Ricerc@Sapienza

To date, the videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) is considered the gold standard for thoroughly assessment and management of dysphagia. It is a symptom so common and diverse that is often considered as a disease in its own right. Dysphagia severity can range from a trivial problem to a lethal condition. It can seriously compromise the quality of life of affected patients, therefore management should be prompt. The implications of dysphagia in healthcare costs are elevated. VFSS carries a degree of subjectivity in its interpretation.

Light Microscopy (LM) represents the method by which pathologists study histological sections; the observations by LM can be considered the gold standard for making diagnosis and for its diagnostic accuracy. The classes that can be defined through the observation of LM images of the liver are: normal, steatosis, fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma (HCC). Normally, a pathologist has to examine by LM many histological sections to perform a complete and accurate diagnosis. For this reason, an automatic system for the analysis of LM images of the liver would be particularly useful.