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Operation supporting device, method and programOperation supporting device, method and program description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080051651, Operation supporting device, method and program. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
TECHNICAL FIELD [0001]The present invention relates to a surgical operation supporting apparatus, method and program, and particularly to a surgical operation supporting apparatus and method that supports a surgical operation by correcting a plurality of high-definition tomographic images of an operation site) which images are picked up before surgery, and by displaying these images on display means, and also to a surgical operation supporting program used to allow a computer to function as the surgical operation supporting apparatus. BACKGROUND OF THE ART [0002]Nuclear magnetic resonance-computed tomography (occasionally referred to as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) or NMR-CT (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance-Computed Tomography)) is used to obtain tomographic images of a living body by utilizing a nuclear magnetic resonance phenomenon of an atomic nucleus having spin in the living body within the static magnetic field. The aforementioned tomography has features of avoiding radiation exposure as in X-ray CT imaging, being free of influence from the bones, providing high-definition tomographic images along an arbitrary direction, and so on, and therefore, it is used in various medical fields such as surgery and resting (tomographic images obtained by the nuclear magnetic resonance-computed tomography will be hereinafter referred to as MRI images). [0003]For example, the boundary between a brain tumor to be removed in an operation of cranial nerve surgery, and a healthy portion is not clearly recognized in a visual observation manner. Therefore, in the operation of cranial nerve surgery, MRI images of the head region are taken in advance, and an actual operation site are compared with the MRI images of the head region in a repeated manner. Thus, the surgical operation is proceeded while making a diagnosis of the boundary between the brain tumor and the healthy portion. Further, a human's brain includes functionally critical areas (eloquent areas, for example, a pyramidal area, a sensory area, a linguistic area, a visual area, an auditory area, and so on). Thus, distribution of these eloquent areas in what place and in what manner is inspected in advance and the state in which various eloquent areas are distributed is displayed as a map on an MRI image of the head region referred to during the surgery (which map is occasionally referred to as a functional mapping MRI). [0004]In conjunction with the foregoing, the non-patent document 1 discloses an optical surgery navigation apparatus that is constructed in such a manner that in the operation of cranial nerve surgery, an MRI image of the head region taken before surgery, and a space of an operation site are made to correspond to each other using a common coordinate system due to a position detector using infrared light, and the position of a region for which a surgical operation is currently performed is detected and shown on the MRI image. [0005]Further, the non-patent document 2 discloses a navigation apparatus that is constructed in such a manner that ultrasonic tomographic images are picked up by an ultrasonic probe during surgery, and the position of the ultrasonic probe is detected by infrared light, thereby causing an MRI image of the head region taken before surgery to correspond to the ultrasonic tomographic images taken during surgery, and in the same manner as in the optical surgery navigation apparatus as disclosed in the non-patent document 1, an operative region for which the surgical operation is currently performed is shown on the MRI image, [0006]Further, the patent document 1 discloses the technique that the position and orientation of a surgical microscope are detected by an optical position measurement system, data processing of enlargement ratio, focal distance and so on is carried out, and image information such as MRI images of the head region, cerebral images and so on is superimpose-displayed in such a manner as to be aligned with real-time images taken by a surgical microscope during surgery, [0007]Moreover, the patent document 2 discloses the technique that a high-definition MRI image taken before surgery (a preoperative image) is reconfigured into a three-dimensional image, and the three-dimensional image is distorted based on a deformation condition for estimated distortions, and is stored as deformation data, and further, an MRI image is taken during surgery, and a two-dimensional image of an area of interest in the preoperative image is reconfigured into a three-dimensional image, and the similarity to the deformation data is calculated and optimum deformation data is selected, and an image of an object from a calibration mirror is superimpose-displayed thereon. [0008]Non-patent document 1: Medtronic SNT, "StealthStation", [online], [searched on Mar. 2, 2004], Internet<URL: http://www.stealthstation.com/physician/neuro/library/treon.jsp> [0009]Non-patent document 2: Medtronic SNT, "SonoNav".[online],[searched on Mar. 2, 2004], Internet<URL: http://www.stealthstation.com/physician/neuro/library/sononav.jsp> [0010]Patent document 1. JP-A No. 2000-333971 [0011]Patent document 2: JP-A No. 2002-102249 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention [0012]However, in the operation of cranial nerve surgery, a brain of a patient is distorted during the surgical operation. Therefore, it is difficult for a surgeon to make a diagnosis of an actual brain condition (for example, the position or area of a brain tumor) during surgery with a high degree of accuracy even if the surgeon refers to an MRI image of the head region taken before the surgical operation. Any of the aforementioned non-patent documents 1 and 2, and patent document 1 gives no consideration to distortions of the brain caused by the surgical operation, and each disclose the technique that new information is added to the MRI image taken before surgery or an MRI image is aligned with a real-time image. Thus, these techniques would become helpful to the surgery, but do not necessarily contribute to improvement of the precision of the surgery. [0013]The aforementioned problem can be solved by carrying out pickup of an MRI image at fixed intervals during surgery and updating the MRI image used for reference during surgery at regular intervals, as in the technique disclosed in the patent document 2 or the like. However, in order to realize this solving method, it is necessary to install an MRI imaging device in an operating room, and also necessary to use surgical equipment and materials made of non-magnetic materials, and so on. This result in an extremely high cost and many restrictions. Further, a fresh problem arises in which the surgical operation needs to be stopped during a pickup operation of MRI images. Moreover, the technique disclosed in the patent document 2 also has a disadvantage that when distortions of an operation site during the surgery differ from the estimated deformation condition, the precision of a displayed image deteriorates. [0014]The present invention has been achieved in view of the aforementioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a surgical operation supporting apparatus, a surgical operation supporting method and a surgical operation supporting program, which each can realize presentation of images using a simple structure, which images represent a state of an operation site during surgery with a high degree of accuracy. Means for Solving the Problems [0015]According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surgical operation supporting apparatus comprising: first acquisition means that optically measures a surface of an operation site during surgery and that acquires first position information representing a three-dimensional position of each of points on the surface of the operation site; second acquisition means that measures an unexposed portion of the operation site with ultrasonic waves during surgery and that acquires second position information representing a three-dimensional position of each of points in the unexposed portion of the operation site; correction means that, based on the first position information acquired by said first acquisition means and the second position information acquired by said second acquisition means, estimates displacement and distortion at each of the points in the operation site using a three-dimensional model generated based on a plurality of high-definition tomographic images of the operation site, which images are taken before surgery, and that corrects the plurality of high-definition tomographic images; and display control means that allows the high-definition tomographic images corrected by said correction means to be shown on display means. [0016]According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surgical operation supporting method comprising: a first step in which based on a plurality of high-definition tomographic images of an operation site taken as an image before surgery, a three-dimensional model of the operation site is generated a second step in which a surface of the operation site is optically measured during surgery, so as to acquire first position information that represents a three-dimensional position of each of points oil the surface of the operation site, and an unexposed portion of the operation site is measured with ultrasonic waves during surgery, so as to acquire second position information that represents a three-dimensional position of each of points of the unexposed portion in the operation site; a third step in which based on the first position information and the second position information acquired by said second step, displacement and distortion at each of the points in the operation site are estimated using the three-dimensional model generated by said first step, and in accordance with the estimated displacement and distortion at each of the points in the operation site, the plurality of high-definition tomographic images of the operation site taken as images before surgery are corrected; and a fourth step in which the high-definition tomographic images corrected by said third step are shown on display means. [0017]According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a surgical operation supporting program that causes a computer, to which display means is connected, to function as: first acquisition means that optically measures a surface of an operation site during surgery and that acquires first position information representing a three-dimensional position of each of points on the surface of the operation site; second acquisition means that measures an exposed portion of the operation site with ultrasonic waves during the surgery and that acquires second position information representing a three-dimensional position at each of points in the unexposed portion of the operation site; correction means that, based on the first position information acquired by said first acquisition means and the second position information acquired by said second acquisition means, estimates displacement and distortion at each of the points in the operation site using a three-dimensional model generated based on a plurality of high-definition tomographic images obtained before the surgery, and in accordance with the estimated displacement and distortion occurring at each of the points in the operation site, corrects the plurality of high-definition tomographic images of the operation site, which images are produced before the surgery; and display control means that causes the high-definition tomographic images corrected by said correction means to be shown on display means, Effects of the Invention [0018]According to the present invention, a surface of an operation site is optically measured during surgery and first position information representing a three-dimensional position of each of points on the surface of the operation site is acquired; an unexposed portion of the operation site is measured with ultrasonic waves during surgery and second position information representing a three-dimensional position of each of points in the unexposed portion of the operation site is acquired; based on the first position information and the second position information, displacement and distortion occurring at each of the points in the operation site are estimated using a three-dimensional model generated based on a plurality of high-definition tomographic images of the operation site, which images are taken before surgery, and the plurality of high-definition tomographic images are corrected; and the corrected high-definition tomographic images are shown on display means, thereby making it possible to produce an excellent effect that presentation of images each representing a state of an operation site during surgery with a high degree of accuracy can be realized using a simple structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0019]FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the structure of a surgical operation supporting apparatus. [0020]FIG. 2A is a side view of a surgical microscope equipped with a three-dimensional shape measurement device and a video camera. [0021]FIG. 2B is a bottom plan view of a surgical microscope equipped with a three-dimensional shape measurement device and a video camera. Continue reading about Operation supporting device, method and program... Full patent description for Operation supporting device, method and program Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Operation supporting device, method and program patent application. 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