This paper confronts two approaches to classify bladder lesions shown in white light cystoscopy images when using small datasets: the classical one, where handcrafted-based features feed pattern recognition systems and the modern deep learning-based (DL) approach. In between, there are alternative DL models that had not received wide attention from the scientific community, even though they can be more appropri...
Renal ultrasound imaging is the primary imaging modality for the assessment of the kidney’s condition and is essential for diagnosis, treatment and surgical intervention planning, and follow-up. In this regard, kidney delineation in three-dimensional ultrasound images represents a relevant and challenging task in clinical practice. In this paper, a novel framework is proposed to accurately segment the kidney in...
Purpose Electromagnetic tracking systems (EMTSs) have been proposed to assist the percutaneous renal access (PRA) during minimally invasive interventions to the renal system. However, the influence of other surgical instruments widely used during PRA (like ureteroscopy and ultrasound equipment) in the EMTS performance is not completely known. This work performs this assessment for two EMTSs [Aurora (R) Planar F...
As a crucial step in accessing the kidney in several minimally invasive interventions, percutaneous renal access (PRA) practicality and safety may be improved through the fusion of computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) data. This work aims to assess the potential of a surface-based registration technique and establish an optimal US acquisition protocol to fuse two-dimensional (2D) US and CT data for imag...
[Excerpt] Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is the most common subtype of incontinence and is defined as the perception of urine loss with effort. In most cases, it is due to insufficient support of the bladder neck, urethral hypermobility, and in a minority of cases, intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD). Sometimes both pathophysiological mechanisms occur simultaneously.[...]
A transrectal ultrasound-guided (TRUS) biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of prostatic neoplasia. This exam is associated with pain and discomfort, and numerous methods of analgesia during this procedure have been described. There is still no consensus among urologists about the pain control technique that should be performed, even though the periprostatic basal nerve block is the most studied technique....
To evaluate the variability of subjective tutor performance improvement (Pi) assessment and to compare it with a novel measurement algorithm: the Pi score.
Upper urinary tract urothelial carcinomas are usually managed by radical nephroureterectomy (RNU), often followed by intravesical chemotherapy to minimize recurrence. Open surgery is the gold standard procedure for RNU, but it associates with high morbidity, and it has been increasingly replaced by minimally invasive strategies, such as laparoscopy and endoscopy. Although effective, endoscopic ureteral excision...
PURPOSE: The body mass index (BMI) may be associated with an increased incidence and aggressiveness of urological cancers. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of the BMI on survival in patients with T1G3 non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). METHODS: A total of 1155 T1G3 NMIBC patients from 13 academic institutions were retrospectively reviewed and patients administered adjuvant intravesical Ba...
Ureteral calculi can be associated with urinary drainage blockage, requiring urinary diversion with percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) or retrograde ureteral stent (RUS). Currently no evidence exists to support the superiority of one method over the other. This study proposes to compare both approaches regarding the probability of spontaneous stone passage (SSP) and its effect on patient's quality of life (QoL). A ...