Method and system of producing 2D representations of 3D pain and stimulation maps and implant models on a clinician programmer

• US 9,615,788 B2
• Filed: 08/22/2013
• Issued: 04/11/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 08/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cirtec Medical Corp.
• Original Assignee: Nuvectra Corporation
• Inventors: Kaula, Norbert, Iyassu, Yohannes
• Primary Examiner(s): Bader, Robert
• Application Number:
  US13/973,219
• Publication Number:
  US 20140063003A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,328 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4824 Touch or pain perception evaluation A61B5/4821 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/36128 Control systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61N 1/37247 User interfaces, e.g. input or presentation means
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/00 3D [Three Dimensional] image rendering
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 15/04 Texture mapping
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 19/00 Manipulating 3D models or images for computer graphics
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/24 involving graphical user interfaces [GUIs]
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2210/41 Medical

Abstract

The present disclosure involves an electronic device for visualizing a sensation experienced by a patient. The electronic device includes a touchscreen display configured to receive a tactile input from a user and display a visual output. The electronic device includes a memory storage component configured to store programming code. The electronic device includes a computer processor configured to execute the programming code to perform the following tasks: generating, in response to the tactile input from the user, a three-dimensional (3D) sensation map that represents the sensation experienced by the patient; deriving a two-dimensional (2D) sensation map based on the 3D sensation map, wherein the 2D sensation map contains substantially less data than the 3D sensation map; and sending the 2D sensation map over a network to facilitate a reconstruction of the 3D sensation map using the 2D sensation map.

Claims

1. An electronic device for visualizing a sensation experienced by a patient, the electronic device comprising:

a user interface configured to receive a tactile input from a user and display a visual output;

a memory storage component configured to store programming code; and

a computer processor configured to execute the programming code to perform the following tasks;

selecting, in response to a user input and from an electronic database offering a plurality of predefined human body models that each have a unique set of physical characteristics, a human body model that most closely matches physical characteristics of the patient;

offering, via the user interface, the user one or more options on adjusting one or more of the physical characteristics of the selected human body model;

detecting, via the user interface, an adjustment of a physical characteristic of the selected human body model;

adjusting, in response to the detected adjustment, the physical characteristic of the selected human body model;

generating, in response to the tactile input from the user, a three-dimensional (3D) sensation map over the selected human body model having the adjusted physical characteristic, the 3D sensation map including a pain map representing a pain sensation experienced by the patient and a stimulation map representing a stimulation sensation experienced by the patient;

displaying an area of the pain map that is not covered by the stimulation map without displaying an overlapped area between the pain map and the stimulation map;

deriving a two-dimensional (2D) sensation map based on the 3D sensation map, wherein the 2D sensation map contains substantially less data than the 3D sensation map; and

sending the 2D sensation map over a network to facilitate a reconstruction of the 3D sensation map using the 2D sensation map and the selected human body model having the adjusted physical characteristic.

2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the deriving the 2D sensation map comprises deriving a snapshot type 2D sensation map that includes a projection of the 3D sensation map on a flat surface.

3. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the deriving the 2D sensation map comprises deriving a wrapping texture type 2D sensation map, the wrapping texture type 2D sensation map including a 2D digital cloth configured to be wrapped around a 3D human body model, and wherein the 2D digital cloth contains one or more sensation regions drawn by the patient.

4. The electronic device of claim 3, wherein the sending the 2D sensation map comprises saving the 2D digital cloth to a remote electronic database, and wherein the 2D digital cloth is configured for downloading by one of the electronic devices on which the 3D sensation map is to be reconstructed.

5. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the tasks further comprise:

receiving a further 2D sensation map; and

reconstructing a further 3D sensation map using the further 2D sensation map.

6. The electronic device of claim 1,

wherein the pain map is a 3D pain map that includes a 3D visualization of a pain experienced by the patient in a first body region of the patient;

and

wherein the stimulation map is a 3D stimulation map that includes a 3D visualization of a stimulation experienced by the patient in a second body region of the patient.

7. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is one of:

a clinician programmer, a patient programmer, and a computer tablet, and wherein the electronic device is portable and is configured to communicate with external devices according to a wired or wireless communications protocol.

26. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the tasks further comprise:

resizing the selected human body model; and

resizing the 3D sensation map to correspond with the resized selected human body model.

27. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the tasks further comprise:

offering, via the user interface, a plurality of predefined pain regions that each correspond to a different part of a human body;

detecting, via the user interface, a selection of one of the predefined pain regions; and

automatically generating a pain map in the selected predefined pain region in response to the detecting.

28. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the tasks further comprise, before the deriving of the 2D sensation map, zooming into a portion of the selected human body model;

and wherein the deriving of the 2D sensation map comprises generating a 2D sensation map that is zoomed into the portion of the selected human body model.

8. A medical system, comprising:

an electronic database storing a plurality of predefined human body models that each have a unique set of physical characteristics;

a first portable electronic device that includes;

a user interface configured to receive a tactile input from a user and display a visual output;

a first electronic processing component configured to;

select, from the electronic database in response to a user input, one of the predefined human body models that most closely matches physical characteristics of a patient;

offer, via the user interface, the user one or more options on adjusting one or more of the physical characteristics of the selected human body model;

detect, via the user interface, an adjustment of a physical characteristic of the selected human body model;

adjust, in response to the detected adjustment, the physical characteristic of the selected human body model;

generate a three-dimensional (3D) sensation map over the selected human body model having the adjusted characteristic, the sensation map including a pain map representing a pain sensation experienced by the patient and a stimulation map representing a stimulation sensation experienced by the patient;

displaying an area of the pain map that is not covered by the stimulation map without displaying an overlapped area between the pain map and the stimulation map;

produce a two-dimensional (2D) sensation map that is a 2D representation of the 3D sensation map for the patient, the 2D sensation map containing less data than the 3D sensation map; and

a first communications interface configured to send the 2D sensation map to the electronic database; and

a second portable electronic device that includes;

a second communications interface configured to receive the 2D sensation map and the selected human body model from the electronic database;

a second electronic processing component configured to reproduce the 3D sensation map based on the 2D sensation map and the selected human body model; and

a second user interface configured to display at least one of the 2D sensation map received from the electronic database or the reproduced 3D sensation map.

9. The medical system of claim 8, wherein the 2D sensation map includes a snapshot type 2D sensation map that is a projection of the 3D sensation map on a flat surface.

10. The medical system of claim 8, wherein the 2D sensation map include a wrapping texture type 2D sensation map, the wrapping texture type 2D sensation map including a 2D digital cloth configured to be wrapped around a 3D human body model, and wherein the 2D digital cloth contains one or more sensation regions drawn by the patient.

11. The medical system of claim 8,

wherein the pain map is a 3D pain map that includes a 3D visualization of a pain experienced by the patient in a first body region of the patient;

and

wherein the stimulation map is a 3D stimulation map that includes a 3D visualization of a stimulation experienced by the patient in a second body region of the patient.

12. The medical system of claim 8, wherein the first and second portable electronic devices each include one of:

a clinician programmer, a patient programmer, and a computer tablet.

29. The medical system of claim 8, wherein the first processing component is further configured to:

resize the selected human body model; and

resize the 3D sensation map to correspond with the resized selected human body model.

30. The medical system of claim 8, wherein the first processing component is further configured to:

offer, via the user interface, a plurality of predefined pain regions that each correspond to a different part of a human body;

detect, via the user interface, a selection of one of the predefined pain regions; and

automatically generate a pain map in the selected predefined pain region in response to the detected selection.

31. The medical system of claim 8, wherein the first processing component is further configured to:

zoom into a portion of the selected human body model before the 2D sensation map is produced; and

wherein 2D sensation map is produced by generating a 2D sensation map that is zoomed into the portion of the selected human body model.

13. A method of representing a sensation experienced by a patient, comprising:

selecting, in response to a user input and from an electronic database offering a plurality of predefined three-dimensional (3D) human body models that each have a unique set of physical characteristics, a human body model that most closely matches physical characteristics of the patient;

offering, via a user interface, a user one or more options on adjusting one or more of the physical characteristics of the selected human body model;

detecting, via the user interface, an adjustment of a physical characteristic of the selected human body model;

adjusting, in response to the detected adjustment, the physical characteristics of the selected human body model;

generating, in response to a tactile input from the user, a 3D sensation map that includes a pain map corresponding to a pain sensation experienced by the patient and a stimulation map corresponding to a stimulation sensation experienced by the patient, and wherein the 3D sensation map is generated over the selected 3D human body model having the adjusted physical characteristic;

displaying an area of the pain map that is not covered by the stimulation map without displaying an overlapped area between the pain map and the stimulation map;

representing the 3D sensation map with a two-dimensional (2D) sensation map, wherein the 2D sensation map contains substantially less data than the 3D sensation map; and

facilitating a reconstruction of the 3D sensation map based on the 2D sensation map and the selected human body model having the adjusted physical characteristic.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the facilitating comprises sending the 2D sensation map to the electronic database;

and further comprising;

retrieving the 2D sensation map from the database; and

reconstructing the 3D sensation map based on the retrieved 2D sensation map.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein:

the selecting, the offering, the detecting, the adjusting, the generating, the representing, and the sending are performed by a first portable electronic device; and

the retrieving and the reconstructing are performed by a second portable electronic device.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first and second portable electronic devices each include one of:

a clinician programmer, a patient programmer, and a computer tablet, and wherein the first and second electronic devices are configured to communicate with external devices according to a wired or wireless communications protocol.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the generating the 3D sensation map comprises wrapping a digital cloth around the selected 3D human body model, and wherein the digital cloth contains one or more sensation regions drawn by the patient.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the representing the 3D sensation map comprises taking the digital cloth off of the selected 3D human body model and flattening the digital cloth to a 2D form.

19. The method of claim 13, wherein the representing the 3D sensation map comprises projecting the 3D sensation map onto a flat surface.

20. The method of claim 13,

wherein the pain map is a 3D pain map that includes a 3D visualization of a pain experienced by the patient in a first body region of the patient;

and

wherein the stimulation map is a 3D stimulation map that includes a 3D visualization of a stimulation experienced by the patient in a second body region of the patient.

32. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

resizing the selected human body model; and

resizing the 3D sensation map to correspond with the resized selected human body model.

33. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

offering, via the user interface, a plurality of predefined pain regions that each correspond to a different part of a human body;

detecting, via the user interface, a selection of one of the predefined pain regions; and

automatically generating a pain map in the selected predefined pain region in response to the detecting.

34. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

before the 2D sensation map is created, zooming into a portion of the selected human body model; and

wherein the representing the 3D sensation map with the 2D sensation map comprises creating a 2D sensation map that is zoomed into the portion of the selected human body model.

21. A portable electronic apparatus, comprising:

means for selecting, in response to a user input and from an electronic database offering a plurality of predefined three-dimensional (3D) human body models that each have a unique set of physical characteristics, a human body model that most closely matches physical characteristics of a patient;

means for offering a user one or more options on adjusting one or more of the physical characteristics of the selected human body model;

means for detecting an adjustment of a physical characteristic of the selected human body model by the user;

means for adjusting, in response to the detected adjustment, the physical characteristic of the selected human body model;

means for generating, in response to a tactile input from the user, a first 3D sensation map that includes a pain map that indicates a pain sensation experienced by the patient and a stimulation map that indicates a stimulation sensation experienced by the patient, wherein the first 3D sensation map is generated over the selected 3D human body model having the adjusted physical characteristic;

means for displaying an area of the pain map that is not covered by the stimulation map without displaying an overlapped area between the pain map and the stimulation map;

means for representing the first 3D sensation map with a first two-dimensional (2D) sensation map, wherein the first 2D sensation map contains substantially less data than the first 3D sensation map;

means for sending the first 2D sensation map to the electronic database and receiving a second 2D sensation map from the electronic database; and

means for generating a second 3D sensation map based on the second 2D sensation map.

22. The portable electronic apparatus of claim 21, wherein the 2D sensation map includes a snapshot type 2D sensation map or a wrapping texture type 2D sensation map.

23. The portable electronic apparatus of claim 21, further comprising means for conducting electronic communications with external devices according to a wired or wireless communications protocol.

24. The portable electronic apparatus of claim 21,

wherein the pain map is a 3D pain map that includes a 3D visualization of a pain experienced by the patient in a first body region of the patient;

and

wherein the stimulation map is a 3D stimulation map that includes a 3D visualization of a stimulation experienced by the patient in a second body region of the patient.

25. The portable electronic apparatus of claim 21, wherein the second 2D sensation map is uploaded to the database by a further portable electronic apparatus.

35. The portable electronic apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

means for resizing the selected human body model; and

means for resizing the 3D sensation map to correspond with the resized selected human body model.

36. The portable electronic apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

means for offering a plurality of predefined pain regions that each correspond to a different part of a human body;

means for detecting a selection of one of the predefined pain regions; and

means for automatically generating a pain map in the selected predefined pain region in response to the detecting.

37. The portable electronic apparatus of claim 21, further comprising:

means for zooming into a portion of the selected human body model and creating a 2D sensation map that is zoomed into the selected portion of the human body model.