Electromagnetic Tracking System for Position and Orientation Detection of Deep Brain Stimulation Electrodes During...

Area of Science:

• Medical Devices
• Surgical Navigation
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Minimally invasive surgeries require precise instrument tracking.
• X-ray imaging has limitations in continuous, real-time surgical guidance.
• Electromagnetic tracking (EMT) offers a potential alternative for intraoperative navigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a 3D electromagnetic tracking (EMT) system for surgical tool localization.
• To assess the system's accuracy and suitability for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery.
• To provide an alternative or complementary navigation solution to X-ray imaging.

Main Methods:

• A quasi-static EMT system utilizing a 3D magnetometer and printed circuit board field generator was designed.
• Localization was achieved using the multilateration principle based on magnetic field amplitudes.
• Orientation was determined from orthogonal magnetic field components.
• System performance was evaluated using a magnetic field camera and stereotactic system, with simulated DBS implantations.

Main Results:

• The system achieved spatial and angular errors of 1.72 mm and 0.89° within a 15 × 15 × 15 cm³ measurement volume at 18 cm from the field generator.
• Improved performance with mean spatial and angular errors of 0.87 mm and 0.52° was observed during simulated DBS implantations.
• The system operated at an update rate of 0.4 Hz.

Conclusions:

• The developed quasi-static EMT system provides accurate spatial and angular localization for surgical tools.
• The system demonstrates significant potential for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery and other functional neurosurgeries.
• Its ability to operate at a distance from the field generator makes it suitable for neurosurgical applications requiring regular feedback.