BackgroundAdipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AT-MSCs) offer potential as a therapeutic option for chronic discogenic low back pain (LBP) because of their immunomodulatory functions and capacity for cartilage differentiation. The goal of this study was to assess the safety and tolerability of a single intradiscal implantation of combined AT-MSCs and hyaluronic acid (HA) derivative in patients with chronic discogenic LBP.MethodsWe performed a single-arm phase I clinical trial with a 12-month follow-up and enrolled 10 eligible chronic LBP patients. Chronic LBP had lasted for more than 3 months with a minimum intensity of 4/10 on a visual analogue scale (VAS) and disability level ≥ 30% on the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI). The 10 patients underwent a single intradiscal injection of combined HA derivative and AT-MSCs at a dose of 2 × 107 cells/disc (n = 5) or 4 × 107 cells/disc (n = 5). Safety and treatment outcomes were evaluated by assessing VAS, ODI, Short Form-36 (SF-36), and imaging (lumbar spine X-ray imaging and MRI) at regular intervals over 1 year.ResultsNo patients were lost at any point during the 1-year clinical study. We observed no procedure or stem cell-related adverse events or serious adverse events during the 1-year follow-up period. VAS, ODI, and SF-36 scores significantly improved in both groups receiving both low (cases 2, 4, and 5) and high (cases 7, 8, and 9) cell doses, and did not differ significantly between the two groups. Among six patients who achieved significant improvement in VAS, ODI, and SF-36, three patients (cases 4, 8, and 9) were determined to have increased water content based on an increased apparent diffusion coefficient on diffusion MRI.ConclusionsCombined implantation of AT-MSCs and HA derivative in chronic discogenic LBP is safe and tolerable. However, the efficacy of combined AT-MSCs and HA should be investigated in a randomized controlled trial in a larger population.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02338271. Registered 7 January 2015.

AbstractsIn our hospital, two buildings are separated by public road and was communicated each other using 2 Mbps public cable network. Recently inter-building communication with 100 Mbps infrared has been established for PACS. Gigabit network has been established in the main building. To evaluate usefulness of infrared communication, actual data transfer rate was checked. When 2 Mbps public cable was used, actual data transfer rate using 32 Mbytes text file was 193.9 Mbps. After infrared communication was established, effective network speed between two link heads of infrared was 45 Mbps. Actual data transfer rate with 32 Mbytes text file was 4.98 Mbps. Average transfer rates was also checked each 10 times using compressed medical images of each modalities from CR (4 Mbytes), ultrasound (200 Kbytes), CT (250 Kbytes), MRI (77.6 Kbytes) and fluoroscopy (1 Mbytes), and using a raw data of CR (28 Mbytes). Total average transfer rate was 4.91 Mbps. To compare data transfer rate in the separated building with them in the main building, the rate with a 14 Mbytes CR was checked 10 times at the each building. Average data transfer rate was 6.93 Mbps in the main building and 4.05 Mbps in the separated building. In conclusion, when two hospital buildings are separated, an infrared networking can be replaced for fiber-optic cable networking in PACS environment.