WO2021097547A1

WO2021097547A1 - Apparatus for visualizing superficial veins by means of a method of image analysis and processing through embedded computation, and intensifier accessory

Info

Publication number: WO2021097547A1
Application number: PCT/BR2020/050497
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jose Humberto YATSUDA MOROMIZATO; Vanderlei SALVADOR BAGNATO
Original assignee: Yatsuda Moromizato Jose Humberto; Salvador Bagnato Vanderlei
Priority date: 2019-11-22
Filing date: 2020-11-23
Publication date: 2021-05-27

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus (10) for visualizing veins for the practice of venipuncture; said apparatus (10) visualizes superficial veins using the method of image analysis and processing (11) by means of embedded computation and according to the parameters of (i) ideal wavelength for illuminating the patient's tissue; (ii) sensors (20) for capturing the image of the veins; (iii) hardware (30) for processing the image of the veins and presentation to the person performing venipuncture; (iv) systems for operating embedded software (40) for the processing of the images; wherein said apparatus (10) acts in conjunction with an intensifier accessory (90) provided with a set of 808-nm lasers (92a) and respective heat sinks (92b) in which they are coordinated by electronic devices (91).

Description

"SURFACE VEHICLE VISUAUZATING DEVICE THROUGH A METHOD OF IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING THROUGH BOARDED COMPUTER AND STRENGTHENING ACCESSORY".

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[001] The present invention patent deals with the visualization device of superficial veins through the method of analysis and image processing through embedded computing, notably, said visualization device presents innovative characteristics through the illumination of the superficial tissue and reflection absorbed by a sensor that feeds the entrance of a system responsible for distinguishing veins, both from animals and humans, from other tissues and presents in full scale the image of the puncture site with a clear and precise definition of where the veins of the puncture are located. ensuring greater assertiveness of the puncture, as well as greater comfort for the patient. This visualization device acts together with a reinforcing accessory equipped with 808 Nm infrared lasers, sinks and respective electronic devices that improve the image quality and contribute to the performance of the visualization device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[002] It is known that subcutaneous vein images are of great interest in a wide range of medical applications that can range from facilitating access to vein puncture to vascular surgery. In this context, medical images in infrared IR have contributed to the visualization of subcutaneous structures (LIMA; BAKKER, 2011). The band of the electromagnetic spectrum located in the infrared can offer a good solution for the visualization of veins, since it interacts with human tissue more deeply than the visible light. It is known that blood absorbs IR energy to a greater degree than the surrounding tissue, through the absorption of hemoglobin (ZHAROV, 2004).

[003] According to Franceschini, et al (2010), it is known that specular and diffusive reflections of the surface and the region above a target combine to act as the main source of optical noise during the IR reflectance image. This implies testing the best power and angle that will be needed to irradiate the tissue. [004] In the literature several approaches of optical arrangements were found to circumvent the problem of saturation and noise among them: diffusers, polarizers, filters. [005] The quality of the IR image depends on many parameters, including, type of light source, wavelength and signal processing. When the image of the infrared ray is captured, only the pattern of blood vessels containing deoxidized hemoglobin is visible as a series of dark lines (SHROTRI, 2010). [006] Studies by Song, et al. (2011), suggest that a very smooth light distribution, could increase the contrast and distinguish minor variations in intensity. [007] The literature presents good results using tissue imaging methods with IR, but for each purpose different types of sensors and processing were used. For example, use of CCD cameras, WebCAM, hardware processing by FPGA, embedded computing, Matlab processing, among others. [008] There are some device options on the market that use different approaches to build the system, such as with a display and projection of the vein on the patient's skin, with different sizes and lighting techniques.

[009] One of the existing devices allows the location of the vein through the juxtaposition of the over the vein, which points with a red light to the direction of its continuity, however it predicts flaws in bifurcations and the processing is hampered by the effect of the hair on the patient.

[010] Another vein visualization device on the market proved to be extremely affected when the distance between the focus and the patient's skin is increased, in addition to suffering parallax effects.

[011] Some vein visualization devices have a light-emitting diode type of light source - LED - which, although efficient, may have limitations that make it difficult to distinguish deeper veins. To this end, some visualization devices work in conjunction with reinforcing accessories, whose lighting source is based on infrared lasers that intensify the distinction of the veins. ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE

[012] In research carried out in specialized databases, documents were found referring to visualization devices of superficial veins and accessory reinforcer, as provided for in document no. BR10.2017.026024-0 which deals with a vein visualization system for mobile devices, defined by a sampling device specifically developed to obtain images of veins from their interaction with short infrared wavelengths. Such a device is characterized by being integrated with conventional mobile devices, through connection via cable and an auxiliary application that processes and displays images of subcutaneous veins on the smartphone or tablet screen, in real time. The lighting system of the sampling device provides two wavelengths, 760nm and 850nm, alternately activated by a selector switch and attenuated by a potentiometer. Fixing the sampling device to the body of the conventional mobile device is performed through an adjustable base, which can be tilted to provide sampling perpendicular to the mobile device's screen, in addition to being connected to a flexible rod to support the complete system, freeing hands of user.

[013] The document no. US2018015235 is a portable vein visualization device that can be battery powered and portable to reveal the patient's vasculature information to assist in venipuncture processes. The device comprises a first laser diode emitting infrared light and a second laser diode emitting only visible wavelengths, in which the vasculature absorbs a portion of the infrared light causing reflection of a contrasted infrared image. A pair of silicon PIN photodiodes, responsive to the contrasted infrared image, causes the transmission of a corresponding signal. The signal is processed through circuits to amplify, add and filter the emitted signals and, with the use of an image processing algorithm, the contrasted image is projected onto the surface of the patient's skin using the second laser diode. The revealed information may include location, depth, diameter and degree of certainty of the locations of the veins. The projection of vein images can be a positive or negative image. Venipuncture needles can be coated to provide visibility in projected images.

[014] The document no. KR20150110362 deals with vein viewer using the infrared ray, comprising: a camera unit; an integrated IR-LED module with an IR-LED that generates near infrared light radiated on the skin, an energy unit that provides energy and an IR filter that allows an near infrared light to pass through and polarize; an IR-LED module controller to control each function of the IR-LED module; a display unit for displaying the blood vessels of a photographed body part; and a control unit to control the camera unit, the IR-LED module, the IR-LED module controller and the display unit to operate together.

[015] Another document present in the state of the art referring to reinforcing accessory for the intensification of the patient's veins and no. JP2013240690 presents a micro vein image enhancer to visualize an image in the target region of a patient's blood vessel, that is, it is a compact laser enhancing the contrast of the vein image. Said laser is comprised of a portable product and that includes a mast whose end is suitable to be fixed to the container of a vial. The body part has a miniature projection head that comprises a first laser to generate images of a target region and a second laser to project an image along an optical path to the target region. Said lasers are composed of a semiconductor red laser of 630 Nm, which is designed in the combiner and the semiconductor laser with a frequency of 700 Nm to 1000 Nm, with a preferred frequency of 740 Nm, is also designed in the combiner.

[016] The aforementioned documents, despite belonging to the same field of application, differ from the present invention in question, as will be seen below, thus ensuring that it fully meets the legal requirements for patentability.

OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION

[017] The objective of the present invention is to present a visualization device for superficial veins by means of a method of analysis and image processing through embedded computing and a reinforcing accessory, the said device providing for: i) ideal wavelength of illumination of the tissue of the patient; ii) sensors for capturing the image of the veins; iii) hardware for image processing of the veins and presentation to the puncture applicator; iv) embedded software system. [018] The objective of the present invention is to present a visualization apparatus for superficial veins by means of the analysis and image processing method through embedded computing that acts in conjunction with a reinforcing accessory provided with means of emission of infrared lasers of 808 Nm that intensifies the exposure of the veins captured by the visualization device.

[019] The objective of this invention is to present a visualization device for superficial veins through analysis and image processing that through the illumination of the superficial tissue and reflection absorbed by a sensor that feeds the entrance of the system responsible for distinguishing the veins from the other tissues, it presents in real scale the image of the location of the puncture application with a clear and precise definition, thus guaranteeing greater assertiveness of the puncture, as well as greater comfort for the patient during the procedure.

[020] It is also the objective of this invention to present a visualization device for superficial veins by means of analysis and image processing whose constructiveness enables the low cost for production.

[021] Another objective of this invention is to present a visualization device for superficial veins through analysis and image processing through embedded computing whose system is located at a distance from the surface, avoiding focusing or optical adjustment steps that demand time and preparation operator.

[022] Another objective is to present a device for visualizing superficial veins by means of image analysis and processing, whose developed system has embedded software, which allows for proper exploration of image processing, removing unnecessary emitters, concentrating on the veins.

[023] It is also the objective of this invention to present a visualization device for superficial veins that uses the concept of "plug and play", that is, since, the operator places the on / off switch present in the upper left part from the device it goes through the process of getting into operation and in a few seconds it already starts to automatically display the images on your screen.

[024] Another objective is to present a visualization device for superficial veins that uses rechargeable batteries, being that when there is no need to use it it is manually connected to an electrical outlet for charging the batteries.

[025] Another objective of the present invention is to present a vein visualization device that works together with the reinforcing accessory provided with electronic devices that control the 808 Nm infrared lasers and dissipators, so that, when positioned close to the patient's skin, they are capable of to intensify the exposure of the deep veins projected on the visualization device

[026] Another objective of the present invention is to present a device for visualizing superficial veins and reinforcing accessory that can be applied on the skin of humans and animals to distinguish deeper veins.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[027] To complement the present description in order to obtain a better understanding of the characteristics of the present invention and according to a preferred practical realization of it, the description, attached, is a set of drawings, where, in an exemplified manner, although non-limiting, its functioning was represented:

[028] figure 1 represents a frontal view of the apparatus for visualizing superficial veins;

[029] figure 2 shows a rear view;

[030] figure 3 shows a block diagram of the operating system that makes up the device in question;

[031] figure 4 reveals a block diagram of the steps that make up the method of analysis and image processing;

[032] figure 6A shows a flow chart illustrating the components of the reinforcing accessory that works together with the vein visualization device;

[033] figure 6B shows an assembled perspective view of a constructive version of the reinforcing accessory;

[034] figures 7A and 7B show a cross-section AA indicated in figure 6B illustrating the rotation adjustment of the structural supports of the set of lasers and respective heatsinks; [035] figures 8A and 8B illustrate top views of the reinforcing accessory indicating minimum and maximum adjustable interstice for positioning the patient limb; and [036] figures 9 and 9 A illustrate how to use the reinforcing accessory, revealing the set of lasers arranged close to the patient's skin and the device illustrating the image captured and processed by the embedded system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[037] With reference to the illustrated drawings, the present invention patent refers to "SURFACE VEHICLE VIEWER APPLIANCE THROUGH THE METHOD OF ANALYSIS AND IMAGE PROCESSING THROUGH COMPUTED BOARD AND ENHANCED ACCESSORY", more precisely it is a visualization device. (10) of animal and human veins for the practice of venipuncture and its reinforcing accessory (90).

[038] According to the present invention, the apparatus (10) visualizes superficial veins through the method of analysis and image processing (11) by means of embedded computing and according to the parameters: i) ideal wavelength of illumination of the tissue of the patient; ii) sensors (20) for capturing the image of the veins; iii) hardware (30) for image processing of the veins and presentation to the puncture applicator; iv) operating software systems (40) embedded for image processing, and said device (10) can act together with a reinforcing accessory (90) provided with a set of lasers (92a) of 808 Nm and respective sinks (92b) in the which are coordinated by electronic devices (91) that intensify the exposure of the patient's veins and contribute to the performance of the visualization device (10)

[039] Said device (10) provides (11A) capacitive touch, on / off switch (12) and button (13) to turn off the operating system (40), microprocessor board (31), infrared camera (50) connected the microprocessor plate (31) is responsible for acquiring the images of the irradiated tissue, plate (60) of infrared light emitting diodes with wavelength from 750 nm to 950 nm and radiometric power of 500 mW, attending to different skin tones and willing angled (a), preferably 45 degrees from the camera lens inlet (50), optical filters (70), batteries (80).

[040] The operating system (40) includes a power switching circuit (Cl), a load protection circuit (C2), a voltage adaptation circuit (C3), a battery charging circuit (C4) and a power supply. source. Said batteries (80) are connected in a charger module (81) formed by a board with an integrated circuit that connects to the external source through a mini USB connector, allowing the batteries to be recharged without the need to remove them from the device ( 10).

[041] Said optical filters (70) used for infrared consists of a RG 715 glass with a thickness of 4mm and 10mm in diameter, designed to block all the light in the spectrum below 715nm, thus allowing only the infrared light to pass through the camera. In addition, the LED light output is provided with a diffuser (70a) made of glass with a sandblasted surface and another smooth surface to spread the light more evenly over the patient's skin.

[042] Said device (10) provides a voltage-boosting DC-DC voltage converter to adapt the input voltages (3.7 V batteries or 5 V source) to the microprocessor board power input (31) and the plate (60) of the infrared light emitting diodes, as well as a power switch module that consists of a static switch in which its input receives power from both the external source and the charger and its output takes this power to the converter of tension. When using the external source the switch is in a position where the batteries are charged and the device (10) is powered by the source, when the source is disconnected the power of the device (10) is switched to the internal batteries

(80).

[043] Said device (10) provides a load protection circuit that consists of a voltage comparator circuit by an operational amplifier that monitors the voltage level of the batteries, if they are below an acceptable limit (3.3V) sends a TTL signal. the processor board (GPIO 16) that allows the operating system to shut down the system as a safety method against low load.

[044] Said reinforcement accessory (90) acts together with the visualization device (10) to enhance the quality of the image captured by the device (10) and provides for electronic devices (91) that coordinate the lasers (92a) and heatsinks (92b) composed by: i) source of direct voltage (91a); ii) P4 plug for panel (91b); iii) on / off switch (91c); iv) battery charger module (91d) interconnected with batteries (91d '); v) current and constant voltage driver modules (91e) each feeding the lasers (92a); and vi) battery voltage monitoring circuit (91f), with visual signal indicating the charging status.

[045] Said reinforcement accessory (90) provides a structural support (92) of a structure (90A) that receives lasers (92a) and heatsinks (92b) installed in parallel in a fixed part (93a) and moving part (93b). Said structural support (92) provides for rotation (AJ) and interstitial (IA) adjustment according to the minimum (al) and maximum (a2) spacing for the disposition of the patient's limb (PC).

[046] For method (11) of analysis and processing of venous images, the software (40) provides an algorithm that uses mathematical methods used in computer vision through the OpenCV library to process the images captured by the camera (50) from frame to frame. apparatus (10) together with the intensification of luminescence made possible by the accessory (90), presenting the following steps: a) The images are imported for application in the libraries necessary for the development of the program; b) Then the object for the camera (50) is created and the resolution is set, then the program enters an infinite loop to process frame by frame at a rate of 60fps (frames per second) image by image acquired by the camera (50) ; c) After the program separates the R, G and B channels of the image into specific images for each channel, it converts to shades of gray. Said image converted to gray levels is the input image for the main processing operation, which is the adaptive histogram equalization; and d) The processed image is converted back to a color image and added weight to the frame originally captured, thus being presented on the display to the user of the device (10).

[047] It is certain that when the present invention is put into practice, it can be Modifications were introduced with regard to certain details of construction and form, without this implying departing from the fundamental principles that are clearly substantiated in the claim framework, thus understanding that the terminology used was not intended to be limiting.

References

FRANCESCHINI, M. A. et al. Near-lnfrared Absorption and Scattering Spectra of Tissues in Vivo. BreastTumors / Techniques, 1999.

LIMA, A; BAKKER, J. Near-infrared spectroscopy for monitoring tissue perfusion. Brazilian Journal of Intensive Care, 2011. SHAHZAD, A. et al. Multispectral venous images analysis for optimum illumination selection. IEEE International Conference on Image Processing, ICIP Proceedings, 2013.

SHROTRI, A. et al. IR-webcam imaging and vascular pattern analysis towards hand vein authentication. The 2nd International Conference on Computer and Automation Engineering, ICCAE, 2010.

SONG, W. et al. A finger-vein verification system using mean curvature. Pattern Recognition Letters, 2011.

ZHAROV, V. et al. Infrared Imaging of Subcutaneous Veins. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine, 2004.

Claims

1) "SURFACE VEHICLE VISUAUZATING DEVICE THROUGH A METHOD OF IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING THROUGH BOARD COMPUTING AND REINFORCING ACCESSORY", more precisely it is a visualization device (10) of veins of animals and humans for the practice of venipuncture. and reinforcing accessory (90); characterized by apparatus (10) visualizing superficial veins through the method of analysis and image processing (11) by means of embedded computing and according to the parameters of (i) ideal wavelength of illumination of the patient's tissue; (ii) sensors (20) for capturing the image of the veins; (iii) hardware (30) for image processing of the veins and presentation to the puncture applicator; (iv) operating software systems (40) embedded for image processing; said device (10) provides capacitive touch sensitive display (11A), on / off switch (12) and button (13) to turn off the operating system (40), microprocessor board (31), infrared camera (50) connected to the board microprocessor (31) and responsible for acquiring the images of the irradiated tissue, plate (60) of infrared light-emitting diodes with wavelength from 750 nm to 950 nm and radiometric power of 500 mW, attending to different skin tones and arranged at an angle (a) preferably 45 degrees from the camera lens inlet (50), optical filters (70), batteries (80); the operating system (40) includes a power switching circuit (Cl), a load protection circuit (C2), a voltage adaptation circuit (C3), a battery charging circuit (C4) and a power supply; said batteries (80) are connected in a charger module (81) formed by a board with an integrated circuit that connects to the external source by means of a mini USB connector; said apparatus (10) acting together with a reinforcing accessory (90) provided with a set of lasers (92a) of 808 Nm and respective sinks (92b) in which they are coordinated by electronic devices (91).

2) "SUPERFICIAL VEHICLE VISUAUZATING DEVICE THROUGH A METHOD OF IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING THROUGH BOARD COMPUTER AND REINFORCING ACCESSORY", according to claim 1, characterized by optical filters (70) used for infrared glass consisting of RG 715 glass 4mm thickness and 10mm in diameter; at the LED light output there is a diffuser (70a) made of glass with a sandblasted surface and another surface.

3) "SURFACE VEHICLE VISUALIZING DEVICE THROUGH THE IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING METHOD THROUGH BOARD COMPUTER AND REINFORCING ACCESSORY", according to claim 1, characterized by a device (10) providing a DC-DC voltage converter of the boost type voltage enhancer to adapt the input voltages (3.7 V batteries or 5 V source) to the power input of the microprocessor board (31) and the board (60) of the infrared light emitting diodes, as well as the power switching consisting of a static switch in which its input receives power from both the external source and the charger and its output takes this power to the voltage converter.

4) "SURFACE VEHICLE VISUALIZING DEVICE THROUGH THE IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING METHOD THROUGH BOARD COMPUTER AND REINFORCING ACCESSORY", according to claim 1, characterized by a device (10) providing a load protection circuit that consists of a load protection circuit voltage comparator circuit by operational amplifier that monitors the voltage level of the batteries, if they fall below an acceptable limit (3.3V) sends a TTL signal to the processor board (GPIO 16).

5) "SURFACE VEHICLE VISUAUZATING DEVICE THROUGH THE METHOD OF IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING THROUGH COMPUTER EMBARKED AND REINFORCING ACCESSORY", according to claims 1, 2, 3 and 4, characterized by method (11) of analysis and processing of venous images the software (40) provides an algorithm that uses mathematical methods used in computer vision through the OpenCV library to process the images captured by the camera (50) of the device (10) frame by frame together with the enhancement of luminescence made possible by the accessory ( 90), presenting the steps: a) the images are imported for application in the libraries necessary for the development of the program; b) then the object is created for the camera (50) and the resolution is set, then the program enters an infinite loop for process frame by frame at a rate of 60fps (frames per second) image to image acquired by the camera (50); c) after the program separates the R, G and B channels of the image into specific images for each channel, it converts to shades of gray; said image converted to gray levels is the input image for the main processing operation which is the adaptive histogram equalization; and d) the processed image is converted back to a color image and added to the frame originally captured, being thus presented on the display to the user of the device (10).

6) "SURFACE VEHICLE VISUALIZING DEVICE THROUGH THE IMAGE ANALYSIS AND PROCESSING METHOD THROUGH BOARD COMPUTING AND REINFORCING ACCESSORY", according to claim 1, characterized by a reinforcing accessory (90) to act together with the visualization device (10) for intensification of the image captured by device (10) and provides for electronic devices

(91) that coordinate the lasers (92a) and heatsinks (92b) and composed of: i) source of direct voltage (91a); ii) P4 plug for panel (91b); iii) on / off switch (91c); iv) battery charger module (91d) interconnected with batteries (91d '); v) current and constant voltage driver modules (91e) each feeding the lasers (92a); and vi) battery voltage monitoring circuit (91f), with visual signal indicating the charging status; and said reinforcing accessory (90) provides structural support

(92) of a structure (90A) that receives lasers (92a) and heatsinks (92b) installed in parallel in a fixed part (93a) and moving part (93b); said structural support (92) also provides for adequate rotation (AJ) and interstitial (IA) adjustment according to the minimum (al) and maximum (a2) spacing for the patient's limb (CP) arrangement.