Patent ID: 7844474

Claim:
A system for producing a virtual access channel in displayed medical 3D images, comprising: a computer containing a pre-operatively-obtained 3D data record of internal anatomy of a patient said computer being configured to reconstruct a 3D virtual image of said internal anatomy from said 3D data record; a monitor connected to said computer; a position and orientation capturing operating unit connected to said computer that is manually manipulable to simulate a movement and a position of a medical instrument, said operating unit generating and emitting an operating unit output signal that represents said simulated position and simulated movement; and said computer being supplied with said operating unit output signal and producing a registration between the simulated position and simulated movement represented by said operating unit output signal and the internal anatomy of the patient in said 3D data record and thus in said 3D virtual image of said internal anatomy, and said computer continuously excising a virtual optical channel in said 3D virtual image of said internal anatomy of the patient in real time and interactively with the manual manipulation of said position and orientation capturing operating unit, based on said registration and based on at least one channel parameter selected from the group consisting of a channel diameter, a channel depth, a shape of a channel wall, and a shape of a channel base and entered into said computer via said operating unit, and displaying, on said monitor, said virtual 3D image of said internal anatomy with said excised virtual optical channel therein as a perspective virtual fly-through of said internal anatomy along said optical channel.