Pedicle Screw Planning With Virtual Anatomy Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional pedicle screw placement in spinal surgeries relies heavily on surgeon experience and pre-operative imaging, with limited assistance from assistive technologies like fluoroscopy, leading to inefficiencies and risks due to radiation exposure and high costs.
Innovation Solution
A surgical assistance system utilizing machine learning models and virtual models to analyze patient images, identify optimal implant configurations, and provide real-time guidance for precise pedicle screw placement, reducing reliance on manual techniques.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If free-hand technique is used for pedicle screw placement, then surgeon experience and knowledge are utilized, but precision and reliability are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs pre-operative planning and creates a virtual model of the patient's anatomy before surgery. This preliminary action includes defining the optimal pedicle screw trajectory, entry point, and orientation in a virtual environment, allowing the surgeon to plan the procedure in advance with precise measurements and visualizations, thereby improving placement precision and outcome reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a virtual copy or digital twin of the patient's spinal anatomy based on pre-operative imaging data (CT or MRI scans). This virtual model replicates the actual anatomical structures, allowing for virtual simulation and planning of screw placement without risking the actual patient, thus enhancing precision and reliability through repeated virtual practice and optimization.
2Measurement precision
If fluoroscopy is used for real-time guidance, then pedicle screw placement accuracy is improved, but radiation exposure and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs all necessary planning and trajectory definition before the surgical procedure begins. By pre-calculating the optimal screw path, entry point, and orientation in the virtual model, the system eliminates the need for repeated intraoperative fluoroscopy scans, thereby maintaining placement accuracy while significantly reducing radiation exposure to both patient and surgical team.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the mechanical fluoroscopy imaging system with a computational virtual modeling and simulation system. Instead of using ionizing radiation to visualize anatomy in real-time, the system uses pre-acquired imaging data to create a detailed virtual model that guides screw placement, substituting a harmful physical process with a harmless computational one while maintaining or improving accuracy.
3Loss of information
If fluoroscopy is used for guidance, then real-time visualization is achieved, but time and cost involved increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system acquires and processes imaging data, creates the virtual model, and defines the surgical plan before the operation begins. This preliminary information preparation includes identifying anatomical landmarks, calculating trajectories, and visualizing the procedure in advance, so that during surgery the surgeon can follow pre-determined guidance without needing time-consuming intraoperative imaging, thus reducing surgical time while maintaining full anatomical information availability.
4Manufacturing precision
If conventional pre-operative imaging is used, then basic anatomical information is obtained, but surgical precision and efficiency are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the complex surgical task into distinct components: pre-operative imaging acquisition, virtual model creation, trajectory calculation, and intraoperative guidance. By breaking down the procedure into these manageable segments, the system can optimize each component independently, using advanced algorithms for trajectory planning and virtual reality visualization, thereby achieving higher implant placement precision and improving overall surgical efficiency through systematic process optimization.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from conventional 2D pre-operative imaging to a 3D virtual model of the patient's anatomy. This dimensional enhancement allows for comprehensive spatial visualization of the spinal structures, enabling precise determination of screw trajectory in three dimensions, improving implant placement precision while reducing the need for extensive intraoperative adjustments and thereby enhancing surgical efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for providing assistance to a surgeon during an implant surgery are disclosed. A method includes defining areas of interest in diagnostic data of a patient and defining a screw bone type based on the surgeon's input. Post defining the areas of interest, salient points are determined for the areas of interest. Successively, an XZ angle, an XY angle, and a position entry point for a screw are determined based on the salient points of the areas of interest. Successively, a maximum screw diameter and a length of the screw are determined based on the salient points. Thereafter, the screw is identified and suggested to the surgeon for usage during the implant surgery.