Enabling freehand lateral scanning of optical coherence tomography needle probes with a magnetic tracking system

We present a high-resolution three-dimensional position tracking method that allows an optical coherence tomography (OCT) needle probe to be scanned laterally by hand, providing the high degree of flexibility and freedom required in clinical usage. The method is based on a magnetic tracking system, which is augmented by cross-correlation-based resampling and a two-stage moving window average algorithm to improve upon the tracker's limited intrinsic spatial resolution, achieving 18 mu m RMS position accuracy. A proof-of-principle system was developed, with successful image reconstruction demonstrated on phantoms and on ex vivo human breast tissue validated against histology. This freehand scanning method could contribute toward clinical implementation of OCT needle imaging. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America