title: Virtual bronchoscopy aids management of lung cancer.
abstract: The development of CT scanning has been beneficial for clinical medicine. In this case, virtual bronchoscopy (VB) was of clinical benefit. A 71-year-old woman with suspected lung cancer in the upper left lobe remained undiagnosed after investigation at another hospital. VB was used to confirm the location of the tumour, which facilitated an appropriate trans-bronchial lung biopsy being performed. The volume-rendering technique yielded information regarding an arterial anomaly, allowing high-quality and safe medical treatment to be provided. VB assists navigation in bronchoscopy, and the volume-rendering technique is effective in finding congenital anomalies of the vessels during preoperative assessment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Thoracic Surgery, National Hospital Organization, Higashi-Hiroshima Medical Center, Hiroshima, Japan. sokimasa@mail.goo.ne.jp
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okimasa
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Yoshikazu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Awaya
authors.forename: Yukiyasu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nagao
authors.forename: Isao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Eriko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shigeto
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001999:Bronchoscopy / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D011651:Pulmonary Artery / Q000002:abnormalities; D020775:Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted; D014584:User-Computer Interface