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A Retrospective Review of TATRC Funding for Medical Modeling and Simulation Technologies.

Pugh CM, Bevan MG, Duve RJ, White HL, Magee JH, Wiehagen GB

From Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (C.M.P.), Chicago, IL; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (M.G.B.), Baltimore, MD; and the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (R.J.D., H.L.W., J.H.M., G.B.W.), Fort Detrick, MD.

INTRODUCTION:: In February 2000, the U.S. Army's Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) and the U.S. Army's Simulation, Training, and Instrumentation Command cohosted an Integrated Research Team conference in Maryland. The goal of the conference was to enable end users, researchers, materiel developers, and other government agencies to present their conceptions of how modeling and simulation could and should be developed to meet military medical needs. During the past 9 years, TATRC has funded more than 175 projects relating to simulation. METHODS:: This study was a retrospective review of TATRC's Modeling and Simulation Training projects (N = 175). RESULTS:: Our results show that most (>75%) of the funded projects in this study involved industry. More than 85% of the projects that involved industry focused on technology development. Industry development projects seemed to meet their deliverables in a timely fashion. However, academia projects using industry-developed technologies and prototypes were delayed largely because the technologies did not meet their needs. DISCUSSION:: There seems to be a measurable gap between industry's definition of a completed product technology and academia's ability to implement and use the technology in interactive learning environments. Our findings support the need for a standardized strategic design process that involves a strong industry-academia collaboration and early end-user testing to better facilitate the development of sound requirements that guide technology development.

Published 6 May 2011 in Simul Healthc.
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Articles on Medical Physics published 6 May 2011:

Assessment of Fetal Brain Uptake of Paraquat In Utero Using In Vivo PET/CT Imaging.   Toxicol Sci.

Prenatal in utero conditions are thought to play a role in the development of adult diseases including Parkinson's disease (PD). Paraquat is a common herbicide with chemical structure similar to 1-methyl-4-phenyl 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), a neurotoxin known to induce parkinsonism. In order to assess the role of in utero paraquat exposure in PD, uptake in maternal and fetal brains were measured using PET/CT imaging. Two anesthetized pregnant rhesus macaques in the late second trimester ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Perfusion Estimated with Rapid Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Correlates Inversely with Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression and Pimonidazole Staining in Head-and-Neck Cancer: A Pilot Study.   Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys.

PURPOSE: To analyze, in a pilot study, rapidly acquired dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI data with a general two-compartment exchange tracer kinetic model and correlate parameters obtained with measurements of hypoxia and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Eight patients were scanned before surgery. The DCE-MRI data were acquired with 1.5-s temporal resolution and analyzed using the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Failure analysis of fractured dental zirconia implants.   Clin Oral Implants Res.

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was the macroscopic and microscopic failure analysis of fractured zirconia dental implants. Methods: Thirteen fractured one-piece zirconia implants (Z-Look3) out of 170 inserted implants with an average in situ period of 36.75±5.34 months (range from 20 to 56 months, median 38 months) were prepared for macroscopic and microscopic (scanning electron microscopy [SEM]) failure analysis. These 170 implants were inserted in 79 patients. The patient ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

PULMONARY ANGIOGRAPHY WITH 64-MULTIDETECTOR-ROW COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN NORMAL DOGS.   Vet Radiol Ultrasound.

Pulmonary angiography using 64-multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) was used to evaluate pulmonary artery anatomy, and determine the sensitivity of pulmonary artery segment visualization in four Beagle dogs using images reconstructed to 0.625 mm and retro-reconstructed to 1.25 and 2.5 mm slice thickness. Morphologically, characteristic features included a focal narrowing in the right cranial pulmonary artery in all dogs, which should not be mistaken as stenosis. While the right ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Mechanisms of Primary Blast-Induced Traumatic Brain Injury: Insights from Shock-Wave Research.   J Neurotrauma.

Abstract Traumatic brain injury caused by explosive or blast events is traditionally divided into four phases: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary blast injury. These phases of blast-induced traumatic brain injury (bTBI) are biomechanically distinct and can be modeled in both in vivo and in vitro systems. The primary bTBI injury phase represents the response of brain tissue to the initial blast wave. Among the four phases of bTBI, there is a remarkable paucity of information about the ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Medical Physics published 5 May 2011:

Multislice CT angiography assessment of left coronary artery: Correlation between bifurcation angle and dimensions and development of coronary artery disease.   Eur J Radiol.

PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between left coronary bifurcation and dimensional changes and development of coronary artery disease using multislice CT angiography. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 30 patients (18 men, 12 women, mean age, 56 years±8) suspected of coronary artery disease undergoing 64- and 256-slice CT angiography were included in the study. Left bifurcation angle and left coronary diameter were measured to determine the relationship between angulation and plaque formation and ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Assessing the role of volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) relative to IMRT and helical tomotherapy in the management of localized, locally advanced, and post-operative prostate cancer.   Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys.

PURPOSE: To quantify differences in treatment delivery efficiency and dosimetry between step-and-shoot intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT), and helical tomotherapy (HT) for prostate treatment. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Twenty-five prostate cancer patients were selected retrospectively for this planning study. Treatment plans were generated for: prostate alone (n = 5), prostate + seminal vesicles (n = 5), prostate + seminal vesicles + pelvic lymph nodes ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

Articles on Medical Physics published 4 May 2011:

Crystal structure of importin-α bound to a peptide bearing the nuclear localisation signal from chloride intracellular channel protein 4.   FEBS J, 278(10): 1662-1675.

It has been reported that a human chloride intracellular channel (CLIC) protein, CLIC4, translocates to the nucleus in response to cellular stress, facilitated by a putative CLIC4 nuclear localization signal (NLS). The CLIC4 NLS adopts an α-helical structure in the native CLIC4 fold. It is proposed that CLIC4 is transported to the nucleus via the classical nuclear import pathway after binding the import receptor, importin-α. In this study, we have determined the X-ray crystal structure of a ... [Abstract] [Full-text]

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