US 11,850,007 B2
Tracker for a surgical navigation system
Fabian Riegelsberger, Umkirch (DE); Florian Herrmann, Schwanau (DE); and Jochen Breisacher, Teningen (DE)
Assigned to Stryker European Operations Holdings LLC, Kalamazoo, MI (US)
Filed by Stryker European Operations Holdings LLC, Kalamazoo, MI (US)
Filed on Jan. 17, 2020, as Appl. No. 16/745,470.
Claims priority of application No. 19153075 (EP), filed on Jan. 22, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2020/0229873 A1, Jul. 23, 2020
Int. Cl. A61B 34/20 (2016.01); A61B 17/70 (2006.01); A61B 17/34 (2006.01)
CPC A61B 34/20 (2016.02) [A61B 17/3403 (2013.01); A61B 17/7002 (2013.01); A61B 2034/2055 (2016.02); A61B 2034/2057 (2016.02)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A tracker configured to be associated with a surgical tool that is to be tracked by a surgical navigation system, the tracker comprising:
a rigid carrier including first and second surfaces and an edge that is at least partially defined by an intersection of the first and second surfaces at a non-zero angle;
an optical fiber having a longitudinal extension and configured to be optically coupled to a light source such that the optical fiber transmits light emitted by the light source, wherein the optical fiber is supported by the carrier with the longitudinal extension arranged on the edge; and
an interface configured to couple the tracker to the surgical tool, wherein the interface comprises at least one of a clamp, a screw, a snap-in-connector, and a magnet,
wherein the optical fiber has a lateral surface along its longitudinal extension and is configured to emit light via a plurality of spaced apart light emitting portions of the lateral surface that reside along the edge, the light emitting portions residing along the edge including a plurality of longitudinally-shaped light emitting portions and a plurality of point-shaped light emitting portions interspacing the longitudinally-shaped light emitting portions.