Head-Worn Surgical Navigation for Marker Tracking and 3D Registration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical procedures lack effective sensory augmentation for surgeons, with limited visual, auditory, and tactile feedback, and external cameras causing line-of-sight issues and inaccurate anatomical registration.
Innovation Solution
A head-worn display device with integrated sensors and cameras provides real-time visual, auditory, and tactile feedback, offering a mixed reality interface that overlays surgical tools and anatomical features directly in the surgeon's field of view, using markers tracked by the camera for precise registration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If external console displays and cameras are used for surgical navigation, then surgical information is provided to the surgeon, but the surgeon must repeatedly shift gaze between the surgical site and the display, reducing operational efficiency and increasing cognitive load
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the surgical display and camera systems with the surgeon's natural field of view by using head-mounted displays and head-mounted cameras. This merging eliminates the need for separate console displays and allows the surgeon to view surgical navigation information without shifting gaze, directly resolving the contradiction between information delivery and procedural efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional console displays to three-dimensional spatial integration by placing displays in the surgeon's visual field and using head-mounted cameras that move with the surgeon's head. This dimensional change allows surgical information to be presented in the natural viewing space, eliminating gaze shifts and improving efficiency
2Reliability
If remote cameras are positioned outside the sterile field, then they can capture surgical views, but line-of-sight issues arise when drapes, personnel, and instruments obstruct the camera's view of markers
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the camera system with the surgeon's head, creating a head-mounted camera that moves synchronously with the surgeon's head movements. This ensures the camera maintains a consistent viewpoint with the surgeon, eliminating line-of-sight obstructions from drapes, personnel, and instruments that block external cameras
Solution Approach 2:
The head-mounted camera effectively copies the surgeon's visual perspective, positioning the camera at the same location and orientation as the surgeon's eyes. This copying of the visual viewpoint ensures unobstructed views of surgical markers and anatomy that would be blocked by external camera positions
3Measurement precision
If stylus point cloud approaches are used for anatomical registration, then 3D mapping can be performed, but the process is time-consuming and less accurate compared to surface mapping methods
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical stylus-based point cloud acquisition system with an optical surface mapping system using cameras and image processing. This substitution eliminates the need for manual stylus probing, reducing registration time while improving accuracy through comprehensive surface feature capture and matching algorithms
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary 3D surface mapping and anatomical registration before the surgical procedure begins. By completing the registration process in advance using rapid surface scanning, the system eliminates time-consuming intraoperative stylus probing and provides accurate anatomical models for navigation throughout the surgery
Data Source
AI summary
Described here are self-contained surgical navigation systems which include a head-worn display device to be worn by a user during surgery. The system includes a display generator for generating a visual display on the display device, and a sensor suite having at least one tracking camera. The system further includes a support module including: a user-replaceable, modular battery that is removably insertable into a housing of the support module, and a processor unit configured to receive data from the sensor suite and calculate a position and an orientation of at least one marker. The support module is electrically coupled to the head-worn display device to provide power and data to the head-worn display device. The display device and the support module together comprise the entire sensing and computing capability of the system, without requiring external sensors, cameras, computers, or other electrical equipment.