EMPIRE10 (Evaluation of Methods for Pulmonary Image REgistration 2010) is a public platform for fair and meaningful comparison of registration algorithms which are applied to a database of intrapatient thoracic CT image pairs. Evaluation of nonrigid registration techniques is a nontrivial task. This is compounded by the fact that researchers typically test only on their own data, which varies widely. For this reason, reliable assessment and comparison of different registration algorithms has been virtually impossible in the past. In this work we present the results of the launch phase of EMPIRE10, which comprised the comprehensive evaluation and comparison of 20 individual algorithms from leading academic and industrial research groups. All algorithms are applied to the same set of 30 thoracic CT pairs. Algorithm settings and parameters are chosen by researchers expert in the configuration of their own method and the evaluation is independent, using the same criteria for all participants. All results are published on the EMPIRE10 website (http://empire10.isi.uu.nl). The challenge remains ongoing and open to new participants. Full results from 24 algorithms have been published at the time of writing. This paper details the organization of the challenge, the data and evaluation methods and the outcome of the initial launch with 20 algorithms. The gain in knowledge and future work are discussed.

Efficiently obtaining a reliable coronary artery centerline from computed tomography angiography data is relevant in clinical practice. Whereas numerous methods have been presented for this purpose, up to now no standardized evaluation methodology has been published to reliably evaluate and compare the performance of the existing or newly developed coronary artery centerline extraction algorithms. This paper describes a standardized evaluation methodology and reference database for the quantitative evaluation of coronary artery centerline extraction algorithms. The contribution of this work is fourfold: 1) a method is described to create a consensus centerline with multiple observers, 2) well-defined measures are presented for the evaluation of coronary artery centerline extraction algorithms, 3) a database containing thirty-two cardiac CTA datasets with corresponding reference standard is described and made available, and 4) thirteen coronary artery centerline extraction algorithms, implemented by different research groups, are quantitatively evaluated and compared. The presented evaluation framework is made available to the medical imaging community for benchmarking existing or newly developed coronary centerline extraction algorithms.

Biologic augmentation of acutely injured rotator cuffs with Scx-transduced MSCs may improve rotator cuff tendon healing and reduce the incidence of re-tears. However, further studies are needed to determine if this remains safe and effective in larger models.

Introduction Studies have demonstrated a significant decrease in skeletal mass, bone mineral density, and impaired fracture healing in the diabetic population. However, the effect of sustained hyperglycemia on tendon-to-bone healing is unknown. Materials and methods Forty-eight male, Lewis rats underwent unilateral detachment of the supraspinatus tendon followed by immediate anatomic repair with transosseous fixation. In the experimental group (n = 24), diabetes was induced preoperatively via intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 65 mg/kg) and confirmed with both pre- and post-STZ injection intraperitoneal glucose tolerance tests (IPGTT). Animals were sacrificed at 1 and 2 weeks post-operatively for biomechanical, histomorphometric, and immunohistochemical analysis. Serum hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels were measured at 2 weeks postoperatively. Statistical comparisons were performed using Student t tests with significance set at P < .05. Results IPGTT analysis demonstrated a significant impairment of glycemic control in the diabetic compared to control animals (P < .05). Mean HbA1c level at 2 weeks postoperatively was 10.6 ± 2.7% and 6.0 ± 1.0% for the diabetic and control groups, respectively (P < .05). Diabetic animals demonstrated significantly less fibrocartilage and organized collagen, and increased AGE deposition at the tendon-bone interface (P < .05). The healing enthesis of diabetic animals demonstrated a significantly reduced ultimate load-to-failure (4.79 ± 1.33N vs 1.60 ± 1.67N and 13.63 ± 2.33N vs 6.0 ± 3.24N for control versus diabetic animals at 1 and 2 weeks, respectively) and stiffness compared to control animals (P < .05). Discussion Sustained hyperglycemia impairs tendon-bone healing after rotator cuff repair in this rodent model. These findings have significant clinical implications for the expected outcomes of soft tissue repair or reconstructive procedures in diabetic patients with poor glycemic control. Level of Evidence Basic Science Study.

The delivery of TGF-β(3) with an injectable Ca-P matrix at the supraspinatus tendon footprint has promise to improve healing after soft tissue repair.