PubMed Health⌕ Search

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “multimodal integration”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 775 records · Page 43Linked to original sources

Prediction of outcome at school entry in neonatal intensive care unit survivors, with use of clinical and electrophysiologic techniques.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the predictive value of multimodality evoked potentials as well as the neonatal neurobehavioral assessment in neonatal intensive care unit survivors at school entry. STUDY DESIGN: In this prospective study, healthy (n = 24) and high-risk newborn infants (n = 78) were assessed in the newborn period with auditory brain-stem responses (ABRs) and somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), as well as the Einstein Neonatal Neurobehavioral Assessment Scale (ENNAS). Healthy and high-risk newborn infants were assessed in a blind fashion at 1, 3, and 5 years of age by a psychologist and a pediatric neurologist. Of those healthy (all 24) and high-risk newborn infants (72/78) with a neonatal ABR, SEP, or both, 62.5% were assessed at 5 years of age with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of intelligence, the Beery-Buktenica Test of Visual-Motor Integration, the Griffiths Locomotor Subscale, and neurologic examination. Chi-square analyses were carried out on neonatal and outcome measures, and sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values for each of the neonatal tests were ascertained. RESULTS: The ENNAS and the ABR had good negative predictive value for cognitive (85.7% to 93.3%), locomotor (83.3%), and visual-motor (91.4% to 100%) performance. The ABR had good specificity, whereas the ENNAS was more sensitive. The SEP was an excellent prognostic tool, with high sensitivity (100%) and specificity (80% to 81.3%) for motor as well as cognitive domains. All infants with normal SEPs had favorable outcomes, whereas those with absent potentials did poorly. The SEP abnormalities were associated with findings on neurologic examination in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: Normal neonatal evoked potentials and ENNAS are associated with favorable outcomes. The SEP most accurately predicts neurodevelopmental status at school entry.

Aging↗

Harnessing the Power of Large Language Models for Drug Discovery: A Systematic Review of Current Applications and Future Directions.

INTRODUCTION: The demand for inventive approaches to drug discovery has increased due to the rising costs, time, and failure rates in pharmaceutical research. Large Language Models (LLMs), with their sophisticated natural language processing and generative capabilities, have become potent instruments that have the potential to revolutionize biomedical research. The function of LLMs in different phases of drug development is methodically examined in this article. METHODS: The PRISMA 2020 principles were adhered to in this systematic study. A thorough search for research published between 2018 and 2025 was done using PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The search terms "large language model," "transformer," "drug discovery," and important sub-domains (such as "de-novo design" and "ADMET") were merged, and two reviewers independently screened the results. Predetermined inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to filter studies for relevance. 98 studies out of the 1,285 records that were initially retrieved met the requirements for the final qualitative synthesis. RESULTS: 98 studies that demonstrated the use of LLMs in various drug discovery domains were found during the review. These covered molecular generation, genomics, protein-ligand modeling, ADME/T and toxicity profiling, drug-target interaction and DTI prediction, and biomedical text mining. 42 different LLM-based tools were mapped, including BioBERT, SciSpacy, Drug- LLM, DNA-BERT, GPT-4, and ChatGPT. Predictive accuracy, hypothesis creation, target prioritization, and multi-modal data integration all showed notable gains with these techniques. DISCUSSION: By providing scalable, precise, and effective solutions for data-driven drug discovery, LLMs are revolutionizing the pharmaceutical industry. They allow for the creation of hypotheses and individualized insights across multi-modal biological data, and they perform better than conventional approaches in a number of subdomains. Improvements in performance were task-dependent; the most consistent gains occurred for biomedical text mining, disease-genedrug relationship mapping and drug-target interaction prediction tasks. Yet most evidence for clinical applications is still derived from retrospective studies and benchmark datasets, suggesting a higher need for prospective validation. CONCLUSION: There is revolutionary potential in incorporating LLMs into drug discovery processes. Clinical translation and regulatory uptake will depend heavily on collaborative validation, ethical deployment, and standardization as models become more multimodal and interpretable. Before normal use, extensive prospective benchmarking and head-to-head comparisons with established chemoinformatics pipelines are necessary.

De novo design↗

[Minimal residual disease in gastrointestinal tumors: tumor detection in bone marrow, blood and lymph nodes].

The cure of a tumor patient with gastrointestinal cancer is dependent on the extension of the primary tumor (TNM-classification) and the option of curative resection (R0-resection) at the time of operation. The additional application of multimodal therapy approaches has lead to an improvement of prognosis in different advanced tumor stages. Nevertheless, despite curative tumor resection about 50% of patients with locally advanced gastrointestinal cancer develop recurrent tumor disease or distant metastases and die tumor-related. A possible explanation is the seed of disseminated tumor cells in blood, bone marrow or lymph nodes pre-, intra- or postoperatively, but also during diagnostic procedures. Several studies have shown in the last years that the presence of minimal residual disease (MRD) influences the course of disease and the patient's prognosis after curative tumor resection. Although several groups have reported the prognostic impact of disseminated tumor cells in the different compartments of bone marrow, lymph nodes and blood, the phenomenon of minimal residual disease is not acknowledged as an established prognostic factor and is not integrated into the classification of the UICC. Therefore, no therapeutic consequences were drawn at present from the detection of disseminated tumor cells in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. A possible explanation are missing multi-center-studies, which confirm the results of the several single-center-studies. Standardization of study designs and methodical procedures and the evidence of reproduction are mandatory in order to value and interpret the multitude of studies and the available data in this field. Only these results will allow to decide if the presence and detection of disseminated tumor cells can alter the tumor staging and individualize or possibly minimize further oncological therapy strategies.

Biomarkers, Tumor↗

Apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy for ion exchange channel waveguide characterization.

We report the characterization of an integrated Ag+/Na+ ion exchange waveguide realized in a silicate glass substrate using apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy. Our experimental set-up is based on the combination of a commercial atomic force microscope with an optical confocal detection system. Thanks to this system, the topography and evanescent optical field at the waveguide top surface are mapped simultaneously. Also, the process of apertureless scanning near-field optical microscopy image formation is analysed. In particular, fringe patterns appearing in the image reveal the intrinsic interferometric nature of the collected signal, due to interference between the field scattered by the tip end and background fields related to guide losses. We give a quantitative interpretation of these fringes. Evanescent intensity mapping on the sample surface allowed us to extract physical waveguide parameters. In particular, it shows an unambiguous multimode beat along the waveguide propagation axis. Furthermore, we show that analysis of this intensity profile reveals back-reflection effects from the waveguide exit facet. The resulting standing waves pattern allows us to evaluate the eigenmode propagation constants.

Equipment Design↗

Prostate cancer: precision of integrating functional MR imaging with radiation therapy treatment by using fiducial gold markers.

The use of intensity-modulated radiation therapy for treatment of dominant intraprostatic lesions may require integration of functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with treatment-planning computed tomography (CT). The purpose of this study was to compare prospectively the landmark and iterative closest point methods for registration of CT and MR images of the prostate gland after placement of fiducial markers. The study was approved by the institutional ethics review board, and informed consent was obtained. CT and MR images were registered by using fiducial gold markers that were inserted into the prostate. Two image registration methods--a commonly available landmark method and dedicated iterative closest point method--were compared. Precision was assessed for a data set of 21 patients by using five operators. Precision of the iterative closest point method (1.1 mm) was significantly better (P < .01) than that of the landmark method (2.0 mm). Furthermore, a method is described by which multimodal MR imaging data are reduced into a single interpreted volume that, after registration, can be incorporated into treatment planning.

Adult↗

National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD (the MTA). Design challenges and choices.

The Collaborative Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the MTA, is the first child multisite cooperative agreement treatment study of children conducted by the National Institute of Mental Health, Rockville, Md. It examines the long-term effectiveness of medication vs behavioral treatment vs both for treatment of ADHD and compares state-of-the-art treatment with routine community care. In a parallel-groups design, 576 children (age, 7-9 years) with ADHD (96 at each site) are thoroughly assessed and randomized to 4 conditions: (1) medication alone, (2) psychosocial treatment alone, (3) the combination of both, (4) or community comparison. The first 3 groups are treated for 14 months and all are reassessed periodically for 24 months. Designers met the following challenges: framing clinically relevant primary questions; defining the target population; choice, intensity, and integration and combination of treatments for fair comparisons; combining scientific controls and standardization with clinical flexibility; and implementing a controlled clinical trial in a nonclinical setting (school) controlled by others. Innovative solutions included extensive decision algorithms and manualized adaptations of treatments to specific needs.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

Augmentation of reality using an operating microscope for otolaryngology and neurosurgical guidance.

The operating microscope is an integral part of many neurosurgery and otolaryngology procedures; the surgeon often uses the microscopic view for a large portion of the operation. Information from preoperative radiological images is often viewed only on X-ray films. The surgeon then has the difficult task of relating this information to the appearance of the surgical view. Image guidance techniques attempt to relate these two sets of information by registering the patient in the operating room to preoperative images using locating devices. Conventionally, image data are presented on a computer monitor, which requires the surgeon to look away from the operative scene. We describe a guidance system, for procedures in which the operating microscope is used, which super-imposes image-derived data upon the operative scene. We create a model of relevant structures (e.g., tumor volume, blood vessels, and nerves) from multimodality preoperative images. By calibrating microscope optics, registering the patient to image coordinates, and tracking the microscope and patient intraoperatively, we can generate stereo projections of the three-dimensional model and project them into the microscope eyepieces, allowing critical structures to be overlaid on the operative scene in the correct position. Measurements with a head phantom gave a root mean square (RMS) error of 1.08 mm, and the estimated error for a human volunteer is between 2 and 3 mm. Initial evaluation in the operating room was very promising.

Computer Simulation↗

[A modern concept of postoperative pain therapy].

Pain relief should be considered part of a multimodal postoperative approach. Combining patient-controlled pain therapy with other measures i.e. respiratory therapy or early mobilisation improves the outcome after surgery. In many patients adequate postoperative pain relief can be achieved by an optimal use of traditional pain management strategies. Therefore different levels of therapy should be introduced. On the first level nursing staff on surgical wards should treat pain. Patients undergoing extended surgery will need the advanced techniques of a postoperative pain service including balanced analgesia with antipyretic analgetics, patient-controlled intravenous opioids and epidural drug administration. Low dose combinations of local anaesthetics and opioids administered via thoracic epidural catheters result in excellent analgesia and provide the most effective means in improving outcome after surgery. For optimal adjustment of the patient-controlled techniques and early detection of side effects and complications nursing staff must be integrated into the pain service. Such a structured pain management program requires the training of nurses in the principles and techniques of postoperative pain treatment. Dosage of patient-controlled intravenous opioids or epidural drug combinations must be adjusted to the individual needs of the patients. Best results can only be achieved if the patient remains under observation by the pain service. This requires daily or twice daily rounds including an adequate documentation of pain relief, side effects and complications.

Analgesia, Patient-Controlled↗

Management of patients with locally advanced breast cancer.

Increased breast health awareness has led to earlier stage distribution among breast cancer patients in the United States; however, locally advanced tumors remain a major source of morbidity and mortality. Early attempts to control this high-risk pattern of disease with surgery or radiation alone were met with disappointingly high rates of treatment failure in locoregional and distant sites. Multimodality strategies represent a major advance in management of these difficult cancers. The current standard of care is neoadjuvant chemotherapy to improve operability, followed by breast and axillary surgery (including lumpectomy for appropriately selected patients). Following surgery, decisions regarding the need for additional chemotherapy with or without locoregional irradiation are made based on stage at presentation, response to systemic therapy, and surgical-pathology findings. Recommendations for adjuvant endocrine therapy are based on hormone receptor status. Studies of these tumors have confirmed that primary response to induction therapy is an excellent surrogate marker of success in eradicating micrometastases, as patients experiencing a complete pathologic response have a statistically significant survival advantage. Ongoing investigations of locally advanced breast cancer include studies of systemic chemotherapy with or without neoadjuvant endocrine regimens that increase the complete pathologic response rate, and correlation with outcome; integration of lymphatic mapping and sentinel lymph node biopsy into clinical trials; and defining the optimal extent of locoregional irradiation in patients who experience a strong response to neoadjuvant treatment.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Action-potential initiation and maintained activity of the isolated frog muscle spindle.

The initiation of afferent action potentials represents the basic signalling process integrating and coding information of an external stimulus. There is also evidence in sensory receptor neurons of spontaneously generating action potentials that interfere with and modify the stimulus evoked activity. The present study investigates the generation of spontaneous action potentials in the isolated muscle spindle of the frog by recording receptor potentials, small subthreshold depolarizations, propagated impulses and interspike transients from the first Ranvier-node of the afferent stem fibre. The temporal pattern of spontaneous discharges at resting length depended on several variables interacting at the encoding site. In the absence of mechanical stimulation, a large resting receptor potential steadily depolarized the encoding node and provoked action potentials at irregular intervals. After each action potential, the hyperpolarizing afterpotential provided a slowly increasing depolarizing interspike transient of decreasing slope (time constant 128 ms), which evoked small subthreshold depolarizations (decay time > 5 ms; multimodal amplitude distribution) before the following action potential discharged. The probability of the small subthreshold depolarizations increased the longer the resting receptor potential stayed constant at its maximum amplitude. When increasing the static prestretch level encoding depended also on the stretch-evoked receptor potential as an additional parameter. The resulting depolarizing interspike transients were then larger and also more steeply rising, so that the afferent discharges increased in both rate and regularity. The experiments show dynamic threshold patterns that control action-potential initiation by the assessment of the actual amplitude of depolarization and its rate of rise.

Action Potentials↗

Incorporation of paclitaxel and carboplatin in combined-modality therapy for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Combined chemotherapy and thoracic radiation therapy has emerged as a primary treatment option for locally advanced, unresectable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Randomized trials and subsequent metaanalyses have shown a clear survival benefit with platinum-based combination chemotherapy administered sequentially or concurrently with hyperfractionated thoracic radiation over radiation alone. Paclitaxel (Taxol; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Princeton, NJ) and carboplatin recently have been evaluated in numerous phase 1/11 trials at various doses in both sequential and concurrent schedules with thoracic radiation in patients with locally advanced and unresectable NSCLC. The patterns of failure in patients treated with concurrent paclitaxel/carboplatin and thoracic radiation suggest the need for additional chemotherapy either at the front end or after completion of the concurrent regimen. A large multicenter randomized study (Locally Advanced Multimodality Protocol) has been initiated to address these issues of improvement in distant control and to further refine the combined-modality approach for patients with locally advanced NSCLC. Several other combined-modality regimens incorporating a platinum compound and a novel agent like gemcitabine, vinorelbine, paclitaxel, or docetaxel have been recently completed or are in progress. The hope for the immediate future is to define an "effective" and "optimal" regimen that can be given simultaneously with thoracic radiation and can result in improved local and systemic control in patients with regionally advanced NSCLC. Numerous phase II and III trials are currently planned or under way to further define the efficacy of this novel combination of paclitaxel/carboplatin in combined-modality programs in an attempt to determine the optimal administration sequence of chemotherapy and thoracic radiation. These combined-modality programs are now being integrated into trials for early stage, potentially resectable disease. Thus, NSCLC is in fact a systemic disease requiring a multidisciplinary approach for optimal management.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Chemically induced changes in the spectrum of amplifications of the human minisatellite MS1 integrated in chromosome III of a haploid yeast strain.

To study chemically induced DNA amplifications we used the haploid Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain TR(MS1)-1 carrying an integrated chromosomal copy of the human minisatellite. MS1. Chemicals with different mechanisms of action were tested in this strain: methyl methanesulphonate, ethylene oxide (EO), propylene oxide (PO), camptothecin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenso-p-dioxin (TCDD) and reserpine. No increase in frequency of new MS1 length alleles was seen with any of the tested chemicals relative to the spontaneous frequency of approximately 30%. EO and TCDD induced changes in the amplification spectrum, i.e., the frequency distribution of MS1 length alleles longer than the original 1.42 kb allele. PO and camptothecin increased the frequency of plasmid "pop-out" events. It seems likely that several mechanisms e.g. unequal exchanges, replication slippage and loop formation leading to deletion of a ring of tandem repeats, are involved in the generation of new MS1 length alleles. A loop-forming deletion mechanism is supported by the tendency to multimodality shown in the deamplification (loss of repeat units) spectra, i.e. the frequency distribution of new MS1 length alleles shorter than the original allele. EO and TCDD induced "longer" MS1 length alleles as compared to the control. The frequent generation of new MS1 length alleles in this haploid yeast strain further demonstrates the instability of such sequences and their possible relevance to genetic toxicology and the mechanisms of induction of cancer as well as other diseases. This study is a first step towards the development of an assay for DNA amplification without the use of a selective agent.

Alleles↗

Talker and lexical effects on audiovisual word recognition by adults with cochlear implants.

The present study examined how postlingually deafened adults with cochlear implants combine visual information from lipreading with auditory cues in an open-set word recognition task. Adults with normal hearing served as a comparison group. Word recognition performance was assessed using lexically controlled word lists presented under auditory-only, visual-only, and combined audiovisual presentation formats. Effects of talker variability were studied by manipulating the number of talkers producing the stimulus tokens. Lexical competition was investigated using sets of lexically easy and lexically hard test words. To assess the degree of audiovisual integration, a measure of visual enhancement, R(a), was used to assess the gain in performance provided in the audiovisual presentation format relative to the maximum possible performance obtainable in the auditory-only format. Results showed that word recognition performance was highest for audiovisual presentation followed by auditory-only and then visual-only stimulus presentation. Performance was better for single-talker lists than for multiple-talker lists, particularly under the audiovisual presentation format. Word recognition performance was better for the lexically easy than for the lexically hard words regardless of presentation format. Visual enhancement scores were higher for single-talker conditions compared to multiple-talker conditions and tended to be somewhat better for lexically easy words than for lexically hard words. The pattern of results suggests that information from the auditory and visual modalities is used to access common, multimodal lexical representations in memory. The findings are discussed in terms of the complementary nature of auditory and visual sources of information that specify the same underlying gestures and articulatory events in speech.

Adult↗

EWS::WT1 Isoform-Dependent Regulation of Neogenes in Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumors.

Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a rare, aggressive sarcoma characterized by the pathognomonic EWS::WT1 fusion protein (FP), an oncogenic chimeric transcription factor (OCTF) resulting from the t(11;22)(p13;q12) translocation. Recent studies have identified "neogenes" (NGs), genes normally silent in normal tissues but transcriptionally activated by OCTFs, as potential tumor-specific markers in fusion-driven cancers. In this study, we investigated the expression and regulation of DSRCT-specific NGs (DSRCT_NGs) using multimodal data across different cohorts of patients, PDX, and cell line data. We evaluated bulk and single-nucleus RNA sequencing of patient specimens from MD Anderson Cancer Center, revealing the robust ability for DSRCT_NGs to distinguish FP-positive DSRCT from samples failing detection of the EWS::WT1 FP. To elucidate the regulatory role of the EWS::WT1 FP in driving NG expression, we performed knockdown experiments in four DSRCT cell lines. This consistently resulted in a reduction of DSRCT_NG expression. Isoform-specific expression of EWS::WT1 in LP9 and MeT-5A mesothelial cells revealed that the E-KTS isoform of EWS::WT1 predominantly drives DSRCT_NG expression. Mechanistically, ATAC-seq and ChIP-seq analyses demonstrated that EWS::WT1 directly binds to accessible chromatin regions near NG transcription start sites, enriched for WT1 motifs and active histone marks. Integration of Hi-ChIP data further revealed that EWS::WT1 facilitates long-range enhancer-promoter looping at DSRCT_NG loci, promoting the expression of nearby genes. Collectively, these findings establish DSRCT_NGs as direct transcriptional outputs of the EWS::WT1 FP and implicate their loci as regulatory regions of the DSRCT transcriptome. Their fusion-dependent expression, chromatin accessibility, and promoter-enhancer connectivity underscore their potential utility as highly specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets in DSRCT.

DSRCT↗

Cytomics - importance of multimodal analysis of cell function and proliferation in oncology.

Cancer is a highly complex and heterogeneous disease involving a succession of genetic changes (frequently caused or accompanied by exogenous trauma), and resulting in a molecular phenotype that in turn results in a malignant specification. The development of malignancy has been described as a multistep process involving self-sufficiency in growth signals, insensitivity to antigrowth signals, evasion of apoptosis, limitless replicative potential, sustained angiogenesis, and finally tissue invasion and metastasis. The quantitative analysis of networking molecules within the cells might be applied to understand native-state tissue signalling biology, complex drug actions and dysfunctional signalling in transformed cells, that is, in cancer cells. High-content and high-throughput single-cell analysis can lead to systems biology and cytomics. The application of cytomics in cancer research and diagnostics is very broad, ranging from the better understanding of the tumour cell biology to the identification of residual tumour cells after treatment, to drug discovery. The ultimate goal is to pinpoint in detail these processes on the molecular, cellular and tissue level. A comprehensive knowledge of these will require tissue analysis, which is multiplex and functional; thus, vast amounts of data are being collected from current genomic and proteomic platforms for integration and interpretation as well as for new varieties of updated cytomics technology. This overview will briefly highlight the most important aspects of this continuously developing field.

Cell Division↗

Comprehensive multimodality blood conservation: 100 consecutive CABG operations without transfusion.

BACKGROUND: Despite the recent introduction of a number of technical and pharmacologic blood conservation measures, bleeding and allogeneic transfusion remain persistent problems in open heart surgical procedures. We hypothesized that a comprehensive multimodality blood conservation program applied algorithmically on the basis of bleeding and transfusion risk would provide a maximum, cost-effective, and safe reduction in postoperative bleeding and allogeneic blood transfusion. METHODS: One hundred consecutive patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting were prospectively enrolled in a risk factor-based multimodality blood conservation program (MMD group). To evaluate the relative efficacy and safety of this comprehensive approach, comparison was made with a similar group of 90 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting to whom the multimodality blood conservation program was not applied but in whom an identical set of transfusion guidelines was enforced (control group). To evaluate the cost effectiveness of the multimodality program, comparison was also made between patients in the MMD group and a consecutive series of contemporaneous, diagnostic-related group-matched patients. RESULTS: One hundred consecutive patients in the MMD group underwent coronary artery bypass grafting without allogeneic transfusion. This compared favorably with the control population in whom a mean of 2.2 +/- 6.7 units of allogeneic blood was transfused per patient (34 patients [38%] received transfusion). In addition, the volume of postoperative blood loss at 12 hours in the control group was almost double that of the MMD group (660 +/- 270 mL versus 370 +/- 180 mL [p < 0.001]). Total costs for the MMD group in each of the three major diagnostic-related groups were equivalent to or significantly less than those in the consecutive series of diagnostic-related group-matched patients. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive risk factor-based application of multiple blood conservation measures in an optimized, integrated, and algorithmic manner can significantly decrease bleeding and need of allogeneic transfusion in coronary artery bypass grafting in a safe and cost-effective manner.

Algorithms↗

Wireless and PDA: a novel strategy to access DICOM-compliant medical data on mobile devices.

The medical procedures at the patient bedside are out of the scope of current HIS/RIS systems, which means that patient record and image data access during the medical visit or the execution, recording and confirmation of the medicine prescriptions, still do not enjoy computerized support. As a consequence, the necessary inclusion of new data to the patient record, still needs to be carried out through notations on paper and later typed, causes delays on the availability of this information (Mobile computing in a hospital: the Ward-In-Hand project. SAC 2000-ACM Symposium on Applied Computing, Março, 2000, Villa Olmo, Como, Italy). This paper presents a software technology where the medical and nursing staff will be equipped with a handheld computer connected by radio to a central server that provides access to the electronic patient records and that will actively inform about tasks pending distribution. The server acts as a database for multimodal electronic patient record information, storing patient data from computerized tomography (CT), ultrasonography (US), magnetic resonance (MRI) images and also medical findings, observations and prescriptions coded as DICOM Structured Reports (Digital Image and Communications in Medicine). The prototype described in this article implements a medical images and structured reports server that makes the search and recovery of data stored in the DICOM standard possible.

Brazil↗

Brain death: practicability of evoked potentials.

Multimodally evoked potentials were registered in 85 patients who fulfilled the criteria for brain death. While somatosensory and visual evoked potentials have been found to be of limited value for the diagnosis of brain death, the stepwise abolition of brain stem auditory evoked potentials (BAEP) confirmed brain death in 26 out of 85 patients, i.e. 31%. Registration of the abolition of BAEP is concluded to be a safe and acceptable confirmatory test. It is, however, more feasible for institutions, in which BAEP are analysed routinely. In spite of all efforts sequential BAEP could not be used for the diagnosis of brain death in the majority of cases either because of absence of reproducible responses at the initial registration or because the patient was already apnoic at the time of the initial BAEP. Assuming that bilateral preservation of wave I has the same significance as the stepwise abolition of BAEP, since it also proves the integrity of the peripheral receptor, BAEP are relevant for the declaration of brain death in approximately 30% of patients.

Brain Death↗