Coronary Roadmapping via Motion-Compensated Vessel Overlay

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Solution Overview

Problem

The challenge in medical procedures like PCI is accurately overlaying a medical scan image without contrast agent with a blood vessel map due to movements of the medical device and blood vessels, leading to positional inaccuracy, especially when the contrast agent wears off quickly.

Innovation Solution

A system utilizing machine-learning models to detect landmarks and compensate for motion, enabling accurate overlay of medical scan images with blood vessel maps by matching physiological phases and scanner views, even without contrast agent.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Illumination intensity

If contrast agent is used to visualize blood vessels, then visualization quality is improved, but patient safety deteriorates due to potential harm

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvevisualization qualityVSAvoidpatient safety

Core Design Contradiction:

Illumination intensityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary actions by capturing and storing a sequence of medical scan images with contrast agent before the contrast wears off. These pre-captured images serve as reference data that can be overlaid later when contrast is no longer visible, eliminating the need for continuous contrast administration and reducing patient exposure to harmful substances.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a copy of the blood vessel appearance from the contrast-enhanced scan images and overlays it onto subsequent non-contrast images. This copying approach allows the blood vessel map to be visualized without requiring the original contrast agent to be present, thereby maintaining visualization quality while minimizing harmful exposure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #26Copying

2Object-affected harmful factors

If contrast agent is administered for short period to minimize harm, then patient safety is improved, but visualization duration deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepatient safetyVSAvoidvisualization duration

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDuration of action of moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system ensures continuity of useful action by continuously overlaying the pre-captured blood vessel map onto the live non-contrast scan images. This allows the visualization of blood vessels to continue throughout the entire procedure without requiring the contrast agent to remain active, effectively extending the visualization duration while maintaining patient safety.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #20Continuity of useful action

3Device complexity

If medical scan images are overlaid without motion compensation, then system complexity is reduced, but overlay accuracy deteriorates due to device and vessel movement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesystem complexityVSAvoidoverlay accuracy

Core Design Contradiction:

Device complexityVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by detecting landmarks of the medical device in both the reference scan image and the current non-contrast scan image, comparing their positions, and using this information to calculate and apply motion compensation. This feedback loop ensures that the blood vessel map remains accurately aligned with the current anatomical structures despite movements of the medical device or patient.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system replaces complex mechanical motion tracking systems with a computational approach using machine learning models to detect landmarks and algorithms to calculate motion compensation. This substitution achieves high overlay accuracy through software-based motion correction rather than requiring complex mechanical tracking hardware.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

4Measurement precision

If landmark detection and motion compensation are implemented, then overlay accuracy is improved, but computational requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveoverlay accuracyVSAvoidcomputational requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The system extracts only the essential information needed for motion compensation by detecting specific landmarks of the medical device rather than processing entire images. This extraction approach focuses computational resources on identifying key reference points, significantly reducing the computational burden while maintaining high overlay accuracy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS20250227280A1Systems and methods for coronary roadmapping

Publication Date: 2025.07.10 SHANGHAI UNITED IMAGING INTELLIGENCE CO LTD

AI summary

A method for coronary road mapping may include receiving a current image associated with a medical scan, determining an image that matches the current image from a sequence of images for which respective blood vessel maps have been determined, and overlaying the current image with the blood vessel map associated with the matching image. The sequence of images may be captured when a contrast agent was present, and the matching image may be identified in response to determining that the physiological phase (e.g., cardiac cycle) and/or view depicted by the image match those depicted by the current image. Motion compensation may be performed as part of the blood vessel overlay, which may enable better visualization of blood vessels and medical device(s) (e.g., a catheter) placed in the blood vessels even when the contrast agent is worn out.