We sought to quantify contribution of radiomics and SUVmax at PET/CT to predict clinical outcome in lung cancer patients treated with stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). 150 patients with 172 lung cancers, who underwent SBRT were retrospectively included. Radiomics were applied on PET/CT. Principal components (PC) for 42 CT and PET-derived features were examined to determine which ones accounted for most of variability. Survival analysis quantified ability of radiomics and SUVmax to predict outcome. PCs including homogeneity, size, maximum intensity, mean and median gray level, standard deviation, entropy, kurtosis, skewness, morphology and asymmetry were included in prediction models for regional control (RC) [PC4-HR:0.38, p = 0.02], distant control (DC) [PC4-HR:0.51, p = 0.02 and PC1-HR:1.12, p = 0.01], recurrence free probability (RFP) [PC1-HR:1.08, p = 0.04], disease specific survival (DSS) [PC2-HR:1.34, p = 0.03 and PC3-HR:0.64, p = 0.02] and overall survival (OS) [PC4-HR:0.45, p = 0.004 and PC3-HR:0.74, p = 0.02]. In combined analysis with SUVmax, PC1 lost predictive ability over SUVmax for RFP [HR:1.1, p = 0.04] and DC [HR:1.13, p = 0.002], while PC4 remained predictive of DC independent of SUVmax [HR:0.5, p = 0.02]. Radiomics remained the only predictors of OS, DSS and RC. Neither SUVmax nor radiomics predicted recurrence free survival. Radiomics on PET/CT provided complementary information for prediction of control and survival in SBRT-treated lung cancer patients.

Coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG) surgery is an invasive procedure performed to circumvent partial or complete blood flow blockage in coronary artery disease. In this work, we apply a numerical optimal flow control model to patient‐specific geometries of CABG, reconstructed from clinical images of real‐life surgical cases, in parameterized settings. The aim of these applications is to match known physiological data with numerical hemodynamics corresponding to different scenarios, arisen by tuning some parameters. Such applications are an initial step toward matching patient‐specific physiological data in patient‐specific vascular geometries as best as possible. Two critical challenges that reportedly arise in such problems are: (a) lack of robust quantification of meaningful boundary conditions required to match known data as best as possible and (b) high computational cost. In this work, we utilize unknown control variables in the optimal flow control problems to take care of the first challenge. Moreover, to address the second challenge, we propose a time‐efficient and reliable computational environment for such parameterized problems by projecting them onto a low‐dimensional solution manifold through proper orthogonal decomposition‐Galerkin.

BackgroundFor the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death, guidelines provide left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) criteria for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) placement without specifying the technique by which it should be measured. We sought to investigate the potential impact of performing cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) for EF on ICD eligibility.MethodsThe study population consisted of patients being considered for ICD implantation who were referred for EF assessment by CMR. Patients who underwent CMR within 30 days of echocardiography were included. Echocardiographic EF was determined by Simpson’s biplane method and CMR EF was measured by Simpson’s summation of discs method.ResultsFifty-two patients (age 62±15 years, 81% male) had a mean EF of 38 ± 14% by echocardiography and 35 ± 14% by CMR. CMR had greater reproducibility than echocardiography for both intra-observer (ICC, 0.98 vs 0.94) and inter-observer comparisons (ICC 0.99 vs 0.93). The limits of agreement comparing CMR and echocardiographic EF were – 16 to +10 percentage points. CMR resulted in 11 of 52 (21%) and 5 of 52 (10%) of patients being reclassified regarding ICD eligibility at the EF thresholds of 35 and 30% respectively. Among patients with an echocardiographic EF of between 25 and 40%, 9 of 22 (41%) were reclassified by CMR at either the 35 or 30% threshold. Echocardiography identified only 1 of the 6 patients with left ventricular thrombus noted incidentally on CMR.ConclusionsCMR resulted in 21% of patients being reclassified regarding ICD eligibility when strict EF criteria were used. In addition, CMR detected unexpected left ventricular thrombus in almost 10% of patients. Our findings suggest that the use of CMR for EF assessment may have a substantial impact on management in patients being considered for ICD implantation.

BackgroundThere are limited data on the effects of trastuzumab on the right ventricle (RV). Therefore, we sought to evaluate the temporal changes in right ventricular (RV) structure and function as measured by cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR), and their relationship with left ventricular (LV) structure and function in breast cancer patients treated with trastuzumab.MethodsProspective, longitudinal, observational study involving 41 women with HER2+ breast cancer who underwent serial CMR at baseline, 6, 12, and 18 months after initiation of trastuzumab. A single blinded observer measured RV parameters on de-identified CMRs in a random order. Linear mixed models were used to investigate temporal changes in RV parameters.ResultsOf the 41 women (age 52 ± 11 years), only one patient experienced trastuzumab-induced cardiotoxicity. Compared to baseline, there were small but significant increases in the RV end-diastolic volume at 6 months (p = 0.002) and RV end-systolic volume at 6 and 12 months (p < 0.001 for both), but not at 18 months (p = 0.82 and 0.13 respectively). RV ejection fraction (RVEF), when compared to baseline (58.3%, 95% CI 57.1–59.5%), showed corresponding decreases at 6 months (53.9%, 95% CI 52.5–55.4%, p < 0.001) and 12 months (55%, 95% CI 53.8–56.2%, p < 0.001) that recovered at 18 months (56.6%, 95% CI 55.1–58.0%, p = 0.08). Although the temporal pattern of changes in LVEF and RVEF were similar, there was no significant correlation between RVEF and LVEF at baseline (r = 0.29, p = 0.07) or between their changes at 6 months (r = 0.24, p = 0.17).ConclusionIn patients receiving trastuzumab without overt cardiotoxicity, there is a subtle but significant deleterious effect on RV structure and function that recover at 18 months, which can be detected by CMR. Furthermore, monitoring of LVEF alone may not be sufficient in detecting early RV injury. These novel findings provide further support for CMR in monitoring early cardiotoxicity.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01022086. Date of registration: November 27, 2009.

Within our population of apical HCM patients, the extent of LGE and the presence of an apical aneurysm identified by cardiac MRI were both significant predictors of major adverse clinical events.

No significant impact of the slice acquisition orientation for determination of RV and LV stroke volumes was found. Therefore, cardiac magnetic resonance workflow does not need to be extended by an axial data set for patients without complex cardiac disease for assessment of biventricular function and volumes.

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MLVWT correlates with diastolic function (TPF) in HCM, HHD and controls. LVMI did not show significant correlation with TPF. The diastolic dysfunction in HCM is not entirely explained by wall thickening. LGE and RV involvement are associated with worse LV diastolic function, suggesting that these may be markers of more severe underlying myocardial disarray and fibrosis that contribute to diastolic dysfunction.