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Purpose: Identification of the precentral gyrus can be difficult in patients with brain tumors. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of functional MRI (fMRI) in identifying motor cortex and speech areas as a part of preoperative neurosurgical planning., Method: fMRI was performed using a 1.5 T MR unit in 41 patients with brain tumors. The motor paradigm was finger tapping and foot movement, whereas the language paradigm consisted of a two word semantic test. Statistical analysis of the data was done using the Kolmogorow-Smirnow test. Plots of signal intensities over time were created., Results: The precentral gyrus was identified in 38 of 41 patients. In two patients, fMRI was not of acceptable quality due to motion artifacts. Speech areas were localized in 33 patients. In a typical clinical setting, the value of the method was graded "high.", Conclusion: fMRI's efficacy in the preoperative localization of language and motor areas is high. The method should become a routine adjunct for preoperative evaluation of brain tumors in the near future.

The following publication is an overview looking at diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities related to interventional procedures for diseases of the pancreas. We emphasize the description of the technique and show meaningful indications and limitations.

The aim of this study was to evaluate and describe MRI epidurography as a new imaging tool. Five volunteers and one patient were investigated with MR epidurography after injection of 20 ml Gd-DPTA solution (1:250/1 ml Gd-DPTA/250 ml normal saline). Magnetic resonance epidurography is possible. With fat-suppression techniques, the contrast between Gd-DPTA solution in the epidural space and surrounding soft tissue proved adequate. Using the multiplanar capability of MRI with MR epidurography coronal and sagittal projections similar to conventional epidurography, axial slices comparable to CT epidurography can be obtained. Magnetic resonance epidurography is superior to conventional and CT epidurography. Presently, due to high costs as compared with conventional and CT epidurography, MRI is not suitable for the routine monitoring of peridural catheters, but it may have a place in the future with decreasing costs for MRI and for the evaluation of patients with spine pathology, especially in describing epidural processes.

Objective: Correct placement of tunnels for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is of prime importance for the clinical outcome of the patient. In this study, the possibility of using MRI to document tunnel placement and provide a more comprehensive report following ACL reconstruction was explored at no additional cost in patients scheduled for routine knee MRI DESIGN AND PATIENTS: One year after ACL reconstruction, 45 patients underwent clinical examination (IKCD score), radiographic examination, and MRI using a 1.5-T unit., Results: Twenty patients with good tibial and femoral attachment results were found at clinical examination to have a stable knee joint with a full range of motion. In 25 patients with suboptimal placements, examination showed either a stable knee with a decreased range of motion or instability with a normal range of motion., Conclusion: Patients' clinical outcome, and the radiographic and MRI findings, correlated closely with the quality of operative tunnel placement. A record of this finding is important for completeness of the radiological report. Furthermore the MRI findings can be used to improve the surgical quality of tunnel placement. Because tunnel placement can be shown adequately with radiography, however, MRI cannot be justified for this reason alone, so such assessment is advised only when MRI is needed to show all postoperative features.

Objective: Our objective was to determine the accuracy, precision, and reliability of MR imaging as a technique for measurement of the femoral antetorsional angle., Subjects and Methods: We used MR imaging to measure anteversion of the femoral neck in 44 patients: 19 children (range, 3-17 years old; mean, 11 years old) and 25 adults (range, 18-83 years old; mean, 29 years old)., Results: We found a high correlation between MR imaging and CT measurements (r = 77). On CT, the mean angle for children was 34 degrees and for adults it was 22.2 degrees. On MR imaging, the mean angle for children was 23.22 degrees and for adults it was 15.71 degrees. The mean anteversion angles obtained by CT exceeded those obtained by MR imaging. Mean interobserver and intraobserver agreements were high for MR imaging (r = .97 and r = .97, respectively) and for CT (r = .99 and r = .96, respectively)., Conclusion: Compared with CT as the gold standard, MR imaging measurement of femoral anteversion allows precise anatomic measurements and produces reliable, reproducible results. MR imaging is recommended for preoperative planning in pediatric patients with femoral rotation osteotomies.

Purpose: Our goal was to evaluate the potential of dynamic MRI in differentiating mastitis and inflammatory breast carcinoma. Furthermore, we evaluated the potential of breast MRI to follow up mastitis patients under antibiotic treatment., Method: Twenty-one cases of dynamic breast MR (11 mastitis, 10 inflammatory carcinomas) were reviewed. All patients had a history consistent with either mastitis or inflammatory breast carcinoma. The final diagnosis was histologically confirmed., Results: Ninety percent of the inflammatory carcinomas were found to enhance > 100% in the first minute compared with 55% for mastitis. There is no significant difference between mastitis and inflammatory carcinoma., Conclusion: While breast MR cannot currently be used definitively to distinguish inflammatory carcinoma from mastitis, the differences in dynamic enhancement may prove to be useful in follow-up of presumed mastitis in problematic cases. If after biopsy the diagnosis remains unclear, breast MR may help to (a) demonstrate the success of the antibiotic treatment and (b) diagnose coexisting or confounding inflammatory carcinoma.