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An apparatus having an insertable portion for holding a position sensor is disclosed. The position sensor can transmit a signal indicative of its position with respect to a field generator. The insertable portion of the apparatus has fiducial markings that are detectable by an imaging modality when

An apparatus having an insertable portion for holding a position sensor is disclosed. The position sensor can transmit a signal indicative of its position with respect to a field generator. The insertable portion of the apparatus has fiducial markings that are detectable by an imaging modality when the insertable portion is inserted into the anatomical body. After the insertable portion has been inserted into the anatomical body, the fiducial markings can be detected to facilitate registration of the position sensor held in the insertable portion to the anatomical body. The apparatus also has a fixing mechanism for releasably fixing the insertable portion to the anatomical body. When the insertable portion is inserted into the anatomical body to a location of interest, the fixing mechanism rigidly fixes the insertable portion of the catheter to a part of the anatomical body near the location of interest. The apparatus may comprise a catheter, needle or endoscope for inserting the insertable portion.

대표청구항 ▼

1. An apparatus insertable into an anatomical body, said apparatus comprising:an insertable portion for holding a position sensor that can transmit a signal indicative of its position in a frame of reference;fiducial markings on the insertable portion, said fiducial markings being detectable by an i

1. An apparatus insertable into an anatomical body, said apparatus comprising:an insertable portion for holding a position sensor that can transmit a signal indicative of its position in a frame of reference;fiducial markings on the insertable portion, said fiducial markings being detectable by an imaging modality when the insertable portion is inserted in the anatomical body and permitting the position and orientation of the insertable portion to be determined, said insertable portion substantially rigidly holding the position sensor at a known spatial position with respect to the fiducial markings;wherein, after insertion in the anatomical body, the fiducial markings can be detected by the imaging modality to facilitate registration to the anatomical body of the position sensor rigidly held in the insertable portion by correlating the fiducial markings detected by the imaging modality to the determined position of the position sensor in the frame of reference. 2. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising:a fixing mechanism for fixing the insertable portion to the anatomical body;wherein, when the insertable portion is inserted into the anatomical body to a location of interest, the fixing mechanism rigidly fixes the insertable portion to a part of the anatomical body near the location of interest; andwherein the fiducial markings can be detected while the insertable portion is fixed to the part of the anatomical body near the location of interest. 3. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 further comprising a catheter for inserting the insertable portion into the anatomical body;wherein the fixing mechanism comprises an inflatable member which inflates when the insertable portion is at the location of interest to releasably fix the insertable portion of the catheter to the part of the anatomical body near the location of interest. 4. The apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein the part of the anatomical body is a passageway near the location of interest. 5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein the inflatable member comprises at least one lobe portion; andwherein, when the at least one lobe portion of the inflatable member is inflated to fix the insertable portion to the part of the anatomical body, such that fluid can flow around the catheter and trough the passageway. 6. The apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein the at least one lobe portion has a barbed end for engaging a surface of the passageway. 7. The apparatus as defined in claim 6 wherein the barbed end has an insertable portion for engaging the surface of the passageway. 8. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 further comprising a catheter for inserting the insertable portion into the anatomical body; andwherein the fixing mechanism comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending fingers affixed to the insertable portion, each finger having a gripping element for gripping a surface of a passageway near the location of interest, said fixing mechanism having a collapsed configuration where the gripping element is near the catheter, and a deployed configuration where at least one gripping element grips the surface of the passageway; andwherein when the fingers are in the deployed configuration, such that fluid can flow around the catheter and through the passageway. 9. The apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein the part of the anatomical body is a bone and the passageway is formed in the bone. 10. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the fixing mechanism comprises a screw for securing the insertable portion to the anatomical body at the location of interest. 11. The apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein the fixing mechanism comprises at least one barb for rigidly fixing the insertable portion of the catheter to the anatomical body at the location of interest. 12. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the imaging modality that can detect the fiducial markings is selected from the group consisting of CT scans, fluoroscopic images and ultrasound images. 13. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the fiducial markings comprise at least two markings that permit the position and orientation of the insertable portion to be determined. 14. The apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein the at least two markings comprise at least two bands extending about a circumference of the insertable portion near opposed ends of the insertable portion. 15. The apparatus as defined in claim 13 wherein the at least two markings comprise at least one bead and at least one band portion near opposed ends of the insertable portion. 16. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 further comprising a needle for inserting the insertable portion into the anatomical body, said insertable portion being releasably fixed within the needle. 17. The apparatus as defined in claim 16 further comprising a sensory stylette holding a sensor;and wherein the insertable portion can be removed from the needle and the sensory stylette inserted while the needle is inserted in the anatomical body. 18. The apparatus as defined in claim 16 wherein the insertable portion comprises a hollow stylette for holding the position sensor. 19. The apparatus as defined in claim 18 wherein the insertable portion comprises:(i) a stylette hub which mates with a needle hub associated with the needle for releasably fixing the hollow stylette to the needle; and(ii) a stylette plug for preventing entry of tissue into the hollow stylette during insertion of the needle. 20. The apparatus as defined in claim 16 further comprising:at least one zone on a surface of said needle, said at least one zone facilitating sensing or therapy when the insertable portion is near a location of interest in the anatomical body. 21. The apparatus as defined in claim 16 wherein the insertable portion holds a first position sensor and a second position sensor longitudinally displaced from the first position sensor. 22. The apparatus as defined in claim 21 further comprising:at least one zone on a surface of the needle, said at least one zone being longitudinally located between the first position sensor and the second position sensor. 23. The apparatus as defined in claim 16 wherein the fiducial markings comprise at least two markings displaced longitudinally along the insertable portion which permit the position and orientation of the insertable portion to be determined from images obtained by the imaging modality. 24. The apparatus as defined in claim 16 further comprising:a fixing mechanism for fixing the insertable portion to the anatomical body. 25. The apparatus as defined in claim 24 wherein the fixing mechanism is associated with the insertable portion such that when the insertable portion is releasably fixed within the needle, the fixing mechanism has a collapsed configuration, and when the insertable portion is near a location of interest, the insertable portion is removed from the needle causing the fixing mechanism to move to a deployed configuration releasably fixing the insertable portion to the anatomical body near the location of interest. 26. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the insertable portion holds a first position sensor and a second position sensor. 27. The apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the insertable portion is substantially rigid. 28. A method of registering a position sensor to an anatomical body, said method comprising the steps of:(a) fixing a position sensor to an insertable portion of an apparatus, said insertable portion having fiducial markings thereon;(b) inserting the insertable portion of the apparatus to a location of interest in the anatomical body; and(c) detecting the fiducial markings on the insertable portion of the apparatus to facilitate registration of the position sensor in the insertable portion to the anatomical body by:(c1) detecting the fiducial markings on the insertable portion;(c2) determining the position of the position sensor in a frame of reference; and(c3) registering th e position sensor to the anatomical body by correlating the detected fiducial markings to the determined position of the position sensor in the frame of reference. 29. A device for facilitating tracking of an apparatus in an anatomical body, said device comprising:an insertable portion for holding a position sensor that can transmit a position signal indicative of its position in a frame of reference;fiducial markings on the insertable portion, said fiducial markings being detectable by an imaging modality to facilitate registration of the position sensor held in the insertable portion to the anatomical body;wherein the apparatus can insert the insertable portion into the anatomical body, and, the position signal transmitted from the position sensor indicates the position of the apparatus near the position sensor; andwherein the insertable portion substantially rigidly holds the sensor at a known spatial position with respect to the fiducial markings; andwherein, after insertion of the insertable portion in the anatomical body, an image of the insertable portion can be obtained by the imaging modality, and, the position sensor can be registered to the anatomical body by correlating the fiducial markings detected by the imaging modality to the determined position of the position sensor in the frame of reference. 30. The device as defined in claim 29 wherein the apparatus comprises a needle and the insertable portion comprises a hollow stylette for holding the position sensor. 31. The device as defined in claim 30 wherein the insertable portion further comprises:(i) a stylette hub which mates with a needle hub associated with the needle for orienting the hollow stylette with the needle; and(ii) a stylette plug for preventing entry of tissue into the hollow stylette during insertion into the anatomical body. 32. The device as defined in claim 31 wherein mating the needle hub with the stylette hub releasably fixes the hollow stylette to the needle. 33. The device as defined in claim 29 wherein the apparatus comprises a catheter and the insertable portion is rigidly fixed to the catheter.