MRI Scan Of Neck Research Articles

Melanoma of the oral cavity: A silent killer

Melanoma of the mouth is a rare entity of cancer. It has a bad prognosis. We report two cases of mouth melanoma. In the first case, 68 years old man developed a mandibular gingival tumor. Head and neck MRI scans showed an aggressive tumor process in the mouth with bone extension and in the deep spaces. The patient was free of cervical lymph nodes. The second case is a 75-years-old male with heavy tobacco smoke. The man felt a burgeoning mass on the right palate. The neck palpation found a firm mobile non-tender mass at the left upper jugular region. The anatomopathological study of the biopsies assigned both cases to malignant melanoma. Because of the rarity and delays in diagnosis, case reports are an invaluable source of information.

Skeletal muscle mass and sarcopenia can be determined with 1.5-T and 3-T neck MRI scans, in the event that no neck CT scan is performed

ObjectivesCross-sectional area (CSA) measurements of the neck musculature at the level of third cervical vertebra (C3) on CT scans are used to diagnose radiological sarcopenia, which is related to multiple adverse outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Alternatively, these assessments are performed with neck MRI, which has not been validated so far. For that, the objective was to evaluate whether skeletal muscle mass and sarcopenia can be assessed on neck MRI scans.MethodsHNC patients were included between November 2014 and November 2018 from a prospective data-biobank. CSAs of the neck musculature at the C3 level were measured on CT (n = 125) and MRI neck scans (n = 92 on 1.5-T, n = 33 on 3-T). Measurements were converted into skeletal muscle index (SMI), and sarcopenia was defined (SMI < 43.2 cm2/m2). Pearson correlation coefficients, Bland–Altman plots, McNemar test, Cohen’s kappa coefficients, and interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were estimated.ResultsCT and MRI correlated highly on CSA and SMI (r = 0.958–0.998, p < 0.001). The Bland–Altman plots showed a nihil mean ΔSMI (− 0.13–0.44 cm2/m2). There was no significant difference between CT and MRI in diagnosing sarcopenia (McNemar, p = 0.5–1.0). Agreement on sarcopenia diagnosis was good with κ = 0.956–0.978 and κ = 0.870–0.933, for 1.5-T and 3-T respectively. Observer ICCs in MRI were excellent. In general, T2-weighted images had the best correlation and agreement with CT.ConclusionsSkeletal muscle mass and sarcopenia can interchangeably be assessed on CT and 1.5-T and 3-T MRI neck scans. This allows future clinical outcome assessment during treatment irrespective of used modality.Key Points• Screening for low amount of skeletal muscle mass is usually measured on neck CT scans and is highly clinical relevant as it is related to multiple adverse outcomes in head and neck cancer patients.• We found that skeletal muscle mass and sarcopenia determined on CT and 1.5-T and 3-T MRI neck scans at the C3 level can be used interchangeably.• When CT imaging of the neck is missing for skeletal muscle mass analysis, patients can be assessed with 1.5-T or 3-T neck MRIs.

A Novel Marker Based Method to Teeth Alignment in MRI

Abstract Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can precisely capture the anatomy of the vocal tract. However, the crowns of teeth are not visible in standard MRI scans. In this study, a marker-based teeth alignment method is presented and evaluated. Ten patients undergoing orthognathic surgery were enrolled. Supraglottal airways were imaged preoperatively using structural MRI. MRI visible markers were developed, and they were attached to maxillary teeth and corresponding locations on the dental casts. Repeated measurements of intermarker distances in MRI and in a replica model was compared using linear regression analysis. Dental cast MRI and corresponding caliper measurements did not differ significantly. In contrast, the marker locations in vivo differed somewhat from the dental cast measurements likely due to marker placement inaccuracies. The markers were clearly visible in MRI and allowed for dental models to be aligned to head and neck MRI scans.

The effects of a common stainless steel orthodontic bracket on the diagnostic quality of cranial and cervical 3T- MR images: a prospective, case-control study.

To evaluate the effect of orthodontic stainless steel brackets and two different types of archwires on the diagnostic quality of 3-T MR images. This prospective, case-control study was conducted following Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. The recruitment was conducted among orthodontic patients. 80 subjects, requiring MRI for the presence of temporomandibular disorders, were enrolled and divided into four groups: 20 patients using aligners (control group); 20 patients with stainless steel brackets without archwires; 20 patients with stainless steel brackets and nickel-titanium archwires; and 20 patients with stainless steel brackets and stainless steel archwires. Two experts in neuroradiology evaluated the images to determine the amount of distortion in 6 regions and 48 districts. A score was subjectively assigned according to a modified receiver operating characteristic method of distortion classification. Any disagreement was resolved through consensus seeking; when this was not possible, a third neuroradiologist was consulted. The following statistical methods were used: descriptive statistics, Cohen's kappa coefficient (k), Kruskal-Wallis test, pairwise comparisons using the Dunn-Bonferroni approach. The significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. The presence of stainless steel brackets with or without archwires negatively influenced MRI of the cervical region, paranasal sinuses, head and neck region, and cervical vertebrae but did not influence MRI of brain and temporomandibular joint regions. Patients with a stainless steel multibracket orthodontic appliance should remove it before cervical vertebrae, cervical region, paranasal sinuses, and head and neck MRI scans. The brain and temporomandibular joint region MRI should not require the removal of such appliances.