Image-guided stereotaxy in the interventional MRI

A prototype biosensor-integrated image-guided surgery system

BACKGROUND

In this study we investigated the integration of a Raman spectroscopy-based biosensor with an image-guided surgery system. Such a system would provide a surgeon with both a diagnosis of the tissue being analysed (e.g. cancer) and localization information displayed within an imaging modality of choice. This type of mutual and registered information could lead to faster diagnoses and enable more accurate tissue resections.

METHODS

A test bed consisting of a portable Raman probe attached to a passively articulated mechanical arm was used to scan and classify objects within a phantom skull.

RESULTS

The prototype system was successfully able to track the Raman probe, classify objects within the phantom skull, and display the classifications on medical imaging data within a virtual reality environment.

CONCLUSION

We discuss the implementation of the integrated system, its accuracy and improvements to the system that will enhance its usefulness and further the field of sensor-based computer-assisted surgery.

Percutaneous Biopsy from Blinded to MR Guided: An Update on Current Techniques and Applications

The advent of interventional MR imaging techniques as well as their adoption to guide percutaneous biopsies and aspirations has served as a further step along a series of technical refinements that commenced with the implementation of image-guided approaches for tissue sampling. Nowadays, the practice of and the expectations from these procedures are quite different from those of the blind percutaneous thrusts performed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As the field of interventional MR imaging continues to flourish and to attract more radiologists who realize the many opportunities that this technology can offer to their patients, there is a need for a full comprehension of the concepts, techniques, limitations, and cost-effectiveness of MR imaging guidance to present this service to clinical partners in the appropriate setting. Radiologists should also recognize the need for their significant involvement in the technical aspects of MR-guided procedures, because several user-defined parameters and trajectory decisions can alter device visualization in the MR imaging environment and hence affect procedure safety.