Patent Document ID: 9820695
Application ID: 12748894
Patent Status: 1

Claim One:
1. A method for tracking a tool relative to a wall of a region of interest of a patient, the method comprising: tracking the motion of the tool, wherein the tool includes a positioning sensor at a distal end thereof configured to (i) sense one or more characteristics of a magnetic field produced by a medical positioning system and (ii) generate a signal indicative of a sensor position of the positioning sensor, and creating a tool motion profile including generating, using the medical positioning system in response to said signal, the tool position; calculating a correlation value representative of the correlation between the tool motion profile and a wall motion profile indicative of the motion of the wall, wherein calculating the correlation value comprises comparing at least one of the (1) frequency-based components, (2) time-based components and (3) spatial-based components of the tool motion profile with the corresponding at least one components of the wall motion profile, wherein the at least one component is the frequency-based component, and wherein said comparing includes determining whether a predetermined frequency component present in the wall motion is present in the tool motion; determining when the correlation value exceeds a threshold, the correlation value exceeding the threshold being indicative of contact of the tool with the wall of the region of interest; and providing a contact indicator for signaling when the threshold level has been exceeded, therein indicating the tool is in contact with the wall of the region of interest.