Akiko Tomonari1 , Kunihiko Tsuji1 , Hajime Yamazaki1 , Hironori Aoki1 , Jong-Hon Kange1 , Yoshihisa Kodama2 , Yasuo Sakurai2 and Hiroyuki Maguchi1 , Center for Gastroenterology and Department of Radiology, Teine-Keijinkai Hospital, Sapporo, Japan
Hepatology Research, March 2013
The authors evaluated the feasibility of ultrasound-guided virtual needle tracking used to perform percutaneous radiofrequency ablations (RFA) in eight patients with heptatocellular carcinoma.
The GE Healthcare LOGIQ E9 with Volume Navigation combined with the CIVCO VirtuTRAX was used to perform the study. The Cool-Tip RFA system from Covidien was used for ablation in all cases, and a multi-angle biopsy bracket was attached to the probe to assist with stability and alignment of the electrode.
In seven of eight patients, RFA was performed with a single puncture.
Due to large tumor size, one case required two pre-planned punctures. In the case of the large tumor, the virtual needle tracking system and pre-acquired ultrasound volume data set helped distinguish the needle tip from the highly echoic lesion and liver parenchyma.
No adverse events were reported.
The authors reported limitations of the system related to needle bend and operator learning curve, which was noted to be overcome with practice.
The study’s findings suggest the virtual tracking system helps when: