Virtual bronchoscopy.
The sophistication of three-dimensional (3-D) radiographic imaging from CT data has accelerated with the development and ongoing advances of helical CT. Virtual bronchoscopy (VB), the ability to create 3-D models of the airways and navigate through the tracheobronchial tree lumen in realtime simulated bronchoscopy, has gained popularity over the past 3 years. The ability of VB to image the airway and mediastinal structures simultaneously and in a 3-D format has helped revolutionize CT imaging. Unlike conventional bronchoscopy, VB can display the extent of narrowing caused by an airway lesion, the presence of patentcy beyond a stenosis, and the relationship between an airway lesion and the adjacent mediastinal structures.
Aquino
S L
SL
Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Vining
D J
DJ
D001980:Bronchi / Q000473:pathology; D001999:Bronchoscopy; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation*; D008168:Lung / Q000473:pathology; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014584:User-Computer Interface