REAL-TIME TRACKING AND NAVIGATION SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGICAL PROCEDURES

• US 20130296737A1
• Filed: 05/02/2013
• Published: 11/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/02/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Office of Technology Commercialization University of Maryland College Park
• Original Assignee: University of Maryland Baltimore County (University of Maryland), University of Maryland, College Park
• Inventors: GULLAPALLI, RAO, DESAI, JAYDEV P., MCMILLAN, ALAN B., RICHARD, HOWARD M. III, ROYS, STEVEN
• Granted Patent: US 9,326,823 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/562
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/02 Instruments for taking cell samples or for biopsy A61B10/0038 and A61B10/0045 take precedence; needle locating or guiding means A61B17/3403; samplers for enzymology or microbiology C12M1/26; sampling or preparing biological specimens G01N33/48
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00234 for minimally invasive surgery A61B17/0218, A61B17/0469, A61B17/12013, A61B17/1285, A61B17/29, A61B17/320016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 18/042 using additional gas becoming plasma
• 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 18/201 with beam delivery through a hollow tube, e.g. forming an articulated arm through a flexible conduit A61B18/22; Hand-pieces therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00477 Coupling A61B2017/0046 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00446 Brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/00577 Ablation
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2059 Mechanical position encoders
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/306 Wrists with multiple vertebrae
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/715 Cable tensioning mechanisms for removing slack
• 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 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/055 involving electronic [EMR] or nuclear [NMR] magnetic resonance, e.g. magnetic resonance imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/032 Transmission computed tomography [CT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/0841 for locating instruments
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 7/022 intracavitary

Abstract

Telemetrical control of a robotic interventional device for minimally invasive surgical procedure is based on an operative interaction between a tracking sub-system, MRI sub-system, navigation sub-system and the robotic interventional device. The tracking sensor sub-system is integrated with the interventional device to produce tracking information corresponding to the robotic interventional device location in the operative site. The navigation sub-system integrates the tracking information with the real-time images of the operative site produced by the MRI sub-system, and displays the integrated information to a user, to enable the telemetrical control of the interventional device for performing an intended procedure (biopsy, tissue resection, etc.). The navigation sub-system, based on the integrated real-time tracking information and real-time images, calculates and dynamically updates coordinates of subsequent imaging slices.

Claims

1. A system for telemetrical control of an interventional device for minimally invasive surgical procedure, comprising:

an imaging sub-system operated to produce substantially in real-time images of an operative site comprising a target of interest;

an interventional device disposed at said operative site;

a tracking sub-system operatively coupled to said imaging sub-system, wherein said tracking sub-system is configured to produce tracking information corresponding to a location of said interventional device within said operative site;

a processor controlled navigation sub-system operatively coupled to said tracking sub-system, said imaging sub-system, and said interventional device, wherein said navigation sub-system is configured to;

(a) integrate said tracking information with said real-time images,

(b) display said substantially real-time images of said operative site generated by said imaging sub-system, and

(c) interface with a user to receive user'"'"'s commands to telemetrically control said interventional device based on said substantially in real-time images and said tracking information to reach said target of interest for an intended interaction therewith.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising a processor controlled control sub-system operatively coupled to said navigation sub-system and said interventional device, wherein said control sub-system is configured to generate control signals responsive to the user'"'"'s commands input into said navigation sub-system and to apply said control signals to said interventional device to control the motion thereof in said operative site relative to said target of interest.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein said tracking sub-system further includes a sensor sub-system integrated with said interventional device, wherein said sensor sub-system includes at least one passive magnet field sensor (PMFS) positioned in proximity to a tip of said interventional device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein said sensor sub-system further includes at least one second PMFS positioned at a predetermined location along the length of said interventional device.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein said imaging sub-system further generates images based on an imaging pulse sequences, wherein said tracking sub-system uses predetermined tracking gradient pulses embedded in said imaging pulse sequences to induce currents in said sensor sub-assembly, and wherein said induced currents are processed to determine the position and orientation of said at least one PMFS.

6. The system of claim 5, further comprising pre-calibrated maps of induced currents in correspondence to said at least one PMFS location within said imaging sub-system, wherein said navigation sub-system is configured to correlate said induced currents from said at least one PMFS to a corresponding location in said pre-calibrated maps.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein said navigation sub-system is further configured to process, in real-time, coordinates of said at least one PMFS, to compute coordinates of a subsequent imaging slice based on said at least one PMFS coordinates, and to update, in real-time, said subsequent slice location during said surgical procedure.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising an image acquisition sub-system operatively coupled to said navigational system to perform reconstruction of said images.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein said image acquisition sub-system is based on a real-time under-sampled projection reconstruction routine using golden ratio projection ordering and specific undersampling routines.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein said navigation sub-system communicates said coordinates of said subsequent imaging slice to said imaging sub-system substantially in real-time for the subsequent image taking.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein said system is configured to operate in a tracking imaging mode and in a high resolution spot imaging mode, and wherein said navigation sub-system is further configured to adjust the number of projections needed for operating in the high-resolution or the tracking modes of operation with various contrast.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein said navigation sub-system comprises a user interface including a display sub-system.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein said interventional device includes a minimally invasive robotic sub-system compatible with said imaging sub-system, wherein said robotic sub-system includes at least one end-effector adapted for said intended interaction with said target of interest, and wherein said user'"'"'s commands include activation of said end-effector once said interventional device reaches said target of interest, and wherein said at least end-effector is adapted for tissue biopsy or tissue liquefaction of said target of interest.

14. The system of claim 1, wherein said imaging sub-system is an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) system.

15. A method for telemetrically controlling an interventional device during a minimally invasive surgical procedure, comprising the steps of:

integrating a tracking sub-system with an interventional device adapted for a surgical procedure;

positioning an operative site containing a target of interest into an imaging sub-system;

introducing said interventional device to said operative site containing said target of interest;

operatively coupling a navigation sub-system to said tracking sub-system, said interventional device, and said imaging sub-system;

configuring said navigation sub-system to;

display, substantially in real-time, images acquired from said imaging sub-system;

integrate said substantially real-time images with a tracking information obtained from said tracking sub-system, and generate coordinates of said tracking sub-system in said operative site, and

upon receipt of a command from a user to control the interventional device, issue a control signal applied to said interventional device to actuate a required motion thereof relative to the target of interest for an intended surgical interaction therewith.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein said imaging sub-system generates images in correspondence with predetermined imaging pulses sequences, further comprising the steps of:

embedding pre-determined tracking gradient pulses in said imaging pulses sequences,

inducing currents in said tracking sub-system by said tracking gradient pulses, and

processing said induced currents to determine a real-time position of said tracking sub-system.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

computing, in said navigation sub-system, substantially real-time coordinates of said tracking sub-system,

computing, in said navigation sub-system, substantially real-time coordinates of a subsequent image slice based on said coordinates of said tracking sub-system,

dynamically updating, substantially in real-time, said subsequent image slice location during the surgical procedure, and

actuating said imaging sub-systems accordingly for taking said subsequent image slice.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising the steps of:

operatively coupling an image-acquisition sub-system to said navigation sub-system,

performing images reconfiguration using golden ratio projection ordering, and

adjusting the number of projections needed for a high resolution imaging mode or tracking imaging mode of operation.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the steps of:

optimizing the imaging pulse sequences by;

embedding said tracking gradient pulses in the format of calibrated bipolar pulses having a predetermined duration and strength, and

using a frame rate of image acquisition exceeding the time duration requirement for obtaining a single projection.

20. The method of claim 17, further include the steps of:

monitoring feedback data corresponding to said interventional device position,

combining said feedback data with at least one of said substantially real-time images and said tracking information data, thereby obtaining combined data,

adjusting said control signal applied to said interventional device in correspondence to said combined data, and

communicating said feedback data to said navigation sub-system to compute, based on said combined data, said subsequent image slice location, and generate an optimal strategy for updating the subsequent slice imaging.