Deep learning-driven catheter tracking from bi-plane X-ray fluoroscopy of 3D printed heart phantoms

Abstract

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) has changed not only the performance of specific operations but also the more effective strategic approach to all surgeries. Expansion of MIS to more complex surgeries demands further development of new technologies, including robotic surgical systems, navigation, guidance, visualizations, dexterity enhancement, and 3D printing technology. In the cardiovascular domain, 3D printed modeling can play a crucial role in providing improved visualization of the anatomical details and guide precision operations as well as functional evaluation of various congenital and congestive heart conditions. In this work, we propose a novel deep learning-driven tracking method for providing quantitative 3D tracking of mock cardiac interventions on custom-designed 3D printed heart phantoms. In this study, the position of the tip of a catheter is tracked from bi-plane fluoroscopic images. The continuous positioning of the catheter relative to the 3D printed model was co-registered in a single coordinate system using external fiducial markers embedded into the model. Our proposed method has the potential to provide quantitative analysis for training exercises of percutaneous procedures guided by bi-plane fluoroscopy.