Current landscape and potential future applications of artificial intelligence in medical physics and radiotherapy

Artificial intelligence(AI)has seen tremendous growth over the past decade and stands to disrupts the medical industry.In medicine,this has been applied in medical imaging and other digitised medical disciplines,but in more traditional fields like medical physics,the adoption of AI is still at an early stage.Though AI is anticipated to be better than human in certain tasks,with the rapid growth of AI,there is increasing concerns for its usage.The focus of this paper is on the current landscape and potential future applications of artificial intelligence in medical physics and radiotherapy.Topics on AI for image acquisition,image segmentation,treatment delivery,quality assurance and outcome prediction will be explored as well as the interaction between human and AI.This will give insights into how we should approach and use the technology for enhancing the quality of clinical practice.

Evaluation of Glycosaminoglycan in the Lumbar Disc Using Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer MR at 3.0 Tesla:Reproducibility and Correlation with Disc Degeneration

Objective This study aims to explore the clinical applicability and relevance of giycosaminoglycan Chemical Exchange Saturation Transfer （gagCEST） for intervertebral disc. Methods 25 subjects ranging in age from 24 yrs to 74 yrs were enrolled, gagCEST was acquired using a single-slice TSE sequence on a 3T. Saturation used a continuous rectangular RF pulse with B1=0.8 I^T and a fixed duration time =1100 ms. Sagittal image was obtained firstly without saturation pulse, and then saturated images were acquired at 52 offsets ranging from ＋0.i25 to ＋_7 parts per million （ppm）. MR T2 relaxivity map was acquired at the identical location. Six subjects were scanned twice to assess scan-rescan reproducibility. Results GagCEST intraclass correlation coefficient （ICC） of six subjects was 0.759 for nucleus pulposus （NP） and 0.508 for annulus fibrosus （AF）. Bland-Altman plots showed NP had a mean difference of 0.10% （95% limits of agreement： -3.02% to 3.22%）; while that of AF was 0.34% （95% limits of agreement： -2.28% to 2.95%）. For the 25 subjects, gag CEST in NP decreased as disc degeneration increased, with a similar trend to T2 relaxivity. Gag CEST of AF showed a better correlation with disc degeneration than T2 relaxivity. Conclusion GagCEST in NP and AF decreased as disc degeneration increased, while gagCEST in AF showed a better correlation than T2 relaxivity.

Desmoid type fibromatosis: A case report with an unusual etiology

Desmoid type fibromatosis(DTF) is a rare, locally invasive, non-metastasizing soft tissue tumor. We report an interesting case of DTF involving the pancreatic head of a 54-year-old woman. She presented with intermittent dysphagia and significant weight loss within a 3-mo period. Laboratory findings showed mild elevation of transaminases, significant elevation of alkaline phosphatase and direct hyperbilirubinemia, indicating obstructive jaundice. Computerized tomography of the abdomen revealed a mass in the head of the pancreas, dilated common bile duct, and dilated pancreatic duct. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic ultrasound showed a large hypoechoic massin the head of the pancreas causing extrahepatic biliary obstruction and pancreatic ductal dilation. The patient underwent a successful partial pancreatico-duodenectomy and cholecystectomy. She received no additional therapy after surgery, and liver function tests were normalized within nine days after surgery. Currently, surgical resection is the recommended first line treatment. The patient will be followed for any recurrence.

BRMS1 performs an anti-tumor effect on renal cell carcinoma via inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway

Objective:To explore the anti-tumor of breast cancer metastasis suppressor 1(BRMS1)on renal cell carcinoma.Methods:BRSM1 stabilized overexpressed and knockdown cell models were constructed to detect the effect of BRMS1 overexpression and knockdown on viability rate of 769-P cells.Activation of PI3K/AKT-mTOR-NFκB signaling pathway,expression of cellular apoptosis-related proteins,DNA damage repair-related proteins and angiogenesis-related proteins were detected using Western blotting analysis.Results:The viability rate of 769-P cells were significantly decreased in BRMS1 overexpression cells while significantly increased in BRMS1 knockdown cells(P<0.05).The activity of PI3K/AKT-mTOR-NFκB signaling pathway was significantly inhibited with BRMS1 overexpression(P<0.05),and expression of BAX was significantly increased with significantly decreased expression of Bcl-2(P<0.05).Besides,BRMS1 overexpression could significantly decrease the expression of DNA damage repair-related proteins and angiogenesis and cell-matrix degradation related proteins(P<0.05).Conclusion:BRMS1 induces apoptosis of renal cell carcinoma and performs an anti-tumor effect via inhibition of PI3K/AKT-mTOR-NFκB signaling pathway,expression of DNA damage repair-related proteins and angiogenesis-related proteins.