3-D Hall Sensor for use in Navigation Systems for Surgery Endovascular Interventions

This paper presents the design of a 3-D Hall sensor compatible with standard silicon IC technology. This magnetic Hall effect sensor is intended to be fitted at the tip of a catheter for use in a magnetic-based navigation system for endovascular interventions. Unfortunately, at the present the general feeling is that vector Hall sensors can not be used for clinical trials, mainly because of their large size and low sensitivity. Proposed 3-D silicon Hall sensor has denied suspicions with its advantages: simultaneous on line 3-D measurement of the magnetic field components; high spatial resolution 150 mum times 150 mum times 100 mum; the lowest detected magnetic induction of the three output channels is about 15-20 muT; magnetosensitivities of the three channels at a supply current 10 mA reach 360 muA/Tfor B
_x
and B
_y
, 250 muA/Tfor B
_z
, respectively.