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3D
SENSOR IN ULTRA-THIN BRONCHOSCOPE
PERMITS NOVEL IMAGING POSSIBILITIES
ASCENSION
INTRODUCES NEW 3D GUIDANCE
DEVICE
AT MAJOR MEDICAL CONFERENCE
– RSNA
BURLINGTON,
VERMONT; November 15 2004:
Ascension Technology
will exhibit microBIRD,
a new 3D measurement device
that precisely tracks the
location of instruments inside
and outside the human body
at RSNA 2004 – the Radiological
Society of North America’s
annual conference in Chicago,
Illinois, November 28 – December
2. microBIRD™ instantly measures
the six degrees-of-freedom
location of one or more sensors
-- just 1.8 mm wide and smaller
-- for applications in image-guided
interventions.
Early adapters are already
using it for the following
purposes:
- Measuring the position
and orientation of
objects in real-time
- Locating tips of
instruments in 3D
space
- Guiding flexible
tools, such as scopes,
to internal targets
- Controlling catheters
in computer-assisted
procedures and robotics
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To demonstrate the microBIRD’s
precision and versatility,
it will be shown in a bronchoscopy
application developed at the
University of Washington’s
HIT Laboratory. Researchers
there have integrated a micro
sensor into an ultra-thin
bronchoscope for guiding instruments
to lung targets deep inside
airway branches. The approach
will enable clinicians to
image and treat previously
inaccessible lung regions
-- beyond 5th generation airways.
In addition to its miniaturized
packaging, microBIRD is a
metal tolerant tracker without
line-of-sight restrictions
or radiation limitations.
Four years in the making,
it is particularly adept at
locating objects and instruments
in confined spaces, especially
the human body. In medical
imaging and minimally invasive
procedures, microBIRD allows
clinicians to combine imaging
modalities, such as CT, MRI
or ultrasound scans, with
exact knowledge of an instrument's
location referenced to visual
images. With microBIRD and
advanced imaging systems,
clinicians can literally "see"
inside the human body.
Recent advances in third-generation
pulsed-DC magnetic technology
enable microBIRD to operate
without error near conductive
metal, such as 300-series
stainless steel, which is
often found in medical environments.
A new family of magnetic field
transmitters – including a
flat transmitter that is placed
beneath a patient -- and signal
processing techniques further
overcomes the effects of other
types of metals and cross
coupling errors that plague
earlier generation AC electromagnetic
tracking technologies.
Ascension Technology Corporation,
based in Burlington, Vermont,
USA, is a world leader in
3D tracking solutions for
medical applications. More
information about Ascension
trackers is available at www.ascension-tech.com.
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