Method and apparatus for magnetically controlling catheters in body lumens and cavities
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Abstract
A method of navigating a magnet-tipped distal end of an elongate medical device through the body includes providing an image display of the part of the body through which the medical device is being navigated and using the display to input the desired path of the medical device by identifying points on the desired path on the display. The magnetic field needed to orient the end of the medical device in the direction of the desired path as indicated on the display is then determined. In one embodiment where only points on the desired path are identified, the field direction is the direction indicated by the points on the desired path. In a second embodiment, where points on the current path and the desired path are identified, the desired angle of deflection is determined, and the direction of the magnetic field is set to lead this desired angle of deflection by 90° to over-torque the end of the catheter, and the intensity of the field is determined from a table of experimentally determined field intensities for given angles of deflection. The apparatus for navigating a magnet-tipped medical device through the body in accordance with the invention includes a magnet system for applying a magnetic field to the magnet-tipped distal end of the medical device to orient the distal end of the medical device; a computer for controlling the magnet system to generate a specified magnetic field in the body part; first and second imaging devices connected to the computer, for providing bi-planar images of the body part through which the medical device is being navigated; first and second displays for displaying the images from the image devices; and an input device for inputting points identifying the desired path of the medical device on each of the displays. The computer is programmed to determine the magnetic field necessary to control orient the medical device on the path input on the displays.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1-20. -20. (canceled)
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21. A method of navigating a magnet-tipped distal end of an elongate medical device through the body, the method comprising:
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providing first and second/two image displays of two planar views of the part of the body through which the medical device is being navigating;
inputting a desired path for the distal end of the medical device using the image display by identifying at least one path point on the desired path by selecting at least one point in each of the two image displays, where upon selecting a first point in the first/one display, an indicator indicating the line that is the projection of the first selected point is displayed on the other display, along which line a second point is selected, to thereby fix at least one path point on the desired path in three dimensional space, determining a desired angle of deflection for the medical device by determining the angle between the current path of the medical device and the desired path for the medical device;
determining the direction of the magnetic field required to orient the distal end of the medical device to the desired angle of deflection for guiding the distal end towards the desired path that was input using the image display;
applying the magnetic field to the distal end of the medical device to orient the distal end of the medical device in the direction input on the image display, the magnetic field having an intensity level that is determined based on at least a lag angle corresponding to a desired angle of deflection for the particular medical device; and
advancing the medical device to move the distal end of the device in the direction in which it is oriented by the magnetic field. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method of navigating a magnet-tipped distal end of an elongate medical device through the body, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing bi-planar image displays of the body part through which the catheter is being navigated;
inputting location points on a desired path for the medical device in three dimensions by identifying on each of the two bi-planar displays at least one point corresponding to a select location, where upon selecting a first point in a first bi-planar display, an indicator indicating the line that is the projection of the first selected point is displayed on the second bi-planar display, along which line a second point is selected, to thereby fix at least one location point on the desired path in three dimensional space; and
determining a desired angle of deflection for the medical device by determining the angle between the current path of the medical device and the desired path for the medical device. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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33. A method of navigating a magnet-tipped distal end of an elongate medical device through the body, the method comprising:
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providing first and second image displays of two planar views of the part of the body through which the medical device is being navigating;
inputting a desired path for the distal end of the medical device using the image display by identifying at least one path point on the desired path by selecting at least one point in each of the two image displays, where upon selecting a first point in the first image display, an indicator line is displayed on the second image display to indicate the line that is the projection of the first selected point, along which line a second point in the second image display may be selected such that the first selected point, when projected as a line, and the second selected point, when projected as a line, intersect to thereby fix at least one path point on the desired path in three dimensional space; and
determining a desired angle of deflection for the medical device by determining the angle between the current path of the medical device and the desired path for the medical device, at which deflection angle the distal end of the medical device may be guided towards the desired path that was input using the image display. - View Dependent Claims (34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification