Impact of MRI on the post-therapeutic diagnosis of T4 esophageal cancer.

Background: Opportunities for T4b esophageal cancer patients to receive curative surgery are increasing with the development of multidisciplinary treatments. However, the best modality to accurately diagnose infiltration to the organs surrounding T4b esophageal cancer is still unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the performance of CT and MRI in diagnosing T stage in T4b esophageal cancer, with reference to the pathological diagnosis.

The reproducibility of 24-h dietary recall for estimating mineral intakes and their food sources among middle-aged Japanese men and women.

The objective of the present study was to examine reproducibility for mineral intakes estimated by single 24-h dietary recall for middle-aged Japanese men and women. We conducted repeated cross-sectional study between 1973 and 1999. The subjects were 262 Japanese people (132 men and 130 women) aged 40-69 years.

Trends in dietary intakes of vitamins A, C and E among Japanese men and women from 1974 to 2001.

Objective: To investigate long-term trends in dietary intakes of vitamins A, C and E in Japanese adults.

Design: Time series by community-based nutrition survey.

Setting: Two rural communities (Ikawa and Kyowa) between 1974 and 2001 in Japan.

Evaluation of usefulness of color digital summation radiography for solitary pulmonary nodules on chest radiographs.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of novel color digital summation radiography (CDSR) for detecting solitary pulmonary nodules on chest radiographs by observers with different levels of experience.

Materials And Methods: A total of 30 healthy controls and 30 patients with newly detected solitary pulmonary nodules were evaluated. Six radiologists and five residents evaluated three image sets: set A, current and prior radiographs only; set B, set A with temporal subtraction images; and set C, set A with CDSR.

Evaluation of the usefulness of color digital summation radiography in temporally sequential digital radiographs: a phantom study.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the usefulness of color digital summation radiography (CDSR) for detection of nodules on chest radiographs by observers with different levels of experience.

Materials And Methods: A total of 30 radiographs of chest phantoms with abnormalities and 30 normal ones were arranged at random. Set A was conventional radiographs only.

MR imaging of thymic epithelial tumors: correlation with World Health Organization classification.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of various subtypes of thymic epithelial tumors based on the World Health Organization classification.

Materials And Methods: The study included 64 patients with histologically proven thymic epithelial tumors. Two observers evaluated the MRI findings in terms of tumor size, contour, lobulation, shape, homogeneity, the presence of intratumor high- and low-signal foci, enhancement degree and pattern, the presence of capsule and septum, and associated mediastinal lymphadenopathy and pleural effusion.

Evaluation of coronary artery bypass grafts using multidetector-row CT with Japanese patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the patency of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) with multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) in Japanese patients, who have narrower coronary arteries than Caucasians.

Materials And Methods: Nineteen patients (12 men and 7 women, mean age: 63 +/- 12 years) with 33 coronary bypass grafts were examined with three-dimensional volume rendering (3D-VR) and curved multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) of MDCT. All grafts were compared with those obtained with selective graft angiography.

Image quality of high-resolution CT with 16-channel multidetector-row CT: comparison between helical scan and conventional step-shoot scan.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the image quality of high-resolution CT (HRCT) reconstructed from volumetric data with 16-channel multidetector-row CT (MDCT).

Subjects And Methods: Eleven autopsy lungs that were diagnosed histopathologically were scanned by 16-channel MDCT with the step-and-shoot scan mode and three helical scan modes. Each helical mode had each size of focal spot, pitch, and time of gantry rotation.

Pathologic subgroups of nonspecific interstitial pneumonia: differential diagnosis from other idiopathic interstitial pneumonias on high-resolution computed tomography.

Objective: To determine whether the subtypes of nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) could be differentiated from other idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) on the basis of findings on high-resolution computed tomography (CT).

Methods: Two observers evaluated the high-resolution CT findings in 90 patients with IIPs. The patients included 36 with NSIP, 11 with usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP), 8 with cryptogenic organizing pneumonia (COP), 10 with acute interstitial pneumonia (AIP), 14 with desquamative interstitial pneumonia (DIP) or respiratory bronchiolitis-associated interstitial lung disease (RB-ILD), and 11 with lymphoid interstitial pneumonia (LIP).

Voxel dimensions required for micromorphologic evaluation of ground-glass opacity on lung high-resolution CT.

Purpose: To clarify the appropriate voxel dimensions required for pathologic evaluation of areas with ground-glass opacity on lung high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT).

Materials And Methods: Synchrotron radiation CT (SRCT) images of autopsied lung speci-mens (n=25) that showed ground-glass opacity on HRCT were reconstructed with 12 different voxel dimensions ranging from 0.006 to 0.

Aortic compliance in patients with aortic regurgitation: evaluation with magnetic resonance imaging.

Purpose: To assess by means of cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) aortic compliance before and after aortic valve replacement (AVR with SJM valve) in patients with aortic regurgitation (AR).

Materials And Methods: Two groups (healthy controls and patients with severe isolated AR) of 10 subjects each were included in this study. Cine MRI was performed at three locations of the aorta, and aortic compliance was calculated by dividing the maximum change in the aortic area by pulse pressure.

Full-size digital storage phosphor chest radiography: effect of 4K versus 2K matrix size on observer performance in detection of subtle interstitial abnormalities.

Purpose: To compare observer performance in the detection of subtle interstitial abnormalities on 3,520 x 3,520 (4K) matrix and 1,760 x 1,760 (2K) matrix full-size digital storage phosphor (DSP) chest radiographs.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-five 4K DSP chest radiographs with subtle interstitial abnormalities (n=27) or normal lungs (n=8) were processed with a half-band low-pass filter to produce 2K DSP radiographs. Although the actual matrix size of the 2K DSP radiographs remained 4K, the effective matrix size was reduced to 2K.

Evaluation of major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs) using three-dimensional CT angiography: two case reports.

Pulmonary atresia (PA) and ventricular septal defect (VSD) are usually associated with major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs). Preoperative evaluation of MAPCAs is essential for effective planning of unifocalization. Multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) with three-dimensional volume rendering (3D-VR) demonstrates MAPCAs as well as conventional angiography.

Coronal multiplanar reconstruction view from whole lung thin-section CT by multidetector-row CT: determination of malignant or benign lesions and differential diagnosis in 68 cases of solitary pulmonary nodule.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of the coronal multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) view in comparison with transverse helical thin-section CT for both the determination of malignant or benign lesions and the differential diagnosis of solitary pulmonary nodules.

Materials And Methods: Sixty-eight cases of pathologically proved solitary pulmonary nodule less than 3 cm in diameter were enrolled in this study. For the routine study, transverse helical thin-section CT (1.

[Technical application of three-dimensional visualization and measurement for breast cancer using multidetector-row CT scanner].

This paper describes an integrated methodology that addresses the operation of 3D imaging and measurement for the diagnosis and surgical operation of breast cancer. The main system for breast CT imaging used a multi-slice CT scanner and 3D-workstation. The clinical sequence was performed in three phases with non-contrast and biphasic contrast-enhanced studies that were performed with multi-slice helical CT scanning.