CN117322915A - Infrared vascular imaging system - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention aims to provide an infrared blood vessel imaging system with strong penetrating power, high resolution and no damage to human bodies, which comprises a catheter and an infrared imaging unit, wherein the infrared imaging unit comprises an imaging part and a control part, an infrared laser and an infrared camera are arranged in the imaging part, infrared light emitted by the infrared laser reaches into a blood vessel through an optical fiber set arranged in an inner cavity of the catheter, a phased array ultrasonic probe is arranged at the far end of the catheter, an ultrasonic radiation area of the phased array ultrasonic probe is at least partially overlapped with an infrared radiation area transmitted by the optical fiber set, that is, an ultrasonic imaging technology and an infrared imaging technology can always image the same area in the blood vessel at the same time, and two images complement each other, so that the image accuracy is improved.

Description

Infrared vascular imaging system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of interventional medical instruments, in particular to an infrared vascular imaging system.

Background

The angiogram is to inject contrast medium into heart cavity or blood vessel fast through the contrast conduit to make heart and blood vessel cavity develop under X-ray irradiation, and shoot the developing process, observe blood flow and blood vessel filling condition of heart from developing result, judge the degree of vascular pathological change, it is a valuable diagnostic method of cardiovascular disease. However, the contrast agent can trigger various allergic reactions, and meanwhile, the X-ray irradiation in the examination process is also harmful to the patient and the doctor, and medical staff must wear a thick lead clothing to operate in the contrast process, so that the operation difficulty is high, and the diagnosis and treatment effects are affected.

In recent years, intravascular ultrasound (Intravascular Ultrasound, IVUS) has been developed, in which a miniaturized ultrasound transducer is placed at a specific position in a blood vessel through an interventional catheter, and when the ultrasound transducer is retracted, the ultrasound transducer generates an ultrasound signal, which propagates and is reflected in human tissue, and converts the received reflected signal into an electrical signal, and then an image processing unit of the IVUS host system processes and displays the electrical signal, thereby obtaining image information of a lumen and a wall of the blood vessel. The intravascular ultrasound can be roughly divided into a mechanical rotation type and an electronic phased array type, wherein an ultrasonic probe of the mechanical rotation type IVUS is arranged at the tip of a catheter, the ultrasonic probe can perform rotation, pushing, withdrawing and other activities under the condition that the catheter is kept not to move, the frequency can reach 40-60MHz, but the high-speed rotation action can cause serious distortion of an image and artifact caused by bubbles to cause image distortion; the IVUS of electronic phased array has installed a plurality of ultrasonic probe in a week at catheter tip, and ultrasonic probe itself can not move, when imaging, needs whole catheter to remove and press close to pathological change position, and the IVUS frequency of electronic phased array is 20MHz, and is lower, consequently the imaging resolution is also lower.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to provide an infrared vascular imaging system which has strong penetrating power and high resolution and is harmless to human bodies.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the technical scheme adopted by the invention is as follows: the infrared blood vessel imaging system comprises a catheter and an infrared imaging unit, wherein the infrared imaging unit comprises an imaging part and a control part, an infrared laser and an infrared camera are arranged in the imaging part, infrared light emitted by the infrared laser reaches into a blood vessel through an optical fiber group arranged in an inner cavity of the catheter, a phased array ultrasonic probe is arranged at the far end of the catheter, and an ultrasonic radiation area of the phased array ultrasonic probe is at least partially overlapped with an infrared radiation area of the optical fiber group.

The optical fiber group comprises a plurality of optical fibers, the distal ends of the optical fibers are provided with fixing plates, the fixing plates are annular plate-shaped, the outer diameters of the fixing plates are identical to the inner diameters of the guide pipes and are fixedly connected, a plurality of through holes for the optical fibers to pass through are formed in the fixing plates at intervals along the circumferential directions of the fixing plates, and the middle parts of the fixing plates are through holes.

The phased array ultrasonic probe is arranged on the far side of the end part of the optical fiber, a certain gap is reserved between the end part of the optical fiber and the phased array ultrasonic probe, and a lens and a prism are arranged in a cavity between the end part of the far end of the optical fiber and the phased array ultrasonic probe.

The distance between the end of the optical fiber and the lens is 0mm-2mm, and the included angle between the reflecting inclined plane of the prism and the axis is more than 0 DEG and less than 45 deg.

The phased array ultrasonic probe is arranged on the near side of the end part of the optical fiber, and the end part of the distal end of the optical fiber is provided with a lens and a prism.

The distance between the end of the optical fiber and the lens is 0mm-2mm, and the included angle between the reflecting inclined plane of the prism and the axis is more than 45 degrees and less than 90 degrees.

The infrared laser generates infrared light which irradiates the inside of a blood vessel through the optical fiber set, the infrared light is absorbed and reflected by human deoxyhemoglobin, then the infrared camera collects a reflected image, and the image enters the control part to be enhanced in real time to obtain an infrared signal image.

The phased array ultrasonic probe comprises a plurality of ultrasonic transducers which are regularly arranged to form an annular array element, the annular array element transmits columnar ultrasonic signals and receives echo signals reflected by tissues, and the near end of the annular array element is connected with an external ultrasonic imaging unit through a wire.

And the ultrasonic imaging unit processes the ultrasonic echo signals received by the phased array ultrasonic probe to obtain ultrasonic signal images.

The infrared imaging unit and the ultrasonic imaging unit are electrically connected with the image processing unit at the same time, and the image processing unit is used for transmitting the signal image to the display unit after overlapping, integrating and denoising the infrared signal image and the ultrasonic signal image obtained by the infrared imaging unit and the ultrasonic imaging unit.

The infrared laser outputs near infrared waves with two wavelengths of 1320nm and 1710 nm.

The catheter comprises an inner tube made of nickel-titanium memory alloy, wherein the outer surface of the inner tube is provided with a coating layer, and the surface of the coating layer is provided with a hydrophilic coating layer.

The coating layer is made of medical thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber, and the hydrophilic coating layer is formed by at least one of polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyoxyethylene and maleic acid.

The thickness of the coating layer is 0.02 mm-0.05 mm, and the thickness of the hydrophilic coating layer is 0.01 mm-0.05 mm.

The wall of the catheter near the far end is embedded with a blood index sensor which detects parameters of blood PH, electrolyte, blood pressure concentration and blood plasma osmotic pressure in real time.

The distal end of the catheter is provided with a guide catheter, the outer diameter of the guide catheter is gradually reduced from the proximal end to the distal end, and the guide catheter is provided with a guide wire exchange channel.

In the scheme, the ultrasonic radiation area of the phased array ultrasonic probe and the infrared radiation area of the optical fiber group are at least partially overlapped, that is, the ultrasonic imaging technology and the infrared imaging technology can image the same area in a blood vessel all the time, and the two images are mutually complemented, so that the image accuracy is improved.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an infrared vascular imaging system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the structure of the catheter in example 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the imaging region of the catheter of example 1;

FIG. 4 is a view of the overlapping region of infrared imaging and ultrasonic imaging of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the structure of a catheter in example 2;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the imaging region of the catheter of example 2;

FIG. 7 is a view of the overlapping areas of infrared imaging and ultrasonic imaging of FIG. 6;

fig. 8 is a front view of the fixing plate;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a catheter;

FIG. 10 is an image effect diagram of an infrared imaging unit;

FIG. 11 is an image of a phased array ultrasound probe;

fig. 12 is a graph of imaging effects after the infrared imaging unit and the phased array ultrasound probe are fused.

Detailed Description

For ease of understanding, we first define the orientations referred to hereinafter: "proximal", "proximal" and "downstream" refer to the side proximal to the operator/physician and "distal", "distal" and "upstream" refer to the side distal to the operator/physician, i.e., the side proximal to the heart, as discussed in further detail below in connection with fig. 1-12.

As shown in fig. 1, an infrared vascular imaging system comprises a catheter 10 and an infrared imaging unit 20, wherein the infrared imaging unit 20 comprises an imaging part 21 and a control part 22, an infrared laser 211 and an infrared camera 212 are arranged in the imaging part 21, infrared light emitted by the infrared laser 211 reaches into a blood vessel through an optical fiber group 23 arranged in an inner cavity of the catheter 10, a phased array ultrasonic probe 30 is arranged at the distal end of the catheter 10, and an ultrasonic radiation area of the phased array ultrasonic probe 30 at least partially coincides with an infrared radiation area of the optical fiber group 23.

The invention combines the infrared imaging technology and the ultrasonic imaging technology, wherein the ultrasonic imaging technology has strong penetrating power and slightly poor spatial resolution; the infrared imaging technology can provide resolution at the near histological level, but the imaging penetration depth is limited, so that the presbyopic ultrasonic imaging technology and the myopic infrared imaging technology which are complementary in advantages are fused into a novel intravascular imaging technology, two intravascular image inspections can be completed on an integrated platform through one catheter, the operation time is saved, the using amount of a patient contrast medium is reduced, and the image is higher in definition and comprehensively grasps intravascular focus information.

It should be noted that, the ultrasonic radiation area of the phased array ultrasonic probe 30 and the infrared radiation area of the optical fiber set 23 are at least partially overlapped, that is, the two techniques can always image the same area in the blood vessel at the same time, and the two images complement each other, so that the image accuracy is improved.

Meanwhile, when the catheter 10 detects in a blood vessel, rotation is not needed, so that the condition that image distortion is caused by artifact cannot occur, and the imaging accuracy is further improved.

As shown in fig. 5, the optical fiber group 23 includes a plurality of optical fibers 231, the distal ends of the optical fibers 231 are provided with a fixing plate 232, the fixing plate 232 is in a ring shape, the outer diameter of the fixing plate 232 is anastomotic with and fixedly connected with the inner diameter of the catheter 10, and a plurality of through holes 232a for the optical fibers 231 to pass through are arranged on the fixing plate 232 at intervals along the circumferential direction thereof, so that the proximal ends of the optical fibers 231 are fixed, and the infrared light emission angles of the optical fibers 231 are ensured to be consistent. The middle of the fixing plate 232 is a through hole 232b, and the through hole 232b is used for guiding the guide wire and the lead wire of the blood index sensor 40 to pass through.

Example 1

As shown in fig. 2-4, in order to ensure the propagation path of the near infrared optical fiber transmitted by the optical fiber 231, the phased array ultrasonic probe 30 is disposed at the distal side of the end of the optical fiber 231, and a certain gap is left between the end of the optical fiber 231 and the phased array ultrasonic probe 30, and a lens 24 and a prism 25 are disposed in the cavity between the distal end of the optical fiber 231 and the phased array ultrasonic probe 30. Near infrared light transmitted by the optical fiber 231 sequentially passes through the lens 24 and the prism 25, wherein the lens 24 plays a role in converging, and the prism 25 plays a role in reflecting, so that light beams are emitted and received from a window between the optical fiber 231 and the phased array ultrasonic probe 30, thereby completing coherent light imaging. The end of the optical fiber 231 is spaced from the lens 24 by 0mm-2mm to enhance the focusing effect of the light transmitted from the optical fiber 231, and the angle between the reflecting slope of the prism 25 and the axis thereof is greater than 0 ° and less than 45 °, alternatively, the lens 24 may be a green lens 24, and the prism 25 may be a right angle prism 25.

Example 2

As shown in fig. 5-7, in order to ensure the propagation path of the near infrared optical fiber transmitted by the optical fiber 231, the phased array ultrasonic probe 30 is disposed near the end of the optical fiber 231, and the distal end of the optical fiber 231 is provided with a lens 24 and a prism 25, wherein the distance between the end of the optical fiber 231 and the lens 24 is 0mm-2mm, and the angle between the reflecting inclined plane of the prism 25 and the axis thereof is greater than 45 ° and less than 90 °. Near infrared light transmitted by the optical fiber 231 sequentially passes through the lens 24 and the prism 25, wherein the lens 24 plays a role in converging, and the prism 25 plays a role in reflecting, so that light beams are emitted and received from a window between the optical fiber 231 and the phased array ultrasonic probe 30, thereby completing coherent light imaging. The end of the optical fiber 231 is spaced from the lens 24 by 0mm to 2mm to enhance the focusing effect of the light transmitted from the optical fiber 231, alternatively, the lens 24 may be a green lens 24 and the prism 25 may be a right angle prism 25.

Whether the structure in embodiment 1 or the structure in embodiment 2, it is possible to ensure that the ultrasonic radiation region of the phased array ultrasonic probe 30 at least partially coincides with the infrared radiation region of the optical fiber group 23 to achieve complementation of the two techniques, resulting in a high-quality image.

The infrared laser 211 generates infrared light, the infrared light is irradiated into the blood vessel through the optical fiber group 23, the infrared light is absorbed and reflected by the deoxyhemoglobin of the human body, then the infrared camera 212 collects reflected images, the images enter the control part 212 to be enhanced in real time, infrared signal images are obtained, and the obtained images are clearer as shown in fig. 7.

As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 3 and 6, the phased array ultrasound probe 30 includes a plurality of ultrasound transducers, the plurality of ultrasound transducers are regularly arranged to form an annular array element 31, the annular array element 31 transmits an ultrasound signal and receives an echo signal reflected by tissue, and a proximal end of the annular array element 31 is connected to an external ultrasound imaging unit 40 through a wire 32. The phased array ultrasonic probe 30 forms a required image by means of a time sequence regulation method, the whole system is controlled by a complete set of codes, when the first group of ultrasonic sensors send ultrasonic signals, the second group synchronously receives feedback signals, and different groups fuse the diversified signals together to form a complete image. The type selection of the probe is also important, here, the annular array element 31 is selected, the annular array element 31 transmits ultrasonic signals, and the annular section of the whole blood vessel is detected simultaneously, so that the focusing function of different depths is realized. Meanwhile, the conical columnar radiation range transmitted by the optical fiber group 23 can also detect the annular section of the blood vessel, so that when the catheter is used, the whole catheter 10 only needs to be pulled along the axial direction of the blood vessel and does not need to rotate at a high speed, and the operation is simple and the damage to the blood vessel is low; at the same time, no rotation movement can cause image distortion and artifact.

The ultrasonic imaging unit 40 processes the ultrasonic echo signal received by the phased array ultrasonic probe 30 to obtain an ultrasonic signal image, as shown in fig. 11.

The infrared imaging unit 20 and the ultrasonic imaging unit 40 are electrically connected together by the image processing unit 50, and the image processing unit 50 superimposes, integrates and denoises the infrared signal image and the ultrasonic signal image obtained by the infrared imaging unit 20 and the ultrasonic imaging unit 40 and transmits the signal image to the display unit 60. The final image displayed on the display unit 60 is a final image obtained after the two imaging techniques complement each other and are processed, and as shown in fig. 12, a doctor can observe the influence of the blood vessel of the human body on the display device and adjust the position in time.

The infrared laser 211 outputs near infrared waves of two wavelengths of 1320nm and 1710 nm. The near infrared ray Mie scattering principle in suspended particle solution is utilized, 1710nm wave band is mainly used for penetration depth imaging, 1320nm wave band is mainly used for detail imaging, artificial intelligence software and the like are utilized for synthesizing the imaging of two different wave bands, and therefore the detail and depth of an image are ensured.

The catheter 10 includes an inner tube 11 made of a nickel-titanium memory alloy, and the shape memory alloy is a material composed of two or more metal elements having shape memory effect through thermoelasticity and martensitic transformation and inversion thereof, and one of titanium-nickel-copper alloy, titanium-nickel-iron alloy, and titanium-nickel-chromium alloy may be selected, which has a certain compliance, and can adapt to the bending of blood vessels, while providing a certain rigidity. As shown in fig. 9, the outer surface of the inner tube 11 is provided with a coating layer 12, and the surface of the coating layer 12 is provided with a hydrophilic coating layer 13. The arrangement of the coating layer 12 and the hydrophilic coating layer 13 can improve the flexibility and lubricity of the catheter 10, and has excellent passing performance and operability, so that the operation of doctors can be easier.

Further, the coating layer 12 is made of medical grade thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber, and the hydrophilic coating layer 13 is formed of at least one of polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyoxyethylene and maleic acid.

Preferably, the thickness of the coating layer 12 is 0.02 mm to 0.05 mm, and the thickness of the hydrophilic coating layer 13 is 0.01 mm to 0.05 mm. The catheter 10 has reduced outer diameter and reduced damage to blood vessels, while being as thin as possible, while satisfying its basic properties.

The wall of the catheter 10 near the distal end is embedded with a blood index sensor 40, and the blood index sensor 40 detects blood PH, electrolyte, blood pressure concentration and blood plasma osmotic pressure parameters in real time. Real conditions inside the blood vessel are monitored in real time, and treatment risks are reduced.

In order to facilitate the placement of the guide tube 70 from the distal end of the endovascular access catheter 10, the guide tube 70 may be tapered in outer diameter from the proximal end to the distal end, and the guide tube 70 may be formed into a tapered shape from the proximal end portion to the distal end portion by thermoplastic, blow molding, hot melt, compression, or the like. Since the catheter 10 is guided by a guide wire to reach a lesion site when it is inserted into a blood vessel, a guide wire exchange passage is formed in the guide tube 70. The guide wire exchange channel has two setting modes, one is that an inlet and an outlet are arranged on the guide pipe 70, the guide wire is firstly routed from the outside of the guide pipe 10, and then enters from the inlet and is led out from the outlet after reaching the guide pipe 70; alternatively, the lumen of the guide tube 70 is straight through, and the guidewire enters from the proximal end of the catheter 10, passes through the intermediate throughbore 232b of the fixation plate 232, and finally exits the distal end of the guide tube 70.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing exemplary embodiments, but includes other specific forms of the same or similar structures that may be embodied without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. Any reference sign in a claim should not be construed as limiting the claim concerned.

Furthermore, it should be understood that although the present disclosure describes embodiments, not every embodiment is provided with a separate embodiment, and that this description is provided for clarity only, and that the disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described in detail below, and that the embodiments described in the examples may be combined as appropriate to form other embodiments that will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims (16)

1. The utility model provides an infrared vascular imaging system, includes pipe (10) and infrared imaging unit (20), infrared imaging unit (20) include imaging unit (21) and control portion (22), be provided with infrared laser (211) and infrared camera (212) in imaging unit (21), infrared light that infrared laser (211) transmitted reaches in the blood vessel through optical fiber group (23) that set up in pipe (10) inner chamber, its characterized in that: the distal end of the catheter (10) is provided with a phased array ultrasonic probe (30), and the ultrasonic radiation area of the phased array ultrasonic probe (30) is at least partially overlapped with the infrared radiation area of the optical fiber group (23).

2. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 1, wherein: the optical fiber group (23) comprises a plurality of optical fibers (231), wherein the distal ends of the optical fibers (231) are provided with fixing plates (232), the fixing plates (232) are annular plates, the outer diameters of the fixing plates (232) are identical to the inner diameters of the guide pipes (10) and are fixedly connected, a plurality of through holes (232 a) for the optical fibers (231) to pass through are formed in the fixing plates (232) at intervals along the circumferential direction of the fixing plates, and through holes (232 b) are formed in the middle of the fixing plates (232).

3. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 2, wherein: the phased array ultrasonic probe (30) is arranged on the far side of the far end part of the optical fiber (231), a certain gap is reserved between the far end part of the optical fiber (231) and the phased array ultrasonic probe (30), and a lens (24) and a prism (25) are arranged in a cavity between the far end part of the optical fiber (231) and the phased array ultrasonic probe (30).

4. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 3, wherein: the end of the optical fiber (231) is spaced from the lens (24) by 0mm-2mm, and the angle between the reflecting inclined plane of the prism (25) and the axis is larger than 0 DEG and smaller than 45 deg.

5. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 2, wherein: the phased array ultrasonic probe (30) is arranged on the near side of the end part of the optical fiber (231), and the far end part of the optical fiber (231) is provided with a lens (24) and a prism (25).

6. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 5, wherein: the end of the optical fiber (231) is spaced 0mm-2mm from the lens (24), and the included angle between the reflecting inclined plane of the prism (25) and the axis is more than 45 degrees and less than 90 degrees.

7. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 2, wherein: the infrared laser (211) generates infrared light, the infrared light irradiates the inside of a blood vessel through the optical fiber set (23), the infrared light is absorbed and reflected by human deoxyhemoglobin, then the infrared camera (212) collects a reflected image, and the image enters the control part (22) to be enhanced in real time to obtain an infrared signal image.

8. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 1, wherein: the phased array ultrasonic probe (30) comprises a plurality of ultrasonic transducers, the ultrasonic transducers are regularly arranged to form an annular array element (31), the annular array element (31) transmits columnar ultrasonic signals and receives echo signals reflected by tissues, and the near end of the annular array element (31) is connected with an external ultrasonic imaging unit (40) through a lead (32).

9. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 8, wherein: and the ultrasonic imaging unit (40) is used for processing the ultrasonic echo signals received by the phased array ultrasonic probe (30) to obtain ultrasonic signal images.

10. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 7 or 9, wherein: the infrared imaging unit (20) and the ultrasonic imaging unit (40) are electrically connected with the image processing unit (50) at the same time, and the image processing unit (50) is used for superposing, integrating and denoising infrared signal images and ultrasonic signal images obtained by the infrared imaging unit (20) and the ultrasonic imaging unit (40) and then transmitting the signal images to the display unit (60).

11. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 1, wherein: the infrared laser (211) outputs near infrared waves with two wavelengths of 1320nm and 1710 nm.

12. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 1, wherein: the catheter (10) comprises an inner tube (11) made of nickel-titanium memory alloy, a coating layer (12) is arranged on the outer surface of the inner tube (11), and a hydrophilic coating layer (13) is arranged on the surface of the coating layer (12).

13. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 12, wherein: the coating layer (12) is made of medical thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer rubber, and the hydrophilic coating layer (13) is formed by at least one of polyvinylpyrrolidone, polyoxyethylene and maleic acid.

14. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 13, wherein: the thickness of the coating layer (12) is 0.02 mm-0.05 mm, and the thickness of the hydrophilic coating layer (13) is 0.01 mm-0.05 mm.

15. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 1, wherein: the wall of the catheter (10) close to the far end is embedded with a blood index sensor (70), and the blood index sensor (70) detects parameters of blood PH, electrolyte, blood pressure concentration and blood plasma osmotic pressure in real time.

16. The infrared vascular imaging system of claim 1, wherein: the distal end of the catheter (10) is provided with a guide tube (80), the outer diameter of the guide tube (80) is gradually reduced from the proximal end to the distal end, and the guide tube (80) is provided with a guide wire exchange channel.