Surgical navigation system
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A surgical navigation system comprising:
- a camera attached in a fixed position to a patient with a non-invasive attachment mechanism, wherein the camera has a field of view;
a surgical tool having a tip and including a tracking element readable by the camera, wherein the tracking element comprises one or more optical navigation markers, and wherein the tracking element is attached to the surgical tool such that the one or more optical navigation markers are oriented facing toward the tip of the surgical tool;
a computer processing unit comprising means for recognizing the tracking element in an image obtained by the camera and means for tracking the position of the surgical tool; and
a communication link adapted to transmit images from the camera to the computer processing unit;
wherein the field of view of the camera is pointing away from the patient.
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Abstract
A surgical navigation system is disclosed including a camera that is fixedly attached to a patient. The camera space merges with the patient space and thereby eliminates the need for a separate patient tracker. The surgical navigation system calculates the position of a surgical tool with a tracking device in view of the camera and shows on a display device the position of the surgical tool with respect to the patient superimposed and in correlation with a scan image of the patient.
189 Citations
26 Claims
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1. A surgical navigation system comprising:
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a camera attached in a fixed position to a patient with a non-invasive attachment mechanism, wherein the camera has a field of view; a surgical tool having a tip and including a tracking element readable by the camera, wherein the tracking element comprises one or more optical navigation markers, and wherein the tracking element is attached to the surgical tool such that the one or more optical navigation markers are oriented facing toward the tip of the surgical tool; a computer processing unit comprising means for recognizing the tracking element in an image obtained by the camera and means for tracking the position of the surgical tool; and a communication link adapted to transmit images from the camera to the computer processing unit; wherein the field of view of the camera is pointing away from the patient. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A surgical navigation system comprising:
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a camera assembly comprising a top side and a bottom side; a non-invasive attachment means for fixedly attaching the bottom side of the camera assembly to a patient; a camera pointing in a direction that is outwardly away from the bottom side of the camera assembly; a surgical tool having a tip and including a tracking element readable by the camera, wherein the tracking element comprises one or more optical navigation markers, and wherein the tracking element is attached to the surgical tool such that the one or more optical navigation markers are oriented facing toward the tip of the surgical tool; and a computer processing unit comprising means for determining a position of the surgical tool relative to the camera from an image obtained by the camera that includes the tracking element. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A surgical navigation system comprising:
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a camera capable of being attached in a fixed position to a patient, wherein the camera has a field of view; a surgical tool having a tip and including a tracking element readable by the camera, wherein the tracking element comprises one or more optical navigation markers, and wherein the tracking element is attached to the surgical tool such that the one or more optical navigation markers are oriented facing toward the tip of the surgical tool; a computer processing unit comprising an image recognition module for recognizing the one or more optical navigation markers in an image obtained by the camera and a tracking module for tracking the position of the surgical tool; and a communication link adapted to transmit images from the camera to the computer processing unit. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26)
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Specification