Techniques of CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy)

Citation
V. Valev et al., Techniques of CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy), CR R BIOMED, 27(1-2), 1999, pp. 1-25
Citations number
83
Categorie Soggetti
Multidisciplinary
Journal title
CRITICAL REVIEWS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
ISSN journal
0278940X → ACNP
Volume
27
Issue
1-2
Year of publication
1999
Pages
1 - 25
Database
ISI
SICI code
0278-940X(1999)27:1-2<1:TOCC(C>2.0.ZU;2-Z
Abstract
Colorectal cancer is a leading cause of death in older adults, which usuall y involves a long-term progressive change of normal mucosa into adenomatous polyps and then cancer. The detection and treatment of this disease in an early stage can lead to a cure in most cases by simply removing the polyp. Computed tomographic colonography (CTC), also referred to as virtual colono scopy (VC), is a recent advance that gives an intraluminal visualization of the colon that is similar to endoscopy. VC requires fast 3D display (at le ast 10 frames/sec) of the colon's mucosal surface on a computer screen. Spi ral/helical computer tomography is used to gather 3D volume data prior to d isplay. CTC has been demonstrated to be promising for colorectal cancer scr eening. Studies on unraveling of the colon are underway to map the convolut ed tubular structure into a straightened and flattened image volume for glo bal visualization. In this article, we review the current status of CTC wit h an emphasis on image processing and visualization algorithms. Clinical as sessment results of existing techniques are summarized, practical issues an d future perspectives are also discussed.