A Model of Temporal Intensity Modulation for Laser Generated Ultrasound

Q-switched lasers are often used as a non-contact ultrasound source in non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of materials [1]. Q-switched lasers typically have ns pulse durations and generate broadband ultrasound waves, though longer laser pulses, of 100 microseconds or greater, have also been used [2] for NDE. These longer pulses tend to produce somewhat lower center frequencies than do Q-switched pulses, though they are still a broadband source. But it would be desirable in some NDE applications to narrow the signal bandwidth to improve the signal to noise ration (SNR), and also to have direct control over the center frequency of the generated ultrasound. In principle, this may be achieved by temporal [3,4] or spatial modulation [5,6] of the laser pulse, or both [7]. The purpose of this work was to develop a numerical model of a single, temporally modulated laser source of ultrasound in the thermoelastic regime, for isotropic metals

Monitoring Achilles tendon healing progress in ultrasound imaging with convolutional neural networks

Achilles tendon rupture is a debilitating injury, which is typically treated with surgical repair and long-term rehabilitation. The recovery, however, is protracted and often incomplete. Diagnosis, as well as healing progress assessment, are largely based on ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging. In this paper, we propose an automatic method based on deep learning for analysis of Achilles tendon condition and estimation of its healing progress on ultrasound images. We develop custom convolutional neural networks for classification and regression on healing score and feature extraction. Our models are trained and validated on an acquired dataset of over 250.000 sagittal and over 450.000 axial ultrasound slices. The obtained estimates show a high correlation with the assessment of expert radiologists, with respect to all key parameters describing healing progress. We also observe that parameters associated with i.a. intratendinous healing processes are better modeled with sagittal slices. We prove that ultrasound imaging is quantitatively useful for clinical assessment of Achilles tendon healing process and should be viewed as complementary to magnetic resonance imaging.Comment: Paper accepted to MICCAI'19 SUSI worksho

Aircraft Exceedances Vary According to Time of Day and Workload

The Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs have been implemented in US and Europe to identify anomalous flights based on data recorded on board an aircraft in an effort to improve flight safety. Numerous methods have been developed to support the analysis of FOQA data. However, it is unclear how FOQA data relates to the performance of the pilot. We sought to characterize the frequency and type of flight exceedances extracted from FOQA data during a controlled pilot schedule in order to determine whether patterns of exceedances related to human control of the aircraft would change according to scheduling factors

Improvements in data quality for decision support in intensive care

Nowadays, there is a plethora of technology in hospitals and, in particular, in intensive care units. The clinical data produced everyday can be integrated in a decision support system in real-time to improve quality of care of the critically ill patients. However, there are many sensitive aspects that must be taken into account, mainly the data quality and the integration of heterogeneous data sources. This paper presents INTCare, an Intelligent Decision Support System for Intensive Care in real-time and addresses the previous aspects, in particular, the development of an Electronic Nursing Record and the improvements in the quality of monitored data.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Achieving One‐Step Surface Coating of Highly Hydrophilic Poly(Carboxybetaine Methacrylate) Polymers on Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Surfaces

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/108623/1/admi201400071.pd

Cardiac Arrest Caused by Torsades de Pointes Tachycardia after Successful Atrial Flutter Radiofrequency Catheter Ablation

A 66-year-old woman underwent successful radiofrequency catheter ablation for long-lasting, drug refractory fast atrial flutter. Two days later she had a cardiac arrest due to torsades de pointes (TdP) tachycardia attributed to relative sinus bradycardia and QT interval prolongation. After successful resuscitation further episodes of TdP occurred, which were treated with temporary pacing. Because of concomitant systolic dysfunction due to ischemic and valvular heart disease she was finally treated with an implantable defibrillator. In conclusion we strongly advise prolonged monitoring for 2 or more days for patients with structural heart disease following successful catheter ablation for long lasting tachyarrhythmias

Common Atlas Format and 3D Brain Atlas Reconstructor: Infrastructure for Constructing 3D Brain Atlases

One of the challenges of modern neuroscience is integrating voluminous data of diferent modalities derived from a variety of specimens. This task requires a common spatial framework that can be provided by brain atlases. The first atlases were limited to two-dimentional presentation of structural data. Recently, attempts at creating 3D atlases have been made to offer navigation within non-standard anatomical planes and improve capability of localization of different types of data within the brain volume. The 3D atlases available so far have been created using frameworks which make it difficult for other researchers to replicate the results. To facilitate reproducible research and data sharing in the field we propose an SVG-based Common Atlas Format (CAF) to store 2D atlas delineations or other compatible data and 3D Brain Atlas Reconstructor (3dBAR), software dedicated to automated reconstruction of three-dimensional brain structures from 2D atlas data. The basic functionality is provided by (1) a set of parsers which translate various atlases from a number of formats into the CAF, and (2) a module generating 3D models from CAF datasets. The whole reconstruction process is reproducible and can easily be configured, tracked and reviewed, which facilitates fixing errors. Manual corrections can be made when automatic reconstruction is not sufficient. The software was designed to simplify interoperability with other neuroinformatics tools by using open file formats. The content can easily be exchanged at any stage of data processing. The framework allows for the addition of new public or proprietary content

Enzyme replacement reverses abnormal cerebrovascular responses in Fabry disease

BACKGROUND: Fabry disease is a lysosomal X-linked enzyme deficiency of α-galactosidase A associated with an increased mortality and morbidity due to renal failure, cardiac disease and early onset stroke. METHODS: We examined the functional blood flow response of the brain after visual stimulation (reversing checkerboard pattern), and cerebral vasoreactivity following acetazolamide (15 mg/kg) with [(15)O]H(2)O and positron emission tomography (PET) in Fabry disease. Twenty-six hemizygous patients (age range 19–47 years) were enrolled in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled 6-month trial of enzyme replacement therapy administered by intravenous infusion every two weeks. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with PET at the beginning and end of the trial. RESULTS: Fabry patients had a significantly greater increase in rCBF following visual stimulation and acetazolamide challenge compared to controls. Visual reactivity was normal. The time for recovery of the cerebral vasculature following acetazolamide was prolonged in Fabry patients compared to controls. The abnormal rCBF response induced by visual stimulation and acetazolamide decreased significantly following enzyme replacement therapy, as did the prolonged recovery of the cerebral vasculature. CONCLUSIONS: Enzyme replacement therapy reverses the exaggerated cerebrovascular response in Fabry disease

A Photo Score for Aesthetic Outcome in Sagittal Synostosis:An ERN CRANIO Collaboration

European Reference Network (ERN) CRANIO is focused on optimizing care for patients with rare or complex craniofacial anomalies, including craniosynostosis and/or rare ear, nose, and throat disorders. The main goal of ERN CRANIO is to collect uniform data on treatment outcomes for multicenter comparison. We aimed to develop a reproducible and reliable suture-specific photo score that can be used for cross-center comparison of phenotypical severity of sagittal synostosis and aesthetic outcome of treatment. We conducted a retrospective study among nonsyndromic sagittal synostosis patients aged &lt;19 years. We included preoperative and postoperative photo sets from 6 ERN CRANIO centers. Photo sets included bird's eye, lateral, and anterior-posterior views. The sagittal synostosis photo score was discussed in the working group, and consensus was obtained on its contents. Interrater agreement was assessed with weighted Fleiss' Kappa and intraclass correlation coefficients.The photo score consisted of frontal bossing, elongated skull, biparietal narrowness, temporal hollowing, vertex line depression, occipital bullet, and overall phenotype. Each item was scored as normal, mild, moderate, or severe. Results from 36 scaphocephaly patients scored by 20 raters showed kappa values ranging from 0.38 [95% bootstrap CI: 0.31, 0.45] for biparietal narrowness to 0.56 [95% bootstrap CI: 0.47, 0.64] for frontal bossing. Agreement was highest for the sum score of individual items [intraclass correlation coefficients agreement 0.69 [95% CI: 0.57, 0.82]. This is the first large-scale multicenter study in which experts investigated a photo score to assess the severity of sagittal synostosis phenotypical characteristics. Agreement on phenotypical characteristics was suboptimal (fair-moderate agreement) and highest for the summed score of individual photo score items (substantial agreement), indicating that although experts interpret phenotypical characteristics differently, there is consensus on overall phenotypical severity.</p