Using Discrete Event Simulation to Design and Assess an AI-aided Workflow for Same-day Diagnostic Testing of Women Undergoing Breast Screening.

The process of patients waiting for diagnostic examinations after an abnormal screening mammogram is inefficient and anxiety-inducing. Artificial intelligence (AI)-aided interpretation of screening mammography could reduce the number of recalls after screening. We proposed a same-day diagnostic workup to alleviate patient anxiety by employing an AI-aided interpretation to reduce unnecessary diagnostic testing after an abnormal screening mammogram. However, the potential unintended consequences of introducing this workflow in a high-volume breast imaging center are unknown. Using discrete event simulation, we observed that implementing the AI-aided screening mammogram interpretation and same-day diagnostic workflow would reduce daily patient volume by 4%, increase the time a patient would be at the clinic by 24%, and increase waiting times by 13-31%. We discuss how changing the hours of operation and introducing new imaging equipment and personnel may alleviate these negative impacts

Expediting workflow in the acute stroke pathway for endovascular thrombectomy in the northern Netherlands:a simulation model

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to identify barriers for the timely delivery of endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) and to investigate the effects of potential workflow improvements in the acute stroke pathway. DESIGN: Hospital data prospectively collected in the MR CLEAN Registry were linked to emergency medical services data for each EVT patient and used to build two Monte Carlo simulation models. The 'mothership (MS) model', reflecting patients who arrived directly at the comprehensive stroke centre (CSC); and the 'drip and ship' (DS) model, reflecting patients who were transferred to the CSC from primary stroke centres (PSCs). SETTING: Northern region of the Netherlands. One CSC provides EVT, and its catchment area includes eight PSCs. PARTICIPANTS: 248 patients who were treated with EVT between July 2014 and November 2017. OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were total delay from stroke onset until groin puncture, functional independence at 90 days (modified Rankin Scale 0-2) and mortality. RESULTS: Barriers identified included fast-track emergency department routing, prealert for transfer to the CSC, reduced handover time between PSC and ambulance, direct transfer from CSC arrival to angiography suite entry, and reducing time to groin puncture. Taken together, all workflow improvements could potentially reduce the time from onset to groin puncture by 59 min for the MS model and 61 min for the DS model. These improvements could thus result in more patients-3.7% MS and 7.4% DS-regaining functional independence after 90 days, in addition to decreasing mortality by 3.0% and 5.0%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In our region, the proposed workflow improvements might reduce time to treatment by about 1 hour and increase the number of patients regaining functional independence by 6%. Simulation modelling is useful for assessing the potential effects of interventions aimed at reducing time from onset to EVT

Proceedings Virtual Imaging Trials in Medicine 2024

This submission comprises the proceedings of the 1st Virtual Imaging Trials in Medicine conference, organized by Duke University on April 22-24, 2024. The listed authors serve as the program directors for this conference. The VITM conference is a pioneering summit uniting experts from academia, industry and government in the fields of medical imaging and therapy to explore the transformative potential of in silico virtual trials and digital twins in revolutionizing healthcare. The proceedings are categorized by the respective days of the conference: Monday presentations, Tuesday presentations, Wednesday presentations, followed by the abstracts for the posters presented on Monday and Tuesday

Surgical GPS Proof of Concept for Scoliosis Surgery

Scoliotic deformities may be addressed with either anterior or posterior approaches for scoliosis correction procedures. While typically quite invasive, the impact of these operations may be reduced through the use of computer-assisted surgery. A combination of physician-designated anatomical landmarks and surgical ontologies allows for real-time intraoperative guidance during computer-assisted surgical interventions. Predetermined landmarks are labeled on an identical patient model, which seeks to encompass vertebrae, intervertebral disks, ligaments, and other soft tissues. The inclusion of this anatomy permits the consideration of hypothetical forces that are previously not well characterized in a patient-specific manner. Updated ontologies then suggest procedural directions throughout the surgical corridor, observing the positioning of both the physician and the anatomical landmarks of interest at the present moment. Merging patient-specific models, physician-designated landmarks, and ontologies to produce real-time recommendations magnifies the successful outcome of scoliosis correction through enhanced pre-surgical planning, reduced invasiveness, and shorted recovery time

A new framework for assessing subject-specific whole brain circulation and perfusion using MRI-based measurements and a multi-scale continuous flow model

A large variety of severe medical conditions involve alterations in microvascular circulation. Hence, measurements or simulation of circulation and perfusion has considerable clinical value and can be used for diagnostics, evaluation of treatment efficacy, and for surgical planning. However, the accuracy of traditional tracer kinetic one-compartment models is limited due to scale dependency. As a remedy, we propose a scale invariant mathematical framework for simulating whole brain perfusion. The suggested framework is based on a segmentation of anatomical geometry down to imaging voxel resolution. Large vessels in the arterial and venous network are identified from time-of-flight (ToF) and quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). Macro-scale flow in the large-vessel-network is accurately modelled using the Hagen-Poiseuille equation, whereas capillary flow is treated as two-compartment porous media flow. Macro-scale flow is coupled with micro-scale flow by a spatially distributing support function in the terminal endings. Perfusion is defined as the transition of fluid from the arterial to the venous compartment. We demonstrate a whole brain simulation of tracer propagation on a realistic geometric model of the human brain, where the model comprises distinct areas of grey and white matter, as well as large vessels in the arterial and venous vascular network. Our proposed framework is an accurate and viable alternative to traditional compartment models, with high relevance for simulation of brain perfusion and also for restoration of field parameters in clinical brain perfusion applications.publishedVersio