Triple-Imaging Hybrid Probe for Real-Time Extra-Airway Lesion Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing bronchoscopy systems struggle to accurately visualize and navigate to lung lesions outside the airway due to reliance on pre-operative imaging, which lacks real-time accuracy, making it difficult to perform biopsies or treatments effectively.
Innovation Solution
A bronchoscope integrating an electromagnetic sensor, direct imaging device, and ultrasound imaging to provide hybrid vision, allowing for improved real-time localization of lesions outside the airways by combining EM sensor navigation with ultrasound scanning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If pre-operative imaging (CT) is used to identify lesions and generate navigation maps, then anatomical location information is provided, but real-time accuracy of lesion location relative to the bronchoscope is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple imaging modalities (EM sensor navigation, direct visualization camera, and ultrasound imaging) into a single hybrid probe system. This integration allows simultaneous acquisition of electromagnetic position data, optical images, and ultrasound images, providing real-time multi-modal feedback that resolves the contradiction between measurement precision and real-time response by merging separate sensing systems into one unified platform.
Solution Approach 2:
The hybrid probe acts as an intermediary device that bridges the gap between pre-operative planning and real-time navigation. By incorporating an ultrasound transducer that can scan through airway walls, the system provides real-time mediation between the bronchoscope position and lesion location, enabling dynamic adjustment of navigation based on actual tissue imaging rather than relying solely on static pre-operative CT data.
2Ease of operation
If the lesion is outside the airway, then it is outside the view of the direct visualization system, but the physician still needs to locate and biopsy the lesion
Solution Approach 1:
The hybrid probe is designed with multi-functionality to handle both intra-airway and extra-airway lesions. It integrates an ultrasound transducer capable of scanning through airway walls to detect lesions outside the airway lumen, while also maintaining direct visualization capabilities for lesions within the airway. This universal design allows a single device to address diverse lesion locations and types, improving ease of operation across different clinical scenarios.
Solution Approach 2:
The ultrasound imaging capability adds a new dimensional aspect to lesion detection. While the direct visualization camera provides two-dimensional optical imaging of the airway lumen, the ultrasound transducer enables imaging through the airway wall into the surrounding lung tissue, effectively adding a third dimension of detection. This dimensional extension allows physicians to locate and characterize lesions that are not visible within the airway lumen itself.
3Loss of information
If a bronchoscope with EM sensor and direct imaging is used, then navigation to lesion is enabled, but visualization of tissue variations within the lung is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges electromagnetic sensing, optical imaging, and ultrasound imaging into a single integrated hybrid probe system. This combination allows the device to simultaneously capture electromagnetic position data for navigation, optical images for direct visualization, and ultrasound images for tissue characterization. By merging these modalities, the system recovers lost tissue information without proportionally increasing overall device complexity, as all sensors share common structural and control infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The hybrid probe serves multiple functions within a single device: EM sensing for navigation, direct visualization for lumen imaging, and ultrasound imaging for tissue characterization. This multi-functional design reduces the need for multiple separate devices and procedures, consolidating navigation and diagnostic capabilities into one universal platform that can perform comprehensive lesion assessment.
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
Enables precise, real-time visualization and navigation to lesions outside the airways, enhancing the accuracy of biopsies and treatments by integrating multimodal sensing, including EM sensor navigation and ultrasound imaging.
Implementation Method 1
incorporating an ultrasound probe into the bronchoscope may allow a physician to scan an area of interest and confirm the actual location of the lesion relative to the bronchoscope with improved accuracy
Implementation Method 2
a bronchoscopy system equipped with sensors such as electromagnetic (EM) three-dimensional (3D) sensors may register itself to the CT image or the patient anatomy
Data Source
AI summary
A hybrid vision device is provided. The hybrid vision device comprises: an articulating elongate member comprising a proximal end and a distal end, and a positional sensor is located at the distal end of the articulating elongate member; and a multimodal sensing probe removably coupled to the articulating elongate member, and the multimodal sensing probe comprises an ultrasound transducer and a camera located at a distal portion of the multimodal sensing probe.