Mes: agosto 2020

OAK BROOK, Ill., Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — New Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center will aid AI development and medical advancement to battle COVID-19

The nation’s largest medical imaging associations are working together to develop the new Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center (MIDRC), an open-source database with medical images from tens of thousands of coronavirus (COVID-19) patients. The MIDRC will help doctors better understand, diagnose, monitor and treat COVID-19.

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding the effort through a contract to Maryellen Giger, PhD, of the University of Chicago, which will host the MIDRC.

The MIDRC effort is co-led by the three medical imaging associations with Etta Pisano, MD, and Michael Tilkin, MS, from the American College of Radiology® (ACR®), Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD, and Adam Flanders, MD, representing the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), and Maryellen Giger, PhD, and Paul Kinahan, PhD, representing the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).

«The MIDRC database will provide a critical tool to help the medical imaging community, doctors and scientists better understand COVID-19 and its biological effects on humans. This knowledge, and the technological advancements the registry can enable, will ultimately help providers save lives,» said Etta Pisano, MD, ACR chief research officer.

Medical imaging helps radiologists detect, diagnose and monitor disease. However, many unanswered questions remain about how imaging could be deployed against COVID-19. For example, artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms could help radiologists better prioritize and analyze scans. But thousands of images must be collected and annotated to train these algorithms. The MIDRC will bring together engineers, physicians and scientists to collect and organize the data to answer these crucial questions.

«The RSNA is pleased to collaborate on this vital resource for COVID-19 research. This dedicated team of research scientists, engineers and imaging professionals will produce new tools for the detection, diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19 by aggregating massive amounts of imaging and other clinical data from COVID-19 patients. We look forward to linkages with other national data repositories to enable a comprehensive analysis of COVID-19 disease and its imaging manifestations,» said RSNA Board Liaison for Information Technology and Annual Meeting Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD, of Stanford University.

Funded under the National Institutes of Health’s special emergency COVID-19 process, the MIDRC will create an open access platform to collect, annotate, store and share COVID-related medical images.

The MIDRC will soon leverage existing data collection efforts to upload more than 10,000 COVID-19 thoracic radiographs and CT images, including many from the ACR COVID-19 Imaging Research Registry and the RSNA International COVID-19 Open Radiology Database (RICORD). This will allow researchers worldwide to access a wealth of images and clinical data to answer COVID-19 clinical and logistical questions.

«Access to this unprecedented resource will soon fuel expedited AI research to provide better diagnosis, new treatments and more-effective monitoring to guard against COVID-19 resurgence. This is a significant step in the effort against COVID-19,» said Maryellen Giger, PhD, of the University of Chicago; principal investigator of the NIBIB MIDRC contract and chair of the AAPM Data Science Committee.

The MIDRC will include five infrastructure development projects and oversee twelve research projects, including approximately 20 university labs, in support of solutions to the COVID-19 pandemic. The MIDRC will initially focus on COVID-19 but will work to expand services to provide imaging data and AI pipelines to aid the fight against other diseases.

«COVID-19 is our immediate target, but the MIDRC will ultimately enable the medical and scientific communities to mobilize images and data for work against other existing diseases and future healthcare threats,» said Paul Kinahan, PhD, of the University of Washington and chair of the AAPM Research Committee.

About the Radiological Society of North America
RSNA is an association of radiologists, radiation oncologists, medical physicists and related scientists promoting excellence in patient care and health care delivery through education, research and technologic innovation. The Society is based in Oak Brook, Ill. RSNA.org
Media Contact: Linda Brooks RSNA Media 630-590-7762

About the American College of Radiology
The American College of Radiology (ACR), founded in 1924, is a professional medical society dedicated to serving patients and society by empowering radiology professionals to advance the practice, science and professions of radiological care. acr.org
Media Contact: Meghan Swope pr@acr.org 703-390-9822

About the American Association of Physicists in Medicine
The AAPM is the premier organization in medical physics, a scientific and professional discipline that uses physics principles to address a wide range of biological and medical needs. The mission of the AAPM is to advance medicine through excellence in the science, education and professional practice of medical physics. Currently, the AAPM represents over 9,000 medical physicists in over 96 countries. aapm.org
Media Contact: Justin Stewart justin@aapm.org 571-298-1254

SOURCE Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — As the nation prepares for a school year like never before, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is encouraging teachers and administrators to take steps to meet the unique challenges that new virtual and modified in-person learning environments will pose for children who are deaf or hard of hearing.

«This school year will present staff and students with a tremendous learning curve,» said Theresa H. Rodgers, MA, CCC-SLP, ASHA 2020 President. «Many of the changes required to keep everyone safe—such as wearing masks, keeping a distance of 6 feet, and using online platforms—could impede learning for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. We want educators to be aware that there are many options and techniques for helping these children succeed while also adhering to public health measures.»

In-Person Learning

Solid masks and other face coverings can dampen sound, making it more difficult to understand speech and some higher-pitched voices. They can also take away visual cues that help people with hearing loss communicate, such as the ability to read lips and facial expressions. Physical distancing can also make it harder to hear. Consequently, ASHA recommends the following to teachers and school staff members for in-person instruction:

• Wear a clear mask, if possible. Masks with a clear panel over the mouth can help students who are deaf or hard of hearing better understand what is being said as well as the speaker’s emotions and intent by providing visual cues. A variety of online retailers offer these products.
• Follow communication best practices. Simple steps can foster communication. They include making sure you have students’ attention before speaking; facing students directly while talking; speaking slowly and slightly louder (but not shouting); using your hands and body language; and providing supplemental written and visual resources to reinforce verbal instruction.
• Consider a sound field FM system. A sound field FM system involves a teacher wearing a microphone, amplifying their voice through a speaker. This will benefit not only children with hearing loss but all students in the classroom. Also, it will help the teacher conserve their voice.
• Consult with an educational audiologist. Educational audiologists are experts in classroom acoustics. As teachers look to safely arrange their classrooms to protect against the virus, an educational audiologist can advise teachers on how to preserve an environment that enables effective communication.

Virtual Learning

When the teacher uses an online video platform, their voice may not always be clearly received—and inadequate lighting in the teacher’s room may make visual cues difficult to read. To avoid such barriers, ASHA recommends the following strategies to teachers providing virtual instruction:

• Use available technology and services. Real-time captioning, interpreter services, and hearing assistive technologies can help students with hearing loss have better access to the curriculum. Each student has unique needs, so it is important to determine which approach works best for each individual. An educational audiologist can assist with determining and implementing appropriate technology and services.
• Encourage video use. Ask all children to turn on their webcams. Most teachers will already be using video, but if children are taking turns answering questions or are placed in small breakout groups, seeing their peers’ faces will help communication.
• Consider lighting. When setting up a webcam, it is best to have lighting in front of you rather than behind you. If the lighting in a room (electronic or natural) comes from behind, a teacher’s facial features will be more difficult to see. Some teachers are using ring lights to reduce shadows and provide more uniform lighting on their face. Before classes even start, find ways that will optimize facial lighting.
• Use meeting platform tools to eliminate excess noise. Ask children to mute themselves (or mute them from your end) when they aren’t speaking, and use the «raise hand» function or other similar functions to reduce cross-talk. Background noise from each student’s house, along with multiple children speaking at once, can make listening very difficult.
• Allow students time for brief introductory chatter. Begin each class with a few minutes of general conversation. This will give children with hearing loss time to make sure that they can hear everyone appropriately and make any necessary adjustments to their equipment.

Hybrid Learning Model

Some children may be part of a hybrid school model involving both in-person and virtual learning, or they may be starting the year exclusively in one format and then changing part-way through the school year. ASHA recommends that teachers and schools do the following:

• Be consistent. If you are toggling between in-person and online classes, make sure that a student has the equipment or service they need to access the curriculum in both settings. If the student has an interpreter in person, then the interpreter should also be accessible to help with online instruction for that student.
• Check in regularly. If the school is switching from in-person to virtual instruction (or vice versa), be sure to check in with the student to determine whether the new way of learning is working for them.
• Revisit 504 plans and IEPs as needed. Consider whether the changes to instructional format require modifications to a student’s 504 plan or Individualized Education Program (IEP).

For more information, visit http://www.asha.org/public.

About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for 211,000 members and affiliates who are audiologists; speech-language pathologists; speech, language, and hearing scientists; audiology and speech-language pathology support personnel; and students. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment, including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems, including swallowing disorders. http://www.asha.org

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SOURCE ASHA

ROCKVILLE, Md., Aug. 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology has won an almost $1.27 million five-year grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) to develop and execute a program that will support scientists from diverse backgrounds as they prepare for and launch their careers as independent faculty members.

The NIGMS’s new Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers, or MOSAIC, program seeks to leverage the infrastructure, programming and expertise of professional organizations to help diversify the professoriate. The NIGMS will fund work by three scientific societies, including the ASBMB, and cover the participating MOSAIC K99/R00 scholars’ salaries and research costs.

The ASBMB will make its existing professional development, mentoring and networking activities available to the MOSAIC participants and establish new ones for them.

Barbara Gordon, the ASBMB’s executive director, will serve as the principal investigator. «The ASBMB has a long history of supporting underrepresented scientists. I am very pleased that we have received this grant, as it will allow us to take our support to a new level,» she said.

The first year of the ASBMB program will focus on network building and science communication. The participating scholars will, for example, take the society’s online science communication course to develop their public-speaking skills. In the second year, the scholars will be invited to speak at the society’s annual meeting and will complete training on such things as scientific rigor and reproducibility and data management.

The MOSAIC scholars will take part in the society’s grant-writing workshop in the third year of the program. (The workshop has a track record of success: At last count, 85% of participants received grants within three years of completing the workshop.)

In the final years of the ASBMB program, the MOSAIC scholars will be new professors. The society will offer a variety of specialized training opportunities for those interested in, for example, the peer-review process, science communication, and pedagogical and mentoring best practices.  Each cohort and participant will have its own coach who has undergone training so that they will be able to help the scholars navigate issues relating to gender, race and culture.

Ruma Banerjee of the University of Michigan, the society’s MOSAIC co-investigator, said the society also will work on systemic issues within universities and research centers.

«To achieve what has been an elusive goal of diversification, it is imperative that we assess and address the restrictions that continue to challenge inclusive participation and help perpetuate a demographic imbalance. We will introduce new programming to engage administrators at the MOSAIC scholars’ home institutions in discussions on barriers to sustainable change and evidence-based approaches to improving outcomes,» she said.

For more information about the ASBMB MOSAIC program, visit www.asbmb.org/diversity/MOSAIC.

CONTACT: Angela Hopp, ahopp@asbmb.org

View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/asbmb-receives-grant-to-promote-faculty-diversity-301106866.html

SOURCE American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology