MEDICAL IMAGE DIAGNOSIS APPARATUS

• US 20150272700A1
• Filed: 03/30/2015
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Canon Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation (Canon Inc.), Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: MASUDA, Takashi, NAKAUCHI, Shouichi, NABATAME, Tomio, KOYAKUMARU, Takashi, SUZUKI, Tomoko
• Granted Patent: US 10,390,728 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 including a capturing part configured to photograph a target site of a subject to capture a medical image, the medical image diagnosis apparatus comprising:

a positional information acquisition unit configured to acquire positional information of a puncture needle inserted into the subject;

a guideline generator configured to generate a guideline that indicates an insertion route of the puncture needle to reach the target site based on the positional information, the guideline including scales graduated at predetermined intervals; and

a display processor configured to display the guideline with the medical image.

2. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 1, wherein the display processor is configured to display the guideline such that the scales are adjusted to a reference position of the puncture needle.

3. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 2, wherein

the positional information acquisition unit includes a calculator,

the positional information acquisition unit is configured to perform measurements of a position of a sensor located opposite to a needle tip of the puncture needle and a tilt angle of the puncture needle,

the calculator is configured to obtain a position of the needle tip based on results of the measurements and a needle length corresponding to a length of a straight line from the position of the sensor to the position of the needle tip to acquire the positional information.

4. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein

the calculator is 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,

the positional information acquisition unit is configured to measure the tilt angle of the puncture needle when the puncture needle reaches the cauterization object, and

the guideline generator is 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.

5. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein the display processor is configured to display, with the scales and the medical image, the position of the needle tip obtained by the calculator while the puncture needle is being removed.

6. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein the scales are marks that are placed on a plurality of positions spaced at the predetermined intervals.

7. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein

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

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

8. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein the medical image is displayed on a display unit including

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

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

the medical image diagnosis apparatus further comprising a measurement unit configured to measure a positional relationship between a display screen of the first display unit and a view on the second display unit, wherein

when it is determined that the view on the second display unit and the display screen of the first display unit are in a predetermined positional relationship based on a result of measurement by the measurement unit, the display processor displays the guideline on the display.

9. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, wherein

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

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

10. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 3, further comprising a memory configured to store the position of the needle tip at last cauterization, wherein

the calculator is configured to obtain the position of the needle tip while the puncture needle is being removed,

the calculator includes a determination unit configured to obtain a distance between the position of the needle tip stored in the memory and the position of the needle tip obtained by the calculator, and determine whether the distance exceeds a predetermined distance, and

the display processor is configured to display applicability information indicating that cauterization is applicable when the distance exceeds the predetermined distance.

11. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 10, wherein, having been informed of completion of the cauterization after displaying the applicability information, the display processor displays completion information indicating that the cauterization is completed.

12. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 11, wherein the display processor is configured to display marks placed on a plurality of positions provided at the predetermined intervals in distinguishable different modes to provide the applicability information and the completion information.

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

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

the display processor is 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.

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

15. The medical image diagnosis apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:

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

a memory configured to store a predetermined correspondence relationship between a distance from the position of the needle tip during cauterization to the insertion position and intensity of the cauterization, and

an intensity calculator configured to determine intensity of cauterization with reference to the correspondence relationship based on a distance from the position of the needle tip obtained by the calculator to the insertion position.