CT-Free Attenuation Correction in Paediatric Long Axial Field-of-View Positron Emission Tomography Using Synthetic CT from Emission Data.

: Paediatric PET/CT imaging is crucial in oncology but poses significant radiation risks due to children's higher radiosensitivity and longer post-exposure life expectancy. This study aims to minimize radiation exposure by generating synthetic CT (sCT) images from emission PET data, eliminating the need for attenuation correction (AC) CT scans in paediatric patients. : We utilized a cohort of 128 paediatric patients, resulting in 195 paired PET and CT images.

Automated Supraclavicular Brown Adipose Tissue Segmentation in Computed Tomography Using nnU-Net: Integration with TotalSegmentator.

Background/objectives: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a crucial role in energy expenditure and thermoregulation and has thus garnered interest in the context of metabolic diseases. Segmentation in medical imaging is time-consuming and prone to inter- and intra-operator variability. This study aims to develop an automated BAT segmentation method using the nnU-Net deep learning framework, integrated into the TotalSegmentator software, and to evaluate its performance in a large cohort of patients with lymphoma.

Is the benefit of sequential 5-fluorouracil and daylight photodynamic therapy versus daylight photodynamic therapy alone sustained over time? - 12-month follow-up of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Since recurrences and new AKs commonly are observed after treatment long-term effects of field-directed therapies for AKs are crucial. Thus, we evaluated the 6- and 12-month efficacy and satisfaction of sequential topical 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and daylight PDT (dPDT) with dPDT alone.

Methods: In a randomized intra-individual study patients with multiple AKs in the face and scalp were treated with 4 % 5-fluorouracil cream twice daily for 7 days on one side of the scalp/face, followed by dPDT on both sides.

Vascular Characteristics of Treatment-resistant and -responsive Actinic Keratosis Identified with Dynamic Optical Coherence Tomography.

Treatment-resistant actinic keratosis (AK) is of concern in clinical practice, often requiring retreatment. Microvascular assessments might help differentiate treatment-resistant from treatment-responsive AKs, enabling targeted treatment. Using dynamic optical coherence tomography, AK vascularization was investigated following daylight photodynamic therapy, comparing treatment-resistant with cleared AKs.

Long Axial Field-of-View PET/CT: New Opportunities for Pediatric Imaging.

The combined use of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) and Computed Tomography (CT) has become increasingly vital for diagnosing and managing oncological and infectious diseases in pediatric patients. The introduction of long axial field-of-view (LAFOV) PET/CT scanners, also known as "Total Body PET/CT," marks a significant advancement in nuclear medicine. This new technology enables faster pediatric imaging with substantially reduced radiation exposure and essentially eliminates the need for sedation, addressing previous critical concerns in pediatric imaging.

Mechanical and Geometric Characterization of a Novel 2-Ply Vacuum-Pressed Biological Scaffold Patch Design for Posterior Mitral Valve Reconstruction.

To assess the mechanical properties of small intestinal submucosal extracellular matrix (SIS-ECM) iterations and choose the optimal version for evaluating functional geometrics after posterior mitral valve reconstruction. Four SIS-ECM versions (2- and 4-ply vacuum-pressed and lyophilized) underwent uniaxial tensile testing. A posterior mitral valve reconstruction patch was developed based on MRI scans (n = 5).

Risk profiles for rheumatoid arthritis-associated interstitial lung disease in a cohort of patients with five-year follow-up.

Objectives: Early identification of interstitial lung disease (ILD) among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a challenge for clinicians. The aim of this study was to evaluate screening algorithms for ILD by comparing the proportion of patients assigned a high-risk profile by three recently proposed models.

Method: We used the four-factor risk score, categorizing patients into high and low risk; the ILD screening criteria, categorizing patients into high, intermediate, and low risk; and the risk score for detection of subclinical RA-ILD, with four different risk categories, on patients with RA followed for 5 years after the RA diagnosis with pulmonary function tests, dyspnoea score, and pulmonary imaging.

Single-voxel delay map from long-axial field-of-view PET scans.

Objective: We present an algorithm to estimate the delay between a tissue time-activity curve and a blood input curve at a single-voxel level tested on whole-body data from a long-axial field-of-view scanner with tracers of different noise characteristics.

Methods: Whole-body scans of 15 patients divided equally among three tracers, namely [O]HO, [F]FDG and [Cu]Cu-DOTATATE, which were used in development and testing of the algorithm. Delay times were estimated by fitting the cumulatively summed input function and tissue time-activity curve with special considerations for noise.

QUALIPAED-A retrospective quality control study evaluating pediatric long axial field-of-view low-dose FDG-PET/CT.

Introduction: Pediatric patients have an increased risk of radiation-induced malignancies due to their ongoing development and long remaining life span. Thus, optimization of PET protocols is an important task in pediatric nuclear medicine. Long axial field-of-view (LAFOV) PET/CT has shown a significant increase in sensitivity, which provides an ideal opportunity for reduction of injected tracer activity in the pediatric population.

ACL injury characteristics in badminton : A registry study with prospectively collected data on sports related epidemiology and injury mechanism of 539 badminton players.

Background: Over recent years, more anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures in badminton players have occurred. Little is known about the injury mechanism in badminton. The hypothesis is that most ACL injuries occur with single leg landings on the non-dominant leg in the backhand side or with lunge movements in the forehand side on the dominant leg.

Device-Less Data-Driven Cardiac and Respiratory Gating Using LAFOV PET Histo Images.

The outstanding capabilities of modern Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to highlight small tumor lesions and provide pathological function assessment are at peril from image quality degradation caused by respiratory and cardiac motion. However, the advent of the long axial field-of-view (LAFOV) scanners with increased sensitivity, alongside the precise time-of-flight (TOF) of modern PET systems, enables the acquisition of ultrafast time resolution images, which can be used for estimating and correcting the cyclic motion. 0.

Repurposing the Public BraTS Dataset for Postoperative Brain Tumour Treatment Response Monitoring.

The Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) Challenge has been a main driver of the development of deep learning (DL) algorithms and provides by far the largest publicly available expert-annotated brain tumour dataset but contains solely preoperative examinations. The aim of our study was to facilitate the use of the BraTS dataset for training DL brain tumour segmentation algorithms for a postoperative setting. To this end, we introduced an automatic conversion of the three-label BraTS annotation protocol to a two-label annotation protocol suitable for postoperative brain tumour segmentation.

Central Venous Oxygen Saturation in Children With Cancer.

Objective: Central venous saturation (ScvO 2 ) can guide resuscitation of children with septic shock. The normal range of ScvO 2 is typically considered as 0.70-0.

Automated Quantitative Image-Derived Input Function for the Estimation of Cerebral Blood Flow Using Oxygen-15-Labelled Water on a Long-Axial Field-of-View PET/CT Scanner.

The accurate estimation of the tracer arterial blood concentration is crucial for reliable quantitative kinetic analysis in PET. In the current work, we demonstrate the automatic extraction of an image-derived input function (IDIF) from a CT AI-based aorta segmentation subsequently resliced to a dynamic PET series acquired on a Siemens Vision Quadra long-axial field of view scanner in 10 human subjects scanned with [O]HO. We demonstrate that the extracted IDIF is quantitative and in excellent agreement with a delay- and dispersion-corrected sampled arterial input function (AIF).

The dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonist KBP-336 elicits a unique combination of weight loss, antinociception and bone protection - a novel disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug.

Background: Despite the extensive research to provide a disease-modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD), there is still no approved DMOAD. Dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists (DACRA) can provide metabolic benefits along with antinociceptive and potential structural preserving effects. In these studies, we tested a DACRA named KBP-336 on a metabolic model of OA in meniscectomised (MNX) rats.

Performing [F]MFBG Long-Axial-Field-of-View PET/CT Without Sedation or General Anesthesia for Imaging of Children with Neuroblastoma.

Meta-[I]iodobenzylguanidine ([I]MIBG) scintigraphy with SPECT/CT is the standard of care for diagnosing and monitoring neuroblastoma. Replacing [I]MIBG with the new PET tracer meta-[F]fluorobenzylguanidine ([F]MFBG) and further improving sensitivity and reducing noise in a new long-axial-field-of-view (LAFOV) PET/CT scanner enable increased image quality and a faster acquisition time, allowing examinations to be performed without sedation or general anesthesia (GA). Focusing on feasibility, we present our first experience with [F]MFBG LAFOV PET/CT and compare it with [I]MIBG scintigraphy plus SPECT/CT for imaging in neuroblastoma in children.

Improved Positron Emission Tomography Quantification: Evaluation of a Maximum-Likelihood Scatter Scaling Algorithm.

Incorrect scatter scaling of positron emission tomography (PET) images can lead to halo artifacts, quantitative bias, or reconstruction failure. Tail-fitted scatter scaling (TFSS) possesses performance limitations in multiple cases. This study aims to investigate a novel method for scatter scaling: maximum-likelihood scatter scaling (MLSS) in scenarios where TFSS tends to induce artifacts or are observed to cause reconstruction abortion.

Return to badminton play following an ACL injury is common, but only a few return to previous performance.

Purpose: To report how many badminton players return to badminton after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and to which level.

Methods: Patients in Denmark from 2000 to 2018, registered in the Danish National Patient Register with a diagnosis of ACL rupture and badminton as a primary sport were asked about a return to sport (RTS) and return to performance (RTP) after ACL injury. RTP was defined as the return to full participation in the same sport, same level and same preinjury performance.

The acute effects of rumen pulse-dosing of hydrogen acceptors during methane inhibition with nitrate or 3-nitrooxypropanol in dairy cows.

Dietary methane (CH) mitigation is in some cases associated with an increased hydrogen (H) emission. The objective of the present study was to investigate the acute and short-term effects of acceptors for H (fumaric acid, acrylic acid, or phloroglucinol) supplemented via pulse-dosing to dairy cows fed CH mitigating diets (using nitrate or 3-nitrooxypropanol), on gas exchange, rumen gas, and VFA composition. For this purpose, 2 individual 4 × 4 Latin square experiments were conducted with 4 periods of 3 d (nitrate supplementation) and 7 d (3-nitrooxypropanol supplementation), respectively.

Efficacy of Combinational Treatment versus Nicotinamide Monotherapy in the Prevention of Ultraviolet Radiation-Induced Skin Cancer.

Introduction: Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is the primary risk factor for keratinocyte carcinomas. Oral supplementation with nicotinamide (NAM) is reported to reduce the formation of new keratinocyte carcinomas. NAM's photoprotection is mediated by enhanced DNA repair.

The association of premorbid conditions with 6-month mortality in acutely admitted ICU patients over 80 years.

Background: Premorbid conditions influence the outcome of acutely ill adult patients aged 80 years and over who are admitted to the ICU. The aim of this study was to determine the influence of such premorbid conditions on 6 month survival.

Methods: Prospective cohort study in 242 ICUs from 22 countries including patients 80 years or above, admitted over a 6 months period to an ICU between May 2018 and May 2019.