Automated airway quantification associates with mortality in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Objectives: The study examined whether quantified airway metrics associate with mortality in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).

Methods: In an observational cohort study (n = 90) of IPF patients from Ege University Hospital, an airway analysis tool AirQuant calculated median airway intersegmental tapering and segmental tortuosity across the 2nd to 6th airway generations. Intersegmental tapering measures the difference in median diameter between adjacent airway segments.

A Computationally Efficient Approach to Segmentation of the Aorta and Coronary Arteries Using Deep Learning.

Early detection and diagnosis of coronary artery disease could reduce the risk of developing a heart attack. The coronary arteries are optimally visualised using computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) imaging. These images are reviewed by specialist radiologists who evaluate the coronary arteries for potential narrowing.

A Temporal and Spatial Analysis Approach to Automated Segmentation of Microbubble Signals in Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Images: Application to Quantification of Active Vascular Density in Human Lower Limbs.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) using microbubble contrast agents has shown great promise in visualising and quantifying active vascular density. Most existing approaches for vascular density quantification using CEUS are calculated based on image intensity and are susceptible to confounding factors and imaging artefact. Poor reproducibility is a key challenge to clinical translation.

Differential Intensity Projection for Visualisation and Quantification of Plaque Neovascularisation in Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Images of Carotid Arteries.

Studies have reported that intraplaque neovascularisation (IPN) is closely correlated with plaque vulnerability. In this study, a new image processing approach, differential intensity projection (DIP), was developed to visualise and quantify IPN in contrast-enhanced non-linear ultrasound image sequences of carotid arteries. DIP used the difference between the local temporal maximum and the local temporal average signals to identify bubbles against tissue non-linear artefact and noise.

Contrast enhancement of carotid adventitial vasa vasorum as a biomarker of radiation-induced atherosclerosis.

Purpose: Abnormal proliferation of adventitial vasa vasorum (vv) occurs early at sites of atherosclerosis and is thought to be an early biomarker of vascular damage. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) can detect this process. Its usefulness in irradiated arteries as a measure of accelerated atherosclerosis is unknown.

Attenuation Correction and Normalisation for Quantification of Contrast Enhancement in Ultrasound Images of Carotid Arteries.

An automated attenuation correction and normalisation algorithm was developed to improve the quantification of contrast enhancement in ultrasound images of carotid arteries. The algorithm first corrects attenuation artefact and normalises intensity within the contrast agent-filled lumen and then extends the correction and normalisation to regions beyond the lumen. The algorithm was first validated on phantoms consisting of contrast agent-filled vessels embedded in tissue-mimicking materials of known attenuation.

Efficacy of magnetic resonance diffusion tensor imaging and three-dimensional fiber tractography in the detection of clinical manifestations of central nervous system lupus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease frequently associated with neuropsychiatric manifestations. No follow-up case report has characterized white matter alterations in patients with neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) before and after treatment. In this study, a 16-year-old NPSLE patient with severe neuropsychological symptoms was treated with steroid pulse therapy, and was scanned with conventional magnetic resonance (MR) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at onset and 17months after treatment.

Primary leptomeningeal melanoma.

Primary melanoma of the central nervous system is a rare melanocytic tumor typically located in the leptomeninges. We report a 57-year-old woman with an intracranial leptomeningeal melanoma who presented with myoclonic seizures. Brain CT scan and MRI revealed a hemorrhagic intracranial tumor.

Delayed herniation of intra-abdominal contents after blunt right-sided diaphragm rupture.

Right diaphragmatic hernia is a rare injury (0.25%-1%) after blunt abdominal trauma. The diagnosis may be delayed and achieved years after the trauma.