Multi-User Touch Interface for Robotic Catheter Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current robotic catheter systems have limited user input options and precision, hindering efficient and precise control during medical procedures, particularly in electrophysiology procedures for conditions like atrial arrhythmia.
Innovation Solution
A multi-user touch-based input interface system that includes an electronic control unit, computer-readable memory, and user interface logic to interpret touch inputs on a graphical display, allowing for simultaneous inputs from multiple users and associating user types with specific permissions to control medical devices, enhancing speed and precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional input devices (mouse, keyboard, joystick) are used for robotic catheter systems, then the system structure remains simple, but the speed and precision of user input are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical input devices (mouse, keyboard, joystick) with a touch screen interface that allows direct tactile interaction with the graphical display. This substitution enables more precise input through multi-touch gestures while maintaining system simplicity through software-based control mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The touch screen interface creates a visual copy of the catheter and anatomical structures on the display, allowing users to interact directly with the graphical representation. This copying approach enables intuitive control where touch positions directly correspond to catheter positions in the visual field, improving precision without adding mechanical complexity.
2Productivity
If single-user control is implemented, then the interface design is simple, but the productivity and efficiency of complex procedures are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the touch screen interface into multiple independent input zones, each assignable to different users. This segmentation allows simultaneous multi-user interaction without conflict, as each user can control specific regions or functions independently, thereby improving procedure efficiency while managing control complexity through spatial organization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds the dimension of spatial location on the touch screen as a new degree of freedom for user assignment. By associating specific screen regions with specific users, the system enables multiple users to operate simultaneously without direct conflict, enhancing productivity while maintaining manageable system complexity through dimensional separation.
3Ease of operation
If touch screen interface is implemented, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability of control may be compromised due to simultaneous multi-user inputs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback mechanisms that provide real-time information about which user is controlling which function and what actions are being executed. This feedback allows users to monitor and adjust their inputs, preventing conflicting commands while maintaining the ease of touch-based operation. The system responds to multi-user inputs with appropriate feedback signals that enhance control reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic user assignment where control rights can be temporarily transferred or shared between users based on procedural needs. This dynamic approach allows the system to adapt to changing requirements during procedures, maintaining ease of operation while ensuring reliability by assigning control authority appropriately at each moment.
Data Source
AI summary
A control system for a medical remote catheter guidance system includes an ECU, a computer-readable memory coupled to the ECU, and user interface (UI) logic stored in the memory configured to be executed by the ECU. The user interface logic receives input from a touch screen display with respect to a view of an anatomical model, associates a user type with the input, and interprets the input according to the associated user type and input. The user interface logic may be further configured to receive simultaneous inputs from at least two different users and to associate different user types with each of said simultaneous inputs. The user interface logic may associate each input with a user type according to a location of the input on the touch screen display.