What is the breast lesion depth or the z axis calculated on a stereotactic biopsy?
Stereotaxis is a technique used to localize breast lesions for biopsy. A digital image of the lesion, the scout image, is taken on the stereotactic machine. This image is obtained at 0 degrees. Two views are taken at ±15 degrees from the original 0-degree scout image. From the three views, the machine calculates the z axis, which is the depth the needle needs to be placed to obtain a biopsy sample of the lesion. The x and y axes of the target are obtained from the original scout image.
