Image guided vertebral distractor and method for tracking the position of vertebrae
First Claim
1. A vertebral distractor for use with a computer controlled surgical navigation system employing a position sensing unit to track positions of said vertebral distractor in three dimensional space relative to a known reference point, said vertebral distractor comprising:
- a shaft having a first and a second arm mounted on said shaft, wherein said first and second arms are engageable with vertebrae, and wherein said second arm is movable along said shaft with relation to said first arm while said first and second arms are engaged with said vertebrae; and
at least one trackable array rigidly attached to said shaft of said vertebral distractor, wherein said position sensing unit tracks said array and the position of said vertebral distractor while rigidly attached to the vertebrae.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A vertebral distractor is disclosed for use in performing anterior cervical spinal surgery. The vertebral distractor is associated with a computer controlled surgical navigation system employing an energy-detecting array to track positions of the vertebral distractor in three dimensional space relative to a known reference point. The guide comprises a shaft, a stationary first arm, and at least one movable second arm. At least one electrically energizable energy emitter array is attached to the shaft for use in identifying the location of the vertebral distractor relative to the vertebrae. A system for using the vertebral distractor in spinal surgery is disclosed.
372 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A vertebral distractor for use with a computer controlled surgical navigation system employing a position sensing unit to track positions of said vertebral distractor in three dimensional space relative to a known reference point, said vertebral distractor comprising:
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a shaft having a first and a second arm mounted on said shaft, wherein said first and second arms are engageable with vertebrae, and wherein said second arm is movable along said shaft with relation to said first arm while said first and second arms are engaged with said vertebrae; and
at least one trackable array rigidly attached to said shaft of said vertebral distractor, wherein said position sensing unit tracks said array and the position of said vertebral distractor while rigidly attached to the vertebrae. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for tracking the position of vertebrae using a vertebral distractor having first and second arms movable along a shaft in relation to one another, when performing anterior spinal surgery, said method comprising the steps of:
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engaging said vertebral distractor having at least one electrically detectable array attached thereto with said vertebrae;
employing a surgical navigation system with a computer controller and a position sensing unit for communicating with said array and tracking the position of said vertebral distractor in three-dimensioned space; and
registering the location of said vertebrae relative to said distractor by contacting said vertebrae with a calibration probe tracked by said position sensing unit. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. The vertebral distractor of 12, wherein said position sensing unit is an electromagnetic localization system.
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20. A vertebral distractor comprising:
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a stationary arm displacement means and movable arm displacement means, said movable arm displacement means being movable along a shaft in relation to said stationary arm displacement means;
means for tracking the position in three-dimensional space of said vertebral distractor, wherein said tracing means comprises at least one trackable array; and
means for registering and tracking the positions of vertebrae, wherein said registering means is an optically tracked unit. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification