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.
Background Parkinson’s disease (PD) is currently the fastest-growing neurological disorder in the world. Patients with PD face numerous challenges in managing their chronic condition, particularly in countries with scarce healthcare infrastructure. Objective This qualitative study aimed to delve into neurologists’ perspectives on challenges and gaps in the Iraqi healthcare system that influence the management of PD, as well as strategies to mitigate these obstacles. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with neurologists from five different Iraqi provinces, working in both hospitals and private neurology clinics, between November 2024 and January 2025. A thematic analysis approach was employed to identify the main challenge
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Abstract
The Non - Homogeneous Poisson process is considered as one of the statistical subjects which had an importance in other sciences and a large application in different areas as waiting raws and rectifiable systems method , computer and communication systems and the theory of reliability and many other, also it used in modeling the phenomenon that occurred by unfixed way over time (all events that changed by time).
This research deals with some of the basic concepts that are related to the Non - Homogeneous Poisson process , This research carried out two models of the Non - Homogeneous Poisson process which are the power law model , and Musa –okumto , to estimate th
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Cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene contains some single nucleotide polymorphisms, which have been associated with serum high-density lipoprotein concentration and other lipoproteins. This study is done for determining of cholesteryl ester transfer protein polymorphism and evaluate its effect on serum lipid profile concentrations in some hyperlipidemic patients compared with healthy subjects in Salah Al-din governorate-Iraq. Blood samples were taken from (90) patients suffering from hyperlipidemia, and (70) samples that were apparently healthy controls. Serum lipid concentrations were measured by enzymatic assays. The polymorphism was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.&n
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Background: Although there is evidence of peer support in high-income countries, the use of peer support as an intervention for cardiometabolic disease management, including type 2 diabetes (T2DM), in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), is unclear. Methods: A scoping review methodology was used to search the databases MEDLINE, Embase, Emcare, PsycINFO, LILACS, CDSR, and CENTRAL. Results: Twenty-eight studies were included in this scoping review. Of these, 67% were developed in Asia, 22% in Africa, and 11% in the Americas. The definition of peer support varied; however, peer support offered a social and emotional dimension to help individuals cope with negative emotions and barriers while promoting disease management. Conclusio
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Abstract:
The internal control is the tool through which it is possible to verify and ensure the implementation of tasks in accordance with the established plans and programs and to evaluate the level of performance that is implemented within the different companies.
A guarantee from the supplier with the absence of a specialized technical committee that follows up the stages of implementing the contract and disbursing all amounts of financial dues to the supplier before completing the implementation of the contract and overlooking the non-implementation of some clauses of the contract by the committee in charge of
... Show MoreMotives for public exposure to specialized sports satellite channels and the gratifications achieved about it - Research presented by (Dr. Dr. Laila Ali Jumaa), Imam Al-Kadhim College (peace be upon him) - Department of Information-2021.
The research aims to know the extent of public exposure to specialized sports satellite channels, and what gratifications are achieved from them, and to reach scientific results that give an accurate description of exposure, motives and gratifications verified by that exposure, and the research objectives are summarized in the following:
- Revealing the habits and patterns of public exposure to specialized sports satelli
Abstract:
It is essential to provide health care directly or indirectly based on laboratory tests in order of diagnosing diseases. There is an urgent need for the results of such tests to be accurate and reliable. Therefore, the International Organization for Standardization has prepared special standards for medical laboratories to prove their efficiency, presented in standards 15189: 2012. The aim of the research is to determine the possibility of the Al-alwiya Women's Hospital in meeting the requirements of the standards 15189: 2012, which includes administrative requirements consisting of fifteen items and technical requirements consisting of ten items. The research is important because laboratories shou
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The widespread use of the Internet of things (IoT) in different aspects of an individual’s life like banking, wireless intelligent devices and smartphones has led to new security and performance challenges under restricted resources. The Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm (ECDSA) is the most suitable choice for the environments due to the smaller size of the encryption key and changeable security related parameters. However, major performance metrics such as area, power, latency and throughput are still customisable and based on the design requirements of the device.
The present paper puts forward an enhancement for the throughput performance metric by p
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This research is based on the idea of showing the extent to which the public relies on satellite channels as sources for news of the demonstrations in Iraq .This was the essence of the problem for which the researcher set several goals, including knowing the public’s confidence in the news of these satellite channels and comparing them with others. The researcher chose an available intended sample of (117) respondents in Baghdad - Karkh and Rusafa by adopting the survey method and applying a questionnaire form and the theory of media dependence for the period from 15/11/2019 to 1/1/2021 . By using statistical methods, the researcher reached many results, the most important of which are: Satellite channels are a source for 79% of the pu
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