Uniform gradient magnetic field and spatial localization method based on Maxwell coils for virtual surgery simulation

With the development of virtual reality technology, simulation surgery has become a low‐risk surgical training method and high‐precision positioning of surgical instruments is required in virtual simulation surgery. In this paper we design and validate a novel electromagnetic positioning method based on a uniform gradient magnetic field. We employ Maxwell coils to generate the uniform gradient magnetic field and propose two positioning algorithms based on magnetic field, namely the linear equation positioning algorithm and the magnetic field fingerprint positioning algorithm. After validating the feasibility of proposed positioning system through simulation, we construct a prototype system and conduct practical experiments. The experimental results demonstrate that the positioning system exhibits excellent accuracy and speed in both simulation and real‐world applications. The positioning accuracy remains consistent and high, showing no significant variation with changes in the positions of surgical instruments. A pair of Maxwell coils generate a uniform gradient magnetic field. The magnetic sensor is fixed on the surgical instrument, and the magnetic induction intensity component received by the sensor is combined with the proposed positioning algorithm to achieve real‐time positioning of the surgical instrument and display it in the simulation environment.