SYSTEM UTILIZING RADIO FREQUENCY SIGNALS FOR TRACKING AND IMPROVING NAVIGATION OF SLENDER INSTRUMENTS DURING INSERTION INTO THE BODY

摘要

The present invention concerns a system for utilizing radio frequency signals to dynamically determine the location of a medical device throughout a procedure and to improve navigation of the medical device. For these purposes, a plurality of RF receivers are mounted at operative locations in the operating room and operate on the same clock signal. The system also utilizes a diagnostic medical image such as an MRI, and overlays the position feedback signal on the image. This allows, for example, a surgeon to pick a desired spot on the diagnostic image, and then cause a robotic arm driven device to be moved to that particular spot inside the human body.