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VIRTUAL ENDOSCOPY OF DOGS USING MULTI‐DETECTOR ROW CT
Author(s) -
YAMADA KAZUTAKA,
MORIMOTO MANABU,
KISHIMOTO MIORI,
WISNER ERIK R.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
veterinary radiology and ultrasound
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.541
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1740-8261
pISSN - 1058-8183
DOI - 10.1111/j.1740-8261.2007.00249.x
Subject(s) - endoscopy , medicine , duodenum , virtual image , radiology , computer vision , computer science , surgery
Virtual endoscopy uses CT data to display hollow viscera such as the stomach, duodenum and colon as if by real endoscopic observation. The results are independent of the operator skill because virtual endoscopy does not require direct manipulation of endoscopic equipment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of virtual endoscopy in small animals. Ten beagles were examined by conventional endoscopy and virtual endoscopy using multidetector CT. Virtual images were image‐processed at a workstation designed for depicting virtual endoscopy using CT data. Virtual images were visually comparable with conventional endoscopic images, especially in the area of the angular incisure and pylorus. The advantages of virtual endoscopy are observation from any viewing angle, a reduced learning curve for diagnostic interpretation, quantification of lesion size in three dimensions and a potential for reducing anesthesia time. The disadvantages of virtual endoscopy are a lack of color recognition information, an inability to retrieve biopsy samples, limited visualization of the duodenum, artifacts from respiration/peristalsis motion and an inability to observe function. Based on our results, we suggest that conventional endoscopy is still superior to virtual endoscopy in dogs. However, as technology improves, virtual endoscopy may emerge as a suitable alternative or adjunctive diagnostic tool for certain digestive disorders in small animals.