A Novel Accurate Minioptical Tracking System for Percutaneous Needle Placement

The novel optical tracking system employs a miniature video camera, mounted on the hub of an interventional needle, to determine the location and orientation of the needle relative to a skin-attached sticker with color reference markers. A computed tomography (CT) scan is used to register the same reference markers to the anatomy in the CT images, and thus, register the needle to the anatomy and to a user-selected target. A computer displays a simulation of the interventional needle on the CT images, providing guidance information to assist a user in directing the needle to the target. Bench testing was performed on a custom phantom to determine the accuracy of this mini-optical tracking system. The resulting accuracy data demonstrate a good correlation with phantom coordinates and the CT images.