Patent ID: 9492103
Filing Date: 2016-11-15
CPC Classification: A61B,A61M

Claim Text:
1. A system for guiding a catheter to a predetermined location within a lumen system of a body of a patient, comprising: a medical positioning system including a detector located at and attached to a distal portion of said catheter and configured to produce a signal respective of a three-dimensional position of said detector, said medical positioning system being configured to determine the position of said detector in response to said signal as said catheter travels through said lumen system; a moving mechanism coupled with said catheter; and an electronic controller coupled with said medical positioning system and with said moving mechanism configured to control the operation of said moving mechanism to automatically move said catheter according to the determined position of said detector along a preplanned path between an origin and said predetermined location relative to said lumen system, said controller being coupled to a storage unit wherein a topological representation of said lumen system in stored in said storage unit, said controller being configured to determine said preplanned path from said topological representation of said lumen system, said topological representation of said lumen system comprises a mapping of said lumen system; said controller being further configured to determine a modified path different from said preplanned path when said controller determines that said catheter has encountered an obstruction in said lumen system, said modified path being configured to overcome the obstruction; wherein said controller is further configured to determine an orientation of said catheter distal portion at a given point in said lumen system and to determine a computed slope of said preplanned path at said given point wherein said controller is configured to detect said obstruction when said orientation is different from said slope.