Natural language processing pipeline to extract prostate cancer-related information from clinical notes.

OBJECTIVES: To develop an automated pipeline for extracting prostate cancer-related information from clinical notes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 23,225 patients who underwent prostate MRI between 2017 and 2022. Cancer risk factors (family history of cancer and digital rectal exam findings), pre-MRI prostate pathology, and treatment history of prostate cancer were extracted from free-text clinical notes in English as binary or multi-class classification tasks. Any sentence containing pre-defined keywords was extracted from clinical notes within one year before the MRI. After manually creating sentence-level datasets with ground truth, Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT)-based sentence-level models were fine-tuned using the extracted sentence as input and the category as output. The patient-level output was determined by compilation of multiple sentence-level outputs using tree-based models. Sentence-level classification performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) on 15% of the sentence-level dataset (sentence-level test set). The patient-level classification performance was evaluated on the patient-level test set created by radiologists by reviewing the clinical notes of 603 patients. Accuracy and sensitivity were compared between the pipeline and radiologists. RESULTS: Sentence-level AUCs were ≥ 0.94. The pipeline showed higher patient-level sensitivity for extracting cancer risk factors (e.g., family history of prostate cancer, 96.5% vs. 77.9%, p < 0.001), but lower accuracy in classifying pre-MRI prostate pathology (92.5% vs. 95.9%, p = 0.002) and treatment history of prostate cancer (95.5% vs. 97.7%, p = 0.03) than radiologists, respectively. CONCLUSION: The proposed pipeline showed promising performance, especially for extracting cancer risk factors from patient's clinical notes. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: The natural language processing pipeline showed a higher sensitivity for extracting prostate cancer risk factors than radiologists and may help efficiently gather relevant text information when interpreting prostate MRI. KEY POINTS: When interpreting prostate MRI, it is necessary to extract prostate cancer-related information from clinical notes. This pipeline extracted the presence of prostate cancer risk factors with higher sensitivity than radiologists. Natural language processing may help radiologists efficiently gather relevant prostate cancer-related text information.

Model-based image reconstruction with wavelet sparsity regularization for through-plane resolution restoration in T2 -weighted spin-echo prostate MRI.

PURPOSE: The purpose is to develop a model-based image-reconstruction method using wavelet sparsity regularization for maintaining restoration of through-plane resolution but with improved retention of SNR versus linear reconstruction using Tikhonov (TK) regularization in high through-plane resolution (1 mm) T2 -weighted spin-echo (T2SE) images of the prostate. METHODS: A wavelet sparsity (WS)-regularized image reconstruction was developed that takes as input a set of ≈80 overlapped 3-mm-thick slices acquired using a T2SE multislice scan and typically 30 coil elements. After testing in contrast and resolution phantoms and calibration in 6 subjects, the WS reconstruction was evaluated in 16 consecutive prostate T2SE MRI exams. Results reconstructed with nominal 1-mm thickness were compared with those from the TK reconstruction with the same raw data. Results were evaluated radiologically. The ratio of magnitude of prostate signal to periprostatic muscle signal was used to assess the presence of noise reduction. Technical performance was also compared with a commercial 3D-T2SE sequence. RESULTS: The new WS reconstruction was assessed as superior statistically to TK for overall SNR, contrast, and multiple evaluation criteria related to sharpness while retaining the high (1 mm) through-plane resolution. Wavelet sparsity tended to provide improved overall diagnostic quality versus TK, but not significantly so. In all 16 studies, the prostate-to-muscle signal ratio increased. CONCLUSIONS: Model-based WS-regularized reconstruction consistently provides improved SNR in high (1 mm) through-plane resolution images of prostate T2SE MRI versus linear reconstruction using TK regularization.

Decreased prostate MRI cancer detection rate due to moderate to severe susceptibility artifacts from hip prosthesis.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the impact of susceptibility artifacts from hip prosthesis on cancer detection rate (CDR) in prostate MRI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This three-center retrospective study included prostate MRI studies for patients without known prostate cancer between 2017 and 2021. Exams with hip prosthesis were searched on MRI reports. The degree of susceptibility artifact on diffusion-weighted images was retrospectively categorized into mild, moderate, and severe (> 66%, 33-66%, and < 33% of the prostate volume are evaluable) by blind reviewers. CDR was defined as the number of exams with Gleason score ≥7 detected by MRI (PI-RADS ≥3) divided by the total number of exams. For each artifact grade, control exams without hip prosthesis were matched (1:6 match), and CDR was compared. The degree of CDR reduction was evaluated with ratio, and influential factors were evaluated by expanding the equation. RESULTS: Hip arthroplasty was present in 548 (4.8%) of the 11,319 MRI exams. CDR of the cases and matched control exams for each artifact grade were as follows: mild (n = 238), 0.27 vs 0.25, CDR ratio = 1.09 [95% CI: 0.87-1.37]; moderate (n = 143), 0.18 vs 0.27, CDR ratio = 0.67 [95% CI: 0.46-0.96]; severe (n = 167), 0.22 vs 0.28, CDR ratio = 0.80 [95% CI: 0.59-1.08]. When moderate and severe artifact grades were combined, CDR ratio was 0.74 [95% CI: 0.58-0.93]. CDR reduction was mostly attributed to the increased frequency of PI-RADS 1-2. CONCLUSION: With moderate to severe susceptibility artifacts from hip prosthesis, CDR was decreased to 74% compared to the matched control. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Moderate to severe susceptibility artifacts from hip prosthesis may cause a non-negligible CDR reduction in prostate MRI. Expanding indications for systematic prostate biopsy may be considered when PI-RADS 1-2 was assigned. KEY POINTS: • We proposed cancer detection rate as a diagnostic performance metric in prostate MRI. • With moderate to severe susceptibility artifacts secondary to hip arthroplasty, cancer detection rate decreased to 74% compared to the matched control. • Expanding indications for systematic prostate biopsy may be considered when PI-RADS 1-2 is assigned.

Long-Term Risk of Clinical Progression Utilizing Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings of Locally Recurrent Prostate Cancer in Patients with Biochemical Recurrence following Radical Prostatectomy.

PURPOSE: Our goal was to evaluate the long-term prognostic value of magnetic resonance imaging of the prostatectomy bed in patients with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Men with biochemical recurrence after radical prostatectomy who were studied by prostatectomy bed magnetic resonance imaging for suspected local recurrence were retrospectively evaluated. Locally recurrent tumors were noted and measured from imaging reports. Patients with nodal/bone lesions at the time of imaging were excluded. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to assess systemic progression-free and prostate cancer-specific survival. RESULTS: A total of 896 men were enrolled and the imaging positive and negative groups for local recurrent tumor consisted of 441 and 455 men, respectively. On univariate analysis, preoperative prostate specific antigen (p=0.02), clinical tumor stage (p=0.006), pathological Gleason score from prostatectomy (p=0.02), subsequent salvage radiotherapy (p <0.001), biochemical recurrence to magnetic resonance imaging time interval (p <0.001), age at magnetic resonance imaging (p=0.047) and prostate specific antigen at magnetic resonance imaging (p <0.001) were significantly different between magnetic resonance imaging positive and negative groups. Patients with negative magnetic resonance imaging results had worse systemic progression-free survival rates (p=0.025) and better prostate cancer-specific survival (p=0.016) than those with recurrence. Larger lesion size significantly increased risk of prostate cancer death (hazard ratio: 1.07; p <0.001). On multivariable analysis, pathological Gleason scores ≥7 were independent prognostic factors of systemic progression (p <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Prostatectomy bed magnetic resonance imaging provides long-term prognostic information for the evaluation of patients with biochemical recurrence after prostatectomy. Post-prostatectomy patients with recurrent lesions on imaging had longer progression-free survival but shorter prostate cancer-specific survival compared to those without lesions. Additionally, those with larger lesions were associated with poorer cancer-specific survival.

Repeatability and Reproducibility Assessment of the Apparent Diffusion Coefficient in the Prostate: A Trial of the ECOG-ACRIN Research Group (ACRIN 6701).

BACKGROUND: Uncertainty regarding the reproducibility of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) hampers the use of quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in evaluation of the prostate with magnetic resonance imaging MRI. The quantitative imaging biomarkers alliance (QIBA) profile for quantitative DWI claims a within-subject coefficient of variation (wCV) for prostate lesion ADC of 0.17. Improved understanding of ADC reproducibility would aid the use of quantitative diffusion in prostate MRI evaluation. PURPOSE: Evaluation of the repeatability (same-day) and reproducibility (multi-day) of whole-prostate and focal-lesion ADC assessment in a multi-site setting. STUDY TYPE: Prospective multi-institutional. SUBJECTS: Twenty-nine males, ages 53 to 80 (median 63) years, following diagnosis of prostate cancer, 10 with focal lesions. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 3T, single-shot spin-echo diffusion-weighted echo-planar sequence with four b-values. ASSESSMENT: Sites qualified for the study using an ice-water phantom with known ADC. Readers performed DWI analyses at visit 1 ("V1") and visit 2 ("V2," 2-14 days after V1), where V2 comprised scans before ("V2pre") and after ("V2post") a "coffee-break" interval with subject removal and repositioning. A single reader segmented the whole prostate. Two readers separately placed region-of-interests for focal lesions. STATISTICAL TESTS: Reproducibility and repeatability coefficients for whole prostate and focal lesions derived from median pixel ADC. We estimated the wCV and 95% confidence interval using a variance stabilizing transformation and assessed interreader reliability of focal lesion ADC using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: The ADC biases from b0 -b600 and b0 -b800 phantom scans averaged 1.32% and 1.44%, respectively; mean b-value dependence was 0.188%. Repeatability and reproducibility of whole prostate median pixel ADC both yielded wCVs of 0.033 (N = 29). In 10 subjects with an evaluable focal lesion, the individual reader wCVs were 0.148 and 0.074 (repeatability) and 0.137 and 0.078 (reproducibility). All time points demonstrated good to excellent interreader reliability for focal lesion ADC (ICCV1  = 0.89; ICCV2pre  = 0.76; ICCV2post  = 0.94). DATA CONCLUSION: This study met the QIBA claim for prostate ADC. Test-retest repeatability and multi-day reproducibility were largely equivalent. Interreader reliability for focal lesion ADC was high across time points. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1 TECHNICAL EFFICACY: Stage 2 TOC CATEGORY: Pelvis.

Kaizen Process Improvement in Radiology: Primer for Creating a Culture of Continuous Quality Improvement.

Kaizen process improvement is an element of lean production that is an approach to creating continuous improvement. Kaizen is based on the idea that small ongoing positive changes in workflow and elimination of waste can yield major improvements over time. A focused Kaizen event, or rapid process improvement event, can lead to sustainable process improvement in health care settings that are resistant to change. This approach has been proven to be successful in health care. These events are led by a trained facilitator and coach who provides appropriate team education and engagement. To ensure success, the team must embrace the Kaizen culture, which emphasizes the development of a "learning organization" that is focused on relentless pursuit of perfection. The culture empowers all staff to improve the work they perform, with an emphasis on the process and not the individual. Respect for individual people is key in Kaizen. In radiology, this method has been successful in empowering frontline staff to improve their individual workflows. A 5-day Kaizen event has been successful in increasing on-time starts, decreasing lead time, increasing patient and staff satisfaction, and ensuring sustainability. Sustainable success can occur when the team stays true to lean principles, engages leaders, and empowers team members with the use of timely data to drive decision making. Online supplemental material is available for this article. ©RSNA, 2022.

Feasibility of Dual-Energy Computed Tomography Imaging of Gadolinium-Based Contrast Agents and Its Application in Computed Tomography Cystography: An Exploratory Study to Assess an Alternative Option When Iodinated Contrast Agents Are Contraindicated.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the contrast enhancement differences between gadolinium-based and iodine-based contrast agents at different single-energy tube potentials and dual-energy-based virtual monochromatic energies. In addition, we describe the application of a gadolinium-based contrast agent in computed tomography (CT) cystography for a patient with contraindications to iodine. METHODS: A phantom study was performed using 3 iodine samples (concentrations: 5, 10, and 15 mgI/mL) and 3 gadolinium samples (concentrations: 3.3, 6.6, and 9.9 mgGd/mL). The prepared phantom was scanned by a dual-energy CT (DECT) at 80, 100, 120, and 140 kV in the single-energy mode and at 100/Sn140 kV in the dual-energy mode. Virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) at 50 keV were generated from the DECT scan. In addition, a DECT cystogram was performed using a gadolinium-based contrast agent in a patient with contraindications to iodinated contrast. RESULTS: Strong linear correlations between mean signal of contrast enhancement and mass concentration were found for both iodine and gadolinium samples across all single-energy CT (SECT) and DECT scan conditions. The VMI at 50 keV provided the highest contrast enhancement for both types of contrast samples at each concentration level, and single-energy CT scans at low-energy beams showed higher contrast enhancement than higher beam energies. In addition, the contrast enhancement for pure gadolinium solution was constantly higher than pure iodine solution at an identical mass concentration level. The DECT cystogram was performed with excellent technical success. The urinary bladder was appropriately distended with intravesical contrast measuring 606 Hounsfield units and no evidence of bladder leak or fistula. CONCLUSIONS: Imaging of gadolinium-based contrast agents is improved using a DECT technique, with VMI at 50 keV providing the highest contrast enhancement among our tested parameters. Dual-energy CT cystography using a gadolinium-based agent can be a safe and effective alternative when iodinated agents are contraindicated.

Imaging pediatric acute appendicitis during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: collateral damage is variable.

BACKGROUND: Since coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a worldwide pandemic in March 2020, many authors have noted the collateral damage on non-COVID-19-related illnesses. These indirect effects of the pandemic have resulted in people presenting later and with more severe stages of disease, even if their diagnoses are not directly related to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. OBJECTIVE: We studied these indirect effects of COVID-19 on the imaging workup and outcomes for pediatric patients at our center who had acute appendicitis during the pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of cases in children ≤18 years who were evaluated for acute appendicitis during the same period, March 1 to May 31, in both 2019 and 2020. We compared demographic and clinical data as well as surgical and pathological findings, and we graded imaging findings according to severity. Differences in patient outcomes were assessed using the Wilcoxon rank sum test and the Pearson chi-square test. RESULTS: The total number of pediatric patients evaluated with imaging for acute appendicitis dropped by 43% between 2019 and 2020 (298 vs. 169), but the total number of children treated remained similar (59 vs. 51). There was proportionate use of US and CT in each timeframe but a higher percentage of positive imaging findings in 2020 (50/169, 29.6% vs. 56/298, 18.7% in 2019, P=0.04). There were more imaging examinations with features of complicated appendicitis among positive cases (9/51, 18% vs. 5/59, 8% in 2019, P=0.08) and more pathologically proven perforated cases during the pandemic (14/51, 27% vs. 6/59, 10% in 2019, P=0.11), although these results did not reach statistical significance. There were no changes in surgical management, vital signs, laboratory values, length of stay or complication rates. CONCLUSION: There was a large drop in the number of pediatric patients imaged for acute appendicitis during the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic despite similar numbers of patients treated. The utilization trends of US vs. CT remained stable between time periods. The differences in imaging findings and perforation rates were less pronounced compared to other published studies.

Variability of the Positive Predictive Value of PI-RADS for Prostate MRI across 26 Centers: Experience of the Society of Abdominal Radiology Prostate Cancer Disease-focused Panel.

Background Prostate MRI is used widely in clinical care for guiding tissue sampling, active surveillance, and staging. The Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) helps provide a standardized probabilistic approach for identifying clinically significant prostate cancer. Despite widespread use, the variability in performance of prostate MRI across practices remains unknown. Purpose To estimate the positive predictive value (PPV) of PI-RADS for the detection of high-grade prostate cancer across imaging centers. Materials and Methods This retrospective cross-sectional study was compliant with the HIPAA. Twenty-six centers with members in the Society of Abdominal Radiology Prostate Cancer Disease-focused Panel submitted data from men with suspected or biopsy-proven untreated prostate cancer. MRI scans were obtained between January 2015 and April 2018. This was followed with targeted biopsy. Only men with at least one MRI lesion assigned a PI-RADS score of 2-5 were included. Outcome was prostate cancer with Gleason score (GS) greater than or equal to 3+4 (International Society of Urological Pathology grade group ≥2). A mixed-model logistic regression with institution and individuals as random effects was used to estimate overall PPVs. The variability of observed PPV of PI-RADS across imaging centers was described by using the median and interquartile range. Results The authors evaluated 3449 men (mean age, 65 years ± 8 [standard deviation]) with 5082 lesions. Biopsy results showed 1698 cancers with GS greater than or equal to 3+4 (International Society of Urological Pathology grade group ≥2) in 2082 men. Across all centers, the estimated PPV was 35% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 27%, 43%) for a PI-RADS score greater than or equal to 3 and 49% (95% CI: 40%, 58%) for a PI-RADS score greater than or equal to 4. The interquartile ranges of PPV at these same PI-RADS score thresholds were 27%-44% and 27%-48%, respectively. Conclusion The positive predictive value of the Prostate Imaging and Reporting Data System was low and varied widely across centers. © RSNA, 2020 Online supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Milot in this issue.

Modified acquisition strategy for reduced motion artifact in super resolution T2 FSE multislice MRI: Application to prostate.

PURPOSE: To reduce slice-to-slice motion effects in multislice T2 -weighted fast-spin-echo ( T2 FSE) imaging, manifest as "scalloping" in reformats, by modification of the acquisition strategy and to show applicability in prostate MRI. METHODS: T2 FSE images of contiguous or overlapping slices are typically acquired using multiple passes in which each pass is comprised of multiple slices with slice-to-slice gaps. Combination of slices from all passes provides the desired sampling. For enhancement of through-plane resolution with super resolution or for reformatting into other orientations, subtle ≈1 mm motion between passes can cause objectionable "scalloping" artifact. Here we address this by subdivision of each pass into multiple segments. Interleaving of segments from the multiple passes causes all slices to be acquired over substantially the same time, reducing pass-to-pass motion effects. This was implemented in acquiring 78 overlapped T2 FSE axial slices and studied in phantoms and in 14 prostate MRI patients. Super-resolution axial images and sagittal reformats from the original and new segmented acquisitions were evaluated by 3 uroradiologists. RESULTS: For all criteria of sagittal reformats, the segmented acquisition was statistically superior to the original. For all sharpness criteria of axial images, although the trend preferred the original acquisition, the difference was not significant. For artifact in axial images, the segmented acquisition was significantly superior. CONCLUSIONS: For prostate MRI the new segmented acquisition significantly reduces the scalloping motion artifact that can be present in reformats due to long time lags between the acquisition of adjacent or overlapped slices while retaining image sharpness in the acquired axial slices.

Hemosiderin deposition in papillary renal cell carcinoma and its potential to mask enhancement on MRI: analysis of 110 cases.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the relationship between imperceptible T1 enhancement of papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) on MR and intratumoral hemosiderin deposition. METHODS: One hundred ten pRCCs (≤ 7 cm) were evaluated by MR with in- and opposed-phase spoiled gradient echo (GRE) and T1-weighted spoiled GRE with fat suppression before and after contrast. Hemosiderin deposition was assessed by SIindex and Dindex on in- and opposed-phase images. SIindex and Dindex are calculated as (SIin - SIopp)/(SIin) × 100, where SIin and SIopp are tumor signal intensities on in- and opposed-phase images and (Din)/(Dopp), where Din and Dopp are tumor diameters on in- and opposed-phase images, respectively. The degree of tumor enhancement was classified as grade 1 (no), grade 2 (subtle), or grade 3 (definite). Tumor enhancement on CT was assessed when available. RESULTS: Five (5%), 10 (9%), and 95 (86%) tumors were categorized as grades 1, 2, and 3 enhancement, respectively. The mean SIindex was - 33.9, - 25.3, and 1.00, whereas the mean Dindex was 1.26, 1.05, and 1.00 in tumors with grades 1, 2, and 3 enhancement, respectively. Tumors with grade 1 enhancement had significantly lower SIindex (p = 0.001) and higher Dindex (p = 0.005) than those with grade 3 enhancement. Among six tumors with grade 1 or 2 enhancement and available CT, four tumors showed > 20 HU enhancement. CONCLUSIONS: pRCC with no subjective enhancement on contrast-enhanced MR showed hemosiderin deposition evident by lower SIindex and higher Dindex. Hemosiderin deposition might mask the tumor enhancement on MR. KEY POINTS: • 5% of papillary renal cell carcinoma showed imperceptible enhancement on contrast-enhanced MR. • Hemosiderin deposition in papillary renal cell carcinoma might mask the tumor enhancement on contrast-enhanced MR due to T2/T2*-shortening effects. • A renal lesion with extensive hemosiderin deposition but no perceptible enhancement on MR should be considered suspicious for papillary renal cell carcinoma.

Prostatic Remnant After Prostatectomy: MR Findings and Prevalence in Clinical Practice.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the MR findings of prostatic remnant after prostatectomy and estimate the prevalence of prostatic remnant in patients that undergo MRI after prostatectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS. Sixty-six patients who had undergone radical prostatectomy with pathologically proven benign prostatic remnant between 2007 and 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Pathologically proven benign prostatic remnant was determined on the basis of initial pathologic report. Of the 66 initial patients, 30 patients with biopsy-proven benign prostatic remnant without coexisting recurrent prostate carcinoma and three patients who underwent repeat resection for completion prostatectomy were enrolled. MRI characteristics including location, size, signal intensity on T2-weighted images and DWI, and contrast enhancement pattern were analyzed. Nine additional patients were found to have a prostatic remnant by imaging without biopsy. The prevalence of prostatic remnant among those undergoing MRI for suspected recurrence during the same period was estimated. RESULTS. Prostatic remnant was detected in 23 of 33 patients on MRI. The remaining 10 patients did not have any visible abnormality. The 23 detected lesions were located in three regions: under the vesicourethral anastomosis in five patients, in the bladder neck in 12 patients, and posterior to the bladder in six patients. On T2-weighted imaging, 17 of 23 lesions showed heterogeneous hyperintensity. On DWI, 14 lesions showed hyperintensity. Dedicated MRI studies were performed for suspected prostate cancer recurrence in 2466 patients during the same period. Prevalence of exclusively benign prostate remnant detectable on MRI was approximately 1% of that population (23/2466-35/2466), and overall prevalence of any prostate remnant detectable on MRI was 3% (75/2466). CONCLUSION. Benign prostate remnant after prostatectomy occurs at three common sites and typically shows heterogeneous hyperintensity on T2-weighted imaging. The prevalence of detectable prostatic remnant in men who undergo MRI for suspected recurrence was approximately 1-3%.

Current Imaging Techniques for and Imaging Spectrum of Prostate Cancer Recurrence and Metastasis: A Pictorial Review.

Relapsing level of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) after initial curative-intent local therapy for organ-confined prostate cancer is often the first sign of recurrence. However, PSA level recurrence does not enable accurate differentiation of locally recurrent tumor from metastatic disease or a combination of both. Metastatic prostate cancer most frequently involves bones and lymph nodes, followed by other organs such as the liver, lung, pleura, adrenal gland, ureter, peritoneum, penis, testis, and meninges. Conventional imaging including CT and bone scintigraphy has long been the standard of care but has limited sensitivity in depicting early local recurrence or metastatic disease. Multiparametric MRI has been shown to be more sensitive in detecting locally recurrent tumor in the prostatectomy bed as well as in situ recurrence in a prostate gland that has been treated with radiation therapy or thermal ablation. In addition, lesions detected with multiparametric MRI may be amenable to targeted biopsy for definitive diagnosis of recurrence. PET/CT or PET/MRI using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved tracers carbon 11 choline or fluorine 18 fluciclovine has demonstrated markedly increased sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis of early metastatic disease such as small-volume lymph node metastasis, as have a range of investigational gallium 68 prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) radioactive PET tracers. With recent advances in imaging modalities and techniques, more accurate early detection, localization, and characterization of recurrent prostate cancer have become possible. The authors present a contemporary review of the strengths and limitations of conventional and advanced imaging modalities in evaluation of patients with recurrent prostate cancer and a systematic review of the clinical and imaging features of locally recurrent and metastatic disease.©RSNA, 2020See discussion on this article by Barwick and Castellucci.

Use of kZ -space for high through-plane resolution in multislice MRI: Application to prostate.

PURPOSE: The goal of this work is to demonstrate 1 mm through-plane resolution in multislice T2SE MRI using k Z -space processing of overlapping slices and show applicability in prostate MRI. METHODS: Multiple overlapped slices are acquired and Fourier transformed in the slice-select direction. The slice profile is incorporated into a Tikhonov-regularized reconstruction. Through-plane resolution is tested in a resolution phantom. An anthropomorphic prostate phantom is used to study the SNR, and results are compared with theoretical prediction. The proposed method is tested in 16 patients indicated for clinical prostate MRI who gave written informed consent as overseen by our IRB. The "proposed" vs. "reference" multislice images are compared using multiple evaluation criteria for through-plane resolution. RESULTS: The modulation transfer function (MTF) plots of the resolution phantom show good modulation at frequency 0.5 lp/mm, demonstrating 1 mm through-plane resolution restoration. The SNR measurements experimentally match the theoretically predicted values. The radiological evaluation shows that the proposed method is superior to the reference method for five criteria of sharpness but inferior with respect to artifacts. CONCLUSIONS: In conjunction with overlapped slices a k Z -space-based reconstruction approach can be used to improve through-plane resolution in multislice T2SE MRI. 1 mm resolution is demonstrated from 3.2 mm thick slices. The in vivo results from prostate MRI show improved sharpness when compared to the standard multislice method.

Safety and Image Quality of 1.5-T Endorectal Coil Multiparametric MRI of the Prostate or Prostatectomy Fossa for Patients With Pacemaker or Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to report the patient safety and image quality of 1.5-T multiparametric MRI of the prostate in patients with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, a database was searched to identify prostate multiparametric 1.5-T MRI examinations performed with endorectal coils for patients with CIEDs from 2012 to 2016 (study group) and matched patients without CIEDs (control group). Clinical safety in the study group was reviewed. The specific absorption rate (SAR) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were measured in both groups. Imaging quality and artifact on T2-weighted images, DW images, and dynamic contrast-enhanced images were rated on a 5-point scale by two independent readers. RESULTS: The study group consisted of total 28 multiparametric MRI examinations in 25 patients. There were no serious device-related adverse effects observed (0/28; 0%), and the estimated whole-body SAR in the study group was never greater than 1.5 W/kg. The SNR values tended to be lower in the study group than in the control group. However, overall perceived image preferences and influences of artifacts on image quality for the study group were not significantly different from those for the control group (p > 0.05), which were rated above average (rating 3) by both readers 1 and 2. CONCLUSION: Multiparametric 1.5-T MRI examination of the prostate can be safely performed in selected patients with CIEDs under controlled conditions with applicable image quality while maintaining a SAR less than 1.5 W/kg.

High-pitch versus standard mode CT pulmonary angiography: a comparison of indeterminate studies.

PURPOSE: To compare the causes of indeterminate CT pulmonary angiograms using standard mode and high-pitch mode, and determine at what level of the pulmonary arterial tree studies were non-diagnostic. METHODS: IRB approval was obtained. A retrospective review of patients at our institution who underwent a CT pulmonary angiogram, between November 1, 2015 and February 10, 2016 was performed. CT pulmonary angiograms using both high-pitch mode and standard mode were evaluated with positive and indeterminate rates calculated. Causes of indeterminate studies and the level of the pulmonary arterial tree at which the study became non-diagnostic were determined by a board certified radiologist by looking at the images of each indeterminate study. The indeterminate rates were compared between high-pitch and standard modes using a generalized estimating equation. RESULTS: Five hundred fifty-nine CT pulmonary angiograms using high-pitch mode were evaluated, while 661 standard mode scans were evaluated. 69/559 (12.3%) scans with high-pitch mode were positive and 84/661 (12.7%) scans with standard mode were positive (not statistically significant, p > 0.05). There was a higher rate of indeterminate scans with standard mode compared to the high-pitch mode (80 [12.1%] standard vs. 25 [4.5%] high-pitch, p value < 0.0001). Findings were indeterminate at the lobar level in 4 (16%), at the segmental level in 11 (44%), and at the subsegmental level in 10 (40%) using high-pitch mode. The most common causes of an indeterminate scan using high-pitch mode were motion in 11 (44%), transient interruption of contrast in 6 (24%), and contrast timing in 5 (20%). Findings were indeterminate at the main pulmonary artery level in 1 (1.3%), at the lobar level in 13 (16.3%), at the segmental level in 28 (35.0%), and at the subsegmental level in 38 (47.5%) using the standard mode. The most common causes of an indeterminate scan using the standard mode were motion in 53 (66.3%), transient interruption of contrast in 19 (23.8%), and contrast timing in 15 (18.8%). CONCLUSIONS: High-pitch mode results in statistically significant fewer indeterminate studies compared with standard mode. Furthermore, there were statistically significant fewer indeterminate studies due to motion artifact with high-pitch mode compared with standard mode.

CT for Evaluation of Acute Gastrointestinal Bleeding.

Acute gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is common and necessitates rapid diagnosis and treatment. Bleeding can occur anywhere throughout the GI tract and may be caused by many types of disease. The variety of enteric diseases that cause bleeding and the tendency for bleeding to be intermittent may make it difficult to render a diagnosis. The workup of GI bleeding is frequently prolonged and expensive, with examinations commonly needing to be repeated. The use of computed tomography (CT) for evaluation of acute GI bleeding is gaining popularity because it can be used to rapidly diagnose active bleeding and nonbleeding bowel disease. The CT examinations used to evaluate acute GI bleeding include CT angiography and multiphase CT enterography. Understanding the clinical evaluation of acute GI bleeding, including the advantages and limitations of endoscopic evaluation, is necessary for the appropriate selection of patients who may benefit from CT. Multiphase CT enterography is used primarily to evaluate stable patients who have undergone upper and lower endoscopy without identification of a bleeding source. CT angiography is used to examine stable and unstable patients who respond to resuscitation, are believed to be actively bleeding, and are considered unlikely to have an upper GI source of hemorrhage. In the emergent setting, CT may yield critical information regarding the presence, location, and cause of active bleeding-data that can guide the choice of subsequent therapy. Recent developments in the use of and techniques for performing CT angiography have made it a potential first-line tool for evaluating acute GI bleeding. ©RSNA, 2018.