A wireless magnetic sensor for localizing in-vivo medical micro-devices

In order to measure the position and orientation of in-vivo medical micro-devices without the line-of-sight constraints, a wireless magnetic sensor is developed for an electromagnetic localization method. In the electromagnetic localization system, the wireless magnetic sensor is embedded in the micro-devices to measure alternating magnetic signals. The wireless magnetic sensor is composed of an induction coil, a signal processor, a radio frequency (RF) transmitter, a power manager and batteries. Based on the principle of electromagnetic induction, the induction coil converts the alternating magnetic signals into electrical signals. Via the RF transmitter, the useful data are wirelessly sent outside the body. According to the relation between the magnetic signals and the location, the position and orientation of the micro-devices can be calculated. The experiments demonstrate the feasibility of localizing in-vivo medical micro-devices with the wireless magnetic sensor. The novel localization system is accurate and robust.