Fiber Optic Tracking Sensor with Spaced-Apart Fibers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional fiber optic tracking systems for surgical procedures face limitations in measurement resolution and accuracy due to geometric constraints and susceptibility to errors from twisting and internal friction, making them inadequate for tracking multiple anatomical features simultaneously in confined spaces, such as spinal surgeries.
Innovation Solution
A fiber optic tracking sensor system comprising at least three optical fibers with shape-memory members and low-friction sleeves, arranged in a spaced-apart configuration to minimize twisting and friction, providing enhanced measurement resolution and accuracy for tracking multiple anatomical features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional fiber optic tracking systems use single optical fiber with standard geometry, then device complexity is low, but measurement precision is insufficient for surgical tracking requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The optical fiber is segmented into multiple sensing sections, each containing fiber Bragg gratings at different positions along the fiber length. This segmentation allows independent measurement of strain at multiple locations, thereby improving measurement precision without requiring a single complex sensor geometry
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from tracking single-point position to tracking distributed strain along the fiber length by adding the spatial dimension of measurement. Multiple fiber Bragg gratings are positioned at different locations along the fiber, enabling measurement of strain distribution rather than just overall fiber position
2Reliability
If optical fiber is placed inside protective tube or casing, then fiber is protected from damage, but internal friction between fiber and tube causes measurement errors
Solution Approach 1:
The optical fiber is extracted from the protective tube or casing during the measurement process. The fiber is allowed to move freely within the protective sheath, eliminating contact and internal friction between the fiber and tube walls, thereby removing the source of measurement errors while maintaining fiber protection when not in use
Solution Approach 2:
A low-friction intermediary material or interface is introduced between the optical fiber and the protective tube. This intermediary reduces the frictional interaction to negligible levels, allowing the fiber to slide freely within the protective casing without generating measurement errors from internal friction
3Ease of operation
If optical fiber experiences twisting during surgical manipulation, then fiber remains flexible and maneuverable, but twisting induces stress that affects wavelength reflection accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The optical fiber is extracted from any constraining structure that would induce twisting. The fiber is allowed to move and bend freely in three dimensions without being constrained by a rigid protective tube, enabling surgical maneuverability while preventing twisting-induced stress that would affect wavelength measurements
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical state or configuration of the fiber protection system from rigid to flexible, or from constrained to free-moving. This parameter change allows the fiber to accommodate surgical manipulation and twisting motions without inducing stress that would alter the wavelength reflection characteristics of the fiber Bragg gratings
4Adaptability or versatility
If multiple anatomical features are tracked simultaneously in limited surgical space, then comprehensive surgical guidance is achieved, but conventional single-point tracking systems become impractical
Solution Approach 1:
A single optical fiber serves multiple functions by incorporating multiple fiber Bragg gratings at different positions along its length. This single multi-functional sensor can track multiple anatomical features or multiple points on the same feature simultaneously, providing comprehensive surgical guidance without requiring multiple separate tracking devices
Solution Approach 2:
The optical fiber is divided into multiple sensing segments, each with fiber Bragg gratings positioned to track specific anatomical features. This segmentation allows simultaneous monitoring of multiple critical points during surgery, such as multiple vertebrae in spinal surgery or multiple landmarks in orthopedic procedures
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 achieves improved measurement resolution and accuracy, enabling precise tracking of multiple anatomical features, reducing errors caused by twisting and friction, and facilitating more accurate surgical procedures, particularly in complex spinal surgeries.
Implementation Method 1
A fiber Bragg grating reflects a certain wavelength of light depending in part upon the strain experienced by the optical fiber at the sensing section
Implementation Method 2
A shape-memory member is coupled to the at least three optical fibers and provides support to the sensor
Data Source
AI summary
A fiber optic tracking sensor includes an outer tube, a plurality of optical fibers within the outer tube and including a central optical fiber and a plurality of additional optical fibers, and one or more structural members within the outer tube and configured to provide a spacing between the plurality of optical fibers such that the central optical fiber is positioned along a central longitudinal axis of the outer tube and the plurality of additional optical fibers are spaced apart from one another and from the central optical fiber.