Purpose: To measure the accuracy of laser-guided punctures and to evaluate the usefulness of the developed laser-guided system.
Material and methods: The study included 67 patients referred for computed-tomography-guided puncture. The majority of the punctured lesions were located in the chest (28 patients) or abdomen (19 patients). The mean diameter of the lesion was 3.1 cm, and the mean path length was 6.8 cm. The laser guide was movable along a horizontal or vertical rail and not physically connected to the CT unit. The angle of insertion was entered manually into the display of the unit by the interventional radiologist. A prospective multicenter trial was carried out.
Results: A mean of 1.1 needle passes were necessary to reach the target, and in 55 (84.6%) of the patients the target was reached on the first needle pass. The mean deviation of the needle from the preselected angle was 1.8 degrees. The mean targeting time (from the initial localizing scan until the needle was in the target) was 15.6 min. In every case, both the usefulness and the ease of use of the laser guidance system were subjectively evaluated on a 5-point scale; the mean usefulness score was 4.5, while the mean ease of use score was 4.7.
Conclusion: Different users at four different centers found the laser guidance system useful and easy to use. A high level of accuracy of the puncture angle was obtained in most cases.