54 research outputs found

    3D ultrasound in fetal spina bifida

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    3D ultrasound can be used to study the fetal spine, but skeletal mode can be inconclusive for the diagnosis of fetal spina bifida. We illustrate a diagnostic approach using 2D and 3D ultrasound and indicate possible pitfalls

    Chronic imaging of cortical sensory map dynamics using a genetically encoded calcium indicator

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    Abstract  In vivo optical imaging can reveal the dynamics of large-scale cortical activity, but methods for chronic recording are limited. Here we present a technique for long-term investigation of cortical map dynamics using wide-field ratiometric fluorescence imaging of the genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI) Yellow Cameleon 3.60. We find that wide-field GECI signals report sensory-evoked activity in anaesthetized mouse somatosensory cortex with high sensitivity and spatiotemporal precision, and furthermore, can be measured repeatedly in separate imaging sessions over multiple weeks. This method opens new possibilities for the longitudinal study of stability and plasticity of cortical sensory representations

    Prenatal sonographic diagnosis of skeletal dysplasias

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    OBJECTIVE: To assess the types and numbers of cases, gestational age at specific prenatal diagnosis and diagnostic accuracy of the diagnosis of skeletal dysplasias in a prenatal population from a single tertiary center. METHODS: This was a retrospective database review of type, prenatal and definitive postnatal diagnoses and gestational age at specific prenatal diagnosis of all cases of skeletal dysplasias from a mixed referral and screening population between 1985 and 2007. Prenatal diagnoses were grouped into 'correct ultrasound diagnosis' (complete concordance with postnatal pediatric or pathological findings) or 'partially correct ultrasound diagnosis' (skeletal dysplasias found postnatally to be a different one from that diagnosed prenatally). RESULTS: We included 178 fetuses in this study, of which 176 had a prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of 'skeletal dysplasia'. In 160 cases the prenatal diagnosis of a skeletal dysplasia was confirmed; two cases with skeletal dysplasias identified postnatally had not been diagnosed prenatally, giving 162 fetuses with skeletal dysplasias in total. There were 23 different classifiable types of skeletal dysplasia. The specific diagnoses based on prenatal ultrasound examination alone were correct in 110/162 (67.9%) cases and partially correct in 50/162 (30.9%) cases, (160/162 overall, 98.8%). In 16 cases, skeletal dysplasia was diagnosed prenatally, but was not confirmed postnatally (n = 12 false positives) or the case was lost to follow-up (n = 4). The following skeletal dysplasias were recorded: thanatophoric dysplasia (35 diagnosed correctly prenatally of 40 overall), osteogenesis imperfecta (lethal and non-lethal, 31/35), short-rib dysplasias (5/10), chondroectodermal dysplasia Ellis-van Creveld (4/9), achondroplasia (7/9), achondrogenesis (7/8), campomelic dysplasia (6/8), asphyxiating thoracic dysplasia Jeune (3/7), hypochondrogenesis (1/6), diastrophic dysplasia (2/5), chondrodysplasia punctata (2/2), hypophosphatasia (0/2) as well as a further 7/21 cases with rare or unclassifiable skeletal dysplasias. CONCLUSION: Prenatal diagnosis of skeletal dysplasias can present a considerable diagnostic challenge. However, a meticulous sonographic examination yields high overall detection. In the two most common disorders, thanatophoric dysplasia and osteogenesis imperfecta (25% and 22% of all cases, respectively), typical sonomorphology accounts for the high rates of completely correct prenatal diagnosis (88% and 89%, respectively) at the first diagnostic examination

    Multi-Biometrische Gesichtserkennung

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    S.361-373Die Gesichtserkennung ist eine unverzichtbare Methode bei der polizeilichen Personenidentifizierung. Die bisherige zweidimensionale Gesichtserkennung hat jedoch noch einige Hindernisse zu überwinden. Dies ist insbesondere dann der Fall, wenn die Identifizierung von Personen auf Foto- bzw. Videoaufnahmen, die in unmittelbarem Zusammenhang mit einer Straftat stehen, erfolgen soll und das Gesicht nicht in einer Frontalansicht aufgenommen wurde. Das Ziel des Projekts GES-3D ist es, ein datenschutzkonformes, einfach zu nutzendes multi-biometrisches System für die Identifizierung von Straftatverdächtigen aus Foto- bzw. Videodaten unter Einsatz von 3D-Gesichtsbilddaten zu erarbeiten. Mit diesem neuartigen Werkzeug sollen die Ermittlungsbeamten bei ihrer Arbeit unterstützt werden, indem eine Identifizierung auch aus partiellen Gesichtsbildaufnahmen mit minderer Bildqualität ermöglicht wird

    Abnormal skull findings in neural tube defects

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    The human neural tube develops and closes during the third and fourth week after conception and is normally completed by 28 days post-conception. Malformations, knows as neural tube defects, occure, when the normal closure process fails. Several clinical types of neural tube defects are recognized, anencefaly and spina bifida being the most common. Such malformations are generally associated with cranial abnormlities

    Approximately half of the erythroblasts in maternal blood are of fetal origin

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    The enrichment of fetal erythroblasts from the peripheral blood of pregnant women is currently actively pursued for the development of a non-invasive means of prenatal diagnosis. Since erythroblasts in maternal blood are not all of fetal origin, and currently no reliable method exists to distinguish between the maternal and fetal erythroblasts, their use for prenatal diagnosis is not without uncertainty. The purpose of this study was to determine the percentage of fetal erythroblasts in maternal blood at the single cell level and to what extent such cells can reproducibly be used for polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based prenatal diagnostic analyses. Erythroblasts were enriched from the peripheral blood of rhesus negative pregnant women using magnetic cell sorting (MACS). Single erythroblasts identified morphologically were individually micromanipulated and analysed by a multiplex PCR reaction for the fetal SRY and rhesus D genes. As a control for the PCR reaction the β-globin gene was used. The PCR results were validated by the results obtained by invasive procedures. In all instances where single erythroblasts were examined, the correct fetal genotype for the two fetal specific loci was detected. Furthermore, our results indicate that ~50% of the enriched erythroblasts are of fetal origi
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