Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
90 words
Method for designing a guiding template or a precursor thereof using a computing
device having a processor and a memory, the guiding template or the precursor
thereof being for implantology or surgery for a patient in need thereof, comprising: providing a plurality of separate digital scanning images, at least one of the images
being of an anatomical part of the patient; combining the plurality of digital scanning images by means of computer assisted
registration; and generating the design of the guiding template or a precursor thereof
from the combined image.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method according to claim 1, wherein the constituent parts of the guiding
template or the precursor thereof comprise a contact element and one or more guiding
elements.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
47 words
Method according to claim 2, wherein one or more designs of the contact element are
obtained by digitally manipulating at least one of the digital scanning images and
wherein one or more designs of the guiding elements are obtained by digitally
manipulating the remaining digital scanning images.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
64 words
Method according to claim 2 or 3, wherein one or more of the digital scanning images
used for designing the contact element are acquired by means of a surface scan or a
topographical measurement of a part of the body of the patient which is to provide
support or of reference elements fixed to the body of the patient which are to provide
support.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
Method according to claim 4, wherein the topographical measurement of the part of
the body is done either directly on the patient or indirectly on a structure containing
the geometrical information and providing a surface description of this body part
and/or of the reference elements fixed to the body.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
24 words
Method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the reference elements fixed to the body
are implants that are in position prior to scanning.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
Method according to any previous claim, wherein one or more of the digital scanning
images used for designing the guiding elements comprise a digitized volumetric
description of a part of the body identified for treatment planning.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
57 words
Method according to any previous claim, wherein computer assisted registration of
one or more digital scanning images is done by means of one of volume to volume
registration or surface to surface registration or 3-point or multiple point registration,
in which these points are determined either by fiducial markers or by anatomical
landmarks visible in the images.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
Method according to claim 8, wherein a surface for the surface to surface registration
is obtained by converting a volumetric description to a surface image.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
Method according to claim 8 or 9, wherein surface to surface matching is performed
on selected parts of surface images.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
47 words
Method according to any of the claims 4 to 10, wherein the digital manipulations on
the scanning images used to create the design of the contact element apply offset
operations and boolean operations to provide digitally a thickness to the surface
description of part of the anatomy.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
31 words
Method according to any of claims 3 to 11, wherein the digital manipulations on
scanning images to design the guiding elements comprise a computer assisted
planning of the implantology or surgery.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
31 words
Method according to claim 12, wherein the computer assisted planning of the
intervention results in information about the position, shape, the size, the orientation
and the dimensions of the guiding elements.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
35 words
Method according to any previous claim, wherein constituent parts of the guiding
template or the precursor thereof are integrated by means of Boolean operations and
are output as a digital description of the guiding template.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
27 words
Method according to any previous claim, further comprising manufacturing the
guiding template directly based on the output design or manufacturing the guiding
template indirectly using the precursor.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
29 words
Method according to claim 15, wherein the design of the guiding template or the
precursor thereof is processed to manufacture the guiding template by means of rapid
prototyping techniques.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
97 words
An apparatus for designing a guiding template or a precursor thereof for implantology
or reconstructive surgery, the apparatus comprising: a computing device having a processor and a memory, means for receiving a plurality of separate digital scanning images, at least one of the
images being of an anatomical part of the patient; means for combining the plurality of digital scanning images by computer assisted
registration; and means for generating the design of the guiding template or a
precursor thereof from the combined image, and means for outputting a digital
description of the design of the guiding template.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
74 words
A computer program product comprising code segments, the code segments
comprising, when executed on a computing device: means for receiving a plurality of separate digital scanning images, at least one of the
images being of an anatomical part of the patient; means for combining the plurality of digital scanning images by means of computer
assisted registration; and means for generating the design of the guiding template or a
precursor thereof from the combined image.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
13 words
A machine readable storage medium storing the computer program product of claim
18.