Current Medical Imaging - Volume 2, Issue 3, 2006

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), contrast between different tissues depends on a number of parameters including transversal and longitudinal relaxation times (T1, T2), susceptibility, proton density and flow. Despite this multiparameter dependence, the usefulness of contrast agents has been recognized since MRI was first introduced. Contrast agents in MRI are chemicals which by virtue of their unpaired electr Read More

Assessment of ischemic heart disease is an important application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This noninvasive diagnostic technique has the potential to evaluate different aspects of ischemic heart disease such as myocardial function, perfusion and the extent of acute and chronic infarctions. MRI is becoming an alternative technique for assessment of myocardial viability by predicting systolic recovery of stunned a Read More

Adenosine myocardial perfusion imaging is a commonly used modality for the evaluation of patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease (CAD). In this review we discuss the pharmacology of adenosine and its effects on myocardial blood flow and the generation of perfusion defects during myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI), the indications and contraindications of MPI, stress protocols, side effects, hemodyn Read More

Breast cancer is a major health problem in women, worldwide. A combination of physical examination, mammography, ultrasound and fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) or core biopsy is currently the mainstay for preoperative diagnosis of breast lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been proposed as a useful complimentary modality to provide additional information. It has shown potential in the detection, diagno Read More

Breast cancer and melanoma metastasize predominantly via the lymphatic route. It has long been known that invasion into one or a few nodes draining the primary tumour, the sentinel nodes (SN), is the most important, early sign of dissemination. If no malignant cells are detected in the SN, dissemination is unlikely to be expected. For the last 10 years SN biopsy has become an important tool in staging cancers. Two kinds Read More

For some planar scintigraphic explorations, like thyroid or hip, the pinhole collimator is usually preferred to the usual parallel hole collimators because it allows a superior resolution. Progress in 3D tomography reconstruction methods allows single photon emission tomography (SPET) to be today performed using the pinhole collimator with again the advantage of a higher resolution. Pinhole collimator imposes a short distanc Read More

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most controversial endocrine disease, for its clinical and biochemical heterogeneity. Many authors focused on the possible role of genetic, environmental and hormonal factors in the development of the syndrome, but the etiopathogenesis still remains unclear. The diagnostic criteria for the definition of PCOS are as heterogeneous as the disease itself and underwent more than Read More

Fractional moving blood volume (FMBV) estimated using power Doppler ultrasound (PDU) is a sensitive technique to detect slow blood movement. However, several factors as; depth, attenuation and blood characteristics can affect the PDU signals. The aim of this study was to standardized and validate the FMBV measurement compensating for the factors that can affect the final results, in order to accurate estimate blood mov Read More

Gray-scale and color Doppler ultrasonography have limited accuracy in characterization of focal liver lesions because a significant overlapping exists between the echo pattern and vascularity of benign and malignant lesions. Several clinical studies have demonstrated that characterization of focal liver lesions that are indeterminate at conventional ultrasonography could be improved using microbubble contrast agents with Read More