Imaging of deep brain stimulation leads using extended Hounsfield unit CT.

ABSTRACT

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become a routine therapy for Parkinson's disease. Standard CT imaging, often used to evaluate DBS electrodes in patients with limited benefit or significant side effects, has limitations including inability to distinguish different metallic components of the DBS lead. CT imaging with an extended Hounsfield unit (EHU) scale allows advanced image processing techniques to detect individual electrodes. EHU-CT may be co-registered to MRI volumes to provide accurate anatomical visualization of DBS lead contacts.