Liu Hui, Xiao Zhibo, Tao Li, Tang Mingmei, Xu Yong, Pan Yuanrui, Zhang Ke, Qiu Xueke, Lv Fajin
State Key Laboratory of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, College of Biomedical Engineering, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
Front Physiol. 2024 May 24;15:1394431. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2024.1394431. eCollection 2024.
To evaluate the effectiveness of 3D NerveVIEW sequence with gadolinium contrast on the visualization of pelvic nerves and their branches compared to that without contrast.
Participants were scanned twice using 3D NerveVIEW sequence with and without gadolinium contrast to acquire pelvic nerve images. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and contrast ratio of the nerves were calculated and compared to determine the quality of images. To subjectively assess, using a 3-point scale, branch nerves critical to therapeutic decision-making, including the pelvic splanchnic nerve and pelvic plexus, the superior gluteal nerve, and the pudendal nerve.
In the 32 eligible participants after using contrast, the CNRs of the images of nerve-to-bone and nerve-to-vessel significantly increased ( < 0.05). The CR of the images with contrast of all nerve-to-surrounding tissues (i.e., bone, muscle, blood vessels, and fat) were also found significantly higher ( < 0.05). The assessment of observers also shows higher scores for images with contrast compared to images without contrast.
The 3D NerveVIEW sequence combined with gadolinium contrast improved vascular suppression, increased the contrast between pelvic nerves and surrounding tissue, and enhanced the visualization of nerves and their branches. This study may be helpful for the technically challenging preoperative planning of pelvic diseases surgery.
评估钆对比剂增强的三维神经视图序列与未增强序列相比，在显示盆腔神经及其分支方面的有效性。
参与者分别使用钆对比剂增强和未增强的三维神经视图序列进行两次扫描，以获取盆腔神经图像。计算并比较神经的信噪比（SNR）、对比噪声比（CNR）和对比率，以确定图像质量。采用3分制对治疗决策关键的分支神经进行主观评估，包括盆内脏神经和盆腔丛、臀上神经和阴部神经。
在32名使用对比剂的合格参与者中，神经与骨骼、神经与血管图像的CNR显著增加（<0.05）。所有神经与周围组织（即骨骼、肌肉、血管和脂肪）对比增强图像的CR也显著更高（<0.05）。观察者的评估也显示，与未增强图像相比，增强图像的得分更高。
三维神经视图序列联合钆对比剂可改善血管抑制，增加盆腔神经与周围组织之间的对比度，增强神经及其分支的可视化。本研究可能有助于技术要求较高的盆腔疾病手术术前规划。
