Chesapeake Urology Associates offers a state-of-the-art prostate cancer diagnostic, which "fuses" detailed MRI scans with live, real-time ultrasound images of the prostate.
This groundbreaking biopsy system provides Chesapeake urologists with the capability to pinpoint tumors within the prostate gland, leading to more targeted treatment planning and better outcomes.
According to Thomas B. Smyth, M.D., Chesapeake’s Director of Integrated Care and the head of its 3D Ultrasound/MRI Fusion Biopsy program, "Computer-assisted 3D Ultrasound/MRI Fusion Biopsy provides Chesapeake physicians with a higher degree of precision in the detection and biopsy of suspicious prostate lesions than existing 2D transrectal ultrasound(TRUS) guided biopsies, which are the current standard of care." Smyth went on to say that, "this technology provides a greatly enhanced diagnostic capability which leads to improved outcomes for our patients."
By combining advanced MRI imaging with 3D ultrasound technology, this new biopsy system:
Creates a 3D map of the prostate, identifies suspicious lesions or targets on MRI, fuses or overlaps the 3D MRI image onto the real-time 3D ultrasound image of the prostate, provides clear visualization of the biopsy needle and the targeted lesion for accurate guidance and stores the exact location of each biopsy sample for future reference.
Unlike the standard 2D TRUS-guided prostate biopsy, which takes random tissue samples from the prostate and has a higher rate of missing cancerous cells within the gland, the 3D Ultrasound/MRI Fusion Biopsy combines the clarity of an MRI image with a 3D ultrasound image.
This creates an enhanced 3D map of the prostate for dramatically improved visualization of the gland, allowing determination of the exact location of potential tumors.
Chesapeake first acquired 3D MRI/ultrasound fusion biopsy capability in October 2012 and has since performed over 500 prostate biopsies utilizing this technology.