Academic radiology
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Segmentation of the left ventricle (LV) is very important in the assessment of cardiac functional parameters. The aim of this study is to develop a novel and robust algorithm which can improve the accuracy of automatic LV segmentation on short-axis cardiac magnetic resonance images (MRI). ⋯ An automatic method using topological stable-state thresholding and region restricted dynamic programming has been proposed to segment left ventricle in short-axis cardiac MRI. Evaluation results indicate that the proposed segmentation method can improve the accuracy and robust of left ventricle segmentation. The proposed segmentation approach shows the better performance and has great potential in improving the accuracy of computer-aided diagnosis systems in cardiovascular diseases.
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Research suggests that the semiquantitative determination of nodal (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake on positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) may be useful for the assessment of mediastinal metastases in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic ability of using different standardized uptake value (SUV) parameters in the detection of ipsilateral mediastinal (N2) disease. ⋯ Compared to node SUV alone, the use of node/aorta and node/liver SUV ratios resulted in improved detection of N2 metastases. The two SUV parameters may potentially improve the diagnostic accuracy of (18)F-FDG PET/CT for the diagnosis of N2 disease in patients with non-small-cell lung carcinoma.
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The aim of this study was to assess the intrasubject and intersubject reproducibility of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) language paradigms on language localization and lateralization. ⋯ Covert language paradigms (SG and WG) provided highly robust and reproducible localization and lateralization of essential language centers for scans performed on the same and different days. Their overt counterparts achieved confirmatory localization but lower lateralization capabilities. Reference data for presurgical application are provided.
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Comparative Study
Automated diffusion tensor tractography: implementation and comparison to user-driven tractography.
Diffusion tensor tractography offers a unique perspective of white matter anatomy, but proper delineation of white matter tracts of interest generally requires the active involvement of an expert neuroanatomist. The investigators describe the implementation of an automated tractographic method requiring no user input and compare its results to those from user-driven tractography. ⋯ Automated tractography can be used to depict white matter anatomy without need for user intervention, particularly if the main body of the tract is of greatest interest.