Spherical Instrument Tip Radius Visualization in Surgical Navigation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical navigation systems face challenges in accurately visualizing the radius of a spherically shaped instrument tip, leading to potential inaccuracies in guiding surgeons during tissue manipulation procedures.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that utilize a calibration device with a calibration structure defining an opening angle, which guides the tilting movement of the instrument tip around its centre point, allowing for the determination of the instrument tip's radius and centre point position relative to the tracker. This information is then used to generate visual representations indicative of the radius for accurate visualization in a virtual space.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the instrument tip is visually represented as a point, then the navigation system can provide visual guidance, but the accuracy of the guidance is impaired because the size of the instrument tip is not accounted for
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from representing the instrument tip as a zero-dimensional point to representing it as a three-dimensional spherical object with visible radius. This dimensional expansion allows the visualization to convey size information, enabling the surgeon to understand the actual spatial extent of the instrument tip relative to anatomical structures, thereby improving guidance accuracy while maintaining ease of operation.
2Productivity
If the end point is used as reference for the cutting path, then the navigation system can calculate the cutting path, but the calculated cutting path is offset relative to the actual cutting path
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary calibration to determine the relationship between the instrument tracker and the spherical tip center before the actual surgical procedure. By pre-establishing this geometric relationship and using the spherical center as the reference point for path calculation, the system ensures that the calculated cutting path accurately corresponds to the actual cutting path, eliminating offsets while maintaining calculation efficiency.
3Loss of information
If the visual representation shows the end point outside the non-target area, then the surgeon is informed about the position, but the instrument tip is actually cutting into the non-target area
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enhances position information completeness by representing the instrument tip as a three-dimensional sphere with visible radius rather than a point. This allows the visualization to show both the center position and the spatial extent of the tip, enabling the surgeon to see when the spherical tip is approaching or entering the non-target area, thereby preventing accidental damage while maintaining complete position information.
Data Source
Figure 1A~1D
Figure 2A~2B
Figure 3
AI summary
A method, a computer program product, a device, a calibration system and a surgical navigation system for enabling a visual indication of a radius of a spherically shaped surface portion of a tip of an instrument relative to image data of an object in a virtual space are provided. The spherically shaped surface portion has a centre point, wherein a calibration device is provided that comprises a calibration structure defining an opening angle and that is configured to cooperate with the spherically shaped surface portion so as to guide a tilting movement of the instrument tip around the centre point. The calibration device comprises a first tracker trackable by a tracking system and is arranged in a predetermined relationship relative to the calibration structure. The instrument comprises a second tracker and the object comprises a third tracker trackable by the tracking system. The method is performed by a computer system and comprises determining a first pose of the first tracker. The method further comprises determining positional data of the second tracker for different tilting positions of the instrument while the spherically shaped surface portion is in abutment with the calibration structure. The method comprises determining the radius of the spherically shaped surface portion and a position of the centre point relative to the second tracker based on the first pose, the positional data, the predetermined relationship, and the opening angle. The method further comprises tracking the third tracker to track a second pose of the image data of the object in the virtual space. The method comprises tracking the second tracker to track a position of the centre point in the virtual space based on the position of the centre point relative to the second tracker. The method further comprises generating first display instructions for displaying in the virtual space, based on the second pose of the image data of the object in the virtual space, the position of the centre point in the virtual space, and the radius, a visual representation indicative of the radius relative to the image data of the object.