Biomedical subjects

N Shiraga

Publications and source records attributed to N Shiraga.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Development of a subject-standing-type cone-beam computed tomography for chest and orthopedic imaging.

A subject-standing-type cone-beam computed tomography (CT) with high spatial resolution has been developed as a new three-dimensional imaging modality for subjects standing or sitting naturally on a turntable. A 16-in. X-ray image intensifier and charge coupled device camera acquires a 12-bit 5122-pixel projection at 60 f/s and the rotation period is 4.8 or 9.6 s for 288 or 576 projections, respectively. To reduce image noise, the system controls the X-ray pulse duration and iris-opening area through real-time analysis of the projection image. To improve CT accuracy and eliminate artifacts, the veiling glare of the image intensifier and scattered X-rays are corrected. Human chest and orthopedic studies with about 50 patients were conducted. Three-dimensional images with a spherical field of view with a diameter of 21-25 cm, 0.4- to 0.5-mm voxels and a 512(3) matrix were obtained. In coronal, sagittal and volume rendering images, the surface of arthrosis was visualized smoothly with a resolution higher than that of conventional CT. In the case of gonarthrosis, narrowing of the clearance at the surface of arthrosis was visualized clearly under body-weight burdening, which would be difficult if the subject was lying down.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2001

[Two-dimensional and three-dimensional CT diagnosis of alimentary tract].

The recent development of multidetector-row CT(MDCT) has made it possible to obtain three-dimensional images of the alimentary tract that offer new diagnostic potential. In its two-dimensional diagnosis of the alimentary tract, MDCT has also changed the concept of the oral contrast agent. Before MDCT, we routinely used a positive contrast agent to distinguish the stomach and intestine from other organs and masses. The excellent slice profile acquired by MDCT can distinguish the alimentary tract and depict abnormal findings without the use of a positive contrast agent. With the use of an intravenous contrast medium, the alimentary tract itself, alimentary tumors, and inflammatory disease are well demarcated with water and air. Moreover, the combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional diagnostic images makes it possible to detect and assess early gastric and colonic cancers as conventional gastroscopy and colonoscopy. Although the lack of texture information is one of the disadvantages of three-dimensional CT, three-dimensional CT diagnosis of the alimentary tract is less invasive and more objective than conventional studies. Advances in three-dimensional imaging with isotropic data sets will lead to the use of two-dimensional and three-dimensional CT diagnosis as one of the standard examinations of the alimentary tract.

Digestive System↗

PubMed1998

Three-dimensional multi-scale line filter for segmentation and visualization of curvilinear structures in medical images.

This paper describes a method for the enhancement of curvilinear structures such as vessels and bronchi in three-dimensional (3-D) medical images. A 3-D line enhancement filter is developed with the aim of discriminating line structures from other structures and recovering line structures of various widths. The 3-D line filter is based on a combination of the eigenvalues of the 3-D Hessian matrix. Multi-scale integration is formulated by taking the maximum among single-scale filter responses, and its characteristics are examined to derive criteria for the selection of parameters in the formulation. The resultant multi-scale line-filtered images provide significantly improved segmentation and visualization of curvilinear structures. The usefulness of the method is demonstrated by the segmentation and visualization of brain vessels from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), bronchi from a chest CT, and liver vessels (portal veins) from an abdominal CT.

Bronchography↗

PubMed1998

[Continuous arterial infusion of protease inhibitor with supplementary therapy for the patients with severe acute pancreatitis--clinical effect of arterial injection of ulinastatin].

We treated five patients with severe acute pancreatitis by continuous arterial infusion (CAI) of protease inhibitor, nafamostat mesilate. Arterial injection (AI) of ulinastatin was performed in four cases and AI of antibiotics (IPM/CS) was done in one case, as supplemental therapies of CAI. Abdominal pain disappeared in 7.9 hours on the average, abdominal tenderness disappeared in 5.0 days and laboratory data lately recovered. All five cases treated by these therapies were cured without hemodialysis or surgical treatment in acute phase. AI of ulinastatin through arterial infusion catheter is pharmacokinetically more effective, because it yields a relatively high concentration of the drug at the acting site when compared with that of intravenous injection. Furthermore ulinastatin inhibits different types of protease from nafamostat mesilate. Therefore the clinical effect of CAI of nafamostat mesilate is enhanced by the combined therapy with AI of ulinastatin. It is also suggested that arterial injection of ulinastatin might be effective for the control of abdominal pain and that arterial injection of antibiotics might have an advantage on prevention of infectious pancreatic necrosis.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1989

[Magnetic resonance imaging of bladder tumors: superiority of serial "Fast SE" assisted by Gd-DTPA in tumor staging].

Eighteen cases with bladder tumors were examined by means of superconducting MRI. Sequences used were spin echo (TR/TE (msec) = 500/20 as T1WI (weighted image) and 1500/80 as T2WI) and serial "fast spin echo (fast SE)" pre/post Gd-DTPA administration. "Fast SE" was a new technique offering a distinct T1WI (TR/TE = 100/14, utilizing a 14 second breath hold). Slice thickness of "fast SE" was 10 mm and slice plane was selected perpendicular to the tumor base to detect the extent of invasion. Serial scan of "fast SE" was performed before and immediately after 0.1 mmol/kg Gd administration. Scanning was completed before the bladder was opacified by Gd. Tumor and normal mucosa were both markedly enhanced whereas the surrounding muscle layer remained hypointense. On delayed scan, the elevated character of the tumor was outlined by opacified urine but the distinction between the mucosa and the muscle layer became unclear. Total cystectomy (TC) was performed in 6 of 18 cases and pathological tumor extension was correlated with MR findings. Transurethral resection (TUR) was performed in the remaining 12 patients, and the tumor extension was assessed by follow-up biopsy after TUR. Intact liner hypointensity indicated superficial lesions (= less than pT2), while disruption of the linear hypointensity corresponded pathologically to deep muscle invasion (= greater than pT3a). Accuracy of serial "fast SE" in tumor staging was 94% (17/18). Serial "fast SE" allowed the distinction of superficial from invasive tumors more accurately than conventional studies, and therefore assisted in choosing the correct operative method.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Local maximum intensity projection (LMIP): a new rendering method for vascular visualization.

PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to demonstrate a new visualization method (local maximum intensity projection; LMIP) that can clearly depict densitometric as well as geometric information in vascular visualization from 3D data such as obtained from MR and CT angiography. METHOD: LMIP is an extended version of maximum intensity projection (MIP). However, LMIP differs from MIP in that the latter method selects the maximum value along an optical ray, whereas LMIP selects the first local maximum value encountered that is larger than a preselected threshold value along an optical ray from a viewpoint in the viewing direction. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Examples are presented in which LMIP is used to visualize renal vessels from CT angiography data and cerebral vessels in the vicinity of an aneurysm from phase-contrast MR angiography data. We demonstrate that LMIP can clearly depict geometric information, as shaded surface display does, and densitometric information, as is done by volume rendering, in a straightforward and objective manner.

Angiography↗