Multi-mode information fusion navigation system for robot-assisted vascular interventional surgery.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Surgical Navigation
• Cardiovascular Interventions

Background:

• Minimally invasive vascular intervention (MIVI) is crucial for treating cardiovascular diseases like abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA), and aortic dissection (AD).
• Traditional 2D digital subtraction angiography (DSA) limits visualization of 3D vascular morphology and instrument positioning during MIVI.
• Enhanced visualization is needed to improve surgical outcomes in complex vascular procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a multi-mode information fusion navigation system (MIFNS) for MIVI.
• To integrate preoperative CT and intraoperative DSA images for improved intraoperative visualization.
• To enhance the precision and safety of MIVI procedures.

Main Methods:

• The proposed MIFNS combines preoperative CT angiography (CTA) and intraoperative DSA images.
• Image registration techniques were employed to fuse multimodal data.
• System performance was validated using a vascular model and real clinical data from AAA, TAA, and AD cases.

Main Results:

• The registration accuracy between preoperative CTA and intraoperative DSA images was less than 1 mm.
• The positioning accuracy of surgical instruments, assessed via a vascular model, was also less than 1 mm.
• The MIFNS demonstrated effective navigation for MIVI procedures on AAA, TAA, and AD.

Conclusions:

• A comprehensive and effective navigation system (MIFNS) was developed to aid surgeons during MIVI.
• The system achieved registration and positioning accuracies below 1 mm, meeting requirements for robot-assisted MIVI.
• The MIFNS enhances visualization and precision, facilitating complex vascular interventions.