Ultrasound And MRI TEAM UP

Wonderful news folk's.  We are making some great progress in the war against prostate cancer.  I have posted previously on this blog about the use of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU), now we have a firm alliance in the medical arena.  MRI and ultrasound.  I am pleased to repost the following article regarding such an alliance.  Blessings once again to you people at UCLA.  Perhaps we can do away with traditional prostatic surgeries.  I watched my Daddy (Yes Caps for my Daddy)  recover in the ICU after a traditional prostatectomy.  He was coddled with opiates, and barely looked at me two days after surgery.  I will not have that happen to me if I get prostate cancer.  I will consult with my buddies at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.  They are part of the University of Texas.  My Daddy recovered, and is back to his normal self.  He does not talk about his sex life. I do not want to know.  He is in his early eighties.  Here is the link.

Fusion of 3D images with real-time ultrasound

During the biopsy, 3-dimensional information derived from the multi-parametric MRI is color-coded and fed into an innovative guidance and imaging device that fuses the images with real-time ultrasound (MR-US fusion). This blending of images provides a map of the prostate and areas of suspicion for needle navigation and permits direct targeting of the lesion in question.

Moreover, lesions outside the normal catchment area of conventional biopsies can be identified. Once mapping and targeted biopsy have identified a tumor suitable for active surveillance, follow-up typically requires fewer biopsy samples than standard biopsy.

Teams from the National Institutes of Health pioneered targeted biopsy in 2009. Research at UCLA has improved image fusion technology, and UCLA clinicians have now performed more than 900 targeted biopsies — more than any other institution.

Thanks UCLA and Sonoworld

http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=502&action=detail&ref=1174