Method and device for displaying predicted volume of influence

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9760688-B2
Application number	US-201414504621-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 2, 2014
Priority date	Jul 7, 2004
Publication date	Sep 12, 2017
Grant date	Sep 12, 2017

Abstract

This document discusses, among other things, brain stimulation models, systems, devices, and methods, such as for deep brain stimulation (DBS) or other electrical stimulation. In an example, volumetric imaging data representing an anatomical volume of a brain of a patient can be obtained and transformed to brain atlas data. A patient-specific brain atlas can be created using the inverse of the transformation to map the brain atlas data onto the volumetric imaging data and a volume of influence can be calculated using the patient-specific brain atlas. In certain examples, the volume of influence can include a predicted volume of tissue affected by an electrical stimulation delivered by an electrode at a corresponding at least one candidate electrode target location.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A computer-implemented method of outputting information concerning an electrode inserted inside a patient's neural tissue, the method comprising:
determining, by a computer processor, a distribution of electrical values, to be generated by the inserted electrode using a first set of settings, over a plurality of positions in the patient's neural tissue in a region surrounding the inserted electrode;
determining at least one threshold electrical value for neural tissue activation;
determining, by the processor and by applying the at least one threshold electrical value to the electrical values to be generated by the inserted electrode using the first set of settings, an estimated volume of neural tissue activated by the inserted electrode using the first set of settings, wherein the estimated volume of neural tissue indicates that the distribution of the electrical values inside the estimated volume of neural tissue exceed the at least one threshold electrical value and indicates that the distribution of the electrical values beyond the estimated volume of neural tissue fail to exceed the at least one threshold electrical value; and
outputting, by the processor, a graphical representation of the determined estimated volume.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the outputting includes displaying the graphical representation relative to an anatomical atlas.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining conductivity at a plurality of tissue regions, wherein the determination of the distribution of the electrical values is based on the determined conductivity.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the plurality of tissue regions span an anatomical area across which the determined conductivity is inhomogeneous.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the determined conductivity is patient specific.

6. The method of claim 3 , wherein the conductivity is determined based on diffusivity in the plurality of tissue regions.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determining of the distribution of the electrical values and the determining of the estimated volume of neural tissue activated is performed for each of a plurality of different sets of settings for the inserted electrode, different estimated volumes of neural tissue activated being determined for the different sets of settings, a location of the inserted electrode in the patient's neural tissue being the same for the plurality of determinations of the estimated volume of neural tissue activated.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the estimated volume is a combination of and is determined by the processor by combining, regions at which those of the electrical values that satisfy the at least one threshold electrical value are located.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the distribution of the electrical values, to be generated by the inserted electrode using the first set of settings, over the plurality of positions in the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode further comprises:
determining, by the processor, estimated conductivity of the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode; and
determining, by the processor, an estimation of the distribution over the plurality of positions in the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode based on the estimated conductivity.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining, by applying, the at least one threshold electrical value to the electrical values, the estimated volume of neural tissue activated by the inserted electrode using the first set of settings further comprises:
determining, by the processor and by applying the at least one threshold electrical value to the electrical values distributed in the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode, an estimated volume of neural tissue activated by the inserted electrode using the first set of settings, wherein the region in which the distribution of the electrical values was determined exceeds the estimated volume of neural tissue activated.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the distribution of the electrical values, to be generated by the inserted electrode using the first set of settings, over the plurality of positions in the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode further comprises:
determining at least one of one or more estimated inhomogeneous electrical properties of the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode or one or more estimated anisotropic electrical properties of the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode; and
determining the distribution of the electrical values based on the at least one of the one or more estimated inhomogeneous electrical properties or the one or more estimated anisotropic electrical properties.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the distribution of the electrical values, to be generated by the inserted electrode using the first set of settings, over the plurality of positions in the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode further comprises:
determining at least one of one or more geometries of the inserted electrode or one or more structures of the inserted electrode; and
determining the distribution of the electrical values based on the at least one of the one or more geometries or the one or more structures.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the distribution of the electrical values, to be generated by the inserted electrode using a first set of settings, over a plurality of positions in the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode further comprises:
determining, with regard to the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode, at least one of one or more neuron geometries, one or more neuron positions relative to the inserted electrode, or one or more neuron membrane dynamics; and
determining the distribution of the electrical values based on the at least one of the one or more neuron geometries, the one or more neuron positions relative to the inserted electrode, or the one or more neuron membrane dynamics.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein outputting the graphical representation of the determined estimated volume further comprises:
outputting, by the processor, the graphical representation of the determined estimated volume prior to insertion of the electrode into the patient's neural tissue.

15. The method of claim 1 , further comprising: determining, by the processor, a distribution of other electrical values, to be generated by the inserted electrode using a second set of settings over the plurality of positions in the patient's neural tissue in the region surrounding the inserted electrode; determining, by the processor and by applying the at least one threshold electrical value to the other electrical values, another estimated volume of neural tissue activated by the inserted electrode using the second set of settings, wherein the other estimated volume of neural tissue indicates that the distribution of the other electrical values inside the other estimated volume of neural tissue exceed the at least one threshold electrical value and indicates that the distribution of the other electrical values beyond the other estimated volume of neural tissue fail to exceed the at least one threshold electrical value; and outputting, by the processor, a graphical representation of the other determined estimated volume.

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Assignees

• Cleveland Clinic Found
• Cleveland Clinic Found

Inventors

• Mcintyre Cameron C
• Butson Christopher R
• Hall John D
• Henderson Jaimie M

Classifications

• A61N1/36082 Primary

  Cognitive or psychiatric applications, e.g. dementia or Alzheimer's disease · CPC title

• G16H30/20

  for handling medical images, e.g. DICOM, HL7 or PACS · CPC title

• G16H20/30

  relating to physical therapies or activities, e.g. physiotherapy, acupressure or exercising · CPC title

• A61B2090/364

  Correlation of different images or relation of image positions in respect to the body · CPC title

• A61N1/0534

  Electrodes for deep brain stimulation · CPC title