Treatment of High-Grade Chronic Osteomyelitis and Nonunions with PerOssal: A Retrospective Analysis of Clinical Efficacy and Patient Perspectives.

: Traditional autologous bone grafts as a treatment for bone defects have drawbacks like donor-site morbidity and limited supply. PerOssal, a ceramic bone substitute, may overcome those drawbacks and could offer additional benefits like prolonged, local antibiotic release. This study investigates the clinical and radiological outcomes, including patient-reported outcomes, of using PerOssal in nonunions (NU) and high-grade chronic osteomyelitis (COM).

Normative prospective data on automatically quantified retinal morphology correlated to retinal function in healthy ageing eyes by two microperimetry devices.

Purpose: The relationship between retinal morphology, as assessed by optical coherence tomography (OCT), and retinal function in microperimetry (MP) has not been well studied, despite its increasing importance as an essential functional endpoint for clinical trials and emerging therapies in retinal diseases. Normative databases of healthy ageing eyes are largely missing from literature.

Methods: Healthy subjects above 50 years were examined using two MP devices, MP-3 (NIDEK) and MAIA (iCare).

Post-spin Stretch Improves Mechanical Properties, Reduces Necking, and Reverts Effects of Aging in Biomimetic Artificial Spider Silk Fibers.

Recent biotechnological advancements in protein production and development of biomimetic spinning procedures make artificial spider silk a promising alternative to petroleum-based fibers. To enhance the competitiveness of artificial silk in terms of mechanical properties, refining the spinning techniques is imperative. One potential strategy involves the integration of post-spin stretching, known to improve fiber strength and stiffness while potentially offering additional advantages.

Artificial intelligence in assessing progression of age-related macular degeneration.

The human population is steadily growing with increased life expectancy, impacting the prevalence of age-dependent diseases, including age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Health care systems are confronted with an increasing burden with rising patient numbers accompanied by ongoing developments of therapeutic approaches. Concurrent advances in imaging modalities provide eye care professionals with a large amount of data for each patient.

Topographic and quantitative correlation of structure and function using deep learning in subclinical biomarkers of intermediate age-related macular degeneration.

To examine the morphological impact of deep learning (DL)-quantified biomarkers on point-wise sensitivity (PWS) using microperimetry (MP) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in intermediate AMD (iAMD). Patients with iAMD were examined by OCT (Spectralis). DL-based algorithms quantified ellipsoid zone (EZ)-thickness, hyperreflective foci (HRF) and drusen volume.

Repeatability of Microperimetry in Areas of Retinal Pigment Epithelium and Photoreceptor Loss in Geographic Atrophy Supported by Artificial Intelligence-Based Optical Coherence Tomography Biomarker Quantification.

Purpose: Growing interest in microperimetry (MP) or fundus-controlled perimetry as a targeted psychometric testing method in geographic atrophy (GA) is warranted because of the disease subclinical/extrafoveal appearance or preexisting foveal loss with visual acuity becoming unreliable. We provide comprehensive pointwise test-retest repeatability reference values on the most widely used MP devices and combine them with targeted testing in areas of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) as well as photoreceptor (PR) integrity loss, guiding the interpretation of sensitivity loss during the long-term follow-up of patients with GA.

Design: Prospective reliability study.

Correlation of retinal fluid and photoreceptor and RPE loss in neovascular AMD by automated quantification, a real-world FRB! analysis.

Purpose: To quantify ellipsoid zone (EZ) loss during anti-VEGF therapy for neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) and correlate these findings with nAMD disease activity using artificial intelligence-based algorithms.

Methods: Spectral domain optical coherence tomography (Spectralis, Heidelberg Engineering) images from nAMD treatment-naïve patients from the Fight Retinal Blindness! (FRB!) Registry from Zürich, Switzerland were processed at baseline and over 3 years of follow-up. An approved deep learning algorithm (Fluid Monitor, RetInSight) was used to automatically quantify intraretinal fluid (IRF), subretinal fluid (SRF) and pigment epithelial detachment (PED).

A Novel Management Challenge in Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Artificial Intelligence and Expert Prediction of Geographic Atrophy.

Purpose: The progression of geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration is highly variable among individuals. Prediction of the progression is critical to identify patients who will benefit most from the first treatments currently approved. The aim of this study was to investigate the value and difference in predictive power between ophthalmologists and artificial intelligence (AI) in reliably assessing individual speed of GA progression.

AI in the clinical management of GA: A novel therapeutic universe requires novel tools.

Regulatory approval of the first two therapeutic substances for the management of geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a major breakthrough following failure of numerous previous trials. However, in the absence of therapeutic standards, diagnostic tools are a key challenge as functional parameters in GA are hard to provide. The majority of anatomical biomarkers are subclinical, necessitating advanced and sensitive image analyses.

Quantitative comparison of automated OCT and conventional FAF-based geographic atrophy measurements in the phase 3 OAKS/DERBY trials.

With the approval of the first two substances for the treatment of geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a standardized monitoring of patients treated with complement inhibitors in clinical practice is needed. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) provides high-resolution access to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and neurosensory layers, such as the ellipsoid zone (EZ), which further enhances the understanding of disease progression and therapeutic effects in GA compared to conventional fundus autofluorescence (FAF). In addition, artificial intelligence-based methodology allows the identification and quantification of GA-related pathology on OCT in an objective and standardized manner.

A Case of Basal Ganglia Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage Following Lumbar Spinal Surgery.

We report on a rare case of basal ganglia intraparenchymal hemorrhage with intraventricular extension occurring after a lumbar spinal surgery. A 65-year-old female presented for an elective L4-L5 lumbar laminectomy and posterior spinal fixation. Her initial operation was complicated by a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak repaired with a dural synthetic graft.

Monitoring of Astroviruses, Brno-Hantaviruses, Coronaviruses, Influenza Viruses, Bornaviruses, Morbilliviruses, Lyssaviruses and Pestiviruses in Austrian Bats.

Here, we report the results of a monitoring study of bat viruses in Austria to strengthen the knowledge of circulating viruses in Austrian bat populations. In this study, we analyzed 618 oropharyngeal and rectal swab samples from 309 bats and 155 pooled tissue samples from dead bats. Samples were collected from 18 different bat species from multiple locations in Austria, from November 2015 to April 2018, and examined for astroviruses, bornaviruses, coronaviruses, hantaviruses, morbilliviruses, orthomyxoviruses (influenza A/C/D viruses), pestiviruses and rhabdoviruses (lyssaviruses) using molecular techniques and sequencing.

An Analysis of Ocular Biometrics: A Comprehensive Retrospective Study in a Large Cohort of Pediatric Cataract Patients.

This study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of ocular biometric parameters in pediatric patients with cataracts to optimize surgical outcomes. By evaluating various biometric data, we seek to enhance the decision-making process for intraocular lens (IOL) placement, particularly with advanced technologies like femtosecond lasers. This retrospective comparative study included pediatric patients with cataracts who underwent ocular biometric measurements and cataract extraction with anterior vitrectomy at the Medical University of Vienna between January 2019 and December 2021.

Linking disease activity with optical coherence tomography angiography in neovascular age related macular degeneration using artificial intelligence.

To investigate quantitative associations between AI-assessed disease activity and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA)-derived parameters in patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) undergoing anti-VEGF therapy. OCTA and SD-OCT images obtained from multicenter, randomized study data were evaluated. A deep learning algorithm (RetInSight) was used to detect and quantify macular fluid on SD-OCT.

Disease Activity and Therapeutic Response to Pegcetacoplan for Geographic Atrophy Identified by Deep Learning-Based Analysis of OCT.

Purpose: To quantify morphological changes of the photoreceptors (PRs) and retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layers under pegcetacoplan therapy in geographic atrophy (GA) using deep learning-based analysis of OCT images.

Design: Post hoc longitudinal image analysis.

Participants: Patients with GA due to age-related macular degeneration from 2 prospective randomized phase III clinical trials (OAKS and DERBY).

Mechanistically Different Mechanochromophores Enable Calibration and Validation of Molecular Forces in Glassy Polymers and Elastomeric Networks.

Sterically distorted donor-acceptor π-systems, termed DA springs, can be progressively planarized under mechanical load causing a bathochromic shift of the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum. By combining theory and experiment, we here use a simple linear force calibration for two different conformational mechanochromophores to determine molecular forces in polymers from the mechanochromic shift in PL wavelength during multiple uniaxial tensile tests. Two systems are used, i) a highly entangled linear glassy polyphenylene and ii) a covalent elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane network.

ADVANCES IN PHOTORECEPTOR AND RETINAL PIGMENT EPITHELIUM QUANTIFICATIONS IN INTERMEDIATE AGE-RELATED MACULAR DEGENERATION: High-Res Versus Standard SPECTRALIS Optical Coherence Tomography.

Purpose: In this study, differences in retinal feature visualization of high-resolution optical coherence tomography (OCT) devices were investigated with different axial resolutions in quantifications of retinal pigment epithelium and photoreceptors (PRs) in intermediate age-related macular degeneration.

Methods: Patients were imaged with standard SPECTRALIS HRA + OCT and the investigational High-Res OCT device (both by Heidelberg Engineering, Heidelberg, Germany). Drusen, retinal pigment epithelium, and PR layers were segmented using validated artificial intelligence-based algorithms followed by manual corrections.

Sequence of Morphological Changes Preceding Atrophy in Intermediate AMD Using Deep Learning.

Purpose: Investigating the sequence of morphological changes preceding outer plexiform layer (OPL) subsidence, a marker preceding geographic atrophy, in intermediate AMD (iAMD) using high-precision artificial intelligence (AI) quantifications on optical coherence tomography imaging.

Methods: In this longitudinal observational study, individuals with bilateral iAMD participating in a multicenter clinical trial were screened for OPL subsidence and RPE and outer retinal atrophy. OPL subsidence was segmented on an A-scan basis in optical coherence tomography volumes, obtained 6-monthly with 36 months follow-up.

Advancing the visibility of outer retinal integrity in neovascular age-related macular degeneration with high-resolution OCT.

Objective: To compare the visibility and accessibility of the outer retina in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) between 2 OCT devices.

Methods: In this prospective, cross-sectional exploratory study, differences in thickness and loss of individual outer retinal layers in eyes with nAMD and in age-matched healthy eyes between a next-level High-Res OCT device and the conventional SPECTRALIS OCT (both Heidelberg Engineering GmbH, Heidelberg, Germany) were analyzed. Eyes with nAMD and at least 250 nL of retinal fluid, quantified by an approved deep-learning algorithm (Fluid Monitor, RetInSight, Vienna, Austria), fulfilled the inclusion criteria.

Deep Neural Networks for Automated Outer Plexiform Layer Subsidence Detection on Retinal OCT of Patients With Intermediate AMD.

Purpose: The subsidence of the outer plexiform layer (OPL) is an important imaging biomarker on optical coherence tomography (OCT) associated with early outer retinal atrophy and a risk factor for progression to geographic atrophy in patients with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Deep neural networks (DNNs) for OCT can support automated detection and localization of this biomarker.

Methods: The method predicts potential OPL subsidence locations on retinal OCTs.

Dynamics and patterns of recurrence in neovascular AMD during real-world management using automated fluid monitoring.

In this retrospective longitudinal observational study, data from one site of the Fight Retinal Blindness! Registry (University of Zurich, Switzerland) was used to investigate the quantity and distribution of recurrent fluid in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Study eye eligibility required treatment-naïve nAMD, receiving at least three anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections, followed by a treatment discontinuation of at least six months and subsequence fluid recurrence. To quantify fluid, a regulatory approved deep learning algorithm (Vienna Fluid Monitor, RetInSight, Vienna, Austria) was used.

Deep Learning-Based Prediction of Individual Geographic Atrophy Progression from a Single Baseline OCT.

Objective: To identify the individual progression of geographic atrophy (GA) lesions from baseline OCT images of patients in routine clinical care.

Design: Clinical evaluation of a deep learning-based algorithm.

Subjects: One hundred eighty-four eyes of 100 consecutively enrolled patients.

AI-based support for optical coherence tomography in age-related macular degeneration.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology across various fields, and its applications in the medical domain, particularly in ophthalmology, has gained significant attention. The vast amount of high-resolution image data, such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) images, has been a driving force behind AI growth in this field. Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is one of the leading causes for blindness in the world, affecting approximately 196 million people worldwide in 2020.