Real-time 3D ultrasound is an emerging imaging modality, offering full volumetric view of the anatomy without ionizing radiation. A spatial tracking system facilitates its integration with image-guided interventions, but such integration requires an accurate calibration between the spatial tracker and the ultrasound volume. In this paper, a rapid calibration technique for real-time 3D ultrasound is presented, comprising a plane-based calibration phantom, an algorithm for automatic fiducial extraction from ultrasound volumes, and a numerical solution for deriving calibration parameters involving anisotropic scaling. Using a magnetic tracking system and a commercial transesophageal echocardiogram real-time 3D ultrasound probe, this technique achieved a mean Target Registration Error of 2.9mm in a laboratory setting.

Date Published: 12 March 2014
PDF: 7 pages
Proc. SPIE 9036, Medical Imaging 2014: Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling, 90361Z (12 March 2014); doi: 10.1117/12.2043080

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 9036:
Medical Imaging 2014: Image-Guided Procedures, Robotic Interventions, and Modeling
Ziv R. Yaniv; David R. Holmes III, Editor(s)