Tissue Marker Segmentation for Stable Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current tissue markers, such as metal clips, face issues like migration, limited size and shape due to delivery constraints, and limited visualization across imaging modalities, which can hinder accurate re-identification and treatment in medical procedures.
Innovation Solution
Development of tissue markers with a body and elongate members that include remotely visible materials, allowing for a larger profile in a smaller delivery configuration, which expands post-deployment and includes bioabsorbable materials for biocompatibility and visibility across multiple imaging modalities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a metal clip is used as a tissue marker, then the marker can be visualized by X-ray, but the marker may migrate from the correct position
Solution Approach 1:
The marker is divided into a body portion and multiple elongate members (legs) that can be independently positioned. The elongate members are detachably coupled to the body, allowing them to be configured in different arrangements to engage with tissue structures, thereby preventing migration while maintaining visualization capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The marker transitions from a static structure to a dynamic configuration where elongate members can be positioned and secured in specific orientations. This dynamic positioning allows the marker to adapt to tissue movement and compression forces, maintaining stability and preventing migration while remaining visible.
2Loss of information
If the marker size is increased for better visualization, then the marker becomes more visible, but the marker cannot be delivered through the biopsy needle
Solution Approach 1:
The elongate members are nested within or alongside the body portion during delivery, allowing the entire marker assembly to pass through the biopsy needle. After delivery, the elongate members are deployed from the body to create a larger visible profile. This nesting approach enables both small delivery footprint and large visualization profile.
Solution Approach 2:
The marker utilizes three-dimensional configuration where elongate members extend from the body in multiple directions. This dimensional expansion allows the marker to achieve a larger effective size for visualization while maintaining a compact delivery profile, as the elongate members can be collapsed or retracted during insertion.
3Loss of information
If the marker is made larger to improve visualization, then the marker is more visible, but the marker may float within a hematoma
Solution Approach 1:
Different portions of the marker have different properties: the body portion provides a stable anchor point, while the elongate members can be configured to engage with specific tissue structures. This local differentiation allows the marker to maintain stability through tissue engagement while preserving visibility through its extended configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The elongate members are pre-configured to be detachably coupled to the body, allowing them to be positioned and secured in tissue structures before the biopsy procedure completes. This preliminary positioning prevents the marker from floating within a hematoma by establishing secure engagement points in the tissue architecture.
4Ease of manufacture
If a single imaging modality is used for marker visualization, then the imaging process is simple, but the marker cannot be visualized across multiple modalities
Solution Approach 1:
The marker is designed with materials and configurations that enable visualization across multiple imaging modalities. The body and elongate members can be constructed from materials that provide contrast for X-ray, ultrasound, or other imaging techniques, making the marker universally visible across different imaging systems without requiring separate markers for each modality.
Data Source
AI summary
Tissue markers, systems for marking tissue, and methods of using tissue markers. A tissue marker may have a body with a first surface and a second surface, a plurality of coupling sites, and a plurality of elongate members. The tissue marker may include a remotely visible material. The tissue marker may have a delivery configuration that is different from a deployed configuration.