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microBIRD Now Tracks
3D Location of Sensors Just
1.3 mm Wide
BURLINGTON, VERMONT; March
4, 2005: Ascension Technology
announces the release of its
newest microBIRD guidance
device with sensor 30% smaller
than earlier models.
The significance
of a six degrees-of-freedom
sensor – just 1.3 mm wide
– is considerable for minimally
invasive medical procedures.
While Ascension’s previous
1.8 mm sensor could fit in
a larger 7 French catheter,
the new tracker is small enough
to fit into the distal tip
of a 4 French catheter as
well as other flexible instruments
such as biopsy needles, probes,
robotic end-effectors and
scopes.
As such, it
enables an incredible new
world of image guided procedures
and medical exploration into
smaller blood vessels and
organs -- from the cardiac
system and fallopian tubes
to bronchial passageways and
soft-tissue ducts.
|
A
microBIRD sensor, 1.3
mm in width (shown at
left) can now be used
with catheters as small
as 4 French on the French
Catheter Scale. Previously,
sensor size was limited
to 1.8 mm (shown at
right) for insertion
in catheters of 7 French
and higher. |
“This sensor
size reduction is a significant
milestone in our developmental
roadmap for microBIRD,” says
Ascension vice president,
Jack Scully. “Now we can offer
medical device manufacturers
sensors small enough to enable
3D guidance and intrabody
navigation in places once
inaccessible.”
microBIRD’s pulsed DC magnetic
technology accurately measures
the position and orientation
of one or more sensors without
line-of-sight restriction
even in the presence of conductive
metals.
For minimally invasive medical
procedures, microBIRD is often
used with an imaging modality
and 3D software to continuously
report sensor location on
a graphical reconstruction
of internal anatomy. The resulting
roadmap can guide an instrument
to a target within the human
body. With microBIRD and advanced
imaging systems, clinicians
can literally “see” inside
the human body.
Ascension Technology Corporation,
based in Burlington, Vermont,
USA, is the world leader in
DC magnetic guidance and motion
tracking solutions for medical
applications. More information
is available at www.ascension-tech.com.
Ascension Contact Point:
Jack Scully jscully@ascension-tech.com
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