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The location and configuration of mandibular canal variations are important in surgical procedures involving the mandible, such as extraction of an impacted third molar, dental implant treatment, and sagittal split ramus osteotomy. We report 3 Japanese patients with bifid mandibular canals using panoramic radiograph and multi-slice helical computed tomography (CT) images. In 2 of the 5 sides, the bifid mandibular canal was suggested on panoramic radiograph. The bifid mandibular canal had a short and narrow upper canal toward the distal area of the second molar in 4 sides, and a short and narrow lower canal toward the distal area of second molar in 1 side, as revealed on reconstructed CT images. Since the location and configuration of mandibular canal variations are important in surgical procedures involving the mandible, they should be carefully observed using reconstructed CT images.

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Three-dimensional visualization of cardiac activation has become important for providing further insights into the pathophysiological mechanisms of arrhythmias and to increase the efficacy of catheter ablation. The noncontact mapping system enables a single-beat analysis of the reconstructed geometry of the cardiac chamber. In 8 patients with various kinds of arrhythmias (3 with atrial flutter, 2 with right ventricular outflow tract ventricular tachycardia, 1 with idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia, 1 with atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia and 1 with concealed Wolff-Perkinson-White syndrome), non-contact mapping using an EnSite 3000 system was performed for the guidance of catheter ablation. The optimal sites for successful ablation were detected and all of these arrhythmias were successfully eliminated with the radiofrequency energy applications without any adverse effects. The computerized EnSite 3000 mapping system described here computes accurate isopotential maps that are a useful guide for catheter ablation.