• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.22-31
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• 2019

Purpose: To develop a new diffusion-based functional MRI (fMRI) sequence to generate apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps in single excitation and evaluate the contribution of b0 signal on neuronal changes. Materials and Methods: A diffusion-based fMRI sequence was designed with single measurement that can acquire images of three directions at a time, obtaining $b=0s/mm^2$ during the first baseline condition (b0_b), followed by 107 diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with $b=600s/mm^2$ during the baseline and visual stimulation conditions, and another $b=0s/mm^2$ during the last activation condition (b0_a). ADC was mapped in three different ways: 1) using b0_b (ADC_b) for all time points, 2) using b0_a (ADC_a) for all time points, and 3) using b0_b and b0_a (ADC_ba) for baseline and stimulation scans, respectively. The fMRI studies were conducted on the brains of 16 young healthy volunteers using visual stimulations in a 3T MRI system. In addition, the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) fMRI was also acquired to compare it with diffusion-based fMRI. A sample t-test was used to investigate the voxel-wise average between the subjects. Results: The BOLD data consisted of only activated voxels. However, ADC_ba data was observed in both deactivated and activated voxels. There were no statistically significant activated or deactivated voxels for DWI, ADC_b, and ADC_a. Conclusions: With the new sequence, neuronal activations can be mapped with visual stimulation as compared to the baseline condition in several areas in the brain. We showed that ADC should be mapped using both DWI and b0 images acquired with the same conditions.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.54 no.1
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• pp.19-24
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• 2013

Objective : The purpose of this study was to retrospectively evaluate and compare the incidence of diffusion-weighted image (DWI) lesions between the Guglielmi detachable coil (GDC) and the Target coil for treating unruptured intracranial aneurysm. Methods : From 2010 to 2011, consecutive 222 patients with an intracranial aneurysm underwent coil embolization. Inclusion criterias were : 1) unruptured intracranial aneurysm, 2) one or more GDC or Target coils used with or without other coils, 3) DWI examination within 24 hours after coiling, and 4) coiling performed without a balloon or stent. Results : Ninety patients (92 cases) met the inclusion criteria. DWI lesions were detected in 55 (61.1%) of 90 patients. In the GDC group (n=44), DWI lesions were detected in 31 (70.5%). The average number of DWI lesions was $5.0{\pm}8.7$ (mean${\pm}$SD; range, 1-40) in aneurysm-related territory. In the Target coil group (n=48), DWI lesions were detected in 24 (50.0%). The number of DWI lesion was $2.1{\pm}5.4$ (range, 1-32) in aneurysm-related territory. There was no significant correlation between a number of coils and DWI lesions. No significant differences were also observed in the number of DWI lesions in each group. Conclusion : The GDC and Target coils, which have an electrolytic detachable system, showed no differences in the incidence of DWI lesion.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.11-15
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• 2014

Objective : Facial nerve palsy is a common complication of treatment for vestibular schwannoma (VS), so preserving facial nerve function is important. The preoperative visualization of the course of facial nerve in relation to VS could help prevent injury to the nerve during the surgery. In this study, we evaluate the accuracy of diffusion tensor tractography (DTT) for preoperative identification of facial nerve. Methods : We prospectively collected data from 11 patients with VS, who underwent preoperative DTT for facial nerve. Imaging results were correlated with intraoperative findings. Postoperative DTT was performed at postoperative 3 month. Facial nerve function was clinically evaluated according to the House-Brackmann (HB) facial nerve grading system. Results : Facial nerve courses on preoperative tractography were entirely correlated with intraoperative findings in all patients. Facial nerve was located on the anterior of the tumor surface in 5 cases, on anteroinferior in 3 cases, on anterosuperior in 2 cases, and on posteroinferior in 1 case. In postoperative facial nerve tractography, preservation of facial nerve was confirmed in all patients. No patient had severe facial paralysis at postoperative one year. Conclusion : This study shows that DTT for preoperative identification of facial nerve in VS surgery could be a very accurate and useful radiological method and could help to improve facial nerve preservation.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.143-150
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• 2014

Purpose: The corticospinal tract (CST) is known to be an important pyramidal tract for walking and motor function. However, very little is known about the functional role of the CST in the recovery of motor function. In the current study, we investigated the relation between the CST and motor function in chronic hemiparetic stroke patients. Methods: Fifty-four patients and 20 normal subjects were recruited. The Functional Ambulation Category (FAC) was used in measurement of the walking ability. We classified patients into three groups according to the ability to walk independently: group A, patients who could not walk independently (FAC: 0-2); group B, patients who could walk independently (FAC: 3); and group C, patd walk functionally (stairs and uneven surfaces, FAC 4-5). The Motricity Index (MI) was used to measure the motor function of the affected upper and lower extremities (maximum score: 100). The fractional anisotropy (FA) value, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value, and fiber volume of the CST were used for the diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameters. Results: In terms of the CST of the unaffected hemisphere, the FA value of group A was significantly lower than that of normal controls (p <0.05). The fiber volume of group C was significantly higher than that of normal controls (p <0.05). In contrast, the ADC values of all patient groups and the control group did not show any difference (p >0.05). In terms of lower MI and total MI, significant differences were observed between all patient groups (p <0.05). In addition, significant differences in terms of the upper MI scores were observed between groups A and C and between groups B and C (p <0.05); however, no significant difference was observed between groups A and B (p>0.05). Conclusion: The increased fiber volume of the CST in the unaffected hemisphere appears to be related to functional walking ability in chronic stroke patients. This result would be useful for elucidation of the neural recovery mechanism of walking and the investigation of new modalities for the recovery of walking following a stroke with CST injury.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.210-219
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate if double inversion recovery (DIR) imaging can have a role in the evaluation of brain ischemia, compared with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) imaging. Materials and Methods: Sixty-seven patients within 48 hours of onset, underwent MRI scans with FLAIR, DWI with b-value of 0 (B0) and $1000s/mm^2$, and DIR sequences. Patients were categorized into four groups: within three hours, three to six hours, six to 24 hours, and 24 to 48 hours after onset. Lesion-to-normal ratio (LNR) value was calculated and compared among all sequences within each group, by the Friedman test and conducted among all groups, for each sequence by the Kruskal-Wallis test. In qualitative assessment, signal intensity changes of DIR, B0, and FLAIR based on similarity with DWI and image quality of each sequence, were graded on a 3-point scale, respectively. Scores for detectability of lesions were compared by the McNemar's test. Results: LNR values from DWI were higher than DIR, but not statistically significant in all groups (P > 0.05). LNR values of DIR were significantly higher than FLAIR within 24 hours of onset (P < 0.05). LNR values were significantly different between, before, and after six hours onset time for DIR (P = 0.016), B0 (P = 0.008), and FLAIR (P = 0.018) but not for DWI (P = 0.051). Qualitative analysis demonstrated that detectability of DIR was higher, compared to that of FLAIR within 4.5 hours and six hours of onset (P < 0.05). Also, the DWI quality score was lower than that of DIR, particularly relative to infratentorial lesions. Conclusion: DIR provides higher detectability of hyperacute brain ischemia than B0 and FLAIR, and does not suffer from susceptibility artifact, unlike DWI. So, DIR can be used to replace evaluation of the FLAIR-DWI mismatch.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.31-36
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• 2005

To evaluate the magnetic resonance imaging and electron microscopic findings of the hyperacute stage of cerebral fat embolism in cats and the time needed for the development of vasogenic edema. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed at 30 minutes (group 1, n=9) and at 30 minutes and 1, 2, 4, and 6 hours after embolization with triolein (group 2, n= 10). As a control for group 2, the same acquisition was obtained after embolization with polyvinyl alcohol particles (group 3, n=5). Electron microscopic examination was done in all cats. In group 1, the lesions were iso- or slightly hyperintense on T2-weighted (T2W) and diffusion-weighted (DWIs) images, hypointense on the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map image, and markedly enhanced on the gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images (Gd-T1WIs). In group 2 at 30 minutes, the lesions were similar to those in group 1. Thereafter, the lesions became more hyperintense on T2WIs and DWIs and more hypoinfense on the ADC map image. In group 3, the lesions showed mild hyperintensity on T2WIs at 6 hours but hypointensity on the ADC map image from 30 minutes, with a tendency toward a greater decrease over time. Electron microscopic findings revealed discontinuity of the capillary endothelial wall, perivascular and interstitial edema, and swelling of glial and neuronal cells in groups 1 and 2. The lesions were hyperintense on T2WIs and DWIs, hypointense on the ADC map image, and enhanced on Gd-T1WIs. On electron microscopy, the lesions showed cytotoxic and vasogenic edema with disruption of the blood-brain barrier.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.165-169
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• 2011

Cardiac myxoma is the most common benign tumor of the heart. However, low incidence of recurrence and metastasis has been reported. A 49-year-old female patient was admitted in the hospital due to sudden onset of left side weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of brain showed multifocal areas of diffusion restriction on diffusion weighted images. Echocardiography was performed to evaluate the cause of embolic brain infarction and cardiac myxoma was found in the left atrium. The patient underwent complete excision of the mass. One year later, the patient was readmitted with symptoms of dysarthria. Brain MRI showed newly developed multiple hemorrhagic metastatic lesions. The patient underwent radiotherapy of the metastatic lesions. Although rare, cardiac myxoma can cause delayed metastasis. We report a rare case of delayed multiple cerebral metastases from the completely resected cardiac myxoma.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.41-46
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• 2013

We represent a pathologically proven case of a four-year-old male patient with renal cell carcinoma associated with Xp11.2 translocation/TFE3 gene fusion, which is rare but more frequent in children or young adults. Computed tomography showed about 2.5 cm size ill-defined mass in the right kidney. The mass was hyperechoic on ultrasound. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a mass with capsular enhancement and diffusion restriction. We present a case of Xp11.2 renal cell carcinoma and provide review of the literature.

• KIPS Transactions on Software and Data Engineering
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.69-76
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• 2020

In this paper, we introduce a method to visualize the contrast diffusion patterns and the dynamic vascular patterns in a contrast-enhanced ultrasound image sequence. We present an imaging technique to visualize parameters such as contrast arrival time, peak intensity time, and contrast decay time in contrast-enhanced ultrasound data. The contrast flow pattern and its velocity are important for characterizing focal liver lesions. We propose a method for representing the contrast diffusion patterns as an image. In the methods, respiratory motion may degrade the accuracy of the parametric images. Therefore, we present a respiratory motion tracking technique that uses dynamic weights and a momentum factor with respect to the respiration cycle. Through the experiment using 72 CEUS data sets, we show that the proposed method makes it possible to overcome the limitation of analysis by the naked eye and improves the reliability of the parametric images by compensating for respiratory motion in contrast-enhanced ultrasonography.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1021-1033
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• 2021

Objective: To assess the expression of vascular normalization genes in different molecular subtypes of breast cancer and to determine whether molecular subtypes with a higher vascular normalization gene expression can be identified using dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Materials and Methods: This prospective study evaluated 306 female (mean age ± standard deviation, 50 ± 10 years), recruited between January 2014 and August 2017, who had de novo breast cancer larger than 1 cm in diameter (308 tumors). DCE MRI followed by IVIM DWI studies using 11 different b-values (0 to 1200 s/mm²) were performed on a 1.5T MRI system. The Tofts model and segmented biexponential IVIM analysis were used. For each tumor, the molecular subtype (according to six [I-VI] subtypes and PAM50 subtypes), expression profile of genes for vascular normalization, pericytes, and normal vascular signatures were determined using freshly frozen tissue. Statistical associations between imaging parameters and molecular subtypes were examined using logistic regression or linear regression with a significance level of p = 0.05. Results: Breast cancer subtypes III and VI and PAM50 subtypes luminal A and normal-like exhibited a higher expression of genes for vascular normalization, pericyte markers, and normal vessel function signature (p < 0.001 for all) compared to other subtypes. Subtypes III and VI and PAM50 subtypes luminal A and normal-like, versus the remaining subtypes, showed significant associations with K^trans, k_ep, v_p, and IAUGC_BN90 on DEC MRI, with relatively smaller values in the former. The subtype grouping was significantly associated with D, with relatively less restricted diffusion in subtypes III and VI and PAM50 subtypes luminal A and normal-like. Conclusion: DCE MRI and IVIM parameters may identify molecular subtypes of breast cancers with a different vascular normalization gene expression.