Technical note: Water-equivalent thickness of Superflab bolus material at diagnostic x-ray energies.

Purpose: The purpose of this work was to determine the water-equivalent thickness of Superflab bolus material for narrow and broad field-of-view (FOV) x-ray geometries at diagnostic x-ray energies.

Methods: Transmission measurements were performed for incremental thicknesses of Superflab bolus material and water in narrow and broad FOV x-ray geometries. The transmission data was fit to a non-linear model for x-ray transmission - the Archer model.

A Clinically Optimal Protocol for the Imaging of Enteric Tubes: On the Basis of Radiologist Interpreted Diagnostic Utility and Radiation Dose Reduction.

Rationale And Objectives: The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a patient thickness-based protocol specifically for the confirmation of enteric tube placements in bedside abdominal radiographs. Protocol techniques were set to maintain image quality while minimizing patient dose.

Materials And Methods: A total of 226 pre-intervention radiographs were obtained to serve as a baseline cohort for comparison.

Assessment of histological characteristics, imaging markers, and rt-PA susceptibility of ex vivo venous thrombi.

Venous thromboembolism is a significant source of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Catheter-directed thrombolytics is the primary treatment used to relieve critical obstructions, though its efficacy varies based on the thrombus composition. Non-responsive portions of the specimen often remain in situ, which prohibits mechanistic investigation of lytic resistance or the development of diagnostic indicators for treatment outcomes.

AAPM medical physics practice guideline 3.b.: Levels of supervision for medical physicists in clinical training.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a nonprofit professional society whose primary purposes are to advance the science, education and professional practice of medical physics. The AAPM has more than 8,000 members and is the principal organization of medical physicists in the United States. The AAPM will periodically define new practice guidelines for medical physics practice to help advance the science of medical physics and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the United States.

Radiation Dose during Transarterial Radioembolization: A Dosimetric Comparison of Cone-Beam CT and Angio-CT Technologies.

Purpose: To evaluate the radiation dose differences for intraprocedural computed tomography (CT) imaging between cone-beam CT and angio-CT acquired during transarterial radioembolization (TARE) therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort of 22 patients who underwent 23 TARE procedures were selected. Patients were imaged in both cone-beam CT and angio-CT rooms as a part of their conventional treatment plan.

Sacroiliac joint injections with the guidance of three-dimensional cone beam computed tomography (3D-CBCT) and fluoroscopy fusion.

Background: We describe our diagnostic sacroiliac joint (SIJ) injection technique under the guidance of three-dimensional cone beam computed tomography (3D-CBCT) fused with real-time fluoroscopy.

Methods: A retrospective review of 17 patients (mean age 55.4 (range 40-74) years) who received a total of 23 diagnostic SIJ injections between March 2016 and November 2017 were performed.

Ginsenoside Rg1-induced activation of astrocytes promotes functional recovery via the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway following spinal cord injury.

Aims: To determine whether ginsenoside Rg1 is involved in scratch wound healing through altered expression of related molecules in astrocytes and improved functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI).

Materials And Methods: Astrocytes were isolated from rats, followed by Rg1 treatment. The wound healing test was performed to observe the scratch wound healing in different groups.

Left extensive infection in the forearm caused by whitlow infected by mycobacterium tuberculosis: A case report.

Introduction: Whitlow is a common disease in clinic, characterized by pain and swelling of finger. However, few articles had reported on extensive infection in the forearm caused by whitlow infected by mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB).

Patient Concerns: A 70-year-old Chinese female complained of fester in back of left hand for 5 days.

Portable abdomen radiography: moving to thickness-based protocols.

Background: Default pediatric protocols on many digital radiography systems are configured based on patient age. However, age does not adequately characterize patient size, which is the principal determinant of proper imaging technique. Use of default pediatric protocols by inexperienced technologists can result in patient overexposure, inadequate image quality, or repeated examinations.

Ginsenoside Rg1 Promotes the Migration of Olfactory Ensheathing Cells via the PI3K/Akt Pathway to Repair Rat Spinal Cord Injury.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of ginsenoside Rg1 on the migration of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) in vitro, and its influence on the therapeutic efficacy of OECs transplanted in vivo for the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). Primary cultured and purified OECs (prepared from rats) were treated with ginsenoside Rg1. The wound healing test indicated that ginsenoside Rg1 promoted the migration of OECs.

Clinical Significance of US Artifacts.

Artifacts are frequently encountered at clinical US, and while some are unwanted, others may reveal valuable information related to the structure and composition of the underlying tissue. They are essential in making ultrasonography (US) a clinically useful imaging modality but also can lead to errors in image interpretation and can obscure diagnoses. Many of these artifacts can be understood as deviations from the assumptions made in generating the image.

Unified Database for Rejected Image Analysis Across Multiple Vendors in Radiography.

Reject rate analysis has been part of radiography departments' quality control since the days of screen-film radiography. In the era of digital radiography, one might expect that reject rate analysis is easily facilitated because of readily available information produced by the modality during the examination procedure. Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Imaging wisely: patient safety in CT.

The past decade has seen a significant growth in diagnostic CT imaging as a direct result of the clinical value provided by CT imaging. At the same time, many new techniques and resources are now available to make CT imaging safe. This article presents the basics of CT dosimetry and their usage in clinical practices, methods to implement CT dose reduction, followed by a summary of legislation, and guidelines related to patient safety in diagnostic CT imaging.

[Activation of hepatocyte growth factor-induced apoptosis in hepatic stellate cells].

Objective: To determine whether apoptosis is induced in rat hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) in response to activation of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) by hepatocyte growth factor activator (HGFA) by using a co-culture system of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and HSCs.

Methods: In this study, cells were divided into the following five groups: HSC control group: HSCs co-cultured with fibroblast cells; HSCs blank group: HSCs cultured alone; BMSCs blank group: BMSCs cultured alone; Experimental group: BMSCs + HSCs; HGFA intervention group: HSCs treated with 70 ng/mL of HGFA. The culture systems were established in culture plates with transwell inserts, and cells were assessed at 24, 48, and 72 h of growth.

Automated framework for digital radiation dose index reporting from CT dose reports.

Objective: Radiation exposure from CT studies has increased over the past 30 years in the United States and now constitutes approximately 50% of the radiation dose index administered in the health care setting. Tracking CT dose index (CTDI) is cumbersome because it relies on a manufacturer-generated screen capture, which contains the estimated dose index exposure for the patient. The radiation dose index information is not digital but, rather, is "burned" into the image (i.

Pedicle screw instrumentation plus augmentation vertebroplasty using calcium sulfate for thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurologic deficits.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of posterior instrumentation plus vertebroplasty and posterolateral fusion using calcium sulfate for thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurologic deficits.

Methods: Between July 2005 and January 2008, a total of 45 patients who had been diagnosed as having thoracolumbar burst fractures without neurologic deficits were treated with pedicle screw instrumentation plus vertebroplasty using calcium sulfate in our unit. The Cobb angles and loss rates of anterior-middle columns height at different time intervals were measured on lateral radiographs, and the preoperative and postoperative functional outcomes were evaluated using the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).

Image registration strategy of T(1)-weighted and FIESTA MRI sequences in trigeminal neuralgia gamma knife radiosurgery.

Background/aims: In Gamma Knife radiosurgery, T(1) MRI is most commonly used and is generally sufficient for targeting the trigeminal nerve. For patients whose trigeminal nerves are unclear on T(1) MRI, FIESTA MRI supplements anatomical structure visualization and may improve trigeminal nerve delineation. The purpose of this study was to develop a registration strategy for T(1) and FIESTA MRIs.

Ginsenoside Rg1 promotes proliferation and neurotrophin expression of olfactory ensheathing cells.

Transplantation of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) is currently considered to be one of the most promising repair strategies for human spinal cord injury. However, the factors that regulate OECs are still poorly understood. Ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1), the phytosterol from Panax ginseng, is a potent neuroprotective agent that promotes axonal regeneration.

Quantitative ultrasonic evaluation of radiation-induced late tissue toxicity: pilot study of breast cancer radiotherapy.

Purpose: To investigate the use of advanced ultrasonic imaging to quantitatively evaluate normal-tissue toxicity in breast-cancer radiation treatment.

Methods And Materials: Eighteen breast cancer patients who received radiation treatment were enrolled in an institutional review board-approved clinical study. Radiotherapy involved a radiation dose of 50.

[Local X-irradiation promotes regeneration of spinal cord central nervous system in a rat model].

Objective: To evaluate the effect of local X-irradiation on spinal cord injury by using physiology, kinology, electrophysiology and histology method.

Methods: 46 female Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to spinal cord injury by weight dropping on T(11-12). All animals were divided into 3 groups randomly.

Implementation and validation of an ultrasonic tissue characterization technique for quantitative assessment of normal-tissue toxicity in radiation therapy.

The goal of this study was to implement and validate a noninvasive, quantitative ultrasonic technique for accurate and reproducible measurement of normal-tissue toxicity in radiation therapy. The authors adapted an existing ultrasonic tissue characterization (UTC) technique that used a calibrated 1D spectrum based on region-of-interest analysis. They modified the calibration procedure by using a reference phantom instead of a planar reflector.

Radiation dose descriptors: BERT, COD, DAP, and other strange creatures.

Over the years, a number of terms have been used to describe radiation dose. Eight common radiation dose descriptors include background equivalent radiation time (BERT), critical organ dose (COD), surface absorbed dose (SAD), dose area product (DAP), diagnostic acceptable reference level (DARLing), effective dose (ED), fetal absorbed dose (FAD), and total imparted energy (TIE). BERT is compared to the annual natural background radiation (about 3 mSv per year) and is easily understandable for the general public.

Influence of flat-panel fluoroscopic equipment variables on cardiac radiation doses.

Purpose: To assess the influence of physician-selectable equipment variables on the potential radiation dose reductions during cardiac catheterization examinations using modern imaging equipment.

Materials: A modern bi-plane angiography unit with flat-panel image receptors was used. Patients were simulated with 15-30 cm of acrylic plastic.

New automated fluoroscopic systems for pediatric applications.

Pediatric patients are at higher risk to the adverse effects from exposure to ionizing radiation than adults. The smaller sizes of the anatomy and the reduced X-ray attenuation of the tissues provide special challenges. The goal of this effort is to investigate strategies for pediatric fluoroscopy in order to minimize the radiation exposure to these individuals, while maintaining effective diagnostic image quality.