ObjectiveThe widespread adoption of portable fundus cameras for primary care and community screening is hindered by limitations in current autofocus(AF) technologies. Image-based methods relying on sharpness evaluation require iterative searches, resulting in slow convergence, while projection-based techniques are susceptible to optical artifacts and calibration errors. To address these challenges, this study introduces a novel AF system based on direct wavefront sensing, designed to deliver simultaneous high speed, high precision, and operational robustness within the compact form factor essential for portable ophthalmic devices. MethodsOur approach fundamentally reimagines the AF process by directly measuring the ocular wavefront aberration. We developed a custom portable fundus camera integrating a miniaturized Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor (SHWS) into the optical path. An 850 nm laser diode projects a point source onto the retina via oblique illumination to minimize corneal reflections. Light scattered from this spot carries the eye’s refractive error through the imaging optics and is directed to the SHWS, positioned at a plane optically conjugate to the primary color CMOS imaging sensor. A microlens array within the SHWS samples the incident wavefront, generating a pattern of focal spots on a CCD. Real-time centroid analysis of these spots provides a map of local wavefront slopes. These measurements are processed through a singular value decomposition (SVD) algorithm to fit a Zernike polynomial basis set, enabling real-time reconstruction of the wavefront phase. The defocus component (S) is extracted from the second-order Zernike coefficients, providing a direct, quantitative measure of the refractive error in diopters. This value serves as a precise error signal in a closed-loop control system, which commands a voice-coil actuated focusing lens to its null position in a single, deterministic step, eliminating the need for iterative search algorithms. ResultsComprehensive evaluation demonstrated the system’s high performance. Testing on a calibrated model eye (OEMI-7) established a highly linear relationship between the computed defocus S and the focusing lens position across a ±20 Diopter (D) compensation range, achievable within a 5 mm mechanical travel. The system achieved a focusing precision of 0.08 D, corresponding to an 18-fold improvement over a conventional projection spot-size method tested under identical conditions. The total focus acquisition time, encompassing wavefront measurement, computation, and lens actuation, averaged under 0.5 s. Clinical validation with 25 human volunteers (50 eyes, refractive range -15 D to +10 D) confirmed practical efficacy. The wavefront-sensing AF succeeded in 92% of attempts with a mean time of 0.5 s, substantially outperforming a projection-based benchmark which achieved only a 32% success rate with an average time of 4.25 s. The system provided instantaneous directional guidance and maintained stability during minor ocular movements. Objective assessment of image quality, via amplitude contrast of retinal vasculature, showed consistent and significant enhancement following AF correction across the entire tested diopter range. ConclusionThis work successfully implements and validates a direct wavefront-sensing autofocus paradigm for portable fundus cameras. By directly quantifying and compensating for the optical defocus aberration, this method bypasses the fundamental limitations of image-processing and projection-based techniques, enabling rapid, precise, and deterministic diopter compensation. The developed system delivers an exceptional combination of a wide operational range (±20 D), high accuracy (0.08 D), fast convergence (0.5 s), and a compact physical footprint. This technology provides a practical and high-performance focusing solution capable of enhancing the reliability, throughput, and diagnostic utility of portable retinal imaging in large-scale screening applications. Future efforts will be directed towards system cost optimization and performance adaptation for diverse ocular conditions.

ObjectiveThe controllability changes of structural brain network were explored based on the control and brain network theory in young smokers, this may reveal that the controllability indicators can serve as a powerful factor to predict the sleep status in young smokers. MethodsFifty young smokers and 51 healthy controls from Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology were enrolled. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to construct structural brain network based on fractional anisotropy (FA) weight matrix. According to the control and brain network theory, the average controllability and the modal controllability were calculated. Two-sample t-test was used to compare the differences between the groups and Pearson correlation analysis to examine the correlation between significant average controllability and modal controllability with Fagerström Test of Nicotine Dependence (FTND) in young smokers. The nodes with the controllability score in the top 10% were selected as the super-controllers. Finally, we used BP neural network to predict the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) in young smokers. ResultsThe average controllability of dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, lenticular nucleus putamen, and lenticular nucleus pallidum, and the modal controllability of orbital inferior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, gyrus rectus, and posterior cingulate gyrus in the young smokers’ group, were all significantly different from those of the healthy controls group (P<0.05). The average controllability of the right supplementary motor area (SMA.R) in the young smokers group was positively correlated with FTND (r=0.393 0, P=0.004 8), while modal controllability was negatively correlated with FTND (r=-0.330 1, P=0.019 2). ConclusionThe controllability of structural brain network in young smokers is abnormal. which may serve as an indicator to predict sleep condition. It may provide the imaging evidence for evaluating the cognitive function impairment in young smokers.

Objective To investigate the correlation between peripheral blood CD14+CD16+monocytes and IgG N-glycosyl levels and disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).Methods A total of 109 SLE patients admitted to Xingtai Cental Hospital from August 2021 to November 2024 were retrospectively selected as the study objects.According to SLE disease activity index(SLE-DAI),the patients were divided into active group(n=52)and stable group(n=57).In addition,56 patients who underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group.Clinical data of patients were collected,CD14+CD16+mononuclear cells were detected by flow cytometry(FCM),and IgG N-glycosyl levels were detected by hydrophilic interaction chromatography-mass spectrometry.Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the influencing factors of SLE-DAI,and multicollinearity test[variance inflation factor(VIF)]was performed for independent variables.The prediction model of disease activity was constructed.The effectiveness of the predictive model was evaluated by describing the recviver operator characteristic(ROC)curve and calculating the area under the curve(AUC)value.Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test predicted the calibration degree of the model.Results The levels of WBC,Hb,PLT,ALB,complement C3 and complement C4 in control group were higher than those in SLE group(t=8.917～22.171),and the levels of CRP were lower than those in SLE group(t=-17.359),with differences were statistical significance(all P<0.05).The CRP level and the proportion of CD14+CD16+mononuclear cells in the active group were higher than those in the stable group,and the differences were statistically significant(t=5.449,11.112,all P<0.05).The IgG glycosylation characteristics of galactosylation,sialylation and N-acetylglucosamine modification were lower than those in the stable group,and the differences were statistical significance(Z=-2.432～-0.158,all P<0.05).Spearman correlation analysis showed that the proportion of CD14+CD16+monocytes was significantly negatively correlated with IgG galactosylation,sialylation level and bisection N-acetylglucosamine modification(r=-0.656,-0.531,-0.608,all P<0.01).CD14+CD16+monocyte ratio was positively correlated with SLE-DIA(r=0.581,all P<0.01).IgG galactosylation,sialylation levels and bisection N-acetylglucosamine modification were negatively correlated with SLE-DIA(r=-0.645,-0.609,-0.503,all P<0.01).Logistic regression analysis showed that CRP>8.21mg/L,CD14+CD16+≥16.17%,sialylation<22.05%and isotropic N-acetylglucosamine modification<16.53%were independent risk factors for disease activity in SLE patients(Wald χ2=4.471～12.811,all P<0.05).The VIF values of the above independent variables were all less than 10.By establishing the Logistic regression prediction model and drawing the ROC curve,the AUC value for diagnosing SLE disease activity was 0.821(95%CI:0.733～0.905),the sensitivity,specificity and the Yodon index were 85.37%,75.67%,0.677,respectively.and the P values of Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test models were 0.568,respectively.Conclusion The proportion of CD14+CD16+monocytes in peripheral blood of SLE patients increase significantly,and the level of IgG glycosylation characteristics decrease,both of which are correlated with SLE-DIA.The predictive model constructed based on the two had a good ability to distinguish SLE-DIA from inactive state,with high sensitivity and moderate specificity conducive to early clinical recognition,and the model fitting effect is good.SLE-DIA can be evaluated more accurately.

OBJECTIVE: To provide preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) for a patient with Incontinentia pigmenti (IP) due to IKBKG gene variant but without family samples through construction of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based haplotype by Long-read sequencing (LRS) technology. METHODS: A female IP patient with a heterozygous IKBKG c.1167dup variant but without family genetic data who sought genetic counseling at Women and Children' Hospital of Ningbo University in November 2021 was selected as the study subject. The IKBKG gene has a highly homologous pseudogene IKBKGP1. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples from the couple, and LRS was used to obtain informative SNP loci flanking the variant locus, enabling the construction of SNP haplotype with a long segment spanning from the non-homologous region of IKBKG to the variant site. Trophoblast cells were biopsied from blastocysts fertilized through intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and next-generation sequencing (NGS) was used to determine the SNP information of the embryos. Linkage analysis with the parental SNP haplotypes was conducted to detect the carrier status of the embryos and exclude chromosomal aneuploidies. Sanger sequencing was carried out to validate the result. A euploid embryo without the pathogenic variant was selected for transfer. Prenatal diagnosis was carried out by amniocentesis at mid-trimester to verify the result of PGT tests, and follow-up was conducted after the baby was born. This study has been approved by the Ethics Committee of Women and Children's Hospital of Ningbo University (Ethics No. EC2023-094). RESULTS: A total of seven blastocysts were tested, and PGT results indicated that two embryos were euploid and did not carry the pathogenic variant. One euploid embryo was transferred, which resulted in a singleton pregnancy. Amniocentesis at 24 weeks of gestation confirmed that the status of fetal IKBKG gene, and its chromosomal status was consistent with the PGT results. A healthy male infant was born at 38+6 weeks of gestation. CONCLUSION For IP patients with de novo mutation or without family genetic samples, PGT with LRS can directly construct the SNP-based haplotype while avoiding interference from pseudogenes, providing an effective strategy for PGT.
Female ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Genetic Testing/methods* ; Haplotypes/genetics* ; High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing/methods* ; I-kappa B Kinase/genetics* ; Incontinentia Pigmenti/diagnosis* ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide/genetics* ; Preimplantation Diagnosis/methods* ; Infant, Newborn

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical and genetic characteristics of a Chinese pedigree affected with Neurodevelopmental disorder with absent language and variable seizures (NEDALVS) due to variant of WASF1 gene, and to review the literature on NEDALVS associated with WASF1 gene variants. METHODS: A 4-year-and-8-month-old boy with NEDALVS diagnosed at Linyi People's Hospital in July 2024 due to "discovering language development delay for more than 2 years" and his family members were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data of the family members were collected. Peripheral venous blood samples were collected from family members. Whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed, and candidate variants were verified, by Sanger sequencing. Pathogenicity of candidate variant was classified according to the Standards and Guidelines for the Interpretation of Sequence Variants established by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG). Using the MUpro website, SWISS-MODEL, PyMOL, Clustal X, PolyPhen-2, and Mutation Taster software, bioinformatics analysis of protein three-dimensional structure modeling for gene mutations, cross-species conservation of mutant amino acids, and pathogenicity prediction of mutation sites. Relevant literature was retrieved from databases such as CNKI, Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform, and PubMed, and the clinical phenotypes and genotypes of patients with WASF1 gene mutations reported in the literature were summarized and analyzed. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Linyi People's Hospital (Ethics No.: YX200303). RESULTS: The proband, a 4-year and 8-month-old male, mainly presented with delayed language and motor development, accompanied by autistic behaviors; the proband's younger brother was 2 years and 7 months old at the time of consultation, mainly presented with delayed language and motor development, accompanied by short stature; the proband's mother mainly presents with limited language expression and poor interpersonal interaction; the proband's maternal grandmother mainly presents with soliloquizing?behavior. The results of WES showed that the proband carried a heterozygous mutation c.214C>T (p.Arg72Cys) in the WASF1 gene, and this site has not been recorded in the database. Sanger sequencing confirmed that the proband's younger brother, mother, and maternal grandmother had harbored the same variant. Based on the guidelines from the ACMG, this variant was rated as likely pathogenic (PM2_Supporting+PP1+PP3+PP4). Through SWISS-MODEL homology modeling and PyMOL structure visualization analysis, it was further confirmed that this variant can lead to a decrease in protein stability. Amino acid sequence conservation analysis of the WASF1 protein using Clustal X software suggested that the c.214C>T (p.Arg72Cys) variant has caused replacement of a highly conserved amino acid. According to the results of PolyPhen-2 and Mutation Taster, the p.Arg72Cys variant was predicted to be a hazardous. By following the retrieval strategy set in this study, a total of 5 research articles regarding to patients with NEDALVS caused by WASF1 gene mutations were retrieved, which involved 15 patients. Combining the proband and their family members discovered in this study, there were a total of 19 NEDALVS patients. The main clinical features included: motor developmental delay (100%, 17/17), language/intellectual developmental delay (100%, 17/17), epilepsy (64.7%, 11/17), autistic behavior (76.5%, 13/17), hypotonia (70.6%, 12/17), abnormal electroencephalogram (64.7%, 11/17), and short stature (17.6%, 3/17). All 19 patients had heterozygous mutations, with 8 mutation sites. Missense mutations were the most common, accounting for 84.2% (16/19). CONCLUSION A pathogenic variant of the WASF1 gene was identified in a pedigree affected with NEDALVS. Discovery of the novel variant has, expanded the mutational spectrum of the WASF1 gene.
Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; China ; Exome Sequencing ; Mutation ; Neurodevelopmental Disorders/genetics* ; Pedigree ; Seizures/genetics* ; East Asian People/genetics*

Objective:To apply data mining and bibliometric methods to collect and analyze literatures related to the uPMR 790 integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging(PET/MRI)of the United Imaging Healthcare(UIH)and assess its output effects in clinical research and application,continued research and development,performance improvement,technology assessment,healthcare technology management,and other aspects.Methods:To conduct literature searches on data platforms such as China National Knowledge Infrastructure(CNKI),WanFang Data Knowledge Service Platform(WANFANG DATA),Wanfang Medical Network(WANFANG MED ONLINE),Chinese Medical Association Journal Database(Yiigle),NIH/PubMed,etc.Based on literature review,to implement bibliometric analysis and evaluate from several technological output dimensions.Results:134 sample literatures were obtained.Among them,there are 121 journal articles,10 dissertations(1 doctoral dissertation and 9 master's theses),3 case reports from the Chinese Medical Case Repository,59 of foreign language journals,and 101 articles sourced from uPMR 790 users as the first author affiliation.Engineering and technical personnel from UIH participated in 58 journal articles;89 clinical research articles,accounting for 66.42%of the sample literatures,15 engineering research and artificial intelligence(AI)research articles,accounting for 11.19%,15 technology assessment articles,accounting for 11.19%,4 healthcare technology management articles,1 experimental research article,and 10 reviews.In addition,33 related patent technologies were retrieved from UIH and its cooperative institutions,as well as UIH PET/MRI equipment users,including 20 invention patents,13 utility model patents.Conclusion:The research results show that the innovative medical equipment,the uPMR 790 PET/MRI,has definite technological outputs in clinical research and application,providing important and widely data of evidence-based medicine for clinical application promotion.It also map out the effective support of this innovative medical equipment for multidisciplinary clinical research such as medical imaging,neurology,cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases,geriatrics,pediatrics,etc.Driven by the model of medical-engineering integration and synergy mechanism,display multidimensional output effects such as continuous research and development,quality improvement,technology assessment,configuration management,and healthcare technology management.UIH actively participates in researchs and follows up on innovative practices in medical-engineering integration,demonstrating a positive attitude as a leading medical equipment enterprise.Real world research will provide evidence support for the application demonstration and promotion for equipment manufactured by Chinese medical equipment enterprises.

Objective To evaluate the application value of stereotactic robotic surgery driven by a multi scenario AI system in the elderly with severe hypoperfusion in the internal capsule area and minor HTH.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 101 minor HTH patients com-plicated with severe hypoperfusion in the internal capsule area identified by an AI diagnostic sys-tem in our department from January to October 2024.Among them,48 cases who underwent ster-eotactic robotic drainage with AI system support were assigned into the study group,and 53 cases of conventional drug treatment were into the control group.The general clinical data were com-pared between the two group.Improvement rate of rCBF 14 d after treatment,effective rate 90 d after treatment,favorable prognosis rate,and incidence of shunt dependent hydrocephalus were compared between the two groups to evaluate the application value of AI-assisted stereotactic ro-botic surgery in these patients.Results The study group had significantly higher improvement rate of rCBF 14 d after treatment,better effective rate and larger ratio of favorable prognosis 90 d after treatment when compared with the control group(60.4％vs 39.6％,P＜0.05;62.5％vs 41.5％,P＜0.05;64.6％vs 43.4％,P＜0.05).Conclusion Stereotactic robotic assisted drainage driven by multi scenario AI system can significantly improve the prognosis of the elderly minor HTH patients complicated with severe hypoperfusion in the internal capsule area.

Objective To investigate the correlation between peripheral blood CD14+CD16+monocytes and IgG N-glycosyl levels and disease activity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE).Methods A total of 109 SLE patients admitted to Xingtai Cental Hospital from August 2021 to November 2024 were retrospectively selected as the study objects.According to SLE disease activity index(SLE-DAI),the patients were divided into active group(n=52)and stable group(n=57).In addition,56 patients who underwent physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group.Clinical data of patients were collected,CD14+CD16+mononuclear cells were detected by flow cytometry(FCM),and IgG N-glycosyl levels were detected by hydrophilic interaction chromatography-mass spectrometry.Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the influencing factors of SLE-DAI,and multicollinearity test[variance inflation factor(VIF)]was performed for independent variables.The prediction model of disease activity was constructed.The effectiveness of the predictive model was evaluated by describing the recviver operator characteristic(ROC)curve and calculating the area under the curve(AUC)value.Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test predicted the calibration degree of the model.Results The levels of WBC,Hb,PLT,ALB,complement C3 and complement C4 in control group were higher than those in SLE group(t=8.917～22.171),and the levels of CRP were lower than those in SLE group(t=-17.359),with differences were statistical significance(all P<0.05).The CRP level and the proportion of CD14+CD16+mononuclear cells in the active group were higher than those in the stable group,and the differences were statistically significant(t=5.449,11.112,all P<0.05).The IgG glycosylation characteristics of galactosylation,sialylation and N-acetylglucosamine modification were lower than those in the stable group,and the differences were statistical significance(Z=-2.432～-0.158,all P<0.05).Spearman correlation analysis showed that the proportion of CD14+CD16+monocytes was significantly negatively correlated with IgG galactosylation,sialylation level and bisection N-acetylglucosamine modification(r=-0.656,-0.531,-0.608,all P<0.01).CD14+CD16+monocyte ratio was positively correlated with SLE-DIA(r=0.581,all P<0.01).IgG galactosylation,sialylation levels and bisection N-acetylglucosamine modification were negatively correlated with SLE-DIA(r=-0.645,-0.609,-0.503,all P<0.01).Logistic regression analysis showed that CRP>8.21mg/L,CD14+CD16+≥16.17%,sialylation<22.05%and isotropic N-acetylglucosamine modification<16.53%were independent risk factors for disease activity in SLE patients(Wald χ2=4.471～12.811,all P<0.05).The VIF values of the above independent variables were all less than 10.By establishing the Logistic regression prediction model and drawing the ROC curve,the AUC value for diagnosing SLE disease activity was 0.821(95%CI:0.733～0.905),the sensitivity,specificity and the Yodon index were 85.37%,75.67%,0.677,respectively.and the P values of Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test models were 0.568,respectively.Conclusion The proportion of CD14+CD16+monocytes in peripheral blood of SLE patients increase significantly,and the level of IgG glycosylation characteristics decrease,both of which are correlated with SLE-DIA.The predictive model constructed based on the two had a good ability to distinguish SLE-DIA from inactive state,with high sensitivity and moderate specificity conducive to early clinical recognition,and the model fitting effect is good.SLE-DIA can be evaluated more accurately.

Objective To develop a predictive model for postoperative mortality risk in patients with acute aortic dissection(AAD)using the Extreme Gradient Boosting(XGBoost)algorithm combined with Shapley Additive Explanation(SHAP),and to establish a prediction website to serve as a diagnostic and therapeutic support platform for clinicians and patients.Methods A retrospective cohort study design was adopted.Data from 782 AAD patients who underwent surgical treatment at the Fourth Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2013 to December 2023 were collected,including basic information and initial serum biomarker test results.Patients were randomly divided into training and test sets at a 7:3 ratio.An external validation set consisting of 313 AAD patients admitted to the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University from January 2020 to December 2023 was also established for further model validation.Variables were screened using LASSO regression,and an XGBoost machine learning model was constructed and interpreted using SHAP.The predictive performance of the model was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Using the Shiny package,the XGBoost model was deployed to shinyapps.io to create a prediction website for postoperative mortality risk in AAD patients.One patient was selected by simple random sampling from the test set and the external validation set respectively for the prediction example on the Shiny webpage.Results The XGBoost model demonstrated high predictive performance for postoperative mortality in AAD patients,with area under the ROC curve(AUC)values of 0.928(95%CI 0.901-0.956)in the training set,0.919(95%CI 0.891-0.949)in the test set,and 0.941(95%CI 0.915-0.967)in the external validation set.SHAP values indicated the following order of variable importance in the model(from highest to lowest):"lactate dehydrogenase""blood chlorine""multiple organ injury""carbon dioxide combining power""prothrombin time""α-hydroxybutyric acid""creatine kinase isoenzyme""Stanford classification""combined use of bedside blood purification""gender""acute kidney injury""gastrointestinal bleeding""brain injury"and"shock".A risk prediction website for adverse postoperative outcomes in AAD patients was developed using XGBoost-SHAP method(https://dun-dunxiaolu.shinyapps.io/document/)and validated with examples.One randomly selected patient from each of the test and external validation sets was applied:the predicted mortality risk value for patient 1(who died postoperatively)was 0.9539,and that for patient 2(who survived postoperatively)was 0.0206.Conclusions The XGBoost-SHAP model demonstrates high accuracy in predicting postoperative mortality risk for AAD patients.The online prediction tool established based on this model enhances the identification efficiency of high-risk postoperative mortality patients.

Objective To explore the anatomical landmarks and segmentation method for the intraoperative identification of the cervical segment of the internal carotid artery by studying cadaveric dissections with an endoscopic transoral medial pterygomandibular fold approach and to investigate its clinical significance.Methods The head specimens of five fresh frozen cadavers were dissected in the anatomical laboratory of the Surgical Treatment Technology Innovation Unit of Nasal Skull Base Tumor in Eye&ENT Hospital of Fudan University.The parapharyngeal space was dissected layer by layer through the endoscopic transoral medial pterygomandibular fold approach,and the location marks of parapharyngeal internal carotid artery(ppICA)and adjacent structures of ppICA were anatomically studied.The anatomical landmarks associated with ppICA were observed and characterized,and the ppICA was segmented anatomically according to its adjacent structures.Then,the length of each ppICA segment was measured.Results Muscle structures were essential anatomical landmarks for an endoscopic transoral pterygoid medial approach that identifies mandibular folds.The first layer of muscles included the superior pharyngeal constrictor,tensor veli palatini,and medial pterygoid muscles.The second layer includes the stylopharyngeus,styloglossus,longus capitis,and levator veli palatini muscles.The stylopharyngeal and levator veli palatini muscles were close to the ppICA and were reliable landmarks for locating the ppICA.Furthermore,the ppICA was divided into three segments according to their positional relationship with the ppICA.The first segment of ppICA(P1 ICA)was located between the greater horn plane of the hyoid bone and the intersection plane between the upper margin of stylopharyngeal muscle and ppICA.The second segment of ppICA(P2 ICA)was between the plane where the upper edge of the stylopharyngeal muscle intersected with the ppICA and the plane where the projection of inferior edge of the levator veli palatini muscle intersected with the ppICA.The third segment of ppICA(P3 ICA)was between the intersection of the lower margin projection of the levator veli palatini muscle and ppICA and the external orifice of the carotid canal.The P2 ICA was within an anatomical region bounded by the levator veli palatini muscle,longus capitis muscle,and stylopharyngeus muscle.This region was termed"ICA window"in this paper measured under the cadaver head specimen,the lengths of P1 ICA,P2 ICA,and P3 ICA were(36.5±7.3)mm,(15.5±1.6)mm,(7.4±1.7)mm respectively.Conclusion The muscular structure refers to the relatively constant anatomical reference landmarks within the endoscopic transoral medial pterygomandibular fold.The stylopharyngeus and levator veli palatini muscles are reliable landmarks for precisely locating and segmenting the ppICA,thus having essential clinical implications.