AbstractID: 7088 Title: 3D Virtual Angioscopy for Evaluation of Interventional Stent Repair of Abdominal Aortic
Aneurisms
3D Virtual Angioscopy for Evaluation of Interventional Stent Repair of
Abdominal Aortic Aneurisms
Raleigh F. Johnson, Jr., PhD and Eric M. Walser, MD
The University of Texas Medical Branch
Departments of Radiology
Galveston, Texas
Virtual endoscopy (VE) has been accepted clinically as a tool to view anatomy and diagnose pathology
in the colon, trachea and bronchi. We have extended the use of VE clinically to the delicate middle
and inner ear anatomy for diagnosis, intervention and treatment planning. This research, however,
evaluated virtual angioscopy (VA) as a screening tool to evaluate 12 patients with abdominal aortic
aneurisms (AAA) for interventional stent placement. Many AAA patients have significant calcium
deposits in the Iliac and femoral arteries, which hinder deployment of the catheter and stent through
the femoral artery approach. Retrospectively, complications in this interventional procedure could
have been avoided using virtual angioscopy. Review of several patients using VA with proper
intensity thresholds demonstrated significant blockage of the arteries and correlated with those clinical
interventional cases, which resulted in complications during the procedure. This VA imaging
evaluation prior to the interventional procedure clearly would prevent or avoid complications. The
significance of the 3-D virtual endoscopy (angioscopy) technique has been demonstrated to improve
the current method in deploying the stent for AAA repair.