Virtual Stent Placement Adjusting Cross Section Inclination
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the virtual stent placement process, stents often insufficiently fit the large curvature side of blood vessels due to reliance on core line lengths, leading to potential blockage of nearby branches during actual placement.
Innovation Solution
A virtual stent placement apparatus that extracts blood vessel regions and core lines from medical images, acquires stent diameter and placement information, and adjusts the inclination of stent cross sections at the start and end positions to avoid overlapping with blood vessel branches, using an inclination change unit to ensure proper fit and placement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the virtual stent is placed based on the core line length, then the placement process is simple, but the stent length is insufficient on the large curvature side of the blood vessel
Solution Approach 1:
The patent calculates the maximum contour length of the large curvature side in advance during the virtual placement phase. This preliminary calculation allows the stent length to be determined accurately before actual placement, ensuring the stent is long enough to cover the curved portion without requiring complex adjustments during surgery.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of measuring only along the core line (one dimension), the patent introduces the maximum contour length measurement that follows the outer surface of the curved vessel (another dimension). This dimensional approach captures the true path length the stent must cover, resolving the discrepancy between core line-based and actual stent length requirements.
2Ease of operation
If the stent cross sections are set perpendicular to the core line, then the virtual placement is straightforward, but the stent may block blood vessel branches during actual placement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs virtual placement with inclined cross sections in advance to identify potential branch blockage issues before actual surgery. By simulating the placement with proper inclination adjustments, the optimal orientation is determined beforehand, preventing harmful effects during real deployment.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the stent placement scenario using medical images and computational models. This virtual replica allows testing and optimization of cross section inclination without affecting the actual patient, enabling safe exploration of different orientations to avoid branch blockage.
Data Source
AI summary
A virtual stent placement apparatus, a virtual stent placement method, and a virtual stent placement program for preventing a stent from blocking a branch of a blood vessel in a case in which the stent is virtually placed in the blood vessel extracted from a medical image are disclosed.