Volumetric Imaging Needle Orientation Visualization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical ablation technologies face challenges in visualizing and interpreting the orientation and location of treatment needles within patient tissue, particularly when the needles are inserted at angles relative to the standard parallel imaging planes.
Innovation Solution
The system receives volumetric image data and segments a virtual or actual needle within it, allowing for the generation and display of multiple cross-sectional views along different planes that include the needle's axis, enabling better visualization and analysis of the needle's orientation and the surrounding tissue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If standard parallel imaging planes are used for visualization, then the imaging system maintains simple structure and easy operation, but the ability to observe needle orientation and location is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the traditional parallel 2D slice viewing approach into a 3D volumetric representation that can be rotated and viewed from multiple angles. The system generates a 3D model from the volumetric image data and allows rotation around the needle axis, enabling observation of needle orientation in three-dimensional space rather than being constrained to fixed parallel planes.
2Loss of information
If multiple cross-sectional views along different planes are generated, then needle orientation visualization is improved, but image processing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary segmentation of the needle within the volumetric image data before generating cross-sectional views. By identifying and segmenting the needle structure in advance, the system can efficiently generate multiple cross-sectional views along different planes that all include the needle axis, without having to process the entire volumetric dataset repeatedly for each view.
Solution Approach 2:
The generated cross-sectional views serve multiple functions simultaneously: they display needle orientation, show surrounding tissue structure, and provide anatomical context. The same set of processed images supports both treatment planning and treatment monitoring functions, reducing the need for separate processing pipelines.
3Manufacturing precision
If volumetric image data is processed to show needle axis planes, then treatment planning accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary segmentation of the needle and identification of the needle axis before generating cross-sectional views. This pre-processing step enables subsequent rapid generation of multiple cross-sectional planes that all correctly include the needle axis, reducing the time required for treatment planning while maintaining high accuracy in needle placement visualization.
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the disclosure include systems and methods for planning and/or performing an ablation procedure. Volumetric image data including a needle, such as a physical ablation needle or a virtual needle, can be analyzed to segment the needle within the volume. A first cross-sectional, two-dimensional view of the volume showing a first plane in which an axis defined by the needle lies can be generated and displayed. The view can be manipulated to display a generated second cross-sectional, two-dimensional view of the volume showing a second plane through the volume in which the longitudinal axis defined by the virtual needle lies, wherein the second plane is different from the first plane. Additional segmented features such as lesions in the image data, treatment regions, isotherms, and the like can be included in views to be analyzed from a plurality of views that include the needle.