A method for carrying out a medical procedure using a 3-D tracking and imaging system (1600). A surgical instrument, such as a catheter, probe, sensor, pacemaker lead, needle, or the like is inserted into a living being, and the position of the surgical instrument is tracked as it moves through a medium in a bodily structure. The location of the surgical instrument relative to its immediate surroundings is displayed to improve a physician's ability to precisely position the surgical instrument. The medical procedures including targeted drug delivery, sewing sutures, removal of an obstruction from the circulatory system, a biopsy, amniocentesis, brain surgery, measurement of cervical dilation, evaluation of knee stability, assessment of myocardial contractibility, eye surgery, prostate surgery, trans-myocardial revascularization (TMR), robotic surgery, and evaluation of RF transmissions.

A method for carrying out a medical procedure using a three-dimensional tracking and imaging system

An intelligent gateway device provided at a premise (home or business) for providing and managing application services associated with use and support of a plurality of digital endpoint devices associated with the premises. The device includes a communications and processing infrastructure integrated with a peer and presence messaging based communications protocol for enabling communications between the device and an external support network and between the device and connected digital endpoint devices. A services framework at the gateway device implements the communications and processing infrastructure for enabling service management, service configuration, and authentication of user of services at the intelligent gateway. The framework provides a storage and execution environment for supporting and executing received service logic modules relating to use, management, and support of the digital endpoint devices. Thus, the gateway device provides a network-based services point of presence for a plurality of digital endpoint devices at the premises.

Multi-services application gateway and system employing the same

A method and apparatus for defining the location of a medical instrument relative to features of a medical workspace including a patient's body region are described. Pairs of two-dimensional images are obtained, preferably by means of two video cameras making images of the workspace along different sightlines which intersect. A fiducial structure is positioned in the workspace for defining a three dimensional coordinate framework, and a calibration image pair is made. The calibration image pair comprises two 2D projections from different locations of the fiducial structure. After the calibration image pair is made, the fiducial structure is removed. A standard projection algorithm is used to reconstruct the 3D framework of the fiducial structure from the calibration image pair. Appropriate image pairs can then be used to locate and track any other feature such as a medical instrument, in the workspace, so long as the cameras remain fixed in their positions relative to the workspace. The computations are desirably performed with a computer workstation including computer graphics capability, image processing capability, and providing a real-time display of the workspace as imaged by the video cameras. Also, the 3D framework of the workspace can be aligned with the 3D framework of any selected volume scan, such as MRI, CT, or PET, so that the instrument can be localized and guided to a chosen feature. No guidance arc or other apparatus need be affixed to the patient to accomplish the tracking and guiding operations.

Apparatus and method for photogrammetric surgical localization

An ultrasonic imaging system includes an ultrasonic transducer having an image data array and a tracking array at each end of the image data array. The tracking arrays are oriented transversely to the image data array. Images from the image data array are used to reconstruct a three-dimensional representation of the target. The relative movement between respective frames of the image data is automatically estimated by a motion estimator, based on frames of data from the tracking arrays. As the transducer is rotated about the azimuthal axis of the image data array, features of the target remain within the image planes of the tracking arrays. Movements of these features in the image planes of the tracking arrays are used to estimate motion as required for the three-dimensional reconstruction. Similar techniques estimate motion within the plane of an image to create an extended field of view.

Multiple ultrasound image registration system, method and transducer

A system for minimally invasive insertion of a bioprosthetic heart valve. The system includes a collapsible tissue-based valve system, a catheter-based valve delivery system, a surgical platform and a device tracking and visualization system. The collapsible valve system includes (i) a permanent outer frame (10) that is affixed to the patient using conventional sutures or staples, and (ii) a collapsible valve (20) having a collapsible inner frame (21) that mates with the outer frame (10), and supports valve leaflets (13). The inner frame (21) is moved to a collapsed position and located at the previously installed outer frame (10). The inner frame (21) is then expanded to lock the inner frame (21) to the outer frame (10). The inner frame (21) may be re-collapsed and disengaged from the outer frame (10). A new collapsible valve is then installed, to resume the function of the prosthesis.

System for minimally invasive insertion of a bioprosthetic heart valve

A method and apparatus for simultaneous measurement of multiple distances by means of networked piezoelectric transducers Through the use of high frequency digital counters, the propagation delay between the activation of an ultrasonic transducer and the reception by similar transducers is quickly and accurately defined By alternating the duty cycle between transmit and receive modes, the system can track and triangulate the three-dimensional positions for each transducer

Andrew W Gubbels

Papers

Three-dimensional digital ultrasound tracking system