Computer-Assisted Pelvic Navigation With Automated Landmark Registration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical navigation systems require improved automation and accuracy in registering bone landmarks for computer-assisted pelvic surgery, particularly in the absence of pre-operative images.
Innovation Solution
A system that uses a navigated ball tip stylus to palpate pelvic bone surfaces, identifying landmarks and determining the center of rotation and orientation of pelvic planes through surface painting, enabling precise registration without pre-operative imaging.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual registration of bone landmarks is performed using current surgical navigation systems, then surgical navigation can be achieved, but the process is time-consuming and prone to human error
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables self-service automation where the computer platform automatically identifies bone landmarks and determines pelvic planes without requiring manual intervention. The automated workflow detects landmarks on pelvic bones and calculates the anterior pelvic plane and functional pelvic plane orientations autonomously, eliminating manual measurement steps while maintaining high registration accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces manual mechanical registration processes with an automated computer vision and image processing system. The computer platform uses algorithmic detection and mathematical calculations to identify landmarks and determine pelvic planes, substituting human operators with automated computational methods that are both faster and more precise.
2Reliability
If pre-operative imaging is used for surgical planning, then accurate anatomical information is available, but the workflow complexity and preparation time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary acquisition of anatomical information through intraoperative image capture rather than requiring pre-operative imaging. By capturing images during surgery and processing them through the computer platform, the system eliminates the need for separate pre-operative CT or MRI scans while still providing accurate anatomical data for surgical planning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the essential function of obtaining anatomical information from the pre-operative imaging workflow and relocates it to intraoperative image capture and automated processing. This extraction eliminates the complexity of coordinating pre-operative scans while maintaining the reliability of anatomical information through real-time image acquisition and automated landmark detection.
3Productivity
If automated landmark detection is implemented, then registration speed improves, but measurement precision may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the computer platform continuously refines landmark detection based on image analysis and mathematical validation. The automated detection process uses iterative algorithms that verify landmark positions against multiple criteria, ensuring high precision while maintaining rapid processing speeds through optimized computational workflows.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for computer assisted navigation during surgery includes computer platform that operates to identify a set of locations at which a navigated instrument is palpitating a landmark defined on a surface of a pelvic bone of a patient. Further operations determine a center of rotation for a pelvic acetabulum of the patient based on the identified set of locations at which the navigated instrument is palpitating the landmark. Operations determine an orientation of an anterior pelvic plane (APP) and/or a functional pelvic plane (FPP) of the patient based on the identified set of locations at which the navigated instrument is palpitating the landmark and based on the determined center of rotation for the pelvic acetabulum.