Claims
- 1. An x-ray imaging device comprising:
an x-ray source for generating cycles of x-ray radiation corresponding to an image acquisition cycle; an x-ray receiving section positioned so that x-rays emanating from the x-ray source enter the x-ray receiving section, the x-ray receiving section generating an image representing intensities of the x-rays entering the x-ray receiving section; a computer coupled to the x-ray receiving section; and radiation sensors located in a path of x-rays emitted from the x-ray source, the radiation sensors detecting the beginning and end of a radiation cycle and transmitting the detected beginning and end of the radiation cycle to the computer.
- 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the computer further comprises a display for displaying the images generated by the x-ray receiving section.
- 3. The device of claim 1, further comprising:
a dynamic reference frame marker attached to anatomy of a patient; a calibration and tracking target; and a tracking sensor for detecting the position, in three-dimensional space, of the dynamic reference frame marker and the calibration and tracking target; wherein
the computer determines that an image acquisition cycle is erroneous when the position of the calibration and tracking target moves relative to the position of the dynamic reference frame during an image acquisition cycle.
- 4. The device of claim 3, wherein the calibration and tracking target includes calibration markers and the calibration and tracking target is attached to the imaging device.
- 5. The device of claim 3, wherein the calibration and tracking target is physically separated from the x-ray source and the x-ray receiving section and calibration markers included in the calibration and tracking target are in the path of x-rays of the generated cycles of x-ray radiation.
- 6. The device of claim 1, further comprising
calibration markers for determining a projective transformation of the image.
- 7. The device of claim 6, wherein the calibration markers are used to correct image distortion.
- 8. An x-ray imaging device comprising:
a rotatable C-arm support having first and second ends, an x-ray source positioned at the first end for initiating an imaging cycle by generating x-ray radiation; an x-ray receiving section positioned at the second end so that x-rays emanating from the x-ray source enter the x-ray receiving section, the x-ray receiving section generating an image representing the intensities of the x-rays entering the x-ray receiving section; a calibration and tracking target; a tracking sensor for detecting the position, in three-dimensional space, of the calibration and tracking target; and a computer communicating with the x-ray receiving section and the tracking sensor, the computer detecting motion of the C-arm based on changes in the position detected by the tracking sensor.
- 9. The imaging device of claim 8, further comprising
a dynamic reference frame marker attached to anatomy of a patient, the tracking sensor detecting the position, in three-dimensional space, of the dynamic reference frame marker.
- 10. The imaging device of claim 9, further comprising
means for detecting the beginning and end of an imaging cycle and transmitting indications of the detected beginning and end of the radiation cycle to the computer, and the computer determining that an image acquisition cycle is erroneous when the position of the tracking target moves with respect to the patient during the imaging cycle.
- 11. A surgical instrument navigation system comprising:
a computer processor; a tracking sensor for sensing three-dimensional position information of a surgical instrument and transmitting the position information to the computer processor; a memory coupled to the computer processor, the memory including computer instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the processor to generate an icon representing the surgical instrument and to overlay the icon on a pre-acquired x-ray image, the icon of the surgical instrument representing the real-time position of the surgical instrument projected into the pre-acquired x-ray image and the icon being generated as a first representation when the surgical instrument is positioned such that it is substantially viewable in the plane of the pre-acquired image and the icon being generated as a second representation when the surgical instrument is positioned such that the surgical instrument is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the pre-acquired image; and a display coupled to the processor for displaying the generated icon superimposed on the pre-acquired image.
- 12. The computer system of claim 11, wherein the icon is superimposed on multiple pre-acquired images.
- 13. The computer system of claim 13, wherein the second representation includes first and second cross-hair icons, the center of the first icon representing one end of the surgical instrument and the center of the second icon representing an opposite end of the surgical instrument.
- 14. A surgical instrument navigation system comprising:
a computer processor; a tracking sensor for sensing three-dimensional position information of a surgical instrument and transmitting the position information to the computer processor; a memory coupled to the computer processor, the memory including computer instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the processor to generate an icon representing the surgical instrument positioned in a pre-acquired image of a patient's anatomy, the icon of the surgical instrument including a first portion corresponding to an actual position of the surgical instrument and a second portion corresponding to a projection of the surgical instrument along a line given by a current trajectory of the surgical instrument; and a display coupled to the processor for displaying the generated icon superimposed on the pre-acquired image.
- 15. The system of claim 14, wherein a length of the projection of the surgical instrument changes based on input received from a physician.
- 16. The computer system of claim 14, wherein the icon is superimposed on multiple pre-acquired images.
- 17. A surgical instrument navigation system comprising:
a rotatable C-arm including an x-ray source and an x-ray receiving section for acquiring x-ray images of a patient, the C-arm being rotatable about one of a plurality of mechanical axes; a computer processor coupled to the rotatable C-arm; a memory coupled to the computer processor, the memory storing the x-ray images acquired by the rotatable C-arm and computer instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the computer processor to generate a line representing a projection of a plane substantially parallel to one of the plurality of the mechanical axes of the C-arm into the x-ray image, the line enabling visual alignment of the one of the plurality of mechanical axes of the C-arm with an axis relating complimentary x-ray images; and a display coupled to the processor for displaying at least a portion of the generated line superimposed on the x-ray image.
- 18. The system of claim 17, further comprising:
a tracking target attached to the rotatable C-arm; and a tracking sensor for detecting the position, in three-dimensional space, of the tracking target, wherein
the computer calculates an amount of rotation of the C-arm based on changes in the position detected by the tracking sensor.
- 19. A system for defining a surgical plan comprising:
an x-ray imaging device; a surgical instrument; a tracking sensor for detecting the position, in three-dimensional space, of the surgical instrument; a computer processor in communication with the tracking sensor for defining a point in a virtual x-ray imaging path as the three-dimensional location of the surgical instrument, the point being outside of an x-ray imaging path of the x-ray imaging device, the computer processor translating position of the surgical instrument within the virtual x-ray imaging path to corresponding position in the true x-ray imaging path; and a display coupled to the processor for displaying a pre-acquired x-ray image overlaid with an iconic representation of the surgical instrument, the real-time position of the iconic representation of the surgical instrument in the pre-acquired x-ray image corresponding to the translated position of the surgical instrument.
- 20. The system of claim 19, further comprising means for freezing the iconic representation of the surgical instrument in the x-ray image.
- 21. A system for defining a surgical plan comprising:
an x-ray imaging device; a surgical instrument; a tracking sensor for detecting the position, in three-dimensional space, of the surgical instrument; a computer processor in communication with the tracking sensor for calculating a projection of the trajectory of the surgical instrument a distance ahead of the actual location of the surgical instrument; and a display coupled to the processor for displaying a pre-acquired x-ray image overlaid with an iconic representation of the surgical instrument and the calculated projection of the trajectory of the surgical instrument.
- 22. A system for realigning a first bone segment with a second bone segment in a patient comprising:
a first tracking marker attached to the first bone segment; a second tracking marker attached to the second bone segment; a tracking sensor for detecting the relative position, in three-dimensional space, of the first and second tracking markers; a computer for delineating boundaries of images of the first and second bone segment in a pre-acquired x-ray image and for, when the second bone segment is moved in the patient, correspondingly moving the delineated boundary of the second bone segment in the x-ray image; and a display coupled to the computer for displaying the pre-acquired x-ray image overlaid with representations of the delineated boundaries of the first and second bone segments.
- 23. The system of claim 22, wherein the computer performs edge detection processing on the x-ray image to delineate the boundaries.
- 24. A system for placing a surgical implant into a patient comprising:
a computer processor; means for entering dimensions of the implant; a tracking sensor for sensing three-dimensional position information of a surgical instrument on which the surgical implant is mounted, the tracking sensor transmitting the position information to the computer processor; and a memory coupled to the computer processor, the memory including computer instructions that when executed by the computer processor cause the processor to generate an icon representing the surgical instrument and the mounted surgical implant, and to overlay the icon on a pre-acquired two-dimensional x-ray image, the icon of the surgical instrument representing the real-time position of the surgical instrument relative to the pre-acquired two-dimensional x-ray image.
- 25. The system of claim 24, wherein the means for entering dimensions includes a display communicating with the processor for displaying a three-dimensional image of anatomy of the patient through which a physician may select the appropriate size and placement for the implant.
- 26. The system of claim 24, wherein the computer includes means for generating a two-dimensional digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR) image from the three-dimensional image of the anatomy of the patient, the digital reconstructed radiograph image including a two-dimensional representation of the appropriate size of the implant.
- 27. The system of claim 25, wherein the surgical implant is an inter-vertebral cage.
- 28. A method of acquiring a two-dimensional x-ray image of patient anatomy from a desired view direction comprising the steps of:
acquiring a two-dimensional image using an x-ray imager; specifying a view direction in a three-dimensional image representing the patient anatomy; generating a two-dimensional digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR) image based on the three-dimensional image and the specified view direction; and determining whether the two-dimensional x-ray image corresponds to the desired view direction by matching the DRR image to the x-ray image.
- 29. The method of claim 28, wherein the steps of acquiring a two-dimensional image and determining that the two-dimensional x-ray image corresponds to the desired view direction are repeated until the two-dimensional x-ray image corresponds to the desired view direction.
- 30. A method of defining a surgical plan comprising:
sensing three-dimensional position information of a surgical instrument; generating a graphical icon representing the surgical instrument positioned in a pre-acquired image of a patient's anatomy, the icon of the surgical instrument including a first portion corresponding to a position of the surgical instrument in space and a second portion corresponding to a projection of the surgical instrument along a line given by a current trajectory of the surgical instrument; and displaying the generated icon superimposed on the pre-acquired image.
- 31. The method of claim 30, further comprising freezing at least the first or second portion of the iconic representation of the surgical instrument in the x-ray image.
- 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the icon is superimposed on multiple pre-acquired images.
- 33. A method of representing a real-time position of a surgical instrument in a preacquired x-ray image comprising:
generating an icon of a surgical instrument and overlaying the icon on the pre-acquired x-ray image, the icon of the surgical instrument representing the real-time position of the surgical instrument projected into the pre-acquired x-ray image; representing the icon as a first representation when the surgical instrument is positioned such that it is substantially viewable in a plane of the pre-acquired image; and representing the icon as a second representation when the surgical instrument is positioned such that it is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the pre-acquired image.
- 34. A method of defining a surgical plan comprising:
detecting a position, in three-dimensional space, of a surgical instrument; defining a point in a virtual x-ray imaging path as the three-dimensional location of the surgical instrument, the point being outside of a non-virtual x-ray imaging path of the x-ray imaging device; translating position of the surgical instrument within the virtual x-ray imaging path to a corresponding position in the non-virtual x-ray imaging path; and displaying a pre-acquired x-ray image overlaid with an iconic representation of the surgical instrument, the position of the iconic representation of the surgical instrument in the pre-acquired x-ray image corresponding to the translated position of the surgical instrument.
- 35. The method of claim 34, further comprising freezing at least the first or second portion of the iconic representation of the surgical instrument in the x-ray image.
- 36. A method for realigning a first broken bone segment with a second broken bone segment in a patient comprising:
attaching a first tracking marker to the first bone segment; attaching a second tracking marker to the second bone segment; delineating boundaries of images of the first and second bone segments in a pre-acquired x-ray image; detecting the relative position of the first and second bone segments in the patient using the first and second tracking markers and correspondingly moving the delineated boundary of the second bone segment in the pre-acquired x-ray image when the second bone segment moves relative to the first bone segment; and displaying the pre-acquired x-ray image overlaid with representations of the delineated boundaries of the first and second bone segments.
- 37. The method of claim 36, further comprising the step of performing edge detection processing on the x-ray image to delineate the boundaries.
- 38. A method for placing a surgical implant into a patient comprising:
displaying a three-dimensional image of anatomy of the patient through which an appropriately dimensioned implant is selected, the implant being mounted to a surgical instrument; sensing three-dimensional position information of the surgical instrument on which the surgical implant is mounted; and generating an icon representing the surgical instrument and the mounted surgical implant and superimposing the icon on a pre-acquired two-dimensional x-ray image, the icon of the surgical instrument representing the real-time position of the surgical instrument projected into the pre-acquired two-dimensional x-ray image and the icon corresponding to the appropriately sized implant.
- 39. The system of claim 38, wherein the computer includes means for generating a two-dimensional digitally reconstructed radiograph (DRR) image from the three-dimensional image of the anatomy of the patient, the digitally reconstructed radiograph including a two-dimensional representation of the appropriate size and placement of the implant.
- 40. A method of calculating an angle between a surgical instrument and a plane selected in an x-ray image, the method comprising the steps of:
defining at least two points in the x-ray image; defining a plane passing through the x-ray image as the plane including the two points and linear projections of the two points as dictated by a calibration transformation used to calibrate the x-ray image for the particular imaging device of the x-ray image; sensing a position of the surgical instrument in three-dimensional space; and calculating the minimum angle between the surgical instrument and the defined plane.
- 41. The method of claim 40, wherein the plane is aligned with the mid-line of the spine of a patient.
- 42. The method of claim 40, wherein the surgical instrument is repositioned until the calculated angle equals a target angle.
- 43. The method of claim 42, wherein the target angle is pre-determined using a three-dimensional image.
- 44. A method of detecting an error in an x-ray process comprising:
generating cycles of x-ray radiation corresponding to an image acquisition cycle, the cycles being generated by an x-ray imager and passing through calibration markers of a calibration and tracking target; generating an image of a patient's anatomy defined by intensities of the x-rays in the cycle of the x-ray radiation; detecting the beginning and end of a radiation cycle; detecting the position of the calibration and tracking target and the patient; and determining that the image acquisition cycle is erroneous when the position of the tracking target relative to the position of the patient moves between the beginning and the end of the radiation cycle.
- 45. A method for aligning a fluoroscopic imager with a view direction of the medial axis of a patient's pedicle, the method comprising:
displaying a three-dimensional image of an axial cross-section of vertebra of the patient; extracting an angle from the three-dimensional image corresponding to the angle separating an anterior/posterior axis and the medial axis of the pedicle; aligning the fluoroscopic imager with a long axis of the patient; and rotating the fluoroscopic imager about the long axis of the patient through the measured angle.
- 46. The method of claim 45, wherein the three-dimensional image is a CT image.
- 47. The method of claim 45, wherein rotating the fluoroscopic imager through the measured angle includes receiving information relating to the amount of rotation of the fluoroscopic imager from a tracking sensor detecting position of the fluoroscopic imager.
- 48. A system of defining a surgical plan comprising:
means for sensing three-dimensional position information of a surgical instrument; means for generating a graphical icon representing the surgical instrument positioned in a pre-acquired image of a patient's anatomy, the icon of the surgical instrument including a first portion corresponding to a position of the surgical instrument in space and a second portion corresponding to a projection of the surgical instrument along a line given by a current trajectory of the surgical instrument; and means for displaying the generated icon superimposed on the pre-acquired image.
- 49. A system for representing a real-time position of a surgical instrument in a pre-acquired x-ray image comprising:
means for generating an icon of a surgical instrument and overlaying the icon on the pre-acquired x-ray image, the icon of the surgical instrument representing the real-time position of the surgical instrument projected into the pre-acquired x-ray image; means for representing the icon as a first representation when the surgical instrument is positioned such that it is substantially viewable in a plane of the pre-acquired image; and means for representing the icon as a second representation when the surgical instrument is positioned such that it is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the pre-acquired image.
- 50. A system for defining a surgical plan comprising:
means for detecting a position, in three-dimensional space, of a surgical instrument; means for defining a point in a virtual x-ray imaging path as the three-dimensional location of the surgical instrument, the point being outside of a non-virtual x-ray imaging path of the x-ray imaging device; means for translating position of the surgical instrument within the virtual x-ray imaging path to a corresponding position in the non-virtual x-ray imaging path; and means for displaying a pre-acquired x-ray image overlaid with a real-time iconic representation of the surgical instrument, the position of the iconic representation of the surgical instrument in the pre-acquired x-ray image corresponding to the translated position of the surgical instrument.
- 51. A system for realigning a first broken bone segment with a second broken bone segment in a patient comprising:
means for attaching a first tracking marker to the first bone segment; means for attaching a second tracking marker to the second bone segment; means for delineating boundaries of images of the first and second bone segments in a pre-acquired x-ray image; means for detecting the relative position of the first and second bone segments in the patient using the first and second tracking markers and correspondingly moving the delineated boundary of the second bone segment in the pre-acquired x-ray image when the second bone segment moves relative to the first bone segment; and means for displaying the pre-acquired x-ray image overlaid with representations of the delineated boundaries of the first and second bone segments.
- 52. A system for calculating an angle between a surgical instrument and a plane selected in an x-ray image, the system comprising:
means for defining at least two points in the x-ray image; means for defining a plane passing through the x-ray image as the plane including the two points and linear projections of the two points as dictated by a calibration transformation used to calibrate the x-ray image for the particular imaging device of the x-ray image; means for sensing a position of the surgical instrument in three-dimensional space; and means for calculating the angle between the surgical instrument and the defined plane.
- 53. An x-ray imaging device comprising:
means for generating cycles of x-ray radiation corresponding to an image acquisition cycle; means for generating an image representing intensities of the x-rays entering the x-ray receiving section; and means for detecting the beginning and end of a radiation cycle and transmitting the detected beginning and end of the radiation cycle to the computer.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This disclosure is related to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/106,109, entitled “System and Methods for the Reduction and Elimination of Image Artifacts in the Calibration of X-Ray Imagers,” filed on Jun. 29, 1998.
Continuations (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09274972 |
Mar 1999 |
US |
Child |
10236013 |
Sep 2002 |
US |