System for and method of visualizing an interior of body
First Claim
1. A system for visualizing an interior of a body from an exterior position, comprising:
- a navigation system having a monitor and a camera, wherein the camera is fixed to the monitor and serves as a reference system, and wherein the monitor is movably positionable between an operator and the body;
an optical reference unit adapted to be attached to the body for tracking movements of the body;
an electronic processing device in communication with the navigation system; and
an image data set comprising features of the interior of the body, the image data set being accessible to the processing device;
wherein the processing device receives an optical image of an exterior surface of the body obtained with the camera, registers the image data set with respect to the reference system by correlating a position of the optical reference unit in the image data set with a position of the optical reference unit in the optical image, and causes the monitor to display the image data set superimposed and in registration with the optical image in a position and orientation that represents an angle of viewing and an aperture angle of the camera relative to the body.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A navigation system includes a display monitor, a CPU, and a camera, wherein the camera is mounted to a back side of the display monitor to form a monitor unit. One or more reference units are placed on a body while acquiring an image data set, and are tracked during a surgical operation by the monitor unit to register and correlate a position of a visual image of an exterior surface of the body with the image data set including information concerning internal structures of the body. The image data set is displayed on the display monitor superimposed in registration over the visible image of the exterior of the body with an angle of view and aperture in accordance with the actual position of the camera, whereby the display monitor displays the internal structures corresponding to the line-of-sight of the camera and the observer.
283 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A system for visualizing an interior of a body from an exterior position, comprising:
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a navigation system having a monitor and a camera, wherein the camera is fixed to the monitor and serves as a reference system, and wherein the monitor is movably positionable between an operator and the body; an optical reference unit adapted to be attached to the body for tracking movements of the body; an electronic processing device in communication with the navigation system; and an image data set comprising features of the interior of the body, the image data set being accessible to the processing device; wherein the processing device receives an optical image of an exterior surface of the body obtained with the camera, registers the image data set with respect to the reference system by correlating a position of the optical reference unit in the image data set with a position of the optical reference unit in the optical image, and causes the monitor to display the image data set superimposed and in registration with the optical image in a position and orientation that represents an angle of viewing and an aperture angle of the camera relative to the body. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. An optical reference unit for use with an optical surgical navigation system, the optical reference unit comprising:
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a substrate, an optical pattern on the substrate, and a radiopaque marker carried by the substrate; wherein the radiopaque marker is visible in a pre-operative image, the optical pattern is visible to a video camera, and the radiopaque marker is disposed at a uniquely identifiable center point of the optical pattern, whereby the location of the radiopaque marker can be uniquely registered to the optical pattern at each of a plurality of viewing angles. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
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15. A computer-readable medium that carries a program executable by one or more digital electronic processing devices to visualize the interior of a body, the computer-readable medium comprising:
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a first routine that receives an image data set of a body including a unique image signal of a reference unit affixed to a body; a second routine that identifies a position of the reference unit with respect to a coordinate system of the image data set; a third routine that receives a visual image of an exterior of the body including a visual representation of the reference unit; a fourth routine that identifies the position of the reference unit in the visual image; a fifth routine that matches the spatial position of the reference unit in the image data set with the spatial position of the reference unit in the visual image to automatically register the image data set with the visual image of the body; and a sixth routine that causes the image data set and the visual image of the body to be visually displayed on a display device with the image data set superimposed in registration with the visual image of the body.
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16. A method of visualizing an interior of a body from an exterior viewing position, the method comprising the steps of:
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obtaining an internal image data set of an internal portion of the body, wherein the internal image data set includes a reference location on an exterior surface of the body; accessing the internal image data set with a navigation system comprising a visual display screen, a camera fixed to the visual display screen in alignment with the display screen, and a digital electronic processing unit in data communication with the camera and the display screen, wherein the camera serves as a reference system and the visual display screen is movably positionable between an operator and the body; obtaining a visual image of an exterior of the body with the camera, wherein the reference location is visible in the visual image and oriented to the reference system; identifying the reference location in the visual image; registering with the digital electronic processing unit the internal image data set to the visual image in relation to the reference system using the reference location; displaying the internal image data set superimposed and in registration with the visual image on the visual display screen in a position and orientation that represents an angle of view and an aperture angle of the camera and the visual display screen relative to the body; tracking movements of the body with respect to the camera using the reference location in the visual image; and updating the display of the internal image data set with the digital electronic processing unit to correspond with the position of the body with respect to the camera based on the tracked movements of the body. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification