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Medical & Medical Simulation

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Medicine is changing.

Procedures performed just 5 years ago are already antiquated.

More and more, minimally invasive procedures are becoming commonplace. And advanced imaging modalities now let clinicians see inside the human body with amazing clarity.

Rapid advancements are also being made in instrument guidance. Locating medical instruments in 3D space is a key requirement for many emerging procedures, especially image-guided.

To meet this need, Ascension Technology has developed a new generation of pulsed DC magnetic tracking technologies and proprietary techniques for medical applications.

These DC magnetic devices are built upon Ascension’s two decades of expertise in developing advanced magnetic tracking technologies for virtual reality, simulation and computer animation.

When our 3D measurements are combined with imaging modalities, clinicians can instantly and precisely locate and guide medical instruments to an exact target - whether inside or outside the human body.
Prominent applications include:
  • Localization of ultrasound scan-head planes for 3D reconstruction of anatomical objects

Image courtesy of Tom-Tec Imaging Systems
  • Real-time navigation for needle guided procedures

Tracked-needle biopsy, image courtesy of Ultraguide
  • Guidance of surgical probes

    Click Here to read how Ascension's sensors are used for intra-operative surgical guidance.


Image courtesy of Compass

  • Precise placement of surgical implants


Vertebrae implant image courtesy of Orthosoft

  • 3D tracking of instrument tips for simulation and training

    Click Here to read how one medical simulator company uses 3D tracking in its training simulators.

Screen shot of UroMentor Stone Removal courtesy of Simbionix

Emerging applications in minimally invasive medical procedures are wide and varied. A few applications that are already in use or that are being investigated include:

  • Intra-body navigation
  • Computer–assisted procedures
  • RF ablation· Image-guided intervention and delivery of therapy
  • 3D ultrasound
  • Electrophysiology
  • Brachtherapy
  • Telerobotics and telesurgery

Many of these applications require 3D guidance to targets inside the body. Our microBIRD is often the preferred means of tracking. It provides full six-degrees-of-freedom tracking with immunity to nearby conductive metals.

Have a question about choosing the right 3D tracker for your medical application? We can help you sort out the pros and cons of various approaches. Click Here to visit our Medical FAQs page.

Do you have a question about 3D ultrasound? Click Here for a brief question and answer session with a leading radiologist who uses both 2D and 3D ultrasound.

If a picture is worth a 1000 words then a video is worth a million.

Click Here to see how Ascension 3D guidance and intrabody navigation devices are used in medical imaging and intervention.

Medical procedures require close integration between tracking and advanced imaging modalities. Ascension is strategically aligned with leading medical research institutes including:

CIMIT (www.cimit.org)
Ascension is a member of the Boston-based CIMT consortium that unites researchers, manufacturers and clinicians to develop new technology to advance the practice of medicine.

CEDARA (www.cedara.com)
Cedara is a leading developer of 3D software for medical imaging. Its software is fully integrated with Ascension sensors.

STANFORD (www.med.stanford.edu)
The Image Guidance Lab at Stanford conducts cutting edge research into 3D visualization of ultrasound image

MAYO CLINIC (www.mayo.edu/bir)
Mayo Clinic and Ascension have been collaborating for several years in investigating guidance systems for use in cardiac care and cancer intervention.

UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT School of Medicine (www.med.uvm.edu)
Ascension and University of Vermont researchers are currently collaborating to apply magnetic tracking to real-world medical problems. Critical procedures needing internal guidance include: targeting lesions, placement of aortic stints and 3D localization of gastrointestinal anomalies.

Please click here to see the bibliography.

Ascension manufactures general-purpose motion tracking and 3D localization devices. All biomedical references -- on this web site and in company literature -- depict what medical companies and institutions can accomplish with Ascension trackers only after obtaining all necessary medical certifications. Ascension trackers are not certified for medical use without the end user or OEM first obtaining and complying with all pertinent FDA/CE regulatory requirements. Ascension makes no representations that its tracking devices meet regulatory requirements for medical use.

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