Assessment the Optimal Effect of Time of Repetition: Extrinsic Pulse Parameter on Gd-DTPA Enhanced, Spin-Echo T1-Weighted MR Images under Low Magnetic Field Strength

The contrast agent concentration, the time of repetition (TR) and magnetic field strength are significant parameters that influence for the accurate signal intensity (SI) in quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate and refine the dependence and the optimal effect of Time of Repetition (TR) on the relationship between signal intensity and Gd-DTPA (Gadolinium-diethylene-triaminepenta-acetic acid) concentration, after applying two-dimensional (2D) Spin Echo (SE) pulse sequence under low-field MRI. In addition to that, the optimal concentration of Gd-DTPA at given sequence parameters at low-field MRI was also evaluated. A water-filled phantom was constructed for a range of Gd-DTPA concentrations (0 - 6 mmol/L) and the mean signal intensities (SIs) were assessed in the defined region of interest on T1-weighted images with different TR values (40 - 2000 ms). The generated signal-concentration curves for Gd-DTPA revealed that increasing TR was associated with the increase of the overall SIs and the maximum relationship between SI to concentration. Moreover, the required Gd-DTPA concentration to produce the maximum SI was associated to decrease with the increase of TR. In addition to this, the application of beyond 100 ms TR values in this study with relatively higher concentrations (beyond 1 - 2 mmol/L) has resulted predominantly non-linear patterns in the signal-concentration curves and it appears the saturation or decay of the SIs due to T2 effect. From these results, it can be suggested that the selection of relatively lower Gd-DTPA concentration ( mmol/L) with less than 800 ms (<800 ms) TR values can produce a better linear relationship between the concertation and SIs in T1-weighted SE low field contrast-enhanced MRI. Furthermore, this study also outlined the significance and necessity of the optimization of TR in SE sequence in low field MRI prior to a particular examination.

利用T_1加权DCE-MRI技术对脑胶质瘤分级

应用T1加权动态对比度增强磁共振成像(DCE-MRI)技术对脑胶质瘤进行术前分级,验证其用于脑胶质瘤分级的准确性和可重复性。对26例脑胶质瘤患者团注Gd-DTPA对比剂后,以1.5TSiemens Syngo MRI扫描仪采集DCE T1加权图像。首先基于改进的Tofts两室药物动力学模型,从采集到的动态组图像建立病灶区感兴趣区内的平均信号强度-时间曲线,然后应用非线性最小二乘拟合方法对该曲线进行拟合,获取定量参数。这些参数包括:初始增强率ER、回流速率常数Kep、排泄速率常数Kel、曲线下面积AUC、峰值高度PH、到达峰值的时间TTP,最后与临床组织病理学结果进行比较,建立这些定量参数与脑胶质瘤分级之间的定量关系。采用独立样本t检验比较任意两个分级之间各定量参数的统计学差异,P<0.05作为统计学差异标准。ER、AUC和PH随着脑胶质瘤的病理分级由低到高地增加;低级别脑胶质瘤中的Ⅰ与Ⅱ级之间以及高级别中的Ⅲ与Ⅳ级之间的比较结果显示,ER、AUC和PH的值均无明显统计学差异(P>0.05);低级别与高级别级之间的比较结果显示,仅参数ER的差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。ER是术前准确界定脑胶质瘤低级别与高级别的最具敏感性和特异性的参数,其界定阈值约为0.68。

Advancing gastrointestinal stromal tumor management: The role of imagomics features in precision risk assessment

BACKGROUND Gastrointestinal stromal tumors(GISTs)vary widely in prognosis,and traditional pathological assessments often lack precision in risk stratification.Advanced imaging techniques,especially magnetic resonance imaging(MRI),offer potential improvements.This study investigates how MRI imagomics can enhance risk assessment and support personalized treatment for GIST patients.AIM To assess the effectiveness of MRI imagomics in improving GIST risk stratification,addressing the limitations of traditional pathological assessments.METHODS Analyzed clinical and MRI data from 132 GIST patients,categorizing them by tumor specifics and dividing into risk groups.Employed dimension reduction for optimal imagomics feature selection from diffusion-weighted imaging(DWI),T1-weighted imaging(T1WI),and contrast enhanced T1WI with fat saturation(CET1WI)fat suppress(fs)sequences.RESULTS Age,lesion diameter,and mitotic figures significantly correlated with GIST risk,with DWI sequence features like sphericity and regional entropy showing high predictive accuracy.The combined T1WI and CE-T1WI fs model had the best predictive efficacy.In the test group,the DWI sequence model demonstrated an area under the curve(AUC)value of 0.960 with a sensitivity of 80.0%and a specificity of 100.0%.On the other hand,the combined performance of the T1WI and CE-T1WI fs models in the test group was the most robust,exhibiting an AUC value of 0.834,a sensitivity of 70.4%,and a specificity of 85.2%.CONCLUSION MRI imagomics,particularly DWI and combined T1WI/CE-T1WI fs models,significantly enhance GIST risk stratification,supporting precise preoperative patient assessment and personalized treatment plans.The clinical implications are profound,enabling more accurate surgical strategy formulation and optimized treatment selection,thereby improving patient outcomes.Future research should focus on multicenter studies to validate these findings,integrate advanced imaging technologies like PET/MRI,and incorporate genetic factors to achieve a more comprehensive risk assessment.

Assessment of structural brain changes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus using the MRI-based brain atrophy and lesion index

Patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2 DM) often have cognitive impairment and structural brain abnormalities.The magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)-based brain atrophy and lesion index can be used to evaluate common brain changes and their correlation with cognitive function,and can therefore also be used to reflect whole-brain structural changes related to T2 DM.A total of 136 participants(64 men and 72 women,aged 55–86 years) were recruited for our study between January 2014 and December 2016.All participants underwent MRI and Mini-Mental State Examination assessment(including 42 healthy control,38 T2 DM without cognitive impairment,26 with cognitive impairment but without T2 DM,and 30 T2 DM with cognitive impairment participants).The total and sub-category brain atrophy and lesion index scores in patients with T2 DM with cognitive impairment were higher than those in healthy controls.Differences in the brain atrophy and lesion index of gray matter lesions and subcortical dilated perivascular spaces were found between non-T2 DM patients with cognitive impairment and patients with T2 DM and cognitive impairment.After adjusting for age,the brain atrophy and lesion index retained its capacity to identify patients with T2 DM with cognitive impairment.These findings suggest that the brain atrophy and lesion index,based on T1-weighted and T2-weighted imaging,is of clinical value for identifying patients with T2 DM and cognitive impairment.Gray matter lesions and subcortical dilated perivascular spaces may be potential diagnostic markers of T2 DM that is complicated by cognitive impairment.This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of University of South China(approval No.USC20131109003) on November 9,2013,and was retrospectively registered with the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry(registration No.Chi CTR1900024150) on June 27,2019.

A multiple-tissue-specific magnetic resonance imaging model for diagnosing Parkinson’s disease: a brain radiomics study

Brain radiomics can reflect the characteristics of brain pathophysiology.However,the value of T1-weighted images,quantitative susceptibility mapping,and R2*mapping in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease(PD)was underestimated in previous studies.In this prospective study to establish a model for PD diagnosis based on brain imaging information,we collected high-resolution T1-weighted images,R2*mapping,and quantitative susceptibility imaging data from 171 patients with PD and 179 healthy controls recruited from August 2014 to August 2019.According to the inclusion time,123 PD patients and 121 healthy controls were assigned to train the diagnostic model,while the remaining 106 subjects were assigned to the external validation dataset.We extracted 1408 radiomics features,and then used data-driven feature selection to identify informative features that were significant for discriminating patients with PD from normal controls on the training dataset.The informative features so identified were then used to construct a diagnostic model for PD.The constructed model contained 36 informative radiomics features,mainly representing abnormal subcortical iron distribution(especially in the substantia nigra),structural disorganization(e.g.,in the inferior temporal,paracentral,precuneus,insula,and precentral gyri),and texture misalignment in the subcortical nuclei(e.g.,caudate,globus pallidus,and thalamus).The predictive accuracy of the established model was 81.1±8.0%in the training dataset.On the external validation dataset,the established model showed predictive accuracy of 78.5±2.1%.In the tests of identifying early and drug-naïve PD patients from healthy controls,the accuracies of the model constructed on the same 36 informative features were 80.3±7.1%and 79.1±6.5%,respectively,while the accuracies were 80.4±6.3%and 82.9±5.8%for diagnosing middle-to-late PD and those receiving drug management,respectively.The accuracies for predicting tremor-dominant and non-tremor-dominant PD were 79.8±6.9%and 79.1±6.5%,respectively.In conclusion,the multiple-tissue-specific brain radiomics model constructed from magnetic resonance imaging has the ability to discriminate PD and exhibits the advantages for improving PD diagnosis.

APPLICATION VALUE OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE SEQUENCES IN DIAGNOSIS OF EARLY SPINAL METASTATIC TUMOR

Objective To investigate the clinical value of different magnetic resonance (MR) pulse sequences in diagnosis of spinal metastatic tumor. Methods Fifteen patients with clinically suspected spinal metastatic tumor were included in this study. These patients were with documented primary tumors. Four MR pulse sequences, T1-weighted spin echo (T1WI SE), T2-weighted fast spin echo (T2WI FSE), short time inversion recovery (STIR), and gradient echo 2-D multi echo data imaging combination (GE Me-2D) were used to detect spinal metastasis. Results Fifteen vertebral bodies were entire involvement, 38 vertebral bodies were section involvement, and totally 53 vertebral bodies were involved. There were 19 focal infections in pedicle of vertebral arch, 15 metastases in spinous process and transverse process. Fifty-three vertebral bodies were abnormal in T1WI SE and GE Me-2D, 35 vertebral bodies were found abnormal in T2WI FSE, and 50 vertebral bodies were found abnormal in STIR. The verges of focal signal of involved vertebral bodies were comparatively clear in T1WI SE, comparatively clear or vague in T2WI FSE, vague in STIR, and clear in GE Me-2D.Conclusions GE Me-2D may be the most sensitive technique to detect metastases. So three sequences (T1WI SE, T2WI FSE, GE Me-2D) can demonstrate the early changes of spinal metastasis roundly.

One-pot Synthesis of PEGylated Gd-based Nanoparticles as High-performance and Biocompatibility Contrast Agents for T1-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging In vivo

Polyethylene glycol modified(PEGylated) NaGdF4(PEG-NaGdF4) nanoparticles as a novel T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging(MRI) contrast agent was successfully constructed by a one-pot hydrothermal synthesis method. Because of the functionalization of PEG, the nanoprobes had excellent dispersity, excellent stability and high biocompatibility. More importantly, the as-prepared PEG-NaGdF4 nanoprobes revealed the high longitudinal relaxivity value and prominent -weighted MRI contrast performance, which was superior to the commercial MRI contrast agents. With the facile synthesis, excellent dispersity, outstanding stability, remarkable contrast performance and high biocompatibility, the PEGylated NaGdF4 nanoparticles brought more opportunities to the new generation of nanoparticulate-based T1-weighted MRI contrast agents in clinic.

Early brainstem hemorrhage progression:multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging and histopathology

According to clinical statistics,the mortality of patients with early brainstem hemorrhage is high.In this study,we established rat models of brainstem hemorrhage by injecting type Ⅶ collagenase into the right basotegmental pontine and investigated the pathological changes of early brainstem hemorrhage using multi-sequence magnetic resonance imaging and histopathological methods.We found that brainstem hematoma gradually formed in the injured rats over the first 3 days and then reduced after 7 days.The edema that occurred was mainly of the vasogenic type.No complete myelin sheath structure was found around the focus of the brainstem hemorrhage.The integrity and continuity of nerve fibers gradually deteriorated over the first 7 days.Neuronal degeneration was mild in the first 3 days and then obviously aggravated on the 7^(th)day.Inflammatory cytokines,interleukin-1β,and tumor necrosis factorαappeared on the 1st day after intracerebral hemorrhage,reached peak levels on the 3^(rd)day,and decreased from the 7^(th)day.Our findings show the characteristics of the progression of early brainstem hemorrhage.

三维动态对比增强磁共振血管造影技术在胸腹部大血管疾病诊断中的影像学特征分析

目的:探讨三维对比增强磁共振血管造影(3DCE-MRA)技术在胸腹部大血管疾病诊断中的影像学特征及应用价值。方法:选取28例患有胸腹部主动脉病变的患者,所有患者均行3DCE-MRA检查,行平扫轴位常规T_(1)加权成像(T_(1)WI)和T_(2)加权成像(T_(2)WI);再采用小剂量对比剂行轴位单层动态扫描,获得扫描延迟时间,平扫后采集靶血管冠状位图像作为后期减影的蒙片。利用获得的延迟时间行3DCE-MRA血管造影技术。注射对比剂后采集2次靶血管冠状位图像与增强前蒙片减影,分别为动脉期和静脉期。采集增强后的轴位快速自旋回波(FSE)序列T_(1)WI,观察胸腹部主动脉血管病变的信号表现。结果:28例患者中,大动脉炎5例(占17.9%),髂动脉瘤1例(占3.6%),动脉粥样硬化3例(占10.7%),肾动脉狭窄6例(占21.4%),主动脉瘤13例(占46.4%),3DCE-MRA血管造影技术对28例患者胸腹部主动脉血管及分支血管的病变显示效果良好。结论:3DCE-MRA技术诊断明确,且具有准确、快速及无创伤的优点。

Synthesis and in vitro Evaluation of Manganese（Ⅱ）-porphyrin Modified with Chitosan Oligosaccharides as Potential MRI Contrast Agents

Mn-TCPP-CSn（n=6,1 1,20） as a type of potential magnetic resonance imaging（MRI） contrast agents were synthesized via manganese（Ⅱ） meso-tetra（4-carboxyphenyl） porphyrin（Mn-TCPP） modified with chitosan oligosaccharides（CSn）.Experimental data of infared（IR）,UV-Vis,MS,inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometer（ICP-AES） and size exclusion chromatography evidenced the formation of Mn-TCPP-CSn-The stability results show that Mn-TCPP-CSn in aqueous solution was stable enough to prevent Mn（Ⅱ） ions from leaking.The magnetic properties in vitro indicate that Mn-TCPP-CS20 possesses higher longitudinal relaxivity（r1=10.38 L·mmol^-1·s^-1） in aqueous solution than unmodified porphyrin Mn-TCPPNa4[manganese（Ⅱ） meso-tetra（4-carboxyphenyl） porphyrin,tetrasodium salt]（r1=5.10 L·mmol^-1·s^-1） and the commercial contrast agent Gd-DTPA（r1=4.05 L·mmol^-1·s^-1）.The preliminary T1-weighted flash image studies in vitro show that the contrast and the imaging signal of Mn-TCPP-CSn were superior to those of Mn-TCPPNa4 and Gd-DTPA under the same conditions.The 3-（4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl）-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide（MTT） assay shows that Mn-TCPP-CSn has a good biocompatibility.In addition,the thermodynamical parameters（ΔH〈0,ΔS〈0,ΔG〈0） of Mn-TCPP-CSn bound to bovine serum albumin（BSA） show that Mn-TCPP-CSn could bind to BSA spontaneously,where the binding complex was stabilized mainly by van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds.These results suggest that Mn-TCPP-CSn have the advantage of becoming a potential MRI contrast agent.