OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of three-dimensional reconstructed images from rotational digital subtraction angiography in the surgical treatment of intracranial aneurysms.
METHODS: Twenty-two patients with 34 intracranial aneurysms underwent biplane angiography (40 degrees per s, 4.5 degrees per image, 8.8 frames per s). Three-dimensional (3-D) reconstructed images were obtained at a separate Advantage 3.1 workstation (General Electric, Milwaukee, WI) after the rotational images were transferred. The available visualization techniques included maximum intensity projection, shaded surface display, and virtual endoluminal view. All images were evaluated in correlation with intrasurgical visual data recorded on digital videotapes.
RESULTS: 3-D reconstructed images correlated well with surgical findings. The shape of the aneurysms, their neck size, and their relationships to the parent vessels and other branches were depicted clearly, especially compared with images obtained by two-dimensional conventional digital subtraction angiography and magnetic resonance angiography.
CONCLUSION: 3-D digital subtraction angiography enables the surgeon to understand the 3-D structure of lesions and is very useful in planning the surgical treatment of cerebral aneurysms.