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Objective.The output of a deep learning (DL) auto-segmentation application should be reviewed, corrected if needed and approved before being used clinically. This verification procedure is labour-intensive, time-consuming and user-dependent, which potentially leads to significant errors with impact on the overall treatment quality. Additionally, when the time needed to correct auto-segmentations approaches the time to delineate target and organs at risk from scratch, the usability of the DL model can be questioned. Therefore, an automated quality assurance framework was developed with the aim to detect in advance aberrant auto-segmentations.Approach. Five organs (prostate, bladder, anorectum, femoral head left and right) were auto-delineated on CT acquisitions for 48 prostate patients by an in-house trained primary DL model. An experienced radiation oncologist assessed the correctness of the model output and categorised the auto-segmentations into two classes whether minor or major adaptations were needed. Suincrease the efficiency of the radiotherapy contouring workflow.Presumably, intensity-modulated proton radiotherapy (IMPT) is the most powerful form of proton radiotherapy. In the current state of the art, IMPT beam configurations (i.e. the number of beams and their directions) are, in general, chosen subjectively based on prior experience and practicality. Beam configuration optimization (BCO) for IMPT could, in theory, significantly enhance IMPT's therapeutic potential. However, BCO is complex and highly computer resource-intensive. Some algorithms for BCO have been developed for intensity-modulated photon therapy (IMRT). They are rarely used clinically mainly because the large number of beams typically employed in IMRT renders BCO essentially unnecessary. Moreover, in the newer form of IMRT, volumetric modulated arc therapy, there are no individual static beams. BCO is of greater importance for IMPT because it typically employs a very small number of beams (2-4) and, when the number of beams is small, BCO is critical for improving plan quality. However, the unique properties and requirements of protons, particularly in IMPT, make BCO challenging. Protons are more sensitive than photons to anatomic changes, exhibit variable relative biological effectiveness along their paths, and, as recently discovered, may spare the immune system. Such factors must be considered in IMPT BCO, though doing so would make BCO more resource intensive and make it more challenging to extend BCO algorithms developed for IMRT to IMPT. A limited amount of research in IMPT BCO has been conducted; however, considerable additional work is needed for its further development to make it truly effective and computationally practical. This article aims to provide a review of existing BCO algorithms, most of which were developed for IMRT, and addresses important requirements specific to BCO for IMPT optimization that necessitate the modification of existing approaches or the development of new effective and efficient ones.Radiomics is an advanced image-processing framework, which extracts image features and considers them as biomarkers towards personalized medicine. Applications include disease detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy response assessment/prediction. As radiation therapy aims for further individualized treatments, radiomics could play a critical role in various steps before, during and after treatment. Elucidation of the concept of radiomics-guided radiation therapy (RGRT) is the aim of this review, attempting to highlight opportunities and challenges underlying the use of radiomics to guide clinicians and physicists towards more effective radiation treatments. This work identifies the value of RGRT in various steps of radiotherapy from patient selection to follow-up, and subsequently provides recommendations to improve future radiotherapy using quantitative imaging features.

The human myotome is fundamental to the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders. However, this map was largely constructed decades ago, and its breadth, variability, and reliability remain poorly described, limiting its practical use.

The authors used a novel method to reconstruct the myotome map in patients (n = 42) undergoing placement of dorsal root ganglion electrodes for the treatment of chronic pain. They electrically stimulated nerve roots (n = 79) in the intervertebral foramina at T12-S1 and measured triggered electromyography responses.

L4 and L5 stimulation resulted in quadriceps muscle (62% and 33% of stimulations, respectively) and tibialis anterior (TA) muscle (25% and 67%, respectively) activation, while S1 stimulation resulted in gastrocnemius muscle activation (46%). However, L5 and S1 both resulted in abductor hallucis (AH) muscle activation (17% and 31%), L5 stimulation resulted in gastrocnemius muscle stimulation (42%), and S1 stimulation in TA muscle activation (38%). The ahis finding is important to prevent misdiagnosis of radicular pathologies.

The aim of this study was to analyze risk factors and avoidance techniques for proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) and proximal junctional failure (PJF) in the upper thoracic spine with an emphasis on bone mineral density (BMD) as estimated by Hounsfield units (HU).

A retrospective chart review identified patients at least 50 years of age who underwent instrumented fusion extending from the pelvis to an upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) between T1 and T6 and had a preoperative CT, pre- and postoperative radiographs, and a minimum follow-up of 12 months. HU were measured in the UIV, the vertebral body cephalad to the UIV (UIV+1), and the L3 and L4 vertebral bodies. Numerous perioperative variables were collected, including basic demographics, smoking and steroid use, preoperative osteoporosis treatment, multiple frailty indices, use of a proximal junctional tether, UIV soft landing, preoperative dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, spinopelvic parameters, UIV screw tip distance to the superior endplate, UIV pe (p = 0.005). Patients with < 147 HU (n = 27), 147-195 HU (n = 27), and > 195 HU (n = 27) at the UIV/UIV+1 had PJK/PJF rates of 59%, 33%, and 7%, respectively.

In patients with upper thoracic-to-pelvis spinal reconstruction, lower HU at the UIV and UIV+1 were independently associated with PJK and PJF, with an optimal cutoff of 159 HU that maximizes sensitivity and specificity.

In patients with upper thoracic-to-pelvis spinal reconstruction, lower HU at the UIV and UIV+1 were independently associated with PJK and PJF, with an optimal cutoff of 159 HU that maximizes sensitivity and specificity.

Caregiver stress from a child's diagnosis can impact a caregiver's ability to participate in treatment decisions, comply, and manage long-term illness. The aim of this study was to compare caregiver stress in children with craniosynostosis at diagnosis and postoperatively.

This prospective study included caregivers of pediatric patients with craniosynostosis receiving operative intervention. click here Demographics and Parenting Stress Index, Short Form (PSI-SF) and Pediatric Inventory for Parents (PIP) surveys at baseline (preoperatively) and 3 and 6 months postoperatively were completed. PSI-SF scores between 15 and 80 are considered normal, with > 85 being clinically significant and requiring follow-up. Higher PIP scores represent increased frequency and difficulty of stressful events due to the child's illness. Pairwise comparisons were performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed to assess for PSI-SF and PIP predictors.

Of 106 caregivers (84% Caucasian), there were 62 6 months. Intervention targeting caregiver stress should be explored to maintain lower stress observed at 3 months after surgery.

Stress levels ranged from normal to clinically significant in the caregivers, with sex, uninsured status, and open repair predicting higher stress. Stress decreased at 3 months postoperatively before increasing at 6 months. Intervention targeting caregiver stress should be explored to maintain lower stress observed at 3 months after surgery.

This study aimed to examine the association of preoperative intratumoral susceptibility signal (ITSS) grade with hemorrhage after stereotactic biopsy (STB).

The authors retrospectively reviewed 66 patients who underwent STB in their institution. Preoperative factors including age, sex, platelet count, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio, activated thromboplastin time, antiplatelet agent use, history of diabetes mellitus and hypertension, target location, anesthesia type, and ITSS data were recorded. ITSS was defined as a dot-like or fine linear low signal within a tumor on susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) and was graded using a 3-point scale grade 1, no ITSS within the lesion; grade 2, 1-10 ITSSs; and grade 3, ≥ 11 ITSSs. Postoperative final tumor pathology was also reviewed. The association between preoperative variables and the size of postoperative hemorrhage was examined.

Thirty-four patients were men and 32 were women. The mean age was 66.6 years. The most common tumor location wasage > 10 mm in diameter were 2.57 times higher in patients with grade 2 ITSS (95% CI 0.31-21.1) and 9.73 times higher in patients with grade 3 ITSS (95% CI 1.57-60.5).

ITSS grade on SWI is associated with size of postoperative hemorrhage after STB.

ITSS grade on SWI is associated with size of postoperative hemorrhage after STB.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating form of stroke with no proven treatment. However, minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation is a promising potential therapeutic option for ICH. Herein, the authors examine factors associated with long-term functional independence (modified Rankin Scale [mRS] score ≤ 2) in patients with spontaneous ICH who underwent minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation.

Patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH who had presented to a large urban healthcare system from December 2015 to October 2018 were triaged to a central hospital for minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation. Inclusion criteria for this study included age ≥ 18 years, hematoma volume ≥ 15 ml, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≥ 6, premorbid mRS score ≤ 3, and time from ictus ≤ 72 hours. Demographic, clinical, and radiographic factors previously shown to impact functional outcome in ICH were included in a retrospective univariate analysis with patients dichotomized into independene protocols for future clinical trials.

Decreased bone mineral density as measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) has been reported to be associated with cage subsidence following transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). However, DEXA is not often available or routinely performed before surgery. A novel MRI-based vertebral bone quality (VBQ) score has been developed and reported to be correlated with DEXA T-scores. The authors investigated the ability of the VBQ score to predict cage subsidence and other risk factors associated with this complication.

In this retrospective study, the authors reviewed the records of patients who had undergone single-level TLIF from March 2014 to October 2015 and had a follow-up of more than 2 years. Cage subsidence was measured as postoperative disc height loss and was graded according to the system proposed by Marchi et al. The MRI-based VBQ score was measured on T1-weighted images. Univariable analysis and multivariable binary logistic regression analysis were performed. Ad hoc analysis with receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to assess the predictive ability of the significant continuous variables.