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Publication Number
US-8083524-B2
Publication Date
2011-12-27
Expiration Date
Abstract
The present invention relates to an interventional procedure simulation system and method, comprising a control unit and an interface unit, said control unit communicating with said interface unit to simulate handling of at least one instrument interfaced by said interface unit. The control unit comprises a database of vessels having hierarchy structure, each vessel having a diameter and a stiffness, and said instrument being a tool expendable in a simulated vessel. When the tool is expanded, a geometry of said vessel changes resulting in a fluid flow change.
Core Innovation
The invention relates to a simulation system for training and assessing the performance of an endovascular procedure. The system includes a control unit and an interface unit that simulate simultaneous handling of at least two different instruments interfaced by the interface unit, so that the simulator can represent multi-instrument interaction during an endovascular procedure.
The control unit includes a database of vessels interconnected in a hierarchical structure, where each vessel has a diameter and a stiffness. When expandable tools are expanded in the simulated vessels, the simulated geometry of the simulated vessels changes, resulting in a simulated fluid flow change, and the simulated fluid flow change affects fluid flow changes in adjacent simulated vessels.
The system is configured to recursively calculate simulated fluid flow in the simulated vessels and the fluid flow changes in adjacent simulated vessels in real time. The recursive calculation is a function of at least one parameter, at least one parameter being a result of a real time simulation of a heart function, and the flow simulation is implemented as solving an electrical resistive network mapping potentials to pressure and currents to flow with resistance mapped to fluid resistance.
The described approach uses a hierarchical vessel database where vessel geometry changes propagate to adjacent vessels and the flow is recalculated recursively through the vessel tree. The vessel database supports parameterization of vessel diameter and vessel stiffness, including lesion-specific stiffness that changes modeled stiffness relative to adjacent vessel parts, with boundary conditions associated with the left ventricle and veins connecting to the right atrium.
Claims Coverage
The patent document identifies three independent claims. Across these claims, the inventive features center on real-time multi-instrument simulation along parallel axes, a hierarchical vessel database defined by diameter and stiffness that changes with expandable tools, and recursive real-time fluid-flow calculation driven by parameters from a real time heart function simulation.
Parallel multi-instrument interfaced simulation for an endovascular procedure
A control unit and an interface unit communicate to simulate simultaneous handling of at least two different instruments, where the interface unit receives the at least two different instruments along two different axes arranged in a parallel manner.
Hierarchical vessel database with diameter and stiffness
The control unit includes a database of vessels interconnected in a hierarchical structure, where each vessel has a diameter and a stiffness.
Expandable tools that change vessel geometry and fluid flow
The instruments are tools expandable in simulated vessels, whereby when said tools are expanded, a simulated geometry of said vessels changes resulting in a simulated fluid flow change in the simulated vessels, the simulated fluid flow change affecting fluid flow changes in adjacent simulated vessels.
Recursive real-time fluid-flow calculation driven by a real time heart function
The system is configured to recursively calculate said simulated fluid flow and the fluid flow changes in adjacent simulated vessels, wherein the recursive calculation is a function of at least one parameter, at least one parameter being a result of a real time simulation of a heart function, and the system provides the simulated fluid flow change in real time with insertion affecting the recursive calculation.
Electrical resistive network representation of flow simulation
The flow simulation is modeled as an electrical resistive network, including mapping electrical potentials to pressure, currents to flow, and electrical resistance to fluid resistance.
Anatomical boundary placement for the modeled fluid network
The fluid network has a top in a left ventricle and a bottom in veins connecting to a right atrium.
Across the independent claims, the core coverage is for a real-time endovascular training and assessment simulator that supports simultaneous instrument handling along parallel axes and updates a hierarchical vessel model when expandable tools change vessel geometry, while using recursive fluid-flow calculation driven by parameters derived from a real time heart function.
Stated Advantages
Documented Applications
No documented applications found
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