Gain factor and position determination system

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 indicative of the gain of the probe and a plurality of location factors 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.

Description

technical field

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for determining the position and orientation of an object and the gain factor of the system using a magnetic field. Background technique

[0002] As is known in the art, the system can indirectly determine the position and orientation of an object using magnetic field measurements. These systems are useful, for example, in the medical field because they enable precise positioning of objects within a patient's body with only minimal invasiveness to the body. The intrusion involves placing a small probe near the object to be located. The three-dimensional position and orientation of the probe is then determined from its effect on the magnetic field measurement.

[0003] The probe can be a magnetic field source or a magnetic field detector. If the probe is the source, a detector outside the body measures the magnetic field generated by the probe. If the probe is the detector, a magnetic field source outside th...

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