Flexible tracking article and method of using the same

• US 7,869,861 B2
• Filed: 10/25/2002
• Issued: 01/11/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/25/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Stryker Corporation
• Original Assignee: Howmedica Leibinger Inc. (Stryker Corporation)
• Inventors: Moctezuma de la Barrera, Jose Luis, Malackowski, Donald W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Le; Long V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Cattungal; Sanjay
• Application Number:
  US10/280,835
• Publication Number:
  US 20040147839A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,000 Days
• Field of Search: 606/130, 600/424, 600/426, 600/429, 600/407, 128897-925, 378/206, 378/164, 356/247, 356/248
• US Class Current: 600/426
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00716 simulating physical properties
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/105 Modelling of the patient, e.g. for ligaments or bones
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2055 Optical tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2057 Details of tracking cameras
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2072 Reference field transducer attached to an instrument or patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3983 Reference marker arrangements for use with image guided surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis

Abstract

A method of registering an article having a surface to previously created scan data of the article includes the steps of providing a flexible substrate having multiple tracking points attached to the substrate, applying the substrate to the article to be registered, creating a model of the surface of the article from a location of each tracking point; and registering the model with the previously created scan data. A method of creating a model of a surface having a shape and an article to enable the creation of a model of a surface are also disclosed.

Claims

1. A method of registering an article having a surface to previously created scan data of the article, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a flexible substrate having multiple tracking points attached to the substrate;

applying the flexible substrate to the surface of the article to be registered;

creating a model of the surface of the article from a location of each tracking point; and

registering the location of each tracking point in the model with the previously created scan data of the article by matching the locations of the tracking points in the model to the scan data of the article within a predetermined error level.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the previously created scan data is pre-surgical scan data.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein there are at least 10 tracking points.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is used to track surgical implements using a computer assisted surgical navigation system.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the tracking points are optical.

6. The method of claim 5 wherein the tracking points are light emitting diodes.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate is adhesively applied to the article.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the article is a portion of human anatomy.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the human anatomy is forehead and nose.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein there are at least 25 tracking points.

11. The method of claim 1 including the additional step of trimming the flexible substrate to fit the article without deactivating any tracking points remaining attached to the flexible substrate.

12. A method of creating a model of a surface of a patient, wherein the surface has a shape, the method comprising the steps of:

providing a flexible substrate having multiple tracking points attached to the substrate;

attaching the flexible substrate to the surface;

determining a location for each tracking point using a surgical navigation system; and

calculating the shape of the surface from the locations of the tracking points relative to each other.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein there are at least 10 tracking points.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the method is used to track surgical implements using a computer assisted surgical navigation system.

15. The method of claim 12 wherein the tracking points are optical.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein the tracking points are light emitting diodes.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein the substrate is adhesively applied to the article.

18. The method of claim 12 wherein the article is a portion of human anatomy.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein the human anatomy is a forehead and nose.

20. The method of claim 12 wherein there are at least 25 tracking points.

21. The method of claim 12 including the additional step of trimming the flexible substrate to fit the surface without deactivating any tracking points remaining attached to the flexible substrate.