Frequency: Quarterly E- ISSN: 2277-8217 P- ISSN: Awaited Abstracted/ Indexed in: Ulrich's International Periodical Directory, Google Scholar, SCIRUS, getCITED
Quarterly published in print and online "Inventi Impact: Radiology (Formerly Inventi Impact: Imaging)" publishes high quality unpublished as well as high impact pre-published research and reviews catering to the needs of researchers and professionals. This multidisciplinary journal focuses on fundamental and translational research and applications in biomedical imaging aimed at early detection, diagnostics, and therapy of disease as well as in the understanding of life. The scope includes imaging physics, tomographic reconstruction algorithms, image processing, computer-aided diagnosis and quantitative image analysis, image-guided procedures, digital pathology etc.
Many developments were made in the area of endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms, but this procedure also requires a good assessment of vascular anatomy prior to intervention. Seventy-six cases with brain aneurysms were selected and 1:1 scale 3D printed models were created. We asked three interventional neurosurgeons with different degrees of experience (ten years, four years, and a fourth-year resident) to review the cases using CTA (computed tomography angiogram) with MPR (multiplanar reconstructions) and VRT (volume rendering technique) and make a decision: coil embolization or stent-assisted coil embolization. After we provided them with the 3D printed models, they were asked to review their treatment plan. Statistical analysis was performed and the endovascular approach changed in 11.84% of cases for ten-year experienced neurosurgeons, 13.15% for four years experienced neurosurgeon, and 21.05% for residents. The interobserver agreement was very good between the ten years experienced interventionist and four years experienced interventionist when they analyzed the data set that included the 3D printed model. The agreement was higher between all physicians after they examined the printed model. 3D patient- specific printed models may be useful in choosing between two different endovascular techniques and also help the residents to better understand the vascular anatomy and the overall procedure....
Background: Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and ultrasound are commonly used methods to examine thyroid\nnodules, but their comparative value is rarely studied. We evaluated the utility of DWI and ultrasound in\ndifferentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules.\nMethods: A total of 100 patients with 137 nodules who underwent both DWI and ultrasound before operation\nwere enrolled. The T1 and T2 signal intensity ratio (SIR) of each thyroid nodule was calculated by measuring the\nmean signal intensity divided by that of paraspinal muscle. The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and the\nSIR of benign and malignant thyroid nodules were analyzed by two-sample independent t tests. The sensitivity,\nspecificity, and accuracy of DWI and ultrasound were compared with chi-square tests.\nResults: There was no significant difference in the SIR between benign and malignant thyroid nodules. The ADC\nvalue was significantly different. ...............................
Background: The objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and diagnostic value of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose\npositron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG PET/CT) and 99mTc-methylenediphosphonate (MDP)\nwhole-body bone scanning (BS) for the detection of osteolytic bone metastases.\nMethods: Thirty-four patients with pathologically confirmed malignancies and suspected osteolytic bone metastases\nunderwent 18F-FDG PET/CT and 99mTc-MDP whole-body BS within 30 days. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy with\nrespect to the diagnosis of osteolytic bone metastases and bone lesions were compared between the two imaging\nmethods.\nResults: The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 18F-FDG PET/CT for the diagnosis of osteolytic bone metastases\nwere 94.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 91.6ââ?¬â??96.2%), 83.3% (95% CI, 43.6ââ?¬â??96.9%), and 94.2% (95% CI, 91.5ââ?¬â??96.1%),\nrespectively. It was found that 99mTc-MDP whole-body BS could discriminate between patients with 50.2% (95% CI,\n45.4ââ?¬â??55.1%) sensitivity, 50.0% (95% CI, 18.8ââ?¬â??81.2%) specificity, and 50.2% (95% CI, 45.5ââ?¬â??55.1%) accuracy. 18F-FDG PET/CT\nachieved higher sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in detecting osteolytic bone metastases than 99mTc-MDP wholebody\nBS (p<0.001).\nConclusions: F-FDG PET/CT has a higher diagnostic value than 99mTc-MDP whole-body BS in the detection of osteolytic\nbone metastases, especially in the vertebra....
Tongue image with coating is of important clinical diagnostic meaning, but traditional tongue image extraction method is not\ncompetent for extraction of tongue imagewith thick coating. In this paper, a novel method is suggested,which appliesmultiobjective\ngreedy rules and makes fusion of color and space information in order to extract tongue image accurately. A comparative\nstudy of several contemporary tongue image extraction methods is also made from the aspects of accuracy and efficiency. As\nthe experimental results show, geodesic active contour is quite slow and not accurate, the other 3 methods achieve fairly good\nsegmentation results except in the case of the tongue with thick coating, our method achieves ideal segmentation results whatever\ntypes of tongue images are, and efficiency of our method is acceptable for the application of quantitative check of tongue image....
The main objective of this review was to present a synthesis of the current literature in order to provide a useful tool to clinician\nin radiologic analysis of the meniscus. All anatomical descriptions were clearly illustrated by MRI, arthroscopy, and/or drawings.\nThe value of standard radiography is extremely limited for the assessment of meniscal injuries but may be indicated to obtain a\ndifferential diagnosis such as osteoarthritis. Ultrasound is rarely used as a diagnostic tool for meniscal pathologies and its accuracy\nis operator-dependent. CT arthrography with multiplanar reconstructions can detect meniscus tears that are not visible on MRI.\nThis technique is also useful in case of MRI contraindications, in postoperative assessment of meniscal sutures and the condition of\ncartilage covering the articular surfaces. MRI is the most accurate and less invasive method for diagnosing meniscal lesions. MRI\nallows confirming and characterizing the meniscal lesion, the type, the extension, its association with a cyst, the meniscal extrusion,\nand assessing cartilage and subchondral bone. New 3D-MRI in three dimensions with isotropic resolution allows the creation of\nmultiplanar reformatted images to obtain from an acquisition in one sectional plane reconstructions in other spatial planes. 3D\nMRI should further improve the diagnosis of meniscal tears....
A novel quantitative fluorescence molecular tomography (FMT) imager for both macro and meso-scale animal\r\nexperiments is developed. The image reconstruction algorithms are implemented in the framework of finite element\r\nmethod, while the experimental system is constructed using a non-contact, multi-angle full 360 degree transmission\r\nscheme. Shape-from-silhouette based volume carving approach is used to render the 3D models of the actual\r\nsamples. With a free-space light propagation model, the readout from the CCD is converted into the photon density\r\nnormal to sample surface in order to match the model-based tomographic reconstruction. For meso-scale subjects, a\r\nradiative transfer equation (RTE) based FMT reconstruction algorithm is adopted. For macro-scale subjects, a diffusion\r\napproximation (DA) based FMT reconstruction algorithm is adopted. Imaging results for both macro-scale and mesoscale\r\nsubjects are presented to valid system performance....
Background: Intraoperative coronary angiography can tremendously reduce early coronary bypass graft failures. Fluorescent cardiac imaging provides an advanced method for intraoperative observation and real-time quantitation of blood flow with high resolution. Methods: We devised a system comprised of an LED light source, special filters, lenses and a detector for preclinical coronary artery angiography. The optical setup was implemented by using two achromatic doublet lenses, two positive meniscus lenses, a band-pass filter, a pinhole and a CCD sensor. The setup was optimized by Zemax software. Optical design was further challenged to obtain more parallel light beams, less diffusion and higher resolutions to levels as small as arterioles. Ex vivo rat hearts were prepared and coronary arteries were retrogradely perfused by indocyanine green (ICG). Video angiography was employed to assess blood flow and plot time-dependent fluorescence intensity curve (TIC). Quantitation of blood flow was performed by calculating either the gradient of TIC or area under curve. The correlation between blood flow and each calculated parameters was assessed and used to evaluate the quality of flow. Results: High-resolution images of flow in coronary arteries were obtained as precise as 62 μm vessel diameter, by our custom-made ICG angiography system. The gradient of TIC was 3.4–6.3 s−1, while the area under curve indicated 712–1282 s values which ultimately gained correlation coefficients of 0.9938 and 0.9951 with relative blood flow, respectively. Conclusion: The present ICG angiography system may facilitate evaluation of blood flow in animal studies of myocardial infarction and coronary artery grafts intraoperatively....
Background: The introduction of a standardized SPECT/CT algorithm including a localization scheme, which allows\naccurate identification of specific patterns and thresholds of SPECT/CT tracer uptake, could lead to a better\nunderstanding of the bone remodeling and specific failure modes of unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA). The\npurpose of the present study was to introduce a novel standardized SPECT/CT algorithm for patients after UKA and\nevaluate its clinical applicability, usefulness and inter- and intra-observer reliability.\nMethods: Tc-HDP-SPECT/CT images of consecutive patients (median age 65, range 48ââ?¬â??84 years) with 21 knees after\nUKA were prospectively evaluated. The tracer activity on SPECT/CT was localized using a specific standardized UKA\nlocalization scheme. For tracer uptake analysis (intensity and anatomical distribution pattern) a 3D volumetric quantification\nmethod was used. The maximum intensity values were recorded for each anatomical area. In addition, ratios between\nthe respective value in the measured area and the background tracer activity were calculated. The femoral and tibial\ncomponent position (varus-valgus, flexion-extension, internal and external rotation) was determined in 3D-CT. The\ninter- and intraobserver reliability of the localization scheme, grading of the tracer activity and component measurements\nwere determined by calculating the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC).\nResults: The localization scheme, grading of the tracer activity and component measurements showed high inter- and\nintra-observer reliabilities for all regions (tibia, femur and patella). For measurement of component position there was\nstrong agreement between the readings of the two observers; the ICC for the orientation of the femoral component\nwas 0.73-1.00 (intra-observer reliability) and 0.91-1.00 (inter-observer reliability). The ICC for the orientation of the tibial\ncomponent was 0.75-1.00 (intra-observer reliability) and 0.77-1.00 (inter-observer reliability).\nConclusions: The SPECT/CT algorithm presented combining the mechanical information on UKA component position,\nalignment and metabolic data is highly reliable and proved to be a valuable, consistent and useful tool for analysing\npostoperative knees after UKA. Using this standardized approach in clinical studies might be helpful in establishing the\ndiagnosis in patients with pain after UKA....
Introduction. Low back pain (LBP) is common in children and adolescents. There are many factors that cause LBP, including\nstructural disorders, degenerative changes, Scheuermann�s disease, fractures, inflammation, and tumors. Magnetic Resonance\nImaging is the gold standard for diagnosing spinal abnormalities and is mandatory when neurological symptoms exist. The study\nfocuses on common MRI findings in adolescents with persistent LBP, without history of acute trauma or evidence of either\ninflammatory or rheumatic disease.Materials and Methods. Eleven adolescentswere submitted to thoracic and/or lumbar spineMRI\ndue to persistent LBP.The protocol consisted of T1WI, T2WI, and T2WI with FS, in the axial, sagittal, and coronal plane. Results.\nMRI revealed structural abnormalities (scoliosis and kyphosis) in 4/11 (36.36%); disc abnormalities and endplate changes were\nfound on 11/11 (100%). Typical Scheuermann�s disease was found in 3/11 (27.27%). Endplate changes were severe in Scheuermann�s\npatients and mild to moderate in the remaining 8/11 (72.72%). Kyphosis was in all cases secondary to Scheuermann�s disease. Disk\nbulges and herniaswere found in 8/11 (72.72%), all located in the lumbar spine. Conclusion. In adolescents with LBP, structural spinal\ndisorders, degenerative changes, and Scheuermann�s disease are commonly found on MRI; however, degenerative changes prevail....
We report here a case of an inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor in the retroperitoneum,\nwhich mimicked a germ cell tumor of the undescended testis. A 75-year-old\nhealthy man presented with a palpable abdominal mass. On the computed tomography\nimage, there was large, well-defined soft tissue mass in the left side of the retroperitoneum,\nand there was no visible left testis or seminal vesicle. After contrast enhancement,\nthe mass appeared to be relatively homogeneous, considering its large\nsize. With ultrasonography, it appeared as a well-defined, hypoechoic mass with\nintratumoral vascularity. This solid mass was surgically diagnosed as an inflammatory\nmyofibroblastic tumor....
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