition region for subsequent measurements. The system self-adjusts the data acquisition parameters based on previously obtained information, eliminating the need for manual intervention or filtering of unnecessary data.
2Measurement precision
If the user manually filters out unnecessary data after acquisition, then data accuracy is improved, but the procedure becomes more cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary calculation of the catheter entry point and insertion depth before data acquisition. This preliminary action enables the system to pre-define the acquisition region, ensuring that only relevant data within the living being are captured from the start, thus eliminating the need for subsequent filtering operations and reducing data processing time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system extracts only the necessary data by automatically defining the acquisition region based on catheter insertion depth and entry point. This extraction approach ensures that only positions within the relevant depth range (inside the living being) are acquired, removing unnecessary data acquisition and filtering steps entirely.
3Reliability
If data acquisition is performed for the entire catheter length, then all possible positions are captured, but irrelevant data from outside the living being increase the data volume and processing burden
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the relevant portion of the catheter for data acquisition by calculating the entry point into the living being and using this information to define the acquisition region. This ensures that data are acquired only for the portion of the catheter that is actually inside the patient, reducing data volume while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary determination of catheter insertion depth and entry point before data acquisition. This preliminary action allows the system to pre-define the acquisition region, ensuring that only relevant data within the appropriate depth range are captured, thus reducing unnecessary data volume while maintaining determination reliability.
Data Source
AI summary
A determination apparatus determines the pose and shape of an introduction element like a catheter within a living being, wherein the introduction element is adapted to be used by a brachytherapy apparatus for introducing a radiation source close to a target object to be treated. A position determination element like a guidewire with an electromagnetic tracking element is introduced into the introduction element such that it is arranged at different locations within the introduction element, wherein the positions of the position determination element within the introduction element are determined. The determined positions are then acquired depending on the determined positions for determining the pose and shape of the introduction element within the living being. This can lead to a determination procedure with reduced user interaction, thereby simplifying the determination procedure for the user.