3D Ultrafast Shear Wave Absolute Vibro-Elastography using a Matrix Array Transducer

3D ultrasound imaging provides more spatial information compared to conventional 2D frames by considering the volumes of data. One of the main bottlenecks of 3D imaging is the long data acquisition time which reduces practicality and can introduce artifacts from unwanted patient or sonographer motion. This paper introduces the first shear wave absolute vibro-elastography (S-WAVE) method with real-time volumetric acquisition using a matrix array transducer. In SWAVE, an external vibration source generates mechanical vibrations inside the tissue. The tissue motion is then estimated and used in solving a wave equation inverse problem to provide the tissue elasticity. A matrix array transducer is used with a Verasonics ultrasound machine and frame rate of 2000 volumes/s to acquire 100 radio frequency (RF) volumes in 0.05 s. Using plane wave (PW) and compounded diverging wave (CDW) imaging methods, we estimate axial, lateral and elevational displacements over 3D volumes. The curl of the displacements is used with local frequency estimation to estimate elasticity in the acquired volumes. Ultrafast acquisition extends substantially the possible S-WAVE excitation frequency range, now up to 800 Hz, enabling new tissue modeling and characterization. The method was validated on three homogeneous liver fibrosis phantoms and on four different inclusions within a heterogeneous phantom. The homogeneous phantom results show less than 8% (PW) and 5% (CDW) difference between the manufacturer values and the corresponding estimated values over a frequency range of 80 Hz to 800 Hz. The estimated elasticity values for the heterogeneous phantom at 400 Hz excitation frequency show average errors of 9% (PW) and 6% (CDW) compared to the provided average values by MRE. Furthermore, both imaging methods were able to detect the inclusions within the elasticity volumes

Depression among the non-native international undergraduate students studying dentistry in Bangladesh

Abstract Background: Bangladesh has been attracting international students with interests in various subjects recently. Every year students from different parts of the world come to study undergraduate and postgraduate courses, mostly at private universities in Bangladesh. This study evaluates the depression status among international students who are studying dentistry in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted among International undergraduate dental students who enrolled in the Bachelor of Dental Surgery program in nine public and private dental colleges in Bangladesh. Participants were selected using a convenience sampling method. A total of 206 students completed the survey where 78.5% of them were female students and 21.5% students were male, and a CES-D 10-item Likert scale questionnaire was used for data collection. The Cronbach alpha for the 10-item CES-D scale for this population is 0.812. Results: The majority of the students (79.5%) are below 24 years of age with a mean age of 23.22 years and standard deviation of 2.3, and are students who cannot communicate well in Bengali (Bangla), about 60% of them have experienced depression. About 77.3% (p < 0.00) of the international students having financial difficulties exhibited depression. The international students who went through financial problems were two times more likely to suffer from depression (OR = 2.38; p-value < 0.01). Conclusion: This study tried to highlight the struggles faced by international students in Bangladesh studying dentistry. It is evident from the findings that several factors influence students’ mental well-being during demanding dental education years

ViSHWaS: Violence Study of Healthcare Workers and Systems—a global survey

Objective To provide insights into the nature, risk factors, impact and existing measures for reporting and preventing violence in the healthcare system. The under-reporting of violence against healthcare workers (HCWs) globally highlights the need for increased public awareness and education.Methods The Violence Study of Healthcare Workers and Systems study used a survey questionnaire created using Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap) forms and distributed from 6 June to 9 August 2022. Logistic regression analysis evaluated violence predictors, including gender, age, years of experience, institution type, respondent profession and night shift frequency. A χ2 test was performed to determine the association between gender and different violence forms.Results A total of 5405 responses from 79 countries were analysed. India, the USA and Venezuela were the top three contributors. Female respondents comprised 53%. The majority (45%) fell within the 26–35 age group. Medical students (21%), consultants (20%), residents/fellows (15%) and nurses (10%) constituted highest responders. Nearly 55% HCWs reported firsthand violence experience, and 16% reported violence against their colleagues. Perpetrators were identified as patients or family members in over 50% of cases, while supervisor-incited violence accounted for 16%. Around 80% stated that violence incidence either remained constant or increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among HCWs who experienced violence, 55% felt less motivated or more dissatisfied with their jobs afterward, and 25% expressed willingness to quit. Univariate analysis revealed that HCWs aged 26–65 years, nurses, physicians, ancillary staff, those working in public settings, with >1 year of experience, and frequent night shift workers were at significantly higher risk of experiencing violence. These results remained significant in multivariate analysis, except for the 55–65 age group, which lost statistical significance.Conclusion This global cross-sectional study highlights that a majority of HCWs have experienced violence, and the incidence either increased or remained the same during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has resulted in decreased job satisfaction