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The objectives of this observational, cross-sectional study were to characterize and establish the prevalence of osseous proliferation of articular surfaces, joint margins and adjacent soft tissue attachments (i.e., joint capsule and deep spinal muscles) in a mixed population of horses of variable ages, sizes, and breeds to better capture the full spectrum of disease affecting the cervical articular processes. Cranial and caudal articular processes of the cervical and first three thoracic vertebrae (C2-T3) from 55 horses without a primary complaint of neck pain were evaluated for the presence and severity of abnormal bony changes. Data were analyzed to compare alterations in joint margin quadrants, paired articular surfaces within a synovial articulation, left-right laterality, and vertebral level distributions and to determine associations with age, wither height and sex. Seventy-two percent of articular processes had bony changes that were considered abnormal. Osteophyte formation was the most common bony change noted. Overall grades of severity included: normal (28%), mild (45%), moderate (22%), and severe (5%). The highest prevalence of mild changes was localized to the C3-C6 vertebral levels; moderate changes to C6-T2; and severe changes to C2-C3 and C6-T2. Most paired articular surfaces and left-right grades of severity were not significantly different. The grade of osseous pathology was positively associated with both age and wither height. A high prevalence and wide variety of abnormal bony changes of varying severity were found in articular processes across all vertebral levels. The clinical significance of the described lesions is unknown, but the findings are expected to enhance the reporting of articular process and periarticular changes noted on advanced diagnostic imaging of the equine cervical and cranial thoracic vertebral regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The General Electric (GE) Swiftscan solution combines a new Low Energy High Resolution and Sensitivity collimator (LEHRS) with image processing (Clarity 2D) and tomographic step and shoot continuous mode. The aim of this study was to compare clinical and physical performances of this new technology in bone scintigraphy. Methods: Physical phantom measurements were performed using GE LEHRS, GE Low Energy High Resolution (LEHR) and Siemens LEHR collimators. These measurements were associated with a prospective clinical study. Sixty-seven patients referred for bone scintigraphy were enrolled from February to July 2018. Each patient underwent two acquisitions consecutively on GE and Siemens gamma camera, using respectively Swiftscan solution and LEHR collimator. Results: On planar acquisitions, maximum sensitivity was 100 cts/MBq for Siemens LEHR. GE SwiftScan LEHRS and GE LEHR maximum sensitivity were respectively 9% and 22% lower. Using Clarity 2D, GE Swiftscan LEHRS spatial resolution was the best with 9.2 mm versus 10.1 mm and 10.6 mm for GE LEHR and Siemens LEHR collimators. In tomographic mode, the sensitivity of GE Swiftscan solution was superior to both LEHR systems (16% and 25% respectively for Siemens and GE). There was no significant difference in spatial resolution. In clinical use, signal was higher on Siemens system and noise was lower on GE Swiftscan solution. Contrast-to-noise ratios were not significantly different between the two systems. There was a significant image quality improvement with GE SwiftScan in planar images and in whole body scan. No significant difference in image quality was observed on SPECT images. Conclusion: New GE SwiftScan collimator design improved sensitivity compared to “classical” GE LEHR collimator without compromising resolution. GE SwiftScan solution enhances planar image quality with a better Clarity 2D resolution recovery and noise treatment. In SPECT mode, GE SwiftScan solution improves volumetric sensitivity without significant impact on image quality, and could lead to time or dose reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the cephalometric skeletal and soft-tissue of functional appliances in treated versus untreated Class II subjects in the long-term (primarily at the end of growth, secondarily at least 3 years after retention). Search methods: Unrestricted electronic search of 24 databases and additional manual searches up to March 2018. Selection criteria: Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials reporting on cephalometric skeletal and soft-tissue measurements of Class II patients (aged 16 years or under) treated with functional appliances, worn alone or in combination with multi-bracket therapy, compared to untreated Class II subjects. Data collection and analysis: Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were calculated with the random-effects model. Data were analysed at 2 primary time points (above 18 years of age, at the end of growth according to the Cervical Vertebral Maturation method) and a secondary time point (at least 3 years after retention). The risk of bias and quality of evidence were assessed according to the ROBINS tool and GRADE system, respectively. Results: Eight non-randomised studies published in 12 papers were included. Functional appliances produced a significant improvement of the maxillo-mandibular relationship, at almost all time points (Wits appraisal at the end of growth, MD -3.52 mm, 95% CI -5.11 to -1.93, P < 0.0001). The greatest increase in mandibular length was recorded in patients aged 18 years and above (Co-Gn, MD 3.20 mm, 95% CI 1.32 to 5.08, P = 0.0009), although the improvement of the mandibular projection was negligible or not significant. The quality of evidence was ‘very low’ for most of the outcomes at both primary time points. Conclusions: Functional appliances may be effective in correcting skeletal Class II malocclusion in the long-term, however the quality of the evidence was very low and the clinical significance was limited. Systematic review registration: CRD42018092139 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a wealth of published information on the epibiont communities of sea turtles, yet many of these studies have exclusively sampled epibionts found only on the carapace. Considering that epibionts may be found on almost all body-surfaces and that it is highly plausible to expect different regions of the body to host distinct epibiont taxa, there is a need for quantitative information on the spatial variation of epibiont communities on turtles. To achieve this, we measured how total epibiont abundance and biomass on olive ridley turtles Lepidochelys olivacea varies among four body-areas of the hosts (n = 30). We showed that epibiont loads on olive ridleys are higher, both in terms of number and biomass, on the skin than they are on the carapace or plastron. This contrasts with previous findings for other hard-shelled sea turtles, where epibionts are usually more abundant on the carapace or plastron. Moreover, the arguably most ubiquitous epibiont taxon for other hard-shelled sea turtles, the barnacle Chelonibia spp., only occurred in relatively low numbers on olive ridleys and the barnacles Stomatolepas elegans and Platylepas hexastylos are far more abundant. We postulate that these differences between the epibiont communities of different sea turtle taxa could indicate that the carapaces of olive ridley turtles provide a more challenging substratum for epibionts than do the hard shells of other sea turtles. In addition, we conclude that it is important to conduct full body surveys when attempting to produce a holistic qualitative or quantitative characterization of the epibiont communities of sea turtles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Needles with diameter under 1 mm are used in various medical applications to limit the risk of complication and patient discomfort during the procedure. Next to a small diameter, needle steerability is an important property for reaching targets located deep inside the body accurately and precisely. In this paper, we present a 0.5-mm prototype probe which is able to steer in three dimensions (3D) without the need of axial rotation. The prototype consists of three Nitinol wires (each with a diameter of 0.125 mm) with a pre-curved tip. The wires are kept together by a stainless steel tube. Each wire is clamped to a block which translates along a leadscrew, the rotation of the latter being controlled by a wheel connected at the distal end of the leadscrew. The tip bends upon retraction of one or two wires. When pushed through a soft solid structure (e.g., a soft tissue or soft tissue phantom), the probe deflects due to off-axis forces acting on its tip by the surrounding structure. We tested the performance of the prototype into a 10% wt gelatine phantom, in terms of the predictability of the steering direction and the controllability of the final position after steering inside the substrate. The results showed that the probe steered in the direction of the retracted wire and that the final position varied from small deflections from the straight path when the wires were slightly retracted, to sharp curvatures for large wire retraction. The probe could be used in various applications, from cases where only a small correction of the path in one direction is needed to cases where the path to be followed includes obstacles and curves in multiple directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A personalized pelvis and femur shape is required to build a finite element buttock thigh model when experimentally investigating seating discomfort. The present study estimates the shape of pelvis and femur using a principal component analysis (PCA) based method with a limited number of palpable anatomical landmarks (ALs) as predictors. A leave-one-out experiment was designed using 38 pelvises and femurs from a same sample of adult specimens. As expected, prediction errors decrease with the number of ALs. Using the maximum number of easily palpable ALs (13 for pelvis and 4 for femur), average errors were 5.4 and 4.8 mm respectively for pelvis and femur. Better prediction was obtained when the shapes of pelvis and femur were predicted separately without merging the data of both bones. Results also show that the PCA based method is a good alternative to predict hip and lumbosacral joint centers with an average error of 5.0 and 9.2 mm respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level has been shown to be a predictor of survival for multiple cancer types. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether pretreatment serum CRP level could serve as a reliable independent prognostic indicator for survival in patients with soft tissue sarcoma (STS). Methods: A detailed literature search was conducted in Medline, Embase and Cochrane for relevant research publications written in English. Patients’ clinical characteristics, outcomes of disease-specific survival (DSS) and disease/recurrence free survival (DFS/RFS) were extracted. Only the results of multivariate survival analysis were recruited in our analysis. Pooled hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to evaluate the prognostic role of CRP. This study was registered on PROPERO and the registration number is CRD42018104802. Results: Nine articles containing 1655 patients were identified as eligible studies. The random effects model showed that elevated CRP level was significantly correlated with poor DSS (HR = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.33–3.24; p < 0.001). After excluding the heterogeneous study, the fixed effects model showed that elevated CRP level was firmly correlated with poor DSS (HR = 2.36; 95% CI: 1.84–3.03; p < 0.001). The fixed effects model revealed that elevated CRP level was significantly correlated with poor DFS (HR = 1.78; 95% CI: 1.39–2.30; p < 0.001) among studies have more than 100 samples. Conclusion: The results of this meta-analysis suggest that elevated pretreatment serum CRP level could serve as an independent risk factor for poor DSS and DFS/RFS in STS patents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Thorough understanding of developmental changes of human facial shape is lacking. The present study aimed to evaluate developmental shape changes of facial morphology based on a prospective, population-representative, Chinese cohort in Hong Kong. Methods: A population-representative sample of Chinese in Hong Kong was followed. Serial facial images of over 260 participants were obtained at age 12, 15, and 18 years. Facial landmarks were digitized and the corresponding coordinates were submitted for Generalized Procrustes Analysis. The resultant Procrustes shape coordinates, which captured shape information encoded by the facial landmarks, were then used for statistical shape analyses. Results: Small but significant developmental changes in mean facial shape were observed (p < 0.0001 for all pairwise comparisons). Significant age-related changes in the magnitude of variance of facial shape were also observed (p < 0.05). Phenotypic growth trajectories representing developmental shape changes were similar in size (p > 0.05) between sexes but differed in direction (p < 0.05) in shape space and trajectory shape (p < 0.05). The magnitude of shape differences between sexes remained constant from 12 to 18 years. Results of frontal facial shape analyses after removing the effect of allometry were similar to results obtained before removal of allometry. For lateral facial configurations, allometric trajectories among the age-by-sex groups were similar in slope (p > 0.05) but varied in directions in the multidimensional shape space. Conclusions: Our findings suggested significant age-related changes in facial shape and provided a dynamic view of developmental changes in sexual dimorphism of facial shape. Allometry contributed minimally to developmental changes in frontal facial shape. In addition, the allometric trajectories for lateral facial configurations were similar in rate of shape change but differed in their directions in shape space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the major challenges in the field of soft tissue engineering using bioprinting is fabricating complex tissue constructs with desired structure integrity and mechanical property. To accomplish such requirements, most of the reported works incorporated reinforcement materials such as poly(ϵ-caprolactone) (PCL) polymer within the 3D bioprinted constructs. Although this approach has made some progress in constructing soft tissue-engineered scaffolds, the mechanical compliance mismatch and long degradation period are not ideal for soft tissue engineering. Herein, we present a facile bioprinting strategy that combines the rapid extrusion-based bioprinting technique with an in-built ultraviolet (UV) curing system to facilitate the layer-by-layer UV curing of bioprinted photo-curable GelMA-based hydrogels to achieve soft yet stable cell-laden constructs with high aspect ratio for soft tissue engineering. GelMA is supplemented with a viscosity enhancer (gellan gum) to improve the bio-ink printability and shape fidelity while maintaining the biocompatibility before crosslinking via a layer-by-layer UV curing process. This approach could eventually fabricate soft tissue constructs with high aspect ratio (length to diameter) of ≥ 5. The effects of UV source on printing resolution and cell viability were also studied. As a proof-of-concept, small building units (3D lattice and tubular constructs) with high aspect ratio are fabricated. Furthermore, we have also demonstrated the ability to perform multi-material printing of tissue constructs with high aspect ratio along both the longitudinal and transverse directions for potential applications in tissue engineering of soft tissues. This layer-by-layer ultraviolet assisted extrusion-based (UAE) Bioprinting may provide a novel strategy to develop soft tissue constructs with desirable structure integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African ostrich (Struthio camelus) is the largest and fastest extent bipedal animal. The ostrich mainly relies on the 3rd toe to support the entire body under high-speed motion. The short and severe impact concentrated on the limited area would produce tremendous momentary internal stress and strain, which may contribute to the phalanges disloaction, soft tissue damage and the like. The vibration and excessive negative acceleration caused by the ground reaction force also affect the stability of the touching process. Therefore, ostrich toe pads are required to have excellent cushion characteristics. However, current studies often explains the cushion properties by analyzing the macro-microscopic structure of the pad organism, and there is a paucity of research on its biomechanical behaviour. Consequently, from the perspective of multi-layer structure and biomaterial assembly, this study aims to explain the biomechanical characteristics of the ostrich toe pads by FEM (Finite Element Method) analysis. Based on results, we deem that the ostrich toe pad could absorb energy and reduce vibration effectively. Firstly, the multi-layer structure of the pads make the stress and strain decay from outside to inside. Secondly, the minimal response frequency of the pad is 164.22 Hz, making it effectively avoid resonance phenomenon. Finally, the composite material model has the best performance in decreasing the negative acceleration peak value, the impact force peak value and the maximal equivalent stress value at velocities of 0.669 m/s and 1.339 m/s. These results help to further understand the buffer mechanism of the ostrich toe pad, and also have important inter-species reference value for the pathogenesis of human foot soft tissue injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust and stratified pre-clinical natural knee model, which has the capability to more appropriately simulate the biomechanical environment in vivo, will deliver more efficient and reliable assessment of soft tissue interventions before clinical studies. In order to simulate the biomechanical function of the natural knee without the natural ligaments in place, there is a requirement to develop appropriate spring constraints for the natural knee model. Therefore, this study was to investigate the effect of spring constraints on the function and output of the natural porcine knee model, and determine the spring constraint which most closely replicated the function of the natural ligaments. Two linear compression springs with stiffnesses of 9 N/mm (spring-9) and 20 N/mm (spring-20) were set at different free lengths in the anterior-posterior (A/P) axis in a natural knee simulator. The kinematic (A/P displacement) and tribological properties (shear force) output of the simulator were compared at different spring settings. The most appropriate spring setting was determined by comparing the A/P displacement and shear force output at different spring settings with those of the all ligaments model. Spring-9 with a free length of 4 mm showed the minimal difference (-0.03±0.68 mm) in A/P displacement output and spring-20 with a free length of 5 mm showed the minimal difference (-0.10±0.73 mm) in A/P displacement output compared to the all ligament control. There was no statistical difference between the two minimal differences either in A/P displacement or in shear force (paired t-test, p = 0.58, and p = 0.68 respectively) when both spring settings matched most closely to the A/P kinematics of the intact knee. This indicated that both conditions were appropriate spring constraints settings in the A/P direction for the natural porcine knee model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To investigate the feasibility, diagnostic image quality and radiation dose of 3rd generation dual-source computed tomography (CT) using a tin-filtered 100 kV protocol in patients with suspected acute inflammatory sinus disease. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 109 consecutive patients who underwent CT (Siemens SOMATOM Force, Erlangen, Germany) of the paranasal sinus with a new tin-filtered scan-protocol (Sn100 kV; tube current 35 mAs) using iterative reconstruction. Two readers independently assessed subjective image quality using a five-point Likert scale (1 = excellent, 5 = non-diagnostic). Inter-observer agreement was calculated and expressed as percentage of agreement. Noise was determined for calculation of signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR). Effective radiation dose (ED) was calculated from the dose-length-product (DLP). Results: All examinations showed diagnostic image quality regarding evaluation of inflammatory sinus disease. On average, subjective general image quality was rated moderate (= 3) with a percentage of agreement between the observers of 81%. The mean image noise was 14.3 HU. The calculated median SNR was 6.0 for intraorbital fat, and 3.6 for the vitreous body, respectively. The median DLP was 2.1 mGy*cm, resulting in a median ED of 0.012 mSv. Conclusions: Taking the study limitations into account, ultra-low-dose tin-filtered CT of the paranasal sinus at a tube voltage of 100 kV utilizing an iterative reconstruction algorithm provides for reliable exclusion of suspected acute inflammatory sinus disease in 100% of the cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we put forward a real-time multiple GPUs (multi-GPU) accelerated virtual-reality interaction simulation framework where the reconstructed objects from camera images interact with virtual deformable objects. Firstly, based on an extended voxel-based visual hull (VbVH) algorithm, we design an image-based 3D reconstruction platform for real objects. Then, an improved hybrid deformation model, which couples the geometry constrained fast lattice shape matching method (FLSM) and total Lagrangian explicit dynamics (TLED) algorithm, is proposed to achieve efficient and stable simulation of the virtual objects’ elastic deformations. Finally, one-way virtual-reality interactions including soft tissues’ virtual cutting with bleeding effects are successfully simulated. Moreover, with the purpose of significantly improving the computational efficiency of each time step, we propose an entire multi-GPU implementation method of the framework using compute unified device architecture (CUDA). The experiment results demonstrate that our multi-GPU accelerated virtual-reality interaction framework achieves real-time performance under the moderate calculation scale, which is a new effective 3D interaction technique for virtual reality applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To design and evaluate the accuracy of a novel navigation template suitable for posterior cervical screw placement surgery by using 3D printing technology to improve the existing guiding template design. Methods: The researchers (including spine surgeons and technicians) used CT to perform thin-slice scanning on 12 cases of normal upper cervical vertebral specimens and defined the screw channels that were completely located in the pedicle without penetrating the cortex as ideal screw channels, then designed the ideal channel of the upper cervical vertebral (atlantoaxial) pedicle screw by computer software which was regarded as the preset values, and recorded the screw entrance point, transverse angle and sagittal angle of the ideal channel. Then, researchers designed the novel navigation templates for placement pedicle screw according to the ideal screw channel preset values and manufactured them with one for every single vertebra by 3D printer. A senior spine surgeon performed the posterior surgery to implant pedicle screw on the specimens by the novel navigation templates, then performed CT thin-slice scanning on the specimens again after removing the screws, and reconstructed the actual screws channel by computer software, recorded the screw entrance point, transverse angle and sagittal angle of the actual channels which were defined as the actual values and evaluated them according to Kawaguchi’s pedicle screw evaluation standard finally. The differences between the preoperative preset values of ideal screw channel and the postoperative actual values of actual screw channel were compared by a nonparametric paired rank test. Results: 48 screws were placed on 12 cases of upper cervical vertebral specimens in total. It showed that the grade 0, I, II, III channels in this study were 47, 1, 0, 0, respectively. The grade 0 channels accounted for 97.92% of the total number of channels. There was no significant difference with regard to the screw entrance point, the transverse angle, and the sagittal angle between the preoperative preset values of ideal screw channels and the postoperative actual values of actual screw channels. Conclusion: To implant pedicle screw assisted with the novel individually navigation template designed by 3D printed in the posterior cervical surgery can improve accuracy of pedicle screw placement and safety of the surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate and quantify the effect of improved attenuation correction (AC) including bone segmentation and truncation correction on 18F-Fluordesoxyglucose cardiac positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) imaging. Methods: PET data of 32 cardiac PET/MR datasets were reconstructed with three different AC-maps (1. Dixon-VIBE only, 2. HUGE truncation correction and bone segmentation, 3. MLAA). The Dixon-VIBE AC-maps served as reference of reconstructed PET data. 17-segment short-axis polar plots of the left ventricle were analyzed regarding the impact of each of the three AC methods on PET quantification in cardiac PET/MR imaging. Non-AC PET images were segmented to specify the amount of truncation in the Dixon-VIBE AC-map serving as a reference. All AC-maps were evaluated for artifacts. Results: Using HUGE + bone AC results in a homogeneous gain of ca. 6% and for MLAA 8% of PET signal distribution across the myocardium of the left ventricle over all patients compared to Dixon-VIBE AC only. Maximal relative differences up to 18% were observed in segment 17 (apex). The body volume truncation of -12.7 ± 7.1% compared to the segmented non-AC PET images using the Dixon-VIBE AC method was reduced to -1.9 ± 3.9% using HUGE and 7.8 ± 8.3% using MLAA. In each patient, a systematic overestimation in AC-map volume was observed when applying MLAA. Quantitative impact of artifacts showed regional differences up to 6% within single segments of the myocardium. Conclusions: Improved AC including bone segmentation and truncation correction in cardiac PET/MR imaging is important to ensure best possible diagnostic quality and PET quantification. The results exhibited an overestimation of AC-map volume using MLAA, while HUGE resulted in a more realistic body contouring. Incorporation of bone segmentation into the Dixon-VIBE AC-map resulted in homogeneous gain in PET signal distribution across the myocardium. The majority of observed AC-map artifacts did not significantly affect the quantitative assessment of the myocardium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Looking for new opportunities in mechanical design, we are interested in studying the kinematic behaviour of biological joints. The real kinematic behaviour of the elbow of quadruped animals (which is submitted to high mechanical stresses in comparison with bipeds) remains unexplored. The sheep elbow joint was chosen because of its similarity with a revolute joint. The main objective of this study is to estimate the effects of elbow simplifications on the prediction of joint reaction forces in inverse dynamic simulations. Rigid motions between humerus and radius-ulna were registered during full flexion-extension gestures on five cadaveric specimens. The experiments were initially conducted with fresh specimens with ligaments and repeated after removal of all soft tissue, including cartilage. A digital image correlation system was used for tracking optical markers fixed on the bones. The geometry of the specimens was digitized using a 3D optical scanner. Then, the instantaneous helical axis of the joint was computed for each acquisition time. Finally, an OpenSim musculoskeletal model of the sheep forelimb was used to quantify effects of elbow joint approximations on the prediction of joint reaction forces. The motion analysis showed that only the medial-lateral translation is sufficiently large regarding the measuring uncertainty of the experiments. This translation assimilates the sheep elbow to a screw joint instead of a revolute joint. In comparison with fresh specimens, the experiments conducted with dry bone specimens (bones without soft tissue) provided different kinematic behaviour. From the results of our inverse dynamic simulations, it was noticed that the inclusion of the medial-lateral translation to the model made up with the mean flexion axis does not affect the predicted joint reaction forces. A geometrical difference between the axis of the best fitting cylinder and the mean flexion axis (derived from the motion analysis) of fresh specimens was highlighted. This geometrical difference impacts slightly the prediction of joint reactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Difficult tracheal intubation (DTI) contributes to perioperative morbidity and mortality. There are conflicting study results about the most predictive DTI risk criteria in patients undergoing thyroid surgery. Materials and methods: We conducted a prospective observational study on 500 consecutive patients aged ≥18 years to identify predictors for DTI. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), inability to prognath, head movement, mouth opening, Mallampati score, neck circumference (NC), thyromental distance (TMD), neck circumference to thyromental distance ratio (NC/TMD), tracheal deviation apparent on chest x-ray, mediastinal goiter, histology and history of DTI were measured as possible predictors of DTI. Spearman's rank correlation test and multiple logistic regression analysis were performed. Results: DTI was observed in 9.6% of all patients. Compared with the group of patients without DTI, the group of patients with DTI had significantly greater median values for body weight, BMI, NC, NC/TMD, Mallampati score, el-Ganzouri score, incidence of mediastinal goiter, and had reduced TMD and mouth opening. Significant correlations between BMI ≥30 kg/m2 and the Mallampati score ≥3 (R = 0.124, p = 0.00541), Cormack-Lehane ≥3 (R = 0.128, p = 0.00409), NC ≥40 cm (R = 0.376, p<0.001), and NC/TMD ≥5 (R = 0.103, p = 0.0207) were found. The logistic regression analysis revealed that an NC ≥40 cm at the goiter level, but not an NC/TMD ratio ≥5, was the strongest predictor of DTI (p<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for NC/TMD was better than the curve for NC. The sensitivity and specificity of NC/TMD were also greater, compared with NC. An NC of 40.00 cm and an NC/TMD of 5.85 were the estimated cut-off points. Discussion: This study found that NC was a strong predictor of DTI. The results also suggested that NC/TMD could be used as a measure to stratify the risk of DTI in patients undergoing thyroid surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clarify cues for age perception, the three-dimensional head and face forms of Japanese women were analyzed. It is known that age-related transformations are mainly caused by changes in soft tissue during adulthood. A homologous polygon model was created by fitting template meshes to each study participant to obtain three-dimensional data for analyzing whole head and face forms. Using principal component analysis of the vertices coordinates of these models, 26 principal components were extracted (contribution ratios >0.5%), which accounted for more than 90% of the total variance. Among the principal components, five had a significant correlation with the perceived ages of the participants (p < 0.05). Transformations with these principal components in the age-related direction produced aged faces. Moreover, the older the perceived age, the larger the ratio of age-manifesting participants, namely participants who had one or more age-related principal component score greater than +1.0 σ in the age-related direction. Therefore, these five principal components were regarded as aging factors. A cluster analysis of the five aging factors revealed that all of the participants fell into one of four groups, meaning that specific combinations of factors could be used as cues for age perception in each group. These results suggest that Japanese women can be classified into four groups according to age-related transformations of soft tissue in the face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports using computed tomography (CT) to estimate thigh skeletal muscle cross-sectional area and mean muscle attenuation are often difficult to evaluate due to inconsistent methods of quantification and/or poorly described analysis methods. This CT tutorial provides step-by-step instructions in using free, NIH Image J software to quantify both muscle size and composition in the mid-thigh, which was validated against a robust commercially available software, SliceOmatic. CT scans of the mid-thigh were analyzed from 101 healthy individuals aged 65 and older. Mean cross-sectional area and mean attenuation values are presented across seven defined Hounsfield unit (HU) ranges along with the percent contribution of each region to the total mid-thigh area. Inter-software correlation coefficients ranged from R2 = 0.92–0.99 for all specific area comparisons measured using the Image J method compared to SliceOmatic. We recommend reporting individual HU ranges for all areas measured. Although HU range 0–100 includes the majority of skeletal muscle area, HU range -29 to 150 appears to be the most inclusive for quantifying total thigh muscle. Reporting all HU ranges is necessary to determine the relative contribution of each, as they may be differentially affected by age, obesity, disease, and exercise. This standardized operating procedure will facilitate consistency among investigators reporting computed tomography characteristics of the thigh on single slice images. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a method for automated estimation of a human face given a skull remain. Our proposed method is based on three statistical models. A volumetric (tetrahedral) skull model encoding the variations of different skulls, a surface head model encoding the head variations, and a dense statistic of facial soft tissue thickness (FSTT). All data are automatically derived from computed tomography (CT) head scans and optical face scans. In order to obtain a proper dense FSTT statistic, we register a skull model to each skull extracted from a CT scan and determine the FSTT value for each vertex of the skull model towards the associated extracted skin surface. The FSTT values at predefined landmarks from our statistic are well in agreement with data from the literature. To recover a face from a skull remain, we first fit our skull model to the given skull. Next, we generate spheres with radius of the respective FSTT value obtained from our statistic at each vertex of the registered skull. Finally, we fit a head model to the union of all spheres. The proposed automated method enables a probabilistic face-estimation that facilitates forensic recovery even from incomplete skull remains. The FSTT statistic allows the generation of plausible head variants, which can be adjusted intuitively using principal component analysis. We validate our face recovery process using an anonymized head CT scan. The estimation generated from the given skull visually compares well with the skin surface extracted from the CT scan itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The extent of intraductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is commonly underestimated due to the discontinuous growth and lack of microcalcifications. Specimen radiography has been established to reduce the rate of re-excision. However, the predictive value for margin assessment with conventional specimen radiography for DCIS is low. In this study we assessed the potential of grating-based phase-contrast computed tomography (GBPC-CT) at conventional X-ray sources for specimen tomography of DCIS containing samples. Materials and methods: GBPC-CT was performed on four ex-vivo breast specimens containing DCIS and invasive carcinoma of non-specific type. Phase-contrast and absorption-based datasets were manually matched with corresponding histological slices as the standard of reference. Results: Matching of CT images and histology was successful. GBPC-CT showed an improved soft tissue contrast compared to absorption-based images revealing more histological details in the same sections. Non-calcifying DCIS exceeding the invasive tumor could be correlated to areas of dilated bright ducts around the tumor. Conclusions: GBPC-CT imaging at conventional X-ray sources offers improved depiction quality for the imaging of breast tissue samples compared to absorption-based imaging, allows the identification of diagnostically relevant tissue details, and provides full three-dimensional assessment of sample margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Many surgeons participate in the management of superficial soft tissue masses, and a preoperative incorrect diagnosis frequently results in dismal oncological outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify distinguishing magnetic resonance imaging features between malignant and non-malignant lesions. Methods: The clinicopathological data for 219 patients (men 114; women 105) with superficial soft tissue masses treated from January 2007 to December 2016 in our institution were retrospectively analyzed. The median age at the first visit was 55.6 years (range 1–90 years). MRI findings of tumor size, margin, lobulation, intratumoral hemorrhage, peritumoral edema, and tumor-fascia relationship were compared with the final histological diagnosis and tumor grade. Results: Univariate analysis revealed significant relationships between histologically malignant lesions and tumor size ≥5 cm (p = 0.035), positive peritumoral edema (p = 0.031), and tumor-fascia relationship (p<0.001), but not margin (p = 0.107), lobulation (p = 0.071), and intratumoral hemorrhage (p = 0.17). In addition, using multivariate analysis, the tumor-fascia relationship (p<0.001) and tumor size were significant factors. A significant correlation between tumor-fascia relationship and malignancy (p<0.001) was observed; such a relationship was, however, not observed for tumor grade (p = 0.43). Conclusions: Tumors measuring ≥5 cm and the tumor-fascia relationship on magnetic resonance imaging are highly indicative of malignancy. When superficial soft tissue masses cross the superficial fascia and form obtuse angles with the fascia, sarcoma should be considered. The tumor-fascia relationship can offer surgeons useful information regarding the status of superficial soft tissue masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pneumonia is one of the major causes of child mortality, yet with a timely diagnosis, it is usually curable with antibiotic therapy. In many developing regions, diagnosing pneumonia remains a challenge, due to shortages of medical resources. Lung ultrasound has proved to be a useful tool to detect lung consolidation as evidence of pneumonia. However, diagnosis of pneumonia by ultrasound has limitations: it is operator-dependent, and it needs to be carried out and interpreted by trained personnel. Pattern recognition and image analysis is a potential tool to enable automatic diagnosis of pneumonia consolidation without requiring an expert analyst. This paper presents a method for automatic classification of pneumonia using ultrasound imaging of the lungs and pattern recognition. The approach presented here is based on the analysis of brightness distribution patterns present in rectangular segments (here called “characteristic vectors“) from the ultrasound digital images. In a first step we identified and eliminated the skin and subcutaneous tissue (fat and muscle) in lung ultrasound frames, and the “characteristic vectors”were analyzed using standard neural networks using artificial intelligence methods. We analyzed 60 lung ultrasound frames corresponding to 21 children under age 5 years (15 children with confirmed pneumonia by clinical examination and X-rays, and 6 children with no pulmonary disease) from a hospital based population in Lima, Peru. Lung ultrasound images were obtained using an Ultrasonix ultrasound device. A total of 1450 positive (pneumonia) and 1605 negative (normal lung) vectors were analyzed with standard neural networks, and used to create an algorithm to differentiate lung infiltrates from healthy lung. A neural network was trained using the algorithm and it was able to correctly identify pneumonia infiltrates, with 90.9% sensitivity and 100% specificity. This approach may be used to develop operator-independent computer algorithms for pneumonia diagnosis using ultrasound in young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Second malignant neoplasm is one of the most devastating late effects of childhood cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and survival outcomes of patients developing second malignant neoplasms (SMNs) after surviving childhood cancer in Korea. Methods: Medical data of childhood cancer patients diagnosed between 1993 and 2012 were obtained from the Korea Central Cancer Registry. The risk of developing SMNs was calculated using standardized incidence ratio (SIR), excess absolute risk (EAR), and cumulative risk. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were estimated, stratified by SMN status. Results: A total of 28,405 childhood cancer patients were diagnosed in the study period, and 337 (1.2%) developed SMN. The total follow-up period was 197,359 person-years at risk (PYR), with a median follow-up duration of 5.6 years. Overall SIR was 20.0, which was 23.2 in women, and 17.6 in men. The overall EAR was 16.4 per 10,000 PYR. The most common types of SMNs, in order of incidence, were other malignant epithelial neoplasms, leukemia, and soft tissue sarcomas. The cumulative incidence of developing SMNs was 0.7% at 5 years, 1.2% at 10 years, and 2% at 15 years. After primary cancer diagnosis, the 10-year overall survival rate of patients with SMNs was 65.1%, which was lower than the 73.4% in patients without SMN. After SMN diagnosis, the 10-year overall survival rate was 55.8%. Conclusion: Through this registry-based study of 5.6 years of follow up, childhood cancer survivors were found to be at 20-fold higher risk of developing a malignant neoplasm compared to the general population. The majority of malignant neoplasms are malignant epithelial neoplasms, leukemia, and soft tissue sarcomas. Continued surveillance for assessing long-term risks, and guidance for appropriate long-term follow up of childhood cancer survivors, are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Transport injuries commonly result in significant disease burden, leading to physical disability, mental health deterioration and reduced quality of life. Analyzing the patterns of healthcare service utilization after transport injuries can provide an insight into the health of the affected parties, allow improved health system resource planning, and provide a baseline against which any future system-level interventions can be evaluated. Therefore, this research aims to use time series of service utilization provided by a compensation agency to identify groups of claimants with similar utilization patterns, describe such patterns, and characterize the groups in terms of demographic, accident type and injury type. Methods: To achieve this aim, we have proposed an analytical framework that utilizes latent variables to describe the utilization patterns over time and group the claimants into clusters based on their service utilization time series. To perform the clustering without dismissing the temporal dimension of the time series, we have used a well-established statistical approach known as the mixture of hidden Markov models (MHMM). Ensuing the clustering, we have applied multinomial logistic regression to provide a description of the clusters against demographic, injury and accident covariates. Results: We have tested our model with data on psychology service utilization from one of the main compensation agencies for transport accidents in Australia, and found that three clear clusters of service utilization can be evinced from the data. These three clusters correspond to claimants who have tended to use the services 1) only briefly after the accident; 2) for an intermediate period of time and in moderate amounts; and 3) for a sustained period of time, and intensely. The size of these clusters is approximately 67%, 27% and 6% of the number of claimants, respectively. The multinomial logistic regression analysis has showed that claimants who were 30 to 60-year-old at the time of accident, were witnesses, and who suffered a soft tissue injury were more likely to be part of the intermediate cluster than the majority cluster. Conversely, claimants who suffered more severe injuries such as a brain head injury or anon-limb fracture injury and who started their service utilization later were more likely to be part of the sustained cluster. Conclusion: This research has showed that clustering of service utilization time series is an effective approach for identifying the main user groups and utilization patterns of a healthcare service. In addition, using logistic regression to describe the clusters in terms of demographic, injury and accident covariates has helped identify the salient attributes of the claimants in each cluster. This finding is very important for the compensation agency and potentially other authorities as it provides a baseline to improve need understanding, resource planning and service provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The success of osseointegrated transcutaneous prostheses depends on a soft-tissue seal forming at the skin-implant interface in order to prevent infection. Current designs include a flange with drilled holes or a subdermal barrier with a porous coating in an attempt to promote soft-tissue attachment. However, the soft-tissue seal is not reliably achieved despite these designs and infection remains a significant problem. This study investigated soft-tissue integration into fully porous titanium alloy structures with interconnected pores. The study aimed to determine the effect of altering pore and strut size combinations on soft-tissue ingrowth into porous titanium alloy structures in vivo. It was hypothesized that implants with a more open porous structure with larger pore sizes would increase soft-tissue ingrowth more than less open porous structures. Porous titanium alloy cylinders were inserted into sheep paparaspinal muscles (n = 6) and left in situ for four weeks. A histological assessment of soft-tissue ingrowth was performed. Percentage soft-tissue pore fill, cell nuclei density and blood vessel density were quantified. The results showed that larger pore sizes were supportive of soft-tissue ingrowth. A structure with a pore size of 700μm and a strut size of 300μm supported revascularisation to the greatest degree. A flange with this structure may be used in future studies of osseointegrated transcutaneous prostheses in order to enhance the soft-tissue seal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries are complex phenotypes with genetics being one of many proposed risk factors. Case-control association studies using the candidate gene approach have predominately been used to identify risk loci for these injuries. However, the ability to identify all risk conferring variants using this approach alone is unlikely. Therefore, this study aimed to further define the genetic profile of these injuries using an integrated omics approach involving whole exome sequencing and a customised analyses pipeline. The exomes of ten exemplar asymptomatic controls and ten exemplar cases with Achilles tendinopathy were individually sequenced using a platform that included the coverage of the untranslated regions and miRBase miRNA genes. Approximately 200 000 variants were identified in the sequenced samples. Previous research was used to guide a targeted analysis of the genes encoding the tenascin-C (TNC) glycoprotein and the α1 chain of type XXVII collagen (COL27A1) located on chromosome 9. Selection of variants within these genes were; however, not predetermined but based on a tiered filtering strategy. Four variants in TNC (rs1061494, rs1138545, rs2104772 and rs1061495) and three variants in the upstream COL27A1 gene (rs2567706, rs2241671 and rs2567705) were genotyped in larger Achilles tendinopathy and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture sample groups. The CC genotype of TNC rs1061494 (C/T) was associated with the risk of Achilles tendinopathy (p = 0.018, OR: 2.5 95% CI: 1.2–5.1). Furthermore, the AA genotype of the TNC rs2104772 (A/T) variant was significantly associated with ACL ruptures in the female subgroup (p = 0.035, OR: 2.3 95% CI: 1.1–5.5). An inferred haplotype in the TNC gene was also associated with the risk of Achilles tendinopathy. These results provide a proof of concept for the use of a customised pipeline for the exploration of a larger genomic dataset. This approach, using previous research to guide a targeted analysis of the data has generated new genetic signatures in the biology of musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oncologic risk of ionizing radiation is widely known. Sarcomas developing after radiotherapy have been reported, and they are a growing problem because rapid advancements in cancer management and screening have increased the number of long-term survivors. Although many patients have undergone radiation treatment in Asian countries, scarce reports on post-radiation sarcomas (PRSs) have been published. We investigated the feature and prognostic factors of PRSs in an Asian population. The Eastern Asian Musculoskeletal Oncology Group participated in this project. Cases obtained from 10 centers were retrospectively reviewed. Patients with genetic malignancy predisposition syndrome, or who had more than one type of malignancy before the development of secondary sarcoma were excluded. Forty-two high-grade sarcomas among a total of 43 PRSs were analyzed. There were 29 females and 13 males, with a median age of 58.5 years; 23 patients had bone tumors and 19 had soft tissue tumors. The most common primary lesion was breast cancer. The median latency period was 192 months. There were no differences in radiation dose, latency time, and survival rates between bone and soft tissue PRSs. The most common site and diagnosis were the pelvic area and osteosarcoma and malignant fibrous histiocytoma for bone and soft tissue PRSs. The median follow-up period was 25.5 months. Five-year metastasis-free and overall survival rates were 14.5% and 16.6%, and 39.1% and 49.6% for bone and soft tissue PRSs. Survival differences depending on initial metastasis and surgery were significant in soft tissue sarcomas. Although this study failed to find ethnic differences, it is the largest review on PRS in an Asian population. As early recognition through long-term surveillance is a key to optimal management, clinicians should take efforts to understand the real status of PRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shear wave elastography is emerging as a clinically valuable diagnostic tool to differentiate between benign and malignant breast masses. Elastography techniques assume that soft tissue can be modelled as a purely elastic medium. However, this assumption is often violated as soft tissue exhibits viscoelastic properties. In order to explore the role of viscoelastic parameters in suspicious breast masses, a study was conducted on a group of patients using shear wave dispersion ultrasound vibrometry in the frequency range of 50–400 Hz. A total of 43 female patients with suspicious breast masses were recruited before their scheduled biopsy. Of those, 15 patients did not meet the data selection criteria. Voigt model based shear elasticity showed a significantly (p = 7.88x10-6) higher median value for the 13 malignant masses (16.76±13.10 kPa) compared to 15 benign masses (1.40±1.12 kPa). Voigt model based shear viscosity was significantly different (p = 4.13x10-5) between malignant (8.22±3.36 Pa-s) and benign masses (2.83±1.47 Pa-s). Moreover, the estimated time constant from the Voigt model, which is dependent on both shear elasticity and viscosity, differed significantly (p = 6.13x10-5) between malignant (0.68±0.33 ms) and benign masses (3.05±1.95 ms). Results suggest that besides elasticity, viscosity based parameters like shear viscosity and time constant can also be used to differentiate between malignant and benign breast masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work demonstrates a new method for the generation of mechanical shear wave during magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) that creates greater forces at higher vibrational frequencies as opposed to conventionally used pneumatic transducers. We developed an MR-compatible pneumatic turbine with an eccentric mass that creates a sinusoidal centrifugal force. The turbine was assessed with respect to its technical parameters and evaluated for MRE on a custom-made anthropomorphic prostate phantom. The silicone-based tissue-mimicking materials of the phantom were selected with regard to their complex shear moduli examined by rheometric testing. The tissue-mimicking materials closely matched human soft tissue elasticity values with a complex shear modulus ranging from 3.21 kPa to 7.29 kPa. We acquired MRE images on this phantom at 3 T with actuation frequencies of 50, 60 Hz, 70 Hz, and 80 Hz. The turbine generated vibrational wave amplitudes sufficiently large to entirely penetrate the phantoms during the feasibility study. Increased wave length in the stiffer inclusions compared to softer background material were detected. Our initial results suggest that silicone-based phantoms are useful for the evaluation of elasticities during MRE. Furthermore, our turbine seems suitable for the mechanical assessment of soft tissue during MRE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates possible variation in post-mortem histories during the Neolithic period in southwestern Sweden based on microscopic studies of human bone. Numerous megalithic graves were built in this region and good preservation conditions have left a rich skeletal record. After more than a hundred years of research, it is still a controversy whether or not these skeletal assemblages were the result of primary burials, or ossuaries where skeletonized remains were deposited. In this study we apply histological analysis to obtain insights into post-mortem histories and taphonomic processes affecting the human remains, potentially including funerary rituals. This type of analysis records the condition and traces of degradation found in skeletal material at a microscopic level. Human skeletal material from four different megalithic tombs in the Falbygden area has been sampled and analysed by thin-section light microscopy, and by scanning electron microscopy. The results of the study provide evidence of variation and changes in burial conditions for skeletal remains from the different graves, also for remains from the same grave. Extent of bioerosion varied, from extensive to moderate/arrested, to none. Bone samples from the same graves also differed in the type of staining and mineral inclusions, showing that the non-bioeroded samples relatively early post-mortem must have experienced an anoxic environment, and later a change to an aerated environment. This could be taken as an indication of primary burial somewhere else, but more likely reflect a special micro-environment occurring temporarily in some graves and parts of graves after the tombs were filled with soil and sealed by roof slabs. The study illustrates the usefulness of bone histological analysis in the reconstruction of post-mortem histories, revealing variations not discernible at macro-level that may aid in the interpretations of funerary rituals. However, the results also highlight the issues of equifinality. Based on current data and knowledge, several scenarios are possible. Further histotaphonomic work is advisable, including archaeological remains from megalithic tombs, and bones from taphonomic experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We determined the effects of wearing an above-knee compression garment (CG) on knee joint position sense. Healthy young adults (n = 24, age = 27.46 ± 4.65 years) performed a passive knee position-matching task on an isokinetic dynamometer with each leg separately. We determined the magnitude of compression by measuring anatomical thigh cross sectional area (CSA) in standing using magnetic resonance imaging. Wearing the CG compressed CSA by 2% (t = 2.91, p = 0.010, Cohen’s d = 0.68). Repeated measures ANOVA (rANOVA) with three repetition factors (condition: CG, no CG; leg: right dominant, left non-dominant; and target angles: 30°, 45°, 60°) revealed an effect of angles (p < 0.001), where the matching of knee joint position was more accurate at 60° compared to 30° and 45° (p < 0.001). However, CG did not reduce passive joint position sense errors. In fact, joint position error was less without CG (p = 0.014). In conclusion, while CG does compress the thigh it does not afford the purported benefits for proprioception as measured by a target-matching task in the present study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of hip fractures have been reported to occur as a result of a fall with impact to the greater trochanter of the femur. Recently, we developed a novel cadaveric pendulum-based hip impact model and tested two cadaveric femur-pelvis constructs, embedded in a soft tissue surrogate. The outcome was a femoral neck fracture in a male specimen while a female specimen had no fracture. The aim of the present study was, first, to develop a methodology for constructing and assessing the accuracy of explicit Finite Element Models (FEMs) for simulation of sideways falls to the hip based on the experimental model. Second, to use the FEMs for quantifying the internal reaction forces and energy absorption in the hip during impact. Third, to assess the potential of the FEMs in terms of separating a femoral fracture endpoint from a non-fracture endpoint. Using a non-linear, strain rate dependent, and heterogeneous material mapping strategy for bone tissue in these models, we found the FEM-derived results to closely match the experimental test results in terms of impact forces and displacements of pelvic video markers up to the time of peak impact force with errors below 10%. We found the internal reaction forces in the femoral neck on the impact side to be approximately 35% lower than the impact force measured between soft tissue and ground for both specimens. In addition, we found the soft tissue to be the component that absorbed the largest part of the energy of the tissue types in the hip region. Finally, we found surface strain patterns derived from FEM results to match the fracture location and extent based on post testing x-rays of the specimens. This is the first study with quantitative data on the energy absorption in the pelvic region during a sideways fall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent literature has demonstrated that emergent administration of antibiotics is perhaps more critical than even emergent debridement. Most recent studies recommend patients receive antibiotics no later than 1 hour after injury to prevent infection. The objective of this study is to evaluate the time to antibiotic administration after patients with open fractures arrive to a trauma center depending on triaging team. Methods: A retrospective study at a level 1 Trauma center from January 2013 to March 2015 where 117 patients with open fractures were evaluated. Patients who presented with open fractures of the extremities or pelvis were considered. Subjects were identified using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes. Patients aged 18 and older were analyzed for Gustilo type, antibiotics administered in the emergency room (ER), presence of an antibiotic allergy, post-operative antibiotic regimen and number of debridements, among others. Additionally, whether a patient was triaged by ER doctors or trauma surgeons (and made a trauma activation) was evaluated. Outcome measurements included time to intravenous (IV) antibiotic administration and time to surgical debridement. Results: Patients received IV cefazolin a median of 17 minutes after arrival. Eighty-five patients who were made trauma activations received cefazolin 14 minutes after arrival while 24 non-trauma patients received cefazolin 53 minutes after arrival (p = <0.0001). The median time to gentamicin administration for all patients was 180 minutes. Patients not upgraded to a trauma received gentamicin 263 minutes after arrival, while patients upgraded received gentamicin 176 minutes after arrival. There was no statistically significant difference between the timing to cefazolin or gentamicin based on Gustilo type. Conclusions: Overall, patients that arrive at our institution with open fractures receive IV cefazolin significantly faster when trauma surgeons evaluate the patient. Additionally, delays in gentamicin administration are demonstrated in both triaging groups. This is due to the fact that cefazolin is stocked in the hospital ER, while gentamicin is commonly not due to weight-based dosing requirements precluding a standard dose. Improvements can be made to antibiotic administration of non-trauma patients and those requiring gentamicin via improved education and awareness of open fractures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, bimaxillary rotation advancement (BRA) has become the method of choice for surgical treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). As dislocation of the jaw bones affects both, airways and facial contours, surgeons are facing the challenge of finding an optimal jaw position that allows for the reestablishment of normal airway ventilation and esthetic surgical outcome. Owing to the complexity of the facial anatomy and its mechanical behavior, individual planning of surgical OSA treatment under consideration of functional and esthetic aspects presents a challenge that surgeons typically approach in a non-quantitative manner using subjective evaluation and clinical experience. This paper describes a framework for individual planning of OSA treatment using bimaxillary rotation advancement, which relies on computational modeling of hard and soft tissue mechanics. The described framework for simulation of functional and esthetic post-surgery outcome was used in 10 OSA patients. Comparison of the simulation results with post-surgery data reveals that biomechanical simulation provides a reliable estimate for post-surgery facial tissue behavior and antero-posterior airway extension, but fails to accurately describe a surprisingly large lateral stretch of the velopharyngeal region. This discrepancy is traced back to anisotropic effects of pharyngeal muscles. Possible approaches to improving the accuracy of model predictions and defining sharp criteria for optimizing combined OSA planning are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to provide an overview of device-related complications occurring in individuals with an upper or lower extremity amputation treated with a screw, press-fit or other type of bone-anchored implant as well as interventions related to these complications. Method: A systematic literature search was conducted in the MEDLINE, Cochrane, EMBASE, CINAHL and Web of Science databases. The included studies reported on device-related complications and interventions occurring in individuals with bone-anchored prostheses. The outcomes evaluated were death, infection, bone/device breakage, implant loosening, soft tissue complications, systemic events, antibiotic and surgical treatment. Subgroup analyses were performed for the following groups: a) implant type (screw, press-fit and other types of implants) and b) level of amputation (transfemoral, transtibial and upper extremity amputation). Results: Of 309 studies, 12 cohort studies were eligible for inclusion, all of which had methodological shortcomings and 12 studies were excluded due to complete overlap of patient data. Implant infection were rare in certain transfemoral implants (screw: 2–11%, press-fit: 0–3%, Compress: 0%) but common in transtibial implants (29%). The same was observed for implant loosening, in transfemoral (screw: 6%, press-fit: 0–3%, Compress: 0%), transtibial implants (29%) as well as for upper extremity implants (13–23%). Intramedullary device breakage were rare in transfemoral implants (screw: 0%, press-fit: 1%, Compress: unknown) but frequent in individuals with transradial implants (27%) and absent in transtibial implants. Soft tissue infections and complications were common and underreported in most articles. Conclusions: Major complications (e.g. implant infection, implant loosening and intramedullary device breakage) are rare in transfemoral bone-anchored prosthesis and seem to occur less frequently in individuals with press-fit implants. Minor complications, such as soft tissue infections and complications, are common but are substantially influenced by the learning curve, implant design and surgical technique. Data for patients treated with a transtibial, upper extremity or Compress implant are underreported, precluding definitive conclusions. There is a need for either an international database to report on or a standard core set of complications as well as the need to follow classification systems that result in unequivocal data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both deep understanding and reliable prediction of postoperative soft tissue changes are crucial for planning orthognathic surgery. Instead of estimating soft tissue responses by measuring individual landmark changes, this study aimed to investigate the relationship (ratio) between soft and hard tissue movements in different facial regions through three-dimensional cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Preoperative and postoperative CBCT images were superimposed using the surface registration method on the basis of the cranial base, and 10 facial regions of interest were defined. Region-based volumetric subtractions between the preoperative and postoperative segments were performed. The volumetric differences and surface of each region were used to estimate the average movement. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to examine the relationships between the corresponding soft and hard tissue movements. An overall pattern of facial soft tissue movement was observed in patients with prognathism who underwent orthognathic surgery. The experiment results have shown that mean ratios for the average soft-to-hard tissue movements in the facial regions varied, which may not exactly be similar to the published reports because of the population biocharacteristics and study methods, but the trend is in agreement with the previous studies. Additionally, the prediction capability of the regression model was significantly high, ranging from 0.786 to 0.857, in upper lip, upper vermilion, and chin regions, thus demonstrating that the skin outline changes in these critical regions could be reliably predicted from the underlying bone movements. These results could likely be applied in future soft tissue simulation in orthognathic surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Falls to the side are the leading cause of hip fractures in the elderly. The load that a person experiences during a fall cannot be measured with volunteers for ethical reasons. To evaluate injurious loads, while considering relevant energy input and body posture for a sideways fall, a subject-specific cadaveric impact experiment was developed. Full cadaveric femur-pelvis constructs (N = 2) were embedded in surrogate soft tissue material and attached to metallic surrogate lower limbs. The specimens were then subjected to an inverted pendulum motion, simulating a fall to the side with an impact to the greater trochanter. The load at the ground and the deformation of the pelvis were evaluated using a 6-axis force transducer and two high-speed cameras. Post-test, a trauma surgeon (PG) evaluated specimen injuries. Peak ground contact forces were 7132 N and 5641 N for the fractured and non-fractured specimen, respectively. We observed a cervical fracture of the femur in one specimen and no injuries in a second specimen, showing that the developed protocol can be used to differentiate between specimens at high and low fracture risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The dual-energy CT (DECT) algorithm for urate detection is feasible only if hyperdense deposits are present. Based on our experience, around half of the performed DECT examinations show no such deposits and thus were useless for this indication. Our diagnostic accuracy study investigates whether conventional radiographs can serve as gatekeeper test prior to DECT for reliable exclusion of such radiopaque deposits. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, 77 clinically indicated DECT examinations of the hand (n = 29), foot (n = 36) and ankle (n = 12) of 55 patients (13 female, mean age 62±15 years) with suspected gouty arthritis were included. Two blinded readers independently evaluated DECT, gray-scale CT images (reference standard) and corresponding standardized radiographs for the presence/location of dense soft tissue deposits. Results: Interreader agreement for detection of soft tissue deposits with DECT and radiographs was excellent (DECT: both readers, κ = 1; radiographs: both readers, κ = 0.94). DECT showed soft tissue deposits in 54/77 DECT (70%) scans. 30/54 scans (56%) showed deposits on the corresponding radiographs, while in 24 scans (44%) no deposits were seen on radiographs. Test performance of radiographs for soft tissue deposit detection: sensitivity 56%, specificity 100%, PPV 100%, NPV 48.9%, and accuracy 69%. Low density of the deposits was the main reasons for false-negative radiographs (19 cases, 79%), followed by superimposition of deposits by osseous structures (5 cases, 21%). Conclusion: Conventional radiographs of the hand, foot and ankle cannot serve as a gatekeeper test for reliable exclusion of radiopaque soft tissue deposits prior to DECT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: The most common and gold standard method to diagnose and follow-up on scoliosis treatment is to capture biplanar X-ray images and then use these to determine the sagittal frontal spinal curvature angles by the Cobb method. Reducing exposure to radiation is an important aspect for consideration, especially regarding children. The ZEBRIS spinal examination method is an external, non-invasive measurement method that uses an ultrasound-based motion analysis system. The aim of this study is to compare angle values of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) determined by the ZEBRIS spine examination method with the angle values defined by the gold standard Cobb method on biplanar X-ray images. Methods: Subjects included 19 children with AIS (mean age 14.5±2.1 years, range 8–16 years, frontal plane thoracic Cobb angle 19.95±10.23°, thoracolumbar/lumbar angle 16.57±10.23°). The thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis in the sagittal plane and the thoracic and lumbar scoliosis values were calculated by the Cobb method on biplanar X-ray images. The sagittal frontal spinal curvature angles were calculated from the position of the processus spinosus of 19 vertebrae, as determined by the ZEBRIS spine examination method. The validity of the ZEBRIS spine examination method was evaluated with Bland-Altman analyses between the sagittal and frontal spinal curvature parameters calculated from data determined by the ZEBRIS spine examination method and data obtained by the Cobb method on the X-ray images. Results and discussion: Thoracic spinal curvature angles in sagittal and in frontal planes can be measured with sufficient accuracy. The slopes of the linear regression lines for thoracic kyphosis (TK) and thoracic scoliosis (TSC) are close to one (1.00 and 0.79 respectively), and the intercept values are below 5 degrees. The correlation between the TK and TSC values determined by the two methods is significant (p = 0.000) and excellent (rTK = 0.95, rTSC = 0.85). The differences are in the limit of agreement. The lumbar lordosis (LL) in the sagittal plane shows a very good correlation (rLL = 0.76); however the differences between the angles determined by the two methods are out of the limit of agreement in patients with major lumbar lordosis (LL≥50°). The thoracolumbar/lumbar spinal curvature angles in the frontal plane determined by ZEBRIS spine examination were underestimated at curvatures larger than 15°, mainly due to the rotational and pathological deformities of the scoliotic vertebrae. However, the correlation between lumbar scoliosis (LSC) values determined by the two methods is significant (p = 0.000) and excellent (rLSC = 0.84), the slopes are below one (0.71), the intercept values are below 5 degrees, and the differences between the angles determined by the two methods are within the limits of agreement. We could conclude that ZEBRIS spinal examination is a valid and reliable method for determination of sagittal and frontal curvatures during the treatment of patients with scoliosis. However, it cannot replace the biplanar X-ray examination for the visualization of spinal curvatures in the sagittal and frontal planes and the rotation of vertebral bodies during the diagnosis and annual evaluation of the progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The incidence of recurrent infections in patients following one or two stage revision for infected megaprostheses after resection of bone tumours was investigated. The difference between retaining at least one well fixed stem and a complete removal of the megaprosthesis during a two stage revision was also analysed. Methods: 627 patients who experienced a replacement of a musculoskeletal tumour by megaprostheses were recorded. An infection occurred in 83 of 621 patients available for follow-up. 61 patients underwent one stage revision, and 16 patients two stage revision for the first revision surgery. In the entire study period, two stage revision was performed 32 times (first, second, and third revision). Results: The cumulative incidence analysis showed a reinfection probability after one stage revision of 18% at one year, 30% at two years, 39% at five years, 46% at ten years, and 56% at 15 years. After two stage revision, a reinfection probability of 28% at two years, and 48% at five years was calculated. Cumulative incidence curves did not differ significantly (Gray’s test; p = 0.51) between one and two stage revision (with and without complete removal of the stems). In two stage revision (n = 32), a statistically significant difference in infection rates between patients treated with complete removal of the megaprosthesis (n = 18) including anchorage stems and patients with at least one retained stem (n = 14) was shown (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.029). Conclusion: Two stage revisions with complete removal of the megaprosthesis showed the best results among limb salvage procedures for the treatment of infected megaprosthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is associated with hyperglycaemia and advanced glycosylation end-products. In the foot, the consequences of chronic or uncontrolled diabetes are micro and macrovascular disease, neuropathy, reduced joint mobility and structural and soft tissue changes that increase the risk of ulcer development and amputation. Diabetes foot assessment currently includes a comprehensive history, neurological and vascular assessments and examination focussed on dermatological and musculoskeletal abnormalities. Whilst these assessments are helpful for predicting ulceration risk, direct identifiers that enable early therapeutic intervention are lacking. The intention of this review was to ascertain if B-mode ultrasound could be clinically applied to identify structural change in the diabetic foot and be utilised as an early predictor of ulceration risk. Methods: Primary databases and grey literature sources were systematically searched. Selection criteria were that the study included a diabetic sample and used B-mode ultrasound to assess soft tissue structures of the foot (plantar skin, plantar fat pad or intrinsic muscles). Results: Fifteen studies were identified for inclusion (combined diabetic sample of 773). Ultrasound demonstrated reductions in tissue thickness in diabetics compared to non-diabetics under first (p = 0.01) and second (p = 0.03) metatarsal heads, but not the third (p = 0.24). Statistical heterogeneity was high for ultrasound thickness measures under metatarsal heads four/five (I2 65%, 81%) and very high for plantar skin (I2 98%), heel pad (I2 76%) and intrinsic muscles (I2 91%, 81%). Extensor digitorum brevis (EDB) ultrasound measures were significantly thinner in diabetics for all dimension measures compared to healthy controls except one study, which reported no significant differences in EDB thickness. Conclusions: No direct evidence was found to indicate B-mode ultrasound measures can predict soft tissue changes in the plantar foot in diabetes, although low level studies indicate ultrasound has the potential to identify structural change. Clinical, methodological and statistical heterogeneity limit result applicability. This review highlights the need for robust prospective longitudinal research to examine the predictive validity of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Sarcoma is a rare type of cancer. The incidence increases with age and elderly patients may have comorbidity that affects the prognosis. The aim of this study was to describe the type and prevalence of comorbidity in a nationwide population-based study in Denmark from 2000–2013 and to analyse the impact of the different comorbidities on mortality. Material and methods: The Danish Sarcoma Registry is a national clinical database containing all patients with sarcoma in the extremities or trunk wall from 2000 and onwards. By linking data to other registries, we were able to get patient information on an individual level including date and cause of death as well as the comorbidity type up to 10 years prior to the sarcoma diagnosis. Based on diseases in the Charlson Comorbidity Index, we pooled the patients into six categories: no comorbidity, cardiopulmonary disease, gastrointestinal disease, neurovascular disease, malignant neoplasms, and miscellaneous (diabetes, renal and connective tissue diseases). 2167 patients were included. Results: The prevalence of comorbidity was 20%. For patients with localized disease, comorbidity increased the disease-specific mortality significantly (HR 1.70 (95% CI 1.36–2.13)). For patients with metastatic disease at the time of diagnosis, comorbidity did not affect the disease-specific mortality (HR 1.05 (95% CI 0.78–1.42)). The presence of another cancer diagnosis within 10 years prior to the sarcoma diagnosis was the only significant independent prognostic factor of disease-specific mortality with an increase of 66% in mortality rate compared to patients with no comorbidity (HR 1,66 (95% CI 1.22–2.25)). Conclusion: Comorbidity is a strong independent prognostic factor of mortality in patients with localized disease. This study emphasizes the need for optimizing the general health of comorbid patients in order to achieve a survival benefit from treatment of patients with localized disease, as this is potentially modifiable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immediately following a fracture, a fibrin laden hematoma is formed to prevent bleeding and infection. Subsequently, the organized removal of fibrin, via the protease plasmin, is essential to permit fracture repair through angiogenesis and ossification. Yet, when plasmin activity is lost, the depletion of fibrin alone is insufficient to fully restore fracture repair, suggesting the existence of additional plasmin targets important for fracture repair. Previously, activated matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) was demonstrated to function in fracture repair by promoting angiogenesis. Given that MMP-9 is a defined plasmin target, it was hypothesized that pro-MMP-9, following plasmin activation, promotes fracture repair. This hypothesis was tested in a fixed murine femur fracture model with serial assessment of fracture healing. Contrary to previous findings, a complete loss of MMP-9 failed to affect fracture healing and union through 28 days post injury. Therefore, these results demonstrated that MMP-9 is dispensable for timely fracture union and cartilage transition to bone in fixed femur fractures. Pro-MMP-9 is therefore not a significant target of plasmin in fracture repair and future studies assessing additional plasmin targets associated with angiogenesis are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Achieving proper rotational alignment of the femoral component in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for valgus knee is challenging because of lateral condylar hypoplasia and lateral cartilage erosion. Gap-based navigation-assisted TKA enables surgeons to determine the angle of femoral component rotation (FCR) based on the posterior condylar axis. This study evaluated the possible factors that affect the rotational alignment of the femoral component based on the posterior condylar axis. Materials and methods: Between 2008 and 2016, 28 knees were enrolled. The dependent variable for this study was FCR based on the posterior condylar axis, which was obtained from the navigation system archives. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to identify factors that might predict FCR, including body mass index (BMI), Kellgren-Lawrence grade (K-L grade), lateral distal femoral angles obtained from the navigation system and radiographs (NaviLDFA, XrayLDFA), hip-knee-ankle (HKA) axis, lateral gap under varus stress (LGVS), medial gap under valgus stress (MGVS), and side-to-side difference (STSD, MGVS − LGVS). Results: The mean FCR was 6.1° ± 2.0°. Of all the potentially predictive factors evaluated in this study, only NaviLDFA (β = −0.668) and XrayLDFA (β = −0.714) predicted significantly FCR. Conclusions: The LDFAs, as determined using radiographs and the navigation system, were both predictive of the rotational alignment of the femoral component based on the posterior condylar axis in gap-based TKA for valgus knee. A 1° increment with NaviLDFA led to a 0.668° decrement in FCR, and a 1° increment with XrayLDFA led to a 0.714° decrement. This suggests that symmetrical lateral condylar hypoplasia of the posterior and distal side occurs in lateral compartment end-stage osteoarthritis with valgus deformity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Repositioning of the maxilla in orthognathic surgery is carried out for functional and aesthetic purposes. Pre-surgical planning tools can predict 3D facial appearance by computing the response of the soft tissue to the changes to the underlying skeleton. The clinical use of commercial prediction software remains controversial, likely due to the deterministic nature of these computational predictions. A novel probabilistic finite element model (FEM) for the prediction of postoperative facial soft tissues is proposed in this paper. A probabilistic FEM was developed and validated on a cohort of eight patients who underwent maxillary repositioning and had pre- and postoperative cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans taken. Firstly, a variables correlation assessed various modelling parameters. Secondly, a design of experiments (DOE) provided a range of potential outcomes based on uniformly distributed input parameters, followed by an optimisation. Lastly, the second DOE iteration provided optimised predictions with a probability range. A range of 3D predictions was obtained using the probabilistic FEM and validated using reconstructed soft tissue surfaces from the postoperative CBCT data. The predictions in the nose and upper lip areas accurately include the true postoperative position, whereas the prediction under-estimates the position of the cheeks and lower lip. A probabilistic FEM has been developed and validated for the prediction of the facial appearance following orthognathic surgery. This method shows how inaccuracies in the modelling and uncertainties in executing surgical planning influence the soft tissue prediction and it provides a range of predictions including a minimum and maximum, which may be helpful for patients in understanding the impact of surgery on the face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Titanium (Ti)-6Al-4V alloy, which is widely used in spinal instrumentation with a pedicle screw (PS) system. However, significant clinical problems, including loosening and back-out of PSs, persist. During the last decade, a novel technology that produces bioactive Ti from chemical and heat treatments has been reported that induces the spontaneous formation of a hydroxyapatite (HA) layer on the surface of Ti materials. The purpose of this study was to study the effect of bioactivation of Ti-6Al-4V PSs on the ability of HA formation in vitro and its biocompatibility and bone-bonding ability in vivo. Methods: Ti-6V-4Al alloy PSs were prepared and bioactivated by NaOH-CaCl2-heat-water treatments. The HA-forming ability of bioactive PSs in simulated body fluid (SBF) was evaluated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Six 11-month-old female beagle dogs were used for the in vivo study. Bioactive and control (without bioactivation) PSs were left and right randomly placed from L1 to L6. One and three months after surgery, lumbar spines were removed for biomechanical and histological analyses. Results: In vitro: The surface analysis of bioactive PSs by FE-SEM and EDX showed substantial HA deposits over the entire surface. In vivo: The mean extraction torque was significantly higher for bioactive PSs compared to controls PSs (P<0.01); there was no significant difference in pull-out strength between control and bioactive PSs. Histologically, the contact area between bone tissue and screw surface showed no significant trend to be greater in bioactive PSs compared to control PSs (P = 0.06). Conclusions: Bioactive PSs prepared by chemical and heat treatments formed layers of HA on the surface of screws in vitro that improved biocompatibility and bonding ability with bone in vivo. Bioactive PSs may reduce screw loosening to overcome the obstacles confronted in spinal instrumentation surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social support has been identified as a significant factor in facilitating better health outcomes following injury. However, research has primarily focused on the role of social support from the perspective of the person experiencing an injury. Limited research has examined the experiences of the family members and friends of a person with injury. This study aims to explore the perceptions and experiences of social support and recovery following a transport-related musculoskeletal injury (MSI) in a population of injured persons and their family members and friends. Methods: This study was conducted using a phenomenological qualitative research design. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten persons with MSI, recruited via the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) in Victoria, Australia. Seven family members and friends were also interviewed. The data was analysed using constant comparative method and thematic analysis. Results: Several themes were identified including: (1) key sources and types of support received, (2) relationship development and (3) challenges of providing and receiving support. Participants with MSI reported stories about how the social network provided emotional and tangible support. Family members and friends confirmed the supportive acts provided to the participants with MSI. Positive iterative changes in relationships were reported by the participants with MSI. Participants with MSI, their family members and friends described several difficulties including loss of independence, feeling like a burden, and the impact of caring on health and well-being. Conclusions: The role of social support is complex given the multitude of people involved in the recovery process. The findings of this study suggest that persons with MSI may benefit from support groups and maintenance of existing support networks. Furthermore, family members and friends engaged in the recovery process may benefit from support in this role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Soft tissue injuries commonly present to the emergency department (ED), often with acute pain. They cause significant suffering and morbidity if not adequately treated. Paracetamol and ibuprofen are commonly used analgesics, but it remains unknown if either one or the combination of both is superior for pain control. Objectives: To investigate the analgesic effect of paracetamol, ibuprofen and the combination of both in the treatment of soft tissue injury in an ED, and the side effect profile of these drugs. Methods: Double-blind, double dummy, placebo-controlled randomised controlled trial. 782 adult patients presenting with soft tissue injury without obvious fractures attending the ED of a university hospital in the New Territories of Hong Kong were recruited. Patients were randomised using a random number table into three parallel arms of paracetamol only, ibuprofen only and a combination of paracetamol and ibuprofen in a 1:1:1 ratio. The primary outcome measure was pain score at rest and on activity in the first 2 hours and first 3 days. Data was analysed on an intention to treat basis. Results: There was no statistically significant difference in pain score in the initial two hours between the three groups, and no clinically significant difference in pain score in the first three days. Conclusion: There was no difference in analgesic effects or side effects observed using oral paracetamol, ibuprofen or a combination of both in patients with mild to moderate pain after soft tissue injuries attending the ED. Trial registration: The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (no. ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to assess and validate the repeatability and agreement of quantitative elastography of novel shear wave methods on four individual tissue-mimicking liver fibrosis phantoms with different known Young’s modulus. We used GE Logiq E9 2D-SWE, Philips iU22 ARFI (pSWE), Samsung TS80A SWE (pSWE), Hitachi Ascendus (SWM) and Transient Elastography (TE). Two individual investigators performed all measurements non-continued and in parallel. The methods were evaluated for inter- and intraobserver variability by intraclass correlation, coefficient of variation and limits of agreement using the median elastography value. All systems used in this study provided high repeatability in quantitative measurements in a liver fibrosis phantom and excellent inter- and intraclass correlations. All four elastography platforms showed excellent intra-and interobserver agreement (interclass correlation 0.981–1.000 and intraclass correlation 0.987–1.000) and no significant difference in mean elasticity measurements for all systems, except for TE on phantom 4. All four liver fibrosis phantoms could be differentiated by quantitative elastography, by all platforms (p<0.001). In the Bland-Altman analysis the differences in measurements were larger for the phantoms with higher Young’s modulus. All platforms had a coefficient of variation in the range 0.00–0.21 for all four phantoms, equivalent to low variance and high repeatability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]