Controlled Perspective Guidance for Bronchial Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Endoscopic surgery in the lungs is challenging due to the narrow airways and the need to navigate the bronchial tree, which causes disorientation and tunnel vision for physicians, exacerbated by cardiac and breathing rhythms and probe movement.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses planned waypoints to provide a controlled and stable visual presentation of the bronchial tree, with the probe's location and movement clearly indicated, allowing for a more accurate perception of the probe's position and progress towards the target lesion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the sensor is advanced deep into the lungs through the bronchial tree, then the physician can access the target lesion, but the physician experiences tunnel vision and loses peripheral vision
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a first-person perspective (sensor-mounted camera view) to a third-person perspective (external observer view of the sensor). This dimensional change in visualization allows the physician to see both the sensor's position and the surrounding bronchial tree structure simultaneously, restoring peripheral awareness without compromising navigation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtual camera system as an intermediary between the physical sensor and the physician's eyes. This virtual camera, positioned at various locations around the sensor, captures images that the physician can view to understand the spatial relationship between the sensor and surrounding structures, effectively mediating the information loss.
2Ease of operation
If the sensor is advanced through the bronchial tree, then the physician can navigate to the target, but the cardiac rhythm and breathing cycle cause jittering of the virtual image
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the sensor's position information from the visual display and presents it separately through a heads-up display (HUD) showing distance and directional indicators. This separates the unstable visual feedback (affected by cardiac and respiratory motion) from the navigation guidance, allowing the physician to maintain stable reference points while still navigating to the target.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms through the HUD display that continuously updates the sensor's position relative to the target lesion. This feedback loop compensates for image jitter by providing alternative stable reference information, helping the physician maintain spatial orientation despite the chaotic movement caused by cardiac and respiratory cycles.
3Ease of operation
If the steering mechanism is activated to turn the sensor tip, then the sensor can be directed toward the target, but the image flips and turns causing disorientation
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of showing the sensor's first-person view that flips and turns with the steering mechanism, the patent inverts the perspective to show a third-person view from outside the sensor. This inverted perspective remains stable and does not flip or turn when the sensor steers, providing continuous spatial orientation reference while the sensor navigates toward the target.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the visualization dimension from inside-the-sensor perspective to outside-the-sensor perspective. This dimensional shift eliminates the image flipping problem because the external camera view does not experience the same rotational constraints as the internal sensor view, maintaining consistent spatial reference frames throughout the navigation process.
4Loss of information
If a camera is mounted on the sensor tip, then real-time imaging is provided, but the image moves chaotically with sensor movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a virtual camera system as an intermediary that captures images from multiple fixed positions around the sensor. These virtual cameras remain stationary relative to the bronchial tree anatomy, providing stable reference images that do not chaotically move with the sensor's position changes, while still providing real-time imaging information.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of using a single physical camera mounted on the sensor, the patent creates multiple virtual camera copies positioned at different locations around the sensor. These virtual cameras capture images from their fixed positions, providing multiple stable viewing angles that do not chaotically move with the sensor, while still providing comprehensive real-time imaging of the surrounding environment.
Data Source
AI summary
Navigation through a network of body passages, such as through the airways, is improved by a method of displaying information which provides a fly-through visualization of the passageway. As landmarks or waypoints are passed, the view changes to a next segment in a planned pathway to a target. Such a visualization technique avoids tunnel vision, such as that encountered while using real-time endoscopes.