MRI methodological development of intervertebral disc degeneration: a rabbit in vivo study at 9.4 T

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is a complex process characterized by biochemical and structural changes in both the nucleus pulposus and the anulus fibrosus. In this study, we were able to obtain in vivo magnetic resonance (MR) images of the rabbit spine, with several MR imaging (MRI) contrasts (ρ, T₁ and T₂). We quantified several parameters (T₂, apparent diffusion coefficient, disc height and area) to differentiate between healthy and degenerative IVDs and to characterize the degeneration process. To our knowledge, there has not been any previous in vivo study of rabbit IVDs at high-field MRI (9.4 T).A custom radio frequency (RF) coil for 9.4 T was designed to match rabbit IVD morphology, to study the degeneration in vivo on a model of human lumbar disease. Our new probe, a custom half-birdcage-type coil, obtains the necessary exploration depth while meeting the requirements for signal homogeneity and sensitivity of the study. This design addresses some of the difficulties with constructing RF coils at high field strengths.     

A monolithic 180 nm CMOS dosimeter for In Vivo Dosimetry medical application

The design and development of a monolithic system-on-chip dosimeter fabricated in a standard 180 nm CMOS technology is described. The device is intended for real time In Vivo measurement of dose of radiation during radiotherapy sessions. Owing to its proposed small size, of approximately 1 mm³, such solution could be made in-body implantable and, as such, provide a much-enhanced high-resolution, real-time dose measurement for quality assurance in radiation therapy. The device transmits the related information on dose of radiation wirelessly to an external receiver operating in the MICS band. The various phases of this two years project, started in 2011, including the design and development of radiation sensors and integrated RF to perform the readout, will be described.     

Quality in point-of-care testing: what drives the system—personnel, regulatory standards, or instrumentation?

The European Commission (EC) Directive on in vitro diagnostic medical devices requires—amongst other obligations—manufacturers to establish metrological traceability of values assigned to calibrators to available measurement procedures and/or available reference materials of a higher order. Manufacturers use different procedures to accomplish this task and to indicate uncertainties of assigned values. Medical laboratories may want to calculate the uncertainties of their results or accreditation bodies may require them to do so. For this purpose some practical approaches are presented and some examples discussed.Presented at the Roche Diagnostic Workshop on In Vitro Diagnostics Directive: A Nordic event about the implication of traceability and uncertainty in practice, 13–15 February, 2003, Helsinki, Finland. Organized in connection with Labquality Days, 13 February, 2003, Helsinki.