@InProceedings{Xia2016MICCAI,
author="<NAME>
and West, <NAME>.
and <NAME>
and Ourselin, Sebastien
and David, <NAME>.
and Desjardins, <NAME>.",
editor="Ourselin, Sebastien
and Joskowicz, Leo
and Sabuncu, <NAME>.
and Unal, Gozde
and Wells, William",
title="3D Ultrasonic Needle Tracking with a 1.5D Transducer Array for Guidance of Fetal Interventions",
booktitle="Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention --  MICCAI 2016",
year="2016",
publisher="Springer International Publishing",
address="Cham",
pages="353--361",
abstract="Ultrasound image guidance is widely used in minimally invasive procedures, including fetal surgery. In this context, maintaining visibility of medical devices is a significant challenge. Needles and catheters can readily deviate from the ultrasound imaging plane as they are inserted. When the medical device tips are not visible, they can damage critical structures, with potentially profound consequences including loss of pregnancy. In this study, we performed 3D ultrasonic tracking of a needle using a novel probe with a 1.5D array of transducer elements that was driven by a commercial ultrasound system. A fiber-optic hydrophone integrated into the needle received transmissions from the probe, and data from this sensor was processed to estimate the position of the hydrophone tip in the coordinate space of the probe. Golay coding was used to increase the signal-to-noise (SNR). The relative tracking accuracy was better than 0.4 mm in all dimensions, as evaluated using a water phantom. To obtain a preliminary indication of the clinical potential of 3D ultrasonic needle tracking, an intravascular needle insertion was performed in an in vivo pregnant sheep model. The SNR values ranged from 12 to 16 at depths of 20 to 31 mm and at an insertion angle of {\$}{\$}{\backslash}mathrm{\{}49^{\{}o{\}}{\}}{\$}{\$}relative to the probe surface normal. The results of this study demonstrate that 3D ultrasonic needle tracking with a fiber-optic hydrophone sensor and a 1.5D array is feasible in clinically realistic environments.",
isbn="978-3-319-46720-7"
}

@Article{Xia2018JoVE,
author={<NAME>
and West, <NAME>.
and Finlay, <NAME>.
and <NAME>
and Mathews, Sunish
and <NAME>
and <NAME>
and <NAME>.
and Desjardins, <NAME>.},
title={Three-Dimensional Ultrasonic Needle Tip Tracking with a Fiber-Optic Ultrasound Receiver},
journal={JoVE},
year={2018},
publisher={MyJoVE Corp},
number={138},
pages={e57207},
keywords={This Month in JoVE;Ultrasonic tracking;ultrasound imaging;coded excitation;fiber-optic hydrophone;minimally invasive surgery;image reconstruction},
abstract={Ultrasound is frequently used for guiding minimally invasive procedures, but visualizing medical devices is often challenging with this imaging modality. When visualization is lost, the medical device can cause trauma to critical tissue structures. Here, a method to track the needle tip during ultrasound image-guided procedures is presented. This method involves the use of a fiber-optic ultrasound receiver that is affixed within the cannula of a medical needle to communicate ultrasonically with the external ultrasound probe. This custom probe comprises a central transducer element array and side element arrays. In addition to conventional two-dimensional (2D) B-mode ultrasound imaging provided by the central array, three-dimensional (3D) needle tip tracking is provided by the side arrays. For B-mode ultrasound imaging, a standard transmit-receive sequence with electronic beamforming is performed. For ultrasonic tracking, Golay-coded ultrasound transmissions from the 4 side arrays are received by the hydrophone sensor, and subsequently the received signals are decoded to identify the needle tip's spatial location with respect to the ultrasound imaging probe. As a preliminary validation of this method, insertions of the needle/hydrophone pair were performed in clinically realistic contexts. This novel ultrasound imaging/tracking method is compatible with current clinical workflow, and it provides reliable device tracking during in-plane and out-of-plane needle insertions.},
issn={1940-087X},
doi={10.3791/57207},
url={https://www.jove.com/video/57207}
}

@ARTICLE{Lasso2014TBME,
author={<NAME> and <NAME> and <NAME> and <NAME> and <NAME> and <NAME>},
journal={IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering},
title={PLUS: Open-Source Toolkit for Ultrasound-Guided Intervention Systems},
year={2014},
volume={61},
number={10},
pages={2527-2537},
keywords={acoustic streaming;biomedical ultrasonics;calibration;data acquisition;data recording;image reconstruction;medical image processing;public domain software;software prototyping;ultrasonic imaging;BSD license;translational research prototyping platform;acquired data live streaming;acquired data recording;simulated image generation;volume reconstruction;temporal calibration;spatial calibration;ultrasound image acquisition;translational clinical research;rapid prototyping;public software library-for-ultrasound;visualization software;data processing algorithms;tracking devices;imaging devices;clinical feasibility trials;image analysis algorithm;advanced image analysis methods;ultrasound-guided intervention systems;open-source toolkit;PLUS;Imaging;Calibration;Software;Ultrasonic imaging;Hardware;Transducers;Software algorithms;Live image streaming;open-source;spatial calibration;temporal calibration;tool navigation;tracked ultrasound;volume reconstruction;Calibration;Database Management Systems;Humans;Image Processing, Computer-Assisted;Imaging, Three-Dimensional;Internet;Radiography;Software;Ultrasonography},
doi={10.1109/TBME.2014.2322864},
ISSN={0018-9294},
month={Oct},
}

@Article{Clarkson2015IJCARS,
author="Clarkson, <NAME>.
and Zombori, Gergely
and <NAME>
and Totz, Johannes
and Song, Yi
and Espak, Miklos
and Johnsen, Stian
and Hawkes, David
and Ourselin, S{\'e}bastien",
title="The NifTK software platform for image-guided interventions: platform overview and NiftyLink messaging",
journal="International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery",
year="2015",
month="Mar",
day="01",
volume="10",
number="3",
pages="301--316",
abstract="To perform research in image-guided interventions, researchers need a wide variety of software components, and assembling these components into a flexible and reliable system can be a challenging task. In this paper, the NifTK software platform is presented. A key focus has been high-performance streaming of stereo laparoscopic video data, ultrasound data and tracking data simultaneously.",
issn="1861-6429",
doi="10.1007/s11548-014-1124-7",
url="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-014-1124-7"
}

@InProceedings{Xia2017MICCAI,
author="<NAME>
and <NAME>
and Ourselin, Sebastien
and West, <NAME>.
and Finlay, <NAME>.
and David, <NAME>.
and Desjardins, <NAME>.",
editor="Descoteaux, Maxime
and <NAME>
and Franz, Alfred
and <NAME>
and Collins, <NAME>
and <NAME>",
title="Ultrasonic Needle Tracking with a Fibre-Optic Ultrasound Transmitter for Guidance of Minimally Invasive Fetal Surgery",
booktitle="Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention − MICCAI 2017",
year="2017",
publisher="Springer International Publishing",
address="Cham",
pages="637--645",
abstract="Ultrasound imaging is widely used for guiding minimally invasive procedures, including fetal surgery. Visualisation of medical devices such as medical needles is critically important and it remains challenging in many clinical contexts. During in-plane insertions, a needle can have poor visibility at steep insertion angles and at large insertion depths. During out-of-plane insertions, the needle tip can have a similar ultrasonic appearance to the needle shaft when it intersects with the ultrasound imaging plane. When the needle tip is not accurately identified, it can damage critical structures, with potentially severe consequences, including loss of pregnancy. In this paper, we present a tracking system to directly visualise the needle tip with an ultrasonic beacon. The waves transmitted by the beacon were received by an external ultrasound imaging probe. Pairs of co-registered images were acquired in rapid succession with this probe: a photoacoustic image obtained with the system in receive-only mode, and a conventional B-mode ultrasound image. The beacon comprised a custom elastomeric nanocomposite coating at the distal end of an optical fibre, which was positioned within the lumen of a commercial 22 gauge needle. Delivery of pulsed light to the coating resulted in the photoacoustic generation of ultrasonic waves. The measured tracking accuracies in water in the axial and lateral dimensions were {\$}{\$}0.39 {\backslash}pm 0.19{\$}{\$} mm and {\$}{\$}1.85 {\backslash}pm 0.29{\$}{\$} mm, respectively. To obtain a preliminary indication of the clinical potential of this ultrasonic needle tracking system, needle insertions were performed in an in vivo fetal sheep model. The results demonstrate that ultrasonic needle tracking with a fibre-optic transmitter is feasible in a clinically realistic fetal surgery environment, and that it could be useful to guide minimally invasive procedures by providing accurate visualisation of the medical device tip.",
isbn="978-3-319-66185-8"
}

@article{Xia2016MedPhys,
author = {<NAME> <NAME>, <NAME> <NAME> <NAME> <NAME>.},
title = {Coded excitation ultrasonic needle tracking: An in vivo study},
journal = {Medical Physics},
volume = {43},
number = {7},
pages = {4065-4073},
keywords = {biomedical transducers, biomedical ultrasonics, cardiology, image coding, image denoising, medical image processing, needles, ultrasonic imaging, ultrasonic transducers, Ultrasonographic imaging, Cardiac dynamics, Noise, Biomedical instrumentation and transducers, including micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), Diagnosis using ultrasonic, sonic or infrasonic waves, Processes or apparatus for generating mechanical vibrations of infrasonic, sonic or ultrasonic frequency, Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers, Digital computing or data processing equipment or methods, specially adapted for specific applications, Image data processing or generation, in general, Image enhancement or restoration, e.g. from bit-mapped to bit-mapped creating a similar image, Image coding, e.g. from bit-mapped to non bit-mapped, image guided interventions, ultrasound imaging, medical device tracking, coded excitation, fiber optic hydrophone, Ultrasonography, Medical image noise, Biomedical equipment, Ultrasonic transducers, Pulse compression, Medical image spatial resolution, Microphones},
doi = {10.1118/1.4953205},
url = {https://aapm.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1118/1.4953205},
eprint = {https://aapm.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1118/1.4953205},
abstract = {Purpose: Accurate and efficient guidance of medical devices to procedural targets lies at the heart of interventional procedures. Ultrasound imaging is commonly used for device guidance, but determining the location of the device tip can be challenging. Various methods have been proposed to track medical devices during ultrasound-guided procedures, but widespread clinical adoption has remained elusive. With ultrasonic tracking, the location of a medical device is determined by ultrasonic communication between the ultrasound imaging probe and a transducer integrated into the medical device. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the transducer data is an important determinant of the depth in tissue at which tracking can be performed. In this paper, the authors present a new generation of ultrasonic tracking in which coded excitation is used to improve the SNR without spatial averaging. Methods: A fiber optic hydrophone was integrated into the cannula of a 20 gauge insertion needle. This transducer received transmissions from the ultrasound imaging probe, and the data were processed to obtain a tracking image of the needle tip. Excitation using Barker or Golay codes was performed to improve the SNR, and conventional bipolar excitation was performed for comparison. The performance of the coded excitation ultrasonic tracking system was evaluated in an in vivo ovine model with insertions to the brachial plexus and the uterine cavity. Results: Coded excitation significantly increased the SNRs of the tracking images, as compared with bipolar excitation. During an insertion to the brachial plexus, the SNR was increased by factors of 3.5 for Barker coding and 7.1 for Golay coding. During insertions into the uterine cavity, these factors ranged from 2.9 to 4.2 for Barker coding and 5.4 to 8.5 for Golay coding. The maximum SNR was 670, which was obtained with Golay coding during needle withdrawal from the brachial plexus. Range sidelobe artifacts were observed in tracking images obtained with Barker coded excitation, and they were visually absent with Golay coded excitation. The spatial tracking accuracy was unaffected by coded excitation. Conclusions: Coded excitation is a viable method for improving the SNR in ultrasonic tracking without compromising spatial accuracy. This method provided SNR increases that are consistent with theoretical expectations, even in the presence of physiological motion. With the ultrasonic tracking system in this study, the SNR increases will have direct clinical implications in a broad range of interventional procedures by improving visibility of medical devices at large depths.}
}

@inproceedings{nikolov2008precision,
  title={Precision of needle tip localization using a receiver in the needle},
  author={<NAME> <NAME>},
  booktitle={IEEE Int Ultrason Symp},
  year={2008}
}

@InProceedings{Mung2011MICCAI,
author="<NAME>
and <NAME>
and <NAME>",
editor="<NAME>
and <NAME>
and <NAME>",
title="A Non-disruptive Technology for Robust 3D Tool Tracking for Ultrasound-Guided Interventions",
booktitle="Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention -- MICCAI 2011",
year="2011",
publisher="Springer Berlin Heidelberg",
address="Berlin, Heidelberg",
pages="153--160",
abstract="In the past decade ultrasound (US) has become the preferred modality for a number of interventional procedures, offering excellent soft tissue visualization. The main limitation however is limited visualization of surgical tools. A new method is proposed for robust 3D tracking and US image enhancement of surgical tools under US guidance. Small US sensors are mounted on existing surgical tools. As the imager emits acoustic energy, the electrical signal from the sensor is analyzed to reconstruct its 3D coordinates. These coordinates can then be used for 3D surgical navigation, similar to current day tracking systems. A system with real-time 3D tool tracking and image enhancement was implemented on a commercial ultrasound scanner and 3D probe. Extensive water tank experiments with a tracked 0.2mm sensor show robust performance in a wide range of imaging conditions and tool position/orientations. The 3D tracking accuracy was 0.36 {\textpm} 0.16mm throughout the imaging volume of 55{\textdegree} {\texttimes}27{\textdegree} {\texttimes}150mm. Additionally, the tool was successfully tracked inside a beating heart phantom. This paper proposes an image enhancement and tool tracking technology with sub-mm accuracy for US-guided interventions. The technology is non-disruptive, both in terms of existing clinical workflow and commercial considerations, showing promise for large scale clinical impact.",
isbn="978-3-642-23623-5"
}

@proceeding{Guo2014SPIE,
author = { <NAME>  Tavakoli,Hyun-Jae  Kang,<NAME>,Ralph  Etienne-Cummings,<NAME>},
title = {Photoacoustic active ultrasound element for catheter tracking},
journal = {Proc.SPIE},
volume = {8943},
number = {},
pages = {8943 - 8943 - 7},
year = {2014},
doi = {10.1117/12.2041625},
URL = {https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2041625},
eprint = {}
}

@article{xia2017looking,
  title={Looking beyond the imaging plane: 3D needle tracking with a linear array ultrasound probe},
  author={<NAME> and West, <NAME> <NAME>, <NAME>, <NAME> Desjardins, <NAME>},
  journal={Scientific reports},
  volume={7},
  number={1},
  pages={3674},
  year={2017},
  publisher={Nature Publishing Group}
}
