Method for carrying out a medical procedure using a three-dimensional tracking and imaging system

Abstract

A method for carrying out a medical procedure using a 3-D tracking and imaging system (1600). A surgical instrument, such as a catheter, probe, sensor, needle or the like is inserted into a living being, and the position of the surgical instrument is tracked as it moves through a medium in a bodily structure. The location of the surgical instrument relative to its immediate surroundings is displayed to improve a physician's ability to precisely position the surgical instrument. The medical procedures including removal of an obstruction from the circulatory system, a biopsy, amniocentesis, brain surgery, measurement of cervical dilation, evaluation of knee stability, assessment of myocardial contractibility, eye surgery, prostate surgery and transmyocardial myocardial revascularization (TMR). In addition, the method of the present invention also finds use in connection with the generation of 2-D echo planes.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.