Gadolinium can be used to perform diskography in patients with a documented allergy to iodinated contrast material. MR images can be obtained in multiple planes with excellent delineation of disk architecture. Dilute gadolinium leaves the disk space within a few days of injection.

Abdominal ultrasound is one of the most popular imaging methods due to its feasibility, low cost and accessibility. Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS) with second generation contrast agents became in the last years a useful tool for the characterization of focal liver lesions (FLL) so that EFSUMB issued guidelines for its use in clinical practice. Several large studies proved that CEUS has sim...

We have synthesized a series of Ln(III)-containing polyethylene glycol conjugates and studied the structural and electronic properties of these complexes. These studies demonstrate that polyethylene glycol can be used to fine-tune water-exchange rates of Ln(III)-containing polyaminopolycarboxylate-type complexes; this control is desirable in developing Ln(III)-containing contrast agents for mag...

Studying the dynamics of fibrin clot formation and its morphology is an important problem in biology and has significant impact for several scientific and clinical applications. We present a label-free technique based on quantitative phase imaging to address this problem. Using quantitative phase information, we characterized fibrin polymerization in real-time and present a mathematical model d...

Genetically expressed contrast agents are of great interest in the life sciences as they allow the study of structure and function of living cells and organisms. However, many commonly used fluorescent proteins present disadvantages when used in mammalian organisms, such as low near-infrared absorption and photostability. In this study, a variety of genetically expressed fluorescent proteins an...

THE use of contrast media in the orbit dates from 1927, when Staunig and Herrenschwand injected air into the episcleral space, and since that time various media have been used. The ideal medium should provide good contrast in small quantities, be non-irritant, and have suitable qualities of permeation and absorption. The following media will be considered: (1) Air or other gas, (2) Oily media, ...

Acute right lower quadrant pain is a nonspecific but common clinical complaint. Appendicitis is the most common cause of acute right lower quadrant pain and CT has become the most reliable imaging method in the evaluation of these patients. Although there is controversy regarding the best way to perform CT in this setting, oral and i.v. contrast-enhanced CT remains the most commonly used techni...

PURPOSE To correct gradient-induced phase errors in radial MRI. METHODS Gradient-induced eddy currents affect the MRI data acquisition by gradient delays and phase errors that may lead to severe image artifacts for non-Cartesian imaging scenarios such as radial trajectories. While gradient delays are dealt with by respective shifts of the acquisition window during radial image acquisition, th...

Systemic fibrosis from gadolinium-based magnetic resonance imaging contrast is a scourge for the afflicted. Although gadolinium-associated systemic fibrosis is a rare condition, the threat of litigation has vastly altered clinical practice. Most theories concerning the etiology of the fibrosis are grounded in case reports rather than experiment. This has led to the widely accepted conjecture th...