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Hypertension or high blood pressure is also called a “silent killer” that may lead to serious damage to the heart and kidney. The worst case can result in sudden death. Unbalanced diets are one of the risk factors for hypertension. Previous studies have proven that diet plays a significant role in influencing hypertension patient condition. Proper planning on the selection of diets needs to be done to control food intake for this cardiovascular disease patient. This study aims to formulate a mathematical model of diet planning for hypertension patients. Specifically, this study attempts to determine the amount of nutrients need by hypertension patients, to find the cost of the food combination, and to identify the best model between linear programming and integer programming. The research model included 10 types of food groups with 200 variables based on Malaysian recipes and developed a mathematical model using two programming techniques; linear programming and integer programming. The finding showed that the solution provided by the entire programming method has met the constraints and requirements of the food group. The results from the integer programming approach would offer optimal and efficient alternatives to diet planning for patients with hypertension. It can serve as a guideline for hypertension patients on type of food to eat and the correct amount of serving to complete their nutritional plan.

Objective. To develop methods for a rapid distance computer diagnosis of COVID-19 based on the analysis of breath sounds. It is known that changes in breath sounds can be the indicators of respiratory organs diseases. Computer analysis of these sounds can indicate their typical changes caused by COVID-19, and can be used for a rapid preliminary diagnosis of this disease. Materials and methods. The method of fast Fourier transform (FFT) was used for computer analysis of breath sounds, recorded near the mouth of 14 COVID-19 patients (aged 1880 years) and 17 healthy volunteers (aged 548 years). The frequency of breath sound records ranged from 44 to 96 kHz. Unlike the conventional methods of computer analysis for diagnosis of diseases based on respiratory sound studying, we offer to test a high-frequency part of FFT (20006000 kHz). Results. While comparing the breath sound FFT in patients and healthy volunteers, we developed the methods for COVID-19 computer diagnosis and determined the numerical criteria in patients and healthy persons. These criteria do not depend on sex and age of the examined persons. Conclusions. The offered computer methods based on the analysis of breath sound FFT in patients and volunteers permit to diagnose COVID -19 with relatively high diagnostic parameters. These methods can be used in development of noninvasive means for preliminary self-express diagnosis of COVID-19.

OBJECTIVE Cochlear implant (CI) technology and techniques have advanced over the years. There has not been the same degree of change in programming and there remains a lack of standardization techniques. The purpose of this study is to compare performance in cochlear implant subjects using experienced clinician (EC) standard programming methods versus an Artificial Intelligence, FOX based algorithm for programming. STUDY DESIGN Prospective, nonrandomized, multicenter study using within-subject experimental design SETTING:: Tertiary referral centers. PATIENTS Fifty-five adult patients with ≥ 3 months experience with a Nucleus 5, 6, Kanso, or 7 series sound processor. INTERVENTION Therapeutic Main Outcome Measures: CNC words and AzBio sentences in noise (+10 dB SNR) tests were administered in a soundproof booth followed by a direct connect psychoacoustic battery using the EC program. Tests were repeated 1 month later using the optimized FOX program. Subjective measures of patient satisfaction were also measured. RESULTS Performance for the EC program was compared to the FOX program for both measures. Group mean results revealed equivalent performance (Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA p = 0.934) with both programming methods. While some patients had better performance with the FOX method and some performed more poorly, the majority had equivalent performance and preferred the FOX system. CONCLUSION The study demonstrated that on average, FOX outcomes are equivalent to those using traditional programming techniques. In addition, the FOX programming method can effect standardization across centers and increase access for many individuals who could benefit.

One of the most common diseases among women is breast cancer, the early diagnosis of which is of paramount importance. Given the time-consuming nature of the diagnosis process of the disease, using new methods such as computer science is extremely important for early detection of the condition. Today, the main emphasis is on the science of data mining as one of the computer methods in the field of diagnosis. In the present study, we used data mining as a combination of feature selection method by Gray Wolf Optimization (GWO) and support vector machine (SVM), which is a new technique with high accuracy compared to other methods in this classification, to increase the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis. The UCI dataset and functional parameters and various statistical criteria were applied to evaluate the proposed method and assess the validity of the results in MATLAB, respectively. Application of the proposed method increased the improvement of the evaluated criteria, which increased the accuracy of diagnosis by 27.68%, compared to former works in the field. As such, it could be concluded that the proposed method had a higher ability to diagnose breast cancer, compared to previous techniques.

Miglioramento della percezione del parlato in condizioni di silenzio e rumore mediante il metodo FAP (Frequency-Allocation Programming) personalizzato.L’obiettivo di questo studio è la valutazione della discriminazione verbale da parte di soggetti esperti portatori di impianto cocleare con impostazioni MAP standard, utilizzando le tabelle predefinite di allocazione di frequenza con un MAP di frequenza ottimizzato. Questo è uno studio osservazionale, trasversale e quantitativo su 50 adulti con impianto cocleare, 20 bilaterali e 30 monolaterali. 23 maschi (46%) e 27 femmine (54%). Tutti i soggetti erano maggiorenni. Le differenze tra i valori medi di soglia nell’audiometria tonale in campo libero sono risultati statisticamente significativi nei pazienti impiantati sia monolateralmente che bilateralmente; risultati simili sono stati ottenuti nei test bisillabici nei pazienti impiantati sia monolateralmente che bilateralmente (p0,005). I pazienti che hanno utilizzato il metodo di allocazione di frequenza, che assegna le frequenze sulla base di quelle fondamentali, hanno mostrato una percezione delle parole bisillabiche e delle frasi libere in quiete e nel rumore migliore rispetto ai pazienti con dispositivo precedentemente regolato con tecniche standard. Il metodo può essere applicato a diversi processori e utilizzato con differenti strategie di stimolazione. Permette la riduzione degli attuali livelli di intensità così come un aumento del range dinamico e migliora la qualità della rappresentazione del segnale.The objective of this study is the evaluation of speech recognition of experienced CI recipients with standard MAP settings using the default frequency-allocation tables with the optimised frequency-allocation MAP. This is an observational, cross-sectional and quantitative-approach study on 50 adult cochlear implant recipients, 20 bilateral and 30 unilateral implant recipients. 23 men (46%) and 27 women (54%). All subjects were ≥ 18 years old. Differences between the means of the thresholds in tone audiometry in free fields were statistically significant in both unilaterally and bilaterally implanted patients; similar results were obtained between average benefits in disyllabic for both unilaterally and bilaterally implanted patients (p0.005). The differences between the means of scores were statistically significant for unilaterally and bilaterally implanted patients, similarly occurred with the average in HINT test between standard SRT50% programming and frequency allocation fitting (p0.005). Patients using the frequency allocation method, which assigns frequencies based on fundamental frequencies, showed better perception of disyllabic words and open-set sentences in quiet and in noise than patients previously fitted with standard fitting techniques. The method can be applied to different processors and used with different strategies of stimulation. It allows reduction of current intensity levels as well as an increase in the dynamic range and improves the quality of the representation of the signal.

In the neurobiological mechanism of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), a certain part of the brain called the Subthalamic Nucleus (STN) becomes overactive. This pathologically increased activity inhibits other regions of the brain, causing many symptoms observed in PD patients. The hyperactivity of the STN can be lowered using a special electrical stimulating electrode. In the neurosurgical treatment of Parkinson’s Disease (PD), the goal is the precise placement of such electrode within the Subthalamic Nucleus. As STN does not significantly differ from adjacent structures on images provided by the CT or MRI, these standard techniques of medical imaging can provide only the approximate localization of the STN. The final localization of the STN has to be pinpointed during surgery. For this, typically, three to five very thin electrodes are inserted into the patient’s brain and advanced towards the expected STN location given by CT and MRI. Electrodes in measured steps approach, traverse, and exit out of the STN. At each step, the neurobiological activity of brain tissue surrounding the leads of the electrodes is recorded. By careful analysis of recordings provided by these electrodes, it is possible to discriminate which recordings were recorded within the STN. This, in turn, gives the extent of the STN in the 3D space on trajectories of the recording electrodes.

BackgroundRespiratory sounds have been recognized as a possible indicator of behavior and health. Computer analysis of these sounds can indicate of characteristic sound changes caused by COVID-19 and can be used for diagnosis of this illness.PurposeThe communication aim is development of fast remote computer-assistance diagnosis of COVID-19, based on analysis of respiratory sounds.Materials and MethodsFast Fourier transform (FFT) was applied for analyses of respiratory sounds recorded near the mouth of 9 COVID-19 patients and 4 healthy volunteers. Sampling rate was 48 kHz.ResultsComparing of FFT spectrums of the respiratory sounds of the patients and volunteers we proposed numerical healthy-ill criterions.ConclusionsThe proposed computer method, based on analysis of the FFT spectrums of respiratory sounds of the patients and volunteers, allows one to automatically diagnose COVID-19 with sufficiently high diagnostic values. This method can be applied at development of noninvasive self-testing kits for COVID-19.

1. Bone Structures, Implants and Validation Methods 2. Bone Re-modelling and Damage Mechanics 3. Soft Tissue Analysis and Respiratory Models 4. Musculoskeletal Models, Ligament Analysis and Human Body Impact 5. Image Analysis, Surgical Simulation and Clinical Applications of Modelling 6. Generic Techniques and Tissue Identification 7. Dental Implants, Materials and Orthodontic/Mandibular Mechanics 8. Cardiovascular and Biofluid Mechanics

Introduction Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established treatment for Parkinson's disease (PD). Clinicians face various challenges in adjusting stimulation parameters and configurations in clinical DBS settings owing to inexperience, time constraints, and recent advances in DBS technology that have expanded the number of possible contact configurations. We aimed to assess the efficacy of a closed-loop algorithm (CLA) for the DBS-programming method using external motion sensor-based motor assessments in patients with PD. Methods In this randomized, double-blind, crossover study, we enrolled 12 patients who underwent eight-ring-contact DBS lead implantations bilaterally in the subthalamic nucleus. The DBS settings of the participants were programmed using a standard of care (SOC) and CLA method. The clinical effects of both programming methods were assessed in a randomized crossover fashion. The outcomes were evaluated using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Scale part III (UPDRS-III) and sensor-based scores for baseline (medication-off/stimulation-off) and both programming methods. The number of programming steps required for each programming method was also recorded. Results The UPDRS-III scores and sensor-based scores were significantly improved by SOC and CLA settings compared to the baseline. No statistical difference was observed between SOC and CLA. The programming steps were significantly reduced in the CLA settings compared to those in the SOC. No serious adverse events were observed. Conclusion CLA can optimize DBS settings prospectively with similar therapeutic benefits as that of the SOC and reduce the number of programming steps. Automated optimization of DBS settings would reduce the burden of programming for both clinicians and patients.

Aim: Our purpose with this study is to determine the most effective and suitable cochlear implant programming method for CI users’ implants to experience quality hearing and for the users to achieve efficiency from their implants. Materials and Methods:Twenty-five cochlear implant users with post lingual progressive hearing loss were included in the study. Twelve electrodes’ ART (auditory nerve response telemetry) thresholds were determined and were statistically analyzed to be evaluated in the study. For 12 electrodes whose AutoART threshold was determined, the MCLs (most comfortable loudness) were determined behaviorally. Results: No correlations were found between the 12 electrodes and AutoART. It was seen that there was a correlation between the pure tone average obtained from 500-1000-2000 and 4000Hz and the speech reception threshold. Conclusion: The use of two test batteries together to determine thresholds can be helpful in the programming of the speech processor. The more audiologists work with cochlear implant patients and do programming, the more they accumulate data and gain occupational experience. With the occupational experience acquired in this manner, more accurate programming can be done.

There has been a substantial amount of research involving computer methods and technology for the detection and recognition of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs), but there is a lack of systematic comparisons of state-of-the-art deep learning object detection frameworks applied to this problem. DFUC2020 provided participants with a comprehensive dataset consisting of 2,000 images for training and 2,000 images for testing. This paper summarises the results of DFUC2020 by comparing the deep learning-based algorithms proposed by the winning teams: Faster R-CNN, three variants of Faster R-CNN and an ensemble method; YOLOv3; YOLOv5; EfficientDet; and a new Cascade Attention Network. For each deep learning method, we provide a detailed description of model architecture, parameter settings for training and additional stages including pre-processing, data augmentation and post-processing. We provide a comprehensive evaluation for each method. All the methods required a data augmentation stage to increase the number of images available for training and a post-processing stage to remove false positives. The best performance was obtained from Deformable Convolution, a variant of Faster R-CNN, with a mean average precision (mAP) of 0.6940 and an F1-Score of 0.7434. Finally, we demonstrate that the ensemble method based on different deep learning methods can enhanced the F1-Score but not the mAP., Comment: 19 pages, 18 figures, 10 tables

A clinical and functional examination of the maxillofacial area was performed in 280 patients with the defects of the lateral teeth being replaced with ceramic crown inlays or light-cured composites three years ago. Computer methods were used to assess the articulation, occlusion and tone of the masticatory muscles on the T-Scan III and Bio EMG III devices. In a third of the lateral teeth, an unreasonable increase in indications to composite fillings has been established – when more than 50.0% of the occlusal surface is destroyed. Indicators of dental status are significantly better when using ceram- ic inlays compared with fillings made of composite material in the long term after treatment of multiple caries. Ceramic crown inlays prevent occlusal-articulatory disorders and dysfunction of the masticatory apparatus, characteristic in long-term periods for patients with multiple caries when replacement of lateral teeth defects with fillings made of composite.

Due to the acceleration of biological and lifestyle changes, scientific and technological revolution, disproportionate growth and development, and the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors, postural disorders in the early school age children from the Republic of Srpska and the countries of the region have been increasingly on the rise. A research of a transversal character was conducted in order to analyse the presence of spinal deformities in children of early school age in the Republic of Srpska (Bosnia and Herzegovina). The sample included the population of children in the lower grades of elementary schools from Bijeljina and Foca (Republic of Srpska) and consisted of 90 boys and girls who were divided into two subgroups. One sub-sample consisted of 45 boys, while the other consisted of 45 girls. The measurement was conducted during the 2014/15 school year, when all pupils included in the sample attended the second grade of either 'Jovan Ducic' elementary school in Bijeljina or 'St. Sava' school in Foca. One of the most state-of-the-art 3D computer methods, Spine Win Pointer Zebris Medical, was used in the analysis of the spinal column. The results of the measurement showed an increased percentage of spinal deformity in the population of the school children in the lower grades of elementary school.

A computer method for recording the temperature of inhaled and exhaled air is developed. Using this method, the airway conditioning function was studied in 10 healthy individuals and 16 patients with polypous rhinosinusitis, in order to predict the development of bronchial asthma in the latter. The proposed computer method for recording the temperature of the air inhaled and exhaled through the nose allows to obtain visual and accurate indicators. This method can be used in the conditions of pulmonological and otorhinolaryngological departments, for example, to predict the development of bronchial asthma in patients with polypous rhinosinusitis.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative planning is an integral part of total hip arthroplasty and has a significant impact on surgical technique and clinical outcome. The variety of types and sizes of endoprosthesis components makes the procedure more demanding and generates a need for accurate preoperative planning. The objective of this study was to analyze an analog method of preoperative planning of primary total hip arthroplasty based on templates overlaying on preoperative radiograms and compare its accuracy for predicting the size, both the stem and cup, with computer planning methods. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study based on 360 X-ray images of hip joints in 348 patients qualified for total hip arthroplasty between 2018 and 2019. The study group consisted of 136 men and 212 women, with an average age of 65 years (56 to 85 years). Material included both cementless and cemented endoprostheses. RESULTS: In the analyzed material, the accuracy of cup planning using the analog method was 85% (P

The purpose of this research is to simulate the effectiveness of temephos and fumigation usage in reducing the growth of Aedes Aegypti as a vector for dengue viruses. The formulated optimization problem is then solved using neuro-dynamic programming method, a combination of artificial neural networks and dynamic programming.

Skull analysis is the main tool used in anthropology to identify several characteristics such as ancestry, sex, and variations between populations. Yet, skull analysis methods used by anthropologists still rely heavily on direct manipulation and measurement of the skulls producing significant inter and intra observer errors. Direct manipulation also involves risks of damaging the specimens while handling. In recent years computer methods for skull analysis that rely on 3D models of skulls acquired with a 3D scanner have been proposed. This approach gives the possibility to perform analysis otherwise not possible, simultaneously easing the overall process of skull analysis and reducing variability. This paper describes the development of automatic and semi-automatic methods for morphological analysis of 3D skull models through the extraction and classification of structures aiming to support the estimation of ancestry. Results with fifty specimens are presented

(2019). RETRACTED ARTICLE: Pressure sore prevention in vet medicine: importance of the supports. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering: Vol. 22, 44th Congress of the Societe de Biomecanique, pp. S538-S539.

Hemorrhage volume, level of consciousness and ventricular extension and expansion of the hematoma are prognostic factors for clinical outcome of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Volumetric measurement of ICH has an important clinical and prognostic meaning. The aim of this study was to compare the methods which are being used to measure ICH volume: the ABC/2 method and semiautomated method with computer volumetric program. Our study represents a retrospective analisys of 54 patients (61.11% male and 38.89% female patients with mean age 67.20±10.30 years) who underwent computed tomography (CT) scan of endocranium. Volumetric measurements were performed by ABC/2 method and computer semiautomated method with volumetric program on Аdvantage Windows 3D Workstation 4.1. Mean value and standard deviation obtained by ABC/2 method were 41.98±35.47, while mean value and standard deviation obtained by computer semiautomated method with volumetric program were 52.12±45.61. There is a statistically significant difference between the values obtained by these two methods (p=0.03). The absolute difference was 10.14 cm. The values acquired by computer method were by 19.46% higher than those acquired by formula. There is a statstically strong positive correlation between these two methods (r=0.852, p

An important issue in the deployment of braided stents, such as flow diverters, is the change in length, also known as foreshortening, underwent by the device when is released from the catheter into a blood vessel. The position of the distal end is controlled by the interventionist, but knowing a priori the position of the proximal end of the device is not trivial. In this work, we assess and validate a novel computer method to predict the length that a braided stent will adopt inside a silicon model of an anatomically accurate vessel. Three-dimensional rotational angiography images of aneurysmatic patients were used to generate surface models of the vessels (3D meshes) and then create accurate silicon models from them. A braided stent was deployed into each silicon model to measure its length. The same stents deployed on the silicon models were virtually deployed on the 3D meshes using the method being evaluated. The method was applied to five stent placements on three different silicon models. The length adopted by the real braided device in the silicon models varies between 15 and 30 % from the stent length specified by the manufacturer. The final length predicted by the method was within the estimated error of the measured real stent length. The method provides, in a few seconds, the length of a braided stent deployed inside a vessel, showing an accurate estimation of the final length for the cases studied. This technique could provide useful information for planning the intervention and improve endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms in the future.

Lęk związany jest z tendencyjnością uwagi, czyli skłonnością do zwracania szczególnej uwagi na bodźce zagrażające. Zjawisko to występuje zarówno u osób cierpiących na zaburzenia lękowe, jak i u osób zdrowych o podwyższonym poziomie lęku-cechy. Niniejszy artykuł jest próbą analizy paradygmatu badawczego, służącego do modyfikacji tendencyjności uwagi (CBM-A Cognitive Bias Modyfication - Attention). Coraz większa liczba badań pokazuje, że przy pomocy komputerowych metod, takich jak zmodyfikowana wersja zadania na lokalizację punktu, można wyuczyć osoby badane odwracania uwagi od bodźców zagrażających, co wpływa na redukcję symptomów lęku. Taki efekt działania treningu tendencyjności uwagi stwierdzono zarówno u dorosłych, jak również u dzieci i młodzieży cierpiących m.in. na fobię społeczną, zaburzenie lękowe uogólnione, czy subkliniczne objawy zaburzenia obsesyjno-kompulsyjnego. Wyniki te pozwalają na częściową weryfikację poznawczych koncepcji zaburzeń lękowych, zgodnie z którymi tendencyjność uwagi jest ważnym czynnikiem podatności na lęk i zaburzenia lękowe. W artykule rozważane są również nie do końca jasne mechanizmy działania CBM-A oraz ograniczenia tej metody.

The safe and efficient mobility of persons with visual impairment may be secured with the development of new aids, based on new computer methods and technologies. The issue of mobility and accessibility is one of the central concerns in the development of »smart cities« and of accessible service for all inhabitants of urban areas. We will present an automated procedure for the production of tactile maps with the latest 3D printing technology for visually impaired persons. By employing a new method, which entailed the linking of geolocation data (digital maps, digital spatial images), new 3D tactile designing process and 3D print technology, we have reduced the costs and accelerated the production of tactile maps for visually impaired persons, and ensured the transportability of the products by converting them into a digital (STL) format. To exhibit the use of our new methodology, several production cases from Slovenia will be presented: the tactile map of the Slovene Ethnographic Museum, the tactile model of the Secovlje Salina – the traditional production of salt, the tactile plate of the famous Schutze ceramic plate from 1886, the tactile map of the Library of the Union of the Blind and Partially Sighted of Slovenia, and the tactile map for orientation and mobility of the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana.

Studying the process of ageing in humans is dependent on methods for quantitative measurement of the physiological differences between younger and older individuals. Although in many cases the chronological age is used as a measurement of ageing, it provides merely a rough approximation of the actual physiological age of a person. Here, we propose a computer method for measuring the physiological age of the human knee by using quantitative analysis of the radiographic Haralick bone texture. Experiments using longitudinal data from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging show that the radiographic Haralick texture correlates with the chronological age, and that the ageing of the knee as reflected by the tibial anisotropy and measured using the radiographic texture is not linear to the chronological age. The analysis reveals that the bone ages until the person gets to the age of 40, then stabilises until the age of around 65, from where it continues to age. A period of rapid ageing was also detected aroun...

Malfunction of a Codman Hakim programmable valve due to jamming of its programmable component may necessitate shunt revision. The authors report a method for programming jammed Codman Hakim programmable valves by using a Strata II magnet and additional neodymium magnets. The programming method was derived after studying a jammed valve in the laboratory that was explanted from an 10-year-old boy with a history of fourth ventricle ependymoma. Programming the explanted valve with a Codman programmer failed, but rotating a Strata II magnet above the valve resulted in rotation of the spiral cam in the valve. It was found that the Strata II magnet could be used to program the jammed valve by rotating the magnet 90° or multiples of 90° above the valve. The strength of the magnetic field of the Strata II magnet was able to be increased by putting neodymium magnets on it. The programming method was then successfully used in a patient with a jammed Codman Hakim programmable valve. After successful programming using this method, clinical and radiological follow-up of the patient was advised.

In plants, the accelerated production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is a common response to different stresses. We developed a computer method of leaf image analysis to automatically quantify the and H2O2 staining patterns in leaves. The quantification of histochemically detected ROS is given as a percentage of stained area partitioned according to the staining intensity and hence accumulation. Thus, this method expands the routine histochemical detection of ROS in situ. The same procedure can be also used to assess necrotic infection symptoms. In plants infected with necrotizing pathogens leaves can be simultaneously examined for pathogen-induced and H2O2 accumulation and infection development. This procedure allows rapid and accurate examination of many leaves and provides an advantage over the routine visual assessment of in situ histochemical detection of ROS and infection symptom development.

This publication presents a computer method for segmenting microcalcifications in mammograms. It makes use of morphological transformations and is composed of two parts. The first part detects microcalcifications morphologically, thus allowing the approximate area of their occurrence to be determined, the contrast to be improved, and noise to be reduced in the mammograms. In the second part, a watershed segmentation of microcalcifications is carried out. This study was carried out on a test set containing 200 ROIs 512 × 512 pixels in size, taken from mammograms from the Digital Database for Screening Mammography (DDSM), including 100 cases showing malignant lesions and 100 cases showing benign ones. The experiments carried out yielded the following average values of the measured indices: 80.5% (similarity index), 75.7% (overlap fraction), 70.8% (overlap value), and 19.8% (extra fraction). The average time of executing all steps of the methods used for a single ROI amounted to 0.83 s.

The purpose of this work is to describe the LUNGx Challenge for the computerized classification of lung nodules on diagnostic computed tomography (CT) scans as benign or malignant and report the performance of participants' computerized methods along with that of six radiologists who participated in an observer study performing the same Challenge task on the same dataset. The Challenge provided sets of calibration and testing scans, established a performance assessment process, and created an infrastructure for case dissemination and result submission. Ten groups applied their own methods to 73 lung nodules (37 benign and 36 malignant) that were selected to achieve approximate size matching between the two cohorts. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) values for these methods ranged from 0.50 to 0.68; only three methods performed statistically better than random guessing. The radiologists' AUC values ranged from 0.70 to 0.85; three radiologists performed statistically better than the best-performing computer method. The LUNGx Challenge compared the performance of computerized methods in the task of differentiating benign from malignant lung nodules on CT scans, placed in the context of the performance of radiologists on the same task. The continued public availability of the Challenge cases will provide a valuable resource for the medical imaging research community.

Summary Purpose Reviewing techniques for non-invasive postural evaluation of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) based on information extraction from images based on computer methods. Methods The Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, ScieLo and PubMed databases were used, for the period 2011–2015. Results 131 articles were found based on keyword of which 15 articles met the established eligibility criteria. Of these, 4 were based on photogrammetry, and 11 based on laser, structured light, ultrasound, and Moire projection. In these studies, the methodological quality varied from low to high. Conclusions The findings indicated diversity in methodologies; 14/15 articles reviewed were limited to the evaluation of the topography of the posterior back. A study, using two-dimensional photogrammetry, presented a whole body postural evaluation. As the asymmetry in AIS can be extended to the whole body, more attention should be given to develop full body assessment techniques to provide important additional data to aid in treatment decisions.

Observing changes in females' ovaries is essential in obstetrics and gynaecological imaging, e.g., genetic engineering and human reproduction. It is particularly important to monitor the dynamics of ovarian follicles' growth, as only fully mature and grown follicles, i.e., the dominant follicles have a potential to ovulate at the end of a follicular phase. Gynaecologists follow this process in two dimensions, but recently three-dimensional (3-D) ultrasound examinations are coming to the fore. This paper surveys the existing computer methods for detection, recognition, and analyses of follicles in two-dimensional (2-D) and 3-D ovarian ultrasound recordings. Our study focuses on the efficiency, validation, and assessment of proposed follicle processing algorithms. The most important processing steps were identified in order to compare their performances. Higher ranking solutions are suggested for the so-called best algorithm for 2-D and 3-D ultrasound recordings of ovarian follicles. Finally, some guidelines for future research in this field are discussed, in particular for 3-D ultrasound volumes.

Mold operation with spring suspension and a programmable hydraulic drive is considered. Computer methods of investigating the mold-billet interaction are developed. A new mold with longitudinal-transverse vibration and dynamic stabilization has been developed for continuous-casting machines.

A test battery, consisting of self-assessments and motor tests (tapping and spiral drawing tasks) was used on 9482 test occasions by 62 patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) in a telemedicine setting. On each test occasion, three Archimedes spirals were traced. A new computer method, using wavelet transforms and principal component analysis processed the spiral drawings to generate a spiral score. In a web interface, two PD specialists rated drawing impairment in spiral drawings from three random test occasions per patient, using a modification of the Bain & Findley 10-category scale. A standardised manual rating was defined as the mean of the two raters' assessments. Bland-Altman analysis was used to evaluate agreement between the spiral score and the standardised manual rating. Another selection of spiral drawings was used to estimate the Spearman rank correlations between the raters (r=0.87), and between the mean rating and the spiral score (r=0.89). The 95% confidence interval for the method's prediction errors was +/-1.5 scale units, which was similar to the differences between the human raters. In conclusion, the method could assess PD-related drawing impairments well comparable to trained raters.

Most sleep-staging research has focused on developing and optimizing algorithms for sleep scoring, but little attention has been paid to the effect of different electroencephalogram (EEG) derivations on sleep staging. To explore the possible effects of EEG derivations, an automatic computer method was established and confirmed by agreement analysis between the computer and two independent raters, and four fronto-parietal bipolar leads were compared for sleep scoring in rats. The results demonstrated that different bipolar electrodes have significantly different sleep-staging accuracies, and that the optimal frontal electrode for sleep scoring is located at the anterior midline.

In this work, we describe a semiautomated computer method to evaluate the activity of a common drug solvent, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), on in vitro Giardia lamblia-host cell interaction. To compare the number of intestinal cells (IEC-6) and the adhered trophozoites over a specific area in control and treated coculture, a computer routine was created. Using video-light microscopy and digital image-processing tools, the operator was able to count the number of epithelial cells or parasites when they were still lying on the slide surface and without the need to detach them from the substrate for counting with a hemocytometer or other counting devices. Using this strategy, we calculated the total cell number per area and verified the effects of different concentrations of DMSO on G. lamblia-intestinal cell interaction and on the IEC-6 culture. At concentrations of 0.2% and 1%, this solvent produced a fragmentation on the monolayer of epithelial cells. However, DMSO did not affect the attachment of G. lamblia. In the course of these experiments, we compared the semiautomated method to the manual counting method and found that the first one generated smaller standard deviations (SD) than the second.

Currently, the aim of the resuscitation of burn patients is to maintain end-organ perfusion with fluid intake as minimal as possible. To avoid excess intake, we can improve the estimation using computer methods. Parkland and Brooke are the commonly used formulas, and recently, a new, an easy formula is been used, i.e. the 'Rule of TEN'. Fluid resuscitation should be titrated to maintain the urine output of approximately 30-35 mL/h for an average-sized adult. The most commonly used fluids are crystalloid, but the phenomenon of creep flow has renewed interest in albumin. In severely burn patients, monitoring with transpulmonary thermodilution together with lactate, ScvO2 and intraabdominal pressures is a good option. Nurse-driven protocols or computer-based resuscitation algorithms reduce the dependence on clinical decision making and decrease fluid resuscitation intake. High-dose vitamin C, propranolol, the avoidance of excessive use of morphine and mechanical ventilation are other useful resources.

In lung cancer screening, pulmonary nodules are first identified in low-dose chest CT images. Costly follow-up procedures could be avoided if it were possible to establish the malignancy status of these nodules from these initial images. Preliminary computer methods have been proposed to characterize the malignancy status of pulmonary nodules based on features extracted from a CT image. The parameters and performance of such a computer system in a lung cancer screening context are addressed. A computer system that incorporates novel 3D image features to determine the malignancy status of pulmonary nodules is evaluated with a large dataset constructed from images from the NLST and ELCAP lung cancer studies. The system is evaluated with different data subsets to determine the impact of class size distribution imbalance in datasets and to evaluate different training and testing strategies. Results show a modest improvement in malignancy prediction compared to prediction by size alone for a traditional size-unbalanced dataset. Further, the advantage of size binning for classifier design and the advantages of a size-balanced dataset for both training and testing are demonstrated. Nodule classification in the context of low-resolution low-dose whole-chest CT images for the clinically relevant size range in the context of lung cancer screening is highly challenging, and results are moderate compared to what has been reported in the literature for other clinical contexts. Nodule class size distribution imbalance needs to be considered in the training and evaluation of computer-aided diagnostic systems for producing patient-relevant outcomes.

Posttraumatic pneumothorax still remains to be a serious clinical problem and requires a comprehensive diagnostic and monitoring during treatment. The aim of this paper is to present a computer method of modeling of small closed pneumothorax. Radiological images of 34 patients of both sexes with small closed pneumothorax were taken into consideration. The control group consisted of X-rays of 22 patients treated because of tension pneumothorax. In every single case the model was correlated with the clinical manifestations. The procedure of computational rapid analysis (CRA) for in silico analysis of surgical intervention was introduced. It included implementation of computerize tomography images and their automatic conversion into 3D finite elements model (FEM). In order to segmentize the 3D model, an intelligent procedure of domain recognition was used. In the final step, a computer simulation project of fluid-structure interaction was built, using the ANSYS\Workbench environment of multi-physics analysis. The FEM model and computer simulation project were employed in the analysis in order to optimize surgical intervention. The model worked out well and was compatible with the clinical manifestations of pneumothorax. We conclude that the created FEM model is a promising tool for facilitation of diagnostic procedures and prognosis of treatment in the case of small closed pneumothorax.

Computational methods have played an important role in health care in recent years, as determining parameters that affect a certain medical condition is not possible in experimental conditions in many cases. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods have been used to accurately determine the nature of blood flow in the cardiovascular and nervous systems and air flow in the respiratory system, thereby giving the surgeon a diagnostic tool to plan treatment accordingly. Machine learning or data mining (MLD) methods are currently used to develop models that learn from retrospective data to make a prediction regarding factors affecting the progression of a disease. These models have also been successful in incorporating factors such as patient history and occupation. MLD models can be used as a predictive tool to determine rupture potential in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) along with CFD-based prediction of parameters like wall shear stress and pressure distributions. A combination of these computer methods can be pivotal in bridging the gap between translational and outcomes research in medicine. This paper reviews the use of computational methods in the diagnosis and treatment of AAA. Published version

This study addresses the problem of vibration syndrome diagnosis by means of a cooling test verified by photoplethysmography. Measurement was taken on a small area on the fingertip plexus in which many arterio-venous anastomoses are present. In the opinion of many authors, flow disorders in this area are more typical for developing vibration syndrome than changes in the micro vessels. The study group comprised 128 subjects (58 women aged 40.9 +/- 5.4 years and 70 men aged 38.7 +/- 8.8 years) exposed to vibration. The control group consisted of 41 people (20 women aged 39.6 +/- 7.3 years and 21 men aged 39.3 +/- 6.4 years) who were not exposed to vibration. The patients were examined by a questionnaire and then a vibration perception threshold test and a cooling test were performed. The cooling test was verified both visually and using the computer method. Measurement data (S1, S2 and A) for each patient were obtained from averaging three pulse graphs. We departed from an average of 60 graphs (and more), the standard established in the literature, because of the cooling test specification, which causes huge thermodynamic parameter changeability in the plexus mass of the small finger under pulse waves coming one after another. A longer measurement time will reflect the thermal drift of the tested area in a direction to compensate for the reduced temperature. In the control group, all subjects showed an increase in planimetric indicators during the cooling test verified by computerized photoplethysmography. In the study group visual verification of the cooling test was positive in eight cases (6.2%) and the vibration perception threshold test was positive in seven cases (5.5%), but in computerized photoplethysmography the planimetric indicators decreased after cooling in 87 (67.4%) cases. Computer photoplethysmography is highly specific and shows greater sensitivity in detecting preclinical forms of vascular-type vibration syndrome when compared with palesthesiometry, the visually verified cooling test and the questionnaire. The proposed test enables the detection of vascular disorders in the prodromal period and gives time for preventive measures to be taken.

This study introduces a computer method for assessing perception of stimuli presented in a constrained context. The method is illustrated through experiments on perception of the risk of becoming infected with HIV and AIDS. In five experiments, context-constrained judgments (CCJ) or context-independent judgments were obtained from 258 undergraduates. Participants judged the risk of contracting HIV/AIDS for a variety of target populations, including themselves. The CCJ method results in greater response discrimination among the salience of perceived risk factors than does a context independent method. This outcome has potential implications for education and intervention programs to control the spread of HIV.

Objective. Computerized software holds the potential for the novel assessment of the pain experi- ence of patients with chronic pain not available through traditional paper-and-pencil methods. The aim of this study was to test the feasibility and discriminant validity of a dynamic computer- administered program for the assessment of pain. Design. Three computer-administered programs were created to assess the intensity (dynamic visual analog scale (DVAS)), character (dynamic verbal ratings), and location (dynamic pain draw- ings) of pain. The programs were administered to 115 chronic pain patients recruited from a hospital-based pain management program and 115 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals without pain. The healthy controls were instructed to respond as if they had chronic pain. Results. Analyses showed pain patient DVAS pain intensity ratings to be significantly higher than ratings by the healthy group. Patients selected more words in describing their pain, rated those words higher, and marked significantly more pain locations than the comparison group. However, no differences were found in the DVAS ratings of emotional impact between patients and healthy individuals. Conclusions. Chronic pain patients were shown to differ from healthy individuals in their assess- ments of degree of pain intensity and pain location with the use of a novel computerized pain assess- ment program. Although further investigations are needed, these initial findings support the use of computer methods for the effective assessment of pain.

Purpose To validate the semiautomated methods of tongue carcinoma tumor volume measurement by comparing the conventional manual trace method with 2 semiautomated computer methods: seed growing and region deformation. Materials and methods The study population consisted of 16 patients with histology-proven tongue carcinoma. Two head-and-neck radiologists independently measured the tumor volume demonstrated on pretreatment T2-weighted magnetic resonance data sets. The tumor volumes were measured using manual tracing and semiautomated seed growing and region deformation algorithm. Data were recorded for analysis of interoperator variance and interobserver reliability at volume and pixel levels. Results There was no significant difference between the manually traced volume and semiautomated segmentation volumes for both operators. No significant difference was found in interobserver variance among the 3 methods at volume level. However, there was significant difference between manual tracing and semiautomated segmentation methods in interobserver reliability at pixel level. Conclusion The semiautomated methods could achieve satisfactory segmentation results. They could also reduce interoperator variance and obtain a higher interobserver reliability. This study validates the use of semiautomated volume measurement methods for tongue carcinoma.

Can person tradeoff (PTO) value judgments be elicited by a computer, or is a face-to-face interview needed? The authors randomly assigned 95 subjects to interview or computer methods for the PTO, a valuation measure that is often difficult for subjects. They measured relative values of foot numbness, leg paralysis, and quadriplegia (all 3 pairs) at 2 reference group sizes (10 or 100). Relative values did not differ between computer and interview. Overall, 21% of responses were equality responses, 13% were high extreme values, and 5% violated ordinal criteria. The groups did not differ in these measures. The authors also assessed consistency across reference group size (10 v. 100). Although relative values were significantly lower for 100 than for 10, mode did not influence the size of this effect. Subjects made, on average, equally consistent judgments for the 3 comparisons. A computerized PTO elicitation protocol produced results of similar quality to that of a face-to-face interview.

Computer simulations have gained increasing importance for the understanding of cardiac arrhythmias and the development of new therapeutic solutions, overcoming some of the limitations encountered in clinical and experimental research. Progresses in computer models depend on continuous exchange of clinical and experimental data, both for model development and validation. Therefore, it is important that experts from these two fields communicate. Today, patient-specific models based on clinical imaging and electrophysiological data are becoming a reality. Such models could be used in the future for guiding individual clinical antiarrhythmic therapies. The challenge lies in how to translate these computer methods into clinically effective tools. To that end, since 1998 the Theo Rossi di Montelera (TRM) forum has brought together researchers with different expertise in computer modelling, experimental and clinical research. The seventh TRM forum was held in Lugano, Switzerland, on 1–3 December 2013, hosted by the Lausanne Heart group, the University of Lugano (USI) and the Cardiocentro Ticino (CCT). The theme was ‘Creating the Basis for Tailored Therapies’. The objective of the TRM forum is to facilitate the translation of basic science findings in computer modelling into the clinical field. The first day of the forum was therefore focused on ‘From computer to bedside: how predictive are computer models’ with the presentation of latest patient-specific computer models of the atria and ventricles and how they can be used to predict the effect of cardiac therapies. The second day followed the opposite pathway ‘From bedside …