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Biomedical subjects

C A Britton

Publications and source records attributed to C A Britton.

29 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Mammographic abnormalities of the skin and subcutaneous tissues.

Primary attention is often directed toward examination of the breast parenchyma rather than the skin and subcutaneous tissue. Important radiographic changes should not be overlooked in this latter area because they may be the only sign of disease within the breast or draw attention to accompanying pathologic change in the underlying breast tissue. Three categories of abnormality are seen in the skin and subcutaneous tissue: (1) skin thickening, either diffuse or focal; (2) calcifications; and (3) subcutaneous masses. Examples of these are illustrated, and imaging strategies, including ultrasound and CT, are discussed.

Adipose Tissue↗

Avoiding neurologic and vascular injuries with screw fixation of the tibial component in total knee arthroplasty.

This investigation determined the position of neurologic and vascular structures at risk during screw fixation of an uncemented tibial component in total knee arthroplasty relative to the cut surface of the tibial plateau. Sixteen anatomic specimens of the lower extremities were studied by systematically placing screws about the tibial plateau followed by computed tomographic scanning with three-dimensional reconstruction and anatomic dissection. The structures at risk during screw preparation and placement were the tibial nerve, popliteal artery, popliteal vein, anterior tibial artery, and common peroneal nerve with its superficial and deep branches. The application of a clock system to the cut surface of the tibial plateau with the six o'clock position defined as directly anterior and the three o'clock position defined as lateral identified the entire region between the 11 o'clock and three o'clock positions as a location where potential injury to vital structures can occur during screw placement. The risk of injury to these structures may be minimized by directing screws radially inward to avoid violation of the tibial cortex. Any penetration of the cortex between the 11 o'clock and three o'clock positions may have potentially devastating consequences because of the close proximity of neurologic and vascular structures.

Blood Vessels↗

Practical issues of experimental ROC analysis. Selection of controls.

Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis has been used in many medical imaging applications during the past decade. With the recent expansion of the ROC methodology to multi-disease studies, several reports have begun to address both the theoretical and experimental design issues associated with such studies. While the appropriate selection, classification, and verification of actually positive cases is carefully addressed in the literature, similar considerations are rarely given to the selection of actually negative controls for these studies. In this paper, theoretical considerations and experimental data are provided to demonstrate the significance of this very issue.

Case-Control Studies↗

The mammographic features of the postlumpectomy, postirradiation breast.

Lumpectomy with radiation therapy is becoming widely accepted as an alternative treatment for breast carcinoma in place of radical mastectomy. This article illustrates the spectrum of mammographic changes seen at various intervals after lumpectomy with irradiation to help the mammographer distinguish postoperative scar from a recurrent carcinoma.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Carcinoma mimicked by the sternal insertion of the pectoral muscle.

A prospective study of 1843 patients was performed to identify the frequency of imaging the medial portion of the greater pectoral muscle on the craniocaudal projection during routine mammography. This artifact was seen in 14 patients. None of these patients had a palpable abnormality; additional craniocaudal views revealed continuity of the density with the pectoral muscle. Four patients were reexamined in 6 months; no change was seen in the size of the density. The density is thought to represent the medial portion of the pectoral muscle, which is included because of vigorous retraction of the breast and slight external rotation during positioning for the craniocaudal view. Familiarity with the appearance of the medial portion of the greater pectoral muscle on craniocaudal mammograms will help prevent inaccurate interpretations and unnecessary biopsies.

Breast Neoplasms↗

Radiation exposure of personnel during digital subtraction angiography.

Radiation exposure to the lens of physicians performing intravenous and hand-injected intraarterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were monitored with and without a combined face and body shield. Shielding provided nearly a three-fold reduction in dose for both intravenous and intraarterial exams, with the highest doses recorded for intraarterial exams due to longer fluoroscopy and exposure during imaging. When compared with the NCRP guidelines of maximum exposure to the lens, an angiographer could theoretically perform up to two intraarterial and 14 intravenous studies per day with protection or one intraarterial and two intravenous studies per day without protection. The exposure values in this study reflect our equipment and personal technique in carotid DSA and may not apply to other departments, but should encourage other angiographers to monitor exposure in their own angiography suites.

Angiography↗