MARIA M4: clinical evaluation of a prototype ultrawideband radar scanner for breast cancer detection.

A microwave imaging system has been developed as a clinical diagnostic tool operating in the 3- to 8-GHz region using multistatic data collection. A total of 86 patients recruited from a symptomatic breast care clinic were scanned with a prototype design. The resultant three-dimensional images have been compared "blind" with available ultrasound and mammogram images to determine the detection rate.

Choice of environmental components for a longitudinal birth cohort study.

Various aspects of the environment of the mother and child may have major influences on the health and development of the child. Long-term influences can even affect chronic diseases of adulthood. Here we describe the major psychosocial and physical environmental factors that should be measured in longitudinal birth cohort studies.

Today's epidemics in children: possible relations to environmental pollution and suggested preventive measures.

Background: Facts and hypotheses on the relationship between some children's diseases or disorders and external stressors during the developmental stage of a child, both prenatally and postnatally are described in literature. In this paper the following changes in patterns and causes of the main childhood illnesses are summarized and recommendations for actions are made. Prematurity.

Model-based comparison of maternal and foetal organ doses from (99m)Tc pertechnetate, DMSA, DTPA, HDP, MAA and MAG(3) diagnostic intakes during pregnancy.

Organ residence times were calculated for diagnostic intakes of (99m)Tc pertechnetate, 2,3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA), diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA), hydroxymethylene diphosphonate (HDP), macroaggregated albumin (MAA) and mercapto-acetyltriglycine (MAG(3)) during the 1st and 3rd stages of pregnancy and used with the MIRDOSE3 pregnant female phantoms for generation of dose estimates. At stage 3 individual foetal organ doses were estimated via a surrogate phantom based on that for the new-born but with mean dose/cumulated activity ( S) values scaled for compatibility with foetal whole body S. Stage 1 or 3 whole foetus doses ranged from 5.