Electromagnetic navigation antenna assembly and electromagnetic navigation system including the same

• US 10,418,705 B2
• Filed: 10/28/2016
• Issued: 09/17/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Covidien LP (Medtronic Plc)
• Original Assignee: Covidien LP (Medtronic Plc)
• Inventors: Morgan, Sean M., Koyrakh, Lev A.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Hoang V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Salih, Awat M
• Application Number:
  US15/337,056
• Publication Number:
  US 20180123248A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,054 Days
• Field of Search: 343742
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00809 Lung operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2072 Reference field transducer attached to an instrument or patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/00 Computer-aided surgery; Manipulators or robots specially adapted for use in surgery
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 1/2208 associated with components used in interrogation type services, i.e. in systems for information exchange between an interrogator/reader and a tag/transponder, e.g. in Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] systems methods or arrangements for sensing record carriers, e.g. for reading patterns G06K7/00; record carrier for use with machines and with at least a part designed to carry digital markings G06K19/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 21/28 Combinations of substantially independent non-interacting antenna units or systems multiple beam H01Q25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 25/00 Antennas or antenna systems providing at least two radiating patterns arrangements for changing or varying the orientation or the shape of the directional pattern H01Q3/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01Q 7/00 Loop antennas with a substantially uniform current distribution around the loop and having a directional radiation pattern in a plane perpendicular to the plane of the loop
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 5/00 Near-field transmission systems, e.g. inductive or capacitive transmission systems

Abstract

An antenna assembly for radiating at least one electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation and an electromagnetic navigation system including such an antenna assembly are provided. The antenna assembly includes a substrate and a planar antenna including a trace that is deposited on the substrate and arranged in a plurality of loops. Respective distances between adjacent pairs of the loops increase in a direction from an innermost loop to an outermost loop.

Claims

1. An antenna assembly for radiating at least one electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation, the antenna assembly comprising:

a substrate; and

a planar antenna including a trace deposited on the substrate and arranged in a plurality of loops,

wherein respective distances between any two adjacent loops of the plurality of loops progressively increase in a direction from an innermost loop of the plurality of loops to an outermost loop of the plurality of loops.

2. The antenna assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of straight linear portions and a plurality of vertices.

3. The antenna assembly according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes four straight linear portions and four vertices.

4. The antenna assembly according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of vertices is disposed along one of four diagonal lines that bisect four respective vertices of a seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna.

5. The antenna assembly according to claim 1, further comprising:

a connector having at least two terminals,

wherein the trace has two ends that are coupled to the two terminals, respectively.

6. The antenna assembly according to claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of planar antennas,

wherein each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on the substrate and arranged in a respective plurality of loops, and

wherein, for each of the plurality of planar antennas, respective distances between adjacent loops of the respective plurality of loops increase in a direction from an innermost loop of the respective plurality of loops to an outermost loop of the respective plurality of loops of the respective planar antenna.

7. The antenna assembly according to claim 6, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of layers and the planar antenna and each of the plurality of planar antennas is deposited on a respective layer of the plurality of layers.

8. The antenna assembly according to claim 6, wherein the planar antenna and each of the plurality of planar antennas each include a same number of loops.

9. The antenna assembly according to claim 6, wherein each of the loops of each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a plurality of straight linear portions and a plurality of vertices.

10. The antenna assembly according to claim 6, wherein the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas have a plurality of centroids, respectively, with respect to a plane of the substrate that are disposed in respective positions that are distinct from one another.