Superiority of Multidetector Computed Tomography With 3-Dimensional Volume Rendering Over Plain Radiography in the Assessment of Spinal Surgical Instrumentation Complications in Patients With Cancer

Abstract

Objective To compare multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) images with volume-rendered translucent display (VRTLD) series to plain radiographs for evaluating spinal surgical instrumentation following resection and reconstruction for spinal malignancies. Methods In 44 patients with tumor resection and spinal reconstruction, 17 with complications, three neuroradiologists evaluated plain radiographs, MDCT images alone, VRTLD images alone, and MDCT images with VRTLD images for identifying complications in three categories: subsidence/migration, construct fracture, and screw loosening. Each category was scored as 1 (complications), 2 (no complications), or 3 (not sure), and the minimum score was used for analyses. Clinical/surgical outcomes were the reference standard. Results Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy (95% CI), respectively, were as follows: MDCT/VRTLD, 100%, 100%, 100% (91.96%-100.00%); MDCT alone, 88.24%, 100%, 95.45% (84.53%-99.44%); VRTLD alone, 82.35%, 96.3%, 90.91% (78.33%-97.47%); plain radiographs, 52.94%, 100%, 81.82% (67.29%-91.81%). Conclusion MDCT with VRTLD series seems best for evaluation of spinal instrumentation following tumor resection and reconstruction.

Is it feasible to measure pulmonary vein data using volume rendering images?

“…Different reconstruction methods are usually used to evaluate different body parts. The reformation of anatomical structures with a certain volume, which is applied in 3D printing (1), surgical anatomy (2), genitourinary surgery (3), and spinal surgery (4), is often based on VR imaging, while the reformation of blood vessels is often a combination of multiple methods. For example, Gkaragkounis et al (8) applied axial, sagittal, and coronal MPR, MIP, and VR technology to postprocess CT images of the liver so as to understand the hepatic artery's variability.…”

“…Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is an imaging tool widely used to analyze the heart and blood vessels. The CTA is based on five image reconstruction techniques, which mainly include volume rendering (VR) (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6), maximum intensity projection (MIP) (5)(6)(7)(8)(9), curved planar reformation (CPR) (10,11), multiplanar reformation (MPR) (5,6,8,10), and axial (cross-sectional) technique. Different reconstruction methods are usually used to evaluate different body parts.…”