The fourth edition of Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain and Spine is written at yet another critical time point in the history of clinical imaging with MRI, as we enter an unprecedented era in medical diagnosis and therapy. Imaging has come to occupy an increasingly central role in medical care. The appropriate utilization of emerging applications of molecular biology, advanced medical technologies, and minimally invasive treatments depend more than ever on delivery of the long-held promise of medical imaging.
Along with the advances in medical imaging have come striking changes in demographics of populations and diseases. The world's population is aging, and soon the elderly will dominate the health care system resources of many nations. Globalization of disease profiles is also underway; the chronic diseases of developed nations, with their reliance on imaging for diagnosis and treatment, are projected to overtake the traditionally dominating infectious and nutritional diseases of developing countries. Early detection has become paramount, and no field will be more important in this pursuit than diagnostic imaging.
I must admit that some of the trends concerning MRI are surprising, despite my own statement in the previous edition that “new advances in MRI seem likely to continue at least over the next several years and beyond.” Almost a decade after seemingly achieving its status as a mature imaging modality by most clinical standards, MRI has maintained an accelerating path of innovation and expansion of applications. The specifics of its current clinical utilization are also somewhat unexpected, because many had anticipated that non-CNS MRI would be the most impacted over this recent period. Quite a different scenario has unfolded: brain and spine MRI has increased its dominance over other non-neurologic clinical applications, at least as judged by number of MRI procedures per year. There is no reason to expect any significant change in this trend, as higher field scanners, new methodologies, and associations with minimally-invasive targeted therapies have already begun to be explored most often in the setting of CNS disorders.
Counterintuitive to the increased utilization and clinical impact of MRI, the present era of MRI represents perhaps the most challenging yet; technology has advanced far beyond known or proven clinical applications, instrumentation is more complex than ever, and software for acquisition and image processing is just beginning to reveal its importance in clinical applications. In that light, it should be remembered that the diagnosis of neurologic disease must be based on neuropathology and proven imaging findings. Patients cannot afford to have their care misdirected and their time wasted by implementing new techniques solely because new techniques exist. This is the time where the importance of guidance based on genuine expertise is at an unprecedented level, when the need for focused and relevant clinical research is at an all time high.
Given the above, this text is produced with the intent of reinforcing proven imaging findings, illustrating pathologic basis for those findings, and exploring the use of emerging newer MRI methods in the context of contributing significantly to diagnosis and guiding therapy. Novel imaging methodology, including hardware- and software-based, are explained and explored in a variety of clinical settings, particularly where they may have the most impact; emerging applications in newer areas, including psychiatric disorders and fetal anomalies, are discussed in detail; recent trends in CNS diseases themselves are updated and related to imaging findings; and limitations of imaging are noted where appropriate. As in past editions, we have attempted to produce a text where true experts are authors in their areas of expertise, and where clinical caveats are noted alongside exciting new findings in an effort to at least suggest rationale for optimal utilization of these new techniques.
The book was designed to be of value to all students of neuroradiology, from trainee to expert, from basic science researcher to clinician. It is intended to be useful for all doctors who treat patients harboring brain and spine disorders, including neuroradiologists, radiologists, neurologists, neuropathologists, neurosurgeons, orthopedists, neonatologists, and psychiatrists. I am hopeful that it will prove to be of value to all of those involved in caring for these patients, either directly through clinical means, indirectly through applied and basic research, or eventually through product innovation. It is meant to be a resource to all who are interested in furthering the field.
Finally, I must reiterate my sincere gratitude to all of my friends and colleagues in neuroradiology and clinical neuroscience throughout the world, particularly my own mentors and my trainees. The strength of this book and its enduring value has certainly been based to a great extent on your research, clinical contributions, effort and advice. Your generosity in allowing me to show your cases, and your diligence in contributing to this text, are things for which I can never thank you enough.
Along with the advances in medical imaging have come striking changes in demographics of populations and diseases. The world's population is aging, and soon the elderly will dominate the health care system resources of many nations. Globalization of disease profiles is also underway; the chronic diseases of developed nations, with their reliance on imaging for diagnosis and treatment, are projected to overtake the traditionally dominating infectious and nutritional diseases of developing countries. Early detection has become paramount, and no field will be more important in this pursuit than diagnostic imaging.
I must admit that some of the trends concerning MRI are surprising, despite my own statement in the previous edition that “new advances in MRI seem likely to continue at least over the next several years and beyond.” Almost a decade after seemingly achieving its status as a mature imaging modality by most clinical standards, MRI has maintained an accelerating path of innovation and expansion of applications. The specifics of its current clinical utilization are also somewhat unexpected, because many had anticipated that non-CNS MRI would be the most impacted over this recent period. Quite a different scenario has unfolded: brain and spine MRI has increased its dominance over other non-neurologic clinical applications, at least as judged by number of MRI procedures per year. There is no reason to expect any significant change in this trend, as higher field scanners, new methodologies, and associations with minimally-invasive targeted therapies have already begun to be explored most often in the setting of CNS disorders.
Counterintuitive to the increased utilization and clinical impact of MRI, the present era of MRI represents perhaps the most challenging yet; technology has advanced far beyond known or proven clinical applications, instrumentation is more complex than ever, and software for acquisition and image processing is just beginning to reveal its importance in clinical applications. In that light, it should be remembered that the diagnosis of neurologic disease must be based on neuropathology and proven imaging findings. Patients cannot afford to have their care misdirected and their time wasted by implementing new techniques solely because new techniques exist. This is the time where the importance of guidance based on genuine expertise is at an unprecedented level, when the need for focused and relevant clinical research is at an all time high.
Given the above, this text is produced with the intent of reinforcing proven imaging findings, illustrating pathologic basis for those findings, and exploring the use of emerging newer MRI methods in the context of contributing significantly to diagnosis and guiding therapy. Novel imaging methodology, including hardware- and software-based, are explained and explored in a variety of clinical settings, particularly where they may have the most impact; emerging applications in newer areas, including psychiatric disorders and fetal anomalies, are discussed in detail; recent trends in CNS diseases themselves are updated and related to imaging findings; and limitations of imaging are noted where appropriate. As in past editions, we have attempted to produce a text where true experts are authors in their areas of expertise, and where clinical caveats are noted alongside exciting new findings in an effort to at least suggest rationale for optimal utilization of these new techniques.
The book was designed to be of value to all students of neuroradiology, from trainee to expert, from basic science researcher to clinician. It is intended to be useful for all doctors who treat patients harboring brain and spine disorders, including neuroradiologists, radiologists, neurologists, neuropathologists, neurosurgeons, orthopedists, neonatologists, and psychiatrists. I am hopeful that it will prove to be of value to all of those involved in caring for these patients, either directly through clinical means, indirectly through applied and basic research, or eventually through product innovation. It is meant to be a resource to all who are interested in furthering the field.
Finally, I must reiterate my sincere gratitude to all of my friends and colleagues in neuroradiology and clinical neuroscience throughout the world, particularly my own mentors and my trainees. The strength of this book and its enduring value has certainly been based to a great extent on your research, clinical contributions, effort and advice. Your generosity in allowing me to show your cases, and your diligence in contributing to this text, are things for which I can never thank you enough.
Scott W. Atlas
VOLUME ONE
Principles
- Instrumentation: Magnets, Coils, and Hardware
- Contrast Development and Manipulation in MR Imaging
- Principles of Image Formation
- Fundamentals of Flow and Hemodynamics
- Fast Imaging Principles
- Artifacts in MR
- Disorders of Brain Development
- The Phakomatoses and Other Inherited Syndromes
- Epilepsy
- White Matter Diseases and Inherited Metabolic Disorders
- Adult Brain Tumors
- Pediatric Brain Tumors
- Intracranial Hemorrhage
- Intracranial Vascular Malformations and Aneurysms
- Cerebral Ischemia and Infarction
- MR Angiography: Techniques and Clinical Applications
- Head Trauma
- Intracranial Infection
- Normal Aging, Dementia, and Neurodegenerative Disease
Skull Base
- The Skull Base
- The Sella Turcica and Parasellar Region
- Anatomy and Diseases of the Temporal Bone
- Eye, Orbit, and Visual System
- Spine and Spinal Cord
- Congenital Anomalies of the Spine and Spinal Cord: Embryology and Malformations
- Degenerative Disease of the Spine
- Neoplastic Disease of the Spine and Spinal Cord
- Spinal Trauma
- Vascular Disorders of the Spine and Spinal Cord
- Spinal Infection and Inflammatory Disorders
- Fetal Brain and Spine MRI
- Diffusion and Diffusion Tensor Imaging: Principles
- Perfusion MR Imaging
- Clinical Functional MR Imaging
- Psychiatric Disease
- MR Spectroscopy and the Biochemical Basis of Neurological Disease
- Contrast Agents and Molecular MR
Product Details
Hardcover: 2000 pages
Publisher: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Fourth edition (October 24, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 078176985X / ISBN-13: 978-0781769853
List Price: $449.00