Patent ID: 9615772
Date: 2017-04-11
CPC Classifications: A61B

Claim:
1. A method for representing an endoscopic view and viewing direction, the method comprising: acquiring images with an endoscope having a distal end and a view vector that pivots relative to the distal end, the view vector having an attendant view cone that defines a current image; displaying the current image in a first section of a display; sensing the attitude of the endoscope using sensors attached to the endoscope; displaying, in a second section of the display different from the first section of the display and simultaneously with the current image, a virtual representation of an endoscopic environment comprising a graphical representation of the endoscope, a texture mapped version of the current image defined by the view cone, and a graphical representation of a navigation coordinate system in which said graphical representation of the endoscope and texture mapped image are arranged in positions based on the attitude of the endoscope; updating the texture mapped image as the view cone moves through a solid angle as the view vector pivots; and updating the positions of the updated texture mapped image and the graphical representation of the endoscope within the graphical representation of the navigation coordinate system as the view cone moves through a solid angle as the view vector pivots.