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Objective:To evaluate the reliability of cardiac late iodine enhancement dual-energy CT (LIE-DECT) multiparameter post-processing technique for evaluating the presence, location, and extent of cardiac scars in patients with heart failure (HF), using cardiac MR (CMR) late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) as a reference standard.Methods:Thirty-nine HF patients who underwent cardiac LIE-DECT and LGE-CMR examinations in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from November 2019 to November 2021 were prospectively collected, all enrolled HF patients underwent LIE-DECT post-processing to reconstruct monoenergetic plus (Mono+) map (40 keV), iodine map and Rho/Z map, to evaluate the enhancement degree, location and extent of left ventricular myocardial LIE on the left ventricular short-axis map, respectively, and compared with LGE-CMR. Cohen′s Kappa test was used to assess the intra-and inter-observer consistency of LIE by DECT multiparameter technique and the consistency of LIE presence and location by DECT multiparameter technique and by CMR. The diagnostic efficacy of DECT multiparameter technique in diagnosing myocardial scar was calculated.Results:Of the 39 patients included, 32 patients were detected by CMR with LGE in 147 segments, including 37 subendocardial patterns, 19 transmural patterns, 74 mid-wall patterns, and 17 epicardial patterns. The intra-observer consistency Kappa values of 40 keV Mono+map, iodine map and Rho/Z map were 0.878, 0.930 and 0.835 ( P all<0.001), respectively. The inter-observer consistency Kappa values were 0.838, 0.892 and 0.808 ( P all<0.001), respectively. The LIE of 40 keV Mono+map, iodine map and Rho/Z map were in good agreement with CMR, Kappa values were 0.903, 0.883 and 0.810 ( P all<0.001), respectively. For the per-patient analysis, the accuracies of 40 keV Mono+map, iodine map and Rho/Z map were 92.3% (36/39), 92.3% (36/39) and 82.1% (32/39), respectively. For the segment-based analysis, the accuracies of 40 keV Mono+map, iodine map and Rho/Z map accuracy were 96.1% (492/512), 95.3% (488/512) and 92.6% (474/512), respectively. In Bland-Altman analysis, the consistency bias between scar extent measured by 40 keV Mono+map, iodine map, Rho/Z map and that measured by LGE-CMR were -2.03%, -2.21%, -2.65%, and the 95% limit of agreement were -12.20%-8.14%, -12.69%-8.28% and -14.85%-9.58%, respectively. Conclusion:LIE-DECT multiparameter technique can detect myocardial scar in HF patients well, which is consistent with LGE-CMR.
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Objective@#To assess the collateral grade based on 4-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography (4D-MRA) in predicting short-term outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) .@*Methods@#Forty-seven patients with unilateral MCA stroke were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent multi-modality MRI within 4.5 to 24.0 hours onset of stroke. The collateral grade was assessed through the dynamic MRI angiograms derived from perfusion raw data. The AIS patients were divided into favorable and unfavorable outcome group according to the improvement of national institutes of health stroke scale (NIHSS) score. The differences in baseline data, infarct volume, the ratio of volume of ischemic tissue on perfusion to infarct core on diffusion (rVPD) and collateral grade between the two groups were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify variable influencing the short-term clinical outcomes. The Kappa coefficient was used to analyze the consistency of the collateral grade assessed between the two observers. Spearman rank-order correlation test was used to analyze the relationship between the collateral grade, infarct volume, hypoperfusion volume and rVPD.@*Results@#The collateral grade used ASITN/SIR based on 4D-MRA was performed in 47 patients. Grade 1 in 4 patients, grade 2 in 21paitients, grade 3 in 16 patients and grade 4 in 6 patients, respectively. The collateral grade had a high consistency among the observers (Kappa=0.806, P<0.01). Of the patients who enrolled the study, the median of infarct volume was 29.63 (4.92, 69.17) ml, the hypoperfusion volume was 73.76 (29.75, 178.42) ml, and the rVPD was 3.1 (1.5, 5.8). It was negatively correlated with initial infarct volume (r=-0.627, P<0.01) and hypoperfusion volume (r=-0.354, P<0.01) . There was a significant positive correlation between the collateral grade and rVPD (r=0.575, P<0.001). There was also significant differences in infarct volume, rVPD, and collateral grade between favorable and unfavorable outcome group (P<0.05). The collateral grade based on 4D-MRA was an independent predictor of favorable clinical outcome (OR=4.419, P<0.05) .@*Conclusions@#The collateral circulation classification based on 4D-MRA proved to be a significant predictor of clinical outcome, it can be considered as a reliable method for analyzing the cerebral hemodynamic changes and collateral grade in AIS patients.
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Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of dual-energy CT virtual non-contrast (VNC) technology for osteoporosis(OP). Methods Dual-energy CT images of 50 patients with lumbar traumas were collected prospectively.Patients who suffer from vertebral bodies fractures between lumbar 1 to 4, have internal metal fixations or underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty, or presented tumors or compromised bone metabolism induced by diseases or medications were excluded.The scanning range was from the upper edge of the 12th thoracic vertebral body to the lower edge of the first sacral vertebral body. The voltages of tubes A and B were 90 kV and Sn 150 kV,and the reference tubes currents were 220 mAs and 138 mAs. Image reconstruction was performed using Advanced Modeled Iterative Reconstruction (ADMIRE)with iterative strength of 3 and convolution kernel of Qr 40.The default parameters of the virtual non-contrast software were corrected by the standard recommended by the Bone Marrow software of the post-processing platform Syngo.via,and the CT value of calcium(contrast media CM),the CT value of mixed energy images(regular CT value,rCT),the calcium density(CaD)and the fat fraction(Fat)were measured. The bone mineral density (BMD) and T score of each lumbar vertebra from lumbar 1 to lumbar 4 were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry(DXA).With T score less than or equal to the 2.5 standard deviation as the gold standard for the diagnosis of OP,correlations between CT measurements and vertebral BMDs were analyzed using Pearson correlation analysis and linear regression and the diagnostic values of different CT measurements for OP were compared using receiver operating characteristic curve. Results Each of the vertebral bodies was analyzed as a single unit.Fifty of them were osteoporotic and the rest 116 were non-osteoporotic.Except for Fat,the CT measurement parameters of the osteoporotic vertebral bodies were lower than those of the ones without osteoporosis, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.01).CM,rCT and CaD were significantly correlated with BMD(r were 0.75,0.65,0.71,all P<0.01)and there was a linear relationship(F were 209.91,120.24,167.69,all P<0.01).Meanwhile,CM,rCT,CaD and T score were also significantly correlated (r were 0.74, 0.65, 0.70, all P<0.01) with a linear relationship (F were 195.04,120.29,156.37,all P<0.01).CM,rCT and CaD had relatively high concordance rates against the OP diagnosis gold standard (respectively 81.9%, 62.2% and 81.9%). CM and CaD had higher concordance rates than rCT,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.01),and by the CM less than 239.5 HU or CaD less than 10.9 mg/cm3standard, their sensitivities of diagnosing osteoporosis were respectively 86.0% and 84.0%,while the specificities,80.2% and 81.0%.After superimposing CM and CaD, the results did not improve the diagnosis efficiency of OP (pre-superposition diagnostic performance better than post-superposition (P<0.05). Conclusion The VNC technology on DECT can do both vertebral fractures diagnosis and osteoporosis assessment at the same time, thus optimizing the clinical examination process.
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Objective To evaluate the diagnostic ability of fusion images of SWI and DWI in ischemic penumbra(IP)of patients with acute ischemic stroke(AIS).Methods 47 AIS patients were retrospective analyzed.Two neuroradiologists analyzed the fusion images of SWI and DWI respectively.SDM was defined as that the hypo-intensity signals of intramedullary or sulcal veins were dilated or increased on fusion images compared with contralateral areas.The results compared with the PDM,which was considered as the“gold standard”.Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)were used to assess the efficacy of SDM which determined by fusion images and compared to PDM.Chi-square test was used to analyze the consistency between the two neuroradiologists and also the consistency between SDM and PDM in IP assessment Results The fusion images of SWI and DWI had a high diagnostic efficacy compared to PDM, AUC of the two radiologists were 0.885,0.877,the diagnostic sensitivity were 84.2%,78.9% and specificity were 92.9%,96.4%respectively.There was also a high consistency in SDM assessment through fusion images between the two neuroradiologists (Kappa=0.908,P >0.05). Conclusion Fusion images of SWI and DWI have a high diagnostic efficacy in IP assessment,which may be considered as a simple approach for IP assessment in patients with AIS.
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Objective To investigate the value of early?phase enhancement ratio combined with peripheral vascular diameter in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions using 3.0 T dynamic contrast?enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE?MRI). Methods Sixty seven cases of patients (35 with malignant lesions and 32 with benign lesions in the breasts) were retrospectively analyzed. Their diagnoses were confirmed by surgery and pathology and all the patients underwent breast MRI plain scan and DCE?MRI in the two weeks before surgery. Lesion ROIs were drawn and time?signal intensity curves in the DCE?MRI were generated. Early?phase enhancement rate, time to peak, early?phase enhancement ratio, numbers of tumor vessel within 3 cm of the lesion and diameter of the largest vessel were recorded. Mann?Whitney U test was used to compare the difference of DCE?MRI between benign and malignant lesions, and the ROC curve was used to evaluate the efficiency of early?phase enhancement rate, early?phase enhancement ratio and vascular diameter in differentiating benign and malignant lesions. Results With breast malignant lesions, the medians of time to peak, early?phase enhancement rate, early?phase enhancement ratio, numbers of tumor vessel and vascular diameter were 2.2 s, 176.0%, 100.0%, 4 and 2.96 mm respectively, while with benign lesions of these parameters were 4.7 s, 113.3%, 81.9%, 0 and 0.00 mm respectively, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05).When early?phase enhancement rate was used for differential diagnosis of breast benign and malignant lesions, the area under the ROC curve was 0.702 and the sensitivity and specificity were 82.86%and 56.25%with a threshold of 120.0%. When early?phase enhancement ratio was used, the area under the ROC curve was 0.854 and the sensitivity and specificity were 94.29% and 68.75% with a threshold of 86.0%. When peripheral vascular diameter was used, the area under the ROC curve was 0.896 and the sensitivity and specificity were 74.29%and 84.38% with a threshold of 2.78 mm. When early?phase enhancement ratio was combined with peripheral vascular diameter, the area was 0.925 and the sensitivity and specificity were 97.14% and 62.50%. Conclusion In the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant breast lesions under DCE?MRI, early?phase enhancement ratio combining with peripheral vascular diameter has improved sensitivity.
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Objective To optimize the parameters for the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI)of the ulnar nerve in elbow.Methods 5 groups of DTI sequences with different b values and numbers of diffusion gradient directions (NDGDs)were used to collect ulnar nerve images from 13 volunteers,and then the diffusion tensor tractography (DTT)was established.The fractional anisotropy (FA),apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC),length of ulnar nerve fiber and DTI image quality were compared under different imaging parameters. Results DTI results for 18 normal ulnar nerves were included in the study.Under different imaging conditions,FAs showed no significant differences.With constant NDGDs,increasing b value decreased both image quality and ADCs of the ulnar nerve.NDGDs had no significant effects on ADCs or image quality.When b=1 000 s/mm2 and NDGDs=20,the length of the ulnar nerve fiber was the longest and DTT had the best subjective scoring in image quality.Conclusion b=1 000 s/mm2 and NDGDs=20 is recommended for DTI of elbow ulnar nerve,so as to obtain high image quality and stable observing targets.
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Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of intra-arterial thrombi under went susceptibility weighted imaging(SWI) in patients with acute ischemic stroke(AIS).Methods The MRI images of 133 patients with AIS was analyzed,included time of flight MR angiography(TOF-MRA )and SWI.The patients were divided into two groups according to the time between onset of symptoms and MR imaging (group A,interval time<24 h;group B,interval time 24-72 h).Two neuroradiologists who were blin-ded to the patients clinical information,documented the number and location of susceptibility vessel sign (SVS)in SWI and embolic occlusion or stenosis on TOF-MRA in AIS patients.Results The thrombus detection rate in group A was higher than that in group B.There was no significant difference in the overall detection rate of thrombi between SWI and TOF-MRA in all AIS patients,but the thrombi detection rate in M3 segement of middle cerebral artery(MCA)with SWI was higher than that with TOF-MRA in group A(P <0.05).Conclusion SWI performs a high diagnostic value for thrombus detection in AIS patients,especially for the thrombus detection of M3 segement in early period of AIS.
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Objective To investigate the value of mesenteric vascular CTA in the diagnosis of small intestinal neoplasms.Methods A retrospective analysis of mesenteric CTA from January 2008 to April 2013 was conducted in 51 patients with pathologically proven small intestinal neoplasms.Features of intestinal neoplasms CTA signs including neoplasm feeding artery,draining vein,mesangial side vasa recta and the formed neoplasm vessels,were observed.Two radiologists individually used two methods,namely intestinal tumor feeding artery positioning method and Cole fractionation method,for diagnosis and localization diagnosis of tumor,and also for comparing the results with those of surgical pathology.McNemar Chi-square test was adopted to evaluate the diagnosis differences between the two physicians and between the two methods by the same physician.Kappa value was used to assess the consistency of the results.Results Features of intestinal tumors CTA signs:12 cases of enlarged neoplasm feeding artery,9 cases of early displayed draining vein,22 cases of enlarged mesangial side vasa recta,and 11 cases of vessels formed inside and around the neoplasm,single lesion for all and the largest lesion diameter≥ 5 cm for 37 cases.The accuracy of Cole fractionation method positioning and the feeding artery positioning were 84.31％(43/51) and 98.03％(50/51) respectively.Moderate consistency(Kappa=0.49,P＜0.01) was seen with Cole fractionation method by the two physicians and high consistency(Kappa=1.00,P＜0.01) with feeding artery positioning method.McNemar Chi-square test showed no significant difference between the two methods by the same physician and the consistency of the results from the two methods was passable(P were 0.062 and 0.125).Conclusion Mesenteric CTA can display the intestinal tumor feeding arteries and draining veins,and is helpful in identification of the relationship between the tumor and its surrounding blood vessels,which can improve the accuracy of pre-operative localization and qualitative diagnosis for small intestinal tumor.
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Objective To evaluate the value of low-dose computed tomographic colonography (CTC) performed with 64-slice CT in the diagnosis of incidental extracolonic lesions and its clinical significance .Methods The image data in 158 CTC examinations with two positions were retrospectively analyzed .All abdominal extracolonic lesions were recorded .According to the age ,the pa-tients were divided into two groups :elderly and non-elderly groups .The extracolonic lesions were divided into 4 groups(E1- E4) according to the clinical importance .The incidence rates in two groups were calculated respectively .Results The incidence rate of the E2-E4 level extracolonic lesions in the elderly group was higher than that in the non -elderly group ,the difference between them had statistical signficance (P< 0 .05) .Conclusion Low-dose CTC has the high diagnostic value in finding extracolonic le-sions ,and the incidence rate of extracolonic lesions with important clinical significance is increased with the age increase ,especially for the elder patients over the age of 60 years .
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Objective To study the effect of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy on perihematomal edema in acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods Sixty-three consecutive hospitalized patients with supraten-torial intracerebral hemorrhage were allocated to an HBO group (n = 30) or a control group (n = 33) at random. Routine therapies were used with both groups. The treatment group received in addition twenty consecutive daily ses-sions of HBO therapy beginning 3～5 d after onset. MRI brain scans were performed on the 5～7th and 25th day. Absolute edema volumes and relative edema volumes were measured from T2-weighted images. Apparent diffusion co-efficients (ADCs) of the edematous regions were calculated on diffusion-weighted images (DWI). Results There were no statistical differences between the two groups in terms of age, sex, blood pressure, NIHSS, hematoma posi-tion or volume. At the 5th～7th d, both absolute and relative edema volumes in the HBO group were smaller than in the controls (P≤0.05). Brain edema was still prominent at the 25th d. Absolute edema volumes, relative edema volumes and ADC values were all smaller in the HBO group at the 25th day compared with the controls (P≤0.05). Conclusion HBO therapy soon after intracerebral hemorrhage can lessen the severity and range of brain edema. E-dema persists after the onset of the disease, and HBO can reduce such delayed brain edema. HBO may benefit func-tional recovery from intracerebral hemorrhage by reducing perihematomal edema.
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Objective To investigate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy on serum matrix met-alloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) levels, and on brain edema in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. Methods Seventy-six subjects with intracerebral hemorrhage were divided into a routine treatment group (40 cases) and a.HBO treatment group (36 cases). 30 healthy persons served as a control group. Serum MMP-9 and ICAM-1 levels were measured before and after treatment. MRI images of the subjects' brains were prepared at the 5 ～ 7 th and 25th days. Absolute edema volumes and relative edema volumes were meas-ured on T2-weighted images. Results (1)The serum MMP-9 and ICAM-1 levels in the routine therapy and HBO groups were higher than those in the control group at the outset ( P≤0. 01 ). Both indices peaked on the 5th day, but there was no significant difference between the two treated groups. At the 15th and 25th day (after 10 and 20 HBO treatments) , the serum MMP-9 and ICAM-1 levels in the HBO group had decreased remarkably and were significant-ly lower than those in the routine therapy group (P≤0. 01 ). (2)At the 5 -7th and 25th days, both absolute edema volumes and relative edema volumes in the HBO group were significantly smaller than those in the routine therapy group ( P≤0. 05, P≤0. 01 ). (3) Serum MMP-9 and ICAM-1 levels were positively correlated with the brain edema volumes, and negatively correlated with decreased NIHSS scores (between pre- and post-treatment). Conclusions HBO therapy may reduce serum MMP-9 and ICAM-1 levels in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, and lessen the severity and range of brain edema. HBO is helpful for restoring nerve function. Early and repeated multiple HBO treatments are beneficial for patients.
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Objective To discuss the MRI features and its clinical significance of bone contusion in knee joint.Methods MR images of injuries of knee in 40 cases were retrospectively analyzed,the complications were reviewed simultaneously.Results 69 lesions of bone contusion in 40 cases were discovered,of them,Ⅰ type was in 38 and Ⅱ type was in 31, in company with fractures were 24 in 22 cases and ligament injury was in 33 cases.Conclusion The present of bone contusion is prompt to the bone injuries,MRI is of significant value in showing bone contusion and its complications in knee.
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The current situation of large-scale medical imaging equipment in Zhenjiang region is briefly summarized.Investigation and study are made on DSA,CT and MR of 19 hospitals in Zhenjiang.Data are treated statistically.Suggestions on management and disposition of large scale medical imaging equipment are put forward at last.