Fiducial Screw Access Channel for Accurate MIS Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Invasive fiducial markers for surgical navigation in Minimal Invasive Surgery (MIS) cause poor navigation accuracy due to tissue removal and difficulty in accessing deeply placed fiducials, which is undesirable in MIS procedures.
Innovation Solution
A fiducial screw system with a screw shaft inserted into bone material and a screw head attached to an elongated tube, allowing for minimal tissue disruption, featuring a guiding channel for tool access and a movable attachment mechanism that enables pivoting and rotation, facilitating precise navigation without wide tissue openings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If fiducial markers are placed on the patient's skin, then the surgical procedure is less invasive, but navigation accuracy deteriorates due to distance from the bony structure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an elongated tube as an intermediary component that connects the minimally invasive access point to the fiducial marker embedded in the bone. The tube acts as a mediator, allowing the fiducial to be placed deep in the bone for accurate navigation while accessing it through a small incision, thus resolving the contradiction between invasiveness and accuracy.
2Measurement precision
If fiducial markers are embedded in bone material for improved navigation accuracy, then navigation accuracy is improved, but tissue removal increases requiring wide openings for verification
Solution Approach 1:
The elongated tube serves as a mediator that allows verification of the embedded fiducial through a small incision. The tube's guiding channel enables the navigation pointer to access the fiducial marker without requiring wide tissue openings, thus maintaining navigation accuracy while minimizing tissue disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The system segments the access path into two parts: a small incision for inserting the elongated tube, and an internal guiding channel within the tube that provides access to the fiducial marker. This segmentation allows verification without wide openings, resolving the contradiction between accuracy and tissue preservation.
3Measurement precision
If fiducial markers are placed deeply in bone material, then navigation accuracy is improved, but difficulty in accessing and touching fiducials with navigation pointer increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elongated tube acts as an intermediary access channel that bridges the gap between the small external incision and the deeply placed fiducial marker. The guiding channel within the tube provides a defined path for the navigation pointer to reach the fiducial, making deep fiducials easily accessible without compromising navigation accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides a fiducial screw system. The system comprises a fiducial screw having a screw shaft configured to be inserted into a bone material and a screw head having or forming a fastening interface configured to cooperate with a fastening tool for inserting the fiducial screw into the bone material. The system further comprises an elongated tube forming a guiding channel, wherein the elongated tube has a proximal longitudinal end and a distal longitudinal end, and wherein the distal longitudinal end is shaped to be attachable or attached to the fiducial screw, e.g., to its head, and the proximal longitudinal end forms a guiding opening leading into the guiding channel.