System and method for determining distance with precision in the prescence of multipath interference

Abstract

Various aspects of the present invention are shown and described, each of which has stand alone utility in a navigated medical environment. A receiver position calibration system and method facilitates calibration of a reference frame prior to each navigated procedure. A concept and application of confidence weights is introduced. Confidence weights can be applied to distance calculations to mitigate the effects of interference and increase the tolerance of the navigated medical system. Multi-path interference is minimized through the transmission of a signal having a pattern of unique frequencies and filtering of the distance calculations for each frequency to identify the ‘best’ distance in the presence of multi-path interference. A position determination method and system that transmits a signal having multiple frequency components permits positions to be identified with high resolution over a large area.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.