Choroidal Vascularity Index as a marker of health and disease: Systematic review and meta-Analyses.

The Choroidal Vascularity Index (CVI), derived from optical coherence tomography (OCT), has emerged as a potential biomarker for detecting vascular changes. Understanding its variability across physiological states, ocular conditions, and systemic diseases is crucial for its integration into clinical practice. We evaluated variations in CVI across different physiological states (e.

H and P MRS Interleaved With High Time Resolution Reveals Closely Matching Creatine CH₂ and PCr Dynamics During Exercise.

The rate of intramuscular phosphocreatine (PCr) depletion and recovery in response to exercise estimated from P MRS is an established measure for oxidative capacity. The creatine CH resonance in H MRS is known to exhibit a similar pattern. So far, repeating the exercise for consecutive H and P experiments posed limitations on the interpretation.

Focused Analysis of Complications Associated with Bovine Xenohybrid Bone Grafts Following Maxillary Sinus Augmentation via the Lateral Approach: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

: Maxillary sinus floor augmentation (MSFA) is commonly used to increase posterior maxillary bone volume prior to implant placement. Although generally successful, late complications can impact long-term outcomes. The purpose of the study was to estimate the incidence and timing of atypical late complications following (MSFA) using bovine xenohybrid bone grafts.

DERMA-OCTA: A Comprehensive Dataset and Preprocessing Pipeline for Dermatological OCTA Vessel Segmentation.

Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) has emerged as a promising tool for non-invasive vascular imaging in dermatology. However, the field lacks standardized methods for processing and analyzing these complex images, as well as sufficient annotated datasets for developing automated analysis tools. We present DERMA-OCTA, the first open-access dermatological OCTA dataset, comprising 330 volumetric scans from 74 subjects with various skin conditions.

Electrocardiographic Imaging as Preoperative Tool in Persistent and Long-Standing Persistent Atrial Fibrillation: A Prospective Observational Study.

Objectives: Surgical ablation for treating atrial fibrillation (AF) is currently performed mostly without preoperative electrophysiological imaging. This study aimed to investigate the use of non-invasive surface mapping as a preoperative tool to explore potential mechanisms and patterns involved in the electrophysiology of persistent and long-standing persistent AF.

Methods: This prospective, observational study included cardiac surgery candidates without previous ablation.

Contralateral prefrontal and network engagement during left DLPFC 10 Hz rTMS: an interleaved TMS-fMRI study in healthy adults.

Background: High-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) serves as an effective treatment for major depression and other psychiatric disorders. Despite its growing clinical application, the neural mechanisms by which prefrontal rTMS exerts its therapeutic effects remain incompletely understood. To address this gap, we investigated the immediate blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) activity during 600 stimuli of left DLPFC 10 Hz rTMS in healthy individuals using interleaved TMS-fMRI.

Approaches to map cortical excitability beyond the primary motor cortex - Perspectives from cognitive neuroscience, multimodal imaging and clinical applications.

Excitability is a neuronal property quantified as the magnitude of neural response to stimuli. It plays a crucial role in information processing and is disrupted in various neuropsychiatric conditions. In humans, non-invasive measurements of brain excitability have been mostly limited to the primary motor cortex.

Spectral Region Optimization and Machine Learning-Based Nonlinear Spectral Analysis for Raman Detection of Cardiac Fibrosis Following Myocardial Infarction.

Cardiac fibrosis following myocardial infarction plays a critical role in the formation of scar tissue and contributes to ventricular arrhythmias, including ventricular tachycardia and sudden cardiac death. Current clinical diagnostics use electrical and structural markers, but lack precision due to low spatial resolution and absence of molecular information. In this paper, we employed line scan Raman microspectroscopy to classify sheep myocardial tissue into muscle, necrotic, granulated, and fibrotic tissue types, using collagen as a molecular biomarker.

Evaluating the Progression of Retinal Sensitivity Loss in Geographic Atrophy Using Machine-Learning-Based Structure-Function Correlation (OMEGA 2).

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of different machine-learning models in predicting retinal sensitivity in geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and compare the progression of sensitivity loss using observed versus inferred data over time.

Methods: Thirty patients with GA (37 eyes) were recruited for the OMEGA study. Participants underwent fundus-controlled perimetry (microperimetry) and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) imaging at baseline and follow-up visits at weeks 12, 24, and 48.

High-resolution 7T fMRI reveals the visual zone of the human claustrum.

The claustrum is a thin grey matter structure located between the insular cortexand the putamen. The function of the claustrum is largely unknown with diversehypotheses ranging from multisensory integration and consciousness to attentionand cognitive control. Much research on the function of the claustrum relies oninvasive techniques in animal models, as the claustrum's uniquely thinshape makes it difficult to image non-invasively in human subjects.

Single oral administration of dronabinol increases ocular blood flow in patients with glaucoma.

Purpose: Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible blindness globally, primarily driven by elevated intraocular pressure (IOP). Still, some patients progress despite significant IOP lowering, potentially due to impaired ocular blood flow. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dronabinol, a synthetic tetrahydrocannabinol derivative, on ocular blood flow in primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) patients.

Tethered optoacoustic and optical coherence tomography capsule endoscopy for label-free assessment of Barrett's oesophageal neoplasia.

Endoscopic detection of oesophageal cancer (EC) often occurs late in disease development, leading to high mortality rates. Improved technologies are urgently needed for earlier EC detection. Here we research an endoscopic ultra-broadband acoustic detection scheme and introduce a 360-degree hybrid optoacoustic and optical coherence endoscopy to enable interrogation of surface and subsurface precancerous and cancerous features at a three-dimensional micrometre scale.

Toward automated assessment of conjunctival hyperemia: A semisupervised artificial intelligence approach.

This paper develops an automated approach for conjunctival hyperemia grading from slit-lamp images using semisupervised learning. We conducted a retrospective study including slit-lamp images from two study sites. Two independent graders assessed the severity of hyperemia according to the Efron Grading Scales.

Autologous and synthetic vascular grafts trigger different host responses in the anastomotic regions and in the perivascular adipose tissue during the early healing phase.

Interactions between tissue and material post-implantation significantly impact the long-term behavior of vascular prostheses. Autologous materials are preferred for replacing small-diameter blood vessels due to their superior healing properties compared to synthetic options. This study aimed to characterize the host response to autologous and various synthetic grafts and during the early healing phase, focusing on anastomotic regions and perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT).

The factor XIa antibody osocimab strongly inhibits clotting in extracorporeal circuits with human blood and in baboons.

Background: Effective anticoagulant approaches in extracorporeal circuits with little impact on hemostasis are still an unmet medical need. Targeted inhibition of activated factor (F)XI might represent an attractive alternative or addition to conventional anticoagulation.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the additional antithrombotic effect of the monoclonal anti-FXIa antibody osocimab in in vitro and in vivo models of extracorporeal circulation.

Comparison of conventional and radiomics-based analysis of myocardial infarction using multimodal non-linear optical microscopy.

Myocardial infarction, a leading cause of mortality worldwide, leaves survivors at significant risk of recurrence caused by scar-related re-entrant ventricular tachyarrhythmias. Effective treatment with ablation therapy requires a precise guidance system. Non-linear optical microscopy techniques, such as second harmonic generation (SHG) and two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF), are promising candidates for a high-resolution alternative to conventional electrical mapping for assessing infarcted cardiac tissue.

Smartwatch-based wrist tremor assessment in neurosurgical simulator training.

While surgical skill is acquired during training, objectively evaluating training's impact is challenging. However, new possibilities in measuring wrist tremor during surgical procedures have emerged due to novel wearable sensors. In this study, the effect of simulator-based neurosurgical resident training on wrist tremor was assessed using a smartwatch.

Multimodal Optical Imaging Combined with Radiomic Analysis for Fibrotic Cardiac Tissue Investigation.

Understanding the process of fibrotic scarring of the myocardium is critical for the diagnosis and risk stratification of life-threatening cardiac dysfunction. Complex changes in structure, composition, and conductivity occurring at different stages of fibrogenesis diversify the biomedical characteristics of the myocardium. We present a multimodal optical imaging approach including cardiac optical mapping (COM), optical coherence tomography (OCT), multiphoton microscopy (MPM), and line scan Raman microspectroscopy (LSRM) for multiparametric assessment of the myocardium with radiomic analysis to link electrophysiologic, morphologic, functional, and molecular changes in ischemic cardiac tissue and validate our results with histology.

Does lower oxidative capacity influence the relative contributions of ATP-producing pathways during muscular work in aging?

Although the capacity of skeletal muscle to produce ATP via oxidative phosphorylation may decrease in some muscles in older age, the influence of a lower capacity on relative use of oxidative and non-oxidative ATP production pathways in vivo during contractions is unclear. To test the hypothesis that lower oxidative capacity would yield greater non-oxidative ATP production, 19 young (10F) and 17 older (9F) adults performed knee extensor muscle contractions in a 3-tesla magnetic resonance system. Phosphorus metabolites were used to calculate oxidative capacity (rate constant of phosphocreatine recovery; kPCr, s-1) and estimate the maximal rate of oxidative ATP production (Vmax, mM·s-1) following a 24-s dynamic contraction protocol.

Assessing PET performance, image quality, and attenuation correction in the presence of RF coils within a 9.4 T MRI for preclinical simultaneous imaging.

Background: This study evaluates the performance of a positron emission tomography (PET) insert combined with a 9.4 Tesla magnetic resonance (MR) imaging system using three different radiofrequency (RF) coils. The impact of the RF coils within the PET field of view (FoV) on key PET performance parameters was carefully examined.

Trajectory generation for ROI expansion in dental CBCT imaging: An out-of-FOV ROI annotation guided arc scan-based approach.

This study introduces a novel optimization approach for source-detector trajectories, designed to simultaneously extend the small dental CBCT field of view (FOV) at specific regions of interest (ROIs) while reducing radiation dose. The proposed algorithm automatically customizes and produces a mechanically feasible arc-based scan trajectory to target predefined ROIs, expanding the FOV beyond the standard range while utilizing only the necessary projections to reconstruct the region of interest, rather than those required for reconstruction of the entire volume. This approach enables a significant reduction in the number of projections.

Clinical management of the Impella 5.5 pump.

The Impella 5.5 (Abiomed, USA) is a catheter-based micro-axial flow pump that has emerged as a vital tool in managing patients with cardiogenic shock (CS). Delivering up to 5.

Multimodal Investigation of Angiogenesis and Its Prevention by Small Compounds in a Zebrafish Cancer Model.

Aberrant angiogenesis is a hallmark of many pathologies. In cancer, tumor growth and metastasis strongly depend on angiogenesis triggered by neoplastic cells. Antiangiogenic therapies are approved to treat different kinds of cancer.

Degenerated nerve grafts provide similar quality and outcome in reconstructing critical nerve defects as compared to fresh nerve grafts.

Introduction: Brachial plexus injuries are commonly caused by stretch-traction injuries. The clinical standard is timely anatomic reconstruction with autologous nerve grafts and/or intra- or extraplexal nerve transfers. Commonly used nerve grafts are the sural nerves and/or grafts taken from the affected side.