Extraluminal Imaging Overlay for Accurate Intravascular Therapy Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Intravascular therapies, such as stent deployment and balloon angioplasty, are often inaccurately targeted due to the lack of visibility of blood vessels and lesions in x-ray images without contrast agents, leading to incomplete treatment and potential harm to healthy tissue.
Innovation Solution
A graphical representation of the therapy region is overlaid on an x-ray image stream, allowing real-time alignment of the intravascular device with the therapy region, indicated by modifications in the screen display.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If x-ray imaging is used to determine the position of intravascular devices, then real-time imaging capability is provided, but the blood vessel and lesion site are not visible without contrast agent, leading to inaccurate targeting
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines extraluminal imaging data (CT or MRI scans showing the blood vessel and lesion) with intraluminal fluoroscopic imaging data. The extraluminal images provide anatomical context and lesion location, while the fluoroscopic images provide real-time device positioning. By merging these two datasets and overlaying them on a single display, the system enables accurate targeting of the lesion site in real-time during intravascular procedures.
2Productivity
If intravascular therapy is applied outside the therapy region, then the procedure can be completed, but the lesion is not properly treated and healthy tissue may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides continuous feedback to the operator by displaying the intravascular device's position relative to the pre-acquired extraluminal images of the blood vessel and lesion. The overlay shows whether the device is correctly positioned at the therapy region, allowing the operator to adjust the device location in real-time. This feedback mechanism ensures that therapy is applied only when properly positioned, preventing treatment of healthy tissue and ensuring complete lesion treatment.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If contrast agent is used to make blood vessels visible in x-ray images, then vessel visibility is improved, but the procedure complexity and patient exposure increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the imaging task into two separate segments: extraluminal imaging (CT or MRI) performed before the procedure to map the blood vessel and lesion location, and intraluminal fluoroscopic imaging performed during the procedure to track device position. By segmenting the imaging functions, the system achieves vessel and lesion visibility without requiring contrast agents during the intervention, simplifying the procedure while maintaining detection capability.
Data Source
AI summary
An intravascular therapy guidance system includes a processor circuit in communication with an extravascular imaging device. The processor circuit receives, from the extravascular imaging device, an extravascular image stream. The processor circuit determines a therapy region of a blood vessel in the extravascular image stream and outputs a screen display to a display in communication with processor circuit. The screen display includes the extravascular image stream of the blood vessel including movement of an intravascular therapy device within the blood vessel to deliver an intravascular therapy to the therapy region and a graphical representation of the therapy region overlaid on the extravascular image stream. The processor circuit determines, based on the extravascular image stream, whether the intravascular therapy device is aligned relative to the therapy region to deliver the intravascular therapy and modifies the screen display to indicate whether the intravascular therapy device is aligned to deliver the intravascular therapy.