Referencing or registering a patient or a patient body part in a medical navigation system by means of irradiation of light points

• US 7,577,474 B2
• Filed: 02/22/2005
• Issued: 08/18/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Brainlab AG
• Original Assignee: Brainlab AG
• Inventors: Vilsmeier, Stefan
• Primary Examiner(s): Winakur; Eric F
• Assistant Examiner(s): Laryea; Lawrence N
• Application Number:
  US11/063,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20050143645A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,638 Days
• Field of Search: 600/407, 600/417, 600/424, 600/473, 600/476, 356/376
• US Class Current: 600/473
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2018/2025 with a pilot laser
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2055 Optical tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2072 Reference field transducer attached to an instrument or patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/364 Correlation of different images or relation of image positions in respect to the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3937 Visible markers
• 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 90/10 for stereotaxic surgery, e.g. frame-based stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/36 Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/39 Markers, e.g. radio-opaque or breast lesions markers

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and system for its implementation for referencing or registering a body part in a camera-assisted, medical navigation system, comprising: manually manipulating a light beamer so as to scan a light beam produced thereby across a surface of the body part to sequentially reflect light off the surface of the body part at a plurality of locations; sequentially detecting the light reflected from the surface of the body part at the plurality of locations; determining three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations based on the detected light; and referencing or registering the body part to medical image data based on the three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations and surface data determined from the medical image data.

Claims

1. A method for referencing or registering a body part in a camera-assisted, medical navigation system, comprising:

manually manipulating a light beamer so as to scan a light beam produced thereby across a surface of the body part to sequentially reflect light off the surface of the body part at a plurality of locations;

sequentially detecting the light reflected from the surface of the body part at the plurality of locations;

determining three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations based on the detected light; and

referencing or registering the body part to medical image data based on the three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations and surface data determined from the medical image data.

2. A system for referencing or registering a body part in a medical navigation system, comprising:

a manually manipulated light beamer for producing a light beam that can be scanned over a surface of the body part to sequentially reflect light off the surface of the body part at a plurality of locations;

a detection system operative to sequentially detect the light reflected from the surface of the body part at the plurality of locations and determine three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations based on the detected light; and

a processor operatively coupled to the detection system for receiving the three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations and executing program code to reference or register the body part to medical image data based on the three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations and surface data determined from the medical image data.

3. A system for referencing or registering a body part in a medical navigation system, comprising:

a manually manipulated light beamer for producing a light beam that can be scanned over a surface of the body part to sequentially reflect light off the surface of the body part at a plurality of locations;

a detection system operative to sequentially detect the light reflected from the surface of the body part at the plurality of locations and determine three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations based on the detected light; and

a processor and memory operatively coupled to said detection system; and

logic stored in memory and executable by the processor, said logic including logic that references or registers the body part to medical image data based on the three-dimensional spatial positions of the plurality of locations and surface data determined from the medical image data.