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Biomedical subjects

K Oshio

Publications and source records attributed to K Oshio.

48 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Monitoring of laser and freezing-induced ablation in the liver with T1-weighted MR imaging.

During both interstitial laser ablation therapy and cryoablation therapy for liver tumors, real-time monitoring is necessary for assessment of ongoing thermal effects in tissue. With single-section images obtained every 30 seconds with a T1-weighted RARE (rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement) sequence, signal intensity changes in both ex vivo and in vivo animal liver were readily seen. The reversible loss of signal intensity that took place during laser irradiation and the increased intensity at the beginning of cooling can be explained mainly by altered T1 due to temperature change. The frozen area was seen as a sudden decrease in signal intensity at 0 degrees C due to a T2 decrease. This preliminary work showed that the protocol provides enough temporal and temperature resolution to accurately depict the extent of thermal damage, as confirmed at histologic examination. Signal intensity decreased linearly with temperature in the range 10 degrees C-50 degrees C, yielding a pixel-to-pixel temperature resolution of 5.37 degrees C.

Animals↗

Rapid fat/water assessment in knee bone marrow with inner-volume RARE spectroscopic imaging.

An inner-volume modification of a spectroscopic imaging technique based on RARE (rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement) sequences is shown to provide, in less than 1 minute, spectra suitable for fat/water peak-area integration from selected imaging columns containing more than 1,000 5 x 5 x 1-mm voxels. A limitation is the unavoidable T2 weighting of the spectral peaks, which influences estimations of true fat/water composition from the spectra. Studies obtained in the knees of healthy volunteers demonstrate the ability of the technique to enable characterization of the two major proton peaks in bone marrow. Data collected at two or more effective TEs are suitable for extrapolation of fat/water estimates to zero TE.

Adult↗

Bone marrow characterization in the lumbar spine with inner volume spectroscopic CPMG imaging studies.

The authors describe new magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic and postprocessing methods for characterizing major proton peaks and their spectral T2 values in many small voxels throughout extensive regions of bone marrow within the adult lumbar spine. The techniques are based on spectroscopic interrogation of 128 voxels along columns oriented through the spine at eight TE values. Mean fat content measurements, based on quantification of the proton peaks of water and saturated fat (-CH2-)n, corrected for T2 decay, ranged from 40% to 60%. The mean T2 value of the lipid peak, 113 msec +/- 21, was significantly longer (P < .001) than that of water (71 msec +/- 14). The techniques combine features of MR spectroscopy and imaging most suited for spatially efficient coverage of bone marrow at spectral resolutions sufficient for intra-voxel fat or water content measurements. The methods introduced provide a practical, quantitative means for characterizing vertebral marrow in diseases affecting marrow cellularity.

Adult↗

Silicone-fat differentiation in the breast: exploiting the bright-fat phenomenon in fast spin-echo MR imaging.

Selective suppression of silicone or fat with chemical shift-selective (CHESS) pulses is difficult because of the small chemical shift difference between the primary lipid signal and the primary silicone signal at 1.5 T. Differentiation of these chemically distinct species is, however, an important clinical task in assessing implant rupture and silicone migration in breast tissue. A method uniquely suited for silicone-fat differentiation with fast spin-echo (FSE) sequences is reported. It is based on the dependence of fat signal on echo spacing in FSE imaging and results show that it may provide a clinically robust method for silicone-fat differentiation in magnetic resonance imaging of the breast.

Adipose Tissue↗

Line scan imaging of brain metabolites with CPMG sequences at 1.5 tesla.

A line scan Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) spectroscopic imaging sequence has been implemented on a standard 1.5 T clinical scanner to map metabolite signals at multiple echo times from voxels along selected tissue columns through the brain. The CPMG multiecho spectroscopic image data sets are used to estimate brain metabolite T2 decay parameters in a group of healthy volunteers and in one tumor patient. Inherent trade-offs between T2 decay, spectral resolution, and echo spacing prove to be important limiting factors. In particular, separate quantitation of choline and creatine resonances at 1.5 T was not achieved in the present implementation. However, the ability to collect data sets suitable for T2 decay analyses of combined choline and creatine resonances and N-acetyl aspartate resonances in under 10 minutes may prove of clinical utility in the study of brain pathology.

Adolescent↗

Rapid tip tracking with MRI by a limited projection reconstruction technique.

To rapidly track invasive devices within MRI systems, a novel approach using a limited projection reconstruction technique is presented. Our method exploits the difference between images reconstructed from a limited number of projections and serves to depict the tip of a needle during its advancement. This method was implemented on a standard MRI system with a radial fast-spin-echo sequence and examined in phantom studies. We demonstrated that the proposed method could track the tip every 300 msec and the tip depicted by the present technique was consistently displaced along the needle by a small distance (5 mm).

Feasibility Studies↗

Simultaneous acquisition of proton density, T1, and T2 images with triple contrast RARE sequence.

A fast multislice sequence that gives proton density (PD)-, T1-, and T2-weighted images simultaneously has been developed. The triple contrast RARE (TCRARE) is based on RARE and uses two interleaved TR intervals to obtain PD-, T1-, and T2-weighted images without spatial misregistration or RF gain mismatch within 2 min. By adding a fat suppression pulse before one of two excitation pulses, it is also possible to obtain an image set with and without fat suppression in a single acquisition.

Abdomen↗

Spectroscopic imaging of the knee with line scan CPMG sequences.

OBJECTIVE: A line scan spectroscopic imaging method providing variable T2-weighted spectra from many small voxels along selected tissue columns was applied to study the chemical composition of hematopoietic and fatty marrow in the knees of adults and children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Line scan Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) spectroscopic imaging sequences were implemented on a 1.5 T clinical scanner. Variable T2-weighted proton spectra from 128 locations along 20 cm long, 5 mm2 columns oriented superiorly to inferiorly through knees were collected from eight healthy adults and eight children. RESULTS: In adult yellow marrow, olefinic protons, water, a composite lipid proton peak, and methyl/methylene protons contributed 6.4 +/- 0.4, 4.2 +/- 1.5, 7.2 +/- 0.5, and 82.2 +/- 1.9% (mean +/- SD) to the spectra, respectively. Marrow spectra were largely independent of position along the column. Marrow spectra of normal children showed distinct positional dependences. Epiphyseal marrow spectra of children (8-16 years old) resembled adult spectra but with more water (mean 15 vs. 4%). Metaphyseal marrow had higher, variable water content, reflecting the extent of marrow conversion and generally obscuring the olefinic proton peak. CONCLUSIONS: Spectroscopic imaging of columns is a time-efficient method for sampling extensive regions of bone marrow with high spatial resolution. It should prove useful for proton spectroscopic studies of hematologic pathologies and conditions requiring the monitoring of lipid composition.

Adolescent↗

A simple noninvasive stereotactic device for routine MR head examinations.

A simple device to define reproducible reference points in MR examinations was designed. The device can be worn like a pair of eyeglasses and has reference structure visible in MR images. Combined with a specially designed algorithm, the imaging plane can be aligned to a predefined coordinate system in one step, using a single slice through the device. The device can be produced at low cost and is suitable for routine examinations as well as surgical planning.

Head↗

MR appearance and spectral features of injected ethanol in the liver: implication for fast MR-guided percutaneous ethanol injection therapy.

PURPOSE: Our goal was to evaluate several fast MR strategies for monitoring ethanol distributions so that percutaneous ethanol injection might be guided with MRI. METHOD: Fast RF spoiled GRE sequences (SPGR) and T2-weighted rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement (RARE) sequences with and without spectroscopic-quality water suppression techniques were assessed for their ability to depict the distribution of injected ethanol in ex vivo pig liver. A line scan Carr-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill spectroscopic imaging sequence was used to validate observations and measure spectral relaxation characteristics of the ethanol signal in liver. Injected deuterated ethanol was also tested as an alternative possibility to depict the distribution of ethanol. RESULTS: The water-suppressed T2-weighted RARE sequence depicted the distribution of ethanol better than other sequences. Deuterated ethanol appeared as a signal void on all sequences. CONCLUSION: Water-suppressed T2-weighted RARE sequences could be useful to rapidly monitor MR-guided PEI.

Animals↗

Fast spin-echo imaging in the evaluation of intradural disease of the spine.

PURPOSE: Fast spin echo (FSE) images were compared with conventional images in 46 patients with intradural spinal disease to determine their accuracy in the detection and delineation of lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The images were interpreted by two neuroradiologists, who read individually. A total of 720 blinded readings formed the basis for this evaluation. A gold standard for each patient was selected, based on the blinded readings of the conventional studies. RESULTS: In the sagittal plane, the FSE sequences were found to have an accuracy of 93% and 93% for the first reader and 93% and 85% for the second reader. For the axial plane, the corresponding figures were 86% and 82% for the first reader and 64% and 77% for the second reader. These figures compared favorably with conventional sequences. Similar delineation of lesions was noted in 78% of cases. In the remaining cases, there were no significant trends. CONCLUSION: Because of these findings, FSE sequences appear as accurate as conventional sequences. In this study, they were capable of supplanting conventional sequences in the evaluation of intradural pathology of the spine in the sagittal plane, although conventional sequences were still preferred in the axial plane.

Adult↗

Fast spin-echo MR imaging of the cervical spine: influence of echo train length and echo spacing on image contrast and quality.

PURPOSE: To examine the interaction of echo train length and interecho spacing and their effects on image quality and contrast in fast spin-echo sequences of the cervical spine. METHODS: Forty-three patients with suspected cervical disk disease were prospectively evaluated with fast spin-echo with varying echo train lengths and interecho spacing. A flow phantom was used to confirm findings related to cerebrospinal fluid pulsation. Parameters were manipulated to adjust contrast, signal-to-noise ratio, the effects of artifacts, and the speed of acquisition. RESULTS: In general, increasing echo train length increased homogeneity and high intensity of cerebrospinal fluid signal and reduced acquisition time; however, it decreased the signal-to-noise ratio of cerebrospinal fluid and cord and increased blurring, and, to a lesser extent, edge enhancement, and "truncation-type" artifact. Increasing interecho space permitted the use of longer echo times but minimally decreased contrast and signal-to-noise ratio of cord and cerebrospinal fluid. In addition, increasing echo spacing increased blurring, edge enhancement, truncation-type, magnetic susceptibility, and motion artifacts. CONCLUSIONS: For cervical spine imaging, a long echo train length and short echo spacing partially compensate for cerebrospinal fluid flow and produce the best myelographic effect but must be modulated by other constraints, such as artifact production or technical capabilities.

Cervical Vertebrae↗