Biophotonic diagnostics/biomedical spectroscopy can revolutionise the medical environment by providing a responsive and objective diagnostic environment. This book aims to explain the fundamentals of the physical techniques used combined with the particular requirements of analysing medical/clinical samples as a resource for any interested party. In addition, it will show the potential of this field for the future of medical science and act as a driver for translation across many different biological problems/questions.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed post-conference proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Computer Assisted and Robotic Endoscopy, CARE 2015, held in conjunction with MICCAI 2015, in Munich, Germany, in October 2015. The 15 revised full papers were carefully selected out of 20 initial submissions and focus on recent technical advances associated with computer vision; graphics; robotics and medical imaging; external tracking systems; medical device control systems; information processing techniques; endoscopy; planning and simulation.

This book presents a thorough review of coronary angioscopy, ranging from instructions on its use to the latest advances. Starting with the structure and fundamental principles of angioscopy, it shows readers how to apply the image to comprehensive care of coronary-artery patients. Plentiful color photos and illustrations will enable readers to investigate and classify plaques and thrombi and to evaluate coronary stent- and drug-based therapies. The authors are leading researchers on angioscopy. This book offers the perfect guide not only for new clinicians but also for cardiologists who have already adopted this technique for medical examination and treatment. Angioscopy is a unique medical technique for visualizing the interior of blood vessels and helps physicians not only to diagnose the pathology but also to measure the effectiveness of Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or antiarteriosclerotic drugs. Furthermore, the recently developed molecular angioscopy approach allows us to observe Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxide, collagen, and macrophages, and is rapidly growing in importance.

In the diagnosis and treatment of movement disorders, the use of neuroimaging has expanded widely and has been an exciting, important modality for unlocking the causes of abnormal motor control. With ever improving machinery, data collection techniques and analysis methods, researchers are now being presented with an exponentially increasing amount of data that they must wade through and interpret in the context of existing knowledge about movement disorders. In Neuroimaging in Movement Disorders, the editors have produced a gold-standard resource that brings together an impressive international group of authorities in their respective fields to outline the current state of knowledge. Controversies, such as conflicting findings and methodological limitations, are covered and provide the reader with a comprehensive yet pragmatic understanding of the state of science. The chapters offer both comprehensive reviews of various neuroimaging methods and also more in-depth summaries of the contributions made by neuroimaging in individual movement disorders. Although many of the neuroimaging methods that are discussed have not been routinely used in clinical practice, the authors skillfully provide the reader with adequate detail to understand the requirements for using these methods and in some cases even the starting knowledge to begin local implementation. Neuroimaging in Movement Disorders is an indispensable reference that will be of value to all physicians and researchers involved in the care of patients with movement disorders.

In this book the authors describe their original research on the potential of both standard and high-resolution electroencephalography (EEG) for analyzing brain activity in response to TV advertising. When engineering techniques, neuroscience concepts and marketing stimuli converge in one research field, known as neuromarketing, various theoretical and practical aspects need to be considered. The book introduces and discusses those aspects in detail, while showing several experiments performed by the authors during their attempts to measure both the cognitive activity and emotional involvement of the test subjects. In these experiments, the authors apply simultaneous EEG, galvanic skin response and heart rate monitoring, and show how significant variations of these variables can be associated with attention to, memorization or enjoyment of the presented stimuli. In particular, this book shows the central role of statistical analysis in recovering significant information on the scalp and cortical areas involved, along with variations of activity in the autonomous nervous system. From an economic and marketing perspective, the aim of this work is to promote a better understanding of how mass consumer advertising of (established) brands affects brain systems. From a neuroscience perspective, the broader goal is to provide a better understanding of both the neural mechanisms underlying the impact of affect and cognition on memory, and the neural correlates of choice and decision-making. => Please download the extra material for this book http://extras.springer.com

This book examines non-invasive, electrical-based methods for disease diagnosis and assessment of heart function. In particular, a formalized signal model is proposed since this offers several advantages over methods that rely on measured data alone. By using a formalized representation, the parameters of the signal model can be easily manipulated and/or modified, thus providing mechanisms that allow researchers to reproduce and control such signals. In addition, having such a formalized signal model makes it possible to develop computer tools that can be used for manipulating and understanding how signal changes result from various heart conditions, as well as for generating input signals for experimenting with and evaluating the performance of e.g. signal extraction methods. The work focuses on bioelectrical information, particularly electrical bio-impedance (EBI). Once the EBI has been measured, the corresponding signals have to be modelled for analysis. This requires a structured approach in order to move from real measured data to the model of the corresponding signals. This book proposes a generic framework for this procedure. It can be used as a guide for modelling impedance cardiography (ICG) and impedance respirography (IRG) signals, as well as for developing the corresponding bio-impedance signal simulator (BISS).

This book presents novel and advanced topics in Medical Image Processing and Computational Vision in order to solidify knowledge in the related fields and define their key stakeholders. It contains extended versions of selected papers presented in VipIMAGE 2013 - IV International ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Computational Vision and Medical Image, which took place in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, 14-16 October 2013. The twenty-two chapters were written by invited experts of international recognition and address important issues in medical image processing and computational vision, including: 3D vision, 3D visualization, colour quantisation, continuum mechanics, data fusion, data mining, face recognition, GPU parallelisation, image acquisition and reconstruction, image and video analysis, image clustering, image registration, image restoring, image segmentation, machine learning, modelling and simulation, object detection, object recognition, object tracking, optical flow, pattern recognition, pose estimation, and texture analysis. Different applications are addressed and described throughout the book, comprising: biomechanical studies, bio-structure modelling and simulation, bone characterization, cell tracking, computer-aided diagnosis, dental imaging, face recognition, hand gestures detection and recognition, human motion analysis, human-computer interaction, image and video understanding, image processing, image segmentation, object and scene reconstruction, object recognition and tracking, remote robot control, and surgery planning. This volume is of use to researchers, students, practitioners and manufacturers from several multidisciplinary fields, such as artificial intelligence, bioengineering, biology, biomechanics, computational mechanics, computational vision, computer graphics, computer science, computer vision, human motion, imagiology, machine learning, machine vision, mathematics, medical image, medicine, pattern recognition, and physics.

This book presents a comprehensive, state-of the-art guide and review of ultrasound applications for children and infants with surgical problems. It is meant as a single source to provide information about sonographic application, interpretation and technique for a diversity of pediatric surgical care providers, making it a useful tool for the ultrasound novice as well as the more advanced ultrasonographer. Sections address initial obstacles faced by a physician starting with ultrasound such as the scanning techniques, underlying anatomy and normal sonographic findings. The initial chapter provides an introduction and basic overview about ultrasound theory and techniques. Subsequent chapters focus on specific body parts and systems and their disease processes as it pertains to pediatric and neonatal patients. The text also includes a chapter on abdominal trauma and its evaluation with the FAST (focused abdominal sonography for trauma) exam. Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound in Pediatric Surgery serves as a useful resource for a broad spectrum of pediatric care providers, including a growing number of ultrasound users, surgeons and pediatricians alike.

This volume provides a comprehensive review of resistance induced by photodynamic therapy (PDT) in tumor cells. Understanding the underlying mechanisms in this process leads to the improvement of therapeutic modality, in combination with chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and radiotherapy. Photodynamic therapy is a minimally invasive therapeutic procedure that can exert a selective or preferential cytotoxic activity toward malignant cells. The procedure involves administration of an intrinsically non-toxic photosensitizing agent (PS) followed by irradiation at a wavelength corresponding to a visible absorption band of the sensitizer. In the presence of oxygen, a series of events lead to direct tumor cell death, damage to the microvasculature, and induction of a local inflammatory reaction. Studies reveal that PDT can be curative, particularly in early stage tumors and this volume explores the potential of PDT, but also reveals strategic approaches to overcome resistance in tumor cells.

The textbook begins with exercises related to radioactive sources and decay schemes. The problems covered include series decay and how to determine the frequency and energy of emitted particles in disintegrations. The next chapter deals with the interaction of ionizing radiation, including the treatment of photons and charged particles. The main focus is on applications based on the knowledge of interaction, to be used in subsequent work and courses. The textbook then examines detectors and measurements, including both counting statistics and properties of pulse detectors. The chapter that follows is dedicated to dosimetry, which is a major subject in medical radiation physics. It covers theoretical applications, such as different equilibrium situations and cavity theories, as well as experimental dosimetry, including ionization chambers and solid state and liquid dosimeters. A shorter chapter deals with radiobiology, where different cell survival models are considered. The last chapter concerns radiation protection and health physics. Both radioecology and radiation shielding calculations are covered. The textbook includes tables to simplify the solutions of the exercises, but the reader is mainly referred to important websites for importing necessary data.

This book represents an effort to document the experience of a carefully-chosen group of international surgeons, regarding the use of imaging technology in their everyday practice. The aim of this book is to help medical students and surgeons at all levels of training and practice to understand the basics of the more common imaging techniques (CT, MRI, MRCP, US, XR, radionuclide scan, etc.), including their advantages and disadvantages and their optimal use and limitations. Following that, the application of these imaging modalities, including the most current developments, in the different fields and subspecialties of surgical practice (including, but not limited to, surgical oncology, neurosurgery, endocrine surgery breast surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, pancreatic surgery, transplantation, urology etc.) is presented in detail. What is important about this book is that it is written by an international group of surgeons who are experts in their respective fields and who offer us here their wisdom and experience, regarding what the communication between the surgeon and the radiologist should be, in order to provide these complex patients with the best possible care. Apart from the radiological and imaging tools commonly used in current practices, future prospects and challenges regarding how imaging technology can increase surgical efficiency in the future are explored. The overall goal of this book is to help surgeons in today's technology-driven environment have a proper understanding of the use and limitations of modern imaging techniques.