Device and method for specifying magnetic field for surgical applications

Claim 1

A method of specifying a magnetic field to move or guide a magnetic delivery vehicle surgically implanted in a patient comprising the steps of: (a) displaying first and second fluoroscopic images of an operating region of a patient having a magnetic delivery vehicle implanted therein, the first and second fluorscopic images each representing a projection in space of the operating region; (b) for each of the first and second fluoroscopic images, moving a cursor from a projection of a present location of the magnetic delivery vehicle to a projection of a desired future location of the magnetic delivery vehicle, thereby indicating a target path associated with each of the first and second fluoroscopic images; (c) determining whether the target path associated with the first fluoroscopic image and the target path associated with the second fluoroscopic image project within a preselected error tolerance onto a single arrow in three dimensional space, and displaying a result of the determination; (d) calculating the currents in a plurality of magnets arrayed about the operating region needed to produce a magnetic field to move or guide movement of the magnetic delivery vehicle from the present location to the desired future location; and (e) applying the currents to the plurality of magnets.

Claim 2

A method of specifying a magnetic field to move or guide a magnetic delivery vehicle surgically implanted in a patient comprising the steps of: (a) displaying first and second fluoroscopic images of an operating region of a patient having a magnetic delivery vehicle implanted therein, the first and second fluorscopic images each representing a projection in space of the operating region; (b) for each of the first and second fluoroscopic images, moving a cursor from a projection of a present location of the magnetic delivery vehicle to a projection of a desired future location of the magnetic delivery vehicle, thereby indicating a target path associated with each of the first and second fluoroscopic images; (c) determining whether the target path associated with the first fluoroscopic image and the target path associated with the second fluoroscopic image project within a preselected error tolerance onto a single arrow in three dimensional space, and displaying a result of the determination; (d) calculating the currents in a plurality of magnets arrayed about the operating region needed to produce a magnetic field to move or guide movement of the magnetic delivery vehicle from the present location to the desired future location; and (e) applying the currents to the plurality of magnets.

Claim 5

A device for specifying the orientation of a magnetic field in a patient to aid surgical procedures involving an implanted magnetic delivery vehicle, the device comprising: (a) a processor; (b) a pointing device coupled to the processor; (c) a magnet assembly coupled to the processor to produce a magnetic field in an operating region of a patient; (d) a medical imaging system coupled to the processor and configured to produce an image of the operating region of the patient; and (e) a display device coupled to the processor; wherein the processor is configured to be responsive to the pointing device to display a movable cursor on the display device, to be responsive to the medical imaging system to display a medical image on the display device, and to be responsive to vectors defined by cursor positions selected with the pointing device to control the magnet assembly to produce a magnetic field in an orientation to guide or move a magnetic delivery vehicle surgically implanted in a patient and disposed in the operating region, and further wherein the medical imaging system produces at least two planar projections of a region of interest for display on the display device, and wherein the cursor is positionable on each of said proiections to thereby allow operator definition of a desired movement in each of said planar projections, and the processor is configured to compare cursor positions indicating a desired movement on each of the projections to determine the feasibility of the desired movement in physical space, the processor further being configured to indicate the feasibility of the desired movement on the display device.

Claim 6

A device for specifying the orientation of a magnetic field in a patient to aid surgical procedures involving an implanted magnetic delivery vehicle, the device comprising: (a) a processor; (b) a pointing device coupled to the processor; (c) a magnet assembly coupled to the processor to produce a magnetic field in an operating region of a patient; (d) a medical imaging system coupled to the processor and configured to produce an image of the operating region of the patient; and (e) a display device coupled to the processor; wherein the processor is configured to be responsive to the pointing device to display a movable cursor on the display device, to be responsive to the medical imaging system to display a medical image on the display device, and to be responsive to vectors defined by cursor positions selected with the pointing device to control the magnet assembly to produce a magnetic field in an orientation to guide or move a magnetic delivery vehicle surgically implanted in a patient and disposed in the operating region, and further wherein the medical imaging system produces at least two planar projections of a region of interest for display on the display device, and wherein the cursor is positionable on each of said proiections to thereby allow operator definition of a desired movement in each of said planar projections, and the processor is configured to compare cursor positions indicating a desired movement on each of the projections to determine the feasibility of the desired movement in physical space, the processor further being configured to indicate the feasibility of the desired movement on the display device.

Claim 12

A method for specifying the orientation of a magnetic field to be produced by a magnet system within an operating region in a patient to aid a desired movement of a magnetic medical device therein, the method comprising: identifying the desired direction of movement by identifying a desired new position for the magnetic medical device on at least two different planar images of the operating region from different points; determining a direction vector between a current position of the magnetic medical device and the identified desired new position.

Claim 13

A method for specifying the orientation of a magnetic field to be produced by a magnet system within an operating region in a patient to aid a desired movement of a magnetic medical device therein, the method comprising: identifying the desired direction of movement by identifying a desired new position for the magnetic medical device on at least two different planar images of the operating region from different points; determining a direction vector between a current position of the magnetic medical device and the identified desired new position.