System and method for visual image guidance during a medical procedure

A system for providing a visualization during a medical procedure on a patient or a simulated medical procedure on a patient model, the system comprising:

• means for receiving imaging data of a first region of the patient's body or the patient model;
• means for receiving tracking data of one or more instruments that are inserted in a second region of the patient's body or the patient model;
• wherein
• the system comprises means for receiving model data of a fourth region of the patient's body or the patient model, and a processing means adapted for co-registering tracking data and model data;
• the system comprises a display for simultaneous visualization of the co-registered data and the imaging data;
• the tracking data comprises three or more tracking points, wherein the three tracking points are not colinear;
• and/or the tracking data comprises one or more tracking points and/or a corresponding orientation by means of a corresponding roll, pitch and yaw angle, or a set of Euler angles or a set of quaternions, or an angle-axis representation or a rotation matrix, or a homogeneous transformation matrix, and/or a point cloud representation, for at least one of the one or more instruments;
• the tracking data is used to determine a position and/or shape and/or orientation of at least one of the one or more instruments;
• and
• the visualization comprises a representation of the position and/or the orientation of at least one of the one or more instruments, and a representation of a shape of at least one of the one or more instruments
• wherein the tracking data is generated by one or more sensors that are distributed along and embedded in and/or fixedly attached to at least one of the one or more instruments, the distributed sensors being configured to conform to the shape of the instrument and to enable derivation of a shape of the instrument during the procedure.

A method for providing a visualization during a medical procedure on a patient or simulated medical procedure on a patient model, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving imaging data of a first region of a patient's body or the patient model;
• receiving tracking data of one or more instruments that are inserted in a second region of the patient's body or the patient model;
• receiving model data of a fourth region of the patient's body or the patient model;
• co-registering the tracking data and model data;
• simultaneously visualizing imaging data and the co-registered data;
• and
• generating the tracking data by one or more sensors that are distributed along and embedded in or fixedly attached to at least one of the one or more instruments, the distributed sensors being configured to conform to the shape of the instrument and to enable derivation of a shape of the instrument during the procedure.