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Biomedical subjects

G E Gigante

Publications and source records attributed to G E Gigante.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

A comparative study for the development of a thermal odoscope for the wearable dynamic thermography monitoring.

BACKGROUND: The need of the reliable continuous monitoring of temperature is rising in many clinical applications. Today the use of thermography has become central for instance in the analysis of breast cancer, for the survey of inflammatory processes and certain skin areas during physical exercise. The core of the problem is the development of an ad hoc instrument, because traditional methodologies such as infrared and liquid crystals are no longer suitable. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We developed a dedicated simulation set-up using Matlab R12 procedures (The Mathworks, USA) and P-spice models (Interlink, USA). We simulated the realisation and use of three different equipment configurations for thermography, one based on PTC sensors, another on thermocouples, a third one on specific integrated silicon components. We also bench tested one prototype. RESULTS: The results showed the feasibility of the realisation of the instrument and the validity of the data obtained by means of the simulation.

Computer Simulation↗

A new kernel method for microcalcification detection: Spin Glass-Markov Random Fields.

Mammography associated with clinical breast examination is the only effective method for mass breast screening. Microcalcifications are one of the primary signs for early detection of breast cancer. In this paper we propose a new kernel method for classification of difficult-to-diagnose regions in mammographic images. It consists of a novel class of Markov Random Fields, using techniques developed within the context of statistical mechanics. This method is used for the classification of positive Region of Interest (ROI's) containing clustered microcalcifications and negative ROI's containing normal tissue. The obtained results show that the proposed approach can be successfully employed for detection of microcalcifications

Breast Neoplasms↗

Toward a quantitative analysis of skin lesion images.

Melanoma is the most dangerous form of skin cancer. Skin cancers, and particularly melanomas, can be easily cured if detected early. The regularity of the pigment network structure is a significant sign for early diagnosis of melanoma. We present here a quantitative analysis of the morphology of the pigment network structure. Our method is based on the extraction of the pigment network structure using digital image processing techniques. Once the network is extracted, it is possible to derive statistical indicators relative to its regularity or irregularity. We report experiments on a database of 14 images, showing the effectiveness of our method.

Diagnostic Imaging↗

Comparison of different excitation methods for X-ray spectral analysis: the case of synchrotron radiation.

Different excitation means, protons, photons and electrons (PIXE, XRFA, and EPMA, respectively) have previously been compared with regard to the figures of merit, i.e. detection power, precision and accuracy. The aim in this article is to compare synchrotron radiation SR as another excitation method with the methods mentioned above. From this point of view the evaluation of (SR) was missing as an again independently optimized excitation method and was based as previously on practical problems of trace analysis, in this case on the determinations of traces in lead. The experiment has been performed with thick homogeneous samples of lead, the same samples already used in the former work, so that a direct comparison is possible. The calculation of the figures of merit is based on the measurements of the blank values and their relative standard deviation for the detection limit and on the random errors for the precision. Regarding the thick homogeneous target of lead XRFA still turns out to be the best method, whereas Synchrotron X-Ray Fluorescence SY-XRF compares favorably, at least for larger atomic numbers Z. Even PIXE is inferior to (SY-XRF) in the case of larger Z; when information on the lateral distribution of the elements is of interest, PIXE is indispensable.

Journal Article↗

Analysis of periapical lesion using statistical textural features.

In this work we present a quantitative study on different regions of periapical images with a series of textural features, extracted using cooccurrence matrices; those features are used for a pattern recognition analysis by means of an artificial neural network. The obtained results show that it is possible to recognize in an objective way changes in bone pattern.

Humans↗

Mitogen dose-dependent effect of weak pulsed electromagnetic field on lymphocyte blastogenesis.

The effects of pulsed extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields on human peripheral blood lymphocyte mitogenesis induced by phytohaemoagglutinin, concanavalin A or calcium ionophore A23187 were studied. The dependence of the field effect on mitogen concentrations was investigated. Field exposure produced strong inhibition of DNA synthesis when optimal doses of mitogens were used, confirming our previous findings. Opposite effects were observed at suboptimal concentration of mitogens. Experiments performed by exposing cell cultures to the field for short periods indicated that a field application of at least 6 h is needed to influence irreversibly lymphocyte blastogenesis.

Calcimycin↗

Reduced mitogenic stimulation of human lymphocytes by extremely low frequency electromagnetic fields.

Blastogenesis of human peripheral blood lymphocytes stimulated in vitro by non-specific mitogens (PHA, ConA, PWM) upon exposure to extremely low frequency EMF has been studied. Different frequencies of square waveforms have been used. PHA-stimulation resulted in strong inhibitions as measured by [3H]thymidine incorporation. A frequency window (3-50 Hz) within which ConA-induced blastogenesis was significantly inhibited has been individuated. The mitogenic effect of PWM was significantly affected only at 3 Hz.

Adult↗

[Analytical findings in the X-ray fluorescence of blood levels of bromine in subjects anesthetized with halothane].

Bromine concentration in the blood of seven patients anesthetized with Halothane are determined at different time before, during and after anesthetic induction. X.R.F. technique was employed in the analytical determinations using a new background correction method which assume a linear relationship between primary Compton in matrix of monocromathic source radiation and background counts. Mini mun Detectable Limits are of - 5 p.p.m. and accuracy of 3% at 20-30 p.p.m. concentration. 24 h after anesthesia Bromine levels are always significantly high (-20 p.p.m.); the clinical importance of these data are discussed.

Anesthesia↗

Radioisotope X-ray fluorescence technique in the study of joint inflammation.

An X-ray fluorescence technique was employed to study the clearance rate from the knee joint of an intraarticularly injected stable tracer. Clearance curves, determined in two normal volunteers and in three patients with various articular diseases, were found to be of the monoexponential type in agreement with results obtained by authors employing radioactive tracers. Clearance half-time values in basal conditions were higher in the normal knee joint than in the inflamed knee joint. The effect of a corticosteroid suspension injected into the knee joint was also studied. Preliminary results obtained indicate that the X-ray fluorescence technique can be employed, with some advantages compared with the radiotracer technique, for quantitative determination of spontaneous or pharmacologically induced changes in joint inflammation.

Humans↗