Computed tomography quantification of pulmonary vessels in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as identified by 3D automated approach.

The aim of this study was to investigate the vascular alteration of the whole lung and individual lobes in patients with COPD, and assess the association between pulmonary vessels and the extent and distribution of emphysema as well as pulmonary function by a 3-dimensional automated approach.A total of 83 computed tomography images from COPD patients were analyzed. Automated computerized approach was used to measure the total number of vessels at the fifth generation.

[Accuracy of MR perfusion weighted imaging for cerebral glioma grading: a meta-analysis].

Objective: To evaluate values of MR perfusion weighted imaging(PWI) in the grading of intracranial gliomas by a meta-analysis.

Methods: All English and Chinese literatures published before November 2009 in PUBMED and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) were searched. Literature searching requirements: (1) MR PWI with region of interest (ROI) must have been applied in the grading of gliomas; (2) histopathological results must have been used as the reference standards.

A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of human brain in pain-related areas induced by electrical stimulation with different intensities.

Background: Pain-related studies have mainly been performed through traditional methods, which lack the rigorous analysis of anatomical locations. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a noninvasive method detecting neural activity, and has the ability to precisely locate related activations in vivo. Moreover, few studies have used painful stimulation of changed intensity to investigate relevant functioning nuclei in the human brain.

A free-breathing non-contrast-enhanced pulmonary magnetic resonance angiography at 3 Tesla.

Background: The breathhold contrast-enhanced three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) using T1-weighted gradient-echo imaging sequence is the standard technique for MRA of the thorax. However, this technique is not desirable for certain patients with respiratory insufficiency, serious renal impairment, or allergy to contrast agents. The objective of this study was to optimize and evaluate a non-contrast-enhanced free-breathing pulmonary MRA protocol at 3 Tesla.