Patent ID: 6692447
Filing Date: 2004-02-17
Classification: A61B

Abstract:
A system for determining pivot centers for proximal and intermediary articulations of an appendicular skeleton, the proximal articulation generally fixed in space, the system comprising:a) means for affixing a single marker to a distal bone segment, wherein the marker is affixed between an intermediary articulation and a distal articulation; b) means for moving a portion of the appendicular skeleton in accordance with a sequence involving at least one movement, said movement having at least one rotation of a bone segment around the corresponding articulation; c) means for collecting data points correlating to the position and orientation of the marker on a continuous basis relative to a predetermined point of reference; d) means for selecting a number of skeletal positions during the sequence using the collected data points; e) means for assigning a value to each posture representing the position and orientation of the marker in the predetermined point of reference; and f) means for determining the coordinates of the rotational centers of the proximal and intermediary articulations using the assigned values.