Intracranial Imaging of Preterm Infants with Suspected Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy: Comparing MRI and Ultrasound.

Aims: We correlate ultrasound, MRI, and clinical findings in neonates with suspected hypoxic ischemic injury.

Background: Recent advances in neuroimaging have led to improved detection of subtle insults associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes, beyond more historically described lesions such as large hemorrhages and hydrocephalus.

Objective: In this study, we compare cranial ultrasound to MRI for the evaluation of suspected HIE in preterm infants.

Portable CT Pulmonary Angiogram in an Infant on Veno-Arterial Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Purpose: Computed tomography (CT) has been shown to change management in children on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Although techniques have been described to transport these critically ill patients to the CT suite in the radiology department, transport out of the intensive care setting is not without risk, and using portable CT is a practical alternative. However, obtaining a CT pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) in a patient on veno-arterial (VA) ECMO presents unique challenges due to bypass of the cardiopulmonary system, which may lead to suboptimal opacification of the pulmonary arteries.

Lower mitochondrial DNA copy number in peripheral blood leukocytes increases the risk of endometrial cancer.

Mitochondria are the primary source of energy generation in human cells. Low mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) has been associated with obesity and increased risks of several cancers. Since obesity is a significant risk factor for endometrial cancer, we hypothesize that low mtDNA copy number in PBLs is associated with an increased susceptibility to endometrial cancer.

Capsule endoscopy or angiography in patients with acute overt obscure gastrointestinal bleeding: a prospective randomized study with long-term follow-up.

Objectives: Both capsule endoscopy (CE) and angiography have been recommended as first investigation for patients with acute overt obscure gastrointestinal bleeding (OGIB). However, no studies have directly compared the two modalities in patients with overt OGIB. We compared the diagnostic yield and long-term outcomes of patients with overt OGIB randomized to CE or angiogram.

Reconstruction of volumetric ultrasound panorama based on improved 3D SIFT.

Registration of ultrasound volumes is a key issue for the reconstruction of volumetric ultrasound panorama. In this paper, we propose an improved three-dimensional (3D) scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) algorithm to globally register ultrasound volumes acquired from dedicated ultrasound probe, where local deformations are corrected by block-based warping algorithm. Original SIFT algorithm is extended to 3D and improved by combining the SIFT detector with Rohr3D detector to extract complementary features and applying the diffusion distance algorithm for robust feature comparison.

An ultrasound-guided organ biopsy simulation with 6DOF haptic feedback.

Ultrasound-guided biopsy is one of the most fundamental, but difficult, skills to acquire in interventional radiology. Intensive training, especially in the needle insertion, is required for trainee radiologists to perform safe procedures. In this paper, we propose a virtual reality simulation system to facilitate the training of radiologists and physicians in this procedures.

Volumetric ultrasound panorama based on 3D SIFT.

The reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) ultrasound panorama from multiple ultrasound volumes can provide a wide field of view for better clinical diagnosis. Registration of ultrasound volumes has been a key issue for the success of this panoramic process. In this paper, we propose a method to register and stitch ultrasound volumes, which are scanned by dedicated ultrasound probe, based on an improved 3D Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) algorithm.

An adaptive transmission protocol for managing dynamic shared states in collaborative surgical simulation.

A force prediction algorithm is proposed to facilitate virtual-reality (VR) based collaborative surgical simulation by reducing the effect of network latencies. State regeneration is used to correct the estimated prediction. This algorithm is incorporated into an adaptive transmission protocol in which auxiliary features such as view synchronization and coupling control are equipped to ensure the system consistency.

Transcatheter arterial embolization of spontaneous rectus sheath haematoma in a Chinese woman.

Spontaneous extraperitoneal haemorrhage is a rare but well-described complication of anticoagulation therapy. We report a case of spontaneous rectus sheath haematoma in a 69-year-old Chinese woman who had received low-molecular-weight heparin for pulmonary embolism. She presented with sudden onset of lower abdominal pain, hypotension and a tender lower abdominal mass after 1 week of anticoagulation therapy.

Transarterial ethanol ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma with lipiodol ethanol mixture: phase II study.

Purpose: This prospective trial aimed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of transarterial ethanol ablation (TEA) of intrahepatic lesions of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a Lipiodol-ethanol mixture.

Materials And Methods: Seventy-seven patients were recruited and 164 lesions (mean size, 5.2 cm +/- 3.

Revascularization for post-transplant renal artery stenosis.

Background: Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty has now been increasingly accepted as a primary treatment option for transplant renal artery stenosis.

Methods: This single-centre study evaluated the treatment effect of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty as primary intervention among 18 consecutive patients with angiographically demonstrated transplant renal artery stenosis.

Results: Patients (14 men and 4 women, mean age 49 +/- 9 years) were followed up for a mean duration of 21.

An adaptive framework using cluster-based hybrid architecture for enhancing collaboration in surgical simulation.

Research on collaborative virtual surgery opens the opportunity for simulating the cooperative work during surgical operations. It is however a challenging task to design and implement a high performance collaborative surgical simulation system because of the difficulty in maintaining a high level of state consistency under limited network transmission capacity. In this paper, we present an adaptive framework using cluster-based hybrid architecture to support real-time collaboration in surgical simulation.

Image diffusion using saliency bilateral filter.

Image diffusion can smooth away noise and small-scale structures while retaining important features, thereby enhancing the performances of many image processing algorithms such as image compression, segmentation and recognition. In this paper, we present a novel diffusion algorithm for which the filtering kernels vary according to the perceptual saliency of boundaries in the input images. The boundary saliency is estimated through a saliency measure which is generally determined by curvature changes, intensity gradient and the interaction of neighboring vectors.

Endovascular treatment of a large fusiform splenic artery aneurysm with a coaxial technique using a 5-f balloon catheter and a microcatheter.

A coaxial technique was introduced for successful embolization of a large fusiform splenic artery aneurysm in a vessel with a large caliber and a great degree of tortuosity. A standard 5-F angioplasty catheter was placed at the immediate afferent artery for occlusion of arterial inflow into the aneurysm, thereby preventing intraaneurysmal hypertension during embolization of the efferent segment. This was followed by coaxial microcatheterization of the immediate efferent segment for coil embolization, and then embolization of the afferent segment.

Brain metastasis responding to gefitinib alone.

A woman with stage IIIb non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) developed disease progression with brain metastases during chemotherapy. Due to unusual circumstances, the patient received gefitinib alone, without the use of corticosteroid treatment or radiotherapy. There was a dramatic clinical improvement within 1 week.

Uterine artery embolisation for uterine fibroids using a 4F Rosch inferior mesenteric catheter.

Purpose: To evaluate in a prospective study the use of a 4F Rosch inferior mesenteric (RIM) catheter for uterine artery embolisation (UAE).

Materials And Methods: UAE was performed in 72 women over a 37-month period. A 4F RIM braided J-curve 65-cm catheter was used in combination with an angled hydrophilic 150 cm, 0.

Treatment of pyogenic liver abscess: prospective randomized comparison of catheter drainage and needle aspiration.

This study aims to compare the therapeutic effectiveness of continuous catheter drainage versus intermittent needle aspiration in the percutaneous treatment of pyogenic liver abscesses. Over a 5-year period, 64 consecutive patients with pyogenic liver abscess were treated with intravenous antibiotics (ampicillin, cefuroxime, and metronidazole) and randomized into two percutaneous treatment groups: continuous catheter drainage (with an 8F multi-sidehole pigtail catheter); and intermittent needle aspiration (18G disposable trocar needle). There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups regarding patient demographics, underlying coexisting disease, abscess size, abscess number, number of loculation of abscess, the presenting clinical symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, and pretreatment liver function test.