Tracked cartilage repair system

Abstract

A system and method for repairing an area of defective tissue reduces the removal of healthy tissue at the margins of the defect. During excision of diseased or damaged tissue, the system tracks the movement and function of a tissue resection tool within a monitored surgical space. This movement is continuously recorded to create a three-dimensional set of data points representative of the excised volume of tissue. This data set is then communicated to a custom implant forming device which creates a custom implant sized to fit the void created by the excision. The system and method of the present disclosure allows a surgeon to exercise intraoperative control over the specific shape, volume and geometry of the excised area. Moreover, the surgeon may utilize a “freehand” resection method to excise only that tissue deemed to be diseased and/or damaged, because the custom-formed implant will accommodate an irregularly-shaped resection volume.

1 - 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A system for repairing a tissue defect in an anatomical structure, the system comprising:
 a resection tool to resect defective tissue;   a tracking system to track movement of the resection tool to collect a set of data points corresponding to a void created by the resection tool;   a signal conversion system to create implant forming commands from the set of data points; and   an implant forming system to:
 receive the implant forming commands from the signal conversion system; and 
 create a custom implant using the implant forming commands, the custom implant sized and shaped to fill the void created by the resection tool. 
   
     
     
         22 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the resection tool has an operative end, the operative end used to resect defective tissue. 
     
     
         23 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the operative end of the resection tool comprises at least one of a mill, an oscillating blade, a rotary cutting blade, a retractable blade, a cautery device, a scalpel, or a particulate stream. 
     
     
         24 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the operative end of the resection tool moves through a target volume to create the set of data points, the target volume independently moveable with respect to the resection tool. 
     
     
         25 . The system of  claim 22 , wherein the tracking system is to iteratively compare the void to a desired volumetric characteristic to determine whether the operative end of the resection tool is at a desired boundary, wherein the desired volumetric characteristic is predefined and forms the desired boundary. 
     
     
         26 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the tracking system includes:
 at least one detector used to collect the set of data points by capturing information from positional markers within a field of view; and   at least one positional marker coupled to the resection tool, the at least one positional marker used to collect the set of data points by identifying a data point and an orientation of the resection tool within the field view of the at least one detector.   
     
     
         27 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the signal conversion system includes a processor to convert the set of data points to a virtual three-dimensional volume, the virtual three-dimensional volume used to create the implant forming commands. 
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the signal conversion system is to create the implant forming commands from the set of data points after determining that the set of data points form a complete volumetric representation of the void. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 21 , wherein the implant forming system includes:
 an implant blank;   a turntable to which the implant blank is mountable; and   an implant cutter assembly including a cutter mounted to a robot arm, the cutter moveable through multiple degrees of freedom, wherein the implant cutter assembly removes material from the implant blank as the implant blank is rotated on the turntable to create the custom implant.   
     
     
         30 . At least one machine-readable medium including instructions for operation of a computing system, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to:
 track movement of a resection tool to collect a set of data points corresponding to a void created by the resection tool;   create implant forming commands from the set of data points; and   create a custom implant using the implant forming commands, the custom implant sized and shaped to fill the void created by the resection tool.   
     
     
         31 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 30 , wherein the resection tool has an operative end, the operative end used to resect defective tissue. 
     
     
         32 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 31 , wherein the operative end of the resection tool comprises at least one of a mill, an oscillating blade, a rotary cutting blade, a retractable blade, a cautery device, a scalpel, or a particulate stream. 
     
     
         33 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 31 , wherein the operative end of the resection tool moves through a target volume to create the set of data points, the target volume independently moveable with respect to the resection tool. 
     
     
         34 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 31 , further comprising instructions to iteratively compare the void to a desired volumetric characteristic to determine whether the operative end of the resection tool is at a desired boundary, wherein the desired volumetric characteristic is predefined and forms the desired boundary. 
     
     
         35 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 30 , wherein the instructions to create the implant forming commands include instructions to convert the set of data points to a virtual three-dimensional volume. 
     
     
         36 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 30 , wherein the instructions to create the implant forming commands from the set of data points include instructions to create the implant forming commands after determining that the set of data points form a complete volumetric representation of the void. 
     
     
         37 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 30 , further comprising instructions to issue at least one of an anatomical shaping command or an implant resurfacing command from a resection tool controller in response to a comparison of the set of data points to a desired volumetric profile. 
     
     
         38 . A system for repairing a tissue defect in an anatomical structure, the system comprising:
 a resection tool to resect defective tissue;   a tracking system to track movement of the resection tool to collect a set of data points corresponding to a void created by the resection tool; and   a signal conversion system to:
 create implant forming commands from the set of data points; and 
 send the implant forming commands to an implant forming system for creation of a custom implant. 
   
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 38 , wherein the implant forming commands are configured to instruct the implant forming system to create the custom implant in a size and shape to fill the void created by the resection tool. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 38 , wherein the resection tool has an operative end, the operative end used to resect defective tissue.