Optical And Non-Optical Sensor Tracking of a Robotically Controlled Instrument

A navigation system configured to be utilized with a robotic manipulator configured to control movement of an instrument to facilitate a surgical procedure, the navigation system comprising:

• a camera unit configured to optically track a pose of the instrument;
• a non-optical sensor coupled to the instrument;
• and
• a computing system coupled to the camera unit and being configured to obtain readings from the non-optical sensor, and the computing system being configured to:
• detect a condition whereby the camera unit is blocked from optically tracking the pose of the instrument;
• and
• in response to detection of the condition, track the pose of the instrument with the readings from the non-optical sensor.

A method of operating a navigation system including a camera unit, a non-optical sensor, and a computing system, the non-optical sensor being coupled to an instrument that is controlled by a robotic manipulator, the method comprising:

• optically tracking a pose of the instrument with the camera unit;
• detecting, with the computing system, a condition whereby the camera unit is blocked from optically tracking the pose of the instrument;
• obtaining, with the computing system, readings from the non-optical sensor;
• and
• in response to detecting the condition, the computing system tracking the pose of the instrument with the readings from the non-optical sensor.