Passageway Sensor Data Registration for Pad-Free Instrument Tracking

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Solution Overview

Problem

Traditional instrument tracking and referencing systems for minimally invasive medical procedures require patient pads during pre-operative and operative imaging, causing clinical disturbances and workflow disruptions.

Innovation Solution

A teleoperated medical system with a manipulator assembly, sensor system, and control system that uses electromagnetic and fiber optic sensors to track and register medical instruments within anatomical passageways, minimizing the need for patient pads and maintaining a clear clinical environment.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If traditional instrument tracking and referencing systems use patient pads during pre-operative and operative imaging, then instrument location and movement can be correlated with images, but clinical disturbances and workflow disruptions occur

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinstrument location correlation accuracyVSAvoidclinical workflow smoothness
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent removes the patient pad component from the tracking system entirely, replacing it with alternative tracking methods that do not require adhesive pads on the patient's body, thereby eliminating the source of clinical disturbance while maintaining instrument tracking capability

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system introduces an intermediary reference frame or coordinate system that allows instrument tracking without direct patient contact, using mathematical transformations to correlate instrument positions with anatomical images without requiring physical markers on the patient

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If patient pads are used for instrument tracking, then image correlation is achieved, but the clinical environment is disturbed

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveimage-instrument correlation accuracyVSAvoidclinical environment disturbance
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The harmful element (patient pad) is extracted and removed from the system, replacing it with tracking methods that achieve the same measurement precision without contacting or disturbing the patient or clinical environment

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The system creates a virtual model or digital representation of the anatomical structures and instrument positions, allowing correlation and tracking to occur in the digital domain rather than requiring physical markers on the patient, thus eliminating environmental disturbance

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Data Source

PatentEP3576662B1Systems for data filtering of passageway sensor data
Publication Date: 2026.01.14 INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS INC
  • EP3576662B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3576662B1 patent drawingFigure 2A~2B
  • EP3576662B1 patent drawingFigure 3~5A

AI summary

A system and method for data filtering of passageway sensor data include traversing a plurality of passageways with a flexible elongate device and recording, during the traversing, positional data using one or more sensors coupled to the flexible elongate device. The positional data includes a first plurality of positional data points recorded during a first insertion of the flexible elongate device into a first passageway and a second plurality of positional data points recorded during a first retraction of the flexible elongate device within the first passageway. The system and method further include labeling the first plurality of positional data points and the second plurality of positional data points as first common passageway positional data points and registering the positional data with a model of the plurality of passageways, wherein the registering includes matching the first common passageway positional data points with corresponding first common passageway model data points.