CARTO: Category and Joint Agnostic Reconstruction of ARTiculated Objects

We present CARTO, a novel approach for reconstructing multiple articulated objects from a single stereo RGB observation. We use implicit object-centric representations and learn a single geometry and articulation decoder for multiple object categories. Despite training on multiple categories, our decoder achieves a comparable reconstruction accuracy to methods that train bespoke decoders separately for each category. Combined with our stereo image encoder we infer the 3D shape, 6D pose, size, joint type, and the joint state of multiple unknown objects in a single forward pass. Our method achieves a 20.4% absolute improvement in mAP 3D IOU50 for novel instances when compared to a two-stage pipeline. Inference time is fast and can run on a NVIDIA TITAN XP GPU at 1 HZ for eight or less objects present. While only trained on simulated data, CARTO transfers to real-world object instances. Code and evaluation data is available at: http://carto.cs.uni-freiburg.deComment: 20 pages, 11 figures, accepted at CVPR 202

New approaches for the assessment of vessel sizes in quantitative (cardio-)vascular X-ray analysis

This paper presents new approaches for the assessment of the arterial and reference diameters in (cardio-)vascular X-ray images, designed to overcome the problems experienced in conventional quantitative coronary and vascular angiography approaches. In single or “straight” vessel segments, the arterial and reference diameter directions were made independent of each other in order to be able to measure the minimal lumen diameter (MLD) more accurately, especially in curved vessel segments. For ostial segments, an extension of this approach was used, to allow measurement of ostial lesions in sidebranches more proximal than using conventional methods. Furthermore, two new bifurcation approaches were developed. The validation study shows that the straight segment approach results in significant smaller MLDs (on average 0.032 mm) and the ostial approach achieves on average an increase in %DS of 3.8% and an increase in lesion length of 0.59 mm due to loosening the directional constraint. The validation of our new bifurcation approaches in phantom data as well as clinical data shows only small differences between pre- and post-intervention measurements of the reference diameters outside the bifurcation core (errors smaller than 0.06 mm) and the bifurcation core area (errors smaller than 1.4% for phantom data). In summary, these new approaches have led to further improvements in the quantitative analyses of (cardio-)vascular X-ray angiographies

The Removal of a Fractured Guidewire During Mechanical Thrombectomy. A Case Report

Recent randomized controlled trials have transformed the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. Mechanical or aspiration thrombectomy is the main treatment option for occlusions of large intracranial vessels. Despite its high technical success rate, endovascular thrombectomy can sometimes be complicated by anatomical peculiarities or device failures. The most frequent complications are related to vessel dissection or vessel perforation by devices while navigating intricate anatomy. Rarer still are technical device failures, like spontaneous stent-retriever detachment, which occurred with older generation retrievers. This case reports a rare device failure, which, to the best of our knowledge, has not been reported in the literature so far, namely a microwire fracture in the middle cerebral artery. This was successfully removed with an Eric stent-retriever. The potential causes and possible management strategies are discussed

Single-session treatment of bilateral, tandem, internal carotid artery aneurysms with pipeline flex with shield technology

The treatment of intracranial aneurysms (IA) has been transformed by the development of flow-diversion (FD) devices. Initially, these revolutionary devices were conceived for giant and fusiform aneurysms located on the internal carotid artery (ICA). Technological improvements have expanded their indications. Distal middle cerebral, anterior cerebral artery aneurysms, or even posterior fossa aneurysms can now benefit from this technology. One other category of aneurysms that can be treated is multiple IA’s. Multiple IA’s are encountered in approximately one-quarter of patients presenting with subarachnoid haemorrhage. Endovascular management of such cases is complex, requiring different devices and treatment strategies to secure all lesions. FD’s can be successfully employed to reconstruct vessels, which harbour more than one aneurysm, especially multiple ICA lesions. Multiple aneurysms located on both ICA’s are generically known as tandem aneurysms. We present the case of a patient with tandem aneurysms located on both intracranial internal carotid arteries that we treated simultaneously with the Pipeline Flex with Shield Technology in one single session. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case reported in the literature so far

Usiigaci: Instance-aware cell tracking in stain-free phase contrast microscopy enabled by machine learning

Stain-free, single-cell segmentation and tracking is tantamount to the holy grail of microscopic cell migration analysis. Phase contrast microscopy (PCM) images with cells at high density are notoriously difficult to segment accurately; thus, manual segmentation remains the de facto standard practice. In this work, we introduce Usiigaci, an all-in-one, semi-automated pipeline to segment, track, and visualize cell movement and morphological changes in PCM. Stain-free, instance-aware segmentation is accomplished using a mask regional convolutional neural network (Mask R-CNN). A Trackpy-based cell tracker with a graphical user interface is developed for cell tracking and data verification. The performance of Usiigaci is validated with electrotaxis of NIH/3T3 fibroblasts. Usiigaci provides highly accurate cell movement and morphological information for quantitative cell migration analysis. Keywords: Phase contrast microscopy, Instance-aware segmentation, Machine learning, Convolutional neural network, Stain-free cell tracking, Single-cell migratio

High frequency of BRCA recurrent mutations in a consecutive series of unselected ovarian cancer patients

Hereditary predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer (HBOC) is diagnosed by molecular analysis of deleterious mutations in BRCA genes, allowing oncogenetic follow-up of patients and of their families. BRCA testing addresses only to HBOC families, using restrictive inclusion criteria based on familial history of cancer and age at diagnosis. Sporadic ovarian cancer has high incidence and mortality in Romania, with low median age of diagnosis and possibly a higher magnitude of hereditary contribution comparing to othe populations. However, sporadic ovarian cancers do not qualify for BRCA testing according to inclusion criteria, and a complete BRCA screening of all cancers is neither feasible nor recommended. Despite the large diversity of BRCA mutations worldwide, some recurrent mutations have higher frequencies in diverse populations. Precisely screening for recurrent mutations in a target population allows to rapidly identifying mutation carriers without sequencing the entire BRCA genes. In Romanian population and neighboring countries, several recurrent mutations have already been described. In a consecutive series of 50 sporadic ovarian cancer patients, not qualifying for BRCA complete testing, we screened for 9 most common BRCA mutations, by multiplex-PCR, RFLP and targeted Sanger sequencing. Our results revealed 6 different BRCA mutations in 8 unrelated patients, with a frequency of 16%, much higher than expected. We further recommend screening for the identified mutations in larger series of cancer patients. The results are highly beneficial to cancer patients, healthy relatives, and overall, considering prevention in cancer a priority, to public health system and future of oncogenetics in Romani

The Use of Allograft Bone in the Lateral Approach of Sinus Floor Elevation: A Systematic Review of Clinical Studies

Background and Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the efficiency of using allografts for sinus lift. Materials and Methods: This systematic review was written under the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and recommendation of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Three electronic databases were screened until October 2023. The risk of bias was assessed according to the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) guidelines. Statistical analysis was performed for median bone volume and implant survival rate. Results: From 321 articles retrieved, 7 articles were included in this review. A comparison between freeze-dried bone allograft (FDBA) and deproteinized bovine bone (DBB) for mean bone volume indicated a weighted mean difference (WMD) of −0.17 [−0.69, 0.36] (95% confidence interval (CI)), p = 0.53. For implant survival rate, a comparison was made between FDBA and autogenous bone indicating a risk ratio (RR) of 1.00 [0.96, 1.05] (95% CI), p = 1.00. Conclusions: The available evidence suggested that allograft bone can be used in sinus lift procedures. The results obtained are insufficient to compare with other types of bone graft, requiring a longer follow-up time. Future clinical trials are needed in order to evaluate the advantages of using allograft bone

Mental health at different stages of cancer survival: A natural language processing study of Reddit posts

The purpose of this study was to use text-based social media content analysis from cancer-specific subreddits to evaluate depression and anxiety-loaded content. Natural language processing, automatic, and lexicon-based methods were employed to perform sentiment analysis and to identify depression and anxiety-loaded content. Data were collected from 187 Reddit users who had received a cancer diagnosis, were currently undergoing treatment or had completed treatment. Participants were split according to survivorship status into short-term, transition, and long-term cancer survivors. A number of 72524 posts were analysed across the three cancer survivor groups. The results showed that short-term cancer survivors had significantly more depression-loaded posts and more anxiety-loaded words than long-term survivors, with no significant differences relative to the transition period. The topic analysis showed that long-term survivors, more than other stages of survivorship, have resources to share their experiences with suicidal ideation and mental health issues while providing support to their survivor community. The results indicate that Reddit texts seem to be an indicator of when the stressor is active and mental health issues are triggered. This sets the stage for Reddit to become a platform for screening and first-hand intervention delivery. Special attention should be dedicated to short-term survivors

Textural Analysis of the Hyperdense Artery Sign in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke Predicts the Outcome of Thrombectomy

Textural analysis is pivotal in augmenting the diagnosis and outcomes of endovascular procedures for stroke patients. Due to the detection of changes imperceptible to the human eye, this type of analysis can potentially aid in deciding the optimal type of endovascular treatment. We included 40 patients who suffered from acute ischemic stroke caused by large vessel occlusion, and calculated 130 different textural features based on the non-enhanced CT scan using an open-source software (3D Slicer). Using chi-squared and Mann–Whitney tests and receiver operating characteristics analysis, we identified a total of 21 different textural parameters capable of predicting the outcome of thrombectomy (quantified as the mTICI score), with variable sensitivity (50–97.9%) and specificity (64.6–99.4%) rates. In conclusion, CT-based radiomics features are potential factors that can predict the outcome of thrombectomy in patients suffering from acute ischemic stroke, aiding in the decision between aspiration, mechanical, or combined thrombectomy procedure