1882 AJR:184, June 2005 AJR 2005;184:1882–1888 0361–803X/05/1846–1882 © American Roentgen Ray Society Genitourinary Imaging Chou et al. CT Urethrography and Virtual Urethroscopy Original Report Chen-Pin Chou 1 Jer-Shyung Huang 1 Ming-Ting Wu 1,2 Huay-Ben Pan 1,2 Fong-Dee Huang 3 Chia-Cheng Yu 3 Chien-Fang Yang 1,2 Chou C-P, Huang J-S, Wu M-T, Pan H-B, Huang F-D, Yu C-C, Yang C-F Received January 18, 2004; accepted after revision September 15, 2004. Supported by Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital research program (VGHKS93-82). 1 Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, 386 Da-Chung First Rd., Kaohsiung 813, Taiwan, ROC. Address correspondence to C.-P. Chou (r2207759@ms19.hinet.net). 2 National Yang-Ming University School of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC. 3 Department of Urology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, ROC. CT Voiding Urethrography and Virtual Urethroscopy: Preliminary Study with 16-MDCT OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate CT voiding urethrography and CT virtual urethroscopy. Fourteen CT voiding urethrography examinations on 13 men (mean age, 30 years) were prospectively performed with 16-MDCT. The clinical diagnoses of those patients included urethral injury, urethral stricture, and hypospadia. The CT voiding urethro- gram was obtained with transverse CT of the voiding, contrast-filled urethra and display of 2D multiplanar and 3D virtual images. CONCLUSION. The full urethral structure was clearly shown by CT voiding urethrog- raphy and virtual urethroscopy in all patients. The results of CT voiding urethrography and con- ventional methods correlated closely with the urethral diseases being imaged. ost diagnostic imaging of the urethra continues to be per- formed using conventional radi- ography with luminal distention by iodine contrast media. However, radio- graphic contrast material–enhanced studies are invasive and do not provide information about periurethral tissue. Other, more mod- ern imaging techniques such as sonography and MRI can contribute, in some specific circumstances, to the diagnosis of urethral diseases. Sonography has a small field of view, and the technique is operator-depen- dent. MRI is not widely used to examine the urethra because the technique is somewhat complex and expensive. CT is used only rarely to study the urethra. Its usefulness is limited to the evaluation of inflammatory fluid collections or the identification of gas formed during necrosis or trauma [1]. Re- cent advances in MDCT, rapid image acqui- sition, and software have made 2D and 3D reformatted images available for the newer diagnostic techniques. These techniques have been applied to many organs, includ- ing the colon, bronchus, stomach, and uri- nary bladder [2, 3]. The thin-section transverse images and high scanning speed of CT have led to the de- velopment of promising new techniques for urethral evaluation: CT voiding urethrogra- phy and virtual urethroscopy. With these techniques, the voiding, contrast-filled ure- thra is scanned with 16-MDCT in approxi- mately 6 sec. Real-time 3D rendering of CT images is performed to visually simulate ure- throscopic examination. In this study, we in- vestigated the technique of 16-MDCT in the detection of urethral diseases. Subjects and Methods Patients From January 2003 to May 2004, 13 men (age range, 18–50 years; mean, 30 years) in whom ure- thral diseases were suspected were referred from the genitourinary or emergency department for urethral imaging studies. In total, 14 CT voiding urethrogra- phy examinations were performed. One man with hypospadia underwent CT voiding urethrography before and after surgery. The micturating condition of patients was checked before examination. If the patients reported an inability to void before and dur- ing CT examination, they were not considered for this study. Our series included suspected urethral in- M Downloaded from www.ajronline.org by 52.73.204.196 on 05/17/22 from IP address 52.73.204.196. Copyright ARRS. For personal use only; all rights reserved