A handheld device for intra-cavity and ex vivo fluorescence imaging of breast conserving surgery margins with 5-aminolevulinic acid.

Background: Visualization of cancer during breast conserving surgery (BCS) remains challenging; the BCS reoperation rate is reported to be 20-70% of patients. An urgent clinical need exists for real-time intraoperative visualization of breast carcinomas during BCS. We previously demonstrated the ability of a prototype imaging device to identify breast carcinoma in excised surgical specimens following 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) administration.

Customizable optical tissue phantom platform for characterization of fluorescence imaging device sensitivity.

Significance: Optical tissue phantoms serve as inanimate and stable reference materials used to calibrate, characterize, standardize, and test biomedical imaging instruments. Although various types of solid tissue phantoms have been described in the literature, current phantom models are limited in that they do not have a depth feature that can be adjusted in real-time, they cannot be adapted to other applications, and their fabrication can be laborious and costly.

Aim: Our goal was to develop an optical phantom that could assess the imaging performance of fluorescence imaging devices and be customizable for different applications.

Disparities in health utilities among hepatitis C patients receiving care in different settings.

Although chronic hepatitis C (CHC) disproportionately affects marginalized individuals, most health utility studies are conducted in hospital settings which are difficult for marginalized patients to access. We compared health utilities in CHC patients receiving care at hospital-based clinics and socio-economically marginalized CHC patients receiving care through a community-based program. We recruited CHC patients from hospital-based clinics at the University Health Network and community-based sites of the Toronto Community Hep C Program, which provides treatment, support, and education to patients who have difficulty accessing mainstream health care.

Impact of direct-acting antiviral treatment on health utility in patients with chronic hepatitis C in hospital and community settings.

Background: Direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have transformed chronic hepatitis C (CHC) treatment. Continued affordable access to DAAs requires updated cost-effectiveness analyses (CEA). Utility is a preference-based measure of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) used in CEA.

Time Costs and Out-of-Pocket Costs in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C in a Publicly Funded Health System.

Objectives: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection affects more than 70 million people worldwide and imposes considerable health and economic burdens on patients and society. This study estimated 2 understudied components of the economic burden, patient out-of-pocket (OOP) costs and time costs, in patients with CHC in a tertiary hospital clinic setting and a community clinic setting.

Methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study with hospital-based (n = 174) and community-based (n = 101) cohorts.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Health Utilities in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis C.

Background: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is among the most burdensome infectious diseases in the world. Health utilities are a valuable tool for quantifying this burden and conducting cost-utility analysis.

Objective: Our study summarizes the available data on utilities in CHC patients.

Antiviral treatment for treatment-naïve chronic hepatitis B: systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection poses a significant burden to public health worldwide. Most cases are clinically silent until late in the disease course. The main goal of current therapy is to improve survival and quality of life by preventing disease progression to cirrhosis and liver failure, and consequently hepatocellular carcinoma development.