Deep Learning for Rheumatoid Arthritis: Joint Detection and Damage Scoring in X-rays

Recent advancements in computer vision promise to automate medical image analysis. Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that would profit from computer-based diagnosis, as there are no direct markers known, and doctors have to rely on manual inspection of X-ray images. In this work, we present a multi-task deep learning model that simultaneously learns to localize joints on X-ray images and diagnose two kinds of joint damage: narrowing and erosion. Additionally, we propose a modification of label smoothing, which combines classification and regression cues into a single loss and achieves 5% relative error reduction compared to standard loss functions. Our final model obtained 4th place in joint space narrowing and 5th place in joint erosion in the global RA2 DREAM challenge.Comment: Presented at the Workshop on AI for Public Health at ICLR 202

Nanocrystalline composites in TiO2 and SnO2 system for ammonia resistance sensors

This work describes the production of nanocrystalline TiO2 and SnO2 oxides, as well as their nanocomposites (containing 26.9, 58.7 and 79.0 wt.% of SnO2) with two-stage sol-gel method combined with high temperature treatment. The phase composition and medium size crystallites were determined using X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and revealed that the nanocomposites crystallize in tetragonal structures of TiO2 - anatase and SnO2 - cassiterite. Specific surface area of the nanopowders, measured using sorption method (BET), changed from 42.1 to 160.8 m2/g. The morphology of the nanopowders was observed using transmission electron microscope (TEM). As indicated by TEM images, the manufactured nanopowders were well crystallized and consisted of small, spherical grains. The obtained nanopowders were also tested for NH3 gas detection application. The presented method of nanopowders synthesis enables to obtain nanocrystalline TiO2 and SnO2 oxides, as well as composites from TiO2-SnO2 of known and controlled chemical and phase composition. It also enables to obtain composites used for gas sensors. The sensor made of composite containing 58.7 wt.% of SnO2 exhibited the best NH3 sensing features

The assessment of testosterone and radioisotopic index of bone metabolism and bone mineral density in men with testosterone deficiency after one year of testosterone therapy

Background: Testosterone deficiency in men is characterized by typical symptoms of hypogonadism and negative influence on the preservation of bone mass. In this study, we analysed the relationship between testosterone concentration and bone metabolism. Moreover, we assessed the impact of one-year compensation of testosterone deficiency in elderly men on bone metabolism and bone mineral density. Radioisotopic methods of bone metabolism assessment provide new research opportunities. Materials and methods: Men with total testosterone concentration (TT) ≤ 3 ng/ml were included into this study. Patients with disorders or injuries of bone system, elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA), enlarged prostate, disorders of thyroid and liver, diabetes mellitus or a history of chemotherapy as well as those treated for a long time with antibiotics were excluded from this study. The results of 50 men aged 57.52 ± 6.71 years obtained before the treatment (I test) and after one year of oral testosterone supplementation (test II) were analysed in this study. The following examinations and analyses were performed: interview and physical examination, orthopaedic, neurological and urological consultations, blood biochemistry, determination of hormones levels, assessment of Testosterone Deficiency Syndrome (TDS), densitometric and radioisotope assessment of bone metabolism. Moreover, radioisotopic index of bone metabolism was calculated. Testosterone therapy with oral preparation Undestor Testo Caps (Organon) containing 40 mg of testosterone lasted for 12 months. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 12 and Excel 2010 programs. Correlations between results before and after treatment were analysed. Results: After 12 months of treatment, testosterone concentration increased by mean 78% and the level of luteinizing hormone (LH) decreased by 62%. TDS index increased from 0.53 ± 0.21 (in test I) to 1.91 ± 0.60 (in test II). After the therapy this index was significantly higher in all men (p < 0.0001). Moreover, BMD was also improved following therapy, however, the difference between test I and II was statistically insignificant. The greatest change was found in case of IBM (Index of Bone Metabolism). We observed a positive correlation between IBM and BMD before treatment (r = 0.7991), however, its strength decreased after one-year therapy (r = 0.6757). Conclusions: In our opinion, IBM is more sensitive than other methods of the assessment of changes occurring in bone system under the influence of testosterone therapy. The observed changes in IBM were proportional to changes in testosterone concentration. Testosterone level, TDS and radioisotopic assessment of bone metabolism may be used as prognostic and therapeutic factors of osteoporosis and bone fractures in elderly men.  BACKGROUND: Testosterone deficiency in men is characterized by typical symptoms of hypogonadism and negative influ­ence on the preservation of bone mass. In this study, we analysed the relationship between testosterone concentration and bone metabolism. Moreover, we assessed the impact of one-year compensation of testosterone deficiency in elderly men on bone metabolism and bone mineral density. Radioisotopic methods of bone metabolism assessment provide new research opportunities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Men with total testosterone concentration (TT) ≤ 3 ng/ml were included into this study. Patients with disorders or injuries of bone system, elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA), enlarged prostate, disorders of thyroid and liver, diabetes mellitus or a history of chemotherapy as well as those treated for a long time with antibiotics were excluded from this study. The results of 50 men aged 57.52 ± 6.71 years obtained before the treatment (I test) and after one year of oral testosterone supplementation (test II) were analysed in this study. The following examinations and analyses were performed: interview and physical examination, orthopaedic, neurological and urological consultations, blood biochemistry, determination of hormones levels, assessment of Testosterone Deficiency Syndrome (TDS), densitometric and radioisotope assessment of bone metabolism. Moreover, radioisotopic index of bone metabolism was calculated. Testosterone therapy with oral preparation Undestor Testo Caps (Organon) containing 40 mg of testosterone lasted for 12 months. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 12 and Excel 2010 programs. Correlations between results before and after treatment were analysed. RESULTS: After 12 months of treatment, testosterone concentration increased by mean 78% and the level of luteinizing hormone (LH) decreased by 62%. TDS index increased from 0.53 ± 0.21 (in test I) to 1.91 ± 0.60 (in test II). After the therapy this index was significantly higher in all men (p &lt; 0.0001). Moreover, BMD was also improved following therapy, however, the difference between test I and II was statistically insignificant. The greatest change was found in case of IBM (Index of Bone Metabolism). We observed a positive correlation between IBM and BMD before treatment (r = 0.7991), however, its strength decreased after one-year therapy (r = 0.6757). CONCLUSIONS: In our opinion, IBM is more sensitive than other methods of the assessment of changes occurring in bone system under the influence of testosterone therapy. The observed changes in IBM were proportional to changes in testosterone concentration. Testosterone level, TDS and radioisotopic assessment of bone metabolism may be used as prognostic and therapeutic factors of osteoporosis and bone fractures in elderly men.

Holistic Multi-View Building Analysis in the Wild with Projection Pooling

We address six different classification tasks related to fine-grained building attributes: construction type, number of floors, pitch and geometry of the roof, facade material, and occupancy class. Tackling such a remote building analysis problem became possible only recently due to growing large-scale datasets of urban scenes. To this end, we introduce a new benchmarking dataset, consisting of 49426 images (top-view and street-view) of 9674 buildings. These photos are further assembled, together with the geometric metadata. The dataset showcases various real-world challenges, such as occlusions, blur, partially visible objects, and a broad spectrum of buildings. We propose a new projection pooling layer, creating a unified, top-view representation of the top-view and the side views in a high-dimensional space. It allows us to utilize the building and imagery metadata seamlessly. Introducing this layer improves classification accuracy -- compared to highly tuned baseline models -- indicating its suitability for building analysis.Comment: Accepted for publication at the 35th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI 2021

The own method and program of isotope quantitatively assessment of perfusion in muscles of upper limbs (initial report)

BACKGROUND: The issue of blood flow in muscles has been dealt with for many years. However, most often it was assessed qualitatively with standard vascular examinations. The quantitatively perfusion assessment is indispensable in the normal and pathological conditions. Some diseases impair the perfusion mainly in the area of upper limbs. It can be observed in Raynaud’s disease, vascular occlusive diseases, neurological disturbances, and thermal injuries. Hyperhidrosis of upper limbs after sympathectomy of thoracic part of sympathetic trunk may bring closer the diagnosis statement. Nuclear medicine has the markers and methods that allow for the assessment of the volume of perfusion in muscles. The aim for creating this method and program was the development of radioisotope method allowing for quantitative assessment of perfusion in muscles of upper limbs. This should lead to calculating the perfusion index and its range of normal values in a greater group of patients and to using this method both in the healthy and pathological conditions. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 20 patients, age 30.4 ± 7.1 years, who underwent following examinations: qualification to the group, medical history, subject examinations, USG of upper limb vessels, anthropometric examinations, biochemical and hormonal blood tests, the assessment of upper limbs with USG Doppler and FMD (flow mediated dilatation), radioisotope examinations with gamma camera BrightView XCT by own program RAPUL (Radioisotope Assessment Perfusion of Upper Limb). Acquisitions were started five minutes after intravenous injection of 99mTc-MIBI (metoxyisobutylnitrite). The whole body scintigram and scintigrams of arm and forearm muscles in A-P projections were taken. RESULTS: In the examined patients, the results of anthropometric, biochemical and hormonal test were within the range of normal values. In radioisotope quantitative assessment of perfusion, perfusion indexes of left arm were 20 &lt; PI_left &lt; 11.90 and of the right arm 7.00 &lt; PI_right &lt;12.30. The dependency correlation PI_left vs. PI_right was strong r = 0.92036. The values of perfusion symmetry index (IPS) had a normal distribution and were within the following range: 0.9231 &lt; IPS &lt; 1.1019. CONCLUSIONS: The RAPUL method and program allow for quantitative assessment of perfusion in muscles of upper limbs. Developed program has a high repeatability of results. The results in the bigger group will allow for defining the range of normal values of perfusion index in muscles of upper limbs at rest. These will be diagnostically used both in healthy (sports medicine, military services) and pathological conditions.BACKGROUND: The issue of blood flow in muscles has been dealt with for many years. However, most often it was assessedqualitatively with standard vascular examinations. The quantitatively perfusion assessment is indispensable in the normal andpathological conditions. Some diseases impair the perfusion mainly in the area of upper limbs. It can be observed in Raynaud’sdisease, vascular occlusive diseases, neurological disturbances, and thermal injuries. Hyperhidrosis of upper limbs after sympathectomyof thoracic part of sympathetic trunk may bring closer the diagnosis statement. Nuclear medicine has the markersand methods that allow for the assessment of the volume of perfusion in muscles. The aim for creating this method andprogram was the development of radioisotope method allowing for quantitative assessment of perfusion in muscles of upperlimbs. This should lead to calculating the perfusion index and its range of normal values in a greater group of patients and tousing this method both in the healthy and pathological conditions.MATERIAL AND METHODS: 20 patients, age 30.4 ± 7.1 years, who underwent following examinations: qualification to thegroup, medical history, subject examinations, USG of upper limb vessels, anthropometric examinations, biochemical andhormonal blood tests, the assessment of upper limbs with USG Doppler and FMD (flow mediated dilatation), radioisotopeexaminations with gamma camera BrightView XCT by own program RAPUL (Radioisotope Assessment Perfusion of UpperLimb). Acquisitions were started five minutes after intravenous injection of 99mTc-MIBI (metoxyisobutylnitrite). The whole bodyscintigram and scintigrams of arm and forearm muscles in A-P projections were taken.RESULTS: In the examined patients, the results of anthropometric, biochemical and hormonal test were within the range ofnormal values. In radioisotope quantitative assessment of perfusion, perfusion indexes of left arm were 20 &lt; PI_left &lt; 11.90 andof the right arm 7.00 &lt; PI_right &lt;12.30. The dependency correlation PI_left vs. PI_right was strong r = 0.92036.The values of perfusion symmetry index (IPS) had a normal distribution and were within the following range: 0.9231 &lt; IPS &lt;1.1019.CONCLUSIONS: The RAPUL method and program allow for quantitative assessment of perfusion in muscles of upper limbs.Developed program has a high repeatability of results. The results in the bigger group will allow for defining the range of normalvalues of perfusion index in muscles of upper limbs at rest. These will be diagnostically used both in healthy (sports medicine,military services) and pathological conditions

Multidirectional assessment of medical treatment influence on lower limb perfusion in patients suffering from obliterative atheromatosis

Wstęp. Przewlekłe niedokrwienie kończyn dolnych jest przedmiotem wielu badań, jednak w większości z nich nie dokonuje się porównania spoczynkowego i wysiłkowego przepływu naczyniowego. Medycyna nuklearna dysponuje metodami i programami pozwalającymi rozwiązać to zagadnienie. Celem pracy jest określenie za pomocą metod radioizotopowych zaburzeń perfuzji mięśni kończyn dolnych w spoczynku i po wysiłku u chorych z miażdżycą zarostową tętnic i porównanie wyników ze standardowymi metodami oceniającymi ukrwienie kończyn dolnych oraz ocena wpływu leczenia zachowawczego na analizowane parametry ukrwienia. Materiał i metody. Materiał stanowiło 35 pacjentów, leczonych zachowawczo z powodu niedokrwienia kończyn dolnych. Badaniem objęto chorych, którzy w momencie przyjęcia zgłaszali ziębniecie, drętwienie, chromanie przestankowe od 30-500 m. W celu kwalifikacji do grup u wszystkich chorych wykonano doplerowskie badanie USG kodowane kolorem. Do dalszych badań włączono chorych z drugim stopniem według klasyfikacji Foutaine&#8217;a (IIa i IIb), których dystans chromania wahał się w granicach 30÷500 m. Leczenie zachowawcze obejmowało modyfikację czynników i skojarzoną farmakoterapię oraz określenie wskaźników kostka-ramię, udo-goleń i udo-kostka. Radioizotopowe badania perfuzji mięśni kończyn dolnych w spoczynku i po wysiłku wykonywano za pomocą gamma-kamery według własnej metody i programu ALLP, określających wskaźniki perfuzji w badanych mięśniach. Wnioski. 1. Sześciomiesięczne leczenie zachowawcze, w tym skojarzone leczenie farmakologiczne, powoduje niewielką poprawę ukrwienia w zakresie krążenia w kończynach dolnych polegającą głównie na wzroście wartości wskaźnika kostka-ramię, obniżeniu wartości wskaźników udo-kostka i udo-goleń oraz poprawie prędkości przepływu we wszystkich badanych tętnicach. 2. Bardzo czułym i wartościowym badaniem określającym zmiany ukrwienia kończyn dolnych (goleni i ud) w spoczynku i po wysiłku, po zastosowaniu terapii zachowawczej, jest radioizotopowe badanie perfuzji mięśni. Uzyskane wskaźniki perfuzji precyzyjnie informują o wielkości zmian w mikrokrążeniu oraz pozwalają monitorować efekty leczenia zachowawczego. 3. Metoda radioizotopowa komplementarnie uzupełnia dotychczasową diagnostykę zaburzeń ukrwienia mięśni kończyn dolnych u chorych z miażdżycą zarostową tętnic.Background. Chronic lower-limb ischaemia has been the subject of several studies; however, most of them do not give a comparison between vascular flow at rest and vascular flow after exercise. Nuclear medicine is vested with methods and programmes allowing the solution of this matter. The aim of this study was to define, with the use of radioisotopic methods, the perfusion disturbances of lower limb muscles at rest and after exercise in patients with arterial obliterative atheromatosis, and to compare the results with the standard methods assessing lower limb perfusion, as well as to assess the influence of the medical treatment on the analyzed parameters of the perfusion. Material and methods. The material included 35 patients, medically treated because of lower limbs ischaemia. The study covered patients who, at the time of admission, reported feeling cold, numbness and intermittent claudication at 30 to 500 m For group classification, all the patients underwent USG-Doppler examination with a colour option. The patients with the second degree according to Foutaine (IIa, IIb), whose claudication distance ranged between 30 and 500 m, were included in the study. Medical treatment included modification of the factors and combined pharmacotherapy, and defining factors: ankle-brachial, femoral-tibial and femoral-ankle. Radioisotopic examinations of lower limb perfusion at rest and after exercise were performed with the use of a gamma camera according to our own method and an ALLP programme defining the perfusion indicators in the examined muscles. Conclusions. 1. A six-month period of medical treatment, including combined pharmacological treatment, causes a slight increase of lower limb perfusion, expressed mainly by an increase of the ankle-brachial index, decrease of the femoral-ankle and femoral-tibial indexes, and improvement of the speed of flow in all examined arteries. 2. Radioisotopic examination of muscle perfusion is a very precise and beneficial examination defining the changes in perfusion in the lower limbs (tibias and femora) at rest and after exercise. The obtained perfusion indexes give precise information about the scale of changes in microcirculation and allow the effects of the medical treatment to be monitored. 3. The radioisotopic method has completed previous diagnostics of lower limb perfusion disturbances in patients suffering from arterial obliterative atheromatosis

Izotopowe określenie prawidłowych wartości perfuzji mięśni kończyn dolnych w spoczynku i wysiłku z uwzględnieniem możliwości ich zastosowania w diagnostyce klinicznej

Background: The lack of a range of normal values of perfusion in the lower limbs during stress and at rest narrows the use of this type of diagnostic tool to the estimation of the current state of relative perfusion without indications of the presence or level of perfusion disturbances. Numerous reports on early changes in endothelium reactivity (depending on disease and degree of vessel pathology) encouraged us to assess lower limb perfusion in healthy people. Our goal was to 1) work out a program and method which would enable lower limb perfusion assessment under stress and at rest in patients without signs of lower limb circulation deprivation and 2) establish the normal range of indexes of lower limb perfusion under stress and at rest which would enable their use in the diagnostics of lower limb muscle circulation. Material and Methods: 33 male patients aged between 25 to 45 years (mean: 35.30 ± 6.04) without signs of circulatory problems were entered into the study. To exclude circulatory disturbances, Doppler USG, blood pressure, and laboratory tests were performed on every patient at rest 5 min. after the injection of 11.1 MBq/kg 99 mTc MIBI. Whole body as well as thigh and calf scintigrams were made with an ELSCINT SP6HR gamma-camera. The symmetry of the thigh and calf perfusion (WSU, WSP) and the indexes of the thigh (WPLU, WPPU) and calf (WPLP, WSPP) perfusion of both lower limbs were estimated. Results: At rest: WSP: 96.47% ± 1.02, WSP: 96.47% ± 1.02, WPLP: 9.77 ± 0.32, WPPP: 9.78 ± 0.31, WPLU: 8.45 ± 0.22, WPPU: 8.48 ± 0.22. Under stress: WSP: 96.69% ± 1.32, WSU: 96.41% ± 1.20, WPLP: 8.78 ± 0.26, WPPP: 8.81 ± 0.25, WPLU: 7.77 ± 0.25, WPPU: 7.82 ± 0.26. Anamnesis, additional studies, and laboratory tests in the group examined did not show any circulatory disturbances. Conclusions: The estimated values in patients without circulatory disturbances are similar and within a narrow range, which allows us to calculate the norms of lower limb perfusion at rest and under stress. The determined normal values may be essential in diagnostics in permitting differentiation of healthy patients from those with vascular pathology of the lower limb circulation at an early stage

Preparation of nanocrystalline composite TiO2-SnO2 powders using sol-gel method combined with hydrothermal treatment

The paper describes the process of TiO2-SnO2 nanocomposites manufacturing utilizing two-step sol-gel method combined with calcination (in the case of titanium hydroxide gel) or hydrothermal treatment (in the case of tin hydroxide). Phase composition of the obtained nanopowders and average crystallite sizes were determined using XRD analysis. Measurements of the specific surface area were performed using sorption method based on determination of physical adsorption isotherm (BET). Morphology of the nanopowders was observed using transmission electron microscope. The presented synthesis method enables to obtain composites nanopowders from TiO2-SnO2 system with known and controlled chemical and phase compositions, and distinctly diversified TiO2 and SnO2 particle sizes

Radioisotopic assessment of bone metabolism of the operated vertebra after inter-process stabilizer implantation in the lumbar segment of the spine

Introduction: Lack of efficacy of pharmacotherapy and physiotherapy in spinal pain syndrome is an indication for intervertebral stabilizer implantation between the processes in the lumbar segment of the spine. Material and methods: The group consisted of 32 patients qualified after radioisotopic single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) examinations with assessment of bone metabolism and mineral density. For comparative purposes, the L2 vertebra was defined as normal. Parameters defined in the area of operated vertebrae were comparable to L2. Imaging examinations and a pain intensity test were performed before and 12 months after the procedure. Results: In SPECT, osteotropic isotope (OI) activity in spinous bodies and processes was close to L2 values. Density assessed in CT of analysed vertebrae was close to L2. In the control examination, activity of OI in spinous bodies and processes was higher in the procedure area. Under the stabilizer, there was a strong positive correlation with the L2 parameters. The differences were statistically significant (p = 0.0002). The increase of OI activity in the elements above the stabilizer was variable. In the control examination, there was higher density of spinous processes and bodies above and under the stabilizer. The difference, compared to the L2 density, was statistically significant. Conclusions : The radioisotopic method with SPECT/CT allows for the precise assessment of bone metabolism in the spine. After the procedure, a negative correlation was observed between bone metabolism changes and pain intensity test results