Patent ID: 8224423

Claim:
A system for improving the accuracy of preprogrammed treatment on a body of a patient having an inside portion that is in need of the treatment and an outside portion that is moveable during the treatment, comprising: at least one emission source; a plurality of markers configured for independent attachment to a plurality of locations adjacent a surface of the moveable outside portion of the body proximate to the inside portion in need of the treatment to emit a corresponding plurality of signals, wherein each of the markers comprise: a support element comprising a base for securing the marker adjacent the surface of the moveable outside portion of the body; a signal emitter operatively associated with the support element; and an optical fiber coupling the signal emitter and the emission source; a timing device configured to cause the signal emitters to respectively emit signals under conditions sufficient to differentiate which signal emitter is sending each signal, respectively; at least one receiver disposed remote from the body and positioned to receive the plurality of signals from the signal emitters, wherein each of the support elements is configured to position a respective signal emitter at an angular offset from a perpendicular direction relative to the base to direct emissions from the respective signal emitter towards the at least one receiver; a remotely-controlled surgical device; a computing device comprising a processor and wherein the processor is configured with software executable instructions to cause the computing device to perform operations comprising: tracking the movement of the outside portion of the body based on the received plurality of signals from the signal emitters; identifying and mapping the inside portion of the body that is intended to be subjected to treatment; preprogramming a treatment path adapted to be followed by the remotely-controlled surgical device; and integrating the tracked movements with the treatment path to form a modified treatment path; and a guidance apparatus configured for causing the remotely-controlled surgical device to treat the inside portion of the body along the modified treatment path while substantially preventing the remotely-controlled surgical device from departing from the modified treatment path to any substantial extent.