Abstract: Systems and methods of tracking a head of a patient are provided. The system includes a motion tracking system and a head tracker. The head tracker includes a frame, at least one trackable target coupled to the frame, at least one nose pad coupled to the frame, and a pair of adjustable ear coupling members coupled to the frame and shaped for engaging with at least a portion of a back surface of an ear of the patient. The head tracker is configured to apply a clamping force to hold the trackable target in a stable spatial relationship with a location of interest in the head. The motion tracking system includes a sensor for tracking the trackable target and a processor configured for determining a position of the location of interest from the position and orientation of the trackable target and the stable spatial relationship.

Abstract: Surgical systems and methods of controlling a surgical instrument are provided. The system includes a surgical instrument having a cutting portion and a body, the body having a handle, a drive motor for driving the cutting portion in a rotating, a reciprocating or a vibrating motion, a plurality of adjustment motors for adjusting a cutting pose of the cutting portion relative to the handle; and, a controller configured to measure the deviations between the cutting pose and a desired pose of the cutting portion and to activate the adjustment motors to reduce those deviations. The method involves coupling a cutting portion of a surgical instrument to a plurality of adjustment motors; holding the handle of the surgical instrument; operating a controller to measure deviations between a cutting pose and a desired pose; and operating the adjustment motors to adjust the cutting pose relative to the handle to reduce the deviations.

Abstract: A method and system are provided for measuring changes in a pose of a human jaw within a coordinate system of a pose tracking system. The method involves providing a configurable arm; configuring the configurable arm such that at least one rigid target portion of the configurable arm is compliant with operational conditions of the pose tracking system when a selected anchor region of a surface of an anchor portion of the configurable arm is in close proximity to a selected attachment region of the human jaw; positioning the configurable arm such that the anchor region is in close proximity to the attachment region; applying and curing a paste to rigidly couple the anchor region to the attachment region, and operating the pose tracking system to measure changes to the pose of the at least one rigid target portion when the configurable arm is rigidly coupled to the human jaw.

Abstract: An apparatus, method and kit are provided for registering a human jaw with a CT image of the human jaw. The apparatus includes a moldable retainer and an arm having a moldable link portion and a rigid fixation portion. The link portion is attachable to the retainer and hardenable to maintain a fixed mapping between the fixation portion and the retainer. The fixation portion includes a CT marker connection region for detachably attaching a CT marker that includes a fiducial. The fixation portion also includes a tag connection region for detachably attaching a tag that is trackable by a pose measurement system. The pose of the tag connection region relative to a pose of the CT marker connection region is fixed prior to attaching either the tag or the CT marker, providing a known and fixed tag to fiducial coordinate mapping.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method and system are provided for registering a human jaw with a volumetric computed tomography image of that jaw positioned in an image reference coordinate system and stored in a computer-readable memory. The method involves attaching a jaw marker to the jaw to establish a pose trackable jaw reference coordinate system; moving a surface sampling tool over at least one portion of the surface of the jaw while operating a pose tracking system and a computer processor to record samples in the jaw reference coordinate system indicative of locations within the at least one portion of the surface of the jaw; operating a computer processor to determine an approximate initial registration mapping; then beginning with the approximate initial registration mapping, incrementally adjust the registration mapping. Incrementally adjusting the registration mapping involves computing an edge proximity value at each sample location mapped to the image by the registration mapping.

Abstract: A medical or dental cart for carrying medical or dental instruments. The cart comprises a base, a back pillar mounted on the base, a boom arm connected to the back pillar using hinged joints, and an instrument carrier connected to the boom arm using hinged joints. The instrument carrier is configured to carry medical or dental instruments. The hinged joints are configured such that the boom arm is rotatable toward the base and away from the base, and such that the instrument carrier is held at a substantially fixed orientation relative to the base throughout the range of motion of the boom arm. The hinged joints are also configured to impede sideways rotation, thereby impeding movement of the instrument carrier in a substantially sideways direction and thus impeding sideways tipping of the cart.

Abstract: Method and apparatus are described herein for registering an anatomical region with a scanned image of the anatomical region.