Northern Digital Inc.

Stephen Eldon Leis

Donald Dieter Frantz

Christian J Schilling

Terry Harold Fisher

Paul David Clausen

Stefan Kirsch

David Ristau

A flexible instrument includes a flexible member having a proximal portion, an intermediate portion, and a distal portion. At least one optical sensor positioned proximate the proximal portion of the flexible member provides a proximal end position signal indicative of the position of the proximal portion of the flexible member. At least one flexible member sensor positioned proximate one of the other portions of the flexible member provides a second position signal indicative of the position of the other portion of the flexible member.

Flexible instrument with optical sensors

A system for determining spatial position and/or orientation of one or more objects. The system includes an optical subsystem and a non-optical subsystem. The optical subsystem includes optical subsystem light sources mounted to one or more of the objects and an optical subsystem sensor adapted to detect energy from the optical subsystem light sources. The optical subsystem has an optical subsystem coordinate system in a fixed relationship with the optical subsystem sensor. The optical subsystem sensor produces position and/or orientation signals relative to the optical subsystem coordinate system in response to optical subsystem light source detected energy. The non-optical subsystem has a non-optical coordinate system and is adapted to produce position and/or orientation signals of one or more of the objects relative to the non-optical subsystem coordinate system. A coupling arrangement is provided for producing position and/or orientation signals indicative of the position and/or orientation of the selected one of the optical or non-optical subsystems relative to the coordinate system of the other one of the optical or non-optical subsystems. A processor is responsive to signals produced by the coupling arrangement and the individual subsystem sensors for determining the position and/or orientation of one or more of the objects relative to some conveniently defined coordinate system.

System for determining spatial position and/or orientation of one or more objects

A system for determining the spatial position and orientation of each of a plurality of bodies. Each one of the bodies has at least three markers in a predetermined, relative geometric relationship. The markers are adapted to emit energy in response to an activation signal and/or to reflect energy impinging upon such passive marker from an activatable energy source. A common energy detector is provided for detecting the energy emitted by the active marker and the energy reflected by the passive marker. A common processor is provided. The processor has a memory. The memory has stored therein the predetermined, relative geometric relation of the markers for each one of the bodies. The processor compares the stored predetermined geometric relation of the markers for each of the bodies with the energy detected by the energy detector to identify the bodies emitting/or reflecting the detected energy. With such an arrangement, a body can be tracked using a very simple sequence of operation in real-time with robust positive marker identification by taking advantage of a simple marker placement methodology. Multiple bodies can scan thereby be tracked simultaneously.

System for determining the spatial position and orientation of a body

A system for determining the spatial position of a target having an active target adapted to emit energy in response to an active signal and a passive target adapted to reflect energy impinging upon such passive target from an active energy source. A common energy detector is provided for detecting both the energy emitted by the active target and the energy reflected by the passive target. A common processor is provided for determining the spatial positions of both the passive and active targets in response to the energy detected by the common detector. During a sensor cycle the spatial position of the active target is determined and during a sensor cycle the position of the passive target is determined. The sensor cycles may be interspersed or may be the same cycle to enable simultaneous determination of both the active target and the passive target during a single sensor cycle. The system also enables the determination of the spatial position and angular orientation of both a rigid object having affixed thereto active targets and/or another rigid object having affixed thereto passive targets and/or an object having affixed thereto both an active and passive targets.

System for determining the spatial position of a target

A system for determining the spatial position and angular orientation of an object in real-time is provided having a sensor section and a plurality of activatable markers, adapted for mounting to the object. The plurality of markers are activated simultaneously during each cycle of the sensor section after an initial marker-identification mode and energy emitted by such simultaneously activated markers is detected by the remotely located sensor. With such system, because the markers have been each uniquely identified during the marker-identification mode, and the relative marker geometry is known a prior, the markers can be simultaneously activated, detected and tracked during a subsequent marker-tracking mode. With such an arrangement, less expensive sensors with relatively low sensor cycle rates may be used.

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Waterloo, Canada

Stephen Eldon Leis