Objectives: Small field of view gamma detection and imaging technologies for monitoring in vivo tracer uptake are rapidly expanding and being introduced for bed-side imaging and image guided surgical procedures. The Hybrid Gamma Camera (HGC) has been developed to enhance the localization of targeted radiopharmaceuticals during surgical procedures; for example in sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsies and for bed-side imaging in procedures such as lacrimal drainage imaging and thyroid scanning. In this study, a prototype anthropomorphic head and neck phantom has been designed, constructed, and evaluated using representative modelled medical scenarios to study the capability of the HGC to detect SLNs and image small organs. Methods: An anthropomorphic head and neck phantom has been designed to mimic the adult head and neck including some internal organs and tissues of interest, such as the thyroid gland and sentinel lymph nodes. The design of the head and neck phantom included an adjustable inner jig holding the simulated SLNs and thyroid gland. The simulated thyroid gland was designed and 3D printed taking into consideration the size and the shape of a healthy adult thyroid gland. The inner sealed space of the thyroid was filled with 15MBq of 99mTc through two upper filling valves. Sealed micro-tubes (0.2ml) have been employed to simulate SLNs containing various 99mTc activity concentrations ranging between 0.1MBq and 1MBq, and can be positioned at any desired place in the head and neck region. An active background was simulated through mixing 10MBq of 99mTc solution with the water used to fill the outer shell of the head and neck phantom. Results: The head and neck phantom was employed to simulate a situation where there are four SLNs distributed at two different vertical levels and at two depths within the neck. Contrast to noise ratio (CNR) calculations were performed for the detected SLNs at an 80mm distance between both pinhole collimators (i.e. 0.5mm and 1.0mm diameters) and the surface of the head and neck phantom with a 100s acquisition time. The recorded CNR values for the simulated SLNs are higher when the HGC was fitted with the 1.0mm diameter pinhole collimator. For instance, the recorded CNR values for the superficially simulated SLN containing 0.1MBq of 99mTc using 0.5mm and 1.0mm diameter pinhole collimators are 6.48 and 16.42, respectively (~87% difference). The anatomical context provided by the hybrid imaging aided the localization process of radioactivity accumulation in simulated SLNs. Gamma and hybrid optical images were acquired using the HGC with both available pinhole collimators for the simulated thyroid gland. The thyroid images produced varied in terms of spatial resolution and detectability. The count profiles through the middle of the simulated thyroid gland images provided by both pinhole collimators were obtained. The HGC could clearly differentiate the individual peaks of both thyroid lobes in the gamma image produced by the 0.5mm pinhole collimator. In contrast, the recorded count profile for the acquired image using the 1.0mm diameter pinhole collimator showed broader peaks for both lobes, reflecting the degradation of the spatial resolution with increasing the diameter of the pinhole collimator. Conclusion: The capability of the HGC has been evaluated utilizing a prototype anthropomorphic head and neck phantom, and the gamma and hybrid images obtained demonstrate that it is ideally suited for intraoperative SLNs detection and small organ imaging. The standardization of test phantoms and protocols for SFOV portable gamma systems will provide an opportunity to collect data across various medical centers and research groups. Moreover, it will provide a technical baseline for researchers and clinical practitioners to consider when assessing their SFOV gamma imaging systems. The anthropomorphic head and neck phantom described is cost effective, reproducible, flexible and anatomically representative.
Interleukin-38 (IL-38), an inflammatory cytokine discovered in recent years, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). IL-38 is encoded by the
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The educational sector is one of the important sectors in the world, and it is considered one of the means of community development. In addition, it is one of the means of making the country’s renaissance and devel-opment because it represents the factory of thinking minds that make change. There is no doubt that this sector is the same as any other sector. The deficit in the studied scientific planning has been prolonged, which led to its deterioration, and the problems of education remain diverse and inherited from previous time periods, where the hierarchical cluster analysis was used on postgraduate students in universities in Iraq, except for Kurdistan region, and the number of universities that were included in the study was
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The aim of this study was to measure the effectiveness of a proposed program to develop the creative abilities of the students of Tabuk University and its impact on the creative output of the NEOM project. The sample of the study consisted of (50) university students divided into two groups: an experimental group of 25 students who receive the proposed training program, and control group of (25) students.
To achieve these objectives, the researcher designed and developed tools to collect the required data, which were verified their validity and reliability.
The descriptive statistics of mean, standard deviations, correlation coefficient, T test for the associated sample were used in the analysis of the results of th
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The administrative leadership relies on a variety of behavioral paths in the functional areas in which it operates, and thus indicates its ability and thus has the upper hand in the organizational events, and in such a way that it can draw lessons and evaluate the results so as to test the expectations within the framework of the changes.
Does the study sample leadership have the characteristics that enable it to contain both crises and environmental stresses?
The aim of the study was to determine the location of the administrative leaders in the system of the study sample from the issue of crises and environmental pressures. The study concluded with a number of conclusions, the m
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The study of sex Structure and age characteristics of an important element of the
follow-up changes between different population groups, which are connected to a large degree
the demographic, social and economic characteristics, particularly since each population
group varying characteristics in terms of age, sex entail social, demographic, cultural and
economic implications, and from that the researcher has taken from Structure of sex and age
for population in the district of Tuz Khurmatu for (1997-2012 ) the subject of consideration
and maintain compared to see the contrast between them. Qualitative Research for installation
and the age of the urban and rural areas has touched the judiciary, as well as its respects
The alluvial fan of Mandali located between latitude 30˚45’00” N longitude 45˚30’00” E in east of Diyala Governorate, Iraq. Thirty-five wells were identified in the study area with average depth of 84 m and estimated area of 21550 ha. A three-dimensional conceptual model was prepared by using GMS program. From wells cross sections, four geological layers have been identified. The hydraulic conductivity of these layers was calculated for steady state condition, where the water levels for nine wells distributed over the study area were observed at same time. Afterward, PEST facility in the GMS was used to estimate the aquifer hydraulic characteristics. Other characteristics such as storage coefficient and specific yield have
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