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Computed tomography colonography (virtual colonoscopy): update on technique, applications, and future developments.

Computed topography colonography (CTC) was first described in 1994 as a rapid, non-invasive imaging method to investigate the colon and rectum. Since the advent of CTC, it has been regarded as a potential alternative technique to conventional colonoscopy for detection of colorectal polyps and cancers. Patients undergo standard bowel preparation 24 to 48 hours before the procedure, using either a standard barium enema preparation or balanced polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution. This rapid examination, without the use of sedation or intervention, is well-tolerated by patients. The potential for limited bowel preparation can reduce discomfort associated with traditional purging techniques significantly, and result in an improved perception of the screening study. CTC is performed using a single or multislice CT scanner, with acquisition of volumetric data from the entire colon. Multislice technology enables fast scanning with high resolution. To minimize the radiation dose, efforts have been made to adapt the tube current to the minimum accepted dose while not diminishing study performance. Acquired CT data are transferred onto a dedicated workstation equipped with navigator software, which permits the radiologist to obtain multiplanar reformations as well as construct an endoluminal model of the air-distended colon. Currently, the most widely accepted application for CTC is following incomplete colonoscopy. Other indications that await further clinical validation include colorectal screening. The collective experience of published studies shows CTC to be an accurate tool for detection of clinically significant colorectal polyps. Specificity and sensitivity of CTC are excellent for polyps larger than 10 mm.

Colectomy↗

Simulation training in video-assisted urologic surgery.

The current system of surgical education is facing many challenges in terms of time efficiency, costs, and patient safety. Training using simulation is an emerging area, mostly based on the experience of other high-risk professions like aviation. The goal of simulation-based training in surgery is to develop not only technical but team skills. This learning environment is stress-free and safe, allows standardization and tailoring of training, and also objectively evaluate performances. The development of simulation training is straightforward in endourology, since these procedures are video-assisted and the low degree of freedom of the instruments is easily replicated. On the other hand, these interventions necessitate a long learning curve, training in the operative room is especially costly and risky. Many models are already in use or under development in all fields of video-assisted urologic surgery: ureteroscopy, percutaneous surgery, transurethral resection of the prostate, and laparoscopy. Although bench models are essential, simulation increasingly benefits from the achievements and development of computer technology. Still in its infancy, virtual reality simulation will certainly belong to tomorrow's teaching tools.

Clinical Competence↗

Interactive virtual environment training for safe street crossing of right hemisphere stroke patients with unilateral spatial neglect.

PURPOSE: The goal of this study was to determine whether non immersive interactive virtual environments are an effective medium for training individuals who suffer from Unilateral Spatial Neglect (USN) as a result of a right hemisphere stroke, and to compare it to a standard computer visual scanning training. METHOD: Participants included 19 patients with right hemisphere stroke in two groups, 11 in an experimental group were given computer desktop-based Virtual Reality (VR) street crossing training and 8 in a control group who were given computer based visual scanning tasks, both for a total of twelve sessions, 9 hours total, over four weeks. Measures included: 1. Standard USN assessments, paper and pencil and ADL checklist; 2. Test on the VR street program; and 3. Actual street crossing videotaped. Testing was performed pre and post intervention. RESULTS: The VR group achieved on the USN measures results that equaled those achieved by the control group treated with conventional visual scanning tasks. They improved more on the VR test and they did better on some measures of the real street crossing. CONCLUSIONS: Despite several limitations in this study the present results support the effectiveness of the VR street program in the treatment of participants with USN, and further development of the program.

Accidents, Traffic↗

Image-guidance for surgical procedures.

Contemporary imaging modalities can now provide the surgeon with high quality three- and four-dimensional images depicting not only normal anatomy and pathology, but also vascularity and function. A key component of image-guided surgery (IGS) is the ability to register multi-modal pre-operative images to each other and to the patient. The other important component of IGS is the ability to track instruments in real time during the procedure and to display them as part of a realistic model of the operative volume. Stereoscopic, virtual- and augmented-reality techniques have been implemented to enhance the visualization and guidance process. For the most part, IGS relies on the assumption that the pre-operatively acquired images used to guide the surgery accurately represent the morphology of the tissue during the procedure. This assumption may not necessarily be valid, and so intra-operative real-time imaging using interventional MRI, ultrasound, video and electrophysiological recordings are often employed to ameliorate this situation. Although IGS is now in extensive routine clinical use in neurosurgery and is gaining ground in other surgical disciplines, there remain many drawbacks that must be overcome before it can be employed in more general minimally-invasive procedures. This review overviews the roots of IGS in neurosurgery, provides examples of its use outside the brain, discusses the infrastructure required for successful implementation of IGS approaches and outlines the challenges that must be overcome for IGS to advance further.

Algorithms↗

Novel techniques for assessing infant and pediatric lung function and structure.

BACKGROUND: Voluntarily performed pulmonary function tests are used in adults and older children to assess lung dysfunction and changes in function that occur during disease progression and treatment. However, because infants are unable to comply with voluntary respiratory maneuvers, alternate testing methods are needed to allow similar progress in the treatment and prevention of respiratory disorders that begin in infancy. METHODS: Two new methods for assessing lung function and structure in infants and young children who are unable to perform voluntary respiratory maneuvers are described: raised volume rapid thoracoabdominal compression pulmonary function testing and controlled ventilation, high resolution computed tomography for lung imaging. CONCLUSIONS: Both methods are performed in sedated, sleeping infants and depend on the induction of a pause in normal respiratory effort. This pause is produced by delivering several deep breaths via the child's nose and mouth using a facemask. The induced pause in respiration permits the performance of the respiratory maneuvers needed to acquire pulmonary function and high resolution computed tomography results in infants. These results are virtually identical with those obtainable during voluntary maneuvers performed by adults and older children. Together these 2 new methods permit evaluation of the functional and structural changes that occur in the lungs and airways of infants and young children with respiratory disease. These 2 novel techniques permit the investigation of lung disorders as they first develop early in life, thus optimizing opportunities for early intervention and prevention.

Child, Preschool↗

A randomized trial comparing alternative approaches to prenatal diagnosis counseling in advanced maternal age patients.

Prenatal diagnosis (PND) is offered routinely as part of pregnancy care to a large number of women at increased risk of fetal anomalies. Despite an extraordinary growth in the use of PND and significant resource allocation, few studies have examined outcomes of PND counseling, and virtually no research has evaluated the relative efficacy of various approaches to genetic counseling. This study was a randomized trial that compared which counseling methods - individual, group, and use of a decision aid - are effective in PND counseling for women of advanced maternal age (>/=35 years) and their partners. Three hundred and fifty-two women and 225 partners completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires assessing changes in knowledge, decisional conflict, state anxiety, satisfaction, use of PND, and pregnancy outcomes. All participants showed a significant increase in knowledge and a decrease in decisional conflict post intervention. Those in the group intervention showed a significantly greater increase in knowledge than those in the individual counseling intervention. While high levels of satisfaction were reported by all, those in individual counseling were significantly more satisfied than those receiving group counseling or the decision aid. This study has shown unique benefits with each type of intervention such that women and their partners preferred individual genetic counseling, while they learned best in group-counseling sessions, and experienced the least decisional conflict regarding genetic testing with a decision aid.

Adult↗

Ultrathin bronchoscopic barium marking with virtual bronchoscopic navigation for fluoroscopy-assisted thoracoscopic surgery.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To facilitate marking and to reduce its complications, we performed barium marking using an ultrathin bronchoscope with virtual bronchoscopic (VB) navigation before thoracoscopic surgery for small pulmonary peripheral lesions. We then evaluated the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of this technique. DESIGN: A pilot study. SETTING: A tertiary teaching hospital. PATIENTS: The subjects were consecutive patients with small pulmonary peripheral lesions (ie, </= 10 mm) showing a CT scan-confirmed pure ground-glass opacity pattern between December 2001 and August 2003. INTERVENTIONS: VB images to the planned marking sites near each lesion were produced from helical CT scan data. Based on these images, an ultrathin bronchoscope was advanced to the target bronchus under direct vision. Under CT scan and radiographic fluoroscopy, a catheter was inserted to the planned site via the bronchoscope, and barium sulfate suspension was instilled for marking. RESULTS: The subjects were 23 patients (8 men and 15 women) who had a total of 31 lesions. The bronchial branching patterns seen in VB images were highly consistent with those confirmed using the ultrathin bronchoscope. Therefore, the ultrathin bronchoscope could be guided under direct vision to a median of the sixth generation bronchi (range, fourth to ninth generation bronchi) toward the planned marking sites. Marking was achieved without causing complications in any of the patients. The median marking time was 23.5 min, and the median shortest distance between the barium marker and the lesion was 4 mm (within 10 mm in 27 lesions). In patients undergoing thoracoscopic surgery, all barium-marked sites were identified by intraoperative radiographic fluoroscopy, and all lesions were resected. A pathologic examination demonstrated primary lung cancer in 17 lesions (bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, 15; adenocarcinoma, 2), atypical adenomatous hyperplasia in 12 lesions, and pneumonia in 2 lesions. CONCLUSIONS: This method can be readily performed without complications and is a useful marking method before thoracoscopic surgery for small pulmonary peripheral lesions.

Aged↗

Catheter simulation system CathI: from patient data generation to cardiological training systems.

In this paper we discuss a new approach to generate 3D models for a simulation system for training an angioplasty. The underlying data for these models are obtained from angiograms that are captured during routine interventions in cardiology. For the extraction of the arteries we use a non-linear classificatory with features based on vesselness information (using a scale-space approach), the gray value, and motion information of the arteries. As result we can correctly find 80% of the arteries in the image and we have 4% pixels incorrectly classified as arteries. These models serve for a virtual catheter laboratory that is based on original instruments like catheters, wires, control instruments for the X-ray, syringes, and pressure pumps for the balloon catheter but instead of a patient an input instrument is used. This instrument sends positional and pressure data to a PC that simulates the patient. The cardiologist then obtains the visual and haptic feedback as if we operated a real patient.

Cardiac Catheterization↗

Long-term results of radical prostatectomy in clinically localized prostate cancer: experience at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

The objectives of our retrospective long-term analysis of radical prostatectomy at The Johns Hopkins Hospital are to determine the efficacy of radical prostatectomy and the optimal statistical method for ascertaining survival following therapeutic intervention for men with clinically localized prostate cancer. The duration of survival and the cause of death were ascertained for 57 men with clinical stage B1 prostate cancer who had radical prostatectomies at The Johns Hopkins Hospital between 1951 and 1963. The absence of metastatic disease was determined by radiographic survey of the bones only. The survival curve determined by the direct method was virtually identical to the projected survival curve for a 62-year-old man in 1960. The cause-specific actuarial survival analysis indicated that only 14% of the men with stage B1 disease and a 15-year life expectancy will develop metastatic prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy. The cause-specific survival curve plateaued after 10 years, which indicated that the majority of men surviving 10 years free of disease are cured of the disease. Survival analysis was also determined by the direct method for 48 men with clinical stage B2 prostate cancer who had undergone radical prostatectomy between 1951 and 1963. Overall, the survival rates for these men were considerably lower than those for similarly treated men with clinical stage B1 disease. The survival curves following radical prostatectomy for men with stage B1 disease and clinical stage B2 disease pathologically confined to the prostate were similar. Radical prostatectomy for stage B1 disease was performed with minimal morbidity, and potency was preserved in most patients with the use of nerve-sparing modifications.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Humans↗

[Three-dimensional measurement of vascular lesions with virtual CT endoscopy "cruising eye view" method].

The purpose of this report is to propose a new technique which allows three-dimensional measurement of vascular lesions based on the virtual CT endoscopy "Cruising-Eye-View (CEV)" method. The view-point of CEV imagings was used as measuring point of vascular lesions. Using this technique, we could measure the actual length of arterial stenosis along the vessel in 3 patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans. The three-dimensional measuring technique with the CEV method may become a useful tool in treatment planning before interventional radiology, including metallic stent placement.

Angiography↗

Extended Reality Interventions for Osteoarthritis of the Knee and Recovery After Total Knee Arthroplasty: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.

BACKGROUND: Nonpharmacologic interventions are important for treating knee pain due to osteoarthritis or after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and extended reality (XR) technology may enhance treatments for these indications. OBJECTIVE: This systematic review aimed to evaluate XR interventions for pain due to knee osteoarthritis (KOA) or for recovery after TKA. METHODS: Databases were searched through May 2023 and updated in December 2025. Eligible trials evaluated XR interventions to treat KOA pain or after TKA. We classified interventions by depth of immersion and clinical mechanism. We used the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) criteria to determine the certainty of evidence for prioritized outcomes. Meta-analyses were performed when &#x2265;3 studies evaluated similar comparisons, outcomes, and time points. RESULTS: Eligible trials addressed KOA (k=12) or recovery after TKA (k=9). Sample sizes ranged from 36 to 306 participants, and most studies had a follow-up of &#x2264;3 months. Nineteen studies assessed pain-related functioning and pain intensity, and 5 assessed adverse events (AEs). For KOA, 10 studies examined interactive digital rehabilitation (IDR), and 2 examined virtual reality (VR)-digitally augmented exercise (DAE). IDR for KOA may result in better pain-related functioning (low certainty of evidence [COE]; pooled standardized mean difference [SMD] -0.59, 95% CI -1.11 to -0.06; prediction interval [PI] -1.72 to 0.55; k=5) and lower pain intensity at 6-8 weeks (low COE; pooled SMD -0.46, 95% CI -0.92 to 0.00; PI -1.39 to 0.47; k=4). VR-DAE for KOA (k=2) produced inconsistent results (very low COE). For post-TKA studies, 5 examined IDR, 2 examined VR-DAE, 1 examined VR-distraction, and 1 examined VR-psychoeducation. Post-TKA IDR may result in better pain-related functioning (low [k=4] and moderate COE [k=1]) but little to no difference in pain intensity (low-moderate COE; pooled SMD at 3-4 months -0.12, 95% CI -0.75 to 0.52; PI -1.63 to 1.27; k=3). VR-psychoeducation probably results in lower pain at 4 weeks (moderate COE; k=1), and VR-distraction may result in 6 months (low COE; k=1), whereas VR-DAE produced mixed findings (k=2; very low COE). IDR was not associated with AEs, and VR may not be associated with AEs for KOA (high and low COE), though AE reporting was uncommon (k=5) and evidence was very uncertain for post-TKA. CONCLUSIONS: IDR may augment treatment for KOA and post-TKA recovery, and VR may benefit post-TKA rehabilitation. This review is the first to stratify by level of immersion, clinical mechanism, and follow-up duration and to systematically evaluate AEs. IDR may be ready for integration into KOA care, while use after TKA needs more evidence. Randomized controlled trials with implementation outcomes could determine how XR interventions can be used for KOA, whereas trials evaluating efficacy and AEs are needed before their use for post-TKA.

Humans↗

Internet-based system for simulation-based medical planning for cardiovascular disease.

Current practice in vascular surgery utilizes only diagnostic and empirical data to plan treatments, which does not enable quantitative a priori prediction of the outcomes of interventions. We have previously described simulation-based medical planning methods to model blood flow in arteries and plan medical treatments based on physiologic models. An important consideration for the design of these patient-specific modeling systems is the accessibility to physicians with modest computational resources. We describe a simulation-based medical planning environment developed for the World Wide Web (WWW) using the Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) and the Java programming language.

Blood Flow Velocity↗

Expression of specific chemokines and chemokine receptors in the central nervous system of multiple sclerosis patients.

Chemokines direct tissue invasion by specific leukocyte populations. Thus, chemokines may play a role in multiple sclerosis (MS), an idiopathic disorder in which the central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory reaction is largely restricted to mononuclear phagocytes and T cells. We asked whether specific chemokines were expressed in the CNS during acute demyelinating events by analyzing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), whose composition reflects the CNS extracellular space. During MS attacks, we found elevated CSF levels of three chemokines that act toward T cells and mononuclear phagocytes: interferon-gamma-inducible protein of 10 kDa (IP-10); monokine induced by interferon-gamma (Mig); and regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted (RANTES). We then investigated whether specific chemokine receptors were expressed by infiltrating cells in demyelinating MS brain lesions and in CSF. CXCR3, an IP-10/Mig receptor, was expressed on lymphocytic cells in virtually every perivascular inflammatory infiltrate in active MS lesions. CCR5, a RANTES receptor, was detected on lymphocytic cells, macrophages, and microglia in actively demyelinating MS brain lesions. Compared with circulating T cells, CSF T cells were significantly enriched for cells expressing CXCR3 or CCR5. Our results imply pathogenic roles for specific chemokine-chemokine receptor interactions in MS and suggest new molecular targets for therapeutic intervention.

Acute Disease↗

Social epidemiology and the work environment.

A major theme in virtually all of Bertil Gardell's work is that the social and work environment affects health and well-being. This concern with the social environment has been a major influence in the development of a new area of research referred to as social epidemiology. In this area of work, difficulties are increasingly being recognized in identifying specific social factors in the environment toward which intervention programs can be directed. An approach to this complex problem is to focus attention on the "mini-environment" of the workplace. Research here has yielded several interesting hypotheses that may have important implications for studies of the larger environment. These hypotheses involve the concepts of control and participation, concepts that are central to all of Gardell's work.

Employment↗

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor for slowing progression of diabetic and nondiabetic kidney disease.

A growing body of evidence suggests that agents that inhibit the angiotensin-converting enzyme are renoprotective. In experimental animal models of chronic renal injury, such renoprotection can virtually eliminate progression of the renal injury, provided that therapy is started at the time of injury. In humans with chronic renal injury, renoprotection has been successfully demonstrated only late in the course of the renal disease. The rate of progression to end-stage renal failure can be delayed, but progression continues at a slower pace. Further study is required to determine whether earlier intervention can better preserve nephron structure and function. A strategy for future trials is recommended. It emphasizes more sensitive outcome measures so as to achieve greater statistical power.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗

Bone SPECT in management of mandibular condyle hyperplasia. Report of a case and review of literature.

In the present paper we report the case of a 14-year-old girl suffering from condylar hyperplasia and enlargement of ipsilateral jaw body, stressing the importance of bone SPECT in the clinical management of this temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder. Condylar hyperplasia is an uncommon idiopathic monolateral disorder of jaw growth consistent with exuberant or persistent activity of the condyle nucleus finally involving sociopsychological aspects due to facial dysmorphism. Besides facial asymmetry our patient showed prognathism, malocclusion, worsening otalgia and headache. Conventional X-rays examinations and multislice spiral CT gave us important morphostructural information also thanks to 3D volume-rendered and virtual reconstructions, while bone SPECT by detecting an intense well focused (99m)Tc-MDP uptake allowed to achieve uninvasively the final diagnosis of primary condyle hyperplasia. In spite of the full imaging characterization of TMJ disorders, consensus on best timing and therapeutic approaches on condylar hyperplasia is yet to be reached. In the present case patient was first treated orthodontically, planning a "high" condylectomy intervention after at least 6 months.

Adolescent↗

Medical education for rural areas: opportunities and challenges for information and communications technologies.

Resources in medical education are not evenly distributed and access to education can be more problematic in rural areas. Similar to telemedicine's positive influence on health care access, advances in information and communications technologies (ICTs) increase opportunities for medical education. This paper provides a descriptive overview of the use of ICTs in medical education and suggests a conceptual model for reviewing ICT use in medical education, describes specific ICTs and educational interventions, and discusses opportunities and challenges of ICT use, especially in rural areas. The literature review included technology and medical education, 1996-2005. Using an educational model as a framework, the uses of ICTs in medical education are, very generally, to link learners, instructors, specific course materials and/or information resources in various ways. ICTs range from the simple (telephone, audio-conferencing) to the sophisticated (virtual environments, learning repositories) and can increase access to medical education and enhance learning and collaboration for learners at all levels and for institutions. While ICTs are being used and offer further potential for medical education enhancement, challenges exist, especially for rural areas. These are technological (e.g., overcoming barriers like cost, maintenance, access to telecommunications infrastructure), educational (using ICTs to best meet learners' educational priorities, integrating ICTs into educational programs) and social (sensitivity to remote needs, resources, cultures). Finally, there is need for more rigorous research to more clearly identify advantages and disadvantages of specific uses of ICTs in medical education.

Computer-Assisted Instruction↗

Simulating tumour removal in neurosurgery.

In this article the software system ROBO-SIM is described. ROBO-SIM is a planning and simulation tool for minimally invasive neurosurgery. Different to the most other simulation tools, ROBO-SIM is able to use actual patient's datasets for simulation. Same as in real neurosurgery a planning step, which provides more functionality as up-to-date planning systems on the market, is performed before undergoing the simulated operation. The planning steps include the definition of the trepanation point for entry into the skull and the target point within the depth of the brain, checking the surgical track and doing virtual trepanations (virtual craniotomy). For use with an intra-operative active manipulator, which is guided by the surgeon during real surgery (robotic surgery), go- and non-go-areas can be defined. During operation, the robot restricts the surgeon from leaving these go-areas. After planning, an additional simulation system, which is understood as an extension to the planning step, is used to simulate whole surgical interventions directly on the patient's anatomy basing on the planning data and by using the same instruments as for the real intervention. First tests with ROBO-SIM are performed on a phantom developed for this purpose and on actual patient's datasets with ventricular tumours.

Brain Neoplasms↗