3D pathfinder visualization

A medical method, comprising:

• tracking coordinates of a medical instrument within a body of a patient using a position tracking system, the medical instrument being configured to move within a passage in the body of the patient;
• registering the position tracking system and a three-dimensional (3D) computerized tomography (CT) image of at least a part of the body within a common frame of reference;
• finding a 3D path of the medical instrument through the passage from a given start point to a given termination point;
• computing segments of the 3D path;
• computing respective different locations along the 3D path of respective virtual cameras responsively to the computed segments and positioning, for each of the computed segments, at least one virtual camera at a location along that computed segment;
• selecting the respective virtual cameras for rendering respective virtual endoscopic images responsively to the tracked coordinates of the medical instrument and the respective locations of the respective virtual cameras within the common frame of reference;
• computing respective orientations of the respective virtual cameras;
• and
• rendering and displaying on a display screen the respective virtual endoscopic images, based on the 3D CT image, of the passage in the body viewed from the respective locations and orientations of the respective virtual cameras including an animated representation of the medical instrument positioned in the respective virtual endoscopic images in accordance with the tracked coordinates.

A software product, comprising a non-transient computer-readable medium in which program instructions are stored, which instructions, when read by a central processing unit (CPU), cause the CPU to:

• track coordinates of a medical instrument within a body of a patient using a position tracking system, the medical instrument being configured to move within a passage in the body of the patient;
• register the position tracking system and a three-dimensional (3D) computerized tomography (CT) image of at least a part of the body within a common frame of reference;
• find a 3D path of the medical instrument through the passage from a given start point to a given termination point;
• compute segments of the 3D path;
• compute respective different locations along the 3D path of respective virtual cameras responsively to the computed segments and position, for each of the computed segments, at least one virtual camera at a location along that computed segment;
• select the respective virtual cameras for rendering respective virtual endoscopic images responsively to the tracked coordinates of the medical instrument and the respective locations of the respective virtual cameras within the common frame of reference;
• compute respective orientations of the respective virtual cameras;
• and
• render and display on a display screen the respective virtual endoscopic images, based on the 3D CT image, of the passage in the body viewed from the respective locations and orientations of the respective virtual cameras including an animated representation of the medical instrument positioned in the respective virtual endoscopic images in accordance with the tracked coordinates.