• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.21 no.4
• /
• pp.210-222
• /
• 2017

Purpose: To develop a novel combination of controlled aliasing in parallel imaging results in higher acceleration (CAIPIRINHA) with integrated SSFP (CAIPI-iSSFP) for accelerated SSFP imaging without banding artifacts at 3T. Materials and Methods: CAIPI-iSSFP was developed by adding a dephasing gradient to the balanced SSFP (bSSFP) pulse sequence with a gradient area that results in $2{\pi}$ dephasing across a single pixel. Extended phase graph (EPG) simulations were performed to show the signal behaviors of iSSFP, bSSFP, and RF-spoiled gradient echo (SPGR) sequences. In vivo experiments were performed for brain and abdominal imaging at 3T with simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) acceleration factors of 2, 3 and 4 with CAIPI-iSSFP and CAIPI-bSSFP. The image quality was evaluated by measuring the relative contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and by qualitatively assessing banding artifact removal in the brain. Results: Banding artifacts were removed using CAIPI-iSSFP compared to CAIPI-bSSFP up to an SMS factor of 4 and 3 on brain and liver imaging, respectively. The relative CNRs between gray and white matter were on average 18% lower in CAIPI-iSSFP compared to that of CAIPI-bSSFP. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that CAIPI-iSSFP provides up to a factor of four acceleration, while minimizing the banding artifacts with up to a 20% decrease in the relative CNR.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.8 no.5
• /
• pp.271-278
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study is to know optimized fat suppression techniques for brachial plexus compared with STIR and SPAIR T1, T2 techniques. A total of 30 normal volunteers without brachial plexus disease were studied on a 3.0 T MRI scanner. As an analytical method, SNR, CNR, 4-point grading scale were evaluated by using three pulse sequences. As a quantitative analysis, the SNR, CNR for SPAIR T1 technique provided high value in branchial plexus roots (03.07, -2.25), branchial plexus trunks(06.70, 36.31)(p<0.05). As a qualitative Analysis, The visibility for delineation of brachial plexus, fat suppression, artifact was significantly better on SPAIR T1(3.2, 3.6, 3.4) technique(p<0.05).

• Environmental Mutagens and Carcinogens
• /
• v.25 no.1
• /
• pp.25-31
• /
• 2005

The objective was to use MR imaging to provide a template of posterior fossa development during the late stages in the chick embryos. The MR findings were then correlated with histological data. Fourteen normal formalin-fixed embryonic specimens with a gestational age of 14 to 20 days were examined with 1.5 Tesla unit MRl using a conventional clinical magnet and pulse sequences. The MR findings were correlated with the whole-mount histological specimens. Resolution of the morphological features of posterior fossa development in embryos greater than 14 days gestational age was possible. Development of cerebellum, brain stem, 4th ventricle and bony posterior fossa was documented. In the 14-day-old embryos, a premordial cerebellum was visualized in the enlarged bony posterior fossa, and it covered the the roof of the primitive fourth ventricle. The bony posterior fossa grows at the same rate along the supratentorial skull. The supratentorial skull and the rostral part of the brain grows at the same rate. The cerebellum begins to grow later than the rostral part of the brain. In the 19- to 20-day-old embryos, MRl revealed the rapid development of the cerebellar hemispheres, along with an increase in volume manifested by the more typical mushroom-shaped configuration observed in the newly hatched. At this stage, the cerebellum almost completely filled the posterior fossa and covered the entire fourth ventricle. The brain stem grew steadily, but the volume change was too subtle to evaluate. Features of cerebellar histogeneis were beyond the resolution of MRl. However, there were lots of artifacts in the features of the bony posterior fossa. An MR template of normal posterior fossa development would be useful to avoid confusion of normal development with abnormal development and to identify the expected developmental features when provided the estimated gestational age of a embryo.

• Journal of the Korean Arthroscopy Society
• /
• v.13 no.3
• /
• pp.276-279
• /
• 2009

Fibroma of tendon sheath is an uncommon benign soft tissue tumor with a predilection for the hand or upper extremities with extremely rare intra-articular involvement. It is mostly comprised of slow-growing fibrous lobules made up of scattered fibroblasts in a dense stroma with slit-like vascular channels. An unique case in a 54-year-old male patient involving the glenohumeral joint arising from postersuperior joint capsule is reported. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) reveals a focal nodular mass with decreased signal intensity on all pulse sequences and pathology confirmation was made with arthroscopic excision. Intra-articular fibroma of tendon sheath should be considered in the differential diagnosis of intra-articular soft tissue masses during shoulder arthroscopy.

• Food Science and Preservation
• /
• v.18 no.4
• /
• pp.604-611
• /
• 2011

Several wild yeasts were isolated from Korean grape varieties before and during spontaneous fermentation. Among them, four strains were isolated based on the alcohol content and flavor production in wine after fermentation of apple juice. In this study, the four yeast strains were identified and characterized. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of ITS I-5.8S-ITS II region with restriction endonuclease Hae III and Hinf I resulted in that all the strains showed a typical pattern of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Pulse field gel electrophoresis showed three different chromosome patterns with a same band between strains SS89 and SS812. When ITS I-5.8S-ITS II sequences of the four strains were compared with one another, they were similar to those of Saccharomyces cerevisiae CBS 4054 type strain. Identity of the sequences was higher than 97% with those of the type strain. Phylogenetic analysis showed based on the sequences showed they were genetically closed to the type strain. The four identified strains were tested in a medium containing 200 ppm potassium metabisulfite, and the MM10 and WW108 inhibition rates resulted at up to 24 h. The four strains were tested at an incubation temperature of $30^{\circ}C$. The 30% sugar concentration in the medium (w/v) showed the highest growth in 36 h, especially in the case of SS89, which was close to growth 40. The four strains were tested in an 8% ethanol medium (v/v). Alcohol tolerance was initially kept in the incubation process. The strains began to adapt, however, to the exceeded resistance. The four strains showed the lowest inhibition rate at 24 h.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
• /
• v.50 no.2
• /
• pp.93-98
• /
• 2020

Purpose: Little is known regarding the accuracy of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols with acceptable scan times in sinus graft assessment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlations between MRI and cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) measurements of maxillary sinus grafts using 2 different clinical MRI imaging protocols. Materials and Methods: A total of 15 patients who underwent unilateral sinus lift surgery with biphasic calcium phosphate were included in this study. CBCT, T1-weighted MRI, and T2-weighted MRI scans were taken 6 months after sinus lift surgery. Linear measurements of the maximum height and buccolingual width in coronal images, as well as the maximum anteroposterior depth in sagittal images, were performed by 2 trained observers using CBCT and MRI Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine files. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) was also performed to confirm the presence of bone tissue in the grafted area. Correlations between MRI and CBCT measurements were assessed with the Pearson test. Results: Significant correlations between CBCT and MRI were found for sinus graft height (T1-weighted, r=0.711 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.713 and P<0.05), buccolingual width (T1-weighted, r=0.892 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.956 and P<0.05), and anteroposterior depth (T1-weighted, r=0.731 and P<0.05; T2-weighted, r=0.873 and P<0.05). The presence of bone tissue in the grafted areas was confirmed via micro-CT. Conclusion: Both MRI pulse sequences tested can be used for sinus graft measurements, as strong correlations with CBCT were found. However, correlations between T2-weighted MRI and CBCT were slightly higher than those between T1-weighted MRI and CBCT.

• Investigative Magnetic Resonance Imaging
• /
• v.11 no.2
• /
• pp.95-102
• /
• 2007

Purpose: To acquire high-resolution spiral-scan images at higher magnetic field, high homogeneous magnetic field is needed. Field inhomogeneity mapping and in-vivo shimming are important for rapid imaging such as spiral-scan imaging. The rapid scanning sequences are very susceptible to inhomogeneity. In this paper, we proposed a higher-order shimming method to obtain homogeneous magnetic field. Materials and Methods: To reduce measurement time for field inhomogeneity mapping, simultaneous axial/ sagittal, and coronal acquisitions are done using multi-slice based Fast Spin echo sequence. Acquired field inhomogeneity map is analyzed using the spherical harmonic functions, and shim currents are obtained by the multiplication of the pseudo-inverse of the field pattern with the inhomogeneity map. Results: Since the field inhomogeneity is increasing in proportion to the magnetic field, higher order shimming to reduce the inhomogeneity becomes more important in high field imaging. The shimming technique in which axial, sagittal, and coronal section inhomogeneity maps are obtained in one scan is developed, and the shimming method based on the analysis of spherical harmonics of the imhomogenity map is applied. The proposed technique is applicable to a localized shimming as well. High resolution spiral-scan imaging was successfully obtained with the proposed higher order shimming. Conclusion: Proposed pulse sequence for rapid measurement of inhomogeneity map and higher order shimming based on the inhomogeneity map work very well at 3 Tesla MRI system. With the proposed higher order shimming and localized higher order shimming techniques, high resolution spiral-scan images are successfully obtained at 3 T MRI system.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.24 no.3
• /
• pp.217-231
• /
• 2003

Coded excitation with complementary Golay sequences is an effective means to increase the SNR and penetration of ultrasound imaging. in which the two complementary binary codes are transmitted successively along each scan-line, reducing the imaging frame rate by half. This method suffers from low frame rate particularly when multiple transmit focusing is employed, since the frame rate will be further reduced in proportion to the number of focal zones. In this paper. a new ultrasound imaging technique based on simultaneous multiple transmit focusing using modified orthogonal Golay codes is proposed to improve lateral resolution with no accompanying decrease in the imaging frame rate, in which a pair of orthogonal Golay codes focused at two different focal depths are transmitted simultaneously. On receive, these modified orthogonal Golay codes are separately compressed into two short pulses and individually focused. These two focused beams are combined to form a frame of image with improved lateral resolution. The Golay codes were modified to improve the transmit power efficiency (TPE) for practical imaging. Computer simulations and experimental results show that the proposed method improves significantly the lateral resolution and penetration of ultrasound imaging compared with the conventional method.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.10 no.5
• /
• pp.367-373
• /
• 2016

This study conducted an analysis to compare the differences in the properties of the magnetic field and the generation of artifacts because of the difference in the magnetic field between 1.5 T equipment and 3.0 T equipment, centering around four types of pulse sequences, mainly applied to the abdominal Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). With data on 500 persons transmitted to the PACS, this study analyzed the SNR value, quantitatively and carried out a qualitative evaluation, dividing MSA, CSA, and DA into three steps. As a result of the quantitative evaluation, the SNR value was significantly higher in the 1.5 T equipment; however, there was a factor deteriorating the image quality, too, as artifacts were generated in the images. The 1.5 T equipment generated fewer artifacts than the 3.0 T equipment did, so it could compensate the image quality for 3.0 T. In conclusion, based on these findings, this study could understand the differences in the properties of the magnetic field and the generation of artifacts occurring because of the difference in the magnetic field and could provide a measure for them. This study would be guidelines for MRI users who directly examine the patients in abdominal MRI using the two types of equipment in the clinical setting in the future.

• Proceedings of the KOSOMBE Conference
• /
• v.1998 no.11
• /
• pp.55-56
• /
• 1998

The 3-D Fast Gradient Echo (Turbo FLASH, Turbo Fast Low Angle Shot) sequence is optimized to achieve a good T1 contrast using variable excitation flip angles. In Turbo FLASH sequence, depending on the contrast preparation scheme, various types of image contrast can be established. While proton density contrast is obtained when using a short repetition time with a short echo time and small flip angles, T1 or T2 weighting can be obtained with proper contrast preparation sequences applied before the above proton density Turbo FLASH sequence. To maximize the contrast to noise ratio while retaining a sharp impulse response (smooth frequency domain response), the excitation flip-angle pattern is optimized through simulation and experiments. The TI (the delay after the preparation sequence which is a 180 degree inversion RF pulse in the IR T1 weighted imaging case), TD (the delay time between the Turbo FLASH sequence and the next preparation), and TR are also optimized fur the best image quality. The proposed 3-D Turbo FLASH provides $1mm\times1mm\times1.5mm$ high resolution images within a reasonable 5-8 minutes of imaging time. The proposed imaging sequence has been implemented in a Medison's Magnum 1.0T system and verified through simulations as well as human volunteer imaging. The experimental results show the utility of the proposed method.