Brainlab Ag

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Christian O Maier

Jörg Uhde

Georg Christian

Manfred Weiser

Aleksander Bogojevic

Khaled Galal Mohamed Rashad

Mohamed Alaa Elmiligui

Georg Maier

Florian Kraus

Christian Lechner

A method and apparatus that securely obtains services in response to a request for a service while concealing personally identifiable information (PII) includes a software package having a user identification (ID) and network protection module that runs on a third party system and an anonymizer module that runs on a user system. The user system sends the request for the service via an API that invokes the user ID and network protection module to validate the request. In response to receiving validation, the anonymizer module modifies the request for the service to conceal at least part of the PII and sends the modified request to the service provider. In one embodiment, the third party system may be an application program configured to run on the user system. Thus, no PII or data to identify the unique individual is transmitted to the service provider.

Privacy as a service by offloading user identification and network protection to a third party

The invention relates to a method for visually assisting the alignment of a medical instrument, wherein the instrument is visually displayed on an image output in a positional relationship to a part of a patient's body by means of a medical navigation system, wherein an orientation aid is displayed as a virtual model shape at the instrument or in a particular positioning with respect to a characteristic part of the instrument. It also relates to a planning method for optimized instrument alignment with the aid of such an image assisting method.

Visual orientation aid for medical instruments

A sterile drape for a trackable medical device includes a reinforced film portion and a holding or tensing device. The holding or tensing device is operative to draw the reinforced film portion taut or smooth on or over a surface of the medical device.

Sterile drape

A system and method for identifying the position of the distal end of a bone guide wire is provided. A position and orientation of the proximal end of the guide wire is identified with the aid of a medical, optical tracking and navigation system and a reference device on the proximal end of the guide wire. The orientation of a bone in which the distal end of the guide wire is located is identified with the aid of the medical, optical tracking and navigation system and a reference device on the bone. By means of the ancillary conditions for the course of the guide wire, which are given by the position and orientation of the proximal end and the orientation of the bone, and by taking into account the physical properties of the guide wire, the position of the distal end of the bone guide wire is identified with the assistance of a computer.

Guide wire navigation

A marker system and method are provided that can determine a shape and an axial location of a rotationally symmetrical hole in an instrument having a plurality of instrument markers.

Marker system for determining the diameter and axial location of a hole in an instrument

A retro-reflector for image-guided operation systems, comprising eight cube corners, wherein the tips of the cube corners are adjacent to each other and each cube corner is formed from three reflective faces, comprising a protection against contamination which prevents dirt from being deposited in the cube corners.

Retro-reflector for image-guided operation systems

A device for fixing a reference element with respect to a field of surgery includes a first fixing portion operable to provide a mechanical resistance against pulling and/or pushing forces, a second fixing portion provided with a surface structure operable to secure the device against an angular force, and a coupling structure. The coupling structure is operative to mechanically couple the second fixing portion to the first fixing portion, wherein said second fixing portion can be pivoted with respect to the first fixing portion.

Device for fixing a reference element

A fixing device for securely fixing surgical equipment to a surgical field of a human or animal body includes a first lever element including a first gripping portion and a first handling portion, and a second lever element including a second gripping portion and a second handling portion. The and second lever elements can be connected such that they can be pivoted and detached with respect to each other.

Non-penetrating fixing device

A marker navigation system for detecting and displaying locations of at least two reference devices, each reference device attachable to a corresponding object includes a detection device for detecting signals emitted from the at least two reference devices, a display device for displaying the locations of the at least two reference devices and/or the objects attached to the at least two reference devices based in accordance with display signals; and a data processing device. The data processing device is configured to a) calculate locations of the at least two reference devices based on the detected signals; b) determine changes in the locations of the at least two reference devices based on the calculated locations; c) check, based on the determined changes, whether the changes in the locations of the at least two reference devices can be described by at least one checking transformation that, to a predetermined extent, transforms the locations of the at least two reference devices before the change into the locations of the at least two reference devices after the change; and d) determine the display signals for displaying the locations of the at least two reference devices and/or of objects attached to the at least two reference devices as a function of the checking result.

Marker navigation system for detecting and displaying the location of marker means

The invention relates to a method for calibrating a C-arm x-ray apparatus, comprising the following steps:

Calibrating a C-arm x-ray apparatus

A method for defining an antetorsion angle &#x3b3; of a femur is provided. The antetorsion angle &#x3b3; is defined by two angles &#x3b1;' and &#x3b2; that can be determined by means of two images of the femur, wherein the equation tan &#x3b3;=tan &#x3b1;&#x2032;/(cos &#x3b2;&#xb7;cos &#x3b8;) can be used to calculate the antetorsion angle &#x3b3;.

Measuring the femoral antetorsion angle &#x3b3; of a human femur in particular on the basis of fluoroscopic images

A method for optimizing the interpretation of analog image signals or sequences of image signals output by medical image recording devices. The correlation of consecutively recorded image signals is tested and, based on the test, the image signals are identified as depicting the same or different images. More specifically, if the correlation is not less than a particular threshold value, it is established that the image signals depict the same image. If the correlation is less than a particular threshold value, it is established that the image signals possibly depict different images. Further, the threshold value is dynamically adjusted if the correlation has changed.

Optimizing image signal interpretation for analog image signals from medical image recording devices

A system and method for verifying the registration of a fluoroscopy image, wherein an artificial landmark array is introduced into a radiation path of a fluoroscopy apparatus, the landmark array being trackable by a computer assisted, medical navigation system. A fluoroscopy recording is produced with the aid of the fluoroscopy apparatus, and a spatial position of the artificial landmark array at the time the fluoroscopy recording is produced is detected and stored. The fluoroscopy recording is registered onto previously acquired body image data of the navigation system using marking points mapped on the fluoroscopy recording, wherein the marking points are maps of markings on the radiation source. Verification is based on a correspondence between an image shadow of the artificial landmark array on the fluoroscopy recording and a position of the landmark array at the time the recording was produced.

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Munich, Germany

Christian O Maier