Method and apparatus for perspective inversion

1. A surgical instrument navigation system operable to track a position of a surgical instrument relative to a patient space, comprising:

a tracking subsystem operable to capture real-time position data indicative of the position of the surgical instrument; and

a processor adapted to access image data representative of the patient space in a selected orientation and to process the image data and the position data from the tracking subsystem, the processor operable to generate a three-dimensional representation of the surgical instrument as it would visually appear from either of at least two different perspectives and to overlay the representation of the surgical instrument onto the image data of the patient.

2. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a display in communication with the processor, the display operable to display the representation of the surgical instrument in at least one of the two different perspectives superimposed onto the image data of the patient in the first orientation.

3. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 1 , wherein the display includes at least one of an overhead display, a monitor, a heads-up display, or combinations thereof.

4. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a surgical instrument operable to be moved relative to the patient space.

5. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 4 wherein the processor is further operable to track in real-time the position of the surgical instrument as it is moved by a surgeon and generate a corresponding representation of the surgical instrument in relation to the image data of the patient.

6. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 1 , further comprising:

a rotatable C-arm operable to provide the image data;

wherein at least one of the two different perspectives is determined by an orientation of the C-arm relative to the patient.

7. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 1 further comprising:

an imaging device that includes an image source emanating radiation towards the patient and an image receiver positioned to receive radiation from the image source, such that the generated representation of the surgical instrument visually appears as it would from either the perspective of the image source or the perspective of the image receiver.

8. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 1 wherein the generated representation of the surgical instrument visually appears from a perspective that is selectable by a user of the navigation system.

9. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 2 wherein the display further includes a touch screen activated button operable to select the perspective of the generated representation of the surgical instrument.

10. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 2 wherein the display visually indicates the perspective of the generated representation of the surgical instrument as it appears to a user of the navigation system.

11. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 1 further comprising at least one of an x-ray imaging device, an isocentric C-arm imaging device, computed tomography imaging device, magnetic resonance imaging device, a two-dimensional imaging device, a three-dimensional imaging device, or combinations thereof.

12. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 1 wherein the tracking subsystem employs a non-contact positional location technique that is based on at least one of radio waves, infrared energy, magnetic fields, sonic emissions, or combinations thereof.

13. A surgical instrument navigation system for assisting in tracking a surgical instrument in relation to a patient space, comprising:

a surgical instrument

an imaging subsystem operable to produce image data representative of the patient space produced in relation to an image receiver and a transmitter;

a tracking subsystem operable to capture in real-time position data indicative of a position of the surgical instrument;

a processor operable to process the image data and the position data from the tracking subsystem, the processor operable to generate a three-dimensional representation of the surgical instrument as it would visually appear from either the perspective of the transmitter or the perspective of the image receiver and to overlay the representation of the surgical instrument onto the image data of the patient in the orientation.

14. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 13 , further comprising:

a display in communication with the processor, the display operable to display the representation of the surgical instrument superimposed onto the image data of the patient.

15. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 13 wherein the processor is further operable to track in real-time the position of the surgical instrument as it is moved by a surgeon and generate a corresponding representation of the surgical instrument in relation to the image data of the patient.

16. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 13 wherein the generated representation of the surgical instrument visually appears from a perspective that is selectable by a user of the navigation system.

17. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 14 wherein the display is further defined as a graphical user interface having a touch screen activated button to select the perspective of the generated representation of the surgical instrument.

18. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 13 wherein the imaging subsystem includes at least one of an x-ray imaging device, computed tomography imaging device, magnetic resonance imaging device, isocentric C-arm imaging device, a three-dimensional imaging device, a two-dimensional imaging device, or combinations thereof.

19. The surgical instrument navigation system of claim 13 wherein the tracking subsystem employs a non-contact positional location technique that is based on at least one of radio energy, infrared waves, magnetic fields, sonic emissions, or combinations thereof.