Purpose: To describe prospective stereotaxy, a novel method of trajectory alignment that works in real-time.
Materials and methods: Prospective stereotaxy was used in minimally-invasive neurosurgical procedures in 74 patients since February 1999. This methodology differs from framed and frameless stereotaxy, both of which are based on retrospective data. Rather, prospective stereotaxy uses real-time MR images to align a surgical trajectory.
Results: Phantom tests and clinical procedures in all patients were successfully performed using prospective stereotaxy. In all cases, surgical targets were accessed, and the diagnostic yield of neurobiopsy using prospective stereotaxy was 100%.
Conclusion: Prospective stereotaxy is applicable to all cross-sectional imaging, and is particularly useful for MR- and CT-guided interventions. The method is simple, reproducible, and accurate in surgical targeting for neurobiopsy and electrode placement. It does not require cumbersome stereotactic frames or expensive optical detectors, and it offers immediate entry into the field of interventional MR with cylindrical MR scanners.