The present study was to develop and design a new sonography rigid bronchoscopy and corollary vacuum-assisted biopsy device system with less injury and complication. The system combined ultrasonic-probe with ultrasound catheter, a new medical ultrasound technique, and rigid bronchoscopy (RB) which is improved with an auxiliary vacuum-assisted biopsy device. The principle of the device is vacuum suction and rotary knife. The reduced outer diameter of the RB led to less pain and lower complications for the patient. With the help of ultrasonic-probe (30 MHz), lesions and blood vessels can be identified clearly and unintentional puncture and damage to blood vessels can be avoided. Plenty of lesions can be obtained quickly through the vacuum-assisted biopsy device without getting puncture needle in and out repeatedly. The novel endobronchial sonography rigid bronchoscopy and matched vacuum-assisted biopsy device has many remarkable advantages. It can enlarge the applied range of the RB from endobronchial to mediastinal lesions, avoiding unintentional puncture of vessels. Obtaining multiple samples with a higher accuracy rate than that by other sampling techniques, minimizing operation time, alleviating pain and decreasing the complication rate, the system makes up the technical deficiency for the diagnosis and treatment of the mediastinal lesions, to a certain degree.
DNA microarray has become an essential medical genetic diagnostic tool for its high-throughput, miniaturization and automation. The design and selection of oligonucleotide probes are critical for preparing gene chips with high quality. Several sets of probe design software have been developed and are available to perform this work now. Every set of the software aims to different target sequences and shows different advantages and limitations. In this article, the research and development of these sets of software are reviewed in line with three main criteria, including specificity, sensitivity and melting temperature (Tm). In addition, based on the experimental results from literatures, these sets of software are classified according to their applications. This review will be helpful for users to choose an appropriate probe-design software. It will also reduce the costs of microarrays, improve the application efficiency of microarrays, and promote both the research and development (R&D) and commercialization of high-performance probe design software.
In order to help a surgeon to determine a proper canal filing cutting path in a hip replacement operation conveniently, this paper presents a kind of probe with combined structure. Firstly, the doctor can use this kind of combined probe to choose canal filing cutting path. Then, the doctor can use computer to guide the surgeon to file femoral cavity along the selected canal filing cutting path. Through hip replacement corpse experiments, filing effects and used time of using combined probe group and separate control group were analyzed. The experiment results showed that the methods introduced in this paper could lower the difficulty of hip replacement operations, improve the implantation of hip stem prostheses further, and reduce the incidence of surgical complications.
Lung cancer management is complex and requires a multi-disciplinary approach to provide comprehensive care. Interventional pulmonology (IP) is an evolving field that utilizes minimally invasive modalities for the initial diagnosis and staging of suspected lung cancers. Endobronchial ultrasound guided sampling of mediastinal lymph nodes for staging and detection of driver mutations is instrumental for prognosis and treatment of early and later stage lung cancers. Advances in navigational bronchoscopy allow for histological sampling of suspicious peripheral lesions with minimal complication rates, as well as assisting with fiducial marker placements for stereotactic radiation therapy. Furthermore, IP can also offer palliation for inoperable cancers and those with late stage diseases. As the trend towards early lung cancer detection with low dose computed tomography is developing, it is paramount for the pulmonary physician with expertise in lung nodule management, minimally invasive sampling and staging to integrate into the paradigm of multi-specialty care.
Platelets are rapidly activated by activators and produce a large number of platelet microparticles (PMPs) with high coagulation activity, resulting in coagulation dysfunction. However, the generation mechanism of PMPs is still not clear. Hopping probe ion conductance microscopy (HPICM) has special technical advantages in non-contact, real-time, high-resolution imaging of living cells under physiological conditions. Using HPICM, this study monitored the processes of platelet activation and generation of PMPs in real time in the presence of calcium ionophore A23187 and cytochalasin D (CD), respectively. The results proved that the intracellular calcium concentration and the cytoskeletal proteins played important roles in the platelet activation and the generation of PMPs. Compared with the low density spread shape platelets (LDSS), the high density bubble shape platelets (HDBS) were more sensitive to the calcium ionophore A23187 and cytochalasin D. This research has a guiding significance for the further study on the relationship between platelet activation and coagulation function using HPICM.
ObjectiveTo compare the function and action pathways of VEGFA, VEGFB and VEGFC in VEGF family of mouse eye.MethodsUsing the BXD mouse gene data in Genenetwork database as template to compare and study the similarities and differences of VEGFA, VEGFB and VEGFC molecular pathways or potential functions in the whole genome expression spectrum of BXD recombinant mouse inbred line population, with multiple analytical methods and statistical strategies were used, such as gene expression level, target genes comparison, top genes comparison associated to target genes, expression Quantitative Trait Loci (eQTL).ResultsMatrix comparison showed strong positive correlation between two probes of VEGFC (r=0.732, P＜0.01), weak correlation between VEGFA 1420909 and VEGFC 1440739, VEGFA 1451959 and VEGFC 1451803, VEGFC 1419417959 and VEGFC 1439766, VEGFC 1451803 and VEGFC 1439766 (P＜0.05); there was no correlation between VEGFA 1420909 and four other genes except VEGFC 1440739, VEGFA 1451959 and VEGFC 1440739, VEGFB 1451803 and VEGFA 1420909/VEGFC 1419417/VEGFC 1440739 (P ＞0.05). In the comparative analysis of the relevant Top50 genes of each VEGF gene, most of the genes in BXD mouse were not significantly correlated with VEGFA, VEGFB and VEGFC except for the weak association of individual related genes. The results of eQTL analysis showed that each probe of VEGF gene was located on different chromosomes.ConclusionsThe expression levels and positive and negative correlations of VEGFA, VEGFB and VEGFC were different in the VEGF family of mouse eye, suggesting that these genes may play their role through different pathways.
ObjectiveTo prepare platelet-derived growth factor receptor β (PDGFRβ)-targeted near-infrared molecular probe and evaluate its potential in optical molecular imaging of lung cancer.MethodsPDGFRβ-specific affibody Z-tri was recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and purified using affinity chromatography. In vitro cell-binding of Z-tri was analyzed by flow cytometry. Cellular distribution of Z-tri in tumor grafts was determined by protein-tracing. The molecular probe CF750-Z-tri was prepared by conjugating near-infrared fluorescent dye CF750 to Z-tri. The optical images of xenografts of lung cancer were obtained by using CF750-Z-tri combined with optical imaging system.ResultsPDGFRβ-specific affibody Z-tri was highly expressed in E. coli and purified to homogeneity. Z-tri could bind PDGFRβ-positive cells but not PDGFRβ-negative cells cultured in vitro. In the tumor xenografts of human lung cancer, intravenously injected Z-tri was predominantly distributed on cells overexpressing PDGFRβ. The near infrared fluorescent dye CF750 was efficiently conjugated to Z-tri. Optical images with high contrast of lung cancer xenografts were produced by using the near-infrared fluorescent probe CF750-Z-tri combined with optical imaging system.ConclusionThe near-infrared fluorescent probe CF750-Z-tri can be used for optical imaging of human lung cancer, which takes great potential in optical imaging-guided surgery of lung cancer.
Polymer micelles formed by self-assembly of amphiphilic polymers are widely used in drug delivery, gene delivery and biosensors, due to their special hydrophobic core/hydrophilic shell structure and nanoscale. However, the structural stability of polymer micelles can be affected strongly by environmental factors, such as temperature, pH, shear force in the blood and interaction with non-target cells, leading to degradations and drug leakage as drug carriers. Therefore, researches on the structural integrity and in vivo distribution of micelle-based carriers are very important for evaluating their therapeutic effect and clinical feasibility. At present, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) technology has been widely used in real-time monitoring of aggregation, dissociation and distribution of polymer micelles (in vitro and in vivo). In this review, the polymer micelles, characteristics of FRET technology, structure and properties of the FRET-polymer micelles are briefly introduced. Then, methods and mechanism for combinations of several commonly used fluorescent probes into polymer micelles structures, and progresses on the stability and distribution studies of FRET-polymer micelles (in vitro and in vivo) as drug carriers are reviewed, and current challenges of FRET technology and future directions are discussed.
Confocal laser endomicroscopy technology can obtain cell-level images in real time and in situ, which can assist doctors in real-time intraoperative diagnosis, but its non-invasiveness makes it difficult to relocate the optical biopsy site. The confocal probe localization algorithm can automatically calculate the coordinates of the probe tip, that is, the coordinates of the optical biopsy site. In this paper, a confocal probe localization algorithm based on region growing and endoscope size prior was proposed. The algorithm detected the probe region by region growing on the probe edge image, then searched for tip points based on a given probe axis, and iteratively optimized it. Finally, based on the single-degree-of-freedom motion characteristics of the probe, the three-dimensional coordinates of the tip of the probe were calculated by using the prior information of the size of the endoscope, which solved the scale uncertainty problem of the monocular camera. The confocal probe localization algorithm was tested on the dataset collected in this paper. The results showed that our algorithm no longer relied on the color information of the probe, avoided the influence of uneven illumination on the gray value of the probe pixels, and had a more robust location accuracy and running speed. Within the length of the probe extending out of the endoscope from 0 to 5 cm, the pixel error could be as low as 11.76 pixels, and the average relative position error could be as low as 1.66 mm, which can achieve the real-time and accurate localization of the confocal probe.
Objective To evaluate the diagnosis value of radial probe endobronchial ultrasound guide sheath transbronchial lung biopsy (RP-EBUS-GS-TBLB) combination with rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) in peripheral pulmonary lesions (PPLs). Methods One hundred and fifty-eight patients with PPLs identified by computed tomography in Nanjing Chest Hospital underwent RP-EBUS-GS-TBLB with or without ROSE randomly between February 2016 and August 2017. The sensitivity, the procedure time, the biopsy times, and the complications were evaluated in the two groups. Results The diagnostic yield was 85.7% (72/84) in ROSE group and 70.3% (52/74) in No-ROSE group. There was significant difference in diagnostic sensitivity between the two groups (P<0.05). The mean procedure time and number of biopsy in ROSE group were less than those in No-ROSE group (P<0.01). No severe procedure related complications such as pneumothorax and hemoptysis were observed. Conclusions ROSE can improve the diagnostic sensitivity, and shorten the procedure time. RP-EBUS-GS-TBLB combined with ROSE is a safe and effective technique for PPLs.