Smartphone-Based Device in Exotic Pet Medicine.

This article reviews the use of the smartphone in exotic pet medicine. The mobile app is the most instinctive use of the smartphone; however, there are very limited software dedicated to the exotic pet specifically. With an adapter, the smartphone can be attached to a regular endoscope and acts as a small endoscopic unit. Additional devices, such as infrared thermography or ultrasound, can be connected to the smartphone through the micro-USB port. The medical use of the smartphone is still in its infancy in veterinary medicine but can bring several solutions to the exotic pet practitioner and improve point-of-care evaluation.

Evolution of Imaging in Breast Cancer.

The following topics are discussed in this article. A historical review of the evolution of breast cancer imaging from thermography through digital breast tomosynthesis, molecular breast imaging, and advanced breast magnetic resonance imaging. Discussion of multiple clinical trials, their strengths, and weaknesses. Historical perspective on the Mammography Quality Standards Act and its relationship with development and implementation of the Breast Imaging-Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS).

Developments in near-infrared-guided hepatobiliary, pancreatic and other upper gastrointestinal surgery.

With the development of near-infrared (NIR) technology, real-time utility of NIR and its fluorophores has gained vast interest among surgeons of various sub-disciplines. The purpose of this review is to assess and explore the most recent developments in NIR-guided surgery in an upper gastrointestinal (UGI) surgical setting. Queries of PubMed and Medline literature databases was performed for experimental and clinical studies relevant to NIR use in the context of UGI surgery. NIR-guided UGI surgeries have been reported to be valuable in: (1) esophageal anastomosis; (2) sentinel lymph node biopsy in gastric cancer; (3) detection of liver and pancreatic tumors; and (4) detection of extra bile duct and bile duct injuries. Although NIR technology has shown tremendous promise in UGI surgery, its full clinical translation and wider adaptation remains to be seen.

Laser-induced thermal therapy for tumor ablation.

Image-guided ablation of tumors is assuming an increasingly important role in many oncology services as a minimally invasive alternative to conventional surgical interventions for patients who are not good candidates for surgery. Laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) is a percutaneous tumor-ablation technique that utilizes high-power lasers placed interstitially in the tumor to deliver therapy. Multiple laser fibers can be placed into the treatment volume and, unlike other interstitial heating techniques, can be fired simultaneously to rapidly treat large volumes of tissue. Modern systems utilize small, compact, high-power laser diode systems with actively cooled applicators to help keep tissue from charring during procedures. Additionally, because this approach to thermal therapy is easily made magnetic resonance (MR) compatible, the incorporation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for treatment planning, targeting, monitoring, and verification has helped to expand the number of applications in which LITT can be applied safely and effectively. We provide an overview of the clinically used technology and algorithms that provide the foundations for current state-of-the-art MR-guided LITT (MRgLITT), including procedures in the brain, liver, bone, and prostate as examples. In addition to advances in imaging and delivery, such as the incorporation of nanotechnology, next-generation MRgLITT systems are anticipated to incorporate an increasing presence of in silico-based modeling of MRgLITT procedures to provide human-assisted computational tools for planning, MR model-assisted temperature monitoring, thermal-dose assessment, and optimal control.

Toward the design of a wearable system for contact thermography in telemedicine.

Thermal imaging of the skin has been used for several decades for monitoring of temperature distribution of human skin for the detection of thermal abnormalities indicating pathologies (malignancies, inflammation, infection, and vascular, dermatological, and rheumatic disorders). Literature has shown that to detect and monitor the thermal abnormalities related to pathologic conditions, there is a need to extend acquisition over 8, 12, 16, or 24 hours. A wearable device is strongly needed in contact thermography to reach the objective of long-term monitoring of contact thermography, especially in telemedicine applications. A wearable system has been designed and constructed that allows the continuous thermographic monitoring of a skin region at the point of affixation. Measurement allowed by this system is direct and not hampered by the influence of the environment--as with IR thermography--nor by the geometry of skin surface (curvatures, roughness) thanks to the flexible adaptation of the sensing head to the surface. The validation of the system embedded in a pilot preliminary telemedicine application was successful. The next step will be the wide focusing and adaptation to telemedicine clinical applications to assess the response to the chemotherapy and tune the therapy at home of the breast cancer or the response to the inflammation care.

[Contemporary applications of infrared imaging in medical diagnostics]. / Wspólczesne mozliwosci zastosowania termografii wizyjnej w diagnostyce medycznej.

INTRODUCTION: Thermal imaging is a non-contact, non-invasive diagnostic method for study human body temperature. Therefore infra red thermal imaging finds increasing application in clinical medicine. PURPOSE: The aim of this paper was to present and discuss the history and applications of thermal imaging in medicine. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The literature dealing with the history and applications of thermal imaging in medicine has been reviewed. RESULTS: Medical thermography was born in 1957 when a surgeon, Dr. R. Lawson discovered that his breast cancer patients had higher skin temperature over the cancer area. Since the 1970's thermography has been used in many areas of medicine. Early problems such as low detector sensitivity, but most significantly, poor training ofthermography technicians was the source of error in thermography and retarded the acceptance of this technique until 1990. Since that time, thermographic equipment has evolved significantly. Modern thermal imaging systems comprise technically advanced thermal cameras coupled to computers with sophisticated software solutions. The recorded images are now of good quality and may be further processed to obtain reliable information. Thermography can be applied as a diagnostic tool in oncology, allergic diseases, angiology, plastic surgery, rheumatology, and elsewhere. Contemporary thermal imaging must be per formed according to certain principles aimed at reliability and reproducibility of results. CONCLUSIONS: 1. Thermography is a safe, accurate and, most importantly, a non-invasive diagnostic method in clinical medicine. 2. Ignoring any of the principles worked out by the European Association of Thermology leaves thermography open to error and thus reduces acceptance of this technique in medical diagnostics.

MRI-guided focused ultrasound: methodology and applications.

Focused ultrasound is very well suited for inducing noninvasive local hyperthermia. Since magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be employed to obtain real-time temperature maps noninvasively the combination of these two technologies offers great advantages specifically aimed toward oncological studies. Real-time identification of the target region and accurate control of the temperature evolution during the treatment has now become possible. Thermal ablation of pathological tissue, local drug delivery using thermosensitive micro-carriers and controlled transgene expression using thermosensitive promoters have recently been demonstrated with this unique technology. Based on these experiments combined focused ultrasound and MRI thermometry holds promise for future oncological diagnostics and treatment. In this paper, we review some of the recent methodological developments as well as experimental and first clinical studies using this approach.