Table 2.
Comparison of various imaging modalities
| Imaging modality | PTC | ERCP | MRCP | US/HFUS/EUS/IDUS | CT | OCT |
| Projection/ tomograph | Projection | Projection | Projection or tomographic | Tomographic | Tomographic | Projection or tomographic |
| Resolution | 1-2 mm | 1-2 mm | Fairly poor 3-5 mm | US/EUS 100-250 μmHFUS/IDUS 50-100 μm | 300-500 μmμCT: 3-125 μm | Fairly high1-10 μm |
| Imaging depth | 1-5 mm | 5-60 mm | Entire biliary tree | US/EUS: 5-10 cmHFUS/IDUS: 1-3 cm | Entire biliary tree | 1-3 mm |
| Tissue sampling | + + | + + + | - | US +EUS + + + | + | - |
| Portability | - | + | - | US + + +EUS + + | - | + + |
| Therapy | + + + | + + + | - | US -EUS + | - | + |
| System cost | + + | + + + + | + + + | US - EUS + + | + + | + + |
| Operator dependence | High | High | Low | Very high | Low | Low |
| Staging of malignancy | - | - | + + | US +EUS + + + | + + + | - |
| Safety | - | + | + + + | + + | + + | +++ |
| Experiment duration | 2-4 h | 30-120 min | 10-30 min | 20-40 min | 15-30 s | 5-10 min |
| Complications | + + +Risk (5%-10%) of Infection, bleeding and bile leaks | + +Risk (< 5%) Bleeding, perforationpancreatitis cholangitis | -Claustrophobia in some patients | +Risk (1%) of failure rate, bleeding and perforation | -Rare allergic reaction (< 1%) to iodinated agents | -No complication |
| Comments pros | + Diagnosis and therapeutic (treatment) procedure | + Diagnosis and treatment procedure | Non-invasive+ No ionizing radiation+ Relatively operator -independent | Usually non-invasive (sedation)+ Diagnosis tool combined with tissue and/or lesion sampling | Non-invasive+ Faster method+ High resolution+ Operator-independent | Non-invasive+ No ionizing radiation+ High resolution+ Faster method+ Operator-independent |
| Cons | Invasive ionizing radiationOperator- dependent | InvasiveIonizing radiationOperator dependent | Expensive-poor resolutionSolely diagnostic methodMotion sensitiveclaustrophobia | Operator dependentHighly motion sensitiveThermal effects and cavitations | Ionizing radiationSolely diagnostic method | Low imaging depth 3 mmMotion sensitive |
PTC: Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography; ERCP: Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancheatography; MRCP: Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography; US: Ultrasound; EUS: Endoscopic ultrasound; HFUS: High frequency ultrasound (> 10 MHz); IDUS: Intraductal ultrasonography; CT: Computed tomography; OCT: Optical coherence tomography.