Instrument guidance system for sinus surgery

1. A method for guiding a surgical instrument during sinus surgery on a patient, said method comprising the steps of:

a. receiving pre-operative 3D patient image data marked with a plurality of points defining a planned drainage pathway, at least two of said plurality of points correspond to a starting point and an end point;

b. determining a position of the surgical instrument using an electromagnetic tracking system;

c. generating an augmented reality image including a first visualization element and a second visualization element, said first visualization element comprising a tube shaped object connecting the starting point to the ending point representing the planned drainage pathway and said second visualization element comprising a plurality of circles spaced along the planned drainage pathway, each of the plurality of circles encircle the tube shaped object and are configured to represent the determined position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway; and

d. displaying the augmented reality image to help guide the surgical instrument along the planned drainage pathway from the starting point to the end point located at a targeted orifice of the sinus.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plane of each of the plurality of circles should be perpendicular to the central 3D axis of the tube shaped object representing the planned drainage pathway.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of generating an augmented reality image further comprises modifying the plurality of circles of the second visualization element based on the position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of circles are arranged in a constant distance to an adjacent circle along the tube shaped object, wherein said plurality of circles are spaced at constant distances along the tube shaped object and are configured to provide spatial perception.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of generating an augmented reality image further comprises modifying the plurality of circles of the second visualization element by adding or hiding portions of the plurality of circles depending on the position of the surgical instrument as the surgical instrument moves between the starting point and the end point of the first visualization element representing the tube shaped object.

6. A method for guiding a surgical instrument during sinus surgery on a patient, said method comprising the steps of:

a. receiving pre-operative 3D patient image data marked with a plurality of points defining a planned drainage pathway, at least two of said plurality of points correspond to a starting point and an end point;

b. determining a position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway;

c. generating an augmented reality image including a first visualization element and a second visualization element, said first visualization element representing the planned drainage pathway and said second visualization element representing the determined position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway; and

d. displaying the augmented reality image to help guide the surgical instrument along the planned drainage pathway to the end point.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of points are marked in a plurality of slice images and are connected according to the order of marking or according to their location.

8. The method of claim 6 , further comprising repeating steps c and d as the surgical instrument is manipulated to execute the sinus surgery to adjust the first and second visualization elements to display a real-time position and orientation of the surgical instrument in the augmented reality image.

9. The method of claim 6 , wherein the first visualization element comprises a tube shaped object extending between the starting point and the end point, the tube shaped object configured to represent the planned drainage pathway in the augmented reality image.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the second visualization element comprises a plurality of circles spaced along the tube shaped object, modifying the plurality of circles based on the position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of circles surround the tube shaped object; and

wherein the center of each of the plurality of circles correspond to the center of the tube shaped object such that the plane of each of the plurality of circles is perpendicular to a central 3D axis of the tube shaped object.

12. The method of claim 10 , wherein each of the plurality of circles are arranged in a constant distance to an adjacent circle along the tube shaped object, wherein said plurality of circles are spaced at constant distances along the tube shaped object and are configured to provide spatial perception.

13. The method of claim 10 , wherein the plurality of circles of the second visualization element may be modified by adding or hiding portions of the plurality of circles depending on the position of the surgical instrument as the surgical instrument moves between the starting point and the end point of the first visualization element representing the tube shaped object.

14. The method of claim 9 , wherein the second visualization element further comprises a plurality of polygons spaced along the tube shaped object, modifying the plurality of polygons based on the position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway.

15. A method for guiding a surgical instrument during sinus surgery on a patient, said method comprising the steps of:

a. receiving pre-operative 3D patient image data;

b. marking a plurality of points in a plurality of slice images of the 3D patient image data to define a planned drainage pathway, wherein at least two of said plurality of points correspond to a starting point and an end point;

c. using an endoscope to obtain a real-time intra-operative image of an operating field including the patient;

d. determining a position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway and relative to the endoscope;

e. computing a virtual image corresponding to the real-time intra-operative image, the virtual image comprising:

a visualization element representing the determined position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway;

f. superimposing the virtual image over the real-time intraoperative image to generate an augmented reality image including the visualization element; and

g. displaying the augmented reality image to help guide the surgical instrument along the planned drainage pathway to the end point.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the virtual image further comprises second visualization element representing the planned drainage pathway; and

wherein said augmented reality image generated by superimposing the virtual image over the real-time intraoperative image includes the visualization element and the second visualization element.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the second visualization element comprises a tube shaped object extending between the starting point and the end point, the tube shaped object configured to represent the planned drainage pathway in the augmented reality image.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the visualization element comprises a plurality of circles spaced along the tube shaped object, modifying the plurality of circles based on the position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein each of the plurality of circles are arranged in a constant distance to an adjacent circle along the tube shaped object, wherein said plurality of circles are spaced at constant distances along the tube shaped object and are configured to provide spatial perception.

20. A surgical navigation system for guiding a surgical instrument during sinus surgery on a patient, said navigation system comprising:

an information processing system configured to:

receive pre-operative 3D patient image data marked with a plurality of points defining a planned drainage pathway, at least two of said plurality of points correspond to a starting point and an end point;

determine a position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway;

generate an augmented reality image including a first visualization element and a second visualization element, said first visualization element representing the planned drainage pathway and said second visualization element representing the determined position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway; and

display the augmented reality image to help guide the surgical instrument along the planned drainage pathway to the end point.

21. The system of claim 20 , further comprising an endoscope, said endoscope configured to obtain a real-time intra-operative image of an operating field including the patient; and

wherein said navigation system is configured to determine a position of the surgical instrument relative to the planned drainage pathway and relative to the endoscope.

22. The system of claim 21 , wherein said surgical navigation system comprises an optical tracking system, or electro-magnetic tracking system, or based on the continuous analysis of the real-time intra-operative image, or a combination thereof.

23. The system of claim 20 , further comprising an input device configured to allow a user to mark the pre-operative 3D patient image data marked with the plurality of points.

24. The system of claim 23 , wherein said input device comprises a multi-touch screen configured to allow the user to change the marked points using a gesture, said gesture including the simultaneous use of multiple fingers.