MRI of the Liver

MRI provides comprehensive information on the full range of liver diseases, including congenital abnormalities, benign and malignant focal liver lesions, and diffuse liver disease. This unit presents a protocol that incorporates various types of T1‐and T2‐weighted sequences, including transverse and coronal data acquisition, and the routine use of intravenous gadolinium.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145309/1/cpmia1501.pd

MRI of the Pancreas

MRI provides comprehensive information on the full range of pancreatic diseases. This unit presents a protocol incorporating various types of sequences, including transverse and coronal data acquisitions, and with the routine use of intravenous gadolinium.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145318/1/cpmia1801.pd

Examining Obesity Issues

This policy brief examines the problems related to over-consumption, excess, and obesity in Missouri. The topic is analyzed, and policy recommendations are explained

Early Childhood Education as a Crime Prevention Tool

Since the mid 1990s, the general revenue funds appropriated for the Department of Corrections has more than tripled, from about $217 million (1994) to about$670 million in 2009. The ripple effects of crime are far reaching: loss of productivity for crime victims and their families, court fees, jail and prison expenses, personal and property damages, and the challenges faced by the children of the incarcerated. All of these carry a hefty monetary and societal price

Strengthening Missouri's Economic Performance: The Far-Reaching Impact of Investments in Early Childhood Programs

The current economic climate is challenging for the state of Missouri and its many industries and businesses. Everyone is seeking investments that will yield significant returns. One important, but frequently overlooked, economic sector is early childhood (EC) programs. Frequently referred to as “child care,” this sector includes early childhood services provided to young children (birth - kindergarten entry). EC programs employ more than 34,000 Missourians in a variety of EC settings

Role of magnetic resonance imaging in the detection and characterization of solid pancreatic nodules: an update

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is the most common malignant tumor of the pancreas. The remaining pancreatic tumors are a diverse group of pancreatic neoplasms that comprises cystic pancreatic neoplasms, endocrine tumors and other uncommon pancreatic tumors. Due to the excellent soft tissue contrast resolution, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently able to readily separate cystic from noncystic tumors. Cystic tumors are often easy to diagnose with MRI; however, noncystic non-adenocarcinoma tumors may show a wide spectrum of imaging features, which can potentially mimic ductal adenocarcinoma. MRI is a reliable technique for the characterization of pancreatic lesions. The implementation of novel motion-resistant pulse sequences and respiratory gating techniques, as well as the recognized benefits of MR cholangiopancreatography, make MRI a very accurate examination for the evaluation of pancreatic masses. MRI has the distinctive ability of non-invasive assessment of the pancreatic ducts, pancreatic parenchyma, neighbouring soft tissues, and vascular network in one examination. MRI can identify different characteristics of various solid pancreatic lesions, potentially allowing the differentiation of adenocarcinoma from other benign and malignant entities. In this review we describe the MRI protocols and MRI characteristics of various solid pancreatic lesions. Recognition of these characteristics may establish the right diagnosis or at least narrow the differential diagnosis, thus avoiding unnecessary tests or procedures and permitting better management

T1 Signal-Intensity Increase in the Dentate Nucleus after Multiple Exposures to Gadodiamide: Intraindividual Comparison between 2 Commonly Used Sequences

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Different T1-weighted sequences have been used for qualitative and quantitative evaluation of T1 signal intensity related to gadolinium deposition in the dentate nucleus in patients who underwent several enhanced MR imaging studies. Our purpose was to perform an intraindividual qualitative and quantitative comparison between T1-weighted spin-echo and 3D magnetization-prepared rapid acquisition of gradient echo sequences in patients who had multiple exposures to gadodiamide. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our retrospectively selected population included 18 patients who underwent at least 3 administrations of gadodiamide and had a baseline and a final MR imaging performed with both T1-weighted sequences. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were independently performed. Dentate nucleus/middle cerebellar peduncle signal-intensity ratios and signal changes between the baseline and final examinations were compared by using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Correlation between quantitative and qualitative evaluations was assessed by using a polyserial correlation test. RESULTS: The differences between the 2 sequences for both baseline and last examination dentate nucleus/middle cerebellar peduncle ratios were statistically significant (P = .008 and P = .006, respectively); however, the signal-intensity changes of the ratios with time were not (P = .64). The correlation between the qualitative and quantitative analysis was very strong (near-perfect) (r = 0.9) for MPRAGE and strong (r = 0.63) for spin-echo sequences. CONCLUSIONS: T1-weighted spin-echo and MPRAGE sequences cannot be used interchangeably for qualitative or quantitative analysis of signal intensity in the dentate nucleus in patients who received gadodiamide. Baseline and final examination ratios should be evaluated across time by using the same sequence. Qualitative analysis performed with MPRAGE correlated better with quantitative analysis and may offer advantages over spin-echo sequences for research purposes

MRI of the Kidney

MRI provides comprehensive information on the full range of kidney diseases, including benign and malignant processes and diffuse renal parenchymal disease. This unit presents a set protocols incorporating various types of sequences including transverse, coronal and sagittal data acquisition, and the routine use of intravenous gadolinium.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145420/1/cpmia1601.pd

Accuracy of MRI skeletal age estimation for subjects 12–19. Potential use for subjects of unknown age

In forensic practice, there is a growing need for accurate methods of age estimation, especially in the cases of young individuals of unknown age. Age can be estimated through somatic features that are universally considered associated with chronological age. Unfortunately, these features do not always coincide with the real chronological age: for these reasons that age determination is often very difficult. Our aim is to evaluate accuracy of skeletal age estimation using Tomei's MRI method in subjects between 12 and 19 years old for forensic purposes. Two investigators analyzed MRI images of the left hand and wrist of 77 male and 74 female caucasian subjects, without chronic diseases or developmental disorders, whose age ranged from 12 to 19 years. Skeletal maturation was determined by two operators, who analyzed all MRI images separately, in blinded fashion to the chronological age. Inter-rater agreement was measured with Pearson (R (2)) coefficient. One of the examiners repeated the evaluation after 6 months, and intraobserver variation was analyzed. Bland-Altman plots were used to determine mean differences between skeletal and chronological age. Inter-rater agreement Pearson coefficient showed a good linear correlation, respectively, 0.98 and 0.97 in males and females. Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated that the differences between chronological and skeletal age are not significant. Spearman's correlation coefficient showed good correlation between skeletal and chronological age both in females (R (2) = 0.96) and in males (R (2) = 0.94). Our results show that MRI skeletal age is a reproducible method and has good correlation with chronological age

Technical Aspects of MRI Signal Change Quantification After Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents' Administration

Over the last 2years several studies have been published regarding gadolinium deposition in brain structures in patients with normal renal function after repeated administrations of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). Most of the publications are magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based retrospective studies, where gadolinium deposition may be indirectly measured by evaluating changes in T1 signal intensity (SI) in brain tissue, particularly in the dentate nucleus (DN) and/or globus pallidi (GP). The direct correlation between T1 signal changes and gadolinium deposition was validated by human pathology studies. However, the variability of the MR equipment and parameters used across different publications, along with the inherent limitations of MRI to assess gadolinium in human tissues should be acknowledged when interpreting those studies. Nevertheless, MRI studies remain essential regarding gadolinium bio-distribution knowledge. The aim of this paper is to overview current knowledge of technical aspects of T1 signal intensity evaluation by MRI and describe confounding factors, with the intention to achieve higher accuracy and maximize reproducibility.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio