Skeletal radiology
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To evaluate gluteus medius and minimus tendon pathology and muscle atrophy in older individuals using MRI. ⋯ Gluteus medius and minimus tendon pathology and muscle atrophy increase with advancing age with progression of tendinosis to low-grade tendon tears to high-grade tendon tears. There is an associated progression in atrophy of these muscles, which may be important in fall-related hip fractures.
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The scapholunate joint is one of the most involved in wrist injuries. Its stability depends on primary and secondary stabilisers forming together the scapholunate complex. This ligamentous complex is often evaluated by wrist arthroscopy. ⋯ Sprains, mid-substance tears, avulsions and fibrous infiltrations of carpal ligaments could be identified on CTA and MRA images using 3D fat-saturated PD and 3D DESS (dual echo with steady-state precession) sequences with 0.5-mm-thick slices. Imaging signs of scapholunate complex pathology include: discontinuity, nonvisualization, changes in signal intensity, contrast extravasation (MRA), contour irregularity and waviness and periligamentous infiltration by edema, granulation tissue or fibrosis. Based on this preliminary experience, we believe that 3 T MRA using 3D sequences with 0.5-mm-thick slices and multiplanar reconstructions is capable to evaluate the scapholunate complex and could help to reduce the number of diagnostic arthroscopies.
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To evaluate the feasibility of non-invasive diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) of the knee of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and, further, to analyze the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) levels to distinguish synovium from effusion. ⋯ In this pilot study, on a patient-friendly 1.0-T open-bore MRI, we demonstrated that DWI may potentially be a feasible non-invasive imaging technique in children with JIA. We could differentiate synovium from effusion in seven out of eight patients based on the ADC of synovium and effusion. However, to select synovium and effusion on DWI, post-contrast images were still a necessity.