Superdimension, Ltd.

Covidien LP

Elbit Ltd.

Activiews Ltd.

Elbit Systems Ltd.

Stryker Leibinger Gmbh & Co Kg

Stryker European Holdings I LLC

Pinhas Gilboa

Danny Blecher

David Tolkowsky

David Hollander

Benny Greenburg

Joseph Yaeli

David Sendowski

Shimon Levy

Benny Greenberg

Tal Maoz

Alexander Gold

Systems and methods employing a small gauge steerable catheter including a locatable guide with a sheath, particularly as an enhancement to a bronchoscope. A typical procedure is as follows. The location of a target in a reference coordinate system is detected or imported. The catheter is navigated to the target which tracking the distal tip of the guide in the reference coordinate system. Insertion of the catheter is typically via a working channel of a convention bronchoscope. Once the tip of the catheter is positioned at the target, the guide is withdrawn, leaving the sheath secured in place. The sheath is then used as a guide channel to direct a medical tool to target.

Endoscope structures and techniques for navigating to a target in branched structure

Systems and methods for endoscopic procedures employ a first technique to ensure initial correct alignment of an endoscope () with a desired target (). A reference image () is then acquired from an imaging arrangement associated with the endoscope. During a subsequent stage of the procedure, tracking of the endoscope position relative to the target is performed partially or entirely by image-based tracking by comparing features in real-time video image () produced by imaging arrangement with features in the reference image (). The feature comparison may be performed visually by a user, or may be automated to offer more specific corrective suggestions to the user.

System and method for image-based alignment of an endoscope

Systems and methods employing a small gauge steerable catheter () including a locatable guide () with a sheath (), particularly as an enhancement to a bronchoscope (). A typical procedure is as follows. The location of a target in a reference coordinate system is detected or imported. The catheter () is navigated to the target which tracking the distal tip () of the guide () in the reference coordinate system. Insertion of the catheter is typically via a working channel of a convention bronchoscope. Once the tip of the catheter is positioned at the target, the guide () is withdrawn, leaving the sheath () secured in place. The sheath () is then used as a guide channel to direct a medical tool to target.

Endoscope structures and techniques for navigating to a target in a branched structure

A system and method for planning volumetric treatment by percutaneous needle procedures obtains a volumetric image data set of a subject including an identifiable region requiring treatment. An effective treatment volume is defined relative to the needle position for at least one needle carrying a treatment applicator. One or more proposed inserted needle position is defined such that a effective treatment volume corresponding to the one or more proposed inserted needle position provides coverage of the region requiring treatment. The effective treatment volume for one or more needles can then be visualized in the context of slices of 3D image data. One or more entry point and corresponding virtual target are then defined relative to a frame of reference of the volumetric image data set for use in navigation of the at least one needle to the corresponding proposed inserted needle position.

Methods for planning and performing percutaneous needle procedures

A catheter is navigated within a body cavity of a patient. This navigation is enabled by the provision of the transmitter of electromagnetic radiation under platform, a receiver of electromagnetic radiation rigidly attached to fluoroscope, and a receiver of radiation rigidly attached to the catheter, all three of which are connected by wires to a computer. The computer displays, on a display unit, the image of the body cavity acquired by the fluoroscope, with an icon representing the catheter superposed on the image in the location and orientation of catheter relative to the body. There is no representational imaging device equipped with a receiver in the apparatus of the current invention.

Methods and systems for performing medical procedures with reference to determining estimated dispositions for actual dispositions of projective images to transform projective images into an image volume

A method is described for producing printed patches to provide a plurality of color markings and high-contrast markings as aligned arrangements of fiducial points. The printed color markings facilitate optical image processing and the printed high-contrast markings facilitate high-contrast image processing. These fiducial points enable a visible area of interest to be located by a person and associated with relevant high-contrast imaging data. This method includes providing a patch; printing at least one arrangement of color markings on the patch; and printing at least one arrangement of high-contrast markings on the patch. According to further features of certain embodiments the markings are aligned, can designate the same point, or can be disjointed.

Method for producing printed patches for optical and high-contrast guidance

A method of tracking translation and rotation of one or more objects within a region of interest. The method includes providing a passive transponder in the region of interest, the transponder having a position and an orientation, generating an electromagnetic field in the region of interest, causing the transponder to generate electromagnetic signal, mapping the electromagnetic field and the signal as functions of the position and the orientation of the transponder, fixing the transponder to the object being tracked, receiving the signals generated by the transponder while the transponder is fixed to the object being tracked, and processing the signal, with reference to the functions, to compute the three-dimensional translational position and three-axis rotational orientation of the object.

Method of tracking an object having a passive transponder attached thereto

A system for measuring the position of a hand-held tool relative to a body in six degrees of freedom employs a camera attached via a mechanical linkage to the tool so that the camera moves together with the proximal portion of the tool and has a field of view including the distal end of the tool. A processing system processes images from the camera to determine a position of at least part of the tool. By employing optically identifiable fiducial reference points defined on the external surface of the body, a projection of the tool tip position onto a plane containing the target can be derived and displayed together with the target position, thereby facilitating guiding the tool to the target.

System and method for optical position measurement and guidance of a rigid or semi-flexible tool to a target

A system and method for tracking the position and orientation of a probe. Three at least partly overlapping planar antennas are used to transmit electromagnetic radiation simultaneously, with the radiation transmitted by each antenna having its own spectrum. A receiver inside the probe includes sensors of the three components of the transmitted field, with sensors for at least two of the three components being pairs of sensors, such as coils, on opposite sides of a common reference point. In one variant of the receiver, the coils are collinear and are wound about cores that are mounted in pairs of diametrically opposed apertures in the housing of the probe. Each member of a pair of coils that sense the same component of the transmitted field is connected to a different input of a differential amplifier. The position and orientation of the receiver relative to the antennas are determined noniteratively.

Intrabody navigation system for medical applications

Systems and methods employing a small guage steerable catheter () including a locatable guide () with a sheath (), particularly as an enhancement to a bronchoscope (). A typical procedure is as follows. The location of a target in a reference coordinate system is detected or imported. The catheter () is navigated to the target which tracking the distal tip () of the guide () in the reference coordinate system. Insertion of the catheter is typically via a working channel of a convention bronchoscope. Once the tip of the catheter is positioned at the target, the guide () is withdrawn, leaving the sheath () secured in place. The sheath () is then used as a guide channel to direct a medical tool to target.

This invention is a method of displaying cross-sectional images of a body so as to render the cross-sectional images more interpretable. The method is effected by using a first imaging device (), obtaining at least one cross-sectional image of a portion of the body, at least one cross-sectional image being defined by at least one first plane; and projecting each of at least one cross-sectional image of the portion of the body onto a predefined second plane, so as to obtain at least one projected cross-sectional image of the portion of the body, each of the at least one projected cross-sectional image becoming more interpretable by a user.

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Haifa, Israel

Pinhas Gilboa