Automatic MR Slice Tracking via X-Ray Instrument Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current magnetic resonance imaging techniques require manual tracking of sectional slices during interventional procedures, which is time-consuming and burdensome, especially when visualizing medical instruments like catheters, as they can move out of the recorded slice plane.
Innovation Solution
A method using a combined magnetic resonance and X-ray device with mechanically coupled coordinate systems allows for automatic tracking of two-dimensional image data by determining object information from X-ray images and using it to control the magnetic resonance device, enabling precise and rapid adjustment of the imaging plane.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual tracking of sectional slices is used during interventional procedures, then the user can monitor the position of medical instruments, but the process becomes time-consuming and burdensome
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically tracks the medical instrument by detecting its position in continuous X-ray images and updating the MR imaging plane accordingly, eliminating the need for manual intervention. The computer executes algorithms that autonomously determine instrument position and adjust imaging parameters, allowing the system to serve itself without user burden while maintaining accurate tracking
Solution Approach 2:
The manual mechanical adjustment of imaging planes is replaced by an automated computational system. The computer processes X-ray image data, determines instrument position through image processing, and automatically adjusts MR imaging parameters, substituting manual mechanical operations with electronic and computational mechanisms to reduce time loss
2Productivity
If two-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging is used to achieve high repetition rates, then imaging speed increases, but the relevant area of medical instruments can leave the currently recorded slice
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously captures X-ray images at high frame rates, processes them to determine current instrument position, and uses this feedback information to dynamically adjust the MR imaging plane. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures the imaging plane remains aligned with the instrument position even during rapid movements, maintaining tracking precision while enabling high productivity through rapid sequential imaging
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous tracking by repeatedly capturing X-ray images and continuously updating the MR imaging plane position based on detected instrument location. This uninterrupted continuous action ensures the imaging plane consistently follows the instrument throughout the procedure, preventing loss of the relevant area while sustaining high imaging repetition rates
3Loss of information
If volume imaging is used instead of slice imaging, then more comprehensive data is obtained, but the visualization still requires manual tracking of the displayed sectional plane
Solution Approach 1:
The system automatically determines the optimal sectional plane from the acquired volume data by detecting the medical instrument position in X-ray images and calculating the corresponding slice orientation and position. The computer autonomously processes the three-dimensional volume data to generate and display relevant two-dimensional sectional views, eliminating manual tracking requirements while preserving complete volumetric information
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms the three-dimensional volume imaging data into optimally oriented two-dimensional sectional views based on the detected instrument position and orientation. By converting spatial coordinates from the volume data to the appropriate slice plane coordinates, the system presents comprehensive three-dimensional information in an optimized two-dimensional format that automatically follows the instrument without requiring manual intervention
Data Source
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AI summary
Method for determining two-dimensional image data of at least one cross-sectional area (5) of a capture volume, within the framework of magnetic resonance imaging by a combined magnetic resonance and X-ray device (9), which comprises a magnetic resonance device and an X-ray device, the coordinate systems of which are used for imaging and are registered to each other by a mechanical coupling of the X-ray device with the magnetic resonance device, comprising the steps carried out by a control device (12): - controlling the X-ray device to capture at least one X-ray image (1) that at least partially depicts an object (2), in particular a medical instrument, - determining at least one object information relating to a position and/or an orientation and/or at least one feature of the object (2) by image processing of the X-ray image (1), - determining at least one cross-sectional area parameter,which specifies an arrangement of the cut surface (5) in the acquisition volume, depending on the object information, - controlling the magnetic resonance device to acquire measurement data relating to the cut surface (5), and - calculating the two-dimensional image data from the measurement data, wherein the controlling of the magnetic resonance device and/or the calculation of the two-dimensional image data is dependent on the cut surface parameter.