Interventional Radiology - Imaging Modalities

Imaging Modalities

Common interventional imaging modalities include fluoroscopy, computed tomography (CT), ultrasound (US), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI):

• Fluoroscopy and computed tomography use ionizing radiation that may be potentially harmful to the patient and the interventional radiologist. However, both methods have the advantages of being fast and geometrically accurate.

• Ultrasound suffers from image quality and tissue contrast problems, but is also fast and inexpensive.

• Magnetic resonance imaging provides superior tissue contrast, at the cost of being expensive and requiring specialized instruments that will not interact with the magnetic fields present in the imaging volume.