Dual modality endocavity biopsy imaging system and method

A method of imaging and treating an object of interest within an endocavity, comprising the steps of:

• inserting a portion of a stationary housing of a dual modality endocavity imaging and treatment system into the endocavity, the system including a needle having a radiation signature which is supported by and moveable relative to the stationary housing and a collimator with interleaved apertures;
• fixing a single physical position of the housing within the endocavity so that the single relative position of the housing and the object being imaged is stationary and fixed;
• activating a nuclear detector system housed within the stationary housing, the nuclear detector system defining a single fixed first origin of a first three-dimensional coordinate system, and detecting nuclear radiation imaging data by guiding photons, using a collimator with interleaved apertures, toward a detector to generate a signal to be processed and mapped out on the plane parallel to the detector surface as single fixed three-dimensional coordinate positions relative to the single fixed first origin from which a distance between the fixed first origin and a position of the object of interest, relative to the fixed first origin, is calculated;
• activating an ultrasound detector system and detecting ultrasound imaging data representing objects, including the object of interest and the needle, within the endocavity, including second three-dimensional coordinate data of the objects relative to a single fixed second origin defined at the ultrasound detector system;
• receiving, at a data processing module, nuclear radiation imaging data which includes first three-dimensional coordinate system data on the position of the endocavity object of interest and a position of the needle, relative to the fixed first origin and the ultrasound imaging data which includes second three-dimensional coordinate system data on the position of the needle;
• utilizing coordinate transformation to co-register the first three-dimensional coordinate data and the second three-dimensional coordinate data to calculate the distance between the needle and the endocavity object of interest;
• and
• generating and outputting an image showing the distance between the needle and the object of interest.