Advanced Kidney Volume Measurement Method Using Ultrasonography with Artificial Intelligence-Based Hybrid Learning in Children.

In this study, we aimed to develop a new automated method for kidney volume measurement in children using ultrasonography (US) with image pre-processing and hybrid learning and to formulate an equation to calculate the expected kidney volume. The volumes of 282 kidneys (141 subjects, <19 years old) with normal function and structure were measured using US. The volumes of 58 kidneys in 29 subjects who underwent US and computed tomography (CT) were determined by image segmentation and compared to those calculated by the conventional ellipsoidal method and CT using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs).

Ultrasound Feature-Based Diagnostic Model Focusing on the "Submarine Sign" for Epidermal Cysts among Superficial Soft Tissue Lesions.

Objective: To develop a diagnostic model for superficial soft tissue lesions to differentiate epidermal cyst (EC) from other lesions based on ultrasound (US) features.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included 205 patients who had undergone US examinations for superficial soft tissue lesions and subsequent surgical excision. The study population was divided into the derivation set (n = 112) and validation set (n = 93) according to the imaging date.

Correlation of Serum Biomarkers and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy in Monitoring Disease Progression in Patients With Mitochondrial Encephalomyopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-Like Episodes Due to mtDNA A3243G Mutation.

Analysis of serum biomarkers and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) are useful for monitoring disease progression in patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). We evaluated the correlation of serum biomarkers and MRS parameters during changes associated with stroke-like episodes. In 13 symptomatic MELAS patients carrying the A3243G mutation, we retrospectively obtained 207 voxels from 41 MRS studies, which were divided into three groups according to the temporal association with stroke-like episodes.

Percutaneous Transhepatic Biliary Drainage in a Two-Month-Old Infant with Inspissated Bile Syndrome.

Inspissated bile syndrome (IBS) is a relatively rare condition. Many treatment options are available, including medication, surgery, and surgical interventions, such as insertion of cholecystostomy drain, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, internal biliary drainage, and percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD). We herein report the first case of IBS that was successfully treated with PTBD in a two-month-old infant in Korea.

Motion effects on the measurement of stiffness on ultrasound shear wave elastography: a moving liver fibrosis phantom study.

Aims: To evaluate the differences between shear wave velocities (SWVs) measured with ultrasound elastography during the continuous motion using liver fibrosis phantoms.

Materials And Methods: Elasticities were measured with convex and linear transducers of supersonic shear wave imaging (SSI) and acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) using liver elasticity phantoms (3.0 and 16.

Interobserver and Test-Retest Reproducibility of T1ρ and T2 Measurements of Lumbar Intervertebral Discs by 3T Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Objective: To investigate the interobserver and test-retest reproducibility of T1ρ and T2 measurements of lumbar intervertebral discs using 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: This study included a total of 51 volunteers (female, 26; male, 25; mean age, 54 ± 16.3 years) who underwent lumbar spine MRI with a 3.

A Case of Pulmonary Interstitial Emphysema Treated by Percutaneous Catheter Insertion in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infant.

The pulmonary interstitial emphysema (PIE) is a life-threatening illness in premature infants with mechanical ventilation. While most are managed conservatively, decompression would be necessary. Here, we report the first case of PIE treated by percutaneous catheter insertion in an extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infant in Korea.

Ultrasound measurement of pediatric visceral fat thickness: correlations with metabolic and liver profiles.

Purpose: Abdominal obesity is a fundamental factor underlying the development of metabolic syndrome. Because of radiation exposure and cost, computed tomography or dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry to evaluate abdominal adiposity are not appropriate in children. Authors evaluated whether ultrasound results could be an indicator of insulin resistance and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Accuracy of Diffusion Tensor Imaging for Diagnosing Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy in Patients Showing Spinal Cord Compression.

Objective: To assess the performance of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) for the diagnosis of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) in patients with deformed spinal cord but otherwise unremarkable conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings.

Materials And Methods: A total of 33 patients who underwent MRI of the cervical spine including DTI using two-dimensional single-shot interleaved multi-section inner volume diffusion-weighted echo-planar imaging and whose spinal cords were deformed but showed no signal changes on conventional MRI were the subjects of this study. Mean diffusivity (MD), longitudinal diffusivity (LD), radial diffusivity (RD), and fractional anisotropy (FA) were measured at the most stenotic level.

Comparison of Multi-Echo Dixon Methods with Volume Interpolated Breath-Hold Gradient Echo Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Fat-Signal Fraction Quantification of Paravertebral Muscle.

Objective: To assess whether multi-echo Dixon magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with simultaneous T2* estimation and correction yields more accurate fat-signal fraction (FF) measurement of the lumbar paravertebral muscles, in comparison with non-T2*-corrected two-echo Dixon or T2*-corrected three-echo Dixon, using the FF measurements from single-voxel MR spectroscopy as the reference standard.

Materials And Methods: Sixty patients with low back pain underwent MR imaging with a 1.5T scanner.

Differentiation between focal malignant marrow-replacing lesions and benign red marrow deposition of the spine with T2*-corrected fat-signal fraction map using a three-echo volume interpolated breath-hold gradient echo Dixon sequence.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of T2*-corrected fat-signal fraction (FF) map by using the three-echo volume interpolated breath-hold gradient echo (VIBE) Dixon sequence to differentiate between malignant marrow-replacing lesions and benign red marrow deposition of vertebrae.

Materials And Methods: We assessed 32 lesions from 32 patients who underwent magnetic resonance imaging after being referred for assessment of a known or possible vertebral marrow abnormality. The lesions were divided into 21 malignant marrow-replacing lesions and 11 benign red marrow depositions.

Radiation dose and image quality in pediatric chest CT: effects of iterative reconstruction in normal weight and overweight children.

Background: New CT reconstruction techniques may help reduce the burden of ionizing radiation.

Objective: To quantify radiation dose reduction when performing pediatric chest CT using a low-dose protocol and 50% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) compared with age/gender-matched chest CT using a conventional dose protocol and reconstructed with filtered back projection (control group) and to determine its effect on image quality in normal weight and overweight children.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 40 pediatric chest CT (M:F = 21:19; range: 0.

Ultrasonographic findings of type IIIa biliary atresia.

Purpose: To describe the ultrasonographic (US) findings of type IIIa biliary atresia.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a medical database of patients pathologically confirmed to have biliary atresia, Kasai type IIIa, between January 2002 and May 2013 (n=18). We evaluated US findings including the visible common bile duct (CBD), triangular cord thickness, gallbladder size and shape, and subcapsular flow on color Doppler US; laboratory data; and pathological hepatic fibrosis grades.

Effects of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction on radiation dose reduction and diagnostic accuracy of pediatric abdominal CT.

Background: Since children are more radio-sensitive than adults, there is a need to minimize radiation exposure during CT exams.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) on radiation dose reduction, image quality and diagnostic accuracy in pediatric abdominal CT.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the abdominal CT examinations of 41 children (24 boys and 17 girls; mean age: 10 years) with a low-dose radiation protocol and reconstructed with ASIR (the ASIR group).

A case of eosinophilic fasciitis presenting as pitting edema of the lower extremities.

Eosinophilic fasciitis is a rare disease characterized by diffuse fasciitis with peripheral eosinophilia and progressive induration and thickening of the skin and soft tissues. We report a 19-year-old female who presented with pitting edema in both lower extremities. She had a history of excessive physical activity before her symptoms developed.

CT venography for deep vein thrombosis using a low tube voltage (100 kVp) setting could increase venous enhancement and reduce the amount of administered iodine.

Objective: To investigate the validity of the 100 kVp setting in CT venography (CTV) in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), and to evaluate the feasibility of reducing the amount of administered iodine in this setting.

Materials And Methods: After receiving the contrast medium (CM) of 2.0 mL/kg, 88 patients underwent CTV of the pelvis and lower extremities by using one of four protocols: Group A, 120 kVp setting and 370 mgI/mL CM; group B, 120 kVp and 300 mgI/mL; group C, 100 kVp and 370 mgI/mL; group D, 100 kVp and 300 mgI/mL.

Age-related changes in liver, kidney, and spleen stiffness in healthy children measured with acoustic radiation force impulse imaging.

Objectives: To evaluate the feasibility and age-related changes of shear wave velocity (SWV) in normal livers, kidneys, and spleens of children using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging.

Materials And Methods: Healthy pediatric volunteers prospectively underwent abdominal ultrasonography and ARFI. The subjects were divided into three groups according to age: group 1: <5 years old; group 2: 5-10 years old; and group 3: >10 years old.

Computed tomographic venography for varicose veins of the lower extremities: prospective comparison of 80-kVp and conventional 120-kVp protocols.

Objective: To prospectively investigate the feasibility of an 80-kilovolt (peak) (kVp) protocol in computed tomographic venography for varicose veins of the lower extremities by comparison with conventional 120-kVp protocol.

Methods: Attenuation values and signal-to-noise ratio of iodine contrast medium (CM) were determined in a water phantom for 2 tube voltages (80 kVp and 120 kVp). Among 100 patients, 50 patients were scanned with 120 kVp and 150 effective milliampere second (mAs(eff)), and the other 50 patients were scanned with 80 kVp and 390 mAs(eff) after the administration of 1.

Determination of optimal imaging mode for ultrasonographic detection of subdermal contraceptive rods: comparison of spatial compound, conventional, and tissue harmonic imaging methods.

Objective: To determine which mode of ultrasonography (US), among the conventional, spatial compound, and tissue-harmonic methods, exhibits the best performance for the detection of Implanon® with respect to generation of posterior acoustic shadowing (PAS).

Materials And Methods: A total of 21 patients, referred for localization of impalpable Implanon®, underwent US, using the three modes with default settings (i.e.

Radiation dose reduction with the adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) technique for chest CT in children: an intra-individual comparison.

Objective: To retrospectively compare radiation dose and image quality of pediatric chest CT using a routine dose protocol reconstructed with filtered back projection (FBP) (the Routine study) and a low-dose protocol with 50% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) (the ASIR study).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed chest CT performed in pediatric patients who underwent both the Routine study and the ASIR study on different days between January 2010 and August 2011. Volume CT dose indices (CTDIvol), dose length products (DLP), and effective doses were obtained to estimate radiation dose.

A spinal cord astrocytoma and its concurrent osteoblastic metastases at the time of the initial diagnosis: a case report and literature review.

Bone metastasis from a spinal cord astrocytoma has been reported only twice in the English medical literature. It is generally known that bone metastasis is found after the initial diagnosis with/without intervening surgery rather than being found at the time of the diagnosis of astrocytoma. The purpose of this article is to report for the first time a case of concurrent bone metastasis from a spinal cord astrocytoma at the time of diagnosing the spinal cord astrocytoma.

The T2-shortening effect of gadolinium and the optimal conditions for maximizing the CNR for evaluating the biliary system: a phantom study.

Objective: Clear depiction of the common bile duct is important when evaluating neonatal cholestasis in order to differentiate biliary atresia from other diseases. During MR cholangiopancreatography, the T2-shortening effect of gadolinium can increase the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the bile duct and enhance its depiction. The purpose of this study was to confirm, by performing a phantom study, the T2-shortening effect of gadolinium, to evaluate the effect of different gadolinium chelates with different gadolinium concentrations and different magnetic field strengths for investigating the optimal combination of these conditions, and for identifying the maximum CNR for the evaluation of the biliary system.