Insertion support system for specifying a location of interest as an arbitrary region and also appropriately setting a navigation leading to the specified region

• US 20060195033A1
• Filed: 04/27/2006
• Published: 08/31/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Akimoto, Shunya, Ohnishi, Junichi
• Granted Patent: US 8,049,777 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/429
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/2676 Bronchoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/06 Devices, other than using radiation, for detecting or locating foreign bodies for removing same A61B17/50 ; determining position of probes within or on the body of the patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/00 Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis; Apparatus or devices for radiation diagnosis combined with radiation therapy equipment instruments measuring radiation intensity for application in the field of nuclear medicine, e.g. in vivo counting, G01T1/161; apparatus for taking X-ray photographs G03B42/02
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/10 for stereotaxic surgery, e.g. frame-based stereotaxis

Abstract

According to an insertion support system of the present invention, when a biopsy area is specified at a periphery of the bronchi, the barycenter of the biopsy area is extracted. A circle centering on the barycenter is determined as a search area. The search area is expanded until the bronchi are located within the search area. A point in the search area to which the bronchi first reach is determined as an end point. A first route choice connecting the end point and a start point is determined. If the first route choice has not been registered yet, the first route choice is registered as a first registered route. Accordingly, a location of interest can be specified as an arbitrary region, and navigation leading to the specified region is appropriately set.

Claims

1. An insertion support system comprising:

a virtual image generating unit for generating virtual images of a duct in a body cavity in a subject on the basis of image data of a three-dimensional region in the subject;

a route start point setting unit for setting a start point of an insertion route for inserting an endoscope into the duct in the body cavity in the subject;

an interest region setting unit for setting a region of interest location in the subject; and

a route end point extracting unit for extracting an end point of the insertion route for inserting the endoscope into the duct in the body cavity in the subject, on the basis of the region of interest location.

2. The insertion support system according to claim 1,

wherein the route end point extracting unit includes:

a barycenter calculating unit for calculating the barycenter of the region of interest location; and

a position extracting unit for extracting a position of the duct in the body cavity near the barycenter.

3. The insertion support system according to claim 2,

wherein the position extracting unit extracts a plurality of positions of the duct in the body cavity near the barycenter.

4. An insertion support method comprising:

a virtual image generating step of generating virtual images of a duct in a body cavity in a subject on the basis of image data of a three-dimensional region in the subject;

a route start point setting step for setting a start point of an insertion route for inserting an endoscope into the duct in the body cavity in the subject;

an interest region setting step of setting a region of interest location in the subject; and

a route end point extracting step of extracting an end point of the insertion route for inserting the endoscope into the duct in the body cavity in the subject, on the basis of the region of interest location.

5. A multi-planar reformatted image generating apparatus comprising:

a multi-planar reformatted image generating unit for generating a multi-planar reformatted image of a region in a subject on the basis of image data of a three-dimensional region in the subject;

a luminal organ information extracting unit for extracting information concerning the shape of the three-dimensional region of a predetermined luminal organ, on the basis of the image data of the three-dimensional region in the subject; and

an extracted luminal organ image superimposing unit for superimposing an extracted luminal organ image, in which a result of the luminal organ extraction is reflected, on the multi-planar reformatted image.

6. The multi-planar reformatted image generating apparatus according to claim 5, comprising:

an extracted luminal organ image transparency changing unit for changing the transparency of the extracted luminal organ image superimposed on the multi-planar reformatted image.

7. The multi-planar reformatted image generating apparatus according to claim 5, comprising:

a multi-planar reformatted image transparency changing unit for changing the transparency of the multi-planar reformatted image on which the extracted luminal organ image is superimposed.

8. The multi-planar reformatted image generating apparatus according to claim 6, comprising:

a multi-planar reformatted image transparency changing unit for changing the transparency of the multi-planar reformatted image on which the extracted luminal organ image is superimposed.

9. An insertion support system comprising:

a multi-planar reformatted image generating unit for generating a multi-planar reformatted image of a region in a subject on the basis of image data of a three-dimensional region in the subject;

an end point coordinate specifying unit for specifying, on the multi-planar reformatted image, a coordinate of the three-dimensional region of a desired end point at a distal end of a duct in a body cavity of a luminal organ in the subject;

a passing point coordinate specifying unit for specifying a coordinate of the three-dimensional region of a desired passing point of the duct in the body cavity apart from the end point by a predetermined distance; and

a coordinate specification controlling unit for determining whether the passing point is a desired start point at a proximal end of the duct in the body cavity, and if the first passing point is not the desired start point, controlling the passing point coordinate specifying unit to specify a coordinate of the three-dimensional region of a new desired passing point of the duct in the body cavity apart from the first passing point by a predetermined distance.

10. The insertion support system according to claim 9, comprising:

a luminal organ extracting unit for extracting segmentation, which is data of the shape of the three-dimensional region of the luminal organ, on the basis of the image data of the three-dimensional region in the subject; and

a coordinate position identifying unit for determining whether either one of the coordinate of the three-dimensional region of the end point specified by the end point coordinate specifying unit and the coordinate of the three-dimensional region of the passing point specified by the passing point coordinate specifying unit is located within the three-dimensional region occupied by the segmentation extracted by the luminal organ extracting unit.

11. The insertion support system according to claim 10, further comprising:

a luminal organ image generating unit for generating a three-dimensional image of the luminal organ on the basis of the segmentation extracted by the luminal organ extracting unit; and

a plotting unit for plotting the end point and the passing point on the three-dimensional image of the luminal organ generated by the luminal organ image generating unit.

12. The insertion support system according to claim 9, comprising:

an interpolation performing unit for performing interpolation between the end point and one of the passing points, between the passing points, and between another one of the passing points and the start point; and

a route setting unit for setting a result of the processing performed by the interpolation performing unit as a route connecting the start point and the end point.

13. The insertion support system according to claim 10, comprising:

an interpolation performing unit for performing interpolation between the end point and one of the passing points, between the passing points, and between another one of the passing points and the start point; and

a route setting unit for setting a result of the processing performed by the interpolation performing unit as a route connecting the start point and the end point.

14. The insertion support system according to claim 11, comprising:

an interpolation performing unit for performing interpolation between the end point and one of the passing points, between the passing points, and between another one of the passing points and the start point; and

a route setting unit for setting a result of the processing performed by the interpolation performing unit as a route connecting the start point and the end point.

15. The insertion support system according to claim 9,

wherein a marker indicating either one of the end point specified by the end point coordinate specifying unit and the passing point specified by the passing point coordinate specifying unit is superimposed on the multi-planar reformatted image.

16. The insertion support system according to claim 10,

wherein a marker indicating either one of the end point specified by the end point coordinate specifying unit and the passing point specified by the passing point coordinate specifying unit is superimposed on the multi-planar reformatted image.

17. The insertion support system according to claim 11,

wherein a marker indicating either one of the end point specified by the end point coordinate specifying unit and the passing point specified by the passing point coordinate specifying unit is superimposed on the multi-planar reformatted image.

18. The insertion support system according to claim 12,

wherein a marker indicating either one of the end point specified by the end point coordinate specifying unit and the passing point specified by the passing point coordinate specifying unit is superimposed on the multi-planar reformatted image.

19. The insertion support system according to claim 13,

wherein a marker indicating either one of the end point specified by the end point coordinate specifying unit and the passing point specified by the passing point coordinate specifying unit is superimposed on the multi-planar reformatted image.

20. The insertion support system according to claim 14,

wherein a marker indicating either one of the end point specified by the end point coordinate specifying unit and the passing point specified by the passing point coordinate specifying unit is superimposed on the multi-planar reformatted image.

21. The insertion support system according to claim 15,

wherein the marker includes:

a position mark portion for specifying the position of either one of the end point and the passing point; and

a region mark portion for indicating a predetermined region including the position of either one of the end point and the passing point.

22. The insertion support system according to claim 16,

wherein the marker includes:

a position mark portion for specifying the position of either one of the end point and the passing point; and

a region mark portion for indicating a predetermined region including the position of either one of the end point and the passing point.

23. The insertion support system according to claim 17,

wherein the marker includes:

a position mark portion for specifying the position of either one of the end point and the passing point; and

a region mark portion for indicating a predetermined region including the position of either one of the end point and the passing point.

24. The insertion support system according to claim 18,

wherein the marker includes:

a position mark portion for specifying the position of either one of the end point and the passing point; and

a region mark portion for indicating a predetermined region including the position of either one of the end point and the passing point.

25. The insertion support system according to claim 19,

wherein the marker includes:

a position mark portion for specifying the position of either one of the end point and the passing point; and

a region mark portion for indicating a predetermined region including the position of either one of the end point and the passing point.

26. The insertion support system according to claim 20,

wherein the marker includes:

a position mark portion for specifying the position of either one of the end point and the passing point; and

a region mark portion for indicating a predetermined region including the position of either one of the end point and the passing point.

27. The insertion support system according to claim 10,

wherein the multi-planar reformatted image generating unit is controlled to superimpose a segmentation image, in which the segmentation is reflected, on the multi-planar reformatted image.

28. An insertion support route setting method comprising:

a multi-planar reformatted image generating step of generating a multi-planar reformatted image of a region in a subject on the basis of image data of a three-dimensional region in the subject;

an end point coordinate specifying step of specifying, on the multi-planar reformatted image, a coordinate of the three-dimensional region of a desired end point at a distal end of a duct in a body cavity of a luminal organ in the subject;

a passing point coordinate specifying step of specifying a coordinate of the three-dimensional region of a desired passing point of the duct in the body cavity apart from the end point by a predetermined distance; and

a coordinate specification controlling step of determining whether the passing point is a desired start point at a proximal end of the duct in the body cavity, and if the first passing point is not the desired start point, controlling the passing point coordinate specifying step to specify a coordinate of the three-dimensional region of a new desired passing point of the duct in the body cavity apart from the first passing point by a predetermined distance.