New Patent Issued: System and Method to Conduct Bone Surgery
Professor Imin Kao, Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering), Director of the Manufacturing Automation Laboratory
(MAL), and Dr. Fazel Khan, MD (Orthopaedics), along with their students, were recently
issued a patent titled “System and Method to Conduct Bone Surgery”. Their patented technology addresses real clinical and surgical challenges involved
in accurately translating pre-operative planning into precise intra-operative execution,
particularly in procedures to remove osteosarcoma.
The novel computer navigation surgical system uses a camera to continuously track
the real-time position of a patient’s bone during surgery and directs a connected
projector to beam a highly precise cutting line directly onto the bone surface. This
dynamic, vision-guided projection shows the surgeon the exact cutting plane in real
time, reducing the need to look away at external monitors and helping improve surgical
precision.
By closing the gap between pre-operative planning and what happens in the operating room, the team has developed an innovative approach with the potential to make a significant difference for patients and change how many orthopedic surgeries are performed.