Duration Of Scanning Research Articles

Home OCT Imaging for Newly Diagnosed Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Feasibility Study

To assess the feasibility of daily Home OCT imaging among patients with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). Prospective observational study. Participants with ≥ 1 eye with previously untreated nAMD and visual acuity 20/20 to 20/320. Participants meeting the ocular eligibility criteria were considered for enrollment; those who provided consent received a Notal Vision Home OCT device. Participants were instructed to scan both eyes daily. Retina specialists managed treatment according to their standard practice, without access to the Home OCT data. The presence of fluid detected by a reading center (RC) from in-office OCT scans was compared with fluid volumes measured by the Notal OCT Analyzer (NOA) on Home OCT images. Proportion of participants meeting ocular eligibility criteria who participated in daily scanning, frequency and duration of scanning, proportion of scans eligible for fluid quantification, participant experience with the device, agreement between the RC and NOA fluid determinations, and characteristics of fluid dynamics. Among 40 participants meeting ocular eligibility criteria, 14 (35%) initiated self-scanning. Planned travel (n= 7, 17.5%) and patient-reported inadequate cell reception for the upload of images (n= 5, 12.5%) were the most frequent reasons for not participating. Considering scans of the study eye only, the mean (standard deviation) was 6.3 (0.6) for weekly scanning frequency and 47 (17) seconds for scan duration per eye. Among 2304 scans, 86.5% were eligible for fluid quantification. All participants agreed that scanning became easier over time, and only 1 did not want to continue daily scanning. For 35 scan pairs judged as having fluid by in-office OCT, the NOA detected fluid on 31 scans (89%). For 14 scan pairs judged as having no fluid on in-office OCT, the NOA did not detect fluid on 10 scans (71%). Daily fluid patterns after treatment initiation varied considerably between patients. For patients with nAMD who initiated home scanning, frequency and quality of scanning and accuracy of fluid detection were sufficient to assess the monitoring of fluid at home. Accommodations for travel and Wi-Fi connectivity could improve uptake of the Home OCT device. Proprietary or commercial disclosure may be found in the Footnotes and Disclosures at the end of this article.

The diagnostic potential of cone beam computed tomography for cervical spine injuries in children: a review of two reports

Compared to multiaxial computed tomography, the cone beam computed tomography has its benefits in terms of higher resolution imaging, including the construction of a 3D image, and in terms of several fold lower radiation exposure. The duration of scanning of less than 1 minute and the possibility to place a patient in the sitting position allow for the use of this method in various fields of stomatology, maxillofacial surgery, as well as in traumatology for the assessment of limb injuries.
 The paper presents our experience with the cone beam computed tomography as a single method for radiation diagnostics in children with cervical spine injuries. The first case is an example of the use of this method for primary diagnosis and subsequent follow-up of the restoration of the atlantoaxial position in a 9-year old child with rotatory subluxation of the atlant. To clarify the type of the injury, we combined and compared the axial planes of the 1st and 2nd cervical vertebrae. In the second case, we explored the possibility to assess the restoration of the bone structure and mutual position of the upper cervical vertebrae with the images obtained by cone beam computed tomography in a 9-year old girl with the Down's syndrome, who had been operated due to a cervical spine injury.
 The analysis of the cone beam computed tomography images from the first clinical case delineates the prospects of the method in the diagnostics of the atlant rotation subluxation in school-age children. Evaluation of the images obtained during the examination of the second clinical case has identified some disadvantages of the cone beam computed tomography, namely: 1) there is no way to control the fixed patient position, 2) limitations of the software to suppress artifacts arising from the metal construction, which leads to advanced image blurring and flatness, significantly hindering the identification of abnormalities.

AI-assisted compressed sensing and parallel imaging sequences for MRI of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma: comparison of their capabilities in terms of examination time and image quality

ObjectiveTo compare examination time and image quality between artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted compressed sensing (ACS) technique and parallel imaging (PI) technique in MRI of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC).MethodsSixty-six patients with pathologically confirmed NPC underwent nasopharynx and neck examination using a 3.0-T MRI system. Transverse T2-weighted fast spin-echo (FSE) sequence, transverse T1-weighted FSE sequence, post-contrast transverse T1-weighted FSE sequence, and post-contrast coronal T1-weighted FSE were obtained by both ACS and PI techniques, respectively. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and duration of scanning of both sets of images analyzed by ACS and PI techniques were compared. The images from the ACS and PI techniques were scored for lesion detection, margin sharpness of lesions, artifacts, and overall image quality using the 5-point Likert scale.ResultsThe examination time with ACS technique was significantly shorter than that with PI technique (p < 0.0001). The comparison of SNR and CNR showed that ACS technique was significantly superior with PI technique (p < 0.005). Qualitative image analysis showed that the scores of lesion detection, margin sharpness of lesions, artifacts, and overall image quality were higher in the ACS sequences than those in the PI sequences (p < 0.0001). Inter-observer agreement was evaluated for all qualitative indicators for each method, in which the results showed satisfactory-to-excellent agreement (p < 0.0001).ConclusionCompared with the PI technique, the ACS technique for MR examination of NPC can not only shorten scanning time but also improve image quality.Clinical relevance statementThe artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted compressed sensing (ACS) technique shortens examination time for patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, while improving the image quality and examination success rate, which will benefit more patients.Key Points• Compared with the parallel imaging (PI) technique, the artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted compressed sensing (ACS) technique not only reduced examination time, but also improved image quality.• Artificial intelligence (AI)–assisted compressed sensing (ACS) pulls the state-of-the-art deep learning technique into the reconstruction procedure and helps find an optimal balance of imaging speed and image quality.

Reduced of radiation exposure and iodine load at CT angiography of the aorta before aortic and aortic valve replacement surgery

Objective . The comparison of protocols of computed tomography (CT) angiography of the aorta and their modification in conditions of radiation and iodine load reducing on the patient. Methods . In 95 patients (57 men, 38 women, mean age 61.4 ± 15.6 years) CT angiography of the aorta was performed using two- and three-zone scanning protocols with the voltage value on the X-ray tube (80 and 100kV) depending on the anthropometric measure namely body mass index (BMI). We compared dose length product parameters (DLP), effective dose (E), time and duration of scanning, as well as counting the amount of injected contrast agent (CM) between groups examined using a two-zone and three-zone protocols at an X-ray tube voltage of 80 and 100kV. Results . Analysis of the data obtained showed that the DLP and E values were statistically significantly lower with the CT angiography of the aorta protocol, which consisted of three scanning zones (at 80kV p = 0.008; at 100kV p &lt; 0.001). At the same time, there was no significant difference in the length of the study area in groups with the same voltage on the X-ray tube (p = 0.55), in the group with a three-zone protocol, the scanning time was significantly lower (p &lt; 0.001) and amounted to 9.4 ± 0.5 sec/10.24 ± 0.9 sec (80/100kV), which made it possible to significantly reduce radiation exposure up to 40% and the amount of injected contrast agent by 20%. Conclusions . The use of a three-zone CT-angiography of the aorta protocol with individual selection of voltage of the X-ray tube is justified and allows a significant reduction of radiation and iodine exposure compared to twozone scanning while maintaining the high images quality.

Scanning activity of elite football players in 11 vs. 11 match play: An eye-tracking analysis on the duration and visual information of scanning.

Visual perception in football ("soccer" in the U.S.) is increasingly becoming a key area of interest for researchers and practitioners. This exploratory case study investigated a sub-set of visual perception, namely visual exploratory scanning. The aim of this study was to examine the scanning of four elite football midfield players in an 11 vs. 11 real-game environment using mobile eye-tracking technology. More specifically, we measured the duration and information (number of teammates and opponents) of the players' scanning behavior. The results showed that the players' scanning duration was influenced by the ball context and the action undertaken with the ball at the moment of scan initiation. Furthermore, fixations were found in only 2.3% of the scans. Additionally, the results revealed that the stop point is the most information-rich part of a scan and that the players had more opponents than teammates inside their video frame during scans. Practical applications and further research recommendations are presented.

Computed Tomography Osteodensitometry for Assessment of Bone Mineral Density of the Canine Head-Preliminary Results.

Simple SummaryMetabolic bone disease can have disastrous consequences on canine health. Unlike in human medicine where awareness of osteoporosis and bone mineral density (BMD) disorders have led to the holistic application of osteodensitometry, application of osteodensitometry in dogs is limited. We aimed to assess the utility of quantitative computed tomography (qCT) bone mineral density (BMD) measurement of the canine calvarium using semiautomated osteodensitometry software and define host factors associated with canine BMD in a skeletally healthy population. Calvarium qCT can be used to rapidly obtain BMD measurement of dogs. Canine BMD was negatively associated with weight, whereas there was no relationship between BMD and age or sex. Many chronic canine diseases can significantly affect bone health via a variety of pathophysiological mechanisms. This efficient qCT method could facilitate rapid BMD screening in dogs undergoing CT evaluation and ultimately encourage further BMD investigation.Despite bone mineral density (BMD) being regularly measured in human patients, BMD studies in clinical cohorts of dogs is lacking. In order to facilitate BMD assessment and in turn better identify dogs suffering from metabolic bone disease, rapid, easy and precise computed tomography (qCT) techniques are required. In this study we aimed to assess the utility of quantitative computed tomography (qCT) bone mineral density (BMD) measurement of the canine calvarium using a semiautomated osteodensitometry software and define host factors associated with canine bone mineral density in a skeletally healthy population. Calvarial qCT at the level of the temporomandibular joints was performed on 323 dogs using a dedicated osteodensitometry calibration phantom during a clinically indicated head computed tomography (CT). Calvarial BMD was analyzed using a dedicated semiautomatic osteodensitometry software for contouring of the calvarial lamellar bone margins and BMD calculation. The mean duration of the calvarial qCT scanning was 64.6 s, and the mean duration of BMD analysis was 34 s, with a mean of two manual adjustments required for the bone margin tracing. The median BMD of all dogs in our study was 659 mg Calcium hydroxyapatite/mL. There was a negative linear correlation between BMD and body weight, but no correlation with age, sex or neutered status. Canine BMD assessment using qCT of the calvarium is a practical and fast technique that can be added to a clinical CT examination with minimal extra time requirements. Canine BMD host-dependent factors exhibit different relationships from that of humans; however, further investigation is warranted.

Sorted Golden-step phase encoding: an improved Golden-step imaging technique for cardiac and respiratory self-gated cine cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging

BackgroundNumerous self-gated cardiac imaging techniques have been reported in the literature. Most can track either cardiac or respiratory motion, and many incur some overhead to imaging data acquisition. We previously described a Cartesian cine imaging technique, pseudo-projection motion tracking with golden-step phase encoding, capable of tracking both cardiac and respiratory motion at no cost to imaging data acquisition. In this work, we describe improvements to the technique by dramatically reducing its vulnerability to eddy current and flow artifacts and demonstrating its effectiveness in expanded cardiovascular applications.MethodsAs with our previous golden-step technique, the Cartesian phase encodes over time were arranged based on the integer golden step, and readouts near ky = 0 (pseudo-projections) were used to derive motion. In this work, however, the readouts were divided into equal and consecutive temporal segments, within which the readouts were sorted according to ky. The sorting reduces the phase encode jump between consecutive readouts while maintaining the pseudo-randomness of ky to sample both cardiac and respiratory motion without comprising the ability to retrospectively set the temporal resolution of the original technique. On human volunteers, free-breathing, electrocardiographic (ECG)-free cine scans were acquired for all slices of the short axis stack and the 4-chamber view of the long axis. Retrospectively, cardiac motion and respiratory motion were automatically extracted from the pseudo-projections to guide cine reconstruction. The resultant image quality in terms of sharpness and cardiac functional metrics was compared against breath-hold ECG-gated reference cines.ResultsWith sorting, motion tracking of both cardiac and respiratory motion was effective for all slices orientations imaged, and artifact occurrence due to eddy current and flow was efficiently eliminated. The image sharpness derived from the self-gated cines was found to be comparable to the reference cines (mean difference less than 0.05 mm− 1 for short-axis images and 0.075 mm− 1 for long-axis images), and the functional metrics (mean difference < 4 ml) were found not to be statistically different from those from the reference.ConclusionsThis technique dramatically reduced the eddy current and flow artifacts while preserving the ability of cost-free motion tracking and the flexibility of choosing arbitrary navigator zone width, number of cardiac phases, and duration of scanning. With the restriction of the artifacts removed, the Cartesian golden-step cine imaging can now be applied to cardiac imaging slices of more diverse orientation and anatomy at greater reliability.

S150. DOPAMINE SYNTHESIS CAPACITY IN ANTIPSYCHOTIC NAïVE FIRST EPISODE PSYCHOTIC PATIENTS

BackgroundInsufficient response to antipsychotics constitutes a challenge in the treatment of patients suffering from schizophrenia. Treatment resistances have been linked to a normal striatal dopamine system. We aim to stratify antipsychotic-naïve first-episode patients based on striatal dopamine synthesis capacity (DSC) measured with positron emission tomography (PET). We hypothesize that patients who respond to treatment have an increased DSC at baseline compared to non-responders and healthy controls (HC).MethodsThe current data have been collected as a part of a multimodal first episode study. Patients are examined before and after 6 weeks treatment with flexible doses of Aripiprazole.PET: Dynamic scans are performed in an integrated PET-CT scanner using the tracer 3,4-dihydroxy-6-[18F]fluoro-L-phenylalanine (18F-FDOPA). Duration of scanning is two times one hour, with half an hour break.Arterial blood samples are collected during the scanning sessions and provide information on the ratio between intact 18F-FDOPA and the primary metabolite. The input functions used for this data analysis are image derived based on the largest cerebral vessels and metabolite corrected.Regions of interest (ROIs) are manually drawn around the cerebellum and semi automatically around the basal ganglia. In this preliminary work, DSC values are based on Ki parameters obtained from slopes on Patlak plots.ResultsDSC has been measured at baseline on 16 patients (mean age 22.6 years, 5 males) and 18 HC (mean age 21.7 years, 9 males), with no significant difference in age or gender between groups.At baseline patients had a PANSS total score of 74 (SD 9.6) and GAF total score of 35 (SD 5.2).No significant difference in Ki at baseline was shown between patients and HC. Clinical follow-up data was available on 12 patients. They received a mean Aripiprazole-dose of 9.3 (SD 3.9). Paired t-test at showed a significant effect of treatment with a follow up PANSS total of 55 (SD 11.9, p<0.001) and GAF total of 49 (SD 11.2, p=0.002).Six patients were characterized as responders, and six as non-responders using the Nancy Andreasen remission criteria. There were no baseline differences in PANSS or GAF scores between responders and non-responders. Nor did the dose of Aripiprazole differ between these groups. There was however significant difference in the GAF total score at follow up (p =0.001), as GAF was 59 (SD 9.3) for responders and 39 (SD 5.3) for non-responders.Mean Ki-values at baseline was 0.79 (SD 0.2) for non-responders, 0.88 (SD 0.2) for responders and 0.91 (SD 0.2) for HC. One way ANOVA showed no significant group difference.DiscussionAlthough not significant, we found a slightly lower Ki-value at baseline for non-responders compared to baseline Ki-values for responders and HC in these preliminary analyses. This was unexpected, but should be taken with precaution, as the results represent work in progress.Inclusion of subjects and data-analyses is ongoing, and data analysis will be more extensive in spring 2018, especially regarding the methodology:The current image derived input function suffers from partial volume effects (PVE). To account for PVE and other factors the image data will be co-registered with T1-weighted MRI data and normalized to standard space in order to use a standard anatomical atlas to help define the ROIs. Finally, as mentioned earlier, arterial samples are collected and we plan to use arterial input functions to correct for the complicated kinetics of the tracer. To improve the Ki estimation we will use the metabolite corrected arterial plasma curve as input function and compare these results with the current method.

Effect of Resting-State fNIRS Scanning Duration on Functional Brain Connectivity and Graph Theory Metrics of Brain Network.

As an emerging brain imaging technique, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has attracted widespread attention for advancing resting-state functional connectivity (FC) and graph theoretical analyses of brain networks. However, it remains largely unknown how the duration of the fNIRS signal scanning is related to stable and reproducible functional brain network features. To answer this question, we collected resting-state fNIRS signals (10-min duration, two runs) from 18 participants and then truncated the hemodynamic time series into 30-s time bins that ranged from 1 to 10 min. Measures of nodal efficiency, nodal betweenness, network local efficiency, global efficiency, and clustering coefficient were computed for each subject at each fNIRS signal acquisition duration. Analyses of the stability and between-run reproducibility were performed to identify optimal time length for each measure. We found that the FC, nodal efficiency and nodal betweenness stabilized and were reproducible after 1 min of fNIRS signal acquisition, whereas network clustering coefficient, local and global efficiencies stabilized after 1 min and were reproducible after 5 min of fNIRS signal acquisition for only local and global efficiencies. These quantitative results provide direct evidence regarding the choice of the resting-state fNIRS scanning duration for functional brain connectivity and topological metric stability of brain network connectivity.

Gender differences in dynamic functional connectivity based on resting-state fMRI.

Many neuroscience studies have found brain differences lead to the gender differences in behavior and cognitive ability. Functional connectivity is a common and effective measure to characterize brain. Most current studies based on fMRI functional connectivity basically assumed temporal stationarity across the duration of scanning, and thought that brain functional connectivity was constant in a certain period of time. However, some studies revealed that the functional connectivity was dynamic and fluctuant over time. Dynamic functional connectivity could more accurately describe changes in neural activity. A high value of flexibility indicates frequent interactions between regions. In this article, gender differences in global brain flexibility were further investigated, and twelve brain regions with significantly flexibility differences were found. The female's flexibility is lower than male's in the amygdala, hippocampus, and parahippocampal gyrus. And in the temporal lobe, precuneus, middle cingulate gyrus, superior occipital gyrus, and inferior occipital gyrus the flexibility of male group is lower than female group. The findings may improve the understanding and provide new insights into gender differences on behaviors and cognition from the perspective of resting-state brain function.

Early replacement of CT scanning by abdomino-pelvic ultrasound as a safe alternative in the follow-up of patients with germ cell tumors.

420 Background: Late relapse in patients with germ cell tumors (GCT) are rare events. As there is no consensus for follow-up (FU) protocols, it is unclear if shorter duration of CT scanning is safe while reducing unnecessary exposure to radiation. Methods: At the completion of their treatment, all patients with Stage I, metastatic good or intermediate prognosis seminoma and non-seminoma (NSGT) underwent physical exam, serum tumor markers and imaging at regular intervals. We retrospectively identified 2 groups of patients with different FU strategies: those with regular CT scan of the chest, abdomen and pelvis for 3 years or less, then followed by abdomino-pelvic ultrasound (Group 1); and those with CT scanning continued beyond 3 years (Group 2). Results: Between December 1997 and March 2016, 203 patients were included: 80 (39.4%) in Group 1 and 123 (60.6%) in Group 2. The mean duration of FU was 6.7 ± 2.4 years in Group 1 and 8.1 ± 2.5 years in Group 2 (p &lt; 0.001). After year 3 the median number of abdomino-pelvic ultrasound in Group 1 was 5 (4-6) and the median number of CT scanning in Group 2 was 6 (5-8). Five (2.4%) relapses were identified: 1 in Group 1 and 4 in Group 2. Relapse was revealed by symptoms in 2 patients with NSGT (1 in each group) who had been lost for FU. Three patients underwent local treatment (2 surgeries for teratoma relapses and 1 radiotherapy for seminoma relapse) and are still disease-free. International prognostic factors score was low and intermediate for the first 2 patients, very low for seminoma relapse and low for teratoma relapses. Conclusions: Patient follow-up by regular abdomino-pelvic ultrasound instead of CT scan appears a feasible alternative after the third year in patients with GCT, with no excess risk of incurable relapses. Prospective validation is required.

A novel detection method of spray droplet distribution based on LIDARs

During the process of plant protection in agriculture, the distribution and deposition of droplets or fog fields could directly influence the effectiveness and efficiency of spray. The traditional method of measurement of the distribution of droplets mainly used water sensitive papers, glass containers or flour to collect data and inverse results, while a new method of measurement based on the principle of reflection of LIDAR was presented. Droplets were the major targets of the study, and four important algorithms were primarily developed, including the recognition and extraction of targets, the superposition in time-domain, the calculation of effective ranges of distribution, and the development of 3D distribution models. Combined with these algorithms, in order to eliminate the environmental noise, the methods of Fuzzy Environment Matching and Secondary Filter were created and utilized. Meanwhile, the statistics was used for analysis of the duration of scanning as well as computation of the distribution, with enough datasets but the minimum length of time. The results of the experiments showed that the relative error of measurement was less than 7% and Relative Standard Deviation was less than 16%, compared with the values of manual measurement. Furthermore, the 3D models were accurate and clarified in the wind-tunnel experiment. The completed system based on this method could adapt to the requirements of both indoor and outdoor detection. Besides, it is capable of the quantized detection of droplet distribution, providing an effective way of tests for spray technique, especially for the research of the application of plant protection by UAVs. Keywords: droplets, distribution, detection, agricultural aviation, UAV DOI: 10. 25165/j.ijabe.20171004.3118 Citation: Zheng Y J, Yang S H, Lan Y B, Hoffmann C, Zhao C J, Chen L P, et al. A novel detection method of spray droplet distribution based on LIDARs. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2017; 10(4): 54–65.

Advantages and disadvantages of nuclear medicine techniques used in the diagnosis of patients with neuroblastoma (a review)

About the 50 % of patients with neuroblastoma (NB) suffered from generalized form of disease at the moment of diagnosis establishing. So, the correct staging with the usage of methods of radiation diagnosis and nuclear medicine is very important in this setting. Meta-iodobenzyl guanidine (MIBG) is an analogue of noradrenalin so this is the ideal tumortropic drug for visualization of cells expresses carriers of noradrenalin. Main problems of method of MIBG scintigraphy are the limited spatial resolution, low sensitivity during the diagnosis of small-sized tumours, presence of NB without MIBG accumulation, duration of scanning and necessity of several scanning protocols. Positron-emission tomography with consequent radiopharmaceuticals can be good alternative way in comparison with routine scintigraphy with MIBG to help in case of doubtful and contradictory results.

In vivo quantification of renal function in mice using clinical gamma cameras

IntroductionIn preclinical research, the growing number of transgenic models has led to the need for renal-function studies in mice. Many efforts have been made to develop dedicated SPECT systems for rodents, but their availability is limited due to high capital costs. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of mouse renal imaging by using an inexpensive alternative based on clinical gamma-cameras. MethodsA healthy mouse was scanned 3 h after injection of 6 mCi of Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) labeled with 99mTc by using a single-head gamma-camera in conjunction with a dedicated pinhole collimator. List-mode data were binned to emulate multiple injections of 1 mCi, 0.1 mCi and 0.01 mCi of 99mTc-DMSA and 6-min ventral and dorsal planar images were acquired and SPECT imaging (60 projection images acquired over 60 min) was performed. An optimization of the protocols in terms of injected activity, time scan, renal cortex uniformity and cortex-to-pelvis contrast was carried out. ResultsThe appropriate protocols were an injected activity of 0.6 mCi, combined with duration of scanning of 1 min for planar and 60 min for SPECT imaging. Our results were validated through the relative quantification of renal function, which showed that both kidneys contributed equally to the total function. They showed that functional structures of the mouse kidneys can be visually distinguished as easily as in human studies. ConclusionsOur findings showed the feasibility of conducting quantitative DMSA SPECT studies of anesthetized mice on clinical gamma cameras.

18F-FDG-PET/CT imaging of drug-induced metabolic changes in genetically engineered mouse lung cancer models.

The most commonly used radiotracer for cancer imaging in humans and mice is 2-deoxy-2-((18)F)fluoro-d-glucose ((18)F-FDG). We have used FDG coupled with positron-emission tomography (PET) to assess the pharmacodynamic efficacy of a number of therapeutics in genetically engineered mouse lung cancer models. In this protocol, we present our approach for FDG-PET imaging of early tumor metabolic changes induced by drug treatment. Special consideration is given to animal preparation, anesthesia, and PET/computed tomography (CT) imaging of mice with lung tumors. Specifically, we recommend fasting the mice overnight to reduce background, using sevoflurane anesthesia and a "conscious" uptake period to minimize cardiac FDG uptake, adopting a relatively short duration of CT and PET scanning to facilitate serial imaging, and quantifying the comparison between the maximum standardized uptake values (SUVs) of lung tumors before and after treatment to determine treatment effects. Used in this manner, FDG-PET can rapidly assess tumor metabolism before and after treatment with an experimental therapeutic. In many cases, metabolic changes are apparent after just a single dose of treatment, helping to show target engagement and modulation by the drug (pharmacodynamic efficacy) within days of starting therapy.

Three-dimensional versus two-dimensional ultrasonographic assessment of peripheral enthesitis in spondylarthritis

To compare the intra- and interobserver reliability of three-dimensional (3D) volumetric versus conventional two-dimensional (2D) power Doppler ultrasonography (US) in the assessment of peripheral enthesitis in spondylarthritis (SpA). Sixteen patients with SpA according to ASAS criteria were included. Two rheumatologists (one experimented in musculoskeletal US (sonographer 1) and one beginner (sonographer 2)) performed independently a 2D US scoring of the enthesis using the Madrid Sonographic Enthesis Index score followed by a 3D acquisition of the same entheseal sites. The reading of the 3D acquisition was performed a minimum of 1week apart. Intraobserver reliability was evaluated by a second reading of the same images. The duration of 2D US scanning, 3D US acquisition and reading was recorded. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were used for the reliability analysis. Intraobserver reproducibility was good to excellent for 2D US and good for 3D US (ICC (95%CI) 2D US 0.776 (0.471-0.916) and 0.96 (0.892-0.986) and ICC (95%CI) 3D US 0.796 (0.498-0.921) and 0.703 (0.325-0.886) for sonographer 1 and 2, respectively). Interobserver reliability was slightly better for 3D US than for 2D US (ICC (95%CI) 0.776 (0.471-0.916) for 3D US versus 0.641 (0.221-0.859) for 2D US). The mean time (±SD) for 2D US scanning was 23min (±4) whereas the mean time for 3D US volume acquisition and reading was 16.5min (±2.6) (p < 0.001). 3D US showed good intra- and interobserver reliability in the assessment of enthesitis in SpA and shortened the needed time for scanning. It can be performed by a nonexperienced examiner without loss of reliability.

Activities of Blue bull, Boselaphus tragocamelus during partial solar eclipse: a case study in captivity

A comparative study was made to observe the change in basic activities of Blue bull due to solar eclipse. The study was conducted over 3 consecutive days including the day of a partial solar eclipse (22 July 2009), 1 day earlier and 1 day after at the Zoological Garden, Alipur, Kolkata. The activities of individuals of both sexes were recorded by two observers by applying the focal animal sampling method. It was observed that the time spent in feeding, scanning, lying and social activities was increased or decreased on the day of the solar eclipse. A significant difference in some activities between normal days and the day of the solar eclipse varied among male and female individuals. It was also recorded that the average duration of scanning and lying in males increased on the day of the solar eclipse, while in females the average duration of standing, scanning and walking increased, and lying decreased, on the day of the solar eclipse. The recorded data reveals that the rate of feeding, lying and social activities of males decreased in solar eclipse hours while the rate of feeding decreased and the rate of scanning increased in females in solar eclipse hours. In conclusion, the results show changes in basic activities of Blue bull in comparison to a normal day. We may conclude that the normal cycle of the basic activities of Blue bull maintained by the biological clock system was guided to some degree by the phenomenon of the solar eclipse.

SAT0509 Three-Dimensional Versus Two-Dimensional Ultrasonography in the Assessment of Peripheral Enthesitis in Spondylarthritis

BackgroundPower Doppler ultrasonography (PdUS) is widely used for the evaluation of the entheses in spondylarthritis (SpA). PdUS has been shown to be useful for the diagnosis and the evaluation of...

Operative cooperation in cochlear implantation with intraoperative CT scanning

Objective To explore the operative cooperation in cochlear implantation with intra-operative CT scanning.Methods Ten cases of cochlear implantation with intraoperative CT scanning between April 2010 and April 2011 were selected and summarized the characters of operations.Results The electrode arrays were placed adequately in all ten cases.The duration of operation was (2.3 ± 0.5)h,the times needed for scanning during operation was (1.4 ± 0.7) h,the duration of intraoperative CT scanning was (13.5 ± 6.7) min.Conclusions The complex cochlear implantation with intraoperative CT scanning can be smoothly finished with proper preoperative and scientific and reasonable cooperation. Key words: Cochlear implantation ; Tomography,spiral computed ; Operation

Automatic termination of parallel optimization runs of global stochastic optimization methods by upper limit criterion

Many combinations of adjustable parameters should be tested in optimization experiments of biochemical networks to find the smallest subset of parameters enabling the best improvements of objective function both in case of design task and parameter estimation task. In case of optimization with global stochastic optimization methods one of the problems is the termination of the optimization run looking for a good compromise between spent computational resources and probability that the best found value of objective function will be the global optimum. Longer runs increase the possibility to each the global optimum. Automatic termination criteria in case of consensus or stagnation of parallel optimization runs have been proposed as criteria for automatic termination. Varying the consensus and delay time settings different probability of reaching global optimum and duration of optimization can be reached. It is proposed to modify automatic optimization termination criteria of parallel optimization runs applying upper limit agreement of a number of parallel optimization runs. Automatic application of upper limit agreement would reduce the duration of scanning of the whole space of combination of adjustable parameters. This approach is tested on the yeast glycolysis model with six adjustable parameters using COPASI, CoRunner and ConvAn software for five parallel optimization runs per combination of adjustable parameters.