Shells of the bivalve Astarte moerchi give new evidence of a strong pelagic-benthic coupling shift occurring since the late 1970s in the North Water polynya

Climate changes in the Arctic may weaken the currently tight pelagic-benthic coupling. In response to decreasing sea ice cover, arctic marine systems are expected to shift from a 'sea-ice algae-benthos' to a 'phytoplankton-zooplankton' dominance. We used mollusc shells as bioarchives and fatty acid trophic markers to estimate the effects of the reduction of sea ice cover on the food exported to the seafloor. Bathyal bivalve Astarte moerchi living at 600 m depth in northern Baffin Bay reveals a clear shift in growth variations and Ba/Ca ratios since the late 1970s, which we relate to a change in food availability. Tissue fatty acid compositions show that this species feeds mainly on microalgae exported from the euphotic zone to the seabed. We, therefore, suggest that changes in pelagic-benthic coupling are likely due either to local changes in sea ice dynamics, mediated through bottom-up regulation exerted by sea ice on phytoplankton production, or to a mismatch between phytoplankton bloom and zooplankton grazing due to phenological change. Both possibilities allow a more regular and increased transfer of food to the seabed. This article is part of the theme issue 'The changing Arctic Ocean: consequences for biological communities, biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning'.

The transition module: a method for preventing overfitting in convolutional neural networks

Digital pathology has advanced substantially over the last decade with the adoption of slide scanners in pathology labs. The use of digital slides to analyse diseases at the microscopic level is both cost-effective and efficient. Identifying complex tumour patterns in digital slides is a challenging problem but holds significant importance for tumour burden assessment, grading and many other pathological assessments in cancer research. The use of convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to analyse such complex images has been well adopted in digital pathology. However, in recent years, the architecture of CNNs has altered with the introduction of inception modules which have shown great promise for classification tasks. In this paper, we propose a modified 'transition' module which encourages generalisation in a deep learning framework with few training samples. In the transition module, filters of varying sizes are used to encourage class-specific filters at multiple spatial resolutions followed by global average pooling. We demonstrate the performance of the transition module in AlexNet and ZFNet, for classifying breast tumours in two independent data-sets of scanned histology sections; the inclusion of the transition module in these CNNs improved performance.

Abstract P3-02-06: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) surveillance for patients with dense breasts and a previous breast cancer (BC) and/or high risk lesion

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The benefits of breast MRI for screening women at high risk of developing BC is established, but its role in women with a personal history of BC or dense breasts is unknown. We sought to estimate the performance of annual surveillance MRI added to mammography in women at moderately increased BC risk due to a personal history of breast cancer and/or a high-risk breast lesion and dense breasts.

METHOD AND MATERIALS

We performed a retrospective chart review of the clinical, radiological, and pathological parameters of women who received annual, concurrent surveillance breast MRI and mammography between 04/2013 and 12/2015. We included women who met all of the following criteria: age<69; prior diagnosis of high-risk lesion (ADH, ALH, LCIS), DCIS, or invasive BC; heterogeneously (50-75%) or extremely dense (>75%) breasts; and did not qualify for our provincial MRI screening program for high risk women (calculated lifetime BC risk ≥ 25%). Results of each scan were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Chi squared for comparisons between subgroups.

RESULTS

A total of 199 patients (267 MRI exams) were included in this study. The mean age at initial diagnosis was 45 years and at subsequent diagnosis of DCIS or invasive cancer was 53 years. Mean time to new diagnosis was 86 months (range 14-202). All 15 cancers diagnosed during the study period were MRI detected: 11 invasive stage I (66% IDC, 7% ILC) and 4 DCIS (27%). Of these 15, all but 1 were mammographically occult. Five (33%) were found in the breast ipsilateral to the original lesion. The cancer detection rate was 6% (12/199) on the first screening round and 4.7% (3/64) on the second screening round. Specificity and positive predictive value respectively for MRI exams increased from 77% and 22% on the first screening round to 88% and 30% on the second round. Of women who developed BC, 57% had a history of breast or ovarian cancer in a first degree relative. None of the 72 women who were on hormonal therapy at the time of surveillance imaging had a new cancer detected compared to 11% (14/125) of those who were not on hormonal therapy (p=0.0025).

CONCLUSIONS

The incremental early-stage BC detection rate and specificity of MRI in this population are comparable to what is observed in screening women at high risk. The addition of annual MRI to mammography should be considered for surveillance of women with a personal history of BC / premalignant lesion and heterogeneous / extremely dense breasts, particularly if they have a family history of BC and are not on hormonal therapy.

Citation Format: Nadler M, Al Attar H, Curpen B, Martel AL, Balasingham S, Zhang L, Eisen A, Warner E. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) surveillance for patients with dense breasts and a previous breast cancer (BC) and/or high risk lesion [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P3-02-06.

Patterns of DNA barcode variation in Canadian marine molluscs

BACKGROUND

Molluscs are the most diverse marine phylum and this high diversity has resulted in considerable taxonomic problems. Because the number of species in Canadian oceans remains uncertain, there is a need to incorporate molecular methods into species identifications. A 648 base pair segment of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene has proven useful for the identification and discovery of species in many animal lineages. While the utility of DNA barcoding in molluscs has been demonstrated in other studies, this is the first effort to construct a DNA barcode registry for marine molluscs across such a large geographic area.

METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

This study examines patterns of DNA barcode variation in 227 species of Canadian marine molluscs. Intraspecific sequence divergences ranged from 0-26.4% and a barcode gap existed for most taxa. Eleven cases of relatively deep (>2%) intraspecific divergence were detected, suggesting the possible presence of overlooked species. Structural variation was detected in COI with indels found in 37 species, mostly bivalves. Some indels were present in divergent lineages, primarily in the region of the first external loop, suggesting certain areas are hotspots for change. Lastly, mean GC content varied substantially among orders (24.5%-46.5%), and showed a significant positive correlation with nearest neighbour distances.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE

DNA barcoding is an effective tool for the identification of Canadian marine molluscs and for revealing possible cases of overlooked species. Some species with deep intraspecific divergence showed a biogeographic partition between lineages on the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific coasts, suggesting the role of Pleistocene glaciations in the subdivision of their populations. Indels were prevalent in the barcode region of the COI gene in bivalves and gastropods. This study highlights the efficacy of DNA barcoding for providing insights into sequence variation across a broad taxonomic group on a large geographic scale.

Hepatic perfusion imaging using factor analysis of contrast enhanced ultrasound

Contrast enhanced ultrasound imaging provides a real-time tool for evaluating vasculature in the liver. Primary liver cancer is known to be perfused exclusively by blood from the hepatic artery, whereas normal liver is also supplied by the portal vein. Visual separation of two different phases of enhancement from the independent feeding vessels is important for diagnosis but remains a challenge. This paper presents a method of using factor analysis for extracting distinct time-intensity curves. A key component to this extraction is the clustering of measured bolus curves and their projection onto a positivity domain to obtain nonnegative curves. This technique provides complementary images representing spatial loadings on each curve. As little as 1% of the data is required to contain unmixed signals to extract time-intensity curves that correlate well with true curves. A method of combining this information to display a regional hepatic perfusion image is proposed, and results are tested on a set of 10 patients. Region of interest analysis suggests it is possible to detect changes in the hepatic perfusion index of liver lesions relative to normal liver parenchyma using contrast ultrasound.

Removing undersampling artifacts in DCE-MRI studies using independent components analysis

In breast MRI mammography both high temporal resolution and high spatial resolution have been shown to be important in improving specificity. Adaptive methods such as projection reconstruction time-resolved imaging of contrast kinetics (PR-TRICKS) allow images to be reconstructed at various temporal and spatial resolutions from the same data set. The main disadvantage is that the undersampling, which is necessary to produce high temporal resolution images, leads to the presence of streak artifacts in the images. We present a novel method of removing these artifacts using independent components analysis (ICA) and demonstrate that this results in a significant improvement in image quality for both simulation studies and for patient dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI images. We also investigate the effect of artifacts on two quantitative measures of contrast enhancement. Using simulation studies we demonstrate that streak artifacts lead to pronounced periodic oscillations in pixel concentration curves which, in turn, lead to increased errors and introduce bias into heuristic measurements. ICA filtering significantly reduces this bias and improves accuracy. Pharmacokinetic modeling was more robust and there was no evidence of bias due to the presence of streak artifacts. ICA filtering did not significantly reduce the errors in the estimated pharmacokinetic parameters; however, the chi-squared error was greatly reduced after ICA filtering.

Classification of dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance breast lesions by support vector machines

Early detection of breast cancer is one of the most important factors in determining prognosis for women with malignant tumors. Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) has been shown to be the most sensitive modality for screening high-risk women. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) systems have the potential to assist radiologists in the early detection of cancer. A key component of the development of such a CAD system will be the selection of an appropriate classification function responsible for separating malignant and benign lesions. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of variations in temporal feature vectors and kernel functions on the separation of malignant and benign DCE-MRI breast lesions by support vector machines (SVMs). We also propose and demonstrate a classifier visualization and evaluation technique. We show that SVMs provide an effective and flexible framework from which to base CAD techniques for breast MRI, and that the proposed classifier visualization technique has potential as a mechanism for the evaluation of classification solutions.

Cryptic lineages and hybridization in freshwater mussels of the genus Pyganodon (Unionidae) in northeastern North America

The distribution of freshwater mussels Pyganodon Crosse and P. Fischer, 1894 traditionally inferred from morphological characters was validated by a genetic characterization of the genus within the Quebec peninsula. Individuals were identified by comparing the sequences from the female mitochondrial genome (COI and 16S) with those of reference individuals, while hybridization was assessed with male mitochondrial (COI and COII) and nuclear genomes (ITS1 and ITS2). The results confirmed most of the previous morphological identifications but revealed unexpected results. Both male and female mitochondrial genomes support the distinction between Pyganodon fragilis (Lamarck, 1819) and Pyganodon cataracta (Say, 1817). However, only one lineage of Pyganodon grandis (Say, 1829), instead of the two expected, was detected in the sampled area. The genetic survey also revealed the presence of two unidentified Pyganodon lineages, previously unreported within the Quebec peninsula. These extremely rare lineages harbour the signature of ancestral hybridizations. Finally, recent divergence and hybridizations make shell characters only partially efficient in discriminating Pyganodon lineages.

Evaluating an optical-flow-based registration algorithm for contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of the breast

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging studies of the breast are frequently degraded by patient motion. In order to correct for this, any registration algorithm must overcome two major challenges: the highly deformable nature of the breast itself and the need to remove changes in signal intensity due to patient motion whilst leaving potentially significant changes in signal intensity due to changes in contrast agent concentration unchanged. In this paper, we evaluate the use of a non-rigid registration method that uses optical flow equations to drive the displacement of a grid of control points. With conventional optical flow techniques it is assumed that changes in image intensity are solely due to motion, making it unsuitable for use with contrast-enhanced studies. The registration algorithm evaluated in this paper overcomes this problem by including an additional term to account for changes in image intensity. Studies simulating physiologically plausible deformations of the breast together with realistic changes in contrast-enhancement derived from patient studies demonstrate that the algorithm is capable of registering images to sub-voxel accuracy within minutes. This technique has now been successfully incorporated into a breast cancer screening protocol allowing registered images to be provided routinely to the radiologist immediately after the scanning session.

Distribution and density of glochidia of the freshwater mussel Anodonta kennerlyi on fish hosts in lakes of the temperate rain forest of Vancouver Island

We examined the distribution and abundance of glochidia of the freshwater mussel Anodonta kennerlyi Lea, 1860 on local fishes in three temperate rain forest lakes near Bamfield, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Fishes involved in the life cycle of the mussel were the prickly sculpin (Cottus asper Richardson, 1836), threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L., 1758), Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma (Walbaum, 1792)), and cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii (Richardson, 1836)). For each lake, we assessed which fish was the most important for larval propagation and recruitment of the mussel by considering the fish's primary habitat, the percentage of fish in a sample with glochidia, and the abundance of glochidia on sampled fish. Also, an alternative method for quantifying the glochidia's "preference" for a host consisted of measuring the number of glochidia per unit area of fish body surface (larval density). We digitized the surface area of fins and head, i.e., the areas used by glochidia for settlement. Every fish species in each lake dispersed the glochidia. There was, however, a sharp gradient in the intensity of the fish–mussel linkage among fishes. Fishes that co-occurred most often with mussels, such as sculpins and sticklebacks, had the highest density of glochidia. Larval density on fishes also revealed the existence of between-lake differences in glochidia preference.

Differences in the diagnostic accuracy of acute stroke clinical subtypes defined by multimodal magnetic resonance imaging

BACKGROUND

Despite its importance for acute stroke management, little is known about the underlying pathophysiology when patients with acute stroke are classified using clinical methods.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relation between the magnetic resonance defined stroke subtype and clinical stroke classifications using diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), perfusion weighted imaging (PWI), and angiographic magnetic resonance techniques.

METHODS

Consecutive patients with clinical syndromes consistent with acute anterior circulation stroke were assessed clinically within six hours of onset and scanned as soon as possible using multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Patients were classified clinically into total or partial anterior circulation syndromes using the Oxford classification, or according the severity of the National Institutes of Health stroke scale (NIHSS) (severe > 15; mild/moderate <or= 15). At day seven, patients were classified by combining clinical course and MRI data as misdiagnosed, misclassified, suffering transient ischaemic attack, infarct with recanalisation, or infarction with persisting occlusion. Patients with occlusion were further divided on the basis of a large diffusion-perfusion mismatch.

RESULTS

84 patients with clinical anterior circulation syndromes were studied. Using the NIHSS, 42 were mild to moderate (0-15) and 42 were severe (> 15). There were 42 with partial anterior circulation syndromes (PACS) and 42 with total anterior circulation syndromes (TACS). Patients with TACS or severe stroke were more likely to have actually suffered a stroke (Fischer's exact test, p = 0.01), to have a correctly classified stroke (chi(2) 28.2, p < 0.01), to have persisting occlusion (chi(2) 30.6, p < 0.01), and to have a large DWI-PWI mismatch (chi(2) 17.1, p < 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

There is more inaccuracy in patients presenting with acute PACS or clinically mild to moderate anterior circulation stroke than in those with TACS or severe acute stroke syndromes. The latter appear more likely to be the targets for acute stroke interventions, as they include a significantly higher proportion of patients with persisting occlusion and diffusion/perfusion mismatch.

Segmentation of MR images for computer-assisted surgery of the lumbar spine

This paper describes a segmentation algorithm designed to separate bone from soft tissue in magnetic resonance (MR) images developed for computer-assisted surgery of the spine. The algorithm was applied to MR images of the spine of healthy volunteers. Registration experiments were carried out on a physical model of a spine generated from computed tomography (CT) data of a surgical patient. Segmented CT, manually segmented MR and MR images segmented using the developed algorithm were compared. The algorithm performed well at segmenting bone from soft tissue on images taken of healthy volunteers. Registration experiments showed similar results between the CT and MR data. The MR data, which were manually segmented, performed worse on visual verification experiments than both the CT and semi-automatic segmented data. The algorithm developed performs well at segmenting bone from soft tissue in MR images of the spine as measured using registration experiments.

Decline and regional extirpation of freshwater mussels (Unionidae) in a small river system invaded by Dreissena polymorpha: the Rideau River, 1993–2000

Data pertaining to the ecological impact of the exotic zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha, on benthic fauna in small river systems are scarce. We conducted a long-term study to assess the impacts of the D. polymorpha invasion in a small river system (100 km) in eastern Ontario during an 8-year period (1993–2000). A 30-km downstream section of the Rideau River was studied before and during rapid population growth of D. polymorpha in the area. During 1993–1995, D. polymorpha abundance on hard substrates increased by four to six orders of magnitude and remained high thereafter. A comparable temporal pattern of D. polymorpha abundance was observed on shells of live freshwater mussels (Unionidae). During peak fouling (1995–1997), mass ratios (mass of attached D. polymorpha / mass of live unionid host) ranged from 0.37 to 1.81. SCUBA-diving surveys (50-m transects) were conducted to examine the impact of D. polymorpha on native unionids in impounded river habitats. In 1993–1994, three unionid taxa were commonly found in 10-m2 quadrats sampled along transects: Elliptio complanata, Pyganodon grandis, and Lampsilis radiata. Overall, the mean density of unionids declined 5- to 8-fold from 1993 to 1997, coinciding with a rapid increase in D. polymorpha densities on unionids. By 1997, i.e., 4 years after fouling began, P. grandis and L. radiata had been extirpated from those sites, with only E. complanata remaining. By 2000, i.e., 7 years after fouling began, all three unionid taxa had been essentially extirpated from the 30-km section of the river, with only one live individual (E. complanata) collected during 10 extensive diving surveys (the total estimated area of riverbed surveyed was 4000 m2). This study indicates that heavy fouling by D. polymorpha causes the extirpation of unionids in small impounded river systems ([Formula: see text]100 km).

Scaphoid blood flow and acute fracture healing. A dynamic MRI study with enhancement with gadolinium

We have investigated whether assessment of blood flow to the proximal scaphoid can be used to predict nonunion in acute fractures of the scaphoid. We studied 32 fractures of the scaphoid one to two weeks after injury, by dynamic fat-suppressed T1-weighted gradient-echo MRI after the intravenous administration of gadopentetate dimeglumine (0.1 mmol/kg body-weight). Steepest slope values (SSV) and percentage enhancement values (%E) were calculated for the distal and proximal fragments and poles. All the fractures were treated by immobilisation in a cast, and union was assessed by CT at 12 weeks. Nonunion occurred in four fractures (12%), and there was no statistically significant difference between the proximal fragment SSV and %E values for the fractures which united and those with nonunion. The difference between the proximal pole SSV and %E values for the union and nonunion groups reached statistical significance (p < 0.05), but with higher enhancement parameters for the nonunion group. Our results suggest that poor proximal vascularity is not an important determinant of union in fractures of the scaphoid.

A 3D MRI sequence for computer assisted surgery of the lumbar spine

The aim of this research was to develop a magnetic resonance (MR) sequence capable of producing images suitable for use with computer assisted surgery (CAS) of the lumbar spine. These images needed good tissue contrast between bone and soft tissue to allow for image segmentation and generation of a 3D-surface model of the bone for surface registration. A 3D double echo fast gradient echo sequence was designed. Images were filtered for noise and non-uniformity and combined into a single data set. Registration experiments were carried out to directly compare segmentation of MR and computed tomography (CT) images using a physical model of a spine. These experiments showed the MR data produced adequate surface registration in 90% of the experiments compared to 100% with CT data. The MR images acquired using the sequence and processing described in this article are suitable to be used with CAS of the spine.

Perfusion MRI of infarcted and noninfarcted brain tissue in stroke: a comparison of conventional hemodynamic imaging and factor analysis of dynamic studies

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

To investigate the hemodynamics of infarcted and noninfarcted regions of the brain in patients with stroke secondary to a complete middle cerebral artery occlusion. Also, to compare factor analysis, a novel method of analyzing perfusion-weighted images, with more conventional techniques.

METHODS

Twenty-two patients with complete unilateral occlusion of the middle cerebral artery were examined by T1-weighted, contrast-enhanced, perfusion-weighted imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging, and magnetic resonance angiography. Quantitative cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral blood flow (CBF), and time-to-peak-intensity (TTP) images were generated. Factor analysis of dynamic studies (FADS) was used to generate "early" and "late" images. The hemodynamic parameters for the infarcted and noninfarcted regions of the occluded territory were compared with those for the brain territory on the nonoccluded side.

RESULTS

Three regions were shown: (1) Normal tissue on the unaffected side; (2) an infarcted region, which was characterized by reduced CBV, CBF, and early FADS values with increased TTP values; and (3) a noninfarcted region with reduced early FADS and increased late FADS and TTP values compared with the normal region. Cerebral blood volume and CBF values were not reduced significantly in the noninfarcted region.

CONCLUSIONS

The differences in parameters such as TTP, CBV, and CBF are significant, and it is necessary to use more than one parameter when interpreting magnetic resonance imaging perfusion data. Factor analysis of dynamic studies provides additional information to conventional methods of analyzing perfusion data.

Extracting parametric images from dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI studies of the brain using factor analysis

Factor analysis of dynamic studies (FADS) is a technique that allows structures with different temporal characteristics to be extracted from dynamic contrast enhanced studies without making any a priori assumptions about physiology. These dynamic structures may correspond to different tissue types or different organs or they may simply be a useful way of characterising the data. This paper describes a method of automatically extracting factor images and curves from contrast enhanced MRI studies of the brain. This method has been applied to 107 studies carried out on patients with acute stroke. The results show that FADS is able to extract factor curves correlated to arterial and venous signal intensity curves and that the corresponding factor images allow a distinction to be made between areas of the brain with normal and abnormal perfusion. The method is robust and can be applied routinely to dynamic studies of the brain. The constraints described are sufficiently general to be applicable to other dynamic MRI contrast enhanced studies where an increase in contrast concentration produces an increase in signal intensity.

Assessment of 3-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging fast low angle shot images for computer assisted spinal surgery

The objective of this research was to determine whether a fast 3-dimensional (3-D) gradient echo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence could be used to acquire images suitable for image guided surgery of the spine. The main difficulty with MRI is that inhomogeneities in the static magnetic field lead to geometric distortions in the images. We used a very fast 3-D MRI sequence with a wide bandwidth and short echo time (TE) to minimize these distortions. Fiducial markers that could be localized in MRI and computed tomography (CT) images and in physical space were attached to a phantom in order to assess the accuracy of a landmark based registration method. The effect of varying the MRI parameters on image contrast was also investigated. The results demonstrate that the registration can be undertaken with an accuracy of 0.4 mm using the 3-D MRI. This is comparable to the accuracy of 0.3 mm obtained with CT and is a significant improvement over the accuracy of the 2-D MRI techniques (> 1.0 mm). In vivo images demonstrating good contrast between the spine and surrounding soft tissues such as fat, intervertebral disks, and cerebrospinal fluid were obtained. The MRI acquired using the sequence described in this article shows promise for use in computer assisted surgery of the spine.

Shell shape, dysodont tooth morphology, and hinge-ligament thickness in the bay mussel Mytilus trossulus correlate with wave exposure

We examined the shell morphology of the bay mussel Mytilus trossulus (Gould) at six locations with various levels of wave exposure in Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Young adult M. trossulus (29-35 mm shell length) collected from wave-exposed sites displayed striking differences in shell morphology from M. trossulus from sheltered sites. Mytilus trossulus from wave-exposed habitats had a lower shell height / shell width ratio and a thicker shell; they also had higher, more robust dysodont teeth, as well as a thicker hinge ligament. Examination of juveniles (12-14 mm shell length) collected from a wave-exposed shore and a sheltered shore separated by only a few hundred metres displayed similar differences in shell morphology and ligament thickness. These observations suggest that wave exposure is the cause of the observed differences in shell morphology and ligament thickness in M. trossulus. This is the first report of a correlation between wave exposure and morphology of the dysodont teeth and ligament in a bivalve. We discuss potential selective pressures that may favor characteristics of wave-exposed shells, including the probability of dislodgment and misalignment of valves in high wave energy areas.

Magnetic resonance imaging virtual endoscopy of the labyrinth

OBJECTIVE

To explore the feasibility of applying virtual endoscopic (VE) techniques to examine the normal anatomy of the labyrinth using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data.

STUDY DESIGN

Feasibility study using data from a normal subject.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

MRI data was acquired in a single normal subject using a three-dimensional (3D) CISS (Constructive Interference in the Steady State) sequence. Perspective volume rendering (PVR) techniques were used to produce virtual endoscopic visualization of the fluid filled structures of the inner ear.

RESULTS

The reconstructive algorithms enabled generation of a "fly-through" simulation of the labyrinth. The cochlea, the oval window, the vestibule, the common crus, and the semicircular canals were successfully visualized.

CONCLUSIONS

Virtual endoscopic techniques were successfully applied to MRI data enabling a 3D virtual display of the internal anatomy of the normal labyrinth.

Limitations of clinical diagnosis in acute stroke

Trials in acute stroke have recruited on the basis of clinical diagnosis. Using MRI we have shown that clinical diagnosis is more limited than previously appreciated, thus trials may have been underpowered or confounded.

The use of image registration in the analysis of bone scans for the assessment of temporomandibular joint uptake

Bone scanning is a commonly used technique in the assessment of patients with facial asymmetry. Uptake in the temporomandibular joints can be assessed quantitatively, either as a right-to-left ratio or as the uptake in the joint relative to some other bony structure. We used image registration techniques in the development of an automatic method of quantitative analysis and compared this with a manual region of interest method. Both image warping and region warping were studied. Normal ranges were established in a series of 25 subjects with no evidence of temporomandibular disorder. The results of this study indicate that, by using image registration and standard regions of interest, the results from normal subjects show a smaller standard deviation and improved correlation between observers when compared with manual analysis.

Background subtraction in 99Tcm-DTPA renography using multiple background regions: a comparison of methods

In order to obtain quantitative information from a 99Tcm-diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA) renogram it is first necessary to correct for the presence of background activity in the kidney time-activity curve. Three different methods of background subtraction which have been previously described are compared. Method 1 is a linear regression technique which uses separate tissue and heart time-activity curves to represent the background. Method 2 also uses multiple background regions and involves multiple regression. Method 3 uses a single heart region to represent the background. The three techniques are assessed using both simulation studies and patient data. The results show that method 3, which does not correct for extravascular activity, overestimates renal function particularly in poorly functioning kidneys. Method 1 gives the most accurate and reproducible results for both the simulation studies and patient data.