Augmented Reality Ultrasound Guidance

Overview

Many medical procedures are done with the aid of ultrasound imaging, but they remain difficult to learn and perform. This study will use augmented reality technology for making these procedures potentially more intuitive, easier, more precise, and safer.

Minimally invasive ultrasound-guided procedures are a mainstay of modern medicine and the number of such procedures continues to grow. Safe, efficient, and precise execution of these procedures requires a clear visualization of the target anatomy and the interventional device (e.g., a needle). While sustained advances in ultrasound technology have led to greatly enhanced visualization of the anatomy and the needle with high image quality, hand-eye coordination of the practitioner continues to be a challenge. In order to properly position the interventional device, the practitioner must alternate their attention between observing the patient, advancing the needle, and viewing the ultrasound image on a separate screen. This study's long-term goal is to develop an advanced visualization platform for ultrasound-guided procedures to overcome this challenge by greatly simplifying hand-eye coordination. The proposed platform will be developed using the latest advances in the augmented reality (AR) technology. Through wearable, see-through AR glasses, the platform will create a virtual display placed in the practitioner's field of view to show live ultrasound images, registered with the transducer and the patient, in the form of a hologram. The investigative team hypothesizes that such visualization will reduce the time of procedure by 20%. This study is aimed providing the practitioner a more intuitive and efficient platform to perform ultrasound-guided procedures and demonstrating improved efficiency through user studies.

Conditions

Interventions

Eligibility

Locations (1)

Outcomes

Central Contacts