Construction of a conductive distortion reduced electromagnetic tracking system for computer assisted image-guided interventions

Abstract

Alternating current electromagnetic tracking system (EMTS) is widely used in computer-assisted image-guided interventions. However, EMTS suffers from distortions caused by electrically conductive objects in close proximity to tracker tools. Eddy currents in conductive distorters generate secondary magnetic fields that disrupt the measured position and orientation (P&O) of the tracker. This paper proposes a LabVIEW field programmable gate array (FPGA) based EMTS to reduce the interference caused by nearby conductive, but non-ferromagnetic objects upon the method developed in the authors' previous studies. The system's performance was tested in the presence of single/multiple nearby conductive distorters. The results illustrated that the constructed EMTS worked accurately and stably despite nearby static or mobile conductive objects. The technology will allow surgeons to perform image-guided interventions with EMTS even when there are conductive objects close by the tracker tool.