Publications by authors named "G Cloutier"
A Phantom-Free Approach for Estimating the Backscatter Coefficient of Aggregated Red Blood Cells applied to COVID-19 Patients.
IEEE Trans Ultrason Ferroelectr Freq Control
November 2024
Article Synopsis
- * A new method using Gaussian-shaped approximations to analyze ultrasound data was tested against traditional techniques on COVID-19 patients and healthy controls, focusing on red blood cell aggregates as scatterers.
- * Results showed a high consistency in estimating the mean size of blood cell aggregates between the two methods, with significant size differences observed between COVID-19 patients and controls, even when accounting for other factors affecting blood properties.
Article Synopsis
- Intrinsic activation MR elastography (iMRE) uses heartbeats to evaluate tissue stiffness in focal liver lesions, aiming to better distinguish between malignant and benign types compared to extrinsic MR elastography (eMRE).
- In a study with 55 participants, both iMRE and eMRE were performed, revealing that malignant lesions had significantly higher shear stiffness and damping ratio than benign ones, especially observed in measurements at various frequencies.
- The effectiveness of iMRE and eMRE in differentiating lesions was quantified, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) indicating strong overall diagnostic performance for both techniques, particularly with iMRE and eMRE's shear stiffness values.
Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) and ultrasound-based elastography techniques are emerging as non-invasive effective methods for assessing chronic liver disease. They are more accurate than B-mode imaging alone and more accessible than MRI as alternatives to liver biopsy. Early detection and monitoring of diffuse liver processes such as steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis play an important role in guiding patient management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Despite the widespread use of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), MRI acquisition and quantification techniques vary in the literature suggesting the need for established and reproducible protocols. The goal of this study was to assess inter-visit and inter-reader reproducibility of DWI- and IVIM-derived parameters in patients with MAFLD and healthy volunteers using extensive sampling of the "fast" compartment, non-rigid registration, and exclusion voxels with poor fit quality.
Methods: From June 2019 to April 2023, 31 subjects (20 patients with biopsy-proven MAFLD and 11 healthy volunteers) were included in this IRB-approved study.
Article Synopsis
- - The text evaluates various elastography methods used to assess biomechanical properties of back muscles in patients with musculoskeletal disorders (MSKd), highlighting their reliability, validity, and responsiveness based on a meta-analysis of 79 studies involving 3,178 participants.
- - Three elastography techniques were identified: strain imaging (SI), which showed good reliability and medium validity in detecting changes over time, and shear wave imaging (SWI), which also had strong reliability and even higher responsiveness, particularly in detecting between-group changes.
- - The findings indicate that while elastography methods can reliably distinguish patients with MSDk from controls, further long-term studies are needed to confirm their effectiveness in tracking changes over time between different patient groups, especially given the high heter