title: Functional analysis in MR urography - made simple.
abstract: MR urography (MRU) has proved to be a most advantageous imaging modality of the urinary tract in children, providing one-stop comprehensive morphological and functional information, without the utilization of ionizing radiation. The functional analysis of the MRU scan still requires external post-processing using relatively complex software. This has proved to be a limiting factor in widespread routine implementation of MRU functional analysis and use of MRU functional parameters similar to nuclear medicine. We present software, developed in a pediatric radiology department, that not only enables comprehensive automated functional analysis, but is also very user-friendly, fast, easily operated by the average radiologist or MR technician and freely downloadable at www.chop-fmru.com . A copy of IDL Virtual Machine is required for the installation, which is obtained at no charge at www.ittvis.com . The analysis software, known as "CHOP-fMRU," has the potential to help overcome the obstacles to widespread use of functional MRU in children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th Street & Civic Center Boulevard, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. khrichenko@email.chop.edu
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Khrichenko
authors.forename: Kassa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Darge
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012984:Software; D014551:Urinary Tract / Q000473:pathology*; D014567:Urography / Q000379:methods; D014570:Urologic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*