Automatic Localization of an Ultrasound Probe with the Help of Magnetic Sensors

Abstract

Ultrasound measurements are a widely used instrument in clinical practice. For later traceability of the images, the position (and orientation) of the ultrasound probe must be recorded during the measurement. Until now this has to be done manually by the physician. An easier and more accurate approach would be the automatic tracking of the ultrasound probe. This contribution shows a first approach for automatically localizing the ultrasonic head during measurement. The proposed method is based on coils surrounding the patient bed and a 3D magnetic sensor placed on the ultrasound head. Besides some pre- and postprocessing steps, the proposed localization algorithm is based on trilateration followed by a least mean squares approach for refinement of the estimation. In a first proof-of-concept measurement with fixed positions and orientations of the ultrasound head a mean accuracy of 2.85 cm and 8.94 ◦was achieved. Additionally, a measurement with a moving ultrasound head is presented to demonstrate the real-time capability of the system. Finally, future steps for improving the automatic measurement are discussed, including a graphical user interface for the physician and the use of magnetoelectric sensors for measurement.

Keywords

• magnetic localization
• ultrasound head localization
• real-time localization
• inverse solution
• magnetic sensors