System and Method For Bronchoscopic Navigational Assistance

A method for real-time bronchoscopic navigational assistance, comprising:

• receiving image data of a patient's lungs, the image data acquired before a bronchoscopy is performed;
• tracking a current global location and orientation of a bronchoscope in one of the patient's lungs by using an optical model and a physical model of the bronchoscope and real-time video of the bronchoscope during the bronchoscopy;
• and
• automatically updating the global location and orientation of the bronchoscope in relation to the image data during the bronchoscopy.

A system for bronchoscopic navigational assistance, comprising:

• a memory device for storing a program;
• a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor operative with the program to:
• receive first image data of a patient's lungs, the first image data acquired before a bronchoscopy is performed;
• receive second image data of a portion of one of the patient's lungs that includes a bronchoscope, the second image data acquired during the bronchoscopy;
• and
• perform image registration between the first image data and the second image data to determine a global location and orientation of the bronchoscope within the patient's lung during the bronchoscopy.

A system for real-time bronchoscopic navigational assistance, comprising:

• a memory device for storing a program;
• a processor in communication with the memory device, the processor operative with the program to:
• receive image data of a patient's lungs, the image data acquired before a bronchoscopy is performed:
• track a current global location and orientation of a bronchoscope in one of the patient's lungs by using an optical model and a physical model of the bronchoscope and real-time video of the bronchoscope during the bronchoscopy;
• and
• automatically update the global location and orientation of the bronchoscope in relation to the image data during the bronchoscopy.

A computer-based method for endoscopic navigational assistance, comprising:

• receiving first image data of region of interest inside a patient, the first image data acquired before an endoscopy is performed;
• receiving second image data of a portion of the region of interest that includes an endoscope, the second image data acquired during the endoscopy;
• and
• performing image registration between the first image data and the second image data to determine a global location and orientation of the endoscope within the region of interest during the endoscopy.

A method for real-time endoscopic navigational assistance, comprising:

• receiving image data of a region of interest inside a patient, the image data acquired before an endoscopy is performed:
• tracking a current global location and orientation of an endoscope in a portion of the region of interest by using an optical model and a physical model of the endoscope and real-time video of the endoscope during the endoscopy;
• and
• automatically updating the global location and orientation of the endoscope in relation to the image data during the endoscopy.