| YAG-laser | YAG-laser - Yttrium aluminium garnet-laser - Yttrium aluminium garnet (YAG, Y<sup>3</sup>Al<sup>5</sup>O<sup>12</sup>) is a synthetic crystalline material of the garnet group. It is also one of three phases of the yttrium-aluminium composite, the other two being yttrium aluminium monoclinic (YAM, Y<sup>4</sup>Al<sup>2</sup>O<sup>9</sup>) and yttrium aluminium perovskite (YAP, YAlO<sup>3</sup>). YAG is commonly used as a host material in various solid-state lasers. | |
| X-ray | x-ray | X-ray | x-ray - X-radiation; Electromagnetic radiation - X-radiation (composed of X-rays) is a form of electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 0.01 to 10 nanometers. In many languages, X-radiation is referred to with terms meaning Röntgen radiation, after Wilhelm Röntgen. | |
| WOMAC | WOMAC - Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index - The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) is a widely used, proprietary set of standardized questionnaires used by health professionals to evaluate the condition of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee and hip, including pain, stiffness, and physical functioning of the joints. | |
| VNS | VNS - Vagus nerve stimulation - Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an adjunctive treatment for certain types of intractable epilepsy and treatment-resistant depression. | |
| VAD | VADs | VAD | VADs - Ventricular assist devices - A ventricular assist device (VAD) is an electromechanical circulatory device that is used to partially or completely replace the function of a failing heart. The function of VADs differs from that of artificial cardiac pacemakers. | |
| TRD | TRD - Tongue-retaining devices - The tongue-retaining device is a customized monobloc oral appliance used in the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). | |
| TN | TP | TN | TP - True-negative | True-positive - True positive = correctly identified; False positive = incorrectly identified; True negative = correctly rejected ; False negative = incorrectly rejected - see also sensitivity and specificity (weblink and video) | |
| TNM | TNM - Classification of Malignant Tumours - The classification of cancer by anatomic disease extent, i.e. stage, is the major determinant of appropriate treatment and prognosis. Stage is an increasingly important component of cancer surveillance and cancer control and an endpoint for the evaluation of the population-based screening and early detection efforts. | |
| TAVI | TAVI - Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) devices and delivery systems - Percutaneous aortic valve replacement (PAVR), often transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), is the replacement of the aortic valve of the heart through the blood vessels (as opposed to valve replacement by open heart surgery). | |
| SMBG | SMBG - Self-monitoring of blood glucose - The goal of SMBG is to collect detailed information about blood glucose levels at many time points to enable maintenance of a more constant glucose level by more precise regimens. It can be used to aid in the adjustment of a therapeutic regimen in response to blood glucose values and to help individuals adjust their dietary intake, physical activity, and insulin doses to improve glycemic control on a day-to-day basis. | |
| SMART | SMART - Scalable Medical Alert Response Technology - SMART is a system for patient tracking and monitoring that begins at the emergency site and continues through transport, triage, stabilization, and transfer between external sites and health care facilities as well as within a health care facility. The system is based on a scalable location-aware monitoring architecture, with remote transmission from medical sensors and display of information on personal digital assistants, detection logic for recognizing events requiring action, and logistic support for optimal response. | |
| SIRT | SIRT - Selective Internal Radiation Therapy - SIRT is a form of radiation therapy used in interventional radiology to treat cancer. It is generally for selected patients with unresectable cancers, those that cannot be treated surgically, especially hepatic cell carcinoma or metastasis to the liver. | |
| SCS | SCS - Spinal cord stimulation - A spinal cord stimulator is a device used to exert pulsed electrical signals to the spinal cord to control chronic pain. Further applications are in motor disorders. | |
| SAO2 | SaO2 | SaO2 - Oxygen saturation of arterial blood - Oxygen saturation is a term referring to the fraction of oxygen-saturated hemoglobin relative to total hemoglobin (unsaturated + saturated) in the blood. The human body requires and regulates a very precise and specific balance of oxygen in the blood. | |
| RVOT | RVOT - Right ventricular outflow tract - (i) The right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) is an infundibular extension of the ventricular cavity which connects to the pulmonary artery. (ii) The RVOT is an important anatomical feature in many corrective surgeries for congenital heart defects and dilation of the RVOT can cause pulmonary valve insufficiency. | |
| ROC | ROC - Receiver operating characteristic - In statistics, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC), or ROC curve, is a graphical plot that illustrates the performance of a binary classifier system as its discrimination threshold is varied. The curve is created by plotting the true positive rate against the false positive rate at various threshold settings. | |
| RM3 | RM3 - Renal Preservation System - Perfusion Device for Pulsatile Kidney Preservation. | |
| RFA | RFA - Radiofrequency ablation - (RFA) is a medical procedure in which part of the electrical conduction system of the heart, tumor or other dysfunctional tissue is ablated using the heat generated from high frequency alternating current (in the range of 350–500 kHz). | |
| RD | RD - Retinal detachment - Retinal detachment is a disorder of the eye in which the retina peels away from its underlying layer of support tissue. Initial detachment may be localized or broad, but without rapid treatment the entire retina may detach, leading to vision loss and blindness. | |
| QOL | QoL | QoL - Quality of life - Quality of life (QOL) is the general well-being of individuals and societies. QOL has a wide range of contexts, including the fields of international development, healthcare, politics and employment. | |
| QALY | QALY - Quality-adjusted life-years - The quality-adjusted life year or quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) is a measure of disease burden, including both the quality and the quantity of life lived. | |
| PSG | PSG - Polysomnography - PSG is a type of sleep study, is a multi-parametric test used in the study of sleep and as a diagnostic tool in sleep medicine. The test result is called a polysomnogram, also abbreviated PSG. | |
| PPV | PPV - Positive predictive value - The positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV respectively) are the proportions of positive and negative results in statistics and diagnostic tests that are true positive and true negative results | |
| PNF | PNF - Primary non-function - PNF means total and irreversible loss of function after transplantation - (i) Islet primary nonfunction (PNF) is defined as the loss of islet function after transplantation for reasons other than graft rejection. (ii) Primary nonfunction (PNF) after liver transplantation is life threatening. Future investigations to improve survival among liver transplant recipients with PNF are essential. | |
| PICC | PICC - Peripherally Inserted Central Venous Catheter - PICC or PIC line) is a form of intravenous access that can be used for a prolonged period of time (e.g. for long chemotherapy regimens, extended antibiotic therapy, or total parenteral nutrition). | |