Insertion support system

• US 20060203089A1
• Filed: 04/28/2006
• Published: 09/14/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/04/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Inventors: Akimoto, Shunya, Ohnishi, Junichi
• Granted Patent: US 7,929,014 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 348/113
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00009 of image signals during a use of endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 10/02 Instruments for taking cell samples or for biopsy A61B10/0038 and A61B10/0045 take precedence; needle locating or guiding means A61B17/3403; samplers for enzymology or microbiology C12M1/26; sampling or preparing biological specimens G01N33/48
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/105 Modelling of the patient, e.g. for ligaments or bones
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2065 Tracking using image or pattern recognition
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/301 for introducing or steering flexible instruments inserted into the body, e.g. catheters or endoscopes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/10 Computer-aided planning, simulation or modelling of surgical operations
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems

Abstract

With a bronchial tube insertion support system according to the present invention, a route setting unit comprises a route starting-point setting function for setting the insertion starting-point of a bronchial tube, a region-of-interest setting function for setting a region of interest serving as the insertion end-point of the bronchial tube, a route extracting function for extracting an insertion route from an insertion start point to an insertion end point, and a route verifying function for performing verification of the extracted insertion route. According to these functions, of multiple insertion routes, the most appropriate insertion route when performing insertion support is determined.

Claims

1. An insertion support system comprising:

virtual image generating means for generating a virtual image of the body cavity path within a subject based on the image data of a three-dimensional region of the subject;

route starting-point setting means for setting the starting-point of an insertion route of an endoscope to the body cavity path within the subject;

region-of-interest setting means for setting the region of a portion of interest within the subject;

route extracting means for extracting the multiple insertion routes to the region of the portion of interest from the starting-point; and

route verifying means for verifying the multiple insertion routes extracted by the route extracting means.

2. The insertion support system according to claim 1, wherein the route verifying means comprise:

position specifying means for specifying an arbitrary position on the insertion route extracted by the route extracting means; and

display means for displaying the virtual image in the position specified by the position specifying means.

3. The insertion support system according to claim 2, comprising position moving means for moving the position specified by the position specifying means.

4. The insertion support system according to claim 2, wherein the route extracting means extracts the multiple insertion routes to the position of the body cavity path positioned near the region of interest.

5. The insertion support system according to claim 2, wherein the display means displays the insertion route extracted by the route extracting means on a multistage surface restructuring image based on the image data of the three-dimensional region.

6. The insertion support system according to claim 2, wherein the display means displays the insertion route extracted by the route extracting means on the three-dimensional restructuring image of the body cavity path within the subject based on the image data of the three-dimensional region.

7. An insertion support system comprising:

virtual image generating means for generating a virtual image of the body cavity path within a subject based on the image data of a three-dimensional region of the subject;

route starting-point setting means for setting the starting-point of an insertion route of an endoscope to the body cavity path within the subject;

route end-point setting means for setting the end-point of an insertion route of an endoscope to the body cavity path within the subject;

route extracting means for extracting the multiple insertion routes to the end-point from the starting-point; and

route verifying means for verifying the multiple insertion routes extracted by the route extracting means.