Improved Depictions of the Anterior Choroidal Artery and Thalamoperforating Arteries on 3D-CTA Images Using Model-based Iterative Reconstruction.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate the depictability of intracranial small arteries using high-resolution CTA with model-based iterative reconstruction (MBIR).

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 21 patients who underwent brain 3D-CTA. Axial and volume-rendered (VR) images were reconstructed from the 3D-CTA raw data using adaptive statistical image reconstruction (ASIR) and MBIR.

Delivering the diluted contrast agent with saline via a spiral flow tube improves arterial enhancement for contrast enhancement of magnetic resonance angiography of the neck: A retrospective study.

A contrast agent can be pushed by a saline solution more effectively through a spiral flow tube than through a conventional T-shaped tube in contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CEMRA). To compare the degree of contrast enhancement and signal stability in the carotid artery by using CEMRA between a spiral flow tube and a T-shaped tube.A total of 100 patients were analyzed in this retrospective study.

Improvement of the diagnostic accuracy of MRA with subtraction technique in cerebral vasospasm.

Purpose: Vasospasm has been considered the most severe acute complication after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). MRA is not considered ideal for detecting cerebral vasospasm because of background including the hemorrhage. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Subtraction MRA (SMRA) by comparing it to that of conventional MRA (CMRA) for diagnosis of cerebral vasospasm.

[Potential of helical scan technique in acute cerebral infarction assessment].

The high convenience of data collection by helical scanning, such as making multi planner reformat (MPR) and shortening scan time, means that the technique is widely used to diagnose various body parts. However, non-helical scanning is still a main current for plane brain computed tomography. The possibility of diagnosing acute cerebral infarction by helical scanning MPR was examined.

[Application of flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) to brain functional imaging].

Flow-sensitive alternating inversion recovery (FAIR), which is an excellent method of non-invasive assessment of cerebral blood flow (CBF), was applied to brain function. Because blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) is an established method at present, brain functional imaging by FAIR was compared with BOLD. A few minutes is the necessary scanning time in FAIR targeted for brain ischemia.

[CT-auto exposure control on cerebral 3D-CT angiography: dose reduction and optimized image SD for inspection purposes].

It is a fact that image noise influences for image qualities of the brain CT are known widely. The same principle applies to 3D-CTA, image noise significantly influences the depiction of blood vessels. So we evaluated the use of CT-AEC for 3D-CTA to optimize the scan dose and control the depiction of cerebral vessels by CT-AEC.