Implementation of a Low-Field Portable MRI Scanner in a Resource-Constrained Environment: Our Experience in Malawi.

Low-field, portable MR imaging may expedite patient management in the setting of critical illness. We successfully implemented low-field MR imaging at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Malawi; a low-resource setting. We present our experience of low-field, portable MR imaging start-up and use in Malawi; the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa, together with complementary troubleshooting mechanisms that may be used especially in similar resource-constrained contexts.

Temporal Lobe Malformations in Achondroplasia: Expanding the Brain Imaging Phenotype Associated with FGFR3-Related Skeletal Dysplasias.

Thanatophoric dysplasia, achondroplasia, and hypochondroplasia belong to the fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) group of genetic skeletal disorders. Temporal lobe abnormalities have been documented in thanatophoric dysplasia and hypochondroplasia, and in 1 case of achondroplasia. We retrospectively identified 13 children with achondroplasia who underwent MR imaging of the brain between 2002 and 2015. All children demonstrated a deep transverse temporal sulcus on MR imaging. Further common neuroimaging findings were incomplete hippocampal rotation (12 children), oversulcation of the mesial temporal lobe (11 children), loss of gray-white matter differentiation of the mesial temporal lobe (5 children), and a triangular shape of the temporal horn (6 children). These appearances are very similar to those described in hypochondroplasia, strengthening the association of temporal lobe malformations in FGFR3-associated skeletal dysplasias.

Evaluation of a chest radiograph reading and recording system for tuberculosis in a HIV-positive cohort.

AIM: To assess the impact of introducing a chest radiograph reading and recording system (CRRS) with a short training session, on the accuracy and inter-reader variability of tuberculosis (TB) interpretation of chest radiographs (CXRs) by a group of non-expert readers in a human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive cohort. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A set of 139 CXRs was reviewed by a group of eight physicians pre- and post-intervention at two clinics in Shan State, Myanmar, providing HIV/TB diagnosis and treatment services. The results were compared against the consensus of expert radiologists for accuracy. RESULTS: Overall accuracy was similar pre- and post-intervention for most physicians with an average area under the receiver operating characteristic curve difference of 0.02 (95% confidence interval: -0.03, 0.07). The overall agreement among physicians was poor pre- and post-intervention (Fleiss κ=0.35 and κ=0.29 respectively). The assessment of agreement for specific disease patterns associated with active TB in HIV-infected patients showed that for intrinsically subtle findings, the agreement was generally poor but better for the more intrinsically obvious disease patterns: pleural effusion (Cohen's kappa range = 0.37-0.67) and milliary nodular pattern (Cohen's kappa range = 0.25-0.52). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated limited impact of the introduction of a CRRS on CXR accuracy and agreement amongst non-expert readers. The role in which CXRs are used for TB diagnosis in a HIV-positive cohort in similar clinical contexts should be reviewed.