MR-guidedin-gantryprostatebiopsyisastate-of-the-arttechniquethathasconsiderableadvantagesover otherprostatebiopsymethods,includingincreasedlesiontargetingaccuracyandfewersideeffectswith shorterrecoverytimes.However,performingtheprocedureisdifficultandtime-consumingduetoavarietyof factors.High-resolutionT2-weightedimagesusedtoguidetheneedlehavelongacquisitiontimesresultingin slowneedleadjustments.Furthermore,guidanceinMR-guidedbiopsyreliesonsupportsoftwarethatisprone toerrorduetodifferentgeometrybetweenbiopsyplanningandguidanceimages.Manualvisualguidance, oftendonetocompensateforerrorswithsupportsoftware,canbeinaccurateduetoslowpaceofvisual feedback,leadingtorepeatguidanceimagescansandthuslongerproceduretimes.Hence,anewwayto approachimagingandvisualizationofdatainMR-guidedprostatebiopsyisanecessarysteptoreduce procedurecomplexityanddurationandimprovepatientaccessibilitytothisdiagnostictechnique. AguidanceimageinMR-guidedbiopsyrequires40-60secondstoacquire.ProgressmadeinCase WesternReserveUniversity(CWRU)MRIresearchgrouphasenabledfastimagingthatcanaccelerateimage collectionbymorethanahundred-fold.FastMRmethoddevelopmentwillbuilduponcurrentlyutilizedfastspin echoimagingmethodologyandintegrateadvancementsinnon-traditionaldatasamplingtechniquesand parallelimagingtoenablecollectionofguidanceimagesinafewseconds.Rapidlyacquiredguidanceimages willprovidesuperiortemporalresolutiontocurrenttechniquewithsufficientimagequalitytoenableaccurate targetingoflesionsinMR-guidedprostatebiopsy. WhilefastimageacquisitionimprovesthetemporalresolutionofvisualfeedbackinMR-guidedprostate biopsy,procedurecomplexityarisesfromimagingindifferentimagingplanesbetweenplanningandguidance imagesandtargetinglesionsthathaveinsufficientcontrastintheseimages.Non-rigidimageregistrationwill enablevisualfusionbetweennotonlyplanningandguidanceimages,butalsohigherqualitypre-biopsy diagnosticimageswhichprovidebettertissuecontrastforlesiontargeting.Augmentedrealityholographic renderingwillbeimplementedinconjunctionwithimageregistrationtovisualizethecomplex3Dspatial relationshipsbetweenthedifferentimagedatasets.Thecombinationofimageregistrationandholographic visualizationwillprovidemoreinformativespatialinformationduringMR-guidedprostatebiopsy,allowing radiologiststobetterutilizetheirtrainedintuitionandthusreducingprocedurecomplexityandrelianceon supportsoftwareforlesiontargeting. Together,fastMRimagingandaugmentedrealityvisualizationtechniquesproposedhereinwillreduce proceduretimeanddifficulty,therebyhelpingincreaseadoptionandpatientaccessibilitytoMR-guidedprostate biopsy.
Currenttransrectalultrasoundguidedprostatebiopsyrequiressystematicsamplingoftheprostatedueto inabilitytoaccuratelyidentifyfociofdisease,resultinginfalsenegativesandrepeatbiopsiesthatincrease patientanxietyandriskofpost-procedurecomplications.In-gantrymagneticresonanceguidedprostatebiopsy hasdemonstratedgreatervaluetoprostatecancerdiagnosisbyincreasingbiopsyaccuracy,andthusreducing theneedforrepeatbiopsies;however,thetechniqueistime-consumingaswellasdifficulttoteachand performwhichhaspreventedwidespreadadoption.WeproposenovelfastMRimagingandaugmentedreality visualizationtechniquesthatwillmakeMR-guidedbiopsyfasterandmoreintuitivetoperform.