Apparatus and method for four dimensional soft tissue navigation

Abstract

A surgical instrument navigation system is provided that visually simulates a virtual volumetric scene of a body cavity of a patient from a point of view of a surgical instrument residing in the cavity of the patient. The surgical instrument navigation system includes: a surgical instrument; an imaging device which is operable to capture scan data representative of an internal region of interest within a given patient; a tracking subsystem that employs electro-magnetic sensing to capture in real-time position data indicative of the position of the surgical instrument; a data processor which is operable to render a volumetric, perspective image of the internal region of interest from a point of view of the surgical instrument; and a display which is operable to display the volumetric perspective image of the patient.

1 - 8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . A medical system comprising:
 a catheter, a diagnostic tool positioned at a distal end of the catheter, a solenoid coil positioned within the catheter proximal to the diagnostic tool, a capacitor positioned adjacent to the solenoid coil; and   the solenoid coil having a passive mode and an active mode, in the passive mode the solenoid coil functions as an EM sensor, in the active mode the solenoid coil utilizes energy stored in the capacitor to activate the diagnostic tool.   
     
     
         10 . A medical system comprising:
 a catheter, a forceps positioned at a distal end of the catheter, an armature positioned within the catheter proximal to the forceps and in communication therewith, a solenoid coil positioned within the catheter proximal to the forceps, a capacitor positioned adjacent to the solenoid coil;   the solenoid coil having a passive mode and an active mode, in the passive mode the solenoid coil functions as an electromagnetic sensor, in the active mode the solenoid coil actuates the forceps via the armature, energy stored in the capacitor being utilized to activate the solenoid coil.   
     
     
         11 . A medical system comprising:
 a catheter, a diagnostic tool positioned at a distal end of the catheter, an electromagnetic (EM) sensor coil positioned within the catheter proximal to the diagnostic tool, a capacitor positioned adjacent to the EM sensor coil;   the EM sensor coil having a passive mode and an active mode, in the passive mode the EM sensor coil functions as an EM sensor, in the active mode the EM sensor coil utilizes energy stored in the capacitor to activate the diagnostic tool.   
     
     
         12 . The medical system of  claim 11 , wherein the diagnostic tool is a diagnostic sensor. 
     
     
         13 . The medical system of  claim 11 , wherein the EM sensor coil is a solenoid coil. 
     
     
         14 . The medical system of  claim 13 , wherein the diagnostic tool is a sampling device, an armature is positioned within the catheter proximal to the sampling tool and in communication therewith, in the active mode the solenoid coil actuates the diagnostic tool via the armature. 
     
     
         15 . The medical system of  claim 14 , wherein the sampling device is a forceps. 
     
     
         16 . The medical system of  claim 14 , wherein the EM sensor coil is a five degree of freedom tip sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The medical system of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a patient tracking device disposed externally from a patient;   a non-tissue internal reference marker implanted into an anatomic location of the patient that undergoes periodic movement:   an imaging device, the imaging device providing a gated data set of pre-operative images, the gated data set of pre-operative images corresponding to the periodic movement of the anatomic location;   a navigation system having a processor, which according to an algorithm, is configured to perform a method for determining the orientation and location of the tip sensor comprising the steps of:
 receiving from the imaging device the gated dataset; 
 creating at least one image of the anatomic location at a particular instant of time during the periodic movement; 
 activating a steering mechanism of the catheter to repeatedly move the EM sensor coil in an arc constrained to a plane; 
 determining the orientation and location of the EM sensor coil in the patient based on movement of the tip sensor within the arc; 
 defining a sixth degree of freedom of the tip sensor using the determined orientation and location of the tip sensor; and 
 correlating the determined EM sensor coil location and orientation with the at least one image of the anatomic location at the particular instant of time during the periodic movement. 
   
     
     
         18 . The medical system of  claim 16 , wherein a respiratory signal is derived from the-patient tracking device, the orientation and location of the EM sensor coil being determined by the processor combining the respiratory signal with an applied deformation vector field.