Prof. Dr. Jörg Thiem's Robotic Vision working group is working on the automatic digital measurement of heart valves during operations in a new research project at Fachhochschule Dortmund. The results should help to set new standards.
As an important valve in the human body, a small valve ensures that blood flows in the right direction - namely from the left ventricle into the largest artery, the aorta. If this aortic valve with its three crescent-shaped pockets of wafer-thin tissue no longer functions, an operation is required and special surgical expertise is needed. Because then it is a matter of millimeter work on the open heart.
Intraoperative digital aortography (IDA)
IDA, "Intraoperative Digital Aortography", is intended to support doctors in their decisions by providing the most accurate measurement data possible. To achieve this goal, the Faculty of Information Technology at Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts has now launched a project under the direction of Prof. Dr. Jörg Thiem, which will run until September 2025. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has approved EUR 441,180 from the "KMU-innovativ Medizintechnik" funding program for the development of "Algorithms for the automatic detection of features in aortic valves".
"We are researching image recognition methods based on artificial intelligence to automatically detect characteristic, medically relevant measuring points on aortic valves," explains Jörg Thiem. The cooperation partner is Klavant GmbH, a medical technology manufacturer in Minden, East Westphalia. The company is developing a new method to record the aortic valve during surgery on the open chest using several cameras. Based on these images, which can be displayed in three dimensions, the digital measuring tape of the Dortmund research team will then deliver live results directly.
3D measuring procedure increases therapy success
"The optical 3D measurement method should significantly increase the success of aortic valve surgery, for example when it comes to avoiding follow-up operations or selecting and inserting an optimal prosthesis," explains Michael Bogatzki, Managing Director of Klavant GmbH.
"Up to now, the success of operations has mainly depended on the surgeon's experience and sense of proportion," says project manager Jörg Thiem, who is also Vice-Rector for Research and Transfer at Fachhochschule Dortmund. His research team includes the two research assistants Dominik Fromme and Tim Streckert as well as Matthis Hofmann as a research assistant. They will work together on automatic image recognition using different images of heart valves and will also consult with medical professionals.