Robotic catheter system

A method of graphically displaying a predicted position of a surgical instrument in an anatomical workspace, comprising:

• displaying on a display substantially real-time images of the anatomical workspace;
• inserting an elongate flexible instrument into a body;
• maneuvering a distal end portion of the instrument within an anatomical workspace in the body using a robotically controlled system;
• predicting a location of an elongate flexible catheter instrument positioned within the anatomical workspace using a kinematic model that takes into account mechanics of material relationships of the instrument;
• and
• overlaying the substantially real-time images with a graphical rendering of the predicted position of the surgical instrument on the display.

A method using a robotically controlled system to perform an operation on a patient, comprising:

• displaying a pre-operative image of an anatomical workspace in the patient's body;
• inserting an elongate flexible instrument into the patient's body so that a distal end portion of the instrument is positioned within the anatomical workspace;
• maneuvering the distal end portion of the instrument within the anatomical workspace using a robotically controlled system;
• generating and displaying on the displayed pre-operative image a graphical reconstruction of the instrument distal end portion in a position in the anatomical workspace that is predicted using a kinematic model that takes into account mechanics of material relationships of the instrument.