Heliyon

Anemia, particularly iron-deficiency anemia, is a critical global health concern, with a high prevalence among children under six years of age. Early and non-invasive detection can significantly improve health outcomes. This study proposes a computer vision and machine learning framework for anemia screening and hemoglobin (Hb) level prediction using palmar images from pediatric subjects. The region of interest (palm) was segmented using a U-Net model, achieving a Dice coefficient of 0.96. Image...

Cryopreservation, or cryonics, is an experimental procedure that preserves individuals at cryogenic temperatures after legal death in the hope of future revival. Although Switzerland hosts Schengen Areas first dedicated cryopreservation facility, public sentiment toward the practice has remained largely unexamined. This exploratory survey of 249 Swiss adults assessed awareness, ethical views, and openness to cryopreservation. Results show broad support for individual autonomy, with most responde...

This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of quantitative analysis of {superscript 1}F-FDG positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) metabolic parameters in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT). A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical and imaging data of 44 patients with pathologically confirmed PDAC who received NACT. All patients completed standard chemotherapy regimens and underwent {superscript 1}...

BackgroundThe systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) reflects the relationship between tumor-promoting inflammation and anti-tumor immunity in various solid malignancies, but the role of SII in Gallbladder cancer (GBC) has yet to be established. The aim of the systematic review and meta-analysis was to clarify the prognostic value of preoperative SII in GBC patients undergoing resection. MethodsThis systematic review and meta-analysis was performed following PRISMA 2020 checklist and we searc...

Background and AimThe optimal second-line therapy following first-line atezolizumab plus bevacizumab (Atezo/Beva) remains unascertained. This study compared second-line durvalumab plus tremelimumab (Dur/Tre) with lenvatinib (Len) after first-line Atezo/Beva in unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (uHCC). MethodsThis prospectively registered cohort study analyzed patients with uHCC who received Dur/Tre (n = 14) or Len (n = 67) as second-line therapy after first-line Atezo/Beva. Tumor response w...

BackgroundAccurate differentiation of benign and malignant focal liver lesions (FLLs) is essential for clinical decision-making. Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) are advanced MRI techniques used for noninvasive lesion characterization, but their comparative diagnostic performance has not been definitively established. ObjectiveTo systematically compare the diagnostic accuracy of MRE and DWI for distinguishing benign from malignant FLLs. MethodsA system...

BackgroundErythrocyte indices are essential for the diagnosis and monitoring of hematologic diseases, but their determination depends on automated hematology analyzers, which limits access in regions with limited laboratory infrastructure. Although artificial intelligence approaches have been proposed for hematologic analysis, they usually rely on slide scanners or digitization systems. To date, no validated approaches have been identified in the literature that estimate these indices directly f...

Background and AimsCholedocholithiasis (CDL) is a common condition that can lead to serious complications, requiring effective risk stratification for timely intervention. While current guidelines use clinical predictors, imaging, and laboratory markers for risk assessment, the role of glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) in CDL remains poorly understood. This study aims to evaluate its potential as a clinical biomarker for identifying patients with CDL. MethodsThis single-center cohort study identif...

BackgroundAt the school of medicine of the University of Burundi, we have faced the challenge of lack of dissection facilities and cadaveric resources, and hence, we tried to use evidence-based alternative teaching methods to meet the student needs and enhance learning outcomes in anatomy. The aim of this study was to collect students perceptions regarding this innovative teaching method of anatomy and share our experience to professionals working in similar environments. MethodsWe have designe...

BackgroundThe acquisition of laparoscopic skills is a key component of modern pediatric surgical training, yet structured hands-on exposure remains limited. Conventional box training is widely used but may be constrained by suboptimal visualization and ergonomics. Virtual reality (VR)-based approaches offer immersive visual perspectives and may enhance skill acquisition, motivation, and ergonomic performance. However, robust comparative data on VR-assisted versus conventional laparoscopic traini...

BackgroundPoint-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) utilization across specialties continues to grow, making it a valuable skill for medical students. Early exposure to ultrasound may enhance students clinical reasoning, anatomical understanding, and integration of POCUS into the physical exam. This study evaluates the impact of a student-organized, physician-taught POCUS elective course on pre-clinical medical students competence in foundational ultrasound skills. MethodsFifteen students were enrolled ...

BackgroundStroke survivors often describe problems of insufficient access to information post-discharge. Traditional resources may not meet their information needs, but Artificial Intelligence (AI) could play a role. AimsTo compare user perceptions of stroke information from third sector stroke websites with that generated by AI and summarize the attributes of the preferred stroke information formats. MethodsUK third sector stroke websites were searched for materials relevant to 15 questions c...

Monitoring the change of cell populations within patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) is crucial for determining the success of treatment. With current studies largely focused on determining mixed chimerism of nucleated cells, mixed chimerism for non-nucleated red blood cell (RBC) populations was rarely studied. In this study, based on the differences between donor and recipient ABO blood group surface markers and using commercially available mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs...

Preoperative anxiety affects 50-75% of pediatric surgical patients and can lead to adverse perioperative outcomes including difficult anesthesia induction, emergence delirium, and prolonged recovery. Virtual reality has emerged as a promising non-pharmacological intervention, yet evidence from real-world clinical implementation remains limited. We conducted a nine-month quality improvement initiative at VCU Childrens Hospital from October 2023 through June 2024, implementing custom-designed virt...

IntroductionDigital technologies are reshaping how health professionals are trained, and extended reality (XR) has gained attention as a tool for skills development in dental education. Yet, successful integration depends largely on educators perceptions, readiness, and working conditions. This study aimed to explore dental educators views of the educational value of XR, what barriers they experience, and how familiarity with immersive technologies relates to their use in teaching. Materials an...

BackgroundSome pancreatic cancer patients for curative-intent surgery are found to actually have unresectable disease on laparotomy. This systematic review aimed to identify parameters that can potentially help predict intraoperative resectability status. MethodsLiterature search was done across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library to identify studies since 2011 assessing for independent association of preoperative parameters with intraoperative pancreatic cancer resectability. ...

PurposeTo develop and evaluate a novel double bowtie filter integrating a K-edge material layer with a conventional Teflon filter for pediatric spectral computed tomography (CT). The proposed design aims to enhance spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and spectral separation while maintaining radiation dose levels suitable for pediatric imaging. MethodsA simulation framework was set up and used to model a rapid kVp-switching CT system operating at 70/110 kVp with realistic tube power and geomet...

Artificial intelligence (AI) based segmentation has many medical applications but limited curated datasets challenge model training; this study compares the impact of dataset annotation quality and quantity on whole liver AI segmentation performance. We obtained 3,089 abdominal computed tomography scans with whole-liver contours from MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDA) and a MICCAI challenge. A total of 249 scans were withheld for testing of which 30, MICCAI challenge data, were reserved for externa...

BackgroundOur study aimed to investigate the relationship between phenotypic age acceleration (PAA), bowel dysfunction (constipation, diarrhea), and depression severity, and examine whether phenotypic age acceleration can play a mediating role in bowel dysfunction and depression severity. MethodsThe data analysis of our study was conducted from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2005-2010). Participants with bowel dysfunction were identified on the questionnaire of bowel heal...

PurposeTo develop SCOPE (Small-lesion COntextual Pancreatic Evaluator), a deep learning model designed to improve CT detection of small pancreatic lesions--pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs), and cystic lesions--by integrating voxel-level features with global context. Materials and MethodsThis retrospective study used three independent datasets. A development cohort of 4,065 contrast-enhanced CT scans was used to train a deep neural network that ...