Search results for: phantom

Authors: Bruno B. Oliveira, Arnaldo P. Mourão, Teógenes A. da Silva

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The Brazilian legislation has only established diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) in terms of Multiple Scan Average Dose (MSAD) as a quality control parameter for computed tomography (CT) scanners. Compliance with DRLs can be verified by measuring the Computed Tomography Kerma Index (Ca,100) with a pencil ionization chamber or by obtaining the kerma distribution in CT scans with radiochromic films or rod shape lithium fluoride termoluminescent dosimeters (TLD-100). TL dosimeters were used to record kerma profiles and to determine MSAD values of a Bright Speed model GE CT scanner. Measurements were done with radiochromic films and TL dosimeters distributed in cylinders positioned in the center and in four peripheral bores of a standard polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) body CT dosimetry phantom. Irradiations were done using a protocol for adult chest. The maximum values were found at the midpoint of the longitudinal axis. The MSAD values obtained with three dosimetric techniques were compared.

Keywords: Kerma profile, CT, MSAD, patient dosimetry

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Authors: A. Ambia, T. Takemae, Y. Kosugi, M. Hongo

Abstract:

Electric impedance imaging is a method of reconstructing spatial distribution of electrical conductivity inside a subject. In this paper, a new method of electrical impedance imaging using eddy current is proposed. The eddy current distribution in the body depends on the conductivity distribution and the magnetic field pattern. By changing the position of magnetic core, a set of voltage differences is measured with a pair of electrodes. This set of voltage differences is used in image reconstruction of conductivity distribution. The least square error minimization method is used as a reconstruction algorithm. The back projection algorithm is used to get two dimensional images. Based on this principle, a measurement system is developed and some model experiments were performed with a saline filled phantom. The shape of each model in the reconstructed image is similar to the corresponding model, respectively. From the results of these experiments, it is confirmed that the proposed method is applicable in the realization of electrical imaging.

Keywords: Back projection algorithm, electrical impedancetomography, eddy current, magnetic inductance tomography.

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Authors: Ali Pour Yazdanpanah, Farideh Foroozandeh Shahraki, Emma Regentova

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The reconstruction from sparse-view projections is one of important problems in computed tomography (CT) limited by the availability or feasibility of obtaining of a large number of projections. Traditionally, convex regularizers have been exploited to improve the reconstruction quality in sparse-view CT, and the convex constraint in those problems leads to an easy optimization process. However, convex regularizers often result in a biased approximation and inaccurate reconstruction in CT problems. Here, we present a nonconvex, Lipschitz continuous and non-smooth regularization model. The CT reconstruction is formulated as a nonconvex constrained L1 − L2 minimization problem and solved through a difference of convex algorithm and alternating direction of multiplier method which generates a better result than L0 or L1 regularizers in the CT reconstruction. We compare our method with previously reported high performance methods which use convex regularizers such as TV, wavelet, curvelet, and curvelet+TV (CTV) on the test phantom images. The results show that there are benefits in using the nonconvex regularizer in the sparse-view CT reconstruction.

Keywords: Computed tomography, sparse-view reconstruction, L1 −L2 minimization, non-convex, difference of convex functions.

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Authors: Salah I. Al-Mously, Marai M. Abousetta

Abstract:

This paper investigates the impact of the hand-hold positions on both antenna performance and the specific absorption rate (SAR) induced in the user-s head. A cellular handset with external antenna operating at GSM-900 frequency is modeled and simulated using a finite difference time-domain (FDTD)-based platform SEMCAD-X. A specific anthropomorphic mannequin (SAM) is adopted to simulate the user-s head, whereas a semirealistic CAD-model of three-tissues is designed to simulate the user-s hand. The results show that in case of the handset in hand close to head at different positions; the antenna total efficiency gets reduced to (14.5% - 5.9%) at cheek-position and to (27.5% to 11.8%) at tilt-position. The peak averaged SAR1g values in head close to handset without hand, are 4.67 W/Kg and 2.66 W/Kg at cheek and tilt-position, respectively. Due to the presence of hand, the SAR1g in head gets reduced to (3.67-3.31 W/Kg) at cheek-position and to (1.84-1.64 W/Kg) at tilt-position, depending on the hand-hold position.

Keywords: FDTD, phantom, specific absorption rate (SAR), cellular handset exposure.

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Authors: Ahmed Badawi

Abstract:

This paper proposes a method for speckle reduction in medical ultrasound imaging while preserving the edges with the added advantages of adaptive noise filtering and speed. A nonlinear image diffusion method that incorporates local image parameter, namely, scatterer density in addition to gradient, to weight the nonlinear diffusion process, is proposed. The method was tested for the isotropic case with a contrast detail phantom and varieties of clinical ultrasound images, and then compared to linear and some other diffusion enhancement methods. Different diffusion parameters were tested and tuned to best reduce speckle noise and preserve edges. The method showed superior performance measured both quantitatively and qualitatively when incorporating scatterer density into the diffusivity function. The proposed filter can be used as a preprocessing step for ultrasound image enhancement before applying automatic segmentation, automatic volumetric calculations, or 3D ultrasound volume rendering.

Keywords: Ultrasound imaging, Nonlinear isotropic diffusion, Speckle noise, Scattering.

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Authors: Mahdi Mazinani, S. D. Qanadli, Rahil Hosseini, Tim Ellis, Jamshid Dehmeshki

Abstract:

Segmentation and quantification of stenosis is an important task in assessing coronary artery disease. One of the main challenges is measuring the real diameter of curved vessels. Moreover, uncertainty in segmentation of different tissues in the narrow vessel is an important issue that affects accuracy. This paper proposes an algorithm to extract coronary arteries and measure the degree of stenosis. Markovian fuzzy clustering method is applied to model uncertainty arises from partial volume effect problem. The algorithm employs: segmentation, centreline extraction, estimation of orthogonal plane to centreline, measurement of the degree of stenosis. To evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility, the approach has been applied to a vascular phantom and the results are compared with real diameter. The results of 10 patient datasets have been visually judged by a qualified radiologist. The results reveal the superiority of the proposed method compared to the Conventional thresholding Method (CTM) on both datasets.

Keywords: 3D coronary artery tree extraction, segmentation, quantification, fuzzy clustering, and Markov random field

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Authors: YuriyTasinkevych, Ihor Trots, AndrzejNowicki, Marcin Lewandowski

Abstract:

The paper presents the optimization problem for the multi-element synthetic transmit aperture method (MSTA) in ultrasound imaging applications. The optimal choice of the transmit aperture size is performed as a trade-off between the lateral resolution, penetration depth and the frame rate. Results of the analysis obtained by a developed optimization algorithm are presented. Maximum penetration depth and the best lateral resolution at given depths are chosen as the optimization criteria. The optimization algorithm was tested using synthetic aperture data of point reflectors simulated by Filed II program for Matlab® for the case of 5MHz 128-element linear transducer array with 0.48 mm pitch are presented. The visualization of experimentally obtained synthetic aperture data of a tissue mimicking phantom and in vitro measurements of the beef liver are also shown. The data were obtained using the SonixTOUCH Research systemequipped with a linear 4MHz 128 element transducerwith 0.3 mm element pitch, 0.28 mm element width and 70% fractional bandwidth was excited by one sine cycle pulse burst of transducer's center frequency.

Keywords: synthetic aperture method, ultrasound imaging, beamforming.

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Authors: Ihor Trots, Yuriy Tasinkevych, Andrzej Nowicki, Marcin Lewandowski

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In the paper the study of synthetic transmit aperture method applying the Golay coded transmission for medical ultrasound imaging is presented. Longer coded excitation allows to increase the total energy of the transmitted signal without increasing the peak pressure. Moreover signal-to-noise ratio and penetration depth are improved while maintaining high ultrasound image resolution. In the work the 128-element linear transducer array with 0.3 mm inter-element spacing excited by one cycle and the 8 and 16- bit Golay coded sequences at nominal frequency 4 MHz was used. To generate a spherical wave covering the full image region a single element transmission aperture was used and all the elements received the echo signals. The comparison of 2D ultrasound images of the tissue mimicking phantom and in vitro measurements of the beef liver is presented to illustrate the benefits of the coded transmission. The results were obtained using the synthetic aperture algorithm with transmit and receive signals correction based on a single element directivity function.

Keywords: Golay coded sequences, radiation pattern, signal processing, synthetic aperture, ultrasound imaging.

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Authors: Sadegh Masoudi, Ali Asghar Yousefi, Somayeh Nourollahi, Fatemeh Noughani

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Two different testicular tissues have to be distinguished in regard to radiation damage: first the seminiferous tubules, corresponding to the sites of spermatogenesis, which are extremely radiosensitive. Second the testosterone secreting Leydig cells, which are considered to be less radiosensitive. This study aims to estimate testicular dose and the associated risks for infertility and hereditary effects from Abdominal and pelvic irradiation. Radiotherapy was simulated on a humanoid phantom using a 15 MV photon beam. Testicular dose was measured for various field sizes and tissue thicknesses along beam axis using an ionization chamber and TLD. For transmission Factor Also common method of measuring the absorbed dose distribution and electron contamination in the build-up region of high-energy beams for radiation therapy is by means of parallel-plate Ionisation chambers. Gonadal dose was reduced by placing lead cups around the testes supplemented by a field edge block. For a tumor dose of 100 cGy, testicular dose was 2.96-8.12 cGy depending upon the field size and the distance from the inferior field edge. The treatment at parameters, the presence of gonad shield and the somatometric characteristics determine whether testicular dose can exceed 1 Gy which allows a complete recovery of spermatogenesis.

Keywords: Absorbed Dose, Abdominal and pelvic, gonads men, Radiotherapy.

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Authors: Maurizio Dapor, Isabel Abril, Pablo de Vera, Rafael Garcia-Molina

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The ionization yield of ion tracks in polymers and bio-molecular systems reaches a maximum, known as the Bragg peak, close to the end of the ion trajectories. Along the path of the ions through the materials, many electrons are generated, which produce a cascade of further ionizations and, consequently, a shower of secondary electrons. Among these, very low energy secondary electrons can produce damage in the biomolecules by dissociative electron attachment. This work deals with the calculation of the energy distribution of electrons produced by protons in a sample of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), a material that is used as a phantom for living tissues in hadron therapy. PMMA is also of relevance for microelectronics in CMOS technologies and as a photoresist mask in electron beam lithography. We present a Monte Carlo code that, starting from a realistic description of the energy distribution of the electrons ejected by protons moving through PMMA, simulates the entire cascade of generated secondary electrons. By following in detail the motion of all these electrons, we find the radial distribution of the energy that they deposit in PMMA for several initial proton energies characteristic of the Bragg peak.

Keywords: Monte Carlo method, secondary electrons, energetic ions, ion-beam cancer therapy, ionization cross section, polymethylmethacrylate, proton beams, secondary electrons, radial energy distribution.

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Authors: Jing Jia, Shanqing Huang, Fang Liu, Qiang Ren, Gui Li, Mengyun Cheng, Chufeng Jin, Yican Wu

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Medical image registration is the key technology in image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) systems. On the basis of the previous work on our IGRT prototype with a biorthogonal x-ray imaging system, we described a method focused on the 2D/2D rigid-body registration using multiresolution pyramid based mutual information in this paper. Three key steps were involved in the method ： firstly, four 2D images were obtained including two x-ray projection images and two digital reconstructed radiographies（DRRs ） as the input for the registration ； Secondly, each pair of the corresponding x-ray image and DRR image were matched using multiresolution pyramid based mutual information under the ITK registration framework ； Thirdly, we got the final couch offset through a coordinate transformation by calculating the translations acquired from the two pairs of the images. A simulation example of a parotid gland tumor case and a clinical example of an anthropomorphic head phantom were employed in the verification tests. In addition, the influence of different CT slice thickness were tested. The simulation results showed that the positioning errors were 0.068±0.070, 0.072±0.098, 0.154±0.176mm along three axes which were lateral, longitudinal and vertical. The clinical test indicated that the positioning errors of the planned isocenter were 0.066, 0.07, 2.06mm on average with a CT slice thickness of 2.5mm. It can be concluded that our method with its verified accuracy and robustness can be effectively used in IGRT systems for patient setup.

Keywords: 2D/2D registration, image guided radiation therapy, multi resolution pyramid, mutual information.

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Authors: Y. Kumru, K. Enhos, H. Köymen

Abstract:

In this paper, we report the experimental results on using complementary Golay coded signals at 7.5 MHz to detect breast microcalcifications of 50 µm size. Simulations using complementary Golay coded signals show perfect consistence with the experimental results, confirming the improved signal to noise ratio for complementary Golay coded signals. For improving the success on detecting the microcalcifications, orthogonal complementary Golay sequences having cross-correlation for minimum interference are used as coded signals and compared to tone burst pulse of equal energy in terms of resolution under weak signal conditions. The measurements are conducted using an experimental ultrasound research scanner, Digital Phased Array System (DiPhAS) having 256 channels, a phased array transducer with 7.5 MHz center frequency and the results obtained through experiments are validated by Field-II simulation software. In addition, to investigate the superiority of coded signals in terms of resolution, multipurpose tissue equivalent phantom containing series of monofilament nylon targets, 240 µm in diameter, and cyst-like objects with attenuation of 0.5 dB/[MHz x cm] is used in the experiments. We obtained ultrasound images of monofilament nylon targets for the evaluation of resolution. Simulation and experimental results show that it is possible to differentiate closely positioned small targets with increased success by using coded excitation in very weak signal conditions.

Keywords: Coded excitation, complementary Golay codes, DiPhAS, medical ultrasound.

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Authors: Ahmed Badawi, J. Michael Johnson, Mohamed Mahfouz

Abstract:

This paper proposes new enhancement models to the methods of nonlinear anisotropic diffusion to greatly reduce speckle and preserve image features in medical ultrasound images. By incorporating local physical characteristics of the image, in this case scatterer density, in addition to the gradient, into existing tensorbased image diffusion methods, we were able to greatly improve the performance of the existing filtering methods, namely edge enhancing (EE) and coherence enhancing (CE) diffusion. The new enhancement methods were tested using various ultrasound images, including phantom and some clinical images, to determine the amount of speckle reduction, edge, and coherence enhancements. Scatterer density weighted nonlinear anisotropic diffusion (SDWNAD) for ultrasound images consistently outperformed its traditional tensor-based counterparts that use gradient only to weight the diffusivity function. SDWNAD is shown to greatly reduce speckle noise while preserving image features as edges, orientation coherence, and scatterer density. SDWNAD superior performances over nonlinear coherent diffusion (NCD), speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD), adaptive weighted median filter (AWMF), wavelet shrinkage (WS), and wavelet shrinkage with contrast enhancement (WSCE), make these methods ideal preprocessing steps for automatic segmentation in ultrasound imaging.

Keywords: Nonlinear anisotropic diffusion, ultrasound imaging, speckle reduction, scatterer density estimation, edge based enhancement, coherence enhancement.

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Authors: M.karavanmasjedi, N.Hedayat , A.Rohani, H.Shirin

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Sedimentation process resulting from soil erosion in the water basin especially in arid and semi-arid where poor vegetation cover in the slope of the mountains upstream could contribute to sediment formation. The consequence of sedimentation not only makes considerable change in the morphology of the river and the hydraulic characteristics but would also have a major challenge for the operation and maintenance of the canal network which depend on water flow to meet the stakeholder-s requirements. For this reason mathematical modeling can be used to simulate the effective factors on scouring, sediment transport and their settling along the waterways. This is particularly important behind the reservoirs which enable the operators to estimate the useful life of these hydraulic structures. The aim of this paper is to simulate the sedimentation and erosion in the eastern and western water intake structures of the Dez Diversion weir using GSTARS-3 software. This is done to estimate the sedimentation and investigate the ways in which to optimize the process and minimize the operational problems. Results indicated that the at the furthest point upstream of the diversion weir, the coarser sediment grains tended to settle. The reason for this is the construction of the phantom bridge and the outstanding rocks just upstream of the structure. The construction of these along the river course has reduced the momentum energy require to push the sediment loads and make it possible for them to settle wherever the river regime allows it. Results further indicated a trend for the sediment size in such a way that as the focus of study shifts downstream the size of grains get smaller and vice versa. It was also found that the finding of the GSTARS-3 had a close proximity with the sets of the observed data. This suggests that the software is a powerful analytical tool which can be applied in the river engineering project with a minimum of costs and relatively accurate results.

Keywords: Erosion, sedimentation, Dez Diversion weir, GSTARS-3

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