Gain factor and position determination system
First Claim
1. A system for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a probe comprising:
- a plurality of magnetic field sources;
at least one magnetic field sensor, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value;
a probe whose gain, position, and orientation affects said unique measured magnetic field values; and
a processor, configured to receive and iteratively process said unique measured magnetic field values, for determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of said probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of said probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a probe includes a plurality of magnetic field sources and at least one magnetic field sensor, such that a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value. The system includes a probe whose gain, position, and orientation affect these unique measured magnetic field values. A processor is configured to receive and iteratively process these unique measured magnetic field values to determine a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors. The system gain factor is indicative of the gain of the probe, and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of the probe. The number of unique measured magnetic field values generated must be at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated.
83 Citations
42 Claims
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1. A system for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a probe comprising:
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a plurality of magnetic field sources;
at least one magnetic field sensor, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value;
a probe whose gain, position, and orientation affects said unique measured magnetic field values; and
a processor, configured to receive and iteratively process said unique measured magnetic field values, for determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of said probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of said probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A system for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a probe comprising:
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a plurality of magnetic field sensors;
at least one magnetic field source, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value;
a probe whose gain, position, and orientation affects said unique measured magnetic field values; and
a processor, configured to receive and iteratively process said unique measured magnetic field values, for determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of said probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of said probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a probe comprising:
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one of a plurality of magnetic field sensors and a plurality of magnetic field sources;
at least one of the other of the magnetic field sensors and magnetic field sources, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value;
a probe whose gain, position, and orientation affects said unique measured magnetic field values; and
a processor, configured to receive and iteratively process said unique measured magnetic field values, for determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of said probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of said probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A system for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a three-dimensional object comprising:
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one of a plurality of magnetic field sensors and a plurality of magnetic field sources;
at least one of the other of the magnetic field sensors and magnetic field sources, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value;
a three-dimensional object whose gain, position, and orientation affects said unique measured magnetic field values; and
a processor, configured to receive and iteratively process said unique measured magnetic field values, for determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of said probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of said probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated.
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35. A method for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a three-dimensional object comprising:
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positioning a plurality of magnetic field sources proximate the three-dimensional object;
positioning at least one magnetic field sensor in a fixed spatial relationship with the three-dimensional object, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value, and the gain, position, and orientation of the three-dimensional object affects the unique measured magnetic field values; and
determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of the probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of the probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a three-dimensional object comprising:
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positioning a plurality of magnetic field sensors proximate the three-dimensional object;
positioning at least one magnetic field source in a fixed spatial relationship with the three-dimensional object, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value, and the gain, position, and orientation of the three-dimensional object affects the unique measured magnetic field values; and
determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of the probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of the probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated.
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41. A system for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a hollow tube comprising:
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a plurality of magnetic field sources;
at least one magnetic field sensor, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value;
a hollow tube whose gain, position, and orientation affects said unique measured magnetic field values, wherein said at least one magnetic field sensor is positioned within said tube; and
a processor, configured to receive and iteratively process said unique measured magnetic field values, for determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of said probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of said probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of gain and location factors calculated.
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42. A system for determining the position, orientation and system gain factor of a hollow tube comprising:
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a plurality of magnetic field sensors;
at least one magnetic field source, wherein a combination of a magnetic field sensor and a magnetic field source generates a unique measured magnetic field value;
a hollow tube whose gain, position, and orientation affects said unique measured magnetic field values, wherein said at least one magnetic field source is positioned within said tube; and
a processor, configured to receive and iteratively process said unique measured magnetic field values, for determining a system gain factor and a plurality of location factors;
wherein the system gain factor is indicative of the gain of said probe and the plurality of location factors are indicative of the position and orientation of said probe;
wherein the number of unique measured magnetic field values generated is at least equal to the sum of the number of am and location factors calculated.
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Specification