Diagnosis of liver hemangioma using magnetic resonance diffusion-derived vessel density (DDVD) pixelwise map: a preliminary descriptive study.

Background: Liver hemangiomas (HGs) are characterized by cavernous venous spaces delineated by a lining of vascular endothelial cells and interspersed with connective tissue septa. Typically, a liver HG has higher apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and T2 values than those of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) and liver metastases, and lower ADC and T2 values than those of liver simple cysts. However, a portion of HGs shows ADC and T2 overlapping with those of HCC, liver metastasis, and simple cyst.

Hybrid Treatment Planning for Chest Wall Irradiation Utilizing Three-Dimensional Conformal Radiotherapy (3DCRT), Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), and Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT): A Systematic Review.

Novel hybrid approaches for chest wall irradiation show promising outcomes regarding target coverage and sparing organs at risk (OARs). In this systematic review, we compared hybrid volumetric modulated arc therapy (H-VMAT) or hybrid intensity-modulated radiotherapy (H-IMRT) techniques with non-hybrid techniques, such as three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3DCRT), field-in-field (FIF), intensity-modulated arc therapy (IMRT), and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), for breast cancer patients with mastectomy. Our focus was the plan quality and dose distribution to the OARs.

Investigating knowledge of DRLs, image quality and radiation dose in PET/CT and CT imaging among medical imaging professionals.

Objective: To investigate the knowledge of diagnostic reference levels (DRLs), image quality, radiation dose and protocol parameters among Jordanian medical imaging professionals (MIPs) involved in PET/CT and CT scan procedures.

Materials And Methods: A questionnaire was designed and distributed to MIPs in Jordan. The survey comprised four sections: demographic data, MIP knowledge on dose/protocol parameters, image quality, and DRLs.

National and local diagnostic reference levels for adultF-FDG and CT in Jordanian PET/CT: findings and implications in practice.

This study aims to report the findings of Jordanian national diagnostic reference level (NDRL) survey for fluorodeoxyglucose (F-FDG) and local diagnostic reference level (LDRL) of computed tomography (CT) used for attenuation correction and anatomical localisation (AC-AL); and AC and diagnostic CT (AC-DX) within the context of whole-body WB and half-body HB adult oncology PET/CT scanning. Two-structured questionnaires were prepared to gather the necessary information: dosimetry data, patient demographics, equipment specification, and acquisition protocols for identifiedF-FDG PET/CT procedures. The NDRL and achievable dose were reported based on the 75th and 50th percentiles forF-FDG administered activity (AA), respectively.

Revising and exploring the variations in methodologies for establishing the diagnostic reference levels for paediatric PET/CT imaging.

PET-computed tomography (PET/CT) is a hybrid imaging technique that combines anatomical and functional information; to investigate primary cancers, stage tumours, and track treatment response in paediatric oncology patients. However, there is debate in the literature about whether PET/CT could increase the risk of cancer in children, as the machine is utilizing two types of radiation, and paediatric patients have faster cell division and longer life expectancy. Therefore, it is essential to minimize radiation exposure by justifying and optimizing PET/CT examinations and ensure an acceptable image quality.

Effectiveness of an educational module in improving knowledge, awareness and perception among pregnant women regarding the safe use of prenatal ultrasound.

Background: Lack of public understanding, perception and awareness of the biological effects of prenatal ultrasound has led to the non-medical use of ultrasound. An educational programme is required to enlighten pregnant women and the public regarding prenatal ultrasound safety.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of educational modules (video and brochure) in improving knowledge, awareness and perception (KAP) among pregnant women regarding prenatal ultrasound safety.

Reproducibility and Repeatability of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) Image Segmentation in Detecting Atherosclerosis: A Radiomics Study.

Atherosclerosis is known as the leading factor in heart disease with the highest mortality rate among the Malaysian population. Usually, the gold standard for diagnosing atherosclerosis is by using the coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) technique to look for plaque within the coronary artery. However, qualitative diagnosis for noncalcified atherosclerosis is vulnerable to false-positive diagnoses, as well as inconsistent reporting between observers.

Automated Classification of Atherosclerotic Radiomics Features in Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA).

Radiomics is the process of extracting useful quantitative features of high-dimensional data that allows for automated disease classification, including atherosclerotic disease. Hence, this study aimed to quantify and extract the radiomic features from Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) images and to evaluate the performance of automated machine learning (AutoML) model in classifying the atherosclerotic plaques. In total, 202 patients who underwent CCTA examination at Institut Jantung Negara (IJN) between September 2020 and May 2021 were selected as they met the inclusion criteria.

Association of Radiation Doses and Cancer Risks from CT Pulmonary Angiography Examinations in Relation to Body Diameter.

In this study, we aimed to estimate the probability of cancer risk induced by CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) examinations concerning effective body diameter. One hundred patients who underwent CTPA examinations were recruited as subjects from a single institution in Kuala Lumpur. Subjects were categorized based on their effective diameter size, where 19-25, 25-28, and >28 cm categorized as Groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively.

Effectiveness of Post-Mortem Computed Tomography (PMCT) in Comparison with Conventional Autopsy: A Systematic Review.

Background: With the advancement of technology, Computed Tomography (CT) scan imaging can be used to gain deeper insight into the cause of death.

Aims: The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review of the efficacy of Post- Mortem Computed Tomography (PMCT) scan compared with the conventional autopsies gleaned from literature published in English between the year 2009 and 2016.

Methodology: A literature search was conducted on three databases, namely PubMed, MEDLINE, and Scopus.

A comparison study of radiation effective dose in ECG-Gated Coronary CT Angiography and calcium scoring examinations performed with a dual-source CT scanner.

In this report we have evaluated radiation effective dose received by patients during ECG-gated CCTA examinations based on gender, heart rate, tube voltage protocol and body mass index (BMI). A total of 1,824 patients were retrospectively recruited (1,139 men and 685 women) and they were divided into Group 1 (CCTA with calcium scoring), Group 2 (CCTA without calcium scoring) and Group 3 (only calcium scoring), where the association between gender, heart rate, tube voltage protocol and body mass index (BMI) were analysed. Examinations were performed using a retrospective ECG-gated CCTA protocol and the effective doses were calculated from the dose length product with a conversion coefficient of 0.

Quantitative assessment on coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) image quality: comparisons between genders and different tube voltage settings.

Background: This study was carried out to quantify and compare the quantitative image quality of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) between genders as well as between different tube voltages scan protocols.

Methods: Fifty-five cases of CCTA were collected retrospectively and all images including reformatted axial images at systolic and diastolic phases as well as images with curved multi planar reformation (cMPR) were obtained. Quantitative image quality including signal intensity, image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of right coronary artery (RCA), left anterior descending artery (LAD), left circumflex artery (LCx) and left main artery (LM) were quantified using Analyze 12.

Radiation dose reduction in thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT using tube current modulation: a phantom study.

This phantom study was designed to compare the radiation dose in thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT scans with and without use of tube current modulation (TCM). Effective dose (ED) and size-specific dose estimation (SSDE) were calculated with the absorbed doses measured at selective radiosensitive organs using a thermoluminescence dosimeter-100 (TLD-100). When compared to protocols without TCM, the ED and SSDE were reduced significantly with use of TCM for both the thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT.

Implications of Web of Science journal impact factor for scientific output evaluation in 16 institutions and investigators' opinion.

Journal based metrics is known not to be ideal for the measurement of the quality of individual researcher's scientific output. In the current report 16 contributors from Hong Kong SAR, India, Korea, Taiwan, Russia, Germany, Japan, Turkey, Belgium, France, Italy, UK, The Netherlands, Malaysia, and USA are invited. The following six questions were asked: (I) is Web of Sciences journal impact factor (IF) and Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) citation the main academic output performance evaluation tool in your institution? and your country? (II) How does Google citation count in your institution? and your country? (III) If paper is published in a non-SCI journal but it is included in PubMed and searchable by Google scholar, how it is valued when compared with a paper published in a journal with an IF? (IV) Do you value to publish a piece of your work in a non-SCI journal as much as a paper published in a journal with an IF? (V) What is your personal view on the metric measurement of scientific output? (VI) Overall, do you think Web of Sciences journal IF is beneficial, or actually it is doing more harm? The results show that IF and ISI citation is heavily affecting the academic life in most of the institutions.

Cerebral CT angiography and CT perfusion in acute stroke detection: a systematic review of diagnostic value.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the diagnostic value of cerebral CT angiography (CTA) and CT perfusion (CTP) examinations in the detection of acute stroke based on a systematic review of the current literature. The review was conducted based on searching of seven databases for articles published between 1993 and 2013. Diagnostic value in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy was analysed from 21 articles which were found to meet selection criteria.

Coronary CT angiography: Diagnostic value and clinical challenges.

Coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography has been increasingly used in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease due to improved spatial and temporal resolution with high diagnostic value being reported when compared to invasive coronary angiography. Diagnostic performance of coronary CT angiography has been significantly improved with the technological developments in multislice CT scanners from the early generation of 4-slice CT to the latest 320- slice CT scanners. Despite the promising diagnostic value, coronary CT angiography is still limited in some areas, such as inferior temporal resolution, motion-related artifacts and high false positive results due to severe calcification.

Coronary CT angiography: Dose reduction strategies.

With the introduction of 64- and post-64 slice computed tomography (CT) technology, coronary CT angiography has been increasingly used as a less invasive modality for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease. Despite its high diagnostic value and promising results compared to invasive coronary angiography, coronary CT angiography is associated with high radiation dose, leading to potential risk of radiation-induced cancer. A variety of dose-reduction strategies have been reported recently to reduce radiation dose with effective outcomes having been achieved.

Radiation dose measurements in coronary CT angiography.

Coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography is associated with high radiation dose and this has raised serious concerns in the literature. Awareness of various parameters for dose estimates and measurements of coronary CT angiography plays an important role in increasing our understanding of the radiation exposure to patients, thus, contributing to the implementation of dose-saving strategies. This article provides an overview of the radiation dose quantity and its measurement during coronary CT angiography procedures.

Beta-blocker administration protocol for prospectively ECG-triggered coronary CT angiography.

The aim of this article is to discuss the protocol of beta-blockers that is commonly used for prospectively ECG-triggered coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). It is essential to ensure a low and regular heart rate in patients undergoing prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA for optimal visualization of coronary arteries. Although early generations of computed tomographyscanners are not applicable to be tailored according to patients' heart rate, a low and regular heart rate is possible to be achieved by the administration of medications according to the beta-blocker protocol.

Coronary CT angiography: State of the art.

Coronary computed tomography (CT) angiography has been recognized as the most rapidly developed imaging technique in the diagnosis of coronary artery disease due to the emergence and technological advances in multislice CT scanners. Coronary CT angiography has been confirmed to demonstrate high diagnostic and predictive value in coronary artery disease when compared to invasive coronary angiography. However, it suffers from high radiation dose which raises concerns in the medical field.

Radiation dose associated with cerebral CT angiography and CT perfusion: an experimental phantom study.

A study on the radiation dose associated with cerebral CT angiography (CTA) and CT perfusion (CTP) was conducted on an anthropomorphic phantom with the aim of estimating the effective dose (E) and entrance skin dose (ESD) in the eyes and thyroid gland during different CTA and CTP protocols. The E was calculated to be 0.61 and 0.

Image quality assessment in panoramic dental radiography: a comparative study between conventional and digital systems.

This study is designed to compare and evaluate the diagnostic image quality of dental panoramic radiography between conventional and digital systems. Fifty-four panoramic images were collected and divided into three groups consisting of conventional, digital with and without post processing image. Each image was printed out and scored subjectively by two experienced dentists who were blinded to the exposure parameters and system protocols.

Coronary computed tomography angiography with prospective electrocardiography triggering: a systematic review of image quality and radiation dose.

The purpose of this study was to perform a systematic review of the diagnostic accuracy, image quality and radiation dose of prospective electrocardiography (ECG)-triggered coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). We searched databases containing studies of CCTA that used prospective ECG-triggering between 2008 and 2011. The effective dose and image quality reported in each study were analysed and compared between the types of multislice CT scanners.