NDI Provides Important Tools for Innovation at the Technical University of Munich

The research department MIMED (Micro Technology and Medical Device Engineering) of Professor Dr. Tim C. Lueth at the Technical University of Munich (TUM)), Germany has a strong focus on using coordinate measuring devices for different applications. A major topic is the design of surgical assistance systems such as surgical navigation and medical robots. Clinical partners in these projects are the University of Leipzig, Germany and the University of Toronto, Medical Imaging Department, Canada.

As extension of the normal use of the spatial information coming from the measuring devices such as Polaris^® or Aurora^®, TUM-MIMED uses this information to control the power of surgical instruments or other powered tools. The invention is called 'Navigated Control' and is the base of many current research projects. In short, if the instrument effector is inside a working volume, the instrument’s power is switched on, otherwise the power is switched off. In fact, many different control strategies are required for drilling, milling, ultrasound dissection or a HF-knife. Also the speed of movement has to be integrated into the power calculation. The strategies depend on the material and the application.

ENT - Functional Endonasal Sinus Surgery

In ENT surgery, this method used for FESS (Functional Endonasal Sinus Surgery) when the doctor wants to avoid touching the scull base or the orbita bone by a rotating instrument. A clinical study with 30 patients by Dr. Gero Strauss in Leipzig showed the success of this approach between October 2006 and March 2007.

FESS: a) Navigation Panel Unit Using the Polaris Vicra. b) Only the blue tissue volume should be removed. c) The shaver is navigated and power controlled. d) The instrument is equipped with the 5mm reflecting glass sphere.

Dental Implantology

Another application is navigated dental implantology. In cooperation with the company RoboDent (spin-out), MIMED extends the use of navigation for dental implant setting to laser technology. Since 2001, the team has been improving the field of dental implantology, by introducing new strategies. Since 2006, the laser has been used as an add-on to normal dental drills for setting implants. Perfect cavities can be generated by laser ablation. In 2008, it is planned to conduct a clinical trial.

DENTAL: a) Dental implant planning system. b) Dental drilling set-up with RoboDent. c) Set-up using a KAVO-laser. d) Perfect cavities for dental implants by laser ablation.

Other Applications

Outside of the medical field, this patent is used in two other applications. One is to airbrush pictures on surfaces without any artist education. Just download an image to the device and spray it on a wall. Even in the dark, you can become a large-scale “artist”. Another application is the use of Navigated Control for manual driving metal sheet in desired shapes. Since the geometry of the metal sheet is measured by the Polaris Position Sensor and also the position of the driving machine, it is possible to control the bending process even if the sheet is moved manually. In this application, an untrained person can reproduce work to a standard similar to a machine tool.

a) Airbrush: Navigated controlled spray painting. b) Driving: Navigated controlled metal sheet bending using the Polaris Position Sensor.

MIMED is also active in soft tissue navigation and many other fields. Nevertheless, the NDI technology - optical or magnetically – is an important tool for innovation.

Written by Tim C. Lueth and Mario Strauss
Technical University of Munich

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