Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

An Investigation Of The Detection Capability Of Pulsed Wave Duplex Doppler Of Low Grade Stenosis Using Ultrasound Contrast Agent Microbubbles – An In-Vitro Study, Jacinta Browne, Deirdre King, Andrew Fagan, Deepa Chari, Carmel Moran

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Objective: The objective of the study was to investigate whether clinically used ultrasonic contrast agents improved the accuracy of spectral Doppler ultrasound in the detection of low grade (< 50%) renal artery stenosis. Low grade stenoses in the renal artery are notoriously difficult to reliably detect using Doppler ultrasound due to difficulties such as overlying fat and bowel gas.

Methods: A range of anatomically-realistic renal artery phantoms with varying low degrees of stenosis (0, 30 and 50%) were constructed and peak velocity data was measured from within the pre-stenotic and mid-stenotic regions in each phantom, for both unenhanced and contrast-enhanced spectral Doppler data acquisitions. The effect of a 20mm overlying fat layer on the ultrasound beam distortion and phase aberration, and hence on the measured peak velocity data, was also …

A U-Net Deep Learning Framework For High Performance Vessel Segmentation In Paitents With Cerebrovascular Disease, Michelle Livne, Jana Rieger, Orhun Utku Aydin, Abdel Aziz Taha, Ela Maria Akay, Tabea Kossen, Jan Sobesky, John D. Kelleher, Kristian Hildebrand, Dietmar Frey, Vince I. Madai

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Brain vessel status is a promising biomarker for better prevention and treatment in cerebrovascular disease. However, classic rule-based vessel segmentation algorithms need to be hand-crafted and are insufficiently validated. A specialized deep learning method—the U-net—is a promising alternative. Using labeled data from 66 patients with cerebrovascular disease, the U-net framework was optimized and evaluated with three metrics: Dice coefficient, 95% Hausdorff distance (95HD) and average Hausdorff distance (AVD). The model performance was compared with the traditional segmentation method of graph-cuts. Training and reconstruction was performed using 2D patches. A full and a reduced architecture with less parameters were trained. We …

Use Of Novel Anthropomorphic Breast Ultrasound Phantoms For Radiology Resident Education, Jacinta Browne, Chris Gu, Robert Fazzio, Andrew Fagan, Donald Tradup, Nicholas Hangiandreou

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Purpose: This study evaluated the training and assessment role of anthropomorphic breast ultrasound phantoms which simulated both the morphological and sonographic characteristics of breast tissue, including lesions, in a group of radiology residents at a large academic medical center. Methods: This was a prospective study involving 9 residents across all years (2^nd–4^th year) of a radiology residency program. Baseline assessments of all residents ability to detect and characterize lesions in P-I were carried out, followed by a two-hour teaching session on the same phantom. All residents underwent a post-training, final assessment on P-II to evaluate changes in …

Urban Aerobiological Risk Mapping Of Ornamental Trees Using A New Index Based On Lidar And Kriging: A Case Study Of Plane Trees, Raúl Pecero-Casimiro, Santiago Fernández-Rodríguez, Rafael Tormo-Molina, Alejandro Monroy-Colín, Inmaculada Silva-Palacios, Juan Pedro Cortés-Pérez, Ángela Gonzalo-Garijo, J. M. Maya-Manzano

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Ornamental trees bring benefits for human health, including reducing urban pollution. However, some species, such as plane trees (Platanus sp.), produce allergenic pollen. Consequently, urban maps are a valuable tool for allergic patients and allergists, but they often fail to include variables that contribute to the “building downwash effect”, such as the width and shape of streets and the height of buildings. Other factors that directly influence pollen dispersion (slopes and other geographical features) also have not traditionally been discussed. The LiDAR (Laser Imaging Detection and Ranging) technique enables one to consider these variables with high accuracy. This work proposes …

Assessment Of Two Behavioural Models (Hbm And Ranas) For Predicting Health Behaviours In Response To Environmental Threats: Surface Water Flooding As A Source Of Groundwater Contamination And Subsequent Waterborne Infection In The Republic Of Ireland, L. Andrade, K. O'Malley, Paul Hynds, E. O'Neill, J. O'Dwyer

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Extreme weather events (EWEs) are increasing in frequency, posing a greater risk of adverse human health effects. As such, developing sociological and psychological based interventions is paramount to empowering individuals and communities to actively protect their own health. Accordingly, this study compared the efficacy of two established social-cognitive models, namely the Health Beliefs Model (HBM) and Risks-Attitudes-Norms-Abilities-Self-regulation (RANAS) framework, in predicting health behaviours following EWEs. Surface water flooding was used as the exemplar EWE in the current study, due to the increasing incidence of these events in the Republic of Ireland over the past decade. Levels of prior experience with …

Luminescent Calcium Carbonate Micro ‘Bow Ties’, Fearghal C. Donnelly, Finn Purcell-Milton, Peter W. Dunne, Aleksandra Rulikowska, Victor Alguacil, Yurii K. Gun’Ko

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Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) is a ubiquitous material which has been studied for centuries due to its integral nature across various fields and its vast range of applications. Here we report, for the first time, a low temperature dry ice carbonation method for the production of unique rare earth-doped calcium carbonate ‘bow ties’. CaCO3 exhibits retrograde solubility, an interesting property in which its solubility increases with decreasing temperature. In this synthesis, dry ice acts not only as a CO2 source, but as a coolant, increasing the solubility of CaCO3 and CO2 and allowing specific growth to occur. The incorporation of trivalent …

Carbon Dioxide Measurement In Irish Blanket Peatlands: An Assessment Of Pool-Soil Flux Variability, Mariya Radomski, Alan Gilmer, Vivienne Byers, Eugene Mcgovern

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Peatlands have been recognised as having a significant role in the mediation of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels with direct implications for global climate change. Longitudinal in situ measurement systems for CO2 concentrations in blanket peatland ecosystems are difficult to implement where the nature of terrestrial–aquatic connectivity and hydrodynamics have a significant effect on the carbon cycle. The need for greater data on CO2 concentrations and flux monitoring in these settings has been well recognised. However, applying the most appropriate monitoring approach presents a special challenge. This paper sets out the development of a direct method for field based longitudinal …

Investigation Of The Assessment Of Low Degree (<50%) Renal Artery Stenosis Based On Velocity Flow Profile Analysis Using Doppler Ultrasound: An In-Vitro Study, Andrew Malone, Deepa Chari, Sean Cournane, Izabela Naydenova, Andrew Fagan, Jacinta Browne

Articles

Purpose: Renal arterial stenosis can lead to disrupted renal function due to reduced blood flow to the kidneys and is largely thought to be caused by atherosclerosis. Current diagnostic strategies for renal arterial stenosis rely on detecting large degree stenoses (>50%). This study aimed to test the viability of using Doppler ultrasound to assess velocity profiles to detect the presence of low degree (<50%) stenoses.

Methods: A series of anatomically realistic renal artery flow phantoms were constructed exhibiting a range of low degree stenoses (symmetric and asymmetric). The behaviour of fluid flow in the phantoms was examined using Doppler ultrasound …

Nuclear Frames In The Irish Media: Implications For Conversations On Nuclear Power Generation In The Age Of Climate Change, Catherine Devitt, Finbarr Brereton, Simon Mooney, David Conway, Eoin O'Neill

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Keeping within the temperature limits set by the Paris Agreement on climate action will be a significant challenge. Nuclear power generation may contribute to achieving these targets, however, there are significant environmental, economic and health risks attached. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, this paper explores how nuclear power generation is framed in the Irish print media, and discusses the implications of these frames for how nuclear power is perceived within the context of climate change mitigation in Ireland. Two Irish broadsheet papers, the Irish Times and the Irish Independent were selected for data collection, focusing on Chernobyl and Fukushima incidents. …

Exploring Subcellular Responses Of Prostate Cancer Cells To X-Ray Exposure By Raman Mapping, Maciej Roman, Agnieszka Panek, Hugh Byrne, Tomasz P Wrobel, Esen Efeoglu, Czeslawa Paluszkiewicz, Wojciech Maria Kwiatek

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Understanding the response of cancer cells to ionising radiation is a crucial step in modern radiotherapy. Raman microspectroscopy, together with Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) analysis has been shown to be a powerful tool for monitoring biochemical changes of irradiated cells on the subcellular level. However, to date, the majority of Raman studies have been performed using a single spectrum per cell, giving a limited view of the total biochemical response of the cell. In the current study, Raman mapping of the whole cell area was undertaken to ensure a more comprehensive understanding of the changes induced by X-ray radiation. …

Current Source Density Approaches Improve Spatial Resolution In Event Related Potential Analysis In People With Parkinson's Disease, Conor Fearon, John Butler, Saskia M. Waechter, Isabelle Killane, Richard B. Reilly, Timothy Lynch

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