Category: medicine

Animal studies may not be reflective of human physiology and results must be taken with caution

May 17, 2024

In the discipline of biomedical engineering and medical studies, there is a tendency to test the efficacy of medical devices or drugs with animals such as mouse, rabbits, and even pigs. This step of the research process is to gather data on the effectiveness of the drugs or medical device in delivering its function. Usually, … More Animal studies may not be reflective of human physiology and results must be taken with caution

Broad-spectrum antibiotics may be more effective in treating tuberculosis than the current narrow spectrum antibiotics

May 7, 2024

Mycobacteria tuberculosis is an intracellular pathogen, and thus, it is difficult to be eradicated based on current antibiotic therapy where there is insufficient dose of the drug that reach the bacterial cell hiding inside a human cell. Therefore, we can treat the active form of tuberculosis (TB) with an aggressive broad spectrum antibiotic regiment that … More Broad-spectrum antibiotics may be more effective in treating tuberculosis than the current narrow spectrum antibiotics

Single modality PET scan lacks spatial resolution which affects its clinical utility in surgical decision making

March 5, 2024

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a nuclear medicine technique able to track the distribution of particular metabolites in the human body through conjugating a radionuclide with the metabolite. One example is glucose, where radioisotope labelled glucose could be used to track the metabolism of glucose in different parts of the body. However, the signal readout … More Single modality PET scan lacks spatial resolution which affects its clinical utility in surgical decision making

Image reconstruction is the key technological hinge that determines the spatial and temporal resolution achievable in modern medical imaging

February 25, 2024

Modern medical imaging is powered by five major modalities that include magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound imaging, computed tomography (CT), planar X-ray, and nuclear medicine (positron emission tomography (PET) or single positron emission computed tomography, SPECT). Only planar X-ray does not need image reconstruction, which highlights the critical importance of image reconstruction algorithms and methods … More Image reconstruction is the key technological hinge that determines the spatial and temporal resolution achievable in modern medical imaging

Different contrast windows are needed to differentiate and visualize different organ structures in computed tomography

February 20, 2024

Computed tomography offers detailed anatomical description of different body regions by scanning the region with X-rays from different angles. This generates a multitude of slices that need to be stitch back into a single paranormal view in an image reconstruction. Basically, computed tomography is X-ray imaging with a rotating X-ray source and detector. In X-ray … More Different contrast windows are needed to differentiate and visualize different organ structures in computed tomography

Increasing use of robotic surgery in minimally invasive surgical procedures

February 18, 2024

Since inception, minimally invasive surgery has been a boon for patients and surgeons. Specifically, minimally invasive surgery uses small incision to access the patient’s organs and bone, and thus, reduces trauma and time needed to recover after surgery. Though technically more complex than conventional surgery, minimally invasive surgery has seen increasing use in many countries, … More Increasing use of robotic surgery in minimally invasive surgical procedures

Comparison between computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for brain imaging

February 15, 2024

Brain imaging could potentially detect cancer early and increase treatment success for otherwise a fatal disease. Both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could perform brain imaging albeit with differing spatial and temporal resolution. So, how do the two imaging modalities compare with each other in clinical practice? Briefly, computed tomography is a much … More Comparison between computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for brain imaging

Significant variation exists (at the fine-grained level) in ultrasound images of internal organs of different patients

February 8, 2024

Ultrasound is a relatively cheap and accessible imaging modality for biomedical applications. Indeed, ultrasound medical imaging has seen applications in abdominal imaging and fetus imaging. However, significant variation in image quality resulting in differing interpretations of organ structure and positioning is present in clinical imaging. The chief reason for this variation in organ internal structure … More Significant variation exists (at the fine-grained level) in ultrasound images of internal organs of different patients

Brain magnetic resonance imaging could image brain tumour size and possible metastasis

January 29, 2024

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important non-invasive and non-radiative imaging modality for many parts of the human body. Applied to the brain, MRI could help detect brain tumours. The figure shows on the left a T1 weighted MRI image of the human brain, while the right figure shows a T2 weighted MRI image of … More Brain magnetic resonance imaging could image brain tumour size and possible metastasis