Surgical Navigation Interpolation for Spinal Pose Tracking
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In computer-assisted surgery, surgeons face challenges with hand-eye coordination due to differences in view coordinate systems between the surgical site and external monitors, making precise procedures like spinal surgery complex.
Innovation Solution
A system using a head-mounted display (HMD) with markers on spinal structures and cameras to determine the pose of vertebrae, allowing interpolation between known vertebrae poses to generate a 3D stereoscopic view for real-time guidance, enabling accurate alignment of surgical tools and implants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If external computer monitors are used to display imaging studies, then information can be displayed, but hand-eye coordination becomes challenging due to different view coordinate systems
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a head-mounted display (HMD) as an intermediary device between the surgeon's eyes and the surgical field. The HMD displays transformed imaging data directly in the surgeon's field of view, acting as a mediator that reconciles the coordinate system mismatch between external monitors and the surgical site, thereby improving hand-eye coordination while preserving visual information
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transforms 2D imaging data from external monitors into a 3D stereoscopic view that is projected directly into the surgeon's field of view through the HMD. This dimensional transformation allows the surgical site and imaging data to occupy the same spatial dimension (the surgeon's visual field), eliminating the coordinate system discrepancy and improving spatial awareness
2Measurement precision
If markers are attached to multiple spinal structures for pose determination, then vertebral position accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the spinal structure into multiple tracked segments (vertebrae), each with its own marker. By segmenting the spine into discrete trackable units, the system achieves precise pose determination for each vertebra independently, while the modular nature of this segmentation keeps the overall system complexity manageable through standardized tracking components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses markers as simplified copies or representations of the complex spinal structures. Instead of directly tracking the complex geometry of vertebrae, the system attaches markers that serve as easy-to-track copies, capturing the essential position and orientation information without requiring complex sensing of the actual vertebral structures
3Measurement precision
If interpolation is used to determine third vertebra pose, then measurement accuracy is improved, but computation time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary registration of markers to the coordinate system and pre-computes the poses of reference vertebrae (first and second vertebrae) before surgery. This preliminary action allows the system to have pre-established accurate reference frames, reducing the computational burden during the actual surgical procedure when only interpolation calculations are needed for intermediate vertebrae
Data Source
AI summary
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to systems, devices and methods for performing a surgical step or surgical procedure for example with visual guidance using a head mounted display or with a surgical navigation system or with a surgical robot. A computer processor can be configured to determine the pose of a first vertebra with an attached first marker and a second vertebra with an attached second marker. The computer processor can be configured to determine the pose of at least one vertebra interposed or adjacent to the first and second vertebrae with attached markers, e.g. fiducial markers.