Medical device with endoscope and insertable instrument

• US 8,298,135 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2009
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/23/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Olympus Corporation
• Original Assignee: Olympus Medical Systems Corporation (Olympus Corporation)
• Inventors: Ito, Seiichi, Akimoto, Shunya, Onishi, Junichi, Hasegawa, Jun
• Primary Examiner(s): Leubecker, John P
• Assistant Examiner(s): TORRES DIAZ, ARNALDO
• Application Number:
  US12/469,111
• Publication Number:
  US 20090292166A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,259 Days
• Field of Search: 600/109, 600117-118, 600/156, 600/160, 600/182, 382/130, 382/151, 382/276, 382/294, 128/922
• US Class Current: 600/117
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 1/00009 of image signals during a use of endoscope
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00694 with means correcting for movement of or for synchronisation with the body
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00699 correcting for movement caused by respiration, e.g. by triggering
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/105 Modelling of the patient, e.g. for ligaments or bones
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2051 Electromagnetic tracking systems
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/2059 Mechanical position encoders
• 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 2090/364 Correlation of different images or relation of image positions in respect to the body
• 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

Abstract

A medical device for examination or treatment based on a reference point A1, including: a virtual endoscopic image generation section configured to generate a virtual endoscopic image from a plurality of different sight line positions using three-dimensional image data of a bronchus that is obtained in advance; an image retrieving section configured to retrieve a virtual endoscopic image highly similar to a real image; a reference-point setting section configured to set the reference point A1 based on a line-of-sight position A0 of the highly similar virtual endoscopic image; a relative-position calculation section configured to calculate a relative position of a treatment instrument to the reference point A1; a movement detection section configured to detect a movement of the reference point A1 or the bronchus; and a position correction section configured to correct the relative position in response to the movement of the reference point A1 or the bronchus.

Claims

1. A medical device, comprising:

an endoscope with an insertion section that is insertable through a tube cavity in a subject, the insertion section having a channel formed therein, the insertion section having an opening of the channel at a distal end portion of the insertion section;

an image pickup section that is able to pick up an image of the tube cavity in the subject, the image pickup section being disposed at the distal end portion of the insertion section;

a medical instrument for examination or treatment in the tube cavity, the medical instrument being insertable through the channel, the medical instrument being configured to protrude from the distal end portion of the insertion section through the opening;

a virtual endoscopic image generation section configured to generate a virtual endoscopic image of the tube cavity from a plurality of different line-of-sight positions using three-dimensional image data of the tube cavity that is obtained in advance;

an image retrieval section configured to retrieve the virtual endoscopic image highly similar to the endoscopic image of the tube cavity in a body picked up by the image pickup section;

a reference-point setting section configured to set a reference point based on a line-of-sight position of the highly similar virtual endoscopic image, wherein the reference point is positioned at the opening;

a relative-position calculation section configured to calculate a relative position of the medical instrument to the reference point;

a movement detection section configured to detect a movement of the reference point or the subject; and

a position correction section configured to correct the relative position in response to the movement of the reference point or the subject detected by the movement detection section.

2. The medical device according to claim 1, wherein

the virtual endoscopic image generation section generates a more highly similar virtual endoscopic image based on the information from the image retrieval section, and

the reference-point setting section sets the reference point based on a line-of-sight position of the more highly similar virtual endoscopic image.

3. The medical device according to claim 1, wherein

the image retrieval section retrieves the most highly similar virtual endoscopic image among the plurality of the virtual endoscopic images generated by the virtual endoscopic image generation section in advance,

the virtual endoscopic image generation section generates a still more highly similar virtual endoscopic image based on the information of the most highly similar virtual endoscopic image retrieved by the image retrieval section, and

the reference-point setting section sets the reference point based on a line-of-sight position of the still more highly similar virtual endoscopic image.

4. The medical device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a position detection section configured to detect a position of the medical instrument; and

wherein

the relative position calculation section calculates the relative position based on the position of the medical instrument and the reference point.

5. The medical device according to claim 4, wherein

the relative position calculation section calculates the relative position based on the position of the medical instrument and a new reference point obtained using the movement amount of the reference point.

6. The medical device according to claim 1, wherein insertion of the medical instrument through the channel comprises movement of the medical instrument through the channel from at least a first position to at least a second position.