SBIR Phase I: Development of a tracking system for computer assisted surgery

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to improve accessibility to robotic total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Robotic TKA can improve implant positioning accuracy, enhance early functional rehabilitation, and reduce postoperative pain and time to hospital discharge. However, disruption in the operating room caused by current positional tracking systems impedes robotic utilization in TKA procedures. This Phase I project focuses on developing an inside-out tracking system that would free up valuable space in the operating room, eliminate line-of-sight concerns, possibly eliminate secondary incisions, and reduce the robotic system's overall cost. The distributors may be able to integrate this inside-out tracking system into any navigated or robotic surgical system that requires tracking bony anatomy (knee, hip, shoulder, or ankle arthroplasty and spinal or cranial procedures). This innovation targets the global orthopedic surgical robotic device market. The implementation of inside-out tracking may significantly improve the usability of surgical robots, improving their accessibility and, ultimately, improving outcomes for TKA patients.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project seeks to develop an inside-out tracking system prototype that is appropriate for surgical bone tracking. Legacy commercial embodiments of inside-out tracking systems are not sufficiently compact and do not possess the necessary processing power for surgical applications. Recently, technological advances have made small form factor cameras with sufficient processing power to enable the realistic development of an inside-out tracking system for surgical robotic use accessible to developers at low cost. In this Phase I project, the team will demonstrate the feasibility of such a system through the following technical objectives: bench test commercial cameras and develop software to capture and process positional data in real-time; integrate an inside-out tracking system into a surgical robotic TKA system, and demonstrate the feasibility of an integrated system in a cadaver study to determine surgeon usability. Successful completion of this project may identify hardware and software that demonstrates the performance necessary for surgical applications and confirm the system's usability with surgeon users.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.