Correlation of the CT values of abdominal aorta,renal artery and renal cortex with its thickness on 64-MDCT contrast enhanced imagesCorrelation of the CT values of abdominal aorta,renal artery and renal cortex with its thickness on 64-MDCT contrast enhance

Objective:To investigate the correlation of abdominal aorta CT value,renal artery CT value and renal cortex thickness with renal cortex CT value on contrast enhanced 64-slice CT images.Methods:96patients(50 men and 46women;16~74years)with normal kidney function,which was confirmed by kidney function test were enrolled in this study,including bilateral kidneys of 92cases and unilateral kidney of 4cases(total of 188kidneys;92left,96right).After intravenous(IV)injection of contrast agent the kidneys of the selected patients were scanned by MDCT.The scans were performed in arterial,venous and 3min delayed phases.All statistical analyses were performed by using IBM SPSS 20.0.Graphs were generated using Graph Pad Prism 5software.Quantitative data were presented as mean±standard deviation,while qualitative data were presented as frequency(%).P<0.05was considered to be statistically significant.Results:The mean renal cortex thickness was(5.19±0.81)mm in all kidneys.In the arterial phase,a statistically significant positive correlation between renal cortex CT values and abdominal aortic CT values was showed(r=0.584;P<0.001).A statistically significant positive correlation between renal cortex CT values and renal cortex thickness was demonstrated(r=0.533,P<0.0001).Likewise,there was a positive correlation between renal cortex CT value and renal artery CT values(r=0.43,P<0.001).Conclusion:It is a promising approach to assess the individual kidney function by measuring abdominal aorta CT value,renal artery CT value,renal cortex CT value and renal cortex thickness using contrast MDCT.

Nanoparticulate X-ray CT contrast agents

X-ray computed tomography(CT) has been widely used as a powerful diagnostic tool in clinics because it can provide high-resolution 3D tomography of the anatomic structure based on the distinctive X-ray absorptions between different tissues. Currently, CT contrast agents are mainly small iodinated molecules, which suffer from drawbacks such as short blood- retention time, nonspecific in vivo biodistribution, and renal toxicity. Utilization of nanoparticles as potential CT contrast agents to overcome the aforementioned issues has advanced rapidly. In this mini review, we introduce current research efforts in the development of nanoparticulate CT contrast agents and discuss the challenges for additional breakthroughs in this field.

Nanoparticles:Untying the Gordian Knot in Conventional Computed Tomography Imaging

X-ray computed tomography(CT)imaging plays an essential role in disease diagnosis due to its noninvasive,painless mode and superior penetration depth.However,the resolution of the soft tissue and minor lesions remains limited.And the disadvantages of conventional contrast agents,such as their inefficient targeting capability,poor biocompatibility,and short circulation times,are considered intractable in clinical use.To overcome these“Gordian knots,”nanoparticles(NPs)for CT imaging have been developed.The advantages of NPs are their exceptionally high sensitivity to X-ray,better imaging performance in vivos and even therapeutic effects.In particular,based on various designs,NP contrast agents composed of different materials integrate multiple imaging modalities,make up for the inadequacy of a single imaging type,and thus provide more accurate information for diagnosis.This review focuses on NPs for X-ray CT imaging and their multifunctional designs.Some perspectives of crucial problems and prospective challenges are also discussed.