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Electromagnetic Tracking for Rehabilitation Applications—A Survey

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Electromagnetic Tracking for Rehabilitation Applications—A Survey

Hai Lan 1,2,† Pengrong Chen 1,2,† Chengwen Zhang 1,2 Zhihua Zhou 2,3 Xinying Shan 4 Houde Dai 1,3,* Tim C. Lueth 5

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1
Fujian College, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou 350002, China
2
Quanzhou Institute of Equipment Manufacturing, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Quanzhou 362216, China
3
College of Computer and Cyber Security, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350117, China
4
National Research Center for Rehabilitation Technical Aids, Beijing 100176, China
5
Institute of Micro Technology and Medical Device Technology, Technical University of Munich, 85748 Garching, Germany
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally to this work.

Received: 20 May 2026 Revised: 10 June 2026 Accepted: 03 July 2026 Published: 16 July 2026

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© 2026 The authors. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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Intell. Rehabil. Eng. 2026, 1(1), 10005; DOI: 10.70322/ire.2026.10005
ABSTRACT: Motion tracking plays a crucial role in the quantitative assessment and clinical rehabilitation of motor symptoms. While optical tracking and inertial sensing are mainstream, they are frequently limited by line-of-sight occlusions or data drift. Electromagnetic tracking (EMT) technology offers a powerful complementary solution due to its unique capabilities in full-pose tracking and occlusion-free measurements. To facilitate the integration of this technology into medical settings, this paper presents a structured overview of EMT approaches within rehabilitation applications. We systematically review the field from foundational physics and hardware architectures to advanced algorithmic frameworks. Particular emphasis is placed on recent breakthroughs in interference compensation and data-driven methods that enhance tracking robustness. Furthermore, we categorize representative clinical applications by scenario and target population, ultimately outlining key research trends and open opportunities to guide future development in this expanding domain.
Keywords: Electromagnetic tracking; Motion tracking; Occlusion-free; Rehabilitation
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