Magnetic Catheter Navigation with Iterative Error Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current interventional medical systems face inaccuracies in guiding medical devices, such as catheters, to target destinations due to deviations in device properties and anatomical complexities, leading to potential tissue damage and inefficiencies in navigation.
Innovation Solution
A navigation system that uses magnetic fields to orient the catheter tip, iteratively updating the field angle based on error calculations to ensure precise alignment with the target before advancing the device, minimizing tissue damage and improving navigation accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a navigation system guides a catheter to a target destination, then the device can reach the intended target, but inaccuracies in device properties and anatomical complexities cause the device tip to not reach the intended target exactly, requiring steering corrections
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously monitors the actual position and orientation of the catheter tip using imaging systems and compares it with the intended target position. Real-time feedback allows the navigation system to detect deviations and compute correction angles, iteratively updating the guidance parameters to ensure accurate target delivery despite device inaccuracies and anatomical variations
Solution Approach 2:
Before final advancement to the target, the system performs preliminary orientation alignment by calculating and applying correction angles to the catheter. This preliminary action ensures the catheter is properly oriented toward the target before the final advancement, preventing missed deliveries and reducing the need for trial-and-error maneuvers
2Manufacturing precision
If steering corrections are applied to reorient the device, then the device can reach the intended target, but the process becomes more complex and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces manual trial-and-error steering with an automated computational navigation system that calculates optimal correction angles based on real-time imaging data. This substitution of mechanical manipulation with computational guidance simplifies the navigation process while maintaining high precision in device orientation
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation system dynamically adjusts guidance parameters based on real-time feedback about catheter position and orientation. The system continuously updates correction angles and advancement parameters, adapting to changing anatomical conditions and device responses, thereby managing complexity through adaptive, real-time control rather than rigid pre-planned maneuvers
3Productivity
If the catheter is advanced without verification of accurate guidance, then the procedure is faster, but tissue damage may occur due to inaccurate target delivery
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates real-time imaging feedback to verify catheter tip position and orientation before final advancement to the target. This verification step ensures accurate target delivery, preventing tissue damage from misplaced interventions while maintaining procedural efficiency through automated guidance and correction
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary orientation alignment and verification before final catheter advancement to the target destination. This preliminary action confirms the catheter is correctly positioned and oriented, preventing tissue damage from inaccurate delivery while allowing the procedure to proceed efficiently once verification is complete
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
The system enables accurate and efficient navigation of medical devices to target destinations with reduced trial and error, minimizing tissue damage and enhancing precision in interventional procedures.
Implementation Method 1
The magnetic navigation system orients the distal end of a medical device in a selected direction through the interaction of magnetic fields associated with the medical device and one or more external source magnets outside the patient's body
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a means for guiding a medical device within the body to approach a target destination. The system and method provide a means for determining a predicted length and orientation, navigating the device to an intermediate point less than the predicted length, determining an error between the projected destination and actual target destination, and successively updating a predicted value of a control variable to yield an orientation within a predetermined distance error before advancing the device the remaining distance to the destination. This provides a physician with the capability of verifying the device will be accurately guided to the target destination without trial and error. A method is also provided for intuitive navigation to targets with limited trial and error based on user-applied device orientation adjustments, where the user chooses the magnitude of the adjustments and the system determines the adjustment direction.