Magnetic resonance imaging clinics of North America
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Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am · Aug 2009
ReviewMR imaging in congenital and acquired disorders of the pediatric upper extremity.
Various congenital and acquired disorders can affect the upper extremity in pediatric and adolescent patients. MR imaging can provide unique anatomic and diagnostic information in the evaluation of many of these disorders, including inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic, and arthritic conditions. ⋯ MR imaging can be more challenging in diagnosis of some of these disorders. Features of overuse injuries in skeletally immature athletes are a unifying theme throughout the article.
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Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am · Aug 2009
ReviewThe foot and ankle: MR imaging of uniquely pediatric disorders.
MR imaging of the foot and ankle in children poses unique challenges, not only because of technical issues, but also because of the variations produced by age related changes. However, because of its excellent soft tissue contrast (especially helpful in delineating cartilage related abnormalities), MR imaging offers a distinct advantage over other imaging modalities. This article discusses MR imaging techniques for examining the pediatric foot and ankle, and reviews some common conditions encountered in a child's foot and ankle. This includes lesions such as osteochondritis dissecans; tarsal coalition; soft tissue and bony tumors of the foot and ankle; infection; and clubfoot.
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Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am · May 2009
ReviewDiffusion-weighted imaging, diffusion-tensor imaging, and fiber tractography of the spinal cord.
In the brain, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is an established and reliable method for the characterization of neurologic lesions. Although the diagnostic value of DWI in the early detection of ischemia has not diminished with time, many new clinical applications of DWI have also emerged. ⋯ Diffusion-tensor imaging and fiber tractography are proving to be useful in clinical neuroradiology practice, with application to several categories of disease, and to be a powerful research tool. This article describes some of the applications of DWI and diffusion-tensor imaging in the evaluation of the diseases of the spinal cord.
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Magn Reson Imaging Clin N Am · May 2009
ReviewDiffusion MR tractography as a tool for surgical planning.
Diffusion MR tractography has rapidly become an important clinical tool that can delineate functionally important white matter tracts for surgical planning. One of the goals of brain surgery is to avoid damage to eloquent cortex and subcortical white matter. ⋯ This article reviews the technical and clinical issues surrounding presurgical diffusion tractography, including traditional diffusion tensor imaging methods and more advanced high angular resolution diffusion imaging approaches, such as q-ball imaging. An overview of the presurgical diffusion tensor imaging and q-ball tractography protocols used at our institution is also provided.
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This article discusses the basic principles of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging (DCE-MR imaging) of the breast, including technical parameters, image acquisition, and image interpretation. Clinical DCE-MR imaging of the breast has undergone considerable growth from a once investigational technique to an important clinical tool in widespread use. Progress in MR technology and refinement of MR imaging parameters now allow for concurrent acquisition of high-spatial-resolution and adequate-temporal-resolution images, which are necessary for accurate assessment of breast lesion morphology and qualitative kinetic analysis. More advanced DCE-MR imaging techniques involving higher-temporal-resolution images and rigorous quantitative analysis of the time signal enhancement curves are currently an area of research.