Patient Breathing Modeling

Abstract

A method of accounting for the movement of the lungs during an endoscopic procedure such that a previously acquired image may be dynamically registered with a display showing the position of a locatable guide. After an initial image set is acquired, an area of interest is identified and the movement thereof due to breathing is mathematically modeled. Patient movement sensors are then used to provide information on the patient's breathing patterns. This information is entered into the mathematical model in order to update the registration between the image set and a display showing the position of the locatable guide.

1 - 13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . A method of navigating a probe through airways of the lungs of a patient comprising:
 measuring patient characteristics;
 imaging said patient to acquire one or more images; 
 identifying an area of interest in the lungs of said patient; 
 collecting data regarding positions of key points on the patient's body while the patient is breathing; 
 developing a mathematical model of movement due to breathing using said data; 
 inserting a probe into said patient; 
 displaying at least one of said acquired images; 
 displaying a real-time indication of a position of said probe on said at least one of said acquired images; 
 using said mathematical model to adjust relative positions of said real-time indication and said at least one acquired images such that said real-time image is accurately portrayed on said at least one acquired image. 
   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14  wherein measuring patient characteristics comprises taking measurements selected from the set consisting of lung size, lung shape, lung health, altitude, patient age, diaphragm size, and diaphragm health. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 14  wherein collecting data regarding positions of key points on the patient's body while the patient is breathing comprises collecting data from sensors placed on the patient. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14  wherein developing a mathematical model of movement due to breathing using said data comprises creating a skeletal tree of the lungs and modeling the skeletal motion of the lungs. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 14  wherein developing a mathematical model of movement due to breathing using said data comprises:
 measuring movement due to breathing for at a plurality of points in a plurality of patients; 
 averaging the results of said plurality of points in said plurality of patients; 
 creating a 3-dimensional vector field representative of average movements in the lungs; 
 applying a vector corresponding to an area of interest in the lung to said at least one image in order to predict a location of said area of interest at a given point in the breathing cycle. 
 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 14  wherein developing a mathematical model of movement due to breathing using said data comprises developing a mathematical algorithm that models the lung movement of the patient. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 14  wherein developing a mathematical model of movement due to breathing using said data comprises calculating a polynomial transformation. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 19  wherein developing a mathematical algorithm that models the lung movement of the patient comprises collecting data on a number of subjects in a study and relating movement of given locations in said subjects to points in the respective breathing cycles of said subjects in which the positions were acquired.