Pre-injection Pressure Prediction for Diagnostic Injections

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Solution Overview

Problem

In diagnostic injection procedures like CT Angiography, high flow rates are often required to achieve high-quality images, but these can exceed programmed pressure limits, leading to flow rate reductions that result in suboptimal or unusable images due to changes in contrast bolus length, without allowing adjustment of injection duration or scan timing.

Innovation Solution

A fluid injection apparatus with a pressurizing system, control system, and predictive model that inputs initial injection protocols to forecast pressure thresholds based on flow rate, catheter characteristics, and fluid viscosity, allowing operators to adjust parameters like flow rate, catheter size, or fluid viscosity to prevent pressure limit exceedance before the procedure.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If high flow rates are used in diagnostic injection procedures, then image quality is improved, but pressure limits are exceeded causing flow rate reduction and suboptimal images

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage qualityVSAvoidpressure limit
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSStress or pressure

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs a preliminary pressure prediction calculation before the actual injection procedure using a pre-injection pressure prediction model. This model takes into account the injection protocol parameters, catheter characteristics, and fluid properties to forecast the pressure that will be reached during injection. By knowing the predicted pressure in advance, the system can alert the operator or automatically adjust the injection protocol to prevent exceeding pressure limits, thereby maintaining both image quality and safety.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Stress or pressure

If pressure control algorithms dynamically reduce flow rate when pressure limit is reached, then pressure limit is not exceeded, but contrast bolus length changes resulting in suboptimal or unusable diagnostic images

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepressure limit complianceVSAvoiddiagnostic image quality
Core Design Contradiction:
Stress or pressureVSMeasurement precision

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary pressure prediction before injection to identify protocols that would exceed pressure limits. This allows the operator to select alternative protocols or adjust parameters in advance, avoiding the need for mid-injection flow rate reductions that would compromise image quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system provides feedback to the operator about the predicted pressure outcome of the selected injection protocol. This feedback loop enables the operator to make informed decisions about protocol selection and parameter adjustment before the injection begins, ensuring both pressure compliance and optimal image quality.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Stress or pressure

If mid-injection flow rate reduction is implemented to solve pressure limit exceedance, then pressure limit is respected, but injection duration and scan timing cannot be readjusted resulting in suboptimal images

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvepressure limit adherenceVSAvoidinjection protocol flexibility
Core Design Contradiction:
Stress or pressureVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs pressure prediction and protocol optimization before the injection begins. This allows complete adjustment of injection duration, flow rate, and scan timing parameters in advance, providing full protocol flexibility while ensuring pressure limits will not be exceeded during the actual injection.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP3685749B1System and methods for pre-injection pressure prediction in injection procedures
Publication Date: 2022.01.05 BAYER HEALTHCARE LLC
  • EP3685749B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2A
  • EP3685749B1 patent drawingFigure 2B
  • EP3685749B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A method of predicting peak pressure within a fluid path, which includes a tubing set and a catheter into which at least one fluid is introduced under pressure by a pressurizing system of a fluid injection apparatus, includes (a) inputting an initial injection protocol into the fluid injection apparatus according to which the at least one fluid is intended to be introduced into the fluid path; (b) predicting an expected peak pressure level that would result in the fluid path if the initial injection protocol were to be used as intended to introduce the at least one fluid into the fluid path. The expected peak pressure level is determined before commencement of the initial injection protocol according to at least one model on the basis of a flow rate of the at least one fluid, at least one catheter characteristic, and a viscosity of the at least one fluid. The at least one model is determined experimentally for a plurality of fluids of different viscosities, for a plurality of catheters of different catheter characteristics, and for at least one tubing set of like kind to the tubing set of the fluid path.