Integrated vascular surgery applicants' perspectives of virtual residency interviews during the coronavirus disease 2019 application cycle.

Background: In agreement with Association of American Medical Colleges guidelines, the 2020 to 2021 integrated vascular surgery (I-VS) residency interviews were conducted virtually. In the present study, we collected data about the virtual interview process from the applicant's perspective, including preferences for interview format and the virtual resources they found most helpful.

Methods: An anonymous, online survey study of medical students who had been accepted into I-VS residencies during the 2020 to 2021 application cycle was performed.

"Diffusion of innovations": a feasibility study on the pericapsular nerve group block in the emergency department for hip fractures.

Objective: Hip fractures are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Ultrasound-guided peripheral nerve blocks are a safe method to manage pain and decrease opioid usage. The pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block is a novel, potentially superior block because of its motor-sparing effects.

Multi-Axes Lead With Tetrahedral Electrode Tip for Cardiac-Implantable Devices: Creative Concept for Pacing and Sensing Technology.

Background: We developed a multi-axes lead (Max) incorporating 4 electrodes arranged at the lead-tip, organized in an equidistant tetrahedron. Here, we studied Max performance in sensing, pacing, and activation wavefront-direction analysis.

Methods: Sixteen explanted animal hearts (from 7 pigs, 7 sheep, and 2 rabbits) were used.

The Impact of a Mobile Phone Application for Retention of Bleeding Control Skills.

Background: The American College of Surgeons Bleeding Control Course (B-Con) empowers bystanders with hemorrhage control skills to manage prehospital emergencies, but demonstrates poor skill retention. The point of care use of a free Stop the Bleed mobile phone application on the retention of hemorrhage control skills from the B-Con Course was explored.

Methods: Convenience sample of college students previously trained in B-Con were randomized into mobile application (MA) or control groups.

Safety, efficacy, and monitoring of bipolar radiofrequency ablation in beating myopathic human and healthy swine hearts.

Background: The safety and efficacy parameters for bipolar radiofrequency (RF) ablation are not well defined.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the safe range of power, utility of transmyocardial bipolar electrogram (EGM) amplitude, and circuit impedance in ablation monitoring.

Methods: Sixteen beating ex vivo human and swine hearts were studied in a Langendorff setup.

A 3-D human model of complex cardiac arrhythmias.

Cardiac arrhythmias impact over 12 million people globally, with an increasing incidence of acquired arrhythmias. Although animal models have shed light onto fundamental arrhythmic mechanisms, species-specific differences and ethical concerns remain. Current human models using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) either lack the higher order tissue organization of the heart or implement unreliable arrhythmia induction techniques.

Analysis of electrooculography signals for the detection of Myasthenia Gravis.

Objective: A precursor to more severe forms of Myasthenia Gravis (MG) is ocular MG (OMG) in which the MG symptoms are localized to the eyes. Current MG diagnostic methods are often invasive, painful, and not always specific. The objective of the proposed work was to extract quantifiable features from electrooculography (EOG) signals recorded around the eyes and develop an alternative non-invasive screening method for detecting MG.

Exit sites on the epicardium rarely subtend critical diastolic path of ischemic VT on the endocardium: Implications for noninvasive ablation.

Background: Noninvasive electrocardiographic mapping of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ablation using stereotactic radiotherapy was recently reported. This strategy does not directly evaluate the critical diastolic components and assumes that the epicardial exit site of VT subtends closely over the endocardial mid-diastolic isthmus.

Objective: To determine if the epicardial exit site of VT spatially corresponds to the critical diastolic components of ischemic scar-related VT.

Information theory to tachycardia therapy: electrogram entropy predicts diastolic microstructure of reentrant ventricular tachycardia.

There is no known strategy to differentiate which multicomponent electrograms in sinus rhythm maintain reentrant ventricular tachycardia (VT). Low entropy in the voltage breakdown of a multicomponent electrogram can localize conditions suitable for reentry but has not been validated against the classic VT activation mapping. We examined whether low entropy in a late and diversely activated ventricular scar region characterizes and differentiates the diastolic path of VT and represents protected tissue channels devoid of side branches.