JP2020502860A - Electromagnetic navigation antenna assembly and electromagnetic navigation system including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An antenna assembly for emitting at least one electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation, and an electromagnetic navigation system including such an antenna assembly are provided. The antenna assembly includes a substrate and a planar antenna including traces deposited on the substrate and disposed in a plurality of loops. The respective distance between adjacent loop pairs increases in the direction from the innermost loop to the outermost loop. Each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.

Description

  The present disclosure relates to an antenna assembly for electromagnetic navigation and a method for designing such an antenna assembly. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to antenna assemblies for emitting electromagnetic fields for electromagnetic navigation, electromagnetic navigation systems including such antenna assemblies, and computer-implemented methods for designing such antenna assemblies.

  Electromagnetic (EM) navigation (EMN) is a medical imaging, medical, and medical device that allows the location and / or orientation of a device to be accurately determined while in the patient's body. Helps expand diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic capacity. One example of a medical procedure in which EMN is used is ELECTROMAGNETIC NAVIGATION BRONCHOSCOPY® (ENB ™), which includes a planning phase and a navigation phase. During the planning phase, a computed tomography (CT) scan of the patient's chest is used to generate a virtual three-dimensional bronchial map of the patient and a planned path for the navigation phase. During the navigation phase, the antenna assembly emits an electromagnetic field across the patient's chest, the practitioner inserts an electromagnetic sensor that detects the emitted electromagnetic field into the patient's airway, and the computing device detects the electromagnetic field. A location and / or orientation of the electromagnetic sensor (e.g., relative to a planned path) is determined based on the characteristics of the generated electromagnetic field.

  A detailed mapping of the electromagnetic field measurements at each sensor location is generated to allow for an accurate determination of sensor location and / or orientation. However, creating such a mapping is a laborious and time consuming process that may require expensive machinery, requiring precise electromagnetics at many (eg, hundreds of thousands or more) locations within the predicted electromagnetic volume. Need to perform field measurements.

  The load of electromagnetic field mapping generation increases in situations where multiple antenna assemblies are used. For example, to allow the electromagnetic sensor to reach deeper into the patient's body and / or to stay inside the body during subsequent medical procedures without disturbing additional medical devices, a single coil electromagnetic It may be desirable to use a small electromagnetic sensor such as a sensor. However, to use a small electromagnetic sensor for the EMN, while maintaining the ability to determine the sensor's multiple degrees of freedom (e.g., six degrees of freedom), multiple antenna assemblies will be detected, resulting in radiated emissions. May be required to increase the number of applied electromagnetic fields. In such a case, the above exhaustive mapping procedure may need to be performed for each antenna assembly design. Furthermore, given the potential changes from manufacturing, the mapping procedure may even need to be completed for each instance of a particular antenna assembly design (ie, each antenna assembly manufactured).

  In view of the above, a need exists for an improved electromagnetic navigation antenna assembly and a method for designing such an antenna assembly.

  According to one aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an antenna assembly for emitting at least one electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation. The antenna assembly includes a substrate and a planar antenna including traces deposited on the substrate and arranged in a plurality of loops. The respective distance between adjacent loop pairs increases in the direction from the innermost loop to the outermost loop.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices. For example, in some aspects, each of the loops includes four linear linear portions and four vertices.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, each of the vertices is disposed along one of four diagonals bisecting each of the four vertices of the seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the antenna assembly further includes a connector having at least two terminals, wherein the trace has two ends respectively connected to the two terminals.

  In another aspect of the disclosure, an antenna assembly includes a plurality of planar antennas, each of the plurality of planar antennas including a respective trace deposited on a substrate and disposed within a respective loop set. For each of the planar antennas, the respective distance between the respective planar antenna loop pair increases in the direction from the innermost loop to the outermost loop.

  In another aspect of the disclosure, the substrate includes a plurality of layers and a planar antenna, each of the plurality of planar antennas being deposited on a respective one of the layers.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the planar antennas includes the same number of loops.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, the planar antenna has respective centers of gravity with respect to the plane of the substrate disposed at different positions.

  According to another aspect of the present disclosure, an electromagnetic navigation system is provided. The system includes an antenna assembly, an alternating current (AC) current driver for driving the antenna assembly, a catheter, an electromagnetic sensor, a processor, and a memory. The antenna assembly includes a substrate and a planar antenna and is configured to emit an electromagnetic field. A planar antenna includes traces deposited on a substrate and disposed in a plurality of loops. The respective distance between adjacent loop pairs increases in the direction from the innermost loop of the loops to the outermost loop of the loops. The electromagnetic sensor is fixed to the catheter and is configured to receive a signal based on the emitted electromagnetic field. The memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to calculate at least one of the location and / or orientation of the electromagnetic sensor based on the received signal.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices. For example, in some aspects, each of the loops includes four linear linear portions and four vertices.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, each of the vertices is disposed along one of four diagonals bisecting each of the four vertices of the seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the antenna assembly further includes a connector having at least two terminals, wherein the trace has two ends respectively connected to the two terminals.

  In another aspect of the disclosure, an antenna assembly includes a plurality of planar antennas, each of the plurality of planar antennas having a respective trace deposited on a substrate and disposed within a respective loop set. Including. For each of the planar antennas, the respective distance between adjacent loop pairs increases in a direction from the innermost one of the loops of the respective planar antenna to the outermost one of the loops.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, the substrate includes a plurality of layers, and each of the planar antennas is deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the planar antennas includes the same number of loops.

  In another aspect of the disclosure, each loop of the planar antenna includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality of planar antennas have a plurality of centers of gravity with respect to a plane of the substrate disposed at each of different positions.

  According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an antenna assembly for emitting a plurality of electromagnetic fields for electromagnetic navigation. The antenna assembly includes a substrate and a plurality of planar antenna groups. The substrate includes a plurality of layers and each of the planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers and disposed in a respective number of loops. Each of the planar antenna groups includes a first planar antenna, a second planar antenna, and a third planar antenna. For each of the planar antennas, (1) the innermost loop of the first planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion; (2) The innermost loop of the second planar antenna includes a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. (3) the innermost loop of the third planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to and longer than the first linear portion. And (4) the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the second planar antenna is substantially parallel to the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna. , (5) the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the third planar antenna is the first linear portion of the first planar antenna. It is substantially parallel to the second linear portion of the side of the loop.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, for each of the planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent loops of the plurality of loops increases in a direction from an innermost loop of the plurality of loops to an outermost loop of the plurality of loops. I do.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the innermost loop of each of the first planar antennas of each group is positioned at a respective different angle on each of the plurality of layers.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, for each planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas, each of the plurality of vertices comprises four diagonals bisecting the four respective vertices of the seed rectangle corresponding to the respective planar antenna of the plurality of antennas. Are arranged along one of the two.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, an outermost vertex of the vertices of the planar antennas is separated from an edge of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the planar antennas have respective centers of gravity with respect to different planes of the substrate.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the planar antennas includes the same number of loops.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the number of planar antenna groups is at least three.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the antenna assembly further includes a connector having a plurality of terminals, wherein each trace of each of the plurality of planar antennas is coupled to a respective terminal of the plurality of terminals.

  According to another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an electromagnetic navigation system including an antenna assembly, a catheter, an electromagnetic sensor, a processor, and a memory. The antenna assembly is configured to emit an electromagnetic field, and includes a substrate and a plurality of planar antennas. The substrate includes a plurality of layers and each of the planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers and disposed in a respective number of loops. Each of the planar antenna groups includes a first planar antenna, a second planar antenna, and a third planar antenna. For each of the plurality of planar antenna groups, (1) the innermost loop of the first planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion. And (2) the innermost loop of the second planar antenna includes a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. (3) the innermost loop of the third planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And (4) the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the second planar antenna is substantially parallel to the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna. And (5) the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the third planar antenna is the first planar antenna It is substantially parallel to the second linear portion of the innermost loop. The electromagnetic sensor is fixed to the catheter and is configured to receive one or more signals based on the emitted electromagnetic field. The memory includes instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to calculate at least one of the location and / or orientation of the electromagnetic sensor based on the received signal.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, for each of the planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent loops of the plurality of loops increases in a direction from an innermost loop of the plurality of loops to an outermost loop of the plurality of loops. I do.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the innermost loop of each of the first planar antennas of each group is positioned at a respective different angle on each of the plurality of layers.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, for each planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas, each of the plurality of vertices comprises four diagonals bisecting the four respective vertices of the seed rectangle corresponding to the respective planar antenna of the plurality of antennas. Are arranged along one of the two.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, an outermost vertex of the vertices of the planar antennas is separated from an edge of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality of planar antennas have a plurality of respective centers of gravity with respect to different planes of the substrate.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the planar antennas includes the same number of loops.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the number of planar antenna groups is at least three.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the electromagnetic navigation system further includes a connector having a plurality of terminals, wherein each trace of each of the plurality of planar antennas is coupled to a respective terminal of the plurality of terminals.

  According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method for designing an antenna assembly for emitting a plurality of electromagnetic fields for electromagnetic navigation is provided. The method includes calculating a plurality of diagonals based on a seed rectangle having a plurality of vertices, respectively, for a coordinate system of a substrate having a boundary. The plurality of diagonal lines each bisect the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle, and each extends from the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle to the boundary. The method also includes, for each of the plurality of diagonals, (1) determining a plurality of distances between a plurality of pairs of adjacent planar antenna vertices positioned along the respective diagonals, wherein the plurality of distances comprises: Determining, increasing in the direction of the boundary from each vertex of the seed rectangle, and (2) locating the planar antenna vertex along respective diagonals based on the determined plurality of distances. A planar antenna layout is created by interconnecting planar antenna vertices with respective linear portions to form a plurality of loops sequentially traversing each of a plurality of diagonals.

  In another aspect of the disclosure, the plurality of distances is determined based at least in part on a predetermined number of loops of the planar antenna.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality of distances are determined based at least in part on a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent vertices and / or a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent traces.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the substrate has a plurality of layers, and the method further includes generating a plurality of planar antenna layouts corresponding to the plurality of layers, respectively.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method adds, to a planar antenna layout, a plurality of linear linear portions routed from at least two of the planar antenna vertices to a location of the connector relative to the coordinate system of the board. Further comprising:

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the computer-implemented method further comprises, for each of the plurality of diagonals, calculating a layout distance between each vertex of the seed rectangle and a boundary along the respective diagonal. Determining each of the plurality of distances between adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs is based at least in part on the calculated layout distance.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of planar antenna vertices.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, an outermost planar antenna vertex of the plurality of planar antenna vertices is separated from a substrate boundary by a predetermined threshold or less.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method further includes exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to at least one of a circuit board routing tool and / or a circuit board manufacturing tool.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-implemented method includes exporting data corresponding to a generated planar antenna layout to an electromagnetic simulation tool, and, based on the exported data, a plurality of linear antennas of the planar antenna layout. Simulating the respective electromagnetic field based on the superposition of the plurality of electromagnetic field components from the linear portion of.

  In accordance with another aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory computer readable program that stores instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of designing an antenna assembly for emitting an electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation. A medium is provided. The method includes calculating a plurality of diagonals based on a seed rectangle having a plurality of vertices, respectively, for a coordinate system of a substrate having a boundary. The plurality of diagonal lines each bisect the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle, and each extends from the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle to the boundary. The method includes, for each of the plurality of diagonals, (1) determining a plurality of respective distances between a plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs positioned along the respective diagonals; and (2) determining the determined plurality of distances. Locating the planar antenna vertices along respective diagonals based on the distance of The distances increase in a direction from each vertex of the seed rectangle to the boundary. A planar antenna layout is created by interconnecting planar antenna vertices with respective linear portions to form a plurality of loops sequentially traversing each of a plurality of diagonals.

  In another aspect of the disclosure, the plurality of distances is determined based at least in part on a predetermined number of loops of the planar antenna.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the plurality of distances are determined based at least in part on a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent vertices and / or a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent traces.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, the substrate has a plurality of layers, and the method further includes generating a plurality of planar antenna layouts corresponding to the plurality of layers, respectively.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, the method includes adding to the planar antenna layout a plurality of linear linear portions routed from at least two of the planar antenna vertices to a location of the connector relative to the coordinate system of the board. Further included.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes, for each of the plurality of diagonals, calculating a layout distance between a respective vertex of the seed rectangle and a boundary along the respective diagonal. Determining each of the plurality of distances between the pair of planar antenna vertices is based at least in part on the calculated layout distance.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of planar antenna vertices.

  In another aspect of the present disclosure, an outermost planar antenna vertex of the plurality of planar antenna vertices is separated from a substrate boundary by a predetermined threshold or less.

  In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the method further includes exporting the data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to at least one of a circuit board routing tool and / or a circuit board manufacturing tool.

  In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, a method exports data corresponding to a generated planar antenna layout to an electromagnetic simulation tool, and, based on the exported data, a plurality of linear alignments of the planar antenna layout. Simulating each of the electromagnetic fields based on a superposition of the plurality of electromagnetic field components from the portion.

  Any of the above aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

  The patent or application file contains at least one drawing executed in color. Copies of this patent or patent application publication with color drawing (s) will be provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office upon request and payment of the necessary fee.

  Objects and features of the systems and methods of the present disclosure will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the description of various embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of an example of an electromagnetic navigation (EMN) system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 illustrates an example of a design of an antenna assembly of an EMN system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a procedure for designing an antenna assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an example of a graphical representation of certain aspects of the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an example of a graphical representation of certain aspects of the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an example of a graphical representation of certain aspects of the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an example of a graphical representation of certain aspects of the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an example of a graphical representation of certain aspects of the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an example of a graphical representation of certain aspects of the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an example of a graphical representation of certain aspects of the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an example of a graphical representation of certain aspects of the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 4 is an illustration of several examples of antennas that may be designed by the procedure of FIG. 3, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 5 illustrates an example of a design of a loop antenna layout trace arrangement according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. 1 is a block diagram of an example of a computing device for use in various embodiments of the present disclosure.

  The present disclosure is directed to an antenna assembly for emitting an electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation, an electromagnetic navigation system including such an antenna assembly, and a computer-implemented method for designing such an antenna assembly. In one example, according to the geometry and other aspects of the antenna assembly herein, the need to generate and employ a detailed electromagnetic field mapping is instead theoretically calculated based on the characteristics of the antenna assembly. , Field mapping can be avoided by allowing it to be employed alone or in conjunction with the more easily generated low density field mapping obtained from the measurements. In other words, the antenna assembly herein does not require the use of expensive measurement equipment, and does not require time-consuming and laborious measurements to be performed. It can serve as a basis for generating a world mapping.

  In another example, the antenna assemblies herein provide different geometries that allow multiple degrees of freedom (eg, six degrees of freedom) of a small electromagnetic sensor, such as a single coil sensor, to be determined. Includes multiple planar antennas on a single substrate having properties such as shape and / or relative position.

  In yet another example, an antenna assembly herein includes traces deposited on a layer of a substrate and forming a plurality of loops having a spacing between the loops and a spacing from a boundary or edge of the substrate, resulting in: As a result, efficient use of the available area of the substrate results.

  In a further example, an automated or semi-automated, highly reproducible computer-implemented method for designing an antenna assembly is provided herein. The antenna assembly design thus generated can be exported to a printed circuit board (PCB) layout software tool to minimize the need for extensive manual layout. The antenna assembly design can also be exported to an electromagnetic field simulator software tool that allows generation of a theoretical electromagnetic field mapping of the antenna assembly.

  Detailed embodiments of such an antenna assembly, systems incorporating such an antenna assembly, and methods of designing the same are described herein. However, these detailed embodiments are merely examples of the present disclosure, and the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms. Accordingly, the specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be construed as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and for structures in which substantially any person skilled in the art has properly detailed the present disclosure. Should be construed as a representative foundation that allows for a variety of adoptions. Although the example embodiments described below are directed to bronchoscopy of a patient's airway, those skilled in the art will recognize that the same or similar assemblies, systems, and methods may be used, for example, in vascular networks, lymphatic networks, and the like. And / or may be used in other luminal networks, such as the gastrointestinal tract network.

  FIG. 1 illustrates an example of an electromagnetic navigation (EMN) system 100 provided by the present disclosure. Generally, the EMN system 100 navigates toward a target location within a patient's body, inter alia, by using an antenna assembly that generates one or more electromagnetic fields that are sensed by sensors fixed to the medical device. Configured to identify the location and / or orientation of the medical device being configured. In some cases, the EMN system 100 may be used during computer tomography used during navigation of a medical device through a patient's body toward a target of interest, such as a dead portion in the luminal network of the patient's lungs. It is further configured to augment a CT) image, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) image, and / or a fluoroscopic image.

  The EMN system 100 includes a catheter guide assembly 110, a bronchoscope 115, a computing device 120, a monitoring device 130, a patient table (which may be referred to as an EM board 140), a tracking device 160, and a reference sensor 170. The bronchoscope 115 is operable by a wired connection (as shown in FIG. 1) or a wireless connection (not shown in FIG. 1) to the computing device 120 (via the tracking device 160) and the monitoring device 130, respectively. Linked to

  During the navigation phase of the EMN bronchoscope procedure, the bronchoscope 115 is inserted into the mouth of the patient 150 to capture an image of the luminal network of the lung. The catheter guide assembly 110 is inserted into a bronchoscope 115 to access the periphery of the luminal network of the patient's 150 lungs. The catheter guide assembly 110 can include an EWC 111 having an EM sensor 112 secured to a portion (eg, a distal portion) of a catheter or extended working channel (EWC) 111. A deployable guide catheter (LG) may be inserted into the EWC 111 with another EM sensor (not shown in FIG. 1) secured to a portion (eg, a distal portion) of the LG. The EM sensor 112 fixed to the EWC 111 or the EM sensor fixed to the LG is configured to receive a signal based on the electromagnetic field radiated by the antenna assembly 145, and based on the received signal, Used to determine the location and / or orientation of the EWC 111 or LG during navigation through the luminal network. Due to the size limitation of the EM sensor 112 with respect to the EWC 111 or LG, in some cases the EM sensor 112 may have one or more EM signals generated by the antenna assembly 145, as described in further detail below. May include only a single coil for receiving However, the number of coils in the EM sensor 112 is not limited to one and may be two, three, or more.

  A computing device 120, such as a laptop, desktop, tablet, or other suitable computing device, includes a display 122, one or more processors 124, one or more processor memories 126, and an AC current signal to the antenna assembly 145. It includes an AC current driver 127 for providing, a network interface controller 128, and one or more input devices 129. Although the particular configuration of the computing device 120 illustrated in FIG. 1 is provided as an example, other configurations of the components shown in FIG. 1 included within the computing device 120 are also contemplated. Specifically, in some embodiments, one or more of the components (122, 124, 126, 127, 128, and / or 129) shown in FIG. 1 are included in the computing device 120. May alternatively be separated from the computing device 120, via one or more respective wired or wireless paths to facilitate transmission of power and / or data signals throughout the system 100. 120 and / or any component of system 100. For example, although not shown in FIG. 1, the AC current driver 127 may be separate from the computing device 120, coupled to the antenna assembly 145, and / or one or more in some examples of aspects. May be coupled to one or more components of the computing device 120, such as the processor 124 and the memory 126.

  In some aspects, the EMN system 100 may also include a plurality of computing devices 120, which assist the clinician in a manner suitable for planning, treatment, imaging, and medical surgery. Used for other embodiments. Display 122 may be touch-sensitive and / or voice-activated, allowing display 122 to serve as both an input device and an output device. The display 122 may include a two-dimensional (2D) image or a three-dimensional (2D) image, such as a 3D model of the lung, to allow the practitioner to localize and identify portions of the lung exhibiting symptoms of lung disease. three-dimensional (3D) images can be displayed.

  One or more memories 126 store one or more programs and / or computer-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors 124, cause one or more processors 124 to perform various operations. Implement functions and / or procedures. For example, the processor 124 may calculate the location and / or orientation of the EM sensor 112 based on the electromagnetic signals emitted by the antenna assembly 145 and received by the EM sensor 112. Processor 124 may also perform image processing functions to cause a 3D model of the lung to be displayed on display 122. Processor 124 may also generate one or more electromagnetic signals emitted by antenna assembly 145. In some embodiments, computing device 120 is a separate graphics accelerator (not shown in FIG. 1) that performs only image processing functions so that one or more processors 124 can be used for other programs. May be further included. The one or more memories 126 may also store data such as mapping data for the EMN, image data, patient medical record data, prescription data, and / or data regarding the patient's disease history, and / or other types of data. Remember.

  The mapping data indicates that the plurality of grid points are navigated by a medical device (e.g., an EWC 111, an LG, a treatment probe, or another surgical device) in an EM volume coordinate system corresponding to the grid points in an EM volume coordinate system. For example, signal strength). In this manner, when the EM sensor 112 detects an EM signal having certain characteristics at a particular grid point, one or more processors 124 compare the detected EM signal characteristics with the EM signal characteristics in the mapping data. Then, the location and / or orientation of the EM sensor 112 within the EM volume may be determined based on the results of the comparison.

  As shown in FIG. 1, table 140 is configured to provide a flat surface upon which patient 150 lays down during an EMN navigation procedure. The antenna assembly 145, which may also be referred to as an EM field generating device, is located on or included as a component of the platform 140. Antenna assembly 145 includes one or more antennas, such as a planar loop antenna (not shown in FIG. 1). Examples of aspects of the antenna assembly 145 are described in further detail below.

  With the patient 150 lying on the table 140, one or more processors 124 (or another signal generator not shown in FIG. 1) convert the antenna to one or more respective EM signals. And one or more AC current signals that radiate in a manner sufficient to surround a portion of the patient 150 are provided to the antenna of the antenna assembly 145 by the AC current driver 127. In some aspects, the antenna assembly 145 includes a connector having at least two terminals, wherein the antenna trace (not shown in FIG. 1) has two ends and the two ends have two connectors. Each is coupled to a terminal to form a signal communication path from one or more processors 145 to the antenna.

  Having described an example of the EMN system 100, reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is an illustrative illustration of an example of an antenna assembly layout 200 of the antenna assembly 145 of the EMN system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Antenna assembly layout 200 includes a substrate 210, such as a printed circuit board (PCB), formed of an electrically insulating material and that may include one or more layers. Antenna assembly layout 200 also includes a plurality of planar antennas 220 formed of a conductive material, such as PCB traces, deposited on substrate 210 and arranged in a plurality of loops or as coils. In one example, each of planar antennas 220 is deposited on a respective one of the layers of substrate 210. In the example of the antenna assembly layout 200 of FIG. 2, multiple layers of the substrate 210 are shown simultaneously.

  Each of the plurality of antennas may be configured to radiate a separate EM field using, for example, frequency division multiplexing and / or time division multiplexing controlled by processor 124 or by another generator. . For example, the antenna may, in some aspects, radiate multiple EM fields of a sufficient number and / or sufficient variety of properties (eg, frequency, time, modulation scheme, etc.) on the EWC 111 or any A single coil electromagnetic sensor mounted on another medical device is configured to allow it to be used to determine the location and / or orientation of the sensor, EWC 111, and / or medical device. . The antenna assembly 145 may include, for example, six to nine or more loop antennas. In some embodiments, for each of the loop antennas, the distance between adjacent loops increases as the loops become larger. For example, for each of the planar antennas, the respective distance between adjacent loop pairs may increase in a direction from an innermost one of the respective planar antenna loops to an outermost one of the loops. In various embodiments, two or more of the loop antennas of antenna assembly 145 may have the same number of loops, or may each have a different number of loops.

  Although an example of the antenna assembly layout 200 of the antenna assembly 145 of the EMN system 100 has been described, a procedure 300 for designing an antenna assembly such as the antenna assembly 145 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described. Refer to FIG. 3, which is a flowchart illustrating an example. In various embodiments, procedure 300 may be fully computer implemented or partially computer implemented. Reference is also made to FIGS. 4-13, which are illustrative illustrations of certain steps of the procedure 300, according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The example method 300 of FIG. 3 may be implemented to design an antenna assembly that includes one antenna or an antenna assembly that includes multiple antennas. For illustrative purposes, this description of method 300 will be performed in the context of designing an antenna assembly that includes multiple antennas. However, while certain aspects of the method 300 will be described only with respect to the design of a single antenna of the plurality of antennas, those aspects of the method 300 may be described with respect to other antennas of the multiple antennas. The same applies.

  Before describing the details of procedure 300, an overview of procedure 300 will be provided. In general, according to the procedure 300, the design of the antenna assembly includes a set of design parameters and / or constraints, including the number M of antennas of the antenna assembly being designed, and, for each antenna of the antenna assembly, the seed shape of the antenna, The location of the center of gravity of the seed shape on the substrate on which the antenna is manufactured, the number of antenna loops (N), the trace center-to-center spacing (TCCM) of the antenna, and the dimensions of the edge or boundary of the substrate based on. The location of the antenna vertex of the antenna is determined based on the seed shape. Antenna design then proceeds by interconnecting the antenna vertices with linear linear sections starting from the innermost vertex and going to the outermost antenna vertices, so that the entire antenna is placed in multiple loops To form a coil containing a single trace. In one aspect, each loop of the antenna assembly grows from the seed shape toward the boundary of the substrate, effectively covering most of the available surface area of the substrate layer outside the seed shape. The two ends of the trace are routed to the connector to allow the antenna to be coupled to the signal generator.

  For an antenna assembly having a plurality of planar antennas on each layer of a plurality of layer substrates, this general procedure is repeated for each of the antennas. In addition, the data corresponding to the designed antenna layout is provided by an electromagnetic field simulation tool (eg, EMN's theoretical electromagnetic field described above) for simulating the electromagnetic fields generated by each antenna based on their particular characteristics. Field mapping). The data corresponding to the designed antenna layout may also be exported to a PCB manufacturing tool that allows the antenna assembly to be manufactured in an automated manner according to the designed antenna layout.

  Before describing the details of the procedure 300, reference is made to FIG. 4 to describe examples of seed shapes and their properties. Specifically, FIG. 4 shows an example of nine seed rectangles 401-409 of an antenna assembly designed by procedure 300. Each of the seed rectangles 401-409 includes four vertices within the edge 400 of the substrate. Although the number of seed rectangles, and thus the number M of antennas, shown in the example of FIG. 4 is nine, this is for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as limiting. In other embodiments, the number of seed shapes, and thus the number M of antennas, may be, for example, 6, 9, or more. As an example, the square 400 may represent an edge of the substrate, and a boundary (not shown in FIG. 4) representing an area of the substrate available for antenna placement is accommodated within the edge 400 of the substrate, and It may be formed from a square in the xz plane that is smaller than the edge 400 of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or buffer amount.

  In another example, the antenna assemblies herein provide different geometries that allow multiple degrees of freedom (eg, six degrees of freedom) of a small electromagnetic sensor, such as a single coil sensor, to be determined. Includes multiple planar antennas on a single substrate (eg, on each layer of a multi-layer substrate) having properties such as shape and / or relative position. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, nine seed rectangles 401-409 may be grouped into three, and seed rectangles 401-403 are in a first group. Seed rectangles 404-406 are in a second group, and seed rectangles 407-409 are in a third group. As shown in FIG. 4, the three seed rectangles in each group have a particular geographical relationship to each other. For example, one seed rectangle is a square (or substantially square-like), and the other two seed rectangles are non-square rectangles, located near two sides of the square. For example, the seed rectangle 401 is a square, the seed rectangle 402 is located in a row with the length of the seed rectangle 401, and the seed rectangle 403 is located in a row with the width of the seed rectangle 401. Further, the length of the seed rectangle 402 is longer than the width of the square 401 and is similar to the length of the seed rectangle 401, while the width of the seed rectangle 402 is shorter than the width of the square 401 and the width of the seed rectangle 403. Is longer than the length of the square 401 and is similar to the width of the square 401, while the length of the seed rectangle 402 is shorter than the length of the square 401. The second group of seed rectangles 404-406 and the third group of seed rectangles 407-409 also have similar geometric features as the first group of seed rectangles 401-403.

  In other words, for each of the plurality of planar antenna groups that can be generated based on the seed rectangles 401-409, the innermost loop of the first planar antenna (e.g., corresponding to seed rectangle 401) has a first linear portion (Eg, a first linear portion 410) and a second linear portion (eg, a second linear portion 411) substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion (eg, the first linear portion 410). The innermost loop of the second planar antenna (e.g., corresponding to seed rectangle 402) includes a first linear portion (e.g., first linear portion 412) and a first linear portion (e.g., first linear portion 412). A second linear portion (eg, second linear portion 413) that is substantially perpendicular to and longer than one linear portion 412) and corresponds to a third planar antenna (eg, seed rectangle 403). ) Most in Loop includes a first linear portion (eg, first linear portion 414) and a second linear portion that is substantially perpendicular to and longer than the first linear portion (eg, first linear portion 414). A first linear portion (eg, first linear portion 412) of the seed rectangle of the innermost loop of the second planar antenna has a linear portion (eg, second linear portion 415). A first linear portion of the innermost loop of the planar antenna (eg, first linear portion 410) is substantially parallel to a first linear portion of the innermost loop of the third planar antenna (eg, first linear portion 410). The first linear portion 414) is substantially parallel to a second linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna (eg, the second linear portion 411). Additional reference numbers for the first and second linear portions of the seed rectangles 404-409 (and thus the corresponding planar antennas) have been omitted from FIG. 4 for clarity, but the second group of seed rectangles 404-406 and the third group of seed rectangles 407-409 each have a similar geometric relationship to one another as described above in the context of the first group of seed rectangles 401-403. .

  In one aspect, these three groups may be geometrically distributed from each group in the substrate 210. Dispersion may be achieved by geometric and / or angular relationships. For example, each innermost loop of each group of planar antennas may be positioned at a different angle from each other on a respective layer of the multilayer substrate. In addition, the planar antenna, and / or the seed rectangle on which the planar antenna is based, may have respective centroids (eg, represented by the circular dots in FIG. 4) with respect to the plane of the substrate that are different from one another. Further, the outer boundary of the first group includes all of the seed rectangles 404-409 of the second and third groups. Also, the second and third groups of seed rectangles 404-409 are geometrically distributed within the outer boundaries of the first group.

  Further, each group has an angular relationship with respect to two axes (ie, the x-axis and the z-axis). For example, the first group of seed rectangles 401 coincide with two axes, while the second and third groups of seed rectangles 404 and 407 each have an angle with respect to two axes having different angles. It is attached. In other words, the minimum angle between the seed rectangle 401 or the first group of squares and the x-axis is zero, and the minimum angle between the seed rectangle 404 and the x-axis is greater than zero but the third angle. Smaller than the minimum angle between the seed rectangle 407 of the group and the x-axis. However, the relationship between the three groups is not limited to geometric and angular relationships, but may be extended in a manner readily conceivable to one of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the present disclosure.

  The four vertices of each of the seed rectangles 401-409 may be provided in coordinate form (x, z) in the xz plane. In one aspect, the center of gravity of each of the seed rectangles 401-409 may also be provided in coordinate form or may be calculated from four vertices. Dispersion may also be achieved by dispersing the center of gravity within the substrate 210. In one embodiment, the centers of gravity of all the seed rectangles 401 to 409 are disposed on the substrate at different positions.

  Referring now to FIG. 3, prior to block 301, a set of design parameters and / or constraints for the first antenna of the antenna assembly being designed (eg, seed shape of the antenna, the antenna will be manufactured). The location of the center of gravity of the seed shape on the substrate, the number of antenna loops (N), the minimum trace center spacing (TCCM) of the antenna, and the dimensions of the substrate edge or boundary are set (not shown in FIG. 3). . For illustrative purposes, the seed shape utilized in procedure 300 for each antenna is a seed rectangle; however, this should not be construed as limiting. Other seed shapes (eg, seed triangle, seed pentagon, seed hexagon, any convex polygon, convex curved shape (eg, oval, oval, circle, etc.), or any other suitable seed shape) Can be considered and used in procedure 300. In some embodiments, any combination of different seed shapes may be used for each antenna of the antenna assembly. Each seed shape has a plurality of vertices. More specifically, each seed rectangle has four vertices.

In block 301, the antenna index i _antenna is initialized. For example, i _antenna is set to 1 so as to correspond to the first antenna among a plurality (M, where M> 1) of antennas to be designed. As explained below, the purpose of the antenna index i _antenna is that if the antenna assembly includes multiple antennas, the procedure 300 is repeated for each of the M antennas of the antenna assembly. Is to make it possible. For example, in some examples, the substrate has multiple layers (eg, as in a multi-layer PCB), and the method 300 corresponds to an antenna deposited on a corresponding one of the multiple layers of the substrate. To generate multiple planar antenna layouts.

  At block 302, a plurality of diagonals are calculated based on the seed rectangle relative to the coordinate system of the substrate. In general, the number of diagonals calculated in block 302 is equal to the number of vertices of the seed shape. Specifically, in the case of a seed rectangle having four vertices, four diagonal lines are calculated. These diagonally divide the four vertices of the seed rectangle into four vertices. Extend. The substrate boundary may be a physical boundary of the substrate, such as the edge of a PCB, or a theoretically provided boundary, such as a boundary offset from the edge of the PCB by a predetermined buffer distance.

In one example, as part of the multiple diagonal calculations performed in block 302, the origin of each diagonal of the vertices of the seed rectangle is first calculated, and then the vertex of the innermost loop of the antenna (also referred to as the seed vertex). ) Is determined based on the seed rectangle. For example, FIG. 5 shows origins 511 and 512 calculated for the seed rectangle 405 of FIG. Origins 511 and 512 are bounded by four vertices 501-504 of seed rectangle 405. In one aspect, one origin may correspond to a single vertex of the seed rectangle, or one origin may correspond to two adjacent vertices. In another aspect, origins 511 and 512 may be located on a diagonal of the seed rectangle, or a diagonal that bisects the corresponding angles to form two 45 degree angles. In this case, the diagonal defines the location of the vertex of the loop antenna. As an example, origin 511 is located diagonally, bisecting a 90 degree angle at vertex 501 to form two 45 degree angles. Also, as shown in FIG. 5, the starting point 511 is located on the intersection of the diagonal lines that bisects the angles at the vertices 501 and 502. Similarly, origin 512 is located at the diagonal intersection, bisecting the angles at vertices 503 and 504. In one example, the diagonal origin of each vertex of the seed rectangle may be calculated by performing a principal component analysis (PCA) over the coordinates of the four vertices 501-504 using singular value decomposition. In this specification,
P _jk represents the k-th vertex of the j-th loop, j is 1 to N, k is 1 to 4,
P _jkx and P _jkz represent the x and z coordinates of the vertex P _jk , respectively.
{P _j1 , P _j2 , P _j3 , P _j4 } or simply {P _jk } is a 4 × 2 matrix having as its rows the four vertices P _j1 , P _j2 , P _j3 , P _j4 of the j-th loop And
U represents a 4 × 4 matrix having as its columns orthonormal eigenvectors of {P _jk ｝ ｛P _jk } ^T ,
V represents a 2 × 2 matrix having as its columns orthonormal eigenvectors of {P _jk } ^T {P _jk },
S denotes a matrix of 4 × 2, the non-zero elements are located only in the pair _angle, be a unique value of the square root of ^{_{{P jk} {P jk}}} T or ^{_{{P jk} T {P jk}} } ,And

Represents a 4 × 2 matrix, whose non-zero elements are located only on its diagonal and equal to the smallest non-zero element of S.

According to the four vertices R _k (R _kx , R _kz ) of a given i-th seed rectangle, the center of gravity C (C _x , C _z ) of the i-th seed rectangle is calculated as:

By performing a singular value decomposition on the four vertices R _j with the centroid subtracted, a matrix of S, V, and D is obtained as:

Where {R _k −C} is a 4 × 2 matrix, and each row of {R _k −C} is a vertex (R _kx −C _x , R _kz −C _z ) from which the center of gravity is subtracted , K are 1-4.

S is a diagonal, ie, a 4 × 2 matrix with non-zero elements only at S ₁₁ and S ₂₂ . Based on the singular value _{decomposition, S 11 is S 22} or more. The value of S ₂₂ by substituting the value of S _11, the diagonal matrix of the new 4 × 2

Where you can get

_{It is} equal to _{S 22.} Then, the origin O _k of each vertex can be obtained by the following equation.


Is the minimum of the diagonal components of S, {O _k } is, as shown in FIG. 5, two different rows corresponding to origins 511 and 512 in the i-th seed rectangle. Including only.

After obtaining the starting points 511 and 512, a set of the first four seed vertices P _{1k in} the i-th seed rectangle is determined. These first four seed vertices P _1k are the seed vertices of the innermost loop of each antenna and may be used to determine other vertices of that antenna.

According to a given minimum trace center (TCCM) spacing, which represents a predetermined longest distance between traces or loops of a particular antenna or of all antennas of a particular antenna assembly, the first seed vertex P ₁₁ is the R _1, its corresponding diagonal bisects the angle of 90 degrees in the R _1, is determined by moving toward the inside of the i-th seed rectangle. This, as in the following equation can be done by defining the two vectors R _{1 to} the first:

Where:

Is a vector pointing from each origin O _k to R _k ,

Is a vector pointing from R ₁ to R ₄ ,

Is a vector pointing from R ₁ to R ₂ .

The unit vector of

Yields a vector having directions that are in column with each diagonal, bisecting the 90 degree angle in R ₁ to form two 45 degree angles,

Is the symbol

Represents the magnitude of the vector inside. Then, the first seed vertex P ₁₁ is obtained by the following equation:

Where:

Is a vector from each of the origin O _1, thus representing the coordinates of P _11. FIG. 6 illustrates the other three seed vertices P ₁₂ , P ₁₃ , and P ₁₄ of the antenna, corresponding to R ₂ , R ₃ , and R ₄ . The minimum distance between P _1k and the four sides of the i-th seed rectangle is equal to TCCM. FIG. 7 shows the vectors Diag ₁ , Diag ₂ , Diag ₃ , and Diag ₄ , which bisect the seed vertices P ₁₁ , P ₁₂ , P ₁₃ , and P ₁₄ and each seed vertex P ₁₁ , P ₁₂ , P ₁₃ , and P ₁₄ may form respective portions of a diagonal line that extend to a substrate boundary.

Referring again to FIG. 3, at block 303, the diagonal index i _diagonal is initialized. For example, _idagonal is set to 1 to correspond to the first diagonal of the four _diagonals of the seed rectangle. As explained below, the purpose of the diagonal index i _diagonal is to allow aspects of the procedure to be repeated for each of the diagonals of the seed rectangle.

At block 304, for each diagonal, a vertex layout distance (also referred to herein as a layout distance) _{Vlayout_k} between each vertex of the seed rectangle and the boundary of the substrate is calculated along each diagonal. The layout distance may represent or relate to the maximum usable distance between each vertex of the seed rectangle and the boundary of the substrate.

In some examples of embodiments, as part of the calculation of the layout distance in block 304, the respective intersections T _k between the origin O _k and the substrate boundary are each, for example, as shown in FIG. Diagonal of

There when projecting from the origin O _k, are calculated and identified. The intersection T _k may be found using several conventional approaches. When the intersection T _k is found, the following relationship is satisfied:

Where:

Is a vector from the origin O _k to the intersection T _k . In other words, the vector

Is the diagonal vector

Has the same direction as.

Using the four vertices P ₁₁ , P ₁₂ , P ₁₃ , and P _{14 of} the first loop and the identified intersections T ₁ , T ₂ , T ₃ , and T ₄ , the vertex layout distance V _{layout_k} is: It can be calculated from the equation:

Subtraction term

_Ensures that the last vertex P _Nk of the Nth loop is away from the intersection T _k . In other _words, only the linear portion of the length of the _{V Layout_k} starting with _{P 1k is} used to distribute the (N-1) vertices between the _{P 1k} and _{T k.}

After the intersection _Tk has been identified, all vertices of the loop antenna may be determined. One of the initial conditions is that the number of loops of the loop antenna is N, and that the four vertices P ₁₁ , P ₁₂ , P ₁₃ , and P _{14 of} the first loop are determined in step 330, 2, third,. . . , And the four vertices of each of the Nth loops are determined recursively. Specifically, at block 305, for each diagonal, the respective distance between adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs, located along the respective diagonal, is at least partially equal to the layout distance calculated at block 304. It is determined based on. For example, each distance between adjacent pairs of planar antenna vertices, located along each diagonal, fits a predetermined number N of loops of antennas, while utilizing the seed rectangle vertices to the substrate boundary. It can be determined to maximize the use of possible straight-line distances. In this way, the available area of the substrate can be used efficiently. In addition, in some examples of aspects, the outermost planar antenna vertex of the planar antenna vertex of each planar antenna is less than or equal to a predetermined threshold from the substrate boundary for efficient utilization of available substrate area. Just away.

In some examples, each distance is determined by a predetermined number N of loops of planar antennas, a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent vertices, a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent traces, and / or a factor or other factor thereof. A determination is made at block 305 based at least in part on any combination of one or more of the factors. Specifically, in one example, the vertices are grouped into four groups, each group forming a rectangular shape, and the vertices of the group are described as corresponding vertices. For example, the first group includes P ₁₁ , P ₂₁ ,. . . , And it includes a _{P N1,} the second _group, P _{12, P} 22,. . . , And includes a _{P N2,} third _group, P _{13, P} 23,. . . , And includes a _{P N3,} a fourth group _of, P _{14, P} 24,. . . , And _PN4 . _{Therefore, P 3k} and _{P Nk} are in the same k-th group, and a corresponding vertex, while the _{P 33} and _{P 42} are not the same group, is not a corresponding vertex. For each group, the distance between P _jk and P _{(j + 1) k} is set to be greater than the distance between P _{(j-1) k} and P _jk , where j is 2-N−1 , K are 1-4. In other words, the distance between two adjacent corresponding vertices increases towards the substrate boundary. In other words, in one example, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the distance between adjacent pairs of antenna vertices increases incrementally in the direction from the innermost vertex to the outermost vertex of the vertices. growing. The incrementally increasing distance in the direction from each vertex of the seed rectangle to the boundary may be implemented by various methods, such as an arithmetic progression, a geometric progression, an exponential recurrence, and / or the like.

For example, an arithmetic progression may be employed to distribute the remaining vertices in each group. Let d _{jk be} the distance between P _jk and P _{(j + 1) k} of the k th group, expressed in recursive form as follows:

Where:

_Represents the distance between vertices P _jk and p _{(j + 1) k} , where slope _k is the constant of the k th group, which is the distance between the two distances d _jk and d _{(j + 1) k} Is a tolerance, and j is 1 to (N−2). Thus, each vertex of the k-th group is located on the linear part connecting T _k and P _1k , and the total length between P _Nk and P _1k is less than or equal to the vertex layout distance V _{layout_k} . To create an additional forbidden area of half the minimum trace center (TCCM) spacing between T _k and P _Nk , the following equation may be satisfied:

When equation (20) is solved for a constant slope _k , the following equation can be obtained:

When equation (20) is combined with equations (16) and (17), the following equation is obtained:

Thus, the distance between two adjacent corresponding vertices P _jk and P _{(j + 1) k} increases as j increases. This incremental pattern between corresponding vertices is more clearly shown in FIG. 10 for the first and fourth groups than for the second and third groups.

  At block 306, planar antenna vertices are located along respective diagonals based on respective distances between adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs determined at block 305.

At block 307, the diagonal index i _diagonal is compared to the number of diagonals of the seed rectangle, ie, four, to determine whether the procedures of blocks 305 and 306 are repeated for each antenna's additional diagonal. . If it is determined at block 307 that i _diagonal is less than the number of diagonals, then at block 308, i _diagonal may correspond to the next _diagonal of the seed rectangle's four diagonals (eg, a second diagonal). Is incremented by one. Next, the procedure of blocks 305 and 306 is repeated for the next diagonal in the manner described above.

On the other hand, if at block 307 it is determined that i _diagonal is equal to the number of diagonals, it indicates that the procedures of blocks 305 and 306 have been performed for each of the four diagonals of the seed rectangle, and then block At 309, a minimum vertex to vertex distance (VVM) is calculated such that when the vertices are connected by a linear portion or segment of a line, the minimum distance between two adjacent corresponding linear portions is the TCCM. And the phrase "two adjacent corresponding linear parts" is used to refer to linear parts that are located in different loops but are closer together than any other linear part. You. This is the diagonal vector

And set temporary vertices P ′ ₂₁ and P ′ ₂₂ , and define the distance between the linear part connecting temporary vertices P ′ ₂₁ and P ′ ₂₂ and the linear part connecting P ₁₁ and P ₁₂ This is done by measuring the distance and adjusting the value of VVM until the minimum distance is greater than the TCCM. Details of this step are described further below.

Diagonal vector

Is defined as:

In the formula, k is 1 to 4. These diagonal vectors

When they are located at the origin (0,0), they form a cross indicating that they form four 90 degree angles, as shown in the center of FIG.

The temporary distance _Dp2to5 is initialized as the value of TCCM. vector

Is defined by the following equation:

Temporary vertex P _'22 is defined by a vector form as follows.

Where the symbol “•” is the dot product between two vectors. In short, the temporary vertex P ′ ₂₂ is a diagonal point outside the i-th seed rectangle.

In the direction of

Only away from the _{P 12.} Next, the VVM is temporarily initialized with the following equation:

Temporary vertex P ′ ₂₁ is defined in vector form as:

'Similar to _22, temporary vertex P' P ₂₁ is, i-th diagonal towards the outside of the seed rectangular

In the direction of

Only away from the _{P 11.}

As shown in FIG. 8, the distance between the linear part connecting the temporary vertices P ′ ₂₁ and P ′ ₂₂ and the linear part between P ₁₁ and P ₁₂ is calculated. There are multiple distances between the two linear portions because the linear portions connecting the temporary vertices P ′ ₂₁ and P ′ ₂₂ and the linear portion between P ₁₁ and P ₁₂ need not be parallel. At block 309, a determination is made whether the minimum distance D of the distances between the two linear portions is less than or equal to TCCM. If at block 309 it is determined that the minimum distance D of the plurality of distances is less than or equal to the TCCM, then at block 311 the temporary distance D _p2to5 is increased by a predetermined amount and the minimum distance D is set to a value less than the TCCM. Are repeated, including using (9)-(13) until is also larger. The final result of the VVM is set as the value of the minimum value between vertices.

On the other hand, if it is determined at block 309 that the minimum distance D of the plurality of distances is greater than the TCCM, then at block 312, the planar antenna layout determines the planar antenna layout via each linear linear portion. Generated by interconnecting the vertices to form multiple loops (eg, N loops) that sequentially traverse each of the multiple diagonals of each planar antenna. Each of the loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of planar antenna vertices, ie, four linear linear portions and four planar antenna vertices when the seed shape is a seed rectangle. For example, the first loop of each loop antenna, such as the loop antenna shown in FIG. 11, has four vertices (ie, P ₁₁ , P ₁₂ , P ₁₃ , and P ₁₄ ), and four linear portions (ie, P P). ₁₁ and _{L 13} that connects the _{L 12, P 13} and _{P 14} to connect the _{L 11, P 12} and _{P 13} for connecting the _{P 12,} and includes _{L 14)} connecting the _{P 14} and _{P 21,.} . . The (N-1) th loop has four vertices (i.e., P _{(N-1) 1} , P _{(N-1) 2} , P _{(N-1) 3} , and P _{(N-1) 4} ), And four linear parts (i.e., L _{(N-1) 1} , P _{(N-1) 2} and P _{(N-1) 3} connecting between P _{(N-1) 1} and P _{(N-1) 2.} L _{(N-1) 2} connecting P _{(N-1) 3} and P _{(N-1) 4} connecting L _{(N-1) 3} and connecting P _{(N-1) 4} and _PN1 L _{(N-1) 4} ) (not labeled in FIG. 11 for clarity), and the Nth loop has four vertices (ie, P _N1 , P _N2 , P _N3 , and _{P N4),} and three linear portions _{(i.e., L N2} connecting the _{L N1, P N2} and _{P N3} connecting the _{P N1} and _{P N2,} and _{P N3,} and P Including _{L N3)} for connecting _4. FIG. 11 shows a design of a loop antenna including a plurality of loops, designed by the procedure 300.

  At block 313, a plurality of additional linear linear portions are derived from at least two of the planar antenna vertices (specifically, from two terminal antenna vertices, each located at two ends of the linear planar antenna layout). ), Routed to one or more connectors relative to the coordinate system of the board. A number of additional linear linear portions are added to the planar antenna layout. In embodiments where procedure 300 is employed to design an antenna assembly that includes a plurality of planar antennas disposed on each layer of a multilayer substrate, the planar antenna layout may be up to a single connector location or each It can be routed to the location of a separate connector corresponding to the antenna or to any combination of connectors.

At block 314, the antenna index i _antenna is compared to the number M of antennas of the antenna assembly to determine whether the procedure of blocks 302-313 is repeated for additional antennas of the antenna assembly. You. If at block 314 it is determined that i _antenna is less than the number M of antennas, then at block 315 i _antenna is the next antenna of the M antennas of the antenna assembly (eg, the second antenna). ) Is incremented by one. Next, the procedure of blocks 302-313 is repeated for the next antenna in the manner described above. FIG. 12 shows a design of six loop antennas that can be designed by the procedure 300.

On the other hand, if in block 314 it is determined that i _antenna is equal to the number M of antennas, it indicates that the procedure of blocks 302-313 has been performed for each of the M antennas of the antenna assembly, At block 316, which may be optional in some embodiments, the data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout is exported to a circuit board routing tool, a circuit board manufacturing tool, and / or an electromagnetic simulation tool.

  In one example, by exporting the data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to an electromagnetic simulation tool at block 316, the one or more electromagnetic fields that can be generated by the antennas of the antenna assembly are each exported data , And a superposition of a plurality of electromagnetic field components from each of the plurality of linear linear portions of the planar antenna layout. For example, each loop based on the seed shape can be represented by a well-defined mathematical equation, such as a Cartesian or parametric equation, whereby the intensity of the EM field generated by each loop is reduced to a mathematical equation. It can be calculated by the Biot-Savart-Laplace law at any point in the space on which it is based. In other words, due to the geometry of the antenna assembly and other aspects (such as the use of linear linear portions as interconnections within the antenna of the antenna assembly), the need to generate and employ detailed electromagnetic field mappings Alternatively, the field mapping may be avoided by allowing it to be calculated theoretically based on the characteristics of the antenna assembly. The calculated field mapping may then be employed alone or in conjunction with the more easily generated low density field mapping obtained from the measurement. In other words, the antenna assembly designed by procedure 300 does not require the use of expensive measurement equipment and does not require time-consuming and laborious measurements to be performed. Can serve as the basis for generating dynamic electromagnetic field mappings.

  As will be apparent from the description herein, according to procedure 300, the antenna assembly is based on a small number of design parameters and / or constraints, such as seed shape, number of loops, TCCM, and / or the like. And can be designed in an efficient and repeatable manner. Each of the antennas of the designed antenna assembly can be printed, deposited, or fabricated on a respective substrate layer and can be used as the EM field generator 145 of the EMN system 100 of FIG. Further, by employing linear linear portions to construct the loop antenna, the electromagnetic field generated by each linear portion can be modified at any point in the EM volume using the Biot-Savart-Laplace law. , Can be calculated theoretically and accurately.

  FIG. 13 shows a schematic illustration of a loop antenna layout designed by the method 300 of FIG. After connecting all vertices, additional layouts can be automatically generated based on a few design rules at fixed locations related to trace length and routing orientation. These rules may be specific to the PCB software program or design requirements. In one aspect, the antenna design made by the method 300 may be converted to a two-dimensional DXF (Drawing exchange Change) CAD file, which is then imported into the Altium PCB layout software. The PCB layout software is not limited to the Altium PCB layout software, but can be any software that can be easily understood and used by those skilled in the art.

Based on the software design rules or design requirements, the apex _{P 11} and _{P N4,} respectively, at least two conductors 1301a of the loop antenna is electrically connected to a connector 1301 including 1301b, complete drawing completion of the loop antenna I do.

  Once the antenna assembly design is complete, the antenna is fabricated based on the antenna assembly design by depositing a conductive material (eg, silver or copper) on a substrate, as shown in FIG. The antenna printed on the substrate includes the structural and / or geometric relationships between the loops, which are described in detail below.

In one example of an aspect, the vertices of the loop antenna may be grouped into four groups. The first group of vertices is P ₁₁ , P ₂₁ ,. . . , And it includes a _{P N1,} the second group of _vertices, P _{12, P} 22,. . . , P _N2 , and a third group of vertices includes P ₁₃ , P ₂₃ ,. . . , P _N3 , and a fourth group of vertices includes P ₁₄ , P ₂₄ ,. . . , _PN4 . Because _{Vlayout_k} is different for each group, one group of vertices may be more densely distributed than other groups of vertices. As shown in FIG. 13, the vertices of the fourth group are more loosely distributed than the vertices of the other groups, and the vertices of the second or third group are denser than the vertices of the first and fourth groups. Are distributed.

In another aspect, the minimum distance between two corresponding linear portions (eg, L _jk and L _{(j + 1) k} ) increases as j increases. In other words, the distance between two adjacent corresponding linear parts increases in the direction from the innermost linear part to the corresponding outermost linear part. Based on this structural and / or geometric relationship between the loop and the apex, the loop antenna may coat the substrate as much as possible while maintaining such a relationship.

  In one embodiment, after connecting the vertices with the linear portion, another security measure may be employed to ensure that all requirements are met in the antenna design. For example, the shortest distance between two adjacent corresponding linear portions can be calculated again. In the case where there are any two adjacent corresponding linear portions whose shortest distance is less than or equal to TCCM, procedure 300 may be repeated with a different minimum vertex distance VVM.

  In one aspect, the design procedure 300 may allow maintaining substantially the same inductance of each loop antenna since the inductance is defined based at least in part on the antenna geometry. The resistance of the loop antenna can vary with the copper thickness on each layer. Therefore, two additional layers are added (one on the top and the other on the bottom) to ensure that the antenna assembly maintains the intended copper thickness. With these additional layers, the plating of the via does not add copper to the antenna layer above the inner layer. Therefore, the copper thickness may only depend on the core material used and the initially selected copper weight. In another aspect, the PCB design may include a single via for each current path to minimize series resistance and improve the robustness of each current path. By having more vias, the resistance can be predicted with high accuracy and calculated automatically based on the antenna geometry and the controlled copper thickness.

  Referring now to FIG. 14, a block diagram of a computing device 1400 that may be used as an EMN system 100, a control workstation 102, a tracking device 160, and / or a computer that implements the procedure 300 of FIG. 3 is shown. . Computing device 1400 may include one or more of each of memory 1402, processor 1404, display 1406, network interface controller 1408, input device 1410, and / or output module 1412.

  Memory 1402 is executable by processor 1404 and includes any non-transitory computer-readable storage media for storing data and / or software that controls the operation of computing device 1400. In one embodiment, memory 1402 can include one or more solid state storage devices, such as a flash memory chip. Alternatively, or in addition to one or more solid state storage devices, memory 1402 may be via a mass storage control device (not shown in FIG. 14) and a communication bus (not shown in FIG. 14). One or more mass storage devices connected to the processor 1404 may be included. Although the description of computer readable media included herein refers to solid state storage, those skilled in the art will understand that computer readable storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by processor 1404. Will do. That is, examples of computer readable storage media include non-transitory, volatile and non-volatile media that are executed in any manner or technique for storage of information such as computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data. , Removable and non-removable media. For example, computer readable storage media includes RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-Ray or other optical storage device, magnetic cassette, magnetic tape, magnetic Disk storage, or other magnetic storage, or any other medium that can be used to store desired information and that can be accessed by the computing device 1400 can be mentioned.

  Memory 1402 may store application 1416 and / or data 1414. Application 1416, when executed by processor 1404, can cause display 1406 to present a user interface 1418 on display 1406.

  Processor 1404 includes a general purpose processor, a special graphics processing unit (GPU) configured to perform specific graphics processing tasks while freeing the general purpose processor to perform other tasks, a field programmable gate array. A programmable logic device, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and / or any such processor or device configured to operate independently or in concert. Any number or combination can be used.

  Display 1406 may be touch-sensitive and / or voice-activated, allowing display 1406 to serve as both an input and output device. Alternatively, a keyboard (not shown), a mouse (not shown), or other data input device can be used.

  The network interface 1408 may include a local area network (LAN) including a wired network and / or a wireless network, a wide area network (wide area network, WAN), a wireless cellular phone network, a Bluetooth® network, and / or It may be configured to connect to a network such as the Internet. For example, the computing device 1400 may receive the design requirements and the predetermined variables and perform the procedure 300 of FIG. 3 to design the antenna assembly. Computing device 1400 may receive updates to its software, eg, application 1416, via network interface controller 1408. Computing device 1400 may also display a notification on display 1406 that a software update is available.

  In another aspect, the computing device 1400 receives computed tomography (CT) image data of a patient from a server for use during surgical planning, for example, a hospital server, an Internet server, or other similar server. obtain. Patient CT image data may also be provided to computing device 1400 via removable memory (not shown in FIG. 14).

  Input device 1410 can be any device that allows a user to interact with computing device 1400, such as, for example, a mouse, keyboard, foot pedal, touch screen, and / or audio interface.

  Output module 1412 may include any connection port or bus, such as, for example, a parallel port, a serial port, a universal serial bus (USB), or any other similar connection port known to those skilled in the art. Can be mentioned.

  Application 1416 may be one or more software programs stored in memory 1402 and executed by processor 1404 of computing device 1400. During the loop antenna design phase, one or more software programs in the application 1416 are loaded from the memory 1402 and executed by the processor 1404 to automatically design the loop antennas, provide seed shape information, Certain parameters and / or constraints are provided, such as the number of loops and / or the like. In some embodiments, during the planning phase, one or more programs in the application 1416 identify the target, target size, treatment zone size, and / or for later use during the navigation or procedure phase. Guide the clinician through a series of steps to determine the path of access to the target. In some other embodiments, one or more software programs in application 1416 may be loaded on a computing device in an operating room or other facility where a surgical procedure is performed, and the clinical program performing the surgical procedure is performed. Used as a plan or map to guide the physician, but without any feedback from the medical device used in the procedure to indicate where the medical device is located in relation to the plan.

  The application 1416 may be located directly on the computing device 1400 or may be located on another computer, for example, a central server, and opened on the computing device 1400 via the network interface 1408. Application 1416 may run natively on computing device 1400 as a web-based application or in any other form known to those of skill in the art. In some embodiments, application 1416 will be a single software program having all of the features and functionality described in this disclosure. In other embodiments, application 1416 can be two or more separate software programs that provide various portions of these features and functions. For example, application 1416 may include one software program for automatically designing a loop antenna, another software program for converting a design to a CAD file, and a third program for a PCB layout software program. . In such an example, various software programs forming part of the application 1416 may communicate with one another and / or import and export various data, including settings and parameters related to loop antenna design. Can be done. For example, a loop antenna design generated by one software program may be stored and exported for use by a second software program to convert to a CAD file, and the converted file may also be It may be stored and exported for use by a PCB layout software program to complete the drawing of the antenna.

  The application 1416 may communicate with a user interface 1418, for example, to present visual interactive features to a user on a display 1406, and to receive user input, for example, via a user input device. Generate a user interface. For example, the user interface 1418 may generate a graphical user interface (GUI) and output the GUI to the display 1406 for viewing by the user.

  In the case where the computing device 1400 can be used as the EMN system 100, the control workstation 102, or the tracking device 160, the computing device 1400 can be linked to the monitoring device 130, and thus the computing device 1400 Together with the above output, it allows the output on the monitoring device 130 to be controlled. Computing device 1400 may control monitoring device 130 to display an output that is the same as or similar to the output displayed on display 1406. For example, the output on display 1406 may be mirrored on monitoring device 130. Alternatively, computing device 1400 may control monitoring device 130 to display an output that is different from the output displayed on display 1406. For example, the monitoring device 130 may be controlled to display guidance images and information during a surgical procedure, while the display 1406 may display configuration or status information, such as an electrosurgical generator (not shown in FIG. 1). Is controlled to display the other output.

  For example, application 1416 may include one software program for use during the planning phase and a second software program for use during the navigation or procedure phase. In such a case, the various software programs forming part of the application 1416 may import various settings and parameters related to navigation and therapy and / or the patient to communicate with each other and / or share information. And can be exported. For example, a treatment plan and any of its components generated by one software program during the planning phase can be stored and exported for use by the second software program during the procedure phase.

  While the embodiments have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings for illustration and description, it should be understood that the processes and apparatus of the present invention should not be construed as limiting. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications can be made to the embodiments described above without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.

Any of the above aspects and embodiments of the present disclosure may be combined without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.
The present specification also provides, for example, the following items.
(Item 1)
An antenna assembly for emitting at least one electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation, comprising:
Board and
A planar antenna deposited on the substrate and including traces disposed in a plurality of loops;
An antenna assembly, wherein each distance between adjacent loops of the plurality of loops increases in a direction from an innermost loop of the plurality of loops to an outermost loop of the plurality of loops. .
(Item 2)
The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.
(Item 3)
3. The antenna assembly according to item 2, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes four linear linear portions and four vertices.
(Item 4)
4. The antenna assembly of claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of vertices is disposed along one of four diagonals bisecting each of the four vertices of the seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna. .
(Item 5)
A connector having at least two terminals,
The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein the traces each have two ends connected to the two terminals.
(Item 6)
Further comprising a plurality of planar antennas,
Each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on the substrate and disposed in a respective plurality of loops;
For each of the plurality of planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent loops of the respective plurality of loops is different from an innermost one of the respective plurality of loops of the respective planar antenna from the respective plurality of loops. 2. The antenna assembly of item 1, wherein the antenna assembly increases in a direction toward an outermost one of the loops.
(Item 7)
The antenna assembly of claim 6, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of layers and the planar antenna, each of the plurality of planar antennas being deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers.
(Item 8)
7. The antenna assembly of item 6, wherein each of the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas includes the same number of loops.
(Item 9)
7. The antenna assembly of item 6, wherein each of the loops of each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.
(Item 10)
7. The antenna assembly according to item 6, wherein the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas each have a plurality of centers of gravity with respect to a plane of the substrate disposed at different positions.
(Item 11)
An electromagnetic navigation system,
An antenna assembly configured to emit an electromagnetic field,
Board and
A planar antenna deposited on the substrate and including traces disposed in a plurality of loops;
An antenna assembly, wherein each distance between adjacent loops of the plurality of loops increases in a direction from an innermost loop of the plurality of loops to an outermost loop of the plurality of loops. When,
A catheter,
An electromagnetic sensor fixed to the catheter and configured to receive a signal based on the emitted electromagnetic field,
A processor,
A memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to calculate at least one of a location or an orientation of the electromagnetic sensor based on the received signal.
(Item 12)
Item 12. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 11, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.
(Item 13)
13. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 12, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes four linear linear portions and four vertices.
(Item 14)
14. The electromagnetic navigation system of item 13, wherein each of the plurality of vertices is disposed along one of four diagonals bisecting four respective vertices of a seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna. .
(Item 15)
The antenna assembly is
A connector having at least two terminals,
Item 12. The electromagnetic navigation system of item 11, wherein the traces each have two ends connected to the two terminals.
(Item 16)
The antenna assembly is
Further comprising a plurality of planar antennas,
Each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on the substrate and disposed in a respective plurality of loops;
For each of the plurality of planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent loops of the respective plurality of loops is different from an innermost one of the respective plurality of loops of the respective planar antenna from the respective plurality of loops. Item 12. The electromagnetic navigation system of item 11, wherein the value increases in a direction toward an outermost one of the loops.
(Item 17)
17. The electromagnetic navigation system of item 16, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of layers and the planar antenna, each of the plurality of planar antennas being deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers.
(Item 18)
17. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 16, wherein each of the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas includes the same number of loops.
(Item 19)
17. The electromagnetic navigation system of item 16, wherein each of the loops of each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a plurality of linear portions and a plurality of vertices.
(Item 20)
Item 17. The electromagnetic navigation system according to Item 16, wherein the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas each have a plurality of centers of gravity with respect to a plane of the substrate disposed at different positions.
(Item 21)
A computer-implemented method for designing an antenna assembly for emitting an electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation, comprising:
For the coordinate system of the substrate having the boundary, to calculate a plurality of diagonal lines based on the seed rectangle having a plurality of vertices, respectively,
Calculating the diagonal lines each bisecting the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle, and extending from the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle to the boundary, respectively;
For each of the plurality of diagonals,
Determining each of a plurality of distances between a plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs positioned along said respective diagonals, wherein said plurality of distances is from said respective vertices of said seed rectangle to said boundary. Increasing in the direction, determining;
Locating the planar antenna vertex along the respective diagonals based on the determined plurality of distances;
Generating a planar antenna layout by interconnecting the planar antenna vertices with respective linear linear portions to form a plurality of loops sequentially traversing each of the plurality of diagonals. Implementation method.
(Item 22)
22. The computer-implemented method of item 21, wherein the plurality of distances are determined based at least in part on a predetermined number of loops of the planar antenna.
(Item 23)
22. The computer-implemented method of item 21, wherein the plurality of distances are determined based at least in part on at least one of a predetermined minimum distance between adjacent vertices or a predetermined minimum distance between adjacent traces. .
(Item 24)
22. The computer-implemented method of item 21, wherein the substrate has a plurality of layers, and the method further comprises generating a plurality of planar antenna layouts corresponding to the plurality of layers, respectively.
(Item 25)
Item 21 further comprising adding to the planar antenna layout a plurality of linear linear portions routed from at least two of the planar antenna vertices to a location of a connector to the coordinate system of the board. Computer implementation method as described.
(Item 26)
For each of the plurality of diagonals,
Further comprising calculating a layout distance between the respective vertices of the seed rectangle and the boundary along the respective diagonal,
22. The computer-implemented method of item 21, wherein determining each of the plurality of distances between the plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs is based at least in part on the calculated layout distance.
(Item 27)
22. The computer-implemented method of item 21, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of the linear linear portions and a plurality of the planar antenna vertices.
(Item 28)
22. The computer-implemented method according to item 21, wherein an outermost planar antenna vertex of the plurality of planar antenna vertices is separated from the boundary of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.
(Item 29)
22. The computer-implemented method of item 21, further comprising exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to at least one of a circuit board routing tool and a circuit board manufacturing tool.
(Item 30)
Exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to an electromagnetic simulation tool;
Simulating respective electromagnetic fields based on the superposition of a plurality of electromagnetic field components from the plurality of linear linear portions of the planar antenna layout based on the exported data. 22. The computer-implemented method according to 21.
(Item 31)
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of designing an antenna assembly for radiating an electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation. ,
For the coordinate system of the substrate having the boundary, to calculate a plurality of diagonal lines based on the seed rectangle having a plurality of vertices, respectively,
Calculating the diagonal lines each bisecting the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle, and extending from the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle to the boundary, respectively;
For each of the plurality of diagonals,
Determining each of a plurality of distances between a plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs positioned along said respective diagonals, wherein said plurality of distances is from said respective vertices of said seed rectangle to said boundary. Increasing in the direction, determining;
Locating the planar antenna vertex along the respective diagonals based on the determined plurality of distances;
Generating a planar antenna layout by interconnecting the planar antenna vertices with respective linear linear portions to form a plurality of loops sequentially traversing each of the plurality of diagonals. Transient computer readable medium.
(Item 32)
32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 31, wherein the plurality of distances is determined based at least in part on a predetermined number of loops of the planar antenna.
(Item 33)
32. The non-transitory item of item 31, wherein the plurality of distances is determined based at least in part on at least one of a predetermined minimum distance between adjacent vertices or a predetermined minimum distance between adjacent traces. Computer readable medium.
(Item 34)
32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 31, wherein the substrate has a plurality of layers, and wherein the method further comprises generating a plurality of planar antenna layouts corresponding to the plurality of layers, respectively.
(Item 35)
The method comprises:
The method of claim 31, further comprising adding to the planar antenna layout a plurality of linear linear portions routed from at least two of the planar antenna vertices to a connector location on the board relative to the coordinate system. The non-transitory computer-readable medium as described.
(Item 36)
The method comprises:
For each of the plurality of diagonals,
Further comprising calculating a layout distance between the respective vertices of the seed rectangle and the boundary along the respective diagonal,
32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 31, wherein determining each of the plurality of distances between the plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs is based at least in part on the calculated layout distance.
(Item 37)
32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 31, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of the linear linear portions and a plurality of the planar antenna vertices.
(Item 38)
32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 31, wherein an outermost planar antenna vertex of the plurality of planar antenna vertices is separated from the boundary of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.
(Item 39)
The method comprises:
32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of item 31, further comprising exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to at least one of a circuit board routing tool or a circuit board manufacturing tool.
(Item 40)
The method comprises:
Exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to an electromagnetic simulation tool;
Simulating respective electromagnetic fields based on the superposition of a plurality of electromagnetic field components from the plurality of linear linear portions of the planar antenna layout based on the exported data. 32. The non-transitory computer readable medium of 31.
(Item 41)
An antenna assembly for emitting a plurality of electromagnetic fields for electromagnetic navigation,
A substrate having a plurality of layers;
A plurality of planar antennas, wherein each of the planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers and disposed in a respective plurality of loops; And a plurality of planar antenna groups, including a first planar antenna, a second planar antenna, and a third planar antenna,
For each of the plurality of planar antenna groups,
An innermost loop of the first planar antenna having a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion;
The innermost loop of the second planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And
The innermost loop of the third planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And
The first linear portion of the innermost loop of the second planar antenna is substantially parallel to the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna;
An antenna set wherein the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the third planar antenna is substantially parallel to the second linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna. Three-dimensional.
(Item 42)
For each of the planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent ones of the plurality of loops is a direction from an innermost one of the plurality of loops to an outermost one of the plurality of loops. 42. The antenna assembly according to item 41, wherein the antenna assembly increases.
(Item 43)
42. The antenna assembly of item 41, wherein the respective innermost loops of the first planar antenna of each group are positioned at different angles on the respective layers of the plurality of layers. .
(Item 44)
42. The antenna assembly according to item 41, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.
(Item 45)
For each planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas, each of the plurality of vertices is one of four diagonals bisecting four respective vertices of a seed rectangle corresponding to the respective planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas. 45. The antenna assembly according to item 44, arranged along one.
(Item 46)
45. The antenna assembly according to item 44, wherein each outermost vertex of the plurality of planar antennas is separated from an edge of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.
(Item 47)
42. The antenna assembly according to item 41, wherein the plurality of planar antennas have a plurality of respective centers of gravity with respect to different planes of the substrate.
(Item 48)
42. The antenna assembly according to item 41, wherein each of the planar antennas includes the same number of loops.
(Item 49)
42. The antenna assembly according to item 41, wherein the number of the plurality of groups is at least three.
(Item 50)
Further comprising a connector having a plurality of terminals,
42. The antenna assembly according to item 41, wherein each of the respective traces of the plurality of planar antennas is connected to a respective terminal of the plurality of terminals.
(Item 51)
An electromagnetic navigation system,
An antenna assembly configured to emit an electromagnetic field,
A substrate having a plurality of layers;
A plurality of planar antennas, wherein each of the plurality of planar antennas comprises a respective trace deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers and disposed in a respective plurality of loops. And a group,
Each of the planar antenna groups includes a first planar antenna, a second planar antenna, and a third planar antenna,
For each of the plurality of planar antenna groups,
An innermost loop of the first planar antenna having a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion;
The innermost loop of the second planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And
The innermost loop of the third planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And
The first linear portion of the innermost loop of the second planar antenna is substantially parallel to the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna;
An antenna set wherein the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the third planar antenna is substantially parallel to the second linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna. Solid and
A catheter,
An electromagnetic sensor secured to the catheter and configured to receive one or more signals based on the emitted electromagnetic field;
A processor,
A memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to calculate at least one of a location or an orientation of the electromagnetic sensor based on the received one or more signals. Electromagnetic navigation system.
(Item 52)
For each of the planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent ones of the plurality of loops is a direction from an innermost one of the plurality of loops to an outermost one of the plurality of loops. 52. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 51, wherein
(Item 53)
52. The electromagnetic navigation system of item 51, wherein the respective innermost loops of the first planar antenna of each group are positioned at different respective angles on the respective layers of the plurality of layers. .
(Item 54)
52. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 51, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.
(Item 55)
For each planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas, each of the plurality of vertices is one of four diagonals bisecting four respective vertices of a seed rectangle corresponding to the respective planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas. 55. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 54, arranged along one.
(Item 56)
55. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 54, wherein each outermost vertex of the plurality of planar antennas is separated from an edge of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.
(Item 57)
52. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 51, wherein the plurality of planar antennas have a plurality of respective centers of gravity with respect to different planes of the substrate.
(Item 58)
52. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 51, wherein each of the planar antennas includes the same number of loops.
(Item 59)
52. The electromagnetic navigation system according to item 51, wherein the number of the plurality of groups is at least three.
(Item 60)
Further comprising a connector having a plurality of terminals,
52. The electromagnetic navigation system of item 51, wherein each of the respective traces of the plurality of planar antennas is coupled to a respective terminal of the plurality of terminals.

Claims (60)

An antenna assembly for emitting at least one electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation, comprising:
Board and
A planar antenna deposited on the substrate and including traces disposed in a plurality of loops;
An antenna assembly, wherein each distance between adjacent loops of the plurality of loops increases in a direction from an innermost loop of the plurality of loops to an outermost loop of the plurality of loops. .   The antenna assembly according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.   The antenna assembly according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes four linear linear portions and four vertices.   The antenna set according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of vertices is disposed along one of four diagonals that bisects each of the four vertices of the seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna. Three-dimensional. A connector having at least two terminals,
The antenna assembly according to claim 1, wherein the traces each have two ends connected to the two terminals. Further comprising a plurality of planar antennas,
Each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on the substrate and disposed in a respective plurality of loops;
For each of the plurality of planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent loops of the respective plurality of loops is different from an innermost one of the respective plurality of loops of the respective planar antenna from the respective plurality of loops. 2. The antenna assembly of claim 1, wherein said antenna assembly increases in a direction toward an outermost one of said loops.   The antenna assembly according to claim 6, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of layers and the planar antenna, wherein each of the plurality of planar antennas is deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers.   The antenna assembly of claim 6, wherein each of the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas includes an equal number of loops.   The antenna assembly according to claim 6, wherein each of the loops of each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.   The antenna assembly according to claim 6, wherein the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas each have a plurality of centers of gravity with respect to a plane of the substrate disposed at different positions. An electromagnetic navigation system,
An antenna assembly configured to emit an electromagnetic field,
Board and
A planar antenna deposited on the substrate and including traces disposed in a plurality of loops;
An antenna assembly, wherein each distance between adjacent loops of the plurality of loops increases in a direction from an innermost loop of the plurality of loops to an outermost loop of the plurality of loops. When,
A catheter,
An electromagnetic sensor fixed to the catheter and configured to receive a signal based on the emitted electromagnetic field,
A processor,
A memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to calculate at least one of a location or an orientation of the electromagnetic sensor based on the received signal.   The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 11, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.   13. The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes four linear linear portions and four vertices.   14. The electromagnetic navigation of claim 13, wherein each of the plurality of vertices is disposed along one of four diagonals bisecting each of the four vertices of the seed rectangle corresponding to the planar antenna. system. The antenna assembly is
A connector having at least two terminals,
The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 11, wherein the traces each have two ends connected to the two terminals. The antenna assembly is
Further comprising a plurality of planar antennas,
Each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on the substrate and disposed in a respective plurality of loops;
For each of the plurality of planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent loops of the respective plurality of loops is different from an innermost one of the respective plurality of loops of the respective planar antenna from the respective plurality of loops. The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 11, wherein the value increases in a direction toward an outermost one of the loops.   17. The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 16, wherein the substrate includes a plurality of layers and the planar antenna, each of the plurality of planar antennas being deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers.   17. The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 16, wherein each of the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas includes the same number of loops.   17. The electromagnetic navigation system of claim 16, wherein each of the loops of each of the plurality of planar antennas includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.   17. The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 16, wherein the planar antenna and the plurality of planar antennas each have a plurality of centers of gravity with respect to a plane of the substrate disposed at different positions. A computer-implemented method for designing an antenna assembly for emitting an electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation, comprising:
For the coordinate system of the substrate having the boundary, to calculate a plurality of diagonal lines based on the seed rectangle having a plurality of vertices, respectively,
Calculating the diagonal lines each bisecting the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle, and extending from the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle to the boundary, respectively;
For each of the plurality of diagonals,
Determining each of a plurality of distances between a plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs positioned along said respective diagonals, wherein said plurality of distances is from said respective vertices of said seed rectangle to said boundary. Increasing in the direction, determining;
Locating the planar antenna vertex along the respective diagonals based on the determined plurality of distances;
Generating a planar antenna layout by interconnecting the planar antenna vertices with respective linear linear portions to form a plurality of loops sequentially traversing each of the plurality of diagonals. Implementation method.   22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the plurality of distances are determined based at least in part on a predetermined number of loops of the planar antenna.   22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the plurality of distances is determined based at least in part on a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent vertices or a predetermined minimum spacing between adjacent traces. Method.   22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein the substrate has a plurality of layers, and wherein the method further comprises generating a plurality of planar antenna layouts corresponding to the plurality of layers, respectively.   22. The planar antenna layout further comprising adding a plurality of linear linear portions routed from at least two of the planar antenna vertices to a location of a connector to the coordinate system of the board. The computer-implemented method according to 1. For each of the plurality of diagonals,
Further comprising calculating a layout distance between the respective vertices of the seed rectangle and the boundary along the respective diagonal,
22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein determining each of the plurality of distances between the plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs is based at least in part on the calculated layout distance.   22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of the linear linear portions and a plurality of the planar antenna vertices.   22. The computer-implemented method according to claim 21, wherein an outermost planar antenna vertex of the plurality of planar antenna vertices is separated from the boundary of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.   22. The computer-implemented method of claim 21, further comprising exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to at least one of a circuit board routing tool or a circuit board manufacturing tool. Exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to an electromagnetic simulation tool;
Simulating respective electromagnetic fields based on a superposition of a plurality of electromagnetic field components from the plurality of linear linear portions of the planar antenna layout based on the exported data. Item 22. A computer-implemented method according to item 21. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform a method of designing an antenna assembly for radiating an electromagnetic field for electromagnetic navigation. ,
For the coordinate system of the substrate having the boundary, to calculate a plurality of diagonal lines based on the seed rectangle having a plurality of vertices, respectively,
Calculating the diagonal lines each bisecting the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle, and extending from the plurality of vertices of the seed rectangle to the boundary, respectively;
For each of the plurality of diagonals,
Determining each of a plurality of distances between a plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs positioned along said respective diagonals, wherein said plurality of distances is from said respective vertices of said seed rectangle to said boundary. Increasing in the direction, determining;
Locating the planar antenna vertex along the respective diagonals based on the determined plurality of distances;
Generating a planar antenna layout by interconnecting the planar antenna vertices with respective linear linear portions to form a plurality of loops sequentially traversing each of the plurality of diagonals. Transient computer readable medium.   32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the plurality of distances are determined based at least in part on a predetermined number of loops of the planar antenna.   32. The non-temporary method of claim 31, wherein the plurality of distances is determined based at least in part on at least one of a predetermined minimum distance between adjacent vertices or a predetermined minimum distance between adjacent traces. Computer readable medium.   32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein the substrate has a plurality of layers, and wherein the method further comprises generating a plurality of planar antenna layouts corresponding to the plurality of layers, respectively. The method comprises:
32. The planar antenna layout further comprising adding a plurality of linear linear portions routed from at least two of the planar antenna vertices to a location of a connector to the coordinate system of the board. A non-transitory computer-readable medium according to claim 1. The method comprises:
For each of the plurality of diagonals,
Further comprising calculating a layout distance between the respective vertices of the seed rectangle and the boundary along the respective diagonal,
The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein determining each of the plurality of distances between the plurality of adjacent planar antenna vertex pairs is based at least in part on the calculated layout distance.   32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of the linear linear portions and a plurality of the planar antenna vertices.   32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 31, wherein an outermost planar antenna vertex of the plurality of planar antenna vertices is separated from the boundary of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less. The method comprises:
32. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 31, further comprising exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to at least one of a circuit board routing tool or a circuit board manufacturing tool. The method comprises:
Exporting data corresponding to the generated planar antenna layout to an electromagnetic simulation tool;
Simulating respective electromagnetic fields based on a superposition of a plurality of electromagnetic field components from the plurality of linear linear portions of the planar antenna layout based on the exported data. 32. The non-transitory computer-readable medium according to item 31. An antenna assembly for emitting a plurality of electromagnetic fields for electromagnetic navigation,
A substrate having a plurality of layers;
A plurality of planar antennas, wherein each of the planar antennas includes a respective trace deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers and disposed in a respective plurality of loops; And a plurality of planar antenna groups, including a first planar antenna, a second planar antenna, and a third planar antenna,
For each of the plurality of planar antenna groups,
An innermost loop of the first planar antenna having a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion;
The innermost loop of the second planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And
The innermost loop of the third planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And
The first linear portion of the innermost loop of the second planar antenna is substantially parallel to the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna;
An antenna set wherein the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the third planar antenna is substantially parallel to the second linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna. Three-dimensional.   For each of the planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent ones of the plurality of loops is a direction from an innermost one of the plurality of loops to an outermost one of the plurality of loops. 42. The antenna assembly according to claim 41, wherein   42. The antenna set of claim 41, wherein the respective innermost loops of the first planar antenna of each group are positioned at different angles on the respective layers of the plurality of layers. Three-dimensional.   42. The antenna assembly of claim 41, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.   For each planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas, each of the plurality of vertices is one of four diagonals bisecting four respective vertices of a seed rectangle corresponding to the respective planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas. The antenna assembly according to claim 44, wherein the antenna assembly is disposed along one.   45. The antenna assembly according to claim 44, wherein each outermost vertex of the plurality of planar antennas is separated from an edge of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.   42. The antenna assembly according to claim 41, wherein the plurality of planar antennas have a plurality of respective centers of gravity relative to different planes of the substrate.   42. The antenna assembly of claim 41, wherein each of said planar antennas includes an equal number of loops.   42. The antenna assembly according to claim 41, wherein the number of the plurality of groups is at least three. Further comprising a connector having a plurality of terminals,
42. The antenna assembly of claim 41, wherein each of said respective traces of said plurality of planar antennas is coupled to a respective terminal of said plurality of terminals. An electromagnetic navigation system,
An antenna assembly configured to emit an electromagnetic field,
A substrate having a plurality of layers;
A plurality of planar antennas, wherein each of the plurality of planar antennas comprises a respective trace deposited on a respective one of the plurality of layers and disposed in a respective plurality of loops. And a group,
Each of the planar antenna groups includes a first planar antenna, a second planar antenna, and a third planar antenna,
For each of the plurality of planar antenna groups,
An innermost loop of the first planar antenna having a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion;
The innermost loop of the second planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And
The innermost loop of the third planar antenna has a first linear portion and a second linear portion substantially perpendicular to the first linear portion and longer than the first linear portion. And
The first linear portion of the innermost loop of the second planar antenna is substantially parallel to the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna;
An antenna set wherein the first linear portion of the innermost loop of the third planar antenna is substantially parallel to the second linear portion of the innermost loop of the first planar antenna. Solid and
A catheter,
An electromagnetic sensor secured to the catheter and configured to receive one or more signals based on the emitted electromagnetic field;
A processor,
A memory including instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to calculate at least one of a location or an orientation of the electromagnetic sensor based on the received one or more signals. Electromagnetic navigation system.   For each of the planar antennas, a respective distance between adjacent ones of the plurality of loops is a direction from an innermost one of the plurality of loops to an outermost one of the plurality of loops. 52. The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 51, wherein:   52. The electromagnetic navigation of claim 51, wherein the respective innermost loops of the first planar antenna of each group are positioned at respective different angles on the respective layers of the plurality of layers. system.   52. The electromagnetic navigation system of claim 51, wherein each of the plurality of loops includes a plurality of linear linear portions and a plurality of vertices.   For each planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas, each of the plurality of vertices is one of four diagonals bisecting four respective vertices of a seed rectangle corresponding to the respective planar antenna of the plurality of planar antennas. 55. The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 54, arranged along one.   The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 54, wherein an outermost vertex of each of the plurality of vertexes of the plurality of planar antennas is separated from an edge of the substrate by a predetermined threshold or less.   52. The electromagnetic navigation system of claim 51, wherein the plurality of planar antennas have a plurality of respective centers of gravity with respect to different planes of the substrate.   The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 51, wherein each of the planar antennas includes an equal number of loops.   The electromagnetic navigation system according to claim 51, wherein the number of the plurality of groups is at least three. Further comprising a connector having a plurality of terminals,
52. The electromagnetic navigation system of claim 51, wherein each of the respective traces of the plurality of planar antennas is coupled to a respective one of the plurality of terminals.