| This thesis details a proposed design of a computer assisted surgical navigation system to be used for joint replacement surgery. Specifically, total knee replacement surgery was chosen to prove out the concept.;The computer assisted surgical navigation system is based upon inertial MEMS six degree of freedom sensors. The surgical navigation system is intended to function intra-operatively, in real time, and is used to track the position and orientation of bones, specific anatomic landmarks used to align cuts, cutting guides, tools used to implant trial prostheses, and additional straps that assist in determining joint center locations.;The benefit of this system is that it allows surgeons to place cuts and align prostheses with greater precision and repeatability in comparison to mechanical instrumentation that is highly invasive by comparison. Compared to optical surgical navigation systems, the inertial MEMS based surgical navigation system eliminates the need for a line of sight visual contact with optical trackers and has the ease of use of conventional instrumentation.;A physical proof of concept was developed in conjunction with the design. The proof of concept is a program created using LabVIEW that creates a real time graphical user interface that allows the user to evaluate the inertial MEMS sensors chosen for the design.;A literature review was undertaken to describe specific cutting methods, incisions, anatomic landmarks, software algorithms, and ligament balancing techniques that would be incorporated into the design. The literature review distills state of the art technology and techniques into a single comprehensive source upon which further research and design can be based. |
