[en] Objective: To assess the value and feasibility of 64-slice spiral CT in diagnosis of coronary artery aneurysm in the follow-up of young children with previous Kawasaki disease. Methods Twelve boys (mean age 5.1 years) for follow-up (ranged 1.1 to 5.1 years) with known Kawasaki disease and coronary artery aneurysms underwent coronary CT angiography using 64-slice spiral CT. The number, location, shape and size of each coronary artery, aneurysm were recorded and compared with those of echocardiography performed simutaneously. Results: A total of 30 coronary artery aneurysms were identified with mean diameter of (7.5±3.8) mm, and mean maximum length of (12.4±9.1)mm. 10 aneurysms were small in size,7 aneurysms were medium in size and 13 were giant aneurysms. Fourteen aneurysms were saccular, and the remaining 16 were fusiform. Among the aneurysms in left coronary artery, 7 of them were located in the main branch, 9 were located in the proximal segment of the anterior descending branch, 4 were located at the middle segment of the anterior descending branch, and 2 were located in the circumflex branch. Among the aneurysms in right coronary artery, 6 of them were located in the proximal segment, 9 were located in the middle segment, and 4 were located at the distal segment. Nine of the aneurysms involved 2 segments of the coronary arteries, and one involved 3 segments. Six stenotic segments were found. Calcification was found in 5 aneurysms and 3 of them had thrombosis. Echocardiography failed to detect 8 aneurysms of small size and located in the middle or distal segments of the coronary arterys. Conclusion: The 64-slice CT angiography proved valuable for monitoring young children with Kawasaki disease. (authors)

[en] Objective: To assess the clinical value of volume helical shuttle (VHS) of high definition CT (HDCT) in the diagnosis of congenital heart disease (CHD). Methods: Forty-three patients suffering from CHD were examined with VHS of HDCT and echocardiography (ECHO). Twenty-four patients (21 children, 3 adults) received surgery. Based on surgical data,the diagnostic accuracy of CHD by VHS of HDCT was compared with that by ECHO with respect to the intra-cardiac lesion, extra-cardiac lesion and hemodynamics. The visibility of the origin and proximal course of coronary arteries was also evaluated on VHS. CT effective doses were calculated,using mSv =DLP × K. Results: Thirty-six intra-cardiac deformities were found by operation, and the diagnostic accuracy of both VSH and ECHO were 100.0% (36/36). VHS successfully detected 42 of 44 (95.4%) cardiac-vascular connection and large vascular deformities, whereas ECHO only detected 26 (59.1% ). The right-to-left shunt and left-to-right shunt of septal defects revealed by VHS were 5 and 6 patients respectively, which all coincided with the results of ECHO.Fourteen bi-directional shunt of septal defects were detected by ECHO, and 13 of them were diagnosed as right-to-left shunt by HDCT except an illegibility in 1 patient. The origin and proximal course of coronary arteries were all visible on VHS. Effective dose for children was (3.38 ± 1.86) mSv, and for adults was (10.27 ± 2.59) mSv. Conclusions: VHS of HDCT scan is advantageous in the diagnosis of CHD. It can depict the intra- and extra- cardiac structures as well as coronary arteries and provide hemodynamic information. (authors)

[en] Fiber-metal laminates (FMLs) such as Kevlar reinforced aluminum laminate (ARALL), Carbon reinforced aluminum laminate (CARALL), and Glass reinforced aluminum laminate (GLARE) offer great potential for weight reduction applications in automobile and aerospace construction. In order to investigate the feasibility for utilizing such materials in the form of laminates, sheet hydroforming technology are studied under the condition of uniform blank holder force for three-layered aluminum and aluminum-composite laminates using orthogonal carbon and Kevlar as well as glass fiber in the middle. The experimental results validate the finite element results and they exhibited that the forming limit of glass fiber in the middle is the highest among the studied materials, while carbon fiber material performs the worst. Furthermore, the crack modes are different for the three kinds of fiber materials investigated in the research. This study provides fundamental guidance for the selection of multi-layer sheet materials in the future manufacturing field.