Flexible instrument channel insert for scope with real-time position tracking

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11206999-B2
Application number	US-201816003147-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 8, 2018
Priority date	Jan 14, 2010
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

An apparatus, system and method for determining a position of an instrument ( 100 ) includes a sheath ( 104 ) configured to fit within an instrument channel of a medical scope. An optical fiber ( 112 ) is disposed within the sheath and a plurality of sensors ( 106 ) is integrated in optical fiber. The sensors are configured to measure deflections and bending in the optical fiber. A fixing mechanism ( 140 ) is sized to fit within the instrument channel in a first state and fixes the sheath within the instrument channel in a second state such that the fixing mechanism anchors the sheath and the optical fiber so that the deflections and bending in the optical fiber are employed with a pre-procedural volumetric image to determine a position of the instrument.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for tracking of a medical device, comprising:
inserting a sheath into an instrument channel of the medical device, the sheath including an optical fiber and a plurality of distributed fiber Bragg sensors integrated with the optical fiber;
inflating a balloon disposed around a tip of the sheath to anchor the sheath within the instrument channel and to cause strain on fiber Bragg sensors of the plurality of distributed fiber Bragg sensors disposed adjacent the tip of the sheath;
acquiring video images in camera space from a camera disposed at the tip of the sheath;
determining a reference position within a patient in real space using a pre-procedural volume image of the patient;
using the fiber Bragg sensors, determining a shape of the optical fiber and a location of the tip of the sheath from gain strain caused by inflating the balloon;
correlating the shape of the optical fiber and the location of the tip of the sheath with the reference position determined from the pre-procedural volume image to provide a location of the camera; and
mapping the video images into real space using the location of the camera, the shape of the optical-fiber and the location of the tip of the sheath.

2. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the balloon includes a torus shape such that the sheath fits within the tows shape and an outside of the torus shape contacts an inside of the instrument channel and an inside of the torus shape contacts an outside of the sheath.

3. The method recited in claim 1 , wherein the medical device is a bronchoscope and the pre-procedural volume image comprises a segmented bronchial tree.

4. An apparatus for determining a position of a medical device, comprising:
a sheath configured to fit within an instrument channel of a bronchoscope;
at least one optical fiber disposed within the sheath;
a plurality of fiber Bragg grating sensors in optical communication with the at least one optical fiber, the fiber Bragg grating sensors being configured to shift wavelengths of light in the at least one optical fiber in response to strains on the fiber Bragg grating sensors caused by deflections and bending in the at least one optical fiber;
a camera disposed at a tip of the sheath;
a toroidal balloon disposed around the sheath at the tip of the sheath and having a deflated state and an inflated state, wherein in the deflated state, the toroidal balloon is sized to fit within the instrument channel and, in the inflated state, the toroidal balloon is configured to (i) fixedly engage the instrument channel and the sheath, and (ii) cause strain on fiber Bragg grating sensors of the plurality of fiber Bra grating sensors that are adjacent the tip of the sheath and the camera, the strain on the fiber Bragg grating sensors adjacent the tip of sheath and the camera shifting the wavelengths of the light in the at least one optical fiber adjacent the tip of the sheath;
an optical interface connected between the at least one optical fiber and a computer system configured to:
determine a shape of the at least one optical fiber and a location of the tip of the sheath from the shifts in the wavelengths of light in the at least one optical fiber;
based on the determined shape of the at least one optical fiber and the determined location of the tip, map a position of the bronchoscope to a depiction of a 3D bronchial tree retrieved from a computer memory; and
control a display to display one or more of the location of the tip, the bronchial tree with the mapped position of the bronchoscope and the tip, and video images from the camera.

5. The apparatus recited in claim 4 , wherein the at least one optical fiber includes a fiber triplet.

6. A method for tracking a medical scope with images, the method comprising:
acquiring a preprocedural diagnostic image of an anatomical area to be examined with the medical scope;
inserting an assembly into the instrument channel, the assembly including a sheath, an optical fiber, a plurality of fiber Bragg gratings optically connected with the optical fiber such that strains on the fiber Bragg gratings change wavelengths of light in the optical fiber, a toroidal balloon disposed around a tip of the sheath, the toroidal balloon having a deflated state for insertion into the instrument channel and an inflated state in which the toroidal balloon fixes the assembly in the instrument channel and applies strain to fiber Bragg gratings of the plurality of fiber Bragg gratings disposed at the tip of the sheath, and a camera disposed at the tip of the sheath;
inflating the balloon to secure the sheath within the instrument channel and apply pressure to the optical fiber and the fiber Bragg gratings to cause strain at the tip of the sheath, which in turn causes changes in the wavelengths of the light that are indicative of the location of the tip of the sheath;
inserting the medical scope into a patient;
selecting a reference position in the preprocedural diagnostic image;
determining a shape of the optical fiber based on the changes in the wavelengths of the light in the optical fiber and determining a location of the tip of the sheath relative to the selected reference position in the preprocedural diagnostic image based on the changes in the wavelengths of the light in the optical fiber;
acquiring a series of video images from the camera, the video images depicting tubular structures through which the medical scope is moved into real space;
from the shape of the optical fiber and the location of the tip of the sheath, mapping the series of video images of surfaces of tubular structures through which the medical scope is moved into real space; and
dynamically registering the preprocedural diagnostic image with the video images to reconstruct 3D passage surfaces to derive 3D contours of the passages.

7. The method recited in claim 6 wherein the medical scope is a bronchoscope, the preprocedural diagnostic volume image depicts a bronchial tree, and the tip of the bronchoscope is moved through the bronchi to perform a real-time examination thereof.

8. The method recited in claim 6 , wherein the dynamic registering includes:
segmenting the preprocedural diagnostic volumetric image to derive 3D contours of the bronchi;
utilizing the derived 3D contours as prior information to improve an accuracy of mapping between image pixels in camera space and real space.

Assignees

• Koninklijke Philips Nv

Inventors

• 'T Hooft Gert
• Desjardins Adrien Emmanuel
• Chan Raymond
• Shechter Guy

Classifications

• A61B1/009

  with bending or curvature detection of the insertion part · CPC title

• A61B1/005

  Flexible endoscopes · CPC title

• A61B5/061 Primary

  Determining position of a probe within the body employing means separate from the probe, e.g. sensing internal probe position employing impedance electrodes on the surface of the body (A61B1/00158 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G01D5/35316

  using a Bragg gratings · CPC title

• A61B5/1076

  for measuring dimensions inside body cavities, e.g. using catheters (A61B3/1005 takes precedence) · CPC title