Method, system and apparatus for image capture and registration in image-guided surgery

1. A method in a computing device, comprising:

at the computing device, obtaining a position of an imaging device in a tracking system frame of reference via a tracking system coupled to the computing device, the position of the imaging device comprising a first set of coordinates relative to an origin of the tracking system;

at the computing device, obtaining a position of a patient in the tracking system frame of reference via the tracking system, the position of the patient comprising a second set of coordinates relative to the tracking system origin;

determining, at the computing device, based on the position of the imaging device and the position of the patient, a transformation for registering an imaging device frame of reference defining a second origin with a patient frame of reference, wherein (i) the patient frame of reference is centered at a third origin located on the patient and distinct from the second set of coordinates, and (ii) defines a set of axes extending from the third origin, the axes aligned with anatomical planes of the patient;

receiving at the computing device, via an input device connected to the computing device, an instruction to capture an image, the instruction including a set of target coordinates identifying a target area of the patient according to the patient frame of reference;

generating a converted instruction from the instruction, by applying the transformation to convert the set of target coordinates to a fourth set of coordinates identifying the target area according to the imaging device frame of reference; and

capturing an image with the imaging device using the fourth set of coordinates in the converted instruction.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the imaging device and the patient include markers, and wherein obtaining the positions of the imaging device and the patient comprises detecting the markers.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein obtaining the positions of the imaging device and the patient comprises receiving the positions from the tracking system.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the imaging device is an MRI scanner.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

storing the captured image in association with the transformation.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

retrieving the stored image and the stored transformation;

applying the stored transformation to the image; and

presenting the transformed image on a display.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

retrieving the stored image and the stored transformation;

retrieving a second image and a second corresponding transformation;

applying the respective transformations to the image and the second image; and

presenting the transformed image and the transformed second image on a display simultaneously.

8. A computing device, comprising:

an input device;

an interface;

a memory; and

a processor interconnected with the input device, the interface and the memory, the processor configured to:

obtain a position of an imaging device in a tracking system frame of reference via a tracking system coupled to the computing device, the position of the imaging device comprising a first set of coordinates relative to an origin of the tracking system;

obtain a position of a patient in the tracking system frame of reference via the tracking system, the position of the patient comprising a second set of coordinates relative to the tracking system origin;

determine, based on the position of the imaging device and the position of the patient, a transformation for registering an imaging device frame of reference defining a second origin with a patient frame of reference, wherein (i) the patient frame of reference is centered at a third origin located on the patient and distinct from the second set of coordinates, and (ii) defines a set of axes extending from the third origin, the axes aligned with anatomical planes of the patient;

receive, via the input device, an instruction to capture an image, the instruction including a set of target coordinates identifying a target area of the patient according to the patient frame of reference;

generate a converted instruction from the instruction, by applying the transformation to convert the set of target coordinates to a fourth set of coordinates identifying the target area according to the imaging device frame of reference; and

capture an image with the imaging device using the fourth set of coordinates in the converted instruction.

9. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the imaging device and the patient include markers; the processor configured to obtain the positions of the imaging device and the patient by detecting the markers.

10. The computing device of claim 8 , the processor configured to wherein obtaining the positions of the imaging device and the patient comprises receiving the positions from the tracking system.

11. The computing device of claim 8 , wherein the imaging device is an MRI scanner.

12. The computing device of claim 8 , the processor further configured to:

store the captured image in the memory in association with the transformation.

13. The computing device of claim 12 , further comprising a display connected to the processor; the processor further configured to:

retrieve the stored image and the stored transformation from the memory;

apply the stored transformation to the image; and

present the transformed image on the display.

14. The computing device of claim 12 , further comprising a display connected to the processor; the processor further configured to:

retrieve the stored image and the stored transformation from the memory;

retrieve a second image and a second corresponding transformation from the memory;

apply the respective transformations to the image and the second image; and

present the transformed image and the transformed second image on the display simultaneously.

15. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing a plurality of computer-readable instructions executable by a processor of a computing device for performing a method comprising:

at the computing device, obtaining a position of an imaging device in a tracking system frame of reference via a tracking system coupled to the computing device, the position of the imaging device comprising a first set of coordinates relative to an origin of the tracking system;

at the computing device, obtaining a position of a patient in the tracking system frame of reference via the tracking system, the position of the patient comprising a second set of coordinates relative to the tracking system origin;

determining, at the computing device, based on the position of the imaging device and the position of the patient, a transformation for registering an imaging device frame of reference defining a second origin with a patient frame of reference, wherein (i) the patient frame of reference is centered at a third origin located on the patient and distinct from the second set of coordinates, and (ii) defines a set of axes extending from the third origin, the axes aligned with anatomical planes of the patient;

receiving at the computing device, via an input device connected to the computing device, an instruction to capture an image, the instruction including a set of target coordinates identifying a target area of the patient according to the patient frame of reference;

generating a converted instruction from the instruction, by applying the transformation to convert the set of target coordinates to a fourth set of coordinates identifying the target area according to the imaging device frame of reference; and

capturing an image with the imaging device using the fourth set of coordinates in the converted instruction.

16. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the imaging device and the patient include markers, and wherein obtaining the positions of the imaging device and the patient comprises detecting the markers.

17. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein obtaining the positions of the imaging device and the patient comprises receiving the positions from the tracking system.

18. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , wherein the imaging device is an MRI scanner.

19. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 15 , the method further comprising:

storing the captured image in association with the transformation.

20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19 , the method further comprising:

retrieving the stored image and the stored transformation;

applying the stored transformation to the image; and

presenting the transformed image on a display.

21. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of claim 19 , the method further comprising:

retrieving the stored image and the stored transformation;

retrieving a second image and a second corresponding transformation;

applying the respective transformations to the image and the second image; and

presenting the transformed image and the transformed second image on a display simultaneously.