| 11. |
- Kaveckyte, Vaiva, et al.
(författare)
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Monte Carlo characterization of high atomic number inorganic scintillators for in vivo dosimetry in Ir-192 brachytherapy
- 2022
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Ingår i: Medical physics (Lancaster). - : WILEY. - 0094-2405 .- 2473-4209. ; 49:7, s. 4715-4730
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundThere is increased interest in in vivo dosimetry for 192Ir brachytherapy (BT) treatments using high atomic number (Z) inorganic scintillators. Their high light output enables construction of small detectors with negligible stem effect and simple readout electronics. Experimental determination of absorbed-dose energy dependence of detectors relative to water is prevalent, but it can be prone to high detector positioning uncertainties and does not allow for decoupling of absorbed-dose energy dependence from other factors affecting detector response .PurposeTo investigate which measurement conditions and detector properties could affect their absorbed-dose energy dependence in BT in vivo dosimetry.MethodsWe used a general-purpose Monte Carlo (MC) code PENELOPE for the characterization of high-Z inorganic scintillators with the focus on ZnSe () Z. Two other promising media CsI () and Al2O3 () were included for comparison in selected scenarios. We determined absorbed-dose energy dependence of crystals relative to water under different scatter conditions (calibration phantom 12 × 12 × 30 cm3, characterization phantoms 20 × 20 × 20 cm3, 30 × 30 × 30 cm3, 40 × 40 × 40 cm3, and patient-like elliptic phantom 40 × 30 × 25 cm3). To mimic irradiation conditions during prostate treatments, we evaluated whether the presence of pelvic bones and calcifications affect ZnSe response. ZnSe detector design influence was also investigated.ResultsIn contrast to low-Z organic and medium-Z inorganic scintillators, ZnSe and CsI media have substantially greater absorbed-dose energy dependence relative to water. The response was phantom-size dependent and changed by 11% between limited- and full-scatter conditions for ZnSe, but not for Al2O3. For a given phantom size, a part of the absorbed-dose energy dependence of ZnSe is caused not due to in-phantom scatter but due to source anisotropy. Thus, the absorbed-dose energy dependence of high-Z scintillators is a function of not only the radial distance but also the polar angle. Pelvic bones did not affect ZnSe response, whereas large and intermediate size calcifications reduced it by 9% and 5%, respectively, when placed midway between the source and the detector.ConclusionsUnlike currently prevalent low- and medium-Z scintillators, high-Z crystals are sensitive to characterization and in vivo measurement conditions. However, good agreement between MC data for ZnSe in the present study and experimental data for ZnSe:O by Jørgensen et al. (2021) suggests that detector signal is proportional to the average absorbed dose to the detector cavity. This enables an easy correction for non-TG43-like scenarios (e.g., patient sizes and calcifications) through MC simulations. Such information should be provided to the clinic by the detector vendors.
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| 12. |
- Riisager, K., et al.
(författare)
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Search for beta-delayed proton emission from 11 Be
- 2020
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Ingår i: European Physical Journal A. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-601X .- 1434-6001. ; 56:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We report on an attempt to reproduce the observation of β--delayed proton emission from 11Be through detection of the final state nucleus 10Be with accelerator mass spectrometry. Twelve samples were collected at the ISOLDE facility at CERN at different separator settings, allowing tests of different sources of contamination to be carried out. The observed amounts of 10Be per collected 11Be rule out several contamination sources, but do not agree internally. Formation of BeH molecular ions in the ion source may explain our data, in which case an upper limit of the βp branching ratio of 2.2 × 10 - 6 can be derived.
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| 13. |
- Tscherne, A, et al.
(författare)
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Adaptation of Brucella melitensis Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing to the ISO 20776 Standard and Validation of the Method
- 2022
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Ingår i: Microorganisms. - : MDPI AG. - 2076-2607. ; 10:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Brucellosis, mainly caused by Brucella (B.) melitensis, is associated with a risk of chronification and relapses. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) standards for B. melitensis are not available, and the agent is not yet listed in the EUCAST breakpoint tables. CLSI recommendations for B. melitensis exist, but they do not fulfill the requirements of the ISO 20776 standard regarding the culture medium and the incubation conditions. Under the third EU Health Programme, laboratories specializing in the diagnostics of highly pathogenic bacteria in their respective countries formed a working group within a Joint Action aiming to develop a suitable method for the AST of B. melitensis. Under the supervision of EUCAST representatives, this working group adapted the CLSI M45 document to the ISO 20776 standard after testing and validation. These adaptations included the comparison of various culture media, culture conditions and AST methods. A Standard Operation Procedure was derived and an interlaboratory validation was performed in order to evaluate the method. The results showed pros and cons for both of the two methods but also indicate that it is not necessary to abandon Mueller–Hinton without additives for the AST of B. melitensis.
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| 14. |
- Zijlstra, Jolande A, et al.
(författare)
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Different defibrillation strategies in survivors after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.
- 2018
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Ingår i: Heart. - : BMJ. - 1355-6037 .- 1468-201X. ; 104:23, s. 1929-1936
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: In the last decade, there has been a rapid increase in the dissemination of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for prehospital defibrillation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients. The aim of this study was to study the association between different defibrillation strategies on survival rates over time in Copenhagen, Stockholm, Western Sweden and Amsterdam, and the hypothesis was that non-EMS defibrillation increased over time and was associated with increased survival.METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of four prospectively collected cohorts of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients between 2008 and 2013. Emergency medical service (EMS)-witnessed arrests were excluded.RESULTS: A total of 22 453 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients with known survival status were identified, of whom 2957 (13%) survived at least 30 days postresuscitation. Of all survivors with a known defibrillation status, 2289 (81%) were defibrillated, 1349 (59%) were defibrillated by EMS, 454 (20%) were defibrillated by a first responder AED and 429 (19%) were defibrillated by an onsite AED and 57 (2%) were unknown. The percentage of survivors defibrillated by first responder AEDs (from 13% in 2008 to 26% in 2013, p<0.001 for trend) and onsite AEDs (from 14% in 2008 to 30% in 2013, p<0.001 for trend) increased. The increased use of these non-EMS AEDs was associated with the increase in survival rate of patients with a shockable initial rhythm.CONCLUSION: Survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are increasingly defibrillated by non-EMS AEDs. This increase is primarily due to a large increase in the use of onsite AEDs as well as an increase in first-responder defibrillation over time. Non-EMS defibrillation accounted for at least part of the increase in survival rate of patients with a shockable initial rhythm.
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