Role of pulmonary perfusion magnetic resonance imaging for the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension: A review

Among five types of pulmonary hypertension, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is the only curable form, but prompt and accurate diagnosis can be challenging. Computed tomography and nuclear medicine-based techniques are standard imaging modalities to non-invasively diagnose CTEPH, however these are limited by radiation exposure, subjective qualitative bias, and lack of cardiac functional assessment. This review aims to assess the methodology, diagnostic accuracy of pulmonary perfusion imaging in the current literature and discuss its advantages, limitations and future research scope.

Adaptive Weighting Landmark-Based Group-Wise Registration on Lung DCE-MRI Images

Image registration of lung dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is challenging because the rapid changes in intensity lead to non-realistic deformations of intensity-based registration methods. To address this problem, we propose a novel landmark-based registration framework by incorporating landmark information into a group-wise registration. Robust principal component analysis is used to separate motion from intensity changes caused by a contrast agent. Landmark pairs are detected on the resulting motion components and then incorporated into an intensity-based registration through a constraint term. To reduce the negative effect of inaccurate landmark pairs on registration, an adaptive weighting landmark constraint is proposed. The method for calculating landmark weights is based on an assumption that the displacement of a good matched landmark is consistent with those of its neighbors. The proposed method was tested on 20 clinical lung DCE-MRI image series. Both visual inspection and quantitative assessment are used for the evaluation. Experimental results show that the proposed method effectively reduces the non-realistic deformations in registration and improves the registration performance compared with several state-of-the-art registration methods.

Acute pulmonary embolism multimodality imaging prior to endovascular therapy

The manuscript discusses the application of CT pulmonary angiography, ventilation–perfusion scan, and magnetic resonance angiography to detect acute pulmonary embolism and to plan endovascular therapy. CT pulmonary angiography offers high accuracy, speed of acquisition, and widespread availability when applied to acute pulmonary embolism detection. This imaging modality also aids the planning of endovascular therapy by visualizing the number and distribution of emboli, determining ideal intra-procedural catheter position for treatment, and signs of right heart strain. Ventilation–perfusion scan and magnetic resonance angiography with and without contrast enhancement can also aid in the detection and pre-procedural planning of endovascular therapy in patients who are not candidates for CT pulmonary angiography.

Diagnosis and interventions of vascular complications in lung transplant

Though rare, pulmonary vascular complications after lung transplantation carry high morbidity and mortality. Knowledge of the normal and abnormal appearance of lung transplant vasculature is essential for timely and appropriate diagnosis and management of complications. Appropriate selection of surgical and endovascular treatments depend on the availability of expertise and requires a multidisciplinary approach to ensure the best outcomes.

Free-breathing dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI for assessment of pulmonary lesions using golden-angle radial sparse parallel imaging

BACKGROUND

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) has been shown to be a promising technique for assessing lung lesions. However, DCE-MRI often suffers from motion artifacts and insufficient imaging speed. Therefore, highly accelerated free-breathing DCE-MRI is of clinical interest for lung exams.

PURPOSE

To test the performance of rapid free-breathing DCE-MRI for simultaneous qualitative and quantitative assessment of pulmonary lesions using Golden-angle RAdial Sparse Parallel (GRASP) imaging.

STUDY TYPE

Prospective.

POPULATION

Twenty-six patients (17 males, mean age = 55.1 ± 14.4) with known pulmonary lesions.

FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE

3T MR scanner; a prototype fat-saturated, T₁ -weighted stack-of-stars golden-angle radial sequence for data acquisition and a Cartesian breath-hold volumetric-interpolated examination (BH-VIBE) sequence for comparison.

ASSESSMENT

After a dual-mode GRASP reconstruction, one with 3-second temporal resolution (3s-GRASP) and the other with 15-second temporal resolution (15s-GRASP), all GRASP and BH-VIBE images were pooled together for blind assessment by two experienced radiologists, who independently scored the overall image quality, lesion delineation, overall artifact level, and diagnostic confidence of each case. Perfusion analysis was performed for the 3s-GRASP images using a Tofts model to generate the volume transfer coefficient (K^trans ) and interstitial volume (V_e ).

STATISTICAL TESTS

Nonparametric paired two-tailed Wilcoxon signed-rank test; Cohen's kappa; unpaired Student's t-test.

RESULTS

15s-GRASP achieved comparable image quality with conventional BH-VIBE (P > 0.05), except for the higher overall artifact level in the precontrast phase (P = 0.018). The K^trans and V_e in inflammation were higher than those in malignant lesions (K^trans : 0.78 ± 0.52 min^-1 vs. 0.37 ± 0.22 min^-1 , P = 0.020; V_e : 0.36 ± 0.16 vs. 0.26 ± 0.1, P = 0.177). Also, the K^trans and V_e in malignant lesions were also higher than those in benign lesions (K^trans : 0.37 ± 0.22 min^-1 vs. 0.04 ± 0.04 min^-1 , P = 0.001; V_e : 0.26 ± 0.12 vs. 0.10 ± 0.00, P = 0.063).

DATA CONCLUSION

This feasibility study demonstrated the performance of high spatiotemporal resolution free-breathing DCE-MRI of the lung using GRASP for qualitative and quantitative assessment of pulmonary lesions.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 1 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2018;48:459-468.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Evaluation of Pulmonary Embolism

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a leading cause of acute cardiovascular death throughout the world. Although computed tomography angiography (CTA) is the primary imaging study used to diagnose acute PE, pulmonary magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is increasingly being used in patients with contraindications for CTA. This manuscript reviews the MRA techniques used for the diagnosis of PE and discuss how these techniques can be implemented in routine clinical practice. In addition, the efficacy and effectiveness of these techniques will be compared to other modalities.

Contrast-enhanced pulmonary MRA for the primary diagnosis of pulmonary embolism: current state of the art and future directions

CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is currently considered the imaging standard of care for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE). Recent advances in contrast-enhanced pulmonary MR angiography (MRA) techniques have led to increased use of this modality for the detection of PE in the proper clinical setting. This review is intended to provide an introduction to the state-of-the-art techniques used in pulmonary MRA for the detection of PE and to discuss possible future directions for this modality. This review discusses the following issues pertinent to MRA for the diagnosis of PE: (1) the diagnostic efficacy and clinical effectiveness for pulmonary MRA relative to CTPA, (2) the different pulmonary MRA techniques used for the detection of PE, (3) guidance for building a clinical service at their institution using MRA and (4) future directions of PE MRA. Our principal aim was to show how pulmonary MRA can be used as a safe, effective modality for the diagnosis of clinically significant PE, particularly for those patients where there are concerns about ionizing radiation or contraindications/allergies to the iodinated contrast material.

Imaging in vascular diseases of the lung

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The present review focuses on the recent developments in the field of pulmonary angiography and perfusion by means of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

RECENT FINDINGS

Computed tomography allows for a detailed analysis of large and small pulmonary vascular pathologies and simultaneously allows for evaluation of the lung parenchyma. Magnetic resonance imaging allows for large and small vessel evaluation as well as noninvasive pressure assessment. Furthermore, recently non-breath-hold contrast-enhanced and noncontrast-enhanced techniques have been developed making magnetic resonance imaging an ideal tool for comprehensive thoracic imaging, even in challenging patients.

SUMMARY

Noninvasive imaging using computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging further increases their value in daily clinical practice when it comes to assessment of large and small pulmonary artery disease. As computed tomography is more easy to use and widely available, it remains the diagnostic modality of choice. However, magnetic resonance imaging is the modality of choice when a comprehensive angiographic and functional assessment is deemed necessary.