Robotic Catheter Tracking with Dynamic Collimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current x-ray systems used for tracking catheter movement during interventional procedures require irradiating a large area to ensure accurate tracking, leading to a high radiation dose for both patients and staff, and struggle to reacquire the catheter's location when the x-ray source is switched off.
Innovation Solution
An interventional system that includes a moving unit providing movement parameters to a tracking image generating unit, allowing the controller to accurately control the radiation beam to traverse only the region where the catheter is located, using a robotic system to move the catheter and an x-ray C-arm unit to generate tracking images, with a collimator adjusted based on movement speed and response time to minimize the irradiated area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a large area is irradiated to ensure accurate tracking of the catheter, then the tracking reliability is improved, but the radiation dose increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses movement parameters from the robotic unit to predict the catheter's future position before the x-ray image is acquired. This preliminary action allows the collimator to be pre-positioned to track the catheter accurately without irradiating a large area, resolving the contradiction between tracking reliability and radiation dose.
Solution Approach 2:
The collimator is made dynamically adjustable based on real-time movement parameters of the catheter. The system continuously updates the collimator position and field of view to follow the catheter's motion, maintaining tracking reliability while minimizing the irradiated area at each moment, thus reducing radiation dose.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the x-ray source is switched off to reduce radiation exposure, then the radiation dose is reduced, but the ability to track the catheter location is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces movement parameters from the robotic unit as an intermediary to bridge the gap between x-ray source off periods and catheter location tracking. These parameters provide continuous information about catheter position even when the x-ray source is off, allowing the system to maintain tracking capability while reducing radiation exposure.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of continuously acquiring x-ray images, the system uses movement parameters to create a virtual copy or prediction of the catheter's position during x-ray source off periods. This allows the tracking function to continue without the harmful radiation exposure of continuous imaging.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the collimator is adjusted to minimize the irradiated area, then the radiation dose is reduced, but the risk of missing the catheter increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from movement parameters to continuously adjust the collimator position and field of view. This feedback mechanism ensures that the minimized radiation field remains accurately centered on the catheter, maintaining capture reliability while keeping the irradiated area small to reduce radiation dose.
Solution Approach 2:
The collimator is pre-positioned using movement parameters before the x-ray exposure occurs. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the x-ray source is activated, the catheter is already within the minimized radiation field, capturing it reliably without requiring a large irradiated area.
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 approach reduces the radiation dose by ensuring precise tracking of the catheter movement with a smaller irradiated area, maintaining accurate image capture even when the x-ray source is switched off, thereby minimizing exposure.
Implementation Method 1
the tracking image generating unit comprises a radiation source for emitting a radiation beam for traversing the object, a radiation detector for detecting the radiation beam after having traversed the object
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an interventional system comprising an introduction element like a catheter for being introduced into an object, for instance, a person. A moving unit like a robot moves the introduction element within the object, wherein a tracking image generating unit generates tracking images of the introduction element within the object and wherein a controller controls the tracking image generating unit depending on movement parameters of the moving unit, which are indicative of the movement, such that the tracking images show the introduction element. This control can be performed very accurately based on the known real physical movement of the introduction element such that it is not necessary to, for instance, irradiate a relatively large area of the object for ensuring that the introduction element is really captured by the tracking images, thereby allowing for a reduced radiation dose applied to the object.