Publications by authors named "Sophia Kronthaler"
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of ultra-short echo time (UTE) MRI sequences compared to traditional gradient echo T1-weighted MRI in diagnosing vertebral issues, using histology and CT scans as benchmarks.
- It involved analyzing 59 lumbar vertebral bodies from cadavers, assessing various degenerative features like osteophytes and endplate sclerosis, with four radiologists independently evaluating the imaging results.
- Findings indicated a moderate to almost perfect agreement between the MRI sequences and the reference standards, particularly in categorizing osteophytes and endplate sclerosis, demonstrating the potential utility of MR techniques for assessing spinal health.
Objectives: To evaluate and compare the diagnostic performance of CT-like images based on a 3D T1-weighted spoiled gradient-echo sequence (T1 GRE), an ultra-short echo time sequence (UTE), and a 3D T1-weighted spoiled multi-echo gradient-echo sequence (FRACTURE) with conventional CT in patients with suspected osseous shoulder pathologies.
Materials And Methods: Patients with suspected traumatic dislocation of the shoulder (n = 46, mean age 40 ± 14.5 years, 19 women) were prospectively recruited and received 3-T MR imaging including 3D T1 GRE, UTE, and 3D FRACTURE sequences.
Objectives: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of an automated reconstruction algorithm combining MR imaging acquired using compressed SENSE (CS) with deep learning (DL) in order to reconstruct denoised high-quality images from undersampled MR images in patients with shoulder pain.
Methods: Prospectively, thirty-eight patients (14 women, mean age 40.0 ± 15.
Objectives: To evaluate the performance of single-echo Dixon water-fat imaging and computed tomography (CT)-like imaging based on a single ultrashort echo time (sUTE) MR sequence for imaging of vertebral fractures as well as degenerative bone changes of the spine in comparison to conventional CT and MR sequences.
Methods: Thirty patients with suspected acute vertebral fractures were examined using a 3-T MRI, including an sUTE sequence as well as short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) and T1-weighted sequences. During postprocessing, water-fat separation was performed by solving the smoothness-constrained inverse water-fat problem based on a single-complex UTE image.
Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic value of CT-like images based on a 3D T1-weighted spoiled gradient echo-based sequence (T1SGRE) for the visualization of the pediatric skull and the identification of pathologies, such as craniosynostosis or fractures.
Methods: In this prospective study, 20 patients with suspected craniosynostosis (mean age 1.26 ± 1.
Article Synopsis
- Osteoporosis is a widespread disease marked by low bone mass and deterioration that leads to an increased risk of fragility fractures, particularly in the vertebrae.
- Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been the standard method for diagnosing osteoporosis but comes with limitations, prompting interest in newer imaging techniques like CT and MRI.
- Advanced analysis methods such as texture analysis and finite element analysis can enhance fracture prediction when combined with CT and MRI, but standardized diagnostic criteria for these methods are still lacking, preventing easier adoption in clinical settings.
Purpose: To study the effect of field inhomogeneity distributions in trabecularized bone regions on the gradient echo (GRE) signal with short TEs and to characterize quantification errors on and proton density fat fraction (PDFF) maps when using a water-fat model with an exponential decay model at short TEs.
Methods: Field distortions were simulated based on a trabecular bone micro CT dataset. Simulations were performed for different bone volume fractions (BV/TV) and for different bone-fat composition values.
Background: To evaluate the diagnostic value of MR-derived CT-like images and simulated radiographs compared with conventional radiographs in patients with suspected shoulder pathology.
Methods: 3 T MRI of the shoulder including a 3D T1-weighted gradient echo sequence was performed in 25 patients (mean age 52.4 ± 18 years, 13 women) with suspected shoulder pathology.
Purpose: To develop a methodology to simultaneously perform single echo Dixon water-fat imaging and susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) based on a single echo time (TE) ultra-short echo time (UTE) (sUTE) scan to assess vertebral fractures and degenerative bone changes in the thoracolumbar spine.
Methods: A methodology was developed to solve the smoothness-constrained inverse water-fat problem to separate water and fat while removing unwanted low-frequency phase terms. Additionally, the corrected UTE phase was used for SWI.
Background: Chemical shift encoding-based water-fat separation techniques have been used for fat quantification [proton density fat fraction (PDFF)], but they also enable the assessment of bone marrow T2*, which has previously been reported to be a potential biomarker for osteoporosis and may give insight into the cause of vertebral fractures (i.e., osteoporotic traumatic) and the microstructure of the bone when applied to vertebral bone marrow.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGeometric accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging-derived virtual 3-dimensional bone surface models of the mandible in comparison to computed tomography and cone beam computed tomography: A porcine cadaver study.
Clin Implant Dent Relat Res
October 2021
Background: Providing accurate 3-dimensional virtual bone surface models is a prerequisite for virtual surgical planning and additive manufacturing in craniomaxillofacial surgery. For this purpose, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be a radiation-free alternative to computed tomography (CT) and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT).
Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the geometric accuracy of 3-dimensional T1-weighted MRI-derived virtual bone surface models of the mandible in comparison to CT and CBCT.
Objectives: To evaluate the performance of 3D T1w spoiled gradient-echo (T1SGRE) and ultra-short echo time (UTE) MRI sequences for the detection and assessment of vertebral fractures and degenerative bone changes compared with conventional CT.
Methods: Fractures (n = 44) and degenerative changes (n = 60 spinal segments) were evaluated in 30 patients (65 ± 14 years, 18 women) on CT and 3-T MRI, including CT-like images derived from T1SGRE and UTE. Two radiologists evaluated morphological features on both modalities: Genant and AO/Magerl classifications, anterior/posterior vertebral height, fracture age; disc height, neuroforaminal diameter, grades of spondylolisthesis, osteophytes, sclerosis, and facet joint degeneration.
Purpose: UTE sequences typically acquire data during the ramping up of the gradient fields, which makes UTE imaging prone to eddy current and system delay effects. The purpose of this work was to use a simple gradient impulse response function (GIRF) measurement to estimate the real readout gradient waveform and to demonstrate that precise knowledge of the gradient waveform is important in the context of high-resolution UTE musculoskeletal imaging.
Methods: The GIRF was measured using the standard hardware of a 3 Tesla scanner and applied on 3D radial UTE data (TE: 0.
Osteoporosis is a systemic skeletal disease with a high prevalence worldwide, characterized by low bone mass and microarchitectural deterioration, predisposing an individual to fragility fractures. Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been the clinical reference standard for diagnosing osteoporosis and for assessing fracture risk for decades. However, other imaging modalities are of increasing importance to investigate the etiology, treatment, and fracture risk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: To assess the feasibility and diagnostic value of compressed sensing for accelerating two-dimensional turbo spin echo imaging of the ankle.
Materials And Methods: Ankles of 20 volunteers were scanned (mean age 30.2 ± 7.