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ABSTRACT: Background: Three-dimensional (3D) contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CEMRA) is routinely used for vascular evaluation. With existing techniques for CEMRA, diagnostic image quality is only obtained during the first pass of the contrast agent or shortly thereafter, whereas angiographic quality tends to be poor when imaging is delayed to the equilibrium phase. We hypothesized that prolonged blood pool contrast enhancement could be obtained by imaging with a balanced T1 relaxation-enhanced steady-state (bT1RESS) pulse sequence, which combines 3D balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) with a saturation recovery magnetization preparation to impart T1 weighting and suppress background tissues. An electrocardiographic-gated, two-dimensional-accelerated version with isotropic 1.1-mm spatial resolution was evaluated for breath-hold equilibrium phase CEMRA of the thoracic aorta and heart. Methods: The study was approved by the institutional review board. Twenty-one subjects were imaged using unenhanced 3D bSSFP, time-resolved CEMRA, first-pass gated CEMRA, followed by early and late equilibrium phase gated CEMRA and bT1RESS. Nine additional subjects were imaged using equilibrium phase 3D bSSFP and bT1RESS. Images were evaluated for image quality, aortic root sharpness, and visualization of the coronary artery origins, as well as using standard quantitative measures. Results: Equilibrium phase bT1RESS provided better image quality, aortic root sharpness, and coronary artery origin visualization than gated CEMRA (P

Objective:Although scientific community has various knowledge about coronavirus pandemic, further studies are needed about its nature. The aim of our study is to explore the relationship between the imaging and laboratory findings of Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19).Method:Our study is a retrospective single-center study on patients with COVID-19. Patients with chest computed tomography and with positive reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction test results were examined. Total lung volume and lesion volume were calculated semi-automatically by Osirix software. Interclass correlation coefficient was used for testing consistency between the observers. Patients were divided into three groups as mild, moderate, and severe considering the involved lung volume. The relationship between laboratory findings and radiological severity investigated with area under the curve in receiver operating characteristic plot.Results:One hundred and six patients were included (female: 44, male: 62) in this study and the median age was 55 years. The most common radiologic features were peripheral, multifocal, ground glass opacities with sub-pleural and basal distribution. A positive and moderate correlation was found between the percentage of involvement and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (N/L) (rho=0.635, p