The EAST-ADL: A Joint Effort of the European Automotive Industry to Structure Distributed Automotive Embedded Control Software

International audienceAround ninety percent of vehicle innovations are driven mainly by electronics. Hence, software- and systems-engineering becomes a crucial discipline which vehicle manufacturers and their suppliers have to conquer. Automotive software runs on so-called Electronic Control Units (ECU). Besides a micro- controller and memory an ECU consists of power electronics to drive sensors and actuators

Incidence of delayed and missed diagnoses in whole-body multidetector CT in patients with multiple injuries after trauma

Background: Whole-body CT (WBCT) is the imaging modality of choice during the initial diagnostic work-up of multiple injured patients in order to identify serious injuries and initiate adequate treatment immediately. However, delayed diagnosed or even missed injuries have been reported frequently ranging from 1.3% to 47%. Purpose: To highlight commonly missed lesions in WBCT of patients with multiple injuries. Material and Methods: A total of 375 patients (age 42.8 +/- 17.9 years, ISS 26.6 +/- 17.0) with a WBCT (head to symphysis) were included. The final CT report was compared with clinical and operation reports. Discrepant findings were recorded and grouped as relevant and non-relevant to further treatment. In both groups, an experienced trauma radiologist read the CT images retrospectively, whether these lesions were missed or truly not detectable. Results: In 336 patients (89.6%), all injuries in the regions examined were diagnosed correctly in the final reports of the initial CT. Forty-eight patients (12.8%) had injuries in regions of the body that were not included in the CT. Fourteen patients (3.7%) had injuries that did not require further treatment. Twenty-five patients (6.7%) had injuries that required further treatment. With secondary interpretation, 85.4% of all missed lesions could be diagnosed in retrospect from the primary CT data-set. Small pancreatic and bowel contusions were identified as truly non-detectable. Conclusion: In multiple traumas, only a few missed injuries in initial WBCT reading are clinically relevant. However, as the vast majority of these injuries are detectable, the radiologist has to be alert for commonly missed findings to avoid a delayed diagnosis

Assistive technology design and development for acceptable robotics companions for ageing years

© 2013 Farshid Amirabdollahian et al., licensee Versita Sp. z o. o. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs license, which means that the text may be used for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author.A new stream of research and development responds to changes in life expectancy across the world. It includes technologies which enhance well-being of individuals, specifically for older people. The ACCOMPANY project focuses on home companion technologies and issues surrounding technology development for assistive purposes. The project responds to some overlooked aspects of technology design, divided into multiple areas such as empathic and social human-robot interaction, robot learning and memory visualisation, and monitoring persons’ activities at home. To bring these aspects together, a dedicated task is identified to ensure technological integration of these multiple approaches on an existing robotic platform, Care-O-Bot®3 in the context of a smart-home environment utilising a multitude of sensor arrays. Formative and summative evaluation cycles are then used to assess the emerging prototype towards identifying acceptable behaviours and roles for the robot, for example role as a butler or a trainer, while also comparing user requirements to achieved progress. In a novel approach, the project considers ethical concerns and by highlighting principles such as autonomy, independence, enablement, safety and privacy, it embarks on providing a discussion medium where user views on these principles and the existing tension between some of these principles, for example tension between privacy and autonomy over safety, can be captured and considered in design cycles and throughout project developmentsPeer reviewe

Ex Vivo Assessment of Coronary Atherosclerotic Plaque by Grating-Based Phase-Contrast Computed Tomography Correlation With Optical Coherence Tomography

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of grating-based phase-contrast computed tomography (gb-PCCT) to classify and quantify coronary vessel characteristics in comparison with optical coherence tomography (OCT) and histopathology in an ex vivo setting. Materials and Methods: After excision from 5 heart specimens, 15 human coronary arteries underwent gb-PCCT examination using an experimental imaging setup consisting of a rotating molybdenum anode x-ray tube, a Talbot-Lau grating interferometer, and a single photon counting detector. Subsequently, all vessels were imaged by OCT and histopathologically processed. Optical coherence tomography, gb-PCCT, and histopathology images were manually matched using anatomical landmarks. Optical coherence tomography and gb-PCCT were reviewed by 2 independent observers blinded to histopathology. Vessel, lumen, and plaque area were measured, and plaque characteristics (lipid rich, calcified, and fibrous) were determined for each section. Measures of diagnostic accuracy were derived, applying histopathology as the standard of reference. Results: Of a total of 286 assessed cross sections, 241 corresponding sections were included in the statistical analysis. Quantitative measures derived from gb-PCCT were significantly higher than from OCT (P = 0.85 for gb-PCCT and >= 0.61 for OCT, respectively). Results of Bland-Altman analysis demonstrated smaller mean differences between OCT and histopathology than for gb-PCCT and histopathology. Limits of agreement were narrower for gb-PCCT with regard to lumen area, for OCT with regard to plaque area, and were comparable with regard to vessel area. Based on histopathology, 228/241 (94.6%) sections were classified as fibrous, calcified, or lipid rich. The diagnostic accuracy of gb-PCCT was excellent for the detection of all plaque components (sensitivity, >= 0.95;specificity, >= 0.94), whereas the results for OCT showed sensitivities of >= 0.73 and specificities of >= 0.66. Conclusions: In this ex vivo setting, gb-PCCT provides excellent results in the assessment of coronary atherosclerotic plaque characteristics and vessel dimensions in comparison to OCT and histopathology. Thus, the technique may serve as adjunct nondestructive modality for advanced plaque characterization in an experimental setting

Radiomic Analysis Reveals Prognostic Information in T1-Weighted Baseline Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients With Glioblastoma

Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate whether radiomic analysis with random survival forests (RSFs) can predict overall survival from T1-weighted contrast-enhanced baseline magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in a cohort of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients with uniform treatment. Materials and Methods This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board and informed consent was waived. The MRI scans from 66 patients with newly diagnosed GBM from a previous prospective study were analyzed. Tumors were segmented manually on contrast-enhanced 3-dimensional T1-weighted images. Using these segmentations, P = 208 quantitative image features characterizing tumor shape, signal intensity, and texture were calculated in an automated fashion. On this data set, an RSF was trained using 10-fold cross validation to establish a link between image features and overall survival, and the individual risk for each patient was predicted. The mean concordance index was assessed as a measure of prediction accuracy. Association of individual risk with overall survival was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and a univariate proportional hazards model. Results Mean overall survival was 14 months (range, 0.8-85 months). Mean concordance index of the 10-fold cross-validated RSF was 0.67. Kaplan-Meier analysis clearly distinguished 2 patient groups with high and low predicted individual risk (P = 5.5 x 10(-5)). Low predicted individual mortality was found to be a favorable prognostic factor for overall survival in a univariate Cox proportional hazards model (hazards ratio, 1.038;95% confidence interval, 1.015-1.062;P = 0.0059). Conclusions This study demonstrates that baseline MRI in GBM patients contains prognostic information, which can be accessed by radiomic analysis using RSFs

Isolated central nervous system relapse of systemic lymphoma (SCNSL): clinical features and outcome of a retrospective analysis

We analyzed clinical outcome of patients with an isolated central nervous system lymphoma (CNSL) relapse after systemic non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). All 23 patients with an isolated secondary CNSL (SCNSL) treated at two institutions from 04/2003–12/2007 were included into this analysis. At cerebral relapse, 15/23 patients were treated with a regimen consisting of high-dose methotrexate (Bonn protocol). After a median follow-up of 6.5 months (range 1–68), 15/23 (65%) patients with SCNSL had relapsed or progressed. HD (high-dose)- methotrexate (MTX) chemotherapy according to the Bonn protocol is effective concerning response rates; however, overall survival of patients with SCNSL seems to be impaired in comparison to relapses in primary CNSL (PCNSL)

Acetazolamide to Prevent Adverse Altitude Effects in COPD and Healthy Adults

Background We evaluated the efficacy of acetazolamide in preventing adverse altitude effects in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and in healthy lowlanders 40 years of age or older. Methods Trial 1 was a randomized, double-blind, parallel-design trial in which 176 patients with COPD were treated with acetazolamide capsules (375 mg/day) or placebo, starting 24 hours before staying for 2 days at 3100 m. The mean (±SD) age of participants was 57±9 years, and 34% were women. At 760 m, COPD patients had oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry of 92% or greater, arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide less than 45 mm Hg, and mean forced expiratory volume in 1 second of 63±11% of predicted. The primary outcome in trial 1 was the incidence of the composite end point of altitude-related adverse health effects (ARAHE) at 3100 m. Criteria for ARAHE included acute mountain sickness (AMS) and symptoms or findings relevant to well-being and safety, such as severe hypoxemia, requiring intervention. Trial 2 comprised 345 healthy lowlanders. Their mean age was 53±7 years, and 69% were women. The participants in trial 2 underwent the same protocol as did the patients with COPD in trial 1. The primary outcome in trial 2 was the incidence of AMS assessed at 3100 m by the Lake Louise questionnaire score (the scale of self-assessed symptoms ranges from 0 to 15 points, indicating absent to severe, with 3 or more points including headache, indicating AMS). Results In trial 1 of patients with COPD, 68 of 90 (76%) receiving placebo and 42 of 86 (49%) receiving acetazolamide experienced ARAHE (hazard ratio, 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37 to 0.79; P<0.001). The number needed to treat (NNT) to prevent one case of ARAHE was 4 (95% CI, 3 to 8). In trial 2 of healthy individuals, 54 of 170 (32%) receiving placebo and 38 of 175 (22%) receiving acetazolamide experienced AMS (hazard ratio, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.29 to 0.80; chi-square statistic P=0.035). The NNT to prevent one case of AMS was 10 (95% CI, 5 to 141). No serious adverse events occurred in these trials. Conclusions Preventive treatment with acetazolamide reduced the incidence of adverse altitude effects requiring an intervention in patients with COPD and the incidence of AMS in healthy lowlanders 40 years of age or older during a high-altitude sojourn. (Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation [Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung], Lunge Zürich, and the Swiss Lung Foundation; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT03156231 and NCT03561675.