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Ascension miniBIRD
Expands Market with New Price
and Applications
Burlington, Vermont USA;
October 31, 2002: Ascension
Technology Corporation’s
high performance miniBIRD
Model 500 motion tracker with
its versatile miniaturized
sensor has a new price and
broadened application capabilities.
The miniBIRD Model 500 is
used for highly accurate tracking
in computer-aided surgery,
medical training simulators
and biomechanical studies.
Lower costs due to streamlining
the sensor production process
allow Ascension to now offer
the Model 500 for the same
price as the Model 800: $3995.
While the Model 500 offers
the same six degree-of-freedom
position and orientation tracking
as the Model 800, its 5mm
sensor head suits it to more
applications involving internal
body navigation and instrument
localization. Encapsulated,
the miniaturized sensor head
measures 10mm x 5mm x 5mm,
so it will fit on or in probes,
tubes and scopes threading
internal cavities. The Model
500 experiences no line-of-sight
interference whether it is
used inside or outside the
body. Because it relies on
DC magnetic field technology,
it can be used in the presence
of metals such as those found
in clinical settings.
The miniBIRD Model 500 is
already a critical component
in two significant medical
training simulators. The Simulation
Group of the Center for Integration
of Medicine and Innovative
Technology (CIMIT) is using
the tracker in the VIRGIL®
Chest Trauma Training Simulator
System, which trains Army
medics how to treat collapsed
lungs and major chest wounds.
The sensor is situated inside
the narrow chest tube where
it tracks the tube’s
movement in the simulator
mannequin as the trainee learns
the insertion procedure. The
tracker unit then transmits
the data to the host computer
where the path of the tube
appears in real time onscreen,
showing the student instantly
whether or not the procedure
was successful.
Simbionix, Inc. uses the
miniBIRD Model 500 in the
URO Mentor, a simulator designed
to provide medical experts
with hands-on training in
urethroscopy, cystoscopy,
ureteroscopy and laparoscopy.
In this application, the sensor
head is mounted on the urology
scope’s fiber optic
head. As the trainee inserts
the scope into a life-size
anatomical model, the computer’s
screen displays exactly what
the camera would “see”
inside the patient—here,
a computer-generated anatomical
model.
With its reduced price and
field-tested application history,
the miniBIRD Model 500 has
become a more affordable component
for clinical and research
equipment OEMs in the medical,
simulation and virtual reality
industries.
ISO 9001 certified, Ascension
Technology Corporation, Burlington,
Vermont, develops motion tracking
solutions for 3D computer
graphics applications. More
information about Ascension
trackers is available at www.ascension-tech.com.
-- end --
For Immediate Release
Contact: Amanda Roer (802)
893-6657 or e-mail: aroer@ascension-tech.com
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