Method and apparatus for automated control and steering of multiple medical devices with a single interventional remote navigation system

Methods are provided for automatically actuating and positioning a first medical device in a subject anatomy with a remote medical navigation system together with a localized second medical device that passes through the first device and is also actuated by the remote navigation system to access a desired target location. After an initial calibration step, an exemplary method comprises:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to remotely controlled steering and navigation of medical devices through a subject anatomy with a remote navigation system for interventional medicine, where a first medical device in the form of a remotely steered deflectable sheath is used to assist with the steering of a second medical device in the form of a mapping catheter or an ablation catheter. The second medical device is itself be steered by the same remote navigation system, possibly with a different mode of actuation. More generally, the deflectable sheath could be used as a guide or conduit to place a variety of other medical devices in a desired region of a subject anatomy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In recent years minimally invasive interventional procedures have benefited from the development of remote navigation systems with different forms of actuation that can assist with a variety of minimally invasive interventional medical procedures and permit faster procedures with reduced exposure to X-ray radiation. For instance, a commercial example is the Niobe© magnetic navigation system manufactured by Stereotaxis, Inc. of St. Louis, Mo., USA. This system consists of a set of magnets in a procedure room together with control hardware and software and a user interface; the user interface is available in an adjoining control room for comfortable operation by the user, and the magnetic navigation system is integrated with an X-ray system to receive X-ray image data from the latter. Since this remote navigation system can be operated and controlled from a control room outside the procedure room, X-ray radiation exposure to physicians operating the system is eliminated to a large extent, and the arrangement permits the performance of an interventional medical procedure in most part from outside the procedure room. Procedures are generally faster since the physician can perform the procedure in a more comfortable setting while the device actuation is done by the system, and X-ray exposure to the patient as well is significantly reduced.

Generally, the remote navigation system may be interfaced or integrated with a localization system that determines the spatial location of a medical device within a subject anatomy, permitting the possibility of automatically steering and navigating the medical device to a desired set of target locations using closed loop feedback control. An example of an interventional medical device localization system is the CARTO® Electrophysiology localization system manufactured by Biosense-Webster, Inc. of Diamond Bar, Calif. that localizes various catheter and sheath devices incorporating location sensors and/or electrodes for applications in Electrophysiology. Another example of a localization system is the EnSite NavX™ system manufactured by St. Jude Medical of St. Paul, Minn. The spatial location information can be used for example to direct an ablation catheter device automatically to a series of locations.

Cardiological interventional procedures can benefit greatly from the use of such an integrated system. In the clinical application of interventional cardiac electrophysiology, a catheter-based medical procedure is performed to record electrical activity over the interior (endocardial) heart surface, permitting visualization of electrical activity and any abnormalities or arrhythmias if they exist. Subsequently, a catheter-based ablation procedure (where the ablation catheter is a primary medical device) is performed to ablate and isolate regions of the endocardial surface that function as sources of abnormal electrical activity. This type of procedure can take a long time when performed manually and requires a significant level of skill on the part of the interventional physician. In this context, a remotely operated medical navigation system can offer significant benefits especially if at least a part of the procedure can be efficiently automated, leading to reduced procedure time, reduced X-ray exposure for both physician and patient, and reduced discomfort to physician and patient.

In many cases in Electrophysiology ablation procedures, it is important for the catheter to have a sufficient amount of contact with the endocardial surface. The ablation energy is delivered by means of Radio Frequency (RF) power, and this energy delivery process is optimal when there is good contact between the ablation catheter tip and the endocardiac wall; such a configuration ensures that the RF energy is delivered directly to the tissue surface, with minimal dissipation into the blood pool. Accordingly, various means of measuring contact force have been reported on in the literature. In the context of a remote navigation system, it is useful to have a methodology to ensure that a good level of wall contact is present at the ablation catheter tip. In some cases, certain endocardial locations can be difficult to access depending on the particular subject anatomy. The present invention describes a method and apparatus for ensuring both easier access to a desired target location, and once accessed, applying sufficient contact at the desired target location.

While the literature and art in the area of RF catheter ablation discusses methods to measure contact force, there is an unmet need for generally being able to control and drive at least two devices, one supporting the other, in order to optimize contact with the endocardial surface. This invention is intended to address this need by disclosing methods and apparatus for navigating multiple medical devices from a single remote navigation system that actuates both devices. In the present invention, an interventional deflectable sheath device is steered and controlled by the remote navigation system either by manual operation from a user interface or in automated manner. A second medical device is passed through the deflectable sheath device and is also steered and controlled from the remote navigation system. The second medical device could be for instance a localized ablation catheter. Given a desired target location for the ablation catheter to access, and that may be selected for example from an electroanatomical map, the present invention describes methods of driving the deflectable sheath to automatically provide an optimal spatial configuration from which the ablation catheter device can access the target with good contact. Thus, both medical devices, sheath and catheter, are controlled by the remote navigation system to optimize contact.

There are at present no methods that implement such generalized control of multiple medical devices for optimal contact from a single remote navigation system. The disclosure of the present invention provides methods for achieving such objectives.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to methods of remotely controlling steering and navigation of multiple medical devices through a subject anatomy with an interventional remote navigation system in order to generate good quality contact with desired targeted tissue surface in the subject anatomy. According to the methods taught in the present invention, a first medical device in the form of a deflectable sheath whose deflection can be controlled from the remote navigation system is remotely steered by the remote navigation system. The remote navigation system generally configures and positions the deflectable sheath device by actuating deflection, rotation and insertion/retraction degrees of freedom. Given a desired target location that a user desires to access in a subject anatomy, the remote navigation system runs a computational model to determine an optimal configuration of the deflectable sheath device and drives its placement such that the distal tip of the sheath is aimed approximately at the target while maintaining a pre-defined distance from the target. The pre-defined distance can incorporate a safety distance as well as a margin of sufficient distance that allows the navigation and placement of a second medical device in the form of an ablation catheter that is passed through the lumen of the deflectable sheath.

The deflectable sheath device is driven by passing it though a drive mechanism (such as the Vdrive™ unit manufactured by Stereotaxis, Inc. of St. Louis, Mo.) where rotations of appropriate catheter handle regions are generated by suitable gripping/clamp mechanisms driven by drive motors. These rotations can result in rotations of the catheter shaft and deflections of the deflectable sheath distal portion generated by pull-wires inside the catheter. Likewise, catheter insertion/retraction is generated mechanically by translation of the gripping mechanisms over a length range, again driven by a suitable drive motor and appropriate motion transmission mechanisms. Further details of such drive mechanisms for remote device manipulation are disclosed in US patent application 2009/00105645, “Apparatus for selectively rotating and/or advancing an elongate device”, and US patent application 2010/0298845, “Remote manipulator device”, attached here for reference.

The process of automatically configuring the deflectable sheath device could be implemented based on the computational model together with positional feedback from the motors driving the configuration of the sheath device in one preferred embodiment. In an alternate preferred embodiment, the deflectable sheath can have electrodes on its distal portion that can be localized spatially with a localization system. In this latter case localization data for the tip electrodes can be used as positional feedback and the control algorithm to use feedback to adaptively drive the sheath configuration until it is actually positioned as intended. In still another preferred embodiment, the ablation catheter that passes through the lumen of the deflectable sheath is localized, for example with data from a suitable sensor placed in the distal tip of the catheter. In this embodiment, the catheter is positioned with its distal tip at or just beyond the distal tip of the deflectable sheath, and localization data (position and orientation) from the catheter device is used as input to a feedback-controlled navigation scheme to configure the deflectable sheath.

The computational model for the sheath can determine configurational degrees of freedom for the sheath in order to satisfy the constraints of pointing the distal tip of the sheath at a desired target location while maintaining a given pre-defined distance from it. These constraints are posed as a mathematical problem according to the teachings of the present invention and a solution is determined computationally. If the constraints are not satisfiable in exact manner, a “closest” solution can be determined for the sheath configuration that is as optimal as possible. For exemplary purposes, the disclosure herein treats the case of a (first) deflectable sheath device that it is desired to point at the target location to the best extent possible, while a (second) medical device in the form of a mapping/ablation catheter is passed through the lumen of the sheath. Both devices are driven from a single remote navigation system, while the steering modality generally could be different for the two devices; thus the first device (deflectable sheath) could be actuated mechanically, while the second device (ablation catheter) could be steered magnetically. The ablation catheter device can itself be steered using closed loop feedback control methods that have been disclosed previously (for example, in US Patent application number 2005/0020911, “Efficient closed loop feedback navigation”). Furthermore a range of other actuation schemes could be used, and likewise a larger multiplicity of devices could be deployed in the clinical application and controlled according to the teachings of the present invention, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention describes a set of methods for automatically navigating with a remote navigation system at least one medical device in the form of a deflectable sheath together with a second medical device in the form of a magnetic navigation device, such that for a given target location in a subject anatomy, the two devices are steered by the remote navigation system for optimal access to and contact with the desired target location. In particular and for purely exemplary purposes, consider the case of the magnetic navigation device in the form of an ablation catheter that is steered with a remotely operated navigation system by application of a suitable magnetic field, while the deflectable sheath device is steered by the remote navigation system by mechanical actuation means. With the methods taught in the present invention, the remote navigation system steers and configures the deflectable sheath to aim its distal tip at the target to at least an approximate extent while maintaining a pre-defined distance margin from the target, and the ablation catheter that passes through the sheath is steered by the remote navigation system to access the target with optimal contact.

An exemplary application and geometrical disposition is shown schematically inFIG. 1. Referring toFIG. 1, a deflectable sheath device64is shown with an ablation catheter65passing through its lumen, and the sheath passes through the septum62separating right and left atrial chambers of a heart and enters the left atrium63. Also shown in the figure are pulmonary veins66extending from the left atrium. A target location67on the endocardial surface is shown marked by a dark spot. As shown, the distal tip region of the deflectable sheath64is inserted into the left atrium via a trans-septal puncture. The distal tip portion the ablation catheter65extends beyond the tip of the deflectable sheath for further steering and navigation to access endocardial locations. The catheter65is used to perform an ElectroPhysiology (EP) procedure where intracardiac electrograms are recorded with the catheter to diagnose arrhythmic regions of the heart and an RF ablation process is used to electrically isolate undesirable electrical nodes in the cardiac anatomy.

FIG. 2illustrates the degrees of freedom associated with the deflectable sheath. The base91of the sheath can be moved in and out or advanced and retracted at a given location. The length of sheath beyond this location is denoted by the variable1, and is the length degree of freedom. Further the catheter can rotate about its long axis by a rotation angle f (from some reference configuration) as shown by the circular motion indicated by the circular arrow at the base of (a portion of) the catheter inFIG. 2. The distal tip region92can deflect by an angle q with respect to the base, as shown by the angle between dotted lines93and94that are parallel to the base orientation and the distal tip orientation, respectively. A local frame of coordinates 95 is defined at the base of the sheath as a coordinate basis for computations.

Some of the variables associated with the deflectable sheath are shown in the schematic illustration inFIG. 3. The deflectable sheath64enters a left atrial chamber63in a subject cardiac anatomy after passing through a puncture in the septal wall62separating right and left atria. Pulmonary veins66are also shown in this schematic illustration. The sheath has a rigid distal tip portion65. A target location labeled by its three dimensional coordinates x is shown as a dark spot near the pulmonary veins. The distal tip of the sheath is labeled by its coordinates y and the unit tangent vector to the sheath at the distal tip y is labeled u.

Given a target location, the deflectable sheath may be brought (by rotation about its long axis) to a configuration where the base and tip of the sheath and the target location all lie in a single plane. In this plane, local coordinate variables can be defined and used. As shown inFIG. 4, the sheath88ends at distal tip labeled by blin local coordinates and the unit tangent vector in local coordinates is labeled bl. The local coordinate system is labeled by its orthonormal axes which are defined (in global coordinates) by the unit vectors v1, v2and v3as shown at the base of the sheath. In this local frame, the target location has coordinates xland the tip-to-target vector is (xl-bl).

In practice, the deflectable sheath length that is modeled starts at a known anatomical location, for instance where the Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) enters the right atrium. For convenience, we consider the case where the entire length of sheath further to this anatomical location is deflectable, except for a rigid tip portion. If the maximum deflectable length of the deflectable sheath is L, the (deflectable) length of sheath l inserted in the right atrium and that we will model usually satisfies l<L. As will be described in the following, a calibration procedure is followed for the deflectable sheath before automated steering of the sheath is invoked. The deflectable sheath is driven by passing it though a drive mechanism (such as the Vdrive™ unit manufactured by Stereotaxis, Inc. of St. Louis, Mo.) where rotations of appropriate sheath handle regions are generated by suitable gripping/clamp mechanisms driven by drive motors. These rotations can result in rotations of the sheath shaft and deflections of the sheath distal portion generated by pull-wires inside the sheath. Likewise, sheath insertion/retraction is generated mechanically by translation of the gripping mechanisms over a length range, again driven by a suitable drive motor and appropriate motion transmission mechanisms. Further details of such drive mechanisms for remote device manipulation are disclosed in US patent application 2009/00105645, “Apparatus for selectively rotating and/or advancing an elongate device”, and US patent application 2010/0298845, “Remote manipulator device”, attached here for reference.

In a preferred embodiment, the deflectable sheath can itself be a localized device (for instance by means of localizing electrodes mounted in its distal tip region), and the position and orientation of the tip are known quantities. In an alternate preferred embodiment, the sheath when used with a localized catheter can have its distal tip localized by placing the distal tip of the ablation catheter at or near the distal tip of the sheath. The deflectable sheath's base orientation is also assumed known (for instance, it may be assumed to be along the z axis in the case where it enters the right atrial chamber along the IVC). Further, the calibration process allows the user to identify the sheath distal tip at or near the point of entry into the chamber, which defines a reference position for the length of the catheter. Specifically, referring toFIG. 6, this figure shows an X-ray image displayed on a portion of a graphical user interface of the remote navigation system along with various overlays. The crossing plane120of the sheath is a user-marked plane at a user-defined location of entry of the sheath into an anatomical region. For example, this could be an entry point associated with entering a right atrial cardiac chamber. The X-ray image shows the deflectable sheath122together with an ablation catheter125extending out from the sheath. Also seen in the figure are markers123associated with a localization system interfaced with the remote navigation system that localizes the ablation catheter (and the sheath if the sheath is endowed with electrodes). The markers123serve to register the localization system with the remote navigation system via an X-ray system that also interfaces with the remote navigation system. Initially the user deflects the sheath by a relatively small amount (for example, around 25-30 degrees) by manual operation of a user interface to deflect the sheath. The user marks the catheter by means of graphical representation121(drawn as an overlay by dragging a computer mouse in the user interface display), drawn approximately from distal tip of the catheter (as seen on the X-ray image) to the distal tip of the sheath (from which the catheter emerges).

With this latter information about the position and orientation of the distal tip of the sheath, and with the known data for the location and orientation of entry of the sheath base, the remote navigation system can compute the initial deflection plane of the sheath. Subsequent deflection plane orientations can be computed using the (localized) orientation of the catheter and the sheath base orientation; alternatively, the deflection plane can be kept track of by tracking motor movements that serve to rotate the sheath. Specifically, since the catheter tip is localized, an initial reference position for the rotation angle f (f=0) is also defined and subsequent (values can be determined from tip orientation and the known base direction. Likewise, from the known sheath tip orientation the reference deflection angle q is also known. The current (initial) motor positions (determined from appropriate encoders) for the device manipulation drive mechanism for the respective degrees of freedom can also be recorded as reference values.

FIG. 5is a high-level system diagram describing one version of a system architecture for implementing the teachings of the present disclosure. The remote navigation system has a high level control computer110that runs, among others, the remote navigation user interface which offers user interaction111permitting a user to view various displays and operate an assortment of controls. Some of these control inputs generally conceivable as user interaction means111could be, additionally to graphical user interface tools such as buttons, sliders, clicking on various visual displays, etc., in the form of hardware such as a mouse, joystick, or other input devices with a combination of joystick and buttons. Such input devices and user interaction means are known widely in the prior art and are not described in detail here. The high level control computer110of the remote navigation system interfaces with a device manipulation controller or controllers112, and with a set of device actuation controllers/processors113, respectively to manipulate or generally actuate a deflectable sheath, and a magnetic ablation catheter. The device manipulation controller(s)112drive (servo) motors in a manipulation mechanism114which controls and drives the handle of the deflectable sheath, and which can generally rotate, deflect, or advance/retract the sheath. Encoders in the motors keep the manipulation controller(s) appraised of motor positions and/or velocities etc. Likewise the device actuation controllers/processors113drive motors associated with moving magnets to create an appropriately directed magnetic field to steer the ablation catheter device, as well as a motor to advance or retract the ablation catheter, all represented as steering and insertion/retraction operations115. Both devices in some cases (deflectable sheath and ablation catheter), or either device, could be localized and their localization information is available to the high level control computer110of the remote navigation system via interfacing to a localization system (not shown). Thus the single high level control computer110has access to all the relevant information needed to steer the deflectable sheath as well as the catheter device suitably in order to access targets optimally.

The deflectable generally has a rigid tip of known length t (for instance, t can be in the approximate range of 1-2 cm). Further, we make the assumption that the deflectable portion of the sheath has uniform physical properties. In this case, the deflection of the sheath that is generated by tension in a pull-wire within it follows a circular arc. If a deflectable length of sheath l extends from the base, and the distal sheath tip is deflected by an angle q relative to the base, the tip location y can then be written in local coordinates (in the coordinate frame shown inFIG. 2, with the base of the catheter as origin) explicitly in terms of components as

Let (unit vector) v3be the direction of entry of the sheath, and let p be the location of entry or the base of the sheath. Define v′2=v3×(x−p) and the unit vector v2=v′2/|v′2|. Also define v1=v2×v3. Then (v1, v2, v3) define an orthornormal set of basis vectors at the sheath base. Let b be the location of the distal end of the deflectable portion of the sheath length (at the base of its rigid distal tip). Define the quantity a=(b−p)·v3/|b−p| and let b′=(b−av3)/|b−av3|. Let f=cos−1(b′·v1) and let e=sign[(b′×v1)·v3]. Now if the sheath is rotated by the angle (−ef) counterclockwise about the long axis v3, it will lie in the plane defined by the vectors v3and (x−p). Accordingly, this is the first step in the computation of steering requirements: a rotation of the sheath is found as described in the above that ensures that the target x lies in the deflection plane of the sheath.

Now suppose that a length l of sheath is extended from the sheath base. After the rotation defined above, the curve of the sheath lies in the (v1, v3) plane. Let the sheath be deflected by an angle q (measured in radians). Given the circular arc defined by the curve of the sheath, the location blof the distal end of the deflectable portion of the sheath length can be written in local coordinates (attached to the orthonormal set (v1, v2, v3)) as

bl=(lθ⁢(1-cos⁢⁢θ),0,lθ⁢sin⁢⁢θ)(2)
Furthermore, the target location x written in terms of the same local coordinates as xlhas only non-zero components x1≡(x·v1) and x3≡(x·v3) along local axes v1and v3respectively. In these local coordinates, the unit tangent vector at the distal end blof the deflectable portion of the sheath can be written as
ul=(sinq,0,cosq(3)

Since we would like the distal end blof the deflectable portion of the sheath to be aimed directly at the target xl, we can write this alignment constraint mathematically as
xl−bl=kul(4)
where k is a positive constant. From equations (2) and (3) above, we can re-write equation (4) in terms of its components:

x1-lθ⁢(1-cos⁢⁢θ)=k⁢⁢sin⁢⁢q⁢⁢x3-lθ⁢sin⁢⁢θ=k⁢⁢cos⁢⁢q(5)
Dividing these equations yields the equation

lθ⁢(1-cos⁢⁢θ)=x3⁢sin⁢⁢θ-x1⁢cos⁢⁢θ(6)
Further, the distance constraint that the distal end of the deflectable portion of the sheath be positioned at a distance d from xlcan be written in the form
|xl−bl|2=d2
or in terms of components

For a given value of deflection angle q equation (7) may be solved for length l from a quadratic equation. Specifically, defining the quantities

B≡θ(1-cos⁢⁢θ)⁡[x1⁡(1-cos⁢⁢θ)+x3⁢sin⁢⁢θ]⁢⁢C≡θ22⁢(1-cos⁢⁢θ)⁢(x12+x32-d2)(8)
equation (7) can be written as a quadratic equation for l:
l2−Bl+C=0
with solutions given by
l=½(B±(B−4C)1/2)  (9)
Real solutions to equation (9) exist only when B≥4C.

Thus, one method of finding a solution is to do a search over a range of discrete values of q (say in the range 0≤θ≤3π/4), find solution(s) for length values l from equation (9), and check to see whether the alignment equation (6) is satisfied, with a further check to ensure that k in equation (4) is positive:

(x1-lθ⁢(1-cos⁢⁢θ))⁢sin⁢⁢θ⁢>0(10)
Since there are generally multiple (two) solutions for the length l from equation (9), we would need to check both solutions for alignment from equations (6) and (10).

In some cases there may not be an exact solution from equations (6) and (10) for aligning the sheath tip with the target. In this case, the alignment constraint equation (4) can be “opened up” and one can look for solutions such that (xl−bl) and ulare aligned to within some pre-determined angular range, for example to within 30 degrees, and these could still be acceptable solutions. In some cases it may also be useful to check whether acceptable solutions for the sheath length l exist within the range of the actual upper bound L of deflectable sheath length.

Once a solution for the sheath configuration is found, the sheath can be suitably steered and configured by the remote navigation system based on the values of q and l determined as solutions to the targeting problem. For example the mechanical motor-driven drive system mentioned earlier can be used to effect this automated steering of the sheath. By pointing the sheath distal tip at the desired target and maintaining a relatively short distance from the target, the length of ablation catheter that needs to be extended out from the sheath is kept minimal. Furthermore the target can be directly accessed with relatively small fine adjustments to the catheter position which can be easily driven by magnetic actuation from the remote navigation system. As described in prior art, since the catheter is localized it can also be automatically steered and adjusted by the remote navigation system under closed-loop feedback guidance. Since the length of catheter needed to access the target in this mode of operation is minimal, and since the contact force exerted by the catheter tip at the endocardial surface can be shown to be approximately inversely proportional to the catheter length to leading order, this also means that a good level of contact force can be exerted by the catheter at the tissue surface and good contact can be maintained.

FIG. 7shows a portion of a user interface of the present invention where the ablation catheter distal tip is graphically rendered as an overlay on an X-ray image. After the initial calibration step described previously, the computational model reconstructs a modeled sheath configuration indicated by the dotted curve131overlaid on the X-ray image. The modeled sheath curve can be seen to conform quite closely to the actual sheath curve130seen in the X-ray image. The catheter has been positioned so that its distal tip portion133extends just beyond the sheath distal tip132. Also shown is a low-field magnetic field vector134in green corresponding to magnetic actuation that has not yet been applied in the navigation volume.

FIG. 8shows a three dimensional scene from a graphic display that is part of a user interface of the present invention. A modeled sheath curve configuration141is shown extending from crossing plane140corresponding to the base of the sheath. A localized ablation catheter143extends from the distal tip region142of the deflectable sheath and can be seen to be closely correspond in location to the expected location as the catheter extends beyond the sheath.

FIG. 9shows a portion of a user interface of the present invention where an electroanatomical map152is overlaid on an X-ray image. The user has selected a target location154on the map. The computational model of the present invention generates and steers a sheath configuration as shown by dotted curve150also overlaid on the X-ray image, so as to point the sheath towards the target location. The localized distal tip151of the ablation catheter is seen to extend out from near the distal tip152of the sheath curve.

FIG. 10shows a three dimensional scene from a graphic display that is part of a user interface of the present invention where a target location163has been selected by a user on a portion164of an electroanatomical map. The computational model of the present invention is used by the remote navigation system to steer the sheath to a modeled configuration indicated by dotted curve160with its distal tip161pointed at the target. The remote navigation system applies a magnetic field vector165that is aligned with the tangent direction at the sheath distal tip. The actual localized distal tip162of the ablation catheter can be seen to be approaching the target location163, demonstrating operation of the present invention.

In one embodiment the current configuration's degrees of freedom (q, l and f) can be estimated from knowledge of the (localized) current ablation catheter tip position (positioned near the distal tip of the sheath) and the known base entry position p, and fitting the degrees of freedom from equations (2) and (3) to determine them. In an alternate embodiment, an internal map is maintained between appropriate drive mechanism motor positions and the corresponding degrees of freedom (for example and for illustration purposes only, a 90-degree turn of an appropriate motor shaft may correspond to a 25-degree deflection in the distal sheath tip, etc.), and this map is used together with knowledge of current motor positions or related drive mechanism variables to estimate a current set of values for the sheath degrees of freedom. In yet another alternate embodiment, a combination of these two methods could be used to find a best-fit estimate of the sheath degrees of freedom.

In some cases the change in degrees of freedom that actually occur upon steering by the remote navigation system may not correspond exactly to the desired values applied. This can occur for example due to anatomical obstructions or due to hysteresis effects in the drive system that actuates the deflectable sheath. In order to compensate for such effects, feedback control techniques can be implemented. In one preferred embodiment of the present invention, as a first step in steering the sheath the computational model of the present invention is invoked and an initial sheath configuration is applied from the computationally determined degrees of freedom. In a second step applied immediately after the first step, adjustments are applied to the rotation and deflection angles (f and q respectively) as follows:
δf=m1f0
δθ=m2θ0(11)
where m1and m2are appropriate gain constants such that 0<m1<1 and 0<m2<1. Here f0is a deficit rotation angle that is computed from the current sheath distal tip location information (determined either from sheath tip localization, if available, or from placement of the localized ablation catheter distal tip near the sheath tip) and target location as described in paragraph32above. Likewise θ0is a deficit deflection angle that is computed from distal sheath tip orientation (again determined either from sheath tip localization, if available, or from placement of the localized ablation catheter distal tip near the sheath tip), and tip-to-target orientation; this is computed as the angular difference between these orientations after the deficit rotation by angle f0is computationally applied. This process may be iterated until the deficit angles become sufficiently small, or the process can run for a fixed, pre-defined number of steps and then stop.

While the above control scheme describes a proportional control methodology, more general feedback control schemes known in the art such as for instance Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) control schemes can also be implemented. Alternatively, a state vector-based scheme could be implemented. For example, defining the unit vector q=(x−b)/|x−b|, one can define the error measures e1=v2·u and e2=v3·u−(v3·q)(u·q). We can define the state vector v=[f q]T, the control vector u=[DfDq]Tand the output function e=h(v). If k is the control update count, we can write the update rule

v⁡(k+1)=v⁡(k)+u⁡(k)⁢⁢e⁡(k+1)=⁢h⁡(v⁡(k+1))≅⁢h⁡(v⁡(k))+∂h∂v⁢(v⁡(k))⁢u⁡(k)=⁢h⁡(v⁡(k))+A⁡(k)⁢u⁡(k)(12)
where A(k) may be computed by finite differences or analytically.
Assuming that A is invertible, the feedback law can be written
u(k)=A−1(k)Ke(k)  (13)
with

K=(k100k2).
The closed loop dynamics become
e(k+1)=(l+K)e(k)  (14)
or in component form,
e1(k+1)=(1+k1)e1(k)
e2(k+1)=(1+k2)e2(k)
The process is generally iterated until the error vector e becomes suitably small. The quantities k1and k2are chosen such that 0<(1+ki)<1. As (1+ki) gets smaller, the response gets faster, but must be chosen so that oscillations do not occur.

To summarize, the process of finding an optimal solution can proceed as follows. We will treat the target position as given and vary the sheath degrees of freedom to find a solution where the sheath is steered and moves into a configuration where its distal tip is aimed directly at the target as much as possible. This is done first with a computational model for the sheath whereby an initial steering of sheath configuration is computed by solution of equations (6) and (9) as described in the foregoing and implemented by the remote navigation system by mechanically driving the deflecting sheath degrees of freedom suitably. Subsequently, closed-loop feedback for further adjustment of the sheath can be implemented by any of a variety of methods as described above in detail until an optimal configuration is reached to the extent possible. At this point the sheath is optimally positioned for the catheter to access the target. Next the (localized) catheter is extended out sufficiently from the sheath, and magnetic actuation of the catheter is applied from the remote navigation system so as to apply a suitable magnetic field vector to make adjustments to the ablation catheter tip position along with suitable insertion/retraction of the catheter (also generally applied by the remote navigation system) until it arrives at the target. Thus, a single remote navigation system can control and steer multiple devices as taught in this invention so as to optimally access target locations in a subject anatomy.

The steering of the sheath can be automatically invoked from a user interface of the remote navigation system by any of a variety of means, for example by clicking on a suitable icon on the graphical user interface, from a button on a joystick or other controller, etc. In one preferred embodiment, the iterative changes in the degrees of freedom are continuously operational as long as the automated tracking mode is engaged. In an alternate preferred embodiment, the iterative applications of changes in the degrees of freedom are stopped once the respective changes become small enough quantities that lie below pre-defined threshold values, and automatically resume once they start growing again due to selection of a new target. In this manner, the remote navigation system becomes easy to use for the user/physician, and automatic targeting can permit good access to a variety of desired anatomical sites and with minimal user interaction.

The advantages of the embodiments described here in detail and improvements thereupon should be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, for purposes of providing a fast and effective set of automated control algorithms for the steering, control and positioning of multiple medical devices by a single remote navigation system. The various automated positioning schemes described in the present invention permit actuation and steering of multiple medical devices generally in automatic fashion using device location information. Furthermore, while the specific description in this disclosure has discussed in detail the case where a deflectable sheath is mechanically steered and the ablation catheter is generally steered by magnetic navigation means, it should be obvious to one skilled in the art that a variety of other combinations of actuation schemes could also be implemented without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The general approach disclosed in the present invention is that geometric constraints for target access can be encoded in suitable computational and control algorithms that can be implemented with a remote navigation system to steer and configure multiple medical devices for optimal target access.

While one of the devices in the description given in the present disclosure is a magnetic ablation catheter driven that is generally steered by a magnetic navigation system, the methods of the present invention can be extended to other actuation schemes. Thus, the method of actuation used by the remote navigation system can be any of a variety of actuation methodologies known in the art, including without limitation magnetic navigation methods, mechanical actuation, electrostrictive actuation, hydraulic actuation, etc. The remote navigation system may also use a combination of actuation modalities so that in some embodiments, multiple actuation schemes may be used by the remote navigation system. In one embodiment, the same device can be actuated with different actuation modalities; for example, a magnetic catheter can be mechanically advanced and magnetically deflected or steered. For convenience, the term “remote navigation system” in the description herein refers without limitation to any system that uses such remote actuation techniques or modalities singly or in combination, and the automated positioning algorithms of the present invention can drive or navigate devices that employ any or a multiplicity of such actuation methods.

Generally, the methods of the present invention apply to the automatic steering and control of a multiplicity of remotely navigated or steered medical devices. A single high-level control computer that is part of the remote navigation system runs navigation algorithms designed to automate this coordinated movement and/or positioning of multiple devices. A combination of different actuation schemes may be used at the same time to control or actuate different medical devices, or even different types of movements of a single device, as may be convenient for a particular application or set of applications. Additional design considerations and/or variations that are conceived by one skilled in the art may be incorporated without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention is not limited by the particular embodiments or forms described above, but rather by the scope of the appended claims.