Lumen Positioning System Using Pre-Acquired Roadmap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for guiding medical devices, such as stents, within body lumens during minimally invasive procedures often require repeated radiation and contrast agent injection, which can be harmful and inefficient, especially when navigating through dynamic structures like blood vessels affected by cardiac or respiratory movements.
Innovation Solution
A system that graphically designates the target position within a lumen and uses a medical positioning system to track the device's position in real-time, allowing for manual or automated guidance without the need for continuous radiation or contrast agent, by superimposing the device's position on pre-recorded or live images synchronized with organ timing signals to account for vessel movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If repeated radiation and contrast agent injection are used to guide medical devices, then real-time positioning accuracy is improved, but patient harm and procedural inefficiency increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by acquiring a pre-operative roadmap image of the lumen system before the procedure, and marking the target position in advance on this image. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for repeated real-time radiation imaging during device navigation, as the pre-acquired image serves as a reference guide throughout the procedure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a roadmap image (a copy or representation of the lumen system anatomy) as a reference guide instead of relying on repeated direct radiation imaging. The medical device position is displayed as an indicator on this copied image, allowing operators to track device location without exposing the patient to repeated radiation doses.
2Measurement precision
If real-time radiation imaging is used to track device position, then device location accuracy is improved, but radiation exposure and procedural time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary imaging to create a roadmap before the procedure begins. This pre-acquired roadmap serves as the reference for the entire procedure, eliminating the need for repeated real-time imaging and thereby reducing procedural time while maintaining device location accuracy through the pre-established anatomical reference.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements periodic action by acquiring the roadmap image at specific intervals (pre-operatively and potentially at key procedural milestones) rather than continuously. This periodic imaging approach reduces cumulative radiation exposure and procedural time while maintaining sufficient positioning accuracy through the use of the acquired roadmap as a persistent reference.
3Loss of information
If traditional marker bands are used for catheter navigation, then device visibility is improved, but positioning precision and automation capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical radio-opaque marker band system with an electronic/ computational system. Instead of relying on physical markers visible in radiation images, the system uses a processor to generate visual indicators showing the relationship between the medical device and the roadmap image, thereby eliminating the need for repeated radiation imaging while improving positioning precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary computational system that processes information about device position and the roadmap image to generate visual indicators. This intermediary layer translates physical device position into informative visual representations, enabling precise positioning assessment without direct radiation imaging and facilitating automated guidance capabilities.
Data Source
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AI summary
Method and system for determining the location of a selected position within a lumen. The method comprises the procedures of registering a three-dimensional coordinate system with a two-dimensional coordinate system, the three-dimensional coordinate system being associated with a medical positioning system (MPS), said two-dimensional coordinate system being associated with a two-dimensional image acquisition device; selecting at least one point corresponding to said selected position on a first two-dimensional image of said lumen, and selecting at least another point, corresponding to said selected position on at least a second two-dimensional image, the respective viewing directions of said first two dimensional image and said at least second two-dimensional image are different from each other, each of said first and said at least second two-dimensional images is associated with a respective image plane in said three-dimensional coordinate system, each of said at least one point and said at least other point is associated with a respective location in the respective image plane associated with the respective image on which said at least one point and said at least another point were selected; determining the location of said selected position in said three-dimensional coordinate system according to the respective locations of said at least one point and said at least another point on the respective image planes thereof and according to said viewing directions of said first and said at least second two-dimensional images.