Narrow Results

The International Peptide Symposium Held in Singapore for the First Time.

Inspirations from 2015 FWIS L'Oréal Winners.

Emerging Opportunities in Myanmar's Diagnostic Imaging and In Vitro Diagnostics.

The following topics are under this section:

• Preterm Births? Diet not the only answer
• The key in diagnosis and treatment
• Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance
• Clinical research studies pave the way for better healthcare
• Up in the Clouds with Artificial Intelligence and Healthcare

This study investigates the feasibility of using high-resolution ultrasound imaging echogenicity to quantitatively diagnose gingival inflammation. Gingival samples were extracted from the study participants during gingivectomy procedures. Ultrasound mechanical scanning of the samples was immediately conducted ex-vivo to render cross-sectional images of high resolution, at different locations. Samples’ histological preparation and analysis was followed after performing ultrasound imaging. Histological sections were then matched with ultrasound images at different sections for each gingival sample. The matched image pairs were used to estimate two quantitative measures; relative inflammation area and ultrasound image echogenicity. These parameters were employed to judge the diagnostic potential of gingival ultrasound imaging. The results show that ultrasound images exhibited low intensity levels at the inflamed gingival regions, while healthy layers showed higher intensity levels. The relative area parameter implied a strong relationship between ultrasound and histological images. Ultrasound echogenicity was found to be statistically significant in differentiating between some inflammation degrees in the studied gingival samples. In summary, ultrasound imaging has the potential to be a noninvasive adjunct diagnostic tool for gingival inflammation, and may help assess the stage of the disease and ultimately limit periodontal disease occurrence; taking into consideration the limits of this study.

Porphyrins are among the most important and widely used compounds involved in a variety of chemical and biochemical applications. These molecules exhibit very special properties that encourage researchers to label many derivatives with diagnostic or therapeutic radionuclides for medical applications. This study reports the radiolabeling and biodistribution of ${}^{99\mathrm{\text{m}}}$Tc-protoporphyrin IX (${}^{99\mathrm{\text{m}}}$Tc-PPIX) as a novel potential solid-tumor imaging agent. The factors affecting the radiolabeling process were varied to achieve maximum radiochemical yield. ${}^{99\mathrm{\text{m}}}$Tc-PPIX was obtained in high yield of 97.34 ± 0.21% and high stability in serum up to 24 h. The radiochemical yield of ${}^{99\mathrm{\text{m}}}$Tc-PPIX was assessed by a combination of a paper chromatographic technique and HPLC. A computational analysis for all the potential structures that may be formed due to the interaction between protoporphyrin IX and technetium was performed via the DFT method of calculations in gas phase to predict the most likely structure. Molecular docking was further employed to shed light on the nature of the interaction between the most stable complexes with the target protein. Finally, the in-vivo biodistribution of ${}^{99\mathrm{\text{m}}}$Tc-PPIX complex was evaluated in solid-tumor-bearing mice and high tumor/tissue ratio of 5.17 ± 0.34 at 60 min post injection was obtained. Our finding clearly suggests ${}^{99\mathrm{\text{m}}}$Tc-PPIX as a potential SPECT agent for tumor imaging.

Osteoid osteoma is one of the commonest benign bone tumour of adolescence. Diagnosis is based upon the typical clinical features, site of occurrence and imaging findings. Occurrence of this lesion in an atypical site is associated with delay in diagnosis and challenges in management. We present a rare case of osteoid osteoma in scaphoid in a 14-year-old girl. Comprehensive work-up using radiograph, computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging and Tc⁹⁹-multidetector methylene diphosphonate (MDP) bone scan was used to make the correct diagnosis over other conditions with similar presentation like de Quervain tenosynovitis, intersection syndrome and inflammatory arthropathies. We also describe the treatment using CT-guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of this lesion and a brief literature review regarding the incidence of this lesion and treatment options available.

Level of Evidence: Level V (Therapeutic)

Purpose: Advancements in and adoption of consumer virtual reality (VR) are currently being propelled by numerous upcoming devices such as the Oculus Rift. Although applications are currently growing around the entertainment field, wide-spread adoption of VR devices opens up the potential for other applications that may have been unfeasible with past implementations of VR. A VR environment may provide an equal or larger screen area than what is provided with the use of multiple conventional displays while remaining comparatively cheaper and more portable making it an attractive option for diagnostic radiology applications. Methods A VR application for the viewing of multiple image slices was designed using: the Oculus Rift head-mounted display (HMD), Unity, and 3D Slicer. Volumes loaded within 3D Slicer are sent to a Unity application that proceeds to render a scene for the Oculus Rift HMD. Users may interact with the images adjusting windowing and leveling using a handheld gamepad controller. Multiple images may be brought closer to the user for detailed inspection. Results Application usage was demonstrated with the simultaneous visualization of longitudinal slices of a serial CT scan of a patient with a lung nodule. Pilot studies for validating usage of the VR system for differential diagnosis and remote collaboration were performed. Initial results suggest that using the VR system increased both task load and time taken to complete tasks, however, the resulting accuracy in assessing nodule growth of nodules was not significantly different than that achieved using a DICOM viewer application on a traditional display.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) is a highly targeted, selective and effective technique to cure various types of cancers with reduced harm to the healthy cells. BNCT treatment needs to selectively and homogeneously distribute the ¹⁰boron (B) atoms inside the tumor tissues as well as capture sufficient neutrons to initiate a nuclear fission reaction with release of the high linear energy particles to kill the tumor cells. Similar to chemotherapy and other radiotherapies for tumor treatment, theranostics are vital in BNCT. Particularly, in vivo localization and quantification of ¹⁰B concentrations is critical for the success of BNCT. However, currently both instrumentation and technology do not fulfill accurate measurement and time requirements, so more effectual strategies are desired. This chapter summarizes the currently used diagnostic technologies in BNCT such as magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and fluorescence imaging, and discusses emerging imaging techniques as well as boron carriers for BNCT application.