Virtual cystoscopy of the bladder based on CT and MRI data

Carcinoma of the bladder can be a serious and complex condition that is not always easy to diagnose with radiologic methods. Numerous investigations are available to establish the diagnosis and demonstrate extravesical manifestations. This article updates the role of virtual cystoscopy based on computed tomographic (CT) data at different dose levels and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data in the diagnosis of the carcinoma of the bladder. The appearances of normal bladder and polypoid bladder carcinoma are shown. Factors for improvement of both virtual procedures are presented and pitfalls are discussed. New developments in CT, MRI, and postprocessing procedures are discussed. The value of virtual cystoscopy in sizing, localizing, and staging of bladder carcinoma is described and compared with cystoscopy, axial CT, and MRI.