Neuroimaging Clinics of North America

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has proven to have many advantages in spine and sacrum surgery. 3D printing allows the manufacturing of life-size patient-specific anatomic and pathologic models to improve preoperative understanding of patient anatomy and pathology. Additionally, virtual surgical planning using medical computer-aided design software has enabled surgeons to create patient-specific surgical plans and simulate procedures in a virtual environment. This has resulted in reduced operative times, decreased complications, and improved patient outcomes...

Percutaneous image-guided minimally invasive thermal ablation and vertebral augmentation are robust techniques, part of the available armamentarium used by radiologists for the management of patients with spinal metastases. Such interventions have been established to be safe and effective in treatment of selected patients with vertebral metastases. Special attention to procedure techniques including choice of ablation modality, vertebral augmentation technique, and thermal protection is essential for improved patient outcomes...

Radiologists play a primary role in identifying, characterizing, and classifying spinal metastases and can play a lifesaving role in the care of these patients by triaging those with instability to urgent spine surgery consultation. For this reason, an understanding of current treatment algorithms and principles of spinal stability in patients with cancer is vital for all who interpret spine studies. In addition, advances in imaging allow radiologists to provide more accurate diagnoses and characterize pathology, thereby improving patient safety...

Recent therapeutic advances have led to increased survival times for patients with metastatic disease. Key to survival is early diagnosis and subsequent treatment as well as early detection of treatment failure allowing for therapy modifications. Conventional MR imaging techniques of the spine can be at times suboptimal for identifying viable tumor, as structural changes and imaging characteristics may not differ pretreatment and posttreatment. Advanced imaging techniques such as DCE-MRI can allow earlier and more accurate noninvasive assessment of viable disease by characterizing physiologic changes and tumor microvasculature...

Diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) has developed into a powerful tool for the evaluation of spine tumors, particularly for the assessment of vertebral marrow lesions and intramedullary tumors. Advances in magnetic resonance techniques have improved the quality of spine DWI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in recent years, with increased reproducibility and utilization. DTI, with quantitative parameters such as fractional anisotropy and qualitative visual assessment of nerve fiber tracts, can play a valuable role in the evaluation and surgical planning of spinal cord tumors...

Spinal extradural tumors, although uncommon, have high morbidity and mortality rates. Radiographs and computed tomography scans are typically used to assess and determine the characteristics of these tumors. However, MR imaging is the preferred method for the evaluation of complications that can increase morbidity, such as spinal cord and nerve compression. Imaging features, such as type of matrix, cortical involvement, and margins, aid in determining the diagnosis. This article discusses common and infrequent extradural spinal tumors, their imaging characteristics, and how age, location, and clinical presentation help in diagnosing these neoplasms...

There are various mass-like lesions that can mimic true neoplasms in the spine, including inflammatory, infectious, vascular, congenital, and degenerative etiologies. While some lesions have distinctive imaging features that suggest a correct diagnosis, others have overlapping characteristics that do not allow their differentiation based solely on their imaging findings. For entities with nonspecific imaging features, knowledge of the clinical and laboratory information is critical to provide an accurate diagnosis...

Most intradural tumors are located within the intradural extramedullary compartment, and the most common tumors are schwannomas and meningiomas. Other less common neoplasms include neurofibroma, solitary fibrous tumor, myxopapillary ependymoma, lymphoma, metastatic leptomeningeal disease, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor, and paraganglioma. Patients usually present with gait ataxia, radicular pain, and motor and sensory deficits due to chronic compressive myelopathy or radiculopathy. MRI is the modality of choice for detecting and evaluating intradural extramedullary spinal tumors...

Spinal cord tumors are best identified by conventional MR imaging with contrast. Most intramedullary spinal cord tumors have characteristic MR imaging features that allow an accurate preoperative diagnosis. The spinal cord tumors reviewed in this article include the most common tumors, ependymomas and astrocytomas, as well as the less common tumors such as hemangioblastomas and metastases. Rare tumors such as primary CNS lymphoma and melanocytic tumors are also described. Advanced imaging techqniques of more common intramedullary tumors are also reviewed...

The pediatric spine undergoes complex stages of development and growth, resulting in highly age-dependent physiology and variable susceptibility to certain pathologies. Optimal radiologic evaluation requires image acquisition tailored to the clinical history and an interpretive approach that accounts for demographic variations. In this article, the author discusses the diagnostic approach to pediatric spine masses, beginning with a discussion of normal anatomy and variants, clinical evaluation, and imaging techniques and protocols...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

In this article, we describe relevant anatomy, mechanisms of injury, and imaging findings of abusive head trauma (AHT). We also briefly address certain mimics of AHT, controversies, pearls, and pitfalls. Concepts of injury, its evolution, and complex nature of certain cases are highlighted with the help of case vignettes.

Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is a MR imaging technique suited to detect structural and microstructural abnormalities in traumatic brain injury (TBI). This review article provide an insight in to the physics principles of SWI and its clinical application in unraveling the complex interaction of the biophysical mechanisms of head injury. Literature evidences support SWI as the most ideal sequence in detection of microbleeds, which is the "tip of the iceberg" biomarker of microvascular injuries. The review also detailed the emerging advance techniques of Quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) and artificial intelligence offer the ability to detect and follow the evolution of microbleeds in patient with chronic TBI...

Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) reflects the change in cerebral blood flow in response to vasodilatory stimuli enabling assessment of the health of the cerebral vasculature. Recent advances in the quantitative delivery of CO2 stimuli with computer-controlled sequential gas delivery have enabled mapping of the speed and magnitude of response to flow stimuli. These CVR advances when applied to patients with acute concussion have unexpectedly shown faster speed and greater magnitude of responses unseen in other diseases that typically show the opposite effects...

Traumatic brain injury disrupts the complex anatomy of the afferent and efferent visual pathways. Injury to the afferent pathway can result in vision loss, visual field deficits, and photophobia. Injury to the efferent pathway primarily causes eye movement abnormalities resulting in ocular misalignment and double vision. Injury to both the afferent and efferent systems can result in significant visual disability.

The mechanisms for regulating cerebral blood flow (CBF) are highly sensitive to traumatic brain injury (TBI). The perfusion imaging technique may be used to assess CBF and identify perfusion abnormalities following a TBI. Studies have identified CBF disturbances across the injury severity spectrum and correlations with both acute and long-term indices of clinical outcome. Although not yet widely used in the clinical context, this is an important area of ongoing research.