METHOD TO DETECT A RETAINED SURGICAL OBJECT

• US 20170143284A1
• Filed: 11/23/2016
• Published: 05/25/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/25/2015
• Status: Active Application

• Current Assignee: CareStream Health Incorporated
• Original Assignee: CareStream Health Incorporated
• Inventors: Sehnert, William J., Huo, Zhimin
• Application Number:
  US15/359,808
• Publication Number:
  US 20170143284A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/0805 automatically, e.g. by means of magnetic, optical or photoelectric detectors
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/376 using X-rays, e.g. fluoroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/025 Tomosynthesis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/12 Arrangements for detecting or locating foreign bodies
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4007 characterised by using a plurality of source units
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4405 the apparatus being movable or portable, e.g. handheld or mounted on a trolley
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/4441 the rigid structure being a C-arm or U-arm
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/46 Arrangements for interfacing with the operator or the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/463 characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/468 allowing annotation or message recording
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/482 involving multiple energy imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/487 involving fluoroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/5258 involving detection or reduction of artifacts or noise
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/545 involving automatic set-up of acquisition parameters
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/98 using electromagnetic means, e.g. transponders

Abstract

An imaging method, executed at least in part by a computer, tracks the disposition of surgical supplies used in an operation and identifies a radiographic imaging technique for detecting a retained surgical foreign object according to the tracking. One or more radiographic images are acquired in the operating room. The acquired image content is analyzed to identify one or more candidate foreign objects. At least a portion of the acquired image content is displayed with the one or more candidate foreign objects in the acquired image content highlighted.

Claims

1. An imaging method, executed at least in part by a computer, comprising:

tracking the disposition of surgical supplies used in an operation;

identifying a radiographic imaging technique for detecting a retained surgical foreign object according to the tracking;

acquiring one or more radiographic images in the operating room;

analyzing the acquired image content to identify one or more candidate foreign objects;

displaying at least a portion of the acquired image content and highlighting the one or more candidate foreign objects in the acquired image content.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking the disposition of surgical supplies comprises obtaining one or more camera images.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking the disposition of surgical supplies comprises recording audio.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the radiographic imaging technique identifies one of x-ray imaging, dual-energy imaging, and tomosynthesis.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising acquiring the one or more radiographic images in the operating room at same or different positions of a radiation source or a detector.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising adjusting a collimator to adjust the field of view for acquiring the one or more radiographic images.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein highlighting the one or more candidate foreign objects comprises displaying an outline.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein tracking the disposition of surgical supplies comprises recording manual entry of information from an operator.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the radiographic imaging technique is performed according to results of the tracking.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the acquired image content further comprises suppressing bone content.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein analyzing the acquired image content further comprises suppressing tissue content.

12. A portable imaging apparatus comprising:

a mobile cart having a radiography source and a control processor;

a digital radiography receiver that is in signal communication with the control processor; and

an operator interface with an operating mode for on-site imaging of a surgical region of interest, wherein the control processor is configured to execute instructions that analyze image content from the digital radiography receiver and report and display a detected retained surgical foreign object.

13. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein the operating mode is selected from a group consisting of x-ray imaging, dual-energy x-ray imaging, and tomosynthesis imaging.

14. The apparatus of claim 12 further comprising a transport for movement of the digital radiography receiver with respect to the surgical region of interest.

15. An imaging method, comprising:

capturing at least one tomosynthesis image of a patient; and

analyzing the captured at least one tomosynthesis image to detect a surgical instrument or material.

16. The imaging method of claim 15, further comprising:

capturing at least one dual energy image of a patient; and

analyzing the captured at least one tomosynthesis image and at least one dual energy image to detect the surgical instrument or material.

17. The imaging method of claim 15 wherein analyzing includes using a computer-aided detection (CAD) algorithm/system or other knowledge-based expert system.

18. The imaging method of claim 15 wherein the surgical instrument is a sponge or gauze pad.

19. The imaging method of claim 15 further comprising the step of applying bone and soft tissue suppression to the captured image prior to analyzing the captured image.

20. The imaging method of claim 15 wherein:

capturing at least one tomosynthesis image of a patient comprises;

acquiring a first tomosynthesis projection image of a surgical region of interest of the patient at a first acquisition angle; and

acquiring a second tomosynthesis projection image of the surgical region of interest of the patient at a second acquisition angle; and

wherein analyzing the captured at least one tomosynthesis image comprises;

analyzing the first and second tomosynthesis projection images to detect the surgical instrument or material in the surgical region of interest.

21. An imaging method, comprising:

capturing at least one image of a patient, the image being a tomosynthesis image or a dual energy image; and

analyzing the captured at least one image to detect a surgical instrument or material.

22. The imaging method of claim 21, further comprising:

displaying the at least one captured image; and

indicating a location of the detected surgical instrument or material within the displayed image.

23. The imaging method of claim 21, wherein the indicating includes indicating with a mark, the mark being any one of:

arrow, symbol/marker, bolding, highlighting, coloring, outlining, or the like.