Surgical Tool Marker Calibration for Image-Guided Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current medical navigation systems for interventional instruments, such as surgical needles, are inaccurate and inconvenient, lacking real-time data and guidance for precise placement and movement within the body.
Innovation Solution
An image-guided surgical system with a marker attachable to a surgical tool, featuring a camera and image processing system that calibrates the marker's position with the tool's tip, allowing for accurate tracking and display on a medical image, enabling precise navigation through ultrasound, CT, and 3D visualizations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional medical navigation systems are used, then instrument placement can be guided, but the systems are inaccurate and inconvenient without real-time data
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical tracking systems with an optical vision-based system. A camera captures images of the surgical tool and marker, and an image processing system computes the tool's position and orientation in real-time, substituting mechanical tracking with optical detection and computational analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the surgical tool by detecting a marker's position in camera images and computing corresponding tool tip position and orientation. This visual representation is then overlaid on medical images to guide instrument placement, providing real-time visual feedback without physical contact.
2Ease of operation
If external visual or tactile feedback is used for instrument placement, then operators can guide instruments, but the feedback is insufficient for precise placement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements real-time visual feedback by continuously capturing images of the marker on the surgical tool, computing the tool's position and orientation, and overlaying this information on medical images. This closed-loop feedback system provides operators with precise, real-time guidance for instrument placement and movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from 2D camera images to 3D spatial understanding by computing the tool's position and orientation in three-dimensional space. The system reconstructs the tool's full 3D pose from 2D marker positions in images, enabling precise spatial guidance beyond what external visual or tactile feedback alone can provide.
3Stability of the object's composition
If known navigation systems are used, then alignment can be assisted, but they are ineffective for real-time tracking of interventional instruments
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary calibration by establishing the geometric relationship between the marker and the surgical tool's functional elements (such as the tip) before the procedure. This pre-established geometric model enables real-time tracking without requiring complex calibration during the actual intervention, maintaining both stability and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical alignment and tracking systems with an optical vision system that uses image processing and computational geometry to track the tool's position and orientation in real-time, providing both stability and real-time capability simultaneously.
Data Source
AI summary
An image guided surgical system includes a marker attachable to and removable from an elongated surgical tool having a shaft, and at least one camera, and an image processing system in communication with the camera configured to obtain an image of the surgical tool. The image processing system is configured to operate in a calibration mode to generate a template and display the template on a display device and to receive a user input, after the image of the surgical tool is aligned to the template, to adjust a length of the template to substantially match a length of the surgical tool. A storage device in communication with the image processing system is included to store calibration information that associates a position of the marker with a position of the tip of the shaft of the surgical tool based on the adjusted length of the template.