Systems and methods for customizing interactive haptic boundaries

1. A method for customizing an interactive haptic boundary based on a patient-specific feature, comprising:

identifying a reference feature associated with a virtual implant model;

determining an intersection between the identified reference feature and a virtual model associated with an anatomy of the patient; and

generating a virtual haptic boundary based on the determined intersection between the identified reference feature associated with the virtual implant model and the virtual model associated with the anatomy of the patient.

2. The method of claim 1 , further including displaying the generated virtual haptic boundary, the virtual model associated with the anatomy of the patient, and the virtual implant model on a display.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual implant model includes a virtual model of a tibial prosthetic base, wherein the reference feature includes a bottom surface of the tibial prosthetic base.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the intersection between the identified reference feature and the virtual model includes:

identifying an anatomic feature of the patient's anatomy on the virtual model;

estimating an intersection between the reference feature associated with the virtual implant model and the anatomic feature on the virtual model; and

generating the virtual haptic boundary based on the estimated intersection between the reference feature and the anatomic feature.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual implant model corresponds with a prosthetic implant and the reference feature associated with the virtual implant model comprises a three-dimensional virtual representation of the surface of the prosthetic implant that abuts the patient's anatomy.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein generating the virtual haptic boundary comprises:

identifying an area of the virtual model associated with the patient's anatomy that overlaps with an area associated with the virtual implant model; and

virtually resecting the determined overlapping area of the virtual model.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving a signal indicative of a user-defined modification to the generated virtual haptic boundary; and

modifying the generated virtual haptic boundary based on the received signal.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving computed tomography (CT) data associated with the patient's anatomy; and

generating the virtual model associated with the patient's anatomy based on the CT data.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

generating the virtual model associated with the patient's anatomy utilizing an imageless system.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

displaying a graphical representation of an implant in virtual coordinate space;

displaying a graphical representation of a bone in virtual coordinate space;

positioning the graphical representation of the implant relative to the graphical representation of the bone based on a user input;

extracting reference feature information associated with the virtual representation of the implant;

mapping the extracted reference feature information to the graphical representation of the bone;

receiving information indicative of a positional landmark associated with the bone;

estimating an intersection between the positional landmark and the mapped reference feature; and

generating the virtual haptic boundary based, at least in part, on the estimated intersection between the positional landmark and the mapped reference feature.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the reference feature information includes a position and orientation of a surface of the graphical representation of the implant that abuts the graphical representation of the bone.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the surface includes the bottom surface of the graphical representation of the implant.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the positional landmark includes a perimeter of the bone and estimating the intersection includes calculating the intersection between the perimeter of the bone and the bottom surface of the graphical representation of the implant.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the positional landmark includes a user-defined landmark for adjusting the virtual haptic boundary.

15. The method of claim 10 , wherein generating the virtual haptic boundary includes:

retrieving a default virtual haptic boundary corresponding to the geometry of the graphical representation of the implant;

determining a difference between a position of a portion of the default virtual haptic boundary and the positional landmark associated with the bone; and

generating a modified haptic boundary based, at least in part, on the determined difference between the position of the portion of the default virtual haptic boundary and the positional landmark associated with the bone.

16. The method of claim 10 , further comprising:

receiving information indicative of a numerical offset based on a user input; and

generating a modified haptic boundary based, at least in part, on the received numerical offset information.

17. A computer-assisted surgery system comprising:

a display;

an input device configured to receive data input by a user;

a processor, operatively coupled to the input device and the display and configured to:

identify a reference feature associated with a virtual implant model;

determine an intersection between the identified reference feature and a virtual model associated with an anatomy of the patient;

generate a virtual haptic boundary based on the determined intersection between the identified reference feature associated with the virtual implant model and the virtual model associated with the anatomy of the patient; and

display the generated virtual haptic boundary and the virtual model associated with the anatomy of the patient on the display.

18. The computer assisted surgery system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to display the virtual implant model on the display.

19. The computer assisted surgery system of claim 17 , wherein the virtual implant model includes a virtual model of a tibial prosthetic base, wherein the reference feature includes a bottom surface of the tibial prosthetic base.

20. The computer assisted surgery system of claim 17 , wherein determining the intersection between the identified reference feature and the virtual model includes:

identifying an anatomic feature of the patient's anatomy on the virtual model;

estimating an intersection between the reference feature associated with the virtual implant model and the anatomic feature on the virtual model; and

generating the virtual haptic boundary based on the estimated intersection between the reference feature and the anatomic feature.

21. The computer assisted surgery system claim 17 , wherein the virtual implant model corresponds with a prosthetic implant and the reference feature associated with the virtual implant model comprises a three-dimensional virtual representation of the surface of the prosthetic implant that abuts the patient's anatomy.

22. The computer assisted surgery system of claim 17 , wherein generating the virtual haptic boundary comprises:

identifying an area of the virtual model associated with the patient's anatomy that overlaps with an area associated with the virtual implant model; and

virtually resecting the determined overlapping area of the virtual model.

23. The computer assisted surgery system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive a signal indicative of a user-defined modification to the generated virtual haptic boundary; and

modify the generated virtual haptic boundary based on the received signal.

24. The computer assisted surgery system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

receive computed tomography (CT) data associated with the patient's anatomy; and

generate the virtual model associated with the patient's anatomy based on the CT data.

25. The computer assisted surgery system of claim 17 , wherein the processor is further configured to:

generate the virtual model associated with the patient's anatomy utilizing an imageless system.