Development and application of a set of mesh-based and age-dependent Chinese family phantoms for radiation protection dosimetry: Preliminary Data for external photon beams

Science.gov (United States)

Pi, Yifei; Zhang, Lian; Huo, Wanli; Feng, Mang; Chen, Zhi; Xu, X. George

2017-09-01

A group of mesh-based and age-dependent family phantoms for Chinese populations were developed in this study. We implemented a method for deforming original RPI-AM and RPI-AF models into phantoms of different ages: 5, 10 ,15 and adult. More than 120 organs for each model were processed to match with the values of the Chinese reference parameters within 0.5%. All of these phantoms were then converted to voxel format for Monte Carlo simulations. Dose coefficients for adult models were counted to compare with those of RPI-AM and RPI-AF. The results show that there are significant differences between absorbed doses of RPI phantoms and these of our adult phantoms at low energies. Comparisons for the dose coefficients among different ages and genders were also made. it was found that teenagers receive more radiation doses than adults under the same irradiation condition. This set of phantoms can be utilized to estimate dosimetry for Chinese population for radiation protection, medical imaging, and radiotherapy.

Application of Electron Dose Kernels to account for heterogeneities in voxelized phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Basheer, A. K.; Sjoden, G. E.; Ghita, M.; Bolch, W.

2009-01-01

In this paper, we present work on the application of the Electron Dose Kernel discrete ordinates method (EDK-S N ) to compute doses and account for material heterogeneities using high energy external photon beam irradiations in voxelized human phantoms. EDKs are pre-computed using photon pencil 'beamlets' that lead to dose delivery in tissue using highly converged Monte Carlo. Coupling the EDKs to accumulate dose scaled by integral photon fluences computed using S N methods in dose driving voxels (DDVs) allows for the full charged particle physics computed dose to be accumulated throughout the voxelized phantom, and is the basis of the EDK-S N method, which is fully parallelized. For material heterogeneities, a density scaling correction factor is required to yield good agreement. In a fully voxelized phantom, all doses were in agreement with those determined by independent Monte Carlo computations. We are continuing to expand upon the development of this robust approach for rapid and accurate determination of whole body and out of field organ doses due to high energy x-ray beams. (authors)

Reconstruction of segmented human voxel phantoms for skin dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antunes, Paula C.G.; Siqueira, Paulo de Tarso D.; Yoriyaz, Helio; Fonseca, Gabriel P.; Reis, Gabriela; Furnari, Laura

2009-01-01

High-resolution medical images along with methods that simulate the interaction of radiation with matter, as the Monte Carlo radiation transport codes, have been widely used in medical physics procedures. These images provide the construction of realistic anatomical models, which after being coupled to these codes, may drive to better assessments of dose distributions on the patient. These anatomical models constructed from medical images are known as voxel phantoms (voxel - volume element of an image). Present day regular images are unsuitable to correctly perform skin dose distribution evaluations. This inability is due to improper skin discrimination in most of the current medical images, once its thickness stands below the resolution of the pixels that form the image. This paper proposes the voxel phantom reconstruction by subdividing and segmenting the elements that form the phantom. It is done in order to better discriminate the skin by assigning it more adequate thickness and actual location, allowing a better dosimetric evaluation of the skin. This task is an important issue in many radiotherapy procedures. Particular interest lays in Total Skin Irradiation (TSI) with electron beams, where skin dose evaluation stands as the treatment key point of the whole body irradiation. This radiotherapy procedure is under implementation at the Hospital das Clinicas da Universidade de Sao Paulo (HC-USP). (author)

All about FAX: a Female Adult voXel phantom for Monte Carlo calculation in radiation protection dosimetry.

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Kramer, R; Khoury, H J; Vieira, J W; Loureiro, E C M; Lima, V J M; Lima, F R A; Hoff, G

2004-12-07

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has created a task group on dose calculations, which, among other objectives, should replace the currently used mathematical MIRD phantoms by voxel phantoms. Voxel phantoms are based on digital images recorded from scanning of real persons by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Compared to the mathematical MIRD phantoms, voxel phantoms are true to the natural representations of a human body. Connected to a radiation transport code, voxel phantoms serve as virtual humans for which equivalent dose to organs and tissues from exposure to ionizing radiation can be calculated. The principal database for the construction of the FAX (Female Adult voXel) phantom consisted of 151 CT images recorded from scanning of trunk and head of a female patient, whose body weight and height were close to the corresponding data recommended by the ICRP in Publication 89. All 22 organs and tissues at risk, except for the red bone marrow and the osteogenic cells on the endosteal surface of bone ('bone surface'), have been segmented manually with a technique recently developed at the Departamento de Energia Nuclear of the UFPE in Recife, Brazil. After segmentation the volumes of the organs and tissues have been adjusted to agree with the organ and tissue masses recommended by ICRP for the Reference Adult Female in Publication 89. Comparisons have been made with the organ and tissue masses of the mathematical EVA phantom, as well as with the corresponding data for other female voxel phantoms. The three-dimensional matrix of the segmented images has eventually been connected to the EGS4 Monte Carlo code. Effective dose conversion coefficients have been calculated for exposures to photons, and compared to data determined for the mathematical MIRD-type phantoms, as well as for other voxel phantoms.

Internal dosimetry estimates using voxelized reference phantoms for thyroid agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoseinian-Azghadi, E.; Rafat-Motavalli, L.; Miri-Hakimabad, H.

2014-01-01

This work presents internal dosimetry estimates for diagnostic procedures performed for thyroid disorders by relevant radiopharmaceuticals. The organ doses for 131 Iodine, 123 Iodine and 99m Tc incorporated into the body were calculated for the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reference voxel phantoms using the Monte Carlo transport method. A comparison between different thyroid uptakes of iodine in the range of 0–55% was made, and the effect of various techniques for administration of 99m Tc on organ doses was studied. To investigate the necessity of calculating organ dose from all source regions, the major source organ and its contribution to total dose were specified for each target organ. Moreover, we compared effective dose in ICRP voxel phantoms with that in stylized phantoms. In our method, we directly calculated the organ dose without using the S values or SAFs, as is commonly done. Hence, a distribution of the absorbed dose to entire tissues was obtained. The chord length distributions (CLDs) were also computed for the selected source–target pairs to make comparison across the genders. The results showed that the S values for radionuclides in the thyroid are not sufficient for calculating the organ doses, especially for 123 I and 99m Tc. The thyroid and its neighboring organs receive a greater dose as thyroid uptake increases. Our comparisons also revealed an underestimation of organ doses reported for the stylized phantoms compared with the values based on the ICRP voxel phantoms in the uptake range of 5–55%, and an overestimation of absorbed dose by up to 2-fold for Iodine administration using blocking agent and for 99m Tc incorporation. (author)

Multi-resolution voxel phantom modeling: a high-resolution eye model for computational dosimetry.

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Caracappa, Peter F; Rhodes, Ashley; Fiedler, Derek

2014-09-21

Voxel models of the human body are commonly used for simulating radiation dose with a Monte Carlo radiation transport code. Due to memory limitations, the voxel resolution of these computational phantoms is typically too large to accurately represent the dimensions of small features such as the eye. Recently reduced recommended dose limits to the lens of the eye, which is a radiosensitive tissue with a significant concern for cataract formation, has lent increased importance to understanding the dose to this tissue. A high-resolution eye model is constructed using physiological data for the dimensions of radiosensitive tissues, and combined with an existing set of whole-body models to form a multi-resolution voxel phantom, which is used with the MCNPX code to calculate radiation dose from various exposure types. This phantom provides an accurate representation of the radiation transport through the structures of the eye. Two alternate methods of including a high-resolution eye model within an existing whole-body model are developed. The accuracy and performance of each method is compared against existing computational phantoms.

3D dose distribution calculation in a voxelized human phantom by means of Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abella, V.; Miro, R.; Juste, B.; Verdu, G.

2010-01-01

The aim of this work is to provide the reconstruction of a real human voxelized phantom by means of a MatLab program and the simulation of the irradiation of such phantom with the photon beam generated in a Theratron 780 (MDS Nordion) 60 Co radiotherapy unit, by using the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle), version 5. The project results in 3D dose mapping calculations inside the voxelized antropomorphic head phantom. The program provides the voxelization by first processing the CT slices; the process follows a two-dimensional pixel and material identification algorithm on each slice and three-dimensional interpolation in order to describe the phantom geometry via small cubic cells, resulting in an MCNP input deck format output. Dose rates are calculated by using the MCNP5 tool FMESH, superimposed mesh tally, which gives the track length estimation of the particle flux in units of particles/cm 2 . Furthermore, the particle flux is converted into dose by using the conversion coefficients extracted from the NIST Physical Reference Data. The voxelization using a three-dimensional interpolation technique in combination with the use of the FMESH tool of the MCNP Monte Carlo code offers an optimal simulation which results in 3D dose mapping calculations inside anthropomorphic phantoms. This tool is very useful in radiation treatment assessments, in which voxelized phantoms are widely utilized.

Chinese reference human voxel phantoms for radiation protection: development, application and recent progress

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pan Yuxi; Qiu Rui; Ren Li; Zhu Huanjun; Li Junli; Liu Liye

2014-01-01

This paper presents the work of constructing Chinese reference human voxel phantoms, taking Chinese reference adult female voxel model for example. In this study, a site-specific skeleton structure was built, some radiation sensitive organs were supplemented. Organ sub-segmentation was taken into account. The constructed phantoms include almost all radiation sensitive organs required by ICRP new recommendation. Masses of the organs are almost consistent with the Chinese reference data within 5%. The Chinese reference human phantoms have been applied both in internal dosimetry and external dosimetry. The results provide fundamental data for Chinese radiation dosimetry. In addition, the newly established detailed breast model and micro-bone model were introduced. (authors)

Dose estimation of patients in CT examinations using EGS4 Monte-Carlo simulation of voxel phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Akahane, K.; Kai, M.; Kusama, T.; Saito, K.

2002-01-01

A voxel phantom based on CT images of one Japanese male have developed in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. Dose calculations of patients in X-ray CT examinations were performed using the voxel phantom and EGS4 Monte-Carlo simulation code. The organ doses of the patients were estimated

Dose estimation of patients in CT examinations using EGS4 Monte-Carlo simulation of voxel phantom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akahane, K.; Kai, M.; Kusama, T. [Oita Univ., of Nursing and Health Sciences, Oita-Ken (Japan); Saito, K. [JAERI, Ibaraki-ken (Japan)

2002-07-01

A voxel phantom based on CT images of one Japanese male have developed in Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. Dose calculations of patients in X-ray CT examinations were performed using the voxel phantom and EGS4 Monte-Carlo simulation code. The organ doses of the patients were estimated.

Dose conversion coefficients calculated using a series of adult Japanese voxel phantoms against external photon exposure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Kaoru; Endo, Akira; Saito, Kimiaki

2008-10-01

This report presents a complete set of conversion coefficients of organ doses and effective doses calculated for external photon exposure using five Japanese adult voxel phantoms developed at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). At the JAEA, high-resolution Japanese voxel phantoms have been developed to clarify the variation of organ doses due to the anatomical characteristics of Japanese, and three male phantoms (JM, JM2 and Otoko) and two female phantoms (JF and Onago) have been constructed up to now. The conversion coefficients of organ doses and effective doses for the five voxel phantoms have been calculated for six kinds of idealized irradiation geometries from monoenergetic photons ranging from 0.01 to 10 MeV using EGS4, a Monte Carlo code for the simulation of coupled electron-photon transport. The dose conversion coefficients are given as absorbed dose and effective dose per unit air-kerma free-in-air, and are presented in tables and figures. The calculated dose conversion coefficients are compared with those of voxel phantoms based on the Caucasian and the recommended values in ICRP74 in order to discuss (1) variation of organ dose due to the body size and individual anatomy, such as position and shape of organs, and (2) effect of posture on organ doses. The present report provides valuable data to study the influence of the body characteristics of Japanese upon the organ doses and to discuss developing reference Japanese and Asian phantoms. (author)

MicroCT-Based Skeletal Models for Use in Tomographic Voxel Phantoms for Radiological Protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bolch, Wesley

2010-01-01

The University of Florida (UF) proposes to develop two high-resolution image-based skeletal dosimetry models for direct use by ICRP Committee 2's Task Group on Dose Calculation in their forthcoming Reference Voxel Male (RVM) and Reference Voxel Female (RVF) whole-body dosimetry phantoms. These two phantoms are CT-based, and thus do not have the image resolution to delineate and perform radiation transport modeling of the individual marrow cavities and bone trabeculae throughout their skeletal structures. Furthermore, new and innovative 3D microimaging techniques will now be required for the skeletal tissues following Committee 2's revision of the target tissues of relevance for radiogenic bone cancer induction. This target tissue had been defined in ICRP Publication 30 as a 10-(micro)m cell layer on all bone surfaces of trabecular and cortical bone. The revised target tissue is now a 50-(micro)m layer within the marrow cavities of trabecular bone only and is exclusive of the marrow adipocytes. Clearly, this new definition requires the use of 3D microimages of the trabecular architecture not available from past 2D optical studies of the adult skeleton. With our recent acquisition of two relatively young cadavers (males of age 18-years and 40-years), we will develop a series of reference skeletal models that can be directly applied to (1) the new ICRP reference voxel man and female phantoms developed for the ICRP, and (2) pediatric phantoms developed to target the ICRP reference children. Dosimetry data to be developed will include absorbed fractions for internal beta and alpha-particle sources, as well as photon and neutron fluence-to-dose response functions for direct use in external dosimetry studies of the ICRP reference workers and members of the general public

MicroCT-Based Skeletal Models for Use in Tomographic Voxel Phantoms for Radiological Protection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bolch, Wesley [Univ. of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

2010-03-30

The University of Florida (UF) proposes to develop two high-resolution image-based skeletal dosimetry models for direct use by ICRP Committee 2’s Task Group on Dose Calculation in their forthcoming Reference Voxel Male (RVM) and Reference Voxel Female (RVF) whole-body dosimetry phantoms. These two phantoms are CT-based, and thus do not have the image resolution to delineate and perform radiation transport modeling of the individual marrow cavities and bone trabeculae throughout their skeletal structures. Furthermore, new and innovative 3D microimaging techniques will now be required for the skeletal tissues following Committee 2’s revision of the target tissues of relevance for radiogenic bone cancer induction. This target tissue had been defined in ICRP Publication 30 as a 10-μm cell layer on all bone surfaces of trabecular and cortical bone. The revised target tissue is now a 50-μm layer within the marrow cavities of trabecular bone only and is exclusive of the marrow adipocytes. Clearly, this new definition requires the use of 3D microimages of the trabecular architecture not available from past 2D optical studies of the adult skeleton. With our recent acquisition of two relatively young cadavers (males of age 18-years and 40-years), we will develop a series of reference skeletal models that can be directly applied to (1) the new ICRP reference voxel man and female phantoms developed for the ICRP, and (2) pediatric phantoms developed to target the ICRP reference children. Dosimetry data to be developed will include absorbed fractions for internal beta and alpha-particle sources, as well as photon and neutron fluence-to-dose response functions for direct use in external dosimetry studies of the ICRP reference workers and members of the general public

An eye model for computational dosimetry using a multi-scale voxel phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Caracappa, P.F.; Rhodes, A.; Fiedler, D.

2013-01-01

The lens of the eye is a radiosensitive tissue with cataract formation being the major concern. Recently reduced recommended dose limits to the lens of the eye have made understanding the dose to this tissue of increased importance. Due to memory limitations, the voxel resolution of computational phantoms used for radiation dose calculations is too large to accurately represent the dimensions of the eye. A revised eye model is constructed using physiological data for the dimensions of radiosensitive tissues, and is then transformed into a high-resolution voxel model. This eye model is combined with an existing set of whole body models to form a multi-scale voxel phantom, which is used with the MCNPX code to calculate radiation dose from various exposure types. This phantom provides an accurate representation of the radiation transport through the structures of the eye. Two alternate methods of including a high-resolution eye model within an existing whole body model are developed. When the Lattice Overlay method, the simpler of the two to define, is utilized, the computational penalty in terms of speed is noticeable and the figure of merit for the eye dose tally decreases by as much as a factor of two. When the Voxel Substitution method is applied, the penalty in speed is nearly trivial and the impact on the tally figure of merit is comparatively smaller. The origin of this difference in the code behavior may warrant further investigation

Comparison of internal radiation doses estimated by MIRD and voxel techniques for a ''family'' of phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, T.

2000-01-01

The aim of this study was to use a new system of realistic voxel phantoms, based on computed tomography scanning of humans, to assess its ability to specify the internal dosimetry of selected human examples in comparison with the well-established MIRD system of mathematical anthropomorphic phantoms. Differences in specific absorbed fractions between the two systems were inferred by using organ dose estimates as the end point for comparison. A ''family'' of voxel phantoms, comprising an 8-week-old baby, a 7-year-old child and a 38-year-old adult, was used and a close match to these was made by interpolating between organ doses estimated for pairs of the series of six MIRD phantoms. Using both systems, doses were calculated for up to 22 organs for four radiopharmaceuticals with widely differing biodistribution and emission characteristics (technetium-99m pertechnetate, administered without thyroid blocking; iodine-123 iodide; indium-111 antimyosin; oxygen-15 water). Organ dose estimates under the MIRD system were derived using the software MIRDOSE 3, which incorporates specific absorbed fraction (SAF) values for the MIRD phantom series. The voxel system uses software based on the same dose calculation formula in conjunction with SAF values determined by Monte Carlo analysis at the GSF of the three voxel phantoms. Effective doses were also compared. Substantial differences in organ weights were observed between the two systems, 18% differing by more than a factor of 2. Out of a total of 238 organ dose comparisons, 5% differed by more than a factor of 2 between the systems; these included some doses to walls of the GI tract, a significant result in relation to their high tissue weighting factors. Some of the largest differences in dose were associated with organs of lower significance in terms of radiosensitivity (e.g. thymus). In this small series, voxel organ doses tended to exceed MIRD values, on average, and a 10% difference was significant when all 238 organ doses

Application of voxel phantoms and Monte Carlo methods to internal and external dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, J.G.; Santos, D. de S.; Silva, F.C. da; Dantas, B.M.; Azeredo, A.; Malatova, I.; Foltanova, S.

2000-01-01

Voxel phantoms and the Monte Carlo technique are applied to the areas of calibration of in vivo measurement systems, Specific Effective Energy calculations, and dose calculations due to external sources of radiation. The main advantages of the use of voxel phantoms is their high level of detail of body structures, and the ease with which their physical dimensions can be changed. For the simulation of in vivo measurement systems for calibration purposes, a voxel phantom with a format of 871 'slices' each of 277 x 148 picture elements was used. The Monte Carlo technique is used to simulate the tissue contamination, to transport the photons through the tissues and to simulate the detection of the radiation. For benchmarking, the program was applied to obtain calibration factors for the in vivo measurement of 241 Am, U nat and 137 Cs deposited in various tissues or in the whole body, as measured with a NaI or Gernlanium detector. The calculated and real activities in all cases were found to be in good agreement. For the calculation of Specific Effective Energies (SEEs) and the calculation of dose received from external sources, the Yale voxel phantom with a format of 493 slices' each of 87 x 147 picture elements was used. The Monte Carlo program was developed to calculate external doses due to environmental, occupational or accidental exposures. The program calculates tissue and effective dose for the following geometries: cloud immersion, ground contamination, X-ray irradiation, point source irradiation or others. The benchmarking results for the external source are in good agreement with the measured values. The results obtained for the SEEs are compatible with the ICRP values. (author)

An improved MCNP version of the NORMAN voxel phantom for dosimetry studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrari, P; Gualdrini, G

2005-09-21

In recent years voxel phantoms have been developed on the basis of tomographic data of real individuals allowing new sets of conversion coefficients to be calculated for effective dose. Progress in radiation studies brought ICRP to revise its recommendations and a new report, already circulated in draft form, is expected to change the actual effective dose evaluation method. In the present paper the voxel phantom NORMAN developed at HPA, formerly NRPB, was employed with MCNP Monte Carlo code. A modified version of the phantom, NORMAN-05, was developed to take into account the new set of tissues and weighting factors proposed in the cited ICRP draft. Air kerma to organ equivalent dose and effective dose conversion coefficients for antero-posterior and postero-anterior parallel photon beam irradiations, from 20 keV to 10 MeV, have been calculated and compared with data obtained in other laboratories using different numerical phantoms. Obtained results are in good agreement with published data with some differences for the effective dose calculated employing the proposed new tissue weighting factors set in comparison with previous evaluations based on the ICRP 60 report.

Development of a voxel phantom specific for simulation of eye brachytherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos, Marcilio S.; Lima, Fernando R.A.

2013-01-01

The ophthalmic brachytherapy involves inserting a plate with seeds of radioactive material in the patient's eye for the treatment of tumors. The radiation dose to be taken by the patient is prescribed by physicians and time of application of the material is calculated from calibration curves supplied by the manufacturers of the plates. To estimate the dose absorbed by the patient, in a series of diagnostic tests, it is necessary to perform simulations using a computational model of exposure. These models are composed primarily by a anthropomorphic phantom, and a Monte Carlo code. The coupling of a phantom voxel whole body to a Monte Carlo code is a complex process because the computer model simulations with exposure takes time, knowledge of the code used and various adjustments to be implemented. The problem is aggravated even more complex when you want to radiate one region of the body. In this work we developed a phantom, specifically the region containing the eyeball, from MASH (Male Adult voxel). This model was coupled to the Monte Carlo code EGSnrc (Electron Gamma Shower) together with an algorithm simulator source of I-125 , considering only its effect of higher energy range

Computation of a voxelized anthropomorphic phantom from Computer Tomography slices and 3D dose distribution calculation utilizing the MCNP5 Code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abella, V.; Miro, R.; Juste, B.; Verdu, G.

2008-01-01

Full text: The purpose of this work is to obtain the voxelization of a series of tomography slices in order to provide a voxelized human phantom throughout a MatLab algorithm, and the consequent simulation of the irradiation of such phantom with the photon beam generated in a Theratron 780 (MDS Nordion) 60 Co radiotherapy unit, using the Monte Carlo transport code MCNP (Monte Carlo N-Particle), version 5. The project provides as results dose mapping calculations inside the voxelized anthropomorphic phantom. Prior works have validated the cobalt therapy model utilizing a simple heterogeneous water cube-shaped phantom. The reference phantom model utilized in this work is the Zubal phantom, which consists of a group of pre-segmented CT slices of a human body. The CT slices are to be input into the Matlab program which computes the voxelization by means of two-dimensional pixel and material identification on each slice, and three-dimensional interpolation, in order to depict the phantom geometry via small cubic cells. Each slice is divided in squares with the size of the desired voxelization, and then the program searches for the pixel intensity with a predefined material at each square, making a subsequent three-dimensional interpolation. At the end of this process, the program produces a voxelized phantom in which each voxel defines the mixture of the different materials that compose it. In the case of the Zubal phantom, the voxels result in pure organ materials due to the fact that the phantom is presegmented. The output of this code follows the MCNP input deck format and is integrated in a full input model including the 60 Co radiotherapy unit. Dose rates are calculated using the MCNP5 tool FMESH, superimposed mesh tally. This feature allows to tally particles on an independent mesh over the problem geometry, and to obtain the length estimation of the particle flux, in units of particles/cm 2 (tally F4). Furthermore, the particle flux is transformed into dose by

Mathematical human phantoms and their application to radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, Yasuhiro

1998-01-01

This review described the characteristics of mathematical phantoms, their history over 30 years and their application. Mathematical phantoms are classified into two models of formula and voxel types. In the former, human body and organs are described by 2- and/or 3-D mathematical formula and can be seen as a combination of solid bodies like spheres, cubes and ovals. The phantom is composed from three tissue components (bone, lung and soft tissue) and made on data on Reference Man in ICRP Publ. 23. The latter voxel (volume pixel) phantom consists from a number of small cubes based on CT and MRI images of a certain man. For instance, the phantom CHILD, 1.54 x 1.54 x 8.00 mm 3 in size, is based on a 7-year old child, which consisting from about one million voxels. The mathematical phantom was first made in Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the middle of the nineteen-sixties, which have undergone various improvements to reach MIRD-5 phantom. Thereafter, many similitude phantoms have been made as a variation of MIRD-5, depending on age and sex (e.g., ADAM and EVA). Voxel phantom was made in the middle of nineteen-eighties and have undergone improvements which are continued even currently in Japan, U.S. etc. The mathematical phantoms are used for calculation of radiation transport program by Monte Carlo method in the field of radiation protection. Also in the field of medicine, the phantom is used for calculation of internal and external exposure doses, of correction constants of externally measuring instruments, of doses for neutron capture therapy and of A-bomb exposure doses in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for reevaluation. Recently, the development of phantom is in the current from formula phantom to voxel one due to the purpose of precision and standardization. (K.H.)

SU-E-CAMPUS-I-02: Estimation of the Dosimetric Error Caused by the Voxelization of Hybrid Computational Phantoms Using Triangle Mesh-Based Monte Carlo Transport

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, C [Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD (United States); Badal, A [U.S. Food ' Drug Administration (CDRH/OSEL), Silver Spring, MD (United States)

2014-06-15

Purpose: Computational voxel phantom provides realistic anatomy but the voxel structure may result in dosimetric error compared to real anatomy composed of perfect surface. We analyzed the dosimetric error caused from the voxel structure in hybrid computational phantoms by comparing the voxel-based doses at different resolutions with triangle mesh-based doses. Methods: We incorporated the existing adult male UF/NCI hybrid phantom in mesh format into a Monte Carlo transport code, penMesh that supports triangle meshes. We calculated energy deposition to selected organs of interest for parallel photon beams with three mono energies (0.1, 1, and 10 MeV) in antero-posterior geometry. We also calculated organ energy deposition using three voxel phantoms with different voxel resolutions (1, 5, and 10 mm) using MCNPX2.7. Results: Comparison of organ energy deposition between the two methods showed that agreement overall improved for higher voxel resolution, but for many organs the differences were small. Difference in the energy deposition for 1 MeV, for example, decreased from 11.5% to 1.7% in muscle but only from 0.6% to 0.3% in liver as voxel resolution increased from 10 mm to 1 mm. The differences were smaller at higher energies. The number of photon histories processed per second in voxels were 6.4×10{sup 4}, 3.3×10{sup 4}, and 1.3×10{sup 4}, for 10, 5, and 1 mm resolutions at 10 MeV, respectively, while meshes ran at 4.0×10{sup 4} histories/sec. Conclusion: The combination of hybrid mesh phantom and penMesh was proved to be accurate and of similar speed compared to the voxel phantom and MCNPX. The lowest voxel resolution caused a maximum dosimetric error of 12.6% at 0.1 MeV and 6.8% at 10 MeV but the error was insignificant in some organs. We will apply the tool to calculate dose to very thin layer tissues (e.g., radiosensitive layer in gastro intestines) which cannot be modeled by voxel phantoms.

Development of the voxel computational phantoms of pediatric patients and their application to organ dose assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Choonik

A series of realistic voxel computational phantoms of pediatric patients were developed and then used for the radiation risk assessment for various exposure scenarios. The high-resolution computed tomographic images of live patients were utilized for the development of the five voxel phantoms of pediatric patients, 9-month male, 4-year female, 8-year female, 11-year male, and 14-year male. The phantoms were first developed as head and torso phantoms and then extended into whole body phantoms by utilizing computed tomographic images of a healthy adult volunteer. The whole body phantom series was modified to have the same anthropometrics with the most recent reference data reported by the international commission on radiological protection. The phantoms, named as the University of Florida series B, are the first complete set of the pediatric voxel phantoms having reference organ masses and total heights. As part of the dosimetry study, the investigation on skeletal tissue dosimetry methods was performed for better understanding of the radiation dose to the active bone marrow and bone endosteum. All of the currently available methodologies were inter-compared and benchmarked with the paired-image radiation transport model. The dosimetric characteristics of the phantoms were investigated by using Monte Carlo simulation of the broad parallel beams of external phantom in anterior-posterior, posterior-anterior, left lateral, right lateral, rotational, and isotropic angles. Organ dose conversion coefficients were calculated for extensive photon energies and compared with the conventional stylized pediatric phantoms of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The multi-slice helical computed tomography exams were simulated using Monte Carlo simulation code for various exams protocols, head, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and chest-abdomen-pelvis studies. Results have found realistic estimates of the effective doses for frequently used protocols in pediatric radiology. The results were very

The construction of trunk voxel phantom by using CT images and application to 3 dimensional radiotherapy treatment planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, C. S.; Lee, J. K. [Hanyang Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2001-10-01

Trunk voxel phantom was constructed by using whole body CT images and tumor doses were calculated by using Monte Carlo method after simulating situation of radiotheraphy treatment planning. The whole body CT images of VHP (Visual Human Project) man were acquired from National Library of Medicine of USA. 153 slices of trunk part were extracted from whole body CT images and MCNP4B, a general purpose Monte Carlo code, was used for dose calculation. Gray scale of CT images were converted into density of medium and processed into trunk voxel phantom ported to MCNP4B input deck. The conversion method was verified by comparing cross sectional images of voxel phantom with original CT images. Tumor volumes with diameter of 3 cm were defined in liver, stomach and right lung and irradiated with 5, 10 and 15 MeV gamma beam with diameter of 6 cm. The technical basis for 3D dose calculation was established through this study for localization of 3D RTP system.

Creation of a voxel phantom of the ICRP reference crab.

Science.gov (United States)

Caffrey, E A; Higley, K A

2013-06-01

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has modeled twelve reference animal and plant (RAP) species using simple geometric shapes in Monte-Carlo (MCNP) based simulations. The focus has now shifted to creating voxel phantoms of each RAP in order to estimate doses to biota with a higher degree of confidence. This paper describes the creation of a voxel model of a Dungeness crab from CT images with shell, gills, gonads, hepatopancreas, and heart identified and segmented. Absorbed fractions were tabulated for each organ as a source and target at twelve photon and nine electron energies: 0.01, 0.015, 0.02, 0.03, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, and 4.0 MeV for photons and 0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 4.0 MeV for electrons. AFs whose error exceeded 5% are marked with an underline in the data tables; AFs whose error was higher than 10% were excluded, and are shown in the tabulated data as a dashed line. A representative sample of the data is shown in Figs. 3-8; the entire data set is available as an electronic appendix. The results are consistent with previous small organism studies (Kinase, 2008; Stabin et al., 2006), and suggest that AF values are highly dependent on source organ location and mass. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of a voxel phantom specific for simulation of eye brachytherapy; Desenvolvimeto de um fantoma de voxel especifico para simulacao de braquiterapia ocular

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, Marcilio S.; Lima, Fernando R.A., E-mail: msilveira.fisica@gmail.com, E-mail: falima@cnen.gov.br [Centro Regional de Ciencias Nucleares do Nordeste (CRCN-NE/CNEN-PE), Recife, PE (Brazil); Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Departamento de Energia Nuclear; Vieira, Jose W., E-mail: jose-wilson59@live.com [lnstituto Federal de Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia de Pernambuco (IFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil)

2013-11-01

The ophthalmic brachytherapy involves inserting a plate with seeds of radioactive material in the patient's eye for the treatment of tumors. The radiation dose to be taken by the patient is prescribed by physicians and time of application of the material is calculated from calibration curves supplied by the manufacturers of the plates. To estimate the dose absorbed by the patient, in a series of diagnostic tests, it is necessary to perform simulations using a computational model of exposure. These models are composed primarily by a anthropomorphic phantom, and a Monte Carlo code. The coupling of a phantom voxel whole body to a Monte Carlo code is a complex process because the computer model simulations with exposure takes time, knowledge of the code used and various adjustments to be implemented. The problem is aggravated even more complex when you want to radiate one region of the body. In this work we developed a phantom, specifically the region containing the eyeball, from MASH (Male Adult voxel). This model was coupled to the Monte Carlo code EGSnrc (Electron Gamma Shower) together with an algorithm simulator source of I-125 , considering only its effect of higher energy range.

Dose calculation on voxels phantoms using the GEANT4 code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, Maximiano C.; Santos, Denison S.; Queiroz Filho, Pedro P.; Begalli, Marcia

2009-01-01

This work implemented an anthropomorphic phantom of voxels on the structure of Monte Carlo GEANT4, for utilization by professionals from the radioprotection, external dosimetry and medical physics. This phantom allows the source displacement that can be isotropic punctual, plain beam, linear or radioactive gas, in order to obtain diverse irradiation geometries. In them, the radioactive sources exposure is simulated viewing the determination of effective dose or the dose in each organ of the human body. The Zubal head and body trunk phantom was used, and we can differentiate the organs and tissues by the chemical constitution in soft tissue, lung tissue, bone tissue, water and air. The calculation method was validated through the comparison with other well established method, the Visual Monte Carlo (VMC). Besides, a comparison was done with the international recommendation for the evaluation of dose by exposure to punctual sources, described in the document TECDOC - 1162- Generic Procedures for Assessment and Response During a Radiological Emergency, where analytical expressions for this calculation are given. Considerations are made on the validity limits of these expressions for various irradiation geometries, including linear sources, immersion into clouds and contaminated soils

Hybrid pregnant reference phantom series based on adult female ICRP reference phantom

Science.gov (United States)

Rafat-Motavalli, Laleh; Miri-Hakimabad, Hashem; Hoseinian-Azghadi, Elie

2018-03-01

This paper presents boundary representation (BREP) models of pregnant female and her fetus at the end of each trimester. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) female reference voxel phantom was used as a base template in development process of the pregnant hybrid phantom series. The differences in shape and location of the displaced maternal organs caused by enlarging uterus were also taken into account. The CT and MR images of fetus specimens and pregnant patients of various ages were used to replace the maternal abdominal pelvic organs of template phantom and insert the fetus inside the gravid uterus. Each fetal model contains 21 different organs and tissues. The skeletal model of the fetus also includes age-dependent cartilaginous and ossified skeletal components. The replaced maternal organ models were converted to NURBS surfaces and then modified to conform to reference values of ICRP Publication 89. The particular feature of current series compared to the previously developed pregnant phantoms is being constructed upon the basis of ICRP reference phantom. The maternal replaced organ models are NURBS surfaces. With this great potential, they might have the feasibility of being converted to high quality polygon mesh phantoms.

New format for storage of voxel phantom, and exposure computer model EGS4/MAX to EGSnrc/MASH update

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leal Neto, Viriato; Vieira, Jose W.; Lima, Fernando R.A.; Lima, Lindeval F.

2011-01-01

In order to estimate the dosage absorbed by those subjected to ionizing radiation, it is necessary to perform simulations using the exposure computational model (ECM). Such models are consists essentially of an anthropomorphic phantom and a Monte Carlo code (MC). The conjunction of a voxel phantom of the MC code is a complex process and often results in solving a specific problem. This is partly due to the way the phantom voxel is stored on a computer. It is usually required a substantial amount of space to store a static representation of the human body and also a significant amount of memory for reading and processing a given simulation. This paper presents a new way to store data concerning the geometry irradiated (similar to the technique of repeated structures used in the geometry of MCNP code), reducing by 52% the disk space required for storage when compared to the previous format applied by Grupo de Dosimetria Numerica (GDN/CNPq). On the other hand, research in numerical dosimetry leads to a constant improvement on the resolution of voxel phantoms leading thus to a new requirement, namely, to develop new estimates of dose. Therefore, this work also performs an update of the MAX (Male Adult voXel)/EGS4 ECM for the MASH (Adult MaleMeSH)/EGSnrc ECM and presents instances of dosimetric evaluations using the new ECM. Besides the update of the phantom and the MC code, the algorithm of the source used has also been improved in contrast to previous publications. (author)

Comparison of low-contrast detectability between two CT reconstruction algorithms using voxel-based 3D printed textured phantoms.

Science.gov (United States)

Solomon, Justin; Ba, Alexandre; Bochud, François; Samei, Ehsan

2016-12-01

To use novel voxel-based 3D printed textured phantoms in order to compare low-contrast detectability between two reconstruction algorithms, FBP (filtered-backprojection) and SAFIRE (sinogram affirmed iterative reconstruction) and determine what impact background texture (i.e., anatomical noise) has on estimating the dose reduction potential of SAFIRE. Liver volumes were segmented from 23 abdominal CT cases. The volumes were characterized in terms of texture features from gray-level co-occurrence and run-length matrices. Using a 3D clustered lumpy background (CLB) model, a fitting technique based on a genetic optimization algorithm was used to find CLB textures that were reflective of the liver textures, accounting for CT system factors of spatial blurring and noise. With the modeled background texture as a guide, four cylindrical phantoms (Textures A-C and uniform, 165 mm in diameter, and 30 mm height) were designed, each containing 20 low-contrast spherical signals (6 mm diameter at nominal contrast levels of ∼3.2, 5.2, 7.2, 10, and 14 HU with four repeats per signal). The phantoms were voxelized and input into a commercial multimaterial 3D printer (Object Connex 350), with custom software for voxel-based printing (using principles of digital dithering). Images of the textured phantoms and a corresponding uniform phantom were acquired at six radiation dose levels (SOMATOM Flash, Siemens Healthcare) and observer model detection performance (detectability index of a multislice channelized Hotelling observer) was estimated for each condition (5 contrasts × 6 doses × 2 reconstructions × 4 backgrounds = 240 total conditions). A multivariate generalized regression analysis was performed (linear terms, no interactions, random error term, log link function) to assess whether dose, reconstruction algorithm, signal contrast, and background type have statistically significant effects on detectability. Also, fitted curves of detectability (averaged across contrast levels

Absorbed dose estimates to structures of the brain and head using a high-resolution voxel-based head phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Evans, Jeffrey F.; Blue, Thomas E.; Gupta, Nilendu

2001-01-01

The purpose of this article is to demonstrate the viability of using a high-resolution 3-D head phantom in Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) structure dosimetry. This work describes a high-resolution voxel-based model of a human head and its use for calculating absorbed doses to the structures of the brain. The Zubal head phantom is a 3-D model of a human head that can be displayed and manipulated on a computer. Several changes were made to the original head phantom which now contains over 29 critical structures of the brain and head. The modified phantom is a 85x109x120 lattice of voxels, where each voxel is 2.2x2.2x1.4 mm 3 . This model was translated into MCNP lattice format. As a proof of principle study, two MCNP absorbed dose calculations were made (left and right lateral irradiations) using a uniformly distributed neutron disk source with an 1/E energy spectrum. Additionally, the results of these two calculations were combined to estimate the absorbed doses from a bilateral irradiation. Radiobiologically equivalent (RBE) doses were calculated for all structures and were normalized to 12.8 Gy-Eq. For a left lateral irradiation, the left motor cortex receives the limiting RBE dose. For a bilateral irradiation, the insula cortices receive the limiting dose. Among the nonencephalic structures, the parotid glands receive RBE doses that were within 15% of the limiting dose

Optimisation of radioprotection of patients in nuclear medicine: assessment of doses for the new ICRP's reference voxelized phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadid, L.; Blanchardon, E.; Desbree, A.; Makovicka, L.; Zankl, M.

2010-01-01

As the ICPR (International Commission on Radiological Protection) decided to adopt voxelized phantoms to emulate a reference adult, the authors report the validation of calculations of the SFAs (specific absorbed fractions) for the new ICPR's reference phantoms. After a presentation of these phantoms, the authors briefly present the OEDIPE software which is used to compute the SAFs and notably the absorbed doses. They discuss the results obtained for the SAFs (for photons and for electrons) and for the doses

Monte Carlo simulation of dose calculation in voxel and geometric phantoms using GEANT4 code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martins, Maximiano C.; Santos, Denison de S.; Queiroz Filho, Pedro P. de; Silva, Rosana de S. e; Begalli, Marcia

2009-01-01

Monte Carlo simulation techniques have become a valuable tool for scientific purposes. In radiation protection many quantities are obtained by means of the simulation of particles passing through human body models, also known as phantoms, allowing the calculation of doses deposited in an individual's organs exposed to ionizing radiation. These information are very useful from the medical viewpoint, as they are used in the planning of external beam radiotherapy and brachytherapy treatments. The goal of this work is the implementation of a voxel phantom and a geometrical phantom in the framework of the Geant4 tool kit, aiming at a future use of this code by professionals in the medical area. (author)

Optimization of digital chest radiography using computer modeling and voxels phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Correa, S.C.A.; Souza, E.M.; Silva, A.X.; Lopes, R.T.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this work is to use the Monte Carlo code MCNPX and the Female Adult voxel (FAX) and Male Adult voxel (MAX) phantoms to investigate how the dose and image quality in digital chest radiography vary with tube voltage (70-150 kV), anti-scatter methods (grid and air gap) and gender of the patient. The effective dose was calculated by ICRP60 and image quality was quantified by calculating the signal-difference-to-noise ratio for pathological details (calcifications) positioned at different locations in the anatomy. Calculated quantities were normalized to a fixed value of air kerma (5 μGy) at the automatic exposure control chambers. The results obtained in this work show that the air gap technique and lower tube voltages provide an increase in the digital image quality. Furthermore, this study has also shown that the detection of pathological details vary with the gender of the patient. (author)

Effects of the volume and shape of voxels on the measurement of phantom volume using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mori, Koichi; Tonami, Syuichi; Nakamura, Mamoru; Kuranishi, Makoto; Hagino, Hirofumi; Saitou, Osamu; Yotsutsuji, Takashi

2002-01-01

Recently, an increasing number of volumetric studies of the human brain have been reported, using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3D-MRI). To our knowledge, however, there are few investigations on the relation of the volume and shape of voxels which constitute and MR image to the accuracy in volume measurement of an imaged object. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a different shape of voxel, that is, isotropic or anisotropic, as well as the volume of a voxel on the volume measurement based on the original image data and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) data, respectively. In the experiment, we repeatedly acquired contiguous sagittal images of a single globe phantom with a known volume under the condition in which the volume and shape of voxels varied, on a 1.5 T MR scanner. We used a gradient echo sequence (3D FLASH). The volume of the globe phantom from both original images and MPR ones was measured on workstations employing a semi-automated local thresholding technique. As a result, the smaller volume of voxels tended to give us the more correct measurement, and an isotropic voxel reduced measurement errors as compared to an anisotropic one. Therefore, it is concluded that the setting of voxel with both an isotropic shape and small volume, e.g., a voxel of 1 mm x 1 mm x 1 mm at present, is recommended in order to get a precise volume measurement using 3D-MRI. (author)

[Effects of the volume and shape of voxels on the measurement of phantom volume using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging].

Science.gov (United States)

Mori, Koichi; Hagino, Hirofumi; Saitou, Osamu; Yotsutsuji, Takashi; Tonami, Syuichi; Nakamura, Mamoru; Kuranishi, Makoto

2002-01-01

Recently, an increasing number of volumetric studies of the human brain have been reported, using three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3D-MRI). To our knowledge, however, there are few investigations on the relation of the volume and shape of voxels which constitute an MR image to the accuracy in volume measurement of an imaged object. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a different shape of voxel, that is, isotropic or anisotropic, as well as the volume of a voxel on the volume measurement based on the original image data and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) data, respectively. In the experiment, we repeatedly acquired contiguous sagittal images of a single globe phantom with a known volume under the condition in which the volume and shape of voxels varied, on a 1.5T MR scanner. We used a gradient echo sequence (3D FLASH). The volume of the globe phantom from both original images and MPR ones was measured on workstations employing a semi-automated local thresholding technique. As a result, the smaller volume of voxels tended to give us the more correct measurement, and an isotropic voxel reduced measurement errors as compared to an anisotropic one. Therefore, it is concluded that the setting of voxel with both an isotropic shape and small volume, e.g., a voxel of 1 mm x 1 mm x 1 mm at present, is recommended in order to get a precise volume measurement using 3D-MRI.

Application of average adult Japanese voxel phantoms to evaluation of photon specific absorbed fractions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Kaoru; Manabe, Kentaro; Endo, Akira

2012-01-01

Average adult Japanese male (JM-103) and female (JF-103) voxel (volume pixel) phantoms newly constructed at the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) have average characteristics of body sizes and organ masses in adult Japanese. In JM-103 and JF-103, several organs and tissues were newly modeled for dose assessments based on tissue weighting factors of the 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection(ICRP). In this study, SAFs for thyroid, stomach, lungs and lymphatic nodes of JM-103 and JF-103 phantoms were calculated, and were compared with those of other adult Japanese phantoms based on individual medical images. In most cases, differences in SAFs between JM-103, JF-103 and other phantoms were about several tens percent, and was mainly attributed to mass differences of organs, tissues and contents. Therefore, it was concluded that SAFs of JM-103 and JF-103 represent those of average adult Japanese and that the two phantoms are applied to dose assessment for average adult Japanese on the basis of the 2007 Recommendations. (author)

Computational voxel phantom, associated to anthropometric and anthropomorphic real phantom for dosimetry in human male pelvis radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silva, Cleuza Helena Teixeira; Campos, Tarcisio Passos Ribeiro de

2005-01-01

This paper addresses a computational model of voxels through MCNP5 Code and the experimental development of an anthropometric and anthropomorphic phantom for dosimetry in human male pelvis brachytherapy focusing prostatic tumors. For elaboration of the computational model of the human male pelvis, anatomical section images from the Visible Man Project were applied. Such selected and digital images were associated to a numeric representation, one for each section. Such computational representation of the anatomical sections was transformed into a bi-dimensional mesh of equivalent tissue. The group of bidimensional meshes was concatenated forming the three-dimensional model of voxels to be used by the MCNP5 code. In association to the anatomical information, data from the density and chemical composition of the basic elements, representatives of the organs and involved tissues, were setup in a material database for the MCNP-5. The model will be applied for dosimetric evaluations in situations of irradiation of the human masculine pelvis. Such 3D model of voxel is associated to the code of transport of particles MCNP5, allowing future simulations. It was also developed the construction of human masculine pelvis phantom, based on anthropometric and anthropomorphic dates and in the use of representative equivalent tissues of the skin, fatty, muscular and glandular tissue, as well as the bony structure.This part of work was developed in stages, being built the bony cast first, later the muscular structures and internal organs. They were then jointly mounted and inserted in the skin cast. The representative component of the fatty tissue was incorporate and accomplished the final retouchings in the skin. The final result represents the development of two important essential tools for elaboration of computational and experimental dosimetry. Thus, it is possible its use in calibrations of pre-existent protocols in radiotherapy, as well as for tests of new protocols, besides

Development of modified voxel phantoms for the numerical dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents involving external sources: implementation in SESAME tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Courageot, Estelle; Sayah, Rima; Huet, Christelle

2010-05-07

Estimating the dose distribution in a victim's body is a relevant indicator in assessing biological damage from exposure in the event of a radiological accident caused by an external source. When the dose distribution is evaluated with a numerical anthropomorphic model, the posture and morphology of the victim have to be reproduced as realistically as possible. Several years ago, IRSN developed a specific software application, called the simulation of external source accident with medical images (SESAME), for the dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents by numerical simulation. This tool combines voxel geometry and the MCNP(X) Monte Carlo computer code for radiation-material interaction. This note presents a new functionality in this software that enables the modelling of a victim's posture and morphology based on non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surfaces. The procedure for constructing the modified voxel phantoms is described, along with a numerical validation of this new functionality using a voxel phantom of the RANDO tissue-equivalent physical model.

Application of digital image processing for the generation of voxels phantoms for Monte Carlo simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boia, L.S.; Menezes, A.F.; Cardoso, M.A.C. [Programa de Engenharia Nuclear/COPPE (Brazil); Rosa, L.A.R. da [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria-IRD, Av. Salvador Allende, s/no Recreio dos Bandeirantes, CP 37760, CEP 22780-160 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Batista, D.V.S. [Instituto de Radioprotecao e Dosimetria-IRD, Av. Salvador Allende, s/no Recreio dos Bandeirantes, CP 37760, CEP 22780-160 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Instituto Nacional de Cancer-Secao de Fisica Medica, Praca Cruz Vermelha, 23-Centro, 20230-130 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Cardoso, S.C. [Departamento de Fisica Nuclear, Instituto de Fisica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Bloco A-Sala 307, CP 68528, CEP 21941-972 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Silva, A.X., E-mail: ademir@con.ufrj.br [Programa de Engenharia Nuclear/COPPE (Brazil); Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear/Escola Politecnica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Ilha do Fundao, Caixa Postal 68509, 21945-970 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil); Facure, A. [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear, R. Gal. Severiano 90, sala 409, 22294-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2012-01-15

This paper presents the application of a computational methodology for optimizing the conversion of medical tomographic images in voxel anthropomorphic models for simulation of radiation transport using the MCNP code. A computational system was developed for digital image processing that compresses the information from the DICOM medical image before it is converted to the Scan2MCNP software input file for optimization of the image data. In order to validate the computational methodology, a radiosurgery treatment simulation was performed using the Alderson Rando phantom and the acquisition of DICOM images was performed. The simulation results were compared with data obtained with the BrainLab planning system. The comparison showed good agreement for three orthogonal treatment beams of {sup 60}Co gamma radiation. The percentage differences were 3.07%, 0.77% and 6.15% for axial, coronal and sagital projections, respectively. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We use a method to optimize the CT image conversion in voxel model for MCNP simulation. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We present a methodology to compress a DICOM image before conversion to input file. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer To validate this study an idealized radiosurgery applied to the Alderson phantom was used.

The creation of voxel phantoms for the purpose of environmental dosimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Caffrey, E.; Higley, K. [Oregon State University (United States)

2014-07-01

Basic geometric shapes have long been used as the standard for calculating radiation dose rates in non-human biota (NHB). Regulation standards have seen a shift recently, towards protection of NHB as its own endpoint. As such, there has been a growing interest in improving the calculations for NHB dose rates. To address calls for additional data, the development of voxelized models for the International Commission on Radiological Protection's (ICRP) twelve reference animal and plants (RAP) has been undertaken. Voxel models of a crab (Metacarcinus magister), flatfish (Pleuronectiformes), trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), worm (Lumbricina), honey bee (Apis), frog (Anura), and rat, (Rattus) have been created to date. The purpose of this submission is to describe the processes of creating these voxel phantoms from radiological imaging data (i.e., Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), etc.). CT/MRI images of the organism are obtained and uploaded into a software package capable of segmenting the images (3D Doctor was used for the crab, flatfish, trout, worm, and honey bee). On each image slice, individual organs and other relevant anatomical features (e.g. bones or other structural tissues) are identified and segmented. Once segmentation is complete, a boundary file that describes the positioning of the organs and tissues in lattice geometry format is exported into software called Voxelizer, created by the Human Monitoring Laboratory of Canada. This software writes the boundary file geometry into an input file for Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) based simulations. The user can then add appropriate materials, densities, and a desired source term. These simulations yield absorbed fraction (AF) values that are used in subsequent dose calculations with environmental concentration data. AFs are now available for the crab, flatfish, trout, worm, and honey bee at twelve photon and nine electron energies, consistent with ICRP AFs for human dosimetry

Determination of dose correction factor for energy and directional dependence of the MOSFET dosimeter in an anthropomorphic phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Sung Koo; Choi, Sang Hyoun; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Na, Seong Ho

2006-01-01

In recent years, the MOSFET dosimeter has been widely used in various medical applications such as dose verification in radiation therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The MOSFET dosimeter is, however, mainly made of silicon and shows some energy dependence for low energy photons. Therefore, the MOSFET dosimeter tends to overestimate the dose for low energy scattered photons in a phantom. This study determines the correction factors to compensate these dependences of the MOSFET dosimeter in ATOM phantom. For this, we first constructed a computational model of the ATOM phantom based on the 3D CT image data of the phantom. The voxel phantom was then implemented in a Monte Carlo simulation code and used to calculate the energy spectrum of the photon field at each of the MOSFET dosimeter locations in the phantom. Finally, the correction factors were calculated based on the energy spectrum of the photon field at the dosimeter locations and the pre-determined energy and directional dependence of the MOSFET dosimeter. Our result for 60 Co and 137 Cs photon fields shows that the correction factors are distributed within the range of 0.89 and 0.97 considering all the MOSFET dosimeter locations in the phantom

The UF family of reference hybrid phantoms for computational radiation dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lodwick, Daniel; Hurtado, Jorge; Pafundi, Deanna; Williams, Jonathan L; Bolch, Wesley E

2010-01-01

Computational human phantoms are computer models used to obtain dose distributions within the human body exposed to internal or external radiation sources. In addition, they are increasingly used to develop detector efficiencies for in vivo whole-body counters. Two classes of computational human phantoms have been widely utilized for dosimetry calculation: stylized and voxel phantoms that describe human anatomy through mathematical surface equations and 3D voxel matrices, respectively. Stylized phantoms are flexible in that changes to organ position and shape are possible given avoidance of region overlap, while voxel phantoms are typically fixed to a given patient anatomy, yet can be proportionally scaled to match individuals of larger or smaller stature, but of equivalent organ anatomy. Voxel phantoms provide much better anatomical realism as compared to stylized phantoms which are intrinsically limited by mathematical surface equations. To address the drawbacks of these phantoms, hybrid phantoms based on non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surfaces have been introduced wherein anthropomorphic flexibility and anatomic realism are both preserved. Researchers at the University of Florida have introduced a series of hybrid phantoms representing the ICRP Publication 89 reference newborn, 15 year, and adult male and female. In this study, six additional phantoms are added to the UF family of hybrid phantoms-those of the reference 1 year, 5 year and 10 year child. Head and torso CT images of patients whose ages were close to the targeted ages were obtained under approved protocols. Major organs and tissues were segmented from these images using an image processing software, 3D-DOCTOR(TM). NURBS and polygon mesh surfaces were then used to model individual organs and tissues after importing the segmented organ models to the 3D NURBS modeling software, Rhinoceros(TM). The phantoms were matched to four reference datasets: (1) standard anthropometric data, (2) reference

A GPU-based Monte Carlo dose calculation code for photon transport in a voxel phantom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bellezzo, M.; Do Nascimento, E.; Yoriyaz, H., E-mail: mbellezzo@gmail.br [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares / CNEN, Av. Lineu Prestes 2242, Cidade Universitaria, 05508-000 Sao Paulo (Brazil)

2014-08-15

As the most accurate method to estimate absorbed dose in radiotherapy, Monte Carlo method has been widely used in radiotherapy treatment planning. Nevertheless, its efficiency can be improved for clinical routine applications. In this paper, we present the CUBMC code, a GPU-based Mc photon transport algorithm for dose calculation under the Compute Unified Device Architecture platform. The simulation of physical events is based on the algorithm used in Penelope, and the cross section table used is the one generated by the Material routine, als present in Penelope code. Photons are transported in voxel-based geometries with different compositions. To demonstrate the capabilities of the algorithm developed in the present work four 128 x 128 x 128 voxel phantoms have been considered. One of them is composed by a homogeneous water-based media, the second is composed by bone, the third is composed by lung and the fourth is composed by a heterogeneous bone and vacuum geometry. Simulations were done considering a 6 MeV monoenergetic photon point source. There are two distinct approaches that were used for transport simulation. The first of them forces the photon to stop at every voxel frontier, the second one is the Woodcock method, where the photon stop in the frontier will be considered depending on the material changing across the photon travel line. Dose calculations using these methods are compared for validation with Penelope and MCNP5 codes. Speed-up factors are compared using a NVidia GTX 560-Ti GPU card against a 2.27 GHz Intel Xeon CPU processor. (Author)

A GPU-based Monte Carlo dose calculation code for photon transport in a voxel phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bellezzo, M.; Do Nascimento, E.; Yoriyaz, H.

2014-08-01

As the most accurate method to estimate absorbed dose in radiotherapy, Monte Carlo method has been widely used in radiotherapy treatment planning. Nevertheless, its efficiency can be improved for clinical routine applications. In this paper, we present the CUBMC code, a GPU-based Mc photon transport algorithm for dose calculation under the Compute Unified Device Architecture platform. The simulation of physical events is based on the algorithm used in Penelope, and the cross section table used is the one generated by the Material routine, als present in Penelope code. Photons are transported in voxel-based geometries with different compositions. To demonstrate the capabilities of the algorithm developed in the present work four 128 x 128 x 128 voxel phantoms have been considered. One of them is composed by a homogeneous water-based media, the second is composed by bone, the third is composed by lung and the fourth is composed by a heterogeneous bone and vacuum geometry. Simulations were done considering a 6 MeV monoenergetic photon point source. There are two distinct approaches that were used for transport simulation. The first of them forces the photon to stop at every voxel frontier, the second one is the Woodcock method, where the photon stop in the frontier will be considered depending on the material changing across the photon travel line. Dose calculations using these methods are compared for validation with Penelope and MCNP5 codes. Speed-up factors are compared using a NVidia GTX 560-Ti GPU card against a 2.27 GHz Intel Xeon CPU processor. (Author)

SU-D-209-06: Study On the Dose Conversion Coefficients in Pediatric Radiography with the Development of Children Voxel Phantoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Q [Institute of Radiation Medicine Fudan University, Shanghai (China); Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai, Shanghai (China); Zhuo, W; Liu, H [Institute of Radiation Medicine Fudan University, Shanghai (China); Liu, Y; Chen, T [Shanghai General Hospital, Shanghai, Shanghai (China)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Conversion coefficients of organ dose normalized to entrance skin dose (ESD) are widely used to evaluate the organ doses directly using ESD without time-consuming dose measurement, this work aims to investigate the dose conversion coefficients in pediatric chest and abdomen radiography with the development of 5 years and 10 years old children voxel phantoms. Methods: After segmentation of organs and tissues from CT slice images of ATOM tissue-equivalent phantoms, a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old children computational voxel phantoms were developed for Monte Carlo simulation. The organ doses and the entrance skin dose for pediatric chest postero-anterior projection and abdominal antero-posterior projection were simulated at the same time, and then the organ dose conversion coefficients were calculated.To verify the simulated results, dose measurement was carried out with ATOM tissue-equivalent phantoms for 5 year chest radiography. Results: Simulated results and experimental results matched very well with each other, the result differences of all the organs covered in radiation field were below 16% for 5-year-old child in chest projection. I showed that the conversion coefficients of organs covered in the radiation field were much larger than organs out of the field for all the study cases, for example, the conversion coefficients of stomach, liver intestines, and pancreas are larger for abdomen radiography while conversion coefficients of lungs are larger for chest radiography. Conclusion: The voxel children phantoms were helpful to evaluate the radiation doses more accurately and efficiently. Radiation field was the essential factor that affects the organ dose, use reasonably small field should be encouraged for radiation protection. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11475047)

SU-D-209-06: Study On the Dose Conversion Coefficients in Pediatric Radiography with the Development of Children Voxel Phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Q; Zhuo, W; Liu, H; Liu, Y; Chen, T

2016-01-01

Purpose: Conversion coefficients of organ dose normalized to entrance skin dose (ESD) are widely used to evaluate the organ doses directly using ESD without time-consuming dose measurement, this work aims to investigate the dose conversion coefficients in pediatric chest and abdomen radiography with the development of 5 years and 10 years old children voxel phantoms. Methods: After segmentation of organs and tissues from CT slice images of ATOM tissue-equivalent phantoms, a 5-year-old and a 10-year-old children computational voxel phantoms were developed for Monte Carlo simulation. The organ doses and the entrance skin dose for pediatric chest postero-anterior projection and abdominal antero-posterior projection were simulated at the same time, and then the organ dose conversion coefficients were calculated.To verify the simulated results, dose measurement was carried out with ATOM tissue-equivalent phantoms for 5 year chest radiography. Results: Simulated results and experimental results matched very well with each other, the result differences of all the organs covered in radiation field were below 16% for 5-year-old child in chest projection. I showed that the conversion coefficients of organs covered in the radiation field were much larger than organs out of the field for all the study cases, for example, the conversion coefficients of stomach, liver intestines, and pancreas are larger for abdomen radiography while conversion coefficients of lungs are larger for chest radiography. Conclusion: The voxel children phantoms were helpful to evaluate the radiation doses more accurately and efficiently. Radiation field was the essential factor that affects the organ dose, use reasonably small field should be encouraged for radiation protection. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(11475047)

NOTE: Development of modified voxel phantoms for the numerical dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents involving external sources: implementation in SESAME tool

Science.gov (United States)

Courageot, Estelle; Sayah, Rima; Huet, Christelle

2010-05-01

Estimating the dose distribution in a victim's body is a relevant indicator in assessing biological damage from exposure in the event of a radiological accident caused by an external source. When the dose distribution is evaluated with a numerical anthropomorphic model, the posture and morphology of the victim have to be reproduced as realistically as possible. Several years ago, IRSN developed a specific software application, called the simulation of external source accident with medical images (SESAME), for the dosimetric reconstruction of radiological accidents by numerical simulation. This tool combines voxel geometry and the MCNP(X) Monte Carlo computer code for radiation-material interaction. This note presents a new functionality in this software that enables the modelling of a victim's posture and morphology based on non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surfaces. The procedure for constructing the modified voxel phantoms is described, along with a numerical validation of this new functionality using a voxel phantom of the RANDO tissue-equivalent physical model.

Simulation of computed tomography dose based on voxel phantom

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chunyu; Lv, Xiangbo; Li, Zhaojun

2017-01-01

Computed Tomography (CT) is one of the preferred and the most valuable imaging tool used in diagnostic radiology, which provides a high-quality cross-sectional image of the body. It still causes higher doses of radiation to patients comparing to the other radiological procedures. The Monte-Carlo method is appropriate for estimation of the radiation dose during the CT examinations. The simulation of the Computed Tomography Dose Index (CTDI) phantom was developed in this paper. Under a similar conditions used in physical measurements, dose profiles were calculated and compared against the measured values that were reported. The results demonstrate a good agreement between the calculated and the measured doses. From different CT exam simulations using the voxel phantom, the highest absorbed dose was recorded for the lung, the brain, the bone surface. A comparison between the different scan type shows that the effective dose for a chest scan is the highest one, whereas the effective dose values during abdomen and pelvis scan are very close, respectively. The lowest effective dose resulted from the head scan. Although, the dose in CT is related to various parameters, such as the tube current, exposure time, beam energy, slice thickness and patient size, this study demonstrates that the MC simulation is a useful tool to accurately estimate the dose delivered to any specific organs for patients undergoing the CT exams and can be also a valuable technique for the design and the optimization of the CT x-ray source.

MO-F-CAMPUS-J-01: Effect of Iodine Contrast Agent Concentration On Cerebrovascular Dose for Synchrotron Radiation Microangiography Based On a Simple Mouse Head Model and a Voxel Mouse Head Phantom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lin, H; Jing, J; Xie, C [Hefei University of Technology, Hefei (China); Lu, Y [Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai (China)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To find effective setting methods to mitigate the irradiation injure in synchrotron radiation microangiography(SRA) by Monte Carlo simulation. Methods: A mouse 1-D head model and a segmented voxel mouse head phantom were simulated by EGSnrc/Dosxyznrc code to investigate the dose enhancement effect of the iodine contrast agent irradiated by a monochromatic synchrotron radiation(SR) source. The influence of, like iodine concentration (IC), vessel width and depth, with and without skull layer protection and the various incident X ray energies, were simulated. The dose enhancement effect and the absolute dose based on the segmented voxel mouse head phantom were evaluated. Results: The dose enhancement ratio depends little on the irradiation depth, but strongly on the IC, which is linearly increases with IC. The skull layer protection cannot be ignored in SRA, the 700µm thick skull could decrease 10% of the dose. The incident X-ray energy can significantly affact the dose. E.g. compared to the dose of 33.2keV for 50mgI/ml, the 32.7keV dose decreases 38%, whereas the dose of 33.7 keV increases 69.2%, and the variation will strengthen more with enhanced IC. The segmented voxel mouse head phantom also showed that the average dose enhancement effect and the maximal voxel dose per photon depends little on the iodine voxel volume ratio, but strongly on IC. Conclusion: To decrease dose damage in SRA, the high-Z contrast agent should be used as little as possible, and try to avoid radiating locally the injected position immediately after the contrast agent injection. The fragile vessel containing iodine should avoid closely irradiating. Avoiding irradiating through the no or thin skull region, or appending thin equivalent material from outside to protect is also a better method. As long as SRA image quality is ensured, using incident X-ray energy as low as possible.

Prostate dose calculations for permanent implants using the MCNPX code and the Voxels phantom MAX

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reis Junior, Juraci Passos dos; Silva, Ademir Xavier da, E-mail: jjunior@con.ufrj.b, E-mail: Ademir@con.ufrj.b [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-Graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), RJ (Brazil). Programa de Engenharia Nuclear; Facure, Alessandro N.S., E-mail: facure@cnen.gov.b [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2010-07-01

This paper presents the modeling of 80, 88 and 100 of {sup 125}I seeds, punctual and volumetric inserted into the phantom spherical volume representing the prostate and prostate phantom voxels MAX. Starting values of minimum and maximum activity, 0.27 mCi and 0.38 mCi, respectively, were simulated in the Monte Carlo code MCNPX in order to determine whether the final dose, according to the integration of the equation of decay at time t = 0 to t = {infinity} corresponds to the default value set by the AAPM 64 which is 144 Gy. The results showed that consider sources results in doses exceeding the percentage discrepancy of the default value of 200%, while volumetric consider sources result in doses close to 144 Gy. (author)

Prostate dose calculations for permanent implants using the MCNPX code and the Voxels phantom MAX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Reis Junior, Juraci Passos dos; Silva, Ademir Xavier da

2010-01-01

This paper presents the modeling of 80, 88 and 100 of 125 I seeds, punctual and volumetric inserted into the phantom spherical volume representing the prostate and prostate phantom voxels MAX. Starting values of minimum and maximum activity, 0.27 mCi and 0.38 mCi, respectively, were simulated in the Monte Carlo code MCNPX in order to determine whether the final dose, according to the integration of the equation of decay at time t = 0 to t = ∞ corresponds to the default value set by the AAPM 64 which is 144 Gy. The results showed that consider sources results in doses exceeding the percentage discrepancy of the default value of 200%, while volumetric consider sources result in doses close to 144 Gy. (author)

Calculation of conversion coefficients for effective dose by using voxel phantoms with defined genus for radiodiagnostic common examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, F.R.A.; Kramer, R.; Khoury, H.J.; Vieira, J.W.; Loureiro, E.C.M.; Hoff, G.

2004-01-01

Patient exposure from radiological examinations is usually quantified in terms of average absorbed dose or equivalent dose to certain radiosensitive organs of the human body. As these quantities cannot be measured in vivo, it is common practice to use physical or computational exposure models, which simulate the exposure to the patient in order to determine not only the quantities of interest (absorbed or equivalent dose), but also at the same time measurable quantities for the exposure conditions given. The ratio between a quantity of interest and a measurable quantity is called a conversion coefficient (CC), which is a function of the source and field parameters (tube voltage, filtration, field size, field position, focus-to-skin distance, etc.), the anatomical properties of the phantom, the elemental composition of relevant body tissues, and the radiation transport method applied. As the effective dose represents a sum over 23 risk-weighted organ and tissue equivalent doses, its determination practically implies the measurement or calculation of a complete distribution of equivalent doses throughout the human body. This task can be resolved most efficiently by means of computational exposure models, which consist of a virtual representation of the human body, also called phantom, connected to a Monte Carlo radiation transport computer code. The recently introduced MAX (Male Adult voXel) and FAXht (Female Adult voXel) head+trunk phantoms have been chosen for this task. With respect to their anatomical properties these phantoms correspond fairly well to the data recommended by the ICRP for the Reference Adult Male and Female. (author)

Development of Japanese voxel models and their application to organ dose calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Kaoru; Endo, Akira; Saito, Kimiaki

2007-01-01

Three Japanese voxel (volume pixel) phantoms in supine and upright postures, which are consisted of about 1 mm 3 size voxels, have been developed on the basis of computed tomography (CT) images of healthy Japanese adult male and female volunteers. Their body structures are reproduced more realistically in comparison with most existing voxel phantoms. Organ doses due to internal or external exposures were calculated using the developed phantoms. In estimation of radiation dose from radionuclides incorporated into body, specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) for low energy photon were significantly influenced by the changes in postures. In estimation of organ doses due to external exposures, the doses of some organs of the developed phantom were calculated and were compared with those of a previous Japanese voxel phantom (voxel size: 0.98x0.98x10 mm 3 ) and the reference values of ICRP Publication 74. (author)

Conversion of ICRP male reference phantom to polygon-surface phantom

Science.gov (United States)

Yeom, Yeon Soo; Han, Min Cheol; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Jeong, Jong Hwi

2013-10-01

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reference phantoms, developed based on computed tomography images of human bodies, provide much more realism of human anatomy than the previously used MIRD5 (Medical Internal Radiation Dose) mathematical phantoms. It has been, however, realized that the ICRP reference phantoms have some critical limitations showing a considerable amount of holes for the skin and wall organs mainly due to the nature of voxels of which the phantoms are made, especially due to their low voxel resolutions. To address this problem, we are planning to develop the polygon-surface version of ICRP reference phantoms by directly converting the ICRP reference phantoms (voxel phantoms) to polygon-surface phantoms. The objective of this preliminary study is to see if it is indeed possible to construct the high-quality polygon-surface phantoms based on the ICRP reference phantoms maintaining identical organ morphology and also to identify any potential issues, and technologies to address these issues, in advance. For this purpose, in the present study, the ICRP reference male phantom was roughly converted to a polygon-surface phantom. Then, the constructed phantom was implemented in Geant4, Monte Carlo particle transport code, for dose calculations, and the calculated dose values were compared with those of the original ICRP reference phantom to see how much the calculated dose values are sensitive to the accuracy of the conversion process. The results of the present study show that it is certainly possible to convert the ICRP reference phantoms to surface phantoms with enough accuracy. In spite of using relatively less resources (original ICRP reference phantoms, it is believed that the polygon-surface version of ICRP reference phantoms properly developed will not only provide the same or similar dose values (say, difference <5 or 10%) for highly penetrating radiations, but also provide correct dose values for the weakly penetrating

Conversion of ICRP male reference phantom to polygon-surface phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeom, Yeon Soo; Han, Min Cheol; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Jeong, Jong Hwi

2013-01-01

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reference phantoms, developed based on computed tomography images of human bodies, provide much more realism of human anatomy than the previously used MIRD5 (Medical Internal Radiation Dose) mathematical phantoms. It has been, however, realized that the ICRP reference phantoms have some critical limitations showing a considerable amount of holes for the skin and wall organs mainly due to the nature of voxels of which the phantoms are made, especially due to their low voxel resolutions. To address this problem, we are planning to develop the polygon-surface version of ICRP reference phantoms by directly converting the ICRP reference phantoms (voxel phantoms) to polygon-surface phantoms. The objective of this preliminary study is to see if it is indeed possible to construct the high-quality polygon-surface phantoms based on the ICRP reference phantoms maintaining identical organ morphology and also to identify any potential issues, and technologies to address these issues, in advance. For this purpose, in the present study, the ICRP reference male phantom was roughly converted to a polygon-surface phantom. Then, the constructed phantom was implemented in Geant4, Monte Carlo particle transport code, for dose calculations, and the calculated dose values were compared with those of the original ICRP reference phantom to see how much the calculated dose values are sensitive to the accuracy of the conversion process. The results of the present study show that it is certainly possible to convert the ICRP reference phantoms to surface phantoms with enough accuracy. In spite of using relatively less resources (<2 man-months), we were able to construct the polygon-surface phantom with the organ masses perfectly matching the ICRP reference values. The analysis of the calculated dose values also implies that the dose values are indeed not very sensitive to the detailed morphology of the organ models in the phantom

Hybrid computational phantoms of the male and female newborn patient: NURBS-based whole-body models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lodwick, Daniel; Hasenauer, Deanna; Williams, Jonathan L; Lee, Choonik; Bolch, Wesley E

2007-01-01

Anthropomorphic computational phantoms are computer models of the human body for use in the evaluation of dose distributions resulting from either internal or external radiation sources. Currently, two classes of computational phantoms have been developed and widely utilized for organ dose assessment: (1) stylized phantoms and (2) voxel phantoms which describe the human anatomy via mathematical surface equations or 3D voxel matrices, respectively. Although stylized phantoms based on mathematical equations can be very flexible in regard to making changes in organ position and geometrical shape, they are limited in their ability to fully capture the anatomic complexities of human internal anatomy. In turn, voxel phantoms have been developed through image-based segmentation and correspondingly provide much better anatomical realism in comparison to simpler stylized phantoms. However, they themselves are limited in defining organs presented in low contrast within either magnetic resonance or computed tomography images-the two major sources in voxel phantom construction. By definition, voxel phantoms are typically constructed via segmentation of transaxial images, and thus while fine anatomic features are seen in this viewing plane, slice-to-slice discontinuities become apparent in viewing the anatomy of voxel phantoms in the sagittal or coronal planes. This study introduces the concept of a hybrid computational newborn phantom that takes full advantage of the best features of both its stylized and voxel counterparts: flexibility in phantom alterations and anatomic realism. Non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surfaces, a mathematical modeling tool traditionally applied to graphical animation studies, was adopted to replace the limited mathematical surface equations of stylized phantoms. A previously developed whole-body voxel phantom of the newborn female was utilized as a realistic anatomical framework for hybrid phantom construction. The construction of a hybrid

Computational voxel phantom, associated to anthropometric and anthropomorphic real phantom for dosimetry in human male pelvis radiotherapy; Fantoma computacional de voxel, associado a fantoma real antropomorfico antropometrico, para dosimetria em radioterapia de pelve masculina

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Silva, Cleuza Helena Teixeira; Campos, Tarcisio Passos Ribeiro de [Minas Gerais Univ., Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Programa de Pos-graduacao em Ciencias e Tecnicas Nucleares]. E-mail: campos@nuclear.ufmg.br

2005-07-01

This paper addresses a computational model of voxels through MCNP5 Code and the experimental development of an anthropometric and anthropomorphic phantom for dosimetry in human male pelvis brachytherapy focusing prostatic tumors. For elaboration of the computational model of the human male pelvis, anatomical section images from the Visible Man Project were applied. Such selected and digital images were associated to a numeric representation, one for each section. Such computational representation of the anatomical sections was transformed into a bi-dimensional mesh of equivalent tissue. The group of bidimensional meshes was concatenated forming the three-dimensional model of voxels to be used by the MCNP5 code. In association to the anatomical information, data from the density and chemical composition of the basic elements, representatives of the organs and involved tissues, were setup in a material database for the MCNP-5. The model will be applied for dosimetric evaluations in situations of irradiation of the human masculine pelvis. Such 3D model of voxel is associated to the code of transport of particles MCNP5, allowing future simulations. It was also developed the construction of human masculine pelvis phantom, based on anthropometric and anthropomorphic dates and in the use of representative equivalent tissues of the skin, fatty, muscular and glandular tissue, as well as the bony structure.This part of work was developed in stages, being built the bony cast first, later the muscular structures and internal organs. They were then jointly mounted and inserted in the skin cast. The representative component of the fatty tissue was incorporate and accomplished the final retouchings in the skin. The final result represents the development of two important essential tools for elaboration of computational and experimental dosimetry. Thus, it is possible its use in calibrations of pre-existent protocols in radiotherapy, as well as for tests of new protocols, besides

Preliminary Study on Hybrid Computational Phantom for Radiation Dosimetry Based on Subdivision Surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Jong Hwi; Choi, Sang Hyoun; Cho, Sung Koo; Kim, Chan Hyeong

2007-01-01

The anthropomorphic computational phantoms are classified into two groups. One group is the stylized phantoms, or MIRD phantoms, which are based on mathematical representations of the anatomical structures. The shapes and positions of the organs and tissues in these phantoms can be adjusted by changing the coefficients of the equations in use. The other group is the voxel phantoms, which are based on tomographic images of a real person such as CT, MR and serially sectioned color slice images from a cadaver. Obviously, the voxel phantoms represent the anatomical structures of a human body much more realistically than the stylized phantoms. A realistic representation of anatomical structure is very important for an accurate calculation of radiation dose in the human body. Consequently, the ICRP recently has decided to use the voxel phantoms for the forthcoming update of the dose conversion coefficients. However, the voxel phantoms also have some limitations: (1) The topology and dimensions of the organs and tissues in a voxel model are extremely difficult to change, and (2) The thin organs, such as oral mucosa and skin, cannot be realistically modeled unless the voxel resolution is prohibitively high. Recently, a new approach has been implemented by several investigators. The investigators converted their voxel phantoms to hybrid computational phantoms based on NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) surface, which is smooth and deformable. It is claimed that these new phantoms have the flexibility of the stylized phantom along with the realistic representations of the anatomical structures. The topology and dimensions of the anatomical structures can be easily changed as necessary. Thin organs can be modeled without affecting computational speed or memory requirement. The hybrid phantoms can be also used for 4-D Monte Carlo simulations. In this preliminary study, the external shape of a voxel phantom (i.e., skin), HDRK-Man, was converted to a hybrid computational

NURBS-based 3-d anthropomorphic computational phantoms for radiation dosimetry applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lodwick, Daniel; Lee, Choonik; Bolch, Wesley E.

2007-01-01

Computational anthropomorphic phantoms are computer models used in the evaluation of absorbed dose distributions within the human body. Currently, two classes of the computational phantoms have been developed and widely utilised for dosimetry calculation: (1) stylized (equation-based) and (2) voxel (image-based) phantoms describing human anatomy through the use of mathematical surface equations and 3-D voxel matrices, respectively. However, stylized phantoms have limitations in defining realistic organ contours and positioning as compared to voxel phantoms, which are themselves based on medical images of human subjects. In turn, voxel phantoms that have been developed through medical image segmentation have limitations in describing organs that are presented in low contrast within either magnetic resonance or computed tomography image. The present paper reviews the advantages and disadvantages of these existing classes of computational phantoms and introduces a hybrid approach to a computational phantom construction based on non-uniform rational B-Spline (NURBS) surface animation technology that takes advantage of the most desirable features of the former two phantom types. (authors)

Calibration Human Voxel Phantoms for In Vivo Measurement of ''2 sup 4 sup 1 Am in Bone at the Whole Body Counter Facility of CIEMAT

CERN Document Server

Moraleda, M; Navarro, J F; Navarro, T

2002-01-01

The Whole Body Counting facility of CIEMAT is capable of carrying out In-Vivo measurements of radionuclides emitting X-rays and low energy gamma radiation internally deposited in the body. The system to use for this purpose consists of flour Low energy Germanium (LeGe) Camberra detectors working in the energy range from 10 to 1000 keV. Physical phantoms with a known contamination in the organ of interest are normally used for the calibration of the LEGe detection system. In this document we present a calibration method using the Monte Carlo technique (MCNP4C) over a voxel phantom obtained from a computerized tomography of a real human head. The phantom consists of 104017 (43x59x41) cubic voxels, 4 mn on each side, os specific tissues, but for this simulation only two types are taken into account: adipose tissue and hard bone. The skull is supposed to be contaminated with ''241 Am and the trajectories of the photons are simulated till they reach the germanium detectors. The detectors were also simulated in det...

A Chinese Visible Human-based computational female pelvic phantom for radiation dosimetry simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nan, H.; Jinlu, S.; Shaoxiang, Z.; Qing, H.; Li-wen, T.; Chengjun, G.; Tang, X.; Jiang, S. B.; Xiano-lin, Z.

2010-01-01

Accurate voxel phantom is needed for dosimetric simulation in radiation therapy for malignant tumors in female pelvic region. However, most of the existing voxel phantoms are constructed on the basis of Caucasian or non-Chinese population. Materials and Methods: A computational framework for constructing female pelvic voxel phantom for radiation dosimetry was performed based on Chinese Visible Human datasets. First, several organs within pelvic region were segmented from Chinese Visible Human datasets. Then, polygonization and voxelization were performed based on the segmented organs and a 3D computational phantom is built in the form of a set of voxel arrays. Results: The generated phantom can be converted and loaded into treatment planning system for radiation dosimetry calculation. From the observed dosimetric results of those organs and structures, we can evaluate their absorbed dose and implement some simulation studies. Conclusion: A voxel female pelvic phantom was developed from Chinese Visible Human datasets. It can be utilized for dosimetry evaluation and planning simulation, which would be very helpful to improve the clinical performance and reduce the radiation toxicity on organ at risk.

The validation of organ dose calculations using voxel phantoms and Monte Carlo methods applied to point and water immersion sources.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunt, J G; da Silva, F C A; Mauricio, C L P; dos Santos, D S

2004-01-01

The Monte Carlo program 'Visual Monte Carlo-dose calculation' (VMC-dc) uses a voxel phantom to simulate the body organs and tissues, transports photons through this phantom and reports the absorbed dose received by each organ and tissue relevant to the calculation of effective dose as defined in ICRP Publication 60. This paper shows the validation of VMC-dc by comparison with EGSnrc and with a physical phantom containing TLDs. The validation of VMC-dc by comparison with EGSnrc was made for a collimated beam of 0.662 MeV photons irradiating a cube of water. For the validation by comparison with the physical phantom, the case considered was a whole body irradiation with a point 137Cs source placed at a distance of 1 m from the thorax of an Alderson-RANDO phantom. The validation results show good agreement for the doses obtained using VMC-dc and EGSnrc calculations, and from VMC-dc and TLD measurements. The program VMC-dc was then applied to the calculation of doses due to immersion in water containing gamma emitters. The dose conversion coefficients for water immersion are compared with their equivalents in the literature.

The validation of organ dose calculations using voxel phantoms and Monte Carlo methods applied to point and water immersion sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hunt, J. G.; Da Silva, F. C. A.; Mauricio, C. L. P.; Dos Santos, D. S.

2004-01-01

The Monte Carlo program 'Visual Monte Carlo-dose calculation' (VMC-dc) uses a voxel phantom to simulate the body organs and tissues, transports photons through this phantom and reports the absorbed dose received by each organ and tissue relevant to the calculation of effective dose as defined in ICRP Publication 60. This paper shows the validation of VMC-dc by comparison with EGSnrc and with a physical phantom containing TLDs. The validation of VMC-dc by comparison with EGSnrc was made for a collimated beam of 0.662 MeV photons irradiating a cube of water. For the validation by comparison with the physical phantom, the case considered was a whole body irradiation with a point 137 Cs source placed at a distance of 1 m from the thorax of an Alderson-RANDO phantom. The validation results show good agreement for the doses obtained using VMC-dc and EGSnrc calculations, and from VMC-dc and TLD measurements. The program VMC-dc was then applied to the calculation of doses due to immersion in water containing gamma emitters. The dose conversion coefficients for water immersion are compared with their equivalents in the literature. (authors)

A polygon-surface reference Korean male phantom (PSRK-Man) and its direct implementation in Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Chan Hyeong; Jeong, Jong Hwi [Department of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University, 17 Haengdang-dong, Seongdong-gu, Seoul 133-791 (Korea, Republic of); Bolch, Wesley E [Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611 (United States); Cho, Kun-Woo [Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, 19 Guseong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-600 (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Sung Bae, E-mail: chkim@hanyang.ac.kr [Department of Physical Therapy, Kyungbuk College, Hyucheon 2-dong, Yeongju-si, Gyeongbuk 750-712 (Korea, Republic of)

2011-05-21

Even though the hybrid phantom embodies both the anatomic reality of voxel phantoms and the deformability of stylized phantoms, it must be voxelized to be used in a Monte Carlo code for dose calculation or some imaging simulation, which incurs the inherent limitations of voxel phantoms. In the present study, a voxel phantom named VKH-Man (Visible Korean Human-Man), was converted to a polygon-surface phantom (PSRK-Man, Polygon-Surface Reference Korean-Man), which was then adjusted to the Reference Korean data. Subsequently, the PSRK-Man polygon phantom was directly, without any voxelization process, implemented in the Geant4 Monte Carlo code for dose calculations. The calculated dose values and computation time were then compared with those of HDRK-Man (High Definition Reference Korean-Man), a corresponding voxel phantom adjusted to the same Reference Korean data from the same VKH-Man voxel phantom. Our results showed that the calculated dose values of the PSRK-Man surface phantom agreed well with those of the HDRK-Man voxel phantom. The calculation speed for the PSRK-Man polygon phantom though was 70-150 times slower than that of the HDRK-Man voxel phantom; that speed, however, could be acceptable in some applications, in that direct use of the surface phantom PSRK-Man in Geant4 does not require a separate voxelization process. Computing speed can be enhanced, in future, either by optimizing the Monte Carlo transport kernel for the polygon surfaces or by using modern computing technologies such as grid computing and general-purpose computing on graphics processing units programming.

A polygon-surface reference Korean male phantom (PSRK-Man) and its direct implementation in Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Chan Hyeong; Jeong, Jong Hwi; Bolch, Wesley E; Cho, Kun-Woo; Hwang, Sung Bae

2011-01-01

Even though the hybrid phantom embodies both the anatomic reality of voxel phantoms and the deformability of stylized phantoms, it must be voxelized to be used in a Monte Carlo code for dose calculation or some imaging simulation, which incurs the inherent limitations of voxel phantoms. In the present study, a voxel phantom named VKH-Man (Visible Korean Human-Man), was converted to a polygon-surface phantom (PSRK-Man, Polygon-Surface Reference Korean-Man), which was then adjusted to the Reference Korean data. Subsequently, the PSRK-Man polygon phantom was directly, without any voxelization process, implemented in the Geant4 Monte Carlo code for dose calculations. The calculated dose values and computation time were then compared with those of HDRK-Man (High Definition Reference Korean-Man), a corresponding voxel phantom adjusted to the same Reference Korean data from the same VKH-Man voxel phantom. Our results showed that the calculated dose values of the PSRK-Man surface phantom agreed well with those of the HDRK-Man voxel phantom. The calculation speed for the PSRK-Man polygon phantom though was 70-150 times slower than that of the HDRK-Man voxel phantom; that speed, however, could be acceptable in some applications, in that direct use of the surface phantom PSRK-Man in Geant4 does not require a separate voxelization process. Computing speed can be enhanced, in future, either by optimizing the Monte Carlo transport kernel for the polygon surfaces or by using modern computing technologies such as grid computing and general-purpose computing on graphics processing units programming.

Calibration Human Voxel Phantoms for In Vivo Measurement of ''241 Am in Bone at the Whole Body Counter Facility of CIEMAT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraleda, M.; Lopez, M. A.; Gomez Ros, J. M.; Navarro, T.; Navarro, J. F.

2002-01-01

The Whole Body Counting facility of CIEMAT is capable of carrying out In-Vivo measurements of radionuclides emitting X-rays and low energy gamma radiation internally deposited in the body. The system to use for this purpose consists of flour Low energy Germanium (LeGe) Camberra detectors working in the energy range from 10 to 1000 keV. Physical phantoms with a known contamination in the organ of interest are normally used for the calibration of the LEGe detection system. In this document we present a calibration method using the Monte Carlo technique (MCNP4C) over a voxel phantom obtained from a computerized tomography of a real human head. The phantom consists of 104017 (43x59x41) cubic voxels, 4 mn on each side, os specific tissues, but for this simulation only two types are taken into account: adipose tissue and hard bone. The skull is supposed to be contaminated with ''241 Am and the trajectories of the photons are simulated till they reach the germanium detectors. The detectors were also simulated in detail to obtain a good agreement with the reality. In order to verify the accuracy of this procedure to reproduce the experiments, the MCNP results are compared with laboratory measurements of a head phantom simulating an internal contamination of 1000 Bq of ''241 Am deposited in bone. Different relative positions source-detector were tried to look for the best counting geometry for measurement of a contaminated skull. Efficiency values are obtained and compared, resulting in the validation of the mathematical method for the assessment of internal contamination of American deposited in skeleton. (Author) 16 refs

Second generation anthropomorphic physical phantom for mammography and DBT: Incorporating voxelized 3D printing and inkjet printing of iodinated lesion inserts

Science.gov (United States)

Sikaria, Dhiraj; Musinsky, Stephanie; Sturgeon, Gregory M.; Solomon, Justin; Diao, Andrew; Gehm, Michael E.; Samei, Ehsan; Glick, Stephen J.; Lo, Joseph Y.

2016-03-01

Physical phantoms are needed for the evaluation and optimization of new digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) systems. Previously, we developed an anthropomorphic phantom based on human subject breast CT data and fabricated using commercial 3D printing. We now present three key advancements: voxelized 3D printing, photopolymer material doping, and 2D inkjet printing of lesion inserts. First, we bypassed the printer's control software in order to print in voxelized form instead of conventional STL surfaces, thus improving resolution and allowing dithering to mix the two photopolymer materials into arbitrary proportions. We demonstrated ability to print details as small as 150μm, and dithering to combine VeroWhitePlus and TangoPlus in 10% increments. Second, to address the limited attenuation difference among commercial photopolymers, we evaluated a beta sample from Stratasys with increased TiO2 doping concentration up to 2.5%, which corresponded to 98% breast density. By spanning 36% to 98% breast density, this doubles our previous contrast. Third, using inkjet printers modified to print with iopamidol, we created 2D lesion patterns on paper that can be sandwiched into the phantom. Inkjet printing has advantages of being inexpensive and easy, and more contrast can be delivered through overprinting. Printing resolution was maintained at 210 μm horizontally and 330 μm vertically even after 10 overprints. Contrast increased linearly with overprinting at 0.7% per overprint. Together, these three new features provide the basis for creating a new anthropomorphic physical breast phantom with improved resolution and contrast, as well as the ability to insert 2D lesions for task-based assessment of performance.

A multicriteria framework with voxel-dependent parameters for radiotherapy treatment plan optimization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zarepisheh, Masoud; Uribe-Sanchez, Andres F.; Li, Nan; Jia, Xun; Jiang, Steve B.

2014-01-01

Purpose: To establish a new mathematical framework for radiotherapy treatment optimization with voxel-dependent optimization parameters. Methods: In the treatment plan optimization problem for radiotherapy, a clinically acceptable plan is usually generated by an optimization process with weighting factors or reference doses adjusted for a set of the objective functions associated to the organs. Recent discoveries indicate that adjusting parameters associated with each voxel may lead to better plan quality. However, it is still unclear regarding the mathematical reasons behind it. Furthermore, questions about the objective function selection and parameter adjustment to assure Pareto optimality as well as the relationship between the optimal solutions obtained from the organ-based and voxel-based models remain unanswered. To answer these questions, the authors establish in this work a new mathematical framework equipped with two theorems. Results: The new framework clarifies the different consequences of adjusting organ-dependent and voxel-dependent parameters for the treatment plan optimization of radiation therapy, as well as the impact of using different objective functions on plan qualities and Pareto surfaces. The main discoveries are threefold: (1) While in the organ-based model the selection of the objective function has an impact on the quality of the optimized plans, this is no longer an issue for the voxel-based model since the Pareto surface is independent of the objective function selection and the entire Pareto surface could be generated as long as the objective function satisfies certain mathematical conditions; (2) All Pareto solutions generated by the organ-based model with different objective functions are parts of a unique Pareto surface generated by the voxel-based model with any appropriate objective function; (3) A much larger Pareto surface is explored by adjusting voxel-dependent parameters than by adjusting organ-dependent parameters, possibly

Improvement of skeleton conversion in ICRP reference phantom conversion project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Zhao Jun; Yeom, Yeon Soo; Thang, Nguyen Tat; Kim, Han Sung; Han, Min Cheol; Kim, Chan Hyeong [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Seong Hoon [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-11-15

In the previous skeleton conversion, most bones were directly converted from the ICRP voxel phantoms by using the 3D rendering method whereas several complex-shape bones (cranium, ribs, spines, feet, and hands) were not able to be directly converted. We alternatively employed the corresponding well-defined polygonal models and attempted to adjust them to match the voxel models. However, this approach was unsatisfactory. The shapes of the alternative models were significantly different from those of the voxel models, making it virtually impossible to exactly match the voxel models as shown in Fig. 3 (left). In order to overcome the difficulty in the complex bone conversion, the present study developed a new conversion method and converted these complex bones voxel models of the ICRP male phantom to polygonal models. The present study developed the new conversion method and successfully improved polygonal models for cranium, ribs, and spines for the ICRP male phantom. The new conversion method will be also applied to the complex bone conversion for the ICRP female phantom as well as other complex organ conversion in the future.

Improvement of skeleton conversion in ICRP reference phantom conversion project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Zhao Jun; Yeom, Yeon Soo; Thang, Nguyen Tat; Kim, Han Sung; Han, Min Cheol; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Kim, Seong Hoon

2014-01-01

In the previous skeleton conversion, most bones were directly converted from the ICRP voxel phantoms by using the 3D rendering method whereas several complex-shape bones (cranium, ribs, spines, feet, and hands) were not able to be directly converted. We alternatively employed the corresponding well-defined polygonal models and attempted to adjust them to match the voxel models. However, this approach was unsatisfactory. The shapes of the alternative models were significantly different from those of the voxel models, making it virtually impossible to exactly match the voxel models as shown in Fig. 3 (left). In order to overcome the difficulty in the complex bone conversion, the present study developed a new conversion method and converted these complex bones voxel models of the ICRP male phantom to polygonal models. The present study developed the new conversion method and successfully improved polygonal models for cranium, ribs, and spines for the ICRP male phantom. The new conversion method will be also applied to the complex bone conversion for the ICRP female phantom as well as other complex organ conversion in the future

Assessment of uncertainties in the lung activity measurement of low-energy photon emitters using Monte Carlo simulation of ICRP male thorax voxel phantom.

Science.gov (United States)

Nadar, M Y; Akar, D K; Rao, D D; Kulkarni, M S; Pradeepkumar, K S

2015-12-01

Assessment of intake due to long-lived actinides by inhalation pathway is carried out by lung monitoring of the radiation workers inside totally shielded steel room using sensitive detection systems such as Phoswich and an array of HPGe detectors. In this paper, uncertainties in the lung activity estimation due to positional errors, chest wall thickness (CWT) and detector background variation are evaluated. First, calibration factors (CFs) of Phoswich and an array of three HPGe detectors are estimated by incorporating ICRP male thorax voxel phantom and detectors in Monte Carlo code 'FLUKA'. CFs are estimated for the uniform source distribution in lungs of the phantom for various photon energies. The variation in the CFs for positional errors of ±0.5, 1 and 1.5 cm in horizontal and vertical direction along the chest are studied. The positional errors are also evaluated by resizing the voxel phantom. Combined uncertainties are estimated at different energies using the uncertainties due to CWT, detector positioning, detector background variation of an uncontaminated adult person and counting statistics in the form of scattering factors (SFs). SFs are found to decrease with increase in energy. With HPGe array, highest SF of 1.84 is found at 18 keV. It reduces to 1.36 at 238 keV. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Simulation analysis of radiation fields inside phantoms for neutron irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satoh, Daiki; Takahashi, Fumiaki; Endo, Akira; Ohmachi, Y.; Miyahara, N.

2007-01-01

Radiation fields inside phantoms have been calculated for neutron irradiation. Particle and heavy-ion transport code system PHITS was employed for the calculation. Energy and size dependences of neutron dose were analyzed using tissue equivalent spheres of different size. A voxel phantom of mouse was developed based on CT images of an 8-week-old male C3H/HeNs mouse. Deposition energy inside the mouse was calculated for 2- and 10-MeV neutron irradiation. (author)

Calibration Human Voxel Phantoms for In Vivo Measurement of ''241 Am in Bone at the Whole Body Counter Facility of CIEMAT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moraleda, M.; Lopez, M. A.; Gomez Ros, J. M.; Navarro, T.; Navarro, J. F.

2002-07-01

The Whole Body Counting facility of CIEMAT is capable of carrying out In-Vivo measurements of radionuclides emitting X-rays and low energy gamma radiation internally deposited in the body. The system to use for this purpose consists of flour Low energy Germanium (LeGe) Camberra detectors working in the energy range from 10 to 1000 keV. Physical phantoms with a known contamination in the organ of interest are normally used for the calibration of the LEGe detection system. In this document we present a calibration method using the Monte Carlo technique (MCNP4C) over a voxel phantom obtained from a computerized tomography of a real human head. The phantom consists of 104017 (43x59x41) cubic voxels, 4 mn on each side, os specific tissues, but for this simulation only two types are taken into account: adipose tissue and hard bone. The skull is supposed to be contaminated with ''241 Am and the trajectories of the photons are simulated till they reach the germanium detectors. The detectors were also simulated in detail to obtain a good agreement with the reality. In order to verify the accuracy of this procedure to reproduce the experiments, the MCNP results are compared with laboratory measurements of a head phantom simulating an internal contamination of 1000 Bq of ''241 Am deposited in bone. Different relative positions source-detector were tried to look for the best countring geometry for measurement of a contaminated skull. Efficiency values are obtained and compared, resulting in the validation of the mathematical method for the assessment of internal contamination of American deposited in skeleton. (Author) 16 refs.

On the need to revise the arm structure in stylized anthropomorphic phantoms in lateral photon irradiation geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lee, Choonik; Lee, Jai-Ki

2006-01-01

Distributions of radiation absorbed dose within human anatomy have been estimated through Monte Carlo radiation transport techniques implemented for two different classes of computational anthropomorphic phantoms: (1) mathematical equation-based stylized phantoms and (2) tomographic image-based voxel phantoms. Voxel phantoms constructed from tomographic images of real human anatomy have been actively developed since the late 1980s to overcome the anatomical approximations necessary with stylized phantoms, which themselves have been utilized since the mid 1960s. However, revisions of stylized phantoms have also been pursued in parallel to the development of voxel phantoms since voxel phantoms (1) are initially restricted to the individual-specific anatomy of the person originally imaged, (2) must be restructured on an organ-by-organ basis to conform to reference individual anatomy and (3) cannot easily represent very fine anatomical structures and tissue layers that are thinner than the voxel dimensions of the overall phantom. Although efforts have been made to improve the anatomic realism of stylized phantoms, most of these efforts have been limited to attempts to alter internal organ structures. Aside from the internal organs, the exterior shapes, and especially the arm structures, of stylized phantoms are also far from realistic descriptions of human anatomy, and may cause dosimetry errors in the calculation of organ-absorbed doses for external irradiation scenarios. The present study was intended to highlight the need to revise the existing arm structure within stylized phantoms by comparing organ doses of stylized adult phantoms with those from three adult voxel phantoms in the lateral photon irradiation geometry. The representative stylized phantom, the adult phantom of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) series and two adult male voxel phantoms, KTMAN-2 and VOXTISS8, were employed for Monte Carlo dose calculation, and data from another voxel phantom, VIP

Combining voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging to detect age-related brain changes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehmbeck, Jan T; Brassen, Stefanie; Weber-Fahr, Wolfgang; Braus, Dieter F

2006-04-03

The present study combined optimized voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging to detect age-related brain changes. We compared grey matter density maps (grey matter voxel-based morphometry) and white matter fractional anisotropy maps (diffusion tensor imaging-voxel-based morphometry) between two groups of 17 younger and 17 older women. Older women exhibited reduced white matter fractional anisotropy as well as decreased grey matter density most prominently in the frontal, limbic, parietal and temporal lobes. A discriminant analysis identified four frontal and limbic grey and white matter areas that separated the two groups most effectively. We conclude that grey matter voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging voxel-based morphometry are well suited for the detection of age-related changes and their combination provides high accuracy when detecting the neural correlates of aging.

New hybrid voxelized/analytical primitive in Monte Carlo simulations for medical applications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bert, Julien; Lemaréchal, Yannick; Visvikis, Dimitris

2016-01-01

Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) applied in particle physics play a key role in medical imaging and particle therapy. In such simulations, particles are transported through voxelized phantoms derived from predominantly patient CT images. However, such voxelized object representation limits the incorporation of fine elements, such as artificial implants from CAD modeling or anatomical and functional details extracted from other imaging modalities. In this work we propose a new hYbrid Voxelized/ANalytical primitive (YVAN) that combines both voxelized and analytical object descriptions within the same MCS, without the need to simultaneously run two parallel simulations, which is the current gold standard methodology. Given that YVAN is simply a new primitive object, it does not require any modifications on the underlying MC navigation code. The new proposed primitive was assessed through a first simple MCS. Results from the YVAN primitive were compared against an MCS using a pure analytical geometry and the layer mass geometry concept. A perfect agreement was found between these simulations, leading to the conclusion that the new hybrid primitive is able to accurately and efficiently handle phantoms defined by a mixture of voxelized and analytical objects. In addition, two application-based evaluation studies in coronary angiography and intra-operative radiotherapy showed that the use of YVAN was 6.5% and 12.2% faster than the layered mass geometry method, respectively, without any associated loss of accuracy. However, the simplification advantages and differences in computational time improvements obtained with YVAN depend on the relative proportion of the analytical and voxelized structures used in the simulation as well as the size and number of triangles used in the description of the analytical object meshes. (paper)

New hybrid voxelized/analytical primitive in Monte Carlo simulations for medical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Bert, Julien; Lemaréchal, Yannick; Visvikis, Dimitris

2016-05-07

Monte Carlo simulations (MCS) applied in particle physics play a key role in medical imaging and particle therapy. In such simulations, particles are transported through voxelized phantoms derived from predominantly patient CT images. However, such voxelized object representation limits the incorporation of fine elements, such as artificial implants from CAD modeling or anatomical and functional details extracted from other imaging modalities. In this work we propose a new hYbrid Voxelized/ANalytical primitive (YVAN) that combines both voxelized and analytical object descriptions within the same MCS, without the need to simultaneously run two parallel simulations, which is the current gold standard methodology. Given that YVAN is simply a new primitive object, it does not require any modifications on the underlying MC navigation code. The new proposed primitive was assessed through a first simple MCS. Results from the YVAN primitive were compared against an MCS using a pure analytical geometry and the layer mass geometry concept. A perfect agreement was found between these simulations, leading to the conclusion that the new hybrid primitive is able to accurately and efficiently handle phantoms defined by a mixture of voxelized and analytical objects. In addition, two application-based evaluation studies in coronary angiography and intra-operative radiotherapy showed that the use of YVAN was 6.5% and 12.2% faster than the layered mass geometry method, respectively, without any associated loss of accuracy. However, the simplification advantages and differences in computational time improvements obtained with YVAN depend on the relative proportion of the analytical and voxelized structures used in the simulation as well as the size and number of triangles used in the description of the analytical object meshes.

Aging effects on cerebral asymmetry: a voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging study.

Science.gov (United States)

Takao, Hidemasa; Abe, Osamu; Yamasue, Hidenori; Aoki, Shigeki; Kasai, Kiyoto; Sasaki, Hiroki; Ohtomo, Kuni

2010-01-01

The hemispheres of the human brain are functionally and structurally asymmetric. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of aging on gray and white matter asymmetry. Two hundred twenty-six right-handed normal volunteers aged 21-71 years were included in this study. The effects of aging on gray matter volume asymmetry and white matter fractional anisotropy asymmetry were evaluated with use of voxel-based morphometry and voxel-based analysis of fractional anisotropy maps derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), respectively. The voxel-based morphometry showed no significant correlation between age and gray matter volume asymmetry. The voxel-based analysis of DTI also showed no significant correlation between age and white matter fractional anisotropy asymmetry. Our results showed no significant effects of aging on either gray matter volume asymmetry or white matter fractional anisotropy asymmetry.

Development of polygonal surface version of ICRP reference phantoms: Preliminary study for posture change

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nguyen, Tat Thang; Yeom, Yeon Soo; Han, Min Cheol; Kim, Chan Hyeong

2013-01-01

Even though International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) officially adopted a set of adult male and female voxel phantoms as the ICRP reference phantoms, there are several critical limitations due to the nature of voxel geometry and their low voxel resolutions. In order to overcome these limitations of the ICRP phantoms, we are currently developing polygonal surface version of ICRP reference phantoms by directly converting the ICRP voxel phantoms to polygonal surface geometries. Among the many advantages of the ICRP polygonal surface phantom, especially, it is flexible and deformable. In principle, it is, therefore, possible to make the posture-changed ICRP phantoms which can provide more accurate dose values for exposure situations strongly relevant to worker's postures. As a preliminary study for developing the posture-changed ICRP phantoms, in this work we changed the posture of the preliminary version of ICRP male polygon-surface phantom constructed in the previous study. Organ doses were then compared between original and posture-changed phantoms. In the present study, we successfully changed a posture of the preliminary version of ICRP male polygon-surface phantom to the walking posture. From this results, it was explicitly shown that the polygon-surface version of the ICRP phantoms can be sufficiently modified to be various postures with the posture-changing method used in this study. In addition, it was demonstrated that phantom's posture must be considered in certain exposure situations, which can differ dose values from the conventional standing-posture phantom

NOTE: On the need to revise the arm structure in stylized anthropomorphic phantoms in lateral photon irradiation geometry

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Choonsik; Lee, Choonik; Lee, Jai-Ki

2006-11-01

Distributions of radiation absorbed dose within human anatomy have been estimated through Monte Carlo radiation transport techniques implemented for two different classes of computational anthropomorphic phantoms: (1) mathematical equation-based stylized phantoms and (2) tomographic image-based voxel phantoms. Voxel phantoms constructed from tomographic images of real human anatomy have been actively developed since the late 1980s to overcome the anatomical approximations necessary with stylized phantoms, which themselves have been utilized since the mid 1960s. However, revisions of stylized phantoms have also been pursued in parallel to the development of voxel phantoms since voxel phantoms (1) are initially restricted to the individual-specific anatomy of the person originally imaged, (2) must be restructured on an organ-by-organ basis to conform to reference individual anatomy and (3) cannot easily represent very fine anatomical structures and tissue layers that are thinner than the voxel dimensions of the overall phantom. Although efforts have been made to improve the anatomic realism of stylized phantoms, most of these efforts have been limited to attempts to alter internal organ structures. Aside from the internal organs, the exterior shapes, and especially the arm structures, of stylized phantoms are also far from realistic descriptions of human anatomy, and may cause dosimetry errors in the calculation of organ-absorbed doses for external irradiation scenarios. The present study was intended to highlight the need to revise the existing arm structure within stylized phantoms by comparing organ doses of stylized adult phantoms with those from three adult voxel phantoms in the lateral photon irradiation geometry. The representative stylized phantom, the adult phantom of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) series and two adult male voxel phantoms, KTMAN-2 and VOXTISS8, were employed for Monte Carlo dose calculation, and data from another voxel phantom, VIP

Fetal organ dosimetry for the Techa River and Ozyorsk offspring cohorts. Pt. 1. A Urals-based series of fetal computational phantoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maynard, Matthew R.; Bolch, Wesley E. [University of Florida, Advanced Laboratory for Radiation Dosimetry Studies (ALRADS), J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, Gainesville, FL (United States); Shagina, Natalia B.; Tolstykh, Evgenia I.; Degteva, Marina O. [Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, Chelyabinsk (Russian Federation); Fell, Tim P. [Public Health England, Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Health, Didcot, Chilton, Oxon (United Kingdom)

2015-03-15

The European Union's SOLO (Epidemiological Studies of Exposed Southern Urals Populations) project aims to improve understanding of cancer risks associated with chronic in utero radiation exposure. A comprehensive series of hybrid computational fetal phantoms was previously developed at the University of Florida in order to provide the SOLO project with the capability of computationally simulating and quantifying radiation exposures to individual fetal bones and soft tissue organs. To improve harmonization between the SOLO fetal biokinetic models and the computational phantoms, a subset of those phantoms was systematically modified to create a novel series of phantoms matching anatomical data representing Russian fetal biometry in the Southern Urals. Using previously established modeling techniques, eight computational Urals-based phantoms aged 8, 12, 18, 22, 26, 30, 34, and 38 weeks post-conception were constructed to match appropriate age-dependent femur lengths, biparietal diameters, individual bone masses and whole-body masses. Bone and soft tissue organ mass differences between the common ages of the subset of UF phantom series and the Urals-based phantom series illustrated the need for improved understanding of fetal bone densities as a critical parameter of computational phantom development. In anticipation for SOLO radiation dosimetry studies involving the developing fetus and pregnant female, the completed phantom series was successfully converted to a cuboidal voxel format easily interpreted by radiation transport software. (orig.)

SU-E-T-169: Evaluation of Oncentra TPS for Nasopharynx Brachy Using Patient Specific Voxel Phantom and EGSnrc

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hadad, K; Zoherhvand, M; Faghihi, R [Shiraz University, Shiraz (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

2014-06-01

Purpose: Nasopharnx carcinoma (NPC) treatment is being carried out using Ir-192 HDR seeds in Mehdieh Hospital in Hamadan, Iran. The Oncentra™ TPS is based on optimized TG-43 formalism which disregards heterogeneity in the treatment area. Due to abundant heterogeneity in head and neck, comparison of the Oncentra™ TPS dose evaluation and an accurate dose calculation method in NPC brachytherapy is the objective of this study. Methods: CT DICOMs of a patient with NPC obtained from Mehdieh Hospital used to create 3D voxel phantom with CTCREATE utility of EGSnrc code package. The voxel phantom together with Ir-192 HDR brachytherapy source were the input to DOSXYZnrc to calculate the 3D dose distribution. The sources were incorporate with type 6 source in DOSXYZnrc and their dwell times were taken into account in final dose calculations. Results: The direct comparison between isodoses as well as DVHs for the GTV, PTV and CTV obtained by Oncentra™ and EGSnrc Monte Carlo code are made. EGSnrc results are obtained using 5×10{sup 9} histories to reduce the statistical error below 1% in GTV and 5% in 5% dose areas. The standard ICRP700 cross section library is employed in DOSXYZnrc dose calculation. Conclusion: A direct relationship between increased dose differences and increased material density (hence heterogeneity) is observed when isodoses contours of the TPS and DOSXYZnrc are compared. Regarding the point dose calculations, the differences range from 1.2% in PTV to 5.6% for cavity region and 7.8% for bone regions. While Oncentra™ TPS overestimates the dose in cavities, it tends to underestimate dose depositions within bones.

SU-E-T-169: Evaluation of Oncentra TPS for Nasopharynx Brachy Using Patient Specific Voxel Phantom and EGSnrc

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadad, K; Zoherhvand, M; Faghihi, R

2014-01-01

Purpose: Nasopharnx carcinoma (NPC) treatment is being carried out using Ir-192 HDR seeds in Mehdieh Hospital in Hamadan, Iran. The Oncentra™ TPS is based on optimized TG-43 formalism which disregards heterogeneity in the treatment area. Due to abundant heterogeneity in head and neck, comparison of the Oncentra™ TPS dose evaluation and an accurate dose calculation method in NPC brachytherapy is the objective of this study. Methods: CT DICOMs of a patient with NPC obtained from Mehdieh Hospital used to create 3D voxel phantom with CTCREATE utility of EGSnrc code package. The voxel phantom together with Ir-192 HDR brachytherapy source were the input to DOSXYZnrc to calculate the 3D dose distribution. The sources were incorporate with type 6 source in DOSXYZnrc and their dwell times were taken into account in final dose calculations. Results: The direct comparison between isodoses as well as DVHs for the GTV, PTV and CTV obtained by Oncentra™ and EGSnrc Monte Carlo code are made. EGSnrc results are obtained using 5×10 9 histories to reduce the statistical error below 1% in GTV and 5% in 5% dose areas. The standard ICRP700 cross section library is employed in DOSXYZnrc dose calculation. Conclusion: A direct relationship between increased dose differences and increased material density (hence heterogeneity) is observed when isodoses contours of the TPS and DOSXYZnrc are compared. Regarding the point dose calculations, the differences range from 1.2% in PTV to 5.6% for cavity region and 7.8% for bone regions. While Oncentra™ TPS overestimates the dose in cavities, it tends to underestimate dose depositions within bones

Efficient voxel navigation for proton therapy dose calculation in TOPAS and Geant4

Science.gov (United States)

Schümann, J.; Paganetti, H.; Shin, J.; Faddegon, B.; Perl, J.

2012-06-01

A key task within all Monte Carlo particle transport codes is ‘navigation’, the calculation to determine at each particle step what volume the particle may be leaving and what volume the particle may be entering. Navigation should be optimized to the specific geometry at hand. For patient dose calculation, this geometry generally involves voxelized computed tomography (CT) data. We investigated the efficiency of navigation algorithms on currently available voxel geometry parameterizations in the Monte Carlo simulation package Geant4: G4VPVParameterisation, G4VNestedParameterisation and G4PhantomParameterisation, the last with and without boundary skipping, a method where neighboring voxels with the same Hounsfield unit are combined into one larger voxel. A fourth parameterization approach (MGHParameterization), developed in-house before the latter two parameterizations became available in Geant4, was also included in this study. All simulations were performed using TOPAS, a tool for particle simulations layered on top of Geant4. Runtime comparisons were made on three distinct patient CT data sets: a head and neck, a liver and a prostate patient. We included an additional version of these three patients where all voxels, including the air voxels outside of the patient, were uniformly set to water in the runtime study. The G4VPVParameterisation offers two optimization options. One option has a 60-150 times slower simulation speed. The other is compatible in speed but requires 15-19 times more memory compared to the other parameterizations. We found the average CPU time used for the simulation relative to G4VNestedParameterisation to be 1.014 for G4PhantomParameterisation without boundary skipping and 1.015 for MGHParameterization. The average runtime ratio for G4PhantomParameterisation with and without boundary skipping for our heterogeneous data was equal to 0.97: 1. The calculated dose distributions agreed with the reference distribution for all but the G4

Phantom position dependence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thorson, M.R.; Endres, G.W.R.

1981-01-01

Sensitivity of the Hanford dosimeter response to its position relative to the phantom and the neutron source has always been recognized. A thorough investigation was performed to quantify dosimeter response according to: (a) dosimeter position on phantom, (b) dosimeter distance from phantom, and (c) angular relationship of dosimeter relative to neutron source and phantom. Results were obtained for neutron irradiation at several different energies

Construction of Chinese reference female phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheng Yinxiangzi; Liu Lixing; Xia Xiaobin

2013-01-01

In this study, a Voxel-based Chinese Reference female Phantom (VCRP-woman) is developed from an individual female phantom which was based on high resolution cross-sectional color photographs. An in-house C ++ program was developed to adjust the phantom. Finally, a reference female phantom with have the same height, weighte and similar organs masses with the Chinese reference adult female data. The adjusted phantom is then imported to MCNPX to calculate the organs absorbed dose and effective dose conversion coefficients. Results are compared between VCRP-woman and the ICRP adult reference female phantom. (authors)

Development of skeletal system for mesh-type ICRP reference adult phantoms

Science.gov (United States)

Yeom, Yeon Soo; Wang, Zhao Jun; Tat Nguyen, Thang; Kim, Han Sung; Choi, Chansoo; Han, Min Cheol; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Lee, Jai Ki; Chung, Beom Sun; Zankl, Maria; Petoussi-Henss, Nina; Bolch, Wesley E.; Lee, Choonsik

2016-10-01

The reference adult computational phantoms of the international commission on radiological protection (ICRP) described in Publication 110 are voxel-type computational phantoms based on whole-body computed tomography (CT) images of adult male and female patients. The voxel resolutions of these phantoms are in the order of a few millimeters and smaller tissues such as the eye lens, the skin, and the walls of some organs cannot be properly defined in the phantoms, resulting in limitations in dose coefficient calculations for weakly penetrating radiations. In order to address the limitations of the ICRP-110 phantoms, an ICRP Task Group has been recently formulated and the voxel phantoms are now being converted to a high-quality mesh format. As a part of the conversion project, in the present study, the skeleton models, one of the most important and complex organs of the body, were constructed. The constructed skeleton models were then tested by calculating red bone marrow (RBM) and endosteum dose coefficients (DCs) for broad parallel beams of photons and electrons and comparing the calculated values with those of the original ICRP-110 phantoms. The results show that for the photon exposures, there is a generally good agreement in the DCs between the mesh-type phantoms and the original voxel-type ICRP-110 phantoms; that is, the dose discrepancies were less than 7% in all cases except for the 0.03 MeV cases, for which the maximum difference was 14%. On the other hand, for the electron exposures (⩽4 MeV), the DCs of the mesh-type phantoms deviate from those of the ICRP-110 phantoms by up to ~1600 times at 0.03 MeV, which is indeed due to the improvement of the skeletal anatomy of the developed skeleton mesh models.

Mathematical phantoms for evaluation of age-specific internal dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cristy, M.

1980-01-01

A series of mathematical phantoms representing children has been developed for use with photon transport codes. These phantoms, patterned after the Fisher-Snyder adult phantom, consist of simple mathematical expressions for the boundaries of the major organs and body sections. The location and shape of the organs are consistent with drawings depicting developmental anatomy, with the organ volumes assigned such that the masses at the various ages conform closely with the data presented in Reference Man. The explicit mathematical expressions for the various ages overcome the potential misrepresentation of organ sizes that occurred in phantoms derived from simple mathematical transformations of the adult phantom. Female breast tissue has been added to the phantoms, including the adult, now allowing assessment of doses to this organ

MATSIM -The Development and Validation of a Numerical Voxel Model based on the MATROSHKA Phantom

Science.gov (United States)

Beck, Peter; Rollet, Sofia; Berger, Thomas; Bergmann, Robert; Hajek, Michael; Latocha, Marcin; Vana, Norbert; Zechner, Andrea; Reitz, Guenther

The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology coordinates the project MATSIM (MATROSHKA Simulation) in collaboration with the Vienna University of Technology and the German Aerospace Center. The aim of the project is to develop a voxel-based model of the MATROSHKA anthro-pomorphic torso used at the International Space Station (ISS) as foundation to perform Monte Carlo high-energy particle transport simulations for different irradiation conditions. Funded by the Austrian Space Applications Programme (ASAP), MATSIM is a co-investigation with the European Space Agency (ESA) ELIPS project MATROSHKA, an international collaboration of more than 18 research institutes and space agencies from all over the world, under the science and project lead of the German Aerospace Center. The MATROSHKA facility is designed to determine the radiation exposure of an astronaut onboard ISS and especially during an ex-travehicular activity. The numerical model developed in the frame of MATSIM is validated by reference measurements. In this report we give on overview of the model development and compare photon and neutron irradiations of the detector-equipped phantom torso with Monte Carlo simulations using FLUKA. Exposure to Co-60 photons was realized in the standard ir-radiation laboratory at Seibersdorf, while investigations with neutrons were performed at the thermal column of the Vienna TRIGA Mark-II reactor. The phantom was loaded with passive thermoluminescence dosimeters. In addition, first results of the calculated dose distribution within the torso are presented for a simulated exposure in low-Earth orbit.

A methodology to develop computational phantoms with adjustable posture for WBC calibration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fonseca, T C Ferreira; Vanhavere, F; Bogaerts, R; Hunt, John

2014-01-01

A Whole Body Counter (WBC) is a facility to routinely assess the internal contamination of exposed workers, especially in the case of radiation release accidents. The calibration of the counting device is usually done by using anthropomorphic physical phantoms representing the human body. Due to such a challenge of constructing representative physical phantoms a virtual calibration has been introduced. The use of computational phantoms and the Monte Carlo method to simulate radiation transport have been demonstrated to be a worthy alternative. In this study we introduce a methodology developed for the creation of realistic computational voxel phantoms with adjustable posture for WBC calibration. The methodology makes use of different software packages to enable the creation and modification of computational voxel phantoms. This allows voxel phantoms to be developed on demand for the calibration of different WBC configurations. This in turn helps to study the major source of uncertainty associated with the in vivo measurement routine which is the difference between the calibration phantoms and the real persons being counted. The use of realistic computational phantoms also helps the optimization of the counting measurement. Open source codes such as MakeHuman and Blender software packages have been used for the creation and modelling of 3D humanoid characters based on polygonal mesh surfaces. Also, a home-made software was developed whose goal is to convert the binary 3D voxel grid into a MCNPX input file. This paper summarizes the development of a library of phantoms of the human body that uses two basic phantoms called MaMP and FeMP (Male and Female Mesh Phantoms) to create a set of male and female phantoms that vary both in height and in weight. Two sets of MaMP and FeMP phantoms were developed and used for efficiency calibration of two different WBC set-ups: the Doel NPP WBC laboratory and AGM laboratory of SCK-CEN in Mol, Belgium. (paper)

A methodology to develop computational phantoms with adjustable posture for WBC calibration

Science.gov (United States)

Ferreira Fonseca, T. C.; Bogaerts, R.; Hunt, John; Vanhavere, F.

2014-11-01

A Whole Body Counter (WBC) is a facility to routinely assess the internal contamination of exposed workers, especially in the case of radiation release accidents. The calibration of the counting device is usually done by using anthropomorphic physical phantoms representing the human body. Due to such a challenge of constructing representative physical phantoms a virtual calibration has been introduced. The use of computational phantoms and the Monte Carlo method to simulate radiation transport have been demonstrated to be a worthy alternative. In this study we introduce a methodology developed for the creation of realistic computational voxel phantoms with adjustable posture for WBC calibration. The methodology makes use of different software packages to enable the creation and modification of computational voxel phantoms. This allows voxel phantoms to be developed on demand for the calibration of different WBC configurations. This in turn helps to study the major source of uncertainty associated with the in vivo measurement routine which is the difference between the calibration phantoms and the real persons being counted. The use of realistic computational phantoms also helps the optimization of the counting measurement. Open source codes such as MakeHuman and Blender software packages have been used for the creation and modelling of 3D humanoid characters based on polygonal mesh surfaces. Also, a home-made software was developed whose goal is to convert the binary 3D voxel grid into a MCNPX input file. This paper summarizes the development of a library of phantoms of the human body that uses two basic phantoms called MaMP and FeMP (Male and Female Mesh Phantoms) to create a set of male and female phantoms that vary both in height and in weight. Two sets of MaMP and FeMP phantoms were developed and used for efficiency calibration of two different WBC set-ups: the Doel NPP WBC laboratory and AGM laboratory of SCK-CEN in Mol, Belgium.

Using case-based reasoning for the reconstitution and manipulation of voxelized phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Henriet, J.; Fontaine, E.; Bopp, M.; Makovicka, L.; Farah, J.; Broggio, D.; Franck, D.; Chebel-Morello, B.

2010-01-01

The authors reports the development of the EquiVox platform, the aim of which is to allow a radioprotection expert (physician, biologist or other) to work with a phantom which will be the closest possible to the examined person in order to make an as precise as possible dosimetric assessment. The objective is to help to select the best phantom among those the expert knows depending on the assessment type he wants to make. First, they present the general principles of the case-based reasoning, and then the EquiVox platform which proposes all the steps: formalization, elaboration, comparison, and so on. Based on typical numerical values associated with different morphological characteristics, they present and discuss graphical results obtained by the platform. They also discuss their validity and reliability

Calculation of age-dependent effective doses for external exposure using the MCNP code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, Tran Van

2013-01-01

Age-dependent effective dose for external exposure to photons uniformly distributed in air were calculated. Firstly, organ doses were calculated with a series of age-specific MIRD-5 type phantoms using the Monte Carlo code MCNP. The calculations were performed for mono-energetic photon sources with source energies from 10 keV to 5 MeV and for phantoms of newborn, 1, 5, 10, and 15 years-old and adult. Then, the effective doses to the different age-phantoms from the mono-energetic photon sources were estimated based on the obtained organ doses. From the calculated results, it is shown that the effective doses depend on the body size; the effective doses in younger phantoms are higher than those in the older phantoms, especially below 100 keV. (orig.)

Calculation of age-dependent effective doses for external exposure using the MCNP code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hung, Tran Van [Research and Development Center for Radiation Technology, ThuDuc, HoChiMinh City (VT)

2013-07-15

Age-dependent effective dose for external exposure to photons uniformly distributed in air were calculated. Firstly, organ doses were calculated with a series of age-specific MIRD-5 type phantoms using the Monte Carlo code MCNP. The calculations were performed for mono-energetic photon sources with source energies from 10 keV to 5 MeV and for phantoms of newborn, 1, 5, 10, and 15 years-old and adult. Then, the effective doses to the different age-phantoms from the mono-energetic photon sources were estimated based on the obtained organ doses. From the calculated results, it is shown that the effective doses depend on the body size; the effective doses in younger phantoms are higher than those in the older phantoms, especially below 100 keV. (orig.)

PID - 3D: a software to develop mathematical human phantoms for use in computational dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima Filho, Jose de Melo; Vieira, Jose Wilson; Lima, Vanildo Junior de Melo; Lima, Fernando Roberto de Andrade

2009-01-01

The PID-3D software, written in Visual C++, contains tools developed for building and editing of three-dimensional geometric figures formed of voxels (volume pixels). These tools were projected to be used, together with those already developed by the Grupo de Dosimetria Numerica (GDN/CNPq), such as the FANTOMAS and DIP software, in computational dosimetry of ionizing radiation. The main objective of this paper is to develop various voxel-based geometric solids to build voxel phantoms (meaning models), anthropomorphic or not. The domain of this technique of development of geometric solids is important for the GDN/CNPq, because it allows the use of just one Monte Carlo code to simulate the transportation, interaction and deposition of radiation in tomographic and mathematical phantoms. Building a particular geometric solid the user needs to inform to the PID-3D software, the location and the size of the parallelepiped that involves it. Each built solid can be saved in a binary file of the type SGI (file containing the size and the numeric values that constitutes the 3D matrix that represents the solid, commonly used by GDN/CNPq). The final mathematical phantom is built starting from these SGI files and the SGI file resulting constitutes a voxel phantom. With this approach the software's user does not have to manipulate the equations and inequalities of the solids that represent the organs and tissues of the phantom. The 3D-PID software, associated with the FANTOMAS and DIP software are tools produced by GDN/CNPq, providing a new technique for building of 3D scenes in dosimetric evaluations using voxel phantoms. To validate the PID-3D software one built, step by step, a phantom similar to the MIRD-5 stylized phantom. (author)

Study of the influence of radionuclide biokinetics on in vivo counting using voxel phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamart, St.

2008-10-01

The in vivo measurement is an efficient method to estimate the retention of activity in case of internal contamination. However, it is currently limited by the use of physical phantoms for the calibration, not enabling to reproduce neither the morphology of the measured person nor the actual distribution of the contamination. The current method of calibration therefore leads to significant systematic uncertainties on the quantification of the contamination. To improve the in vivo measurement, the Laboratory of Internal Dose Assessment (LEDI, IRSN) has developed an original numerical calibration method with the OEDIPE software. It is based on voxel phantoms created from the medical images of persons, and associated with the MCNPX Monte Carlo code of particle transport. The first version of this software enabled to model simple homogeneous sources and to better estimate the systematic uncertainties in the lung counting of actinides due to the detector position and to the heterogeneous distribution of activity inside the lungs. However, it was not possible to take into account the dynamic feature, and often heterogeneous distribution between body organs and tissues of the activity. Still, the efficiency of the detection system depends on the distribution of the source of activity. The main purpose of the thesis work is to answer to the question: what is the influence of the biokinetics of the radionuclides on the in vivo counting? To answer it, it was necessary to deeply modify OEDIPE. This new development enabled to model the source of activity more realistically from the reference biokinetic models defined by the ICRP. The first part of the work consisted in developing the numerical tools needed to integrate the biokinetics in OEDIPE. Then, a methodology was developed to quantify its influence on the in vivo counting from the results of simulations. This method was carried out and validated on the model of the in vivo counting system of the LEDI. Finally, the

Application of Voxel Phantoms to Study the Influence of Heterogeneous Distribution of Actinides in Lungs on In Vivo Counting Calibration Factors Using Animal Experimentations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lamart, S.; Pierrat, N.; De Carlan, L.; Franck, D. [IRSN/DRPH/SDI/LEDI, BP 17, F-92 262 Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Dudoignon, N. [IRSN/DRPH/SRBE/LRPAT, BP 17, F-92 262 Fontenay-aux-Roses (France); Rateau, S.; Van der Meeren, A.; Rouit, E. [CEA/DSV/DRR/SRCA/LRT BP no 12, F-91680 Bruyeres-le-Chatel (France); Bottlaender, M. [CEA/SHFJ, 4, place du General Leclerc F-91400 Orsay (France)

2006-07-01

Calibration of lung counting system dedicated to retention assessment of actinides in the lungs remains critical due to large uncertainties in calibration factors. Among them, the detector positioning, the chest wall thickness and composition (muscle/fat) assessment, and the distribution of the contamination are the main parameters influencing the detector response. In order to reduce these uncertainties, a numerical approach based on the application of voxel phantoms (numerical phantoms based on tomographic images, CT or MRI) associated to a Monte-Carlo code (namely M.C.N.P.) was developed. It led to the development of a dedicated tool, called O.E.D.I.P.E., that allows to easily handle realistic voxel phantoms for the simulation of in vivo measurement (or dose calculation, application that will not be presented in this paper). The goal of this paper is to present our study of the influence of the lung distribution on calibration factors using both animal experimentations and our numerical method. Indeed, physical anthropomorphic phantoms used for calibration always consider a uniform distribution of the source in the lungs, which is not true in many contamination conditions. The purpose of the study is to compare the response of the measurement detectors using a real distribution of actinide particles in the lungs, obtained from animal experimentations, with the homogeneous one considered as the reference. This comparison was performed using O.E.D.I.P.E. that can almost simulate any source distribution. A non human primate was contaminated heterogeneously by intra-tracheal administration of actinide oxide. After euthanasia, gamma spectrometry measurements were performed on the pulmonary lobes to obtain the distribution of the contamination in the lungs. This realistic distribution was used to simulate an heterogeneous contamination in the numerical phantom of the non human primate, which was compared with a simulation of an homogeneous contamination presenting the

Application of Voxel Phantoms to Study the Influence of Heterogeneous Distribution of Actinides in Lungs on In Vivo Counting Calibration Factors Using Animal Experimentations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamart, S.; Pierrat, N.; De Carlan, L.; Franck, D.; Dudoignon, N.; Rateau, S.; Van der Meeren, A.; Rouit, E.; Bottlaender, M.

2006-01-01

Calibration of lung counting system dedicated to retention assessment of actinides in the lungs remains critical due to large uncertainties in calibration factors. Among them, the detector positioning, the chest wall thickness and composition (muscle/fat) assessment, and the distribution of the contamination are the main parameters influencing the detector response. In order to reduce these uncertainties, a numerical approach based on the application of voxel phantoms (numerical phantoms based on tomographic images, CT or MRI) associated to a Monte-Carlo code (namely M.C.N.P.) was developed. It led to the development of a dedicated tool, called O.E.D.I.P.E., that allows to easily handle realistic voxel phantoms for the simulation of in vivo measurement (or dose calculation, application that will not be presented in this paper). The goal of this paper is to present our study of the influence of the lung distribution on calibration factors using both animal experimentations and our numerical method. Indeed, physical anthropomorphic phantoms used for calibration always consider a uniform distribution of the source in the lungs, which is not true in many contamination conditions. The purpose of the study is to compare the response of the measurement detectors using a real distribution of actinide particles in the lungs, obtained from animal experimentations, with the homogeneous one considered as the reference. This comparison was performed using O.E.D.I.P.E. that can almost simulate any source distribution. A non human primate was contaminated heterogeneously by intra-tracheal administration of actinide oxide. After euthanasia, gamma spectrometry measurements were performed on the pulmonary lobes to obtain the distribution of the contamination in the lungs. This realistic distribution was used to simulate an heterogeneous contamination in the numerical phantom of the non human primate, which was compared with a simulation of an homogeneous contamination presenting the

Voxel-based comparison of whole brain gray matter of patients with mild Alzheimer's disease with normal aging volunteers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xie Sheng; Wu Hongkun; Xiao Jiangxi; Wang Yinhua; Jiang Xuexiang

2006-01-01

Objective: To detect gray matter abnormalities of whole brain in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) by voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Methods: Thirteen patients with mild Alzheimer's disease and sixteen normal aging volunteers underwent 3D SPGR scanning. For every subject, data was transferred to PC to be normalized, segmented and smoothed using SPM99. Non-dependent samples T-tests were conducted to compare gray matter' density voxel to voxel between the two groups. Results Significant reductions in gray matter density were found in the bilateral hippocampi and nucleus amygdalae, bilateral insulae, bilateral medial thalami, bilateral rectus gyri, right superior temporal gyms, right caudate nucleus, fight prefrontal lobe, right basal forebrain and portions of right occipital lobe. Conclusion: VBM reveals significant gray matter' reductions of numeral cortices in mild Alzheimer's disease. It can be a useful method to evaluate the anatomical changes in the progress of the disease. (authors)

Computational hybrid anthropometric paediatric phantom library for internal radiation dosimetry

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Tianwu; Kuster, Niels; Zaidi, Habib

2017-04-01

Hybrid computational phantoms combine voxel-based and simplified equation-based modelling approaches to provide unique advantages and more realism for the construction of anthropomorphic models. In this work, a methodology and C++ code are developed to generate hybrid computational phantoms covering statistical distributions of body morphometry in the paediatric population. The paediatric phantoms of the Virtual Population Series (IT’IS Foundation, Switzerland) were modified to match target anthropometric parameters, including body mass, body length, standing height and sitting height/stature ratio, determined from reference databases of the National Centre for Health Statistics and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The phantoms were selected as representative anchor phantoms for the newborn, 1, 2, 5, 10 and 15 years-old children, and were subsequently remodelled to create 1100 female and male phantoms with 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th body morphometries. Evaluation was performed qualitatively using 3D visualization and quantitatively by analysing internal organ masses. Overall, the newly generated phantoms appear very reasonable and representative of the main characteristics of the paediatric population at various ages and for different genders, body sizes and sitting stature ratios. The mass of internal organs increases with height and body mass. The comparison of organ masses of the heart, kidney, liver, lung and spleen with published autopsy and ICRP reference data for children demonstrated that they follow the same trend when correlated with age. The constructed hybrid computational phantom library opens up the prospect of comprehensive radiation dosimetry calculations and risk assessment for the paediatric population of different age groups and diverse anthropometric parameters.

Computational lymphatic node models in pediatric and adult hybrid phantoms for radiation dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lamart, Stephanie; Moroz, Brian E

2013-01-01

We developed models of lymphatic nodes for six pediatric and two adult hybrid computational phantoms to calculate the lymphatic node dose estimates from external and internal radiation exposures. We derived the number of lymphatic nodes from the recommendations in International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publications 23 and 89 at 16 cluster locations for the lymphatic nodes: extrathoracic, cervical, thoracic (upper and lower), breast (left and right), mesentery (left and right), axillary (left and right), cubital (left and right), inguinal (left and right) and popliteal (left and right), for different ages (newborn, 1-, 5-, 10-, 15-year-old and adult). We modeled each lymphatic node within the voxel format of the hybrid phantoms by assuming that all nodes have identical size derived from published data except narrow cluster sites. The lymph nodes were generated by the following algorithm: (1) selection of the lymph node site among the 16 cluster sites; (2) random sampling of the location of the lymph node within a spherical space centered at the chosen cluster site; (3) creation of the sphere or ovoid of tissue representing the node based on lymphatic node characteristics defined in ICRP Publications 23 and 89. We created lymph nodes until the pre-defined number of lymphatic nodes at the selected cluster site was reached. This algorithm was applied to pediatric (newborn, 1-, 5-and 10-year-old male, and 15-year-old males) and adult male and female ICRP-compliant hybrid phantoms after voxelization. To assess the performance of our models for internal dosimetry, we calculated dose conversion coefficients, called S values, for selected organs and tissues with Iodine-131 distributed in six lymphatic node cluster sites using MCNPX2.6, a well validated Monte Carlo radiation transport code. Our analysis of the calculations indicates that the S values were significantly affected by the location of the lymph node clusters and that the values increased for

Experimental and computational development of a natural breast phantom for dosimetry studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nogueira, Luciana B.; Campos, Tarcisio P.R.

2013-01-01

This paper describes the experimental and computational development of a natural breast phantom, anthropomorphic and anthropometric for studies in dosimetry of brachytherapy and teletherapy of breast. The natural breast phantom developed corresponding to fibroadipose breasts of women aged 30 to 50 years, presenting radiographically medium density. The experimental breast phantom was constituted of three tissue-equivalents (TE's): glandular TE, adipose TE and skin TE. These TE's were developed according to chemical composition of human breast and present radiological response to exposure. Completed the construction of experimental breast phantom this was mounted on a thorax phantom previously developed by the research group NRI/UFMG. Then the computational breast phantom was constructed by performing a computed tomography (CT) by axial slices of the chest phantom. Through the images generated by CT a computational model of voxels of the thorax phantom was developed by SISCODES computational program, being the computational breast phantom represented by the same TE's of the experimental breast phantom. The images generated by CT allowed evaluating the radiological equivalence of the tissues. The breast phantom is being used in studies of experimental dosimetry both in brachytherapy as in teletherapy of breast. Dosimetry studies by MCNP-5 code using the computational model of the phantom breast are in progress. (author)

Motion as a perturbation: Measurement-guided dose estimates to moving patient voxels during modulated arc deliveries

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feygelman, Vladimir; Zhang, Geoffrey; Hunt, Dylan; Opp, Daniel [Department of Radiation Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida 33612 (United States); Stambaugh, Cassandra [Department of Physics, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33612 (United States); Wolf, Theresa K. [Live Oak Technologies LLC, Kirkwood, Missouri 63122 (United States); Nelms, Benjamin E. [Canis Lupus LLC, Merrimac, Wisconsin 53561 (United States)

2013-02-15

Purpose: To present a framework for measurement-guided VMAT dose reconstruction to moving patient voxels from a known motion kernel and the static phantom data, and to validate this perturbation-based approach with the proof-of-principle experiments. Methods: As described previously, the VMAT 3D dose to a static patient can be estimated by applying a phantom measurement-guided perturbation to the treatment planning system (TPS)-calculated dose grid. The fraction dose to any voxel in the presence of motion, assuming the motion kernel is known, can be derived in a similar fashion by applying a measurement-guided motion perturbation. The dose to the diodes in a helical phantom is recorded at 50 ms intervals and is transformed into a series of time-resolved high-density volumetric dose grids. A moving voxel is propagated through this 4D dose space and the fraction dose to that voxel in the phantom is accumulated. The ratio of this motion-perturbed, reconstructed dose to the TPS dose in the phantom serves as a perturbation factor, applied to the TPS fraction dose to the similarly situated voxel in the patient. This approach was validated by the ion chamber and film measurements on four phantoms of different shape and structure: homogeneous and inhomogeneous cylinders, a homogeneous cube, and an anthropomorphic thoracic phantom. A 2D motion stage was used to simulate the motion. The stage position was synchronized with the beam start time with the respiratory gating simulator. The motion patterns were designed such that the motion speed was in the upper range of the expected tumor motion (1-1.4 cm/s) and the range exceeded the normally observed limits (up to 5.7 cm). The conformal arc plans for X or Y motion (in the IEC 61217 coordinate system) consisted of manually created narrow (3 cm) rectangular strips moving in-phase (tracking) or phase-shifted by 90 Degree-Sign (crossing) with respect to the phantom motion. The XY motion was tested with the computer-derived VMAT

Motion as a perturbation: Measurement-guided dose estimates to moving patient voxels during modulated arc deliveries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feygelman, Vladimir; Zhang, Geoffrey; Hunt, Dylan; Opp, Daniel; Stambaugh, Cassandra; Wolf, Theresa K.; Nelms, Benjamin E.

2013-01-01

Purpose: To present a framework for measurement-guided VMAT dose reconstruction to moving patient voxels from a known motion kernel and the static phantom data, and to validate this perturbation-based approach with the proof-of-principle experiments. Methods: As described previously, the VMAT 3D dose to a static patient can be estimated by applying a phantom measurement-guided perturbation to the treatment planning system (TPS)-calculated dose grid. The fraction dose to any voxel in the presence of motion, assuming the motion kernel is known, can be derived in a similar fashion by applying a measurement-guided motion perturbation. The dose to the diodes in a helical phantom is recorded at 50 ms intervals and is transformed into a series of time-resolved high-density volumetric dose grids. A moving voxel is propagated through this 4D dose space and the fraction dose to that voxel in the phantom is accumulated. The ratio of this motion-perturbed, reconstructed dose to the TPS dose in the phantom serves as a perturbation factor, applied to the TPS fraction dose to the similarly situated voxel in the patient. This approach was validated by the ion chamber and film measurements on four phantoms of different shape and structure: homogeneous and inhomogeneous cylinders, a homogeneous cube, and an anthropomorphic thoracic phantom. A 2D motion stage was used to simulate the motion. The stage position was synchronized with the beam start time with the respiratory gating simulator. The motion patterns were designed such that the motion speed was in the upper range of the expected tumor motion (1–1.4 cm/s) and the range exceeded the normally observed limits (up to 5.7 cm). The conformal arc plans for X or Y motion (in the IEC 61217 coordinate system) consisted of manually created narrow (3 cm) rectangular strips moving in-phase (tracking) or phase-shifted by 90° (crossing) with respect to the phantom motion. The XY motion was tested with the computer-derived VMAT MLC

Calibration of lung counter using a CT model of Torso phantom and Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Binquan; Ma Jizeng; Yang Duanjie; Liu Liye; Cheng Jianping

2006-01-01

Tomography image of a Torso phantom was obtained from CT-Scan. The Torso phantom represents the trunk of an adult man that is 170 cm high and weight of 65 kg. After these images were segmented, cropped, and resized, a 3-dimension voxel phantom was created. The voxel phantom includes more than 2 million voxels, which size was 2.73 mm x 2.73 mm x 3 mm. This model could be used for the calibration of lung counter with Monte Carlo method. On the assumption that radioactive material was homogeneously distributed throughout the lung, counting efficiencies of a HPGe detector in different positions were calculated as Adipose Mass fraction (AMF) was different in the soft tissue in chest. The results showed that counting efficiencies of the lung counter changed up to 67% for 17.5 keV γ ray and 20% for 25 keV γ ray when AMF changed from 0 to 40%. (authors)

Development of a physical 3D anthropomorphic breast phantom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carton, Ann-Katherine; Bakic, Predrag; Ullberg, Christer; Derand, Helen; Maidment, Andrew D. A. [Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, 1 Silverstein Building, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4206 (United States); XCounter AB, Svaerdvaegen 11, SE-182 33 Danderyd (Sweden); Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, 1 Silverstein Building, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4206 (United States)

2011-02-15

Purpose: Develop a technique to fabricate a 3D anthropomorphic breast phantom with known ground truth for image quality assessment of 2D and 3D breast x-ray imaging systems. Methods: The phantom design is based on an existing computer model that can generate breast voxel phantoms of varying composition, size, and shape. The physical phantom is produced in two steps. First, the portion of the voxel phantom consisting of the glandular tissue, skin, and Cooper's ligaments is separated into sections. These sections are then fabricated by high-resolution rapid prototyping using a single material with 50% glandular equivalence. The remaining adipose compartments are then filled using an epoxy-based resin (EBR) with 100% adipose equivalence. The phantom sections are stacked to form the physical anthropomorphic phantom. Results: The authors fabricated a prototype phantom corresponding to a 450 ml breast with 45% dense tissue, deformed to a 5 cm compressed thickness. Both the rapid prototype (RP) and EBR phantom materials are radiographically uniform. The coefficient of variation (CoV) of the relative attenuation between RP and EBR phantom samples was <1% and the CoV of the signal intensity within RP and EBR phantom samples was <1.5% on average. Digital mammography and reconstructed digital breast tomosynthesis images of the authors' phantom were reviewed by two radiologists; they reported that the images are similar in appearance to clinical images, noting there are still artifacts from air bubbles in the EBR. Conclusions: The authors have developed a technique to produce 3D anthropomorphic breast phantoms with known ground truth, yielding highly realistic x-ray images. Such phantoms may serve both qualitative and quantitative performance assessments for 2D and 3D breast x-ray imaging systems.

Field size dependence of wedge factor: miniphantom vs full phantom measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen Li, X.; Szanto, J.; Soubra, M.; Gerig, L. H.

1995-01-01

It is empirically known that the transmission factor for wedge in a high-energy photon beam is dependent upon field size and depth of measurement. The field-size dependence of wedge factors may be attributed to changes in (i) head scatter, (ii) phantom scatter, and (iii) backscatter from the wedge into the linac monitor chamber. In this work we present the results of studies designed to examine each of these factors in isolation. The wedge factors for wedges with nominal wedge angles of 15 deg. , 30 deg. , 45 deg. and 60 deg. were measured with a 3-g/cm 2 -diameter narrow cylindrical phantom (miniphantom), a brass cap with 1.5-g/cm 2 side-wall thickness and a full water phantom for 6-, 10- and 18-MV photon beams. The measurements were performed with and without flattening filter in place. The wedge factors measured with the miniphantom and the brass cap exclude the phantom scatter contribution. It has been found that the field-size behaviour of wedge factor measured with full water phantom is similar to that measured with the miniphantom and cap. This indicates that the head scatter radiation is the major contributor to the field size dependence of wedge factors. Wedge factors measured with water phantom are up to 5.0% smaller than those measured with miniphantom. This difference increases with wedge angle. When Measured with the flattening filter removed, the field size dependence of the wedge factor is reduced. This justify that the flattening filter is one of the major contributors to head scatters. The measurement results made with the brass cap agree well with those made by using the miniphantom. By measuring the monitor chamber output, it is found that the backscatters from the wedge into the linac ion chamber have little effect on the field size dependence of the wedge factor

Whole-body voxel-based personalized dosimetry: Multiple voxel S-value approach for heterogeneous media with non-uniform activity distributions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Min Sun; Kim, Joong Hyun; Paeng, Jin Chul; Kang, Keon Wook; Jeong, Jae Min; Lee, Dong Soo; Lee, Jae Sung

2017-12-14

Personalized dosimetry with high accuracy is becoming more important because of the growing interests in personalized medicine and targeted radionuclide therapy. Voxel-based dosimetry using dose point kernel or voxel S-value (VSV) convolution is available. However, these approaches do not consider medium heterogeneity. Here, we propose a new method for whole-body voxel-based personalized dosimetry for heterogeneous media with non-uniform activity distributions, which is referred to as the multiple VSV approach. Methods: The multiple numbers (N) of VSVs for media with different densities covering the whole-body density ranges were used instead of using only a single VSV for water. The VSVs were pre-calculated using GATE Monte Carlo simulation; those were convoluted with the time-integrated activity to generate density-specific dose maps. Computed tomography-based segmentation was conducted to generate binary maps for each density region. The final dose map was acquired by the summation of N segmented density-specific dose maps. We tested several sets of VSVs with different densities: N = 1 (single water VSV), 4, 6, 8, 10, and 20. To validate the proposed method, phantom and patient studies were conducted and compared with direct Monte Carlo, which was considered the ground truth. Finally, patient dosimetry (10 subjects) was conducted using the multiple VSV approach and compared with the single VSV and organ-based dosimetry approaches. Errors at the voxel- and organ-levels were reported for eight organs. Results: In the phantom and patient studies, the multiple VSV approach showed significant improvements regarding voxel-level errors, especially for the lung and bone regions. As N increased, voxel-level errors decreased, although some overestimations were observed at lung boundaries. In the case of multiple VSVs ( N = 8), we achieved voxel-level errors of 2.06%. In the dosimetry study, our proposed method showed much improved results compared to the single VSV and

Computational anthropomorphic phantoms for radiation protection dosimetry: evolution and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lee, Jaiki

2006-01-01

Computational anthropomorphic phantoms are computer models of human anatomy used in the calculation of radiation dose distribution in the human body upon exposure to a radiation source. Depending on the manner to represent human anatomy, they are categorized into two classes: stylized and tomographic phantoms. Stylized phantoms, which have mainly been developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), describe human anatomy by using simple mathematical equations of analytical geometry. Several improved stylized phantoms such as male and female adults, pediatric series, and enhanced organ models have been developed following the first hermaphrodite adult stylized phantom, Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD)-5 phantom. Although stylized phantoms have significantly contributed to dosimetry calculation, they provide only approximations of the true anatomical features of the human body and the resulting organ dose distribution. An alternative class of computational phantom, the tomographic phantom, is based upon three-dimensional imaging techniques such as Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging and Computed Tomography (CT). The tomographic phantoms represent the human anatomy with a large number of voxels that are assigned tissue type and organ identity. To date, a total of around 30 tomographic phantoms including male and female adults, pediatric phantoms, and even a pregnant female, have been developed and utilized for realistic radiation dosimetry calculation. They are based on MRI/CT images or sectional color photos from patients, volunteers or cadavers. Several investigators have compared tomographic phantoms with stylized phantoms, and demonstrated the superiority of tomographic phantoms in terms of realistic anatomy and dosimetry calculation. This paper summarizes the history and current status of both stylized and tomographic phantoms, including Korean computational phantoms. Advantages, limitations, and future prospects are also discussed

Development of prostate voxel models for brachytherapy treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Santos, Adriano M.; Reis, Lucas P.; Grynberg, Suely E., E-mail: amsantos@cdtn.b [Center for Development of Nuclear Technology (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil)

2011-07-01

The tools developed recently in the areas of computer graphics and animation movies to computer games allow the creation of new voxel anthropomorphic phantoms with better resolution and thus, more anatomical details. These phantoms can be used in nuclear applications, especially in radiation protection for estimating doses in cases of occupational or accidental radioactive incidents, and in medical and biological applications. For dose estimates, the phantoms are coupled to a Monte Carlo code, which will be responsible for the transport of radiation in this environment. This study aimed to develop a computational tool to estimate the isodose curves in the prostate after brachytherapy seed implants. For this, we have created a model called FANTPROST in the shape of a 48 mm side cube, with a standard prostate inserted in the center of this cube with different distributions of brachytherapy seeds in this volume. The prostate, according to this model, was obtained from the phantom voxels MASH2 developed by Numerical Dosimetry Group, Department of Nuclear Energy - Federal University of Pernambuco. The modeling of the seeds, added to FANTPROST, was done through the use of geometric information of Iodine-125 Amersham 6711 commercial seed. The simulations were performed by the code MCNP5 for spatial distributions containing different amounts of seeds within the FANTPROST. The obtained curves allowed an estimation of the behavior of the maximum dose that decreases with distance, showing that this tool can be used for a more accurate analysis of the effects produced by the presence of such seeds in the prostate and its vicinity. (author)

Implementation of Japanese male and female tomographic phantoms to multi-particle Monte Carlo code for ionizing radiation dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Nagaoka, Tomoaki; Lee, Jai-Ki

2006-01-01

Japanese male and female tomographic phantoms, which have been developed for radio-frequency electromagnetic-field dosimetry, were implemented into multi-particle Monte Carlo transport code to evaluate realistic dose distribution in human body exposed to radiation field. Japanese tomographic phantoms, which were developed from the whole body magnetic resonance images of Japanese average adult male and female, were processed as follows to be implemented into general purpose multi-particle Monte Carlo code, MCNPX2.5. Original array size of Japanese male and female phantoms, 320 x 160 x 866 voxels and 320 x 160 x 804 voxels, respectively, were reduced into 320 x 160 x 433 voxels and 320 x 160 x 402 voxels due to the limitation of memory use in MCNPX2.5. The 3D voxel array of the phantoms were processed by using the built-in repeated structure algorithm, where the human anatomy was described by the repeated lattice of tiny cube containing the information of material composition and organ index number. Original phantom data were converted into ASCII file, which can be directly ported into the lattice card of MCNPX2.5 input deck by using in-house code. A total of 30 material compositions obtained from International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurement (ICRU) report 46 were assigned to 54 and 55 organs and tissues in the male and female phantoms, respectively, and imported into the material card of MCNPX2.5 along with the corresponding cross section data. Illustrative calculation of absorbed doses for 26 internal organs and effective dose were performed for idealized broad parallel photon and neutron beams in anterior-posterior irradiation geometry, which is typical for workers at nuclear power plant. The results were compared with the data from other Japanese and Caucasian tomographic phantom, and International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) report 74. The further investigation of the difference in organ dose and effective dose among tomographic

The effect of voxel size on dose distribution in Varian Clinac iX 6 MV photon beam using Monte Carlo simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yani, Sitti; Dirgayussa, I Gde E.; Haryanto, Freddy; Arif, Idam; Rhani, Moh. Fadhillah

2015-01-01

Recently, Monte Carlo (MC) calculation method has reported as the most accurate method of predicting dose distributions in radiotherapy. The MC code system (especially DOSXYZnrc) has been used to investigate the different voxel (volume elements) sizes effect on the accuracy of dose distributions. To investigate this effect on dosimetry parameters, calculations were made with three different voxel sizes. The effects were investigated with dose distribution calculations for seven voxel sizes: 1 × 1 × 0.1 cm 3 , 1 × 1 × 0.5 cm 3 , and 1 × 1 × 0.8 cm 3 . The 1 × 10 9 histories were simulated in order to get statistical uncertainties of 2%. This simulation takes about 9-10 hours to complete. Measurements are made with field sizes 10 × 10 cm2 for the 6 MV photon beams with Gaussian intensity distribution FWHM 0.1 cm and SSD 100.1 cm. MC simulated and measured dose distributions in a water phantom. The output of this simulation i.e. the percent depth dose and dose profile in d max from the three sets of calculations are presented and comparisons are made with the experiment data from TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore) in 0-5 cm depth. Dose that scored in voxels is a volume averaged estimate of the dose at the center of a voxel. The results in this study show that the difference between Monte Carlo simulation and experiment data depend on the voxel size both for percent depth dose (PDD) and profile dose. PDD scan on Z axis (depth) of water phantom, the big difference obtain in the voxel size 1 × 1 × 0.8 cm 3 about 17%. In this study, the profile dose focused on high gradient dose area. Profile dose scan on Y axis and the big difference get in the voxel size 1 × 1 × 0.1 cm 3 about 12%. This study demonstrated that the arrange voxel in Monte Carlo simulation becomes important

The effect of voxel size on dose distribution in Varian Clinac iX 6 MV photon beam using Monte Carlo simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Yani, Sitti; Dirgayussa, I. Gde E.; Rhani, Moh. Fadhillah; Haryanto, Freddy; Arif, Idam

2015-09-01

Recently, Monte Carlo (MC) calculation method has reported as the most accurate method of predicting dose distributions in radiotherapy. The MC code system (especially DOSXYZnrc) has been used to investigate the different voxel (volume elements) sizes effect on the accuracy of dose distributions. To investigate this effect on dosimetry parameters, calculations were made with three different voxel sizes. The effects were investigated with dose distribution calculations for seven voxel sizes: 1 × 1 × 0.1 cm3, 1 × 1 × 0.5 cm3, and 1 × 1 × 0.8 cm3. The 1 × 109 histories were simulated in order to get statistical uncertainties of 2%. This simulation takes about 9-10 hours to complete. Measurements are made with field sizes 10 × 10 cm2 for the 6 MV photon beams with Gaussian intensity distribution FWHM 0.1 cm and SSD 100.1 cm. MC simulated and measured dose distributions in a water phantom. The output of this simulation i.e. the percent depth dose and dose profile in dmax from the three sets of calculations are presented and comparisons are made with the experiment data from TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore) in 0-5 cm depth. Dose that scored in voxels is a volume averaged estimate of the dose at the center of a voxel. The results in this study show that the difference between Monte Carlo simulation and experiment data depend on the voxel size both for percent depth dose (PDD) and profile dose. PDD scan on Z axis (depth) of water phantom, the big difference obtain in the voxel size 1 × 1 × 0.8 cm3 about 17%. In this study, the profile dose focused on high gradient dose area. Profile dose scan on Y axis and the big difference get in the voxel size 1 × 1 × 0.1 cm3 about 12%. This study demonstrated that the arrange voxel in Monte Carlo simulation becomes important.

Rotating and translating anthropomorphic head voxel models to establish an horizontal Frankfort plane for dental CBCT Monte Carlo simulations: a dose comparison study

Science.gov (United States)

Stratis, A.; Zhang, G.; Jacobs, R.; Bogaerts, R.; Bosmans, H.

2016-12-01

In order to carry out Monte Carlo (MC) dosimetry studies, voxel phantoms, modeling human anatomy, and organ-based segmentation of CT image data sets are applied to simulation frameworks. The resulting voxel phantoms preserve patient CT acquisition geometry; in the case of head voxel models built upon head CT images, the head support with which CT scanners are equipped introduces an inclination to the head, and hence to the head voxel model. In dental cone beam CT (CBCT) imaging, patients are always positioned in such a way that the Frankfort line is horizontal, implying that there is no head inclination. The orientation of the head is important, as it influences the distance of critical radiosensitive organs like the thyroid and the esophagus from the x-ray tube. This work aims to propose a procedure to adjust head voxel phantom orientation, and to investigate the impact of head inclination on organ doses in dental CBCT MC dosimetry studies. The female adult ICRP, and three in-house-built paediatric voxel phantoms were in this study. An EGSnrc MC framework was employed to simulate two commonly used protocols; a Morita Accuitomo 170 dental CBCT scanner (FOVs: 60  ×  60 mm2 and 80  ×  80 mm2, standard resolution), and a 3D Teeth protocol (FOV: 100  ×  90 mm2) in a Planmeca Promax 3D MAX scanner. Result analysis revealed large absorbed organ dose differences in radiosensitive organs between the original and the geometrically corrected voxel models of this study, ranging from  -45.6% to 39.3%. Therefore, accurate dental CBCT MC dose calculations require geometrical adjustments to be applied to head voxel models.

A statistically defined anthropomorphic software breast phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lau, Beverly A.; Reiser, Ingrid; Nishikawa, Robert M.; Bakic, Predrag R.

2012-01-01

Purpose: Digital anthropomorphic breast phantoms have emerged in the past decade because of recent advances in 3D breast x-ray imaging techniques. Computer phantoms in the literature have incorporated power-law noise to represent glandular tissue and branching structures to represent linear components such as ducts. When power-law noise is added to those phantoms in one piece, the simulated fibroglandular tissue is distributed randomly throughout the breast, resulting in dense tissue placement that may not be observed in a real breast. The authors describe a method for enhancing an existing digital anthropomorphic breast phantom by adding binarized power-law noise to a limited area of the breast. Methods: Phantoms with (0.5 mm) 3 voxel size were generated using software developed by Bakic et al. Between 0% and 40% of adipose compartments in each phantom were replaced with binarized power-law noise (β = 3.0) ranging from 0.1 to 0.6 volumetric glandular fraction. The phantoms were compressed to 7.5 cm thickness, then blurred using a 3 × 3 boxcar kernel and up-sampled to (0.1 mm) 3 voxel size using trilinear interpolation. Following interpolation, the phantoms were adjusted for volumetric glandular fraction using global thresholding. Monoenergetic phantom projections were created, including quantum noise and simulated detector blur. Texture was quantified in the simulated projections using power-spectrum analysis to estimate the power-law exponent β from 25.6 × 25.6 mm 2 regions of interest. Results: Phantoms were generated with total volumetric glandular fraction ranging from 3% to 24%. Values for β (averaged per projection view) were found to be between 2.67 and 3.73. Thus, the range of textures of the simulated breasts covers the textures observed in clinical images. Conclusions: Using these new techniques, digital anthropomorphic breast phantoms can be generated with a variety of glandular fractions and patterns. β values for this new phantom are comparable

Creation of voxel-based models for paediatric dosimetry from automatic segmentation methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Acosta, O.; Li, R.; Ourselin, S.; Caon, M.

2006-01-01

Full text: The first computational models representing human anatomy were mathematical phantoms, but still far from accurate representations of human body. These models have been used with radiation transport codes (Monte Carlo) to estimate organ doses from radiological procedures. Although new medical imaging techniques have recently allowed the construction of voxel-based models based on the real anatomy, few children models from individual CT or MRI data have been reported [1,3]. For pediatric dosimetry purposes, a large range of voxel models by ages is required since scaling the anatomy from existing models is not sufficiently accurate. The small number of models available arises from the small number of CT or MRI data sets of children available and the long amount of time required to segment the data sets. The existing models have been constructed by manual segmentation slice by slice and using simple thresholding techniques. In medical image segmentation, considerable difficulties appear when applying classical techniques like thresholding or simple edge detection. Until now, any evidence of more accurate or near-automatic methods used in construction of child voxel models exists. We aim to construct a range of pediatric voxel models, integrating automatic or semi-automatic 3D segmentation techniques. In this paper we present the first stage of this work using pediatric CT data.

Development of a hybrid multi-scale phantom for Monte-Carlo based internal dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marcatili, S.; Villoing, D.; Bardies, M.

2015-01-01

Full text of publication follows. Aim: in recent years several phantoms were developed for radiopharmaceutical dosimetry in clinical and preclinical settings. Voxel-based models (Zubal, Max/Fax, ICRP110) were developed to reach a level of realism that could not be achieved by mathematical models. In turn, 'hybrid' models (XCAT, MOBY/ROBY, Mash/Fash) allow a further degree of versatility by offering the possibility to finely tune each model according to various parameters. However, even 'hybrid' models require the generation of a voxel version for Monte-Carlo modeling of radiation transport. Since absorbed dose simulation time is strictly related to geometry spatial sampling, a compromise should be made between phantom realism and simulation speed. This trade-off leads on one side in an overestimation of the size of small radiosensitive structures such as the skin or hollow organs' walls, and on the other hand to unnecessarily detailed voxellization of large, homogeneous structures. The Aim of this work is to develop a hybrid multi-resolution phantom model for Geant4 and Gate, to better characterize energy deposition in small structures while preserving reasonable computation times. Materials and Methods: we have developed a pipeline for the conversion of preexisting phantoms into a multi-scale Geant4 model. Meshes of each organ are created from raw binary images of a phantom and then voxellized to the smallest spatial sampling required by the user. The user can then decide to re-sample the internal part of each organ, while leaving a layer of smallest voxels at the edge of the organ. In this way, the realistic shape of the organ is maintained while reducing the voxel number in the inner part. For hollow organs, the wall is always modeled using the smallest voxel sampling. This approach allows choosing different voxel resolutions for each organ according to a specific application. Results: preliminary results show that it is possible to

Performance of a coumarin-based liquid dosimeter for phantom evaluations of internal dosimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Park, Mi-Ae [Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women' s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115 (United States): Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 (United States)]. E-mail: miaepark@bwh.Harvard.edu; Moore, Stephen C. [Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women' s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115 (United States): Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Limpa-Amara, Naengnoi [Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women' s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115 (United States): Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 (United States); Kang Zhuang [Department of Physics, University of Massachusettes at Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854 (United States); Makrigiorgos, G. Mike [Dana Faber-Brigham and Women' s Cancer Center, Boston, MA 01225 (United States): Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115 (United States)

2006-12-20

Targeted radionuclide therapy (TRT) requires accurate absorbed dose estimation in individual patients. It has been shown that a coumarin-based liquid dosimeter is useful for various phantom geometries of relevance to patient-specific internal dosimetry. The purpose of this study was to refine the performance limits of the coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (CCA) dosimeter using the high-energy {beta}-emitter, Y-90, by measuring the dosimeter's dependence on dose rate, by finding the maximum dose limit, and by comparing measured dose values to those from Monte Carlo (MC) simulation. Non-fluorescent CCA is converted to highly fluorescent 7-hydroxyl-coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (7-OH-CCA) upon irradiation. We measured the Y-90-induced fluorescence from 7-OH-CCA under different conditions. Fluorescence was measured using activity concentrations from 1.1 to 181 MBq/cc, providing initial dose rates from 0.7 to 117 cGy/min. To determine the maximum dose limit, fluorescence was measured for different elapsed times from 4 to 150 h, using a fixed activity concentration, 3.7 MBq/cc. A Cs-137 irradiator was used for calibration, to convert fluorescence measurements to absorbed dose. We calculated absorbed dose using the DOSXYZnrc MC program. We modeled the geometry of cuvettes realistically, including plastic walls, surrounding air, and Y-90 in liquid. S-values of Y-90 in water were calculated using 1-mm cubic voxels. A linear dependence of fluorescence on dose rate was observed up to 80 cGy/min, and the dependence on total dose was linear up to {approx}20 Gy The average difference between calculated and measured dose values over 9 samples was 3.6{+-}2%. For our geometry, the dose based on voxel S-values was within 1% of that calculated using MC simulation of the phantom. We refined the performance limits of a CCA-based dosimeter for phantom studies of TRT using Y-90, and confirmed a close agreement between measured and calculated dose values. CCA dosimetry is a promising technique

New quantitative and multi-modal approach for in-vivo studies of small animals: coupling of the β-microprobe with magnetic techniques and development of voxelized rat and mouse phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Desbree, A.

2005-09-01

For the last 15 years, animal models that mimic human disorders have become ubiquitous participants to understand biological mechanisms and human disorders and to evaluate new therapeutic approaches. The necessity to study these models in the course of time has stimulated the development of instruments dedicated to in vivo small animal studies. To further understand physiopathological processes, the current challenge is to couple simultaneously several of these methods. Given this context, the combination of the magnetic and radioactive techniques remains an exciting challenge since it is still limited by strict technical constraints. Therefore we propose to couple the magnetic techniques with the radiosensitive Beta-Microprobe, developed in the IPB group and which shown to be an elegant alternative to PET measurements. In this context, the thesis was dedicated to the study of the coupling feasibility from a physical point of view, by simulation and experimental characterizations. Then, the determination of a biological protocol was carried out on the basis of pharmacokinetic studies. The experiments have shown the possibility to use the probe for radioactive measurements under intense magnetic field simultaneously to anatomical images acquisitions. Simultaneously, we have sought to improve the quantification of the radioactive signal using a voxelized phantom of a rat brain. Finally, the emergence of transgenic models led us to reproduce pharmacokinetic studies for the mouse and to develop voxelized mouse phantoms. (author)

Voxel-based model construction from colored tomographic images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loureiro, Eduardo Cesar de Miranda

2002-07-01

This work presents a new approach in the construction of voxel-based phantoms that was implemented to simplify the segmentation process of organs and tissues reducing the time used in this procedure. The segmentation process is performed by painting tomographic images and attributing a different color for each organ or tissue. A voxel-based head and neck phantom was built using this new approach. The way as the data are stored allows an increasing in the performance of the radiation transport code. The program that calculates the radiation transport also works with image files. This capability allows image reconstruction showing isodose areas, under several points of view, increasing the information to the user. Virtual X-ray photographs can also be obtained allowing that studies could be accomplished looking for the radiographic techniques optimization assessing, at the same time, the doses in organs and tissues. The accuracy of the program here presented, called MCvoxEL, that implements this new approach, was tested by comparison to results from two modern and well-supported Monte Carlo codes. Dose conversion factors for parallel X-ray exposure were also calculated. (author)

A software to digital image processing to be used in the voxel phantom development.

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, J W; Lima, F R A

2009-11-15

Anthropomorphic models used in computational dosimetry, also denominated phantoms, are based on digital images recorded from scanning of real people by Computed Tomography (CT) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The voxel phantom construction requests computational processing for transformations of image formats, to compact two-dimensional (2-D) images forming of three-dimensional (3-D) matrices, image sampling and quantization, image enhancement, restoration and segmentation, among others. Hardly the researcher of computational dosimetry will find all these available abilities in single software, and almost always this difficulty presents as a result the decrease of the rhythm of his researches or the use, sometimes inadequate, of alternative tools. The need to integrate the several tasks mentioned above to obtain an image that can be used in an exposure computational model motivated the development of the Digital Image Processing (DIP) software, mainly to solve particular problems in Dissertations and Thesis developed by members of the Grupo de Pesquisa em Dosimetria Numérica (GDN/CNPq). Because of this particular objective, the software uses the Portuguese idiom in their implementations and interfaces. This paper presents the second version of the DIP, whose main changes are the more formal organization on menus and menu items, and menu for digital image segmentation. Currently, the DIP contains the menus Fundamentos, Visualizações, Domínio Espacial, Domínio de Frequências, Segmentações and Estudos. Each menu contains items and sub-items with functionalities that, usually, request an image as input and produce an image or an attribute in the output. The DIP reads edits and writes binary files containing the 3-D matrix corresponding to a stack of axial images from a given geometry that can be a human body or other volume of interest. It also can read any type of computational image and to make conversions. When the task involves only an output image

Averaged head phantoms from magnetic resonance images of Korean children and young adults

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Miran; Lee, Ae-Kyoung; Choi, Hyung-Do; Jung, Yong Wook; Park, Jin Seo

2018-02-01

Increased use of mobile phones raises concerns about the health risks of electromagnetic radiation. Phantom heads are routinely used for radiofrequency dosimetry simulations, and the purpose of this study was to construct averaged phantom heads for children and young adults. Using magnetic resonance images (MRI), sectioned cadaver images, and a hybrid approach, we initially built template phantoms representing 6-, 9-, 12-, 15-year-old children and young adults. Our subsequent approach revised the template phantoms using 29 averaged items that were identified by averaging the MRI data from 500 children and young adults. In females, the brain size and cranium thickness peaked in the early teens and then decreased. This is contrary to what was observed in males, where brain size and cranium thicknesses either plateaued or grew continuously. The overall shape of brains was spherical in children and became ellipsoidal by adulthood. In this study, we devised a method to build averaged phantom heads by constructing surface and voxel models. The surface model could be used for phantom manipulation, whereas the voxel model could be used for compliance test of specific absorption rate (SAR) for users of mobile phones or other electronic devices.

Application of the mathematical modelling and human phantoms for calculation of the organ doses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kluson, J.; Cechak, T.

2005-01-01

Increasing power of the computers hardware and new versions of the software for the radiation transport simulation and modelling of the complex experimental setups and geometrical arrangement enable to dramatically improve calculation of organ or target volume doses ( dose distributions) in the wide field of medical physics and radiation protection applications. Increase of computers memory and new software features makes it possible to use not only analytical (mathematical) phantoms but also allow constructing the voxel models of human or phantoms with voxels fine enough (e.g. 1·1·1 mm) to represent all required details. CT data can be used for the description of such voxel model geometry .Advanced scoring methods are available in the new software versions. Contribution gives the overview of such new possibilities in the modelling and doses calculations, discusses the simulation/approximation of the dosimetric quantities ( especially dose ) and calculated data interpretation. Some examples of application and demonstrations will be shown, compared and discussed. Present computational tools enables to calculate organ or target volumes doses with new quality of large voxel models/phantoms (including CT based patient specific model ), approximating the human body with high precision. Due to these features has more and more importance and use in the fields of medical and radiological physics, radiation protection, etc. (authors)

A Software Phantom : Application in Digital Tomosynthesis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lazos, D; Kolitsi, Z; Badea, C; Pallikarakis, N [Medical Physics Laboratory, School of Medicine, Univercity of Patras (Greece)

1999-12-31

A software phantom intended to be used in radiographic applications has been developed. The application was used for research in the field of Digital Tomosynthesis and specifically for studying tomographic noise removal methods. The application consists of a phantom design and a phantom imaging module. The radiation-matter interaction is based on the exponential relation of attenuation. Projections are formed by simulated irradiation with selectable geometrical parameters, source spectrum and detector response. Phantoms are defined either as sets containing certain geometrical objects or as groups of voxels. Comparison with real projections taken from a physical phantom with identical geometry and composition with the simulated one, showed good approximation with improved contrast due to the absence of scatter in the simulated projections. The software phantom proved to be a very useful tool for DTS investigations. Further development to include scatter is expected to expand the use of the application to more areas in radiological imaging research. (author) 4 refs., 3 figs

A Software Phantom : Application in Digital Tomosynthesis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazos, D.; Kolitsi, Z.; Badea, C.; Pallikarakis, N.

1998-01-01

A software phantom intended to be used in radiographic applications has been developed. The application was used for research in the field of Digital Tomosynthesis and specifically for studying tomographic noise removal methods. The application consists of a phantom design and a phantom imaging module. The radiation-matter interaction is based on the exponential relation of attenuation. Projections are formed by simulated irradiation with selectable geometrical parameters, source spectrum and detector response. Phantoms are defined either as sets containing certain geometrical objects or as groups of voxels. Comparison with real projections taken from a physical phantom with identical geometry and composition with the simulated one, showed good approximation with improved contrast due to the absence of scatter in the simulated projections. The software phantom proved to be a very useful tool for DTS investigations. Further development to include scatter is expected to expand the use of the application to more areas in radiological imaging research. (author)

Age-dependent tissue-specific exposure of cell phone users

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Christ, Andreas; Gosselin, Marie-Christine; Kuehn, Sven; Kuster, Niels [Foundation for Research on Information Technologies in Society (IT' IS), Zeughausstr. 43, 8004 Zuerich (Switzerland); Christopoulou, Maria [National Technical University of Athens, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 9 Iroon Polytechniou Str., 15780 Athens (Greece)], E-mail: christ@itis.ethz.ch

2010-04-07

The peak spatial specific absorption rate (SAR) assessed with the standardized specific anthropometric mannequin head phantom has been shown to yield a conservative exposure estimate for both adults and children using mobile phones. There are, however, questions remaining concerning the impact of age-dependent dielectric tissue properties and age-dependent proportions of the skull, face and ear on the global and local absorption, in particular in the brain tissues. In this study, we compare the absorption in various parts of the cortex for different magnetic resonance imaging-based head phantoms of adults and children exposed to different models of mobile phones. The results show that the locally induced fields in children can be significantly higher (>3 dB) in subregions of the brain (cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus) and the eye due to the closer proximity of the phone to these tissues. The increase is even larger for bone marrow (>10 dB) as a result of its significantly high conductivity. Tissues such as the pineal gland show no increase since their distances to the phone are not a function of age. This study, however, confirms previous findings saying that there are no age-dependent changes of the peak spatial SAR when averaged over the entire head.

Age-dependent tissue-specific exposure of cell phone users

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christ, Andreas; Gosselin, Marie-Christine; Kuehn, Sven; Kuster, Niels; Christopoulou, Maria

2010-01-01

The peak spatial specific absorption rate (SAR) assessed with the standardized specific anthropometric mannequin head phantom has been shown to yield a conservative exposure estimate for both adults and children using mobile phones. There are, however, questions remaining concerning the impact of age-dependent dielectric tissue properties and age-dependent proportions of the skull, face and ear on the global and local absorption, in particular in the brain tissues. In this study, we compare the absorption in various parts of the cortex for different magnetic resonance imaging-based head phantoms of adults and children exposed to different models of mobile phones. The results show that the locally induced fields in children can be significantly higher (>3 dB) in subregions of the brain (cortex, hippocampus and hypothalamus) and the eye due to the closer proximity of the phone to these tissues. The increase is even larger for bone marrow (>10 dB) as a result of its significantly high conductivity. Tissues such as the pineal gland show no increase since their distances to the phone are not a function of age. This study, however, confirms previous findings saying that there are no age-dependent changes of the peak spatial SAR when averaged over the entire head.

The effect of voxel size on dose distribution in Varian Clinac iX 6 MV photon beam using Monte Carlo simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yani, Sitti, E-mail: sitti.yani@s.itb.ac.id [Nuclear Physics and Biophysics Division, Physics Department, Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia); Akademi Kebidanan Pelita Ibu, Kendari (Indonesia); Dirgayussa, I Gde E.; Haryanto, Freddy; Arif, Idam [Nuclear Physics and Biophysics Division, Physics Department, Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia); Rhani, Moh. Fadhillah [Tan Tock Seng Hospital (Singapore)

2015-09-30

Recently, Monte Carlo (MC) calculation method has reported as the most accurate method of predicting dose distributions in radiotherapy. The MC code system (especially DOSXYZnrc) has been used to investigate the different voxel (volume elements) sizes effect on the accuracy of dose distributions. To investigate this effect on dosimetry parameters, calculations were made with three different voxel sizes. The effects were investigated with dose distribution calculations for seven voxel sizes: 1 × 1 × 0.1 cm{sup 3}, 1 × 1 × 0.5 cm{sup 3}, and 1 × 1 × 0.8 cm{sup 3}. The 1 × 10{sup 9} histories were simulated in order to get statistical uncertainties of 2%. This simulation takes about 9-10 hours to complete. Measurements are made with field sizes 10 × 10 cm2 for the 6 MV photon beams with Gaussian intensity distribution FWHM 0.1 cm and SSD 100.1 cm. MC simulated and measured dose distributions in a water phantom. The output of this simulation i.e. the percent depth dose and dose profile in d{sub max} from the three sets of calculations are presented and comparisons are made with the experiment data from TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore) in 0-5 cm depth. Dose that scored in voxels is a volume averaged estimate of the dose at the center of a voxel. The results in this study show that the difference between Monte Carlo simulation and experiment data depend on the voxel size both for percent depth dose (PDD) and profile dose. PDD scan on Z axis (depth) of water phantom, the big difference obtain in the voxel size 1 × 1 × 0.8 cm{sup 3} about 17%. In this study, the profile dose focused on high gradient dose area. Profile dose scan on Y axis and the big difference get in the voxel size 1 × 1 × 0.1 cm{sup 3} about 12%. This study demonstrated that the arrange voxel in Monte Carlo simulation becomes important.

Hybrid computational phantoms of the 15-year male and female adolescent: Applications to CT organ dosimetry for patients of variable morphometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lodwick, Daniel; Williams, Jonathan L.; Bolch, Wesley E.

2008-01-01

Currently, two classes of the computational phantoms have been developed for dosimetry calculation: (1) stylized (or mathematical) and (2) voxel (or tomographic) phantoms describing human anatomy through mathematical surface equations and three-dimensional labeled voxel matrices, respectively. Mathematical surface equations in stylized phantoms provide flexibility in phantom design and alteration, but the resulting anatomical description is, in many cases, not very realistic. Voxel phantoms display far better anatomical realism, but they are limited in terms of their ability to alter organ shape, position, and depth, as well as body posture. A new class of computational phantoms - called hybrid phantoms - takes advantage of the best features of stylized and voxel phantoms - flexibility and anatomical realism, respectively. In the current study, hybrid computational phantoms representing reference 15-year male and female body anatomy and anthropometry are presented. For the male phantom, organ contours were extracted from the University of Florida (UF) 14-year series B male voxel phantom, while for the female phantom, original computed tomography (CT) data from two 14-year female patients were used. Polygon mesh models for the major organs and tissues were reconstructed for nonuniform rational B-spline (NURBS) surface modeling. The resulting NURBS/polygon mesh models representing body contour and internal anatomy were matched to anthropometric data and reference organ mass data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the International Commission on Radiation Protection (ICRP), respectively. Finally, two hybrid 15-year male and female phantoms were completed where a total of eight anthropometric data categories were matched to standard values within 4% and organ masses matched to ICRP data within 1% with the exception of total skin. To highlight the flexibility of the hybrid phantoms, 10th and 90th weight percentile 15-year male and

FASH and MASH: female and male adult human phantoms based on polygon mesh surfaces: II. Dosimetric calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kramer, R; Cassola, V F; Khoury, H J [Department of Nuclear Energy, Federal University of Pernambuco, Avenida Prof. Luiz Freire, 1000, CEP 50740-540, Recife (Brazil); Vieira, J W [Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Pernambuco, Recife (Brazil); De Melo Lima, V J [Department of Anatomy, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife (Brazil); Robson Brown, K [Imaging Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, Bristol (United Kingdom)], E-mail: rkramer@uol.com.br

2010-01-07

Female and male adult human phantoms, called FASH (Female Adult meSH) and MASH (Male Adult meSH), have been developed in the first part of this study using 3D animation software and anatomical atlases to replace the image-based FAX06 and the MAX06 voxel phantoms. 3D modelling methods allow for phantom development independent from medical images of patients, volunteers or cadavers. The second part of this study investigates the dosimetric implications for organ and tissue equivalent doses due to the anatomical differences between the new and the old phantoms. These differences are mainly caused by the supine position of human bodies during scanning in order to acquire digital images for voxel phantom development. Compared to an upright standing person, in image-based voxel phantoms organs are often coronally shifted towards the head and sometimes the sagittal diameter of the trunk is reduced by a gravitational change of the fat distribution. In addition, volumes of adipose and muscle tissue shielding internal organs are sometimes too small, because adaptation of organ volumes to ICRP-based organ masses often occurs at the expense of general soft tissues, such as adipose, muscle or unspecified soft tissue. These effects have dosimetric consequences, especially for partial body exposure, such as in x-ray diagnosis, but also for whole body external exposure and for internal exposure. Using the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code, internal and external exposure to photons and electrons has been simulated with both pairs of phantoms. The results show differences between organ and tissue equivalent doses for the upright standing FASH/MASH and the image-based supine FAX06/MAX06 phantoms of up to 80% for external exposure and up to 100% for internal exposure. Similar differences were found for external exposure between FASH/MASH and REGINA/REX, the reference voxel phantoms of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Comparison of effective doses for external photon

FASH and MASH: female and male adult human phantoms based on polygon mesh surfaces: II. Dosimetric calculations

Science.gov (United States)

Kramer, R.; Cassola, V. F.; Khoury, H. J.; Vieira, J. W.; de Melo Lima, V. J.; Robson Brown, K.

2010-01-01

Female and male adult human phantoms, called FASH (Female Adult meSH) and MASH (Male Adult meSH), have been developed in the first part of this study using 3D animation software and anatomical atlases to replace the image-based FAX06 and the MAX06 voxel phantoms. 3D modelling methods allow for phantom development independent from medical images of patients, volunteers or cadavers. The second part of this study investigates the dosimetric implications for organ and tissue equivalent doses due to the anatomical differences between the new and the old phantoms. These differences are mainly caused by the supine position of human bodies during scanning in order to acquire digital images for voxel phantom development. Compared to an upright standing person, in image-based voxel phantoms organs are often coronally shifted towards the head and sometimes the sagittal diameter of the trunk is reduced by a gravitational change of the fat distribution. In addition, volumes of adipose and muscle tissue shielding internal organs are sometimes too small, because adaptation of organ volumes to ICRP-based organ masses often occurs at the expense of general soft tissues, such as adipose, muscle or unspecified soft tissue. These effects have dosimetric consequences, especially for partial body exposure, such as in x-ray diagnosis, but also for whole body external exposure and for internal exposure. Using the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code, internal and external exposure to photons and electrons has been simulated with both pairs of phantoms. The results show differences between organ and tissue equivalent doses for the upright standing FASH/MASH and the image-based supine FAX06/MAX06 phantoms of up to 80% for external exposure and up to 100% for internal exposure. Similar differences were found for external exposure between FASH/MASH and REGINA/REX, the reference voxel phantoms of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. Comparison of effective doses for external photon

Brain volumes in healthy adults aged 40 years and over: a voxel-based morphometry study.

Science.gov (United States)

Riello, Roberta; Sabattoli, Francesca; Beltramello, Alberto; Bonetti, Matteo; Bono, Giorgio; Falini, Andrea; Magnani, Giuseppe; Minonzio, Giorgio; Piovan, Enrico; Alaimo, Giuseppina; Ettori, Monica; Galluzzi, Samantha; Locatelli, Enrico; Noiszewska, Malgorzata; Testa, Cristina; Frisoni, Giovanni B

2005-08-01

Gender and age effect on brain morphology have been extensively investigated. However, the great variety in methods applied to morphology partly explain the conflicting results of linear patterns of tissue changes and lateral asymmetry in men and women. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of age, gender and laterality on the volumes of gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM) in a large group of healthy adults by means of voxel-based morphometry. This technique, based on observer-independent algorithms, automatically segments the 3 types of tissue and computes the amount of tissue in each single voxel. Subjects were 229 healthy subjects of 40 years of age or older, who underwent magnetic resonance (MR) for reasons other than cognitive impairment. MR images were reoriented following the AC-PC line and, after removing the voxels below the cerebellum, were processed by Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM99). GM and WM volumes were normalized for intracranial volume. Women had more fractional GM and WM volumes than men. Age was negatively correlated with both fractional GM and WM, and a gender x age interaction effect was found for WM, men having greater WM loss with advancing age. Pairwise differences between left and right GM were negative (greater GM in right hemisphere) in men, and positive (greater GM in left hemisphere) in women (-0.56+/-4.2 vs 0.99+/-4.8; p=0.019). These results support side-specific accelerated WM loss in men, and may help our better understanding of changes in regional brain structures associated with pathological aging.

A fourth gradient to overcome slice dependent phase effects of voxel-sized coils in planar arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosshard, John C; Eigenbrodt, Edwin P; McDougall, Mary P; Wright, Steven M

2010-01-01

The signals from an array of densely spaced long and narrow receive coils for MRI are complicated when the voxel size is of comparable dimension to the coil size. The RF coil causes a phase gradient across each voxel, which is dependent on the distance from the coil, resulting in a slice dependent shift of k-space. A fourth gradient coil has been implemented and used with the system's gradient set to create a gradient field which varies with slice. The gradients are pulsed together to impart a slice dependent phase gradient to compensate for the slice dependent phase due to the RF coils. However the non-linearity in the fourth gradient which creates the desired slice dependency also results in a through-slice phase ramp, which disturbs normal slice refocusing and leads to additional signal cancelation and reduced field of view. This paper discusses the benefits and limitations of using a fourth gradient coil to compensate for the phase due to RF coils.

Development of age-specific Japanese physical phantoms for dose evaluation in infant CT examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamauchi-Kawaura, C.; Fujii, K.; Imai, K.; Ikeda, M.; Akahane, K.; Obara, S.; Yamauchi, M.; Narai, K.; Katsu, T.

2016-01-01

Secondary to the previous development of age-specific Japanese head phantoms, the authors designed Japanese torso phantoms for dose assessment in infant computed tomography (CT) examinations and completed a Japanese 3-y-old head-torso phantom. For design of age-specific torso phantoms (0, 0.5, 1 and 3 y old), anatomical structures were measured from CT images of Japanese infant patients. From the CT morphometry, it was found that rib cages of Japanese infants were smaller than those in Europeans and Americans. Radiophotoluminescence glass dosemeters were used for dose measurement of a 3-y-old head-torso phantom. To examine the validity of the developed phantom, organ and effective doses by the in-phantom dosimetry system were compared with simulation values in a web-based CT dose calculation system (WAZA-ARI). The differences in doses between the two systems were <20 % at the doses of organs within scan regions and effective doses in head, chest and abdomino-pelvic CT examinations. (authors)

Investigation of organ dose difference of age phantoms for medical X-ray examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Sang Hyun; Kim, Woo Ran; Lee, Jai Ki; Lee, Choon Sik

2003-01-01

Methodology for calculating the organ equivalent doses and the effective doses of pediatric and adult patients undergoing medical X-ray examinations were established. The MIRD-type mathematical phantoms of 4 age groups were constructed with addition of the esophagus to the same phantoms. Two typical examination procedures, chest PA and abdomen AP, were simulated for the pediatric patients as well as the adult as illustrative examples. The results confirmed that patients pick up approximate 0.03 mSv of effective dose from a single chest PA examination, and 0.4 to 1.7 mSv from an abdomen AP examination depending on the ages. For dose calculations where irradiation is made with a limited field, the details of the position, size and shape of the organs and the organ depth from the entrance surface considerably affect the resulting doses. Therefore, it is important to optimize radiation protection by control of X-ray properties and beam examination field. The calculation result, provided in this study, can be used to implement optimization for medical radiation protection

MO-F-CAMPUS-I-02: Accuracy in Converting the Average Breast Dose Into the Mean Glandular Dose (MGD) Using the F-Factor in Cone Beam Breast CT- a Monte Carlo Study Using Homogeneous and Quasi-Homogeneous Phantoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lai, C; Zhong, Y; Wang, T; Shaw, C [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To investigate the accuracy in estimating the mean glandular dose (MGD) for homogeneous breast phantoms by converting from the average breast dose using the F-factor in cone beam breast CT. Methods: EGSnrc-based Monte Carlo codes were used to estimate the MGDs. 13-cm in diameter, 10-cm high hemi-ellipsoids were used to simulate pendant-geometry breasts. Two different types of hemi-ellipsoidal models were employed: voxels in quasi-homogeneous phantoms were designed as either adipose or glandular tissue while voxels in homogeneous phantoms were designed as the mixture of adipose and glandular tissues. Breast compositions of 25% and 50% volume glandular fractions (VGFs), defined as the ratio of glandular tissue voxels to entire breast voxels in the quasi-homogeneous phantoms, were studied. These VGFs were converted into glandular fractions by weight and used to construct the corresponding homogeneous phantoms. 80 kVp x-rays with a mean energy of 47 keV was used in the simulation. A total of 109 photons were used to image the phantoms and the energies deposited in the phantom voxels were tallied. Breast doses in homogeneous phantoms were averaged over all voxels and then used to calculate the MGDs using the F-factors evaluated at the mean energy of the x-rays. The MGDs for quasi-homogeneous phantoms were computed directly by averaging the doses over all glandular tissue voxels. The MGDs estimated for the two types of phantoms were normalized to the free-in-air dose at the iso-center and compared. Results: The normalized MGDs were 0.756 and 0.732 mGy/mGy for the 25% and 50% VGF homogeneous breasts and 0.761 and 0.733 mGy/mGy for the corresponding quasi-homogeneous breasts, respectively. The MGDs estimated for the two types of phantoms were similar within 1% in this study. Conclusion: MGDs for homogeneous breast models may be adequately estimated by converting from the average breast dose using the F-factor.

MO-F-CAMPUS-I-02: Accuracy in Converting the Average Breast Dose Into the Mean Glandular Dose (MGD) Using the F-Factor in Cone Beam Breast CT- a Monte Carlo Study Using Homogeneous and Quasi-Homogeneous Phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lai, C; Zhong, Y; Wang, T; Shaw, C

2015-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the accuracy in estimating the mean glandular dose (MGD) for homogeneous breast phantoms by converting from the average breast dose using the F-factor in cone beam breast CT. Methods: EGSnrc-based Monte Carlo codes were used to estimate the MGDs. 13-cm in diameter, 10-cm high hemi-ellipsoids were used to simulate pendant-geometry breasts. Two different types of hemi-ellipsoidal models were employed: voxels in quasi-homogeneous phantoms were designed as either adipose or glandular tissue while voxels in homogeneous phantoms were designed as the mixture of adipose and glandular tissues. Breast compositions of 25% and 50% volume glandular fractions (VGFs), defined as the ratio of glandular tissue voxels to entire breast voxels in the quasi-homogeneous phantoms, were studied. These VGFs were converted into glandular fractions by weight and used to construct the corresponding homogeneous phantoms. 80 kVp x-rays with a mean energy of 47 keV was used in the simulation. A total of 109 photons were used to image the phantoms and the energies deposited in the phantom voxels were tallied. Breast doses in homogeneous phantoms were averaged over all voxels and then used to calculate the MGDs using the F-factors evaluated at the mean energy of the x-rays. The MGDs for quasi-homogeneous phantoms were computed directly by averaging the doses over all glandular tissue voxels. The MGDs estimated for the two types of phantoms were normalized to the free-in-air dose at the iso-center and compared. Results: The normalized MGDs were 0.756 and 0.732 mGy/mGy for the 25% and 50% VGF homogeneous breasts and 0.761 and 0.733 mGy/mGy for the corresponding quasi-homogeneous breasts, respectively. The MGDs estimated for the two types of phantoms were similar within 1% in this study. Conclusion: MGDs for homogeneous breast models may be adequately estimated by converting from the average breast dose using the F-factor

Temperature dependence of HU values for various water equivalent phantom materials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Homolka, P.; Nowotny, R.; Gahleitner, A.

2002-01-01

The temperature dependence of water equivalent phantom materials used in radiotherapy and diagnostic imaging has been investigated. Samples of phantom materials based on epoxy resin, polyethylene, a polystyrene-polypropylene mixture and commercially available phantom materials (Solid Water TM , Gammex RMI and Plastic Water TM , Nuclear Associates) were scanned at temperatures from 15 to 40 deg. C and HU values determined. At a reference temperature of 20 deg. C materials optimized for CT applications give HU values close to zero while the commercial materials show an offset of 119.77 HU (Plastic Water) and 27.69 HU (Solid Water). Temperature dependence was lowest for epoxy-based materials (EPX-W: -0.23 HU deg. C -1 ; Solid Water: -0.25 HU deg. C -1 ) and highest for a polyethylene-based material (X0: -0.72 HU deg. C -1 ). A material based on a mixture of polystyrene and polypropylene (PSPP1: -0.27 HU deg. C -1 ) is comparable to epoxy-based materials and water (-0.29 HU deg. C -1 ). (author)

Octree indexing of DICOM images for voxel number reduction and improvement of Monte Carlo simulation computing efficiency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hubert-Tremblay, Vincent; Archambault, Louis; Tubic, Dragan; Roy, Rene; Beaulieu, Luc

2006-01-01

The purpose of the present study is to introduce a compression algorithm for the CT (computed tomography) data used in Monte Carlo simulations. Performing simulations on the CT data implies large computational costs as well as large memory requirements since the number of voxels in such data reaches typically into hundreds of millions voxels. CT data, however, contain homogeneous regions which could be regrouped to form larger voxels without affecting the simulation's accuracy. Based on this property we propose a compression algorithm based on octrees: in homogeneous regions the algorithm replaces groups of voxels with a smaller number of larger voxels. This reduces the number of voxels while keeping the critical high-density gradient area. Results obtained using the present algorithm on both phantom and clinical data show that compression rates up to 75% are possible without losing the dosimetric accuracy of the simulation

A software for digital image processing used in constructions of voxels phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, Jose Wilson; Fernando Roberto de Andrade

2008-01-01

This paper presents, based on menus and menu items, the second version of software DIP-Digital Image Processing, that reads, edits and writes binary files containing the matrix 3D corresponding to a transversal voxels images of a certain geometry that may be a human body or other volume of interest

Voxel-based analysis of whole-brain effects of age and gender on dopamine transporter SPECT imaging in healthy subjects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eusebio, Alexandre; Azulay, Jean-Philippe; Ceccaldi, Mathieu; Girard, Nadine; Mundler, Olivier; Guedj, Eric

2012-01-01

Several studies have shown age- and gender-related differences in striatal dopamine transporter (DaT) binding. These studies were based on a striatal region on interest approach that may have underestimated these effects and could not evaluate extrastriatal regions. Our aim was to determine the effects at the voxel level of age and gender on whole-brain DaT distribution using [ 123 I]FP-CIT SPECT in healthy subjects. We performed a whole-brain [ 123 I]FP-CIT SPECT voxel-based analysis using SPM8 and a standardized normalization template (p < 0.05, corrected using the false discovery rate method) in 51 healthy subjects aged from 21 to 79 years. We found an age-related DaT binding decrease in the striatum, anterior cingulate/medial frontal cortices and insulo-opercular cortices. Also DaT binding ratios were higher in women than men in the striatum and opercular cortices. This study showed both striatal and extrastriatal age-related and gender-related differences in DaT binding in healthy subjects using a whole-brain voxel-based non-a priori approach. These differences highlight the need for careful age and gender matching in DaT analyses of neuropsychiatric disorders. (orig.)

Voxel-based analysis of whole-brain effects of age and gender on dopamine transporter SPECT imaging in healthy subjects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Eusebio, Alexandre; Azulay, Jean-Philippe [APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service de Neurologie et Pathologie du Mouvement, Marseille (France); CNRS, Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Marseille (France); Ceccaldi, Mathieu [APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service de Neurologie et de Neuropsychologie, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille Univ, UMR Inserm 1106, Institut de Neurosciences des Systemes, Marseille (France); Girard, Nadine [APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service de Neuroradiologie diagnostique et interventionnelle, Marseille (France); Mundler, Olivier [APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service Central de Biophysique et Medecine Nucleaire, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille Univ, CERIMED, Marseille (France); Guedj, Eric [CNRS, Aix-Marseille Univ, Institut de Neurosciences de la Timone, Marseille (France); APHM, Hopital de la Timone, Service Central de Biophysique et Medecine Nucleaire, Marseille (France); Aix-Marseille Univ, CERIMED, Marseille (France)

2012-11-15

Several studies have shown age- and gender-related differences in striatal dopamine transporter (DaT) binding. These studies were based on a striatal region on interest approach that may have underestimated these effects and could not evaluate extrastriatal regions. Our aim was to determine the effects at the voxel level of age and gender on whole-brain DaT distribution using [{sup 123}I]FP-CIT SPECT in healthy subjects. We performed a whole-brain [{sup 123}I]FP-CIT SPECT voxel-based analysis using SPM8 and a standardized normalization template (p < 0.05, corrected using the false discovery rate method) in 51 healthy subjects aged from 21 to 79 years. We found an age-related DaT binding decrease in the striatum, anterior cingulate/medial frontal cortices and insulo-opercular cortices. Also DaT binding ratios were higher in women than men in the striatum and opercular cortices. This study showed both striatal and extrastriatal age-related and gender-related differences in DaT binding in healthy subjects using a whole-brain voxel-based non-a priori approach. These differences highlight the need for careful age and gender matching in DaT analyses of neuropsychiatric disorders. (orig.)

Finite-element modeling of compression and gravity on a population of breast phantoms for multimodality imaging simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Sturgeon, Gregory M; Kiarashi, Nooshin; Lo, Joseph Y; Samei, E; Segars, W P

2016-05-01

The authors are developing a series of computational breast phantoms based on breast CT data for imaging research. In this work, the authors develop a program that will allow a user to alter the phantoms to simulate the effect of gravity and compression of the breast (craniocaudal or mediolateral oblique) making the phantoms applicable to multimodality imaging. This application utilizes a template finite-element (FE) breast model that can be applied to their presegmented voxelized breast phantoms. The FE model is automatically fit to the geometry of a given breast phantom, and the material properties of each element are set based on the segmented voxels contained within the element. The loading and boundary conditions, which include gravity, are then assigned based on a user-defined position and compression. The effect of applying these loads to the breast is computed using a multistage contact analysis in FEBio, a freely available and well-validated FE software package specifically designed for biomedical applications. The resulting deformation of the breast is then applied to a boundary mesh representation of the phantom that can be used for simulating medical images. An efficient script performs the above actions seamlessly. The user only needs to specify which voxelized breast phantom to use, the compressed thickness, and orientation of the breast. The authors utilized their FE application to simulate compressed states of the breast indicative of mammography and tomosynthesis. Gravity and compression were simulated on example phantoms and used to generate mammograms in the craniocaudal or mediolateral oblique views. The simulated mammograms show a high degree of realism illustrating the utility of the FE method in simulating imaging data of repositioned and compressed breasts. The breast phantoms and the compression software can become a useful resource to the breast imaging research community. These phantoms can then be used to evaluate and compare imaging

Development of the two Korean adult tomographic computational phantoms for organ dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lee, Choonik; Park, Sang-Hyun; Lee, Jai-Ki

2006-01-01

Following the previously developed Korean tomographic phantom, KORMAN, two additional whole-body tomographic phantoms of Korean adult males were developed from magnetic resonance (MR) and computed tomography (CT) images, respectively. Two healthy male volunteers, whose body dimensions were fairly representative of the average Korean adult male, were recruited and scanned for phantom development. Contiguous whole body MR images were obtained from one subject exclusive of the arms, while whole-body CT images were acquired from the second individual. A total of 29 organs and tissues and 19 skeletal sites were segmented via image manipulation techniques such as gray-level thresholding, region growing, and manual drawing, in which each of segmented image slice was subsequently reviewed by an experienced radiologist for anatomical accuracy. The resulting phantoms, the MR-based KTMAN-1 (Korean Typical MAN-1) and the CT-based KTMAN-2 (Korean Typical MAN-2), consist of 300x150x344 voxels with a voxel resolution of 2x2x5 mm 3 for both phantoms. Masses of segmented organs and tissues were calculated as the product of a nominal reference density, the prevoxel volume, and the cumulative number of voxels defining each organs or tissue. These organs masses were then compared with those of both the Asian and the ICRP reference adult male. Organ masses within both KTMAN-1 and KTMAN-2 showed differences within 40% of Asian and ICRP reference values, with the exception of the skin, gall bladder, and pancreas which displayed larger differences. The resulting three-dimensional binary file was ported to the Monte Carlo code MCNPX2.4 to calculate organ doses following external irradiation for illustrative purposes. Colon, lung, liver, and stomach absorbed doses, as well as the effective dose, for idealized photon irradiation geometries (anterior-posterior and right lateral) were determined, and then compared with data from two other tomographic phantoms (Asian and Caucasian), and

Monte Carlo study of voxel S factor dependence on tissue density and atomic composition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Amato, Ernesto, E-mail: eamato@unime.it [University of Messina, Department of Biomedical Sciences and of Morphologic and Functional Imaging, Section of Radiological Sciences, via Consolare Valeria, 1, I-98125 Messina (Italy); Italiano, Antonio [INFN – Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Gruppo Collegato di Messina (Italy); Baldari, Sergio [University of Messina, Department of Biomedical Sciences and of Morphologic and Functional Imaging, Section of Radiological Sciences, via Consolare Valeria, 1, I-98125 Messina (Italy)

2013-11-21

Voxel dosimetry is a common approach to the internal dosimetry of non-uniform activity distributions in nuclear medicine therapies with radiopharmaceuticals and in the estimation of the radiation hazard due to internal contamination of radionuclides. Aim of the present work is to extend our analytical approach for the calculation of voxel S factors to materials different from the soft tissue. We used a Monte Carlo simulation in GEANT4 of a voxelized region of each material in which the source of monoenergetic electrons or photons was uniformly distributed within the central voxel, and the energy deposition was scored over the surrounding 11×11×11 voxels. Voxel S factors were obtained for the following standard ICRP materials: Adipose tissue, Bone cortical, Brain, Lung, Muscle skeletal and Tissue soft with 1 g cm{sup −3} density. Moreover, we considered the standard ICRU materials: Bone compact and Muscle striated. Voxel S factors were represented as a function of the “normalized radius”, defined as the ratio between the source–target voxel distance and the voxel side. We found that voxel S factors and related analytical fit functions are mainly affected by the tissue density, while the material composition gives only a slight contribution to the difference between data series, which is negligible for practical purposes. Our results can help in broadening the dosimetric three-dimensional approach based on voxel S factors to other tissues where diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides can be taken up and radiation can propagate.

Monte Carlo study of voxel S factor dependence on tissue density and atomic composition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amato, Ernesto; Italiano, Antonio; Baldari, Sergio

2013-01-01

Voxel dosimetry is a common approach to the internal dosimetry of non-uniform activity distributions in nuclear medicine therapies with radiopharmaceuticals and in the estimation of the radiation hazard due to internal contamination of radionuclides. Aim of the present work is to extend our analytical approach for the calculation of voxel S factors to materials different from the soft tissue. We used a Monte Carlo simulation in GEANT4 of a voxelized region of each material in which the source of monoenergetic electrons or photons was uniformly distributed within the central voxel, and the energy deposition was scored over the surrounding 11×11×11 voxels. Voxel S factors were obtained for the following standard ICRP materials: Adipose tissue, Bone cortical, Brain, Lung, Muscle skeletal and Tissue soft with 1 g cm −3 density. Moreover, we considered the standard ICRU materials: Bone compact and Muscle striated. Voxel S factors were represented as a function of the “normalized radius”, defined as the ratio between the source–target voxel distance and the voxel side. We found that voxel S factors and related analytical fit functions are mainly affected by the tissue density, while the material composition gives only a slight contribution to the difference between data series, which is negligible for practical purposes. Our results can help in broadening the dosimetric three-dimensional approach based on voxel S factors to other tissues where diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides can be taken up and radiation can propagate

Construction of anthropomorphic hybrid, dual-lattice voxel models for optimizing image quality and dose in radiography

Science.gov (United States)

Petoussi-Henss, Nina; Becker, Janine; Greiter, Matthias; Schlattl, Helmut; Zankl, Maria; Hoeschen, Christoph

2014-03-01

In radiography there is generally a conflict between the best image quality and the lowest possible patient dose. A proven method of dosimetry is the simulation of radiation transport in virtual human models (i.e. phantoms). However, while the resolution of these voxel models is adequate for most dosimetric purposes, they cannot provide the required organ fine structures necessary for the assessment of the imaging quality. The aim of this work is to develop hybrid/dual-lattice voxel models (called also phantoms) as well as simulation methods by which patient dose and image quality for typical radiographic procedures can be determined. The results will provide a basis to investigate by means of simulations the relationships between patient dose and image quality for various imaging parameters and develop methods for their optimization. A hybrid model, based on NURBS (Non Linear Uniform Rational B-Spline) and PM (Polygon Mesh) surfaces, was constructed from an existing voxel model of a female patient. The organs of the hybrid model can be then scaled and deformed in a non-uniform way i.e. organ by organ; they can be, thus, adapted to patient characteristics without losing their anatomical realism. Furthermore, the left lobe of the lung was substituted by a high resolution lung voxel model, resulting in a dual-lattice geometry model. "Dual lattice" means in this context the combination of voxel models with different resolution. Monte Carlo simulations of radiographic imaging were performed with the code EGS4nrc, modified such as to perform dual lattice transport. Results are presented for a thorax examination.

Automatic calibration method of voxel size for cone-beam 3D-CT scanning system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Min; Wang Xiaolong; Wei Dongbo; Liu Yipeng; Meng Fanyong; Li Xingdong; Liu Wenli

2014-01-01

For a cone-beam three-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT) scanning system, voxel size is an important indicator to guarantee the accuracy of data analysis and feature measurement based on 3D-CT images. Meanwhile, the voxel size changes with the movement of the rotary stage along X-ray direction. In order to realize the automatic calibration of the voxel size, a new and easily-implemented method is proposed. According to this method, several projections of a spherical phantom are captured at different imaging positions and the corresponding voxel size values are calculated by non-linear least-square fitting. Through these interpolation values, a linear equation is obtained that reflects the relationship between the voxel size and the rotary stage translation distance from its nominal zero position. Finally, the linear equation is imported into the calibration module of the 3D-CT scanning system. When the rotary stage is moving along X-ray direction, the accurate value of the voxel size is dynamically exported. The experimental results prove that this method meets the requirements of the actual CT scanning system, and has virtues of easy implementation and high accuracy. (authors)

Evaluation of the fluence to dose conversion coefficients for high energy neutrons using a voxel phantom coupled with the GEANT4 code

CERN Document Server

Paganini, S

2005-01-01

Crews working on present-day jet aircraft are a large occupationally exposed group with a relatively high average effective dose from Galactic cosmic radiation. Crews of future high-speed commercial flying at higher altitudes would be even more exposed. To help reduce the significant uncertainties in calculations of such exposures, the male adult voxels phantom MAX, developed in the Nuclear Energy Department of Pernambuco Federal University in Brazil, has been coupled with the Monte Carlo simulation code GEANT4. This toolkit, distributed and upgraded from the international scientific community of CERN/Switzerland, simulates thermal to ultrahigh energy neutrons transport and interactions in the matter. The high energy neutrons are pointed as the component that contribute about 70% of the neutron effective dose that represent the 35% to 60% total dose at aircraft altitude. In this research calculations of conversion coefficients from fluence to effective dose are performed for neutrons of energies from 100 MeV ...

Voxel2MCNP: a framework for modeling, simulation and evaluation of radiation transport scenarios for Monte Carlo codes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pölz, Stefan; Laubersheimer, Sven; Eberhardt, Jakob S; Harrendorf, Marco A; Keck, Thomas; Benzler, Andreas; Breustedt, Bastian

2013-01-01

The basic idea of Voxel2MCNP is to provide a framework supporting users in modeling radiation transport scenarios using voxel phantoms and other geometric models, generating corresponding input for the Monte Carlo code MCNPX, and evaluating simulation output. Applications at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are primarily whole and partial body counter calibration and calculation of dose conversion coefficients. A new generic data model describing data related to radiation transport, including phantom and detector geometries and their properties, sources, tallies and materials, has been developed. It is modular and generally independent of the targeted Monte Carlo code. The data model has been implemented as an XML-based file format to facilitate data exchange, and integrated with Voxel2MCNP to provide a common interface for modeling, visualization, and evaluation of data. Also, extensions to allow compatibility with several file formats, such as ENSDF for nuclear structure properties and radioactive decay data, SimpleGeo for solid geometry modeling, ImageJ for voxel lattices, and MCNPX’s MCTAL for simulation results have been added. The framework is presented and discussed in this paper and example workflows for body counter calibration and calculation of dose conversion coefficients is given to illustrate its application. (paper)

Characterization and validation of the thorax phantom Lungman for dose assessment in chest radiography optimization studies.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez Pérez, Sunay; Marshall, Nicholas William; Struelens, Lara; Bosmans, Hilde

2018-01-01

This work concerns the validation of the Kyoto-Kagaku thorax anthropomorphic phantom Lungman for use in chest radiography optimization. The equivalence in terms of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) was established for the lung and mediastinum regions of the phantom. Patient chest examination data acquired under automatic exposure control were collated over a 2-year period for a standard x-ray room. Parameters surveyed included exposure index, air kerma area product, and exposure time, which were compared with Lungman values. Finally, a voxel model was developed by segmenting computed tomography images of the phantom and implemented in PENELOPE/penEasy Monte Carlo code to compare phantom tissue-equivalent materials with materials from ICRP Publication 89 in terms of organ dose. PMMA equivalence varied depending on tube voltage, from 9.5 to 10.0 cm and from 13.5 to 13.7 cm, for the lungs and mediastinum regions, respectively. For the survey, close agreement was found between the phantom and the patients' median values (deviations lay between 8% and 14%). Differences in lung doses, an important organ for optimization in chest radiography, were below 13% when comparing the use of phantom tissue-equivalent materials versus ICRP materials. The study confirms the value of the Lungman for chest optimization studies.

Development of an improved approach to radiation treatment therapy using high-definition patient-specific voxel phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, R.C.; Ryman, J.C.; Worley, B.A.; Stallings, D.C.

1998-01-01

Through an internally funded project at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a high-resolution phantom was developed based on the National Library of Medicine's Visible Human Data. Special software was written using the interactive data language (IDL) visualization language to automatically segment and classify some of the organs and the skeleton of the Visible Male. A high definition phantom consisting of nine hundred 512 x 512 slices was constructed of the entire torso. Computed tomography (CT) images of a patient's tumor near the spine were scaled and morphed into the phantom model to create a patient-specific phantom. Calculations of dose to the tumor and surrounding tissue were then performed using the patient-specific phantom

Study on the Construction of a High-definition Whole-body Voxel Model based on Cadaver's Color Photographic Anatomical Slice Images and Monte Carlo Dose Calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Sang Hyoun

2007-08-01

Ajou University School of Medicine made the serially sectioned anatomical images from the Visible Korean Human (VKH) Project in Korea. The VKH images, which are the high-resolution color photographic images, show the organs and tissues in the human body very clearly at 0.2 mm intervals. In this study, we constructed a high-quality voxel model (VKH-Man) with a total of 30 organs and tissues by manual and automatic segmentation method using the serially sectioned anatomical image data from the Visible Korean Human (VKH) project in Korea. The height and weight of VKH-Man voxel model is 164 cm and 57.6 kg, respectively, and the voxel resolution is 1.875 x 1.875 x 2 mm 3 . However, this voxel phantom can be used to calculate the organ and tissue doses of only one person. Therefore, in this study, we adjusted the voxel phantom to the 'Reference Korean' data to construct the voxel phantom that represents the radiation workers in Korea. The height and weight of the voxel model (HDRK-Man) that is finally developed are 171 cm and 68 kg, respectively, and the voxel resolution is 1.981 x 1.981 x 2.0854 mm 3 . VKH-Man and HDRK-Man voxel model were implemented in a Monte Carlo particle transport simulation code for calculation of the organ and tissue doses in various irradiation geometries. The calculated values were compared with each other to see the effect of the adjustment and also compared with other computational models (KTMAN-2, ICRP-74 and VIP-Man). According to the results, the adjustment of the voxel model was found hardly affect the dose calculations and most of the organ and tissue equivalent doses showed some differences among the models. These results shows that the difference in figure, and organ topology affects the organ doses more than the organ size. The calculated values of the effective dose from VKH-Man and HDRK-Man according to the ICRP-60 and upcoming ICRP recommendation were compared. For the other radiation geometries (AP, LLAT, RLAT) except for PA

Use of VAP3D software in the construction of pathological anthropomorphic phantoms for dosimetric evaluations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lima, Lindeval Fernandes de; Lima, Fernando R.A.

2011-01-01

This paper performs a new type of dosimetric evaluation, where it was used a phantom of pathological voxels (representative phantom of sick person). The software VAP3D (Visualization and Analysis of Phantoms 3D) were used for, from a healthy phantom (phantom representative of healthy person), to introduce three dimensional regions to simulate tumors. It was used the Monte Carlo ESGnrc code to simulate the X ray photon transport, his interaction with matter and evaluation of absorbed dose in organs and tissues from thorax region of the healthy phantom and his pathological version. This is a computer model of typical exposure for programming the treatments in radiodiagnostic

FDTD calculations of specific energy absorption rate in a seated voxel model of the human body from 10 MHz to 3 GHz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Findlay, R P; Dimbylow, P J [Health Protection Agency, Chilton, Didcot, Oxon OX11 0RQ (United Kingdom)

2006-05-07

Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations have been performed to investigate the frequency dependence of the specific energy absorption rate (SAR) in a seated voxel model of the human body. The seated model was derived from NORMAN (NORmalized MAN), an anatomically realistic voxel phantom in the standing posture with arms to the side. Exposure conditions included both vertically and horizontally polarized plane wave electric fields between 10 MHz and 3 GHz. The resolution of the voxel model was 4 mm for frequencies up to 360 MHz and 2 mm for calculations in the higher frequency range. The reduction in voxel size permitted the calculation of SAR at these higher frequencies using the FDTD method. SAR values have been calculated for the seated adult phantom and scaled versions representing 10-, 5- and 1-year-old children under isolated and grounded conditions. These scaled models do not exactly reproduce the dimensions and anatomy of children, but represent good geometric information for a seated child. Results show that, when the field is vertically polarized, the sitting position causes a second, smaller resonance condition not seen in resonance curves for the phantom in the standing posture. This occurs at {approx}130 MHz for the adult model when grounded. Partial-body SAR calculations indicate that the upper and lower regions of the body have their own resonant frequency at {approx}120 MHz and {approx}160 MHz, respectively, when the grounded adult model is orientated in the sitting position. These combine to produce this second resonance peak in the whole-body averaged SAR values calculated. Two resonance peaks also occur for the sitting posture when the incident electric field is horizontally polarized. For the adult model, the peaks in the whole-body averaged SAR occur at {approx}180 and {approx}600 MHz. These peaks are due to resonance in the arms and feet, respectively. Layer absorption plots and colour images of SAR in individual voxels show the

FDTD calculations of specific energy absorption rate in a seated voxel model of the human body from 10 MHz to 3 GHz

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Findlay, R P; Dimbylow, P J

2006-01-01

Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations have been performed to investigate the frequency dependence of the specific energy absorption rate (SAR) in a seated voxel model of the human body. The seated model was derived from NORMAN (NORmalized MAN), an anatomically realistic voxel phantom in the standing posture with arms to the side. Exposure conditions included both vertically and horizontally polarized plane wave electric fields between 10 MHz and 3 GHz. The resolution of the voxel model was 4 mm for frequencies up to 360 MHz and 2 mm for calculations in the higher frequency range. The reduction in voxel size permitted the calculation of SAR at these higher frequencies using the FDTD method. SAR values have been calculated for the seated adult phantom and scaled versions representing 10-, 5- and 1-year-old children under isolated and grounded conditions. These scaled models do not exactly reproduce the dimensions and anatomy of children, but represent good geometric information for a seated child. Results show that, when the field is vertically polarized, the sitting position causes a second, smaller resonance condition not seen in resonance curves for the phantom in the standing posture. This occurs at ∼130 MHz for the adult model when grounded. Partial-body SAR calculations indicate that the upper and lower regions of the body have their own resonant frequency at ∼120 MHz and ∼160 MHz, respectively, when the grounded adult model is orientated in the sitting position. These combine to produce this second resonance peak in the whole-body averaged SAR values calculated. Two resonance peaks also occur for the sitting posture when the incident electric field is horizontally polarized. For the adult model, the peaks in the whole-body averaged SAR occur at ∼180 and ∼600 MHz. These peaks are due to resonance in the arms and feet, respectively. Layer absorption plots and colour images of SAR in individual voxels show the specific regions in which the

Relationship between aging and T1 relaxation time in deep gray matter: A voxel-based analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Okubo, Gosuke; Okada, Tomohisa; Yamamoto, Akira; Fushimi, Yasutaka; Okada, Tsutomu; Murata, Katsutoshi; Togashi, Kaori

2017-09-01

To investigate age-related changes in T 1 relaxation time in deep gray matter structures in healthy volunteers using magnetization-prepared 2 rapid acquisition gradient echoes (MP2RAGE). In all, 70 healthy volunteers (aged 20-76, mean age 42.6 years) were scanned at 3T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A MP2RAGE sequence was employed to quantify T 1 relaxation times. After the spatial normalization of T 1 maps with the diffeomorphic anatomical registration using the exponentiated Lie algebra algorithm, voxel-based regression analysis was conducted. In addition, linear and quadratic regression analyses of regions of interest (ROIs) were also performed. With aging, voxel-based analysis (VBA) revealed significant T 1 value decreases in the ventral-inferior putamen, nucleus accumbens, and amygdala, whereas T 1 values significantly increased in the thalamus and white matter as well (P time vary by location in deep gray matter. 2 Technical Efficacy: Stage 2 J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2017;46:724-731. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Development and application of anthropomorphic voxel phantom of the head for in vivo measurement.

Science.gov (United States)

Vrba, T

2007-01-01

The in vivo measurement of the activity deposited in the skeleton is a very useful source of information on human internal contaminations with transuranic elements, e.g. americium 241, especially for long time periods after intake. Measurements are performed on the skull or the larger joints such as the knee or elbow. The paper deals with the construction of an anthropomorphic numerical phantom based on CT scans, its potential for calibration and the estimation of the uncertainties of the detection system. The density of bones, activity distribution and position of the detectors were changed in individual simulations in order to estimate their effects on the result of the measurement. The results from simulations with the numerical phantom were compared with the results of physical phantoms.

Fluence-to-effective dose conversion coefficients from a Saudi population based phantom for monoenergetic photon beams from 10 keV to 20 MeV

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Andy K; Hussein, Mohammed Adel; Altaher, Khalid Mohammed; Farid, Khalid Yousif; Amer, Mamun; Aldhafery, Bander Fuhaid; Alghamdi, Ali A

2015-01-01

Fluence-to-dose conversion coefficients are important quantities for radiation protection, derived from Monte Carlo simulations of the radiation particles through a stylised phantom or voxel based phantoms. The voxel phantoms have been developed for many ethnic groups for their accurate reflection of the anatomy. In this study, we used the Monte Carlo code MCNPX to calculate the photon fluence-to-effective dose conversion coefficients with a voxel phantom based on the Saudi Arabian male population. Six irradiation geometries, anterior–posterior (AP), posterior–anterior (PA), left lateral (LLAT), right lateral (RLAT), rotational (ROT) and isotropic (ISO) were simulated for monoenergetic photon beams from 10 keV to 20 MeV. We compared the coefficients with the reference values in ICRP Publication 116. The coefficients in the AP and PA geometries match the reference values to 9% and 12% on average as measured by root mean square while those in the LLAT, RLAT ROT and ISO geometries differ, mostly below, from the reference by 23, 22, 15 and 16%, respectively. The torso of the Saudi phantom is wider than the ICRP reference male phantom and likely to cause more attenuation to the lateral beam. The ICRP reference coefficients serve well for the Saudi male population as conservative estimations for the purpose of radiation protection. (paper)

Development and tests of a mouse voxel model dor MCNPX based on Digimouse images

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Melo M, B.; Ferreira F, C. [Centro de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear / CNEN, Pte. Antonio Carlos No. 6627, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais (Brazil); Garcia de A, I.; Machado T, B.; Passos Ribeiro de C, T., E-mail: bmm@cdtn.br [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear, Pte. Antonio Carlos 6627, Belo Horizonte 31270-901, Minas Gerais (Brazil)

2015-10-15

Mice have been widely used in experimental protocols involving ionizing radiation. Biological effects (Be) induced by radiation can compromise studies results. Good estimates of mouse whole body and organs absorbed dose could provide valuable information to researchers. The aim of this study was to create and test a new voxel phantom for mice dosimetry from -Digimouse- project images. Micro CT images from Digimouse project were used in this work. Corel PHOTOPAINT software was utilized in segmentation process. The three-dimensional (3-D) model assembly and its voxel size manipulation were performed by Image J. SISCODES was used to adapt the model to run in MCNPX Monte Carlo code. The resulting model was called DM{sub B}RA. The volume and mass of segmented organs were compared with data available in literature. For the preliminary tests the heart was considered the source organ. Photons of diverse energies were simulated and Saf values obtained through F6:p and + F6 MCNPX tallies. The results were compared with reference data. 3-D picturing of absorbed doses patterns and relative errors distribution were generated by a C++ -in house- made program and visualized through Amide software. The organ masses of DM{sub B}RA correlated well with two models that were based on same set of images. However some organs, like eyes and adrenals, skeleton and brain showed large discrepancies. Segmentation of an identical image set by different persons and/or methods can result significant organ masses variations. We believe that the main causes of these differences were: i) operator dependent subjectivity in the definition of organ limits during the segmentation processes; and i i) distinct voxel dimensions between evaluated models. Lack of reference data for mice models construction and dosimetry was detected. Comparison with other models originated from different mice strains also demonstrated that the anatomical and size variability can be significant. Use of + F6 tally for mouse

Development and tests of a mouse voxel model dor MCNPX based on Digimouse images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Melo M, B.; Ferreira F, C.; Garcia de A, I.; Machado T, B.; Passos Ribeiro de C, T.

2015-10-01

Mice have been widely used in experimental protocols involving ionizing radiation. Biological effects (Be) induced by radiation can compromise studies results. Good estimates of mouse whole body and organs absorbed dose could provide valuable information to researchers. The aim of this study was to create and test a new voxel phantom for mice dosimetry from -Digimouse- project images. Micro CT images from Digimouse project were used in this work. Corel PHOTOPAINT software was utilized in segmentation process. The three-dimensional (3-D) model assembly and its voxel size manipulation were performed by Image J. SISCODES was used to adapt the model to run in MCNPX Monte Carlo code. The resulting model was called DM B RA. The volume and mass of segmented organs were compared with data available in literature. For the preliminary tests the heart was considered the source organ. Photons of diverse energies were simulated and Saf values obtained through F6:p and + F6 MCNPX tallies. The results were compared with reference data. 3-D picturing of absorbed doses patterns and relative errors distribution were generated by a C++ -in house- made program and visualized through Amide software. The organ masses of DM B RA correlated well with two models that were based on same set of images. However some organs, like eyes and adrenals, skeleton and brain showed large discrepancies. Segmentation of an identical image set by different persons and/or methods can result significant organ masses variations. We believe that the main causes of these differences were: i) operator dependent subjectivity in the definition of organ limits during the segmentation processes; and i i) distinct voxel dimensions between evaluated models. Lack of reference data for mice models construction and dosimetry was detected. Comparison with other models originated from different mice strains also demonstrated that the anatomical and size variability can be significant. Use of + F6 tally for mouse phantoms

TU-F-CAMPUS-J-04: Impact of Voxel Anisotropy On Statistic Texture Features of Oncologic PET: A Simulation Study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang, F; Byrd, D; Bowen, S; Kinahan, P; Sandison, G

2015-01-01

Purpose: Texture metrics extracted from oncologic PET have been investigated with respect to their usefulness as definitive indicants for prognosis in a variety of cancer. Metric calculation is often based on cubic voxels. Most commonly used PET scanners, however, produce rectangular voxels, which may change texture metrics. The objective of this study was to examine the variability of PET texture feature metrics resulting from voxel anisotropy. Methods: Sinograms of NEMA NU-2 phantom for 18F-FDG were simulated using the ASIM simulation tool. The obtained projection data was reconstructed (3D-OSEM) on grids of cubic and rectangular voxels, producing PET images of resolution of 2.73x2.73x3.27mm3 and 3.27x3.27x3.27mm3, respectively. An interpolated dataset obtained from resampling the rectangular voxel data for isotropic voxel dimension (3.27mm) was also considered. For each image dataset, 28 texture parameters based on grey-level co-occurrence matrices (GLCOM), intensity histograms (GLIH), neighborhood difference matrices (GLNDM), and zone size matrices (GLZSM) were evaluated within lesions of diameter of 33, 28, 22, and 17mm. Results: In reference to the isotopic image data, texture features appearing on the rectangular voxel data varied with a range of -34-10% for GLCOM based, -31-39% for GLIH based, -80 -161% for GLNDM based, and −6–45% for GLZSM based while varied with a range of -35-23% for GLCOM based, -27-35% for GLIH based, -65-86% for GLNDM based, and -22 -18% for GLZSM based for the interpolated image data. For the anisotropic data, GLNDM-cplx exhibited the largest extent of variation (161%) while GLZSM-zp showed the least (<1%). As to the interpolated data, GLNDM-busy varied the most (86%) while GLIH-engy varied the least (<1%). Conclusion: Variability of texture appearance on oncologic PET with respect to voxel representation is substantial and feature-dependent. It necessitates consideration of standardized voxel representation for inter

Development of a pregnant woman phantom using polygonal mesh, for dosimetric evaluations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cabral, Manuela O.M.; Vieira, Jose W., E-mail: manuela.omc@gmail.com [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (DEN/UFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Departamento de Energia Nuclear; Leal Neto, Viriato, E-mail: viriatoleal@yahoo.com.br [Instituto Federal de Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia de Pernambuco (IFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil); Lima, Fernando R.A., E-mail: falima@cnen.gov.br [Centro Regional de Ciencias Nucleares do Nordeste (CRCN-NE/CNEN-PE), Recife, PE (Brazil)

2014-07-01

Due to the embryo/fetus radiosensitivity the accurate estimation of the absorbed dose distribution in the abdominal area is an additional problem caused by the exposure of pregnant women to ionizing radiation in medical applications. This paper reports the construction and insertion of a fetal representation in a female geometry by means of 3D modeling techniques. In order to characterize an ECM the Grupo de Dosimetria Numerica (GDN) is using, mainly, simulators emitting gamma sources and voxel phantoms coupled to a MC code. The phantoms are predominantly constructed from stacks of magnetic resonance images (MRI), computed tomography (CT) (obtained from scans of real patients) or from 3D modeling techniques. Due to the difficulty of obtaining medical images of pregnant women, 3D objects in several formats (.obj, .max, .blend, etc.) were acquired for anatomical representation of a non-pregnant adult. To construct a fetal representation, the 3D modeling technique called Poly Modeling (polygon mesh) was used inside of the software Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 (free student version). Information about the radiosensibility of organs included in the abdominal area will be used to fit and use the pregnant phantom in numerical dosimetry. For this, the phantom will be voxelized and the masses of organs of interest will be adjusted according to data provided by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Finally, the phantom will be coupled to a MC code creating a MCE that will serve as base for the construction of several other models involving pregnant women submitted to ionizing radiation. (author)

Development of a pregnant woman phantom using polygonal mesh, for dosimetric evaluations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabral, Manuela O.M.; Vieira, Jose W.; Lima, Fernando R.A.

2014-01-01

Due to the embryo/fetus radiosensitivity the accurate estimation of the absorbed dose distribution in the abdominal area is an additional problem caused by the exposure of pregnant women to ionizing radiation in medical applications. This paper reports the construction and insertion of a fetal representation in a female geometry by means of 3D modeling techniques. In order to characterize an ECM the Grupo de Dosimetria Numerica (GDN) is using, mainly, simulators emitting gamma sources and voxel phantoms coupled to a MC code. The phantoms are predominantly constructed from stacks of magnetic resonance images (MRI), computed tomography (CT) (obtained from scans of real patients) or from 3D modeling techniques. Due to the difficulty of obtaining medical images of pregnant women, 3D objects in several formats (.obj, .max, .blend, etc.) were acquired for anatomical representation of a non-pregnant adult. To construct a fetal representation, the 3D modeling technique called Poly Modeling (polygon mesh) was used inside of the software Autodesk 3ds Max 2014 (free student version). Information about the radiosensibility of organs included in the abdominal area will be used to fit and use the pregnant phantom in numerical dosimetry. For this, the phantom will be voxelized and the masses of organs of interest will be adjusted according to data provided by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). Finally, the phantom will be coupled to a MC code creating a MCE that will serve as base for the construction of several other models involving pregnant women submitted to ionizing radiation. (author)

Symbol phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Hongo, Syozo; Takeshita, Hiroshi

1990-01-01

We have developed Japanese phantoms in two procedures for computation of organ doses exposed to internal and/or external radiation sources. One method is to make mathematical phantoms on the basis of ORNL mathematical phantoms. Parameters to specify organs of Japanese mathematical phantom are determined by interpolations of the ORNL data, which define the organs of Caucasian males and females of various ages, i.e. new born, 1, 5, 10, 15 years and adult, with survey data for Japanese physiques. Another procedure is to build 'symbol phantoms' for the Japanese public. The concept and its method of the symbol phantom enables us to make a phantom for an individual when we have all of his transversal section images obtained by a medical imaging device like MRI, and thus we may achieve more realistic phantoms for Japanese public than the mathematical phantoms. Both studies are in progress in NIRS. (author)

A software to edit voxel phantoms and to calculate conversion coefficients for radiation protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, J.W.; Stosic, B.; Lima, F.R.A.; Kramer, R.; Santos, A.M.; Lima, V.J.M.

2005-01-01

The MAX and FAX phantoms have been developed based on a male and female, respectively, adult body from ICRP and coupled to the Monte Carlo code (EGS4). These phantoms permit the calculating of the equivalent dose in organs and tissues of the human body for the radiation protection purposes . In the constructing of these anthropomorphic models, the software developed called FANTOMAS, which performs tasks as file format conversion, filtering 2D and 3D images, exchange of identifying numbers of organs, body mass adjustments based in volume, resampling of 2D and 3D images, resize images, preview consecutive slices of the phantom, running computational models of exposure FANTOMA/EGS4 and viewing graphics of conversion factors between equivalent dose and a measurable dosimetric quantity. This paper presents the main abilities of FANTOMAS and uses the MAX and/or FAX to exemplify some procedures

Calculation of normalised organ and effective doses to adult reference computational phantoms from contemporary computed tomography scanners

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansen, Jan T.M.; Shrimpton, Paul C.

2010-01-01

The general-purpose Monte Carlo radiation transport code MCNPX has been used to simulate photon transport and energy deposition in anthropomorphic phantoms due to the x-ray exposure from the Philips iCT 256 and Siemens Definition CT scanners, together with the previously studied General Electric 9800. The MCNPX code was compiled with the Intel FORTRAN compiler and run on a Linux PC cluster. A patch has been successfully applied to reduce computing times by about 4%. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has recently published the Adult Male (AM) and Adult Female (AF) reference computational voxel phantoms as successors to the Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) stylised hermaphrodite mathematical phantoms that form the basis for the widely-used ImPACT CT dosimetry tool. Comparisons of normalised organ and effective doses calculated for a range of scanner operating conditions have demonstrated significant differences in results (in excess of 30%) between the voxel and mathematical phantoms as a result of variations in anatomy. These analyses illustrate the significant influence of choice of phantom on normalised organ doses and the need for standardisation to facilitate comparisons of dose. Further such dose simulations are needed in order to update the ImPACT CT Patient Dosimetry spreadsheet for contemporary CT practice. (author)

Voxel-by-voxel analysis of brain SPECT perfusion in Fibromyalgia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guedj, Eric; Taieb, David; Cammilleri, Serge; Lussato, David; Laforte, Catherine de; Niboyet, Jean; Mundler, Olivier

2007-01-01

We evaluated brain perfusion SPECT at rest, without noxious stiumuli, in a homogeneous group of hyperalgesic FM patients. We performed a voxel-based analysis in comparison to a control group, matched for age and gender. Under such conditions, we made the assumption that significant cerebral perfusion abnormalities could be demonstrated, evidencing altered cerebral processing associated with spontaneous pain in FM patients. The secondary objective was to study the reversibility and the prognostic value of such possible perfusion abnormalities under specific treatment. Eighteen hyperalgesic FM women (mean age 48 yr; range 25-63 yr; ACR criteria) and 10 healthy women matched for age were enrolled in the study. A voxel-by-voxel group analysis was performed using SPM2 (p<0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). All brain SPECT were performed before any change was made in therapy in the pain care unit. A second SPECT was performed a month later after specific treatment by Ketamine. Compared to control subjects, we observed individual brain SPECT abnormalities in FM patients, confirmed by SPM2 analysis with hyperperfusion of the somatosensory cortex and hypoperfusion of the frontal, cingulate, medial temporal and cerebellar cortices. We also found that a medial frontal and anterior cingulate hypoperfusions were highly predictive (PPV=83%; NPV=91%) of non-response on Ketamine, and that only responders showed significant modification of brain perfusion, after treatment. In the present study performed without noxious stimuli in hyperalgesic FM patients, we found significant hyperperfusion in regions of the brain known to be involved in sensory dimension of pain processing and significant hypoperfusion in areas assumed to be associated with the affective dimension. As current pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies act differently on both components of pain, we hypothesize that SPECT could be a valuable and readily available tool to guide individual therapeutic

Voxel-by-voxel analysis of brain SPECT perfusion in Fibromyalgia

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Guedj, Eric [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France)]. E-mail: eric.guedj@ap-hm.fr; Taieb, David [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France); Cammilleri, Serge [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France); Lussato, David [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France); Laforte, Catherine de [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France); Niboyet, Jean [Unite d' Etude et de Traitement de la Douleur, Clinique La Phoceanne, Marseille (France); Mundler, Olivier [Service Central de Biophysique et de Medecine Nucleaire, AP-HM Timone, Marseille (France)

2007-02-01

We evaluated brain perfusion SPECT at rest, without noxious stiumuli, in a homogeneous group of hyperalgesic FM patients. We performed a voxel-based analysis in comparison to a control group, matched for age and gender. Under such conditions, we made the assumption that significant cerebral perfusion abnormalities could be demonstrated, evidencing altered cerebral processing associated with spontaneous pain in FM patients. The secondary objective was to study the reversibility and the prognostic value of such possible perfusion abnormalities under specific treatment. Eighteen hyperalgesic FM women (mean age 48 yr; range 25-63 yr; ACR criteria) and 10 healthy women matched for age were enrolled in the study. A voxel-by-voxel group analysis was performed using SPM2 (p<0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). All brain SPECT were performed before any change was made in therapy in the pain care unit. A second SPECT was performed a month later after specific treatment by Ketamine. Compared to control subjects, we observed individual brain SPECT abnormalities in FM patients, confirmed by SPM2 analysis with hyperperfusion of the somatosensory cortex and hypoperfusion of the frontal, cingulate, medial temporal and cerebellar cortices. We also found that a medial frontal and anterior cingulate hypoperfusions were highly predictive (PPV=83%; NPV=91%) of non-response on Ketamine, and that only responders showed significant modification of brain perfusion, after treatment. In the present study performed without noxious stimuli in hyperalgesic FM patients, we found significant hyperperfusion in regions of the brain known to be involved in sensory dimension of pain processing and significant hypoperfusion in areas assumed to be associated with the affective dimension. As current pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies act differently on both components of pain, we hypothesize that SPECT could be a valuable and readily available tool to guide individual therapeutic

Periodic additive noises reduction in 3D images used in building of voxel phantoms through an efficient implementation of the 3D FFT: zipper artifacts filtering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Alex C.H. de; Lima, Fernando R.A.; Vieira, Jose W.; Leal Neto, Viriato

2009-01-01

The anthropomorphic models used in computational dosimetry are predominantly build from scanning CT (Computed Tomography) or MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) image stacks obtained of patients or volunteers. The building of these stacks (usually called of voxel phantoms or tomography phantoms) requires computer processing to be used in an exposure computational model. Noises present in these stacks can be confused with significant structures. In a 3D image with periodic additive noise in the frequency domain, the noise is fully added to its central slice. The discrete Fourier transform is the fundamental mathematical tool that allows the switch of the spatial domain for the frequency domain, and vice versa. The FFT (fast Fourier transform) algorithm is an ideal computational tool for this switch in domain with efficiency. This paper presents a new methodology for implementation in managed C++ language (Microsoft Visual Studio R .NET) of the fast Fourier transform of 3D digital images (FFT3D) using, essentially, the trigonometric recombination. The reduction of periodic additive noise consists in filtering only the central slice of 3D image in the frequency domain and transforms it back into the spatial domain through the inverse FFT3D. An example of application of this method it is the zipper artifacts filtering in images of MRI. These processes were implemented in the software DIP (Digital Image Processing). (author)

Stability of deep features across CT scanners and field of view using a physical phantom

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Paul, Rahul; Shafiq-ul-Hassan, Muhammad; Moros, Eduardo G.; Gillies, Robert J.; Hall, Lawrence O.; Goldgof, Dmitry B.

2018-02-01

Radiomics is the process of analyzing radiological images by extracting quantitative features for monitoring and diagnosis of various cancers. Analyzing images acquired from different medical centers is confounded by many choices in acquisition, reconstruction parameters and differences among device manufacturers. Consequently, scanning the same patient or phantom using various acquisition/reconstruction parameters as well as different scanners may result in different feature values. To further evaluate this issue, in this study, CT images from a physical radiomic phantom were used. Recent studies showed that some quantitative features were dependent on voxel size and that this dependency could be reduced or removed by the appropriate normalization factor. Deep features extracted from a convolutional neural network, may also provide additional features for image analysis. Using a transfer learning approach, we obtained deep features from three convolutional neural networks pre-trained on color camera images. An we examination of the dependency of deep features on image pixel size was done. We found that some deep features were pixel size dependent, and to remove this dependency we proposed two effective normalization approaches. For analyzing the effects of normalization, a threshold has been used based on the calculated standard deviation and average distance from a best fit horizontal line among the features' underlying pixel size before and after normalization. The inter and intra scanner dependency of deep features has also been evaluated.

Monte Carlo and experimental internal radionuclide dosimetry in RANDO head phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghahraman Asl, Ruhollah; Nasseri, Shahrokh; Parach, Ali Asghar; Zakavi, Seyed Rasoul; Momennezhad Mehdi; Davenport, David

2015-01-01

Monte Carlo techniques are widely employed in internal dosimetry to obtain better estimates of absorbed dose distributions from irradiation sources in medicine. Accurate 3D absorbed dosimetry would be useful for risk assessment of inducing deterministic and stochastic biological effects for both therapeutic and diagnostic radiopharmaceuticals in nuclear medicine. The goal of this study was to experimentally evaluate the use of Geant4 application for tomographic emission (GATE) Monte Carlo package for 3D internal dosimetry using the head portion of the RANDO phantom. GATE package (version 6.1) was used to create a voxel model of a human head phantom from computed tomography (CT) images. Matrix dimensions consisted of 319 × 216 × 30 voxels (0.7871 × 0.7871 × 5 mm 3 ). Measurements were made using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD-100). One rod-shaped source with 94 MBq activity of 99m Tc was positioned in the brain tissue of the posterior part of the human head phantom in slice number 2. The results of the simulation were compared with measured mean absorbed dose per cumulative activity (S value). Absorbed dose was also calculated for each slice of the digital model of the head phantom and dose volume histograms (DVHs) were computed to analyze the absolute and relative doses in each slice from the simulation data. The S-values calculated by GATE and TLD methods showed a significant correlation (correlation coefficient, r 2 ≥ 0.99, p < 0.05) with each other. The maximum relative percentage differences were ≤14 % for most cases. DVHs demonstrated dose decrease along the direction of movement toward the lower slices of the head phantom. Based on the results obtained from GATE Monte Carlopackage it can be deduced that a complete dosimetry simulation study, from imaging to absorbed dose map calculation, is possible to execute in a single framework.

Assessing patient dose in interventional fluoroscopy using patient-dependent hybrid phantoms

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Johnson, Perry Barnett

Interventional fluoroscopy uses ionizing radiation to guide small instruments through blood vessels or other body pathways to sites of clinical interest. The technique represents a tremendous advantage over invasive surgical procedures, as it requires only a small incision, thus reducing the risk of infection and providing for shorter recovery times. The growing use and increasing complexity of interventional procedures, however, has resulted in public health concerns regarding radiation exposures, particularly with respect to localized skin dose. Tracking and documenting patient-specific skin and internal organ dose has been specifically identified for interventional fluoroscopy where extended irradiation times, multiple projections, and repeat procedures can lead to some of the largest doses encountered in radiology. Furthermore, inprocedure knowledge of localized skin doses can be of significant clinical importance to managing patient risk and in training radiology residents. In this dissertation, a framework is presented for monitoring the radiation dose delivered to patients undergoing interventional procedures. The framework is built around two key points, developing better anthropomorphic models, and designing clinically relevant software systems for dose estimation. To begin, a library of 50 hybrid patient-dependent computational phantoms was developed based on the UF hybrid male and female reference phantoms. These phantoms represent a different type of anthropomorphic model whereby anthropometric parameters from an individual patient are used during phantom selection. The patient-dependent library was first validated and then used in two patient-phantom matching studies focused on cumulative organ and local skin dose. In terms of organ dose, patient-phantom matching was shown most beneficial for estimating the dose to large patients where error associated with soft tissue attenuation differences could be minimized. For small patients, inherent difference

Calculation of age-dependent dose conversion coefficients for radionuclides uniformly distributed in air

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hung, Tran Van; Satoh, Daiki; Takahashi, Fumiaki; Tsuda, Shuichi; Endo, Akira; Saito, Kimiaki; Yamaguchi, Yasuhiro

2005-02-01

Age-dependent dose conversion coefficients for external exposure to photons emitted by radionuclides uniformly distributed in air were calculated. The size of the source region in the calculation was assumed to be effectively semi-infinite in extent. Firstly, organ doses were calculated with a series of age-specific MIRD-5 type phantoms using MCNP code, a Monte Carlo transport code. The calculations were performed for mono-energetic photon sources of twelve energies from 10 keV to 5 MeV and for phantoms of newborn, 1, 5, 10 and 15 years, and adult. Then, the effective doses to the different age-phantoms from the mono-energetic photon sources were estimated based on the obtained organ doses. The calculated effective doses were used to interpolate the conversion coefficients of the effective doses for 160 radionuclides, which are important for dose assessment of nuclear facilities. In the calculation, energies and intensities of emitted photons from radionuclides were taken from DECDC, a recent compilation of decay data for radiation dosimetry developed at JAERI. The results are tabulated in the form of effective dose per unit concentration and time (Sv per Bq s m -3 ). (author)

Comparison of internal dosimetry factors for three classes of adult computational phantoms with emphasis on I-131 in the thyroid

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lamart, Stephanie; Simon, Steven L; Lee, Choonsik; Bouville, Andre; Eckerman, Keith F; Melo, Dunstana

2011-01-01

The S values for 11 major target organs for I-131 in the thyroid were compared for three classes of adult computational human phantoms: stylized, voxel and hybrid phantoms. In addition, we compared specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) with the thyroid as a source region over a broader photon energy range than the x- and gamma-rays of I-131. The S and SAF values were calculated for the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reference voxel phantoms and the University of Florida (UF) hybrid phantoms by using the Monte Carlo transport method, while the S and SAF values for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) stylized phantoms were obtained from earlier publications. Phantoms in our calculations were for adults of both genders. The 11 target organs and tissues that were selected for the comparison of S values are brain, breast, stomach wall, small intestine wall, colon wall, heart wall, pancreas, salivary glands, thyroid, lungs and active marrow for I-131 and thyroid as a source region. The comparisons showed, in general, an underestimation of S values reported for the stylized phantoms compared to the values based on the ICRP voxel and UF hybrid phantoms and relatively good agreement between the S values obtained for the ICRP and UF phantoms. Substantial differences were observed for some organs between the three types of phantoms. For example, the small intestine wall of ICRP male phantom and heart wall of ICRP female phantom showed up to eightfold and fourfold greater S values, respectively, compared to the reported values for the ORNL phantoms. UF male and female phantoms also showed significant differences compared to the ORNL phantom, 4.0-fold greater for the small intestine wall and 3.3-fold greater for the heart wall. In our method, we directly calculated the S values without using the SAFs as commonly done. Hence, we sought to confirm the differences observed in our S values by comparing the SAFs among the phantoms with the thyroid as a

Comparison of internal dosimetry factors for three classes of adult computational phantoms with emphasis on I-131 in the thyroid

Science.gov (United States)

Lamart, Stephanie; Bouville, Andre; Simon, Steven L.; Eckerman, Keith F.; Melo, Dunstana; Lee, Choonsik

2011-11-01

The S values for 11 major target organs for I-131 in the thyroid were compared for three classes of adult computational human phantoms: stylized, voxel and hybrid phantoms. In addition, we compared specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) with the thyroid as a source region over a broader photon energy range than the x- and gamma-rays of I-131. The S and SAF values were calculated for the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reference voxel phantoms and the University of Florida (UF) hybrid phantoms by using the Monte Carlo transport method, while the S and SAF values for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) stylized phantoms were obtained from earlier publications. Phantoms in our calculations were for adults of both genders. The 11 target organs and tissues that were selected for the comparison of S values are brain, breast, stomach wall, small intestine wall, colon wall, heart wall, pancreas, salivary glands, thyroid, lungs and active marrow for I-131 and thyroid as a source region. The comparisons showed, in general, an underestimation of S values reported for the stylized phantoms compared to the values based on the ICRP voxel and UF hybrid phantoms and relatively good agreement between the S values obtained for the ICRP and UF phantoms. Substantial differences were observed for some organs between the three types of phantoms. For example, the small intestine wall of ICRP male phantom and heart wall of ICRP female phantom showed up to eightfold and fourfold greater S values, respectively, compared to the reported values for the ORNL phantoms. UF male and female phantoms also showed significant differences compared to the ORNL phantom, 4.0-fold greater for the small intestine wall and 3.3-fold greater for the heart wall. In our method, we directly calculated the S values without using the SAFs as commonly done. Hence, we sought to confirm the differences observed in our S values by comparing the SAFs among the phantoms with the thyroid as a

Voxel-based models representing the male and female ICRP reference adult - the skeleton

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zankl, M.; Eckerman, K.F.; Bolch, W.E.

2007-01-01

For the forthcoming update of organ dose conversion coefficients, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) will use voxel-based computational phantoms due to their improved anatomical realism compared with the class of mathematical or stylized phantoms used previously. According to the ICRP philosophy, these phantoms should be representative of the male and female reference adults with respect to their external dimensions, their organ topology and their organ masses. To meet these requirements, reference models of an adult male and adult female have been constructed at the GSF, based on existing voxel models segmented from tomographic images of two individuals whose body height and weight closely resemble the ICRP Publication 89 reference values. The skeleton is a highly complex structure of the body, composed of cortical bone, trabecular bone, red and yellow bone marrow and endosteum ('bone surfaces' in their older terminology). The skeleton of the reference phantoms consists of 19 individually segmented bones and bone groups. Sub-division of these bones into the above-mentioned constituents would be necessary in order to allow a direct calculation of dose to red bone marrow and endosteum. However, the dimensions of the trabeculae, the cavities containing bone marrow and the endosteum layer lining these cavities are clearly smaller than the resolution of a normal CT scan and, thus, these volumes could not be segmented in the tomographic images. As an attempt to represent the gross spatial distribution of these regions as realistically as possible at the given voxel resolution, 48 individual organ identification numbers were assigned to various parts of the skeleton: every segmented bone was subdivided into an outer shell of cortical bone and a spongious core; in the shafts of the long bones, a medullary cavity was additionally segmented. Using the data from ICRP Publication 89 on elemental tissue composition, from ICRU Report 46 on material

Impact on Dose Coefficients Calculated with ICRP Adult Mesh-type Reference Computational Phantoms

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Yeom, Yeon Soo; Nguyen, Thang Tat; Choi, Chan Soo; Lee, Han Jin; Han, Hae Gin; Han, Min Cheol; Shin, Bang Ho; Kim, Chan Hyeong [Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

In 2016, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) formulated a new Task Group (TG) (i.e., TG 103) within Committee 2. The ultimate aim of the TG 103 is to develop the mesh-type reference computational phantoms (MRCPs) that can address dosimetric limitations of the currently used voxel-type reference computational phantoms (VRCPs) due to their limited voxel resolutions. The objective of the present study is to investigate dosimetric impact of the adult MRCPs by comparing dose coefficients (DCs) calculated with the MRCPs for some external and internal exposure cases and the reference DCs in ICRP Publications 116 and 133 that were produced with the adult VRCPs. In the present study, the DCs calculated with the adult MRCPs for some exposure cases were compared with the values in ICRP Publications 116 and 133. This comparison shows that in general the MRCPs provide very similar DCs for uncharged particles, but for charged particles provide significantly different DCs due to the improvement of the MRCPs.

Dosimetric characterization and organ dose assessment in digital breast tomosynthesis: Measurements and Monte Carlo simulations using voxel phantoms

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Baptista, Mariana, E-mail: marianabaptista@ctn.ist.utl.pt; Di Maria, Salvatore; Barros, Sílvia; Vaz, Pedro [Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Estrada Nacional 10, km 139,7, Bobadela LRS 2695-066 (Portugal); Figueira, Catarina [Centre for Plasma Physics, School of Mathematics and Physics, Queen’s University, Belfast BT7 1NN (United Kingdom); Sarmento, Marta; Orvalho, Lurdes [Serviço de Imagiologia, Hospital da Luz, Avenida Lusíada, 100, Lisboa 1500-650 (Portugal)

2015-07-15

Purpose: Due to its capability to more accurately detect deep lesions inside the breast by removing the effect of overlying anatomy, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has the potential to replace the standard mammography technique in clinical screening exams. However, the European Guidelines for DBT dosimetry are still a work in progress and there are little data available on organ doses other than to the breast. It is, therefore, of great importance to assess the dosimetric performance of DBT with respect to the one obtained with standard digital mammography (DM) systems. The aim of this work is twofold: (i) to study the dosimetric properties of a combined DBT/DM system (MAMMOMAT Inspiration Siemens{sup ®}) for a tungsten/rhodium (W/Rh) anode/filter combination and (ii) to evaluate organs doses during a DBT examination. Methods: For the first task, measurements were performed in manual and automatic exposure control (AEC) modes, using two homogeneous breast phantoms: a PMMA slab phantom and a 4 cm thick breast-shaped rigid phantom, with 50% of glandular tissue in its composition. Monte Carlo (MC) simulations were performed using Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended v.2.7.0. A MC model was implemented to mimic DM and DBT acquisitions for a wide range of x-ray spectra (24 –34 kV). This was used to calculate mean glandular dose (MGD) and to compute series of backscatter factors (BSFs) that could be inserted into the DBT dosimetric formalism proposed by Dance et al. Regarding the second aim of the study, the implemented MC model of the clinical equipment, together with a female voxel phantom (“Laura”), was used to calculate organ doses considering a typical DBT acquisition. Results were compared with a standard two-view mammography craniocaudal (CC) acquisition. Results: Considering the AEC mode, the acquisition of a single CC view results in a MGD ranging from 0.53 ± 0.07 mGy to 2.41 ± 0.31 mGy in DM mode and from 0.77 ± 0.11 mGy to 2.28 ± 0.32 mGy in DBT mode

Comparison of methods for individualized astronaut organ dosimetry: Morphometry-based phantom library versus body contour autoscaling of a reference phantom

Science.gov (United States)

Sands, Michelle M.; Borrego, David; Maynard, Matthew R.; Bahadori, Amir A.; Bolch, Wesley E.

2017-11-01

One of the hazards faced by space crew members in low-Earth orbit or in deep space is exposure to ionizing radiation. It has been shown previously that while differences in organ-specific and whole-body risk estimates due to body size variations are small for highly-penetrating galactic cosmic rays, large differences in these quantities can result from exposure to shorter-range trapped proton or solar particle event radiations. For this reason, it is desirable to use morphometrically accurate computational phantoms representing each astronaut for a risk analysis, especially in the case of a solar particle event. An algorithm was developed to automatically sculpt and scale the UF adult male and adult female hybrid reference phantom to the individual outer body contour of a given astronaut. This process begins with the creation of a laser-measured polygon mesh model of the astronaut's body contour. Using the auto-scaling program and selecting several anatomical landmarks, the UF adult male or female phantom is adjusted to match the laser-measured outer body contour of the astronaut. A dosimetry comparison study was conducted to compare the organ dose accuracy of both the autoscaled phantom and that based upon a height-weight matched phantom from the UF/NCI Computational Phantom Library. Monte Carlo methods were used to simulate the environment of the August 1972 and February 1956 solar particle events. Using a series of individual-specific voxel phantoms as a local benchmark standard, autoscaled phantom organ dose estimates were shown to provide a 1% and 10% improvement in organ dose accuracy for a population of females and males, respectively, as compared to organ doses derived from height-weight matched phantoms from the UF/NCI Computational Phantom Library. In addition, this slight improvement in organ dose accuracy from the autoscaled phantoms is accompanied by reduced computer storage requirements and a more rapid method for individualized phantom generation

SU-E-T-13: A Feasibility Study of the Use of Hybrid Computational Phantoms for Improved Historical Dose Reconstruction in the Study of Late Radiation Effects for Hodgkin's Lymphoma

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Petroccia, H; O' Reilly, S; Bolch, W [J. Crayton Pruitt Family Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Mendenhall, N; Li, Z; Slopsema, R [Radiation Oncology, University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute, Jacksonville, FL (United States)

2014-06-01

Purpose: Radiation-induced cancer effects are well-documented following radiotherapy. Further investigation is needed to more accurately determine a dose-response relationship for late radiation effects. Recent dosimetry studies tend to use representative patients (Taylor 2009) or anthropomorphic phantoms (Wirth 2008) for estimating organ mean doses. In this study, we compare hybrid computational phantoms to patient-specific voxel phantoms to test the accuracy of University of Florida Hybrid Phantom Library (UFHP Library) for historical dose reconstructions. Methods: A cohort of 10 patients with CT images was used to reproduce the data that was collected historically for Hodgkin's lymphoma patients (i.e. caliper measurements and photographs). Four types of phantoms were generated to show a range of refinement from reference hybrid-computational phantom to patient-specific phantoms. Each patient is matched to a reference phantom from the UFHP Library based on height and weight. The reference phantom is refined in the anterior/posterior direction to create a ‘caliper-scaled phantom’. A photograph is simulated using a surface rendering from segmented CT images. Further refinement in the lateral direction is performed using ratios from a simulated-photograph to create a ‘photograph and caliper-scaled phantom’; breast size and position is visually adjusted. Patient-specific hybrid phantoms, with matched organ volumes, are generated and show the capabilities of the UF Hybrid Phantom Library. Reference, caliper-scaled, photograph and caliper-scaled, and patient-specific hybrid phantoms are compared with patient-specific voxel phantoms to determine the accuracy of the study. Results: Progression from reference phantom to patient specific hybrid shows good agreement with the patient specific voxel phantoms. Each stage of refinement shows an overall trend of improvement in dose accuracy within the study, which suggests that computational phantoms can show

Calculation of local skin doses with ICRP adult mesh-type reference computational phantoms

Science.gov (United States)

Yeom, Yeon Soo; Han, Haegin; Choi, Chansoo; Nguyen, Thang Tat; Lee, Hanjin; Shin, Bangho; Kim, Chan Hyeong; Han, Min Cheol

2018-01-01

Recently, Task Group 103 of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) developed new mesh-type reference computational phantoms (MRCPs) for adult males and females in order to address the limitations of the current voxel-type reference phantoms described in ICRP Publication 110 due to their limited voxel resolutions and the nature of the voxel geometry. One of the substantial advantages of the MRCPs over the ICRP-110 reference phantoms is the inclusion of a 50-μm-thick radiosensitive skin basal-cell layer; however, a methodology for calculating the local skin dose (LSD), i.e., the maximum dose to the basal layer averaged over a 1-cm2 area, has yet to be developed. In the present study, a dedicated program for the LSD calculation with the MRCPs was developed based on the mean shift algorithm and the Geant4 Monte Carlo code. The developed program was used to calculate local skin dose coefficients (LSDCs) for electrons and alpha particles, which were then compared with the values given in ICRP Publication 116 that were produced with a simple tissue-equivalent cube model. The results of the present study show that the LSDCs of the MRCPs are generally in good agreement with the ICRP-116 values for alpha particles, but for electrons, significant differences are found at energies higher than 0.15 MeV. The LSDCs of the MRCPs are greater than the ICRP-116 values by as much as 2.7 times at 10 MeV, which is due mainly to the different curvature between realistic MRCPs ( i.e., curved) and the simple cube model ( i.e., flat).

Determination of the distal dose edge in a human phantom by measuring the prompt gamma distribution: a Monte Carlo study

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Min, Chul Hee; Lee, Han Rim; Yeom, Yeon Su; Cho, Sung Koo; Kim, Chan Hyeong [Hanyang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2010-06-15

The close relationship between the proton dose distribution and the distribution of prompt gammas generated by proton-induced nuclear interactions along the path of protons in a water phantom was demonstrated by means of both Monte Carlo simulations and limited experiments. In order to test the clinical applicability of the method for determining the distal dose edge in a human body, a human voxel model, constructed based on a body-composition-approximated physical phantom, was used, after which the MCNPX code was used to analyze the energy spectra and the prompt gamma yields from the major elements composing the human voxel model; finally, the prompt gamma distribution, generated from the voxel model and measured by using an array-type prompt gamma detection system, was calculated and compared with the proton dose distribution. According to the results, effective prompt gammas were produced mainly by oxygen, and the specific energy of the prompt gammas, allowing for selective measurement, was found to be 4.44 MeV. The results also show that the distal dose edge in the human phantom, despite the heterogeneous composition and the complicated shape, can be determined by measuring the prompt gamma distribution with an array-type detection system.

Development and test of sets of 3D printed age-specific thyroid phantoms for 131I measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Beaumont, Tiffany; Caldeira Ideias, Pedro; Rimlinger, Maeva; Broggio, David; Franck, Didier

2017-06-01

In the case of a nuclear reactor accident the release contains a high proportion of iodine-131 that can be inhaled or ingested by members of the public. Iodine-131 is naturally retained in the thyroid and increases the thyroid cancer risk. Since the radiation induced thyroid cancer risk is greater for children than for adults, the thyroid dose to children should be assessed as accurately as possible. For that purpose direct measurements should be carried out with age-specific calibration factors but, currently, there is no age-specific thyroid phantoms allowing a robust measurement protocol. A set of age-specific thyroid phantoms for 5, 10, 15 year old children and for the adult has been designed and 3D printed. A realistic thyroid shape has been selected and material properties taken into account to simulate the attenuation of biological tissues. The thyroid volumes follow ICRP recommendations and the phantoms also include the trachea and a spine model. Several versions, with or without spine, with our without trachea, with or without age-specific neck have been manufactured, in order to study the influence of these elements on calibration factors. The calibration factor obtained with the adult phantom and a reference phantom are in reasonable agreement. In vivo calibration experiments with germanium detectors have shown that the difference in counting efficiency, the inverse of the calibration factor, between the 5 year and adult phantoms is 25% for measurement at contact. It is also experimentally evidenced that the inverse of the calibration factor varies linearly with the thyroid volume. The influence of scattering elements like the neck or spine is not evidenced by experimental measurements.

FASH and MASH: female and male adult human phantoms based on polygon mesh surfaces: I. Development of the anatomy

Science.gov (United States)

Cassola, V. F.; de Melo Lima, V. J.; Kramer, R.; Khoury, H. J.

2010-01-01

Among computational models, voxel phantoms based on computer tomographic (CT), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or colour photographic images of patients, volunteers or cadavers have become popular in recent years. Although being true to nature representations of scanned individuals, voxel phantoms have limitations, especially when walled organs have to be segmented or when volumes of organs or body tissues, like adipose, have to be changed. Additionally, the scanning of patients or volunteers is usually made in supine position, which causes a shift of internal organs towards the ribcage, a compression of the lungs and a reduction of the sagittal diameter especially in the abdominal region compared to the regular anatomy of a person in the upright position, which in turn can influence organ and tissue absorbed or equivalent dose estimates. This study applies tools developed recently in the areas of computer graphics and animated films to the creation and modelling of 3D human organs, tissues, skeletons and bodies based on polygon mesh surfaces. Female and male adult human phantoms, called FASH (Female Adult meSH) and MASH (Male Adult meSH), have been designed using software, such as MakeHuman, Blender, Binvox and ImageJ, based on anatomical atlases, observing at the same time organ masses recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection for the male and female reference adult in report no 89. 113 organs, bones and tissues have been modelled in the FASH and the MASH phantoms representing locations for adults in standing posture. Most organ and tissue masses of the voxelized versions agree with corresponding data from ICRP89 within a margin of 2.6%. Comparison with the mesh-based male RPI_AM and female RPI_AF phantoms shows differences with respect to the material used, to the software and concepts applied, and to the anatomies created.

FASH and MASH: female and male adult human phantoms based on polygon mesh surfaces: I. Development of the anatomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cassola, V F; Kramer, R; Khoury, H J; De Melo Lima, V J

2010-01-01

Among computational models, voxel phantoms based on computer tomographic (CT), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) or colour photographic images of patients, volunteers or cadavers have become popular in recent years. Although being true to nature representations of scanned individuals, voxel phantoms have limitations, especially when walled organs have to be segmented or when volumes of organs or body tissues, like adipose, have to be changed. Additionally, the scanning of patients or volunteers is usually made in supine position, which causes a shift of internal organs towards the ribcage, a compression of the lungs and a reduction of the sagittal diameter especially in the abdominal region compared to the regular anatomy of a person in the upright position, which in turn can influence organ and tissue absorbed or equivalent dose estimates. This study applies tools developed recently in the areas of computer graphics and animated films to the creation and modelling of 3D human organs, tissues, skeletons and bodies based on polygon mesh surfaces. Female and male adult human phantoms, called FASH (Female Adult meSH) and MASH (Male Adult meSH), have been designed using software, such as MakeHuman, Blender, Binvox and ImageJ, based on anatomical atlases, observing at the same time organ masses recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection for the male and female reference adult in report no 89. 113 organs, bones and tissues have been modelled in the FASH and the MASH phantoms representing locations for adults in standing posture. Most organ and tissue masses of the voxelized versions agree with corresponding data from ICRP89 within a margin of 2.6%. Comparison with the mesh-based male RPI A M and female RPI A F phantoms shows differences with respect to the material used, to the software and concepts applied, and to the anatomies created.

Diffusion Capillary Phantom vs. Human Data: Outcomes for Reconstruction Methods Depend on Evaluation Medium

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sarah D. Lichenstein

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Diffusion MRI provides a non-invasive way of estimating structural connectivity in the brain. Many studies have used diffusion phantoms as benchmarks to assess the performance of different tractography reconstruction algorithms and assumed that the results can be applied to in vivo studies. Here we examined whether quality metrics derived from a common, publically available, diffusion phantom can reliably predict tractography performance in human white matter tissue. Material and Methods: We compared estimates of fiber length and fiber crossing among a simple tensor model (diffusion tensor imaging, a more complicated model (ball-and-sticks and model-free (diffusion spectrum imaging, generalized q-sampling imaging reconstruction methods using a capillary phantom and in vivo human data (N=14. Results: Our analysis showed that evaluation outcomes differ depending on whether they were obtained from phantom or human data. Specifically, the diffusion phantom favored a more complicated model over a simple tensor model or model-free methods for resolving crossing fibers. On the other hand, the human studies showed the opposite pattern of results, with the model-free methods being more advantageous than model-based methods or simple tensor models. This performance difference was consistent across several metrics, including estimating fiber length and resolving fiber crossings in established white matter pathways. Conclusions: These findings indicate that the construction of current capillary diffusion phantoms tends to favor complicated reconstruction models over a simple tensor model or model-free methods, whereas the in vivo data tends to produce opposite results. This brings into question the previous phantom-based evaluation approaches and suggests that a more realistic phantom or simulation is necessary to accurately predict the relative performance of different tractography reconstruction methods. Acronyms: BSM: ball-and-sticks model; d

A custom-built PET phantom design for quantitative imaging of printed distributions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markiewicz, P J; Angelis, G I; Kotasidis, F; Green, M; Matthews, J C; Lionheart, W R; Reader, A J

2011-01-01

This note presents a practical approach to a custom-made design of PET phantoms enabling the use of digital radioactive distributions with high quantitative accuracy and spatial resolution. The phantom design allows planar sources of any radioactivity distribution to be imaged in transaxial and axial (sagittal or coronal) planes. Although the design presented here is specially adapted to the high-resolution research tomograph (HRRT), the presented methods can be adapted to almost any PET scanner. Although the presented phantom design has many advantages, a number of practical issues had to be overcome such as positioning of the printed source, calibration, uniformity and reproducibility of printing. A well counter (WC) was used in the calibration procedure to find the nonlinear relationship between digital voxel intensities and the actual measured radioactive concentrations. Repeated printing together with WC measurements and computed radiography (CR) using phosphor imaging plates (IP) were used to evaluate the reproducibility and uniformity of such printing. Results show satisfactory printing uniformity and reproducibility; however, calibration is dependent on the printing mode and the physical state of the cartridge. As a demonstration of the utility of using printed phantoms, the image resolution and quantitative accuracy of reconstructed HRRT images are assessed. There is very good quantitative agreement in the calibration procedure between HRRT, CR and WC measurements. However, the high resolution of CR and its quantitative accuracy supported by WC measurements made it possible to show the degraded resolution of HRRT brain images caused by the partial-volume effect and the limits of iterative image reconstruction. (note)

MO-DE-207B-07: Assessment of Reproducibility Of FDG-PET-Based Radiomics Features Across Scanners Using Phantom Imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fried, D [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC (United States); Meier, J; Mawlawi, O; Zhou, S; Ibbott, G; Liao, Z; Court, L [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Use a NEMA-IEC PET phantom to assess the robustness of FDG-PET-based radiomics features to changes in reconstruction parameters across different scanners. Methods: We scanned a NEMA-IEC PET phantom on 3 different scanners (GE Discovery VCT, GE Discovery 710, and Siemens mCT) using a FDG source-to-background ratio of 10:1. Images were retrospectively reconstructed using different iterations (2–3), subsets (21–24), Gaussian filter widths (2, 4, 6mm), and matrix sizes (128,192,256). The 710 and mCT used time-of-flight and point-spread-functions in reconstruction. The axial-image through the center of the 6 active spheres was used for analysis. A region-of-interest containing all spheres was able to simulate a heterogeneous lesion due to partial volume effects. Maximum voxel deviations from all retrospectively reconstructed images (18 per scanner) was compared to our standard clinical protocol. PET Images from 195 non-small cell lung cancer patients were used to compare feature variation. The ratio of a feature’s standard deviation from the patient cohort versus the phantom images was calculated to assess for feature robustness. Results: Across all images, the percentage of voxels differing by <1SUV and <2SUV ranged from 61–92% and 88–99%, respectively. Voxel-voxel similarity decreased when using higher resolution image matrices (192/256 versus 128) and was comparable across scanners. Taking the ratio of patient and phantom feature standard deviation was able to identify features that were not robust to changes in reconstruction parameters (e.g. co-occurrence correlation). Metrics found to be reasonably robust (standard deviation ratios > 3) were observed for routinely used SUV metrics (e.g. SUVmean and SUVmax) as well as some radiomics features (e.g. co-occurrence contrast, co-occurrence energy, standard deviation, and uniformity). Similar standard deviation ratios were observed across scanners. Conclusions: Our method enabled a comparison of

Individualized adjustments to reference phantom internal organ dosimetry—scaling factors given knowledge of patient internal anatomy

Science.gov (United States)

Wayson, Michael B.; Bolch, Wesley E.

2018-04-01

Various computational tools are currently available that facilitate patient organ dosimetry in diagnostic nuclear medicine, yet they are typically restricted to reporting organ doses to ICRP-defined reference phantoms. The present study, while remaining computational phantom based, provides straightforward tools to adjust reference phantom organ dose for both internal photon and electron sources. A wide variety of monoenergetic specific absorbed fractions were computed using radiation transport simulations for tissue spheres of varying size and separation distance. Scaling methods were then constructed for both photon and electron self-dose and cross-dose, with data validation provided from patient-specific voxel phantom simulations, as well as via comparison to the scaling methodology given in MIRD Pamphlet No. 11. Photon and electron self-dose was found to be dependent on both radiation energy and sphere size. Photon cross-dose was found to be mostly independent of sphere size. Electron cross-dose was found to be dependent on sphere size when the spheres were in close proximity, owing to differences in electron range. The validation studies showed that this dataset was more effective than the MIRD 11 method at predicting patient-specific photon doses for at both high and low energies, but gave similar results at photon energies between 100 keV and 1 MeV. The MIRD 11 method for electron self-dose scaling was accurate for lower energies but began to break down at higher energies. The photon cross-dose scaling methodology developed in this study showed gains in accuracy of up to 9% for actual patient studies, and the electron cross-dose scaling methodology showed gains in accuracy up to 9% as well when only the bremsstrahlung component of the cross-dose was scaled. These dose scaling methods are readily available for incorporation into internal dosimetry software for diagnostic phantom-based organ dosimetry.

VoxelStats: A MATLAB Package for Multi-Modal Voxel-Wise Brain Image Analysis.

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Mathotaarachchi, Sulantha; Wang, Seqian; Shin, Monica; Pascoal, Tharick A; Benedet, Andrea L; Kang, Min Su; Beaudry, Thomas; Fonov, Vladimir S; Gauthier, Serge; Labbe, Aurélie; Rosa-Neto, Pedro

2016-01-01

In healthy individuals, behavioral outcomes are highly associated with the variability on brain regional structure or neurochemical phenotypes. Similarly, in the context of neurodegenerative conditions, neuroimaging reveals that cognitive decline is linked to the magnitude of atrophy, neurochemical declines, or concentrations of abnormal protein aggregates across brain regions. However, modeling the effects of multiple regional abnormalities as determinants of cognitive decline at the voxel level remains largely unexplored by multimodal imaging research, given the high computational cost of estimating regression models for every single voxel from various imaging modalities. VoxelStats is a voxel-wise computational framework to overcome these computational limitations and to perform statistical operations on multiple scalar variables and imaging modalities at the voxel level. VoxelStats package has been developed in Matlab(®) and supports imaging formats such as Nifti-1, ANALYZE, and MINC v2. Prebuilt functions in VoxelStats enable the user to perform voxel-wise general and generalized linear models and mixed effect models with multiple volumetric covariates. Importantly, VoxelStats can recognize scalar values or image volumes as response variables and can accommodate volumetric statistical covariates as well as their interaction effects with other variables. Furthermore, this package includes built-in functionality to perform voxel-wise receiver operating characteristic analysis and paired and unpaired group contrast analysis. Validation of VoxelStats was conducted by comparing the linear regression functionality with existing toolboxes such as glim_image and RMINC. The validation results were identical to existing methods and the additional functionality was demonstrated by generating feature case assessments (t-statistics, odds ratio, and true positive rate maps). In summary, VoxelStats expands the current methods for multimodal imaging analysis by allowing the

Monte Carlo dose calculations for phantoms with hip prostheses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazalova, M; Verhaegen, F; Coolens, C; Childs, P; Cury, F; Beaulieu, L

2008-01-01

Computed tomography (CT) images of patients with hip prostheses are severely degraded by metal streaking artefacts. The low image quality makes organ contouring more difficult and can result in large dose calculation errors when Monte Carlo (MC) techniques are used. In this work, the extent of streaking artefacts produced by three common hip prosthesis materials (Ti-alloy, stainless steel, and Co-Cr-Mo alloy) was studied. The prostheses were tested in a hypothetical prostate treatment with five 18 MV photon beams. The dose distributions for unilateral and bilateral prosthesis phantoms were calculated with the EGSnrc/DOSXYZnrc MC code. This was done in three phantom geometries: in the exact geometry, in the original CT geometry, and in an artefact-corrected geometry. The artefact-corrected geometry was created using a modified filtered back-projection correction technique. It was found that unilateral prosthesis phantoms do not show large dose calculation errors, as long as the beams miss the artefact-affected volume. This is possible to achieve in the case of unilateral prosthesis phantoms (except for the Co-Cr-Mo prosthesis which gives a 3% error) but not in the case of bilateral prosthesis phantoms. The largest dose discrepancies were obtained for the bilateral Co-Cr-Mo hip prosthesis phantom, up to 11% in some voxels within the prostate. The artefact correction algorithm worked well for all phantoms and resulted in dose calculation errors below 2%. In conclusion, a MC treatment plan should include an artefact correction algorithm when treating patients with hip prostheses

Entrance surface dose distribution and organ dose assessment for cone-beam computed tomography using measurements and Monte Carlo simulations with voxel phantoms

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Baptista, M.; Di Maria, S.; Vieira, S.; Vaz, P.

2017-11-01

Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) enables high-resolution volumetric scanning of the bone and soft tissue anatomy under investigation at the treatment accelerator. This technique is extensively used in Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT) for pre-treatment verification of patient position and target volume localization. When employed daily and several times per patient, CBCT imaging may lead to high cumulative imaging doses to the healthy tissues surrounding the exposed organs. This work aims at (1) evaluating the dose distribution during a CBCT scan and (2) calculating the organ doses involved in this image guiding procedure for clinically available scanning protocols. Both Monte Carlo (MC) simulations and measurements were performed. To model and simulate the kV imaging system mounted on a linear accelerator (Edge™, Varian Medical Systems) the state-of-the-art MC radiation transport program MCNPX 2.7.0 was used. In order to validate the simulation results, measurements of the Computed Tomography Dose Index (CTDI) were performed, using standard PMMA head and body phantoms, with 150 mm length and a standard pencil ionizing chamber (IC) 100 mm long. Measurements for head and pelvis scanning protocols, usually adopted in clinical environment were acquired, using two acquisition modes (full-fan and half fan). To calculate the organ doses, the implemented MC model of the CBCT scanner together with a male voxel phantom ("Golem") was used. The good agreement between the MCNPX simulations and the CTDIw measurements (differences up to 17%) presented in this work reveals that the CBCT MC model was successfully validated, taking into account the several uncertainties. The adequacy of the computational model to map dose distributions during a CBCT scan is discussed in order to identify ways to reduce the total CBCT imaging dose. The organ dose assessment highlights the need to evaluate the therapeutic and the CBCT imaging doses, in a more balanced approach, and the

Impact of PET/CT system, reconstruction protocol, data analysis method, and repositioning on PET/CT precision: An experimental evaluation using an oncology and brain phantom.

Science.gov (United States)

Mansor, Syahir; Pfaehler, Elisabeth; Heijtel, Dennis; Lodge, Martin A; Boellaard, Ronald; Yaqub, Maqsood

2017-12-01

In longitudinal oncological and brain PET/CT studies, it is important to understand the repeatability of quantitative PET metrics in order to assess change in tracer uptake. The present studies were performed in order to assess precision as function of PET/CT system, reconstruction protocol, analysis method, scan duration (or image noise), and repositioning in the field of view. Multiple (repeated) scans have been performed using a NEMA image quality (IQ) phantom and a 3D Hoffman brain phantom filled with 18 F solutions on two systems. Studies were performed with and without randomly (PET/CT, especially in the case of smaller spheres (PET metrics depends on the combination of reconstruction protocol, data analysis methods and scan duration (scan statistics). Moreover, precision was also affected by phantom repositioning but its impact depended on the data analysis method in combination with the reconstructed voxel size (tissue fraction effect). This study suggests that for oncological PET studies the use of SUV peak may be preferred over SUV max because SUV peak is less sensitive to patient repositioning/tumor sampling. © 2017 The Authors. Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Development of a mathematic phantom for a child with 10 years age for internal dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deus, S.F.; Poston, J.W.; Watanabe, S.

1989-01-01

The main purpose of this research are:1) develop the mathematic phantom project of a child with 10 years age and 2) use this phanton as calculation base of specific absorbed fractions in internal organs and in skeleton due to the radionuclides more used in nuclear medicine. The forescasting of specific absorbed fractions obtainment by the use of this phantom are compared with a more simple model, and the differences are also discussed. (C.G.C.) [pt

Age-related differences in regional brain volumes: A comparison of optimized voxel-based morphometry to manual volumetry

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Kennedy, Kristen M.; Erickson, Kirk I.; Rodrigue, Karen M.; Voss, Michelle W.; Colcombe, Stan J.; Kramer, Arthur F.; Acker, James D.; Raz, Naftali

2009-01-01

Regional manual volumetry is the gold standard of in vivo neuroanatomy, but is labor-intensive, can be imperfectly reliable, and allows for measuring limited number of regions. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) has perfect repeatability and assesses local structure across the whole brain. However, its anatomic validity is unclear, and with its increasing popularity, a systematic comparison of VBM to manual volumetry is necessary. The few existing comparison studies are limited by small samples, qualitative comparisons, and limited selection and modest reliability of manual measures. Our goal was to overcome those limitations by quantitatively comparing optimized VBM findings with highly reliable multiple regional measures in a large sample (N = 200) across a wide agespan (18–81). We report a complex pattern of similarities and differences. Peak values of VBM volume estimates (modulated density) produced stronger age differences and a different spatial distribution from manual measures. However, when we aggregated VBM-derived information across voxels contained in specific anatomically defined regions (masks), the patterns of age differences became more similar, although important discrepancies emerged. Notably, VBM revealed stronger age differences in the regions bordering CSF and white matter areas prone to leukoaraiosis, and VBM was more likely to report nonlinearities in age-volume relationships. In the white matter regions, manual measures showed stronger negative associations with age than the corresponding VBM-based masks. We conclude that VBM provides realistic estimates of age differences in the regional gray matter only when applied to anatomically defined regions, but overestimates effects when individual peaks are interpreted. It may be beneficial to use VBM as a first-pass strategy, followed by manual measurement of anatomically-defined regions. PMID:18276037

TU-H-207A-03: CT Hounsfield Unit Accuracy: Effect of Beam Hardening On Phantom and Clinical Whole-Body CT Images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ai, H; Wendt, R [The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To assess the effect of beam hardening on measured CT HU values. Methods: An anthropomorphic knee phantom was scanned with the CT component of a GE Discovery 690 PET/CT scanner (120kVp, 300mAs, 40?0.625mm collimation, pitch=0.984, FOV=500mm, matrix=512?512) with four different scan setups, each of which induces different degrees of beam hardening by introducing additional attenuation media into the field of view. Homogeneous voxels representing “soft tissue” and “bone” were segmented by HU thresholding followed by a 3D morphological erosion operation which removes the non-homogenous voxels located on the interface of thresholded tissue mask. HU values of segmented “soft tissue” and “bone” were compared.Additionally, whole-body CT data with coverage from the skull apex to the end of toes were retrospectively retrieved from seven PET/CT exams to evaluate the effect of beam hardening in vivo. Homogeneous bone voxels were segmented with the same method previously described. Total In-Slice Attenuation (TISA) for each CT slice, defined as the summation of HU values over all voxels within a CT slice, was calculated for all slices of the seven whole-body CT datasets and evaluated against the mean HU values of homogeneous bone voxels within that slice. Results: HU values measured from the phantom showed that while “soft tissue” HU values were unaffected, added attenuation within the FOV caused noticeable decreases in the measured HU values of “bone” voxels. A linear relationship was observed between bone HU and TISA for slices of the torso and legs, but not of the skull. Conclusion: Beam hardening effect is not an issue of concern for voxels with HU in the soft tissue range, but should not be neglected for bone voxels. A linear relationship exists between bone HU and the associated TISA in non-skull CT slices, which can be exploited to develop a correction strategy.

Phantoms and computational models in therapy, diagnosis and protection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

The development of realistic body phantoms and computational models is strongly dependent on the availability of comprehensive human anatomical data. This information is often missing, incomplete or not easily available. Therefore, emphasis is given in the Report to organ and body masses and geometries. The influence of age, sex and ethnic origins in human anatomy is considered. Suggestions are given on how suitable anatomical data can be either extracted from published information or obtained from measurements on the local population. Existing types of phantoms and computational models used with photons, electrons, protons and neutrons are reviewed in this Report. Specifications of those considered important to the maintenance and development of reliable radiation dosimetry and measurement are given. The information provided includes a description of the phantom or model, together with diagrams or photographs and physical dimensions. The tissues within body sections are identified and the tissue substitutes used or recommended are listed. The uses of the phantom or model in radiation dosimetry and measurement are outlined. The Report deals predominantly with phantom and computational models representing the human anatomy, with a short Section devoted to animal phantoms in radiobiology

Measurement of weak electric currents in copper wire phantoms using MRI: influence of susceptibility enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Ruiwang; Posnansky, Oleg; Celik, Abdullah; Oros-Peusquens, Ana-Maria; Ermer, Veronika; Irkens, Marco; Wegener, H-Peter; Shah, N Jon

2006-08-01

The use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based methods for the direct detection of neuronal currents is a topic of intense investigation. Much experimental work has been carried out with the express aim of establishing detection thresholds and sensitivity to flowing currents. However, in most of these experiments, magnetic susceptibility enhancement was ignored. In this work, we present results that show the influence of a susceptibility artefact on the detection threshold and sensitivity. For this purpose, a novel phantom, consisting of a water-filled cylinder with two wires of different materials connected in series, was constructed. Magnitude MR images were acquired from a single slice using a gradient-echo echo planar imaging (EPI) sequence. The data show that the time course of the detected MR signal magnitude correlates very well with the waveform of the input current. The effect of the susceptibility artefacts arising from the two different wires was examined by comparing the magnitudes of the MR signals at different voxel locations. Our results indicate the following: (1) MR signal enhancement arising from the magnetic susceptibility effect influences the detection sensitivity of weak current; (2) the detection threshold and sensitivity are phantom-wire dependent; (3) sub-mu A electric current detection in a phantom is possible on a 1.5-T MR scanner in the presence of susceptibility enhancement.

Ratios between the effective doses for tomographic phantoms MAX and FAX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, R.; Khoury, H.J.

2005-01-01

In the last two decades, the coefficients for the equivalent dose in organs and tissues, as well as to the effective dose, recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) were determined using exposure models based on stylized phantoms type MIRD, representing the human body with its radiosensitive organs and tissues according to the ICRP 23 Reference Man, Monte Carlo codes that simulate in a simplified way radiation physics, fabric compositions from different sources, and sometimes applied in a no realistic way, and by the list of organs and tissues at risk with their corresponding weight factors, published in ICRP 60. In the meantime, the International Commission on radiation units and Measurements (ICRU) published reference data to human tissue compositions in ICRU 44 and ICRP launched new anatomical and physiological data of reference in the report number 89. In addition a draft report with recommendations to be released in 2005 (http://icrp.org/) advances significant changes in the list of radiosensitive organs and tissues as well as their corresponding weight factors. As a practical consequence, all components of the traditional stylized models of exposure should be replaced: Monte Carlo codes, human phantoms, the compositions of the fabric and the selection of the organs and tissues at risk with their respective weight factors to determine the effective dose. This article presents the results of comprehensive research into the dosimetric consequences of replacing the stylized models of exposure. The calculations were done using the EGS4 Monte Carlo and MCNP4C codes for external and internal exposure to photons and electrons with phantoms ADAM and EVA, as well as with tomographic phantoms MAX and FAX, for different compositions and tissue distributions. The ratios between effective doses for models of exposure based on phantoms of voxels and effective doses for the stylized models for external and internal exposure to photons and

The UF family of hybrid phantoms of the developing human fetus for computational radiation dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maynard, Matthew R; Geyer, John W; Bolch, Wesley; Aris, John P; Shifrin, Roger Y

2011-01-01

Historically, the development of computational phantoms for radiation dosimetry has primarily been directed at capturing and representing adult and pediatric anatomy, with less emphasis devoted to models of the human fetus. As concern grows over possible radiation-induced cancers from medical and non-medical exposures of the pregnant female, the need to better quantify fetal radiation doses, particularly at the organ-level, also increases. Studies such as the European Union's SOLO (Epidemiological Studies of Exposed Southern Urals Populations) hope to improve our understanding of cancer risks following chronic in utero radiation exposure. For projects such as SOLO, currently available fetal anatomic models do not provide sufficient anatomical detail for organ-level dose assessment. To address this need, two fetal hybrid computational phantoms were constructed using high-quality magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography image sets obtained for two well-preserved fetal specimens aged 11.5 and 21 weeks post-conception. Individual soft tissue organs, bone sites and outer body contours were segmented from these images using 3D-DOCTOR(TM) and then imported to the 3D modeling software package Rhinoceros(TM) for further modeling and conversion of soft tissue organs, certain bone sites and outer body contours to deformable non-uniform rational B-spline surfaces. The two specimen-specific phantoms, along with a modified version of the 38 week UF hybrid newborn phantom, comprised a set of base phantoms from which a series of hybrid computational phantoms was derived for fetal ages 8, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 38 weeks post-conception. The methodology used to construct the series of phantoms accounted for the following age-dependent parameters: (1) variations in skeletal size and proportion, (2) bone-dependent variations in relative levels of bone growth, (3) variations in individual organ masses and total fetal masses and (4) statistical percentile variations in

Experimental determination of the angular dependence factor for the dose equivalent for photons in calibration phantoms of PMMA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lund, E.; Carlsson, C.A.; Pernicka, F.

1994-01-01

The conversion coefficients from air kerma to dose equivalent at a depth of 10 mm in both a spherical and a slab phantom of PMMA have been determined for the X ray qualities: 40, 80 and 295 kV, ISO 'narrow' spectra; and for 137 Cs γ rays. The angular dependence factors have been experimentally determined for the same qualities and for different angles between 0 o and 180 o . The absorbed doses have been measured with thermoluminescence LiF dosemeters. The conversion coefficients and the angular dependence factors are generally found to agree well with calculated ones. Some minor discrepancies are found for the angular dependence factors and the 30 x 30 x 15 cm 3 PMMA slab phantom. (Author)

Numerical method for time-dependent localized corrosion analysis with moving boundaries by combining the finite volume method and voxel method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onishi, Yuki; Takiyasu, Jumpei; Amaya, Kenji; Yakuwa, Hiroshi; Hayabusa, Keisuke

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A novel numerical method to analyze time dependent localized corrosion is developed. ► It takes electromigration, mass diffusion, chemical reactions, and moving boundaries. ► Our method perfectly satisfies the conservation of mass and electroneutrality. ► The behavior of typical crevice corrosion is successfully simulated. ► Both verification and validation of our method are carried out. - Abstract: A novel numerical method for time-dependent localized corrosion analysis is presented. Electromigration, mass diffusion, chemical reactions, and moving boundaries are considered in the numerical simulation of localized corrosion of engineering alloys in an underwater environment. Our method combines the finite volume method (FVM) and the voxel method. The FVM is adopted in the corrosion rate calculation so that the conservation of mass is satisfied. A newly developed decoupled algorithm with a projection method is introduced in the FVM to decouple the multiphysics problem into the electrostatic, mass transport, and chemical reaction analyses with electroneutrality maintained. The polarization curves for the corroding metal are used as boundary conditions for the metal surfaces to calculate the corrosion rates. The voxel method is adopted in updating the moving boundaries of cavities without remeshing and mesh-to-mesh solution mapping. Some modifications of the standard voxel method, which represents the boundaries as zigzag-shaped surfaces, are introduced to generate smooth surfaces. Our method successfully reproduces the numerical and experimental results of a capillary electrophoresis problem. Furthermore, the numerical results are qualitatively consistent with the experimental results for several examples of crevice corrosion.

VOXEL-BASED APPROACH FOR ESTIMATING URBAN TREE VOLUME FROM TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING DATA

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C. Vonderach

2012-07-01

Full Text Available The importance of single trees and the determination of related parameters has been recognized in recent years, e.g. for forest inventories or management. For urban areas an increasing interest in the data acquisition of trees can be observed concerning aspects like urban climate, CO2 balance, and environmental protection. Urban trees differ significantly from natural systems with regard to the site conditions (e.g. technogenic soils, contaminants, lower groundwater level, regular disturbance, climate (increased temperature, reduced humidity and species composition and arrangement (habitus and health status and therefore allometric relations cannot be transferred from natural sites to urban areas. To overcome this problem an extended approach was developed for a fast and non-destructive extraction of branch volume, DBH (diameter at breast height and height of single trees from point clouds of terrestrial laser scanning (TLS. For data acquisition, the trees were scanned with highest scan resolution from several (up to five positions located around the tree. The resulting point clouds (20 to 60 million points are analysed with an algorithm based on voxel (volume elements structure, leading to an appropriate data reduction. In a first step, two kinds of noise reduction are carried out: the elimination of isolated voxels as well as voxels with marginal point density. To obtain correct volume estimates, the voxels inside the stem and branches (interior voxels where voxels contain no laser points must be regarded. For this filling process, an easy and robust approach was developed based on a layer-wise (horizontal layers of the voxel structure intersection of four orthogonal viewing directions. However, this procedure also generates several erroneous "phantom" voxels, which have to be eliminated. For this purpose the previous approach was extended by a special region growing algorithm. In a final step the volume is determined layer-wise based on the

Improved volumetric measurement of brain structure with a distortion correction procedure using an ADNI phantom.

Science.gov (United States)

Maikusa, Norihide; Yamashita, Fumio; Tanaka, Kenichiro; Abe, Osamu; Kawaguchi, Atsushi; Kabasawa, Hiroyuki; Chiba, Shoma; Kasahara, Akihiro; Kobayashi, Nobuhisa; Yuasa, Tetsuya; Sato, Noriko; Matsuda, Hiroshi; Iwatsubo, Takeshi

2013-06-01

Serial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images acquired from multisite and multivendor MRI scanners are widely used in measuring longitudinal structural changes in the brain. Precise and accurate measurements are important in understanding the natural progression of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. However, geometric distortions in MRI images decrease the accuracy and precision of volumetric or morphometric measurements. To solve this problem, the authors suggest a commercially available phantom-based distortion correction method that accommodates the variation in geometric distortion within MRI images obtained with multivendor MRI scanners. The authors' method is based on image warping using a polynomial function. The method detects fiducial points within a phantom image using phantom analysis software developed by the Mayo Clinic and calculates warping functions for distortion correction. To quantify the effectiveness of the authors' method, the authors corrected phantom images obtained from multivendor MRI scanners and calculated the root-mean-square (RMS) of fiducial errors and the circularity ratio as evaluation values. The authors also compared the performance of the authors' method with that of a distortion correction method based on a spherical harmonics description of the generic gradient design parameters. Moreover, the authors evaluated whether this correction improves the test-retest reproducibility of voxel-based morphometry in human studies. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test with uncorrected and corrected images was performed. The root-mean-square errors and circularity ratios for all slices significantly improved (p Wilcoxon signed-rank test, p test-retest reproducibility. The results showed that distortion was corrected significantly using the authors' method. In human studies, the reproducibility of voxel-based morphometry analysis for the whole gray matter significantly improved after distortion correction using the authors

The impact of anthropometric patient-phantom matching on organ dose: A hybrid phantom study for fluoroscopy guided interventions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johnson, Perry B.; Geyer, Amy; Borrego, David; Ficarrotta, Kayla; Johnson, Kevin; Bolch, Wesley E.

2011-01-01

Purpose: To investigate the benefits and limitations of patient-phantom matching for determining organ dose during fluoroscopy guided interventions. Methods: In this study, 27 CT datasets representing patients of different sizes and genders were contoured and converted into patient-specific computational models. Each model was matched, based on height and weight, to computational phantoms selected from the UF hybrid patient-dependent series. In order to investigate the influence of phantom type on patient organ dose, Monte Carlo methods were used to simulate two cardiac projections (PA/left lateral) and two abdominal projections (RAO/LPO). Organ dose conversion coefficients were then calculated for each patient-specific and patient-dependent phantom and also for a reference stylized and reference hybrid phantom. The coefficients were subsequently analyzed for any correlation between patient-specificity and the accuracy of the dose estimate. Accuracy was quantified by calculating an absolute percent difference using the patient-specific dose conversion coefficients as the reference. Results: Patient-phantom matching was shown most beneficial for estimating the dose to heavy patients. In these cases, the improvement over using a reference stylized phantom ranged from approximately 50% to 120% for abdominal projections and for a reference hybrid phantom from 20% to 60% for all projections. For lighter individuals, patient-phantom matching was clearly superior to using a reference stylized phantom, but not significantly better than using a reference hybrid phantom for certain fields and projections. Conclusions: The results indicate two sources of error when patients are matched with phantoms: Anatomical error, which is inherent due to differences in organ size and location, and error attributed to differences in the total soft tissue attenuation. For small patients, differences in soft tissue attenuation are minimal and are exceeded by inherent anatomical differences

Assessment of specific absorbed fractions for photons and electrons using average adult Japanese female phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manabe, Kentaro; Sato, Kaoru; Takahashi, Fumiaki

2016-12-01

In the 2007 Recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the procedure for calculating effective doses was modified as follows. Equivalent doses are evaluated using the male and female voxel phantoms on the basis of reference anatomical data of Caucasians, and effective doses are calculated using sex-averaged equivalent doses in applying tissue weighting factors. Specific absorbed fractions (SAFs), which are essential data for calculating internal doses, depend on the body weights, organ masses, and positional relations of organs of the phantoms. Then, the dose coefficients, which are committed effective doses per unit intake of radionuclides, developed by ICRP on the basis of the 2007 Recommendations reflect the physical characteristics of Caucasians and are averaged over the sexes. Meanwhile, the physiques of adult Japanese are generally smaller than those of adult Caucasians, and organ masses are also different from each other. Therefore, dose coefficients reflecting Japanese physical characteristics are different from those of ICRP. Knowledge of the influence of race differences on dose coefficients is important to apply the sex averaged dose coefficients of ICRP to the Japanese system of radiation protection. SAF data based on phantoms which have Japanese physical characteristics is essential for assessment of the dose coefficients reflecting Japanese physical characteristics. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency constructed average adult Japanese phantoms, JM-103 (male) and JF-103 (female), and is developing a dose estimation method for internal exposure using these phantoms. This report provides photon and electron SAFs of JF-103. The data of this report and the previously published data of JM-103 are applicable to evaluate sex-specific and sex-averaged dose coefficients reflecting the physical characteristics of the average adult Japanese for intakes of radionuclides emitting photons and electrons. Appendix as CD-ROM. (J.P.N.)

SU-E-P-59: A Graphical Interface for XCAT Phantom Configuration, Generation and Processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Myronakis, M; Cai, W; Dhou, S; Cifter, F; Lewis, J; Hurwitz, M

2015-01-01

Purpose: To design a comprehensive open-source, publicly available, graphical user interface (GUI) to facilitate the configuration, generation, processing and use of the 4D Extended Cardiac-Torso (XCAT) phantom. Methods: The XCAT phantom includes over 9000 anatomical objects as well as respiratory, cardiac and tumor motion. It is widely used for research studies in medical imaging and radiotherapy. The phantom generation process involves the configuration of a text script to parameterize the geometry, motion, and composition of the whole body and objects within it, and to generate simulated PET or CT images. To avoid the need for manual editing or script writing, our MATLAB-based GUI uses slider controls, drop-down lists, buttons and graphical text input to parameterize and process the phantom. Results: Our GUI can be used to: a) generate parameter files; b) generate the voxelized phantom; c) combine the phantom with a lesion; d) display the phantom; e) produce average and maximum intensity images from the phantom output files; f) incorporate irregular patient breathing patterns; and f) generate DICOM files containing phantom images. The GUI provides local help information using tool-tip strings on the currently selected phantom, minimizing the need for external documentation. The DICOM generation feature is intended to simplify the process of importing the phantom images into radiotherapy treatment planning systems or other clinical software. Conclusion: The GUI simplifies and automates the use of the XCAT phantom for imaging-based research projects in medical imaging or radiotherapy. This has the potential to accelerate research conducted with the XCAT phantom, or to ease the learning curve for new users. This tool does not include the XCAT phantom software itself. We would like to acknowledge funding from MRA, Varian Medical Systems Inc

SU-E-P-59: A Graphical Interface for XCAT Phantom Configuration, Generation and Processing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Myronakis, M; Cai, W; Dhou, S; Cifter, F; Lewis, J [Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA (United States); Hurwitz, M [Newton, MA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: To design a comprehensive open-source, publicly available, graphical user interface (GUI) to facilitate the configuration, generation, processing and use of the 4D Extended Cardiac-Torso (XCAT) phantom. Methods: The XCAT phantom includes over 9000 anatomical objects as well as respiratory, cardiac and tumor motion. It is widely used for research studies in medical imaging and radiotherapy. The phantom generation process involves the configuration of a text script to parameterize the geometry, motion, and composition of the whole body and objects within it, and to generate simulated PET or CT images. To avoid the need for manual editing or script writing, our MATLAB-based GUI uses slider controls, drop-down lists, buttons and graphical text input to parameterize and process the phantom. Results: Our GUI can be used to: a) generate parameter files; b) generate the voxelized phantom; c) combine the phantom with a lesion; d) display the phantom; e) produce average and maximum intensity images from the phantom output files; f) incorporate irregular patient breathing patterns; and f) generate DICOM files containing phantom images. The GUI provides local help information using tool-tip strings on the currently selected phantom, minimizing the need for external documentation. The DICOM generation feature is intended to simplify the process of importing the phantom images into radiotherapy treatment planning systems or other clinical software. Conclusion: The GUI simplifies and automates the use of the XCAT phantom for imaging-based research projects in medical imaging or radiotherapy. This has the potential to accelerate research conducted with the XCAT phantom, or to ease the learning curve for new users. This tool does not include the XCAT phantom software itself. We would like to acknowledge funding from MRA, Varian Medical Systems Inc.

Phantom pain after eye amputation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rasmussen, Marie L R; Prause, Jan U; Toft, Peter B

2011-01-01

Purpose: To characterize the quality of phantom pain, its intensity and frequency following eye amputation. Possible triggers and relievers of phantom pain are investigated. Methods: The hospital database was searched using surgery codes for patients who received ocular evisceration, enucleation...... was conducted by a trained interviewer. Results: Of the 173 patients in the study, 39 experienced phantom pain. The median age of patients who had experienced phantom pain was 45 years (range: 19–88). Follow-up time from eye amputation to participation in the investigation was 4 years (range: 2–46). Phantom...... scale, ranging from 0 to 100, was 36 (range: 1–89). One-third of the patients experienced phantom pain every day. Chilliness, windy weather and psychological stress/fatigue were the most commonly reported triggers for pain. Conclusions: Phantom pain after eye amputation is relatively common. The pain...

Use of VAP3D software in the construction of pathological anthropomorphic phantoms for dosimetric evaluations; Uso do software VAP3D na construcao de fantomas antropomorficos patologicos para avaliacoes dosimetricas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lima, Lindeval Fernandes de [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (DEM/UFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica; Vieira, Jose Wilson [Instituto Federal de Educacao, Ciencia e Tecnologia de Pernambuco, Recife, PE (Brazil); Lima, Fernando R.A., E-mail: falima@cnen.gov.b [Centro Regional de Ciencias Nucleares do Nordeste (CRCN-NE/CNEN-PE), Recife, PE (Brazil)

2011-10-26

This paper performs a new type of dosimetric evaluation, where it was used a phantom of pathological voxels (representative phantom of sick person). The software VAP3D (Visualization and Analysis of Phantoms 3D) were used for, from a healthy phantom (phantom representative of healthy person), to introduce three dimensional regions to simulate tumors. It was used the Monte Carlo ESGnrc code to simulate the X ray photon transport, his interaction with matter and evaluation of absorbed dose in organs and tissues from thorax region of the healthy phantom and his pathological version. This is a computer model of typical exposure for programming the treatments in radiodiagnostic

Voxel-based morphometry and voxel-based diffusion tensor analysis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen Zhiye; Ma Lin; Lou Xin; Wang Yan

2010-01-01

Objective: To evaluate gray matter volume, white matter volume and FA value changes in amyatrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients by voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and voxel-based diffusion tensor analysis (VBDTA). Methods: Thirty-nine definite or probable ALS patients diagnosed by El Escorial standard and 39 healthy controls were recruited and underwent conventional MR scans and the neuropsychological evaluation. The 3D FSPGR T 1 WI and DTI data were collected on GE Medical 3.0 T MRI system. The 3DT 1 structural images were normalized, segmented and smoothed, and then VBM analysis was performed. DTI data were acquired from 76 healthy controls, and FA map template was made. FA maps generated from the DTI data of ALS patients and healthy controls were normalized to the FA map template for voxel-based analysis. ANCOVA was applied, controlling with age and total intracranial volume for VBM and age for VBDDTA. A statistical threshold of P<0.01 (uncorrected) and cluster level of more than continuous 20 voxels determined significance. Results: Statistical results showed no significant difference in the global volumes of gray matter and white matter, total intracranial volumes and gray matter fraction between ALS patients and healthy controls, but the white matter fraction of ALS patients (0.29 ± 0.02) was significantly less than that of healthy controls (0.30 ± 0.02) statistically (P=0.003). There was significant reduction of gray matter volumes in bilateral superior frontal gyri and precentral gyri, right middle frontal gyrus, right middle and inferior temporal gyrus, left superior occipital gyrus and cuneus and left insula in ALS patients when compared with healthy controls; and the regional reduction of white matter volumes in ALS patients mainly located in genu of corpus callosum, bilateral medial frontal gyri, paracentral lobule and insula, right superior and middle frontal gyrus and left postcentral gyrus. VBDTA showed decrease in FA values in bilateral

Segmentation and quantification of materials with energy discriminating computed tomography: A phantom study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Le, Huy Q.; Molloi, Sabee

2011-01-01

Purpose: To experimentally investigate whether a computed tomography (CT) system based on CdZnTe (CZT) detectors in conjunction with a least-squares parameter estimation technique can be used to decompose four different materials. Methods: The material decomposition process was divided into a segmentation task and a quantification task. A least-squares minimization algorithm was used to decompose materials with five measurements of the energy dependent linear attenuation coefficients. A small field-of-view energy discriminating CT system was built. The CT system consisted of an x-ray tube, a rotational stage, and an array of CZT detectors. The CZT array was composed of 64 pixels, each of which is 0.8x0.8x3 mm. Images were acquired at 80 kVp in fluoroscopic mode at 50 ms per frame. The detector resolved the x-ray spectrum into energy bins of 22-32, 33-39, 40-46, 47-56, and 57-80 keV. Four phantoms were constructed from polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene, polyoxymethylene, hydroxyapatite, and iodine. Three phantoms were composed of three materials with embedded hydroxyapatite (50, 150, 250, and 350 mg/ml) and iodine (4, 8, 12, and 16 mg/ml) contrast elements. One phantom was composed of four materials with embedded hydroxyapatite (150 and 350 mg/ml) and iodine (8 and 16 mg/ml). Calibrations consisted of PMMA phantoms with either hydroxyapatite (100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 mg/ml) or iodine (5, 15, 25, 35, and 45 mg/ml) embedded. Filtered backprojection and a ramp filter were used to reconstruct images from each energy bin. Material segmentation and quantification were performed and compared between different phantoms. Results: All phantoms were decomposed accurately, but some voxels in the base material regions were incorrectly identified. Average quantification errors of hydroxyapatite/iodine were 9.26/7.13%, 7.73/5.58%, and 12.93/8.23% for the three-material PMMA, polyethylene, and polyoxymethylene phantoms, respectively. The average errors for the four

The UF family of hybrid phantoms of the developing human fetus for computational radiation dosimetry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maynard, Matthew R; Geyer, John W; Bolch, Wesley [Department of Nuclear and Radiological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Aris, John P [Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States); Shifrin, Roger Y, E-mail: wbolch@ufl.edu [Department of Radiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL (United States)

2011-08-07

Historically, the development of computational phantoms for radiation dosimetry has primarily been directed at capturing and representing adult and pediatric anatomy, with less emphasis devoted to models of the human fetus. As concern grows over possible radiation-induced cancers from medical and non-medical exposures of the pregnant female, the need to better quantify fetal radiation doses, particularly at the organ-level, also increases. Studies such as the European Union's SOLO (Epidemiological Studies of Exposed Southern Urals Populations) hope to improve our understanding of cancer risks following chronic in utero radiation exposure. For projects such as SOLO, currently available fetal anatomic models do not provide sufficient anatomical detail for organ-level dose assessment. To address this need, two fetal hybrid computational phantoms were constructed using high-quality magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography image sets obtained for two well-preserved fetal specimens aged 11.5 and 21 weeks post-conception. Individual soft tissue organs, bone sites and outer body contours were segmented from these images using 3D-DOCTOR(TM) and then imported to the 3D modeling software package Rhinoceros(TM) for further modeling and conversion of soft tissue organs, certain bone sites and outer body contours to deformable non-uniform rational B-spline surfaces. The two specimen-specific phantoms, along with a modified version of the 38 week UF hybrid newborn phantom, comprised a set of base phantoms from which a series of hybrid computational phantoms was derived for fetal ages 8, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 38 weeks post-conception. The methodology used to construct the series of phantoms accounted for the following age-dependent parameters: (1) variations in skeletal size and proportion, (2) bone-dependent variations in relative levels of bone growth, (3) variations in individual organ masses and total fetal masses and (4) statistical percentile variations

Change in Image Quality According to the 3D Locations of a CBCT Phantom.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jae Joon Hwang

Full Text Available A patient's position changes in every CBCT scan despite patient alignment protocols. However, there have been studies to determine image quality differences when an object is located at the center of the field of view (FOV. To evaluate changes in the image quality of the CBCT scan according to different object positions, the image quality indexes of the Alphard 3030 (Alphard Roentgen Ind., Ltd., Kyoto, Japan and the Rayscan Symphony (RAY Ind., Ltd., Suwon, Korea were measured using the Quart DVT_AP phantom at the center of the FOV and 6 peripheral positions under four types of exposure conditions. Anterior, posterior, right, left, upper, and lower positions 1 cm offset from the center of the FOV were used for the peripheral positions. We evaluated and compared the voxel size, homogeneity, contrast to noise ratio (CNR, and the 10% point of the modulation transfer function (MTF10% of the center and periphery. Because the voxel size, which is determined by the Nyquist frequency, was within tolerance, other image quality indexes were not influenced by the voxel size. For the CNR, homogeneity, and MTF10%, there were peripheral positions which showed considerable differences with statistical significance. The average difference between the center and periphery was up to 31.27% (CNR, 70.49% (homogeneity, and 13.64% (MTF10%. Homogeneity was under tolerance at some of the peripheral locations. Because the CNR, homogeneity, and MTF10% were significantly affected by positional changes of the phantom, an object's position can influence the interpretation of follow up CBCT images. Therefore, efforts to locate the object in the same position are important.

Voxel-based model construction from colored tomographic images; Construcao de simuladores baseados em elementos de volume a partir de imagens tomograficas coloridas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loureiro, Eduardo Cesar de Miranda

2002-07-01

This work presents a new approach in the construction of voxel-based phantoms that was implemented to simplify the segmentation process of organs and tissues reducing the time used in this procedure. The segmentation process is performed by painting tomographic images and attributing a different color for each organ or tissue. A voxel-based head and neck phantom was built using this new approach. The way as the data are stored allows an increasing in the performance of the radiation transport code. The program that calculates the radiation transport also works with image files. This capability allows image reconstruction showing isodose areas, under several points of view, increasing the information to the user. Virtual X-ray photographs can also be obtained allowing that studies could be accomplished looking for the radiographic techniques optimization assessing, at the same time, the doses in organs and tissues. The accuracy of the program here presented, called MCvoxEL, that implements this new approach, was tested by comparison to results from two modern and well-supported Monte Carlo codes. Dose conversion factors for parallel X-ray exposure were also calculated. (author)

Intercomparison of whole-body averaged SAR in European and Japanese voxel phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dimbylow, Peter J; Hirata, Akimasa; Nagaoka, Tomoaki

2008-01-01

This paper provides an intercomparison of the HPA male and female models, NORMAN and NAOMI with the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) male and female models, TARO and HANAKO. The calculations of the whole-body SAR in these four phantoms were performed at the HPA, at NICT and at the Nagoya Institute of Technology (NIT). These were for a plane wave with a vertically aligned electric field incident upon the front of the body from 30 MHz to 3 GHz for isolated conditions. As well as investigating the general differences through this frequency range, particular emphasis was placed on the assumptions of how dielectric properties are assigned to tissues (particularly skin and fat) and the consequence of using different algorithms for calculating SAR at the higher frequencies.

Construction of a computational exposure model for dosimetric calculations using the EGS4 Monte Carlo code and voxel phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vieira, Jose Wilson

2004-07-01

The MAX phantom has been developed from existing segmented images of a male adult body, in order to achieve a representation as close as possible to the anatomical properties of the reference adult male specified by the ICRP. In computational dosimetry, MAX can simulate the geometry of a human body under exposure to ionizing radiations, internal or external, with the objective of calculating the equivalent dose in organs and tissues for occupational, medical or environmental purposes of the radiation protection. This study presents a methodology used to build a new computational exposure model MAX/EGS4: the geometric construction of the phantom; the development of the algorithm of one-directional, divergent, and isotropic radioactive sources; new methods for calculating the equivalent dose in the red bone marrow and in the skin, and the coupling of the MAX phantom with the EGS4 Monte Carlo code. Finally, some results of radiation protection, in the form of conversion coefficients between equivalent dose (or effective dose) and free air-kerma for external photon irradiation are presented and discussed. Comparing the results presented with similar data from other human phantoms it is possible to conclude that the coupling MAX/EGS4 is satisfactory for the calculation of the equivalent dose in radiation protection. (author)

A Monte Carlo-based method to estimate radiation dose from spiral CT: from phantom testing to patient-specific models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jarry, G; De Marco, J J; Beifuss, U; Cagnon, C H; McNitt-Gray, M F

2003-01-01

The purpose of this work is to develop and test a method to estimate the relative and absolute absorbed radiation dose from axial and spiral CT scans using a Monte Carlo approach. Initial testing was done in phantoms and preliminary results were obtained from a standard mathematical anthropomorphic model (MIRD V) and voxelized patient data. To accomplish this we have modified a general purpose Monte Carlo transport code (MCNP4B) to simulate the CT x-ray source and movement, and then to calculate absorbed radiation dose in desired objects. The movement of the source in either axial or spiral modes was modelled explicitly while the CT system components were modelled using published information about x-ray spectra as well as information provided by the manufacturer. Simulations were performed for single axial scans using the head and body computed tomography dose index (CTDI) polymethylmethacrylate phantoms at both central and peripheral positions for all available beam energies and slice thicknesses. For comparison, corresponding physical measurements of CTDI in phantom were made with an ion chamber. To obtain absolute dose values, simulations and measurements were performed in air at the scanner isocentre for each beam energy. To extend the verification, the CT scanner model was applied to the MIRD V model and compared with published results using similar technical factors. After verification of the model, the generalized source was simulated and applied to voxelized models of patient anatomy. The simulated and measured absolute dose data in phantom agreed to within 2% for the head phantom and within 4% for the body phantom at 120 and 140 kVp; this extends to 8% for the head and 9% for the body phantom across all available beam energies and positions. For the head phantom, the simulated and measured absolute dose data agree to within 2% across all slice thicknesses at 120 kVp. Our results in the MIRD phantom agree within 11% of all the different organ dose values

Automated voxelization of 3D atom probe data through kernel density estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan, Srikant; Kaluskar, Kaustubh; Dumpala, Santoshrupa; Broderick, Scott; Rajan, Krishna

2015-01-01

Identifying nanoscale chemical features from atom probe tomography (APT) data routinely involves adjustment of voxel size as an input parameter, through visual supervision, making the final outcome user dependent, reliant on heuristic knowledge and potentially prone to error. This work utilizes Kernel density estimators to select an optimal voxel size in an unsupervised manner to perform feature selection, in particular targeting resolution of interfacial features and chemistries. The capability of this approach is demonstrated through analysis of the γ / γ’ interface in a Ni–Al–Cr superalloy. - Highlights: • Develop approach for standardizing aspects of atom probe reconstruction. • Use Kernel density estimators to select optimal voxel sizes in an unsupervised manner. • Perform interfacial analysis of Ni–Al–Cr superalloy, using new automated approach. • Optimize voxel size to preserve the feature of interest and minimizing loss / noise.

Age and gender effects on normal regional cerebral blood flow studied using two different voxel-based statistical analyses; Effets de l'age et du genre sur la perfusion cerebrale regionale etudiee par deux methodes d'analyse statistique voxel-par-voxel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pirson, A.S.; George, J.; Krug, B.; Vander Borght, T. [Universite Catholique de Louvain, Service de Medecine Nucleaire, Cliniques Universitaires de Mont-Godinne, Yvoir (Belgium); Van Laere, K. [Leuven Univ. Hospital, Nuclear Medicine Div. (Belgium); Jamart, J. [Universite Catholique de Louvain, Dept. de Biostatistiques, Cliniques Universitaires de Mont-Godinne, Yvoir (Belgium); D' Asseler, Y. [Ghent Univ., Medical Signal and Image Processing Dept. (MEDISIP), Faculty of applied sciences (Belgium); Minoshima, S. [Washington Univ., Dept. of Radiology, Seattle (United States)

2009-10-15

Fully automated analysis programs have been applied more and more to aid for the reading of regional cerebral blood flow SPECT study. They are increasingly based on the comparison of the patient study with a normal database. In this study, we evaluate the ability of Three-Dimensional Stereotactic Surface Projection (3 D-S.S.P.) to isolate effects of age and gender in a previously studied normal population. The results were also compared with those obtained using Statistical Parametric Mapping (S.P.M.99). Methods Eighty-nine {sup 99m}Tc-E.C.D.-SPECT studies performed in carefully screened healthy volunteers (46 females, 43 males; age 20 - 81 years) were analysed using 3 D-S.S.P.. A multivariate analysis based on the general linear model was performed with regions as intra-subject factor, gender as inter-subject factor and age as co-variate. Results Both age and gender had a significant interaction effect with regional tracer uptake. An age-related decline (p < 0.001) was found in the anterior cingulate gyrus, left frontal association cortex and left insula. Bilateral occipital association and left primary visual cortical uptake showed a significant relative increase with age (p < 0.001). Concerning the gender effect, women showed higher uptake (p < 0.01) in the parietal and right sensorimotor cortices. An age by gender interaction (p < 0.01) was only found in the left medial frontal cortex. The results were consistent with those obtained with S.P.M.99. Conclusion 3 D-S.S.P. analysis of normal r.C.B.F. variability is consistent with the literature and other automated voxel-based techniques, which highlight the effects of both age and gender. (authors)

Construction of boundary-surface-based Chinese female astronaut computational phantom and proton dose estimation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun Wenjuan; Xie Tianwu; Liu Qian; Jia Xianghong; Xu Feng

2013-01-01

With the rapid development of China's space industry, the importance of radiation protection is increasingly prominent. To provide relevant dose data, we first developed the Visible Chinese Human adult Female (VCH-F) phantom, and performed further modifications to generate the VCH-F Astronaut (VCH-FA) phantom, incorporating statistical body characteristics data from the first batch of Chinese female astronauts as well as reference organ mass data from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP; both within 1% relative error). Based on cryosection images, the original phantom was constructed via Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) boundary surfaces to strengthen the deformability for fitting the body parameters of Chinese female astronauts. The VCH-FA phantom was voxelized at a resolution of 2 x 2 x 4 mm 3 for radioactive particle transport simulations from isotropic protons with energies of 5000 - 10 000 MeV in Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code. To investigate discrepancies caused by anatomical variations and other factors, the obtained doses were compared with corresponding values from other phantoms and sex-averaged doses. Dose differences were observed among phantom calculation results, especially for effective dose with low-energy protons. Local skin thickness shifts the breast dose curve toward high energy, but has little impact on inner organs. Under a shielding layer, organ dose reduction is greater for skin than for other organs. The calculated skin dose per day closely approximates measurement data obtained in low-Earth orbit (LEO). (author)

Construction of boundary-surface-based Chinese female astronaut computational phantom and proton dose estimation

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Wenjuan; JIA, Xianghong; XIE, Tianwu; XU, Feng; LIU, Qian

2013-01-01

With the rapid development of China's space industry, the importance of radiation protection is increasingly prominent. To provide relevant dose data, we first developed the Visible Chinese Human adult Female (VCH-F) phantom, and performed further modifications to generate the VCH-F Astronaut (VCH-FA) phantom, incorporating statistical body characteristics data from the first batch of Chinese female astronauts as well as reference organ mass data from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP; both within 1% relative error). Based on cryosection images, the original phantom was constructed via Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) boundary surfaces to strengthen the deformability for fitting the body parameters of Chinese female astronauts. The VCH-FA phantom was voxelized at a resolution of 2 × 2 × 4 mm3for radioactive particle transport simulations from isotropic protons with energies of 5000–10 000 MeV in Monte Carlo N-Particle eXtended (MCNPX) code. To investigate discrepancies caused by anatomical variations and other factors, the obtained doses were compared with corresponding values from other phantoms and sex-averaged doses. Dose differences were observed among phantom calculation results, especially for effective dose with low-energy protons. Local skin thickness shifts the breast dose curve toward high energy, but has little impact on inner organs. Under a shielding layer, organ dose reduction is greater for skin than for other organs. The calculated skin dose per day closely approximates measurement data obtained in low-Earth orbit (LEO). PMID:23135158

DTI analysis methods : Voxel-based analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Van Hecke, Wim; Leemans, Alexander; Emsell, Louise

2016-01-01

Voxel-based analysis (VBA) of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data permits the investigation of voxel-wise differences or changes in DTI metrics in every voxel of a brain dataset. It is applied primarily in the exploratory analysis of hypothesized group-level alterations in DTI parameters, as it does

Construction of Chinese adult male phantom library and its application in the virtual calibration of in vivo measurement

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Yizheng; Qiu, Rui; Li, Chunyan; Wu, Zhen; Li, Junli

2016-01-01

In vivo measurement is a main method of internal contamination evaluation, particularly for large numbers of people after a nuclear accident. Before the practical application, it is necessary to obtain the counting efficiency of the detector by calibration. The virtual calibration based on Monte Carlo simulation usually uses the reference human computational phantom, and the morphological difference between the monitored personnel with the calibrated phantom may lead to the deviation of the counting efficiency. Therefore, a phantom library containing a wide range of heights and total body masses is needed. In this study, a Chinese reference adult male polygon surface (CRAM-S) phantom was constructed based on the CRAM voxel phantom, with the organ models adjusted to match the Chinese reference data. CRAM-S phantom was then transformed to sitting posture for convenience in practical monitoring. Referring to the mass and height distribution of the Chinese adult male, a phantom library containing 84 phantoms was constructed by deforming the reference surface phantom. Phantoms in the library have 7 different heights ranging from 155 cm to 185 cm, and there are 12 phantoms with different total body masses in each height. As an example of application, organ specific and total counting efficiencies of Ba-133 were calculated using the MCNPX code, with two series of phantoms selected from the library. The influence of morphological variation on the counting efficiency was analyzed. The results show only using the reference phantom in virtual calibration may lead to an error of 68.9% for total counting efficiency. Thus the influence of morphological difference on virtual calibration can be greatly reduced using the phantom library with a wide range of masses and heights instead of a single reference phantom. (paper)

Construction of Chinese adult male phantom library and its application in the virtual calibration of in vivo measurement

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Yizheng; Qiu, Rui; Li, Chunyan; Wu, Zhen; Li, Junli

2016-03-01

In vivo measurement is a main method of internal contamination evaluation, particularly for large numbers of people after a nuclear accident. Before the practical application, it is necessary to obtain the counting efficiency of the detector by calibration. The virtual calibration based on Monte Carlo simulation usually uses the reference human computational phantom, and the morphological difference between the monitored personnel with the calibrated phantom may lead to the deviation of the counting efficiency. Therefore, a phantom library containing a wide range of heights and total body masses is needed. In this study, a Chinese reference adult male polygon surface (CRAM_S) phantom was constructed based on the CRAM voxel phantom, with the organ models adjusted to match the Chinese reference data. CRAMS phantom was then transformed to sitting posture for convenience in practical monitoring. Referring to the mass and height distribution of the Chinese adult male, a phantom library containing 84 phantoms was constructed by deforming the reference surface phantom. Phantoms in the library have 7 different heights ranging from 155 cm to 185 cm, and there are 12 phantoms with different total body masses in each height. As an example of application, organ specific and total counting efficiencies of Ba-133 were calculated using the MCNPX code, with two series of phantoms selected from the library. The influence of morphological variation on the counting efficiency was analyzed. The results show only using the reference phantom in virtual calibration may lead to an error of 68.9% for total counting efficiency. Thus the influence of morphological difference on virtual calibration can be greatly reduced using the phantom library with a wide range of masses and heights instead of a single reference phantom.

Towards a real time computation of the dose in a phantom segmented into homogeneous meshes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blanpain, B.

2009-10-01

Automatic radiation therapy treatment planning necessitates a very fast computation of the dose delivered to the patient. We propose to compute the dose by segmenting the patient's phantom into homogeneous meshes, and by associating, to the meshes, projections to dose distributions pre-computed in homogeneous phantoms, along with weights managing heterogeneities. The dose computation is divided into two steps. The first step impacts the meshes: projections and weights are set according to physical and geometrical criteria. The second step impacts the voxels: the dose is computed by evaluating the functions previously associated to their mesh. This method is very fast, in particular when there are few points of interest (several hundreds). In this case, results are obtained in less than one second. With such performances, practical realization of automatic treatment planning becomes practically feasible. (author)

Voxel-based morphometry analyses of in-vivo MRI in the aging mouse lemur primate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephen John Sawiak

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Cerebral atrophy is one of the most widely brain alterations associated to aging. A clear relationship has been established between age-associated cognitive impairments and cerebral atrophy. The mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus is a small primate used as a model of age-related neurodegenerative processes. It is the first nonhuman primate in which cerebral atrophy has been correlated with cognitive deficits. Previous studies of cerebral atrophy in this model were based on time consuming manual delineation or measurement of selected brain regions from magnetic resonance images (MRI. These measures could not be used to analyse regions that cannot be easily outlined such as the nucleus basalis of Meynert or the subiculum. In humans, morphometric assessment of structural changes with age is generally performed with automated procedures such as voxel-based morphometry (VBM. The objective of our work was to perform user-independent assessment of age-related morphological changes in the whole brain of large mouse lemur populations thanks to VBM. The study was based on the SPMMouse toolbox of SPM 8 and involved thirty mouse lemurs aged from 1.9 to 11.3 years. The automatic method revealed for the first time atrophy in regions where manual delineation is prohibitive (nucleus basalis of Meynert, subiculum, prepiriform cortex, Brodmann areas 13-16, hypothalamus, putamen, thalamus, corpus callosum. Some of these regions are described as particularly sensitive to age-associated alterations in humans. The method revealed also age-associated atrophy in cortical regions (cingulate, occipital, parietal, nucleus septalis, and the caudate. Manual measures performed in some of these regions were in good agreement with results from automatic measures. The templates generated in this study as well as the toolbox for SPM8 can be downloaded. These tools will be valuable for future evaluation of various treatments that are tested to modulate cerebral aging in lemurs.

Healthy brain ageing assessed with 18F-FDG PET and age-dependent recovery factors after partial volume effect correction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bonte, Stijn [IBiTech, Ghent, (Belgium); Ghent University, iMinds - Medical Image and Signal Processing (MEDISIP), Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent (Belgium); University Hospital, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent (Belgium); Vandemaele, Pieter; Deblaere, Karel; Goethals, Ingeborg [University Hospital, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Ghent (Belgium); Verleden, Stijn; Audenaert, Kurt [University Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, Ghent (Belgium); Holen, Roel van [Ghent University, iMinds - Medical Image and Signal Processing (MEDISIP), Department of Electronics and Information Systems, Ghent (Belgium)

2017-05-15

The mechanisms of ageing of the healthy brain are not entirely clarified to date. In recent years several authors have tried to elucidate this topic by using {sup 18}F-FDG positron emission tomography. However, when correcting for partial volume effects (PVE), divergent results were reported. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate these methods in the presence of atrophy due to ageing. In this paper we first evaluate the performance of two PVE correction techniques with a phantom study: the Rousset method and iterative deconvolution. We show that the ability of the latter method to recover the true activity in a small region decreases with increasing age due to brain atrophy. Next, we have calculated age-dependent recovery factors to correct for this incomplete recovery. These factors were applied to PVE-corrected {sup 18}F-FDG PET scans of healthy subjects for mapping the agedependent metabolism in the brain. Many regions in the brain show a reduced metabolism with ageing, especially in grey matter in the frontal and temporal lobe. An increased metabolism is found in grey matter of the cerebellum and thalamus. Our study resulted in age-dependent recovery factors which can be applied following standard PVE correction methods. Cancelling the effect of atrophy, we found regional changes in {sup 18}F-FDG metabolism with ageing. A decreasing trend is found in the frontal and temporal lobe, whereas an increasing metabolism with ageing is observed in the thalamus and cerebellum.

Assessment of body doses from photon exposures using human voxel models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zankl, M.; Fill, U.; Petoussi-Henss, N.; Regulla, D.

2000-01-01

For the scope of risk assessment in protection against ionising radiation (occupational, environmental and medical) it is necessary to determine the radiation dose to specific body organs and tissues. For this purpose, a series of models of the human body were designed in the past, together with computer codes simulating the radiation transport and energy deposition in the body. Most of the computational body models in use are so-called mathematical models; the most famous is the MIRD-5 phantom developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In the 1980s, a new generation of human body models was introduced at GSF, constructed from whole body CT data. Due to being constructed from image data of real persons, these 'voxel models' offer an improved realism of external and internal shape of the body and its organs, compared to MIRD-type models. Comparison of dose calculations involving voxel models with respective dose calculations for MIRD-type models revealed that the deviation of the individual anatomy from that described in the MIRD-type models indeed introduces significant deviations of the calculated organ doses. Specific absorbed fractions of energy released in a source organ due to incorporated activity which are absorbed in target organs may differ by more than an order of magnitude between different body models; for external photon irradiation, the discrepancies are more moderate. (author)

Segmented phantoms reconstruction for skin dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Antunes, Paula C.G.; Siqueira, Paulo T.D.; Yoriyaz, Helio; Fonseca, Gabriel P.; Furnari, Laura; Reis, Gabriela S.

2009-01-01

There are several radio-sensitive skin diseases. Skin dosimetry is a difficult task to be properly performed, not only due to skin extension and small thickness, but also because it is usually submitted to high dose gradients. High-resolution medical images along with methods that simulate the interaction of radiation with matter, as the Monte Carlo radiation transport codes, have been widely used in medical physics procedures. These images provide the construction of realistic computational anatomical models, which after being coupled to these codes, retrieve reliable dosimetric assessments. However, present day regular images are unsuitable to correctly perform skin dose distribution evaluations. This inability is due to improper skin discrimination in most of current medical images, once its thickness stands below image resolution, i.e. pixel characteristic sizes are larger than skin thickness. This paper proposes a methodology of voxelized phantom reconstruction and segmentation, by subdividing their basic elements - voxels. It is done in order to better discriminate the skin by assigning more adequate value for skin thickness and its actual localization. Aiming at a more realistic skin modeling one is expected to get more accurate skin dose evaluations. This task is an important issue in many radiotherapy procedures. A particular interest lays in Total Skin Electron Therapy (TSET), which highlights the treatment of the whole body irradiation, a radiotherapy procedure under implementation in the Hospital das Clinicas da Universidade de Sao Paulo (HC-USP). (author)

Development of internal dosimetry protocols using the code MCNPx and voxelized phantoms of Reference of ICRP 110; Desenvolvimento de protocolos de dosimetria interna empregando o codigo MCNPx e fantomas voxelizados de referencia da ICRP 110

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mendes, B.M.; Fonseca, T.C.F., E-mail: bmm@cdtn.br [Centro de esenvolvimento da Tecnologia Nuclear (CDTN/CNEN-MG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil); Trindade, B.M.; Campos, T.P.R. [Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG (Brazil). Departamento de Engenharia Nuclear

2017-04-01

The objective of this work was to perform internal dosimetry calculations for {sup 18}F-FDG employing the MCNPx code and ICRP 110 voxelized reference phantoms (RCP{sub A}F and RCP{sub A}M). The methodologies developed and validated here represent protocols of internal dosimetry holding a better anthropomorphic and anthropometric representation of the human model in which heterogeneous distributions of the emissions can be adopted, useful in the study of new radiopharmaceuticals and internal contamination cases. The reference phantoms were implemented to run on MCNPx. Biodistribution data of {sup 18}F-FDG radiopharmaceutical provided in ICRP 128 were used in the simulations. The organs average absorbed doses and the effective doses were calculated for each model. The values obtained were compared with two reference works available in the literature for validation purposes. The means of the difference of our values and Zankl et al., 2012 reference values were -0.3% for RCP{sub A}M and -0.4% for RCP{sub A}F. Considering Hadid et al., 2013 reference values, the means of the deviation were -2.9% and -2.2% for RCP{sub A}M and RCP{sub A}F respectively. No statistically significant differences were observed (p <0.01) between the reference values and the values calculated by the internal dosimetry protocols developed by our group. Considering the {sup 18}F-FDG validation study performed in this work, the internal dosimetry protocols developed by our group have produced suitable dosimetry data. (author)

Phantom shocks in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillator

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Berg, Selina Kikkenborg; Moons, Philip; Zwisler, Ann-Dorthe

2013-01-01

of phantom shocks.METHODS AND RESULTS: The design was secondary explorative analyses of data from a randomized controlled trial. One hundred and ninety-six patients with first-time ICD implantation (79% male, mean age 58 years) were randomized (1 : 1) to either combined rehabilitation or a control group...... questions regarding the experience of phantom shocks, date, time, and place. Twelve patients (9.4%) experienced a phantom shock, 7 in the intervention group and 5 in the control group (NS). Neither age, sex, quality of life nor perceived health at baseline was significantly related to the probability...

MO-E-17A-02: Incorporation of Contrast Medium Dynamics in Anthropomorphic Phantoms: The Advent of 5D XCAT Models

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sahbaee, P [NC State University, Raleigh, NC (United States); Samei, E [Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States); Segars, W [Duke University, Durham, NC (United States)

2014-06-15

Purpose: To develop a unique method to incorporate the dynamics of contrast-medium propagation into the anthropomorphic phantom, to generate a five-dimensional (5D) patient model for multimodality imaging studies. Methods: A compartmental model of blood circulation network within the body was embodied into an extended cardiac-torso (4D-XCAT) patient model. To do so, a computational physiologic model of the human cardiovascular system was developed which includes a series of compartments representing heart, vessels, and organs. Patient-specific cardiac output and blood volume were used as inputs influenced by the weight, height, age, and gender of the patient's model. For a given injection protocol and given XCAT model, the contrast-medium transmission within the body was described by a series of mass balance differential equations, the solutions to which provided the contrast enhancement-time curves for each organ; thereby defining the tissue materials including the contrastmedium within the XCAT model. A library of time-dependent organ materials was then defined. Each organ in each voxelized 4D-XCAT phantom was assigned to a corresponding time-varying material to create the 5D-XCAT phantom in which the fifth dimension is blood/contrast-medium within the temporal domain. Results: The model effectively predicts the time-varying concentration behavior of various contrast-medium administration in each organ for different patient models as function of patient size (weight/height) and different injection protocol factors (injection rate and pattern, iodine concentration or volume). The contrast enhanced XCAT patient models was developed based on the concentration of iodine as a function of time after injection. Conclusion: Majority of medical imaging systems take advantage of contrast-medium administration in terms of better image quality, the effect of which was ignored in previous optimization studies. The study enables a comprehensive optimization of contrast

Using case-based reasoning for the reconstitution and manipulation of voxelized phantoms; Utilisation du raisonnement a partir de cas pour la reconstitution et la manipulation de fantomes voxelises

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Henriet, J.; Fontaine, E.; Bopp, M.; Makovicka, L. [IRMAIENISYSI Institut FEMTO - UMR CNRS 6174, Pole Universitaire des Portes du Jura, 4 Place Tharradin - BP 71427, 25211 - Montbeliard (France); Farah, J.; Broggio, D.; Franck, D. [CEA Fontenay-aux-Roses, LEDIISDIIDPRH, IRSN, 92 (France); Chebel-Morello, B. [COSMI/AS2M/Institut FEMTO - UMR CNRS 6174, 24 Rue Alain Savary, 25000 - Besaneon (France)

2010-07-01

The authors reports the development of the EquiVox platform, the aim of which is to allow a radioprotection expert (physician, biologist or other) to work with a phantom which will be the closest possible to the examined person in order to make an as precise as possible dosimetric assessment. The objective is to help to select the best phantom among those the expert knows depending on the assessment type he wants to make. First, they present the general principles of the case-based reasoning, and then the EquiVox platform which proposes all the steps: formalization, elaboration, comparison, and so on. Based on typical numerical values associated with different morphological characteristics, they present and discuss graphical results obtained by the platform. They also discuss their validity and reliability

Rapid Assemblers for Voxel-Based VLSI Robotics

Science.gov (United States)

2014-02-12

flux vector given by the Nernst -Planck equation ( equation ), where the partial derivative of the concentration of ions with respect to time plus the...species i given by the Nernst -Einstein equation . The boundary conditions are that the diffusive and convective contribu- tions to the flux are zero at...dependent partial differential equations . SIAM Journal of Numerical Analysis, 32(3):797-823, 1995. Task 2: cm-scale voxels for prototypes Task

Specific absorbed fractions of electrons and photons for Rad-HUMAN phantom using Monte Carlo method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Wen; Hu Liqin; Cheng Mengyun; Long Pengcheng

2015-01-01

The specific absorbed fractions (SAF) for self- and cross-irradiation are effective tools for the internal dose estimation of inhalation and ingestion intakes of radionuclides. A set of SAFs of photons and electrons were calculated using the Rad-HUMAN phantom, which is a computational voxel phantom of a Chinese adult female that was created using the color photographic image of the Chinese Visible Human (CVH) data set by the FDS Team. The model can represent most Chinese adult female anatomical characteristics and can be taken as an individual phantom to investigate the difference of internal dose with Caucasians. In this study, the emission of mono-energetic photons and electrons of 10 keV to 4 MeV energy were calculated using the Monte Carlo particle transport calculation code MCNP. Results were compared with the values from ICRP reference and ORNL models. The results showed that SAF from the Rad-HUMAN have similar trends but are larger than those from the other two models. The differences were due to the racial and anatomical differences in organ mass and inter-organ distance. The SAFs based on the Rad-HUMAN phantom provide an accurate and reliable data for internal radiation dose calculations for Chinese females. (authors)

WE-D-BRE-06: Quantification of Dose-Response for High Grade Esophagtis Patients Using a Novel Voxel-To-Voxel Method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Niedzielski, J; Martel, M; Tucker, S; Gomez, D; Court, L; Yang, J; Briere, T

2014-01-01

Purpose: Radiation induces an inflammatory response in the esophagus, discernible on CT studies. This work objectively quantifies the voxel esophageal radiation-response for patients with acute esophagitis. This knowledge is an important first-step towards predicting the effect of complex dose distributions on patient esophagitis symptoms. Methods: A previously validated voxel-based methodology of quantifying radiation esophagitis severity was used to identify the voxel dose-response for 18 NSCLC patients with severe esophagitis (CTCAE grading criteria, grade2 or higher). The response is quantified as percent voxel volume change for a given dose. During treatment (6–8 weeks), patients had weekly 4DCT studies and esophagitis scoring. Planning CT esophageal contours were deformed to each weekly CT using a demons DIR algorithm. An algorithm using the Jacobian Map from the DIR of the planning CT to all weekly CTs was used to quantify voxel-volume change, along with corresponding delivered voxel dose, to the planning voxel. Dose for each voxel for each time-point was calculated on each previous weekly CT image, and accumulated using DIR. Thus, for each voxel, the volume-change and delivered dose was calculated for each time-point. The data was binned according to when the volume-change first increased by a threshold volume (10%–100%, in 10% increments), and the average delivered dose calculated for each bin. Results: The average dose resulting in a voxel volume increase of 10–100% was 21.6 to 45.9Gy, respectively. The mean population dose to give a 50% volume increase was 36.3±4.4Gy, (range:29.8 to 43.5Gy). The average week of 50% response was 4.1 (range:4.9 to 2.8 weeks). All 18 patients showed similar dose to first response curves, showing a common trend in the initial inflammatoryresponse. Conclusion: We extracted the dose-response curve of the esophagus on a voxel-to-voxel level. This may be useful for estimating the esophagus response (and patient symptoms

Evaluation of the UF/NCI hybrid computational phantoms for use in organ dosimetry of pediatric patients undergoing fluoroscopically guided cardiac procedures

Science.gov (United States)

Marshall, Emily L.; Borrego, David; Tran, Trung; Fudge, James C.; Bolch, Wesley E.

2018-03-01

Epidemiologic data demonstrate that pediatric patients face a higher relative risk of radiation induced cancers than their adult counterparts at equivalent exposures. Infants and children with congenital heart defects are a critical patient population exposed to ionizing radiation during life-saving procedures. These patients will likely incur numerous procedures throughout their lifespan, each time increasing their cumulative radiation absorbed dose. As continued improvements in long-term prognosis of congenital heart defect patients is achieved, a better understanding of organ radiation dose following treatment becomes increasingly vital. Dosimetry of these patients can be accomplished using Monte Carlo radiation transport simulations, coupled with modern anatomical patient models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of the University of Florida/National Cancer Institute (UF/NCI) pediatric hybrid computational phantom library for organ dose assessment of patients that have undergone fluoroscopically guided cardiac catheterizations. In this study, two types of simulations were modeled. A dose assessment was performed on 29 patient-specific voxel phantoms (taken as representing the patient’s true anatomy), height/weight-matched hybrid library phantoms, and age-matched reference phantoms. Two exposure studies were conducted for each phantom type. First, a parametric study was constructed by the attending pediatric interventional cardiologist at the University of Florida to model the range of parameters seen clinically. Second, four clinical cardiac procedures were simulated based upon internal logfiles captured by a Toshiba Infinix-i Cardiac Bi-Plane fluoroscopic unit. Performance of the phantom library was quantified by computing both the percent difference in individual organ doses, as well as the organ dose root mean square values for overall phantom assessment between the matched phantoms (UF/NCI library or reference) and the patient

Calculation of organ doses in x-ray examinations of premature babies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smans, Kristien; Tapiovaara, Markku; Cannie, Mieke; Struelens, Lara; Vanhavere, Filip; Smet, Marleen; Bosmans, Hilde

2008-01-01

Lung disease represents one of the most life-threatening conditions in prematurely born children. In the evaluation of the neonatal chest, the primary and most important diagnostic study is the chest radiograph. Since prematurely born children are very sensitive to radiation, those radiographs may lead to a significant radiation detriment. Knowledge of the radiation dose is therefore necessary to justify the exposures. To calculate doses in the entire body and in specific organs, computational models of the human anatomy are needed. Using medical imaging techniques, voxel phantoms have been developed to achieve a representation as close as possible to the anatomical properties. In this study two voxel phantoms, representing prematurely born babies, were created from computed tomography- and magnetic resonance images: Phantom 1 (1910 g) and Phantom 2 (590 g). The two voxel phantoms were used in Monte Carlo calculations (MCNPX) to assess organ doses. The results were compared with the commercially available software package PCXMC in which the available mathematical phantoms can be downsized toward the prematurely born baby. The simple phantom-scaling method used in PCXMC seems to be sufficient to calculate doses for organs within the radiation field. However, one should be careful in specifying the irradiation geometry. Doses in organs that are wholly or partially outside the primary radiation field depend critically on the irradiation conditions and the phantom model

Regional heating patterns of RF hyperthermia applicators in phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kantor, G.; Ruggera, P.S.; Samulski, T.V.

1984-01-01

An elliptical phantom (20 cm by 30 cm cross-section and 40 cm long) with a 1 cm fat layer filled with muscle material was used to compare the induced heating patterns of the NCDRH helical coil, a Henry Medical Magnetrode coil, both with a diameter of 35.6 cm, and the BSD Annular Phased Array System (APAS). Temperature profiles were taken in the midplane cross-sectional slice along the major and minor axes of the phantom. These profiles were measured with a Vitek thermistor probe and the associated specific absorption rates (SAR) were determined from this data. SAR curves for each applicator were obtained along the major and minor axes of the phantom. The depths of heating of the Magnetrode applicator are considerably smaller than those for the helical applicator. Heating patterns for the APAS can be highly variable and asymmetric depending on the frequency of operation and the location of the phantom within the APAS aperture. While the APAS requires a water bolus for good coupling, the NCDRH and Magnetrode coils need only to be air coupled for good phantom coupling. Both the helical applicator and APAS can provide significant heating in the central region of the phantom. However, the heating of the helical coil does not critically depend on the phantom loading

Letter to the Editor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cartemo, Petty; Nilsson, Jenny; Nordlund, Anders; Isaksson, Mats

2016-01-01

Whole-body counting (WBC) is a method for measuring and determining the body burden of gamma-emitting radionuclides. The Research Institute for Industrial and Sea Hygiene, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, has designed a human whole-body phantom, IRINA, to be used for calibrations of WBC systems. We have created voxel phantoms of the IRINA phantoms in a lying geometry, in a total of six voxel phantoms, for usages of Monte Carlo (MC) simulations. All the six voxel phantoms are now available through the Nordic Nuclear Safety Research web site together with a detailed description of the method used to create them. IRINA consists of a number of polyethylene blocks, called scatterers (density 0.95 g cm 3 ) and radionuclide sources. The scatterers come in two sizes: 110 x 165 x 55 mm 3 and 110 x 165 x 25 mm 3 . Two vertical channels, aimed for the insertion of the rod-shaped sources, run parallel to each scatterer's height (165 mm). The scatterers can be assembled to represent six different human bodies, who are either laying down, sitting or sitting bending: a 1-y-old with mass of 12 kg, a 6-y-old with mass of 24 kg, a 14-y-old with mass of 50 kg and an adult with mass of 70, 90 and 110 kg, respectively. Voxel phantoms are commonly created by segmentation of CT or MRI image sets of the real-life phantom, which is a favourable technique for complex geometries such as the human anatomy. This gives a three-dimensional array, whose dimension is determined by millimetre/pixel and slice thickness, where each element defines the position and material composition of a voxel in the xyz-space. However, the less-complicated structure of the IRINA phantom made it possible to construct the voxel phantoms without using segmentation of CT or MRI image sets. Instead, the voxel phantoms were created in MATLAB R , which is a strong computational tool for matrix manipulations. The dimensions of a large scatterer are related by 2:3:1. Each scatterer was divided into six unit cubes, with sides

Multi Voxel Descriptor for 3D Texture Retrieval

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hero Yudo Martono

2016-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we present a new feature descriptors  which exploit voxels for 3D textured retrieval system when models vary either by geometric shape or texture or both. First, we perform pose normalisation to modify arbitrary 3D models  in order to have same orientation. We then map the structure of 3D models into voxels. This purposes to make all the 3D models have the same dimensions. Through this voxels, we can capture information from a number of ways.  First, we build biner voxel histogram and color voxel histogram.  Second, we compute distance from centre voxel into other voxels and generate histogram. Then we also compute fourier transform in spectral space.  For capturing texture feature, we apply voxel tetra pattern. Finally, we merge all features by linear combination. For experiment, we use standard evaluation measures such as Nearest Neighbor (NN, First Tier (FT, Second Tier (ST, Average Dynamic Recall (ADR. Dataset in SHREC 2014  and its evaluation program is used to verify the proposed method. Experiment result show that the proposed method  is more accurate when compared with some methods of state-of-the-art.

Voxel Size, Dependent Measures, Or Similarity to Faces? Review and Comparison of various Possibilities on Explaining the Mixed FFA-Expertise Correlation Results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chun-Chia Kung

2011-05-01

Full Text Available One of the unsolved debates in imaging neuroscience is whether the fusiform face area, or FFA, is specific to faces or also to the objects of expertise category. The extant literature shows that more studies reporting failures of finding significant expertise-FFA correlations, seemingly supportive of the face specificity hypothesis of FFA. However, systematic comparisons of these literature suggest that at least part of the reasons might be due to the inter-study differences on voxel size differences (3×3×7 vs. 3×3×3 mm3, for example, various dependent measures (e.g, summed t-scores vs. beta coefficients, and different indices of measures, such as [Birds minus Objects] vs. [Birds vs. Cars], or similarity of expertise stimuli (e.g., Greebles vs. birds/cars to faces. All these differences have yet to be systematically compared, and in this study we re-analyzed two lab-owned dataset (one has been found a positive and significant FFA-expertise correlation, another not by resampling into 3 different voxel sizes (3×3×3, 3×3×5, and 3×3×7 mm3, with 3 dependent measures (summed-t, beta, and percent signal changes. Our results suggest that one should always list, and hopefully examine, all the possible source of variations before final conclusion.

VoxHenry: FFT-Accelerated Inductance Extraction for Voxelized Geometries

KAUST Repository

Yucel, Abdulkadir C.

2018-01-18

VoxHenry, a fast Fourier transform (FFT)-accelerated integral-equation-based simulator for extracting frequency-dependent inductances and resistances of structures discretized by voxels, is presented. VoxHenry shares many features with the popular inductance extractor, FastHenry. Just like FastHenry, VoxHenry solves a combination of the electric volume integral equation and the current continuity equation, but with three distinctions that make VoxHenry suitable and extremely efficient for analyzing voxelized geometries: 1) it leverages a carefully selected set of piecewise-constant and piecewise-linear basis functions; 2) it exploits FFTs to accelerate the matrix-vector multiplications during the iterative solution of system of equations; and 3) it employs a sparse preconditioner to ensure the rapid convergence of iterative solution. VoxHenry is capable of accurately computing frequency-dependent inductances and resistances of arbitrarily shaped and large-scale structures on a desktop computer. The accuracy, efficiency, and applicability of VoxHenry are demonstrated through inductance analysis of various structures, including square and circular coils as well as arrays of RF inductors (situated over ground planes).

New quantitative and multi-modal approach for in-vivo studies of small animals: coupling of the {beta}-microprobe with magnetic techniques and development of voxelized rat and mouse phantoms; Nouvelle approche multimodale et quantitative pour les etudes in vivo chez le petit animal: couplage de la {beta}-MicroProbe aux techniques magnetiques et developpement de fantomes de rat et de souris voxelises

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Desbree, A

2005-09-15

For the last 15 years, animal models that mimic human disorders have become ubiquitous participants to understand biological mechanisms and human disorders and to evaluate new therapeutic approaches. The necessity to study these models in the course of time has stimulated the development of instruments dedicated to in vivo small animal studies. To further understand physiopathological processes, the current challenge is to couple simultaneously several of these methods. Given this context, the combination of the magnetic and radioactive techniques remains an exciting challenge since it is still limited by strict technical constraints. Therefore we propose to couple the magnetic techniques with the radiosensitive Beta-Microprobe, developed in the IPB group and which shown to be an elegant alternative to PET measurements. In this context, the thesis was dedicated to the study of the coupling feasibility from a physical point of view, by simulation and experimental characterizations. Then, the determination of a biological protocol was carried out on the basis of pharmacokinetic studies. The experiments have shown the possibility to use the probe for radioactive measurements under intense magnetic field simultaneously to anatomical images acquisitions. Simultaneously, we have sought to improve the quantification of the radioactive signal using a voxelized phantom of a rat brain. Finally, the emergence of transgenic models led us to reproduce pharmacokinetic studies for the mouse and to develop voxelized mouse phantoms. (author)

Whole-remnant and maximum-voxel SPECT/CT dosimetry in {sup 131}I-NaI treatments of differentiated thyroid cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mínguez, Pablo, E-mail: pablo.minguezgabina@osakidetza.eus [Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund 22185, Sweden and Department of Medical Physics, Gurutzeta/Cruces University Hospital, Barakaldo 48903 (Spain); Flux, Glenn [Joint Department of Physics, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Institute of Cancer Research, Sutton SM2 5PT (United Kingdom); Genollá, José; Delgado, Alejandro; Rodeño, Emilia [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Gurutzeta/Cruces University Hospital, Barakaldo 48903 (Spain); Sjögreen Gleisner, Katarina [Department of Medical Radiation Physics, Lund University, Lund 22185 (Sweden)

2016-10-15

Purpose: To investigate the possible differences between SPECT/CT based whole-remnant and maximum-voxel dosimetry in patients receiving radio-iodine ablation treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC). Methods: Eighteen DTC patients were administered 1.11 GBq of {sup 131}I-NaI after near-total thyroidectomy and rhTSH stimulation. Two patients had two remnants, so in total dosimetry was performed for 20 sites. Three SPECT/CT scans were performed for each patient at 1, 2, and 3–7 days after administration. The activity, the remnant mass, and the maximum-voxel activity were determined from these images and from a recovery-coefficient curve derived from experimental phantom measurements. The cumulated activity was estimated using trapezoidal-exponential integration. Finally, the absorbed dose was calculated using S-values for unit-density spheres in whole-remnant dosimetry and S-values for voxels in maximum-voxel dosimetry. Results: The mean absorbed dose obtained from whole-remnant dosimetry was 40 Gy (range 2–176 Gy) and from maximum-voxel dosimetry 34 Gy (range 2–145 Gy). For any given patient, the activity concentrations for each of the three time-points were approximately the same for the two methods. The effective half-lives varied (R = 0.865), mainly due to discrepancies in estimation of the longer effective half-lives. On average, absorbed doses obtained from whole-remnant dosimetry were 1.2 ± 0.2 (1 SD) higher than for maximum-voxel dosimetry, mainly due to differences in the S-values. The method-related differences were however small in comparison to the wide range of absorbed doses obtained in patients. Conclusions: Simple and consistent procedures for SPECT/CT based whole-volume and maximum-voxel dosimetry have been described, both based on experimentally determined recovery coefficients. Generally the results from the two approaches are consistent, although there is a small, systematic difference in the absorbed dose due to differences in the

Gray and white matter asymmetries in healthy individuals aged 21-29 years: a voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging study.

Science.gov (United States)

Takao, Hidemasa; Abe, Osamu; Yamasue, Hidenori; Aoki, Shigeki; Sasaki, Hiroki; Kasai, Kiyoto; Yoshioka, Naoki; Ohtomo, Kuni

2011-10-01

The hemispheres of the human brain are functionally and structurally asymmetric. The study of structural asymmetries provides important clues to the neuroanatomical basis of lateralized brain functions. Previous studies have demonstrated age-related changes in morphology and diffusion properties of brain tissue. In this study, we simultaneously explored gray and white matter asymmetry using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 109 young healthy individuals (58 females and 51 males). To eliminate the potential confounding effects of aging and handedness, we restricted the study to right-handed subjects aged 21-29 years. VBM and voxel-based analysis of fractional anisotropy (FA) maps derived from DTI revealed a number of gray matter volume asymmetries (including the right frontal and left occipital petalias and leftward asymmetry of the planum temporale) and white matter FA asymmetries (including leftward asymmetry of the arcuate fasciculus, cingulum, and corticospinal tract). There was no significant effect of sex on gray and white matter asymmetry. Leftward volume asymmetry of the planum temporale and leftward FA asymmetry of the arcuate fasciculus were simultaneously demonstrated. Post hoc analysis showed that the gray matter volume of the planum temporale and FA of the arcuate fasciculus were positively related (Pearson correlation coefficient, 0.43; P < 0.0001). The results of our study demonstrate gray and white matter asymmetry in right-handed healthy young adults and suggest that leftward volume asymmetry of the planum temporale and leftward FA asymmetry of the arcuate fasciculus may be related. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Effects of omega-3 fatty acid supplementation on cognitive functions and neural substrates: a voxel-based morphometry study in aged mice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debora eCutuli

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Human and experimental studies have revealed putative neuroprotective and pro-cognitive effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA in aging, evidencing positive correlations between peripheral n-3 PUFA levels and regional grey matter (GM volume, as well as negative correlations between dietary n-3 PUFA levels and cognitive deficits. We recently showed that n-3 PUFA supplemented aged mice exhibit better hippocampal-dependent mnesic functions, along with enhanced cellular plasticity and reduced neurodegeneration, thus supporting a role of n-3 PUFA supplementation in preventing cognitive decline during aging. To corroborate these initial results and develop new evidence on the effects of n-3 PUFA supplementation on brain substrates at macro-scale level, here we expanded behavioral analyses to the emotional domain (anxiety and coping skills, and carried out a fine-grained regional GM volumetric mapping by using high-resolution MRI-based voxel-based morphometry. The behavioral effects of 8 week n-3 PUFA supplementation were measured on cognitive (discriminative, spatial and social and emotional (anxiety and coping abilities of aged (19 month-old at the onset of study C57B6/J mice. n-3 PUFA supplemented mice showed better mnesic performances as well as increased active coping skills. Importantly, these effects were associated with enlarged regional hippocampal, retrosplenial and prefrontal GM volumes, and with increased post mortem n-3 PUFA brain levels. These findings indicate that increased dietary n-3 PUFA intake in normal aging can improve fronto-hippocampal GM structure and function, an effect present also when the supplementation starts at late age. Our data are consistent with a protective role of n-3 PUFA supplementation in counteracting cognitive decline, emotional dysfunctions and brain atrophy.

Validation of dose planning calculations for boron neutron capture therapy using cylindrical and anthropomorphic phantoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koivunoro, Hanna; Seppaelae, Tiina; Uusi-Simola, Jouni; Merimaa, Katja; Savolainen, Sauli [Department of Physics, POB 64, FI-00014 University of Helsinki (Finland); Kotiluoto, Petri; Seren, Tom; Auterinen, Iiro [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo, POB 1000, FI-02044 VTT (Finland); Kortesniemi, Mika, E-mail: hanna.koivunoro@helsinki.f [HUS Helsinki Medical Imaging Center, University of Helsinki, POB 340, FI-00029 HUS (Finland)

2010-06-21

In this paper, the accuracy of dose planning calculations for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) of brain and head and neck cancer was studied at the FiR 1 epithermal neutron beam. A cylindrical water phantom and an anthropomorphic head phantom were applied with two beam aperture-to-surface distances (ASD). The calculations using the simulation environment for radiation application (SERA) treatment planning system were compared to neutron activation measurements with Au and Mn foils, photon dose measurements with an ionization chamber and the reference simulations with the MCNP5 code. Photon dose calculations using SERA differ from the ionization chamber measurements by 2-13% (disagreement increased along the depth in the phantom), but are in agreement with the MCNP5 calculations within 2%. The {sup 55}Mn(n,{gamma}) and {sup 197}Au(n,{gamma}) reaction rates calculated using SERA agree within 10% and 8%, respectively, with the measurements and within 5% with the MCNP5 calculations at depths >0.5 cm from the phantom surface. The {sup 55}Mn(n,{gamma}) reaction rate represents the nitrogen and boron depth dose within 1%. Discrepancy in the SERA fast neutron dose calculation (of up to 37%) is corrected if the biased fast neutron dose calculation option is not applied. Reduced voxel cell size ({<=}0.5 cm) improves the SERA calculation accuracy on the phantom surface. Despite the slight overestimation of the epithermal neutrons and underestimation of the thermal neutrons in the beam model, neutron calculation accuracy with the SERA system is sufficient for reliable BNCT treatment planning with the two studied treatment distances. The discrepancy between measured and calculated photon dose remains unsatisfactorily high for depths >6 cm from the phantom surface. Increasing discrepancy along the phantom depth is expected to be caused by the inaccurately determined effective point of the ionization chamber.

Applicability of dose conversion coefficients of ICRP 74 to Asian adult males: Monte Carlo simulation study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Choonsik; Lee, Choonik; Lee, Jai-Ki

2007-01-01

International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) reported comprehensive dose conversion coefficients for adult population, which is exposed to external photon sources in the Publication 74. However, those quantities were calculated from so-called stylized (or mathematical) phantoms composed of simplified mathematical surface equations so that the discrepancy between the phantoms and real human anatomy has been investigated by several authors using Caucasian-based voxel phantoms. To address anatomical and racial limitations of the stylized phantoms, several Asian-based voxel phantoms have been developed by Korean and Japanese investigators, independently. In the current study, photon dose conversion coefficients of ICRP 74 were compared with those from a total of five Asian-based male voxel phantoms, whose body dimensions were almost identical. Those of representative radio-sensitive organs (testes, red bone marrow, colon, lungs, and stomach), and effective dose conversion coefficients were obtained for comparison. Even though organ doses for testes, colon and lungs, and effective doses from ICRP 74 agreed well with those from Asian voxel phantoms within 10%, absorbed doses for red bone marrow and stomach showed significant discrepancies up to 30% which was mainly attributed to difference of phantom description between stylized and voxel phantoms. This study showed that the ICRP 74 dosimetry data, which have been reported to be unrealistic compared to those from Caucasian-based voxel phantoms, are also not appropriate for Asian population

Development of the Japanese reference man model for age-specific phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawamura, H.

2012-01-01

Recent interest in improving methods for calculating radiation doses to atomic bomb survivors necessitates reinforcing the data on masses of organs of the Japanese population in 1945, including those that are not calculated by DS02, as well as increasing the number of phantoms for different ages. Reference is made to published data on the masses of organs in normal Japanese subjects of 0-90 y of age with more than 5000 samples during 1970-80, as well as the weight and size of the total body. The first Japanese Reference Man model, primarily based on these data and following the ICRP Reference Man concept, is briefly explained. It provides a set of reference values for males and females of six age groups, i.e. 3 months, 1, 5, 10, 15 and 20-50 y. To consider the organ masses of the Japanese population in 1945, the data during the period 1970-80 are compared with the literature data of normal Japanese reported in 1952. Differences between the two sets of organ data in adults are discussed in relation to changes in the national status of nutrition. Additional organ masses of current interest for the Japanese population in 1945 are preliminarily considered. (author)

MO-DE-207B-07: Assessment of Reproducibility Of FDG-PET-Based Radiomics Features Across Scanners Using Phantom Imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fried, D; Meier, J; Mawlawi, O; Zhou, S; Ibbott, G; Liao, Z; Court, L

2016-01-01

Purpose: Use a NEMA-IEC PET phantom to assess the robustness of FDG-PET-based radiomics features to changes in reconstruction parameters across different scanners. Methods: We scanned a NEMA-IEC PET phantom on 3 different scanners (GE Discovery VCT, GE Discovery 710, and Siemens mCT) using a FDG source-to-background ratio of 10:1. Images were retrospectively reconstructed using different iterations (2–3), subsets (21–24), Gaussian filter widths (2, 4, 6mm), and matrix sizes (128,192,256). The 710 and mCT used time-of-flight and point-spread-functions in reconstruction. The axial-image through the center of the 6 active spheres was used for analysis. A region-of-interest containing all spheres was able to simulate a heterogeneous lesion due to partial volume effects. Maximum voxel deviations from all retrospectively reconstructed images (18 per scanner) was compared to our standard clinical protocol. PET Images from 195 non-small cell lung cancer patients were used to compare feature variation. The ratio of a feature’s standard deviation from the patient cohort versus the phantom images was calculated to assess for feature robustness. Results: Across all images, the percentage of voxels differing by 3) were observed for routinely used SUV metrics (e.g. SUVmean and SUVmax) as well as some radiomics features (e.g. co-occurrence contrast, co-occurrence energy, standard deviation, and uniformity). Similar standard deviation ratios were observed across scanners. Conclusions: Our method enabled a comparison of feature variability across scanners and was able to identify features that were not robust to changes in reconstruction parameters.

A comparative study on patient specific absolute dosimetry using slab phantom, acrylic body phantom and goat head phantom

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Om Prakash Gurjar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To compare the results of patient specific absolute dosimetry using slab phantom, acrylic body phantom and goat head phantom. Methods: Fifteen intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT plans already planned on treatment planning system (TPS for head-and-neck cancer patients were exported on all three kinds of phantoms viz. slab phantom, acrylic body phantom and goat head phantom, and dose was calculated using anisotropic analytic algorithm (AAA. All the gantry angles were set to zero in case of slab phantom while set to as it is in actual plan in case of other two phantoms. All the plans were delivered by linear accelerator (LA and dose for each plan was measured by 0.13 cc ion chamber. The percentage (% variations between planned and measured doses were calculated and analyzed. Results: The mean % variations between planned and measured doses of all IMRT quality assurance (QA plans were as 0.65 (Standard deviation (SD: 0.38 with confidence limit (CL 1.39, 1.16 (SD: 0.61 with CL 2.36 and 2.40 (SD: 0.86 with CL 4.09 for slab phantom, acrylic head phantom and goat head phantom respectively. Conclusion: Higher dose variations found in case of real tissue phantom compare to results in case of slab and acrylic body phantoms. The algorithm AAA does not calculate doses in heterogeneous medium as accurate as it calculates in homogeneous medium. Therefore the patient specific absolute dosimetry should be done using heterogeneous phantom mimicking density wise as well as design wise to the actual human body.  

Regional gray matter correlates of memory for emotion-laden words in middle-aged and older adults: A voxel-based morphometry study.

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Saarela, Carina; Joutsa, Juho; Laine, Matti; Parkkola, Riitta; Rinne, Juha O; Karrasch, Mira

2017-01-01

Emotional content is known to enhance memory in a content-dependent manner in healthy populations. In middle-aged and older adults, a reduced preference for negative material, or even an enhanced preference for positive material has been observed. This preference seems to be modulated by the emotional arousal that the material evokes. The neuroanatomical basis for emotional memory processes is, however, not well understood in middle-aged and older healthy people. Previous research on local gray matter correlates of emotional memory in older populations has mainly been conducted with patients suffering from various neurodegenerative diseases. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine regional gray matter correlates of immediate free recall and recognition memory of intentionally encoded positive, negative, and emotionally neutral words using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in a sample of 50-to-79-year-old cognitively intact normal adults. The behavioral analyses yielded a positivity bias in recognition memory, but not in immediate free recall. No associations with memory performance emerged from the region-of-interest (ROI) analyses using amygdalar and hippocampal volumes. Controlling for total intracranial volume, age, and gender, the whole-brain VBM analyses showed statistically significant associations between immediate free recall of negative words and volumes in various frontal regions, between immediate free recall of positive words and cerebellar volume, and between recognition memory of positive words and primary visual cortex volume. The findings indicate that the neural areas subserving memory for emotion-laden information encompass posterior brain areas, including the cerebellum, and that memory for emotion-laden information may be driven by cognitive control functions.

A MCNP-based calibration method and a voxel phantom for in vivo monitoring of 241Am in skull

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moraleda, M.; Gomez-Ros, J.M.; Lopez, M.A.; Navarro, T.; Navarro, J.F.

2004-01-01

Whole body counter (WBC) facilities are currently used for assessment of internal radionuclide body burdens by directly measuring the radiation emitted from the body. Previous calibration of the detection devices requires the use of specific anthropomorphic phantoms. This paper describes the MCNP-based Monte Carlo technique developed for calibration of the germanium detectors (Canberra LE Ge) used in the CIEMAT WBC for in vivo measurements of 241 Am in skull. The proposed method can also be applied for in vivo counting of different radionuclides distributed in other anatomical regions as well as for other detectors. A computer software was developed to automatically generate the input files for the MCNP code starting from any segmented human anatomy data. A specific model of a human head for the assessment of 241 Am was built based on the tomographic phantom VOXELMAN of Yale University. The germanium detectors were carefully modelled from data provided by the manufacturer. This numerical technique has been applied to investigate the best counting geometry and the uncertainty due to improper positioning of the detectors

VK-phantom male with 583 structures and female with 459 structures, based on the sectioned images of a male and a female, for computational dosimetry.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Jin Seo; Jung, Yong Wook; Choi, Hyung-Do; Lee, Ae-Kyoung

2018-04-05

The anatomical structures in most phantoms are classified according to tissue properties rather than according to their detailed structures, because the tissue properties, not the detailed structures, are what is considered important. However, if a phantom does not have detailed structures, the phantom will be unreliable because different tissues can be regarded as the same. Thus, we produced the Visible Korean (VK) -phantoms with detailed structures (male, 583 structures; female, 459 structures) based on segmented images of the whole male body (interval, 1.0 mm; pixel size, 1.0 mm2) and the whole female body (interval, 1.0 mm; pixel size, 1.0 mm2), using house-developed software to analyze the text string and voxel information for each of the structures. The density of each structure in the VK-phantom was calculated based on Virtual Population and a publication of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. In the future, we will standardize the size of each structure in the VK-phantoms. If the VK-phantoms are standardized and the mass density of each structure is precisely known, researchers will be able to measure the exact absorption rate of electromagnetic radiation in specific organs and tissues of the whole body.

Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of congruent voxels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piqué, Alberto, E-mail: pique@nrl.navy.mil [Materials Science and Technology Division, Code 6364, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Kim, Heungsoo; Auyeung, Raymond C.Y.; Beniam, Iyoel [Materials Science and Technology Division, Code 6364, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States); Breckenfeld, Eric [National Research Council Fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375 (United States)

2016-06-30

Highlights: • Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) is demonstrated with high viscosity Ag nanopaste. • Under the right conditions (viscosity and fluence) the transfer of congruent voxels was achieved. • For viscosities under 100 Pa s, congruent voxel transfer of silver nano-suspensions is only possible under a very narrow range of conditions. • For viscosities over 100 Pa s, congruent voxel transfer of silver nano-pastes works over a wider range of fluences, donor substrate thickness, gap distances and voxel areas. • The laser transfer of congruent voxels can be used for printing electronic patterns in particular interconnects. - Abstract: Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of functional materials offers unique advantages and capabilities for the rapid prototyping of electronic, optical and sensor elements. The use of LIFT for printing high viscosity metallic nano-inks and nano-pastes can be optimized for the transfer of voxels congruent with the shape of the laser pulse, forming thin film-like structures non-lithographically. These processes are capable of printing patterns with excellent lateral resolution and thickness uniformity typically found in 3-dimensional stacked assemblies, MEMS-like structures and free-standing interconnects. However, in order to achieve congruent voxel transfer with LIFT, the particle size and viscosity of the ink or paste suspensions must be adjusted to minimize variations due to wetting and drying effects. When LIFT is carried out with high-viscosity nano-suspensions, the printed voxel size and shape become controllable parameters, allowing the printing of thin-film like structures whose shape is determined by the spatial distribution of the laser pulse. The result is a new level of parallelization beyond current serial direct-write processes whereby the geometry of each printed voxel can be optimized according to the pattern design. This work shows how LIFT of congruent voxels can be applied to the fabrication of 2D

Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of congruent voxels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piqué, Alberto; Kim, Heungsoo; Auyeung, Raymond C.Y.; Beniam, Iyoel; Breckenfeld, Eric

2016-01-01

Highlights: • Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) is demonstrated with high viscosity Ag nanopaste. • Under the right conditions (viscosity and fluence) the transfer of congruent voxels was achieved. • For viscosities under 100 Pa s, congruent voxel transfer of silver nano-suspensions is only possible under a very narrow range of conditions. • For viscosities over 100 Pa s, congruent voxel transfer of silver nano-pastes works over a wider range of fluences, donor substrate thickness, gap distances and voxel areas. • The laser transfer of congruent voxels can be used for printing electronic patterns in particular interconnects. - Abstract: Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of functional materials offers unique advantages and capabilities for the rapid prototyping of electronic, optical and sensor elements. The use of LIFT for printing high viscosity metallic nano-inks and nano-pastes can be optimized for the transfer of voxels congruent with the shape of the laser pulse, forming thin film-like structures non-lithographically. These processes are capable of printing patterns with excellent lateral resolution and thickness uniformity typically found in 3-dimensional stacked assemblies, MEMS-like structures and free-standing interconnects. However, in order to achieve congruent voxel transfer with LIFT, the particle size and viscosity of the ink or paste suspensions must be adjusted to minimize variations due to wetting and drying effects. When LIFT is carried out with high-viscosity nano-suspensions, the printed voxel size and shape become controllable parameters, allowing the printing of thin-film like structures whose shape is determined by the spatial distribution of the laser pulse. The result is a new level of parallelization beyond current serial direct-write processes whereby the geometry of each printed voxel can be optimized according to the pattern design. This work shows how LIFT of congruent voxels can be applied to the fabrication of 2D

Vessel-guided airway segmentation based on voxel classification

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lo, Pechin Chien Pau; Sporring, Jon; Ashraf, Haseem

2008-01-01

This paper presents a method for improving airway tree segmentation using vessel orientation information. We use the fact that an airway branch is always accompanied by an artery, with both structures having similar orientations. This work is based on a  voxel classification airway segmentation...... method proposed previously. The probability of a voxel belonging to the airway, from the voxel classification method, is augmented with an orientation similarity measure as a criterion for region growing. The orientation similarity measure of a voxel indicates how similar is the orientation...... of the surroundings of a voxel, estimated based on a tube model, is to that of a neighboring vessel. The proposed method is tested on 20 CT images from different subjects selected randomly from a lung cancer screening study. Length of the airway branches from the results of the proposed method are significantly...

Tissue quantification for development of pediatric phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alves, A.F.F.; Miranda, J.R.A.; Pina, D.R.

2013-01-01

The optimization of the risk- benefit ratio is a major concern in the pediatric radiology, due to the greater vulnerability of children to the late somatic effects and genetic effects of exposure to radiation compared to adults. In Brazil, it is estimated that the causes of death from head trauma are 18 % for the age group between 1-5 years and the radiograph is the primary diagnostic test for the detection of skull fracture . Knowing that the image quality is essential to ensure the identification of structures anatomical and minimizing errors diagnostic interpretation, this paper proposed the development and construction of homogeneous phantoms skull, for the age group 1-5 years. The construction of the phantoms homogeneous was performed using the classification and quantification of tissue present in the skull of pediatric patients. In this procedure computational algorithms were used, using Matlab, to quantify distinct biological tissues present in the anatomical regions studied , using pictures retrospective CT scans. Preliminary data obtained from measurements show that between the ages of 1-5 years, assuming an average anteroposterior diameter of the pediatric skull region of the 145.73 ± 2.97 mm, can be represented by 92.34 mm ± 5.22 of lucite and 1.75 ± 0:21 mm of aluminum plates of a provision of PEP (Pacient equivalent phantom). After its construction, the phantoms will be used for image and dose optimization in pediatric protocols process to examinations of computerized radiography

A voxel visualization and analysis system based on AutoCAD

Science.gov (United States)

Marschallinger, Robert

1996-05-01

A collection of AutoLISP programs is presented which enable the visualization and analysis of voxel models by AutoCAD rel. 12/rel. 13. The programs serve as an interactive, graphical front end for manipulating the results of three-dimensional modeling software producing block estimation data. ASCII data files describing geometry and attributes per estimation block are imported and stored as a voxel array. Each voxel may contain multiple attributes, therefore different parameters may be incorporated in one voxel array. Voxel classification is implemented on a layer basis providing flexible treatment of voxel classes such as recoloring, peeling, or volumetry. A versatile clipping tool enables slicing voxel arrays according to combinations of three perpendicular clipping planes. The programs feature an up-to-date, graphical user interface for user-friendly operation by non AutoCAD specialists.

Modelling of hand phantoms and optimisation of dose measurements in inhomogeneous beta-photon radiation fields using the MCNP code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Becker, Frank; Blunck, Christoph; Hegenbart, Lars; Heide, Bernd; Leone, Debora; Nagels, Sven; Schimmelpfeng, Jutta; Urban, Manfred

2008-01-01

Inhomogeneous beta-photon radiation fields make a reliable dose difficult to determine. Routine monitoring with dosemeters does not guarantee any accurate determination of the local skin dose. In general, correction factors are used to correct for the measured dose and the maximum exposure. However, strong underestimations of the maximum exposure are possible, depending on the individual handling and the reliability of dose measurements. Simulations provide the possibility to track the points of highest exposure and the origin of the highest dose. In this connection, simulations are performed with MCNPX. In order to investigate the local skin dose, two hand phantoms are used, a model based on geometrical elements and a voxel hand. A typical case of radio synoviorthesis, handling of a syringe filled with 90 Y, is simulated. Another simulation focuses on the selective internal radio therapy, revealing the origin of the main dose component in the mixed beta-photon radiation field of a 90 Y vial in an opened transport container. (author)

Voxel-by-voxel analysis of ECD-brain SPECT can separate penumbra from irreversibly damaged tissue at the acute phase of stroke

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Darcourt, J.; Migneco, O.; David, O.; Bussiere, F.; Mahagne, M.H.; Dunac, A.; Baron, J.C.

2002-01-01

Aim. At the acute phase of ischemic stroke, the target of treatment is still salvageable hypoperfused cerebral tissue; so called penumbra. We tested the possibility of separating on early ECD brain SPECT penumbral voxels (P) from irreversibly damaged damaged tissue (IDT). We used ECD which is not only a perfusion tracer but also a metabolic marker. Materials and methods. We prospectively studied 18 patients who underwent ECD-SPECT within the 12 hours following a first-ever acute middle cerebral artery stroke. Neurological evaluation was performed using the Orgogozo's scale at admission and 3 months later in order to calculate and evolution index (IE%) (Martinez-Vila et al.). SPECT data were obtained using a triple head camera equipped with fan beam collimators one hour after injection of 1000 MBq of 99mTc-ECD. On reconstructed images gray matter voxels were automatically segmented. Contralateral healthy hemisphere was used as reference leading to the identification of 3 cortical voxel types: normal (N-SPECT) above 80%; penumbra (P-SPECT) between 80% and 40% and IDT (IDT-SPECT) below 40%. 10 patients also underwent a T2 weighted 3D MRI study at 3 months. Cortical voxels with hypersignal served as reference for IDT (IDT-MRI) the others were considered normal (N-MRI). SPECT and MRI data were co-registered. Therefore each voxel belonged to one of 6 categories (3 SPECT x 2 MRI). Results. (1) The SPECT thresholds were validated on the MRI subgroup. 99% of the N-SPECT voxels were normal on late MRI. 84% of IDT-SPECT voxels corresponded to IDT-MRI. 89% of P-SPECT voxels were normal on late MRI and 11% corresponded to IDT on late MRI. Other categories of voxels (N-SPECT IDT-MRI and IDT-SPECT N-MRI) represented less than 5%. (2) Percentages of each voxel SPECT type was correlated with the EI% on the entire population (Spearman test). P-SPECT extent correlated with EI% improvement (p<0.001) and IDT-SPECT with EI% worsening (p<0.001). Conclusion. Analysis of ECD cortical

Voxel-Based LIDAR Analysis and Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Hagstrom, Shea T.

One of the greatest recent changes in the field of remote sensing is the addition of high-quality Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) instruments. In particular, the past few decades have been greatly beneficial to these systems because of increases in data collection speed and accuracy, as well as a reduction in the costs of components. These improvements allow modern airborne instruments to resolve sub-meter details, making them ideal for a wide variety of applications. Because LIDAR uses active illumination to capture 3D information, its output is fundamentally different from other modalities. Despite this difference, LIDAR datasets are often processed using methods appropriate for 2D images and that do not take advantage of its primary virtue of 3-dimensional data. It is this problem we explore by using volumetric voxel modeling. Voxel-based analysis has been used in many applications, especially medical imaging, but rarely in traditional remote sensing. In part this is because the memory requirements are substantial when handling large areas, but with modern computing and storage this is no longer a significant impediment. Our reason for using voxels to model scenes from LIDAR data is that there are several advantages over standard triangle-based models, including better handling of overlapping surfaces and complex shapes. We show how incorporating system position information from early in the LIDAR point cloud generation process allows radiometrically-correct transmission and other novel voxel properties to be recovered. This voxelization technique is validated on simulated data using the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Image Generation (DIRSIG) software, a first-principles based ray-tracer developed at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Voxel-based modeling of LIDAR can be useful on its own, but we believe its primary advantage is when applied to problems where simpler surface-based 3D models conflict with the requirement of realistic geometry. To

Assessment of diffusion tensor image quality across sites and vendors using the American College of Radiology head phantom.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Zhiyue J; Seo, Youngseob; Babcock, Evelyn; Huang, Hao; Bluml, Stefan; Wisnowski, Jessica; Holshouser, Barbara; Panigrahy, Ashok; Shaw, Dennis W W; Altman, Nolan; McColl, Roderick W; Rollins, Nancy K

2016-05-08

The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of assessing quality of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) from multiple sites and vendors using American College of Radiology (ACR) phantom. Participating sites (Siemens (n = 2), GE (n= 2), and Philips (n = 4)) reached consensus on parameters for DTI and used the widely available ACR phantom. Tensor data were processed at one site. B0 and eddy current distortions were assessed using grid line displacement on phantom Slice 5; signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was measured at the center and periphery of the b = 0 image; fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were assessed using phantom Slice 7. Variations of acquisition parameters and deviations from specified sequence parameters were recorded. Nonlinear grid line distortion was higher with linear shimming and could be corrected using the 2nd order shimming. Following image registration, eddy current distortion was consistently smaller than acquisi-tion voxel size. SNR was consistently higher in the image periphery than center by a factor of 1.3-2.0. ROI-based FA ranged from 0.007 to 0.024. ROI-based MD ranged from 1.90 × 10-3 to 2.33 × 10-3 mm2/s (median = 2.04 × 10-3 mm2/s). Two sites had image void artifacts. The ACR phantom can be used to compare key qual-ity measures of diffusion images acquired from multiple vendors at multiple sites.

Assessment of specific absorbed fractions for photons and electrons using average adult Japanese male phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Manabe, Kentaro; Sato, Kaoru; Takahashi, Fumiaki

2014-10-01

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is revising dose coefficients, which are effective and equivalent doses per unit intake of radionuclides, based on the 2007 Recommendations. Specific absorbed fractions (SAFs) of voxel phantoms having standard physiques and organ masses (physical characteristics) of Caucasian are used for calculation of the new dose coefficients. SAFs depend on physical characteristics of a phantom used for assessment of the SAFs. Therefore, the SAFs and the dose coefficients developed by ICRP reflect physical characteristics of Caucasian. On the other hand, physiques of adult Japanese are generally smaller than those of adult Caucasian, and organ masses are also different from each other. Consequently, it is expected that SAFs and dose coefficients with physical characteristics of adult Japanese are different from those of ICRP. It is important to understand the influence of the differences in physical characteristics between both races on SAFs and dose coefficients when using the SAFs and dose coefficients of ICRP for radiation protection for Japanese. In order to evaluate internal doses considering the physical characteristics of adult Japanese, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency plans to develop a comprehensive data set of SAFs for photons, electrons, alpha particles and neutrons using average adult Japanese male and female phantoms (male: JM-103, female: JF-103). This report presents a data set of photon and electron SAFs for JM-103. JM-103 was incorporated into the general purpose radiation transport code, MCNPX 2.6.0, and the SAFs were calculated by the MCNPX 2.6.0 for 25 energies from 10 keV to 10 MeV and for combinations of 67 source regions and 41 target organs. Influences of differences in physical characteristics between adult Japanese and Caucasian on SAFs was also examined by comparison between the calculated SAFs in this study and the SAFs of the reference adult male phantom of ICRP. The photon and electron

Regional gray matter correlates of memory for emotion-laden words in middle-aged and older adults: A voxel-based morphometry study

Science.gov (United States)

Joutsa, Juho; Laine, Matti; Parkkola, Riitta; Rinne, Juha O.; Karrasch, Mira

2017-01-01

Emotional content is known to enhance memory in a content-dependent manner in healthy populations. In middle-aged and older adults, a reduced preference for negative material, or even an enhanced preference for positive material has been observed. This preference seems to be modulated by the emotional arousal that the material evokes. The neuroanatomical basis for emotional memory processes is, however, not well understood in middle-aged and older healthy people. Previous research on local gray matter correlates of emotional memory in older populations has mainly been conducted with patients suffering from various neurodegenerative diseases. To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine regional gray matter correlates of immediate free recall and recognition memory of intentionally encoded positive, negative, and emotionally neutral words using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) in a sample of 50-to-79-year-old cognitively intact normal adults. The behavioral analyses yielded a positivity bias in recognition memory, but not in immediate free recall. No associations with memory performance emerged from the region-of-interest (ROI) analyses using amygdalar and hippocampal volumes. Controlling for total intracranial volume, age, and gender, the whole-brain VBM analyses showed statistically significant associations between immediate free recall of negative words and volumes in various frontal regions, between immediate free recall of positive words and cerebellar volume, and between recognition memory of positive words and primary visual cortex volume. The findings indicate that the neural areas subserving memory for emotion-laden information encompass posterior brain areas, including the cerebellum, and that memory for emotion-laden information may be driven by cognitive control functions. PMID:28771634

Computer tomographic phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lonn, A.H.R.; Jacobsen, D.R.; Zech, D.J.

1988-01-01

A reference phantom for computer tomography employs a flexible member with means for urging the flexible member into contact along the curved surface of the lumbar region of a human patient. In one embodiment, the reference phantom is pre-curved in an arc greater than required. Pressure from the weight of a patient laying upon the reference phantom is effective for straightening out the curvature sufficiently to achieve substantial contact along the lumbar region. The curvature of the reference phantom may be additionally distorted by a resilient pad between the resilient phantom and a table for urging it into contact with the lumbar region. In a second embodiment of the invention, a flexible reference phantom is disposed in a slot in the top of a resilient cushion. The resilient cushion and reference phantom may be enclosed in a flexible container. A partially curved reference phantom in a slot in a resilient cushion is also contemplated. (author)

Dose distribution in organs: patient-specific phantoms versus reference phantoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lacerda, I.V.B., E-mail: isabelle.lacerda@ufpe.br [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife (Brazil); Vieira, J.W. [Instituto Federal de Pernambuco (IFPE), Recife (Brazil); Oliveira, M.L.; Lima, F.R.A. [Centro Regional de Ciências Nucleares do Nordeste (CRCN-NE/CNEN-PB), Recife (Brazil)

2017-07-01

Discrepancies between ICRP phantoms and real patients lead to disparities on patient-dose estimations. This paper aims to compare distribution of dose in organs of male/female specific-phantoms and ICRP reference phantoms. The absorbed dose estimation was performed using the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code and a parallel source algorithm. In this work were used a patient-specific phantom for a man (1.73m/70.3kg) and another for a woman (1.63m/60.3kg) and the male and female ICRP reference phantoms. The comparison of the absorbed dose from each phantom gender was performed using the relative error. The results were expressed in terms of conversion coefficients to brain, lungs, liver and kidneys. The greatest absolute relative error between the organs of the patient-specific phantom and the reference phantom was 22.92% in the liver and 62.84% in the kidneys, respectively for man and woman. There are errors that cannot be disregarded. This paper shows the need for a specific study for each patient or for the population of each country, since there are different body types, which affects the distribution of the organ doses. (author)

Dose distribution in organs: patient-specific phantoms versus reference phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lacerda, I.V.B.; Vieira, J.W.; Oliveira, M.L.; Lima, F.R.A.

2017-01-01

Discrepancies between ICRP phantoms and real patients lead to disparities on patient-dose estimations. This paper aims to compare distribution of dose in organs of male/female specific-phantoms and ICRP reference phantoms. The absorbed dose estimation was performed using the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code and a parallel source algorithm. In this work were used a patient-specific phantom for a man (1.73m/70.3kg) and another for a woman (1.63m/60.3kg) and the male and female ICRP reference phantoms. The comparison of the absorbed dose from each phantom gender was performed using the relative error. The results were expressed in terms of conversion coefficients to brain, lungs, liver and kidneys. The greatest absolute relative error between the organs of the patient-specific phantom and the reference phantom was 22.92% in the liver and 62.84% in the kidneys, respectively for man and woman. There are errors that cannot be disregarded. This paper shows the need for a specific study for each patient or for the population of each country, since there are different body types, which affects the distribution of the organ doses. (author)

Cerebral asymmetry in patients with schizophrenia: a voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study.

Science.gov (United States)

Takao, Hidemasa; Abe, Osamu; Yamasue, Hidenori; Aoki, Shigeki; Kasai, Kiyoto; Ohtomo, Kuni

2010-01-01

To evaluate the differences in gray- and white-matter asymmetry between schizophrenia patients and normal subjects. Forty-eight right-handed patients with chronic schizophrenia (24 males and 24 females) and 48 right-handed age- and sex-matched healthy controls (24 males and 24 females) were included in this study. The effects of diagnosis on gray-matter volume asymmetry and white-matter fractional anisotropy (FA) asymmetry were evaluated with use of voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and voxel-based analysis of FA maps derived from diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), respectively. The mean gray- and white-matter volumes were significantly smaller in the schizophrenia group than in the control group. The voxel-based morphometry (VBM) showed no significant effect of diagnosis on gray-matter volume asymmetry. The voxel-based analysis of DTI also showed no significant effect of diagnosis on white-matter FA asymmetry. Our results of voxel-based analyses showed no significant differences in either gray-matter volume asymmetry or white-matter FA asymmetry between schizophrenia patients and normal subjects. (c) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

A solid tissue phantom for photon migration studies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cubeddu, Rinaldo; Pifferi, Antonio; Taroni, Paola; Torricelli, Alessandro; Valentini, Gianluca

1997-01-01

A solid tissue phantom made of agar, Intralipid and black ink is described and characterized. The preparation procedure is fast and easily implemented with standard laboratory equipment. An instrumentation for time-resolved transmittance measurements was used to determine the optical properties of the phantom. The absorption and the reduced scattering coefficients are linear with the ink and Intralipid concentrations, respectively. A systematic decrease of the reduced scattering coefficient dependent on the agar content is observed, but can easily be managed. The phantom is highly homogeneous and shows good repeatability among different preparations. Moreover, agar inclusions can be easily embedded in either solid or liquid matrixes, and no artefacts are caused by the solid - solid or solid - liquid interfaces. This allows one to produce reliable and realistic inhomogeneous phantoms with known optical properties, particularly interesting for studies on optical imaging through turbid media. (author)

Application of semiconductor MOSFET and pin diode dosimeters to epithermal neutron beam dose distribution measurements in phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carolan, M.G.; Wallace, S.A.; Allen, B.J.; Rosenfeld, A.B.; Mathur, J.N.

1996-01-01

For any clinical application of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) fast and accurate dose calculations will be required for treatment planning. Such calculations are also necessary for the planning and interpretation of results from pre-clinical and clinical trials where the speed of calculation is not so critical. A dose calculation system based on the MCNP Monte Carlo Neutron transport code has been developed by Wallace. This system takes image data from CT scans and constructs a voxel based geometrical model for input into MCNP. To validate the calculations, a number of phantoms were constructed and exposed in the HB11 epithermal neutron beam at the HFR of the CEC Joint Research Centre in Petten. The doses recorded by arrays of PIN diode neutron dosimeters and MOSFET gamma dosimeters in these phantoms were compared with the calculated results from the MCNP dose planning system. Initial results have been reported elsewhere. Poster 197. (author)

Voxel Scale Complex Networks of Functional Connectivity in the Rat Brain: Neurochemical State Dependence of Global and Local Topological Properties

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam J. Schwarz

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Network analysis of functional imaging data reveals emergent features of the brain as a function of its topological properties. However, the brain is not a homogeneous network, and the dependence of functional connectivity parameters on neuroanatomical substrate and parcellation scale is a key issue. Moreover, the extent to which these topological properties depend on underlying neurochemical changes remains unclear. In the present study, we investigated both global statistical properties and the local, voxel-scale distribution of connectivity parameters of the rat brain. Different neurotransmitter systems were stimulated by pharmacological challenge (d-amphetamine, fluoxetine, and nicotine to discriminate between stimulus-specific functional connectivity and more general features of the rat brain architecture. Although global connectivity parameters were similar, mapping of local connectivity parameters at high spatial resolution revealed strong neuroanatomical dependence of functional connectivity in the rat brain, with clear differentiation between the neocortex and older brain regions. Localized foci of high functional connectivity independent of drug challenge were found in the sensorimotor cortices, consistent with the high neuronal connectivity in these regions. Conversely, the topological properties and node roles in subcortical regions varied with neurochemical state and were dependent on the specific dynamics of the different functional processes elicited.

Pediatric phantoms for use in dosimetric calculations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shoup, R.L.; Hwang, J.L.; Poston, J.W.; Warner, G.G.

1976-01-01

Estimating absorbed doses to children from external and internal radiation sources has become important to the nuclear industry and pediatric nuclear medicine. The Medical Physics and Internal Dosimetry Section at ORNL has recently completed the design of mathematical representations of children of ages newborn, 1 year, and 5 years old. These mathematical representations will be referred to as pediatric phantoms. Using these phantoms, relevant energy deposition data have been developed which establish a meaningful model for use in estimating radiation dose to children

Monte Carlo simulations of adult and pediatric computed tomography exams: Validation studies of organ doses with physical phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Long, Daniel J.; Lee, Choonsik; Tien, Christopher; Fisher, Ryan; Hoerner, Matthew R.; Hintenlang, David; Bolch, Wesley E.

2013-01-01

Purpose: To validate the accuracy of a Monte Carlo source model of the Siemens SOMATOM Sensation 16 CT scanner using organ doses measured in physical anthropomorphic phantoms. Methods: The x-ray output of the Siemens SOMATOM Sensation 16 multidetector CT scanner was simulated within the Monte Carlo radiation transport code, MCNPX version 2.6. The resulting source model was able to perform various simulated axial and helical computed tomographic (CT) scans of varying scan parameters, including beam energy, filtration, pitch, and beam collimation. Two custom-built anthropomorphic phantoms were used to take dose measurements on the CT scanner: an adult male and a 9-month-old. The adult male is a physical replica of University of Florida reference adult male hybrid computational phantom, while the 9-month-old is a replica of University of Florida Series B 9-month-old voxel computational phantom. Each phantom underwent a series of axial and helical CT scans, during which organ doses were measured using fiber-optic coupled plastic scintillator dosimeters developed at University of Florida. The physical setup was reproduced and simulated in MCNPX using the CT source model and the computational phantoms upon which the anthropomorphic phantoms were constructed. Average organ doses were then calculated based upon these MCNPX results. Results: For all CT scans, good agreement was seen between measured and simulated organ doses. For the adult male, the percent differences were within 16% for axial scans, and within 18% for helical scans. For the 9-month-old, the percent differences were all within 15% for both the axial and helical scans. These results are comparable to previously published validation studies using GE scanners and commercially available anthropomorphic phantoms. Conclusions: Overall results of this study show that the Monte Carlo source model can be used to accurately and reliably calculate organ doses for patients undergoing a variety of axial or helical CT

Effects of MR parameter changes on the quantification of diffusion anisotropy and apparent diffusion coefficient in diffusion tensor imaging: Evaluation using a diffusional anisotropic phantom

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Kim, Sang Joon; Choi, Choong Gon; Kim, Jeong Kon [Dept. of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yun, Sung Cheol [Dept. of Biostatistics, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Jeong, Ha Kyu [Dept. of Radiology, East-West Neomedical Center, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Eun Ju [Clinical Scientist, MR, Philips Healthcare, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-04-15

To validate the usefulness of a diffusional anisotropic capillary array phantom and to investigate the effects of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) parameter changes on diffusion fractional anisotropy (FA) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) using the phantom. Diffusion tensor imaging of a capillary array phantom was performed with imaging parameter changes, including voxel size, number of sensitivity encoding (SENSE) factor, echo time (TE), number of signal acquisitions, b-value, and number of diffusion gradient directions (NDGD), one-at-a-time in a stepwise-incremental fashion. We repeated the entire series of DTI scans thrice. The coefficients of variation (CoV) were evaluated for FA and ADC, and the correlation between each MR imaging parameter and the corresponding FA and ADC was evaluated using Spearman's correlation analysis. The capillary array phantom CoVs of FA and ADC were 7.1% and 2.4%, respectively. There were significant correlations between FA and SENSE factor, TE, b-value, and NDGD, as well as significant correlations between ADC and SENSE factor, TE, and b-value. A capillary array phantom enables repeated measurements of FA and ADC. Both FA and ADC can vary when certain parameters are changed during diffusion experiments. We suggest that the capillary array phantom can be used for quality control in longitudinal or multicenter clinical studies.

Poster - 40: Treatment Verification of a 3D-printed Eye Phantom for Proton Therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunning, Chelsea; Lindsay, Clay; Unick, Nick; Sossi, Vesna; Martinez, Mark; Hoehr, Cornelia

2016-01-01

Purpose: Ocular melanoma is a form of eye cancer which is often treated using proton therapy. The benefit of the steep proton dose gradient can only be leveraged for accurate patient eye alignment. A treatment-planning program was written to plan on a 3D-printed anatomical eye-phantom, which was then irradiated to demonstrate the feasibility of verifying in vivo dosimetry for proton therapy using PET imaging. Methods: A 3D CAD eye model with critical organs was designed and voxelized into the Monte-Carlo transport code FLUKA. Proton dose and PET isotope production were simulated for a treatment plan of a test tumour, generated by a 2D treatment-planning program developed using NumPy and proton range tables. Next, a plastic eye-phantom was 3D-printed from the CAD model, irradiated at the TRIUMF Proton Therapy facility, and imaged using a PET scanner. Results: The treatment-planning program prediction of the range setting and modulator wheel was verified in FLUKA to treat the tumour with at least 90% dose coverage for both tissue and plastic. An axial isotope distribution of the PET isotopes was simulated in FLUKA and converted to PET scan counts. Meanwhile, the 3D-printed eye-phantom successfully yielded a PET signal. Conclusions: The 2D treatment-planning program can predict required parameters to sufficiently treat an eye tumour, which was experimentally verified using commercial 3D-printing hardware to manufacture eye-phantoms. Comparison between the simulated and measured PET isotope distribution could provide a more realistic test of eye alignment, and a variation of the method using radiographic film is being developed.

Poster - 40: Treatment Verification of a 3D-printed Eye Phantom for Proton Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dunning, Chelsea; Lindsay, Clay; Unick, Nick; Sossi, Vesna; Martinez, Mark; Hoehr, Cornelia [University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, University of British Columbia, University of British Columbia, University of British Columbia, TRIUMF (Canada)

2016-08-15

Purpose: Ocular melanoma is a form of eye cancer which is often treated using proton therapy. The benefit of the steep proton dose gradient can only be leveraged for accurate patient eye alignment. A treatment-planning program was written to plan on a 3D-printed anatomical eye-phantom, which was then irradiated to demonstrate the feasibility of verifying in vivo dosimetry for proton therapy using PET imaging. Methods: A 3D CAD eye model with critical organs was designed and voxelized into the Monte-Carlo transport code FLUKA. Proton dose and PET isotope production were simulated for a treatment plan of a test tumour, generated by a 2D treatment-planning program developed using NumPy and proton range tables. Next, a plastic eye-phantom was 3D-printed from the CAD model, irradiated at the TRIUMF Proton Therapy facility, and imaged using a PET scanner. Results: The treatment-planning program prediction of the range setting and modulator wheel was verified in FLUKA to treat the tumour with at least 90% dose coverage for both tissue and plastic. An axial isotope distribution of the PET isotopes was simulated in FLUKA and converted to PET scan counts. Meanwhile, the 3D-printed eye-phantom successfully yielded a PET signal. Conclusions: The 2D treatment-planning program can predict required parameters to sufficiently treat an eye tumour, which was experimentally verified using commercial 3D-printing hardware to manufacture eye-phantoms. Comparison between the simulated and measured PET isotope distribution could provide a more realistic test of eye alignment, and a variation of the method using radiographic film is being developed.

a Voxel-Based Filtering Algorithm for Mobile LIDAR Data

Science.gov (United States)

Qin, H.; Guan, G.; Yu, Y.; Zhong, L.

2018-04-01

This paper presents a stepwise voxel-based filtering algorithm for mobile LiDAR data. In the first step, to improve computational efficiency, mobile LiDAR points, in xy-plane, are first partitioned into a set of two-dimensional (2-D) blocks with a given block size, in each of which all laser points are further organized into an octree partition structure with a set of three-dimensional (3-D) voxels. Then, a voxel-based upward growing processing is performed to roughly separate terrain from non-terrain points with global and local terrain thresholds. In the second step, the extracted terrain points are refined by computing voxel curvatures. This voxel-based filtering algorithm is comprehensively discussed in the analyses of parameter sensitivity and overall performance. An experimental study performed on multiple point cloud samples, collected by different commercial mobile LiDAR systems, showed that the proposed algorithm provides a promising solution to terrain point extraction from mobile point clouds.

Characterization of 3D printing techniques: Toward patient specific quality assurance spine-shaped phantom for stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Min-Joo Kim

Full Text Available Development and comparison of spine-shaped phantoms generated by two different 3D-printing technologies, digital light processing (DLP and Polyjet has been purposed to utilize in patient-specific quality assurance (QA of stereotactic body radiation treatment. The developed 3D-printed spine QA phantom consisted of an acrylic body phantom and a 3D-printed spine shaped object. DLP and Polyjet 3D printers using a high-density acrylic polymer were employed to produce spine-shaped phantoms based on CT images. Image fusion was performed to evaluate the reproducibility of our phantom, and the Hounsfield units (HUs were measured based on each CT image. Two different intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans based on both CT phantom image sets from the two printed spine-shaped phantoms with acrylic body phantoms were designed to deliver 16 Gy dose to the planning target volume (PTV and were compared for target coverage and normal organ-sparing. Image fusion demonstrated good reproducibility of the developed phantom. The HU values of the DLP- and Polyjet-printed spine vertebrae differed by 54.3 on average. The PTV Dmax dose for the DLP-generated phantom was about 1.488 Gy higher than that for the Polyjet-generated phantom. The organs at risk received a lower dose for the 3D printed spine-shaped phantom image using the DLP technique than for the phantom image using the Polyjet technique. Despite using the same material for printing the spine-shaped phantom, these phantoms generated by different 3D printing techniques, DLP and Polyjet, showed different HU values and these differently appearing HU values according to the printing technique could be an extra consideration for developing the 3D printed spine-shaped phantom depending on the patient's age and the density of the spinal bone. Therefore, the 3D printing technique and materials should be carefully chosen by taking into account the condition of the patient in order to accurately produce 3D printed

Characterization of 3D printing techniques: Toward patient specific quality assurance spine-shaped phantom for stereotactic body radiation therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Min-Joo; Lee, Seu-Ran; Lee, Min-Young; Sohn, Jason W; Yun, Hyong Geon; Choi, Joon Yong; Jeon, Sang Won; Suh, Tae Suk

2017-01-01

Development and comparison of spine-shaped phantoms generated by two different 3D-printing technologies, digital light processing (DLP) and Polyjet has been purposed to utilize in patient-specific quality assurance (QA) of stereotactic body radiation treatment. The developed 3D-printed spine QA phantom consisted of an acrylic body phantom and a 3D-printed spine shaped object. DLP and Polyjet 3D printers using a high-density acrylic polymer were employed to produce spine-shaped phantoms based on CT images. Image fusion was performed to evaluate the reproducibility of our phantom, and the Hounsfield units (HUs) were measured based on each CT image. Two different intensity-modulated radiotherapy plans based on both CT phantom image sets from the two printed spine-shaped phantoms with acrylic body phantoms were designed to deliver 16 Gy dose to the planning target volume (PTV) and were compared for target coverage and normal organ-sparing. Image fusion demonstrated good reproducibility of the developed phantom. The HU values of the DLP- and Polyjet-printed spine vertebrae differed by 54.3 on average. The PTV Dmax dose for the DLP-generated phantom was about 1.488 Gy higher than that for the Polyjet-generated phantom. The organs at risk received a lower dose for the 3D printed spine-shaped phantom image using the DLP technique than for the phantom image using the Polyjet technique. Despite using the same material for printing the spine-shaped phantom, these phantoms generated by different 3D printing techniques, DLP and Polyjet, showed different HU values and these differently appearing HU values according to the printing technique could be an extra consideration for developing the 3D printed spine-shaped phantom depending on the patient's age and the density of the spinal bone. Therefore, the 3D printing technique and materials should be carefully chosen by taking into account the condition of the patient in order to accurately produce 3D printed patient-specific QA

Regional Gray Matter Volumes Are Related to Concern About Falling in Older People: A Voxel-Based Morphometric Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Tuerk, Carola; Zhang, Haobo; Sachdev, Perminder; Lord, Stephen R; Brodaty, Henry; Wen, Wei; Delbaere, Kim

2016-01-01

Concern about falling is common in older people. Various related psychological constructs as well as poor balance and slow gait have been associated with decreased gray matter (GM) volume in old age. The current study investigates the association between concern about falling and voxel-wise GM volumes. A total of 281 community-dwelling older people aged 70-90 years underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Concern about falling was assessed using Falls Efficacy Scale-International (FES-I). For each participant, voxel-wise GM volumes were generated with voxel-based morphometry and regressed on raw FES-I scores (p fall risk did not alter these associations. After adjustment for anxiety, only left cerebellum and bilateral inferior occipital gyrus remained negatively associated with FES-I scores (voxels-in-cluster = 2,426; p falling is negatively associated with brain volumes in areas important for emotional control and for motor control, executive functions and visual processing in a large sample of older men and women. Regression analyses suggest that these relationships were primarily accounted for by psychological factors (generalized anxiety and neuroticism) and not by physical fall risk or vision. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

The development of a population of 4D pediatric XCAT phantoms for imaging research and optimization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Segars, W. P., E-mail: paul.segars@duke.edu; Norris, Hannah; Sturgeon, Gregory M.; Zhang, Yakun; Bond, Jason; Samei, E. [Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27705 (United States); Minhas, Anum; Frush, D. [Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27705 (United States); Tward, Daniel J.; Ratnanather, J. T.; Miller, M. I. [Center for Imaging Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States)

2015-08-15

Purpose: We previously developed a set of highly detailed 4D reference pediatric extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantoms at ages of newborn, 1, 5, 10, and 15 yr with organ and tissue masses matched to ICRP Publication 89 values. In this work, we extended this reference set to a series of 64 pediatric phantoms of varying age and height and body mass percentiles representative of the public at large. The models will provide a library of pediatric phantoms for optimizing pediatric imaging protocols. Methods: High resolution positron emission tomography-computed tomography data obtained from the Duke University database were reviewed by a practicing experienced radiologist for anatomic regularity. The CT portion of the data was then segmented with manual and semiautomatic methods to form a target model defined using nonuniform rational B-spline surfaces. A multichannel large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping algorithm was used to calculate the transform from the best age matching pediatric XCAT reference phantom to the patient target. The transform was used to complete the target, filling in the nonsegmented structures and defining models for the cardiac and respiratory motions. The complete phantoms, consisting of thousands of structures, were then manually inspected for anatomical accuracy. The mass for each major tissue was calculated and compared to linearly interpolated ICRP values for different ages. Results: Sixty four new pediatric phantoms were created in this manner. Each model contains the same level of detail as the original XCAT reference phantoms and also includes parameterized models for the cardiac and respiratory motions. For the phantoms that were 10 yr old and younger, we included both sets of reproductive organs. This gave them the capability to simulate both male and female anatomy. With this, the population can be expanded to 92. Wide anatomical variation was clearly seen amongst the phantom models, both in organ shape and size, even for

Finding significantly connected voxels based on histograms of connection strengths

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kasenburg, Niklas; Pedersen, Morten Vester; Darkner, Sune

2016-01-01

We explore a new approach for structural connectivity based segmentations of subcortical brain regions. Connectivity based segmentations are usually based on fibre connections from a seed region to predefined target regions. We present a method for finding significantly connected voxels based...... on the distribution of connection strengths. Paths from seed voxels to all voxels in a target region are obtained from a shortest-path tractography. For each seed voxel we approximate the distribution with a histogram of path scores. We hypothesise that the majority of estimated connections are false-positives...... and that their connection strength is distributed differently from true-positive connections. Therefore, an empirical null-distribution is defined for each target region as the average normalized histogram over all voxels in the seed region. Single histograms are then tested against the corresponding null...

Age-Dependence and Aging-Dependence: Neuronal Loss and Lifespan in a C. elegans Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Apfeld, Javier; Fontana, Walter

2017-12-23

It is often assumed, but not established, that the major neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's disease, are not just age-dependent (their incidence changes with time) but actually aging-dependent (their incidence is coupled to the process that determines lifespan). To determine a dependence on the aging process requires the joint probability distribution of disease onset and lifespan. For human Parkinson's disease, such a joint distribution is not available, because the disease cuts lifespan short. To acquire a joint distribution, we resorted to an established C. elegans model of Parkinson's disease in which the loss of dopaminergic neurons is not fatal. We find that lifespan is not correlated with the loss of individual neurons. Therefore, neuronal loss is age-dependent and aging-independent. We also find that a lifespan-extending intervention into insulin/IGF1 signaling accelerates the loss of specific dopaminergic neurons, while leaving death and neuronal loss times uncorrelated. This suggests that distinct and compartmentalized instances of the same genetically encoded insulin/IGF1 signaling machinery act independently to control neurodegeneration and lifespan in C. elegans . Although the human context might well be different, our study calls attention to the need to maintain a rigorous distinction between age-dependence and aging-dependence.

Age and gender effects on normal regional cerebral blood flow studied using two different voxel-based statistical analyses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pirson, A.S.; George, J.; Krug, B.; Vander Borght, T.; Van Laere, K.; Jamart, J.; D'Asseler, Y.; Minoshima, S.

2009-01-01

Fully automated analysis programs have been applied more and more to aid for the reading of regional cerebral blood flow SPECT study. They are increasingly based on the comparison of the patient study with a normal database. In this study, we evaluate the ability of Three-Dimensional Stereotactic Surface Projection (3 D-S.S.P.) to isolate effects of age and gender in a previously studied normal population. The results were also compared with those obtained using Statistical Parametric Mapping (S.P.M.99). Methods Eighty-nine 99m Tc-E.C.D.-SPECT studies performed in carefully screened healthy volunteers (46 females, 43 males; age 20 - 81 years) were analysed using 3 D-S.S.P.. A multivariate analysis based on the general linear model was performed with regions as intra-subject factor, gender as inter-subject factor and age as co-variate. Results Both age and gender had a significant interaction effect with regional tracer uptake. An age-related decline (p < 0.001) was found in the anterior cingulate gyrus, left frontal association cortex and left insula. Bilateral occipital association and left primary visual cortical uptake showed a significant relative increase with age (p < 0.001). Concerning the gender effect, women showed higher uptake (p < 0.01) in the parietal and right sensorimotor cortices. An age by gender interaction (p < 0.01) was only found in the left medial frontal cortex. The results were consistent with those obtained with S.P.M.99. Conclusion 3 D-S.S.P. analysis of normal r.C.B.F. variability is consistent with the literature and other automated voxel-based techniques, which highlight the effects of both age and gender. (authors)

Hubungan Phantom Vibration Syndrome Terhadap Sleep Disorder dan Kondisi Stress

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ajeng Yeni Setianingrum

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Phantom vibration syndrome is a condition where a person would feel the sensation of vibration of a cell phone as if there were incoming notification but the fact is not. This research investigated the relationship between phantom vibration syndromes, sleep disorder and stress condition. Questionnaires were distributed to 120 participants with age range 18 to 23 years old. Data of participants showed that all of participants using a smart mobile phone and 24% of them have more than one cell phone. Time usage of cell phone is at least 1 hour. 23% of participants using a cell phone for social media activity, followed by 21% related to entertainment (music, video and games. The results showed a positive relationship between phantom vibration syndrome, sleep disorder and stress condition. Insomnia contributed a greater influence on stress condition. However, the phantom vibration syndrome is more directly affecting the sleep apnea compared to insomnia and stress condition. Therefore, the phantom vibration syndrome more affects stress condition indirectly, through sleep disorder (sleep apnea and insomnia. Consequently, phantom vibration syndrome has a strong relationship with stress condition at the time of the phantom vibration syndrome can cause sleep disorder.

A Novel Simple Phantom for Verifying the Dose of Radiation Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. H. Lee

2015-01-01

Full Text Available A standard protocol of dosimetric measurements is used by the organizations responsible for verifying that the doses delivered in radiation-therapy institutions are within authorized limits. This study evaluated a self-designed simple auditing phantom for use in verifying the dose of radiation therapy; the phantom design, dose audit system, and clinical tests are described. Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs were used as postal dosimeters, and mailable phantoms were produced for use in postal audits. Correction factors are important for converting TLD readout values from phantoms into the absorbed dose in water. The phantom scatter correction factor was used to quantify the difference in the scattered dose between a solid water phantom and homemade phantoms; its value ranged from 1.084 to 1.031. The energy-dependence correction factor was used to compare the TLD readout of the unit dose irradiated by audit beam energies with 60Co in the solid water phantom; its value was 0.99 to 1.01. The setup-condition factor was used to correct for differences in dose-output calibration conditions. Clinical tests of the device calibrating the dose output revealed that the dose deviation was within 3%. Therefore, our homemade phantoms and dosimetric system can be applied for accurately verifying the doses applied in radiation-therapy institutions.

Uncertainties in planned dose due to the limited voxel size of the planning CT when treating lung tumors with proton therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Espana, Samuel; Paganetti, Harald

2011-01-01

Dose calculation for lung tumors can be challenging due to the low density and the fine structure of the geometry. The latter is not fully considered in the CT image resolution used in treatment planning causing the prediction of a more homogeneous tissue distribution. In proton therapy, this could result in predicting an unrealistically sharp distal dose falloff, i.e. an underestimation of the distal dose falloff degradation. The goal of this work was the quantification of such effects. Two computational phantoms resembling a two-dimensional heterogeneous random lung geometry and a swine lung were considered applying a variety of voxel sizes for dose calculation. Monte Carlo simulations were used to compare the dose distributions predicted with the voxel size typically used for the treatment planning procedure with those expected to be delivered using the finest resolution. The results show, for example, distal falloff position differences of up to 4 mm between planned and expected dose at the 90% level for the heterogeneous random lung (assuming treatment plan on a 2 x 2 x 2.5 mm 3 grid). For the swine lung, differences of up to 38 mm were seen when airways are present in the beam path when the treatment plan was done on a 0.8 x 0.8 x 2.4 mm 3 grid. The two-dimensional heterogeneous random lung phantom apparently does not describe the impact of the geometry adequately because of the lack of heterogeneities in the axial direction. The differences observed in the swine lung between planned and expected dose are presumably due to the poor axial resolution of the CT images used in clinical routine. In conclusion, when assigning margins for treatment planning for lung cancer, proton range uncertainties due to the heterogeneous lung geometry and CT image resolution need to be considered.

Solid tissue simulating phantoms having absorption at 970 nm for diffuse optics

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, Gordon T.; Lentsch, Griffin R.; Trieu, Brandon; Ponticorvo, Adrien; Saager, Rolf B.; Durkin, Anthony J.

2017-07-01

Tissue simulating phantoms can provide a valuable platform for quantitative evaluation of the performance of diffuse optical devices. While solid phantoms have been developed for applications related to characterizing exogenous fluorescence and intrinsic chromophores such as hemoglobin and melanin, we report the development of a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) tissue phantom that mimics the spectral characteristics of tissue water. We have developed these phantoms to mimic different water fractions in tissue, with the purpose of testing new devices within the context of clinical applications such as burn wound triage. Compared to liquid phantoms, cured PDMS phantoms are easier to transport and use and have a longer usable life than gelatin-based phantoms. As silicone is hydrophobic, 9606 dye was used to mimic the optical absorption feature of water in the vicinity of 970 nm. Scattering properties are determined by adding titanium dioxide, which yields a wavelength-dependent scattering coefficient similar to that observed in tissue in the near-infrared. Phantom properties were characterized and validated using the techniques of inverse adding-doubling and spatial frequency domain imaging. Results presented here demonstrate that we can fabricate solid phantoms that can be used to simulate different water fractions.

Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of congruent voxels

Science.gov (United States)

Piqué, Alberto; Kim, Heungsoo; Auyeung, Raymond C. Y.; Beniam, Iyoel; Breckenfeld, Eric

2016-06-01

Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) of functional materials offers unique advantages and capabilities for the rapid prototyping of electronic, optical and sensor elements. The use of LIFT for printing high viscosity metallic nano-inks and nano-pastes can be optimized for the transfer of voxels congruent with the shape of the laser pulse, forming thin film-like structures non-lithographically. These processes are capable of printing patterns with excellent lateral resolution and thickness uniformity typically found in 3-dimensional stacked assemblies, MEMS-like structures and free-standing interconnects. However, in order to achieve congruent voxel transfer with LIFT, the particle size and viscosity of the ink or paste suspensions must be adjusted to minimize variations due to wetting and drying effects. When LIFT is carried out with high-viscosity nano-suspensions, the printed voxel size and shape become controllable parameters, allowing the printing of thin-film like structures whose shape is determined by the spatial distribution of the laser pulse. The result is a new level of parallelization beyond current serial direct-write processes whereby the geometry of each printed voxel can be optimized according to the pattern design. This work shows how LIFT of congruent voxels can be applied to the fabrication of 2D and 3D microstructures by adjusting the viscosity of the nano-suspension and laser transfer parameters.

Construction of a computational exposure model for dosimetric calculations using the EGS4 Monte Carlo code and voxel phantoms; Construcao de um modelo computacional de exposicao para calculos dosimetricos utilizando o codigo Monte Carlo EGS4 e fantomas de voxels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vieira, Jose Wilson

2004-07-15

The MAX phantom has been developed from existing segmented images of a male adult body, in order to achieve a representation as close as possible to the anatomical properties of the reference adult male specified by the ICRP. In computational dosimetry, MAX can simulate the geometry of a human body under exposure to ionizing radiations, internal or external, with the objective of calculating the equivalent dose in organs and tissues for occupational, medical or environmental purposes of the radiation protection. This study presents a methodology used to build a new computational exposure model MAX/EGS4: the geometric construction of the phantom; the development of the algorithm of one-directional, divergent, and isotropic radioactive sources; new methods for calculating the equivalent dose in the red bone marrow and in the skin, and the coupling of the MAX phantom with the EGS4 Monte Carlo code. Finally, some results of radiation protection, in the form of conversion coefficients between equivalent dose (or effective dose) and free air-kerma for external photon irradiation are presented and discussed. Comparing the results presented with similar data from other human phantoms it is possible to conclude that the coupling MAX/EGS4 is satisfactory for the calculation of the equivalent dose in radiation protection. (author)

The UF/NCI family of hybrid computational phantoms representing the current US population of male and female children, adolescents, and adults—application to CT dosimetry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Geyer, Amy M; O'Reilly, Shannon; Long, Daniel J; Bolch, Wesley E; Lee, Choonsik

2014-01-01

Substantial increases in pediatric and adult obesity in the US have prompted a major revision to the current UF/NCI (University of Florida/National Cancer Institute) family of hybrid computational phantoms to more accurately reflect current trends in larger body morphometry. A decision was made to construct the new library in a gridded fashion by height/weight without further reference to age-dependent weight/height percentiles as these become quickly outdated. At each height/weight combination, circumferential parameters were defined and used for phantom construction. All morphometric data for the new library were taken from the CDC NHANES survey data over the time period 1999–2006, the most recent reported survey period. A subset of the phantom library was then used in a CT organ dose sensitivity study to examine the degree to which body morphometry influences the magnitude of organ doses for patients that are underweight to morbidly obese in body size. Using primary and secondary morphometric parameters, grids containing 100 adult male height/weight bins, 93 adult female height/weight bins, 85 pediatric male height/weight bins and 73 pediatric female height/weight bins were constructed. These grids served as the blueprints for construction of a comprehensive library of patient-dependent phantoms containing 351 computational phantoms. At a given phantom standing height, normalized CT organ doses were shown to linearly decrease with increasing phantom BMI for pediatric males, while curvilinear decreases in organ dose were shown with increasing phantom BMI for adult females. These results suggest that one very useful application of the phantom library would be the construction of a pre-computed dose library for CT imaging as needed for patient dose-tracking. (paper)

What do differences between multi-voxel and univariate analysis mean? How subject-, voxel-, and trial-level variance impact fMRI analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Tyler; LaRocque, Karen F; Mumford, Jeanette A; Norman, Kenneth A; Wagner, Anthony D; Poldrack, Russell A

2014-08-15

Multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) has led to major changes in how fMRI data are analyzed and interpreted. Many studies now report both MVPA results and results from standard univariate voxel-wise analysis, often with the goal of drawing different conclusions from each. Because MVPA results can be sensitive to latent multidimensional representations and processes whereas univariate voxel-wise analysis cannot, one conclusion that is often drawn when MVPA and univariate results differ is that the activation patterns underlying MVPA results contain a multidimensional code. In the current study, we conducted simulations to formally test this assumption. Our findings reveal that MVPA tests are sensitive to the magnitude of voxel-level variability in the effect of a condition within subjects, even when the same linear relationship is coded in all voxels. We also find that MVPA is insensitive to subject-level variability in mean activation across an ROI, which is the primary variance component of interest in many standard univariate tests. Together, these results illustrate that differences between MVPA and univariate tests do not afford conclusions about the nature or dimensionality of the neural code. Instead, targeted tests of the informational content and/or dimensionality of activation patterns are critical for drawing strong conclusions about the representational codes that are indicated by significant MVPA results. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Whole-body detector calibrating with a modular phantom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Minev, L; Boshkova, T; Uzunov, P [Sofia Univ. (Bulgaria). Fizicheski Fakultet

1996-12-31

Human body models (phantoms) of various size and weight are produced in order to calibrate gamma spectrometers for accurate activity measurement. The phantoms are built of separate modules with mass of 0.5 kg and size 20 x 14 x 2 cm. There are modules with standard Eu-152 and Am-241 radioactivity designed for homogenous radioactivity imitating and critical organs moulding, as well as `zero` -phantom modules without activity imitating a standard human body. Human organs are modelled by 11 x 9 x 0.5 cm modules with 0.16 kg mass. The phantoms have been used to obtain calibration curves and absolute efficiencies for selected energies of radionuclides expected to be found in the Kozloduy NPP staff. It is shown that the efficiency depends not only on the mass but on the geometric size of the measured object. Scanning of phantoms has been carried out and a profile of activity obtained. The profile consists of an abrupt rising of the sum of pulses (measuring time - 20 s) when the detector passes from neck to chest, a plateau when it moves over the head or the trunk and gradual decrease over the legs. Profiles of activity in organs are best obtained with a lead collimator. 4 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs.

Whole-body detector calibrating with a modular phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minev, L.; Boshkova, T.; Uzunov, P.

1995-01-01

Human body models (phantoms) of various size and weight are produced in order to calibrate gamma spectrometers for accurate activity measurement. The phantoms are built of separate modules with mass of 0.5 kg and size 20 x 14 x 2 cm. There are modules with standard Eu-152 and Am-241 radioactivity designed for homogenous radioactivity imitating and critical organs moulding, as well as 'zero' -phantom modules without activity imitating a standard human body. Human organs are modelled by 11 x 9 x 0.5 cm modules with 0.16 kg mass. The phantoms have been used to obtain calibration curves and absolute efficiencies for selected energies of radionuclides expected to be found in the Kozloduy NPP staff. It is shown that the efficiency depends not only on the mass but on the geometric size of the measured object. Scanning of phantoms has been carried out and a profile of activity obtained. The profile consists of an abrupt rising of the sum of pulses (measuring time - 20 s) when the detector passes from neck to chest, a plateau when it moves over the head or the trunk and gradual decrease over the legs. Profiles of activity in organs are best obtained with a lead collimator. 4 refs., 7 figs., 2 tabs

Brain-volume changes in young and middle-aged smokers: a DARTEL-based voxel-based morphometry study.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Peng; Wang, Zhenchang; Jiang, Tao; Chu, Shuilian; Wang, Shuangkun; Xiao, Dan

2017-09-01

Many studies have reported brain volume changes in smokers. However, the volume differences of grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) in young and middle-aged male smokers with different lifetime tobacco consumption (pack-years) remain uncertain. To examine the brain volume change, especially whether more pack-years smoking would be associated with smaller gray matter and white matter volume in young and middle-aged male smokers. We used a 3T MR scanner and performed Diffeomorphic anatomical registration through exponentiated lie algebra (DARTEL)-based voxel-based morphometry on 53 long-term male smokers (30.72 ± 4.19 years) and 53 male healthy non-smokers (30.83 ± 5.18 years). We separated smokers to light and heavy smokers by pack-years and compared brain volume between different smoker groups and non-smokers. And then we did analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) between smokers and non-smokers by setting pack-years as covariates. Light and heavy smokers all displayed smaller GM and WM volume than non-smokers and more obviously in heavy smokers. The main smaller areas in light and heavy smokers were superior temporal gyrus, insula, middle occipital gyrus, posterior cingulate, precuneus in GM and posterior cingulate, thalamus and midbrain in WM, in addition, we also observed more pack-years smoking was associated with some certain smaller GM and WM volumes by ANCOVA. Young and middle-aged male smokers had many smaller brain areas than non-smokers. Some of these areas' volume had negative correlation with pack-years, while some had not. These may due to different pathophysiological role of smokings. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

AdS Black Hole with Phantom Scalar Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Limei Zhang

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We present an AdS black hole solution with Ricci flat horizon in Einstein-phantom scalar theory. The phantom scalar fields just depend on the transverse coordinates x and y, which are parameterized by the parameter α. We study the thermodynamics of the AdS phantom black hole. Although its horizon is a Ricci flat Euclidean space, we find that the thermodynamical properties of the black hole solution are qualitatively the same as those of AdS Schwarzschild black hole. Namely, there exists a minimal temperature and the large black hole is thermodynamically stable, while the smaller one is unstable, so there is a so-called Hawking-Page phase transition between the large black hole and the thermal gas solution in the AdS space-time in Poincare coordinates. We also calculate the entanglement entropy for a strip geometry dual to the AdS phantom black holes and find that the behavior of the entanglement entropy is qualitatively the same as that of the black hole thermodynamical entropy.

Estimation of computed tomography dose in various phantom shapes and compositions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Chang Lae [Dept. of Radiological Science, Yonsei University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-15

The purpose of this study was to investigate CTDI (computed tomography dose index at center) for various phantom shapes, sizes, and compositions by using GATE (geant4 application for tomographic emission) simulations. GATE simulations were performed for various phantom shapes (cylinder, elliptical, and hexagonal prism PMMA phantoms) and phantom compositions (water, PMMA, polyethylene, polyoxymethylene) with various diameters (1-50 cm) at various kVp and mAs levels. The CTDI100center values of cylinder, elliptical, and hexagonal prism phantom at 120 kVp, 200 mAs resulted in 11.1, 13.4, and 12.2 mGy, respectively. The volume is the same, but CTDI{sub 100center} values are different depending on the type of phantom. The water, PMMA, and polyoxymethylene phantom CTDI{sub 100center} values were relatively low as the material density increased. However, in the case of Polyethylene, the CTDI{sub 100center} value was higher than that of PMMA at diameters exceeding 15 cm (CTDI{sub 100center} : 35.0 mGy). And a diameter greater than 30 cm (CTDI{sub 100center} : 17.7 mGy) showed more CTDI{sub 100center} than Water. We have used limited phantoms to evaluate CT doses. In this study, CTDI{sub 100center} values were estimated and simulated by GATE simulation according to the material and shape of the phantom. CT dosimetry can be estimated more accurately by using various materials and phantom shapes close to human body.

A visual LISP program for voxelizing AutoCAD solid models

Science.gov (United States)

Marschallinger, Robert; Jandrisevits, Carmen; Zobl, Fritz

2015-01-01

AutoCAD solid models are increasingly recognized in geological and geotechnical 3D modeling. In order to bridge the currently existing gap between AutoCAD solid models and the grid modeling realm, a Visual LISP program is presented that converts AutoCAD solid models into voxel arrays. Acad2Vox voxelizer works on a 3D-model that is made up of arbitrary non-overlapping 3D-solids. After definition of the target voxel array geometry, 3D-solids are scanned at grid positions and properties are streamed to an ASCII output file. Acad2Vox has a novel voxelization strategy that combines a hierarchical reduction of sampling dimensionality with an innovative use of AutoCAD-specific methods for a fast and memory-saving operation. Acad2Vox provides georeferenced, voxelized analogs of 3D design data that can act as regions-of-interest in later geostatistical modeling and simulation. The Supplement includes sample geological solid models with instructions for practical work with Acad2Vox.

SU-F-I-01: Normalized Mean Glandular Dose Values for Dedicated Breast CT Using Realistic Breast-Shaped Phantoms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hernandez, A [Department of Radiology, Biomedical Engineering Graduate Group, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA (United States); Boone, J [Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engeering Graduate Group, University of California Davis, Sacramento, CA (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To estimate normalized mean glandular dose values for dedicated breast CT (DgN-CT) using breast CT-derived phantoms and compare to estimations using cylindrical phantoms. Methods: Segmented breast CT (bCT) volume data sets (N=219) were used to measure effective diameter profiles and were grouped into quintiles by volume. The profiles were averaged within each quintile to represent the range of breast sizes found clinically. These profiles were then used to generate five voxelized computational phantoms (V1, V2, V3, V4, V5 for the small to large phantom sizes, respectively), and loaded into the MCNP6 lattice geometry to simulate normalized mean glandular dose coefficients (DgN-CT) using the system specifications of the Doheny-prototype bCT scanner in our laboratory. The DgN-CT coefficients derived from the bCT-derived breast-shaped phantoms were compared to those generated using a simpler cylindrical phantom using a constant volume, and the following constraints: (1) Length=1.5*radius; (2) radius determined at chest wall (Rcw), and (3) radius determined at the phantom center-of-mass (Rcm). Results: The change in Dg-NCT coefficients averaged across all phantom sizes, was - 0.5%, 19.8%, and 1.3%, for constraints 1–3, respectively. This suggests that the cylindrical assumption is a good approximation if the radius is taken at the breast center-of-mass, but using the radius at the chest wall results in an underestimation of the glandular dose. Conclusion: The DgN-CT coefficients for bCT-derived phantoms were compared against the assumption of a cylindrical phantom and proved to be essentially equivalent when the cylinder radius was set to r=1.5/L or Rcm. While this suggests that for dosimetry applications a patient’s breast can be approximated as a cylinder (if the correct radius is applied), this assumes a homogenous composition of breast tissue and the results may be different if the realistic heterogeneous distribution of glandular tissue is considered

Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry of white matter in mild cognitive impairment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Zhiqun; Guo Xiaojuan; Qi Zhigang; Yao Li; Li Kuncheng

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze whole-brain white matter changes in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Materials and methods: We studied 14 patients with MCI and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on T1-weighted 3D datasets. The data were collected on a 3T MR system and analyzed by SPM2 to generate white matter volume maps. Results: Voxel-based morphometry revealed diffusively reduced white matter in MCI prominently including the bilateral temporal gyrus, the right anterior cingulate, the bilateral superior and medial frontal gyrus and right parietal angular gyrus. White matter reduction was more prominent in anterior regions than that in posterior regions. Conclusion: Whole-brain white matter reduction in MCI patients detected with VBM has special distribution which is in line with the white matter pathology of MCI.

Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry of white matter in mild cognitive impairment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Zhiqun [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, 100053, Beijing (China); Guo Xiaojuan [College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing (China); National Key Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing (China); Qi Zhigang [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, 100053, Beijing (China); Yao Li [College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing (China); National Key Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing (China); Li Kuncheng, E-mail: likuncheng@xwh.ccmu.edu.c [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, 100053, Beijing (China)

2010-08-15

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze whole-brain white matter changes in mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Materials and methods: We studied 14 patients with MCI and 14 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on T1-weighted 3D datasets. The data were collected on a 3T MR system and analyzed by SPM2 to generate white matter volume maps. Results: Voxel-based morphometry revealed diffusively reduced white matter in MCI prominently including the bilateral temporal gyrus, the right anterior cingulate, the bilateral superior and medial frontal gyrus and right parietal angular gyrus. White matter reduction was more prominent in anterior regions than that in posterior regions. Conclusion: Whole-brain white matter reduction in MCI patients detected with VBM has special distribution which is in line with the white matter pathology of MCI.

Phantom pain and phantom sensations in upper limb amputees : an epidemiological study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooijman, CM; Dijkstra, PU; Geertzen, JHB; Elzinga, A; van der Schans, CP

Phantom pain in subjects with an amputated limb is a well-known problem. However, estimates of the prevalence of phantom pain differ considerably in the literature. Various factors associated with phantom pain have been described including pain before the amputation, gender, dominance, and time

Individual virtual phantom reconstruction for organ dosimetry based on standard available phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Babapour Mofrad, F.; Aghaeizadeh Zoroofi, R.; Abbaspour Tehran Fard, A.; Akhlaghpoor, Sh.; Chen, Y. W.; Sato, Y.

2010-01-01

In nuclear medicine application often it is required to use computational methods for evaluation of organ absorbed dose. Monte Carlo Simulation and phantoms have been used in many works before. The shape, size and volume In organs are varied, and this variation will produce error in dose calculation if no correction is applied. Materials and Methods: A computational framework for constructing individual phantom for dosimetry was performed on five liver CT scan data sets of Japanese normal individuals. The Zubal phantom was used as an original phantom to be adjusted by each individual data set. This registration was done by Spherical Harmonics and Thin-Plate Spline methods. Hausdorff distance was calculated for each case. Results: Result of Hausdorff distance for five lndividual phantoms showed that before registration ranged from 140.9 to 192.1, and after registration it changed to 52.5 to 76.7. This was caused by Index similarity ranged from %56.4 to %70.3. Conclusion: A new and automatic three-dimensional (3D) phantom construction approach was-suggested for individual internal dosimetry simulation via Spherical Harmonics and Thin-Plate Spline methods. The results showed that the Individual comparable phantom can be calculated with acceptable accuracy using geometric registration. This method could be used for race-specific statistical phantom modeling with major application in nuclear medicine for absorbed dose calculation.

MO-DE-207B-04: Impact of Reconstruction Field of View On Radiomics Features in Computed Tomography (CT) Using a Texture Phantom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shafiq ul Hassan, M; Zhang, G; Oliver, J; Moros, E [H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL (United States); Department of Physics, University of South Florida (United States); Latifi, K; Hunt, D; Guzman, R; Balagurunathan, Y; Gillies, R [H Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, Tampa, FL (United States); Mackin, D; Court, L [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To investigate the impact of reconstruction Field of View on Radiomics features in computed tomography (CT) using a texture phantom. Methods: A rectangular Credence Cartridge Radiomics (CCR) phantom, composed of 10 different cartridges, was scanned on four different CT scanners from two manufacturers. A pre-defined scanning protocol was adopted for consistency. The slice thickness and reconstruction interval of 1.5 mm was used on all scanners. The reconstruction FOV was varied to result a voxel size ranging from 0.38 to 0.98 mm. A spherical region of interest (ROI) was contoured on the shredded rubber cartridge from CCR phantom CT scans. Ninety three Radiomics features were extracted from ROI using an in-house program. These include 10 shape, 22 intensity, 26 GLCM, 11 GLZSM, 11 RLM, 5 NGTDM and 8 fractal dimensional features. To evaluate the Interscanner variability across three scanners, a coefficient of variation (COV) was calculated for each feature group. Each group was further classified according to the COV by calculating the percentage of features in each of the following categories: COV≤ 5%, between 5 and 10% and ≥ 10%. Results: Shape features were the most robust, as expected, because of the spherical contouring of ROI. Intensity features were the second most robust with 54.5 to 64% of features with COV < 5%. GLCM features ranged from 31 to 35% for the same category. RLM features were sensitive to specific scanner and 5% variability was 9 to 54%. Almost all GLZM and NGTDM features showed COV ≥10% among the scanners. The dependence of fractal dimensions features on FOV was not consistent across different scanners. Conclusion: We concluded that reconstruction FOV greatly influence Radiomics features. The GLZSM and NGTDM are highly sensitive to FOV. funded in part by Grant NIH/NCI R01CA190105-01.

Skeletal dosimetry for external exposures to photons based on {mu}CT images of spongiosa: Consideration of voxel resolution, cluster size, and medullary bone surfaces

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kramer, R.; Khoury, H. J.; Vieira, J. W.; Brown, K. A. Robson [Departamento de Energia Nuclear, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Luiz Freire 1000, Cidade Universitaria, CEP 50740-540, Recife, Pernambuco (Brazil); Centro Federal de Educacao Tecnologica de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Luiz Freire 500, CEP 50740-540, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil and Escola Politecnica, UPE, Rua Benfica 455, CEP 50751-460, Recife, Pernambuco (Brazil); Imaging Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Bristol, 43 Woodland Road, Bristol BS8 1UU (United Kingdom)

2009-11-15

Skeletal dosimetry based on {mu}CT images of trabecular bone has recently been introduced to calculate the red bone marrow (RBM) and the bone surface cell (BSC) equivalent doses in human phantoms for external exposure to photons. In order to use the {mu}CT images for skeletal dosimetry, spongiosa voxels in the skeletons were replaced at run time by so-called micromatrices, which have exactly the size of a spongiosa voxel and contain segmented trabecular bone and marrow microvoxels. A cluster (=parallelepiped) of 2x2x2=8 micromatrices was used systematically and periodically throughout the spongiosa volume during the radiation transport calculation. Systematic means that when a particle leaves a spongiosa voxel to enter into a neighboring spongiosa voxel, then the next micromatrix in the cluster will be used. Periodical means that if the particle travels through more than two spongiosa voxels in a row, then the cluster will be repeated. Based on the bone samples available at the time, clusters of up to 3x3x3=27 micromatrices were studied. While for a given trabecular bone volume fraction the whole-body RBM equivalent dose showed converging results for cluster sizes between 8 and 27 micromatrices, this was not the case for the BSC equivalent dose. The BSC equivalent dose seemed to be very sensitive to the number, form, and thickness of the trabeculae. In addition, the cluster size and/or the microvoxel resolution were considered to be possible causes for the differences observed. In order to resolve this problem, this study used a bone sample large enough to extract clusters containing up to 8x8x8=512 micromatrices and which was scanned with two different voxel resolutions. Taking into account a recent proposal, this investigation also calculated the BSC equivalent dose on medullary surfaces of cortical bone in the arm and leg bones. The results showed (1) that different voxel resolutions have no effect on the RBM equivalent dose but do influence the BSC equivalent

Voxel-Based Morphometry ALE meta-analysis of Bipolar Disorder

Science.gov (United States)

Magana, Omar; Laird, Robert

2012-03-01

A meta-analysis was performed independently to view the changes in gray matter (GM) on patients with Bipolar disorder (BP). The meta-analysis was conducted on a Talairach Space using GingerALE to determine the voxels and their permutation. In order to achieve the data acquisition, published experiments and similar research studies were uploaded onto the online Voxel-Based Morphometry database (VBM). By doing so, coordinates of activation locations were extracted from Bipolar disorder related journals utilizing Sleuth. Once the coordinates of given experiments were selected and imported to GingerALE, a Gaussian was performed on all foci points to create the concentration points of GM on BP patients. The results included volume reductions and variations of GM between Normal Healthy controls and Patients with Bipolar disorder. A significant amount of GM clusters were obtained in Normal Healthy controls over BP patients on the right precentral gyrus, right anterior cingulate, and the left inferior frontal gyrus. In future research, more published journals could be uploaded onto the database and another VBM meta-analysis could be performed including more activation coordinates or a variation of age groups.

The collapsed cone algorithm for (192)Ir dosimetry using phantom-size adaptive multiple-scatter point kernels.

Science.gov (United States)

Tedgren, Åsa Carlsson; Plamondon, Mathieu; Beaulieu, Luc

2015-07-07

The aim of this work was to investigate how dose distributions calculated with the collapsed cone (CC) algorithm depend on the size of the water phantom used in deriving the point kernel for multiple scatter. A research version of the CC algorithm equipped with a set of selectable point kernels for multiple-scatter dose that had initially been derived in water phantoms of various dimensions was used. The new point kernels were generated using EGSnrc in spherical water phantoms of radii 5 cm, 7.5 cm, 10 cm, 15 cm, 20 cm, 30 cm and 50 cm. Dose distributions derived with CC in water phantoms of different dimensions and in a CT-based clinical breast geometry were compared to Monte Carlo (MC) simulations using the Geant4-based brachytherapy specific MC code Algebra. Agreement with MC within 1% was obtained when the dimensions of the phantom used to derive the multiple-scatter kernel were similar to those of the calculation phantom. Doses are overestimated at phantom edges when kernels are derived in larger phantoms and underestimated when derived in smaller phantoms (by around 2% to 7% depending on distance from source and phantom dimensions). CC agrees well with MC in the high dose region of a breast implant and is superior to TG43 in determining skin doses for all multiple-scatter point kernel sizes. Increased agreement between CC and MC is achieved when the point kernel is comparable to breast dimensions. The investigated approximation in multiple scatter dose depends on the choice of point kernel in relation to phantom size and yields a significant fraction of the total dose only at distances of several centimeters from a source/implant which correspond to volumes of low doses. The current implementation of the CC algorithm utilizes a point kernel derived in a comparatively large (radius 20 cm) water phantom. A fixed point kernel leads to predictable behaviour of the algorithm with the worst case being a source/implant located well within a patient/phantom

32 CFR 48.302 - Substantiating evidence regarding dependency and age of dependents.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 32 National Defense 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Substantiating evidence regarding dependency and age of dependents. 48.302 Section 48.302 National Defense Department of Defense OFFICE OF THE... Designation of Beneficiaries § 48.302 Substantiating evidence regarding dependency and age of dependents. At...

Interactive voxel graphics in virtual reality

Science.gov (United States)

Brody, Bill; Chappell, Glenn G.; Hartman, Chris

2002-06-01

Interactive voxel graphics in virtual reality poses significant research challenges in terms of interface, file I/O, and real-time algorithms. Voxel graphics is not so new, as it is the focus of a good deal of scientific visualization. Interactive voxel creation and manipulation is a more innovative concept. Scientists are understandably reluctant to manipulate data. They collect or model data. A scientific analogy to interactive graphics is the generation of initial conditions for some model. It is used as a method to test those models. We, however, are in the business of creating new data in the form of graphical imagery. In our endeavor, science is a tool and not an end. Nevertheless, there is a whole class of interactions and associated data generation scenarios that are natural to our way of working and that are also appropriate to scientific inquiry. Annotation by sketching or painting to point to and distinguish interesting and important information is very significant for science as well as art. Annotation in 3D is difficult without a good 3D interface. Interactive graphics in virtual reality is an appropriate approach to this problem.

Gravitational Quasinormal Modes of Regular Phantom Black Hole

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jin Li

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We investigate the gravitational quasinormal modes (QNMs for a type of regular black hole (BH known as phantom BH, which is a static self-gravitating solution of a minimally coupled phantom scalar field with a potential. The studies are carried out for three different spacetimes: asymptotically flat, de Sitter (dS, and anti-de Sitter (AdS. In order to consider the standard odd parity and even parity of gravitational perturbations, the corresponding master equations are derived. The QNMs are discussed by evaluating the temporal evolution of the perturbation field which, in turn, provides direct information on the stability of BH spacetime. It is found that in asymptotically flat, dS, and AdS spacetimes the gravitational perturbations have similar characteristics for both odd and even parities. The decay rate of perturbation is strongly dependent on the scale parameter b, which measures the coupling strength between phantom scalar field and the gravity. Furthermore, through the analysis of Hawking radiation, it is shown that the thermodynamics of such regular phantom BH is also influenced by b. The obtained results might shed some light on the quantum interpretation of QNM perturbation.

A three-dimensional breast software phantom for mammography simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bliznakova, K; Bliznakov, Z; Bravou, V; Kolitsi, Z; Pallikarakis, N

2003-01-01

This paper presents a methodology for three-dimensional (3D) computer modelling of the breast, using a combination of 3D geometrical primitives and voxel matrices that can be further subjected to simulated x-ray imaging, to produce synthetic mammograms. The breast phantom is a composite model of the breast and includes the breast surface, the duct system and terminal ductal lobular units, Cooper's ligaments, the pectoral muscle, the 3D mammographic background and breast abnormalities. A second analytical x-ray matter interaction modelling module is used to generate synthetic images from monoenergetic fan beams. Mammographic images of various synthesized breast models differing in size, shape and composition were produced. A preliminary qualitative assessment performed by three radiologists and a quantitative evaluation study using fractal and grey-level histogram analysis were conducted. A comparative study of extracted features with published data has also been performed. The evaluation results indicated good correlation of characteristics between synthetic and actual radiographs. Applications foreseen are not only in the area of breast imaging experimentation but also in education and training

Image fusion tool: Validation by phantom measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zander, A.; Geworski, L.; Richter, M.; Ivancevic, V.; Munz, D.L.; Muehler, M.; Ditt, H.

2002-01-01

Aim: Validation of a new image fusion tool with regard to handling, application in a clinical environment and fusion precision under different acquisition and registration settings. Methods: The image fusion tool investigated allows fusion of imaging modalities such as PET, CT, MRI. In order to investigate fusion precision, PET and MRI measurements were performed using a cylinder and a body contour-shaped phantom. The cylinder phantom (diameter and length 20 cm each) contained spheres (10 to 40 mm in diameter) which represented 'cold' or 'hot' lesions in PET measurements. The body contour-shaped phantom was equipped with a heart model containing two 'cold' lesions. Measurements were done with and without four external markers placed on the phantoms. The markers were made of plexiglass (2 cm diameter and 1 cm thickness) and contained a Ga-Ge-68 core for PET and Vitamin E for MRI measurements. Comparison of fusion results with and without markers was done visually and by computer assistance. This algorithm was applied to the different fusion parameters and phantoms. Results: Image fusion of PET and MRI data without external markers yielded a measured error of 0 resulting in a shift at the matrix border of 1.5 mm. Conclusion: The image fusion tool investigated allows a precise fusion of PET and MRI data with a translation error acceptable for clinical use. The error is further minimized by using external markers, especially in the case of missing anatomical orientation. Using PET the registration error depends almost only on the low resolution of the data

A resistive mesh phantom for assessing the performance of EIT systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Gagnon, Hervé; Cousineau, Martin; Adler, Andy; Hartinger, Alzbeta E

2010-09-01

Assessing the performance of electrical impedance tomography (EIT) systems usually requires a phantom for validation, calibration, or comparison purposes. This paper describes a resistive mesh phantom to assess the performance of EIT systems while taking into account cabling stray effects similar to in vivo conditions. This phantom is built with 340 precision resistors on a printed circuit board representing a 2-D circular homogeneous medium. It also integrates equivalent electrical models of the Ag/AgCl electrode impedances. The parameters of the electrode models were fitted from impedance curves measured with an impedance analyzer. The technique used to build the phantom is general and applicable to phantoms of arbitrary shape and conductivity distribution. We describe three performance indicators that can be measured with our phantom for every measurement of an EIT data frame: SNR, accuracy, and modeling accuracy. These performance indicators were evaluated on our EIT system under different frame rates and applied current intensities. The performance indicators are dependent on frame rate, operating frequency, applied current intensity, measurement strategy, and intermodulation distortion when performing simultaneous measurements at several frequencies. These parameter values should, therefore, always be specified when reporting performance indicators to better appreciate their significance.

Computational hybrid anthropometric paediatric phantom library for internal radiation dosimetry

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xie, Tianwu; Kuster, Niels; Zaidi, Habib

2017-01-01

for children demonstrated that they follow the same trend when correlated with age. The constructed hybrid computational phantom library opens up the prospect of comprehensive radiation dosimetry calculations and risk assessment for the paediatric population of different age groups and diverse anthropometric...

Tissue-phantom dose ratio R(t, F) in irradiation planning. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hegewald, H.

1986-01-01

The principles for measuring doses are represented to complete the developed tissue-phantom dose ratio R(t, F). The functional dependence of the tissue-phantom dose ratio on the field size results from the different spectral energy distribution in the buildup range compared to greater depths. This once more illustrates the demand, to move the calibration and reference depths into greater depths than the dose maximum depth on account of a high precision. The scattering factors and their dependence on the type of collimator are represented and tables are made up for practical use. In a supplement the derivations of the equation systems are given, to find out the tissue-phantom dose ratio by computation and the correspondence is tested. The measurements are more relevant in the megavolt range since dose values typically for the equipment are measured in the buildup range and depth dose tables are not available in the required completeness. (author)

Accuracy Evaluation of Oncentra™ TPS in HDR Brachytherapy of Nasopharynx Cancer Using EGSnrc Monte Carlo Code

Science.gov (United States)

Hadad, K.; Zohrevand, M.; Faghihi, R.; Sedighi Pashaki, A.

2015-01-01

Background HDR brachytherapy is one of the commonest methods of nasopharyngeal cancer treatment. In this method, depending on how advanced one tumor is, 2 to 6 Gy dose as intracavitary brachytherapy is prescribed. Due to high dose rate and tumor location, accuracy evaluation of treatment planning system (TPS) is particularly important. Common methods used in TPS dosimetry are based on computations in a homogeneous phantom. Heterogeneous phantoms, especially patient-specific voxel phantoms can increase dosimetric accuracy. Materials and Methods In this study, using CT images taken from a patient and ctcreate-which is a part of the DOSXYZnrc computational code, patient-specific phantom was made. Dose distribution was plotted by DOSXYZnrc and compared with TPS one. Also, by extracting the voxels absorbed dose in treatment volume, dose-volume histograms (DVH) was plotted and compared with Oncentra™ TPS DVHs. Results The results from calculations were compared with data from Oncentra™ treatment planning system and it was observed that TPS calculation predicts lower dose in areas near the source, and higher dose in areas far from the source relative to MC code. Absorbed dose values in the voxels also showed that TPS reports D90 value is 40% higher than the Monte Carlo method. Conclusion Today, most treatment planning systems use TG-43 protocol. This protocol may results in errors such as neglecting tissue heterogeneity, scattered radiation as well as applicator attenuation. Due to these errors, AAPM emphasized departing from TG-43 protocol and approaching new brachytherapy protocol TG-186 in which patient-specific phantom is used and heterogeneities are affected in dosimetry. PMID:25973408

Dosimetric characterization of the PTW Seven29 dosimeter and Octavius Phantom for IMRT quality control; Caracterizacao dosimetrica do dosimetro PTW Seven29 e Octavius Phantom para controle de qualidade em IMRT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goncalves, Leandro R.; Habitzreuter, Angela B.; Santos, Gabriela R.; Watanabe, Erica Y.; Silva, Marco A.; Menegussi, Gisela; Rodrigues, Laura N.; Furnari, Laura, E-mail: leandrorg11@hotmail.com [Instituto do Cacer do Estado de Sao Paulo (ICESP), SP (Brazil). Servico de Radioterapia

2012-12-15

Techniques like IMRT, VMAT and tomotherapy has been used to improve dose conformity in the target, while sparing adjacent normal tissues. The complexity of this techniques challenge to correctly verify the dose delivery, in an independent way. Matrix detectors have been used for this purpose. Although, to exactly understand the dosimeter response and to identify his limitations, characterization measurements need to be performed. These dosimeters, for instance, can present angular dependence. Phantoms has been designed to, when used together the detector, eliminate this angular dependence. The aim of this work was to characterize PTW Seven 29 dosimeter and also his use with Octavius Phantom (PTW). The dosimeter showed reproducible with 0.25% the biggest standard deviation, good dose linearity and dose rate independence. Differences for output factors were obtained (<6%), but a clinical case measurement showed that the set can be used for IMRT verification. When used with Octavius Phantom the dosimeter showed low angular dependence. (author)

Determination of optimum filter in myocardial SPECT: A phantom study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takavar, A.; Shamsipour, Gh.; Sohrabi, M.; Eftekhari, M.

2004-01-01

Background: In myocardial perfusion SPECT images are degraded by photon attenuation, the distance-dependent collimator, detector response and photons scatter. Filters greatly affect quality of nuclear medicine images. Materials and Methods: A phantom simulating heart left ventricle was built. About 1mCi of 99m Tc was injected into the phantom. Images was taken from this phantom. Some filters including Parzen, Hamming, Hanning, Butter worth and Gaussian were exerted on the phantom images. By defining some criteria such as contrast, signal to noise ratio, and defect size detectability, the best filter can be determined. Results: 0.325 Nyquist frequency and 0.5 nq was obtained as the optimum cut off frequencies respectively for hamming and handing filters. Order 11, cut off 0.45 Nq and order 20 cut off 0.5 Nq obtained optimum respectively for Butter worth and Gaussian filters. Conclusion: The optimum member of every filter's family was obtained

Diffuse Decreased Gray Matter in Patients with Idiopathic Craniocervical Dystonia: a Voxel-Based Morphometry Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camila Callegari Piccinin

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Recent studies have addressed the role of structures other than the basal ganglia in the pathophysiology of craniocervical dystonia. Neuroimaging studies have attempted to identify structural abnormalities in craniocervical dystonia but a clear pattern of alteration has not been established. We performed whole brain evaluation using voxel-based morphometry to identify patterns of gray matter changes in craniocervical dystonia.Methods: We compared 27 patients with craniocervical dystonia matched in age and gender to 54 healthy controls. Voxel-based morphometry was used to compare gray matter volumes. We created a two-sample t-test corrected for subjects’ age and we tested with a level of significance of p<0.001 and false discovery rate correction (p<0.05. Results: Voxel-based morphometry demonstrated significant reductions of gray matter using p<0.001 in the cerebellar vermis IV/V, bilaterally in the superior frontal gyrus, precuneus, anterior cingulate and paracingulate, insular cortex, lingual gyrus and calcarine fissure; in the left hemisphere in the supplemementary motor area (SMA, inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal gyrus, temporal pole, supramarginal gyrus, rolandic operculum , hippocampus, middle occipital gyrus, cerebellar lobules IV/V, superior and middle temporal gyri; in the right hemisphere, the middle cingulate and precentral gyrus. Our study did not report any significant result using the false discovery rate correction. We also detected correlations between gray matter volume and age, disease duration, duration of botulinum toxin treatment and the Marsden-Fahn dystonia scale scores.Conclusions: We detected large clusters of gray matter changes chiefly in structures primarily involved in sensorimotor integration, motor planning, visuospatial function and emotional processing.

Static resistivity image of a cubic saline phantom in magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT).

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Byung Il; Oh, Suk Hoon; Woo, Eung Je; Lee, Soo Yeol; Cho, Min Hyeong; Kwon, Ohin; Seo, Jin Keun; Baek, Woon Sik

2003-05-01

In magnetic resonance electrical impedance tomography (MREIT) we inject currents through electrodes placed on the surface of a subject and try to reconstruct cross-sectional resistivity (or conductivity) images using internal magnetic flux density as well as boundary voltage measurements. In this paper we present a static resistivity image of a cubic saline phantom (50 x 50 x 50 mm3) containing a cylindrical sausage object with an average resistivity value of 123.7 ohms cm. Our current MREIT system is based on an experimental 0.3 T MRI scanner and a current injection apparatus. We captured MR phase images of the phantom while injecting currents of 28 mA through two pairs of surface electrodes. We computed current density images from magnetic flux density images that are proportional to the MR phase images. From the current density images and boundary voltage data we reconstructed a cross-sectional resistivity image within a central region of 38.5 x 38.5 mm2 at the middle of the phantom using the J-substitution algorithm. The spatial resolution of the reconstructed image was 64 x 64 and the reconstructed average resistivity of the sausage was 117.7 ohms cm. Even though the error in the reconstructed average resistivity value was small, the relative L2-error of the reconstructed image was 25.5% due to the noise in measured MR phase images. We expect improvements in the accuracy by utilizing an MRI scanner with higher SNR and increasing the size of voxels scarifying the spatial resolution.

Poster — Thur Eve — 71: A 4D Multimodal Lung Phantom for Regmentation Evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markel, D; Levesque, I R; El Naqa, I

2014-01-01

Segmentation and registration of medical imaging data are two processes that can be integrated (a process termed regmentation) to iteratively reinforce each other, potentially improving efficiency and overall accuracy. A significant challenge is presented when attempting to validate the joint process particularly with regards to minimizing geometric uncertainties associated with the ground truth while maintaining anatomical realism. This work demonstrates a 4D MRI, PET, and CT compatible tissue phantom with a known ground truth for evaluating registration and segmentation accuracy. The phantom consists of a preserved swine lung connected to an air pump via a PVC tube for inflation. Mock tumors were constructed from sea sponges contained within two vacuum-sealed compartments with catheters running into each one for injection of radiotracer solution. The phantom was scanned using a GE Discovery-ST PET/CT scanner and a 0.23T Phillips MRI, and resulted in anatomically realistic images. A bifurcation tracking algorithm was implemented to provide a ground truth for evaluating registration accuracy. This algorithm was validated using known deformations of up to 7.8 cm using a separate CT scan of a human thorax. Using the known deformation vectors to compare against, 76 bifurcation points were selected. The tracking accuracy was found to have maximum mean errors of −0.94, 0.79 and −0.57 voxels in the left-right, anterior-posterior and inferior-superior directions, respectively. A pneumatic control system is under development to match the respiratory profile of the lungs to a breathing trace from an individual patient

Empirical Bayesian estimation in graphical analysis: a voxel-based approach for the determination of the volume of distribution in PET studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zanderigo, Francesca [Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY (United States)], E-mail: francesca.zanderigo@gmail.com; Ogden, R. Todd [Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY (United States); Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY (United States); Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY (United States); Bertoldo, Alessandra; Cobelli, Claudio [Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Padova (Italy); Mann, J. John; Parsey, Ramin V. [Department of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY (United States); Department of Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY (United States)

2010-05-15

Introduction: Total volume of distribution (V{sub T}) determined by graphical analysis (GA) of PET data suffers from a noise-dependent bias. Likelihood estimation in GA (LEGA) eliminates this bias at the region of interest (ROI) level, but at voxel noise levels, the variance of estimators is high, yielding noisy images. We hypothesized that incorporating LEGA V{sub T} estimation in a Bayesian framework would shrink estimators towards prior means, reducing variability and producing meaningful and useful voxel images. Methods: Empirical Bayesian estimation in GA (EBEGA) determines prior distributions using a two-step k-means clustering of voxel activity. Results obtained on eight [{sup 11}C]-DASB studies are compared with estimators computed by ROI-based LEGA. Results: EBEGA reproduces the results obtained by ROI LEGA while providing low-variability V{sub T} images. Correlation coefficients between average EBEGA V{sub T} and corresponding ROI LEGA V{sub T} range from 0.963 to 0.994. Conclusions: EBEGA is a fully automatic and general approach that can be applied to voxel-level V{sub T} image creation and to any modeling strategy to reduce voxel-level estimation variability without prefiltering of the PET data.

TU-F-17A-03: A 4D Lung Phantom for Coupled Registration/Segmentation Evaluation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Markel, D; El Naqa, I; Levesque, I

2014-01-01

Purpose: Coupling the processes of segmentation and registration (regmentation) is a recent development that allows improved efficiency and accuracy for both steps and may improve the clinical feasibility of online adaptive radiotherapy. Presented is a multimodality animal tissue model designed specifically to provide a ground truth to simultaneously evaluate segmentation and registration errors during respiratory motion. Methods: Tumor surrogates were constructed from vacuum sealed hydrated natural sea sponges with catheters used for the injection of PET radiotracer. These contained two compartments allowing for two concentrations of radiotracer mimicking both tumor and background signals. The lungs were inflated to different volumes using an air pump and flow valve and scanned using PET/CT and MRI. Anatomical landmarks were used to evaluate the registration accuracy using an automated bifurcation tracking pipeline for reproducibility. The bifurcation tracking accuracy was assessed using virtual deformations of 2.6 cm, 5.2 cm and 7.8 cm of a CT scan of a corresponding human thorax. Bifurcations were detected in the deformed dataset and compared to known deformation coordinates for 76 points. Results: The bifurcation tracking accuracy was found to have a mean error of −0.94, 0.79 and −0.57 voxels in the left-right, anterior-posterior and inferior-superior axes using a 1×1×5 mm3 resolution after the CT volume was deformed 7.8 cm. The tumor surrogates provided a segmentation ground truth after being registered to the phantom image. Conclusion: A swine lung model in conjunction with vacuum sealed sponges and a bifurcation tracking algorithm is presented that is MRI, PET and CT compatible and anatomically and kinetically realistic. Corresponding software for tracking anatomical landmarks within the phantom shows sub-voxel accuracy. Vacuum sealed sponges provide realistic tumor surrogate with a known boundary. A ground truth with minimal uncertainty is thus

Model of optical phantoms thermal response upon irradiation with 975 nm dermatological laser

Science.gov (United States)

Wróbel, M. S.; Bashkatov, A. N.; Yakunin, A. N.; Avetisyan, Yu. A.; Genina, E. A.; Galla, S.; Sekowska, A.; Truchanowicz, D.; Cenian, A.; Jedrzejewska-Szczerska, M.; Tuchin, V. V.

2018-04-01

We have developed a numerical model describing the optical and thermal behavior of optical tissue phantoms upon laser irradiation. According to our previous studies, the phantoms can be used as substitute of real skin from the optical, as well as thermal point of view. However, the thermal parameters are not entirely similar to those of real tissues thus there is a need to develop mathematical model, describing the thermal and optical response of such materials. This will facilitate the correction factors, which would be invaluable in translation between measurements on skin phantom to real tissues, and gave a good representation of a real case application. Here, we present the model dependent on the data of our optical phantoms fabricated and measured in our previous preliminary study. The ambiguity between the modeling and the thermal measurements depend on lack of accurate knowledge of material's thermal properties and some exact parameters of the laser beam. Those parameters were varied in the simulation, to provide an overview of possible parameters' ranges and the magnitude of thermal response.

Tomographic anthropomorphic models. Pt. 4. Organ doses for adults due to idealized external photon exposures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zankl, M.; Petoussi-Henss, N.; Fill, U.; Regulla, D.

2002-01-01

The present report contains extensive tables and figures of conversion coefficients of organ and tissue equivalent dose, normalised to air kerma free in air for voxel anthropomorphic phantoms and for standard geometries of external photon radiation, estimated with Monte Carlo techniques. Four realistic adult voxel phantoms were used for the calculations, based on computed tomographic data of real people: three male phantoms, two of them being of average size, one representing a big man, and one female phantom of a tall and somewhat over weighted woman. (orig.)

Tomographic anthropomorphic models. Pt. 4. Organ doses for adults due to idealized external photon exposures

CERN Document Server

Zankl, M; Petoussi-Henss, N; Regulla, D

2002-01-01

The present report contains extensive tables and figures of conversion coefficients of organ and tissue equivalent dose, normalised to air kerma free in air for voxel anthropomorphic phantoms and for standard geometries of external photon radiation, estimated with Monte Carlo techniques. Four realistic adult voxel phantoms were used for the calculations, based on computed tomographic data of real people: three male phantoms, two of them being of average size, one representing a big man, and one female phantom of a tall and somewhat over weighted woman.

Age-dependent dosimetry and metabolism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taylor, D.M.

1992-01-01

The release of radionuclides into the environment following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 created an urgent need for internationally acceptable dose coefficients for calculating the doses delivered to all members of the public, from conception to old age. Organ masses and the kinetics of distribution and retention of elements in humans generally vary with age and often not in simple linear relationship to body weight. Unless variations are considered calculated radiation doses to children may be seriously underestimated. The International Commission on Radiological Protection created in 1987 a Task Group on Age-dependent Doses to Members of the Public from Intake of Radionuclides (AGDOS). The work of AGDOS and the general problems encountered in deriving age-dependent dose coefficients will be discussed in this paper. The first two AGDOS reports, ICRP Publication 56 Parts 1 and 2, provide dose coefficients for the ages 3 months, 1, 5, 10, 15 years and for adults for the 21 elements considered to be of most immediate importance for radiation protection. To develop these dose coefficients, the ICRP Publication 30 dosimetric and biokinetic models were reevaluated and extended. The basic dosimetric model is retained but equivalent dose is now integrated from age at intake to 70 years and the new ICRP Publication 60 tissue weighting factors are incorporated. The development of age-dependent biokinetic models is complicated by the lack of age-related human, or even animal data for the majority of the elements. Thus in formulating the models it has been necessary to use all the available information, biokinetic, physiological chemical and biochemical, and to adopt a number of new approaches including the development of generic biokinetic models for chemically related families of elements such as the actinides and the alkaline earth elements. (author)

Fast voxel and polygon ray-tracing algorithms in intensity modulated radiation therapy treatment planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fox, Christopher; Romeijn, H. Edwin; Dempsey, James F.

2006-01-01

We present work on combining three algorithms to improve ray-tracing efficiency in radiation therapy dose computation. The three algorithms include: An improved point-in-polygon algorithm, incremental voxel ray tracing algorithm, and stereographic projection of beamlets for voxel truncation. The point-in-polygon and incremental voxel ray-tracing algorithms have been used in computer graphics and nuclear medicine applications while the stereographic projection algorithm was developed by our group. These algorithms demonstrate significant improvements over the current standard algorithms in peer reviewed literature, i.e., the polygon and voxel ray-tracing algorithms of Siddon for voxel classification (point-in-polygon testing) and dose computation, respectively, and radius testing for voxel truncation. The presented polygon ray-tracing technique was tested on 10 intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment planning cases that required the classification of between 0.58 and 2.0 million voxels on a 2.5 mm isotropic dose grid into 1-4 targets and 5-14 structures represented as extruded polygons (a.k.a. Siddon prisms). Incremental voxel ray tracing and voxel truncation employing virtual stereographic projection was tested on the same IMRT treatment planning cases where voxel dose was required for 230-2400 beamlets using a finite-size pencil-beam algorithm. Between a 100 and 360 fold cpu time improvement over Siddon's method was observed for the polygon ray-tracing algorithm to perform classification of voxels for target and structure membership. Between a 2.6 and 3.1 fold reduction in cpu time over current algorithms was found for the implementation of incremental ray tracing. Additionally, voxel truncation via stereographic projection was observed to be 11-25 times faster than the radial-testing beamlet extent approach and was further improved 1.7-2.0 fold through point-classification using the method of translation over the cross product technique

Development of mathematical pediatric phantoms for internal dose calculations: designs, limitations, and prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cristy, M.

1980-01-01

Mathematical phantoms of the human body at various ages are employed with Monte Carlo radiation transport codes for calculation of photon specific absorbed fractions. The author has developed a pediatric phantom series based on the design of the adult phantom, but with explicit equations for each organ so that organ sizes and marrow distributions could be assigned properly. Since the phantoms comprise simple geometric shapes, predictive dose capability is limited when geometry is critical to the calculation. Hence, there is a demand for better phantom design in situations where geometry is critical, such as for external irradiation or for internal emitters with low energy photons. Recent advances in computerized axial tomography (CAT) present the potential for derivation of anatomical information, which is so critical to development of phantoms, and ongoing developmental work on compuer architecture to handle large arrays for Monte Carlo calculations should make complex-geometry dose calculations economically feasible within this decade

Development of realistic physical breast phantoms matched to virtual breast phantoms based on human subject data

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiarashi, Nooshin; Nolte, Adam C.; Sturgeon, Gregory M.; Ghate, Sujata V.; Segars, William P.; Nolte, Loren W.; Samei, Ehsan

2015-01-01

Purpose: Physical phantoms are essential for the development, optimization, and evaluation of x-ray breast imaging systems. Recognizing the major effect of anatomy on image quality and clinical performance, such phantoms should ideally reflect the three-dimensional structure of the human breast. Currently, there is no commercially available three-dimensional physical breast phantom that is anthropomorphic. The authors present the development of a new suite of physical breast phantoms based on human data. Methods: The phantoms were designed to match the extended cardiac-torso virtual breast phantoms that were based on dedicated breast computed tomography images of human subjects. The phantoms were fabricated by high-resolution multimaterial additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology. The glandular equivalency of the photopolymer materials was measured relative to breast tissue-equivalent plastic materials. Based on the current state-of-the-art in the technology and available materials, two variations were fabricated. The first was a dual-material phantom, the Doublet. Fibroglandular tissue and skin were represented by the most radiographically dense material available; adipose tissue was represented by the least radiographically dense material. The second variation, the Singlet, was fabricated with a single material to represent fibroglandular tissue and skin. It was subsequently filled with adipose-equivalent materials including oil, beeswax, and permanent urethane-based polymer. Simulated microcalcification clusters were further included in the phantoms via crushed eggshells. The phantoms were imaged and characterized visually and quantitatively. Results: The mammographic projections and tomosynthesis reconstructed images of the fabricated phantoms yielded realistic breast background. The mammograms of the phantoms demonstrated close correlation with simulated mammographic projection images of the corresponding virtual phantoms. Furthermore, power

Development of realistic physical breast phantoms matched to virtual breast phantoms based on human subject data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kiarashi, Nooshin [Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710 and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States); Nolte, Adam C. [Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710 and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States); Sturgeon, Gregory M.; Ghate, Sujata V. [Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710 (United States); Segars, William P. [Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710 and Medical Physics Graduate Program, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States); Nolte, Loren W. [Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 and Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States); Samei, Ehsan [Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710 (United States); Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States); Medical Physics Graduate Program, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States); Department of Physics, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708 (United States); and others

2015-07-15

Purpose: Physical phantoms are essential for the development, optimization, and evaluation of x-ray breast imaging systems. Recognizing the major effect of anatomy on image quality and clinical performance, such phantoms should ideally reflect the three-dimensional structure of the human breast. Currently, there is no commercially available three-dimensional physical breast phantom that is anthropomorphic. The authors present the development of a new suite of physical breast phantoms based on human data. Methods: The phantoms were designed to match the extended cardiac-torso virtual breast phantoms that were based on dedicated breast computed tomography images of human subjects. The phantoms were fabricated by high-resolution multimaterial additive manufacturing (3D printing) technology. The glandular equivalency of the photopolymer materials was measured relative to breast tissue-equivalent plastic materials. Based on the current state-of-the-art in the technology and available materials, two variations were fabricated. The first was a dual-material phantom, the Doublet. Fibroglandular tissue and skin were represented by the most radiographically dense material available; adipose tissue was represented by the least radiographically dense material. The second variation, the Singlet, was fabricated with a single material to represent fibroglandular tissue and skin. It was subsequently filled with adipose-equivalent materials including oil, beeswax, and permanent urethane-based polymer. Simulated microcalcification clusters were further included in the phantoms via crushed eggshells. The phantoms were imaged and characterized visually and quantitatively. Results: The mammographic projections and tomosynthesis reconstructed images of the fabricated phantoms yielded realistic breast background. The mammograms of the phantoms demonstrated close correlation with simulated mammographic projection images of the corresponding virtual phantoms. Furthermore, power

A set of 4D pediatric XCAT reference phantoms for multimodality research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norris, Hannah; Zhang, Yakun; Bond, Jason; Sturgeon, Gregory M.; Samei, E.; Segars, W. P.; Minhas, Anum; Frush, D.; Tward, Daniel J.; Ratnanather, J. T.; Miller, M. I.

2014-01-01

Purpose: The authors previously developed an adult population of 4D extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantoms for multimodality imaging research. In this work, the authors develop a reference set of 4D pediatric XCAT phantoms consisting of male and female anatomies at ages of newborn, 1, 5, 10, and 15 years. These models will serve as the foundation from which the authors will create a vast population of pediatric phantoms for optimizing pediatric CT imaging protocols. Methods: Each phantom was based on a unique set of CT data from a normal patient obtained from the Duke University database. The datasets were selected to best match the reference values for height and weight for the different ages and genders according to ICRP Publication 89. The major organs and structures were segmented from the CT data and used to create an initial pediatric model defined using nonuniform rational B-spline surfaces. The CT data covered the entire torso and part of the head. To complete the body, the authors manually added on the top of the head and the arms and legs using scaled versions of the XCAT adult models or additional models created from cadaver data. A multichannel large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping algorithm was then used to calculate the transform from a template XCAT phantom (male or female 50th percentile adult) to the target pediatric model. The transform was applied to the template XCAT to fill in any unsegmented structures within the target phantom and to implement the 4D cardiac and respiratory models in the new anatomy. The masses of the organs in each phantom were matched to the reference values given in ICRP Publication 89. The new reference models were checked for anatomical accuracy via visual inspection. Results: The authors created a set of ten pediatric reference phantoms that have the same level of detail and functionality as the original XCAT phantom adults. Each consists of thousands of anatomical structures and includes parameterized models

A set of 4D pediatric XCAT reference phantoms for multimodality research

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Norris, Hannah, E-mail: Hannah.norris@duke.edu; Zhang, Yakun; Bond, Jason; Sturgeon, Gregory M.; Samei, E.; Segars, W. P. [Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27705 (United States); Minhas, Anum; Frush, D. [Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710 (United States); Tward, Daniel J.; Ratnanather, J. T.; Miller, M. I. [Center for Imaging Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218 (United States)

2014-03-15

Purpose: The authors previously developed an adult population of 4D extended cardiac-torso (XCAT) phantoms for multimodality imaging research. In this work, the authors develop a reference set of 4D pediatric XCAT phantoms consisting of male and female anatomies at ages of newborn, 1, 5, 10, and 15 years. These models will serve as the foundation from which the authors will create a vast population of pediatric phantoms for optimizing pediatric CT imaging protocols. Methods: Each phantom was based on a unique set of CT data from a normal patient obtained from the Duke University database. The datasets were selected to best match the reference values for height and weight for the different ages and genders according to ICRP Publication 89. The major organs and structures were segmented from the CT data and used to create an initial pediatric model defined using nonuniform rational B-spline surfaces. The CT data covered the entire torso and part of the head. To complete the body, the authors manually added on the top of the head and the arms and legs using scaled versions of the XCAT adult models or additional models created from cadaver data. A multichannel large deformation diffeomorphic metric mapping algorithm was then used to calculate the transform from a template XCAT phantom (male or female 50th percentile adult) to the target pediatric model. The transform was applied to the template XCAT to fill in any unsegmented structures within the target phantom and to implement the 4D cardiac and respiratory models in the new anatomy. The masses of the organs in each phantom were matched to the reference values given in ICRP Publication 89. The new reference models were checked for anatomical accuracy via visual inspection. Results: The authors created a set of ten pediatric reference phantoms that have the same level of detail and functionality as the original XCAT phantom adults. Each consists of thousands of anatomical structures and includes parameterized models

Variability of average SUV from several hottest voxels is lower than that of SUVmax and SUVpeak

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laffon, E. [CHU de Bordeaux, Service de Medecine Nucleaire, Hopital du Haut-Leveque, Pessac (France); Universite de Bordeaux 2, Centre de Recherche Cardio-Thoracique, Bordeaux (France); INSERM U 1045, Centre de Recherche Cardio-Thoracique, Bordeaux (France); Lamare, F.; Clermont, H. de [CHU de Bordeaux, Service de Medecine Nucleaire, Hopital du Haut-Leveque, Pessac (France); Burger, I.A. [University Hospital of Zurich, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department Medical Radiology, Zurich (Switzerland); Marthan, R. [Universite de Bordeaux 2, Centre de Recherche Cardio-Thoracique, Bordeaux (France); INSERM U 1045, Centre de Recherche Cardio-Thoracique, Bordeaux (France)

2014-08-15

To assess variability of the average standard uptake value (SUV) computed by varying the number of hottest voxels within an {sup 18}F-fluorodeoxyglucose ({sup 18}F-FDG)-positive lesion. This SUV metric was compared with the maximal SUV (SUV{sub max}: the hottest voxel) and peak SUV (SUV{sub peak}: SUV{sub max} and its 26 neighbouring voxels). Twelve lung cancer patients (20 lesions) were analysed using PET dynamic acquisition involving ten successive 2.5-min frames. In each frame and lesion, average SUV obtained from the N = 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 hottest voxels (SUV{sub max-N}){sub ,} SUV{sub max} and SUV{sub peak} were assessed. The relative standard deviations (SDrs) from ten frames were calculated for each SUV metric and lesion, yielding the mean relative SD from 20 lesions for each SUV metric (SDr{sub N}, SDr{sub max} and SDr{sub peak}), and hence relative measurement error and repeatability (MEr-R). For each N, SDr{sub N} was significantly lower than SDr{sub max} and SDr{sub peak}. SDr{sub N} correlated strongly with N: 6.471 x N{sup -0.103} (r = 0.994; P < 0.01). MEr-R of SUV{sub max-30} was 8.94-12.63 % (95 % CL), versus 13.86-19.59 % and 13.41-18.95 % for SUV{sub max} and SUV{sub peak} respectively. Variability of SUV{sub max-N} is significantly lower than for SUV{sub max} and SUV{sub peak}. Further prospective studies should be performed to determine the optimal total hottest volume, as voxel volume may depend on the PET system. (orig.)

Voxel effects within digital images of trabecular bone and their consequences on chord-length distribution measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rajon, D.A.; Shah, A.P.; Watchman, C.J.; Bolch, W.E.; Jokisch, D.W.; Patton, P.W.

2002-01-01

Chord-length distributions through the trabecular regions of the skeleton have been investigated since the early 1960s. These distributions have become important features for bone marrow dosimetry; as such, current models rely on the accuracy of their measurements. Recent techniques utilize nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) microscopy to acquire 3D images of trabecular bone that are then used to measure 3D chord-length distributions by Monte Carlo methods. Previous studies have shown that two voxel effects largely affect the acquisition of these distributions within digital images. One is particularly pertinent as it dramatically changes the shape of the distribution and reduces its mean. An attempt was made to reduce this undesirable effect and good results were obtained for a single-sphere model using minimum acceptable chord (MAC) methods (Jokisch et al 2001 Med. Phys. 28 1493-504). The goal of the present work is to extend the study of these methods to more general models in order to better quantify their consequences. First, a mathematical model of a trabecular bone sample was used to test the usefulness of the MAC methods. The results showed that these methods were not efficient for this simulated bone model. These methods were further tested on a single voxelized sphere over a large range of voxel sizes. The results showed that the MAC methods are voxel-size dependent and overestimate the mean chord length for typical resolutions used with NMR microscopy. The study further suggests that bone and marrow chord-length distributions currently utilized in skeletal dosimetry models are most likely affected by voxel effects that yield values of mean chord length lower than their true values. (author)

Prevalent hallucinations during medical internships: phantom vibration and ringing syndromes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Hsuan Lin

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Phantom vibration syndrome is a type of hallucination reported among mobile phone users in the general population. Another similar perception, phantom ringing syndrome, has not been previously described in the medical literature. METHODS: A prospective longitudinal study of 74 medical interns (46 males, 28 females; mean age, 24.8±1.2 years was conducted using repeated investigations of the prevalence and associated factors of phantom vibration and ringing. The accompanying symptoms of anxiety and depression were evaluated with the Beck Anxiety and Depression Inventories before the internship began, and again at the third, sixth, and twelfth internship months, and two weeks after the internship ended. RESULTS: The baseline prevalence of phantom vibration was 78.1%, which increased to 95.9% and 93.2% in the third and sixth internship months. The prevalence returned to 80.8% at the twelfth month and decreased to 50.0% 2 weeks after the internship ended. The baseline prevalence of phantom ringing was 27.4%, which increased to 84.9%, 87.7%, and 86.3% in the third, sixth, and twelfth internship months, respectively. This returned to 54.2% two weeks after the internship ended. The anxiety and depression scores also increased during the internship, and returned to baseline two weeks after the internship. There was no significant correlation between phantom vibration/ringing and symptoms of anxiety or depression. The incidence of both phantom vibration and ringing syndromes significantly increased during the internship, and subsequent recovery. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that phantom vibration and ringing might be entities that are independent of anxiety or depression during evaluation of stress-associated experiences during medical internships.

Voxel inversion of airborne electromagnetic data for improved model integration

Science.gov (United States)

Fiandaca, Gianluca; Auken, Esben; Kirkegaard, Casper; Vest Christiansen, Anders

2014-05-01

Inversion of electromagnetic data has migrated from single site interpretations to inversions including entire surveys using spatial constraints to obtain geologically reasonable results. Though, the model space is usually linked to the actual observation points. For airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys the spatial discretization of the model space reflects the flight lines. On the contrary, geological and groundwater models most often refer to a regular voxel grid, not correlated to the geophysical model space, and the geophysical information has to be relocated for integration in (hydro)geological models. We have developed a new geophysical inversion algorithm working directly in a voxel grid disconnected from the actual measuring points, which then allows for informing directly geological/hydrogeological models. The new voxel model space defines the soil properties (like resistivity) on a set of nodes, and the distribution of the soil properties is computed everywhere by means of an interpolation function (e.g. inverse distance or kriging). Given this definition of the voxel model space, the 1D forward responses of the AEM data are computed as follows: 1) a 1D model subdivision, in terms of model thicknesses, is defined for each 1D data set, creating "virtual" layers. 2) the "virtual" 1D models at the sounding positions are finalized by interpolating the soil properties (the resistivity) in the center of the "virtual" layers. 3) the forward response is computed in 1D for each "virtual" model. We tested the new inversion scheme on an AEM survey carried out with the SkyTEM system close to Odder, in Denmark. The survey comprises 106054 dual mode AEM soundings, and covers an area of approximately 13 km X 16 km. The voxel inversion was carried out on a structured grid of 260 X 325 X 29 xyz nodes (50 m xy spacing), for a total of 2450500 inversion parameters. A classical spatially constrained inversion (SCI) was carried out on the same data set, using 106054

Comparison of grey matter and metabolic reductions in frontotemporal dementia using FDG-PET and voxel-based morphometric MR studies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kanda, Tomonori; Uemura, Takafumi; Miyamoto, Naokazu; Yoshikawa, Toshiki; Kono, Atsushi K. [Hyogo Brain and Heart Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Himeji, Hyogo (Japan); Ishii, Kazunari [Hyogo Brain and Heart Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Himeji, Hyogo (Japan); Hyogo Institute for Aging Brain and Cognitive Disorders, Division of Neuroimaging Research, Himeji, Hyogo (Japan); Mori, Etsuro [Hyogo Institute for Aging Brain and Cognitive Disorders, Division of Clinical Neurosciences, Himeji, Hyogo (Japan); Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Behavioral Neurology and Cognitive Neuroscience, Sendai, Miyagi (Japan)

2008-12-15

The aim of this study was to investigate the regional differences between the morphologic and functional changes in the same patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) using statistical parametric mapping and voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Thirteen FTD patients (mean age, 64.9 years old; mean MMSE score, 17.7), 20 sex-matched Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients (mean age, 65.0 years old; mean MMSE score, 17.5), and 20 normal volunteers (mean age, 65.2 years old; mean MMSE score, 29.0) underwent both [{sup 18}F]FDG positron emission tomography and three-dimensional spoiled gradient echo MRI. Statistical parametric mapping was used to conduct a VBM analysis of the morphologic data, which were compared voxel by voxel with the results of a similar analysis of glucose metabolic data. FTD patients showed decreased grey matter volume and decreased glucose metabolism in the frontal lobe and anterior temporal lobe. In addition, there was a clear asymmetry in grey matter volume in FTD patients by the VBM analysis while the glucose metabolic data showed little asymmetry. In AD patients, glucose metabolic reduction occurred in the bilateral posterior cingulate gyri and parietal lobules while grey matter density decreased the least in the same patients. In FTD, metabolic and morphologic changes occur in the bilateral frontal lobe and temporal lobe with a limited asymmetry whereas there was considerable discordance in the AD group. (orig.)

NMR-CT image and symbol phantoms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hongo, Syozo; Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Takeshita, Hiroshi

1990-01-01

We have developed Japanese phantoms in two procedures. One is described as a mathematical expression. Another is 'symbol phantoms' in 3 dimensional picture-elements, each of which symbolize an organ name. The concept and the algorithm of the symbol phantom enables us to make a phantom for a individual in terms of all his transversal section images. We got 85 transversal section images of head and trunk parts, and those of 40 legs parts by using NMR-CT. We have made the individual phantom for computation of organ doses. The transversal section images were not so clear to identify all organs needed to dose estimation that we had to do hand-editing the shapes of organs with viewing a typical section images: we could not yet make symbol phantom in a automatic editing. Symbols were coded to be visual cords as ASCII characters. After we got the symbol phantom of the first stage, we can edit it easily using a word-processor. Symbol phantom could describe more freely the shape of organs than mathematical phantom. Symbol phantom has several advantages to be an individual phantom, but the only difficult point is how to determine its end-point as a reference man when we apply the method to build the reference man. (author)

Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry of white matter in medial temporal lobe epilepsy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yu Aihong [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053 (China); Li Kuncheng [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100053 (China)], E-mail: Likuncheng@vip.sina.com; Li Lin; Shan Baoci [Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (China); Wang Yuping; Xue Sufang [Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital University of Medical Sciences (China)

2008-01-15

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze whole-brain white matter changes in medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Materials and methods: We studied 23 patients with MTLE and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on T1-weighted 3D datasets. The seizure focus was right sided in 11 patients and left sided in 12. The data were collected on a 1.5 T MR system and analyzed by SPM 99 to generate white matter density maps. Results: Voxel-based morphometry revealed diffusively reduced white matter in MTLE prominently including bilateral frontal lobes, bilateral temporal lobes and corpus callosum. White matter reduction was also found in the bilateral cerebellar hemispheres in the left MTLE group. Conclusion: VBM is a simple and automated approach that is able to identify diffuse whole-brain white matter reduction in MTLE.

Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry of white matter in medial temporal lobe epilepsy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Aihong; Li Kuncheng; Li Lin; Shan Baoci; Wang Yuping; Xue Sufang

2008-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze whole-brain white matter changes in medial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Materials and methods: We studied 23 patients with MTLE and 13 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on T1-weighted 3D datasets. The seizure focus was right sided in 11 patients and left sided in 12. The data were collected on a 1.5 T MR system and analyzed by SPM 99 to generate white matter density maps. Results: Voxel-based morphometry revealed diffusively reduced white matter in MTLE prominently including bilateral frontal lobes, bilateral temporal lobes and corpus callosum. White matter reduction was also found in the bilateral cerebellar hemispheres in the left MTLE group. Conclusion: VBM is a simple and automated approach that is able to identify diffuse whole-brain white matter reduction in MTLE

Voxel-based statistical analysis of cerebral blood flow using Tc-99m ECD brain SPECT in patients with traumatic brain injury: group and individual analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Yong Beom; Kim, Seong-Jang; Kim, In-Ju; Kim, Yong-Ki; Kim, Dong-Soo; Park, Jae Heung; Yeom, Seok-Ran

2006-06-01

Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was applied to brain perfusion single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) to investigate regional cerebral abnormalities compared to age-matched normal controls. Thirteen patients with TBI underwent brain perfusion SPECT were included in this study (10 males, three females, mean age 39.8 +/- 18.2, range 21 - 74). SPM2 software implemented in MATLAB 5.3 was used for spatial pre-processing and analysis and to determine the quantitative differences between TBI patients and age-matched normal controls. Three large voxel clusters of significantly decreased cerebral blood perfusion were found in patients with TBI. The largest clusters were area including medial frontal gyrus (voxel number 3642, peak Z-value = 4.31, 4.27, p = 0.000) in both hemispheres. The second largest clusters were areas including cingulated gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus of left hemisphere (voxel number 381, peak Z-value = 3.67, 3.62, p = 0.000). Other clusters were parahippocampal gyrus (voxel number 173, peak Z-value = 3.40, p = 0.000) and hippocampus (voxel number 173, peak Z-value = 3.23, p = 0.001) in the left hemisphere. The false discovery rate (FDR) was less than 0.04. From this study, group and individual analyses of SPM2 could clearly identify the perfusion abnormalities of brain SPECT in patients with TBI. Group analysis of SPM2 showed hypoperfusion pattern in the areas including medial frontal gyrus of both hemispheres, cingulate gyrus, anterior cingulate gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampus in the left hemisphere compared to age-matched normal controls. Also, left parahippocampal gyrus and left hippocampus were additional hypoperfusion areas. However, these findings deserve further investigation on a larger number of patients to be performed to allow a better validation of objective SPM analysis in patients with TBI.

Computational high-resolution heart phantoms for medical imaging and dosimetry simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gu Songxiang; Kyprianou, Iacovos [Center for Devices and Radiological Health, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD (United States); Gupta, Rajiv, E-mail: songxiang.gu@fda.hhs.gov, E-mail: rgupta1@partners.org, E-mail: iacovos.kyprianou@fda.hhs.gov [Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (United States)

2011-09-21

Cardiovascular disease in general and coronary artery disease (CAD) in particular, are the leading cause of death worldwide. They are principally diagnosed using either invasive percutaneous transluminal coronary angiograms or non-invasive computed tomography angiograms (CTA). Minimally invasive therapies for CAD such as angioplasty and stenting are rendered under fluoroscopic guidance. Both invasive and non-invasive imaging modalities employ ionizing radiation and there is concern for deterministic and stochastic effects of radiation. Accurate simulation to optimize image quality with minimal radiation dose requires detailed, gender-specific anthropomorphic phantoms with anatomically correct heart and associated vasculature. Such phantoms are currently unavailable. This paper describes an open source heart phantom development platform based on a graphical user interface. Using this platform, we have developed seven high-resolution cardiac/coronary artery phantoms for imaging and dosimetry from seven high-quality CTA datasets. To extract a phantom from a coronary CTA, the relationship between the intensity distribution of the myocardium, the ventricles and the coronary arteries is identified via histogram analysis of the CTA images. By further refining the segmentation using anatomy-specific criteria such as vesselness, connectivity criteria required by the coronary tree and image operations such as active contours, we are able to capture excellent detail within our phantoms. For example, in one of the female heart phantoms, as many as 100 coronary artery branches could be identified. Triangular meshes are fitted to segmented high-resolution CTA data. We have also developed a visualization tool for adding stenotic lesions to the coronaries. The male and female heart phantoms generated so far have been cross-registered and entered in the mesh-based Virtual Family of phantoms with matched age/gender information. Any phantom in this family, along with user

Computational high-resolution heart phantoms for medical imaging and dosimetry simulations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu Songxiang; Kyprianou, Iacovos; Gupta, Rajiv

2011-01-01

Cardiovascular disease in general and coronary artery disease (CAD) in particular, are the leading cause of death worldwide. They are principally diagnosed using either invasive percutaneous transluminal coronary angiograms or non-invasive computed tomography angiograms (CTA). Minimally invasive therapies for CAD such as angioplasty and stenting are rendered under fluoroscopic guidance. Both invasive and non-invasive imaging modalities employ ionizing radiation and there is concern for deterministic and stochastic effects of radiation. Accurate simulation to optimize image quality with minimal radiation dose requires detailed, gender-specific anthropomorphic phantoms with anatomically correct heart and associated vasculature. Such phantoms are currently unavailable. This paper describes an open source heart phantom development platform based on a graphical user interface. Using this platform, we have developed seven high-resolution cardiac/coronary artery phantoms for imaging and dosimetry from seven high-quality CTA datasets. To extract a phantom from a coronary CTA, the relationship between the intensity distribution of the myocardium, the ventricles and the coronary arteries is identified via histogram analysis of the CTA images. By further refining the segmentation using anatomy-specific criteria such as vesselness, connectivity criteria required by the coronary tree and image operations such as active contours, we are able to capture excellent detail within our phantoms. For example, in one of the female heart phantoms, as many as 100 coronary artery branches could be identified. Triangular meshes are fitted to segmented high-resolution CTA data. We have also developed a visualization tool for adding stenotic lesions to the coronaries. The male and female heart phantoms generated so far have been cross-registered and entered in the mesh-based Virtual Family of phantoms with matched age/gender information. Any phantom in this family, along with user

Neuronavigation accuracy dependence on CT and MR imaging parameters: a phantom-based study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poggi, S; Pallotta, S; Russo, S; Gallina, P; Torresin, A; Bucciolini, M

2003-01-01

Clinical benefits from neuronavigation are well established. However, the complexity of its technical environment requires a careful evaluation of different types of errors. In this work, a detailed phantom study which investigates the accuracy in a neuronavigation procedure is presented. The dependence on many different imaging parameters, such as field of view, slice thickness and different kind of sequences (sequential and spiral for CT, T1-weighted and T2-weighted for MRI), is quantified. Moreover, data based on CT images are compared to those based on MR images, taking into account MRI distortion. Finally, the contributions to global accuracy coming from image acquisition, registration and navigation itself are discussed. Results demonstrate the importance of imaging accuracy. Procedures based on CT proved to be more accurate than procedures based on MRI. In the former, values from 2 to 2.5 mm are obtained for 95% fractiles of cumulative distribution of Euclidean distances between the intended target and the reached one while, in the latter, the measured values range from 3 to 4 mm. The absence of imaging distortion proved to be crucial for registration accuracy in MR-based procedures

Radiation protection in inhomogeneous beta-gamma fields and modelling of hand phantoms with MCNPX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blunck, Ch; Becker, F.; Hegenbart, L.; Heide, B.; Schimmelpfeng, J.; Urban, M.

2009-01-01

The usage of beta-radiation sources in various nuclear medicine therapies is increasing. Consequently, enhanced radiation protection measures are required, as medical staff more frequently handle high-activity sources required for therapy. Inhomogeneous radiation fields make it difficult to determine absorbed dose reliably. Routine monitoring with dosemeters does not guarantee any accurate determination of the local skin dose (LSD). In general, correction factors are used to correct for the measured dose and the maximum absorbed dose received. However, strong underestimations of the maximum exposure are possible depending on the individual handling the process and the reliability of dose measurements. Simulations can be used as a tool for a better understanding of the maximum possible exposure depending on the individual-related handling. While measurements reveal the overall dose during the entire irradiation time of the dosemeter, simulations help to analyse sequences of action. Hence, simulations allow for tracking the points of highest absorbed dose received during the handling process. In this respect, simulations were performed using the MCNPX software. In order to investigate the LSD, two hand phantoms were used, a model based on geometrical elements and a voxel hand. A typical situation of radio-synoviorthesis, i.e. handling a syringe filled with 90 Y, was simulated. The results of the simulations show that the annual dose limit may be exceeded within minutes at the position of maximum absorbed dose received and that finger-ring dosemeters measure significantly different doses depending on their wearing position. It is of essential importance to wear the dosemeter properly and to use suitable correction factors with respect to the individual. Simulations are a suitable tool for ensuring reliable dose determination and may help to derive recommendations regarding radiation protection measures. (authors)

REKONSTRUKSI OBYEK TIGA DIMENSI DARI GAMBAR DUA DIMENSI MENGGUNAKAN METODE GENERALIZED VOXEL COLORING–LAYERED DEPTH IMAGE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rudy Adipranata

2008-01-01

Full Text Available The objective of this research is to develop software which capable to reconstruct 3D object from 2D images as references using Generalized Voxel Coloring - Layered Depth Image method (GVC-LDI. This method reconstruct 3D object using LDI link list as help to find voxels which correspond to the objects based on color. To find the voxels, we calculate the color standard deviation of the pixels which is projected from the object. If the standard deviation is smaller than the threshold, the voxel evaluated as a part of the object. The process repeated for each voxel until it gets all of the voxels which shape the object. The voxels can be drawn to screen to get the photorealistic 3D object that represent the 2D images. In this research, we also compare the result of GVC-LDI and Generalized Voxel Coloring – Image Buffer (GVC-IB which is one of the GVC variant also. Future development of the software is automatic 3D modeling application and real time 3D animation application. Abstract in Bahasa Indonesia : Pada penelitian ini dikembangkan sebuah perangkat lunak untuk merekonstruksi obyek tiga dimensi dari kumpulan gambar dua dimensi dengan menggunakan metode generalized voxel coloring– layered depth image (GVC-LDI. Metode GVC-LDI ini melakukan rekonstruksi dengan bantuan link list LDI guna mencari voxel-voxel yang merupakan bagian dari obyek tiga dimensi berdasarkan warna. Guna penentuan voxel tersebut dilakukan perhitungan dari pixel-pixel yang merupakan proyeksi dari sebuah voxel. Perhitungan dilakukan dengan menggunakan standar deviasi warna untuk menentukan apakah pixel-pixel yang bersesuaian mewakili lokasi obyek yang sama. Apabila standar deviasi warna lebih kecil dari threshold maka dapat dikatakan bahwa voxel tersebut termasuk bagian obyek. Proses ini dilakukan secara berulang untuk semua voxel hingga didapatkan voxel-voxel yang merupakan bagian dari obyek. Voxel tersebut kemudian digambar pada layar monitor sehingga diperoleh hasil berupa

Effects of gestational age on brain volume and cognitive functions in generally healthy very preterm born children during school-age: A voxel-based morphometry study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sakari Lemola

Full Text Available To determine whether the relationship of gestational age (GA with brain volumes and cognitive functions is linear or whether it follows a threshold model in preterm and term born children during school-age.We studied 106 children (M = 10 years 1 month, SD = 16 months; 40 females enrolled in primary school: 57 were healthy very preterm children (10 children born 24-27 completed weeks' gestation (extremely preterm, 14 children born 28-29 completed weeks' gestation, 19 children born 30-31 completed weeks' gestation (very preterm, and 14 born 32 completed weeks' gestation (moderately preterm all born appropriate for GA (AGA and 49 term-born children. Neuroimaging involved voxel-based morphometry with the statistical parametric mapping software. Cognitive functions were assessed with the WISC-IV. General Linear Models and multiple regressions were conducted controlling age, sex, and maternal education.Compared to groups of children born 30 completed weeks' gestation and later, children born <28 completed weeks' gestation had less gray matter volume (GMV and white matter volume (WMV and poorer cognitive functions including decreased full scale IQ, and processing speed. Differences in GMV partially mediated the relationship between GA and full scale IQ in preterm born children.In preterm children who are born AGA and without major complications GA is associated with brain volume and cognitive functions. In particular, decreased brain volume becomes evident in the extremely preterm group (born <28 completed weeks' gestation. In preterm children born 30 completed weeks' gestation and later the relationship of GA with brain volume and cognitive functions may be less strong as previously thought.

Phantom Sensations, Supernumerary Phantom Limbs and Apotemnophilia: Three Body Representation Disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Tatu, Laurent; Bogousslavsky, Julien

2018-01-01

Body representation disorders continue to be mysterious and involve the anatomical substrate that underlies the mental representation of the body. These disorders sit on the boundaries of neurological and psychiatric diseases. We present the main characteristics of 3 examples of body representation disorders: phantom sensations, supernumerary phantom limb, and apotemnophilia. The dysfunction of anatomical circuits that regulate body representation can sometimes have paradoxical features. In the case of phantom sensations, the patient feels the painful subjective sensation of the existence of the lost part of the body after amputation, surgery or trauma. In case of apotemnophilia, now named body integrity identity disorder, the subject wishes for the disappearance of the existing and normal limb, which can occasionally lead to self-amputation. More rarely, a brain-damaged patient with 4 existing limbs can report the existence of a supernumerary phantom limb. © 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.

21. Phantom pain.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wolff, A.P.; Vanduynhoven, E.; Kleef, M. van; Huygen, F.; Pope, J.E.; Mekhail, N.

2011-01-01

Phantom pain is pain caused by elimination or interruption of sensory nerve impulses by destroying or injuring the sensory nerve fibers after amputation or deafferentation. The reported incidence of phantom limb pain after trauma, injury or peripheral vascular diseases is 60% to 80%. Over half the

A Monte Carlo Simulation of the in vivo measurement of lung activity in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory torso phantom.

Science.gov (United States)

Acha, Robert; Brey, Richard; Capello, Kevin

2013-02-01

A torso phantom was developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) that serves as a standard for intercomparison and intercalibration of detector systems used to measure low-energy photons from radionuclides, such as americium deposited in the lungs. DICOM images of the second-generation Human Monitoring Laboratory-Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (HML-LLNL) torso phantom were segmented and converted into three-dimensional (3D) voxel phantoms to simulate the response of high purity germanium (HPGe) detector systems, as found in the HML new lung counter using a Monte Carlo technique. The photon energies of interest in this study were 17.5, 26.4, 45.4, 59.5, 122, 244, and 344 keV. The detection efficiencies at these photon energies were predicted for different chest wall thicknesses (1.49 to 6.35 cm) and compared to measured values obtained with lungs containing (241)Am (34.8 kBq) and (152)Eu (10.4 kBq). It was observed that no statistically significant differences exist at the 95% confidence level between the mean values of simulated and measured detection efficiencies. Comparisons between the simulated and measured detection efficiencies reveal a variation of 20% at 17.5 keV and 1% at 59.5 keV. It was found that small changes in the formulation of the tissue substitute material caused no significant change in the outcome of Monte Carlo simulations.

High performance cone-beam spiral backprojection with voxel-specific weighting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Steckmann, Sven; Knaup, Michael; Kachelriess, Marc

2009-01-01

Cone-beam spiral backprojection is computationally highly demanding. At first sight, the backprojection requirements are similar to those of cone-beam backprojection from circular scans such as it is performed in the widely used Feldkamp algorithm. However, there is an additional complication: the illumination of each voxel, i.e. the range of angles the voxel is seen by the x-ray cone, is a complex function of the voxel position. In general, one needs to multiply a voxel-specific weight w(x, y, z, α) prior to adding a projection from angle α to a voxel at position x, y, z. Often, the weight function has no analytically closed form and must be numerically determined. Storage of the weights is prohibitive since the amount of memory required equals the number of voxels per spiral rotation times the number of projections a voxel receives contributions and therefore is in the order of up to 10 12 floating point values for typical spiral scans. We propose a new algorithm that combines the spiral symmetry with the ability of today's 64 bit operating systems to store large amounts of precomputed weights, even above the 4 GB limit. Our trick is to backproject into slices that are rotated in the same manner as the spiral trajectory rotates. Using the spiral symmetry in this way allows one to exploit data-level paralellism and thereby to achieve a very high level of vectorization. An additional postprocessing step rotates these slices back to normal images. Our new backprojection algorithm achieves up to 17 giga voxel updates per second on our systems that are equipped with four standard Intel X7460 hexa core CPUs (Intel Xeon 7300 platform, 2.66 GHz, Intel Corporation). This equals the reconstruction of 344 images per second assuming that each slice consists of 512 x 512 pixels and receives contributions from 512 projections. Thereby, it is an order of magnitude faster than a highly optimized code that does not make use of the spiral symmetry. In its present version, the

High performance cone-beam spiral backprojection with voxel-specific weighting

Science.gov (United States)

Steckmann, Sven; Knaup, Michael; Kachelrieß, Marc

2009-06-01

Cone-beam spiral backprojection is computationally highly demanding. At first sight, the backprojection requirements are similar to those of cone-beam backprojection from circular scans such as it is performed in the widely used Feldkamp algorithm. However, there is an additional complication: the illumination of each voxel, i.e. the range of angles the voxel is seen by the x-ray cone, is a complex function of the voxel position. In general, one needs to multiply a voxel-specific weight w(x, y, z, α) prior to adding a projection from angle α to a voxel at position x, y, z. Often, the weight function has no analytically closed form and must be numerically determined. Storage of the weights is prohibitive since the amount of memory required equals the number of voxels per spiral rotation times the number of projections a voxel receives contributions and therefore is in the order of up to 1012 floating point values for typical spiral scans. We propose a new algorithm that combines the spiral symmetry with the ability of today's 64 bit operating systems to store large amounts of precomputed weights, even above the 4 GB limit. Our trick is to backproject into slices that are rotated in the same manner as the spiral trajectory rotates. Using the spiral symmetry in this way allows one to exploit data-level paralellism and thereby to achieve a very high level of vectorization. An additional postprocessing step rotates these slices back to normal images. Our new backprojection algorithm achieves up to 17 giga voxel updates per second on our systems that are equipped with four standard Intel X7460 hexa core CPUs (Intel Xeon 7300 platform, 2.66 GHz, Intel Corporation). This equals the reconstruction of 344 images per second assuming that each slice consists of 512 × 512 pixels and receives contributions from 512 projections. Thereby, it is an order of magnitude faster than a highly optimized code that does not make use of the spiral symmetry. In its present version, the

The Old-Age Healthy Dependency Ratio in Europe.

Science.gov (United States)

Muszyńska, Magdalena M; Rau, Roland

2012-09-01

The aim of this study is to answer the question of whether improvements in the health of the elderly in European countries could compensate for population ageing on the supply side of the labour market. We propose a state-of-health-specific (additive) decomposition of the old-age dependency ratio into an old-age healthy dependency ratio and an old-age unhealthy dependency ratio in order to participate in a discussion of the significance of changes in population health to compensate for the ageing of the labour force. Applying the proposed indicators to the Eurostat's population projection for the years 2010-2050, and assuming there will be equal improvements in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth, we discuss various scenarios concerning future of the European labour force. While improvements in population health are anticipated during the years 2010-2050, the growth in the number of elderly people in Europe may be expected to lead to a rise in both healthy and unhealthy dependency ratios. The healthy dependency ratio is, however, projected to make up the greater part of the old-age dependency ratio. In the European countries in 2006, the value of the old-age dependency ratio was 25. But in the year 2050, with a positive migration balance over the years 2010-2050, there would be 18 elderly people in poor health plus 34 in good health per 100 people in the current working age range of 15-64. In the scenarios developed in this study, we demonstrate that improvements in health and progress in preventing disability will not, by themselves, compensate for the ageing of the workforce. However, coupled with a positive migration balance, at the level and with the age structure assumed in the Eurostat's population projections, these developments could ease the effect of population ageing on the supply side of the European labour market.

Perturbation correction for alanine dosimeters in different phantom materials in high-energy photon beams.

Science.gov (United States)

von Voigts-Rhetz, P; Anton, M; Vorwerk, H; Zink, K

2016-02-07

In modern radiotherapy the verification of complex treatments plans is often performed in inhomogeneous or even anthropomorphic phantoms. For dose verification small detectors are necessary and therefore alanine detectors are most suitable. Though the response of alanine for a wide range of clinical photon energies in water is well know, the knowledge about the influence of the surrounding phantom material on the response of alanine is sparse. Therefore we investigated the influence of twenty different surrounding/phantom materials for alanine dosimeters in clinical photon fields via Monte Carlo simulations. The relative electron density of the used materials was in the range [Formula: see text] up to 1.69, covering almost all materials appearing in inhomogeneous or anthropomorphic phantoms used in radiotherapy. The investigations were performed for three different clinical photon spectra ranging from 6 to 25 MV-X and Co-60 and as a result a perturbation correction [Formula: see text] depending on the environmental material was established. The Monte Carlo simulation show, that there is only a small dependence of [Formula: see text] on the phantom material and the photon energy, which is below  ±0.6%. The results confirm the good suitability of alanine detectors for in-vivo dosimetry.

Age dependence of tritium metabolism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inaba, Jiro

1983-01-01

3 H metabolism in vivo was studied by HTO administration to rats of varying ages for examination of the age dependence of 3 H metabolism in humans. When 1 μCi/g body weight of HTO was administered, the time-course changes of urine 3 H showed definite age dependence; the younger the rat, more rapidly did the 3 H concentration decrease. The biological half-life of whole body residues was about 2 days in nursing offsprings and about 4 days in mature rats. Tissue-bound 3 H showed high and rapid distribution to the liver, whereas it was slow in the brain and muscle, and this tendency was more prominent in younger rats. Compared with 3 H in tissue water, the concentration of bound 3 H was relatively high, being prominent in younger rats. The time-course changes of 3 H concentration from both origins also showed age dependence. The in vivo exposure dose after administration of 1 μCi/g body weight of HTO- 3 H was generally smaller in younger rats, the exposure at ages 10 and 25 days being about a half of that of mature rats. Supposing that human metabolism is similar, the estimated dose in one-year-olds after ingestion of 1 μCi/kg body weight of 3 H in the form of HTO is about 3 times that in adults, and that after 1 μCi/kg body weight of 3 H in infants, about a half of that in adults. (Chiba, N.)

Increased gray matter density in the parietal cortex of mathematicians: a voxel-based morphometry study.

Science.gov (United States)

Aydin, K; Ucar, A; Oguz, K K; Okur, O O; Agayev, A; Unal, Z; Yilmaz, S; Ozturk, C

2007-01-01

The training to acquire or practicing to perform a skill, which may lead to structural changes in the brain, is called experience-dependent structural plasticity. The main purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the presence of experience-dependent structural plasticity in mathematicians' brains, which may develop after long-term practice of mathematic thinking. Twenty-six volunteer mathematicians, who have been working as academicians, were enrolled in the study. We applied an optimized method of voxel-based morphometry in the mathematicians and the age- and sex-matched control subjects. We assessed the gray and white matter density differences in mathematicians and the control subjects. Moreover, the correlation between the cortical density and the time spent as an academician was investigated. We found that cortical gray matter density in the left inferior frontal and bilateral inferior parietal lobules of the mathematicians were significantly increased compared with the control subjects. Furthermore, increase in gray matter density in the right inferior parietal lobule of the mathematicians was strongly correlated with the time spent as an academician (r = 0.84; P mathematicians' brains revealed increased gray matter density in the cortical regions related to mathematic thinking. The correlation between cortical density increase and the time spent as an academician suggests experience-dependent structural plasticity in mathematicians' brains.

The development of a population of 4D pediatric XCAT phantoms for CT imaging research and optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Norris, Hannah; Zhang, Yakun; Frush, Jack; Sturgeon, Gregory M.; Minhas, Anum; Tward, Daniel J.; Ratnanather, J. Tilak; Miller, M. I.; Frush, Donald; Samei, Ehsan; Segars, W. Paul

2014-03-01

With the increased use of CT examinations, the associated radiation dose has become a large concern, especially for pediatrics. Much research has focused on reducing radiation dose through new scanning and reconstruction methods. Computational phantoms provide an effective and efficient means for evaluating image quality, patient-specific dose, and organ-specific dose in CT. We previously developed a set of highly-detailed 4D reference pediatric XCAT phantoms at ages of newborn, 1, 5, 10, and 15 years with organ and tissues masses matched to ICRP Publication 89 values. We now extend this reference set to a series of 64 pediatric phantoms of a variety of ages and height and weight percentiles, representative of the public at large. High resolution PET-CT data was reviewed by a practicing experienced radiologist for anatomic regularity and was then segmented with manual and semi-automatic methods to form a target model. A Multi-Channel Large Deformation Diffeomorphic Metric Mapping (MC-LDDMM) algorithm was used to calculate the transform from the best age matching pediatric reference phantom to the patient target. The transform was used to complete the target, filling in the non-segmented structures and defining models for the cardiac and respiratory motions. The complete phantoms, consisting of thousands of structures, were then manually inspected for anatomical accuracy. 3D CT data was simulated from the phantoms to demonstrate their ability to generate realistic, patient quality imaging data. The population of pediatric phantoms developed in this work provides a vital tool to investigate dose reduction techniques in 3D and 4D pediatric CT.

Reasons between effective doses for tomographic and mathematical models due to external exposition by photons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kramer, R.; Khoury, H.J.; Yoriyaz, H.; Lima, F.R.A.; Loureiro, E.C.M.

2005-01-01

The development of Monte Carlo codes and new and sophisticated tomographic human models, or based on voxel, motivated the ICRP to propose a revision of the traditional exposition models, which have been used to calculate doses on organs and tissues using mathematical phantoms MIRD-type 5. This article presents calculations made with tomographic phantoms MAX (Male Adult voXel) and FAX (Female Adult voXel), recently developed and also, for comparison, with ADAM and Eve mathematician phantoms. All models were coupled to the EGS4 and MCNP4 codes for full body external irradiation by photons. It were simulated expositions AP, PA and rotational for energies varying between 10 keV and 10 MeV. The effective calculated doses were compared separately to evaluate: the replacement of the Monte Carlo code; the composition of the tissues and the replacement of tomographic phantoms by mathematical ones. Effective doses calculated results indicate that for external exposures by photons to introduce models based on voxels can cause a reduction of about 10% to the energies considered in this study

SU-E-T-608: Perturbation Corrections for Alanine Dosimeters in Different Phantom Materials in High-Energy Photon Beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Voigts-Rhetz, P von; Czarnecki, D; Anton, M; Zink, K

2015-01-01

Purpose: Alanine dosimeters are often used for in-vivo dosimetry purposes in radiation therapy. In a Monte Carlo study the influence of 20 different surrounding/phantom materials for alanine dosimeters was investigated. The investigations were performed in high-energy photon beams, covering the whole range from 60 Co up to 25 MV-X. The aim of the study is the introduction of a perturbation correction k env for alanine dosimeters accounting for the environmental material. Methods: The influence of different surrounding materials on the response of alanine dosimeters was investigated with Monte Carlo simulations using the EGSnrc code. The photon source was adapted with BEAMnrc to a 60 Co unit and an Elekta (E nom =6, 10, 25 MV-X) linear accelerator. Different tissue-equivalent materials ranging from cortical bone to lung were investigated. In addition to available phantom materials, some material compositions were taken and scaled to different electron densities. The depth of the alanine detectors within the different phantom materials corresponds to 5 cm depth in water, i.e. the depth is scaled according to the electron density (n e /n e,w ) of the corresponding phantom material. The dose was scored within the detector volume once for an alanine/paraffin mixture and once for a liquid water voxel. The relative response, the ratio of the absorbed dose to alanine to the absorbed dose to water, was calculated and compared to the corresponding ratio under reference conditions. Results: For each beam quality the relative response r and the correction factor for the environment kenv was calculated. k env =0.9991+0.0049 *((n e /n e,w )−0.7659) 3 Conclusion: A perturbation correction factor k env accounting for the phantom environment has been introduced. The response of the alanine dosimeter can be considered independent of the surrounding material for relative electron densities (n e /n e,w ) between 1 and 1.4. For denser materials such as bone or much less dense

Brain involvement in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a voxel-based morphometry and diffusion tensor imaging study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zikou, Anastasia K; Kosmidou, Maria; Astrakas, Loukas G; Tzarouchi, Loukia C; Tsianos, Epameinondas; Argyropoulou, Maria I

2014-10-01

To investigate structural brain changes in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 18 IBD patients (aged 45.16 ± 14.71 years) and 20 aged-matched control subjects. The imaging protocol consisted of a sagittal-FLAIR, a T1-weighted high-resolution three-dimensional spoiled gradient-echo sequence, and a multisession spin-echo echo-planar diffusion-weighted sequence. Differences between patients and controls in brain volume and diffusion indices were evaluated using the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) methods, respectively. The presence of white-matter hyperintensities (WMHIs) was evaluated on FLAIR images. VBM revealed decreased grey matter (GM) volume in patients in the fusiform and the inferior temporal gyrus bilaterally, the right precentral gyrus, the right supplementary motor area, the right middle frontal gyrus and the left superior parietal gyrus (p tensor imaging detects microstructural brain abnormalities in IBD. • Voxel based morphometry reveals brain atrophy in IBD.

Realistic phantoms to characterize dosimetry in pediatric CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Carver, Diana E.; Kost, Susan D.; Fraser, Nicholas D.; Pickens, David R.; Price, Ronald R.; Stabin, Michael G. [Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Nashville, TN (United States); Segars, W.P. [Duke University, Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Durham, NC (United States)

2017-05-15

The estimation of organ doses and effective doses for children receiving CT examinations is of high interest. Newer, more realistic anthropomorphic body models can provide information on individual organ doses and improved estimates of effective dose. Previously developed body models representing 50th-percentile individuals at reference ages (newborn, 1, 5, 10 and 15 years) were modified to represent 10th, 25th, 75th and 90th height percentiles for both genders and an expanded range of ages (3, 8 and 13 years). We calculated doses for 80 pediatric reference phantoms from simulated chest-abdomen-pelvis exams on a model of a Philips Brilliance 64 CT scanner. Individual organ and effective doses were normalized to dose-length product (DLP) and fit as a function of body diameter. We calculated organ and effective doses for 80 reference phantoms and plotted them against body diameter. The data were well fit with an exponential function. We found DLP-normalized organ dose to correlate strongly with body diameter (R{sup 2}>0.95 for most organs). Similarly, we found a very strong correlation with body diameter for DLP-normalized effective dose (R{sup 2}>0.99). Our results were compared to other studies and we found average agreement of approximately 10%. We provide organ and effective doses for a total of 80 reference phantoms representing normal-stature children ranging in age and body size. This information will be valuable in replacing the types of vendor-reported doses available. These data will also permit the recording and tracking of individual patient doses. Moreover, this comprehensive dose database will facilitate patient matching and the ability to predict patient-individualized dose prior to examination. (orig.)

Critical Age-Dependent Branching Markov Processes and their ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

This paper studies: (i) the long-time behaviour of the empirical distribution of age and normalized position of an age-dependent critical branching Markov process conditioned on non-extinction; and (ii) the super-process limit of a sequence of age-dependent critical branching Brownian motions.

Monte Carlo-based investigation of water-equivalence of solid phantoms at 137Cs energy