title: Virtual endoscopic imaging of the spine.
abstract: METHODS
  Prospective trial of virtual endoscopy in spinal surgery.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the utility of virtual endoscopy of the spine in conjunction with spinal surgery.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Several studies have described clinical applications of virtual endoscopy to visualize the inside of the bronchi, paranasal sinus, stomach, small intestine, pancreatic duct, and bile duct, but, to date, no study has described the use of virtual endoscopy in the spine.
  
  
  METHODS
  Virtual endoscopy is a realistic 3-dimensional intraluminal simulation of tubular structures that is generated by postprocessing of computed tomographic data sets. Five patients with spinal disease were selected: 2 patients with degenerative disease, 2 patients with spinal deformity, and 1 patient with spinal injury.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Virtual endoscopy software allows an observer to explore the spinal canal with a mouse, using multislice computed tomographic data. Our study found that virtual endoscopy of the spine has advantages compared with standard imaging methods because surgeons can noninvasively explore the spinal canal in all directions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Virtual endoscopy of the spine may be useful to surgeons for diagnosis, preoperative planning, and postoperative assessment by obviating the need to mentally construct a 3-dimensional picture of the spinal canal from 2-dimensional computed tomographic scans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seirei Sakura Citizen Hospital, Chiba, Japan. tkotani@wa2.so-net.ne.jp
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kotani
authors.forename: Shigeyuki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nagaya
authors.forename: Masaru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sonoda
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akazawa
authors.forename: Jose Miguel T
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lumawig
authors.forename: Tetsuharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nemoto
authors.forename: Takana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Koshi
authors.forename: Koshiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kamiya
authors.forename: Naoya
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hirosawa
authors.forename: Shohei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minami
mesh_terms: D000130:Achondroplasia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D012600:Scoliosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D012984:Software; D013122:Spinal Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D016103:Spinal Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D013168:Spondylolisthesis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014584:User-Computer Interface