System and method for 3-D tracking of surgical instrument in relation to patient body

摘要

A system and method for tracking the three-dimensional position and orientation of a surgical instrument as the instrument is being utilized within the interior of a patient body. A stereoscopic camera system generates a stereoscopic image of the patient body which is subsequently rendered on a display device. A wireless signal transmitted by an electromagnetic field generator is received by a sensor on the surgical instrument. Utilizing this sensor data, a processor calculates the position and orientation of the surgical instrument and then superimposes upon the rendered stereoscopic image of the patient body a graphical representation indicative of the position and orientation of the surgical instrument.

主权项

1. A method for tracking the three-dimensional position of a flexible surgical instrument while the instrument is being utilized within a patient body during a surgery, comprising the steps of:
providing a flexible surgical instrument; capturing a stereoscopic image of an exterior of the patient body during the surgery; wirelessly determining the three-dimensional position of the patient body relative to a first reference point; wirelessly determining the three-dimensional position of the flexible surgical instrument disposed within the patient body relative to the first reference point; calculating the three-dimensional position of the flexible surgical instrument disposed within the patient body relative to the patient body; obtaining a graphical representation of the flexible surgical instrument disposed within the patient body; superimposing the graphical representation of the flexible surgical instrument disposed within the patient body and its three-dimensional position upon the captured stereoscopic image of the exterior of the patient body; and displaying the stereoscopic image of the exterior of the patient body and the graphical representation of the flexible surgical instrument on a display device, wherein the step of displaying the stereoscopic image of the exterior of the patient body on the display device comprises displaying two 2-D graphical representations of the exterior of the patient body taken from significantly different perspectives, and the step of superimposing a graphical representation of the flexible surgical instrument upon the stereoscopic image comprises graphically displaying the graphical representation of the flexible surgical instrument on each of the two graphical representations of the exterior of the patient body so that a user can determine the location of the flexible surgical instrument within the patient body.