Orthopedic Navigation System with Sensorized Devices

• US 20110160583A1
• Filed: 10/08/2010
• Published: 06/30/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Howmedica Osteonics Corp. (Stryker Corporation)
• Original Assignee: OrthoSensor, Inc (Stryker Corporation)
• Inventors: Mclntosh, Jason, Roche, Martin, Boillot, Marc
• Granted Patent: US 9,011,448 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/438
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2048 using an accelerometer or inertia sensor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2063 Acoustic tracking systems, e.g. using ultrasound
• 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 8/56 Details of data transmission or power supply
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/565 involving data transmission via a network
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 8/58 Testing, adjusting or calibrating the diagnostic device

Abstract

A low-cost and compact electronic device toolset is provided for orthopedic assisted navigation. The toolset comprises wireless sensorized devices that communicate directly with one another. A computer workstation is an optional component for further visualization. The sensorized devices are constructed with low-cost transducers and are self-powered. The toolset is disposable and incurs less hospital maintenance and overhead. As one example, the toolset reports anatomical alignment during a surgical workflow procedure. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Claims

1. A surgical orthopedic alignment system comprising:

a receiver coupling to a bone of the muscular-skeletal system; and

a wand ultrasonically coupled to the receiver to determine alignment of the muscular-skeletal system where the wand and receiver assess and report alignment and where points of interest are registered and tracked in three-dimensional space.

2. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 1 where the assessment of the alignment occurs within a sterile field of an operating room.

3. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 2 where the receiver comprises a plurality of ultrasonic transducers to support capture of time of flight and phase difference measurements corresponding to muscular-skeletal alignment.

4. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 3 where the receiver further includes a controller operatively coupled to the plurality of transducers for assessing and reporting alignment.

5. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 4 where the receiver further includes an accelerometer to identify orientation.

6. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 5 further including an attachment mechanism to couple the receiver to a bone of the muscular-skeletal system.

7. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 2 where the wand comprises:

a plurality of ultrasonic transducers to support capture of time of flight and phase difference measurements; and

a tip corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers to identify and register the points of interest.

8. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 7 where the wand is held by hand to identify and register points of interest.

9. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 7 where the wand is coupled to a fixture in a predetermined stationary position within the sterile field after points of interests have been registered.

10. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 1 where the wand and receiver are disposable.

11. The orthopedic alignment system of claim 1 where a graphical user interface indicating alignment resides on the wand or the receiver.

12. A disposable tool suitable for use in orthopedic alignment, the tool comprising:

a receiver coupled to a cutting jig; and

a wand ultrasonically coupled to the receiver to register points of interest on a first and a second bone and transmit location data related to the points of interest to the receiver to assess a position of the cutting jig in relation to the orthopedic alignment of the first bone and second bone using the points of interest.

13. The disposable tool of claim 12 where the wand and the receiver assesse and report alignment and where points of interest are registered and tracked in three-dimensional space within a sterile space of an operating room.

14. The disposable tool of claim 12, where the receiver communicates with an intra-operative load sensor inserted between a tibia bone and a femur bone during surgery to determine cutting jig parameters for proper balance and alignment.

15. The disposable tool of claim 12, where the receiver and the wand communicate directly with one another via wireless RF signaling, synchronized clocks, or optical/ultrasonic pulse signaling.

16. The disposable tool of claim 12, where the receiver communicates with a laptop via a wireless connection to report and visually display alignment information in real-time.

17. A method of intra-operative alignment of a femur and tibia comprising the steps of:

affixing a receiver to a the distal end of the femur;

registering a center of the distal end of the femur with a wand that is ultrasonically coupled with the receiver;

placing the wand having a stationary line of sight position to the receiver;

rotating the femur; and

identifying points in 3D space corresponding to the femur rotation with time of flight and delta time of flight ultrasonic measurements between the wand and the receiver.

18. The method of intra-operative alignment of claim 17 further including a step of processing the time of flight and delta time of flight ultrasonic measurements with a processor in one of the wand or receiver.

19. The method of intra-operative alignment of claim 18 further including the steps of:

performing a least means square operation from spherical surface points generated by the femur rotation; and

estimating a radius and center of the femur rotation that corresponds to the center of the femoral head.

20. The method of intra-operative alignment of claim 17 further including the steps of:

registering an ankle center with the wand;

registering a proximal end of a tibia center with the wand; and

identifying a mechanical axis to be used in making bone cuts for prosthetic components where the wand and the receiver assesses and reports alignment of the femur and tibia.