MRI Micro-coil Integrated Surgical Guidance System
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current minimally invasive surgical procedures, particularly deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgeries, face challenges with accuracy and efficiency due to limited real-time imaging capabilities and incompatibility with soft tissue imaging, leading to inefficiency and inaccuracy in electrode placement and prolonged operating room times.
Innovation Solution
An integrated system utilizing MRI micro-coils with surgical tools for intraoperative guidance, combining improved surgical planning software, diffusion tensor imaging, and robotics to provide real-time, high-definition MRI images for enhanced planning, guidance, and navigation during DBS procedures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If navigation techniques based on previously acquired scans are used, then the procedure can be performed with standard equipment, but the accuracy of electrode placement deteriorates and repositioning is required
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by acquiring high-resolution MRI images and creating 3D models of the patient's anatomy before the surgical procedure. This pre-planning phase includes identifying precise target locations and planning optimal electrode trajectories, which are then used to guide the actual surgery with improved accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical navigation systems based on pre-acquired scans with an MRI-guided system that uses magnetic resonance imaging for real-time visualization. This substitution enables direct visualization of soft tissue structures and electrode positions without relying on indirect mechanical navigation methods.
2Reliability
If additional imaging modalities like O-arm and CT are used to validate instrument location, then validation capability is improved, but the system complexity and procedure time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple imaging and navigation functions into a single integrated MRI-guided system. The MRI scanner serves multiple purposes: visualizing soft tissue anatomy, tracking instrument positions, and validating electrode placement. This consolidation eliminates the need for separate O-arm and CT imaging devices, reducing overall system complexity while maintaining validation reliability.
3Ease of operation
If X-ray imaging with robotics is used, then surgical navigation is improved, but the ability to image soft tissue is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces X-ray imaging with MRI imaging for surgical navigation. MRI provides superior soft tissue contrast and visualization capabilities compared to X-ray, enabling direct visualization of brain structures, white matter tracts, and other soft tissue anatomy that are critical for accurate DBS electrode placement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses MRI imaging as an intermediary to bridge the gap between surgical navigation requirements and soft tissue visualization needs. The MRI scanner acts as a mediator that provides both navigational guidance and detailed soft tissue anatomy information, eliminating the trade-off present in X-ray-based systems.
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
This solution improves the accuracy and efficiency of DBS procedures by enabling real-time, high-definition imaging and precise electrode placement, reducing the need for repositioning and shortening operating room times, while addressing the limitations of existing technologies in soft tissue imaging.
Implementation Method 1
The integrated system utilizes MRI micro-coils with surgical tools for intraoperative guidance, combining improved surgical planning software, diffusion tensor imaging, and robotics to provide real-time, high-definition MRI images
Data Source
AI summary
A system and methods for supporting minimally invasive surgery, involving a control module configurable to: receive an initial MRI image from an MRI imaging device; transmit the initial MRI image to a planning module configured to determine a surgical plan; receive the surgical plan from the planning module; transmit the surgical plan to a guidance module configured to operate with a medical instrument and the MRI imaging device, the medical instrument configured to couple with an MRI micro-coil, and the MRI imaging device configured to operate with the MRI micro-coil; and receive, in real-time, a subsequent MRI image from the MRI imaging device operating with the MRI micro-coil during guidance of the medical instrument.