Thin Film Magnetic Sensors for Ultrathin Bronchoscope Navigation

描述(由申请人提供)：Koronis Biomedical Technology Corporation(KBT)建议开发一种用于超薄支气管镜导航系统的巨磁电阻(GMR)传感器。支气管镜检查用于定位患者支气管内的异常，并在必要时进行活检。不幸的是，大多数靶肺病变位于肺的外围区域，大支气管镜无法到达。大约2/3RDS的诊断性支气管镜检查在肺周围失败，必须重复或替换为更具侵入性的方法，如透视引导下经皮针刺活检或外科活检。新的超薄支气管镜为医生提供了一种能够进一步进入肺外围的工具。超薄支气管镜的直径小于3毫米，大约是标准仪器的一半。已经引入了用于支气管镜导航的商业系统，该系统依靠固定在支气管镜内的微型磁场拾取线圈来感测外部参考磁场。线绕式拾音器线圈在尺寸、成本和性能等方面都有很大的缺陷。它们通常太大，不能用于超薄支气管镜，也不适合进一步小型化。该方案使用固态薄膜巨磁电阻(GMR)磁场传感器来减小支气管镜导航系统的尺寸、提高性能并降低成本。第一阶段计划的目标是证明可以设计出适合超薄支气管镜应用的GMR传感器。第一阶段计划将设计并制作一种GMR传感器的原型，该传感器的尺寸足够小，可以用于超薄支气管镜。第二阶段计划将制造GMR传感器，并将其插入并评估原型支气管镜导航系统。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Koronis Biomedical Technology Corporation (KBT) proposes to develop a giant magneto-resistive (GMR) sensor for use in ultrathin bronchoscope navigation systems. Bronchoscopy is used to locate anomalies in a patient's bronchus and if necessary, take a biopsy. Unfortunately, the majority of target lung lesions are located in the peripheral areas of the lungs where large bronchoscopes cannot reach. Approximately 2/3rds of diagnostic bronchoscopy procedures in the lung's periphery fail and must be repeated or replaced with more invasive approaches such as fluoroscopic guided percutaneous needle biopsy or surgical biopsy. New ultrathin bronchoscopes provide physicians a tool capable of moving further into the reaches of the lung periphery. Ultrathin bronchoscopes are smaller than 3 mm in diameter, about half the size of a standard instrument. Commercial systems for bronchoscope navigation have been introduced that rely upon miniature magnetic field pick-up coils rigidly located within the bronchoscope to sense external reference magnetic fields. The wire-wound pick-up coils have substantial drawbacks including size, cost, and performance. They are generally too large for use in ultrathin bronchoscopes and are unsuitable for further miniaturization. The proposed program uses solid-state thin-film giant magneto-resistive (GMR) magnetic field sensors to reduce the size, increase the performance, and decrease the cost of bronchoscope navigation systems. The aims of the phase I program seek to demonstrate that a GMR sensor can be designed suitable for application in an ultrathin bronchoscope. The phase I program will design and prototype a GMR sensor which is small enough in size to be used in an ultrathin bronchoscope. The phase II program will manufacture the GMR sensor, and insert and evaluate it in a prototype bronchoscope navigation system.