Optical targeting and visualization of trajectories

Abstract

Enhanced targeting systems and methods may be used to visualize trajectories for surgical instruments. Such a targeting system may have a first light source and a second light source. The first light source may project first light along a first plane, and the second light source may project second light along a second plane nonparallel to the first plane. At an intersection of the first and second planes, the first light and the second light may cooperate to produce a targeting line that indicates the desired trajectory. An image capture system may also be used to capture image data of anatomical features of a patient at one or more locations in space, and a controller may receive the image data and indicate the trajectory relative to the anatomical features of the patient.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A targeting system for providing visualization of a trajectory for a medical instrument, the targeting system comprising:
 a base unit;   an illumination system coupled to the base unit and configured to project light to indicate the trajectory;   an image capture system coupled to the base unit and configured to capture image data of anatomical features of a patient at a first location in space; and   a controller configured to receive the image data and indicate the trajectory relative to the anatomical features of the patient.   
     
     
         2 . The targeting system of  claim 1  wherein,
 the illumination system further comprises:
 a first light source coupled to the base unit, wherein the first light source projects first light along a first plane; and 
 a second light source coupled to the base unit, wherein the second light source projects second light along a second plane nonparallel to the first plane such that, at an intersection of the first plane with the second plane, the first light and the second light cooperate to produce a first targeting line that indicates the trajectory; 
 
 the image capture system further comprises:
 a first camera coupled to the base unit and configured to capture first image data of anatomical features of a patient at a first location in space; 
 a second camera coupled to the base unit and configured to capture second image data of the anatomical features of the patient at the first location in space, the second camera spaced apart from the first camera by a predetermined distance to form a stereoscopic camera system; and 
 
 the controller is further configured to:
 receive the first image data and the second image data and generate a three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the first location in space and, based on the three-dimensional map, determine a first orientation of the first light source and a second orientation of the second light source at which the first targeting line indicates the trajectory. 
 
 
     
     
         3 . The targeting system of  claim 2 , wherein the first image data and the second image data indicate reflections of ambient light from the anatomical features of the patient. 
     
     
         4 . The targeting system of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the first camera is coupled to the base unit at a known position relative to the first light source and the first image data indicates reflections of the first light from the anatomical features of the patient; and   the second camera is coupled to the base unit at a known position relative to the second light source and the second image data indicates reflections of the second light from the anatomical features of the patient.   
     
     
         5 . The targeting system of  claim 2 , further comprising a structured light source coupled to the base unit and configured to project a light pattern on the anatomical features of the patient, wherein the first image data and the second image data indicate reflections of the light pattern from the anatomical features of the patient. 
     
     
         6 . The targeting system of  claim 2 , wherein:
 the first camera is further configured to capture third image data of the anatomical features of the patient at a second location in space;   the second camera is further configured to capture fourth image data of the anatomical features of the patient at the second location in space; and   the controller is further configured to receive the third image data and the fourth image data and generate a three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the second location in space and, based on the three-dimensional map, determine a third orientation of the first light source and a fourth orientation of the second light source at which a second targeting line indicates an updated trajectory.   
     
     
         7 . The targeting system of  claim 2 , further comprising a reference/fiducial marker coupled to the anatomical features of the patient, the reference/fiducial marker comprising a structure with patterned surfaces of known geometric dimensions with at least one surface visible to the image capture system, wherein the first camera and the second camera are configured to capture image data of the reference/fiducial marker and the controller is configured to receive the image data of the reference/fiducial marker and continuously update the orientation of the three-dimensional map in space based on a current position of the reference/fiducial marker, and, based on the orientation of the three-dimensional map, determine an updated orientation of the first light source and the second light source to indicate an updated targeting line and an updated trajectory. 
     
     
         8 . The targeting system of  claim 2 , further comprising a visualization aid configured to be tracked, the visualization aid comprising:
 a visualization surface on which the first targeting line is projected;   at least one of an optical marker and a patterned surface; and   a guide surface positioned such that, with the first targeting line projected on the visualization surface, the medical instrument is slidable along the guide surface to move along the trajectory.   
     
     
         9 . A method for providing visualization of a trajectory for a medical instrument, the method comprising:
 capturing first image data of anatomical features of a patient at a first location in space;   capturing second image data of the anatomical features of the patient at the first location in space;   generating a three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the first location in space; and   based on the three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the first location in space:
 orienting a first light source at a first orientation; 
 orienting a second light source at a second orientation; 
 with the first light source, projecting first light along a first plane; 
 with the second light source, projecting second light along a second plane; and 
 at an intersection of the first plane with the second plane, producing a first targeting line that indicates the trajectory relative to the anatomical features of patient at the first location in space. 
   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein capturing the first image data and the second image data comprises capturing reflections of ambient light from the anatomical features of the patient. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein capturing the first image data and the second image data comprises capturing reflections of laser light from the anatomical features of the patient. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein capturing the first image data and the second image data comprises capturing reflections of structured light patterns from the anatomical features of the patient. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 capturing third image data of anatomical features of the patient at a second location in space;   capturing fourth image data of the anatomical features of the patient at the second location in space;   generating a second three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the second location in space; and   based on the second three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the second location in space:
 orienting the first light source at a third orientation; 
 orienting the second light source at a fourth orientation; 
 with the first light source, projecting the first light along a third plane; 
 with the second light source, projecting the second light along a fourth plane; and 
 at an intersection of the third plane with the fourth plane, producing a second targeting line that indicates the trajectory relative to the anatomical features of patient at the second location in space. 
   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising:
 capturing third image data of an object in space relative to the three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the first location in space; and   producing an updated targeting line that indicates the trajectory based on the location of the object in space relative to the three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the first location in space.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the object comprises a reference/fiducial marker coupled to the anatomical features of the patient, the reference/fiducial marker comprising a structure with at least one patterned surface. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the object comprises a visualization aid, the visualization aid comprising:
 a visualization surface on which the targeting line is projected;   at least one of an optical marker and a patterned surface; and   a guide surface positioned such that, with the targeting line projected on the visualization surface, the medical instrument is slidable along the guide surface to move along the trajectory.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising inserting the medical instrument along the trajectory by sliding the medical instrument along a guiding surface of the visualization aid. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein the object comprises a tracing device configured to be tracked by an image capture system to facilitate registration between different image data sets. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising displaying, on a screen, at least one of a virtual planned trajectory, a current trajectory, a segmented anatomical feature, and the three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient. 
     
     
         20 . A targeting system for providing visualization of a trajectory for a medical instrument, the targeting system comprising:
 a base unit;   a first light source coupled to the base unit, wherein the first light source projects first light along a first plane;   a second light source coupled to the base unit, wherein the second light source projects second light along a second plane nonparallel to the first plane such that, at an intersection of the first plane with the second plane, the first light and the second light cooperate to produce a first targeting line that indicates the trajectory;   a camera coupled to the base unit at a known position relative to the first light source and the second light source and configured to capture image data of anatomical features of a patient at a first location in space, the image data indicating reflections of the first light and the second light from the anatomical features of the patient;   a controller configured to receive the image data and generate a three-dimensional map of the anatomical features of the patient at the first location in space and, based on the three-dimensional map, determine a first orientation of the first light source and a second orientation of the second light source at which the first targeting line indicates the trajectory; and   a fiducial marker coupled to the anatomical features of the patient, the fiducial marker comprising a cube with patterned surfaces, wherein the camera is configured to capture image data of the fiducial marker and the controller is configured to receive the image data of the fiducial marker and continuously update the orientation of the three-dimensional map in space based on a current position of the fiducial marker, and, based on the orientation of the three-dimensional map, determine an updated orientation of the first light source and the second light source to indicate an updated targeting line and an updated trajectory.