Image Overlay Method for Nerve Monitoring Systems

A system for visualizing a surgical site within the brain of a patient, including identifying and keeping track of nerves within the brain, said system comprising:

• a nerve monitoring system comprising a tool operable to stimulate a nerve within the brain, a response sensor operable to detect stimulation of the nerve, and a nerve monitoring control system for receiving signals from the response sensor indicative of stimulation of the nerve by the tool and providing a signal to an operator or to the fluoroscopic image processing system;
• an image processing system and display screen, wherein said image processing system is operable to generate fluoroscopic images and display fluoroscopic images on said display screen, including a fluoroscopic image of the tool within the brain;
• the image processing system being interoperable with the nerve monitoring system to correlate the fluoroscopic image of the tool with a signal from the response sensor indicative of stimulation of the nerve by the tool;
• wherein the image processing system is configured to generate a screen element corresponding to the location of the image of the tool on the display screen when input from the nerve monitoring system or input from an operator indicates that the tool has stimulated the nerve and display said screen element on the display screen at a location on the display screen corresponding to the location of the image of the tool.