Mixed Reality Surgical Navigation Marker Registration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Surgical navigation systems face challenges in aligning mixed reality visualization with the surgeon's point of view, making registration of surgical tools and anatomy cumbersome and difficult, especially when using head-mounted displays (HMDs), as they require registration to a common coordinate system without adequate visualization assistance.
Innovation Solution
A head-mounted display (HMD) integrated with a camera and position sensors, along with a surgical navigation localizer, uses registration markers to register the HMD and localizer coordinate systems, allowing for real-time alignment and verification through visual cues and protocols displayed on the HMD.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If a display is used for surgical navigation visualization, then the surgeon can see the position of surgical tools and anatomy, but the display is located remotely from the surgical site and the view is not aligned with the surgeon's point of view, making it awkward to switch gaze between the display and the actual surgical tools
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a remote 2D display to a head-mounted display that provides 3D spatial visualization directly in the surgeon's field of view. The HMD presents surgical navigation information in a dimension that aligns with the surgeon's natural point of view, eliminating the need to shift gaze between separate display and surgical site.
Solution Approach 2:
The head-mounted display acts as an intermediary device between the surgical navigation system and the surgeon's eyes. It captures the surgical scene through its camera and overlays navigational information directly onto the surgeon's view of the actual surgical field, serving as a mediator that combines both views seamlessly.
2Loss of information
If head-mounted displays are used for surgical navigation visualization, then the surgeon can see computer-generated images seemingly present in the real world, but the registration of HMD coordinate system to the common coordinate system is cumbersome and difficult without adequate visualization assistance
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time visual feedback during the registration process by displaying the detected pose of the HMD and the registration status directly in the surgeon's field of view. The surgical navigation system monitors the HMD's position and orientation and provides continuous feedback to guide the registration process, making it intuitive and easier to complete.
Solution Approach 2:
The HMD captures images of registration markers in the surgical field and automatically processes this visual information to determine its own pose and complete registration. The system uses the HMD's own camera and the visible registration markers to self-register, eliminating the need for complex external registration procedures.
3Device complexity
If registration is performed without adequate visualization assistance, then the process is simpler in terms of equipment, but it becomes cumbersome and difficult to quickly verify registration accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time visual feedback during and after registration by displaying the detected pose of registration markers and the alignment status directly in the surgeon's field of view through the HMD. This immediate visual confirmation allows the surgeon to verify registration accuracy quickly and intuitively without complex verification equipment.
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 seamless integration of HMDs into surgical navigation systems, enhancing registration accuracy and reducing cumbersome registration processes by providing visual feedback for alignment and verification.
Implementation Method 1
a plurality of registration markers for being analyzed in the images captured by the camera of the head-mounted display to determine a pose of the HMD coordinate system relative to the registration coordinate system
Implementation Method 2
a plurality of tracking markers for being detected by the one or more position sensors of the localizer to determine a pose of the registration coordinate system relative to the localizer coordinate system
Data Source
AI summary
A mixed reality system includes a head-mounted device (HMD) having an HMD coordinate system and a camera to capture images. A localizer has a localizer coordinate system and position sensors supported by a housing to track a pose of a real object. Registration markers are configured to be recognized from the captured images of the camera of the HMD. The registration markers are disposed on the housing of the localizer in a predetermined spatial relationship with respect to the localizer coordinate system. At least one controller is configured to utilize the registration markers recognized from the captured images to register the localizer coordinate system and the HMD coordinate system.