IP Library Granted Patent US 12,702,522
Granted Patent B2
US 12,702,522 · App. 17/719,997 · Granted Aug 11, 2026

Surgical systems with intra-operative 3D scanners and surgical methods using the same

Inventors: Morteza Meftah (New York, NY); Irina Benimovich (New York, NY)
Assignee: CAIRA SURGICAL
A61B90/37A61B5/0037A61B17/155A61B17/157A61B34/10A61B2034/107A61B2034/108A61B2090/364A61B2090/366A61B2090/373
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,702,522
App. No.
17/719,997
Filed
Apr 13, 2022
Granted
Aug 11, 2026
Kind
B2
Art Unit
3775
USPC
606/96
Abstract

Aspects of the present disclosure include surgical systems that provide a cost-effective, accurate, and efficient system for performing surgical procedures. In one aspect of the disclosure, a surgical system utilizes an intra-operative 3D scanner that can be used to determine anatomical landmarks and calculate surgical positions based on such anatomical landmarks. In some examples, aspects of the present disclosure also include providing guidance information for guiding the placement of a surgical instrument according to the calculated surgical positions.

Claims (82)

1 . A system for orthopedic surgery without using optical trackers, the system comprising:

an intra-operative 3D scanner; and

a processor that is connected to the intra-operative 3D scanner and that is configured to perform functions comprising:

receiving, from the intra-operative 3D scanner, scan data from an intra-operative scan of a bone surface in a region of anatomical interest;

generating, from the scan data, a 3D image;

identifying, in the 3D image, one or more anatomical landmark on the bone surface;

calculating, according to the one or more anatomical landmark that was identified, a surgical position;

generating guidance information, according to the surgical position, for guiding a surgical procedure; and

guiding a surgical tool, based on the generated guidance information, to perform an act including at least one of: (a) cutting bone and (b) suture placement;

the system further comprising a projector that is connected to the processor and that projects light to form a target in the region of anatomical interest, wherein the target is in a position and an orientation relative to the region of anatomical interest that were determined according to the surgical position that was calculated;

wherein the intra-operative 3D scanner is configured to perform surface height measurements of the bone surface;

wherein the surface height measurements are included in the scan data; and

wherein the projector is a hologram projector and wherein the light that is projected forms a hologram of the target.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the intra-operative 3D scanner is one or more of a laser 3D scanner, a white light 3D scanner, or a blue light 3D scanner.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the intra-operative 3D scanner uses coherence scanning interferometry with broadband light illumination to perform the surface height measurements.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the intra-operative 3D scanner is attached to or integrated into an operating room light.

5 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a bone cutting jig having predetermined dimensions that is fixed to the bone surface; and

wherein the functions further comprise:

receiving, from the intra-operative 3D scanner, scan data from an intra-operative scan of the bone surface and the bone cutting jig; and

calibrating the 3D image based on the predetermined dimensions of the bone cutting jig.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein identifying one or more anatomical landmark comprises:

comparing the 3D image to one or more pre-operative images to identify the one or more anatomical landmark.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein identifying one or more anatomical landmark comprises:

using a machine-learning algorithm to compare the 3D image to a training base of images to identify the one or more anatomical landmark.

8 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a graphical user interface that is connected to the processor; and

a bone cutting jig; and

wherein generating guidance information comprises

determining a position and an orientation for the bone cutting jig relative to the region of anatomical interest according to the calculated surgical position; and

displaying, on the graphical user interface, a live video of the region of anatomical interest and a computer-generated image representing the bone cutting jig in the position and the orientation that were determined.

9 . The system of claim 1 , further comprising a display that, under control of the processor, displays the 3D image and guidance information as an augmented overlay.

10 . A system for orthopedic surgery performed without using optical trackers, the system comprising:

a 3D scanner that operates during the orthopedic surgery; and

a processor that is connected to the 3D scanner and that is configured to perform functions comprising:

receiving, from the 3D scanner, scan data from an intra-operative scan of a bone surface;

generating, from the scan data, a 3D image;

identifying, in the 3D image, one or more anatomical landmark on the bone surface;

calculating, according to the one or more anatomical landmark that was identified, a surgical position;

generating guidance information, according to the surgical position, for guiding a surgical procedure;

providing the guidance information during the surgery; and

guiding a surgical tool, based on the generated guidance information, to perform an act including at least one of: (a) cutting bone and (b) suture placement;

the system further comprising a projector that is connected to the processor and that projects light to form a target in the region of anatomical interest, wherein the target is in a position and an orientation relative to the region of anatomical interest that were determined according to the surgical position that was calculated;

wherein the 3D scanner is configured to perform surface height measurements of the bone surface;

wherein the surface height measurements are included in the scan data; and

wherein the projector is a hologram projector and wherein the light that is projected forms a hologram of the target.

11 . The system of claim 10 , wherein calculating the surgical position comprises:

calculating a position for an orthopedic implant.

12 . The system of claim 10 , further comprising:

a monitor that is connected to the processor; and

wherein providing the guidance information comprises displaying an image representing the guidance information on the monitor during the surgery.

13 . The system of claim 10 , further comprising:

a robotic surgery unit that is communicatively connected to the processor; and

wherein providing the guidance information comprises transmitting the guidance information to the robotic surgery unit during the surgery.

14 . The system of claim 10 , further comprising:

a memory containing one or more of a preoperative image of the bone surface or a machine-learning database of images of bony surfaces; and

wherein the functions further comprise:

registering the one or more anatomical landmark to at least one of the pre-operative image or the machine learning database of images, prior to calculating the surgical position.

15 . The system of claim 10 , further comprising a display that, under control of the processor, displays the 3D image and guidance information as an augmented overlay.

16 . A system for orthopedic surgery performed without using optical trackers, the system comprising:

a 3D scanner that scans a bone surface during the orthopedic surgery; and

a processor that is connected to the 3D scanner and that is configured to perform functions comprising:

receiving, from the 3D scanner, 3D-image scan data of the bone surface;

identifying, from the 3D-image scan data, one or more anatomical landmark on the bone surface;

calculating, according to the one or more anatomical landmark that was identified, a surgical position;

generating guidance information, according to the surgical position, for guiding a surgical procedure;

outputting the guidance information during the surgery; and

guiding a surgical tool, based on the generated guidance information, to perform an act including at least one of: (a) cutting bone and (b) suture placement;

the system further comprising a projector that is connected to the processor and that projects light to form a target in the region of anatomical interest, wherein the target is in a position and an orientation relative to the region of anatomical interest that were determined according to the surgical position that was calculated;

wherein the 3D scanner is configured to perform surface height measurements of the bone surface;

wherein the surface height measurements are included in the scan data; and

wherein the projector is a hologram projector and wherein the light that is projected forms a hologram of the target.

17 . The system of claim 16 , wherein calculating the surgical position comprises:

calculating a position for an orthopedic implant.

18 . The system of claim 16 , further comprising:

a monitor that is connected to the processor; and

wherein outputting the guidance information comprises displaying an image representing the guidance information on the monitor during the surgery.

19 . The system of claim 17 , further comprising:

a memory containing one or more of a preoperative image of the bone surface or a machine-learning database of images of bony surfaces; and

wherein the functions further comprise:

registering the one or more anatomical landmarks to at least one of the pre-operative image or the machine learning database of images, prior to calculating the surgical position.

20 . The system of claim 16 , further comprising a display that, under control of the processor, displays the 3D image and guidance information as an augmented overlay.