The field of Very High Frequency EPR (VHF EPR) or sometimes called Very High Field EPR (conveniently, also abbreviated as VHF EPR) has blossomed during the past decade, especially after the original pioneering work of Ya. S. Lebedev and his group at the Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Although Lebedev suffered heavily under the economic constraints of the communist Soviet Union and then succumbed to cancer at the peak of his scientific career, his groundbreaking work from the 1970's is still considered today to be the 'gold standard' by researchers practicing EPR at high magnetic fields. A stimulus for the production of this book is the legacy of Yakov Levedev in his students now residing in academic positions in the US and elsewhere. The aim of this book is to highlight the state of this growing field. This is an attempt to cover the full scope of VHF EPR in a single volume. The idea for this volume came to the editors at the 2001 Rocky Mountain Analytical Conference during the 24th International EPR Symposium chaired by Sandra and Gareth Eaton. VHF EPR was presented as an independent research field at a workshop organized by LC BruneI and supported by the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, a National Science Foundation funded facility at Florida State University.

The NATO Advanced Study Institute "Biomedical Optical Instrumentation and Laser Assisted Biotechnology" was held November 10-22, 1995 in Erice, Sicily. This was the 19 th conference organized by the International School of Quantum Electronics, under the auspices of the "Ettore Majorana" Center for Scientific Culture. The contributions presented at the Institute are written as extended, review-like papers to provide a broad and representative coverage of the fields of laser techniques, optoelectronics systems for medical diagnosis, and light and laser applications to Biology and Medicine. The aim of the Institute was to bring together some of the world's acknowledged scientists and clinicians that belong to different disciplines and consequently do not usually meet, but who have as a common link the use of optoelectronics instrumentation, techniques and procedures. Most of the lecturers attended all the lectures and devoted their spare hours to stimulating discussions. We would like to thank them all for their admirable contributions. The Institute also took advantage of a very active audience; most of the participants were active researchers in the field and contributed with discussions and seminars. Some of these seminars are also included in these Proceedings. The Institute was an important opportunity to discuss latest developments and emerging perspectives on the use of laser sources and optoelectronic techniques for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

Oncological surgeons are often requested in their clinical practice to identify and manage uncommon and complex situations. It is therefore of the utmost importance that they are well aware of the most recent technological evolutions, in order to achieve the best possible results in term of oncological outcome, with a concern on quality of life and economical issues. Furthermore, new techniques can give a fundamental contribution in overcoming the limitations of standard approaches.

An essential aim of this book is to underline the great importance and the need of an effective coordination of multi-disciplinary care among surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation therapists, plastic surgeons and ancillary services, in order to optimise patient outcome.

The current book represents a distillation of the experience gained in diagnosis of intracranial tumors with computed X-ray tomography at the University Hos pitals of Berlin, Mainz, and Miinchen. To what purpose? Standard radiological techniques such as pneumoencephalography with lumbar puncture and cerebral arteriography with puncture of the common carotid artery are invasive proce dures which entail a certain amount of risk as well as discomfort for the patient. Furthermore, diagnoses made with these procedures rely primarily on indirect signs of an intracranial space-occupying lesion - such as displacement of the air-filled ventricles or of normal cerebral vessels. Only a few types of tumor are demonstrated directly with these techniques. In contrast, computed tomography demonstrates the pathology directly in almost all cases, and this with a minimum of risk and discomfort. In addition, normal intracranial structures are demonstrated, so that the tumor's effect on its surroundings can be evaluated. Today, almost a decade after HOUNSFIELD'S revolutionary invention, diagno sis of brain tumors without computed tomography is almost unthinkable, if not in fact irresponsible."

It is with pleasure that I write this foreword for the book "Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Coronary Artery Disease", edited by Dr. van der Wall and Dr. de Roos. I am pleased for two reasons. Firstly, as chairman of the Scientific Board of the Interuniversity Cardiology Institute of the Netherlands (ICIN), because ever since the technique became available for use in medicine and biology our Institute has tried and succeeded to promote the introduction and dev- opment of magnetic resonance imaging in cardiology in the Netherlands. ICIN was the first cardiological institute on the European continent to purchase its own nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscope for the study of myocardial metabolism. Secondly, because I have always been infatuated with this noninvasive technique that can produce cardiac images without ionic radiation and at the same time allows for the study of myocardial metabolism as well. And even more so because nuclear magnetic resonance imaging in medicine is one of the shining examples of medical progress as a result of breakthrough discoveries in physics and chemistry.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Second International Workshop on Spatio-temporal Image Analysis for Longitudinal and Time-Series Image Data, STIA 2012, held in conjunction with MICCAI 2012 in Nice, France, in October 2012. The 13 papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 22 submissions. They are organized in topical sections named: longitudinal registration and transport; spatio-temporal analysis for shapes; spatio-temporal analysis under appearance changes; and spatio-temporal analysis for biology.

In recent years there have been tremendous advances in cardiac imaging techniques covering the complete spectrum from echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, magnetic resonance imaging to contrast angiography. With respect to these noninvasive and invasive cardiac imaging modalities, marked technological developments have allowed the cardiologist to visualize the myocardium in a far more refined manner than conventional imaging was capable of. Echocardiography has extended its domain with intravascular ultrasound, cardiovascular nuclear imaging has added positron emission tomography to its line of research, magnetic resonance imaging has been broadened with magnetic resonance angiography and spectroscopy, and finally contrast angiograp hy has widened its scope with excellent quantitation programs. For all these imaging modalities it is true that the application of dedicated quantitative analytic software packages enables the evaluation of the imaging studies in a more accurate, reliable, and reproducible manner. It goes without saying that these extensions and achievements have resulted in improved diagnostics and subsequently in improved patient care. Particularly in patients with ischemic heart disease, major progress has been made to detect coronary artery disease in an early phase of the disease process, to follow the atherosclerotic changes in the coronary arteries, to establish the functional and metabolic consequences of the luminal obstructions, and to accurately assess the results of interventional therapy.

We have considered it to be a demanding assignment to provide a complete exposition dealing with the nature of radiation, its effects, and protection against it to workers in health-related activities. "Radiation" (and more precisely "ionizing radiation") is emitted by X-ray machines, nuclear reactors, and nuclear weapons, but also comes from natural sources to which we are all exposed. It would have been easier to deal with this subject area with the terminology and mathematics employed by specialists. However, although most of the potential readers probably have obtained further pertinent knowledge, we assume no more than a high school education in science and mathematics and the challenge was to provide maximum information within this constraint. This book contains five sections: (A) Radiation Physics, (B) Radiological Physics, (C) Radiation Biology, (D) Radiation Effects on Human Populations, and (E) Radiation Protection. Each section is preceded by a synopsis covering its essential features. It provides sufficient information to enable readers to obtain a general under standing of the subject of the section and an adequate background for comprehension of other sections. The more detailed presentation in the bulk of each section is followed by appendixes that generally contain more advanced topics. This scheme necessarily involves some repetition but permits a more flexible approach for readers who are especially interested in the contents of particular sections.

Recent radiologic procedures in bone and joints, some of which eliminate the need for surgery are exposed, including: trephine biopsies of the thoracic and lumbar spine, sacro-iliac joints, peripheral bones synovial membrane and soft tissues, using either fluoroscopic echographic or CT guidance - chemonucleolysis - vascular embolization of skeletal tumors and management of vertebral hemangiomas - selective steroid injection in a broad spectrum of diseases including vertebral facet syndrom, cervicobrachial nerve root pain, rotator cuff calcium deposits, bone cysts. This unique volume supplies the reader with complete information regarding the performance of all these techniques.

Mass spectrometry (MS) offers unmatched capabilities for the detection, characterization, and identification of a broad range of analytes. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) integrates MS data with information on the spatial distributions of the analytes, further enhancing the applicability of MS. In Mass Spectrometry Imaging: Principles and Protocols, expert practitioners from academia, industry, and the clinic contribute cutting-edge protocols describing the application of MSI to investigations of analyte localization in a variety of specimens, from microorganisms to plant and animal tissues. Divided into three sections, this volume presents the principles of MS, current and future trends of MSI, and qualitative and quantitative protocols to measure and identify endogenous metabolites and xenobiotics. An array of MSI approaches and technologies for characterizing peptide and protein distributions are described in detail. Written in the highly successful Methods in Molecular Biology (TM) series format, protocol chapters include introductions to their respective topics, lists of the necessary materials and reagents, and step-by-step, readily reproducible laboratory procedures. Also included are notes providing tips to avoid experimental pitfalls and helpful suggestions for method troubleshooting. Comprehensive and up-to-date, Mass Spectrometry Imaging: Principles and Protocols is written for scientists, biological and chemical engineers, and clinicians who are interested in applying MSI in their work and those who would benefit from having detailed experimental guidelines available in a single, convenient source.

A critical summary of the state of the art of PET technology and related disciplines (camera physics, radiochemistry, radiopharmacology, computerised brain atlases and databases, etc.), plus a survey of the most recent developments in the clinical and neuroscience applications of PET. The chapters systematically guide the reader from the basics of the technique - including new camera designs, new drugs, and new statistical and image processing approaches - through its most important clinical applications - in neurology, psychiatry and oncology - to the most sophisticated neuroscience applications, including research into human sensory and motor systems, the functional organisation of imagery, volition, attention and consciousness in the human brain.

Can drug development and evaluation be improved by the use of positron emission tomography (PET)? PET is now well established and many PET centres participate in networks that warrant the quality of their research. PET allows one to follow the effect of a drug on a variety of patients' metabolic parameters. In addition, PET may be used to follow the fate in vivo of a compound, allowing visualisation of its binding to specific receptors and a direct study of the mechanism of drug action in normal and pathological situations. The book shows the fields in which PET offers new and unique information for the development of drugs (conception, toxicity, pharmacokinetics and metabolism, clinical research, and relations between clinical and biological effects) and evaluates fields in which PET may shorten the development time of drugs. Audience: Professionals in the pharmaceutical industry in all areas of drug discovery and pharmacology, pre-clinical testing, pharmacokinetics and metabolism, clinical evaluation, registration and regulatory affairs. Government health authority representatives who assess data and documentation on new drug development and radiopharmaceuticals. Academic experts concerned with any of these areas.

A unique reference manual for academic surgeons, this book discusses every facet of surgical research. From getting grant money to choosing a topic, reviewing the literature, planning and conducting research, and reporting results.

Sharmila Majumdar In the area of osteoporosis and skeletal changes, it is currently accepted that bone mineral density (BMD), widely used for screening, monitoring and assessing therapeutic efficacy, does not adequately explain the pathogenesis of osteoporosis, the process of aging, or the therapeutic efficacy of various treatments. In this context, trabecular micro- architecture has enormous potential to contribute to understanding the pathophysiology of osteopor.osis and therapy assessment. The use and value of noninvasive imaging and quantitative image analysis and processing of trabecular bone micro-architecture have increased dramatically due to recent advances in instrumentation and software. This emerging field is diverse, interdisciplinary, and encompasses many different imaging modalities. Interested researchers include those involved in technique development, basic science and animal studies, as well as clinical researchers and practicing physicians. With the growth of this area of research, a group of investigators at the 11th Interna- tional Workshop of Bone Densitometry, 1 concluded that a forum dedicated to this matter was urgently needed. With this agenda, Dr. Peter Ruegsegger organized the first sympo- 2 sium on conjunction with the 10th Conference of the European Society of Biomechanics. The symposium on Bone Architecture and Competence was a two-hourlong event which resulted in five chapters in Bone Research and Biomechanics, edited by G. Lowet, P. Ruegsegger, H. Weinans, and A. Meunier, published by lOS Press, 1997. The second symposium was held as a pre-symposium to the 12th Workshop on Bone Denistometry,3 and flourished as a daylong event.

This is the third volume in the series, in which the topic of the effects of radio frequencies on human tissue, now increasingly a concern with the prevalence of cell phones, is explored by Prof. Lin and other researchers. The impact of electromagnetics on imaging and cardiology, both very keen areas of research at present, is also explored.

The small neck of the aneurysm afforded an easy surgical attack. An ordinary flat silver clip was placed over the sac and tightly compressed obliterated it completely. The clip was flush with the wall of the carotid artery. The sac, lateral to the silver clip, was then picked up with the forceps and thrombosed by the electocautery. Walter Dandy reporting his successful operation of a posterior communicating aneurysm on March 23, 1937. Walter Dandy's patient left the hospital in good health 2 weeks later, and from his report one may gain the impression that the operation was an easy task. Despite continuous developments during the following decades, it was not until the introduction of the operating microscope and microsurgical techniques that surgical treatment was generally accepted. During the microsurgical era surgical results have continued to improve due to diagnostical, neuroanaesthesi ological, and microsurgical refinements, and improved neurointensive care. Endovascular obliteration has become an important treatment alternative but this has not been included in this particular volume. The purpose of the present supplement of the ACTA NEUROCHIRURGICA is to review some of the elements in the neurosurgical management of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage that are important for a successful outcome. Professor Helge Nornes has been a major force in the development of new techniques and research strategies in this area for a number of years and has recently retired from the National Hospital in Oslo."

Various textbooks on stereotactic neurosurgery have been published during the last few years (Riechert 1980, Schaltenbrand and Walker 1982, Spiegel 1982), all of them dealing with functional stereo tactics as the major subject in the field. Diagnostic and therapeutic stereotactic interventions are only briefly described, whereas localization techniques are not yet mentioned. Since 1980, however, an increasing number of reports has been published on CT guided and computer monitored stereotactic performances which enable the surgeon to combine diagnostic and therapeutic efforts in one session. With recent progress in scanning techniques, including high resolution CT, NMR, and PET imaging of the brain, it has become possible to study and localize any brain area of interest. With the concomitant advances in computer technology, 3-dimensional reconstruction of deep seated lesions in stereotactic space is possible and the way is open for combined surgery with stereotactic precision and computer guided open resection. This type of open surgery in stereotactic space is already being developed in some centers with the aid of microsurgical, fiberoptic, and laser beam instrumentation. With these advances stereotactic techniques will rapidly become in tegrated into clinical neurosurgery. Stereotactics has become a metho dology which enables the surgeon to attack deep seated and subcortical small tumors. Neurosurgeons may abandon therapeutic nihilism, still frequently seen in glioma treatment, in the near future when stereotactic resection will be feasible and remaining tumor cells may be killed by adjuvant treatment modalities still in development."

The sellar region and paranasal sinuses constitute the anatomical sections of the skull base in which pathological entities warrant interdisciplinary management. Processes originating in the paranasal sinuses can reach and involve the skull base in and around the sella, sometimes not respecting the natural dural boundary. On the other hand, lesions involving the sellar block, such as pituitary adenomas and meningiomas, can also extend downwards into the paranasal sinuses. The orbit and cavernous sinus may be subject to involvement and infiltration by both paranasal and sellar pathology. The advancement and new achievements of modern diagnostic procedures, such as high-resolution CT, three-dimensional reconstruc tion, MRI, and MRI angiography, as well as the detailed selective angiographic protocols and endovascular techniques, have increased the possibilities for surgical management of this type of pathology with extra- and intracranial involvement. Long-standing and intense inter disciplinary work has led to sophisticated operative approaches which for benign tumors allow total excision with preservation of structures and function, and for some malignant lesions permit an en bloc resec tion via a combined intracranial-extracranial approach. This volume reflects the work and scientific exchange which took place during the IV International Congress of the Skull Base Study Group, held in Hanover. Leading authorities in the basic sciences including anatomy joined with diagnosticians, clinicians, and surgeons from different fields to evaluate the state of the art of this topic in skull base surgery."

Imaging techniques are often called upon in oncology in virtue of their essential role in tumor diagnosis, extension work up to various organs and detection of relapse. They are also indispensable in research and in clinical practice, allowing an objective assessment of tumoral regression in patients undergoing treatment. It is currently impossible to establish the management plan of a cancer patient or to obtain follow-up of such a patient under treatment without clinical and imaging confrontation.

A few evenings ago in the Hall of the Neurological Clinic of Bologna University Dr. HENRI HEcAEN gave a lecture on the physiopathology of writing. As I was listening to his learned exposition, memories returned to me of times when my reaction to his work was not always the enjoyment of a quiet listener; namely, of the times when, ten years before, during the" seances du samedi" at the Neurosurgical Center of Saint' Anne Hospital in Paris, our meetings often consisted of disputes, in a sparkling tangle of alliances and hostilities, which would often result in clashes between TALAIRACH,AJURIAGUERRA, BREGEAT, M. , and Mme DELL,KLoTz (each one passionately pleading for his own speciality), with a brillant chorus of collaborators: CONSTANS, ABouLKER, DELIGNE, SADOUN, BANCAUD ...enlivening the scene. I re- member the discussions on clinical cases, the "lettres au directeur et aux medicins soignants" in which GUILLY was a master of diplomacy, the biting hints at the administrators, the smiles between allies or lovers. And in that casbah-like uproar of students, doctors, patients, attendants, technicians, and spectators, the voice of the "Grand Chef," preceded by a slam on the table, ringing out loudly: "Nom de Dieu! Voulez-vous vous taire et nous foutre la paix?" Monsieur David was always able to humanize any abstract problem. Saint' Anne! An arena where we dealt with the latest findings of neurology, psychiatry, stereotaxis, neurosurgery, neurophthalmo- logy, electroencephalography and neuroradiology. lowe my career to having met Erik Lindgren and Marcel David.

This volume contains the proceedings of a symposium held in Marseille on April 6, 1992, on the topic "Heterogeneity of Alzheimer's disease. " This was the eighth of a continuing and very successful series of meetings related to Alzheimer's disease organized by the Fondation Ipsen pour la Recherche Therapeutique. These symposia, known as "Colloques medecine et recherche," started in 1987 and have dealt with widely different aspects of the disease such as immunology, genetics, neuronal grafting, biological markers, imaging, growth factors, and last year's less conventional topic of Neurophilo- sophy and Alzheimer's disease. The next IPSEN symposium dedicatet to Alz- heimer's disease will take place in Lyon on June 21, 1993, and will deal with "Amyloid protein precursors in development, aging, and alzheimer's disease. " It is being organized by Konrad Beyreuther, Colin Masters, Marc Trillet, and Yves Christen. Until a few years ago, several names were used to refer to the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. They included such terms as "senile psycho- sis," "organic brain syndrome," and "senile dementia. " Following Kraepelin, the term "Alzheimer's disease" was often restricted to an uncommon condition starting at a younger age (before 60 or 65 years of age).

It is a great pleasure for me to introduce and to recommend this much needed text on double contrast examination of the colon. It is aimed both at clinicians who request X-ray examinations of the colon and at radiologists who must per form and interpret these studies. Over the past decade there has been renewed interest in X-ray examination of the colon despite the tremendous advances in endoscopy and imaging tech nology. This renewed interest is evidenced by the proliferation of new books on radiology of the colon. However, previous discussions of double contrast ex amination have concentrated primarily on the technique with too little attention to the understanding and interpretation of the radiologic images. This volume is unique in its emphasis on the basics of image formation and interpretation. It emphasizes the importance of the anteroposterior relation ships of the colon in determining the distribution of barium and air. It also rec ognizes the influence oflocation on the radiologic appearance of the lesion. The authors demonstrate a profound understanding of the principles of double contrast diagnosis as applied to the colon. They also have a good grasp of the gross pathologic changes underlying the radiologic images. The material is presented in a logical and analytical method which should be particularly useful to the beginner in this field. There are many helpful diagrams and the ra diographic illustrations are of excellent quality."

Numerous diseases in the areas of orthopaedics, rheumatology, and radiology can only be completely diagnosed if the corresponding conditions of the skin and mucous membranes are included in the diagnostic work-up (skin-bone). Conversely, dermatologic assessment of skin symptoms in isolation may lead to serious delays and errors in the diagnosis and treatment of associated changes in the musculoskeletal system. This monograph gives an interdisciplinary synopsis, from a dermatologic and clinical radiologic perspective, of 85 disease entities which in practice are likley to present. For orientation purposes the main dermatologic and radiologic symptoms are presented in table form at the beginning of the book.

The many advances in breast cancer research, as well as the large quantity of published material, make it very difficult to gain insight into the global aspects of cancer management. To follow and understand all the new developments is becoming a major challenge. For this reason, the editors decided to bring together a group of top researchers in breast cancer to provide a comprehensive, yet readable conceptual review of the state of the art of breast cancer diagnosis and therapy. The proposal to focus the review on the quantitative assessment of the risk at diagnosis, the determination of which may permit selective therapies for individual patients, was met with enthusiastic approval, resulting in the present volume with contributions by the leading investigators in the field. While the volume relating to diagnosis, published re cently, focused on efforts leading to refinement at diagnosis of risk criteria sensitive enough to reliably distinguish the low- and high-risk categories, the second volume, by provid ing a review of the main problems and results of therapy given to high-risk patients, can be considered as a continua tion of the first book. A refined risk assessment at diagnosis and the application of the most suitable treatments to well selected individuals are the most important steps towards avoiding the present worrisome reality of overtreating the low risk and undertreating the high-risk patients. The first few chapters of the present volume offer an insight into the general management of early breast cancer.

The three-volume set LNCS 7510, 7511, and 7512 constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, MICCAI 2012, held in Nice, France, in October 2012. Based on rigorous peer reviews, the program committee carefully selected 252 revised papers from 781 submissions for presentation in three volumes. The third volume includes 79 papers organized in topical sections on diffusion imaging: from acquisition to tractography; image acquisition, segmentation and recognition; image registration; neuroimage analysis; analysis of microscopic and optical images; image segmentation; diffusion weighted imaging; computer-aided diagnosis and planning; and microscopic image analysis.