Fiber Optic Tracking System for Surgical Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surgical navigation technologies face challenges in providing seamless integration, high accuracy, high sampling rate, and robust tracking capabilities, especially during surgical procedures, and struggle to effectively track a combination of patient anatomy, surgical instruments, and robotic arms.
Innovation Solution
A fiber optic tracking system that uses optical fibers with sensing components to determine the position and orientation of substantially rigid objects, incorporating multiple sensing points along the optical fibers to enhance accuracy, and can be used alone or in combination with other tracking systems for comprehensive object tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional surgical navigation technologies (infrared tracking, electromagnetic tracking) are used, then tracking capability is provided, but integration seamless, accuracy, and sampling rate are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional mechanical/electromagnetic tracking systems with a fiber optic-based sensing system. Optical fibers with sensing components are embedded in or attached to the objects to be tracked, using optical domain phenomena (light scattering, reflection, interference) to determine position and orientation, thereby achieving higher precision and robustness simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The patent divides the tracking system into distributed sensing points along multiple optical fibers. Each optical fiber contains multiple sensing components at different locations, allowing independent measurement at each point while maintaining overall system coherence. This segmentation enables high sampling rate and precise position/orientation determination
2Measurement precision
If multiple separate optical fibre sensing elements are used, then tracking capability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate optical sensing elements into integrated optical fiber bundles or cables. Multiple sensing components are combined within a single optical fiber structure, maintaining the ability to measure position and orientation at multiple points while reducing the number of separate components and simplifying system integration
Solution Approach 2:
The optical fiber sensing elements are designed to perform multiple functions: position tracking, orientation determination, and shape reconstruction. The same optical fiber infrastructure supports all these measurement types, eliminating the need for separate sensing systems for each function
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
The system provides precise tracking of surgical instruments and robotic devices, improving surgical precision and accuracy by utilizing distributed sensing points along optical fibers to determine object shape and location, enabling effective registration and spatial alignment during surgical procedures.
Implementation Method 1
an optical fiber (6) with at least one sensing component (12)... configured to use the sensing component (12)... to determine... the position of at least one sensing point (17, 24) on the optical fiber (6)
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
A fiber optic tracking system (100) for tracking substantially rigid object (s) is described. The fiber optic tracking system includes a light source (7), an optical fiber (6,6') having a sensing component (12, 12a, 12b) configured to modify optical signals from the light source, the optical fiber being configured to attach to the substantially rigid object (19, 19', 19' ', a detection unit (9) arranged to receive the modified optical signals from the sensing component, and a calculation unit (3) configured to determine a pose of the substantially rigid object in six degrees of freedom based on the modified optical signals.