Method of determining the position of the articular point of a joint
US7209776B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Dec 3, 2002 |
| Grant date | Apr 24, 2007 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 13, 2024 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2090/3945
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A non-invasive method for determining the articular point of a joint is disclosed. The method uses a surgical navigation system having a stereoscopic cameras which tracks the positions of infrared emitting or reflecting markers attached to appendages on either side of the joint. A movable marker is used to palpate known landmarks on the appendages to determine their positions. The appendages are moved to determine the trajectories of the landmarks relative to the joint. Positional information from the cameras is fed to a data processing system with resident software which uses the positional information and trajectories to mathematically determine the position of the joint articular point according to the laws of kinematics.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.