System and methods for tracking robotically controlled medical instruments

• US 9,710,921 B2
• Filed: 03/19/2015
• Issued: 07/18/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 03/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Auris Health, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Hansen Medical Incorporated (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Wong, Serena, Walker, Sean, Park, June, Hsu, Jason, Murthy, Kiran, Tanner, Neal
• Primary Examiner(s): Vu, Kim
• Assistant Examiner(s): Delaney, Molly
• Application Number:
  US14/663,021
• Publication Number:
  US 20150193946A1
• Time in Patent Office: 852 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/00 Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets A61B18/00 takes precedence; contraceptive devices, pessaries, or applicators therefor A61F6/00; eye surgery A61F9/007; ear surgery A61F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00212 using remote controls
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/105 Modelling of the patient, e.g. for ligaments or bones
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2059 Mechanical position encoders
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2061 using shape-sensors, e.g. fiber shape sensors with Bragg gratings
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/301 for introducing or steering flexible instruments inserted into the body, e.g. catheters or endoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3735 Optical coherence tomography [OCT]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3782 transmitter or receiver in catheter or minimal invasive instrument
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/3966 Radiopaque markers visible in an X-ray image
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/37 Master-slave robots A61B34/35 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 90/39 Markers, e.g. radio-opaque or breast lesions markers
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2207/30004 Biomedical image processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 7/248 involving reference images or patches

Abstract

Systems and methods are described herein for tracking an elongate instrument or other medical instrument in an image.

Claims

1. A method of registering an elongate instrument of a robotic drive system to a fluoroscopy image of an anatomy of a patient, the method comprising:

mounting a splayer to a robotic manipulator of a robotic drive system, the splayer operatively connected to a proximal end of an elongate instrument;

tracking a location of the splayer of the robotic drive system using one or more splayer sensors coupled to the splayer, wherein a location of the elongate instrument with respect to the splayer is known;

tracking a position of a patient;

comparing a splayer reference frame to a patient reference frame to generate a registration of the splayer to the patient;

comparing the patient reference frame to a fluoroscopy reference frame to generate a registration of the patient to the fluoroscopy image; and

determining a location of the elongate instrument in the fluoroscopy image of the anatomy, based on the registration of the patient to the fluoroscopy image, the registration of the splayer to the patient, and the known location of the elongate instrument with respect to the splayer.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more splayer sensors comprises an electromagnetic sensor.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more splayer sensors comprises a fiber sensor.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the location of the tool in the fluoroscopy image of the patient'"'"'s anatomy.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein displaying the location comprises overlaying localization data related to the tool on the fluoroscopy image.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a user input via a input device coupled to a controller, wherein the input device and the controller are part of the robotic drive system; and

using the location of the tool in the fluoroscopy image to permit intuitive driving of the tool using the robotic drive system.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the tool includes at least one optical fiber, and wherein a registration of a shape sensor to the tool is fixed.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising matching a curved shape of the tool determined by the fiber with a corresponding shape in the fluoroscopic image.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the matching step comprises using an algorithm that is one of an automated geometric search or a mathematical optimization technique.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluoroscopic image is one of a pre-operative anatomical image or an intra-operative image.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the tool includes at least one electro-magnetic sensor, and wherein a registration of a shape sensor to the tool is fixed.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the fluoroscopic image comprises a fluoroscopic model of a blood vessel, comprising multiple fluoroscopic images.

13. The method of claim 1, further comprising comparing a robotic drive system reference frame to a fluoroscopic imaging device reference frame to generate a registration of the robotic drive system to the fluoroscopic imaging device.

14. A method of registering a tool of a robotic drive system to a fluoroscopy image of an anatomy of a patient, the method comprising:

tracking a location of a splayer of the robotic drive system using one or more splayer sensors coupled to the splayer, wherein a location of the tool with respect to the splayer is known;

tracking a position of a patient;

comparing a splayer reference frame to a patient reference frame to generate a registration of the splayer to the patient;

comparing the patient reference frame to a fluoroscopy reference frame to generate a registration of the patient to the fluoroscopy image; and

displaying a location of the tool in the fluoroscopy image of the anatomy, based on the registration of the table to the fluoroscopy image, the registration of the splayer to the patient, and the known location of the tool with respect to the splayer,

wherein the splayer is mounted to a robotic manipulator of a robotic drive system, the splayer operatively connected to a proximal end of an elongate instrument.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the one or more splayer sensors comprises an electromagnetic sensor.

16. The method of claim 14, wherein at least one of the one or more splayer sensors comprises a fiber sensor.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the fluoroscopic image is one of a pre-operative anatomical image or an intra-operative image.

18. The method of claim 14, wherein the tool includes at least one electro-magnetic sensor, and wherein a registration of a shape sensor to the tool is fixed.

19. The method of claim 14, wherein the fluoroscopic image comprises a fluoroscopic model of a blood vessel, comprising multiple fluoroscopic images.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising comparing a robotic drive system reference frame to a fluoroscopic imaging device reference frame to generate a registration of the robotic drive system to the fluoroscopic imaging device.