首次量化血管结构对血栓取回导航难度的影响。
Vascular Geometry Characterization for AI-Based Endovascular Navigation

- 构建自动化管道提取血管特征,实现定量分析
- 牛型主动脉弓等结构使导航时间延长超30秒
- 为强化学习模型训练提供标准化评估依据
机械血栓切除术(MT)是急性缺血性卒中救治的关键手段,但因神经放射科医生和专科中心不足而难以普及。强化学习(RL)有望实现内血管导航自动化,提升可及性,但现有模型缺乏标准化框架评估导航复杂度。本研究旨在识别与导航难度相关的血管指标,并开发自动化管道进行定量特征提取,以支持未来复杂度分级。基于61例患者的CT血管造影图像,使用自定义流程测量了主动脉弓类型、牛型主动脉弓、血管长度、迂曲度、分叉角度、反向弯曲数量等指标。采用Soft Actor-Critic RL算法进行120秒自主导航,结果通过混合效应线性和逻辑回归分析。左侧:存在牛型主动脉弓和主动脉弓Ⅱ/Ⅲ型分别使导航时间增加30.19秒和37.92秒,迂曲度更高(η = 118.20)进一步延长操作时间并降低成功率。右侧:Ⅱ/Ⅲ型主动脉弓使操作时间延长45.94秒,每多一个反向弯曲则导航时间增加3.96秒,成功率下降。首次证明MT代理导航难度受血管几何结构显著影响。所提自动化管道可实现血管特征客观量化,为未来复杂度分级与RL模型评估提供基础,不旨在验证临床可泛化的自主导航能力。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is a time-critical intervention for acute ischemic stroke; however, access remains limited due to a shortage of neuroradiologists and specialized centers. Reinforcement learning (RL) offers potential to automate endovascular navigation and improve accessibility, yet current models lack standardized frameworks to assess navigation difficulty for model training and evaluation. This study aims to identify vascular metrics associated with navigation difficulty and to develop an automated pipeline for quantitative vascular feature extraction, enabling future complexity grading. Vascular trees were segmented from computed tomography angiograms from 61 patients, and vascular metrics including aortic arch type, presence of bovine arch, vessel length, tortuosity, take-off angle, number of reverse curves, were measured using a custom pipeline. A Soft Actor-Critic RL algorithm was used for 120 s autonomous navigation. Outcomes were analyzed using both mixed effects linear and logistic regression. On the left side, the presence of a bovine arch and aortic arch type II/III increased navigation time by 30.19 s and 37.92 s, respectively, while greater tortuosity (\b{eta} = 118.20) further prolonged the procedure and reduced success probability. On the right side, type II/III arches extended procedure time by 45.94 s, while each additional reverse curve was associated with 3.96 s longer navigation time and lower probability of success. These findings demonstrate for the first time that MT agent navigation difficulty is strongly influenced by vascular geometry. The proposed automated pipeline enables objective and quantitative characterization of vascular features, providing a foundation for future development of standardized complexity grading and RL model evaluation, without aiming to demonstrate clinically generalizable autonomous navigation.
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