A simple, clinically usable whole-body MRI system of joint assessment in adolescents and young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objectives: To introduce and evaluate a simple method for assessing joint inflammation and structural damage on whole-body MRI (WBMRI) in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), which is usable in clinical practice.

Methods: The proposed system utilizes post-contrast Dixon WBMRI scans. Joints are assessed for synovitis (grade 0-2) and structural damage (present/absent) at 81 sites.

Detection of inflammation by whole-body MRI in young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Objectives: To assess the frequency of joint inflammation detected by whole-body MRI (WBMRI) in young people (YP) with JIA and controls, and to determine the relationship between WBMRI-detected inflammation and clinical findings.

Methods: YP aged 14-24 years, with JIA (patients) or arthralgia without JIA (controls), recruited from one centre, underwent a WBMRI scan after formal clinical assessment. Consensus between at least two of the three independent radiologists was required to define inflammation and damage on WBMRI, according to predefined criteria.

Evaluation of the current use of MRI to aid the diagnosis of axial spondyloarthritis in the UK: results from a freedom of information request.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of recommendations from the 2019 consensus exercise conducted by radiologists and rheumatologists on the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in clinical practice.

Materials And Methods: A freedom of information (FOI) request was used to assess the use of MRI in the diagnosis of axSpA and radiologists' awareness of the 2019 guidance across all NHS Trusts and Health Boards in the UK, including England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

Results: The FOI request was sent to 150 Trusts/Health Boards, and 93 full responses were received.

Weight-loss Independent Clinical and Metabolic Biomarkers Associated with Type 2 Diabetes Remission Post-bariatric/metabolic Surgery.

Purpose: Remission of type 2 diabetes (T2D) can be achieved by many, but not all, people following bariatric/metabolic surgery. The mechanisms underlying T2D remission remain incompletely understood. This observational study aimed to identify novel weight-loss independent clinical, metabolic and genetic factors that associate with T2D remission using comprehensive phenotyping.

Measuring response to treatment in axial spondyloarthritis using quantitative imaging biomarkers: a prospective observational cohort study.

Objective: Objective assessments of disease activity and response to treatment in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) remain a challenge; quantitative imaging biomarkers (QIBs) of inflammation could enhance assessments of disease activity and therapeutic response. We aimed to determine the responsiveness of QIBs obtained from diffusion-weighted imaging (DW-MRI) and chemical shift-encoded MRI (CSE-MRI) using the partially automated Bone Edema and Adiposity Characterisation with Histograms (BEACH) software tool in axSpA patients undergoing biologic therapy.

Methods: We conducted a prospective longitudinal cohort study, including 30 patients with axSpA undergoing biologic therapy.

A multiparametric alternative to short inversion-time inversion recovery for imaging inflammation: T and fat fraction measurement using chemical shift-encoded turbo spin-echo MRI.

Purpose: Short-inversion-time inversion-recovery MRI is used widely for imaging bone and soft-tissue inflammation in rheumatic inflammatory diseases, but there is no widely available quantitative equivalent of this sequence. This limits our ability to objectively assess inflammation and distinguish it from other processes. To address this, we investigate the use of the widely available Dixon turbo spin echo (TSE Dixon) sequence as a practical approach to simultaneous water-specific T (T ) and fat fraction (FF) measurement.

Volume of hyperintense inflammation (VHI): A quantitative imaging biomarker of inflammation load in spondyloarthritis, enabled by human-machine cooperation.

Qualitative visual assessment of MRI scans is a key mechanism by which inflammation is assessed in clinical practice. For example, in axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), visual assessment focuses on the identification of regions with increased signal in the bone marrow, known as bone marrow oedema (BMO), on water-sensitive images. The identification of BMO has an important role in the diagnosis, quantification and monitoring of disease in axSpA.

Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) in axial spondyloarthritis.

Imaging, and particularly MRI, plays a crucial role in the assessment of inflammation in rheumatic disease, and forms a core component of the diagnostic pathway in axial spondyloarthritis. However, conventional imaging techniques are limited by image contrast being non-specific to inflammation and a reliance on subjective, qualitative reader interpretation. Quantitative MRI methods offer scope to address these limitations and improve our ability to accurately and precisely detect and characterise inflammation, potentially facilitating a more personalised approach to management.

MAGORINO: Magnitude-only fat fraction and R estimation with Rician noise modeling.

Purpose: Magnitude-based fitting of chemical shift-encoded data enables proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and estimation where complex-based methods fail or when phase data are inaccessible or unreliable. However, traditional magnitude-based fitting algorithms do not account for Rician noise, creating a source of bias. To address these issues, we propose an algorithm for magnitude-only PDFF and estimation with Rician noise modeling (MAGORINO).

Access to statistical support for medical imaging research: questionnaire survey of UK radiology trainees.

Aim: To investigate the level of statistical support available to UK radiology trainees, and to gather opinions regarding how support may affect their current and future research aspirations.

Materials And Methods: An online survey was developed, piloted, and distributed to radiology trainees via the UK Radiology Academic Network for Trainees and training programme directors. Research experience, research aspirations, available and desired statistical support, and attitudes to statistics were surveyed and responses were collated.

Assessment of body composition and association with clinical outcomes in patients with lung and colorectal cancer.

Objectives: To assess body composition in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and colorectal cancer using whole-body MRI and relate this to clinical outcomes.

Methods: 53 patients with NSCLC (28 males, 25 females; mean age 66.9) and 74 patients with colorectal cancer (42 males, 32 females; mean age 62.

Thrombus Distribution in Vaccine-induced Immune Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia after ChAdOx1 nCov-19 Vaccination.

Vaccination strategies have been at the forefront of controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. An association between vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) and one of these vaccines, the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccine, is now recognized. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency and location of thrombosis in each vascular system using CT, MRI, and US to identify additional sites of thrombus in a United Kingdom-wide sample of patients with confirmed VITT.

The role of whole-body MRI in musculoskeletal inflammation detection and treatment response evaluation in inflammatory arthritis across age: A systematic review.

Objective: To evaluate the relation between whole-body MRI (WBMRI) outcomes and disease activity measures, including clinical examination, composite scores, and other imaging outcomes, and the ability of WBMRI to detect treatment response in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA) across age.

Methods: Human studies published as full text or abstract in the PubMed and MEDLINE and Cochrane databases from inception to 11th April 2021 were systematically and independently searched by two reviewers. Studies including patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), spondyloarthritis (SpA), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) or unclassified inflammatory arthritis (UA) who underwent WBMRI and which reported on disease outcomes were included.

Do acetabular parameters measured on 2D imaging correlate with CT, and can lateral centre-edge angle predict femoral head coverage?

Aims: The lateral centre-edge angle (LCEA) is a plain radiological measure of superolateral cover of the femoral head. This study aims to establish the correlation between 2D radiological and 3D CT measurements of acetabular morphology, and to describe the relationship between LCEA and femoral head cover (FHC).

Methods: This retrospective study included 353 periacetabular osteotomies (PAOs) performed between January 2014 and December 2017.

Task-driven assessment of experimental designs in diffusion MRI: A computational framework.

This paper proposes a task-driven computational framework for assessing diffusion MRI experimental designs which, rather than relying on parameter-estimation metrics, directly measures quantitative task performance. Traditional computational experimental design (CED) methods may be ill-suited to experimental tasks, such as clinical classification, where outcome does not depend on parameter-estimation accuracy or precision alone. Current assessment metrics evaluate experiments' ability to faithfully recover microstructural parameters rather than their task performance.

Predictors of Hip Dysplasia at 4 Years in Children with Perinatal Risk Factors.

Unlabelled: While perinatal risk factors are widely used to help identify those at risk for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) within the first 6 to 8 weeks of life, limited data exist about their association with radiographic evidence of dysplasia in childhood. The purpose of this study was to determine which perinatal risk factors are associated with acetabular dysplasia in children who are ≥2 years of age.

Methods: Pelvic radiographs were made in 1,053 children (mean age, 4.

Biomarkers of Response to Biologic Therapy in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis.

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is the most common chronic inflammatory arthritis of childhood, characterized by various clinical phenotypes associated with variable prognosis. Significant progress has been achieved with the use of biologic treatments, which specifically block pro-inflammatory molecules involved in the disease pathogenesis. The most commonly used biologics in JIA are monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins targeting interleukins 1 (IL-1) and 6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α).

An information-based comparison of diffusion attenuation models in normal and inflamed bone marrow.

Diffusion-weighted imaging has received attention as a method for characterizing inflammatory exudates in bone marrow in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and reveals an increase in diffusivity in regions of bone marrow oedema. Various models of diffusion attenuation have been investigated but the model providing the best description of tissue pathophysiology in regions of marrow oedema is unknown. Determining the most appropriate model is an important step towards protocol optimization and the development of a robust and clinically useful method.

Histographic analysis of oedema and fat in inflamed bone marrow based on quantitative MRI.

Objective: To demonstrate proof-of-concept for a quantitative MRI method using histographic analysis to assess bone marrow oedema and fat metaplasia in the sacroiliac joints.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-three adolescents aged 12-23 with known or suspected sacroiliitis were prospectively recruited and underwent quantitative MRI (qMRI) scans, consisting of chemical shift-encoded (at 3 T) and diffusion-weighted imaging (at 1.5 T), plus conventional MRI (at 1.

Whole body MRI in multiple myeloma: Optimising image acquisition and read times.

Objective: To identify the whole-body MRI (WB-MRI) image type(s) with the highest value for assessment of multiple myeloma, in order to optimise acquisition protocols and read times.

Methods: Thirty patients with clinically-suspected MM underwent WB-MRI at 3 Tesla. Unenhanced Dixon images [fat-only (FO) and water-only (WO)], post contrast Dixon [fat-only plus contrast (FOC) and water-only plus contrast (WOC)] and diffusion weighted images (DWI) of the pelvis from all 30 patients were randomised and read by three experienced readers.

Practical Approaches to Bone Marrow Fat Fraction Quantification Across Magnetic Resonance Imaging Platforms.

Background: Quantification of fat by proton density fat fraction (PDFF) measurements may be valuable for the quantification and follow-up of pathology in multicenter clinical trials and routine practice. However, many centers do not have access to specialist methods (such as chemical shift imaging) for PDFF measurement. This is a barrier to more widespread trial implementation.

Emerging quantitative MR imaging biomarkers in inflammatory arthritides.

Purpose: To review quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI) methods for imaging inflammation in connective tissues and the skeleton in inflammatory arthritis. This review is designed for a broad audience including radiologists, imaging technologists, rheumatologists and other healthcare professionals.

Methods: We discuss the use of qMRI for imaging skeletal inflammation from both technical and clinical perspectives.