Patent Document ID: 20150133785
Application ID: 14602566
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A method for assessing spinal health and treatment effectiveness for spinal conditions of a patient via use of an ultrasonagraphic system, the ultrasonagraphic system having one or more patient optical targets that are attachable to a patient's body, a transducer probe having one or more transducer optical targets, an optical tracker unit, an image processing system, a 3D ultrasound processor, and a display, the one or more patient optical targets and the one or more transducer optical targets being in data communications with optical tracker unit, the transducer probe being in data communication with the 3D ultrasound processor and configured to detect locations of one or more vertebrae of the patient, the method comprising: attaching one or more patient optical targets to desired positions on the patient's body; detecting locations of the one or more patient optical targets via the optical tracker unit; detecting a location of the transducer probe via the one or more transducer optical targets and the optical tracker unit; moving the transducer probe over at least a portion of the patient's body to collect spinal image data; generating 3D image data via the 3D ultrasound processor; sending 3D image data to the image processing system; processing 3D image data via the image processing system; displaying a real-time 3D image of the one or more vertebrae on the display to allow a healthcare provider to assess spinal health and treatment effectiveness based on the displayed real-time 3D image.