Virtual Endoscopic Image Generation for Bronchus Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medical devices face challenges in accurately navigating and positioning treatment instruments within narrow bronchus tube cavities, particularly when the target site is located at the end of a branched bronchus, due to the limitations of conventional endoscopic imaging and navigation systems.
Innovation Solution
A medical device equipped with an image pickup section, virtual endoscopic image generation, and relative-position calculation capabilities, which uses three-dimensional image data to generate highly similar virtual endoscopic images, sets a reference point, and calculates the relative position of the treatment instrument to this point, enabling precise navigation and positioning within the bronchus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional endoscopic navigation systems are used in branched bronchus, then the system structure is relatively simple, but the positioning accuracy and navigation efficiency deteriorate when target sites are located at the end of bronchus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual endoscopic images from three-dimensional CT image data to generate a virtual bronchus scope. This virtual copy of the bronchus interior allows for pre-navigation and route determination without physically traversing the complex branched structure, thereby improving positioning accuracy while managing system complexity through software-based virtual modeling rather than complex physical navigation hardware
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary navigation by determining the optimal route through the branched bronchus using the virtual endoscopic image before actual endoscope insertion. This pre-planning of the insertion path allows for more accurate and efficient navigation to target sites located at the end of bronchus, reducing the complexity of real-time navigation decisions
2Measurement precision
If the distal end of endoscope is brought to target site at the end of bronchus, then the examination accuracy is improved, but the insertion time and navigation difficulty increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system determines the optimal insertion route through the branched bronchus in advance using virtual endoscopic images generated from CT data. This preliminary route planning identifies the most efficient path to target sites located at the end of bronchus, allowing the endoscope to be inserted directly along the predetermined route, thereby reducing insertion time while maintaining examination accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The virtual endoscopic image serves as an intermediary between the three-dimensional CT data and the actual endoscope insertion process. It provides a visual guide that mediates the navigation process, showing the optimal path through complex branched structures, which reduces both insertion time and navigation difficulty while ensuring accurate positioning at target sites
3Measurement precision
If three-dimensional image data is used to generate virtual endoscopic images, then the navigation precision is improved, but the data processing complexity and computational requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent generates virtual endoscopic images by processing three-dimensional CT image data to create a virtual representation of the bronchus interior. This virtual copy provides precise navigation guidance through complex branched structures. The approach improves navigation precision by utilizing the detailed three-dimensional anatomical information while managing data processing complexity through efficient image generation algorithms that create usable virtual views without requiring excessive computational resources
Data Source
AI summary
A medical device for examination or treatment based on a reference point, includes: a virtual endoscopic image generation section configured to generate a virtual endoscopic image of a bronchus from a plurality of different line-of-sight positions using three-dimensional image data of the bronchus of a subject that is obtained in advance; an image retrieval section configured to retrieve a virtual endoscopic image highly similar to an endoscopic image of the bronchus picked up by an image pickup section arranged at a distal end portion of an insertion section; a reference-point setting section configured to set a reference point based on a line-of-sight position of the highly similar virtual endoscopic image; and a relative-position calculation section configured to calculate a relative position of a treatment instrument to the reference point.