Modular Patient-Specific Registration Guide for Surgical Robot Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional total knee replacement surgery has low precision due to a complex and error-prone registration process, which increases surgical time and risks such as inflammation and fractures from using optical infrared marker tracking.
Innovation Solution
A modularized patient-specific registration guide system that uses a 3D-shaped guide with markers and extension parts to rapidly align bone coordinates with surgical robot coordinates, reducing errors and time through pre-recognized relationship information between the bone and guide markers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a complex registration process using optical infrared marker tracking is performed to improve surgical precision, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases and device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The registration guide is manufactured in advance with pre-defined anatomical feature points and markers positioned at precise locations. The 3D bone model is created beforehand, allowing the guide to be custom-fitted to the patient's anatomy prior to surgery. This preliminary preparation eliminates the need for time-consuming intraoperative registration procedures while maintaining high precision.
Solution Approach 2:
A physical registration guide serves as an intermediary device between the bone and the robotic system. The guide contains markers that can be tracked by the robotic system's sensors, providing a direct reference framework without requiring complex optical infrared marker tracking on the bone itself. This intermediary structure simplifies the registration process by providing pre-established geometric relationships.
2Measurement precision
If optical infrared marker tracking is used to improve registration accuracy, then measurement precision is improved, but object-generated harmful factors increase due to risk of fractures
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful practice of directly implanting rods with infrared markers into the bone is eliminated. Instead, the registration guide uses surface-applied markers that do not require penetration or implantation into the bone tissue. The guide can be removed after registration, leaving no foreign objects in the bone that could cause fractures or other complications.
Solution Approach 2:
The registration guide is designed as a disposable, non-implantable device that serves its purpose during the registration phase and is then discarded. This eliminates the long-term risks associated with implanted markers, such as fracture risk, while still providing the necessary precision for registration. The guide is made from materials suitable for single-use surgical applications.
3Measurement precision
If a complex registration process is performed to improve surgical precision, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The registration system is divided into separate functional components: a custom-fitted registration guide that provides anatomical reference, discrete markers for tracking, and a robotic system for execution. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently and simplifies the overall process by separating the registration function from the surgical intervention function.
Solution Approach 2:
A 3D digital model of the patient's bone is created from imaging data, and the registration guide is manufactured as a physical copy or representation of this digital model. The guide replicates the bone's surface geometry and contains markers at corresponding locations, providing an accurate physical replica that simplifies the registration process by eliminating the need for complex point-by-point measurement.
4Measurement precision
If the registration process is extended to improve accuracy by indicating more anatomical feature points, then measurement precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
All anatomical feature points and their spatial relationships are identified and encoded in the 3D bone model before surgery. The registration guide is manufactured with markers positioned at these pre-identified locations, so that during surgery, the system only needs to recognize the markers rather than manually locate and measure multiple anatomical features. This preliminary identification and positioning dramatically reduces intraoperative registration time while maintaining accuracy.
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
The system significantly improves registration precision and reduces surgical time by manufacturing a guide that conforms to the patient's bone shape, facilitating accurate and efficient alignment during surgery.
Implementation Method 1
The marker may be an optical marker for optical tracking
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a modularized patient-specific registration guide and a system using the same and, more specifically, to a modularized patient-specific registration guide capable of rapidly carrying out an initial registration step for a bone, which is a surgical site, and inducing a registration step to be easily performed even during an operation, and a system using the same. The modularized patient-specific registration guide, according to one embodiment of the present invention, is a registration guide manufactured according to a three-dimensional shape of a bone obtained in an imaging device, the registration guide comprising: a first member having one or more markers and one or more extending parts that come in contact with the bone, and having a groove on one side thereof; and a second member accommodated in or separable from the groove of the first member and having one or more markers.