Abstract: Method for advancing a colonoscope within a colon of the body of a patient, the method including the procedures of acquiring a stereoscopic image pair of a region of the interior of the colon, identifying topographical features in the stereoscopic image pair, determining the depth of each of the topographical features in the stereoscopic image pair, and indicating the appropriate direction to advance the colonoscope, the direction being toward at least a selected one of the topographical features with greater depth than others of the topographical features.

Abstract: A system for video based registration between images during a skeletal medical procedure includes a stereoscopic camera, a two dimensional image detector and a registration processor. The camera is associated with a stereoscopic coordinate system, the camera acquires a stereoscopic image pair of fiducial marks fixed onto a skeletal structure. Fiducial representations of the fiducial marks appear on the stereoscopic image pair, and a skeletal representation of the skeletal structure appears on two different 2D images. The registration processor registers a stereoscopic coordinate system with a 3D coordinate system associated with a volumetric image detector, and superimposes 3D information on at least one volumetric image. The registration processor registers the stereoscopic coordinate system with the 3D coordinate system by registering the stereoscopic coordinate system with the 2D coordinate system and by registering the 2D coordinate system with the 3D coordinate system.

Abstract: Method for navigating a flexible medical device within a flexible organ of the body of a patient, toward a target region of interest of an inner wall of the flexible organ, by employing a previously acquired global three-dimensional (3D) model of the flexible organ, the method including the procedures of acquiring an initial stereoscopic image of an initial region of the flexible organ and reconstructing an initial local 3D model of the initial region according to the initial stereoscopic image, identifying and registering the initial local 3D model with an initial segment of the previously acquired global 3D model, acquiring a successive stereoscopic image of a successive region of the flexible organ and reconstructing a successive local 3D model of the successive region according to the successive stereoscopic image, identifying and registering the successive local 3D model with a successive segment of the previously acquired global 3D model, detecting the target region of interest by identifying a topograp

Abstract: A system for video based registration between images during a skeletal medical procedure, the system includes a stereoscopic camera, a two dimensional image detector and a registration processor, the stereoscopic camera is associated with a stereoscopic coordinate system, the stereoscopic camera acquires a stereoscopic image pair of a fiducial mark, the fiducial mark is fixed onto a skeletal structure, a first fiducial representation of the fiducial mark is apparent on the stereoscopic image pair, the 2D image detector is associated with a 2D coordinate system and acquires at least two substantially different images of the skeletal structure, a second fiducial representation of the fiducial mark and a first skeletal representation of the skeletal structure is apparent on the two substantially different 2D images, the registration processor is coupled with the stereoscopic camera and with the 2D image detector and registers the stereoscopic coordinate system with a three dimensional (3D) coordinate system asso