title: An ergonomic handheld ultrasound probe providing contact forces and pose information.
abstract: This paper presents a handheld ultrasound probe which is integrated with sensors to measure force and pose (position/orientation) information. Using an integrated probe like this, one can relate ultrasound images to spatial location and create 3D ultrasound maps. The handheld device can be used by sonographers and also easily be integrated with robot arms for automated sonography. The handheld device is ergonomically designed; rapid attachment and removal of the ultrasound transducer itself is possible using easy-to-operate clip mechanisms. A cable locking mechanism reduces the impact that gravitational and other external forces have (originating from data and power supply cables connected to the probe) on our measurements. Gravitational errors introduced by the housing of the probe are compensated for using knowledge of the housing geometry and the integrated pose sensor that provides us with accurate orientation information. In this paper, we describe the handheld probe with its integrated force/pose sensors and our approach to gravity compensation. We carried out a set of experiments to verify the feasibility of our approach to obtain accurate spatial information of the handheld probe.
authors.lastname: Yohan Noh
authors.forename: R James
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Housden
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Garcia
authors.lastname: Hongbin Liu
authors.forename: Reza
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Razavi
authors.forename: Kawal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rhode
authors.forename: Kaspar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Althoefer
mesh_terms: D006804:Ergonomics; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D014159:Transducers; D014463:Ultrasonography