Navigation Array for Surgical Instrument Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Navigated-assisted surgery systems for hand-held surgical tools face inefficiencies in transitioning between instruments, requiring complex and expensive electronics for independent registration and control, and lack integration with legacy instruments and desirable features.
Innovation Solution
A navigation-assisted surgery system with a display unit, user interface, memory unit, and navigation controller that wirelessly communicates with surgical instruments, using a localizer to detect navigation arrays and power sources, allowing for automatic identification and association of instruments, enabling real-time tracking and control without the need for advanced electronics in each tool.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each surgical instrument includes advanced electronics for independent registration and control, then navigation tracking capability is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a separate navigation system comprising a localizer and navigation array as an intermediary component. Instead of embedding navigation electronics within each surgical instrument, the navigation array attaches to the instrument exterior and communicates with the external localizer, thereby achieving navigation tracking without complicating the instrument's internal electronics.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation functionality is extracted from the surgical instrument itself and placed into a separate, dedicated navigation system. The navigation array is removed from the instrument's core structure and implemented as an external attachment that can be detected by the independent localizer, reducing the instrument's electronic complexity while maintaining tracking capability.
2Measurement precision
If manual instrument switching is implemented, then control precision is improved, but loss of time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements automatic feedback mechanisms where the localizer continuously monitors navigation arrays on multiple instruments and automatically identifies which instrument is being used based on real-time tracking data. This eliminates manual identification steps and reduces instrument transition time while maintaining accurate instrument recognition.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation system performs automatic instrument identification and tracking without requiring manual intervention. The localizer autonomously detects navigation arrays, determines which instrument is in use, and maintains tracking accordingly, freeing the surgeon from manual instrument registration tasks and reducing procedural delays.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple instruments are tracked simultaneously, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation system is designed with universal functionality to track multiple different surgical instruments simultaneously using the same navigation arrays and localizer infrastructure. The system can accommodate drills, saws, impactors, and other instruments without requiring instrument-specific tracking hardware, achieving multi-instrument adaptability through a unified tracking approach.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods of associating components of a surgical instrument for navigation-assisted surgery, and controlling the surgical instruments. A first association is generated between the end effector and the navigation array from an input based on an arrangement of tracking elements of the navigation array, and an identification signal. A second association is generated between a power source and the navigation array from a battery signal wirelessly transmitted from the power source that is indicative of current being drawn on the power source. The power source may be controlled based on a position and/or an orientation of the end effector and a pose of a patient tracker. Should the position of the end effector cross a predefined virtual boundary, a control signal wirelessly transmitted to the power source may alter the current being supplied to a motor. An inertial sensor may provide a movement signal used for generating an association.