Apparatus and method for generating 3-D data for an anatomical target using optical fiber shape sensing

An interferometric measurement system for generating a three-dimensional data set for at least a portion of an anatomical target based on distance measurements of multiple points of the target from a distal end of a fiber housing and measurements of respective three-dimensional positions of the distal end, the system comprising:

• the fiber housing and, contained in the fiber housing, multiple shape-sensing optical cores and a single optical core alongside the multiple shape-sensing optical cores, the fiber housing being positionable to direct the single optical core to a current point of the anatomical target;
• a tunable light source configured to (a) project, over a first range of multiple frequencies, light through the single optical core and a collimator to the current point;
• and
• circuitry configured to (b) detect reflected light scattered from the current point and to process the reflected light to determine a distance of the distal end of the fiber housing to the current point using optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR);
• the tunable light source being further configured to (c) project, over a second range of multiple frequencies, light through the multiple shape-sensing optical cores to the distal end of the fiber housing;
• the circuitry being further configured to (d) measure light reflected from the distal end of the fiber housing back through the multiple shape-sensing optical cores and to (e) process the measured light to determine a position in three-dimensional space of the distal end of the fiber housing and a pointing direction of the distal end of the fiber housing using OFDR;
• the circuitry being further configured to (f) determine a position in three-dimensional space of the current point based on the determined position in three-dimensional space of the distal end of the fiber housing, the pointing direction of the distal end of the fiber housing, and the determined di stance,
• wherein the tunable light source and the circuitry are configured to perform respective ones of (a)-(f) multiple times to generate the three-dimensional data set for at least the portion of the anatomical target, wherein the single optical core is used only to determine distances of the distal end to the multiple points of the target, and wherein generating the three-dimensional data set requires combining the distances with the respective three-dimensional positions of the distal end.

A non-transitory machine-readable medium comprising a plurality of machine-readable instructions which when executed by one or more processors associated with a medical device are adapted to cause the one or more processors and the medical device, under control of the one or more processors, to perform a method for generating a three-dimensional data set for at least a portion of a target based on distance measurements of multiple points of the target from a distal end of a fiber housing and measurements of respective three-dimensional positions of the distal end, the medical device comprising the fiber housing and, located in the fiber housing alongside each other, a single optical core and multiple shape-sensing optical cores, the method comprising the steps of:

• (a) projecting, over a first range of multiple frequencies, collimated light from the single optical core to a current point of the target, while the distal end of the fiber housing is directed toward the current point;
• (b) using optical frequency domain reflectometry to detect reflected light scattered from the current point and to process the reflected light to determine a distance of the distal end to the current point;
• (c) projecting, over a second range of multiple frequencies, light through the multiple shape-sensing optical cores to the distal end of the fiber housing;
• (d) using optical frequency domain reflectometry to obtain a measurement of light reflected from the distal end of the fiber housing back through the multiple shape-sensing optical cores and to process the measurement to determine a position in three-dimensional space of the distal end of the fiber housing and a pointing direction of the distal end of the fiber housing;
• (e) using the determined position in three-dimensional space of the distal end of the fiber housing, the pointing direction of the distal end of the fiber housing, and the determined distance to determine a position in three-dimensional space of the current point;
• and
• repeating steps (a)-(e) multiple times for multiple additional current points of the target to generate the three-dimensional data set for at least the portion of the target,
• wherein the single optical core is used only to determine distances of the distal end to the multiple points of the target, and wherein generating the three-dimensional data set requires combining the distances with the respective three-dimensional positions of the distal end.