Radiology Commons^™

Imaging Based Prediction Of Pathology In Adult Diffuse Glioma With Applications To Therapy And Prognosis, Evan Gates

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The overall aggressiveness of a glioma is measured by histologic and molecular analysis of tissue samples. However, the well-known spatial heterogeneity in gliomas limits the ability for clinicians to use that information to make spatially specific treatment decisions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) visualizes and assesses the tumor. But, the exact degree to which MRI correlates with the actual underlying tissue characteristics is not known.

In this work, we derive quantitative relationships between imaging and underlying pathology. These relations increase the value of MRI by allowing it to be a better surrogate for underlying pathology and they allow evaluation of the …

Investigating Diffusion Tensor Imaging Correlates Of Cognitive Impairment In Idiopathic Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus And Alzheimer's Disease, Omar Hasan, Omar Hasan

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Modest expansion of the human brain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-filled ventricles is normal with aging, and because of this, it can be difficult for physicians to accurately diagnose and treat enlarged ventricles (ventriculomegaly), called hydrocephalus¹ (fluid or water in the brain) Ventriculomegaly occurs due to an obstruction (such as a blood clot or tumor), or a change in CSF absorption². Primary hydrocephalus, also called idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), is non-obstructive and may be comorbid with other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Clinically, it can be difficult to tell whether the pathophysiological …

Investigating The Metabolic Progression Of Glioblastoma With Hyperpolarized Magnetic Resonance, Travis Salzillo

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Rapid diagnosis and therapeutic monitoring of aggressive diseases such as glioblastoma (GBM) can improve patient survival by providing physicians the time to optimally deliver treatment. This includes early in development, while the tumor is still manageable, or following initial therapy, when alternative treatments should be considered. The main goal of this project was to determine whether metabolic imaging with hyperpolarized magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) could detect changes in tumor progression more rapidly than conventional anatomic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patient-derived GBM murine models. To comprehensively capture the dynamic nature of cancer metabolism, in vivo pyruvate-to-lactate conversion with hyperpolarized MRI, …

Development Of A Ct Metal Artifact Management Algorithm For Proton Therapy Planning (Ampp) For Head And Neck Cancer Patients, Daniela Branco

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Purpose: Dental amalgams (high Z materials) are common sources of artifacts in Head and Neck (HN) images. Commercial artifact reduction techniques have been offered, but many are impractical, produce inaccurate CT images or are not clinically available, thus not widely implemented. The goal of this work is to use CT gantry tilts to develop and evaluate a stereoscopic HN metal artifact management algorithm and investigate its improvement in proton treatment planning.

Methods: The in-house CT metal artifact management method for proton planning (AMPP) uses two angled CT scans to generate a single image set with no metal artifacts posterior …

Design, Synthesis And Development Of Transporter Targeting Agents For Image-Guided Therapy And Drug Delivery, Ning Tsao

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

The purpose of this study was to design, synthesize and develop novel transporter targeting agents for image-guided therapy and drug delivery. Two novel agents, N4-guanine (N4amG) and glycopeptide (GP) were synthesized for tumor cell proliferation assessment and cancer theranostic platform, respectively. N4amG and GP were synthesized and radiolabeled with ^99mTc and ⁶⁸Ga. The chemical and radiochemical purities as well as radiochemical stabilities of radiolabeled N4amG and GP were tested. In vitro stability assessment showed both ^99mTc-N4amG and ^99mTc-GP were stable up to 6 hours, whereas ⁶⁸Ga-GP was stable up to 2 hours. Cell culture studies …

Novel Amino Acid Transporter-Targeted Radiotracers For Breast Cancer Imaging, Fanlin Kong

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy among women in the world. Its 5-year survival rate ranges from 23.4% in patients with stage IV to 98% in stage I disease, highlighting the importance of early detection and diagnosis. ¹⁸F-2-Fluoro-2-deoxy-glucose (¹⁸F-FDG), using positron emission tomography (PET), is the most common functional imaging tool for breast cancer diagnosis currently. Unfortunately, ¹⁸F-FDG-PET has several limitations such as poorly differentiating tumor tissues from inflammatory and normal brain tissues. Therefore, ¹⁸F-labeled amino acid-based radiotracers have been reported as an alternative, which is based on the fact that tumor cells uptake …

In-Vivo Ct Dosimetry During Virtual Colonoscopy, Jonathon W. Mueller

Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)

Virtual colonoscopy (VC) is a minimally invasive means for identifying colorectal polyps and colorectal lesions by insufflating a patient’s bowel, applying contrast agent via rectal catheter, and performing multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scans. The technique is recommended for colonic health screening by the American Cancer Society but not funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) partially because of potential risks from radiation exposure. To date, no in‐vivo organ dose measurements have been performed for MDCT scans; thus, the accuracy of any current dose estimates is currently unknown.

In this study, two TLDs were affixed to the inner …