METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ASSISTING AN OPERATOR IN ENDOSCOPIC NAVIGATION

• US 20100249506A1
• Filed: 03/26/2009
• Published: 09/30/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Incorporated (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: Prisco, Giuseppe
• Granted Patent: US 10,004,387 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 600/117
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/000094 extracting biological structures
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0005 combining images e.g. side-by-side, superimposed or tiled
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00059 provided with identification means for the endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/0051 with controlled bending of insertion part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/009 with bending or curvature detection of the insertion part
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/04 combined with photographic or television appliances
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/05 characterised by the image sensor, e.g. camera, being in the distal end portion
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00278 Transorgan operations, e.g. transgastric
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/102 Modelling of surgical devices, implants or prosthesis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/105 Modelling of the patient, e.g. for ligaments or bones
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2059 Mechanical position encoders
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2068 using pointers, e.g. pointers having reference marks for determining coordinates of body points
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/256 having a database of accessory information, e.g. including context sensitive help or scientific articles
• 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 2090/3614 using optical fibre
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/20 Surgical navigation systems; Devices for tracking or guiding surgical instruments, e.g. for frameless stereotaxis
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/25 User interfaces for surgical systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/065 Determining position of the probe employing exclusively positioning means located on or in the probe, e.g. using position sensors arranged on the probe
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/066 Superposing sensor position on an image of the patient, e.g. obtained by ultrasound or x-ray imaging
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 6/12 Arrangements for detecting or locating foreign bodies

Abstract

Navigation guidance is provided to an operator of an endoscope by determining a current position and shape of the endoscope relative to a reference frame, generating an endoscope computer model according to the determined position and shape, and displaying the endoscope computer model along with a patient computer model referenced to the reference frame so as to be viewable by the operator while steering the endoscope within the patient.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for assisting an operator in endoscopic navigation, the method comprising:

referencing a computer model of a patient to a reference frame;

determining a current position and shape of an endoscopic device relative to the reference frame;

generating a computer model of the endoscopic device according to the determined current position and shape; and

displaying the computer models of the endoscopic device and patient on a display screen so as to provide the endoscopic navigation assistance to the operator.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the referencing of the computer model of the patient to the reference frame comprises:

referencing one or more points on the patient to the reference frame; and

associating a corresponding point of the computer model of the patient with each of the referenced one or more points on the patient.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the computer model of the patient is a three-dimensional computer model and the referencing of the computer model of the patient to the reference frame comprises:

aligning the computer model of the patient with the patient in the reference frame using the associated reference points of the patient and the patient computer model.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the computer model of the patient is a three-dimensional computer model and the referencing of the computer model of the patient to the reference frame comprises:

conforming the computer model of the patient with the patient by overlaying the associated reference points of the patient computer model and the patient.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein the referencing of the one or more points on the patient to the reference frame comprises:

determining a position in the reference frame of a point on the endoscopic device when the point is touched to a corresponding one of the one or more points on the patient.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more optical fibers configured with strain sensors extends through the endoscopic device so as to provide shape information of the endoscopic device.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein one or more optical fibers configured with strain sensors is attached to the endoscopic device so as to provide position information of the endoscopic device.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the endoscopic device has a distal tip and an image capturing device positioned so as to capture images from a perspective of the distal tip, the method further comprising:

periodically capturing images with the image capturing device and storing the captured images in a memory device; and

determining positions of the image capturing device at the times of such image capturing and storing the positions in the memory device.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

storing timestamps corresponding to the times of such image capturing in the memory device.

10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:

computing a panoramic image from the captured images stored in the memory device by mosaicking a plurality of the captured images together.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

displaying the panoramic image in a first area on the display screen; and

displaying the computer models of the endoscopic device and patient in a second area on the display screen.

12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

displaying the panoramic image on the display screen; and

displaying the computer models of the endoscopic device and patient as a picture-in-picture over the panoramic image on the display screen.

13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:

displaying the panoramic image so as to appear to project from a distal tip of the computer model of the endoscopic device being displayed on the display screen.

14. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

determining positions in the reference frame for at least two points on an anatomic structure within the patient; and

displaying a computer model of the anatomic structure along with the computer models of the patient and endoscopic device on the display screen according to the determined positions for at least two points on the anatomic structure.

15. A system comprising:

a display screen;

an endoscopic device; and

a processor adapted to reference a computer model of a patient to a reference frame, determine a current position and shape of the endoscopic device relative to the reference frame, generate a computer model of the endoscopic device according to the determined current position and shape, and display the computer models of the endoscopic device and patient on the display screen so as to provide endoscopic navigation assistance to an operator of the system.

16. The system according to claim 15, wherein the processor is adapted to reference the computer model of the patient to the reference frame by:

receiving information of one or more points on the patient and processing the received information so as to reference the one or more points to the reference frame; and

associating a corresponding point of the computer model of the patient with each of the referenced one or more points on the patient.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the computer model of the patient is a three-dimensional computer model and the processor is adapted to reference the computer model of the patient to the reference frame by:

aligning the computer model of the patient with the patient in the reference frame using the associated reference points of the patient and the patient computer model.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the computer model of the patient is a three-dimensional computer model and the processor is adapted to reference the computer model of the patient to the reference frame by:

conforming the computer model of the patient with the patient by overlaying the associated reference points of the patient computer model and the patient.

19. The system according to claim 16, wherein the processor is adapted to reference the one or more points on the patient to the reference frame by:

determining a position in the reference frame of a point on the endoscopic device when the point is touched to a corresponding one of the one or more points on the patient.

20. The system according to claim 15, further comprising:

one or more optical fibers configured with strain sensors extending through the endoscopic device so as to provide shape information of the endoscopic device.

21. The system according to claim 15, further comprising:

one or more optical fibers configured with strain sensors and attached to the endoscopic device so as to provide position information of the endoscopic device.

22. The system according to claim 15, further comprising:

an image capturing device positioned at a distal tip of the endoscopic device so as to capture images from a perspective of the distal tip; and

a memory device;

wherein the processor is adapted to periodically capture images with the image capturing device and store the captured images in the memory device, and determine positions of the image capturing device at the times of such image capturing and storing the positions in the memory device.

23. The system according to claim 22, wherein the processor is adapted to store timestamps corresponding to the times of such image capturing in the memory device.

24. The system according to claim 22, wherein the processor is adapted to compute a panoramic image from the captured images stored in the memory device by mosaicking a plurality of the captured images together.

25. The system according to claim 24, wherein the processor is adapted to display the panoramic image in a first area on the display screen and the computer models of the endoscopic device and patient in a second area on the display screen.

26. The system according to claim 24, wherein the processor is adapted to display the panoramic image on the display screen and the computer models of the endoscopic device and patient as a picture-in-picture over the panoramic image on the display screen.

27. The system according to claim 24, wherein the processor is adapted to display the panoramic image so as to appear to project from a distal tip of the computer model of the endoscopic device being displayed on the display screen.

28. The system according to claim 15, wherein the processor is adapted to determine positions in the reference frame for at least two points on an anatomic structure within the patient and display a computer model of the anatomic structure along with the computer models of the patient and endoscopic device on the display screen according to the determined positions for the at least two points on the anatomic structure.