Medical X-ray Research Articles

Mucous Cysts of Fingers: Diagnostics and Treatment Mistakes

Background. Mucous cysts of hand represent tumor-like masses. This pathology is associated with a large number of diagnostic and treatment mistakes with inappropriate procedures and incomplete surgical interventions, which result in recurrences and complications.
 Aim of the study — to analyze diagnostics and treatment mistakes in patients with mucous cysts of fingers in order to improve the quality of medical care for patients with this pathology.
 Methods. The study enrolled 62 patients. Diagnostics included medical history analysis, clinical and X-ray examination, and ultrasonography. According to the patients’ history, they were divided into two groups: group 1 consisted of patients who had come to the clinic for the first time, group 2 — of patients who had referred to the clinic with recurrences of mucous cysts. All patients underwent surgical interventions with osteophyte excision of the phalanx and skin defect grafting after cyst excision. Treatment results were evaluated 2, 6, 12 months after the operation using X-ray data, VAS, QuickDash questionnaire, and measurements of the range of motion in the distal interphalangeal joint.
 Results. Initial referrals of group 2 patients (with disease recurrence) were analyzed in terms of the profile of specialists and the type of care provided. It was found that patients with recurrence had undergone procedures (cyst puncture, cauterization, removal of thin skin over the cyst) or surgeries without osteophyte excision of the phalanx and skin defect grafting after cyst excision. The use of a diagnostic algorithm at the referral stage made it possible to confirm the diagnosis and detect an osteophyte of the affected phalanx in all patients. Patients were followed up for a year.
 Conclusion. At the diagnostic stage, X-ray and ultrasonography are conclusive methods of examination. The only correct method of mucous cysts treatment is radical surgery including skin defect grafting with local tissues after cyst excision and osteophyte removal.

Convolutional Autoencoder-Based medical image compression using a novel annotated medical X-ray imaging dataset

With the ongoing development of machine learning techniques, it is now necessary to train and evaluate these algorithms to have access to high-quality medical X-ray datasets. This study unfolds on two critical axes within the realm of medical imaging. We introduce the proposed Medical X-ray Imaging Dataset (MXID), a meticulously curated resource featuring images spanning 18 body parts. It has been refined to include a classification based on body type within each gender category. This dataset addresses the limitations of existing datasets by offering comprehensive coverage, precise annotations, and optimal image quality. While numerous datasets often fall short in terms of encompassing a broad range of anatomical regions, particularly those that are designed for multi-body component analysis. Our primary contribution lies in bridging the gap in available resources, providing a foundation of developing robust machine learning algorithms in medical imaging. Moreover, we extend our investigation to the integration of the MXID dataset into the domain of medical image compression, evaluating the performance of techniques such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA), K-means clustering, Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Deep Convolutional Autoencoders (DCAEs), Autoencoders (AEs), and Variational Autoencoder (VAE), using two scenarios, one is for single image compression, and the other is for MXID dataset, which offer a unique perspective that enables a comprehensive assessment of these techniques across diverse anatomical regions. Our study contributes to advancing machine learning and deep learning applications in medical imaging, emphasizing the creation of a dataset and its integration into image compression.

Novel 3D-Printed lead-free radiation protection apron in the medical X-ray and thermal neutron energy range

In this study, we employed 3D printing technology to fabricate poly lactic acid (PLA) polymer samples infused with gadolinium oxide nanoparticles at additive rates of 10% and 20%. The objective was to explore their potential as radiation shielding aprons within the medical X-ray and thermal neutron energy spectrum. To facilitate comparisons, a PLA polymer sample with no additive was also produced. The homogeneity and well-defined structures of the PLA samples were observed using SEM and EDS analyses. Additionally, the excellent thermal stability of the proposed test samples was reported. In terms of gamma-ray shielding, there is a remarkable consistency between experiment, theory and simulation outcomes with a maximum discrepancy of approximately 5%. P-PLA-Gd20 sample exhibits attenuation capabilities against X-rays to a level that could serve as an alternative to lead. Additionally, the thermal and fast neutron attenuation effectiveness of the prepared samples were determined. A shielding effectiveness of 100% against thermal neutrons was achieved using a 10 mm sample thickness and the P-PLA-Gd20 sample. The findings consistently highlight the efficacy of the proposed polymer sample with a 20% gadolinium oxide nanoparticle additive, positioning it as a viable and promising alternative to traditional lead aprons.

Inorganic metal oxide material BaSiO3:Eu2+ for convenient 3D X-ray imaging

X-ray storage phosphors are found wide-ranging applications in medical diagnosis, nondestructive testing and X-ray imaging. However, designing X-ray storage phosphors with high electron storage capacity still poses a daunting challenge. In this study, we designed a fluorescent powder based on Eu2+-doped BaSiO3, demonstrating excellent optical information storage characteristic. Under high-energy X-ray filling, shallow traps exhibit low electron capacity and only produce weak afterglow, which greatly helps to minimize the impact of afterglow on the image quality during X-ray imaging. In addition, the deep traps at 1.01 eV filled with high-energy X-ray allow the material to store information for a long time. The crystal structure, photoluminescence (PL) and thermoluminescence (TL) spectra were studied systematically. The electron trapping properties of the material were analyzed using TL spectroscopy. Finally, we fabricated a flexible film with phosphors, the flexible film has been utilized to demonstrate high-quality real-time X-ray imaging and achieve time-delayed X-ray imaging of curved objects, such as flexible circuit boards.

Prevalence of hip femoroacetabular impingement deformities in high-level (La Liga) male professional football players.

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is considered one of the main causes of hip osteoarthritis in young adults, especially in athletes. In recent years, morphological changes in FAI in the hip have been linked to early and intense sports participation, but studying top-level athlete samples is not easy. This paper presents the prevalence of FAI radiological markers in 120 active white male professional football players in the Spanish First Division League (La Liga) and compares the morphological changes with those of a control group of healthy individuals without significant sport activity. The precontract medical evaluation hip X-rays of 120 white male professional football players from four different First Division Spanish football teams were prospectively filed and retrospectively reviewed by a dedicated skeletal radiologist. The footballers' hip X-rays were compared with those of a control group of 80 healthy individuals (age-sex matched) without significant sport activity (obtained from routine work medical checks). The femoral head-neck deformity associated with the Cam type of femoroacetabular impingement was observed in 61.6% of professional football players and only in 11.6% of the control group (p <0.01). The presence of "herniation pit" (11.6%) and os acetabuli (13.3%) also reached statistical significance in the professional football players group. In the other analyzed parameters, no statistically significant differences between the groups were observed. White professional top-level football players have an increased incidence of abnormal lateral epiphyseal extension ("pistol grip deformity"), os acetabuli and herniation pits.

Tannbehandling etter fedme­operasjon hos pasient med odontofobi – en kasuistikk

English summary Nor Tannlegeforen Tid. 2024; 134: 38-43. The case report describes the course of treatment for a former patient of bariatric surgery suffering from odontophobia and extensive caries. Using the patient’s story as our focal point, we explore relevant research in the field, where new studies indicate a probable link between bariatric surgery and caries. In conclusion we propose several measures to prevent oral health problems within this patient group. The patient has consented to the publication of her medical history, treatment, photograph, and X-rays.

Optimization of shielding barriers for feasible exposure to medical X-ray radiation

Despite the importance of X-ray facilities in medical practices, adequate shielding is required to reduce exposure to patients, workers and members of the general public. The importance of adequate shielding barriers in attenuating the intensity of X-rays to recommended limits thus cannot be over-emphasized. An evaluation of the shielding barrier in a public hospital was carried out with the aim of optimizing radiation protection of the general radiology department of specialist hospital Sokoto with the X-ray facility unit of the department as a case study. XRAYBARR software was used to evaluate the primary and secondary barriers using the X-ray tube Specification, distance of the various occupied areas, workload distribution, and use factor. An area survey was carried out using thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLD). Values from XRAYBARR and measured values from TLDs, the ratio of the software calculated to the designed barrier thickness and the ratio of measured to the designed dose were all compared. The ratio of the software calculated barrier thickness to designed barrier thickness was greater than 1 except in 4 positions. Results of the study also indicated that the ratio of the measured to design dose was greater than 1 for all the positions. This indicates that the barrier put in place except at 4 positions is not adequate to protect individuals from harmful effect of radiation. The result also shows that radiation dose beyond the barrier is greater than the design dose limit at all positions. Therefore, the need for reinforcement of the existing shielding barrier.

Preparation of eGaIn NDs/TPU Composites for X-ray Radiation Shielding Based on Electrostatic Spinning Technology.

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) composites with eutectic gallium (Ga) and indium (In) (eGaIn) fillings of 0 wt%-75 wt% were prepared using the electrostatic spinning method. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy were used to characterize the eGaIn NDs/TPU composites. To evaluate their X-ray shielding properties, Phy-X/PSD and WinXCom were employed to calculate the mass attenuation coefficients, linear attenuation coefficients, half-value layers, tenth value layers, mean free paths, and adequate atomic numbers of the eGaIn NDs/TPU composites. The SEM results indicated that the eGaIn nanodroplets were evenly distributed throughout the TPU fibers, and the flowable eGaIn was well-suited for interfacial compatibility with the TPU. A comparison of the eGaIn NDs/TPU composites with different content levels showed that the composite with 75 wt% eGaIn had the highest μm at all the evaluated energies, indicating a superior ability to attenuate X-rays. This non-toxic, lightweight, and flexible composite is a potential material for shielding against medical diagnostic X-rays.

Analysis of the off-focal source in transmission geometry X-ray systems

For X-ray tubes in lab based computed micro-tomography systems, off-focal X rays are those emitted from the source but not produced at the primary focal spot of the electron beam. They can be attributed to both electron and photon scatter within the X-ray tube. Off-focal X rays can represent a significant fraction of the total X-ray flux and lead to artefacts in the radiographs, and reconstructed tomographic volumes, degrading contrast and resolution. Therefore, they are an undesirable feature in industrial and medical X-ray CT scanners. In this work, a general model of an X-ray tube with a transmission target has been developed in TOPAS, a Monte Carlo (MC) simulation extension to GEANT4. MC simulations enable: (1) the analysis of the origin of various types of off-focal X rays; (2) quantification of the prevalence of each type for a specific tube geometry and (3) replication and understanding of experimental results affected by off-focal X rays. Our MC analysis herein shows that the amount of off-focal X rays can represent up to 25% of total X-ray flux. The most prevalent off-focal X rays were found to be the X rays created by the electrons back-scattered from the target into the aperture and generating X rays.

Role of Quantum Dots and Nanostructures in Photovoltaic Energy Conversion

Nanostructures and quantum dots have substantial effects on enhancing photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency, as evidenced in this comprehensive study. Materials that are nanostructured and nanosized particles are commonly used to address the urgent issues related to energy conversion. The use of nanostructured substances to address issues with energy and natural resources has garnered a lot of interest lately. Directional nanostructures in particular show promise for the conversion, collection, and storage of energy. Due to their unique properties, such as electrical conductivity, mechanical energy, and photoluminescence, quantum dots made from carbon (CQDs) and graphene quantum dots (GQDs) have been integrated into hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric systems (PV-TE). It evaluates the effects of nanostructures on solar energy technologies, in particular how they can improve power conversion and light absorption in solar cells. Optical light detectors, which transform photonic energy into signals that are electrical, are among the many optoelectronic uses of CQDs that have drawn attention because they are essential components of contemporary imaging and communication systems, such as visible light cameras, machine vision, medical X-ray and near-infrared image processing, and visible light detection devices. Besides supercapacitors, the study investigates how nanostructures could play a crucial role in contributing to addressing the global energy crisis sustainably, by working as photocatalysts for hydrogen synthesis and supercapacitors.

A novel medical steganography technique based on Adversarial Neural Cryptography and digital signature using least significant bit replacement

With recent advances in technology protecting sensitive healthcare data is challenging. Particularly, one of the most serious issues with medical information security is protecting of medical content, such as the privacy of patients. As medical information becomes more widely available, security measures must be established to protect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Image steganography was recently proposed as an extra data protection mechanism for medical records. This paper describes a data-hiding approach for DICOM medical pictures. To ensure secrecy, we use Adversarial Neural Cryptography with SHA-256 (ANC-SHA-256) to encrypt and conceal the RGB patient picture within the medical image’s Region of Non-Interest (RONI). To ensure anonymity, we use ANC-SHA-256 to encrypt the RGB patient image before embedding. We employ a secure hash method with 256bit (SHA-256) to produce a digital signature from the information linked to the DICOM file to validate the authenticity and integrity of medical pictures. Many tests were conducted to assess visual quality using diverse medical datasets, including MRI, CT, X-ray, and ultrasound cover pictures. The LFW dataset was chosen as a patient hidden picture. The proposed method performs well in visual quality measures including the PSNR average of 67.55, the NCC average of 0.9959, the SSIM average of 0.9887, the UQI average of 0.9859, and the APE average of 3.83. It outperforms the most current techniques in these visual quality measures (PSNR, MSE, and SSIM) across six medical assessment categories. Furthermore, the proposed method offers great visual quality while being resilient to physical adjustments, histogram analysis, and other geometrical threats such as cropping, rotation, and scaling. Finally, it is particularly efficient in telemedicine applications with high achieving security with a ratio of 99% during remote transmission of Electronic Patient Records (EPR) over the Internet, which safeguards the patient’s privacy and data integrity.

ПРОГНОЗИРОВАНИЕ КАЧЕСТВА РЕЗУЛЬТАТОВ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ ЛАБОРАТОРИИ НА ОСНОВЕ АНАЛИЗА СТАБИЛЬНОСТИ МЕТРОЛОГИЧЕСКИХ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИК МЕДИЦИНСКОГО РЕНТГЕНОВСКОГО ОБОРУДОВАНИЯ

The article discusses the testing methodology for medical X-ray equipment. Based on the testing data of the X-ray diagnostic complex KRD - “OKO”, control charts were constructed that evaluate the stability of the equipment according to the indicator “absorbed dose of X-ray radiation”. The possibility of using the “control charts” tool to assess the process stability of medical equipment is considered.

Design of Barnacle Mating Optimizer with Deep Learning Based Classification Model for Medical X-Ray Images

Design of Barnacle Mating Optimizer with Deep Learning Based Classification Model for Medical X-Ray Images

AERMNet: Attention-enhanced relational memory network for medical image report generation

Background and objectivesThe automatic generation of medical image diagnostic reports can assist doctors in reducing their workload and improving the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis. However, among the most existing report generation models, there are problems that the weak correlation between generated words and the lack of contextual information in the report generation process. MethodsTo address the above problems, we propose an Attention-Enhanced Relational Memory Network (AERMNet) model, where the relational memory module is continuously updated by the words generated in the previous time step to strengthen the correlation between words in generated medical image report. And the double LSTM with interaction module reduces the loss of context information and makes full use of feature information. Thus, more accurate disease information can be generated by AERMNet for medical image reports. ResultsExperimental results on four medical datasets Fetal heart (FH), Ultrasound, IU X-Ray and MIMIC-CXR, show that our proposed method outperforms some of the previous models with respect to language generation metrics (Cider improving by 2.4% on FH, Bleu1 improving by 2.4% on Ultrasound, Cider improving by 16.4% on IU X-Ray, Bleu2 improving by 9.7% on MIMIC-CXR). ConclusionsThis work promotes the development of medical image report generation and expands the prospects of computer-aided diagnosis applications. Our code is released at https://github.com/llttxx/AERMNET.

Sacroiliac joint syndrome is the cause of musculoskeletal back pain

The article considers a clinical case of treatment of one of the variants of nonspecific back pain – sacroiliac joint syndrome. In this case, we tried to demonstrate the importance of timely and accurate determination of the cause of dorsalgia using currently available tools: medical scales, X-ray and MRI examination, diagnostic drug blockade of the pain zone. A scrupulous analysis of complaints, anamnesis and clinical manifestations of the patient, a differential diagnosis with a number of diseases with a similar clinical picture, as well as the choice of treatment tactics based on federal clinical recommendations for the treatment of patients with nonspecific back pain made it possible to quickly determine the diagnosis and cope with the pain syndrome. Therapy with the inclusion of medications, physiotherapy, manual therapy, post-isometric relaxation, physical therapy, posture correction allowed the patient to stop the pain syndrome and return to an active lifestyle. Dexketoprofen (Dexalgin®) was prescribed to relieve the pain syndrome. Optimization of the method of administration of the drug is a step-by-step scheme for prescribing dexketoprofen: parenteral administration of 2 injections (50 mg) intramuscularly daily for 2 days, then transfer to oral Dexalgin intake – 25 mg 2 times a day for 3 days under the guise of proton pump inhibitors – Esomeprazole 40 mg 1 time a day, the use of a patch with a local anesthetic, vitamins of group B – 12 days, therapeutic and diagnostic drug blockades – contributed to a significant reduction in the intensity of the pain syndrome and allowed to prevent its transformation into a chronic process. As a result of the use of complex, pathogenetically based therapy, a rapid positive therapeutic effect was achieved.

Fractional-order modified heterogeneous comprehensive learning particle swarm optimizer for intelligent disease detection in IoMT environment

This paper presents an alternative early disease detection technique based on the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) to improve the healthcare system. Since it is necessary to address different aspects to help healthcare organizations to improve their efficiency. Early disease detection using a fast and efficient test, such as chest X-ray images, is one of the most important issues. In this paper, we develop an efficient model to allocate abnormalities in medical chest X-ray images. The developed model consists of a set of stages; the first stage is to segment the images using a multilevel thresholding technique to determine the lung inside the image, then extracting the features from the segmented objects using different extractor methods. Then, we proposed a Fractional-order modified Heterogeneous comprehensive learning particle swarm optimizer (FMHCLPSO) as a feature selection method to determine the relevant features used to improve the detection process. To evaluate the performance of the developed IoMT model, a set of three medical datasets is used, called Covid-19 & Pneumonia, X-raycovid, and Radiography. The results illustrate the high efficiency of the developed model to detect diseases based on performance measures. Furthermore, We compared the proposed method to several existing methods, and it showed significant performance.

Association of low-dose ionising radiation with site-specific solid cancers: Chinese medical X-ray workers cohort study, 1950–1995

BackgroundThe dose–response relationship between cancers and protracted low-dose rate exposure to ionising radiation is still uncertain. This study aims to estimate quantified relationships between low-dose radiation exposures and site-specific solid...

ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКА УРОВНЯ УДОВЛЕТВОРЁННОСТИ ПАЦИЕНТОВ АРХАНГЕЛЬСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ КАЧЕСТВОМ СТОМАТОЛОГИЧЕСКОЙ ПОМОЩИ

This study was conducted on the basis of a comparative results analysis of a questionnaire survey of patients in the Arkhangelsk region who applied for dental care in state polyclinics and private structures. In the questionnaire, special attention is paid to the issues of assessing the interaction level with nursing staff, as well as the personal qualities of the doctor, which, according to patients, significantly affect the level of final assessment of satisfaction with dental treatment. The average score of the doctor's interaction with the patient was 4,7 ± 0,7. Sociability (81,3%), tact (76,3%), organization (61,2%) and the doctor's ability to listen (55,5%) are the most significant qualities of the doctor that influenced the positive assessment of the interaction quality. Rudeness (42,8%), violation of ethics (42,8%), inability to listen (42,8%) and unwillingness to enter into the patient's position (28,5%) caused unsatisfactory evaluation by patients. Additional recommendations on oral care, selection of individual hygiene products were given to only 70,5% respondents. The results of the survey prove the importance of the dentist personal qualities in the complex interaction of the doctor and patient. Properly structured psychological contact, informing the patient about possible risks and complications, mandatory issuance of additional recommendations increase the level of patient satisfaction with dental treatment, directly affecting the productivity and success of treatment, which are important factors of patient compliance. In order to increase patient satisfaction with dental treatment, it is necessary to conduct additional training in the basics of medical ethics and deontology for medical registrars and X-ray technicians.

Effective Brain Stroke Prediction with Deep Learning Model by Incorporating YOLO_5 and SSD

Ischemic stroke is a life-threatening disorder that significantly reduces a person’s lifespan. The timely diagnosis of stroke heavily relies on medical imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography (CT), and x-ray imaging. However, the manual localization and analysis of these images can be time-consuming and yield less accurate results. To address this challenge, we propose the implementation of deep-learning object detection techniques for computerized lesion identification in medical images. In this study, we employ three categories of deep learning object identification networks: deep convolutional neural network (DCNN), you only look once (YOLO) 5, and single-shot detector (SSD). By leveraging these advanced deep learning models, we aim to reduce the effort and time required for screening and analyzing a significant number of daily medical images, including MRI, CT, and x-ray images. With the addition of YOLO5 and SSD among these networks, the accuracy achieved was 96.43%, demonstrating their effectiveness in accurately identifying lesions associated with ischemic stroke.

Assessment of the Attenuation Properties of Commercial Lead-Free Radiation-Shielding Composite Materials Against Medical X-rays

Six commercial, lead-free, radiation protective materials were tested for their attenuation across a range of X-ray energies used in medical diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology. While all the tested materials showed the specified attenuation at the X-ray energy claimed by their manufacturers, only two of the materials showed satisfactory attenuation in an extended range of medical X-ray energies (generated in X-ray tubes with voltages between 50 and 150 kV). The lead-free materials are lighter than the lead-containing materials, which is very important for those wearing the radiation protective garments for an extended time; however, the main focus in the promotion of radiation-shielding materials should still be on their attenuation efficacy against both the primary and the scattered X-rays present in medical environments. The end users should be informed on the material attenuation in an extended energy range, especially in the range where scatter radiation occurs, and not just about the peak material attenuation performance at energies where the X-rays are generated. Scatter radiation is the main reason for the occupational radiation exposure of medical personnel, who should have the whole picture about the shielding ability of the protective garments that they strongly rely on.