The diagnosis of COVID-19 requires chest computed tomography(CT).High-resolution CT images can provide more diagnostic information to help doctors better diagnose the disease,so it is of clinical importance to study s...The diagnosis of COVID-19 requires chest computed tomography(CT).High-resolution CT images can provide more diagnostic information to help doctors better diagnose the disease,so it is of clinical importance to study super-resolution(SR)algorithms applied to CT images to improve the reso-lution of CT images.However,most of the existing SR algorithms are studied based on natural images,which are not suitable for medical images;and most of these algorithms improve the reconstruction quality by increasing the network depth,which is not suitable for machines with limited resources.To alleviate these issues,we propose a residual feature attentional fusion network for lightweight chest CT image super-resolution(RFAFN).Specifically,we design a contextual feature extraction block(CFEB)that can extract CT image features more efficiently and accurately than ordinary residual blocks.In addition,we propose a feature-weighted cascading strategy(FWCS)based on attentional feature fusion blocks(AFFB)to utilize the high-frequency detail information extracted by CFEB as much as possible via selectively fusing adjacent level feature information.Finally,we suggest a global hierarchical feature fusion strategy(GHFFS),which can utilize the hierarchical features more effectively than dense concatenation by progressively aggregating the feature information at various levels.Numerous experiments show that our method performs better than most of the state-of-the-art(SOTA)methods on the COVID-19 chest CT dataset.In detail,the peak signal-to-noise ratio(PSNR)is 0.11 dB and 0.47 dB higher on CTtest1 and CTtest2 at×3 SR compared to the suboptimal method,but the number of parameters and multi-adds are reduced by 22K and 0.43G,respectively.Our method can better recover chest CT image quality with fewer computational resources and effectively assist in COVID-19.展开更多
Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify how to manage oversensing of pacemakers in chest CT. Methods: Four different models of pacemakers were examined to select the pacemaker generating oversensing. To t...Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify how to manage oversensing of pacemakers in chest CT. Methods: Four different models of pacemakers were examined to select the pacemaker generating oversensing. To the pacemaker with oversensing, intermittent switching X-ray was exposed using ECG-gated CT helical scan system at prospective CTA mode. IVY Model was used to synchronize the ECG. Only during in the alert period that is non-refractory and sensing is available, intermittent switching X-ray (300 msec/sec) was exposed in chest CT. For comparison, the same intermittent switching X-ray (300 msec/sec) was exposed in the refractory period when sensing was not available. Results: Oversensing was detected only in one of the four pacemakers tested. In this pacemaker, oversensing was generated by exposure of the intermittent switching X-ray in the alert (non-refractory) period, but oversensing was not observed in the refractory period. Conclusion: A pacemaker has alert and refractory periods. Oversensing of a pacemaker was found to be inhibited by selective ECG-synchronized exposure in the refractory period. Since all pacemakers have the refractory period, the results of this study can be widely applied to the patients with pacemakers in chest CT, and their chest CT can be operated safely.展开更多
Chest investigation is common in hospital practice. Chest X-ray is readily available and usually the first chest investigation. Thoracic CT scan constitutes an alternative and complimentary chest investigation. It is ...Chest investigation is common in hospital practice. Chest X-ray is readily available and usually the first chest investigation. Thoracic CT scan constitutes an alternative and complimentary chest investigation. It is currently the most efficient investigation for the chest and its contents. Objectives: To evaluate the relevance of chest CT Scan requests in two university teaching hospitals in Cameroon. Material and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective and descriptive study at the Radiology and imaging units of the Yaounde Central Hospital and the Yaounde University Teaching Hospital Centre. Included in our study were files of patients who had a chest CT scan investigation during three years. Results: We had a study population of 323 subjects. The age interval was 23 months to 91 years old. Pulmonologist were the most prescribers with 27.2%. We had 80% conformity of indications with French Society of Radiology (FSR) standards. 50 over of 323 indications were not recommended by the FSR. Conclusion: There is a conformity rate of 80% between indications and the FSR recommendations.展开更多
This study aims to estimate the lifetime attributable cancer risk (LAR) for pediatric chest computed tomography (CT) examinations in five age groups using recently published age and region-specific conversion coeffici...This study aims to estimate the lifetime attributable cancer risk (LAR) for pediatric chest computed tomography (CT) examinations in five age groups using recently published age and region-specific conversion coefficients multiplying the widely available scanner registered dose length products (DLP) displayed on the CT console and hence calculating the Effective Dose (ED). The ED is then multiplied by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) published risk factor for LAR. The obtained LAR values are compared with the international literature. Factors that may affect the LAR value are reported and discussed. The study included one hundred twenty five chest CT examinations for both males and females aged from less than one year to fifteen years. The patients reported data are from one single medical institution and using two CT scanners from June 2022 to December 2023. The results of this study may serve as benchmark for institutional radiation dose reference levels and risk estimation.展开更多
Background This study aimed to explore the imaging characteristics,diversity and changing trend in CT scans of pediatric patients infected with Delta-variant strain by studying imaging features of children infected wi...Background This study aimed to explore the imaging characteristics,diversity and changing trend in CT scans of pediatric patients infected with Delta-variant strain by studying imaging features of children infected with Delta and comparing the results to those of children with original COVID-19.Methods A retrospective,comparative analysis of initial chest CT manifestations between 63 pediatric patients infected with Delta variant in 2021 and 23 pediatric patients with COVID-19 in 2020 was conducted.Corresponding imaging features were analyzed.In addition,the changing trend in imaging features of COVID-19 Delta-variant cases were explored by evaluating the initial and follow-up CT scans.Results Among 63 children with Delta-variant COVID-19 in 2021,34(53.9%)showed positive chest CT presentation;and their CT score(1.10±1.41)was signifcantly lower than that in 2020(2.56±3.5)(P=0.0073).Lesion distribution:lung lesions of Delta cases appear mainly in the lower lungs on both sides.Most children had single lobe involvement(18 cases,52.9%),14(41.2%)in the right lung alone,and 14(41.2%)in both lungs.A majority of Delta cases displayed initially ground glass(23 cases,67.6%)and nodular shadows(13 cases,38.2%)in the frst CT scan,with few extrapulmonary manifestations.The 34 children with abnormal chest CT for the frst time have a total of 92 chest CT examinations.These children showed a statistically signifcant diference between the 0-3 day group and the 4-7 day group(P=0.0392)and a signifcant diference between the 4-7 day group and the more than 8 days group(P=0.0003).Conclusions The early manifestations of COVID-19 in children with abnormal imaging are mostly small subpleural nodular ground glass opacity.The changes on the Delta-variant COVID-19 chest CT were milder than the original strain.The lesions reached a peak on CT in 4-7 days and quickly improved and absorbed after a week.Dynamic CT re-examination can achieve a good prognosis.展开更多
基金supported by the General Project of Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province of China(H2019201378)the Foundation of the President of Hebei University(XZJJ201917)the Special Project for Cultivating Scientific and Technological Innovation Ability of University and Middle School Students of Hebei Province(2021H060306).
文摘The diagnosis of COVID-19 requires chest computed tomography(CT).High-resolution CT images can provide more diagnostic information to help doctors better diagnose the disease,so it is of clinical importance to study super-resolution(SR)algorithms applied to CT images to improve the reso-lution of CT images.However,most of the existing SR algorithms are studied based on natural images,which are not suitable for medical images;and most of these algorithms improve the reconstruction quality by increasing the network depth,which is not suitable for machines with limited resources.To alleviate these issues,we propose a residual feature attentional fusion network for lightweight chest CT image super-resolution(RFAFN).Specifically,we design a contextual feature extraction block(CFEB)that can extract CT image features more efficiently and accurately than ordinary residual blocks.In addition,we propose a feature-weighted cascading strategy(FWCS)based on attentional feature fusion blocks(AFFB)to utilize the high-frequency detail information extracted by CFEB as much as possible via selectively fusing adjacent level feature information.Finally,we suggest a global hierarchical feature fusion strategy(GHFFS),which can utilize the hierarchical features more effectively than dense concatenation by progressively aggregating the feature information at various levels.Numerous experiments show that our method performs better than most of the state-of-the-art(SOTA)methods on the COVID-19 chest CT dataset.In detail,the peak signal-to-noise ratio(PSNR)is 0.11 dB and 0.47 dB higher on CTtest1 and CTtest2 at×3 SR compared to the suboptimal method,but the number of parameters and multi-adds are reduced by 22K and 0.43G,respectively.Our method can better recover chest CT image quality with fewer computational resources and effectively assist in COVID-19.
文摘Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify how to manage oversensing of pacemakers in chest CT. Methods: Four different models of pacemakers were examined to select the pacemaker generating oversensing. To the pacemaker with oversensing, intermittent switching X-ray was exposed using ECG-gated CT helical scan system at prospective CTA mode. IVY Model was used to synchronize the ECG. Only during in the alert period that is non-refractory and sensing is available, intermittent switching X-ray (300 msec/sec) was exposed in chest CT. For comparison, the same intermittent switching X-ray (300 msec/sec) was exposed in the refractory period when sensing was not available. Results: Oversensing was detected only in one of the four pacemakers tested. In this pacemaker, oversensing was generated by exposure of the intermittent switching X-ray in the alert (non-refractory) period, but oversensing was not observed in the refractory period. Conclusion: A pacemaker has alert and refractory periods. Oversensing of a pacemaker was found to be inhibited by selective ECG-synchronized exposure in the refractory period. Since all pacemakers have the refractory period, the results of this study can be widely applied to the patients with pacemakers in chest CT, and their chest CT can be operated safely.
文摘Chest investigation is common in hospital practice. Chest X-ray is readily available and usually the first chest investigation. Thoracic CT scan constitutes an alternative and complimentary chest investigation. It is currently the most efficient investigation for the chest and its contents. Objectives: To evaluate the relevance of chest CT Scan requests in two university teaching hospitals in Cameroon. Material and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, retrospective and descriptive study at the Radiology and imaging units of the Yaounde Central Hospital and the Yaounde University Teaching Hospital Centre. Included in our study were files of patients who had a chest CT scan investigation during three years. Results: We had a study population of 323 subjects. The age interval was 23 months to 91 years old. Pulmonologist were the most prescribers with 27.2%. We had 80% conformity of indications with French Society of Radiology (FSR) standards. 50 over of 323 indications were not recommended by the FSR. Conclusion: There is a conformity rate of 80% between indications and the FSR recommendations.
文摘This study aims to estimate the lifetime attributable cancer risk (LAR) for pediatric chest computed tomography (CT) examinations in five age groups using recently published age and region-specific conversion coefficients multiplying the widely available scanner registered dose length products (DLP) displayed on the CT console and hence calculating the Effective Dose (ED). The ED is then multiplied by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) published risk factor for LAR. The obtained LAR values are compared with the international literature. Factors that may affect the LAR value are reported and discussed. The study included one hundred twenty five chest CT examinations for both males and females aged from less than one year to fifteen years. The patients reported data are from one single medical institution and using two CT scanners from June 2022 to December 2023. The results of this study may serve as benchmark for institutional radiation dose reference levels and risk estimation.
基金This study was supported by the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation 2020M681674(to Xuhua Ge)The Nanjing Medical Science and Technique Development Foundation(No.YKK20130)(to Zhuo Li)This work was reviewed and approved by the Medical Ethical Committee of Second Hospital of Nanjing(approval number 2020-LS-ky003).
文摘Background This study aimed to explore the imaging characteristics,diversity and changing trend in CT scans of pediatric patients infected with Delta-variant strain by studying imaging features of children infected with Delta and comparing the results to those of children with original COVID-19.Methods A retrospective,comparative analysis of initial chest CT manifestations between 63 pediatric patients infected with Delta variant in 2021 and 23 pediatric patients with COVID-19 in 2020 was conducted.Corresponding imaging features were analyzed.In addition,the changing trend in imaging features of COVID-19 Delta-variant cases were explored by evaluating the initial and follow-up CT scans.Results Among 63 children with Delta-variant COVID-19 in 2021,34(53.9%)showed positive chest CT presentation;and their CT score(1.10±1.41)was signifcantly lower than that in 2020(2.56±3.5)(P=0.0073).Lesion distribution:lung lesions of Delta cases appear mainly in the lower lungs on both sides.Most children had single lobe involvement(18 cases,52.9%),14(41.2%)in the right lung alone,and 14(41.2%)in both lungs.A majority of Delta cases displayed initially ground glass(23 cases,67.6%)and nodular shadows(13 cases,38.2%)in the frst CT scan,with few extrapulmonary manifestations.The 34 children with abnormal chest CT for the frst time have a total of 92 chest CT examinations.These children showed a statistically signifcant diference between the 0-3 day group and the 4-7 day group(P=0.0392)and a signifcant diference between the 4-7 day group and the more than 8 days group(P=0.0003).Conclusions The early manifestations of COVID-19 in children with abnormal imaging are mostly small subpleural nodular ground glass opacity.The changes on the Delta-variant COVID-19 chest CT were milder than the original strain.The lesions reached a peak on CT in 4-7 days and quickly improved and absorbed after a week.Dynamic CT re-examination can achieve a good prognosis.
