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  • Review Article
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Advances in imaging for urologic procedures

Nature Clinical Practice Urology volume 4, pages 498–504 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Improvements in imaging and device engineering have led to the rapid development of advanced, minimally invasive techniques in urologic care. While imaging advances have had a major effect in the areas of diagnosis, surgical planning and therapeutic assessment, the focus of this Review is on developments in intraoperative imaging that are currently making an impact in urology and are likely to provide additional opportunities to urologists in the years to come. While previous image-guided urologic procedures have mostly utilized two-dimensional X-ray images, it is expected that new technologies will involve the use of three- and four-dimensional multi-modality imaging, molecular imaging, and robot-assisted image-guidance techniques. Application of these procedures will bring together the complementary disciplines of endourology and interventional radiology in the development of multidisciplinary, cooperative approaches to providing optimal treatments and outcomes for urologic disease.

Key Points

  • Advances in imaging are having an increasing role in guiding procedures and operations in urologic diseases

  • New rotational fluoroscopy with fluoroscopic C-arms can create CT-like images to guide procedures

  • Endoscopic ultrasonography, ultrasound contrast agents and 4D imaging can improve visualization to help guide therapies

  • Real-time CT imaging offers 'live' CT to guide procedures

  • Thermal monitoring with MRI can provide feedback for thermal ablation procedures

  • Molecular imaging will provide more specific and physiologic information to guide procedures

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Figure 1: A rotational fluoroscopy image of a hepatic artery injection
Figure 2: Fusion of previously acquired prostate MR and live endorectal ultrasound images during an ultrasound-guided prostate biopsy

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. J Coleman is Assistant Attending in the Department of Surgery and SB Solomon is Associate Attending in the Department of Radiology, Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.,

    Jonathan Coleman & Stephen B Solomon

  2. R Nascimento is a Radiology Resident at the Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil.,

    Rodrigo Nascimento

Authors
  1. Jonathan Coleman
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  2. Rodrigo Nascimento
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  3. Stephen B Solomon
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stephen B Solomon.

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Competing interests

Stephen B Solomon has received grant/research support from General Electric.

Jonathan Coleman and Rodrigo Nascimento declared no competing interests.

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Coleman, J., Nascimento, R. & Solomon, S. Advances in imaging for urologic procedures. Nat Rev Urol 4, 498–504 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpuro0883

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpuro0883

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