Achieva 1.5t mri

In vitro MRI acquisitions
were performed using a Philips Achieva
1.5T MRI clinical scanner equipped with an eight-channel phased-array-head
coil. The samples consisted of 3 mL of CDs-Gd solutions (0.01–0.5
mg mL^–1, equivalent to 1.1–10.8 μM
of Gd³⁺) prepared in acetate buffer (pH 5.5, 5 mM), phosphate
buffer (pH 6.4, 5 mM), or phosphate buffer (pH 7.4, 5 mM). The samples
were placed in vials, which were then inserted into a nonmagnetic
holder and positioned inside the head coil to ensure a good signal-to-noise
ratio.
Measurements of the longitudinal relaxation time T₁ were performed by using an inversion recovery
sequence. The acquisition parameters included an echo time (TE) of
15 ms, a maximum repetition time (TR) of 4000 ms, matrix size of 256
× 256, slice thickness of 2.5 mm, and a field of view of 25.6
× 25.6 cm². Images were acquired with variable inversion
times (TI) ranging from 25 to 3000 ms.
To analyze the data,
Python code was developed to identify the
region of interest (ROI) at the center of each sample and calculate
the average signal intensity as well as its standard deviation. T₁ values were obtained by fitting the acquired
data to the equation M(TI) = M₀ × (1 – b × e^–TI/T₁), where M₀, b, and T₁ are the
fitting parameters. Finally, the relaxation rate (R₁) values were determined to be the reciprocal of T₁ (s^–1).

The patients’ subjective symptomatic feedback on the therapeutic outcome of PAE was determined by the administration of the AUA symptom score questionnaire pre-PAE and 3-months post-PAE by doctors in the urology clinic. The questionnaire included seven urinary symptom-related questions and one global QOL question created by the AUA in 1992.
Patients’ pre-PAE prostate volume was measured on the Philips Achieva 1.5T MRI in the 3 months before they underwent PAE and their post-PAE prostate volume was measured 3–4 months after the procedure. Prostate volume was calculated from the MRI measurements using the ellipsoid formula: π/6 × (transverse diameter × anteroposterior diameter × cephalocaudal diameter).