Clinical value of liver ultrasound for the diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in overweight and obese patients.

Background & Aims: Liver ultrasound (US) is usually used in the clinical setting for the diagnosis and follow-up of patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, no large study has carefully assessed its performance using a semiquantitative ultrasonographic scoring system in overweight/obese patients, in comparison to magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1) H-MRS) and histology.

Methods: We recruited 146 patients and performed: a liver US using a 5-parameter scoring system, a liver (1) H-MRS to quantify liver fat content, and a liver biopsy to assess histology.

Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of hepatic tumors against the diaphragm: frequency of diaphragmatic injury.

Purpose: To retrospectively determine the frequency of diaphragmatic injury when percutaneous hepatic radiofrequency (RF) ablation is performed adjacent to the diaphragm.

Materials And Methods: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained for our HIPAA-compliant study. Informed consent for the ablation procedure and for use of related data for future research was obtained from each patient.

Informatics in radiology (infoRAD): introduction to the language of three-dimensional imaging with multidetector CT.

The recent proliferation of multi-detector row computed tomography (CT) has led to an increase in the creation and interpretation of images in planes other than the traditional axial plane. Powerful three-dimensional (3D) applications improve the utility of detailed CT data but also create confusion among radiologists, technologists, and referring clinicians when trying to describe a particular method or type of image. Designing examination protocols that optimize data quality and radiation dose to the patient requires familiarity with the concepts of beam collimation and section collimation as they apply to multi-detector row CT.

Digital radiography for the field: a portable prototype.

The US military has been investigating methods for improving radiographic support for field medical operations. The purpose of this project was to develop and test a portable digital radiography (DR) system to determine its feasibility for field operations. A prototype portable digital radiography device was designed and assembled using a commercially available DR sensor.