As stated in the first part of this publication standardized clinical photographs are essential for planning, documentation and demonstration of surgical procedures in craniomaxillofacial surgery (Ettorre et al., 2006). This article expands the previously defined standards in facial digital photography. Additional picture sets for special topics are introduced and some common mistakes are discussed. Guidance for the prevention of pitfalls is provided and the photographic principles are reviewed. Finally the authors give recommendations for dealing with structured data storage and protection of medical photographs. The use of asset management systems such as Cumulus and Portfolio is introduced and recommended.
AIM:To evaluate the role of diffusion-weighted imaging (�WI) in the detection of focal liver lesions (FLLs), using a conventional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocol.
METHODS:Fifty-two patients (22 males, average age 55.6 years, range: 25-82 years), studied using a 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance scanner, were retrospectively analyzed; detection of FLLs was evaluated by considering the number of lesions observed with the following sequences: (1) respiratory-triggered diffusion-weighted single-shot echo-planar (�W SS-EP) sequences; (2) fat-suppressed fast spin-echo (fs-FSE) T2 weighted sequences; (3) steady-state free precession (SSFP) images; and (4) dynamic triphasic gadolinium-enhanced images, acquired with three-dimensional fast spoiled gradient-echo (3� FSPGR). Two radiologists independently reviewed the images: they were blinded to their respective reports. �W SS-EP sequences were compared to fs-FSE, SSFP and dynamic gadolinium-enhanced acquisitions using a t -test. Pairs were compared for the detection of: (1) all FLLs; (2) benign FLLs; (3) malignant FLLs; (4) metastases; and (5) hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
RESULTS:Interobserver agreement was very good (weighted k = 0.926, CI = 0.880-0.971); on the consensus reading, 277 FLLs were detected. In the comparison with fs-FSE, DW SS-EP sequences had a significantly higher score in the detection of all FLLs, benign FLLs, malignant FLLs and metastases; no statistical difference was observed in the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCCs). In the comparison with SSFP sequences, DW SS-EP had significantly higher scores (P < 0.05) in the detection of all lesions, benign lesions, malignant lesions, metastases and HCC. All FLLs were better detected by dynamic 3� FSGR enhanced acquisition, with P = 0.0023 for reader 1 and P = 0.0086 for reader 2 in the comparison with �W SS-EP sequences; with reference to benign FLLs, �W SS-EP showed lower values than 3� FSPGR enhanced acquisition (P < 0.05). No statistical differences were observed in the detection of malignant lesions and metastases; considering HCCs, a very slight difference was reported by reader 1 (P = 0.049), whereas no difference was found by reader 2 (P = 0.06).
CONCLUSION:In lesion detection, �WI had higher scores than T2 sequences; considering malignant FLLs, no statistical difference was observed between �WI and dynamic gadolinium images.
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