UNASSIGNED: Assessing the integrity of the posterior ligament complex (PLC), as a key element in the characterization of an unstable Thoracolumbar fracture (TLF), is challenging, but crucial in the choice of treatment.
UNASSIGNED: How to create a reproducible score using combined parameters of Computed Tomography (CT) to predict nonobvious PLC injury. How CT parameters relate with PLC status.
UNASSIGNED: Retrospective analysis of neurologically intact patients with an acute traumatic TLF, who underwent CT and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) within 72 h, in the Emergency Department of a single institution between January 2016 and 2022. Four investigators rated independently 11 parameters on CT and PLC integrity on MRI. The interrater reliability of the CT parameters was evaluated, and two risk scores were created to predict PLC injury on CT using the coefficients of the multivariate logistic regression.
UNASSIGNED: 154 patients were included, of which 62 with PLC injury. All CT measurements had excellent or good interrater reliability. Patients with Horizontal Fracture of the lamina or pedicle (HLPF), Spinous process fracture (SPF) and Interspinous Distance Widening (IDW) were positively associated with PLC injury (p < 0.001, p < 0.001 and p = 0.045, respectively). Risk Score 2 (RS2), which included only statistically significant variables, had a total of 75.9% of correct classifications (p < 0.001), with a sensitivity of 71.0% and specificity of 78.3% to estimate PLC injury detected in the MRI.
UNASSIGNED: Standardized procedures pre-established in the CT measurement protocol were effective. Identically to early findings, those three CT measurements showed a positive relation to PLC injury, thus enhancing the conclusions of previous studies. Comparing to the reliability of the CT findings above mentioned, the score was less precise.

UNASSIGNED: Radiomics posits that quantified characteristics from radiographic images reflect underlying pathophysiology. Lung cancer (LC) is one of the prevalent forms of cancer, causing mortality. Slice thickness (ST) of computed tomography (CT) images is a crucial factor influencing the generalizability of radiomic features (RF) in oncology. There is scarcity of research that how ST affects variability of RF in LC. The present study helps in identifying the specific RF categories affected by variations in ST and provides valuable insights for researchers and clinicians working with RF in the field of LC.Hence, aim of the study is to evaluate influence of ST on reproducibility of CT-RF for lung tumors.
UNASSIGNED: This is a prospective study, 32 patients with confirmed histopathological diagnosis of lung tumors were included. Contrast Enhanced CT (CECT) thorax was performed using a 128- Incisive CT (Philips Health Care). The image acquisition was performed with 5-mm and 2 mm STwas reconstructed retrospectively. RF were extracted from the CECT thorax images of both ST. We conducted a paired t-test to evaluate the disparity in RF between the two thicknesses. Lin\'s Concordance Correlation Coefficient (CCC) was performed to identify the reproducibility of RF between the two thicknesses.
UNASSIGNED: Out of 107 RF, 66 (61.6%) exhibited a statistically significant distinction (p<0.05) when comparing two ST and while 41 (38.3%) RF did not show significant distinction (p>0.05) between the two ST measurements. 29 features (CCC ≥ 0.90) showed excellent to moderate reproducibility, and 78 features (CCC ≤ 0.90) showed poor reproducibility. Among the 7 RF categories, the shape-based features (57.1%) showed the maximum reproducibility whereas NGTDM-based features showed negligible reproducibility.
UNASSIGNED: The ST had a notable impact on the majority of CT-RF of lung tumors. Shape based features (57.1%). First order (44.4%) features showed highest reproducibility compared to other RF categories.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a respiratory condition characterized by acute exacerbations and reduced lung function. This study investigates the link between serum markers (Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and Immunoglobulin A (IgA)), thoracic computed tomography (CT) scan findings, and pulmonary function indexes during these episodes, aiming to improve our understanding and identify new diagnostic indicators.
From the First Affiliated Hospital of Hebei North University, we selected 89 COPD patients experiencing acute exacerbation within the past two years for our Acute Exacerbation Group (AG). Meanwhile, 96 COPD patients, initially treated at the same hospital and currently deemed stable, were chosen for the Stable Group (SG). Both groups underwent serum IgM and IgA tests, thoracic CT examinations, and pulmonary function assessments.
In the AG Group, the serum IgM levels were marginally lower than in the Stable Group (SG), though the difference wasn\'t statistically significant (p = 0.097). Conversely, serum IgA levels in the AG were significantly lower than in the SG (p < 0.001). The AG also showed markedly reduced lung volume, inspiratory lung density, and pulmonary function indexes compared to the SG while having considerably higher values for emphysema index (EI) and air trapping index (ATI) (all p < 0.001). Pearson correlation analysis revealed that lung volume, average inspiratory lung density, and IgA levels had strong positive correlations with one-second forced expiratory volume (FEV1), FEV1/forced vital capacity (FVC), and diffuse carbon monoxide (DLCO) (with respective r-values of 0.824, 0.841, and 0.829; all p < 0.001). In contrast, EI and ATI exhibited significantly negative correlations with FEV1, FEV1/FVC, and DLCO (with r-values ranging from -0.837 to -0.885; all p < 0.001).
The assessment of serum IgA combined with thoracic CT parameters offers valuable insights for diagnosing and evaluating acute exacerbations of COPD, presenting a straightforward clinical utility.

The AGFAD (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Forensische Alterdiagnostik, Study Group on Forensic Age Diagnostics) has published several recommendations regarding both technical aspects of computed tomography (CT) of the medial clavicular epiphysis (MCE) and the process of reading and interpreting the CT images for forensic age estimations (FAE). There are, however, no published recommendations regarding CT scan protocols and no dose reference values for CT of the MCE. The objective of this analysis was to assess adherence to AGFAD recommendations among practitioners of FAE and analyse reported dose-relevant CT scan parameters with the objective of helping to establish evidence-based dose reference values for FAE. A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed and in Google Scholar with specific MeSH terms to identify original research articles on FAE with CT of the MCE from 1997 to 2022. A total of 48 studies were included. Adherence to AGFAD recommendations among practitioners of FAE is high regarding the use of Schmeling main stages (93%), bone window (79%), ≤ 1 mm CT slices (67%), axial/coronal CT images (65%), and Kellinghaus sub-stages (59%). The reporting of CT technique and CT dose-relevant scan parameters is heterogeneous and often incomplete in the current literature. Considering the success achieved by the AGFAD in creating standards of practice of FAE in living subjects, there is potential for the AGFAD to establish standards for radiation protection in FAE as well.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a nonprofit professional society whose primary purposes are to advance the science, education and professional practice of medical physics. The AAPM has more than 8000 members and is the principal organization of medical physicists in the United States. The AAPM will periodically define new practice guidelines for medical physics practice to help advance the science of medical physics and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the United States. Existing medical physics practice guidelines will be reviewed for the purpose of revision or renewal, as appropriate, on their fifth anniversary or sooner. Each medical physics practice guideline represents a policy statement by the AAPM, has undergone a thorough consensus process in which it has been subjected to extensive review, and requires the approval of the Professional Council. The medical physics practice guidelines recognize that the safe and effective use of diagnostic and therapeutic radiology requires specific training, skills, and techniques, as described in each document. Reproduction or modification of the published practice guidelines and technical standards by those entities not providing these services is not authorized. The following terms are used in the AAPM practice guidelines: (a) Must and Must Not: Used to indicate that adherence to the recommendation is considered necessary to conform to this practice guideline. (b) Should and Should Not: Used to indicate a prudent practice to which exceptions may occasionally be made in appropriate circumstances.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the impact of computed tomography (CT) image acquisition and reconstruction parameters, including slice thickness, pixel size, and dose, on automatic contouring algorithms.
METHODS: Eleven scans from patients with head-and-neck cancer were reconstructed with varying slice thicknesses and pixel sizes. CT dose was varied by adding noise using low-dose simulation software. The impact of these imaging parameters on two in-house auto-contouring algorithms, one convolutional neural network (CNN)-based and one multiatlas-based system (MACS) was investigated for 183 reconstructed scans. For each algorithm, auto-contours for organs-at-risk were compared with auto-contours from scans with 3 mm slice thickness, 0.977 mm pixel size, and 100% CT dose using Dice similarity coefficient (DSC), Hausdorff distance (HD), and mean surface distance (MSD).
RESULTS: Increasing the slice thickness from baseline value of 3 mm gave a progressive reduction in DSC and an increase in HD and MSD on average for all structures. Reducing the CT dose only had a relatively minimal effect on DSC and HD. The rate of change with respect to dose for both auto-contouring methods is approximately 0. Changes in pixel size had a small effect on DSC and HD for CNN-based auto-contouring with differences in DSC being within 0.07. Small structures had larger deviations from the baseline values than large structures for DSC. The relative differences in HD and MSD between the large and small structures were small.
CONCLUSIONS: Auto-contours can deviate substantially with changes in CT acquisition and reconstruction parameters, especially slice thickness and pixel size. The CNN was less sensitive to changes in pixel size, and dose levels than the MACS. The results contraindicated more restrictive values for the parameters should be used than a typical imaging protocol for head-and-neck.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the knowledge and practice of computed tomography (CT) clinical practice preceptors in terms of CT parameters affecting patient dose and image quality.
METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire that surveyed the participants\' demographic information and knowledge about CT parameters and radiation doses was distributed to 60 CT preceptors.
RESULTS: The response rate of the invited technologists was 92 %. 38 (69 %) males and 17 (31 %) females aged between 24 and 59 years, with a mean age of 37.8. The participants\' experience ranged between 2 and 24 years, with a mean of 15.5 years. The average knowledge score was 72.2 %, with a range of correct answers of 9-18 and a mean (±SD) of 13.1 ± 2.1. The participants showed a low awareness of diagnostic reference levels (DRLs). However, they demonstrated good overall knowledge, with a potential for improvement and confidence in practice.
CONCLUSIONS: Continuous medical education and professional development are a priority for improvement to ensure reliable delivery of health care and best practice. The findings of this study can be used by education institutes and health organizations when designing educational programs to ensure the highest training and performance of their technologists.