Deep-learning-based image quality enhancement of CT-like MR imaging in patients with suspected traumatic shoulder injury.

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of CT-like MR images reconstructed with an algorithm combining compressed sense (CS) with deep learning (DL) in patients with suspected osseous shoulder injury compared to conventional CS-reconstructed images.

Methods: Thirty-two patients (12 women, mean age 46 ± 14.9 years) with suspected traumatic shoulder injury were prospectively enrolled into the study.

Evaluation of 3D MRI for early detection of bone edema associated with apical periodontitis.

Objectives: To detect and evaluate early signs of apical periodontitis using MRI based on a 3D short-tau-inversion-recovery (STIR) sequence compared to conventional panoramic radiography (OPT) and periapical radiographs in patients with apical periodontitis.

Materials And Methods: Patients with clinical evidence of periodontal disease were enrolled prospectively and received OPT as well as MRI of the viscerocranium including a 3D-STIR sequence. The MRI sequences were assessed for the occurrence and extent of bone changes associated with apical periodontitis including bone edema, periradicular cysts, and dental granulomas.

Assessment of glenoid bone loss and other osseous shoulder pathologies comparing MR-based CT-like images with conventional CT.

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.

X-ray dark-field chest radiography: a reader study to evaluate the diagnostic quality of attenuation chest X-rays from a dual-contrast scanning prototype.

Objectives: To compare the visibility of anatomical structures and overall quality of the attenuation images obtained with a dark-field X-ray radiography prototype with those from a commercial radiography system.

Methods: Each of the 65 patients recruited for this study obtained a thorax radiograph at the prototype and a reference radiograph at the commercial system. Five radiologists independently assessed the visibility of anatomical structures, the level of motion artifacts, and the overall image quality of all attenuation images on a five-point scale, with 5 points being the highest rating.

Evaluation of a deep learning-based reconstruction method for denoising and image enhancement of shoulder MRI in patients with shoulder pain.

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.

Associations of incidental vertebral fractures and longitudinal changes of MR-based proton density fat fraction and T2* measurements of vertebral bone marrow.

Background: Quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques such as chemical shift encoding-based water-fat separation techniques (CSE-MRI) are increasingly applied as noninvasive biomarkers to assess the biochemical composition of vertebrae. This study aims to investigate the longitudinal change of proton density fat fraction (PDFF) and T2* derived from CSE-MRI of the thoracolumbar vertebral bone marrow in patients that develop incidental vertebral compression fractures (VCFs), and whether PDFF and T2* enable the prediction of an incidental VCF.

Methods: In this study we included 48 patients with CT-derived bone mineral density (BMD) measurements at baseline.

Associations between Bone Mineral Density and Longitudinal Changes of Vertebral Bone Marrow and Paraspinal Muscle Composition Assessed Using MR-Based Proton Density Fat Fraction and T2* Maps in Patients with and without Osteoporosis.

Background: Proton-density fat fraction (PDFF) and T2* of the vertebrae, as well as the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the paraspinal musculature (PSM), have been suggested as biomarkers for bone fragility. The aim of this study was to longitudinally assess changes in PDFF, T2* and CSA of the PSM over 6 months in patients with and without osteoporosis. Methods: Opportunistic bone mineral density (BMD) measurements (BMD < 120 mg/cm3) were obtained from a CT acquired during the clinical routine work up in osteoporotic/osteopenic patients (n = 29, mean age 72.

Assessment of Acute Lesions of the Biceps Pulley in Patients with Traumatic Shoulder Dislocation Using MR Imaging.

Background: Shoulder dislocations represent common injuries and are often combined with rotator cuff tears and potentially damage to the biceps pulley.

Purpose: To assess the occurrence and type of biceps pulley lesions in patients after traumatic anterior shoulder dislocation using 3T MRI.

Methods: Thirty-three consecutive patients were enrolled between June 2021 and March 2022 (14 women, mean age 48.

Imaging of traumatic mandibular fractures in young adults using CT-like MRI: a feasibility study.

Objectives: To assess and compare the diagnostic performance of CT-like images based on a three- dimensional (3D) T1-weighted spoiled gradient-echo sequence (3D T1 GRE) with CT in patients with acute traumatic fractures of the mandible.

Materials And Methods: Subjects with acute mandibular fractures diagnosed on conventional CT were prospectively recruited and received an additional 3 T MRI with a CT-like 3D T1 GRE sequence. The images were assessed by two radiologists with regard to fracture localization, degree of dislocation, and number of fragments.

Diagnostic value of water-fat-separated images and CT-like susceptibility-weighted images extracted from a single ultrashort echo time sequence for the evaluation of vertebral fractures and degenerative changes of the spine.

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.

CT-like MR-derived Images for the Assessment of Craniosynostosis and other Pathologies of the Pediatric Skull.

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.

Development and evaluation of machine learning models based on X-ray radiomics for the classification and differentiation of malignant and benign bone tumors.

Objectives: To develop and validate machine learning models to distinguish between benign and malignant bone lesions and compare the performance to radiologists.

Methods: In 880 patients (age 33.1 ± 19.

Evaluation of MR-derived simulated CT-like images and simulated radiographs compared to conventional radiography in patients with shoulder pain: a proof-of-concept study.

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.

Multitask Deep Learning for Segmentation and Classification of Primary Bone Tumors on Radiographs.

Background An artificial intelligence model that assesses primary bone tumors on radiographs may assist in the diagnostic workflow. Purpose To develop a multitask deep learning (DL) model for simultaneous bounding box placement, segmentation, and classification of primary bone tumors on radiographs. Materials and Methods This retrospective study analyzed bone tumors on radiographs acquired prior to treatment and obtained from patient data from January 2000 to June 2020.

Vertebral bone marrow T2* mapping using chemical shift encoding-based water-fat separation in the quantitative analysis of lumbar osteoporosis and osteoporotic fractures.

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.

Sparse-sampling computed tomography for detection of endoleak after endovascular aortic repair (EVAR).

Objectives: To evaluate sparse sampling computed tomography (SpSCT) for detection of endoleak after endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) at different dose levels in terms of subjective image criteria and diagnostic accuracy.

Methods: Twenty clinically indicated computed tomography aortic angiography (CTA) scans were used to obtain simulated low-dose scans with 100%, 50%, 25%, 12.5% and 6.

Prognostic Assessment in High-Grade Soft-Tissue Sarcoma Patients: A Comparison of Semantic Image Analysis and Radiomics.

Background: In patients with soft-tissue sarcomas of the extremities, the treatment decision is currently regularly based on tumor grading and size. The imaging-based analysis may pose an alternative way to stratify patients' risk. In this work, we compared the value of MRI-based radiomics with expert-derived semantic imaging features for the prediction of overall survival (OS).

Opportunistic QCT Bone Mineral Density Measurements Predicting Osteoporotic Fractures: A Use Case in a Prospective Clinical Cohort.

Purpose: To assess whether volumetric vertebral bone mineral density (BMD) measured with opportunistic quantitative computed tomography (QCT) (i.e., CT acquired for other reasons) can predict osteoporotic fracture occurrence in a prospective clinical cohort and how this performs in comparison to dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measurements.

Lah is a transmembrane protein and requires Spa10 for stable positioning of Woronin bodies at the septal pore of Aspergillus fumigatus.

Woronin bodies are specialized, fungal-specific organelles that enable an immediate closure of septal pores after injury to protect hyphae from excessive cytoplasmic bleeding. In most Ascomycetes, Woronin bodies are tethered at the septal pore by so-called Lah proteins. Using the pathogenic mold Aspergillus fumigatus as a model organism, we show that the C-terminal 288 amino acids of Lah (LahC) bind to the rim of the septal pore.

Functional characterization of the Woronin body protein WscA of the pathogenic mold Aspergillus fumigatus.

Woronin bodies are fungal-specific organelles that seal damaged hyphal compartments and thereby contribute to the stress resistance and virulence of filamentous fungi. In this study, we have characterized the Aspergillus fumigatus Woronin body protein WscA. WscA is homologous to Neurospora crassa WSC, a protein that was shown to be important for biogenesis, segregation and positioning of Woronin bodies.