Intrabody navigation system for medical applications
US6833814B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 27, 2003 |
| Grant date | Dec 21, 2004 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 27, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC A)Human Necessities
- CPC primaryA61B2034/2072
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A system and method for tracking the position and orientation of a probe such as a catheter whose transverse inner dimension may be at most about two millimeters. Three planar antennas that at least partly overlap are used to transmit electromagnetic radiation simultaneously, with the radiation transmitted by each antenna having its own spectrum. In the case of single-frequency spectra, the antennas are provided with mechanisms for decoupling them from each other. A receiver inside the probe includes sensors of the three components of the transmitted field, with sensors for at least two of the three components being pairs of sensors, such as coils, disposed symmetrically with respect to a common reference point. In one variant of the receiver, the coils are collinear and are wound about cores that are mounted in pairs of diametrically opposed apertures in the housing of the probe. In another variant of the receiver-catheter combination, the catheter is configured with an inner and outer sleeve connected at their ends by one or more flexible elements on which the coils are mounted. Each member of a pair of coils that sense the same component of the transmitted field is connected to …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.