Cyclophosphamide pulse therapy as treatment for severe interstitial lung diseases.

Introduction: Besides invasive or non-invasive ventilation, treatment of severe forms of interstitial lung diseases (ILD) includes immunosuppressive medication. In case of refractory organ- or life-threatening courses of disease, cyclophosphamide pulse therapy can serve as a rescue treatment option.

Objectives: To investigate therapeutic and prognostic effects of cyclophosphamide for the treatment of severe forms of ILD on intensive care unit (ICU) we performed this analysis.

Applicability and discriminative value of a semiautomatic three-dimensional spherical volume for the assessment of the apparent diffusion coefficient in suspicious breast lesions-feasibility study.

Introduction: To evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of a semiautomatic, three-dimensional volume of interest (3D sphere) for measuring the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) in suspicious breast lesions compared to conventional single-slice two-dimensional regions of interest (2D ROIs).

Method: This institutional-review-board-approved study included 56 participants with Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System 4/5 lesion. All received diffusion-weighted imaging magnetic resonance imaging prior to biopsy (b=0-1500 s/mm).

Multi-Objective Memetic Search for Robust Motion and Distortion Correction in Diffusion MRI.

Effective image-based artifact correction is an essential step in the analysis of diffusion MR images. Many current approaches are based on retrospective registration, which becomes challenging in the realm of high b -values and low signal-to-noise ratio, rendering the corresponding correction schemes more and more ineffective. We propose a novel registration scheme based on memetic search optimization that allows for simultaneous exploitation of different signal intensity relationships between the images, leading to more robust registration results.

Quantification of changes in language-related brain areas in autism spectrum disorders using large-scale network analysis.

Purpose: Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is difficult, as symptoms vary greatly and are difficult to quantify objectively. Recent work has focused on the assessment of non-invasive diffusion tensor imaging-based biomarkers that reflect the microstructural characteristics of neuronal pathways in the brain. While tractography-based approaches typically analyze specific structures of interest, a graph-based large-scale network analysis of the connectome can yield comprehensive measures of larger-scale architectural patterns in the brain.

An electromagnetic navigation system for transbronchial interventions with a novel approach to respiratory motion compensation.

Purpose: Bronchoscopic interventions, such as transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA), are commonly performed procedures to diagnose and stage lung cancer. However, due to the complex structure of the lung, one of the main challenges is to find the exact position to perform a biopsy and to actually hit the biopsy target (e.g.