User Centric Device Registration for Streamlined Workflows in Surgical Navigation Systems

Abstract

Alongside sweeping transformations in healthcare, a timeless drive to make surgical interventions less invasive and more effective has led to the integration of disparate technologies into surgical navigation systems. Fusions of device tracking and medical imaging modalities have been comprehensively investigated for opportunities to improve care. Such composite systems provide more and better information, enabling clinicians to operate less invasively and more effectively. Because of these merits, the preoperative ritual of harmonizing multiple information sources has been tacitly adopted. In this paper, we challenge the paradigm of preoperative registration. Proposed herein is a technique in which a clinician registers an interventional device to a navigation system simply by gesturing the device through a strategically designed fixture. In the background, the system continuously monitors the device path for this registration gesture. We demonstrate generality by applying the method to both robotic and electromagnetically tracked devices, and exhibit versatility by repeating the registration at multiple device base locations. Experiments indicate sub-millimeter accuracy versus conventional approaches on the same setup. Consequently, clinicians can register devices on the fly, increasing flexibility in setup and redefining workflow possibilities in surgery.