Real‐time RF pulse adjustment for B0 drift correction

Although the magnetic field of an MR scanner is very stable under little or no load, it can become less stable under heavy‐duty cycle conditions, such as in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Uncorrected, such field drifts lead to an apparent image shift along the phase‐encoding direction and decreasing effectiveness of fat saturation pulses. A method is presented to adjust the center frequency of all RF pulses and the receiver in real time during the acquisition. No data postprocessing or changes to the sequence timing are necessary. In vivo acquisitions were performed to assess the prolonged effectiveness of fat saturation. Field drifts of approximately 2.5 Hz/min were measured and corrected during DTI acquisitions at b‐values of up to 3000 s/mm². The effectiveness of fat saturation diminished over the duration of an 18‐min acquisition when the drift was left uncorrected. The proposed method corrects for apparent image shift and ensures continuously effective fat saturation over the duration of an acquisition. Magn Reson Med, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Optimization of localized 19F magnetic resonance spectroscopy for the detection of fluorinated drugs in the human liver.

Fluorine MR spectroscopy ((19)F MRS) is an indispensable tool for assessing the pharmacokinetics of fluorinated drugs. Since the metabolism of 5-fluorouracil (5FU), a frequently used cytotoxic drug, is expected to be different in normal liver and in tumor tissue, spatial localization is required for detection by MRS. In this study, three independent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) optimizations were combined to enable chemical shift imaging (CSI) as a localization method in the detection of 5FU and its metabolites in tumor tissue. First, the hardware was optimized by using circularly polarized coils together with integrated preamplifiers. Second, the optimal pulse angle (Ernst angle) was determined on the basis of T(1) relaxation time measurements of 5FU. Finally, averaging of CSI phase-encoding steps was optimized by using the applied Hamming filter as a weighting function. The combination of these three methods enables the in vivo detection of 5FU and alpha-fluoro-beta-alanine (FBAL) by (19)F MRS, localized in three dimensions in tumor and liver tissue at a time resolution of 4 min at 1.5 Tesla.     

Steady state of gradient echo sequences with radiofrequency phase cycling: Analytical solution,contrast enhancement with partial spoiling

Spoiled gradient echo sequences can only reach a homogeneous steady state if sufficiently strong crusher gradients are used in combination with RF phase cycling (RF spoiling). However, the signal depends quite sensitively on the chosen phase increment ? and—lacking analytical solutions—numerical simulations must be used to study the transient and steady‐state magnetization. For the steady state an exact analytical solution is derived, which holds for arbitrary sequence and tissue parameters. Besides a considerably improved computation performance, the analytical approach enables a better understanding of the complicated dependence on ?. For short repetition times (TR) the regime of small ? turns out to be particularly interesting: It is shown that the typical ?_c, where RF spoiling starts to become effective, is essentially inversely proportional to T₂. This tissue dependence implies that contrasts can be considerably larger with partial spoiling (? ≈ ?_c) than with conventional RF spoiling (? ? ?_c). As an example, the uptake of contrast agents in tissues is investigated. For typical parameters a considerably improved contrast enhancement can be obtained, both theoretically and experimentally. Magn Reson Med, 2006. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Counter Intuitive Relations Between in vivo RF Lesion Size, Power, and Tip Temperature

Background: Radiofrequency (RF) lesion size in vitro is positively correlated with applied power and catheter tip temperature. However, the relation between RF lesion size, power, and tip temperature in vivo remains unclear. We hypothesized that due to flow, anatomy and tip contact effects in vivo, increased tip temperature would be inversely related to applied power and RF lesion size. Methods: RF lesions were created on the endocardium of 16 pigs using 5, 6, and 7 Fr catheters. The ablation generator was set to achieve a temperature of 70°C. RF lesions were created in different regions of the heart so as to encompass a wide range of blood flow and catheter movement conditions. RF lesions were measured acutely (DIMEN, mm) and correlated with average power applied (POWER, W), and average tip temperature (TEMP, °C). The POWER and TEMP relation was also examined. Results: For TEMPs below 55°C, the power output from the generator was typically maximized at 50 W. At TEMPs above 55°C, POWER decreased exponentially with increasing TEMP {POWER = 50 – exp(-((41-TEMP)/7)), r = 0.98, p < 0.05}. Further, DIMEN tended to be inversely related to TEMP (Slope: –0.07 ± 0.04, r = –0.15, p = 0.07); but, was positively related to POWER (Slope: 0.04 ± 0.02, r = 0.23, p < 0.05). These relations varied by tip size and estimated local blood flow characteristics. Conclusion: In vivo, variable tissue contact and flow yield DIMEN-POWER-TEMP relations opposite to those found in vitro. These counterintuitive results suggest that maximum in vivo RF lesion size is achieved when power is maximized at tip temperatures between 50 and 60°C.     

Eight-channel transmit/receive body MRI coil at 3T.

Multichannel transmit magnetic resonance imaging (MR) systems have the potential to compensate for signal-intensity variations occurring at higher field strengths due to wave propagation effects in tissue. Methods such as RF shimming and local excitation in combination with parallel transmission can be applied to compensate for these effects. Moreover, parallel transmission can be applied to ease the excitation of arbitrarily shaped magnetization patterns. The implementation of these methods adds new requirements in terms of MRI hardware. This article describes the design of a decoupled eight-element transmit/receive body coil for 3T. The setup of the coil is explained, starting with standard single-channel resonators. Special focus is placed on the decoupling of the elements to obtain independent RF resonators. After a brief discussion of the underlying theory, the properties and limitations of the coil are outlined. Finally, the functionality and capabilities of the coil are demonstrated using RF measurements as well as MRI sequences.     

Nonlinear excitation profiles for three-dimensional inflow MR angiography

An RF excitation pulse for three-dimensional (3D) time-of-flight (TOP) MR angiography (MRA) with a nonlinear excitation profile was numerically calculated under the condition of uniform vessel signal across the excitation volume (slab), and the superiority of the optform pulse as compared with conventional RF pulses and TONE pulses was demonstrated. For this purpose we acquired MRA of the lower leg and of the carotid and vertebral arteries in a 30-year-old healthy volunteer. Although the flow velocity ranges in these two anatomic locations are different by about a factor of 10, in both cases the corresponding optform pulse provided the best signal homogeneity at the highest level.     

椎弓根钉内固定治疗胸腰椎骨折

目的：探讨脊柱胸腰段骨折椎弓根钉内固定治疗效果。方法：临床收治脊柱胸腰段骨折72例，均采用后路减压，Dick或RF系统钉内固定手术治疗。比较手术前后骨折复位及神经功能恢复情况。结果：术后椎体高度完全或基本恢复占95．8％，神经功能有Frankel一级以上改善，不完全截瘫占90％，完全截瘫占53．1％。随访3—38个月，无螺钉折断、后退及脊柱矫正度丢失。结论：开放复位后路椎弓根钉内固定是治疗胸腰椎骨折的有效方法。     

关节镜下射频汽化结合髌骨周围钻孔减压治疗髌骨软骨病

目的: 研究射频汽化结合髌骨钻孔减压在治疗髌骨软骨病变中的临床效果。方法: 利用ArthroCare2000射频汽化仪对 56例髌骨软骨病变患者行损伤的软骨面修整, 髌骨周缘滑膜清理; 直径 2~2. 5mm克氏针, 自髌骨两侧缘向髌骨内钻孔减压。9例同时行外侧支持带松解。结果: 随访 6个月~2年 10个月, 平均 1年 7个月。术后患者疼痛症状明显缓解。Lysholm评分由术前平均 56分提高到术后平均 91分。结论: 射频汽化仪治疗精确, 最大限度地保留了未受损伤的软骨组织; 联合髌骨钻孔减压治疗髌骨软骨病变效果良好, 术后康复快。     

二氧化碳血液净化仪实验研究

目的探讨气体传输型二氧化碳血液净化仪在呼吸衰竭(RF)治疗中实施体外膜肺氧合(ECMO)部分循环支持的实验研究。方法建立实验犬的RF模型,用BaxterEF-550血管路连接二氧化碳血液净化仪,股静脉置入双腔单针导管行V-V转流,转流过程中维持血流量200mL/min,氧入通入量4L/min~6L/min,转流开始10min后,分别采集动脉血及膜式人工肺出入端血标本,以后每转流60min分别采集血标本进行血气分析。结果人工肺出入端PCO2可由50.93mmHg±1.62mmHg~63.27mmHg±0.46mmHg下降为1.27mmHg±0.05mmHg~14.07mmHg±1.86mmHg,PO2上升值为371.6mmHg±42.67mmHg~614.6mmHg±50.35mmHg,人工肺出入端PCO2、TCO2、PO2、SO2、O2-C变化均有显著性差异(P<0.01)。转流60min,实验犬体动脉血PaO2从39.6mmHg,升高为56.7mmHg±2.36mmHg,PCO2由52.8mmHg下降为50.4mmHg±0.53mmHg。结论二氧化碳血液净化仪有良好的二氧化碳血液净化和氧传输双重性能;二氧化碳血液净化仪的气体传输性能,在0.2L/min流量时,可以使活体实验动物血气发生改变———氧摄入和二氧化碳排出增多,从而简化了ECMO技术并实现呼吸支持的作用,为呼吸衰竭的救治提供一项新的技术和途径。     

Evidence for the involvement of HLA-DR antigens in restricted cytotoxicity by fetal calf serum-specific human T cells

Fetal calf serum (FCS) generated at least two distinct populations of human cytotoxic cells in vitro. One population expressed natural killer (NK) cell-like activity and lysed K562 and HSB-2 targets more effectively than autologous or allogeneic lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). The other population contained FCS-specific cytotoxic T cells which preferentially lysed the autologous LCLs and showed minimal lysis of K562. E-rosette separation and cold target competition experiments clearly established that NK cells were not involved in the self-reactive lysis. Moreover, the lytic activity of the E-rosetted T cells was reduced by up to 95% when autologous target cells were grown in human AB serum rather than FCS, showing that FCS-associated determinants on targets were essential in the cytolytic phase. Autologous LCLs grown in FCS were also considerably stronger competitors than human serum-grown LCLs. The consistent self-preferred lysis suggested that HLA antigen-related restriction was involved, but the patterns of lysis did not implicate HLA-A or B antigens, and monoclonal antibody (W6/32) to an A, B, and C monomorphic determinant failed to block FCS-specific lysis. In contrast, monoclonal antibody (DA.2) to a monomorphic determinant of DR effectively blocked FCS-specific lysis. Cytotoxicity tests with a small panel of DR-typed donors indicated that strong cross-reactions were invariably associated with sharing of DR antigens, particularly DR2, and to a lesser but significant extent DR7. Although DR antigen sharing did not always result in lysis of allogeneic targets, the overall evidence strongly suggests that FCS-specific T-cell cytotoxicity in humans is restricted by products encoded by or associated with the DR genes.