In-vitro three dimensional vasculature modeling based on sensor fusion between intravascular ultrasound and magnetic tracker

This paper presents a sensor fusion between intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) and magnetic trackers for constructing the virtual reality three dimensional models of the blood vessels. We propose this approach for vasculature modeling as part of a guidance system relying on augmented reality for assistance during aortic stent graft deploy. This guidance will facilitate the alignment of the holes on the stent graft walls with the renal and mesenteric arteries ramifications. First we studied the disturbances on the magnetic tracker measurements induced by IVUS emitter after assembling the two sensors together. Then we performed a scan with the hybrid probe inside a blood silicone model submerged into a water tank, captured and fused data from both sensors. The dispersion of samples increased less than 1mm in the evaluated locations while the IVUS was activated. This enabled the construction of a three-dimensional model in virtual reality of the blood vessel model relying on the sensor fusion.