Steerable Medical Instrument Shape Sensor Registration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional instrument tracking and referencing systems for image-guided procedures often disturb the clinical environment and workflow, particularly when using patient pads for pre-operative and operative imaging.
Innovation Solution
A medical device with a steerable distal end and shape sensor, coupled with processors that detect data collection events and capture points along its length, allowing for registration of passageway locations without disrupting the surgical environment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional instrument tracking and referencing systems use patient pads for pre-operative and operative imaging, then registration accuracy is improved, but clinical environment disturbance increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the registration function from the traditional patient pad-based system and relocates it to the medical instrument itself. The instrument incorporates sensors and tracking capabilities directly, eliminating the need for external patient pads that disturb the clinical environment. This allows registration to be performed using the instrument's own position and orientation data relative to pre-operative images.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a coordinate transformation system as an intermediary between the instrument's local coordinate system and the patient's anatomical coordinate system. This mediator enables accurate registration without requiring physical contact between tracking devices and the patient, thus avoiding clinical environment disturbance while maintaining measurement precision.
2Measurement precision
If traditional tracking systems are implemented, then instrument location correlation with images is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the tracking functionality with the medical instrument by integrating sensors and position detection capabilities directly into the instrument structure. This combination eliminates the need for separate, complex tracking systems and patient pads, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining the ability to correlate instrument location with pre-operative images.
Solution Approach 2:
The medical instrument is designed with multi-functionality, serving both its primary medical function and the secondary function of tracking and registration. This universal design eliminates the need for dedicated tracking devices, simplifying the overall system while achieving accurate instrument location correlation with imaging data.
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods for supporting image-guided procedures include an elongate device including a steerable distal end and a shape sensor located along a length of the elongate device and one or more processors coupled to the elongate device. While the elongate device is being traversed through one or more passageways of a patient, the one or more processors are configured to detect a data collection event, and capture, in response to detecting the data collection event, a plurality of points along the length of the elongate device using the shape sensor. In some embodiments, an insertion depth of the elongate device is monitored. In some embodiments, the data collection event is detected when the insertion depth is beyond a threshold insertion depth, no change of the insertion depth is detected for longer than a threshold period of time, or the insertion depth is beyond a threshold retraction distance.