Inverse catheter planning

1. A method for determining and representing at least one of possible entry and target areas for positioning catheters in an area of a patient's body on the basis of at least one of functional data, structural data and anatomical data of the area, comprising the steps of:

indicating, via a data input device communicatively coupled to a processor, at least one of a) at least one catheter entry area and b) at least one catheter target area;

determining, using the processor, at least one of a) at least one catheter target area and b) at least one catheter entry area, wherein

said at least one catheter target are is determined based on

i) the at least one indicated catheter entry area, and

ii) specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of the functional data, structural data, and anatomical data of the area, and wherein said at least one catheter entry area is determined based on

i) the at least one indicated catheter target area, and

ii) specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of the functional data, structural data, and anatomical data of the area;

representing by the processor via a display device, at least one of the functional data, structural data, and anatomical data with at least one of

a) the indicated catheter entry area and the at least one determined catheter target area; and

b) the at least one indicated catheter target area and the at least one determined catheter entry area; and

wherein the catheter positioning guidelines comprise at least one of

i) distances between the catheter or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and the surface of the area,

ii) distances between a number of catheters or catheter tips or catheter delivery sections, and

iii) distances between the catheters or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and particular tissue sections.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein if the catheter entry area is indicated,

determining at least one possible catheter target point in the catheter target area based on the specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of the functional data, structural data and anatomical data of the area, wherein an optimal target point of the at least one catheter target point is displayed on the display device.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein once the at least one possible catheter target point has been determined, determining at least one entry point inside the indicated catheter entry area and corresponding to the determined possible catheter target point based on the catheter positioning guidelines, wherein an optimal entry point of the at least one catheter entry point is displayed on the display device.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein if the catheter target area is indicated,

determining at least one possible catheter entry point in the catheter entry area based on the specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of the functional data, structural data and Of anatomical data of the area, wherein an optimal catheter entry point of the at least catheter one entry point is displayed on the display device.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein once the at least one possible catheter entry point has been determined, determining at least one catheter target point in the catheter target area and corresponding to the determined possible catheter entry point based on the catheter positioning guidelines, wherein an optimal catheter target point of the at least one catheter target point is displayed on the display device.

6. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of using a tissue as the catheter entry or catheter target area.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the step of using a tissue as the catheter entry or catheter target area includes using a brain region as the catheter entry or catheter target area.

8. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of using and/or determining information on tissue parts and/or on areas of tissue parts removed by operations and/or on areas of tissue deformities, tissue abnormalities or tissue anomalies, and/or on anatomical areas as functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the tissue anomalies include oedemas and the anatomical areas include the brain stem.

10. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of determining includes displaying on a display device at least one of the functional data, structural and anatomical data with the specified catheter positioning guidelines.

11. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of indicating at least one catheter entry area includes indicating an entry point as the catheter entry area.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of determining at least one catheter target area includes indicating a target point as the catheter target area.

13. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the catheter positioning guidelines used to determine the at least one catheter target region for an indicated entry region are dependent on at least one a) of the anatomical, functional or structural characteristics of the entry region, the target region and c) the area along the trajectory of the catheter.

14. The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the catheter entry area or catheter target area based on catheter positioning guidelines includes using catheter positioning guidelines that are dependent on at least one of a) the anatomical, functional or structural characteristics of the catheter target region, b) the catheter entry region and c) the area along the trajectory of the catheter.

15. The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the catheter entry area or catheter target area based on catheter positioning guidelines includes using catheter positioning guidelines that are dependent on at least one of the respective catheter parameters, infusion parameters and infusate parameters, and further comprising using a number of consecutive infusions having the same or different infusates.

16. The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining the catheter entry area or catheter target area based on catheter positioning guidelines includes using catheter positioning guidelines that are dependent on at least one of catheter trajectories already defined and on the expected area coverage from the fluids to be infused by already defined catheter trajectories.

17. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of determining positioning specifications based on the specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of the functional data, structural data and anatomical data of the area, said positioning specifications indicating how the catheter can be positioned between the at least one indicated or determined entry area and the at least one indicated or determined target area so as to be in compliance with the catheter positioning guidelines.

18. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the tissue sections include grooves, furrows, sulci, chambers, ventricles, hollows, recesses, holes and/or cavities of the area.

19. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising the step of using information on the surface of the area and/or on grooves or furrows, sulci or gyri of the area, furrows between cerebral convolutions, and/or on chambers, ventricles, hollows, recesses, holes and/or cavities of the area as the functional data, structural data and/or anatomical data.

20. The method according to claim 1 , wherein

the distances between the catheter or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and the surface of the area are between 1 and 4 cm; and/or

the distances between a number of catheters or catheter tips or catheter delivery sections are at least about 1 cm and up to about 3 cm; and/or

the distances between the catheters or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and particular tissue sections are between 2 and 15 mm.

21. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the catheter positioning guidelines are criteria relating to specified or defined distance characteristics of the catheter from characteristic areas or criteria relating to specified or defined distance characteristics of a number of catheters from each other or from characteristic areas.

22. A device for determining and representing at least one of possible entry and target areas for positioning catheters in an area of a patient's body on the basis of at least one of functional data, structural data and anatomical data of the area, comprising:

a data input device for inputting at least one catheter entry area or at least one catheter target area;

a computing device connected to the data input device, wherein if the data received by the data input device corresponds to a catheter entry area the computing unit is configured to determine at least one catheter target area based on

i) the at least one catheter entry area, and

ii) specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of functional data, structural data and anatomical data, and

if the data received by the data input device corresponds to a catheter target area the computing device is configured to determine at least one catheter entry area based on

i) the at least one indicated catheter target area, and

ii) specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of the functional data, structural data and anatomical data;

a database in which at least one of a) the catheter positioning guidelines and b) at least one of functional data, structural data and anatomical data is archived, wherein the database is operatively coupled to the data input device and the computing device;

a data output device operatively coupled to the computing device for outputting at least one of a) the functional data, structural data and anatomical data, b) the specified catheter positioning guidelines, c) the at least one determined catheter target area, and d) the at least one determined catheter entry area; and

wherein the catheter positioning guidelines comprise at least one of

i) distances between the catheter or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and the surface of the area,

ii) distances between a number of catheters or catheter tips or catheter delivery sections, and

iii) distances between the catheters or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and particular tissue sections.

23. The device according to claim 22 , comprising a medical tracking system for determining the position of the catheter and the position of the area, wherein the computing unit correlates the information on the position of the catheter and on the position of the area with the functional data and/or structural and/or anatomical data, and wherein the correlated information is represented on the data output device.

24. A computer program embodied on a non-transitory computer readable medium for determining and representing at least one of possible entry and target areas for positioning catheters in an area of a patient's body on the basis of at least one of functional data, structural and anatomical data of the area, wherein when the program is executed by a processor the program causes the processor to perform the following steps:

receiving, via a data input device communicatively coupled to a processor, at least one of a) at least one catheter entry area and b) at least one catheter target area;

determining at least one of a) at least one catheter entry area and b) a at least one catheter target area, wherein

said at least one catheter target area is determined based on

i) the at least one indicated catheter entry area,

ii) specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of the functional data, structural data and anatomical data of the area, and

wherein said at least one catheter entry area is determined based on

i) the at least one indicated catheter target area, and

ii) specified catheter positioning guidelines and at least one of the functional data, structural data, and anatomical data of the area;

representing for display at least one of the functional data, structural data, and anatomical data with at least one of

a) the at least one indicated catheter entry area and the at least one determined catheter target area, and

b) the at least one indicated catheter target area and the at least one determined catheter entry area; and

wherein the catheter positioning guidelines comprise at least one of

i) distances between the catheter or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and the surface of the area,

ii) distances between a number of catheters or catheter tips or catheter delivery sections, and

iii) distances between the catheters or the catheter tips or the catheter delivery sections and particular tissue sections.