US Patent 7517318 Registration of electro-anatomical map with pre-acquired image using ultrasound

A system and method for imaging a target in a patient's body includes the steps of providing a pre-acquired image of the target and placing a catheter having a position sensor, an ultrasonic imaging sensor and at least one electrode, in the patient's body. Positional information of a portion of the catheter in the patient's body is determined using the position sensor and electrical activity data-points of a surface of the target are acquired using the at least one electrode. An ultrasonic image of the target is obtained using the ultrasonic imaging sensor and positional information for the electrical activity data-points of the surface of the target is determined. An electrophysiological map of the target is generated based on the electrical activity data-points and the positional information for the electrical activity data-points. Positional information for any pixel of the ultrasonic image of the target is determined and the pre-acquired image and the electrophysiological map are registered with the ultrasonic image. The registered pre-acquired image, electrophysiological map and ultrasonic image are displayed on a display.