Magnetic resonance insights最新文献

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), frequently with contrast enhancement, is the preferred imaging modality for many indications in children. Practice varies widely between centers, reflecting the rapid pace of change and the need for further research. Guide-line changes, for example on contrast-medium choice, require continued practice reappraisal. This article reviews recent developments in pediatric contrast-enhanced MRI and offers recommendations on current best practice. Nine leading pediatric radiologists from internationally recognized radiology centers convened at a consensus meeting in Bordeaux, France, to discuss applications of contrast-enhanced MRI across a range of indications in children. Review of the literature indicated that few published data provide guidance on best practice in pediatric MRI. Discussion among the experts concluded that MRI is preferred over ionizing-radiation modalities for many indications, with advantages in safety and efficacy. Awareness of age-specific adaptations in MRI technique can optimize image quality. Gadolinium-based contrast media are recommended for enhancing imaging quality. The choice of most appropriate contrast medium should be based on criteria of safety, tolerability, and efficacy, characterized in age-specific clinical trials and personal experience.

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) allows for fast, accurate and noninvasive measurement of fluid flow in restricted and non-restricted media. The results of such measurements may be possible for a very small B 0 field and can be enhanced through detailed examination of generating functions that may arise from polynomial solutions of NMR flow equations in terms of Legendre polynomials and Boubaker polynomials. The generating functions of these polynomials can present an array of interesting possibilities that may be useful for understanding the basic physics of extracting relevant NMR flow information from which various hemodynamic problems can be carefully studied. Specifically, these results may be used to develop effective drugs for cardiovascular-related diseases.

Background and purpose: Recent research has shown that a T2* image (either magnitude or phase) is not identical to the internal spatial distribution of a magnetic susceptibility (χ) source. In this paper, we examine the reasons behind these differences by looking into the insights of T2*-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2*MRI) and provide numerical characterizations of the source/image mismatches by numerical simulations.

Methods: For numerical simulations of T2*MRI, we predefine a 3D χ source and calculate the complex-valued T2* image by intravoxel dephasing in presence and absence of diffusion. We propose an empirical α-power model to describe the overall source/image transformation. For a Gaussian-shaped χ source, we numerically characterize the source/image morphological mismatch in terms of spatial correlation and FWHM (full width at half maximum).

Results: In theory, we show that the χ-induced fieldmap is morphologically different from the χ source due to dipole effect, and the T2* magnitude image is related to the fieldmap by a quadratic transformation in the small phase angle regime, which imposes an additional morphological change. The numerical simulations with a Gaussian-shaped χ source show that a T2* magnitude image may suffer an overall source/image morphological shrinkage of 20% to 25% and that the T2* phase image is almost identical to the fieldmap thus maintaining a morphological mismatch from the χ source due to dipole effect.

Conclusion: The morphological mismatch between a bulk χ source and its T2* image is caused by the 3D convolution during tissue magnetization (dipole effect), the nonlinearity of the T2* magnitude and phase calculation, and the spin diffusion effect. In the small phase angle regime, the T2* magnitude exhibits an overall morphological shrinkage, and the T2* phase image suffers a dipole effect but maintains the χ-induced fieldmap morphology.

This article reviews a new concept in magnetic resonance as applied to cellular and biological systems. Diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging can be used to infer information about restriction sizes of samples being measured. The measurements rely on the apparent diffusion coefficient changing with diffusion times as measurements move from restricted to free diffusion regimes. Pulsed gradient spin echo (PGSE) measurements are limited in the ability to shorten diffusion times and thus are limited in restriction sizes which can be probed. Oscillating gradient spin echo (OGSE) measurements could provide shorter diffusion times so smaller restriction sizes could be probed.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) detects alterations in major prostate metabolites, such as citrate (Cit), creatine (Cr), and choline (Ch). We evaluated the sensitivity and accuracy of three-dimensional MRSI of prostate using an endorectal compared to an external phased array "receive" coil on a 3T MRI scanner. Eighteen patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who underwent endorectal MR imaging and proton (1H) MRSI were included in this study. Immediately after the endorectal MRSI scan, the PCa patients were scanned with the external phased array coil. The endorectal coil-detected metabolite ratio [(Ch+Cr)/Cit] was significantly higher in cancer locations (1.667 ± 0.663) compared to non-cancer locations (0.978 ± 0.420) (P < 0.001). Similarly, for the external phased array, the ratio was significantly higher in cancer locations (1.070 ± 0.525) compared to non-cancer locations (0.521 ± 0.310) (P < 0.001). The sensitivity and accuracy of cancer detection were 81% and 78% using the endorectal 'receive' coil, and 69% and 75%, respectively using the external phased array 'receive' coil.

Breast cancer incidence is increasing worldwide. Early detection is critical for long-term patient survival, as is monitoring responses to chemotherapy for management of the disease. Magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy (MRI/MRS) has gained in importance in the last decade for the diagnosis and monitoring of breast cancer therapy. The sensitivity of MRI/MRS for anatomical delineation is very high and the consensus is that MRI is more sensitive in detection than x-ray mammography. Advantages of MRS include delivery of biochemical information about tumor metabolism, which can potentially assist in the staging of cancers and monitoring responses to treatment. The roles of MRS and MRI in screening and monitoring responses to treatment of breast cancer are reviewed here. We rationalize how it is that different histological types of breast cancer are differentially detected and characterized by MR methods.

The magnetic field resulting from material magnetization in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has an object orientation effect, which produces an orientation dependence for acquired T2* images. On one hand, the orientation effect can be exploited for object anisotropy investigation (via multi-angle imaging); on the other hand, it is desirable to remove the orientation dependence using magnetic susceptibility reconstruction. In this report, we design a stick-star digital phantom to simulate multiple orientations of a stick-like object and use it to conduct various numerical simulations. Our simulations show that the object orientation effect is not propagated to the reconstructed magnetic susceptibility distribution. This suggests that accurate susceptibility reconstruction methods should be largely orientation independent.

Rapid-dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) has made significant impact in the characterization and understanding of metabolism that occurs on the sub-minute timescale in several diseases. While significant efforts have been made in developing applications, and in designing rapid-imaging radiofrequency (RF) and magnetic field gradient pulse sequences, very few groups have worked on implementing realistic mathematical/kinetic/relaxation models to fit the emergent data. The critical aspects to consider when modeling DNP experiments depend on both nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and (bio)chemical kinetics. The former constraints are due to the relaxation of the NMR signal and the application of 'read' RF pulses, while the kinetic constraints include the total amount of each molecular species present. We describe the model-design strategy we have used to fit and interpret our DNP results. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a systematic analysis of DNP data.

Gadobutrol is a 1-molar gadolinium-based contrast agent with well-characterized safety and efficacy for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in adults and children ≥ 2 years old. This observational study assessed gadobutrol-enhanced MRI in children < 2 years of age. Sixty infants (mean age 11.1 months) underwent MRI using gadobutrol at standard dose of 0.1 mL/kg (0.1 mmol/kg) body weight. MRI examinations included brain, spine, and neck (n = 24), subcutaneous soft tissues (n = 14), chest, abdomen, and pelvis (n = 12), musculoskeletal system (n = 7) and vascular system (n = 3). No patients experienced adverse events related to gadobutrol injection. In 57 patients with confirmed diagnoses, gadobutrol-enhanced MRI provided findings consistent with confirmed pathologies. This study indicates that gadobutrol at a standard dose for MRI is safe in patients aged < 2 years and provides diagnostic information for multiple pathologies.

A major goal of this pilot study was to quantify intramyocellular lipids (IMCL), extramyocellular lipids (EMCL), unsaturation index (UI) and metabolites such as creatine (Cr), choline (Ch) and carnosine (Car), in the soleus muscle using two-dimensional (2D) localized correlated spectroscopy (L-COSY). Ten subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D), controlled by lifestyle management alone, and 9 healthy control subjects, were studied. In T2D patients only, the following measurements were obtained: body mass index (BMI); waist circumference (WC); abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat quantified using breath-held magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); a fasting blood draw for assessment of glucose, insulin, and estimation of homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), HbA_1c, and high-sensitivity c-reactive protein (hs-CRP). Analysis of the soleus muscle 2D L-COSY spectral data showed significantly elevated IMCL ratios with respect to Cr and decreased IMCL UI in T2D when compared to healthy subjects (P < 0.05). In T2D subjects, Pearson correlation analysis showed a positive correlation of IMCL/Cr with EMCL/Cr (0.679, P < 0.05) and HOMA-IR (0.633, P < 0.05), and a non-significant correlation of visceral and subcutaneous fat with magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and other metrics. Characterization of muscle IMCL and EMCL ratios, UI, and abdominal fat, may be useful for the noninvasive assessment of the role of altered lipid metabolism in the pathophysiology of T2D, and for assessment of the effects of future therapeutic interventions designed to alter metabolic dysfunction in T2D.