Patent ID: 7502642

Claim:
A method of visually supporting heart examination or treatment using a catheter, the method comprising: inserting an electrophysiological catheter and catheters operative in conjunction therewith into the heart of a patient; recording 2D fluoroscopy images of an area of the heart under examination or treatment by an x-ray image recording system; determining 3D mapping data of the area generated by the electrophysiological catheter; determining a projection matrix relating the 3D mapping data and the 2D fluoroscopy image; applying the projection matrix to the 3D mapping data to orient the 3D mapping data to correspond to the viewing direction of the 2D fluoroscopy image; and to allocate pixel of the 2D fluoroscopy image to 3D points in the 3D mapping data; displaying the 3D mapping data side-by-side or simultaneously with the 2D fluoroscopy image, wherein the 3D mapping data and the 2D fluoroscopy images have the same display perspective, comprising a same display scale and viewed from a same orientation, and wherein the 2D fluoroscopy images show a current position of the electrophysiological catheter and the catheters operative in conjunction therewith.