Patent · US Expired

Trajectory storage apparatus and method for surgical navigation systems

US6920347B2 · kind B2 · utility

575Cited by
426References
69Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJun 21, 2002
Grant dateJul 19, 2005
Priority date
Expiry dateJul 31, 2023

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
  • CPC primaryA61B2090/378
  • WIPO fieldMedical technology
  • WIPO sectorInstruments

Abstract

Apparatus and methods are disclosed for use within an image-guided surgical navigation system for the storage and measurement of trajectories for surgical instruments. An icon representing the real-time trajectory of a tracked instrument is overlaid on one or more pre-acquired images of the patient. At the surgeon's command, the navigation system can store multiple trajectories of the instrument and create a static icon representing each saved trajectory for display. The surgeon may also measure a planar angle between any two trajectories. The angle is computed in the plane of the image, and therefore will be computed separately for each image displayed. Furthermore, the surgeon has the option of computing and displaying the three-dimensional distance between two points defined by any two trajectories.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.