System and method for lidar-based anatomical mapping

An apparatus for positioning a surgical tool, the apparatus comprising:

• a LIDAR scanner;
• a display screen;
• and
• one or more processors configured to:
• receive data from the LIDAR scanner of a surface;
• identify one or more landmarks based on the received data by applying one or more trained neural networks or machine learning models;
• generate a surface map of the surface based on at least the data from the LIDAR scanner;
• determine an insertion point for the surgical tool based at least on the surface map and one or more diagnostic images;
• and
• generate an indication of the insertion point on the display screen.

A method for guiding a surgical tool or a medical device into a subject, the method comprising:

• receiving, by one or more processors, scanning data from a LIDAR scanner, the scanning data corresponding to a surface at a desired location;
• identifying, by the one or more processors, one or more landmarks based on the received scanning data by applying one or more trained neural networks or machine learning models;
• generating, by the one or more processors, a map of the surface of the desired location of the subject;
• correlating, by the one or more processors, the map with one or more diagnostic images of at least the desired location of the subject;
• determining, by the one or more processors, an entry point for insertion of the surgical tool or the medical device based on the correlation;
• and
• presenting, by the one or more processors, for display an output indicative of the entry point.