Patent ID: 6162190
Filing Date: 2000-12-19
Classification: A61B,B25J,G01S,G06F

Abstract:
A system for determining the spatial placement, including position and orientation, of a plurality of body-parts of living beings, said body-parts acting as individual articulated elements of a kinematically-constrained multi-articulated structure comprising at least three links and at least two revolute joints, two joints separated by a single link, said system comprising:a plurality of sensing elements comprising position-sensing elements for disposition about said articulated structure, wherein said disposition results in at least one of said links not being a measured link, wherein said position-sensing elements either are a transmitter which transmits a signal or a receiver which receives said signal, wherein said position-sensing elements are disposed in juxtaposition to links at other than a joint to provide measured links; wherein when a single-joint position sensor is associated with the joint connecting a first link to a measured link, said first link becomes an additional measured link;0 or 1 position-sensing element for attachment to a reference location;with the proviso that said system comprises at least one of: (1) at least one of said position-sensing elements is a transmitter and is affixed to a support for mounting on a body-part; or (2) at least one position-sensing element functions as both a receiver and a transmitter; or (3) at least one position-sensing element comprises at least one antennae, where with multiple antennae, a pair of antennae are not concentric; or (4) said system comprises at least four links and at least three revolute joints, and additionally comprises a single-joint position sensor as a sensing element for disposition about said articulated structure, said single-joint position sensor producing a second signal;wherein said position-sensing elements include at least one transmitter and at least one receiver;a first data processing means for driving said transmitters to produce said signal and amplifying said signals received by said receivers;a second data processing means utilizing said amplified signals for calculating the spatial placement of said position-sensing elements, and utilizing the structure of the links, and said placement of each said position-sensing element in said juxtaposition to each said link at other than a joint, and utilizing said second signal of each said single-joint position sensor for calculating the spatial placement of said links to provide said measured links; anda third data processing means for determining the spatial placement of at least one link other than a measured link of said multi-articulated structure utilizing the spatial placement of said measured links and the kinematic constraints of the articulated elements of said multi-articulated structure.