Patent Document ID: 20110230757
Application ID: 13131881
Patent Status: 0

Claim One:
1. A tracking system for an insertable instrument ( 14 ) comprising: at least one photonic orbital angular momentum generating device ( 18 ) configured to be mounted to a selected location on the insertable instrument ( 14 ) to hyperpolarize dipoles in a region of interest ( 90 ) adjacent thereto; an RF coil ( 40 ) which receives nuclear magnetic resonance signals from the nuclear magnetic dipoles in the region of interest; a controller ( 42 ) which controls gradient coils ( 48 ) for inducing a magnetic field gradient across the region of interest, the gradient magnetic field encoding spatial position in a frequency of the resonance signals; a radio frequency receiver ( 44 ) which receives the nuclear magnetic resonance signal from the RF coil ( 40 ); a frequency-to-position decoder ( 50 ) which converts the received nuclear magnetic resonance signals into corresponding spatial positions; an image memory ( 56 ) which stores a diagnostic image of a subject into which the insertable instrument is to be inserted; and, optionally, a video processor ( 52 ) which combines the spatial position from the frequency-to-position decoder ( 50 ) and at least a portion of the diagnostic image from the diagnostic image memory ( 56 ) into a combined display with the location of the region of interest or a portion of the instrument marked on the diagnostic image and controls the display of the combined image on a monitor ( 54 ).