Lithuanian University of Health Sciences

Scientists have revealed that low-frequency ultrasound influences blood parameters. The findings suggest that ultrasound's effect on haemoglobin can improve oxygen's transfer from the lungs to bodily tissues. The research was undertaken on 300 blood samples collected from 42 pulmonary patients. Research conducted by a team of scientists from Kaunas universities, Lithuania, revealed that low-frequency ultrasound influences blood parameters. The findings suggest that ultrasound's effect on haemoglobin can improve oxygen's transfer from the lungs to bodily tissues. The research was undertaken on 300 blood samples collected from 42 pulmonary patients. The samples were exposed to six different low-frequency ultrasound modes at the Institute of Mechatronics of Kaunas University of Technology (KTU). The changes in 20 blood parameters were registered using the blood analysing equipment at the laboratories of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU). For the prediction of ultrasound exposure, artificial intelligence, i.e. analysis of variance (ANOVA), non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis method and machine learning algorithms were applied. The calculations were made at the KTU Artificial Intelligence Centre. The use of non-pharmaceutical treatment improves oxygen circulation and reduces blood pressure KTU professors Vytautas Ostasevicius and Vytautas Jurenas say that the ongoing research papers are related to blood platelet aggregation. The research of the KTU team revealed that the ultrasound's impact on blood parameters is not limited to the platelet count -- it also affects red blood cells (RBC), which can result in better oxygen circulation and lowered blood pressure. "During exposure to low-frequency ultrasound, aggregated RBCs are dissociated into single RBCs, whose haemoglobin molecules interact with oxygen over the entire surface area of RBCs, which is larger than that of aggregated RBCs and improves oxygen saturation in blood. The number of dissociated single RBCs per unit volume of blood decreases due to the spaces between them, compared to aggregates, which reduces blood viscosity and affects blood pressure," explains Prof Ostasevicius, the Head of KTU Institute of Mechatronics. The scientists claim that the effect of ultrasound on the haemoglobin in RBCs was higher than its impact on platelet aggregation, which is responsible for blood clotting. Their findings have been supported by an additional analysis made at the LSMU Laboratory of Molecular Cardiology. "This means that low-frequency ultrasound can be potentially used for improving oxygen saturation in lungs for pulmonary hypertension patients. Keeping in mind the recent COVID-19 pandemic, we see a huge potential in exploring the possibilities of our technology further," says Prof Ostasevicius. Partnership between medical and engineering scientists In medicine, high-frequency ultrasound from 2 to 12 MHz is used for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. "Acoustic waves emitted by high-frequency ultrasound have a limited penetration depth into the body, so external tissues are more affected by high-frequency ultrasound than internal organs. Low-frequency ultrasound acoustic waves, penetrate deeper into the internal organs with a more uniform sound pressure distribution," explains Prof Jurenas. There are numerous applications for ultrasound in medical settings. "For example, focused ultrasonic waves are used to break kidney stones, and to kill cancer cells. Maybe ultrasound can be used to activate certain medications. Or, to alleviate the delivery of antibiotics to the inflamed areas?" says Prof J?r?nas. The technology used in the above-described study is only one illustration of many successful working partnerships between engineers and physicians. For example, just recently, the researchers of KTU Institute of Mechatronics have created the frame for immobilising the Gamma Knife radiosurgery patients at the Clinics of the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. "We believe, that using the know-how of different areas one can achieve greater results," say KTU researchers about interinstitutional and interdisciplinary cooperation.

Scientists provide additional evidence that intracranial pressure plays an important role in normal-tension glaucoma, which accounts for up to 50 per cent of all glaucoma cases. A recent clinical study demonstrates that low intracranial pressure correlates with impaired patient visibility, especially in the nasal zone. An international team of researchers led by Lithuanian scientists provide additional evidence that intracranial pressure plays an important role in normal-tension glaucoma, which accounts for up to 50 per cent of all glaucoma cases. A recent clinical study demonstrates that low intracranial pressure correlates with impaired patient visibility, especially in the nasal zone. Glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness for people over the age of 60, is caused by optic nerve damage. Often, increased pressure inside the eye (called intraocular pressure or IOP) is detected in glaucoma patients. However, not all people with ocular hypertension develop glaucoma. Moreover, glaucoma can develop in cases of normal IOP. A so-called normal tension glaucoma (NTG) prevalence among patients in the global population ranges from 30 to 90 per cent according to different studies. "Contemporary medicine has methods to treat elevated eye pressure and to slow or even stop the damage to the optic nerve. However, these methods do not work in the case of normal tension glaucoma. There is a growing awareness among the scientific community, that glaucoma is a condition caused by two pressures -- inside the eye and the skull," says professor Arminas Ragauskas from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Lithuania. Ragauskas, the Head of the Health Telematics Science Institute at KTU, is the inventor of the non-invasive intracranial pressure measurement technology, used in the study described below. He goes on to explain that anatomically, the optic nerve is connected to the brain, and is surrounded by the cerebrospinal fluid. Both intracranial pressure (ICT), which is pressure inside our skull, measured in the cerebrospinal fluid, and intraocular pressure (IOP) can affect the condition of the optic nerve. Recently, researchers have focused on the balance between the two pressures, i.e. translaminar pressure difference (TPD) and its connection to glaucoma development. A clinical study revealed possible links between brain pressure and glaucoma 80 early-stage normal tension glaucoma (NTG) patients were enrolled in a recent study conducted by researchers from Lithuanian, Israeli and American universities. The subjects were selected from the 300 NTG patients referred to the Eye Clinic at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences between January and October 2018. Several measurements including intraocular (IOP), intracranial pressures (ICP), and visual field perimetry were recorded during the study. The translaminar pressure difference (TPD) was calculated according to the formula TPD = IOP -- ICP. The visual field was divided into five zones: nasal, temporal, peripheral, central, and paracentral. The study revealed several statistically significant correlations between intracranial pressure, TPD, and visual field changes. The higher the TPD, the more significant damages to the patient's visual field were registered. The most significant visual field losses occurred in the nasal zone. "Visual field loss means only one thing -- a person is becoming blind. That's why it is so important to understand the causes of this condition and to reverse it. We are all aware of the dire outcome," says Prof Ragauskas. Researchers conclude that higher TPD could be estimated as a risk factor for the negative development of normal tension glaucoma. As translaminar pressure difference is calculated by subtracting ICP from IOP, the lower the intracranial pressure measure, the higher the TPD. Thus, in normal-tension glaucoma, lowered intracranial pressure is a possible risk factor. Technology invented in Lithuania used in the study "The idea that brain pressure is related to the visual field is not new. Several years ago, we conducted a series of experiments studying the links between visual field and intracranial pressure, using the non-invasive technology developed here, at KTU. In the conferences that followed, I saw how our new idea was met with excitement by the international community of ophthalmologists," says Prof Ragauskas. Intracranial pressure's correlation with glaucoma opens new avenues for medical professionals to research the reason and possible treatment of this pathology. Also, in recent years, evidence supporting this hypothesis poured in from science groups working around the world. Prof Ragauskas says that his research has, directly and indirectly, contributed to the growing pool of data on the topic. In the above-described study, the intracranial pressure measurement was obtained via a two-depth Transcranial Doppler (Vittamed UAB, Lithuania) developed by Prof Ragauskas' team at the Kaunas University of Technology labs. Unlike the usual intracranial pressure measuring procedure, which involves the drilling of a small-sized hole into the patient's skull, Prof Ragauskas' invention allows measuring brain pressure non-invasively through the eye using ultrasound. Various industrial applications of the invention were patented in the US and Europe. "We are not competing with invasive methods, but heading towards an entirely new direction. At the moment, I see that ophthalmology is the field where our technology is needed most, and we are using it for research purposes. However, we are constantly developing our invention and have recently patented a couple of new applications, which might be used in other contexts where measuring intracranial pressure is crucial. For example, in long-term space missions," says KTU professor Ragauskas.

Researchers attempted to identify early symptoms of Parkinson's disease using voice data. In their study, the researchers used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze and assess speech signals, where calculations are done and diagnoses made in seconds rather than hours. The diagnosis of Parkinson's disease has shaken many lives. More than 10 million people worldwide are living with it. There is no cure, but if symptoms are noticed early, the disease can be controlled. As Parkinson's disease progresses, along with other symptoms speech changes. Lithuanian researcher from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU), Rytis Maskeliūnas, together with colleagues from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), tried to identify early symptoms of Parkinson's disease using voice data. Parkinson's disease is usually associated with loss of motor function -- hand tremors, muscle stiffness, or balance problems. According to Maskeliūnas, a researcher at KTU's Department of Multimedia Engineering, as motor activity decreases, so does the function of the vocal cords, diaphragm, and lungs: "Changes in speech often occur even earlier than motor function disorders, which is why the altered speech might be the first sign of the disease." Expanding the AI language database According to Professor Virgilijus Ulozas, at the Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat at the LSMU Faculty of Medicine, patients with early-stage of Parkinson's disease, might speak in a quieter manner, which can also be monotonous, less expressive, slower, and more fragmented, and this is very difficult to notice by ear. As the disease progresses, hoarseness, stuttering, slurred pronunciation of words, and loss of pauses between words can become more apparent. Taking these symptoms into account, a joint team of Lithuanian researchers has developed a system to detect the disease earlier. "We are not creating a substitute for a routine examination of the patient -- our method is designed to facilitate early diagnosis of the disease and to track the effectiveness of treatment," says KTU researcher Maskeliūnas. According to him, the link between Parkinson's disease and speech abnormalities is not new to the world of digital signal analysis -- it has been known and researched since the 1960s. However, as technology advances, it is becoming possible to extract more information from speech. In their study, the researchers used artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse and assess speech signals, where calculations are done and diagnoses made in seconds rather than hours. This study is also unique -- the results are tailored to the specifics of the Lithuanian language, in this way expanding the AI language database. The algorithm will become a mobile app in the future Speaking about the progress of the study, Kipras Pribuišis, lecturer at the Department of Ear, Nose, and Throat at the LSMU Faculty of Medicine, emphasises that it was only carried out on patients already diagnosed with Parkinson's: "So far, our approach is able to distinguish Parkinson's from healthy people using a speech sample. This algorithm is also more accurate than previously proposed." In a soundproof booth, a microphone was used to record the speech of healthy and Parkinson's patients, and an artificial intelligence algorithm "learned" to perform signal processing by evaluating these recordings. The researchers highlight that the algorithm does not require powerful hardware and could be transferred to a mobile app in the future. "Our results, which have already been published, have a very high scientific potential. Sure, there is still a long and challenging way to go before it can be applied in everyday clinical practice," says Maskeliūnas. According to the researcher, the next steps include increasing the number of patients to gather more data and determining whether the proposed algorithm is superior to alternative methods used for early diagnosis of Parkinson's. In addition, it will be necessary to check whether the algorithm works well not only in laboratory-like environments but also in the doctor's office or in the patient's home.