MRI

Reports linking gadolinium contrast agents administered during MRI and MR angiography studies with a debilitating, life-threatening skin disease have prompted a new public health warning from the FDA.

Identifying the origins of patellofemoral pain could help create consensus about its cause and treatment, saving patients from a therapeutic merry-go-round. Researchers using MRI and computer modeling techniques are closing in on these origins and are using imaging to chart biochemical changes that might trigger anatomic changes that produce pain.

A superbug may be lurking in the remote corners of your MRI or CT unit. Unless you adopt a rigorous cleaning regime, it could pose a grave risk to patients, according to new research from Ireland.

Continued concerns over breast MRI’s clinical cost-effectiveness can be fully addressed only if radiologists reach consensus on appropriate indications and development of standard protocols, according to New York-based researchers.

A study from Germany looks at the accuracy of CT angiography in detecting stenoses following CABG surgery. A head-to-head comparison from the Netherlands pits MSCTA against myocardial perfusion. A study from France determines if CTA can reliably calculate right ventricular function.

Most of the gadolinium-related adverse reactions reported recently are related to one particular agent -- gadodiamide -- according to preliminary data from a Danish radiologist.

Whole-body MR could complement -- in some cases, even replace altogether -- traditional bone scanning techniques, according to studies from Germany, Italy, and Spain released at the 2006 RSNA meeting in Chicago.

PET imaging to diagnose brain tumor and monitor recurrence after treatment is an evolving field of research. Investigators at the RSNA meeting presented studies revolving around five tracers, as well as various permutations of imaging combinations such as FDG-PET with MR spectroscopy. While results are promising, challenges remain before any of these research avenues becomes clinically routine.

PET imaging to diagnose brain tumor and monitor recurrence after treatment is an evolving field of research. Investigators at the RSNA meeting presented studies revolving around five tracers, as well as various permutations of imaging combinations such as FDG-PET with MR spectroscopy. While results are promising, challenges remain before any of these research avenues becomes clinically routine.

Radiologists perform most diagnostic and minimally invasive interventional musculoskeletal studies in the U.S., with some areas experiencing continuous growth. Data released last Wednesday at the RSNA meeting, however, suggest future turf battles between radiologists and surgeons are lurking on the horizon.

Molecular imaging is maturing as a scientific force in preclinical research and as a mechanism to guide imaging discoveries toward clinical practice.

The 23-year-old patient, who suffered from injuries arising from a traffic accident, was asked to imagine playing tennis and walking around her house. The tennis request elicited activity in the supplementary motor area, while the house tour activated the parahippocampal gyrus, the posterior parietal cortex, and the lateral premotor cortex.

When Simon Cherry, Ph.D., began working on PET as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles, he recognized the gap between identifying molecular drug targets and providing real-world clinical applications.

Outgoing Society of Nuclear Medicine president Dr. Peter Conti proposed at the organization's 2006 meeting that nuclear medicine is synonymous with molecular imaging.

Contrary to popular practice, both pre- and postcontrast imaging is necessary for proper MR evaluation of articular cartilage repair, according to new research conducted in Japan. The small study could carry implications for treatment evaluation.

I recently completed a task that we expect will lead to a more refined search engine for the Diagnostic Imaging Web site and those of our sister publications at CMPMedica. The project required perusing some 400-plus articles in the radiology literature from the past 30 years, covering every conceivable subcategory, and tagging those that best define each clinical application and modality. It involved some tedious parsing of wheat from chaff but provided ample opportunity for reflection on how far radiology has come.

Two investigative studies have found that MR angiography at 3T produces quality images of the kidneys and excellent cardiac cine images. Researchers used high parallel imaging factors and a 32-element phased-array coil to increase spatial resolution and anatomic coverage.

Urinary bladder carcinoma is the second most common malignant tumor in the urogenital tract. This cancer causes 5000 deaths each year in Germany and 10,400 in the U.S., affecting men more often than women. The patient population is predominantly elderly, with a mean age of 70 years old.

Technology Update

Like an expanding bubble, the number of MR applications continues to rise exponentially. Looking back over the last 27 years, I see several major MRI epochs: low- to midfield systems (late 1970s to mid-1980s), 1.5T with 10 mT/m gradients (mid-1980s to mid-1990s), and 1.5T with echo-planar gradients (mid-1990s to early 2000s). We entered a new epoch a few years ago: 3T with echo-planar gradients. Examining changes currently occurring, and understanding why they occur, can help us predict further changes to come over the next decade.

Researchers may agree that cardiac MR is the modality of choice for predicting left ventricular remodeling, but they are split on which contrast-enhanced CMR technique produces the most accurate prediction, as the conclusions of studies presented at the RSNA meeting show.

Move over MRI and ultrasonography: 64-slice CT is staking a claim in assessment of tumor extent in patients with locally advanced breast cancer ahead of conservation surgery.

Radiologists perform most diagnostic and minimally invasive interventional musculoskeletal studies in the U.S., with some areas experiencing continuous growth. Data released Wednesday at the RSNA meeting, however, suggest future turf battles between radiologists and surgeons are lurking on the horizon.

The Molecular Imaging Zone, a new feature of the RSNA meeting, gives radiologists a chance to learn how molecular imaging applies to their current and future practice.

Positional MRI, which allows patients free range of motion during imaging, has allowed researchers to determine the optimal sitting posture to reduce chronic back problems. The technique may also be of value in future seating design.