T1 signal intensity ratio variability based on sampling strategies in the pancreas of children and young adults.

Purpose: T1-weighted signal intensity ratios (SIR) comparing pancreas to spleen (SIRps) or muscle (SIRpm) can semiquantitatively assess T1 signal change associated with pancreatitis. However, there is no standardized methodology for generating these ratios. We set out to determine the impact of MRI sequence as well as region of interest (ROI) location, shape, and size on T1 SIR.

Circulating and Magnetic Resonance Imaging Biomarkers of Intestinal Fibrosis in Small Bowel Crohn's Disease.

Background: We previously identified circulating and MRI biomarkers associated with the surgical management of Crohn's disease (CD). Here we tested associations between these biomarkers and ileal resection inflammation and collagen content.

Methods: Fifty CD patients undergoing ileal resection were prospectively enrolled at 4 centers.

Multi-band vs. conventional diffusion-weighted MRI of the abdomen in children and young adults.

Objectives: Implementation of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) for abdominal imaging in children has challenges due to motion artifacts exacerbated by long acquisition times. We aimed to compare acquisition time and image quality between conventional DWI and multi-band (MB) DWI of the liver in children and young adults.

Methods: Clinical MRI exams from May 2023 to January 2024 were reviewed, including four DWI sequences: respiratory-triggered (RTr, clinical standard), free-breathing (FB), MB-DWI with shift factor 1 (MBsf1), and MB-DWI with shift factor 2 (MBsf2).

qTAG: an adaptable plasmid scaffold for CRISPR-based endogenous tagging.

Endogenous tagging enables the study of proteins within their native regulatory context, typically using CRISPR to insert tag sequences directly into the gene sequence. Here, we introduce qTAG, a collection of repair cassettes that makes endogenous tagging more accessible. The cassettes support N- and C-terminal tagging with commonly used selectable markers and feature restriction sites for easy modification.

Longitudinal evaluation of pediatric and young adult metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease defined by MR elastography.

Objectives: To inform clinical monitoring of children and young adults with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) by characterizing the real-world natural history of MASLD and identifying baseline predictors of liver disease progression.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study included consecutive patients ages < 23 years with MASLD who underwent serial MR elastography (MRE) and/or MR fat fraction (FF) examinations between 09/2009 and 11/2022. Outcomes of MASLD were defined based on maximum ratio values.

Quantifying brain development in the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study: The magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy protocol.

The HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) Study, a multi-site prospective longitudinal cohort study, will examine human brain, cognitive, behavioral, social, and emotional development beginning prenatally and planned through early childhood. The acquisition of multimodal magnetic resonance-based brain development data is central to the study's core protocol. However, application of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) methods in this population is complicated by technical challenges and difficulties of imaging in early life.

Simultaneous Multiparameter Mapping of the Liver in a Single Breath-Hold or Respiratory-Triggered Acquisition Using Multi-Inversion Spin and Gradient Echo MRI.

Background: Quantitative parametric mapping is an increasingly important tool for noninvasive assessment of chronic liver disease. Conventional parametric mapping techniques require multiple breath-held acquisitions and provide limited anatomic coverage.

Purpose: To investigate a multi-inversion spin and gradient echo (MI-SAGE) technique for simultaneous estimation of T, T, and T* of the liver.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Assessment of Pulmonary Vascularity in Preterm Infants with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia.

Introduction: Pulmonary hypertension often complicates bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and infants with BPD plus pulmonary hypertension experience higher mortality rates. Current methods to evaluate pulmonary hypertension fail to evaluate the primary cause of this disease. We hypothesize that preterm infants with BPD experience altered pulmonary vascular growth and that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to assess vascularity in BPD.

Rapid abdominopelvic MR imaging in the emergency department: establishing a program and addressing the challenges.

Utilization of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the pediatric emergency room or urgent care setting for abdominopelvic indications has been increasing. The creation and implementation of rapid urgent MRI programs can have various challenges. The purpose of this article is to describe a framework for the creation of a rapid urgent abdominopelvic MRI program in the pediatric emergency room setting.

Evaluation of 3D T1-weighted spoiled gradient echo MR image quality using artificial intelligence image reconstruction techniques in the pediatric brain.

Purpose: To assess image quality and diagnostic confidence of 3D T1-weighted spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) MRI using artificial intelligence (AI) reconstruction.

Materials And Methods: This prospective, IRB-approved study enrolled 50 pediatric patients (mean age = 11.8 ± 3.

Magnetic resonance imaging T1 mapping of the liver, pancreas and spleen in children.

Purpose: To characterize T1 relaxation times of the pancreas, liver, and spleen in children with and without abdominal pathology.

Methods: This retrospective study included pediatric patients (< 18-years-old). T1 mapping was performed with a Modified Look-Locker Inversion Recovery sequence.

Evaluation of T2W FLAIR MR image quality using artificial intelligence image reconstruction techniques in the pediatric brain.

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) reconstruction techniques have the potential to improve image quality and decrease imaging time. However, these techniques must be assessed for safe and effective use in clinical practice.

Objective: To assess image quality and diagnostic confidence of AI reconstruction in the pediatric brain on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging.

Precision and Test-Retest Repeatability of Stiffness Measurement with MR Elastography: A Multicenter Phantom Study.

Background MR elastography (MRE) has been shown to have excellent performance for noninvasive liver fibrosis staging. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the precision and test-retest repeatability of stiffness measurement with MRE in the multicenter setting. Purpose To determine the precision and test-retest repeatability of stiffness measurement with MRE across multiple centers using the same phantoms.

MRI and Blood-based Biomarkers Are Associated With Surgery in Children and Adults With Ileal Crohn's Disease.

Background: Despite advances in medical therapy, many children and adults with ileal Crohn's disease (CD) progress to fibrostenosis requiring surgery. We aimed to identify MRI and circulating biomarkers associated with the need for surgical management.

Methods: This prospective, multicenter study included pediatric and adult CD cases undergoing ileal resection and CD controls receiving medical therapy.

Prospective characterization of intestinal MRI intravoxel incoherent motion in pediatric and young adult patients with newly diagnosed small bowel Crohn's disease.

Background: MRI diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is commonly used in MR enterography protocols for assessment of intestinal inflammation in patients with Crohn's disease. The intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) approach to DWI has been proposed as a more objective approach, providing quantitative parameters that reflect water diffusivity (D), blood flow (D*), and perfusion fraction (f).

Purpose: We aimed to determine if DWI-IVIM metrics from the terminal ileum in patients with newly diagnosed Crohn's disease differ from healthy participants and change in response to biologic medical therapy.

Structural connectivity at term equivalent age and language in preterm children at 2 years corrected.

We previously reported interhemispheric structural hyperconnectivity bypassing the corpus callosum in children born extremely preterm (<28 weeks) versus term children. This increased connectivity was positively associated with language performance at 4-6 years of age in our prior work. In the present study, we aim to investigate whether this extracallosal connectivity develops in extremely preterm infants at term equivalent age by leveraging a prospective cohort study of 350 very and extremely preterm infants followed longitudinally in the Cincinnati Infant Neurodevelopment Early Prediction Study.

β-catenin mediates growth defects induced by centrosome loss in a subset of APC mutant colorectal cancer independently of p53.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. The centrosome is the main microtubule-organizing center in animal cells and centrosome amplification is a hallmark of cancer cells. To investigate the importance of centrosomes in colorectal cancer, we induced centrosome loss in normal and cancer human-derived colorectal organoids using centrinone B, a Polo-like kinase 4 (Plk4) inhibitor.

Implementation of a Program for Appendicitis MRI in a Pediatric Hospital.

MRI is increasingly used as an alternate to CT for the evaluation of suspected appendicitis in pediatric patients presenting to the emergency department (ED) with abdominal pain, when further imaging is needed after an initial ultrasound examination. The available literature shows a similar diagnostic performance of MRI and CT in this setting. At the authors' institution, to evaluate for appendicitis in children in the ED, MRI is performed using a rapid three-sequence free-breathing protocol without IV contrast media.

MR and Ultrasound Elastography for Fibrosis Assessment in Children: Practical Implementation and Supporting Evidence- Expert Panel Narrative Review.

Quantitative MRI and ultrasound biomarkers of liver fibrosis have become important tools in the diagnosis and clinical management of children with chronic liver disease (CLD). In particular, MR elastography is now routinely performed in clinical practice to evaluate the liver for fibrosis. Ultrasound shear-wave elastography has also become widely performed for this purpose, especially in young children.

Technical and Diagnostic Performance of Rapid MRI for Evaluation of Appendicitis in a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Rationale And Objectives: Rationale MRI is increasingly used for diagnosis of pediatric appendicitis in the emergency care setting. Scan and room time are important to optimize workflow, especially in situations with limited MRI availability and accessibility. To describe our process to optimize and implement a rapid, non-contrast, free-breathing MRI protocol for appendicitis and to characterize the accuracy for diagnosis.

Accelerated Cine Cardiac MRI Using Deep Learning-Based Reconstruction: A Systematic Evaluation.

Background: Breath-holding (BH) for cine balanced steady state free precession (bSSFP) imaging is challenging for patients with impaired BH capacity. Deep learning-based reconstruction (DLR) of undersampled k-space promises to shorten BHs while preserving image quality and accuracy of ventricular assessment.

Purpose: To perform a systematic evaluation of DLR of cine bSSFP images from undersampled k-space over a range of acceleration factors.

Machine Learning Diagnosis of Small-Bowel Crohn Disease Using T2-Weighted MRI Radiomic and Clinical Data.

Radiologists have variable diagnostic performance and considerable interreader variability when interpreting MR enterography (MRE) examinations for suspected Crohn disease (CD). The purposes of this study were to develop a machine learning method for predicting ileal CD by use of radiomic features of ileal wall and mesenteric fat from noncontrast T2-weighted MRI and to compare the performance of the method with that of expert radiologists. This single-institution study included retrospectively identified patients who underwent MRE for suspected ileal CD from January 1, 2020, to January 31, 2021, and prospectively enrolled participants (patients with newly diagnosed ileal CD or healthy control participants) from December 2018 to October 2021.

Prospective study of quantitative liver MRI in cystic fibrosis: feasibility and comparison to PUSH cohort ultrasound.

Background: Pediatric radiologists can identify a liver ultrasound (US) pattern predictive of progression to advanced liver disease. However, reliably discriminating these US patterns remains difficult. Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may provide an objective measure of liver disease in cystic fibrosis (CF).