PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide systems and methods for performing a minimally invasive procedure in an automated or semi-automated fashion, where an imaging probe having an imaging modality compatible with the presence of an intraluminal medium is employed to record images that are processed to identify regions of interest and direct a medium displacement operation during a subsequent minimally invasive operation that benefits from the displacement of the intraluminal medium.SOLUTION: The minimally invasive operation may include recording images with a second imaging modality, or may be a therapeutic treatment. The method may be performed in real time, where images obtained with the first imaging modality are processed in real time to determine whether or not the minimally invasive operation is to be performed at a given position.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6
