title: Anser EMT: the first open-source electromagnetic tracking platform for image-guided interventions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Electromagnetic tracking is the gold standard for instrument tracking and navigation in the clinical setting without line of sight. Whilst clinical platforms exist for interventional bronchoscopy and neurosurgical navigation, the limited flexibility and high costs of electromagnetic tracking (EMT) systems for research investigations mitigate against a better understanding of the technology's characterisation and limitations. The Anser project provides an open-source implementation for EMT with particular application to image-guided interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  This work provides implementation schematics for our previously reported EMT system which relies on low-cost acquisition and demodulation techniques using both National Instruments and Arduino hardware alongside MATLAB support code. The system performance is objectively compared to other commercial tracking platforms using the Hummel assessment protocol.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Positional accuracy of 1.14 mm and angular rotation accuracy of [Formula: see text] are reported. Like other EMT platforms, Anser is susceptible to tracking errors due to eddy current and ferromagnetic distortion. The system is compatible with commercially available EMT sensors as well as the Open Network Interface for image-guided therapy (OpenIGTLink) for easy communication with visualisation and medical imaging toolkits such as MITK and 3D Slicer.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  By providing an open-source platform for research investigations, we believe that novel and collaborative approaches can overcome the limitations of current EMT technology.
authors.affiliation: IHU Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France. h.jaeger@umail.ucc.ie.|University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. h.jaeger@umail.ucc.ie.
authors.forename: Herman Alexander
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Jaeger
authors.affiliation: Division of Computer Assisted Medical Interventions, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Alfred Michael
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Franz
authors.affiliation: , Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Kilian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: O'Donoghue
authors.affiliation: Division of Computer Assisted Medical Interventions, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Seitel
authors.affiliation: IHU Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.|University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Trauzettel
authors.affiliation: Division of Computer Assisted Medical Interventions, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maier-Hein
authors.affiliation: IHU Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.|University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Pádraig
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cantillon-Murphy
mesh_terms: D055590:Electromagnetic Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D025321:Surgery, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Electromagnetic tracking; Image guidance; Image-guided surgery; Open source; OpenIGTLink