Northern Digital
Canadian medical measurement company
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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.
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]