Flexible Marker Tracking of Intraoperative Soft Tissue Motion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing surgical technologies lack effective methods for tracking intraoperative changes in soft tissue, which can impact surgical precision and safety.
Innovation Solution
A flexible material with tracking markers is attached to soft tissue, enabling real-time imaging and comparison of marker positions to determine tissue motion, with systems adjusting surgical plans or reporting to surgeons based on detected motion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional surgical methods are used without tracking markers, then the surgical procedure is simpler and faster to perform, but the ability to track soft tissue motion and maintain surgical precision deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a flexible material with tracking markers as an intermediary element attached to the soft tissue. This mediator enables the imaging system to track tissue motion indirectly through the markers' positions, solving the problem of directly measuring soft tissue displacement with high precision without requiring complex direct measurement devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking markers on the flexible material create a visual copy or representation of the soft tissue's motion. By tracking the positions of these markers in sequential images, the system reconstructs the tissue's movement pattern, enabling precise motion tracking through a simplified proxy rather than direct complex measurement.
2Reliability
If a flexible material with tracking markers is attached to soft tissue, then real-time motion tracking capability is improved, but the complexity of the surgical procedure and device setup increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible material with tracking markers serves multiple functions: it provides mechanical support or reinforcement to the soft tissue while simultaneously acting as a carrier for motion tracking markers. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate tracking devices, thereby improving reliability without proportionally increasing overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tracking markers are designed with specific visual characteristics (such as contrasting colors or patterns) that make them easily distinguishable in images. This visual differentiation enables reliable automatic detection and tracking of marker positions, improving surgical precision through enhanced image analysis capability.
3Measurement precision
If multiple images are obtained and compared to track tissue motion, then measurement accuracy is improved, but the time required for processing and analysis increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible material with tracking markers is attached to the soft tissue before the surgical procedure begins. This preliminary setup establishes a known reference configuration of markers that can be compared against subsequent images. By pre-establishing this reference, the system can quickly process and compare images during surgery without requiring complex real-time calculations, thus improving measurement precision while minimizing time loss.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for detecting motion of soft tissue are provided. An illustrative method is described to include attaching a flexible material to an object, where the flexible material includes one or more tracking markers distributed thereon and where the object includes soft tissue. The method is also disclosed to include obtaining a first image of the object that includes the one or more tracking markers in a first position, obtaining a second image of the object that includes the one or more tracking markers in a second position, and determining a motion of the soft tissue based on a comparison of the one or more tracking markers in the first position with the one or more tracking markers in the second position.