Method and apparatus for tracking a medical instrument based on image registration
AssigneesThe Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University, General Electric Company
InventorsRobert Grzeszczuk, Ramin Shahidi
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus, method and system for tracking a medical instrument, as it is moved in an operating space to a patient target site in the space, by constructing a composite, 3-D rendition of at least a part of the operating space based on an algorithm that registers pre-operative 3-D diagnostic scans of the operating space with real-time, stereo x-ray or radiograph images of the operating space. The invention has particular utility in tracking a flexible medical instrument and/or a medical instrument that moves inside the patient's body and is not visible to the surgeon.
Claims12
An apparatus for use in an image-guided surgical or a diagnostic procedure for tracking an instrument in an operating space that includes a target site of a patient, the apparatus comprising:
- (a) a data-storage medium for storing scan data representing scans of the operating space including the patient target site;
- (b) an image capture device adapted to capture at least two radiographic stereo images of the operating space including the patient target site and such instrument during the image-guided surgical or diagnostic procedure;
- (c) a display device;
- and
- (d) a processor in communication with the data-storage medium, the image capture device, and the display device for:
- (i) registering selected scan data with the stereo images without using a fiducial structure,
- (ii) constructing a composite, three-dimensional rendition showing features from the selected scan data and the stereo images, and
- (iii) displaying the composite rendition on the display device, so as to enable a user to track the instrument as it is moved within the operating space to a selected position with respect to the patient target site.
An apparatus for use in an image-guided surgical or a diagnostic procedure for tracking a flexible instrument such as a flexible catheter through a vascular network in a patient, the apparatus comprising:
- (a) a data-storage medium for storing scan data representing scans of the vascular network;
- (b) an x-ray device adapted to capture at least two stereo radiographic images of vascular network and such instrument during the image-guided surgical or diagnostic procedure;
- (c) a display device;
- and
- (d) a processor in communication with the data-storage medium, the x-ray device, and the display device for:
- (i) registering selected scan data with the stereo images without using a fiducial structure,
- (ii) constructing a three-dimensional, composite rendition showing features from the selected scan data and the stereo images, and
- (iii) displaying the composite rendition on the display device, so as to enable a user to track and navigate the flexible instrument as it is moved through a selected path in the vascular network to a selected position in the patient's body.
A method for use in an image-guided surgical or a diagnostic procedure for tracking an instrument in an operating space that includes a target site of a patient, the method comprising:
- (a) storing scan data representing scans of the operating space including the patient target site;
- (b) capturing at least two radiographic stereo images of the operating space including the patient target site and such instrument during the image-guided surgical or diagnostic procedure;
- (c) registering selected scan data with the stereo images without using a fiducial structure;
- (d) constructing a composite, three-dimensional rendition showing features from the selected scan data and the stereo images;
- and
- (e) displaying the composite rendition, so as to enable a user to track the instrument as it is moved within the operating space to a selected position with respect to the patient target site.
A processor-readable medium embodying a program of instructions for execution by a processor for performing a method, used in an image-guided surgical or a diagnostic procedure, for tracking an instrument in an operating space that includes a target site of a patient, the program of instructions comprising:
- (a) instructions for storing scan data representing scans of the operating space including the patient target site;
- (b) instructions for capturing at least two radiographic stereo images of the operating space including the patient target site and such instrument during the image-guided surgical or diagnostic procedure;
- (c) instructions for registering selected scan data with the stereo images without using a fiducial structure;
- (d) instructions for constructing a composite, three-dimensional rendition showing features from the selected scan data and the stereo images;
- and
- (e) instructions for displaying the composite rendition, so as to enable a user to track the instrument as it is moved within the operating space to a selected position with respect to the patient target site.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.