Coached Breathing Visualization for Motion-Stable Medical Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical imaging systems face challenges in reducing patient movement during scans, particularly due to breathing, which degrades image quality, and existing coaching methods are costly, resource-intensive, or ineffective in real-time adjustments.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a 3-D virtual representation of the chest or abdomen, displayed in real-time, with adjustable size, to guide coached breathing, and feedback on deviations from a selected pattern to improve patient control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a technician provides personalized coached breathing instructions, then patient breathing control improves, but cost and preparation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables patients to perform self-coached breathing by displaying their real-time chest surface contour and allowing them to adjust their breathing to match a target pattern without technician intervention. The patient views the visual feedback and autonomously controls their breathing, eliminating the need for continuous technician guidance while maintaining breathing control reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system captures real-time chest surface contour data using an optical imaging system and displays it to the patient during the scan. This visual feedback loop allows the patient to see their breathing pattern and make adjustments in real-time, enabling self-correction without requiring a technician to provide continuous instructions.
2Reliability
If optical or LiDAR imaging systems are added to generate 3-D visualization, then coached breathing effectiveness improves, but system cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system creates a visual copy or representation of the patient's chest surface contour and displays it on a screen. This 2-D projection serves as a simplified copy that provides sufficient feedback for coached breathing without requiring complex 3-D hardware additions to the medical imaging system.
Solution Approach 2:
The optical imaging system is integrated into the existing medical imaging apparatus, allowing it to serve dual purposes: capturing chest surface contour data for coached breathing guidance while potentially contributing to the overall imaging process. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated systems.
3Speed
If 3-D visualization is generated during scan, then real-time breathing adjustment improves, but data collection and processing load increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the necessary chest surface contour information from the optical or LiDAR imaging data, rather than processing complete 3-D volumetric data. By isolating and displaying only the relevant surface contour features needed for breathing guidance, the processing load is significantly reduced while maintaining real-time feedback capability.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for aiding a subject of a medical imaging exam in performing coached breathing. In one embodiment, a method for a medical imaging system comprises generating a three-dimensional (3-D) virtual representation of a portion of a surface of a chest and/or abdomen of a subject of the medical imaging system, the portion adjustable in size by an operator of the medical imaging system; displaying changes in the 3-D virtual representation to the subject on a display device of the medical imaging system while the subject breathes, in real time; displaying instructions to the subject on the display device to perform coached breathing in accordance with a selected breathing pattern, using the 3-D virtual representation as a guide; and in response to detecting a deviation of a breathing pattern of the subject from the selected breathing pattern, indicating the deviation to the subject.