Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Vertebral Compression Fractures Using Convolutional Neural Networks and Radiomics.

Vertebral Compression Fracture (VCF) occurs when the vertebral body partially collapses under the action of compressive forces. Non-traumatic VCFs can be secondary to osteoporosis fragility (benign VCFs) or tumors (malignant VCFs). The investigation of the etiology of non-traumatic VCFs is usually necessary, since treatment and prognosis are dependent on the VCF type.

Radiomic Quantification for MRI Assessment of Sacroiliac Joints of Patients with Spondyloarthritis.

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a group of diseases primarily involving chronic inflammation of the spine and peripheral joints, as evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Considering the complexity of SpA, we performed a retrospective study to discover quantitative/radiomic MRI-based features correlated with SpA. We also investigated different fat-suppression MRI techniques to develop detection models for inflammatory sacroiliitis.

Manual versus semiautomatic segmentation of soft-tissue sarcomas on magnetic resonance imaging: evaluation of similarity and comparison of segmentation times.

Objective: To evaluate the degree of similarity between manual and semiautomatic segmentation of soft-tissue sarcomas on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective study of 15 MRI examinations of patients with histopathologically confirmed soft-tissue sarcomas acquired before therapeutic intervention. Manual and semiautomatic segmentations were performed by three radiologists, working independently, using the software 3D Slicer.

The UTrack framework for segmenting and measuring dermatological ulcers through telemedicine.

Chronic dermatological ulcers cause great discomfort to patients, and while monitoring the size of wounds over time provides significant clues about the healing evolution and the clinical condition of patients, the lack of practical applications in existing studies impairs users' access to appropriate treatment and diagnosis methods. We propose the UTrack framework to help with the acquisition of photos, the segmentation and measurement of wounds, the storage of photos and symptoms, and the visualization of the evolution of ulcer healing. UTrack-App is a mobile app for the framework, which processes images taken by standard mobile device cameras without specialized equipment and stores all data locally.

A study of MRI-based radiomics biomarkers for sacroiliitis and spondyloarthritis.

Purpose: To evaluate the performance of texture-based biomarkers by radiomic analysis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patients with sacroiliitis secondary to spondyloarthritis (SpA).

Relevance: The determination of sacroiliac joints inflammatory activity supports the drug management in these diseases.

Methods: Sacroiliac joints (SIJ) MRI examinations of 47 patients were evaluated.

Machine learning techniques for computer-aided classification of active inflammatory sacroiliitis in magnetic resonance imaging.

Background: Currently, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used to evaluate active inflammatory sacroiliitis related to axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). The qualitative and semiquantitative diagnosis performed by expert radiologists and rheumatologists remains subject to significant intrapersonal and interpersonal variation. This encouraged us to use machine-learning methods for this task.

CT-based radiomics for prediction of histologic subtype and metastatic disease in primary malignant lung neoplasms.

Purpose: As some of the most important factors for treatment decision of lung cancer (which is the deadliest neoplasm) are staging and histology, this work aimed to associate quantitative contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) features from malignant lung tumors with distant and nodal metastases (according to clinical TNM staging) and histopathology (according to biopsy and surgical resection) using radiomics assessment.

Methods: A local cohort of 85 patients were retrospectively (2010-2017) analyzed after approval by the institutional research review board. CT images acquired with the same protocol were semiautomatically segmented by a volumetric segmentation method.

Blockchain Based Network for Tuberculosis: A Data Sharing Initiative in Brazil.

Data sharing, information exchange, knowledge acquisition and health intelligence are the basis of an efficient and effective evidence-based decision-making tool. A decentralized blockchain architecture is a flexible solution that can be adapted to institutional and managerial culture of organizations and services. Blockchain can play a fundamental role in enabling data sharing within a network and, to achieve that, this work defines the high-level resources necessary to apply this technology to Tuberculosis related issues.

Cooperative strategy for a dynamic ensemble of classification models in clinical applications: the case of MRI vertebral compression fractures.

Purpose: In clinical practice, the constructive consultation among experts improves the reliability of the diagnosis and leads to the definition of the treatment plan for the patient. Aggregation of the different opinions collected by many experts can be performed at the level of patient information, abnormality delineation, or final assessment.

Methods: In this study, we present a novel cooperative strategy that exploits the dynamic contribution of the classification models composing the ensemble to make the final class assignment.

Selecting relevant 3D image features of margin sharpness and texture for lung nodule retrieval.

Purpose: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world. Its diagnosis is a challenge task to specialists due to several aspects on the classification of lung nodules. Therefore, it is important to integrate content-based image retrieval methods on the lung nodule classification process, since they are capable of retrieving similar cases from databases that were previously diagnosed.

Cloud-Based NoSQL Open Database of Pulmonary Nodules for Computer-Aided Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Reproducible Research.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the world, and its main manifestation is pulmonary nodules. Detection and classification of pulmonary nodules are challenging tasks that must be done by qualified specialists, but image interpretation errors make those tasks difficult. In order to aid radiologists on those hard tasks, it is important to integrate the computer-based tools with the lesion detection, pathology diagnosis, and image interpretation processes.

Analyses of Budget Impact Considering the Use of the Picture Archiving and Communication System.

Objective: To analyze the budget impact of using the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) in comparison to the screen/film system.

Methods: The budget impact analysis was conducted on the basis of registry data from the Clinics Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. The budget impacts were compared between the PACS, with high- and low-cost PACS architectures, and the screen/film system by considering reference and alternative scenarios over the course of 5 years.

Endowing a Content-Based Medical Image Retrieval System with Perceptual Similarity Using Ensemble Strategy.

Content-based medical image retrieval (CBMIR) is a powerful resource to improve differential computer-aided diagnosis. The major problem with CBMIR applications is the semantic gap, a situation in which the system does not follow the users' sense of similarity. This gap can be bridged by the adequate modeling of similarity queries, which ultimately depends on the combination of feature extractor methods and distance functions.

Characterization of a lead breast shielding for dose reduction in computed tomography.

Objective: Several studies have been published regarding the use of bismuth shielding to protect the breast in computed tomography (CT) scans and, up to the writing of this article, only one publication about barium shielding was found. The present study was aimed at characterizing, for the first time, a lead breast shielding.

Materials And Methods: The percentage dose reduction and the influence of the shielding on quantitative imaging parameters were evaluated.

Deterministic record linkage versus similarity functions: a study in health databases from Brazil.

The record linkage is a strategy that allows linking different databases of information from patient records. Adopting the deterministic method and similarity functions (Dice, Jaro, Jaro-Winkler and Levenshtein) for the integration of heterogeneous databases aimed at different levels of health care Brazilian (primary, secondary and tertiary). The sensitivity of deterministic method was 54.

Relation between the dimensions and intraluminal pressure of the pharyngoesophageal segment and tracheoesophageal voice and speech proficiency.

Background: The objective of the present study was to relate the dimensions and the intraluminal pressure of the pharyngoesophageal segment (PES) to the voice and speech proficiency of total laryngectomees with a tracheoesophageal prosthesis (TEP).

Methods: Twenty total laryngectomees with secondary TEP insertion underwent evaluation of voice and speech, manometry, and videofluoroscopy.

Results: Most laryngectomees (65%) were moderate speakers.

Interictal hyperemia correlates with epileptogenicity in polymicrogyric cortex.

Objective: To investigate pathophysiological factors underlying the presence of interictal hyperperfusion within the limits of the polymicrogyric (PMG) cortex in epileptic patients.

Methods: Retrospective observational study on interictal perfusion by Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) in 16 patients with PMG and its correlations with a number of clinical and neurophysiological variables. Patients underwent video-EEG monitoring, neurological and psychiatric assessments, invasive EEG, and the interictal SPECT coregistered to Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Ictal technetium-99 m ethyl cysteinate dimer single-photon emission tomographic findings in epileptic patients with polymicrogyria syndromes: a subtraction of ictal-interictal SPECT coregistered to MRI study.

Purpose: To describe the ictal technetium-99 m-ECD SPECT findings in polymicrogyria syndromes (PMG) during epileptic seizures.

Methods: We investigated 17 patients with PMG syndromes during presurgical workup, which included long-term video-electroencephalographic (EEG) monitoring, neurological and psychiatry assessments, invasive EEG, and the subtraction of ictal-interictal SPECT coregistered to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (SISCOM).

Results: The analysis of the PMG cortex, using SISCOM, revealed intense hyperperfusion in the polymicrogyric lesion during epileptic seizures in all patients.