Quantification of dynamic morphological drug responses in 3D organotypic cell cultures by automated image analysis.

Glandular epithelial cells differentiate into complex multicellular or acinar structures, when embedded in three-dimensional (3D) extracellular matrix. The spectrum of different multicellular morphologies formed in 3D is a sensitive indicator for the differentiation potential of normal, non-transformed cells compared to different stages of malignant progression. In addition, single cells or cell aggregates may actively invade the matrix, utilizing epithelial, mesenchymal or mixed modes of motility.

Feasibility of a personal health technology-based psychological intervention for men with stress and mood problems: randomized controlled pilot trial.

Background: Work-related stress is a significant problem for both people and organizations. It may lead to mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression, resulting in increased work absences and disabilities. Scalable interventions to prevent and manage harmful stress can be delivered with the help of technology tools to support self-observations and skills training.

A comprehensive panel of three-dimensional models for studies of prostate cancer growth, invasion and drug responses.

Prostate epithelial cells from both normal and cancer tissues, grown in three-dimensional (3D) culture as spheroids, represent promising in vitro models for the study of normal and cancer-relevant patterns of epithelial differentiation. We have developed the most comprehensive panel of miniaturized prostate cell culture models in 3D to date (n = 29), including many non-transformed and most currently available classic prostate cancer (PrCa) cell lines. The purpose of this study was to analyze morphogenetic properties of PrCa models in 3D, to compare phenotypes, gene expression and metabolism between 2D and 3D cultures, and to evaluate their relevance for pre-clinical drug discovery, disease modeling and basic research.

A concept to empower self-management of psychophysiological wellbeing: preliminary user study experiences.

In prevention of chronic diseases, health promotion and early interventions based on self-management should be emphasized. Mental health problems and stress cause a significant portion of healthcare costs, and also complicate the management of other chronic conditions. In addition to physical health, psychophysiological and social wellbeing should be equally promoted.

Experimental investigation of angular stackgram filtering for noise reduction of SPECT projection data: study with linear and nonlinear filters.

We discuss data filtering prior to image reconstruction. For this kind of filtering, the radial direction of the sinogram is routinely employed. Recently, we have introduced an alternative approach to sinogram data processing, exploiting the angular information in a novel way.

Assessment of automated scintigram alignment in the stackgram domain for cardiac stress-rest SPECT studies.

Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) provides a method to obtain three-dimensional images of blood perfusion. In cardiac stress-rest SPECT studies, coronary artery disease can be examined by comparing intensity differences of the acquired images of the heart at stress and rest. The stress-rest image pair needs to be aligned into the same spatial position and orientation in order to compare the images in an automated and reproducible manner.