Avoiding missed opportunities in AI for radiology.

Purpose: In the last decade, the development of Deep Learning and its variants, based on the application of artificial neural networks, has reinvigorated Artificial Intelligence (AI). As a result, many new applications of AI in medicine, especially Radiology, have been introduced. This resurgence in AI, and its diverse clinical and nonclinical applications throughout healthcare, requires a thorough understanding to reap the potential benefits and avoid the potential pitfalls.

Epicardial fat modifies the relationship between coronary calcium score and all-cause mortality: The St. Francis Heart Study.

Objective: Epicardial fat is associated with cardiovascular risk factors and adverse outcomes. However, it is not clear if epicardial fat remains to be a mortality risk when coronary calcium score (CAC) is taken into account.

Methods: We studied the 1005 participants from the St.

Calcific Plaque Modification by Acoustic Shockwaves: Intravascular Lithotripsy in Cardiovascular Interventions.

Purpose Of Review: To provide a review of recent literature on the treatment of moderate-to-severe calcification in coronary and peripheral vasculature with intravascular lithotripsy (Shockwave Medical, Santa Clara, CA).

Recent Findings: Moderate-to-severe calcific plaques constitute a significant proportion of lesions treated with transcatheter interventions in the coronary and peripheral vascular beds and portend lower procedural success rates, increased periprocedural major adverse events, and unfavorable long-term clinical outcomes compared to non-calcific plaques. Intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) is a new technique that uses acoustic shock waves in a balloon-based system to induce fracture in the calcium deposits to facilitate luminal gain and stent expansion.

Substantial interreader agreement for biopsy with reduction in biopsy rate: A multireader diagnostic performance study of ACR TI-RADS.

Purpose: To assess diagnostic performance of ACR TI-RADS in thyroid cancer detection and evaluate interobserver agreement among radiologists with lower interpreting experience.

Methods: Four radiologists retrospectively assessed 295 biopsied thyroid nodules from ultrasound studies performed between 2009 and 2019, blinded to histopathology. Diagnostic performance for cancer detection was determined individually, and interobserver agreement among four readers was evaluated with Fleiss kappa coefficient (ⱪ).

Investigating spatio-temporal mobility patterns and changes in metro usage under the impact of COVID-19 using Taipei Metro smart card data.

Modern public transit systems are often run with automated fare collection (AFC) systems in combination with smart cards. These systems passively collect massive amounts of detailed spatio-temporal trip data, thus opening up new possibilities for public transit planning and management as well as providing new insights for urban planners. We use smart card trip data from Taipei, Taiwan, to perform an in-depth analysis of spatio-temporal station-to-station metro trip patterns for a whole week divided into several time slices.

Can obstructive urolithiasis be safely excluded on contrast CT? A retrospective analysis of contrast-enhanced and noncontrast CT.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine if contrast-enhanced CT can safely exclude obstructive urolithiasis in patients with flank plain. We performed a retrospective cohort analysis to compare the negative predictive values of contrast-enhanced and non-contrast CTs for the detection of obstructing urolithiasis.

Methods: Through report analysis, we identified all non-contrast and contrast-enhanced CT examinations of the abdomen and pelvis performed on adult patients in the emergency department at a single, multi-site academic medical institution in 2017 with an indication of flank pain.

Utility of ultrasound after a negative CT abdomen and pelvis in the emergency department.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of an abdominal and/or pelvic ultrasound (US) performed within 24 h after a negative CT of the abdomen and pelvis (CTAP) in the emergency department (ED). The secondary endpoint is to assess whether there is a significant increase in length of stay (LOS) in the ED due to immediate US reimaging.

Method: We reviewed the imaging reports of 335 patients over the course of 3 years in our ED who had an US within 24 h after a negative CTAP.

Urban road traffic noise and noise annoyance-a study on perceived noise control and its value among the elderly.

Noise annoyance may reflect a pro-participatory attitude towards public information and consultation according to the European Environmental Noise Directive. However, noise annoyance is also indicative of a stress response to perceived uncontrollable noise exposure. Using cross-sectional data on a sample of elderly citizens (n = 1772), we investigated whether the value residents ascribed to being able to control noise exposure at home moderated the potential indirect effect of road traffic noise on annoyance through perceived noise control.

Home as a Place of Noise Control for the Elderly? A Cross-Sectional Study on Potential Mediating Effects and Associations between Road Traffic Noise Exposure, Access to a Quiet Side, Dwelling-Related Green and Noise Annoyance.

Urban residents’ need to be in control of their home environment can be constrained by perceived uncontrollability of exposure to road traffic noise. Noise annoyance may indicate a psychological stress reaction due to this uncontrollability perception, thereby undermining the restoration process. Environmental resources, such as having access to a quiet side at home and dwelling-related green, may reduce noise annoyance both directly by shielding acoustically and indirectly by enhancing residents’ perceived noise control.

Rare imaging of a known entity: fat embolism seen on CT in lower extremity vein after trauma.

Fat embolism occurs in the vast majority of patients who have had trauma (approximately 90%). The most common occurrence is after long bone fracture. It has also been noted in cases after orthopedic surgery.

Cognitive-Motivational Determinants of Residents' Civic Engagement and Health (Inequities) in the Context of Noise Action Planning: A Conceptual Model.

The Environmental Noise Directive expects residents to be actively involved in localising and selecting noise abatement interventions during the noise action planning process. Its intervention impact is meant to be homogeneous across population groups. Against the background of social heterogeneity and environmental disparities, however, the impact of noise action planning on exposure to traffic-related noise and its health effects is unlikely to follow homogenous distributions.

Ultrasound to Detect Pressure-related Deep Tissue Injuries in Adults Admitted via the Emergency Department: A Prospective, Descriptive, Pilot Study.

Stage 4 pressure ulcers (PUs) start with tissue death at the level of the bone, also known as deep tissue injury (DTI). Studies have shown the appearance of DTI on the skin is delayed for several days after the original pressure-related injury to the deep soft tissues. Studies also suggest DTI can be seen using ultrasound (US) technology.

Elastography-targeted Thyroid Nodule Aspiration: A Novel Approach.

Objectives: Since 2009, the rate of nondiagnostic (ND) thyroid nodule fine-needle aspiration (FNA) has ranged from 2% to 20%. A ND result can cause further patient morbidity secondary to repeated procedures and delay in diagnosis. The use of real-time strain elastography (RTE) in determining nodule malignant risk has gained considerable focus recently.

Brachial plexus block in a parturient.

We report a novel circumstance of brachial plexus anesthesia in a parturient. A 25-year-old woman at 34 weeks of gestation presented with a pathologic proximal right humerus fracture from an intramedullary mass. She was scheduled for tumor biopsy which was performed using a two-site ultrasound-guided brachial plexus block to maximize odds of complete anesthesia while minimizing the risk of phrenic nerve paresis.

Insomnia and urban neighbourhood contexts--are associations modified by individual social characteristics and change of residence? Results from a population-based study using residential histories.

Background: Until now, insomnia has not been much of interest in epidemiological neighbourhood studies, although literature provides evidence enough for insomnia-related mechanisms being potentially dependent on neighbourhood contexts. Besides, studies have shown differences in sleep along individual social characteristics that might render residents more vulnerable to neighbourhood contextual exposures. Given the role of exposure duration and changes in the relationship between neighbourhoods and health, we studied associations of neighbourhood unemployment and months under residential turnover with insomnia by covering ten years of residential history of nearly 3,000 urban residents in the Ruhr Area, Germany.

A residential location approach to traffic safety: two case studies from Germany.

This paper aims to spatially differentiate the road accident risk associated with living at a certain place of residence. Official accident data usually record the place the accident occurred, but not the casualties' places of residence. Among those involved in an accident at a certain place there may obviously be some non-residents, such as in-commuters and transients.

Electrical performance and automatic capture characteristics of a 3.5-mm(2) passive fixation lead during 1-year follow-up.

Background: Bipolar low polarization electrodes are recommended for a regular AutoCapture (St. Jude Medical, Inc., Sylmar, CA, USA) function in order to effectively detect the evoked response (ER) signal.

Agronomic and environmental impacts of a single application of heat-dried sludge on an Alfisol.

A field experiment was conducted on Alfisols in South-West France to assess the agronomic and environmental impacts of a single application of heat-dried sludge pellets at 11.1 Mg dry matter ha-1. The sludge pellets, with a moisture level of 9.

Evaluation of the atrial evoked response for capture detection with high-polarization leads.

AutoCapture based on the evoked response can be confounded by electrode polarization. In this study, polarization was measured in human subjects who had chronic atrial leads. The aim of the study was to determine whether electrode polarization can be measured using a time integral atrial evoked-response integral (AERI) of the negative portion of the atrial paced ER evoked-response signal and to determine whether high-polarization atrial leads unsuitable for AutoCapture can be identified a priori.

Autocapture enhancements: unipolar and bipolar lead compatibility and bipolar pacing capability on bipolar leads.

Beat-by-beat Autocapture maximizes device longevity by minimizing stimulus amplitude while assuring patient safety. Currently, Autocapture permits use of only bipolar leads. The authors have devised a detection method that operates with unipolar and bipolar leads and covers all pacing and sensing combinations (but bipolar pace and sense simultaneously).

Effectiveness and student perceptions of standardized radiology clerkship lectures: a comparison between resident and attending radiologist performances.

Rationale And Objectives: The authors' objective in this study was to determine whether radiology residents can effectively substitute for attending radiologists in delivering standardized lectures to medical students, without a decline in student performance on examinations or perception of the clerkship lectures.

Materials And Methods: Between September 2001 and July 2002, 40 3rd- and 4th-year medical students in the radiology clerkship at Rhode Island Hospital were given 11 standardized PowerPoint presentations. Half of the students were lectured by attending radiologists, and the other half were given the same lectures by radiology residents.