Surgical instrument guidance system
Surgical instrument guidance system
Applicant: Depuy International Limited, UKPatent number: US6,228,089Publication date: 8 May 2001Title: Device for positioning and guiding a surgical instrument during orthopaedic interventions
A device for positioning and guiding a surgical instrument during orthopaedic interventions is presented. The invention comprises a program-controlled,industrial multi-jointed robot with a mounting plate at an end of the robot arm;an instrument for the orthopaedic operation arm on the mounting plate; a program control system with computer connected to said robot; a sensor arrangement for the sensing of reference points on the bones of the patient; and sensors in the joints of the robot arm for determining joint positions of the robot arm. Using reference points detected on the bone of the patient and knowledge of the arm’s position, the robot can adopt the correct position during the surgical procedure.
