Methods and systems for directing movement of a tool in hair transplantation procedures
AssigneeRestoration Robotics, Inc.
InventorsJohn A. Tenney, Mohan Bodduluri, Hui Zhang
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Methods and systems are provided useful in various procedures, including hair harvesting and implantation, and further including computer-implemented and/or robotic hair transplantation. Methodologies are provided which enable a tool, such as a hair harvesting or a hair implantation tool, to proceed at least under a partial computer control in a selected direction of travel along a donor or recipient area of the patient, as well as changing direction of travel based on desired harvesting and/or implantation criteria.
Claims34
A method of directing movement of a tool to harvest or implant hair grafts, the method comprising:
- recording first locations of a plurality of fiducials appearing in one or more images of a body surface;
- updating and recording the updated locations of at least some of the plurality of the fiducials in an updated one or more images of the body surface;
- determining an offset of the updated locations of the at least some of the plurality of the fiducials relative to their first locations;
- automatically selecting a new follicular unit harvesting or implanting site based at least in part on the determined offset and a location of a previous procedure site;
- and
- automatically instructing the tool to move to the selected new harvesting site or the selected new implanting site.
A method of directing movement of a tool to perform a medical procedure, the method comprising:
- recording first locations of a plurality of fiducials appearing in one or more images;
- updating and recording the updated locations of at least some of the plurality of the fiducials in an updated one or more images;
- determining an offset of the updated locations of the at least some of the plurality of the fiducials relative to their first locations;
- automatically selecting a site on which to perform the medical procedure based at least in part on the determined offset;
- and
- instructing the tool to move to the selected medical procedure site taking into account an exclusion zone and/or a reserved region.
A method of controlling a direction of travel of a tool relative to a body surface during a follicular unit transplantation procedure, the method comprising:
- processing one or more images of a body surface to determine locations of a plurality of distinctive fiducials appearing in the one or more images;
- operating a tool to harvest or implant a first follicular unit at a first location;
- identifying a direction of travel of the tool relative to a body surface based on the first location, previous harvesting or implanting location and on the locations of at least some of the plurality of the distinctive fiducials;
- causing the tool to travel in the identified direction of travel;
- and
- operating the tool to harvest or implant a second follicular unit at a second location on the body surface in the direction of travel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.