Imaging characteristics of intravascular spherical contrast agents for grating-based x-ray dark-field imaging - effects of concentrations, spherical sizes and applied voltage.

This study investigates the x-ray scattering characteristics of microsphere particles in x-ray-grating-based interferometric imaging at different concentrations, bubble sizes and tube voltages (kV). Attenuation (ATI), dark-field (DFI) and phase-contrast (PCI) images were acquired. Signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios with water (CNR) and air as reference (CNR) were determined.

Detection of artificial pulmonary lung nodules in ultralow-dose CT using an ex vivo lung phantom.

Objectives: To assess the image quality of 3 different ultralow-dose CT protocols on pulmonary nodule depiction in a ventilated ex vivo-system.

Materials And Methods: Four porcine lungs were inflated inside a dedicated chest phantom and prepared with n = 195 artificial nodules (0.5-1 mL).

Percutaneous CT fluoroscopy-guided core biopsy of pancreatic lesions: technical and clinical outcome of 104 procedures during a 10-year period.

Background In unclear pancreatic lesions, a tissue sample can confirm or exclude the suspected diagnosis and help to provide an optimal treatment strategy to each patient. To date only one small study reported on the outcome of computed tomography (CT) fluoroscopy-guided biopsies of the pancreas. Purpose To evaluate technical success and diagnostic rate of all CT fluoroscopy-guided core biopsies of the pancreas performed in a single university center during a 10-year period.

Tumor load in patients with multiple myeloma: β2-microglobulin levels versus whole-body MRI.

Objective: Beta-2-microglobulin is a serum maker of tumor burden in hematologic malignancies. We aimed to correlate serum β2-microglobulin levels in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) to tumor mass determined by whole-body MRI.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively included patients with newly diagnosed, untreated MM who underwent whole-body MRI at our institution between 2003 and 2011.

Whole-body MRI versus whole-body MDCT for staging of multiple myeloma.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to compare the detection rate of bone manifestations of multiple myeloma in whole-body MRI compared with MDCT and to assess accuracy in staging.

Subjects And Methods: Forty-one patients with histologically confirmed myeloma were prospectively examined with a whole-body MDCT protocol and whole-body MRI on a 1.5-T system.