New evidence from hyperspectral imaging analysis on the effect of photobiomodulation therapy on normal skin oxygenation.

The aim of this study was to assess the changes induced by photobiomodulation therapy in oxygenation of normal skin and underlying tissue using hyperspectral imaging combined with a chemometric regression approach. Eleven healthy adult volunteers were enrolled in this study. The dorsal side of the left hand of each subject was exposed to photobiomodulation therapy, while the correspondent side of the right hand was used as a control (placebo effect). Laser irradiation was performed with a laser diode system (635 nm, 15mW, 9 J/cm2) for 900 s. Changes in skin oxygenation were assessed before and after applying the photobiomodulation therapy and placebo using the hyperspectral imaging. Hyperspectral data analysis showed that variations of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin concentrations had no statistical significance in both groups. In conclusion, photobiomodulation therapy does not induce changes in oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin concentrations in the normal skin measured from hyperspectral images, at least at λ = 635 nm and 900-s exposure time.

A rare case of intrathoracic fetus in fetu ∕ mature teratoma - pathological and imagistic aspects.

Fetus in fetu (FIF) is a rare entity, with a difficult preoperative diagnosis, frequently being an intraoperative surprise. In recent literature, theories pertaining to its development either assimilate the tumor with a monochorionic twin that halted its evolution, or with a highly differentiated mature teratoma. We present the case of a 27-year-old patient, with a cystic tumor in the anterior mediastinum, which intraoperatively proved to be a rare case of intrathoracic FIF. The clinical presentation lacked any specific clues that would infer such a diagnosis; imaging was partially useful as it shown the possible existence of bone structures, heterogeneously mixed with fatty inclusions and other types of tissue. Upon surgery, the nature of said tumor was clear, and pathology confirmed the FIF diagnosis, showing different types of epithelia and tissue of several organ-like structures that halted in evolution at an early stage. Concluding our presentation, we can say that the presence of an axial skeleton as well as differentiated tissue types of several organs could confirm our case of FIF.

Assessment of hormonal receptor immunoexpression and Her2 status in invasive breast cancer after conservative and radical surgery.

This study was conducted on 300 patients with infiltrative breast carcinoma, of which 112 cases underwent radical mastectomy, and 188 were conservatively operated. Forty-four patients experienced local relapses during the clinical follow-up. The immunohistochemical (IHC) study used the Labeled Streptavidin Biotin (LSAB)∕Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) method, which evaluated the estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR), as well as human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (Her2∕neu) expressions in tumor cells. After IHC analysis, all cases were classified into one of the following four immunophenotypes: ER+∕PR+ classical phenotype, ER-∕PR-, ER+∕PR- and ER-∕PR+ phenotypes. Correlating hormonal phenotypes with Her2 status, we found that Her2 is significantly associated more frequently with the ER+/PR- phenotype, while the absence of Her2 was associated more frequently with the ER+/PR+ phenotype but with no significant differences. Local recurrences were significantly more common in patients with absent ERs than those who had these receptors present in the primary tumor. Similarly, mammary tumors with absent PRs recurred significantly more frequently than those with PRs. The positivity of Her2 is significantly associated with the absence of PRs in both type of surgery (conservative or radical). Local recurrences are significantly correlated with both negative receptors phenotype, regardless of the type of surgery. IHC markers, represented by hormone receptors for estrogen and progesterone, and Her2 oncoprotein, can be useful for identifying patients who are at increased risk of local recurrences after conservative or radical surgery for breast cancer.

Long disease-free survival following total sternal resection and reconstruction of the sternum with acrylic cement for unique massive sternal metastasis after operated breast cancer.

Unique sternal metastasis is an uncommon finding in the follow-up of operated breast cancer. We present a case of massive sternal metastasis occurred few years after radical resection of a right mammary cancer, that we solved by total sternal resection and reconstruction of sternum with acrylic cement and Vicryl mesh. The patient is disease-free five years after the operation.

Simulated altitude exposure assessment by hyperspectral imaging.

Testing the human body's reaction to hypoxia (including the one generated by high altitude) is important in aeronautic medicine. This paper presents a method of monitoring blood oxygenation during experimental hypoxia using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and a spectral unmixing model based on a modified Beer­Lambert law. A total of 20 healthy volunteers (males) aged 25 to 60 years were included in this study. A line-scan HSI system was used to acquire images of the faces of the subjects. The method generated oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin distribution maps from the foreheads of the subjects at 5 and 10 min of hypoxia and after recovery in a high oxygen breathing mixture. The method also generated oxygen saturation maps that were validated using pulse oximetry. An interesting pattern of desaturation on the forehead was discovered during the study, showing one of the advantages of using HSI for skin oxygenation monitoring in hypoxic conditions. This could bring new insight into the physiological response to high altitude and may become a step forward in air crew testing.