Lebenswissenschaften und Ethik
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Bag-of-Visual Words (BoVW) and deep learning techniques have been widely used in several domains, which include computer-assisted medical diagnoses. In this work, we are interested in developing tools for the automatic identification of Parkinson’s disease using machine learning and the concept of BoVW. The proposed approach concerns a hierarchical-based learning technique to design visual dictionaries through the Deep Optimum-Path Forest classifier. The proposed method was evaluated in six datasets derived from data collected from individuals when performing handwriting exams. Experimental results showed the potential of the technique, with robust achievements.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects millions of people worldwide, causing mental and mainly motor dysfunctions. The negative impact on the patient's daily routine has moved the science in search of new techniques that can reduce its negative effects and also identify the disease in individuals. One of the main motor characteristics of PD is the hand tremor faced by patients, which turns out to be a crucial information to be used towards a computer-aided diagnosis. In this context, we make use of handwriting dynamics data acquired from individuals when submitted to some tasks that measure abilities related to writing skills. This work proposes the application of recurrence plots to map the signals onto the image domain, which are further used to feed a Convolutional Neural Network for learning proper information that can help the automatic identification of PD. The proposed approach was assessed in a public dataset under several scenarios that comprise different combinations of deep-based architectures, image resolutions, and training set sizes. Experimental results showed significant accuracy improvement compared to our previous work with an average accuracy of over 87%. Moreover, it was observed an improvement in accuracy concerning the classification of patients (i.e., mean recognition rates above to 90%). The promising results showed the potential of the proposed approach towards the automatic identification of Parkinson's disease.
This article highlights methodological and ethical challenges in research with adults of older and oldest age, by presenting field experiences of the current research project “Motion Monitoring of Geriatric Trauma Patients - Explorative Study on the Rehabilitation Process after Hip Fracture Using Sensor-based Data”. Depiction of the survey situation, with regard to the subjects in particular, can serve as practical examples for designing future research projects.
The group of older adults is a rather large and growing group for which research is required, especially concerning their heterogeneity, their individual autonomy and quality of life. It is assumed, that research designs of studies on the target group must be specifically adjusted, in particular when considering the attribution of vulnerability of the group members. At the same time, it is not clear yet what exact specifics of the subjects and target group must be considered in research designs, as surprisingly little is known about the target group as subjects and corresponding theories have been insufficiently tested.
The exploratory long-term design of the research project presented in the second section of this chapter has a positive evaluation of an ethics committee. Still ethical challenges occurred in the field situation, that are illustrated in the third section of this chapter, by providing information on the patients, their role as research subjects, how they were recruited, how an informed consensus was reached, and in some cases how participation was rejected or abandoned. After a summary, the end of the paper is marked by recommendations on how to design future research projects.
Cumulatively it must always be expected that interaction between researchers and research subjects of this target group can become very intensive, what requires to follow clearly defined procedures and at the same time to be prepared to act flexibly.
Pediatric patients suffering from ependymoma are usually treated with cranial or craniospinal three-dimensional (3D) conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT). Intensity-modulated techniques spare dose to the surrounding tissue, but the risk for second malignancies may be increased due to the increase in low-dose volume. The aim of this study is to investigate if the flattening filter free (FFF) mode allows reducing the risk for second malignancies compared to the mode with flattening filter (FF) for intensity-modulated techniques and to 3DCRT. A reduction of the risk would be advantageous for treating pediatric ependymoma. 3DCRT was compared to intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) with and without flattening filter. Dose-volume histograms (DVHs) were compared to evaluate the plan quality and used to calculate the excess absolute risk (EAR) to develop second cancer in the brain. Dose verification was performed with a two-dimensional (2D) ionization chamber array and the out-of-field dose was measured with an ionization chamber to determine the EAR in peripheral organs. Delivery times were measured. Both VMAT and IMRT achieved similar plan quality in terms of dose sparing in the OAR and higher PTV coverage as compared to 3DCRT. Peripheral dose in low-dose region, which is proportional to the EAR in organs located in this region, for example, gonads, bladder, or bowel, could be significantly reduced using FFF. The lowest peripheral EAR and lowest delivery times were hereby achieved with VMATFFF . The EAR calculated based on DVH in the brain could not be reduced using FFF mode. VMATFFF improved the target coverage and homogeneity and kept the dose in the OAR similar compared to 3DCRT. In addition, delivery times were significantly reduced using VMATFFF . Therefore, for radiotherapy of ependymoma patients, VMATFFF may be considered advantageous for the combination of Elekta Synergy linac and Oncentra External Beam planning system used in this study.
Against the background of the huge rise in the number of asylum seekers and refugees absorbed into German society over the last couple of years this article examines the innovative Bavarian programme of preparatory classes for asylum seekers between 16 and 21 years of age. The challenges faced by educational and social work professionals working with this target group are documented alongside the particular resources which these highly-motivated young people as a rule bring with them. Specific requirements for psychotherapy professionals are addressed as well as a range of recommendations formulated by the author to enable the longer-term success of this vocational training programme in integrating these young people into the German educational and employment system. It has become apparent that a holistic approach to the lives of the target group by professionals in education, social work and therapy is necessary to enable young asylums seekers to complete vocational training successfully. Transitional management is a key part of the process of setting asylum seekers on the path to an apprenticeship. Coordination with the Labour Office, local authority administration and local decision-makers are further parts of the equation. This must intermesh with civil society engagement to provide the maximum use of resources giving young refugees access to training, the labour market and long term integration into German life.
Objective: Artificial intelligence (AI) may reduce underdiagnosed or overlooked upper GI (UGI) neoplastic and preneoplastic conditions, due to subtle appearance and low disease prevalence. Only disease-specific AI performances have been reported, generating uncertainty on its clinical value.
Design: We searched PubMed, Embase and Scopus until July 2020, for studies on the diagnostic performance of AI in detection and characterisation of UGI lesions. Primary outcomes were pooled diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of AI. Secondary outcomes were pooled positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values. We calculated pooled proportion rates (%), designed summary receiving operating characteristic curves with respective area under the curves (AUCs) and performed metaregression and sensitivity analysis.
Results: Overall, 19 studies on detection of oesophageal squamous cell neoplasia (ESCN) or Barrett's esophagus-related neoplasia (BERN) or gastric adenocarcinoma (GCA) were included with 218, 445, 453 patients and 7976, 2340, 13 562 images, respectively. AI-sensitivity/specificity/PPV/NPV/positive likelihood ratio/negative likelihood ratio for UGI neoplasia detection were 90% (CI 85% to 94%)/89% (CI 85% to 92%)/87% (CI 83% to 91%)/91% (CI 87% to 94%)/8.2 (CI 5.7 to 11.7)/0.111 (CI 0.071 to 0.175), respectively, with an overall AUC of 0.95 (CI 0.93 to 0.97). No difference in AI performance across ESCN, BERN and GCA was found, AUC being 0.94 (CI 0.52 to 0.99), 0.96 (CI 0.95 to 0.98), 0.93 (CI 0.83 to 0.99), respectively. Overall, study quality was low, with high risk of selection bias. No significant publication bias was found.
Conclusion: We found a high overall AI accuracy for the diagnosis of any neoplastic lesion of the UGI tract that was independent of the underlying condition. This may be expected to substantially reduce the miss rate of precancerous lesions and early cancer when implemented in clinical practice.
Soccer is one of the most popular sports all around the world. It is an injurious type of sport with a focus on lower extremities and high psychological pressure during matches. The stressor is linked with injuries and an increased musculoskeletal loading. This study investigates the influence of cognitive stress on the load profile of the knee joint. Twelve professional youth soccer players performed highly dynamic runs with and without additional cognitive stress. The runs were analysed with a musculoskeletal simulation software. The data analysis shows no difference in knee joint reaction loading under additional mental stress compared to the baseline. Yet running times are significantly lower in the baseline. While there is no increase in the joint loads, the running times indicate an altered movement behaviour when the subjects are exposed to additional mental demand.
Mental stress reduces performance and changes musculoskeletal loading in football-related movements
(2020)
Purpose:
Football players have a high risk of leg muscle injuries, especially when exposed to mental stress. Hence, this study investigated the musculoskeletal response of elite youth football players during highly dynamic movements under stress. The hypothesis is that mental stress reduces performance and changes the muscular forces exerted.
Materials & methods:
Twelve elite youth football players were subjected to mental stress while performing sports-specific change-of-direction movements. A modified version of the d2 attention test was used as stressor. The kinetics are computed using inverse dynamics. Running times and exerted forces of injury-prone muscles were analysed.
Results:
The stressor runs were rated more mentally demanding by the players (p = 0.006, rs = 0.37) with unchanged physical demand (p = 0.777, rs = 0.45). This resulted in 10% longer running times under stress (p < 0.001, d = −1.62). The musculoskeletal analysis revealed higher peak muscle forces under mental stress for some players but not for others.
Discussion:
The study shows that motion capture combined with musculoskeletal computation is suitable to analyse the effects of stress on athletes in highly dynamic movements. For the first time in football medicine, our data quantifies an association between mental stress with reduced football players’ performance and changes in muscle force.
Exoskeletons were invented over 100 years ago but have only become popular in the last two decades, especially in the working industry as they can decrease work-related loads significantly. The most often used exoskeletons are for the lower back and shoulder since these are commonly affected body regions. All devices have in common that their purpose is to reduce internal loads of vulnerable body regions. Nevertheless, there is still little understanding on how biomechanical loading in the human body changes when exoskeletons are used. Therefore, further analyses are needed. A promising candidate for these are musculoskeletal models, which are based on an inverse dynamics approach and can calculate external parameters such as ground reaction forces or other interaction forces as well as internal parameters such as joint reaction forces or muscle activities. The various examples in the literature show that these models are increasingly used for assessing the biomechanical effects of exoskeletons on the human body. Furthermore, musculoskeletal models can calculate biomechanical loadings of humans with and without exoskeletons for all kinds of applications and allow an evaluation of their purpose.
Practical Relevance: This article highlights the possibilities of musculoskeletal models for assessing the design and efficiency of occupational exoskeletons. Several practical use cases are described along with distinct descriptions of common implications of musculoskeletal and exoskeleton modeling.
Based on electromyographic data and force measurements within the shoulder joint, there is an indication that muscle and resulting joint reaction forces keep increasing over an abduction angle of 90°. In inverse dynamics models, no single parameter could be attributed to simulate this force behaviour accordingly. The aim of this work is to implement kinematic, kinetic and muscle model modifications to an existing model of the shoulder (AnyBody™) and assess their single and combined effects during abduction up to 140° humeral elevation. The kinematics and the EMG activity of 10 test subjects were measured during humeral abduction. Six modifications were implemented in the model: alternative wrapping of the virtual deltoid muscle elements, utilization of a three element Hill model, strength scaling, motion capture driven clavicle elevation/protraction, translation of the GH joint in dependency of the acting forces and an alteration of the scapula/clavicle rhythm. From the six modifications, 16 different combinations were considered. Parameter combinations with the Hill model changed the resultant GH joint reaction force and led to an increase in force during abduction of the humerus above 90°. Under the premise of muscle activities and forces within the GH joint rising after 90° of humeral abduction, we propose that the Hill type muscle model is a crucial parameter for accurately modelling the shoulder. Furthermore, the outcome of this study indicates that the Hill model induces the co-contraction of the muscles of the shoulder without the need of an additional stability criterion for an inverse dynamics approach.
Musculoskeletal models of the shoulder complex are valuable research aids to investigate tears of the supraspinatus and the resulting mechanical impact during abduction of the humerus. One of the major contributors to this motion is the deltoid muscle group and for this, an accurate modeling of the lines of action is indispensable. The aim of this work was to utilize a torus obstacle wrapping approach for the deltoids of an existing shoulder model and assess the feasibility of the approach during humeral abduction. The shoulder model from the AnyBody™ modeling system was used as a platform. The size of the tori is based on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) approach and several kinematic couplings are implemented to determine the trajectories of the tori during abduction. To assess the model behavior, the moment arms of the virtual muscle elements and the resultant glenohumeral joint reaction force (GHJF) were compared with reference data from the literature during abduction of the humerus in the range 20°–120°. The root mean square error for the anterior, lateral and posterior part between the simulated muscle elements and reference data from the literature was 3.9, 1.7 and 5.8 mm, respectively. The largest deviation occurred on the outer elements of the muscle groups, with 12.6, 10.4 and 20.5 mm, respectively. During abduction, there is no overlapping of the muscle elements and these are in continuous contact with the torus obstacles, thus enabling a continuous force transmission. This results in a rising trend of the resultant GHJF.
The torus obstacle approach as a wrapping method for the deltoid muscles provides a guided muscle pathing by simultaneously approximating the curvature of the deltoid muscle. The results from the comparison of the simulated moment arms and the resultant GHJF are in accordance with those in the literature in the range 20°–120° of abduction.
Although this study shows the strength of the torus obstacle as a wrapping approach, the method of fitting the tori according to MRI data was not suitable. A cadaver study is recommended to better validate and mathematically describe the torus approach.
Signal transmission between different brain regions requires connecting fiber tracts, the structural basis of the human connectome. In contrast to animal brains, where a multitude of tract tracing methods can be used, magnetic resonance (MR)-based diffusion imaging is presently the only promising approach to study fiber tracts between specific human brain regions. However, this procedure has various inherent restrictions caused by its relatively low spatial resolution. Here, we introduce 3D-polarized light imaging (3D-PLI) to map the three-dimensional course of fiber tracts in the human brain with a resolution at a submillimeter scale based on a voxel size of 100 μm isotropic or less. 3D-PLI demonstrates nerve fibers by utilizing their intrinsic birefringence of myelin sheaths surrounding axons. This optical method enables the demonstration of 3D fiber orientations in serial microtome sections of entire human brains. Examples for the feasibility of this novel approach are given here. 3D-PLI enables the study of brain regions of intense fiber crossing in unprecedented detail, and provides an independent evaluation of fiber tracts derived from diffusion imaging data.
Degradation and release of tannic acid from an injectable tissue regeneration bead matrix in vivo
(2021)
The development of multifunctional biomaterials as both tissue regeneration and drug delivery devices is currently a major focus in biomedical research. Tannic Acid (TA), a naturally occurring plant polyphenol, displays unique medicinal abilities as an antioxidant, an antibiotic, and as an anticancer agent. TA has applications in biomaterials acting as a crosslinker in polymer hydrogels improving thermal stability and mechanical properties. We have developed injectable cell seeded collagen beads crosslinked with TA for breast reconstruction and anticancer activity following lumpectomy. This study determined the longevity of the bead implants by establishing a degradation time line and TA release profile in vivo. Beads crosslinked with 0.1% TA and 1% TA were compared to observe the differences in TA concentration on degradation and release. We found collagen/TA beads degrade at similar rates in vivo, yet are resistant to complete degradation after 16 weeks. TA is released over time in vivo through diffusion and cellular activity. Changes in mechanical properties in collagen/TA beads before implantation to after 8 weeks in vivo also indicate loss of TA over a longer period of time. Elastic moduli decreased uniformly in both 0.1% and 1% TA beads. This study establishes that collagen/TA materials can act as a drug delivery system, rapidly releasing TA within the first week following implantation. However, the beads retain TA long term allowing them to resist degradation and remain in situ acting as a cell scaffold and tissue filler. This confirms its potential use as an anticancer and minimally invasive breast reconstructive device following lumpectomy.
Following a ban on many materials containing bisphenol-A, new bisphenol-free Boron silicates have been found as substitutes. The purpose of this study is to describe the mechanical properties of these bisphenol-free magnetoactive borosilicate polymers containing hard magnetic particles. Samples of 0%, 33% and 66% by wt. were loaded for compression using a universal testing machine. The maximum forces occurring for different travel speeds were compared before and after post-magnetization treatments. The post-magnetization included 2 stages. In addition, the change in mechanical properties within 24 hours after the post-magnetization process was investigated. Furthermore, the influence of speed and particle content were investigated. In general, there is a correlation between the required compressive force and, the level of post-magnetization stress, the increase in travel speed and particle content in the boron silicate. Comparison of the non-post-magnetized and post-magnetized samples using two-tailed t-tests shows that the p-values for all weight fraction changes in NdPrFeB particles and travel speeds are less than 0.001. Also, a comparison between tests in which the traverse speed was varied also showed significant changes in the resulting compression forces. The same is valid for changes in the weight ratio of the NdPrFeB particles in the samples. For post-magnetized samples, no significant difference can be observed in the first 24 hours following magnetization. In summary, the material presents viscoelastic, plastic force-displacement behavior, which can be well recognized by its bi-linear curve shape.
The investigation shows that borosilicate polymers based on NdPrFeB can have their mechanical behavior modified and controlled by post-magnetization processes. This opens new possibilities for many future applications.
Mass spectrometric imaging (MSI) is a young innovative analytical technique and combines different fields of advanced mass spectrometry and biomedical research with the aim to provide maps of elements and molecules, complexes or fragments. Especially essential metals such as zinc, copper, iron and manganese play a functional role in signaling, metabolism and homeostasis of the cell. Due to the high degree of spatial organization of metals in biological systems their distribution analysis is of key interest in life sciences. We have developed analytical techniques termed BrainMet using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) imaging to measure the distribution of trace metals in biological tissues for biomedical research and feasibility studies—including bioaccumulation and bioavailability studies, ecological risk assessment and toxicity studies in humans and other organisms. The analytical BrainMet techniques provide quantitative images of metal distributions in brain tissue slices which can be combined with other imaging modalities such as photomicrography of native or processed tissue (histochemistry, immunostaining) and autoradiography or with in vivo techniques such as positron emission tomography or magnetic resonance tomography.
Prospective and instrumental developments will be discussed concerning the development of the metalloprotein microscopy using a laser microdissection (LMD) apparatus for specific sample introduction into an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LMD-ICP-MS) or an application of the near field effect in LA-ICP-MS (NF-LA-ICP-MS). These nano-scale mass spectrometric techniques provide improved spatial resolution down to the single cell level.
Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) has been developed and established as an emerging technique in the generation of quantitative images of metal distributions in thin tissue sections of brain samples (such as human, rat and mouse brain), with applications in research related to neurodegenerative disorders. A new analytical protocol is described which includes sample preparation by cryo-cutting of thin tissue sections and matrix-matched laboratory standards, mass spectrometric measurements, data acquisition, and quantitative analysis. Specific examples of the bioimaging of metal distributions in normal rodent brains are provided. Differences to the normal were assessed in a Parkinson’s disease and a stroke brain model. Furthermore, changes during normal aging were studied. Powerful analytical techniques are also required for the determination and characterization of metal-containing proteins within a large pool of proteins, e.g., after denaturing or non-denaturing electrophoretic separation of proteins in one-dimensional and two-dimensional gels. LA-ICP-MS can be employed to detect metalloproteins in protein bands or spots separated after gel electrophoresis. MALDI-MS can then be used to identify specific metal-containing proteins in these bands or spots. The combination of these techniques is described in the second section.
The bond between methacrylic polymer adhesives and dental restoratives is not perfect and may fail either in the short or in the long term. This study aims to evaluate the effects of particle incorporation in a self-etch model adhesive on mechanical and physical properties that are relevant during application and service. Filled adhesives containing 5, 10, 15 or 25 wt% glass fillers were compared to their unfilled counterpart in terms of water sorption and solubility; viscosity and dynamic viscosity during polymerization were recorded using rheological measurements and compared to FTIR analysis of the real-time degree of cure. Elastic modulus and ultimate tensile strength measurements were performed in uniaxial tension; the energy to fracture was used to calculate the fracture toughness of the adhesives. Finally, the experimental adhesives were applied on dentin substrate to test the bond strength using the microtensile test. Results showed that the incorporation of 5–10 wt% nanofiller to self-etching dental adhesives is efficient in accelerating the polymerization reaction and increasing the degree of cure without compromising the film viscosity for good wettability or water sorption and solubility. Fillers increased the elastic modulus, tensile strength and fracture toughness to a plateau between 5 and 15 wt% filler concentration, and despite the tendency to form agglomerations, active crack pinning/deflection toughening mechanisms have been observed. The bond strength between resin composite and dentin was also improved when adhesives with up to 10 wt% fillers were used, with no additional improvements with further packing. The use of fillers to reinforce dental adhesives may therefore be of great practical benefit by improving curing and mechanical properties.
CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats) systems are one of the most fascinating tools of the current era in molecular biotechnology. With the ease that they provide in genome editing, CRISPR systems generate broad opportunities for targeting mutations. Specifically in recent years, disease-causing mutations targeted by the CRISPR systems have been of main research interest; particularly for those diseases where there is no current cure, including cancer. KRAS mutations remain untargetable in cancer. Mutations in this oncogene are main drivers in common cancers, including lung, colorectal and pancreatic cancers, which are severe causes of public health burden and mortality worldwide, with no cure at hand. CRISPR systems provide an opportunity for targeting cancer causing mutations. In this review, we highlight the work published on CRISPR applications targeting KRAS mutations directly, as well as CRISPR applications targeting mutations in KRAS-related molecules. In specific, we focus on lung, colorectal and pancreatic cancers. To date, the limited literature on CRISPR applications targeting KRAS, reflect promising results. Namely, direct targeting of mutant KRAS variants using various CRISPR systems resulted in significant decrease in cell viability and proliferation in vitro, as well as tumor growth inhibition in vivo. In addition, the effect of mutant KRAS knockdown, via CRISPR, has been observed to exert regulatory effects on the downstream molecules including PI3K, ERK, Akt, Stat3, and c-myc. Molecules in the KRAS pathway have been subjected to CRISPR applications more often than KRAS itself. The aim of using CRISPR systems in these studies was mainly to analyze the therapeutic potential of possible downstream and upstream effectors of KRAS, as well as to discover further potential molecules. Although there have been molecules identified to have such potential in treatment of KRAS-driven cancers, a substantial amount of effort is still needed to establish treatment strategies based on these discoveries. We conclude that, at this point in time, despite being such a powerful directed genome editing tool, CRISPR remains to be underutilized for targeting KRAS mutations in cancer. Efforts channelled in this direction, might pave the way in solving the long-standing challenge of targeting the KRAS mutations in cancers.
Coagulative disorders, especially clotting during extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, are frequent complications. Direct visualization and analysis of deposits in membrane oxygenators using computed tomography (CT) may provide an insight into the underlying mechanisms causing thrombotic events. However, the already established multidetector CT1 (MDCT) method shows major limitations. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying industrial micro-CT (μCT) to circumvent these restrictions. Three clinically used membrane oxygenators were investigated applying both MDCT and μCT.
The scans were analyzed in terms of clot volume and local clot distribution. As validation, the clot volume was also determined from the fluid volume, which could be filled into the respective used oxygenator compared to a new device. In addition, cross-sectional CT images were compared with crosscut oxygenators. Based on the μCT findings, a morphological measure (sphericity) for assessing clot structures in membrane oxygenators is introduced. Furthermore, by comparing MDCT and μCT results, an augmentation of the MDCT method is proposed, which allows for improved clot volume determination in a clinical setting.
Blood flow in channels of varying diameters <500μm exhibits strong non-linear effects. Multiphase finite volume approaches are feasible, but still computationally costly. Here, the feasibility of applying convolutional neural networks for blood flow prediction in artificial lungs is investigated. Training targets are precomputed using an Eulerian two-phase approach. To match with experimental data, the interphase drag and lift, as well as intraphase shear-thinning are adapted. A recursively branching regression network and convolution/deconvolution networks with plain skip connections and densely connected skips are investigated. A priori knowledge is incorporated in the loss functional to prevent the network from learning non-physical solutions. Inference from neural networks is approximately six orders of magnitude faster than the classical finite volume approach. Even if resulting in comparably coarse flow fields, the neural network predictions can be used as close to convergence initial solutions greatly accelerating classical flow computations.
Modelling blood flow an shear induced coagulation in membraene oxygenators (MO) is challenging. The relevant geometry of oxygenator fibers (OF) and chaining threads is complex and spans several length scales. In relevant scales and regimes blood shows several significant non-Newtonian effects. Existing models are only capable of accounting for some, but not all relevant effects. Additionally, coagulation processes are influencing fluid properties and geometry significantly. Due to the enormous size of the discretised geometries highly detailed viscosity and coagulation properties of blodd flow in MOs. First step is to find a gemoetry dependent viscosity representation on basis of parametric micro channel experiments with anti-coagulated blood. Next step is a statistic coagulation model, based on micro channel experiments with human (re-calcified citrated) whole blood an evaluation of clinically used osygenators. Since shear rate dependent (i.e. viscosity dependet) coagulation in return influences the viscosity, a combined model with suitable implementation in a RANS framework is necessary. Towards this end, micro channel experiments with new and used single OFs triggering coagulation are performed. Structures of multimeric von Willebrand fibers (vWF), as indicator for shear induced coagulation, are compared to computed and measured flow conditions, using immunofluorescence microscopy, RANS-computations and µPIV, respectively. Preliminary examinations in clinically used MOs show good agreement between occurring structures of vWF, cell depositions and computed flow patterns (geometry form µCT-Scans). However, computed shear rates might be to low to actually trigger activation of vWF. The complex geometry of MOs results in huge meshes, which makes RANS with statistical modelling of viscosity and coagulation a reasonable approach. Towards this end, experimental data on micro channel level with evaluation on real application level is crucial. Especially regarding clotting processes, micro fluidic experiments are powerful research tool.
Reduction of variable-truncation artifacts from beam occlusion during in situ x-ray tomography
(2017)
Many in situ x-ray tomography studies require experimental rigs which may partially occlude the beam and cause parts of the projection data to be missing. In a study of fluid flow in porous chalk using a percolation cell with four metal bars drastic streak artifacts arise in the filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstruction at certain orientations. Projections with non-trivial variable truncation caused by the metal bars are the source of these variable-truncation artifacts. To understand the artifacts a mathematical model of variable-truncation data as a function of metal bar radius and distance to sample is derived and verified numerically and with experimental data. The model accurately describes the arising variable-truncation artifacts across simulated variations of the experimental setup. Three variable-truncation artifact-reduction methods are proposed, all aimed at addressing sinogram discontinuities that are shown to be the source of the streaks. The 'reduction to limited angle' (RLA) method simply keeps only non-truncated projections; the 'detector-directed smoothing' (DDS) method smooths the discontinuities; while the 'reflexive boundary condition' (RBC) method enforces a zero derivative at the discontinuities. Experimental results using both simulated and real data show that the proposed methods effectively reduce variable- truncation artifacts. The RBC method is found to provide the best artifact reduction and preservation of image features using both visual and quantitative assessment. The analysis and artifact-reduction methods are designed in context of FBP reconstruction motivated by computational efficiency practical for large, real synchrotron data. While a specific variable- truncation case is considered, the proposed methods can be applied to general data cut-offs arising in different in situ x-ray tomography experiments.
Companies listed on the stock market must devote a great deal of attention to their market position. They must increase their competitive advantage in the undeniably key process of the issuance of stocks. As the issuance of preferred stocks has increased after the last crisis and in the current period of low interest rates in Europe, they are becoming more favoured investment instruments, we decided to analyse the real properties of preferred stocks in Europe in order to increase the efficiency of joint-stock companies. Using a dataset comprising all companies having both common and preferred stocks issued and traded on European markets between 2009- 2016, we determined the relationship of risk (measured by beta coefficients) and price volatility among common and preferred stocks and bonds in Europe. Our findings show beta coefficients of preferred stocks as systematically lower than beta coefficients of common stocks. Considering a difference of up to 10% as negligible, however, preferred stocks showed a similar or higher beta coefficient than corresponding common stocks of the same company in 53% of cases, whereas for 33% of cases, the difference is only ±10%. Coefficients of variation in prices showed a similar relationship, with only a negligible portion of preferred stocks bearing fixed (stable) dividends. This result implies that currently traded preferred stocks in Europe in fact do not possess such characteristics they are typically said to have, and in many cases they incur as comparable a risk as do common stocks. This essential information should help to increase the efficiency and competitiveness of joint-stock companies.
Document recommendation systems for locating relevant literature have mostly relied on methods developed a decade ago. This is largely due to the lack of a large offline gold-standard benchmark of relevant documents that cover a variety of research fields such that newly developed literature search techniques can be compared, improved and translated into practice. To overcome this bottleneck, we have established the RElevant LIterature SearcH consortium consisting of more than 1500 scientists from 84 countries, who have collectively annotated the relevance of over 180 000 PubMed-listed articles with regard to their respective seed (input) article/s. The majority of annotations were contributed by highly experienced, original authors of the seed articles. The collected data cover 76% of all unique PubMed Medical Subject Headings descriptors. No systematic biases were observed across different experience levels, research fields or time spent on annotations. More importantly, annotations of the same document pairs contributed by different scientists were highly concordant. We further show that the three representative baseline methods used to generate recommended articles for evaluation (Okapi Best Matching 25, Term Frequency–Inverse Document Frequency and PubMed Related Articles) had similar overall performances. Additionally, we found that these methods each tend to produce distinct collections of recommended articles, suggesting that a hybrid method may be required to completely capture all relevant articles. The established database server located at https://relishdb.ict.griffith.edu.au is freely available for the downloading of annotation data and the blind testing of new methods. We expect that this benchmark will be useful for stimulating the development of new powerful techniques for title and title/abstract-based search engines for relevant articles in biomedical research.
Aims
Congenital breast asymmetry represents a particular challenge to the classic techniques of plastic surgery given the young age of patients at presentation. This study reviews and compares the long-term results of traditional breast augmentation using silicone implants and the more innovative technique of lipografting.
Methods
To achieve this, we not only captured subjective parameters such as satisfaction with outcome and symmetry, but also objective parameters including breast vol-ume and anthropometric measurements. The objective examination was performed manually and by using the Vectra H2 photogrammetry scanning system.
Results
Differences between patients undergoing either implant augmentation or lipograft were revealed not to be significant with respect to patient satisfaction with surgical outcome (p= 0.55) and symmetry (p= 0.69). Furthermore, a breast symmetry of 93 % was reported in both groups. Likewise, no statistically significant volume difference between the left and right breasts was observed in both groups (p\0.41). However, lipograft patients needed on average 2.9 procedures to achieve the desired result, compared with 1.3 for implant augmentation. In contrast, patients treated with implant augmentation may require anumber of implant changes during their lifetime.
Conclusion
Both methods may be considered for patients presenting with congenital breast asymmetry.
Chest X-Ray (CXR) images as part of a non-invasive diagnosis method are commonly used in today’s medical workflow. In traditional methods, physicians usually use their experience to interpret CXR images, however, there is a large interobserver variance. Computer vision may be used as a standard for assisted diagnosis. In this study, we applied an encoder-decoder neural network architecture for automatic lung region detection. We compared a three-class approach (left lung, right lung, background) and a two-class approach (lung, background). The differentiation of left and right lungs as direct result of a semantic segmentation on basis of neural nets rather than post-processing a lung-background segmentation is done here for the first time. Our evaluation was done on the NIH Chest X-ray dataset, from which 1736 images were extracted and manually annotated. We achieved 94:9% mIoU and 92% mIoU as segmentation quality measures for the two-class-model and the three-class-model, respectively. This result is very promising for the segmentation of lung regions having the simultaneous classification of left and right lung in mind.
The implant stability and biomechanical response of periprosthetic bone in acetabulum around total hip joint replacement (THR) devices depend on a host of parameters, including design of articulating materials, gait cycle and subject parameters. In this study, the impact of shell design (conventional, finned, spiked, and combined design) and liner material on the biomechanical response of periprosthetic bone has been analyzed using finite element (FE) method. Two different liner materials: high density polyethylene-20% hydroxyapatite-20% alumina (HDPE-20%HA-20%Al2O3) and highly cross-linked ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (HC-UHMWPE) were used. The subject parameters included bone condition and bodyweight. Physiologically relevant load cases of a gait cycle were considered. The deviation of mechanical condition of the periprosthetic bone due to implantation was least for the finned shell design. No significant deviation was observed at the bone region adjacent to the spikes and the fins. This study recommends the use of the finned design, particularly for weaker bone conditions. For stronger bones, the combined design may also be recommended for higher stability. The use of HC-UHMWPE liner was found to be better for convensional shell design. However, similar biomechanical response was captured in our FE analysis for both the liner materials in case of other shell designs. Overall, the study establishes the biomechanical response of periprosthetic bone in the acetabular with preclinically tested liner materials together with new shell design for different subject conditions.
We show that templating a Si surface with a focused beam of Si2+ or Si+ ions can create suitable nucleation sites for the subsequent growth of self-assembled Ge quantum dots by chemical vapor deposition. To determine the mechanism of patterning we use atomic force microscopy to show that, similar to Ga+ patterning, the formation of a surface pit is required to enable control over Ge quantum dot locations. We find that relatively high implantation doses are required to achieve patterning, and these doses lead to amorphization of the substrate. We assess the degree to which the substrate crystallinity can be recovered by subsequent processing. Using in situ transmission electron microscopy heating experiments we find that recrystallization is possible at the growth temperature of the Ge quantum dots, but defects remain that follow the pattern of the initial implantation. We discuss the formation mechanism of the defects and the benefits of using Si ions for patterning both defects and quantum dots on Si substrates.
Physical Education with Eduball Stimulates Non-Native Language Learning in Primary School Students
(2022)
Although the neuronal mechanisms of action and cognition are related, the division of intellectual and physical lessons is standard in schools. This is surprising, because numerous studies show that integrating physical education (PE) with teaching content stimulates critical skills. For example, several experiments indicate that Eduball-based PE (i.e., lessons in a sports hall during which students play team mini-games with educational balls with printed letters, numbers, and other signs) develops mathematical and language competencies. At the same time, the Eduball method does not slow down learners' physical development. However, we have little knowledge about the effects of such techniques on non-native language learning. Consequently, the absence of incorporating core academic subjects into PE in dual-language schools or during foreign language education is exceptionally high. Here, we replicated the Eduball experiment, but with the goal of testing this method for non-native language learning. Thus, the intervention occurred in a dual-language primary school and we evaluated second language (L2) learning. As before, we used the technique of parallel groups (experimental and control); in both groups, there were three 45-min PE classes per week. In the experimental class, two of them were held using Eduball. After a half-year experiment, children from the experimental group (one second-grade, N = 14) improved their non-native language skills significantly more than their peers from the control group (one second-grade, N = 12). These findings demonstrate that Eduball-type intervention stimulates non-native language learning in children. Hence, our report suggests that specific body training forms can support L2 learning.
Background
Older adults in care facilities face a high risk of experiencing depression. The impact that early interventions like biographical work have on the quality of life for older adults in such facilities is unknown.
Aim
To develop and evaluate a tablet-supported intervention for biographical work in long-term residential aged care to increase the quality of life for older adults.
Design
The study will be conducted in a randomized pretest–posttest control group design with follow-up testing in group and single settings. Participants will be randomized to the experimental intervention (tablet-supported biographic work) or the control intervention (planned tablet-supported game playing), each guided by senior volunteers. A total of 80 residents and 16 volunteers will be recruited. The primary outcome for the residents and volunteers will be quality of life as measured with the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-for older adults. Secondary measures will be self-esteem and life satisfaction. In addition, we will examine residents’ ability to communicate and their functional independence.
Method
The first stage of the project involves developing an app. The app is developed in a user-centered, agile development process. It will use multimedia to prepare life history topics and links them to key questions. Next, a workshop is developed for the volunteers who accompany the use of the app in the institutions. During the second phase, biographic work stimulated by the app will be conducted in groups or individually with residents.
Discussion
This is the first known program tailored to older adults in care facilities and senior volunteers that aims to prevent depression by providing digitally supported biographic work.
Introduction Paediatricians, general practitioners (GPs) and midwives in primary care are important sources of information for parents on early childhood allergy prevention (ECAP). Research has shown that preventive counselling by health professionals can be effective in improving patients' health literacy (HL) and health behaviour. Providing effective advice relies on two factors. First, health professionals need be up-to-date with research evidence on ECAP, to consider popular misconceptions and fears and to translate this knowledge into clear recommendations for parents (knowledge translation). Second, they need to know and apply counselling techniques and create a practice setting which accommodates parental HL needs (health literacy-responsive care). The objective of this study is to explore and assess how German health professionals take up and translate ECAP evidence into appropriate recommendations for parents, how they consider HL in counselling and practice organisation and what barriers and enablers they find in their performance of HL-responsive ECAP. Methods and analysis The study has a sequential mixed-method design, in two phases. In the first phase, qualitative semi-structured expert interviews will be conducted with health professionals (paediatricians, GPs and midwives) at primary care level and professional policy level. Data collection is ongoing until January 2022. In the second phase, based on the qualitative results, a standardised questionnaire will be developed, and pilot-tested in a wider population of German health professionals. The findings of both phases will be integrated. Ethics and dissemination The study has received ethical approval from the Ethics Committee of the University of Regensburg (18-1205-101). The results will be published in international peer-reviewed open access journals and via presentations at scientific conferences. The results will also be shared with German health professionals, decision-makers and potential funders of interventions.
Polarized light imaging (PLI) enables the evaluation of fiber orientations in histological sections of human postmortem brains, with ultra-high spatial resolution. PLI is based on the birefringent properties of the myelin sheath of nerve fibers. As a result, the polarization state of light propagating through a rotating polarimeter is changed in such a way that the detected signal at each measurement unit of a charged-coupled device (CCD) camera describes a sinusoidal signal. Vectors of the fiber orientation defined by inclination and direction angles can then directly be derived from the optical signals employing PLI analysis. However, noise, light scatter and filter inhomogeneities interfere with the original sinusoidal PLI signals. We here introduce a novel method using independent component analysis (ICA) to decompose the PLI images into statistically independent component maps. After decomposition, gray and white matter structures can clearly be distinguished from noise and other artifacts. The signal enhancement after artifact rejection is quantitatively evaluated in 134 histological whole brain sections. Thus, the primary sinusoidal signals from polarized light imaging can be effectively restored after noise and artifact rejection utilizing ICA. Our method therefore contributes to the analysis of nerve fiber orientation in the human brain within a micrometer scale.
Risk factors for ulcerative colitis-associated colorectal cancer A retrospective cohort study
(2020)
Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. The study aims to identify the risk factors for ulcerative colitis-colorectal cancer and to perform a survival curve analysis of the outcome. This retrospective cohort study included 254 patients from March 2016 to October 2017. Age, age at diagnosis, follow-up time, smoking status, and family history of colorectal cancer were analyzed as risk factors for colorectal cancer. The mean patient age was 46.6 +/- 16.9 years; 5.5% of the patients were smokers and 49.6% had pancolitis. Six patients (2.36%) had colorectal cancer, which was associated with age at diagnosis (odds/hazard ratio 1.059 [95% confidence interval: 1.001-1.121];P = .04), family history of colorectal cancer (12.992 [1.611-104.7];P = .02), and follow-up time (0.665 [0.513-0.864];P = .002). Active smoking was the main identified risk factor, after both logistic (8.477 [1.350-53.232];P = .02) and Cox proportional-hazards (32.484 [2.465-428.1];P = .008) regression analysis. The risk of colorectal cancer was 3.17% at 10 years and 4.26% at 20 years of follow-up. Active smoking and family history were identified as risk factors for colorectal cancer. These findings should aid the early identification of patients who require vigorous surveillance, and prevent exposure to risk factors.
Contact force path in total hip arthroplasty: effect of cup medialisation in a whole-body simulation
(2020)
Background:
Cup medialisation down to the true acetabular floor in total hip arthroplasty with a compensatory femoral offset increase seems to be mechanically advantageous for the abductor muscles due to the relocation of the lever arms (body weight lever arm decreased, abductor lever arm increased). However, limited information is currently available about the effects of this reconstruction type at the head cup interface, compared to an anatomical reconstruction that maintains the natural lever arms. Through a whole-body simulation analysis, we compared medialised versus anatomical reconstruction in THA to analyse the effects on: (1) contact force magnitude at the head cup interface; (2) contact force path in the cup; and (3) abductor activity.
Methods:
Musculoskeletal simulations were performed to calculate the above-mentioned parameters using inverse dynamics analysis. The differences between the virtually implanted THAs were calculated to compare the medialised versus anatomical reconstruction.
Results:
Cup medialisation with compensatory femoral offset increase led to: (1) a reduction in contact force magnitude at the head cup interface up to 6.6%; (2) a similar contact force path in the cup in terms of sliding distance and aspect ratio; and (3) a reduction in abductor activity up to 17.2% (gluteus medius).
Conclusions:
In our opinion, these potential biomechanical gains do not generally justify a fully medialised reconstruction, especially in younger patients that are more likely to undergo revision surgery in their lifetime. Cup medialisation should be performed until sufficient press fit and bony coverage of a properly sized and oriented cup can be achieved.
The development of biomimetic robots has gained research interest in the last years as it may both help under-standing processes of motion execution in biological systems as well as developping a novel generation of intelligent and energy efficient robots. However, exact model generation that builds up on observations and robot design is very time intensive. In this paper we present a novel pipeline for co-development of biomimetic hardware and simulation models based on biological Computer Tomography (CT) data. For this purpose we exploit State of the Art rapid prototyping technologies such as 3D Printing and the Neurorobotics Platform for musculoskeletal simulations in virtual environments. The co-development integrates both advantages of virtual and physical experimental models and is expected to increase development speed of controllers that can be tested on the simulated counterpart before application to a printed robot model. We demonstrate the pipeline by generating a one year old infant model as a musculoskeletal simulation model and a print-in-place 3D printed skeleton as a single movable part. Even though we hereonly introduce the initial body generation and only a first testsetup for a modular sensory and control framework, we can clearly spot advantages in terms of rapid model generation and highly biological related models. Engineering costs are reducedand models can be provided to a wide research community for controller testing in an early development phase.
Repeated loadings may cause fatigue fractures in bony structures. Even if these failure types are known, data for trabecular bone exposed to cyclic loading are still insufficient as the majority of fatigue analyses on bone concentrate on cortical structures. Despite its highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous structure, trabecular bone is treated with continuum approaches in fatigue analyses. The underlying deformation and damage mechanism within trabecular specimens are not yet sufficiently investigated. In the present study different types of trabecular bone were loaded in monotonic and cyclic compression. In addition to the measurement of integral specimen deformations, optical deformation analysis was employed in order to obtain strain distributions at different scale levels, from the specimens' surface to the trabeculae level. These measurements allowed for the possibility of linking the macroscopic and microscopic mechanical behaviour of cancellous bone. Deformations were found to be highly inhomogeneous across the specimen. Furthermore strains were found to already localise at very low load levels and after few load cycles. Microcracks in individual trabeculae were induced in the very early stage of cyclic testing. The results provide evidence of the capability of the method to supply essential data on the failure behaviour of individual trabeculae in future studies.
The fatigue behaviour of materials is of particular interest for the failure prediction of materials and structures exposed to cyclic loading. For trabecular bone structures only a few sets of lifetime data have been reported in the literature and structural measures are commonly not considered. The influence of load contributions which are not aligned with the main physiological axis remains unclear. Furthermore site and species dependent relationships are not well described. In this study five different groups of trabecular bone, defined in terms of orientation, species and site were exposed to cyclic compression. In total, 108 fatigue tests were analysed. The lifetimes were found to decrease drastically when off-axis loads were applied. Additionally, species and site strongly affect fatigue lifetimes. Strains at failure were also found to be a function of orientation.
Medical image processing provides core innovation for medical imaging. This paper is focused on recent developments from science to applications analyzing the past fifteen years of history of the proceedings of the German annual meeting on medical image processing (BVM). Furthermore, some members of the program committee present their personal points of views: (i) multi-modality for imaging and diagnosis, (ii) analysis of diffusion-weighted imaging, (iii) model-based image analysis, (iv) registration of section images, (v) from images to information in digital endoscopy, and (vi) virtual reality and robotics. Medical imaging and medical image computing is seen as field of rapid development with clear trends to integrated applications in diagnostics, treatment planning and treatment.
Natural and technological hazards have a major impact on environmental and human safety. Risk assessment plays an essential role in the risk management of the effects of such hazards. This contribution summarizes first the general formulation of risk depending on two parameters: hazard probability and associated consequences. Problems faced in industrial applications based on the experience of the author are discussed. Risk acceptance criteria for the contributors to risk i.e. human, economic and environment are critically reviewed. Resilience based criteria are also included and conclusions for future developments are provided.
The Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology of the OTH Regensburg developed and implemented a compact freshmen seminar for the afternoon of the first day of study. The intention of this seminar is to help the freshmen during their transition between school and study without losing lecture time in the first semester. The concept was tested with one small study group at the beginning of the summer semester 2015. To rate the impact of the seminar and to find aspects for continuous improvement an evaluation method was developed and used. Due to the good student resonance during the first run, this introduction seminar was held again in the winter semester 2015/16. It is planned to integrate this seminar as a regular session for all freshmen of the faculty curriculum and monitor the long-term effects of student motivation and success.
In primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), a neurodegenerative disease of the optic nerve (ON) and leading cause of blindness, the optic nerve head (ONH) undergoes marked structural extracellular matrix (ECM) changes, which contribute to its permanent deformation and to degeneration of ON axons. The remodeling process of the ECM causes changes in the biomechanical properties of the ONH and the peripapillary sclera, which is accompanied by an increased reactivity of the resident astrocytes. The molecular factors involved in the remodeling process belong to the Transforming growth factor (TGF)-β superfamily, especially TGF-β2. In previous publications we showed that TGF-β2 induced ECM alterations are mediated by Cellular Communication Network Factor (CCN)2/Connective Tissue Growth Factor (CTGF) and recently we showed that CCN2/CTGF is expressed by astrocytes of the ON under normal conditions. In this study we wanted to get a better understanding of the function of CCN2/CTGF under normal and pathologic conditions. To this end, we analyzed the glial lamina and peripapillary sclera of CCN2/CTGF overexpressing mice and studied the effect of CCN2/CTGF and increasing substratum stiffness on murine ON astrocytes in vitro. We observed enhanced astrocyte reactivity in the ONH, increased ECM protein synthesis in the peripapillary sclera and increased Ccn2/Ctgf expression in the ONH during the pathologic development in situ. CCN2/CTGF treatment of primary murine ON astrocytes induced a higher migration rate, and increase of ECM proteins including fibronectin, elastin and collagen type III. Furthermore, the astrocytes responded to stiffer substratum with increased glial fibrillary acidic protein, vimentin, actin and CCN2/CTGF synthesis. Finally, we observed the reinforced appearance of CCN2/CTGF in the lamina cribrosa of glaucomatous patients. We conclude that reactive changes in ONH astrocytes, induced by the altered biomechanical characteristics of the region, give rise to a self-amplifying process that includes increased TGF-β2/CCN2/CTGF signaling and leads to the synthesis of ECM molecules and cytoskeleton proteins, a process that in turn augments the stiffness at the ONH. Such a scenario may finally result in a vicious circle in the pathogenesis of POAG. The transgenic CTGF-overexpressing mouse model might be an optimal model to study the chronic pathological POAG changes in the ONH.
Background
The aim of this study was to investigate if the flattening filter free mode (FFF) of a linear accelerator reduces the excess absolute risk (EAR) for second cancer as compared to the flat beam mode (FF) in simultaneous integrated boost (SIB) radiation therapy of right-sided breast cancer.
Patients and methods
Six plans were generated treating the whole breast to 50.4 Gy and a SIB volume to 63 Gy on CT data of 10 patients: intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and a tangential arc VMAT (tVMAT), each with flattening filter and without. The EAR was calculated for the contralateral breast and the lungs from dose-volume histograms (DVH) based on the linear-exponential, the plateau, and the full mechanistic dose-response model. Peripheral low-dose measurements were performed to compare the EAR in more distant regions as the thyroids and the uterus.
Results
FFF reduces the EAR significantly in the contralateral and peripheral organs for tVMAT and in the peripheral organs for VMAT. No reduction was found for IMRT. The lowest EAR for the contralateral breast and lung was achieved with tVMAT FFF, reducing the EAR by 25 % and 29 % as compared to tVMAT FF, and by 44 % to 58 % as compared to VMAT and IMRT in both irradiation modes. tVMAT FFF showed also the lowest peripheral dose corresponding to the lowest EAR in the thyroids and the uterus.
Conclusion
The use of FFF mode allows reducing the EAR significantly when tVMAT is used as the treatment technique. When second cancer risk is a major concern, tVMAT FFF is considered the preferred treatment option in SIB irradiation of right-sided breast cancer.
The study is based on a German single-topic population survey on vaccination willingness against COVID-19 (VWC) by the authors (2020, n = 2014). The single-topic survey allowed us to test several competing explanations for VWC, as discussed in the literature. The VWC in the sample was 67.3%. Logistic regression was used to identify factors affecting VWC. Being at high risk from COVID-19 and having received flu vaccination have a positive impact on VWC. Perceived VWC of friends has a strong positive effect on respondents’ VWC. Bivariate relationships of gender, age, and level of education with VWC were no longer significant in a multivariate analysis. Trust in alternative medicine and belief in conspiracy theories have a negative effect on VWC.
Based on previous work by our group with manual annotation of visible Barrett oesophagus (BE) cancer images, a real-time deep learning artificial intelligence (AI) system was developed. While an expert endoscopist conducts the endoscopic assessment of BE, our AI system captures random images from the real-time camera livestream and provides a global prediction (classification), as well as a dense prediction (segmentation) differentiating accurately between normal BE and early oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). The AI system showed an accuracy of 89.9% on 14 cases with neoplastic BE.
Computer-aided diagnosis using deep learning in the evaluation of early oesophageal adenocarcinoma
(2019)
Computer-aided diagnosis using deep learning (CAD-DL) may be an instrument to improve endoscopic assessment of Barrett’s oesophagus
(BE) and early oesophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC). Based on still images from two databases, the diagnosis of EAC by CAD-DL reached sensitivities/specificities of 97%/88% (Augsburg data) and 92%/100% (Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention [MICCAI]
data) for white light (WL) images and 94%/80% for narrow band images (NBI) (Augsburg data), respectively. Tumour margins delineated by
experts into images were detected satisfactorily with a Dice coefficient (D) of 0.72. This could be a first step towards CAD-DL for BE assessment. If developed further, it could become a useful
adjunctive tool for patient management.
Aims:
The delineation of outer margins of early Barrett's cancer can be challenging even for experienced endoscopists. Artificial intelligence (AI) could assist endoscopists faced with this task. As of date, there is very limited experience in this domain. In this study, we demonstrate the measure of overlap (Dice coefficient = D) between highly experienced Barrett endoscopists and an AI system in the delineation of cancer margins (segmentation task).
Methods:
An AI system with a deep convolutional neural network (CNN) was trained and tested on high-definition endoscopic images of early Barrett's cancer (n = 33) and normal Barrett's mucosa (n = 41). The reference standard for the segmentation task were the manual delineations of tumor margins by three highly experienced Barrett endoscopists. Training of the AI system included patch generation, patch augmentation and adjustment of the CNN weights. Then, the segmentation results from patch classification and thresholding of the class probabilities. Segmentation results were evaluated using the Dice coefficient (D).
Results:
The Dice coefficient (D) which can range between 0 (no overlap) and 1 (complete overlap) was computed only for images correctly classified by the AI-system as cancerous. At a threshold of t = 0.5, a mean value of D = 0.72 was computed.
Conclusions:
AI with CNN performed reasonably well in the segmentation of the tumor region in Barrett's cancer, at least when compared with expert Barrett's endoscopists. AI holds a lot of promise as a tool for better visualization of tumor margins but may need further improvement and enhancement especially in real-time settings.
The early diagnosis of cancer in Barrett’s esophagus is crucial for improving the prognosis. However, identifying Barrett’s esophagus-related neoplasia (BERN) is challenging, even for experts [1]. Four-quadrant biopsies may improve the detection of neoplasia, but they can be associated with sampling errors. The application of artificial intelligence (AI) to the assessment of Barrett’s esophagus could improve the diagnosis of BERN, and this has been demonstrated in both preclinical and clinical studies [2] [3].
In this video demonstration, we show the accurate detection and delineation of BERN in two patients ([Video 1]). In part 1, the AI system detects a mucosal cancer about 20 mm in size and accurately delineates the lesion in both white-light and narrow-band imaging. In part 2, a small island of BERN with high-grade dysplasia is detected and delineated in white-light, narrow-band, and texture and color enhancement imaging. The video shows the results using a transparent overlay of the mucosal cancer in real time as well as a full segmentation preview. Additionally, the optical flow allows for the assessment of endoscope movement, something which is inversely related to the reliability of the AI prediction. We demonstrate that multimodal imaging can be applied to the AI-assisted detection and segmentation of even small focal lesions in real time.
Background and aims: The accurate differentiation between T1a and T1b Barrett’s cancer has both therapeutic and prognostic implications but is challenging even for experienced physicians. We trained an Artificial Intelligence (AI) system on the basis of deep artificial neural networks (deep learning) to differentiate between T1a and T1b Barrett’s cancer white-light images.
Methods: Endoscopic images from three tertiary care centres in Germany were collected retrospectively. A deep learning system was trained and tested using the principles of cross-validation. A total of 230 white-light endoscopic images (108 T1a and 122 T1b) was evaluated with the AI-system. For comparison, the images were also classified by experts specialized in endoscopic diagnosis and treatment of Barrett’s cancer.
Results: The sensitivity, specificity, F1 and accuracy of the AI-system in the differentiation between T1a and T1b cancer lesions was 0.77, 0.64, 0.73 and 0.71, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the performance of the AI-system and that of human experts with sensitivity, specificity, F1 and accuracy of 0.63, 0.78, 0.67 and 0.70 respectively.
Conclusion: This pilot study demonstrates the first multicenter application of an AI-based system in the prediction of submucosal invasion in endoscopic images of Barrett’s cancer. AI scored equal to international experts in the field, but more work is necessary to improve the system and apply it to video sequences and in a real-life setting. Nevertheless, the correct prediction of submucosal invasion in Barret´s cancer remains challenging for both experts and AI.