Virtual bronchoscopy

The sophistication of three-dimensional (3-D) radiographic imaging from CT data has accelerated with the development and ongoing advances of helical CT. Virtual bronchoscopy (VB), the ability to create 3-D models of the airways and navigate through the tracheobronchial tree lumen in real-time simulated bronchoscopy, has gained popularity over the past 3 years. The ability of VB to image the airway and mediastinal structures simultaneously and in a 3-D format has helped revolutionize CT imaging. Unlike conventional bronchoscopy, VB can display the extent of narrowing caused by an airway lesion, the presence of patentcy beyond a stenosis, and the relationship between an airway lesion and the adjacent mediastinal structures.