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Mapping Software (mapping + software)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences75%

Selected Abstracts

Geographic Variation of Pediatric Burn Injuries in a Metropolitan Area

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 7 2003
Kristine G. Williams MD
Objectives: To use a geographic information system (GIS) and spatial statistics to describe the geographic variation of burn injuries in children 0,14 years of age in a major metropolitan area. Methods: The authors reviewed patient records for burn injuries treated during 1995 at the two children's hospitals in St. Louis. Patient addresses were matched to block groups using a GIS, and block group burn injury rates were calculated. Mapping software and Bayesian analysis were used to create maps of burn injury rates and risks in the city of St. Louis. Results: Three hundred eleven children from the city of St. Louis were treated for burn injuries in 1995. The authors identified an area of high incidence for burn injuries in North St. Louis. The filtered rate contour was 6 per 1,000 children at risk, with block group rates within the area of 0 to 58.8 per 1,000 children at risk. Hierarchical Bayesian analysis of North St. Louis burn data revealed a relative risk range of 0.8771 to 1.182 for census tracts within North St. Louis, suggesting that there may be pockets of high risk within an already identified high-risk area. Conclusions: This study shows the utility of geographic mapping in providing information about injury patterns within a defined area. The combination of mapping injury rates and spatial statistical analysis provides a detailed level of injury surveillance, allowing for identification of small geographic areas with elevated rates of specific injuries. [source]

Improved inter-modality image registration using normalized mutual information with coarse-binned histograms

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL FOR NUMERICAL METHODS IN BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING, Issue 6 2009
Haewon Nam
Abstract In this paper we extend the method of inter-modality image registration using the maximization of normalized mutual information (NMI) for the registration of [18F]-2-fluoro-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) with T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) volumes. We investigate the impact on the NMI maximization with respect to using coarse-to-fine grained B-spline bases and to the number of bins required for the voxel intensity histograms of each volume. Our results demonstrate that the efficiency and accuracy of elastic, as well as rigid body, registration is improved both through the use of a reduced number of bins in the PET and MR histograms, and of a limited coarse-to-fine grain interpolation of the volume data. To determine the appropriate number of bins prior to registration, we consider the NMI between the two volumes, the mutual information content of the two volumes, as a function of the binning of each volume. Simulated data sets are used for validation and the registration improves that obtained with a standard approach based on the Statistical Parametric Mapping software. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Reduced gray matter volume of dorsal cingulate cortex in patients with obsessive,compulsive disorder: A voxel-based morphometric study

PSYCHIATRY AND CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCES, Issue 5 2010
Ryohei Matsumoto MD
Aims:, Previous morphometric studies using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have revealed structural brain abnormalities in obsessive,compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of the present study was to investigate the alterations in brain structure of patients with OCD using a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method. Methods:, Sixteen patients with OCD free of comorbid major depression, and 32 sex- and age-matched healthy subjects underwent MRI using a 1.5-T MR scanner. OCD severity was assessed with the Yale,Brown Obsessive,Compulsive Scale (mean ± SD: 22 ± 7.6; range: 7,32). MR images were spatially normalized and segmented using the VBM5 package (http://dbm.neuro.uni-jena.de/vbm/). Statistical analysis was performed using statistical parametric mapping software. Results:, Significant reductions in regional gray matter volume were detected in the left caudal anterior cingulate cortex and right dorsal posterior cingulate cortex in the patients with OCD as compared to healthy controls (uncorrected, P < 0.001). No significant differences in white matter volumes were observed in any brain regions of the patients. No significant correlation between Yale,Brown Obsessive,Compulsive Scale score and regional gray matter or white matter volume was observed. Conclusions:, Regional gray matter alteration in the dorsal cingulate cortex, which is suggested to play a role in non-emotional cognitive processes, may be related to the pathophysiology in OCD. [source]

The geography of melanoma in South Australia

AUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH, Issue 2 2009
Adrian R. Heard
Abstract Objective: We sought to determine the distribution of melanoma in South Australia with respect to the relative incidence and mortality in coastal/river versus inland areas and metropolitan versus regional/remote areas, and to outline the public health implications of this distribution. Methods: All melanoma cases and deaths for the period 1985-2004 for Adelaide and 11 regional centres were geo-coded and then allocated to ABS collection districts. Collection districts with a centroid within 2 km of the coast or River Murray were determined using mapping software. Results: Melanoma incidence is higher in coastal South Australia (OR=1.19) and near the River Murray (OR=1.25) than in inland South Australia. This geographical effect remains after adjustment for age and socio-economic status. Incidence is also higher in metropolitan Adelaide than in regional areas (OR=1.10). For melanoma mortality there is no significant effect of living near the coast or river, and no effect of living in regional areas. Conclusion: Living near the coast or River Murray in South Australia is associated with an increased risk of being diagnosed with melanoma. Implications: Melanoma prevention and acute care programs can be usefully targeted at persons living in coastal and riverine areas, where there is a significant excess of melanoma incidence. This target population is older than inland populations and will require interventions appropriate for aged communities. [source]