More Severe Preoperative Kellgren-Lawrence Grades of Knee Osteoarthritis were Partially Associated with Better Postoperative Patient-Reported Outcomes in TKA Patients.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a successful procedure, although up to 20% of patients remain dissatisfied. Preoperative identification of appropriate TKA candidates is essential for improving satisfaction. This study investigated if preoperative radiographic severity was associated with postoperative pain, function, and quality of life after TKA.

Atherosclerotic plaque ulceration in the symptomatic internal carotid artery is associated with nonlacunar ischemic stroke.

Background And Purpose: Atherosclerotic carotid plaque ulceration is considered a marker of previous plaque rupture and subsequent thromboembolism. It can be accurately detected with multidetector CTA. We hypothesized that atherosclerotic plaque ulceration is associated with nonlacunar ischemic stroke rather than lacunar stroke.

Segmentation of the outer vessel wall of the common carotid artery in CTA.

A novel method is presented for carotid artery vessel wall segmentation in computed tomography angiography (CTA) data. First the carotid lumen is semi-automatically segmented using a level set approach initialized with three seed points. Subsequently, calcium regions located within the vessel wall are automatically detected and classified using multiple features in a GentleBoost framework.

Atherosclerotic plaque surface morphology in the carotid bifurcation assessed with multidetector computed tomography angiography.

Background And Purpose: Complicated (irregular or ulcerated) carotid plaques have proven to be independent predictors of stroke. We analyzed the frequency and location of plaque irregularities in a large cohort of patients with ischemic cerebrovascular disease and the relation with severity of stenosis, cardiovascular risk factors, and symptomatology.

Methods: Multidetector CT angiography images from 406 patients were evaluated.

Assessment of atherosclerotic carotid plaque volume with multidetector computed tomography angiography.

Purpose: The amount of atherosclerotic plaque and its components (calcifications, fibrous tissue, and lipid core) could be better predictors of acute events than the now currently used degree of stenosis. Therefore, we evaluated a dedicated software tool for volume measurements of atherosclerotic carotid plaque and its components in multidetector computed tomography angiography (MDCTA) images.

Materials And Methods: Data acquisition was approved by the Institutional Review Board and all patients gave written informed consent.

Quadrature coil design for high-resolution carotid artery imaging scores better than a dual phased-array coil design with the same volume coverage.

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of a custom-built coil design to provide improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and less signal drop with increasing depth at the carotid artery.

Materials And Methods: Phased-array surface coils can provide a high SNR to image the carotid vessel wall. However, given the required field-of-view (FOV) and penetration depth, these coils show either a fast signal drop with increasing depth or a moderate SNR at increased coil size.

Evaluation of an improved technique for lumen path definition and lumen segmentation of atherosclerotic vessels in CT angiography.

Vessel image analysis is crucial when considering therapeutical options for (cardio-) vascular diseases. Our method, VAMPIRE (Vascular Analysis using Multiscale Paths Inferred from Ridges and Edges), involves two parts: a user defines a start- and endpoint upon which a lumen path is automatically defined, and which is used for initialization; the automatic segmentation of the vessel lumen on computed tomographic angiography (CTA) images. Both parts are based on the detection of vessel-like structures by analyzing intensity, edge, and ridge information.

In vivo characterization and quantification of atherosclerotic carotid plaque components with multidetector computed tomography and histopathological correlation.

Objective: In a previous in vitro study we have demonstrated that atherosclerotic plaque components can be characterized with multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) based on differences in Hounsfield values (HV). Now we evaluated the use of MDCT in vivo to characterize and quantify atherosclerotic carotid plaque components compared with histology as reference standard.

Methods And Results: Fifteen symptomatic patients with carotid stenosis (>70%) underwent MDCT angiography before carotid endarterectomy (CEA).

Optimization of CT angiography of the carotid artery with a 16-MDCT scanner: craniocaudal scan direction reduces contrast material-related perivenous artifacts.

Objective: The objective of our study was to compare the effect of a caudocranial scan direction versus a craniocaudal scan direction on arterial enhancement and perivenous artifacts in 16-MDCT angiography of the supraaortic arteries.

Subjects And Methods: Eighty consecutive patients (51 men; mean age, 62 years; age range, 28-89 years) underwent scanning in the caudocranial direction (group 1; n = 40) or the craniocaudal direction (group 2; n = 40). All patients received 80 mL of contrast material followed by a 40-mL saline chaser bolus, both administered IV at 4 mL/sec.

Sixteen-detector row CT angiography of carotid arteries: comparison of different volumes of contrast material with and without a bolus chaser.

Purpose: To prospectively compare different volumes of intravenously administered contrast material with and without a bolus chaser at 16-detector row computed tomographic (CT) angiography of the carotid arteries.

Materials And Methods: Institutional Review Board approval and informed consent were obtained. Seventy-five consecutive patients (44 men, 31 women; mean age, 63 years; range, 22-85 years) were allocated to one of three protocols: group 1, 80 mL of contrast material; group 2, 80 mL of contrast material followed by 40 mL of saline; and group 3, 60 mL of contrast material followed by 40 mL of saline.

Carotid plaque composition and cerebral infarction: MR imaging study.

Background And Purpose: Besides the severity of carotid artery stenosis, atherosclerotic plaque composition is an important determinant of cerebral symptoms. We analyzed the relationship between the composition of the atherosclerotic plaque at the carotid artery bifurcation and ipsilateral ischemic cerebral lesions on MR imaging.

Methods: Forty-one patients with symptomatic carotid artery stenosis (>70%) underwent black-blood, fast spin-echo imaging of the carotid artery and turbo fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (t-FLAIR) imaging of the brain.

In vitro characterization of atherosclerotic carotid plaque with multidetector computed tomography and histopathological correlation.

This in vitro study evaluated the performance of 16-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in the assessment of carotid plaque components, with histology as the gold standard. Twenty-one specimens (n=21) were scanned and reconstructed after optimization of the protocol. Three corresponding MDCT images and histologic sections were selected from each specimen.