• Skip to main content
  • Skip to header right navigation
  • Skip to site footer

Log in
  • Search
    • Search All SAGES Content
    • Search SAGES Guidelines
    • Search the Video Library
    • Search the Image Library
    • Search the Abstracts Archive
www.sages.org

SAGES

Reimagining surgical care for a healthier world

  • Home
    • Search
    • SAGES Home
    • SAGES Foundation Home
  • About
    • Awards
    • Who Is SAGES?
    • Leadership
    • Our Mission
    • Advocacy
    • Committees
      • SAGES Board of Governors
      • Officers and Representatives of the Society
      • Committee Chairs and Co-Chairs
      • Committee Rosters
      • SAGES Past Presidents
  • Meetings
    • SAGES NBT Innovation Weekend
    • SAGES Annual Meeting
      • 2026 Scientific Session Call for Abstracts
      • 2026 Emerging Technology Call for Abstracts
    • CME Claim Form
    • SAGES Past, Present, Future, and Related Meeting Information
    • SAGES Related Meetings & Events Calendar
  • Join SAGES!
    • Membership Application
    • Membership Benefits
    • Membership Types
      • Requirements and Applications for Active Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Affiliate Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Associate Active Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for Candidate Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements and Applications for International Membership in SAGES
      • Requirements for Medical Student Membership
    • Member Spotlight
    • Give the Gift of SAGES Membership
  • Patients
    • Join the SAGES Patient Partner Network (PPN)
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Healthy Sooner – Patient Information for Minimally Invasive Surgery
    • Choosing Wisely – An Initiative of the ABIM Foundation
    • All in the Recovery: Colorectal Cancer Alliance
    • Find A SAGES Surgeon
  • Publications
    • Clinical / Practice / Training Guidelines, Statements, and Standards of Practice
    • Sustainability in Surgical Practice
    • SAGES Stories Podcast
    • Patient Information Brochures
    • Patient Information From SAGES
    • TAVAC – Technology and Value Assessments
    • Surgical Endoscopy and Other Journal Information
    • SAGES Manuals
    • MesSAGES – The SAGES Newsletter
    • COVID-19 Archive
    • Troubleshooting Guides
  • Education
    • Wellness Resources – You Are Not Alone
    • Avoid Opiates After Surgery
    • SAGES Subscription Catalog
    • SAGES TV: Home of SAGES Surgical Videos
    • The SAGES Safe Cholecystectomy Program
    • Masters Program
    • Resident and Fellow Opportunities
      • MIS Fellows Course
      • SAGES Robotics Residents and Fellows Courses
      • SAGES Free Resident Webinar Series
      • Fluorescence-Guided Surgery Course for Fellows
      • Fellows’ Career Development Course
    • SAGES S.M.A.R.T. Enhanced Recovery Program
    • SAGES @ Cine-Med Products
      • SAGES Top 21 Minimally Invasive Procedures Every Practicing Surgeon Should Know
      • SAGES Pearls Step-by-Step
      • SAGES Flexible Endoscopy 101
    • SAGES OR SAFETY Video Activity
  • Opportunities
    • Fellowship Recognition Opportunities
    • SAGES Advanced Flexible Endoscopy Area of Concentrated Training (ACT) SEAL
    • Multi-Society Foregut Fellowship Certification
    • Research Opportunities
    • FLS
    • FES
    • FUSE
    • Jobs Board
    • SAGES Go Global: Global Affairs and Humanitarian Efforts
  • OWLS/FLS
You are here: Home / Abstracts / GPS Lap Ultrasound: Embedding Electromagnetic Sensing to Laparoscopic Ultrasound

GPS Lap Ultrasound: Embedding Electromagnetic Sensing to Laparoscopic Ultrasound

Xinyang Liu, Timothy D Kane, Raj Shekhar. Children’s National Health System

Objective: Computer-assisted surgery (CAS) is increasingly an integral part of modern patient care. To enable CAS, it is important to localize imaging devices and surgical tools with respect to one another and the patient. This localization in the 3D space, referred to as tracking, is a key component of CAS. For computer-assisted laparoscopic surgery, tracking of the laparoscopic ultrasound (LUS) probe is one of the first steps. Laparoscopic ultrasound is indeed a commonly used imaging tool to visualize anatomic structures and surgical targets internal to organs. The purpose of this project was to perform the necessary engineering to track the articulating imaging tip of the LUS probe for CAS applications.

Methods: Our solution is based on electromagnetic (EM) tracking, a real-time tracking method which reports the location and angulation of a small (~1-mm diameter) wired sensor inside a 3D working volume with a magnetic field created by a field generator. Unlike optical tracking which has the line-of-sight requirement, EM tracking is suitable for tracking the flexible imaging tip of the LUS probe. A trivial way to apply EM tracking to the LUS probe is to affix the sensor externally on the imaging tip. However, this solution will inevitably create many challenges for clinical use. The GPS LUS, our unique innovation, features a small EM sensor embedded inside the imaging tip, as illustrated in the figure. To achieve this, we disassembled an LUS probe, carefully ran the sensor wire from the handle to the imaging tip, and permanently fixed the sensor on the tip. The probe was then re-assembled and sealed. The imaging tip of the integrated probe may be flexed normally and the complete transducer may be sterilized by autoclave.

Results: As a preliminary evaluation of tracking accuracy, we attached a second sensor externally on the imaging tip of the GPS LUS probe. If the readings of the two sensors are correct, we should expect a constant offset between the two sensors. We recorded the readings of the sensors at various probe positions with various articulations of the tip. The standard deviations of the measured offsets between the two sensors were 0.05 mm for location and 0.12° for angulation, which are sufficiently small.

Conclusion: By equipping the LUS probe with an integrated spatial sensor, we have developed a GPS-like technology for enabling laparoscopic CAS applications that use LUS. For example, by tracking the LUS probe and the laparoscope, the ultrasound image may be overlaid on the laparoscopic video in real time, creating augmented reality visualization to see both inside and around structures to be dissected. As another example, the GPS LUS probe may be used for intraoperative 3D ultrasound imaging. Piecing together ultrasound image slices and tracking data at various time points makes creating a 3D ultrasound image of the surgical anatomy possible. More thorough evaluations of the tracking accuracy of the GPS LUS probe will be conducted in the future.


Presented at the SAGES 2017 Annual Meeting in Houston, TX.

Abstract ID: 84435

Program Number: ET007

Presentation Session: Emerging Technology Session

Presentation Type: Podium

414

Share this:

  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Pocket
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky

Related


sages_adbutler_leaderboard

Hours & Info

11300 West Olympic Blvd, Suite 600
Los Angeles, CA 90064

1-310-437-0544

[email protected]

Monday – Friday
8am to 5pm Pacific Time

Find Us Around the Web!

  • Bluesky
  • X
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Copyright © 2025 · SAGES · All Rights Reserved

Important Links

Healthy Sooner: Patient Information

SAGES Guidelines, Statements, & Standards of Practice

SAGES Manuals