Myocardial deformation imaging based on ultrasonic pixel tracking to identify reversible myocardial dysfunction.

Objectives: This study evaluated the predictive value of myocardial deformation imaging for improvement in cardiac function after revascularization therapy in comparison with contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (ceMRI).

Background: Myocardial deformation imaging allows analysis of myocardial viability in ischemic left ventricular dysfunction.

Methods: In 53 patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction, myocardial viability was assessed using pixel-tracking-derived myocardial deformation imaging and ceMRI to predict recovery of function at 9 +/- 2 months follow-up.

Automated volumetry of solid pulmonary nodules in a phantom: accuracy across different CT scanner technologies.

Objectives: The accuracy of automated volumetry for pulmonary nodules in a phantom using different CT scanner technologies from single-slice spiral CT (SSCT) to 64-slice multidetector-row CT (MDCT) was compared.

Materials And Methods: A lung phantom with 5 different categories of pulmonary nodules was scanned using a single-slice spiral CT, a 4-slice MDCT, a 16-slice MDCT and a 64-slice MDCT. Each category comprised of 7-9 nodules each (total n = 40) with different known volumes.

Molecular MRI of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis using a new fibrin-specific MR contrast agent.

Background And Purpose: Imaging of cerebral vein thrombosis is still challenging. Currently, diagnosis is based on CT venography and MRI including MRA and conventional digital subtraction angiography. However, especially in chronic cases, each method has shown its limitations.

Accuracy of automated volumetry of pulmonary nodules across different multislice CT scanners.

The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy of an automated volumetry software for phantom pulmonary nodules across various 16-slice multislice spiral CT (MSCT) scanners from different vendors. A lung phantom containing five different nodule categories (intraparenchymal, around a vessel, vessel attached, pleural, and attached to the pleura), with each category comprised of 7-9 nodules (total, n = 40) of varying sizes (diameter 3-10 mm; volume 6.62 mm(3)-525 mm(3)), was scanned with four different 16-slice MSCT scanners (Siemens, GE, Philips, Toshiba).

Analysis of myocardial deformation based on ultrasonic pixel tracking to determine transmurality in chronic myocardial infarction.

Aims: Pixel tracking-derived myocardial deformation imaging is a new echocardiographic modality which allows quantitative analysis of segmental myocardial function on the basis of tracking of natural acoustic markers in 2D echocardiography. This study evaluated whether myocardial deformation parameters calculated from 2D echocardiography allow assessment of transmurality of myocardial infarction as defined by contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (ceMRI). Methods In 47 patients with ischaemic left ventricular dysfunction, transmurality of myocardial infarction was assessed using pixel-tracking-derived myocardial deformation imaging and ceMRI.

MR-guided percutaneous intramyocardial injection with an MR-compatible catheter: feasibility and changes in T1 values after injection of extracellular contrast medium in pigs.

Purpose: To assess the feasibility of percutaneous magnetic resonance (MR)-guided intramyocardial injection of gadodiamide by using real-time imaging and to quantify T1 values and the size of the enhanced region for different concentrations of contrast agent for 30 minutes after injection.

Materials And Methods: Animal care committee approval was obtained. A catheter with a needle tip was advanced into the left ventricle in seven pigs by using real-time imaging with radial steady-state free precession.

High-resolution transthoracic real-time three-dimensional echocardiography: quantitation of cardiac volumes and function using semi-automatic border detection and comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Objectives: We sought to validate high-resolution transthoracic real-time (RT) three-dimensional echocardiography (3DE), in combination with a novel semi-automatic contour detection algorithm, for the assessment of left ventricular (LV) volumes and function in patients.

Background: Quantitative RT-3DE has been limited by impaired image quality and time-consuming manual data analysis.

Methods: Twenty-four subjects with abnormal (n = 14) or normal (n = 10) LVs were investigated.