Biomedical subjects

Neil M Rofsky

Publications and source records attributed to Neil M Rofsky.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Quantitative analysis of the velocity and synchronicity of diaphragmatic motion: dynamic MRI in different postures.

The objectives of this study were to assess the relationship between right and left hemidiaphragmatic motions during breathing in normal subjects and to investigate alterations in lung motion with changes in posture, using dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Imaging was conducted with a 1.5-T MR scanner using fast imaging employing steady-state acquisition with a torso coil. Eight healthy subjects were instructed to breathe from end-inspiration to end-expiration as slowly and as deeply as possible. Imaging and breathing were started together to afford sequential images on the coronal plane. Imaging sequences were performed in supine, prone, left lateral decubitus and right lateral decubitus postures. The component of movement of the most cephalic point in the cephalocaudal axis was measured, and the diaphragmatic excursion (maximum hemidiaphragmatic displacement), synchrony and velocity of the right and left hemidiaphragmatic motions were calculated during the expiratory phase and the inspiratory phase, respectively. Excursion was greater in the right hemidiaphragm in most postures, except the left lateral decubitus. In supine and prone postures, both hemidiaphragms moved synchronously in both inspiratory and expiratory phases. In both lateral decubitus postures, the hemidiaphragms moved asynchronously with different velocities in the expiratory phase but with the same velocities in the inspiratory phase. The method described here allowed the assessment of diaphragmatic motions. Motions in the right and left hemidiaphragms changed with posture. In addition, diaphragmatic motion differed between expiratory and inspiratory phases. This study suggests the further potential of dynamic MR imaging for the evaluation of pulmonary functions or deficiencies.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Combined T2* and T1 measurements for improved perfusion and permeability studies in high field using dynamic contrast enhancement.

This study analyzed the T2* effect of extracellularly distributed gadolinium contrast agents in arterial blood during tumor studies using T1-weighted sequences at high field strength. A saturation-prepared dual echo sequence with echo times of 1.5 and 3.5 ms was employed at 3 T to simultaneously characterize T1 and T2* of arterial blood during bolus administration of Gd-DTPA in 28 patients with body tumors. T2* effect and T1 effect of Gd-DTPA on image intensity of whole blood were calibrated in human blood samples with different concentrations of contrast agent. T2* was used to estimate concentration near the peak of the bolus. T1 was used to measure lower concentrations when T2* was not significant. T2* was measurable on calibration curves for Gd-DTPA concentrations higher than 4 mM. This concentration was exceeded in 18 patients. The mean signal intensity reduction because of T2* effect was estimated at 22+/-14% of the T2* compensated signal. Using T2* measurements reduced underestimations of peak arterial Gd-DTPA concentration (59 +/- 38%) and overestimation of permeability Ktrans (58%). The T2* effect of gadolinium contrast agents should therefore be accounted for when performing tumors study with T1-weighted sequences at high field strength.

Aorta↗

PubMed2006

Toward single breath-hold whole-heart coverage coronary MRA using highly accelerated parallel imaging with a 32-channel MR system.

Coronary MR angiography (CMRA) is generally confined to the acquisition of multiple targeted slabs with coverage dictated by the competing constraints of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), physiological motion, and scan time. This work addresses these obstacles by demonstrating the technical feasibility of using a 32-channel coil array and receiver system for highly accelerated volumetric breath-hold CMRA. The use of the 32-element array in unaccelerated CMRA studies provided a baseline SNR increase of as much as 40% over conventional cardiac-optimized phased array coils, which resulted in substantially enhanced image quality and improved delineation of the coronary arteries. Modest accelerations were used to reduce breath-hold durations for tailored coverage of the coronary arteries using targeted multi-oblique slabs to as little as 10 s. Finally, high net accelerations were combined with the SNR advantages of a 3D steady-state free precession (SSFP) technique to achieve previously unattainable comprehensive volumetric coverage of the coronary arteries in a single breath-hold. The merits and limitations of this simplified volumetric imaging approach are discussed and its implications for coronary MRA are considered.

Coronary Angiography↗

PubMed2006

Severity of mitral and aortic regurgitation as assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance: optimizing correlation with Doppler echocardiography.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) is widely recognized as a non-invasive gold standard for quantification of ventricular volumes. In addition, it is an emerging diagnostic modality for clinical evaluation of mitral regurgitation (MR) and aortic regurgitation (AR). CMR facilitates accurate quantitation of regurgitation volumes and regurgitant fraction, but referring physicians are often more comfortable with qualitative measures, and few data exist for correlation of qualitative CMR regurgitation severity with that obtained by more conventional qualitative Doppler echocardiography. Because patients with AR and MR may commonly be assessed by both echocardiography and CMR modalities, consistency between qualitative gradient of regurgitation severity is important for follow-up. Therefore, we sought to define the CMR regurgitant fractions that best correlate with qualitative mild, moderate, and severe regurgitation by color Doppler echocardiography. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data from 141 consecutive patients (age 53 +/- 15 yr; 43% female) with contemporary (median, 31 days) CMR and echocardiographic data, including 107 regurgitant valves and 70 normal valves, were compared. Thresholds were developed on an initial cohort of patients with 55 regurgitant valves, and subsequently tested on a later cohort of patients with 52 regurgitant valves. Regurgitation fraction (RF) limits that optimized concordance of CMR and echo severity grades were similar for MR and AR and were: mild < or = 15%, moderate 16-25%, moderate-severe 26-48%, severe > 48%. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides simple qualititative threshold grades for MR and AR severity that allows for standardized reporting of regurgitation severity by CMR and excellent correlation with clinical echocardiography.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2006

MR imaging evaluation of acute appendicitis in pregnancy.

PURPOSE: To retrospectively assess the diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in pregnant patients suspected of having acute appendicitis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was approved by the committee on clinical investigations and was HIPAA compliant. The informed consent requirement was waived. MR images were obtained in 51 consecutive pregnant patients (mean age, 28.3 years) who were clinically suspected of having acute appendicitis. In this protocol for pregnant patients, MR imaging is performed when findings at ultrasonography (US) are inconclusive or additional information is needed. Four patients had appendicitis, which was confirmed at surgery in three patients and at follow-up computed tomography in one patient. Initial interpretations were used for patient care and to calculate diagnostic accuracy. The appendix was considered normal at MR imaging if its diameter was less than or equal to 6 mm or if it was filled with air, oral contrast material, or both. An enlarged fluid-filled appendix (>7 mm in diameter) was considered an abnormal finding. An appendix with a diameter of 6-7 mm was considered an inconclusive finding; in those cases, the presence of periappendiceal inflammation was used for the final diagnosis. Three radiologists retrospectively assessed the visualization of the appendix by using a 5-point scale. Statistical analysis was performed by using the median and Fisher exact tests and the Spearman correlation coefficient. RESULTS: MR images were positive for appendicitis in four patients and inconclusive in three. In the three patients with inconclusive results, the appendix was not seen in two patients and was borderline enlarged (7 mm in diameter) in the third. The overall sensitivity, specificity, prevalence-adjusted positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy for MR imaging was 100%, 93.6%, 1.4%, 100%, and 94.0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: MR imaging is an excellent modality for use in excluding acute appendicitis in pregnant women who present with acute abdominal pain and in whom a normal appendix is not visualized at US.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2006

Hepatic metastases: perilesional enhancement on dynamic MRI.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine whether the perilesional parenchymal enhancement of hepatic metastases could be correlated with tumoral enhancement on arterial phase images or tumor size on dynamic MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred thirty-four lesions of hepatic metastases in 44 patients were subjected to a retrospective analysis of the dynamic MR images obtained with 3D spoiled gradient-echo sequences. The thickness of the enhancing rim on arterial phase images was regarded as a summation of the enhancing component of tumor periphery and perilesional enhancement, which were estimated by the tumor size on precontrast T1-weighted images. The presence of wedge-shaped perilesional enhancement was also correlated with the lesion size. RESULTS: Except for 17 diffusely enhanced lesions, lesion size was comparable between the lesions with (n = 87; 26 +/- 19 [SD] mm) and without rim enhancement (n = 30; 27 +/- 23 mm) on the arterial phase dynamic MR images (p > 0.05). The degree of peripheral tumoral enhancement showed an inverse correlation (r = -0.389) with the thickness of the circumferential perilesional enhancement (p < 0.001). The mean size of the lesions with wedge-shaped perilesional enhancement (n = 44; 33 +/- 20 mm) was larger than that of the other lesions (n = 90; 25 +/- 19 mm) (p = 0.016). CONCLUSION: The degree of circumferential perilesional enhancement of hepatic metastases on arterial phase dynamic MR images would be independent of the lesion size but inversely correlated with the degree of peripheral tumoral vascularity. An understanding of these features may help tumor characterization and should prompt hypotheses and studies of microvascular phenomena in tumoral and epitumoral environments.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Evaluation of real-time single-shot fast spin-echo MRI for visualization of the fetal midline corpus callosum and secondary palate.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to assess the visibility of the fetal corpus callosum and soft palate on standard single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE) imaging versus real-time (RT) SSFSE imaging. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Part 1 of the study was a prospective analysis using a questionnaire rating the ease of use and utility of RT imaging. Part 2 of the study was a retrospective analysis of 69 fetal MRI studies with RT sagittal midline imaging of the head, face, or both. Standard and RT SSFSE image sets were de-identified, randomized, and shown to three pediatric neuroradiologists who rated on a 5-point scale whether the images were midline and how well they could see and characterize as normal the corpus callosum and secondary palate. The imaging results were correlated with postnatal diagnosis. Statistical methods included the Wilcoxon's signed rank test, McNemar chi-square test, and analysis of variance. RESULTS: Prospectively, the RT SSFSE technique was ranked as excellent in all the categories assessed. Retrospective analysis showed that the midline view obtained with RT SSFSE imaging was helpful in diagnosing the normal and abnormal secondary palate, allowing improved diagnosis of 19 (30.6%) of 62 cases of normal palate and four (57.1%) of seven cases of abnormal palate, when compared with the standard SSFSE technique. RT SSFSE imaging improved the ability to diagnose a normal corpus callosum on the midline view in 13 (27.6%) of 47 fetuses of 20 or more weeks gestational age. CONCLUSION: The RT SSFSE technique can aid in obtaining images in planes that are critical to the evaluation of a moving fetus, particularly when a midline sagittal view of the corpus callosum or palate is required. The use of this technique may lead to improved diagnosis of CNS or orofacial abnormalities in fetuses.

Corpus Callosum↗

PubMed2005

Short breath-hold, volumetric coronary MR angiography employing steady-state free precession in conjunction with parallel imaging.

An ECG-gated, 3D steady-state free precession (SSFP) technique in conjunction with sensitivity encoding (SENSE)-based parallel imaging was implemented for short breath-hold, volumetric coronary MR angiograpy (CMRA). Two parallel imaging acquisition strategies (employing 1 R-R and 2 R-R intervals, respectively) were developed to achieve 1) very short breath-hold times (12 s for a heart rate of 60 bpm), and 2) small acquisition windows to minimize sensitivity to physiologic motion. Both strategies were examined in CMRA applications over a range of heart rates. A four-point scale blinded reading (with 4 indicating the most desirable features) revealed substantial image quality improvements for the accelerated data as compared to the nonaccelerated approach. The 1 R-R interval scheme yielded an image score of 3.39 +/- 0.60, and was found to be particularly suitable for low heart rates (P = 0.0008). The 2 R-R interval strategy yielded an image score of 3.35 +/- 0.64, and was more appropriate for higher heart rates (P = 0.03). The results demonstrate that 3D SSFP combined with parallel imaging is a versatile method for short breath-hold CMRA while maintaining high spatial resolution. This strategy permits imaging of the major coronary artery distributions in two to three breath-holds using targeted slabs, and offers the potential for single breath-hold, large-volume CMRA.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Arterial spin labeling blood flow magnetic resonance imaging for the characterization of metastatic renal cell carcinoma(1).

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVE: This study sought to assess the feasibility of arterial spin labeling (ASL) blood flow (BF) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the study of metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in the body, where the respiratory, cardiac, and peristaltic motions present challenges when applying ASL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: ASL was performed using a background-suppressed single-section flow-alternating inversion recovery (FAIR) preparation and a single-shot fast spin-echo imaging sequence on a 3.0-T whole body imager. Tumor BF was evaluated for 26 patients with RCC metastatic to the liver, bone, lung, or lymph nodes before VEGF receptor inhibitor therapy. Two cases with tumor size change after treatment were also scanned 1 month after therapy. For validation, kidney cortex BF in five normal volunteers was measured with the same technique and compared with literature values. RESULTS: ASL was successfully performed in all normal volunteers and in 20 of 26 patients. The six failures resulted from a systematic error, which can be avoided in future studies. For normal volunteers, measured kidney cortex BF was 275 +/- 14 mL/min/100 g, a value consistent with the literature. ASL determined tumor BF averaged across tumor volume and subjects was 194 mL/min/100 g (intersubject SD = 100), resulting in high perfusion signal and conspicuity of lesions. Bright signal was also seen in large vessels and occasionally in bowel. In the two cases studied 1 month after therapy, ASL perfusion changes were consistent with tumor size changes. CONCLUSION: With background suppression, ASL MRI is a feasible method for quantifying BF in patients with renal cell carcinoma. This technique may be useful for evaluating tumor response to antiangiogenic agents.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMed2005

Rapid volumetric MRI using parallel imaging with order-of-magnitude accelerations and a 32-element RF coil array: feasibility and implications.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: Many clinical applications of Magnetic Resonance Imaging are constrained by basic limits on imaging speed. Parallel MRI relaxes these limits by using the sensitivity patterns of arrays of radiofrequency receiver coils to encode spatial information in a manner complementary to traditional encoding with magnetic field gradients. Until now, parallel MRI has been used to achieve modest improvements in imaging speed; order-of-magnitude improvements have been elusive given fundamental losses in signal-to-noise ratio. The goal of this work was to demonstrate that, with appropriate hardware and careful SNR management, rapid volumetric imaging at high accelerations is in fact feasible. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Contrast-enhanced MRI with an axial 3D spoiled gradient echo imaging sequence was performed in healthy adult subjects using a 32-element RF coil array and a prototype 32-channel MR imaging system. Large imaging volumes were prescribed, in place of traditional limited slabs targeted only to suspect regions. RESULTS: As much as 16-fold net accelerations of imaging were achieved repeatably using this approach. The use of large 3D volumes allowed comprehensive anatomical coverage at clinically useful spatial and/or temporal resolution. The need for careful, time-consuming, and subject-specific scan prescription was also eliminated. CONCLUSION: The highly parallel imaging approach presented here allows previously inaccessible volumetric coverage for time-sensitive MRI examinations such as contrast-enhanced MRA, and simultaneously provides a substantially simplified imaging paradigm. The resulting capability for rapid volumetric imaging promises to combine the strengths of MRI with some of the advantages of alternative imaging modalities such as multidetector CT.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Aortoiliac occlusive disease in patients with known or suspected peripheral vascular disease: safety and efficacy of gadofosveset-enhanced MR angiography--multicenter comparative phase III study.

PURPOSE: To prospectively determine the safety and efficacy of the gadolinium-based blood pool magnetic resonance (MR) imaging contrast agent gadofosveset in patients known to have or suspected of having peripheral vascular disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ethical committee approval and patient written informed consent were obtained. This study was compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Adults known or suspected to have peripheral vascular disease received gadofosveset (0.03 mmol per kilogram of body weight) for MR angiography of the aortoiliac region. Gadofosveset-enhanced MR angiography and unenhanced two-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiography were compared with the reference standard, conventional angiography, for the presence of vascular stenosis. All patients were monitored for adverse events with hematologic analysis, analysis of blood chemistry, urinalysis, and electrocardiographic parameters; these methods were analyzed to determine safety. RESULTS: A total of 274 patients were enrolled at 37 centers. Gadofosveset-enhanced MR angiography showed significant improvement (P < .001) compared with unenhanced MR angiography for each of the readers for diagnosis of clinically significant (> or = 50%) stenosis. Specificity and accuracy were significantly greater for three readers, and sensitivity increased significantly for two readers. For all readers, the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve for both quantitative and qualitative measures of significant disease increased (P < .001) for gadofosveset-enhanced MR angiography versus two-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiography. All readers also expressed more confidence in diagnosis (P < .001) and found fewer images to be uninterpretable (0.5% vs 11.0%). The most common adverse events were as follows: feeling hot, 12 (4.4%) patients; nausea, 10 (3.6%) patients; headache, nine (3.3%) patients; and burning sensation, eight (2.9%) patients. Only four serious adverse events were reported, in three patients, and all events were rated as unlikely related to the drug. No patients were excluded because of adverse events or laboratory abnormalities. There were no clinically important trends in the findings of hematologic analysis, blood chemistry, urinalysis, electrocardiography, or physical examination. CONCLUSION: On the basis of substantial improvements over non-contrast MR angiography in efficacy and a minimal and transient side-effect profile, gadofosveset was found to be safe and effective for MR angiography in patients known or suspected to have peripheral vascular disease.

Aged↗

PubMed2005

Is true FISP imaging reliable in the evaluation of venous thrombosis?

OBJECTIVE: The objective of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of true fast imaging with steady-state precession (FISP) in the diagnosis of venous thrombosis using gadolinium-enhanced 3D T1-weighted gradient-echo images and correlative imaging as the gold standard. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-five MR examinations were retrospectively reviewed independently by two radiologists to rule out thrombosis in the central veins of the body. The presence of venous thrombus was assessed separately in 80 veins using true FISP and gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images. Diagnosis was confirmed by another imaging technique (sonography, CT, and/or conventional venography) in all positive cases. Negative examinations were confirmed using imaging, clinical follow-up, or both. RESULTS: Venous thrombosis was present in 25 veins in 18 patients. True FISP images had a lower sensitivity (66%) and specificity (70.9%) for the diagnosis of venous thrombosis than gadolinium-enhanced MR images (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: True FISP images have lower sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of venous thrombosis than gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted gradient-echo images. True FISP images should not be used exclusively for the diagnosis of venous thrombosis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Decreases in free cholesterol and fatty acid unsaturation in renal cell carcinoma demonstrated by breath-hold magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Increased utilization of cross-sectional imaging has resulted in increased detection of incidental renal tumors. The noninvasive characterization of renal tissue has important implications for the diagnosis of renal malignancies and treatment monitoring. Recently, multiple breath-hold averaged proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) performed at high field has enabled the use of this noninvasive metabolic profiling technique for the investigation of the abdomen. Multiple breath-hold averaged (1)H-MRS at high field (3T) was obtained in the kidneys of 10 healthy volunteers and in renal cell carcinoma tumors of 14 patients. The spectra of normal kidneys showed four main groups of resonances: 1) at 5.4-5.6 ppm, attributed to C6 of cholesterol and the unsaturated parts of the olefinic region of fatty acids; 2) at 4.7 ppm, attributed to the residual water signal; 3) at 3.2 ppm, attributed to trimethylamine moiety of choline metabolites; and 4) at 1.3 and 0.9 ppm, attributed to the methylenes and terminal methyls of lipids. The ratio of the signal at 5.4 ppm to that of 1.3 ppm was 19-fold lower in renal cell carcinomas than in healthy kidneys, tied P = 0.0003 Mann-Whitney U-test, suggesting a decrease in both free cholesterol and the degree of unsaturation of fatty acids in the malignant tissue. This metabolic shift is in agreement with previous ex vivo studies of human renal cell carcinoma. The ability to detect renal metabolic shifts noninvasively may improve the specificity of preoperative renal tissue characterization and may provide a new modality for treatment monitoring.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

MR imaging of the stomach: potential use for mangafodipir trisodium--a study in swine.

PURPOSE: To evaluate mangafodipir trisodium as a potential contrast agent at magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the stomach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mangafodipir trisodium was injected intravenously into three swine at a dose of 5 micromol per kilogram of body weight. For comparison, gadopentetate dimeglumine was injected into three other swine at a dose of 0.1 mmol per kilogram of body weight. T1-weighted three-dimensional MR images were acquired in all six swine at 1.5 T before and approximately 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 40 minutes after contrast material administration. Extracted stomach specimens were imaged at 3.0 T. In vivo and ex vivo images were evaluated visually and quantitatively for contrast enhancement of the stomach, and in vivo images were evaluated for the presence of reflux from the duodenum. RESULTS: Mangafodipir trisodium produced prolonged and selective enhancement of the inner surface of the stomach, in contrast to the more general enhancement seen with gadopentetate dimeglumine, and reflux from the duodenum could not account for this selective enhancement. Ex vivo images confirmed that T1 enhancement in the stomach wall with mangafodipir trisodium was limited to the inner surface. Gadopentetate dimeglumine did not produce selective enhancement of the inner surface of the stomach. CONCLUSION: Mangafodipir trisodium preferentially enhances the inner surface of the stomach on MR images acquired in swine and, therefore, may have potential for use as a contrast agent at MR imaging of the human stomach.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Pancreatic sarcoidosis: MRI features.

Pancreatic sarcoidosis is a rare entity, and few reports in the literature describe the CT aspects of the disease. We report the MR features of a pathologically-confirmed case of pancreatic sarcoidosis, which presented as multiple pancreatic masses with low signal intensity on T1-weighted images, mild high signal intensity on T2-weighted images, and decreased enhancement compared to the normal pancreas after administration of gadolinium. Pancreatic sarcoidosis should therefore be included in the differential diagnosis of multiple pancreatic masses with these MRI features.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Highly parallel volumetric imaging with a 32-element RF coil array.

The improvement of MRI speed with parallel acquisition is ultimately an SNR-limited process. To offset acquisition- and reconstruction-related SNR losses, practical parallel imaging at high accelerations should include the use of a many-element array with a high intrinsic signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spatial-encoding capability, and an advantageous imaging paradigm. We present a 32-element receive-coil array and a volumetric paradigm that address the SNR challenge at high accelerations by maximally exploiting multidimensional acceleration in conjunction with noise averaging. Geometric details beyond an initial design concept for the array were determined with the guidance of simulations. Imaging with the support of 32-channel data acquisition systems produced in vivo results with up to 16-fold acceleration, including images from rapid abdominal and MRA studies.

Equipment Design↗

PubMed2004

MR imaging of the prostate at 3 Tesla: comparison of an external phased-array coil to imaging with an endorectal coil at 1.5 Tesla.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To qualitatively compare the image quality of torso phased-array 3-Tesla (3T) imaging of the prostate with that of endorectal 1.5-Tesla imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty cases of torso phased-array prostate imaging performed at 3-Tesla with FSE T2 weighted images were evaluated by two readers independently for visualization of the posterior border (PB), seminal vesicles (SV), neurovascular bundles (NVB), and image quality rating (IQR). Studies were performed at large fields of view(FOV) (25 cm) (14 cases) (3TL) and smaller FOV (14 cm) (19 cases) (3TS). A comparison was made to 20 consecutive cases of 1.5-T endorectal evaluation performed during the same time period.Results. 3TL produced a significantly better image quality compared with the small FOV for PB (P = .0001), SV (P =.0001), and IQR (P = .0001). There was a marginally significant difference within the NVB category (P = .0535). 3TL produced an image of similar quality to image quality at 1.5 T for PB (P = .3893), SV (P = .8680), NB (P = .2684), and IQR (P = .8599). CONCLUSION: Prostate image quality at 3T with a torso phased-array coil can be comparable with that of endorectal 1.5-T imaging. These findings suggest that additional options are now available for magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate gland.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed2004

3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate with combined pelvic phased-array and endorectal coils; Initial experience(1).

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate at 1.5T has gained acceptance for pretherapeutic staging of prostate cancer. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential clinical utility of combined pelvic phased-array and endorectal coils at 3T. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six volunteers were examined on 1.5T and 3T scanners with pelvic phased-array surface coil combined with a disposable endorectal prostate coil. RESULTS: We were able to acquire T2-W fast spin echo images with 1.5 mm slices, field of view 12, matrix 320 x 192, (voxel size 0.35 mm(3)), with excellent anatomic detail and good T2 contrast. A 1.5 mm axial slice thickness permitted high-quality multiplanar reconstructions with clear visualization of small patho-anatomic structures. Dynamic contrast-enhanced gradient echo images showed excellent spatial resolution (voxel size, 0.38 mm(3)) and temporal resolution. With this level of anatomic information in dynamic images we could clearly distinguish between intracapsular and extracapsular contrast enhancement. CONCLUSION: Using modified T2-fast spin echo and dynamic contrast-enhanced gradient echo sequences, we obtained whole gland coverage with 35-38 microm(3) resolution, without interfering artifacts, in reasonable acquisition times and staying well below the specific absorption rate guidelines. The high spatial resolution in the axial plane allowed meaningful multiplanar reconstructions. The initial results show the clinical utility of endorectal 3T for the noninvasive evaluation of the prostate with image features and quality not achievable at 1.5 T.

Contrast Media↗