Fiducial matching using fiducial implants
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A device for referencing a fiducial implant, comprising:
- a fiducial implant for insertion into a portion of a body, the implant having first and second spaced apart reference points and a head, the head and the reference points having a known spatial relationship;
a pointer having a distal pointer end and at least three emitters configured to emit radiation, the distal pointer end and the at least three emitters having a known spatial relationship;
a position finder comprising at least two detectors configured to detect the radiation whereby the position of the at least three emitters in three-dimensional space can be determined; and
wherein the head of the implant and the distal pointer end are configured to removably and reproducibly mate to provide a known spatial relationship between the first and second spaced apart reference points of the fiducial implant and the distal pointer end to allow the position of the first and second spaced apart reference points in three dimensional space to be determined.
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Abstract
The invention relates to a device and method for referencing reference points of a fiducial implant. The fiducial implant and pointer are configured to removably and reproducibly mate to provide a known spatial relationship between the reference points and the pointer. A position finder is used to determine the position of the pointer in three-dimensional space to allow the position of each reference point in three dimensional space to be determined.
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Citations
25 Claims
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1. A device for referencing a fiducial implant, comprising:
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a fiducial implant for insertion into a portion of a body, the implant having first and second spaced apart reference points and a head, the head and the reference points having a known spatial relationship;
a pointer having a distal pointer end and at least three emitters configured to emit radiation, the distal pointer end and the at least three emitters having a known spatial relationship;
a position finder comprising at least two detectors configured to detect the radiation whereby the position of the at least three emitters in three-dimensional space can be determined; and
wherein the head of the implant and the distal pointer end are configured to removably and reproducibly mate to provide a known spatial relationship between the first and second spaced apart reference points of the fiducial implant and the distal pointer end to allow the position of the first and second spaced apart reference points in three dimensional space to be determined. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 21)
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10. A method for determining a spatial relationship between reference points associated with a body, comprising:
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inserting at least two fiducial implants in the body, each fiducial implant providing at least two spaced apart reference points; and
determining the position in three-dimensional space of the at least two spaced apart reference points of each of the at least two fiducial implants and determining the spatial relationship between the spaced apart reference points of the at least two fiducial implants. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24)
providing a pointer having a distal end and at least three emitters configured to emit radiation, the distal end and the at least three emitters having a known spatial relationship;
associating the distal end with one of the fiducial implants to removably and reproducibly provide a known spatial relationship between the reference points and the distal end;
detecting the radiation to determine the position of the at least three emitters in three-dimensional space to allow the position of each reference point in three dimensional space to be determined; and
repeating the associating step for each of the fiducial implants to be referenced.
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15. The method of claim 10, wherein the image is a digitally recorded computer three-dimensional computer tomogram.
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24. The method of claim 11, wherein at least one of the fiducial implants is a screw and the step of inserting comprises screwing the at least one screw into the bone.
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16. A method for determining a spatial relationship between reference points associated with a body, comprising:
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inserting at least one fiducial implant into the body, the fiducial implant having at least two spaced apart reference points;
associating with the fiducial implant a pointer having at least three emitters configured to emit radiation, wherein the at least three emitters have a known spatial relationship and the fiducial implant and pointer are oriented along a longitudinal axis; and
determining the position in three-dimensional space of the at least two spaced apart reference points of the implant associated with the pointer. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 25)
associating the distal end with one of the fiducial implants to removably and reproducibly provide a known spatial relationship between the spaced apart reference points of the implant associated with the distal end and the distal end;
detecting the radiation to determine the position of the at least three emitters in three-dimensional space to allow the position of each spaced apart reference point of the implant associated with the distal end to be determined in three dimensional space; and
repeating the associating step for each of the fiducial implants to be referenced.
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18. The method of claim 16, wherein the body is a bone.
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19. The method of claim 18, further comprising obtaining at least one image showing the bone and at least two of the inserted fiducial implants.
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20. The method of claim 19, further comprising performing a coordinate transformation to match the positions of the reference points in three-dimensional space with corresponding positions of the reference points in the image.
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25. The method of claim 16, wherein the body is a bone and at least one of the fiducial implants is a screw and the step of inserting comprises screwing the at least one screw into the bone.
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22. A device for referencing a fiducial implant for insertion into a portion of a body, the implant having first and second spaced apart reference points and a head, the head and the reference points having a known spatial relationship, the device comprising:
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a pointer having a distal pointer end and at least three emitters configured to emit radiation, the distal pointer end and the at least three emitters having a known spatial relationship;
a position finder comprising at least two detectors configured to detect the radiation whereby the position of the at least three emitters in three-dimensional space can be determined; and
wherein the head of the implant and the distal pointer end are configured to removably and reproducibly mate to provide a known spatial relationship between the first and second spaced apart reference points of the fiducial implant and the distal pointer end to allow the position of the first and second spaced apart reference points in three dimensional space to be determined. - View Dependent Claims (23)
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Specification