[en] Objective: To discuss the application of the bolus chasing DSA technology in angiography in thoracic, abdominal, common iliac and four limbs' arteries. Methods: Bolus chasing DSA with Mask Before program of the system was performed in 40 procedures in 25 patients, using the control handle to control the moving of the bed, and obtained the real time bolus chasing DSA pictures at the blood stream speed. Results: In the 40 procedures, photographing in 35 had good qualities, accounting for 87.5%, but not good in 5, accounting for 12.5%, which could still meet the request of diagnosing after non-subtraction processing. Conclusion: Bolus chasing DSA could display a large scale of anatomical skeleton and blood stream condition from chest to the four limbs exactly. It was a new method that could be taken to observe real time continuous multi-sections of blood vessel structure

[en] Objective: To investigate the correlation between recent cardiac events and the score of myocardial infarction by delayed-enhancement MRI (DE-MRI). Methods: DE-MRI was performed in 40 subjects with coronary artery disease. The score of myocardial infarction by DE-MRI, the ejection fraction (EF) by echocardiography, recent cardiac events (the number of weekly nitroglycerin, the number of weekly angina episodes and the onset number of heart failure in the last year), 6-minute walking distance, as well as the Seattle angina questionnaire (SAQ) score were assessed. The Spearman correlation test and Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test were used for the statistics. Results: There were negative correlation between the myocardial infarction score by DE-MRI (median 12, inter-quartile range: 6.0-19.8) and the 6-minute walking distance (378.93±100.53), SAQ score (74.55±11.40) (r was 0.66 and 0.54, P< 0.05). The myocardial infarction score by DE-MRI was strongly correlated with the number of weekly nitroglycerin (median 1; inter-quartile range: 0-2.8), the number of weekly angina episodes (median 3, inter-quartile range: 1-6.5) and the onset number of heart failure in the last year (median 0, inter-quartile range: 0-2) (r was 0.87, 0.85 and 0.89, P<0.05). EF [(49.2±13.72)%] was negative correlation with the number of weekly nitroglycerin, the number of weekly angina episodes and the onset number of heart failure in the last year (r were 0.67, 0.73 and 0.73, P<0.05). Conclusion: DE-MRI can be used for evaluation and prediction of future cardiac events. (authors)

[en] Objective: To discuss the application of MR angiography (MRA) in deciding the puncture points of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS). Methods: Preoperative MRA was performed in 59 patients with portal hypertension (study group) in order to search for the causes of portal hypertension, to observe the patterns and route of the hepatic and portal veins and to measure the vascular diameter at the scheduled puncture site. MRA was also performed in 50 healthy subjects, which was served as the control group. The results were compared between two groups. Results: The diseases in the study group included simple cirrhosis (n=49), cirrhosis accompanied with hepatocellular carcinoma (n=4), pure portal vein thrombosis (n=3), splenic vein stenosis (n=1) and Budd-Chiari syndrome (n=2). In study group the type I, II and III of the hepatic vein classification were seen in 14, 39 and 12 cases respectively,while in control group in 12, 34 and 14 cases respectively. In study group, the right, middle and left hepatic vein which had the diameter larger enough for puncturing existed in 52, 40 and 28 cases respectively, while in control group in 46, 34 and 23 cases respectively. The safe point for puncture via the right and the left branch of the portal vein was located beyond the distance of (16.2 ± 3.1) mm and (14.2 ± 3.8) mm respectively. Conclusion: MRA is a valuable non-invasive examination, which is of great value in determining the causes of portal hypertension and in planning the puncturing sites before performing TIPS. (authors)

[en] Objective: To evaluate the embolic effect of self-made copper coil in rabbits' iliac and renal arteries. Methods: In vitro study, the blood coagulative ability of the copper coil, steel coils, and silk thread were observed at 12 h and 24 h, respectively. In animal experiment, 20 rabbits were used, and either right or left renal and iliac arteries were embolized by using the copper coils. As the control, the iliac arteries on the unexperimented side were embolized by using the steel coils. After the embolization, the arteriography, the level of serum copper ions, liver and renal functions, and the tissue histology were respectively evaluated at different time intervals. Results: In vitro study, the copper coil had stronger blood coagulative ability than others (P<0.01). In animal experiment, the ability of artery occlusion and accelerative thrombosis by copper coils were more effective than that of the control groups (P<0.01). After the embolization, the level of serum copper ions was increased at the 3rd day (P<0.05), but recovered to preoperative level at 1 week (P>0.05), and the liver and renal functions were similar to that of the preoperation after 2 weeks. Conclusion: The self-made copper coil has a good embolic effect in rabbits' iliac and renal arteries, and it has no significant side and toxic effects

[en] Objective: To evaluate the embolic effect of homemade copper coil in rabbits. Methods: Seventeen New Zealand Big Ear Rabbit was included in this study. After conventional anesthesia, one common carotid artery or subclavian artery was embolized with second-level copper coated platinum microcoils (experimental group) through a 3F catheter, and the other common carotid artery or subclavian artery was embolized with second-level platinum micro-coils (control group) as control. Angiography was processed to observe the extent of vascular occlusion 10 min, 30 min, 3 d, 1 w, 2 w, 4 w, 6 w, and 12 w after embolization respectively. The rabbits were sacrificed to observe thrombosis and pathological change of the embolic artery 3 days, 1 w, 2 w, 4 w, 6 w and 12 w after the embolization. Vascular occlusion and thrombosis were compared between experimental group and the control group by using the exact probability method and rank sum test for statistical analysis. Results: Embolization experiment was successfully implemented in 15 of 17 rabbits. Twenty-one second-level copper coated platinum micro-coils were used in the experimental group, while 19 second-level platinum micro-coils were used in the control group. Ten min and 30 min after embolization, angiography showed that vascular embolization effect was not significantly different between the two groups. The vascular embolization effect of the experiment group was superior to control group 3 d, 1, 2, 4, 6 and 12 w after embolization (P < 0.05). Pathological examination showed that there were a lot of blood clots around the copper coil and in the proximal and distal arterial lumen. Only a small amount of blood clots was found around the platinum coil in the control group. For every time point of observation, thrombosis was more severe in the experiment group than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Second-level copper coated coil can be released with 4F catheter to embolize the vessel, showing good physical property, flexibility and medical performance. (authors)

[en] Objective: To discuss the clinical value of renal arteriography in diagnosing the small renal carcinomas. Methods: Clinical information of 76 patients with angiography-proved small renal carcinoma were retrospectively analyzed. The patients included 52 males and 24 females, and the patient's age ranged from 28 to 78 years with an average of 55 years. The largest diameter of the renal tumors was smaller than 3 cm. All the specimens were sent for pathologic examination. Preoperative angiographic findings were compared with postoperative pathologic results. Results: Of the 76 patients, preoperative diagnosis of renal carcinoma was made by renal arteriography in 68, all of which were rich in vascularity with rather typical angiographic features of a malignant tumor. Among them, 8 patients were diagnosed as a benign lesion, and three lesions were rich in vascularity, which were mainly renal angiomyolipomas. In the remaining 5 patients, the lesions were hypo-vascular ones. Pathologically, renal carcinoma was diagnosed in 67 patients. Of the 68 patients who were diagnosed as renal carcinoma by renal arteriography before operation, three actually suffered from benign lesions. Of the 8 patients who were considered to have benign lesions before operation, 6 had benign lesions, including renal angiomyolipomas (n = 3), and the other two had renal clear-cell carcinoma. Conclusion: Renal arteriography carries higher diagnostic accuracy for small renal carcinoma that is rich in vascularity, although combination use of other diagnostic means is needed for the diagnosis of hypo-vascular small renal carcinoma. (authors)