Auxiliary image display and manipulation on a computer display in a medical robotic system

A method for displaying a selected portion of an auxiliary image of an anatomic structure as an overlay to a primary image of the anatomic structure on a computer display screen, comprising:

• associating a movable window with a pointing device such that the movable window is positionable on the computer display screen using the pointing device;
• registering an auxiliary image of an anatomic structure with a primary image of the anatomic structure so as to be at a same position and orientation in a common reference frame;
• and
• displaying the primary image on the computer display screen, and a portion of the registered auxiliary image corresponding to the same screen coordinates as the movable window as an overlay to the primary image in the movable window.

A medical robotic system comprising:

• an image capturing device for capturing images;
• a robotic arm holding the image capturing device;
• a computer display screen;
• a master input device adapted to be manipulatable by an user in multiple degrees-of-freedom movement;
• and
• a processor configured to control movement of the image capturing device according to user manipulation of the master input device when the master input device is in an image capturing mode, and controlling the displaying of images derived from the captured images on the computer display screen according to user manipulation of the master input device when the master input device is in an image manipulating mode.