Surface-based registration between CT and US for image-guided percutaneous renal access - A feasibility study

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Surgical Navigation
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Percutaneous renal access (PRA) is vital for minimally invasive kidney interventions.
• Improving the practicality and safety of PRA can be achieved by fusing computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) data.
• Surface-based registration techniques offer potential for accurate image fusion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the potential of a surface-based registration technique for fusing 2D US and CT data.
• To establish an optimal US acquisition protocol for image-guided PRA.
• To improve the practicality and safety of percutaneous renal access.

Main Methods:

• Ten porcine kidney phantoms were imaged using CT and 3D US.
• Surface-based registration was performed using iterative closest point algorithms (ICP1, ICP2).
• Four acquisition variants were studied, evaluating different views, coverage ranges, sweep movements, and slice spacing.

Main Results:

• The bi-plane (BP) view combined with the ICP2 method, wide kidney coverage, and specific sweep movements yielded the best performance (TRE = 2.26 mm).
• This performance was statistically similar to full 3D US surface registration (TRE = 2.28 mm).
• An optimal 2D US acquisition protocol was identified.

Conclusions:

• Surface-based registration using multiple slices and optimized sweep movements/views is a valid strategy for intraoperative CT-US image fusion.
• This approach has the potential to enhance image-guided percutaneous renal access.
• The technique may be applicable to other imaging modalities and interventions.