Bone scintigraphy predicts outcome of steroid injection for plantar fasciitis.

Unlabelled: Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of foot pain and may be disabling. Although localized injection is painful, anesthetics or corticosteroids can relieve symptoms well. Bone scintigraphy can confirm the diagnosis.

A method for tracking rats in a complex and completely dark environment using computerized video analysis.

The automated tracking of rodents in open field environments has become a standard laboratory technique for the investigation of the effects of drugs, novel therapeutic interventions and genetic mutations on behavior. Here, we develop an extension of this technique that permits tracking in full darkness through a complex ('enriched') environment comprising naturalistic structures such as tunnels and hides. To eliminate unwanted light reflections and tape noise, we developed a unique video filter that combines the advantages of differential and non-differential filtering.

Vessel motion measurement in real-time using movement detection at multiple regions of interest.

A vessel motion detection algorithm has been implemented for the measurement of multiple lymphatic chamber diameters via pre-recorded VHS tape (PAL, 25 Hz). The method differs significantly from previous attempts based on edge-detection, in that it employs center of mass of pixel brightness in the vessel wall based on a Kalman filtered image subtracted from a Kalman filtered background. The operation of the algorithm confirms that it is able to detect accurately the full constriction-relaxation cycle of the vessel and produce data that meets high standards of tolerance.