• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• v.25 no.3
• /
• pp.257-266
• /
• 2024

Objective: To investigate molecular and functional consequences of additional exposures to iodine- or gadolinium-based contrast agents within 24 hours from the initial intravenous administration of iodine-based contrast agents through an animal study. Materials and Methods: Fifty-six Sprague-Dawley male rats were equally divided into eight groups: negative control, positive control (PC) with single-dose administration of CT contrast agent, and additional administration of either CT or MR contrast agents 2, 4, or 24 hours from initial CT contrast agent injection. A 12 µL/g of iodinated contrast agent or a 0.47 µL/g of gadolinium-based contrast agent were injected into the tail vein. Serum levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, cystatin C (Cys C), and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. mRNA and protein levels of kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) were evaluated. Results: Levels of serum creatinine (SCr) were significantly higher in repeated CT contrast agent injection groups than in PC (0.21 ± 0.02 mg/dL for PC; 0.40 ± 0.02, 0.34 ± 0.03, and 0.41 ± 0.10 mg/dL for 2-, 4-, and 24-hour interval groups, respectively; P < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the average Cys C and MDA levels between PC and repeated CT contrast agent injection groups (Cys C, P = 0.256-0.362; MDA, P > 0.99). Additional doses of MR contrast agent did not make significant changes compared to PC in SCr (P > 0.99), Cys C (P = 0.262), and MDA (P = 0.139-0.771) levels. mRNA and protein levels of KIM-1 and NGAL were not significantly different among additional CT or MR contrast agent groups (P > 0.05). Conclusion: A sufficient time interval, probably more than 24 hours, between repeated contrast-enhanced CT examinations may be necessary to avoid deterioration in renal function. However, conducting contrast-enhanced MRI on the same day as contrast-enhanced CT may not induce clinically significant kidney injury.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.23-29
• /
• 2024

Purpose: 99mTc-mebrofenin hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) is an important and clinically useful diagnostic imaging study for detecting complications after liver transplantation. CT contrast agents due to their high atomic numbers, lead to a decrease in gamma ray count rates. This study investigated the impact of CT contrast agents on the uptake of 99mTc-mebrofenin in the liver. Materials and Methods: The quantitative HBS was performed on sixty-two liver transplantation patients (male:female=36:26), with a mean age of 59.4±6.4 years. Statistical comparison of hepatic uptake reduction ratio (HURR%) before and after the injection of CT contrast agents was performed using a paired t-test. Results: Hepatic uptake of the reduction ratio was 94.47±3.65% for the pre-CT contrast agents and 92.17±4.00% for the post-CT contrast agents. HURR% after CT contrast agent injection showed a statistically significant difference compared to before the injection (t=11.09, P<0.001). Conclusion: It will be necessary to pay attention when examining the HBS of patients with liver transplantation after the injection of CT contrast medium. It is advisable to schedule the examination on a different day to prevent residual contrast medium in the body from interfering with the quantitative evaluation of the nuclear medicine examination.

• Journal of Radiopharmaceuticals and Molecular Probes
• /
• v.1 no.2
• /
• pp.130-136
• /
• 2015

We evaluate the influence of MR contrast agent on positron emission tomography (PET) image using phantom, animal and human studies. Phantom consisted of 15 solutions with the mixture of various concentrations of Gd-based MR contrast agent and fixed activity of [$^{18}F$]FDG. Animal study was performed using rabbit and two kinds of MR contrast agents. After injecting contrast agent, CT or MRI scanning was performed at 1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 minutes. PET image was obtained using clinical PET/CT scan, and attenuation correction was performed using the all CT images. The values of HU, PET activity and MRI intensity were obtained from ROIs in each phantom and organ regions. In clinical study, patients (n=20) with breast cancer underwent sequential acquisitions of early [$^{18}F$]FDG PET/CT, MRI and delayed PET/CT. In phantom study, as the concentration increased, the CT attenuation and PET activity also increased. However, there was no relationship between the PET activity and the concentration in the clinical dose range of contrast agent. In animal study, change of PET activity was not significant at all time point of CT scan both MR contrast agents. There was no significant change of HU between early and delayed CT, except for kidney. Early and delayed SUV in tumor and liver showed significant increase and decrease, respectively (P<0.05). Under the condition of most clinical study (< 0.2 mM), MR contrast agent did not influence on PET image quantitation.

• Progress in Medical Physics
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.192-201
• /
• 2005

Experiments and simulation were done to study the impact of contrast agent when CT scan was used to attenuation correction for PET Images in PET/CT system. Whole body phantom was imaged with various concentration of iodine-based contrast agent using CT. Mathematical emission and transmission density map with liver were made to simulate for whole body FDG Imaging. A variety of factors were estimated, including non-uniform enhancement of contrast agent, concentration and distribution size of contrast agent, noise level, image resolution, reconstruction algorithm, hypo-attenuation of contrast agent, and different time phases for contrast agent. Experimental studies showed that Hounsfield unit depends on the concentration of contrast agent and tube voltage. From the simulation data, contrast agents Introduced artifacts and degraded image quality on the attenuation-corrected PET images. The severity of these effects depends on a variety of factors, including the concentration and distribution size of contrast agent, the noise levels, and the Image resolution. These results Indicated that the impact of contrast agents should be considered with a full understanding of their potential problems in clinical PET/CT images.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.17 no.6
• /
• pp.827-833
• /
• 2023

CT(Computed Tomography) contrast agents are commonly used in general hospitals and university hospitals when taking radiographic examinations. The CT contrast medium contains a mixture of a substance called "Iodine", which absorbs radiation energy and makes it appear white in the CT image, further improving the image quality. In addition, the CT contrast agent, which moves like blood in the blood vessels, clearly differentiates it from muscle and water, so CT contrast agents are widely used in hospitals. These CT contrast agents absorb X-rays, but in order to absorb X-rays, they must have a high density or a high radiation absorption coefficient. Since the CT contrast agent is injected into the blood vessels, if the density is high, the blood vessels are strained and the patient is in shock. For this reason, it is necessary to match the density similar to that of water and always pay attention to side effects. In addition, the amount of CT contrast medium is adjusted according to the patient's body shape, and the remaining contrast medium is discarded. However, This study tried to find out the idea of recycling it as a radiation shielding material. Since the CT contrast medium has a high radiation absorption coefficient at a density similar to that of water, the amount to absorb radiation is adjusted, the amount of contrast medium and the amount of water are adjusted, and the amount of radiation absorbed is determined by mixing with water. In addition, a study was conducted to find out the result of the difference in radiation absorption in various ways by comparing the radiation quality coefficient and absorption coefficient with other substances or materials in an environmentally friendly method harmless to the human body by mixing CT contrast medium and water.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.255-261
• /
• 2016

In this study, among various factors having influence on SUV, we intended to compare and analyze the change of SUV using CT(4 type) and MRI(3 type) contrast agents which are commercialized now. We used Discovery 690 PET/CT(GE) and NEMA NU2 - 1994 PET phantom as experimental equipment. We have conducted a study as follows; first, we filled distilled water to phantom about two-thirds and injected radioisotope(18F-FDG 37 MBq), contrast agent. Second, we mixed CT contrast agent with distilled water and MRI contrast agent with that water separately. And then, we stirred the fluid and filled distilled water fully not to make air bubble. In emission scan, we had 15minutes scanning time after 40 minutes mixing contrast agent with distilled water. In transmission scan, we used CT scanning and its measurement conditions were tube voltage 120 kVp, tube current 40 mA, rotation time 0.5 sec, slice thickness 3.27 mm, DFOV 30 cm. Analyzing results, we set up some ROIs in 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 30th slice and measured SUVmean, SUVmax. Consequently, all images mixed 3 types of MRI contrast agent with distilled water have high SUVmean as compared with pure FDG image but there was no statistical significance. In SUVmax, they have high score and there was statistical significance. And other 4 images mixed 4 types of CT contrast agent with distilled water have significance in both SUVmean and SUVmax. Attenuation correction in PET/CT has been executed through various methods to make high quality image. But we figured out that using CT and MRI contrast agents before PET/CT scanning could make distortion of image and decrease diagnostic value. In that reason, we have to sort out the priority of examination in hospital not to disturb other examination's results. Through this process, we will be able to give superior medical service to our customers.

• Clinical Pain
• /
• v.20 no.2
• /
• pp.86-92
• /
• 2021

Ultrasound imaging in clinical practice is one of the widely used diagnostic methods because there is no radiation risk, more cost- effective compared to MRI or CT, and possible to perform an intervention through fast real-time imaging. In order to increase the diagnostic value, the studies of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using an ultrasound contrast agent have been actively conducted since about 50 years ago and are being used clinically in vascularity and microcirculation of internal organs. Although ultrasound is actively used for the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases in musculoskeletal disorders, there are some limitations in diagnosing mild or small lesions, inflammatory reactions, or abnormalities at the molecular level. In this review, the principles, types, and research, and clinical applications of ultrasound contrast agents have been summarized and introduced. If we understand the characteristics of the ultrasound contrast agents and anatomical knowledge, as well as molecular changes, the ultrasound contrast agents are widely applied in musculoskeletal disorders and have tremendous potential for diagnosis and treatment.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
• /
• v.41 no.2
• /
• pp.123-128
• /
• 2018

Recently, the use of contrast agents has been increasing as a broader range of tests and dynamic tests have become common due to the development of equipment and imaging techniques such as Multi-Detector CT. However, the side effects of using contrast agents have been reduced by the development of non-ionic contrast agents, but they are still occurring often. The purpose of this study was to propose a method to minimize the side effect of contrast agent by using the amount of contrast agent injected to the brain angiography test to suppress excessive use of contrast agent and analyze the amount of contrast agent. Patients who were prescribed Brain Angiography due to cerebrovascular disease, According to the results of the comparison of the results obtained by dividing into 4 groups of 10ml each according to the amount of contrast medium injected with contrast agent according to the BMI of the patient, BA and SNR were not different between groups, and even if the amount of contrast injection was reduced, there was no problem in the evaluation of CT angiography through 3D reconstruction. This result shows that even if the contrast medium is injected into the blood vessels of the patient first and then the contrast medium is used as the physiological saline solution, the contrast medium is reduced by 40% it can be expected to minimize.

• Journal of International Society for Simulation Surgery
• /
• v.2 no.1
• /
• pp.43-45
• /
• 2015

Recent progress on CT such as multi-detector row CT, oral contrast agents and multiplanar reconstruction have markedly improved the image quality as well as diagnostic performance of gastric cancer. Multiplanar reformatted images at predetermined orientations can be easily performed and embedded into routine CT protocol without increasing medical expense or labor. Currently, many institutions have adopted routine multiplanar reformatted protocols and therefore knowledge on them can improve the diagnostic accuracy of gastric cancer.

• Journal of the Korea Safety Management & Science
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.427-431
• /
• 2014

The purpose of this study is to monitor the current adverse reactions in administering CT contrast agents at general hospitals and also to suggest the practical guidelines to minimize the risk and to show the successful patient management. At four Dajeon city general hospitals, the contrast agents were administered in 646,828 cases and the overall prevalence of adverse reactions was 4,110 cases from January 2010 to December 2013. However, we excluded the two hospitals' 3,658 cases because the patients' data was inadequate. Consequently, the case surveys on the rest of 452 cases have been studied and submitted. After comparing the patients with a control group, we evaluated that the key factors of the adverse reactions were the gender and age difference of the patients, the examination period, the examination method, the quantity and administrating speed of the contrast agents. Even though the four general hospitals have their own management systems on adverse reactions, but their systems were not satisfying. To improve the quality of the management systems and to investigate further cases, some hospital administration procedures on the subject should be systemized and general hospitals should follow the recommended procedures. Moreover, the existing three-year-term evaluation should not only judge the adverse reaction management but also conclude some details on the sub criteria of the evaluation. The details on the sub criteria include the contrast agent characters, the quantity and administrating speed of the drug, the incidents' occurred time, an anamnesis; a case history, the medical history of the patients and the reaction occurring body parts, and the examination title. The details of the medical examiners are also added to the sub criteria.