Objectives: Recently, there have been important advances in the clinical application of targeted hybrid near-infrared (NIR) fluorescent-radioactive tracers. ICG-99mTc-nanocolloid, for example, is already being used by some centres for sentinel lymph node biopsy in head and neck cancer. The radioactive component allows imaging at depths which would not be possible with NIR alone and, once exposed, the NIR fluorescence reporter can be imaged at very high resolution. Gamma detection is currently carried out with a separate hand-held gamma camera or with a non-imaging probe. Visualisation of NIR fluorescence during surgery requires a dedicated NIR camera, several of which are available commercially. We describe a novel hand-held hybrid NIR-gamma small field of view camera, capable of displaying co-aligned images from both modalities, which can be fused into one image or viewed separately. This study is a preliminary investigation of the performance of the fluorescence component of this camera, including phantom studies and first images from a preclinical pilot study. Methods: The hybrid camera consists of a 1500 µm thick thallium doped caesium iodide columnar (CsI:Tl) scintillator coupled to an electron multiplying charged coupled device (EMCCD). A 1.0mm diameter tungsten pinhole collimator gives a 40mm x 40mm nominal field of view for an 8mm x 8mm CCD detection area. A fluorescence camera was aligned to provide the same field of view as the gamma camera with an LED ring as the excitation source. The performance of the fluorescence imaging was quantified in this study for the fluorophores ICG and IRDye800CW (CW800) using a range of bespoke phantom experiments. In vivo images were also obtained from a preclinical study of a targeted hybrid tracer (cRGD-CW800-TCO + TCO-DOTA-111In) in mice with HT29 colorectal cancer xenografts. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The portable hybrid camera prototype has been shown to successfully image dual NIR-gamma tracers using both in vitro and in vivo experimental models. With further development, this camera could be used intraoperatively, offering the benefits of gamma imaging at depth in tissues and high resolution surface NIR fluorescence imaging in a single imaging system.
Objectives: To review the failure rates of molar tubes and the effect of molar tube base design, adhesive type, and bonding technique on the failure rates of molar tubes. Data: The revolution of molar bonding greatly impacted fixed orthodontic appliance treatment by reducing chair-side time and improving patient comfort. Even with the many advantages of molar bonding, clinicians sometimes hesitate to use molar tubes due to their failure rates. Sources: Internet sources, such as Pubmed and Google Scholar. Study selection: studies testing the bond failure rate of molar tubes. Conclusions: The failure rate of the molar tubes can be reduced and the bond strength of the molar tubes can be improved by changing the design of the molar tube base
... Show MoreIn this study, we have created a new Arabic dataset annotated according to Ekman’s basic emotions (Anger, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Sadness and Surprise). This dataset is composed from Facebook posts written in the Iraqi dialect. We evaluated the quality of this dataset using four external judges which resulted in an average inter-annotation agreement of 0.751. Then we explored six different supervised machine learning methods to test the new dataset. We used Weka standard classifiers ZeroR, J48, Naïve Bayes, Multinomial Naïve Bayes for Text, and SMO. We also used a further compression-based classifier called PPM not included in Weka. Our study reveals that the PPM classifier significantly outperforms other classifiers such as SVM and N
... Show MoreAn indoor spraying robot is built in this research to solve numerous challenges associated with manual spraying. The mechanical, hardware and essential technologies used are all detailed and designed. The proposed spraying robot's conceptual design is split into two parts: hardware and software. The mechanical design, manufacturing, electrical, and electronics systems are described in the hardware part, while the control of the robot is described in the software section. This robot's kinematic and dynamic models were developed using three links that move in the x, y, and z directions. The robot was then designed using SolidWorks software to compute each connection's deflection and maximum stresses. The characteristics of the stepper moto
... Show MoreIn this research, we highlight the most important research related to the mixed ligand complexes of the drug trimethoprim (TMP), and for the past 7 years where this drug has been used as a chelating ligand and gives stability to the complexes with ions of metal elements where these complexes, prepared and diagnosed, and for some research the bacterial activity was studied against different types of bacteria
Debate is a teaching strategy in nursing education that enhances students' critical thinking. Although debate can be an effective teaching strategy, it is not without limitations. This article discusses the advantages and disadvantages of debate as a teaching strategy in nursing. Also, evaluating debates and choosing topics are highlighted.
Significant advances in the automated glaucoma detection techniques have been made through the employment of the Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) methods, an overview of which will be provided in this paper. What sets the current literature review apart is its exclusive focus on the aforementioned techniques for glaucoma detection using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines for filtering the selected papers. To achieve this, an advanced search was conducted in the Scopus database, specifically looking for research papers published in 2023, with the keywords "glaucoma detection", "machine learning", and "deep learning". Among the multiple found papers, the ones focusing
... Show MoreThis research includes theoretical and evaluation design of a polarizer filter of high transmission in the near IR region of (900-1200nm) for different incidence angles to obtain a long wave and short wave pass filter using analytical calculations. Results refer to a new configuration design in fewer layers than used in previous studies in the long wave pass at incidence angles (45o,50o,55o). Adopted Hafnium dioxide (HfO2) and Magnesium fluoride (MgF2) as coating material at design wavelength (933nm), the study also included design short wave pass polarizer by using the same coating material.
A growing and pressing need for Speech Enhancement Algorithms (SEAs) has emerged with the proliferation of hearing devices and mobile devices that aim to improve speech intelligibility without sacrificing speech quality. Recently, a tremendous number of studies have been conducted in the field of speech enhancement. This study aims to map the field of speech enhancement by conducting a systematic literature review to provide comprehensive details of recently proposed SEAs. This systematic review aims to highlight research trends in SEAs and direct researchers to the most important topics published between 2015 and 2024. It attempts to address seven key research questions related to this topic. Moreover, it covers articles available
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