Amer I Bhatti, Rashid Ahmed.
Virtual Gastroscopy: An innovative method of evaluation of the stomach.
J Surg Pak Jan ;7(3):6-11.

To compare the diagnostic accuracy of 3-D virtual endoscopy with that of conventional endoscopy in patients who had symptoms of upper gastrointestinal disorders was carried out in Twenty five patients, 15 were male and 10 female, their age range was 20-69 years. All the patients underwent thin section helical CT of the upper abdomen without oral or intravenous contrast. Patients were given oral effervescent agents to obtain optimal distension. All the patients were fasted for at-least 6-8 hours prior to the examination and were administered intravenous Hyoscine-N-Butylbromide (Buscopan®-Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH, Germany) just prior to the CT examination to reduce patient discomfort and obtain proper gut distension. The axial CT images obtained were downloaded to a workstation equipped with software for surface shaded rendering technique to achieve interactive 3-D virtual `fly-through` examinations of the stomach. The results were compared with the findings of conventional endoscopy and correlated with surgical and pathological outcome where possible. Neoplastic lesions and polyps of the stomach were detected with ease on virtual gastroscopy and the information of virtual examination compared well with that of conventional gastroscopy. Axial CT images provided additional information not available on conventional gastroscopy. Virtual gastroscopy was able to detect pedunculated polyps with ease although broad based polyps were not visualized. The disadvantage common to the virtual examination was the inability to detect mucosal and flat lesions. Virtual endoscopy has to undergo multicenter trials on patient populations that are at the risk of developing gastrointestinal disorders. Technical advancements in computer software programs may improve the performance of virtual endoscopy but it still cannot be used as a replacement for conventional endoscopy.

PakMediNet -Pakistan's largest Database of Pakistani Medical Journals - http://www.pakmedinet.com