Initial experience with a state-of-the-art mobile head CT scanner for use in neurointensive care units.

OBJECTIVE: Mobile head computed tomography (CT) scanners can reduce transport-related complications in neurointensive care unit (NICU) patients and decrease the burden on NICU staff; however, the initial investment cost and reduced image quality of early mobile scanners have prevented their widespread clinical use. Here, we report our initial experience with a novel 32-row mobile CT scanner for use in NICUs. METHODS: Over a 2-year period, 107 patients received a mobile head CT scan. The technical characteristics of the scanner and the organizational procedures are described in detail. Patient characteristics were retrospectively collected and image quality was subjectively evaluated on a Likert scale ranging from 0 to 5 and compared with a stationary CT scanner. RESULTS: Mobile head CT was used for follow-up of intracranial hemorrhage in 51%, routine postoperative imaging in 28%, evaluation of neurological deterioration in 14%, bedside monitoring after external ventricular drain placement in 4%, and follow-up of ischemic stroke in 3% of cases. Diagnostic imaging quality was achieved in all cases, eliminating the need for stationary CT scanning. The overall image quality of mobile CT (median 4 points) was inferior to that of conventional stationary CT (median 5 points, p < 0.01), but was rated with 4 or 5 points in the majority of cases. CONCLUSIONS: State-of-the-art mobile CT was found to be easy to use and maneuver and has the potential to expedite the diagnosis of NICU patients and reduce staff workload. Image quality was adequate for common NICU issues.

State-of-the-art mobile head CT scanner delivers nearly the same image quality as a conventional stationary CT scanner.

The use of mobile head CT scanners in the neurointensive care unit (NICU) saves time for patients and NICU staff and can reduce transport-related mishaps, but the reduced image quality of previous mobile scanners has prevented their widespread clinical use. This study compares the image quality of SOMATOM On.Site (Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany), a state-of-the-art mobile head CT scanner, and a conventional 64-slice stationary CT scanner. The study included 40 patients who underwent head scans with both mobile and stationary scanners. Gray and white matter signal and noise were measured at predefined locations on axial slices, and signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) were calculated. Artifacts below the cranial calvaria and in the posterior fossa were also measured. In addition, image quality was subjectively assessed by two radiologists in terms of corticomedullary differentiation, subcalvarial space, skull artifacts, and image noise. Quantitative measurements showed significantly higher image quality of the stationary CT scanner in terms of noise, SNR and CNR of gray and white matter. Artifacts measured in the posterior fossa were higher with the mobile CT scanner, but subcalvarial artifacts were comparable. Subjective image quality was rated similarly by two radiologists for both scanners in all domains except image noise, which was better for stationary CT scans. The image quality of the SOMATOM On.Site for brain scans is inferior to that of the conventional stationary scanner, but appears to be adequate for daily use in a clinical setting based on subjective ratings.

Antibacterial, antibiofilm and molecular modeling study of some antitumor thiazole based chalcones as a new class of DHFR inhibitors.

Some synthesized antitumor derivatives of thiazole based chalcones including thiazolo[2,3-b]quinazoline and pyrido[4,3-d]thiazolo[3,2-a]pyrimidine analogues were subjected to be tested against standard microbial strains. Compound 18 showed higher activity against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria with MIC of 1.0, 1.0, 2.0, 2.0 and 4.0 µg/ml against S. aureus, B. subtilis, M. luteus, E. coli and P. aeuroginosa respectively which is better than ampicillin and very relative to ciprofloxacin standards. Moreover, this compound shows a good anti-biofilm activity against the Gram positive bacteria. Molecular docking studies of synthesized compounds against DHFR enzyme were carried out. Interestingly, active anticancer candidates 22,38, 40 and 41 in addition to most active antimicrobial agents 15, 18 and 20 bind to DHFR with nearly the same amino acid residues as MTX especially mentioning Arg28, Arg70, Asn64 and Lys68 which support our hypothesis that these compounds could act as antitumor or antibacterial via DHFR inhibition. Flexible alignment and surface mapping techniques have further provided lipophilic distributions supporting effective binding to DHFR. ADMET calculations for compounds 15, 18 and 20 suggested that they could be good orally absorbed antibacterial agents while compound 38 could be an orally absorbed anticancer agent with diminished toxicity. The results highlight studied thiazole based chalcones as efficient leads for designing new future antibacterial drug candidates.