Detection of Costal Cartilage Fractures on CT Images With Computer-aided Detection System for Rib Fractures.

Background/aim: Costal cartilage fractures are associated with poor prognosis in patients with blunt chest trauma. A Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) system for detecting rib fractures has been used in practice, but it is unclear whether this system recognizes costal cartilage fractures. This study investigated whether the CAD system for rib fracture can detect costal cartilage fractures.

Cervical CT Angiography: The Advantage of Ultra-High-Resolution CT Versus Conventional HRCT.

Pre-treatment depiction of the cervical arteries is important for better intra-arterial infusion therapy of malignant head and neck tumors. There have not been any studies on the image quality of ultra-high-resolution computed tomography (U-HRCT) for cervical CT angiography (CTA). The aim of this study is to evaluate the advantages of U-HRCT over conventional HRCT for cervical CTA; Methods: Forty-one patients underwent cervical CTA prior to selective intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy for malignant head and neck tumors.

Usefulness of arterial spin labeling MR angiography as preprocedural mapping for the intra-arterial chemotherapy in patients with maxillary sinus cancer: A case report.

Arterial spin labeling (ASL) magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) (ASL-MRA) is a newly developed method that can visualize small arteries, particularly those running tortuously and inferiorly at slow flow rates. It provides excellent visualization of the external carotid artery system, with superior performance in visualizing the middle meningeal artery (MMA) compared to that of computed tomography angiography (CTA). Here, we report a case of maxillary sinus carcinoma in which ASL-MRA revealed an ipsilateral ophthalmic artery originating from the MMA that was not visualized on CTA.

Direct visualization of postoperative aortobronchial fistula on computed tomography.

Background: Postoperative aortobronchial fistula (ABF) is a rare complication that can occur in 0.3%-5.0% of patients over an extended period of time after thoracic aortic surgery.

A potential usefulness of ultra-high-resolution computed tomography in quality assurance of remote after-loading system for cervical cancer.

Intracavitary brachytherapy with a remote after-loading system (RALS) is performed as a part of radical radiation therapy in cervical cancer. The radiation source is delivered directly through an applicator placed inside the uterus or vagina. Thorough quality control is important to prevent accidents that can lead to serious irradiation error, and an applicator check is one such quality control measure.

Dosimetric effects of small field size, dose grid size, and variable split-arc methods on gamma pass rates in radiation therapy.

This study investigates the influence of calculation accuracy in peripheral low-dose regions on the gamma pass rate (GPR), utilizing the Acuros XB (AXB) algorithm and ArcCHECK™ measurement. The effects of varying small field sizes, dose grid sizes, and split-arc techniques on GPR were analyzed. Various small field sizes were employed.

Deterioration of Performance Status during Palliative Radiotherapy Suggests a Significant Short Survival Duration: Indicating the Necessities for Considering Radiotherapy Discontinuation.

Discontinuation of palliative radiotherapy due to a patient's declining general condition poses a clinical dilemma for palliative care physicians. This study aimed to investigate the survival duration of patients whose performance status (PS) deteriorated during palliative radiotherapy and inform decisions regarding early treatment discontinuation. We retrospectively analyzed data from patients referred from our institute's palliative care department who underwent ≥10 fractions of palliative radiotherapy between March 2017 and December 2021.

The effect of arterial spin labeling MR angiography (ASL-MRA) in visualizing the branches of external carotid artery.

This study aimed to assess the performance of arterial-spin labeling MRA (ASL-MRA) for visualizing the external carotid artery (ECA) branches in comparison with time-of-flight MRA (TOF-MRA) and CT angiography (CTA). We retrospectively selected 31 consecutive patients, who underwent both MRAs and CTA, prior to the intra-arterial chemoradiotherapy (IACRT) for head and neck cancer. Four patients underwent IACRT bilaterally, so we analyzed 35 ECAs.

Multiparametric assessment of microvascular invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma using gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI.

Purpose: To elucidate how precisely microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) can be predicted using multiparametric assessment of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI.

Methods: In this retrospective single-center study, patients who underwent liver resection or transplantation of HCC were evaluated. Data obtained in patients who underwent liver resection were used as the training set.

Survey on chest CT findings in COVID-19 patients in Okinawa, Japan: differences between the delta and omicron variants.

To investigate the frequency of pneumonia and chest computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) during the fifth Delta variant-predominant and sixth Omicron variant-predominant waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Okinawa, Japan. A survey on chest CT examinations for patients with COVID-19 was conducted byhospitals with board-certified radiologists who provided treatment for COVID-19 pneumonia in Okinawa Prefecture. Data from 11 facilities were investigated.

Prediction of Early-stage Liver Fibrosis Using FDG-PET/CT.

Background/aim: F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) is known to accumulate in the liver. We investigated whether accumulation of FDG was correlated with the degree of liver fibrosis and the grade of necro-inflammatory activity.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective study included 35 patients who underwent FDG-positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) before liver surgery.

Diagnostic accuracy of percutaneous core biopsy before cryoablation for small-sized renal cell carcinoma.

Purpose: To retrospectively determine the diagnostic accuracy of a percutaneous core biopsy performed before cryoablation for small-sized renal cell carcinoma.

Methods: In this study, 216 patients underwent a percutaneous core biopsy for 242 renal lesions suspected to be renal cell carcinoma on image findings before cryoablation at Kyushu University Hospital. We calculated the success rate of the histological diagnosis and investigated factors that may have contributed to the diagnostic success.

Palliative Radiation Therapy without Chemotherapy for a Patient with Monomorphic Epitheliotropic Intestinal T Cell Lymphoma: A Case Report.

Monomorphic epitheliotropic intestinal T cell lymphoma (MEITL), which used to be known as type 2 enteropathy-associated T cell lymphoma, is a rare lymphoma and is generally treated with chemotherapy. However, the MEITL prognosis is poor, and intestinal lymphoma including MEITL has the risk of bowel perforation not only at presentation but also during chemotherapy. A 67-year-old man was diagnosed with MEITL after presenting in our emergency room with bowel perforation.

A novel fast kilovoltage switching dual-energy computed tomography technique with deep learning: Utility for non-invasive assessments of liver fibrosis.

Purpose: To investigate whether the iodine density of liver parenchyma in the equilibrium phase and extracellular volume fraction (ECV) measured by deep learning-based spectral computed tomography (CT) can enable noninvasive liver fibrosis staging.

Method: We retrospectively analyzed 63 patients who underwent dynamic CT using deep learning-based spectral CT before a hepatectomy or liver transplantation. The iodine densities of the liver parenchyma (I-liver) and abdominal aorta (I-aorta) were independently measured by two radiologists using iodine density images at the equilibrium phase.

MR Prediction of Malignant Switch With the Cyst Fluid's T2 Value in Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm of the Pancreas: A Preliminary Study.

Background/aim: We investigated whether the malignant switch of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas can be predicted by using the T1ϱ, T2, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of cyst fluid.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the magnetic resonance (MR) images of 60 patients (26 males, 34 females, mean age 61 years) with branch-duct type and mixed-type IPMNs. The IPMNs were diagnosed clinically in 39 patients and histologically in 21 patients.

A deep learning-based approach for the diagnosis of adrenal adenoma: a new trial using CT.

Objective: To develop and validate deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) models for the diagnosis of adrenal adenoma (AA) using CT.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 112 patients who underwent abdominal CT (non-contrast, early, and delayed phases) with 107 adrenal lesions (83 AAs and 24 non-AAs) confirmed pathologically and with 8 lesions confirmed by follow-up as metastatic carcinomas. Three patients had adrenal lesions on both sides.

Prediction of pathological response to preoperative chemotherapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma using 2-[F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron-emission tomography.

Aim: To determine whether the pathological response to preoperative chemotherapy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) can be predicted using 2-[F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose positron-emission tomography (F-18 FDG-PET).

Materials And Methods: Twenty-eight patients with PDAC who underwent only neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) before surgery were enrolled in the study. All patients had F-18 FDG-PET examinations before NAC.

Efficacy of Pre-operative 18F-FDG PET/CT in Prognostic Prediction in Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma.

Background/aim: This study analyzed the parameters provided by preoperative F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) for prognostic prediction of renal cell carcinoma (RCC).

Patients And Methods: FDG-PET/CT data from 66 clear cell RCC and 19 non-clear cell RCC cases between January 2015 and October 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. We compared the two groups according to recurrence/metastasis to determine prognosis-influencing factors.

Importance of the heart rate in ultra-high-resolution coronary CT angiography with 0.35 s gantry rotation time.

Purpose: We investigated the effects of the heart rate (HR) on the motion artifact in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) with ultra-high-resolution-CT (U-HRCT), and we clarified the upper limit of optimal HR in CCTA with U-HRCT in a comparison with conventional-resolution-CT (CRCT) on a cardiac phantom and in patients with CCTA.

Materials And Methods: A pulsating cardiac phantom equipped with coronary models was scanned at static and HR simulations of 40-90 beats/min (bpm) at 10-bpm intervals using U-HRCT and CRCT, respectively. The sharpness and lumen diameter of the coronary model were quantitatively compared between U-HRCT and CRCT stratified by HR in the phantom study.

Stratification of prostate cancer patients into low- and high-grade groups using multiparametric magnetic resonance radiomics with dynamic contrast-enhanced image joint histograms.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the potential of stratification of prostate cancer patients into low- and high-grade groups (GGs) using multiparametric magnetic resonance (mpMR) radiomics in conjunction with two-dimensional (2D) joint histograms computed with dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) images.

Methods: A total of 101 prostate cancer regions extracted from the MR images of 44 patients were identified and divided into training (n = 31 with 72 cancer regions) and test datasets (n = 13 with 29 cancer regions). Each dataset included low-grade tumors (International Society of Urological Pathology [ISUP] GG ≤ 2) and high-grade tumors (ISUP GG ≥ 3).

Diagnostic potential of T1ρ and T2 relaxations in assessing the severity of liver fibrosis and necro-inflammation.

Purpose: To investigate the utility of T1ρ and T2 relaxations for assessing the severity of liver fibrosis (F stage) and necro-inflammation (A stage) in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD).

Materials And Methods: We calculated T1ρ and T2 relaxations of the liver parenchyma in 82 patients who underwent liver surgery. F and A stages of enrolled patients were assessed by referring to surgically resected specimens.

Primary diffuse leptomeningeal atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) demonstrating atypical imaging findings in an adolescent patient.

Atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a highly malignant central nervous system embryonal tumor, which typically affects the posterior fossa of young children. Primary diffuse leptomeningeal AT/RT, affecting the leptomeninges without any intraparenchymal mass in the brain and spinal cord, is an extremely rare form of AT/RT. Only 5 such cases have been reported previously, none of which underwent Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography (FDG-PET).