Wide-field choriocapillaris mapping with 3.4 MHz adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography angiography.

The human choriocapillaris (CC) plays an essential role in supporting the overlying photoreceptor and retinal pigment epithelial cells and in maintaining overall retinal health. Disruption of CC structure and function is implicated in many retinal diseases, including age-related macular degeneration. Despite recent advances in ophthalmic imaging technologies, a full understanding of disease mechanisms remains elusive due to the inability to visualize CC microstructure.

3D-printed phantoms for measuring lateral resolution and contrast performance of ophthalmic adaptive optics imaging systems.

Adaptive optics (AO) imaging of the human retina is an emerging clinical technique that confers the highest possible spatial resolution of this tissue . To support consistent imaging performance across time and devices, we have designed and fabricated a robust and user-friendly phantom that can determine lateral resolution and contrast with 3D-printed microstructures approximating cone photoreceptors. We have carefully characterized multiple copies of this phantom via microscopic imaging and metrology, and we also demonstrated the phantom's utility with two different AO imaging modalities.

Characterizing Traction Forces in Upstream-Migrating Hematopoietic-like KG1a Cells Under Shear Flow.

Unlabelled: Cell migration is critical to leukocyte function, enabling leukocytes to patrol tissues and respond to inflammatory cues. Upstream migration is a distinct form of cell motility which enables leukocytes to move against the direction of fluid flow on Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 (ICAM-1) surfaces. Upstream migration is mediated by the leukocyte integrin, Lymphocyte Function-Associated Antigen-1 (LFA-1).

Surgical Planning of Ballistic Facial Injuries.

Ballistic facial injuries often cause widespread damage, distorting the native anatomy. Apart from initial resuscitative measures, these injuries require extensive employment of reconstructive techniques to restore the patient's form and function. As such, thoughtful data acquisition from both physical exam and radiographic studies optimizes surgical planning to achieve optimal patient outcomes.

Label-free full-thickness imaging of porcine vagus nerve fascicular anatomy by polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography.

Improving the efficacy of vagus nerve (VN) stimulation therapy requires a detailed understanding of the anatomical and functional organization of nerve fiber bundles and their fascicles. Variousimaging platforms have been optimized for this purpose. However, all existing tools with micrometer resolution require labeling to enhance the fascicle contrast, and this labeling is resource-intensive and time-consuming.

Anti-ceramide antibody and sphingosine-1-phosphate as potential biomarkers of unresectable non-small cell lung cancer.

Objectives: Spingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramides are bioactive sphingolipids that influence cancer cell fate. Anti-ceramide antibodies might inhibit the effects of ceramide. The aim of this study was to assess the potential role of circulating S1P and anti-ceramide antibody as biomarkers in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Stackable Guides: Digital Workflows for Full Arch Dental Implant Rehabilitation.

Computer-guided full-arch dental rehabilitation, which is highly technique-sensitive, benefits from advancements in 3-dimensional-printed guides and open-source software. Critical pre-surgical planning includes patient selection, health history evaluations, and detailed imaging like cone beam computed tomography scans. Various surgical guides-freehand, static, dynamic, stackable, and interchangeable-are used based on case complexity, with stackable guides improving workflow efficiency.

Identifying retinal pigment epithelium cells in adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography images with partial annotations and superhuman accuracy.

Retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells are essential for normal retinal function. Morphological defects in these cells are associated with a number of retinal neurodegenerative diseases. Owing to the cellular resolution and depth-sectioning capabilities, individual RPE cells can be visualized in vivo with adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT).

Measurement of retinal blood flow precision in the human eye with multimodal adaptive optics imaging.

Impaired retinal blood flow (RBF) autoregulation plays a key role in the development and progression of several ocular diseases, including glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Clinically, reproducible RBF quantitation could significantly improve early diagnosis and disease management. Several non-invasive techniques have been developed but are limited for retinal microvasculature flow measurements due to their low signal-to-noise ratio and poor lateral resolution.

imaging of human retinal ganglion cells using optical coherence tomography without adaptive optics.

Retinal ganglion cells play an important role in human vision, and their degeneration results in glaucoma and other neurodegenerative diseases. Imaging these cells in the living human retina can greatly improve the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. However, owing to their translucent soma and tight packing arrangement within the ganglion cell layer (GCL), successful imaging has only been achieved with sophisticated research-grade adaptive optics (AO) systems.

Immediate inferior alveolar nerve reconstruction: Improving warfighter quality of life following mandibulectomy or traumatic avulsion of the mandible.

Background: Mandibular reconstruction has historically been challenging due to the complex, highly functional, and esthetic nature of the anatomy. The most common etiologies of these defects requiring resection include trauma, benign tumors, and malignant pathology. Mandibular defects have been treated with little consideration for neural reconstruction, leaving patient's orally incompetent with associated social stigma.

Inhibition of Mac-1 allows human macrophages to migrate against the direction of shear flow on ICAM-1.

All immune cells must transit from the blood to distal sites such as the lymph nodes, bone marrow, or sites of infection. Blood borne monocytes traffic to the site of inflammation by adhering to the endothelial surface and migrating along endothelial intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) by their ligand's macrophage 1 antigen (Mac-1) and lymphocyte functional antigen 1 (LFA-1) to transmigrate through the endothelium. Poor patient prognoses in chronic inflammation and tumors have been attributed to the hyper recruitment of certain types of macrophages.

Compact Linear Flow Phantom Model for Retinal Blood-Flow Evaluation.

Impaired retinal blood flow is associated with ocular diseases such as glaucoma, macular degeneration, and diabetic retinopathy. Among several ocular imaging techniques developed to measure retinal blood flow both invasively and non-invasively, adaptive optics (AO)-enabled scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AO-SLO) resolves individual red blood cells and provides a high resolution with which to measure flow across retinal microvasculature. However, cross-validation of flow measures remains a challenge owing to instrument and patient-specific variability in each imaging technique.

Quantification of Human Photoreceptor-Retinal Pigment Epithelium Macular Topography with Adaptive Optics-Optical Coherence Tomography.

Photoreceptors (PRs) and retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells form a functional unit called the PR-RPE complex. The PR-RPE complex plays a critical role in maintaining retinal homeostasis and function, and the quantification of its structure and topographical arrangement across the macula are important for understanding the etiology, mechanisms, and progression of many retinal diseases. However, the three-dimensional cellular morphology of the PR-RPE complex in living human eyes has not been completely described due to limitations in imaging techniques.

Donor Limb Functional Restoration via a Novel Clinical Care Pathway following Fibula Free Flap Harvest for Head and Neck Reconstruction.

Patients undergoing head and neck skeletal reconstruction (HNR) often require free tissue transfer from the extremities to ensure proper restoration of form and function. This requires a team-based, highly reliable medical system centered around the patient needs. Surgical intervention across multiple sites and harvesting of donor tissue results in short- and long-term physical impairments.

A microfluidic platform for the synthesis of polymer and polymer-protein-based protocells.

In this study, we demonstrate the fabrication of polymersomes, protein-blended polymersomes, and polymeric microcapsules using droplet microfluidics. Polymersomes with uniform, single bilayers and controlled diameters are assembled from water-in-oil-in-water double-emulsion droplets. This technique relies on adjusting the interfacial energies of the droplet to completely separate the polymer-stabilized inner core from the oil shell.

Immediate dental rehabilitation in fibula free flaps for malignancy: Is it feasible?

Background: Fibula free flap reconstruction has revolutionized maxillofacial reconstruction. While immediate dental rehabilitation with dental implants and teeth has shown benefits, it remains uncommon, especially for patients with malignancy.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study at a single institution explored immediate dental rehabilitation in fibula flaps for patients with malignant disease.

Revealing speckle obscured living human retinal cells with artificial intelligence assisted adaptive optics optical coherence tomography.

Background: In vivo imaging of the human retina using adaptive optics optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) has transformed medical imaging by enabling visualization of 3D retinal structures at cellular-scale resolution, including the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells, which are essential for maintaining visual function. However, because noise inherent to the imaging process (e.g.

Free flap jaw reconstruction with dental implantation: A single-institution experience.

Background: We sought to review our institution's experience with dental implant placement in free flap jaw reconstruction to determine factors impacting restoration of dental occlusion.

Methods: Exactly 48 patients underwent free flap jaw reconstruction with or without dental restoration from 2017 to 2022. Primary outcome was achievement of restored dental occlusion after jaw free flap reconstruction.

Determinants that enable disordered protein assembly into discrete condensed phases.

Cells harbour numerous mesoscale membraneless compartments that house specific biochemical processes and perform distinct cellular functions. These protein- and RNA-rich bodies are thought to form through multivalent interactions among proteins and nucleic acids, resulting in demixing via liquid-liquid phase separation. Proteins harbouring intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) predominate in membraneless organelles.

Not all (cells) who wander are lost: Upstream migration as a pervasive mode of amoeboid cell motility.

Leukocytes possess the ability to migrate upstream-against the direction of flow-on surfaces of specific chemistry. Upstream migration was first characterized for T-cells on surfaces comprised of intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1). Upstream migration occurs when the integrin receptor αβ (also known as lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1, or LFA-1) binds to ICAM-1.

Cellular-Level Visualization of Retinal Pathology in Multiple Sclerosis With Adaptive Optics.

Purpose: To apply adaptive optics-optical coherence tomography (AO-OCT) to quantify multiple sclerosis (MS)-induced changes in axonal bundles in the macular nerve fiber layer, ganglion cell somas, and macrophage-like cells at the vitreomacular interface.

Methods: We used AO-OCT imaging in a pilot study of MS participants (n = 10), including those without and with a history of optic neuritis (ON, n = 4), and healthy volunteers (HV, n = 9) to reveal pathologic changes to inner retinal cells and structures affected by MS.

Results: We found that nerve fiber layer axonal bundles had 38% lower volume in MS participants (1.