Patent ID: 7757695

Claim:
A method of determining the location of a distal end of an optically-guided catheter inserted into a body cavity or lumen of a patient, the method comprising the steps of: inserting the optically-guided catheter into the body cavity or lumen of the patient, wherein an optical fiber extends to the distal end of the catheter; providing light into the optical fiber in the catheter, whereby the emitted light passes through the optical fiber to the distal end of the catheter when the catheter is inserted in the body cavity or lumen of the patient; emitting light from a light-emitting region at the distal end of the optical fiber in the catheter; non-invasively detecting light emitted from the light-emitting region on the catheter within the patient; and determining location of the light-emitting region at the distal end of the catheter from the non-invasively detected light, thereby determining placement of the catheter within the body cavity or lumen of the patient based upon the location of the light-emitting region.