Surgical Measurement Apparatus and System

• US 20120209117A1
• Filed: 03/19/2012
• Published: 08/16/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 03/08/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: OrthoSensor, Inc (Stryker Corporation)
• Original Assignee: OrthoSensor, Inc (Stryker Corporation)
• Inventors: Gil, Carlos, McIntosh, Jason, Boillot, Marc, Roche, Martin, Mozes, Alon
• Application Number:
  US13/424,359
• Publication Number:
  US 20120209117A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/439
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/4245 involving determining the position of the probe, e.g. with respect to an external reference frame or to the patient
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0325 using a plurality of light emitters or reflectors or a plurality of detectors forming a reference frame from which to derive the orientation of the object, e.g. by triangulation or on the basis of reference deformation in the picked up image
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0346 with detection of the device orientation or free movement in a 3D space, e.g. 3D mice, 6-DOF [six degrees of freedom] pointers using gyroscopes, accelerometers or tilt-sensors
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/043 using propagating acoustic waves

Abstract

A portable measurement system is provided including a probe, a user interface control and a receiver. The probe includes a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that emit ultrasonic waveforms for creating a three-dimensional sensing space. The user interface control captures a location and position of the probe in the three-dimensional sensing space. The receiver includes a plurality of microphones to capture the ultrasonic waveforms transmitted from the probe to produce captured ultrasonic waveforms and a digital signal processor that digitally samples the captured ultrasonic waveforms and tracks a relative location and movement of the probe with respect to the receiver in the three-dimensional ultrasonic sensing space from time of flight waveform analysis. Embodiments are demonstrated with respect to hip replacement surgery, but other embodiments are contemplated.

Claims

1. An apparatus, comprising:

a receiver that receives ultrasonic waveforms from a probe that emits the ultrasonic waveforms from three or more ultrasonic transducers in a three-dimensional sensing space; and

a controller coupled to a memory, wherein the memory comprises computer instructions which, when executed by the controller, cause the controller to;

digitally sample ultrasonic waveforms from the three or more microphones on the receiver to produce sampled received ultrasonic waveforms; and

track a relative location and movement of the probe in the three-dimensional ultrasonic sensing space from differential time of flight waveform analysis of the sampled received ultrasonic waveforms.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to suppress a ringing portion of the received ultrasonic waveforms that overlap with digitally sampled acoustic waveforms received at the microphones.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to minimize distortion associated with ultrasonic transducer ring-down during generation of a high-resolution position tracking of the probe.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to further recognize an operation workflow and report measurement data from the probe associated with the operation workflow.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to receive a user interface command from the probe during tracking associated with the high-resolution position tracking of the probe and present a media that corresponds to the user interface command, wherein the media is at least one among audio, image, video, and text.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to present the media according to a customized use of the probe during an operation workflow.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to navigate a menu system of a Graphical User Interface via the tracking of the probe relative to the receiver.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to navigate a menu system of a Graphical User Interface by way of the probe.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to weigh an envelope of a received ultrasonic waveform for selective peak amplification.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the probe is tracked in the three-dimensional sensing space relative to a stationary point on a bone having the receiver and wherein the computer instructions cause the controller to determine a location and relative displacement of the probe.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the bone is a hip bone and wherein the probe is used to capture a plurality of points relative to the stationary point to form an anatomical coordinate system.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the ultrasonic wand is used to capture at least a left anterior superior iliac spine (ASIS) point, a right ASIS point, and a pubis point on the hip bone.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the probe is affixed to a reaming device for guided reaming of an acetabulum of the hip bone.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the ultrasonic wand is affixed to a sensorized impactor for guided placement of a prosthesis-receiving cup within an acetabulum of the hip bone.

15. A probe, comprising:

three or more ultrasonic transducers that emit ultrasonic waveforms towards a receiver that receives the ultrasonic waveforms in a three-dimensional ultrasonic sensing space, wherein the receiver has a controller that digitally samples the ultrasonic waveforms from three or more microphones on the receiver to produce sampled received ultrasonic waveforms and tracks a relative location and movement of the probe in the three-dimensional ultrasonic sensing space from differential time of flight waveform analysis of the sampled received ultrasonic waveforms.

16. The probe of claim 15, wherein the probe is used for measuring an offset of a femur and any prosthetic insert from a hip bone and for measuring a length of the femur using relative distances from the receiver affixed in relation to the hop bone.

17. The probe of claim 15, wherein the bone is a hip bone and wherein the probe is an ultrasonic wand used in a posterior approach to capture at least one of a left ASIS point or a right ASIS point and capture a hip center by measuring an acetabulum of the hip bone.

18. A portable measurement system, comprising:

a probe comprising

a plurality of ultrasonic transducers that emit ultrasonic waveforms for creating a three-dimensional sensing space;

a user interface control that captures a location and position of the probe in the three-dimensional sensing space; and

a receiver comprising;

a plurality of microphones to capture the ultrasonic waveforms transmitted from the probe to produce captured ultrasonic waveforms; and

a digital signal processor that digitally samples the captured ultrasonic waveforms and tracks a relative location and movement of the probe with respect to the receiver in the three-dimensional ultrasonic sensing space from time of flight waveform analysis.

19. The portable measurement system of claim 18, wherein the receiver further comprises an inertial measurement that detects abrupt physical motion of a hand-operated tool coupled to the probe when exceeding threshold limits of a pre-specified plan

20. The portable measurement system of claim 19, wherein the inertial measurement unit comprises at least one of an accelerometer for measuring gravitational vectors, a magnetometer for measuring intensity of earth'"'"'s magnetic field and corresponding north vector, a gyroscope for stabilizing absolute spatial orientation and position.