Objective: To investigate the feasibility of using deep learning image reconstruction (DLIR) to significantly reduce radiation dose and improve image quality in contrast-enhanced abdominal CT. Methods: This was a prospective study. 40 patients with hepatic lesions underwent abdominal CT using routine dose (120kV, noise index (NI) setting of 11 with automatic tube current modulation) in the arterial-phase (AP) and portal-phase (PP), and low dose (NI = 24) in the delayed-phase (DP). All images were reconstructed at 1.25 mm thickness using ASIR-V at 50% strength. In addition, images in DP were reconstructed using DLIR in high setting (DLIR-H). The CT value and standard deviation (SD) of hepatic parenchyma, spleen, paraspinal muscle and lesion were measured. The overall image quality include subjective noise, sharpness, artifacts and diagnostic confidence were assessed by two radiologists blindly using a 5-point scale (1, unacceptable and 5, excellent). Dose between AP and DP was compared, and image quality among different reconstructions were compared using SPSS20.0. Results: Compared to AP, DP significantly reduced radiation dose by 76% (0.76 ± 0.09 mSv vs 3.18 ± 0.48 mSv), DLIR-H DP images had lower image noise (14.08 ± 2.89 HU vs 16.67 ± 3.74 HU, p < 0.001) but similar overall image quality score as the ASIR-V50% AP images (3.88 ± 0.34 vs 4.05 ± 0.44, p > 0.05). For the DP images, DLIR-H significantly reduced image noise in hepatic parenchyma, spleen, muscle and lesion to (14.77 ± 2.61 HU, 14.26 ± 2.67 HU, 14.08 ± 2.89 HU and 16.25 ± 4.42 HU) from (24.95 ± 4.32 HU, 25.42 ± 4.99 HU, 23.99 ± 5.26 HU and 27.01 ± 7.11) with ASIR-V50%, respectively (all p < 0.001) and improved image quality score (3.88 ± 0.34 vs 2.87 ± 0.53; p < 0.05). Conclusion: DLIR-H significantly reduces image noise and generates images with clinically acceptable quality and diagnostic confidence with 76% dose reduction. Advances in knowledge: (1) DLIR-H yielded a significantly lower image noise, higher CNR and higher overall image quality score and diagnostic confidence than the ASIR-V50% under low signal conditions. (2) Our study demonstrated that at 76% lower radiation dose, the DLIR-H DP images had similar overall image quality to the routine-dose ASIR-V50% AP images.
Purpose To determine whether a single 51-minute exposure to acoustic noise during 3-T multisequence magnetic resonance (MR) neuroimaging could affect the hearing threshold of healthy adults with earplugs and sponge mats as hearing protection. Materials and Methods With earplugs and motion-refraining sponge mats as hearing protection, 26 healthy young adults underwent 3-T MR neuroimaging imaging that included T1-weighted three-dimensional gradient-echo sequence, T2-weighted fast spin-echo sequence, diffusion-tensor imaging, diffusion-kurtosis imaging, T2*-weighted three-dimensional multiecho gradient-echo sequence, and blood oxygen level-dependent imaging. Automated auditory brainstem response (ABR) was used to measure the hearing thresholds within 24 hours before, within 20 minutes after, and 25 days after the MR examination. One-way repeated-measure analysis of variance with Bonferroni adjustment was used to compare automated ABR results among the three tests and partial η (η) was reported as a measure of effect size. Results Automated ABR results showed significantly increased mean threshold shift of 5.0 dB ± 8.1 (standard deviation) (left ear: 4.8 dB ± 9.2 [95% confidence interval: 1.09, 8.53], η = 0.221, P = .013; right ear: 5.2 dB ± 6.9 [95% confidence interval: 2.36, 8.02], η = 0.364, P = .001) immediately after the MR examination compared with the baseline study. This shift is below the temporary threshold shift of 40-50 dB that is associated with cochlea nerve changes. Automated ABR obtained at day 25 after MR imaging showed no significant differences from baseline (left ear: -2.3 dB ± 8.6 [95% confidence interval: -5.79, 1.78], η = 0.069, P = .185; right ear: 0.4 dB ± 7.3 [95% confidence interval: -3.35, 2.58], η = 0.003, P = .791). Conclusion A 3-T MR neuroimaging examination with the acoustic noise at equivalent sound pressure level of 103.5-111.3 dBA lasting 51 minutes can cause temporary hearing threshold shift in healthy volunteers with hearing protection. RSNA, 2017.
Both ASiR and ASiR-V improved the objective and subjective image quality for routine liver CT compared with FBP. ASiR-V provided further image quality improvement with higher acceptable percentage than ASiR, and ASiR-V60% had the highest image quality score. Advances in knowledge: (1) Both ASiR and ASiR-V significantly reduce image noise compared with conventional FBP reconstruction. (2) ASiR-V with 60 blending percentage provides the highest image quality score in routine liver CT.
In 2008, a 41-year-old woman who had undergone 2 cesarean deliveries presented at Daping Hospital, Chongqing, China, with a painful mass in her abdominal wall.A year before presentation, the woman underwent simultaneous panhysterectomy without bilateral adnexectomy and excision of an endometriotic lesion from the abdominal wall. Her pathology report indicated endometriosis in the subcutaneous tissue of the abdomen, fibromyoma uteri, and adenomyosis. Four months before the current presentation, a mass similar to the excised lesion developed in her abdominal wall, and she often experienced gas pain. The mass gradually grew and was diagnosed as a recurrent endometriotic lesion. She underwent gestrinone treatment-under the supervision of a physician-for 1 month; however, the mass continued to grow.Physical examination on hospitalization revealed a 90-mm mass in the scar in her hypogastrium. The mass had a clear boundary, slightly soft quality, no accompanying tenderness, and appeared partially violet in color. Gynecologic examination revealed no positive physical sign. Her height, weight, and body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) were 160 cm, 60 kg, and 23.4, respectively. Investigation via 64-slice computed tomography revealed a mass measuring 44.5 × 63.3 × 53.2 mm in the left lower abdominal wall; the mass was located between the muscle and the adipose layer (Fig. 1). The boundary between the mass and the surrounding tissue was not sufficiently clear. A suprapubic abdominal ultrasound scan showed no positive sign. The level of serum cancer antigen (CA)-125 was 6.3 U/mL.The woman subsequently underwent resection of the mass, which was approximately 100 mm in size and located in the subcutaneous tissue of the abdomen; the boundary between the mass and the normal tissue was obscure. Part of the mass consisted of several capsule-like structures containing a coffee-colored and chocolate-like fluid, and the rest was solid tissue similar to endometrium. The whole mass was resected. Owing to the patient's history of 3 surgeries in the pelvic cavity and a lack of data indicating any changes in her adnexa, pelvic operation was not performed.Light microscope examination of the solid tumor revealed a few glandular arrangements of globular or polygonal cells containing numerous vacuoles in the cytoplasm and hyperchromatic nuclei Fig. 1. Computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen showing a spherical, partly lobulated tumor in the abdominal wall of the hypogastrium. A. Transverse plane. B. Sagittal plane. A 64-slice CT (LightSpeed 64-slice VCT; General Electric, Fairfield, CT, USA) of the entire abdomen was performed at 120 kV and 80 mA (pitch, 0.625; reconstruction thickness, 8 mm; total scan time, 10.7 seconds). 202BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS
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