RIMPAC, which marks its 28th anniversary this year, is a drill conducted by the U.S. Navy to enhance the ability to protect maritime routes and interoperate allies' military capabilities among Pacific island countries

Live Cell Instrument (LCI) is a highly experienced company specialized in developing and manufacturing scientific instruments and laboratory consumables to the bio industry.

Mr. Griff channels years of varied expertise into his work with Massachusetts General Hospital

SaintView PACS, a quick and accurate system to integrate with medical AI

A Cone Beam Computer Tomography (CBCT) is a 3D X-ray technology that allows the implant surgeon visualize a patient's jaw bone three dimensionally in order to accurately measure the width and length of the implants and replace the missing teeth.

The format change to Loud Media's WABY brings 90s and 2000s hard rock to the airwaves in the Capitol Region on its new frequency, 93.9 FM

Drug discovery and development through live cell imaging

Advanced technology to help grow your business in 2023.

Italian-American scientist Dario Crosetto expresses his gratitude to the 2024 IEEE-NSS-MIC-RTSD General Chair and NSS Chairs for supporting Transparency in Science and calls for other scientific institutions to join them

The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the denial of a request to expand the scope of a worker’s claim and for additional imaging. Case: Cook v. Cecil I. Walker Machinery Co.,…

What are the exact sizes of galaxies, and are they bigger than they appear in deep space images? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy

What are the exact sizes of galaxies, and are they bigger than they appear in deep space images? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy

What are the exact sizes of galaxies, and are they bigger than they appear in deep space images? This is what a recent study published in Nature Astronomy

The cost and lead times for Germanium optical components have skyrocketed.

The packaging solutions will be on display at Pack Expo Las Vegas Booth N-10942, September 11-13. 

Framework for telemedicine systems using ultra-high definition imaging

Prizewinner Develops Inclusive Neuroimaging Technology  AAAS

Location: Sciences Library Library- RC78.7.D53B56 2012

Location: Electronic Resource- 

Researchers found that Toxoplasma gondii increased the host cell’s metabolic activity, offering insights into potential treatment strategies. 

Connexin (Cx) protein forms hemichannels and gap junctional channels, which play diverse and profound roles in human physiology and diseases. Gap junctions are arrays of intercellular channels formed by the docking of two hemichannels from adjacent cells. Each hexameric hemichannel contains the same or different Cx isoform. Although homomeric Cxs forms have been largely described functionally and structurally, the stoichiometry and arrangement of heteromeric Cx channels remain unknown. The latter, however, are widely expressed in human tissues and variation might have important implications on channel function. Investigating properties of heteromeric Cx channels is challenging considering the high number of potential subunit arrangements and stoichiometries, even when only combining two Cx isoforms. To tackle this problem, we engineered an HA tag onto Cx26 or Cx30 subunits and imaged hemichannels that were liganded by Fab-epitope antibody fragments via atomic force microscopy. For Cx26-HA/Cx30 or Cx30-HA/Cx26 heteromeric channels, the Fab-HA binding distribution was binomial with a maximum of three Fab-HA bound. Furthermore, imaged Cx26/Cx30-HA triple liganded by Fab-HA showed multiple arrangements that can be derived from the law of total probabilities. Atomic force microscopy imaging of ringlike structures of Cx26/Cx30-HA hemichannels confirmed these findings and also detected a polydisperse distribution of stoichiometries. Our results indicate a dominant subunit stoichiometry of 3Cx26:3Cx30 with the most abundant subunit arrangement of Cx26-Cx26-Cx30-Cx26-Cx30-Cx30. To our knowledge, this is the first time that the molecular architecture of heteromeric Cx channels has been revealed, thus providing the basis to explore the functional effect of these channels in biology.

PREAMBLE

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) is an international scientific and professional organization founded in 1954 to promote the science, technology, and practical application of nuclear medicine. The European Association of Nuclear Medicine (EANM) is a professional nonprofit medical association that facilitates communication worldwide between individuals pursuing clinical and research excellence in nuclear medicine. The EANM was founded in 1985. The EANM was founded in 1985. SNMMI and EANM members are physicians, technologists, and scientists specializing in the research and practice of nuclear medicine.

The SNMMI and EANM will periodically define new guidelines for nuclear medicine practice to help advance the science of nuclear medicine and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the world. Existing practice guidelines will be reviewed for revision or renewal, as appropriate, on their fifth anniversary or sooner, if indicated.

Each practice guideline, representing a policy statement by the SNMMI/EANM, has undergone a thorough consensus process in which it has been subjected to extensive review. The SNMMI and EANM recognize that the safe and effective use of diagnostic nuclear medicine imaging requires specific training, skills, and techniques, as described in each document. Reproduction or modification of the published practice guideline by those entities not providing these services is not authorized.

These guidelines are an educational tool designed to assist practitioners in providing appropriate care for patients. They are not inflexible rules or requirements of practice and are not intended, nor should they be used, to establish a legal standard of care. For these reasons and those set forth below, both the SNMMI and the EANM caution against the use of these guidelines in litigation in which the clinical decisions of a practitioner are called into question.

The ultimate judgment regarding the propriety of any specific procedure or course of action must be made by the physician or medical physicist in light of all the circumstances presented. Thus, there is no implication that an approach differing from the guidelines, standing alone, is below the standard of care. To the contrary, a conscientious practitioner may responsibly adopt a course of action different from that set forth in the guidelines when, in the reasonable judgment of the practitioner, such course of action is indicated by the condition of the patient, limitations of available resources, or advances in knowledge or technology subsequent to publication of the guidelines.

The practice of medicine includes both the art and the science of the prevention, diagnosis, alleviation, and treatment of disease. The variety and complexity of human conditions make it impossible to always reach the most appropriate diagnosis or to predict with certainty a particular response to treatment.

Therefore, it should be recognized that adherence to these guidelines will not ensure an accurate diagnosis or a successful outcome. All that should be expected is that the practitioner will follow a reasonable course of action based on current knowledge, available resources, and the needs of the patient to deliver effective and safe medical care. The sole purpose of these guidelines is to assist practitioners in achieving this objective.

Visual Abstract

Visual Abstract

Visual Abstract

Visual Abstract

Colin T. McDowell
Nov 24, 2020; 0:RA120.002256v1-mcp.RA120.002256
Research

Douglas A. Andres
Dec 1, 2020; 61:1537-1537
Images in Lipid Research

Astrid M. Moerman
Dec 23, 2020; 0:jlr.RA120000974v1-jlr.RA120000974
Research Articles

Amanda D.V. MacCannell
Nov 18, 2020; 0:jlr.ILR120001204v1-jlr.ILR120001204
Images in Lipid Research

Carotid atherosclerosis is a risk factor for ischemic stroke, one of the main causes of mortality and disability worldwide. The disease is characterized by plaques, heterogeneous deposits of lipids and necrotic debris in the vascular wall, which grow gradually and may remain asymptomatic for decades. However, at some point a plaque can evolve to a high-risk plaque phenotype, which may trigger a cerebrovascular event. Lipids play a key role in the development and progression of atherosclerosis, but the nature of their involvement is not fully understood. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry imaging, we visualized the distribution of approximately 200 different lipid signals, originating of > 90 uniquely assigned species, in 106 tissue sections of 12 human carotid atherosclerotic plaques. We performed unsupervised classification of the mass spectrometry dataset, as well as a histology-directed multivariate analysis. These data allowed us to extract the spatial lipid patterns associated with morphological plaque features in advanced plaques from a symptomatic population, revealing spatial lipid patterns in atherosclerosis and their relation to histological tissue type. The abundances of sphingomyelin and oxidized cholesteryl ester species were elevated specifically in necrotic intima areas, while diacylglycerols and triacylglycerols were spatially correlated to areas containing the coagulation protein fibrin. These results demonstrate a clear co-localization between plaque features and specific lipid classes, as well as individual lipid species in high-risk atherosclerotic plaques.

The early detection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is a complex clinical obstacle yet is key to improving the overall likelihood of patient survival. Current and prospective carbohydrate biomarkers CA19-9 and sTRA are sufficient for surveilling disease progression yet are not approved for delineating PDAC from other abdominal cancers and non-cancerous pancreatic pathologies. To further understand these glycan epitopes, an imaging mass spectrometry approach was utilized to assess the N-glycome of the human pancreas and pancreatic cancer in a cohort of PDAC patients represented by tissue microarrays and whole tissue sections. Orthogonally, these same tissues were characterized by multi-round immunofluorescence which defined expression of CA19-9 and sTRA as well as other lectins towards carbohydrate epitopes with the potential to improve PDAC diagnosis. These analyses revealed distinct differences not only in N-glycan spatial localization across both healthy and diseased tissues but importantly between different biomarker-categorized tissue samples. Unique sulfated bi-antennary N-glycans were detected specifically in normal pancreatic islets. N-glycans from CA19-9 expressing tissues tended to be bi-, tri- and tetra-antennary structures with both core and terminal fucose residues and bisecting N-acetylglucosamines. These N-glycans were detected in less abundance in sTRA-expressing tumor tissues, which favored tri- and tetra-antennary structures with polylactosamine extensions. Increased sialylation of N-glycans was detected in all tumor tissues. A candidate new biomarker derived from IMS was further explored by fluorescence staining with selected lectins on the same tissues. The lectins confirmed the expression of the epitopes in cancer cells and revealed different tumor-associated staining patterns between glycans with bisecting GlcNAc and those with terminal GlcNAc. Thus, the combination of lectin-IHC and IMS techniques produces more complete information for tumor classification than the individual analyses alone. These findings potentiate the development of early assessment technologies to rapidly and specifically identify PDAC in the clinic that may directly impact patient outcomes.

Methods to shorten [¹⁸F]FDG Patlak PET imaging procedures ranging from 65–90 to 20–30 min after injection, using a population-averaged input function (PIF) scaled to patient-specific image-derived input function (IDIF) values, were recently evaluated. The aim of the present study was to explore the feasibility of ultrashort 10-min [¹⁸F]FDG Patlak imaging at 55–65 min after injection using a PIF combined with direct Patlak reconstructions to provide reliable quantitative accuracy of lung tumor uptake, compared with a full-duration 65-min acquisition using an IDIF. Methods: Patients underwent a 65-min dynamic PET acquisition on a long-axial-field-of-view (LAFOV) Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT scanner. Subsequently, direct Patlak reconstructions and image-based (with reconstructed dynamic images) Patlak analyses were performed using both the IDIF (time to relative kinetic equilibrium between blood and tissue concentration (t*) = 30 min) and a scaled PIF at 30–60 min after injection. Next, direct Patlak reconstructions were performed on the system console using only the last 10 min of the acquisition, that is, from 55 to 65 min after injection, and a scaled PIF using maximum crystal ring difference settings of both 85 and 322. Tumor lesion and healthy-tissue uptake was quantified and compared between the differently obtained parametric images to assess quantitative accuracy. Results: Good agreement was obtained between direct- and image-based Patlak analyses using the IDIF (t* = 30 min) and scaled PIF at 30–60 min after injection, performed using the different approaches, with no more than 8.8% deviation in tumor influx rate value (K_i) (mean difference ranging from –0.0022 to 0.0018 mL/[min x g]). When direct Patlak reconstruction was performed on the system console, excellent agreement was found between the use of a scaled PIF at 30–60 min after injection versus 55–65 min after injection, with 2.4% deviation in tumor K_i (median difference, –0.0018 mL/[min x g]; range, –0.0047 to 0.0036 mL/[min x g]). For different maximum crystal ring difference settings using the scan time interval of 55–65 min after injection, only a 0.5% difference (median difference, 0.0000 mL/[min x g]; range, –0.0004 to 0.0013 mL/[min x g]) in tumor K_i was found. Conclusion: Ultrashort whole-body [¹⁸F]FDG Patlak imaging is feasible on an LAFOV Biograph Vision Quadra PET/CT system without loss of quantitative accuracy to assess lung tumor uptake compared with a full-duration 65-min acquisition. The ultrashort 10-min direct Patlak reconstruction with PIF allows for its implementation in clinical practice.

Mutations of p53 protein occur in over half of all cancers, with profound effects on tumor biology. We present the first—to our knowledge—method for noninvasive visualization of p53 in tumor tissue in vivo, using SPECT, in 3 different models of cancer. Methods: Anti-p53 monoclonal antibodies were conjugated to the cell-penetrating transactivator of transcription (TAT) peptide and a metal ion chelator and then radiolabeled with ¹¹¹In to allow SPECT imaging. ¹¹¹In-anti-p53-TAT conjugates were retained longer in cells overexpressing p53-specific than non–p53-specific ¹¹¹In-mIgG (mouse IgG from murine plasma)-TAT controls, but not in null p53 cells. Results: In vivo SPECT imaging showed enhanced uptake of ¹¹¹In-anti-p53-TAT, versus ¹¹¹In-mIgG-TAT, in high-expression p53^R175H and medium-expression wild-type p53 but not in null p53 tumor xenografts. The results were confirmed in mice bearing genetically engineered KPC mouse–derived pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors. Imaging with ¹¹¹In-anti-p53-TAT was possible in KPC mice bearing spontaneous p53^R172H pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma tumors. Conclusion: We demonstrate the feasibility of noninvasive in vivo molecular imaging of p53 in tumor tissue using a radiolabeled TAT-modified monoclonal antibody.

To date, the imaging and diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) rely on CT/MRI, which have well-known limitations. Glypican-3 (GPC3) is a cell surface receptor highly expressed by HCC but not by normal or cirrhotic liver tissue. Here we report initial clinical results of GPC3-targeted PET imaging with [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-DOTA-RYZ-GPC3 (RAYZ-8009), a peptide-based GPC3 ligand in patients with known or suspected HCC. Methods: [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-RAYZ-8009 was obtained after labeling the peptide precursor with ⁶⁸Ga from a ⁶⁸Ge/⁶⁸Ga generator and heating at 90°C for 10 min followed by sterile filtration. After administration of [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-RAYZ-8009, a dynamic or static PET/CT scan was acquired between 45 min and 4 h after administration. Radiotracer uptake was measured by SUVs for the following tissues: suspected or actual HCC or hepatoblastoma lesions, non–tumor-bearing liver, renal cortex, blood pool in the left ventricle, and gastric fundus. Additionally, tumor–to–healthy-liver ratios (TLRs) were calculated. Results: Twenty-four patients (5 patients in the dynamic protocol; 19 patients in the static protocol) were scanned. No adverse events occurred. Two patients had no lesion detected and did not have HCC during follow-up. In total, 50 lesions were detected and analyzed. The mean SUV_max of these lesions was 19.6 (range, 2.7–95.3), and the mean SUV_mean was 10.1 (range, 1.0–49.2) at approximately 60 min after administration. Uptake in non–tumor-bearing liver and blood pool rapidly decreased over time and became negligible 45 min after administration (mean SUV_mean, <1.6), with a continuous decline to 4 h after administration (mean SUV_mean, 1.0). The opposite was observed for HCC lesions, for which SUVs and TLRs continuously increased for up to 4 h after administration. In individual lesion analysis, TLR was the highest between 60 and 120 min after administration. Uptake in the gastric fundus gradually increased for up to 45 min (to an SUV_max of 31.3) and decreased gradually afterward. Conclusion: [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-RAYZ-8009 is safe and allows for high-contrast imaging of GPC3-positive HCC, with rapid clearance from most normal organs. Thereby, [⁶⁸Ga]Ga-RAYZ-8009 is promising for HCC diagnosis and staging. Further research is warranted.

Our purpose was to prospectively assess the distribution of NETPET scores in well-differentiated (WD) grade 2 and 3 gastroenteropancreatic (GEP) neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) and to determine the impact of the NETPET score on clinical management. Methods: This single-arm, institutional ethics review board–approved prospective study included 40 patients with histologically proven WD GEP NETs. ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE PET and ¹⁸F-FDG PET were performed within 21 d of each other. NETPET scores were evaluated qualitatively by 2 reviewers, with up to 10 marker lesions selected for each patient. The quantitative parameters that were evaluated included marker lesion SUV_max for each tracer; ¹⁸F-FDG/⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE SUV_max ratios; functional tumor volume (FTV) and metabolic tumor volume (MTV) on ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE and ¹⁸F-FDG PET, respectively; and FTV/MTV ratios. The treatment plan before and after ¹⁸F-FDG PET was recorded. Results: There were 22 men and 18 women (mean age, 60.8 y) with grade 2 (n = 24) or grade 3 (n = 16) tumors and a mean Ki-67 index of 16.1%. NETPET scores of P0, P1, P2A, P2B, P3B, P4B, and P5 were documented in 2 (5%), 5 (12.5%), 5 (12.5%) 20 (50%), 2 (5%), 4 (10%), and 2 (5%) patients, respectively. No association was found between the SUV_max of target lesions on ⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE and the SUV_max of target lesions on ¹⁸F-FDG PET (P = 0.505). ¹⁸F-FDG/⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE SUV_max ratios were significantly lower for patients with low (P1–P2) primary NETPET scores than for those with high (P3–P5) primary NETPET scores (mean ± SD, 0.20 ± 0.13 and 1.68 ± 1.44, respectively; P < 0.001). MTV on ¹⁸F-FDG PET was significantly lower for low primary NETPET scores than for high ones (mean ± SD, 464 ± 601 cm³ and 66 ± 114 cm³, respectively; P = 0.005). A change in the type of management was observed in 42.5% of patients after ¹⁸F-FDG PET, with the most common being a change from systemic therapy to peptide receptor radionuclide therapy and from debulking surgery to systemic therapy. Conclusion: There was a heterogeneous distribution of NETPET scores in patients with WD grade 2 and 3 GEP NETs, with more than 1 in 5 patients having a high NETPET score and a frequent change in management after ¹⁸F-FDG PET. Quantitative parameters including ¹⁸F-FDG/⁶⁸Ga-DOTATATE SUV_max ratios in target lesions and FTV/MTV ratios can discriminate between patients with high and low NETPET scores.

Bispecific antibodies (bsAbs) are engineered to target 2 different epitopes simultaneously. About 75% of the 16 clinically approved bsAbs have entered the clinic internationally since 2022. Hence, research on biomedical imaging of various radiolabeled bsAb scaffolds may serve to improve patient selection for bsAb therapy. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of recent advances in radiolabeled bsAbs for imaging via PET or SPECT. We compare direct targeting and pretargeting approaches in preclinical and clinical studies in oncologic research. Furthermore, we show preclinical applications of imaging bsAbs in neurodegenerative diseases. Finally, we offer perspectives on the future directions of imaging bsAbs based on their challenges and opportunities.

Genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) allow for the noninvasive evaluation of neuronal activity in vivo, and imaging GECIs in Drosophila has become commonplace for understanding neural functions and connectivity in this system. GECIs can also be used as read-outs for studying sleep in this model organism. Here, we describe a methodology for tracking the activity of neurons in the fly brain using a two-photon (2p) microscopy system. This method can be adapted to perform functional studies of neural activity in Drosophila under both spontaneous and evoked conditions, as well as during spontaneous or induced sleep. We first describe a tethering and surgical procedure that allows survival under the microscopy conditions required for long-term recordings. We then outline the steps and reagents required for optogenetic activation of sleep-promoting neurons while simultaneously recording neural activity from the fly brain. We also describe the procedure for recording from two different locations—namely, the top of the head (e.g., to record mushroom body calyx activity) or the back of the head (e.g., to record central complex activity). We also provide different strategies for recording from GECIs confined to the cell body versus the entire neuron. Finally, we describe the steps required for analyzing the multidimensional data that can be acquired. In all, this protocol shows how to perform calcium imaging experiments in tethered flies, with a focus on acquiring spontaneous and induced sleep data.

In insects, oocyte resorption (oosorption) or follicular atresia is one of the key physiological processes and evolutionary strategies used to optimize reproductive fitness. Mosquitoes are ideal model organisms for studying egg maturation in arthropods, as their follicle development is initiated only following the ingestion of a blood meal, followed by a carefully orchestrated series of hormonally regulated events leading to egg maturation. A cohort of approximately 100 follicles per mosquito ovary begin developing synchronously. However, a significant fraction of follicles ultimately undergo apoptosis and oosorption, especially when available resources from the blood meal are limited. Therefore, simple, rapid, and reliable techniques to accurately evaluate follicular atresia are necessary to understand mechanisms underlying follicle development in insects. This protocol describes how to detect apoptotic follicle cells within the Aedes aegypti mosquito ovaries using a commercially available fluorescent-labeled inhibitor of caspases (FLICA). Caspases are key players in animal apoptosis. In this assay, the FLICA reagent enters the intracellular compartment of follicles in dissected mosquito ovaries and covalently binds to active caspases. The bound reagent remains within the cell and its fluorescent signal can be observed by confocal microscopy. Although this method was specifically developed for visualizing apoptotic ovarian follicles during Ae. aegypti mosquito egg development, it should be applicable to other mosquito tissues that undergo caspase-mediated program cell death in a time-dependent manner.

Sleep is likely a whole-brain phenomenon, with most of the brain probably benefiting from this state of decreased arousal. Recent advances in our understanding of some potential sleep functions, such as metabolite clearance and synaptic homeostasis, make it evident why the whole brain is likely impacted by sleep: All neurons have synapses, and all neurons produce waste metabolites. Sleep experiments in the fly Drosophila melanogaster suggest that diverse sleep functions appear to be conserved across all animals. Studies of brain activity during sleep in humans typically involve multidimensional data sets, such as those acquired by electroencephalograms (EEGs) or functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and these whole-brain read-outs often reveal important qualities of different sleep stages, such as changes in frequency dynamics or connectivity. Recently, various techniques have been developed that allow for the recording of neural activity simultaneously across multiple regions of the fly brain. These whole-brain-recording approaches will be important for better understanding sleep physiology and function, as they provide a more comprehensive view of neural dynamics during sleep and wake in a relevant model system. Here, we present a brief summary of some of the findings derived from sleep activity recording studies in sleeping Drosophila flies and discuss the value of electrophysiological versus calcium imaging techniques. Although these involve very different preparations, they both highlight the value of multidimensional data for studying sleep in this model system, like the use of both EEG and fMRI in humans.

Medical imaging is no longer in Kansas, Toto, as a team led by Penn State researchers brings traditional black and white diagnostic images of X-rays and traditional CT scans into technicolor. The researchers developed novel contrast agents that target two proteins implicated in osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease commonly characterized as wear-and-tear arthritis.

NEW CASTLE – The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) announced today enhancements to the CostAware website, designed to help Delawareans understand how their health care dollars are spent by comparing the variation of average costs for different episodes of care and medical services based on actual medical and pharmacy claims in Delaware. […]

Title: Too Much Radiation From Medical Imaging?
Category: Health News
Created: 8/27/2009 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/27/2009 12:00:00 AM