Use of Smart Glasses (Assisted Reality) for Western Australian X-ray Operators' Continuing Professional Development: A Pilot Study.

Previous studies have explored use of smart glasses in telemedicine, but no study has investigated its use in teleradiography. The purpose of this study was to implement a six-month pilot program for Western Australian X-ray operators (XROs) to use smart glasses to obtain assisted reality support in their radiography practice from their supervising radiographers, and evaluate its effectiveness in terms of XROs' competence improvement and equipment usability. Pretest-posttest design with evaluation of the XROs' competence (including their X-ray image quality) and smart glasses usability by XROs in two remote centers and their supervising radiographers from two sites before and after the program using four questionnaire sets and X-ray image quality review was employed in this experimental study.

Comparative Study of Eclipse and RayStation Multi-Criteria Optimization-Based Prostate Radiotherapy Treatment Planning Quality.

Multi-criteria optimization (MCO) function has been available on commercial radiotherapy (RT) treatment planning systems to improve plan quality; however, no study has compared Eclipse and RayStation MCO functions for prostate RT planning. The purpose of this study was to compare prostate RT MCO plan qualities in terms of discrepancies between Pareto optimal and final deliverable plans, and dosimetric impact of final deliverable plans. In total, 25 computed tomography datasets of prostate cancer patients were used for Eclipse (version 16.

Computed Tomography-Based Radiomics for Long-Term Prognostication of High-Risk Localized Prostate Cancer Patients Received Whole Pelvic Radiotherapy.

Given the high death rate caused by high-risk prostate cancer (PCa) (>40%) and the reliability issues associated with traditional prognostic markers, the purpose of this study is to investigate planning computed tomography (pCT)-based radiomics for the long-term prognostication of high-risk localized PCa patients who received whole pelvic radiotherapy (WPRT). This is a retrospective study with methods based on best practice procedures for radiomics research. Sixty-four patients were selected and randomly assigned to training ( = 45) and testing ( = 19) cohorts for radiomics model development with five major steps: pCT image acquisition using a Philips Big Bore CT simulator; multiple manual segmentations of clinical target volume for the prostate (CTV) on the pCT images; feature extraction from the CTV using PyRadiomics; feature selection for overfitting avoidance; and model development with three-fold cross-validation.

Special Issue: Advanced Research in Pediatric Radiology and Nuclear Medicine.

The importance of pediatric radiology and nuclear medicine is increasing [...

Comparative Study of Plan Robustness for Breast Radiotherapy: Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy Plans with Robust Optimization versus Manual Flash Approach.

A previous study investigated robustness of manual flash (MF) and robust optimized (RO) volumetric modulated arc therapy plans for breast radiotherapy based on five patients in 2020 and indicated that the RO was more robust than the MF, although the MF is still current standard practice. The purpose of this study was to compare their plan robustness in terms of dose variation to clinical target volume (CTV) and organs at risk (OARs) based on a larger sample size. This was a retrospective study involving 34 female patients.

Generative Adversarial Network (Generative Artificial Intelligence) in Pediatric Radiology: A Systematic Review.

Generative artificial intelligence, especially with regard to the generative adversarial network (GAN), is an important research area in radiology as evidenced by a number of literature reviews on the role of GAN in radiology published in the last few years. However, no review article about GAN in pediatric radiology has been published yet. The purpose of this paper is to systematically review applications of GAN in pediatric radiology, their performances, and methods for their performance evaluation.

Diagnostic Performance of Artificial Intelligence-Based Computer-Aided Detection and Diagnosis in Pediatric Radiology: A Systematic Review.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based computer-aided detection and diagnosis (CAD) is an important research area in radiology. However, only two narrative reviews about general uses of AI in pediatric radiology and AI-based CAD in pediatric chest imaging have been published yet. The purpose of this systematic review is to investigate the AI-based CAD applications in pediatric radiology, their diagnostic performances and methods for their performance evaluation.

Finetuned Super-Resolution Generative Adversarial Network (Artificial Intelligence) Model for Calcium Deblooming in Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography.

The purpose of this study was to finetune a deep learning model, real-enhanced super-resolution generative adversarial network (Real-ESRGAN), and investigate its diagnostic value in calcified coronary plaques with the aim of suppressing blooming artifacts for the further improvement of coronary lumen assessment. We finetuned the Real-ESRGAN model and applied it to 50 patients with 184 calcified plaques detected at three main coronary arteries (left anterior descending [LAD], left circumflex [LCx] and right coronary artery [RCA]). Measurements of coronary stenosis were collected from original coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) and Real-ESRGAN-processed images, including Real-ESRGAN-high-resolution, Real-ESRGAN-average and Real-ESRGAN-median (Real-ESRGAN-HR, Real-ESRGAN-A and Real-ESRGAN-M) with invasive coronary angiography as the reference.

Artificial Intelligence for Radiation Dose Optimization in Pediatric Radiology: A Systematic Review.

Radiation dose optimization is particularly important in pediatric radiology, as children are more susceptible to potential harmful effects of ionizing radiation. However, only one narrative review about artificial intelligence (AI) for dose optimization in pediatric computed tomography (CT) has been published yet. The purpose of this systematic review is to answer the question "What are the AI techniques and architectures introduced in pediatric radiology for dose optimization, their specific application areas, and performances?" Literature search with use of electronic databases was conducted on 3 June 2022.

Artificial Intelligence (Enhanced Super-Resolution Generative Adversarial Network) for Calcium Deblooming in Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography: A Feasibility Study.

Background: The presence of heavy calcification in the coronary artery always presents a challenge for coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in assessing the degree of coronary stenosis due to blooming artifacts associated with calcified plaques. Our study purpose was to use an advanced artificial intelligence (enhanced super-resolution generative adversarial network [ESRGAN]) model to suppress the blooming artifact in CCTA and determine its effect on improving the diagnostic performance of CCTA in calcified plaques.

Methods: A total of 184 calcified plaques from 50 patients who underwent both CCTA and invasive coronary angiography (ICA) were analysed with measurements of coronary lumen on the original CCTA, and three sets of ESRGAN-processed images including ESRGAN-high-resolution (ESRGAN-HR), ESRGAN-average and ESRGAN-median with ICA as the reference method for determining sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV).

3D-Printed Coronary Plaques to Simulate High Calcification in the Coronary Arteries for Investigation of Blooming Artifacts.

The diagnostic value of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is significantly affected by high calcification in the coronary arteries owing to blooming artifacts limiting its accuracy in assessing the calcified plaques. This study aimed to simulate highly calcified plaques in 3D-printed coronary models. A combination of silicone + 32.

Evaluation of academic integrity of online open book assessments implemented in an undergraduate medical radiation science course during COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Online open book assessment has been a common alternative to a traditional invigilated test or examination during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, its unsupervised nature increases ease of cheating, which is an academic integrity concern. This study's purpose was to evaluate the integrity of two online open book assessments with different formats (1.

Synchrotron radiation computed tomography assessment of calcified plaques and coronary stenosis with different slice thicknesses and beam energies on 3D printed coronary models.

Background: To investigate the effect of different slice thicknesses and beam energies on the visualization and assessment of coronary artery stenosis caused by calcified plaques using synchrotron radiation computed tomography (CT) based on 3D printed coronary artery models.

Methods: Patient-specific 3D coronary models were created based on 3 sample coronary CT angiographic cases with calcified plaques in the left coronary arteries. In addition to the original significant coronary stenosis (>70%) shown on these CT images, stenoses of <50% and >90% were created in the segmented coronary models for simulation of different degrees of stenosis.

Synchrotron radiation computed tomography versus conventional computed tomography for assessment of four types of stent grafts used for endovascular treatment of thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Background: To determine the accuracy of synchrotron radiation computed tomography (CT) for measurement of stent wire diameters for simulation of endovascular aneurysm repair by four different types of stent grafts when compared to conventional CT images.

Methods: This study was performed using an aorta model with implantation of four aortic stent grafts for endovascular treatment of thoracoabdominal and abdominal aortic aneurysms. The aorta model was scanned using synchrotron radiation CT with beam energies ranging from 60 to 90 keV with 10 keV increment at each scan and spatial resolution of 41.

Use of Synchrotron Radiation to Accurately Assess Cross-Sectional Area Reduction of the Aortic Branch Ostia Caused by Suprarenal Stent Wires.

Purpose: To compare in vivo the use of synchrotron radiation to computed tomography angiography (CTA) for the measurement of cross-sectional area (CSA) reduction of the aortic branch ostia caused by suprarenal stent-graft wires.

Methods: This study was performed with a Zenith stent-graft placed in a phantom of the human aorta to simulate treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm. Synchrotron radiation scans were performed using beam energies between 40 and 100 keV and spatial resolution of 19.

National survey of Australian sonographer knowledge and behaviour surrounding the ALARA principles when conducting the 11-14-week obstetric screening ultrasound.

Objectives: To identify gaps in Australian sonographer's knowledge and application of as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) principles during first trimester imaging; Identify relationships between demographic variables and knowledge or application of the Output Display Standard (ODS) value thermal index (TI) and compare Australian sonographers to their international peers.

Methods: Australian Sonographer Accreditation Registered ASAR)-registered sonographers completed a voluntary questionnaire over September 2015 after institutional ethics approval (RDSE-48-15). Seventeen questions detailed their demographics (5); knowledge of ultrasound bioeffects terminology and ALARA principles (9); behaviour surrounding ALARA and first trimester imaging (2) and continuing bioeffects education (1).

Coronary CT Angiography in Heavily Calcified Coronary Arteries: Improvement of Coronary Lumen Visualization and Coronary Stenosis Assessment With Image Postprocessing Methods.

To compare the diagnostic value of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) with use of 2 image postprocessing methods (CCTA_S) and (CCTA_OS) and original data (CCTA_O) for the assessment of heavily calcified plaques. Fifty patients (41 men, 9 women; mean age 61.9 years ± 9.

Pediatric Computed Tomography Dose Optimization Strategies: A Literature Review.

Introduction: Computed tomography (CT) dose optimization is an important issue in radiography because CT is the largest contributor to medical radiation dose and its use is increasing. However, CT dose optimization for pediatric patients could be more challenging than their adult counterparts. The purpose of this literature review was to identify and discuss the current pediatric CT dose saving techniques.

Study of Radiologic Technologists' Perceptions of Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) Competence and Educational Issues in Western Australia.

Although the implementation of picture archiving and communication system (PACS) could increase productivity of radiology departments, this depends on factors such as the PACS competence of radiologic technologists (RTs). The purpose of this study was to investigate the RTs' perceptions of PACS competence and educational issues in Western Australia (WA). A hardcopy questionnaire was distributed to WA RTs for obtaining their perceptions of PACS competence and educational issues.

Study of lone working magnetic resonance technologists in Western Australia.

Objectives: It is recommended that magnetic resonance (MR) technologists should not work alone due to potential occupational health risks although lone working is legally acceptable. The objective of this study was to investigate the current situation of lone working MR technologists in Western Australia (WA) and any issue against the regulations.

Materials And Methods: A questionnaire regarding the issues of occupational health of lone working MR technologists was developed based on relevant literature and distributed to WA MR technologists.

Development of an online automatic diagnostic reference levels management system for digital radiography: a pilot experience.

The diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) concept is a methodology proposed by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) for identifying any unusual high patient doses involved in radiological examinations. However, some challenges are anticipated in the DRLs concept including resource demand for running the audit cycle by individual imaging departments and availability of DRLs. The objective of this study was to develop an online automatic DRLs management system for digital radiography (DR) with the aim of addressing the challenges of the DRLs obligation.

Development of an online automatic computed radiography dose data mining program: a preliminary study.

Recent studies have reported the computed radiography (CR) dose creep problem and therefore the need to have monitoring processes in place in clinical departments. The objective of this study is to provide a better technological solution to implement a regular CR dose monitoring process. An online automatic CR dose data mining program which can be applied to different systems was developed based on freeware and existing softwares in the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) server.

Development of a web database portfolio system with PACS connectivity for undergraduate health education and continuing professional development.

Increasingly, the use of web database portfolio systems is noted in medical and health education, and for continuing professional development (CPD). However, the functions of existing systems are not always aligned with the corresponding pedagogy and hence reflection is often lost. This paper presents the development of a tailored web database portfolio system with Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) connectivity, which is based on the portfolio pedagogy.