US 11,837,108 B2
Device and a system for simulated ultrasound-guided needling
Nicholas James Sleep, Cardiff (GB); Stephen Margetts, Cardiff (GB); and Wesley George Freeman, Cardiff (GB)
Assigned to INTELLIGENT ULTRASOUND LIMITED
Appl. No. 17/609,083
Filed by INTELLIGENT ULTRASOUND LIMITED, Cardiff (GB)
PCT Filed May 5, 2020, PCT No. PCT/GB2020/051098
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Nov. 5, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/229796, PCT Pub. Date Nov. 19, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 1906655 (GB), filed on May 10, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2022/0230561 A1, Jul. 21, 2022
Int. Cl. G09B 23/28 (2006.01); G06T 11/00 (2006.01)
CPC G09B 23/285 (2013.01) [G06T 11/00 (2013.01); G06T 2210/41 (2013.01)] 16 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A computer-implemented simulation system comprising a needle device having a tip and a retractable needle shaft comprising a resistance mechanism which can be activated to vary the resistance of the needle shaft, an ultrasound image data source, comprising at least one of an ultrasound probe configured to transmit an ultrasound beam and an ultrasound simulator, a display unit and a processing module, wherein the processing module is configured to:
receive ultrasound image data representative of a subject being scanned,
receive position and orientation data representative of the ultrasound probe and the needle device,
calculate a projected path for the needle device and generate a simulation needle from the projected path,
overlay the simulation needle on the ultrasound image data representative of the subject being scanned so as to generate one or more scenes of the object being scanned using the ultrasound image data and the position and orientation data,
send the one or more scenes to the display unit for display,
update the one or more scenes in real-time as location and orientation data changes,
analyse, in real-time, the one or more scenes to locate various tissue types present in an ultrasound image, and
calculate a proximity of the needle device tip to the tissue types present in the ultrasound image,
wherein, the processing module is configured to, when the simulation needle is determined to intersect with an identified tissue type, modulate a signal and send the modulated signal to the resistance mechanism, thereby to cause a change in the resistance of the retractable needle shaft.