UM Medical Center scanner allows biopsy in real time

17 Jun 2002

UMMC is the first teaching h A new CT scanner at the University of Maryland Medical Center is allowing doctors, for the first time, to see inside the body continuously, in real time, while performing a biopsy. ospital in the U.S. to use the new CT scanner, called the Toshiba Aspire CI (continuous imaging), for biopsies. Using CT technology similar to fluoroscopy, radiologists can view the entire biopsy, from the point the needle enters the body to when it penetrates the mass for the sample. It makes a biopsy faster, more accurate and more comfortable for the patient than the conventional method and exposes the patient to less radiation.

While the Toshiba Aspire CI Scanner can be used for all types of diagnostic scanning, it is especially useful for biopsies, and can be used to biopsy any type of tumor in the body. According to researchers, the new device will be especially useful taking a sample of lung tissue, which is challenging since the lungs move as a person breathes. Watching the entire procedure in real time on a monitor, a radiologist can precisely determine whether he has gotten the needed sample.