Coil arrangement for electromagnetic tracker method and system
First Claim
1. An electromagnetic coil arrangement, comprising:
- a plurality of modular units, wherein each modular unit of the plurality of modular units includes;
a plurality of electromagnetic sensors located about the periphery of a region; and
at least one center electromagnetic sensor located at or near the center of the region;
wherein the plurality of electromagnetic sensors and the at least one center electromagnetic sensor are located in a single plane; and
wherein each modular unit is configured to be selectively removed from or added to other modular units of the plurality of modular units to form an electromagnetic tracking array located in a single plane adjacent a volume of interest and to facilitate variation of at least one of the size or the shape of the electromagnetic tracking array.
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Accused Products
Abstract
An electromagnetic coil arrangement comprising a plurality of electromagnetic sensors located about the periphery of a region and at least one center electromagnetic sensor located at or near the center of the region, wherein the plurality of electromagnetic sensors and the at least one center electromagnetic sensor are located in a single plane. An electromagnetic tracking system and method of use, the electromagnetic tracking system comprising the electromagnetic coil arrangement, at least one complementary electromagnetic sensor, and a processor configured to process a signal comprising data indicative of a mutual inductance between the at least one complementary electromagnetic sensor and each of the electromagnetic sensors of the electromagnetic coil arrangement.
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Citations
24 Claims
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1. An electromagnetic coil arrangement, comprising:
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a plurality of modular units, wherein each modular unit of the plurality of modular units includes; a plurality of electromagnetic sensors located about the periphery of a region; and at least one center electromagnetic sensor located at or near the center of the region; wherein the plurality of electromagnetic sensors and the at least one center electromagnetic sensor are located in a single plane; and wherein each modular unit is configured to be selectively removed from or added to other modular units of the plurality of modular units to form an electromagnetic tracking array located in a single plane adjacent a volume of interest and to facilitate variation of at least one of the size or the shape of the electromagnetic tracking array. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. An electromagnetic tracking system, comprising:
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an electromagnetic coil arrangement comprising a plurality of modular units each including;
a plurality of electromagnetic sensors located about the periphery of a region and at least one center electromagnetic sensor located at or near the center of the region, wherein the plurality of electromagnetic sensors and the at least one center electromagnetic sensor are located in a single plane and wherein each modular unit is configured to be selectively removed from or added to other modular units to form an electromagnetic tracking array located in a single plane adjacent a volume of interest and to facilitate variation of at least one of the size or the shape of the electromagnetic tracking array;at least one complementary electromagnetic sensor; and a processor configured to process a signal comprising data indicative of a mutual inductance between the at least one complementary electromagnetic sensor and each of the electromagnetic sensors located within the single plane of the electromagnetic tracking array. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
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17. A method of electromagnetic tracking, comprising:
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positioning at least one complementary electromagnetic sensor in a volume of interest with respect to an electromagnetic coil arrangement adjacent to the volume of interest, the coil arrangement comprising a tracking array of coplanar modular units each including;
a plurality of electromagnetic sensors located about the periphery of a region and at least one center electromagnetic sensor located at or near the center of the region, wherein the plurality of electromagnetic sensors and the at least one center electromagnetic sensor are located in a single common plane of the tracking array and wherein each modular unit is configured to be separable from other modular units of the tracking array of coplanar modular units to facilitate variation of at least one of the size or the shape of the electromagnetic coil arrangement within the common plane;sensing a mutual inductance between at least one of the electromagnetic sensors of the electromagnetic coil arrangement and the at least one complementary electromagnetic sensor; and processing a signal indicative of the mutual inductance. - View Dependent Claims (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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Specification