System and method for determining the location of a catheter during an intra-body medical procedure
First Claim
1. A method of recording and displaying in context of an image a location of at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the method comprising the steps of:
- (a) establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) inserting at least one catheter into a portion of the body, said at least one catheter including a first location implement;
(c) using an imaging instrument for imaging said portion of the body;
(d) establishing a location of said imaging instrument;
(e) advancing said at least one catheter to at least one point-of-interest in said portion of the body and via a locating implement recording a location of said at least one point-of-interest; and
(f) displaying and highlighting said at least one point-of-interest in context of an image of said portion of the body, said image being generated by said imaging instrument;
such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said at least one catheter and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest is projectable and displayable in context of said image even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed.
6 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A system and method of displaying at least one point-of-interest of a body during an intra-body medical procedure. The method is effected by (a) establishing a location of the body; (b) establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body; (c) defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of the imaging instrument; (d) acquiring at least one point-of-interest of the body; and (c) projection said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane; such that, in course of the procedure, the locations of the body and the imaging instrument are known, thereby the at least one point-of-interest is projectable on the at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of the body and the imaging instrument are changed.
633 Citations
347 Claims
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1. A method of recording and displaying in context of an image a location of at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) inserting at least one catheter into a portion of the body, said at least one catheter including a first location implement;
(c) using an imaging instrument for imaging said portion of the body;
(d) establishing a location of said imaging instrument;
(e) advancing said at least one catheter to at least one point-of-interest in said portion of the body and via a locating implement recording a location of said at least one point-of-interest; and
(f) displaying and highlighting said at least one point-of-interest in context of an image of said portion of the body, said image being generated by said imaging instrument;
such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said at least one catheter and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest is projectable and displayable in context of said image even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61)
(f) using at least one additional imaging instrument for imaging said portion of the body;
(g) establishing a location of said at least one additional imaging instrument;
(h) displaying and highlighting said at least one point-of-interest in context of at least one additional image of said portion of the body, said at least one additional image being generated by said at least one additional imaging instrument;
such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said at least one catheter are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest is projectable and displayable in context of said at least one additional image even in cases whereby a relative location of said body is changed.
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54. The method of claim 53, wherein said image and said at least one additional image are projected in predetermined relativity.
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55. The method of claim 1, wherein displaying and highlighting said at least one point-of-interest is effected in context of at least two images of said portion of the body, said at least two images being generated by said imaging instrument, each is of a different plane of the portion of the body.
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56. The method of claim 55, wherein said at least two images are displayed simultaneously.
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57. The method of claim 55, wherein said at least two images are of at least two orthogonal planes.
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58. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving and storing in memory said image data.
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59. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving and storing in memory said image data and said at least one point-of-interest data.
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60. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of receiving and storing in memory said at least one point-of-interest data.
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61. The method of claim 1, wherein said locating implement is connected to said imaging instrument.
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62. A system for recording and displaying in context of an image a location of at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the system comprising:
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(a) a first mechanism for establishing a location of said body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) at least one catheter insertable into a portion of the body, said at least one catheter being supplemented with a first location implement;
(c) an imaging instrument for imaging said portion of the body;
(d) a locating implement for locating said first location implement and for establishing a location of said at least one catheter; and
(e) a second mechanism for establishing a location of said imaging instrument by image processing of features in said image together with magnification information regarding said features;
such that, by inserting said at least one catheter into said portion of the body;
using said imaging instrument for imaging said portion of the body;
establishing a location of said imaging instrument;
advancing said at least one catheter to at least one point-of-interest in said portion of the body and recording a location of said at least one point-of-interest;
so that in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said at least one catheter and said imaging instrument are known, said at least one point-of-interest is projectable and displayable in a highlighted fashion in context of an image of said portion of the body generated by said imaging instrument even in cases where a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed.- View Dependent Claims (63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113)
(f) at least one additional imaging instrument for imaging said portion of the body; and
(g) a third mechanism for establishing a location of said at least one additional imaging instrument, so as to enable displaying and highlighting said at least one point-of-interest in context of at least one additional image of said portion of the body, said at least one additional image being generated by said at least one additional imaging instrument;
such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said at least one catheter are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest is projectable and displayable in context of said at least one additional image even in cases whereby a relative location of said body is changed.
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107. The system of claim 62, wherein displaying and highlighting said at least one point-of-interest is effected in a context of at least two images of said portion of the body, said at least two images being generated by said imaging instrument, each is of a different plane of the portion of the body.
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108. The system of claim 107, wherein said at least two images are displayed simultaneously.
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109. The system of claim 107, wherein said at least two images are of at least two orthogonal planes.
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110. The system of claim 62, further comprising a memory module for receiving and storing in memory said image data.
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111. The system of claim 62, further comprising a memory module for receiving and storing in memory said image data and said at least one point-of-interest data.
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112. The system of claim 62, further comprising a memory module for receiving and storing in memory said at least one point-of-interest data.
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113. The system of claim 62, wherein said locating implement is connected to said imaging instrument.
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114. A method of displaying at least one point-of-interest of a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body;
(c) defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of said imaging instrument;
(d) acquiring at least one point-of-interest of said body; and
(e) projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane;
such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest is projectable on said at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed. - View Dependent Claims (115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145)
(f) selecting at least one picture element; and
(g) calculating a location in said three dimensional space of said picture element.
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117. The method of claim 114, wherein establishing said location of the body is effected by attaching a location implement onto said body and establishing the location of the body via a locating implement.
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118. The method of claim 117, wherein said location implement and said locating implement form a locating system selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic locating system, magnetic locating system, acoustic locating system, and stereopair optical system.
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119. The method of claim 114, wherein establishing said location of the body is effected by image processing of features in an image provided by said imaging instrument.
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120. The method of claim 119, wherein said features are imageable markers made in contact with the body.
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121. The method of claim 120, wherein said markers are distinguishable from one another.
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122. The method of claim 114, wherein establishing said location of the body is synchronized with a physiological activity of the body.
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123. The method of claim 114, wherein said imaging instrument is a real-time imaging instrument.
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124. The method of claim 123, wherein said real-time imaging instrument is selected from the group consisting of ultrasound, fluoroscope and interventional magnetic resonance imaging.
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125. The method of claim 114, wherein said imaging instrument is a non-real-time imaging instrument.
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126. The method of claim 125, wherein said non-real-time imaging instrument is selected from the group consisting of computer aided tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and three dimensional ultrasound.
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127. The method of claim 114, wherein said imaging instrument provides a primary image of said portion of the body.
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128. The method of claim 114, wherein said imaging instrument provides a secondary image of said portion of the body.
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129. The method of claim 114, wherein said imaging instrument is designed to provide an image which corresponds to a vitality map of a tissue.
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130. The method of claim 114, wherein said imaging instrument is adapted for simultaneously generating at least two images each of a different plane.
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131. The method of claim 114, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by attaching a location implement onto said imaging instrument and establishing the location of said imaging instrument via a locating implement.
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132. The method of claim 131, wherein said location implement and said locating implement form a locating system selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic locating system, magnetic locating system, acoustic locating system, and stereopair optical system.
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133. The method of claim 114, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by image processing of features of the body and by location information regarding said features.
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134. The method of claim 133, wherein said features are imageable markers made in contact with the body.
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135. The method of claim 133, wherein said features are imageable markers on said at least one catheter.
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136. The method of claim 114, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by image processing of features of the body and by magnification information regarding said features.
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137. The method of claim 114, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by a positioning implement inherent to said imaging instrument.
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138. The method of claim 114, wherein said portion of the body is a cavity within the body.
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139. The method of claim 114, wherein said portion of the body is selected from the group consisting of heart, lung, kidney, liver, bladder, brain, colon and a blood vessel.
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140. The method of claim 114, wherein said at least one point-of-interest is selected from the group consisting of a reference point which is useful in context of a medical procedure and a point, a size and shape of which is indicative of treatment range applied.
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141. The method of claim 114, wherein a plurality of said at least one point-of-interest are arranged in a line.
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142. The method of claim 141, wherein said line is selected from the group consisting of a closed line, a boundary line of an internal organ or a portion thereof, a line taken at a given direction along a body tissue and a boundary line between portions of a tissue having different bio-physiologic characteristic.
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143. The method of claim 142, wherein said bio-physiologic characteristic is selected from the group consisting of tissue vitality level, tissue blood perfusion level, tissue temperature level, tissue movement characteristic, tissue density level, tissue texture, tissue chemistry, tissue optical transparency level, local pressure level in said body portion and tissue impedance level.
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144. The method of claim 114, wherein said at least one point-of-interest is selected from the group consisting of a portion of a blood vessel, a junction between at least two blood vessels and a displacement relative to another point-of-interest.
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145. The method of claim 114, wherein the medical procedure is for treating a medical condition selected from the group consisting of fistulae, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), aneurysm, stenosis, sclerosis, ischemia, cardiac arrhythmia, tremor, Parkinson'"'"'s disease, malignant tumor and a benign tumor.
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146. A method of recording and displaying at least one point-of-interest of a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body;
(c) defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of said imaging instrument;
(d) inserting a catheter into said portion of the body and establishing a location of said catheter;
(e) advancing said catheter to at least one point-of-interest in said portion of the body and recording a location of said at least one point-of-interest; and
(f) projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane;
such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest is projectable on said at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed. - View Dependent Claims (147, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156, 157, 158, 159, 160, 161, 162, 163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 174, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 187, 188, 189, 190)
(g) selecting at least one picture element; and
(h) calculating a location in said three dimensional space of said picture element.
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149. The method of claim 146, wherein establishing said location of the body is effected by attaching a location implement onto said body and establishing the location of the body via a locating implement.
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150. The method of claim 149, wherein said location implement and said locating implement form a locating system selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic locating system, magnetic locating system, acoustic locating system, and stereopair optical system.
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151. The method of claim 146, wherein establishing said location of the body is effected by image processing of features in an image provided by said imaging instrument.
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152. The method of claim 151, wherein said features are imageable markers made in contact with the body.
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153. The method of claim 152, wherein said markers are distinguishable from one another.
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154. The method of claim 146, wherein establishing said location of the body is synchronized with a physiological activity of the body.
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155. The method of claim 146, wherein said catheter includes a plurality of electrodes for simultaneously collecting local electric information from inner walls of a heart cavity.
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156. The method of claim 146, wherein said catheter includes a mechanism for measuring a leverage of a steering mechanism of the catheter.
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157. The method of claim 146, wherein said catheter includes a location implement locationable via a locating implement.
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158. The method of claim 151, wherein said location implement and said locating implement form a locating system selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic locating system, magnetic locating system and acoustic locating system.
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159. The method of claim 146, wherein said imaging instrument is a real-time imaging instrument.
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160. The method of claim 159, wherein said real-time imaging instrument is selected from the group consisting of ultrasound, fluoroscope and interventional magnetic resonance imaging.
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161. The method of claim 146, wherein said imaging instrument is a non-real-time imaging instrument.
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162. The method of claim 161, wherein said non-real-time imaging instrument is selected from the group consisting of computer aided tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and three dimensional ultrasound.
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163. The method of claim 146, wherein said imaging instrument provides a primary image of said portion of the body.
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164. The method of claim 146, wherein said imaging instrument provides a secondary image of said portion of the body.
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165. The method of claim 146, wherein said imaging instrument is designed to provide an image which corresponds to a vitality map of a tissue.
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166. The method of claim 146, wherein said imaging instrument is adapted for simultaneously generating at least two images each of a different plane.
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167. The method of claim 146, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by attaching a location implement onto said imaging instrument and establishing the location of said imaging instrument via a locating implement.
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168. The method of claim 167, wherein said location implement and said locating implement form a locating system selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic locating system, magnetic locating system, acoustic locating system, and stereopair optical system.
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169. The method of claim 146, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by image processing of features of the body and by location information regarding said features.
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170. The method of claim 169, wherein said features are imageable markers made in contact with the body.
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171. The method of claim 169, wherein said features are imageable markers on said at least one catheter.
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172. The method of claim 146, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by image processing of features of the body and by magnification information regarding said features.
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173. The method of claim 146, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by a positioning implement inherent to said imaging instrument.
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174. The method of claim 146, wherein said portion of the body is a cavity within the body.
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175. The method of claim 146, wherein said portion of the body is selected from the group consisting of heart, lung, kidney, liver, bladder, brain, colon and a blood vessel.
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176. The method of claim 146, wherein said catheter is a probing catheter including at least one sensor.
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177. The method of claim 176, wherein said at least one sensor is selected from the group consisting of a sensor for sensing bio-physiology signals, a sensor for sensing electro-physiology signals, a sensor for sensing at least one biochemical constituent, a sensor for sensing a bio-mechanical effect, a sensor for sensing a physiopathological character of a tissue and an imaging sensor.
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178. The method of claim 146, wherein said catheter is selected from the group consisting of a steerable catheter, a cardiac catheter, an electrophysiology catheter, an ablating catheter and a catheter exerting energy to a tissue.
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179. The method of claim 178, wherein said energy is selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic energy, non-coherent light energy, laser energy, microwave energy, mechanical energy, sound energy, ultrasound energy, heating energy and cooling energy.
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180. The method of claim 146, wherein said catheter includes an injection device.
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181. The method of claim 180, wherein said injection device includes an injection mechanism for injecting a substance or an object into said portion of the body, said substance or object is selected from the group consisting of a glue, micro-coils, micro-spheres, a contrast agent, a growth factor and cells.
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182. The method of claim 146, wherein said catheter includes an item selected from the group consisting of a stent delivery device, an expandable balloon, a lead, a mechanism of lead placement, an electrode, a mechanism for electrode placement and a guiding wire.
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183. The method of claim 146 wherein said catheter is selected from the group consisting of a guiding catheter, an endoscope, a needle, a surgical tool and a drill for drilling in a tissue of the body.
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184. The method of claim 146, wherein said catheter is selected from the group consisting of a catheter for treating fistulae, a catheter for treating arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a catheter for treating aneurism, a catheter for treating stenosis, a a catheter for treating sclerosis, a catheter for treating ischemia, a catheter for treating cardiac arrhytmia, a catheter for treating tremor, a catheter for treating Parkinson'"'"'s disease, a catheter for treating a tumor (either benign or malignant), a catheter for treating renal calculus and a catheter for treating stomach ulcer.
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185. The method of claim 146, wherein said at least one point-of-interest is a reference point which is useful in context of a medical procedure and a point, a size and shape of which is indicative of treatment range applied.
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186. The method of claim 146, wherein a plurality of said at least one point-of-interest are arranged in a line.
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187. The method of claim 186, wherein said line is selected from the group consisting of a closed line, a boundary line of an internal organ or a portion thereof, a line taken at a given direction along a body tissue and a boundary line between portions of a tissue having different bio-physiologic characteristic.
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188. The method of claim 187, wherein said bio-physiologic characteristic is selected from the group consisting of tissue vitality level, tissue blood perfusion level, tissue temperature level, tissue movement characteristic, tissue density level, tissue texture, tissue chemistry, tissue optical transparency level, local pressure level in said body portion and tissue impedance level.
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189. The method of claim 146, wherein said at least one point-of-interest is selected from the group consisting of a portion of a blood vessel, a junction between at least two blood vessels and a displacement relative to another point-of-interest.
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190. The method of claim 146, wherein the medical procedure is for treating a medical condition selected from the group consisting of fistulae, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), aneurysm, stenosis, sclerosis, ischemia, cardiac arrhythmia, tremor, Parkinson'"'"'s disease, malignant tumor and a benign tumor.
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191. A method of navigating a catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body;
(c) defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of said imaging instrument;
(d) inserting a catheter into said portion of the body and establishing a location of said catheter;
(e) projecting at least a portion of said catheter on said at least one projection plane;
(f) acquiring at least one point-of-interest of said portion of the body;
(g) projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane, such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said catheter and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest and said at least a portion of said catheter are projectable on said at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed; and
(h) navigating the catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one of said points-of-interest. - View Dependent Claims (192, 193, 194, 195, 196, 197, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, 238, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243)
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244. A method of determining an angle between a surface of a body cavity and a catheter, the method comprising the steps of:
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(a) establishing a location of the body;
(b) defining a plurality of projection planes of the body;
(c) inserting said catheter into the body cavity and establishing a location of said catheter;
(d) projecting at least a portion of said catheter on each of said plurality of projection planes; and
(e) projecting at least one line along said surface on said plurality of projection planes;
such that, in course of guiding said catheter, said location of said body, said catheter and said line are known, thereby an angle between said catheter and said line is definable. - View Dependent Claims (245, 246, 247, 248)
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249. A system for recording and displaying at least one point-of-interest of a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the system comprising:
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(a) a mechanism for establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) a mechanism for establishing a location of an imaging instrument for imaging at least a portion of the body, said mechanism for establishing said location of said imaging instrument being configured to establish said location of said imaging instrument by image processing of features of the body together with magnification information regarding said features;
(c) a mechanism for defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of said imaging instrument;
(d) a mechanism for establishing a location of a catheter insertable into said portion of the body;
(e) a mechanism for recording a location of at least one point-of-interest via said location of said catheter by advancing said catheter to said at least one point-of-interest in said portion of the body; and
(f) a mechanism for projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane;
such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest is projectable on said at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed. - View Dependent Claims (250, 251, 252, 253, 254, 255, 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265, 266, 267, 268, 269, 270, 271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 283, 284, 285, 286, 287, 288)
(g) a mechanism for selecting at least one picture element; and
(h) a mechanism for calculating a location in said three dimensional space of said picture element.
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252. The system of claim 249, wherein establishing said location of the body is effected by attaching a location implement onto said body and establishing the location of the body via a locating implement.
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253. The system of claim 252, wherein said location implement and said locating implement form a locating system selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic locating system, magnetic locating system, acoustic locating system, and stereopair optical system.
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254. The system of claim 249, wherein said mechanism for establishing said location of the body is configured to establish said location by image processing of features in an image provided by said imaging instrument.
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255. The system of claim 254, wherein said features are imageable markers made in contact with the body.
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256. The system of claim 255, wherein said markers are distinguishable from one another.
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257. The system of claim 249, wherein establishing said location of the body is synchronized with a physiological activity of the body.
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258. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter includes a plurality of electrodes for simultaneously collecting local electric information from inner walls of a heart cavity.
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259. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter includes a mechanism for measuring a leverage of a steering mechanism of the catheter.
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260. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter includes a location implement locationable via a locating implement.
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261. The system of claim 260, wherein said location implement and said locating implement form a locating system selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic locating system, magnetic locating system and acoustic locating system.
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262. The system of claim 249, wherein said imaging instrument is a real-time imaging instrument.
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263. The system of claim 262, wherein said real-time imaging instrument is selected from the group consisting of ultrasound, fluoroscope and interventional magnetic resonance imaging.
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264. The system of claim 249, wherein said imaging instrument is a non-real-time imaging instrument.
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265. The system of claim 264, wherein said non-real-time imaging instrument is selected from the group consisting of computer aided tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET) and three dimensional ultrasound.
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266. The system of claim 249, wherein said imaging instrument provides a primary image of said portion of the body.
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267. The system of claim 249, wherein said imaging instrument provides a secondary image of said portion of the body.
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268. The system of claim 249, wherein said imaging instrument is designed to provide an image which corresponds to a vitality map of a tissue.
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269. The system of claim 249, wherein said imaging instrument is adapted for simultaneously generating at least two images each of a different plane.
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270. The system of claim 249, wherein establishing said location of said imaging instrument is effected by attaching a location implement onto said imaging instrument and establishing the location of said imaging instrument via a locating implement.
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271. The system of claim 270, wherein said location implement and said locating implement form a locating system selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic locating system, magnetic locating system, acoustic locating system, and stereopair optical system.
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272. The system of claim 249, wherein said portion of the body is a cavity within the body.
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273. The system of claim 249, wherein said portion of the body is selected from the group consisting of heart, lung, kidney, liver, bladder, brain, colon and a blood vessel.
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274. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter is a probing catheter including at least one sensor.
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275. The system of claim 274, wherein said at least one sensor is selected from the group consisting of a sensor for sensing bio-physiology signals, a sensor for sensing electro-physiology signals, a sensor for sensing at least one bio-chemical constituent, a sensor for sensing a bio-mechanical effect, a sensor for sensing a physiopathological character of a tissue and an imaging sensor.
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276. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter is selected from the group consisting of a steerable catheter, a cardiac catheter, an electrophysiology catheter, an ablating catheter and a catheter exerting energy to a tissue.
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277. The system of claim 276, wherein said energy is selected from the group consisting of electromagnetic energy, non-coherent light energy, laser energy, microwave energy, mechanical energy, sound energy, ultrasound energy, heating energy and cooling energy.
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278. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter includes an injection device.
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279. The system of claim 278, wherein said injection device includes an injection mechanism for injecting a substance or an object into said portion of the body, said substance or object is selected from the group consisting of a glue, micro-coils, micro-spheres, a contrast agent, a growth factor and cells.
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280. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter includes an item selected from the group consisting of a stent delivery device, an expandable balloon, a lead, a mechanism of lead placement, an electrode, a mechanism for electrode placement and a guiding wire.
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281. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter is selected from the group consisting of a guiding catheter, an endoscope, a needle, a surgical tool and a drill for drilling in a tissue of the body.
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282. The system of claim 249, wherein said catheter is selected from the group consisting of a catheter for treating fistulae, a catheter for treating arteriovenous malformation (AVM), a catheter for treating aneurism, a catheter for treating stenosis, a a catheter for treating sclerosis, a catheter for treating ischemia, a catheter for treating cardiac arrhytmia, a catheter for treating tremor, a catheter for treating Parkinson'"'"'s disease, a catheter for treating a tumor (either benign or malignant), a catheter for treating renal calculus and a catheter for treating stomach ulcer.
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283. The system of claim 249, wherein said at least one point-of-interest is a reference point which is useful in context of a medical procedure and a point, a size and shape of which is indicative of treatment range applied.
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284. The system of claim 249, wherein a plurality of said at least one point-of-interest are arranged in a line.
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285. The system of claim 284, wherein said line is selected from the group consisting of a closed line, a boundary line of an internal organ or a portion thereof, a line taken at a given direction along a body tissue and a boundary line between portions of a tissue having different bio-physiologic characteristic.
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286. The system of claim 285, wherein said bio-physiologic characteristic is selected from the group consisting of tissue vitality level, tissue blood perfusion level, tissue temperature level, tissue movement characteristic, tissue density level, tissue texture, tissue chemistry, tissue optical transparency level, local pressure level in said body portion and tissue impedance level.
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287. The system of claim 249, wherein said at least one point-of-interest is selected from the group consisting of a portion of a blood vessel, a junction between at least two blood vessels and a displacement relative to another point-of-interest.
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288. The system of claim 249, wherein the medical procedure is for treating a medical condition selected from the group consisting of fistulae, arteriovenous malformation (AVM), aneurysm, stenosis, sclerosis, ischemia, cardiac arrhythmia, tremor, Parkinson'"'"'s disease, malignant tumor and a benign tumor.
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289. A system for navigating a catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the system comprising:
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(a) a mechanism for establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) a mechanism for establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body;
(c) a mechanism for defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of said imaging instrument;
(d) a mechanism for establishing a location of a catheter being insertable into said portion of the body;
(e) a mechanism for projecting at least a portion of said catheter on said at least one projection plane;
(f) a mechanism for displaying a virtual image of said at least a portion of said catheter in the context of at least one image representing said at least one projection plane;
(g) a mechanism for acquiring at least one point-of-interest of said portion of the body;
(h) a mechanism for projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane, such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said catheter and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest and said at least a portion of said catheter are projectable on said at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed; and
(i) a mechanism for navigating the catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one of said points-of-interest, wherein displaying said at least a portion of said catheter in context of said at least one image is effected throughout a duration of a cardiac cycle. - View Dependent Claims (290, 291, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296, 297, 298, 299, 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 309, 310, 311, 312, 313, 314, 315, 316, 317, 318, 319, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324, 325, 326, 327, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 334, 335, 336, 337, 338, 339)
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340. A system for determining an angle between a surface of a body cavity and a catheter, the system comprising:
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(a) a mechanism for establishing a location of the body;
(b) a mechanism for defining a plurality of projection planes of the body;
(c) a mechanism for establishing a location of a catheter insertable into the body cavity;
(d) a mechanism for projecting at least a portion of said catheter on each of said plurality of projection planes; and
(e) a mechanism for projecting at least one line along said surface on said plurality of projection planes;
such that, in course of guiding said catheter, said location of said body, said catheter and said line are known, thereby an angle between said catheter and said line is definable. - View Dependent Claims (341, 342, 343, 344)
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345. A system for navigating a catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the system comprising:
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(a) a mechanism for establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) a mechanism for establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body;
(c) a mechanism for defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of said imaging instrument;
(d) a mechanism for establishing a location of a catheter being insertable into said portion of the body;
(e) a mechanism for projecting at least a portion of said catheter on said at least one projection plane;
(f) a mechanism for displaying a virtual image of said at least a portion of said catheter in the context of at least one image representing said at least one projection plane;
(g) a mechanism for acquiring at least one point-of-interest of said portion of the body;
(h) a mechanism for projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane, such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said catheter and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest and said at least a portion of said catheter are projectable on said at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed; and
(i) a mechanism for navigating the catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one of said points-of-interest, wherein said mechanism for displaying is configured to display said at least a portion of said catheter in context of said at least one image by averaging its location over at least one cardiac cycle and also throughout said cardiac cycle.
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346. A system for navigating a catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the system comprising:
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(a) a mechanism for establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) a mechanism for establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body;
(c) a mechanism for defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of said imaging instrument;
(d) a mechanism for establishing a location of a catheter being insertable into said portion of the body;
(e) a mechanism for projecting at least a portion of said catheter on said at least one projection plane;
(f) a mechanism for displaying a virtual image of said at least a portion of said catheter in the context of at least one image representing said at least one projection plane;
(g) a mechanism for acquiring at least one point-of-interest of said portion of the body;
(h) a mechanism for projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane, such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said catheter and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest and said at least a portion of said catheter are projectable on said at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed; and
(i) a mechanism for navigating the catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one of said points-of-interest, wherein said mechanism for displaying is configured to display said at least a portion of said catheter in context of said at least one image by averaging its location throughout a respiratory cycle.
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347. A system for navigating a catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one point-of-interest in a body during an intra-body medical procedure, the system comprising:
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(a) a mechanism for establishing a location of the body in such a manner as to establish the location of the body even when the body moves;
(b) a mechanism for establishing a location of an imaging instrument being for imaging at least a portion of the body;
(c) a mechanism for defining at least one projection plane being in relation to a projection plane of said imaging instrument;
(d) a mechanism for establishing a location of a catheter being insertable into said portion of the body;
(e) a mechanism for projecting at least a portion of said catheter on said at least one projection plane;
(f) a mechanism for displaying a virtual image of said at least a portion of said catheter in the context of at least one image representing said at least one projection plane;
(g) a mechanism for acquiring at least one point-of-interest of said portion of the body;
(h) a mechanism for projecting said at least one point-of-interest on said at least one projection plane, such that, in course of said procedure, said locations of said body, said catheter and said imaging instrument are known, thereby said at least one point-of-interest and said at least a portion of said catheter are projectable on said at least one projection plane even in cases whereby a relative location of said body and said imaging instrument are changed; and
(i) a mechanism for navigating the catheter'"'"'s tip to at least one of said points-of-interest, wherein said mechanism for displaying is configured to display said at least a portion of said catheter in context of said at least one image by averaging its location over at least one respiratory cycle and also throughout said respiratory cycle.
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Specification