Surgical Instrument MEMS Sensor Cluster for Real-Time 3D Orientation Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical navigation systems are costly, distracting, and have a long learning curve, limiting their application to high-margin procedures due to their complexity and requirement for extensive imaging systems, which can lead to surgeon fatigue and increased risk of complications.
Innovation Solution
A compact surgical guidance system using a microprocessor, sensors, and a graphical user interface integrated into a surgical instrument, allowing for real-time tracking and orientation within a local coordinate system, enabling precise guidance without the need for cumbersome external displays, utilizing a 9-degree of freedom IMU and MEMS devices for 3D spatial orientation and motion tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If surgical navigation systems use complex sensors and imaging systems to provide real-time 3D visualization, then measurement precision and reliability are improved, but device complexity and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the complex navigation function into separate components: a compact sensor cluster attached to the surgical instrument for local tracking, and a simple display device for showing orientation data. This segmentation eliminates the need for complex centralized imaging systems while maintaining measurement precision through distributed sensing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a local coordinate system defined by two reference points as an intermediary framework. This simple geometric construct mediates between the complex physical surgical environment and the navigation system, enabling precise tracking without requiring complex imaging infrastructure.
2Measurement precision
If surgical navigation systems use extensive imaging systems and complex displays, then measurement precision is improved, but surgeon focus is lost and fatigue increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of bringing the surgeon to complex imaging displays as in traditional navigation systems, the display is brought to the surgeon's location. The compact display device shows orientation information directly at or near the surgical site, allowing the surgeon to maintain focus without repeatedly looking away at large remote screens.
Solution Approach 2:
The sensor cluster attached to the surgical instrument performs self-tracking of its own orientation and position. The system serves itself by autonomously monitoring its spatial state through onboard sensors and automatically computing orientation relative to the local coordinate system, eliminating the need for complex external imaging systems.
3Manufacturing precision
If mechanical jigs and guides are used to provide placement guidance, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity and ease of operation worsen due to awkward usage and obscured views
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces bulky mechanical jigs and physical guides with an electronic sensing and display system. The sensor cluster electronically tracks instrument orientation, and the display provides visual guidance, eliminating the need for physical mechanical guidance structures that obstruct the surgical field and are difficult to use.
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 provides a cost-effective, user-friendly solution that maintains the surgeon's focus on the surgical site, reducing fatigue and complications by offering precise positional and orientational guidance within the surgical field, suitable for minimally invasive procedures and potentially owned by individual surgeons.
Implementation Method 1
a 9 degree of freedom (DOF) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)—to track rotations and accelerations in all three spatial directions
Implementation Method 2
a 9 degree of freedom (DOF) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)—to track rotations and accelerations in all three spatial directions by means of using Micro Electrical Mechanical System (MEMS) devices
Implementation Method 3
a 9 degree of freedom (DOF) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)—to track rotations and accelerations in all three spatial directions
Implementation Method 4
convert angular rate to angular position, and acceleration to position through numerical integration
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides a MEMS sensor guidance system mounted on a surgical instrument and uses the MEMS sensor to determine Inertial Measurement Units to track rotation and acceleration in all three spatial directions. Further the invention provides a method of surgery in which a reference axis, a loci, and a depth are defined and the instrument including the sensor duster of the invention is placed in relation to the y-axis and x-axis and following the working end is aligned and the orientation and depth data display is observed to aid in maintaining the desired instrument.