Impact of papillary muscle infarction on atrial and ventricular myocardial deformation in non-anterior STEMI patients.

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of papillary muscle (PPM) infarction on left atrial and ventricular strain parameters in patients with non-anterior ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NA-STEMI) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). This retrospective study performed CMR scans on 88 consecutive patients with NA-STEMI (68 males, 65 ± 10.05 years).

Prognostic value of myocardial deformation parameters for outcome prediction in tetralogy of Fallot.

Background: The prognostic value of myocardial deformation parameters in adults with repaired tetralogy of Fallot (rTOF) has not been well-elucidated. We therefore aimed to explore myocardial deformation parameters for outcome prediction in adults with rTOF using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR).

Methods: Adults with rTOF and at least moderate pulmonary regurgitation were identified from an institutional prospective CMR registry.

Acute lung injury after balloon pulmonary angioplasty results in a similar haemodynamic response and possible clinical advantage at follow-up.

Acute lung injury (ALI) is a common but poorly defined and understood complication of balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Little data are available on the medium term clinical outcomes of BPA complicated by ALI. We analyzed per-procedure data from 282 procedures in 109 patients and per-patient data from 85 patients.

Comparing Cardiac Mechanics and Myocardial Fibrosis in DBD and DCD Heart Transplant Recipients.

Background: Heart transplantation (HTx) after donation after circulatory death (DCD) is an expanding practice but is associated with increased warm ischemic time. The impact of DCD HTx on cardiac mechanics and myocardial fibrosis has not been reported. We aimed to compare cardiac mechanics and myocardial fibrosis using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging in donation after brain death (DBD) and DCD HTx recipients and healthy controls.

Lung ultrasound B-lines in systemic sclerosis: cut-off values and methodological indications for interstitial lung disease screening.

Objectives: Lung ultrasound (LUS), through assessment of B-lines and pleural line alterations, is able to evaluate interstitial lung disease (ILD), a frequent complication of SSc. Different scanning schemes and counting methods have been proposed but no clear cut-off values have been indicated for screening. We aimed to evaluate the accuracy of different LUS methodological approaches to detect ILD compared with high-resolution CT (HRCT) as the gold standard.

Precision-optimized single protocol pre-/post-contrast modified-look locker inversion T1 mapping using composite inversion group fitting.

Background: Investigation of a simple, precision optimized, identical pre-/post-contrast modified look locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) protocol employing Composite inversion group (IG) fitting in a clinical cardiomyopathy population.

Methods: Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at 3 Tesla in 36 patients (48.0 years [IQR: 35.

Quantitative analysis of epicardial fat volume: effects of scanning protocol and reproducibility of measurements in non-contrast cardiac CT coronary CT angiography.

Background: Several studies have focused on the role of epicardial fat in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The main purpose of the study was to evaluate a computerized method for the quantitative analysis of epicardial fat volume (EFV) by non-contrast cardiac CT (NCT) for coronary calcium scan and coronary CT angiography (coronary CTA).

Methods: Thirty patients (61±12.

The role of biomechanical anatomical modeling via computed tomography for identification of restrictive allograft syndrome.

Chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD) reduces long-term graft survival. It is important to distinguish CLAD subtypes: bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) and restrictive allograft syndrome (RAS) as RAS has a worse prognosis and accurate subtyping could facilitate targeted treatments. However, the current diagnosis of CLAD subtypes is based on pulmonary function test (PFT) results that reflect global estimates of lung function; anatomical modeling based on computed tomography (CT) has the potential to provide detailed analysis of global and regional lung function.

Systematic radiation dose optimization of abdominal dual-energy CT on a second-generation dual-source CT scanner: assessment of the accuracy of iodine uptake measurement and image quality in an in vitro and in vivo investigations.

Purpose: To assess the accuracy of iodine quantification in a phantom study at different radiation dose levels with dual-energy dual-source CT and to evaluate image quality and radiation doses in patients undergoing a single-energy and two dual-energy abdominal CT protocols.

Methods: In a phantom study, the accuracy of iodine quantification (4.5-23.

Impact of model-based iterative reconstruction on low-contrast lesion detection and image quality in abdominal CT: a 12-reader-based comparative phantom study with filtered back projection at different tube voltages.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR) on image quality and low-contrast lesion detection compared with filtered back projection (FBP) in abdominal computed tomography (CT) of simulated medium and large patients at different tube voltages.

Methods: A phantom with 45 hypoattenuating lesions was placed in two water containers and scanned at 70, 80, 100, and 120 kVp. The 120-kVp protocol served as reference, and the volume CT dose index (CTDI) was kept constant for all protocols.

Effects of slice orientation on reproducibility of sequential assessment of right ventricular volumes and ejection fraction: short-axis vs transverse SSFP cine cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: Test-retest reproducibility is of utmost importance in follow-up of right ventricular (RV) volumes and function; optimal slice orientation though is not yet known. We compared test-retest reproducibility and intra-/inter-observer variability of right ventricular (RV) volumes and function assessed with short-axis and transverse cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).

Methods: Eighteen volunteers underwent cine CMR for RV assessment obtaining ventricular coverage in short-axis and transverse slice orientation.

High-resolution dynamic CE-MRA of the thorax enabled by iterative TWIST reconstruction.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical benefit of using a new iterative reconstruction technique fully integrated on a standard clinical scanner and reconstruction system using a TWIST acquisition for high-resolution dynamic three-dimensional contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA).

Methods: Low-dose, high-resolution TWIST datasets of 11 patients were reconstructed using both standard GRAPPA-based reconstruction for reference and iterative reconstruction, which reduces the temporal footprint of reconstructed images. Image quality of both techniques was assessed by two experienced readers, as well as quantitatively evaluated using a time-signal curve analysis.

Organ-based tube current modulation in a clinical context: Dose reduction may be largely overestimated in breast tissue.

Objectives: Organ-based tube current modulation aims to reduce exposure to radiosensitive organs like the breasts by considering their anatomical location and altering tube current during rotation. Former phantom studies demonstrated a dose reduction of 20-37 %. Our study aimed to estimate the potential of dose reduction with this technique in relation to the actual location of breast tissue in a large clinical cohort.

Colorectal cancer: current imaging methods and future perspectives for the diagnosis, staging and therapeutic response evaluation.

In the last 10 years the mortality rate of colorectal cancer (CRC) has decreased by more than 20% due to the rising developments in diagnostic techniques and optimization of surgical, neoadjuvant and palliative therapies. Diagnostic methods currently used in the evaluation of CRC are heterogeneous and can vary within the countries and the institutions. This article aims to discuss in depth currently applied imaging modalities such as virtual computed tomography colonoscopy, endorectal ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of CRC.

80-kV pulmonary CT angiography with 40 mL of iodinated contrast material in lean patients: comparison of vascular enhancement with iodixanol (320 mg I/mL)and iomeprol (400 mg I/mL).

Objective: The purpose of this article is to compare the vascular enhancement obtained with a low-kilovoltage pulmonary CT angiography (CTA) protocol in lean patients, using 40 mL of a moderate-concentration isoosmolar (iodixanol, 320 mg I/mL) and a high-concentration low-osmolar (iomeprol, 400 mg I/mL) iodinated contrast medium injected at the same iodine delivery rate.

Subjects And Methods: Forty-two lean patients (31 men and 11 women; body mass index, ≤ 23 kg/m(2)) with suspected pulmonary embolism and non-small cell lung carcinoma underwent pulmonary CTA with a 64-MDCT scanner using a tube voltage of 80 kV. Twenty-three patients (54.

Lung water assessment by lung ultrasonography in intensive care: a pilot study.

Objective: To investigate the accuracy of lung ultrasonography (LUS) in the quantification of lung water in critically ill patients by using quantitative computed tomography (CT) as the gold standard for the determination of lung weight.

Methods: Twenty consecutive patients admitted to an intensive care unit who underwent chest CT as a step in their clinical management were evaluated within 4 h by LUS. Lung weight, lung volume, and physical lung density were calculated from the CT scans using ad hoc software.

Ultrasound lung comets in systemic sclerosis: a chest sonography hallmark of pulmonary interstitial fibrosis.

Objective: To assess the correlation between ultrasound lung comets (ULCs, a recently described echographic sign of interstitial lung fibrosis) and the current undisputed gold-standard high-resolution CT (HRCT) to detect pulmonary fibrosis in patients with SSc.

Methods: We enrolled 33 consecutive SSc patients (mean age 54 +/- 13 years, 30 females) in the Rheumatology Clinic of the University of Pisa. We assessed ULCs and chest HRCT within 1 week independently in all the patients.

A novel tool for the morphometric analysis of corpus callosum: applications to the diagnosis of autism - biomed 2009.

Autism is a developmental disorder characterized by social deficits, impaired communication, and restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour. Emerging theories indicate interregional functional and anatomical brain connectivity as a likely key feature in autism pathophysiology. Corpus callosum (CC) represents a natural target of autism connectivity research, being the expression of interhemispheric communication.