fig1 illustrates calibration of the spatial orientation of the cutting area of a surgical chisel in accordance with one embodiment of the invention . the chisel 1 can include a cutting edge 2 . if , for example , a bone structure is to be cut through using only the chisel 1 , then it can be important for the parting area of the chisel 1 to have a particular orientation , such as when specific devices are to be attached to the parting area , whose orientation is also important . therefore , it is desirable , within the context of navigation , to know the orientation of the cutting edge 2 . within the framework of calibrating , the orientation may , for example , be determined in this way by inserting the chisel 1 via its cutting edge 2 into a groove 3 ′ of a groove - shaped calibration instrument 3 , as shown in fig1 . the cutting edge 2 of the chisel is thus aligned or scanned with the aid of the already known geometry of the groove 3 ′. this information is stored and enables the chisel 1 to be displayed during an operation , with the aid of a navigation system . navigation systems are well known and include those described in co - owned u . s . pat . no . 6 , 351 , 659 , which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety . the position of the groove 3 ′, which is known in the computer of the navigation system , can be transferred onto the instrument to be calibrated as a geometric data set . with reference now to fig2 , another embodiment of intra - operatively calibrating an instrument is illustrated . in this embodiment , a chisel 4 includes a blade 7 having a cutting edge 2 . the plane in which the cutting edge 2 lies is indicated by the reference numeral 8 . a navigational reference 5 , such as , for example , a referencing adaptor comprising three reflectors , is arranged on the chisel 4 . in this arrangement , the position of the referencing adaptor 5 within the navigation system may be determined via cameras associated with the navigation system . a plane 6 associated with the referencing adaptor 5 , which is oriented parallel to the plane 8 , may also be determined . if the plane 6 spanned by the reflectors of the referencing adaptor 5 is then attached parallel to and at a known distance from the plane 8 , then it is possible to determine or calibrate the position of an oblique area of the blade 7 and of its mirrored area 7 ′, for example , by positioning the oblique area of the blade 7 on a known plane . the reflector plane 6 is shifted towards the plane 8 by calculation , and the straight cutting line including the plane in which the cutting edge 2 determined beforehand ( e . g ., as shown in fig1 ) lies is calculated . by reflection in the plane 8 , the mirrored oblique area 7 ′ may also be calibrated . in an alternative embodiment , non - coplanar reflectors can be employed . the geometry of the chisel can then be calculated in relation to anatomical data by the computer of the navigation system and displayed on an image output . with reference now to fig3 , in another embodiment , a calibration tool 12 is used to determine the spatial geometry of the chisel 4 and , in particular , of its cutting edge 2 . the navigational reference 5 is not primarily needed here , and is , therefore , shown in a slanted position . the calibration tool 12 includes a plane 9 whose spatial position is known . in other words , the spatial geometry of the chisel 4 can be determined with the aid of a known plane 9 outside the chisel 4 . once the chisel 4 has been oriented , such as when the cutting edge 2 has been positioned on the known plane 9 , the position of the plane 8 , which contains the cutting edge 2 , can be determined . it is noted that the spatial orientation of the cutting edge 2 can be determined , for example , as is described with reference to fig1 . in another embodiment , shown in fig4 , the spatial orientation of the chisel 1 can be determined by a scanning method . here , the geometry of an instrument , for example , a pointer 11 , is already known to the navigation system . this information is then used to calibrate the chisel 1 and its cutting edge 2 . to this end , the pointer 11 can be moved via its tip to indeterminate points of the chisel 1 or to points of the chisel 1 determined beforehand . such a point of contact between the tip of the pointer 11 and the chisel is indicated in fig4 by the reference numeral 10 . the broken lines indicate that the pointer 11 can also be moved to other points . since the pointer 11 has already been calibrated in advance , and the position in the navigation system of its tip is therefore always known , the points traveled to are identified by the navigation system and used to determine the spatial orientation of the chisel and to store it as a reference point for navigation . within the context of navigation , this known spatial orientation of the chisel 1 can then be displayed with respect to other information ( for example , the anatomy of the patient ). with reference now to fig5 – 7 , an exemplary calibration is provided . fig5 shows a functional portion of a calibration instrument 24 in accordance with the invention , the portion being indicated by the reference numeral 20 . another portion of the calibration instrument 24 , which can similarly be provided together with the portion 20 , is shown in fig7 and provided with the reference numeral 21 . the instrument portion 20 includes a v - groove 14 defined by groove planes 15 and 16 . in addition , a stopper 17 is also provided on the right - hand side of the instrument portion 20 . using this calibration instrument 24 or instrument portions 20 and 21 ( fig5 and 7 ), a chisel 22 , shown in fig6 , may then be calibrated . the chisel includes a cutting edge 2 , which lies on the edge vector 18 ( also referred to as a tip vector ), and a grip section 23 having an axis vector 19 . the portion 21 of the calibration instrument 24 shown in fig7 includes a recess , defined by the planes a , b and c , as a functional element . plane a is lowered parallel with respect to a top surface , and planes b and c are perpendicular to plane a and to each other . the chisel 22 is also shown in outline . as far as calibrating the spatial orientation of the cutting edge 2 of the chisel 22 is concerned , the calibration instrument portions 20 , 21 may also be used in accordance with the principle described by way of fig1 . in one embodiment , the cutting edge 2 of the chisel 22 can be inserted into a groove whose spatial orientation is known , for example , into the groove 14 of the instrument portion 20 or into the intersection line of planes a and b of the instrument portion 21 , whose position is likewise known ( for example , via reflector arrays ( not shown )). the cutting edge 2 of the chisel 22 is thus positioned exactly in the groove 14 or on the edge between plane a and plane b , and geometric data on the calibration instrument are used for calibration . this presupposes that the chisel is correctly positioned relative to the calibration instrument portions 20 , 21 . the spatial orientation of the cutting edge 2 can also be calibrated on one plane only , if the orientation of this plane is known , for example , that of plane b in fig7 . the chisel 22 , which can include a tracked referencing means ( such as a reflector array ) on its grip section , is placed onto some point on plane b via the cutting edge 2 , and rotationally moved about the cutting edge 2 . through the rotational movement , the rotational axis ( i . e ., the cutting edge 2 ) can be determined in the navigation system as an axis of rotation and calculated in its spatial orientation . it is also possible to combine the two ways of calibrating the spatial orientation of the cutting edge 2 cited above . due to the resultant redundancy , a plausibility check is possible . therefore , the rotational axis can be calculated and aligned with the position determined by the groove arrangement . given approximately correct positioning ( keeping to a threshold value ), the geometric data on the calibration instrument are used for calibration . in one embodiment , intersecting planes can be calibrated when a chisel , such as that shown in fig2 , includes oblique areas , which can also be referred to as intersecting planes . it is to be determined here how the intersecting planes lie and at what angle they intersect . the calibration shown in fig4 offers a first approach to solving this problem in which , generally speaking , points from both planes of the chisel 1 are recorded and fitted into scatter - plot planes , using a pointed aid 11 whose geometric data are known . with reference again to fig7 , in another embodiment , the intersecting planes can be positioned on planes of the calibration instrument . in two successive calibration steps , the chisel 22 can be positioned via its intersecting planes of the cutting edge 2 onto one of the planes , for example , plane a . each intersecting plane of the cutting edge 2 can be calibrated using the known geometric data of the calibration instrument , such as plane a . if the intersecting planes of the cutting edge 2 lie at a very acute angle with respect to each other ( e . g ., an infinitely thin chisel ), then it may be sufficient to calibrate one intersecting plane . it is also possible , when a chisel is used together with a reference means in the navigation system , to calibrate both intersecting planes in a single step . this applies when the plane spanned by the navigational reference lies parallel to and at a known distance from the chisel axis vector 19 ( fig6 ). it is then sufficient to shift the plane of the navigational reference as far as the center of the chisel grip and to calculate the straight cutting line together with the plane of the calibration instrument ( for example , plane a ). by reflection in the center plane ( shifted reference plane ), the other intersecting plane is then also calibrated . other characteristics of an exemplary chisel , such as the width of its cutting edge 2 can also be calibrated in accordance with the invention . as described above , the intersecting planes of a chisel can be determined by positioning them twice on plane a at their angle to each other . in addition , there exists the possibility of also determining the width of the cutting edge 2 at the same time , if , as shown in fig7 , the cutting edge 2 is simultaneously positioned abutting plane c . positioning the chisel twice , by flipping the chisel over along its longitudinal center line , allows the width of the chisel or the position of the axis vector 19 of the grip piece 23 to be calculated . referring again to fig5 and 6 , in another embodiment , it is possible to calibrate the chisel grip 23 using the v - groove 14 on the instrument portion 20 . the axis vector 19 and the radius of the chisel grip 23 section are calibrated by being inserted into the v - groove 14 and continuously rotated about the rotational axis of the chisel 22 . a navigational reference ( such as reflector array 13 ) attached fixedly to the instrument continuously provides data ( samples ) to the tracking or navigation system . using computer - assisted graphic processing , these data are matched onto a cylinder . such techniques are more fully described in co - owned u . s . pat . no . 6 , 351 , 659 , which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety . in other words , as the chisel grip 23 is rotated , the reflectors 13 each define a cylinder whose axis coincides with the axis 22 of the chisel grip 23 . the spacing of the axis 22 from the walls of the v - groove 14 provide the radius of the chisel grip 23 . it is important to track the grip 23 in order to avoid interference with sensitive anatomical areas . in one embodiment , an alarm may sound if interference with sensitive anatomical areas is imminent . the chisel grip 23 initially has a random radius . its axis , however , lies parallel to the v - groove 14 and on a plane spanned by the v - groove 14 and a vector lying perpendicular to the v - groove and bisecting an aperture angle of the v - groove . once calculations are completed with error correction ( for example , smallest quadratic error , standard deviation as a plausibility check ), then the initially variable radius of the chisel grip 23 is the calibrated radius of the rotationally symmetrical portion . this facilitates checking for errors that may occur if the chisel grip 23 is not fully seated in the v - groove 14 . in the event of inaccurate calibration , the accuracy of calibration can be increased by matching the chisel grip 23 again with the aid of a manually inputted radius . if the chisel grip 23 has then been calibrated , the chisel cutting edge 2 width can be calibrated by means of the technique already described above , i . e . with the aid of a lateral abutment ( plane c in fig7 ), wherein only one side of the cutting edge has to abut plane c since the axis vector 19 is known . with the above step , all necessary calibration on the instrument has then been performed . with reference to fig2 and 6 , in another embodiment , calibrating a chisel ( the spatial orientation of the cutting area 2 and calibrating the grip 23 ) can occur in a single calibration step . if it can be ensured that a plane ( for example , plane 6 in fig2 ) spanned by a navigational reference 5 ( e . g ., reflector adaptor ) lies parallel to the vector 8 , 18 of the cutting area 2 , then individually calibrating the spatial orientation of the cutting edge can be omitted . then , as described last above , the axis vector 19 of the grip 23 has to be calibrated in combination with length , which is , for example , possible by using the stopper 17 ( shown in fig5 ). the spatial position and orientation of the edge vector 18 are then calculated using the given parallelism to the plane 6 spanned by the navigational reference 5 and from the axis vector 19 of the instrument , which intersects the edge vector 18 at a perpendicular angle . the length of the cutting area 2 is then either inputted manually or determined by positioning on the boundary plane c ( fig7 ) as described above . although particular embodiments of the invention have been described in detail , it is understood that the invention is not limited correspondingly in scope , but includes all changes , modifications and equivalents coming within the spirit and terms of the claims appended hereto .
a method for calibrating or registering a medical instrument or implant includes determining a spatial position of the instrument or implant and determining a relative position of the instrument or implant with respect to anatomical data . a spatial orientation of a multi - dimensionally formed , functional section of the instrument or implant is determined . a device for calibrating or registering a medical instrument or implant using a medical navigation system includes calibration aid , where the calibration aid includes a calibration section whose spatial orientation in said navigation system is known and on which a multi - dimensionally formed , functional section of the instrument or implant can be oriented .