Rehabilitation in Oncology Care Guidelines: A Gap Analysis.

Background: Cancer survivors experience a high prevalence of functional impairments. Rehabilitation interventions include an expansive array of services that can help optimize function, address pain, decrease symptom burden, and improve quality of life. Nonetheless, rehabilitation services remain underutilized.

Technological advancements in surgical laparoscopy considering artificial intelligence: a survey among surgeons in Germany.

Purpose: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into surgical laparoscopy has shown promising results in recent years. This survey aims to investigate the inconveniences of current conventional laparoscopy and to evaluate the attitudes and desires of surgeons in Germany towards new AI-based laparoscopic systems.

Methods: A 12-item web-based questionnaire was distributed to 38 German university hospitals as well as to a Germany-wide voluntary hospital association (CLINOTEL) consisting of 66 hospitals between July and November 2022.

Prophylactic Lymphovenous Bypass at the Time of Axillary Lymph Node Dissection Decreases Rates of Lymphedema.

Background: Breast cancer-related lymphedema impacts 30% to 47% of women who undergo axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Studies evaluating the effectiveness of prophylactic lymphovenous bypass (LVB) at the time of ALND have had small patient populations and/or short follow-up. The aim of this study is to quantitatively and qualitatively evaluate prophylactic LVB in patients with breast cancer.

Telepresence for surgical assistance and training using eXtended reality during and after pandemic periods.

Existing challenges in surgical education (See one, do one, teach one) as well as the COVID-19 pandemic make it necessary to develop new ways for surgical training. Therefore, this work describes the implementation of a scalable remote solution called "TeleSTAR" using immersive, interactive and augmented reality elements which enhances surgical training in the operating room. The system uses a full digital surgical microscope in the context of Ear-Nose-Throat surgery.

Continuous intraoperative perfusion monitoring of free microvascular anastomosed fasciocutaneous flaps using remote photoplethysmography.

Flap loss through limited perfusion remains a major complication in reconstructive surgery. Continuous monitoring of perfusion will facilitate early detection of insufficient perfusion. Remote or imaging photoplethysmography (rPPG/iPPG) as a non-contact, non-ionizing, and non-invasive monitoring technique provides objective and reproducible information on physiological parameters.

Health, social, and economic characteristics of patients enrolled in a COVID-19 recovery program.

At least one in five people who recovered from acute COVID-19 have persistent clinical symptoms, however little is known about the impact on quality-of-life (QOL), socio-economic characteristics, fatigue, work and productivity. We present a cross-sectional descriptive characterization of the clinical symptoms, QOL, socioeconomic characteristics, fatigue, work and productivity of a cohort of patients enrolled in the MedStar COVID Recovery Program (MSCRP). Our participants include people with mental and physical symptoms following recovery from acute COVID-19 and enrolled in MSCRP, which is designed to provide comprehensive multidisciplinary care and aid in recovery.

Outcome Measures in Cancer Rehabilitation: Pain, Function, and Symptom Assessment.

Assessment of cancer rehabilitation outcome measures is integral for patient assessment, symptom screening, and advancing scientific research. In the broad field of cancer rehabilitation, outcome measures can cross-cut across many different branches of oncologic care including clinician-reported, patient-reported, and objective measures. Specific outcome measures that apply to cancer rehabilitation include those pertinent to pain, function, quality of life, fatigue, and cognition.

Endoscopic measurement of nasal septum perforations.

Background: Nasal septum perforations (NSP) have many uncomfortable symptoms for the patient and a highly negative impact on quality of life. NSPs are closed using patient-specific implants or surgery. Implants are created either under anesthesia using silicone impressions or using 3D models from CT data.

[Endoscopic measurement of nasal septum perforations. German version].

Background: Nasal septum perforations (NSP) have many uncomfortable symptoms for the patient and a highly negative impact on quality of life. NSPs are closed using patient-specific implants or surgery. Implants are created either under anesthesia using silicone impressions or using 3D models from CT data.

Comparison of different spectral cameras for image-guided organ transplantation.

Significance: Hyperspectral and multispectral imaging (HMSI) in medical applications provides information about the physiology, morphology, and composition of tissues and organs. The use of these technologies enables the evaluation of biological objects and can potentially be applied as an objective assessment tool for medical professionals.

Aim: Our study investigates HMSI systems for their usability in medical applications.

The Cancer Rehabilitation Medicine Metrics Consortium: A Path to Enhanced, Multi-Site Outcome Assessment to Enhance Care and Demonstrate Value.

Purpose: A primary objective stated at the Cancer Rehabilitation Symposium at the National Institutes of Health was to improve outcome measurement. The purpose of this project was for the Cancer Rehabilitation Medicine Metrics Consortium (CRMMC) to develop an assessment tool to evaluate function in cancer patients via a data-driven and methodologically sound process. There is no agreed-upon measure of physical and cognitive function for cancer patients, making it difficult to demonstrate the value of rehabilitation interventions.

The Physiatry Workforce in 2019 and Beyond, Part 1: Results From a Cross-sectional Survey.

Objective: The aim of the study was to describe the current physiatrist workforce in the United States.

Design: An online, cross-sectional survey of board-certified physiatrists in 2019 (N = 616 completed, 30.1% response) collected information about demographic and practice characteristics, including age, sex, practice area, practice setting, hours worked, patient characteristics, staffing, and work responsibilities.

The Physiatry Workforce in 2019 and Beyond, Part 2: Modeling Results.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the current and future adequacy of physiatrist supply in the United States.

Design: A 2019 online survey of board-certified physiatrists (n = 616 completed, 30.1% response) collected information about demographics, practice characteristics, hours worked, and retirement intentions.

Validation of two techniques for intraoperative hyperspectral human tissue determination.

Hyperspectral imaging (HSI) is a non-contact optical imaging technique with the potential to serve as an intraoperative computer-aided diagnostic tool. Our work analyzes the optical properties of visible structures in the surgical field for automatic tissue categorization. Building an HSI-based computer-aided tissue analysis system requires accurate ground truth and validation of optical soft tissue properties as these show large variability.

Surgical Guidance for Removal of Cholesteatoma Using a Multispectral 3D-Endoscope.

We develop a stereo-multispectral endoscopic prototype in which a filter-wheel is used for surgical guidance to remove cholesteatoma tissue in the middle ear. Cholesteatoma is a destructive proliferating tissue. The only treatment for this disease is surgery.

Determination of the optical properties of cholesteatoma in the spectral range of 250 to 800 nm.

Cholesteatoma of the ear can lead to life-threatening complications and its only treatment is surgery. The smallest remnants of cholesteatoma can lead to recurrence of this disease. Therefore, the optical properties of this tissue are of high importance to identify and remove all cholesteatoma during therapy.

Determination of optical properties of human tissues obtained from parotidectomy in the spectral range of 250 to 800 nm.

The optical properties of human tissues are an important parameter in medical diagnostics and therapy. The knowledge of these parameters can encourage the development of automated, computer-driven optical tissue analysis methods. We determine the absorption coefficient μ and scattering coefficient of different tissue types obtained during parotidectomy in the wavelength range of 250 to 800 nm.

The Role of Physiatry Practice in a Multidisciplinary Breast Tumor Board: A Descriptive Study.

Background: Cancer rehabilitation medicine is a growing field in physiatry, but more studies are needed to demonstrate how physiatry can contribute to patient care within the cancer care continuum.

Objective: To quantify and describe physiatric participation during a multidisciplinary tumor board for breast cancer patients.

Design: A prospective descriptive study.

Differences in Perceived Risk at Which Clinician and Patient Stakeholders Initiate Activities to Prevent Late Effects Among Breast Cancer Survivors.

Objective: To characterize the level of probability or perceived risk that will trigger patients, physicians, nurses, or therapists to initiate clinical activities to prevent late effects, including chronic physical impairments and adverse symptoms that often occur among breast cancer (BC) survivors.

Design: Cross-sectional survey querying participants regarding the level of probability or perceived risk of a patient developing a late effect, 0%-100% visual analog scale, that would cause them to initiate activities to prevent or preemptively address late effects such as lymphedema, upper quadrant pain, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, shoulder contracture, and fatigue.

Setting: A quaternary medical center and community medical and radiation oncology clinics.

Intraoperative hyperspectral determination of human tissue properties.

We address the automatic differentiation of human tissue using multispectral imaging with promising potential for automatic visualization during surgery. Currently, tissue types have to be continuously differentiated based on the surgeon's knowledge only. Further, automatic methods based on optical in vivo properties of human tissue do not yet exist, as these properties have not been sufficiently examined.

Characteristics of Cancer Rehabilitation Fellowship Training Programs in the USA.

Cancer rehabilitation is emerging as a specialized field within Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. The purpose of this systemic review is to summarize the various cancer rehabilitation fellowship programs in the USA and the scope of training in this discipline. Currently, four institutions offer such a training program.

An Evolving Role for Cancer Rehabilitation in the Era of Low-Dose Lung Computed Tomography Screening.

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and is often detected in the later stages. Use of low-dose chest computed tomography in at-risk patients provides earlier detection and is being adopted as the standard screening tool, replacing less precise methods of radiography and sputum cytology. In the past, late detection of disease meant that rehabilitation interventions attempted to salvage function and to improve aerobic capacity to the point where patients could tolerate the sometimes-extensive oncologic treatment, including lobectomy or pneumonectomy.