US 5,359,417 A · Surgical microscope for conducting computer-supported stereotactic microsurgery and a method for operating the same

Abstract

A defined determination of the field of view observed through a surgical microscope is made. To achieve this determination, the relative current position of the plane of the field of view to the position of an object detail of interest is detected in a sighting method with the aid of a position detection system operating according to the laser triangulation principle. As soon as the plane of the field of view and the object detail are coincident, then with the aid of detected optical system data, the position of the object detail with reference to the surgical microscope is determined and, with the detected coordinates of the surgical microscope, the position of the field of view is determined in space. The position detecting system required for this purpose operates on an optical basis and can be integrated into the optics of the surgical microscope.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A surgical microscope arrangement for computer-supported stereotactic microsurgery, the arrangement comprising:

a surgical stereomicroscope having an optical system defining two viewing beam paths for viewing an object defining an object plane;
detector means for monitoring said optical system to obtain a first signal indicative of the setting of said optical system;
an optical position detection system integrated into said optical system for detecting the position of said object plane and for supplying a second signal indicative of said position;
process control means for processing said first and second signals and supplying an output signal;
and,
an image-processing unit for converting the output signal of said process control means into display signals for providing a graphic display.

3 more elements

A method of operating a surgical microscope arrangement for computer-supported stereotactic microsurgery, the arrangement including a surgical stereomicroscope having an optical system with two viewing beam paths for viewing a detail of an object defining an object detail plane passing through said object detail, and the method comprising the steps of:

continuously determining the spatial coordinates and the orientation of said surgical stereomicroscope and supplying a first signal indicative thereof to a process control unit having an output;
continuously detecting the current position of said object plane via an optical position detection system and supplying a second signal indicative thereof to said process control unit;
applying the output of said process control unit to an image-processing unit for converting the output into display signals graphically displaying said current position of said object detail plane on a TV-display as a first display;
graphically displaying the current position of the plane of the field of view observed through the surgical stereomicroscope on said TV-display as a second display via said process-control unit and said image-processing unit;
focusing or defocusing said optical system of said surgical stereomicroscope to bring said first and second displays into overlapping alignment with each other;
determining the optical system data of said optical system utilizing detectors monitoring said optical system and supplying a third signal indicative thereof to said process control unit;
determining the position of said object detail plane relative to said surgical stereomicroscope with the aid of said optical system data;
and,
determining the spatial coordinates of said object detail plane from the following:
the coordinates of said object detail plane relative to said surgical stereomicroscope, said spatial coordinates of said surgical stereomicroscope and said orientation of said surgical stereomicroscope after a coordinate transformation.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Surgical microscope for conducting computer-supported stereotactic microsurgery and a method for operating the same

Life of this patent

Surgical microscope for conducting computer-supported stereotactic microsurgery and a method for operating the same

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims14