الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Virtual endoscopy is an emerging technique in radiology developed in the past decade .It is a computer-generated simulation of the endoscopic perspective obtained by processing computed tomography (CT) and is one of the applications of virtual reality in medicine . Initial works were oriented to demonstrate the feasibility of the technique in the exploration of the entire human body, but soon focused experiences were carried out for specific clinical problems. When compared to axial 2D CT, virtual endoscopy has the advantage of displaying gastric lesions as they are seen with conventional gastroscopy, thus allowing an accurate categorization. When compared to conventional endoscopy, virtual CT gastroscopy is a noninvasive technique that enables a more accurate evaluation of lesion with simultaneous availability of endoscopic, multiplanar, and axial 2D images at the same time, local staging of gastric lesions, including the depth of parietal and perivisceral extension and the detection of lymph node and distant metastasis (Kimet al., 2003). The aim of this study was to provide a simplified approach to the sophisticated technolgy of CT gastroscopy and to evaluate the potentials of this technique as a non invasive tool for evaluation of the stomach. We performed a prospective study comparing the diagnostic accuracy of 3-D virtual endoscopy with that of conventional endoscopy in patients who had symptoms of upper gastrointestinal disorders. Our study was carried out in 50 patients with seventeen (17) patients were females & thirty three (33) patients were males. All the patients underwent thin section CT of the upper abdomen.
Most recent researches find that combined supine and prone technique is mandatory, as it improves gastric distension and redistribution of gas and residual fluid which are the most common causes of decreased gastric wall conspicuity, leading to false results. In our study, both supine and prone scans were obtained and the field of view was adjusted to obtain complete anatomic imaging of the stomach in both positions. Endoluminal viewing was performed in both ante-grade and retrograde directions and with the patient in both supine and prone positions using both the prone and supine data sets. There was a limited number of statistical data and published papers about sensitivity of virtual CT gastroscopy in assessment of different gastric lesions as most of the published papers and the present statistical information focus more on its role, sensitivity for early and advanced gastric cancer.