Polymeric Hydrogels for Intervertebral Disc Replacement/Integration: Playing with the Chemical Composition for Tuning Shear Behavior and Hydrophilicity.

Damages to the intervertebral disc (IVD) due to improper loading or degeneration result in back pain, which is a common disease affecting an increasing number of patients. Different strategies for IVD remediation have been developed, from surgical treatment to disc replacement, by using both metallic and non-metallic materials. Hydrogels are very attractive materials due to their ability to simulate the properties of many soft tissues; moreover, their chemical composition can be varied in order to assure performances similar to the natural disc.

Diffusion-weighted whole-body MRI for evaluation of early response in multiple myeloma.

Aim: To evaluate the modifications of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in myelomatous lesions before and after induction treatment and the correlation with patient response to therapy according to International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) criteria.

Materials And Methods: A homogeneous group of 18 patients with a diagnosis of symptomatic multiple myeloma who underwent whole-body MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI-MRI) before and after bortezomib-based induction chemotherapy were evaluated prospectively. Quantitative analysis of ADC maps of myelomatous lesions was performed with the following pattern types: focal pattern, diffuse pattern (moderate and severe), and "salt and pepper" pattern.

Multislice CT fluoroscopy: technical principles, clinical applications and dosimetry.

Purpose: The aim of this study is describing fluoroscopic techniques with multislice CT during interventional procedures. We emphasize the technical principles of the multislice CT fluoroscopy and the relative advantages in clinical application, in comparison to single slice fluoroCT and conventional CT guided procedures. Other topics are dosimetry and patient's and operator's radioprotection.

[Cost analysis of ultrasound-guided transrectal needle biopsy in prostatic carcinoma].

Introduction: The literature mortality and morbidity rates from prostatic carcinoma prompt to the better use of some routine diagnostic tools such as transrectal ultrasound-guided biopsy. We evaluated the overall cost of transrectal ultrasound biopsy (TRUSB) of the prostate and investigated the economic impact of the procedures currently used to diagnose prostatic carcinoma.

Material And Methods: The total cost of TRUSB was calculated with reference to 247 procedures performed in 1996.