Shape-Sensing Flexible Instrument for Anatomical Frame Registration
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional manual flexible medical instruments lack the ability to register their position and movement relative to a known reference frame, hindering their integration with computer-assisted systems for navigation and control.
Innovation Solution
A flexible elongate device equipped with a shape sensor is registered to a reference frame, allowing a computer-assisted system to navigate and control a manual device by comparing shape information with a known reference shape, such as an anatomical structure or external guide adapter, to determine its position and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional manual flexible medical instruments are used, then the device simplicity and ease of operation are maintained, but the ability to register position and movement relative to a known reference frame is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The shape sensor is integrated within the flexible elongate device, with the sensor embedded in the device structure. The sensor measures the shape of the device itself, allowing the device to register its own position and orientation relative to a reference frame without requiring external sensing infrastructure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical tracking systems with a shape-based sensing approach. Instead of using mechanical markers or external tracking infrastructure, the system uses shape sensors to measure the device geometry and computationally determine position and orientation through shape matching algorithms.
2Adaptability or versatility
If shape sensors are integrated into flexible elongate devices, then computer-assisted navigation capability is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shape sensor serves multiple functions: it measures the device shape for navigation, tracks device position and orientation, and enables registration with anatomical reference frames. This multi-functional approach allows a single component to provide comprehensive navigation capabilities without requiring separate systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The shape acts as an intermediary between the physical device and the digital reference frame. By measuring the device shape and matching it to a known reference shape in the anatomical model, the system bridges the physical and digital domains, enabling navigation without direct mechanical or electromagnetic coupling.
3Measurement precision
If traditional computer-assisted systems are used, then three-dimensional space tracking is available, but the requirement for complex robotic systems and external infrastructure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible elongate device performs its own tracking and position determination using the integrated shape sensor. The device measures its own shape, compares it to reference shapes, and determines its position and orientation autonomously without requiring external tracking infrastructure or complex robotic control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the tracking functionality from the external robotic system and embeds it directly in the flexible device. By removing the dependency on external tracking infrastructure and incorporating shape sensing within the device itself, the system simplifies the overall setup while maintaining three-dimensional position tracking capability.
Data Source
AI summary
A medical tracking system may include a flexible elongate device, a shape sensor configured to measure a shape of the flexible elongate device, and a controller including at least one processor. The controller may be configured to register a reference shape of the flexible elongate device to an anatomical reference frame, identify, using the shape sensor, the reference shape at a first portion of the flexible elongate device, determine, using the shape sensor, a spatial relationship between a second portion of the flexible elongate device and the first portion and determine a position of the second portion of the flexible elongate device in the anatomical reference frame based on the registration of the reference shape to the anatomical reference frame and the spatial relationship between the first portion and the second portion of the flexible elongate device.