Patent ID: 7713210

Claim:
An imaging system, comprising: an ultrasound catheter including a tubular body, comprising: a localizer sensor adapted and configured to generate positional information for the ultrasound catheter, the localizer sensor comprising: a first annular ultrasound sensor positioned on the tubular body; and a second annular ultrasound sensor positioned on the tubular body displaced from the first annular sensor along a length of the tubular body; and an imaging ultrasound sensor positioned on the tubular body so as to have a first restricted field of view; and a controller coupled to the localizer sensor and the ultrasound catheter, wherein the first restricted field of view spans less than 360 degrees about the tubular body, and wherein the controller is configured to determine a position and direction of the ultrasound catheter in six dimensions with respect to a frame of reference defined by a recognizable heart structure imaged by the imaging ultrasound sensor, and to co-register ultrasound images from the imaging ultrasound sensor with the frame of reference.