In-Stent Restenosis in Peripheral Arterial Disease: Ultra-High-Resolution Photon-Counting Versus Third-Generation Dual-Source Energy-Integrating Detector CT Phantom Study in Seven Different Stent Types.

Purpose: The visualization of peripheral in-stent restenosis using energy-integrating detector CT is challenging due to deficient spatial resolution and artifact formation. This study compares the first clinically available photon-counting detector CT to third-generation dual-source energy-integrating detector CT.

Materials And Methods: Nylon cylinders with central bores (4 mm, 2 mm), mimicking 75% and 95% stenoses, were placed inside seven different 8-mm diameter stents and filled with diluted contrast medium.

Preliminary results of the Austrian National Registry regarding the novel iCover bridging stent graft in fenestrated endovascular aortic repair.

Objective: Bridging stentgrafts (BSGs) are one of the primary limiting factors regarding long-term results after fenestrated endovascular aortic repair (fEVAR). This study aims to report for the first time the outcome of a novel BSG called iCover from a national, multicentric retrospective database.

Methods: A cohort of 58 patients received 212 BSGs for the renovisceral arteries in fEVAR.

Early experience with bridging stent graft deployment without sheath support in branched and fenestrated endovascular aortic repair.

Objective: To assess the early experience with modified version of simplified bare-wire target vessel (SMART) technique, implying delivery of bridging stent grafts without historically established sheath support, and to compare its outcome to standard endovascular aortic repair procedures with fenestrated/branched devices.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 102 consecutive patients treated with fenestrated/branched devices from January 2020 to December 2022 was undertaken. The study population was divided into three groups-a sheath group (SG), SMART group, and nonsheath group (NSG).

Endovascular repair in type A aortic dissection: Anatomical candidacy for currently manufactured stent grafts and conceptual valve-carrying devices for an Endo-Bentall procedure.

Objectives: Endovascular treatment has been suggested as an alternative for open surgery for type A aortic dissection, but current devices have severe anatomical limitations. This study assesses the computed tomography-based anatomical suitability of currently manufactured stent grafts as well as 2 embodiments of valve-carrying devices.

Methods: In a retrospective single-centre cohort of 200 consecutive ascending/arch operations between 2009 and 2018, a total of 112 patients with type A aortic dissections were identified and evaluated for endovascular candidacy based on the locations of the entries, the landing zone diameters/lengths and the supra-aortic vessel origins according to the anatomical instructions for use criteria of 6 commercially available (tubular, branched or fenestrated) stent grafts.

Endovascular Repair of Penetrating Thoracic Aortic Ulcers Using Tubular Stent Grafts Versus Stent Grafts With a Proximal Scallop.

Purpose: In penetrating aortic ulcers (PAUs), limited data support tubular thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) as a viable treatment option. For treatment of more proximal PAUs, hybrid approaches and-more recently-scalloped TEVAR (scTEVAR) have been advocated. Outcomes of scTEVAR specifically for PAUs have not yet been reported.

Monoplane versus biplane fluoroscopy in patients undergoing fenestrated/branched endovascular aortic repair.

Objective: Endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) with fenestrated (F-EVAR) or branched (B-EVAR) endografts represents an indispensable tool of modern patient care in vascular surgery. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the center's initial experience of F/B-EVAR procedures performed under biplane angiography guidance compared with a historical control group.

Methods: From January 2020 to March 2022, 80 consecutive patients underwent F/B-EVAR under general anesthesia at a single institution.

[Fenestrated and branched endovascular aortic prostheses : An update].

Background: Today, complex abdominal aortic pathologies involving the visceral arteries and without an adequate proximal neck can be treated using fenestrated/branched endovascular aortic repair (FEVAR/BEVAR) with similar safety and success rates as infrarenal aortic pathologies treated with tubular EVAR.

Methodical Innovations And Challenges: Fenestrations (if the vessel originates from a nondilated aorta) or branches (if the vessel originates from a dilated aorta) may be used for the visceral arteries. Both types of openings are sealed via bridging stent grafts that connect to the target vessel.

Branched versus fenestrated thoracic endovascular aortic repair in the aortic arch: A multicenter comparison.

Objective: For thoracic endovascular aortic repair of the arch, branched and fenestrated endografts are available with different limitations regarding anatomy and extent of the pathology. Comparisons are lacking in the literature. The aim of this study was to compare the results of 2 currently commercially available devices for branched thoracic endovascular aortic repair and fenestrated thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Use of a Steerable Sheath for Completely Femoral Access in Branched Endovascular Aortic Repair Compared to Upper Extremity Access.

Purpose: To compare bridging stent graft (BSG) implantation in downward oriented branches in branched endovascular aortic repair (bEVAR), using a commercially available steerable sheath from an exclusively femoral access (TFA) with traditional upper extremity access (UEA).

Methods: In a retrospective cohort study, 7 patients with 19 branches in the TFA cohort received BSG insertion using the Medtronic Heli FX steerable sheath from a femoral access, and 10 patients with 32 branches in the UEA cohort from a brachial approach. Technical success, total intervention time, fluoroscopy time, branch cannulation time, and complication rate were recorded.

Structural failure in bridging stentgrafts for branched endovascular aneurysm repair: a case-control study.

Objective: To present a case series of spontaneous structural failure of bridging stentgrafts (BSGs) after branched endovascular aortic repair (bEVAR), as well as their failure types and their detection. While bEVAR is a safe and effective procedure, one main limitation is the reintervention rate associated with the BSGs. Structural failure of BSGs, defined as fabric disruption, stent fracture with leak or complete separation is a major cause for reinterventions and difficult to detect in computed tomography angiography (CTA).

Endovascular Stent-Graft Repair of the Ascending Aorta: Assessment of a Specific Novel Stent-Graft Design in Phantom, Cadaveric, and Clinical Application.

Purpose: To test a stent-graft specifically designed for the ascending aorta in phantom, cadaver, and clinical application, and to measure deployment accuracy to overcome limitations of existing devices.

Methods: A stent-graft has been designed with support wires to fixate the apices toward the inner curvature, thereby eliminating the forward movement of the proximal end which can happen with circumferential tip capture systems. The device was deployed in three aortic phantoms, and in four cadavers, deployment precision was measured.

Novel prefabricated bovine pericardial grafts as alternate conduit for septic aortoiliac reconstruction.

Objective: Infection of prosthetic aortic grafts represents a serious complication with high morbidity and mortality. Replacement with autologous material is recommended; however, in its absence, biological material should be favored. In the present retrospective cohort study, we evaluated the short- and midterm results with the use of commercially available prefabricated bovine pericardium grafts (BPGs) used for the management of aortic graft infection or aortic reconstructive surgery in the presence of systemic infection.

Self-expanding nitinol stents of high versus low chronic outward force in de novo femoropopliteal occlusive arterial lesions (BIOFLEX-COF trial): study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Self-expanding nitinol stents must be oversized at least by a minimal amount to ensure contact with the vessel wall and prevent migration. Once the stent is deployed it exerts a continuous force upon the vascular wall, termed chronic outward force (COF). Animal studies have found an increased neointimal hyperplasia in stents with high oversizing and thus high COF.

Pre-operative serum C-reactive protein as independent prognostic factor for survival but not infection in patients with high-grade osteosarcoma.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate (a) whether pre-operative serum CRP is a predictor of survival in patients with high-grade osteosarcoma, (b) whether post-operative infection is a predictor of survival in these patients and (c) whether CRP is a predictor of post-operative infection, and especially deep prosthetic infection.

Methods: In this retrospective single-centre study, pre-operative serum CRP levels in 79 patients (37 females, 42 males; average age, 18 years; mean follow-up, 46 months) undergoing resection of an osteosarcoma were correlated with clinical data and survival.

Results: The mean pre-operative serum CRP level of all 79 patients was 0.

Perceptibility and quantification of in-stent stenosis with six peripheral arterial stent types in vitro: comparison of 16-MDCT angiography, 64-MDCT angiography, and MR angiography.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the perceptibility of 75% and 95% in-stent stenoses with CT angiography and MR angiography using six stent types in a phantom model.

Materials And Methods: Six different stent types were placed into tubes filled with contrast agent (ioversol or gadoteric acid), and nylon cylinders (8 mm diameter) bored in the central axis (2 and 4 mm) to mimic 75% and 95% stenoses were inserted into the stents inside the tubes. CT angiography (16- and 64-MDCT scanners using three different kernels at 120 and 140 kV) and MR angiography (1.

Quantification and detectability of in-stent stenosis with CT angiography and MR angiography in arterial stents in vitro.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare CT angiography (CTA) and MR angiography (MRA) for the detectability of 75% and 95% stenoses in phantoms using six different stents.

Materials And Methods: Six different stents (Expander, Hemobahn, SelfX, Smart, Symphony, and Wallstent) were inserted into tubes filled with contrast agent (ioversol or gadoteric acid). To mimic stenoses of 75% and 95% of the patent lumen, 8-mm-diameter nylon cylinders were bored in the central axis (2 mm and 4 mm, respectively) and placed into the stent lumen.

Colonic adenocarcinomas: near-infrared microcatheter imaging of smart probes for early detection--study in mice.

Purpose: To prospectively evaluate the ability of micro-fiberoptic catheters, which simultaneously record white light and near-infrared (NIR) images, to reveal colonic neoplasms after the intravenous administration of activatable "smart" probes that increase in NIR fluorescence subsequent to protease activation.

Materials And Methods: The institutional animal care committee approved all animal experiments. CT26 tumor cells were orthotopically implanted into the descending colon of C57BL6/J mice (n=10).

Simultaneous fluorescence imaging of protease expression and vascularity during murine colonoscopy for colonic lesion characterization.

Background: Molecularly targeted fluorescent probes are currently being developed to improve the endoscopic detection of intestinal pathologic conditions.

Objective: We report on the development and testing of a novel multichannel microendoscope capable of quantitatively reporting such probes simultaneously at different wavelengths in real time. We assessed the feasibility of detecting and quantifying beacons that can be activated by protease and correlating imaging with disease state.

Repeatability and reproducibility of central corneal thickness measurement with Pentacam, Orbscan, and ultrasound.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements obtained with a novel rotating Scheimpflug camera (Pentacam; Oculus) with scanning slit topography (Orbscan; Bausch & Lomb), and with ultrasound pachymetry (SP-2000; Tomey).

Methods: CCT in 30 healthy eyes was measured twice with each modality by 2 independent observers in random order. The results from scanning slit topography are given both with and without multiplication with the "acoustic correction factor" of 0.

MR imaging of the her2/neu and 9.2.27 tumor antigens using immunospecific contrast agents.

Molecular imaging of tumor antigens using immunospecific magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agents is a rapidly evolving field, which can potentially aid in early disease detection, monitoring of treatment efficacy, and drug development. In this study, we designed, synthetized, and tested in vitro two novel monocrystalline iron oxide nanoparticles (MION) conjugated to antibodies against the her2/neu tyrosine kinase receptor and the 9.2.

Catheter-based in vivo imaging of enzyme activity and gene expression: feasibility study in mice.

Purpose: To construct and evaluate an interventional catheter-based imaging system for intravital monitoring of molecularly sensitive near-infrared fluorescent probes and optical marker genes.

Materials And Methods: An imaging device that was based on a miniaturized fiberoptic sensor (MIFS) was built in which images created with a 2.7-F fiberoptic catheter were relayed through a dichroic mirror, through a bandpass filter, and on two independent cameras.

Influence of spectacle-related changes in retinal image size on contrast sensitivity function after laser in situ keratomileusis.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in contrast sensitivity after laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) for the correction of myopia using a monitor-based method and considering the preoperative minification effect of high-diopter spectacles.

Setting: Department of Ophthalmology, University of Vienna Medical School, Vienna, Austria.

Methods: Fifteen eyes of 11 patients had LASIK to correct myopia.

Miniaturized multichannel near infrared endoscope for mouse imaging.

We describe the design and construction of a miniaturized multichannel near infrared (NIR) endoscopic imaging system developed for high-resolution imaging of mice. The device allows for simultaneous real-time video images in white light and two independent NIR channels. Testing demonstrated independent acquisition of nanomolar concentrations of fluorochromes Cy5.

Outcome after treatment of ametropia with implantable contact lenses.

Objective: To evaluate long-term results after insertion of implantable contact lenses (ICLs) in phakic eyes.

Design: Prospective, noncomparative, interventional case series.

Participants: Seventy-five phakic eyes (65 myopic, 10 hyperopic eyes) of 45 patients aged 21.