Interdisciplinary Research in Field of Biomedical Image Processing

The paper describes the up-to-date interdisciplinary research that has been established in Slovakia in recent years. It requires the close cooperation between specialists from medical fields as well as technicians as it deals with creating the supporting tool for physicians to evaluate a patient's diagnosis. The research is based on the need of doctors to create a system reliable enough, that would help them to assess the health status of human respiratory system. This task first comprises the design of a working station that could serve for capturing series of images (video sequences) of investigated sample obtained by doctors, including a light microscope and a high-speed camera with appropriate software. Then is comprises also development of sophisticated methodologies for analysis of obtained images and detection of objects of interest within them, and finally the evaluation of behavior of investigated structures which determines the health status of a patient. This interdisciplinary cooperation is as unique as it is the only one of this kind in our country as there does not exist any other way how to evaluate the health status of human respiratory system using smart technological approach

Late Metastatic Melanoma after 25 Years: A Case Report and a Brief Literature Review

The incidence of cutaneous malignant melanoma has shown a drastic increase over recent decades, and approximately 70% of newly diagnosed melanoma are tumors with a Breslow thickness less or equal to 1 mm. In the literature, there are well-documented rare cases of late metastasis of thin melanoma, and given their growing incidence, it is expected in the future to see more cases of late recurrence. We present a case report of a metastatic cutaneous melanoma 25 years from diagnosis and a review of the literature. A 61-year-old female patient presented with a newly discovered asymptomatic nodule on her thigh. Her relevant past medical history included a completely excided lesion with Breslow 1.4 mm thickness in 1989 for which she was followed up according to the guidelines and subsequently declared cured after 10 years of surveillance. Fine-needle aspiration and cytological analysis of the lesion proved to be a subcutaneous localization of malignant melanoma. The lesion was completely excised, and the patient has remained disease free since her surgery. The aim of this case report is to emphasize that late metastasis remains uncommon but a definitive cure from melanoma cannot always be considered a disease-free interval of 10 years. Physicians should always be aware of previous melanoma diagnosis with newly discovered suspicious lesions. Better patient education could improve the detection of recurrence and secondary melanomas without any need for more frequent follow-up visits and a prolonged follow-up time

Monitoring of Data Transmission and Changes in Values of Electromagnetic Field in Living Environment

A crucial aspect concerning the intelligent transport systems is data transmission between vehicle and central control and information systems. Transportation needs a reliable system of data transfer based on GSM or WiFi networks. However, these networks employ a wide range of different frequencies which can be harmful to the health of drivers. The detrimental effect of electromagnetic radiation can negatively affect the process of transportation. This study determines the intensity of electric field levels (E) of the radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF EMF) during the data transmission through the 3G, 4G and local WiFi networks, comparing them with the limit values. Conclusions: Our results showed a significantly higher level of the E-field intensity during 4G transmission in all places. The limit values were not exceeded. The lowest E-field values were found in local WiFi network

New Radiofrequency Exposure System with Real Telecommunication Signals

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of studies on biological effects of Electromagnetic (EM) fields emitted from Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs). The biological effects of generated and real telecommunication signals produced by different types of exposure systems are discussed. However, the proper exposure methods for such experiments are very limited. We successfully developed a simple and cost-effective exposure unit with real GSM/DCS/UMTS signal from BTS containing proper modulations or intermittence (continuous, interrupted). Signal processing and conditioning unit is based on a Radiofrequency (RF) repeater. The downlink signal is filtered by integrated high selectivity passband filters and amplified to a required level. The main part of exposure unit is a Faraday cage with the specimen (exposure) area measuring 150 x 250 mm with E-field percent deviation less than 18%. This exposure system can be helpful in experiments with living organisms in in vivo studies and in vitro studies with normal or pathological cells and other micro scale structures being exposed to RF EM fields from BTS