Robotic Arm Registration Seeding for Pad-Free Anatomy Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional instrument tracking and referencing systems in minimally invasive medical procedures often disturb the clinical environment and require patient pads, leading to inefficiencies and disruptions during image-guided surgeries.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that register anatomical data by accessing model points representing patient anatomy, acquiring intra-operative sensor data, and generating a registration using kinematic information from a robotic arm and setup information, allowing for precise alignment of pre-operative and intra-operative images without disturbing the clinical workflow.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional instrument tracking and referencing systems are used, then instrument location and movement can be correlated with pre-operative images, but patient pads are required which disturb the clinical environment and workflow
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the need for patient pads by extracting the tracking functionality from external adhesive elements and integrating it into the robotic arm system itself. The robotic arm incorporates sensors and markers that enable direct tracking of instrument position and orientation without requiring separate patient-mounted components, thereby eliminating the harmful effect of clinical environment disturbance while maintaining measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic arm serves multiple functions: it positions surgical instruments, tracks instrument location through integrated sensors and markers, and provides image guidance. By combining these functions into a single system, the patent eliminates the need for separate patient pads while maintaining the ability to correlate instrument position with pre-operative images, thus resolving the contradiction between measurement precision and clinical environment disturbance.
2Reliability
If patient pads are used for tracking, then instrument position can be monitored, but clinical workflow is disrupted
Solution Approach 1:
The tracking functionality is extracted from patient pads and integrated into the robotic arm system. The robotic arm contains embedded sensors, markers, and tracking elements that enable continuous instrument position monitoring without requiring separate patient-mounted components, thereby maintaining reliability while eliminating workflow disruption.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic arm performs self-tracking through its own integrated sensors and markers. The system monitors its own position and instrument location without requiring external patient pads or additional tracking equipment on the patient, enabling reliable position monitoring while maintaining smooth clinical workflow.
3Manufacturing precision
If traditional registration methods are used, then anatomical data can be aligned, but the process requires patient pads that add complexity to the procedure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the registration functionality with the robotic arm system. The robotic arm integrates markers, sensors, and tracking elements that enable direct registration of anatomical data without requiring separate patient pads. This merging reduces device complexity by eliminating redundant components while maintaining alignment accuracy through the unified system approach.
Solution Approach 2:
The robotic arm performs multiple functions including instrument positioning, real-time tracking, and anatomical data registration. By integrating these functions into a single multi-functional system, the patent reduces overall procedure complexity while maintaining high alignment accuracy, as the same hardware components serve multiple purposes in the registration process.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical system comprises a robotic manipulator arm and an imaging probe coupled to the robotic manipulator arm such that the imaging probe is movable in connection with the robotic manipulator arm. The system also comprises a control system in communication with the robotic manipulator arm and the imaging probe. The control system performs operations comprising extracting system information. The system information includes kinematic information from a robotic arm of a medical system, setup information, or a combination of the kinematic information and setup information associated with a medical procedure to be performed. The control system also generates, by a control system processor, a first registration between a first set of model points of a model of a patient anatomy of interest and a second set of intra-operatively collected captured points of a portion of the patient anatomy of interest, wherein the registration is based on the extracted system information.