INVERSE CATHETER PLANNING

• US 20070016012A1
• Filed: 06/01/2006
• Published: 01/18/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 06/01/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brainlab AG
• Original Assignee: Brainlab AG
• Inventors: Hartlep, Andreas, Pedain, Christoph
• Granted Patent: US 7,892,224 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/424
• 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 2034/2055 Optical tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/256 having a database of accessory information, e.g. including context sensitive help or scientific articles
• 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 90/11 with guides for needles or instruments, e.g. arcuate slides or ball joints
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/36 Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: A61M 2005/14292 Computer-based infusion planning or simulation of spatio-temporal infusate distribution

Abstract

A method for determining and representing possible entry and/or target areas for positioning catheters in an area on the basis of functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, includes: indicating at least one entry area of the catheter or at least one target area of the catheter; determining at least one target area of the catheter based on the at least one indicated entry area of the catheter and taking into consideration specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, or at least one entry area of the catheter based on the at least one indicated target area of the catheter and taking into consideration specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area; and representing the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data with the at least one indicated entry area and the at least one determined target area, or representing the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data with the at least one indicated target area and the at least one determined entry area.

Claims

1. A method for determining and representing possible entry and/or target areas for positioning catheters in an area of a patient body on the basis of functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, comprising the steps of:

indicating at least one entry area of the catheter or at least one target area of the catheter;

determining at least one target area of the catheter based on the at least one indicated entry area of the catheter and taking into consideration specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, or at least one entry area of the catheter based on the at least one indicated target area of the catheter and taking into consideration specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area; and

representing the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data with the at least one indicated entry area and the at least one determined target area, or representing the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data with the at least one indicated target area and the at least one determined entry area.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of determining includes representing the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data with the specified catheter positioning guidelines.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of indicating at least one entry area includes indicating and/or determining an entry point as the entry area.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining at least one target area includes indicating and/or determining a target point as the target area.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

initially indicating at least one entry area of the catheter; and

determining at least one possible target point of the catheter, taking into consideration the specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, wherein a most suitable target point is shown.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein once the at least one possible target point has been determined, determining at least one entry point corresponding to the determined possible target point inside the indicated entry area, taking into consideration the catheter positioning guidelines, wherein a most suitable entry point is shown.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the steps of:

initially indicating at least one target area of the catheter; and

determining at least one possible entry point of the catheter, taking into consideration the specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, wherein the most suitable entry point is shown.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein once the at least one possible entry point has been determined, determining at least one target point corresponding to the determined possible entry point inside the indicated target area, taking into consideration the catheter positioning guidelines, wherein the most suitable target point is shown.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the catheter positioning guidelines used to determine the suitable target region or target regions for a specified entry point or specified entry region are dependent on the anatomical and/or functional and/or structural characteristics of the entry point or entry region and/or of the respective target point or target region and/or of the area along the trajectory of the catheter.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of taking into consideration catheter positioning guidelines includes using catheter positioning guidelines that are dependent on the anatomical and/or functional and/or structural characteristics of the target point or target region and/or of the respective entry point or entry region and/or of the area along the trajectory of the catheter.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of taking into consideration catheter positioning guidelines includes using catheter positioning guidelines that are dependent on the respective catheter parameters and/or infusion parameters and/or other driver parameters and/or infusate parameters, and wherein the use of a number of consecutive infusions using the same and/or different infusates are considered.

12. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of taking into consideration catheter positioning guidelines includes using catheter positioning guidelines that are dependent on catheter trajectories already defined and/or on the area coverage to be expected from the fluids to be infused by catheter trajectories already defined.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of determining positioning specifications based on the specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, said positioning specifications indicating how the catheter can be positioned between the at least one indicated or determined entry area and the at least one indicated or determined target area, in compliance with the catheter positioning guidelines.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the catheter positioning guidelines comprise:

distances between the catheter or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and the surface of the area, wherein the distances are between about 1 and 4 cm; and

/or

distances between a number of catheters or catheter tips or catheter delivery sections, wherein the distances are at least about 1 cm and up to about 3 cm; and

/or

distances between the catheters or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and particular tissue sections, wherein the distances are between about 2 and 15 mm.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the tissue sections include grooves, furrows, sulci, chambers, ventricles, hollows, recesses, holes and/or cavities of the area

16. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of using a tissue the area.

17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the step of using a tissue includes using a brain region.

18. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of using and/or determining information on tissue parts and/or on areas of tissue parts removed by operations and/or on areas of tissue deformities, tissue abnormalities or tissue anomalies, and/or on anatomical areas as functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the tissue anomalies include oedemas and the anatomical areas include the brain stem,

20. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of using and/or determining as functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data information on the surface of the area and/or on grooves or furrows, sulci or gyri of the area, furrows between cerebral convolutions, and/or on chambers, ventricles, hollows, recesses, holes and/or cavities of the area.

21. A computer program embodied on a computer readable medium for determining and representing possible entry and/or target areas for positioning catheters in an area on the basis of functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, comprising:

code that indicates at least one entry area of the catheter or at least one target area of the catheter;

code that determines at least one target area of the catheter based on the at least one indicated entry area of the catheter and taking into consideration specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, or at least one entry area of the catheter based on the at least one indicated target area of the catheter and taking into consideration specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area; and

code that represents the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data with the at least one indicated entry area and the at least one determined target area, or representing the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data with the at least one indicated target area and the at least one determined entry area.

22. A device for determining and representing possible entry and/or target areas for positioning catheters in an area on the basis of functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data of the area, comprising:

a data input device for inputting at least one entry area of a catheter or at least one target area of a catheter;

a computing unit, connected to the data input device, operable to determine at least one target area of the catheter, taking into consideration specified catheter positioning guidelines and functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data and the at least one indicated entry area, or operable to determine at least one entry area of the catheter, taking into consideration specified catheter positioning guidelines and the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data and the at least one indicated target area;

a database in which catheter positioning guidelines and/or functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data is archived, wherein the database is operatively coupled to the data input device and the computing unit; and

a data output device operatively coupled to the computing unit, for outputting the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data and/or the specified catheter positioning guidelines and/or the at least one determined target area or the at least one determined entry area.

23. The device according to claim 22, comprising a medical tracking system for determining the position of the catheter and the position of the area, wherein the computing unit correlates the information on the position of the catheter and on the position of the area with the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data, and wherein the correlated information is represented on the data output device.