Acceleration techniques and their impact on arterial input function sampling: Non-accelerated versus view-sharing and compressed sensing sequences.

Purpose: The aim was to investigate the variation of the arterial input function (AIF) within and between various DCE MRI sequences.

Material And Methods: A dynamic flow-phantom and steady signal reference were scanned on a 3T MRI using fast low angle shot (FLASH) 2d, FLASH3d (parallel imaging factor (P) = P0, P2, P4), volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) (P = P0, P3, P2 × 2, P2 × 3, P3 × 2), golden-angle radial sparse parallel imaging (GRASP), and time-resolved imaging with stochastic trajectories (TWIST). Signal over time curves were normalized and quantitatively analyzed by full width half maximum (FWHM) measurements to assess variation within and between sequences.

Post-contrast acute kidney injury - Part 1: Definition, clinical features, incidence, role of contrast medium and risk factors : Recommendations for updated ESUR Contrast Medium Safety Committee guidelines.

Purpose: The Contrast Media Safety Committee (CMSC) of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) has updated its 2011 guidelines on the prevention of post-contrast acute kidney injury (PC-AKI). The results of the literature review and the recommendations based on it, which were used to prepare the new guidelines, are presented in two papers. AREAS COVERED IN PART 1: Topics reviewed include the terminology used, the best way to measure eGFR, the definition of PC-AKI, and the risk factors for PC-AKI, including whether the risk with intravenous and intra-arterial contrast medium differs.

Post-contrast acute kidney injury. Part 2: risk stratification, role of hydration and other prophylactic measures, patients taking metformin and chronic dialysis patients : Recommendations for updated ESUR Contrast Medium Safety Committee guidelines.

Objectives: The Contrast Media Safety Committee (CMSC) of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) has updated its 2011 guidelines on the prevention of post-contrast acute kidney injury (PC-AKI). The results of the literature review and the recommendations based on it, which were used to prepare the new guidelines, are presented in two papers. AREAS COVERED IN PART 2: Topics reviewed include stratification of PC-AKI risk, the need to withdraw nephrotoxic medication, PC-AKI prophylaxis with hydration or drugs, the use of metformin in diabetic patients receiving contrast medium and the need to alter dialysis schedules in patients receiving contrast medium.

Iodine-based contrast media, multiple myeloma and monoclonal gammopathies: literature review and ESUR Contrast Media Safety Committee guidelines.

Objectives: Many radiologists and clinicians still consider multiple myeloma (MM) and monoclonal gammopathies (MG) a contraindication for using iodine-based contrast media. The ESUR Contrast Media Safety Committee performed a systematic review of the incidence of post-contrast acute kidney injury (PC-AKI) in these patients.

Methods: A systematic search in Medline and Scopus databases was performed for renal function deterioration studies in patients with MM or MG following administration of iodine-based contrast media.

Scan time adapted contrast agent injection protocols with low volume for low-tube voltage CT angiography: An in vitro study.

Purpose: The aims of this study were twofold. First, we investigated the extent of changes in arterial peak enhancement and changes in the duration of a diagnostic arterial enhancement when small amounts of CA volumes (≤30mL) were administered at varying tube voltages. Second, we investigated how to optimize CA injection protocols for CT-angiography with long scan times at various tube voltages to achieve optimal vascular enhancement at the lowest reasonable CA dose.

Gadobutrol in Renally Impaired Patients: Results of the GRIP Study.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the potential risk of gadobutrol-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with moderate to severe renal impairment for the development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF).

Materials And Methods: We performed a prospective, international, multicenter, open-label study in 55 centers. Patients with moderate to severe renal impairment scheduled for any gadobutrol-enhanced MRI were included.

Comparison of Optimized 3D-SPACE and 3D-TSE Sequences at 1.5T MRCP in the Diagnosis of Choledocholithiasis.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to evaluate whether or not MRCP using a 3D-SPACE sequence allows for better image quality and a higher level of diagnostic confidence than a conventional 3D-TSE sequence at 1.5 T regarding the diagnosis of choledocholithiasis in a routine clinical setting.

Materials And Methods: 3D-SPACE and 3D-TSE sequences were performed in 42 consecutive patients with suspected choledocholithiasis undergoing MRCP.

Assessment of image quality and low-contrast detectability in abdominal CT of obese patients: comparison of a novel integrated circuit with a conventional discrete circuit detector at different tube voltages.

Objectives: To compare image quality and low-contrast detectability of an integrated circuit (IC) detector in abdominal CT of obese patients with conventional detector technology at low tube voltages.

Methods: A liver phantom with 45 lesions was placed in a water container to mimic an obese patient and examined on two different CT systems at 80, 100 and 120 kVp. The systems were equipped with either the IC or conventional detector.

Stress examination of flexor tendon pulley rupture in the crimp grip position: a 1.5-Tesla MRI cadaver study.

Objective: The objectives of this study were the evaluation of flexor tendon pulley rupture of the fingers in the crimp grip position using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the comparison of the results with MRI in the neutral position in a cadaver study.

Materials And Methods: MRI in the crimp grip position and in the neutral position was performed in 21 cadaver fingers with artificially created flexor tendon pulley tears (combined pulley rupture, n = 14; single pulley rupture, n = 7). Measurement of the distance between the tendon and bone was performed.

[Rational imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma. The challenge of multimodal diagnostic criteria].

Clinical/methodical Issue: Both computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) constitute the gold standard in radiological imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In cases of typical contrast behavior each modality as a single dynamic technique allows the diagnosis of HCC. There is still a challenge in detection of small HCCs < 2 cm, in differentiating HCC and high-grade dysplasia from other benign liver lesions as well as the evaluation of hypovascular liver lesions in the cirrhotic liver.

Computed tomography for pulmonary embolism: assessment of a 1-year cohort and estimated cancer risk associated with diagnostic irradiation.

Background: The principal concern of any radiation exposure in computed tomography (CT) is the induction of stochastic risks of developing a radiation-induced cancer. The results given in this manuscript will allow to (re-)calculate yield of chest CT.

Purpose: To demonstrate a method to evaluate the lifetime attributable risk (LAR) of cancer incidence/mortality due to a single diagnostic investigation in a 1-year cohort of consecutive chest CT for suspected pulmonary embolism (PE).

ECG-triggered non-enhanced MR angiography of peripheral arteries in comparison to DSA in patients with peripheral artery occlusive disease.

Object: The purpose of this study was to evaluate peripheral non-enhanced-MRA (NE-MRA) acquired with a 3D Turbo Spin Echo sequence with electrocardiographt (ECG) triggering in comparison to Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) as the gold standard in symptomatic peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD) patients.

Materials And Methods: This IRB approved prospective study included 23 PAOD patients from whom three patients had to be excluded. The remaining 20 subjects were included in the analysis (15 male; mean age 62.

Detection of suspected placental invasion by MRI: do the results depend on observer' experience?

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic value of previously described MR features used for detecting suspected placental invasion according to observers' experience.

Materials And Methods: Our population included 25 pregnant women (mean age 35.16) investigated by prenatal MRI (1.

Choi response criteria for prediction of survival in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma treated with anti-angiogenic therapies.

Objective: Anti-angiogenic drugs cause a reduction in tumour density (Choi criteria) first and then in size [Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumours (RECIST)]. The prognostic significance of changes in tumour density in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) is unknown and was assessed in this study.

Methods: The prognostic significance of partial response (PR) as opposed to non-response [stable disease (SD) + progressive (PD)] to anti-angiogenic therapy was assessed in patients with mRCC separately for both criteria using the log-rank test and Cox regression models.

Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and gadolinium-based contrast media: updated ESUR Contrast Medium Safety Committee guidelines.

Purpose: To update the guidelines of the Contrast Media Safety Committee (CMSC) of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) on nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and gadolinium-based contrast media.

Areas Covered: Topics reviewed include the history, clinical features and prevalence of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and the current understanding of its pathophysiology. The risk factors for NSF are discussed and prophylactic measures are recommended.

Remote sonographic interpretation: comparison of standardized video clips to still images.

Objective: The aim of our study was to evaluate the role of standardized video clips compared with still images in the diagnostic accuracy of remote sonographic interpretation.

Methods: We compared the remote interpretation of sonographic examinations acquired with a standardized video clip approach to examinations performed with still images alone in 60 patients with various hepatic and extrahepatic pathologies.

Results: The use of video clips improved the diagnostic accuracy of sonographic studies interpreted remotely compared with the use of still images (p < 0.

Integration of the computational fluid dynamics technique with MRI in aortic dissections.

Short-term and long-term prognosis and their determining factors of Type III/Stanford B aortic dissections (TB-AD), which separate the aorta distal at the origin of the subclavian artery into a true lumen and false lumen, have been elusive: One quarter of patients thought to be treated successfully, either by medical or by surgical means, do not survive 3 years. Unfavorable hemodynamic conditions are believed to lead to false lumen pressure increases and complications. A better characterization of TB-AD hemodynamics may therefore impact therapeutic decision making and improve outcome.

Skeletal muscle BOLD MRI: from underlying physiological concepts to its usefulness in clinical conditions.

Blood oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) MRI has gained particular attention in functional brain imaging studies, where it can be used to localize areas of brain activation with high temporal resolution. To a higher degree than in the brain, skeletal muscles show extensive but transient alterations of blood flow between resting and activation state. Thus, there has been interest in the application of the BOLD effect in studying the physiology of skeletal muscles (healthy and diseased) and its possible application to clinical practice.

Proximal interphalangeal joint volar plate configuration in the crimp grip position.

Purpose: To study the configuration of the proximal interphalangeal joint volar plate (VP) in the crimp grip position (metacarpophalangeal joint at 0° to 45° flexion, proximal interphalangeal joint at 90° to 100° flexion, and distal interphalangeal joint at 0° to 10° hyperextension) using magnetic resonance imaging techniques in healthy volunteers and cadaver fingers and to compare the results with histological sections.

Methods: Magnetic resonance imaging was performed on 24 fingers of 8 healthy volunteers and 12 fingers of 4 embalmed cadaver hands in the neutral position and in the crimp grip position. The translation of the VP body relative to the middle phalanx base during finger flexion was measured.

Clinical implications of skeletal muscle blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) MRI.

Blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) contrast in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of skeletal muscle mainly depends on changes of oxygen saturation in the microcirculation. In recent years, an increasing number of studies have evaluated the clinical relevance of skeletal muscle BOLD MR imaging in vascular diseases, such as peripheral arterial occlusive disease, diabetes mellitus, and chronic compartment syndrome. BOLD imaging combines the advantages of MR imaging, i.

Blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) MRI of human skeletal muscle at 1.5 and 3 T.

Purpose: To evaluate the dependence of skeletal muscle blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) effect and time course characteristics on magnetic field strength in healthy volunteers using an ischemia/reactive hyperemia paradigm.

Materials And Methods: Two consecutive skeletal muscle BOLD magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) measurements in eight healthy volunteers were performed on 1.5 T and 3.