Authors:
D. Ruijters1, L. Spelle2, J. Moret2, D. Babic1, R. Homan1, P. Mielekamp1, B. M. ter Haar Romeny3, P. Suetens4; 1Best/NL, 2Paris/FR, 3Eindhoven/NL, 4Leuven/BE
DOI:
10.1594/ecr2008/C-591
Purpose
Percutaneous punctures in the head and neck region are traditionally guided using either static CT images, CT fluoroscopy or X-ray fluoroscopy.
All mentioned approaches posses their limitations;
Both CT based procedures are limited by the patient access area within the gantry. Also the needle path, which can be planned and tracked, is restricted to the axial planes that are imaged by the CT modality. Static CT images further lack the real time feedback.
X-ray fluoroscopy generates less X-ray dose, compared to CT fluoroscopy, and offers less restriction in patient access. It does not provide, however, any soft-tissue information.
Here we present a method that integrates soft-tissue information in X-ray fluoroscopy guided cranial needle insertion. The needle paths are pre-operatively planned on a morphological dataset, such as CT or XperCT.