Since it was coined by Christensen [The Innovator's Dilemma: When New Technology Cause Great Firms to Fail. Harward Business, Boston, MA], disruptive innovation (DI) has been discussed by many scholars. Although it is not a crude concept anymore, many contrary criticisms and notions around this topic may necessitate further studies about the dynamics of DI diffusion. Furthermore, since the creation of DI is the matter of diffusion rather than the emergence of innovation, this research tends to concentrate on the process of innovation diffusion within a complex network of adopters such as in the medical markets. To aid in understanding the dynamics of DI diffusion from market encroachment phase to post-disruption era, this paper conducts a longitudinal case study of Iranian medical devices markets between 2000 and 2010. Medical markets are the subject of more investigation due to the complexity of adopters' network. This complexity arises since customers and consumers are not the same in this market and the role of key decision-makers are interchangeable in different segments to adopt new medical innovations. Therefore, 30 in-depth elite interviews have been conducted with the key decision-makers to launch new innovations in the four main incumbents of Iranian medical devices market during the mentioned time span. These include Cordis, Abbott Laboratories, Medtronic, and Boston Scientific. The findings suggest that DI diffusion acceleration would not guarantee an efficient market disruption. They also state the importance of information management during and after the encroachment phase to increase the knowledge of new innovation throughout the mainstream market. Finally, attack of the followers during the encroachment phase and their reinforcing effects on the position of the market leader is discussed. The main contribution of this paper is its attempt in demystifying the dynamics of DI diffusion in markets with a complex network of adopters such as the medical devices markets. In fact this paper would elucidate the main mechanisms which contribute to a potential DI to pass the encroachment phase and disrupt the mainstream market substantially. This paper is inclined to persuade further studies on DI diffusion through complex networks of adopters and spur debates by other scholars.

Molecular imaging techniques using nanoparticles have significant potential to be widely used for the detection of various types of cancers. Nowadays, there has been an increased focus on developing novel nanoprobes as molecular imaging contrast enhancement agents in nanobiomedicine. The purpose of this review article is to summarize the use of a variety of nanoprobes and their current achievements in accurate cancer imaging and effective treatment. Nanoprobes are rapidly becoming potential tools for cancer diagnosis by using novel molecular imaging modalities such as Ultrasound (US) imaging, Computerized Tomography (CT), Single Photon Emission Tomography (SPECT) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and Optical Imaging. These imaging modalities may facilitate earlier and more accurate diagnosis and staging the most of cancers.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in using nanoparticles in the medical sciences. Today, metal nanoparticles have many applications in medicine for tumor visualization, drug delivery, and early diagnosis, with different modalities such as X-ray imaging, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), etc., and treatment with radiation. This paper reviews recent findings of recent metal nanotheranostics in medical imaging and therapy. The study offers some critical insights into using different types of metal nanoparticles in medicine for cancer detection and treatment purposes. The data of this review study were gathered from multiple scientific citation websites such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science up through the end of January 2023. In the literature, many metal nanoparticles are used for medical applications. However, due to their high abundance, low price, and high performance for visualization and treatment, nanoparticles such as gold, bismuth, tungsten, tantalum, ytterbium, gadolinium, silver, iron, platinum, and lead have been investigated in this review study. This paper has highlighted the importance of gold, gadolinium, and iron-based metal nanoparticles in different forms for tumor visualization and treatment in medical applications due to their ease of functionalization, low toxicity, and superior biocompatibility.

The globally inimitable and unremitting outbreak of COVID-19 infection confirmed the emergency need for critical detection of human coronavirus infections. Laboratory diagnostic tests and imaging modalities are two test groups used for the detection of COVID-19. Nowadays, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and computed tomography (CT) have been frequently utilized in the clinic. Some limitations that confront with these tests are false-negative results, tests redone for follow-up procedure, high cost, and unable to do for all patients. To overcome these limitations, modified and alternative tests must be considered. Among these tests, RdRp/Hel RT-PCR assay had the lowest diagnostic limitation and highest sensitivity and specificity for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in both respiratory tract and nonrespiratory tract clinical specimens. On the other hand, lung ultrasound (LUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are CT-alternative imaging modalities for the management, screening, and follow-up of COVID-19 patients.

Purpose: Irreversible electroporation is a physical process which is used for killing the cancer cells. The process that leads to cell death in this method is a unique process. Thermal damage does not exist in this process. However, the temperature of the tissue also increases during the electroporation. In this study, we aim to investigate the effect of conductivity changes on tissue temperature increase during the irreversible electroporation process. Materials and Methods: To perform simulations and solve equations, COMSOL MultiPhysics has been used. Standard electroporation pulse sequence (8 pulses with different electric field intensities) was used as a pulse sequence in the simulation. Results: During the electroporation process, the electrical conductivity and the temperature of the tissue were increased. Changes in the tissue temperature in the simulation with variable electrical conductivity are more than in the simulation with constant electrical conductivity during the electroporation process. This difference for pulses with more vigorous electric field intensity and points closer to the electrodes has been achieved more. Conclusion: To more accurately estimate and calculate the temperature and thermal damage inside the tissue during the irreversible electroporation process, it is suggested to consider the effect of conductivity changes during this process.

AbstractIntroduction: irreversible electroporation (IRE) is a tissue ablation technique and physical process used to kill the undesirable cells. In the IRE process by mathematical modelling we can calculate the cell kill probability and distribution inside the tissue. The purpose of the study is to determine the influence of electric conductivity change in the IRE process into the cell kill probability and distribution.Methods: cell death probability and electric conductivity were calculated with COMSOL Multiphysics software package. 8 pulses with a frequency of 1 Hz, pulse width of 100 µs and electric field intensity from 1000 to 3000 V/Cm with steps of 500 V/Cm used as electric pulses.Results: significantly, the electrical conductivity of tissue will increase during the time of pulse delivery. According to our results, electrical conductivity increased with an electric field intensity of pulses. By considering the effect of conductivity change on cell kill probability, the cell kill probability and distribution will change.Conclusion: we believe that considering the impact of electric conductivity change on the cell kill probability will improve the accuracy of treatment outcome in the clinic for treatment with IRE.

Background: Grade of brain tumor is thought to be the most significant and crucial component in treatment management. Recent development in medical imaging techniques have led to the introduce non-invasive methods for brain tumor grading such as different magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) protocols. Combination of different MRI protocols with fusion algorithms for tumor grading is used to increase diagnostic improvement. This paper investigated the efficiency of the Laplacian Re-decomposition (LRD) fusion algorithms for glioma grading. Procedures: In this study, 69 patients were examined with MRI. The T1 post enhancement (T1Gd) and diffusionweighted images (DWI) were obtained. To evaluated LRD performance for glioma grading, we compared the parameters of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Findings: We found that the average Relative Signal Contrast (RSC) for high-grade gliomas is greater than RSCs for low-grade gliomas in T1Gd images and all fused images. No significant difference in RSCs of DWI images was observed between low-grade and high-grade gliomas. However, a significant RSCs difference was detected between grade III and IV in the T1Gd, b50, and all fussed images. Conclusions: This research suggests that T1Gd images are an appropriate imaging protocol for separating lowgrade and high-grade gliomas. According to the findings of this study, we may use the LRD fusion algorithm to increase the diagnostic value of T1Gd and DWI picture for grades III and IV glioma distinction. In conclusion, this article has emphasized the significance of the LRD fusion algorithm as a tool for differentiating grade III and IV gliomas.

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