System for providing probe trace fiducial-free tracking
AssigneeX-Nav Technologies, LLC
InventorScott A. Merritt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A method for referencing a tracking system's coordinate frame to a rigid body's coordinate frame is disclosed. The method involves obtaining a 3D model depicting some of the surfaces of the rigid body. A probe is provided with an affixed tracking reference component. A second tracking reference component is attached to the rigid body. The method involves tracking locations of the probe as it moves along surfaces of the rigid body and then determining a transform that relates the probe locations to the 3D model of the rigid body. In one embodiment the rigid body is a dental mandible or maxilla of a patient and the 3D model is a surface extracted from a computed tomography image of the patient's jaw and teeth.
Claims16
A method for referencing a tracking system's coordinate frame to a rigid body's coordinate frame, comprising the steps of:
- providing a 3D model depicting some of the surfaces of the rigid body;
- providing a probe with an affixed tracking reference component;
- providing a rigidly affixed tracking reference component on the rigid body;
- tracking locations of the probe as it moves along surfaces of the rigid body;
- and
- determining a transform that relates the probe locations to the 3D model of the rigid body.
A method for referencing a tracking system's coordinate frame to a rigid body's coordinate frame, comprising the steps of:
- providing a 3D data set depicting some of the surfaces of the rigid body;
- providing a probe with an affixed tracking reference component;
- providing a rigidly affixed tracking reference component on the rigid body;
- providing an initial transform that approximately relates the probe locations to the 3D data set of the rigid body;
- tracking locations of the probe as it moves along surfaces of the rigid body;
- visually depicting the probe location in relation to the 3D dataset;
- providing a plurality of estimates of the error between a given probe location and a portion of the surfaces in the 3D dataset;
- and
- determining a transform that relates the probe locations to the 3D model of the rigid body.
A method for referencing a tracking system's coordinate frame to a rigid body's coordinate frame, comprising the steps of:
- a. providing a computer display;
- b. displaying on the display a 3D data set depicting multiple surfaces of the rigid body, the rigid body including a person's oral cavity and at least some of the surfaces corresponding to the person's teeth or jawbone;
- c. providing a probe with an affixed tracking reference component, the probe having a probe tip;
- d. providing a rigidly affixed tracking reference component on the rigid body;
- e. receiving a signal when the probe tip is placed against a surface of the multiple surfaces;
- f. depicting on the display an approximate first location of the probe and probe tip on the 3D data set of the rigid body based on an initial transform;
- g. generating a line on the display that is orthogonal to the first location of the probe tip;
- h. receiving a signal to move the line relative to the 3D data set to a second location which corresponds to the depicted location in the 3D data set of an image corresponding to the surface of the multiple surfaces;
- i. determining an error value corresponding to the difference in location of the first and second locations and storing the error value;
- j. receiving a signal when the probe tip is placed against another surface of the multiple surfaces and repeating steps f through i;
- and
- k. determining a transform from the error values that relates the probe locations to the 3D model of the rigid body.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.