Project description:We validated a novel image-based motion estimation computed tomographic (CT) technique (iME) to quantify atrial regional function in swine in vivo.Domestic swine (n = 8) underwent CT scan with intravenous contrast before and after median sternotomy where 15 to 30 glass beads were sutured to the atria to calculate the motion estimation error. Four-dimensional motion vector field was estimated using iME. Area change ratio (%AC) was calculated over the atrial endocardium to assess the surface deformation.The error between the measured and the calculated coordinates based on motion vector field was 0.76 ± 0.43 mm. The %AC was regionally heterogeneous. The %AC time course was significantly different between the right and the left atriums (P < 0.001) as well as between the right atrial appendage and the right atrial chamber (P = 0.004).Quantitative assessment of atrial regional function using iME is highly accurate. Image-based motion estimation computed tomographic (CT) technique can quantify subtle regional dysfunction that is not apparent in global functional indices such as ejection fraction.
Project description:Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is an emerging technique that has a great potential for preclinical whole-body imaging. To date, most whole-body PAT systems require multiple laser shots to generate one cross-sectional image, yielding a frame rate of <1 Hz. Because a mouse breathes at up to 3 Hz, without proper gating mechanisms, acquired images are susceptible to motion artifacts. Here, we introduce, for the first time to our knowledge, retrospective respiratory gating for whole-body photoacoustic computed tomography. This new method involves simultaneous capturing of the animal's respiratory waveform during photoacoustic data acquisition. The recorded photoacoustic signals are sorted and clustered according to the respiratory phase, and an image of the animal at each respiratory phase is reconstructed subsequently from the corresponding cluster. The new method was tested in a ring-shaped confocal photoacoustic computed tomography system with a hardware-limited frame rate of 0.625 Hz. After respiratory gating, we observed sharper vascular and anatomical images at different positions of the animal body. The entire breathing cycle can also be visualized at 20 frames/cycle.
Project description:We have enhanced photoacoustic computed tomography with dry acoustic coupling that eliminates water immersion anxiety and wrinkling of the animal and facilitates incorporating complementary modalities and procedures. The dry acoustic coupler is made of a tubular elastic membrane enclosed by a closed transparent water tank. The tubular membrane ensures water-free contact with the animal, and the closed water tank allows pressurization for animal stabilization. The dry coupler was tested using a whole-body small-animal ring-shaped photoacoustic computed tomography system. Dry coupling was found to provide image quality comparable to that of conventional water coupling.
Project description:Background and aimsCoronary artery disease (CAD) is usually caused by atherosclerosis, which is associated with general obesity and stronger associations with localized ectopic fat depots have been reported. We measured body ectopic fat distribution in Chinese patients to determine the association with coronary artery atherosclerosis (CA).MethodsPatients undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) who agreed to participate in the study (n = 750, 50.4% men, mean age 64.8 years) had cardiovascular disease and risk assessment. Body ectopic fat depots were measured from CT and their association with CA, determined from CCTA, was evaluated by univariate and multivariate logistic regression models.ResultsCAD with CA (CAD-CA) was present in 57.2% of participants with CAD of moderate/severe CA (CAD-msCA) present in 23.5% and both were significantly more frequent in men than in women. Overall, men had greater body mass index (BMI) but there was no difference in waist circumference (WC) between genders. However, significantly higher visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and periaortic fat volume (PAFV) were observed in men, whereas women had significantly higher abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT). With increasing age, there was a significant decline in BMI, WC and SAT in men, but a significant increase of WC and VAT, PAFV and epicardial fat volume (EFV) in women. A high proportion of non-calcified plaques was observed in CAD-CA, 55.3% in CAD of minimal/mild CA (CAD-mmCA) with 38.7% exclusively non-calcified plaques, and 59.7% in CAD-msCA with multiple type plaques containing non-calcified ones. Multivariate logistic regression showed a significant association of PAFV with CAD-CA and CAD-msCA that was independent of general obesity and clinical risk factors, and independent of abdominal obesity in the highest PAFV quartile patients. VATA was associated with an increased prevalence of CAD-msCA in the patients in the upper 2 VATA quartiles that was independent of clinical risk factors and both general and abdominal obesity.ConclusionsWe found age and gender differences of body ectopic fat distribution in Chinese patients with higher VAT and PAFV in men and higher SAT in women. With increased age, there was a decline of WC and SAT in men but not in women and an increase in WC, VAT and PAFV in women but not in men. PAFV was significantly associated with overall CAD-CA and CAD-msCA, while VAT was associated with CAD-msCA.
Project description:In this work, we report that the biodistribution and excretion of carbon nanohorns (CNHs) in mice are dependent on their size and functionalization. Small-sized CNHs (30-50 nm; S-CNHs) and large-sized CNHs (80-100 nm; L-CNHs) were chemically functionalized and radiolabeled with [(111)In]-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid and intravenously injected into mice. Their tissue distribution profiles at different time points were determined by single photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography. The results showed that the S-CNHs circulated longer in blood, while the L-CNHs accumulated faster in major organs like the liver and spleen. Small amounts of S-CNHs- and L-CNHs were excreted in urine within the first few hours postinjection, followed by excretion of smaller quantities within the next 48 hours in both urine and feces. The kinetics of excretion for S-CNHs were more rapid than for L-CNHs. Both S-CNH and L-CNH material accumulated mainly in the liver and spleen; however, S-CNH accumulation in the spleen was more prominent than in the liver.
Project description:ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to investigate the diagnostic discordance of osteoporosis by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in Chinese elderly men.MethodsA total of 313 males older than 60 years, who underwent both spinal QCT and lumbar spine and hip DXA in our department, were included. The diagnostic criteria established by the World Health Organisation in 1994 were used for DXA to diagnose osteoporosis, and the criteria recommended by the International Society of Clinical Densitometry were used for QCT. The osteoporosis detection rate by the two techniques was calculated, and the difference was compared. The minor discordance was considered present when the different diagnostic classes between the two techniques were adjacent. Major discordance was present when the diagnosis by one technique was osteoporosis and the other was normal. The computed tomography images were reviewed by radiologists to assess whether vertebral fracture, aorta calcification or degeneration was present.ResultsIn the 313 participants (mean age, 79.6 ± 7.2 years), the osteoporosis detection rate was 10.9% for DXA (lumbar spine and hip) and 45.1% for QCT, a significant difference (p < 0.001). The major discordance, minor discordance and concordance of diagnosis between the two techniques were seen in 8.3%, 50.8% and 40.9%, respectively. QCT detected osteoporosis better than DXA. The causes of this discordance were degeneration of spine, abdominal aorta calcification and vertebral fractures.ConclusionOur study demonstrated that discordance was common when using QCT and DXA to diagnose osteoporosis and that spinal degeneration, aorta calcification and fracture obscure the bone mineral density measurement of spine by DXA. QCT is a more sensitive method of choice to identify osteoporosis in elderly Chinese men.The translational potential of this articleThis study investigated the diagnostic discordance of osteoporosis by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in Chinese elderly men. The results demonstrated that QCT is a more sensitive method of choice to identify osteoporosis in elderly Chinese men. This work may help clinicians make an appropriate choice of technique for the accurate diagnosis of osteoporosis and identify the patients at high risk of osteoporosis who should be treated early to prevent fractures. This may influence the therapeutic plan and the overall prognosis of patients.
Project description:BackgroundSegmentation of computed tomography (CT) images provides quantitative data on body tissue composition, which may greatly impact the development and progression of diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus and cancer. We aimed to evaluate the inter- and intraobserver variation of semiautomated segmentation, to assess whether multiple observers may interchangeably perform this task.MethodsAnonymised, unenhanced, single mid-abdominal CT images were acquired from 132 subjects from two previous studies. Semiautomated segmentation was performed using a proprietary software package. Abdominal muscle compartment (AMC), inter- and intramuscular adipose tissue (IMAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) were identified according to pre-established attenuation ranges. The segmentation was performed by four observers: an oncology resident with extensive training and three radiographers with a 2-week training programme. To assess interobserver variation, segmentation of each CT image was performed individually by two or more observers. To assess intraobserver variation, three of the observers did repeated segmentations of the images. The distribution of variation between subjects, observers and random noise was estimated by a mixed effects model. Inter- and intraobserver correlation was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).ResultsFor all four tissue compartments, the observer variations were far lower than random noise by factors ranging from 1.6 to 3.6 and those between subjects by factors ranging from 7.3 to 186.1. All interobserver ICC was ≥ 0.938, and all intraobserver ICC was ≥ 0.996.ConclusionsBody composition segmentation showed a very low level of operator dependability. Multiple observers may interchangeably perform this task with highly reproducible results.
Project description:BackgroundDeep-learning-based denoising improves image quality and quantification accuracy for low count (LC) positron emission tomography (PET). Conventional deep-learning-based denoising methods only require single LC PET image input. This study aims to propose a deep-learning-based LC PET denoising method incorporating computed tomography (CT) priors to further reduce the dose level.MethodsFifty patients who underwent their routine whole-body 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) PET/CT scans in March 2022 were retrospectively and non-consecutively recruited. For full count (FC) PET, patients were injected with 3.7 MBq/kg FDG and scanned for 5 bed positions with 2 min/bed. LC PET of 1/10 (LC-10) and 1/20 (LC-20) count levels of FC PET were obtained by randomly down-sampling the FC list mode data, which were then paired with FC PET for training U-Net (U-Net-1) and cGAN (cGAN-1). Networks incorporated CT images as input (U-Net-2 and cGAN-2) were also implemented. Quantitative analysis of physical and clinical indices was performed and statistically assessed with Wilcoxon sign-rank test with Bonferroni correction.ResultsMean square error and structural similarity index were the best for cGAN-2, followed by U-Net-2, cGAN-1 and U-Net-1. The errors of mean standardized uptake value (SUV) and maximum SUV were lowest for cGAN-2, followed by cGAN-1, U-Net-2 and U-Net-1. For cGAN-2, image quality and lesion detectability scores were 3.71±0.94 and 4.25±0.83 for LC-10, 3.57±0.79 and 3.61±1.21 for LC-20, while they were 3.49±0.92 and 4.42±0.08 for FC. Notably, some small lesions were "masked out" on cGAN/U-Net-1 but can be retrieved on cGAN/U-Net-2 denoised PET for LC-20.ConclusionsDeep-learning-based LC PET denoising incorporating CT priors is more effective than conventional deep-learning-based denoising with single LC PET input, especially at lower dose levels.
Project description:The gold-standard of preclinical micro-computed tomography (μCT) data processing is still manual delineation of complete organs or regions by specialists. However, this method is time-consuming, error-prone, has limited reproducibility, and therefore is not suitable for large-scale data analysis. Unfortunately, robust and accurate automated whole body segmentation algorithms are still missing. In this publication, we introduce a database containing 225 murine 3D whole body μCT scans along with manual organ segmentation of most important organs including heart, liver, lung, trachea, spleen, kidneys, stomach, intestine, bladder, thigh muscle, bone, as well as subcutaneous tumors. The database includes native and contrast-enhanced, regarding spleen and liver, μCT data. All scans along with organ segmentation are freely accessible at the online repository Figshare. We encourage researchers to reuse the provided data to evaluate and improve methods and algorithms for accurate automated organ segmentation which may reduce manual segmentation effort, increase reproducibility, and even reduce the number of required laboratory animals by reducing a source of variability and having access to a reliable reference group.
Project description:BackgroundPeripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) can provide information complementary to dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), however, there is sparse normative data to enable meaningful clinical interpretation and comparison. This study aimed to develop age-stratified normative data for pQCT-derived bone parameters in Australian men.MethodsParticipants were men (n = 508, age 33-96 yr) from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study. Bone parameters at 4% (n = 469) and 66% (n = 436) of radial length, and 4% (n = 449) and 66% (n = 438) of tibial length were acquired using pQCT (XCT 2000, Stratec Medizintechnik, Pforzheim, Germany). Best models of age, height and weight for each parameter were developed and where parameters exhibited variation with age, age decade mean (±SD) values were determined. Scatterplots were used to visualise the relationships between each of the parameters and age, height and weight.ResultsThirteen parameters at tibial and radial sites were correlated with age, height and weight, allowing for their inclusion in multiple linear regression models. A positive association with age was found for total area of the tibia or radius (as appropriate) (mm2) at all sites, trabecular bone area (mm2) at 4% sites, and total bone area (both long bones) (mm2) at 66% sites. A negative association with age was found for cortical density (mg/cm3) and cortical thickness (mm) at both radial and tibial 66% sites, but total density (mg/cm3) at the 66% radial site and total cortical density of both long bones (mg/cm3) at the 66% tibial site only.ConclusionThis study presents normative data for pQCT-derived bone parameters and describes age related associations in a number of these variables. Broadly, parameters of bone area were positively associated with age, whereas parameters associated with bone density and structure were negatively associated with age. These data have the potential to be used in clinical settings when assessing age-related decline in bone health.Mini abstractNormative data for pQCT parameters in Australian men are presented, adjusted for age, height and weight.