Intraprostatic fiducial markers: A potential application for ultrasound-guided radiotherapy in prostate cancer

Here we report on a two-phase test performed to assess the ability of the ultrasound-based B-mode Acquisition and Targeting (BAT) trans-abdominal system to identify non-dedicated fiducial markers implanted into the prostate gland for subsequent image-guided-radiotherapy. Although further investigation is warranted in order to identify the optimal echogenic marker and to define its potential use for image-guided-radiotherapy in prostate cancer patients, we demonstrate the feasibility of the BAT system for the visualization of non US-dedicated markers.