DTI Fiber Bundle Visualization with 3D Models in Augmented Reality
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical imaging technologies struggle to effectively identify and visualize regions of interest, such as fiber bundles in the brain, during surgical procedures, limiting the precision and efficiency of surgeries like brain surgery.
Innovation Solution
A system that merges diffusion tensor image (DTI) data with a three-dimensional medical model to create a merged three-dimensional image, allowing for the identification and highlighting of fiber bundles as a region of interest using a virtual instrument, enabling precise visualization in an augmented reality environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional medical imaging technologies are used, then the imaging process is simple, but the ability to identify and visualize regions of interest such as fiber bundles is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges DTI data with three-dimensional medical models to create a unified augmented reality visualization system. This combination integrates diffusion tensor imaging information about fiber bundles with anatomical models, enabling precise identification and visualization of regions of interest while maintaining system manageability through integrated processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from traditional two-dimensional medical imaging to three-dimensional augmented reality visualization. By rendering fiber bundles and anatomical structures in 3D space with spatial overlays, the system enhances the identification precision of fiber bundles by adding depth and spatial context to the imaging dimension.
2Loss of information
If DTI data is merged with three-dimensional medical models, then the visualization precision of fiber bundles is improved, but the processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex DTI data processing by identifying and extracting specific regions of interest (fiber bundles) from the broader anatomical dataset. This segmentation allows the system to process and visualize only the relevant fiber bundle information within the three-dimensional model, reducing the overall processing complexity while maintaining information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an augmented reality rendering system as an intermediary between raw DTI data and final visualization. This intermediary layer processes the complex data by overlaying fiber bundle information onto three-dimensional anatomical models, managing the complexity of data integration while preserving complete anatomical information.
3Manufacturing precision
If virtual instruments are used to identify regions of interest, then the surgical precision is enhanced, but the operational complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual copies of surgical instruments that can interact with the augmented reality visualization of fiber bundles and anatomical structures. These virtual instruments allow surgeons to plan and simulate procedures with high precision before actual surgery, enhancing surgical precision while maintaining operational simplicity through intuitive virtual interaction.
Data Source
AI summary
An example operation includes merging diffusion tensor image (DTI) data associated with a scan of a patient body with a three-dimensional medical model to create a merged three-dimensional image in a three-dimensional coordinate space, identifying fibers of selected portions of the merged three-dimensional image associated with a region of interest defined by a virtual area selection performed by a physical instrument, highlighting the fibers as a fiber bundle, and displaying the highlighted fiber bundle as a colorized subset of the merged three-dimensional image.