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Visual orientation aid for medical instruments

  • US 10,335,237 B2
  • Filed: 03/27/2009
  • Issued: 07/02/2019
  • Est. Priority Date: 04/03/2008
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method comprising:

  • displaying, on an image output of a medical navigation system, a virtual representation of a medical instrument in a positional relationship to a part of a patient'"'"'s body, the virtual representation of the medical instrument having an axis and a tip; and

    displaying, on the image output of the medical navigation system, an orientation aid situated at the tip of the virtual representation of the medical instrument, the orientation aid shaped as a cone having a symmetry axis coinciding with the axis of the visual representation of the medical instrument and a particular aperture angle based on a desired orientation of the medical instrument relative to a predefined axis of the part of the patient'"'"'s body, the particular aperture angle of the cone determining an exterior enveloping straight line of the cone, the exterior enveloping straight line of the cone abutting the predefined axis of the part of the patient'"'"'s body indicating that the medical instrument has the desired orientation.

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