Kinetic measurements indicate the existence of two different complexes of cucurbituril with 4-methylbenzylammonium ions: (i) an association complex, where the ammonium group binds to one of the polar portals of cucurbituril and the hydrophobic part extends into the solvent, and (ii) an inclusion complex, where the hydrophobic part extends into the cavity of cucurbituril. This complex is used as an indicator for the binding of simple monovalent cations to cucurbituril. Stability constants are reported for the 1 : 1 complexes of cucurbituril with different cations.

The largest ablation zone is obtained with systems B and C (three antennas) under maximum recommended ablation duration and with system A under short ablation time. The most spherical zone is obtained with system C (three antennas).

Objective To investigate the outcome and safety data of chemosaturation with percutaneous hepatic perfusion (CS-PHP) of melphalan in patients with liver-dominant metastatic uveal melanoma. Material and methods This is a HIPAA compliant, IRB approved, retrospective study. A total of 28 CS-PHPs were performed in 16 individual patients (six men and ten women, median age 63.1 years [range 49.1 to 78.7 years], one to six CS-PHP procedures per patient) for treatment of liver-dominant metastatic uveal melanoma between June, 2015 and December, 2018. All patients received cross-sectional imaging at baseline and during follow-up. CS-PHP was performed with the Hepatic CHEMOSAT® Delivery System (Delcath Systems, Inc., NY, USA) facilitating extracorporeal filtration of hepatic blood for melphalan removal. Ideal body weight-adjusted melphalan doses were administered into the hepatic arteries. Serious adverse events (SAE), progression-free survival based on response criteria in solid tumors, and overall survival were noted. Survival data were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimates. Results Partial response after first CS-PHP was observed in nine patients (60%), stable disease in five patients (33%) and progressive disease in one patient (7%). Median overall survival was 27.4 months (95% CI 4.1 to 35.4 month) after first CS-PHP. Median progression-free survival was 11.1 months after first CS-PHP (95% CI 4.9 to 23.6 months). SAEs were observed in the majority of patients with most SAEs limited to grades one and two. Thirteen SAEs of grades three and four were observed in seven individual patients. No grade five SAE was observed. Conclusion CS-PHP is an efficacious and safe treatment for patients presenting with liver-dominant metastatic uveal melanoma.

A series of experiments has been conducted with probes made from silicon, glass, tungsten and polyimide within a developed brain phantom, and the insertion behavior, forces and dimpling are compared to in vitro and in vivo models. This allows the choice of proper insertion parameters and probe structure to reach a compromise between needle stability and tissue trauma as a result of insertion. According to the performed experiments, the reduced interfacial area between the needle tip and the brain will result in reduced insertion force. High insertion speed (100 mm/min) reduces the dimpling but not the penetration force necessarily. In vivo insertion and retraction of the fragile probes made from silicon is possible without pia and/or dura removal.

• Planning, applicator placement and therapy monitoring are possible without using contrast enhancement • Energy transmission from the generator to the scanner room is safely possible • MR-guided microwave ablation provides effective treatment of hepatic malignancies in one session • Therapy monitoring is possible without applicator retraction from the ablation site.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a novel iterative denoising and image enhancement technique in T1-weighted precontrast and postcontrast volume-interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) of the abdomen on image quality, noise levels, and diagnostic confidence without change of acquisition parameters. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients were included in this retrospective, monocentric, institutional review board-approved study after clinically indicated magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen including T1-weighted precontrast and postcontrast imaging. After acquisition of the standard VIBE (VIBE S ), images were processed with a novel reconstruction algorithm using the same raw data as for VIBE S , resulting in a denoised and enhanced dataset (VIBE DE ). Two different radiologists evaluated both datasets in a randomized order regarding sharpness of organs as well as vessels, noise levels, artifacts, overall image quality, and diagnostic confidence using a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 4 with 4 being the best. Furthermore, in the presence of focal liver lesions, the largest lesion was measured in the postcontrast dataset, and lesion detectability was analyzed using a Likert scale (1-4). Results: Precontrast and postcontrast sharpness of organs and sharpness of vessels were rated significantly superior by both readers in VIBE DE with a median of 4 (interquartile range, 0) compared with VIBE S with a median of 3 (1) (all P's < 0.0001). Precontrast and postcontrast noise levels were also rated superior by both readers in VIBE DE with a median of 4 (0) compared with VIBE S with a median of 3 (1) for precontrast and a median of 3 (0) (median of 3 [1] for reader 2) for postcontrast imaging (all P's < 0.0001).Overall image quality was also rated higher with a median of 4 (0) in VIBE DE versus 3 (1) in VIBE S (P < 0.0001). Twenty-seven imaging studies contained liver lesions. There was no difference regarding the number and localization between the readers and between VIBE S and VIBE DE . Lesion detectability was rated by both readers significantly better in VIBE DE with a median of 4 (0) compared with a median of 4 (1) for reader 1 and a median of 3 (1) for reader 2 (P = 0.001 for reader 1; P < 0.001 for reader 2). Consequently, diagnostic confidence was also significantly superior in VIBE DE versus VIBE S with a median of 4 (0) for both (P = 0.001). Interreader agreement resulted in a Cohen κ of 0.76 for precontrast analysis as well as of 0.76 for postcontrast analysis. Conclusions: Application of a novel iterative denoising and image enhancement technique in T1-weighted VIBE precontrast and postcontrast imaging of the abdomen is feasible, providing superior image quality, noise levels, and diagnostic confidence.

Wide-bore MR-guided RF ablation is a safe and effective treatment option for liver lesions.

•Appropriate training and supervision is essential for inexperienced interventionalists. •Two perpendicular image orientations should confirm the correct biopsy needle position. •Communication between interventionalist and technician is essential for a fluent biopsy procedure. •To shorten intervention time appropriate previous imaging is essential.