Tracked Energizable Surgical Instrument for Hidden Tip Navigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
During surgical procedures, particularly those involving hidden or partially obscured working ends of instruments, surgeons rely solely on visual cues and experience, lacking precise feedback for navigating and operating the instrument effectively.
Innovation Solution
A navigation system tracks the instrument's position and orientation, providing real-time feedback through a display superimposed on pre-acquired images, allowing for precise control of the instrument's operation based on predefined avoidance regions and dynamic power adjustments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the working end of the instrument is hidden from direct view during surgery, then the surgical procedure can be performed, but the surgeon loses visual feedback and must rely solely on experience
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a navigation system that provides real-time visual feedback by tracking the instrument's position and orientation and superimposing this information on pre-acquired patient images. This feedback loop allows the surgeon to see the hidden working end's location and orientation without direct visual access, resolving the contradiction between performing the procedure and maintaining visual feedback.
Solution Approach 2:
The navigation system acts as an intermediary between the hidden instrument and the surgeon's visual system. It captures instrument pose data, processes it through image registration and superposition algorithms, and presents it as visual information on a display, enabling the surgeon to perceive instrument position indirectly through the mediator system.
2Power
If the instrument operates at high power for effective cutting, then the cutting performance is improved, but the risk of damaging critical anatomical structures increases
Solution Approach 1:
The navigation system continuously monitors the instrument's position relative to critical anatomical structures and provides real-time feedback. When the instrument approaches dangerous zones, the system alerts the surgeon, enabling dynamic adjustment of power levels or instrument position to maintain effective cutting while preventing damage to critical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary identification and mapping of critical anatomical structures before the cutting procedure begins. By pre-acquiring images and registering them with the instrument's coordinate system, the surgeon can anticipate dangerous zones and adjust cutting parameters in advance, preventing harmful effects before they occur.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for altering an energizable instrument for performing a procedure on the subject. The instrument may be tracked during a procedure and a controller may alter operation thereof during the selected procedure. The energizable instrument may have energy provided to a working end to heat a working end to a selected temperature for various procedures such as cutting, coagulation, vaporization, or the like.