System and method of registration of three-dimensional data sets including anatomical body data

A surgical image registration system comprising:

• a first storage device for storing three-dimensional anatomy image data associated with a predetermined portion of a patient's body with reference to a first coordinate frame;
• a surface scanning unit for scanning the skin surface of said predetermined portion of the patient's body so as to obtain three-dimensional surface image data;
• a second storage device for storing said three-dimensional surface image data with reference to a second coordinate frame;
• and
• an image data processor operable for registering said anatomy image data and said surface image data to produce a matched image data set in which said first coordinate frame is relatively aligned with said second coordinate frame.

A method of registering three-dimensional image data sets in a surgical imaging system, comprising:

• storing three-dimensional anatomy image data associated with a predetermined portion of a patient's body with reference to a first coordinate frame;
• scanning the skin surface of said predetermined portion of the patient's body so as to obtain three-dimensional surface image data;
• storing said three-dimensional surface image data with reference to a second coordinate frame;
• registering said anatomy data and said surface image data to produce a matched image data set in which said first coordinate frame is relatively aligned with said second coordinate frame;
• generating a real-time image of said predetermined portion of the patient's body relative to a third coordinate frame;
• and
• producing an output image corresponding to a combination of said matched image data set and said real-time image.

A method of registering image data, comprising the steps of:

• storing a first data set of three-dimensional image data associated with a predetermined portion of an object with reference to a first coordinate frame;
• obtaining and storing a second data set of three-dimensional image data associated with a surface of said predetermined portion of said object with reference to a second coordinate frame;
• and
• registering said first data set and said second data set to generate a matched image data set in which said first coordinate frame is relatively aligned with said second coordinate frame, wherein
• said registering comprises:
• generating a first data set of image data with reference to a first coordinate frame;
• generating a second data set of image data with reference to a second coordinate frame;
• selecting a predetermined subset of data points from said first data set;
• matching said subset of data points to all possible corresponding subsets of data points associated with said second data set and producing a set of hypothesized transformation data sets;
• and
• sequentially mapping said second data set to each of said hypothesized transformation data sets to form a solution data set, said solution data set representative of a highly accurate transformation of said second data into the first coordinate frame associated with said first data set, wherein
• said sequential mapping further comprises performing a least-squares minimization between said first and second data sets, and randomly perturbing said solution data set and repeating said least-squares minimization in order to avoid local minima and solve for a global minima.

A method of registering three-dimensional data sets, comprising:

• generating a first data set of image data with reference to a first coordinate frame;
• generating a second data set of image data with reference to a second coordinate frame;
• selecting a predetermined subset of data points from said first data set;
• matching said subset of data points to all possible corresponding subsets of data points associated with said second data set and producing a set of hypothesized transformation data sets;
• and
• sequentially mapping said second data set to each of said hypothesized transformation data sets to form a solution data set, said solution data set representative of a highly accurate transformation of said second data into the first coordinate frame associated with said first data set, wherein
• said sequential mapping further comprises performing a least-squares minimization between said first and second data sets, and randomly perturbing said solution data set and repeating said least-squares minimization in order to avoid local minima and solve for a global minima.

A system for registering three-dimensional data sets, comprising:

• means for generating a first data set of image data with reference to a first coordinate frame;
• means for generating a second data set of image data with reference to a second coordinate frame;
• means for selecting a predetermined subset of data points from said first data set;
• means for matching said subset of data points to all possible corresponding subsets of data points associated with said second data set and producing a set of hypothesized transformation data sets;
• and
• means for sequentially mapping said second data set to each of said hypothesized transformation data sets to form a solution data set, said solution data set representative of a highly accurate transformation of said second data into the first coordinate frame associated with said first data set, wherein
• said sequential mapping means further comprises means for performing a least-squares minimization between said first and second data sets, and means for randomly perturbing said solution data set and repeating said least-squares minimization in order to avoid local minima and solve for a global minima.

An image data registration system comprising:

• an image data storage unit for storing a first data set of three-dimensional image data associated with a predetermined portion of an object with reference to a first coordinate frame;
• an image data acquisition and storage device for obtaining and storing a second data set of three-dimensional image data associated with a surface of said predetermined portion of said object with reference to a second coordinate frame;
• and
• an image data processor for registering said first and second data sets to generate a matched image data set in which said first coordinate frame is relatively aligned with said second coordinate frame, wherein said image data processor comprises:
• means for generating a first data set of image data with reference to a first coordinate frame;
• means for generating a second data set of image data with reference to a second coordinate frame;
• means for selecting a predetermined subset of data points from said first data set;
• means for matching said subset of data points to all possible corresponding subsets of data points associated with said second data set and producing a set of hypothesized transformation data sets;
• and
• means for sequentially mapping said second data set to each of said hypothesized transformation data sets to form a solution data set, said solution data set representative of a highly accurate transformation of said second data into the first coordinate frame associated with said first data set, wherein
• said sequential mapping means further comprises means for performing a least-squares minimization between said first and second data sets, and means for randomly perturbing said solution data set and repeating said least-squares minimization in order to avoid local minima and solve for a global minima.