Effect of using different U/S probe Standoff materials in image geometry for interventional procedures : the example of prostate

PURPOSE: This study investigates the distortion of geometry of catheters and anatomy in acquired U/S images, caused by utilizing various stand-off materials for covering a transrectal bi-planar ultrasound probe in HDR and LDR prostate brachytherapy, biopsy and other interventional procedures. Furthermore, an evaluation of currently established water-bath based quality assurance (QA) procedures is presented. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Image acquisitions of an ultrasound QA setup were carried out at 5 MHz and 7 MHz. The U/S probe was covered by EA 4015 Silicone Standoff kit, or UA0059 Endocavity balloon filled either with water or one of the following: 40 ml of Endosgel(®), Instillagel(®), Ultraschall gel or Space OAR™ gel. The differences between images were recorded. Consequently, the dosimetric impact of the observed image distortion was investigated, using a tissue equivalent ultrasound prostate phantom - Model number 053 (CIRS Inc., Norfolk, VA, USA). RESULTS: By using the EA 4015 Silicone Standoff kit in normal water with sound speed of 1525 m/s, a 3 mm needle shift was observed. The expansion of objects appeared in radial direction. The shift deforms also the PTV (prostate in our case) and other organs at risk (OARs) in the same way leading to overestimation of volume and underestimation of the dose. On the other hand, Instillagel(®) and Space OAR™ "shrinks" objects in an ultrasound image for 0.65 mm and 0.40 mm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The use of EA 4015 Silicone Standoff kit for image acquisition, leads to erroneous contouring of PTV and OARs and reconstruction and placement of catheters, which results to incorrect dose calculation during prostate brachytherapy. Moreover, the reliability of QA procedures lies mostly in the right temperature of the water used for accurate simulation of real conditions of transrectal ultrasound imaging

Extracranial Vertebral Artery Aneurysm Presenting as a Chronic Cervical Mass Lesion

Background. Aneurysms of the extracranial vertebral artery are rare and can provide a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge. Methods. We reviewed the clinical history of a patient presenting with cervical radiculopathy, who harboured an extracranial vertebral artery aneurysm eroding the cervical spine. Results. CT Angiography and MR Angiography set the diagnosis, by revealing a left C5-C6 vertebral artery aneurysm with cervical root impingement. Bony reconstruction depicted enlargement of the C6 transverse foramen and a marked enlargement of the C6-C7 intravertebral foramen. The lesion was treated by intravascular proximal vertebral artery occlusion. Conclusions. Extracranial vertebral artery aneurysms require a high index of clinical suspicion. This is the first report of a vertebral artery pseudoaneurysm presenting with bony erosion, which supports a less minacious portrayal of vertebral artery aneurysms

The mitogenome of the bed bug Cimex lectularius (Hemiptera: Cimicidae)

We report the extraction of a bed bug mitogenome from high-throughput sequencing projects originally focused on the nuclear genome of Cimex lectularius. The assembled mitogenome has a similar AT nucleotide composition bias found in other insects. Phylogenetic analysis of all protein-coding genes indicates that C. lectularius is clearly a member of a paraphyletic Cimicomorpha clade within the Order Hemiptera

EU-TeleInViVo: An integrated portable telemedicine workstation featuring acquisition, processing and transmission over low-bandwidth lines of 3D ultrasound volume images

A transportable telemedicine workstation has been designed, developed and evaluated for use in isolated areas such as islands, rural areas and crisis situation areas. The EU-TeleInViVo is a custom-made device integrating in one solid case: # a portable PC with telecommunication capabilities and # a light, portable 3D ultrasound station. The system developed has low price, low weight, is transportable and non-radiating. The integrated workstation uses advanced software techniques to acquire 3-dimensional ultrasound data of a patient. The device is now being tested in different socioeconomic conditions and adjusted accordingly to meet needs of developing countries and countries in transition. It currently comes in two versions, one fully portable, self-containing device, and a workstation version (PC attached to an ultrasound scanner for internal hospital use). A dedicated software package has been developed for the needs of this project, based on the InViVo ScanNT software package d..

A Portable Medical Unit for Medical Imaging Telecollaboration

In this paper, we are going to introduce a multimodal portable medical device for both medical imaging tele-collaboration and monitoring of vital parameters. The introduced portable unit offers diversity of medical devices and is in position to acquire ultrasound images, ECG 12 leads, and blood pressure and be able to measure oxygen level in the blood. In addition, the portable unit is equipped with all available telecommunication gateways (e.g. GSM, UMTS, ISDN, DSL, Satellite) providing a great communication convenience to the physicians utilizing XMMP instant messaging protocols

A portable medical unit for medical imaging telecollaboration

In this paper, we are going to introduce a multimodal portable medical device for both medical imaging tele-collaboration and monitoring of vital parameters. The introduced portable unit offers diversity of medical devices and is in position to acquire ultrasound images, ECG 12 leads, and blood pressure and be able to measure oxygen level in the blood. In addition, the portable unit is equipped with all available telecommunication gateways (e.g. GSM, UMTS, ISDN, DSL, Satellite) providing a great communication convenience to the physicians utilizing XMMP instant messaging protocols

Abdominal Imaging. Computational and Clinical Applications: Third International Workshop, Held in Conjunction with MICCAI 2011, Toronto, ON, Canada, September 18, 2011, Revised Selected Papers /

The third international workshop focused on three areas in computational abdominal imaging: virtual colonoscopy and computer-aided diagnosis, abdominal intervention, and computational abdominal anatomy. The workshop aimed to bring together leading researchers and clinicians active in these fields around the world to discuss emerging techniques and clinical challenges in computational and clinical applications in abdominal imaging

Abdominal Imaging. Computational and Clinical ApplicationsThird International Workshop, Held in Conjunction with MICCAI 2011, Toronto, ON, Canada, September 18, 2011, Revised Selected Papers /

XIV, 274p. 148 illus.online resource

The ancient Hellenic and Hippocratic origins of head and brain terminology

Corpus Hippocraticum, a collection of Hippocratic writings, is considered to be the first written monument of rationale medicine. This article focuses on a series of ancient Hellenic words which are cited in Hippocratic passages and have been adopted in current head and brain terminology either invariably, i.e., keeping their original meaning, or as component parts of newly formed terms. This study aims to demonstrate first that the deeper roots of current neuroanatomical terminology spread in Hippocratic writings and second, that ancient Hellenic remains a living language that would probably ever continue to play a catalytic role in the formation of neuroanatomical glossary by providing accurate, emblematic, and functional terms. Clin. Anat. 25:548558, 2012. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Epidemiology of first epileptic seizures in the northern Aegean island of Lesvos, Greece

We aimed at establishing the epidemiologic profile of first epileptic seizures (FES) in the Greek island of Lesvos. During a 1year period (01/06/2010 to 31/05/2011), cases of FES admitted to the Lesvos General Hospital/addressed by general practitioners/private neurologists were prospectively identified. A total of 45 cases (30 males and 15 females; mean age +/- SD of 59.4 +/- 28.4 and 58.9 +/- 26.8 years, respectively), were collected. The FES incidence rate was 52.1 (95% CI 37-67) per 105 persons. Provoked and unprovoked FES had an incidence of, 16.2 and 35.9 cases per 105 persons, respectively. Following age-adjustment to the 2000 US census population, incidence rates of FES (all types combined) were, 40.5 (95% CI 28-56) per 10(5) persons. Cerebrovascular disease (CVD) was the most prevalent etiologic factor. The present findings indicate a low-ranking incidence of FES in the studied population and highlight CVD as a leading causative factor