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Biomedical subjects

D J Bryant

Publications and source records attributed to D J Bryant.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Four-dimensional phosphorus-31 chemical shift imaging of carcinoid metastases in the liver.

Four-dimensional chemical shift imaging was used to map spatial variations in phosphorus metabolites in a patient with carcinoid metastases in the liver. The results were compared to those from an age and sex matched volunteer, with no known previous history of liver disease. In the patient local abnormalities were observed. These included elevated phosphomonoester and decreased phosphodiester concentrations relative to adenosine triphosphate. The regions of abnormality corresponded to regions containing metastases identified with x-ray computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Spectral resolution in clinical magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

We observe linewidths of 0.1-0.4 ppm in 31P spectra of human muscle, liver, and brain. T2 measurements of muscle phosphocreatine, together with previous brain studies, indicate that further improvements in linewidth to 0.02-0.05 ppm might often be achieved, but in some lesions magnetic susceptibility variations may limit spectral resolution.

Brain↗
PubMed1985

Variations in slice shape and absorption as artifacts in the determination of tissue parameters in NMR imaging.

Existing models for the contrast between one tissue and another in NMR imaging have shown that there are regions of ambiguity particularly in spin-echo sequences. This paper indicates that there are further problems due to variations in slice formation with tissue parameters, and that it is necessary to be very conservative in assessing the magnitude of T1 in any imaging system. The change in shape affects the appearance of images due, in essence, to adjustments in partial volume effects, with some of the contributions to the signal from lesions with long T1 coming from different regions to those for normal tissue. A simple model for a slice is used because the actual form in a real imaging situation is the result of a number of factors which are usually not accurately enough known.

Brain Diseases↗
PubMed1984

Measurement of flow with NMR imaging using a gradient pulse and phase difference technique.

A method for determining flow by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging is described. A conventional spin-echo imaging sequence is employed with the addition of balanced gradient pulses on either side of the pi radiofrequency pulse. Flow velocities in the direction orthogonal to the image plane are determined by the phase shifts in the NMR image. Experimental validation of the technique in vitro was achieved with a phantom designed to give a continuous flow of water. The flow rate measured by NMR agreed well with the volume flow rate through the phantom. In vivo, NMR flow measurements on the carotid and femoral arteries of two volunteers were compared with Doppler ultrasound results. Velocity measurements were in general agreement. Rapid changes in flow are difficult to follow with the NMR method unless particular care is taken in gradient profile design. The technique can readily be used in existing NMR imaging machines and may have a useful clinical role.

Blood Flow Velocity↗
PubMed1984

Magnetic resonance imaging of the kidneys.

A study of the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearances of the kidneys in six normal volunteers and 52 patients is reported. Corticomedullary differentiation was seen with the inversion-recovery (IR 1400/400) sequence in the normal volunteers and in patients with functioning transplanted kidneys and acute tubular necrosis. Partial or total loss of corticomedullary differentiation was seen in glomerulonephritis, acute and chronic renal failure, renal artery stenosis, and transplant rejection. The T1 of the kidneys was increased in glomerulonephritis with nephrotic syndrome, but the T1 was within the normal range for renal medulla in glomerulonephritis without nephrotic syndrome, renal artery stenosis, and chronic renal failure. A large staghorn calculus was demonstrated with MRI, but small calculi were not seen. Fluid within the hydronephrosis, simple renal cysts, and polycystic kidneys displayed very low signal intensity and long T1 values. Evidence of recent hemorrhage into cysts was seen in polycystic kidneys. Tumors displayed varied appearances. Hypernephromas were shown to be hypo- or hyperintense with the renal medulla on the IR 1400/400 sequence. After intravenous injection of gadolinium-DTPA, there was marked decrease in the tumor T1.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The benefits of increasing spatial resolution as a means of reducing artifacts due to field inhomogeneities.

All users of NMR equipment are familiar with the desirability of achieving as high a quality of field as possible. On the other hand, it is easy to forget that the field quality of relevance in both imaging and spectroscopy is that over individual voxels, and not the whole volume. This note demonstrates in practice how performance in poor fields is improved substantially by reducing voxel size (or increasing spatial resolution), offering a potential alternative to additional shimming under appropriate circumstances. It argues that the best criterion for assessing magnet quality in spatially localized systems is the maximum field error gradient in the volume of usable field, rather than the maximum deviation in the field.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gadolinium-DTPA as a contrast agent in MR imaging--theoretical projections and practical observations.

The theoretical basis for the use of paramagnetic agents to enhance proton relaxation is described. Factors of importance in the design of contrast agents are considered. Measurements of changes in T1 and T2 in vitro due to Gd3+-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) are used to predict changes in the intensity of transverse magnetisation seen with different sequences in magnetic resonance imaging. The use of Gd3+-DTPA in clinical cases is illustrated.

Brain Neoplasms↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Assessment of brain perfusion with MR imaging.

A technique for assessing brain perfusion with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging is described. This technique uses two spin echo sequences that are identical except that the second is sensitised to blood flow by use of a pair of unipolar gradients on either side of the 180 degree pulse. Differences in phase between the two sequences are displayed with a sensitivity to flow rates of +/- 0.5, +/- 1, and +/- 2 mm/s per full scale (+/- pi radians) deflection. The technique was validated for measurement of flow at these rates with a water phantom. Ten patients with cerebrovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, cerebral tumor, periventricular leukomalacia, and meningitis were studied. Differences between grey and white matter were normally seen in adults. Infants displayed differences between central and peripheral regions of the brain. Abnormalities were seen in all clinical cases. The technique will require further validation but it appears to provide a totally noninvasive method for assessing brain perfusion.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of phosphorus-31 MR spectroscopy to monitor response to chemotherapy in non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Two patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma of the femur were examined with 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and proton magnetic resonance imaging before and during treatment with chemotherapy. Prior to treatment, 31P MRS of the tumor showed that in comparison to normal skeletal muscle, phosphocreatine was reduced, and phosphomonoesters (PME) and phosphodiesters were elevated. The 31P spectrum became similar to that of normal muscle after 40 days of treatment in both cases. Following the initial dose of chemotherapy, an increase in PME relative to adenosine triphosphate was observed within 48 h in one patient. Magnetic resonance showed a change in the soft tissue component of both tumors and 6-12 months later there was no clinical evidence of any recurrence. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy with 31P may prove to be a sensitive technique for monitoring therapeutic response of tumors.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Analysis of the magnitude of susceptibility effects in disease of the brain: implications for MR spectroscopy.

The results of 165 clinical examinations of the brain in which phase mapping was used to display susceptibility effects have been analysed. Significant changes were frequently observed when hemorrhage was a primary or secondary event. A substantial fraction of the examinations, including those of tumor, trauma, hemorrhage, and other patients, showed changes of up to 1 ppm. Spectral interpretation may be made more difficult in many clinical circumstances by susceptibility effects.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Proton MR spectroscopy of intracranial tumours: in vivo and in vitro studies.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H MRS) was used to investigate intracranial tumours in vitro and in vivo. Biopsy specimens were studied from 47 patients, 11 of whom were also examined in vivo. Analysis was based on the signals from N-acetylaspartate (NAA), phosphocreatine plus creatine (Cr), choline-containing compounds (Cho), alanine (Ala), and lactate. Biopsy data from 26 astrocytomas showed that the NAA/Cr ratio differs significantly in all grades from its value in normal white matter and that the Cho/Cr ratio differs significantly in grade IV tumours from its value in the other grades. Meningiomas have an unusually high Ala/Cr ratio. Spectra obtained in vivo are consistent with in vitro results from the same patients, and their lactate signal provides additional information about abnormal metabolism. We conclude that 1H MRS has a clear role in the diagnosis and biochemical assessment of intracranial tumours and in the evaluation and monitoring of therapy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Proton MR spectroscopy of the brain in infants.

Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to study the brain of 2 normal and 15 abnormal infants aged from 33 weeks postmenstrual age (PMA) to 14 months postnatal age. Eleven of the infants were examined on at least two occasions. The principal clinical diagnoses in the abnormal infants were perinatal ischemic and hemorrhagic brain injury. All proton spectra demonstrated peaks that were assigned to N-acetylaspartate (NAA), choline containing compounds (Cho), and creatine plus phosphocreatine (Cr). The NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr ratios increased with age, while the Cho/Cr ratio decreased with age in the majority of infants. The NAA/Cho ratio was generally lower in abnormal infants, but the difference was not apparent before 40 weeks (PMA). This ratio was lowest in infants with the severest degree of neurological abnormality. Proton and phosphorus MRS was compared in seven infants. In those with severe brain lesions, early phosphorus spectra were abnormal. On follow-up the phosphorus spectra became normal, but the proton spectra showed persistently low NAA/Cho and NAA/Cr ratios. Proton MRS provides new information that may be complementary to phosphorus MRS in the diagnosis and monitoring of brain development in normal and neurologically damaged infants.

Asphyxia Neonatorum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Use of fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) pulse sequences in MRI of the brain.

Fluid attenuated inversion recovery pulse sequences with a long echo time (TE) have been used to image the brain in one volunteer and four patients. The long inversion time used with this sequence suppresses the signal from CSF and the long TE produces very heavy T2 weighting. The marked reduction in flow artefact from CSF and the high T2 weighting enabled anatomical detail to be seen within the brain stem and produced high lesion contrast in areas close to CSF. Lesions were demonstrated with greater conspicuity than with conventional T2-weighted sequences in patients with cerebral infarction, low grade astrocytoma, and diplegia.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Magnetic resonance imaging: serial observations in multiple sclerosis.

Three patients with four or more follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations over a 15-22 month period are described to illustrate the differing patterns of follow-up seen with MRI in multiple sclerosis (MS). These cases illustrate patterns of remission, exacerbation and remission, and rapid progression. The value of MRI in the follow-up of MS is discussed.

Adult↗