3D Pose Estimation of Catheter Band Markers based on Single-Plane Fluoroscopy

Abstract

Lumbar disc disease is a common affliction in today’s society. A common treatment for this condition is minimally invasive endoscopic surgery, which involves the guiding of a needle into the target disc. However, an epiduroscopy can accidentally damage surrounding tissues as the epidural catheter is inserted in the lower back and guided up toward the affected nerve roots based only on preoperative medical images and anatomical knowledge. Thus, we propose a method for tracking the location of surgical tools based on radiographic images. In detail, our method involves the following: photographing a surgical tool with a physical marker frame composed of three or more marker bands; an information processor, which detects the center point on each marker band in the photographed image; and an information processor that estimates a three-dimensional location for the surgical tool based on the distance between the detected center point, the center point of a true marker band, and a tracking apparatus.