System for performing a therapeutic procedure

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10322299-B2
Application number	US-201515118107-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 17, 2015
Priority date	Feb 27, 2014
Publication date	Jun 18, 2019
Grant date	Jun 18, 2019

Abstract

When performing a therapeutic procedure, like a high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy, an elongate introduction element is introduced into a body, a temperature is determined along the introduction element, and it is determined which part of the introduction element is within the body based on the determined temperature. A therapeutic procedure is performed by using the introduction element depending on the determination which part of the introduction element is within the body. This can ensure that the therapeutic procedure is only performed within the body, thereby reducing the likelihood of involuntary affecting, for instance, a patient's outer skin, especially by ionizing radiation which may be used during a HDR brachytherapy.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system for performing a therapeutic procedure, wherein the system comprises:
an elongate introduction element for being introduced into a body,
a temperature determination unit for determining a temperature along the introduction element,
an inner part determination unit for determining which part of the introduction element is within the body based on the determined temperature,
a therapeutic procedure performing unit for performing the therapeutic procedure by using the introduction element depending on the determination which part of the introduction element is within the body such that the therapeutic procedure is performed only at a predetermined inner part of the introduction element, and
a depth determination unit for determining the depth of the introduction element within the body based on the predetermined inner part of the introduction element, wherein the depth determination unit is further adapted to determine a deviation of the determined depth of the introduction element with a predefined depth and to indicate the deviation.

2. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the introduction element is a catheter and wherein the therapeutic procedure performing unit comprises:
a moving unit for moving a radiation source to a dwell position for treating the body at the dwell position within the catheter, and
a brachytherapy control unit for controlling the moving unit such that the dwell position is within a part of the catheter which has been determined to be within the body.

3. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the introduction element comprises an optical fiber for generating optical signals being indicative of the temperature along the introduction element and wherein the temperature determination unit is adapted to determine the temperature along the introduction element based on the generated optical signals.

4. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the inner part determination unit is adapted to determine which part of the introduction element is within the body by determining an increase or decrease of the temperature along the introduction element.

5. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the inner part determination unit is adapted to determine which part of the introduction element is within the body by modeling thermodynamic properties of the body and/or of the environment and/or of the introduction element and by using the determined temperature along the introduction element.

6. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises a target depth providing unit for providing a target depth of the introduction element and a guidance information generation unit for generating guidance information being indicative of a movement of the introduction element, which would allow the introduction element to reach the target depth, based on the provided target depth and the determined depth of the introduction element.

7. The system as defined in claim 1 , wherein the system further comprises:
a position determination unit for determining a position of the introduction element within the body,
a body image providing unit for providing a body image, wherein the provided body image is registered with the determined position of the introduction element,
an introduction element image generation unit for generating an introduction element image showing a representation of the introduction element within the body image based on the determined position of the introduction element within the body and the body image.

8. The system as defined in claim 7 , wherein the introduction element image generation unit is configured to generate the introduction element image showing a representation of only a part of the introduction element which is within the body.

9. The system as defined in claim 7 , wherein the introduction element comprises an optical shape sensing fiber for generating optical shape sensing signals being indicative of the position of the introduction element within the body and wherein the position determination unit is adapted to determine the position of the introduction element within the body based on the generated optical shape sensing signals.

10. The system as defined in claim 7 , wherein the body image providing unit is adapted to indicate a position at which the introduction element is introduced into the body, relative to the provided body image and to register the body image with the position of the introduction element.

11. A computer program for performing a therapeutic procedure, the computer program comprising program code means for causing a system as defined in claim 1 to carry out the following steps, when the computer program is run on a computer controlling the system:
determining the temperature along an introduction element, which has been introduced into a body,
determining which part of the introduction element is within the body based on the determined temperature,
controlling the therapeutic procedure performing unit to perform the therapeutic procedure using only a part of the introduction element which has been introduced into the body.

12. A system for performing brachytherapy, the system comprising:
a catheter configured for insertion into a patient, the catheter including an interior passage and an optical fiber configured to generate optical signals;
a radiation source configured to move through the interior passage of the catheter; and,
a computer processor configured to:
determine temperatures along the catheter from the optical signals,
from the determined temperatures, determine which part of the catheter is inserted in the patient, and determine at least one of a depth and/or a location of a predetermined inner part of the catheter inserted into the patient,
control the radiation source to move continuously through the catheter interior passage without dwelling to a preselected dwell location along the catheter part in the predetermined inner part in the patient,
determine a depth of the preselected dwell location based on the predetermined inner part of the catheter,
determine a deviation of the determined depth with a predefined depth and indicate the deviation, and
dwell the radiation source at the dwell location to perform the brachytherapy.

13. A therapy method comprising:
identifying a target in a patient;
inserting a catheter partially into the patient until a portion of the catheter is adjacent the target;
measuring temperatures along the catheter;
based on the measured temperatures, determining which part of the catheter is in the patient;
continuously moving a therapeutic element through an insertion passage of the catheter until the therapeutic element is in the part of the catheter determined to be in the patient;
determining a deviation between the portion of the catheter adjacent the target and the therapy element; and
indicating the deviation.

14. The method as defined in claim 13 , wherein the therapeutic element includes a radiation source.

15. The method according to claim 14 , further including:
moving the radiation source through the insertion passage minimizing the deviation; and
stopping movement of the radiation source adjacent the target to perform radiation therapy.

16. The method as defined in claim 14 , further including determining a depth of the radiation source within the patient.

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• Hautvast Guillaume Leopold Theodorus
• Binnekamp Dirk

Classifications

• A61B34/20

  Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis · CPC title

• A61N5/1007

  Arrangements or means for the introduction of sources into the body · CPC title

• A61N5/1048 Primary

  Monitoring, verifying, controlling systems and methods · CPC title

• A61N5/1065

  Beam adjustment · CPC title

• A61B2034/2061

  using shape-sensors, e.g. fiber shape sensors with Bragg gratings · CPC title