Purpose:To validate a multicenter protocol that examines lower extremity skeletal muscles of children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) by using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and MR spectroscopy in terms of reproducibility of these measurements within and across centers.Materials and Methods:This HIPAA-compliant study was approved by the institutional review boards of ...

AIMS: To compare the accuracy of two plaque delineation methods for coronary computed tomographic angiography (CTA) to identify lipid-core plaque (LCP) using histology as the reference standard. METHODS AND RESULTS: Five ex vivo hearts were analysed by CTA and histology. LCP was defined by histology as fibroatheroma with core diameter/circumference ...

iMAP™ has recently been introduced as a new tissue characterization method using the 40-MHz intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). However, few data have been published on the comparative findings of other imaging modalities in vivo. We examined 108 matched lesions from 70 patients (35 with stable angina and 35 with acute coronary ...

Nitroxides have recently been used as redox-sensitive contrast agents for both MRI and EPR imaging. However, the rapid in vivo reduction in paramagnetism of nitroxides due to reductants such as ascorbic acid (AsA) has limited their use as contrast agents. This study developed a formulation of a newly synthesized AsA-resistive ...

Background: Vulnerable and inflamed plaques in the carotid artery are at high risk of ischemic stroke, suggesting the importance of diagnostic modalities to detect them in patients with carotid stenosis with high sensitivity and specificity. Although many investigators have reported that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a useful tool to ...

(1)H magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) is the preferred technique for noninvasive quantification of hepatic triglyceride in humans. Domestic cats are subject to liver lipid accumulation, but MRS has not been investigated for quantification of liver fat in cats. The purpose of this project was to explore a technique for ...

Advances in medical imaging with current cross-section modalities enable non-invasive characterization of adrenal lesions. Computed tomography (CT) provides characterization with its non-contrast and wash-out features. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is helpful in further characterization using chemical shift imaging (CSI) and MR spectroscopy. For differentiating between benign and malignant masses, positron ...

Purpose:To use magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to examine the short-term (6 months) natural history of the lipid-rich necrotic core (LRNC) in carotid artery plaques by examining the placebo group of a multicenter clinical trial.Materials and Methods:Study procedures and consent forms were approved by the institutional review board for this HIPAA-compliant ...

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to determine whether the classification of human coronary atherosclerotic plaques with T1, T2, and ultrashort echo time (UTE) cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) would correlate well with atherosclerotic plaque classification by histology. BACKGROUND: CMR has been extensively used to classify carotid plaque, but its ability to characterize ...

PURPOSE: Intramolecular zero-quantum-coherences (ZQCs) are intrinsically insensitive toward magnetic field inhomogeneity. This fact is used to quantify and characterize lipid signals in the human breast at 7 T despite the presence of severe magnetic field inhomogeneity caused by water-lipid susceptibility boundaries. METHODS: A novel 3D localized 2D ZQC method is ...

OBJECTIVE: The differentiation between solitary metastasis (MET) and glioblastoma (GBM) is difficult using only magnetic resonance imaging techniques. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) lipid signal indicates cellular necrosis both in GBMs and METs. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine whether a class of lipids and/or macromolecules (MMs), able ...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the ability of ultrasound non-invasive vascular elastography (NIVE) strain analysis to characterise carotid plaque composition and vulnerability as determined by high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Thirty-one subjects with 50 % or greater carotid stenosis underwent NIVE and high-resolution MRI of internal carotid arteries. Time-varying strain images (elastograms) ...

Purpose:To determine the diagnostic performance of dual-energy computed tomography (CT) by using virtual unenhanced CT to characterize adrenal masses.Materials and Methods:This study is retrospective, HIPAA-compliant, and approved by the institutional review board. Between December 2009 and June 2010, 49 patients with 49 adrenal masses underwent 120-kVp unenhanced CT and 80-kVp ...

Computed tomography (CT) may characterize lipid-rich and presumably rupture-prone non-calcified coronary atherosclerotic plaque based on its Hounsfield-Unit (HU), but still inconclusively. This study aimed to evaluate factors influencing the HU-value of non-calcified plaque using software simulation. Several realistic virtual plaqueburdened coronary phantoms were constructed at 5 μm resolution. CT scanning was ...

PURPOSE: To compare different lipid multipeak spectral models to the single-peak model in Dixon-based fat-water separation and to evaluate differences between visually scored magnetic resonance (MR) images and quantitatively assessed fat fractions in muscle of Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: T1-weighted and 3-point Dixon imaging of the upper ...

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is an imaging diagnostic method based that allows non-invasive measurement of metabolites in tissues. There are a number of metabolites that can be identified by standard brain proton MRS but only a few of them has a clinical significance in diagnosis of gliomas including N-acetylaspartate, ...

OBJECTIVE: The article aims to provide an overview of the literature that assessed the agreement between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histology for specific carotid plaque characteristics associated with vulnerability in terms of sensitivity and specificity. METHODS: A systematic search strategy was conducted in MEDLINE and EMBASE databases resulting in ...

A series of metal-chelating lipid conjugates has been designed and synthesized. Each member of the series bears a 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane-1,4,7,10-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) macrocycle attached to the lipid head group, using short n-ethylene glycol (n-EG) spacers of varying length. Liposomes incorporating these lipids, chelated to Gd(3+), (64)Cu(2+), or (111)In(3+), and also incorporating ...

Gas-filled microbubbles are potentially useful theranostic agents for magnetic resonance imaging-guided focused ultrasound surgery (MRIgFUS). Previously, MRI at 9.4 T was used to measure the contrast properties of lipid-coated microbubbles with gadolinium (Gd(III)) bound to the lipid headgroups, which revealed that the longitudinal molar relaxivity (r1) increased after microbubble fragmentation. ...

Intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH) is an important co-factor for plaque progression and rupture. So far noninvasive MRI has shown promise for the in-vivo identification of IPH and for the prediction of plaque instability. Intravascular imaging techniques such as intravascular ultrasound or optical coherence tomography (OCT) cannot distinguish between IPH and other ...

The applicability of the in vivo proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy hepatic lipid profiling (MR-HLP) technique in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was investigated. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the relative fractions of diunsaturated (f(di) ), monounsaturated (f(mono) ), and saturated (f(sat) ) fatty acids as well as total hepatic lipid content were ...

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify imaging markers and clinical risk factors that significantly predict the evolution of computed tomography (CT) imaging features of carotid artery atherosclerotic disease over a 1-year period. METHODS: Our prospective study involved 120 consecutive patients undergoing emergent CT evaluation for symptoms of ...

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is the only non-invasive, non-radiation-based technique for investigating the metabolism of living tissue. MRS of protons ((1)H-MRS), which provides the highest sensitivity of all MR-visible nuclei, is a method capable of detecting and quantifying specific cardiac biomolecules, such as lipids and creatine in normal and diseased ...

With features of high tissue contrast, MRI can be used for the qualitative and quantitative evaluation of atherosclerosis plaques. In this study we investigated the development of atherosclerosis plaque with high resolution 3T MRI in a rabbit model and compared the findings with the histopathological results. Twenty male New Zealand ...

The measurement of angles between anatomical structures is common in radiological and orthopedic practice. Frequently used measurements include scapholunate angle for assessment of wrist instability and Cobb's angle used for assessment of scoliosis. Measurements of these angles are easily performed on plain X-ray radiographs. However, the situation is more complicated ...

Lipid abnormalities play important roles in the development of atherosclerosis. Lipid therapies result in alterations in atherosclerotic plaques including halting of progression of the plaque, lipid transport out of the plaque and reducing inflammatory activity, which lead to plaque morphologies that are less prone to disruption, the main cause of ...

AbstractMacrophage infiltration is a prominent feature of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) progression. We used a combined imaging approach with bioluminescence (BLI) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study macrophage homing and accumulation in experimental AAA disease. Murine AAAs were created via intra-aortic infusion of porcine pancreatic elastase. Mice were imaged ...

We describe the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory properties of citronellol (CT) in rodents. CT, a monoterpene alcohol, is a naturally occurring monoterpene compound prevalent in essential oils of various aromatic plant species, such as Cymbopogon citratus. In mice, when evaluated against acetic-acid-induced abdominal writhing, CT (25, 50 and 100 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced ...

The purpose of this study, with wrist arthroscopy as the reference standard, was to assess the usefulness of MRI in the detection of tears of the radioscaphocapitate and long radiolunate extrinsic carpal ligaments. The cases of 26 patients consecutively registered from 2003 to 2009 who underwent wrist arthroscopy and wrist ...

The purpose of this article is to evaluate the utility of a tool in quantifying the peak antegrade velocity when assessing patients with cardiac valvular pathology. Directionally independent peak velocity evaluation (MaxVelocity, Siemens Healthcare) phase-contrast cardiac MRI was performed for 44 patients referred to our institution with a diagnosis or ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare contrast-enhanced (CE) ultrasound with gadoxetate disodium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the assessment of arterial hypervascularity of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and dysplastic nodule (DN), with CT during hepatic arteriography (CTHA) as the reference standard. METHODS: This study included 54 consecutively diagnosed patients, with 57 histologically confirmed HCCs ...

SUMMARY:The procedure presented quantitatively assesses thalamic lesions in the chronic phase of an ischemic episode. The structural MR images of 19 patients with ischemia in the thalamus were assessed by radiologic inspection. An independent rater allocated the damage to the thalamic nuclei. The assessments showed 89% accordance with the radiologic ...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the accuracy of transvaginal three-dimensional hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography using SonoVue(3D-SonoVue-HyCoSy) in the assessment of tubal patency. METHODS: 75 infertile patients were recruited to undergo 3D-SnonVue-HyCoSy before diagnostic laparoscopy. Tubal patency was assessed by automated 3D-coded contrast imaging during hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography, and the ...

To compare prostate gland volume (PV) estimation of automated computer-generated multifeature active shape models (MFAs) performed with 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with that of other methods of PV assessment, with pathologic specimens as the reference standard. All subjects provided written informed consent for this HIPAA-compliant and institutional review board-approved ...

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound that is used to assess atherosclerotic carotid plaques improves visualization of vessel wall irregularities and provides direct visualization of intraplaque neovascularization. This article illustrates the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the assessment of carotid atherosclerotic lesions. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is a new, noninvasive, and safe procedure for imaging carotid ...

The purpose of this article is to address radiation necrosis, pseudoprogression, and pseudoresponse relative to high-grade gliomas and evaluate the role of conventional MRI and, in particular, dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced perfusion MRI in assessing such treatment-related changes from tumor recurrence. Posttreatment imaging assessment of high-grade gliomas remains challenging. Familiarity with ...

BACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to determine which clinical and radiographic variables in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are associated with in vivo blood-brain barrier permeability (BBBP) assessments obtained using perfusion-CT (PCT) technology. METHODS: SAH patients with confirmed aneurysm etiology and with PCT and angiogram within 24hours of ...

AIMS: Different echocardiographic techniques are available for assessing right ventricular (RV) volumes but their clinical validity has not been well established. We compared the feasibility, reproducibility and accuracy of three different echocardiographic techniques for measuring RV volumes and ejection fraction (EF) in children after tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair. METHODS ...

OBJECTIVES: In patients with corrected Tetralogy of Fallot (cToF), pulmonary regurgitation and subsequent increased right ventricular (RV) end-diastolic volume are diastolic parameters related to adverse outcome. In addition, abnormalities of the RV outflow tract (RVOT) independently promote RV dilatation in cToF patients. Tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) and tissue-velocity magnetic resonance ...

Imaging that can detect pathophysiologic change in the brain holds great promise for diagnostic assessment of patients with Alzheimer disease (AD) and dementia. Although a previous metaanalysis centering on literature from 1990 to 2000 showed a summary accuracy of 86% for (18)F-FDG PET for AD diagnosis, the clinical value was ...

AIMS: The extent of coronary artery calcification (CAC) has been shown to be a strong and independent predictor for cardiovascular events. Usually, CAC scoring is performed in non-contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) examinations. The ability and accuracy of cardiovascular risk classification according to the degree of CAC determined in contrast-enhanced coronary ...

BACKGROUND: Dual-energy computed tomography (DECT) has recently been described as a sensitive method to detect urate deposits in patients with gout. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to compare the reproducibility of DECT with various physical measurement methods of tophus size assessment. METHODS: Sixty-four tophi from 25 patients were ...

Previous studies have used radiostereometric analysis (RSA) to assess the integrity and mechanical properties of repaired tendons and ligament grafts. A conceptually similar approach is to use CT imaging to measure the 3D position and distance between implanted markers. The purpose of this study was to quantify the accuracy and ...

For the post-operative patient, conventional axial computed tomography (CT) imaging and 2D multiplanar reconstruction are of limited value because of the beam-hardening artifact. However, three-dimensional (3D) CT imaging is an effective means of detecting subtle fracture healing, or confirming non-union, and for evaluating the integrity of metal hardware. In this ...

The morphology of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) directly influences the perioperative outcome and long-term durability of endovascular aneurysm repair. A variety of methods have been proposed for the characterization of AAA morphology using reconstructed three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) images. At present, there is lack of consensus as to ...

Dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is a functional imaging technique that assesses the physiology of tumour tissue by exploiting abnormal tumour microvasculature. Advances made through DCE-MRI include improvement in the diagnosis of cancer, optimization of treatment choices, assessment of treatment efficacy and non-invasive identification of prognostic information. DCE-MRI ...

BACKGROUND: Models of intraluminal middle cerebral artery occlusion present an intrinsic variability in infarct size. Behavioral evaluation is frequently performed during arterial occlusion to confirm success of surgery. AIMS AND/OR HYPOTHESIS: We compared the value of behavioral testing and multimodal magnetic resonance imaging performed during arterial occlusion for identifying successfully ...

According to the Response Assessment in Neurooncology (RANO) criteria, significant nonenhancing signal increase in T2-weighted images qualifies for progression in high-grade glioma (T2-progress), even if there is no change in the contrast-enhancing tumor portion. The purpose of this retrospective study was to assess the frequency of isolated T2-progress and its ...

PURPOSE: To evaluate the use of a T2-weighted SPACE sequence (T2w-SPACE) to assess carotid stenosis via several methods and compare its performance with contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (ceMRA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients with carotid atherosclerosis underwent dark blood (DB)-MRI using a 3D turbo spin echo with variable flip angles ...

The intracardiac injection model is a commonly used in vivo model to test therapeutic response in bone metastases. However, few studies have critically compared the performance of different imaging methods in terms of sensitivity and quantitative assessment of osteolytic lesions. We performed in vivo optical and plain radiographic imaging of ...