Visualizing Energy Application Quality in Medical Ablation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current visualization systems for energy application in medical procedures, such as tissue ablation, do not effectively display the quality of energy application in real-time, making it difficult for practitioners to ensure accurate and consistent energy delivery, especially in varying tissue thicknesses and contact conditions.
Innovation Solution
A visualization apparatus that assigns visual properties, such as color and intensity, to the energy application site based on quality values like ablation depth and contact degree, integrated with a display showing an electroanatomic map, allowing real-time visualization of energy application quality and facilitating seamless integration with standard visualization systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If quality information is displayed separately from the energy application location, then the information is clear and distinct, but the practitioner must shift attention between multiple display areas, reducing ease of operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the quality information display with the anatomical map display by superimposing visual indicators (such as color-coded regions or icons) directly onto the relevant anatomical locations. This merging allows the practitioner to view both the anatomical context and the quality metrics (e.g., ablation depth, power delivery) in a single integrated display, eliminating the need to shift attention between separate displays while maintaining clear information presentation
2Loss of information
If multiple separate displays are used to show different parameters, then each parameter is clearly visible, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple parameter displays into a single composite visual interface where various quality metrics (ablation depth, power delivery, tissue impedance) are overlaid on the anatomical map using different visual encodings (colors, intensities, icons). This consolidation maintains full parameter visibility while reducing system complexity by eliminating the need for multiple separate display devices
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes visual dimensionality by encoding quality parameters through color intensity, brightness, and overlay transparency rather than requiring separate spatial displays. For example, ablation depth may be represented by color intensity gradients, allowing multiple parameters to be displayed simultaneously on a single two-dimensional screen without increasing physical device complexity
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a visualization apparatus for visualizing a quality of applying energy to an object. The quality of applying energy at a location on the object (3) is visualized based on a) a provided image of the object and b) a provided quality value which is a depth value indicative of the depth to which the applied energy has altered the object, representing the quality of applying energy to the object at the location on the object (3), wherein a visual property assigning unit (9) assigns a visual property to the location depending on the quality value and a display (10) displays the provided image and the assigned visual property at the location on the object shown in the image as a transmural region calculated using depth value(s) with respect to a wall of the object. In general a person who applies energy to the object is focused on the location at which energy is applied. Since quality information is shown at the location on which the person is already focused, the quality dependent information can easily be absorbed by the person.