Arthroscopic Fiducial Array with Multi-Plane Reflectors
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current optical tracking systems in robotic surgery have limited visibility range, making it difficult to track instruments with wider ranges of motion, such as during femoroacetabular impingement surgeries, due to the narrow viewing angles of traditional reflectors.
Innovation Solution
The resection instrument system includes a sleeve connector and fiducial array with multiple sets of reflectors on intersecting planes, increasing visibility to stereoscopic cameras over a greater range of motion, and a mechanical resection device with a cutter and fiducial array that maintains tracking accuracy despite movement between the handpiece and the mechanical resection device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traditional reflectors are used in optical tracking systems, then the system structure remains simple, but the visibility range is limited to narrow viewing angles
Solution Approach 1:
The reflector is divided into multiple reflective surfaces arranged on different planes (first plane, second plane, third plane) that are not parallel to each other. Each plane contains multiple reflectors positioned at different locations, creating a segmented structure that expands the overall visibility range of the fiducial array.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from a single-plane reflector arrangement to a multi-plane three-dimensional configuration. The reflective surfaces are distributed across multiple non-parallel planes, adding spatial dimensions to the reflector geometry and enabling tracking from diverse viewing angles.
2Measurement precision
If multiple sets of reflectors on intersecting planes are used, then tracking accuracy is improved across broader motion ranges, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fiducial array is segmented into multiple sets of reflectors, with each set positioned on a different plane. This segmentation allows the system to maintain high tracking accuracy across broader motion ranges by providing multiple reference points visible from different angles.
Solution Approach 2:
The multi-plane fiducial array structure serves multiple functions: it maintains tracking accuracy for instruments with narrow motion ranges (like knee arthroplasty) while also enabling accurate tracking of instruments with wide motion ranges (like femoroacetabular impingement treatments).
3Stability of the object's composition
If the fiducial array is rigidly connected to the cutter, then tracking stability is improved, but the ability to accommodate movement between handpiece and resection device is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The fiducial array is nested within or coupled to the sleeve connector, which itself is coupled to the mechanical resection device. This nested arrangement allows the fiducial array to move with the cutter while maintaining its structural integrity and tracking stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sleeve connector acts as an intermediary between the handpiece and the mechanical resection device, and the fiducial array is coupled to this intermediary. This allows the system to accommodate movement and flexibility in the connection while maintaining stable tracking through the fiducial array's multi-plane geometry.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances the visibility and tracking accuracy of surgical instruments across a broader range of motion, improving the precision and effectiveness of surgical procedures by ensuring consistent location monitoring within the surgical space.
Implementation Method 1
Optical tracking is a proven technology where the reflectors are rigidly connected to the working end of the tracked instrument
Data Source
AI summary
Optical tracking of objects in arthroscopic surgery. Examples comprise a resection instrument system including: a handpiece; a mechanical resection device comprising a stationary outer hub, an elongate outer tube coupled to and extending away from the stationary outer hub, and a cutter disposed at a distal end of the elongate shaft, the stationary outer hub coupled to the handpiece; a fiducial array; and a sleeve connector. The sleeve connector may include: a sleeve defining a distal end, a proximal end, and a through bore, the sleeve concentrically arranged with the elongate shaft; an array connector coupled to the proximal end of the sleeve, the array connector coupled to the fiducial array.