KR20230126245A - Composite video imaging system for surgery - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a composite video imaging system for surgery which can implement effective tumor tissue or sentinel lymph node resection with since distortion is minimized due to an integrated structure of the composite video imaging system and the high sensitivity and specificity of an imaging element that is directly inserted without going through an optical scope during surgery guided by near-infrared fluorescence.

Description

Composite video imaging system for surgery

The present invention relates to a composite video imaging system for surgery.

Recently, the frequency of performing minimally invasive surgery, which minimizes the incision range through laparoscopic surgery and minimizes side effects such as bleeding that may occur during surgery, is increasing. This can drastically reduce the risk of surgery, stress due to surgery, hospitalization and recovery period. The frequency of near-infrared fluorescence imaging-guided surgery, in which near-infrared fluorophores are injected into the human body during discrimination and resection of tumors and sentinel lymph nodes through laparoscopic surgery, to detect near-infrared fluorescence, is also increasing. However, conventional devices mainly show a single image, so it is difficult to accurately determine. That is, in the case of ablation with the help of a near-infrared fluorescence camera, there is a problem in that it is difficult to confirm the exact position and shape of the target when the near-infrared fluorescence camera is located in the deep area due to the limitation of the penetrating power of the near-infrared fluorescence. In addition, in the case of resection with the help of a gamma camera, it is difficult to distinguish the exact shape and location due to the low resolution of the image. In addition, when the near-infrared fluorescence camera and the gamma camera are used together, image matching and registration are not perfect in a real-time environment during surgery, so it is difficult to locate the lesion during surgery. Therefore, technology and equipment that can increase the efficiency of lesion detection in real time during surgery are required, but there is no equipment that meets these requirements so far. In this regard, Korean Patent Registration No. 0980247 discloses a laparoscope including a wide-angle lens unit, an optical fiber and an optical interface unit, and an image processing system using the same.

However, the prior art is a device for taking a visible ray image in the abdominal cavity, and it is technically impossible to image tumor tissues or sentinel lymph nodes using a near-infrared fluorescent material or a radioactive drug.

The present invention has been made to solve various problems including the above problems, and in near-infrared fluorescence images and tissues with excellent detection sensitivity and spatial resolution, including anatomical image information provided by visible light during surgery under near-infrared fluorescence induction. An object of the present invention is to provide a composite video imaging system for surgery that displays gamma-ray images having excellent penetrating power in real time. However, these tasks are illustrative, and the scope of the present invention is not limited thereby.

According to one aspect, the present invention reacts with gamma rays emitted from a radioactive material administered to an affected area to generate an electrical signal, and a single or multiple optical lenses are provided therein to focus visible and near-infrared fluorescence, and then obtain an optical image. An objective lens unit that transmits to the photographing unit, an optical imaging unit that separates the transmitted visible light and near-infrared fluorescence by wavelength and converts them into electrical signals in an imaging device, and recognizes the position and angle of the electrical signal to reconstruct an image in real time. and a composite image module including an optical tracker to match; an extracorporeal module that simultaneously detects electrical signals of internal gamma rays and electrical signals of gamma rays generated by the gamma ray detector using evanescent gamma rays; a light source transmission module for obtaining a near-infrared emission fluorescence image by exciting white light and a fluorophore in the affected area to obtain a visible ray image; and a data acquisition module that converts electrical signals of the gamma ray detector and the extracorporeal module of the composite imaging module into digital signals, and a camera control unit that converts electrical signals generated by the optical imaging unit into digital signals and controls the performance of imaging devices. , a gamma ray detector control unit that amplifies the image signal of the data acquisition module and simultaneously counts with the extracorporeal module to display the image signal, and processes gamma ray information of the data acquisition module and optical image information of the camera control unit and uses a matching algorithm There is provided a composite video imaging system for surgery, including a control unit matching with one image.

Unlike the prior art, the complex video imaging system for surgery of the present invention constructed as described above has high sensitivity and specificity by an imaging device directly inserted without going through an optical microscope and an integral structure, minimizing distortion, and thus detecting tumor tissue or sentinel lymph nodes. There are technical features that can be effectively restrained. Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited by these effects.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic structure of a composite video imaging system for surgery of the present invention.
2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a gamma ray detector of the composite video imaging system for surgery of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the optical imaging unit of the composite video imaging system for surgery of the present invention.
4 is a perspective view showing the detailed configuration of the optical imaging unit of the composite video imaging system for surgery of the present invention.
5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the optical transmission system of the composite image module of the composite video imaging system for surgery of the present invention.
6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the light source transmission module 140 of the composite video imaging system for surgery of the present invention.
7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the image processing and control unit of the composite video imaging system for surgery according to the present invention.
8 is a photograph showing a state in which a visible ray image and near-infrared fluorescence are simultaneously acquired using the composite video imaging system for surgery of the present invention.
9 is a photograph showing a state in which a triple fusion image of gamma ray/near infrared ray fluorescence/visible ray is acquired using the composite video imaging system for surgery of the present invention.

Definition of Terms:

As used herein, the term "tumor tissue" refers to a rapidly growing, invasive, and metastatic tissue that is a malignant neoplasm.

As used in this document, the term "sentinel lymph node" is an important lymph node in which metastasis occurs first when infiltration of tumor tissue progresses and metastasis occurs in the tumor. act as an indicator

The term "laparoscopic surgery" used in this document refers to a 0.5 to 1 cm hole in the navel without cutting the abdomen, and a laparoscope equipped with a Full HD camera and a video monitor to look inside the abdomen through laser surgery. Microsurgery refers to microsurgery using special instruments such as special surgical techniques.

The term "PET (positron emission tomography)" as used in this document refers to two gamma rays with 511 keV energy generated by the annihilation of positrons after injecting a radiopharmaceutical that emits positrons into a living body through positron emission tomography. ray) This is a technology that reconstructs the body distribution of positron-emitting nuclides into tomographic images by measuring with a circular ring-shaped detector. In general, since evanescent gamma rays generated by positron emission have an energy of 511 KeV, a method of detecting evanescent radiation by simultaneous counting is used throughout PET detection.

As used in this document, the term "SiPM (Silicon Photo-multipiler) detector" means that positrons are emitted from the tracer integrated in the tumor to emit two 511 keV evanescent gamma rays, and the two evanescent gamma rays are integrated into the intraperitoneal fusion imaging module It plays the role of obtaining simultaneous signals by detecting the scintillation generated by reacting with the scintillation crystal of the extracorporeal module.

The term "optical mechanism" used in this document is a connection structure between the optical components of the convergence imaging module and the photoelectric conversion module. do.

The term "dichroic mirror" as used in this document refers to an optical device in which multiple layers of thin-film filters are stacked to reflect or transmit light of a wavelength above or below a selected wavelength range, thereby selectively adjusting the diffraction angle of light rays. means filter.

The term "dichroic beam splitter" used in this document refers to an optical prism that separates only light rays of a desired wavelength by decomposing light rays into phase components using a polarization phenomenon.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION:

According to one aspect, the present invention reacts with gamma rays emitted from a radioactive material administered to an affected area to generate an electrical signal, and a single or multiple optical lenses are provided therein to focus visible and near-infrared fluorescence, and then obtain an optical image. An objective lens unit that transmits to the photographing unit, an optical imaging unit that separates the transmitted visible light and near-infrared fluorescence by wavelength and converts them into electrical signals in an imaging device, and recognizes the position and angle of the electrical signal to reconstruct an image in real time. and a composite image module including an optical tracker to match; an extracorporeal module that simultaneously detects electrical signals of internal gamma rays and electrical signals of gamma rays generated by the gamma ray detector using evanescent gamma rays; a light source transmission module for obtaining a near-infrared emission fluorescence image by exciting white light and a fluorophore in the affected area to obtain a visible ray image; and a data acquisition module that converts electrical signals of the gamma ray detector and the extracorporeal module of the composite imaging module into digital signals, and a camera control unit that converts electrical signals generated by the optical imaging unit into digital signals and controls the performance of imaging devices. , a gamma ray detector control unit that amplifies the image signal of the data acquisition module and simultaneously counts with the extracorporeal module to display the image signal, and processes gamma ray information of the data acquisition module and optical image information of the camera control unit and uses a matching algorithm There is provided a composite video imaging system for surgery, including a control unit matching with one image.

In the video imaging system, the gamma ray detector includes a first scintillation crystal generating scintillation in response to a tumor detection tracer integrated in a tumor; and a first SiPM photodetector for detecting by converting the flash signal into an electrical signal.

In the video imaging system, the scintillation crystal is LYSO, GAGG, LaBr3 (Ce), CsI (Na), NaI (Tl), YAP:Ce, CdTe, BGO (Bi ₄ Ge ₃ O ₁₂ ), LSO (Lu ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce), YSO (Y ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce and/or Tb), GSO (Ga ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce) or LGSO (Lu _1-x GdxSiO ₅ ), and the scintillation crystal may be pixelated. ) or monolithic.

In the video imaging system, the optical imaging unit includes: a first wavelength separator separating visible light and near-infrared fluorescence focused on the objective lens unit; a first optical band filter that blocks a near-infrared excitation light source and near-infrared emission fluorescence and selectively transmits a visible ray signal; a first image element that converts the visible ray signal into an electrical signal and detects it; a second optical band filter that blocks visible light signals and selectively transmits near-infrared emission fluorescence signals; and a second image element for converting and detecting the near-infrared emission fluorescence signal into an electrical signal.

In the video imaging system, the light source transmission module includes an external white light source generating visible light; a first focusing lens forming a focus of the visible light; a third optical band filter that selectively transmits visible light; an external near-infrared excitation light source generating near-infrared excitation light; a second focusing lens forming a focus of the near-infrared excitation light; a fourth optical band filter that selectively transmits near-infrared excitation light; a second wavelength separator that reflects visible light and transmits near-infrared excitation light; a third focusing lens forming a focus of the transmitted near-infrared excitation light; and an optical fiber transmission unit for transmitting the near-infrared excitation light to an optical fiber bundle, and the first wavelength splitter and the second wavelength splitter may be a wavelength splitting mirror or a wavelength splitting prism.

In the video imaging system, the lens used in the objective lens unit may be a convex lens, a concave lens, an aspheric lens, or a meniscus lens, and the image element may be It may be a charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS).

Hereinafter, several preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The embodiments of the present invention are provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art, and the following examples may be modified in many different forms, and the scope of the present invention is as follows It is not limited to the examples. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the spirit of the invention to those skilled in the art. In addition, the thickness or size of each layer in the drawings is exaggerated for convenience and clarity of explanation.

Throughout the specification, when referring to an element, such as a film, region, or substrate, being located “on,” “connected to,” “stacked on,” or “coupled to” another element, reference is made to that one element. It can be interpreted that an element directly contacts “on,” “connected to,” “stacked on,” or “coupled to” another component, or that another component interposed therebetween may exist. On the other hand, when an element is said to be located "directly on," "directly connected to," or "directly coupled to," another element, it is interpreted that there are no intervening elements. do. A uniform sign indicates a uniform element. As used herein, the term "and/or" includes any one and all combinations of one or more of the listed items.

In this specification, terms such as first and second are used to describe various members, components, regions, layers and/or portions, but these members, components, regions, layers and/or portions are limited by these terms. It is self-evident that These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Thus, a first member, component, region, layer or section described in detail below may refer to a second member, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention.

Also, relative terms such as "over" or "above" and "bottom" or "below" may be used herein to describe the relationship of some elements to other elements as illustrated in the figures. Relative terms can be understood as intended to include other orientations of the element in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if an element is turned over in the figures, elements that are depicted as being on the face of the other elements will have orientation on the face of the bottom of the other elements. Thus, the term "top" as an example may include both "bottom" and "top" directions, depending on the particular orientation of the figure. If the element is oriented in another direction (rotated 90 degrees relative to the other direction), relative statements used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

Terms used in this specification are used to describe specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular form may include the plural form unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Also, when used herein, "comprise" and/or "comprising" specifies the presence of the recited shapes, numbers, steps, operations, elements, elements, and/or groups thereof. and does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other shapes, numbers, operations, elements, elements and/or groups.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to drawings schematically showing ideal embodiments of the present invention. In the drawings, variations of the depicted shape may be expected, depending on, for example, manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances. Therefore, embodiments of the inventive concept should not be construed as being limited to the specific shape of the region shown in this specification, but should include, for example, a change in shape caused by manufacturing.

1 shows a schematic configuration of a composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention. Recently, the frequency of performing surgery under the guidance of near-infrared fluorescence imaging that detects the emitted near-infrared fluorescence by administering a near-infrared fluorophore to the human body during discrimination and resection of tumors and sentinel lymph nodes through laparoscopic surgery is increasing. Complementary methods are needed because the fundamental penetration limitation of imaging cannot be resolved and it is difficult to accurately detect lesions located in the deep region. In addition, when using individual imaging devices, there is a very high possibility of forming inaccurate guide images due to matching errors, making it technically impossible to perform real-time imaging of tumor tissues or sentinel lymph nodes using near-infrared fluorescent materials or radiopharmaceuticals. Accordingly, the present inventors have developed a composite video imaging system 100 for surgery with excellent detection sensitivity and spatial resolution, including anatomical image information provided by visible light during surgery under near-infrared fluorescence induction. In the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention, the objective lens unit 111 and the optical imaging unit 130 are completely separated from the gamma ray detector 113 in the complex imaging module 110, so that visible light and near-infrared fluorescence It can be said that the technical feature is that the mixing of the noise signal generated by flowing into the gamma ray detector 113 is prevented and the quality of the image is dramatically improved. In addition, due to the optical imaging unit 130 directly coupled to the objective lens unit 111 without using a light transmission medium such as an optical mirror, the photon detection efficiency of the first imaging element 133 and the second imaging element 135 ( photon detection efficiency) has been greatly improved.

The composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention is a flash light generated from a scintillation crystal that reacts to gamma rays, and visible light and excitation light in the 400 to 700 nm wavelength range. After acquiring the near-infrared fluorescence signal of the emitted wavelength range of 700 nm or higher, through signal processing, the gamma ray, visible ray, and near-infrared fluorescence signal are fused into one image to provide real-time information on the lesion to the surgeon during surgery. By providing images, it is possible to effectively and accurately resect tumor tissue or sentinel lymph nodes. The composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention basically includes a composite image module 110, an extracorporeal module 120, a light source transmission module 140 and It is composed of a control unit 160. In this case, a single gamma ray or evanescent gamma ray may be used, and in the case of using evanescent gamma ray, an extracorporeal module 120 may be additionally installed for simultaneous detection, and the extracorporeal module 120 may be excluded if a single gamma ray is used.

The composite image module 110, which can be said to be the core of the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention, includes a gamma ray detector 113 for detecting gamma rays, an objective lens unit 111 for collecting optical images, It consists of an optical image capture unit 130 for obtaining an optical image and an optical tracker 112 that reflects the position and angle of the composite image module 110 in real time.

To explain the operating principle, first, the gamma ray detector 113 reacts with gamma rays emitted from the radiopharmaceutical administered to the affected area to generate an electrical signal, and the objective lens unit 111 with an optical lens system attached therein detects visible light and near-infrared fluorescence. After focusing, the electrical signal is transmitted to the optical imaging unit 130 . The optical imaging unit 130 separates the visible light and near-infrared fluorescence signals transmitted from the objective lens unit 111 by wavelength and converts them into electrical signals in the image elements 133 and 135, and the optical tracker 112 converts the electrical signals into electrical signals. By recognizing the position and angle of the image, the image is reconstructed and matched. Specifically, the gamma ray detector 113 uses the internal first scintillation crystal 114, the first SiPM photodetector 115, the second scintillation crystal 121 of the in vitro module 120, and the second SiPM photodetector 122. Converts the gamma ray response into an electrical signal. At this time, the gamma ray detector 113 converts the gamma ray reaction into an electrical signal by combining the internal first scintillation crystal 114, the first SiPM photodetector 115, and a collimator 160 in the case of a single gamma ray, and in the case of extinction gamma ray, The gamma ray reaction is converted into an electrical signal through the second scintillation crystal 121 and the second SiPM photodetector 122 of the extracorporeal module 120 . Thereafter, the visible light reflected as white light through the light source transmission module 140 and the near-infrared emission fluorescence generated by exciting the near-infrared emission fluorescent material in the affected area are focused to the objective lens unit 111, and the optical imaging unit 130 transmits the The visible ray and near-infrared ray emission fluorescence is detected by the first imaging device 133 and the second imaging device 135. At this time, the imaging devices 133 and 135 may separately measure gamma rays, visible rays, and fluorescence by detecting different wavelength regions, and may obtain individual images or fusion images. In addition, a single or multiple optical lenses are attached to the objective lens unit 111, a special glass is installed on the front end to protect against external impact and corrosion, and the material of the optical lens is non-reflective (anti-reflection) so that light rays of a broadband wavelength can be collected. -reflection) coating is applied. When the optical lens is single, the optical system is simple, so it can be further miniaturized, but the image quality may be poor, and the image quality can be improved by installing a plurality of lenses. However, the optical system is complicated due to a plurality of lens systems, which is disadvantageous in miniaturization. In addition, all optical lenses including a convex lens, a concave lens, an aspheric lens, or a meniscus lens can be used as the optical lens included in the objective lens unit 111, but this It is not limited. In addition, the imaging devices 133 and 135 are sensors capable of collecting visible and near-infrared fluorescence and converting them into electrical signals, and may include a charged-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS). ), etc. can be utilized. In addition, the scintillation crystal may be pixelated or monolithic, and LYSO, GAGG, LaBr3 (Ce), CsI (Na), NaI (Tl), YAP: Ce, CdTe, BGO (Bi ₄ Ge ₃ O ₁₂ ), LSO (Lu ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce), YSO (Y ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce and/or Tb), GSO (Ga ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce) or LGSO (Lu _1-x GdxSiO ₅ ), which may be the gamma ray The emitter can be ^99m Tc, ¹³¹ I or ¹¹¹ In that emits single gamma rays and can be ¹¹ C, ¹³ N, ¹⁵ 0, ¹⁸ F, ⁶⁸ Ga, ⁶⁴ Cu, ⁸⁹ Zr or ¹⁸ F-FDG that emits evanescent gamma rays. And the near-infrared emitting fluorescent substance may be indocyanine green. The optical tracker 112 may reflect the real-time movement of the composite image module 110 during surgery to provide location information for image registration and image reconstruction of evanescent gamma rays.

In order to use the multimodal video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention, it is necessary to administer a multimodal tracer that is specifically integrated to a tumor to the human body. Depending on the type of gamma ray detector 113, the multimodal tracer The type of radioisotope labeled on the tracer is different.

In general, radioisotopes used in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging tests emit gamma rays through radioactive decay. To detect them, a detection range is formed as shown in FIG. A collimator 116 capable of forming a focus must be provided. On the other hand, radioactive isotopes used in positron emission tomography (PET) examination emit positrons in the body. At this time, the positrons combine with the surrounding electrons and annihilate, generating two gamma rays with 511 keV energy is emitted in the direction of 180°. If coincident detection is performed by two detectors facing each other and reconstructed using a mathematical algorithm, the distribution of radiopharmaceuticals in the body can be imaged. It does its job. The image using a single gamma ray does not require the extracorporeal module 120 for simultaneous detection, and the image acquisition device is simple, but it is difficult to obtain an image with high quality detection efficiency and resolution compared to the extinction gamma ray due to the geometric efficiency of the collimator 116. Gamma rays require simultaneous detection by an extracorporeal module, but images with high detection efficiency and good spatial resolution can be obtained.

On the other hand, the optical imaging unit 130 directly inserted into the composite image module 110 separates the light rays collected by the objective lens unit 111 into visible light and near-infrared fluorescence by the first wavelength separator 131, and then Noise is removed through the optical band filters 132 and 134 that selectively transmit light rays of a desired wavelength, and are converted into electrical signals by the image elements 133 and 135. At this time, the gamma ray reacts with the first scintillation crystal 114 of the gamma ray detector 113 to generate a flash of light, which is converted into an electrical signal through the SiPM photodetectors 115 and 122 . An optical tracker 112 is attached to the side of the composite image module 110 to observe changes in the position and angle of the composite image module 110 in real time to reconstruct and match images. The light source transmission module 140 is located inside and outside the composite image module 110 to improve the detection efficiency of visible light and transmit white light and near-infrared excitation light to obtain the visible and near-infrared emission fluorescence images. In addition, the control unit 160 converts the electrical signal generated from the extracorporeal module 120 into digital when the optical imaging unit 130 inserted into the composite image module 110, the gamma ray detector 113, and evanescent gamma rays are used. By processing this and displaying it as a matched image, factors that may be involved in the performance of each detector are adjusted. In addition, the first wavelength separator 131 may separate wavelengths using a wavelength separation mirror (left) or a wavelength separation prism (right), as shown in FIG. 4 . Detailed configurations of the gamma ray detector 113 and the optical imaging unit 130 configured inside the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 4 below.

2 shows the structure of the gamma ray detector 113 configured inside the composite image module 110 in the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention. As shown, the gamma ray detector 110 is composed of a first scintillation crystal 114 for obtaining gamma ray flashes from radiopharmaceuticals administered to the affected area and a first SiPM photodetector 115 for converting the gamma ray flashes into electrical signals. . At this time, the first scintillation crystal 114 uses a pixelated form for image formation, but a monolithic form can also be used for simple detection, and geometrical conditions such as the shape and size of the scintillation crystal are not limited. . In general, in the case of a single gamma ray, the range of the gamma ray image is set and the collimator 116 necessary for forming the image is attached to the front end of the scintillating crystal to detect it. At this time, the material of the collimator 116 is a metal having a high density capable of shielding gamma rays, and mainly lead, tungsten, and bismuth may be used, but is not limited thereto. In addition, the type of collimator 116 may be variously configured such as a parallel-hole collimator, a converging collimator, a diverging collimator, or a pin-hole collimator.

In addition, when evanescent gamma rays are used, the gamma rays are converted into electrical signals through the second scintillation crystal 121 and the second SiPM photodetector 122 located inside the extracorporeal module 120, and the gamma ray detector 113 inside the composite image module 110 Signals can be collected by simultaneous detection along with electrical signals generated from Describing the gamma ray detection process, in order to obtain a gamma ray image, the functions of the objective lens unit 111 and the optical imaging unit 130 of the composite image module 110 are excluded, and the gamma ray from the tumor detection tracer integrated in the tumor is a gamma ray detector ( 113) is selected by the collimator 160 in the case of a single gamma ray with the first scintillation crystal 114, or reacts with the second scintillation crystal 121 of the extracorporeal module 120 in the case of extinction gamma rays to generate scintillation. . The flash of light is detected by the first SiPM photodetector 115 of the gamma ray detector 113 and the second SiPM photodetector 122 of the extracorporeal module 120 to obtain an electrical signal. Thereafter, the image signals processed by the controller 160 appear as one image through a series of processes. The crystal scintillators that can be used for the gamma ray detection are non-deliquescent, must not contain their own natural radioactivity, and must have as much scintillation as possible, so a scintillator that satisfies these conditions is used. Scintillation crystals showing the amount of scintillation suitable for gamma ray detection are LYSO, GAGG, LaBr3(Ce), CsI(Na), NaI(Tl), YAP:Ce, CdTe, BGO(Bi ₄ Ge ₃ O ₁₂ ), LSO(Lu ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce), YSO (Y ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce and/or Tb), GSO (Ga ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce), or LGSO (Lu _1-x GdxSiO ₅ ) may be used, but is not limited thereto.

3 shows a schematic diagram of the extinction gamma ray detection of the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention. In the case of extinguishing gamma rays, not single gamma rays, the positrons emitted from the radiopharmaceutical administered to the affected area and the negative electrons of the attention combine and disappear, so that they are emitted in the direction of 180 degrees, so the gamma ray detector 113 of the composite image module 110 located on both sides and simultaneous detection of gamma rays with the extracorporeal module 120.

4 shows the structure of the optical imaging unit 130 of the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention. The visible light and near-infrared fluorescence focused in the objective lens unit 111 located at the front end of the composite image module 110 are separated into visible light and near-infrared fluorescence through the first wavelength separator 131 located in the optical imaging unit 130. do. A first optical band filter 132 is installed in front of the first image element 133 to block visible light having a wavelength of 500 to 700 nm, thereby blocking incident near-infrared excitation light sources and near-infrared emission fluorescence, and selectively transmitting visible light. It can improve the quality of visible light image by installing it. The pass wavelength range of the first optical band filter 132 is 780 to 800 nm or less to block light rays corresponding to the near-infrared wavelength range, and the wavelength range of the first optical band filter 132 is composed of the composite image module 110 can be freely adjusted. On the other hand, near-infrared fluorescence can be obtained by a combination of the second optical band filter 134 and the second image element 135. The wavelength range of the second optical band filter 134 is set to a bandwidth suitable for the wavelength range of near-infrared emission fluorescence. It can be selected, and generally has a bandwidth of 800 ~ 835 nm when indocyanine green (ICG) is a reference among near-infrared fluorophores, and the selectively passed near-infrared emission fluorescence is converted into an electrical signal in the second imaging device 135 .

FIG. 5 shows the structure of an optical transmission system configured at the front end of the composite image module 110 of the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention. The composite image module 110 has an objective lens unit 111 built in, and transmits white light and near-infrared excitation light transmitted from the light source transmission module 140 through the optical fiber bundle 141 formed on the outer wall of the composite image module 110. The visible light and near-infrared emission fluorescence reflected by irradiation are collected. It includes a protection tube 142 to protect the built-in objective lens unit 111 and is installed in the composite image module 110 through the outer frame 143. In addition, the internal white light source 144 and the internal near-infrared excitation light source 145 are attached to the front end of the composite image module 110 to directly transmit white light and near-infrared excitation light without the transmission of the light source transmission module 140. ) may be directly irradiated without passing through, or the internal white light source 144 and the near-infrared excitation light source 145 may be externally irradiated. The material and dimensions of the optical fiber bundle 141 are determined according to the geometric structure of the composite image module 110 .

6 shows the structure of the light source transmission module 140 of the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery of the present invention. The light rays generated from the external white light source 146 for collecting visible light are focused through the first focusing lens 148, and the visible light in the wavelength range of 400 to 700 nm is selectively transmitted through the third optical band filter 150. make it permeable. In addition, the near-infrared excitation light generated from the external near-infrared excitation light source 147 is focused through the second focusing lens 149 and then selectively transmitted through the fourth optical band filter 151 according to the excitation wavelength range of the near-infrared fluorophore. can In addition, visible light is reflected through the second wavelength separator 152 located at the center of the light source transmission module 140 and the near-infrared excitation light is transmitted and focused through the third focusing lens 153 to the optical fiber transmission unit 154. and can be sent to the optical fiber bundle 141 located on the outer wall of the composite image module 110. The second wavelength splitting body 152 of FIG. 6 is shown in the form of a wavelength splitting mirror, but a wavelength splitting prism may also be used.

7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the control unit 160 and the image processing process of the composite video imaging system 100 for surgery according to the present invention. The electrical signal generated by the gamma ray detector 113 of the composite image module 110 is converted into a digital signal by the single gamma ray data acquisition module 164 after noise is removed through the composite image module discriminator 161. In addition, in the case of extinction gamma rays, the electrical signal of the extracorporeal module 120 is removed through the extracorporeal module discriminator 162 to remove noise, and the electrical signal of the gamma ray detector 113 is simultaneously detected through the simultaneous counting circuit 163. Similarly, the simultaneous detection signal is converted into a digital signal in the evanescent gamma ray data acquisition module 165. Electrical signals generated from the imaging devices 133 and 135 inside the optical imaging unit 130 are converted into digital signals through a visible ray data acquisition module 166 and a near-infrared fluorescence data acquisition module 167, respectively. Digital signals including gamma ray, visible ray, and near-infrared fluorescence information are processed by the image matching algorithm 168 included in the control unit 160, and image matching and real-time transmission are possible. The matching algorithm obtains a gamma ray image by purifying the digital signals generated from the single gamma ray data acquisition module and the evanescent gamma ray data acquisition module, and converts the digital signals generated from the visible ray data acquisition module and the near-infrared fluorescence data acquisition module through image processing in real time. Convergence can be sent. Voltage and operating conditions of the gamma ray detector 113 and the extracorporeal module 120 are controlled by the gamma ray detector controller 169, and the first image element 133, a visible ray image element, and the second image element, a near-infrared fluorescence image element Operating conditions such as exposure time and gain value of 135 are transferred to the image elements 133 and 135 by the camera control unit 170 in the controller 160 .

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail through experimental examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the experimental examples disclosed below, but can be implemented in a variety of different forms. It is provided to fully inform you.

Experimental Example 1: Single gamma ray/visible ray/near infrared ray fluorescence acquisition experiment

For single gamma-ray/visible/near-infrared fluorescence image acquisition using the combined surgical video imaging system 100 of the present invention, an ICG-DMSO solution is now administered to a plastic phantom having a hole of about 5 mm, and energy of 126 keV below is applied. Experiments were performed by placing a Co-57 source that emits gamma rays with As a result, a single gamma-ray (red) image, a phantom image, and a near-infrared fluorescence (green) image were separately acquired and fused images were acquired (FIG. 8).

Experimental Example 2: Extinction gamma ray/visible ray/near infrared ray fluorescence acquisition experiment

The present inventors manufactured an extracorporeal module 120 and obtained evanescent gamma ray/visible ray/near infrared ray fluorescence images in the same manner as in Experimental Example 1. was detected. As a result, a composite image of clear extinction gamma ray/visible ray/NIR fluorescence was obtained (FIG. 9).

In conclusion, in the prior art, near-infrared fluorescence has weak penetrating power during surgery under the guidance of near-infrared fluorescence, so it was difficult to excise tumor tissue or sentinel lymph nodes located in the deep region. Although gamma rays have good penetrating power, they can compensate for the disadvantages of near-infrared rays, but since they must be inserted into the body cavity, it is not easy to develop a device with high gamma-ray sensitivity, high spatial resolution, and wide field of view, although it is small. Since the device must be usable during surgery, it was not easy to develop a high-sensitivity imaging device capable of providing real-time images. In addition, the quality of gamma ray detectors and imaging devices has deteriorated due to the sharing of flash light, visible light, and near-infrared fluorescence light reacted with gamma rays. Accordingly, the inventors of the present invention developed a composite video imaging system 100 for surgery in which the quality of an image is improved by separating the optical path of visible and near-infrared fluorescence and the gamma-ray scintillation path in order to solve the above problems. Therefore, gamma rays, visible rays, and near-infrared fluorescence can be displayed separately, and images in which the three images are fused can be provided in a short time, so that tumor tissue or sentinel lymph node resection can be performed with high sensitivity and specificity during surgery under the guidance of near-infrared fluorescence, and it is unnecessary. Since side effects caused by resecting a wide range of normal tissues can be reduced, optimized medical services can be provided and the quality of life of the elderly can be greatly improved.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, this is merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible therefrom. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

100: Complex video imaging system for surgery
110: composite image module 111: objective lens unit
112: optical tracker 113: gamma ray detector 114: first scintillation crystal
115: first SiPM photodetector 116: collimator
120: extracorporeal module 121: second scintillation crystal 122: second SiPM photodetector
130: optical imaging unit 131: first wavelength separator 132: first optical band filter
133: first image element 134: second optical band filter 135: second image element
140: light source transmission module 141: optical fiber bundle 142: protection tube
143: external frame 144: internal white light source 145: internal near-infrared excitation light source
146: external white light source 147: external near-infrared excitation light source
148: first focus lens 149: second focus lens
150: 3rd optical band filter 151: 4th optical band filter
152: second wavelength separator 153: third focal lens 154: optical fiber transmission unit
160: control unit 161: composite image module discriminator 162: extracorporeal module discriminator
163: simultaneous counting circuit 164: single gamma ray data acquisition module
165: extinction gamma ray data acquisition module
166: visible ray data acquisition module 167: near-infrared fluorescence data acquisition module
168: image matching algorithm 169: gamma ray detector control unit
170: camera control unit

Claims (9)

A gamma ray detector that generates an electrical signal by reacting with gamma rays emitted from radioactive substances administered to the affected area, a single or multiple optical lenses are provided therein to focus visible light and near-infrared fluorescence, and transmit the objective lens unit to the optical imaging unit, An optical imaging unit that separates the transmitted visible and near-infrared fluorescence by wavelength and converts them into electrical signals in an imaging device, and an optical tracker that recognizes the position and angle of the electrical signals to reconstruct and match images in real time. composite image module;
an extracorporeal module that simultaneously detects electrical signals of internal gamma rays and electrical signals of gamma rays generated by the gamma ray detector using evanescent gamma rays;
a light source transmission module for obtaining a near-infrared emission fluorescence image by exciting white light and a fluorophore in the affected area to obtain a visible ray image; and
A data acquisition module converting electrical signals of the gamma ray detector and the extracorporeal module of the composite imaging module into digital signals, a camera control unit converting electrical signals generated by the optical imaging unit into digital signals and adjusting the performance of imaging devices, A gamma ray detector control unit that amplifies the image signal of the data acquisition module and simultaneously counts with the extracorporeal module to display the image signal; A composite video imaging system for surgery, including a control unit matching the image of. According to claim 1,
The gamma ray detector includes a first scintillation crystal generating scintillation in response to a tumor detection tracer integrated in a tumor; and
A composite video imaging system for surgery, comprising a first SiPM photodetector for converting the flash signal into an electrical signal and detecting it. According to claim 2,
The scintillation crystal is LYSO, GAGG, LaBr3(Ce), CsI(Na), NaI(Tl), YAP:Ce, CdTe, BGO (Bi ₄ Ge ₃ O ₁₂ ), LSO (Lu ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce), YSO (Y ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce and/or Tb), GSO (Ga ₂ SiO ₅ :Ce) or LGSO (Lu _1-x GdxSiO ₅ ), a composite video imaging system for surgery. According to claim 3,
The scintillation crystal is a pixelated or monolithic type, a composite video imaging system for surgery. According to claim 1,
The optical imaging unit includes a first wavelength separator for separating visible light and near-infrared fluorescence focused on the objective lens unit;
a first optical band filter that blocks a near-infrared excitation light source and near-infrared emission fluorescence and selectively transmits a visible ray signal;
a first image element that converts the visible ray signal into an electrical signal and detects it;
a second optical band filter that blocks visible light signals and selectively transmits near-infrared emission fluorescence signals; and
A composite video imaging system for surgery comprising a second image element for converting and detecting the near-infrared emission fluorescence signal into an electrical signal. According to claim 1,
The light source transmission module includes an external white light source generating visible light;
a first focusing lens forming a focus of the visible light;
a third optical band filter that selectively transmits visible light;
an external near-infrared excitation light source generating near-infrared excitation light;
a second focusing lens forming a focus of the near-infrared excitation light;
a fourth optical band filter that selectively transmits near-infrared excitation light;
a second wavelength separator that reflects visible light and transmits near-infrared excitation light;
a third focusing lens forming a focus of the transmitted near-infrared excitation light; and
A composite video imaging system for surgery comprising an optical fiber transmission unit for transmitting the near-infrared excitation light to an optical fiber bundle. According to claim 5 or 6,
Wherein the first wavelength splitter and the second wavelength splitter are wavelength splitting mirrors or wavelength splitting prisms, a composite video imaging system for surgery. According to claim 1,
The lens used in the objective lens unit is a convex lens, a concave lens, an aspheric lens, or a meniscus lens. According to claim 1,
The imaging device is a charge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS), a composite video imaging system for surgery.