Navigation information overlay onto ultrasound imagery

A method for surgical navigation using overlaid images from other image modalities onto ultrasound images comprising:

• scanning an area of interest using an ultrasound probe to acquire an ultrasound image corresponding to that area of interest;
• overlaying an image from other image modalities onto the ultrasound image to create an overlaid image, such that the two images correspond to a common coordinate system;
• displaying an iconic representation of a surgical instrument onto the overlaid image;
• and
• recalculating and displaying a new location of the surgical instrument onto the overlaid image in response to a movement of the surgical instrument.

A method for representing the real-time position of a surgical instrument and its trajectory in an overlaid image comprising:

• acquiring a first image from an image device;
• acquiring a second real-time ultrasound image;
• overlaying the first image onto the second real-time ultrasound image, such that the two images correspond to a common coordinate system;
• tracking a real-time position of the surgical instrument;
• generating an icon of the surgical instrument and overlaying the icon on the overlaid image;
• generating a trajectory of the surgical instrument on the overlaid image;
• and
• changing the format of the surgical instrument's trajectory when the surgical instrument crosses an ultrasound image plane.