Localization of the Optic Disc Center in Retinal Images Based on the Harris Corner Detector

Amin Dehghani,Mohammad-Shahram Moin,Mohammad Saghafi 대한의용생체공학회 2012 Biomedical Engineering Letters (BMEL) Vol.2 No.3

Purpose Localizing the optic disc and its center is the first step of most identification, segmentation algorithms and diagnosing some diseases on fundus photographs such as diabetic retinopathy. Despite the importance of optic disc localization, there is not very accurate and fast method for localizing the center of optic disc in retinal images. Therefore,we propose a robust and fast algorithm for localizing the center of optic disc. Methods Based on the property of optic disc, vessels originate from the center of optic disc and the number of the vessels in the vicinity of optic disc is more than others regions in the retinal images. Therefore, we can see the largest number of corners and bifurcations around the optic disc in the retinal images. In this paper, a robust method based on Harris corner detector is proposed. Using the Harris corner detector, corners and bifurcations are found in the retinal images. Then, we use a moving window near the size of optic disc to count the number of corners. Finally, the center of windows in which the high number of corners are located, is obtained and the mean of these centers is considered as the center of optic disc. The DRIVE, STARE and a local dataset including 273 retinal images are used to evaluate the proposed algorithm. Results The success rate is 97.5%, 87.65% and 97.8% for DRIVE, STARE and a local dataset. The average distance between the estimated and the manually identified optic disc centers is 4.61, 11 and 9 pixels for the DRIVE, STARE and local dataset respectively. Comparing the results of our proposed method and counterpart methods verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method. Conclusions In this paper, we proposed a new method for localizing the center of optic disc based on corners and bifurcations obtained using Harris corner detector. Comparing the results of our proposed method and counterpart methods verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Nine-Month Follow-up Results of Treatment for Nasolacrimal Duct Obstruction by Probing with Adjunctive Mitomycin C in Adults: A Prospective Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Nader Dehghani,Mohamad Reza Fouladivanda,Mohamed Amin Ghobadifar,Gelayol Safshekan-Esfahani,Armin Akbarzadeh 전남대학교 의과학연구소 2015 전남의대학술지 Vol.51 No.1

The current study aimed to determine the efficacy of probing with adjunctive mitomycinC (MMC) as a treatment for nasolacrimal duct obstruction (NLDO) in adults and tostudy the association of probing success with demographic and obstructioncharacteristics. This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlledtrial including 140 patients (each with a unilateral NLDO) scheduled for nasolacrimalprobing who were randomly assigned to receive MMC (0.2 mg/ml, 70 patients; groupA) or placebo (normal saline, 70 patients; group B). Irrigation was carried out with 0.5cc of MMC (0.2 mg/mL) in the duct with a nasal pack for 10 minutes in group A. Patients’postprobing epiphora was evaluated at 2 weeks and 1, 3, 6, and 9 monthspostoperatively. Probing was judged to be a success if there was no or mild wateringfor at least 9 months after the procedure. There were no significant differences betweenthe two study groups in demographic characteristics or duration of the operation(p=0.062). The overall success rate of probing with MMC was 47/70 (67.1%), which wassignificantly higher than the success rate of the procedure with placebo (p=0.0027). When the sex of the patients was controlled for by logistic regression, a significant associationbetween the failure rate of probing and increasing age was found in cases andcontrols (p=0.004 vs. p=0.006, respectively). No significant side effects of probing withMMC were noted after 9 months of follow-up. Administering MMC in a dosage of 0.2mg/mL during nasolacrimal probing significantly increased the success rate of probing. The failure rate of probing increased with age. A low dose of MMC is cheap, safe, andeasily accessible; thus, it is recommended during nasolacrimal probing, especially inpatients who refuse dacryocystorhinostomy surgery.

Endoscopy and Imaging Modalities/Basic Science of Gastrointestinal Disorders/Miscellaneous : Endoscopic Findings In Children On Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDS)

( Reza Amin ),( Mohammad Hadi Imanieh ),( Sara Kashef ),( Seyed Mohsen Dehghani ),( Kiumehr Batebi ),( Issah Gakurya ),( Davood Mehrabani ) 대한소화기학회 2007 SIDDS Vol.9 No.-

Background/Aims: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) remain as the initial approach to the pharmacologic management in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA). Gastrointestinal (GI) damage associated with NSAIDs is common in adults, but there are few studies available in children. This study was done to determine the GI complications of NSIDs in a cohort of JRA patients by endoscopy. Methods: Twenty-one patients with JRA who were using NSAIDs for at least 3 months were assessed clinically and by endoscopy. Results: The mean age of the patients was 9.8 years (11 female). GI symptoms were found in 42.9% of patients: 33.4% abdominal pain and 9.5% vomiting. Macroscopic endoscopic lesions were found in 85.7% and infection of Helicobacter pylori (Hp) in 14.3% of cases. Conclusions: Our data show that patients using NSAIDs have frequent GI damage without any relation to the duration of treatment. The number of children who had GI damage without any clinical complaint was high. Also we found that there is no significant relationship between the duration of drug use and the GI complaints, and no relation between duration and GI complaints to upper GI tract endoscopic lesions. The possibility of GI derangements with NSAIDs in pediatric age group is high. Close monitoring of symptoms and prevention measures is suggested.

Reduced Interleukin-17 and Transforming Growth Factor Beta Levels in Peripheral Blood as Indicators for Following the Course of Bladder Cancer

Rasoul Baharlou,Abbas Ahmadi Vasmehjani1, Ali Dehghani,Ali Dehghani,Mohamed Amin Ghobadifar,Mahshid Khoubyari 대한면역학회 2014 Immune Network Vol.14 No.3

Interleukin (IL) 17 is produced by T-helper (Th) 17 with a vigorous effect on cells of the immune system playing important roles in pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases, including autoimmune disorders and cancers. Therefore, the aim of current study was to determine the serum levels of IL-6, IL-17, and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) in Iranian bladder cancer patients, and to correlate them with disease status. Blood samples were collected from 40 bladder cancer patients and 38 healthy individuals with no history of malignancies or autoimmune disorders. The serum levels of IL-6, IL-17, and TGF-β were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the levels of IL-17 (p<0.0001) and TGF-β (p<0.0001) were significantly lower in the patients compared to the controls. No significant differences in the level of serum IL-6 (p=0.16) was observed between the patients and controls. In addition, demographic characteristics between control and patients groups were not significantly different. As most of the cases studied in this investigation were in stage I and II, it is concluded that reduced Th17-related cytokines can be used as indicators for following the course and clinical stages of bladder carcinoma progress and immune response to cancer.

Reduced Interleukin-17 and Transforming Growth Factor Beta Levels in Peripheral Blood as Indicators for Following the Course of Bladder Cancer

Baharlou, Rasoul,Vasmehjani, Abbas Ahmadi,Dehghani, Ali,Ghobadifar, Mohamed Amin,Khoubyari, Mahshid The Korean Association of Immunobiologists 2014 Immune Network Vol.14 No.3

Interleukin (IL) 17 is produced by T-helper (Th) 17 with a vigorous effect on cells of the immune system playing important roles in pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases, including autoimmune disorders and cancers. Therefore, the aim of current study was to determine the serum levels of IL-6, IL-17, and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-${\beta}$) in Iranian bladder cancer patients, and to correlate them with disease status. Blood samples were collected from 40 bladder cancer patients and 38 healthy individuals with no history of malignancies or autoimmune disorders. The serum levels of IL-6, IL-17, and TGF-${\beta}$ were measured by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The results showed that the levels of IL-17 (p<0.0001) and TGF-${\beta}$ (p<0.0001) were significantly lower in the patients compared to the controls. No significant differences in the level of serum IL-6 (p=0.16) was observed between the patients and controls. In addition, demographic characteristics between control and patients groups were not significantly different. As most of the cases studied in this investigation were in stage I and II, it is concluded that reduced Th17-related cytokines can be used as indicators for following the course and clinical stages of bladder carcinoma progress and immune response to cancer.