Quantitative characterization and identification of lymph nodes and nasopharingeal carcinoma by coregistered magnetic resonance images

In this study we developed a technique to improve the identification of carcinoma and pathological lymph nodes in cases of Nasopharingeal Carcinoma (NPC), through a quantitative characterization of the tissues based on MR images: 3D VIBE (Volumetric Interpolated Breath-hold Examination) T1-CE (Contrast Enhanced), T1, T2 and Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI) for b-values 0,300,500,700,1000. The procedure included two phases: 1) coregistration of volumes and 2) tissue characterization. Concerning the first phase, the DICOM images were reassembled spatially and resampled with isotropic 0.5mm resolution. Coregistration was performed by two multiresolution rigid transformations, merging head and neck volumes, plus a final multiresolution non rigid transformation. The anatomical 3D CE-VIBE volume was taken as reference. The procedure for tissue characterization is semi automated and it required a radiologist to identify an example of tissue from the primary tumor and a metastatic lymph node. We generated a 8-dimensional membership function to perform a fuzzy-like identification of these tissues. The result of this procedure was the generation of two maps, which showed complementary characterization of lymph nodes and carcinoma. A few example will be shown to evidence the potentiality of this method in identification and characterization of NPC lesions.