Development and Validation of a Low-Cost, High-Fidelity Simulation Model for Robotic Internal Mammary Artery Harvest Using the da Vinci Xi Robot.

Objective: We created and validated a low-cost simulation model for robotic internal mammary artery (IMA) takedown.

Methods: The simulation model utilized a calf fetus thorax cavity stented open internally and secured to a table. The simulation model was validated at a 2-day robotic cardiac surgery workshop.

The cone repair allows right ventricle rehabilitation with excellent tricuspid valve function following the Starnes procedure.

Background: We present a case series of right ventricle (RV) rehabilitation after the Starnes procedure in patients with Ebstein anomaly (EA), applying the Cone repair of the tricuspid valve (TV) to achieve 2-ventricle or 1.5-ventricle physiology.

Methods: This is a retrospective database analysis from 2 institutions in North America.

State of the Art in Lung Nodule Localization.

Lung nodule and ground-glass opacity localization for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes is often a challenge for thoracic surgeons. While there are several adjuncts and techniques in the surgeon's armamentarium that can be helpful, accurate localization persists as a problem without a perfect solution. The last several decades have seen tremendous improvement in our ability to perform major operations with minimally invasive procedures and resulting lower morbidity.

Automated segmentation of five different body tissues on computed tomography using deep learning.

Purpose: To develop and validate a computer tool for automatic and simultaneous segmentation of five body tissues depicted on computed tomography (CT) scans: visceral adipose tissue (VAT), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), intermuscular adipose tissue (IMAT), skeletal muscle (SM), and bone.

Methods: A cohort of 100 CT scans acquired on different subjects were collected from The Cancer Imaging Archive-50 whole-body positron emission tomography-CTs, 25 chest, and 25 abdominal. Five different body tissues (i.

Estimating 3-D whole-body composition from a chest CT scan.

Background: Estimating whole-body composition from limited region-computed tomography (CT) scans has many potential applications in clinical medicine; however, it is challenging.

Purpose: To investigate if whole-body composition based on several tissue types (visceral adipose tissue [VAT], subcutaneous adipose tissue [SAT], intermuscular adipose tissue [IMAT], skeletal muscle [SM], and bone) can be reliably estimated from a chest CT scan only.

Methods: A cohort of 97 lung cancer subjects who underwent both chest CT scans and whole-body positron emission tomography-CT scans at our institution were collected.

Impact of the 2018 change in US allocation policy on adults with congenital heart disease.

Background: The US adult heart allocation policy was changed on October 18, 2018. This study aims to evaluate its impact on orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) for adults with congenital heart disease (ACHD).

Methods: The United Network for Organ Sharing database was used to perform 2 comparisons: waitlist outcomes among listed ACHD candidates, and post-transplant outcomes in those transplanted.

Predicting benign, preinvasive, and invasive lung nodules on computed tomography scans using machine learning.

Objective: The study objective was to investigate if machine learning algorithms can predict whether a lung nodule is benign, adenocarcinoma, or its preinvasive subtype from computed tomography images alone.

Methods: A dataset of chest computed tomography scans containing lung nodules was collected with their pathologic diagnosis from several sources. The dataset was split randomly into training (70%), internal validation (15%), and independent test sets (15%) at the patient level.

Navigation bronchoscopy: A new tool for pulmonary infections.

Infections remain a common cause of lung nodules, masses, and cavities. Safe tissue sampling is required to establish a diagnosis, differentiate between malignant and infectious causes, and provide microbiological material for characterization and sensitivity analysis. Tissue samples could be obtained bronchoscopically, percutaneously, or through surgical biopsy.