A Non-disruptive Technology for Robust 3D Tool Tracking for Ultrasound-Guided Interventions

Abstract

Abstract. In the past decade ultrasound (US) has become the preferred modality for a number of interventional procedures, offering excellent soft tissue visualization. The main limitation however is limited visualization of surgical tools. A new method is proposed for robust 3D tracking and US image enhancement of surgical tools under US guidance. Small US sensors are mounted on existing surgical tools. As the imager emits acoustic energy, the electrical signal from the sensor is analyzed to reconstruct its 3D coordinates. These coordinates can then be used for 3D surgical navigation, similar to current day tracking systems. A system with realtime 3D tool tracking and image enhancement was implemented on a commercial ultrasound scanner and 3D probe. Extensive water tank experiments with a tracked 0.2mm sensor show robust performance in a wide range of imaging conditions and tool position/orientations. The 3D tracking accuracy was 0.36 ± 0.16mm throughout the imaging volume of 55• × 27 • × 150mm. Additionally, the tool was successfully tracked inside a beating heart phantom. This paper proposes an image enhancement and tool tracking technology with sub-mm accuracy for US-guided interventions. The technology is non-disruptive, both in terms of existing clinical workflow and commercial considerations, showing promise for large scale clinical impact.

Electromagnetic Tracking in Medicine—A Review of Technology, Validation, and Applications

“…Some of the problems can be avoided using customized systems, however, the robustness of EM tracking can be an issue in some environments so all systems should be evaluated very carefully in clinical practice. In some situations in which an instrument must be tracked relative to an imaging probe such as US or video-endoscopy, direct image-bases tracking may be contemplated [64,119].…”

Vision-based endoscope tracking for 3D ultrasound image-guided surgical navigation

“…While ultrasound image-based localization enables instrument localization, accurate real-time tracking of freehand endoscope trajectories, as is reported in previous studies [20,21], is not trivial for intraoperative applications. Nevertheless, this option is ideal for initialization.…”

“…Nevertheless, this option is ideal for initialization. Mung et al [20] demonstrated a sub-mm accuracy of 0.36 ± 0.16 mm over a 3D ultrasound field-of-view with an active sensor attached to the tool tip during interventional procedures. While the reported technique was an attractive option, it requires a special active sensor at the tool tip for accuracy and robustness.…”

Enhanced needle localization in ultrasound using beam steering and learning-based segmentation

“…5. A wide variety of filters are present, some of which appear to be suitable for detecting the needle because of their thin, elongated appearance (1,3,9), while some have a large spatial support and are likely used for suppressing background speckle noise (10,11,16).…”