Navigation system for endoscope

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Different from conventional virtual navigation, we have developed two real intra-body navigation systems, which support endoscopic examination and endoscopic surgery.(1)Ultrasound methodCommercially available ultrasound probe is set in water pool and another ultrasound transducer is placed at separated position which transmits ultrasound pulses synchronized to the ultrasound probe. The ultrasound probe catches the transmitted pulse from the transducer and displays on a monitor of the commercially available ultrasound diagnostic equipment as a marker. Thus we can locate the position (six dgrees-of-freedom) of the ultrasound probe as the relative position from the ultrasound transducer, and consequently as the absolute position by using optical localizer for ultrasound transducer.(2)Hybrid method with magnetic and optical localizersIn this research, end of hard grip lod of an ultrasound endoscope is localized by an optical localizer and another end of the hard lod is localized bymagnetic sensor which is used for measuring magnetic field and location calibration/compensation. At another end of the hard lod, flexible ultrasound probe lod is connected. Another miniature magnetic sensor is attached at the tip of the flexible probe lod to locate the ultrasound probe in five degrees-of-freedom. Thus we can locate the ultrasound probe with six-degrees-of-freedom, whose locating precision is improved from 14.7mm without compensation to 1.96mm. Further we have derived the geometry of oblique endoscope and developed an easy calibration method.