초록 ▼

A device to detect the location of a plurality of magnets uses a plurality of magnetic sensors, having sensor elements arranged in a known fashion. Each sensor element senses the magnetic field strength generated by each of the plurality of magnets and provides data indicative of the direction of th

A device to detect the location of a plurality of magnets uses a plurality of magnetic sensors, having sensor elements arranged in a known fashion. Each sensor element senses the magnetic field strength generated by each of the plurality of magnets and provides data indicative of the direction of the magnets in a three-dimensional space. The device uses fundamental equations for electricity and magnetism that relate the measured magnetic field strength to the location and strength of the magnetic dipole for each of the plurality of magnets. The device may use an iterative process to determine the actual location and orientation of each magnet. An initial estimation of the location and orientation of each magnet results in the generation of predicted magnetic field values. The predicted magnetic field values are compared with the actual measured values provided by the magnetic sensors. Based on a difference between the predicted values and the measured values, the device estimates a new location for each of the magnets and calculates new predicted magnetic field strength values. The iteration process continues until the predicted values match the measured values within a desired degree of tolerance. At this point, the estimated location and orientation of each of the magnets matches the actual location within a predetermined degree of tolerance.

대표청구항 ▼

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A system for detecting a position of a plurality of magnets within a patient from a measurement location outside the patient, the system comprising:a housing;a plurality of magnetic sensors supported by the housing, each of the plurality of sensors being oriented in a k

[ What is claimed is:] [1.]1. A system for detecting a position of a plurality of magnets within a patient from a measurement location outside the patient, the system comprising:a housing;a plurality of magnetic sensors supported by the housing, each of the plurality of sensors being oriented in a known direction and generating a set of signals as a function of static magnetic field strength and direction due to the plurality of magnets within the patient;a processor configured to calculate an estimated position of each of the plurality of magnets in a three-dimensional space and to calculate values of a predicted magnetic field strength for at least a portion of the plurality of sensors based on the estimated positions of each of the plurality of magnets, the processor further configured to calculate values of an actual magnetic field strength using the set of signals and determining values of the location of each of the plurality of magnets based on the difference between the values of the predicted magnetic field strength and the values of the actual magnetic field strength; anda display providing a visual display of the position of each of the plurality of magnets in the three-dimensional space.