Journal of Biomedical Physics & Engineering

BACKGROUND: Numerous Computed Tomography (CT) scan requests for trauma patients have raised serious concern about the impacts of radiation such as radiation-induced cancers. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the necessity rate of requested head CT scans for traumatic patients and to ultimately estimate the risk of radiation-induced brain cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this retrospective analytical study, traumatic patients, who had undergone a head CT scan in a two-month period from August 23 to October 22, 2018, were considered as the study population...

Microelectrode Arrays (MEAs) neural interfaces are considered implantable devices that interact with the nervous system to monitor and/or modulate brain activity. Graphene-based materials are utilized to address some of the current challenges in neural interface design due to their desirable features, such as high conductance, large surface-to-volume ratio, suitable electrochemical properties, biocompatibility, flexibility, and ease of production. In the current study, we fabricated and characterized a type of flexible, ultrasmall, and implantable neurostimulator based on graphene fibers...

BACKGROUND: The BEBIG Portio multi-channel applicator provides better target dose coverage and sparing organs-at-risk compared to a single-channel cylinder. However, artifacts and distortions of Portio in magnetic resonance images (MRI) have not yet been reported. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to quantify the artifacts and distortions in its 1.5-Tesla MR images before clinical use. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this experimental study, we employed a gelatin-filled phantom to conduct our measurements...

BACKGROUND: Electromagnetic induction hyperthermia is a promising method to treat the deep-seated tumors such as brain and prostatic tumors. This technique is performed using the induction of electromagnetic waves in the ferromagnetic cores implanted at the solid tumor. OBJECTIVE: This study aims at determining the conditions of the optimal thermal distribution in the different frequencies before performing the in vitro cellular study. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this experimental study, the i-Cu alloy (70...

BACKGROUND: The intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) model extracts both functional and structural information of a tissue using motion-sensitizing gradients. OBJECTIVE: The Objective of the present work is to investigate the impact of signal to noise ratio (SNR) and physiologic conditions on the validity of IVIM parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study is a simulation study, modeling IVIM at a voxel, and also done 10,000 times for every single simulation...

BACKGROUND: In Radiotherapy, computation of dose is important since in a small field with heterogeneity, dose is usually computed with discrepancies. OBJECTIVE: The present study was aimed to evaluate the dosimetry of treatment planning algorithms in lung equivalent heterogeneous medium for Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) with step and shoot Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (ss-IMRT), and dynamic Intensity-Modulated Radiation Therapy (d-IMRT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this experimental study, Computerized Imaging Reference System (CIRS) phantom was used with an inhomogeneous Racemosa wood cylinder for two types of tumors, namely, Left Lung Central Tumor (LCT) and Left Lung Peripheral Tumor (LPT) in the CIRS left lung cavity...

Previous research has shown that children are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) and blue light emitted from digital screens compared to healthy adults. This paper presents the findings of a cross-sectional study conducted in Yasuj, Iran, to investigate the screen time habits of children and adolescents and its potential impact on their health. A total of 63 participants, including 44 boys and 19 girls, were randomly selected for the study. The results showed that the average daily screen time for the children was 87...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Smartphone users frequently connect to the Internet via mobile data or Wi-Fi. Over the past two decades, the worldwide percentage of people who connect to the Internet using their mobile phones has increased drastically. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the potential link between mobile cellular data/ and Wi-Fi use and adverse health effects. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2,796 employees (52% female and 48% male) of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (SUMS), Shiraz, Iran...

BACKGROUND: Many studies have investigated ankle sprain injury and it has been reported that in 80% of cases, ankle sprains lead to functional ankle instability (FAI). The conventional exercises for FAI rehabilitation neglect the associated neurocognitive dysfunction. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the effect of Wii Fit Plus as a virtual reality training on neurocognitive function in athletes with FAI compared to athletes without FAI. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this matched randomized clinical trial study, 25 athletes with unilateral FAI and 25 athletes without FAI were assigned to two groups randomly: 1) the intervention group, subjects performed the Wii training including balance and strengthening games three times a week for 12 sessions and 2) subjects in the control group received no intervention...

BACKGROUND: Percutaneous vertebroplasty employs bone cement for injecting into the fractured vertebral body (VB) caused by spinal metastases. Radioactive bone cement and also brachytherapy seeds have been utilized to suppress the tumor growth in the VB. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the dose distributions of low-energy brachytherapy seeds, and to compare them to those of radioactive bone cement, by Monte Carlo simulation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this simulation study, nine CT scan images were imported in Geant4...

Pressure ulcers are a significant concern in patient care, particularly for those with limited mobility and extended hospital stays. Wavy mattresses are shown an effective tool for preventing or promoting the healing of these wounds by preventing pressure localization in different body regions. The current study aimed to present a novel double-layered wavy mattress design for the prevention and recovery of pressure ulcers, addressing some of the limitations of existing mattresses. The novel mattress includes double-layered cells, with the upper and lower layers, filled with water and air, respectively...

BACKGROUND: Positron Emission Mammography (PEM) is a nuclear medicine imaging tool, playing a significant role in the diagnosis of patients with breast cancer. These days, many research has been done in order to improve the performance of this system. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to propose a new method for optimizing the size of axial Field of View (FOV) in PEMs and improving the performance of the systems. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this analytical study, a conventional Inveon PET is simulated using GATE in order to validate the simulation...

BACKGROUND: Radiation therapy, the most common form of cancer treatment, can result in late complications, such as secondary breast and thyroid cancers. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the risk of secondary cancers using two radiobiological models of Excess Absolute Risk (EAR) and Excess Relative Risk (ERR) in patients with brain cancer undergoing radiotherapy for improved survival rates of cancer patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this expository cross-sectional study, 45 patients under the age of 40 years underwent Whole Brain Radiotherapy (WBRT) using a compact accelerator in Shahid Ramezanzadeh Hospital, Yazd, Iran...

BACKGROUND: Artificial neural network helps humans in a wide range of activities, such as sports. OBJECTIVE: This paper aims to investigate the effect of artificial intelligence on decision-making related to human gait and sports biomechanics, using computer-based software, and to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence on individuals' biomechanics during gait and sports performance. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This review was conducted in compliance with the PRISMA guidelines...

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is the most common non-traumatic disabling disease. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the ability of radiomics features for diagnosing active plaques in patients with MS from T2 Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) images. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this experimental study, images of 82 patients with 122 MS lesions were investigated. Boruta and Relief algorithms were used for feature selection on the train data set (70%)...

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is associated with severe complications, and its detection is important to provide early information about a hypertension event, which is essential to prevent further complications. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate a strategy for hypertension detection without a cuff using parameters of bioelectric signals, i.e., Electrocardiogram (ECG), Photoplethysmogram (PPG,) and an algorithm of Swarm-based Support Vector Machine (SSVM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: This experimental study was conducted to develop a hypertension detection system...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: In the bystander effect, non-irradiated cells receive biological signals from adjacent irradiated cells and undergo a variety of alterations, considered recently in non-ionizing irradiation like ultrasound waves. In this study, the bystander effect of therapeutic ultrasound exposure alone and in combination with cisplatin was determined. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the bystander effect caused by ultrasound and cisplatin. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This experimental study was conducted on the human melanoma cell line including two groups of target and bystander cells...

BACKGROUND: Radiotherapy is considered a compromise between the amount of killed tumor cells and the damage caused to the healthy tissue. Regarding this, radiobiological modeling is performed to individualize and optimize treatment strategies. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) of acute ocular pain following radiotherapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective observational study, the clinical data were collected from 45 patients with head and neck cancers and skull-base tumors, and dosimetric data were recorded after contouring the eye globe...