Role of Nuclear Medicine in Imaging.

Nuclear medicine (NM) plays a unique role in the detection of infection and inflammation. This review looks at different methods that are used for detection of infections and explains how they differ from cross-sectional imaging such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. Images are provided to aid understanding and interpretation of NM scans. There is also a brief discussion of future techniques that can alter the use of NM for infection work up.

Infections of the Male and Female Reproductive System: Spectrum of Imaging Findings.

Infections of the male and female reproductive system can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. This article will review the relevant embryology and anatomy of the male and female reproductive systems and will discuss the imaging findings of different infections. An understanding of the clinical presentation and imaging findings of infections of the reproductive system is critical in order to allow for prompt and accurate diagnosis. A delay in diagnosis for these infections can have significant morbidity, and occasional mortality.

Review of Imaging Findings in Urinary Tract Infections.

Acute urinary tract infection diagnosis is primarily performed on clinical grounds. Diagnostic imaging is, however, often necessary as part of the workup for poor response to treatment, to evaluate causative or contributory factors, complicated infections and chronic presentations. Appropriate knowledge of the most relevant radiological findings in urinary tract infections provides pertinent differential diagnosis and guides clinical management, including emergent and aggressive interventions. In this article we review ultrasound and CT imaging findings of acute and chronic urinary tract infections.

Effective bacterial inactivation using low temperature radio frequency plasma.

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common pathogens responsible for hospital-acquired infections. In this study, S. aureus was exposed to 13.56MHz radiofrequency (RF) plasma generated by two different gases namely nitrogen and nitrogen-oxygen mixture and their sterilization efficacies were compared. Nitrogen plasma had a significant effect on sterilization due to generation of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. However, the addition of 2% oxygen showed enhanced effect on the sterilization of bacteria through nitric oxide (NO) emission and various reactive species. The presence of these reactive species was confirmed by optical emission spectroscopy (OES). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was carried out to study the morphological changes of bacteria after plasma treatment. From the SEM results, it was observed that the bacterial cells treated by N(2)-O(2) mixture plasma were severely damaged. As a result, a log(10) reduction factor of 6 was achieved using N(2)-O(2) plasma after 5min treatment with 100W RF power.