Patent ID: 9622824
Date: 2017-04-18
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A method for automatically assigning identification to an associated navigable medical instrument in a medical navigation system operatively coupled with a tracking system, the method comprising: storing first geometrical data in a non-transitory memory of the tracking system or the medical navigation system, the first geometrical data being representative of first physical properties of the navigable medical instrument at a first time before a use time of the navigable medical instrument; operating the tracking system at a second time before the use time to measure relative distances between each of at least three marker elements having a fixed mutual spatial relationship defining a rigid marker body geometry on a reference array coupled with the navigable medical instrument; assigning, by the tracking system or the medical navigation system, the reference array to the navigable medical instrument by associating in the non-transitory memory of the tracking system or the medical navigation system the measured relative distances with the first geometrical data of the navigable medical instrument; determining, by the tracking system, positional data representative of a position of the rigid marker body geometry relative to the tracking system, and providing the determined positional data to the medical navigation system; displaying on an output of the medical navigation system in accordance with the determined positional data an image of a position of the navigable medical instrument having the first physical properties and being assigned to the reference array; storing, at a third time after the use time of the navigable medical instrument, second geometrical data in the non-transitory memory of the tracking system or the medical navigation system, the second geometrical data being representative of second physical properties of the associated navigable medical instrument changed from the first physical properties to the second physical properties in accordance with the navigable medical instrument being deformed from the first physical properties to the second physical properties; operating the tracking system at a fourth time after the use time to re-measure the relative distances between each of the least three marker elements having the fixed mutual spatial relationship defining the rigid marker body geometry on the reference array coupled with the deformed navigable medical instrument; assigning, by the tracking system or the medical navigation system, the reference array to the deformed navigable medical instrument by associating in the non-transitory memory of the tracking system or the medical navigation system the re-measured relative distances with the second geometrical data of the deformed navigable medical instrument; determining, by the tracking system, positional data representative of a position of the rigid marker body geometry relative to the tracking system, and providing the positional data to the medical navigation system; and displaying on the output of the medical navigation system in accordance with the positional data an image of a position of the deformed navigable medical instrument having the second physical properties and being assigned to the reference array.