Patent ID: 11903693
Assignee: INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS, INC.
Field: Medical technology (Instruments)
Classification: CPC A  G | IPC A  G

Claim 0:
1. A system comprising:
memory that stores information representing a model of an anatomical structure;
a medical device including a distal end that is configured to be inserted into the anatomical structure, the distal end supporting an image capturing device configured to capture images as the medical device is moved through branches of the anatomical structure; and
one or more processing devices communicatively coupled to the memory and the medical device, the one or more processing devices configured to:
receive, from the medical device, representations of sequential images captured using the image capturing device,
obtain, from the memory, the information representing the model of the anatomical structure;
process the captured sequential images to detect a sequence of a plurality of blobs, the plurality of blobs representing a corresponding first sequence of a plurality of lumens within the anatomical structure,
compute a transitional probability that the first sequence of the plurality of lumens represents a second sequence of plurality of lumens in the model of the anatomical structure, wherein the transitional probability indicates a quality of match for a transition from one lumen to another in the model of the anatomical structure, and
determine based on the transitional probability, that a location of the distal end of the medical device within the anatomical structure matches a location represented by the second sequence of plurality of lumens within the model of the anatomical structure.