Highlights 1. In October 2014, three DSM microbiology laboratories received MALDI-ToF instruments for identification of bacterial pathogens and will be implementing this technology in Winnipeg and Brandon over the next several months. 2. MALDI-ToF will result in decreased turnaround times for identification of pathogens, greater accuracy and lower costs of identification. 3. Combined with a pro...

Background Regional myocardial scarring in adults following Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) repair is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. This is the largest study to date assessing native T1 times as a marker for diffuse myocardial fibrosis in children after TOF repair. The aim of the study was to describe native T1 times patients post-TOF repair and to evaluate its relationship to clinical s...

OBJECTIVE Aortic regurgitation (AR) in the tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is not frequent, but when present it impacts significantly on surgical management. Furthermore, the incidence of late AR development has been increasing, along with surgical interest in current practices. METHODS Pre- and post-operative studies on 427 patients (TOF, 374; TOF/PA (TOF with pulmonary atresia), 53) who survived ...

Background As shown at 7T Time-of-Flight (TOF) angiography significantly benefits from ultra high field (UHF) [1,2], because of shorter T1 relaxation constant and increased SNR. However, significant challenges have to be overcome before using 7T TOF in clinical applications: I) RF induced specific absorption rate (SAR) substantially increases at UHF, preventing the use of standard RF pulses (ve...

BACKGROUND In our practice, we noticed an increased frequency of tracheobronchial branching abnormalities (TBAs) in patients with tetralogy of Fallot (ToF). This study aimed to determine whether an association exists between congenital TBAs and ToF with or without pulmonary atresia. METHODS AND RESULTS The frequency of TBAs on chest computed tomography was assessed in 55 patients with ToF wit...

BACKGROUND Understanding nosocomial pathogen transmission is restricted by culture limitations. Novel platforms, such as PCR-based electron spray ionization-time-of-flight-mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF-MS), may be useful as investigational tools. METHODS Traditional clinical microbiology (TCM) and PCR/ESI-TOF-MS were used to recover and detect microorganisms from the hands and personal protectiv...

PURPOSE Proteomic profiling using surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF MS) enables the identification of biomarkers for cancer. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of SELDI-TOF MS for detection of established hepatocellular cancer (HCC) and compared it against alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), Lens culinaris agglutinin-reactive AFP (AFP-L3), a...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In proximal anterior circulation occlusive strokes, collateral flow is essential for good outcome. Collateralized vessel intensity in TOF- and contrast-enhanced MRA is variable due to different acquisition methods. Our purpose was to quantify collateral supply by using flow-weighted signal in TOF-MRA and blood volume-weighted signal in contrast-enhanced MRA to determine e...