Ultrasound motion tracking of the scaphoid for computer-assisted orthopedic surgery

When a person breaks a scaphoid bone in their wrist, it is often necessary to stabilize the fracture fragments with a screw through a small incision. The screw needs to be placed completely within the bone or else it could lead to cartilage damage in the wrist. Due to the complicated anatomy of the wrist and the small incision, the surgeon cannot get a clear view of where the screw should go in the bone and errors are common. To address this concern, computers have been used to assist surgeons by showing an existing CT or MRI image of The wrist along with its relation to the actual patient. Unfortunately, these computer systems are limited in that they require the wrist not to move during the surgery, and they require the surgeon to define how the CT or MRI image maps onto the patient’s anatomy. In this project, we intend to improve the efficiency and accuracy of wrist fracture surgeries by tracking the motion of the patient’s hand, then using augmented reality (AR) to display the CT or MRI image directly on the patient. Infrared cameras will be used to track the 3D surface of the patient’s wrist and the positions of surgical tools. This will be combined with a new ultrasound imaging technique that gives a view of the wrist bones using a flexible ultrasound device that can move with the patient. These contributions will then be combined with an AR headset to show the surgeon precisely where the broken wrist bone is, thereby making it easier to accurately insert the screw.