Revisions after prior stapes surgery: aspects on indication, intraoperative findings and surgical strategies.

Objective: Primary stapes surgery is considered a challenging intervention in ear surgery. Despite an risk of deafness in 0.5-1 percent, this procedure has still a good benefit-risk ratio due to the improvement in hearing and quality of life that is usually achieved.

Exploring the dynamics of ultrasound training in medical education: current trends, debates, and approaches to didactics and hands-on learning.

Introduction: Medical education, especially in ultrasound training, is undergoing significant changes. This study examines practical issues in ultrasound medical education, emphasizing state-of-the-art teaching methods, their effectiveness, and implementation challenges.

Methods: The study analyzed advancements in ultrasound education, including randomized controlled trials comparing peer-to-peer teaching with traditional faculty-led instruction.

The evaluation of child maltreatment among child abuse evaluation clinics in Berlin, Germany - A multicenter study.

Background: Since child maltreatment can cause severe and lifelong developmental impairment, early evaluation by multidisciplinary child abuse evaluation clinics (CAEC) is recommended. Nevertheless, data on the evaluation outcome is rare to measure and little addressed by existing literature.

Objective: To assess the evaluation outcome clarified (confirmed or excluded abuse or neglect), not clarified (remains indeterminate) of suspected child maltreatment and to find associated predictors related to a respectively high or low clarification rate.

Deep learning-based whole-brain B -mapping at 7T.

Purpose: This study investigates the feasibility of using complex-valued neural networks (NNs) to estimate quantitative transmit magnetic RF field (B ) maps from multi-slice localizer scans with different slice orientations in the human head at 7T, aiming to accelerate subject-specific B -calibration using parallel transmission (pTx).

Methods: Datasets containing channel-wise B -maps and corresponding multi-slice localizers were acquired in axial, sagittal, and coronal orientation in 15 healthy subjects utilizing an eight-channel pTx transceiver head coil. Training included five-fold cross-validation for four network configurations: used transversal, sagittal, coronal data, and was trained on all slice orientations.

Ultrasound of the spleen - an update on measurements, reference values, and influencing factors. A systematic review.

Reliable and reproducible measurement methods have been established, and reference values are used in almost all scientific disciplines. The knowledge of reference values is crucial to distinguish physiological from pathological processes and, therefore, subsequently, for the clinical management of patients. The image storage and documentation of measurements and normal findings should be part of quality assurance in imaging.

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy-left ventricular outflow tract shapes and their hemodynamic influences applying CMR.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is one of the most common genetic cardiac disorders and is characterized by different phenotypes of left ventricular hypertrophy with and without obstruction. The effects of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction based on different anatomies may be hemodynamically relevant and influence therapeutic decision making. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) provides anatomical information.

Reslice3Dto2D: Introduction of a software tool to reformat 3D volumes into reference 2D slices in cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.

Objective: Cardiovascular magnetic resonance enables the quantification of functional and morphological parameters with an impact on therapeutical decision making. While quantitative assessment is established in 2D, novel 3D techniques lack a standardized approach. Multi-planar-reformatting functionality in available software relies on visual matching location and often lacks necessary functionalities for further post-processing.

Registration accuracy comparing different rendering techniques on local vs external virtual 3D liver model reconstruction for vascular landmark setting by intraoperative ultrasound in augmented reality navigated liver resection.

Purpose: Augmented reality navigation in liver surgery still faces technical challenges like insufficient registration accuracy. This study compared registration accuracy between local and external virtual 3D liver models (vir3DLivers) generated with different rendering techniques and the use of the left vs right main portal vein branch (LPV vs RPV) for landmark setting. The study should further examine how registration accuracy behaves with increasing distance from the ROI.

Impact of training data composition on the generalizability of convolutional neural network aortic cross-section segmentation in four-dimensional magnetic resonance flow imaging.

Background: Four-dimensional cardiovascular magnetic resonance flow imaging (4D flow CMR) plays an important role in assessing cardiovascular diseases. However, the manual or semi-automatic segmentation of aortic vessel boundaries in 4D flow data introduces variability and limits the reproducibility of aortic hemodynamics visualization and quantitative flow-related parameter computation. This paper explores the potential of deep learning to improve 4D flow CMR segmentation by developing models for automatic segmentation and analyzes the impact of the training data on the generalization of the model across different sites, scanner vendors, sequences, and pathologies.

A Comparison of Different Intensive Care Unit Definitions Derived from the German Administrative Data Set: A Methodological, Real-World Data Analysis from 86 Helios Hospitals.

The intensive care unit (ICU) is a scarce resource in all health care systems, necessitating a well-defined utilization. Therefore, benchmarks are essential; and yet, they are limited due to heterogenous definitions of what an ICU is. This study analyzed the case distribution, patient characteristics, and hospital course and outcomes of 6,204,093 patients in the German Helios Hospital Group according to 10 derived ICU definitions.

Nanoliposomal irinotecan and fluorouracil plus leucovorin versus fluorouracil plus leucovorin in patients with cholangiocarcinoma and gallbladder carcinoma previously treated with gemcitabine-based therapies (AIO NALIRICC): a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 2 trial.

Background: There is an unmet need for effective therapies in pretreated advanced biliary tract cancer. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of nanoliposomal irinotecan and fluorouracil plus leucovorin compared with fluorouracil plus leucovorin as second-line treatment for biliary tract cancer.

Methods: NALIRICC was a multicentre, open-label, randomised, phase 2 trial done in 17 German centres for patients aged 18 years or older, with an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status of 0-1, metastatic biliary tract cancer, and progression on gemcitabine-based therapy.

Deep cardiac phenotyping by cardiovascular magnetic resonance reveals subclinical focal and diffuse myocardial injury in patients with psoriasis (PSOR-COR study).

Background: Psoriasis vulgaris (PV) is a chronic inflammatory disorder frequently associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aims to provide a prospective tissue characterization in patients with PV without major CVD using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR).

Methods: Patients with PV underwent laboratory assessment, a 12-lead and 24-h ECG, and a CMR exam at a 1.

Decitabine in older patients with AML: quality of life results of the EORTC-GIMEMA-GMDS-SG randomized phase 3 trial.

We hypothesized that fit older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with decitabine (DEC) would report better health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcomes than those receiving intensive chemotherapy (IC). We conducted a phase 3 randomized trial to compare DEC (10-day schedule) with IC (3+7) in older fit patients with AML. HRQoL was a secondary end point, and it was assessed with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) in conjunction with its elderly module (EORTC QLQ-ELD14).

In vivo evaluation of tumor uptake and bio-distribution of 99mTc-labeled 1-thio-β-D-glucose and 5-thio-D-glucose in mice model.

Background: To investigate the capacity of Tc-labeled 1-thio-β-D-glucose (1-TG) and 5-thio-D-glucose (5-TG) to act as a marker for glucose consumption in tumor cells in vivo as well as to evaluate the biodistribution of 1-TG and 5-TG. We investigated the biodistribution, including tumor uptake, of 1-TG and 5-TG at various time points after injection (0.5, 2 and 4 h) in human colorectal carcinoma (HCT-116) and human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) xenograft bearing nude mice (N = 4 per tracer and time point).

Post-hoc standardisation of parametric T1 maps in cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging: a proof-of-concept.

Background: In cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging parametric T1 mapping lacks universally valid reference values. This limits its extensive use in the clinical routine. The aim of this work was the introduction of our self-developed Magnetic Resonance Imaging Software for Standardization (MARISSA) as a post-hoc standardisation approach.

Sex-specific structural and functional cardiac remodeling during healthy aging assessed by cardiovascular magnetic resonance.

Background: Aging as a major non-modifiable cardiac risk factor challenges future cardiovascular medicine and economic demands, which requires further assessments addressing physiological age-associated cardiac changes.

Objectives: Using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), this study aims to characterize sex-specific ventricular adaptations during healthy aging.

Methods: The population included healthy volunteers who underwent CMR at 1.

Cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin serology prevalence in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma treated within the GMMG-MM5 phase III trial.

Objectives: The seroprevalence of antibodies against Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an established poor prognostic factor for patients receiving an allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, the impact of CMV serology on outcome after autologous stem cell transplantation remains unknown.

Methods: Here, we analyzed the CMV immunoglobulin (Ig) serology of 446 newly-diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients of the GMMG-MM5 phase III trial with a median follow-up of 58 months.

Adiposity influences on myocardial deformation: a cardiovascular magnetic resonance feature tracking study in people with overweight to obesity without established cardiovascular disease.

The objective of this study was to assess whether dietary-induced weight loss improves myocardial deformation in people with overweight to obesity without established cardiovascular disease applying cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) with feature tracking (FT) based strain analysis. Ninety people with overweight to obesity without established cardiovascular disease (age 44.6 ± 9.

Toward accurate and fast velocity quantification with 3D ultrashort TE phase-contrast imaging.

Purpose: Traditional phase-contrast MRI is affected by displacement artifacts caused by non-synchronized spatial- and velocity-encoding time points. The resulting inaccurate velocity maps can affect the accuracy of derived hemodynamic parameters. This study proposes and characterizes a 3D radial phase-contrast UTE (PC-UTE) sequence to reduce displacement artifacts.

Automated image quality assessment for selecting among multiple magnetic resonance image acquisitions in the German National Cohort study.

In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the perception of substandard image quality may prompt repetition of the respective image acquisition protocol. Subsequently selecting the preferred high-quality image data from a series of acquisitions can be challenging. An automated workflow may facilitate and improve this selection.

Trends in frailty in brain tumor care during the COVID-19 pandemic in a nationwide hospital network in Germany.

Purpose: Among brain tumor patients, frailty is associated with poor outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased frailty in the general population. To date, evidence on changes in frailty among brain tumor patients during the pandemic is lacking.