Information processing in nuclear magnetic resonance imaging.

An extended image analysis and classification system is presented to discuss the principal composition of the components as well as the methods of its realization in the field of reference based NMR diagnostics and tissue characterization.

[NMR-tomography of cerebral midline tumors and cervical cord processes in children]. / NMR-Tomographie von zerebralen Mittellinientumoren und Halsmarkprozessen im Kindesalter.

Tumours of the brain, mesencephalon and cervical spinal cord in 10 children were examined by MRI. The most useful anatomical information was supplied by the sagittal midplane tomogram. Due to the prolongation of T2-times in brain tumours T2-weighted images were appropriate for detecting pathological structures even without space-occupying signs. Questions of operability and therapeutic effectiveness were reliably answered.

[Ultrasound of the knee joint: normal values and changes in rheumatoid arthritis]. / Sonographie des Kniegelenks: Normalbefunde und Veränderungen bei rheumatoider Arthritis.

The bursa suprapatellaris, infrapatellaris, the patella tendon, condylar cartilage, menisci and fossa poplitea were examined sonographically in 56 healthy persons in defined sections. References for normal findings are given. The examination of 22 patients with rheumatoid arthritis revealed joint effusions, Baker cysts, synovial hypertrophy, intraarticular septae and changes in the echogenicity of the synovial fluid.

[MRI: incidence and evaluation of size and form criteria in hypophysis-healthy probands and in patients with detectable microadenomas]. / MRT: Häufigkeit und Bewertung von Grössen- und Formkriterien bei Hypophysengesunden und Patienten mit nachweisbaren Mikroadenomen.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in 42 patients with proven microadenomas and in 42 patients with normal pituitary hormone analysis. The normal MRI--anatomy of the pituitary gland and its possible variations with measurement of the volume and comparison of the anatomy with that of the gland after changes caused by microadenomas has to our knowledge not yet described. In this study we measured the height, coronary and sagittal diameter of the pituitary gland in both groups as well as other indirect signs of microadenomas (asymmetry of the gland, sella turcica, and the stalk). The pituitary volume indicates the expansion of microadenomas much better than the gland height (and the other diameters). Normal pituitary glands showed a significant lower volume (525 +/- 137 mm3 [R = 225-800 mm3]) than patients with proven microadenomas (734 +/- 393 mm3 [R = 335-2800 mm3], p < 0.001). The normal pituitary gland and sella turcica show a large variety of anatomic variations. These variations are less frequent in healthy subjects (10-21%) than in patients with microadenomas (48-71%). The described criteria are of some value in diagnosis of a suspected gland hypertrophy or microadenoma. In 75% of the patients with normal pituitary parameters and in 12% of the patients with microadenomas no indirect adenoma criteria was found in our study.

[Reference substance for initialling the marker space in NMR tomography]. / Referenzsubstanz zur Initialisierung des Merkmalsraumes in der NMR-Tomographie.

Dimethylsiloxane polymers are tested to serve as a reference medium in quantitative MR imaging. Simultaneously measured during the patient's examination, the reference data are used to normalize the intrinsic MR tissue parameters. This method helps to achieve interindividual comparability of tissue vectors which are defined by proton density, spin-spin and spin-lattice relaxation times, thus leading to a remarkable improvement in tissue classification.