Lightweight Surgical Tracker Segmentation for Accuracy and Weight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current surgical navigation systems face challenges in accurately tracking handheld surgical instruments due to the weight and bulk of traditional trackers, which can cause fatigue and potential damage to the instruments, and require improvements in visibility and power efficiency.
Innovation Solution
A lightweight tracker with a tetrahedral shape and strategically arranged infrared emitters, coupled to the surgical instrument via a secure and removable mechanism, optimized for reduced mass and size, and powered by a low-current electrical circuit to enhance visibility and accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional trackers are used for surgical instrument tracking, then tracking functionality is provided, but the weight and bulk cause instrument fatigue and potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
The tracker is divided into multiple lightweight components: a tracker body with reduced mass, separate calibration features, and modular infrared emitter arrays. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for minimal weight while maintaining collective tracking functionality, directly resolving the contradiction between reliability and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the tracker by reducing its overall mass through optimized geometry and material selection. The tracker body is designed with specific dimensional parameters that minimize weight while preserving the spatial arrangement necessary for accurate optical tracking, thereby improving reliability without excessive weight.
2Illumination intensity
If traditional trackers are used, then tracking is achieved, but the bulk and weight require improvements in visibility and power efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The infrared emitters are configured to operate in periodic pulsing sequences rather than continuous emission. Each emitter activates in alternating patterns, providing sufficient infrared illumination for camera detection while dramatically reducing overall power consumption. This periodic operation resolves the contradiction between visibility and energy use.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes the illumination parameters by using infrared wavelengths that are highly detectable by surgical navigation cameras. The emitter intensity, pulse duration, and frequency are carefully tuned to achieve maximum visibility with minimum energy expenditure, directly addressing the visibility-power efficiency contradiction.
3Reliability
If a secure and removable coupling mechanism is used, then the tracker can be firmly attached, but the coupling complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling system is segmented into a tracker body portion and an instrument interface portion, allowing independent optimization of each. The tracker body maintains simple geometry for manufacturing, while the interface portion provides secure attachment through standardized mechanical features, reducing overall complexity while ensuring reliable attachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling mechanism is designed with universal features that can accommodate different surgical instrument types. Standardized interface geometries and attachment protocols allow the same tracker design to securely couple with various instruments without requiring complex custom mechanisms for each tool, thereby reducing device complexity while maintaining attachment security.
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 tracker provides improved visibility and accuracy for surgical navigation systems, reduces instrument fatigue and damage, and extends operation time with efficient power use, allowing for precise and comfortable surgical procedures.
Implementation Method 1
A lightweight tracker with a tetrahedral shape and strategically arranged infrared emitters
Implementation Method 2
strategically arranged infrared emitters
Data Source
AI summary
A navigation system for navigating a medical instrument is provided. The system includes a localizer, a tracking array, and a processor. The tracking array has a first tracking face and a second tracking face which are coupled to one another and collectively include a plurality of optical tracking elements. The processor is configured to measure relative positions of the plurality of optical tracking elements while visible to the localizer, measure relative positions of the at least one optical tracking element of the first tracking face and at least one optical tracking element of the second tracking face while visible to the localizer at the same time, and create a composite rigid body based on the measured relative positions of at least one optical tracking element of the first tracking face and the at least one optical tracking element of the second tracking face while visible at the same time.