Functional information from magnetic resonance imaging

Author(s):  
Alan P. Koretsky ◽  
Afonso Costa e Silva ◽  
Yi-Jen Lin

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has become established as an important imaging modality for the clinical management of disease. This is primarily due to the great tissue contrast inherent in magnetic resonance images of normal and diseased organs. Due to the wide availability of high field magnets and the ability to generate large and rapidly switched magnetic field gradients there is growing interest in applying high resolution MRI to obtain microscopic information. This symposium on MRI microscopy highlights new developments that are leading to increased resolution. The application of high resolution MRI to significant problems in developmental biology and cancer biology will illustrate the potential of these techniques.In combination with a growing interest in obtaining high resolution MRI there is also a growing interest in obtaining functional information from MRI. The great success of MRI in clinical applications is due to the inherent contrast obtained from different tissues leading to anatomical information.

2005 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Ludescher ◽  
P. Martirosian ◽  
S. Lenk ◽  
J. Machann ◽  
F. Dammann ◽  
...  

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility of high‐resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of trabecular bone of the wrist at 3 Tesla (3T) in vivo and to assess the potential benefit of the increased resolution for clinical assessment of structural changes in spongy bone. Material and Methods: High‐resolution MRI of the wrist was performed with a whole‐body 3T MR scanner using a dedicated circularly polarized transmit–receive wrist‐coil. Two 3D‐FISP sequences with a spatial resolution of 300×300×300 µm3 in a measuring time of TA = 7:51 min, and 200×200×200 µm3 in TA = 9:33 min were applied. Seven young healthy volunteers and three elderly subjects with suspected osteoporosis were examined. The signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) in the optimized setup at 3T was compared to measurements at 1.5T. Results: The images at 3T allow microscopic analysis of the bone structure at an isotropic spatial resolution of 200 µm in examination times of <10 min. Differences in the structure of the spongy bone between normal and markedly osteoporotic subjects are well depicted. The SNR at 3T was found up to 16 times higher than at 1.5T applying unchanged imaging parameters. Conclusion: The proposed high‐resolution MRI technique offers high potential in the diagnosis and follow‐up of diseases with impaired bone structure of hand and/or wrist in clinical applications.


2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 584-592 ◽  
Author(s):  
David P. Kuehn ◽  
Sandra L. Ettema ◽  
Michael S. Goldwasser ◽  
Joseph C. Barkmeier

Objective To explore the application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the evaluation of patients with cleft palate before and after primary palatoplasty with particular attention focused on the levator veli palatini muscle. Design Prospective study using MRIs of subjects before and after primary cleft palate surgery. Setting Hospital and university based. Patients One female infant with normal anatomy. Three male and four female infants with cleft palate of varying severity. Intervention Furlow double-opposing Z-plasty and V-Y palatoplasty. Main Outcome Measures Magnetic resonance images. Results It was found that the levator veli palatini muscle can be imaged before and after palatal surgery in infants using MRI. The muscle may have sufficient volume, proportionate to a normal infant or adult, in infants born with cleft palate. If retrodisplaced properly, the muscle is likely to be steeper (more vertical) from its origin at the base of the skull to its insertion into the velum following palatoplasty, thus providing a more favorable angle for elevating the velum. Following palatal surgery, the levator muscle mass may not be as cohesive across the velar midline, compared with normal musculature. Conclusion MRI is a viable imaging modality for the evaluation of the anatomy of the levator veli palatini muscle before and after primary palatoplasty in infants born with cleft palate.


2014 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 523-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junichi Nakamura ◽  
Nicola Ann Halliday ◽  
Eiji Fukuba ◽  
Aleksandra Radjenovic ◽  
Steven F. Tanner ◽  
...  

Objective.Hypervascularization in finger clubbing is recognized, but its microanatomical basis remains unclear. This pilot descriptive study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to explore this further.Methods.High-resolution MRI acquired with contrast agent was carried out in 4 patients with finger clubbing and 4 healthy volunteers. The anatomy of the nail bed, capsular structures, and bony changes were described.Results.Marked nail bed thickening and contrast enhancement was noted in all clubbed fingers, with bone edema in 3 of the 4 patients. None of the healthy subjects had similar abnormalities.Conclusion.This confirms that hypervascularization of the nail bed observed in the microanatomy on high-resolution MRI is associated with clubbed appearances of the nails.


1987 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 260-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul A. Levine ◽  
Michael R. Paling ◽  
William C. Back ◽  
Robert W. Cantrell

While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is no longer a tool of the future, its availability is limited. Most hospitals still use high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scanning as their major imaging modality. Although numerous articles point to the improved diagnostic uses of MRI—as compared to high-resolution CT—a change from high-resolution CT scanning to MRI scanning throughout the United States would cost billions of dollars. We should, therefore, delineate those clinical situations in which magnetic resonance imaging is distinctly superior to high-resolution CT scanning. It is already an accepted fact that MRI provides improved imaging of the central nervous system, but, while recent articles maintain the superiority of MRI head and neck imaging, the advantages to the clinician are less clear. We present representative cases of large malignant tumors of the frontal, ethmoid, and sphenoid sinuses, in which the full extent of the disease which involved intracranial structures and the orbit was better defined on the MRI scan than it was on the high-resolution CT scan. Decisions concerning the involvement of the infratemporal fossa, the cavernous sinus, the optic chiasm, the pituitary, and the frontal lobes were more easily made when based upon magnetic resonance imaging, while the tumor involvement as evaluated by CT scanning was much less clear. Establishment of the problem regions of the head and neck—when magnetic resonance imaging is superior to high-resolution CT scanning—will assist in identification of the true need for this tool in the practice of the otolaryngologist—head and neck surgeon.


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (01) ◽  
pp. 043-048
Author(s):  
Neha Nischal ◽  
Saurabh Gupta ◽  
Kanhaiya Lal ◽  
Jatinder Pal Singh

Abstract Background High-resolution ultrasound (HRUS) and magnetic resonance neurography (MRN) are considered complementary to clinical and neurophysiological assessment for neuropathies. Aims The aim of our study was to compare the accuracy of HRUS and MRN for detecting various peripheral nerve pathologies, to choose the correct investigation to facilitate prompt patient management. Materials and Methods This prospective study was done using HRUS with 14 MHz linear-transducer and 3 or 1.5T MR in cases referred for the assessment of peripheral nerve pathologies. Image interpretation was done using a scoring system (score 0–3 confidence level) to assess for nerve continuity/discontinuity, increased nerve signal/edema, fascicular change, caliber change, and neuroma/mass lesion. We determined the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of these modalities compared with the diagnostic standard determined by surgical and/or histopathological, if not performed then clinical and/or electrodiagnostic evaluation. Results The overall accuracy of MRN was 89.3% (specificity: 66.6%, sensitivity: 92.6%, negative predictive value [NPV]: 57.1%, positive predictive value [PPV]: 95%) and that of HRUS was 82.9% (specificity: 100%, sensitivity: 80.4%, NPV: 42.8, PPV: 100). The confidence level for detecting nerve discontinuity and change in nerve caliber was found to be higher on ultrasonography than magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (100 vs. 70% and 100 vs. 50%, respectively). Pathology of submillimeter caliber nerves was accurately detected by HRUS and these could not be well-visualized on MRI. Conclusion HRUS is a powerful tool that may be used as the first-line imaging modality for the evaluation of peripheral nerve pathologies, and a better means of evaluation of peripheral nerves with submillimeter caliber.


1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 488-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. LEWIS ◽  
M. J. NOLAN ◽  
R. J. HODGSON ◽  
M. BENJAMIN ◽  
J. R. RALPHS ◽  
...  

The magnetic resonance imaging appearance of the proximal interphalangeal joints of cadavers was correlated with histology of the same specimen allowing many small-scale features to be identified that might otherwise have been misinterpreted. It enabled the magnetic resonance signal to be understood at a tissue and cellular level, allowing identification of synovial folds extending from the extensor tendon and volar plate, the entheses of the proper collateral ligament, the epitenon of the flexor tendons and the presence of osteophytes and sites of cartilage erosion. The main difficulties in matching two-dimensional magnetic resonance images with histology were the differing section thicknesses of the two methods and shrinkage of histological specimens. There are many advantages in producing high resolution three-dimensional datasets—the magnetic resonance section thickness is reduced and the individual components of the joint can be viewed simultaneously in two or more planes. A unique magnetic resonance atlas of three dimensional joint structure is presented.


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