39 research outputs found

    Impact of digitalization of mammographic units on average glandular doses in the Flemish Breast Cancer Screening Program

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    The impact of digitalization on the average glandular doses in 49 mammographic units participating in the Flemish Breast Cancer Screening Program was studied. Screen-film was changed to direct digital radiography and computed radiography in 25 and 24 departments respectively. Average glandular doses were calculated before and after digitalization for different PMMA-phantom thicknesses and for groups of 50 successive patients. For the transition from screen-film to computed radiography both phantom and patient dose data show a significant increase of dose with digitalization. For the transition from screen-film to direct digital radiography the evolution of the average glandular dose depends on the phantom thickness. For 20mm PMMA a significant increase in dose was found, for 45mm and 70mm PMMA there was a significant decrease in dose. The median average glandular dose of the patient dosimetry showed a smaller but significant decrease

    Whole-genome sequencing reveals host factors underlying critical COVID-19

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    Critical COVID-19 is caused by immune-mediated inflammatory lung injury. Host genetic variation influences the development of illness requiring critical care1 or hospitalization2,3,4 after infection with SARS-CoV-2. The GenOMICC (Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care) study enables the comparison of genomes from individuals who are critically ill with those of population controls to find underlying disease mechanisms. Here we use whole-genome sequencing in 7,491 critically ill individuals compared with 48,400 controls to discover and replicate 23 independent variants that significantly predispose to critical COVID-19. We identify 16 new independent associations, including variants within genes that are involved in interferon signalling (IL10RB and PLSCR1), leucocyte differentiation (BCL11A) and blood-type antigen secretor status (FUT2). Using transcriptome-wide association and colocalization to infer the effect of gene expression on disease severity, we find evidence that implicates multiple genes—including reduced expression of a membrane flippase (ATP11A), and increased expression of a mucin (MUC1)—in critical disease. Mendelian randomization provides evidence in support of causal roles for myeloid cell adhesion molecules (SELE, ICAM5 and CD209) and the coagulation factor F8, all of which are potentially druggable targets. Our results are broadly consistent with a multi-component model of COVID-19 pathophysiology, in which at least two distinct mechanisms can predispose to life-threatening disease: failure to control viral replication; or an enhanced tendency towards pulmonary inflammation and intravascular coagulation. We show that comparison between cases of critical illness and population controls is highly efficient for the detection of therapeutically relevant mechanisms of disease

    A Protocol for Quality Control Testing for Contrast-Enhanced Dual Energy Mammography Systems

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    Automated and Human Determination of Threshold Contrast for Digital Mammography Systems

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    Digital Breast Tomosynthesis: Image Quality and Dose Saving of the Synthesized Image

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    Dose assessment in contrast enhanced digital mammography using simple phantoms simulating standard model breasts

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    Imaging- and therapeutic targets in neoplastic and musculoskeletal inflammatory diseas
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