An Investigation Into the Electrical Activity of Tender, Resting Paraspinal Muscles Using Surface Electromyography: A Pilot Study

Abnormal resting paraspinal muscle activity has been claimed to be responsible for changes in spinal tissue texture which are detectible by manual palpation. This pilot study investigated whether there was significant electrical activity in paraspinal musculature that was tender and that appeared to have altered tissue texture on palpation. Sixteen healthy volunteers between 18 and 35 years of age had their thoracic erector spinae mass palpated bilaterally from spinal levels T3 to T10 to identify paraspinal regions exhibiting altered tissue texture relative to the contralateral muscle mass. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to measure electrical activity in the muscle mass at the selected levels. No significant differences in electrical activity were observed between the tender and non-tender muscle masses, although a large difference existed in the one symptomatic subject. All muscle sites displayed EMG activity at rest, although the source of activity is not clear. A number of methodological problems with the EMG recording were encountered and are discussed. Future research is recommended using symptomatic participants

Validation of a bovine rectal palpation simulator for training veterinary students

No abstract available

A surgical system for automatic registration, stiffness mapping and dynamic image overlay

In this paper we develop a surgical system using the da Vinci research kit (dVRK) that is capable of autonomously searching for tumors and dynamically displaying the tumor location using augmented reality. Such a system has the potential to quickly reveal the location and shape of tumors and visually overlay that information to reduce the cognitive overload of the surgeon. We believe that our approach is one of the first to incorporate state-of-the-art methods in registration, force sensing and tumor localization into a unified surgical system. First, the preoperative model is registered to the intra-operative scene using a Bingham distribution-based filtering approach. An active level set estimation is then used to find the location and the shape of the tumors. We use a recently developed miniature force sensor to perform the palpation. The estimated stiffness map is then dynamically overlaid onto the registered preoperative model of the organ. We demonstrate the efficacy of our system by performing experiments on phantom prostate models with embedded stiff inclusions.Comment: International Symposium on Medical Robotics (ISMR 2018

UNUSAUAL PRESENTATION OF SUBMANDIBULAR DUCT AND GLAND CALCUI: CASE REPORT

Sialolithiasis is one of the most common pathologies of the submandibular gland; sialoliths account for about 80 percent of all salivary duct calculi.The majority of sialolith occurs in the submandibular gland or its duct and is common cause of acute and chronic infection. Salivary stones larger than 15 mm are classified as giant sialoliths. They are uncommon in the practice of otolaryngology, and their management has always been a therapeutic challenge. This report presents the two unusual and rare cases of large sialolith of the submandibular duct as well as gland measuring 70x11mm and 54x25mm respectively.

Screening for Gynecologic Conditions With Pelvic Examination US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement

IMPORTANCE Many conditions that can affect women\u27s health are often evaluated through pelvic examination. Although the pelvic examination is a common part of the physical examination, it is unclear whether performing screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic women has a significant effect on disease morbidity and mortality. OBJECTIVE To issue a new US Preventive Services Task Force(USPSTF) recommendation on screening for gynecologic conditions with pelvic examination for conditions other than cervical cancer, gonorrhea, and chlamydia, for which the USPSTF has already made specific recommendations. EVIDENCE REVIEW The USPSTF reviewed the evidence on the accuracy, benefits, and potential harms of performing screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic, nonpregnant adult women 18 years and older who are not at increased risk for any specific gynecologic condition. FINDINGS Overall, the USPSTF found inadequate evidence on screening pelvic examinations for the early detection and treatment of a range of gynecologic conditions in asymptomatic, nonpregnant adult women. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the balance of benefits and harms of performing screening pelvic examinations in asymptomatic, nonpregnant adult women. (I statement) This statement does not apply to specific disorders for which the USPSTF already recommends screening (ie, screening for cervical cancer with a Papanicolaou smear, screening for gonorrhea and chlamydia)

Process-oriented Iterative Multiple Alignment for Medical Process Mining

Adapted from biological sequence alignment, trace alignment is a process mining technique used to visualize and analyze workflow data. Any analysis done with this method, however, is affected by the alignment quality. The best existing trace alignment techniques use progressive guide-trees to heuristically approximate the optimal alignment in O(N2L2) time. These algorithms are heavily dependent on the selected guide-tree metric, often return sum-of-pairs-score-reducing errors that interfere with interpretation, and are computationally intensive for large datasets. To alleviate these issues, we propose process-oriented iterative multiple alignment (PIMA), which contains specialized optimizations to better handle workflow data. We demonstrate that PIMA is a flexible framework capable of achieving better sum-of-pairs score than existing trace alignment algorithms in only O(NL2) time. We applied PIMA to analyzing medical workflow data, showing how iterative alignment can better represent the data and facilitate the extraction of insights from data visualization.Comment: accepted at ICDMW 201

Sonographic cervical volumetry in higher order multiple gestation

Objective:The aim of this study of multifetal pregnancies was the comparison of three-dimensional (3D) volumetry of the cervix, conventional sonographic cervical length measurement and clinical assessment. Methods 10 mothers were investigated in an observational study between 5/1999 and 9/2000. A total of 34 consecutive 2D-and 3D-transabdominal ultrasound measurements were performed. Results: Volumetry of the cervix was possible in all 34 exams. 2D-cervical length assessment could not be obtained in 6% because the presenting fetal part obstructed the sonographic plane. Both methods allowed equal judgement of the configuration of the cervix. A significant correlation was found between mean 2D-cervical length (28.7 mm, 7.7 SD) and mean cervical volume (30.0 cm(3), 16.0 SD). Parity, subjective preterm labor or need of tocolytics showed no correlation with any biometrical parameter studied. Conclusion: Volumetry was superior for the assessment of cervical biometry and conformation in women when the transabdominal 2D-plane was obstructed. When cervical length was obtainable by a conventional scan, the technically more complex 3D-imaging did not provide further information. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel

Clinical reasoning in canine spinal disease: what combination of clinical information is useful?

Spinal disease in dogs is commonly encountered in veterinary practice. Numerous diseases may cause similar clinical signs and presenting histories. The study objective was to use statistical models to identify combinations of discrete parameters from the patient signalment, history and neurological examination that could suggest the most likely diagnoses with statistical significance. A retrospective study of 500 dogs referred to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals before June 2012 for the investigation of spinal disease was performed. Details regarding signalment, history, physical and neurological examinations, neuroanatomical localisation and imaging data were obtained. Univariate analyses of variables (breed, age, weight, onset, deterioration, pain, asymmetry, neuroanatomical localisation) were performed, and variables were retained in a multivariate logistic regression model if P<0.05. Leading diagnoses were intervertebral disc extrusion (IVDE, n=149), intervertebral disc protrusion (n=149), ischaemic myelopathy (IM, n=48) and neoplasms (n=44). Multivariate logistic regression characterised IM and acute non-compressive nucleus pulposus extrusions as the only peracute onset, non-progressive, non-painful and asymmetrical T3-L3 myelopathies. IVDE was most commonly characterised as acute onset, often deteriorating, painful and largely symmetrical T3-L3 myelopathy. This study suggests that most spinal diseases cause distinctive combinations of presenting clinical parameters (signalment, onset, deterioration, pain, asymmetry, neuroanatomical localisation). Taking particular account of these parameters may aid decision making in a clinical setting