SBIR Phase I: Hybrid Mechanical-Optical Patient Tracking for Robotic Surgery

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project will be to innovate a novel patient tracking system, which will improve robotic surgery usability in an intra-operative environment. Robotic surgery is becoming ubiquitous across various medical procedures, and data continues to show improved clinical results. However, usability challenges impede broader adoption. This project will combine multiple tracking modalities, including mechanical and optical tracking, to create a hybrid tracking technology that allows for the advantages of each modality. This will optimize patient range of motion while minimizing line-of-sight challenges. This patient tracking technology can be used in conjunction with an existing robotic surgery system for dental implant procedures, which comprise a significant market opportunity. Dental implants are the standard of care for tooth replacement, and the dental implant market in the US is over $1 billion and growing nearly 8% per year with more than 14 million implants being placed annually worldwide. This technique can be used not only to revolutionize dental implant surgery, where the system is currently applied, but also to potentially create opportunities in other cranial procedures, which are otherwise burdened by invasive, cumbersome tracking technologies that impede intra-operative usability. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will demonstrate the feasibility of the first hybrid patient tracking device that combines mechanical and optical tracking methods. Optical tracking systems require that cameras have direct line-of-sight to several tracked markers in the surgical field, which poses a significant challenge to the surgeon and assistants that have to carefully avoid blocking the camera's field-of-view. Mechanical tracking systems limit a patient's range of motion and can be bulky. The success of this project will lead to the development of a robotic surgery system for dental implant procedures that encompasses: 1) pre-operative CT-based planning software, 2) a visual guidance system that provides on-screen graphics like a GPS system, 3) a hybrid optical and mechanical tracking system that monitors the patient position, and 4) a robot arm that physically grasps the drill at the same time as the surgeon in order to provide haptic feedback, constraining the surgeon to match the planned osteotomy. This system enables minimally invasive, flapless surgery that is shown to result in less pain for the patient and faster surgery. It is designed to be easy to use and seamlessly integrate into the surgeon's workflow.