An image guided catheter navigation system for navigating a region of a patient includes an imaging device, a tracking device, a controller, and a display. The imaging device generates images of the region of the patient. The tracking device tracks the location of the catheter in the region of the patient. The controller superimposes an icon representing the catheter onto the images generated from the imaging device based upon the location of the catheter. The display displays the image of the region with the catheter superimposed onto the image at the current location of the catheter.

Navigation system for cardiac therapies

A surgical navigation system for navigating a region of a patient includes a non-invasive dynamic reference frame and/or fiducial marker, sensor tipped instruments, and isolator circuits. The dynamic reference frame may be repeatably placed on the patient in a precise location for guiding the instruments. The instruments may be precisely guided by positioning sensors near moveable portions of the instruments. Electrical sources may be electrically isolated from the patient.

Method and apparatus for surgical navigation

A computer-aided surgical device for aiding a surgeon in positioning a surgical instrument (power or manual) when performing surgery on unexposed and exposed portions of a patient.

Computer-aided surgery apparatus

A system for determining a position of a probe relative to an object such as a head of a body of a patient. The head includes a surface such as a forehead having a contour. Cross sectional images of the head are scanned and stored as a function of the forehead contour. If the forehead contour does not appear in the scan images, then the position of the forehead contour relative to the scan images is determined with an optical scanner and a ring. During surgery, the optical scanner also determines the position of the forehead relative to the ring. An array for receiving radiation emitted from the probe and from the ring generates signals indicating the position of the tip of the probe relative to the ring. A stereotactic imaging system generates and displays an image of the head corresponding to the measured position of the tip of the probe. The system may also display scan images from different scanning technologies which scan images correspond to the same position in the head.

System for indicating the position of a surgical probe within a head on an image of the head

A stereotactic navigation system for navigating an instrument to a target within a patient may include a stereotactic head frame, an imaging device, a tracking device, a controller and a display. The stereotactic head frame is coupled to the patient and is used to assist in guiding the instrument to the target. The imaging device captures image data of the patient and of the stereotactic head frame. The tracking device is used to track the position of the instrument relative to the stereotactic head frame. The controller receives the image data from the imaging device and identifies the stereotactic head frame in the image data and automatically registers the image data with navigable patient space upon identifying the stereotactic head frame, while the display displays the image data.

Method and apparatus for performing stereotactic surgery

Pictures of an object to be measured are taken from several different positions or aspects by a video camera which is mounted via a two-axis articulating head to the measurement arm of a coordinate-measuring machine. The pictures taken from the different positions or aspects are stored and are evaluated with respect to the coordinates of characteristic points of interest on the surface of the object by the method of space intersection, known from photogrammetry. And, in this connection, the position-measurement values supplied by the scales of the coordinate-measuring machine and the angle-measurement values supplied by the articulating head are used for a calculated determination of the coordinates for each of the points of interest on the surface of the object.

Method and apparatus for non-contact measurement of object surfaces

The invention is directed to a distance sensor operating in accordance with the triangulation principle. The distance sensor has at least one pilot beam source which makes the imaging beam path of the sensor visible. The imaging beam path is inclined with respect to the measuring beam. A second pilot beam source is provided for the situation wherein the actual measuring beam of the sensor is not in the visible spectral region. A visible pilot beam is then superposed on the measuring beam.

Optoelectronic distance sensor with visible pilot beam

A coordinate measuring apparatus carries a video camera 6 and a mechanical probe head 7 having a probe element 8 for contact-measuring the workpiece surface. With the aid of the coordinate measuring apparatus, the locations on the workpiece 9 to be mechanically contacted are driven to under visual control with the aid of the monitor 10 connected to the video camera. For this purpose, the probe element 8 is located in the viewing field of the video camera 6.

Method of making coordinate measurements on workpieces

A plurality of video cameras (7a-d) are mounted on a table which is adapted support a workpiece or other object to be measured, and the mounting of each camera to the table provides for controlled universal orientation of each camera via an articulating head having provision for selective rotation about each of two orthogonally related axes. The table is provided with vibration damping, whereby both the measured object, and the cameras which provide triangulation data for each measurement, can operate from the same rigid base, isolated from external sources of mechanical shock. The video signals of the cameras are fed, along with instantaneous optical-axis orientation data for each camera, to the computer of a coordinate-measuring machine. The computer relies upon stored calibration data and angular-position data sensed about each of the rotary axes of the articulating heads to derive the orientation data; and the computer additionally relies on video-image analysis to calculate the coordinates of each measured point on the object.

Coordinate-measuring machine for non-contact measurement of objects

A manually guided probe of a coordinate measuring device is mounted by two rotary shafts arranged one behind the other and a spring parallelogram for nearly reaction free movement in several spatial directions. The device has a workpiece table that is rotatable and tiltable about at least two shafts.

Karl-Hermann Dr Breyer

Papers

Method and apparatus for non-contact measurement of object surfaces

Optoelectronic distance sensor with visible pilot beam

Method of making coordinate measurements on workpieces

Coordinate-measuring machine for non-contact measurement of objects

Coordinate-measuring device