Objective To evaluate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) for osteoporotic compression fracture of the upper thoracic spine.Methods The study enrolled 20 patients with osteoporotic compression fracture in 25 upper thoracic segments.The subjects (5 males and 15 females) aged at (71.0 ± 10.8) years (range, 57-89 years).Fracture occurred in 2 T1, 3 T2,5 T3 and 15 T4 segments.The subjects were submitted to puncture process via unilateral extrapedicular approach.Operation time, volume of infused bone cement, X-ray images and CT scan were recorded after operation.Visual analogue score (VAS), mobility score and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were assessed after operation.Results The procedure was successfully accomplished in all patients.Mean operation time was (39.7 ± 10.6)min.Infusion volume of bone cement was 2.0-6.0 ml [(3.3 ± 1.5)ml].Eighteen patients were available to the follow-up of 5.5-18 months [(7.6 ± 2.7) months].Three patients (15％) were associated with cement leakage into the epidural (n =1), paravertebral soft tissues (n =1) and disc (n =1) but remained asymptomatic.One patient (5％) had new fracture at the non-adjacent and non-operative segments within 15 days, and had no recurrence after PVP.No other serious complications such as rib fracture, pneumothorax, pulmonary embolism, vascular injury, spinal injury and infection were found.VAS, mobility score and ODI improved at 3 d, 1 month, 3 months and final follow-up compared to those at 1 d pre-operation (P ＜0.O1).Conclusions PVP is a safe and effective treatment for upper thoracic osteoporotic compression fracture, which is associated with few complications,reduced pain and improved mobility as well as quality of life.Rational surgical position and puncture approach are beneficial to a successful surgery.

Evoked potentials (EPs) have been widely used to quantify neurological system properties. Traditional EP analysis has been developed under the condition that the background noises in EP are Gaussian distributed. Recently some researches indicate that electroencephalogram (EEG) is non-guassian in some especial conditions. Alpha stable distribution can model impulsive EEG in especial experimentation such as acceleration bump and devoid oxygen. In this paper, blind signals separation based on covariations is analyzed and discussed by the nonexistence of the finite second or higher order statistic. The simulation experimental results show that the method has good performance to separate Evoked potentials (EPs) from fractional lower order alpha stable distribution noise.
Algorithms ; Artifacts ; Brain ; physiology ; Computer Simulation ; Electroencephalography ; methods ; Evoked Potentials ; physiology ; Humans ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficacy of dual stent-assisted coil embolization in intracranial ruptured vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms (VADAs).Methods:Seventeen patients with intracranial ruptured VADAs (17 aneurysms), treated with dual stent-assisted coil embolization in our hospital from September 2015 to March 2020, were recruited. DSA was performed immediately after surgery to evaluate the embolization degrees of VADAs. At the end of follow-up, modified Rankin scale (mRS) was used to evaluate the prognoses of these patients, and DSA was used to determine the healing status of aneurysms.Results:The postoperative immediate DSA showed that total occlusion was achieved in 6 patients (35.3%), subtotal occlusion in 8 (47.1%) and partial occlusion in 3 (17.6%). Two patients died during the perioperative period and 2 patients presented symptoms of cranial nerve palsy after surgery. Fifteen patients were followed up for 5-24 months, 14 were with good prognosis, and one was with poor prognosis. Eleven patients underwent DSA follow-up, which showed that 8 aneurysms healed completely, 2 aneurysms were stable, and 1 aneurysm recurred.Conclusion:Dual stent-assisted coil embolization may be an effective and safe treatment method for intracranial ruptured VADAs.