Prosthesis Alignment Using Sensor Units and Optical Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current hip replacement surgeries face challenges in accurately aligning acetabular components with the pelvis and maintaining leg length and offset, leading to issues like premature wear, dislocation, and patient discomfort due to improper alignment and changes in leg length and offset during the procedure.
Innovation Solution
The use of a system and method involving sensor units attached to the pelvis and femur, along with surgical tools, to measure and display the relative positioning of body parts and prostheses in real-time, allowing for precise alignment and adjustment of acetabular and femoral components during hip replacement surgery, utilizing Extended Kalman Filter processing and nonlinear iterative solvers to determine 6 Degrees-of-Freedom positional relationships.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional hip replacement surgery is performed without real-time positioning monitoring, then the surgical procedure is simpler and faster, but the alignment precision of acetabular components and femoral components deteriorates, leading to premature wear and dislocation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical alignment methods with an optical measurement system using sensors, cameras, and computer processing to track and determine the position and orientation of surgical tools and bone structures in real-time, achieving precise alignment without complex mechanical guides
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces sensor units attached to bone structures and tools as intermediaries that enable indirect measurement of positioning data through optical tracking, allowing the system to calculate relative positions and orientations without direct physical contact between measurement devices and bones
2Reliability
If real-time positioning monitoring system is implemented, then the alignment precision and leg length control improve, but the device complexity and surgical time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary attachment of sensor units to bone structures and tools before the main alignment operations, and pre-calculates coordinate systems and transformation matrices, so that real-time positioning can proceed efficiently without time-consuming setup during critical alignment phases
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements real-time feedback through continuous monitoring of sensor data, displaying current positioning information to surgeons and automatically calculating adjustments needed, enabling rapid iterative refinement of alignment without repeated trial-and-error positioning
3Manufacturing precision
If manual alignment methods are used, then the surgical procedure is faster to set up, but the manufacturing precision of prosthesis alignment deteriorates, causing patient discomfort and dislocation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical alignment techniques with an automated optical measurement and calculation system that uses sensors, cameras, and computer algorithms to determine precise positions and orientations, eliminating human error in measurement and calculation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates digital copies of the surgical scene through optical sensing and camera imaging, generating virtual models of bone structures and tools that can be measured, analyzed, and manipulated computationally to achieve precise alignment before physical implantation
4Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If traditional surgery without real-time monitoring is performed, then the surgical complexity is lower, but the ability to detect and measure alignment accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces optical sensors and cameras as intermediary detection devices that indirectly measure the positions and orientations of bones and tools by tracking reflected or emitted light from markers or features on these objects, enabling non-contact measurement with high precision
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces direct mechanical measurement methods with optical field-based detection using light reflection and emission principles, allowing for contactless, high-precision measurement of spatial positions and orientations throughout the surgical procedure
Data Source
AI summary
Presented are methods and systems for determining, monitoring, and displaying the relative positioning of two rigid bodies during surgery. In particular, the present disclosure relates to methods and systems for positioning a prosthesis relative to a bone during a surgery as well as to systems and methods for verifying resulting relative positioning of adjacent bones.