3 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Tridimenzionalno dokumentiranje steÄkov srednjeveÅ”ke župe Dabar v Bosni in Hercegovini
SteÄci are medieval tombstones that can be found in situ in the landscapes of the Western Balkans. Only approx. 8% of steÄci have various decorations in the form of low relief, while less than 400 tombstones also bear inscriptions. Climate influences often cause erosion of these engravings, which makes them increasingly difficult to detect and identify. As part of the archaeological research on the steÄci phenomenon in the area of the medieval župa Dabar (modern municipalities of BerkoviÄi and BileÄa), a pilot study of 3D scanning of these monuments with a hand-held scanner was performed. Eight tombstones, two with an inscription and six with decorations, were thus scanned in their entirety, in order to evaluate the visibility and recognition of the engravings, and to assess the technique for detailed documentation of material culture itself. The article presents the process of scanning and analyzes the results
Towards treatment planning and treatment of deep-seated solid tumors by electrochemotherapy
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Electrochemotherapy treats tumors by combining specific chemotherapeutic drugs with an intracellular target and electric pulses, which increases drug uptake into the tumor cells. Electrochemotherapy has been successfully used for treatment of easily accessible superficial tumor nodules. In this paper, we present the first case of deep-seated tumor electrochemotherapy based on numerical treatment planning.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The aim of our study was to treat a melanoma metastasis in the thigh of a patient. Treatment planning for electrode positioning and electrical pulse parameters was performed for two different electrode configurations: one with four and another with five long needle electrodes. During the procedure, the four electrode treatment plan was adopted and the patient was treated accordingly by electrochemotherapy with bleomycin. The response to treatment was clinically and radiographically evaluated. Due to a partial response of the treated tumor, the metastasis was surgically removed after 2 months and pathological analysis was performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A partial response of the tumor to electrochemotherapy was obtained. Histologically, the metastasis showed partial necrosis due to electrochemotherapy, estimated to represent 40-50% of the tumor. Based on the data obtained, we re-evaluated the electrical treatment parameters in order to correlate the treatment plan with the clinical response. Electrode positions in the numerical model were updated according to the actual positions during treatment. We compared the maximum value of the measured electric current with the current predicted by the model and good agreement was obtained. Finally, tumor coverage with an electric field above the reversible threshold was recalculated and determined to be approximately 94%. Therefore, according to the calculations, a small volume of tumor cells remained viable after electrochemotherapy, and these were sufficient for tumor regrowth.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In this, the first reported clinical case, deep-seated melanoma metastasis in the thigh of the patient was treated by electrochemotherapy, according to a treatment plan obtained by numerical modeling and optimization. Although only a partial response was obtained, the presented work demonstrates that treatment of deep-seated tumor nodules by electrochemotherapy is feasible and sets the ground for numerical treatment planning-based electrochemotherapy.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>EudraCT:2008-008290-54</p