Biological fingerprint using scout computed tomographic images for positive patient identification

Purpose: Management of patient identification is an important issue that should be addressed to ensure patient safety while using modern healthcare systems. Patient identification errors can be mainly attributed to human errors or system problems. An error-tolerant system, such as a biometric system, should be able to prevent or mitigate potential misidentification occurrences. Herein, we propose the use of scout computed tomography (CT) images for biometric patient identity verification and present the quantitative accuracy outcomes of using this technique in a clinical setting. Methods: Scout CT images acquired from routine examinations of the chest, abdomen, and pelvis were used as biological fingerprints. We evaluated the resemblance of the follow-up with the baseline image by comparing the estimates of the image characteristics using local feature extraction and matching algorithms. The verification performance was evaluated according to the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, area under the ROC curves (AUC), and equal error rates (EER). The closed-set identification performance was evaluated according to the cumulative match characteristic curves and rank-one identification rates (R1). Results: A total of 619 (383 males, 236 females, age range 21–92 years) patients who underwent baseline and follow-up chest–abdomen–pelvis CT scans on the same CT system were analyzed for verification and closed-set identification. The highest performances of AUC, EER, and R1 were 0.998, 1.22%, and 99.7%, respectively, in the considered evaluation range. Furthermore, to determine whether the performance decreased in the presence of metal artifacts, the patients were classified into two groups, namely scout images with (255 patients) and without (364 patients) metal artifacts, and the significance test was performed for two ROC curves using the unpaired Delong's test. No significant differences were found between the ROC performances in the presence and absence of metal artifacts when using a sufficient number of local features. Our proposed technique demonstrated that the performance was comparable to that of conventional biometrics methods when using chest, abdomen, and pelvis scout CT images. Thus, this method has the potential to discover inadequate patient information using the available chest, abdomen, and pelvis scout CT image; moreover, it can be applied widely to routine adult CT scans where no significant body structure effects due to illness or aging are present. Conclusions: Our proposed method can obtain accurate patient information available at the point-of-care and help healthcare providers verify whether a patient’s identity is matched accurately. We believe the method to be a key solution for patient misidentification problems.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ueda, Y., Morishita, J. and Hongyo, T. (2019), Biological fingerprint using scout computed tomographic images for positive patient identification. Med. Phys., 46: 4600-4609, which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/mp.13779. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions. This article may not be enhanced, enriched or otherwise transformed into a derivative work, without express permission from Wiley or by statutory rights under applicable legislation. Copyright notices must not be removed, obscured or modified. The article must be linked to Wiley’s version of record on Wiley Online Library and any embedding, framing or otherwise making available the article or pages thereof by third parties from platforms, services and websites other than Wiley Online Library must be prohibited

Decreased plasma postheparin lipolytic activity in systemic lupus erythematosus

Plasma postheparin lipolytic activity (PHLA) was measured on 50 patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Plasma PHLA was significantly decreased in SLE patients. This decrease was most striking in the acute phase of the disease. There was a close relationship between decreased PHLA and immunologic factors indicative of the acute phase of SLE. These immunologic factors included shaggy antinuclear antibody pattern, low serum complement titer, high DNA antibody titer, mixed cryoglobulin and lumpy glomerular pattern by immunofluorescent staining.</p

Comparison of sulfur isotope ratio measurements by various techniques, and the δ(34)S values of some sulur standards

Three techniques (combustion of Ag(2)S by Cu(2)O, thermal decomposition of BaSO(4) and KIBA reagent method under vacuum) for sulfur isotope ratio measurements of geological samples are described in detail. The δ(34)S values of three working standards (MSS-2, MSS-3 and MSS-4) obtained by these techniques for the last 13 years were compared (Table 1 and Fig. 3): the most acceptable values of the three standards are +21.5, +3.5 and +4.5‰, respectively

Two Distinct Pathways to Development of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Vulva

Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) accounts for approximately 95% of the malignant tumors of the vaginal vulva and is mostly found in elderly women. The future numbers of patients with vulvar SCC is expected to rise, mainly because of the proportional increase in the average age of the general population. Two different pathways for vulvar SCC have been put forth. The first pathway is triggered by infection with a high-risk-type Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Integration of the HPV DNA into the host genome leads to the development of a typical vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia (VIN), accompanied with overexpression of p14ARF and p16INK4A. This lesion subsequently forms a warty- or basaloid-type SCC. The HPV vaccine is a promising new tool for prevention of this HPV related SCC of the vulva. The second pathway is HPV-independent. Keratinizing SCC develops within a background of lichen sclerosus (LS) through a differentiated VIN. It has a different set of genetic alterations than those in the first pathway, including p53 mutations, allelic imbalances (AI), and microsatellite instability (MSI). Further clinical and basic research is still required to understand and prevent vulvar SCC. Capsule. Two pathway for pathogenesis of squamous cell carcinoma of the value are reviewed

Health consciousness and cervical cancer screening rates in HPV-unvaccinated girls: comparison from HPV-recommended and HPV-recommendation-suspended program periods

In Japan, the vast majority of females between 13 and 24 are now unvaccinated for HPV and thus unprotected from HPV-caused cervical cancer. We analyzed the differences among these unvaccinated females regarding their understanding of the HPV vaccine, its role in cervical cancer prevention, and their need for cervical cancer screening–based on whether they refused vaccination when their government’s recommendation for HPV vaccination was still in effect (vaccination-recommended group)–or during the last 7 years, while the government suspension was in effect (recommendation-suspended group). The vaccination-recommended group understood more about the HPV vaccine and the best timing for HPV vaccination than the recommendation-suspended group (p < .0001 and p = .002, respectively). We found that girls in the vaccination-recommended group had more chances to talk with the family about cervical cancer and they were more afraid of acquiring the disease (p < .0001 and p < .0001, respectively). The girls in the recommendation-suspended group tended to feel more inhibited from talking about cervical cancer with friends and acquaintances (p = .0262). The cervical cancer screening rate of the vaccination-recommended group was significantly higher (p = .014)

In Vitro Studies to Define the Cell-Surface and Intracellular Targets of Polyarginine-Conjugated Sodium Borocaptate as a Potential Delivery Agent for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) requires pharmaceutical innovations and molecular-based evidence of effectiveness to become a standard cancer therapeutic in the future. Recently, in Japan, 4-borono-L-phenylalanine (BPA) was approved as a boron agent for BNCT against head and neck (H&N) cancers. H&N cancer appears to be a suitable target for BPA-BNCT, because the expression levels of L-type amino acid transporter 1 (LAT1), one of the amino acid transporters responsible for BPA uptake, are elevated in most cases of H&N cancer. However, in other types of cancer including malignant brain tumors, LAT1 is not always highly expressed. To expand the possibility of BNCT for these cases, we previously developed poly-arginine peptide (polyR)-conjugated mercaptoundecahydrododecaborate (BSH). PolyR confers the cell membrane permeability and tumor selectivity of BSH. However, the molecular determinants for the properties are not fully understood. In this present study, we have identified the cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44) protein and translational machinery proteins as a major cell surface target and intracellular targets of BSH-polyR, respectively. CD44, also known as a stem cell-associated maker in various types of cancer, is required for the cellular uptake of polyR-conjugated molecules. We showed that BSH-polyR was predominantly delivered to a CD44(High) cell population of cancer cells. Once delivered, BSH-polyR interacted with the translational machinery components, including the initiation factors, termination factors, and poly(A)-biding protein (PABP). As a proof of principle, we performed BSH-polyR-based BNCT against glioma stem-like cells and revealed that BSH-polyR successfully induced BNCT-dependent cell death specifically in CD44(High) cells. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that BSH-polyR would be suitable for certain types of malignant tumors. Our results shed light on the biochemical properties of BSH-polyR, which may further contribute to the therapeutic optimization of BSH-BNCT in the future