Mixed-Reality Headset Gaze Control for Surgical Landmark Acquisition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mixed-reality (MR)-based systems for navigated and robotic surgery require manual surgeon inputs for navigation steps, which can be cumbersome and prone to errors due to transitory actions.
Innovation Solution
A mixed-reality headset system that uses a pointer to acquire anatomical landmarks, with a virtual button activation mechanism based on eye or head gaze, ensuring accurate and deliberate user input through gaze-based confirmation and a progress indicator to prevent false positives.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If manual surgeon inputs are required for navigation steps, then the system can ensure deliberate user actions, but the operation becomes cumbersome and prone to errors due to transitory actions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical input methods (buttons, switches) with a gaze-based control system. The mixed-reality headset tracks the surgeon's eye movements to detect when they are looking at specific UI elements, automatically triggering actions without requiring manual confirmation. This substitution eliminates transitory hand movements while maintaining deliberate action selection through sustained gaze.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors and interprets the surgeon's natural gaze patterns to automatically initiate and control navigation steps. The gaze-tracking system self-adjusts by detecting fixation duration and movement patterns, triggering acquisition steps when the surgeon's gaze remains on a target area for a predetermined time, without requiring additional manual input devices or confirmation steps.
2Ease of operation
If gaze-based control is implemented, then the ease of operation improves, but the system may experience false positives from transitory gaze movements
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the gaze activation threshold based on the surgical context and detected gaze patterns. The predetermined time threshold for triggering an acquisition step is not fixed but adapts based on the stability and duration of gaze fixation, allowing the system to distinguish between deliberate viewing and transitory movements while maintaining responsiveness to intentional actions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides visual feedback to the surgeon indicating when their gaze has been detected and what action will be triggered. Before executing an acquisition step, the system can display a confirmation indicator showing that the gaze condition has been met, allowing the surgeon to verify the intended action before it occurs, thereby preventing false positives while maintaining ease of operation.
3Reliability
If multiple confirmation steps are added, then the reliability of acquisition increases, but the time required for navigation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary verification of the gaze target before triggering the acquisition step. By pre-validating that the surgeon's gaze is directed at the correct anatomical landmark or UI element for the predetermined time period, the system ensures accurate acquisition without requiring multiple sequential confirmation steps, thereby reducing overall navigation time while maintaining reliability.
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
Facilitates precise and efficient acquisition of anatomical landmarks by reducing errors and ensuring deliberate user interactions, enhancing the accuracy of surgical navigation.
Implementation Method 1
a processor of the MR headset may determine a location of a pointer in a field of view of one or more cameras of the MR headset
Implementation Method 2
one or more inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors
Implementation Method 3
a display of the MR headset configured to display a graphical user interface (GUI)
Data Source
AI summary
Method(s) and device(s) are described herein for mixed-reality (MR) headset-based navigation during a surgical procedure. For example, a surgeon or other medical professional may use a pointer during a surgical procedure to acquire a location of a patient's anatomical landmark. A virtual button may be overlaid on an array of the pointer, and may follow the motion of the pointer if the pointer is moved. An eye gaze and/or a head gaze may be used to launch acquisition of the location of the anatomical landmark. The location of the anatomical landmark may be confirmed by the surgeon.