Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been a prevalence technique for breast cancer diagnosis. Computer-aided detection and segmentation of lesions from MRIs plays a vital role for the MRIbased disease analysis. There are two main issues of the existing breast lesion segmentation techniques: requiring manual delineation of Regions of Interests (ROIs) as a step of initialization; and requiring a large amount of labeled images for model construction or parameter learning, while in real clinical or experimental settings, it is highly challenging to get su±cient labeled MRIs. To resolve these issues, this work proposes a semi-supervised method for breast tumor segmentation based on super voxel strategies. After image segmentation with advanced cluster techniques, we take a supervised learning step to classify the tumor and nontumor patches in order to automatically locate the tumor regions in an MRI. To obtain the optimal performance of tumor extraction, we take extensive experiments to learn parameters for tumor segmentation and classification, and design 225 classifiers corresponding to different parameter settings. We call the proposed method as Semi-supervised Tumor Segmentation (SSTS), and apply it to both mass and nonmass lesions. Experimental results show better performance of SSTS compared with five state-of-the-art methods.

The synthetic aperture-based linear-array photoacoustic tomography (PAT) was proposed to address the limited-view shortcomings of the single aperture, but the detection field of view (FOV) determined by the aperture orientation effect was not fully considered yet, leading to the limited-view observation and image resolution degradation. Herein, the aperture orientation effect was proposed from the theoretical model and then it was verified via both the numerical simulation and phantom experiment. Different orientations were enumerated sequentially in the simulation to approximate the ideal full-view case for the optimal detection FOV, considering the detection pattern of the linear-array transducer. As a result, the corresponding optimal aperture orientation was 60
if the synthetic aperture was seamlessly established by three single linear arrays, where the overlapped detection pattern was optimized from the individual linear-array transducer at the adjacent positions. Therefore, the limited-view artifacts were minimized and the image resolution was enhanced in this aperture orientation. This study showed that the aperture orientation had great influence on the optimal detection FOV in the synthetic aperture configuration, where the full-view imaging quality and enhanced image resolution could be achieved.

Phototherapy, mainly including photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT), is a noninvasive and effective approach for cancer treatment. Since integration of PDT and PTT for simultaneous synergistic PDT/PTT treatment enables us to improve phototherapeutic e±cacy significantly, it has been attracting a lot of investigations in current days. Here, we introduce IR-52, a new mitochondria-targeting near infrared (NIR) fluorescent small molecule, which possesses structure-inherent PTT and PDT synergistic phototherapeutic effects without conjugation to specific ligands. After NIR light irradiation (808 nm, 2W/cm2, 5 min), both the hyperthermia and excessive singlet oxygen levels were determined when dissolving IR-52 in aqueous solutions. In vitro photoinduced cytotoxicity studies showed significant lower cell viabilities and higher necrotic/apoptotic rates when cancer cells were treated with IR-52 and irradiation, and its' mitochondrial localization in cancer cells would partially explain its high cytotoxicity. Further in vivo synergetic PDT and PTT effects were demonstrated by high tumor surface temperature and significant inhibition of tumor growth. Our results strongly suggest that IR-52, which possesses excellent photosensitivity, may provide a promising strategy for tumor treatment with decreased side effects.

With widely availed clinically used radionuclides, Cerenkov luminescence imaging (CLI) has become a potential tool in the field of optical molecular imaging. However, the impulse noises introduced by high-energy gamma rays that are generated during the decay of radionuclide reduce the image quality significantly, which affects the accuracy of quantitative analysis, as well as the three-dimensional reconstruction. In this work, a novel denoising framework based on fuzzy clustering and curvature-driven diffusion (CDD) is proposed to remove this kind of impulse noises. To improve the accuracy, the Fuzzy Local Information C-Means algorithm, where spatial information is evolved, is used. We evaluate the performance of the proposed framework systematically with a series of experiments, and the corresponding results demonstrate a better denoising effect than those from the commonly used median filter method. We hope this work may provide a useful data pre-processing tool for CLI and its following studies.

In this paper, we prepared the nanoparticle drug carrier system between nanoparticles — chitosan and Epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG) for breast cancer cell inhibiting application. For this drug carrier system, chitosan acts as a carrier and EGCG as a drug. Which were systematically characterized and thoroughly evaluated in terms of their inhibition rate and biocompatibility. We also did a cell scratch test and the result indicated that the chitosan-EGCG nanoparticles have inhibitory effect on the growth of breast cancer cells. The inhibition rate could reach up to 21.91%. This work revealed that the modification of nanoparticles paved a way for specific biomedical applications.

This study assessed whether there was a scattering spectral marker quantifiable by reflectance measurements that could indicate early development of hepatic steatosis in rats for potential applications to pre-procurement organ evaluation. Sixteen rats were fed a methionine-cholinede ficient (MCD) diet and eight rats were fed a normal diet. Direct assessment of the liver parenchyma of rats in vivo was performed by percutaneous reflectance spectroscopy using a single fiber probe at the beginning of diet-intake and arbitrary post-diet-intake times up to 11 weeks to render longitudinal comparison. Histological sampling of the liver over the duration of diet administration was performed on two MCD-diet treated rats and one control rat euthanized after reflectance spectroscopy measurement. The images of hematoxylin/eosin-stained liver specimens were analyzed morphometrically to evaluate the lipid size changes associated with the level of steatosis. The MCD-diet-treated group (n=16) had mild steatosis in seven rats, moderate in three rats, severe in six rats, and no other significant pathology. No control rats (n=8) developed hepatic steatosis. Among the parameters retrieved from per-SfS, only the scattering power (can be either positive or negative) appeared to be statistically different between MCD-treated and control livers. The scattering power for the 16 MCD-diet-treated livers at the time of euthanasia and presenting various levels of steatosis was 0.33±0.21,in comparison to 0.036±0.25 of the eight control livers (p=0.0189). When evaluated at days 12 and 13 combined, the scattering power of the 16 MCD-diet-treated livers was 0.32±0.17, in comparison to 0.10±0.11 of the eight control livers (p=0.0017). All of four MCD-treated livers harvested at days 12 and 13 presented mild steatosis with sub-micron size lipid droplets, even though none of the MCD-treated livers were sonographically remarkable for fatty changes. The elevation of the scattering power may be a valuable marker indicating early hepatic steatosis before the steatosis is sonographically detectable.

Multiphoton microscopy (MPM) is an invaluable tool for visualizing subcellular structures in biomedical and life sciences. High-numerical-aperture (NA) immersion objective lenses are used to deliver excitation light to focus inside the biological tissue. The refractive index of tissue is commonly different from that of the immersion medium, which introduces spherical aberration, leading to signal and resolution degradation as imaging depth increases. However, the explicit dependence of this index mismatch-induced aberration on the involved physical parameters is not clear, especially its dependence on index mismatch. Here, from the vectorial equations for focusing through a planar interface between materials of mismatched refractive indices, we derive an approximate analytical expression for the spherical aberration. The analytical expression explicitly reveals the dependence of spherical aberration on index mismatch, imaging depth and excitation wavelength, from which we can expect the following qualitative behaviors: (1) Multiphoton signal and resolution degradation is less for longer excitation wavelength, (2) a longer wavelength tolerates a higher index mismatch, (3) a longer wavelength tolerates a larger imaging depth and (4) both signal and resolution degradations show the same dependence on imaging depth, regardless of NA or immersion on the condition that the integration angle is the same. Detailed numerical simulation results agree quite well with the above expectations based on the analytical approximation. These theoretical results suggest the use of long excitation wavelength to better suppress index mismatch-induced signal and resolution degradation in deep-tissue MPM.

A simple method to objectively and simultaneously measure eye's longitudinal and transverse chromatic aberrations was proposed. A dual-wavelength wavefront measurement system using two Hartmann–Shack wavefront sensors was developed. The wavefronts of the red (639.1 nm) and near-infrared (786.0 nm) lights were measured simultaneously for different positions in the model eye. The chromatic wavefronts were converted into Zernike polynomials. The Zernike tilt coe±cient (first term) was used to calculate the transverse chromatic aberration along the x-direction, while the Zernike defocus coe±cient (fourth term) was used to calculate the longitudinal chromatic aberration. The measurement and simulation data were consistent.

Eye-feature diagnosis is a time-honored method for studying many diseases in traditional Chinese medicine. There is a close relationship between eye-feature and viscera, and eye-feature is a reflection of visceral health status. Commercially used ophthalmology diagnosis instruments have disadvantages and cannot satisfy the requirements of eye-feature diagnosis. In this paper, we proposed a novel askiatic imaging method that removes the interference of an illumination source's reflection shadow and is free from image splicing. We developed a novel imaging system to implement this method, and some eye-feature characteristics to analyze visceral diseases were obtained.

Malignant gliomas are highly invasive tumors that use the cerebral vessels for invasion due to high vascular fragility of the blood–brain barrier (BBB). On one hand, glioma is characterized by the BBB disruption, on the other hand, drug brain delivery via the BBB is a big challenge in glioma therapy. The limited information about vascular changes associated with glioma growth is a reason of slow progress in prevention of glioma development. Here, we present in vivo and ex vivo study of the BBB disruption and glioma cells (GCs) migration in rats using fluorescence and confocal microscopy. We uncovered a local breach in the BBB in the main tumor mass but not within the border of normal and malignant cells, where the BBB was impermeable for high weight molecules. The migration of GCs were observed via the cerebral vessels with the intact BBB that was associated with macrophages infiltration. The mechanisms underlying glioma progression remain unknown but there is an evidence that the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) via activation of vascular beta2-adrenoreceptors (B2-ADRs) can play an important role in tumor metastasis. Our results clearly show an increase in the expression of vascular B2-ADRs and production of the beta-arrestin-1 - co-factor of B2-ADRs signaling pathway in rats with glioma. Pharmacological blockade of B2-ADRs reduces the BBB disruption, macrophages infiltration, GCs migration and increases survival rate. These data suggest that the blockade of B2-ADRs may be a novel adjuvant therapeutic strategy to reduce glioma progression and prevent metastasis.

[J. Innov. Opt. Health Sci., Vol. 10, No. 4 (2017) 1730008] The “received date" of this paper should be 4 April 2017 instead of 3 June 2017. The manuscript was originally submitted on 4 April 2017 and the revised version was submitted on 3 June 2017.