140 results about "Bronchoscopy" patented technology

Systems and methods employing a small guage steerable catheter (30) including a locatable guide (32) with a sheath (40), particularly as an enhancement to a bronchoscope (14). A typical procedure is as follows. The location of a target in a reference coordinate system is detected or imported. The catheter (30) is navigated to the target which tracking the distal tip (34) of the guide (32) 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 Once the tip of the catheter is positioned at the target, the guide (32) is withdrawn, leaving the sheath (40) secured in place. The sheath (40) is then used as a guide channel to direct a medical tool to target.

This invention relates generally to lung access devices and methods of using the devices to gain access to the interior of a lung or to the mediastinal space around the lung. In particular, the invention relates to auxiliary access devices and tools for use with conventional bronchoscopes or other endoscopes to enable the delivery of more and larger devices to a target site than is currently possible through a typical endoscope or bronchoscope.

Methods and systems for navigating to a target through a patient's bronchial tree are disclosed including a bronchoscope, a probe insertable into a working channel of the bronchoscope and including a location sensor, and a workstation in operative communication with the probe and the bronchoscope, the workstation including a user interface that guides a user through a navigation plan and is configured to present a central navigation view including a plurality of views configured for assisting the user in navigating the bronchoscope through central airways of the patient's bronchial tree toward the target, a peripheral navigation view including a plurality of views configured for assisting the user in navigating the probe through peripheral airways of the patient's bronchial tree to the target, and a target alignment view including a plurality of views configured for assisting the user in aligning a distal tip of the probe with the target.

A technician-free strategy enables real-time guidance of bronchoscopy. The approach uses measurements of the bronchoscope's movement to predict its position in 3D virtual space. To achieve this, a bronchoscope model, defining the device's shape in the airway tree to a given point p, provides an insertion depth to p. In real time, the invention compares an observed bronchoscope insertion depth and roll angle, measured by an optical sensor, to precalculated insertion depths along a predefined route in the virtual airway tree to predict a bronchoscope's location and orientation.

A method of minimally invasively reducing a volume of a hyper-inflated target section of diseased lung comprising the steps of introducing a bronchoscope into a patient's airway to a position adjacent the target section and equilibrating air within the target section with atmospheric air to at least partially deflate the target lung section; injecting an inflammation-causing substance into the target section to precipitate adhesion of the walls within the target lung section, preventing substantial re-inflation of the target section by occluding an airway upstream of the target section for a period of time, and removing the airway occlusion after the target section has substantially permanently been reduced in volume. The injected substance can be autologous blood or a constituent thereof.

A computer-based method for bronchoscopic navigational assistance, including: receiving first image data of a patient's lungs, the first image data acquired before a bronchoscopy is performed; receiving second image data of a portion of one of the patient's lungs that includes a bronchoscope, the second image data acquired during the bronchoscopy; and performing image registration between the first image data and the second image data to determine a global location and orientation of the bronchoscope within the patient's lung during the bronchoscopy.

Endoscopic poses are used to indicate the exact location and direction in which a physician must orient the endoscope to sample a region of interest (ROI) in an airway tree or other luminal structure. Using a patient-specific model of the anatomy derived from a 3D MDCT image, poses are chosen to be realizable given the physical characteristics of the endoscope and the relative geometry of the patient's airways and the ROI. To help ensure the safety of the patient, the calculations also account for obstacles such as the aorta and pulmonary arteries, precluding the puncture of these sensitive blood vessels. A real-time visualization system conveys the calculated pose orientation and the quality of any arbitrary bronchoscopic pose orientation. A suggested pose orientation is represented as an icon within a virtual rendering of the patient's airway tree or other structure. The location and orientation of the icon indicates the suggested pose orientation to which the physician should align during the procedure.

A valve to perform lung volume reduction procedures is described. The valve is formed of a braided structure that is adapted for endoscopic insertion in a bronchial passage of a patient's lung. The braided structure has a proximal end and a distal end and is covered with a non porous coating adapted to prevent flow of air into the. A constricted portion of the braided structure is used to prevent flow of air through a central lumen of the structure, and to define at least one funnel shaped portion. The funnel shaped portion blocks the flow of air towards the constriction, i.e. towards the core of the lung. At least one hole is formed in the braided structure to permit flow of mucus from the distal end to the proximal end, to be expelled out of the lungs.

Two system-level bronchoscopy guidance solutions are presented. The first incorporates a global-registration algorithm to provide the physician with updated navigational and guidance information during bronchoscopy. The system can handle general navigation to a region of interest (ROI), as well as adverse events, and it requires minimal commands so that it can be directly controlled by the physician. The second solution visualizes the global picture of all the bifurcations and their relative orientations in advance and suggests the maneuvers needed by the bronchoscope to approach the ROI. Guided bronchoscopy results using human airway-tree phantoms demonstrate the potential of the two solutions.

A bronchoscopy oxygenation system having a channel for inserting alternately an instrument or fluids and for delivering oxygen to a patient. The system being provided with pressure relief vent and a pressure relief valve for the relief of excessive oxygen pressure. The bronchoscopy oxygenation system may be used during bronchoscopy and with patient suctioning, bronchoalveolar lavage or biopsy. The bronchoscopy oxygenation system is intended to be used with a conventional bronchoscope.