| CPC G06T 7/337 (2017.01) [A61B 1/00009 (2013.01); A61B 1/04 (2013.01); G06T 7/593 (2017.01); G06T 7/73 (2017.01); G06T 2207/10012 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10068 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20221 (2013.01); G06T 2207/30244 (2013.01)] | 20 Claims |

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1. A method of combining multiple images of a body structure, the method comprising:
capturing a first input image with a digital camera disposed along an endoscope inserted in a body lumen of a patient, wherein the digital camera is positioned at a first location within the body lumen at a first time point;
representing the first image with a first plurality of pixels;
capturing a second input image with the digital camera positioned at a second location within the body lumen at a second time point;
representing the second image with a second plurality of pixels;
generating a first feature distance map of the first input image;
generating a second feature distance map of the second input image;
calculating the positional change of the digital camera between the first time point and the second time point; and
utilizing the first feature distance map, the second feature distance map and the positional change of the digital camera to generate a three-dimensional surface approximation of the body structure within the body lumen;
wherein generating the first feature distance map includes assigning a numerical value to the one or more pixels of the first plurality of pixels;
wherein generating the second feature distance map includes assigning a numerical value to the one or more pixels of the second plurality of pixels; and
wherein utilizing the first feature distance map, the second feature distance map and the positional change of the digital camera to generate a three-dimensional surface approximation of the body structure includes calculating a transformation between the first input image and the second input image using a chamfer matching registration process.
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