AJR. American journal of roentgenology
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Oct 2003
Comparative StudyPrediction of clinical response after renal angioplasty: respective value of renal Doppler sonography and scintigraphy.
The goal of our study was to compare Doppler sonography and renal scintigraphy as tools for predicting the therapeutic response in patients after undergoing renal angioplasty. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Seventy-four hypertensive patients underwent clinical examination, Doppler sonography, and renal scintigraphy before and after receiving captopril in preparation for renal revascularization. The patients were evaluated for the status of hypertension 3 months after the procedure. The predictive values of the findings of clinical examination, Doppler sonography, renal scintigraphy, and angiography were assessed. ⋯ Measurements of kidney length and unilateral and bilateral resistive indexes before and after captopril administration were useful in predicting the outcome after renal angioplasty. Renal scintigraphy had no significant predictive value.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Oct 2003
Usefulness of the simultaneous acquisition of spatial harmonics technique during MRI of the shoulder.
The simultaneous acquisition of spatial harmonics (SMASH) technique is a parallel imaging technique that uses fewer echoes than conventional techniques to obtain the desired resolution. Production of images occurs more quickly with parallel imaging than with conventional imaging. This study assesses the usefulness of the SMASH technique for MRI of the shoulder. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Five experienced musculoskeletal radiologists prospectively interpreted MRIs of the shoulder in 50 consecutive patients. All patients underwent a complete MRI examination of the shoulder on a 1.5-T commercially available scanner. Axial fat-saturated proton density-weighted, coronal T1-weighted, and coronal and sagittal fat-saturated T2-weighted sequences were performed. Patients also underwent SMASH T2-weighted imaging in the coronal and sagittal planes. Coronal and sagittal SMASH T2-weighted imaging took approximately 50% as long to complete compared with conventional T2-weighted imaging. Each radiologist interpreted MRIs of the shoulder without knowing whether the images were obtained using the SMASH or the fat-saturated T2-weighted technique. Twenty-eight of the 50 patients also underwent subsequent arthroscopy, and the results were compared with MRI interpretations based on SMASH and fat-saturated T2-weighted images. ⋯ SMASH imaging allows significant time savings compared with fat-saturated T2-weighted MRI. We found that the use of the SMASH technique did not affect the MRI interpretation or the clinical outcome of patients.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Oct 2003
Comparative StudyDose reduction in patients undergoing chest imaging: digital amorphous silicon flat-panel detector radiography versus conventional film-screen radiography and phosphor-based computed radiography.
We sought to compare the radiation dose delivered to patients undergoing clinical chest imaging on a full-field digital amorphous silicon flat-panel detector radiography system with the doses delivered by a state-of-the-art conventional film-screen radiography system and a storage phosphor-based computed radiography system. Image quality was evaluated to ensure that the potential reduction in radiation dose did not result in decreased image acuity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Three groups of 100 patients each were examined using the amorphous silicon flat-panel detector, film-screen, or computed radiography systems. All patient groups were matched for body mass index, sex, and age. To measure the entrance skin dose, we attached 24 calibrated thermoluminescent dosimeters to every patient. The calculation of the effective dose, which represents the risk of late radiation-induced effects, was based on measurements on an anthropomorphic phantom. Image quality of all three systems was evaluated by five experienced radiologists, using the European Quality Criteria for Chest Radiology. In addition, a contrast-detail phantom study was set up to assess the low-contrast detection of all three systems. ⋯ The introduction of digital flat-panel radiography systems based on amorphous silicon and cesium iodide is an important step forward in chest imaging that offers improved image quality combined with a significant reduction in the patient radiation dose.
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AJR Am J Roentgenol · Oct 2003
Radicular pain avoidance during needle placement in lumbar diskography.
The objective of our study was to determine whether a method could be found to reduce iatrogenic radicular pain during needle placement in lumbar diskography. ⋯ Iatrogenic lower extremity radicular pain is common during random needle placement at lumbar diskography. High or low needle placement in the intervertebral disk could not predict whether radicular pain would be averted. We identified a safe window that can be used for needle placement during lumbar diskography to minimize iatrogenic lower extremity radicular pain and thereby improve the reliability of the test.