Navigated Soft Tissue Penetrating Laser System

• US 20090012509A1
• Filed: 04/04/2008
• Published: 01/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/24/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Medtronic Incorporated (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Freas, Mark S., Solar, Matthew S., Waynik, Jeffrey M., Csavoy, Andrew N.
• Application Number:
  US12/062,605
• Publication Number:
  US 20090012509A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 606/10
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2055 Optical tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2068 using pointers, e.g. pointers having reference marks for determining coordinates of body points
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/103 Cranial plugs for access to brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/364 Correlation of different images or relation of image positions in respect to the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/367 creating a 3D dataset from 2D images using position information
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/376 using X-rays, e.g. fluoroscopy
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3983 Reference marker arrangements for use with image guided surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/103 Detecting, measuring or recording devices for testing the shape, pattern, colour, size or movement of the body or parts thereof, for diagnostic purposes A61B5/08 takes precedence; measuring aids for tailors A41H1/00; measuring instruments specially adapted for dentistry A61C19/04
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/107 Measuring physical dimensions, e.g. size of the entire body or parts thereof
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/4504 Bones A61B5/4547 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6878 Bone
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/11 with guides for needles or instruments, e.g. arcuate slides or ball joints
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/14 Fixators for body parts, e.g. skull clamps; Constructional details of fixators, e.g. pins
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/18 Retaining sheets, e.g. immobilising masks made from a thermoplastic material

Abstract

A system can be used to determine a position of a boney structure in physical space. The system can include a laser emitting device that can emit a laser beam that transmits through soft tissue and reflects off of a boney surface. The system can then determine the position of the reflection point and correlate the reflection point to image data acquired of a patient.

Claims

1. A system to determine a surface for assisting in performing a surgical procedure on a patient including soft tissue surrounding a boney structure, comprising:

a laser emitting device operable to be positioned near the patient to emit a laser beam at the patient;

a receiver operable to receive a reflected portion of the laser beam reflected from the boney structure of the patient;

a first processor operable to determine the position of the boney structure in a physical space;

a memory system operable to store image data of the patient defining image space;

a second processor operable to determine a registration between the physical space and the image space;

wherein the determination of the position of the boney structure is based, at least in part, on a determination of the reflection time of the laser beam.

2. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an imaging system operable to obtain the image data of the patient to be stored in the memory system.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the first processor and the second processor are a single processor.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a tracking system including a localizer and a tracking device;

wherein the tracking device is associated with the laser emitting device;

wherein the first processor is associated with the tracking system to determine the position of the tracking device.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the tracking system is at least one of an electromagnetic tracking system, an optical tracking system, an acoustic tracking system, a radiation tracking system, a radar tracking system, or combinations thereof.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the laser emitting device is operable to emit the laser beam having a wavelength of 750 nanometers to about 810 nanometers.

7. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a display operable to display the image data;

wherein the display is operable to display a representation of a device positioned relative to the patient.

8. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an articulated holder operable to determine a position of the laser emitting device in the physical space via a movement of the articulated holder.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first processor, the second processor, or combinations thereof is operable to determine a contour in the image data or of the patient.

10. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a surgical intervention instrument.

11. A system to determine a surface for assisting in performing a surgical procedure on a patient including soft tissue surrounding a boney structure, comprising:

a tracking system having a localizer and a tracking device;

a laser emitting device operable to emit a laser beam associated with the tracking device;

a receiver operable to receive a reflected laser beam from a surface that is reflected from the laser beam emitted by the laser emitting device;

a display operable to display image data of the patient;

a processor operable to determine a position of the tracking device in a physical space; and

a device operable to be displayed as an icon on the display device;

wherein the laser beam transmits though a soft tissue of the patient and reflects off of the boney structure of the patient;

wherein the reflected laser beam is reflected from a plurality of virtual fiducial points relative to the boney structure;

wherein the processor is operable to register the image data to the physical space based, at least in part, on the plurality of virtual fiducial points.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the laser emitting device emits a laser beam having a wavelength of 750 nanometers to about 810 nanometers.

13. The system do claim 11, wherein the processor is operable to determine a first contour in the image data and a second contour based upon the plurality of virtual fiducial points to match the image data and the physical space.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first contour, the second contour, or combinations thereof are at least one of a 2D contour, 3D contour, or combinations thereof.

15. The system of claim 11, wherein the device includes at least one of a lead, a deep brain stimulation lead, a micro-electrode, a probe, a catheter, a cannula, or combinations thereof.

16. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

an imaging device operable to obtain image data of the patient.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein the tracking system includes at least one of an electromagnetic tracking system, an optical tracking system, an acoustic tracking system, a radiation tracking system, a radar tracking system, or combinations thereof.

18. A method to determine a surface for assisting in performing a surgical procedure on a patient including soft tissue surrounding a boney structure, comprising:

obtaining image data of the patient;

moving a laser beam relative to the patient;

reflecting the laser beam off of the boney structure of the patient after passing through the soft tissue of the patient to define a virtual physical fiducial point;

determining a position of the virtual physical fiducial point in a physical space; and

matching the virtual physical fiducial point to an image fiducial point in the image data.

22. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

producing a laser beam having a wavelength of 750 nanometers to about 810 nanometers.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein matching the virtual physical fiducial point to an image fiducial point in the image data includes:

determining a plurality of the virtual physical fiducial points;

determining a first contour defined by the plurality of the virtual physical fiducial points;

determining a second contour in the image data that substantially matches the first contour; and

registering the image data and the physical space.

19. The method of claim 19, wherein moving a laser beam relative to the patient includes:

providing a device operable to emit a laser beam; and

moving the device relative to the patient.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein determining a position of the virtual physical fiducial point in a physical space includes:

receiving the reflected laser beam from the boney structure with a receiver; and

tracking a receiver position of the receiver.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein tracking a receiver position of the receiver includes:

forming a field;

providing a tracking device associated with the receiver; and

determining a position of the tracking device within the field.