On localizing a capsule endoscope using magnetic sensors

In this work, localizing a capsule endoscope within the gastrointestinal tract is addressed. It is assumed that the capsule is equipped with a magnet, and that a magnetic sensor network measures the flux from this magnet. We assume no prior knowledge on the source location, and that the measurements collected by the sensors are corrupted by thermal Gaussian noise only. Under these assumptions, we focus on determining the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) for the location of the endoscope. Thus, we are not studying specific estimators, but rather the theoretical performance of an optimal one. It is demonstrated that the CRLB is a function of the distance and angle between the sensor network and the magnet. By studying the CRLB with respect to different sensor array constellations, we are able to indicate favorable constellations.