Shapeable Catheter Navigation Using Anatomical Roadmap Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical robotic systems for navigating shapeable instruments within a person require extensive user interactions, making interventional procedures cumbersome.
Innovation Solution
A robotic system and computer program that utilize structure information to automatically navigate shapeable instruments by modifying their shape and position based on predefined target positions and shapes, with safety zones and feedback loops to minimize user input.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a medical robotic system requires extensive user interactions for controlling the instrument, then the physician can maintain direct control over the navigation process, but the interventional procedure becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system performs self-navigation by automatically controlling the shapeable instrument to reach the target region based on pre-acquired structural information, eliminating the need for continuous physician intervention and making the procedure less cumbersome
Solution Approach 2:
The system acquires structural information about the patient's anatomy before the intervention procedure, allowing the robotic system to plan and execute the navigation path in advance, reducing the need for real-time user interactions
2Productivity
If the robotic system automatically navigates the instrument without user interactions, then the procedure efficiency increases, but the system requires complex control algorithms and structure information processing
Solution Approach 1:
The robotic system continuously monitors the actual position and shape of the instrument during navigation and compares it with the planned path, automatically adjusting the instrument's shape and position to stay on course and reach the target region accurately
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces manual mechanical control with automated control algorithms that process structural information and generate navigation commands, substituting the physician's manual operations with computer-based decision-making
3Measurement precision
If the system applies forces to modify the instrument shape and move it within the object, then the navigation precision improves, but there is a risk of damaging internal structures
Solution Approach 1:
The system identifies safety zones within the structural information before navigation begins and pre-plans the navigation path to avoid these zones or apply minimal forces near them, preventing potential damage to internal structures before the procedure starts
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic system applies different force levels to different portions of the instrument based on the local anatomical context, using higher forces in safe regions and reducing or eliminating forces near identified safety zones to protect vulnerable internal structures
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a robotic system for moving a shapeable instrument like a shapeable catheter within an object like a person. The system (1) comprises a robotic device (2, 3) for modifying the shape of the instrument (2) and moving the instrument within the object (7) and a control unit (4) for controlling the robotic device based on structure information like a roadmap, a target position and shape and an actual position and shape such that the instrument is moved and the shape of the instrument is modified from the actual position and shape to the target position and shape. Since the control unit considers structure information while controlling the robotic device, the navigation of the instrument can be automatically performed under consideration of knowledge about regions within the object, through which the instrument is navigatable. The navigation may therefore be performed without or with few user interactions only.