Patent ID: 8632468

Claim:
A method for assisting an image-guided transvascular shunting procedure between a first vessel and a target vessel in a portion of an anatomy of a patient using a needle assembly, the needle assembly including a puncture needle slidably mounted within a guide needle, wherein the puncture needle includes at least one position indicating element thereon, a tracking device that samples position and orientation information regarding the at least one position indicating element, and a display device, the method comprising the acts of: receiving one or more images of the portion of the anatomy of the patient; determining, using at least the one or more images, a path of the target vessel in three dimensions; receiving, from the tracking device, position and orientation information regarding the at least one position indicating element after the needle assembly has been navigated into to the first vessel; determining a position of the puncture needle relative to the target vessel using the sampled position and orientation information regarding the at least one position indicating element; and displaying, on the display device: the position of the puncture needle relative to the target vessel, a projected path of the puncture needle, the projected path including a path of the puncture needle will follow if the puncture needle is extended past a distal end portion of the guide needle, a point at which the puncture needle will intersect the target vessel if the projected path of the puncture needle intersects the determined path of the target vessel, an indicator of a closest approach from the puncture needle to the target vessel if the projected path of the puncture needle does not intersect the determined path of the target vessel, a numerical value for a projected target distance that represents a distance from a point on the projected path of the puncture needle to a point on the target vessel, wherein the numerical value is zero when the projected path of the puncture needle intersects the target vessel, and a further numerical value for an absolute target distance that represents an actual distance from the puncture needle to the target vessel such that the further numerical value is zero when the puncture needle intersects the target vessel, wherein the numerical value and the further numerical value are simultaneously displayed.