WATUNet: a deep neural network for segmentation of volumetric sweep imaging ultrasound.

Limited access to breast cancer diagnosis globally leads to delayed treatment. Ultrasound, an effective yet underutilized method, requires specialized training for sonographers, which hinders its widespread use. Volume sweep imaging (VSI) is an innovative approach that enables untrained operators to capture high-quality ultrasound images.

Enhancing breast ultrasound segmentation through fine-tuning and optimization techniques: Sharp attention UNet.

Segmentation of breast ultrasound images is a crucial and challenging task in computer-aided diagnosis systems. Accurately segmenting masses in benign and malignant cases and identifying regions with no mass is a primary objective in breast ultrasound image segmentation. Deep learning (DL) has emerged as a powerful tool in medical image segmentation, revolutionizing how medical professionals analyze and interpret complex imaging data.

Enhancing Breast Ultrasound Segmentation through Fine-tuning and Optimization Techniques: Sharp Attention UNet.

Segmentation of breast ultrasound images is a crucial and challenging task in computer-aided diagnosis systems. Accurately segmenting masses in benign and malignant cases and identifying regions with no mass is a primary objective in breast ultrasound image segmentation. Deep learning (DL) has emerged as a powerful tool in medical image segmentation, revolutionizing how medical professionals analyze and interpret complex imaging data.

Diagnosis of Pregnancy Complications Using Blind Ultrasound Sweeps Performed by Individuals Without Prior Formal Ultrasound Training.

Objective: To estimate the diagnostic accuracy of blind ultrasound sweeps performed with a low-cost, portable ultrasound system by individuals with no prior formal ultrasound training to diagnose common pregnancy complications.

Methods: This is a single-center, prospective cohort study conducted from October 2020 to January 2022 among people with second- and third-trimester pregnancies. Nonspecialists with no prior formal ultrasound training underwent a brief training on a simple eight-step approach to performing a limited obstetric ultrasound examination that uses blind sweeps of a portable ultrasound probe based on external body landmarks.

Sustainable volume sweep imaging lung teleultrasound in Peru: Public health perspectives from a new frontier in expanding access to imaging.

Background: Pulmonary disease is a common cause of morbidity and mortality, but the majority of the people in the world lack access to diagnostic imaging for its assessment. We conducted an implementation assessment of a potentially sustainable and cost-effective model for delivery of volume sweep imaging (VSI) lung teleultrasound in Peru. This model allows image acquisition by individuals without prior ultrasound experience after only a few hours of training.

No sonographer, no radiologist: Assessing accuracy of artificial intelligence on breast ultrasound volume sweep imaging scans.

Breast ultrasound provides a first-line evaluation for breast masses, but the majority of the world lacks access to any form of diagnostic imaging. In this pilot study, we assessed the combination of artificial intelligence (Samsung S-Detect for Breast) with volume sweep imaging (VSI) ultrasound scans to evaluate the possibility of inexpensive, fully automated breast ultrasound acquisition and preliminary interpretation without an experienced sonographer or radiologist. This study was conducted using examinations from a curated data set from a previously published clinical study of breast VSI.

Assessment of a Brief Standardized Obstetric Ultrasound Training Program for Individuals Without Prior Ultrasound Experience.

Obstetric volume sweep imaging (OB VSI) is a simple set of transducer movements guided by external body landmarks that can be taught to ultrasound-naive non-experts. This approach can increase access to ultrasound in rural/low-resources settings lacking trained sonographers. This study presents and evaluates a training program for OB VSI.

Volume sweep imaging lung teleultrasound for detection of COVID-19 in Peru: a multicentre pilot study.

Objectives: Pulmonary disease is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in adults and children, but most of the world lacks diagnostic imaging for its assessment. Lung ultrasound is a portable, low-cost, and highly accurate imaging modality for assessment of pulmonary pathology including pneumonia, but its deployment is limited secondary to a lack of trained sonographers. In this study, we piloted a low-cost lung teleultrasound system in rural Peru during the COVID-19 pandemic using lung ultrasound volume sweep imaging (VSI) that can be operated by an individual without prior ultrasound training circumventing many obstacles to ultrasound deployment.

Panoramic Reconstruction of B-mode Lung Ultrasound Images Acquired using a Longitudinal Volume Sweep Imaging Protocol.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has already affected more than 300 million people worldwide. Medical imaging shortage affects an estimated of 4 billion people, especially in rural and remote areas (RAs), limiting diagnostic assessment of respiratory illness. Lung ultrasound imaging (LUS) together with volume sweep imaging (VSI) acquisition protocols have been successfully piloted as a solution for lung screening in RAs eliminating the need for trained operators and on-site radiologists.

Breast Ultrasound Volume Sweep Imaging: A New Horizon in Expanding Imaging Access for Breast Cancer Detection.

Objective: The majority of people in the world lack basic access to breast diagnostic imaging resulting in delay to diagnosis of breast cancer. In this study, we tested a volume sweep imaging (VSI) ultrasound protocol for evaluation of palpable breast lumps that can be performed by operators after minimal training without prior ultrasound experience as a means to increase accessibility to breast ultrasound.

Methods: Medical students without prior ultrasound experience were trained for less than 2 hours on the VSI breast ultrasound protocol.

No sonographer, no radiologist: New system for automatic prenatal detection of fetal biometry, fetal presentation, and placental location.

Ultrasound imaging is a vital component of high-quality Obstetric care. In rural and under-resourced communities, the scarcity of ultrasound imaging results in a considerable gap in the healthcare of pregnant mothers. To increase access to ultrasound in these communities, we developed a new automated diagnostic framework operated without an experienced sonographer or interpreting provider for assessment of fetal biometric measurements, fetal presentation, and placental position.

Lung ultrasound volume sweep imaging for respiratory illness: a new horizon in expanding imaging access.

Background: Respiratory illness is a leading cause of morbidity in adults and the number one cause of mortality in children, yet billions of people lack access to medical imaging to assist in its diagnosis. Although ultrasound is highly sensitive and specific for respiratory illness such as pneumonia, its deployment is limited by a lack of sonographers. As a solution, we tested a standardised lung ultrasound volume sweep imaging (VSI) protocol based solely on external body landmarks performed by individuals without prior ultrasound experience after brief training.

Cone-Beam Breast Computed Tomography: Time for a New Paradigm in Breast Imaging.

It is time to reconsider how we image the breast. Although the breast is a 3D structure, we have traditionally used 2D mammography to perform screening and diagnostic imaging. Mammography has been continuously modified and improved, most recently with tomosynthesis and contrast mammography, but it is still using modifications of compression 2D mammography.

Testing telediagnostic thyroid ultrasound in Peru: a new horizon in expanding access to imaging in rural and underserved areas.

Purpose: Thyroid ultrasound is a key tool in the evaluation of the thyroid, but billions of people around the world lack access to ultrasound imaging. In this study, we tested an asynchronous telediagnostic ultrasound system operated by individuals without prior ultrasound training which may be used to effectively evaluate the thyroid and improve access to imaging worldwide.

Methods: The telediagnostic system in this study utilizes volume sweep imaging (VSI), an imaging technique in which the operator scans the target region with simple sweeps of the ultrasound probe based on external body landmarks.

Lung Ultrasound: The Essentials.

Although US of the lungs is increasingly used clinically, diagnostic radiologists are not routinely trained in its use and interpretation. Lung US is a highly sensitive and specific modality that aids in the evaluation of the lungs for many different abnormalities, including pneumonia, pleural effusion, pulmonary edema, and pneumothorax. This review provides an overview of lung US to equip the diagnostic radiologist with knowledge needed to interpret this increasingly used modality.

Testing telediagnostic obstetric ultrasound in Peru: a new horizon in expanding access to prenatal ultrasound.

Background: Ninety-four percent of all maternal deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and the majority are preventable. Access to quality Obstetric ultrasound can identify some complications leading to maternal and neonatal/perinatal mortality or morbidity and may allow timely referral to higher-resource centers. However, there are significant global inequalities in access to imaging and many challenges to deploying ultrasound to rural areas.

New Ultrasound Telediagnostic System for Low-Resource Areas: Pilot Results From Peru.

Billions of people around the world lack access to diagnostic imaging. To address this issue, we piloted a comprehensive ultrasound telediagnostic system, which uses ultrasound volume sweep imaging (VSI) acquisitions capable of being performed by operators without prior traditional ultrasound training and new telemedicine software capable of sending imaging acquisitions asynchronously over low Internet bandwidth for remote interpretation. The telediagnostic system was tested with obstetric, right upper quadrant abdominal, and thyroid volume sweep imaging protocols in Peru.

Lung Ultrasound Volume Sweep Imaging for Pneumonia Detection in Rural Areas: Piloting Training in Rural Peru.

Objective: Pneumonia is the leading cause of pediatric mortality worldwide among children 0-5 years old. Lung ultrasound can be used to diagnose pneumonia in rural areas as it is a portable and relatively economic imaging modality with ~95% sensitivity and specificity for pneumonia in children. Lack of trained sonographers is the current limiting factor to its deployment in rural areas.

Blood finds a way: pictorial review of thoracic collateral vessels.

In the healthy patient, blood returns to the heart via classic venous pathways. Obstruction of any one of these pathways will result in blood flow finding new collateral pathways to return to the heart. Although significant anatomic variation exists and multiple collateral vessels are often present in the same patient, it is a general rule that the collateral pathways formed are a function of the site of venous blockage.

Influence of Pluronic F127 microenvironments on the photochemical nitric oxide release from S-nitrosoglutathione.

Poly(ethylene oxide)-poly(propylene oxide)-poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) (F127) hydrogels have been used to deliver nitric oxide (NO) topically in biomedical applications. Here, the effect of F127 microenvironments on the photochemical NO release from S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was investigated in F127 solutions 7.6 wt% 15 wt% and 22.

Pictorial review of the pulmonary vasculature: from arteries to veins.

Pathology of the pulmonary vasculature involves an impressive array of both congenital and acquired conditions. While some of these disorders are benign, disruption of the pulmonary vasculature is often incompatible with life, making these conditions critical to identify on imaging. Many reviews of pulmonary vascular pathology approach the pulmonary arteries, pulmonary veins and bronchial arteries as individual topics.

The Best Single Measurement for Assessing Splenomegaly in Patients with Cirrhotic Liver Morphology.

Rationale And Objectives: There is little agreement within the radiology literature as to the best single measurement for assessing splenomegaly. In this study, we evaluate the correlation of multiple unidirectional measurements of the spleen with splenic volume in patients with cirrhotic liver morphology on computed tomography (CT).

Materials And Methods: Splenic volume was retrospectively calculated from CT examinations of 179 adult patients, 47 of whom were approved as renal donors, and 132 of whom were referred for various other indications, and were found to have cirrhotic liver morphology on CT.

Enzyme Prodrug Therapy Engineered into Electrospun Fibers with Embedded Liposomes for Controlled, Localized Synthesis of Therapeutics.

Enzyme prodrug therapy (EPT) enables localized conversion of inert prodrugs to active drugs by enzymes. Performance of EPT necessitates that the enzyme remains active throughout the time frame of the envisioned therapeutic application. β-glucuronidase is an enzyme with historically validated performance in EPT, however it retains its activity in biomaterials for an insufficiently long period of time, typically not exceeding 7 d.

Imaging of the oesophagus: beyond cancer.

Unlabelled: Non-malignant oesophageal diseases are critical to recognize, but can be easily overlooked or misdiagnosed radiologically. In this paper, we cover the salient clinical features and imaging findings of non-malignant pathology of the oesophagus. We organize the many non-malignant diseases of the oesophagus into two major categories: luminal disorders and wall disorders.