Claims:WE CLAIM:
1. An optical navigation system (10) for neurosurgery, the navigation system (10) comprising:
a stent (20) fabricated into an upper jaw of a patient (30);
one or more adjustable trackers (50) mechanically coupled to the stent (20) via one or more connecting means (40), wherein the one or more adjustable trackers (50) comprises a pattern; and
at least one image capturing device (60) positioned at a predefined distance from each of the one or more adjustable trackers (50), wherein the at least one image capturing device (60) is configured to read the pattern from the one or more adjustable trackers (50) to identify a three dimensional location of the patient (30).
2. The system (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the stent (20) is molded into a shape of the upper jaw of the patient (30) to obtain a rigid fixation.
3. The system (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more adjustable trackers (50) are mechanically coupled to the stent (20) via one or more extensions using one or more screws.
4. The system (10) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more adjustable trackers (50) form a fixed reference for the at least one image capturing device (60) to determine a position of the at least one navigation tool.
5. A method (70) for navigating a process of neurosurgery, the method (70) comprising:
fabricating a stent into an upper jaw of a patient (80);
adjusting one or more adjustable trackers to be visible to at least one image capturing device (90);
reading, by the at least one image capturing device, the pattern from the one or more adjustable trackers to identify a three-dimensional location of the patient (100); and
reading, by the at least one image capturing device, the unique pattern from the at least one navigation tool to determine a position of the at least one navigation tool (110).
6. The method (70) as claimed in claim 5, comprising molding the stent into a shape of the upper jaw of the patient.
7. The method (70) as claimed in claim 5, comprising forming the one or more adjustable trackers as a fixed reference for the at least one image capturing device to determine a position of the at least one navigation tool.

Dated this 15th day of June 2019

Signature

Vidya Bhaskar Singh Nandiyal
Patent Agent (IN/PA-2912)
Agent for the Applicant
, Description:FIELD OF INVENTION
[0001] Embodiments of a present disclosure relate to an optical navigation system, and more particularly to an optical navigation system for neurosurgery.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Optical navigation, as well as other navigation, is used in surgery to track a rigid body's location in space in relation to a tool. These systems often rely upon the use of a camera and markers, the positions of which are tracked by the camera as discuss further hereinbelow. Accordingly, using a known special relationship of the markers on the image frame, the 3D position of the tool in relation to the rigid body can be known while the camera can sense the markers. Display software may further be used to display the 3D position of the tool in relation the rigid body so that a virtual, real-time image of the tool and the surrounding anatomy of the patient may be made available to the surgeon to aid in the surgery.
[0003] Conventionally, an available neuro navigation system uses a tracker fixed to head of the patient with the help of a head frame and act as a reference by moving along with the head of the patient and provides information to the system about a change in a position. During registration, the three-dimensional coordinates of a tooltip of a navigated tool is matched with 3D coordinates of patient anatomy on the scanned image and assigned to minimum three or more planed points and such 3D coordinates are calculated by keeping tracker as the reference. However, the tracker must remain in a fixed position with respect to the head of the patient during a surgical procedure to avoid complications. Moreover, in some cases such as a head trauma case, skull base cases, and the like where a headframe cannot be used and so as the head tracker, hence such cases are either handled without optical navigation or by using one or more other technologies.
[0004] Hence, there is a need for an improved optical navigation system for neurosurgery in order to address the aforementioned issues.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
[0005] In accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure, an optical navigation system for neurosurgery is disclosed. The system includes a stent fabricated into an upper jaw of a patient. The system also includes one or more adjustable trackers mechanically coupled to the stent via one or more connecting means, wherein the one or more adjustable trackers includes a pattern. The system also includes at least one image capturing device positioned at a predefined distance from each of the one or more adjustable trackers, wherein the at least one image capturing device is configured to read the pattern from the one or more adjustable trackers to identify a three dimensional location of the patient.
[0006] In accordance with another embodiment of the disclosure, a method for navigating a process of neurosurgery is disclosed. The method includes fabricating a stent into an upper jaw of a patient. The method also includes adjusting one or more adjustable trackers to be visible to at least one image capturing device. The method also includes reading the pattern from the one or more adjustable trackers by the at least one image capturing device to identify a three-dimensional location of the patient. The method also includes reading the unique pattern from the at least one navigation tool by the at least one image capturing device to determine a position of the at least one navigation tool.
[0007] To further clarify the advantages and features of the present disclosure, a more particular description of the disclosure will follow by reference to specific embodiments thereof, which are illustrated in the appended figures. It is to be appreciated that these figures depict only typical embodiments of the disclosure and are therefore not to be considered limiting in scope. The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the appended figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
The disclosure will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail with the accompanying figures in which:
[0008] FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of an optical navigation system for neurosurgery in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0009] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the optical navigation system for neurosurgery of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0010] FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the schematic representation of the optical navigation system for neurosurgery of FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; and
[0011] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram representing steps involved in a method for navigating a process of neurosurgery in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0012] Further, those skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and may not have necessarily been drawn to scale. Furthermore, in terms of the construction of the device, one or more components of the device may have been represented in the figures by conventional symbols, and the figures may show only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present disclosure so as not to obscure the figures with details that will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0013] For the purpose of promoting an understanding of the principles of the disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiment illustrated in the figures and specific language will be used to describe them. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the disclosure is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated system, and such further applications of the principles of the disclosure as would normally occur to those skilled in the art are to be construed as being within the scope of the present disclosure.
[0014] The terms "comprise", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process or method that comprises a list of steps does not include only those steps but may include other steps not expressly listed or inherent to such a process or method. Similarly, one or more devices or sub-systems or elements or structures or components preceded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other devices, sub-systems, elements, structures, components, additional devices, additional sub-systems, additional elements, additional structures or additional components. Appearances of the phrase "in an embodiment", "in another embodiment" and similar language throughout this specification may, but not necessarily do, all refer to the same embodiment.
[0015] Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which this disclosure belongs. The system, methods, and examples provided herein are only illustrative and not intended to be limiting.
[0016] In the following specification and the claims, reference will be made to a number of terms, which shall be defined to have the following meanings. The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.
[0017] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to an optical navigation system for neurosurgery. The system includes a stent fabricated into an upper jaw of a patient. The system also includes one or more adjustable trackers mechanically coupled to the stent via one or more connecting means, wherein the one or more adjustable trackers includes a pattern. The system also includes at least one image capturing device positioned at a predefined distance from each of the one or more adjustable trackers, wherein the at least one image capturing device is configured to read the pattern from the one or more adjustable trackers to identify a three dimensional location of the patient.
[0018] FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of an optical navigation system (10) for neurosurgery in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The system (10) includes a pre-scanning unit (15) which performs a pre-scanning of a patient (30) for obtaining one or more CT scan images. The system (10) includes a stent (20) fabricated into an upper jaw of a patient (30). The system (10) also includes one or more adjustable trackers (50) mechanically coupled to the stent (20) via one or more connecting means (40). The system (10) also includes at least one image capturing device (60) positioned at a predefined distance from each of the one or more adjustable trackers (50) to navigate a process of neurosurgery. The system (10) also includes a registration process (65) for determining one or more registration points of the patient (30).
[0019] FIG. 2 is a schematic representation of the optical navigation system (10) for neurosurgery of FIG. 1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiment, a pre-scanning may be performed for obtaining one or more images of a patient (30) to identify an exact location of the surgery area. In such embodiment, the one or more images may include, but not limited to, one or more cone-bean computed tomography (CBCT) scan images, one or more computed tomography scan images and the like. Further, the system (10) includes a stent (20). In one embodiment, the stent (20) may include a thermoplastic stent. The stent (20) is fabricated into an upper jaw of a patient (30). Further, in some embodiment, the stent (20) may be molded into the shape of the upper jaw of the patient (30) to get a rigid fixation. As used herein, the term “rigid fixation” refers to a fixation of the stent to a same location from where the stent was removed.
[0020] Further, the system (10) also includes one or more adjustable trackers (50) mechanically coupled to the stent (20) via one or more connecting means (40). In some embodiment, the one or more adjustable trackers (50) may be adjusted in one or more directions based on a position of the patient and a position of at least one image capturing device (60). In one embodiment, the one or more adjustable trackers (50) may be one or more optical trackers. In one embodiment, the one or more adjustable trackers (50) are mechanically coupled to the stent (20) via one or more extensions (40) using the one or more screws. In one specific embodiment, the one or more adjustable trackers (50) may be mechanically coupled to the stent (20) from each side of the patient (30). In such embodiment, each side of the patient (30) may include a front side, a left side, and a right side. Furthermore, the one or more adjustable trackers (50) includes a pattern. Further, the system (10) also includes at least one image capturing device (60) positioned at a predefined distance from each of the one or more adjustable trackers (50), wherein the at least one image capturing device (60) reads the pattern from the one or more adjustable trackers (50) to identify the three-dimensional location of the patient (30).
[0021] In one specific embodiment, the system (10) may also include at least one navigation tool (not shown in FIG. 2) configured to navigate head of the patient (30). In such embodiment, the at least one navigation tool may be placed at any location near to the head of the patient. In one embodiment, the location may be inside a head of the patient (30) or outside the head of the patient (30). The at least one navigation tool includes a unique pattern. Furthermore, the at least one image capturing device (60) also positioned at a predefined distance from the at least one navigation tool. The at least one image capturing device (60) reads the unique pattern from the at least one navigation tool to determine a position of the at least one navigation tool. Further, in one embodiment, each of the one or more adjustable trackers (50) form a fixed reference for at least one image capturing device (60) to determine the position of at least one navigation tool.
[0022] In one embodiment, the registration process uses a predefined data of the patient to determine one or more registration points. In such an embodiment, the patient undergoes patient calibration, wherein the patient is marked with one or more registration points using predefined data of the patient using the at least one navigation tool with reference to the one or more adjustable trackers (50). In one embodiment, the predefined data of the patient is, including but not limited to, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging data of the patient. Using the predefined data of the patient, along with the at least one image capturing device (60), the accuracy is checked, and surgical navigation process is initiated. To maintain the location or position of the patient, the one or more adjustable trackers (50) need to be visible to the at least one image capturing device (60) throughout the surgery.
[0023] FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the schematic representation of the optical navigation system (10) for neurosurgery of FIG. 2 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The at least one image capturing device (60) may be placed at a back side of the patient (30) to identify the three-dimensional location of the patient from the one or more adjustable trackers (50).
[0024] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram representing steps involved in a method (70) for navigating a process of neurosurgery in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In some embodiment, the method (70) may include performing pre-scanning for obtaining one or more images of a patient to identify an exact location of the surgery area. The method (70) includes fabricating a stent into an upper jaw of a patient in step 80. Further, in one embodiment, the method (70) may also include taking shape of the upper jaw of the patient by the stent to get a rigid fixation.
[0025] Further, the method (70) includes adjusting one or more adjustable trackers to be visible to at least one image capturing device in step 90. Further, the method (70) also includes identifying, by at least one image capturing device, the three-dimensional location of the patient from the one or more adjustable trackers in step 100. In one embodiment, the method (70) may include navigating, by at least one navigation tool, head of the patient. In such embodiment, the method (70) may include placing the at least one navigation tool at any location near to the head of the patient.
[0026] In some embodiment, the method (70) also includes reading the unique pattern from the at least one navigation tool to determine a position of the at least one navigation tool in step 110. Further, in some embodiment, the method (70) may also include forming each of the one or more adjustable trackers as a fixed reference for the at least one image capturing device to determine the position of at least one navigation tool. In one embodiment, the method (70) may include determining one or more registration points using predefined data of the patient. In such an embodiment, the patient undergoes patient calibration, wherein the patient is marked with one or more registration points using predefined data of the patient using the at least one navigation tool with reference to the one or more adjustable trackers. The method (70) includes matching, by at least one navigation tool, the one or more registration points on the patient with reference to the one or more adjustable trackers. In such an embodiment, the patient undergoes patient calibration, wherein the patient is marked with one or more registration points using predefined data of the patient using the at least one navigation tool with reference to the one or more adjustable trackers.
[0027] Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide a technical solution to the problem of navigating the neurosurgery. The present disclosure provides an efficient system that fabricates the stent in the upper jaw of the patient to get the geometry of the patient which in turn ensures that whenever the patient moves, along with that the stent is going to move. Also, the system uses one or more trackers so that it is visible from each side of the patient to get the information from the tracker.
[0028] While specific language has been used to describe the disclosure, any limitations arising on account of the same are not intended. As would be apparent to a person skilled in the art, various working modifications may be made to the method in order to implement the inventive concept as taught herein.
[0029] The figures and the foregoing description give examples of embodiments. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that one or more of the described elements may well be combined into a single functional element. Alternatively, certain elements may be split into multiple functional elements. Elements from one embodiment may be added to another embodiment. For example, order of processes described herein may be changed and are not limited to the manner described herein. Moreover, the actions of any flow diagram need not be implemented in the order shown; nor do all of the acts need to be necessarily performed. Also, those acts that are not dependant on other acts may be performed in parallel with the other acts. The scope of embodiments is by no means limited by these specific examples.