65 research outputs found
Postprocessing Neuroimaging methods in MRI and PET/MRI with applications to Multiple Sclerosis and other Neurological diseases
Many non-invasive imaging instruments have been developed in the last 40 years, allowing to obtain images of the interior human body while the patient is still alive. In the contest of Neurology studies, imaging system as CT, MRI, SPECT or PET allows to obtain biomarkers useful to quantitatively distinguish between healthy and unhealthy subjects, evaluate the staging of a Neurological illness in a patient, evaluate the efficacy of a treatment, explore the causes of the illness.
In this work MRI and PET imaging system introduced from scratch, going from reconstruction from raw data to state-of-the art post-processing techniques and the computation of more popular biomarkers.
After these introduction, three original work using the recent PET/MRI imaging system are presented, with a particular focus on the methods. These three studies involve patients with Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's Disease and Brain Tumor
Analytical and experimental FWHM of a gamma camera: theoretical and practical issues
It is well known that resolution on a gamma camera varies as a
function of distance, scatter and the camera\u2019s characteristics (collimator type,
crystal thickness, intrinsic resolution etc). Manufacturers frequently provide only
a few pre-calculated resolution values (using a line source in air, 10\u201315 cm from
the collimator surface and without scattering). However, these are typically not
obtained in situations resembling a clinical setting. From a diagnostic point of view,
it is useful to know the expected resolution of a gamma camera at a given distance
from the collimator surface for a particular setting in order to decide whether it is
worth scanning patients with \u201csmall lesion\u201d or not. When dealing with absolute
quantification it is also mandatory to know precisely the expected resolution and its
uncertainty in order to make appropriate corrections.
Aim. Our aims are: to test a novel mathematical approach, the cubic spline interpolation,
for the extraction of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) from the
acquisition of a line source (experimental resolution) also considering measurement
uncertainty; to compare it with the usually adopted methods such as the gaussian
approach; to compare it with the theoretical resolution (analytical resolution) of a
gamma camera at different distances; to create a web-based educational program
with which to test these theories.
Methods. Three mathematical methods (direct calculation, global interpolation using
gaussian and local interpolation using splines) for calculatingFWHMfroma line
source (planar scintigraphy) were tested and compared. A NEMA Triple Line Source
Phantom was used to obtain static images both in air and with different scattering
levels. An advanced, open-source software (MATLAB/Octave and PHP based) was
created \u201cad hoc\u201d to obtain and compareFWHMvalues and relative uncertainty.
Results and Conclusion. Local interpolation using splines proved faster and more
reliable than the usually-adopted Gaussian interpolation. The proposed freely available
software proved effective in assessing bothFWHMand its uncertainty
Necrotic lesions of the hands
An 82-year-old man with a history of end-stage renal disease due to glomerulonephritis requiring haemodialysis, hepatitis C-related liver cirrhosis and hypertensive cardiomyopathy presented with painful and necrotic lesions of both his hands. He had no other symptoms. [...
Oversampling errors in multimodal medical imaging are due to the Gibbs effect
To analyse multimodal 3-dimensional medical images, interpolation is required
for resampling which - unavoidably - introduces an interpolation error. In this
work we consider three segmented 3-dimensional images resampled with three
different neuroimaging software tools for comparing undersampling and
oversampling strategies and to identify where the oversampling error lies. The
results indicate that undersampling to the lowest image size is advantageous in
terms of mean value per segment errors and that the oversampling error is
larger where the gradient is steeper, showing a Gibbs effect
Photoprocessing of formamide ice: route towards prebiotic chemistry in space
Aims. Formamide (HCONH2) is the simplest molecule containing the peptide bond
first detected in the gas phase in Orion-KL and SgrB2. In recent years, it has
been observed in high temperature regions such as hot corinos, where thermal
desorption is responsible for the sublimation of frozen mantles into the gas
phase. The interpretation of observations can benefit from information gathered
in the laboratory, where it is possible to simulate the thermal desorption
process and to study formamide under simulated space conditions such as UV
irradiation. Methods. Here, two laboratory analyses are reported: we studied
formamide photo-stability under UV irradiation when it is adsorbed by space
relevant minerals at 63 K and in the vacuum regime. We also investigated
temperature programmed desorption of pure formamide ice in the presence of TiO2
dust before and after UV irradiation. Results. Through these analyses, the
effects of UV degradation and the interaction between formamide and different
minerals are compared.We find that silicates, both hydrates and anhydrates,
offer molecules a higher level of protection from UV degradation than mineral
oxides. The desorption temperature found for pure formamide is 220 K. The
desorption temperature increases to 250 K when the formamide desorbs from the
surface of TiO2 grains. Conclusions. Through the experiments outlined here, it
is possible to follow the desorption of formamide and its fragments, simulate
the desorption process in star forming regions and hot corinos, and constrain
parameters such as the thermal desorption temperature of formamide and its
fragments and the binding energies involved. Our results offer support to
observational data and improve our understanding of the role of the grain
surface in enriching the chemistry in space.Comment: In press Astronomy and Astrophysics, 13 pages, 12 figure
Deep Vein Thrombosis and Pulmonary Embolism: Two Complications of COVID-19 Pneumonia?
Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) is a worldwide infection which was recently declared a global health emergency by the WHO Emergency Committee. The most common symptoms are fever and cough, which can progress to pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and/or end-organ failure. Risk factors associated with ARDS and death are older age, comorbidities (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidaemia), neutrophilia, and organ and coagulation dysfunction. Disseminated intravascular coagulation and coagulopathy can contribute to death. Anticoagulant treatment is associated with decreased mortality in severe COVID-19 pneumonia. In this report we describe two patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who developed venous thromboembolism
Abdominal Pain: A Real Challenge in Novel COVID-19 Infection
COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 19) is an infectious disease caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Since its detection in China at the end of 2019, the novel coronavirus has rapidly spread throughout the world and has caused an international public health emergency. The most common manifestation is flu-like symptoms. Mild infections usually improve within a few days, but COVID-19 can cause severe pneumonia with acute respiratory distress syndrome and death. Gastrointestinal symptoms are less common but possible and more difficult to recognize as part of a COVID-19 syndrome. In line with the current opinion of the WHO, we strongly believe that preventive measures and early diagnosis of COVID-19 are crucial to interrupt virus spread and avoid local outbreaks. We report the cases of COVID-19 patients admitted to our Emergency Department who complained of gastrointestinal symptoms at admission
COVID-19 and cutaneous manifestations: Two cases and a review of the literature
COVID-19 can affect multiple organs, including skin. A wide range of skin manifestations have been reported in literature. Six main phenotypes have been identified: i) urticarial rash, ii) confluent erythematous/maculopapular/morbilliform rash, iii) papulovesicular exanthem, iv) a chilblain-like acral pattern, v) a livedo reticularis/racemosa-like pattern, and vi) a purpuric vasculitic pattern. The pathogenetic mechanism is still not completely clear, but a role of hyperactive immune response, complement activation and microvascular injury have been postulated. The only correlation between the cutaneous phenotype and the severity of COVID-19 has been observed in the case of chilblain-like acral lesions, that is generally associated with the benign/subclinical course of COVID-19. Herein, we report two cases of SARS-CoV- 2 infection in patients who developed cutaneous manifestations that completely solved with systemic steroids and antihistamines. The first case is a female patient not vaccinated for SARS-CoV-2 with COVID-19 associated pneumonia, while the second case is a vaccinated female patient with only skin manifestations
Trans-synaptic degeneration in the optic pathway. A study in clinically isolated syndrome and early relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis with or without optic neuritis
Increasing evidence suggest that neuronal damage is an early and diffuse feature of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) pathology. Analysis of the optic pathway may help to clarify the mechanisms involved in grey matter damage in MS. Purpose of our study was to investigate the relationship between inflammation and neurodegeneration and to achieve evidence of trans-synaptic degeneration in the optic pathway in MS at clinical onset
Four good reasons to choose ketamine in the emergency department. A case series and literature review
Ketamine is a fast-acting N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist that can be used in a range of clinical scenarios in the pre-hospital setting and emergency department (ED). When compared with other anesthetic agents, ketamine has many unique properties, such as the ability to produce dose-dependent analgesic and anesthetic effects with a wide margin of safety. Ketamine may be used in the ED for sedation, pain management, and acute agitation treatment in the cases of benzodiazepine (BDZ)-resistant alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and substance use disorder. To highlight the efficacy and safety of ketamine, we reviewed the literature, starting with a description of four different cases of patients who presented to our ED and were treated with ketamine
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