Towards 3D Catheter Shape Reconstruction using Electromagnetic and Image Sensors

In current practice, fluoroscopy remains the gold standard for guiding surgeons during endovascular catheterization. The limited visibility of anatomical structures and the absence of depth information make catheter localization and manipulation a difficult task. Exposure to radiation and use of risk-prone contrast agent also compromise surgeons' and patients' health. Other approaches using embedded electromagnetic (EM) sensors have been developed to overcome the limitations of fluoroscopy-based interventions. As only a finite number of sensors can be integrated within a catheter, methods that rely on such sensors require the use of interpolation schemes to recover the catheter shape. Since EM sensors are sensitive to external interference, the outcome is not robust. This paper introduces a probabilistic framework that improves the catheter localization and reduces the dependency on fluoroscopy and contrast agents. Within this framework, the dense 2D information extracted from fluoroscopic images is combined with the discrete pose information of EM sensors to provide a reliable reconstruction of the full three-dimensional catheter shape. Validation in a physics-based simulation environment provides promising results and indicates that the proposed framework allows reconstructing the 3D catheter shape with an average root-mean-square error of 1.30 +/- 0.51mm.

Jaar van publicatie:2015

Toegankelijkheid:Closed