Vestibular Schwannoma

This was on a patient who was complaining of hearing loss and when tested it was found to be one sided. In MRI we have an IAC protocol for patients suspected of some growth on the 7th and 8th nerve. We do thin high res imaging of the area of interest. Here are some pics on a recent positive case. One image is a fiesta 3d image (GE Scanner) and a T1 axial post contrast. These benign tumors are slow growing and called Acoustic Neuroma or Vestibular Schwannoma.

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS

I never really understood anything about this disease until I started working in MRI. MRI is a commonly used modality for detection of MS plaques and now I have found that is much more prevalent than I thought. MS plaques can appear as hyper-intensities on T2 imaging. It can be in the brain or spinal cord. It attacks the myelin that covers nerve fibers. When scanning for MS in the brain our protocol is additional T2 FLAIR imaging in a sagittal plane. Flair uses an inversion pulse which makes CSF dark making T2 hyper-intense plaques "stand out". Our radiologist looks in the white matter where myelin is found and for a pattern scattered away from corpus callosum. We typically give contrast to see if any plaques enhance that may represent an "active plaque". We also like to do delayed post contrast imaging because some experts believe MS plaques do not enhance until a delayed phase.

INTRODUCTION

My name is Jason Prater. I am currently employed as a MRI Technologist and working towards a bachelors’ degree. I would like to pursue another direction for my career in the future. I would like to see more of a leadership role such as a radiology director or even get into teaching. I was a clinical instructor for Radiography part time and enjoyed working with students. Either way, I am looking to learn new ideas and review others while earning a 4 year degree!