'MRA Fusion' treatment for uterine fibroids

A radiologic technology, which functions like a 'human GPS system,' and provides more precise results while using less radiation, is being used to treat patients with symptomatic uterine fibroids exclusively at Paoli Hospital. Dr. Atul Gupta, director of interventional radiology, is treating patients as part of a first-ever clinical trial.

This 3-D imaging system, used by Dr. Gupta, allows procedures to be done with more precision, less radiation, less time and less X-ray dye than previously on 2-D machines. In collaboration with Philips, a leading manufacturer of medical devices, Dr. Gupta has been pioneering a variety of applications for the technology at Paoli Hospital for the past five years.

Representatives from leading healthcare institutions from across the country have visited Paoli Hospital to observe the procedure.  Paoli Hospital, under the auspices of Main Line Health, is the only hospital in the United States to offer the technology known as "MRA Fusion" to treat uterine fibroids. For this work, Dr. Gupta was recognized by rt Image magazine as among the 25 most influential people/events in the field of radiology. Dr. Gupta was listed third, following only Healthcare Reform and radiology efforts in the wake of the Haiti earthquake.

"Sometimes X-rays are necessary during medical procedures so we can guide our tiny instruments through the arteries to the point of disease," he explains. "Yet this is actually a kind of double-edged sword. We are doing a better job, but the patient is being exposed to higher doses of radiation."

The system combines patient images from multiple modalities like MRI and CT scan to create a real-time 3-D map that displays the instrument position, orientation, and trajectory, as well as anatomical landmarks. This 'map' helps to guide physicians to areas of interest, even when they are small, hard to visualize, difficult to access, or close to sensitive organs, vessels, or tissue.

Dr. Gupta says, "With these sophisticated computers I can make a 'roadmap' using the patient's existing CT scan or MRI data. The technology virtually fuses the scan to an image of the patient on the procedure table. As a result, I can do the procedure faster. Preliminary studies show that we also use far less radiation, and the procedure also usually offers an alternative to hysterectomy. We are performing surgery of the future."