Surgical navigation
AssigneeBritish Telecommunications public limited company
InventorsJohn Stuart Bladen, Alan Patrick Anderson
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Methods and apparatus are provided for locating the position, preferably in three dimensions, of a sensor by generating magnetic fields which are detected at the sensor. The magnetic fields are generated from a plurality of locations and, in one embodiment of the invention, enable both the orientation and location of a single coil sensor to be determined. The present invention thus finds application in many areas where the use of prior art sensors comprising two or more mutually perpendicular coils is inappropriate.
Claims52
A surgical navigation apparatus for navigating a surgical instrument during a medical procedure, said surgical navigation apparatus comprising:
- an input for receiving signals from an electromagnetic, sensor associated with the surgical instrument;
- a first magnetic field source configured to radiate a first magnetic field into an anatomical body during the medical procedure to be detected by said electromagnetic sensor, said first magnetic field source positioned at a first fixed and known location on a plane surface;
- a second magnetic field source configured to radiate a second magnetic field into the anatomical body during the medical procedure to be detected by said electromagnetic sensor, said second magnetic field source positioned at a second fixed and known location on the plane surface;
- a third magnetic field source configured to radiate a third magnetic field into the anatomical body during the medical procedure to be detected by said electromagnetic sensor, said third magnetic field source positioned at a third fixed and known location on the plane surface;
- and
- a processor associated with said input for receiving from said electromagnetic sensor signals indicative of said first, second, and third magnetic fields and for calculating based on the output of the electromagnetic sensor, both a location and an orientation of said electromagnetic sensor associated with the surgical instrument as a function of said first, second, and third magnetic fields detected by said electromagnetic sensor during the medical procedure.
A surgical navigation apparatus for navigating a medical instrument during a medical procedure, said surgical navigation apparatus comprising:
- an electromagnetic sensor associated with the medical instrument;
- a first field source configured to radiate a first magnetic field into an anatomical body during the medical procedure to be detected by said electromagnetic sensor, said first field source including at least a first sensing coil positioned at a first fixed and known location on a plane surface;
- a second field source configured to radiate a second magnetic field into the anatomical body during the medical procedure to be detected by said electromagnetic sensor, said second field source including at least a second sensing coil positioned at a second fixed and known location on the plane surface;
- a third field source configured to radiate a third magnetic field into the anatomical body during the medical procedure to be detected by said electromagnetic sensor, said third field source including at least a third sensing coil positioned at a third fixed and known location on the plane surface;
- and
- a processor operable for receiving from said electromagnetic sensor signals indicative of the first, second, and third magnetic fields and operable to calculate based on the output of the electromagnetic sensor, both a location and an orientation of said electromagnetic sensor associated with the medical instrument as a function of the first, second, and third magnetic fields detected by said electromagnetic sensor without relative movement between said electromagnetic sensor and said first, second, and third field sources.
A method of determining a location and an orientation of a medical instrument during a medical procedure comprising:
- generating a first magnetic field into an anatomical body during the medical procedure from a first magnetic field source positioned at a first fixed and known location on a plane surface;
- generating a second magnetic field into the anatomical body during the medical procedure from a second magnetic field source positioned at a second fixed and known location on the plane surface;
- generating a third magnetic field into the anatomical body during the medical procedure from a third magnetic field source positioned at a third fixed and known location on the plane surface;
- sensing the first, second, and third magnetic fields with an electromagnetic sensor associated with the medical instrument as the medical instrument is statically positioned relative to the first, second, and third magnetic field sources;
- and
- processing signals received from the electromagnetic sensor indicative of the first, second, and third magnetic fields to calculate based on an output of the electromagnetic sensor associated with the medical instrument, both a location and an orientation of the medical instrument as a function of the first, second, and third magnetic fields detected by the electromagnetic sensor during the medical procedure.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.