Surgical Tracking Frame Layout for Accurate Patient Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing patient trackers in surgical navigation systems suffer from inaccuracies due to geometric positioning issues, which amplify small deviations and require sterility compromises, leading to significant errors in tracking and registration, especially in neurosurgery and spine surgery.
Innovation Solution
A tracking surgery frame with two independent rigid bodies surrounding the anatomy of interest, combining markers to create a combined patient tracker that minimizes leverage effects and rotational inaccuracies, allowing precise and repeatable tracking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single patient tracker is attached to the head support, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to large lever arm amplifying small deviations
Solution Approach 1:
The single patient tracker is segmented into multiple independent rigid bodies (at least two) that are spatially separated and attached to different locations on the head support. Each rigid body carries markers that can be independently tracked, allowing the system to compute a combined transformation that reduces lever arm effects and improves measurement precision without significantly increasing device complexity.
2Measurement precision
If the patient tracker is attached close to the anatomy of interest, then the lever arm is reduced improving precision, but the surgical access is obstructed
Solution Approach 1:
The markers are arranged in a three-dimensional configuration across multiple rigid bodies positioned at different locations and orientations on the head support. This spatial distribution in multiple dimensions allows the markers to be positioned away from the direct surgical path (maintaining surgical access) while still achieving high navigation accuracy through the combined transformation calculation that accounts for their distributed geometry.
3Measurement precision
If a large individual patient tracker is used to counter inaccuracies, then the measurement precision is improved, but the device complexity and interference with surgical field increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using one large tracker, the system segments the tracking function across multiple smaller rigid bodies. Each rigid body is compact and simple in structure, but their combined configuration achieves the desired tracking accuracy. This segmentation reduces device complexity and interference with the surgical field while maintaining or improving measurement precision through the distributed marker arrangement and combined transformation calculation.
4Reliability
If the patient tracker is exchanged after registration to ensure sterility, then the sterility is improved, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to replacement inaccuracies
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary registration using multiple rigid bodies with their distributed markers before any sterility concerns arise. The combined transformation is calculated and stored, creating a reference framework that can be used throughout the procedure. This preliminary action allows the team to maintain sterility by keeping the head support and markers in place, avoiding the need to exchange trackers and the associated registration inaccuracies.
Data Source
AI summary
A tracking surgery frame for tracking a patient via a surgical navigation system includes an opening for entry to an intervention region, which is arrangeable around an intervention region and fixable with or to the patient so that a geometrical relationship between the intervention region and frame does not change. A first rigid body has at least one first marker for being tracked by the navigation system. A second rigid body has a second marker for being tracked by the navigation system. At least three markers are connected to the frame. The frame provides access to and a view of the intervention region via the opening. The first rigid body is spaced further apart from the second rigid body than the first rigid body is spaced apart from a portion of the frame. The frame can be used with a navigation system, navigation method and computer-readable storage medium.