Triangulation of item in patient body

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11896317-B2
Application number	US-202016984514-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 4, 2020
Priority date	Aug 4, 2020
Publication date	Feb 13, 2024
Grant date	Feb 13, 2024

Abstract

A surgical positioning system includes an emitter secured to a medical implant; at least three microphones; at least one processor; and a memory. The emitter has a speaker and a power source. The memory stores instructions for execution by the processor that, when executed, cause the processor to receive, from each of the at least three microphones, information about a detected sound; and calculate, based on position information corresponding to each of the at least three microphones and the received information, a position of the implant.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A surgical positioning system, comprising:
an emitter secured to a medical implant, comprising:
a speaker; and
a power source;

at least three microphones;
at least one processor; and
a memory storing instructions for execution by the processor that, when executed, cause the processor to:
receive, from each of the at least three microphones, information about a detected sound;
receive a model of a portion of a patient's anatomy, the model being generated from one or more preoperative images that include the portion of the patient's anatomy;
calculate, based on the model, a predicted speed of sound through at least a segment of the portion of the patient's anatomy by:
determining, using the model, which materials lie along the segment;
measuring, within the model, a thickness of each material that lies along the segment;
determining a speed of sound through each material that lies along the segment; and
calculating the predicted speed of sound based on the thickness of each material and the speed of sound of each material that lies along the segment; and

calculate, based on position information corresponding to each of the at least three microphones, the predicted speed of sound, and the received information, a position of the implant.

2. The surgical positioning system of claim 1 , wherein the memory stores additional instructions for execution by the at least one processor that, when executed, further cause the at least one processor to:
determine the speed of sound through each material that lies along the segment by retrieving the speed of sound of each material from a database.

3. The surgical positioning system of claim 1 , wherein the memory stores additional instructions for execution by the at least one processor that, when executed, further cause the at least one processor to:
update the predicted speed of sound based on calibration data corresponding to a calibration sound generated by the emitter and detected by each of the at least three microphones.

4. The surgical positioning system of claim 3 , wherein the calculating the position of the implant is further based on the updated predicted speed of sound.

5. The surgical positioning system of claim 2 , wherein each of the at least three microphones is mounted in a fixed position relative to any others of the at least three microphones.

6. The surgical positioning system of claim 1 , wherein the detected sound has a frequency less than 20 kHz.

7. The surgical positioning system of claim 1 , wherein the detected sound has a frequency less than 20 Hz.

8. The surgical positioning system of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the at least three microphones is mounted to a movable arm, and the memory stores additional instructions for execution by the at least one processor that, when executed, further cause the at least one processor to:
receive arm position data corresponding to a position of the movable arm; and
calculate, based at least in part on the arm position data, a location of each of the at least three microphones.

9. The surgical positioning system of claim 1 , wherein the position information for each of the at least three microphones comprises data about a position of each of the at least three microphones relative to the others of the at least three microphones, and the calculated emitter position is relative to the positions of the at least three microphones.

10. The surgical positioning system of claim 1 , wherein the position information for each of the at least three microphones is relative to a common coordinate system.

11. The surgical positioning system of claim 1 , wherein the emitter comprises a plurality of speakers, each speaker is configured to emit sound at a different frequency than the other speakers in the plurality of speakers, the received information comprises information about a detected sound generated by each of the plurality of speakers, respectively, and the memory stores additional instructions for execution by the at least one processor that, when executed, further cause the at least one processor to:
determine an orientation of the implant based at least in part on the received information.

12. A method of locating an object during a surgery, comprising:
receiving a model of a portion of a patient's anatomy;
receiving a surgical plan comprising information about a planned position of an implant within the portion of the patient's anatomy;
calculating, based on the planned position of the implant and the model, a predicted speed of sound along at least one path that extends at least partially through the portion of the patient's anatomy, the predicted speed of sound being calculated by:
determining, using the model, which materials lie along the at least one path;
measuring, within the model, a thickness of each material that lies along the at least one path;
determining a speed of sound through each material that lies along the at least one path; and
calculating the predicted speed of sound based on the thickness of each material and the speed of sound of each material that lies along the at least one path;

receiving, from at least three microphones, detection information about a detected sound generated by a speaker secured to the implant; and
determining, based on the predicted speed of sound and the detection information, a position of the implant.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the detection information comprises first detection information about a first detected sound generated by the speaker at a first time, the method further comprising:
receiving, from the at least three microphones, second detection information about a second detected sound generated by the speaker, the second detected sound generated at a second time after the first time; and
determining, based on first detection information and the second detection information, a movement of the implant.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the detection information corresponds to detected sounds generated by a plurality of speakers secured to the implant, the method further comprising:
determining, based on the predicted speed of sound and the detection information, an orientation of the implant.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein each of the detected sounds has a unique frequency relative to any others of the detected sounds.

16. The method of claim 12 , wherein the determining is further based on location information corresponding to a location of each of the at least three microphones.

17. The method of claim 12 , wherein the detection information comprises first detection information about a first detected sound generated by the speaker at a first time, the method further comprising:
receiving, from the at least three microphones, second detection information about a second detected sound generated by a second speaker affixed to an anatomical element of the patient; and
determining, based on first detection information and the second detection information, a position of the implant relative to the anatomical element.

18. A surgical triangulation system comprising:
a plurality of microphones configured to be installed in fixed locations about an operating room;
an emitter configured to be secured to an internal anatomical feature of a patient or an implant, the emitter comprising:
a speaker; and
a power source;
at least one processor; and
a memory storing instructions for execution by the at least one processor that, when executed, cause the at least one processor to:
receive a surgical plan comprising info

Assignees

• Mazor Robotics Ltd

Inventors

• Ofer Nir
• Seemann Ziv
• Kopito Dor
• Schwartz Yair
• Dahan Ofir
• Eshed Gal
• Kadshai Dvir
• Keret Amir
• Sviri Maor
• Talmor Adi
• Visbrot Ron
• Shneiderman Arie
• Ellman Aviv
• Barazani Gal

Classifications

• A61B34/20 Primary

  Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis · CPC title

• A61B34/10

  Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations · CPC title

• G01S5/01

  Determining conditions which influence positioning, e.g. radio environment, state of motion or energy consumption · CPC title

• G01S5/30

  Determining absolute distances from a plurality of spaced points of known location · CPC title

• A61B2034/105

  Modelling of the patient, e.g. for ligaments or bones · CPC title