Method and apparatus for tracking a position of a medical device

A method of tracking a position of a medical device relative to a target site of a patient lumen, the method comprising:

• providing a trackable guidewire, the guidewire having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal guidewire ends separated by a guidewire body, the guidewire including at least one sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to a three-dimensional position in space to an associated tracking system, the guidewire including at least one retention mechanism for maintaining the medical device in a predetermined retention position longitudinally along the guidewire body;
• providing an outer sheath having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal sheath ends separated by a sheath body, the sheath body including a sheath lumen in fluid communication with the proximal and distal sheath ends;
• placing at least a portion of the guidewire body within the sheath lumen;
• and
• maintaining the outer sheath in a predetermined sheath position longitudinally along the guidewire body;
• placing the medical device in the retention position by placing the medical device within the sheath lumen, and
• preventing longitudinal motion of the medical device within the sheath lumen via laterally oriented frictional force between the sheath lumen and the medical device;
• maintaining the medical device in the retention position via the retention mechanism;
• placing the distal guidewire end into the patient lumen;
• advancing the distal guidewire end and at least a portion of the guidewire body through at least a portion of the patient lumen;
• determining, by the associated tracking system, a three-dimensional position of the at least one sensor in a coordinate system of the associated tracking system;
• and
• determining a relative position of the medical device with respect to geometry of the patient lumen based on the three-dimensional position of the at least one sensor.

A method of tracking a position of a medical device relative to a target site of a patient lumen, the method comprising:

• providing a trackable guidewire, the guidewire having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal guidewire ends separated by a guidewire body, the guidewire including at least one sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to a three-dimensional position in space to an associated tracking system, the guidewire including at least one retention mechanism for maintaining the medical device in a predetermined retention position longitudinally along the guidewire body;
• providing an outer sheath having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal sheath ends separated by a sheath body, the sheath body including a sheath lumen in fluid communication with the proximal and distal sheath ends;
• placing at least a portion of the guidewire body within the sheath lumen;
• and
• maintaining the outer sheath in a predetermined sheath position longitudinally along the guidewire body by limiting longitudinal motion of the outer sheath in a first direction along the guidewire via a stop structure;
• placing the medical device in the retention position;
• maintaining the medical device in the retention position via the retention mechanism;
• placing the distal guidewire end into the patient lumen;
• advancing the distal guidewire end and at least a portion of the guidewire body through at least a portion of the patient lumen;
• determining, by the associated tracking system, a three-dimensional position of the at least one sensor in a coordinate system of the associated tracking system;
• and
• determining a relative position of the medical device with respect to geometry of the patient lumen based on the three-dimensional position of the at least one sensor.

A method of tracking a position of a medical device relative to a target site of a patient lumen, the method comprising:

• providing a trackable guidewire, the guidewire having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal guidewire ends separated by a guidewire body, the guidewire including at least one sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to a three-dimensional position in space to an associated tracking system, the guidewire including at least one retention mechanism for maintaining the medical device in a predetermined retention position longitudinally along the guidewire body;
• placing the distal guidewire end into the patient lumen;
• advancing the distal guidewire end and at least a portion of the guidewire body through at least a portion of the patient lumen before the medical device is placed in the retention position;
• placing the medical device in the retention position;
• maintaining the medical device in the retention position via the retention mechanism;
• determining, by the associated tracking system, a three-dimensional position of the at least one sensor in a coordinate system of the associated tracking system;
• and
• determining a relative position of the medical device with respect to geometry of the patient lumen based on the three-dimensional position of the at least one sensor.

A method of tracking a position of a medical device relative to a target site of a patient lumen, the method comprising:

• providing a trackable guidewire, the guidewire having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal guidewire ends separated by a guidewire body, the guidewire including at least one sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to a three-dimensional position in space to an associated tracking system, the guidewire including at least one retention mechanism for maintaining the medical device in a predetermined retention position longitudinally along the guidewire body;
• providing an outer sheath having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal sheath ends separated by a sheath body, the sheath body including a sheath lumen in fluid communication with the proximal and distal sheath ends;
• placing at least a portion of the guidewire body within the sheath lumen;
• and
• maintaining the outer sheath in a predetermined sheath position longitudinally along the guidewire body by limiting longitudinal motion of the outer sheath in a first direction along the guidewire via a stop structure;
• placing the medical device in the retention position;
• maintaining the medical device in the retention position via the retention mechanism;
• placing the distal guidewire end into the patient lumen;
• advancing the distal guidewire end and at least a portion of the guidewire body through at least a portion of the patient lumen;
• determining, by the associated tracking system, a three-dimensional position of the at least one sensor in a coordinate system of the associated tracking system;
• determining a relative position of the medical device with respect to geometry of the patient lumen based on the three-dimensional position of the at least one sensor;
• removing at least a portion of the guidewire body from at least a portion of the outer sheath;
• removing the portion of the outer sheath from which the guidewire body was removed from the patient lumen;
• and
• discarding the portion of the outer sheath from which the guidewire body was removed.

A trackable guidewire apparatus comprising:

• longitudinally spaced proximal and distal guidewire ends separated by a guidewire body;
• a position sensor configured to provide a signal corresponding to a three-dimensional position of the position sensor in a coordinate system of an associated tracking system in response to an electromagnetic field/stimulus;
• at least one retention mechanism for maintaining a medical device in a predetermined retention position longitudinally along the guidewire body;
• at least one stop structure in a predetermined stop position longitudinally along the guidewire body;
• and
• an outer sheath having longitudinally spaced proximal and distal sheath ends separated by a sheath body, the sheath body including a sheath lumen in fluid communication with the proximal and distal sheath ends, and wherein at least a portion of the guidewire body is selectively placed within at least a portion of the sheath lumen, the distal sheath end being selectively engaged with the retention mechanism, and at least a portion of the outer sheath being selectively manipulated to release the medical device from the trackable guidewire apparatus.