U.S. patent number RE39,102 [Application Number 09/640,794] was granted by the patent office on 2006-05-23 for optical fiber probe for position measurement.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Image Guided Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Ivan Faul, Daniel J. Harrison, Ronald M. Pasquini, Waldean A. Schulz.
United States Patent |
RE39,102 |
Schulz , et al. |
May 23, 2006 |
Optical fiber probe for position measurement
Abstract
Improved point source electromagnetic radiation emitters
including a dispersing element that radiates electromagnetic
radiation over a vary wide conical angle of approaching about
180.degree.. This light dispersing element can be in any one or
more of several illustrated forms such as a light diffusing
spherical or hemispherical element, a planar diffusing plate, a
tapered light guide, a piano-concave lens, a convex mirror, a light
pipe with a large numerical aperture, or the like. The emitter of
this invention may be fixed to an object and tracked in a
3-dimensional volume by a system using electro-optical position
sensors in order to determine the spatial location of the emitters
and therefore to determine, by geometry, the position or
orientation of the object. The electromagnetic radiation generator
is preferably disposed remote from the emitter and is electrically
and magnetically isolated from the emitter. A common optical fiber
provides transmission of the radiation from the generator to the
emitter. The emitted radiation more nearly resembles point source
of radiation and therefore enables more accurate determination of
the location of the radiating element, and thereby more accurate
determination of the position and orientation of the object on
which the emitters reside. The preferred electromagnetic radiation
generator is an LED, most preferably a laser diode.
Inventors: |
Schulz; Waldean A. (Boulder,
CO), Faul; Ivan (Boulder, CO), Pasquini; Ronald M.
(Niwot, CO), Harrison; Daniel J. (Nederland, CO) |
Assignee: |
Image Guided Technologies, Inc.
(Boulder, CO)
|
Family
ID: |
25355095 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/640,794 |
Filed: |
August 18, 2000 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
|
Reissue of: |
08870296 |
Jun 6, 1997 |
05907395 |
May 25, 1999 |
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
356/139.03;
600/476; 606/130; 356/614; 356/141.5 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01S
1/7032 (20190801); A61B 90/36 (20160201); G01S
5/16 (20130101); G01B 11/002 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G01B
11/26 (20060101); A61B 19/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;356/139.03,141.5,375
;600/476 ;606/130 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Hellner; Mark
Attorney, Agent or Firm: McCracken & Frank LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for determining the location of at least one point
in three dimensional space relative to a three dimensional
coordinate system defining said space comprising: at least one
emitter of electromagnetic radiation, comprising a radiation
dispersing element which emits said radiation in a substantially
conical pattern which at least approaches a .[.solid angle of about
180.degree..]. .Iadd.hemisphere, .Iaddend.wherein said radiation
emission pattern has a centroid such that it at least closely
approximates a point source of said radiation thereby causing said
centroid of said electromagnetic radiation to be in a substantially
invariant relationship to said emitter of said radiation regardless
of the angle from which the centroid of the emitted radiation is
viewed; an electromagnetic radiation generator operatively
associated with each of said emitters; means for transmitting
electromagnetic radiation generated by said generator to said
emitter; a plurality of electromagnetic radiation sensors, each of
which is adapted to detect at least one electromagnetic ray emitted
from at least one of said emitters; a power supply for said
electromagnetic radiation generator; where there are a plurality of
emitters, means to differentiate electromagnetic radiation emitted
by at least two of said emitters; and means for determining the
location of said emitter relative to the three dimensional
coordinate system; wherein, as a consequence of said emitters
emitting electromagnetic radiation at a solid angle of at least
approaching .[.180 .degree..]. .Iadd.a hemisphere
.Iaddend.determining the location of a said emitters with greater
accuracy than would have been the accuracy determined had the
electromagnetic radiation been generated without said dispersing
element.
2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of
said dispersing element comprises a diffuser.
3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the diffuser is
substantially a section of a sphere.
4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the diffuser is
substantially flat.
5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of
said emitters comprises a light pipe image guide which is so shaped
as to be capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation from an end
thereof at a solid angle at least approaching .[.180.degree..].
.Iadd.a hemisphere.Iaddend..
6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one of
said emitters comprises a concave lens with a negative focal length
capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation at a solid angle at
least approaching .[.180.degree..]. .Iadd.a
hemisphere.Iaddend..
7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said
emitters comprises a curved, convex mirror capable of emitting
reflected electromagnetic radiation at a solid angle at least
approaching .[.180.degree..]. .Iadd.a hemisphere.Iaddend..
8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said electromagnetic
radiation comprises visible light.
9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said electromagnetic
radiation comprises infra red light.
10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation comprises ultra violet light.
11. The apparatus of claim 1 comprising a plurality of
emitters.
12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 comprising a separate
electromagnetic radiation generator associated with each
emitter.
13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein each of said
emitters radiates at a different wavelength.
14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one
emitter is disposed on an object in said three dimensional space,
and wherein said electromagnetic radiation generator is disposed
proximate to said emitter.
15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said at least one
emitter is disposed on an object in said three dimensional space,
said electromagnetic radiation generator is disposed a distance
from said emitter, and at least one electromagnetic radiation guide
is disposed therebetween in operative relationship to both said
generator and said emitter.
16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation generator is disposed in or on said
object sufficiently proximate to said emitter as to exclude a
radiation guide therebetween.
17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation generator is powered by electricity, and
wherein said emitter and said objective are substantially
electrically neutral.
18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation generator is powered by electricity and
wherein said emitter and said object are substantially magnetically
neutral.
19. The apparatus is claimed in claim 15 wherein said at least one
emitter is unconnected to a source of electricity.
20. An electrically neutral system for radiating electromagnetic
radiation from an effective point source comprising: an
electromagnetic radiation generators; an emitter of electromagnetic
radiation comprising a radiation dispersing element which emits
said electromagnetic radiation in a substantially conical pattern
through a solid angle which at least approaches .[.180.degree..].
.Iadd.a hemisphere.Iaddend., wherein said radiation emission has a
centroid such that it at least closely approximates a point source
of said radiation thereby causing said centroid of said
electromagnetic radiation to be in a substantially invariant
relationship to the emitter of said radiation regardless of the
angle from which the centroid of emitted radiation is viewed, and
wherein said emitter is disposed a distance from said generator; at
least one optical filter disposed in operative relationship to both
said generator and said emitter such that it is adapted to transmit
electromagnetic radiation from said generator to said emitter; and
an electric power source operatively associated with said
electromagnetic radiation generator, wherein said generator is
substantially electrically and magnetically isolated from said
emitter.
21. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein at least one of
said dispersing element comprises a diffuser.
22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21 wherein the diffuser is
substantially a section of a sphere.
23. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21 wherein the diffuser is
substantially flat.
24. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein at least one of
said emitters comprises a light pipe image guide which is so shaped
as to be capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation from an end
thereof at a solid angle at least approaching .[.180.degree..].
.Iadd.a hemisphere.Iaddend..
25. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein at least one of
said emitters comprises a concave lens with a negative focal length
capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation at a solid angle at
least approaching .[.180.degree..]. .Iadd.a
hemisphere.Iaddend..
26. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein at least one of
said emitters comprises a curved, convex mirror capable of emitting
reflected electromagnetic radiation at a solid angle at least
approaching .[.180.degree..]. .Iadd.a hemisphere.Iaddend..
27. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation comprises visible light.
28. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation comprises infra red light.
29. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation comprises ultra violet light.
30. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 comprising a plurality of
emitters.
31. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 comprising a separate
electromagnetic radiation generator associated with each
emitter.
32. The apparatus as claimed in claim 30 wherein each of said
emitters radiates at a different wavelength.
33. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein said at least one
emitter is disposed on an object in said three dimensional space,
and wherein said electromagnetic radiation generator is disposed
proximate to said emitter.
34. The apparatus as claimed in claim 20 wherein said at least one
emitter is disposed on an object in said three dimensional space,
said electromagnetic radiation generator is disposed a distance
from said emitter, and at least one electromagnetic radiation guide
is disposed therebetween in operative relationship to both said
generator and said emitter.
35. The apparatus as claimed in claim 33 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation generator is disposed in or on said
object sufficiently proximate to said emitter as to exclude a
radiation guide therebetween.
36. The apparatus as claimed in claim 34 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation generator is powered by electricity, and
wherein said emitter and said object are substantially electrically
neutral.
37. The apparatus as claimed in claim 34 wherein said
electromagnetic radiation generator is powered by electricity, and
wherein said emitter and said object are substantially magnetically
neutral.
38. The apparatus as claimed in claim 34 wherein said at least one
emitter is unconnected to a source of electricity.
39. A method of accurately determining the location of a point in
three dimensional space which comprises: electrically generating
electromagnetic radiation; non-electrically transmitting said
electromagnetic radiation to an emitter, comprising a radiation
dispersing element, so constructed as to emit electromagnetic
radiation therefrom in a conical array through a solid angle at
least approaching .[.180.degree..]. .Iadd.a hemisphere.Iaddend.;
non-electrically emitting said electromagnetic radiation from said
dispersing element in a substantially conical pattern over a solid
angle that at least approaches about .[.180.degree..]. .Iadd.a
hemisphere; .Iaddend.and thereby causing a centroid of said emitted
electromagnetic radiation to at least closely approximate a point
source of said radiation which is substantially invariant with
respect to the emitter of said radiation regardless of the angle
from which said emitted radiation is viewed.
40. A method as claimed in claim 39 further comprising generating
said electromagnetic radiation a distance from said emitter;
transporting said generated electromagnetic radiation
non-electrically through at least one optical fiber from said
electromagnetic generator to said emitter; and maintaining said
emitter electrically and mechanically substantially neutral.
41. A method as claimed in claim 39 further including disposing at
least one of said emitter on a three dimensional object; disposing
an electromagnetic generator in operative association with a
radiation guide in operative relationship with each of said
emitters and remote from said object; and maintaining said object
electrically and magnetically substantially neutral with respect to
said electromagnetic generator.
42. A method of determining the position and orientation of at
least one three dimensional object in a three dimensional space
defined by a coordinate system which comprises: disposing a
plurality of electromagnetic emitters, comprising a dispersing
element so constructed as to radiate electromagnetic radiation in a
substantially conical pattern over a solid angle that at least
approaches about .[.180.degree..]. .Iadd.a hemisphere .Iaddend.in
known spaced apart relationship to each other on a surface of said
object; providing at least one electromagnetic radiation generator
spaced from said object; providing a non-electric radiation guide
operatively associated with each emitter and with said at least one
generator; generating electromagnetic radiation from each of said
generators; transmitting said radiation, non-electrically through
said radiation guides to said emitters; non-electrically radiating
a substantially conical pattern of radiation from at least one of
said dispersing elements; receiving said emitted radiation by a
plurality of electromagnetic radiation receivers; determining the
location of each emitter as a function of the angles between said
received radiation and respective reference lines; and converting
said determined locations of said emitters to a position and
orientation of said object in said three dimensional space.
43. A method as claimed in claim 42 wherein said dispersing element
comprises a diffuser.
44. A method as claimed in claim 42 wherein said dispersing element
comprises a section of a sphere.
45. A method as claimed in claim 42 wherein said dispersing element
comprises a light pipe image guide so constructed as to emit said
electromagnetic radiation over a solid conical angle at least
approaching .[.180.degree..]. .Iadd.a hemisphere.Iaddend..
46. A method as claimed in claim 42 wherein said diffuser comprises
a substantially flat plate.
47. A method as claimed in claim 42 wherein said dispersing element
comprises a concave lens with a negative focal length.
48. A method as claimed in claim 42 wherein said dispersing element
comprises a convex mirror.
.Iadd.49. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 wherein at least two
of said emitters rediate at a different wavelength..Iaddend.
.Iadd.50. An electrically neutral system for radiating
electromagnetic radiation from an effective point source
comprising: at least one electromagnetic radiation generator; at
least one emitter of electromagnetic radiation comprising means for
emitting radiation through a solid angle that at least approaches a
hemisphere, wherein said radiation emission has a centroid such
that is at least closely approximates a point source of said
radiation; and wherein said emitter(s) is disposed a distance from
said generator(s), at least one optical fiber disposed in operative
relationship to said generator(s) and said emitter(s) such that the
fiber is adapted to transmit electromagnetic radiation from said
generator(s) to said emitter(s); and an electric power source
operatively associated with said electromagnetic radiation
generator, wherein said generator is substantially electrically and
magnetically isolated from said emitter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.51. A method of determining the position and orientation of
at least one three dimensional object in a three dimensional space,
defined by a coordinate system, which comprises: disposing a
plurality of electromagnetic emitters, comprising a dispersing
element so constructed as to radiate electromagnetic radiation over
a solid angle that at least approaches about a hemisphere in known
spaced apart relationship to each other on a surface of said
object; providing at least one electromagnetic radiation generator
spaced from said object; providing at least one non-electric
radiation guide means operatively associated with said emitter(s)
and with said at least one generator(s); generating electromagnetic
radiation from generator(s); transmitting said radiation,
non-electrically through said radiation guide(s) to said
emitter(s); non-electrically radiating radiation from at least one
of said dispersing elements; receiving said emitted radiation by a
plurality of electromagnetic radiation receivers; determining the
location of each emitter as a function of the angles between said
received radiation and respective reference lines; and converting
said determined locations of said emitters to a position and
orientation of said object in said three dimensional
space.Iaddend..
.Iadd.52. An apparatus for determining the location of at least one
point in three dimensional space relative to a three dimensional
coordinate system defining said space comprising: at least one
emitter of electromagnetic radiation, comprising a radiation
dispersing element that is adapted to emit said radiation in a
substantially conical pattern that at least approaches a solid
angle at least about equal to a hemisphere; an electromagnetic
radiation generator operatively associated with at least one of
said emitters; means for transmitting electromagnetic radiation
generated by said generator to said associated emitter; a plurality
of electromagnetic radiation sensors, each of which is adapted to
detect at least one electromagnetic ray emitted from at least one
of said emitters; where there are a plurality of emitters, means to
differentiate electromagnetic radiation emitted by at least two of
said emitters; and means for determining the location of said
emitter(s) relative to said three dimensional coordinate system as
a function of a plurality of angles intercepted between rays of
said radiation and at least one reference line; wherein, as a
consequence of said emitters emitting electromagnetic radiation at
a solid angle at least approaching a hemisphere, determining the
location of said emitters with greater accuracy that would have
been the accuracy determined had the electromagnetic radiation been
generated without said dispersing element..Iaddend.
.Iadd.53. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one
of said emitters comprises a light pipe image guide that is so
shaped as to enable emitting electromagnetic radiation from an end
thereof at a solid angle at least approaching a
hemisphere..Iaddend.
.Iadd.54. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one
of said emitters comprises a concave lens with a negative focal
length capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation at a solid
angle at least approaching a hemisphere..Iaddend.
.Iadd.55. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one
of said emitters comprises a curved, convex mirror capable of
emitting reflected electromagnetic radiation at a solid angle at
least approaching a hemisphere..Iaddend.
.Iadd.56. An electrically neutral system for radiating
electromagnetic radiation from an effective point source
comprising: an electromagnetic radiation generator; an emitter of
electromagnetic radiation comprising a radiation dispersing element
that emits said electromagnetic radiation in a substantially
conical pattern through a solid angle that at least approaches a
hemisphere, and wherein said emitter is disposed a distance from
said generator; at least one optical fiber disposed in operative
relationship to both said generator and said emitter such that it
is adapted to transmit electromagnetic radiation from said
generator to said emitter; and an electric power source operatively
associated with said electromagnetic radiation generator, wherein
said generator is substantially electrically and magnetically
isolated from said emitter..Iaddend.
.Iadd.57. The apparatus as claimed in claim 56 wherein at least one
of said emitters comprises a light pipe image guide that is so
shaped as to enable emitting electromagnetic radiation from an end
thereof at a solid angle at least approaching a
hemisphere..Iaddend.
.Iadd.58. The apparatus as claimed in claim 56 wherein at least one
of said emitters comprises a concave lens with a negative focal
length capable of emitting electromagnetic radiation at a solid
angle at least approaching a hemisphere..Iaddend.
.Iadd.59. The apparatus as claimed in claim 56 wherein at least one
of said emitters comprises a curved, convex mirror capable of
emitting reflected electromagnetic radiation at a solid angle at
least approaching a hemisphere..Iaddend.
.Iadd.60. A method of accurately determining the location of a
point in three dimensional space which comprises: electrically
generating electromagnetic radiation; non-electrically transmitting
said electromagnetic radiation to at least one emitter comprising a
radiation dispersing element adapted to emit electromagnetic
radiation therefrom through a solid angle at least approaching a
hemisphere; and non-electrically emitting said electromagnetic
radiation from said dispersing element in a pattern over a solid
angle that at least approaches about a hemisphere..Iaddend.
.Iadd.61. A method of determining the position and orientation of
at least one three dimensional object in a three dimensional space
defined by a three dimensional coordinate system which comprises:
disposing a plurality of electromagnetic emitters, comprising a
dispersing element adapted to radiate electromagnetic radiation in
a substantially conical pattern over a solid angle that at least
approaches about a hemisphere, in known spaced apart relationship
to each other on a surface of said object; providing at least one
electromagnetic radiation generator spaced from said emitter(s);
providing a non-electric radiation guide operatively associated at
least one of said emitters and with said at least one generator;
generating electromagnetic radiation by said generator(s);
non-electrically transmitting electromagnetic radiation through
said radiation guides to said emitter(s); non-electrically
radiating a pattern of radiation at least approaching a hemisphere
from at least one of said dispersing elements; receiving said
emitted radiation by a plurality of electromagnetic radiation
receivers; determining the location of each emitter as a function
of angles between said received radiation and respective reference
lines; and converting said determined locations of said emitters to
a position and orientation of said object in said three dimensional
space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.62. A method as claimed in claim 61 wherein said dispersing
element comprises a light pipe image guide adapted to emit said
electromagnetic radiation over a solid conical angle at least
approaching a hemisphere..Iaddend.
.Iadd.63. An apparatus for determining the location of at least one
point in three dimensional space relative to a three dimensional
coordinate system defining said space comprising: at least one
emitter of electromagnetic radiation, comprising a radiation
dispersing element that disperses electromagnetic rays emitted from
said emitter in a pattern that at least approaches a solid angle at
least about equal to a hemisphere and has a radiation pattern that
at least closely approximates that of a point source of said
radiation over said solid angle; a plurality of electromagnetic
radiation sensors, each of which is adapted to detect at least one
electromagnetic ray emitted from at least one of said emitters, and
to convert said detected ray into a signal; where there are a
plurality of emitters, means to differentiate at least two of said
emitters; and a signal processor adapted to calculate the location
of said emitter(s) relative to the three dimensional coordinate
system from said signal information; wherein, as a consequence of
said emitter(s) emitting electromagnetic radiation through said
solid angle, determining the location of the centroid(s) of said
emitter(s) with greater accuracy than would have been the accuracy
determined had that electromagnetic radiation been generated
without said dispersing element..Iaddend.
.Iadd.64. The apparatus as claimed in claim 63 wherein at least two
of said emitters radiate at different wavelengths..Iaddend.
.Iadd.65. The apparatus as claimed in claim 63 wherein said
dispersing element is spaced from said radiation generator and
further comprising transmission means adapted to transmit said
generated radiation from said generator to said dispersing
element..Iaddend.
.Iadd.66. The apparatus as claimed in claim 65 further comprising a
plurality of dispersing elements..Iaddend.
.Iadd.67. A method of accurately determining the location of a
point in three dimensional space comprising: generating
electromagnetic radiation; non-electrically transmitting and
electromagnetic radiation to at least one emitter, comprising at
least one radiation dispersing element adapted to emit
electromagnetic radiation therefrom through a solid angle at least
approaching about a hemisphere; non-electrically emitting said
electromagnetic radiation from said dispersing element at a solid
angle approaching about a hemisphere; receiving a plurality of
electromagnetic rays, emitted by said emitter, by an
electromagnetic radiation detector; determining angles intercepted
between said rays and at least one reference line that has a known
angular relationship with said radiation detector; and from said
angle, calculating a location of said emitter in said three
dimensional space..Iaddend.
.Iadd.68. An electrically neutral system for radiating
electromagnetic radiation from an effective point source and
remotely receiving the same, comprising: at least one source of
electromagnetic radiation; lens means adapted to couple said
electromagnetic radiation to a plurality of non-electronic
radiation transmission means; at least one emitter, adapted to
radiate electromagnetic radiation through a solid angle that at
least approaches a hemisphere, electromagnetically coupled to at
least one of said transmission means and spaced apart from said
source; and a plurality of means adapted to receive said radiated
electromagnetic radiation spaced from said emitter(s) and not
electrically connected to said emitters..Iaddend.
.Iadd.69. A system as claimed in claim 68 comprising a plurality of
said transmission means and a plurality of emitters operatively
associated with said plural transmission means..Iaddend.
.Iadd.70. A system as claimed in claim 69 comprising a single
source of said electromagnetic radiation..Iaddend.
.Iadd.71. A system as claimed in claim 69 wherein said receivers
are adapted to convert said received electromagnetic radiation to a
signal, and further comprising a computer operatively associated
with said receiver(s) adapted to receive said signals and to
convert said signals into location(s) of said emitter(s) in a
defined three dimensional volume..Iaddend.
Description
This invention relates to improved emitters of electromagnetic
rays. It more particularly refers to such emitters that are more
nearly perfect point sources of electromagnetic rays than have been
available in the prior art. It also refers to a novel method of
determining the location of points in three dimensional space using
such nearly perfect point sources of electromagnetic radiation.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The electromagnetic rays to which this invention refers are often,
but not necessarily, in the viable spectrum. The substantially
point source emitters of this invention are suited to be disposed
on a supporting object, of known size and shape, whose position and
orientation are being determined in a three dimensional coordinate
system from a determination of the locations of these emitters in
the same coordinate system. They may also be disposed on one or
more stationary and/or moving objects, of known size and shape,
whose position(s) and orientation(s) and being tracked as it moves
in space within a three dimensional coordinate system. In this use
as a position and orientation determinant, the emitter is seen by a
plurality of electromagnetic ray receptors, which are generally
referred to herein as cameras.
The straight ray lines between a plurality of either the
emitter(s), or the camera(s), or both, can be compared to straight
reference lines to thus form a plurality of angles from which
geometric information is obtained. This geometric information can,
in turn, be used to determine the precise location(s) of the
emitter(s) in space, and from these emitter locations, if the shape
and size of the object are known, the position and orientation of
the object on which the emitter(s) reside can be determined
geometrically. Since the location of the emitter(s) can be tracked
substantially continuously, or at least very frequently, movements
of the object on which they are disposed can be tracked. The more
frequently the locations of the emitters are determined, the more
precise is the movement tracking ability of the system. Further,
the smaller and less variant the emitter source of the
electromagnetic rays, the more accurately can its location be
determined. That is, the closer the emitter assembles a point
source, which is in the same apparent location .[.is.]. .Iadd.in
.Iaddend.space regardless of the angle from which it is viewed by
the camera(s), the more accurate can its locations be determined in
a three dimensional coordinate system. It follows that the more
accurate is the determination of the location of the point sources,
the more accurate is the determination of the position(s) and
orientation(s) of the object(s) supporting the emitters.
Systems for tracking or determining the position and orientation of
objects in space by means of measuring the angles intersected by
beams of emitted electromagnetic radiation, either between two such
beams, or between one such beam and a reference beam or line, are
known. Reference is made to U.S. patent application Ser. No.
08/317,805, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,170, the entirety of which is
incorporated herein by reference, which discloses a system for
determining the spatial position and orientation of the object, by
means of determining the location of emitters of electromagnetic
rays which are disposed on its surface, using electro-optical
sensors. In order to improve their accuracy, there is a desire for
these emitters to more closely approximate or resemble a point
source of emitted radiation.
As referred to herein, a point source emitter(s) are tiny, but
finite dimensioned, radiating (sometimes luminous) bodies. These
emitters, may themselves be the object that is being tracked.
Alternatively, they may be of a size which is comparable to the
size of the object on which they are disposed. However, in most
applications, the emitters of this invention are usually (of) much
smaller than the size of the object on which they are disposed.
Commonly, these emitters are many orders of magnitude smaller than
the volume of the three dimensional space in which the object is
being located or tracked. Thus, in relation to the volume of space
in which the tracked object may be moving, the emitter can be
considered to have insignificant dimensions. Because of its small
size, and without considering the particular emitter shapes
described by the practice of this invention, the shape of the
emitter can also be considered to be of no practical consequence.
However, the emitters are preferably symmetrical and, ideally,
should be spherical, or at least approaching spherical.
Various electro-optical methods have been described in the prior
art to determine the location of a point-like emitter of
electromagnetic energy within a three-dimensional (3-d) volume
relative to some reference coordinate system. If there are multiple
such emitters mounted at known locations on a substantially rigid
object, determining the location coordinates for each emitter in
the reference system can enable the determination of the position
and orientation of the object, and therefore, if the size and shape
of the object are known, the location of any particular point on
the object can be determined in relation to the reference
system.
One such method employs multiple angle-measuring optical sensors,
wherein multiple sensors are used to determine the location of one
or more emitters. The locations of a plurality of electromagnetic
energy emitters may be determined with respect to one, two or three
angular dimensions. With the plurality of electromagnetic energy
sensors (cameras) appropriately situated in known or determinable
locations within a coordinate, the 3-dimensional coordinates of the
emitter(s) can be determined relative to the coordinates system
with a significant degree of accuracy.
For example, each of two or more spaced-apart standard video
cameras, situated at one or more known spatial positions,
respectively, within a three dimensional space defined by some
reference coordinate system, can observe the elevation and azimuth
angles of the image of an infrared light emitting diode (LED) with
respect to the local optical and mechanical axes, of each camera.
An appropriately programmed electronic computer with appropriate
software (both of which are per se conventional as regards the
instant invention) can convert those angles and the position
coordinates of the cameras into 3-dimensional rectangular
coordinates of the location of each LED emitter with respect to
each camera and therefore with respect to the reference coordinate
system as a whole. Alternatively, a plurality of two or three or
more, optical angular position sensors, for example, situated
appropriately with respect to each other and at known, or
determinable, positions in the coordinate system, can measure the
location of each LED emitter. This operation of determining the
three dimensional coordinates of a point radiating source is
referred to as digitizing that point in space.
A number of such electromagnetic sensors have been described in
published literature and have been used in spaced apart pairs or
triples to determine the location of an electromagnetic radiation
emitter in 3-dimensional space. A commercially available example is
the FlashPoint 5000 system, manufactured by Image Guided
Technologies of Boulder, Colo. That and other examples of systems
using linear (one-dimensional) detectors are described in the
following references to the state of the prior art:
FlashPoint 5000 Users Manual; Image Guided Technologies, Inc.,
Boulder, Colo., 1996.
H. Fuchs, J. Duran, B. Johnson, and Zvi. M. Kedem; "Acquisition and
Modeling of Human Body Form Data", Proc. SPIE, v. 166, 1978, p
94-102.
Jean-Claude Reymond, Jean-Luc Hidalgo; A System for monitoring the
movements of one or more point sources of luminous radiation, U.S.
Pat. No. 4,209,254, Jun. 24, 1980.
Y. Yamashita, N. Suzuki, M. Oshima; "Three-Dimensional Stereometric
Measurement System Using Optical Scanners, Cylindrical Lenses, and
Line Sensors", Proc. SPIE, v. 361, 1983, p. 67-73.
F. Mesqui, F. Kaeser, and P. Fischer; "real-time, non-invasive
recording and 3-d display of the functional movements of an
arbitrary mandible point", SPIE Biostereometrics 602 (1985) p
77-84.
Sharon S. Welch, Kevin J. Shelton, and James I. Clemmons; A Optical
position measurement for a large gap magnetic suspension system,
Proc. of the 37th International Instrumentation Symposium, San
Diego, May 5-9, 1991, p. 163-182.
Waldean A. Schultz; A Method and apparatus for three-dimensional
non-contact shape sensing, U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,877, issued Mar. 30,
1993.
Farhad Daghighian; A Optical position sensing with duolateral
photoeffect diodes, Sensors, 1994 November, P. 31-39. Examples of
systems using two-dimensional detectors are found in the following
references, which reflect the state of the prior art:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,673 by Rose et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,788 by Baumrind et al.
Provided there is a way to distinguish between the emissions of
multiple electromagnetic energy emitters (for example LED's) that
are mounted on a substantially rigid object, of known size and
shape, the position and orientation of the object can be
geometrically derived from the determined location of the several
emitters. To at least a limited extent, even the shape of an
unknown object can be determined if a sufficient number of LED
emitters are attached to each of its .[.surface.]. .Iadd.surfaces
.Iaddend.(see for example the '788 patent cited above). The more
complicated the shape of the object, the more emitters are required
to define its shape. Each emitter may be distinguished by a unique
emission wavelength, by its relative location in some unambiguous
geometrical pattern of emitters, or by its ordinal position in a
serial emitting sequence. It is possible that other means of
distinguishing between several emitters are known or will be
discovered in time.
To date, in the field of tracking objects moving in space, the
electromagnetic energy emitters, whose locations are to be
determined, have usually been visible or infrared, light emitting
diodes (LED's). Other wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation, in
addition to the visible spectrum, are also well suited to use in
this environment. The specific wavelength of the emitted radiation
is not a limitation on the practice or scope of this invention.
Unfortunately, a conventional LED, which radiates in any given,
predetermined wavelength, has several drawbacks to its use as a
point source electromagnetic energy emitter. At the present time,
electromagnetic energy emitting, semiconductor chips (LED's) are
conventionally disposed in a protective, substantially transparent
epoxy envelope. Protecting the semiconductor chip, and its
electrical connections, are extremely important. However, .[.One.].
.Iadd.one .Iaddend.drawback of this necessary epoxy envelope is
that it refracts the light rays that are being emitted by the chip,
which shifts the apparent optical location of the chip. Viewing the
chip through the epoxy envelope from different angles generally
shifts its apparent location because of this diffraction.
A second drawback is that the LED semiconductor chip, which may be
as large as 1 millimeter square and is usually mounted on a
partially reflecting surface, does not radiate uniformly, even
without the protective epoxy coating. This can cause an apparent
shift in the location of the centroid of illumination as the
cameras' view of the chip is rotated about the geometrical centroid
of the chip. Furthermore, the chip typically has attached to its
top, an electrical contact wire or metallic strip, which partially
eclipses (or reflects) the light from part of the chip and
introduces asymmetry into the radiation pattern. These effects
limit the accuracy and repeatability of precisely locating the chip
optically, particularly if the goal is to determine a coordinate
that has a smaller margin of error than the size of the chip.
A third drawback occurs when the LED's are sequentially flashed as
a way to unambiguously identify individual LED's. The flashing may
generate electromagnetic interference unless the waveform of the
current flow through each LED is carefully controlled Even in that
case, the wires to the LED's tend to act as antennae, transmitting
out other electronic noise from the control box, which in practice
generates high frequency control signals which are often picked up
by the electromagnetic sensor assembly.
A fourth drawback exists when the LED's are used within a surgical
(medical environment. The electrical current driving each LED must
be very well isolated from ground, from the patient, and from all
other electrical currents, including the electrical currents
driving other LED's and/or other functions. Failure to completely
isolate these electric currents can cause serious difficulties and
even injury.
A fifth drawback exists when the LED's are used within a medical
nuclear magnetic resonance imager (MRI). The metal electrical
leads, the currents flowing through them, and the metallic case or
heat sink (if used) deforms the MRI=s magnetic fields and thereby
can warp the image of the patient.
A sixth problem occurs in designing a practical probe, a surgical
instrument, or other such object, with LED's mounted on it. To
reduce maintenance costs, the design should allow a burned-out LED
to be replaced (and preferably to be replaced easily). Otherwise
every time an LED becomes dysfunctional, the whole object/probe
must be discarded and replaced. Generally, making the LED
replaceable means using some kind of socket to house the LED's,
which takes up additional space on the object and increases the
difficulty of maintaining accurate placement of the energy emitting
chip. That is, there must be a means to insure that a replacement
LED chip is positioned at exactly the same effective location as
the original and that all other relevant characteristics remain
unchanged. If this is not accomplished, the system must be
recalibrated every time an LED is replaced.
An LED as a generator of light is not a problem. In fact, an LED
can be flashed much faster than an incandescent source. An LED is
nearly monochromatic, allowing the position measurement sensors to
use a narrow-band filter to cut out most interfering background
illumination LED's are inexpensive and have a long life. A laser
diode, which is a very special kind of LED, is especially good for
coupling light into an optical fiber. These characteristics, and
the present lack of a suitable alternative light source, suggest
that LED's, or the special case laser diodes, can be expected to
continue to play a role in the determination of the position and
orientation of objects in space. Therefore, solutions to the above
problems must be determined.
Optical fibers, or bundles of optical fibers, are a good way to
transport light from a source to a destination. However, they
possess a major drawback to their use as light source, in the types
of system that are used for determining the locations of
electromagnetic emitters, such as those described above. The
drawback is that when the optical fiber end is considered to be the
light source, the cone of light emitted from the end of a fiber (or
fiber bundle) has an inconveniently narrow apex, or conical, angle.
For the purposes of tracking an object which may have an arbitrary
orientation, the light emitters on the object should ideally
radiate uniformly over at least a substantial portion of a
.[.fall.]. .Iadd.full .Iaddend.hemisphere, preferably at least the
entire full hemisphere, and ideally, approaching a substantial
whole of a sphere.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an important object of this invention to provide a
new practical and effective way to produce substantially point
source emissions of electromagnetic ray energy from locations on
objects to be tracked in three dimensional space by an
electro-optical location determination system.
Another objective of the present invention is to improve how
relatively tiny point source emitters of electromagnetic ray energy
are implemented, particularly where the locations of the emitters
are to be tracked in three-dimensional space using an
electro-optical position determining system.
A further object of this invention is to provide means for
ameliorating each of the drawbacks listed above.
Other and additional objects of this invention will become apparent
from a consideration of this entire specification including the
drawing hereof.
This invention will be described through the example of the use of
multiple emitters of light attached to a probe, which is to be used
for pointing purposes in relation to a given three dimensional
space (a 3-d volume). It is to be understood that this descriptive
reference is only for illustration purposes. The object having
electromagnetic ray emitters disposed thereon could be any
objective, or a plurality of objects, whose position(s) and
orientations are to be tracked within a 3-d volume with respect to
a coordinate system. Examples of such objects are a robot arm, an
observer's head in a virtual reality display system, a 3-d
computer, a mouse, a surgical instrument, a patient on which the
instrument is being used, or the like, or even combinations of such
objects.
Each emitter of the present invention is suitably illustrated by a
laser diode or LED, but other light sources can be used. Suitably,
a lens couples the electromagnetic rays emerging from the light
source into one end of an optical fiber bundle, and an optical
element (the substantial point source electromagnetic emitter of
this invention) at the other end of the fiber or fiber bundle
suitably disperses the light into a very wide and substantially
uniform emission pattern. Specifically, it is this dispersing
optical element on the end of an optical fiber, and its use in the
context of 3-d object tracking, to which this invention refers.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The accompanying figures, which form a part of the specification,
illustrate a preferred embodiment of the present invention and some
variations thereof. Together with the textual description, these
figures serve to explain the principles of the invention. A
specific reference number in the figures consistently refers to the
same component of the invention throughout all the figures and in
the textual description.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an otherwise conventional system that
can adopt the use of the instant invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a probe, light source and optical
fiber light guides;
FIG. 3a is a plan view of one aspect of a point source emitter
according to this invention;
FIG. 3b is a perspective view of one embodiment of this
invention;
FIGS. 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are perspective views of other embodiments
of this invention.
The components of the conventional digitizing and mensuration
system that are used in one aspect of the invention as shown in
FIG. 1 include: an object 12 to be tracked in a 3-d volume relative
to a reference coordinate system 10. The particular object to be
digitized in a 3-d volume relative to a reference coordination
system. One example of this object that is depicted in the figures
is a stylus or probe with a tip 14 which may be used for pointing
purposes. In FIG. 1, emitters 18 are shown in their conventional
configuration. In FIG. 2, two laser diodes 20 are shown as the
generators of light (the light sources). This invention
contemplates any number of light sources, but only two light
sources are shown in order to keep the figures uncomplicated.
Lenses 22 couple the light from the corresponding sources 20 into
one end of the optical fiber (or bundles of fibers) 24 which serve
to transmit the light to the emitters 26. Each generic optical
emitter element 26, disposed at the other end of the fiber, or
fiber bundle, disperses the light into a very wide radiation
pattern 28. Optical elements 26a (specific and illustrative forms
of the generic optical element 26 that have been shown in FIG. 2)
shown in FIGS. 3a and 3b are, respectively, a diffusing sphere and
a diffusing plate. Another optical element 26b, shown in FIG. 4, is
a tapered light pipe or image guide of special configuration
sufficient to emit light dispersed in a substantially hemispherical
pattern. A further optical element 26c, shown in FIG. 5, is a
special concave lens.
Exemplary rays of light 28 are radiated outward by each of the
optical elements, a few of which are .[.Aseen.apprxeq..].
.Iadd.seen .Iaddend.by the sensor assembly 30 (see FIG. 1). A
support electronics system 32 powers and controls the sensor
assembly 30 and the light sources. The support electronics 32 also
processes the input from the sensor assembly 30. An otherwise
conventional electronic computer 38 receives the input of the data
from the support electronics 32. From these data, the computer 38
calculates the XYZ coordinates of the location of each optical
element, 18 or 26, etc, which appears as a substantial point source
emitter of light. From the thus determined coordinates of each
emitter, and the known geometry of the probe, the computer 32 also
computes the position and orientation of the probe and therefore
determines the location of the probe tip. It also determines a unit
3-d vector describing the longitudinal direction of the probe
(which is one aspect of the orientation of the probe). If more than
two non-collinear electromagnetic energy ray emitters are disposed
on the probe, a transverse 3-d vector can also be computed to
describe its rotational orientation (or its A roll angles). The
various figures are numbered throughout as follows:
TABLE-US-00001 10 reference 3-d coordinate system (rectangular) 12
object to be tracked (such as a probe, as shown) 14 tip of probe 18
conventional optical emitters 20a, . . . laser diodes 22a, . . .
coupling lenses 24a, . . . optical fibers or bundles of optical
fibers 26 optical element (general) 26a optical element: diffusing
sphere or plate 26b optical element: tapered light pipe 26c optical
element: concave lens 30 sensor assembly of position measurement
system 32 emitter and sensor support electronics
The invention will be described below with reference to the figures
and the numbered individual components therein. In the description
below, the specific construction, the number, arrangement of the
components are all intended for simplicity of explanation. Other
construction, number and arrangements of the same functional
components constitute, encompassed alternative embodiments of the
instant described method and apparatus.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, note should be taken that the
present invention can use substantially the same supporting
equipment as was used in prior art systems. This equipment consists
of an electro-optical sensor assembly 30 (e.g. the camera array),
an electronic control box 32, and an electronic computer 38. The
only difference between the support components used in this
invention and those used in prior art systems is that in the prior
art the control box 32 usually generated electrical pulses to fire
the LED's 18, that are shown in FIG. 1 to have been previously
disposed on the probe 12 (or another such object to be tracked). In
the present invention the same electric pulses fire the laser
diodes 20 of FIG. 2, which are, at least in a preferred mode,
preferably disposed remote from the object 12 being tracked. The
laser diodes 20 are preferably located in the control box 32 itself
in order to limit their emission of spurious electro-magnetic
radiation. Alternatively, the laser diodes 20 can be housed in a
separate box or even in the handle of the probe 12 itself. Although
there may be some disadvantages to situating the light sources
within the probe body because stray radiation might interfere with
other surrounding operations as aforesaid, there is a distinct
economic advantage to situating the ultimate light sources within
the probe handle. The advantage of this option is that a probe of
the prior art could be upgraded to a probe of the present invention
without requiring any change to the supporting equipment. This may
be an advantage in connection with some existing systems,
particularly where cost of upgrading is a factor. In either case,
the operation of the system of this aspect of this invention is
substantially the same regardless of where the ultimate light
source is located. In a preferred embodiment, the ultimate light
source is remote from the emitter, but it does not absolutely have
to be so. In this regard, the instant invention enables owners of
prior systems to upgrade them to the system of this invention
without substantial remodeling costs.
Just as in the prior art, the laser diodes 20 can be sequentially
activated (flashed) and there light transmitted to their respective
emitters according to this invention, and thereby these emitters
will flash sequentially and they can then be located individually.
Alternatively, each of the laser diodes 20 can be controlled to
operate continuously, rather than sequentially. In this aspect of
this invention, each laser diode will be set to generate different
wavelengths of light rays 28, respectively, in order to uniquely
identify each of the point source emitters of light 26.
Alternatively still, the optical elements 26 can be disposed in
such a geometric pattern that the optical elements are
unambiguously identified by their location (such as at the vertices
of an irregular polygon or polyhedron).
In any case, the sensor assembly will sense these emissions and
will return raw data of the location of each emitter through the
control box 32 to computer 38 which is running a software program
to compute XYZ coordinate relative to the coordinate system 10 form
the raw sensor data. In practice the raw data from the sensor
assembly 30 could be analog data which the control box 32 could
convert to digital data. The final 3-d coordinate computation would
been done by the computer 38 which could be a standard personal
computer or workstation. Of course, this invention is not limited
to the specific computer that is chosen for implementation of the
mensuration aspects hereof.
The sensor assembly 30, the supporting control electronics 32, and
the calculations in the computer 38 are not substantially different
from the prior art. Therefore, no further details about them will
be discussed. They could be off-the-shelf, commercially available
systems, and therefore they are disclosed herein only by reference
to the above mentioned technical papers and patents.
Four alternative embodiments of the optical emitter elements will
be presented. Each operates slightly differently, but the effect is
the same: light from a suitable source, such as a laser diode, is
transmitted through the optical fiber to a suitable emitter, and
then radiates in a much wider cone than it would have from the
fiber alone without the intervention of the optical emitter
elements. Furthermore, the sensor sees the effective point from
which the light appears to come is tiny, and its centroid does not
vary with the orientation angle of the optical emitter element with
respect to the sensor assembly. If the light sources, for example
laser diodes, or LED's, are housed in the control box 32 and it is
well shielded against spurious electromagnetic radiation, no, or at
least only a very small amount of spurious electromagnetic
radiation will escape, and only the intended light will be
transmitted inside the optical fiber(s). The probe can be designed
to be completely neutral electrically and magnetically. Therefore,
the probe can be designed to be wholly non-metallic. Lastly, in the
configuration of this invention, the optical fibers and optical
emitter elements do not burn out and can be made to be as small as,
or even smaller than, LED light sources. In addition, these light
emitter elements used in this invention operate directly and
without sockets. On the other hand, the hand, the laser diodes,
which are subject to burning out and need to be replaced, can be
situated where they can be readily replaced as necessary (such as
inside the control box 32. In a less preferred embodiment of this
invention, they can be disposed in the handle of the probe itself).
The location of the actual light which is the origin of the
radiation being emitted by the practice of this invention can be
made by the system designer without affecting the practice of this
invention. It is to be understood that in a preferred embodiment of
this invention, the electrically driven light source is spatially
removed from the probe itself.
The optical fibers 24 themselves can be any diameter, such as for
example 400 microns. That is, they might be finer and lighter than
the wire pairs that were previously used to power the light
sources. Yet, they can be large enough to simplify the problem of
efficiently coupling in the light from the laser diodes 20 to the
optical fiber or fiber bundle. Because the distances traversed by
these optical fibers 24 are so short, and the information they
carry is so simple, the fibers 24 can sustain higher internal
losses than long-distance communication fibers. For example, they
could be inexpensive plastic, such as polymethyl methacrylate,
instead of the more expensive and lower loss silica.
A first embodiment of the critical optical element 26 of this
invention is shown in FIG. 3a. In this case the light is uniformly
and widely dispersed by means of a tiny diffusing sphere 26a which
is optically coupled to the end of the optical fiber. This is the
preferred embodiment of this invention because it can very
uniformly disperse light omni-directionally (in substantially all
directions). Such diffusing spheres are, for example, manufactured
by Rare Earth Medical, Inc. (West Yarmouth, Mass.) for use in laser
oblation surgery (but not for geometrical localization purposes).
Such diffusing spheres are transparent epoxy balls with minute
particles of reflective powder suspended inside. The combination of
light reflecting off the particles and refracting around them
scatters the light in all directions quite uniformly. The only
drawback to this embodiment occurs when a sphere is partially
eclipsed by the handle of the probe (or other such object). In this
.[.Asunset.apprxeq..]. .Iadd.sunset .Iaddend.situation, the
centroid of the visible portion of the square will shift away from
the geometrical center of the sphere.
The sunset situation can be eliminated by using a planar diffuser,
such as the one shown in the configuration depicted in FIG. 3b
rather than a sphere as shown in FIG. 3a, and insuring that its
plane is tangent to the curve of the probe handle. If the planar
diffuser 26a is viewed from a normal direction (that is, head-on),
the narrow cone of light emitted from the optical fiber 24 creates
a bright luminous circular disk on the diffuser 26a. As this disk
is viewed from larger angles from the normal, the disk appears as
an ellipse, but the centroid remains in the middle. The light
intensity distribution from this configuration is Lambertian; that
is, most of the light is radiated .Iadd.in .Iaddend.a direction
that is normal to the plate, and less is dispensed at larger angles
with respect to the normal direction. Mathematically, the intensity
is proportional to the cosine of the viewing angle, as measured
with respect to the normal direction. For example, the intensity
falls to zero as the viewing angle approaches 90 degrees from
normal.
A second embodiment of the optical element 26 of this invention is
shown in FIG. 4. In this case the light is widely dispersed by
means of a special optical fiber bundle 26b called an image guide
or a light pipe. It is preferably tapered to concentrate the light
into a smaller spot and it has a high numerical index to widen the
emission angle of the cone of radiation. Such fiber bundles are
available from Collimated Holes, Inc., (Campbell, Calif.).
In any embodiment of this invention, the optical fiber bundles may
be randomly organized and need not preserve image geometry because
they are only being used as light transmitters. If the fibers of
the light pipe have a high index of refraction (a numerical
aperture value near 1.0), the light will be radiated through out
substantially, a full hemispherical pattern. Even though the
intensity of light diminishes with the cosine of the angle of the
direction of radiation (measured relative to the optical axis of
the fibers, far more light is radiated in directions which are
substantially parallel to the axis of the fibers and much less at
steeper angles) Even so, there is sufficient radiated light to be
"seen" by the camera array. This is shown in FIG. 4, as a higher
concentration of rays 28 in the forward direction (that is
substantially parallel to the axis of the fiber than in a direction
normal to the fiber axis.
Note that in the embodiment shown in this figure, the whole optical
fiber 24 and the light pipe 26b could be one and the same element
if they were properly designed. That is, the optical fiber 24 may
simply be a long flexible light guide with a large (wide) numerical
aperture at its end. Conventional optical fibers have not been
found to produce satisfactory large conical emission angles,
without first being modified. .[.Therefore, this aspect of this
large conical emission angles, without first being modified..].
Therefore, this aspect of this invention has been developed
specifically to overcome this deficiency.
Note should be taken that, in the embodiment shown in this FIG. 4,
the optical fiber 24 and the coupling lens 22 could be omitted and
the light source 20 could be placed directly within the probe
directly behind the optical element 26. While this does not avoid
creating electronic and magnetic interference (because an
electrical cable to the probe would then be required), it still
overcomes some of the disadvantages listed in the section of this
specification captioned. Background of the Invention. However, even
though this alternative is considered to be within the scope of
this invention, this is not a preferred embodiment of this
invention. In this regard, note should be taken of the
configuration shown in FIG. 8.
A third embodiment of the optical element 26 is shown in FIGS. 5
and 6. FIG. 5 is an oblique view and FIG. 6 is a cross-section view
showing in better detail the action of the lens of this embodiment
on the rays of light. In this case, the light is widely dispersed
over a substantially complete hemisphere by means of a tiny concave
lens 26c. The lens is designed to produce a tiny virtual image of
the end of the optical fiber which is visible even at very extreme
angles. That is, the light is not only radiated in the "forward and
near forward directions", that is substantially parallel to the
axis of the transmitting optical fiber, but it is not radiated in
directions which approach being parallel to the planar surface of
the lens, that is substantially transverse to the axis of the
optical fiber or fiber bundle. Note that if the end(s) of the
transmitting optical fiber is rounded, or a convex lens or
optically transparent ball is placed over the end of the fiber, the
emitted light will diverge somewhat, but the angle of the cone of
emitted light does not exceed approximately 90 degrees, which is
still too narrow to be practical without further modification by
the further use of a lens of this embodiment. For this reason, it
is most preferred to use a concave lens. In this regard, a rounded
end of the optical fiber coupled with a concave lens will be quite
effective.
A fourth embodiment of the optical element 26 of this invention is
shown in FIG. 7. In this embodiment, the light coming out of the
transmitting optical fibers is reflected off of a tiny curved
(hyperbolic) mirror 26d. This is the reflective optical counterpart
to the refractive element 26c shown in other figures. The advantage
of this arrangement is that the light can be spread over a wide
annular ring of angles. The drawback to this arrangement is that
the optical fiber or the mirror itself eclipses the reflected light
at angles near the optical axis (both forward and backward).
The above description has presented four specific embodiments of
the operationally substantially at least hemispherical optical
radiating elements of this invention. Each of these embodiments is
illustrative of the instant invented means of making optical fibers
practical for use in an electro-optical system for tracking an
object, such as a probe or pointer, with two or more point source
light emitters. The optical elements facilitate increased accuracy,
nearly perfect electrical and magnetic isolation, and no generation
of spurious radiation. The passive optical fibers on the object
itself potentially reduce the cost enough that disposable surgical
probes would be economically feasible. Further, the optical fibers
are more robust than LED's and are therefore more suitable for
autoclaving in medical environments. Lastly, the optical light
source can be a laser (diode or gas) which has the potential for
generating more light than the simple LED used in the prior
art.
While this invention has been described above with reference to
several preferred embodiments, a person of ordinary skill in the
art should be able to readily visualize alternative embodiments
which do not materially depart from the scope of this invention.
Therefore, the scope and content of this invention are not limited
by the foregoing description. Rather, the scope and content are to
be defined by the following claims.
* * * * *