Surgical Registration Instrument With Material Characterization Capabilities
AssigneeStryker European Operations Limited
InventorsStephen Faul, Bruce McKee, Jonathan Mark Morgan, Kevin Buckley, David Eustace
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Abstract
A surgical system includes a navigation system with a localizer and a surgical instrument having a body, a shaft with a distal tip for contacting material associated with an anatomy, and a tracking device detectable by the localizer. The shaft houses first and second conductors, insulated from each other, extending to the distal tip. One or more controllers are configured to transmit a variable-frequency signal across the conductors, measure impedance of the material based on the signal, and characterize the material type based on the measured impedance.
Claims20
A surgical system comprising:
- a navigation system comprising a localizer;
- and
- a surgical instrument comprising:
- a body;
- a tracking device coupled to the body and being configured to be detected by the localizer of the navigation system;
- and
- a shaft coupled to the body and comprising a distal tip configured to contact a material associated with an anatomy;
- a first conductor extending along the shaft to the distal tip;
- and
- a second conductor being insulated from the first conductor and extending along the shaft to the distal tip;
- and
- one or more controllers coupled to the first and second conductors and being configured to:
- command, across the first and second conductors, transmission of a signal having a variable frequency;
- based on the signal, measure an impedance of the material as the distal tip is contacting the material;
- and
- characterize a type of the material based on the measured impedance.
A surgical instrument comprising:
- a body;
- a tracking device coupled to the body and being configured to be detected by a navigation system;
- a shaft coupled to the body and comprising a distal tip configured to contact a material associated with an anatomy;
- one or more controllers coupled to the body;
- a first conductor coupled to the one or more controllers and extending along the shaft to the distal tip;
- and
- a second conductor coupled to the one or more controllers, being insulated from the first conductor, and extending along the shaft to the distal tip;
- and
- wherein the one or more controllers are configured to:
- command, across the first and second conductors, transmission of a signal having a variable frequency;
- based on the signal, measure an impedance of the material as the distal tip is contacting the material;
- and
- characterize a type of the material based on the measured impedance.
A method of operating a surgical system, the surgical system including a navigation system with a localizer, a surgical instrument including a body, a tracking device coupled to the body, a shaft coupled to the body and including a distal tip, a first conductor extending along the shaft to the distal tip;
- a second conductor being insulated from the first conductor and extending along the shaft to the distal tip;
- and one or more controllers coupled to the first and second conductors, the method comprising:
- detecting, with the localizer of the navigation system, the tracking device of the surgical instrument for determining a position of the distal tip of the surgical instrument as the distal tip is contacting a material associated with an anatomy;
- and
- the one or more controllers:
- commanding, across the first and second conductors, transmission of a signal having a variable frequency;
- based on the signal, measuring an impedance of the material while the distal tip is contacting the material;
- and
- characterizing a type of the material based on the measured impedance.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.