Development of colonoscope tracking method using CT volumes and position sensors and evaluation of method using colon phantom

Abstract

CT colonography (CTC) is performed for polyp diagnosis. If a polyp is found during CTC, optical colonoscopy is performed. It is expected to develop a navigation system that navigates the optical colonoscope to the place of polyp found by CTC. To achieve such system, we present a method that registers the colonoscope shape and the colon shape for estimating the colonoscope tip location in the CT coordinates. The colonoscope shape is obtained by an electromagnetic tracking device. Both shapes are represented as curve lines and registration is performed by an ICP-based method. Phantom-based experiments revealed good tracking performance enough for assisting colonoscopic examination.