Healthcare and Biotechnology in the 21st Century: Concepts and Case Studies introduces students not pursuing degrees in science or engineering to the remarkable new applications of technology now available to physicians and their patients and discusses how these technologies are evolving to permit new treatments and procedures. The book also elucidates the societal and ethical impacts of advances in medical technology, such as extending life and end of life decisions, the role of genetic testing, confidentiality, costs of health care delivery, scrutiny of scientific claims, and provides background on the engineering approach in healthcare and the scientific method as a guiding principle. This concise, highly relevant text enables faculty to offer a substantive course for students from non-scientific backgrounds that will empower them to make more informed decisions about their healthcare by significantly enhancing their understanding of these technological advancements.

Computer technology has developed remarkably in the field of neurosurgery during the past 10 to 20 years. Great achievements have been made recently in neuroimaging techniques and computer technology for neuronavigation, from frameless, armless systems to robotic microscopes. Contained in the present volume are all the papers presented at the International Symposium on Computer-Assisted Neurosurgery and selected papers presented at the 6th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Computers in Neurosurgery, which were held in Kobe, Japan, on January 24-26, 1997. This volume is a comprehensive description and review of current technical ad vancements in computer-assisted neurosurgery, with a special focus on advanced intraoperative neuroimaging, various neuronavigation system, robotic microscopes, and strategies for preoperative and intraoperative surgical planning using high-power workstations with three-dimensional software. We express our thanks to the contributors for their participation and cooperation, and to Springer-Verlag for personal and technical assistance in publishing this work. We sincerely hope that this volume will contribute to improving neurosurgical technology and outcomes.

Neurological applications of PET include using itto identify Alzheimer's Disease, including differentiating between other forms of Dementia, to show causes of seizures that were otherwise unclear, and to diagnose psychiatric disorders like Schizophrenia. Although other books on PET may have a chapter or section on neurological applications, this is the only comprehensive and up-to-date book on neurological PET. It reviews PET in neuroscience with particular emphasis on findings that indicate its potential for improving diagnosis and treatment in neurology and psychiatry. Improving the transfer of the huge scientific developments in brain PET into clinical carewill produce tangible human benefit. To this end, "NeuroPET" focuses on practical and potentially clinically relevant issues and identify solid ground as well as open questions. In addition, the book includes major chapters on the methodological background, including tracer physiology and kinetic modeling, and a comprehensive literature review."

The series of workshops sponsored by the European Communities started with "Methodology of PET" at Hammersmith Hospital, London, in March 1984. This was followed by "Radiochemistry, Methodology and Standardization in PET" at the Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot in Orsay, France, in March 1985. Both these meetings were, in the opinion of all participants, great successes, and it was agreed that such work shops should continue and be organized on the same basis. After these two workshops on the fundamentals of PET, time now is ripe to evaluate the clinical efficacy of PET investigations, and to discuss to what extend the information provided by this high technology and theoretical area has contributed to the understanding of disease mechanisms, leading to immediate clinical applications. As pointed out in the previous meetings, PET using short-lived radioisotopes produced in an on-line cyclotron is restricted to a few centers. Therefore, the topics studied so far were mainly of scientific interest and clinical problems were dealt with only marginally. Before this costly technique can be spread and new information made accessible to a broader clinical clientele, its clinical value must be demonstrat ed. So far, in the majority of studies, the central nervous system was the primary target organ, and PET has contributed a great deal to our understanding of brain physiology and pathology. Also on the heart, a substantial number of studies have been performed in various centers, but the application of PET to this organ is still somewhat limited."

Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging is one of several new experimental tech niques which have rec{, tly been applied to food systems. NMR in general and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging are powerful probes of the microscopic and macroscopic changes occurring in foods during processing, storage and utilization. The training that food scientists and food engineers have received in the past has often omitted specific courses in physical chemistry that form the theoretical and practical foundation necessary to fully utilized magnetic resonance experimental techniques. The goal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Foods is to introduce food scien tists and food engineers to magnetic resonance imaging and provide a basis for further study. As such the book begins with two chapters of an introductory nature. The first chapter introduces magnetic resonance phenomena, NMR in general, and MRI in detail. Particular emphasis is given to the limitations and typical ranges available for studying particular phenomena, for example, the range of diffusivities that can be studied using commercial grade NMR equipment. Chapter 2 gives a brief introduction to the classical physical model of NMR first introduced by Felix Bloch in 1946 and aspects important to the interpretation of MRI data. This chapter is provided for the researchers and students interested in more details of the basic theory. Chapter 2 can be skipped by those individuals not requiring more information on the basic theory of NMR. The next several chapters of the book are on applications of MRI to food systems."

Vortex Formation in the Cardiovascular System will recapitulate the current knowledge about the vortex formation in the cardiovascular system, from mechanics to cardiology. This can facilitate the interaction between basic scientists and clinicians on the topic of the circulatory system. The book begins with a synopsis of the fundamentals aspects of fluid mechanics to give the reader the essential background to address the proceeding chapters. Then the fundamental elements of vortex dynamics will be discussed, explaining the conditions for their formation and the rules governing their dynamics. The main equations are accompanied by mathematical models. Cardiovascular vortex formation is first analyzed in physiological, healthy conditions in the heart chambers and in the large arterial vessels. The analysis is initially presented with an intuitive appeal grounded on the physical phenomena and a focus on its clinical significance.In the proceeding chapters, the knowledge gained from either clinical or basic science literature will be discussed. The corresponding mathematical elements will finally be presented to ensure the adequate diligence. The proceeding chapters ensue to the analysis of pathological conditions, when the reader may have developed the ability to recognize normal from abnormal vortex formation phenomenon. Pathological vortex formation represents vortices that develop at sites where normally laminar flow should exist, e.g. stenosis and aneurisms. This analysis naturally leads to the interaction of vortices due to the surgical procedures with respect to prediction of changes in vortex formation. The existing techniques, from medical imaging to numerical simulations, to explore vortex flows in the cardiovascular systems will also be described. The presentations are accompanied by the mathematical definitions can that be understandable for reader without the advanced mathematical background, while an interested reader with more advanced knowledge in mathematics can be referred to references for further quantitative analyses. The book pursues the objective to transfer the fundamental vortex formation phenomena with application to the cardiovascular system to the reader. This book will be a valuable support for physicians in the evaluation of vortex influence on diagnosis and therapeutic choices. At the same time, the book will provide the rigorous information for research scientists, either from medicine and mechanics, working on the cardiovascular circulation incurring with the physics of vortex dynamics.

We are pleased to present this second volume of a series that has already received much interest. The application of magnetic resonance methods to the study of actual biological systems as contrasted to cell-free samples, although not entirely novel, as demonstrated by Civan and Shporer in Volume I, has taken on new dimensions with the use of phosphorus-31 and carbon-13 NMR in studying cells, tissues, and organelles. The applications of 31 P NMR to such systems is reviewed in this volume, while carbon-13 will be covered in a later one. The use of nitroxide spin labels has grown to the point where it now may be considered a common biological technique. The synthesis and applications of a new class of nitroxides is described in this volume. ESR spectroscopy of paramagnetic ions is a powerful approach to studying molecular and structural details, as the chapter by Boas, Pilbrow, and Smith on the ESR of copper in Volume 1 has shown. In this volume the ESR of molybdenum and iron is treated in a comparable fashion. In the first volume some aspects of 1 H NMR spectroscopy of certain classes of In this volume the high-resolu biological macromolecules were discussed.. tion multinuclear NMR spectra of peptides, including the physiologically significant peptide hormones, are reviewed."

The seventh annual multidisciplinary symposium on clinical oncology organised by the Royal College of Radiologists discussed the subject of malignant brain tumours. It was held in London in February 1985 and this volume collects together the edited texts of the papers which were presented at the meeting. Primary tumours of the central nervous system account for about 9070 of all malignant diseases but as much as 20% of all paediatric neoplasms. The prognosis ranges from excellent for some of the less aggressive tumours, through good for children's tumours such as medulloblastoma, to appalling for the high-grade adult astrocytomas. Improvements in pathological diagnosis and surgical and radiothera peutic techniques have led to considerable sequential improvements in outcome over those obtained in the past. In contrast the response to chemotherapy over the whole range of tumours remains disappoint ing, and clearly awaits new drugs and methods of delivery. The relative rarity of individual types of tumours, apart from the commoner high-grade adult astrocytomas, has made progress in terms of clinical trials difficult to organise. In spite of this much investigative work is in progress. The symposium, and the present volume, were designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the subject by experts, with an emphasis on the possible routes to future progress. The topics included aspects of pathology, imaging, diagno sis and treatment of both the common and uncommon primary tumours. It is hoped the papers will stimulate further interest and activity in this difficult area of clinical therapy and investigation."

Hyperthennia is rapidly becaning the fourth IIDdality of cancer treatment, at least a useful adjuvant to radiation therapy, chEfiO therapy or surgery; at best, a new therapeutic fonn that, properly used, may open new horizons in the fight against this dreadful disease. The staging is still primitive. The devices used are after laboratory irrprovisations, and lack the precision and definition of treatment fields that will allow mass use of the m: Xiality. Clinical practices are limited to the procedural evaluations of a few pioneer groups, and basic understanding of its mechanism of action, although progressing by leaps and bounds, is still short of perfection. The challenge and the pranise are there and because of this, p engineers, physicists, biologists, physiologists and clinicians fran different specialties have a basic need for interaction, both in tenus of exchange of scientific infonnation and peer review of results and clinical trials. To satisfy this need, to act as a clearinghouse of knowledge and a fonnn for discussion, the North Alrerican Hyperthennia Group (NAHG) has been fonned. The reeting in Detroit in August 1981 represents the first gathering of the group, to be followed by a second in Salt Lake City in April 1982."

2 ence of a wave zone or induction zone under industrial and exper- imental conditions determines the physical values used to assess the intensity of irradiation (the power flux density or the field in- tensity), the instruments used for measuring, and the experimental technique (irradiation from a distant source, in a cavity resonator, inductor, capacitor, and so on). The physical parameters eVidently also determine the biolog- ical effects of the different frequency bands. In recent decades various bands of radio waves have been extensively used in many branches of industry. The microwave band has been widely applied in the field of radar, radionavigation, radioastronomy, radiometeorology, radiocommunication, nuclear physics, and physiotherapy. The short-wave and ultrashort-wave band are used for physiotherapy, radiocommunication, broadcast- ing, television, and also for the heat treatment of dielectrics and for welding plasticized rubber. The long and medium waves are used for the heat treatment of metals in the vacuum-tube industry and in mechanical engineering.

This book contains extended versions of papers presented at the international Conference VIPIMAGE 2009 - ECCOMAS Thematic Conference on Computational Vision and Medical Image, that was held at Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Portugal, from 14th to 16th of October 2009. This conference was the second ECCOMAS thematic conference on computational vision and medical image processing. It covered topics related to image processing and analysis, medical imaging and computational modelling and simulation, considering their multidisciplinary nature. The book collects the state-of-the-art research, methods and new trends on the subject of computational vision and medical image processing contributing to the development of these knowledge areas.

In Vivo EPR (ESR) is a textbook on this relatively new subject in biomedical electron spin resonance. While a few chapters have appeared in special topics volumes in this series, this book covers the principles and theory, instrumentation as well as the latest applications at the time of its writing. The authors are world-renowned experts and pioneers in their fields. This book is divided into two major sections dealing with theory and instrumentation, and aspects of biochemistry, in vitro and in vivo applications. A significant amount of detail is devoted to clinical applications and the problems and pitfalls encountered in in vivo spectroscopy and imaging.
Key Features:

-History of In Vivo EPR,
-Principles of Imaging-Theory and Instrumentation,
-Time-domain Radio Frequency EPR Imaging,
-The Measurement of Oxygen In Vivo Using In Vivo EPR Techniques,
-Potential Medical (Clinical) Applications of EPR,
-Combining NMR and EPR/ESR for In Vivo Experiments.

Immunofluorescence, a suitable laboratory method for the microscopic demonstration of antigens and antibodies in biological materials, useable, for example, to provide evidence for the pathogenesis of disease in histological or cytological preparations and for tumour cell differentiation. For this reason immunofluorescence has a decisive role as the method of choice for the diagnosis of auto-immune diseases. This primer on immunofluorescence techniques, which first appeared in 1979, is a richly illustrated handbook suitable for everyday practical work in the laboratory, useable as both an introduction to the subject as well as an atlas. In hardly any other area of medicine are there so many new findings to report. The second edition of this book is concerned not only with the detection methods which now form an essential and established part of diagnostic techniques, but also with the most recent research results such as the discovery of antibodies against Auerbach's plexus and against podocytes...

We have entered an exciting period in the study of multiple sclerosis and its treatment. Central to this progress has been the introduction of magnetic reso nance techniques. When Young and his colleagues published the first images of the brain in multiple sclerosis at the end of 1981, it was at once obvious that magnetic resonance imaging would playa major role in diagnosis. Intuitively one felt that it would also have a role in increasing our understanding of the pathogenesis of the disease and in monitoring treatment. And so it has proved. Important problems however remain, perhaps the most important of which at present is the weak predictive power of standard magnetic resonance ima ging methods in determining the possibility of progression of impairment and disability. Recently, there have been advances which promise to overcome some of these problems, but decisions about what approach to adopt in selecting patients for clinical trials and which techniques to use in monitoring treatment during their course are still difficult. In this book, Dr. Filippi and his colleagues have assembled an outstanding group of contributors whose work is central to the progress that is being made. The coverage of the issues involved in the use of magnetic resonance techniques in assessing therapeutic effect is comprehensive and, though the field is chan ging rapidly, the principles and much of the detail in the book are likely to have lasting value."

Since Locher first suggested Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) in 1936, this theoretically ideal system has intrigued investigators. Unfortunately, the first clinical trials between 1951-1961 were not successful. However, they served to implant firmly the seed of BNCT, the growth of which has been carefully nurtured at a number of locations world-wide. This fact is attested to by the ongoing clinical trials in Japan as well as by the presence of researchers from active groups in the ten countries represented at this Workshop. In 1983 and 1985, the first and second international biannual symposia on BNCT were held, in response to a resurgence of interest in this field. In 1986, the DOE sponsored a workshop on NCT, in large part directed toward evaluating the national effort and the various neutron sources available within the United States. It now seems likely, because of various factors including improved neutron beams and boron delivery systems which have made the modality more attractive, that clinical trials will be initiated in the United States within the next few years. This 1988 special workshop, interspersed between the biannual international symposia, represents an effort to seek ideas and advice on the clinical a pects of BNCT, from all those diverse groups with a national commitment to this project. Our purpose is to facilitate our endeavor to incorporate the best procedures and techniques in the upcoming clinical trials.

Parameters such as membrane transport, metabolism and protein incorporation govern the fate of amino acids in living tissue. Is it possible to use positron tomography to measure some of them, and what is their meaning in normal and pathological situations? These questions have been addressed for a long time and no satisfactory answer has yet been given. This book, which derives from an EEC workshop organized in the frame of the Concerted Action on PET Investigation of Cellular Regeneration and Degeneration', held in Lyon in February 1992, gives the present state of knowledge in this field based on the most recent studies. Contributions from 24 leading European and American scientists are presented and discussed in the following four parts: biochemistry and animal studies; amino acids labelling with positron emittors, quality control and metabolites measurement; kinetic modelling of amino acids transport, metabolism, and protein incorporation; clinical use of amino acids. This book will aid and interest biochemists, radiochemists, pharmacologists, neurologists, oncologists and medical imaging scientists.

MRI is assuming a dominant role in imaging of the larynx. Its superior soft tissue contrast resolution makes it ideal for differentiating invasion of tumors of the larynx from normal or more sharply circumscribed configuration of most of the benign lesions. Over ten years ago CT made a major impact on laryngeal examination because it was the first time that Radiologists were beginning to look at submucosal disease. All of the previous examinations duplicated the infor mation that was available to the clinician via direct and in-direct laryngo scopy. With the advent of rigid and flexible endoscopes, clinical examination became sufficiently precise that there was little need to perform studies such as laryngography which merely showed surface anatomy. The status of deep structures by these techniques was implied based on function. Fortunately laryngography is now behind us together with all of the gagging and contrast reactions which we would all like to forget. CT is still an excellent method of examining the larynx but it is unfortunately limited to the axial plane. With presently available CT techniques motion deteriorates any reformatting in sagittal or coronal projections. The latter two planes are extremely helpful in delineating the vertical extent of submucosal spreads. MRI has proven extremely valuable by producing all three basic projections, plus superior soft tissue contrast. Although motion artifacts still degrade the images in some patients, newer pulsing sequences that permit faster scanning are elimi nating most of these problems."

In this fourth book in the series on quantitative coronary arteriography (QCA) with the earlier three volumes published in 1986, 1988 and 1991, the latest developments in this exciting field are covered. Both the methodolog ical and clinical application aspects of these advances are presented in a comprehensive manner in a total of 37 chapters by world renowned experts. The book is subdivided into a total of eight parts, beginning with the more methodological issues, such as QCA and other modalities (3 chapters), cine film versus digital arteriography (3 chapters), quality control in QCA (4 chapters), and coronary blood flow and flow reserve (3 chapters). Since QCA has been well established as the technique for the assessment of regression and progression in atherosclerotic disease, and of restenosis after recanaliz ation procedures, major clinical trials in both groups are described extensively by their principal investigators in a total of 11 chapters. In addition, the QCA results after the application of various recanalization techniques are presented in another eight chapters. In the last part the experiences with various intracoronary prostheses with the emphasis on QCA are discussed in five chapters. This large increase in application oriented chapters means that QCA is well alive and gaining momentum. Although the accuracy and precision of the analytical methods steadily improve with the increasing complexity of the algorithms, there is still always the human factor involved in these processes in terms of frame selection, segment definition, etc.

During the last two decades significant advances have been made in the in vivo-diagnosis of gastrointestinal diseases. Although Ultrasound and CT as well as Endoscopy have had a major impact on the evaluation of liver, pancreas and bile diseases, there are a lot of indications for Nuclear Medicine procedures. These include new investigational procedures like esophageal scintigraphy, proof of bleeding sites, scintigraphy of inflammatory diseases, and intestinal resorption tests. Further, immunoscintigraphy with radiol- elled antibodies has gained wide-spread application especially in colon cancer. The differential diagnosis of liver tumors like haemangioma and focal nodular hyperplasia by means of blood pool and HID A-scintigraphy is nowadays a routine procedure. Other established methods like hepatobiliary scintigraphy and liver perfusion scintigraphy have proved to be reliable tools in the pre-and postoperative evaluation of patients with bile duct obstruction and portal hypertension. The aim of this book is to present the entire spectrum of Nuclear Medicine in Gastroenterology to our colleagues from internal medicine and surgery. Ultrasound and Sonography as well as CT will rule the field of gastroenterology, but there remain a certain number of unanswered questions. Nuclear Medicine provides a lot of reliable answers. H. J. Biersack and P. H. Cox July 1990 VB List of contributors Duncan M. Ackery, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Southampton General Hospital, Tremona Road, Southampton, Hampshire S09 4XY, U. K. Roland Bares (co-author: U. Buell), Department of Nuclear Medicine, Te- nical University of Aachen, Pauwelsstr. 1, DW-5100 Aachen, Germany.

As an addition to the European postgraduate training system for young neurosurgeons we began to publish in 1974 this series devoted to Advances and Technical Standards in Neurosurgery which was later sponsored by the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies. The fact that the English language is well on the way to becoming the international medium at European scientific conferences is a great asset in terms of mutual understanding. Therefore we have decided to publish all contributions in English, regardless of the native language of the authors. All contributions are submitted to the entire editorial board before publication of any volume. Our series is not intended to compete with the publications of original scientific papers in other neurosurgical journals. Our intention is, rather, to present fields of neurosurgery and related areas in which important recent advances have been made. The contributions are written by specialists in the given fields and constitute the first part of each volume. In the second part of each volume, we publish detailed descriptions of standard operative procedures, furnished by experienced clinicians; in these articles the authors describe the techniques they employ and explain the advantages, difficulties and risks involved in the various procedures. This part is intended primarily to assist young neurosurgeons in their post graduate training. However, we are convinced that it will also be useful to experienced, fully trained neurosurgeons."

Ultrasound (US) prenatal screening has been proposed as the most effective technique for Trisomy 21 early assessment. Assessment of Nuchal Translucency (NT) offers promising non-invasive method for fetal abnormalities detection up to 75%. Nevertheless, current clinician practice of NT examination by locating the sonogram calipers on 2D US image requires highly trained and competent operators by adhering to a standard tedious protocol; therefore it is prone to errors and hence it decreases the reliability in intra- and inter-observer repeatability. This Brief provides the basic knowledge regarding Trisomy 21 diseases and its existing detection methods. The restrictions and disadvantages of each method are discussed accordingly. Therefore, a non-invasive early detection method using 3D ultrasound reconstruction of Nuchal Translucency is introduced. This new method for 3D NT assessments has an edge over the previous 2D methods, and entails the composite function in visualizing the explicit internal marker structure. Further, image processing techniques covered from data acquisition, pre-processing, speckle noise reduction and 3D segmentation are also discussed. This should be especially useful for students and professional researchers in the Biomedical and image processing fields.

Key Features * Shows how to select the best thermal imager for your clinical practice, care for it, and use it correctly. * Explains how to take medical quality thermal images and scale them for maximum visual effect using the guidelines detailed in this book. * Details the myriad ways that thermography can aid in medical diagnosis and improve surgical outcomes.

The aim of this Atlas is to present the three-dimensional arrangement of the liver structures, which should be familiar to those who diagnose and treat diseases of the liver, particularly in an era when the methods of diagnostic imaging and surgical treatment are becoming increasingly sophisticated. For this purpose a series of corrosive preparations of the blood vessels and bile ducts of the liver was made and photographed. In addition to the normal situations, many frequent and rare variations are shown. The Atlas also shows some blood vessels that have not been adequately described or are not well-known in the reference literature, but are nevertheless of great importance in performing segmental liver resections.This Atlas takes a fresh approach to the subject. The method used allows the size, three-dimensional arrangement and structure of the blood vessels and bile ducts of the liver to be preserved. The majority of photographs were taken from the direction from which surgeons see the liver during an operation. This, together with the schematic presentations complementing most of the photographs, gives a further instructional value to the work. With colour photographs and explanatory text, the Atlas forms a basic guide to orientation inside the liver parenchyma, to understanding and diagnosing certain pathological processes and to planning surgcial procedures.

Recent years have witnessed dramatic advances in the development and use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques that can provide quantitative measures with some degree of pathological specificity for the heterogeneous substrates of multiple sclerosis (MS). Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) is one of the most promising of these techniques. Thanks to MRS, axonal damage is no longer considered an end-stage phenomenon typical of only the most destructive lesions and the most unfortunate cases, but rather as a major component of the MS pathology of lesions and normal-appearing white matter at all the phases of the disease. This new concept is rapidly changing our understanding of MS pathophysiology and, as a consequence, the therapeutic strategies to modify the disease course favorably. Many of the authors have pionereed the use of MRS in MS, thus contributing to the foundation of the "axonal hypothesis."