Towards electromagnetic tracking of J-tip guidewire: precision assessment of sensors during bending tests

Electromagnetic image guidance systems have emerged as more secure methods to improve the performance of several catheter-based minimally invasive surgical procedures. Small sensors are incorporated within catheters and guidewires in order to track and guide in real-time their position and orientation with a reduced intra- procedural radiation exposure and contrast agent injections. One of the major limits of these systems is related to the unsuitable sensorization strategy for the J-tip guidewires, due to the structural constraints of the sensor coils available on the market. In this work we present preliminary results on a sensors bending test in static conditions to assess whether and when the precision of the sensor remains unchanged and/or deteriorates. In the worst case, the highest standard deviation is less than 0.10 mm.