CT navigation for percutaneous needle placement: How I do it

CT navigation (CTN) has recently been developed to combine many of the advantages of conventional CT and CT-fluoroscopic guidance for needle placement. CTN systems display real-time needle position superimposed on a CT dataset. This is accomplished by placing electromagnetic (EM) or optical transmitters/sensors on the patient and needle, combined with fiducials placed within the scan field to superimpose a known needle location onto a CT dataset. Advantages of CTN include real-time needle tracking using a contemporaneous CT dataset with the patient in the treatment position, reduced radiation to the physician, facilitation of procedures outside the gantry plane, fewer helical scans during needle placement, and needle guidance based on diagnostic-quality CT datasets.

Source: Techniques in Vascular and Interventional Radiology - October 19, 2023 Category: Radiology Authors: Anna M. Sorensen, Annie M. Zlevor, Meridith A. Kisting, Allison B. Couillard, Timothy J. Ziemlewicz, Giuseppe V. Toia, J. Louis Hinshaw, Michael Woods, Lindsay M. Stratchko, Perry J. Pickhardt, Marcia L. Foltz, Walter W. Peppler, Jr. Fred T. Lee, Erica M. Source Type: research