Systems, methods, and computer-readable media of estimating thoracic cavity movement during respiration

A system for visualizing movement of structures within a patient's chest, the system comprising:

• an electromagnetic (EM) tracking system including:
• an EM field generator configured to generate an EM field;
• an EM sensor attached to a patient and movable within the EM field;
• and
• a tracking module configured to detect positions of the EM sensor within the EM field;
• and
• a computing device including:
• a processor;
• and
• a memory storing instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to:
• determine a position of the EM sensor at full-breath hold;
• determine a position of the EM sensor at maximum tidal volume;
• determine a difference between the position of the EM sensor at maximum tidal volume and the position of the EM sensor at full-breath hold;
• and
• generate a 3D model at maximum tidal volume based on the difference between the position of the EM sensor at maximum tidal volume and the position of the EM sensor at full-breath hold.

A method for visualizing movement of structures within a patient's chest, the method comprising:

• tracking positions of an electromagnetic (EM) sensor attached to the patient and movable within an EM field generated by an EM field generator;
• determining a position of the EM sensor at full-breath hold;
• determining a position of the EM sensor at maximum tidal volume;
• determining a difference between the position of the EM sensor at maximum tidal volume and the position of the EM sensor at full-breath hold;
• and
• generating a 3D model at maximum tidal volume based on the difference between the position of the EM sensor at maximum tidal volume and the position of the EM sensor at full-breath hold.