1,721,009 research outputs found
Patient radiation dose during diagnostic and interventional cardiology procedures: A study in a tertiary hospital
Full text linkBackground: Fluoroscopy-guided diagnostic and interventional cardiology (IC) procedures help to identify and treat several problems associated with the heart. However, these procedures expose patients, cardiologists, radiographers, and nurses to radiation doses. Due to the risk that ionizing radiation poses, concerns have been raised and studies are continually being done to ensure that optimization is achieved during such procedures. This study assessed patient radiation dose during diagnostic and interventional cardiology procedures as well as right heart studies at a tertiary hospital in Ghana to formulate the facility’s diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) for optimization purposes. As this study was the first of its kind in Ghana, it was a vital step towards dose optimization within the local department, as well as contributing to future DRLs in Ghana.
Methods: The study collected dose (air kerma, and kerma area product (KAP) and procedural data, and assessed any correlation between parameters such as fluoroscopy time and KAP, and between body mass index (BMI) and KAP. The DRL values were determined as the 75th percentile level for the dose distribution for the various IC procedures including percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), coronary angiography (CA), and right heart catheterization (RHC). Data were analyzed using SPSS version 23.
Results: CA was the most frequently performed IC procedure (77.3%), while RHC was the least recorded (3.3%). The highest mean KAP was observed during the PCI procedure. The proposed diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) were 162.0 Gy.cm2 (PCI), 69.4 Gy.cm2 (CA), 39.8 Gy.cm2 (RHC) and 159.9 Gy.cm2 (CA+PCI). Patients who presented for the CA+PCI and RHC procedures received the highest and lowest mean KAP of 159.9 Gy.cm2 and 39.8 Gy.cm2 of radiation respectively.
Conclusion: This study, therefore, concludes that there is a need for dose optimization of radiation exposures for IC procedures at the cardiothoracic center in Ghana
Estimation of organ-specific cancer and mortality risks associated with common indication-specific CT examinations of the abdominopelvic region
Full text linkIntroduction: There is a paucity of large-scale studies reporting organ doses and cancer risks in patients who undergo indication-specific CT examinations. This study estimated organspecific lifetime attributable risk (LAR) of cancer incidence and mortality among patients who underwent indication-based computed tomography (CT) examinations [(involving abdominopelvic lesion, kidney stones and computed tomography-intravenous urography (CTIVU)] in about 70% of the functioning CT facilities in Ghana.
Methods: With a total of 1,100 data sets, organ doses were first determined using the National Cancer Institute Dosimetry System for CT (NCICTX) software version 2.1, and LAR values were predicted using the BEIR VII model.
Results: The estimated radiation-induced colon cancer risks were likely in 39.4-59.8 out of 100,000 patients who underwent CT because of abdominopelvic lesions. The risk was even higher in CT-IVU examinations (53.3-66.4 patients in 100,000 procedures) but was relatively less (16.8-26.3 patients) in kidney stone procedures. Accordingly, the risk of radiation-induced colon mortality was more common in CT-IVU than in kidney stone procedures (22.7-28.2 versus 7.2-12.5 patients in 100,000 procedures).
Conclusion: These results call for further optimisation actions for indication-specific CT examinations to appropriately reduce the potential risk levels for patients’ protection and safety
Harnessing the Benefits of ChatGPT for Radiography Education: A Discussion Paper
Full text linkObjective: Radiography education is pivotal in training skilled radiographers for diagnostic imaging and therapeutic applications. With technological advancements, interest in innovative educational tools to enhance traditional teaching methods is growing. This discussion paper explores the possibility of the integration of ChatGPT, a cutting-edge conversational AI language model, into radiography education.
Key findings: We report that ChatGPT offers interactive learning opportunities that can facilitate learning. It also provides self-paced learning, revision platforms, and supports educators in scenario creation, assessment development, group collaboration, and professional and research activities. Despite these benefits, it is important to carefully consider issues related to academic integrity and privacy, along with the opportunities and challenges presented by this new technology in radiography education.
Conclusion: This paper highlights some of the prospects and limitations of the potential applications of ChatGPT in radiography education, underscoring the benefits for both students and educators. However, its implementation must be considered thoughtfully and ethically, taking into account its strengths and limitations.
Implications for Practice: Integrating ChatGPT in radiography education has the potential to improve radiography education by improving digital literacy and graduate outcomes of students while streamlining the preparation process for educators. However, ethical implementation is vital for optimal outcomes
The upside of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Practice of Radiology in resource-poor settings
Full text linkDespite the devastating global impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it brought notable benefits to the practice and study of radiology and radiography in resource-poor communities like Ghana. The pandemic necessitated the adoption of remote work and online learning, overcoming previous barriers such as high costs and poor connectivity. Applications like Zoom and Teams facilitated free access to international webinars and conferences, significantly reducing the financial burden of acquiring knowledge. This period also heightened the recognition of radiologists and radiographers, leading to increased prioritisation and investment in their departments by political leaders, including plans for new hospitals with advanced radiological equipment. Additionally, the pandemic provoked research collaborations and educational advancements, equipping radiologists and radiographers with new skills to handle future health crises. Improved hygiene protocols and infection control measures were implemented, reducing the risk of disease transmission. Enhanced internet services enabled radiologists to offer remote image interpretation services, improving healthcare accessibility across regions. International support ensured a steady supply of medical consumables, further enhancing safety. Overall, the pandemic accelerated technological adoption, increased professional recognition, improved safety protocols, and fostered international collaboration, significantly advancing the field of radiology in Ghana
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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