Transgender health and medicine - Are radiological devices prepared?

BACKGROUND & AIMS: To determine if radiological hard- and software offers options beyond the binary female / male classification. METHODS: We surveyed thirteen radiological hardware and six radiological software vendors about the options to enter patient gender. RESULTS: Six of thirteen hardware and five of six software vendors replied to our inquiry. All vendors except one offered a third option in addition to male / female. CONCLUSION: We found that most hard- and software systems provide with a third option for patient gender. These systems allow radiology personnel to accurately document patient gender in the medical record and contribute to an inclusive patient experience in the radiology department. Registering the biological sex in addition to gender may further improve medical care.

Feasibility of dynamic MR-hysterosalpingography for the diagnostic work-up of infertile women.

BACKGROUND: Tubal disturbances often contribute to infertility. Conventional hysterosalpingography (HSG) is considered as standard in the assessment of the patency of the fallopian tubes, but requires ionizing radiation and is restricted to the imaging of endoluminal structures. PURPOSE: To evaluate dynamic magnetic resonance-HSG (dMR-HSG) in the diagnostic work-up in patients with infertility. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-seven consecutive infertile women underwent dMR-HSG: 20 ml of gadolinium-polyvidone solution (18.4 mM Dotarem 1:20 with polyvidone) were injected intracervically through a 5-Charriere balloon catheter while acquiring five consecutive flash-3D T1-weighted MR sequences with fat saturation. Two experienced readers assessed image quality and anatomic-pathologic correlations prospectively. The relevance of results was evaluated in the clinical context of each patient. Patient comfort was evaluated with a standardized questionnaire. RESULTS: dMR-HSG was successfully completed in 33/37 patient with an average study time of 45 min. In 4 of 37 patients the catheter became dislodged during the examination, resulting in two complete diagnostic failures. Failure in another two patients was due to preliminary termination because of excessive pain and discomfort during the application of the contrast solution. The uterine cavity was completely visualized and bilateral fallopian tube patency was confirmed by dMR-HSG in 27 of 33 patients. Bilateral tubal occlusion was diagnosed in one of the remaining six patients and was confirmed by laparoscopy. Successful selective tubal catheterization was performed in one additional patient with unilateral and one patient with bilateral fallopian tube occlusion. In three cases, the catheter became dislocated at the end of the examination without demonstration of tubal patency. Since all three patients refused diagnostic laparoscopy and conventional HSG, possible bilateral occlusions of the fallopian tubes could not be further assessed. CONCLUSION: dMR-HSG with cervical cannulation and intracavitary gadolinium injection is feasible and allows assessment of the uterus, the fallopian tubes, and extra-uterine pelvic structures, while avoiding all ionizing radiation in infertile women aiming at pregnancy.

Selective visualization of the Fallopian tube with magnetic resonance imaging.

At present, X-ray hysterosalpingography is used commonly as a screening method for testing Fallopian tube patency, but the results are often unreliable due to mucous plugs or muscular contractions. Selective catheterization of the tubes under X-ray control is feasible, but is rarely used due to exposure of young individuals aiming for pregnancy to a high ionizing dose. Here, a case is described of a patient whose Fallopian tubes were selectively catheterized and visualized three-dimensionally under contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance using a high-viscous gadoteric acid solution (Dotarem). In this patient, bilateral peritubal adhesions caused a blockage of the fimbrial part of the tube leading to transuterine spilling of tubal fluid. Laparoscopy followed by bilateral salpingectomy was then performed, which confirmed the three-dimensional MRI images, and the excised specimens were examined histologically. The advantages of this novel technique include the avoidance of ionizing damage to the gonads and the potential for development of more elaborate interventional methods, such as ballooning and stenting. It is intended to develop contrast MRI further, both for improved non-invasive visualization and for manipulative technology of the Fallopian tubes.

Low-dose intranasal versus oral midazolam for routine body MRI of claustrophobic patients.

The purpose of this study was to assess prospectively the potential of low-dose intranasal midazolam compared to oral midazolam in claustrophobic patients undergoing routine body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Seventy-two adult claustrophobic patients referred for body MRI were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups (TG1 and TG2). The 36 patients of TG1 received 7.5 mg midazolam orally 15 min before MRI, whereas the 36 patients of TG2 received one (or, if necessary, two) pumps of a midazolam nasal spray into each nostril immediately prior to MRI (in total, 1 or 2 mg). Patients' tolerance, anxiety and sedation were assessed using a questionnaire and a visual analogue scale immediately before and after MRI. Image quality was evaluated using a five-point-scale. In TG1, 18/36 MRI examinations (50%) had to be cancelled, the reduction of anxiety was insufficient in 12/18 remaining patients (67%). In TG2, 35/36 MRI examinations (97%) were completed successfully, without relevant adverse effects. MRI image quality was rated higher among patients of TG2 compared to TG1 (p<0.001). Low-dose intranasal midazolam is an effective and patient-friendly solution to overcome anxiety in claustrophobic patients in a broad spectrum of body MRI. Its anxiolytic effect is superior to that of the orally administrated form.

USPIO-enhanced MR imaging for visualization of synovial hyperperfusion and detection of synovial macrophages: preliminary results in an experimental model of antigen-induced arthritis.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron particles (USPIO)-enhanced MRI is capable of assessing both synovial perfusion characteristics and the presence of synovial macrophages in a model of antigen-induced arthritis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Unilateral arthritis was induced in six knees of six rabbits. The contralateral knees of the rabbits served as control knees. After onset of arthritis, all 12 knees were scanned prior to and immediately following intravenous administration of USPIO using a multiphase T1-weighted (T1w) fast gradient-echo (FGRE) sequence, and T1w spin-echo (SE), T2-weighted (T2w) FSE, T2*w GRE, and short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequences prior to and 24 hours following USPIO administration. SI-vs.-time curves (STCs) and the early enhancement rate during the first 56 seconds (REE(56)) were calculated from SI measurements within the synovial tissue of all knees on dynamic T1w images. MR findings were correlated to histopathology. RESULTS: REE(56) was significantly higher in the synovial tissue of arthritic knees than in the control knees (P < 0.01). Significant T1-, T2-, and T2* effects (P = 0.03-0.04) and multiple synovial vessels were visually detectable within the arthritic synovial tissue 24 hours after administration of USPIO, whereas no signal changes or synovial vessels were seen in the control knees. Histopathology revealed widened synovial blood vessels in the arthritic knees, and confirmed iron uptake by macrophages in the arthritic knees. CONCLUSION: USPIO-enhanced MRI is capable of both assessing synovial hyperperfusion and detecting macrophages in antigen-induced arthritis in rabbits.

Contrast material-enhanced visualization of the ablation medium for magnetic resonance-monitored ethanol injection therapy: imaging and safety aspects.

PURPOSE: This study was performed to test whether the dissociation rate of free Gd3+ ions from gadoterate meglumine is significantly increased when the contrast agent is dissolved in ethanol and whether the magnetic resonance (MR) signal of gadolinium/ethanol solutions is enhanced to a degree that promises reliable detection during MR imaging-guided intralesional administration, such as for the treatment of low-flow venous malformations. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The apparent gadoterate meglumine-induced enhancement of the longitudinal proton relaxation rate of sterile ethanol/water solutions, stored at a temperature of 24 degrees C +/- 5 degrees C in the dark, was monitored for 2 weeks. The content of dissociated Gd3+ ions was determined after 6 and 8.5 months of storage. The signal difference between contrast agent/ethanol solutions and muscle tissue was assessed with imaging at 0.5 T and 1.5 T. RESULTS: Commercialized gadoterate meglumine diluted with 94% ethanol was not shown to have released toxic Gd3+ during storage times that exceed its physiologic circulation and excretion times after intravenous injection by a factor of more than 100. A maximum dissociation rate of 0.05% per month was estimated from the detection limit of the analysis. The apparent molar relaxivity of the contrast agent in the mixtures varied by less than 0.1 L/mmol per second with no temporal trend. Gradient-echo ethanol/muscle contrast increased with Gd concentrations to maximums of 15 mmol/L (at 0.5 T) and 25 mmol/L (at 1.5 T). CONCLUSIONS: Neither limited solubility nor release of Gd3+ ions could be identified as a general safety hazard associated with the application of gadoterate meglumine/ethanol solutions at Gd concentrations of 0.5-25 mmol/L, and such ablation mixtures could be efficiently and reliably visualized.

High-resolution magnetic resonance angiography of hands with timed arterial compression (tac-MRA).

Timed arterial compression (tac) of blood flow can be achieved by inflation of a blood-pressure cuff. We postulated that this technique might improve contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) of the arteries of the hands. We studied eight volunteers and six patients with occlusive arterial disease of the hands with standard MRA and tac-MRA. Compared with standard MRA, acquisition time was extended with the blood-pressure cuff by a factor of four, leading to quadrupled image resolution (512x1024). Furthermore, flow-related artifacts were not seen. Tac-MRA permits visualisation of the peripheral arterial system in finer detail than that achieved with standard MRA.

Preoperative breast cancer staging: MR imaging of the axilla with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide enhancement.

PURPOSE: To evaluate magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) enhancement for preoperative axillary lymph node staging in patients with breast cancer by using histopathologic findings as the standard of reference. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR imaging was performed with a 1.5-T system within 24-36 hours after the start of intravenous slow-drip infusion of USPIO in 20 patients with breast cancer who were scheduled for surgery, followed by gadolinium-enhanced MR imaging. Lymph nodes were staged prospectively by using newly established criteria, and results were correlated with histologic findings. RESULTS: In two patients, preoperative findings led to a change in therapeutic approach, and neoadjuvant chemotherapy was given; both patients were excluded from statistical analysis. Results of axillary staging with USPIO-enhanced MR imaging were true-positive in nine, true-negative in seven, false-positive in zero, and false-negative in two of 18 patients (sensitivity, 82%; specificity, 100%; positive predictive value, 100%; second reader, kappa = 1.0). Four hundred five lymph nodes were detected with MR imaging. For first and second readers, respectively, lymph node-based sensitivity was 83% and 73% and specificity was 96% and 97% (kappa = 0.68). USPIO as the intravascular contrast agent could not replace gadolinium for assessment of the primary tumor; however, no clinically relevant interaction was seen. Thus, an integrated imaging approach was feasible in all patients. CONCLUSION: USPIO-enhanced MR imaging has the potential to become an adjunct to conventional MR imaging of the breast for preoperative assessment of axillary lymph nodes in patients with breast cancer.