Differentiation of calcification from chronic hemorrhage with corrected gradient echo phase imaging

PURPOSE

The purpose of the current study was to prospectively evaluate the role of corrected gradient echo phase imaging in differentiation of calcified granuloma from chronic hemorrhage.

METHOD

Eighty-five patients with single/multiple calcifications and hemorrhages irrespective of their location were studied with corrected gradient echo phase imaging. In all the cases, CT was used as the gold standard for the presence/absence of calcification.

RESULTS

All calcified lesions showed positive phase, whereas chronic hemorrhages showed negative phase in all cases. Five calcified lesions showed no phase shift at TE =15 ms and positive shift at TE = 35 ms. Heterogeneous phase shift was observed in three calcified lesions at TE = 35 ms; all three lesions showed positive phase shift at TE = 15 ms. There was no site-specific problem in differentiation of calcification from chronic hemorrhage including in the basal ganglia.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that calcified granuloma can be easily differentiated from chronic hemorrhage with corrected gradient echo phase imaging, which may obviate the need for CT for its confirmation.

Magnetization transfer MR imaging correlation with histopathology in intracranial tuberculomas

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to correlate the differences in the magnetization transfer (MT) ratios of different components of the tuberculoma with histopathology and to see whether MT or conventional MR imaging correlates better with histopathology.

METHODS

MT T1 and conventional spin echo MR imaging was performed in six patients with intracranial tuberculomas. The tuberculomas were excised as a single mass and ex vivo MR imaging was performed using the same protocol. The gross histopathology was compared with in vivo imaging with respect to the MR signal intensity (MT ratio) in all six specimens.

RESULTS

The size of the tuberculomas was larger on MT T1-weighted images compared to T2-weighted images and matched the gross measurements of each specimen. The MT hyperintense rim matched the cellular component of the tuberculoma that was masked on T2-weighted images because of the associated perifocal oedema. The cellular component had a lower MT ratio compared to the necrotic components.

CONCLUSION

The outer hyperintense rim and hyperintense strands are due to the cellular infiltrate, noncaseating granulomas, and gliosis while the hypointense core represents solid caseation. The cellular outer rim shows lower MT ratio compared to the core of the tuberculoma. Histological correlation of the cellular and necrotic components of tuberculomas is best shown with MT T1 imaging.

One Pot Synthesis of Methyl 3-Methyl-4H-1,4-benzothiazine 2-carboxylates

Methyl 3-Methyl-4H-1,4-benzothiazines 2-Carboxylate

A one pot synthesis of methyl 3-methyl-4H-1,4-benzothiazine 2-carboxylates is reported by the condensation and oxidative cyclization of substituted 2-aminobenzenethiols with methyl acetoacetate in DMSO.

Orthogonalization, Bernstein polynomials, and image restoration

A substantially faster method of restoration of blurred images using the projection algorithm is presented. Prefiltering the noisy image with a Bernstein filter for effective restoration is suggested. Computer simulation results have been presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the suggested procedures.