Combining various imaging modalities often leads to complementary information and synergistic advantages. A trimodal long-circulating imaging agent tagged with radioactive, magnetic resonance and fluorescence markers is able to combine the high sensitivity of SPECT with the high resolution of MRI over hours and days. The fluorescence marker helps to confirm ...

The neurotransmitter serotonin is involved in numerous bodily functions via seven different serotonin receptor subfamilies. Serotonin plays a role in gastrointestinal functions like intestinal secretion or peristalsis and neuropsychiatric events like depression or migraine. One of these subtypes has been found on glioblastoma cells, inducing growth promotion. In our study ...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate a registration approach for 2-dimension (2D) based on characteristic localization to achieve 3-dimension (3D) fusion from images of PET, CT and MR one by one. METHOD: A cubic oriented scheme of"9-point & 3-plane" for co-registration design was verified to be geometrically practical. After acquisiting DICOM data of ...

Evaluation of small bowel motility from two-dimensional dynamic MRI is of increasing interest for the assessment of segmental diseases such as Crohn's disease. We propose to use nonrigid image registration for automated motility analysis. Registration is particularly difficult when localized intensity changes occur (e.g., due to intraluminal flow or through-plane ...

Objectives: MRI is the preferred staging modality for rectal carcinoma patients. This work assesses the CT-MRI co-registration accuracy of four commercial rigid-body techniques for external beam radiotherapy treatment planning for patients treated in the prone position without fiducial markers. Methods: 17 patients with biopsy-proven rectal carcinoma were scanned with CT ...

It has been suggested that, high b-value diffusion weighted MRI improves the sensitivity and specificity of these images to tissue microstructure when compared with "clinical" b-value diffusion weighted MRI (b ≈ 1000 s/mm(2) ). However, it suffers from poor signal to noise ratio - leading to longer acquisition times and ...

We present a new method for automated characterization of atherosclerotic plaque composition in ex vivo MRI. It uses MRI intensities as well as four other types of features: smoothed, gradient magnitude and Laplacian images at several scales, and the distances to the lumen and outer vessel wall. The ground truth ...

PURPOSE: Low yield of invasive coronary angiography and unnecessary coronary interventions have been identified as key cost drivers in cardiology for evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD). This has fuelled the search for noninvasive techniques providing comprehensive functional and anatomical information on coronary lesions. We have evaluated the impact of ...

PURPOSE: Image-guided spine surgery requires registration of the patient anatomy and preoperative computed tomography (CT) images. A technique for intraoperative ultrasound image registration to preoperative CT scans was developed and tested. Validation of the ultrasound-CT registration technique was performed using porcine cadavers. METHODS: An ultrasound-CT registration technique was evaluated using ...

For functional neuroimaging with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), we recently introduced a probabilistic registration method that uses a reference magnetic resonance image (MRI) database instead of the subject's own MRI, and probabilistically registers the NIRS optode or channel positions onto a canonical brain template in the standard stereotactic brain coordinate systems. ...

Brain atrophy measurement is increasingly important in studies of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), with particular relevance to trials of potential disease-modifying drugs. Automated registration-based methods such as the boundary shift integral (BSI) have been developed to provide more precise measures of change from a pair of serial ...

Toward MR-Guided Electroanatomical Voltage Mapping for Catheter Ablation. Introduction: Integration of preprocedural delayed enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DE-MRI) with electroanatomical voltage mapping (EAVM) may provide additional high-resolution substrate information for catheter ablation of scar-related ventricular tachycardias (VT). Accurate and fast image integration of DE-MRI with EAVM is desirable for MR-guided ...

A method for registration of speckle-tracked freehand 3D ultrasound (US) to preoperative CT volumes of the spine is proposed. We register the US volume to the CT volume by creating individual US "sub-volumes", each consisting of a small section of the entire US volume. The registration proceeds incrementally from the ...

Micro-CT is widely used in pre-clinical studies of small animals. Due to the low soft-tissue contrast in typical studies, segmentation of soft tissue organs from non-contrast enhanced micro-CT images is a challenging problem. Here, we propose an atlas-based approach for estimating the major organs in mouse micro-CT images. A statistical ...

Breast MRI acquires many images from the breast, and computer-aided algorithms and display tools are often used to assist the radiologist's interpretation. Women with lifetime risk greater than 20% of developing breast cancer are recommended to receive annual screening MRI, but the current breast MRI computer-aided-diagnosis systems do not provide ...

In areas like adaptive therapy, multi-phase radiotherapy, and single fraction palliative treatment or in the treatment of patients with metal implants where megavoltage(MV) CT could be considered as a treatment planning modality, the reduced contrast in the MV CT images could lead to limited accuracy in localization of the structures. ...

PURPOSE: Registration of preoperative targeting information for the intraoperative situation is a crucial step in computer-assisted surgical interventions. Point-to-point registration using acrylic splints is among the most frequently used procedures. There are, however, no generally accepted recommendations for sterilization of the splint. An appropriate method for the thermolabile splint would ...

Registration of histology to three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance (MR) images is often required for the analysis of brain structure and investigation of brain pathologies. A novel algorithm for deformable registration of an individual histological section to a brain MR image is described. The cost function uses a novel hybrid intensity- ...

An extended registration framework is presented to accurately register follow-up PET-CT study triples. Since there are six images to register, sophisticated feature extraction and similarity measurement methods are proposed. An irregular sampling method is introduced to decrease the processing speed of the hextuple registration. The similarity measurement is based on ...

A method of non-rigid image registration was developed and evaluated for the purpose of quantifying myocardial displacement and strain from cine MRI using DENSE MRI as the reference standard. The objective of this paper was to study the potential use of cine MRI with image registration, as a means of ...

In this work, we present a scheme for the registration of digitally reconstructed whole mount histology (WMH) to pre-operative in vivo multiprotocol prostate MR imagery (T2w and DCE) using spatially weighted mutual information (SWMI). Spatial alignment of ex vivo histological sections to pre-operative in vivo MRI for prostate cancer (CaP) ...

Prostate adenocarcinoma (PCa) is the most frequent noncutaneous cancer among men in developed countries. Magnetic Resonance (MR) has been used to detect PCa and several clinical trials report on the accuracy of the test. Multiparametric MR imaging (mpMRI) is defined as the integration of information from different morphological and functional ...

Three-dimensional multimodality roadmapping is entering clinical routine utilization for neuro-vascular treatment. Its purpose is to navigate intra-arterial and intra-venous endovascular devices through complex vascular anatomy by fusing pre-operative computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) with the live fluoroscopy image. The fused image presents the real-time position of the intra-vascular ...

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of various marketing techniques on the referral pattern for uterine fibroid embolization (UFE) at an academic interventional radiology practice over a 1-year period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All referrals to the interventional radiology clinic for UFE from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2009, were retrospectively ...

Modeled attenuation correction (AC) will be necessary for combined PET/MRI scanners not equipped with transmission scanning hardware. We compared 2 modeled AC approaches that use nonrigid registration with rotating (68)Ge rod-based measured AC for 10 subjects scanned with (18)F-FDG. Two MRI and attenuation map pairs were evaluated: tissue atlas-based and ...

The primary aim of this study is to investigate the performance difference of rigid and nonrigid registration schemes in matching corresponding pulmonary nodules depicted on sequential chest computed tomography (CT) examinations. A gradient descent based rigid registration algorithm with scaling was developed and it handled the involved geometric transformations (i.e., ...

PURPOSE: To investigate the feasibility and accuracy of an automated method to validate gross tumor volume (GTV) delineations with pathology in laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: High-resolution computed tomography (CT(HR)), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and positron emission tomography (PET) scans were obtained from 10 patients before total laryngectomy. ...

This article presents the appropriate neuroimaging for persons with epilepsy (PWE) in resource-limited facilities. PWE from the Epilepsy Clinic, Srinagarind Hospital between November 1, 2003 and January 30, 2005 were enrolled. The inclusion criteria were PWE aged more than 15 years who underwent computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) ...

PURPOSE: To perform bronchoscopy safely and smoothly, it is very important to develop a bronchoscopic guidance system. Transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) with a bronchoscopic guidance system especially should permit safe image-guided procedures. Recently, electromagnetic tracking (EMT) is utilized to track the tip of the bronchoscope camera in real time. For ...

PURPOSE: We present a new technique for registering magnetic resonance (MR) and ultrasound images in the context of neurosurgery. It involves generating a pseudo-ultrasound (pseudo-US) from a segmented MR image and uses cross-correlation as the cost function to register the pseudo-US to the real ultrasound data. The algorithm's performance is ...

Computed tomographic (CT) colonography is a relatively new technique for detecting bowel cancer or potentially precancerous polyps. CT scanning is combined with three-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction to produce a virtual endoluminal representation similar to optical colonoscopy. Because retained fluid and stool can mimic pathology, CT data are acquired with the ...

Internal mammary lymph node is rare metastatic site in ovarian neoplasm. In this study, we report an ovarian carcinosarcoma with peritoneal carcinomatosis initially. Annually, whole-body FDG PET/CT is indicated during 4 years. Tiny peritoneal nodules are found on the first-time FDG PET/CT imaging. A high grade of FDG-avid internal mammary ...

Software-based image registration can improve the diagnostic value of imaging procedures and is an alternative to hybrid scanners. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anatomical accuracy of automatic rigid image registration of independently acquired datasets of positron emission tomography with 18F-deoxyglucose and abdominal magnetic resonance imaging. Patients, ...

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the semi-automatic image registration accuracy of X-ray-mammography (XR-M) with high-resolution high-field (3.0T) MR-mammography (MR-M) in an initial pilot study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: MR-M was acquired on a high-field clinical scanner at 3.0T (T1-weighted 3D VIBE±Gd). XR-M was obtained with state-of-the-art full-field digital systems. Seven patients ...

Background In 1997, the SIPAP classification was introduced, a guide designed for MRI, to characterize pituitary adenomas with emphasis on extrasellar extensions and impact on adjacent structures. To our knowledge no previous evaluation of the inter-observer agreement of the SIPAP classification has been performed. Purpose To evaluate the inter-observer agreement ...

Objective:  Abnormalities in thyroid state may affect development and function of the brain and result in mental retardation (MR). Thyroid parameters have not been systematically investigated in institutionalized MR subjects. The objective is to measure thyroid parameters in a novel cohort of 946 institutionalized subjects. Design:  The TOP-R (Thyroid Origin ...

Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography is useful in differentiating adrenal gland adenomas from nonadenomatous lesions in human patients. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the feasibility and to describe contrast-enhanced ultrasonography of the normal canine adrenal gland. Six healthy female Beagles were injected with an intravenous bolus of a lipid-shelled contrast ...

Profound and multifaceted effects of hormones on the development, maturation and function of the CNS are well documented. Recent developments in magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) permit detailed in vivo studies of cerebral structure and function in humans. Techniques to measure subtle differences in cerebral structure, ...

Context: Sellar and parasellar masses present with overlapping clinical and radiological features ranging from asymptomatic incidental presentations and hormonal effects to compressive local mass effects. Pituitary masses are diagnosed with increased frequency with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) advancements and availability, but indications and diagnostic outcomes of MRI screening for sellar ...

Positron emission tomography (PET) and PET/CT are playing increasingly important roles in the clinical evaluation and treatment of tumors. As neuroendocrine tissues, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland have their unique features, and PET can be valuable in evaluating hypothalamic-pituitary diseases lesions. This article reviews the application of PET in the ...

By performing registration of preoperative multiprotocol in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) images of the prostate with corresponding whole-mount histology (WMH) sections from postoperative radical prostatectomy specimens, an accurate estimate of the spatial extent of prostate cancer (CaP) on in vivo MR imaging (MRI) can be retrospectively established. This could allow ...

Objective: The aim was to formulate practice guidelines for endocrine evaluation and treatment of pituitary incidentalomas. Consensus Process: Consensus was guided by systematic reviews of evidence and discussions through a series of conference calls and e-mails and one in-person meeting. Conclusions: We recommend that patients with a pituitary incidentaloma undergo ...

A method of intensity-based deformable registration of CT and cone-beam CT (CBCT) images is described, in which intensity correction occurs simultaneously within the iterative registration process. The method preserves the speed and simplicity of the popular Demons algorithm while providing robustness and accuracy in the presence of large mismatch between ...

SUMMARY: Reidel thyroiditis is extremely rare and not only involves the thyroid gland but usually extends to neighboring structures in the neck. A rare complication of this disease is entrapment of the recurrent laryngeal nerve causing a vocal cord paralysis. In fact, to our knowledge, this is likely the only ...

Feline acromegaly is characterized by chronic excessive growth hormone secretion, most commonly caused by a functional pituitary adenoma. In this study, acromegaly was diagnosed in 15 cats on the basis of compatible clinical signs, laboratory, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. MRI findings were reviewed retrospectively. Enlargement of the pituitary ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Clival invasion, a rare but potentially significant complication of pituitary adenoma, is difficult to detect on MR imaging. Because CT is widely used in adjunct guidance of pituitary surgery and it has recently been suggested that preoperative CT may add useful diagnostic information in addition to pituitary ...

Abstract (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) has established itself as an important imaging modality in many oncological and nononcological specialties and, as a consequence, it is increasingly being used in clinical practice. Since the first report of FDG being taken up by metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) cells >20 ...

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of thyroid shielding by measuring radiation dose, CT attenuation, and noise of superficial neck structures during CT examination. We divided 84 patients without abnormalities seen on CT into two groups depending on whether shielding with a cotton spacer was applied ...

Although thyroid cancer is a comparatively rare malignancy, it represents the vast majority of endocrine cancers and its incidence is increasing. Most differentiated thyroid cancers have an excellent prognosis if diagnosed early and treated appropriately. Aggressive histologic subtypes and variants carry a worse prognosis. During the last 2 decades positron ...

Objective To investigate the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) manifestations of sellar region of children and adolescents with pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS). Methods Thirty-one PSIS cases were selected from February 2001 to August 2010 in Peking Union Medical College Hospital. MRI images were collected to calculate the volume and coronary ...