A Framework for Classification and Segmentation of Branch Retinal Artery Occlusion in SD-OCT.

Branch retinal artery occlusion (BRAO) is an ocular emergency, which could lead to blindness. Quantitative analysis of the BRAO region in the retina is necessary for the assessment of the severity of retinal ischemia. In this paper, a fully automatic framework was proposed to segment BRAO regions based on 3D spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first automatic 3D BRAO segmentation framework. First, the input 3D image is automatically classified into BRAO of acute phase and BRAO of chronic phase or normal retina using an AdaBoost classifier based on combining local structural, intensity, textural features with our new feature distribution analyzing strategy. Then, BRAO regions of acute phase and chronic phase are segmented separately. A thickness model is built to segment BRAO in the chronic phase. While for segmenting BRAO in the acute phase, a two-step segmentation strategy is performed: rough initialization and refine segmentation. The proposed method was tested on SD-OCT images of 35 patients (12 BRAO acute phase, 11 BRAO chronic phase, and 12 normal eyes) using the leave-one-out strategy. The classification accuracy for BRAO acute phase, BRAO chronic phase, and normal retina were 100%, 90.9%, and 91.7%, respectively. The overall true positive volume fraction (TPVF) and false positive volume fraction (FPVF) for the acute phase were 91.1% and 5.5% and for the chronic phase were 92.7% and 8.4%, respectively.

Interference Elimination of Matrix Magnesium Sulfate on the Microbial Limit Test for Urea Cream / 中国药师

Objective:To eliminate the interference of matrix in urea cream on the microbial limit test. Methods: A certain a-mount of magnesium sulfate was added to the test solution followed by stirring and placing sometime to make the cream layering, and the water layer was used for the microbial limit detection. Results:After magnesium sulfate was added to urea cream, microbial limit test was not affected by the matrix. The average recovery of Escherichia oli, Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Candida albicans and Aspergillus niger was 96. 00%, 97. 00%, 100. 00%, 99. 00% and 101. 00%, respectively. The negative and positive results of Psudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus auress were reliable. Conclusion:In the detection of microbial limit for urea cream, mag-nesium sulfate can be used as a good auxiliary agent to make the detection method more convenient and reliable.

CT-guided percutaneous intervention combined with rehabilitation integration treatment for lumbar disc herniation / 中国组织工程研究

BACKGROUND:CT-guided percutaneous intervention and rehabilitation techniques are both classic programs for diagnosis and treatment of lumbar disc herniation. Is the combination of CT-guided percutaneous intervention and rehabilitation techniques preferential y used for treatment of lumbar disc herniation? OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the curative effect of CT-guided interventional injection combined with rehabilitation integration treatment for lumbar disc herniation and to analyze prognostic factors. METHODS:Eighty-eight patients with lumbar disc herniation were subjected to CT-guided interventional injection combined with rehabilitation integration treatment from May 2010 to May 2013. Injection medicine consisted of betamethasone, tanshinone Ⅱ A sulfonate, neurotropin, normal saline and iohexol. Rehabilitation integration treatment included traction, manipulation, acupuncture, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and thermal magnon. Macnab criteria and Chinese version of Oswestry low back pain disability questionnaire were used to assess the curative effects in comparison with the 112 patients receiving only CT-guided interventional injection that were reported previously. The prognostic factors, such as age, disease course time and herniation type of target segment were testified by correlation analysis. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Total y 77 patients were completely fol owed up for 1 year. There were excellent outcomes in 64 cases, while favorable outcomes in 7 cases, fair outcomes in 5 case, poor outcome in 1 case, with a better outcome rate of 92%.There was a significantly decreased trend in Oswestry disability Index scores at 1, 6, 12 months during the fol ow-ups (P0.05). The young group (≤ 45 years) had better outcomes than the older group (>45 years;P0.05). These findings indicate that CT-guided interventional injection combined with rehabilitation integration treatment could relieve lower back pain and radical leg pain effectively and decrease life disability level.

A new ST segment analysis scheme for Holter system / 生物医学工程学杂志

A new ST segment analysis scheme is developed for helping the doctors to browse the electrocardiogram (ECG) signals rapidly and then give a correct diagnosis. The preprocessing consists of baseline wander attenuation using median filter, high frequency noise rejection using order statistic filter, and then QRS complexes detection using wavelet analysis. In this paper, after the beginnings and the ends of the ST segments are mutually chosen by doctor, we compute the total deviations between ST segments and the modified baselines using mean value, and then plot the whole trend of the deviations. Doctors can browse the original ECG signals handily by our browsing system, and then give a diagnosis colligating other clinic features of the patient.

The diagnosis of pancreatic cancer / 中国普通外科杂志

Objective This single-institution study was to evaluate various diagnostic means for patients with pancreatic cancer. Methods Three hundred and twenty-one patients with pancreatic cancer admitted into our hospital between Jan. 1990 and Dec. 2000 were enrolled, and the clinical data were analyzed retrospectively. Results The most common symptoms of patients with cancer in the head, body and tail and whole pancreas were abdominal pain (55.6%,81.0%,87.5%,respectively) and flatulance (27.8%,39.2%,50.0%,respectively).CA 19-9 was positive in 89.7% of all cases. The positive rate of image examination was 92.0% with MRI, 91.7% with angiography, 84.3% with CT, 80.1% with B ultrasound and 46.7% with GI series. Conclusions Abdominal pain and fullness are the most common symptoms for patients with cancer in the head, body and tail and whole pancreas.CA 19-9 testing presents valuable clues for the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. All patients aged above 40 who seek medical advice for abdominal pain and flatulance should undergo ultrasound examination and CT scanning.