Patent ID: 11903595
Assignee: CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  G | IPC A  G

Claim 0:
1. A method comprising:
providing a system comprising:
a first sensor configured to be inserted in a patient during a surgical procedure, the first sensor comprising:
a first magnetic sensor configured to detect a first magnetic field value,
a first integrated circuit chip configured to process data from the first magnetic sensor, and
a first radiofrequency coil configured to transmit data processed by the first integrated circuit chip based on the first magnetic field;

a second sensor attached to a surgical instrument, the second sensor comprising:
a second magnetic sensor configured to detect a second magnetic field value, and
a second integrated circuit chip configured to process data from the second magnetic sensor;

generating, by a plurality of coils, a magnetic field gradient within a volume in which the surgical procedure takes place, wherein the magnetic field gradient has a unique field value at each spatial location;
sensing, by the first sensor, a first location of the first sensor based on the magnetic field gradient;
sensing, by the second sensor, a second location of the second sensor based on the magnetic field gradient;
displaying, on a display, the first and second locations, and a relative alignment between the first location and the second location; and
aligning the surgical instrument based on the displayed relative alignment;
wherein the plurality of coils comprises at least:
a first elliptical x coil and a second elliptical x coil configured to accept currents flowing in opposite directions to each other;
a first elliptical y coil and a second elliptical y coil configured to accept currents flowing in opposite directions to each other, the first and second elliptical y coils laying in a plane parallel to the first and second elliptical x coils, and rotated 90° relative to the first and second elliptical x coils; and
a z coil.