Cryoablation Machinery Virtual Simulation for Probe Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cryosurgery machinery lacks a precise system for determining the number and positioning of probes, leading to inefficient targeting of diseased tissues and potential damage to healthy tissues due to the unpredictable advancement of the cold front.
Innovation Solution
A machinery equipped with a virtual simulation section that uses 3D imaging and partial differential equations to optimize the placement and number of cryoprobes, allowing for precise simulation of the cold front's advancement and minimizing healthy tissue damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the surgeon determines probe number and positioning based on experience, then the operation can be performed with available equipment, but the precision of targeting diseased tissue and preserving healthy tissue is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary simulation of the cryoablation intervention before the actual surgery. The simulation section virtually inserts probes into a 3D model of the patient's organ, calculates the advancement of the cold front, and determines optimal probe positioning and numbers in advance, allowing the surgeon to plan the intervention with precision before entering the operating room.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy of the patient's organ using 3D medical imaging data (CT or MRI). This digital twin allows the surgeon to simulate probe insertions and cold front advancement in a risk-free virtual environment, accurately predicting the outcome before actual surgery without requiring complex physical prototypes.
2Reliability
If more probes are used to ensure complete coverage of diseased tissue, then cellular death efficacy improves, but the risk of damaging healthy adjacent tissues increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system calculates the cold front advancement for each individual probe based on its specific position, orientation, and insertion depth. By analyzing the local thermal field around each probe and their combined effect, the system determines the precise ablation zone boundary, allowing complete coverage of diseased tissue while identifying and protecting adjacent healthy areas from excessive cold exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
The simulation provides visual feedback showing the predicted cold front advancement and ablation zone boundaries before the actual intervention. The surgeon can adjust probe positioning and numbers based on this feedback, optimizing the balance between complete tumor ablation and healthy tissue preservation iteratively before committing to the actual surgery.
3Measurement precision
If the cold front advancement is not precisely predicted, then the intervention can proceed without complex calculations, but the accuracy of targeting and tissue protection is compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces complex manual calculations and empirical estimates with automated computer-based thermal field simulations. The processing section automatically computes the cold front advancement based on probe positions and thermal diffusion equations, providing precise predictions without requiring the surgeon to perform complex mathematical calculations manually.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a simulation section as an intermediary between the surgical plan and the actual intervention. This virtual simulation layer translates probe positioning plans into predicted thermal outcomes, serving as a mediator that bridges the gap between surgical intent and physical reality, providing accurate cold front prediction without direct complex calculations during the actual surgery.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise targeting of diseased tissues while minimizing healthy tissue damage by allowing surgeons to simulate and optimize probe placement, ensuring effective cellular death with reduced risk to adjacent tissues.
Implementation Method 1
The technique of the cryosurgery has been known and applied for a long time. Its operation is based on the utilization of cold, that is particularly low temperature (approximately -100°C and over), in order to freeze tissues of a predetermined area
Implementation Method 2
Such probes (so-called cryodes) are cooled and remove heat locally, thus causing the freezing of the whole area hit by the advancement of the cold front
Implementation Method 3
Other warm probes (also so-called sentinels) are foreseen for protecting adjacent healthy tissues from cryogenic effects of the cryodes
Data Source
Figure 1~1A
Figure 2~3
Figure 4A
AI summary
The present invention concerns a machinery with closed cycle for interventions of the cryogenic type comprising a section of virtual simulation which foresees: A video device (2) for visualizing at least a tridimensional image (Im) of an organ or part of the body to be undergone to the intervention; A processor (2, 3, 4) programmed for allowing the simulation of the insertion of one or more cold probes (20, 30) and one or more warm probes in the image and for calculating a resulting advancement of the cold front (50) depending on the position of said probes. Said machinery is equipped with highly independent energetic autonomy and an efficient system of fast connections for the insertion of different cryogenic devices (external and internal cryodes, probe/s and cryoballoon).