Low-Level Evidence Used to Substantiate Insurance Coverage Policies for Knee and Hip Arthroplasty.

Background: Access to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) has become increasingly regulated by health care insurance providers that require specific criteria be met prior to authorizing surgery as medically necessary. The purpose of this study was to examine references from coverage policies and assess whether they justify the presurgery criteria mandated by insurance providers for approval of total joint arthroplasty in patients who have symptomatic knee and hip degenerative disease.

Methods: The largest private commercial insurance providers in the United States were identified, of which nine had publicly accessible coverage policies for TKA and THA.

Current and Developing Lymphatic Imaging Approaches for Elucidation of Functional Mechanisms and Disease Progression.

Study of the lymphatic system, compared to that of the other body systems, has been historically neglected. While scientists and clinicians have, in recent decades, gained a better appreciation of the functionality of the lymphatics as well as their role in associated diseases (and consequently investigated these topics further in their experimental work), there is still much left to be understood of the lymphatic system. In this review article, we discuss the role lymphatic imaging techniques have played in this recent series of advancements and how new imaging techniques can help bolster this wave of discovery.

Expanding the Multiplexing Capabilities of Raman Imaging to Reveal Highly Specific Molecular Expression and Enable Spatial Profiling.

Profiling the heterogeneous landscape of cell types and biomolecules is rapidly being adopted to address current imperative research questions. Precision medicine seeks advancements in molecular spatial profiling techniques with highly multiplexed imaging capabilities and subcellular resolution, which remains an extremely complex task. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) imaging offers promise through the utilization of nanoparticle-based contrast agents that exhibit narrow spectral features and molecular specificity.

A colorful approach towards developing new nano-based imaging contrast agents for improved cancer detection.

Providing physicians with new imaging agents to help detect cancer with better sensitivity and specificity has the potential to significantly improve patient outcomes. Development of new imaging agents could offer improved early cancer detection during routine screening or help surgeons identify tumor margins for surgical resection. In this study, we evaluate the optical properties of a colorful class of dyes and pigments that humans routinely encounter.