Biomedical subjects

T Taoka

Publications and source records attributed to T Taoka.

56 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FAST-FLAIR) of ischemic lesions in the brain: comparison with T2-weighted turbo SE.

PURPOSE: We compared fast fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FAST-FLAIR) images with Turbo SE T2-weighted images to evaluate the detectability of small ischemic lesions in the brain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six cases of multiple cerebral ischemic lesions were examined with FAST-FLAIR and Turbo SE imaging. The detectability of lesions, ability to discriminate lesions from the cortex, visualization of perivascular space, and visualization of brainstem lesions were compared between the two sequences. RESULTS: The total number of lesions detected on both sequences was 534 in 36 cases. Six lesions in three cases were detected only on FAST-FLAIR, and one lesion in one case was detected only on the Turbo SE. All the 52 lesions located close to the cortex could be discriminated from the cortex on the FAST-FLAIR images, while 23 of these lesions could not be discriminated on the Turbo SE. Perivascular spaces were not visualized as areas of high signal on the FAST-FLAIR images. Pontine lesions that were visualized in four cases were clearer on the Turbo SE images than on the FAST-FLAIR images. CONCLUSION: The FAST-FLAIR images were shown to be useful in the detection of ischemic lesions and in distinguishing them from the surrounding normal structures. The FAST-FLAIR sequence is expected to become a new additional routine sequence.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Normal myelination of anatomic nerve fiber bundles: MR analysis.

PURPOSE: In order to establish milestones of brain maturation by MR imaging, we examined the initiation of myelination of fiber bundles and of surrounding white matter. METHODS: The subjects included 54 healthy infants ranging in age from 35 to 145 weeks by corrected gestational age. Images were obtained on a 1.5-T MR unit. In 24 sites of 18 fiber bundles in eight cross sections obtained perpendicular to the long axis of the brain stem, we analyzed the initiation of myelination and the age at which fiber bundles become indistinguishable owing to myelination of the surrounding white matter (blurring). RESULTS: The fiber bundles were classified into two groups on the basis of the presence or absence of blurring. The first group (no blurring) was further divided into group 1A, in which myelination began at 35 weeks or less, and group 1B, in which myelination began at 44 weeks or later. The second group (blurring) was divided into group 2A, in which myelination began at 35 weeks or less and blurring occurred at 43 to 49 weeks; group 2B, in which myelination started at 35 weeks or less and blurring began at 67 to 145 weeks; and group 2C, in which myelination began at 36 weeks or later and blurring occurred at 67 to 145 weeks. CONCLUSION: The time of blurring, when myelinated fiber bundles become indistinguishable from surrounding white matter owing to the initiation of myelination, is considered to be a useful parameter of brain maturation in infancy.

Brain↗