# US 12,733,986 B2 · Directing an ultrasound probe using known positions of anatomical structures

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- Number: US 12,733,986 B2
- Document ID: US12733986B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/555,836
- Filed: 2021-12-20
- Published: 2023-06-22
- Granted: 2026-09-15
- Earliest claimed: 2021-12-20
- Assignees: Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd.
- Applicants: Biosense Webster (Israel) Ltd.
- Inventors: Andres Claudio Altmann; Assaf Govari; Ido Ilan; Morris Ziv-Ari
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12733986B2

## CPC

- A61B 34/20: Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
- A61B 5/062: {using magnetic field}
- A61B 5/367: Electrophysiological study [EPS], e.g. electrical activation mapping or electro-anatomical mapping
- A61B 8/0841: {for locating instruments}
- A61B 8/085: {for locating body or organic structures, e.g. tumours, calculi, blood vessels, nodules}
- A61B 8/0883: {for diagnosis of the heart}
- A61B 8/12: in body cavities or body tracts, e.g. by using catheters
- A61B 8/4245: {involving determining the position of the probe, e.g. with respect to an external reference frame or to the patient}
- A61B 8/463: {characterised by displaying multiple images or images and diagnostic data on one display}
- A61B 8/468: {allowing annotation or message recording}
- A61B 8/4254: {using sensors mounted on the probe}
- A61B 8/4416: {related to combined acquisition of different diagnostic modalities, e.g. combination of ultrasound and X-ray acquisitions}
- A61B 8/4488: {the transducer being a phased array}
- A61B 8/483: {involving the acquisition of a 3D volume of data}
- A61B 8/5261: {combining images from different diagnostic modalities, e.g. ultrasound and X-ray}
- A61B 2034/2063: {Acoustic tracking systems, e.g. using ultrasound}
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)

## Abstract

A method includes manipulating a catheter, which includes an ultrasound transducer array, inside an organ of a patient so as to acquire ultrasound images of at least part of the organ. One or more reference positions are identified of one or more respective reference anatomical structures in or near the organ. The ultrasound images are annotated with annotations indicating the identified reference anatomical structures.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method, comprising:
receiving, in real-time, via a display, at least one ultrasound image of at least part of an organ of a patient acquired by an ultrasound transducer array of a first catheter inserted into the patient;
acquiring, using a second catheter configured to be inserted into the patient, intracardiac electrocardiogram signals and location information;
building, using the intracardiac electrocardiogram signals and location information, an anatomical map representing measured locations of one or more reference anatomical structures in or near the organ, by identifying one or more reference positions of the one or more respective reference anatomical structures;
generating, via a processor, an abstract labeling map that predicts locations, within the organ, of additional anatomical structures that are not represented in the anatomical map, the predicted locations being determined based on the identified one or more reference positions and a generally known anatomical model of the organ;
registering and overlaying, via the processor, the abstract labeling map with the at least one received ultrasound image in real-time;
annotating, via the processor, the at least one received ultrasound image and the anatomical map with annotations indicating the identified reference anatomical structures;
re-positioning, using the annotations, at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter to image a target anatomical structure of the organ; and
displaying, via the display, the annotated anatomical map with the at least one annotated ultrasound image.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein identifying the reference positions comprises recording multiple catheter positions of the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter, at which the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter is positioned while imaging the multiple reference anatomical structures, respectively.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method according to claim 2, wherein the recording the multiple catheter positions of the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter comprises measuring the multiple catheter positions by a position tracking system.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the anatomical map is acquired during a same invasive procedure in which the ultrasound image is acquired.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein re-positioning the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter comprises calculating a target position of the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter relative to a geometrical model of the organ, the model specifying relative positions of the reference anatomical structures and the target anatomical structure.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein re-positioning the catheter comprises estimating a relative location and a relative orientation of the catheter with respect to the target anatomical structure based on known relative locations and relative orientations between the reference anatomical structures and the target anatomical structure.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein re-positioning the ultrasound catheter comprises at least one of displacing the catheter and rotating the catheter.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, wherein the organ is a heart.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method according to claim 1, further comprising predicting landmark locations using the one or more reference positions and a generally known anatomy of the organ.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The method according to claim 9, wherein predicting landmark locations comprises generating and presenting an abstract labeling map comprising labels put at relative known and predicted locations of anatomical structures of the organ.

### Claim 11

A medical imaging system, comprising:
a processor, which is configured to:
receive, in real-time, via a display, at least one ultrasound image of at least a part of an organ of a patient acquired by an ultrasound catheter within or near the organ in-vivo;
acquire, using a second catheter configured to be inserted into the patient, intracardiac electrocardiogram signals and location information;
build, using the intracardiac electrocardiogram signals and location information, an anatomical map representing measured locations of one or more reference anatomical structures in or near the organ, by identifying one or more reference positions of the one or more respective reference anatomical structures;
generate, based on the one or more reference positions and a generally known anatomical model of the organ, an abstract labeling map that predicts positions, within the organ, of additional anatomical structures that are not represented in the anatomical map;
register and overlay, in real-time and via a processor, the abstract labeling map with the at least one received ultrasound image;
annotate, via the processor, the at least one received ultrasound image and the anatomical map with annotations indicating the identified reference anatomical structures;
automatically determine an orientation adjustment of the ultrasound catheter to obtain an image of a target anatomical structure based on the predicted positions of the additional anatomical structures in the abstract labeling map; and
display, via the display, the annotated anatomical map with the at least one annotated ultrasound image.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The system according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to identify the reference positions by recording multiple catheter positions of the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter, at which the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter is positioned while imaging the multiple reference anatomical structures, respectively.

### Claim 13 (depends on 12)

The system according to claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to record the multiple catheter positions of the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter by measuring the multiple catheter positions by a position tracking system.

### Claim 14 (depends on 11)

The system according to claim 11, wherein the anatomical map is acquired during a same invasive procedure in which the ultrasound image is acquired.

### Claim 15 (depends on 11)

The system according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to recommend re-positioning the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter by calculating a target position of the at least one of the first catheter and the second catheter relative to a geometrical model of the organ, the model specifying relative positions of the reference anatomical structures and the target anatomical structure.

### Claim 16 (depends on 11)

The system according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to recommend re-positioning the catheter by estimating a relative location and a relative orientation of the catheter with respect to the target anatomical structure based on known relative locations and relative orientations between the reference anatomical structures and the target anatomical structure.

### Claim 17 (depends on 11)

The system according to claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to recommend at least one of displacing the catheter and rotating the catheter.

### Claim 18 (depends on 11)

The system according to claim 11, wherein the organ is a heart.

### Claim 19 (depends on 11)

The system according to claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to predict relative location of additional landmark locations using the one or more reference positions and a generally known anatomy of the organ.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The system according to claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to predict landmark locations by generating and presenting an abstract labeling map comprising labels put at relative known and predicted locations of anatomical structures of the organ.