Surgical Navigation With Real-Time Bone Density Implant Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical navigation systems fail to provide real-time, preoperative and intraoperative assistance in making implant decisions based on local bone density and material selection, lacking the ability to optimize implant placement and reduce construct failure risks.
Innovation Solution
A navigation system that processes preoperative and intraoperative cross-sectional imaging data to assess local bone density and suggest implant size, material, and trajectory, using stereotactic information to project implant location and display bone density in real-time, with real-time adjustments and recommendations for screw augmentation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If surgical navigation systems use cross-sectional imaging data for spatial information, then navigation accuracy is improved, but the system cannot provide real-time bone density assessment and implant selection guidance
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges cross-sectional imaging data (CT or MRI) with stereotactic navigation data into a unified 3D model that simultaneously provides both spatial location information and bone density assessment. This integration allows the navigation system to display both anatomical structure and material properties in a single comprehensive visualization, resolving the contradiction between navigation accuracy and information completeness.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transforms 2D cross-sectional imaging data into a 3D volumetric model that incorporates both spatial coordinates and bone density values as separate dimensional attributes. By adding the density dimension to the spatial model, the system provides real-time bone density assessment without compromising navigation precision, as each 3D point contains both location and material property information.
2Manufacturing precision
If the navigation system processes volumetric data to assess bone density, then implant selection accuracy is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary processing of cross-sectional imaging data during the preoperative planning phase to generate the 3D volumetric model with bone density mapping. By completing the complex data processing and model generation before surgery, the system reduces intraoperative computational burden and complexity while maintaining high implant placement precision through pre-calculated density assessments and implant recommendations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system introduces a computer-generated 3D model as an intermediary between the raw imaging data and the surgical decision-making process. This virtual model serves as a mediator that translates complex volumetric data into intuitive visualizations of bone density and implant fit, simplifying the interface between the navigation system and the surgeon without sacrificing analytical precision.
3Measurement precision
If real-time stereotactic navigation is used to track surgical tools, then surgical precision is improved, but the system cannot provide real-time implant size and material recommendations
Solution Approach 1:
The system merges stereotactic navigation tracking with bone density assessment and implant selection algorithms into a single integrated platform. During surgery, as the surgical tool is tracked in real-time, the system simultaneously queries the pre-generated 3D model for bone density information along the intended trajectory and provides real-time recommendations for implant size and material, ensuring both surgical precision and informed decision-making.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous operation of multiple functions simultaneously: real-time tool tracking, dynamic visualization of the surgical path through bone tissue, ongoing assessment of bone density along the trajectory, and continuous provision of implant recommendations. This continuous multi-functional operation ensures that surgical precision and implant selection information are available throughout the entire procedure without interruption or information loss.
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
Enhances surgical decision-making by optimizing implant placement, reducing construct failure risks, and providing real-time guidance for implant selection and adjustment during surgery.
Implementation Method 1
receiving preoperative or intraoperative data from an imaging system
Implementation Method 2
uploading computerized tomography (CT) scan in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) format
Implementation Method 3
calculating a bone density from Hounsfield units (HUs) in the various CT projections and in a three dimensional (3D) model
Data Source
AI summary
A method includes receiving preoperative or intraoperative data from an imaging system, receiving interoperatively stereotactic information during a surgical tool tracking from a navigational device, the navigation device configured to identify, confirm, project a location and display the surgical tool within a body, the navigational device further configured to process and interpret volumetric data and the stereotactic information to access a patient's local bone density within and without a current course and directional vector to assist a surgeon to decide on a size and material of an implant to be placed within a patient's bone.