Based on the characteristics of liquid lens sparse aperture imaging, a radiative multiplet array structure is proposed; a simplified model of sparse aperture imaging is given, and the analytical expression of the modulation transfer function is derived from the optical pupil function of the multiplet array structure; the specific distribution form of this multiplet array structure is given, and the structure parameters are approximated by the dimensionless method; the two types of radiative multiplet array structures are discussed, and the filling factor, redundancy, modulation transfer function and other characteristic parameters are calculated. The physical phenomena exhibited by the parametric scan are discussed, and the structural features and imaging characteristics of these two arrays are compared. The results show that the type-II structure with larger actual equivalent aperture and actual cutoff frequency and lower redundancy is selected when the average modulation transfer function and the IF characteristics of the modulation transfer function of the two structures are close to each other; the type-II structure has certain advantages in imaging; the conclusion is suitable for arbitrary enclosing circle size because the liquid lens-based multiplet array structure adopts dimensionless approximation parameters; compared with the composite toroidal structure, the radiative multiplet mirror structure has a larger actual cut-off frequency and actual equivalent aperture when the filling factor is the same.

The possibility of preoperative prediction of pathologic complete response in rectal cancer has been studied in order to identify patients who would respond to neoadjuvant therapy and to individualize therapeutic strategies. Endoscopic ultrasound of the rectum is an accurate method for the evaluation of local tumor and lymph node invasion. Objective: To evaluate the potential of endoscopic ultrasound as a predictor of complete pathological response to neoadjuvant treatment in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer. Material and methods: Retrospective study of patients with rectal cancer from January 2014 to December 2016. Results: We obtained a statistical association between T stage by endoscopic ultrasound and complete pathological response (p = 0.015). It is not so for N, sphincter involvement, circumferential involvement and maximum tumor thickness (p = 0.723, p = 0.510, p = 0.233 and p = 0.114, respectively). When multivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to assess the degree of influence of the predictor variables on pathologic response, none of these variables was associated with complete pathologic response. Conclusion: Prediction of pathologic complete response in rectal cancer has been considered as the crucial point upon which treatments for rectal cancer could be individualized. So far, no imaging method has been able to demonstrate efficacy in predicting complete pathologic response, and in turn there is no direct association between any endosonographic finding that can accurately predict it.

Introduction: It is universally accepted that the posteroanterior skull radiograph shows a lower degree of distortion than other radiographic images, so that measurements on it are considered reliable. Objective: To determine the percentage of distortion in the different facial regions of the postero-anterior skull radiograph. Methods: Thirty human skulls with their jaws were divided by three horizontal and four vertical planes into fifteen quadrants; there were ten in the skull and five in the jaw. On each of them a steel wire was placed in vertical and horizontal positions and their length (actual measurement) was measured. Each set was X-rayed in posteroanterior projection and the length of the wires was measured in the image (radiographic measurement). Results: It was not possible to measure in the lateral quadrants of the skull. The horizontal measurement in the right and left lower intermediate quadrants of the skull and in the intermediate and lateral quadrants of both sides of the mandible is not reliable; in the median quadrant of the mandible it is minimized; in the right and left upper intermediate and median quadrants of the skull and in the median of the mandible it is magnified. Vertical measurements in all quadrants are reliable; in the right and left upper intermediate and left upper and middle quadrants of the skull and in the right and left middle and lateral quadrants of the mandible it is magnified; in the lower intermediate and upper and lower middle quadrants of the skull and median of the mandible it is minimized. The least distortion for both measurements occurs in the upper median quadrant of the skull. Percentages of distortion are reported for each quadrant. Conclusions: Distortion is present in the posteroanterior skull radiograph and varies from one region of the face to another.

Background: Through the development of robust techniques and their comprehensive validation, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) has developed a wide range of indications in its almost 25 years of clinical use. The recording of cardiac volumes and systolic ventricular function as well as the characterization of focal myocardial scars are now part of standard CMR imaging. Recently, the introduction of accelerated image acquisition technologies, the new imaging methods of myocardial T1 and T2 mapping and 4-D flow measurements, and the new post-processing technique of myocardial feature tracking have gained relevance. Method: This overview is based on a comprehensive literature search in the PubMed database on new CMR techniques and their clinical application. Results and conclusion: This article provides an overview of the latest technical developments in the field of CMR and their possible applications based on the most important clinical questions.