Conformal coil array for a medical tracking system
View Patent ↗Described herein are one or more implementations for reducing the effects of distortion caused by the distorters in medical image-capture components used in medical electromagnetic tracking system. Examples of a medical image-capture component include an X-ray image detector used in fluoroscopic image-guided medical procedures and a surgical microscope. With one or more implementations described herein, the electromagnetic receiver unit (or transmitter unit) is conformably attached to the medical image-capture component.
1. A medical tracking system comprising:
an image-capture sub-system configured to capture images during a medical procedure;
an electromagnetic tracking sub-system configured to track one or more medical instruments and one or more image-capture components of the image-capture sub-system during a medical procedure;
a tracker unit conformally mounted to one of the image-capture components of the image-capture sub-system that is being tracked by the electromagnetic tracking sub-system, wherein the tracker unit is conformally mounted so that the unit conforms to a surface of the image-capture component to which the unit is mounted.
2. A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tracker unit is a receiver.
3. A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the tracker unit is a transmitter.
4. A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the image-capture component to which the unit is mounted has a housing comprising electrically-conductive material.
5. A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein the conformally mounted tracker unit is flush mounted to the one of the image-capture components.
6. A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein image-capture sub-system is an X-ray image detector.
7. A system as recited in claim 1 , wherein image-capture sub-system is a surgical microscope.
8. A tracker apparatus comprising a receiver mounted to an image-capture component of an image-capture sub-system, the image-capture component being tracked by an electromagnetic tracking sub-system, the image-capture sub-system configured to capture images during a medical procedure, the electromagnetic tracking sub-system configured to track one or more medical instruments and one or more image-capture components of the image-capture sub-system during a medical procedure, wherein the receiver is conformally mounted so that the receiver conforms to a surface of the image-capture component.
9. An apparatus as recited in claim 8 , wherein the image-capture component to which the receiver is mounted has a housing comprising electrically-conductive material.
10. An apparatus as recited in claim 8 , wherein image-capture sub-system is an X-ray image detector.
11. An apparatus as recited in claim 8 , wherein image-capture sub-system is a surgical microscope.
12. A tracker apparatus comprising a transmitter mounted to an image-capture component of an image-capture sub-system, the image-capture component being tracked by an electromagnetic tracking sub-system, the image-capture sub-system configured to capture images during a medical procedure, the electromagnetic tracking sub-system configured to track one or more medical instruments and one or more image-capture components of the image-capture sub-system during a medical procedure, wherein the transmitter is conformally mounted so that the transmitter conforms to a surface of the image-capture component.
13. An apparatus as recited in claim 12 , wherein the image-capture component to which the transmitter is mounted has a housing comprising electrically-conductive material.
14. An apparatus as recited in claim 12 , wherein image-capture sub-system is an X-ray image detector.
15. An apparatus as recited in claim 12 , wherein image-capture sub-system is a surgical microscope.