How Guided Spine Injections Are Done at UCSF
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UCSF Radiology uses CT to guide spine injections and procedures, unlike other centers who uses fluoroscopy. UCSF doctors are able to get more detailed imagining and thus better precision.
Fluoroscopy: X-ray machine that shows only 2-D view of bone and some soft tissue, but not nerves
- Widely available community standard
- Rely on bony landmarks
- Soft tissue detail lacking
CT guidance
- CT scanner uses x-rays to show fine detail in cross section of nerves, soft tissue and bone
- Radiation doses=Fluoro
- Visualize soft tissue and nerve
- Alternative diagnosis often made at the time of image guidance