Type de poste : Doctorat
Laboratoire : Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Ingénieur, de l'Informatique et de l'Imagerie (ICube)
Date limite de candidature : 1 Mai 2026
Electromagnetic
tracking (EMT) is a preferred technology used in many applications to
determine, in real time, the precise position and orientation of
objects—particularly in cases where optical methods are ineffective (due
to lack of line of sight or low illumination), as is often the case in
computer-assisted surgery. It is based on the principle of
triangulation, which makes it possible to determine the object’s
position from the distance between a sensor embedded in the object and
several external magnetic field generators (FGs). Although, in theory,
three sources and one sensor are sufficient, it is often necessary to
increase the number of sources in order to improve accuracy or expand
the operational area. Since magnetic fields are spatially oriented, the
use of a 3-axis sensor also makes it possible to determine the object’s
orientation. Furthermore, multiple sensors can be integrated into a
single instrument to enhance precision and, more importantly, to
facilitate orientation estimation.
The EM3 team of the ICube laboratory, in collaboration with FHNW
(Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz), has recently developed a new tracking
system called ManaDBS, dedicated to deep brain stimulation (DBS)
surgery. This technology relies on 3-axis anisotropic magnetoresistance
(AMR) magnetic sensors and a field generator (FG) composed of four PCB
coils generating quasi-static magnetic fields. The ManaDBS system can
detect the position of a DBS electrode with 1 mm accuracy and its
orientation with 1° accuracy within a 20×20×20 cm³ volume
The main objective of this PhD is to pursue this line of research by developing, this time, a versatile system that can be applied to different types of surgical procedures.