Magnetresonanztomographie, Mehrschicht-Spiral-CT und Elektronenstrahl-CT zur morphologischen und funktionellen Diagnostik der koronaren Herzkrankheit

Die Magnetresonanztomographie (MRT), die Mehrschicht-Spiral-Computertomographie (MSCT) und die Elektronenstrahl-Computertomographie (EBCT) sind nichtinvasive diagnostische Verfahren, welche die bisherige kardiale Bildgebung zumindest in Teilbereichen ersetzen oder ergänzen können. MR-Perfusions- und MR-Funktionsuntersuchungen konnten in der vorgelegten Arbeit direkte Parameter der myokardialen Vitalität regional erfassen. Die Signalintensitäten im Blut und im Herzmuskel dienten zur quantitativen Bestimmung der Myokardperfusion. Die Ortsauflösung ermöglichte eine Differenzierung der subendo- und der subepikardialen Durchblutung. Zusätzliche Streßuntersuchungen steigerten die Sensitivität des Verfahrens. Relativ geringgradige Koronarstenosen ließen sich durch vornehmlich subendokardial lokalisierte Perfusionsdefekte nachweisen. MR-Tagging- Funktionsanalysen konnten durch ein artifizielles Markierungsgitter zwischen endokardial lokalisiertem Narbengewebe und epikardial liegendem vitalem Gewebe differenzieren. Die Dehnungen, Stauchungen und Rotationen des Myokardverbandes wurden registriert und ausgewertet. Die MSCT und die EBCT wurden als Röntgenverfahren für die nichtinvasive Koronarangiographie verglichen. Bei der Definition der Gefäßkonturschärfe über die Anstiegssteilheit der CT-Dichtewerte zeigte sich eine bessere Abbildungsqualität der MSCT gegenüber der EBCT. Die Bestimmung der Segmenterkennbarkeit zeigte, dass mit der MSCT signifikant mehr erkannt werden konnten. Die vorgestellten kardialen MR- und CT-Untersuchungen konnten aus Gründen der Reproduzierbarkeit sowie aufgrund des Strahlenschutzes nur tierexperimentell durchgeführt werden. Die Validität der unterschiedlichen Tiermodelle ist in vorausgegangenen Studien belegt worden. Die in der Literatur verfügbaren Ergebnisse am Menschen bestätigen in vieler Weise die vorgelegten Daten.Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT), and electron-beam computed tomography (EBCT) are noninvasive imaging modalities that may supplement or in part even replace established diagnostic procedures for assessment of the heart. MRI perfusion and functional studies were shown to enable determination of direct parameters of regional myocardial vitality. The signal intensities of blood and myocardium served to quantify myocardial perfusion. The spatial resolution allowed for differentiating subendocardial and subepicardial perfusion. Additional stress tests improved the sensitivity of the procedure. Relatively low-grade coronary artery stenoses were identified by the presence of perfusion gaps primarily in subendocardial location. Functional analysis by means of MRI tagging using an artificial grid allowed for differentiating endocardial scar tissue from epicardial vital tissue. Extension, compression, and rotation of the myocardial complex were recorded and analyzed. MSCT and EBCT were compared as radiographic procedures for noninvasive coronary angiography. MSCT was found to be superior to EBCT in terms of image quality defined as vascular contour sharpness determined as the steepness of the increase in CT densities. Assessment of segment identification showed that significantly more segments were visualized by MSCT. The cardiac MRI and CT studies presented here could only be performed in animals because of the radiation exposure involved and to ensure reproducibility of the results. The validity of the different animal models used has been demonstrated in preceding studies. The results of the present animal experiments are in agreement with many of the human data published in the literature

The Higgs as a Portal to Plasmon-like Unparticle Excitations

12 LaTeX pages, 2 figures.-- Published in: JHEP04(2008)028.-- Final full-text version available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1126-6708/2008/04/028.A renormalizable coupling between the Higgs and a scalar unparticle operator O_U of non-integer dimension d_U<2 triggers, after electroweak symmetry breaking, an infrared divergent vacuum expectation value for O_U. Such IR divergence should be tamed before any phenomenological implications of the Higgs-unparticle interplay can be drawn. In this paper we present a novel mechanism to cure that IR divergence through (scale-invariant) unparticle self-interactions, which has properties qualitatively different from the mechanism considered previously. Besides finding a mass gap in the unparticle continuum we also find an unparticle pole reminiscent of a plasmon resonance. Such unparticle features could be explored experimentally through their mixing with the Higgs boson.Work supported in part by the European Commission under the European Union through the Marie Curie Research and Training Networks “Quest for Unification” (MRTN-CT- 2004-503369) and “UniverseNet” (MRTN-CT-2006-035863); by the Spanish Consolider- Ingenio 2010 Programme CPAN (CSD2007-0042); by a Comunidad de Madrid project (P-ESP-00346) and by CICYT, Spain, under contracts FPA 2007-60252 and FPA 2005-02211

Reduction of claustrophobia during magnetic resonance imaging: methods and design of the "CLAUSTRO" randomized controlled trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been described as the most important medical innovation in the last 25 years. Over 80 million MR procedures are now performed each year and on average 2.3% (95% confidence interval: 2.0 to 2.5%) of all patients scheduled for MR imaging suffer from claustrophobia. Thus, prevention of MR imaging by claustrophobia is a common problem and approximately 2,000,000 MR procedures worldwide cannot be completed due to this situation. Patients with claustrophobic anxiety are more likely to be frightened and experience a feeling of confinement or being closed in during MR imaging. In these patients, conscious sedation and additional sequences (after sedation) may be necessary to complete the examinations. Further improvements in MR design appear to be essential to alleviate this situation and broaden the applicability of MR imaging. A more open scanner configuration might help reduce claustrophobic reactions while maintaining image quality and diagnostic accuracy.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>We propose to analyze the rate of claustrophobic reactions, clinical utility, image quality, patient acceptance, and cost-effectiveness of an open MR scanner in a randomized comparison with a recently designed short-bore but closed scanner with 97% noise reduction. The primary aim of this study is thus to determine whether an open MR scanner can reduce claustrophobic reactions, thereby enabling more examinations of claustrophobic patients without incurring the safety issues associated with conscious sedation. In this manuscript we detail the methods and design of the prospective "CLAUSTRO" trial.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>This randomized controlled trial will be the first direct comparison of open vertical and closed short-bore MR systems in regards to claustrophobia and image quality as well as diagnostic utility.</p> <p>Trial Registration</p> <p>ClinicalTrials.gov: <a href="http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00715806">NCT00715806</a></p