Surface Tracking Surgical Robot Drilling Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical robots for drilling operations in orthopedic surgeries face challenges with complex workflows and imperceptible positioning errors due to reliance on optical positioning systems, which complicate installation and registration, and accumulate errors in coordinate transformation chains.
Innovation Solution
A surface tracking-based surgical robot system that uses a robot arm, surface scanner, and workstation to perform drilling operations without markers or optical positioning, utilizing 3D image data and feedback control methods to align the surgical tool with the surgical path, ensuring accurate tracking and alignment through singular value decomposition and kinematic data processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If optical positioning systems with markers are used to track surgical tools and targets, then positioning accuracy can be achieved, but the surgery workflow becomes more complicated and time-consuming due to marker installation and registration
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the optical markers from the surgical system, replacing them with direct surface scanning of anatomical landmarks. This eliminates the need for marker installation and registration procedures while maintaining positioning capability through direct geometric feature recognition from the patient's anatomy.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces surface scanning technology as an intermediary between the surgical tools and the positioning system. Instead of using optical markers as intermediaries, the system scans and registers 3D surface geometry of anatomical structures to establish coordinate transformations, thereby eliminating marker-related complexity.
2Loss of information
If optical markers are used for tracking, then position acquisition is possible, but errors from optical tracking, marker shifting and registration accumulate along the coordinate transformation chain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes optical markers from the tracking chain, eliminating sources of error related to marker placement, shifting, and registration. By directly scanning anatomical surfaces and registering them to preoperative images, the system shortens the coordinate transformation chain and eliminates intermediate error sources.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs surface scanning and registration before the surgical procedure begins, establishing an accurate anatomical coordinate system in advance. This pre-registration creates a stable reference framework that prevents error accumulation during the surgery, as the anatomical landmarks themselves serve as the tracking reference rather than removable markers.
3Stability of the object's composition
If rigid connection of robot positioning system to surgery subject is implemented, then relative position maintenance is achieved, but mounting procedure becomes complicated and looseness cannot be detected
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical rigid connection system with an optical/electronic surface scanning and registration system. Instead of physically mounting the robot positioning system to the patient's anatomy, the system uses 3D surface scanning to establish and maintain coordinate relationships, eliminating mechanical mounting complexity and enabling non-contact positioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces surface geometry scanning as an intermediary between the robot positioning system and the surgery subject. This intermediary allows the system to maintain accurate relative positioning without direct mechanical connection, using the scanned surface features as a virtual reference framework that eliminates mounting procedures.
4Ease of manufacture
If surface registration is used for patient tracking, then markerless positioning is achieved, but surgical tool tracking still relies on optical positioning equipment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the surface scanning system universal by applying it to both patient anatomy tracking and surgical tool tracking. The same 3D scanning technology that tracks anatomical landmarks is also used to track surgical tools, eliminating the need for separate optical positioning systems and enabling complete markerless operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the patient tracking and tool tracking functions into a single surface scanning system. By combining these previously separate functions into one unified system, the patent eliminates optical positioning equipment dependency while maintaining the ability to track both anatomy and tools throughout the surgical procedure.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system simplifies the surgery workflow, reduces imperceptible positioning errors, and achieves high accuracy in drilling operations by directly tracking the surgical tool and target with surface scanning, limiting errors to those of the tracking system, thereby improving safety and precision.
Implementation Method 1
a surface scanner capable of acquiring scanned data comprising surface geometry and color information of a surgery site and a surgical tool
Implementation Method 2
The surface scanner is capable of acquiring scanned data comprising surface geometry and color information
Data Source
AI summary
A surface tracking-based surgical robot system for drilling operations includes surface scanning equipment, a robot arm, and a workstation. To perform a drilling operation, surface information for the target surgery area and the surgical tool held by the robot arm is simultaneously collected with the same surface scanning equipment. A preoperative 3D image of a surgical area and a CAD model of the surgical tool are registered to the collected surface information, through which the relative position between a surgical path and the surgical tool is obtained. Using this relative position, the robot arm aligns to the predefined surgical path using a feedback control method running on a workstation. The drilling operation is then autonomously executed by the robot arm or manually performed under the guidance of the surgical tool held by the robot arm.