A number of improvements are provided relating to computer aided surgery. The improvement relates to both the methods used during computer aided surgery and the devices used during such procedures. Some of the improvement relate to controlling the selection of which data to display during a procedure and/or how the data is displayed to aid the surgeon. Other improvements relate to the structure of the tools used during a procedure and how the tools can be controlled automatically to improve the efficiency of the procedure. Still other improvements relate to methods of providing feedback during a procedure to improve either the efficiency or quality, or both, for a procedure.

A force sensed surface scanning system (20) employs a scanning robot (41) and a surface scanning controller (50). The scanning robot (41) includes a surface scanning end-effector (43) for generating force sensing data informative of a contact force applied by the surface scanning end-effector (43) to an anatomical organ. In operation, the surface scanning controller (50) controls a surface scanning of the anatomical organ by the surface scanning end-effector (43) including the surface scanning end-effector (43) generating the force sensing data, and further constructs an intraoperative volume model of the anatomical organ responsive to the force sensing data generated by the surface scanning end-effector (43) indicating a defined surface deformation offset of the anatomical organ.

Examples of systems and methods described herein may utilize augmented reality devices and pointers in generating intra-operative plans and providing guidance for knee surgery. A pointer may indicate one or more anatomical points. An augmented reality device may detect positions of knee anatomical features based on a position of the pointer and positions of fiducials associated with a marker affixed to body part proximate to a knee, such as a femur or a tibia. The augmented reality device may generate a planned resection plane based on the positions of the knee anatomical features, and determine an actual resection plane based on a view of a resection guide having a marker inserted in the guide. The augmented reality device may provide guidance to position the guide to align the actual resection plane with the planned resection plane.

A robotic surgical system comprises a surgical tool, a manipulator configured to support the surgical tool, a force/torque sensor to measure forces and torques applied to the surgical tool, and a control system. The control system obtains a three-dimensional milling path for the surgical tool. The control system also receives one or more signals from the force/torque sensor in response to a user manually applying user forces and torques to the surgical tool. The control system determines a commanded pose to which to command the manipulator to advance the surgical tool along the milling path based on a tangential component of the user forces and torques, based on a virtual simulation using virtual constraints, and/or based on other suitable factors to promote guided, manual movement of the surgical tool along the milling path.

A surgical system includes an arm extending from the base and having a distal end configured to be coupled to a tool, a first marker coupled in fixed relation to the base, and a tracking system. The tracking system is configured to collect first data indicative of a position of the first marker and collect second data indicative of a position an anatomical feature of a patient. The surgical system also includes a processor configured to calculate a position of the tool relative to the anatomical feature based on the first data and the second data.

Disclosed is a computer-implemented method of transmitting identification information of a medical instrument. The method encompasses comparing a digital image of an instrument tray and an instrument to a digital image of just the instrument tray to determine the identity of the instrument. A characteristic geometry such as its envelope is assigned to the instrument, and a characteristic quantity of the envelope such as its aspect ratio may be used to identify the instrument. Based on determining, from the image of the instrument and the instrument tray, the relative position between those two entities, the method determines whether the instrument has been taken from the instrument tray, and accordingly instructs a medical computing system about this determination. The medical computing system may then determine whether the correct instrument has been taken from the instrument has been taken from the instrument tray, for example by comparison with medical procedure planning data.

A head stabilization device or HFD includes a plurality of integrated markers. The HFD may be in the form of a skull clamp, vacuum bag, combinations thereof, or other supporting structure. The integrated markers include MRI markers detectable by an MRI scanner and fiducial markers detectable by a registration tool of a navigation system. The markers provide a reference point relative to an operation site in a patient for use in a navigation guided procedure and aid in registering or calibrating the location of the patient with captured images used in the navigation guided procedure.

A computer-implemented method plans a position of a tracking reference device for referencing a position in a medical environment. The method includes a determination of avoidance regions in which a tracking reference device should not be placed so as to safeguard proper tracking of the tracking reference device and/or an instrument tracking reference device which is attached to a medical instrument. The avoidance region is a region lying, from the point of view of a tracking device for tracking the tracking reference device, in the shadow of an envelope surrounding at least one medical instrument. Additionally or alternatively, an avoidance region may lie in between the position of the tracking device and the envelope to avoid a shadowing, by the tracking reference device, of an instrument tracking reference device attached to the medical instrument. Information describing the position of the at least one avoidance region is displayed to a user, and also information about the position of a region which is suitable for placement of the tracking reference device can be displayed to the user.

Systems and methods for planning and performing image free implant revision surgery are discussed. For example, a method for generating a revision plan can include collecting pre-defined parameters characterizing a target bone, generating a 3D model, collecting a plurality of surface points, and generating a reshaped 3D model. Generating the 3D model of the target bone can be based on a first portion of the pre-defined parameters. Generating the reshaped 3D model can be done based on the plurality of surface points collected from a portion of the surface of the target bone.

A technique for determining a need for a re-registration of an optical patient tracker with medical image data of a patient is presented. A camera system is configured to generate camera image data for tracking the tracker. The camera system comprises an acceleration sensor configured to generate inertial data indicative of an acceleration of the camera system. A method implementation of the technique comprises the following steps performed by a processor: receiving image data from the camera system and analyzing the received image data for a positional change of the tracker indicative of at least one of a drift of the tracker and an impact on the tracker; receiving inertial data acquired by the acceleration sensor and analyzing the received inertial data, or data derived therefrom, with respect to at least one first predetermined condition indicative of an impact on the camera system; and generating, in case a positional change of the tracker indicative of at least one of a drift of the tracker and an impact on the tracker is identified based on the image data and the at least one first predetermined condition is not fulfilled, at least a re-registration signal.