Medical image diagnosis apparatus

• US 10,390,728 B2
• Filed: 03/30/2015
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Masuda, Takashi, Nakauchi, Shouichi, Nabatame, Tomio, Koyakumaru, Takashi, Suzuki, Tomoko
• Primary Examiner(s): Peng, Bo Joseph
• Application Number:
  US14/672,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20150272700A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,611 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/3403 Needle locating or guiding means guides for suture needles A61B17/0482; guiding or tracking by nuclear magnetic resonance G01R33/285
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1477 Needle-like probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/3413 guided by ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00595 Cauterization
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/107 Visualisation of planned trajectories or target regions
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2074 Interface software
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/252 indicating steps of a surgical procedure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/378 using ultrasound
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/061 Determining position of a probe within the body employing means separate from the probe, e.g. sensing internal probe position employing impedance electrodes on the surface of the body A61B1/00158 takes precedence

Abstract

A medical image diagnosis apparatus includes a capturing part configured to photograph a target site of a subject to capture a medical image. The medical image diagnosis apparatus further includes a positional information acquisition unit, a guideline generator, and a display processor. The positional information acquisition unit acquires the positional information of a puncture needle inserted into of the subject. The guideline generator generates a guideline that indicates an insertion route for the puncture needle to reach the target site based on the positional information. The guideline includes scales graduated at predetermined intervals. The display processor displays the guideline with the medical image.

Claims

1. A medical image diagnosis apparatus, comprising:

a capturing device configured to photograph a target site of a subject and a puncture needle inserted into the target site to capture a medical image;

a calculator configured to

perform measurements of a position of a sensor located at an opposite end from a needle tip of the puncture needle inserted into the target site and a tilt angle of the puncture needle, and

obtain a position of the needle tip based on results of the measurements and a needle length, which corresponds to a length of a straight line from the position of the sensor to the position of the needle tip, to acquire positional information of the puncture needle; and

a display processor configured to

arrange scales, which are graduated at predetermined intervals, along a guideline according to the position of the needle tip and the tilt angle of the puncture needle obtained when the puncture needle reaches a cauterization object in the target site, and

display the guideline with the medical image.

2. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the calculator is further configured to obtain the position of the needle tip as the reference position when the puncture needle reaches a cauterization object in the target site, and measure the tilt angle of the puncture needle when the puncture needle reaches the cauterization object, and

the display processor is further configured to adjust the scales to the position of the needle tip and the tilt angle of the puncture needle to generate the guideline having the scales placed along the insertion route.

3. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a memory to store a predetermined relationship between a value representing an intensity of cauterization and each distance from the position of the needle tip during the cauterization to an insertion position, wherein

the calculator is further configured to

obtain the insertion position where the puncture needle is inserted into skin of the subject based on a pixel value of the medical image;

and

determine a particular intensity of cauterization with reference to the predetermined relationship, based on a distance from the obtained position of the needle tip to the insertion position.

4. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the scales of the generated guideline are marks that are placed on a plurality of positions spaced at the predetermined intervals.

5. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the medical image is displayed on a display device including a glass device that incorporates the display into an eyeglass, and

the display processor is further configured to display the guideline with the medical image on the display.

6. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the medical image is displayed on a display device including

a first display device configured to display the medical image, and

a second display device including a glass device that incorporates the display into an eyeglass,

the calculator is further configured to measure a positional relationship between a display screen of the first display device and a view on the second display device, and

when it is determined that the view on the second display device and the display screen of the first display device are in a predetermined positional relationship based on a result of measurement, the display processor is further configured to cause the guideline to be displayed on the display.

7. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the calculator is further configured to

sequentially obtain the position of the needle tip while the puncture needle is being removed, and

the display processor is further configured to cause a copy of the scales to be displayed together with the scales and the medical image, the copy being adjusted to the position of the needle tip sequentially obtained and the tilt angle of the puncture needle.

8. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a memory to store the position of the needle tip at last cauterization, wherein

the calculator is further configured to obtain the position of the needle tip while the puncture needle is being removed, and obtain a distance between the position of the needle tip stored in the memory and the obtained position of the needle tip, and determine whether the distance exceeds a predetermined distance, and

the display processor is further configured to cause display of applicability information indicating that cauterization can be performed when the distance exceeds the predetermined distance.

9. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 8, wherein, having been informed of completion of the cauterization after displaying the applicability information, the display processor is further configured to cause display of completion information indicating that the cauterization is completed.

10. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 9, wherein the display processor is further configured to cause display marks placed on a plurality of positions provided at the predetermined intervals in distinguishable different modes to be displayed to provide the applicability information and the completion information.

11. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein

the capturing device is configured to acquire three-dimensional coordinates of the medical image, and

the display processor is further configured to, when rotating the three-dimensional coordinates of the medical image for display, adjust three-dimensional coordinates of the scales to the three-dimensional coordinates of the medical image.

12. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display processor is further configured to, when providing zoom in/out display of the medical image, cause display of the guideline zoomed in/out according to a zoom factor of the medical image.