Authorship gender among articles about artificial intelligence in breast imaging.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study is to investigate the variance of women authors, specifically first and senior authorship among peer-reviewed artificial intelligence-related articles with a specific focus in breast imaging. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A strategic search was conducted in July 2022 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to capture all existing and publicly available peer-reviewed articles intersecting AI and breast imaging. Primary outcomes were first and senior authors' gender, which were assigned with the aid of an emailed self-declaration survey. Secondary outcomes included country of article, journal impact factor, and year of publication. Comparisons were made using logistic regression models and analysis of variances. RESULTS: 115 studies were included in the analysis. Women authors represented 35.7% (41/115) and 37.4% (43/115) of first and senior authors, respectively. Logistic regression modelling showed a significant increase in women senior authors over time but no changes in women first authors. Impact factor was not associated with female authorship and certain countries had women authorship reach over 50%. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that there is a significant authorship gender gap in artificial intelligence breast imaging research. An increasing temporal trend of senior authors in breast imaging AI-related research is a promising prognosis for more women voices in this field. Further study needs to be done to understand the reasons behind this gap and any potential implications.

Design of an ultrasound-emitting drill guide for freehand pedicle screw navigation.

BACKGROUND: Accurate pedicle screw placement in spinal surgery is critical as inaccuracies can lead to morbidity and suboptimal outcomes. Navigation and robotics have reduced malplacement rates, but their adoption is limited by high costs, learning curves, surgical time, and radiation. The authors propose an ultrasound-emitting and self-localising drill guide for precise screw placement that overcomes the limitations of current techniques. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The preliminary configuration analysis involves systematically varying design parameters and assessing localization performance using lumbar spine MRI based simulations. The authors evaluate localization techniques based on accuracy and optimization capture range. RESULTS: Results suggest that feasible designs can accurately estimate position. A promising design features a 5 mm radius cannula with ten 35mm-long ultrasound strips, 32 elements per strip, and a fanned-out emission profile. A multi-start active-set optimization algorithm with six initial estimates ensures reliable and efficient localization. CONCLUSIONS: The simulation suggests that the proposed design can achieve sufficient localization accuracy for pedicle screw navigation. These findings will guide the fabrication of a novel ultrasound-emitting drill guide for further evaluation and physical testing.

Publication Rate of Abstracts Presented at the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society Annual Meeting From 2008 to 2017.

BACKGROUND: Conference abstracts serve an important role in the timely dissemination of scientific and clinical advancements, but most fail to be published. The goal of this study was to investigate the publication rate and factors associated with publication of abstracts presented at the North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS) Annual Meeting over a 10-year period. METHODS: NANOS Annual Meeting abstracts from 2008 to 2017 were extracted and categorized into Walsh presentations, scientific platforms, or poster presentations. An original automated web scraping program was validated to search PubMed, Embase, Medline, and Google Scholar for publications. Publication date, journal, authors, study type, multicenter involvement, and financial disclosures were retrieved. RESULTS: A total of 195 Walsh presentations, 231 scientific platform presentations, and 1735 scientific posters were included in the study with an overall publication rate of 31.5% (681/2,161). This was stable over the study period. Publication was the highest for scientific platforms (67.1%), followed by Walsh abstracts (36.4%) and poster presentations (27.2%). Multivariable analysis identified 3-4 authors, 5 or more authors, basic science, and sample size of 100 or more significantly correlated with subsequent publication. The top 3 countries for NANOS submissions were the United States, Canada, and South Korea, and the most frequent journal of publication was the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology. CONCLUSIONS: Publication rate of NANOS abstracts is comparable to other conferences in ophthalmology and the neurological sciences. Conference attendees should be aware that more than two-thirds of abstracts fail to be published and publication rates vary widely by type of submission.

Measurement of shank angle during stance using laser range finders.

Ankle joint stiffness, the dynamic relationship between the joint angle and the torque acting about it, plays an important role in the control of upright stance. In order to identify the contribution of ankle joint stiffness to stance control, ankle joint must be perturbed externally. One way to do this is to displace the foot that will cause shank movement. For identification, the ankle angle must be measured with high accuracy, for which we need to measure both foot and shank angles. However, most motion capture systems do not have the resolution and accuracy needed to measure the small ankle joint movements that occur during stance. This paper describes a method for the high resolution measurement of ankle angle during standing that uses a laser range finder to track linear displacements, which is then used to compute shank angle with respect to the vertical. A theoretical analysis of different possible measurement configurations demonstrated that measurements of horizontal shank movement would provide the optimal resolution; a range finder with a linear resolution of 25 micros would provide an angle resolution better than 0.01 degree. We built a measurement system using this configuration and performed static and dynamic experiments that demonstrated angle measurements with a resolution of less than 0.01 degree, which outperforms other motion capture systems, such as IMUs, whose resolution is in the order of one degree. Utility of the method was then demonstrated by using it to measure shank ankle during quiet and perturbed stance. The results confirmed that the method tracks small shank movements during both quiet and perturbed conditions. Estimated shank angle then was used with the foot angle, measured with a potentiometer to obtain the ankle joint angle, needed to identify the joint stiffness.