Systems and methods for controlling use and operation of a family of different treatment devices

• US 9,495,059 B2
• Filed: 12/23/2012
• Issued: 11/15/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Mederi Rf, LLC
• Original Assignee: Mederi Therapeutics, Inc. (Respiratory Technology Corp.)
• Inventors: Shikhman, Oleg, Rutan, William W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Peffley, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): Vahdat, Khadijeh
• Application Number:
  US13/726,155
• Publication Number:
  US 20130117669A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,423 Days
• Field of Search: 606/33, 606/34, 606 41- 50
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/02 by cooling, e.g. cryogenic techniques devices for cooling specific reflex points of the body within cell-life limits A61H39/06
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/08 by means of electrically-heated probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1206 Generators therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1477 Needle-like probes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1485 having a short rigid shaft for accessing the inner body through natural openings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1492 having a flexible, catheter-like structure, e.g. for heart ablation A61B18/1477 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/18 by applying electromagnetic radiation, e.g. microwaves radiation therapy A61N5/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/1815 using microwaves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/20 using laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00553 Sphincter
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/0212 using an instrument inserted into a body lumen, e.g. catheter
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/044 the surgical action being effected by a circulating hot fluid
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1425 Needle
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1807 using light other than laser radiation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/1861 with an instrument inserted into a body lumen or cavity, e.g. a catheter
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2065 Tracking using image or pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/252 indicating steps of a surgical procedure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/254 being adapted depending on the stage of the surgical procedure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2218/002 Irrigation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2218/007 Aspiration
• 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 34/25 : User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 2007/0043 : intra-cavitary
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/00 : Ultrasound therapy lithotripsy A61B17/22, A61B17/225; massage using supersonic vibration A61H23/00 ; using ultrasound for introducing media into the body A61M37/0092
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/048 : Interaction techniques based on graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 : using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04847 : Interaction techniques to control parameter settings, e.g. interaction with sliders or dials
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/63 : for local operation

Abstract

A system for controlling a treatment device generates a graphical interface that visually prompts a user in a step-wise fashion to use the treatment device to perform a process of forming a pattern of lesions that extends both circumferentially and axially in different levels in a body region. The graphical interface displays for the user a visual record of the progress of the process from start to finish and guides the user so that so that individual lesions desired within a given level are all formed, and that a given level of lesions is not skipped.

Claims

1. A graphical user interface comprising:

a controller configured to visually prompt a user in a step-wise fashion to perform a process of forming a pattern of lesions in a body region, the body region having a plurality of axially spaced lesion levels, and further configured to register a formation of lesions as the lesions are generated in real time within each axially spaced lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels, whereby the controller is adapted to display for the user a visual record of progress of the process from a start to a finish and is adapted to guide the user so that individual lesions desired within a given axially spaced lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels are all formed, and that an axially spaced lesion level is not skipped, the controller further configured to indicate a number of lesions remaining to be formed at the given axially spaced lesion level while at the same time indicating a number of lesions formed and a number of lesions not formed at a previous axially spaced lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels; and

wherein the first graphical interface is configured to display simultaneously a plurality of spatial models each spatial model corresponding to a different axially spaced lesion level, and the controller is configured to register the formation of lesions utilizing a plurality of markers marked within one of the plurality of spatial models corresponding to one of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels, each marker corresponding to a section of the spatial model which corresponds to one of a plurality of circumferentially spaced tissue regions within the axially spaced lesion level.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of spatial models are cylindrical shaped and visually divided into quadrants.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein an indicia marks where the user has visualized a selected home base reference for formation of the lesions, and a visual record graphically orients location of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels relative to the selected home base reference.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein a numeric value is displayed to indicate a distance the lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels is from the selected home base reference.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of spatial models are arranged in an array and a particular spatial model of the plurality of spatial models is adapted to be removed from the array corresponding to the lesion level from the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels to be treated.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the spatial model of the plurality of spatial models is visually subdivided into a plurality of sections, each section corresponding to one of the plurality of circumferentially spaced tissue regions at a given lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the spatial models are arranged in an array, and an image corresponding to a given lesion level is adapted to be moved from the array to another location to indicate to a user that the given level of the axially spaced lesion levels is being treated, and the image is separated into different sections, with each section corresponding to each of the circumferentially spaced tissue regions at the given lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels, and a visual marker is displayed in each section of the image if treatment at the circumferentially spaced tissue region is complete.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein after completion of treatment at the given lesion level, the spatial model is visually returned to the array and a second spatial model corresponding to a different lesion level is adapted to be removed from the array to indicate a different lesion level is being treated.

9. A graphical user interface comprising:

a controller configured to visually prompt a user in a step-wise fashion to perform a process of forming a pattern of lesions in a body region comprising a plurality of axially spaced lesion levels, and configured to generate at each axially spaced lesion level a first stylized graphical image with a number identification of the axially spaced lesion level, and a second stylized graphical image, different from the first stylized graphical image, adapted to be generated when a formation of lesions at a given level of the axially spaced lesion levels is indicated and further showing a number of lesions to be formed at the given lesion level of the axially spaced lesion levels, the controller configured to change the second stylized graphical image to a third graphical image, different than the first stylized graphical image and the second stylized graphical image, including added indicia to reflect the formation of lesions in real time, and the controller configured to generate upon forming a desired pattern of lesions in the given lesion level, a fourth graphical image, different than the first stylized graphical image, the second stylized graphical image, and the third graphical image, comprising an indicator to indicate that all desired lesions have been formed at the given lesion level, and the controller is further configured to identify by number identification which one of the axially spaced lesion levels has already been treated and at the same time to identify by number identification which one of the axially spaced lesion levels is next to be treated and to generate a marker that is adapted to direct the user to the identified next to be treated axially spaced lesion level and the marker is adapted to be updated as successive axially spaced lesion levels are treated.

10. A system for controlling operation of a family of treatment devices comprising

at least a first treatment device and a second treatment device different than the first treatment device which are intended to be individually deployed for use in different tissue regions,

a controller including a connector to which a selected one of the first treatment device or the second treatment device is coupled for use, the controller configured to identify which of the first treatment device and the second treatment devices has been connected,

the controller further including an operation system to execute on a display screen a first graphical interface configured to guide use of the first treatment device only when the first treatment device is connected and a second graphical interface different, at least in part, from the first graphical interface and configured to guide use of the second treatment device only when the second treatment device is connected, the controller, for at least one of the first graphical interface and the second graphical interface, is configured to visually prompt a user in a step-wise fashion to perform, by using the treatment device that is connected to the controller, a process of forming lesions in a body region comprising a plurality of axially spaced lesion levels, and further configured to register a formation of the lesions as the lesions are generated in real time, within each axially spaced lesion level, whereby each of the first graphical interface and the second graphical interface is adapted to display for the user a visual record of progress of the process from a start to a finish and is adapted to guide the user so that individual lesions desired within a given lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels are all formed, and that an axially spaced lesion level is not skipped, each of the first graphical interface and the second graphical interface is further adapted to indicate a number of lesions remaining to be formed in the given lesion level while simultaneously indicating a) a number of lesions formed and a number of lesions not formed at a first previous axially spaced lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels and b) a number of lesions formed and not formed at a second previous axially spaced lesion level of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels.

11. The system according to claim 10 wherein one of the at least first treatment device and the second treatment device is sized and is configured to form lesions at or near a lower esophageal sphincter.

12. The system according to claim 10 wherein one of the at least first treatment device and the second treatment device is sized and is configured to form lesions at or near an anal sphincter.

13. The system according to claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to identify which of the at least first treatment device and the second treatment device has been connected by a graphical display of the treatment device that has been connected.

14. The system according to claim 10, wherein the visual record of the progress of the process includes a series of spatial models of corresponding to the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels and the number of lesions in each axially spaced lesion level displayed in each of the series of spatial models.

15. The system according to claim 10, wherein an indicia marks where a user has visualized a selected home base reference for formation of the lesions, and the graphical interface is configured to graphically orient location of the plurality of axially spaced lesion levels relative to the selected home base reference by displaying a position of each axially spaced lesion level relative to the home base reference.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein a numeric value is displayed to indicate a distance the lesion level is from the home base reference.

17. The system according to claim 10, wherein the graphical interface includes a plurality of geometric shaped images, and the controller is configured to register the formation of lesions by a plurality of markers marked within the plurality of geometric shaped images, each marker of the plurality of markers corresponding to a section of the geometric shaped image of the plurality of geometric shaped images which corresponds to one of a plurality of circumferentially spaced tissue regions within an axially spaced lesion level and an electrode icon displaying an electrode configuration of the treatment device that is connected to the controller, the plurality of geometric shaped images spaced from the electrode icon.

18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the plurality of geometric shaped images are cylindrical shaped and visually divided into quadrants and the plurality of markers provide markers within the quadrants.