Objective: To investigate the correlation between the stenosis degree of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery in patients with lower extremity atherosclerotic occlusive disease (LEAOD). Methods: Images of 70 patients who had undergone the aorta-iliac-femoral arteries CT angiography (CTA) examination and had a definite diagnosis of LEAOD due to intermittent claudication or resting pain admitted to Tianjin Hospital from January to December in 2017 were enrolled. The arteries in the aorta as well as iliac were surface-reconstructed, which were analyzed by advanced vascular analysis (AVA) combined with the original images, including SMA trunk, abdominal aorta (AA), left and right common iliac artery (LCIA, RCIA), left and right internal iliac artery (LIIA, RIIA), left and right external iliac artery (LEIA, REIA). The normal reference plane and the maximal stenosis plane were selected, and the stenosis rate of each artery in the reconstruction range was automatically calculated with software. The patient's imaging data were divided into groups with two methods: ① according to the degree of SMA stenosis, the patients were divided into group Ⅰ (stenosis degree ≤70%) and groupⅡ (stenosis degree > 70%); ② LEAOD patients with different gender were respectively divided into three groups: middle-aged group (45-59 years old), pre-elderly group (60-74 years old) and elderly group (75-89 years old). The comparison between the stenosis degree of SMA and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery was analyzed with Pearson simple correlation analysis. Results: The incidence of SMA stenosis in all LEAOD patients was 100%. Correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and AA, LCIA, RCIA, LIIA, RIIA, LEIA, or REIA in group Ⅰ (n = 64) and group Ⅱ (n = 6), respectively (r value was -0.021, 0.023, 0.023, -0.137, 0.182, -0.113, 0.141, respectively, in group Ⅰ, and it was 0.020, -0.560, 0.010, 0.306, -0.204, -0.381, 0.393, respectively, in group Ⅱ, all P > 0.05). In 52 male patients, there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and AA, LCIA, RCIA, LIIA, RIIA, LEIA, or REIA in middle-aged group (n = 16), pre-elderly group (n = 27) and elderly group (n = 9), respectively (r value was -0.032, 0.024, 0.324, 0.146, 0.312, 0.008, 0.344, respectively, in middle-aged group, it was -0.108, -0.116, -0.040, -0.249, -0.082, -0.052, 0.096, respectively, in pre-elderly group, and it was 0.182, 0.311, 0.400, 0.360, 0.688, 0.498, 0.406, respectively, in elderly group, all P > 0.05). In 18 female patients, there was also no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and above each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery in pre-elderly group (n = 11) and elderly group (n = 6), respectively (the r value was -0.170, 0.040, -0.019, 0.152, 0.508, 0.042, 0.456, respectively, in pre-elderly group, and it was -0.660, 0.008, -0.055, -0.056, -0.213, 0.344, 0.011, respectively, in elderly group, all P > 0.05). The correlation in middle-aged group was not analyzed because there was only 1 patient. Conclusions Although the atherosclerotic changes in LEAOD patients can affect SMA and aorto-iliac artery at the same time, there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery which may due to the differences in the histological structure and hemodynamics among different arteries. SMA atherosclerotic stenosis and occlusion is a relatively independent disease process for LEAOD.

Because X-ray digital tomosynthesis (DTS) imaging principle is different from that of CT, DTS has better spatial resolution than that of CT in sagittal and coronal planes, and since DTS is reconstructed to generate"layer" images, its power in the aspect of distinguishing 3D tissue structures is superior to that of general X-ray photography, so DTS can provide 3D information for clinical diagnosis; its radiation dose is markedly lower than that of CT. In recent years, DTS has made progress in the application of skeletal system imaging; the research progress and the possible direction of future application of DTS in bone fracture diagnosis, fracture healing estimation, vertebral bone quality assessment and fracture risk prediction, joint dislocation diagnosis, bone erosion evaluation and postoperative arthroplasty assessment were summarized.

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of digital tomosynthesis in Schatzker classification of tibial plateau fractures.Methods A total of 43 patients with tibial plateau fractures who had underwent injured knee joints coronal tomosynthesis examinations and as well as digital radiography (DR) examinations including anteroposterior and lateral positions before the surgery were selected from January to June 2015.The imaging evaluation was performed by two diagnostic radiologists independently.Each radiologist consecutively performed Schatzker classification of the DR and tomosynthesis images of the knees of each patient.The consistent Schatzker classification results were finally given,while the inconsistent classification results were discussed.Recording the reading results of two methods and comparing the classification results of two methods with the subsequent intra-operative classification results,evaluating their consistency.Results Twenty-eight patients were included with 14 males and 14 females.The age ranged from 25 to 76 years old with an average of 48.5 years.Fifteen patients were excluded due to combined injuries and the low quality of imaging.Schatzker classification of tibial plateau fractures was performed with DR images,19 cases of fracture classification results were consistent with intra-operative classification,and 9 cases were inconsistent.Twenty-six cases of fracture classification results were consistent with intra-operative classification based on tomosynthesis images but 2 cases with inconsistent results.Intra-operative findings for each fracture were used as the gold standard for classification.The accuracy of the Schatzker classification for tibial plateau fractures were 68％ and 93％ in the two imaging techniques with significant difference (x2=5.143,P=0.016),respectively.The classification results of two imaging methods in 2 patients were both inconsistent with intra-operative classification.The fracture severity of 6 patients was underestimated when using DR images for interpretation,while 1 patient had a missed diagnosis of the lateral tibial plateau collapsed fracture.The consistency between the classification results of DR images as well as classification results of tomosynthesis images and intra-operative typing were moderately and highly consistent,respectively (Kappa coefficient were 0.604 and 0.908,respectively).Conclusion Schatzker classification of tibial plateau fractures was performed with DR images,the lateral tibial plateau collapsed fracture and the lateral plateau splitting fracture could be easily missed or misdiagnosed.However,tomosynthesis imaging could provide a higher accuracy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between the stenosis degree of superior mesenteric artery (SMA) and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery in patients with lower extremity atherosclerotic occlusive disease (LEAOD). METHODS: Images of 70 patients who had undergone the aorta-iliac-femoral arteries CT angiography (CTA) examination and had a definite diagnosis of LEAOD due to intermittent claudication or resting pain admitted to Tianjin Hospital from January to December in 2017 were enrolled. The arteries in the aorta as well as iliac were surface-reconstructed, which were analyzed by advanced vascular analysis (AVA) combined with the original images, including SMA trunk, abdominal aorta (AA), left and right common iliac artery (LCIA, RCIA), left and right internal iliac artery (LIIA, RIIA), left and right external iliac artery (LEIA, REIA). The normal reference plane and the maximal stenosis plane were selected, and the stenosis rate of each artery in the reconstruction range was automatically calculated with software. The patient's imaging data were divided into groups with two methods: (1) according to the degree of SMA stenosis, the patients were divided into group I (stenosis degree ≤70%) and group II (stenosis degree > 70%); (2) LEAOD patients with different gender were respectively divided into three groups: middle-aged group (45-59 years old), pre-elderly group (60-74 years old) and elderly group (75-89 years old). The comparison between the stenosis degree of SMA and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery was analyzed with Pearson simple correlation analysis. RESULTS: The incidence of SMA stenosis in all LEAOD patients was 100%. Correlation analysis showed that there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and AA, LCIA, RCIA, LIIA, RIIA, LEIA, or REIA in group I (n = 64) and group II (n = 6), respectively (r value was -0.021, 0.023, 0.023, -0.137, 0.182, -0.113, 0.141, respectively, in group I, and it was 0.020, -0.560, 0.010, 0.306, -0.204, -0.381, 0.393, respectively, in group II, all P > 0.05). In 52 male patients, there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and AA, LCIA, RCIA, LIIA, RIIA, LEIA, or REIA in middle-aged group (n = 16), pre-elderly group (n = 27) and elderly group (n = 9), respectively (r value was -0.032, 0.024, 0.324, 0.146, 0.312, 0.008, 0.344, respectively, in middle-aged group, it was -0.108, -0.116, -0.040, -0.249, -0.082, -0.052, 0.096, respectively, in pre-elderly group, and it was 0.182, 0.311, 0.400, 0.360, 0.688, 0.498, 0.406, respectively, in elderly group, all P > 0.05). In 18 female patients, there was also no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and above each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery in pre-elderly group (n = 11) and elderly group (n = 6), respectively (the r value was -0.170, 0.040, -0.019, 0.152, 0.508, 0.042, 0.456, respectively, in pre-elderly group, and it was -0.660, 0.008, -0.055, -0.056, -0.213, 0.344, 0.011, respectively, in elderly group, all P > 0.05). The correlation in middle-aged group was not analyzed because there was only 1 patient. CONCLUSIONS Although the atherosclerotic changes in LEAOD patients can affect SMA and aorto-iliac artery at the same time, there was no correlation between the stenosis degree of SMA and each artery within the scope of aorto-iliac artery which may due to the differences in the histological structure and hemodynamics among different arteries. SMA atherosclerotic stenosis and occlusion is a relatively independent disease process for LEAOD.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Computed Tomography Angiography ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Female ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Middle Aged

Objective To investigate the value of three-dimension (3D) ultrasound in identification of benign or malignant gastric ulceration. Methods A total of 88 patients with gastric ulcer were collected in Tianjin Nankai Hospital from March 2014 to May 2015, including 36 malignant cases and 52 benign cases confirmed by pathological results. Results of 2D ultrasound, 3D ultrasound and gastroscope diagnosis were compared, and the diagnostic values of the three methods were evaluated by the gold standard of pathologic results. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted for the main measurement indicators (ulcer surface width, ulcer surface depth and thickness of stomach wall) of 3D ultrasound. The best cut-off value was determined. Results The positive rate of malignant gastric ulcer diagnosed by 3D ultrasound was significantly higher than that of 2D ultrasound (P=0.002), but there was no significant difference between 3D ultrasound and gastroscope detection (P=0.453). The diagnostic sensitivities of malignant gastric ulcer were 86.11%, 58.33%and 91.67%for 3D ultrasound, 2D ultrasound and gastroscope detection respectively. The diagnostic specificities were 100%, 100%and 96.15% respectively. The areas under the ROC curves measured by 3D ultrasound were 0.750, 0.940 and 0.977 for ulcer surface width, ulcer surface depth and thickness of stomach wall. And the best cut-off values of the three indicators were 16.55 mm, 8.05 mm and 9.90 mm. Conclusion The 3D ultrasound can show the form and structure of gastric ulcer more clearly and intuitively, which is valuable for the differential diagnosis of benign gastric ulcer and malignant gastric ulcer, and may be used for screening malignant gastric ulcer.

Objective To explore the motion features of cervical spine based on continuous X-ray images.Methods The cervical spontaneous continuous multi-frame sagittal images from flexion to extention positions were selected from cervical spondylosis patients (patients group) and healthy adult (normal group).After preprocessing and registration,the trajectory of single vertebral body were recorded,and the feature points of each vertebral body were extracted.Meanwhile,the rel ative geometry parameters and movement rate were calculated.Results The motion trajectory of patients' cervical spine C4-6 were different from healthy people.The angles between the left edge curve of the vertebral body (C4 and C5 vertebra) and the baseline of patients group were smaller than those of normal group in flexion position (all P＜0.05).There were instability in the movement of C4 vertebral body in patient group,and the volatility of the angle change,the rate of change and the frequency were larger.The relative position change of the adjacent single vertebral body in the patient group are smaller.Conclusion Through the preprocessing,registration,parameter extraction and result analysis,the changes of functional features in cervical spondylosis patients are truly reflected.And it also provides a new idea for dynamic analysis of cervical vertebrae based on X-ray images.

Purpose Accurate diagnosis of triangular fibrocartilage (TFC) tear is very important for treatment. MRI is most used for diagnosing TFC tear. This paper aims to evaluate MRI and MR arthrography (MRA) for diagnosing TFC tear by meta-analysis. Materials and Methods The articles were searched in the databases such as Wanfang, VIP, CNKI, Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase and PubMed. The QUADAS items were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Heterogeneity of the included articles was tested. The pooled weighted sensitivity and specificity of MRI and MRA in diagnosing TFC tear were calculated, and the pooled receiver operation curve was drawn. Results Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria, 2 were Chinese articles and 13 were English articles. The subjects and methods of the articles were different and existed heterogeneity. The sensitivity and specificity of MRI for diagnosing TFC tear were 0.66 (95% CI 0.61-0.71) and 0.75 (95% CI 0.69-0.81), and those of MRA were 0.80 (95% CI 0.73-0.87) and 0.86 (95% CI 0.74-0.93). The area under curve and Q* index of SROC of MRI were 0.8566 and 0.7875, respectively. The area under curve and Q* index of SROC of MRA were 0.9123 and 0.8446, respectively. Conclusion The accuracy of TFC tear avulsion for MRA are higher than for MRI, when there is unclear of TFC avulsion using MRI, MRA can be used for diagnosis.

Objective To study the manual control respiratory rhythm trigger acquisition (MCRRTA)technology in improving image quality and shortening acquisition time of the low-field MRCP scan.Methods 40 patients underwent MRCP scans using both automatic respiratory rhythm trigger acquisition (ARRTA)and MCRRTA,and the acquisition time and image quality were also ana-lyzed.Results The acquisition time of MRCP using ARRTA and MCRRTA were 675.13 ± 35.89 s and 546.38 ± 30.61 s respec-tively,exhibiting significant differences using the paired sample t-test (t=13.85,P=0.000).In ARRTA group,the scores of the image quality were 4 in 11 cases (11/40,27.5%);3 in 18 cases (18/40,45.0%);2 in 10 cases (10/40,25.0%);and 1 in only 1 case (1/40,2.5%),respectively.In MCRRTA group,the scores of the image quality were 4 in 25 cases (25/40,65.5%);3 in 10 cases (10/40,25.0%);2 in 5 cases (5/40,12.5%);and no case with 1 score (0/40,0%),respectively.The differences in image quality between two groups were statistically significant using the wilcoxon rank sum test (Z=-3.036,P=0.002).Conclusion MCRRTA technology in low-field MRCP scans can improve significantly image quality and shorten examination time.

Objective To research the variety and the imaging features of bone tumor and tumor-like lesions in the talus.Methods The imaging features of 33 cases of tumor and tumor-like lesions in the talus were reviewed retrospectively.All cases were confirmed by operation and pathology,All of 33 cases were performed X-ray examination,23 cases were examined by CT,and 11 cases were taken by MR.Results In 33 cases,24 cases were males,9 cases were females; including 7 cases of chondroblastoma(21.2％),7 cases of giant cell tumor(21.2％)(1 case of recurrence),6 cases of osteochondroma(18.2％),2 cases of osteoid osteoma(6.1％),7 cases of adjacent joint bone cyst(21.2％,2 cases of fibrous dysplasia of bone(6.1％),1 case of bone cyst(3％),1 case of malignant fibrous histiocytoma(MFH) of bone(3％).6 cases showed pathological fractures.The X-ray and CT imaging features of chondroblastoma,giant cell tumor,adjacent joint bone cyst,fibrous dysplasia of bone,bone cyst demonstrated cystic bony destruction.The common location of chondroblastoma were the posterior of talus(57％),expanding growth slightly,margin were mild osteosclerosis.The margin were osteosclerosis irregularly and osteal ridges showed in giant cell tumor.MRI features were different on pathologic basis,isointense and hypointense signal on T1WI and hyperintense signal on T2WI usually.The osteochondroma showed osseous protuberance connecting the talus,some cases showed calcification in the cap.The imaging of MFH in the talus X-ray and CT showed ill-defined osteolytic bony destruction,soft tissue-mass,no periosteal reactions and bone formation.MRI showed isointense and hypointense signal on T1WI and isointense and hyperintense signal on T2WI.The extent of tumour invasion clearly displayed.Conclusion Tumor and tumor-like lesion in the talus were rare.But there are great varieties.The benign tumor was more common than malignant tumor.Chondroblastoma,giant cell tumor,osteochondroma,osteoid osteoma and adjacent joint bone cyst were relatively common and had some imaging features.Malignant tumor rarely happened in the talus,but it is possible.