Infrared thermal imaging in the diagnosis of musculoskeletal injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Musculoskeletal injuries occur frequently. Diagnostic tests using ionizing radiation can lead to problems for patients, and infrared thermal imaging could be useful when diagnosing these injuries. CONCLUSION: A systematic review was performed to determine the diagnostic accuracy of infrared thermal imaging in patients with musculoskeletal injuries. A meta-analysis of three studies evaluating stress fractures was performed and found a lack of support for the usefulness of infrared thermal imaging in musculoskeletal injuries diagnosis.

Monitoring of the action of drugs in melanoma cells by dynamic laser speckle.

This work presents the development of a protocol based on the dynamic laser speckle designed to monitor the reaction of cancer cells of line MEL-RC08 to the application of the drug Colcemid in two different concentrations: 0.2 and 0.4 µg/mL. The protocol was designed using the forward scattering approach with an He-Ne laser of 632.8 nm illuminating the samples, a control, and two variations of Colcemid, being monitored along 8 h. The data were analyzed numerically in the time and in the frequency domain, and the results presented the ability of the technique to monitor the action of the drug, particularly Colcemid (0.4 µg/mL).

Effects of endodontic treatment on apparent Young's modulus of human teeth: in vitro study using speckle interferometry.

The introduction of new techniques for endodontic procedures requires the analysis of the biomechanical behavior of dental structures. Digital speckle shearing pattern interferometry (DSSPI) is a nondestructive optical measuring technique that allows one to directly quantify deformations in teeth that are subjected to stress. DSSPI technique was applied to measure small deformations caused by flexion in different types of teeth. The test was carried out both before and after endodontic treatment with the ProTaper method in order to evaluate the variation of dental elasticity, taking into the account the type of tooth and the endodontic treatment. The results obtained show that dental elasticity, established by means of the apparent Young's modulus, before and after the endodontic treatment, differs between incisors and premolars. The endodontic process does not affect dental elasticity (p>0.7). Specifically, 57.1% of central incisors and 56.3% of second premolars slightly increase their elasticity after the endodontic process. In turn, 42.9% of central incisors and 43.7% of second premolars slightly decrease elasticity. The endodontic treatment especially affects the "neutral fibre"; therefore, there is little influence on elasticity by flexion. However, after finishing the process, the channel was restored with material, which can slightly increase tooth elasticity in some cases.

Estudio mediante una técnica no lesiva, basada en la luz estructurada, de la topografia de la espalda de futbolistas / Study of back topography of football players by a nonlesive method based on structured light

Se presenta un método no lesivo basado en la proyección de luz estructurada con código de color para la obtención de la topografía de la superficie de la espalda en deportistas. El método permite la visualización de las asimetrías existentes en las distintas zonas de la espalda, cervical, dorsal y lumbar, tomando como referencia la posición de las cervicales y de los glúteos. La determinación en estas topografías de variables cuantificadoras para caracterizar la deformidad, tanto en el plano frontal como transversal, permite realizar un diagnóstico precoz de la existencia de patologías asociadas con desviación de la columna en los deportistas integrantes de los clubs deportivos, sobre todo en las edades infantiles y juveniles, donde la prevalencia de la escoliosis es mayor. En este trabajo se ha introducido una nueva variable, el gradiente lumbar, que permite identificar la elevación de los glúteos respecto de la cintura, para cuantificar el desarrollo de los glúteos asociado a la práctica deportiva, así como la asimetría de la zona lumbar. Estas variables topográficas han resultado independientes de la altura y edad de los sujetos del estudio y, por tanto, pueden resultar de interés para valorar el efecto del entrenamiento deportivo en la musculatura, tanto a nivel dorsal como lumbar, a lo largo de la evolución del deportista en estudios longitudinales, así como para realizar las oportunas comparaciones entre las distintas actividades deportivas. En nuestro estudio, aplicado aun equipo de fútbol, se ha podido comprobar el mayor número de valores elevados de la variable que mide la deformidad en el plano horizontal en el grupo de edad de los 14 a los 15 años y una ligera variación en función de la posición que ocupan en el campo (AU)

We present a noninvasive method based on structured light projection with color code to obtain the topography of the back surface in athletes. The method allows the display of the asymmetries in the areas of the back, cervical, dorsal and lumbar, with reference to the position of the neck and buttocks. The determination of quantifier variables in these topographies to characterize the deformity in both the frontal and transverse plane allows an early diagnosis of the existence of pathologies associated with curvature of the spine in athletes members of sports clubs, especially in children and youth ages where the prevalence of scoliosis is greater. In this paper we have introduced a new variable, the lumbar gradient, which identifies the elevation of the buttocks on the waist, to quantify the development of the buttocks associated with the sport, and the asymmetry of the lumbar area. These topographic variables were independent of height and age of athletes and therefore may be of interest to assess the effect of sport training in the musculature, both dorsal and lumbar, along of the evolution the athlete and to make appropriate comparisons between different sport activities. In our study, applied to a football team, it has been found the most elevated values of the variable that measures the deformity in the horizontal plane in the age group of 14 to 15 years and a slight variation depending on the playing position (AU)

Quantifier variables of the back surface deformity obtained with a noninvasive structured light method: evaluation of their usefulness in idiopathic scoliosis diagnosis.

New noninvasive techniques, amongst them structured light methods, have been applied to study rachis deformities, providing a way to evaluate external back deformities in the three planes of space. These methods are aimed at reducing the number of radiographic examinations necessary to diagnose and follow-up patients with scoliosis. By projecting a grid over the patient's back, the corresponding software for image treatment provides a topography of the back in a color or gray scale. Visual inspection of back topographic images using this method immediately provides information about back deformity, but it is important to determine quantifier variables of the deformity to establish diagnostic criteria. In this paper, two topographic variables [deformity in the axial plane index (DAPI) and posterior trunk symmetry index (POTSI)] that quantify deformity in two different planes are analyzed. Although other authors have reported the POTSI variable, the DAPI variable proposed in this paper is innovative. The upper normality limit of these variables in a nonpathological group was determined. These two variables have different and complementary diagnostic characteristics, therefore we devised a combined diagnostic criterion: cases with normal DAPI and POTSI (DAPI < or = 3.9% and POTSI < or = 27.5%) were diagnosed as nonpathologic, but cases with high DAPI or POTSI were diagnosed as pathologic. When we used this criterion to analyze all the cases in the sample (56 nonpathologic and 30 with idiopathic scoliosis), we obtained 76.6% sensitivity, 91% specificity, and a positive predictive value of 82%. The interobserver, intraobserver, and interassay variability were studied by determining the variation coefficient. There was good correlation between topographic variables (DAPI and POTSI) and clinical variables (Cobb's angle and vertebral rotation angle).