CT summation bolsters RFA's targeting accuracy

Merging multiple CT images increases the accuracy of probe repositioning during radiofrequency ablation treatments of various lesions, according to a recent study performed at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Author Dr. John M. Gemery, an assistant professor of vascular and interventional radiology at Dartmouth, successfully treated 40 patients using CT summation. The method allows for three or more probe placements to be seen at one time and takes about 30 seconds on a single-slice CT scanner to merge scans of different placements into a single set of images. According to Gemery, the process is much faster on newer multi-slice systems.

"Our discovery is an incremental step forward to improving image-guided treatments," Gemery said (AJR 2008:191:790-792).