Trajectory planning for vascular navigation from 3D angiography images and vessel centerline data

Abstract

A recently introduced method for robotic vascular catheterization is Fringe Field Navigation (FFN). A requirement of this method is the trajectory required for planning the sequences of navigation. We have introduced a method of trajectory planning compatible with the requirements of FFN for vasculature navigation. The method exploits the vessel centerline to define the vascular structure trajectory as a tree network by finding the vertices connecting the labelled nodes based on distance and direction criteria possible vertices. It follows a progressive algorithm to find the required distance thresholds for defining vertices that build up a tree network model and consequently a trajectory for navigation need. The method has been implemented on different examples of cerebrovascular arteries and a three-dimensional model of the portal artery of a porcine. The method successfully produced the trajectory and location of bifurcation and vertices.