The Department of Urology offers even more accurate prostate biopsies thanks to micro-ultrasound

The team led by Professor Johannes Huber, the new Medical Director of Urology at Heidelberg University Hospital, has introduced a new imaging technique called micro-ultrasound to assist with prostate biopsies. This allows even the smallest tissue abnormalities to be targeted with great precision. Another advantage for patients is that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is no longer required in advance.

Micro-ultrasound provides images with four times higher resolution than conventional ultrasound. This allows changes in the prostate to be tracked in much greater detail during ultrasound examinations. “Micro-ultrasound imaging provides images that are just as accurate as an MRI scan. Therefore, in my opinion, it is reasonable to forego MRI. Patients who feel more comfortable with MRI or who have special circumstances can, of course, continue to use it,” says Professor Huber.

The new alternative procedure is a significant improvement, especially for patients who cannot undergo MRI scans, for example, because they have a pacemaker.