System and method of recording and displaying in context of an image a location of at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure

Abstract

A method of displaying at least one point-of-interest of a body during an intra-body medical procedure. The method is effected by (a) establishing a location of the body; (b) establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body; (c) defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of the imaging instrument; (d) acquiring at least one point-of-interest of the body; and (e) projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane; such that, in course of the procedure, the locations of the body and the imaging instrument are known, thereby the at least one point-of-interest is projectable on the at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of the body and the imaging instrument are changed.

1 . A method for navigating a catheter to a point of interest located in a body cavity within a living body, the method comprising: 
 (a) providing a position measuring system including a plurality of position sensor elements, said position measuring system measuring a position of each of said plurality of position sensor elements within a three dimensional frame of reference;    (b) providing a flexible, steerable catheter, at least one of said position sensor elements being located near a distal tip of the catheter in a configuration sufficient to provide measurement of location and angular position of said distal tip relative to the three-dimensional frame of reference;    (c) attaching at least one of said position sensor elements to the living body in a configuration sufficient to provide measurement of location and angular position of the living body relative to the three-dimensional frame of reference;    (d) deriving a three-dimensional model of the body cavity;    (e) designating the location of at least one point of interest relative to the three-dimensional model of the body cavity;    (f) deriving a correlation between the three-dimensional model of the body cavity and the body cavity of the living body within the three-dimensional frame of reference;    (g) monitoring by use of said position measuring system the positions of both the distal tip of said catheter and the living body;    (h) displaying a virtual image indicative of a geometrical relation between the distal tip of said catheter and said at least one point of interest, said virtual image being derived at least in part from the three-dimensional model of the body cavity; and    (i) adjusting the virtual image so that the virtual image remains indicative of a geometrical relation between the distal tip of said catheter and said at least one point of interest when both said distal tip and the living body move relative to the three-dimensional frame of reference.    
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the three-dimensional model is constructed from three-dimensional image data of the body cavity generated by a three-dimensional-imaging system.  
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said deriving a correlation includes correlating a plurality of reference points defined in the three-dimensional model with corresponding points within the body cavity.  
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said virtual image includes a representation of a boundary of at least part of the body cavity.  
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said virtual image provides a visual indication of depth to a viewed tissue surface.  
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein said virtual image includes a representation of said at least one point of interest.  
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein said virtual image corresponds to a view along an axis of a part of said catheter.