Endoscope Navigation via CT-MRI Overlay
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for minimally invasive surgery, such as thoracoscopic spine surgery, face challenges in accurately navigating endoscopes and surgical instruments due to limited visual feedback and difficulty in judging depth, as existing augmented reality solutions do not effectively combine three-dimensional anatomical images with real-time endoscopic views.
Innovation Solution
A system that combines three-dimensional data from CT or MRI scans with real-time endoscopic views, allowing surgeons to select and overlay various perspectives, including global and local views, to enhance navigation and positioning of instruments within anatomical structures, using tracking systems for precise instrument location and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If visual feedback is obtained via endoscope alone, then the surgical procedure can be performed with simple equipment, but the accuracy of instrument positioning and depth judgment is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines endoscopic images with pre-operative CT or MRI images to create a composite visualization system. The endoscope provides real-time local views while the medical images provide three-dimensional anatomical context, merging both data sources to improve instrument positioning accuracy and depth judgment without requiring entirely new equipment
Solution Approach 2:
The patent overlays two-dimensional endoscopic images with three-dimensional reconstructed anatomical models from CT or MRI scans. This dimensionality enhancement allows surgeons to visualize depth and spatial relationships that are not apparent in standard endoscopic views, improving positioning accuracy while building upon existing imaging technologies
2Loss of information
If virtual images from CT/MRI are mapped to actual patient images, then three-dimensional anatomical context is provided, but real-time endoscopic feedback is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges pre-operative medical images showing three-dimensional anatomical structures with real-time endoscopic images showing the actual surgical field. This combination preserves both the anatomical context from CT/MRI and the real-time feedback from the endoscope, allowing surgeons to navigate accurately while maintaining situational awareness
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a computer-based image processing system as an intermediary to register and overlay the pre-operative medical images with real-time endoscopic images. This intermediary technology enables the integration of both information sources without requiring direct modification of the endoscope or medical imaging equipment, maintaining ease of operation while providing comprehensive visualization
3Manufacturing precision
If endoscope field of view is limited to provide detailed local views, then surgical precision at the target site is improved, but the ability to judge depth and spatial orientation is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enhances the limited two-dimensional endoscopic field of view by overlaying three-dimensional anatomical models from CT or MRI scans. This provides depth perception and spatial orientation information that is not available in standard endoscopic views, allowing surgeons to maintain precise localization while judging depth and spatial relationships
Solution Approach 2:
The visualization system segments information by providing separate but complementary views: the endoscopic image shows the immediate surgical field with high detail, while the overlaid medical images show the broader three-dimensional anatomical context. This segmentation allows surgeons to access both detailed local views and global spatial information as needed
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for presenting three-dimensional data to a physician is provided to facilitate the flexible navigation of an endoscope and surgical instruments with respect to anatomical structures. In accordance with a first embodiment a first set of data corresponding to a three dimensional model of a patient's anatomy is received. This three-dimensional model may be rendered from images taken in CT or MRI scanning, as discussed above. In accordance with this embodiment, this model is then combined with a second set of data corresponding to a view obtained from an endoscope. In another embodiment, the view from the illustrative endoscope is displayed as an inset image on the display of the three-dimensional image. In yet another embodiment, the three-dimensional image comprises a graphical representation of at least a first surgical instrument, such as said endoscope. The surgeon may select among various combinations of views and may zoom in or out from any particular view.