US-20260124018-A1 - ASYMMETRIC MARKER FOR DEPTH-SURFACE IMAGING

Abstract

A planar surface marker for use with a depth surface imaging device has an asymmetric 2D shape and defines an inner space or opening sized to encompass a surface of interest. The marker is made of material that attenuates a portion of sonic energy and projects a shadow of reduced sonic energy when subjected to an ultrasound beam.

Inventors

• Miklós GYÖNGY
• Krisztián FÜZESI
• Gergely CSÁNY
• Gergo SZIKSZAY-MOLNÁR

Assignees

• Dermus Kft

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20251105

Priority Date

20210520

Claims (4)

1. 1 . A surface marker for the definition of a coordinate system for the combined registration of the acoustic and optical signals for the depth-surface imaging device, which comprises a planar member having asymmetric 2D shape and defining an inner space sized to encompass the surface of interest, wherein the planar member is made of a material that attenuates a portion of sonic energy and projects a shadow of reduced sonic energy, when subjected to an ultrasound beam, and the shape of the planar member is designed so that it presents a different optical and ultrasound image from every direction.
2. 2 . The marker according to claim 1 , wherein the marker is a material selected from the group consisting of waterproof paper, a plastic, thin metal layer, ink layer, a 3D printed plate, synthetic resin, and coloured plastic.
3. 3 . The marker according to claim 1 , provided with a physiologically compatible adhesive on one side of the planar member.
4. 4 . The marker according to claim 1 , wherein an optically detectable pattern is placed or printed, with which, in addition to the shape of the marker, the position of the optical image can be more accurately determined according to the marker's coordinate system.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 18/561,875, filed Nov. 17, 2023, which in turn is a National Stage of PCT/HU2022/050026, filed Mar. 28, 2022, and claims priority to Hungarian Application No. HU P2100200, filed May 20, 2021. The entire disclosure of the aforementioned applications is incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a marker for depth-surface imaging, which, placed around the tissue object to be inspected, provides proper reference points for the combined registration and alignment of captured 2D images, and provides a fixed coordinate system, in which the captured 2D images can be aligned to each other with great precision. BACKGROUND ART Surgeons often need preliminary information on the tissue structure under the area affecting a surgical operation. There are imaging modalities like ultrasound imaging that non-invasively reveal the internal structure of the tissue. Nevertheless, in current practice the user capturing the ultrasound images is not able to position the ultrasound images relative to the surface, since the ultrasound transceiver head covers the inspected area; thus, the exact location of the inspection is not known. There are solutions where the user can also gain information after removing the ultrasound transducer concerning the location where the ultrasound images were taken. Nevertheless, according to current scientific knowledge, there is no such solution that provides sufficiently exact and unambiguous location information, and does not necessitate permanent marking of the tissue (e.g. with a pen); that further, makes it possible to view the registered images later, and which is able to position several ultrasound images according to the surface coordinate system. The above needs originate from the fact that, when planning the operation, it is necessary to achieve a proper localisation precision (typically under one mm), and unambiguous location (when estimating the localisation, there must not be several possible solutions from different places). It is also a requirement that the ultrasound image records can be taken before the operation, even during a timely separate session. The diagnostics and the surgical operation are often performed separately, in most cases by different persons. The fact that the registered image records can be viewed at a later date also provides the advantage for the physician and the patient that they can follow the pathological lesion and the progress of its treatment. By being able to position several ultrasound images according to the surface coordinate system, it is possible to create a partial or full volumetric (3D) exploration, enabling the surgeon to remove all tissues to be removed, without harming any tissues that must be avoided. Medical ultrasound examination applies, high frequency, high bandwidth sound waves (ultrasound) in the megahertz frequency range, which are reflected by the tissue to a different extent, which can be used to obtain images. Most people associate ultrasound with images of an embryo in a pregnant woman, although the scope of ultrasound examination is much broader than this. It is also used for imaging of abdominal organs, the heart, the breasts, the muscles, the tendons, vasculature (arteries and veins), and the skin. Due to speckle noise inherently present in the imaging, it is often less suitable for the examination of fine anatomic details than for example CT or MRI; but still it has several advantages, due to which it is an ideal tool in many situations, especially when the functioning of moving structures has to be examined in real time. Another great advantage is that it does not emit ionised radiation. If acoustic emission is properly chosen, no possible negative impacts are known in connection with its application, thus, this method seems fairly safe. Also, imaging is relatively cheap, and easy to implement. The real time images obtained can be used for controlled fluid drainage and tissue sampling. Doppler ultrasound examination makes it possible to assess arterial and venous flow. Recently, by the development of technology, it is possible to create three-dimensional images by CT, MRI and ultrasound software for physicians. Traditionally, CT and MRI scans would only be able to produce two-dimensional static output. To achieve three-dimensional records, a very large number of scans must be performed, and these must be combined with certain computerised operations, to be able to create a three-dimensional model which can already be manipulated by the physician. Three-dimensional ultrasound images are also created in a very similar manner. For acoustic imaging a transducer unit is required, which emits a sound wave, and converts the sound wave received as response to this to a signal that can be recorded. There are single element and multiple element transducers. In the trans