Abstract: Bronchoscopy biopsy can be used to diagnose lung cancer without risking complications of other interventions like transthoracic needle aspiration. During bronchoscopy, the clinician has to navigate through the bronchial tree to the target lesion. A main drawback is the difficulty to check whether the exploration is following the correct path. The usual guidance using fluoroscopy implies repeated radiation of the clinician, while alternative systems (like electromagnetic navigation) require specific equipment that increases intervention costs. We propose to compute the navigated path using anatomical landmarks extracted from the sole analysis of videobronchoscopy images. Such landmarks allow matching the current exploration to the path previously planned on a CT to indicate clinician whether the planning is being correctly followed or not. We present a feasibility study of our landmark based CT-video matching using bronchoscopic videos simulated on a virtual bronchoscopy interactive interface.

Abstract: Software as a Service (SaaS) is a cloud computing model in which a provider hosts applications in a server that customers use via internet. Since SaaS does not require to install applications on customers' own computers, it allows the use by multiple users of highly specialized software without extra expenses for hardware acquisition or licensing. A SaaS tailored for clinical needs not only would alleviate licensing costs, but also would facilitate easy access to new methods for diagnosis assistance. This paper presents a SaaS client-server architecture for Diagnosis as a Service (DaaS). The server is based on docker technology in order to allow execution of softwares implemented in different languages with the highest portability and scalability. The client is a content management system allowing the design of websites with multimedia content and interactive visualization of results allowing user editing. We explain a usage case that uses our DaaS as crowdsourcing platform in a multicentric pilot study carried out to evaluate the clinical benefits of a software for assessment of central airway obstruction.

Abstract: A coordinate system describing the interior of organs is a powerful tool for a systematic localization of injured tissue. If the same coordinate values are assigned to specific anatomical landmarks, the coordinate system allows integration of data across different medical image modalities. Harmonic mappings have been used to produce parametric coordinate systems over the surface of anatomical shapes, given their flexibility to set values
at specific locations through boundary conditions. However, most of the existing implementations in medical imaging restrict to either anatomical surfaces, or the depth coordinate with boundary conditions is given at sites
of limited geometric diversity. In this paper we present a method for anatomical volumetric parameterization that extends current harmonic parameterizations to the interior anatomy using information provided by the
volume medial surface. We have applied the methodology to define a common reference system for the liver shape and functional anatomy. This reference system sets a solid base for creating anatomical models of the patient’s liver, and allows comparing livers from several patients in a common framework of reference.

Abstract: Photorealistic virtual environments are crucial for developing and testing automated driving systems in a safe way during trials. As commercially available simulators are expensive and bulky, this paper presents a low-cost, extendable, and easy-to-use (LEE) virtual environment with the aim to highlight its utility for level 3 driving automation. In particular, an experiment is performed using the presented simulator to explore the influence of different variables regarding control transfer of the car after the system was driving autonomously in a highway scenario. The results show that the speed of the car at the time when the system needs to transfer the control to the human driver is critical.