ALIGNMENT OF MANIPULABLE SENSOR ASSEMBLY

• US 20140200440A1
• Filed: 01/08/2014
• Published: 07/17/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Original Assignee: Cleveland Clinic Foundation
• Inventors: Iannotti, Joseph P., Barsoum, Wael K., Bryan, Jason A., O'Neill, Pete
• Granted Patent: US 10,456,062 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/424
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00115 with audible or visual output with imaging means A61B90/37, A61B34/20
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2065 Tracking using image or pattern recognition
• 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 5/061 Determining position of a probe within the body employing means separate from the probe, e.g. sensing internal probe position employing impedance electrodes on the surface of the body A61B1/00158 takes precedence

Abstract

A method for aligning a manipulable sensor assembly includes determination of a replica surface, which represents a field of view of a manipulable sensor assembly associated with an object when the object is located in a desired position and oriented at a desired orientation. Electromagnetic radiation and/or sound reflected from a surface of the region of interest is detected to provide a surface map of the region of interest, which is compared to the replica surface to determine a rotation and/or a translation for the manipulable sensor assembly to bring the surface map into alignment with the replica surface. The position and/or the orientation of the object are altered. The detection of reflected electromagnetic radiation or sound, comparison of the surfaces, and alteration of the position and orientation of the object are repeated until the surface map is in alignment with the replica surface.

Claims

1. A method for aligning a manipulable sensor assembly to a desired position and orientation, comprising:

defining a desired position and orientation for an object relative to a region of interest;

determining a replica surface from the defined position and orientation, representing a field of view of a manipulable sensor assembly associated with the object when the object is located in the desired position and oriented at the desired orientation; and

iteratively repeating the following steps until the object is in the desired position and orientation;

detecting one of electromagnetic radiation and sound reflected from a surface of the region of interest at the manipulable sensor assembly to provide a surface map of the region of interest;

comparing the surface map to the replica surface;

determining at least one of a rotation and a translation for the manipulable sensor assembly to bring the surface map into alignment with the replica surface if the surface map does not match the replica surface; and

altering at least one of the position and the orientation of the object according to the determined at least one of the rotation and the translation if the surface map does not match the replica surface.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein defining a desired position and orientation for an object relative to a region of interest comprises constructing a model of a region of interest.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein constructing a model of a region of interest comprises generating a virtual model of the region of interest from medical imaging data and storing the virtual model on a non-transitory computer readable medium.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein constructing a model of a region of interest comprises generating a physical model of the region of interest from imaging data.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein determining a replica surface from the defined position and orientation comprises:

positioning the object in the desired position and orientation relative to the physical model; and

detecting one of electromagnetic radiation and sound reflected from a surface of the region of interest at the manipulable sensor assembly to provide the replica surface.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein constructing a model of a region of interest comprises generating a physical model of the region of interest as one of a mold and a cast of the region of interest.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the at least one of a rotation and a translation comprises using a point cloud registration technique.

8. The method of claim 1, detecting one of electromagnetic radiation and sound reflected from a surface of the region of interest at the manipulable sensor assembly comprises:

emitting ultrasound waves from a transducer assembly; and

detecting a reflection from the surface at the transducer assembly.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein altering at least one of the position and the orientation of the object according to the determined at least one of the rotation and the translation comprises communicating the determined at least one of the rotation and the translation to a human operator via one of a visible and an audible indicator, such that the human operator adjusts the position of the object.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein altering at least one of the position and the orientation of the object according to the determined at least one of the rotation and the translation comprises providing machine readable instructions representing the determined at least one of the rotation and the translation to an automated system.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein comparing the surface map to the replica surface to determine at least one of a rotation and a translation for the manipulable sensor assembly comprises comparing a selected portion of the surface map, representing less than all of the provided surface map, to a corresponding portion of the replica surface.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a replica surface from the defined position and orientation comprises:

positioning the object in the desired position and orientation relative to the region of interest; and

detecting one of electromagnetic radiation and sound reflected from a surface of the region of interest at the manipulable sensor assembly to provide the replica surface.

13. A system for aligning a manipulable sensor assembly to a desired position and orientation, comprising:

the manipulable sensor assembly, configured to detect one of electromagnetic radiation and sounds reflected from a region of interest to provide a surface map over an associated field of view, the surface map comprising a plurality of feature vectors in a multidimensional space;

a non-transitory computer readable medium storing machine executable instructions, the instructions comprising;

a replica surface, defined as a plurality of feature vectors in the multidimensional space, representing an expected surface map within the field of view of the manipulable sensor assembly when the sensor assembly is located at the desired position and oriented at the desired orientation; and

a registration system configured to compare the surface map and the replica surface to determine if the manipulable sensor assembly is located at the desired position and oriented at the desired orientation; and

a feedback component configured to notify a user when the manipulable sensor assembly is located at the desired position and oriented at the desired orientation.

14. An apparatus for indicating a desired position and orientation with respect to a patient tissue, the apparatus comprising:

a user interface by which the apparatus can be manipulated by the user;

a position indicator carried by the user interface, the position indicator being indicative of a position of at least a portion of the apparatus with respect to the patient tissue surface;

an orientation indicator carried by the user interface, the orientation indicator being indicative of an orientation of at least a portion of the apparatus with respect to the patient tissue surface;

a manipulable sensor assembly carried by the user interface, the manipulable sensor assembly being operative to detect at least one of electromagnetic radiation and sound reflected from a surface of a region of interest of the patient tissue to provide a surface map of the region of interest;

a registration system configured to compare the surface map and a predetermined replica surface to determine if the manipulable sensor assembly is located at the desired position and oriented at the desired orientation; and

a feedback component configured to notify a user when the manipulable sensor assembly is located at the desired position and oriented at the desired orientation.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein at least one of the registration system and the feedback component is carried by the user interface.

16. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the user interface comprises the orientation indicator and the position indicator, and wherein a three-dimensional position and orientation of the user interface directly correlates with a three-dimensional position and orientation of the manipulable sensor assembly.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the feedback components is configured to advise the user of a motion of the user interface intended to cause at least one of an instantaneous position and orientation of the manipulable sensor assembly to approach the desired position and orientation of the manipulable sensor assembly.

18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the predetermined replica surface is acquired from a virtual model of the patient tissue.

19. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the predetermined replica surface is acquired from a physical model of the patient tissue.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the predetermined replica surface is acquired through the use of an additional manipulable sensor assembly, separate from the manipulable sensor assembly.

21. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the user interface is manipulable by an automated system.

22. The apparatus of claim 14, including a tool interface for guiding a surgical device into a desired device position and a desired device orientation with respect to the patient tissue.