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Objectives: To assess the most common lower limb acute muscle injuries on MRI imaging in a national specialist centre for orthopaedics and sports medicine and to explore potential gender differences. Methods: Over a 3-year time period, all MRI lower limb studies with acute muscle injury (AMI) were reviewed. A British Athletics muscle injury classification (BAMIC) was given and a statistical analysis was performed. Results: A total of 195 AMIs were diagnosed: 177 (91%) male and 18 (9%) female injuries (M to F = 9.8:1). The most common lower limb AMIs were BAMIC grade 1a injuries (n = 48, 25%). The most commonly injured muscle was biceps femoris (n = 87, 45%), specifically grade 1b and grade 2b injuries. There was no significant difference in age between men and women with acute lower limb muscle injuries (p = 0.19). Females were 1.5 times more likely to have a lower grade AMI than males, although this did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.7) owing to a striking lower number of female patients. There was no significant difference between genders in the likelihood of sustaining a hamstring or quadricep AMI (hamstrings OR = 2.47, p = 0.14 and quadriceps OR = 0.926, p 0.99). Conclusions: Grade 1a is the most common lower limb AMI grade in our institution, accounting for 25%. Biceps femoris is the most commonly injured muscle (45%) with grade 1b and grade 2b being the most frequently encountered grades of biceps femoris injuries. Lower-grade injuries are more common in females compared to males, although not significantly so. Further studies are required to explore possible reasons for this gender gap. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An overview is presented of industry/university research for developing next-generation high-field superconducting magnets. A variant of the Wind React and Tighten (WRAT) approach, using dip-coated BSCCO (Bismuth Strontium Calcium Copper Oxide)-2212 on an Ag substrate is discussed.

With a view to the long term exploitation of the high upper critical fields of high temperature and Chevrel phase superconductors and their use in very high field superconducting magnets, we are making measurements of critical currents on practical versions of these superconductors in very high pulsed magnetic fields; up to 50 T so far. The measurements are made using transport currents in order to simulate, as far as possible, conditions in a magnet. We compare the results with those taken in the highest steady fields available to us; 18 T at present. In this paper we present our latest results and describe how the technique is developing. We also review our attempts to model the mechanisms which give rise to the characteristic function of V(dB/dt) which we observe.

HTS wires, which may be used in many devices such as magnets and rotating machines, may be subjected to mechanical strains from electromagnetic, thermal and centripetal forces. In some applications these strains will be repeated several thousand times during the lifetime of the device. We have measured critical current degradation due to repeated strain cycles for both compressive and tensile strains. Results for BSCCO-2223 HTS conductor samples are presented for strain values upto 0.5% and cycle numbers up to and beyond 104. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Purpose: Lumbar disc herniation, potentially leading to nerve root compression and cauda equina syndrome, is typically evaluated using MR imaging. However, the limited availability of MR imaging outside regular hours in certain health care systems poses considerable challenges. This purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of an optimized CT lumbar spine protocol as a potential alternative to MR imaging in assessing suspected neural compression., Materials and Methods: Patients presenting to the emergency department with suspected cauda equina syndrome or acute radicular symptoms secondary to lumbar disc herniation referred for MR imaging were prospectively enrolled for an additional CT optimized to assess spinal stenosis. An expert radiologist, blinded to clinical data, graded canal stenosis at each lumbar level on CT. The same grading process was applied to MR imaging after a 4-week interval to maintain blinding., Results: Fifty-nine individuals were included in the final analysis. In 22 (39%) cases, no significant stenosis was identified. In a further 22 (37%) cases, disc pathology was identified that was managed conservatively. Thirteen (22%) individuals proceeded to urgent surgical decompression. In 1 (2%) instance, an alternative diagnosis was identified. Compared with MR imaging, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values for CT in detecting disc pathology in patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of acute neural compression were 97% (95% CI, 82%-99%), 97% (95% CI, 83%-99%), 97% (95% CI, 92%-99%), and 97% (95% CI, 83%-99%), respectively. CT accurately identified all cases requiring urgent decompression., Conclusions: CT accurately predicted MR imaging findings in patients with suspected cauda equina and nerve root compression, demonstrating its utility as an adjunct tool for patient triage in emergency settings with limited MR imaging access. This protocol could enhance the allocation of emergency resources by appropriately selecting patients for emergent MR imaging., (© 2024 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.)