External tracking of an instrument by electric fields in minimally invasive surgery

摘要

This study focuses on a tracking technique for minimally invasive surgery to overcome the possible dangers by endoscopic techniques. We used the principles of electric fields to detect the position of the instrument. With a microprocessor board and a shareware tool known as Processing, a three-dimensional tracking system was developed so that the scalpel inside a patient's body can be monitored by external receivers.