Medical Instrument Stiffness Correction for Vascular Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
During minimally invasive interventional procedures in vascular systems, existing technologies face inaccuracies in navigation due to deformation of vessels by medical instruments with varying stiffness, leading to incongruities in overlay images used for guidance, as they do not accurately account for the instrument's stiffness and resulting vessel deformations.
Innovation Solution
A method that records three-dimensional volume images of the vascular system and two-dimensional projection images, determines stiffness information of medical instruments through segmentation and vessel course analysis, and uses this information to estimate the instrument's position and correct vessel deformations, providing a more accurate anatomical image overlay.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If pre-interventional volume images are used for anatomical overlay, then navigation guidance is provided, but vessel deformation by instruments causes overlay inaccuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by acquiring pre-interventional volume images and registering them to the projection image before the instrument is inserted. This allows the anatomical structure to be documented in its original state, and then the instrument's deformation effect is captured separately during the intervention, enabling correction of the overlay to account for the deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses feedback by capturing the actual deformation caused by the instrument during the intervention and using this information to correct the overlay. The deformation captured during the procedure is fed back into the system to adjust the anatomical overlay, ensuring that the overlay accurately reflects the current state of the vessel despite instrument-induced deformation.
2Ease of operation
If instrument stiffness is not accounted for, then procedure simplicity is maintained, but navigation accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs self-service by automatically determining the instrument's stiffness characteristics through analysis of the projection images and deformation data. The system extracts stiffness information directly from the imaging data without requiring manual input or external measurement devices, enabling the system to self-characterize the instrument's mechanical properties and use this information for accurate overlay correction.
3Loss of time
If single projection image is used, then imaging time is reduced, but depth information and position accuracy are lost
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies dimensionality change by utilizing the temporal dimension - acquiring volume images before the intervention and projection images during the intervention. This temporal sequence provides the additional dimension needed to infer depth information and instrument position in three-dimensional space, compensating for the limitation of single 2D projection images.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems are provided for determining a stiffness information of a medical instrument used during a minimally invasive interventional procedure in a vascular system of a patient by recording a three-dimensional volume image of the vascular system at least in the intervention region.