Visuospatial Feedback Overlay for Neurosurgical Tool Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional systems for providing visuospatial navigational information during neurosurgical procedures lack sufficient detail, leading to increased trauma to healthy brain tissue due to inadequate depth information and reliance on the surgeon's visuospatial abilities, resulting in longer procedures and higher risks.
Innovation Solution
A system that includes a tracking system to obtain 3D position and orientation of surgical tools, a camera for capturing the surgical site, and a processor to map this information onto a common coordinate space, displaying virtual navigational information overlaid on the surgical site's optical image, updating in real-time with tool position and camera view changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional systems provide only real-life view through camera or microscope, then the system complexity is low, but the navigational information detail and surgical precision are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the real-life visual feed from the camera/microscope with virtual navigational information (depth maps, 3D position data, orientation indicators) into a single integrated display. This merging allows surgeons to see both the actual surgical site and the overlaid navigational data simultaneously, eliminating the need to switch between multiple screens or rely on separate tracking systems, thus increasing information detail without proportionally increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a processor as an intermediary that receives raw tracking data from the tracking system and camera, processes this information to generate navigational data, and then overlays it on the visual feed. This intermediary processing layer enables sophisticated navigational information generation while keeping the overall system architecture manageable by centralizing the computational burden in a dedicated processing unit
2Reliability
If surgeon relies on trained visuospatial abilities and separate screens for additional information, then the equipment simplicity is maintained, but the procedure time increases and trauma risk to healthy tissue increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system provides real-time feedback by continuously updating the navigational information overlay as the surgical tool moves and as the camera view changes. The processor tracks tool position and orientation dynamically and refreshes the displayed depth information and 3D position data in real-time, allowing surgeons to immediately see the consequences of their actions and adjust accordingly, thereby improving precision while maintaining efficient workflow without time-consuming mental calculations or screen switching
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a third dimension of information by overlaying depth maps and 3D position data on the 2D camera feed. This dimensional enhancement provides surgeons with spatial context (depth, distance, orientation) that is not visible in the standard 2D visual feed, enabling better judgment of tool position relative to the surgical site without requiring surgeons to mentally reconstruct 3D space from 2D images
3Measurement precision
If real-time updating of virtual representation is implemented, then the navigational accuracy is improved, but the computational load and processing requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements selective real-time updating by prioritizing the refresh rate and detail level for critical navigational information (such as tool tip position and depth) while potentially reducing update frequency for less critical elements. This partial action approach ensures that the most important navigational data is always current and accurate, while avoiding the full computational overhead of updating every single element at maximum frequency, thus balancing precision requirements with processing power consumption
Data Source
AI summary
Methods and systems for providing feedback during a medical procedure. The 3D position and orientation of a tracked tool are determined, relative to a site of the medical procedure, based on tracking information received from a tracking system. The 3D position and orientation are mapped to a common coordinate space, to determine the 3D position and orientation relative to a field-of-view (FOV) of an optical camera that is capturing an optical image of the site. Navigational information associated with the 3D position and orientation is determined. A virtual representation of the navigational information overlaid on the FOV and displayed. The displayed virtual representation is updated when the 3D position and orientation of the tracked tool changes or when the FOV changes, in accordance with the change.