OBJECTIVES: Measurement of similarities between documents is typically influenced by the sparseness of the term-document matrix employed. Latent semantic indexing (LSI) may improve the results of this type of analysis. METHODS: In this study, LSI was utilized in an attempt to reduce the term vector space of clinical documents and newspaper editorials. RESULTS: After applying LSI, document similarities were revealed more clearly in clinical documents than editorials. Clinical documents which can be characterized with co-occurring medical terms, various expressions for the same concepts, abbreviations, and typographical errors showed increased improvement with regards to a correlation between co-occurring terms and document similarities. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that LSI can be used effectively to measure similarities in clinical documents. In addition, correlation between the co-occurrence of terms and similarities realized in this study is an important positive feature associated with LSI.
Abstracting and Indexing as Topic ; Cluster Analysis ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Periodicals ; Semantics

OBJECTIVE: CDA (Clinical Document Architecture) is a markup standard for clinical document exchange. In order to increase the semantic interoperability of documents exchange, the clinical statements in the narrative blocks should be encoded with code values. Natural language processing (NLP) is required in order to transform the narrative blocks into the coded elements in the level 3 CDA documents. In this paper, we evaluate the accuracy of text mapping methods which are based on NLP. METHODS: We analyzed about one thousand discharge summaries to know their characteristics and focused the syntactic patterns of the diagnostic sections in the discharge summaries. According to the patterns, different rules were applied for matching code values of Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT). RESULTS: The accuracy of matching was evaluated using five-hundred discharge summaries. The precision was as follows: 86.5% for diagnosis, 61.8% for chief complaint, 62.7%, for problem list, and 64.8% for discharge medication. CONCLUSION: The text processing method based on the pattern analysis of a clinical statement can be effectively used for generating CDA entries.
Diagnosis ; Natural Language Processing ; Semantics ; Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of query expansion algorithms for MEDLINE retrieval within a pseudo-relevance feedback framework. METHODS: A number of query expansion algorithms were tested using various term ranking formulas, focusing on query expansion based on pseudo-relevance feedback. The OHSUMED test collection, which is a subset of the MEDLINE database, was used as a test corpus. Various ranking algorithms were tested in combination with different term re-weighting algorithms. RESULTS: Our comprehensive evaluation showed that the local context analysis ranking algorithm, when used in combination with one of the reweighting algorithms - Rocchio, the probabilistic model, and our variants - significantly outperformed other algorithm combinations by up to 12% (paired t-test; p < 0.05). In a pseudo-relevance feedback framework, effective query expansion would be achieved by the careful consideration of term ranking and re-weighting algorithm pairs, at least in the context of the OHSUMED corpus. CONCLUSIONS: Comparative experiments on term ranking algorithms were performed in the context of a subset of MEDLINE documents. With medical documents, local context analysis, which uses co-occurrence with all query terms, significantly outperformed various term ranking methods based on both frequency and distribution analyses. Furthermore, the results of the experiments demonstrated that the term rank-based re-weighting method contributed to a remarkable improvement in mean average precision.
Information Storage and Retrieval ; Models, Statistical

This study was conducted to measure the difference in levels of cerebral metabolites in the right and left hemispheres, gray (GM) and white matter (WM), imaging planes, and anatomical regions of healthy dogs to establish normal variations. Eight male Beagle dogs (1 to 4 years of age; mean age, 2 years) with no evidence of neurologic disease were studied. Using the multi-voxel technique on a 1.5 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging scanner, metabolite values (N-acetyl aspartate [NAA], choline [Cho], creatine [Cr]) were obtained from the frontoparietal WM, parietal GM, temporal GM, occipital GM, thalamus, cerebellum, mid-brain, and pons. There was no significant difference in levels of these metabolites between the right and left in any locations or between the GM and WM in the cerebral hemispheres. However, there were significant differences in metabolite ratios within imaging planes. The NAA/Cr was lower in the cerebellum than other regions and the thalamus had a higher Cho/Cr and lower NAA/Cho ratio than in other regions. The spectral and metabolic values will provide a useful internal reference for clinical practice and research involving multi-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Measurement of metabolite values in the transverse plane is recommended for comparing levels of regional metabolites.
Animals ; Aspartic Acid ; Cerebellum ; Cerebrum ; Choline ; Creatine ; Dogs* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy* ; Male ; Pons ; Rabeprazole ; Thalamus ; White Matter

OBJECTIVE: Ubiquitous healthcare (u-Healthcare) is an emerging paradigm in the healthcare environment. One of the most promising applications for u-Healthcare is the ubiquitous home health monitoring system. This paper addresses two significant challenges in the successful application of the ubiquitous home health monitoring system: the uniform integration of measured biosignal data and easy access to monitored biosignal data. METHODS: We used the Medical waveform description Format Encoding Rule (MFER) standard to encode biosignal data. A web-based MFER upload ActiveX control was designed and implemented to transfer MFER files to the central repository server in a near real-time basis. All of the integrated biosignal data were then accessed and managed through the central repository server. RESULTS: We developed a u-House server that can serve as a uniform data transferer to integrate measured biosignal data from u-House homes into the remote central repository server. We developed user-friendly web services that allow users to easily search and view monitored biosignal data. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the MFER standard can be easily adapted to u-Healthcare systems and that a web-based ubiquitous home health monitoring system has advantages of ubiquitous access and scalability.
Delivery of Health Care

We describe a case of gastrocnemius muscle rupture in a goral that got caught in a live trap set up to capture wild boars. We established a diagnostic method based on clinical signs and imaging examination findings, including magnetic resonance imaging for gastrocnemius muscle rupture with symptoms such as hindlimb lameness and plantigrade posture of unknown cause in wild animals. Although this condition is rare, this report will help veterinarians diagnose several diseases of the musculoskeletal and nervous systems in wild animals. This is the first report of successful diagnosis and treatment of gastrocnemius muscle rupture in gorals in Korea.

This study describes magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) results and changes in lateral ventricular size over time in a canine ischemic stroke model. T1- and T2-weighted (T1W, T2W) imaging and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequence MRI were performed at 3 h and 3, 8, and 35 days after brain infarct induction. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) mapping were performed at 8 and 35 days. A total of 29 brain lesions were induced successfully in 12 of 14 beagle dogs. At 3 h, T2W and FLAIR detected hyperintense lesions in three randomly selected dogs. On T1W, all lesions appeared hypointense to isointense at 3 h, isointense (18/29) or hypointense (11/29) at 3 days, hypointense to isointense with peripheral hyperintensity (24/26) at 8 days, and hypointense (18/26) at 35 days. Infarcts on DWI/ADC were hypointense to isointense centrally, with the periphery hyperintense/hyperintense (17/26) at 8 days and hypointense/hyperintense (19/26) at 35 days. A marked increase in lateral ventricular size was observed in dogs with cerebral infarcts. In conclusion, T2W and FLAIR were useful for detecting early stage (3 h to 3 days) brain infarction. T1W and DWI were useful for detecting neuronal necrosis and providing supplemental information for phase evaluation.
Animals ; Brain Infarction ; Brain ; Diffusion ; Dogs ; Lateral Ventricles ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Necrosis ; Neurons ; Stroke

Susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequence used for evaluating traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although SWI is being increasingly used in veterinary medicine, there are no systematic studies regarding its use. We aimed to evaluate TBI lesions by using conventional MRI and SWI in 11 dogs and determine the correlation between clinical status and conventional MRI or SWI findings. The modified Glasgow coma scale (MGCS) at presentation and a previously used MRI grading system (MRGr; grades 1–6) were used to evaluate the brain lesions, and correlations between MGCS score and each MRGr were assessed. Conventional MRI revealed 23 lesions in 11 dogs with variable MGCS scores (range: 11–17). SWI showed comparable findings for all of the lesions except for subdural hemorrhage, and it revealed additional lesions in four dogs. The median MRGr was 2 on both conventional MRI and SWI. The MRGr of the conventional MRI assessments and the MGCS scores showed a significant negative correlation (r = −0.685). In conclusion, SWI had better TBI lesion-detection ability, but conventional MRI had a better correlation with early clinical status and subdural hemorrhage. Thus, a combination of conventional MRI and SWI examinations can improve TBI diagnosis in dogs.
Animals ; Brain ; Brain Injuries ; Diagnosis ; Dogs ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Hematoma, Subdural ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Veterinary Medicine

Objective: This study aimed to establish normal reference values for PV indices (PV/Ao ratio and PV diameter) in cats and determine the usefulness of these for predicting symptomatic EHPSS. Methods: This study included 95 dogs and 114 cats that underwent abdominal CT. The canine normal (CN) group included dogs without EHPSS. The cats were classified into feline normal (FN, 88/114), feline asymptomatic (FA, 16/114), and feline symptomatic (FS, 10/114) groups.The PV and Ao diameters were measured in axial cross-sections. Results: The group FN had a higher PV/Ao ratio than the group CN (p < 0.001). Within the feline groups, the PV indices were in the order FN > FA > FS (both p < 0.001). The mean PV diameter and PV/Ao ratio for group FN were 5.23 ± 0.77 mm and 1.46 ± 0.19, respectively. The cutoff values between groups FN and FS were 4.115 mm for PV diameter (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 97.7%) and 1.170 for PV/Ao ratio (90%, 92.1%). The cutoff values between group FA and FS were 3.835 mm (90%, 93.8%) and 1.010 (70%, 100%), respectively. Conclusions and Relevance: The results demonstrated significant differences in PV indices between dogs and cats. In cats, the PV/Ao ratio demonstrated high diagnostic performance for symptomatic EHPSS. The PV diameter also performed well, in contrast to dogs.

Background: Accurate diagnosis of diseases in animals is crucial for their treatment, and imaging evaluations such as radiographs, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are important tools for this purpose. However, a cross-sectional anatomical atlas of normal skeletal and internal organs of long-tailed gorals (Naemorhedus caudatus) has not yet been prepared for diagnosing their diseases. Objectives: The objective of this study was to create an anatomical atlas of gorals using CT and MRI, which are imaging techniques that have not been extensively studied in this type of wild animal in Korea. Methods: The researchers used CT and MRI to create an anatomical atlas of gorals, and selected 37 cross-sections from the head, thoracic, lumbar, and sacrum parts of gorals to produce an average cross-sectional anatomy atlas. Results: This study successfully created an anatomical atlas of gorals using CT and MRI. Conclusions The atlas provides valuable information for the diagnosis of diseases in gorals, which can improve their treatment and welfare. The study highlights the importance of developing cross-sectional anatomical atlases of gorals to diagnose and treat their diseases effectively.