Northern Digital

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Northern Digital Incorporated (NDI) is a Canadian medical measurement company based in Waterloo, Ontario. The company was founded by Jerry Krist in 1981 at the University of Waterloo. [1] They have offices in Hong Kong and Germany.

Contents

Northern Digital was acquired by Roper Industries in 2011. [2]

In 2012, Northern Digital acquired Ascension Technology, a provider of 3D tracking technology. [3] [4] The deal was approved by NDI's parent company, Roper Industries. [5]

Product lineup

NDI's Product lineup includes: Optical Measurement Systems [6] including the Polaris (Flagship Model) the Optotrak and the Certus HD; Electromagnetic Tracking Systems [7] such as the Aurora and Wave; Laser Trackers [8] (ScanTRAK); and Reflective Marker Spheres [9] which are authorized 'Brainlab [10] ' partner utilities.

Medical sector

NDI's primary products are optical measurement systems used in surgery and other medical procedures. [1] The company's primary optical tracking tool, the 'Polaris', is used in many medical procedures including Brain Surgery, Neurosurgery, PET Procedures, Ear Nose & Throat Surgery, Medical Robotics Integration, Spinal Surgery, Computer Assisted Therapy and I.G.R.T. (Image-Guided Radiation Therapy). [11] The company's Wave Speech Research system is able to track minute movements in a child's mouth with the goal of developing better speech therapy protocols, particularly for children whose pathology involves spasticity, such as in cerebral palsy patients. [12]

Ascension Technology

In 2012, Northern Digital acquired Ascension Technology, a provider of 3D tracking technology.

Ascension Technology was co-founded by Jack Scully and Ernie Blood in 1986. [13] [14] The company was based in Colchester, Vermont. [15] Jack Scully and Ernie Blood had previously created the digitizer used in the Star Wars series. One of Ascension's products was the Flock of Birds 3D tracking system. [14]

The Flock of Birds system uses DC magnetic tracking. [16]

In 1997, the price tag for one of the models of Ascension's wearable motion capture systems was over $30,000. [17]

One of Ascension's tracking systems was the LaserBIRD optical tracker, which was used as the 3D tracking in the U.S. Army's Virtual Cockpit Optimization Program (VCOP) for helicopter pilots. [18]

Industrial sector

NDI has many tracking products designed for industries. [1]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Walcoff, Matt (2008-01-05). "Northern Digital sold". TheRecord.com. Metroland Media Group, Ltd. Archived from the original on 2008-01-07. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  2. ↑ "Roper Industries Completes Acquisition of Northern Digital Inc". Quality Digest. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  3. ↑ "Roper Industries Acquires Ascension Technology". Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  4. ↑ Tishin, Alexander (2021-11-18). Magnetic Materials and Technologies for Medical Applications. Duxford Cambridge, MA Kidlington, OX: Woodhead Publishing. p. 298. ISBN   978-0-12-822533-2.
  5. ↑ "Medical device maker Northern Digital buys Vermont firm". Guleph Mercury Tribune. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  6. ↑ "Products: Optical Measurement, EM Tracking, Laser Scanners". NDI. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  7. ↑ "Products: Optical Measurement, EM Tracking, Laser Scanners". NDI. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  8. ↑ "ScanTRAK - Measurement Sciences". Measurement Sciences. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  9. ↑ "Products: Optical Measurement, EM Tracking, Laser Scanners". NDI. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  10. ↑ "Medical Software and Hardware Innovators - Brainlab". Brainlab. Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  11. ↑ "Applications - Medical" . Retrieved 2017-11-17.
  12. ↑ "Speech Machine May Help Kids With Cerebral Palsy". The University of Texas at Dallas News Center. The University of Texas at Dallas. 2009-08-31. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
  13. ↑ "Ascension Technology of Milton acquired by Roper Industries". Vermont Business Magazine. 2012-08-28. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  14. 1 2 Carlson, Wayne E. (2017-06-20). "17.4 Interaction". The Ohio State University. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  15. ↑ Cutillo, Cat (2024-02-20). "Alumni Spotlight: Jack T. Scully '69". Saint Michael's College. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  16. ↑ Burdea, Grigore C.; Coiffet, Philippe (2017-11-01). Virtual Reality Technology. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN   978-1-119-48572-8. A magnetic tracker that uses DC magnetic fields is the FLock of Birds produced by the Ascension Technology Co.
  17. ↑ Matzer, Marla (1997-09-08). "Animation's New 'Toon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-04-11.
  18. ↑ Arthur, Jarvis (Trey) J.; Bailey, Randall E.; Williams, Steven P.; Prinzel, Lawrence J.; Shelton, Kevin J.; Jones, Denise R.; Houston, Vincent E. (2017-02-01). "Review of head-worn displays for the Next Generation Air Transportation System". Optical Engineering. 56 (5): 051405. doi:10.1117/1.OE.56.5.051405. ISSN   0091-3286.
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