Femtosecond laser aided processing of optical sensor fibers for 3D medical navigation and tracking (FiberNavi)

A new concept for fiber-optical 3D shape sensing applying femtosecond laser technology for highprecision direct writing of Bragg gratings within the core and the cladding of single core standard telecom fibers is presented. This new technology enables a cost-efficient and real-time 3D shape sensing and navigation of medical catheters or endoscopes only by means of passive optical sensor elements. First prototypes showed the possibility to achieve absolute navigation accuracy of four mm per meter and have successfully been tested in clinical environment.