Wireless active tracking fiducials

1. A system for active tracking of objects for use in a medical procedure, the system comprising:

a fiducial frame to be attached to a trackable object, the fiducial frame having a plurality of support posts positioned in a geometric pattern;

a power source attached to the fiducial frame;

a master control and sync unit attached to the fiducial frame and coupled to the power source;

a plurality of fiducial markers, each fiducial marker including a light emitter and a casing for attachment to a respective one of the support posts, the casing defining a cavity that is shaped for mounting to a respective one of the support posts and including a mechanical switch positioned within the cavity for connecting the fiducial marker to the power source, wherein mounting the fiducial marker to a respective support post causes closure of the mechanical switch; and

signal lines, each signal line connecting one of the fiducial markers to the master control and sync unit.

2. The system claimed in claim 1 , wherein each of the fiducial markers further comprises:

a signal receiver to receive a signal from a surgical navigation system; and

control logic to control the light emitter in response to the signal from the surgical navigation system.

3. The system claimed in claim 1 , wherein the cavity is sized to allow the fiducial marker to be push fit onto said respective one of the support posts.

4. The system claimed in claim 2 , wherein the signal receiver comprises a photodetector.

5. The system claimed in claim 2 , wherein the control logic comprises a processing device and a memory storing program instructions that, when executed by the processing device, are to cause the processing device to generate a power signal to drive the light emitting component.

6. The system claimed in claim 5 , wherein the instructions are to cause the processing device to pulse the power signal at a pulse pattern selected based on the signal from the surgical navigation system.

7. The system claimed in claim 5 , wherein the instructions are to cause the processing device to modulate the power signal with response data in reply to the signal from the surgical navigation system.

8. The system claimed in claim 5 , wherein the instructions are to cause the processing device to measure a battery charge level of the power source and to modulate the power signal to signal the battery charge level to the surgical navigation system.

9. The system claimed in claim 7 , wherein the processing device comprises at least one of a microprocessor, an application specific integrated circuit, or a microcontroller.

10. The system claimed in claim 1 , wherein the light emitter comprises an infrared light emitting diode.

11. The system claimed in claim 1 , wherein the power source comprises a battery.

12. The system claimed in claim 1 , wherein:

the plurality of fiducial markers include a first active fiducial marker having a first light emitting component that emits light having a first spectral bandwidth, and a second active fiducial marker having a second light emitting component that emits light having a second spectral bandwidth different from the first spectral bandwidth, and

the system further comprising at least one optical tracking camera to detect and distinguish between light from the first active fiducial marker and light from the second active fiducial marker based upon a difference in the first and second spectral bandwidths.

13. The system claimed in claim 12 , the light emitting components comprise light emitting diodes.

14. The system claimed in claim 12 , wherein the optical tracking camera further includes a wireless communication source, and wherein each active fiducial marker further includes:

a signal receiver to receive a signal from the wireless communication source; and

control logic to control the light emitting component in response to the signal from the optical navigation system.

15. The system claimed in claim 14 , wherein the signal receiver comprises a photodetector and the wireless communication source comprises an infrared light.

16. The system claimed in claim 14 , wherein the control logic comprises a processing device and a memory storing program instructions that, when executed by the processing device, are to cause the processing device to generate a power signal to drive the light emitting component.

17. The system claimed in claim 16 , wherein the instructions are to cause the processing device to pulse the power signal at a pulse pattern selected based on the signal from the wireless communication source.

18. The system claimed in claim 16 , wherein the instructions are to cause the processing device to modulate the power signal with response data in reply to the signal from the wireless communication source.

19. The system claimed in claim 16 , wherein the instructions are to cause the processing device to measure a battery charge level of the power source and to modulate the power signal to signal the battery charge level to the optical tracking camera.

20. The system claimed in claim 12 , wherein the plurality of fiducial markers further includes a third active fiducial marker attached to the fiducial frame and having a third light emitting component that emits light having the first spectral bandwidth, and wherein a first distance between the first light emitting component and the second light emitting component is different from a second distance between the third light emitting component and the second light emitting component.

21. The system claimed in claim 12 , wherein the fiducial frame is to be attached to a first tool during the medical procedure, and further comprising a second fiducial frame to be attached to a second tool during an operation, the second fiducial frame having attached thereto a second plurality of independent active fiducial markers each having light emitting components that emit light having a third spectral bandwidth different from the first or second spectral bandwidth.