A prototype hand-held tri-modal instrument for in vivo ultrasound, photoacoustic, and fluorescence imaging.

Multi-modality imaging is beneficial for both preclinical and clinical applications as it enables complementary information from each modality to be obtained in a single procedure. In this paper, we report the design, fabrication, and testing of a novel tri-modal in vivo imaging system to exploit molecular/functional information from fluorescence (FL) and photoacoustic (PA) imaging as well as anatomical information from ultrasound (US) imaging. The same ultrasound transducer was used for both US and PA imaging, bringing the pulsed laser light into a compact probe by fiberoptic bundles.

Frequency of osteoporosis in 46 men with methamphetamine abuse hospitalized in a National Hospital.

Background: Methamphetamine, a derivative of amphetamine, has been well known to cause mental problems in humans; however, its physical effects are little known. Despite relevant information on the effect of methamphetamine abuse on bone quality being available, data regarding the frequency of osteoporosis in methamphetamine abusers are limited.

Methods: We selected 46 hospitalized male methamphetamine abusers and 188 reference male controls in whom any conditions affecting bone metabolism were ruled out.