Combining ultrasound + tracker streams in PLUS: custom build or OpenIGTLink bridge?

[reyhaneh-sh]

I’m working on a research project involving tracked 3D ultrasound reconstruction using a Clarius ultrasound probe via CAST and an Atracsys fusionTrack optical tracker. I can stream image and tracking data separately using the PlusApp-Clarius-Win64 and PlusApp-fusionTrack-Win64 packages from the nightly builds; however, neither package recognizes both devices.

For this type of research setup, what is the most common and reliable way to acquire data from both devices and stream it to 3D Slicer?

1. Build a custom PLUS package with both device modules enabled, then use a single PlusServer instance and configuration (using CMake and C++).
2. Run separate PlusServer instances for the ultrasound and tracker, send both streams to a third PlusServer, combine them using OpenIGTLinkVideo/OpenIGTLinkTracker and VirtualMixer, and then stream the combined data to 3D Slicer.
3. Use another approach?

Goal: Stream and record tracked 2D ultrasound frames for fCal calibration and 3D reconstruction.
Main concern: Timestamp and synchronization reliability during recording, calibration, and reconstruction.

I would greatly appreciate any guidance or experience with similar setups.