2012 Summer Project Week:Open source electromagnetic trackers using OpenIGTLink

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  Stylized image of three orthogonal coils used in 6-DOF electromagnetic tracker sensor

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  Handmade assembly of three solenoidal coils; each solenoid is 11 millimeters long

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  One plane of 256x256x256 NRRD, pixel = X.xor.Y.xor.Z

Key Investigators

• Retired: Peter Traneus Anderson
• NA-MIC: Tina Kapur, Sonia Pujol

Objectives

One goal of this open-source electromagnetic tracker project is to extend the tracker simulators in OpenIGTLink, by replacing the simulated position and orientation data with real data from real sensors using real hardware, all open-sourced.

Another goal of this project, is to provide an open forum for tracker designers to discuss the technology in all its aspects. Open-source tracker projects provide a common basis for discussion among tracker designers who are otherwise trapped behind proprietary walls.

The physics of electromagnetic trackers only just works. Tracker designers are continually struggling to get enough signal/noise from a small-enough sensor at a large-enough distance for a particular application. Magnetic-field distortion adds to the challenges.

Another goal of this project, is to enable researchers to simulate trackers for themselves, to better understand the limits imposed by the physics.

Another goal of this project, is to provide opportunities to gain experience on simple, unusual, and state-of-the-art analog hardware, digital hardware, digital-signal-processing algorithms, electromagnetic modeling, and position-calculation algorithms.

Approach, Plan

My plan for the project week, is to demonstrate a hand-built prototype 6DOF tracker sending position and orientation data over OpenIGTLink to Slicer, and to discuss what to do next.

I also plan to test and debug C programs to generate NRRD images from numerical or analytic data. The intent, is to test feasibility of using Slicer to visualize magnetic field models of coils.

I also plan to start writing C code to characterize the coils from measured data.

Progress

My published work to date is on Open Source Electromagnetic Trackers and on [http://home.comcast.net/~traneus].

[Photos], [block diagram], [electronics], [magnetics] of hand-built first [6DOF] prototype.

Delivery Mechanism

References