Robotic Surgical Imaging Integration for Faster Instrument Registration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Accurate registration of minimally invasive medical instruments to patient anatomy is time-consuming and processing-intensive, especially in dynamic anatomical systems with many passageways, necessitating improved systems and methods for increased accuracy and efficiency.
Innovation Solution
Integrate external imaging systems with robotic surgical systems to correlate imaging data with intraoperative surgical data, using sensors for real-time position and shape tracking, and semi-automated control of medical instruments based on external image data to enhance registration and control accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If manual registration methods are used to register minimally invasive instruments to patient anatomy, then the process is simple to implement, but the registration accuracy and efficiency are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces manual mechanical registration methods with an automated system that uses electromagnetic sensors to detect fiducial markers, processes images via computer algorithms, and calculates instrument positions and orientations automatically. This substitution of mechanical manual operations with automated sensing and computing systems directly resolves the contradiction by achieving high registration accuracy without time loss.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces fiducial markers as intermediary objects that are attached to both the patient anatomy and the minimally invasive instruments. These markers serve as mediators that enable the system to accurately determine the spatial relationship between the instrument and anatomy through automated image detection and coordinate transformation, thereby achieving precise registration efficiently.
2Measurement precision
If complex image processing algorithms are used to register instruments in dynamic anatomical systems, then registration accuracy improves, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies fiducial markers to the patient anatomy and instruments before the procedure begins. These pre-placed markers provide known reference points that simplify the image processing task, as the system only needs to detect and match these predetermined markers rather than performing complex feature extraction and matching on anatomical structures, thus reducing processing complexity while maintaining accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a virtual copy of the physical world by generating a three-dimensional model of the patient anatomy and instrument positions based on detected fiducial marker coordinates. This digital model serves as a simplified representation that can be processed efficiently by computers, avoiding the need for complex real-time analysis of raw medical images while preserving registration accuracy.
3Reliability
If real-time tracking of instrument pose is implemented, then control accuracy improves, but system complexity and computational load increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback system where electromagnetic sensors continuously detect the position of fiducial markers on the instruments, the control system processes this data to determine instrument pose, and the updated position information is fed back to update the three-dimensional model and guide the procedure. This closed-loop feedback mechanism ensures real-time control accuracy without requiring overly complex system architecture, as the feedback is based on simple marker detection and coordinate transformation.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical robotic system and method of operating such comprises taking intraoperative external image data of a patient anatomy, and using that image data to generate a modeling adjustment for a control system of the medical robotic system (e.g., updating anatomic model and/or refining instrument registration), and/or adjust a procedure control aspect (e.g., regulating substance or therapy delivery, improving targeting, and/or tracking performance).