Means of Tracking Movement of Bodies During Medical Treatment
First Claim
1. A system for improving the accuracy of preprogrammed surgery on a body having an inside portion that is in need of surgery and an outside portion that may move during surgery, comprising:
- treatment means for treating the inside portion of a body;
a plurality of markers each adapted to emit a corresponding plurality of signals and to be positioned on the outside portion of the body, each of the plurality of markers comprising;
a signal emitter configured to emit a detectable signal;
a base member coupled to the signal emitter; and
a disposable support element adapted to attach the marker to the body;
a tracking system configured to determine the location of the plurality of markers, the tracking system comprising;
one or more receiver devices configured to receive the signals emitted by the marker signal emitters and generate positioning information based upon the received signals; and
a computer configured to receive the information generated by the receiver devices; and
means for causing the marker signal emitters to emit signals under conditions sufficient to differentiate which emitter is sending each of said signals,wherein the computer is configured with computer-executable instructions to perform operations comprising;
processing the generated positioning information received from the receiver devices to locate each of the markers within a coordinate system;
tracking movement of the outside portion of the body based on the processed generated positioning information;
identifying and mapping an inside portion of the body that is intended to be subjected to surgery based upon the tracked movement of the outside portion of the body; and
controlling the treatment means to compensate for movement of the body during treatment of the inside portion of the body,wherein the combination of the emitter and the base member are adapted to dispose the emitter in line of sight with the one or more receiver devices.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Methods and systems enable accurate control of robotic treatments of internal features of a body by tracking movements of the exterior of the body. Such tracking enables programmed and automated or semi-automated surgical operations to compensate for movement of the patient'"'"'s body during surgery. A tracking system that includes a marker, which may be disposable, that is attached to the body and accurately tracked in a three-dimensional coordinate system by a tracking system. Compensation for body movements may be accomplished by adjusting the movement or position of a surgical instrument, a surgical robot, a radiation source collimator and/or the operating room table. The markers may include a radiofrequency identifier (RFID) chip or memory chip that can be interrogated by the tracking system.
92 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A system for improving the accuracy of preprogrammed surgery on a body having an inside portion that is in need of surgery and an outside portion that may move during surgery, comprising:
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treatment means for treating the inside portion of a body; a plurality of markers each adapted to emit a corresponding plurality of signals and to be positioned on the outside portion of the body, each of the plurality of markers comprising; a signal emitter configured to emit a detectable signal; a base member coupled to the signal emitter; and a disposable support element adapted to attach the marker to the body; a tracking system configured to determine the location of the plurality of markers, the tracking system comprising; one or more receiver devices configured to receive the signals emitted by the marker signal emitters and generate positioning information based upon the received signals; and a computer configured to receive the information generated by the receiver devices; and means for causing the marker signal emitters to emit signals under conditions sufficient to differentiate which emitter is sending each of said signals, wherein the computer is configured with computer-executable instructions to perform operations comprising; processing the generated positioning information received from the receiver devices to locate each of the markers within a coordinate system; tracking movement of the outside portion of the body based on the processed generated positioning information; identifying and mapping an inside portion of the body that is intended to be subjected to surgery based upon the tracked movement of the outside portion of the body; and controlling the treatment means to compensate for movement of the body during treatment of the inside portion of the body, wherein the combination of the emitter and the base member are adapted to dispose the emitter in line of sight with the one or more receiver devices. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A method of treating an inside portion of a body that is in need of surgery that may move during surgery, comprising:
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placing a plurality of markers on an outside portion of the body, each of the plurality of markers configured to emit a detectable signal so that it may be received by a plurality of receiver devices under conditions sufficient to differentiate which marker is sending each detectable signal; receiving the emitted detectable signal from the plurality of markers; determining a location of each of the plurality of markers based upon the received emitted detectable signals; determining a location of the inside portion of the body based upon the determined locations of the plurality of markers; and controlling a radiation treatment applied to the inside portion of the body to compensate for movement of the body during treatment by accomplishing one of adjusting a position of an operating table supporting the body, adjusting a collimator in a radiation source, and adjusting both a position of an operating table supporting the body and a collimator in a radiation source. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27)
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Specification