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Related Experiment Videos

Evaluation of a miniature electromagnetic position tracker.

Johann Hummel1, Michael Figl, Christian Kollmann

  • 1Department of Biomedical Engineering and Physics, General Hospital, University of Vienna, Austria. Jhummel@gmx.at

Medical Physics
|November 1, 2002
PubMed
Summary

Miniaturized electromagnetic tracking systems show promise for computer-aided surgery. However, metallic objects and C-arm fluoroscopy units can cause significant distortions, impacting accuracy in clinical applications.

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Area of Science:

  • Medical instrumentation
  • Surgical technology
  • Electromagnetic tracking

Background:

  • Miniaturized electromagnetic digitizers enable computer-aided interventions with flexible instruments like endoscopes and catheters.
  • Tracking systems are crucial for navigating instruments within the body during minimally invasive procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically evaluate distortions induced by various materials on a new commercial electromagnetic tracking system.
  • To quantify the reliability of the tracking system in the presence of common medical instruments and imaging devices.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized the Aurora electromagnetic tracking system (Mednetix/CH, NDI/Can) with data acquisition on a Linux PC.
  • Introduced various objects including wire loops, guides, catheters, an ultrasound (US) scan head, an endoscope, and a C-arm fluoroscopy unit into the digitizer volume.

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  • Quantified system reliability by mounting the sensor on a nonmetallic rack at different distances from the transmitter.

    • Main Results:

    • Distortions were more sensitive to materials near the emitter (13.6 mm error for wire loops 100-200 mm away) than near the sensor (<100 mm, 2.2 mm error).
    • A C-arm fluoroscopy unit caused significant distortions (18.6 mm error), limiting tracker reliability.
    • Ultrasound scan heads induced high distortions near the emitter (<100 mm) and when positioned close to the sensor (4.1 mm error).
    • Common medical instruments caused an average deviation of 3.0 mm in distance measurements.

    Conclusions:

    • Miniature tracking systems offer new possibilities for tracking flexible instruments in surgery.
    • Significant distortions from metallic objects and C-arm units can occur but may be mitigated through careful system usage.
    • Understanding and managing these distortions is key to reliable intraoperative instrument tracking.