Institute of Computer Science, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel

This paper presents a summary of the state of the art of fluoroscopy-based systems in computer-aided orthopaedic surgery. The goal of these systems is to increase the effectiveness of surgeons performing orthopaedic surgeries in which intraoperative X-ray fluoroscopic images are pervasive. The systems include a real-time tracking device, a computer with image processing and visualization software, a C-arm fluoroscope connected to the computer via a video frame grabber, and optionally a robot. We begin by motivating the need for such systems and describing the general principles of fluoroscopy-based navigation. We then describe four classes of systems: (1) CT based systems, (2) fluoroscopy-based systems, (3) CT and fluoroscopy-only systems, and (4) systems combining fluoroscopy and surgical robots. We describe the technical principles of each, evaluate their pros and cons, and conclude with perspectives.

Keywords: Medical mechatronics, computer-assisted surgery, computer-aided orthopaedic surgery, image-based surgical navigation, fluoroscopy, medical image processing, real-time tracking, medical robotics.

Proc. of the IFAC Conference on Mechatronic Systems , Darmstadt, Germany, to appear, 2000.