Current Issue : January-March Volume : 2023 Issue Number : 1 Articles : 5 Articles
Purpose: Children are sometimes examined with Computed Tomography protocols designed for adults, leading to radiation doses higher than necessary. Lack of optimisation could lead to image quality higher than what is needed for diagnostic purposes with associated high doses to patients. Optimising the protocols for paediatric head trauma CT imaging will reduce radiation dose. Objective: The study aimed to optimise radiation dose and assess the image quality for a set of protocols by evaluating noise, a contrast to noise ratio, modulation transfer function and noise power spectrum. Methods: Somaton Sensation 64 was used to scan the head of an anthropomorphic phantom with a set of protocols. ImageJ software was used to analyse the paediatric head image from the scanner. IMPACTSCAN dosimeter software was used to evaluate the radiation dose to the various organs in the head. MATLAB was used to analyse the Modulation Transfer Function and the Noise Power. Results: The estimated Computed Tomography Dose Index volume (CTDIvol) increased with increasing tube current and tube voltage. The high pitch of 0.9 gave a lower dose than the 0.5 pitch. The eye lens received the highest radiation dose (39.2 mGy) whiles the thyroid received the least radiation dose (13.7 mGy). There was an increase in noise (62.46) when the H60 kernel was used and a lower noise (8.829) was noticed when the H30 kernel was used. Conclusion: The results obtained show that the H30 kernel (smooth kernel) gave higher values for noise and contrast to noise ratio (CNR) than the H60 kernel (sharp kernel). The H60 kernel produced high values for the modulation transfer function (MTF) and noise power spectrum (NPS). The eye lens received the highest radiation dose....
Introduction: Spondylolisthesis is defined as a permanent anterior sliding of the vertebral body accompanied by the pedicles, the transverse processes and the posterior joints in relation to the underlying vertebra. The prevalence of spondylolisthesis varies between 4% and 9%, according to different authors in France, China and Japan. In Africa, some African authors find a spondylolisthesis rate of 9.93%. The objective of this study was to study the clinical and radiological aspects of spondylolisthesis at the Mother-Child Hospital of Bamako. Methods: Prospective and retrospective descriptive study carried out in the neurosurgery department of CH Mother-Child Luxembourg in Bamako from 2010 to 2018. Result: We collected 42 patients operated on for spondylolisthesis out of 145 patients, i.e ., 29% of the department’s activities. The average age of our patients was 51 years old, with extremes of 20 and 75 years old. The sex ratio was 0.81 in favor of women. 61.9% of our patients performed work requiring physical strength. Neurogenic claudication was the predominant clinical sign with 88.1% of cases. CT was the most common way of exploration in 57.1% of cases and CT myelo in 47.6% of cases. Disc herniation was associated with spondylolisthesis in 23% of cases. Spondylolisthesis was grade 1 in 59.6% of cases and was responsible for mixed stenosis in 73.82% of cases. All our patients underwent laminectomy. The evolution at 6 months postoperative was favorable in 64.3% of cases. Conclusion: The diagnosis of spondylolisthesis is radiological and makes it possible to define the type of lesion according to its etiology and its severity, but also to highlight the conflicts with the nervous system which will have to be cured. Field and household work, pregnancy, carrying loads or children on the back could be incriminated....
Background and Objectives: Chondromalacia often affects the knee joint. Risk factors for the development of cartilage degenerative changes include overweight, female sex and age. The use of radiological parameters to assess the knee joint is rarely reported in the literature. Materials and Methods: The study involved 324 patients, including 159 (49%) women and 165 (51%) men, with an age range between 8–87 years (mean: 45.1 ± 20.9). The studied group had a body mass index (BMI) in the range of 14.3–47.3 (mean: 27.7 ± 5.02). A 1.5 Tesla and 3.0 Tesla (T) MRI scanner was used to assess the cartilage of the knee joint using the Outerbridge scale. The radiological parameters analyzed were the Insall–Salvati index, knee surface area, knee AP (antero-posterior) maximal diameter and knee SD (sinistro-dexter) maximal diameter. Results: Parameters such as the knee surface area, knee AP maximal diameter and knee SD maximal diameter showed a significant correlation with Outerbridge Scale (p < 0.014). The age of the patients showed a significant correlation with each knee parameter (p < 0.004). Results of knee AP and SD maximal diameter measurements strongly depended on BMI level. Conclusions: A significant relationship was found between the knee surface area, knee AP maximal diameter and knee SD maximal diameter and the advancement of chondromalacic changes in the knee joint, age and BMI....
Introduction: Malformations of the excretory tract are abnormalities due to a disorder of embryogenesis. According to some authors, their frequency varies from 0.30 to 5.25 per 1000. The aim of this study was to highlight the CT uroscan aspect of pyelic bifidity with intravesical ureteral ectopic junction revealed by a urinary calculus and to explain the interest of CT uroscan in the management of urinary pathologies. Result: We report the observation of a 37-year-old overweight patient with a body mass index equal to 28, a history of surgery and extracorporeal litho-thipsis dating back 10 years. He was referred to the Imaging Department in the context of renal colic. The uroscanner made it possible to highlight a left pyelic bifidity associated with an ec-topic abutment of the left ureter on the superolateral wall of the bladder, a calculation in the left ectopic ureteral meatus measured at 4 mm in axial diameter. He noted upstream of these lesions, a uretero-pyelo-calicielle dilation on double homolateral pyelon. On late cuts, a slight delay in left renal excretion was noted. The right kidney was also the site of a hyperdense calculation of 1257 HU density and measured 4 mm in transverse diameter with a nonobstructive appearance. Due to a lack of means, our patient was subjected to oral medication, hygiene and dietary rules and rigorous monitoring. Conclusion: At the end of this study, the uroscanner is presented as the reference examination to better explore urinary pathologies. At the same time, it makes it possible to carry out a study of the organs surrounding the urinary tract. Always think about the association of several urinary pathologies each time you see a patient for renal colic....
Purpose: To evaluate NC-AMRI for the detection of HCC in high-risk patients. Methods: Patients who underwent yearly contrast-enhanced MRI (i.e., full MRI protocol) of the liver were included retrospectively. For all patients, the sequences that constitute the NC-AMRI protocol, namely diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), T2-weighted (T2W) imaging with fat saturation, and T1- weighted (T1W) in-phase and opposed-phase imaging, were extracted, anonymized, and uploaded to a separate research server and reviewed independently by three radiologists with different levels of experience. Reader I and III held a mutual training session. Levels of suspicion of HCC per patient were compared and the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) using the Mann–Whitney U test were calculated. The reference standard was a final diagnosis based on full liver MRI and clinical follow-up information. Results: Two-hundred-and-fifteen patients were included, 36 (16.7%) had HCC and 179 (83.3%) did not. The level of agreement between readers was reasonable to good and concordant with the level of expertise and participation in a mutual training session. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis showed relatively high AUC values (range 0.89–0.94). Double reading showed increased sensitivity of 97.2% and specificity of 87.2% compared with individual results (sensitivity 80.1%–91.7%–97.2%; specificity 91.1%–72.1%–82.1%). Only one HCC (2.8%) was missed by all readers. Conclusion: NC-AMRI presents a good potential surveillance imaging tool for the detection of HCC in high-risk patients. The best results are achieved with two observers after a mutual training session....
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