A comprehensive analysis of the global and regional values of cortical thickness based on 3D magnetic resonance images was performed on 250 relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who participated in a multi-center, randomized, phase III clinical trial (the CombiRx Trial) and 125 normal controls. The MS cohort was characterized by relatively low clinical disability and short disease duration. An automatic pipeline was developed for identifying images with poor quality and artifacts. The global and regional cortical thicknesses were determined using FreeSurfer software. Our results indicate significant cortical thinning in multiple regions in the MS patient cohort relative to the controls. Both global cortical thinning and regional cortical thinning were more prominent in the left hemisphere relative to the right hemisphere. Modest correlation was observed between cortical thickness and clinical measures that included the extended disability status scale and disease duration. Modest correlation was also observed between cortical thickness and T1-hypointense and T2-hyperintense lesions. These correlations were very similar at 1.5 T and 3 T field strengths. A much weaker inverse correlation between cortical thickness and age was observed among the MS subjects compared to normal controls. This age-dependent correlation was also stronger in males than in females. The values of cortical thickness were very similar at 1.5 T and 3 T field strengths. However, the age-dependent changes in both global and regional cortical thicknesses were observed to be stronger at 3 T relative to 1.5 T.

Medical examiners and coroners (ME/C) in the United States hold statutory responsibility to identify deceased individuals who fall under their jurisdiction. The computer-assisted decedent identification (CADI) project was designed to modify software used in diagnosis and treatment of spinal injuries into a mathematically validated tool for ME/C identification of fleshed decedents. CADI software analyzes the shapes of targeted vertebral bodies imaged in an array of standard radiographs and quantifies the likelihood that any two of the radiographs contain matching vertebral bodies. Six validation tests measured the repeatability, reliability, and sensitivity of the method, and the effects of age, sex, and number of radiographs in array composition. CADI returned a 92-100% success rate in identifying the true matching pair of vertebrae within arrays of five to 30 radiographs. Further development of CADI is expected to produce a novel identification method for use in ME/C offices that is reliable, timely, and cost-effective.

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Introduction: Knee joint space narrowing (JSN) is a primary outcome measure in the progression of knee osteoarthritis and its treatment. JSN is most frequently determined from radiographs relying on the radiographic shadow of the anterior or posterior margins of the tibial plateau. Several studies address the confounding issues related to use of the anterior and posterior margins of the tibial plateau. An alternative strategy is to identify the mid-coronal plane of the tibial plateau and use that as a reference for measuring JSN. Methods: Radiographs with precisely defined changes in joint space width (JSW) were created from CT imaging of cadaver knees. The mid-coronal plane of the knee was used to measure JSW and calculate JSN. Radiographs and data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative study were used to assess reproducibility and compare mid-coronal plane measurements of JSN to previously reported methods. Results:The average absolute error in the measured versus known medial JSN was below 0.2 mm. The reproducibility was similar to previously published methods. There was a strong correlation between the mid-coronal plane measurements of JSN and JSN calculated using previously reported methods. There were several discrepancies between the two methods, suggesting that JSN for individual cases may depend on the method used to measure JSN. Discussion: This study describes an alternative to using the margins of the tibial plateau when calculating JSN. JSN measurements based on the mid-coronal plane of the knee, where cartilage changes are more likely to occur, may have advantages.