Device and process for calibrating geometrical measurements of surgical tools and orienting the same in space

• US 7,726,171 B2
• Filed: 09/15/2004
• Issued: 06/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/15/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: AO Technology AG (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: AO Technology AG (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Rohrer, Urs, Langlotz, Frank
• Primary Examiner(s): Williams; Hezron
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fayyaz; Nashmiya S.
• Application Number:
  US11/575,246
• Publication Number:
  US 20070276357A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,085 Days
• Field of Search: 73/17.9, 606/1
• US Class Current: 73/1.79
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00725 Calibration or performance testing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/207 Divots for calibration
• 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 90/36 Image-producing devices or illumination devices not otherwise provided for

Abstract

A device (1) for calibrating geometrical measurements of surgical tools (10) as well as for orienting the same in space, including: A) a docking station (2) having two jaws (3) and a surface (21); and B) at least three marking indicators (9) firmly attached to the docking station (2) and capable of being measured, in reference to their position in space, electromagnetically or acoustically through a position detecting device (14), where C) the jaws (3) each have a lateral wall (40) so that the surface (21) and the lateral walls (21) of the two jaws (3) enclose a U-shaped passage (18), where D) the two jaws are conformed in a cylindrical or double conical manner; and E) the two lateral walls (40) or the surface (21) present a form comprising at least two additional contact points for a surgical tool (10) inserted between the jaws (3) across its longitudinal axis (11).

Claims

1. A device (1) for calibrating geometrical measurements of surgical tools (10) and orienting the same in space, the device (1) comprising:

A) a docking station (2) having two fixed jaws (3) and a surface (21); and

B) at least three marking indicators (9) arranged on the docking station (2) in a fixed manner, said at least three marking indicators (9) being measurable in reference to spatial position electromagnetically or acoustically through a position detector (14) in order to determine the position and orientation of the device (1) in space,

C) wherein the two jaws (3) extend perpendicularly from the surface and are locked to the docking station (2) in an immovable manner and thus remain stationary with respect to the surface (21) of the docking station (2) such that the surface (21) and lateral walls (40) of the two jaws (3) define a passage (18) for receiving a surgical tool;

D) wherein the two jaws (3) are, at least on surface portions opposite to each other, conformed in a round cylindrical, hyperboloid or double-cone shaped fashion such that a surgical tool (10) can be laid down between the two jaws (3) so as to make contact with at least one contact point of each of the two jaws (3) across a longitudinal axis (11) of the surgical tool (10),

E) wherein the device (1) further comprises a rotary table (6) placed within the surface (21) of the docking station and having two clamping jaws (5) mounted above the surface (21), the rotary table (6) having an axis of rotation (25) that extends vertically from the surface (21) such that the clamping jaws can be rotated with the table to hold the surgical tool; and

F) wherein the two lateral walls (40) or the surface (21) or the rotary table (6) have a form comprising at least two additional points of contact for contacting a surgical tool (10) inserted between the two fixed jaws (3) across a longitudinal axis (11) of the surgical tool (10), so as allow a lateral docking, defined with respect to the marking indicators (9), of the surgical tool (10).

2. The device (1) according to claim 1, wherein each of the two fixed jaws (3) are, at least on the surface portions opposite to each other, conformed in double-cone shaped fashion and comprise, in an axially central point, a V-shaped indentation (13), and wherein the two fixed jaws (3) each have a central axis (24) defined by centers of circles or partial circles in cross-sections of the double-cone shaped surface portions of the two fixed jaws.

3. The device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the V-shaped indentations (13) of the two fixed jaws (3) have a depth T and are conformed in a manner aligned to each other.

4. The device (1) according to claim 3, wherein an angle α

between a reference straight line (4) that penetrates the lateral walls (40) in the V-shaped indentations (13) of the fixed two jaws at the depth T and passes through the central axes (24) of the two fixed jaws and a longitudinal axis (11) of a docked surgical tool (10) is α

<

90°

.

5. The device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the device additionally comprises positioning means (30) to position front ends (31) of different surgical tools (10) with respect to the docking station (2).

6. The device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the fixed jaws (3) have a distance from each other of between 100 mm and 300 mm.

7. The device (1) according to claim 2, wherein the central axes (24) of the two fixed jaws (3) are parallel to each other.

8. The device (1) according to claim 1, wherein a torsion spring (26) arranged on the docking station (2) biases the rotary table (6) in a first rotating direction (27) around the axis of rotation (25).

9. The device (1) according to claim 8, wherein the rotary table (6) can be moved through an operating element (8) against the force of the spring in a second direction of rotation around the axis of rotation (25).

10. The device (1) according to claim 8, wherein the clamping jaws (5) are arranged on the rotary table (6) so as to be centrally penetrated by a straight line (7) crossing the axis of rotation (25).

11. The device (1) according to claim 10, wherein rotation of the rotary table (6) in the first rotating direction (27), causes an angle β

between the straight line (7) and the reference straight line (4) to be reduced, so that the surgical tool (10) inserted between the two fixed jaws (3) can be pressed against the two fixed jaws (3).

12. The device (1) according to claim 9, wherein a toothed-wheel gearing (29) is arranged between the operating element (8) and the rotary table (6).

13. The device (1) according to claim 5, wherein the positioning means (30) comprise depressions (32) having geometries differing from each other.

14. The device (1) according to claim 13, wherein the depressions (32) have different cross sectional surfaces.

15. The device (1) according to claim 1, wherein the surface (21) is conformed in a flat manner and the two fixed jaws (3) are, at least on the surface portions opposite each other, conformed in the round cylindrical fashion.

16. A process for calibrating geometrical measurements of surgical tools (10) as well as for orienting the same in space, comprising the following steps:

A) inserting a surgical tool (10) into a U-shaped passage (18), formed by a surface (21) of a docking station (2) and two round cylindrical or double cone-shaped jaws (3) that are fixed to the docking station (2);

B) rotating the surgical tool (10) so that an angle α

, which is defined between a longitudinal axis (11) of the surgical tool (10) and by a reference straight line (4) defined by the shape of the two jaws (3) or the shape of the two jaws (3) and the surface (21), is reduced to the point that a mantle surface of the surgical tool (10) comes to rest against lateral walls (40) of the two jaws (3) at an orientation defined by the form of the two jaws (3), or the form of the two jaws (3) and the surface (21);

C) pressing the surgical tool (10) against the two jaws (3) by means of clamping jaws (5) arranged on a rotary table (6) placed within the surface (21) of the docking station and having the two clamping jaws (5) mounted above the surface (21), the rotary table (6) having an axis of rotation (25) that extends vertically from the surface (21) such that the clamping jaws can be rotated with the table to hold the surgical tool;

D) measuring a spatial position of marking indicators (9) fastened to the docking station (2) and to the surgical tool (10), through a position detector (14);

E) determining the angle α

from the measured positions of the marking indicators (9) fastened to the docking station (2) and to the surgical tool (10) through a computer (16); and

F) determining a diameter extending vertically to central axes (24) of the two fixed jaws (3) or a width of the surgical tool (10) from the measured angle α and

the known geometry of the two fixed jaws (3) with respect to the marking indicators (9) on the docking station (2) through a computer (16).

17. The process according to claim 16, further comprising the following steps:

G) inserting a front end (31) of the surgical tool (10) into a depression (32) provided on the docking station (2), where a position of a bottom of the depression (32) with respect to the marking indicators (9) on the docking station (2) is known; and

H) determining the spatial position of the front end (31) of the surgical tool (10) from the measured positions of the marking indicators (9) fastened to the docking station (2) and to the surgical tool (10) through the computer (16).