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Sample records for attenuation correction techniques

  1. Measured attenuation correction methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ostertag, H.; Kuebler, W.K.; Doll, J.; Lorenz, W.J.

    1989-01-01

    Accurate attenuation correction is a prerequisite for the determination of exact local radioactivity concentrations in positron emission tomography. Attenuation correction factors range from 4-5 in brain studies to 50-100 in whole body measurements. This report gives an overview of the different methods of determining the attenuation correction factors by transmission measurements using an external positron emitting source. The long-lived generator nuclide 68 Ge/ 68 Ga is commonly used for this purpose. The additional patient dose from the transmission source is usually a small fraction of the dose due to the subsequent emission measurement. Ring-shaped transmission sources as well as rotating point or line sources are employed in modern positron tomographs. By masking a rotating line or point source, random and scattered events in the transmission scans can be effectively suppressed. The problems of measured attenuation correction are discussed: Transmission/emission mismatch, random and scattered event contamination, counting statistics, transmission/emission scatter compensation, transmission scan after administration of activity to the patient. By using a double masking technique simultaneous emission and transmission scans become feasible. (orig.)

  2. Attenuation correction for SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosoba, Minoru

    1986-01-01

    Attenuation correction is required for the reconstruction of a quantitative SPECT image. A new method for detecting body contours, which are important for the correction of tissue attenuation, is presented. The effect of body contours, detected by the newly developed method, on the reconstructed images was evaluated using various techniques for attenuation correction. The count rates in the specified region of interest in the phantom image by the Radial Post Correction (RPC) method, the Weighted Back Projection (WBP) method, Chang's method were strongly affected by the accuracy of the contours, as compared to those by Sorenson's method. To evaluate the effect of non-uniform attenuators on the cardiac SPECT, computer simulation experiments were performed using two types of models, the uniform attenuator model (UAM) and the non-uniform attenuator model (NUAM). The RPC method showed the lowest relative percent error (%ERROR) in UAM (11 %). However, 20 to 30 percent increase in %ERROR was observed for NUAM reconstructed with the RPC, WBP, and Chang's methods. Introducing an average attenuation coefficient (0.12/cm for Tc-99m and 0.14/cm for Tl-201) in the RPC method decreased %ERROR to the levels for UAM. Finally, a comparison between images, which were obtained by 180 deg and 360 deg scans and reconstructed from the RPC method, showed that the degree of the distortion of the contour of the simulated ventricles in the 180 deg scan was 15 % higher than that in the 360 deg scan. (Namekawa, K.)

  3. Photon attenuation correction technique in SPECT based on nonlinear optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Shigehito; Wakabayashi, Misato; Okuyama, Keiichi; Kuwamura, Susumu

    1998-01-01

    Photon attenuation correction in SPECT was made using a nonlinear optimization theory, in which an optimum image is searched so that the sum of square errors between observed and reprojected projection data is minimized. This correction technique consists of optimization and step-width algorithms, which determine at each iteration a pixel-by-pixel directional value of search and its step-width, respectively. We used the conjugate gradient and quasi-Newton methods as the optimization algorithm, and Curry rule and the quadratic function method as the step-width algorithm. Statistical fluctuations in the corrected image due to statistical noise in the emission projection data grew as the iteration increased, depending on the combination of optimization and step-width algorithms. To suppress them, smoothing for directional values was introduced. Computer experiments and clinical applications showed a pronounced reduction in statistical fluctuations of the corrected image for all combinations. Combinations using the conjugate gradient method were superior in noise characteristic and computation time. The use of that method with the quadratic function method was optimum if noise property was regarded as important. (author)

  4. Segmented attenuation correction using artificial neural networks in positron tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yu, S.K.; Nahmias, C.

    1996-01-01

    The measured attenuation correction technique is widely used in cardiac positron tomographic studies. However, the success of this technique is limited because of insufficient counting statistics achievable in practical transmission scan times, and of the scattered radiation in transmission measurement which leads to an underestimation of the attenuation coefficients. In this work, a segmented attenuation correction technique has been developed that uses artificial neural networks. The technique has been validated in phantoms and verified in human studies. The results indicate that attenuation coefficients measured in the segmented transmission image are accurate and reproducible. Activity concentrations measured in the reconstructed emission image can also be recovered accurately using this new technique. The accuracy of the technique is subject independent and insensitive to scatter contamination in the transmission data. This technique has the potential of reducing the transmission scan time, and satisfactory results are obtained if the transmission data contain about 400 000 true counts per plane. It can predict accurately the value of any attenuation coefficient in the range from air to water in a transmission image with or without scatter correction. (author)

  5. Influence of attenuation correction and reconstruction techniques on the detection of hypoperfused lesions in brain SPECT studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ghoorun, S.; Groenewald, W.A.; Baete, K.; Nuyts, J.; Dupont, P.

    2004-01-01

    Full text: Aim: To study the influence of attenuation correction and the reconstruction technique on the detection of hypoperfused lesions in brain SPECT imaging, Material and Methods: A simulation experiment was used in which the effects of attenuation and reconstruction were decoupled, A high resolution SPECT phantom was constructed using the BrainWeb database, In this phantom, activity values were assigned to grey and white matter (ratio 4:1) and scaled to obtain counts of the same magnitude as in clinical practice, The true attenuation map was generated by assigning attenuation coefficients to each tissue class (grey and white matter, cerebral spinal fluid, skull, soft and fatty tissue and air) to create a non-uniform attenuation map, The uniform attenuation map was calculated using an attenuation coefficient of 0.15 cm-1, Hypoperfused lesions of varying intensities and sizes were added. The phantom was then projected as typical SPECT projection data, taking into account attenuation and collimator blurring with the addition of Poisson noise, The projection data was reconstructed using four different methods of reconstruction: (1) filtered backprojection (FBP) with the uniform attenuation map; (2) FBP using the true attenuation map; (3) ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) (equivalent to 423 iterations) with a uniform attenuation map; and (4) OSEM with a true attenuation map. Different Gaussian postsmooth kernels were applied to the reconstructed images. Results: The analysis of the reconstructed data was performed using figures of merit such as signal to noise ratio (SNR), bias and variance. The results illustrated that uniform attenuation correction offered slight deterioration (less than 2%) with regard to SNR when compared to the ideal attenuation map. which in reality is not known. The iterative techniques produced superior signal to noise ratios (increase of 5 - 20 % depending on the lesion and the postsmooth) in comparison to the FBP methods

  6. Improvement of quantitation in SPECT: Attenuation and scatter correction using non-uniform attenuation data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mukai, T.; Torizuka, K.; Douglass, K.H.; Wagner, H.N.

    1985-01-01

    Quantitative assessment of tracer distribution with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) is difficult because of attenuation and scattering of gamma rays within the object. A method considering the source geometry was developed, and effects of attenuation and scatter on SPECT quantitation were studied using phantoms with non-uniform attenuation. The distribution of attenuation coefficients (μ) within the source were obtained by transmission CT. The attenuation correction was performed by an iterative reprojection technique. The scatter correction was done by convolution of the attenuation corrected image and an appropriate filter made by line source studies. The filter characteristics depended on μ and SPEC measurement at each pixel. The SPECT obtained by this method showed the most reasonable results than the images reconstructed by other methods. The scatter correction could compensate completely for a 28% scatter components from a long line source, and a 61% component for thick and extended source. Consideration of source geometries was necessary for effective corrections. The present method is expected to be valuable for the quantitative assessment of regional tracer activity

  7. Quantitative Evaluation of 2 Scatter-Correction Techniques for 18F-FDG Brain PET/MRI in Regard to MR-Based Attenuation Correction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teuho, Jarmo; Saunavaara, Virva; Tolvanen, Tuula; Tuokkola, Terhi; Karlsson, Antti; Tuisku, Jouni; Teräs, Mika

    2017-10-01

    In PET, corrections for photon scatter and attenuation are essential for visual and quantitative consistency. MR attenuation correction (MRAC) is generally conducted by image segmentation and assignment of discrete attenuation coefficients, which offer limited accuracy compared with CT attenuation correction. Potential inaccuracies in MRAC may affect scatter correction, because the attenuation image (μ-map) is used in single scatter simulation (SSS) to calculate the scatter estimate. We assessed the impact of MRAC to scatter correction using 2 scatter-correction techniques and 3 μ-maps for MRAC. Methods: The tail-fitted SSS (TF-SSS) and a Monte Carlo-based single scatter simulation (MC-SSS) algorithm implementations on the Philips Ingenuity TF PET/MR were used with 1 CT-based and 2 MR-based μ-maps. Data from 7 subjects were used in the clinical evaluation, and a phantom study using an anatomic brain phantom was conducted. Scatter-correction sinograms were evaluated for each scatter correction method and μ-map. Absolute image quantification was investigated with the phantom data. Quantitative assessment of PET images was performed by volume-of-interest and ratio image analysis. Results: MRAC did not result in large differences in scatter algorithm performance, especially with TF-SSS. Scatter sinograms and scatter fractions did not reveal large differences regardless of the μ-map used. TF-SSS showed slightly higher absolute quantification. The differences in volume-of-interest analysis between TF-SSS and MC-SSS were 3% at maximum in the phantom and 4% in the patient study. Both algorithms showed excellent correlation with each other with no visual differences between PET images. MC-SSS showed a slight dependency on the μ-map used, with a difference of 2% on average and 4% at maximum when a μ-map without bone was used. Conclusion: The effect of different MR-based μ-maps on the performance of scatter correction was minimal in non-time-of-flight 18 F-FDG PET

  8. Towards quantitative PET/MRI: a review of MR-based attenuation correction techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hofmann, Matthias; Pichler, Bernd; Schölkopf, Bernhard; Beyer, Thomas

    2009-03-01

    Positron emission tomography (PET) is a fully quantitative technology for imaging metabolic pathways and dynamic processes in vivo. Attenuation correction of raw PET data is a prerequisite for quantification and is typically based on separate transmission measurements. In PET/CT attenuation correction, however, is performed routinely based on the available CT transmission data. Recently, combined PET/magnetic resonance (MR) has been proposed as a viable alternative to PET/CT. Current concepts of PET/MRI do not include CT-like transmission sources and, therefore, alternative methods of PET attenuation correction must be found. This article reviews existing approaches to MR-based attenuation correction (MR-AC). Most groups have proposed MR-AC algorithms for brain PET studies and more recently also for torso PET/MR imaging. Most MR-AC strategies require the use of complementary MR and transmission images, or morphology templates generated from transmission images. We review and discuss these algorithms and point out challenges for using MR-AC in clinical routine. MR-AC is work-in-progress with potentially promising results from a template-based approach applicable to both brain and torso imaging. While efforts are ongoing in making clinically viable MR-AC fully automatic, further studies are required to realize the potential benefits of MR-based motion compensation and partial volume correction of the PET data.

  9. Towards quantitative PET/MRI: a review of MR-based attenuation correction techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hofmann, Matthias; Pichler, Bernd; Schoelkopf, Bernhard; Beyer, Thomas

    2009-01-01

    Positron emission tomography (PET) is a fully quantitative technology for imaging metabolic pathways and dynamic processes in vivo. Attenuation correction of raw PET data is a prerequisite for quantification and is typically based on separate transmission measurements. In PET/CT attenuation correction, however, is performed routinely based on the available CT transmission data. Recently, combined PET/magnetic resonance (MR) has been proposed as a viable alternative to PET/CT. Current concepts of PET/MRI do not include CT-like transmission sources and, therefore, alternative methods of PET attenuation correction must be found. This article reviews existing approaches to MR-based attenuation correction (MR-AC). Most groups have proposed MR-AC algorithms for brain PET studies and more recently also for torso PET/MR imaging. Most MR-AC strategies require the use of complementary MR and transmission images, or morphology templates generated from transmission images. We review and discuss these algorithms and point out challenges for using MR-AC in clinical routine. MR-AC is work-in-progress with potentially promising results from a template-based approach applicable to both brain and torso imaging. While efforts are ongoing in making clinically viable MR-AC fully automatic, further studies are required to realize the potential benefits of MR-based motion compensation and partial volume correction of the PET data. (orig.)

  10. Towards quantitative PET/MRI: a review of MR-based attenuation correction techniques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hofmann, Matthias [Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen (Germany); University of Tuebingen, Laboratory for Preclinical Imaging and Imaging Technology of the Werner Siemens-Foundation, Department of Radiology, Tuebingen (Germany); University of Oxford, Wolfson Medical Vision Laboratory, Department of Engineering Science, Oxford (United Kingdom); Pichler, Bernd [University of Tuebingen, Laboratory for Preclinical Imaging and Imaging Technology of the Werner Siemens-Foundation, Department of Radiology, Tuebingen (Germany); Schoelkopf, Bernhard [Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tuebingen (Germany); Beyer, Thomas [University Hospital Duisburg-Essen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Essen (Germany); Cmi-Experts GmbH, Zurich (Switzerland)

    2009-03-15

    Positron emission tomography (PET) is a fully quantitative technology for imaging metabolic pathways and dynamic processes in vivo. Attenuation correction of raw PET data is a prerequisite for quantification and is typically based on separate transmission measurements. In PET/CT attenuation correction, however, is performed routinely based on the available CT transmission data. Recently, combined PET/magnetic resonance (MR) has been proposed as a viable alternative to PET/CT. Current concepts of PET/MRI do not include CT-like transmission sources and, therefore, alternative methods of PET attenuation correction must be found. This article reviews existing approaches to MR-based attenuation correction (MR-AC). Most groups have proposed MR-AC algorithms for brain PET studies and more recently also for torso PET/MR imaging. Most MR-AC strategies require the use of complementary MR and transmission images, or morphology templates generated from transmission images. We review and discuss these algorithms and point out challenges for using MR-AC in clinical routine. MR-AC is work-in-progress with potentially promising results from a template-based approach applicable to both brain and torso imaging. While efforts are ongoing in making clinically viable MR-AC fully automatic, further studies are required to realize the potential benefits of MR-based motion compensation and partial volume correction of the PET data. (orig.)

  11. Fuzzy clustering-based segmented attenuation correction in whole-body PET

    CERN Document Server

    Zaidi, H; Boudraa, A; Slosman, DO

    2001-01-01

    Segmented-based attenuation correction is now a widely accepted technique to reduce noise contribution of measured attenuation correction. In this paper, we present a new method for segmenting transmission images in positron emission tomography. This reduces the noise on the correction maps while still correcting for differing attenuation coefficients of specific tissues. Based on the Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) algorithm, the method segments the PET transmission images into a given number of clusters to extract specific areas of differing attenuation such as air, the lungs and soft tissue, preceded by a median filtering procedure. The reconstructed transmission image voxels are therefore segmented into populations of uniform attenuation based on the human anatomy. The clustering procedure starts with an over-specified number of clusters followed by a merging process to group clusters with similar properties and remove some undesired substructures using anatomical knowledge. The method is unsupervised, adaptive and a...

  12. A promising hybrid approach to SPECT attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lewis, N.H.; Faber, T.L.; Corbett, J.R.; Stokely, E.M.

    1984-01-01

    Most methods for attenuation compensation in SPECT either rely on the assumption of uniform attenuation, or use slow iteration to achieve accuracy. However, hybrid methods that combine iteration with simple multiplicative correction can accommodate nonuniform attenuation, and such methods converge faster than other iterative techniques. The authors evaluated two such methods, which differ in use of a damping factor to control convergence. Both uniform and nonuniform attenuation were modeled, using simulated and phantom data for a rotating gamma camera. For simulations done with 360 0 data and the correct attenuation map, activity levels were reconstructed to within 5% of the correct values after one iteration. Using 180 0 data, reconstructed levels in regions representing lesion and background were within 5% of the correct values in three iterations; however, further iterations were needed to eliminate the characteristic streak artifacts. The damping factor had little effect on 360 0 reconstruction, but was needed for convergence with 180 0 data. For both cold- and hot-lesion models, image contrast was better from the hybrid methods than from the simpler geometric-mean corrector. Results from the hybrid methods were comparable to those obtained using the conjugate-gradient iterative method, but required 50-100% less reconstruction time. The relative speed of the hybrid methods, and their accuracy in reconstructing photon activity in the presence of nonuniform attenuation, make them promising tools for quantitative SPECT reconstruction

  13. Calculation of the flux attenuation and multiple scattering correction factors in time of flight technique for double differential cross section measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, G.; Coca, M.; Capote, R.

    1996-01-01

    Using Monte Carlo method technique , a computer code which simulates the time of flight experiment to measure double differential cross section was developed. The correction factor for flux attenuation and multiple scattering, that make a deformation to the measured spectrum, were calculated. The energy dependence of the correction factor was determined and a comparison with other works is shown. Calculations for Fe 56 at two different scattering angles were made. We also reproduce the experiment performed at the Nuclear Analysis Laboratory for C 12 at 25 celsius degree and the calculated correction factor for the is measured is shown. We found a linear relation between the scatter size and the correction factor for flux attenuation

  14. An attenuation measurement technique for rotating planar detector positron tomographs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNeil, P.A.; Julyan, P.J.; Parker, D.J.

    1997-01-01

    This paper presents a new attenuation measurement technique suitable for rotating planar detector positron tomographs. Transmission measurements are made using two unshielded positron-emitting line sources, one attached to the front face of each detector. Many of the scattered and accidental coincidences are rejected by including only those coincidences that form a vector passing within a predetermined distance of either line source. Some scattered and accidental coincidences are still included, which reduces the measured linear attenuation; in principle their contribution can be accurately estimated and subtracted, but in practice, when limited statistics are available (as is the case with the multi-wire Birmingham positron camera), this background subtraction unacceptably increases the noise. Instead an attenuation image having the correct features can be reconstructed from the measured projections. For objects containing only a few discrete linear attenuation coefficients, segmentation of this attenuation image reduces noise and allows the correct linear attenuation coefficients to be restored by renormalization. Reprojection through the segmented image may then provide quantitatively correct attenuation correction factors of sufficient statistical quality to correct for attenuation in PET emission images. (author)

  15. Gamma-ray self-attenuation corrections in environmental samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Robu, E.; Giovani, C.

    2009-01-01

    Gamma-spectrometry is a commonly used technique in environmental radioactivity monitoring. Frequently the bulk samples that should be measured differ with respect to composition and density from the reference sample used for efficiency calibration. Correction factors should be applied in these cases for activity measurement. Linear attenuation coefficients and self-absorption correction factors have been evaluated for soil, grass and liquid sources with different densities and geometries.(authors)

  16. Whole-body bone segmentation from MRI for PET/MRI attenuation correction using shape-based averaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arabi, Hossein; Zaidi, H.

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The authors evaluate the performance of shape-based averaging (SBA) technique for whole-body bone segmentation from MRI in the context of MRI-guided attenuation correction (MRAC) in hybrid PET/MRI. To enhance the performance of the SBA scheme, the authors propose to combine it with stati......Purpose: The authors evaluate the performance of shape-based averaging (SBA) technique for whole-body bone segmentation from MRI in the context of MRI-guided attenuation correction (MRAC) in hybrid PET/MRI. To enhance the performance of the SBA scheme, the authors propose to combine...... it with statistical atlas fusion techniques. Moreover, a fast and efficient shape comparisonbased atlas selection scheme was developed and incorporated into the SBA method. Methods: Clinical studies consisting of PET/CT and MR images of 21 patients were used to assess the performance of the SBA method. In addition...... voting (MV) atlas fusion scheme was also evaluated as a conventional and commonly used method. MRI-guided attenuation maps were generated using the different segmentation methods. Thereafter, quantitative analysis of PET attenuation correction was performed using CT-based attenuation correction...

  17. Effects of attenuation map accuracy on attenuation-corrected micro-SPECT images

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wu, C.; Gratama van Andel, H.A.; Laverman, P.; Boerman, O.C.; Beekman, F.J.

    2013-01-01

    Background In single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), attenuation of photon flux in tissue affects quantitative accuracy of reconstructed images. Attenuation maps derived from X-ray computed tomography (CT) can be employed for attenuation correction. The attenuation coefficients as well

  18. MR-based attenuation correction for cardiac FDG PET on a hybrid PET/MRI scanner: comparison with standard CT attenuation correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vontobel, Jan; Liga, Riccardo; Possner, Mathias; Clerc, Olivier F.; Mikulicic, Fran; Veit-Haibach, Patrick; Voert, Edwin E.G.W. ter; Fuchs, Tobias A.; Stehli, Julia; Pazhenkottil, Aju P.; Benz, Dominik C.; Graeni, Christoph; Gaemperli, Oliver; Herzog, Bernhard; Buechel, Ronny R.; Kaufmann, Philipp A. [University Hospital Zurich, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Zurich (Switzerland)

    2015-09-15

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of attenuation correction (AC) for cardiac {sup 18}F-labelled fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) using MR-based attenuation maps. We included 23 patients with no known cardiac history undergoing whole-body FDG PET/CT imaging for oncological indications on a PET/CT scanner using time-of-flight (TOF) and subsequent whole-body PET/MR imaging on an investigational hybrid PET/MRI scanner. Data sets from PET/MRI (with and without TOF) were reconstructed using MR AC and semi-quantitative segmental (20-segment model) myocardial tracer uptake (per cent of maximum) and compared to PET/CT which was reconstructed using CT AC and served as standard of reference. Excellent correlations were found for regional uptake values between PET/CT and PET/MRI with TOF (n = 460 segments in 23 patients; r = 0.913; p < 0.0001) with narrow Bland-Altman limits of agreement (-8.5 to +12.6 %). Correlation coefficients were slightly lower between PET/CT and PET/MRI without TOF (n = 460 segments in 23 patients; r = 0.851; p < 0.0001) with broader Bland-Altman limits of agreement (-12.5 to +15.0 %). PET/MRI with and without TOF showed minimal underestimation of tracer uptake (-2.08 and -1.29 %, respectively), compared to PET/CT. Relative myocardial FDG uptake obtained from MR-based attenuation corrected FDG PET is highly comparable to standard CT-based attenuation corrected FDG PET, suggesting interchangeability of both AC techniques. (orig.)

  19. Vision 20/20: Magnetic resonance imaging-guided attenuation correction in PET/MRI: Challenges, solutions, and opportunities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mehranian, Abolfazl; Arabi, Hossein [Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva CH-1211 (Switzerland); Zaidi, Habib, E-mail: habib.zaidi@hcuge.ch [Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva CH-1211 (Switzerland); Geneva Neuroscience Centre, University of Geneva, Geneva CH-1205 (Switzerland); Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, University of Groningen, Groningen 9700 RB (Netherlands)

    2016-03-15

    Attenuation correction is an essential component of the long chain of data correction techniques required to achieve the full potential of quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The development of combined PET/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems mandated the widespread interest in developing novel strategies for deriving accurate attenuation maps with the aim to improve the quantitative accuracy of these emerging hybrid imaging systems. The attenuation map in PET/MRI should ideally be derived from anatomical MR images; however, MRI intensities reflect proton density and relaxation time properties of biological tissues rather than their electron density and photon attenuation properties. Therefore, in contrast to PET/computed tomography, there is a lack of standardized global mapping between the intensities of MRI signal and linear attenuation coefficients at 511 keV. Moreover, in standard MRI sequences, bones and lung tissues do not produce measurable signals owing to their low proton density and short transverse relaxation times. MR images are also inevitably subject to artifacts that degrade their quality, thus compromising their applicability for the task of attenuation correction in PET/MRI. MRI-guided attenuation correction strategies can be classified in three broad categories: (i) segmentation-based approaches, (ii) atlas-registration and machine learning methods, and (iii) emission/transmission-based approaches. This paper summarizes past and current state-of-the-art developments and latest advances in PET/MRI attenuation correction. The advantages and drawbacks of each approach for addressing the challenges of MR-based attenuation correction are comprehensively described. The opportunities brought by both MRI and PET imaging modalities for deriving accurate attenuation maps and improving PET quantification will be elaborated. Future prospects and potential clinical applications of these techniques and their integration in commercial

  20. An attenuation correction method for PET/CT images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ue, Hidenori; Yamazaki, Tomohiro; Haneishi, Hideaki

    2006-01-01

    In PET/CT systems, accurate attenuation correction can be achieved by creating an attenuation map from an X-ray CT image. On the other hand, respiratory-gated PET acquisition is an effective method for avoiding motion blurring of the thoracic and abdominal organs caused by respiratory motion. In PET/CT systems employing respiratory-gated PET, using an X-ray CT image acquired during breath-holding for attenuation correction may have a large effect on the voxel values, especially in regions with substantial respiratory motion. In this report, we propose an attenuation correction method in which, as the first step, a set of respiratory-gated PET images is reconstructed without attenuation correction, as the second step, the motion of each phase PET image from the PET image in the same phase as the CT acquisition timing is estimated by the previously proposed method, as the third step, the CT image corresponding to each respiratory phase is generated from the original CT image by deformation according to the motion vector maps, and as the final step, attenuation correction using these CT images and reconstruction are performed. The effectiveness of the proposed method was evaluated using 4D-NCAT phantoms, and good stability of the voxel values near the diaphragm was observed. (author)

  1. X-ray-based attenuation correction for positron emission tomography/computed tomography scanners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinahan, Paul E; Hasegawa, Bruce H; Beyer, Thomas

    2003-07-01

    A synergy of positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scanners is the use of the CT data for x-ray-based attenuation correction of the PET emission data. Current methods of measuring transmission use positron sources, gamma-ray sources, or x-ray sources. Each of the types of transmission scans involves different trade-offs of noise versus bias, with positron transmission scans having the highest noise but lowest bias, whereas x-ray scans have negligible noise but the potential for increased quantitative errors. The use of x-ray-based attenuation correction, however, has other advantages, including a lack of bias introduced from post-injection transmission scanning, which is an important practical consideration for clinical scanners, as well as reduced scan times. The sensitivity of x-ray-based attenuation correction to artifacts and quantitative errors depends on the method of translating the CT image from the effective x-ray energy of approximately 70 keV to attenuation coefficients at the PET energy of 511 keV. These translation methods are usually based on segmentation and/or scaling techniques. Errors in the PET emission image arise from positional mismatches caused by patient motion or respiration differences between the PET and CT scans; incorrect calculation of attenuation coefficients for CT contrast agents or metallic implants; or keeping the patient's arms in the field of view, which leads to truncation and/or beam-hardening (or x-ray scatter) artifacts. Proper interpretation of PET emission images corrected for attenuation by using the CT image relies on an understanding of the potential artifacts. In cases where an artifact or bias is suspected, careful inspection of all three available images (CT and PET emission with and without attenuation correction) is recommended. Copyright 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  2. Attenuation correction method for single photon emission CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morozumi, Tatsuru; Nakajima, Masato [Keio Univ., Yokohama (Japan). Faculty of Science and Technology; Ogawa, Koichi; Yuta, Shinichi

    1983-10-01

    A correction method (Modified Correction Matrix method) is proposed to implement iterative correction by exactly measuring attenuation constant distribution in a test body, calculating a correction factor for every picture element, then multiply the image by these factors. Computer simulation for the comparison of the results showed that the proposed method was specifically more effective to an application to the test body, in which the rate of attenuation constant change is large, than the conventional correction matrix method. Since the actual measurement data always contain quantum noise, the noise was taken into account in the simulation. However, the correction effect was large even under the noise. For verifying its clinical effectiveness, the experiment using an acrylic phantom was also carried out. As the result, the recovery of image quality in the parts with small attenuation constant was remarkable as compared with the conventional method.

  3. Scatter and attenuation correction in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ljungberg, Michael

    2004-01-01

    The adsorbed dose is related to the activity uptake in the organ and its temporal distribution. Measured count rate with scintillation cameras is related to activity through the system sensitivity, cps/MBq. By accounting for physical processes and imaging limitations we can measure the activity at different time points. Correction for physical factor, such as attenuation and scatter is required for accurate quantitation. Both planar and SPECT imaging can be used to estimate activities for radiopharmaceutical dosimetry. Planar methods have been the most widely used but is a 2D technique. With accurate modelling for imagine in iterative reconstruction, SPECT methods will prove to be more accurate

  4. Magnitude corrections for attenuation in the upper mantle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1978-01-01

    Since 1969, a consistent discrepancy in seismic magnitudes of nuclear detonations at NTS compared with magnitudes of detonations elsewhere in the world has been observed. This discrepancy can be explained in terms of a relatively high seismic attenuation for compressional waves in the upper mantle beneath the NTS and in certain other locations. A correction has been developed for this attenuation based on a relationship between the velocity of compressional waves at the top of the earth's mantle (just beneath the Mohorovicic discontinuity) and the seismic attenuation further down in the upper mantle. Our new definition of body-wave magnitude includes corrections for attenuation in the upper mantle at both ends of the teleseismic body-wave path. These corrections bring the NTS oservations into line with measurements of foreign events, and enable one to make more reliable estimates of yields of underground nuclear explosions, wherever the explosion occurs

  5. Determination of the self-attenuation correction factor for environmental samples analysis in gamma spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Talita O.; Rocha, Zildete; Knupp, Eliana A.N.; Kastner, Geraldo F.; Oliveira, Arno H. de; Oliveira, Arno H. de

    2015-01-01

    Gamma spectrometry technique has been used in order to obtain the activity concentrations of natural and artificial radionuclides in environmental samples of different origins, compositions and densities. These samples characteristics may influence the calibration condition by the self-attenuation effect. The sample density has been considered the most important factor. For reliable results, it is necessary to determine self-attenuation correction factor which has been subject of great interest due to its effect on activity concentration. In this context, the aim of this work is to show the calibration process considering the correction by self-attenuation in the evaluation of the concentration of each radionuclide to a gamma HPGEe detector spectrometry system. (author)

  6. Magnetic resonance imaging-guided attenuation and scatter corrections in three-dimensional brain positron emission tomography

    CERN Document Server

    Zaidi, H; Slosman, D O

    2003-01-01

    Reliable attenuation correction represents an essential component of the long chain of modules required for the reconstruction of artifact-free, quantitative brain positron emission tomography (PET) images. In this work we demonstrate the proof of principle of segmented magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-guided attenuation and scatter corrections in 3D brain PET. We have developed a method for attenuation correction based on registered T1-weighted MRI, eliminating the need of an additional transmission (TX) scan. The MR images were realigned to preliminary reconstructions of PET data using an automatic algorithm and then segmented by means of a fuzzy clustering technique which identifies tissues of significantly different density and composition. The voxels belonging to different regions were classified into air, skull, brain tissue and nasal sinuses. These voxels were then assigned theoretical tissue-dependent attenuation coefficients as reported in the ICRU 44 report followed by Gaussian smoothing and additio...

  7. Development of a new technic for breast attenuation correction in myocardial perfusion scintigraphy using computational methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, Anderson de

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: One of the limitations of nuclear medicine studies are false-positive results that lead to unnecessary exams and procedures associated to morbidity and costs to the individual and society. One of the most frequent causes for reducing the specificity of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is photon attenuation, especially by breast in women. Objective: To develop a new technique to compensate the photon attenuation by women breasts in myocardial perfusion imaging with 99m Tc-sestamibi, using computational methods. Materials and methods: A procedure was proposed which integrates Monte Carlo simulation, computational methods and experimental techniques. Initially, were obtained the chest attenuation correction percentages using a phantom Jaszczak and breast attenuation percentages by Monte Carlo simulation method, using the EGS4 program. The percentages of attenuation correction were linked to individual patients' characteristics by an artificial neural network and a multivariate analysis. A preliminary technical validation was done by comparing the results of the MPI and catheterism (CAT), before and after applying the technique to 4 patients. The t test for parametric data, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney and X 2 for the others were used. Probability values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Each increment of 1 cm in the thickness of breast was associated to an average increment of 6% on photon attenuation, while the maximum increase related to breast composition was about 2%. The average chest attenuation percentage per unit was 2.9%. Both, the artificial neural network and linear regression, showed an error less than 3% as predictive models for percentage of female attenuation. The anatomical-functional correlation between MPI and CAT was maintained after the use of the technique. Conclusion: Results suggest that the proposed technique is promising and could be a possible alternative to other conventional methods employed

  8. Development and evaluation of attenuation and scatter correction techniques for SPECT using the Monte Carlo method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ljungberg, M.

    1990-05-01

    Quantitative scintigrafic images, obtained by NaI(Tl) scintillation cameras, are limited by photon attenuation and contribution from scattered photons. A Monte Carlo program was developed in order to evaluate these effects. Simple source-phantom geometries and more complex nonhomogeneous cases can be simulated. Comparisons with experimental data for both homogeneous and nonhomogeneous regions and with published results have shown good agreement. The usefulness for simulation of parameters in scintillation camera systems, stationary as well as in SPECT systems, has also been demonstrated. An attenuation correction method based on density maps and build-up functions has been developed. The maps were obtained from a transmission measurement using an external 57 Co flood source and the build-up was simulated by the Monte Carlo code. Two scatter correction methods, the dual-window method and the convolution-subtraction method, have been compared using the Monte Carlo method. The aim was to compare the estimated scatter with the true scatter in the photo-peak window. It was concluded that accurate depth-dependent scatter functions are essential for a proper scatter correction. A new scatter and attenuation correction method has been developed based on scatter line-spread functions (SLSF) obtained for different depths and lateral positions in the phantom. An emission image is used to determine the source location in order to estimate the scatter in the photo-peak window. Simulation studies of a clinically realistic source in different positions in cylindrical water phantoms were made for three photon energies. The SLSF-correction method was also evaluated by simulation studies for 1. a myocardial source, 2. uniform source in the lungs and 3. a tumour located in the lungs in a realistic, nonhomogeneous computer phantom. The results showed that quantitative images could be obtained in nonhomogeneous regions. (67 refs.)

  9. Attenuation correction strategies for multi-energy photon emitters using SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pretorius, P.H.; King, M.A.; Pan, T.S.

    1996-01-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate whether the photopeak window projections from different energy photons can be combined into a single window for reconstruction or if it is better to not combine the projections due to differences in the attenuation maps required for each photon energy. The mathematical cardiac torso (MCAT) phantom was modified to simulate the uptake of Ga-67 in the human body. Four spherical hot tumors were placed in locations which challenged attenuation correction. An analytical 3D projector with attenuation and detector response included was used to generate projection sets. Data were reconstructed using filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstruction with Butterworth filtering in conjunction with one iteration of Chang attenuation correction, and with 5 and 10 iterations of ordered-subset maximum-likelihood expectation-maximization reconstruction. To serve as a standard for comparison, the projection sets obtained from the two energies were first reconstructed separately using their own attenuation maps. The emission data obtained from both energies were added and reconstructed using the following attenuation strategies: (1) the 93 keV attenuation map for attenuation correction, (2) the 185 keV attenuation map for attenuation correction, (3) using a weighted mean obtained from combining the 93 keV and 185 keV maps, and (4) an ordered subset approach which combines both energies. The central count ratio (CCR) and total count ratio (TCR) were used to compare the performance of the different strategies. Compared to the standard method, results indicate an over-estimation with strategy 1, an under-estimation with strategy 2 and comparable results with strategies 3 and 4. In all strategies, the CCR's of sphere 4 were under-estimated, although TCR's were comparable to that of the other locations. The weighted mean and ordered subset strategies for attenuation correction were of comparable accuracy to reconstruction of the windows separately

  10. Minimal residual cone-beam reconstruction with attenuation correction in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    La, Valerie; Grangeat, Pierre

    1998-01-01

    This paper presents an iterative method based on the minimal residual algorithm for tomographic attenuation compensated reconstruction from attenuated cone-beam projections given the attenuation distribution. Unlike conjugate-gradient based reconstruction techniques, the proposed minimal residual based algorithm solves directly a quasisymmetric linear system, which is a preconditioned system. Thus it avoids the use of normal equations, which improves the convergence rate. Two main contributions are introduced. First, a regularization method is derived for quasisymmetric problems, based on a Tikhonov-Phillips regularization applied to the factorization of the symmetric part of the system matrix. This regularization is made spatially adaptive to avoid smoothing the region of interest. Second, our existing reconstruction algorithm for attenuation correction in parallel-beam geometry is extended to cone-beam geometry. A circular orbit is considered. Two preconditioning operators are proposed: the first one is Grangeat's inversion formula and the second one is Feldkamp's inversion formula. Experimental results obtained on simulated data are presented and the shadow zone effect on attenuated data is illustrated. (author)

  11. Correction of oral contrast artifacts in CT-based attenuation correction of PET images using an automated segmentation algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmadian, Alireza; Ay, Mohammad R.; Sarkar, Saeed; Bidgoli, Javad H.; Zaidi, Habib

    2008-01-01

    Oral contrast is usually administered in most X-ray computed tomography (CT) examinations of the abdomen and the pelvis as it allows more accurate identification of the bowel and facilitates the interpretation of abdominal and pelvic CT studies. However, the misclassification of contrast medium with high-density bone in CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) is known to generate artifacts in the attenuation map (μmap), thus resulting in overcorrection for attenuation of positron emission tomography (PET) images. In this study, we developed an automated algorithm for segmentation and classification of regions containing oral contrast medium to correct for artifacts in CT-attenuation-corrected PET images using the segmented contrast correction (SCC) algorithm. The proposed algorithm consists of two steps: first, high CT number object segmentation using combined region- and boundary-based segmentation and second, object classification to bone and contrast agent using a knowledge-based nonlinear fuzzy classifier. Thereafter, the CT numbers of pixels belonging to the region classified as contrast medium are substituted with their equivalent effective bone CT numbers using the SCC algorithm. The generated CT images are then down-sampled followed by Gaussian smoothing to match the resolution of PET images. A piecewise calibration curve was then used to convert CT pixel values to linear attenuation coefficients at 511 keV. The visual assessment of segmented regions performed by an experienced radiologist confirmed the accuracy of the segmentation and classification algorithms for delineation of contrast-enhanced regions in clinical CT images. The quantitative analysis of generated μmaps of 21 clinical CT colonoscopy datasets showed an overestimation ranging between 24.4% and 37.3% in the 3D-classified regions depending on their volume and the concentration of contrast medium. Two PET/CT studies known to be problematic demonstrated the applicability of the technique in

  12. Evaluation of frequency-dependent ultrasound attenuation in transparent medium using focused shadowgraph technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Iijima, Yukina; Kudo, Nobuki

    2017-07-01

    Acoustic fields of a short-pulsed ultrasound propagating through a transparent medium with ultrasound attenuation were visualized by the focused shadowgraph technique. A brightness waveform and its spatial integrations were derived from a visualized field image and compared with a pressure waveform measured by a membrane hydrophone. The experimental results showed that first-order integration of the brightness wave has good agreement with the pressure waveforms. Frequency-dependent attenuation of the pulse propagating through castor oil was derived from brightness and pressure waveforms, and attenuation coefficients determined from focused shadowgraphy and hydrophone techniques showed good agreement. The results suggest the usefulness of the shadowgraph technique not only for the visualization of ultrasound fields but also for noncontact estimation of rough pressure waveforms and correct ultrasound attenuation.

  13. Deconvolution based attenuation correction for time-of-flight positron emission tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Nam-Yong

    2017-10-01

    For an accurate quantitative reconstruction of the radioactive tracer distribution in positron emission tomography (PET), we need to take into account the attenuation of the photons by the tissues. For this purpose, we propose an attenuation correction method for the case when a direct measurement of the attenuation distribution in the tissues is not available. The proposed method can determine the attenuation factor up to a constant multiple by exploiting the consistency condition that the exact deconvolution of noise-free time-of-flight (TOF) sinogram must satisfy. Simulation studies shows that the proposed method corrects attenuation artifacts quite accurately for TOF sinograms of a wide range of temporal resolutions and noise levels, and improves the image reconstruction for TOF sinograms of higher temporal resolutions by providing more accurate attenuation correction.

  14. A Generalized Correction for Attenuation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petersen, Anne C.; Bock, R. Darrell

    Use of the usual bivariate correction for attenuation with more than two variables presents two statistical problems. This pairwise method may produce a covariance matrix which is not at least positive semi-definite, and the bivariate procedure does not consider the possible influences of correlated errors among the variables. The method described…

  15. Attenuation correction for the NIH ATLAS small animal PET scanner

    CERN Document Server

    Yao, Rutao; Liow, JeihSan; Seidel, Jurgen

    2003-01-01

    We evaluated two methods of attenuation correction for the NIH ATLAS small animal PET scanner: 1) a CT-based method that derives 511 keV attenuation coefficients (mu) by extrapolation from spatially registered CT images; and 2) an analytic method based on the body outline of emission images and an empirical mu. A specially fabricated attenuation calibration phantom with cylindrical inserts that mimic different body tissues was used to derive the relationship to convert CT values to (I for PET. The methods were applied to three test data sets: 1) a uniform cylinder phantom, 2) the attenuation calibration phantom, and 3) a mouse injected with left bracket **1**8F right bracket FDG. The CT-based attenuation correction factors were larger in non-uniform regions of the imaging subject, e.g. mouse head, than the analytic method. The two methods had similar correction factors for regions with uniform density and detectable emission source distributions.

  16. Receiver calibration and the nonlinearity parameter measurement of thick solid samples with diffraction and attenuation corrections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Hyunjo; Barnard, Daniel; Cho, Sungjong; Zhang, Shuzeng; Li, Xiongbing

    2017-11-01

    This paper presents analytical and experimental techniques for accurate determination of the nonlinearity parameter (β) in thick solid samples. When piezoelectric transducers are used for β measurements, the receiver calibration is required to determine the transfer function from which the absolute displacement can be calculated. The measured fundamental and second harmonic displacement amplitudes should be modified to account for beam diffraction and material absorption. All these issues are addressed in this study and the proposed technique is validated through the β measurements of thick solid samples. A simplified self-reciprocity calibration procedure for a broadband receiver is described. The diffraction and attenuation corrections for the fundamental and second harmonics are explicitly derived. Aluminum alloy samples in five different thicknesses (4, 6, 8, 10, 12cm) are prepared and β measurements are made using the finite amplitude, through-transmission method. The effects of diffraction and attenuation corrections on β measurements are systematically investigated. When diffraction and attenuation corrections are all properly made, the variation of β between different thickness samples is found to be less than 3.2%. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. MRI-guided attenuation correction in whole-body PET/MR. Assessment of the effect of bone attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akbarzadeh, A.; Ay, M.R.; Ahmadian, A.; Riahi Alam, N.; Zaidi, H.

    2013-01-01

    Hybrid positron emission tomography (PET)/MRI presents many advantages in comparison with its counterpart PET/CT in terms of improved soft-tissue contrast, decrease in radiation exposure, and truly simultaneous and multi-parametric imaging capabilities. However, the lack of well-established methodology for MR-based attenuation correction is hampering further development and wider acceptance of this technology. We assess the impact of ignoring bone attenuation and using different tissue classes for generation of the attenuation map on the accuracy of attenuation correction of PET data. This work was performed using simulation studies based on the XCAT phantom and clinical input data. For the latter, PET and CT images of patients were used as input for the analytic simulation model using realistic activity distributions where CT-based attenuation correction was utilized as reference for comparison. For both phantom and clinical studies, the reference attenuation map was classified into various numbers of tissue classes to produce three (air, soft tissue and lung), four (air, lungs, soft tissue and cortical bones) and five (air, lungs, soft tissue, cortical bones and spongeous bones) class attenuation maps. The phantom studies demonstrated that ignoring bone increases the relative error by up to 6.8% in the body and up to 31.0% for bony regions. Likewise, the simulated clinical studies showed that the mean relative error reached 15% for lesions located in the body and 30.7% for lesions located in bones, when neglecting bones. These results demonstrate an underestimation of about 30% of tracer uptake when neglecting bone, which in turn imposes substantial loss of quantitative accuracy for PET images produced by hybrid PET/MRI systems. Considering bones in the attenuation map will considerably improve the accuracy of MR-guided attenuation correction in hybrid PET/MR to enable quantitative PET imaging on hybrid PET/MR technologies. (author)

  18. Improvement of brain perfusion SPET using iterative reconstruction with scatter and non-uniform attenuation correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kauppinen, T.; Vanninen, E.; Kuikka, J.T. [Kuopio Central Hospital (Finland). Dept. of Clinical Physiology; Koskinen, M.O. [Dept. of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Tampere Univ. Hospital, Tampere (Finland); Alenius, S. [Signal Processing Lab., Tampere Univ. of Technology, Tampere (Finland)

    2000-09-01

    Filtered back-projection (FBP) is generally used as the reconstruction method for single-photon emission tomography although it produces noisy images with apparent streak artefacts. It is possible to improve the image quality by using an algorithm with iterative correction steps. The iterative reconstruction technique also has an additional benefit in that computation of attenuation correction can be included in the process. A commonly used iterative method, maximum-likelihood expectation maximisation (ML-EM), can be accelerated using ordered subsets (OS-EM). We have applied to the OS-EM algorithm a Bayesian one-step late correction method utilising median root prior (MRP). Methodological comparison was performed by means of measurements obtained with a brain perfusion phantom and using patient data. The aim of this work was to quantitate the accuracy of iterative reconstruction with scatter and non-uniform attenuation corrections and post-filtering in SPET brain perfusion imaging. SPET imaging was performed using a triple-head gamma camera with fan-beam collimators. Transmission and emission scans were acquired simultaneously. The brain phantom used was a high-resolution three-dimensional anthropomorphic JB003 phantom. Patient studies were performed in ten chronic pain syndrome patients. The images were reconstructed using conventional FBP and iterative OS-EM and MRP techniques including scatter and nonuniform attenuation corrections. Iterative reconstructions were individually post-filtered. The quantitative results obtained with the brain perfusion phantom were compared with the known actual contrast ratios. The calculated difference from the true values was largest with the FBP method; iteratively reconstructed images proved closer to the reality. Similar findings were obtained in the patient studies. The plain OS-EM method improved the contrast whereas in the case of the MRP technique the improvement in contrast was not so evident with post-filtering. (orig.)

  19. Improvement of brain perfusion SPET using iterative reconstruction with scatter and non-uniform attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kauppinen, T.; Vanninen, E.; Kuikka, J.T.; Alenius, S.

    2000-01-01

    Filtered back-projection (FBP) is generally used as the reconstruction method for single-photon emission tomography although it produces noisy images with apparent streak artefacts. It is possible to improve the image quality by using an algorithm with iterative correction steps. The iterative reconstruction technique also has an additional benefit in that computation of attenuation correction can be included in the process. A commonly used iterative method, maximum-likelihood expectation maximisation (ML-EM), can be accelerated using ordered subsets (OS-EM). We have applied to the OS-EM algorithm a Bayesian one-step late correction method utilising median root prior (MRP). Methodological comparison was performed by means of measurements obtained with a brain perfusion phantom and using patient data. The aim of this work was to quantitate the accuracy of iterative reconstruction with scatter and non-uniform attenuation corrections and post-filtering in SPET brain perfusion imaging. SPET imaging was performed using a triple-head gamma camera with fan-beam collimators. Transmission and emission scans were acquired simultaneously. The brain phantom used was a high-resolution three-dimensional anthropomorphic JB003 phantom. Patient studies were performed in ten chronic pain syndrome patients. The images were reconstructed using conventional FBP and iterative OS-EM and MRP techniques including scatter and nonuniform attenuation corrections. Iterative reconstructions were individually post-filtered. The quantitative results obtained with the brain perfusion phantom were compared with the known actual contrast ratios. The calculated difference from the true values was largest with the FBP method; iteratively reconstructed images proved closer to the reality. Similar findings were obtained in the patient studies. The plain OS-EM method improved the contrast whereas in the case of the MRP technique the improvement in contrast was not so evident with post-filtering. (orig.)

  20. Modified Hitschfeld-Bordan Equations for Attenuation-Corrected Radar Rain Reflectivity: Application to Nonuniform Beamfilling at Off-Nadir Incidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meneghini, Robert; Liao, Liang

    2013-01-01

    As shown by Takahashi et al., multiple path attenuation estimates over the field of view of an airborne or spaceborne weather radar are feasible for off-nadir incidence angles. This follows from the fact that the surface reference technique, which provides path attenuation estimates, can be applied to each radar range gate that intersects the surface. This study builds on this result by showing that three of the modified Hitschfeld-Bordan estimates for the attenuation-corrected radar reflectivity factor can be generalized to the case where multiple path attenuation estimates are available, thereby providing a correction to the effects of nonuniform beamfilling. A simple simulation is presented showing some strengths and weaknesses of the approach.

  1. Attenuation correction in emission tomography using the emission data—A review

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berker, Yannick, E-mail: berker@mail.med.upenn.edu; Li, Yusheng [Department of Radiology, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Hamilton Walk, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104 (United States)

    2016-02-15

    The problem of attenuation correction (AC) for quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) had been considered solved to a large extent after the commercial availability of devices combining PET with computed tomography (CT) in 2001; single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) has seen a similar development. However, stimulated in particular by technical advances toward clinical systems combining PET and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), research interest in alternative approaches for PET AC has grown substantially in the last years. In this comprehensive literature review, the authors first present theoretical results with relevance to simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity. The authors then look back at the early history of this research area especially in PET; since this history is closely interwoven with that of similar approaches in SPECT, these will also be covered. We then review algorithmic advances in PET, including analytic and iterative algorithms. The analytic approaches are either based on the Helgason–Ludwig data consistency conditions of the Radon transform, or generalizations of John’s partial differential equation; with respect to iterative methods, we discuss maximum likelihood reconstruction of attenuation and activity (MLAA), the maximum likelihood attenuation correction factors (MLACF) algorithm, and their offspring. The description of methods is followed by a structured account of applications for simultaneous reconstruction techniques: this discussion covers organ-specific applications, applications specific to PET/MRI, applications using supplemental transmission information, and motion-aware applications. After briefly summarizing SPECT applications, we consider recent developments using emission data other than unscattered photons. In summary, developments using time-of-flight (TOF) PET emission data for AC have shown promising advances and open a wide range of applications. These techniques may both remedy

  2. Improving the quantitative accuracy of optical-emission computed tomography by incorporating an attenuation correction: application to HIF1 imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, E.; Bowsher, J.; Thomas, A. S.; Sakhalkar, H.; Dewhirst, M.; Oldham, M.

    2008-10-01

    Optical computed tomography (optical-CT) and optical-emission computed tomography (optical-ECT) are new techniques for imaging the 3D structure and function (including gene expression) of whole unsectioned tissue samples. This work presents a method of improving the quantitative accuracy of optical-ECT by correcting for the 'self'-attenuation of photons emitted within the sample. The correction is analogous to a method commonly applied in single-photon-emission computed tomography reconstruction. The performance of the correction method was investigated by application to a transparent cylindrical gelatin phantom, containing a known distribution of attenuation (a central ink-doped gelatine core) and a known distribution of fluorescing fibres. Attenuation corrected and uncorrected optical-ECT images were reconstructed on the phantom to enable an evaluation of the effectiveness of the correction. Significant attenuation artefacts were observed in the uncorrected images where the central fibre appeared ~24% less intense due to greater attenuation from the surrounding ink-doped gelatin. This artefact was almost completely removed in the attenuation-corrected image, where the central fibre was within ~4% of the others. The successful phantom test enabled application of attenuation correction to optical-ECT images of an unsectioned human breast xenograft tumour grown subcutaneously on the hind leg of a nude mouse. This tumour cell line had been genetically labelled (pre-implantation) with fluorescent reporter genes such that all viable tumour cells expressed constitutive red fluorescent protein and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 transcription-produced green fluorescent protein. In addition to the fluorescent reporter labelling of gene expression, the tumour microvasculature was labelled by a light-absorbing vasculature contrast agent delivered in vivo by tail-vein injection. Optical-CT transmission images yielded high-resolution 3D images of the absorbing contrast agent, and

  3. Improving the quantitative accuracy of optical-emission computed tomography by incorporating an attenuation correction: application to HIF1 imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, E; Bowsher, J; Thomas, A S; Sakhalkar, H; Dewhirst, M; Oldham, M

    2008-01-01

    Optical computed tomography (optical-CT) and optical-emission computed tomography (optical-ECT) are new techniques for imaging the 3D structure and function (including gene expression) of whole unsectioned tissue samples. This work presents a method of improving the quantitative accuracy of optical-ECT by correcting for the 'self'-attenuation of photons emitted within the sample. The correction is analogous to a method commonly applied in single-photon-emission computed tomography reconstruction. The performance of the correction method was investigated by application to a transparent cylindrical gelatin phantom, containing a known distribution of attenuation (a central ink-doped gelatine core) and a known distribution of fluorescing fibres. Attenuation corrected and uncorrected optical-ECT images were reconstructed on the phantom to enable an evaluation of the effectiveness of the correction. Significant attenuation artefacts were observed in the uncorrected images where the central fibre appeared ∼24% less intense due to greater attenuation from the surrounding ink-doped gelatin. This artefact was almost completely removed in the attenuation-corrected image, where the central fibre was within ∼4% of the others. The successful phantom test enabled application of attenuation correction to optical-ECT images of an unsectioned human breast xenograft tumour grown subcutaneously on the hind leg of a nude mouse. This tumour cell line had been genetically labelled (pre-implantation) with fluorescent reporter genes such that all viable tumour cells expressed constitutive red fluorescent protein and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 transcription-produced green fluorescent protein. In addition to the fluorescent reporter labelling of gene expression, the tumour microvasculature was labelled by a light-absorbing vasculature contrast agent delivered in vivo by tail-vein injection. Optical-CT transmission images yielded high-resolution 3D images of the absorbing contrast agent

  4. Practical method of breast attenuation correction for cardiac SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oliveira, Anderson de; Nogueira, Tindyua; Gutterres, Ricardo Fraga; Megueriam, Berdj Aram; Santos, Goncalo Rodrigues dos

    2007-01-01

    The breast attenuation effects on SPECT (Single Photon Emission Tomography) myocardium perfusion procedures have been lately scope of continuous inquiry. The requested attenuation correction factors are usually achieved by transmission analysis, making up the exposure of a standard external source to the SPECT, as a routine step. However, its high cost makes this methodology not fully available to the most of nuclear medicines services in Brazil and abroad. To overcome the problem, a new trend is presented in this work, implementing computational models to balance the breast attenuation effects on the left ventricle anterior wall, during myocardium perfusion scintigraphy procedures with SPECT. A neural network was put on in order to provide the attenuation correction indexes, based upon the following patients individual biotypes features: mass, age, height, chest and breast thicknesses, heart size, as well as the imparted activity intake levels. (author)

  5. Practical method of breast attenuation correction for cardiac SPECT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Anderson de; Nogueira, Tindyua; Gutterres, Ricardo Fraga [Comissao Nacional de Energia Nuclear (CNEN), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Coordenacao Geral de Instalacoes Medicas e Industriais (CGMI)]. E-mails: anderson@cnen.gov.br; tnogueira@cnen.gov.br; rguterre@cnen.gov.br; Megueriam, Berdj Aram [Instituto Nacional do Cancer (INCA), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: megueriam@hotmail.com; Santos, Goncalo Rodrigues dos [Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN/CNEN-RJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)]. E-mail: goncalo@cnen.gov.br

    2007-07-01

    The breast attenuation effects on SPECT (Single Photon Emission Tomography) myocardium perfusion procedures have been lately scope of continuous inquiry. The requested attenuation correction factors are usually achieved by transmission analysis, making up the exposure of a standard external source to the SPECT, as a routine step. However, its high cost makes this methodology not fully available to the most of nuclear medicines services in Brazil and abroad. To overcome the problem, a new trend is presented in this work, implementing computational models to balance the breast attenuation effects on the left ventricle anterior wall, during myocardium perfusion scintigraphy procedures with SPECT. A neural network was put on in order to provide the attenuation correction indexes, based upon the following patients individual biotypes features: mass, age, height, chest and breast thicknesses, heart size, as well as the imparted activity intake levels. (author)

  6. Evaluation of transmission methodology and attenuation correction for the microPET Focus 220 animal scanner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lehnert, Wencke; Meikle, Steven R; Siegel, Stefan; Newport, Danny; Banati, Richard B; Rosenfeld, Anatoly B

    2006-01-01

    An accurate, low noise estimate of photon attenuation in the subject is required for quantitative microPET studies of molecular tracer distributions in vivo. In this work, several transmission-based measurement techniques were compared, including coincidence mode with and without rod windowing, singles mode with two different energy sources ( 68 Ge and 57 Co), and postinjection transmission scanning. In addition, the effectiveness of transmission segmentation and the propagation of transmission bias and noise into the emission images were examined. The 57 Co singles measurements provided the most accurate attenuation coefficients and superior signal-to-noise ratio, while 68 Ge singles measurements were degraded due to scattering from the object. Scatter correction of 68 Ge transmission data improved the accuracy for a 10 cm phantom but over-corrected for a mouse phantom. 57 Co scanning also resulted in low bias and noise in postinjection transmission scans for emission activities up to 20 MBq. Segmentation worked most reliably for transmission data acquired with 57 Co but the minor improvement in accuracy of attenuation coefficients and signal-to-noise may not justify its use, particularly for small subjects. We conclude that 57 Co singles transmission scanning is the most suitable method for measured attenuation correction on the microPET Focus 220 animal scanner

  7. Field of view extension and truncation correction for MR-based human attenuation correction in simultaneous MR/PET imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blumhagen, Jan O.; Ladebeck, Ralf; Fenchel, Matthias; Braun, Harald; Quick, Harald H.; Faul, David; Scheffler, Klaus

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: In quantitative PET imaging, it is critical to accurately measure and compensate for the attenuation of the photons absorbed in the tissue. While in PET/CT the linear attenuation coefficients can be easily determined from a low-dose CT-based transmission scan, in whole-body MR/PET the computation of the linear attenuation coefficients is based on the MR data. However, a constraint of the MR-based attenuation correction (AC) is the MR-inherent field-of-view (FoV) limitation due to static magnetic field (B 0 ) inhomogeneities and gradient nonlinearities. Therefore, the MR-based human AC map may be truncated or geometrically distorted toward the edges of the FoV and, consequently, the PET reconstruction with MR-based AC may be biased. This is especially of impact laterally where the patient arms rest beside the body and are not fully considered. Methods: A method is proposed to extend the MR FoV by determining an optimal readout gradient field which locally compensates B 0 inhomogeneities and gradient nonlinearities. This technique was used to reduce truncation in AC maps of 12 patients, and the impact on the PET quantification was analyzed and compared to truncated data without applying the FoV extension and additionally to an established approach of PET-based FoV extension. Results: The truncation artifacts in the MR-based AC maps were successfully reduced in all patients, and the mean body volume was thereby increased by 5.4%. In some cases large patient-dependent changes in SUV of up to 30% were observed in individual lesions when compared to the standard truncated attenuation map. Conclusions: The proposed technique successfully extends the MR FoV in MR-based attenuation correction and shows an improvement of PET quantification in whole-body MR/PET hybrid imaging. In comparison to the PET-based completion of the truncated body contour, the proposed method is also applicable to specialized PET tracers with little uptake in the arms and might reduce the

  8. Attenuation correction for the collimated gamma ray assay of cylindrical samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patra, Sabyasachi; Agarwal, Chhavi; Goswami, A.; Gathibandhe, M.

    2015-01-01

    The Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method developed earlier for attenuation correction of non-collimated samples [Agarwal et al., 2008, Nucl. Instrum. Methods A 597, 198], has been extended to the segmented gamma ray assay of cylindrical samples. The method has been validated both experimentally and theoretically. For experimental validation, the results of HMC calculation have been compared with the experimentally obtained attenuation correction factors. The HMC attenuation correction factors have also been compared with the results obtained from literature available near-field and far-field formulae at two sample-to-detector distances (10.3 cm and 20.4 cm). The method has been found to be valid at all sample-to-detector distances over a wide range of transmittance. On the other hand, the literature available near-field and far-field formulae have been found to work over a limited range of sample-to detector distances and transmittances. The HMC method has been further extended to circular collimated geometries where analytical formula for attenuation correction does not exist. - Highlights: • Hybrid Monte Carlo method for attenuation correction developed for SGA system. • Method found to work for all sample-detector geometries for all transmittances. • The near-field formula applicable only after certain sample-detector distance. • The far-field formula applicable only for higher transmittances (>18%). • Hybrid Monte Carlo method further extended to circular collimated geometry

  9. Filter Paper: Solution to High Self-Attenuation Corrections in HEPA Filter Measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oberer, R.B.; Harold, N.B.; Gunn, C.A.; Brummett, M.; Chaing, L.G.

    2005-01-01

    An 8 by 8 by 6 inch High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter was measured as part of a uranium holdup survey in June of 2005 as it has been routinely measured every two months since 1998. Although the survey relies on gross gamma count measurements, this was one of a few measurements that had been converted to a quantitative measurement in 1998. The measurement was analyzed using the traditional Generalized Geometry Holdup (GGH) approach, using HMS3 software, with an area calibration and self-attenuation corrected with an empirical correction factor of 1.06. A result of 172 grams of 235 U was reported. The actual quantity of 235 U in the filter was approximately 1700g. Because of this unusually large discrepancy, the measurement of HEPA filters will be discussed. Various techniques for measuring HEPA filters will be described using the measurement of a 24 by 24 by 12 inch HEPA filter as an example. A new method to correct for self attenuation will be proposed for this measurement Following the discussion of the 24 by 24 by 12 inch HEPA filter, the measurement of the 8 by 8 by 6 inch will be discussed in detail

  10. Estimation of the self-attenuation correction factor for gamma rays emission from nuclear materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Badawy, A.; El-Gammal, W.A.

    2001-01-01

    This work presents an investigation of the self-attenuation of gamma-rays emission from nuclear materials (NMs) for measuring the U-235 enrichment, U-235 mass content and isotopic composition of NMs by non-destructive assay technique [NDA]. The measurements then would not need the use of suitable NM Standards which may not be available in many situations. The self-attenuation correction factor (F) may be estimated by the use of the linear attenuation factor of the assayed sample, the geometrical configuration of the assay set-up and the position of the assayed sample relative to the detector. A developed mathematical analysis makes use of specific parameters which affect the estimation of the self-attenuation of the source-detector system which emits passive gamma-rays at certain prominent signatures

  11. A new iterative reconstruction technique for attenuation correction in high-resolution positron emission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Knesaurek, K.; Machac, J.; Vallabhajosula, S.; Buchsbaum, M.S.

    1996-01-01

    A new interative reconstruction technique (NIRT) for positron emission computed tomography (PET), which uses transmission data for nonuniform attenuation correction, is described. Utilizing the general inverse problem theory, a cost functional which includes a noise term was derived. The cost functional was minimized using a weighted-least-square maximum a posteriori conjugate gradient (CG) method. The procedure involves a change in the Hessian of the cost function by adding an additional term. Two phantoms were used in a real data acquisition. The first was a cylinder phantom filled with uniformly distributed activity of 74 MBq of fluorine-18. Two different inserts were placed in the phantom. The second was a Hoffman brain phantom filled with uniformly distributed activity of 7.4 MBq of 18 F. Resulting reconstructed images were used to test and compare a new interative reconstruction technique with a standard filtered backprojection (FBP) method. The results confirmed that NIRT, based on the conjugate gradient method, converges rapidly and provides good reconstructed images. In comaprison with standard results obtained by the FBP method, the images reconstructed by NIRT showed better noise properties. The noise was measured as rms% noise and was less, by a factor of 1.75, in images reconstructed by NIRT than in the same images reconstructed by FBP. The distance between the Hoffman brain slice created from the MRI image was 0.526, while the same distance for the Hoffman brain slice reconstructed by NIRT was 0.328. The NIRT method suppressed the propagation of the noise without visible loss of resolution in the reconstructed PET images. (orig.)

  12. Attenuation correction in pulmonary and myocardial single photon emission computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almquist, H.

    2000-01-01

    The objective was to develop and validate methods for single photon emission computed tomography, SPECT, allowing quantitative physiologic and diagnostic studies of lung and heart. A method for correction of variable attenuation in SPECT, based on transmission measurements before administration of an isotope to the subject, was developed and evaluated. A protocol based upon geometrically well defined phantoms was developed. In a mosaic pattern phantom count rates were corrected from 39-43% to 101-110% of reference. In healthy subjects non-gravitational pulmonary perfusion gradients observed without attenuation correction were artefacts caused by attenuation. Pulmonary density in centre of right lung, obtained from the transmission measurement, was 0.28 ± 0.03 g/ml in normal subjects. Mean density was lower in large lungs compared to smaller ones. We also showed that regional ventilation/perfusion ratios could be measured with SPECT, using the readily available tracer 133 Xe. Because of the low energy of 133 Xe this relies heavily upon attenuation correction. A commercially available system for attenuation correction with simultaneous emission and transmission, considered to improve myocardial SPECT, performed erroneously. This could lead to clinical misjudgement. We considered that manufacturer-independent pre-clinical tests are required. In a test of two other commercial systems, based on different principles, an adapted variant of our initial protocol was proven useful. Only one of the systems provided correct emission count rates independently on phantom configuration. Errors in the other system were related to inadequate compensation of the influence of emission activity on the transmission study

  13. Is Necessary Attenuation Correction for Cat Brain PET?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jin Su; Lee, Jae Sung; Park, Min Hyun; Im, Ki Chun; Oh, Seung Ha; Lee, Dong Soo; Moon, Dae Hyuk

    2007-01-01

    Photon attenuation and scatter corrections (AC and SC) were necessary for quantification of human PET. However, there is no consensus on whether AC and SC are necessary for the cat brain PET imaging. Since post-injection transmission (TX) PET scans are not permitted or provided to microPET scanner users at present, additional time for performing TX scan and awaiting FDG uptake is required for attenuation and scatter corrections. Increasing probability of subject movement and possible biological effect of long term anesthesia would be the problem in additional TX scan. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of AC and SC for the quantification of cat brain PET data

  14. Bulk sample self-attenuation correction by transmission measurement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, J.L.; Reilly, T.D.

    1976-01-01

    Various methods used in either finding or avoiding the attenuation correction in the passive γ-ray assay of bulk samples are reviewed. Detailed consideration is given to the transmission method, which involves experimental determination of the sample linear attenuation coefficient by measuring the transmission through the sample of a beam of gamma rays from an external source. The method was applied to box- and cylindrically-shaped samples

  15. The evaluation of the effect of attenuation correction on lesion detectability in whole-body FDG-PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomemori, Takashi; Uno, Kimiichi; Oka, Takashi; Suzuki, Takayuki; Tomiyoshi, Katsumi; Jin Wu

    2004-01-01

    The aim of this study was to compare the attenuation corrected and non-corrected FDG-PET images in patients with malignant lesions and to evaluate the effect of attenuation correction on lesion detectability. A total of 71 persons with 112 malignant lesions was examined. All subjects fasted for at least 4 hours before PET study and whole-body PET imaging was performed 45 min after the intravenous administration of FDG (mean dose: 273.8 MBq). Emission scans of 6 min and post-injection transmission scans of 6 min per bed position were used. The intensity of lesion uptake in FDG-PET image was visually classified into 3 grades; grade 2=the lesion was clearly identified in the maximum intensity projection (MIP) image of FDG-PET, grade 1=the lesion was not identified in MIP image but it can be identified in coronal image, grade 0=there was no contrast between lesion and background in both MIP and coronal image. Ninety-eight lesions (87.5%) were classified into same grade in both attenuation corrected and non-corrected image, but in 11 lesions (9.8%) attenuation corrected image was better lesion visualization than non-corrected image. All lesions divided between the primary lesions and the metastatic lesions. In 50 primary lesions, 43 lesions were depicted in both attenuation corrected and non-corrected image and other 7 lesions were not in both image. In 62 metastatic lesions, 50 lesions (80.7%) were classified into same grade in both attenuation corrected and non-corrected image, but in 10 lesions (16.1%) attenuation corrected image were better lesion visualization than non-corrected image. In the most cases, the lesions were depicted in both attenuation corrected and non-corrected image. In the primary lesions, the lesion detectability between attenuation corrected and non-corrected image was similar. But in some cases with the metastatic lesions, attenuation corrected image were better lesion visualization than non-corrected image. For asymptomatic patients, non-corrected

  16. Attenuation correction in pulmonary and myocardial single photon emission computed tomography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Almquist, H

    2000-01-01

    The objective was to develop and validate methods for single photon emission computed tomography, SPECT, allowing quantitative physiologic and diagnostic studies of lung and heart. A method for correction of variable attenuation in SPECT, based on transmission measurements before administration of an isotope to the subject, was developed and evaluated. A protocol based upon geometrically well defined phantoms was developed. In a mosaic pattern phantom count rates were corrected from 39-43% to 101-110% of reference. In healthy subjects non-gravitational pulmonary perfusion gradients observed without attenuation correctionwere artefacts caused by attenuation. Pulmonary density in centre of right lung, obtained from the transmission measurement, was 0.28 {+-} 0.03 g/ml in normal subjects. Mean density was lower in large lungs compared to smaller ones. We also showed that regional ventilation/perfusion ratios could be measured with SPECT, using the readily available tracer {sup 133}Xe. Because of the low energy of {sup 133}Xe this relies heavily upon attenuation correction. A commercially available system for attenuation correction with simultaneous emission and transmission, considered to improve myocardial SPECT, performed erroneously. This could lead to clinical misjudgement. We considered that manufacturer-independent pre-clinical tests are required. In a test of two other commercial systems, based on different principles, an adapted variant of our initial protocol was proven useful. Only one of the systems provided correct emission count rates independently on phantom configuration. Errors in the other system were related to inadequate compensation of the influence of emission activity on the transmission study.

  17. Improvements to the Chebyshev expansion of attenuation correction factors for cylindrical samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mildner, D.F.R.; Carpenter, J.M.

    1990-01-01

    The accuracy of the Chebyshev expansion coefficients used for the calculation of attenuation correction factors for cylinderical samples has been improved. An increased order of expansion allows the method to be useful over a greater range of attenuation. It is shown that many of these coefficients are exactly zero, others are rational numbers, and others are rational frations of π -1 . The assumptions of Sears in his asymptotic expression of the attenuation correction factor are also examined. (orig.)

  18. Evaluation of attenuation and scatter correction requirements in small animal PET and SPECT imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konik, Arda Bekir

    Positron emission tomography (PET) and single photon emission tomography (SPECT) are two nuclear emission-imaging modalities that rely on the detection of high-energy photons emitted from radiotracers administered to the subject. The majority of these photons are attenuated (absorbed or scattered) in the body, resulting in count losses or deviations from true detection, which in turn degrades the accuracy of images. In clinical emission tomography, sophisticated correction methods are often required employing additional x-ray CT or radionuclide transmission scans. Having proven their potential in both clinical and research areas, both PET and SPECT are being adapted for small animal imaging. However, despite the growing interest in small animal emission tomography, little scientific information exists about the accuracy of these correction methods on smaller size objects, and what level of correction is required. The purpose of this work is to determine the role of attenuation and scatter corrections as a function of object size through simulations. The simulations were performed using Interactive Data Language (IDL) and a Monte Carlo based package, Geant4 application for emission tomography (GATE). In IDL simulations, PET and SPECT data acquisition were modeled in the presence of attenuation. A mathematical emission and attenuation phantom approximating a thorax slice and slices from real PET/CT data were scaled to 5 different sizes (i.e., human, dog, rabbit, rat and mouse). The simulated emission data collected from these objects were reconstructed. The reconstructed images, with and without attenuation correction, were compared to the ideal (i.e., non-attenuated) reconstruction. Next, using GATE, scatter fraction values (the ratio of the scatter counts to the total counts) of PET and SPECT scanners were measured for various sizes of NEMA (cylindrical phantoms representing small animals and human), MOBY (realistic mouse/rat model) and XCAT (realistic human model

  19. Attenuation correction for the large non-human primate brain imaging using microPET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naidoo-Variawa, S; Lehnert, W; Kassiou, M; Banati, R; Meikle, S R

    2010-01-01

    Assessment of the biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of radiopharmaceuticals in vivo is often performed on animal models of human disease prior to their use in humans. The baboon brain is physiologically and neuro-anatomically similar to the human brain and is therefore a suitable model for evaluating novel CNS radioligands. We previously demonstrated the feasibility of performing baboon brain imaging on a dedicated small animal PET scanner provided that the data are accurately corrected for degrading physical effects such as photon attenuation in the body. In this study, we investigated factors affecting the accuracy and reliability of alternative attenuation correction strategies when imaging the brain of a large non-human primate (papio hamadryas) using the microPET Focus 220 animal scanner. For measured attenuation correction, the best bias versus noise performance was achieved using a 57 Co transmission point source with a 4% energy window. The optimal energy window for a 68 Ge transmission source operating in singles acquisition mode was 20%, independent of the source strength, providing bias-noise performance almost as good as for 57 Co. For both transmission sources, doubling the acquisition time had minimal impact on the bias-noise trade-off for corrected emission images, despite observable improvements in reconstructed attenuation values. In a [ 18 F]FDG brain scan of a female baboon, both measured attenuation correction strategies achieved good results and similar SNR, while segmented attenuation correction (based on uncorrected emission images) resulted in appreciable regional bias in deep grey matter structures and the skull. We conclude that measured attenuation correction using a single pass 57 Co (4% energy window) or 68 Ge (20% window) transmission scan achieves an excellent trade-off between bias and propagation of noise when imaging the large non-human primate brain with a microPET scanner.

  20. Attenuation correction factors for cylindrical, disc and box geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agarwal, Chhavi; Poi, Sanhita; Mhatre, Amol; Goswami, A.; Gathibandhe, M.

    2009-01-01

    In the present study, attenuation correction factors have been experimentally determined for samples having cylindrical, disc and box geometry and compared with the attenuation correction factors calculated by Hybrid Monte Carlo (HMC) method [ C. Agarwal, S. Poi, A. Goswami, M. Gathibandhe, R.A. Agrawal, Nucl. Instr. and. Meth. A 597 (2008) 198] and with the near-field and far-field formulations available in literature. It has been observed that the near-field formulae, although said to be applicable at close sample-detector geometry, does not work at very close sample-detector configuration. The advantage of the HMC method is that it is found to be valid for all sample-detector geometries.

  1. Evaluation of Sinus/Edge-Corrected Zero-Echo-Time-Based Attenuation Correction in Brain PET/MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jaewon; Wiesinger, Florian; Kaushik, Sandeep; Shanbhag, Dattesh; Hope, Thomas A; Larson, Peder E Z; Seo, Youngho

    2017-11-01

    In brain PET/MRI, the major challenge of zero-echo-time (ZTE)-based attenuation correction (ZTAC) is the misclassification of air/tissue/bone mixtures or their boundaries. Our study aimed to evaluate a sinus/edge-corrected (SEC) ZTAC (ZTAC SEC ), relative to an uncorrected (UC) ZTAC (ZTAC UC ) and a CT atlas-based attenuation correction (ATAC). Methods: Whole-body 18 F-FDG PET/MRI scans were obtained for 12 patients after PET/CT scans. Only data acquired at a bed station that included the head were used for this study. Using PET data from PET/MRI, we applied ZTAC UC , ZTAC SEC , ATAC, and reference CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) to PET attenuation correction. For ZTAC UC , the bias-corrected and normalized ZTE was converted to pseudo-CT with air (-1,000 HU for ZTE 0.75), and bone (-2,000 × [ZTE - 1] + 42 HU for 0.2 ≤ ZTE ≤ 0.75). Afterward, in the pseudo-CT, sinus/edges were automatically estimated as a binary mask through morphologic processing and edge detection. In the binary mask, the overestimated values were rescaled below 42 HU for ZTAC SEC For ATAC, the atlas deformed to MR in-phase was segmented to air, inner air, soft tissue, and continuous bone. For the quantitative evaluation, PET mean uptake values were measured in twenty 1-mL volumes of interest distributed throughout brain tissues. The PET uptake was compared using a paired t test. An error histogram was used to show the distribution of voxel-based PET uptake differences. Results: Compared with CTAC, ZTAC SEC achieved the overall PET quantification accuracy (0.2% ± 2.4%, P = 0.23) similar to CTAC, in comparison with ZTAC UC (5.6% ± 3.5%, P PET quantification in brain PET/MRI, comparable to the accuracy achieved by CTAC, particularly in the cerebellum. © 2017 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

  2. Sources of attenuation-correction artefacts in cardiac PET/CT and SPECT/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McQuaid, Sarah J; Hutton, Brian F

    2008-06-01

    Respiratory motion during myocardial perfusion imaging can cause artefacts in both positron emission tomography (PET) and single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images when mismatches between emission and transmission datasets arise. In this study, artefacts from different breathing motions were quantified in both modalities to assess key factors in attenuation-correction accuracy. Activity maps were generated using the NURBS-based cardiac-torso phantom for different respiratory cycles, which were projected, attenuation-corrected and reconstructed to form PET and SPECT images. Attenuation-correction was performed with maps at mismatched respiratory phases to observe the effect on the left-ventricular myocardium. Myocardial non-uniformity was assessed in terms of the standard deviation in scores obtained from the 17-segment model and changes in uniformity were compared for each mismatch and modality. Certain types of mismatch led to artefacts and corresponding increases in the myocardial non-uniformity. For each mismatch in PET, the increases in non-uniformity relative to an artefact-free image were as follows: (a) cardiac translation mismatch, 84% +/- 11%; (b) liver mismatch, 59% +/- 10%, (c) lung mismatch from diaphragm contraction, 28% +/- 8%; and (d) lung mismatch from chest-wall motion, 6% +/- 7%. The corresponding factors for SPECT were (a) 61% +/- 8%, (b) 34% +/- 8%, (c) -2% +/- 7)% and (d) -4% +/- 6%. Attenuation-correction artefacts were seen in PET and SPECT images, with PET being more severely affected. The most severe artefacts were produced from mismatches in cardiac and liver position, whereas lung mismatches were less critical. Both cardiac and liver positions must, therefore, be correctly matched during attenuation correction.

  3. The Self Attenuation Correction for Holdup Measurements, a Historical Perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oberer, R. B.; Gunn, C. A.; Chiang, L. G.

    2006-01-01

    Self attenuation has historically caused both conceptual as well as measurement problems. The purpose of this paper is to eliminate some of the historical confusion by reviewing the mathematical basis and by comparing several methods of correcting for self attenuation focusing on transmission as a central concept

  4. Intercomparison of attenuation correction algorithms for single-polarized X-band radars

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lengfeld, K.; Berenguer, M.; Sempere Torres, D.

    2018-03-01

    Attenuation due to liquid water is one of the largest uncertainties in radar observations. The effects of attenuation are generally inversely proportional to the wavelength, i.e. observations from X-band radars are more affected by attenuation than those from C- or S-band systems. On the other hand, X-band radars can measure precipitation fields in higher temporal and spatial resolution and are more mobile and easier to install due to smaller antennas. A first algorithm for attenuation correction in single-polarized systems was proposed by Hitschfeld and Bordan (1954) (HB), but it gets unstable in case of small errors (e.g. in the radar calibration) and strong attenuation. Therefore, methods have been developed that restrict attenuation correction to keep the algorithm stable, using e.g. surface echoes (for space-borne radars) and mountain returns (for ground radars) as a final value (FV), or adjustment of the radar constant (C) or the coefficient α. In the absence of mountain returns, measurements from C- or S-band radars can be used to constrain the correction. All these methods are based on the statistical relation between reflectivity and specific attenuation. Another way to correct for attenuation in X-band radar observations is to use additional information from less attenuated radar systems, e.g. the ratio between X-band and C- or S-band radar measurements. Lengfeld et al. (2016) proposed such a method based isotonic regression of the ratio between X- and C-band radar observations along the radar beam. This study presents a comparison of the original HB algorithm and three algorithms based on the statistical relation between reflectivity and specific attenuation as well as two methods implementing additional information of C-band radar measurements. Their performance in two precipitation events (one mainly convective and the other one stratiform) shows that a restriction of the HB is necessary to avoid instabilities. A comparison with vertically pointing

  5. Description and assessment of a registration-based approach to include bones for attenuation correction of whole-body PET/MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Harry R; Patrick, John; Laidley, David; Prato, Frank S; Butler, John; Théberge, Jean; Thompson, R Terry; Stodilka, Robert Z

    2013-08-01

    Attenuation correction for whole-body PET/MRI is challenging. Most commercial systems compute the attenuation map from MRI using a four-tissue segmentation approach. Bones, the most electron-dense tissue, are neglected because they are difficult to segment. In this work, the authors build on this segmentation approach by adding bones using a registration technique and assessing its performance on human PET images. Twelve oncology patients were imaged with FDG PET/CT and MRI using a Turbo-FLASH pulse sequence. A database of 121 attenuation correction quality CT scans was also collected. Each patient MRI was compared to the CT database via weighted heuristic measures to find the "most similar" CT in terms of body geometry. The similar CT was aligned to the MRI with a deformable registration method. Two MRI-based attenuation maps were computed. One was a standard four-tissue segmentation (air, lung, fat, and lean tissue) using basic image processing techniques. The other was identical, except the bones from the aligned CT were added. The PET data were reconstructed with the patient's CT-based attenuation map (the silver standard) and both MRI-based attenuation maps. The relative errors of the MRI-based attenuation corrections were computed in 14 standardized volumes of interest, in lesions, and over whole tissues. The squared Pearson correlation coefficient was also calculated over whole tissues. Statistical testing was done with ANOVAs and paired t-tests. The MRI-based attenuation correction ignoring bone had relative errors ranging from -37% to -8% in volumes of interest containing bone. By including bone, the magnitude of the relative error was reduced in all cases (pbone was improved from a mean of -7.5% to 2% (pbone reduced the magnitude of relative error in three cases (pbone slightly increased relative error in lung from 7.7% to 8.0% (p=0.002), in fat from 8.5% to 9.2% (pbone from -14.6% to 1.3% (pbone was included or not. The approach to include bones in MRI

  6. Assessment of endothelial function and myocardial flow reserve using 15O-water PET without attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tuffier, Stephane; Joubert, Michael; Bailliez, Alban; Legallois, Damien; Belin, Annette; Redonnet, Michel; Agostini, Denis; Manrique, Alain

    2016-01-01

    Myocardial blood flow (MBF) measurement using positron emission tomography (PET) from the washout rate of 15 O-water is theoretically independent of tissue attenuation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of not using attenuation correction in the assessment of coronary endothelial function and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) using 15 O-water PET. We retrospectively processed 70 consecutive 15 O-water PET examinations obtained at rest and during cold pressor testing (CPT) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 58), or at rest and during adenosine infusion in heart transplant recipients (n = 12). Data were reconstructed with attenuation correction (AC) and without attenuation correction (NAC) using filtered backprojection, and MBF was quantified using a single compartmental model. The agreement between AC and NAC data was assessed using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient followed by Bland-Altman plot analysis. Regarding endothelial function, NAC PET showed poor reproducibility and poor agreement with AC PET data. Conversely, NAC PET demonstrated high reproducibility and a strong agreement with AC PET for the assessment of MFR. Non-attenuation-corrected 15 O-water PET provided an accurate measurement of MFR compared to attenuation-corrected PET. However, non-attenuation-corrected PET data were less effective for the assessment of endothelial function using CPT in this population. (orig.)

  7. Count-based left ventricular volume determination utilizing a left posterior oblique view for attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rabinovitch, M.A.; Kalff, V.; Koral, K.

    1984-01-01

    This study aimed to determine the inherent error of the left ventricular volume measurement from the gated equilibrium blood pool scintigram utilizing the count-based technique. The study population consisted of 26 patients who had undergone biplane contrast ventriculography. The patients were imaged with a parallel-hole collimator in the left anterior oblique position showing the septum to best advantage. A reference blood sample was counted and radionuclide volumes calculated without correction for attenuation. Attenuation corrected volumes were derived with the factor 1/e/sup -/+d/, where d = distance from skin marker to center of the left ventricle in the orthogonal left posterior oblique view and μ = linear attenuation coefficient. A series of μ values from 0.08 to 0.15 cm -1 was evaluated. The tightest 95% confidence limits achieved for an end-diastolic 150-ml ventricle were +/- 44ml, and for an end-systolic 75-ml ventricle +/- 32 ml. In view of the magnitude of inherent error, the count-based volume measurement may be more suitable for group analyses and in cases in which an individual patient serves as his own control

  8. Attenuation-corrected radionuclide differential glomerular filtration: Using a bilateral slant hole collimator for determining depth of kidneys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lasher, J.C.; Kopp, D.T.; Lancaster, J.L.; Blumhardt, R.

    1986-01-01

    There has recently been considerable interest in measuring differential renal function utilizing radionuclide attenuation correction techniques. One popular method is that of estimating kidney depth from the patient's weight-to-height ratio. A recent publication showed that renal depth can also be accurately determined using measurements from lateral views of each kidney. The authors have developed a third radionculide method using a bilateral slant-hole collimator (SHC) that is capable of obtaining the depth of both kidneys without repositioning the camera. This method makes use of the fact that two unique projections of each kidney are simultaneously acquired along spatial angles. The depth of each kidney used in the attenuation correction calculation can be easily obtained trigometrically using this known angle and the distance of the collimator from the patient

  9. Influence of density and mean atomic number on CT attenuation corrected PET: Phantom studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maintas, D.; Houzard, C.; Galy, G.; Maintas, C.; Itti, R.; Cachin, F.; Mognetti, Th.; Slosman

    2007-01-01

    Aim: the aim of this work is to study the influence of medium density on the CT or external source attenuation corrected images, by simulation on a phantom, with various positron emission tomographs. Material and method: a series of experiments on a cylindrical phantom filled with water marked with [18 F]-FDG, containing six vials filled per pair with mediums of different densities or solutions of KI, CaCl 2 and saccharose with various densities, was carried out under comparable conditions on three different tomographs. In only one of the vials of each pair, an identical radioactivity of [18 F]-FDG was added, three to five fold the surrounding activity. The reconstructions and attenuation corrections suggested by the manufacturers, were carried out under the usual conditions of each site. The activity of each structure was estimated by the methods of profiles and regions of interest, on the non attenuation corrected images (N.A.C.), the images corrected by CT (C.T.A.C.), and/or external source (G.P.A.C.). Results: with all three tomographs, the activities estimated on the N.A.C. images present an inverse correlation to the medium density (important absorption by dense material). On C.T.A.C. images, we observed with only two of the three tomographs, an overestimation of the activity in the 'radioactive' vials, depending on the medium mean Z number and density (over correction), and a artifactual 'activity' in the denser 'cold' vial (incorrect attenuation correction. The dense saccharose solutions, with non elevated Z number, do not affect the CT attenuation correction. (authors)

  10. One registration multi-atlas-based pseudo-CT generation for attenuation correction in PET/MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arabi, Hossein; Zaidi, Habib

    2016-01-01

    The outcome of a detailed assessment of various strategies for atlas-based whole-body bone segmentation from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was exploited to select the optimal parameters and setting, with the aim of proposing a novel one-registration multi-atlas (ORMA) pseudo-CT generation approach. The proposed approach consists of only one online registration between the target and reference images, regardless of the number of atlas images (N), while for the remaining atlas images, the pre-computed transformation matrices to the reference image are used to align them to the target image. The performance characteristics of the proposed method were evaluated and compared with conventional atlas-based attenuation map generation strategies (direct registration of the entire atlas images followed by voxel-wise weighting (VWW) and arithmetic averaging atlas fusion). To this end, four different positron emission tomography (PET) attenuation maps were generated via arithmetic averaging and VWW scheme using both direct registration and ORMA approaches as well as the 3-class attenuation map obtained from the Philips Ingenuity TF PET/MRI scanner commonly used in the clinical setting. The evaluation was performed based on the accuracy of extracted whole-body bones by the different attenuation maps and by quantitative analysis of resulting PET images compared to CT-based attenuation-corrected PET images serving as reference. The comparison of validation metrics regarding the accuracy of extracted bone using the different techniques demonstrated the superiority of the VWW atlas fusion algorithm achieving a Dice similarity measure of 0.82 ± 0.04 compared to arithmetic averaging atlas fusion (0.60 ± 0.02), which uses conventional direct registration. Application of the ORMA approach modestly compromised the accuracy, yielding a Dice similarity measure of 0.76 ± 0.05 for ORMA-VWW and 0.55 ± 0.03 for ORMA-averaging. The results of quantitative PET analysis followed the same

  11. One registration multi-atlas-based pseudo-CT generation for attenuation correction in PET/MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arabi, Hossein [Geneva University Hospital, Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Geneva 4 (Switzerland); Zaidi, Habib [Geneva University Hospital, Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Geneva 4 (Switzerland); Geneva University, Geneva Neuroscience Center, Geneva (Switzerland); University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Groningen (Netherlands); University of Southern Denmark, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Odense (Denmark)

    2016-10-15

    The outcome of a detailed assessment of various strategies for atlas-based whole-body bone segmentation from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was exploited to select the optimal parameters and setting, with the aim of proposing a novel one-registration multi-atlas (ORMA) pseudo-CT generation approach. The proposed approach consists of only one online registration between the target and reference images, regardless of the number of atlas images (N), while for the remaining atlas images, the pre-computed transformation matrices to the reference image are used to align them to the target image. The performance characteristics of the proposed method were evaluated and compared with conventional atlas-based attenuation map generation strategies (direct registration of the entire atlas images followed by voxel-wise weighting (VWW) and arithmetic averaging atlas fusion). To this end, four different positron emission tomography (PET) attenuation maps were generated via arithmetic averaging and VWW scheme using both direct registration and ORMA approaches as well as the 3-class attenuation map obtained from the Philips Ingenuity TF PET/MRI scanner commonly used in the clinical setting. The evaluation was performed based on the accuracy of extracted whole-body bones by the different attenuation maps and by quantitative analysis of resulting PET images compared to CT-based attenuation-corrected PET images serving as reference. The comparison of validation metrics regarding the accuracy of extracted bone using the different techniques demonstrated the superiority of the VWW atlas fusion algorithm achieving a Dice similarity measure of 0.82 ± 0.04 compared to arithmetic averaging atlas fusion (0.60 ± 0.02), which uses conventional direct registration. Application of the ORMA approach modestly compromised the accuracy, yielding a Dice similarity measure of 0.76 ± 0.05 for ORMA-VWW and 0.55 ± 0.03 for ORMA-averaging. The results of quantitative PET analysis followed the same

  12. Scintigraphic measurements of gastric emptying corrected for differences in tissue attenuation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lauritzen, J.B.; Hoejgaard, L.; Uhrenholdt, A. (Copenhagen Univ. (Denmark). Hvidovre Hospital)

    1983-10-01

    In order to evaluate the importance of variations in tissue attenuation in scintigraphic measurements of gastric emptying, both in vivo and in vitro measurements of count rates from an encapsulated sup(99m)Tc dose were performed in different parts of the stomach. The obtained individual tissue correction factors were applied in the calculation of gastric emptying rates by gamma camera in healthy volunteers. The results showed that the anterior gamma camera scan without correction for differences in tissue attenuation underestimated the gastric emptying rate by 11% if the results were expressed as percentage meal emptied over 60 minutes.

  13. Impact of attenuation correction and gated acquisition in SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging: results of the multicentre SPAG (SPECT Attenuation Correction vs Gated) study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Genovesi, Dario; Giorgetti, Assuero; Gimelli, Alessia; Kusch, Annette; D'Aragona Tagliavia, Irene; Casagranda, Mirta; Marzullo, Paolo; Cannizzaro, Giorgio; Giubbini, Raffaele; Bertagna, Francesco; Fagioli, Giorgio; Rossi, Massimiliano; Romeo, Annadina; Bertolaccini, Pietro; Bonini, Rita

    2011-01-01

    In clinical myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), attenuation artefacts may cause a loss of specificity in the identification of diseased vessels that can be corrected by means of gated SPECT (GSPECT) acquisition or CT attenuation correction (AC). The purpose of this multicentre study was to assess the impact of GSPECT and AC on the diagnostic performance of myocardial scintigraphy, according to patient's sex, body mass index (BMI) and site of coronary artery disease (CAD). We studied a group of 104 patients who underwent coronary angiography within 1 month before or after the SPECT study. Patients with a BMI > 27 were considered ''overweight''. Attenuation-corrected and standard GSPECT early images were randomly interpreted by three readers blinded to the clinical data. In the whole group, GSPECT and AC showed a diagnostic accuracy of 86.5% (sensitivity 82%, specificity 93%) and 77% (sensitivity 75.4%, specificity 81.4%), respectively (p < 0.05). In women, when anterior ischaemia was matched with CAD, AC failed to show any increase in specificity (AC 63.6% vs GSPECT 63.6%) with evident loss of sensitivity (AC 72.7% vs GSPECT 90.9%). AC significantly improved SPECT specificity in the identification of right CAD in overweight men (AC 100% vs GSPECT 66.7%, p <0.05). AC improved specificity in the evaluation of right CAD in overweight men. In the other evaluable subgroups specificity was not significantly affected while sensitivity was frequently reduced. (orig.)

  14. Impact of attenuation correction and gated acquisition in SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging: results of the multicentre SPAG (SPECT Attenuation Correction vs Gated) study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Genovesi, Dario; Giorgetti, Assuero; Gimelli, Alessia; Kusch, Annette; D' Aragona Tagliavia, Irene; Casagranda, Mirta; Marzullo, Paolo [Fondazione CNR-Regione Toscana ' ' G. Monasterio' ' , Nuclear Medicine, Pisa (Italy); Cannizzaro, Giorgio [A.O.V. Cervello, Nuclear Medicine, Palermo (Italy); Giubbini, Raffaele; Bertagna, Francesco [Spedali Civili, Nuclear Medicine, Brescia (Italy); Fagioli, Giorgio; Rossi, Massimiliano; Romeo, Annadina [Ospedale Maggiore, Nuclear Medicine, Bologna (Italy); Bertolaccini, Pietro; Bonini, Rita [Ospedale SS Giacomo e Cristoforo, Nuclear Medicine, Massa (Italy)

    2011-10-15

    In clinical myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), attenuation artefacts may cause a loss of specificity in the identification of diseased vessels that can be corrected by means of gated SPECT (GSPECT) acquisition or CT attenuation correction (AC). The purpose of this multicentre study was to assess the impact of GSPECT and AC on the diagnostic performance of myocardial scintigraphy, according to patient's sex, body mass index (BMI) and site of coronary artery disease (CAD). We studied a group of 104 patients who underwent coronary angiography within 1 month before or after the SPECT study. Patients with a BMI > 27 were considered ''overweight''. Attenuation-corrected and standard GSPECT early images were randomly interpreted by three readers blinded to the clinical data. In the whole group, GSPECT and AC showed a diagnostic accuracy of 86.5% (sensitivity 82%, specificity 93%) and 77% (sensitivity 75.4%, specificity 81.4%), respectively (p < 0.05). In women, when anterior ischaemia was matched with CAD, AC failed to show any increase in specificity (AC 63.6% vs GSPECT 63.6%) with evident loss of sensitivity (AC 72.7% vs GSPECT 90.9%). AC significantly improved SPECT specificity in the identification of right CAD in overweight men (AC 100% vs GSPECT 66.7%, p <0.05). AC improved specificity in the evaluation of right CAD in overweight men. In the other evaluable subgroups specificity was not significantly affected while sensitivity was frequently reduced. (orig.)

  15. A comparative study of attenuation correction algorithms in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Murase, Kenya; Itoh, Hisao; Mogami, Hiroshi; Ishine, Masashiro; Kawamura, Masashi; Iio, Atsushi; Hamamoto, Ken

    1987-01-01

    A computer based simulation method was developed to assess the relative effectiveness and availability of various attenuation compensation algorithms in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The effect of the nonuniformity of attenuation coefficient distribution in the body, the errors in determining a body contour and the statistical noise on reconstruction accuracy and the computation time in using the algorithms were studied. The algorithms were classified into three groups: precorrection, post correction and iterative correction methods. Furthermore, a hybrid method was devised by combining several methods. This study will be useful for understanding the characteristics limitations and strengths of the algorithms and searching for a practical correction method for photon attenuation in SPECT. (orig.)

  16. Attenuation correction for freely moving small animal brain PET studies based on a virtual scanner geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelis, G I; Kyme, A Z; Ryder, W J; Fulton, R R; Meikle, S R

    2014-01-01

    Attenuation correction in positron emission tomography brain imaging of freely moving animals is a very challenging problem since the torso of the animal is often within the field of view and introduces a non negligible attenuating factor that can degrade the quantitative accuracy of the reconstructed images. In the context of unrestrained small animal imaging, estimation of the attenuation correction factors without the need for a transmission scan is highly desirable. An attractive approach that avoids the need for a transmission scan involves the generation of the hull of the animal’s head based on the reconstructed motion corrected emission images. However, this approach ignores the attenuation introduced by the animal’s torso. In this work, we propose a virtual scanner geometry which moves in synchrony with the animal’s head and discriminates between those events that traversed only the animal’s head (and therefore can be accurately compensated for attenuation) and those that might have also traversed the animal’s torso. For each recorded pose of the animal’s head a new virtual scanner geometry is defined and therefore a new system matrix must be calculated leading to a time-varying system matrix. This new approach was evaluated on phantom data acquired on the microPET Focus 220 scanner using a custom-made phantom and step-wise motion. Results showed that when the animal’s torso is within the FOV and not appropriately accounted for during attenuation correction it can lead to bias of up to 10% . Attenuation correction was more accurate when the virtual scanner was employed leading to improved quantitative estimates (bias < 2%), without the need to account for the attenuation introduced by the extraneous compartment. Although the proposed method requires increased computational resources, it can provide a reliable approach towards quantitatively accurate attenuation correction for freely moving animal studies. (paper)

  17. PET attenuation correction for rigid MR Tx/Rx coils from 176Lu background activity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lerche, Christoph W.; Kaltsas, Theodoris; Caldeira, Liliana; Scheins, Jürgen; Rota Kops, Elena; Tellmann, Lutz; Pietrzyk, Uwe; Herzog, Hans; Shah, N. Jon

    2018-02-01

    One challenge for PET-MR hybrid imaging is the correction for attenuation of the 511 keV annihilation radiation by the required RF transmit and/or RF receive coils. Although there are strategies for building PET transparent Tx/Rx coils, such optimised coils still cause significant attenuation of the annihilation radiation leading to artefacts and biases in the reconstructed activity concentrations. We present a straightforward method to measure the attenuation of Tx/Rx coils in simultaneous MR-PET imaging based on the natural 176Lu background contained in the scintillator of the PET detector without the requirement of an external CT scanner or PET scanner with transmission source. The method was evaluated on a prototype 3T MR-BrainPET produced by Siemens Healthcare GmbH, both with phantom studies and with true emission images from patient/volunteer examinations. Furthermore, the count rate stability of the PET scanner and the x-ray properties of the Tx/Rx head coil were investigated. Even without energy extrapolation from the two dominant γ energies of 176Lu to 511 keV, the presented method for attenuation correction, based on the measurement of 176Lu background attenuation, shows slightly better performance than the coil attenuation correction currently used. The coil attenuation correction currently used is based on an external transmission scan with rotating 68Ge sources acquired on a Siemens ECAT HR  +  PET scanner. However, the main advantage of the presented approach is its straightforwardness and ready availability without the need for additional accessories.

  18. On self-attenuation corrections in gamma-ray spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bolivar, J.P.; Garcia-Leon, M.; Garcia-Tenorio, R.

    1997-01-01

    In this paper we discuss and justify the dependence on the sample density and gamma energy of the self-attenuation correction factor, f, in the transmission method for the full energy peak efficiency calibration of Ge detectors. It is suggested as a method for the direct computing of f in the case that the sample composition is known. (Author)

  19. Application of transmission scan-based attenuation compensation to scatter-corrected thallium-201 myocardial single-photon emission tomographic images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hashimoto, Jun; Kubo, Atsushi; Ogawa, Koichi; Ichihara, Takashi; Motomura, Nobutoku; Takayama, Takuzo; Iwanaga, Shiro; Mitamura, Hideo; Ogawa, Satoshi

    1998-01-01

    A practical method for scatter and attenuation compensation was employed in thallium-201 myocardial single-photon emission tomography (SPET or ECT) with the triple-energy-window (TEW) technique and an iterative attenuation correction method by using a measured attenuation map. The map was reconstructed from technetium-99m transmission CT (TCT) data. A dual-headed SPET gamma camera system equipped with parallel-hole collimators was used for ECT/TCT data acquisition and a new type of external source named ''sheet line source'' was designed for TCT data acquisition. This sheet line source was composed of a narrow long fluoroplastic tube embedded in a rectangular acrylic board. After injection of 99m Tc solution into the tube by an automatic injector, the board was attached in front of the collimator surface of one of the two detectors. After acquiring emission and transmission data separately or simultaneously, we eliminated scattered photons in the transmission and emission data with the TEW method, and reconstructed both images. Then, the effect of attenuation in the scatter-corrected ECT images was compensated with Chang's iterative method by using measured attenuation maps. Our method was validated by several phantom studies and clinical cardiac studies. The method offered improved homogeneity in distribution of myocardial activity and accurate measurements of myocardial tracer uptake. We conclude that the above correction method is feasible because a new type of 99m Tc external source may not produce truncation in TCT images and is cost-effective and easy to prepare in clinical situations. (orig.)

  20. Assessment of endothelial function and myocardial flow reserve using {sup 15}O-water PET without attenuation correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tuffier, Stephane; Joubert, Michael; Bailliez, Alban [EA 4650, Normandie Universite, Caen (France); Legallois, Damien [EA 4650, Normandie Universite, Caen (France); Caen University Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Caen (France); Belin, Annette [Caen University Hospital, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Caen (France); Redonnet, Michel [Rouen University Hospital, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Rouen (France); Agostini, Denis [EA 4650, Normandie Universite, Caen (France); Caen University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Caen (France); Manrique, Alain [EA 4650, Normandie Universite, Caen (France); Caen University Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Caen (France); Cyceron PET Centre, Caen (France)

    2016-02-15

    Myocardial blood flow (MBF) measurement using positron emission tomography (PET) from the washout rate of {sup 15}O-water is theoretically independent of tissue attenuation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of not using attenuation correction in the assessment of coronary endothelial function and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) using {sup 15}O-water PET. We retrospectively processed 70 consecutive {sup 15}O-water PET examinations obtained at rest and during cold pressor testing (CPT) in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (n = 58), or at rest and during adenosine infusion in heart transplant recipients (n = 12). Data were reconstructed with attenuation correction (AC) and without attenuation correction (NAC) using filtered backprojection, and MBF was quantified using a single compartmental model. The agreement between AC and NAC data was assessed using Lin's concordance correlation coefficient followed by Bland-Altman plot analysis. Regarding endothelial function, NAC PET showed poor reproducibility and poor agreement with AC PET data. Conversely, NAC PET demonstrated high reproducibility and a strong agreement with AC PET for the assessment of MFR. Non-attenuation-corrected {sup 15}O-water PET provided an accurate measurement of MFR compared to attenuation-corrected PET. However, non-attenuation-corrected PET data were less effective for the assessment of endothelial function using CPT in this population. (orig.)

  1. Comparison of MR-based attenuation correction and CT-based attenuation correction of whole-body PET/MR imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Izquierdo-Garcia, David [Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, New York, NY (United States); Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Charlestown, MA (United States); Sawiak, Stephen J. [University of Cambridge, Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, Cambridge (United Kingdom); Knesaurek, Karin; Machac, Joseph [Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Narula, Jagat [Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute and Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Cardiovascular Health Center, New York, NY (United States); Fuster, Valentin [Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute and Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Cardiovascular Health Center, New York, NY (United States); The Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC), Madrid (Spain); Fayad, Zahi A. [Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute, New York, NY (United States); Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute and Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Cardiovascular Health Center, New York, NY (United States); Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States)

    2014-08-15

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the built-in MR-based attenuation correction (MRAC) included in the combined whole-body Ingenuity TF PET/MR scanner and compare it to the performance of CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) as the gold standard. Included in the study were 26 patients who underwent clinical whole-body FDG PET/CT imaging and subsequently PET/MR imaging (mean delay 100 min). Patients were separated into two groups: the alpha group (14 patients) without MR coils during PET/MR imaging and the beta group (12 patients) with MR coils present (neurovascular, spine, cardiac and torso coils). All images were coregistered to the same space (PET/MR). The two PET images from PET/MR reconstructed using MRAC and CTAC were compared by voxel-based and region-based methods (with ten regions of interest, ROIs). Lesions were also compared by an experienced clinician. Body mass index and lung density showed significant differences between the alpha and beta groups. Right and left lung densities were also significantly different within each group. The percentage differences in uptake values using MRAC in relation to those using CTAC were greater in the beta group than in the alpha group (alpha group -0.2 ± 33.6 %, R{sup 2} = 0.98, p < 0.001; beta group 10.31 ± 69.86 %, R{sup 2} = 0.97, p < 0.001). In comparison to CTAC, MRAC led to underestimation of the PET values by less than 10 % on average, although some ROIs and lesions did differ by more (including the spine, lung and heart). The beta group (imaged with coils present) showed increased overall PET quantification as well as increased variability compared to the alpha group (imaged without coils). PET data reconstructed with MRAC and CTAC showed some differences, mostly in relation to air pockets, metallic implants and attenuation differences in large bone areas (such as the pelvis and spine) due to the segmentation limitation of the MRAC method. (orig.)

  2. Comparison of MR-based attenuation correction and CT-based attenuation correction of whole-body PET/MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Sawiak, Stephen J.; Knesaurek, Karin; Machac, Joseph; Narula, Jagat; Fuster, Valentin; Fayad, Zahi A.

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the built-in MR-based attenuation correction (MRAC) included in the combined whole-body Ingenuity TF PET/MR scanner and compare it to the performance of CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) as the gold standard. Included in the study were 26 patients who underwent clinical whole-body FDG PET/CT imaging and subsequently PET/MR imaging (mean delay 100 min). Patients were separated into two groups: the alpha group (14 patients) without MR coils during PET/MR imaging and the beta group (12 patients) with MR coils present (neurovascular, spine, cardiac and torso coils). All images were coregistered to the same space (PET/MR). The two PET images from PET/MR reconstructed using MRAC and CTAC were compared by voxel-based and region-based methods (with ten regions of interest, ROIs). Lesions were also compared by an experienced clinician. Body mass index and lung density showed significant differences between the alpha and beta groups. Right and left lung densities were also significantly different within each group. The percentage differences in uptake values using MRAC in relation to those using CTAC were greater in the beta group than in the alpha group (alpha group -0.2 ± 33.6 %, R 2 = 0.98, p 2 = 0.97, p < 0.001). In comparison to CTAC, MRAC led to underestimation of the PET values by less than 10 % on average, although some ROIs and lesions did differ by more (including the spine, lung and heart). The beta group (imaged with coils present) showed increased overall PET quantification as well as increased variability compared to the alpha group (imaged without coils). PET data reconstructed with MRAC and CTAC showed some differences, mostly in relation to air pockets, metallic implants and attenuation differences in large bone areas (such as the pelvis and spine) due to the segmentation limitation of the MRAC method. (orig.)

  3. Coincidence detection FDG-PET (Co-PET) in the management of oncological patients: attenuation correction versus non-attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, W.L.; Freund, J.; Pocock, N.; Szeto, E.; Chan, F.; Sorensen, B.; McBride, B.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: This study was to determine if attenuation correction (AC) in FDG Co-PET improved image quality, lesion detection, patient staging and management of various malignant neoplasms, compared to non-attenuation-corrected (NAC) images. Thirty patients (25 men, 5 women, mean age 58 years) with known or suspected malignant neoplasms, including non-small-cell lung cancer, non Hodgkin's and Hodgkin's lymphoma, carcinoma of the breast, head and neck cancer and melanoma, underwent FDG Co-PET, which was correlated with histopathology, CT and other conventional imaging modalities and clinical follow-up. Whole body tomography was performed (ADAC Vertex MCD) 60 min after 200 MBq of 18 F-FDG (>6h fasting). The number and location of FDG avid lesions detected on the AC images and NAC Co-PET images were blindly assessed by two independent observers. Semi-quantitative grading of image clarity and lesion-to-background quality was performed. This revealed markedly improved image clarity and lesion-to-background quality, in the AC versus NAC images. AC and NAC Co-PET were statistically different in relation to lesion detection (p<0.01) and tumour staging (p<0.0 1). NAC Co-PET demonstrated 51 of the 65 lesions (78%) detected by AC Co-PET. AC Co-PET staging was correct in 27 patients (90%), compared with NAC Co-PET in 22 patients (73%). AC Co-PET altered tumour staging in five of 30 patients (16%) and NAC Co-PET did not alter tumour staging in any of the patients- management was altered in only two of these five patients (7%). In conclusion, AC Co-PET resulted in better image quality with significantly improved lesion detectability and tumour staging compared to NAC Co-PET. Its additional impact on patient management in this relatively small sample was minor. Copyright (2000) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

  4. Non-uniform versus uniform attenuation correction in brain perfusion SPET of healthy volunteers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Laere, K.; Versijpt, J.; Dierckx, R.; Koole, M.

    2001-01-01

    Although non-uniform attenuation correction (NUAC) can supply more accurate absolute quantification, it is not entirely clear whether NUAC provides clear-cut benefits in the routine clinical practice of brain SPET imaging. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of NUAC versus uniform attenuation correction (UAC) on volume of interest (VOI)-based semi-quantification of a large age- and gender-stratified brain perfusion normal database. Eighty-nine healthy volunteers (46 females and 43 males, aged 20-81 years) underwent standardised high-resolution single-photon emission tomography (SPET) with 925 MBq 99m Tc-ethyl cysteinate dimer (ECD) on a Toshiba GCA-9300A camera with 153 Gd or 99m Tc transmission CT scanning. Emission images were reconstructed by filtered back-projection and scatter corrected using the triple-energy window correction method. Both non-uniform Chang attenuation correction (one iteration) and uniform Sorenson correction (attenuation coefficient 0.09 cm -1 ) were applied. Images were automatically re-oriented to a stereotactic template on which 35 predefined VOIs were defined for semi-quantification (normalisation on total VOI counts). Small but significant differences between relative VOI uptake values for NUAC versus UAC in the infratentorial region were found. VOI standard deviations were significantly smaller for UAC, 4.5% (range 2.6-7.5), than for NUAC, 5.0% (2.3-9.0) (P 99m Tc-ECD uptake values in healthy volunteers to those obtained with NUAC, although values for the infratentorial region are slightly lower. NUAC produces a slight increase in inter-subject variability. Further study is necessary in various patient populations to establish the full clinical impact of NUAC in brain perfusion SPET. (orig.)

  5. SU-F-I-59: Quality Assurance Phantom for PET/CT Alignment and Attenuation Correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, T; Hamacher, K

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: This study utilizes a commercial PET/CT phantom to investigate two specific properties of a PET/CT system: the alignment accuracy of PET images with those from CT used for attenuation correction and the accuracy of this correction in PET images. Methods: A commercial PET/CT phantom consisting of three aluminum rods, two long central cylinders containing uniform activity, and attenuating materials such as air, water, bone and iodine contrast was scanned using a standard PET/CT protocol. Images reconstructed with 2 mm slice thickness and a 512 by 512 matrix were obtained. The center of each aluminum rod in the PET and CT images was compared to evaluate alignment accuracy. ROIs were drawn on transaxial images of the central rods at each section of attenuating material to determine the corrected activity (in BQML). BQML values were graphed as a function of slice number to provide a visual representation of the attenuation-correction throughout the whole phantom. Results: Alignment accuracy is high between the PET and CT images. The maximum deviation between the two in the axial plane is less than 1.5 mm, which is less than the width of a single pixel. BQML values measured along different sections of the large central rods are similar among the different attenuating materials except iodine contrast. Deviation of BQML values in the air and bone sections from the water section is less than 1%. Conclusion: Accurate alignment of PET and CT images is critical to ensure proper calculation and application of CT-based attenuation correction. This study presents a simple and quick method to evaluate the two with a single acquisition. As the phantom also includes spheres of increasing diameter, this could serve as a straightforward means to annually evaluate the status of a modern PET/CT system.

  6. SU-F-I-59: Quality Assurance Phantom for PET/CT Alignment and Attenuation Correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, T; Hamacher, K [Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY (United States)

    2016-06-15

    Purpose: This study utilizes a commercial PET/CT phantom to investigate two specific properties of a PET/CT system: the alignment accuracy of PET images with those from CT used for attenuation correction and the accuracy of this correction in PET images. Methods: A commercial PET/CT phantom consisting of three aluminum rods, two long central cylinders containing uniform activity, and attenuating materials such as air, water, bone and iodine contrast was scanned using a standard PET/CT protocol. Images reconstructed with 2 mm slice thickness and a 512 by 512 matrix were obtained. The center of each aluminum rod in the PET and CT images was compared to evaluate alignment accuracy. ROIs were drawn on transaxial images of the central rods at each section of attenuating material to determine the corrected activity (in BQML). BQML values were graphed as a function of slice number to provide a visual representation of the attenuation-correction throughout the whole phantom. Results: Alignment accuracy is high between the PET and CT images. The maximum deviation between the two in the axial plane is less than 1.5 mm, which is less than the width of a single pixel. BQML values measured along different sections of the large central rods are similar among the different attenuating materials except iodine contrast. Deviation of BQML values in the air and bone sections from the water section is less than 1%. Conclusion: Accurate alignment of PET and CT images is critical to ensure proper calculation and application of CT-based attenuation correction. This study presents a simple and quick method to evaluate the two with a single acquisition. As the phantom also includes spheres of increasing diameter, this could serve as a straightforward means to annually evaluate the status of a modern PET/CT system.

  7. Single photon emission computed tomography using a regularizing iterative method for attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soussaline, Francoise; Cao, A.; Lecoq, G.

    1981-06-01

    An analytically exact solution to the attenuated tomographic operator is proposed. Such a technique called Regularizing Iterative Method (RIM) belongs to the iterative class of procedures where a priori knowledge can be introduced on the evaluation of the size and shape of the activity domain to be reconstructed, and on the exact attenuation distribution. The relaxation factor used is so named because it leads to fast convergence and provides noise filtering for a small number of iteractions. The effectiveness of such a method was tested in the Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) reconstruction problem, with the goal of precise correction for attenuation before quantitative study. Its implementation involves the use of a rotating scintillation camera based SPECT detector connected to a mini computer system. Mathematical simulations of cylindical uniformly attenuated phantoms indicate that in the range of a priori calculated relaxation factor a fast converging solution can always be found with a (contrast) accuracy of the order of 0.2 to 4% given that numerical errors and noise are or not, taken into account. The sensitivity of the (RIM) algorithm to errors in the size of the reconstructed object and in the value of the attenuation coefficient μ was studied, using the same simulation data. Extreme variations of +- 15% in these parameters will lead to errors of the order of +- 20% in the quantitative results. Physical phantoms representing a variety of geometrical situations were also studied

  8. Planar imaging quantification using 3D attenuation correction data and Monte Carlo simulated buildup factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miller, C.; Filipow, L.; Jackson, S.; Riauka, T.

    1996-01-01

    A new method to correct for attenuation and the buildup of scatter in planar imaging quantification is presented. The method is based on the combined use of 3D density information provided by computed tomography to correct for attenuation and the application of Monte Carlo simulated buildup factors to correct for buildup in the projection pixels. CT and nuclear medicine images were obtained for a purpose-built nonhomogeneous phantom that models the human anatomy in the thoracic and abdominal regions. The CT transverse slices of the phantom were converted to a set of consecutive density maps. An algorithm was developed that projects the 3D information contained in the set of density maps to create opposing pairs of accurate 2D correction maps that were subsequently applied to planar images acquired from a dual-head gamma camera. A comparison of results obtained by the new method and the geometric mean approach based on published techniques is presented for some of the source arrangements used. Excellent results were obtained for various source - phantom configurations used to evaluate the method. Activity quantification of a line source at most locations in the nonhomogeneous phantom produced errors of less than 2%. Additionally, knowledge of the actual source depth is not required for accurate activity quantification. Quantification of volume sources placed in foam, Perspex and aluminium produced errors of less than 7% for the abdominal and thoracic configurations of the phantom. (author)

  9. SU-E-I-07: An Improved Technique for Scatter Correction in PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, S; Wang, Y; Lue, K; Lin, H; Chuang, K

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: In positron emission tomography (PET), the single scatter simulation (SSS) algorithm is widely used for scatter estimation in clinical scans. However, bias usually occurs at the essential steps of scaling the computed SSS distribution to real scatter amounts by employing the scatter-only projection tail. The bias can be amplified when the scatter-only projection tail is too small, resulting in incorrect scatter correction. To this end, we propose a novel scatter calibration technique to accurately estimate the amount of scatter using pre-determined scatter fraction (SF) function instead of the employment of scatter-only tail information. Methods: As the SF depends on the radioactivity distribution and the attenuating material of the patient, an accurate theoretical relation cannot be devised. Instead, we constructed an empirical transformation function between SFs and average attenuation coefficients based on a serious of phantom studies with different sizes and materials. From the average attenuation coefficient, the predicted SFs were calculated using empirical transformation function. Hence, real scatter amount can be obtained by scaling the SSS distribution with the predicted SFs. The simulation was conducted using the SimSET. The Siemens Biograph™ 6 PET scanner was modeled in this study. The Software for Tomographic Image Reconstruction (STIR) was employed to estimate the scatter and reconstruct images. The EEC phantom was adopted to evaluate the performance of our proposed technique. Results: The scatter-corrected image of our method demonstrated improved image contrast over that of SSS. For our technique and SSS of the reconstructed images, the normalized standard deviation were 0.053 and 0.182, respectively; the root mean squared errors were 11.852 and 13.767, respectively. Conclusion: We have proposed an alternative method to calibrate SSS (C-SSS) to the absolute scatter amounts using SF. This method can avoid the bias caused by the insufficient

  10. SU-E-I-07: An Improved Technique for Scatter Correction in PET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, S; Wang, Y; Lue, K; Lin, H; Chuang, K [Chuang, National Tsing Hua University, Hsichu, Taiwan (China)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: In positron emission tomography (PET), the single scatter simulation (SSS) algorithm is widely used for scatter estimation in clinical scans. However, bias usually occurs at the essential steps of scaling the computed SSS distribution to real scatter amounts by employing the scatter-only projection tail. The bias can be amplified when the scatter-only projection tail is too small, resulting in incorrect scatter correction. To this end, we propose a novel scatter calibration technique to accurately estimate the amount of scatter using pre-determined scatter fraction (SF) function instead of the employment of scatter-only tail information. Methods: As the SF depends on the radioactivity distribution and the attenuating material of the patient, an accurate theoretical relation cannot be devised. Instead, we constructed an empirical transformation function between SFs and average attenuation coefficients based on a serious of phantom studies with different sizes and materials. From the average attenuation coefficient, the predicted SFs were calculated using empirical transformation function. Hence, real scatter amount can be obtained by scaling the SSS distribution with the predicted SFs. The simulation was conducted using the SimSET. The Siemens Biograph™ 6 PET scanner was modeled in this study. The Software for Tomographic Image Reconstruction (STIR) was employed to estimate the scatter and reconstruct images. The EEC phantom was adopted to evaluate the performance of our proposed technique. Results: The scatter-corrected image of our method demonstrated improved image contrast over that of SSS. For our technique and SSS of the reconstructed images, the normalized standard deviation were 0.053 and 0.182, respectively; the root mean squared errors were 11.852 and 13.767, respectively. Conclusion: We have proposed an alternative method to calibrate SSS (C-SSS) to the absolute scatter amounts using SF. This method can avoid the bias caused by the insufficient

  11. Determination of the attenuation map in emission tomography

    CERN Document Server

    Zaidi, H

    2002-01-01

    Reliable attenuation correction methods for quantitative emission computed tomography (ECT) require accurate delineation of the body contour and often necessitate knowledge of internal anatomical structure. Two broad classes of methods have been used to calculate the attenuation map referred to as "transmissionless" and transmission-based attenuation correction techniques. While calculated attenuation correction belonging to the first class of methods is appropriate for brain studies, more adequate methods must be performed in clinical applications where the attenuation coefficient distribution is not known a priori, and for areas of inhomogeneous attenuation such as the chest. Measured attenuation correction overcomes this problem and utilizes different approaches to determine this map including transmission scanning, segmented magnetic resonance images or appropriately scaled X-ray CT scans acquired either independently on separate or simultaneously on multimodality imaging systems. Combination of data acqu...

  12. Attenuation correction using simultaneous emission - transmission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ljubenov, V.; Marinkovic, P.

    1998-01-01

    In order to reduce degrading influence of attenuation on SPECT image quality, possibility for correction, based on simultaneous emission / transmission measurements, is discussed. Numerical photon transport simulations through the phantom and acquisition of of tomographic projections are performed by using Monte Carlo code MCNP-4A. Amount of contamination in transmission data due to photon Compton scattering for emission energy window is specially analyzed and appropriate spatial depending 'noise / signal' factors for three different external sources, applied with Tc-99m, are determined (author)

  13. Direct Reconstruction of CT-based Attenuation Correction Images for PET with Cluster-Based Penalties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Soo Mee; Alessio, Adam M.; De Man, Bruno; Asma, Evren; Kinahan, Paul E.

    2015-01-01

    Extremely low-dose CT acquisitions for the purpose of PET attenuation correction will have a high level of noise and biasing artifacts due to factors such as photon starvation. This work explores a priori knowledge appropriate for CT iterative image reconstruction for PET attenuation correction. We investigate the maximum a posteriori (MAP) framework with cluster-based, multinomial priors for the direct reconstruction of the PET attenuation map. The objective function for direct iterative attenuation map reconstruction was modeled as a Poisson log-likelihood with prior terms consisting of quadratic (Q) and mixture (M) distributions. The attenuation map is assumed to have values in 4 clusters: air+background, lung, soft tissue, and bone. Under this assumption, the MP was a mixture probability density function consisting of one exponential and three Gaussian distributions. The relative proportion of each cluster was jointly estimated during each voxel update of direct iterative coordinate decent (dICD) method. Noise-free data were generated from NCAT phantom and Poisson noise was added. Reconstruction with FBP (ramp filter) was performed on the noise-free (ground truth) and noisy data. For the noisy data, dICD reconstruction was performed with the combination of different prior strength parameters (β and γ) of Q- and M-penalties. The combined quadratic and mixture penalties reduces the RMSE by 18.7% compared to post-smoothed iterative reconstruction and only 0.7% compared to quadratic alone. For direct PET attenuation map reconstruction from ultra-low dose CT acquisitions, the combination of quadratic and mixture priors offers regularization of both variance and bias and is a potential method to derive attenuation maps with negligible patient dose. However, the small improvement in quantitative accuracy relative to the substantial increase in algorithm complexity does not currently justify the use of mixture-based PET attenuation priors for reconstruction of CT

  14. Correlation of the myocardial perfusion corrected by attenuation with the coronariography. Preliminary results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Garcia C, S.E.; Garcia O, R.

    2005-01-01

    The attenuation that suffers the radiation in the soft tissues of the hinders the appropriate interpretation of the myocardial perfusion studies, for what have been implemented attenuation correction systems to reduce the attenuation for soft tissues and to provide myocardial perfusion images more accurate in the diagnosis of coronary illness. The objective was to evaluate the utility of an attenuation correction system (with source of Gadolinium 153) to minimize the devices that look like true defects of myocardial perfusion, caused by soft tissues (mammary tissue, thoracic wall, abdomen, left hemi diaphragm), and to compare those interpretations of the studies with the interpretations of the corresponding coronariographies. The method consists of 95 electronic files which were revised with the concept of heart catheterization, being identified 20 patients from the masculine sex to those that underwent coronariography among May 1999 and December 2002, and that they had study of myocardial perfusion in a maximum period of 3 months foresaw to the invasive procedure. (Author)

  15. Attenuation correction for the HRRT PET-scanner using transmission scatter correction and total variation regularization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Keller, Sune H; Svarer, Claus; Sibomana, Merence

    2013-01-01

    scatter correction in the μ-map reconstruction and total variation filtering to the transmission processing. Results: Comparing MAP-TR and the new TXTV with gold standard CT-based attenuation correction, we found that TXTV has less bias as compared to MAP-TR. We also compared images acquired at the HRRT......In the standard software for the Siemens high-resolution research tomograph (HRRT) positron emission tomography (PET) scanner the most commonly used segmentation in the μ -map reconstruction for human brain scans is maximum a posteriori for transmission (MAP-TR). Bias in the lower cerebellum...

  16. Is attenuation correction of myocardial SPET scans worth the effort?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nguyen, D.; Saunders, C.; Dixson, H.; Cook, P.; Burnett, P.; Croll, F.; Dunn, R.; Hasche, E.; Kelleher, P.; Nasser, F.; Wilson, D.; Lee, K.

    1999-01-01

    Full text: In this prospective study, we compared gated (GS), attenuation-corrected (AC) and non-attenuation-corrected (NAC) myocardial SPET scans. 119 consecutive patients were scanned after 800 MBq 99 Tc m -Sestamibi (MIBI) injected at peak stress. AC studies were performed using a Siemens Multispect 3 triple-headed camera with a MμSIC attenuation correction system. Transmission data were provided by an Am241 line source mounted opposite an offset fan beam collimator. Simultaneous emission data were collected from all 3 heads over a 360deg rotation (acquisition time 25 min). The NAC and GS studies were performed using a Siemens ECAM variable-angle dual-headed gamma camera using 8 gating frames over a 90deg rotation (acquisition time 15 min). The myocardium was divided into 9 segments and the studies were reported separately by two observers. Clinical data and angiography results were obtained when available. For GS, myocardial segments with normal systolic wall thickening were considered to have normal perfusion. AC studies were used as the standard for measuring myocardial perfusion. In the 119 patients studied, the overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for NAC vs AC were 100%, 25%, 54% and for GS vs AC were 86%, 84% and 85% respectively. There were 265 abnormal segments on NAC. GS demonstrated normal thickening in 90/265 segments and AC demonstrated normal perfusion in 94/265 segments. There were 33 segments with discordant GS and AC. 16/33 segments (9 inferior, 3 anterior, 4 other) with normal thickening had abnormal perfusion on AC and 17/33 segments (9 inferior, 6 anterior, 2 other) with abnormal thickening had normal perfusion on AC. Weight and sex did not predict discordance. In conclusion, attenuation artefacts are common and are not predicted by body habitus or sex. They are usually accurately identified by normal systolic wall thickening on GS. GS is strongly recommended when AC is not available. AC provides additional information, particularly

  17. Errors in MR-based attenuation correction for brain imaging with PET/MR scanners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rota Kops, Elena; Herzog, Hans

    2013-01-01

    Aim: Attenuation correction of PET data acquired by hybrid MR/PET scanners remains a challenge, even if several methods for brain and whole-body measurements have been developed recently. A template-based attenuation correction for brain imaging proposed by our group is easy to handle and delivers reliable attenuation maps in a short time. However, some potential error sources are analyzed in this study. We investigated the choice of template reference head among all the available data (error A), and possible skull anomalies of the specific patient, such as discontinuities due to surgery (error B). Materials and methods: An anatomical MR measurement and a 2-bed-position transmission scan covering the whole head and neck region were performed in eight normal subjects (4 females, 4 males). Error A: Taking alternatively one of the eight heads as reference, eight different templates were created by nonlinearly registering the images to the reference and calculating the average. Eight patients (4 females, 4 males; 4 with brain lesions, 4 w/o brain lesions) were measured in the Siemens BrainPET/MR scanner. The eight templates were used to generate the patients' attenuation maps required for reconstruction. ROI and VOI atlas-based comparisons were performed employing all the reconstructed images. Error B: CT-based attenuation maps of two volunteers were manipulated by manually inserting several skull lesions and filling a nasal cavity. The corresponding attenuation coefficients were substituted with the water's coefficient (0.096/cm). Results: Error A: The mean SUVs over the eight templates pairs for all eight patients and all VOIs did not differ significantly one from each other. Standard deviations up to 1.24% were found. Error B: After reconstruction of the volunteers' BrainPET data with the CT-based attenuation maps without and with skull anomalies, a VOI-atlas analysis was performed revealing very little influence of the skull lesions (less than 3%), while the filled

  18. Errors in MR-based attenuation correction for brain imaging with PET/MR scanners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rota Kops, Elena; Herzog, Hans

    2013-02-01

    AimAttenuation correction of PET data acquired by hybrid MR/PET scanners remains a challenge, even if several methods for brain and whole-body measurements have been developed recently. A template-based attenuation correction for brain imaging proposed by our group is easy to handle and delivers reliable attenuation maps in a short time. However, some potential error sources are analyzed in this study. We investigated the choice of template reference head among all the available data (error A), and possible skull anomalies of the specific patient, such as discontinuities due to surgery (error B). Materials and methodsAn anatomical MR measurement and a 2-bed-position transmission scan covering the whole head and neck region were performed in eight normal subjects (4 females, 4 males). Error A: Taking alternatively one of the eight heads as reference, eight different templates were created by nonlinearly registering the images to the reference and calculating the average. Eight patients (4 females, 4 males; 4 with brain lesions, 4 w/o brain lesions) were measured in the Siemens BrainPET/MR scanner. The eight templates were used to generate the patients' attenuation maps required for reconstruction. ROI and VOI atlas-based comparisons were performed employing all the reconstructed images. Error B: CT-based attenuation maps of two volunteers were manipulated by manually inserting several skull lesions and filling a nasal cavity. The corresponding attenuation coefficients were substituted with the water's coefficient (0.096/cm). ResultsError A: The mean SUVs over the eight templates pairs for all eight patients and all VOIs did not differ significantly one from each other. Standard deviations up to 1.24% were found. Error B: After reconstruction of the volunteers' BrainPET data with the CT-based attenuation maps without and with skull anomalies, a VOI-atlas analysis was performed revealing very little influence of the skull lesions (less than 3%), while the filled nasal

  19. Correction for gamma-ray self-attenuation in regular heterogeneous materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, J.L.

    1981-09-01

    A procedure for determining the total correction factor for gamma-ray self-attenuation in regular heterogeneous materials is derived and discussed. The result of a practical application of the procedure to the passive gamma-ray assay of the 235 U content of high-temperature gas reactor fuel is presented

  20. MR-based attenuation correction in brain PET based on UTE sequences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cabello, Jorge; Nekolla, Stephan G; Ziegler, Sibylle I [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München (Germany)

    2014-07-29

    Attenuation correction (AC) in brain PET/MR has recently emerged as one of the challenging tasks in the PET/MR field. It has been shown that to ignore the attenuation produced by bone can lead to errors ranging from 5-30% in regions close to bone structures. Since the information provided by the MR signal is not directly related to tissue attenuation, alternative methods have to be developed. Signal from bone tissue is difficult to measure given its short transverse relaxation time (T2). Ultrashort-echo time (UTE) pulse sequences were developed to measure signal from tissues with short T2. A combination of two consecutive UTE echoes has been used in several works to measure signal from bone tissue. The first echo is able to measure signal from bone tissue in addition to soft tissue, while the second echo contains most of the soft tissue contained in the first echo but not bone. In this work we extract the attenuation information from the difference between the logarithm of two images obtained after applying two consecutive UTE pulse sequences using the mMR scanner (Siemens Healthcare). Subsequently, image processing techniques are applied to reduce the noise and extract air cavities within the head. The resulting image is converted to linear attenuation coefficients, generating what is known as µ-map, to be used during reconstruction. For comparison purposes PET/CT scans of the same patients were acquired prior to the PET/MR scan. Additional µ-maps obtained for comparison were extracted from a Dixon sequence (used in clinical routine) and an additional µ-map calculated by the scanner based on UTE pulse sequences. Preliminary quantitative results measured in the cerebellum, using the value obtained with CT-based AC as reference, show differences of 34% without AC, 13% using the Dixon-based and UTE-based provided by the scanner, and 0.8% with the AC strategy presented here.

  1. Attenuation correction of myocardial SPECT images with X-ray CT. Effects of registration errors between X-ray CT and SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takahashi, Yasuyuki; Murase, Kenya; Mochizuki, Teruhito; Motomura, Nobutoku

    2002-01-01

    Attenuation correction with an X-ray CT image is a new method to correct attenuation on SPECT imaging, but the effect of the registration errors between CT and SPECT images is unclear. In this study, we investigated the effects of the registration errors on myocardial SPECT, analyzing data from a phantom and a human volunteer. Registerion (fusion) of the X-ray CT and SPECT images was done with standard packaged software in three dimensional fashion, by using linked transaxial, coronal and sagittal images. In the phantom study, and X-ray CT image was shifted 1 to 3 pixels on the x, y and z axes, and rotated 6 degrees clockwise. Attenuation correction maps generated from each misaligned X-ray CT image were used to reconstruct misaligned SPECT images of the phantom filled with 201 Tl. In a human volunteer, X-ray CT was acquired in different conditions (during inspiration vs. expiration). CT values were transferred to an attenuation constant by using straight lines; an attenuation constant of 0/cm in the air (CT value=-1,000 HU) and that of 0.150/cm in water (CT value=0 HU). For comparison, attenuation correction with transmission CT (TCT) data and an external γ-ray source ( 99m Tc) was also applied to reconstruct SPECT images. Simulated breast attenuation with a breast attachment, and inferior wall attenuation were properly corrected by means of the attenuation correction map generated from X-ray CT. As pixel shift increased, deviation of the SPECT images increased in misaligned images in the phantom study. In the human study, SPECT images were affected by the scan conditions of the X-ray CT. Attenuation correction of myocardial SPECT with an X-ray CT image is a simple and potentially beneficial method for clinical use, but accurate registration of the X-ray CT to SPECT image is essential for satisfactory attenuation correction. (author)

  2. Qualitative evaluation of Chang method of attenuation correction on heart SPECT by using custom made heart phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takavar, A.; Eftekhari, M.; Beiki, D.; Saghari, M.; Mostaghim, N.; Sohrabi, M.

    2003-01-01

    SPECT detects γ- rays from administrated radiopharmaceutical within the patient body. γ-rays pass through different tissues before reaching detectors and are attenuated. Attenuation can cause artifacts; therefore different and used to minimize attenuation effects. In our study efficacy of Chang method was evaluated for attenuation purpose, using a custom made heart phantom. Due to different tissues surrounding heart, evaluation is not uniform more over activity distribution around heart is also non- uniform. In Chang method distribution of radioactivity and attenuation due to the surrounding tissue is considered uniform. Our phantom is a piece of plastic producing similar SPECT image as left ventricle. A dual head, ADAC system was used in our study. Images were taken by 180 d ig C (limited angle) and 360 d ig C (total rotation). Images are compared with and without attenuation correction. Our results indicate that Chang attenuation correction method is not capable of eliminating attenuation artifact completely in particular attenuation effects caused by breast

  3. Effect of attenuation correction on surface amplitude distribution of wind waves

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Varkey, M.J.

    Some selected wave profiles recorded using a ship borne wave recorder are analysed to study the effect of attenuation correction on the distribution of the surface amplitudes. A new spectral width parameter is defined to account for wide band...

  4. Effective radiation attenuation calibration for breast density: compression thickness influences and correction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thomas Jerry A

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Calibrating mammograms to produce a standardized breast density measurement for breast cancer risk analysis requires an accurate spatial measure of the compressed breast thickness. Thickness inaccuracies due to the nominal system readout value and compression paddle orientation induce unacceptable errors in the calibration. Method A thickness correction was developed and evaluated using a fully specified two-component surrogate breast model. A previously developed calibration approach based on effective radiation attenuation coefficient measurements was used in the analysis. Water and oil were used to construct phantoms to replicate the deformable properties of the breast. Phantoms consisting of measured proportions of water and oil were used to estimate calibration errors without correction, evaluate the thickness correction, and investigate the reproducibility of the various calibration representations under compression thickness variations. Results The average thickness uncertainty due to compression paddle warp was characterized to within 0.5 mm. The relative calibration error was reduced to 7% from 48-68% with the correction. The normalized effective radiation attenuation coefficient (planar representation was reproducible under intra-sample compression thickness variations compared with calibrated volume measures. Conclusion Incorporating this thickness correction into the rigid breast tissue equivalent calibration method should improve the calibration accuracy of mammograms for risk assessments using the reproducible planar calibration measure.

  5. Effect of attenuation by the cranium on quantitative SPECT measurements of cerebral blood flow and a correction method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iwase, Mikio; Kurono, Kenji; Iida, Akihiko.

    1998-01-01

    Attenuation correction for cerebral blood flow SPECT image reconstruction is usually performed by considering the head as a whole to be equivalent to water, and the effects of differences in attenuation between subjects produced by the cranium have not been taken into account. We determined the differences in attenuation between subjects and assessed a method of correcting quantitative cerebral blood flow values. Attenuations by head on the right and left sides were measured before intravenous injection of 123 I-IMP, and water-converted diameters of both sides (Ta) were calculated from the measurements obtained. After acquiring SPECT images, attenuation correction was conducted according to the method of Sorenson, and images were reconstructed. The diameters of the right and left sides in the same position as the Ta (Tt) were calculated from the contours determined by threshold values. Using Ts given by 2 Ts=Ta-Tt, the correction factor λ=exp(μ 1 Ts) was calculated and multiplied as the correction factor when rCBF was determined. The results revealed significant differences between Tt and Ta. Although no gender differences were observed in Tt, they were seen in both Ta and Ts. Thus, interindividual differences in attenuation by the cranium were found to have an influence that cannot be ignored. Inter-subject correlation is needed to obtain accurate quantitative values. (author)

  6. Attenuation correction of myocardial SPECT by scatter-photopeak window method in normal subjects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okuda, Koichi; Nakajima, Kenichi; Matsuo, Shinro; Kinuya, Seigo; Motomura, Nobutoku; Kubota, Masahiro; Yamaki, Noriyasu; Maeda, Hisato

    2009-01-01

    Segmentation with scatter and photopeak window data using attenuation correction (SSPAC) method can provide a patient-specific non-uniform attenuation coefficient map only by using photopeak and scatter images without X-ray computed tomography (CT). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the performance of attenuation correction (AC) by the SSPAC method on normal myocardial perfusion database. A total of 32 sets of exercise-rest myocardial images with Tc-99m-sestamibi were acquired in both photopeak (140 keV±10%) and scatter (7% of lower side of the photopeak window) energy windows. Myocardial perfusion databases by the SSPAC method and non-AC (NC) were created from 15 female and 17 male subjects with low likelihood of cardiac disease using quantitative perfusion SPECT software. Segmental myocardial counts of a 17-segment model from these databases were compared on the basis of paired t test. AC average myocardial perfusion count was significantly higher than that in NC in the septal and inferior regions (P<0.02). On the contrary, AC average count was significantly lower in the anterolateral and apical regions (P<0.01). Coefficient variation of the AC count in the mid, apical and apex regions was lower than that of NC. The SSPAC method can improve average myocardial perfusion uptake in the septal and inferior regions and provide uniform distribution of myocardial perfusion. The SSPAC method could be a practical method of attenuation correction without X-ray CT. (author)

  7. Attenuation correction for flexible magnetic resonance coils in combined magnetic resonance/positron emission tomography imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eldib, Mootaz; Bini, Jason; Calcagno, Claudia; Robson, Philip M; Mani, Venkatesh; Fayad, Zahi A

    2014-02-01

    Attenuation correction for magnetic resonance (MR) coils is a new challenge that came about with the development of combined MR and positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. This task is difficult because such coils are not directly visible on either PET or MR acquisitions with current combined scanners and are therefore not easily localized in the field of view. This issue becomes more evident when trying to localize flexible MR coils (eg, cardiac or body matrix coil) that change position and shape from patient to patient and from one imaging session to another. In this study, we proposed a novel method to localize and correct for the attenuation and scatter of a flexible MR cardiac coil, using MR fiducial markers placed on the surface of the coil to allow for accurate registration of a template computed tomography (CT)-based attenuation map. To quantify the attenuation properties of the cardiac coil, a uniform cylindrical water phantom injected with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) was imaged on a sequential MR/PET system with and without the flexible cardiac coil. After establishing the need to correct for the attenuation of the coil, we tested the feasibility of several methods to register a precomputed attenuation map to correct for the attenuation. To accomplish this, MR and CT visible markers were placed on the surface of the cardiac flexible coil. Using only the markers as a driver for registration, the CT image was registered to the reference image through a combination of rigid and deformable registration. The accuracy of several methods was compared for the deformable registration, including B-spline, thin-plate spline, elastic body spline, and volume spline. Finally, we validated our novel approach both in phantom and patient studies. The findings from the phantom experiments indicated that the presence of the coil resulted in a 10% reduction in measured 18F-FDG activity when compared with the phantom-only scan. Local underestimation reached 22% in

  8. Use of calibration standards and the correction for sample self-attenuation in gamma-ray nondestructive assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, J.L.

    1984-08-01

    The efficient use of appropriate calibration standards and the correction for the attenuation of the gamma rays within an assay sample by the sample itself are two important and closely related subjects in gamma-ray nondestructive assay. Much research relating to those subjects has been done in the Nuclear Safeguards Research and Development program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1970. This report brings together most of the significant results of that research. Also discussed are the nature of appropriate calibration standards and the necessary conditions on the composition, size, and shape of the samples to allow accurate assays. Procedures for determining the correction for the sample self-attenuation are described at length including both general principles and several specific useful cases. The most useful concept is that knowing the linear attenuation coefficient of the sample (which can usually be determined) and the size and shape of the sample and its position relative to the detector permits the computation of the correction factor for the self-attenuation. A major objective of the report is to explain how the procedures for determining the self-attenuation correction factor can be applied so that calibration standards can be entirely appropriate without being particularly similar, either physically or chemically, to the items to be assayed. This permits minimization of the number of standards required to assay items with a wide range of size, shape, and chemical composition. 17 references, 18 figures, 2 tables

  9. The usefulness and the problems of attenuation correction using simultaneous transmission and emission data acquisition method. Studies on normal volunteers and phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kijima, Tetsuji; Kumita, Shin-ichiro; Mizumura, Sunao; Cho, Keiichi; Ishihara, Makiko; Toba, Masahiro; Kumazaki, Tatsuo; Takahashi, Munehiro.

    1997-01-01

    Attenuation correction using simultaneous transmission data (TCT) and emission data (ECT) acquisition method was applied to 201 Tl myocardial SPECT with ten normal adults and the phantom in order to validate the efficacy of attenuation correction using this method. Normal adults study demonstrated improved 201 Tl accumulation to the septal wall and the posterior wall of the left ventricle and relative decreased activities in the lateral wall with attenuation correction (p 201 Tl uptake organs such as the liver and the stomach pushed up the activities in the septal wall and the posterior wall. Cardiac dynamic phantom studies showed partial volume effect due to cardiac motion contributed to under-correction of the apex, which might be overcome using gated SPECT. Although simultaneous TCT and ECT acquisition was conceived of the advantageous method for attenuation correction, miss-correction of the special myocardial segments should be taken into account in assessment of attenuation correction compensated images. (author)

  10. Validation of attenuation-corrected equilibrium radionuclide angiographic determinations of right ventricular volume: comparison with cast-validated biplane cineventriculography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dell'Italia, L.J.; Starling, M.R.; Walsh, R.A.; Badke, F.R.; Lasher, J.C.; Blumhardt, R.

    1985-01-01

    To determine the accuracy of attenuation-corrected equilibrium radionuclide angiographic determinations of right ventricular volumes, the authors initially studied 14 postmortem human right ventricular casts by water displacement and biplane cineventriculography. Biplane cineventriculographic right ventricular cast volumes, calculated by a modification of Simpson's rule algorithm, correlated well with right ventricular cast volumes measured by water displacement (r = .97, y = 8 + 0.88x, SEE = 6 ml). Moreover, the mean volumes obtained by both methods were no different (73 +/- 28 vs 73 +/- 25 ml). Subsequently, they studied 16 patients by both biplane cineventriculography and equilibrium radionuclide angiography. The uncorrected radionuclide right ventricular volumes were calculated by normalizing background corrected end-diastolic and end-systolic counts from hand-drawn regions of interest obtained by phase analysis for cardiac cycles processed, frame rate, and blood sample counts. Attenuation correction was performed by a simple geometric method. The attenuation-corrected radionuclide right ventricular end-diastolic volumes correlated with the cineventriculographic end-diastolic volumes (r = .91, y = 3 + 0.92x, SEE = 27 ml). Similarly, the attenuation-corrected radionuclide right ventricular end-systolic volumes correlated with the cineventriculographic end-systolic volumes (r = .93, y = - 1 + 0.91x, SEE = 16 ml). Also, the mean attenuation-corrected radionuclide end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes were no different than the average cineventriculographic end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (160 +/- 61 and 83 +/- 44 vs 170 +/- 61 and 86 +/- 43 ml, respectively)

  11. Efficiency and attenuation correction factors determination in gamma spectrometric assay of bulk samples using self radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Haddad, Kh.

    2009-02-01

    Gamma spectrometry forms the most important and capable tool for measuring radioactive materials. Determination of the efficiency and attenuation correction factors is the most tedious problem in the gamma spectrometric assay of bulk samples. A new experimental and easy method for these correction factors determination using self radiation was proposed in this work. An experimental study of the correlation between self attenuation correction factor and sample thickness and its practical application was also introduced. The work was performed on NORM and uranyl nitrate bulk sample. The results of proposed methods agreed with those of traditional ones.(author)

  12. Attenuation correction with region growing method used in the positron emission mammography imaging system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Xiao-Yue; Li, Lin; Yin, Peng-Fei; Yun, Ming-Kai; Chai, Pei; Huang, Xian-Chao; Sun, Xiao-Li; Wei, Long

    2015-10-01

    The Positron Emission Mammography imaging system (PEMi) provides a novel nuclear diagnosis method dedicated for breast imaging. With a better resolution than whole body PET, PEMi can detect millimeter-sized breast tumors. To address the requirement of semi-quantitative analysis with a radiotracer concentration map of the breast, a new attenuation correction method based on a three-dimensional seeded region growing image segmentation (3DSRG-AC) method has been developed. The method gives a 3D connected region as the segmentation result instead of image slices. The continuity property of the segmentation result makes this new method free of activity variation of breast tissues. The threshold value chosen is the key process for the segmentation method. The first valley in the grey level histogram of the reconstruction image is set as the lower threshold, which works well in clinical application. Results show that attenuation correction for PEMi improves the image quality and the quantitative accuracy of radioactivity distribution determination. Attenuation correction also improves the probability of detecting small and early breast tumors. Supported by Knowledge Innovation Project of The Chinese Academy of Sciences (KJCX2-EW-N06)

  13. Impact of attenuation correction strategies on the quantification of High Resolution Research Tomograph PET studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Velden, Floris H P van; Kloet, Reina W; Berckel, Bart N M van; Molthoff, Carla F M; Jong, Hugo W A M de; Lammertsma, Adriaan A; Boellaard, Ronald

    2008-01-01

    In this study, the quantitative accuracy of different attenuation correction strategies presently available for the High Resolution Research Tomograph (HRRT) was investigated. These attenuation correction methods differ in reconstruction and processing (segmentation) algorithms used for generating a μ-image from measured 2D transmission scans, an intermediate step in the generation of 3D attenuation correction factors. Available methods are maximum-a-posteriori reconstruction (MAP-TR), unweighted OSEM (UW-OSEM) and NEC-TR, which transforms sinogram values back to their noise equivalent counts (NEC) to restore Poisson distribution. All methods can be applied with or without μ-image segmentation. However, for MAP-TR a μ-histogram is a prior during reconstruction. All possible strategies were evaluated using phantoms of various sizes, simulating preclinical and clinical situations. Furthermore, effects of emission contamination of the transmission scan on the accuracy of various attenuation correction strategies were studied. Finally, the accuracy of various attenuation corrections strategies and its relative impact on the reconstructed activity concentration (AC) were evaluated using small animal and human brain studies. For small structures, MAP-TR with human brain priors showed smaller differences in μ-values for transmission scans with and without emission contamination (<8%) than the other methods (<26%). In addition, it showed best agreement with true AC (deviation <4.5%). A specific prior designed to take into account the presence of small animal fixation devices only very slightly improved AC precision to 4.3%. All methods scaled μ-values of a large homogeneous phantom to within 4% of the water peak, but MAP-TR provided most accurate AC after reconstruction. However, for clinical data MAP-TR using the default prior settings overestimated the thickness of the skull, resulting in overestimations of μ-values in regions near the skull and thus in incorrect

  14. Simultaneous correction of attenuation and geometric response in emission tomography applied to nuclear waste drums

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thierry, Raphael

    1999-01-01

    Multi-photonic emission tomography is a non destructive technique applied to the control of radioactive waste drums. The emitted gamma rays are detected on the range [50 keV, 2 MeV] by a hyper pure germanium, of high resolution in energy, which enables to set up a detailed list of radionuclides contained within the drum. From different points of measurement located in a transaxial plane of the drum, the activity distribution is computed by a reconstruction algorithm. An algebraic modelling of the physical process has been developed in order to correct the different degrading phenomenon, in particular the attenuation and the detector geometric response. Attenuation through the materials constituting the barrel is the preponderant phenomena. Its ignorance prevents from accurate activity quantification. Its correction has been realised from an attenuation map obtained by a transmission tomograph. The detector geometric response, introducing a blurring within the detection, is compensated by an analytic model. An adequate modelling of those phenomenon is primordial: it highly contributes on a large scale the image quality and the quantification. The image reconstruction, requiring the resolution of sparse linear system, is realised by iterative algorithms. Due to the 'ill-posed' nature of tomographic reconstruction, it is necessary to use regularisation: by introducing an a priori information on the solution, the stabilisation of the methods is carried out. We chose to minimise the Maximum A Posteriori criterion. Its resolution is considered with a half-quadratic regularisation: it permits the preservation of natural discontinuities, and avoids global-over smoothing of the image. It is evaluated on real phantoms and waste drums. Efficient sampling of the data is considered. (author) [fr

  15. Making of attenuation-correcting computation table for RIs and emitted gamma ray table using MS-Excel

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miura, Shigeyuki; Takahashi, Mitsuyuki; Sato, Isamu

    1995-01-01

    In the technical workshop of National Institute for Fusion Science in the last year, report was made on the making of attenuation-correcting computation table for R/S by using the software Lotus 1-2-3 on MS-DOS. It was decided to use this table by applying Windows, and further, to partially add some functions to this table. Excel 5.0 was to be used as the software, since Excel seems to be the main of Windows. It was decided to make anew the γ-ray data table which is linked to the radioactivity data in the RI attenuation-correcting computation table. First work is to convert the RI attenuation-correcting computation table made as the file of Lotus 1-2-3 to the file of Excel 5.0 of Windows, and this is very simple. As the result of the file conversion, it was found that the data file became compact. Next work is the addition of functions to this table. The function being added this time is that for judging whether R/S are those which are stipulated in the laws or not from the values of radioactivity calculated by the attenuation correction. The concrete method of this addition of function is explained. The data table on the γ-ray for respective nuclides was made. The present state of the data base on radiation was investigated. (K.I.)

  16. The use of calibration standards and the correction for sample self-attenuation in gamma-ray nondestructive assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Parker, J.L.

    1986-11-01

    The efficient use of appropriate calibration standards and the correction for the attenuation of the gamma rays within an assay sample by the sample itself are two important and closely related subjects in gamma-ray nondestructive assay. Much research relating to those subjects has been done in the Nuclear Safeguards Research and Development program at the Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1970. This report brings together most of the significant results of that research. Also discussed are the nature of appropriate calibration standards and the necessary conditions on the composition, size, and shape of the samples to allow accurate assays. Procedures for determining the correction for the sample self-attenuation are described at length including both general principles and several specific useful cases. The most useful concept is that knowing the linear attenuation coefficient of the sample (which can usually be determined) and the size and shape of the sample and its position relative to the detector permits the computation of the correction factor for the self-attenuation. A major objective of the report is to explain how the procedures for determining the self-attenuation correction factor can be applied so that calibration standards can be entirely appropriate without being particularly similar, either physically or chemically, to the items to be assayed. This permits minimization of the number of standards required to assay items with a wide range of size, shape, and chemical composition

  17. Effect of scatter and attenuation correction in ROI analysis of brain perfusion scintigraphy. Phantom experiment and clinical study in patients with unilateral cerebrovascular disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bai, J. [Keio Univ., Tokyo (Japan). 21st Century Center of Excellence Program; Hashimoto, J.; Kubo, A. [Keio Univ., Tokyo (Japan). Dept. of Radiology; Ogawa, K. [Hosei Univ., Tokyo (Japan). Dept. of Electronic Informatics; Fukunaga, A.; Onozuka, S. [Keio Univ., Tokyo (Japan). Dept. of Neurosurgery

    2007-07-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of scatter and attenuation correction in region of interest (ROI) analysis of brain perfusion single-photon emission tomography (SPECT), and to assess the influence of selecting the reference area on the calculation of lesion-to-reference count ratios. Patients, methods: Data were collected from a brain phantom and ten patients with unilateral internal carotid artery stenosis. A simultaneous emission and transmission scan was performed after injecting {sup 123}I-iodoamphetamine. We reconstructed three SPECT images from common projection data: with scatter correction and nonuniform attenuation correction, with scatter correction and uniform attenuation correction, and with uniform attenuation correction applied to data without scatter correction. Regional count ratios were calculated by using four different reference areas (contralateral intact side, ipsilateral cerebellum, whole brain and hemisphere). Results: Scatter correction improved the accuracy of measuring the count ratios in the phantom experiment. It also yielded marked difference in the count ratio in the clinical study when using the cerebellum, whole brain or hemisphere as the reference. Difference between nonuniform and uniform attenuation correction was not significant in the phantom and clinical studies except when the cerebellar reference was used. Calculation of the lesion-to-normal count ratios referring the same site in the contralateral hemisphere was not dependent on the use of scatter correction or transmission scan-based attenuation correction. Conclusion: Scatter correction was indispensable for accurate measurement in most of the ROI analyses. Nonuniform attenuation correction is not necessary when using the reference area other than the cerebellum. (orig.)

  18. The effect of metal artefact reduction on CT-based attenuation correction for PET imaging in the vicinity of metallic hip implants: a phantom study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harnish, Roy; Prevrhal, Sven; Alavi, Abass; Zaidi, Habib; Lang, Thomas F

    2014-07-01

    To determine if metal artefact reduction (MAR) combined with a priori knowledge of prosthesis material composition can be applied to obtain CT-based attenuation maps with sufficient accuracy for quantitative assessment of (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in lesions near metallic prostheses. A custom hip prosthesis phantom with a lesion-sized cavity filled with 0.2 ml (18)F-FDG solution having an activity of 3.367 MBq adjacent to a prosthesis bore was imaged twice with a chrome-cobalt steel hip prosthesis and a plastic replica, respectively. Scanning was performed on a clinical hybrid PET/CT system equipped with an additional external (137)Cs transmission source. PET emission images were reconstructed from both phantom configurations with CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) and with CT-based attenuation correction using MAR (MARCTAC). To compare results with the attenuation-correction method extant prior to the advent of PET/CT, we also carried out attenuation correction with (137)Cs transmission-based attenuation correction (TXAC). CTAC and MARCTAC images were scaled to attenuation coefficients at 511 keV using a trilinear function that mapped the highest CT values to the prosthesis alloy attenuation coefficient. Accuracy and spatial distribution of the lesion activity was compared between the three reconstruction schemes. Compared to the reference activity of 3.37 MBq, the estimated activity quantified from the PET image corrected by TXAC was 3.41 MBq. The activity estimated from PET images corrected by MARCTAC was similar in accuracy at 3.32 MBq. CTAC corrected PET images resulted in nearly 40 % overestimation of lesion activity at 4.70 MBq. Comparison of PET images obtained with the plastic and metal prostheses in place showed that CTAC resulted in a marked distortion of the (18)F-FDG distribution within the lesion, whereas application of MARCTAC and TXAC resulted in lesion distributions similar to those observed with the plastic replica. MAR combined

  19. Attenuation correction for renal scintigraphy with 99mTc - DMSA: comparison between Raynaud and the geometric mean methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Argenta, J.; Brambilla, C.R.; Marques da Silva, A.M.

    2009-01-01

    The evaluation of the index of renal function (IF) requires soft-tissue attenuation correction. This paper investigates the impact over the IF, when attenuation correction is applied using the Raynaud method and the geometric mean method in renal planar scintigraphy, using posterior and anterior views. The study was conducted with Monte Carlo simulated images of five GSF family voxel phantoms with different relative uptakes in each kidney from normal (50% -50%) to pathological (10% -90%). The results showed that Raynaud method corrects more efficiently the cases where the renal depth is close to the value of the standard phantom. The geometric mean method showed similar results to the Raynaud method for Baby, Child and Golem. For Helga and Donna models, the errors were above 20%, increasing with relative uptake. Further studies should be conducted to assess the influences of the standard phantom in the correcting attenuation methods. (author)

  20. Attenuation correction for renal scintigraphy with 99mTc-DMSA: analysis between Raynaud and the geometric mean methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Argenta, Jackson; Brambilla, Claudia R.; Silva, Ana Maria M. da

    2010-01-01

    The evaluation of the index of renal function (IF) requires soft-tissue attenuation correction. This paper investigates the impact over the IF, when attenuation correction is applied using the Raynaud method and the Geometric Mean method in renal planar scintigraphy, using posterior and anterior views. The study was conducted with Monte Carlo simulated images of five GSF family voxel phantoms with different relative uptakes in each kidney from normal (50% -50%) to pathological (10% -90%). The results showed that Raynaud method corrects more efficiently the cases where the renal depth is close to the value of the standard phantom. The geometric mean method showed similar results to the Raynaud method for Baby, Child and Golem. For Helga and Donna models, the errors were above 20%, increasing with relative uptake. Further studies should be conducted to assess the influences of the standard phantom in the correcting attenuation methods. (author)

  1. Application of the gamma-ray attenuation technique to forest sciences in Brazil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rezende, Marcos Antonio de; Costa, Vladimir Eliodoro; Bruder, Edson Marcelo

    2005-01-01

    The study of the physical characteristics of wood is fundamental to its correct utilization by the industry and to an efficient exploitation of this raw material. The most important characteristics of wood are the specific gravity, the shrinkage and the porosity. Those traits are related one to each other and to mechanic resistance and hygroscopicity. The present work proposes the utilization of the gamma-ray attenuation technique, through a sealed source of the radioisotope 241 Am with an activity of 7.4 GBq and an energy of 60 keV, to the determination of physical characteristics of the wood of Pinus tecunumannii, Liquidambar styraciflua and Eucalyptus grandis from cultivated fields of Duratex S/A, in Agudos, Sao Paulo State, Brazil. This work presents the advantages and the facilities of the utilization of this technique in the qualitative and quantitative study of the wood from reforestation fields. This technique is employed to determine the specific gravity of a material through the attenuation of gamma-ray after crossing a sample of uniform thickness. Results revealed superior quality of wood to the species L. styraciflua, followed by E. grandis. Considerable variation in the physical properties of the sample of P. tecunumannii was observed along the radial sense, indicating that this species is highly responsive to climatic factors. The more uniform wood of E. grandis and L. styraciflua suggest that these species may be more adapted to the climatic conditions of the Sao Paulo State than P. tecunumannii. (author)

  2. A virtual sinogram method to reduce dental metallic implant artefacts in computed tomography-based attenuation correction for PET

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abdoli, Mehrsima; Ay, Mohammad Reza; Ahmadian, Alireza; Zaidi, Habib

    Objective Attenuation correction of PET data requires accurate determination of the attenuation map (mu map), which represents the spatial distribution of linear attenuation coefficients of different tissues at 511 keV. The presence of high-density metallic dental filling material in head and neck

  3. Ultra-low dose CT attenuation correction for PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xia Ting; Kinahan, Paul E; Alessio, Adam M; De Man, Bruno; Manjeshwar, Ravindra; Asma, Evren

    2012-01-01

    A challenge for positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) quantitation is patient respiratory motion, which can cause an underestimation of lesion activity uptake and an overestimation of lesion volume. Several respiratory motion correction methods benefit from longer duration CT scans that are phase matched with PET scans. However, even with the currently available, lowest dose CT techniques, extended duration cine CT scans impart a substantially high radiation dose. This study evaluates methods designed to reduce CT radiation dose in PET/CT scanning. We investigated selected combinations of dose reduced acquisition and noise suppression methods that take advantage of the reduced requirement of CT for PET attenuation correction (AC). These include reducing CT tube current, optimizing CT tube voltage, adding filtration, CT sinogram smoothing and clipping. We explored the impact of these methods on PET quantitation via simulations on different digital phantoms. CT tube current can be reduced much lower for AC than that in low dose CT protocols. Spectra that are higher energy and narrower are generally more dose efficient with respect to PET image quality. Sinogram smoothing could be used to compensate for the increased noise and artifacts at radiation dose reduced CT images, which allows for a further reduction of CT dose with no penalty for PET image quantitation. When CT is not used for diagnostic and anatomical localization purposes, we showed that ultra-low dose CT for PET/CT is feasible. The significant dose reduction strategies proposed here could enable respiratory motion compensation methods that require extended duration CT scans and reduce radiation exposure in general for all PET/CT imaging. (paper)

  4. Ultra-low dose CT attenuation correction for PET/CT

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Ting; Alessio, Adam M.; De Man, Bruno; Manjeshwar, Ravindra; Asma, Evren; Kinahan, Paul E.

    2012-01-01

    A challenge for PET/CT quantitation is patient respiratory motion, which can cause an underestimation of lesion activity uptake and an overestimation of lesion volume. Several respiratory motion correction methods benefit from longer duration CT scans that are phase matched with PET scans. However, even with the currently-available, lowest dose CT techniques, extended duration CINE CT scans impart a substantially high radiation dose. This study evaluates methods designed to reduce CT radiation dose in PET/CT scanning. Methods We investigated selected combinations of dose reduced acquisition and noise suppression methods that take advantage of the reduced requirement of CT for PET attenuation correction (AC). These include reducing CT tube current, optimizing CT tube voltage, adding filtration, CT sinogram smoothing and clipping. We explored the impact of these methods on PET quantitation via simulations on different digital phantoms. Results CT tube current can be reduced much lower for AC than that in low dose CT protocols. Spectra that are higher energy and narrower are generally more dose efficient with respect to PET image quality. Sinogram smoothing could be used to compensate for the increased noise and artifacts at radiation dose reduced CT images, which allows for a further reduction of CT dose with no penalty for PET image quantitation. Conclusion When CT is not used for diagnostic and anatomical localization purposes, we showed that ultra-low dose CT for PET/CT is feasible. The significant dose reduction strategies proposed here could enable respiratory motion compensation methods that require extended duration CT scans and reduce radiation exposure in general for all PET/CT imaging. PMID:22156174

  5. Effects of scatter and attenuation corrections on phantom and clinical brain SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prando, S.; Robilotta, C.C.R.; Oliveira, M.A.; Alves, T.C.; Busatto Filho, G.

    2002-01-01

    Aim: The present work evaluated the effects of combinations of scatter and attenuation corrections on the analysis of brain SPECT. Materials and Methods: We studied images of the 3D Hoffman brain phantom and from a group of 20 depressive patients with confirmed cardiac insufficiency (CI) and 14 matched healthy controls (HC). Data were acquired with a Sophy-DST/SMV-GE dual-head camera after venous injection of 1110MBq 99m Tc-HMPAO. Two energy windows, 15% on 140keV and 30% centered on 108keV of the Compton distribution, were used to obtain corresponding sets of 128x128x128 projections. Tomograms were reconstructed using OSEM (2 iterations, 8 sub-sets) and Metz filter (order 8, 4 pixels FWHM psf) and FBP with Butterworth filter (order 10, frequency 0.7 Nyquist). Ten combinations of Jaszczak correction (factors 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5) and the 1st order Chang correction (u=0.12cm -1 and 0.159cm -1 ) were applied on the phantom data. In all the phantom images, contrast and signal-noise ratio between 3 ROIs (ventricle, occipital and thalamus) and cerebellum, as well as the ratio between activities in gray and white matters, were calculated and compared with the expected values. The patients images were corrected with k=0.5 and u=0.159cm -1 and reconstructed with OSEM and Metz filter. The images were inspected visually and blood flow comparisons between the CI and the HC groups were performed using Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM). Results: The best results in the analysis of the contrast and activities ratio were obtained with k=0.5 and u=0.159cm -1 . The results of the activities ratio obtained with OSEM e Metz filter are similar to those published by Laere et al.[J.Nucl.Med 2000;41:2051-2062]. The method of correction using effective attenuation coefficient produced results visually acceptable, but inadequate for the quantitative evaluation. The results of signal-noise ratio are better with OSEM than FBP reconstruction method. The corrections in the CI patients studies

  6. Visual and semiquantitative analysis of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography using a partial-ring tomograph without attenuation correction to differentiate benign and malignant pulmonary nodules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Skehan, S.J.; Coates, G.; Otero, C.; O'Donovan, N.; Pelling, M.; Nahmias, C.

    2001-01-01

    Many studies have reported the use of attenuation-corrected positron emission tomography with 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG PET) with full-ring tomographs to differentiate between benign and malignant pulmonary nodules. We sought to evaluate FDG PET using a partial-ring tomograph without attenuation correction. A retrospective review of PET images from 77 patients (range 38-84 years of age) with proven benign or malignant pulmonary nodules was undertaken. All images were obtained using a Siemens/CTI ECAT ART tomograph, without attenuation correction, after 185 MBq 18 F-FDG was injected. Images were visually graded on a 5-point scale from 'definitely malignant' to 'definitely benign,' and lesion-to-background (LB) ratios were calculated using region of interest analysis. Visual and semiquantitative analyses were compared using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Twenty lesions were benign and 57 were malignant. The mean LB ratio for benign lesions was 1.5 (range 1.0-5.7) and for malignant lesions 5.7 (range 1.2-14.1) (p < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve for LB ratio analysis was 0.95, and for visual analysis 0.91 (p = 0.39). The optimal cut-off ratio with LB ratio analysis was 1.8, giving a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 85%. For lesions thought to be 'definitely malignant' on visual analysis, the sensitivity was 93% and the specificity 85%. Three proven infective lesions were rated as malignant by both techniques (LB ratio 2.6-5.7). FDG PET without attenuation correction is accurate for differentiating between benign and malignant lung nodules. Results using simple LB ratios without attenuation correction compare favourably with the published sensitivity and specificity for standard uptake ratios. Visual analysis is equally accurate. (author)

  7. Attenuation correction in positron emission tomography: Quality control and performance evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nalis, J.; Courbon, F.; Brillouet, S.; Marre, D.; Serre, D.; Colin, V.; Caselles, O.; Flouzat, G.

    2007-01-01

    Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of the Computed Tomography based Attenuation Correction (CTAC) for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) data. Attenuation maps containing linear attenuation coefficients at 511 keV (LAC 511 keV ) are calculated by trilinear conversion of Hounsfield Units (HU) obtained from CT slices after matrix size-reduction and Gaussian filtering. Our work focusses on this trilinear conversion. Materials and methods: CT slices of an electron density phantom. composed of 17 cylindrical inserts made of different tissue-equivalent materials, were acquired using a Discovery ST4 PET-CT. Data were processed with a customized version of CT quality control software, giving automatically the experimental conversion function: LAC 511 keV =f(HU). Furthermore, data from patient datasets were assessed using both smoothed CT slices and attenuation maps. Results: LAC 511 keV extracted from phantom data are in good correlation with the expected theoretical values, except for the standard 10 mm diameter dense bone insert, where the obtained CTAC values are underestimated, Assuming a sample size issue, similar acquisitions were performed with a special 30 mm-diameter dense bone insert, confirming the underestimation as a consequence of the sample size. (authors)

  8. SPECT quantification: a review of the different correction methods with compton scatter, attenuation and spatial deterioration effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groiselle, C.; Rocchisani, J.M.; Moretti, J.L.; Dreuille, O. de; Gaillard, J.F.; Bendriem, B.

    1997-01-01

    SPECT quantification: a review of the different correction methods with Compton scatter attenuation and spatial deterioration effects. The improvement of gamma-cameras, acquisition and reconstruction software opens new perspectives in term of image quantification in nuclear medicine. In order to meet the challenge, numerous works have been undertaken in recent years to correct for the different physical phenomena that prevent an exact estimation of the radioactivity distribution. The main phenomena that have to betaken into account are scatter, attenuation and resolution. In this work, authors present the physical basis of each issue, its consequences on quantification and the main methods proposed to correct them. (authors)

  9. The relative contributions of scatter and attenuation corrections toward improved brain SPECT quantification

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stodilka, Robert Z.; Msaki, Peter; Prato, Frank S.; Nicholson, Richard L.; Kemp, B.J.

    1998-01-01

    Mounting evidence indicates that scatter and attenuation are major confounds to objective diagnosis of brain disease by quantitative SPECT. There is considerable debate, however, as to the relative importance of scatter correction (SC) and attenuation correction (AC), and how they should be implemented. The efficacy of SC and AC for 99m Tc brain SPECT was evaluated using a two-compartment fully tissue-equivalent anthropomorphic head phantom. Four correction schemes were implemented: uniform broad-beam AC, non-uniform broad-beam AC, uniform SC+AC, and non-uniform SC+AC. SC was based on non-stationary deconvolution scatter subtraction, modified to incorporate a priori knowledge of either the head contour (uniform SC) or transmission map (non-uniform SC). The quantitative accuracy of the correction schemes was evaluated in terms of contrast recovery, relative quantification (cortical:cerebellar activity), uniformity ((coefficient of variation of 230 macro-voxels) x100%), and bias (relative to a calibration scan). Our results were: uniform broad-beam (μ=0.12cm -1 ) AC (the most popular correction): 71% contrast recovery, 112% relative quantification, 7.0% uniformity, +23% bias. Non-uniform broad-beam (soft tissue μ=0.12cm -1 ) AC: 73%, 114%, 6.0%, +21%, respectively. Uniform SC+AC: 90%, 99%, 4.9%, +12%, respectively. Non-uniform SC+AC: 93%, 101%, 4.0%, +10%, respectively. SC and AC achieved the best quantification; however, non-uniform corrections produce only small improvements over their uniform counterparts. SC+AC was found to be superior to AC; this advantage is distinct and consistent across all four quantification indices. (author)

  10. The Value of Attenuation Correction in Hybrid Cardiac SPECT/CT on Inferior Wall According to Body Mass Index

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tamam, Muge; Mulazimoglu, Mehmet; Edis, Nurcan; Ozpacaci, Tevfik

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of attenuation-corrected single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) on the inferior wall compared to uncorrected (NC) SPECT MPI between obese and nonobese patients. A total of 157 consecutive patients (122 males and 35 females, with median age: 57.4 ± 11 years) who underwent AC technetium 99m-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (AC Tc99m-sestamibi) SPECT MPI were included to the study. A hybrid SPECT and transmission computed tomography (CT) system was used for the diagnosis with 1-day protocol, and stress imaging was performed first. During attenuation correction (AC) processing on a Xeleris Workstation using Myovation cardiac software with ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM), iterative reconstruction with attenuation correction (IRAC) and NC images filtered back projection (FBP) were used. For statistical purposes, P < 0.05 was considered significant. This study included 73 patients with body mass index (BMI) <30 and 84 patients with BMI ≥ 30. In patients with higher BMI, increased amount of both visual and semiquantitative attenuation of the inferior wall was detected. IRAC reconstruction corrects the diaphragm attenuation of the inferior wall better than FBP. AC with OSEM iterative reconstruction significantly improves the diagnostic value of stress-only SPECT MPI in patients with normal weight and those who are obese, but the improvements are significantly greater in obese patients. Stress-only SPECT imaging with AC provides shorter and lower radiation exposure

  11. PET/CT with intravenous contrast can be used for PET attenuation correction in cancer patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berthelsen, A K; Holm, S; Loft, A

    2005-01-01

    PURPOSE: If the CT scan of a combined PET/CT study is performed as a full diagnostic quality CT scan including intravenous (IV) contrast agent, the quality of the joint PET/CT procedure is improved and a separate diagnostic CT scan can be avoided. CT with IV contrast can be used for PET attenuation...... correction, but this may result in a bias in the attenuation factors. The clinical significance of this bias has not been established. Our aim was to perform a prospective clinical study where each patient had CT performed with and without IV contrast agent to establish whether PET/CT with IV contrast can...... scans without, and then with contrast agent, followed by an 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose whole-body PET scan. The CT examinations were performed with identical parameters on a GE Discovery LS scanner. The PET data were reconstructed with attenuation correction based on the two CT data sets. A global...

  12. Multiple scattering and attenuation corrections in Deep Inelastic Neutron Scattering experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dawidowski, J; Blostein, J J; Granada, J R

    2006-01-01

    Multiple scattering and attenuation corrections in Deep Inelastic Neutron Scattering experiments are analyzed. The theoretical basis of the method is stated, and a Monte Carlo procedure to perform the calculation is presented. The results are compared with experimental data. The importance of the accuracy in the description of the experimental parameters is tested, and the implications of the present results on the data analysis procedures is examined

  13. Viscoacoustic wave-equation traveltime inversion with correct and incorrect attenuation profiles

    KAUST Repository

    Yu, Han

    2017-08-17

    A visco-acoustic wave-equation traveltime inversion method is presented that inverts for a shallow subsurface velocity distribution with correct and incorrect attenuation profiles. Similar to the classical wave equation traveltime inversion, this method applies the misfit functional that minimizes the first break differences between the observed and predicted data. Although, WT can partly avoid the cycle skipping problem, an initial velocity model approaches to the right or wrong velocity models under different setups of the attenuation profiles. However, with a Q model far away from the real model, the inverted tomogram is obviously different from the true velocity model while a small change of the Q model does not improve the inversion quality in a strong manner if low frequency information is not lost.

  14. Magnetic resonance imaging-guided attenuation correction of positron emission tomography data in PET/MRI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Catana, Ciprian

    2018-01-01

    Synopsis Attenuation correction (AC) is one of the most important challenges in the recently introduced combined positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR) scanners. PET/MR AC (MR-AC) approaches aim to develop methods that allow accurate estimation of the linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) of the tissues and other components located in the PET field of view (FoV). MR-AC methods can be divided into three main categories: segmentation-, atlas- and PET-based. This review aims to provide a comprehensive list of the state of the art MR-AC approaches as well as their pros and cons. The main sources of artifacts such as body-truncation, metallic implants and hardware correction will be presented. Finally, this review will discuss the current status of MR-AC approaches for clinical applications. PMID:26952727

  15. Magnetic resonance imaging-guided attenuation correction of positron emission tomography data in PET/MRI

    OpenAIRE

    Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Catana, Ciprian

    2016-01-01

    Attenuation correction (AC) is one of the most important challenges in the recently introduced combined positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MR) scanners. PET/MR AC (MR-AC) approaches aim to develop methods that allow accurate estimation of the linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) of the tissues and other components located in the PET field of view (FoV). MR-AC methods can be divided into three main categories: segmentation-, atlas- and PET-based. This review aims to...

  16. Is attenuation correction of myocardial SPECT scans worth the effort?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bui, C.; Nguyen, D.; Dixson, H.; Saunders, C.; Cook, P.; Burnett, P.; Croll, F.; Dunn, R.; Hasche, E.; Kelleher, P.; Nasser, F.; Wilson, D.; Lee, K.

    2000-01-01

    Full text: Gated (GS), attenuation-corrected (AC) and non-attenuation-corrected (NAC) myocardial SPECT scans were performed after injection of 99 Tc m -Sestamibi (MIBI) at peak stress in 253 patients between September 1998 and March 1999. 60 patients have undergone cardiac catheterisation (37 males, 23 females, age range 34-80). For whole heart analysis, significant coronary disease was defined as 50% or greater diameter narrowing in any of the coronary arteries and/or documented myocardial infarction. For vascular territory analysis, significant coronary disease was defined as 50% or greater diameter narrowing of any artery in that territory. The three coronary artery territories were assigned as: left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex (LCA) and right coronary (RCA). The septum, apex and anterior wall; the lateral wall; and the inferior wall were assigned to the LAD; LCA; and RCA territories respectively. In conclusion for this selected subgroup of patients with angiographic follow-up, NAC, AC and GS were of similar accuracy in the detection of significant CAD in both whole heart analysis and individual vascular territory analysis. AC and GS were of superior specificity when compared with NAC in both whole heart analysis and individual vascular territory analysis. AC and GS may be of additional diagnostic value in improving the specificity of NAC. Further outcome data will be presented. Copyright (2000) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

  17. Integrated PET/MR breast cancer imaging: Attenuation correction and implementation of a 16-channel RF coil

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oehmigen, Mark, E-mail: mark.oehmigen@uni-due.de; Lindemann, Maike E. [High Field and Hybrid MR Imaging, University Hospital Essen, Essen 45147 (Germany); Lanz, Titus [Rapid Biomedical GmbH, Rimpar 97222 (Germany); Kinner, Sonja [Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, Essen 45147 (Germany); Quick, Harald H. [High Field and Hybrid MR Imaging, University Hospital Essen, Essen 45147, Germany and Erwin L. Hahn Institute for MR Imaging, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen 45141 (Germany)

    2016-08-15

    Purpose: This study aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a 16-channel radiofrequency (RF) coil for integrated positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) imaging of breast cancer. The RF coil is designed for optimized MR imaging performance and PET transparency and attenuation correction (AC) is applied for accurate PET quantification. Methods: A 16-channel breast array RF coil was designed for integrated PET/MR hybrid imaging of breast cancer lesions. The RF coil features a lightweight rigid design and is positioned with a spacer at a defined position on the patient table of an integrated PET/MR system. Attenuation correction is performed by generating and applying a dedicated 3D CT-based template attenuation map. Reposition accuracy of the RF coil on the system patient table while using the positioning frame was tested in repeated measurements using MR-visible markers. The MR, PET, and PET/MR imaging performances were systematically evaluated using modular breast phantoms. Attenuation correction of the RF coil was evaluated with difference measurements of the active breast phantoms filled with radiotracer in the PET detector with and without the RF coil in place, serving as a standard of reference measurement. The overall PET/MR imaging performance and PET quantification accuracy of the new 16-channel RF coil and its AC were then evaluated in first clinical examinations on ten patients with local breast cancer. Results: The RF breast array coil provides excellent signal-to-noise ratio and signal homogeneity across the volume of the breast phantoms in MR imaging and visualizes small structures in the phantoms down to 0.4 mm in plane. Difference measurements with PET revealed a global loss and thus attenuation of counts by 13% (mean value across the whole phantom volume) when the RF coil is placed in the PET detector. Local attenuation ranging from 0% in the middle of the phantoms up to 24% was detected in the peripheral regions of the phantoms at

  18. Multi-atlas attenuation correction supports full quantification of static and dynamic brain PET data in PET-MR

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mérida, Inés; Reilhac, Anthonin; Redouté, Jérôme; Heckemann, Rolf A.; Costes, Nicolas; Hammers, Alexander

    2017-04-01

    In simultaneous PET-MR, attenuation maps are not directly available. Essential for absolute radioactivity quantification, they need to be derived from MR or PET data to correct for gamma photon attenuation by the imaged object. We evaluate a multi-atlas attenuation correction method for brain imaging (MaxProb) on static [18F]FDG PET and, for the first time, on dynamic PET, using the serotoninergic tracer [18F]MPPF. A database of 40 MR/CT image pairs (atlases) was used. The MaxProb method synthesises subject-specific pseudo-CTs by registering each atlas to the target subject space. Atlas CT intensities are then fused via label propagation and majority voting. Here, we compared these pseudo-CTs with the real CTs in a leave-one-out design, contrasting the MaxProb approach with a simplified single-atlas method (SingleAtlas). We evaluated the impact of pseudo-CT accuracy on reconstructed PET images, compared to PET data reconstructed with real CT, at the regional and voxel levels for the following: radioactivity images; time-activity curves; and kinetic parameters (non-displaceable binding potential, BPND). On static [18F]FDG, the mean bias for MaxProb ranged between 0 and 1% for 73 out of 84 regions assessed, and exceptionally peaked at 2.5% for only one region. Statistical parametric map analysis of MaxProb-corrected PET data showed significant differences in less than 0.02% of the brain volume, whereas SingleAtlas-corrected data showed significant differences in 20% of the brain volume. On dynamic [18F]MPPF, most regional errors on BPND ranged from -1 to  +3% (maximum bias 5%) for the MaxProb method. With SingleAtlas, errors were larger and had higher variability in most regions. PET quantification bias increased over the duration of the dynamic scan for SingleAtlas, but not for MaxProb. We show that this effect is due to the interaction of the spatial tracer-distribution heterogeneity variation over time with the degree of accuracy of the attenuation maps. This

  19. Development of a new technic for breast attenuation correction in myocardial perfusion scintigraphy using computational methods; Desenvolvimento de uma nova tecnica para correcao da atenuacao por tecidos moles em cintilografia de perfusao miocardica utilizando metodos computacionais

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oliveira, Anderson de

    2015-07-01

    Introduction: One of the limitations of nuclear medicine studies are false-positive results that lead to unnecessary exams and procedures associated to morbidity and costs to the individual and society. One of the most frequent causes for reducing the specificity of myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) is photon attenuation, especially by breast in women. Objective: To develop a new technique to compensate the photon attenuation by women breasts in myocardial perfusion imaging with {sup 99m}Tc-sestamibi, using computational methods. Materials and methods: A procedure was proposed which integrates Monte Carlo simulation, computational methods and experimental techniques. Initially, were obtained the chest attenuation correction percentages using a phantom Jaszczak and breast attenuation percentages by Monte Carlo simulation method, using the EGS4 program. The percentages of attenuation correction were linked to individual patients' characteristics by an artificial neural network and a multivariate analysis. A preliminary technical validation was done by comparing the results of the MPI and catheterism (CAT), before and after applying the technique to 4 patients. The t test for parametric data, Wilcoxon, Mann-Whitney and X{sup 2} for the others were used. Probability values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Each increment of 1 cm in the thickness of breast was associated to an average increment of 6% on photon attenuation, while the maximum increase related to breast composition was about 2%. The average chest attenuation percentage per unit was 2.9%. Both, the artificial neural network and linear regression, showed an error less than 3% as predictive models for percentage of female attenuation. The anatomical-functional correlation between MPI and CAT was maintained after the use of the technique. Conclusion: Results suggest that the proposed technique is promising and could be a possible alternative to other conventional methods

  20. Theoretical determination of gamma spectrometry systems efficiency based on probability functions. Application to self-attenuation correction factors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Barrera, Manuel, E-mail: manuel.barrera@uca.es [Escuela Superior de Ingeniería, University of Cadiz, Avda, Universidad de Cadiz 10, 11519 Puerto Real, Cadiz (Spain); Suarez-Llorens, Alfonso [Facultad de Ciencias, University of Cadiz, Avda, Rep. Saharaui s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cadiz (Spain); Casas-Ruiz, Melquiades; Alonso, José J.; Vidal, Juan [CEIMAR, University of Cadiz, Avda, Rep. Saharaui s/n, 11510 Puerto Real, Cádiz (Spain)

    2017-05-11

    A generic theoretical methodology for the calculation of the efficiency of gamma spectrometry systems is introduced in this work. The procedure is valid for any type of source and detector and can be applied to determine the full energy peak and the total efficiency of any source-detector system. The methodology is based on the idea of underlying probability of detection, which describes the physical model for the detection of the gamma radiation at the particular studied situation. This probability depends explicitly on the direction of the gamma radiation, allowing the use of this dependence the development of more realistic and complex models than the traditional models based on the point source integration. The probability function that has to be employed in practice must reproduce the relevant characteristics of the detection process occurring at the particular studied situation. Once the probability is defined, the efficiency calculations can be performed in general by using numerical methods. Monte Carlo integration procedure is especially useful to perform the calculations when complex probability functions are used. The methodology can be used for the direct determination of the efficiency and also for the calculation of corrections that require this determination of the efficiency, as it is the case of coincidence summing, geometric or self-attenuation corrections. In particular, we have applied the procedure to obtain some of the classical self-attenuation correction factors usually employed to correct for the sample attenuation of cylindrical geometry sources. The methodology clarifies the theoretical basis and approximations associated to each factor, by making explicit the probability which is generally hidden and implicit to each model. It has been shown that most of these self-attenuation correction factors can be derived by using a common underlying probability, having this probability a growing level of complexity as it reproduces more precisely

  1. The effect of metal artefact reduction on CT-based attenuation correction for PET imaging in the vicinity of metallic hip implants. A phantom study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harnish, R.; Lang, T.F.; Prevrhal, S.; Alavi, A.; Zaidi, H.

    2014-01-01

    To determine if metal artefact reduction (MAR) combined with a priori knowledge of prosthesis material composition can be applied to obtain CT-based attenuation maps with sufficient accuracy for quantitative assessment of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in lesions near metallic prostheses. A custom hip prosthesis phantom with a lesion-sized cavity filled with 0.2 ml 18 F-FDG solution having an activity of 3.367 MBq adjacent to a prosthesis bore was imaged twice with a chrome-cobalt steel hip prosthesis and a plastic replica, respectively. Scanning was performed on a clinical hybrid PET/CT system equipped with an additional external 137 Cs transmission source. PET emission images were reconstructed from both phantom configurations with CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) and with CT-based attenuation correction using MAR (MARCTAC). To compare results with the attenuation-correction method extant prior to the advent of PET/CT, we also carried out attenuation correction with 137 Cs transmission-based attenuation correction (TXAC). CTAC and MARCTAC images were scaled to attenuation coefficients at 511 keV using a trilinear function that mapped the highest CT values to the prosthesis alloy attenuation coefficient. Accuracy and spatial distribution of the lesion activity was compared between the three reconstruction schemes. Compared to the reference activity of 3.37 MBq, the estimated activity quantified from the PET image corrected by TXAC was 3.41 MBq. The activity estimated from PET images corrected by MARCTAC was similar in accuracy at 3.32 MBq. CTAC corrected PET images resulted in nearly 40% overestimation of lesion activity at 4.70 MBq. Comparison of PET images obtained with the plastic and metal prostheses in place showed that CTAC resulted in a marked distortion of the 18 F-FDG distribution within the lesion, whereas application of MARCTAC and TXAC resulted in lesion distributions similar to those observed with the plastic replica. (author)

  2. Determination of the mass attenuation coefficients for X-ray fluorescence measurements correction by the Rayleigh to Compton scattering ratio

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Conti, C.C., E-mail: ccconti@ird.gov.br [Institute for Radioprotection and Dosimetry – IRD/CNEN, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Physics Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro – UERJ, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Anjos, M.J. [Physics Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro – UERJ, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil); Salgado, C.M. [Nuclear Engineering Institute – IEN/CNEN, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

    2014-09-15

    Highlights: •This work describes a procedure for sample self-absorption correction. •The use of Monte Carlo simulation to calculate the mass attenuation coefficients curve was effective. •No need for transmission measurement, saving time, financial resources and effort. •This article provides de curves for the 90° scattering angle. •Calculation on-line at (www.macx.net.br). -- Abstract: X-ray fluorescence technique plays an important role in nondestructive analysis nowadays. The development of equipment, including portable ones, enables a wide assortment of possibilities for analysis of stable elements, even in trace concentrations. Nevertheless, despite of the advantages, one important drawback is radiation self-attenuation in the sample being measured, which needs to be considered in the calculation for the proper determination of elemental concentration. The mass attenuation coefficient can be determined by transmission measurement, but, in this case, the sample must be in slab shape geometry and demands two different setups and measurements. The Rayleigh to Compton scattering ratio, determined from the X-ray fluorescence spectrum, provides a link to the mass attenuation coefficient by means of a polynomial type equation. This work presents a way to construct a Rayleigh to Compton scattering ratio versus mass attenuation coefficient curve by using the MCNP5 Monte Carlo computer code. The comparison between the calculated and literature values of the mass attenuation coefficient for some known samples showed to be within 15%. This calculation procedure is available on-line at (www.macx.net.br)

  3. Effect of Attenuation Correction on Regional Quantification Between PET/MR and PET/CT

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Teuho, Jarmo; Johansson, Jarkko; Linden, Jani

    2016-01-01

    UNLABELLED: A spatial bias in brain PET/MR exists compared with PET/CT, because of MR-based attenuation correction. We performed an evaluation among 4 institutions, 3 PET/MR systems, and 4 PET/CT systems using an anthropomorphic brain phantom, hypothesizing that the spatial bias would be minimized....../MR systems, CTAC was applied as the reference method for attenuation correction. RESULTS: With CTAC, visual and quantitative differences between PET/MR and PET/CT systems were minimized. Intersystem variation between institutions was +3.42% to -3.29% in all VOIs for PET/CT and +2.15% to -4.50% in all VOIs...... for PET/MR. PET/MR systems differed by +2.34% to -2.21%, +2.04% to -2.08%, and -1.77% to -5.37% when compared with a PET/CT system at each institution, and these differences were not significant (P ≥ 0.05). CONCLUSION: Visual and quantitative differences between PET/MR and PET/CT systems can be minimized...

  4. Wall attenuation and scatter corrections for ion chambers: measurements versus calculations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rogers, D W.O.; Bielajew, A F [National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON (Canada). Div. of Physics

    1990-08-01

    In precision ion chamber dosimetry in air, wall attenuation and scatter are corrected for A{sub wall} (K{sub att} in IAEA terminology, K{sub w}{sup -1} in standards laboratory terminology). Using the EGS4 system the authors show that Monte Carlo calculated A{sub wall} factors predict relative variations in detector response with wall thickness which agree with all available experimental data within a statistical uncertainty of less than 0.1%. They calculated correction factors for use in exposure and air kerma standards are different by up to 1% from those obtained by extrapolating these same measurements. Using calculated correction factors would imply increases of 0.7-1.0% in the exposure and air kerma standards based on spherical and large diameter, large length cylindrical chambers and decreases of 0.3-0.5% for standards based on large diameter pancake chambers. (author).

  5. MR Imaging-Guided Attenuation Correction of PET Data in PET/MR Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Catana, Ciprian

    2016-04-01

    Attenuation correction (AC) is one of the most important challenges in the recently introduced combined PET/magnetic resonance (MR) scanners. PET/MR AC (MR-AC) approaches aim to develop methods that allow accurate estimation of the linear attenuation coefficients of the tissues and other components located in the PET field of view. MR-AC methods can be divided into 3 categories: segmentation, atlas, and PET based. This review provides a comprehensive list of the state-of-the-art MR-AC approaches and their pros and cons. The main sources of artifacts are presented. Finally, this review discusses the current status of MR-AC approaches for clinical applications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  6. Prediction of CT Substitutes from MR Images Based on Local Diffeomorphic Mapping for Brain PET Attenuation Correction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Yao; Yang, Wei; Lu, Lijun; Lu, Zhentai; Zhong, Liming; Huang, Meiyan; Feng, Yanqiu; Feng, Qianjin; Chen, Wufan

    2016-10-01

    Attenuation correction is important for PET reconstruction. In PET/MR, MR intensities are not directly related to attenuation coefficients that are needed in PET imaging. The attenuation coefficient map can be derived from CT images. Therefore, prediction of CT substitutes from MR images is desired for attenuation correction in PET/MR. This study presents a patch-based method for CT prediction from MR images, generating attenuation maps for PET reconstruction. Because no global relation exists between MR and CT intensities, we propose local diffeomorphic mapping (LDM) for CT prediction. In LDM, we assume that MR and CT patches are located on 2 nonlinear manifolds, and the mapping from the MR manifold to the CT manifold approximates a diffeomorphism under a local constraint. Locality is important in LDM and is constrained by the following techniques. The first is local dictionary construction, wherein, for each patch in the testing MR image, a local search window is used to extract patches from training MR/CT pairs to construct MR and CT dictionaries. The k-nearest neighbors and an outlier detection strategy are then used to constrain the locality in MR and CT dictionaries. Second is local linear representation, wherein, local anchor embedding is used to solve MR dictionary coefficients when representing the MR testing sample. Under these local constraints, dictionary coefficients are linearly transferred from the MR manifold to the CT manifold and used to combine CT training samples to generate CT predictions. Our dataset contains 13 healthy subjects, each with T1- and T2-weighted MR and CT brain images. This method provides CT predictions with a mean absolute error of 110.1 Hounsfield units, Pearson linear correlation of 0.82, peak signal-to-noise ratio of 24.81 dB, and Dice in bone regions of 0.84 as compared with real CTs. CT substitute-based PET reconstruction has a regression slope of 1.0084 and R 2 of 0.9903 compared with real CT-based PET. In this method, no

  7. Self-attenuation correction in the environmental sample gamma spectrometry; Correcao de auto-absorcao na espectrometria gama de amostras ambientais

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Venturini, Luzia; Nisti, Marcelo B. [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)

    1997-10-01

    Self-attenuation corrections were calculated for gamma ray spectrometry of environmental samples with densities from 0.42 g/ml up to 1.59 g/ml, measured in Marinelli beakers and polyethylene flasks. These corrections are to be used when the counting efficiency is calculated for water measured in the same geometry. The model of Debertin for Marinelli beaker, numerical integration and experimental linear attenuation coefficients were used. (author). 3 refs., 4 figs., 6 tabs.

  8. Determination of the air attenuation correction factor for a free air ionization chamber

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, Natalia F.; Cintra, Felipe B.; Castro, Maysa C. de; Caldas, Linda V.E.

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this work is to present the experimental and simulation results for the air attenuation correction factor for a free air ionization chamber with concentric cylinders of Victoreen, model 481-5. This correction factor was obtained for the standard mammography qualities established in the Instrument Calibration Laboratory (LCI) of IPEN. The values were compared with the results from the German primary standard laboratory Physikalisch- Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), and maximum differences of 0.40% in relation to the experimental value and 0.31% in relation to the simulated value were obtained. (author)

  9. CT vs 68Ge attenuation correction in a combined PET/CT system: evaluation of the effect of lowering the CT tube current

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamel, Ehab; Hany, Thomas F.; Burger, Cyrill; Treyer, Valerie; Schulthess von, Gustav K.; Buck, Alfred; Lonn, Albert H.R.

    2002-01-01

    With the introduction of combined positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) systems, several questions have to be answered. In this work we addressed two of these questions: (a) to what value can the CT tube current be reduced while still yielding adequate maps for the attenuation correction of PET emission scans and (b) how do quantified uptake values in tumours derived from CT and germanium-68 attenuation correction compare. In 26 tumour patients, multidetector CT scans were acquired with 10, 40, 80 and 120 mA (CT 10 , CT 40 , CT 80 and CT 120 ) and used for the attenuation correction of a single FDG PET emission scan, yielding four PET scans designated PET CT10 -PET CT120 . In 60 tumorous lesions, FDG uptake and lesion size were quantified on PET CT10 -PET CT120 . In another group of 18 patients, one CT scan acquired with 80 mA and a standard transmission scan acquired using 68 Ge sources were employed for the attenuation correction of the FDG emission scan (PET CT80 , PET 68Ge ). Uptake values and lesion size in 26 lesions were compared on PET CT80 and PET 68Ge . In the first group of patients, analysis of variance revealed no significant effect of CT current on tumour FDG uptake or lesion size. In the second group, tumour FDG uptake was slightly higher using CT compared with 68 Ge attenuation correction, especially in lesions with high FDG uptake. Lesion size was similar on PET CT80 and PET 68Ge . In conclusion, low CT currents yield adequate maps for the attenuation correction of PET emission scans. Although the discrepancy between CT- and 68 Ge-derived uptake values is probably not relevant in most cases, it should be kept in mind if standardised uptake values derived from CT and 68 Ge attenuation correction are compared. (orig.)

  10. An application of the baseline correction technique for correcting distorted seismic acceleration time histories

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Gyu Mahn; Kim, Jong Wook; Jeoung, Kyeong Hoon; Kim, Tae Wan; Park, Keun Bae; Kim, Keung Koo

    2008-03-01

    Three kinds of baseline correction techniques named as 'Newmark', 'Zero-VD' and 'Newmark and Zero-VD' were introduced to correct the distorted physical characteristics of a seismic time history accelogram. The corrected seismic accelerations and distorted raw acceleration showed an identical response spectra in frequency domains, but showed various time history profiles in velocity and displacement domains. The referred correction techniques were programmed with UNIX-HP Fortran. The verification of the baseline corrected seismic data in terms of frequency response spectrum were performed by ANSYS of a commerical FEM software

  11. A new trajectory correction technique for linacs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raubenheimer, T.O.; Ruth, R.D.

    1990-06-01

    In this paper, we describe a new trajectory correction technique for high energy linear accelerators. Current correction techniques force the beam trajectory to follow misalignments of the Beam Position Monitors. Since the particle bunch has a finite energy spread and particles with different energies are deflected differently, this causes ''chromatic'' dilution of the transverse beam emittance. The algorithm, which we describe in this paper, reduces the chromatic error by minimizing the energy dependence of the trajectory. To test the method we compare the effectiveness of our algorithm with a standard correction technique in simulations on a design linac for a Next Linear Collider. The simulations indicate that chromatic dilution would be debilitating in a future linear collider because of the very small beam sizes required to achieve the necessary luminosity. Thus, we feel that this technique will prove essential for future linear colliders. 3 refs., 6 figs., 2 tabs

  12. Self-attenuation correction factors for bioindicators measured by γ spectrometry for energies <100keV

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manduci, L.; Tenailleau, L.; Trolet, J.L.; De Vismes, A.; Lopez, G.; Piccione, M.

    2010-01-01

    The mass attenuation coefficients for a number of marine and terrestrial bioindicators were measured using γ spectrometry for energies between 22 and 80 keV. These values were then used to find the correction factor k for the apparent radioactivity. The experimental results were compared with a Monte Carlo simulation performed using PENELOPE in order to evaluate the reliability of the simplified calculation and to determine the correction factors.

  13. [F-18]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography after limb salvage surgery: post-surgical appearance, attenuation correction and local complications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gelfand, Michael J.; Sharp, Susan E. [Cincinnati Children' s Hospital Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine Division, Cincinnati, OH (United States)

    2015-08-15

    Metal endoprostheses and internal fixation devices cause significant artifacts on CT after limb salvage surgery; positron emission tomography (PET) images should be evaluated for artifacts. (1) To describe [F-18]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) PET uptake patterns after limb salvage surgery. (2) To determine whether metal endoprostheses and fixation hardware cause significant artifacts on CT attenuation-corrected PET that interfere with diagnostic use of PET/CT after limb salvage surgery. We reviewed 92 studies from 18 patients ages 5-21 years. Diagnoses were osteogenic sarcoma in 14, Ewing sarcoma in 3, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor originating in bone in 1. Nine patients had distal femur/knee endoprostheses, five had lower-extremity bone allografts secured by large metal plates and four had upper-extremity limb salvage procedures. Maximum standardized uptake value was calculated at lower-extremity soft-tissue-endoprosthesis interfaces. In 15 patients with PET/CT imaging, the first PET/CT scan after limb salvage surgery was reviewed for metal artifacts on CT images and for artifacts at locations on PET corresponding to the CT metal artifacts. Increased FDG uptake was consistently present at soft-tissue interfaces with endoprostheses, allografts and internal fixation devices, with little or no FDG uptake at cemented endoprosthesis-bone interfaces. Maximum standardized uptake value at margins of femur/knee endoprostheses ranged from 1.4 to 5.7. In four patients with distal femur/knee endoprostheses, minimal artifact was noted on attenuation-corrected PET images, but image interpretation was not affected. In the other 11 patients who had CT attenuation correction, we detected no artifacts caused by the attenuation correction. CT attenuation correction did not cause artifacts that affected interpretation of attenuation-corrected PET images. (orig.)

  14. [F-18]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography after limb salvage surgery: post-surgical appearance, attenuation correction and local complications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gelfand, Michael J.; Sharp, Susan E.

    2015-01-01

    Metal endoprostheses and internal fixation devices cause significant artifacts on CT after limb salvage surgery; positron emission tomography (PET) images should be evaluated for artifacts. (1) To describe [F-18]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) PET uptake patterns after limb salvage surgery. (2) To determine whether metal endoprostheses and fixation hardware cause significant artifacts on CT attenuation-corrected PET that interfere with diagnostic use of PET/CT after limb salvage surgery. We reviewed 92 studies from 18 patients ages 5-21 years. Diagnoses were osteogenic sarcoma in 14, Ewing sarcoma in 3, and malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor originating in bone in 1. Nine patients had distal femur/knee endoprostheses, five had lower-extremity bone allografts secured by large metal plates and four had upper-extremity limb salvage procedures. Maximum standardized uptake value was calculated at lower-extremity soft-tissue-endoprosthesis interfaces. In 15 patients with PET/CT imaging, the first PET/CT scan after limb salvage surgery was reviewed for metal artifacts on CT images and for artifacts at locations on PET corresponding to the CT metal artifacts. Increased FDG uptake was consistently present at soft-tissue interfaces with endoprostheses, allografts and internal fixation devices, with little or no FDG uptake at cemented endoprosthesis-bone interfaces. Maximum standardized uptake value at margins of femur/knee endoprostheses ranged from 1.4 to 5.7. In four patients with distal femur/knee endoprostheses, minimal artifact was noted on attenuation-corrected PET images, but image interpretation was not affected. In the other 11 patients who had CT attenuation correction, we detected no artifacts caused by the attenuation correction. CT attenuation correction did not cause artifacts that affected interpretation of attenuation-corrected PET images. (orig.)

  15. Quantitative Evaluation of Segmentation- and Atlas-Based Attenuation Correction for PET/MR on Pediatric Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bezrukov, Ilja; Schmidt, Holger; Gatidis, Sergios; Mantlik, Frédéric; Schäfer, Jürgen F; Schwenzer, Nina; Pichler, Bernd J

    2015-07-01

    Pediatric imaging is regarded as a key application for combined PET/MR imaging systems. Because existing MR-based attenuation-correction methods were not designed specifically for pediatric patients, we assessed the impact of 2 potentially influential factors: inter- and intrapatient variability of attenuation coefficients and anatomic variability. Furthermore, we evaluated the quantification accuracy of 3 methods for MR-based attenuation correction without (SEGbase) and with bone prediction using an adult and a pediatric atlas (SEGwBONEad and SEGwBONEpe, respectively) on PET data of pediatric patients. The variability of attenuation coefficients between and within pediatric (5-17 y, n = 17) and adult (27-66 y, n = 16) patient collectives was assessed on volumes of interest (VOIs) in CT datasets for different tissue types. Anatomic variability was assessed on SEGwBONEad/pe attenuation maps by computing mean differences to CT-based attenuation maps for regions of bone tissue, lungs, and soft tissue. PET quantification was evaluated on VOIs with physiologic uptake and on 80% isocontour VOIs with elevated uptake in the thorax and abdomen/pelvis. Inter- and intrapatient variability of the bias was assessed for each VOI group and method. Statistically significant differences in mean VOI Hounsfield unit values and linear attenuation coefficients between adult and pediatric collectives were found in the lungs and femur. The prediction of attenuation maps using the pediatric atlas showed a reduced error in bone tissue and better delineation of bone structure. Evaluation of PET quantification accuracy showed statistically significant mean errors in mean standardized uptake values of -14% ± 5% and -23% ± 6% in bone marrow and femur-adjacent VOIs with physiologic uptake for SEGbase, which could be reduced to 0% ± 4% and -1% ± 5% using SEGwBONEpe attenuation maps. Bias in soft-tissue VOIs was less than 5% for all methods. Lung VOIs showed high SDs in the range of 15% for

  16. Bias atlases for segmentation-based PET attenuation correction using PET-CT and MR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ouyang, Jinsong; Chun, Se Young; Petibon, Yoann; Bonab, Ali A; Alpert, Nathaniel; Fakhri, Georges El

    2013-10-01

    This study was to obtain voxel-wise PET accuracy and precision using tissue-segmentation for attenuation correction. We applied multiple thresholds to the CTs of 23 patients to classify tissues. For six of the 23 patients, MR images were also acquired. The MR fat/in-phase ratio images were used for fat segmentation. Segmented tissue classes were used to create attenuation maps, which were used for attenuation correction in PET reconstruction. PET bias images were then computed using the PET reconstructed with the original CT as the reference. We registered the CTs for all the patients and transformed the corresponding bias images accordingly. We then obtained the mean and standard deviation bias atlas using all the registered bias images. Our CT-based study shows that four-class segmentation (air, lungs, fat, other tissues), which is available on most PET-MR scanners, yields 15.1%, 4.1%, 6.6%, and 12.9% RMSE bias in lungs, fat, non-fat soft-tissues, and bones, respectively. An accurate fat identification is achievable using fat/in-phase MR images. Furthermore, we have found that three-class segmentation (air, lungs, other tissues) yields less than 5% standard deviation of bias within the heart, liver, and kidneys. This implies that three-class segmentation can be sufficient to achieve small variation of bias for imaging these three organs. Finally, we have found that inter- and intra-patient lung density variations contribute almost equally to the overall standard deviation of bias within the lungs.

  17. Influence of arm positioning on tomographic thallium-201 myocardial perfusion imaging and the effect of attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prvulovich, E.M.; Jarritt, P.H.; Vorontsova, E.; Bomanji, J.B.; Ell, P.J.

    2000-01-01

    Lateral attenuation in single-photon emission tomography (SPET) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) has been attributed to the left arm if it is held by the patient's side during data acquisition. As a result MPI data are conventionally acquired with the arms held above the head. The aims of this study were to determine the effect of imaging arms down on reconstructed tomographic images depicting regional myocardial thallium-201 distribution and to assess whether attenuation-corrected (AC) myocardial perfusion images acquired arms down could replace uncorrected (NC) images acquired arms up for routine clinical service. Twenty-eight patients referred for routine MPI underwent sequential 180 emission/transmission imaging for attenuation correction using an L-shaped dual-headed gamma camera (GE Optima) fitted with two gadolinium-153 scanning line sources. Delay data were acquired twice: once supine with the arms up and then supine with the arms down. Detector radius of rotation (ROR) for arms up and arms-down studies was recorded. For each data set, count density was measured in 17 segments of a polar plot and segmental uptake expressed relative to study maximum. Oblique images were assessed qualitatively by two observers blinded to study type for tracer distribution and overall quality. Transmission maps were assessed for truncation. Mean detector ROR was 190 mm for arms-up studies and 232 mm for arms-down studies (P 201 Tl distribution, particularly anterolaterally. There is lateral undercorrection in approximately 10% of AC arms-down studies, possibly because of attenuation map truncation. Image quality is reduced in about one-third of AC arms-down studies compared with NC arms-up studies. These data suggest that this attenuation correction method is not sufficiently robust to allow routine acquisition of MPI data with the arms down. (orig.)

  18. Gamma ray self-attenuation correction: a simple numerical approach and its validation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agarwal, Chhavi; Poi, Sanhita; Mhatre, Amol; Goswami, A.

    2009-03-01

    A hybrid Monte Carlo method for gamma ray attenuation correction has been developed. The method has been applied to some common counting geometries like cylinder, box, sphere and disc. The method has been validated theoretically and experimentally over a wide range of transmittance and sample-to-detector distances. The advantage of the approach is that it is common to all sample geometries and can be used at all sample-to detector distances. (author)

  19. Ultra-low dose CT attenuation correction for PET/CT: analysis of sparse view data acquisition and reconstruction algorithms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rui, Xue; Cheng, Lishui; Long, Yong; Fu, Lin; Alessio, Adam M.; Asma, Evren; Kinahan, Paul E.; De Man, Bruno

    2015-01-01

    For PET/CT systems, PET image reconstruction requires corresponding CT images for anatomical localization and attenuation correction. In the case of PET respiratory gating, multiple gated CT scans can offer phase-matched attenuation and motion correction, at the expense of increased radiation dose. We aim to minimize the dose of the CT scan, while preserving adequate image quality for the purpose of PET attenuation correction by introducing sparse view CT data acquisition. Methods We investigated sparse view CT acquisition protocols resulting in ultra-low dose CT scans designed for PET attenuation correction. We analyzed the tradeoffs between the number of views and the integrated tube current per view for a given dose using CT and PET simulations of a 3D NCAT phantom with lesions inserted into liver and lung. We simulated seven CT acquisition protocols with {984, 328, 123, 41, 24, 12, 8} views per rotation at a gantry speed of 0.35 seconds. One standard dose and four ultra-low dose levels, namely, 0.35 mAs, 0.175 mAs, 0.0875 mAs, and 0.04375 mAs, were investigated. Both the analytical FDK algorithm and the Model Based Iterative Reconstruction (MBIR) algorithm were used for CT image reconstruction. We also evaluated the impact of sinogram interpolation to estimate the missing projection measurements due to sparse view data acquisition. For MBIR, we used a penalized weighted least squares (PWLS) cost function with an approximate total-variation (TV) regularizing penalty function. We compared a tube pulsing mode and a continuous exposure mode for sparse view data acquisition. Global PET ensemble root-mean-squares-error (RMSE) and local ensemble lesion activity error were used as quantitative evaluation metrics for PET image quality. Results With sparse view sampling, it is possible to greatly reduce the CT scan dose when it is primarily used for PET attenuation correction with little or no measureable effect on the PET image. For the four ultra-low dose levels

  20. Stochastic simulation experiment to assess radar rainfall retrieval uncertainties associated with attenuation and its correction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Uijlenhoet

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available As rainfall constitutes the main source of water for the terrestrial hydrological processes, accurate and reliable measurement and prediction of its spatial and temporal distribution over a wide range of scales is an important goal for hydrology. We investigate the potential of ground-based weather radar to provide such measurements through a theoretical analysis of some of the associated observation uncertainties. A stochastic model of range profiles of raindrop size distributions is employed in a Monte Carlo simulation experiment to investigate the rainfall retrieval uncertainties associated with weather radars operating at X-, C-, and S-band. We focus in particular on the errors and uncertainties associated with rain-induced signal attenuation and its correction for incoherent, non-polarimetric, single-frequency, operational weather radars. The performance of two attenuation correction schemes, the (forward Hitschfeld-Bordan algorithm and the (backward Marzoug-Amayenc algorithm, is analyzed for both moderate (assuming a 50 km path length and intense Mediterranean rainfall (for a 30 km path. A comparison shows that the backward correction algorithm is more stable and accurate than the forward algorithm (with a bias in the order of a few percent for the former, compared to tens of percent for the latter, provided reliable estimates of the total path-integrated attenuation are available. Moreover, the bias and root mean square error associated with each algorithm are quantified as a function of path-averaged rain rate and distance from the radar in order to provide a plausible order of magnitude for the uncertainty in radar-retrieved rain rates for hydrological applications.

  1. Filtering of SPECT reconstructions made using Bellini's attenuation correction method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Glick, S.J.; Penney, B.C.; King, M.A.

    1991-01-01

    This paper evaluates a three-dimensional (3D) Wiener filter which is used to restore SPECT reconstructions which were made using Bellini's method of attenuation correction. Its performance is compared to that of several pre-reconstruction filers: the one-dimensional (1D) Butterworth, the two-dimensional (2D) Butterworth, and a 2D Wiener filer. A simulation study is used to compare the four filtering methods. An approximation to a clinical liver spleen study was used as the source distribution and algorithm which accounts for the depth and distance dependent blurring in SPECT was used to compute noise free projections. To study the effect of filtering method on tumor detection accuracy, a 2 cm diameter, cool spherical tumor (40% contrast) was placed at a known, but random, location with the liver. Projection sets for ten tumor locations were computed and five noise realizations of each set were obtained by introducing Poisson noise. The simulated projections were either: filtered with the 1D or 2D Butterworth or the 2D Wiener and then reconstructed using Bellini's intrinsic attenuation correction, or reconstructed first, then filtered with the 3D Wiener. The criteria used for comparison were: normalized mean square error (NMSE), cold spot contrast, and accuracy of tumor detection with an automated numerical method. Results indicate that restorations obtained with 3D Wiener filtering yielded significantly higher lesion contrast and lower NMSE values compared to the other methods of processing. The Wiener restoration filters and the 2D Butterworth all provided similar measures of detectability, which were noticeably higher than that obtained with 1D Butterworth smoothing

  2. Surgical attenuation of congenital portosystemic shunts in dogs. Techniques, complications and prognosis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kummeling, A.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/304828793

    2009-01-01

    The general aim of this thesis was to identify factors associated with outcome after surgical attenuation of congenital portosystemic shunts (CPSS) in dogs and to clarify underlying mechanisms of postoperative recovery in this disease. Two surgical techniques used for CPSS attenuation, ligation and

  3. Diagnosis of myocardial viability by dual-head coincidence gamma camera fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography with and without non-uniform attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nowak, B.; Zimmy, M.; Kaiser, H.-J.; Schaefer, W.; Reinartz, P.; Buell, U.; Schwarz, E.R.; Dahl, J. vom

    2000-01-01

    This study assessed a dual-head coincidence gamma camera (hybrid PET) equipped with single-photon transmission for myocardial fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) imaging by comparing this technique with conventional positron emission tomography (PET) using a dedicated ring PET scanner. Twenty-one patients were studied with dedicated FDG ring PET and FDG hybrid PET for evaluation of myocardial glucose metabolism, as well as technetium-99 m tetrofosmin single-photon emission tomography (SPET) to estimate myocardial perfusion. All patients underwent transmitted attenuation correction using germanium-68 rod sources for ring PET and caesium-137 point sources for hybrid PET. Ring PET and hybrid PET emission scans were started 61±12 and 98±15 min, respectively, after administration of 154±31 MBq FDG. Attenuation-corrected images were reconstructed iteratively for ring PET and hybrid PET (ac-hybrid PET), and non-attenuation-corrected images for hybrid PET (non-ac-hybrid PET) only. Tracer distribution was analysed semiquantitatively using a volumetric vector sampling method dividing the left ventricular wall into 13 segments. FDG distribution in non-ac-hybrid PET and ring PET correlated with r=0.36 (P<0.0001), and in ac-hybrid PET and ring PET with r=0.79 (P<0.0001). Non-ac-hybrid PET significantly overestimated FDG uptake in the apical and supra-apical segments, and underestimated FDG uptake in the remaining segments, with the exception of one lateral segment. Ac-hybrid PET significantly overestimated FDG uptake in the apical segment, and underestimated FDG uptake in only three posteroseptal segments. A three-grade score was used to classify diagnosis of viability by FDG PET in 136 segments with reduced perfusion as assessed by SPET. Compared with ring PET, non-ac-hybrid PET showed concordant diagnoses in 80 segments (59%) and ac-hybrid PET in 101 segments (74%) (P<0.001). Agreement between ring PET and non-ac-hybrid PET was best in the basal lateral wall and in the

  4. Subject-specific bone attenuation correction for brain PET/MR: can ZTE-MRI substitute CT scan accurately?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khalifé, Maya; Fernandez, Brice; Jaubert, Olivier; Soussan, Michael; Brulon, Vincent; Buvat, Irène; Comtat, Claude

    2017-10-01

    In brain PET/MR applications, accurate attenuation maps are required for accurate PET image quantification. An implemented attenuation correction (AC) method for brain imaging is the single-atlas approach that estimates an AC map from an averaged CT template. As an alternative, we propose to use a zero echo time (ZTE) pulse sequence to segment bone, air and soft tissue. A linear relationship between histogram normalized ZTE intensity and measured CT density in Hounsfield units (HU ) in bone has been established thanks to a CT-MR database of 16 patients. Continuous AC maps were computed based on the segmented ZTE by setting a fixed linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) to air and soft tissue and by using the linear relationship to generate continuous μ values for the bone. Additionally, for the purpose of comparison, four other AC maps were generated: a ZTE derived AC map with a fixed LAC for the bone, an AC map based on the single-atlas approach as provided by the PET/MR manufacturer, a soft-tissue only AC map and, finally, the CT derived attenuation map used as the gold standard (CTAC). All these AC maps were used with different levels of smoothing for PET image reconstruction with and without time-of-flight (TOF). The subject-specific AC map generated by combining ZTE-based segmentation and linear scaling of the normalized ZTE signal into HU was found to be a good substitute for the measured CTAC map in brain PET/MR when used with a Gaussian smoothing kernel of 4~mm corresponding to the PET scanner intrinsic resolution. As expected TOF reduces AC error regardless of the AC method. The continuous ZTE-AC performed better than the other alternative MR derived AC methods, reducing the quantification error between the MRAC corrected PET image and the reference CTAC corrected PET image.

  5. Optimization of coronary optical coherence tomography imaging using the attenuation-compensated technique: a validation study.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teo, Jing Chun; Foin, Nicolas; Otsuka, Fumiyuki; Bulluck, Heerajnarain; Fam, Jiang Ming; Wong, Philip; Low, Fatt Hoe; Leo, Hwa Liang; Mari, Jean-Martial; Joner, Michael; Girard, Michael J A; Virmani, Renu; Bezerra, HG.; Costa, MA.; Guagliumi, G.; Rollins, AM.; Simon, D.; Gutiérrez-Chico, JL.; Alegría-Barrero, E.; Teijeiro-Mestre, R.; Chan, PH.; Tsujioka, H.; de Silva, R.; Otsuka, F.; Joner, M.; Prati, F.; Virmani, R.; Narula, J.; Members, WC.; Levine, GN.; Bates, ER.; Blankenship, JC.; Bailey, SR.; Bittl, JA.; Prati, F.; Guagliumi, G.; Mintz, G.S.; Costa, Marco; Regar, E.; Akasaka, T.; Roleder, T.; Jąkała, J.; Kałuża, GL.; Partyka, Ł.; Proniewska, K.; Pociask, E.; Girard, MJA.; Strouthidis, NG.; Ethier, CR.; Mari, JM.; Mari, JM.; Strouthidis, NG.; Park, SC.; Girard, MJA.; van der Lee, R.; Foin, N.; Otsuka, F.; Wong, P.K.; Mari, J-M.; Joner, M.; Nakano, M.; Vorpahl, M.; Otsuka, F.; Taniwaki, M.; Yazdani, SK.; Finn, AV.; Nakano, M.; Yahagi, K.; Yamamoto, H.; Taniwaki, M.; Otsuka, F.; Ladich, ER.; Girard, MJ.; Ang, M.; Chung, CW.; Farook, M.; Strouthidis, N.; Mehta, JS.; Foin, N.; Mari, JM.; Nijjer, S.; Sen, S.; Petraco, R.; Ghione, M.; Liu, X.; Kang, JU.; Virmani, R.; Kolodgie, F.D.; Burke, AP.; Farb, A.; Schwartz, S.M.; Yahagi, K.; Kolodgie, F.D.; Otsuka, F.; Finn, AV.; Davis, HR.; Joner, M.; Kume, T.; Akasaka, T.; Kawamoto, T.; Watanabe, N.; Toyota, E.; Neishi, Y.; Rieber, J.; Meissner, O.; Babaryka, G.; Reim, S.; Oswald, M.E.; Koenig, A.S.; Tearney, G. J.; Regar, E.; Akasaka, T.; Adriaenssens, T.; Barlis, P.; Bezerra, HG.; Yabushita, H.; Bouma, BE.; Houser, S. L.; Aretz, HT.; Jang, I-K.; Schlendorf, KH.; Guo, J.; Sun, L.; Chen, Y.D.; Tian, F.; Liu, HB.; Chen, L.; Kawasaki, M.; Bouma, BE.; Bressner, J. E.; Houser, S. L.; Nadkarni, S. K.; MacNeill, BD.; Jansen, CHP.; Onthank, DC.; Cuello, F.; Botnar, RM.; Wiethoff, AJ.; Warley, A.; von Birgelen, C.; Hartmann, A. M.; Kubo, T.; Akasaka, T.; Shite, J.; Suzuki, T.; Uemura, S.; Yu, B.; Habara, M.; Nasu, K.; Terashima, M.; Kaneda, H.; Yokota, D.; Ko, E.; Virmani, R.; Burke, AP.; Kolodgie, F.D.; Farb, A.; Takarada, S.; Imanishi, T.; Kubo, T.; Tanimoto, T.; Kitabata, H.; Nakamura, N.; Hattori, K.; Ozaki, Y.; Ismail, TF.; Okumura, M.; Naruse, H.; Kan, S.; Nishio, R.; Shinke, T.; Otake, H.; Nakagawa, M.; Nagoshi, R.; Inoue, T.; Sinclair, H.D.; Bourantas, C.; Bagnall, A.; Mintz, G.S.; Kunadian, V.; Tearney, G. J.; Yabushita, H.; Houser, S. L.; Aretz, HT.; Jang, I-K.; Schlendorf, KH.; van Soest, G.; Goderie, T.; Regar, E.; Koljenović, S.; Leenders, GL. van; Gonzalo, N.; Xu, C.; Schmitt, JM.; Carlier, SG.; Virmani, R.; van der Meer, FJ; Faber, D.J.; Sassoon, DMB.; Aalders, M.C.; Pasterkamp, G.; Leeuwen, TG. van; Schmitt, JM.; Knuttel, A.; Yadlowsky, M.; Eckhaus, MA.; Karamata, B.; Laubscher, M.; Leutenegger, M.; Bourquin, S.; Lasser, T.; Lambelet, P.; Vermeer, K.A.; Mo, J.; Weda, J.J.A.; Lemij, H.G.; Boer, JF. de

    2016-01-01

    PURPOSE To optimize conventional coronary optical coherence tomography (OCT) images using the attenuation-compensated technique to improve identification of plaques and the external elastic lamina (EEL) contour. METHOD The attenuation-compensated technique was optimized via manipulating contrast

  6. Neural network scatter correction technique for digital radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boone, J.M.

    1990-01-01

    This paper presents a scatter correction technique based on artificial neural networks. The technique utilizes the acquisition of a conventional digital radiographic image, coupled with the acquisition of a multiple pencil beam (micro-aperture) digital image. Image subtraction results in a sparsely sampled estimate of the scatter component in the image. The neural network is trained to develop a causal relationship between image data on the low-pass filtered open field image and the sparsely sampled scatter image, and then the trained network is used to correct the entire image (pixel by pixel) in a manner which is operationally similar to but potentially more powerful than convolution. The technique is described and is illustrated using clinical primary component images combined with scatter component images that are realistically simulated using the results from previously reported Monte Carlo investigations. The results indicate that an accurate scatter correction can be realized using this technique

  7. Air slab-correction for Γ-ray attenuation measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mann, Kulwinder Singh

    2017-12-01

    Gamma (γ)-ray shielding behaviour (GSB) of a material can be ascertained from its linear attenuation coefficient (μ, cm-1). Narrow-beam transmission geometry is required for μ-measurement. In such measurements, a thin slab of the material has to insert between point-isotropic γ-ray source and detector assembly. The accuracy in measurements requires that sample's optical thickness (OT) remain below 0.5 mean free path (mfp). Sometimes it is very difficult to produce thin slab of sample (absorber), on the other hand for thick absorber, i.e. OT >0.5 mfp, the influence of the air displaced by it cannot be ignored during μ-measurements. Thus, for a thick sample, correction factor has been suggested which compensates the air present in the transmission geometry. The correction factor has been named as an air slab-correction (ASC). Six samples of low-Z engineering materials (cement-black, clay, red-mud, lime-stone, cement-white and plaster-of-paris) have been selected for investigating the effect of ASC on μ-measurements at three γ-ray energies (661.66, 1173.24, 1332.50 keV). The measurements have been made using point-isotropic γ-ray sources (Cs-137 and Co-60), NaI(Tl) detector and multi-channel-analyser coupled with a personal computer. Theoretical values of μ have been computed using a GRIC2-toolkit (standardized computer programme). Elemental compositions of the samples were measured with Wavelength Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence (WDXRF) analyser. Inter-comparison of measured and computed μ-values, suggested that the application of ASC helps in precise μ-measurement for thick samples of low-Z materials. Thus, this hitherto widely ignored ASC factor is recommended to use in similar γ-ray measurements.

  8. Modifying Spearman's Attenuation Equation to Yield Partial Corrections for Measurement Error--With Application to Sample Size Calculations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicewander, W. Alan

    2018-01-01

    Spearman's correction for attenuation (measurement error) corrects a correlation coefficient for measurement errors in either-or-both of two variables, and follows from the assumptions of classical test theory. Spearman's equation removes all measurement error from a correlation coefficient which translates into "increasing the reliability of…

  9. Precise material identification method based on a photon counting technique with correction of the beam hardening effect in X-ray spectra

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kimoto, Natsumi; Hayashi, Hiroaki; Asahara, Takashi; Mihara, Yoshiki; Kanazawa, Yuki; Yamakawa, Tsutomu; Yamamoto, Shuichiro; Yamasaki, Masashi; Okada, Masahiro

    2017-01-01

    The aim of our study is to develop a novel material identification method based on a photon counting technique, in which the incident and penetrating X-ray spectra are analyzed. Dividing a 40 kV X-ray spectra into two energy regions, the corresponding linear attenuation coefficients are derived. We can identify the materials precisely using the relationship between atomic number and linear attenuation coefficient through the correction of the beam hardening effect of the X-ray spectra. - Highlights: • We propose a precise material identification method to be used as a photon counting system. • Beam hardening correction is important, even when the analysis is applied to the short energy regions in the X-ray spectrum. • Experiments using a single probe-type CdTe detector were performed, and Monte Carlo simulation was also carried out. • We described the applicability of our method for clinical diagnostic X-ray imaging in the near future.

  10. Attenuation correction for the HRRT PET-scanner using transmission scatter correction and total variation regularization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keller, Sune H; Svarer, Claus; Sibomana, Merence

    2013-09-01

    In the standard software for the Siemens high-resolution research tomograph (HRRT) positron emission tomography (PET) scanner the most commonly used segmentation in the μ -map reconstruction for human brain scans is maximum a posteriori for transmission (MAP-TR). Bias in the lower cerebellum and pons in HRRT brain images have been reported. The two main sources of the problem with MAP-TR are poor bone/soft tissue segmentation below the brain and overestimation of bone mass in the skull. We developed the new transmission processing with total variation (TXTV) method that introduces scatter correction in the μ-map reconstruction and total variation filtering to the transmission processing. Comparing MAP-TR and the new TXTV with gold standard CT-based attenuation correction, we found that TXTV has less bias as compared to MAP-TR. We also compared images acquired at the HRRT scanner using TXTV to the GE Advance scanner images and found high quantitative correspondence. TXTV has been used to reconstruct more than 4000 HRRT scans at seven different sites with no reports of biases. TXTV-based reconstruction is recommended for human brain scans on the HRRT.

  11. The surgical correction of buried penis: a new technique

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boemers, T. M.; de Jong, T. P.

    1995-01-01

    We report a new surgical technique for the correction of buried penis. The study comprised 10 boys with buried penis. The technique consisted of resection of abnormal dartos attachments, unfurling of the prepuce and correction of the deficient shaft skin by reapproximation of the preputial skin

  12. PET/CT with intravenous contrast can be used for PET attenuation correction in cancer patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berthelsen, A.K.; Holm, S.; Loft, A.; Klausen, T.L.; Andersen, F.; Hoejgaard, L.

    2005-01-01

    If the CT scan of a combined PET/CT study is performed as a full diagnostic quality CT scan including intravenous (IV) contrast agent, the quality of the joint PET/CT procedure is improved and a separate diagnostic CT scan can be avoided. CT with IV contrast can be used for PET attenuation correction, but this may result in a bias in the attenuation factors. The clinical significance of this bias has not been established. Our aim was to perform a prospective clinical study where each patient had CT performed with and without IV contrast agent to establish whether PET/CT with IV contrast can be used for PET attenuation without reducing the clinical value of the PET scan. A uniform phantom study was used to document that the PET acquisition itself is not significantly influenced by the presence of IV contrast medium. Then, 19 patients referred to PET/CT with IV contrast underwent CT scans without, and then with contrast agent, followed by an 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose whole-body PET scan. The CT examinations were performed with identical parameters on a GE Discovery LS scanner. The PET data were reconstructed with attenuation correction based on the two CT data sets. A global comparison of standard uptake value (SUV) was performed, and SUVs in tumour, in non-tumour tissue and in the subclavian vein were calculated. Clinical evaluation of the number and location of lesions on all PET/CT scans was performed twice, blinded and in a different random order, by two independent nuclear medicine specialists. In all patients, the measured global SUV of PET images based on CT with IV contrast agent was higher than the global activity using non-contrast correction. The overall increase in the mean SUV (for two different conversion tables tested) was 4.5±2.3% and 1.6±0.5%, respectively. In 11/19 patients, focal uptake was identified corresponding to malignant tumours. Eight out of 11 tumours showed an increased SUV max (2.9±3.1%) on the PET images reconstructed using IV contrast

  13. Evaluation of attenuation correction in cardiac PET using PET/MR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lau, Jeffrey M C; Laforest, R; Sotoudeh, H; Nie, X; Sharma, S; McConathy, J; Novak, E; Priatna, A; Gropler, R J; Woodard, P K

    2017-06-01

    Simultaneous acquisition Positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) is a new technology that has potential as a tool both in research and clinical diagnosis. However, cardiac PET acquisition has not yet been validated using MR imaging for attenuation correction (AC). The goal of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of PET imaging using a standard 2-point Dixon volume interpolated breathhold examination (VIBE) MR sequence for AC. Evaluation was performed in both phantom and patient data. A chest phantom containing heart, lungs, and a lesion insert was scanned by both PET/MR and PET/CT. In addition, 30 patients underwent whole-body 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose PET/CT followed by simultaneous cardiac PET/MR. Phantom study showed 3% reduction of activity values in the myocardium due to the non-inclusion of the phased array coil in the AC. In patient scans, average standardized uptake values (SUVs) obtained by PET/CT and PET/MR showed no significant difference (n = 30, 4.6 ± 3.5 vs 4.7 ± 2.8, P = 0.47). There was excellent per patient correlation between the values acquired by PET/CT and PET/MR (R 2  = 0.97). Myocardial SUVs PET imaging using MR for AC shows excellent correlation with myocardial SUVs obtained by standard PET/CT imaging. The 2-point Dixon VIBE MR technique can be used for AC in simultaneous PET/MR data acquisition.

  14. Evaluation of a direct motion estimation/correction method in respiratory-gated PET/MRI with motion-adjusted attenuation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bousse, Alexandre; Manber, Richard; Holman, Beverley F; Atkinson, David; Arridge, Simon; Ourselin, Sébastien; Hutton, Brian F; Thielemans, Kris

    2017-06-01

    Respiratory motion compensation in PET/CT and PET/MRI is essential as motion is a source of image degradation (motion blur, attenuation artifacts). In previous work, we developed a direct method for joint image reconstruction/motion estimation (JRM) for attenuation-corrected (AC) respiratory-gated PET, which uses a single attenuation-map (μ-map). This approach was successfully implemented for respiratory-gated PET/CT, but since it relied on an accurate μ-map for motion estimation, the question of its applicability in PET/MRI is open. The purpose of this work is to investigate the feasibility of JRM in PET/MRI and to assess the robustness of the motion estimation when a degraded μ-map is used. We performed a series of JRM reconstructions from simulated PET data using a range of simulated Dixon MRI sequence derived μ-maps with wrong attenuation values in the lungs, from -100% (no attenuation) to +100% (double attenuation), as well as truncated arms. We compared the estimated motions with the one obtained from JRM in ideal conditions (no noise, true μ-map as an input). We also applied JRM on 4 patient datasets of the chest, 3 of them containing hot lesions. Patient list-mode data were gated using a principal component analysis method. We compared SUV max values of the JRM reconstructed activity images and non motion-corrected images. We also assessed the estimated motion fields by comparing the deformed JRM-reconstructed activity with individually non-AC reconstructed gates. Experiments on simulated data showed that JRM-motion estimation is robust to μ-map degradation in the sense that it produces motion fields similar to the ones obtained when using the true μ-map, regardless of the attenuation errors in the lungs (PET/MRI clinical datasets. It provides a potential alternative to existing methods where the motion fields are pre-estimated from separate MRI measurements. © 2017 University College London (UCL). Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc

  15. CT-based attenuation correction and resolution compensation for I-123 IMP brain SPECT normal database: a multicenter phantom study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Inui, Yoshitaka; Ichihara, Takashi; Uno, Masaki; Ishiguro, Masanobu; Ito, Kengo; Kato, Katsuhiko; Sakuma, Hajime; Okazawa, Hidehiko; Toyama, Hiroshi

    2018-03-19

    Statistical image analysis of brain SPECT images has improved diagnostic accuracy for brain disorders. However, the results of statistical analysis vary depending on the institution even when they use a common normal database (NDB), due to different intrinsic spatial resolutions or correction methods. The present study aimed to evaluate the correction of spatial resolution differences between equipment and examine the differences in skull bone attenuation to construct a common NDB for use in multicenter settings. The proposed acquisition and processing protocols were those routinely used at each participating center with additional triple energy window (TEW) scatter correction (SC) and computed tomography (CT) based attenuation correction (CTAC). A multicenter phantom study was conducted on six imaging systems in five centers, with either single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) or SPECT/CT, and two brain phantoms. The gray/white matter I-123 activity ratio in the brain phantoms was 4, and they were enclosed in either an artificial adult male skull, 1300 Hounsfield units (HU), a female skull, 850 HU, or an acrylic cover. The cut-off frequency of the Butterworth filters was adjusted so that the spatial resolution was unified to a 17.9 mm full width at half maximum (FWHM), that of the lowest resolution system. The gray-to-white matter count ratios were measured from SPECT images and compared with the actual activity ratio. In addition, mean, standard deviation and coefficient of variation images were calculated after normalization and anatomical standardization to evaluate the variability of the NDB. The gray-to-white matter count ratio error without SC and attenuation correction (AC) was significantly larger for higher bone densities (p correction. The proposed protocol showed potential for constructing an appropriate common NDB from SPECT images with SC, AC and spatial resolution compensation.

  16. MR/PET quantification tools: Registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based attenuation correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fei, Baowei; Yang, Xiaofeng; Nye, Jonathon A.; Aarsvold, John N.; Raghunath, Nivedita; Cervo, Morgan; Stark, Rebecca; Meltzer, Carolyn C.; Votaw, John R.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Combined MR/PET is a relatively new, hybrid imaging modality. A human MR/PET prototype system consisting of a Siemens 3T Trio MR and brain PET insert was installed and tested at our institution. Its present design does not offer measured attenuation correction (AC) using traditional transmission imaging. This study is the development of quantification tools including MR-based AC for quantification in combined MR/PET for brain imaging. Methods: The developed quantification tools include image registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based AC. These components were integrated into a single scheme for processing MR/PET data. The segmentation method is multiscale and based on the Radon transform of brain MR images. It was developed to segment the skull on T1-weighted MR images. A modified fuzzy C-means classification scheme was developed to classify brain tissue into gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. Classified tissue is assigned an attenuation coefficient so that AC factors can be generated. PET emission data are then reconstructed using a three-dimensional ordered sets expectation maximization method with the MR-based AC map. Ten subjects had separate MR and PET scans. The PET with [11C]PIB was acquired using a high-resolution research tomography (HRRT) PET. MR-based AC was compared with transmission (TX)-based AC on the HRRT. Seventeen volumes of interest were drawn manually on each subject image to compare the PET activities between the MR-based and TX-based AC methods. Results: For skull segmentation, the overlap ratio between our segmented results and the ground truth is 85.2 ± 2.6%. Attenuation correction results from the ten subjects show that the difference between the MR and TX-based methods was <6.5%. Conclusions: MR-based AC compared favorably with conventional transmission-based AC. Quantitative tools including registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based AC have been developed for use in combined MR

  17. MR/PET quantification tools: Registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based attenuation correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fei, Baowei, E-mail: bfei@emory.edu [Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, 1841 Clifton Road Northeast, Atlanta, Georgia 30329 (United States); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (United States); Department of Mathematics and Computer Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (United States); Yang, Xiaofeng; Nye, Jonathon A.; Raghunath, Nivedita; Votaw, John R. [Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30329 (United States); Aarsvold, John N. [Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30329 (United States); Nuclear Medicine Service, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Atlanta, Georgia 30033 (United States); Cervo, Morgan; Stark, Rebecca [The Medical Physics Graduate Program in the George W. Woodruff School, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); Meltzer, Carolyn C. [Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30329 (United States); Department of Neurology and Department of Psychiatry and Behavior Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia 30322 (United States)

    2012-10-15

    Purpose: Combined MR/PET is a relatively new, hybrid imaging modality. A human MR/PET prototype system consisting of a Siemens 3T Trio MR and brain PET insert was installed and tested at our institution. Its present design does not offer measured attenuation correction (AC) using traditional transmission imaging. This study is the development of quantification tools including MR-based AC for quantification in combined MR/PET for brain imaging. Methods: The developed quantification tools include image registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based AC. These components were integrated into a single scheme for processing MR/PET data. The segmentation method is multiscale and based on the Radon transform of brain MR images. It was developed to segment the skull on T1-weighted MR images. A modified fuzzy C-means classification scheme was developed to classify brain tissue into gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. Classified tissue is assigned an attenuation coefficient so that AC factors can be generated. PET emission data are then reconstructed using a three-dimensional ordered sets expectation maximization method with the MR-based AC map. Ten subjects had separate MR and PET scans. The PET with [{sup 11}C]PIB was acquired using a high-resolution research tomography (HRRT) PET. MR-based AC was compared with transmission (TX)-based AC on the HRRT. Seventeen volumes of interest were drawn manually on each subject image to compare the PET activities between the MR-based and TX-based AC methods. Results: For skull segmentation, the overlap ratio between our segmented results and the ground truth is 85.2 ± 2.6%. Attenuation correction results from the ten subjects show that the difference between the MR and TX-based methods was <6.5%. Conclusions: MR-based AC compared favorably with conventional transmission-based AC. Quantitative tools including registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based AC have been developed for use in combined MR/PET.

  18. MR/PET quantification tools: Registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fei, Baowei; Yang, Xiaofeng; Nye, Jonathon A.; Raghunath, Nivedita; Votaw, John R.; Aarsvold, John N.; Cervo, Morgan; Stark, Rebecca; Meltzer, Carolyn C.

    2012-01-01

    Purpose: Combined MR/PET is a relatively new, hybrid imaging modality. A human MR/PET prototype system consisting of a Siemens 3T Trio MR and brain PET insert was installed and tested at our institution. Its present design does not offer measured attenuation correction (AC) using traditional transmission imaging. This study is the development of quantification tools including MR-based AC for quantification in combined MR/PET for brain imaging. Methods: The developed quantification tools include image registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based AC. These components were integrated into a single scheme for processing MR/PET data. The segmentation method is multiscale and based on the Radon transform of brain MR images. It was developed to segment the skull on T1-weighted MR images. A modified fuzzy C-means classification scheme was developed to classify brain tissue into gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid. Classified tissue is assigned an attenuation coefficient so that AC factors can be generated. PET emission data are then reconstructed using a three-dimensional ordered sets expectation maximization method with the MR-based AC map. Ten subjects had separate MR and PET scans. The PET with ["1"1C]PIB was acquired using a high-resolution research tomography (HRRT) PET. MR-based AC was compared with transmission (TX)-based AC on the HRRT. Seventeen volumes of interest were drawn manually on each subject image to compare the PET activities between the MR-based and TX-based AC methods. Results: For skull segmentation, the overlap ratio between our segmented results and the ground truth is 85.2 ± 2.6%. Attenuation correction results from the ten subjects show that the difference between the MR and TX-based methods was <6.5%. Conclusions: MR-based AC compared favorably with conventional transmission-based AC. Quantitative tools including registration, segmentation, classification, and MR-based AC have been developed for use in combined MR/PET.

  19. Clinical usefulness of scatter and attenuation correction for brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in pediatrics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adachi, Itaru; Doi, Kenji; Komori, Tsuyoshi; Hou, Nobuyoshi; Tabuchi, Koujirou; Matsui, Ritsuo; Sueyoshi, Kouzou; Utsunomiya, Keita; Narabayashi, Isamu

    1998-01-01

    This investigation was undertaken to study clinical usefulness of scatter and attenuation correction (SAC) of brain SPECT in infants to compare the standard reconstruction (STD). The brain SPECT was performed in 31 patients with 19 epilepsy, 5 cerebro-vascular disease, 2 brain tumor, 3 meningitis, 1 hydrocephalus and psychosis (mean age 5.0±4.9 years old). Many patients was necessary to be injected sedatives for restraining body motion after Technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime ( 99m Tc-HMPAO) was injected at the convulsion or rest. Brain SPECT data were acquired with triple detector gamma camera (GCA-9300 Toshiba Japan). These data were reconstructed by filtered backprojection after the raw data were corrected by triple energy windows method of scatter correction and Chang filtered method of attenuation correction. The same data was reconstructed by filtered backprojection without these corrections. Both SAC and STD SPECT images were analyzed by the visual interpretation. The uptake ratio of cerebral basal nuclei was calculated by the counts of the thalamus or lenticular nuclei divided by the cortex. All images of SAC method were excellent than that of STD method. The thalamic uptake ratio in SAC method was higher than that of STD method (1.22±0.09>0.87±0.22 p 1.02±0.16 p<0.01). Transmission scan is the most suitable method of absorption correction. But the transmission scan is not adequate for examination of children, because this scan needs a lot of time and the infants are exposed by the line source radioisotope. It was concluded that these scatter and absorption corrections were most suitable method for brain SPECT in pediatrics. (author)

  20. Transmission-less attenuation correction in time-of-flight PET: analysis of a discrete iterative algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Defrise, Michel; Rezaei, Ahmadreza; Nuyts, Johan

    2014-01-01

    The maximum likelihood attenuation correction factors (MLACF) algorithm has been developed to calculate the maximum-likelihood estimate of the activity image and the attenuation sinogram in time-of-flight (TOF) positron emission tomography, using only emission data without prior information on the attenuation. We consider the case of a Poisson model of the data, in the absence of scatter or random background. In this case the maximization with respect to the attenuation factors can be achieved in a closed form and the MLACF algorithm works by updating the activity. Despite promising numerical results, the convergence of this algorithm has not been analysed. In this paper we derive the algorithm and demonstrate that the MLACF algorithm monotonically increases the likelihood, is asymptotically regular, and that the limit points of the iteration are stationary points of the likelihood. Because the problem is not convex, however, the limit points might be saddle points or local maxima. To obtain some empirical insight into the latter question, we present data obtained by applying MLACF to 2D simulated TOF data, using a large number of iterations and different initializations. (paper)

  1. Clinical usefulness of scatter and attenuation correction for brain single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in pediatrics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adachi, Itaru; Doi, Kenji; Komori, Tsuyoshi; Hou, Nobuyoshi; Tabuchi, Koujirou; Matsui, Ritsuo; Sueyoshi, Kouzou; Utsunomiya, Keita; Narabayashi, Isamu [Osaka Medical Coll., Takatsuki (Japan)

    1998-01-01

    This investigation was undertaken to study clinical usefulness of scatter and attenuation correction (SAC) of brain SPECT in infants to compare the standard reconstruction (STD). The brain SPECT was performed in 31 patients with 19 epilepsy, 5 cerebro-vascular disease, 2 brain tumor, 3 meningitis, 1 hydrocephalus and psychosis (mean age 5.0{+-}4.9 years old). Many patients was necessary to be injected sedatives for restraining body motion after Technetium-99m hexamethylpropylene amine oxime ({sup 99m}Tc-HMPAO) was injected at the convulsion or rest. Brain SPECT data were acquired with triple detector gamma camera (GCA-9300 Toshiba Japan). These data were reconstructed by filtered backprojection after the raw data were corrected by triple energy windows method of scatter correction and Chang filtered method of attenuation correction. The same data was reconstructed by filtered backprojection without these corrections. Both SAC and STD SPECT images were analyzed by the visual interpretation. The uptake ratio of cerebral basal nuclei was calculated by the counts of the thalamus or lenticular nuclei divided by the cortex. All images of SAC method were excellent than that of STD method. The thalamic uptake ratio in SAC method was higher than that of STD method (1.22{+-}0.09>0.87{+-}0.22 p<0.01). The lenticular nuclear uptake ratio in SAC method was higher than that of STD method (1.26{+-}0.15>1.02{+-}0.16 p<0.01). Transmission scan is the most suitable method of absorption correction. But the transmission scan is not adequate for examination of children, because this scan needs a lot of time and the infants are exposed by the line source radioisotope. It was concluded that these scatter and absorption corrections were most suitable method for brain SPECT in pediatrics. (author)

  2. Beam dynamics in rf guns and emittance correction techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Serafini, L.

    1994-01-01

    In this paper we present a general review of beam dynamics in a laser-driven rf gun. The peculiarity of such an accelerating structure versus other conventional multi-cell linac structures is underlined on the basis of the Panofsky-Wenzel theorem, which is found to give a theoretical background for the well known Kim's model. A basic explanation for some proposed methods to correct rf induced emittance growth is also derived from the theorem. We also present three emittance correction techniques for the recovery of space-charge induced emittance growth, namely the optimum distributed disk-like bunch technique, the use of rf spatial harmonics to correct spherical aberration induced by space charge forces and the technique of emittance filtering by clipping the electron beam. The expected performances regarding the beam quality achievable with different techniques, as predicted by scaling laws and simulations, are analyzed, and, where available, compared to experimental results. (orig.)

  3. An examination on the correction of attenuation for calculating the renal RI accumulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Onoue, Koichi; Tachibana, Keizo; Maeda, Yoshihiro; Yanoo, Sanae; Morishita, Etsuko; Kawanaka, Masahiro; Kashiwagi, Toru; Fukuchi, Minoru

    1999-01-01

    An examination was made on the attenuation coefficients for calculation of true renal accumulation rate together with the precision of measurement of depth in the kidney. Kidney phantom for attenuation coefficients was a 20 x 20 cm cube where water was filled and radioactivity source of 99m Tc was placed at various depths. Radioactivity was measured by four kinds of scinti-camera with the collimator LEGP and LEHR. The phantom for radioactivity accumulation in the kidney was a 10 x 5 x 1, 3 or 5 cm box where 99m Tc solution of the standard 30 MBq was filled, and subjected to radioactivity measurement from various angles. Phantom radioactivity was found corrected by the effective attenuation coefficient, 0.131 cm, within the range of 98-114% of the standard counts. The precision of measurement of the depth was examined in sideways scintigrams obtained in clinical practice and was found to have the deviation of 1.1 cm as the mean of maximum ones and the variation coefficient of 7.1%. Measured depth was found to be well correlated with estimated ones by the method of Tonnesen or Ito which had the maximum deviation of 5.4 or 3.5 cm, respectively. (K.H.)

  4. Correction for tissue attenuation in radionuclide gastric emptying studies: a comparison of a lateral image method and a geometric mean method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collins, P.J.; Chatterton, B.E. (Royal Adelaide Hospital (Australia)); Horowitz, M.; Shearman, D.J.C. (Adelaide Univ. (Australia). Dept. of Medicine)

    1984-08-01

    Variation in depth of radionuclide within the stomach may result in significant errors in the measurement of gastric emptying if no attempt is made to correct for gamma-ray attenuation by the patient's tissues. A method of attenuation correction, which uses a single posteriorly located scintillation camera and correction factors derived from a lateral image of the stomach, was compared with a two-camera geometric mean method, in phantom studies and in five volunteer subjects. A meal of 100 g of ground beef containing /sup 99/Tcsup(m)-chicken liver, and 150 ml of water was used in the in vivo studies. In all subjects the geometric mean data showed that solid food emptied in two phases: an initial lag period, followed by a linear emptying phase. Using the geometric mean data as a standard, the anterior camera overestimated the 50% emptying time (T/sub 50/) by an average of 15% (range 5-18) and the posterior camera underestimated this parameter by 15% (4-22). The posterior data, corrected for attenuation using the lateral image method, underestimated the T/sub 50/ by 2% (-7 to +7). The difference in the distances of the proximal and distal stomach from the posterior detector was large in all subjects (mean 5.7 cm, range 3.9-7.4).

  5. Whole-body PET/MRI: The effect of bone attenuation during MR-based attenuation correction in oncology imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aznar, M.C., E-mail: marianne.aznar@regionh.dk [Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy 3994, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); Sersar, R., E-mail: rachidadk@hotmail.com [DTU Informatics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby (Denmark); Saabye, J., E-mail: julie_saa@hotmail.com [DTU Informatics, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby (Denmark); Ladefoged, C.N., E-mail: claesnl@gmail.com [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen (Denmark); Andersen, F.L., E-mail: Flemming.Andersen@regionh.dk [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen (Denmark); Rasmussen, J.H., E-mail: jacobrasmu@gmail.com [Department of Oncology, Section of Radiotherapy 3994, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen (Denmark); Löfgren, J., E-mail: Johan.Loefgren@regionh.dk [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen (Denmark); Beyer, T., E-mail: thomas.beyer@meduniwien.ac.at [Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna (Austria)

    2014-07-15

    Purpose: In combined PET/MRI standard PET attenuation correction (AC) is based on tissue segmentation following dedicated MR sequencing and, typically, bone tissue is not represented. We evaluate PET quantification in whole-body (WB)-PET/MRI following MR-AC without considering bone attenuation and then investigate different strategies to account for bone tissue in clinical PET/MR imaging. To this purpose, bone tissue representation was extracted from separate CT images, and different bone representations were simulated from hypothetically derived MR-based bone classifications. Methods: Twenty oncology patients referred for a PET/CT were injected with either [18F]-FDG or [18F]-NaF and imaged on PET/CT (Biograph TruePoint/mCT, Siemens) and PET/MRI (mMR, Siemens) following a standard single-injection, dual-imaging clinical WB-protocol. Routine MR-AC was based on in-/opposed-phase MR imaging (orgMR-AC). PET(/MRI) images were reconstructed (AW-OSEM, 3 iterations, 21 subsets, 4 mm Gaussian) following routine MR-AC and MR-AC based on four modified attenuation maps. These modified attenuation maps were created for each patient by non-linear co-registration of the CT images to the orgMR-AC images, and adding CT bone mask values representing cortical bone: 1200 HU (cortCT), spongiosa bone: 350 HU (spongCT), average CT value (meanCT) and original CT values (orgCT). Relative difference images of the PET following AC using the modified attenuation maps were compared. SUVmean was calculated in anatomical reference regions and for PET-positive lesions. Results: The relative differences in SUVmean across patients following orgMR-AC and orgCT in soft tissue lesions and in bone lesions were similar (range: 0.0% to −22.5%), with an average underestimation of SUVmean of 7.2% and 10.0%, respectively when using orgMR-AC. In bone lesions, spongCT values were closest to orgCT (median bias of 1.3%, range: –9.0% to 13.5%) while the overestimation of SUVmean with respect to orgCT was

  6. Clinical Evaluation of Zero-Echo-Time Attenuation Correction for Brain 18F-FDG PET/MRI: Comparison with Atlas Attenuation Correction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sekine, Tetsuro; Ter Voert, Edwin E G W; Warnock, Geoffrey; Buck, Alfred; Huellner, Martin; Veit-Haibach, Patrick; Delso, Gaspar

    2016-12-01

    Accurate attenuation correction (AC) on PET/MR is still challenging. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical feasibility of AC based on fast zero-echo-time (ZTE) MRI by comparing it with the default atlas-based AC on a clinical PET/MR scanner. We recruited 10 patients with malignant diseases not located on the brain. In all patients, a clinically indicated whole-body 18 F-FDG PET/CT scan was acquired. In addition, a head PET/MR scan was obtained voluntarily. For each patient, 2 AC maps were generated from the MR images. One was atlas-AC, derived from T1-weighted liver acquisition with volume acceleration flex images (clinical standard). The other was ZTE-AC, derived from proton-density-weighted ZTE images by applying tissue segmentation and assigning continuous attenuation values to the bone. The AC map generated by PET/CT was used as a silver standard. On the basis of each AC map, PET images were reconstructed from identical raw data on the PET/MR scanner. All PET images were normalized to the SPM5 PET template. After that, these images were qualified visually and quantified in 67 volumes of interest (VOIs; automated anatomic labeling, atlas). Relative differences and absolute relative differences between PET images based on each AC were calculated. 18 F-FDG uptake in all 670 VOIs and generalized merged VOIs were compared using a paired t test. Qualitative analysis shows that ZTE-AC was robust to patient variability. Nevertheless, misclassification of air and bone in mastoid and nasal areas led to the overestimation of PET in the temporal lobe and cerebellum (%diff of ZTE-AC, 2.46% ± 1.19% and 3.31% ± 1.70%, respectively). The |%diff| of all 670 VOIs on ZTE was improved by approximately 25% compared with atlas-AC (ZTE-AC vs. atlas-AC, 1.77% ± 1.41% vs. 2.44% ± 1.63%, P PET in regions near the skull base. © 2016 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

  7. Respiration-averaged CT for attenuation correction in non-small-cell lung cancer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, Nai-Ming; Ho, Kung-Chu; Yen, Tzu-Chen; Yu, Chih-Teng; Wu, Yi-Cheng; Liu, Yuan-Chang; Wang, Chih-Wei

    2009-01-01

    Breathing causes artefacts on PET/CT images. Cine CT has been used to reduce respiratory artefacts by acquiring multiple images during a single breathing cycle. The aim of this prospective study in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients was twofold. Firstly, we sought to compare the motion artefacts in PET/CT images attenuation-corrected with helical CT (HCT) and with averaged CT (ACT), which provides an average of cine CT images. Secondly, we wanted to evaluate the differences in maximum standardized uptake values (SUV max ) between HCT and ACT. Enrolled in the study were 80 patients with NSCLC. PET images attenuation-corrected with HCT (PET/HCT) and with ACT (PET/ACT) were obtained in all patients. Misregistration was evaluated by measurement of the curved photopenic area in the lower thorax of the PET images for all patients and direct measurement of misregistration for selected lesions. SUV max was measured separately at the primary tumours, regional lymph nodes, and background. A total of 80 patients with NSCLC were included. Significantly lower misregistrations were observed in PET/ACT images than in PET/HCT images (below-thoracic misregistration 0.25±0.58 cm vs. 1.17±1.17 cm, p max were noted in PET/ACT images than in PET/HCT images in the primary tumour (p max in PET/ACT images was higher by 0.35 for the main tumours and 0.34 for lymph nodes. Due to its significantly reduced misregistration, PET/ACT provided more reliable SUV max and may be useful in treatment planning and monitoring the therapeutic response in patients with NSCLC. (orig.)

  8. Comparative evaluation of scatter correction techniques in 3D positron emission tomography

    CERN Document Server

    Zaidi, H

    2000-01-01

    Much research and development has been concentrated on the scatter compensation required for quantitative 3D PET. Increasingly sophisticated scatter correction procedures are under investigation, particularly those based on accurate scatter models, and iterative reconstruction-based scatter compensation approaches. The main difference among the correction methods is the way in which the scatter component in the selected energy window is estimated. Monte Carlo methods give further insight and might in themselves offer a possible correction procedure. Methods: Five scatter correction methods are compared in this paper where applicable. The dual-energy window (DEW) technique, the convolution-subtraction (CVS) method, two variants of the Monte Carlo-based scatter correction technique (MCBSC1 and MCBSC2) and our newly developed statistical reconstruction-based scatter correction (SRBSC) method. These scatter correction techniques are evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation studies, experimental phantom measurements...

  9. Generation of a Four-Class Attenuation Map for MRI-Based Attenuation Correction of PET Data in the Head Area Using a Novel Combination of STE/Dixon-MRI and FCM Clustering.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khateri, Parisa; Saligheh Rad, Hamidreza; Jafari, Amir Homayoun; Fathi Kazerooni, Anahita; Akbarzadeh, Afshin; Shojae Moghadam, Mohsen; Aryan, Arvin; Ghafarian, Pardis; Ay, Mohammad Reza

    2015-12-01

    The aim of this study is to generate a four-class magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based attenuation map (μ-map) for attenuation correction of positron emission tomography (PET) data of the head area using a novel combination of short echo time (STE)/Dixon-MRI and a dedicated image segmentation method. MR images of the head area were acquired using STE and two-point Dixon sequences. μ-maps were derived from MRI images based on a fuzzy C-means (FCM) clustering method along with morphologic operations. Quantitative assessment was performed to evaluate generated MRI-based μ-maps compared to X-ray computed tomography (CT)-based μ-maps. The voxel-by-voxel comparison of MR-based and CT-based segmentation results yielded an average of more than 95 % for accuracy and specificity in the cortical bone, soft tissue, and air region. MRI-based μ-maps show a high correlation with those derived from CT scans (R (2) > 0.95). Results indicate that STE/Dixon-MRI data in combination with FCM-based segmentation yields precise MR-based μ-maps for PET attenuation correction in hybrid PET/MRI systems.

  10. PET/MR brain imaging: evaluation of clinical UTE-based attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aasheim, Lars Birger; Karlberg, Anna; Goa, Paal Erik; Haaberg, Asta; Soerhaug, Sveinung; Fagerli, Unn-Merete; Eikenes, Live

    2015-01-01

    One of the greatest challenges in PET/MR imaging is that of accurate MR-based attenuation correction (AC) of the acquired PET data, which must be solved if the PET/MR modality is to reach its full potential. The aim of this study was to investigate the performance of Siemens' most recent version (VB20P) of MR-based AC of head PET data, by comparing it to CT-based AC. Methods: 18 F-FDG PET data from seven lymphoma and twelve lung cancer patients examined with a Biograph mMR PET/MR system were reconstructed with both CT-based and MR-based AC, avoiding sources of error arising when comparing PET data from different systems. The resulting images were compared quantitatively by measuring changes in mean SUV in ten different brain regions in both hemispheres, as well as the brainstem. In addition, the attenuation maps (μ maps) were compared regarding volume and localization of cranial bone. The UTE μ maps clearly overestimate the amount of bone in the neck, while slightly underestimating the amount of bone in the cranium, and the localization of bone in the cranial region also differ from the CT μ maps. In air/tissue interfaces in the sinuses and ears, the MRAC method struggles to correctly classify the different tissues. The misclassification of tissue is most likely caused by a combination of artefacts and the insufficiency of the UTE method to accurately separate bone. Quantitatively, this results in a combination of overestimation (0.5-3.6 %) and underestimation (2.7-5.2 %) of PET activity throughout the brain, depending on the proximity to the inaccurate regions. Our results indicate that the performance of the UTE method as implemented in VB20P is close to the theoretical maximum of such an MRAC method in the brain, while it does not perform satisfactorily in the neck or face/nasal area. Further improvement of the UTE MRAC or other available methods for more accurate segmentation of bone should be incorporated. (orig.)

  11. A proposal for PET/MRI attenuation correction with μ-values measured using a fixed-position radiation source and MRI segmentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kawaguchi, Hiroshi, E-mail: kwgc@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Hirano, Yoshiyuki, E-mail: yhirano@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Yoshida, Eiji, E-mail: rush@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Kershaw, Jeff, E-mail: len@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Shiraishi, Takahiro, E-mail: tshira@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Research Center for Charged Particle Therapy, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Suga, Mikio, E-mail: mikio.suga@faculty.chiba-u.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Graduate School of Engineering of Chiba University, 1-33 Yayoi-cho, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8522 (Japan); Ikoma, Yoko, E-mail: ikoma@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Obata, Takayuki, E-mail: t_obata@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Research Center for Charged Particle Therapy, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Ito, Hiroshi, E-mail: hito@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan); Yamaya, Taiga, E-mail: taiga@nirs.go.jp [Molecular Imaging Center, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, 4-9-1 Anagawa, Inage-ku, Chiba 263-8555 (Japan)

    2014-01-11

    Several MRI-based attenuation correction methods have been reported for PET/MRI; these methods are expected to make efficient use of high-quality anatomical MRIs and reduce the radiation dose for PET/MRI scanning. The accuracy of the attenuation map (μ-map) from an MRI depends on the accuracy of tissue segmentation and the attenuation coefficients to be assigned (μ-values). In this study, we proposed an MRI-based μ-value estimation method with a non-rotational radiation source to construct a suitable μ-map for PET/MRI. The proposed method uses an accurately segmented tissue map, the partial path length of each tissue, and detected intensities of attenuated radiation from a fixed-position (rather than a rotating) radiation source to obtain the μ-map. We estimated the partial path length from a virtual blank scan of fixed-point radiation with the same scanner geometry using the known tissue map from MRI. The μ-values of every tissue were estimated by inverting a linear relationship involving the partial path lengths and measured radioactivity intensity. Validation of the proposed method was performed by calculating a fixed- point data set based upon real a real transmission scan. The root-mean-square error between the μ-values derived from a conventional transmission scan and those obtained with our proposed method were 2.4±1.4%, 17.4±9.1% and 6.6±4.3% for brain, bone and soft tissue other than brain, respectively. Although the error estimates for bone and soft tissue are not insignificant, the method we propose is able to estimate the brain μ-value accurately and it is this factor that most strongly affects the quantitative value of PET images because of the large volumetric ratio of the brain. -- Highlights: • An MRI-derived µ-map for the attenuation correction of PET images is proposed. • Method relies on segmentation of MRI and a fixed-point source transmission scan. • Tissue segmentation reduces the number of unknown µ-values. • Method

  12. A proposal for PET/MRI attenuation correction with μ-values measured using a fixed-position radiation source and MRI segmentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawaguchi, Hiroshi; Hirano, Yoshiyuki; Yoshida, Eiji; Kershaw, Jeff; Shiraishi, Takahiro; Suga, Mikio; Ikoma, Yoko; Obata, Takayuki; Ito, Hiroshi; Yamaya, Taiga

    2014-01-01

    Several MRI-based attenuation correction methods have been reported for PET/MRI; these methods are expected to make efficient use of high-quality anatomical MRIs and reduce the radiation dose for PET/MRI scanning. The accuracy of the attenuation map (μ-map) from an MRI depends on the accuracy of tissue segmentation and the attenuation coefficients to be assigned (μ-values). In this study, we proposed an MRI-based μ-value estimation method with a non-rotational radiation source to construct a suitable μ-map for PET/MRI. The proposed method uses an accurately segmented tissue map, the partial path length of each tissue, and detected intensities of attenuated radiation from a fixed-position (rather than a rotating) radiation source to obtain the μ-map. We estimated the partial path length from a virtual blank scan of fixed-point radiation with the same scanner geometry using the known tissue map from MRI. The μ-values of every tissue were estimated by inverting a linear relationship involving the partial path lengths and measured radioactivity intensity. Validation of the proposed method was performed by calculating a fixed- point data set based upon real a real transmission scan. The root-mean-square error between the μ-values derived from a conventional transmission scan and those obtained with our proposed method were 2.4±1.4%, 17.4±9.1% and 6.6±4.3% for brain, bone and soft tissue other than brain, respectively. Although the error estimates for bone and soft tissue are not insignificant, the method we propose is able to estimate the brain μ-value accurately and it is this factor that most strongly affects the quantitative value of PET images because of the large volumetric ratio of the brain. -- Highlights: • An MRI-derived µ-map for the attenuation correction of PET images is proposed. • Method relies on segmentation of MRI and a fixed-point source transmission scan. • Tissue segmentation reduces the number of unknown µ-values. • Method

  13. Correlation of the myocardial perfusion corrected by attenuation with the coronariography. Preliminary results; Correlacion de la perfusion miocardica corregida por atenuacion con la coronariografia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Garcia C, S.E.; Garcia O, R. [Servicio de Medicina Nuclear, Centro Medico ABC, Campis Observatorio, IAP (Mexico)

    2005-07-01

    The attenuation that suffers the radiation in the soft tissues of the hinders the appropriate interpretation of the myocardial perfusion studies, for what have been implemented attenuation correction systems to reduce the attenuation for soft tissues and to provide myocardial perfusion images more accurate in the diagnosis of coronary illness. The objective was to evaluate the utility of an attenuation correction system (with source of Gadolinium 153) to minimize the devices that look like true defects of myocardial perfusion, caused by soft tissues (mammary tissue, thoracic wall, abdomen, left hemi diaphragm), and to compare those interpretations of the studies with the interpretations of the corresponding coronariographies. The method consists of 95 electronic files which were revised with the concept of heart catheterization, being identified 20 patients from the masculine sex to those that underwent coronariography among May 1999 and December 2002, and that they had study of myocardial perfusion in a maximum period of 3 months foresaw to the invasive procedure. (Author)

  14. A multi-centre evaluation of eleven clinically feasible brain PET/MRI attenuation correction techniques using a large cohort of patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ladefoged, Claes N; Law, Ian; Anazodo, Udunna; St Lawrence, Keith; Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Catana, Ciprian; Burgos, Ninon; Cardoso, M Jorge; Ourselin, Sebastien; Hutton, Brian; Mérida, Inés; Costes, Nicolas; Hammers, Alexander; Benoit, Didier; Holm, Søren; Juttukonda, Meher; An, Hongyu; Cabello, Jorge; Lukas, Mathias; Nekolla, Stephan; Ziegler, Sibylle; Fenchel, Matthias; Jakoby, Bjoern; Casey, Michael E; Benzinger, Tammie; Højgaard, Liselotte; Hansen, Adam E; Andersen, Flemming L

    2017-02-15

    To accurately quantify the radioactivity concentration measured by PET, emission data need to be corrected for photon attenuation; however, the MRI signal cannot easily be converted into attenuation values, making attenuation correction (AC) in PET/MRI challenging. In order to further improve the current vendor-implemented MR-AC methods for absolute quantification, a number of prototype methods have been proposed in the literature. These can be categorized into three types: template/atlas-based, segmentation-based, and reconstruction-based. These proposed methods in general demonstrated improvements compared to vendor-implemented AC, and many studies report deviations in PET uptake after AC of only a few percent from a gold standard CT-AC. Using a unified quantitative evaluation with identical metrics, subject cohort, and common CT-based reference, the aims of this study were to evaluate a selection of novel methods proposed in the literature, and identify the ones suitable for clinical use. In total, 11 AC methods were evaluated: two vendor-implemented (MR-AC DIXON and MR-AC UTE ), five based on template/atlas information (MR-AC SEGBONE (Koesters et al., 2016), MR-AC ONTARIO (Anazodo et al., 2014), MR-AC BOSTON (Izquierdo-Garcia et al., 2014), MR-AC UCL (Burgos et al., 2014), and MR-AC MAXPROB (Merida et al., 2015)), one based on simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and emission (MR-AC MLAA (Benoit et al., 2015)), and three based on image-segmentation (MR-AC MUNICH (Cabello et al., 2015), MR-AC CAR-RiDR (Juttukonda et al., 2015), and MR-AC RESOLUTE (Ladefoged et al., 2015)). We selected 359 subjects who were scanned using one of the following radiotracers: [ 18 F]FDG (210), [ 11 C]PiB (51), and [ 18 F]florbetapir (98). The comparison to AC with a gold standard CT was performed both globally and regionally, with a special focus on robustness and outlier analysis. The average performance in PET tracer uptake was within ±5% of CT for all of the proposed

  15. Technical Note: Correcting for signal attenuation from noisy proxy data in climate reconstructions

    KAUST Repository

    Ammann, C. M.

    2010-04-20

    Regression-based climate reconstructions scale one or more noisy proxy records against a (generally) short instrumental data series. Based on that relationship, the indirect information is then used to estimate that particular measure of climate back in time. A well-calibrated proxy record(s), if stationary in its relationship to the target, should faithfully preserve the mean amplitude of the climatic variable. However, it is well established in the statistical literature that traditional regression parameter estimation can lead to substantial amplitude attenuation if the predictors carry significant amounts of noise. This issue is known as "Measurement Error" (Fuller, 1987; Carroll et al., 2006). Climate proxies derived from tree-rings, ice cores, lake sediments, etc., are inherently noisy and thus all regression-based reconstructions could suffer from this problem. Some recent applications attempt to ward off amplitude attenuation, but implementations are often complex (Lee et al., 2008) or require additional information, e.g. from climate models (Hegerl et al., 2006, 2007). Here we explain the cause of the problem and propose an easy, generally applicable, data-driven strategy to effectively correct for attenuation (Fuller, 1987; Carroll et al., 2006), even at annual resolution. The impact is illustrated in the context of a Northern Hemisphere mean temperature reconstruction. An inescapable trade-off for achieving an unbiased reconstruction is an increase in variance, but for many climate applications the change in mean is a core interest.

  16. Technical Note: Correcting for signal attenuation from noisy proxy data in climate reconstructions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. M. Ammann

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Regression-based climate reconstructions scale one or more noisy proxy records against a (generally short instrumental data series. Based on that relationship, the indirect information is then used to estimate that particular measure of climate back in time. A well-calibrated proxy record(s, if stationary in its relationship to the target, should faithfully preserve the mean amplitude of the climatic variable. However, it is well established in the statistical literature that traditional regression parameter estimation can lead to substantial amplitude attenuation if the predictors carry significant amounts of noise. This issue is known as "Measurement Error" (Fuller, 1987; Carroll et al., 2006. Climate proxies derived from tree-rings, ice cores, lake sediments, etc., are inherently noisy and thus all regression-based reconstructions could suffer from this problem. Some recent applications attempt to ward off amplitude attenuation, but implementations are often complex (Lee et al., 2008 or require additional information, e.g. from climate models (Hegerl et al., 2006, 2007. Here we explain the cause of the problem and propose an easy, generally applicable, data-driven strategy to effectively correct for attenuation (Fuller, 1987; Carroll et al., 2006, even at annual resolution. The impact is illustrated in the context of a Northern Hemisphere mean temperature reconstruction. An inescapable trade-off for achieving an unbiased reconstruction is an increase in variance, but for many climate applications the change in mean is a core interest.

  17. Dental artifacts in the head and neck region: implications for Dixon-based attenuation correction in PET/MR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ladefoged, Claes N; Hansen, Adam E; Keller, Sune H; Fischer, Barbara M [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen East (Denmark); Rasmussen, Jacob H [Department of Oncology, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen East (Denmark); Law, Ian; Kjær, Andreas; Højgaard, Liselotte [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen East (Denmark); Lauze, Francois [Department of Computer Science, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, 2100 Copenhagen East (Denmark); Beyer, Thomas [Centre for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Waehringer Guertel 18-20/4L, Vienna, A-1090 (Austria); Andersen, Flemming L [Department of Clinical Physiology, Nuclear Medicine and PET, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen East (Denmark)

    2015-03-11

    In the absence of CT or traditional transmission sources in combined clinical positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance (PET/MR) systems, MR images are used for MR-based attenuation correction (MR-AC). The susceptibility effects due to metal implants challenge MR-AC in the neck region of patients with dental implants. The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency and magnitude of subsequent PET image distortions following MR-AC. A total of 148 PET/MR patients with clear visual signal voids on the attenuation map in the dental region were included in this study. Patients were injected with [{sup 18}F]-FDG, [{sup 11}C]-PiB, [{sup 18}F]-FET, or [{sup 64}Cu]-DOTATATE. The PET/MR data were acquired over a single-bed position of 25.8 cm covering the head and neck. MR-AC was based on either standard MR-AC{sub DIXON} or MR-AC{sub INPAINTED} where the susceptibility-induced signal voids were substituted with soft tissue information. Our inpainting algorithm delineates the outer contour of signal voids breaching the anatomical volume using the non-attenuation-corrected PET image and classifies the inner air regions based on an aligned template of likely dental artifact areas. The reconstructed PET images were evaluated visually and quantitatively using regions of interests in reference regions. The volume of the artifacts and the computed relative differences in mean and max standardized uptake value (SUV) between the two PET images are reported. The MR-based volume of the susceptibility-induced signal voids on the MR-AC attenuation maps was between 1.6 and 520.8 mL. The corresponding/resulting bias of the reconstructed tracer distribution was localized mainly in the area of the signal void. The mean and maximum SUVs averaged across all patients increased after inpainting by 52% (± 11%) and 28% (± 11%), respectively, in the corrected region. SUV underestimation decreased with the distance to the signal void and correlated with the volume of the susceptibility

  18. Attenuation correction for brain PET imaging using deep neural network based on dixon and ZTE MR images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Kuang; Yang, Jaewon; Kim, Kyungsang; El Fakhri, Georges; Seo, Youngho; Li, Quanzheng

    2018-05-23

    Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a functional imaging modality widely used in neuroscience studies. To obtain meaningful quantitative results from PET images, attenuation correction is necessary during image reconstruction. For PET/MR hybrid systems, PET attenuation is challenging as Magnetic Resonance (MR) images do not reflect attenuation coefficients directly. To address this issue, we present deep neural network methods to derive the continuous attenuation coefficients for brain PET imaging from MR images. With only Dixon MR images as the network input, the existing U-net structure was adopted and analysis using forty patient data sets shows it is superior than other Dixon based methods. When both Dixon and zero echo time (ZTE) images are available, we have proposed a modified U-net structure, named GroupU-net, to efficiently make use of both Dixon and ZTE information through group convolution modules when the network goes deeper. Quantitative analysis based on fourteen real patient data sets demonstrates that both network approaches can perform better than the standard methods, and the proposed network structure can further reduce the PET quantification error compared to the U-net structure. © 2018 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

  19. Small average differences in attenuation corrected images between men and women in myocardial perfusion scintigraphy: a novel normal stress database

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trägårdh, Elin; Sjöstrand, Karl; Jakobsson, David; Edenbrandt, Lars

    2011-01-01

    The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and the Society of Nuclear Medicine state that incorporation of attenuation-corrected (AC) images in myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) will improve image quality, interpretive certainty, and diagnostic accuracy. However, commonly used software packages for MPS usually include normal stress databases for non-attenuation corrected (NC) images but not for attenuation-corrected (AC) images. The aim of the study was to develop and compare different normal stress databases for MPS in relation to NC vs. AC images, male vs. female gender, and presence vs. absence of obesity. The principal hypothesis was that differences in mean count values between men and women would be smaller with AC than NC images, thereby allowing for construction and use of gender-independent AC stress database. Normal stress perfusion databases were developed with data from 126 male and 205 female patients with normal MPS. The following comparisons were performed for all patients and separately for normal weight vs. obese patients: men vs. women for AC; men vs. women for NC; AC vs. NC for men; and AC vs. NC for women. When comparing AC for men vs. women, only minor differences in mean count values were observed, and there were no differences for normal weight vs. obese patients. For all other analyses major differences were found, particularly for the inferior wall. The results support the hypothesis that it is possible to use not only gender independent but also weight independent AC stress databases

  20. Multiple-energy tissue-cancellation applications of a digital beam attenuator to chest radiography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dobbins, J.T. III.

    1985-01-01

    The digitally-formed primary beam attenuator (DBA) spatially modulates the x-ray fluence incident upon the patient to selectively attenuate regions of interest. The DBA attenuating mask is constructed from CeO 2 powder by a modified printing technique and uses image information from an initial low-dose exposure. Two tissue-cancellation imaging techniques are investigated with the DBA: (1) energy-dependent information is used to form a beam attenuator that attenuates specific tissues in the primary x-ray beam for tissue-cancelled film radiography; (2) the beam attenuator is used to improve image signal-to-noise and scattered radiation properties in traditional energy-subtraction tissue-cancellation imaging with digital detectors. The tissue-cancellation techniques in the primary x-ray beam were capable of adequately removing either soft-tissue or bone from the final compensated film radiograph when using a phantom with well defined soft-tissue and bone sections. However, when tried on an anthropomorphic chest phantom the results were adequate for cancellation of large soft tissue structures, but unsatisfactory for cancellation of bony structures such as the ribs, because of the limited spatial frequency content of the attenuating mask. The second technique (with digital detectors) showed improved uniformity of image signal-to-noise and a two-fold increase in soft-tissue nodule contrast due to improved scattered radiation properties. The tissue-cancelled images contained residual image contributions from the presence of the attenuating mask, but this residual may be correctable by future algorithms

  1. Megavoltage photon beam attenuation by carbon fiber couch tops and its prediction using correction factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayashi, Naoki; Shibamoto, Yuta; Obata, Yasunori; Kimura, Takashi; Nakazawa, Hisato; Hagiwara, Masahiro; Hashizume, Chisa I.; Mori, Yoshimasa; Kobayashi, Tatsuya

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of megavoltage photon beam attenuation (PBA) by couch tops and to propose a method for correction of PBA. Four series of phantom measurements were carried out. First, PBA by the exact couch top (ECT, Varian) and Imaging Couch Top (ICT, BrainLAB) was evaluated using a water-equivalent phantom. Second, PBA by Type-S system (Med-Tec), ECT and ICT was compared with a spherical phantom. Third, percentage depth dose (PDD) after passing through ICT was measured to compare with control data of PDD. Forth, the gantry angle dependency of PBA by ICT was evaluated. Then, an equation for PBA correction was elaborated and correction factors for PBA at isocenter were obtained. Finally, this method was applied to a patient with hepatoma. PBA of perpendicular beams by ICT was 4.7% on average. With the increase in field size, the measured values became higher. PBA by ICT was greater than that by Type-S system and ECT. PBA increased significantly as the angle of incidence increased, ranging from 4.3% at 180 deg to 11.2% at 120 deg. Calculated doses obtained by the equation and correction factors agreed quite well with the measured doses between 120 deg and 180 deg of angles of incidence. Also in the patient, PBA by ICT was corrected quite well by the equation and correction factors. In conclusion, PBA and its gantry angle dependency by ICT were observed. This simple method using the equation and correction factors appeared useful to correct the isocenter dose when the PBA effect cannot be corrected by a treatment planning system. (author)

  2. Evaluation of attenuation correction, scatter correction and resolution recovery in myocardial Tc-99m MIBI SPECT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Larcos, G.; Hutton, B.F.; Farlow, D.C.; Campbell- Rodgers, N.; Gruenewald, S.M.; Lau, Y.H. [Westmead Hospital, Westmead, Sydney, NSW (Australia). Departments of Nuclear Medicine and Ultrasound and Medical Physics

    1998-06-01

    Full text: The introduction of transmission based attenuation correction (AC) has increased the diagnostic accuracy of Tc-99m MIBI myocardial perfusion SPECT. The aim of this study is to evaluate recent developments, including scatter correction (SC) and resolution recovery (RR). We reviewed 13 patients who underwent Tc-99m MIBI SPECT (two day protocol) and coronary angiography and 4 manufacturer supplied studies assigned a low pretest likelihood of coronary artery disease (CAD). Patients had a mean age of 59 years (range: 41-78). Data were reconstructed using filtered backprojection (FBP; method 1), maximum likelihood (ML) incorporating AC (method 2), ADAC software using sinogram based SC+RR followed by ML with AC (method 3) and ordered subset ML incorporating AC,SC and RR (method 4). Images were reported by two of three blinded experienced physicians using a standard semiquantitative scoring scheme. Fixed or reversible perfusion defects were considered abnormal; CAD was considered present with stenoses > 50%. Patients had normal coronary anatomy (n=9), single (n=4) or two vessel CAD (n=4) (four in each of LAD, RCA and LCX). There were no statistically significant differences for any combination. Normalcy rate = 100% for all methods. Physicians graded 3/17 (methods 2,4) and 1/17 (method 3) images as fair or poor in quality. Thus, AC or AC+SC+RR produce good quality images in most patients; there is potential for improvement in sensitivity over standard FBP with no significant change in normalcy or specificity

  3. Accuracy and Radiation Dose of CT-Based Attenuation Correction for Small Animal PET: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Ching-Ching; Chan, Kai-Chieh

    2013-06-01

    -Small animal PET allows qualitative assessment and quantitative measurement of biochemical processes in vivo, but the accuracy and reproducibility of imaging results can be affected by several parameters. The first aim of this study was to investigate the performance of different CT-based attenuation correction strategies and assess the resulting impact on PET images. The absorbed dose in different tissues caused by scanning procedures was also discussed to minimize biologic damage generated by radiation exposure due to PET/CT scanning. A small animal PET/CT system was modeled based on Monte Carlo simulation to generate imaging results and dose distribution. Three energy mapping methods, including the bilinear scaling method, the dual-energy method and the hybrid method which combines the kVp conversion and the dual-energy method, were investigated comparatively through assessing the accuracy of estimating linear attenuation coefficient at 511 keV and the bias introduced into PET quantification results due to CT-based attenuation correction. Our results showed that the hybrid method outperformed the bilinear scaling method, while the dual-energy method achieved the highest accuracy among the three energy mapping methods. Overall, the accuracy of PET quantification results have similar trend as that for the estimation of linear attenuation coefficients, whereas the differences between the three methods are more obvious in the estimation of linear attenuation coefficients than in the PET quantification results. With regards to radiation exposure from CT, the absorbed dose ranged between 7.29-45.58 mGy for 50-kVp scan and between 6.61-39.28 mGy for 80-kVp scan. For 18 F radioactivity concentration of 1.86x10 5 Bq/ml, the PET absorbed dose was around 24 cGy for tumor with a target-to-background ratio of 8. The radiation levels for CT scans are not lethal to the animal, but concurrent use of PET in longitudinal study can increase the risk of biological effects. The

  4. Correction of failure in antenna array using matrix pencil technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khan, SU; Rahim, MKA

    2017-01-01

    In this paper a non-iterative technique is developed for the correction of faulty antenna array based on matrix pencil technique (MPT). The failure of a sensor in antenna array can damage the radiation power pattern in terms of sidelobes level and nulls. In the developed technique, the radiation pattern of the array is sampled to form discrete power pattern information set. Then this information set can be arranged in the form of Hankel matrix (HM) and execute the singular value decomposition (SVD). By removing nonprincipal values, we obtain an optimum lower rank estimation of HM. This lower rank matrix corresponds to the corrected pattern. Then the proposed technique is employed to recover the weight excitation and position allocations from the estimated matrix. Numerical simulations confirm the efficiency of the proposed technique, which is compared with the available techniques in terms of sidelobes level and nulls. (paper)

  5. A new technique to characterize CT scanner bow-tie filter attenuation and applications in human cadaver dosimetry simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xinhua; Shi, Jim Q.; Zhang, Da; Singh, Sarabjeet; Padole, Atul; Otrakji, Alexi; Kalra, Mannudeep K.; Xu, X. George; Liu, Bob

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To present a noninvasive technique for directly measuring the CT bow-tie filter attenuation with a linear array x-ray detector. Methods: A scintillator based x-ray detector of 384 pixels, 307 mm active length, and fast data acquisition (model X-Scan 0.8c4-307, Detection Technology, FI-91100 Ii, Finland) was used to simultaneously detect radiation levels across a scan field-of-view. The sampling time was as short as 0.24 ms. To measure the body bow-tie attenuation on a GE Lightspeed Pro 16 CT scanner, the x-ray tube was parked at the 12 o’clock position, and the detector was centered in the scan field at the isocenter height. Two radiation exposures were made with and without the bow-tie in the beam path. Each readout signal was corrected for the detector background offset and signal-level related nonlinear gain, and the ratio of the two exposures gave the bow-tie attenuation. The results were used in the geant4 based simulations of the point doses measured using six thimble chambers placed in a human cadaver with abdomen/pelvis CT scans at 100 or 120 kV, helical pitch at 1.375, constant or variable tube current, and distinct x-ray tube starting angles. Results: Absolute attenuation was measured with the body bow-tie scanned at 80–140 kV. For 24 doses measured in six organs of the cadaver, the median or maximum difference between the simulation results and the measurements on the CT scanner was 8.9% or 25.9%, respectively. Conclusions: The described method allows fast and accurate bow-tie filter characterization. PMID:26520720

  6. Design of respiration averaged CT for attenuation correction of the PET data from PET/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chi, Pai-Chun Melinda; Mawlawi, Osama; Nehmeh, Sadek A.; Erdi, Yusuf E.; Balter, Peter A.; Luo, Dershan; Mohan, Radhe; Pan Tinsu

    2007-01-01

    Our previous patient studies have shown that the use of respiration averaged computed tomography (ACT) for attenuation correction of the positron emission tomography (PET) data from PET/CT reduces the potential misalignment in the thorax region by matching the temporal resolution of the CT to that of the PET. In the present work, we investigated other approaches of acquiring ACT in order to reduce the CT dose and to improve the ease of clinical implementation. Four-dimensional CT (4DCT) data sets for ten patients (17 lung/esophageal tumors) were acquired in the thoracic region immediately after the routine PET/CT scan. For each patient, multiple sets of ACTs were generated based on both phase image averaging (phase approach) and fixed cine duration image averaging (cine approach). In the phase approach, the ACTs were calculated from CT images corresponding to the significant phases of the respiratory cycle: ACT 050phs from end-inspiration (0%) and end-expiration (50%), ACT 2070phs from mid-inspiration (20%) and mid-expiration (70%), ACT 4phs from 0%, 20%, 50% and 70%, and ACT 10phs from all ten phases, which was the original approach. In the cine approach, which does not require 4DCT, the ACTs were calculated based on the cine images from cine durations of 1 to 6 s at 1 s increments. PET emission data for each patient were attenuation corrected with each of the above mentioned ACTs and the tumor maximum standard uptake value (SUV max ), average SUV (SUV avg ), and tumor volume measurements were compared. Percent differences were calculated between PET data corrected with various ACTs and that corrected with ACT 10phs . In the phase approach, the ACT 10phs can be approximated by the ACT 4phs to within a mean percent difference of 2% in SUV and tumor volume measurements. In cine approach, ACT 10phs can be approximated to within a mean percent difference of 3% by ACTs computed from cine durations ≥3 s. Acquiring CT images only at the four significant phases for the

  7. PET attenuation coefficients from CT images: experimental evaluation of the transformation of CT into PET 511-keV attenuation coefficients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burger, C; Goerres, G; Schoenes, S; Buck, A; Lonn, A H R; Von Schulthess, G K

    2002-07-01

    The CT data acquired in combined PET/CT studies provide a fast and essentially noiseless source for the correction of photon attenuation in PET emission data. To this end, the CT values relating to attenuation of photons in the range of 40-140 keV must be transformed into linear attenuation coefficients at the PET energy of 511 keV. As attenuation depends on photon energy and the absorbing material, an accurate theoretical relation cannot be devised. The transformation implemented in the Discovery LS PET/CT scanner (GE Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wis.) uses a bilinear function based on the attenuation of water and cortical bone at the CT and PET energies. The purpose of this study was to compare this transformation with experimental CT values and corresponding PET attenuation coefficients. In 14 patients, quantitative PET attenuation maps were calculated from germanium-68 transmission scans, and resolution-matched CT images were generated. A total of 114 volumes of interest were defined and the average PET attenuation coefficients and CT values measured. From the CT values the predicted PET attenuation coefficients were calculated using the bilinear transformation. When the transformation was based on the narrow-beam attenuation coefficient of water at 511 keV (0.096 cm(-1)), the predicted attenuation coefficients were higher in soft tissue than the measured values. This bias was reduced by replacing 0.096 cm(-1) in the transformation by the linear attenuation coefficient of 0.093 cm(-1) obtained from germanium-68 transmission scans. An analysis of the corrected emission activities shows that the resulting transformation is essentially equivalent to the transmission-based attenuation correction for human tissue. For non-human material, however, it may assign inaccurate attenuation coefficients which will also affect the correction in neighbouring tissue.

  8. A new corrective technique for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (Ucar′s convex rod rotation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bekir Yavuz Ucar

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Study Design: Prospective single-center study. Objective: To analyze the efficacy and safety of a new technique of global vertebral correction with convex rod rotation performed on the patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Summary of Background Data: Surgical goal is to obtain an optimal curve correction in scoliosis surgery. There are various correction techniques. This report describes a new technique of global vertebral correction with convex rod rotation. Materials and Methods: A total of 12 consecutive patients with Lenke type I adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and managed by convex rod rotation technique between years 2012 and 2013 having more than 1 year follow-up were included. Mean age was 14.5 (range = 13-17 years years at the time of operation. The hospital charts were reviewed for demographic data. Measurements of curve magnitude and balance were made on 36-inch standing anteroposterior and lateral radiographs taken before surgery and at most recent follow up to assess deformity correction, spinal balance, and complications related to the instrumentation. Results: Preoperative coronal plane major curve of 62° (range = 50°-72° with flexibility of less than 30% was corrected to 11.5°(range = 10°-14° showing a 81% scoliosis correction at the final follow-up. Coronal imbalance was improved 72% at the most recent follow-up assessment. No complications were found. Conclusion: The new technique of global vertebral correction with Ucar′s convex rod rotation is an effective technique. This method is a vertebral rotation procedure from convex side and it allows to put screws easily to the concave side.

  9. Motion-compensated PET image reconstruction with respiratory-matched attenuation correction using two low-dose inhale and exhale CT images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nam, Woo Hyun; Ahn, Il Jun; Ra, Jong Beom; Kim, Kyeong Min; Kim, Byung Il

    2013-01-01

    Positron emission tomography (PET) is widely used for diagnosis and follow up assessment of radiotherapy. However, thoracic and abdominal PET suffers from false staging and incorrect quantification of the radioactive uptake of lesion(s) due to respiratory motion. Furthermore, respiratory motion-induced mismatch between a computed tomography (CT) attenuation map and PET data often leads to significant artifacts in the reconstructed PET image. To solve these problems, we propose a unified framework for respiratory-matched attenuation correction and motion compensation of respiratory-gated PET. For the attenuation correction, the proposed algorithm manipulates a 4D CT image virtually generated from two low-dose inhale and exhale CT images, rather than a real 4D CT image which significantly increases the radiation burden on a patient. It also utilizes CT-driven motion fields for motion compensation. To realize the proposed algorithm, we propose an improved region-based approach for non-rigid registration between body CT images, and we suggest a selection scheme of 3D CT images that are respiratory-matched to each respiratory-gated sinogram. In this work, the proposed algorithm was evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively by using patient datasets including lung and/or liver lesion(s). Experimental results show that the method can provide much clearer organ boundaries and more accurate lesion information than existing algorithms by utilizing two low-dose CT images. (paper)

  10. Attenuation correction for hybrid MR/PET scanners: a comparison study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rota Kops, Elena [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich (Germany); Ribeiro, Andre Santos [Imperial College London, London (United Kingdom); Caldeira, Liliana [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich (Germany); Hautzel, Hubertus [Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (Germany); Lukas, Mathias [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Munich (Germany); Antoch, Gerald [Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (Germany); Lerche, Christoph; Shah, Jon [Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Jülich (Germany)

    2015-05-18

    Attenuation correction of PET data acquired in hybrid MR/PET scanners is still a challenge. Different methods have been adopted by several groups to obtain reliable attenuation maps (mu-maps). In this study we compare three methods: MGH, UCL, Neural-Network. The MGH method is based on an MR/CT template obtained with the SPM8 software. The UCL method uses a database of MR/CT pairs. Both generate mu-maps from MP-RAGE images. The feed-forward neural-network from Juelich (NN-Juelich) requires two UTE images; it generates segmented mu-maps. Data from eight subjects (S1-S8) measured in the Siemens 3T MR-BrainPET scanner were used. Corresponding CT images were acquired. The resulting mu-maps were compared against the CT-based mu-maps for each subject and method. Overlapped voxels and Dice similarity coefficients, D, for bone, soft-tissue and air regions, and relative differences images were calculated. The true positive (TP) recognized voxels for the whole head were 79.9% (NN-Juelich, S7) to 92.1% (UCL method, S1). D values of the bone were D=0.65 (NN-Juelich, S1) to D=0.87 (UCL method, S1). For S8 the MHG method failed (TP=76.4%; D=0.46 for bone). D values shared a common tendency in all subjects and methods to recognize soft-tissue as bone. The relative difference images showed a variation of -10.9% - +10.1%; for S8 and MHG method the values were -24.5% and +14.2%. A preliminary comparison of three methods for generation of mu-maps for MR/PET scanners is presented. The continuous methods (MGH, UCL) seem to generate reliable mu-maps, whilst the binary method seems to need further improvement. Future work will include more subjects, the reconstruction of corresponding PET data and their comparison.

  11. Attenuation correction for hybrid MR/PET scanners: a comparison study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rota Kops, Elena; Ribeiro, Andre Santos; Caldeira, Liliana; Hautzel, Hubertus; Lukas, Mathias; Antoch, Gerald; Lerche, Christoph; Shah, Jon

    2015-01-01

    Attenuation correction of PET data acquired in hybrid MR/PET scanners is still a challenge. Different methods have been adopted by several groups to obtain reliable attenuation maps (mu-maps). In this study we compare three methods: MGH, UCL, Neural-Network. The MGH method is based on an MR/CT template obtained with the SPM8 software. The UCL method uses a database of MR/CT pairs. Both generate mu-maps from MP-RAGE images. The feed-forward neural-network from Juelich (NN-Juelich) requires two UTE images; it generates segmented mu-maps. Data from eight subjects (S1-S8) measured in the Siemens 3T MR-BrainPET scanner were used. Corresponding CT images were acquired. The resulting mu-maps were compared against the CT-based mu-maps for each subject and method. Overlapped voxels and Dice similarity coefficients, D, for bone, soft-tissue and air regions, and relative differences images were calculated. The true positive (TP) recognized voxels for the whole head were 79.9% (NN-Juelich, S7) to 92.1% (UCL method, S1). D values of the bone were D=0.65 (NN-Juelich, S1) to D=0.87 (UCL method, S1). For S8 the MHG method failed (TP=76.4%; D=0.46 for bone). D values shared a common tendency in all subjects and methods to recognize soft-tissue as bone. The relative difference images showed a variation of -10.9% - +10.1%; for S8 and MHG method the values were -24.5% and +14.2%. A preliminary comparison of three methods for generation of mu-maps for MR/PET scanners is presented. The continuous methods (MGH, UCL) seem to generate reliable mu-maps, whilst the binary method seems to need further improvement. Future work will include more subjects, the reconstruction of corresponding PET data and their comparison.

  12. Techniques for measuring aerosol attenuation using the Central Laser Facility at the Pierre Auger Observatory

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collaboration, The Pierre Auger

    2013-04-01

    The Pierre Auger Observatory in Malargüe, Argentina, is designed to study the properties of ultra-high energy cosmic rays with energies above 10(18)eV. It is a hybrid facility that employs a Fluorescence Detector to perform nearly calorimetric measurements of Extensive Air Shower energies. To obtain reliable calorimetric information from the FD, the atmospheric conditions at the observatory need to be continuously monitored during data acquisition. In particular, light attenuation due to aerosols is an important atmospheric correction. The aerosol concentration is highly variable, so that the aerosol attenuation needs to be evaluated hourly. We use light from the Central Laser Facility, located near the center of the observatory site, having an optical signature comparable to that of the highest energy showers detected by the FD. This paper presents two procedures developed to retrieve the aerosol attenuation of fluorescence light from CLF laser shots. Cross checks between the two methods demonstrate that results from both analyses are compatible, and that the uncertainties are well understood. The measurements of the aerosol attenuation provided by the two procedures are currently used at the Pierre Auger Observatory to reconstruct air shower data.

  13. Comparison between MRI-based attenuation correction methods for brain PET in dementia patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cabello, Jorge; Lukas, Mathias; Pyka, Thomas; Nekolla, Stephan G.; Ziegler, Sibylle I.; Rota Kops, Elena; Shah, N. Jon; Ribeiro, Andre; Yakushev, Igor

    2016-01-01

    The combination of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in hybrid PET/MRI scanners offers a number of advantages in investigating brain structure and function. A critical step of PET data reconstruction is attenuation correction (AC). Accounting for bone in attenuation maps (μ-map) was shown to be important in brain PET studies. While there are a number of MRI-based AC methods, no systematic comparison between them has been performed so far. The aim of this work was to study the different performance obtained by some of the recent methods presented in the literature. To perform such a comparison, we focused on [ 18 F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/MRI neurodegenerative dementing disorders, which are known to exhibit reduced levels of glucose metabolism in certain brain regions. Four novel methods were used to calculate μ-maps from MRI data of 15 patients with Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The methods cover two atlas-based methods, a segmentation method, and a hybrid template/segmentation method. Additionally, the Dixon-based and a UTE-based method, offered by a vendor, were included in the comparison. Performance was assessed at three levels: tissue identification accuracy in the μ-map, quantitative accuracy of reconstructed PET data in specific brain regions, and precision in diagnostic images at identifying hypometabolic areas. Quantitative regional errors of -20-10 % were obtained using the vendor's AC methods, whereas the novel methods produced errors in a margin of ±5 %. The obtained precision at identifying areas with abnormally low levels of glucose uptake, potentially regions affected by AD, were 62.9 and 79.5 % for the two vendor AC methods, the former ignoring bone and the latter including bone information. The precision increased to 87.5-93.3 % in average for the four new methods, exhibiting similar performances. We confirm that the AC methods based on the Dixon and UTE sequences provided by the vendor are inferior

  14. Comparison between MRI-based attenuation correction methods for brain PET in dementia patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cabello, Jorge; Lukas, Mathias; Pyka, Thomas; Nekolla, Stephan G.; Ziegler, Sibylle I. [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Nuklearmedizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich (Germany); Rota Kops, Elena; Shah, N. Jon [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Juelich (Germany); Ribeiro, Andre [Forschungszentrum Juelich GmbH, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine 4, Medical Imaging Physics, Juelich (Germany); Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, Lisbon (Portugal); Yakushev, Igor [Technische Universitaet Muenchen, Nuklearmedizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Munich (Germany); Institute TUM Neuroimaging Center (TUM-NIC), Munich (Germany)

    2016-11-15

    The combination of Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in hybrid PET/MRI scanners offers a number of advantages in investigating brain structure and function. A critical step of PET data reconstruction is attenuation correction (AC). Accounting for bone in attenuation maps (μ-map) was shown to be important in brain PET studies. While there are a number of MRI-based AC methods, no systematic comparison between them has been performed so far. The aim of this work was to study the different performance obtained by some of the recent methods presented in the literature. To perform such a comparison, we focused on [{sup 18}F]-Fluorodeoxyglucose-PET/MRI neurodegenerative dementing disorders, which are known to exhibit reduced levels of glucose metabolism in certain brain regions. Four novel methods were used to calculate μ-maps from MRI data of 15 patients with Alzheimer's dementia (AD). The methods cover two atlas-based methods, a segmentation method, and a hybrid template/segmentation method. Additionally, the Dixon-based and a UTE-based method, offered by a vendor, were included in the comparison. Performance was assessed at three levels: tissue identification accuracy in the μ-map, quantitative accuracy of reconstructed PET data in specific brain regions, and precision in diagnostic images at identifying hypometabolic areas. Quantitative regional errors of -20-10 % were obtained using the vendor's AC methods, whereas the novel methods produced errors in a margin of ±5 %. The obtained precision at identifying areas with abnormally low levels of glucose uptake, potentially regions affected by AD, were 62.9 and 79.5 % for the two vendor AC methods, the former ignoring bone and the latter including bone information. The precision increased to 87.5-93.3 % in average for the four new methods, exhibiting similar performances. We confirm that the AC methods based on the Dixon and UTE sequences provided by the vendor are

  15. Data-driven motion correction in brain SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kyme, A.Z.; Hutton, B.F.; Hatton, R.L.; Skerrett, D.W.

    2002-01-01

    Patient motion can cause image artifacts in SPECT despite restraining measures. Data-driven detection and correction of motion can be achieved by comparison of acquired data with the forward-projections. By optimising the orientation of the reconstruction, parameters can be obtained for each misaligned projection and applied to update this volume using a 3D reconstruction algorithm. Digital and physical phantom validation was performed to investigate this approach. Noisy projection data simulating at least one fully 3D patient head movement during acquisition were constructed by projecting the digital Huffman brain phantom at various orientations. Motion correction was applied to the reconstructed studies. The importance of including attenuation effects in the estimation of motion and the need for implementing an iterated correction were assessed in the process. Correction success was assessed visually for artifact reduction, and quantitatively using a mean square difference (MSD) measure. Physical Huffman phantom studies with deliberate movements introduced during the acquisition were also acquired and motion corrected. Effective artifact reduction in the simulated corrupt studies was achieved by motion correction. Typically the MSD ratio between the corrected and reference studies compared to the corrupted and reference studies was > 2. Motion correction could be achieved without inclusion of attenuation effects in the motion estimation stage, providing simpler implementation and greater efficiency. Moreover the additional improvement with multiple iterations of the approach was small. Improvement was also observed in the physical phantom data, though the technique appeared limited here by an object symmetry. Copyright (2002) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

  16. Atmospheric Attenuation Correction Based on a Constant Reference for High-Precision Infrared Radiometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhiguo Huang

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Infrared (IR radiometry technology is an important method for characterizing the IR signature of targets, such as aircrafts or rockets. However, the received signal of targets could be reduced by a combination of atmospheric molecule absorption and aerosol scattering. Therefore, atmospheric correction is a requisite step for obtaining the real radiance of targets. Conventionally, the atmospheric transmittance and the air path radiance are calculated by an atmospheric radiative transfer calculation software. In this paper, an improved IR radiometric method based on constant reference correction of atmospheric attenuation is proposed. The basic principle and procedure of this method are introduced, and then the linear model of high-speed calibration in consideration of the integration time is employed and confirmed, which is then applicable in various complex conditions. To eliminate stochastic errors, radiometric experiments were conducted for multiple integration times. Finally, several experiments were performed on a mid-wave IR system with Φ600 mm aperture. The radiometry results indicate that the radiation inversion precision of the novel method is 4.78–4.89%, while the precision of the conventional method is 10.86–13.81%.

  17. Correction of Sample-Time Error for Time-Interleaved Sampling System Using Cubic Spline Interpolation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qin Guo-jie

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Sample-time errors can greatly degrade the dynamic range of a time-interleaved sampling system. In this paper, a novel correction technique employing a cubic spline interpolation is proposed for inter-channel sample-time error compensation. The cubic spline interpolation compensation filter is developed in the form of a finite-impulse response (FIR filter structure. The correction method of the interpolation compensation filter coefficients is deduced. A 4GS/s two-channel, time-interleaved ADC prototype system has been implemented to evaluate the performance of the technique. The experimental results showed that the correction technique is effective to attenuate the spurious spurs and improve the dynamic performance of the system.

  18. Education on Correct Inhaler Technique in Pharmacy Schools ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Conclusion: Standard educational training may not be the most appropriate method of teaching students the correct use of inhalers. Clearly, there is a practice element missing which needs to be addressed in a feasible way. Keywords: Inhaler technique, Pharmacy education, Hands-on training, Training barrier ...

  19. MR-based attenuation correction for PET/MRI neurological studies with continuous-valued attenuation coefficients for bone through a conversion from R2* to CT-Hounsfield units.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juttukonda, Meher R; Mersereau, Bryant G; Chen, Yasheng; Su, Yi; Rubin, Brian G; Benzinger, Tammie L S; Lalush, David S; An, Hongyu

    2015-05-15

    MR-based correction for photon attenuation in PET/MRI remains challenging, particularly for neurological applications requiring quantitation of data. Existing methods are either not sufficiently accurate or are limited by the computation time required. The goal of this study was to develop an MR-based attenuation correction method that accurately separates bone tissue from air and provides continuous-valued attenuation coefficients for bone. PET/MRI and CT datasets were obtained from 98 subjects (mean age [±SD]: 66yrs [±9.8], 57 females) using an IRB-approved protocol and with informed consent. Subjects were injected with 352±29MBq of (18)F-Florbetapir tracer, and PET acquisitions were begun either immediately or 50min after injection. CT images of the head were acquired separately using a PET/CT system. Dual echo ultrashort echo-time (UTE) images and two-point Dixon images were acquired. Regions of air were segmented via a threshold of the voxel-wise multiplicative inverse of the UTE echo 1 image. Regions of bone were segmented via a threshold of the R2* image computed from the UTE echo 1 and UTE echo 2 images. Regions of fat and soft tissue were segmented using fat and water images decomposed from the Dixon images. Air, fat, and soft tissue were assigned linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) of 0, 0.092, and 0.1cm(-1), respectively. LACs for bone were derived from a regression analysis between corresponding R2* and CT values. PET images were reconstructed using the gold standard CT method and the proposed CAR-RiDR method. The RiDR segmentation method produces mean Dice coefficient±SD across subjects of 0.75±0.05 for bone and 0.60±0.08 for air. The CAR model for bone LACs greatly improves accuracy in estimating CT values (28.2%±3.0 mean error) compared to the use of a constant CT value (46.9%±5.8, punits. From our analysis, we conclude that the proposed method closely approaches (<3% error) the gold standard CT-scaled method in PET reconstruction accuracy

  20. Attenuation Correction Strategies for Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography and 4-Dimensional Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography

    OpenAIRE

    Pan, Tinsu; Zaidi, Habib

    2013-01-01

    This article discusses attenuation correction strategies in positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) and 4 dimensional PET/CT imaging. Average CT scan derived from averaging the high temporal resolution CT images is effective in improving the registration of the CT and the PET images and quantification of the PET data. It underscores list mode data acquisition in 4 dimensional PET and introduces 4 dimensional CT popular in thoracic treatment planning to 4 dimensional PET/CT. ...

  1. A beam-based alignment technique for correction of accelerator structure misalignments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kubo, K.; Raubenheimer, T.O.

    1994-08-01

    This paper describes a method of reducing the transverse emittance dilution in linear colliders due to transverse wakefields arising-from misaligned accelerator structures. The technique is a generalization of the Wake-Free correction algorithm. The structure alignment errors are measured locally by varying the bunch charge and/or bunch length and measuring the change in the beam trajectory. The misalignments can then be corrected by varying the beam trajectory or moving structures. The results of simulations are presented demonstrating the viability of the technique

  2. Improved UTE-based attenuation correction for cranial PET-MR using dynamic magnetic field monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aitken, A. P.; Giese, D.; Tsoumpas, C.; Schleyer, P.; Kozerke, S.; Prieto, C.; Schaeffter, T.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Ultrashort echo time (UTE) MRI has been proposed as a way to produce segmented attenuation maps for PET, as it provides contrast between bone, air, and soft tissue. However, UTE sequences require samples to be acquired during rapidly changing gradient fields, which makes the resulting images prone to eddy current artifacts. In this work it is demonstrated that this can lead to misclassification of tissues in segmented attenuation maps (AC maps) and that these effects can be corrected for by measuring the true k-space trajectories using a magnetic field camera. Methods: The k-space trajectories during a dual echo UTE sequence were measured using a dynamic magnetic field camera. UTE images were reconstructed using nominal trajectories and again using the measured trajectories. A numerical phantom was used to demonstrate the effect of reconstructing with incorrect trajectories. Images of an ovine leg phantom were reconstructed and segmented and the resulting attenuation maps were compared to a segmented map derived from a CT scan of the same phantom, using the Dice similarity measure. The feasibility of the proposed method was demonstrated inin vivo cranial imaging in five healthy volunteers. Simulated PET data were generated for one volunteer to show the impact of misclassifications on the PET reconstruction. Results: Images of the numerical phantom exhibited blurring and edge artifacts on the bone–tissue and air–tissue interfaces when nominal k-space trajectories were used, leading to misclassification of soft tissue as bone and misclassification of bone as air. Images of the tissue phantom and thein vivo cranial images exhibited the same artifacts. The artifacts were greatly reduced when the measured trajectories were used. For the tissue phantom, the Dice coefficient for bone in MR relative to CT was 0.616 using the nominal trajectories and 0.814 using the measured trajectories. The Dice coefficients for soft tissue were 0.933 and 0.934 for the

  3. Attenuation and scatter correction in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pant, G.S.; Pandey, A.K.

    2000-01-01

    While passing through matter, photons undergo various types of interactions. In the process, some photons are completely absorbed, some are scattered in different directions with or without any change in their energy and some pass through unattenuated. These unattenuated photons carry the information with them. However, the image data gets corrupted with attenuation and scatter processes. This paper deals with the effect of these two processes in nuclear medicine images and suggests the methods to overcome them

  4. Comparison of different Aethalometer correction schemes and a reference multi-wavelength absorption technique for ambient aerosol data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saturno, Jorge; Pöhlker, Christopher; Massabò, Dario; Brito, Joel; Carbone, Samara; Cheng, Yafang; Chi, Xuguang; Ditas, Florian; Hrabě de Angelis, Isabella; Morán-Zuloaga, Daniel; Pöhlker, Mira L.; Rizzo, Luciana V.; Walter, David; Wang, Qiaoqiao; Artaxo, Paulo; Prati, Paolo; Andreae, Meinrat O.

    2017-08-01

    Deriving absorption coefficients from Aethalometer attenuation data requires different corrections to compensate for artifacts related to filter-loading effects, scattering by filter fibers, and scattering by aerosol particles. In this study, two different correction schemes were applied to seven-wavelength Aethalometer data, using multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP) data as a reference absorption measurement at 637 nm. The compensation algorithms were compared to five-wavelength offline absorption measurements obtained with a multi-wavelength absorbance analyzer (MWAA), which serves as a multiple-wavelength reference measurement. The online measurements took place in the Amazon rainforest, from the wet-to-dry transition season to the dry season (June-September 2014). The mean absorption coefficient (at 637 nm) during this period was 1.8 ± 2.1 Mm-1, with a maximum of 15.9 Mm-1. Under these conditions, the filter-loading compensation was negligible. One of the correction schemes was found to artificially increase the short-wavelength absorption coefficients. It was found that accounting for the aerosol optical properties in the scattering compensation significantly affects the absorption Ångström exponent (åABS) retrievals. Proper Aethalometer data compensation schemes are crucial to retrieve the correct åABS, which is commonly implemented in brown carbon contribution calculations. Additionally, we found that the wavelength dependence of uncompensated Aethalometer attenuation data significantly correlates with the åABS retrieved from offline MWAA measurements.

  5. Value of new MR techniques in MR-PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Attenberger, U.I.; Schoenberg, S.O.; Quick, H.H.; Guimaraes, A.; Catalano, O.; Morelli, J.N.

    2013-01-01

    The unparalleled soft tissue contrast of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the functional information obtainable with 18-F fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) render MR-PET well-suited for oncological and psychiatric imaging. The lack of ionizing radiation with MRI also makes MR-PET a promising modality for oncology patients requiring frequent follow-up and pediatric patients. Lessons learned with PET computed tomography (CT) over the last few years do not directly translate to MR-PET. For example, in PET-CT the Hounsfield units derived from CT are used for attenuation correction (AC). As 511 keV photons emitted in PET examinations are attenuated by the patient's body CT data are converted directly to linear attenuation coefficients (LAC); however, proton density measured by MRI is not directly related to the radiodensity or LACs of biological tissue. Thus, direct conversion to LAC data is not possible making AC more challenging in simultaneous MRI-PET scanning. In addition to these constraints simultaneous MRI-PET acquisitions also improve on some solutions to well-known challenges of hybrid imaging techniques, such as limitations in motion correction. This article reports on initial clinical experiences with simultaneously acquired MRI-PET data, focusing on the potential benefits and limitations of MRI with respect to motion correction as well as metal and attenuation correction artefacts. (orig.) [de

  6. A Correctness Verification Technique for Commercial FPGA Synthesis Tools

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Eui Sub; Yoo, Jun Beom; Choi, Jong Gyun; Kim, Jang Yeol; Lee, Jang Soo

    2014-01-01

    Once the FPGA (Filed-Programmable Gate Array) designers designs Verilog programs, the commercial synthesis tools automatically translate the Verilog programs into EDIF programs so that the designers can have largely focused on HDL designs for correctness of functionality. Nuclear regulation authorities, however, require more considerate demonstration of the correctness and safety of mechanical synthesis processes of FPGA synthesis tools, even if the FPGA industry have acknowledged them empirically as correct and safe processes and tools. In order to assure of the safety, the industry standards for the safety of electronic/electrical devices, such as IEC 61508 and IEC 60880, recommend using the formal verification technique. There are several formal verification tools (i.e., 'FormalPro' 'Conformal' 'Formality' and so on) to verify the correctness of translation from Verilog into EDIF programs, but it is too expensive to use and hard to apply them to the works of 3rd-party developers. This paper proposes a formal verification technique which can contribute to the correctness demonstration in part. It formally checks the behavioral equivalence between Verilog and subsequently synthesized Net list with the VIS verification system. A Net list is an intermediate output of FPGA synthesis process, and EDIF is used as a standard format of Net lists. If the formal verification succeeds, then we can assure that the synthesis process from Verilog into Net list worked correctly at least for the Verilog used. In order to support the formal verification, we developed the mechanical translator 'EDIFtoBLIFMV,' which translates EDIF into BLIF-MV as an input front-end of VIS system, while preserving their behavior equivalence.. We performed the case study with an example of a preliminary version of RPS in a Korean nuclear power plant in order to provide the efficiency of the proposed formal verification technique and implemented translator. It

  7. A Correctness Verification Technique for Commercial FPGA Synthesis Tools

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Eui Sub; Yoo, Jun Beom [Konkuk University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Jong Gyun; Kim, Jang Yeol; Lee, Jang Soo [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-10-15

    Once the FPGA (Filed-Programmable Gate Array) designers designs Verilog programs, the commercial synthesis tools automatically translate the Verilog programs into EDIF programs so that the designers can have largely focused on HDL designs for correctness of functionality. Nuclear regulation authorities, however, require more considerate demonstration of the correctness and safety of mechanical synthesis processes of FPGA synthesis tools, even if the FPGA industry have acknowledged them empirically as correct and safe processes and tools. In order to assure of the safety, the industry standards for the safety of electronic/electrical devices, such as IEC 61508 and IEC 60880, recommend using the formal verification technique. There are several formal verification tools (i.e., 'FormalPro' 'Conformal' 'Formality' and so on) to verify the correctness of translation from Verilog into EDIF programs, but it is too expensive to use and hard to apply them to the works of 3rd-party developers. This paper proposes a formal verification technique which can contribute to the correctness demonstration in part. It formally checks the behavioral equivalence between Verilog and subsequently synthesized Net list with the VIS verification system. A Net list is an intermediate output of FPGA synthesis process, and EDIF is used as a standard format of Net lists. If the formal verification succeeds, then we can assure that the synthesis process from Verilog into Net list worked correctly at least for the Verilog used. In order to support the formal verification, we developed the mechanical translator 'EDIFtoBLIFMV,' which translates EDIF into BLIF-MV as an input front-end of VIS system, while preserving their behavior equivalence.. We performed the case study with an example of a preliminary version of RPS in a Korean nuclear power plant in order to provide the efficiency of the proposed formal verification technique and implemented translator. It

  8. Ultra-low Dose CT for Attenuation Correction of 82Rb Cardiac PET

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Maria Balshøj; Bouchelouche, Kirsten; Tolbod, Lars Poulsen

    Aim: Myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) using cardiac PET with tracers like 82Rb and 15O-water is substantially lower in radiation dose than classic MIBI-based SPECT. However, for cardiac PET, the dose contribution of CT for attenuation correction (CTAC) is typically 20-30% of the total dose....... To reduce the total radiation dose of cardiac PET further, we set out to examine if the use of ultra-low dose CTAC (UL-CTAC) would affect the accuracy of the quantitative parameters related to MPI. Furthermore, we examined whether the low quality of the UL-CTAC would affect the technologist’s ability...... to perform manual adjustment for misalignment between PET and CTAC. The CT reconstruction algorithm Q.AC was used to improve quality and consistency of the CTAC. Method: 23 consecutive clinical patients (BMI: 26.9 [range: 15.4-38.8]) referred for 82Rb PET rest and stress imaging were included in the study...

  9. Weighted backprojection implemented with a non-uniform attenuation map for improved SPECT quantitation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manglos, S.H.; Jaszczak, R.J.; Floyd, C.E.

    1988-01-01

    A method is developed to improve quantitation in SPECT imaging by using an attenuation compensation method which includes the correct non-uniform attenuation spatial distribution (''map''). The method is based on the technique of weighted back projection, previously developed for uniform attenuation. The method is tested by imaging a non-uniform phantom, reconstructing with the known attenuation map, and quantitatively comparing the resultant image with the known activity distribution. Reconstructed image profiles are dramatically improved in comparison to reconstructions without compensation or with an assumed uniform attenuation map. Contrast measurements further quantify the improvement. Line spread function distortions seen previously in non-uniform geometries are essentially eliminated by the method. Therefore, the method appears to be appropriate for these geometries, if the non-uniform map can be determined. Some additional image distortions introduced by the compensation method are noted and will require further study

  10. Zero-Echo-Time and Dixon Deep Pseudo-CT (ZeDD CT): Direct Generation of Pseudo-CT Images for Pelvic PET/MRI Attenuation Correction Using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks with Multiparametric MRI.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leynes, Andrew P; Yang, Jaewon; Wiesinger, Florian; Kaushik, Sandeep S; Shanbhag, Dattesh D; Seo, Youngho; Hope, Thomas A; Larson, Peder E Z

    2018-05-01

    Accurate quantification of uptake on PET images depends on accurate attenuation correction in reconstruction. Current MR-based attenuation correction methods for body PET use a fat and water map derived from a 2-echo Dixon MRI sequence in which bone is neglected. Ultrashort-echo-time or zero-echo-time (ZTE) pulse sequences can capture bone information. We propose the use of patient-specific multiparametric MRI consisting of Dixon MRI and proton-density-weighted ZTE MRI to directly synthesize pseudo-CT images with a deep learning model: we call this method ZTE and Dixon deep pseudo-CT (ZeDD CT). Methods: Twenty-six patients were scanned using an integrated 3-T time-of-flight PET/MRI system. Helical CT images of the patients were acquired separately. A deep convolutional neural network was trained to transform ZTE and Dixon MR images into pseudo-CT images. Ten patients were used for model training, and 16 patients were used for evaluation. Bone and soft-tissue lesions were identified, and the SUV max was measured. The root-mean-squared error (RMSE) was used to compare the MR-based attenuation correction with the ground-truth CT attenuation correction. Results: In total, 30 bone lesions and 60 soft-tissue lesions were evaluated. The RMSE in PET quantification was reduced by a factor of 4 for bone lesions (10.24% for Dixon PET and 2.68% for ZeDD PET) and by a factor of 1.5 for soft-tissue lesions (6.24% for Dixon PET and 4.07% for ZeDD PET). Conclusion: ZeDD CT produces natural-looking and quantitatively accurate pseudo-CT images and reduces error in pelvic PET/MRI attenuation correction compared with standard methods. © 2018 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.

  11. Use of two monoenergetic gamma-ray attenuation method in wood samples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mortatti, J.; Nascimento Filho, V.F. do; Barros Ferraz, E.S. de

    1983-01-01

    The mass attenuation coefficients for 10 wood species were determined employing the gamma attenuation technique with a single beam comprising two monoenergetics gamma energies from 137 Cs/sup(137m) Ba and 141 Am (662 and 59,6 KeV, respectively). The absorbed radiation was simultaneously measured by means of a 3'' x 3'' Nal (T1) planar solid scintillator crystal connected to a two channel gamma spectrometer. The effect of the 137 Cs/ sup(137m) Ba compton radiation on the not 241 Am counting rates were corrected. Dead time effects were desregarded, as the counting rates were always below 10 5 cpm. (Author) [pt

  12. Impact of improved attenuation correction featuring a bone atlas and truncation correction on PET quantification in whole-body PET/MR.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oehmigen, Mark; Lindemann, Maike E; Gratz, Marcel; Kirchner, Julian; Ruhlmann, Verena; Umutlu, Lale; Blumhagen, Jan Ole; Fenchel, Matthias; Quick, Harald H

    2018-04-01

    Recent studies have shown an excellent correlation between PET/MR and PET/CT hybrid imaging in detecting lesions. However, a systematic underestimation of PET quantification in PET/MR has been observed. This is attributable to two methodological challenges of MR-based attenuation correction (AC): (1) lack of bone information, and (2) truncation of the MR-based AC maps (μmaps) along the patient arms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of improved AC featuring a bone atlas and truncation correction on PET quantification in whole-body PET/MR. The MR-based Dixon method provides four-compartment μmaps (background air, lungs, fat, soft tissue) which served as a reference for PET/MR AC in this study. A model-based bone atlas provided bone tissue as a fifth compartment, while the HUGE method provided truncation correction. The study population comprised 51 patients with oncological diseases, all of whom underwent a whole-body PET/MR examination. Each whole-body PET dataset was reconstructed four times using standard four-compartment μmaps, five-compartment μmaps, four-compartment μmaps + HUGE, and five-compartment μmaps + HUGE. The SUV max for each lesion was measured to assess the impact of each μmap on PET quantification. All four μmaps in each patient provided robust results for reconstruction of the AC PET data. Overall, SUV max was quantified in 99 tumours and lesions. Compared to the reference four-compartment μmap, the mean SUV max of all 99 lesions increased by 1.4 ± 2.5% when bone was added, by 2.1 ± 3.5% when HUGE was added, and by 4.4 ± 5.7% when bone + HUGE was added. Larger quantification bias of up to 35% was found for single lesions when bone and truncation correction were added to the μmaps, depending on their individual location in the body. The novel AC method, featuring a bone model and truncation correction, improved PET quantification in whole-body PET/MR imaging. Short reconstruction times, straightforward

  13. Impact of improved attenuation correction featuring a bone atlas and truncation correction on PET quantification in whole-body PET/MR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oehmigen, Mark; Lindemann, Maike E. [University Hospital Essen, High Field and Hybrid MR Imaging, Essen (Germany); Gratz, Marcel; Quick, Harald H. [University Hospital Essen, High Field and Hybrid MR Imaging, Essen (Germany); University Duisburg-Essen, Erwin L. Hahn Institute for MR Imaging, Essen (Germany); Kirchner, Julian [University Dusseldorf, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Medical Faculty, Dusseldorf (Germany); Ruhlmann, Verena [University Hospital Essen, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Essen (Germany); Umutlu, Lale [University Hospital Essen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Essen (Germany); Blumhagen, Jan Ole; Fenchel, Matthias [Siemens Healthcare GmbH, Erlangen (Germany)

    2018-04-15

    Recent studies have shown an excellent correlation between PET/MR and PET/CT hybrid imaging in detecting lesions. However, a systematic underestimation of PET quantification in PET/MR has been observed. This is attributable to two methodological challenges of MR-based attenuation correction (AC): (1) lack of bone information, and (2) truncation of the MR-based AC maps (μmaps) along the patient arms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of improved AC featuring a bone atlas and truncation correction on PET quantification in whole-body PET/MR. The MR-based Dixon method provides four-compartment μmaps (background air, lungs, fat, soft tissue) which served as a reference for PET/MR AC in this study. A model-based bone atlas provided bone tissue as a fifth compartment, while the HUGE method provided truncation correction. The study population comprised 51 patients with oncological diseases, all of whom underwent a whole-body PET/MR examination. Each whole-body PET dataset was reconstructed four times using standard four-compartment μmaps, five-compartment μmaps, four-compartment μmaps + HUGE, and five-compartment μmaps + HUGE. The SUV{sub max} for each lesion was measured to assess the impact of each μmap on PET quantification. All four μmaps in each patient provided robust results for reconstruction of the AC PET data. Overall, SUV{sub max} was quantified in 99 tumours and lesions. Compared to the reference four-compartment μmap, the mean SUV{sub max} of all 99 lesions increased by 1.4 ± 2.5% when bone was added, by 2.1 ± 3.5% when HUGE was added, and by 4.4 ± 5.7% when bone + HUGE was added. Larger quantification bias of up to 35% was found for single lesions when bone and truncation correction were added to the μmaps, depending on their individual location in the body. The novel AC method, featuring a bone model and truncation correction, improved PET quantification in whole-body PET/MR imaging. Short reconstruction times, straightforward

  14. ICNTS. Benchmarking of momentum correction techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beidler, Craig D.; Isaev, Maxim Yu.; Kasilov, Sergei V.

    2008-01-01

    In the traditional neoclassical ordering, mono-energetic transport coefficients are evaluated using the simplified Lorentz form of the pitch-angle collision operator which violates momentum conservation. In this paper, the parallel momentum balance with radial parallel momentum transport and viscosity terms is analysed, in particular with respect to the radial electric field. Next, the impact of momentum conservation in the stellarator lmfp-regime is estimated for the radial transport and the parallel electric conductivity. Finally, momentum correction techniques are described based on mono-energetic transport coefficients calculated e.g. by the DKES code, and preliminary results for the parallel electric conductivity and the bootstrap current are presented. (author)

  15. Evaluation of various energy windows at different radionuclides for scatter and attenuation correction in nuclear medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asgari, Afrouz; Ashoor, Mansour; Sohrabpour, Mostafa; Shokrani, Parvaneh; Rezaei, Ali

    2015-05-01

    Improving signal to noise ratio (SNR) and qualified images by the various methods is very important for detecting the abnormalities at the body organs. Scatter and attenuation of photons by the organs lead to errors in radiopharmaceutical estimation as well as degradation of images. The choice of suitable energy window and the radionuclide have a key role in nuclear medicine which appearing the lowest scatter fraction as well as having a nearly constant linear attenuation coefficient as a function of phantom thickness. The energy windows of symmetrical window (SW), asymmetric window (ASW), high window (WH) and low window (WL) using Tc-99m and Sm-153 radionuclide with solid water slab phantom (RW3) and Teflon bone phantoms have been compared, and Matlab software and Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP4C) code were modified to simulate these methods and obtaining the amounts of FWHM and full width at tenth maximum (FWTM) using line spread functions (LSFs). The experimental data were obtained from the Orbiter Scintron gamma camera. Based on the results of the simulation as well as experimental work, the performance of WH and ASW display of the results, lowest scatter fraction as well as constant linear attenuation coefficient as a function of phantom thickness. WH and ASW were optimal windows in nuclear medicine imaging for Tc-99m in RW3 phantom and Sm-153 in Teflon bone phantom. Attenuation correction was done for WH and ASW optimal windows and for these radionuclides using filtered back projection algorithm. Results of simulation and experimental show that very good agreement between the set of experimental with simulation as well as theoretical values with simulation data were obtained which was nominally less than 7.07 % for Tc-99m and less than 8.00 % for Sm-153. Corrected counts were not affected by the thickness of scattering material. The Simulated results of Line Spread Function (LSF) for Sm-153 and Tc-99m in phantom based on four windows and TEW method were

  16. Comparison of different Aethalometer correction schemes and a reference multi-wavelength absorption technique for ambient aerosol data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Saturno

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Deriving absorption coefficients from Aethalometer attenuation data requires different corrections to compensate for artifacts related to filter-loading effects, scattering by filter fibers, and scattering by aerosol particles. In this study, two different correction schemes were applied to seven-wavelength Aethalometer data, using multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP data as a reference absorption measurement at 637 nm. The compensation algorithms were compared to five-wavelength offline absorption measurements obtained with a multi-wavelength absorbance analyzer (MWAA, which serves as a multiple-wavelength reference measurement. The online measurements took place in the Amazon rainforest, from the wet-to-dry transition season to the dry season (June–September 2014. The mean absorption coefficient (at 637 nm during this period was 1.8 ± 2.1 Mm−1, with a maximum of 15.9 Mm−1. Under these conditions, the filter-loading compensation was negligible. One of the correction schemes was found to artificially increase the short-wavelength absorption coefficients. It was found that accounting for the aerosol optical properties in the scattering compensation significantly affects the absorption Ångström exponent (åABS retrievals. Proper Aethalometer data compensation schemes are crucial to retrieve the correct åABS, which is commonly implemented in brown carbon contribution calculations. Additionally, we found that the wavelength dependence of uncompensated Aethalometer attenuation data significantly correlates with the åABS retrieved from offline MWAA measurements.

  17. Interfacial area measurement in two-phase bubbly flows - 3. Part - comparison between the light attenuation technique and a local method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veteau, Jean-Michel; Charlot, Roland.

    1981-09-01

    Initially designed for rectangular test sections the light attenuation technique is reconsidered for an application in circular tubes. Principles of a two-head local probe method are discussed, including the problems related to the measurement of interface velocities. The two techniques are compared experimentally and results lead to the conclusion that, in view of its global nature, the light attenuation method is more suitable for homogeneous two-phase flows. A new experimental set up is proposed to overcome this limitation in order to obtain local values as in the probe technique [fr

  18. Contribution to regularizing iterative method development for attenuation correction in gamma emission tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cao, A.

    1981-07-01

    This study is concerned with the transverse axial gamma emission tomography. The problem of self-attenuation of radiations in biologic tissues is raised. The regularizing iterative method is developed, as a reconstruction method of 3 dimensional images. The different steps from acquisition to results, necessary to its application, are described. Organigrams relative to each step are explained. Comparison notion between two reconstruction methods is introduced. Some methods used for the comparison or to bring about the characteristics of a reconstruction technique are defined. The studies realized to test the regularizing iterative method are presented and results are analyzed [fr

  19. Novel technique and simple approach for supra-alar region and supra-alar crease correction by supra-alar cinching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Selvaraj, Loganathan

    2016-01-01

    This technical report describes a simple and innovative surgical technique for supra-alar sidewall region constriction and supra-alar crease attenuation by cinching technique through intraoral approach.

  20. Novel technique and simple approach for supra-alar region and supra-alar crease correction by supra-alar cinching

    OpenAIRE

    Selvaraj, Loganathan

    2016-01-01

    This technical report describes a simple and innovative surgical technique for supra-alar sidewall region constriction and supra-alar crease attenuation by cinching technique through intraoral approach.

  1. A fully automated and reproducible level-set segmentation approach for generation of MR-based attenuation correction map of PET images in the brain employing single STE-MR imaging modality

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kazerooni, Anahita Fathi; Aarabi, Mohammad Hadi [Quantitative MR Imaging and Spectroscopy Group, Research Center for Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Ay, Mohammadreza [Quantitative MR Imaging and Spectroscopy Group, Research Center for Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Medical Imaging Systems Group, Research Center for Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Rad, Hamidreza Saligheh [Quantitative MR Imaging and Spectroscopy Group, Research Center for Cellular and Molecular Imaging, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of); Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran (Iran, Islamic Republic of)

    2014-07-29

    Generating MR-based attenuation correction map (μ-map) for quantitative reconstruction of PET images still remains a challenge in hybrid PET/MRI systems, mainly because cortical bone structures are indistinguishable from proximal air cavities in conventional MR images. Recently, development of short echo-time (STE) MR imaging sequences, has shown promise in differentiating cortical bone from air. However, on STE-MR images, the bone appears with discontinuous boundaries. Therefore, segmentation techniques based on intensity classification, such as thresholding or fuzzy C-means, fail to homogeneously delineate bone boundaries, especially in the presence of intrinsic noise and intensity inhomogeneity. Consequently, they cannot be fully automatized, must be fine-tuned on the case-by-case basis, and require additional morphological operations for segmentation refinement. To overcome the mentioned problems, in this study, we introduce a new fully automatic and reproducible STE-MR segmentation approach exploiting level-set in a clustering-based intensity inhomogeneity correction framework to reliably delineate bone from soft tissue and air.

  2. A fully automated and reproducible level-set segmentation approach for generation of MR-based attenuation correction map of PET images in the brain employing single STE-MR imaging modality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kazerooni, Anahita Fathi; Aarabi, Mohammad Hadi; Ay, Mohammadreza; Rad, Hamidreza Saligheh

    2014-01-01

    Generating MR-based attenuation correction map (μ-map) for quantitative reconstruction of PET images still remains a challenge in hybrid PET/MRI systems, mainly because cortical bone structures are indistinguishable from proximal air cavities in conventional MR images. Recently, development of short echo-time (STE) MR imaging sequences, has shown promise in differentiating cortical bone from air. However, on STE-MR images, the bone appears with discontinuous boundaries. Therefore, segmentation techniques based on intensity classification, such as thresholding or fuzzy C-means, fail to homogeneously delineate bone boundaries, especially in the presence of intrinsic noise and intensity inhomogeneity. Consequently, they cannot be fully automatized, must be fine-tuned on the case-by-case basis, and require additional morphological operations for segmentation refinement. To overcome the mentioned problems, in this study, we introduce a new fully automatic and reproducible STE-MR segmentation approach exploiting level-set in a clustering-based intensity inhomogeneity correction framework to reliably delineate bone from soft tissue and air.

  3. Image enhancement by spectral-error correction for dual-energy computed tomography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Kyung-Kook; Oh, Chang-Hyun; Akay, Metin

    2011-01-01

    Dual-energy CT (DECT) was reintroduced recently to use the additional spectral information of X-ray attenuation and aims for accurate density measurement and material differentiation. However, the spectral information lies in the difference between low and high energy images or measurements, so that it is difficult to acquire accurate spectral information due to amplification of high pixel noise in the resulting difference image. In this work, an image enhancement technique for DECT is proposed, based on the fact that the attenuation of a higher density material decreases more rapidly as X-ray energy increases. We define as spectral error the case when a pixel pair of low and high energy images deviates far from the expected attenuation trend. After analyzing the spectral-error sources of DECT images, we propose a DECT image enhancement method, which consists of three steps: water-reference offset correction, spectral-error correction, and anti-correlated noise reduction. It is the main idea of this work that makes spectral errors distributed like random noise over the true attenuation and suppressed by the well-known anti-correlated noise reduction. The proposed method suppressed noise of liver lesions and improved contrast between liver lesions and liver parenchyma in DECT contrast-enhanced abdominal images and their two-material decomposition.

  4. Gamma ray auto absorption correction evaluation methodology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gugiu, Daniela; Roth, Csaba; Ghinescu, Alecse

    2010-01-01

    Neutron activation analysis (NAA) is a well established nuclear technique, suited to investigate the microstructural or elemental composition and can be applied to studies of a large variety of samples. The work with large samples involves, beside the development of large irradiation devices with well know neutron field characteristics, the knowledge of perturbing phenomena and adequate evaluation of correction factors like: neutron self shielding, extended source correction, gamma ray auto absorption. The objective of the works presented in this paper is to validate an appropriate methodology for gamma ray auto absorption correction evaluation for large inhomogeneous samples. For this purpose a benchmark experiment has been defined - a simple gamma ray transmission experiment, easy to be reproduced. The gamma ray attenuation in pottery samples has been measured and computed using MCNP5 code. The results show a good agreement between the computed and measured values, proving that the proposed methodology is able to evaluate the correction factors. (authors)

  5. Determination of the mass attenuation coefficients for X-ray fluorescence measurements correction by the Rayleigh to Compton scattering ratio

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conti, C. C.; Anjos, M. J.; Salgado, C. M.

    2014-09-01

    X-ray fluorescence technique plays an important role in nondestructive analysis nowadays. The development of equipment, including portable ones, enables a wide assortment of possibilities for analysis of stable elements, even in trace concentrations. Nevertheless, despite of the advantages, one important drawback is radiation self-attenuation in the sample being measured, which needs to be considered in the calculation for the proper determination of elemental concentration. The mass attenuation coefficient can be determined by transmission measurement, but, in this case, the sample must be in slab shape geometry and demands two different setups and measurements. The Rayleigh to Compton scattering ratio, determined from the X-ray fluorescence spectrum, provides a link to the mass attenuation coefficient by means of a polynomial type equation. This work presents a way to construct a Rayleigh to Compton scattering ratio versus mass attenuation coefficient curve by using the MCNP5 Monte Carlo computer code. The comparison between the calculated and literature values of the mass attenuation coefficient for some known samples showed to be within 15%. This calculation procedure is available on-line at www.macx.net.br.

  6. Measurement of attenuation coefficients of the fundamental and second harmonic waves in water

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Shuzeng; Jeong, Hyunjo; Cho, Sungjong; Li, Xiongbing

    2016-02-01

    Attenuation corrections in nonlinear acoustics play an important role in the study of nonlinear fluids, biomedical imaging, or solid material characterization. The measurement of attenuation coefficients in a nonlinear regime is not easy because they depend on the source pressure and requires accurate diffraction corrections. In this work, the attenuation coefficients of the fundamental and second harmonic waves which come from the absorption of water are measured in nonlinear ultrasonic experiments. Based on the quasilinear theory of the KZK equation, the nonlinear sound field equations are derived and the diffraction correction terms are extracted. The measured sound pressure amplitudes are adjusted first for diffraction corrections in order to reduce the impact on the measurement of attenuation coefficients from diffractions. The attenuation coefficients of the fundamental and second harmonics are calculated precisely from a nonlinear least squares curve-fitting process of the experiment data. The results show that attenuation coefficients in a nonlinear condition depend on both frequency and source pressure, which are much different from a linear regime. In a relatively lower drive pressure, the attenuation coefficients increase linearly with frequency. However, they present the characteristic of nonlinear growth in a high drive pressure. As the diffraction corrections are obtained based on the quasilinear theory, it is important to use an appropriate source pressure for accurate attenuation measurements.

  7. Skull segmentation of UTE MR images by probabilistic neural network for attenuation correction in PET/MR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santos Ribeiro, A. [Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, Lisbon (Portugal); Forschungszentrum Juelich, INM4, Juelich (Germany); Rota Kops, E., E-mail: e.rota.kops@fz-juelich.de [Forschungszentrum Juelich, INM4, Juelich (Germany); Herzog, H. [Forschungszentrum Juelich, INM4, Juelich (Germany); Almeida, P. [Institute of Biophysics and Biomedical Engineering, Lisbon (Portugal)

    2013-02-21

    Aim: Due to space and technical limitations in PET/MR scanners one of the difficulties is the generation of an attenuation correction (AC) map to correct the PET image data. Different methods have been suggested that make use of the images acquired with an ultrashort echo time (UTE) sequence. However, in most of them precise thresholds need to be defined and these may depend on the sequence parameters. In this study an algorithm based on a probabilistic neural network (PNN) is presented requiring little user interaction. Material and methods: An MR UTE sequence delivering two images (UTE1 and UTE2) by using two different echo times (0.07 ms and 2.46 ms, respectively) was acquired. The input features for the PNN algorithm consist of two patches of MR intensities chosen in both the co-registered UTE1 and UTE2 images. At the end, the PNN generates an image classified into four different classes: brain+soft tissue, air, csf, and bone. CT and MR data were acquired in four subjects, whereby the CT data were used for comparison. For each patient co-classification of the different classified classes and the Dice coefficients (D) were calculated between the MR segmented image and the respective CT image. Results: An overall voxel classification accuracy (compared with CT) of 92% was obtained. Also, the resulting D with regard to the skull and calculated for the four subjects show a mean of 0.83 and a standard deviation of 0.07. Discussion: Our results show that a reliable bone segmentation of MRI images as well as the generation of a reliable attenuation map is possible. Conclusion: The developed algorithms possess several advantages over current methods using UTE sequence such as a quick and an easy optimization for different sequence parameters.

  8. Skull segmentation of UTE MR images by probabilistic neural network for attenuation correction in PET/MR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos Ribeiro, A.; Rota Kops, E.; Herzog, H.; Almeida, P.

    2013-01-01

    Aim: Due to space and technical limitations in PET/MR scanners one of the difficulties is the generation of an attenuation correction (AC) map to correct the PET image data. Different methods have been suggested that make use of the images acquired with an ultrashort echo time (UTE) sequence. However, in most of them precise thresholds need to be defined and these may depend on the sequence parameters. In this study an algorithm based on a probabilistic neural network (PNN) is presented requiring little user interaction. Material and methods: An MR UTE sequence delivering two images (UTE1 and UTE2) by using two different echo times (0.07 ms and 2.46 ms, respectively) was acquired. The input features for the PNN algorithm consist of two patches of MR intensities chosen in both the co-registered UTE1 and UTE2 images. At the end, the PNN generates an image classified into four different classes: brain+soft tissue, air, csf, and bone. CT and MR data were acquired in four subjects, whereby the CT data were used for comparison. For each patient co-classification of the different classified classes and the Dice coefficients (D) were calculated between the MR segmented image and the respective CT image. Results: An overall voxel classification accuracy (compared with CT) of 92% was obtained. Also, the resulting D with regard to the skull and calculated for the four subjects show a mean of 0.83 and a standard deviation of 0.07. Discussion: Our results show that a reliable bone segmentation of MRI images as well as the generation of a reliable attenuation map is possible. Conclusion: The developed algorithms possess several advantages over current methods using UTE sequence such as a quick and an easy optimization for different sequence parameters

  9. How to simplify transmission-based scatter correction for clinical application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baccarne, V.; Hutton, B.F.

    1998-01-01

    Full text: The performances of ordered subsets (OS) EM reconstruction including attenuation, scatter and spatial resolution correction are evaluated using cardiac Monte Carlo data. We demonstrate how simplifications in the scatter model allow one to correct SPECT data for scatter in terms of quantitation and quality in a reasonable time. Initial reconstruction of the 20% window is performed including attenuation correction (broad beam μ values), to estimate the activity quantitatively (accuracy 3%), but not spatially. A rough reconstruction with 2 iterations (subset size: 8) is sufficient for subsequent scatter correction. Estimation of primary photons is obtained by projecting the previous distribution including attenuation (narrow beam μ values). Estimation of the scatter is obtained by convolving the primary estimates by a depth dependent scatter kernel, and scaling the result by a factor calculated from the attenuation map. The correction can be accelerated by convolving several adjacent planes with the same kernel, and using an average scaling factor. Simulation of the effects of the collimator during the scatter correction was demonstrated to be unnecessary. Final reconstruction is performed using 6 iterations OSEM, including attenuation (narrow beam μ values) and spatial resolution correction. Scatter correction is implemented by incorporating the estimated scatter as a constant offset in the forward projection step. The total correction + reconstruction (64 proj. 40x128 pixel) takes 38 minutes on a Sun Sparc 20. Quantitatively, the accuracy is 7% in a reconstructed slice. The SNR inside the whole myocardium (defined from the original object), is equal to 2.1 and 2.3 - in the corrected and the primary slices respectively. The scatter correction preserves the myocardium to ventricle contrast (primary: 0.79, corrected: 0.82). These simplifications allow acceleration of correction without influencing the quality of the result

  10. Value of a dixon-based MR/PET attenuation correction sequence for the localization and evaluation of PET-positive lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eiber, Matthias; Holzapfel, Konstantin; Rummeny, Ernst J.; Martinez-Moeller, Axel; Souvatzoglou, Michael; Ziegler, Sibylle; Schwaiger, Markus; Nekolla, Stephan G.; Beer, Ambros J.; Pickhard, Anja; Loeffelbein, Dennys; Santi, Ivan

    2011-01-01

    In this study, the potential contribution of Dixon-based MR imaging with a rapid low-resolution breath-hold sequence, which is a technique used for MR-based attenuation correction (AC) for MR/positron emission tomography (PET), was evaluated for anatomical correlation of PET-positive lesions on a 3T clinical scanner compared to low-dose CT. This technique is also used in a recently installed fully integrated whole-body MR/PET system. Thirty-five patients routinely scheduled for oncological staging underwent 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET/CT and a 2-point Dixon 3-D volumetric interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) T1-weighted MR sequence on the same day. Two PET data sets reconstructed using attenuation maps from low-dose CT (PET AC C T ) or simulated MR-based segmentation (PET AC M R ) were evaluated for focal PET-positive lesions. The certainty for the correlation with anatomical structures was judged in the low-dose CT and Dixon-based MRI on a 4-point scale (0-3). In addition, the standardized uptake values (SUVs) for PET AC C T and PET AC M R were compared. Statistically, no significant difference could be found concerning anatomical localization for all 81 PET-positive lesions in low-dose CT compared to Dixon-based MR (mean 2.51 ± 0.85 and 2.37 ± 0.87, respectively; p = 0.1909). CT tended to be superior for small lymph nodes, bone metastases and pulmonary nodules, while Dixon-based MR proved advantageous for soft tissue pathologies like head/neck tumours and liver metastases. For the PET AC C T - and PET AC M R -based SUVs (mean 6.36 ± 4.47 and 6.31 ± 4.52, respectively) a nearly complete concordance with a highly significant correlation was found (r = 0.9975, p < 0.0001). Dixon-based MR imaging for MR AC allows for anatomical allocation of PET-positive lesions similar to low-dose CT in conventional PET/CT. Thus, this approach appears to be useful for future MR/PET for body regions not fully covered by diagnostic MRI due to potential time

  11. Examination of attenuation correction method for cerebral blood Flow SPECT Using MR imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mizuno, Takashi; Takahashi, Masaaki

    2009-01-01

    Authors developed a software for attenuation correction using MR imaging (MRAC) (Toshiba Med. System Engineer.) based on the idea that precision of AC could be improved by the head contour in MRI T2-weighted images (T2WI) obtained before 123 I-iofetamine (IMP) single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurement. In the present study, this MRAC was retrospectively evaluated by comparison with the previous standard AC methods derived from transmission CT (TCT) and X-CT which overcoming the problem of sinogram threshold Chang method but still having cost and patient exposure issues. MRAC was essentially performed in the Toshiba GMS5500/PI processor where 3D registration was conducted with images of SPECT and MRI of the same patient. The gamma camera for 123 I-IMP SPECT and 99m TcO 4 - TCT was Toshiba 3-detector GCA9300A equipped with the above processor for MRAC and with low energy high resolution (LEHR) fan beam collimator. Machines for MRI and CT were Siemens-Asahi Meditech. MAGNETOM Symphony 1.5T and SOMATOM plus4, respectively. MRAC was examined in 8 patients with images of T1WI, TCT and SPECT, and in 18 of T2WI, CT and SPECT. Evaluation was made by comparison of attenuation coefficients (μ) by the 4 methods. As a result, the present MRAC was found to be closer to AC by TCT and CT than by the Chang method since MRAC, due to exact imaging of the head contour, was independent on radiation count, and was thought to be useful for improving the precision of CBF SPECT. (K.T.)

  12. Two-phase flow void fraction measurement using gamma ray attenuation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, R.D. da.

    1985-01-01

    The present work deals with experimental void fraction measurements in two-phase water-nitrogen flow, by using a gamma ray attenuation technique. Several upward two-phase flow regimes in a vertical tube were simulated. The water flow was varied from 0.13 to 0.44 m 3 /h while the nitrogen flow was varied between 0.01 and 0.1 m 3 /h. The mean volumetric void fraction was determined based on the measured linear void fraction for each flow condition. The results were compared with other authors data and showed a good agreement. (author) [pt

  13. GPR measurements of attenuation in concrete

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eisenmann, David; Margetan, Frank J.; Pavel, Brittney

    2015-03-01

    Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signals from concrete structures are affected by several phenomenon, including: (1) transmission and reflection coefficients at interfaces; (2) the radiation patterns of the antenna(s) being used; and (3) the material properties of concrete and any embedded objects. In this paper we investigate different schemes for determining the electromagnetic (EM) attenuation of concrete from measured signals obtained using commercially-available GPR equipment. We adapt procedures commonly used in ultrasonic inspections where one compares the relative strengths of two or more signals having different travel paths through the material of interest. After correcting for beam spread (i.e., diffraction), interface phenomena, and equipment amplification settings, any remaining signal differences are assumed to be due to attenuation thus allowing the attenuation coefficient (say, in dB of loss per inch of travel) to be estimated. We begin with a brief overview of our approach, and then discuss how diffraction corrections were determined for our two 1.6 GHz GPR antennas. We then present results of attenuation measurements for two types of concrete using both pulse/echo and pitch/catch measurement setups.

  14. GPR measurements of attenuation in concrete

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eisenmann, David; Margetan, Frank J.; Pavel, Brittney

    2015-01-01

    Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signals from concrete structures are affected by several phenomenon, including: (1) transmission and reflection coefficients at interfaces; (2) the radiation patterns of the antenna(s) being used; and (3) the material properties of concrete and any embedded objects. In this paper we investigate different schemes for determining the electromagnetic (EM) attenuation of concrete from measured signals obtained using commercially-available GPR equipment. We adapt procedures commonly used in ultrasonic inspections where one compares the relative strengths of two or more signals having different travel paths through the material of interest. After correcting for beam spread (i.e., diffraction), interface phenomena, and equipment amplification settings, any remaining signal differences are assumed to be due to attenuation thus allowing the attenuation coefficient (say, in dB of loss per inch of travel) to be estimated. We begin with a brief overview of our approach, and then discuss how diffraction corrections were determined for our two 1.6 GHz GPR antennas. We then present results of attenuation measurements for two types of concrete using both pulse/echo and pitch/catch measurement setups

  15. GPR measurements of attenuation in concrete

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eisenmann, David, E-mail: djeisen@cnde.iastate.edu; Margetan, Frank J., E-mail: djeisen@cnde.iastate.edu; Pavel, Brittney, E-mail: djeisen@cnde.iastate.edu [Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University, 1915 Scholl Road, Ames, IA 50011-3042 (United States)

    2015-03-31

    Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) signals from concrete structures are affected by several phenomenon, including: (1) transmission and reflection coefficients at interfaces; (2) the radiation patterns of the antenna(s) being used; and (3) the material properties of concrete and any embedded objects. In this paper we investigate different schemes for determining the electromagnetic (EM) attenuation of concrete from measured signals obtained using commercially-available GPR equipment. We adapt procedures commonly used in ultrasonic inspections where one compares the relative strengths of two or more signals having different travel paths through the material of interest. After correcting for beam spread (i.e., diffraction), interface phenomena, and equipment amplification settings, any remaining signal differences are assumed to be due to attenuation thus allowing the attenuation coefficient (say, in dB of loss per inch of travel) to be estimated. We begin with a brief overview of our approach, and then discuss how diffraction corrections were determined for our two 1.6 GHz GPR antennas. We then present results of attenuation measurements for two types of concrete using both pulse/echo and pitch/catch measurement setups.

  16. Quantitative Evaluation of Atlas-based Attenuation Correction for Brain PET in an Integrated Time-of-Flight PET/MR Imaging System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Jaewon; Jian, Yiqiang; Jenkins, Nathaniel; Behr, Spencer C; Hope, Thomas A; Larson, Peder E Z; Vigneron, Daniel; Seo, Youngho

    2017-07-01

    Purpose To assess the patient-dependent accuracy of atlas-based attenuation correction (ATAC) for brain positron emission tomography (PET) in an integrated time-of-flight (TOF) PET/magnetic resonance (MR) imaging system. Materials and Methods Thirty recruited patients provided informed consent in this institutional review board-approved study. All patients underwent whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose PET/computed tomography (CT) followed by TOF PET/MR imaging. With use of TOF PET data, PET images were reconstructed with four different attenuation correction (AC) methods: PET with patient CT-based AC (CTAC), PET with ATAC (air and bone from an atlas), PET with ATAC patientBone (air and tissue from the atlas with patient bone), and PET with ATAC boneless (air and tissue from the atlas without bone). For quantitative evaluation, PET mean activity concentration values were measured in 14 1-mL volumes of interest (VOIs) distributed throughout the brain and statistical significance was tested with a paired t test. Results The mean overall difference (±standard deviation) of PET with ATAC compared with PET with CTAC was -0.69 kBq/mL ± 0.60 (-4.0% ± 3.2) (P PET with ATAC boneless (-9.4% ± 3.7) was significantly worse than that of PET with ATAC (-4.0% ± 3.2) (P PET with ATAC patientBone (-1.5% ± 1.5) improved over that of PET with ATAC (-4.0% ± 3.2) (P PET/MR imaging achieves similar quantification accuracy to that from CTAC by means of atlas-based bone compensation. However, patient-specific anatomic differences from the atlas causes bone attenuation differences and misclassified sinuses, which result in patient-dependent performance variation of ATAC. © RSNA, 2017 Online supplemental material is available for this article.

  17. A systematic comparison of motion artifact correction techniques for functional near-infrared spectroscopy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cooper, Robert J; Selb, Juliette; Gagnon, Louis

    2012-01-01

    a significant reduction in the mean-squared error (MSE) and significant increase in the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the recovered HRF when compared to no correction and compared to a process of rejecting motion-contaminated trials. Spline interpolation produces the largest average reduction in MSE (55....... Principle component analysis, spline interpolation, wavelet analysis, and Kalman filtering approaches are compared to one another and to standard approaches using the accuracy of the recovered, simulated hemodynamic response function (HRF). Each of the four motion correction techniques we tested yields......%) while wavelet analysis produces the highest average increase in CNR (39%). On the basis of this analysis, we recommend the routine application of motion correction techniques (particularly spline interpolation or wavelet analysis) to minimize the impact of motion artifacts on functional NIRS data....

  18. Lg Attenuation Modeling in the Middle East

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasyanos, M. E.; Matzel, E. M.; Walter, W. R.; Rodgers, A. J.

    2008-12-01

    We present a broadband tomographic model of Lg attenuation in the Middle East derived from source- and site-corrected amplitudes. The study region spans from Turkey through the Arabian Peninsula and Iran to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and northwest India. Absolute amplitude measurements are made on hand-selected and carefully windowed seismograms for tens of stations and thousands of crustal earthquakes resulting in excellent coverage of the region. We have modified the standard attenuation tomography technique to more explicitly define the earthquake source expression in terms of the seismic moment. This facilitates the use of the model to predict the expected amplitudes of new events, an important consideration for earthquake hazard or explosion monitoring applications. We will discuss the updated method and implications of this parameterization. A conjugate gradient method is used to tomographically invert the amplitude dataset of over 8000 paths. We solve for Q variation, as well as site and source terms, for a wide range of frequencies ranging from 0.5 -- 10 Hz. The attenuation results have a strong correlation to tectonics. Shields have low attenuation, while tectonic regions have high attenuation, with the highest attenuation at 1 Hz found in eastern Turkey. The results also compare favorably to other studies in the region made using Lg propagation efficiency, Lg/Pg amplitude ratios and two-station methods. We tomographically invert the amplitude measurements for each frequency independently. In doing so, it appears the frequency-dependence of attenuation is not compatible with the power law representation of Q(f). This research was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract number DE-AC52-07NA27344. This is LLNL contribution LLNL-ABS-406761.

  19. Investigation of attenuation correction in SPECT using textural features, Monte Carlo simulations, and computational anthropomorphic models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spirou, Spiridon V; Papadimitroulas, Panagiotis; Liakou, Paraskevi; Georgoulias, Panagiotis; Loudos, George

    2015-09-01

    To present and evaluate a new methodology to investigate the effect of attenuation correction (AC) in single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using textural features analysis, Monte Carlo techniques, and a computational anthropomorphic model. The GATE Monte Carlo toolkit was used to simulate SPECT experiments using the XCAT computational anthropomorphic model, filled with a realistic biodistribution of (99m)Tc-N-DBODC. The simulated gamma camera was the Siemens ECAM Dual-Head, equipped with a parallel hole lead collimator, with an image resolution of 3.54 × 3.54 mm(2). Thirty-six equispaced camera positions, spanning a full 360° arc, were simulated. Projections were calculated after applying a ± 20% energy window or after eliminating all scattered photons. The activity of the radioisotope was reconstructed using the MLEM algorithm. Photon attenuation was accounted for by calculating the radiological pathlength in a perpendicular line from the center of each voxel to the gamma camera. Twenty-two textural features were calculated on each slice, with and without AC, using 16 and 64 gray levels. A mask was used to identify only those pixels that belonged to each organ. Twelve of the 22 features showed almost no dependence on AC, irrespective of the organ involved. In both the heart and the liver, the mean and SD were the features most affected by AC. In the liver, six features were affected by AC only on some slices. Depending on the slice, skewness decreased by 22-34% with AC, kurtosis by 35-50%, long-run emphasis mean by 71-91%, and long-run emphasis range by 62-95%. In contrast, gray-level non-uniformity mean increased by 78-218% compared with the value without AC and run percentage mean by 51-159%. These results were not affected by the number of gray levels (16 vs. 64) or the data used for reconstruction: with the energy window or without scattered photons. The mean and SD were the main features affected by AC. In the heart, no other feature was

  20. Dual ring multilayer ionization chamber and theory-based correction technique for scanning proton therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takayanagi, Taisuke; Nihongi, Hideaki; Nishiuchi, Hideaki; Tadokoro, Masahiro; Ito, Yuki; Nakashima, Chihiro; Fujitaka, Shinichiro; Umezawa, Masumi; Matsuda, Koji; Sakae, Takeji; Terunuma, Toshiyuki

    2016-07-01

    To develop a multilayer ionization chamber (MLIC) and a correction technique that suppresses differences between the MLIC and water phantom measurements in order to achieve fast and accurate depth dose measurements in pencil beam scanning proton therapy. The authors distinguish between a calibration procedure and an additional correction: 1-the calibration for variations in the air gap thickness and the electrometer gains is addressed without involving measurements in water; 2-the correction is addressed to suppress the difference between depth dose profiles in water and in the MLIC materials due to the nuclear interaction cross sections by a semiempirical model tuned by using measurements in water. In the correction technique, raw MLIC data are obtained for each energy layer and integrated after multiplying them by the correction factor because the correction factor depends on incident energy. The MLIC described here has been designed especially for pencil beam scanning proton therapy. This MLIC is called a dual ring multilayer ionization chamber (DRMLIC). The shape of the electrodes allows the DRMLIC to measure both the percentage depth dose (PDD) and integrated depth dose (IDD) because ionization electrons are collected from inner and outer air gaps independently. IDDs for which the beam energies were 71.6, 120.6, 159, 180.6, and 221.4 MeV were measured and compared with water phantom results. Furthermore, the measured PDDs along the central axis of the proton field with a nominal field size of 10 × 10 cm(2) were compared. The spread out Bragg peak was 20 cm for fields with a range of 30.6 and 3 cm for fields with a range of 6.9 cm. The IDDs measured with the DRMLIC using the correction technique were consistent with those that of the water phantom; except for the beam energy of 71.6 MeV, all of the points satisfied the 1% dose/1 mm distance to agreement criterion of the gamma index. The 71.6 MeV depth dose profile showed slight differences in the shallow

  1. A precise technique for manufacturing correction coil

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schieber, L.

    1992-01-01

    An automated method of manufacturing correction coils has been developed which provides a precise embodiment of the coil design. Numerically controlled machines have been developed to accurately position coil windings on the beam tube. Two types of machines have been built. One machine bonds the wire to a substrate which is wrapped around the beam tube after it is completed while the second machine bonds the wire directly to the beam tube. Both machines use the Multiwire reg-sign technique of bonding the wire to the substrate utilizing an ultrasonic stylus. These machines are being used to manufacture coils for both the SSC and RHIC

  2. [Radiometers performance attenuation and data correction in long-term observation of total radiation and photosynthetically active radiation in typical forest ecosystems in China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Zhi-Lin; Sun, Xiao-Min; Yu, Gui-Rui; Wen, Xue-Fa; Zhang, Yi-Ping; Han, Shi-Jie; Yan, Jun-Hua; Wang, Hui-Min

    2011-11-01

    Based on the total radiation and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) observations with net radiometer (CNR1) and quantum sensor (Li-190SB) in 4 ChinaFLUX forest sites (Changbaishan, Qianyanzhou, Dinghushan, and Xishuangbanna) in 2003-2008, this paper analyzed the uncertainties and the radiometers performance changes in long-term and continuous field observation. The results showed that the 98% accuracy of the total radiation measured with CNR1 (Q(cNR1)) could satisfy the technical criterion for the sites except Xishuangbanna where the Q(CNR1) was averagely about 7% lower than Q(CM11), the radiation measured with high accuracy pyranometer CM11. For most sites, though the temperature had definite effects on the performance of CNR1, the effects were still within the allowable range of the accuracy of the instrument. Besides temperature, the seasonal fog often occurred in tropical rain forests in Xishuangbanna also had effects on the performance of CNR1. Based on the long-term variations of PAR, especially its ratio to total radiation in the 4 sites, it was found that quantum sensor (Li-190SB) had obvious performance attenuation, with the mean annual attenuation rate being about 4%. To correct the observation error caused by Li-190SB, an attempt was made to give a post-correction of the PAR observations, which could basically eliminate the quantum sensor's performance attenuation due to long-term field measurement.

  3. Determination of true coincidence correction factors using Monte-Carlo simulation techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chionis Dionysios A.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Aim of this work is the numerical calculation of the true coincidence correction factors by means of Monte-Carlo simulation techniques. For this purpose, the Monte Carlo computer code PENELOPE was used and the main program PENMAIN was properly modified in order to include the effect of the true coincidence phenomenon. The modified main program that takes into consideration the true coincidence phenomenon was used for the full energy peak efficiency determination of an XtRa Ge detector with relative efficiency 104% and the results obtained for the 1173 keV and 1332 keV photons of 60Co were found consistent with respective experimental ones. The true coincidence correction factors were calculated as the ratio of the full energy peak efficiencies was determined from the original main program PENMAIN and the modified main program PENMAIN. The developed technique was applied for 57Co, 88Y, and 134Cs and for two source-to-detector geometries. The results obtained were compared with true coincidence correction factors calculated from the "TrueCoinc" program and the relative bias was found to be less than 2%, 4%, and 8% for 57Co, 88Y, and 134Cs, respectively.

  4. Comparing 511 keV Attenuation Maps Obtained from Different Energy Mapping Methods for CT Based Attenuation Correction of PET Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maryam Shirmohammad

    2008-06-01

    Full Text Available Introduction:  The  advent  of  dual-modality  PET/CT  scanners  has  revolutionized  clinical  oncology  by  improving lesion localization and facilitating treatment planning for radiotherapy. In addition, the use of  CT images for CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC decreases the overall scanning time and creates  a noise-free  attenuation  map  (6map.  CTAC  methods  include  scaling,  segmentation,  hybrid  scaling/segmentation, bilinear and dual energy methods. All CTAC methods require the transformation  of CT Hounsfield units (HU to linear attenuation coefficients (LAC at 511 keV. The aim of this study is  to compare the results of implementing different methods of energy mapping in PET/CT scanners.   Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in 2 phases, the first phase in a phantom and the  second  one  on  patient  data.  To  perform  the  first  phase,  a  cylindrical  phantom  with  different  concentrations of K2HPO4 inserts was CT scanned and energy mapping methods were implemented on  it. For performing the second phase, different energy  mapping  methods  were implemented on several  clinical studies and compared to the transmission (TX image derived using Ga-68 radionuclide source  acquired on the GE Discovery LS PET/CT scanner.   Results: An ROI analysis was performed on different positions of the resultant 6maps and the average  6value of each ROI was compared to the reference value. The results of the 6maps obtained for 511 keV  compared to the theoretical  values showed that in the phantom for low  concentrations  of K 2 HPO 4 all  these  methods  produce  511  keV  attenuation  maps  with  small  relative  difference  compared  to  gold  standard. The relative difference for scaling, segmentation, hybrid, bilinear and dual energy methods was  4.92,  3.21,  4.43,  2.24  and  2.29%,  respectively.  Although  for  high  concentration

  5. Monte Carlo simulation of scatter in non-uniform symmetrical attenuating media for point and distributed sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henry, L.J.; Rosenthal, M.S.

    1992-01-01

    We report results of scatter simulations for both point and distributed sources of 99m Tc in symmetrical non-uniform attenuating media. The simulations utilized Monte Carlo techniques and were tested against experimental phantoms. Both point and ring sources were used inside a 10.5 cm radius acrylic phantom. Attenuating media consisted of combinations of water, ground beef (to simulate muscle mass), air and bone meal (to simulate bone mass). We estimated/measured energy spectra, detector efficiencies and peak height ratios for all cases. In all cases, the simulated spectra agree with the experimentally measured spectra within 2 SD. Detector efficiencies and peak height ratios also are in agreement. The Monte Carlo code is able to properly model the non-uniform attenuating media used in this project. With verification of the simulations, it is possible to perform initial evaluation studies of scatter correction algorithms by evaluating the mechanisms of action of the correction algorithm on the simulated spectra where the magnitude and sources of scatter are known. (author)

  6. Reduction of artefacts caused by hip implants in CT-based attenuation-corrected PET images using 2-D interpolation of a virtual sinogram on an irregular grid

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Abdoli, Mehrsima; de Jong, Johan R.; Pruim, Jan; Dierckx, Rudi A. J. O.; Zaidi, Habib

    2011-01-01

    Purpose Metallic prosthetic replacements, such as hip or knee implants, are known to cause strong streaking artefacts in CT images. These artefacts likely induce over-or underestimation of the activity concentration near the metallic implants when applying CT-based attenuation correction of positron

  7. A Technique for Real-Time Ionospheric Ranging Error Correction Based On Radar Dual-Frequency Detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyu, Jiang-Tao; Zhou, Chen

    2017-12-01

    Ionospheric refraction is one of the principal error sources for limiting the accuracy of radar systems for space target detection. High-accuracy measurement of the ionospheric electron density along the propagation path of radar wave is the most important procedure for the ionospheric refraction correction. Traditionally, the ionospheric model and the ionospheric detection instruments, like ionosonde or GPS receivers, are employed for obtaining the electron density. However, both methods are not capable of satisfying the requirements of correction accuracy for the advanced space target radar system. In this study, we propose a novel technique for ionospheric refraction correction based on radar dual-frequency detection. Radar target range measurements at two adjacent frequencies are utilized for calculating the electron density integral exactly along the propagation path of the radar wave, which can generate accurate ionospheric range correction. The implementation of radar dual-frequency detection is validated by a P band radar located in midlatitude China. The experimental results present that the accuracy of this novel technique is more accurate than the traditional ionospheric model correction. The technique proposed in this study is very promising for the high-accuracy radar detection and tracking of objects in geospace.

  8. A systematic comparison of motion artifact correction techniques for functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Robert J; Selb, Juliette; Gagnon, Louis; Phillip, Dorte; Schytz, Henrik W; Iversen, Helle K; Ashina, Messoud; Boas, David A

    2012-01-01

    Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is susceptible to signal artifacts caused by relative motion between NIRS optical fibers and the scalp. These artifacts can be very damaging to the utility of functional NIRS, particularly in challenging subject groups where motion can be unavoidable. A number of approaches to the removal of motion artifacts from NIRS data have been suggested. In this paper we systematically compare the utility of a variety of published NIRS motion correction techniques using a simulated functional activation signal added to 20 real NIRS datasets which contain motion artifacts. Principle component analysis, spline interpolation, wavelet analysis, and Kalman filtering approaches are compared to one another and to standard approaches using the accuracy of the recovered, simulated hemodynamic response function (HRF). Each of the four motion correction techniques we tested yields a significant reduction in the mean-squared error (MSE) and significant increase in the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the recovered HRF when compared to no correction and compared to a process of rejecting motion-contaminated trials. Spline interpolation produces the largest average reduction in MSE (55%) while wavelet analysis produces the highest average increase in CNR (39%). On the basis of this analysis, we recommend the routine application of motion correction techniques (particularly spline interpolation or wavelet analysis) to minimize the impact of motion artifacts on functional NIRS data.

  9. Influences of reconstruction and attenuation correction in brain SPECT images obtained by the hybrid SPECT/CT device: evaluation with a 3-dimensional brain phantom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akamatsu, Mana; Yamashita, Yasuo; Akamatsu, Go; Tsutsui, Yuji; Ohya, Nobuyoshi; Nakamura, Yasuhiko; Sasaki, Masayuki

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this study was to evaluate the influences of reconstruction and attenuation correction on the differences in the radioactivity distributions in 123 I brain SPECT obtained by the hybrid SPECT/CT device. We used the 3-dimensional (3D) brain phantom, which imitates the precise structure of gray matter, white matter and bone regions. It was filled with 123 I solution (20.1 kBq/mL) in the gray matter region and with K 2 HPO 4 in the bone region. The SPECT/CT data were acquired by the hybrid SPECT/CT device. SPECT images were reconstructed by using filtered back projection with uniform attenuation correction (FBP-uAC), 3D ordered-subsets expectation-maximization with uniform AC (3D-OSEM-uAC) and 3D OSEM with CT-based non-uniform AC (3D-OSEM-CTAC). We evaluated the differences in the radioactivity distributions among these reconstruction methods using a 3D digital phantom, which was developed from CT images of the 3D brain phantom, as a reference. The normalized mean square error (NMSE) and regional radioactivity were calculated to evaluate the similarity of SPECT images to the 3D digital phantom. The NMSE values were 0.0811 in FBP-uAC, 0.0914 in 3D-OSEM-uAC and 0.0766 in 3D-OSEM-CTAC. The regional radioactivity of FBP-uAC was 11.5% lower in the middle cerebral artery territory, and that of 3D-OSEM-uAC was 5.8% higher in the anterior cerebral artery territory, compared with the digital phantom. On the other hand, that of 3D-OSEM-CTAC was 1.8% lower in all brain areas. By using the hybrid SPECT/CT device, the brain SPECT reconstructed by 3D-OSEM with CT attenuation correction can provide an accurate assessment of the distribution of brain radioactivity

  10. CT synthesis in the head & neck region for PET/MR attenuation correction: an iterative multi-atlas approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burgos, Ninon [Translational Imaging Group, Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Cardoso, M Jorge; Modat, Marc [Translational Imaging Group, Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Dementia Research Centre, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Punwani, Shonit [Division of Imaging, University College London Hospitals, London (United Kingdom); Centre for Medical Imaging, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Atkinson, David [Centre for Medical Imaging, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Arridge, Simon R [Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Hutton, Brian F [Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University College London Hospitals, London (United Kingdom); Ourselin, Sébastien [Translational Imaging Group, Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London (United Kingdom); Dementia Research Centre, University College London, London (United Kingdom)

    2015-05-18

    In this work, we propose to tackle the problem of attenuation correction in the head and neck by synthesising CT from MR images using an iterative multi-atlas approach. The proposed method relies on pre-acquired T2-weighted MRI and CT images of the neck. For each subject, the MRI is non-rigidly mapped to the CT. To synthesise a pseudo CT, all the MRIs in the database are first registered to the target MRI. This registration consists of a robust affine followed by a non-rigid registration. The pseudo CT is obtained by fusing the mapped atlases according to their morphological similarity to the target. In contrast to CTs, T2 images do not provide a good estimate of the bone location. Combining multiple modalities at both the registration and image similarity stages is expected to provide more realistic mappings and to reduce the bias. An initial pseudo CT (pCT) is combined with the target MRI to form a MRI-pCT pair. The MRI-pCT pair is registered to all the MRI-CT pairs from the database. An improved pseudo CT is obtained by fusing the mapped MRI-CT pairs according to their morphological similarity to the target MRI-pCT pair. Results showed that the proposed CT synthesis algorithm based on a multi-atlas information propagation scheme and iterative process is able to synthesise pseudo CT images in a region challenging for registration algorithms. The results also demonstrate that the robust affine decreases the absolute error compared to the classic approach and that the bone refinement process reduces the bias in the bone region. The proposed method could be used to correct for attenuation PET/MR data, but also for dosimetry calculations in the context of MR-based radiotherapy treatment planning.

  11. Evaluation of relative radiometric correction techniques on Landsat 8 OLI sensor data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novelli, Antonio; Caradonna, Grazia; Tarantino, Eufemia

    2016-08-01

    The quality of information derived from processed remotely sensed data may depend upon many factors, mostly related to the extent data acquisition is influenced by atmospheric conditions, topographic effects, sun angle and so on. The goal of radiometric corrections is to reduce such effects in order enhance the performance of change detection analysis. There are two approaches to radiometric correction: absolute and relative calibrations. Due to the large amount of free data products available, absolute radiometric calibration techniques may be time consuming and financially expensive because of the necessary inputs for absolute calibration models (often these data are not available and can be difficult to obtain). The relative approach to radiometric correction, known as relative radiometric normalization, is preferred with some research topics because no in situ ancillary data, at the time of satellite overpasses, are required. In this study we evaluated three well known relative radiometric correction techniques using two Landsat 8 - OLI scenes over a subset area of the Apulia Region (southern Italy): the IR-MAD (Iteratively Reweighted Multivariate Alteration Detection), the HM (Histogram Matching) and the DOS (Dark Object Subtraction). IR-MAD results were statistically assessed within a territory with an extremely heterogeneous landscape and all computations performed in a Matlab environment. The panchromatic and thermal bands were excluded from the comparisons.

  12. k-space sampling optimization for ultrashort TE imaging of cortical bone: Applications in radiation therapy planning and MR-based PET attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, Lingzhi; Traughber, Melanie; Su, Kuan-Hao; Pereira, Gisele C.; Grover, Anu; Traughber, Bryan; Muzic, Raymond F. Jr.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The ultrashort echo-time (UTE) sequence is a promising MR pulse sequence for imaging cortical bone which is otherwise difficult to image using conventional MR sequences and also poses strong attenuation for photons in radiation therapy and PET imaging. The authors report here a systematic characterization of cortical bone signal decay and a scanning time optimization strategy for the UTE sequence through k-space undersampling, which can result in up to a 75% reduction in acquisition time. Using the undersampled UTE imaging sequence, the authors also attempted to quantitatively investigate the MR properties of cortical bone in healthy volunteers, thus demonstrating the feasibility of using such a technique for generating bone-enhanced images which can be used for radiation therapy planning and attenuation correction with PET/MR. Methods: An angularly undersampled, radially encoded UTE sequence was used for scanning the brains of healthy volunteers. Quantitative MR characterization of tissue properties, including water fraction and R2 ∗ = 1/T2 ∗ , was performed by analyzing the UTE images acquired at multiple echo times. The impact of different sampling rates was evaluated through systematic comparison of the MR image quality, bone-enhanced image quality, image noise, water fraction, and R2 ∗ of cortical bone. Results: A reduced angular sampling rate of the UTE trajectory achieves acquisition durations in proportion to the sampling rate and in as short as 25% of the time required for full sampling using a standard Cartesian acquisition, while preserving unique MR contrast within the skull at the cost of a minimal increase in noise level. The R2 ∗ of human skull was measured as 0.2–0.3 ms −1 depending on the specific region, which is more than ten times greater than the R2 ∗ of soft tissue. The water fraction in human skull was measured to be 60%–80%, which is significantly less than the >90% water fraction in brain. High-quality, bone

  13. Standardised uptake values from PET/CT images: comparison with conventional attenuation-corrected PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Souvatzoglou, M.; Ziegler, S.I.; Martinez, M.J.; Dzewas, G.; Schwaiger, M.; Bengel, F.; Busch, R.

    2007-01-01

    In PET/CT, CT-derived attenuation factors may influence standardised uptake values (SUVs) in tumour lesions and organs when compared with stand-alone PET. Therefore, we compared PET/CT-derived SUVs intra-individually in various organs and tumour lesions with stand-alone PET-derived SUVs. Thirty-five patients with known or suspected cancer were prospectively included. Sixteen patients underwent FDG PET using an ECAT HR+scanner, and subsequently a second scan using a Biograph Sensation 16PET/CT scanner. Nineteen patients were scanned in the reverse order. All images were reconstructed with an iterative algorithm (OSEM). Suspected lesions were grouped as paradiaphragmatic versus distant from the diaphragm. Mean and maximum SUVs were also calculated for brain, lung, liver, spleen and vertebral bone. The attenuation coefficients (μ values) used for correction of emission data (bone, soft tissue, lung) in the two data sets were determined. A body phantom containing six hot spheres and one cold cylinder was measured using the same protocol as in patients. Forty-six lesions were identified. There was a significant correlation of maximum and mean SUVs derived from PET and PET/CT for 14 paradiaphragmatic lesions (r=0.97 respectively; p<0.001 respectively) and for 32 lesions located distant from the diaphragm (r=0.87 and r=0.89 respectively; p<0.001 respectively). No significant differences were observed in the SUVs calculated with PET and PET/CT in the lesions or in the organs. In the phantom, radioactivity concentration in spheres calculated from PET and from PET/CT correlated significantly (r=0.99; p<0.001). SUVs of cancer lesions and normal organs were comparable between PET and PET/CT, supporting the usefulness of PET/CT-derived SUVs for quantification of tumour metabolism. (orig.)

  14. Reliability Correction for Functional Connectivity: Theory and Implementation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Sophia; Wang, Danhong; Fox, Michael D.; Pan, Ruiqi; Lu, Jie; Li, Kuncheng; Sun, Wei; Buckner, Randy L.; Liu, Hesheng

    2016-01-01

    Network properties can be estimated using functional connectivity MRI (fcMRI). However, regional variation of the fMRI signal causes systematic biases in network estimates including correlation attenuation in regions of low measurement reliability. Here we computed the spatial distribution of fcMRI reliability using longitudinal fcMRI datasets and demonstrated how pre-estimated reliability maps can correct for correlation attenuation. As a test case of reliability-based attenuation correction we estimated properties of the default network, where reliability was significantly lower than average in the medial temporal lobe and higher in the posterior medial cortex, heterogeneity that impacts estimation of the network. Accounting for this bias using attenuation correction revealed that the medial temporal lobe’s contribution to the default network is typically underestimated. To render this approach useful to a greater number of datasets, we demonstrate that test-retest reliability maps derived from repeated runs within a single scanning session can be used as a surrogate for multi-session reliability mapping. Using data segments with different scan lengths between 1 and 30 min, we found that test-retest reliability of connectivity estimates increases with scan length while the spatial distribution of reliability is relatively stable even at short scan lengths. Finally, analyses of tertiary data revealed that reliability distribution is influenced by age, neuropsychiatric status and scanner type, suggesting that reliability correction may be especially important when studying between-group differences. Collectively, these results illustrate that reliability-based attenuation correction is an easily implemented strategy that mitigates certain features of fMRI signal nonuniformity. PMID:26493163

  15. Dual ring multilayer ionization chamber and theory-based correction technique for scanning proton therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takayanagi, Taisuke; Nishiuchi, Hideaki; Fujitaka, Shinichiro; Umezawa, Masumi; Nihongi, Hideaki; Tadokoro, Masahiro; Ito, Yuki; Nakashima, Chihiro; Matsuda, Koji; Sakae, Takeji; Terunuma, Toshiyuki

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: To develop a multilayer ionization chamber (MLIC) and a correction technique that suppresses differences between the MLIC and water phantom measurements in order to achieve fast and accurate depth dose measurements in pencil beam scanning proton therapy. Methods: The authors distinguish between a calibration procedure and an additional correction: 1—the calibration for variations in the air gap thickness and the electrometer gains is addressed without involving measurements in water; 2—the correction is addressed to suppress the difference between depth dose profiles in water and in the MLIC materials due to the nuclear interaction cross sections by a semiempirical model tuned by using measurements in water. In the correction technique, raw MLIC data are obtained for each energy layer and integrated after multiplying them by the correction factor because the correction factor depends on incident energy. The MLIC described here has been designed especially for pencil beam scanning proton therapy. This MLIC is called a dual ring multilayer ionization chamber (DRMLIC). The shape of the electrodes allows the DRMLIC to measure both the percentage depth dose (PDD) and integrated depth dose (IDD) because ionization electrons are collected from inner and outer air gaps independently. Results: IDDs for which the beam energies were 71.6, 120.6, 159, 180.6, and 221.4 MeV were measured and compared with water phantom results. Furthermore, the measured PDDs along the central axis of the proton field with a nominal field size of 10 × 10 cm 2 were compared. The spread out Bragg peak was 20 cm for fields with a range of 30.6 and 3 cm for fields with a range of 6.9 cm. The IDDs measured with the DRMLIC using the correction technique were consistent with those that of the water phantom; except for the beam energy of 71.6 MeV, all of the points satisfied the 1% dose/1 mm distance to agreement criterion of the gamma index. The 71.6 MeV depth dose profile showed slight

  16. Comparison of online IGRT techniques for prostate IMRT treatment: Adaptive vs repositioning correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thongphiew, Danthai; Wu, Q. Jackie; Lee, W. Robert; Chankong, Vira; Yoo, Sua; McMahon, Ryan; Yin Fangfang

    2009-01-01

    This study compares three online image guidance techniques (IGRT) for prostate IMRT treatment: bony-anatomy matching, soft-tissue matching, and online replanning. Six prostate IMRT patients were studied. Five daily CBCT scans from the first week were acquired for each patient to provide representative ''snapshots'' of anatomical variations during the course of treatment. Initial IMRT plans were designed for each patient with seven coplanar 15 MV beams on a Eclipse treatment planning system. Two plans were created, one with a PTV margin of 10 mm and another with a 5 mm PTV margin. Based on these plans, the delivered dose distributions to each CBCT anatomy was evaluated to compare bony-anatomy matching, soft-tissue matching, and online replanning. Matching based on bony anatomy was evaluated using the 10 mm PTV margin (''bone10''). Soft-tissue matching was evaluated using both the 10 mm (''soft10'') and 5 mm (''soft5'') PTV margins. Online reoptimization was evaluated using the 5 mm PTV margin (''adapt''). The replanning process utilized the original dose distribution as the basis and linear goal programming techniques for reoptimization. The reoptimized plans were finished in less than 2 min for all cases. Using each IGRT technique, the delivered dose distribution was evaluated on all 30 CBCT scans (6 patientsx5CBCT/patient). The mean minimum dose (in percentage of prescription dose) to the CTV over five treatment fractions were in the ranges of 99%-100%(SD=0.1%-0.8%), 65%-98%(SD=0.4%-19.5%), 87%-99%(SD=0.7%-23.3%), and 95%-99%(SD=0.4%-10.4%) for the adapt, bone10, soft5, and soft10 techniques, respectively. Compared to patient position correction techniques, the online reoptimization technique also showed improvement in OAR sparing when organ motion/deformations were large. For bladder, the adapt technique had the best (minimum) D90, D50, and D30 values for 24, 17, and 15 fractions out of 30 total fractions, while it also had the best D90, D50, and D30 values for

  17. Near-station terrain corrections for gravity data by a surface-integral technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gettings, M.E.

    1982-01-01

    A new method of computing gravity terrain corrections by use of a digitizer and digital computer can result in substantial savings in the time and manual labor required to perform such corrections by conventional manual ring-chart techniques. The method is typically applied to estimate terrain effects for topography near the station, for example within 3 km of the station, although it has been used successfully to a radius of 15 km to estimate corrections in areas where topographic mapping is poor. Points (about 20) that define topographic maxima, minima, and changes in the slope gradient are picked on the topographic map, within the desired radius of correction about the station. Particular attention must be paid to the area immediately surrounding the station to ensure a good topographic representation. The horizontal and vertical coordinates of these points are entered into the computer, usually by means of a digitizer. The computer then fits a multiquadric surface to the input points to form an analytic representation of the surface. By means of the divergence theorem, the gravity effect of an interior closed solid can be expressed as a surface integral, and the terrain correction is calculated by numerical evaluation of the integral over the surfaces of a cylinder, The vertical sides of which are at the correction radius about the station, the flat bottom surface at the topographic minimum, and the upper surface given by the multiquadric equation. The method has been tested with favorable results against models for which an exact result is available and against manually computed field-station locations in areas of rugged topography. By increasing the number of points defining the topographic surface, any desired degree of accuracy can be obtained. The method is more objective than manual ring-chart techniques because no average compartment elevations need be estimated ?

  18. Towards Implementing an MR-based PET Attenuation Correction Method for Neurological Studies on the MR-PET Brain Prototype

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catana, Ciprian; van der Kouwe, Andre; Benner, Thomas; Michel, Christian J.; Hamm, Michael; Fenchel, Matthias; Fischl, Bruce; Rosen, Bruce; Schmand, Matthias; Sorensen, A. Gregory

    2013-01-01

    A number of factors have to be considered for implementing an accurate attenuation correction (AC) in a combined MR-PET scanner. In this work, some of these challenges were investigated and an AC method based entirely on the MR data obtained with a single dedicated sequence was developed and used for neurological studies performed with the MR-PET human brain scanner prototype. Methods The focus was on the bone/air segmentation problem, the bone linear attenuation coefficient selection and the RF coil positioning. The impact of these factors on the PET data quantification was studied in simulations and experimental measurements performed on the combined MR-PET scanner. A novel dual-echo ultra-short echo time (DUTE) MR sequence was proposed for head imaging. Simultaneous MR-PET data were acquired and the PET images reconstructed using the proposed MR-DUTE-based AC method were compared with the PET images reconstructed using a CT-based AC. Results Our data suggest that incorrectly accounting for the bone tissue attenuation can lead to large underestimations (>20%) of the radiotracer concentration in the cortex. Assigning a linear attenuation coefficient of 0.143 or 0.151 cm−1 to bone tissue appears to give the best trade-off between bias and variability in the resulting images. Not identifying the internal air cavities introduces large overestimations (>20%) in adjacent structures. Based on these results, the segmented CT AC method was established as the “silver standard” for the segmented MR-based AC method. Particular to an integrated MR-PET scanner, ignoring the RF coil attenuation can cause large underestimations (i.e. up to 50%) in the reconstructed images. Furthermore, the coil location in the PET field of view has to be accurately known. Good quality bone/air segmentation can be performed using the DUTE data. The PET images obtained using the MR-DUTE- and CT-based AC methods compare favorably in most of the brain structures. Conclusion An MR-DUTE-based AC

  19. Toward implementing an MRI-based PET attenuation-correction method for neurologic studies on the MR-PET brain prototype.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catana, Ciprian; van der Kouwe, Andre; Benner, Thomas; Michel, Christian J; Hamm, Michael; Fenchel, Matthias; Fischl, Bruce; Rosen, Bruce; Schmand, Matthias; Sorensen, A Gregory

    2010-09-01

    Several factors have to be considered for implementing an accurate attenuation-correction (AC) method in a combined MR-PET scanner. In this work, some of these challenges were investigated, and an AC method based entirely on the MRI data obtained with a single dedicated sequence was developed and used for neurologic studies performed with the MR-PET human brain scanner prototype. The focus was on the problem of bone-air segmentation, selection of the linear attenuation coefficient for bone, and positioning of the radiofrequency coil. The impact of these factors on PET data quantification was studied in simulations and experimental measurements performed on the combined MR-PET scanner. A novel dual-echo ultrashort echo time (DUTE) MRI sequence was proposed for head imaging. Simultaneous MR-PET data were acquired, and the PET images reconstructed using the proposed DUTE MRI-based AC method were compared with the PET images that had been reconstructed using a CT-based AC method. Our data suggest that incorrectly accounting for the bone tissue attenuation can lead to large underestimations (>20%) of the radiotracer concentration in the cortex. Assigning a linear attenuation coefficient of 0.143 or 0.151 cm(-1) to bone tissue appears to give the best trade-off between bias and variability in the resulting images. Not identifying the internal air cavities introduces large overestimations (>20%) in adjacent structures. On the basis of these results, the segmented CT AC method was established as the silver standard for the segmented MRI-based AC method. For an integrated MR-PET scanner, in particular, ignoring the radiofrequency coil attenuation can cause large underestimations (i.e.,

  20. Beam hardening correction algorithm in microtomography images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sales, Erika S.; Lima, Inaya C.B.; Lopes, Ricardo T.; Assis, Joaquim T. de

    2009-01-01

    Quantification of mineral density of bone samples is directly related to the attenuation coefficient of bone. The X-rays used in microtomography images are polychromatic and have a moderately broad spectrum of energy, which makes the low-energy X-rays passing through a sample to be absorbed, causing a decrease in the attenuation coefficient and possibly artifacts. This decrease in the attenuation coefficient is due to a process called beam hardening. In this work the beam hardening of microtomography images of vertebrae of Wistar rats subjected to a study of hyperthyroidism was corrected by the method of linearization of the projections. It was discretized using a spectrum in energy, also called the spectrum of Herman. The results without correction for beam hardening showed significant differences in bone volume, which could lead to a possible diagnosis of osteoporosis. But the data with correction showed a decrease in bone volume, but this decrease was not significant in a confidence interval of 95%. (author)

  1. Beam hardening correction algorithm in microtomography images

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sales, Erika S.; Lima, Inaya C.B.; Lopes, Ricardo T., E-mail: esales@con.ufrj.b, E-mail: ricardo@lin.ufrj.b [Coordenacao dos Programas de Pos-graduacao de Engenharia (COPPE/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil). Lab. de Instrumentacao Nuclear; Assis, Joaquim T. de, E-mail: joaquim@iprj.uerj.b [Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Nova Friburgo, RJ (Brazil). Inst. Politecnico. Dept. de Engenharia Mecanica

    2009-07-01

    Quantification of mineral density of bone samples is directly related to the attenuation coefficient of bone. The X-rays used in microtomography images are polychromatic and have a moderately broad spectrum of energy, which makes the low-energy X-rays passing through a sample to be absorbed, causing a decrease in the attenuation coefficient and possibly artifacts. This decrease in the attenuation coefficient is due to a process called beam hardening. In this work the beam hardening of microtomography images of vertebrae of Wistar rats subjected to a study of hyperthyroidism was corrected by the method of linearization of the projections. It was discretized using a spectrum in energy, also called the spectrum of Herman. The results without correction for beam hardening showed significant differences in bone volume, which could lead to a possible diagnosis of osteoporosis. But the data with correction showed a decrease in bone volume, but this decrease was not significant in a confidence interval of 95%. (author)

  2. PET/MRI in the Presence of Metal Implants: Completion of the Attenuation Map from PET Emission Data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuin, Niccolo; Pedemonte, Stefano; Catalano, Onofrio A; Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Soricelli, Andrea; Salvatore, Marco; Heberlein, Keith; Hooker, Jacob M; Van Leemput, Koen; Catana, Ciprian

    2017-05-01

    We present a novel technique for accurate whole-body attenuation correction in the presence of metallic endoprosthesis, on integrated non-time-of-flight (non-TOF) PET/MRI scanners. The proposed implant PET-based attenuation map completion (IPAC) method performs a joint reconstruction of radioactivity and attenuation from the emission data to determine the position, shape, and linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) of metallic implants. Methods: The initial estimate of the attenuation map was obtained using the MR Dixon method currently available on the Siemens Biograph mMR scanner. The attenuation coefficients in the area of the MR image subjected to metal susceptibility artifacts are then reconstructed from the PET emission data using the IPAC algorithm. The method was tested on 11 subjects presenting 13 different metallic implants, who underwent CT and PET/MR scans. Relative mean LACs and Dice similarity coefficients were calculated to determine the accuracy of the reconstructed attenuation values and the shape of the metal implant, respectively. The reconstructed PET images were compared with those obtained using the reference CT-based approach and the Dixon-based method. Absolute relative change (aRC) images were generated in each case, and voxel-based analyses were performed. Results: The error in implant LAC estimation, using the proposed IPAC algorithm, was 15.7% ± 7.8%, which was significantly smaller than the Dixon- (100%) and CT- (39%) derived values. A mean Dice similarity coefficient of 73% ± 9% was obtained when comparing the IPAC- with the CT-derived implant shape. The voxel-based analysis of the reconstructed PET images revealed quantification errors (aRC) of 13.2% ± 22.1% for the IPAC- with respect to CT-corrected images. The Dixon-based method performed substantially worse, with a mean aRC of 23.1% ± 38.4%. Conclusion: We have presented a non-TOF emission-based approach for estimating the attenuation map in the presence of metallic implants, to

  3. Detection and measurement of gamma-ray self-attenuation in plutonium residues

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prettyman, T.H.; Foster, L.A.; Estep, R.J.

    1996-01-01

    A new method to correct for self-attenuation in gamma-ray assays of plutonium is presented. The underlying assumptions of the technique are based on a simple but accurate physical model of plutonium residues, particularly pyrochemical salts, in which it is assumed that the plutonium is divided into two portions, each of which can be treated separately from the standpoint of gamma-ray analysis: a portion that is in the form of plutonium metal shot; and a dilute portion that is mixed with the matrix. The performance of the technique is evaluated using assays of plutonium residues by tomographic gamma scanning at the Los Alamos Plutonium Facility. The ability of the method to detect saturation conditions is examined

  4. Calibrating the X-ray attenuation of liquid water and correcting sample movement artefacts during in operando synchrotron X-ray radiographic imaging of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Nan; Chevalier, Stéphane; Hinebaugh, James; Yip, Ronnie; Lee, Jongmin; Antonacci, Patrick; Kotaka, Toshikazu; Tabuchi, Yuichiro; Bazylak, Aimy

    2016-03-01

    Synchrotron X-ray radiography, due to its high temporal and spatial resolutions, provides a valuable means for understanding the in operando water transport behaviour in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. The purpose of this study is to address the specific artefact of imaging sample movement, which poses a significant challenge to synchrotron-based imaging for fuel cell diagnostics. Specifically, the impact of the micrometer-scale movement of the sample was determined, and a correction methodology was developed. At a photon energy level of 20 keV, a maximum movement of 7.5 µm resulted in a false water thickness of 0.93 cm (9% higher than the maximum amount of water that the experimental apparatus could physically contain). This artefact was corrected by image translations based on the relationship between the false water thickness value and the distance moved by the sample. The implementation of this correction method led to a significant reduction in false water thickness (to ∼0.04 cm). Furthermore, to account for inaccuracies in pixel intensities due to the scattering effect and higher harmonics, a calibration technique was introduced for the liquid water X-ray attenuation coefficient, which was found to be 0.657 ± 0.023 cm(-1) at 20 keV. The work presented in this paper provides valuable tools for artefact compensation and accuracy improvements for dynamic synchrotron X-ray imaging of fuel cells.

  5. A new technique, combined plication-incision (CPI, for correction of penile curvature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hamed Abdalla Hamed

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Introduction Penile curvature (PC can be surgically corrected by either corporoplasty or plication techniques. These techniques can be complicated by post-operative: penile shortening, recurrent PC, painful/palpable suture knots and erectile dysfunction. Objective To avoid the complications of corporoplasty and plication techniques using a new technique: combined plication-incision (CPI. Materials and Methods Two groups (1&2 were operated upon: group 1 using CPI and group 2 using the 16-dot technique. In CPI, dots were first marked as in 16 dot technique. In each group of 4 dots the superficial layer of tunica albuginea was transversely incised (3-6mm at the first and last dots. Ethibond 2/0, passed through the interior edge of the first incision plicating the intermediate 2 dots and passed out of the interior edge of the last incision, was tightened and ligated. Vicryle 4/0, passed through the exterior edges of the incisions, was tightened and ligated to cover the ethibond knot. Results Twelve (57.1 % participants in group 2 complained of a bothering palpable knot compared to none in group 1 with statistically significant difference (P=0.005. Postoperative shortening (5mm of erect penis, encountered in 9 participants, was doubled in group 2 but with insignificant difference (P>0.05. Post-operative recurrence of PC, was encountered in only 1 (4.8% participant in group 2, compared to none in group 1, with insignificant difference (P>0.05. Post-operative erectile rigidity was normally maintained in all participants. Conclusion The new technique was superior to the 16-dot technique for correction of PC.

  6. A new approach for beam hardening correction based on the local spectrum distributions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rasoulpour, Naser; Kamali-Asl, Alireza; Hemmati, Hamidreza

    2015-01-01

    Energy dependence of material absorption and polychromatic nature of x-ray beams in the Computed Tomography (CT) causes a phenomenon which called “beam hardening”. The purpose of this study is to provide a novel approach for Beam Hardening (BH) correction. This approach is based on the linear attenuation coefficients of Local Spectrum Distributions (LSDs) in the various depths of a phantom. The proposed method includes two steps. Firstly, the hardened spectra in various depths of the phantom (or LSDs) are estimated based on the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm for arbitrary thickness interval of known materials in the phantom. The performance of LSD estimation technique is evaluated by applying random Gaussian noise to transmission data. Then, the linear attenuation coefficients with regarding to the mean energy of LSDs are obtained. Secondly, a correction function based on the calculated attenuation coefficients is derived in order to correct polychromatic raw data. Since a correction function has been used for the conversion of the polychromatic data to the monochromatic data, the effect of BH in proposed reconstruction must be reduced in comparison with polychromatic reconstruction. The proposed approach has been assessed in the phantoms which involve less than two materials, but the correction function has been extended for using in the constructed phantoms with more than two materials. The relative mean energy difference in the LSDs estimations based on the noise-free transmission data was less than 1.5%. Also, it shows an acceptable value when a random Gaussian noise is applied to the transmission data. The amount of cupping artifact in the proposed reconstruction method has been effectively reduced and proposed reconstruction profile is uniform more than polychromatic reconstruction profile. - Highlights: • A novel Beam Hardening (BH) correction approach was described. • A new concept named Local Spectrum Distributions (LSDs) was used to BH

  7. A new approach for beam hardening correction based on the local spectrum distributions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rasoulpour, Naser; Kamali-Asl, Alireza, E-mail: a_kamali@sbu.ac.ir; Hemmati, Hamidreza

    2015-09-11

    Energy dependence of material absorption and polychromatic nature of x-ray beams in the Computed Tomography (CT) causes a phenomenon which called “beam hardening”. The purpose of this study is to provide a novel approach for Beam Hardening (BH) correction. This approach is based on the linear attenuation coefficients of Local Spectrum Distributions (LSDs) in the various depths of a phantom. The proposed method includes two steps. Firstly, the hardened spectra in various depths of the phantom (or LSDs) are estimated based on the Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm for arbitrary thickness interval of known materials in the phantom. The performance of LSD estimation technique is evaluated by applying random Gaussian noise to transmission data. Then, the linear attenuation coefficients with regarding to the mean energy of LSDs are obtained. Secondly, a correction function based on the calculated attenuation coefficients is derived in order to correct polychromatic raw data. Since a correction function has been used for the conversion of the polychromatic data to the monochromatic data, the effect of BH in proposed reconstruction must be reduced in comparison with polychromatic reconstruction. The proposed approach has been assessed in the phantoms which involve less than two materials, but the correction function has been extended for using in the constructed phantoms with more than two materials. The relative mean energy difference in the LSDs estimations based on the noise-free transmission data was less than 1.5%. Also, it shows an acceptable value when a random Gaussian noise is applied to the transmission data. The amount of cupping artifact in the proposed reconstruction method has been effectively reduced and proposed reconstruction profile is uniform more than polychromatic reconstruction profile. - Highlights: • A novel Beam Hardening (BH) correction approach was described. • A new concept named Local Spectrum Distributions (LSDs) was used to BH

  8. An SPM8-based approach for attenuation correction combining segmentation and nonrigid template formation: application to simultaneous PET/MR brain imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Hansen, Adam E; Förster, Stefan; Benoit, Didier; Schachoff, Sylvia; Fürst, Sebastian; Chen, Kevin T; Chonde, Daniel B; Catana, Ciprian

    2014-11-01

    We present an approach for head MR-based attenuation correction (AC) based on the Statistical Parametric Mapping 8 (SPM8) software, which combines segmentation- and atlas-based features to provide a robust technique to generate attenuation maps (μ maps) from MR data in integrated PET/MR scanners. Coregistered anatomic MR and CT images of 15 glioblastoma subjects were used to generate the templates. The MR images from these subjects were first segmented into 6 tissue classes (gray matter, white matter, cerebrospinal fluid, bone, soft tissue, and air), which were then nonrigidly coregistered using a diffeomorphic approach. A similar procedure was used to coregister the anatomic MR data for a new subject to the template. Finally, the CT-like images obtained by applying the inverse transformations were converted to linear attenuation coefficients to be used for AC of PET data. The method was validated on 16 new subjects with brain tumors (n = 12) or mild cognitive impairment (n = 4) who underwent CT and PET/MR scans. The μ maps and corresponding reconstructed PET images were compared with those obtained using the gold standard CT-based approach and the Dixon-based method available on the Biograph mMR scanner. Relative change (RC) images were generated in each case, and voxel- and region-of-interest-based analyses were performed. The leave-one-out cross-validation analysis of the data from the 15 atlas-generation subjects showed small errors in brain linear attenuation coefficients (RC, 1.38% ± 4.52%) compared with the gold standard. Similar results (RC, 1.86% ± 4.06%) were obtained from the analysis of the atlas-validation datasets. The voxel- and region-of-interest-based analysis of the corresponding reconstructed PET images revealed quantification errors of 3.87% ± 5.0% and 2.74% ± 2.28%, respectively. The Dixon-based method performed substantially worse (the mean RC values were 13.0% ± 10.25% and 9.38% ± 4.97%, respectively). Areas closer to the skull showed

  9. Mapping Pn amplitude spreading and attenuation in Asia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Xiaoning [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Phillips, William S [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Stead, Richard J [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2010-12-06

    Pn travels most of its path in the mantle lid. Mapping the lateral variation of Pn amplitude attenuation sheds light on material properties and dynamics of the uppermost region of the mantle. Pn amplitude variation depends on the wavefront geometric spreading as well as material attenuation. We investigated Pn geometric spreading, which is much more complex than a traditionally assumed power-law spreading model, using both synthetic and observed amplitude data collected in Asia. We derived a new Pn spreading model based on the formulation that was proposed previously to account for the spherical shape of the Earth (Yang et. al., BSSA, 2007). New parameters derived for the spreading model provide much better correction for Pn amplitudes in terms of residual behavior. Because we used observed Pn amplitudes to construct the model, the model incorporates not only the effect of the Earth's spherical shape, but also the effect of potential upper-mantle velocity gradients in the region. Using the new spreading model, we corrected Pn amplitudes measured at 1, 2, 4 and 6 Hz and conducted attenuation tomography. The resulting Pn attenuation model correlates well with the regional geology. We see high attenuation in regions such as northern Tibetan Plateau and the western Pacific subduction zone, and low attenuation for stable blocks such as Sichuan and Tarim basins.

  10. Quantification accuracy and partial volume effect in dependence of the attenuation correction of a state-of-the-art small animal PET scanner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mannheim, Julia G; Judenhofer, Martin S; Schmid, Andreas; Pichler, Bernd J; Tillmanns, Julia; Stiller, Detlef; Sossi, Vesna

    2012-01-01

    Quantification accuracy and partial volume effect (PVE) of the Siemens Inveon PET scanner were evaluated. The influence of transmission source activities (40 and 160 MBq) on the quantification accuracy and the PVE were determined. Dynamic range, object size and PVE for different sphere sizes, contrast ratios and positions in the field of view (FOV) were evaluated. The acquired data were reconstructed using different algorithms and correction methods. The activity level of the transmission source and the total emission activity in the FOV strongly influenced the attenuation maps. Reconstruction algorithms, correction methods, object size and location within the FOV had a strong influence on the PVE in all configurations. All evaluated parameters potentially influence the quantification accuracy. Hence, all protocols should be kept constant during a study to allow a comparison between different scans. (paper)

  11. Attenuation coefficient of the light in skin of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, C. R.; Camargo, C. F. M.; Aureliano, D. P.; De Pretto, L. R.; Freitas, A. Z.; Ribeiro, M. S.

    2015-06-01

    Optical properties of the biological tissue play an important role to a correct use of optical techniques for therapy and diagnosis. The mice skin presents morphological differences due to characteristics such as gender, body mass and age. Murine models are frequently used in pre-clinical trials in optical therapy and diagnosis. Therefore, the assessment of the skin tissue in animal models is needed for a proper understanding of how light interacts with skin. Noninvasive techniques such as optical coherence tomography (OCT) have been used to obtain optical information of the tissue, as the attenuation coefficient, with the advantage of obtaining sectional images in real time. In this study, eight female BALB/c albino mice (twenty-four weeks old) and eight male C57BL/6 black mice (eight weeks old) were used to measure the attenuation coefficient of the light in the skin, utilizing the OCT technique, aiming to check for influence of the aging process. Two moments were assessed twenty-two weeks apart from each other. Our data show that the aging process significantly affects the light attenuation coefficient in mice skin. Twenty-two weeks after, statistical significant differences were observed between groups within a same strain. We conclude that light attenuation coefficient of mice skin may be influenced by factors such as disorganization of the dermis. Morphological aspects of skin should be taken into account in studies that involve optical strategies in murine models.

  12. Quantitative analysis of X-band weather radar attenuation correction accuracy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Berne, A.D.; Uijlenhoet, R.

    2006-01-01

    At short wavelengths, especially C-, X-, and K-band, weather radar signals arc attenuated by the precipitation along their paths. This constitutes a major source of error for radar rainfall estimation, in particular for intense precipitation. A recently developed stochastic simulator of range

  13. Significance of accurate diffraction corrections for the second harmonic wave in determining the acoustic nonlinearity parameter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, Hyunjo; Zhang, Shuzeng; Li, Xiongbing; Barnard, Dan

    2015-01-01

    The accurate measurement of acoustic nonlinearity parameter β for fluids or solids generally requires making corrections for diffraction effects due to finite size geometry of transmitter and receiver. These effects are well known in linear acoustics, while those for second harmonic waves have not been well addressed and therefore not properly considered in previous studies. In this work, we explicitly define the attenuation and diffraction corrections using the multi-Gaussian beam (MGB) equations which were developed from the quasilinear solutions of the KZK equation. The effects of making these corrections are examined through the simulation of β determination in water. Diffraction corrections are found to have more significant effects than attenuation corrections, and the β values of water can be estimated experimentally with less than 5% errors when the exact second harmonic diffraction corrections are used together with the negligible attenuation correction effects on the basis of linear frequency dependence between attenuation coefficients, α 2 ≃ 2α 1

  14. Significance of accurate diffraction corrections for the second harmonic wave in determining the acoustic nonlinearity parameter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jeong, Hyunjo, E-mail: hjjeong@wku.ac.kr [Division of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Wonkwang University, Iksan, Jeonbuk 570-749 (Korea, Republic of); Zhang, Shuzeng; Li, Xiongbing [School of Traffic and Transportation Engineering, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410075 (China); Barnard, Dan [Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50010 (United States)

    2015-09-15

    The accurate measurement of acoustic nonlinearity parameter β for fluids or solids generally requires making corrections for diffraction effects due to finite size geometry of transmitter and receiver. These effects are well known in linear acoustics, while those for second harmonic waves have not been well addressed and therefore not properly considered in previous studies. In this work, we explicitly define the attenuation and diffraction corrections using the multi-Gaussian beam (MGB) equations which were developed from the quasilinear solutions of the KZK equation. The effects of making these corrections are examined through the simulation of β determination in water. Diffraction corrections are found to have more significant effects than attenuation corrections, and the β values of water can be estimated experimentally with less than 5% errors when the exact second harmonic diffraction corrections are used together with the negligible attenuation correction effects on the basis of linear frequency dependence between attenuation coefficients, α{sub 2} ≃ 2α{sub 1}.

  15. Significance of accurate diffraction corrections for the second harmonic wave in determining the acoustic nonlinearity parameter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Hyunjo; Zhang, Shuzeng; Barnard, Dan; Li, Xiongbing

    2015-09-01

    The accurate measurement of acoustic nonlinearity parameter β for fluids or solids generally requires making corrections for diffraction effects due to finite size geometry of transmitter and receiver. These effects are well known in linear acoustics, while those for second harmonic waves have not been well addressed and therefore not properly considered in previous studies. In this work, we explicitly define the attenuation and diffraction corrections using the multi-Gaussian beam (MGB) equations which were developed from the quasilinear solutions of the KZK equation. The effects of making these corrections are examined through the simulation of β determination in water. Diffraction corrections are found to have more significant effects than attenuation corrections, and the β values of water can be estimated experimentally with less than 5% errors when the exact second harmonic diffraction corrections are used together with the negligible attenuation correction effects on the basis of linear frequency dependence between attenuation coefficients, α2 ≃ 2α1.

  16. Skin reduction technique for correction of lateral deviation of the erect straight penis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaeer, Osama

    2014-07-01

    Lateral deviation of the erect straight penis (LDESP) refers to a penis that despite being straight in the erect state, points laterally, yet can be directed forward manually without the use of force. While LDESP should not impose a negative impact on sexual function, it may have a negative cosmetic impact. This work describes skin reduction technique (SRT) for correction of LDESP. Counseling was offered to males with LDESP after excluding other abnormalities. Surgery was performed in case of failed counseling. In the erect state, the degree and direction of LDESP were noted. Skin on the base of the penis on the contralateral side of LDESP was excised from the base of the penis and the edges approximated to correct LDESP. Further excision was repeated if needed. The incision was closed in two layers. Long-term efficacy of SRT was the main outcome measure. Out of 183 males with LDESP, 66.7% were not sexually active. Counseling relieved 91.8% of cases. Fifteen patients insisted on surgery, mostly from among the sexually active where the complaint was mutual from the patient and partner. SRT resulted in full correction of the angle of erection in 12 cases out of 15. Two had minimal recurrence, and one had major recurrence indicating re-SRT. LDESP is more common a complaint among those who have not experienced coital relationship, and is mostly relieved by counseling. However, sexually active males with this complaint are more difficult to relieve by counseling. A minority of patients may opt for surgical correction. SRT achieves a forward erection in such patients, is minimally invasive, and relatively safe, provided the angle of erection can be corrected manually without force. Shaeer O. Skin reduction technique for correction of lateral deviation of the erect straight penis. © 2014 International Society for Sexual Medicine.

  17. Control algorithms for dynamic attenuators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hsieh, Scott S., E-mail: sshsieh@stanford.edu [Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 and Department of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Pelc, Norbert J. [Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford California 94305 and Department of Bioengineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States)

    2014-06-15

    Purpose: The authors describe algorithms to control dynamic attenuators in CT and compare their performance using simulated scans. Dynamic attenuators are prepatient beam shaping filters that modulate the distribution of x-ray fluence incident on the patient on a view-by-view basis. These attenuators can reduce dose while improving key image quality metrics such as peak or mean variance. In each view, the attenuator presents several degrees of freedom which may be individually adjusted. The total number of degrees of freedom across all views is very large, making many optimization techniques impractical. The authors develop a theory for optimally controlling these attenuators. Special attention is paid to a theoretically perfect attenuator which controls the fluence for each ray individually, but the authors also investigate and compare three other, practical attenuator designs which have been previously proposed: the piecewise-linear attenuator, the translating attenuator, and the double wedge attenuator. Methods: The authors pose and solve the optimization problems of minimizing the mean and peak variance subject to a fixed dose limit. For a perfect attenuator and mean variance minimization, this problem can be solved in simple, closed form. For other attenuator designs, the problem can be decomposed into separate problems for each view to greatly reduce the computational complexity. Peak variance minimization can be approximately solved using iterated, weighted mean variance (WMV) minimization. Also, the authors develop heuristics for the perfect and piecewise-linear attenuators which do not requirea priori knowledge of the patient anatomy. The authors compare these control algorithms on different types of dynamic attenuators using simulated raw data from forward projected DICOM files of a thorax and an abdomen. Results: The translating and double wedge attenuators reduce dose by an average of 30% relative to current techniques (bowtie filter with tube current

  18. Control algorithms for dynamic attenuators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hsieh, Scott S.; Pelc, Norbert J.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The authors describe algorithms to control dynamic attenuators in CT and compare their performance using simulated scans. Dynamic attenuators are prepatient beam shaping filters that modulate the distribution of x-ray fluence incident on the patient on a view-by-view basis. These attenuators can reduce dose while improving key image quality metrics such as peak or mean variance. In each view, the attenuator presents several degrees of freedom which may be individually adjusted. The total number of degrees of freedom across all views is very large, making many optimization techniques impractical. The authors develop a theory for optimally controlling these attenuators. Special attention is paid to a theoretically perfect attenuator which controls the fluence for each ray individually, but the authors also investigate and compare three other, practical attenuator designs which have been previously proposed: the piecewise-linear attenuator, the translating attenuator, and the double wedge attenuator. Methods: The authors pose and solve the optimization problems of minimizing the mean and peak variance subject to a fixed dose limit. For a perfect attenuator and mean variance minimization, this problem can be solved in simple, closed form. For other attenuator designs, the problem can be decomposed into separate problems for each view to greatly reduce the computational complexity. Peak variance minimization can be approximately solved using iterated, weighted mean variance (WMV) minimization. Also, the authors develop heuristics for the perfect and piecewise-linear attenuators which do not requirea priori knowledge of the patient anatomy. The authors compare these control algorithms on different types of dynamic attenuators using simulated raw data from forward projected DICOM files of a thorax and an abdomen. Results: The translating and double wedge attenuators reduce dose by an average of 30% relative to current techniques (bowtie filter with tube current

  19. Control algorithms for dynamic attenuators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hsieh, Scott S; Pelc, Norbert J

    2014-06-01

    The authors describe algorithms to control dynamic attenuators in CT and compare their performance using simulated scans. Dynamic attenuators are prepatient beam shaping filters that modulate the distribution of x-ray fluence incident on the patient on a view-by-view basis. These attenuators can reduce dose while improving key image quality metrics such as peak or mean variance. In each view, the attenuator presents several degrees of freedom which may be individually adjusted. The total number of degrees of freedom across all views is very large, making many optimization techniques impractical. The authors develop a theory for optimally controlling these attenuators. Special attention is paid to a theoretically perfect attenuator which controls the fluence for each ray individually, but the authors also investigate and compare three other, practical attenuator designs which have been previously proposed: the piecewise-linear attenuator, the translating attenuator, and the double wedge attenuator. The authors pose and solve the optimization problems of minimizing the mean and peak variance subject to a fixed dose limit. For a perfect attenuator and mean variance minimization, this problem can be solved in simple, closed form. For other attenuator designs, the problem can be decomposed into separate problems for each view to greatly reduce the computational complexity. Peak variance minimization can be approximately solved using iterated, weighted mean variance (WMV) minimization. Also, the authors develop heuristics for the perfect and piecewise-linear attenuators which do not require a priori knowledge of the patient anatomy. The authors compare these control algorithms on different types of dynamic attenuators using simulated raw data from forward projected DICOM files of a thorax and an abdomen. The translating and double wedge attenuators reduce dose by an average of 30% relative to current techniques (bowtie filter with tube current modulation) without

  20. Intracoronary imaging using attenuation-compensated optical coherence tomography allows better visualisation of coronary artery diseases

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Foin, Nicolas, E-mail: nicolas.foin@gmail.com [International Centre for Circulatory Health, Imperial College London, W2 1LA London (United Kingdom); Mari, Jean Martial [University College London, London (United Kingdom); Nijjer, Sukhjinder; Sen, Sayan; Petraco, Ricardo [International Centre for Circulatory Health, Imperial College London, W2 1LA London (United Kingdom); Ghione, Matteo; Di Mario, Carlo [Biomedical Research Unit, Royal Brompton Hospital, London (United Kingdom); Davies, Justin E. [International Centre for Circulatory Health, Imperial College London, W2 1LA London (United Kingdom); Girard, Michaël J.A. [Department of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore (Singapore); Singapore Eye Research Institute (Singapore)

    2013-05-15

    Purpose: To allow an accurate diagnosis of coronary artery diseases by enhancing optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of atheromatous plaques using a novel automated attenuation compensation technique. Background: One of the major drawbacks of coronary OCT imaging is the rapid attenuation of the OCT signal, limiting penetration in tissue to only few millimetres. Visualisation of deeper anatomy is however critical for accurate assessment of plaque burden in-vivo. Methods: A compensation algorithm, previously developed to correct for light attenuation in soft tissues and to enhance contrast in ophthalmic OCT images, was applied to intracoronary plaque imaging using spectral-domain OCT. Results: Application of the compensation algorithm significantly increased tissue contrast in the vessel wall and atherosclerotic plaque boundaries. Contrast enhancement allows a better differentiation of plaque morphology, which is particularly important for the identification of lipid rich fibro atheromatous plaques and to guide decision on treatment strategy. Conclusion: The analysis of arterial vessel structure clinically captured with OCT is improved when used in conjunction with automated attenuation compensation. This approach may improve the OCT-based interpretation of coronary plaque morphology in clinical practice.

  1. Effects of methods of attenuation correction on source parameter determination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonley, Eleanor; Abercrombie, Rachel E.

    We quantify the effects of using different approaches to model individual earthquake spectra. Applying different approaches can introduce significant variability in the calculated source parameters, even when applied to the same data. To compare large and small earthquake source parameters, the results of multiple studies need to be combined to extend the magnitude range, but the variability introduced by the different approaches hampers the outcome. When studies are combined, there is large uncertainty and large scatter and some systematic differences have been neglected. We model individual earthquake spectra from repeating earthquakes (M˜2) at Parkfield, CA, recorded by a borehole network. We focus on the effects of trade-offs between attenuation (Q) and corner frequency in spectral fitting and the effect of the model shape at the corner frequency on radiated energy. The trade-off between attenuation and corner frequency can increase radiated energy by up to 400% and seismic moment by up to 100%.

  2. 2001 Bhuj, India, earthquake engineering seismoscope recordings and Eastern North America ground-motion attenuation relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cramer, C.H.; Kumar, A.

    2003-01-01

    Engineering seismoscope data collected at distances less than 300 km for the M 7.7 Bhuj, India, mainshock are compatible with ground-motion attenuation in eastern North America (ENA). The mainshock ground-motion data have been corrected to a common geological site condition using the factors of Joyner and Boore (2000) and a classification scheme of Quaternary or Tertiary sediments or rock. We then compare these data to ENA ground-motion attenuation relations. Despite uncertainties in recording method, geological site corrections, common tectonic setting, and the amount of regional seismic attenuation, the corrected Bhuj dataset agrees with the collective predictions by ENA ground-motion attenuation relations within a factor of 2. This level of agreement is within the dataset uncertainties and the normal variance for recorded earthquake ground motions.

  3. Automatic correction of dental artifacts in PET/MRI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ladefoged, Claes N.; Andersen, Flemming L.; Keller, Sune

    2015-01-01

    A challenge when using current magnetic resonance (MR)-based attenuation correction in positron emission tomography/MR imaging (PET/MRI) is that the MRIs can have a signal void around the dental fillings that is segmented as artificial air-regions in the attenuation map. For artifacts connected...

  4. Students' Preferences and Attitude toward Oral Error Correction Techniques at Yanbu University College, Saudi Arabia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alamri, Bushra; Fawzi, Hala Hassan

    2016-01-01

    Error correction has been one of the core areas in the field of English language teaching. It is "seen as a form of feedback given to learners on their language use" (Amara, 2015). Many studies investigated the use of different techniques to correct students' oral errors. However, only a few focused on students' preferences and attitude…

  5. Determination of mass attenuation coefficient in wood and leaves of typical trees by gamma-ray attenuation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miranda, Regina M. de; Pascholati, Elisabete M.

    1997-01-01

    Using an 241 Am source the mass attenuation coefficient of different woods and leaves of typical species of the Atlantic Forest were measured. The results for natural wood, dry wood and dry leaves indicate that the variation is very small among different species. However, woods present a higher attenuation than leaves, both depending on their water content. (author). 10 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab

  6. The Development of a Differential Deposition Technique for Figure Correction in Grazing Incidence Optics

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We propose the development of a physical-vapor-deposition coating technique to correct residual figure errors in grazing-incidence optics. The process involves...

  7. Optimization Correction Strength Using Contra Bending Technique without Anterior Release Procedure to Achieve Maximum Correction on Severe Adult Idiopathic Scoliosis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Jabir Rahyussalim

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Adult scoliosis is defined as a spinal deformity in a skeletally mature patient with a Cobb angle of more than 10 degrees in the coronal plain. Posterior-only approach with rod and screw corrective manipulation to add strength of contra bending manipulation has correction achievement similar to that obtained by conventional combined anterior release and posterior approach. It also avoids the complications related to the thoracic approach. We reported a case of 25-year-old male adult idiopathic scoliosis with double curve. It consists of main thoracic curve of 150 degrees and lumbar curve of 89 degrees. His curve underwent direct contra bending posterior approach using rod and screw corrective manipulation technique to achieve optimal correction. After surgery the main thoracic Cobb angle becomes 83 degrees and lumbar Cobb angle becomes 40 degrees, with 5 days length of stay and less than 800 mL blood loss during surgery. There is no complaint at two months after surgery; he has already come back to normal activity with good functional activity.

  8. Event-based motion correction for PET transmission measurements with a rotating point source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Victor W; Kyme, Andre Z; Meikle, Steven R; Fulton, Roger

    2011-01-01

    Accurate attenuation correction is important for quantitative positron emission tomography (PET) studies. When performing transmission measurements using an external rotating radioactive source, object motion during the transmission scan can distort the attenuation correction factors computed as the ratio of the blank to transmission counts, and cause errors and artefacts in reconstructed PET images. In this paper we report a compensation method for rigid body motion during PET transmission measurements, in which list mode transmission data are motion corrected event-by-event, based on known motion, to ensure that all events which traverse the same path through the object are recorded on a common line of response (LOR). As a result, the motion-corrected transmission LOR may record a combination of events originally detected on different LORs. To ensure that the corresponding blank LOR records events from the same combination of contributing LORs, the list mode blank data are spatially transformed event-by-event based on the same motion information. The number of counts recorded on the resulting blank LOR is then equivalent to the number of counts that would have been recorded on the corresponding motion-corrected transmission LOR in the absence of any attenuating object. The proposed method has been verified in phantom studies with both stepwise movements and continuous motion. We found that attenuation maps derived from motion-corrected transmission and blank data agree well with those of the stationary phantom and are significantly better than uncorrected attenuation data.

  9. Correction of incomplete penoscrotal transposition by a modified Glenn-Anderson technique

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saleh Amin

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Penoscrotal transposition may be partial or complete, resulting in variable degrees of positional exchanges between the penis and the scrotum. Repairs of penoscrotal transposition rely on the creation of rotational flaps to mobilise the scrotum downwards or transpose the penis to a neo hole created in the skin of the mons-pubis. All known techniques result in complete circular incision around the root of the penis, resulting in severe and massive oedema of the penile skin, which delays correction of the associated hypospadias and increases the incidence of complications, as the skin vascularity and lymphatics are impaired by the designed incision. A new design to prevent this post-operative oedema, allowing early correction of the associated hypospadias and lowering the incidence of possible complications, had been used, whose results were compared with other methods of correction. Materials and Methods: Ten patients with incomplete penoscrotal transposition had been corrected by designing rotational flaps that push the scrotum back while the penile skin remains attached by small strip to the skin of the mons-pubis. Results : All patients showed an excellent cosmetic outcome. There was minimal post-operative oedema and no vascular compromise to the penile or scrotal skin. Correction of associated hypospadias can be performed in the same sitting or in another sitting, without or with minimal complications. Conclusion: This modification, which maintains the penile skin connected to the skin of the lower abdomen by a small strip of skin during correction of penoscrotal transposition, prevents post-operative oedema and improves healing with excellent cosmetic appearance, allows one-stage repair with minimal complications and reduce post-operative complications such as urinary fistula and flap necrosis.

  10. Simultaneous double-rod rotation technique in posterior instrumentation surgery for correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ito, Manabu; Abumi, Kuniyoshi; Kotani, Yoshihisa; Takahata, Masahiko; Sudo, Hideki; Hojo, Yoshihiro; Minami, Akio

    2010-03-01

    The authors present a new posterior correction technique consisting of simultaneous double-rod rotation using 2 contoured rods and polyaxial pedicle screws with or without Nesplon tapes. The purpose of this study is to introduce the basic principles and surgical procedures of this new posterior surgery for correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Through gradual rotation of the concave-side rod by 2 rod holders, the convex-side rod simultaneously rotates with the the concave-side rod. This procedure does not involve any force pushing down the spinal column around the apex. Since this procedure consists of upward pushing and lateral translation of the spinal column with simultaneous double-rod rotation maneuvers, it is simple and can obtain thoracic kyphosis as well as favorable scoliosis correction. This technique is applicable not only to a thoracic single curve but also to double major curves in cases of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

  11. Impact of missing attenuation and scatter corrections on 99m Tc-MAA SPECT 3D dosimetry for liver radioembolization using the patient relative calibration methodology: A retrospective investigation on clinical images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botta, Francesca; Ferrari, Mahila; Chiesa, Carlo; Vitali, Sara; Guerriero, Francesco; Nile, Maria Chiara De; Mira, Marta; Lorenzon, Leda; Pacilio, Massimiliano; Cremonesi, Marta

    2018-04-01

    To investigate the clinical implication of performing pre-treatment dosimetry for 90 Y-microspheres liver radioembolization on 99m Tc-MAA SPECT images reconstructed without attenuation or scatter correction and quantified with the patient relative calibration methodology. Twenty-five patients treated with SIR-Spheres ® at Istituto Europeo di Oncologia and 31 patients treated with TheraSphere ® at Istituto Nazionale Tumori were considered. For each acquired 99m Tc-MAA SPECT, four reconstructions were performed: with attenuation and scatter correction (AC_SC), only attenuation (AC_NoSC), only scatter (NoAC_SC) and without corrections (NoAC_NoSC). Absorbed dose maps were calculated from the activity maps, quantified applying the patient relative calibration to the SPECT images. Whole Liver (WL) and Tumor (T) regions were drawn on CT images. Injected Liver (IL) region was defined including the voxels receiving absorbed dose >3.8 Gy/GBq. Whole Healthy Liver (WHL) and Healthy Injected Liver (HIL) regions were obtained as WHL = WL - T and HIL = IL - T. Average absorbed dose to WHL and HIL were calculated, and the injection activity was derived following each Institute's procedure. The values obtained from AC_NoSC, NoAC_SC and NoAC_NoSC images were compared to the reference value suggested by AC_SC images using Bland-Altman analysis and Wilcoxon paired test (5% significance threshold). Absorbed-dose maps were compared to the reference map (AC_SC) in global terms using the Voxel Normalized Mean Square Error (%VNMSE), and at voxel level by calculating for each voxel the normalized difference with the reference value. The uncertainty affecting absorbed dose at voxel level was accounted for in the comparison; to this purpose, the voxel counts fluctuation due to Poisson and reconstruction noise was estimated from SPECT images of a water phantom acquired and reconstructed as patient images. NoAC_SC images lead to activity prescriptions not significantly different from the

  12. RESOLUTE PET/MRI Attenuation Correction for O-(2-F-fluoroethyl)-L-tyrosine (FET) in Brain Tumor Patients with Metal Implants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ladefoged, Claes N; Andersen, Flemming L; Kjær, Andreas

    2017-01-01

    of agreement for TMAX/B was for RESOLUTE (-3%; 4%), Dixon (-9%; 16%), and UTE (-7%; 10%). The absolute error when measuring BTV was 0.7 ± 1.9 mL (N.S) with RESOLUTE, 5.3 ± 10 mL using Dixon, and 1.7 ± 3.7 mL using UTE. RESOLUTE performed best in the identification of the location of peak activity and in brain...... to be quantitatively correct in order to be used clinically, which require accurate attenuation correction (AC) in PET/MRI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the subject-specific MR-derived AC method RESOLUTE in post-operative brain tumor patients.Methods:We analyzed 51 post-operative brain tumor...... patients (68 examinations, 200 MBq [18F]-FET) investigated in a PET/MRI scanner. MR-AC maps were acquired using: (1) the Dixon water fat separation sequence, (2) the ultra short echo time (UTE) sequences, (3) calculated using our new RESOLUTE methodology, and (4) a same day low-dose CT used as reference...

  13. An efficient algorithm for reconstruction of spect images in the presence of spatially varying attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeeberg, B.R.; Bacharach, S.; Carson, R.; Green, M.V.; Larson, S.M.; Soucaille, J.F.

    1985-01-01

    An algorithm is presented which permits the reconstruction of SPECT images in the presence of spatially varying attenuation. The algorithm considers the spatially variant attenuation as a perturbation of the constant attenuation case and computes a reconstructed image and a correction image to estimate the effects of this perturbation. The corrected image will be computed from these two images and is of comparable quality both visually and quantitatively to those simulated for zero or constant attenuation taken as standard reference images. In addition, the algorithm is time efficient, in that the time required is approximately 2.5 times that for a standard convolution-back projection algorithm

  14. Experimental Test of a New Precision Model for Microwave Rotary Vane Attenuators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Guldbrandsen, Tom; Guldbrandsen, Birthe; Warner, Frank L.

    1983-01-01

    coefficients have been measured versus angle of rotation by means of a computer-corrected automatic network analyzer and, within the uncertainty, they agree with the model. From the reflection measurements, corrections to the attenuation were calculated using relations derived from the model. The corrections...

  15. Impact of CT attenuation correction method on quantitative respiratory-correlated (4D) PET/CT imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nyflot, Matthew J., E-mail: nyflot@uw.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6043 (United States); Lee, Tzu-Cheng [Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6043 (United States); Alessio, Adam M.; Kinahan, Paul E. [Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6043 (United States); Wollenweber, Scott D.; Stearns, Charles W. [GE Healthcare, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53188 (United States); Bowen, Stephen R. [Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6043 and Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6043 (United States)

    2015-01-15

    Purpose: Respiratory-correlated positron emission tomography (PET/CT) 4D PET/CT is used to mitigate errors from respiratory motion; however, the optimal CT attenuation correction (CTAC) method for 4D PET/CT is unknown. The authors performed a phantom study to evaluate the quantitative performance of CTAC methods for 4D PET/CT in the ground truth setting. Methods: A programmable respiratory motion phantom with a custom movable insert designed to emulate a lung lesion and lung tissue was used for this study. The insert was driven by one of five waveforms: two sinusoidal waveforms or three patient-specific respiratory waveforms. 3DPET and 4DPET images of the phantom under motion were acquired and reconstructed with six CTAC methods: helical breath-hold (3DHEL), helical free-breathing (3DMOT), 4D phase-averaged (4DAVG), 4D maximum intensity projection (4DMIP), 4D phase-matched (4DMATCH), and 4D end-exhale (4DEXH) CTAC. Recovery of SUV{sub max}, SUV{sub mean}, SUV{sub peak}, and segmented tumor volume was evaluated as RC{sub max}, RC{sub mean}, RC{sub peak}, and RC{sub vol}, representing percent difference relative to the static ground truth case. Paired Wilcoxon tests and Kruskal–Wallis ANOVA were used to test for significant differences. Results: For 4DPET imaging, the maximum intensity projection CTAC produced significantly more accurate recovery coefficients than all other CTAC methods (p < 0.0001 over all metrics). Over all motion waveforms, ratios of 4DMIP CTAC recovery were 0.2 ± 5.4, −1.8 ± 6.5, −3.2 ± 5.0, and 3.0 ± 5.9 for RC{sub max}, RC{sub peak}, RC{sub mean}, and RC{sub vol}. In comparison, recovery coefficients for phase-matched CTAC were −8.4 ± 5.3, −10.5 ± 6.2, −7.6 ± 5.0, and −13.0 ± 7.7 for RC{sub max}, RC{sub peak}, RC{sub mean}, and RC{sub vol}. When testing differences between phases over all CTAC methods and waveforms, end-exhale phases were significantly more accurate (p = 0.005). However, these differences were driven by

  16. MNAtoolbox: A Monitored Natural Attenuation Site Screening Program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borns, David J.; Brady, Patrick V.; Brady, Warren D.; Krupka, Kenneth M.; Spalding, Brian P.; Waters, Robert D.; Zhang, Pengchu

    1999-07-12

    Screening of sites for the potential application and reliance upon monitored natural attenuation (MNA) can be done using MNAtoolbox, a web-based tool for estimating extent of biodegradation, chemical transformation, and dilution. MNAtoolbox uses site-specific input data, where available (default parameters are taken from the literature), to roughly quantify the nature and extent of attenuation at a particular site. Use of MNAtoolbox provides 3 important elements of site evaluation: (1) Identifies likely attenuation pathways, (2) Clearly identifies sites where MNA is inappropriate, and (3) Evaluates data requirements for subsequent reliance on MNA as a sole or partial corrective action.

  17. Gastric emptying measurements: delayed and complex emptying patterns without appropriate correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moore, J.G.; Christian, P.E.; Taylor, A.T.; Alazraki, N.

    1985-10-01

    Anteriorly acquired and geometric mean corrected gastric emptying curves of solids and liquid isotopic-labeled meals were compared in 37 subjects given 61 meals of three different sizes. Anterior data alone consistently and significantly underestimated solid-phase gastric emptying rates with all meal sizes when compared to geometric mean acquired data. However, with liquids there were only slight differences between anterior and anterior and posterior geometric mean corrected emptying-rates. The difference probably reflects greater attenuation of the 140 kev photon of /sup 99m/Tc compared to the 247 keV photon of In. With anterior data alone, an apparent early delay in emptying of solids was present with all meal sizes and the resultant emptying curves were nonlinear in shape. Geometric mean correction resulted in the linearization of the solid-phase emptying curves and essentially eliminated the apparent delay in emptying or lag phase noted with the anterior data alone. Based on our results, geometric mean correction techniques are necessary for accurate assessment of radioisotopic-labeled solid meals.

  18. Endoscopic techniques for diagnosis and correction of complications after retroperitoneal pancreas transplantation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. V. Pinchuk

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Relevance. Timely diagnosis and treatment of postoperative complications after pancreas transplantation is an actual problem of modern clinical transplantation. Purpose. The assessment of the endoscopy potential for the diagnosis and correction of postoperative complications after pancreas transplantation. Materials and methods. Since October 2011, simultaneous retroperitoneal pancreas-kidney transplantation has been performed in 27 patients. In 8 cases, the use of endoscopic techniques allowed a timely identification and treatment of the complications occurred. Conclusions. Endoscopic techniques proved to be highly efficient in the diagnosis and treatment of surgical complications and immunological impairments after retroperitoneal pancreas transplantation. 

  19. An SPM8-based Approach for Attenuation Correction Combining Segmentation and Non-rigid Template Formation: Application to Simultaneous PET/MR Brain Imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Hansen, Adam E.; Förster, Stefan; Benoit, Didier; Schachoff, Sylvia; Fürst, Sebastian; Chen, Kevin T.; Chonde, Daniel B.; Catana, Ciprian

    2014-01-01

    We present an approach for head MR-based attenuation correction (MR-AC) based on the Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM8) software that combines segmentation- and atlas-based features to provide a robust technique to generate attenuation maps (µ-maps) from MR data in integrated PET/MR scanners. Methods Coregistered anatomical MR and CT images acquired in 15 glioblastoma subjects were used to generate the templates. The MR images from these subjects were first segmented into 6 tissue classes (gray and white matter, cerebro-spinal fluid, bone and soft tissue, and air), which were then non-rigidly coregistered using a diffeomorphic approach. A similar procedure was used to coregister the anatomical MR data for a new subject to the template. Finally, the CT-like images obtained by applying the inverse transformations were converted to linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) to be used for AC of PET data. The method was validated on sixteen new subjects with brain tumors (N=12) or mild cognitive impairment (N=4) who underwent CT and PET/MR scans. The µ-maps and corresponding reconstructed PET images were compared to those obtained using the gold standard CT-based approach and the Dixon-based method available on the Siemens Biograph mMR scanner. Relative change (RC) images were generated in each case and voxel- and region of interest (ROI)-based analyses were performed. Results The leave-one-out cross-validation analysis of the data from the 15 atlas-generation subjects showed small errors in brain LACs (RC=1.38%±4.52%) compared to the gold standard. Similar results (RC=1.86±4.06%) were obtained from the analysis of the atlas-validation datasets. The voxel- and ROI-based analysis of the corresponding reconstructed PET images revealed quantification errors of 3.87±5.0% and 2.74±2.28%, respectively. The Dixon-based method performed substantially worse (the mean RC values were 13.0±10.25% and 9.38±4.97%, respectively). Areas closer to skull showed the largest

  20. Influence of OSEM and segmented attenuation correction in the calculation of standardised uptake values for [18F]FDG PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Visvikis, D.; Costa, D.C.; Bomanji, J.; Gacinovic, S.; Ell, P.J.; Cheze-LeRest, C.

    2001-01-01

    Standardised Uptake Values (SUVs) are widely used in positron emission tomography (PET) as a semi-quantitative index of fluorine-18 labelled fluorodeoxyglucose uptake. The objective of this study was to investigate any bias introduced in the calculation of SUVs as a result of employing ordered subsets-expectation maximisation (OSEM) image reconstruction and segmented attenuation correction (SAC). Variable emission and transmission time durations were investigated. Both a phantom and a clinical evaluation of the bias were carried out. The software implemented in the GE Advance PET scanner was used. Phantom studies simulating tumour imaging conditions were performed. Since a variable count rate may influence the results obtained using OSEM, similar acquisitions were performed at total count rates of 34 kcps and 12 kcps. Clinical data consisted of 100 patient studies. Emission datasets of 5 and 15 min duration were combined with 15-, 3-, 2- and 1-min transmission datasets for the reconstruction of both phantom and patient studies. Two SUVs were estimated using the average (SUV avg ) and the maximum (SUV max ) count density from regions of interest placed well inside structures of interest. The percentage bias of these SUVs compared with the values obtained using a reference image was calculated. The reference image was considered to be the one produced by filtered backprojection (FBP) image reconstruction with measured attenuation correction using the 15-min emission and transmission datasets for each phantom and patient study. A bias of 5%-20% was found for the SUV avg and SUV max in the case of FBP with SAC using variable transmission times. In the case of OSEM with SAC, the bias increased to 10%-30%. An overall increase of 5%-10% was observed with the use of SUV max . The 5-min emission dataset led to an increase in the bias of 25%-100%, with the larger increase recorded for the SUV max . The results suggest that OSEM and SAC with 3 and 2 min transmission may be

  1. Effects of attenuation and scatter corrections in cat brain PET images using microPET R4 scanner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Jin Su; Lee, Jae Sung; Lee, Jong Jin

    2006-01-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the effects of attenuation correction (AC) and scatter correction (SC) on the quantification of PET count rates. To assess the effects of AC and SC, 18 F-FDG PET images of phantom and cat brain were acquired using microPET R4 scanner. Thirty-minute transmission images using 68 Ge source and emission images after injection of FDG were acquired. PET images were reconstructed using. 2D OSEM. AC and SC were applied. Regional count rates were measured using ROls drawn on cerebral cortex including frontal, parietal, and latral temporal lobes and deep gray matter including head of caudate nucleus, putamen and thalamus for pre- and post-AC and SC images. The count rates were then normalized with the injected dose per body weight. To assess the effects of AC, count ratio of 'deep gray matter/cerebral cortex' was calculated. To assess the effects of SC, ROls were also drawn on the gray matter (GM) and white matter (WM), and contrast between them ((GM-WM)/GM) was measured. After the AC, count ratio of 'deep gray matter/cerebral cortex' was increased by 17±7%. After the SC, contrast was also increased by 12±3%. Relative count of deep gray matter and contrast between gray and white matters were increased after AC and SC, suggesting that the AC would be critical for the quantitative analysis of cat brain PET data

  2. SU-C-9A-06: The Impact of CT Image Used for Attenuation Correction in 4D-PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cui, Y; Bowsher, J; Yan, S; Cai, J; Das, S; Yin, F

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the appropriateness of using 3D non-gated CT image for attenuation correction (AC) in a 4D-PET (gated PET) imaging protocol used in radiotherapy treatment planning simulation. Methods: The 4D-PET imaging protocol in a Siemens PET/CT simulator (Biograph mCT, Siemens Medical Solutions, Hoffman Estates, IL) was evaluated. CIRS Dynamic Thorax Phantom (CIRS Inc., Norfolk, VA) with a moving glass sphere (8 mL) in the middle of its thorax portion was used in the experiments. The glass was filled with 18 F-FDG and was in a longitudinal motion derived from a real patient breathing pattern. Varian RPM system (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) was used for respiratory gating. Both phase-gating and amplitude-gating methods were tested. The clinical imaging protocol was modified to use three different CT images for AC in 4D-PET reconstruction: first is to use a single-phase CT image to mimic actual clinical protocol (single-CT-PET); second is to use the average intensity projection CT (AveIP-CT) derived from 4D-CT scanning (AveIP-CT-PET); third is to use 4D-CT image to do the phase-matched AC (phase-matching- PET). Maximum SUV (SUVmax) and volume of the moving target (glass sphere) with threshold of 40% SUVmax were calculated for comparison between 4D-PET images derived with different AC methods. Results: The SUVmax varied 7.3%±6.9% over the breathing cycle in single-CT-PET, compared to 2.5%±2.8% in AveIP-CT-PET and 1.3%±1.2% in phasematching PET. The SUVmax in single-CT-PET differed by up to 15% from those in phase-matching-PET. The target volumes measured from single- CT-PET images also presented variations up to 10% among different phases of 4D PET in both phase-gating and amplitude-gating experiments. Conclusion: Attenuation correction using non-gated CT in 4D-PET imaging is not optimal process for quantitative analysis. Clinical 4D-PET imaging protocols should consider phase-matched 4D-CT image if available to achieve better accuracy

  3. SU-C-9A-06: The Impact of CT Image Used for Attenuation Correction in 4D-PET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cui, Y; Bowsher, J; Yan, S; Cai, J; Das, S; Yin, F [Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC (United States)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: To evaluate the appropriateness of using 3D non-gated CT image for attenuation correction (AC) in a 4D-PET (gated PET) imaging protocol used in radiotherapy treatment planning simulation. Methods: The 4D-PET imaging protocol in a Siemens PET/CT simulator (Biograph mCT, Siemens Medical Solutions, Hoffman Estates, IL) was evaluated. CIRS Dynamic Thorax Phantom (CIRS Inc., Norfolk, VA) with a moving glass sphere (8 mL) in the middle of its thorax portion was used in the experiments. The glass was filled with {sup 18}F-FDG and was in a longitudinal motion derived from a real patient breathing pattern. Varian RPM system (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) was used for respiratory gating. Both phase-gating and amplitude-gating methods were tested. The clinical imaging protocol was modified to use three different CT images for AC in 4D-PET reconstruction: first is to use a single-phase CT image to mimic actual clinical protocol (single-CT-PET); second is to use the average intensity projection CT (AveIP-CT) derived from 4D-CT scanning (AveIP-CT-PET); third is to use 4D-CT image to do the phase-matched AC (phase-matching- PET). Maximum SUV (SUVmax) and volume of the moving target (glass sphere) with threshold of 40% SUVmax were calculated for comparison between 4D-PET images derived with different AC methods. Results: The SUVmax varied 7.3%±6.9% over the breathing cycle in single-CT-PET, compared to 2.5%±2.8% in AveIP-CT-PET and 1.3%±1.2% in phasematching PET. The SUVmax in single-CT-PET differed by up to 15% from those in phase-matching-PET. The target volumes measured from single- CT-PET images also presented variations up to 10% among different phases of 4D PET in both phase-gating and amplitude-gating experiments. Conclusion: Attenuation correction using non-gated CT in 4D-PET imaging is not optimal process for quantitative analysis. Clinical 4D-PET imaging protocols should consider phase-matched 4D-CT image if available to achieve better accuracy.

  4. Biogeosystem Technique as a method to correct the climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalinitchenko, Valery; Batukaev, Abdulmalik; Batukaev, Magomed; Minkina, Tatiana

    2017-04-01

    can be produced; The less energy is consumed for climate correction, the better. The proposed algorithm was never discussed before because most of its ingredients were unenforceable. Now the possibility to execute the algorithm exists in the framework of our new scientific-technical branch - Biogeosystem Technique (BGT*). The BGT* is a transcendental (non-imitating natural processes) approach to soil processing, regulation of energy, matter, water fluxes and biological productivity of biosphere: intra-soil machining to provide the new highly productive dispersed system of soil; intra-soil pulse continuous-discrete plants watering to reduce the transpiration rate and water consumption of plants for 5-20 times; intra-soil environmentally safe return of matter during intra-soil milling processing and (or) intra-soil pulse continuous-discrete plants watering with nutrition. Are possible: waste management; reducing flow of nutrients to water systems; carbon and other organic and mineral substances transformation into the soil to plant nutrition elements; less degradation of biological matter to greenhouse gases; increasing biological sequestration of carbon dioxide in terrestrial system's photosynthesis; oxidizing methane and hydrogen sulfide by fresh photosynthesis ionized biologically active oxygen; expansion of the active terrestrial site of biosphere. The high biological product output of biosphere will be gained. BGT* robotic systems are of low cost, energy and material consumption. By BGT* methods the uncertainties of climate and biosphere will be reduced. Key words: Biogeosystem Technique, method to correct, climate

  5. New measurement techniques correct PU inventory in Japanese reprocessing plant

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2003-01-01

    Full text: At its briefing to the Japan Atomic Energy Commission on 28 January 2003, the Japan Safeguards Office (JSGO) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) announced that, due to the introduction of more precise sampling and analytical measurement techniques for measuring plutonium in the high active liquid waste (HALW) storage tanks at the Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP), the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) is correcting the amount of plutonium declared in past accountancy reports to the IAEA. The corrected amounts are expected to be in line with IAEA's own independent verification data and based on measurement methodologies endorsed by the IAEA. The IAEA has recognized for some time that the amount of nuclear material transferred to waste storage had not been adequately measured in the past and has worked with the facility operators and State authorities to introduce improved measurement techniques. IAEA Director General, Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei stressed however, that 'the Agency remains confident in its conclusion that no nuclear material has been diverted from the facility'. This conclusion is based on a range of activities under the NPT Safeguards Agreement between the Agency and Japan, as well as under the Additional Protocol to that Agreement which gives the Agency broad access to nuclear fuel-cycle related information and locations. TRP, in Tokai-mura, Ibaraki prefecture in Japan, was built in the early 1970s, using 1960s-era design and technology. The IAEA began inspecting the facility in 1977. In its annual evaluation of safeguards implementation, as reported to the IAEA's Board of Governors in the Safeguards Implementation Report, the Secretariat has regularly noted the need for strengthening safeguards implementation at TRP, particularly with respect to procedures used for the measurement of nuclear material in the waste produced. In 1996, Japan and the IAEA reached agreement on IAEA sampling, on a

  6. Defining the lung outline from a gamma camera transmission attenuation map

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fleming, John S; Pitcairn, Gary; Newman, Stephen

    2006-01-01

    Segmentation of the lung outline from gamma camera transmission images of the thorax is useful in attenuation correction and quantitative image analysis. This paper describes and compares two threshold-based methods of segmentation. Simulated gamma camera transmission images of test objects were used to produce a knowledge base of the variation of threshold defining the lung outline with image resolution and chest wall thickness. Two segmentation techniques based on global (GT) and context-sensitive (CST) thresholds were developed and evaluated in simulated transmission images of realistic thoraces. The segmented lung volumes were compared to the true values used in the simulation. The mean distances between segmented and true lung surface were calculated. The techniques were also applied to three real human subject transmission images. The lung volumes were estimated and the segmentations were compared visually. The CST segmentation produced significantly superior segmentations than the GT technique in the simulated data. In human subjects, the GT technique underestimated volumes by 13% compared to the CST technique. It missed areas that clearly belonged to the lungs. In conclusion, both techniques segmented the lungs with reasonable accuracy and precision. The CST approach was superior, particularly in real human subject images

  7. The Taylor saddle effacement: a new technique for correction of saddle nose deformity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, S Mark; Rigby, Matthew H

    2008-02-01

    To describe a novel technique, the Taylor saddle effacement (TSE), for correction of saddle nose deformity using autologous grafts from the lower lateral cartilages. A prospective evaluation of six patients, all of whom had the TSE performed. Photographs were taken in combination with completion of a rhinoplasty outcomes questionnaire preoperatively and at 6 months. The questionnaire included a visual analogue scale (VAS) of nasal breathing and a rhinoplasty outcomes evaluation (ROE) of nasal function and esthetics. All six patients had improvement in both their global nasal airflow on the VAS and on their ROE that was statistically significant. The mean preoperative VAS score was 5.8 compared with our postoperative mean of 8.5 of a possible 10. Mean ROE scores improved from 34.7 to 85.5. At 6 months, all patients felt that their nasal appearance had improved. The TSE is a simple and reliable technique for correction of saddle nose deformity. This prospective study has demonstrated improvement in both nasal function and esthetics when it is employed.

  8. Interfacial area measurements in two-phase bubbly flows. Pt.1. Comparison between the light attenuation technique and the photographic method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veteau, J.-M.; Charlot, Roland.

    1981-02-01

    In order to measure specific area by a light attenuation technique in bubbly stationnary flows, the main features of an optical design are given. This method, valid for bubble sizes between 0,5 and several millimeters, is compared with a photographic technique. The latter gives values systematically higher (15 to 25%) than the former. The measured specific areas range from 0.5 to 2 cm -1 . The multiple sources of error inherent in the photographic method are discussed [fr

  9. Transit time corrected arterial spin labeling technique aids to overcome delayed transit time effect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yun, Tae Jin; Sohn, Chul-Ho; Yoo, Roh-Eul; Kang, Kyung Mi; Choi, Seung Hong; Kim, Ji-hoon; Park, Sun-Won; Hwang, Moonjung; Lebel, R.M.

    2018-01-01

    This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of transit time corrected cerebral blood flow (CBF) maps based on multi-phase arterial spin labeling MR perfusion imaging (ASL-MRP). The Institutional Review Board of our hospital approved this retrospective study. Written informed consent was waived. Conventional and multi-phase ASL-MRPs and dynamic susceptibility contrast MR perfusion imaging (DSC-MRP) were acquired for 108 consecutive patients. Vascular territory-based volumes of interest were applied to CBF and time to peak (TTP) maps obtained from DSC-MRP and CBF maps obtained from conventional and multi-phase ASL-MRPs. The concordances between normalized CBF (nCBF) from DSC-MRP and nCBF from conventional and transition time corrected CBF maps from multi-phase ASL-MRP were evaluated using Bland-Altman analysis. In addition, the dependence of difference between nCBF (ΔnCBF) values obtained from DSC-MRP and conventional ASL-MRP (or multi-phase ASL-MRP) on TTP obtained from DSC-MRP was also analyzed using regression analysis. The values of nCBFs from conventional and multi-phase ASL-MRPs had lower values than nCBF based on DSC-MRP (mean differences, 0.08 and 0.07, respectively). The values of ΔnCBF were dependent on TTP values from conventional ASL-MRP technique (F = 5.5679, P = 0.0384). No dependency of ΔnCBF on TTP values from multi-phase ASL-MRP technique was revealed (F = 0.1433, P > 0.05). The use of transit time corrected CBF maps based on multi-phase ASL-MRP technique can overcome the effect of delayed transit time on perfusion maps based on conventional ASL-MRP. (orig.)

  10. Transit time corrected arterial spin labeling technique aids to overcome delayed transit time effect

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yun, Tae Jin; Sohn, Chul-Ho; Yoo, Roh-Eul; Kang, Kyung Mi; Choi, Seung Hong; Kim, Ji-hoon [Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sun-Won [Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Hwang, Moonjung [GE Healthcare Korea, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lebel, R.M. [GE Healthcare Canada, Calgary (Canada)

    2018-03-15

    This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of transit time corrected cerebral blood flow (CBF) maps based on multi-phase arterial spin labeling MR perfusion imaging (ASL-MRP). The Institutional Review Board of our hospital approved this retrospective study. Written informed consent was waived. Conventional and multi-phase ASL-MRPs and dynamic susceptibility contrast MR perfusion imaging (DSC-MRP) were acquired for 108 consecutive patients. Vascular territory-based volumes of interest were applied to CBF and time to peak (TTP) maps obtained from DSC-MRP and CBF maps obtained from conventional and multi-phase ASL-MRPs. The concordances between normalized CBF (nCBF) from DSC-MRP and nCBF from conventional and transition time corrected CBF maps from multi-phase ASL-MRP were evaluated using Bland-Altman analysis. In addition, the dependence of difference between nCBF (ΔnCBF) values obtained from DSC-MRP and conventional ASL-MRP (or multi-phase ASL-MRP) on TTP obtained from DSC-MRP was also analyzed using regression analysis. The values of nCBFs from conventional and multi-phase ASL-MRPs had lower values than nCBF based on DSC-MRP (mean differences, 0.08 and 0.07, respectively). The values of ΔnCBF were dependent on TTP values from conventional ASL-MRP technique (F = 5.5679, P = 0.0384). No dependency of ΔnCBF on TTP values from multi-phase ASL-MRP technique was revealed (F = 0.1433, P > 0.05). The use of transit time corrected CBF maps based on multi-phase ASL-MRP technique can overcome the effect of delayed transit time on perfusion maps based on conventional ASL-MRP. (orig.)

  11. A fully automated contour detection algorithm the preliminary step for scatter and attenuation compensation in SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Younes, R.B.; Mas, J.; Bidet, R.

    1988-01-01

    Contour detection is an important step in information extraction from nuclear medicine images. In order to perform accurate quantitative studies in single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) a new procedure is described which can rapidly derive the best fit contour of an attenuated medium. Some authors evaluate the influence of the detected contour on the reconstructed images with various attenuation correction techniques. Most of the methods are strongly affected by inaccurately detected contours. This approach uses the Compton window to redetermine the convex contour: It seems to be simpler and more practical in clinical SPECT studies. The main advantages of this procedure are the high speed of computation, the accuracy of the contour found and the programme's automation. Results obtained using computer simulated and real phantoms or clinical studies demonstrate the reliability of the present algorithm. (orig.)

  12. Monte Carlo evaluation of accuracy and noise properties of two scatter correction methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Narita, Y.; Eberl, S.; Nakamura, T.

    1996-01-01

    Two independent scatter correction techniques, transmission dependent convolution subtraction (TDCS) and triple-energy window (TEW) method, were evaluated in terms of quantitative accuracy and noise properties using Monte Carlo simulation (EGS4). Emission projections (primary, scatter and scatter plus primary) were simulated for 99m Tc and 201 Tl for numerical chest phantoms. Data were reconstructed with ordered-subset ML-EM algorithm including attenuation correction using the transmission data. In the chest phantom simulation, TDCS provided better S/N than TEW, and better accuracy, i.e., 1.0% vs -7.2% in myocardium, and -3.7% vs -30.1% in the ventricular chamber for 99m Tc with TDCS and TEW, respectively. For 201 Tl, TDCS provided good visual and quantitative agreement with simulated true primary image without noticeably increasing the noise after scatter correction. Overall TDCS proved to be more accurate and less noisy than TEW, facilitating quantitative assessment of physiological functions with SPECT

  13. 2D beam hardening correction for micro-CT of immersed hard tissue

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Graham; Mills, David

    2016-10-01

    Beam hardening artefacts arise in tomography and microtomography with polychromatic sources. Typically, specimens appear to be less dense in the center of reconstructions because as the path length through the specimen increases, so the X-ray spectrum is shifted towards higher energies due to the preferential absorption of low energy photons. Various approaches have been taken to reduce or correct for these artefacts. Pre-filtering the X-ray beam with a thin metal sheet will reduce soft energy X-rays and thus narrow the spectrum. Correction curves can be applied to the projections prior to reconstruction which transform measured attenuation with polychromatic radiation to predicted attenuation with monochromatic radiation. These correction curves can be manually selected, iteratively derived from reconstructions (this generally works where density is assumed to be constant) or derived from a priori information about the X-ray spectrum and specimen composition. For hard tissue specimens, the latter approach works well if the composition is reasonably homogeneous. In the case of an immersed or embedded specimen (e.g., tooth or bone) the relative proportions of mineral and "organic" (including medium and plastic container) species varies considerably for different ray paths and simple beam hardening correction does not give accurate results. By performing an initial reconstruction, the total path length through the container can be determined. By modelling the X-ray properties of the specimen, a 2D correction transform can then be created such that the predicted monochromatic attenuation can be derived as a function of both the measured polychromatic attenuation and the container path length.

  14. Time-domain simulation of constitutive relations for nonlinear acoustics including relaxation for frequency power law attenuation media modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, Noé; Camarena, Francisco; Redondo, Javier; Sánchez-Morcillo, Víctor; Konofagou, Elisa E.

    2015-10-01

    We report a numerical method for solving the constitutive relations of nonlinear acoustics, where multiple relaxation processes are included in a generalized formulation that allows the time-domain numerical solution by an explicit finite differences scheme. Thus, the proposed physical model overcomes the limitations of the one-way Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya-Kuznetsov (KZK) type models and, due to the Lagrangian density is implicitly included in the calculation, the proposed method also overcomes the limitations of Westervelt equation in complex configurations for medical ultrasound. In order to model frequency power law attenuation and dispersion, such as observed in biological media, the relaxation parameters are fitted to both exact frequency power law attenuation/dispersion media and also empirically measured attenuation of a variety of tissues that does not fit an exact power law. Finally, a computational technique based on artificial relaxation is included to correct the non-negligible numerical dispersion of the finite difference scheme, and, on the other hand, improve stability trough artificial attenuation when shock waves are present. This technique avoids the use of high-order finite-differences schemes leading to fast calculations. The present algorithm is especially suited for practical configuration where spatial discontinuities are present in the domain (e.g. axisymmetric domains or zero normal velocity boundary conditions in general). The accuracy of the method is discussed by comparing the proposed simulation solutions to one dimensional analytical and k-space numerical solutions.

  15. Motion artifacts in functional near-infrared spectroscopy: a comparison of motion correction techniques applied to real cognitive data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brigadoi, Sabrina; Ceccherini, Lisa; Cutini, Simone; Scarpa, Fabio; Scatturin, Pietro; Selb, Juliette; Gagnon, Louis; Boas, David A.; Cooper, Robert J.

    2013-01-01

    Motion artifacts are a significant source of noise in many functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) experiments. Despite this, there is no well-established method for their removal. Instead, functional trials of fNIRS data containing a motion artifact are often rejected completely. However, in most experimental circumstances the number of trials is limited, and multiple motion artifacts are common, particularly in challenging populations. Many methods have been proposed recently to correct for motion artifacts, including principle component analysis, spline interpolation, Kalman filtering, wavelet filtering and correlation-based signal improvement. The performance of different techniques has been often compared in simulations, but only rarely has it been assessed on real functional data. Here, we compare the performance of these motion correction techniques on real functional data acquired during a cognitive task, which required the participant to speak aloud, leading to a low-frequency, low-amplitude motion artifact that is correlated with the hemodynamic response. To compare the efficacy of these methods, objective metrics related to the physiology of the hemodynamic response have been derived. Our results show that it is always better to correct for motion artifacts than reject trials, and that wavelet filtering is the most effective approach to correcting this type of artifact, reducing the area under the curve where the artifact is present in 93% of the cases. Our results therefore support previous studies that have shown wavelet filtering to be the most promising and powerful technique for the correction of motion artifacts in fNIRS data. The analyses performed here can serve as a guide for others to objectively test the impact of different motion correction algorithms and therefore select the most appropriate for the analysis of their own fNIRS experiment. PMID:23639260

  16. Lightweight and Statistical Techniques for Petascale Debugging: Correctness on Petascale Systems (CoPS) Preliminry Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    de Supinski, B R; Miller, B P; Liblit, B

    2011-09-13

    Petascale platforms with O(10{sup 5}) and O(10{sup 6}) processing cores are driving advancements in a wide range of scientific disciplines. These large systems create unprecedented application development challenges. Scalable correctness tools are critical to shorten the time-to-solution on these systems. Currently, many DOE application developers use primitive manual debugging based on printf or traditional debuggers such as TotalView or DDT. This paradigm breaks down beyond a few thousand cores, yet bugs often arise above that scale. Programmers must reproduce problems in smaller runs to analyze them with traditional tools, or else perform repeated runs at scale using only primitive techniques. Even when traditional tools run at scale, the approach wastes substantial effort and computation cycles. Continued scientific progress demands new paradigms for debugging large-scale applications. The Correctness on Petascale Systems (CoPS) project is developing a revolutionary debugging scheme that will reduce the debugging problem to a scale that human developers can comprehend. The scheme can provide precise diagnoses of the root causes of failure, including suggestions of the location and the type of errors down to the level of code regions or even a single execution point. Our fundamentally new strategy combines and expands three relatively new complementary debugging approaches. The Stack Trace Analysis Tool (STAT), a 2011 R&D 100 Award Winner, identifies behavior equivalence classes in MPI jobs and highlights behavior when elements of the class demonstrate divergent behavior, often the first indicator of an error. The Cooperative Bug Isolation (CBI) project has developed statistical techniques for isolating programming errors in widely deployed code that we will adapt to large-scale parallel applications. Finally, we are developing a new approach to parallelizing expensive correctness analyses, such as analysis of memory usage in the Memgrind tool. In the first two

  17. The value of attenuation correction in dual-head coincidence imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi Yiping; Huang Gang; Liu Jianjun

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To elucidate the value of attenuation correction (AC) in dual-head coincidence imaging by comparison of phantom and patients images with and without AC. Methods: We used a 20-cm-diameter cylindrical phantom, which contains four spheres of inside diameters of 1.4-2.9 cm for phantom study (1.4 cm, n=2; 2.0 cm, n=l; 2.9 cm, n=1). The axial length of the phantom was 30 cm. The wall thickness of the spheres was 1 mm. Both the phantom and spheres were filled with a solution that contained 18F-FDG. Three acquisitions were performed with the concentrations adjusted to provide a ratio of sphere-to-background activity of 3:1, 5:1 and 10:1. There were 38 patients (30 men and 8 women, age range 31 to 78 years) with suspected lung cancer included in clinical study. All patients were performed pneumonectomies and verified by histopathology. The histological tumor types were adenocarcinoma (n=11), squamous carcinoma (n=8), adenosquamous carcinoma (n=4), large cell carcinoma (n=2), neuroendocrine carcinoma (n=l), metastatic carcinoma (n=4), bronchiolo-alveolar carcinoma (n=1) and benign mass (n=7). The patients were fasted for at least 6 hours before the start of the study. Sixty minutes after intravenous administration of 111-185MBq (3-5mCi) 18F-FDG, emission scanning was performed using a dual-head gamma camera with a 128x128x16 matrix, with energy windows of 511 keV, 180 degree rotation, 32 steps and an acquisition time of 40 s per step. Subsequently, transmission scanning was performed with energy windows of 662 keV, 360 degree rotation, 96 steps and an acquisition time of 2s per step. The coincidence gamma camera imaging data were reconstructed by MCD iterative Methods with a Wiener filter (noise factor 0.75, pixel size 3.95 mm 3 ). Visual analysis and semiquantitative analysis were performed in AC and NAC images. For visual interpretation, a positive lesion was defined as any activity above local background. The count ratio of tumor to surrounded normal tissue (T

  18. PET motion correction in context of integrated PET/MR: Current techniques, limitations, and future projections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gillman, Ashley; Smith, Jye; Thomas, Paul; Rose, Stephen; Dowson, Nicholas

    2017-12-01

    Patient motion is an important consideration in modern PET image reconstruction. Advances in PET technology mean motion has an increasingly important influence on resulting image quality. Motion-induced artifacts can have adverse effects on clinical outcomes, including missed diagnoses and oversized radiotherapy treatment volumes. This review aims to summarize the wide variety of motion correction techniques available in PET and combined PET/CT and PET/MR, with a focus on the latter. A general framework for the motion correction of PET images is presented, consisting of acquisition, modeling, and correction stages. Methods for measuring, modeling, and correcting motion and associated artifacts, both in literature and commercially available, are presented, and their relative merits are contrasted. Identified limitations of current methods include modeling of aperiodic and/or unpredictable motion, attaining adequate temporal resolution for motion correction in dynamic kinetic modeling acquisitions, and maintaining availability of the MR in PET/MR scans for diagnostic acquisitions. Finally, avenues for future investigation are discussed, with a focus on improvements that could improve PET image quality, and that are practical in the clinical environment. © 2017 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

  19. Characteristics of images of angiographically proven normal coronary arteries acquired by adenosine-stress thallium-201 myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT-IQ[Symbol: see text]SPECT with CT attenuation correction changed stepwise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahashi, Teruyuki; Tanaka, Haruki; Kozono, Nami; Tanakamaru, Yoshiki; Idei, Naomi; Ohashi, Norihiko; Ohtsubo, Hideki; Okada, Takenori; Yasunobu, Yuji; Kaseda, Shunichi

    2015-04-01

    Although several studies have shown the diagnostic and prognostic value of CT-based attenuation correction (AC) of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD), this issue remains a matter of debate. To clarify the characteristics of CT-AC SPECT images that might potentially improve diagnostic performance, we analyzed images acquired using adenosine-stress thallium-201 myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT equipped with IQ[Symbol: see text]SPECT (SPECT/CT-IQ[Symbol: see text]SPECT) from patients with angiographically proven normal coronary arteries after changing the CT attenuation correction (CT-AC) in a stepwise manner. We enrolled 72 patients (Male 36, Female 36) with normal coronary arteries according to findings of invasive coronary angiography or CT-angiography within three months after a SPECT/CT study. Projection images were reconstructed at CT-AC values of (-), 40, 60, 80 and 100 % using a CT number conversion program according to our definition and analyzed using polar maps according to sex. CT attenuation corrected segments were located from the mid- and apical-inferior spread through the mid- and apical-septal regions and finally to the basal-anterior and basal- and mid-lateral regions in males, and from the mid-inferior region through the mid-septal and mid-anterior, and mid-lateral regions in females as the CT-AC values increased. Segments with maximal mean counts shifted from the apical-anterior to mid-anterolateral region under both stress and rest conditions in males, whereas such segments shifted from the apical-septal to the mid-anteroseptal region under both stress and rest conditions in females. We clarified which part of the myocardium and to which degree CT-AC affects it in adenosine-stress thallium-201 myocardial perfusion SPECT/CT-IQ[Symbol: see text]SPECT images by changing the CT-AC value stepwise. We also identified sex-specific shifts of segments with maximal mean counts that changed as

  20. Patient position alters attenuation effects in multipinhole cardiac SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Timmins, Rachel; Ruddy, Terrence D.; Wells, R. Glenn

    2015-01-01

    position-dependent changes were removed with attenuation correction. Conclusions: Translation of a source relative to a multipinhole camera caused only small changes in homogeneous phantoms with SPS changing <1.5. Inhomogeneous attenuating media cause much larger changes to occur when the source is translated. Changes in SPS of up to six were seen in an anthropomorphic phantom for axial translations. Attenuation correction removes the position-dependent changes in attenuation

  1. Fast decoding techniques for extended single-and-double-error-correcting Reed Solomon codes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costello, D. J., Jr.; Deng, H.; Lin, S.

    1984-01-01

    A problem in designing semiconductor memories is to provide some measure of error control without requiring excessive coding overhead or decoding time. For example, some 256K-bit dynamic random access memories are organized as 32K x 8 bit-bytes. Byte-oriented codes such as Reed Solomon (RS) codes provide efficient low overhead error control for such memories. However, the standard iterative algorithm for decoding RS codes is too slow for these applications. Some special high speed decoding techniques for extended single and double error correcting RS codes. These techniques are designed to find the error locations and the error values directly from the syndrome without having to form the error locator polynomial and solve for its roots.

  2. Application of the iterative probe correction technique for a high-order probe in spherical near-field antenna measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laitinen, Tommi; Pivnenko, Sergey; Breinbjerg, Olav

    2006-01-01

    An iterative probe-correction technique for spherical near-field antenna measurements is examined. This technique has previously been shown to be well-suited for non-ideal first-order probes. In this paper, its performance in the case of a high-order probe (a dual-ridged horn) is examined....

  3. Development of a methodology for low-energy X-ray absorption correction in biological samples using radiation scattering techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pereira, Marcelo O.; Anjos, Marcelino J.; Lopes, Ricardo T.

    2009-01-01

    Non-destructive techniques with X-ray, such as tomography, radiography and X-ray fluorescence are sensitive to the attenuation coefficient and have a large field of applications in medical as well as industrial area. In the case of X-ray fluorescence analysis the knowledge of photon X-ray attenuation coefficients provides important information to obtain the elemental concentration. On the other hand, the mass attenuation coefficient values are determined by transmission methods. So, the use of X-ray scattering can be considered as an alternative to transmission methods. This work proposes a new method for obtain the X-ray absorption curve through superposition peak Rayleigh and Compton scattering of the lines L a e L β of Tungsten (Tungsten L lines of an X-ray tube with W anode). The absorption curve was obtained using standard samples with effective atomic number in the range from 6 to 16. The method were applied in certified samples of bovine liver (NIST 1577B) , milk powder and V-10. The experimental measurements were obtained using the portable system EDXRF of the Nuclear Instrumentation Laboratory (LIN-COPPE/UFRJ) with Tungsten (W) anode. (author)

  4. Validity of the CT to attenuation coefficient map conversion methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faghihi, R.; Ahangari Shahdehi, R.; Fazilat Moadeli, M.

    2004-01-01

    The most important commercialized methods of attenuation correction in SPECT are based on attenuation coefficient map from a transmission imaging method. The transmission imaging system can be the linear source of radioelement or a X-ray CT system. The image of transmission imaging system is not useful unless to replacement of the attenuation coefficient or CT number with the attenuation coefficient in SPECT energy. In this paper we essay to evaluate the validity and estimate the error of the most used method of this transformation. The final result shows that the methods which use a linear or multi-linear curve accept a error in their estimation. The value of mA is not important but the patient thickness is very important and it can introduce a error more than 10 percent in the final result

  5. ASSESSING AEROBIC NATURAL ATTENUATION OF TRICHLOROETHENE AT FOUR DOE SITES

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koelsch, Michael C.; Starr, Robert C.; Sorenson, Kent S. Jr.

    2005-01-01

    A 3-year Department of Energy Environmental Science Management Program (EMSP) project is currently investigating natural attenuation of trichloroethane (TCE) in aerobic groundwater. This presentation summarizes the results of a screening process to identify TCE plumes at DOE facilities that are suitable for assessing the rate of TCE cometabolism under aerobic conditions. In order to estimate aerobic degradation rates, plumes had to meet the following criteria: TCE must be present in aerobic groundwater, a conservative co-contaminant must be present and have approximately the same source as TCE, and the groundwater velocity must be known. A total of 127 TCE plumes were considered across 24 DOE sites. The four sites retained for the assessment were: (1) Brookhaven National Laboratory, OU III; (2) Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Northwest Plume; (3) Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Industrialized Area--Southwest Plume and 903 Pad South Plume; and (4) Savannah River Site, A/M Area Plume. For each of these sites, a co-contaminant derived from the same source area as TCE was used as a nonbiodegrading tracer. The tracer determined the extent to which concentration decreases in the plume can be accounted for solely by abiotic processes such as dispersion and dilution. Any concentration decreases not accounted for by these processes must be explained by some other natural attenuation mechanism. Thus, ''half-lives'' presented herein are in addition to attenuation that occurs due to hydrologic mechanisms. This ''tracer-corrected method'' has previously been used at the DOE's Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory in conjunction with other techniques to document the occurrence of intrinsic aerobic cometabolism. Application of this method to other DOE sites is the first step to determining whether this might be a significant natural attenuation mechanism on a broader scale. Application of the tracer-corrected method to data from the Brookhaven

  6. Correction of rectal sacculation through lateral resection in dogs with perineal hernia - technique description

    OpenAIRE

    P.C. Moraes; N.M. Zanetti; C.P. Burger; A.E.W.B. Meirelles; J.C. Canola; J.G.M.P. Isola

    2013-01-01

    The occurrence of perineal hernias in dogs during routine clinical surgery is frequent. The coexistence of rectal diseases that go undiagnosed or are not correctly treated can cause recurrence and postoperative complications. The objective of this report is to describe a surgical technique for treatment of rectal sacculation through lateral resection in dogs with perineal hernia, whereby restoring the rectal integrity.

  7. Improved attenuation correction for respiratory gated PET/CT with extended-duration cine CT: a simulation study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ruoqiao; Alessio, Adam M.; Pierce, Larry A.; Byrd, Darrin W.; Lee, Tzu-Cheng; De Man, Bruno; Kinahan, Paul E.

    2017-03-01

    Due to the wide variability of intra-patient respiratory motion patterns, traditional short-duration cine CT used in respiratory gated PET/CT may be insufficient to match the PET scan data, resulting in suboptimal attenuation correction that eventually compromises the PET quantitative accuracy. Thus, extending the duration of cine CT can be beneficial to address this data mismatch issue. In this work, we propose to use a long-duration cine CT for respiratory gated PET/CT, whose cine acquisition time is ten times longer than a traditional short-duration cine CT. We compare the proposed long-duration cine CT with the traditional short-duration cine CT through numerous phantom simulations with 11 respiratory traces measured during patient PET/CT scans. Experimental results show that, the long-duration cine CT reduces the motion mismatch between PET and CT by 41% and improves the overall reconstruction accuracy by 42% on average, as compared to the traditional short-duration cine CT. The long-duration cine CT also reduces artifacts in PET images caused by misalignment and mismatch between adjacent slices in phase-gated CT images. The improvement in motion matching between PET and CT by extending the cine duration depends on the patient, with potentially greater benefits for patients with irregular breathing patterns or larger diaphragm movements.

  8. Technical Note: Correcting for signal attenuation from noisy proxy data in climate reconstructions

    KAUST Repository

    Ammann, C. M.; Genton, M. G.; Li, B.

    2010-01-01

    regression parameter estimation can lead to substantial amplitude attenuation if the predictors carry significant amounts of noise. This issue is known as "Measurement Error" (Fuller, 1987; Carroll et al., 2006). Climate proxies derived from tree-rings, ice

  9. Compensation for photon attenuation in PET

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chintu Chen; Ordonez, C.E.; Xiaolin Yu.

    1992-01-01

    CT/MR and PET images usually are not in registration spatially because of differences in the imaging setup. CT, MR and PET imaging parameters that are used regularly for brain studies in their institution are compared, in addition, because the patient orientations in CT/MR and PET scanners are not the same, slice centers are positioned differently relative to the patients anatomy. For application of the new idea of using structural information from CT or MR images in PET image reconstruction for attenuation correction, image registration is required as a first step so that one can obtain a corresponding anatomic map for any selected PET image plane. The authors chose to use the surface-matching technique developed in their laboratories for image registration because this method is retrospective and accurate. After the PET and CT/MR scans are registered, they reslice the CT/MR images along the planes of the PET images. The differences in slice thickness and slice separation, as well as in image resolution between various image modalities are to be considered

  10. Deep Learning MR Imaging-based Attenuation Correction for PET/MR Imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Fang; Jang, Hyungseok; Kijowski, Richard; Bradshaw, Tyler; McMillan, Alan B

    2018-02-01

    Purpose To develop and evaluate the feasibility of deep learning approaches for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging-based attenuation correction (AC) (termed deep MRAC) in brain positron emission tomography (PET)/MR imaging. Materials and Methods A PET/MR imaging AC pipeline was built by using a deep learning approach to generate pseudo computed tomographic (CT) scans from MR images. A deep convolutional auto-encoder network was trained to identify air, bone, and soft tissue in volumetric head MR images coregistered to CT data for training. A set of 30 retrospective three-dimensional T1-weighted head images was used to train the model, which was then evaluated in 10 patients by comparing the generated pseudo CT scan to an acquired CT scan. A prospective study was carried out for utilizing simultaneous PET/MR imaging for five subjects by using the proposed approach. Analysis of covariance and paired-sample t tests were used for statistical analysis to compare PET reconstruction error with deep MRAC and two existing MR imaging-based AC approaches with CT-based AC. Results Deep MRAC provides an accurate pseudo CT scan with a mean Dice coefficient of 0.971 ± 0.005 for air, 0.936 ± 0.011 for soft tissue, and 0.803 ± 0.021 for bone. Furthermore, deep MRAC provides good PET results, with average errors of less than 1% in most brain regions. Significantly lower PET reconstruction errors were realized with deep MRAC (-0.7% ± 1.1) compared with Dixon-based soft-tissue and air segmentation (-5.8% ± 3.1) and anatomic CT-based template registration (-4.8% ± 2.2). Conclusion The authors developed an automated approach that allows generation of discrete-valued pseudo CT scans (soft tissue, bone, and air) from a single high-spatial-resolution diagnostic-quality three-dimensional MR image and evaluated it in brain PET/MR imaging. This deep learning approach for MR imaging-based AC provided reduced PET reconstruction error relative to a CT-based standard within the brain compared

  11. A new method for detecting hemoglobin directly in whole blood using photon attenuation techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medhat, M.E.

    2014-01-01

    The objective of the proposed work is focused on measuring iron concentration directly in whole blood as tool for estimating hemoglobin and anemic conditions in patients across the world. The investigated method depends on theory of photon attenuation through transmission of low energy in whole blood sample. The mathematical expressions for calculating hemoglobin and iron deficit on blood using photon attenuation are derived. Calculations are carried out for estimating concentration of iron in blood samples taken from children, adults and old patients and therefore measuring their hemoglobin and iron deficit from normal values. Theoretical mass attenuation coefficient values were obtained using the XCOM program. A high-resolution gamma-ray spectrometry based on high purity germanium detector was employed to measure attenuation of strongly collimated monoenergetic gamma beam through blood samples. (author)

  12. Segmentation-free empirical beam hardening correction for CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schüller, Sören; Sawall, Stefan [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, Heidelberg 69120 (Germany); Stannigel, Kai; Hülsbusch, Markus; Ulrici, Johannes; Hell, Erich [Sirona Dental Systems GmbH, Fabrikstraße 31, 64625 Bensheim (Germany); Kachelrieß, Marc, E-mail: marc.kachelriess@dkfz.de [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120 Heidelberg (Germany)

    2015-02-15

    Purpose: The polychromatic nature of the x-ray beams and their effects on the reconstructed image are often disregarded during standard image reconstruction. This leads to cupping and beam hardening artifacts inside the reconstructed volume. To correct for a general cupping, methods like water precorrection exist. They correct the hardening of the spectrum during the penetration of the measured object only for the major tissue class. In contrast, more complex artifacts like streaks between dense objects need other techniques of correction. If using only the information of one single energy scan, there are two types of corrections. The first one is a physical approach. Thereby, artifacts can be reproduced and corrected within the original reconstruction by using assumptions in a polychromatic forward projector. These assumptions could be the used spectrum, the detector response, the physical attenuation and scatter properties of the intersected materials. A second method is an empirical approach, which does not rely on much prior knowledge. This so-called empirical beam hardening correction (EBHC) and the previously mentioned physical-based technique are both relying on a segmentation of the present tissues inside the patient. The difficulty thereby is that beam hardening by itself, scatter, and other effects, which diminish the image quality also disturb the correct tissue classification and thereby reduce the accuracy of the two known classes of correction techniques. The herein proposed method works similar to the empirical beam hardening correction but does not require a tissue segmentation and therefore shows improvements on image data, which are highly degraded by noise and artifacts. Furthermore, the new algorithm is designed in a way that no additional calibration or parameter fitting is needed. Methods: To overcome the segmentation of tissues, the authors propose a histogram deformation of their primary reconstructed CT image. This step is essential for the

  13. Segmentation-free empirical beam hardening correction for CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schüller, Sören; Sawall, Stefan; Stannigel, Kai; Hülsbusch, Markus; Ulrici, Johannes; Hell, Erich; Kachelrieß, Marc

    2015-02-01

    The polychromatic nature of the x-ray beams and their effects on the reconstructed image are often disregarded during standard image reconstruction. This leads to cupping and beam hardening artifacts inside the reconstructed volume. To correct for a general cupping, methods like water precorrection exist. They correct the hardening of the spectrum during the penetration of the measured object only for the major tissue class. In contrast, more complex artifacts like streaks between dense objects need other techniques of correction. If using only the information of one single energy scan, there are two types of corrections. The first one is a physical approach. Thereby, artifacts can be reproduced and corrected within the original reconstruction by using assumptions in a polychromatic forward projector. These assumptions could be the used spectrum, the detector response, the physical attenuation and scatter properties of the intersected materials. A second method is an empirical approach, which does not rely on much prior knowledge. This so-called empirical beam hardening correction (EBHC) and the previously mentioned physical-based technique are both relying on a segmentation of the present tissues inside the patient. The difficulty thereby is that beam hardening by itself, scatter, and other effects, which diminish the image quality also disturb the correct tissue classification and thereby reduce the accuracy of the two known classes of correction techniques. The herein proposed method works similar to the empirical beam hardening correction but does not require a tissue segmentation and therefore shows improvements on image data, which are highly degraded by noise and artifacts. Furthermore, the new algorithm is designed in a way that no additional calibration or parameter fitting is needed. To overcome the segmentation of tissues, the authors propose a histogram deformation of their primary reconstructed CT image. This step is essential for the proposed

  14. Fast high resolution ADC based on the flash type with a special error correcting technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xiao-Zhong, Liang; Jing-Xi, Cao [Beijing Univ. (China). Inst. of Atomic Energy

    1984-03-01

    A fast 12 bits ADC based on the flash type with a simple special error correcting technique which can effectively compensate the level drift of the discriminators and the droop of the stretcher voltage is described. The DNL is comparable with the Wilkinson's ADC and long term drift is far better than its.

  15. Airborne non-contact and contact broadband ultrasounds for frequency attenuation profile estimation of cementitious materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosálbez, J; Wright, W M D; Jiang, W; Carrión, A; Genovés, V; Bosch, I

    2018-08-01

    In this paper, the study of frequency-dependent ultrasonic attenuation in strongly heterogeneous cementitious materials is addressed. To accurately determine the attenuation over a wide frequency range, it is necessary to have suitable excitation techniques. We have analysed two kinds of ultrasound techniques: contact ultrasound and airborne non-contact ultrasound. The mathematical formulation for frequency-dependent attenuation has been established and it has been revealed that each technique may achieve similar results but requires specific different calibration processes. In particular, the airborne non-contact technique suffers high attenuation due to energy losses at the air-material interfaces. Thus, its bandwidth is limited to low frequencies but it does not require physical contact between transducer and specimen. In contrast, the classical contact technique can manage higher frequencies but the measurement depends on the pressure between the transducer and the specimen. Cement specimens have been tested with both techniques and frequency attenuation dependence has been estimated. Similar results were achieved at overlapping bandwidth and it has been demonstrated that the airborne non-contact ultrasound technique could be a viable alternative to the classical contact technique. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. A cone beam CT-guided online plan modification technique to correct interfractional anatomic changes for prostate cancer IMRT treatment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fu Weihua; Yang Yong; Yue, Ning J; Heron, Dwight E; Huq, M Saiful

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this work is to develop an online plan modification technique to compensate for the interfractional anatomic changes for prostate cancer intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) treatment based on daily cone beam CT (CBCT) images. In this proposed technique, pre-treatment CBCT images are acquired after the patient is set up on the treatment couch using an in-room laser with the guidance of the setup skin marks. Instead of moving the couch to rigidly align the target or re-planning using the CBCT images, we modify the original IMRT plan to account for the interfractional target motion and deformation based on the daily CBCT image feedback. The multileaf collimator (MLC) leaf positions for each subfield are automatically adjusted in the proposed algorithm based on the position and shape changes of target projection in the beam's eye view (BEV). Three typical prostate cases were adopted to evaluate the proposed technique, and the results were compared with those obtained with bony-structure-based rigid translation correction, prostate-based correction and CBCT-based re-planning strategies. The study revealed that the proposed modification technique is superior to the bony-structure-based and prostate-based correction techniques, especially when interfractional target deformation exists. Its dosimetric performance is closer to that of the re-planned strategy, but with much higher efficiency, indicating that the introduced online CBCT-guided plan modification technique may be an efficient and practical method to compensate for the interfractional target position and shape changes for prostate IMRT.

  17. Simulation of a MR–PET protocol for staging of head-and-neck cancer including Dixon MR for attenuation correction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Eiber, Matthias, E-mail: matthias.eiber@tum.de [Department of Radiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 Munich (Germany); Souvatzoglou, Michael, E-mail: msouvatz@yahoo.de [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 Munich (Germany); Pickhard, Anja, E-mail: a.pickhard@lrz.tum.de [Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 Munich (Germany); Loeffelbein, Denys J., E-mail: denys.loeffelbein@gmx.de [Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 Munich (Germany); Knopf, Andreas, E-mail: andreas.knopf@tum.de [Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 Munich (Germany); Holzapfel, Konstantin, E-mail: holzapfel@roe.med.tum.de [Department of Radiology, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 Munich (Germany); Martinez-Möller, Axel, E-mail: a.martinez-moller@lrz.tu-muenchen.de [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Klinikum rechts der Isar, Technische Universität München, Ismaninger Str. 22, 81675 Munich (Germany); and others

    2012-10-15

    Purpose: To simulate and optimize a MR protocol for squamous cell cancer of the head and neck (HNSCC) patients for potential future use in an integrated whole-body MR–PET scanner. Materials and methods: On a clinical 3T scanner, which is the basis for a recently introduced fully integrated whole-body MR–PET, 20 patients with untreated HNSCC routinely staged with 18F-FDG PET/CT underwent a dedicated MR protocol for the neck. Moreover, a whole-body Dixon MR-sequence was applied, which is used for attenuation correction on a recently introduced hybrid MR–PET scanner. In a subset of patients volume-interpolated-breathhold (VIBE) T1w-sequences for lungs and liver were added. Total imaging time was analyzed for both groups. The quality of the delineation of the primary tumor (scale 0–3) and the presence or absence of lymph node metastases (scale 1–5) was evaluated for CT, MR, PET/CT and a combination of MR and PET to ensure that the MR–PET fusion does not cause a loss of diagnostic capability. PET was used to identify distant metastases. The PET dataset for simulated MR/PET was based on a segmentation of the CT data into 4 classes according to the approach of the Dixon MR-sequence for MR–PET. Standard of reference was histopathology in 19 cases. In one case no histopathological confirmation of a primary tumor could be achieved. Results: Mean imaging time was 35:17 min (range: 31:08–42:42 min) for the protocol including sequences for local staging and attenuation correction and 44:17 min (range: 35:44–54:58) for the extended protocol. Although not statistically significant a combination of MR and PET performed better in the delineation of the primary tumor (mean 2.20) compared to CT (mean 1.40), MR (1.95) and PET/CT (2.15) especially in patients with dental implants. PET/CT and combining MR and PET performed slightly better than CT and MR for the assessment of lymph node metastases. Two patients with distant metastases were only identified by PET

  18. Correction of rectal sacculation through lateral resection in dogs with perineal hernia - technique description

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P.C. Moraes

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The occurrence of perineal hernias in dogs during routine clinical surgery is frequent. The coexistence of rectal diseases that go undiagnosed or are not correctly treated can cause recurrence and postoperative complications. The objective of this report is to describe a surgical technique for treatment of rectal sacculation through lateral resection in dogs with perineal hernia, whereby restoring the rectal integrity.

  19. Feedback correction of injection errors using digital signal-processing techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. S. Sereno

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Efficient transfer of electron beams from one accelerator to another is important for 3rd-generation light sources that operate using top-up. In top-up mode, a constant amount of charge is injected at regular intervals into the storage ring to replenish beam lost primarily due to Touschek scattering. Top-up therefore requires that the complex of injector accelerators that fill the storage ring transport beam with a minimum amount of loss. Injection can be a source of significant beam loss if not carefully controlled. In this note we describe a method of processing injection transient signals produced by beam-position monitors and using the processed data in feedback. Feedback control using the technique described here has been incorporated in the Advanced Photon Source (APS booster synchrotron to correct injection transients.

  20. Evaluation of colonic lesions and pitfalls in CT colonography: A systematic approach based on morphology, attenuation and mobility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mang, Thomas; Gryspeerdt, Stefaan; Schima, Wolfgang; Lefere, Philippe

    2013-01-01

    Computed tomographic colonography is a reliable technique for the detection and classification of neoplastic and non-neoplastic lesions of the colon. It is based on a thin-section CT dataset of the cleansed and air-distended colon, acquired in prone and supine position. Two-dimensional and 3D projections are used in combination for image interpretation. The evaluation of CT colonography datasets is based on two steps, lesion perception to detect a polyp candidate and image interpretation to correctly characterize colonic filling defects. A thorough knowledge of the morphologic and attenuation characteristics of common colonic lesions and artifacts facilitates characterization of the findings. The purpose of this review article is to give an overview of the key CT colonographic imaging criteria to correctly characterize common colorectal lesions and to identify typical pitfalls and pseudolesions

  1. New techniques provide low-cost X-ray inspection of highly attenuating materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stupin, D.M.; Mueller, K.H.; Viskoe, D.A.; Howard, B.; Poland, R.W.; Schneberk, D.; Dolan, K.; Thompson, K.; Stoker, G.

    1995-01-01

    As a result of an arms reduction treaty between the United States and the Russian Federation, both countries will each be storing over 40,000 containers of plutonium. To help detect any deterioration of the containers and prevent leakage, the authors are designing a digital radiography and computed tomography system capable of handling this volume reliably, efficiently, and at a lower cost. The materials to be stored have very high x-ray attenuations, and, in the past, were inspected using 1- to 24-MV x-ray sources. This inspection system, however, uses a new scintillating (Lockheed) glass and an integrating CCD camera. Preliminary experiments show that this will permit the use of a 450-kV x-ray source. This low-energy system will cost much less than others designed to use a higher-energy x-ray source because it will require a less expensive source, less shielding, and less floor space. Furthermore, they can achieve a tenfold improvement in spatial resolution by using their knowledge of the point-spread function of the x-ray imaging system and a least-squares fitting technique

  2. Multi-contrast attenuation map synthesis for PET/MR scanners: assessment on FDG and Florbetapir PET tracers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burgos, Ninon [University College London, Translational Imaging Group, Centre for Medical Image Computing, London (United Kingdom); Cardoso, M.J.; Modat, Marc; Ourselin, Sebastien [University College London, Translational Imaging Group, Centre for Medical Image Computing, London (United Kingdom); University College London, Dementia Research Centre, Institute of Neurology, London (United Kingdom); Thielemans, Kris; Dickson, John [University College London, Institute of Nuclear Medicine, London (United Kingdom); Schott, Jonathan M. [University College London, Dementia Research Centre, Institute of Neurology, London (United Kingdom); Atkinson, David [University College London, Centre for Medical Imaging, London (United Kingdom); Arridge, Simon R. [University College London, Centre for Medical Image Computing, London (United Kingdom); Hutton, Brian F. [University College London, Institute of Nuclear Medicine, London (United Kingdom); University of Wollongong, Centre for Medical Radiation Physics, Wollongong, NSW (Australia)

    2015-08-15

    Positron Emission Tomography/Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PET/MR) scanners are expected to offer a new range of clinical applications. Attenuation correction is an essential requirement for quantification of PET data but MRI images do not directly provide a patient-specific attenuation map. Methods We further validate and extend a Computed Tomography (CT) and attenuation map (μ-map) synthesis method based on pre-acquired MRI-CT image pairs. The validation consists of comparing the CT images synthesised with the proposed method to the original CT images. PET images were acquired using two different tracers ({sup 18}F-FDG and {sup 18}F-florbetapir). They were then reconstructed and corrected for attenuation using the synthetic μ-maps and compared to the reference PET images corrected with the CT-based μ-maps. During the validation, we observed that the CT synthesis was inaccurate in areas such as the neck and the cerebellum, and propose a refinement to mitigate these problems, as well as an extension of the method to multi-contrast MRI data. Results With the improvements proposed, a significant enhancement in CT synthesis, which results in a reduced absolute error and a decrease in the bias when reconstructing PET images, was observed. For both tracers, on average, the absolute difference between the reference PET images and the PET images corrected with the proposed method was less than 2%, with a bias inferior to 1%. Conclusion With the proposed method, attenuation information can be accurately derived from MRI images by synthesising CT using routine anatomical sequences. MRI sequences, or combination of sequences, can be used to synthesise CT images, as long as they provide sufficient anatomical information. (orig.)

  3. Limitations and ceiling effects with circumferential minimally invasive correction techniques for adult scoliosis: analysis of radiological outcomes over a 7-year experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anand, Neel; Baron, Eli M; Khandehroo, Babak

    2014-05-01

    Minimally invasive correction of adult scoliosis is a surgical method increasing in popularity. Limited data exist, however, as to how effective these methodologies are in achieving coronal plane and sagittal plane correction in addition to improving spinopelvic parameters. This study serves to quantify how much correction is possible with present circumferential minimally invasive surgical (cMIS) methods. Ninety patients were selected from a database of 187 patients who underwent cMIS scoliosis correction. All patients had a Cobb angle greater than 15°, 3 or more levels fused, and availability of preoperative and postoperative 36-inch standing radiographs. The mean duration of follow-up was 37 months. Preoperative and postoperative Cobb angle, sagittal vertical axis (SVA), coronal balance, lumbar lordosis (LL), and pelvic incidence (PI) were measured. Scatter plots were performed comparing the pre- and postoperative radiological parameters to calculate ceiling effects for SVA correction, Cobb angle correction, and PI-LL mismatch correction. The mean preoperative SVA value was 60 mm (range 11.5-151 mm); the mean postoperative value was 31 mm (range 0-84 mm). The maximum SVA correction achieved with cMIS techniques in any of the cases was 89 mm. In terms of coronal Cobb angle, a mean correction of 61% was noted, with a mean preoperative value of 35.8° (range 15°-74.7°) and a mean postoperative value of 13.9° (range 0°-32.5°). A ceiling effect for Cobb angle correction was noted at 42°. The ability to correct the PI-LL mismatch to 10° was limited to cases in which the preoperative PI-LL mismatch was 38° or less. Circumferential MIS techniques as currently used for the treatment of adult scoliosis have limitations in terms of their ability to achieve SVA correction and lumbar lordosis. When the preoperative SVA is greater than 100 mm and a substantial amount of lumbar lordosis is needed, as determined by spinopelvic parameter calculations, surgeons should

  4. Temporal impulse and step responses of the human eye obtained psychophysically by means of a drift-correcting perturbation technique

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roufs, J.A.J.; Blommaert, F.J.J.

    1981-01-01

    Internal impulse and step responses are derived from the thresholds of short probe flashes by means of a drift-correcting perturbation technique. The approach is based on only two postulated systems properties: quasi-linearity and peak detection. A special feature of the technique is its strong

  5. Lifetimes in {sup 94}Zr extracted via the doppler-shift attenuation method using pγ coincidences

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Prill, Sarah; Derya, Vera; Hennig, Andreas; Pickstone, Simon G.; Spieker, Mark; Vielmetter, Vera; Wilhelmy, Julius; Zilges, Andreas [Institute for Nuclear Physics, University of Cologne (Germany); Petkov, Pavel [Institute for Nuclear Physics, University of Cologne (Germany); INRNE, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia (Bulgaria); National Institute for Physics and Nuclear Engineering, Bucharest (Romania)

    2016-07-01

    Lifetimes of excited states in {sup 94}Zr were previously measured applying the Doppler-shift attenuation method (DSAM) following the (n,n'γ) reaction.Since the two measurements were in conflict with each other, we remeasured 14 lifetimes of excited states in {sup 94}Zr in a (p,p'γ) experiment utilizing the DSAM technique. Centroid-energy shifts were extracted from proton-gated γ-ray spectra, yielding lifetime values that are independent of feeding contributions. The results were compared to the previously measured lifetimes and found to be in good agreement with the values reported, thus confirming the correction procedure introduced for the (n,n'γ) data. This contribution features our new results and introduces the (p,p'γ) DSAM technique, which is now available in Cologne.

  6. Image artifacts from MR-based attenuation correction in clinical, whole-body PET/MRI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Keller, Sune H; Holm, Søren; Hansen, Adam E

    2013-01-01

    Integrated whole-body PET/MRI tomographs have become available. PET/MR imaging has the potential to supplement, or even replace combined PET/CT imaging in selected clinical indications. However, this is true only if methodological pitfalls and image artifacts arising from novel MR-based attenuation...

  7. Attenuated radon transform: theory and application in medicine and biology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gullberg, G.T.

    1979-06-01

    A detailed analysis is given of the properties of the attenuated Radon transform and of how increases in photon attenuation influence the numerical accuracy and computation efficiency of iterative and convolution algorithms used to determine its inversion. The practical applications for this work involve quantitative assessment of the distribution of injected radiopharmaceuticals and radionuclides in man and animals for basic physiological and biochemical studies as well as clinical studies in nuclear medicine. A mathematical structure is developed using function theory and the theory of linear operators on Hilbert spaces which lends itself to better understanding the spectral properties of the attenuated Radon transform. The continuous attenuated Radon transform reduces to a matrix operator for discrete angular and lateral sampling, and the reconstruction problem reduces to a system of linear equations. For the situation of variable attenuation coefficient frequently found in nuclear medicine applications of imaging the heart and chest, the procedure developed in this thesis involves iterative techniques of performing the generalized inverse. For constant attenuation coefficient less than 0.15 cm/sup -1/, convolution methods can reliably reconstruct a 30 cm object with 0.5 cm resolution. However, for high attenuation coefficients or for the situation where there is variable attenuation such as reconstruction of distribution of isotopes in the heart, iterative techniques developed in this thesis give the best results. (ERB)

  8. Adding attenuation corrected images in myocardial perfusion imaging reduces the need for a rest study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Trägårdh, Elin; Valind, Sven; Edenbrandt, Lars

    2013-01-01

    The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology and the Society of Nuclear Medicine conclude that incorporation of attenuation corrected (AC) images in myocardial perfusion scintigraphy (MPS) will improve diagnostic accuracy. The aim was to investigate the value of adding AC stress-only images for the decision whether a rest study is necessary or not. 1,261 patients admitted to 99m Tc MPS were studied. The stress studies were interpreted by two physicians who judged each study as “no rest study necessary” or “rest study necessary”, by evaluating NC stress-only and NC + AC stress-only images. When there was disagreement between the two physicians, a third physician evaluated the studies. Thus, agreement between 2 out of 3 physicians was evaluated. The physicians assessed 214 more NC + AC images than NC images as “no rest study necessary” (17% of the study population). The number of no-rest-study-required was significantly higher for NC + AC studies compared to NC studies (859 vs 645 cases (p < 0.0001). In the final report according to clinical routine, ischemia or infarction was reported in 23 patients, assessed as “no rest study necessary” (22 NC + AC cases; 8 NC cases), (no statistically significant difference). In 11 of these, the final report stated “suspected/possible ischemia or infarction in a small area”. Adding AC stress-only images to NC stress-only images reduce the number of unnecessary rest studies substantially

  9. Techniques for transparent lattice measurement and correction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Weixing; Li, Yongjun; Ha, Kiman

    2017-07-01

    A novel method has been successfully demonstrated at NSLS-II to characterize the lattice parameters with gated BPM turn-by-turn (TbT) capability. This method can be used at high current operation. Conventional lattice characterization and tuning are carried out at low current in dedicated machine studies which include beam-based measurement/correction of orbit, tune, dispersion, beta-beat, phase advance, coupling etc. At the NSLS-II storage ring, we observed lattice drifting during beam accumulation in user operation. Coupling and lifetime change while insertion device (ID) gaps are moved. With the new method, dynamical lattice correction is possible to achieve reliable and productive operations. A bunch-by-bunch feedback system excites a small fraction (∼1%) of bunches and gated BPMs are aligned to see those bunch motions. The gated TbT position data are used to characterize the lattice hence correction can be applied. As there are ∼1% of total charges disturbed for a short period of time (several ms), this method is transparent to general user operation. We demonstrated the effectiveness of these tools during high current user operation.

  10. Resolution enhancement for ultrasonic echographic technique in non destructive testing with an adaptive deconvolution method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vivet, L.

    1989-01-01

    The ultrasonic echographic technique has specific advantages which makes it essential in a lot of Non Destructive Testing (NDT) investigations. However, the high acoustic power necessary to propagate through highly attenuating media can only be transmitted by resonant transducers, which induces severe limitations of the resolution on the received echograms. This resolution may be improved with deconvolution methods. But one-dimensional deconvolution methods come up against problems in non destructive testing when the investigated medium is highly anisotropic and inhomogeneous (i.e. austenitic steel). Numerous deconvolution techniques are well documented in the NDT literature. But they often come from other application fields (biomedical engineering, geophysics) and we show they do not apply well to specific NDT problems: frequency-dependent attenuation and non-minimum phase of the emitted wavelet. We therefore introduce a new time-domain approach which takes into account the wavelet features. Our method solves the deconvolution problem as an estimation one and is performed in two steps: (i) A phase correction step which takes into account the phase of the wavelet and estimates a phase-corrected echogram. The phase of the wavelet is only due to the transducer and is assumed time-invariant during the propagation. (ii) A band equalization step which restores the spectral content of the ideal reflectivity. The two steps of the method are performed using fast Kalman filters which allow a significant reduction of the computational effort. Synthetic and actual results are given to prove that this is a good approach for resolution improvement in attenuating media [fr

  11. Joint reconstruction of activity and attenuation in Time-of-Flight PET: A Quantitative Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezaei, Ahmadreza; Deroose, Christophe M; Vahle, Thomas; Boada, Fernando; Nuyts, Johan

    2018-03-01

    Joint activity and attenuation reconstruction methods from time of flight (TOF) positron emission tomography (PET) data provide an effective solution to attenuation correction when no (or incomplete/inaccurate) information on the attenuation is available. One of the main barriers limiting their use in clinical practice is the lack of validation of these methods on a relatively large patient database. In this contribution, we aim at validating the activity reconstructions of the maximum likelihood activity reconstruction and attenuation registration (MLRR) algorithm on a whole-body patient data set. Furthermore, a partial validation (since the scale problem of the algorithm is avoided for now) of the maximum likelihood activity and attenuation reconstruction (MLAA) algorithm is also provided. We present a quantitative comparison of the joint reconstructions to the current clinical gold-standard maximum likelihood expectation maximization (MLEM) reconstruction with CT-based attenuation correction. Methods: The whole-body TOF-PET emission data of each patient data set is processed as a whole to reconstruct an activity volume covering all the acquired bed positions, which helps to reduce the problem of a scale per bed position in MLAA to a global scale for the entire activity volume. Three reconstruction algorithms are used: MLEM, MLRR and MLAA. A maximum likelihood (ML) scaling of the single scatter simulation (SSS) estimate to the emission data is used for scatter correction. The reconstruction results are then analyzed in different regions of interest. Results: The joint reconstructions of the whole-body patient data set provide better quantification in case of PET and CT misalignments caused by patient and organ motion. Our quantitative analysis shows a difference of -4.2% (±2.3%) and -7.5% (±4.6%) between the joint reconstructions of MLRR and MLAA compared to MLEM, averaged over all regions of interest, respectively. Conclusion: Joint activity and attenuation

  12. Gamma-rays attenuation of zircons from Cambodia and South Africa at different energies: A new technique for identifying the origin of gemstone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Limkitjaroenporn, P.; Kaewkhao, J.

    2014-10-01

    In this work, the gamma-rays interaction properties of zircons from Cambodia and South Africa have been studied. The densities of Cambodian and South African's zircons are 4.6716±0.0040 g/cm3 and 4.5505±0.0018 g/cm3, respectively. The mass attenuation coefficient and the effective atomic number of gemstones were measured with the gamma-ray in energies range 223-662 keV using the Compton scattering technique. The mass attenuation coefficients of both zircons decreased with the increasing of gamma-rays energies. The different mass attenuation coefficients between the two zircons observed at gamma-ray energies below 400 keV are attributed to the differences in the photoelectric interaction. The effective atomic number of zircons was decreased with the increasing of gamma-ray energies and showed totally different values between the Cambodia and South Africa sources. The origins of the two zircons could be successfully identified by the method based on gamma-rays interaction with matter with advantage of being a non-destructive testing.

  13. Correction for polychromatic aberration in computed tomography images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Naparstek, A.

    1979-01-01

    A method and apparatus for correcting a computed tomography image for polychromatic aberration caused by the non-linear interaction (i.e. the energy dependent attenuation characteristics) of different body constituents, such as bone and soft tissue, with a polychromatic X-ray beam are described in detail. An initial image is conventionally computed from path measurements made as source and detector assembly scan a body section. In the improvement, each image element of the initial computed image representing attenuation is recorded in a store and is compared with two thresholds, one representing bone and the other soft tissue. Depending on the element value relative to the thresholds, a proportion of the respective constituent is allocated to that element location and corresponding bone and soft tissue projections are determined and stored. An error projection generator calculates projections of polychromatic aberration errors in the raw image data from recalled bone and tissue projections using a multidimensional polynomial function which approximates the non-linear interaction involved. After filtering, these are supplied to an image reconstruction computer to compute image element correction values which are subtracted from raw image element values to provide a corrected reconstructed image for display. (author)

  14. Simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity in ToF PET/MRI with additional transmission data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    D’Hoe, Ester [MEDISIP Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group, Ghent University, IBBT-IBiTech, iMinds Medical IT, Ghent (Belgium); Department of Nuclear Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels (Belgium); Mollet, Pieter; Mikhaylova, Ekaterina [MEDISIP Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group, Ghent University, IBBT-IBiTech, iMinds Medical IT, Ghent (Belgium); Defrise, Michel [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels (Belgium); Vandenberghe, Stefaan [MEDISIP Medical Imaging and Signal Processing Group, Ghent University, IBBT-IBiTech, iMinds Medical IT, Ghent (Belgium)

    2015-05-18

    In Time-of-Flight PET/MRI systems accurate attenuation correction, based on the MRI image, is not straight forward. An alternative is attenuation correction based on emission data only. This is for instance done by simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity with the MLAA algorithm, but the method as originally proposed has certain limits. The attenuation can only be determined up to a constant and in regions of low tracer uptake, the method results in less accurate attenuation values. An adapted MLAA algorithm has been proposed to overcome this issues and was successfully applied on simulation studies. The so called MLAA+ algorithm uses regular PET emission data as well as transmission data. This transmission data is acquired after insertion of an annulus shaped transmission source into the scanner bore. The Time-of-Flight information allows to separate transmission and emission data in a simultaneous acquisition. With the transmission data, an MLTR-based reference attenuation image is reconstructed. Afterwards, this attenuation image is used in the MLAA+ simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and emission as a reference. We here propose the results of the reconstruction of patient data, based on the MLAA+ algorithm. In total, seven patients were scanned in a sequential PET/MRI scanner and afterwards in a CT scanner. The CT scan is used as an attenuation map to reconstruct the PET emission data with the well established MLEM algorithm. This reconstruction can be seen as the gold standard to which we can compare the MLAA and MLAA+ reconstructions. A preliminary study on one patient indicates that the MLAA+ algorithm results in better reconstructed emission and attenuation images as compared to the MLAA algorithm. If we compare the MLAA+ method to the gold standard, there is still room for improvement.

  15. Simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity in ToF PET/MRI with additional transmission data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    D’Hoe, Ester; Mollet, Pieter; Mikhaylova, Ekaterina; Defrise, Michel; Vandenberghe, Stefaan

    2015-01-01

    In Time-of-Flight PET/MRI systems accurate attenuation correction, based on the MRI image, is not straight forward. An alternative is attenuation correction based on emission data only. This is for instance done by simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and activity with the MLAA algorithm, but the method as originally proposed has certain limits. The attenuation can only be determined up to a constant and in regions of low tracer uptake, the method results in less accurate attenuation values. An adapted MLAA algorithm has been proposed to overcome this issues and was successfully applied on simulation studies. The so called MLAA+ algorithm uses regular PET emission data as well as transmission data. This transmission data is acquired after insertion of an annulus shaped transmission source into the scanner bore. The Time-of-Flight information allows to separate transmission and emission data in a simultaneous acquisition. With the transmission data, an MLTR-based reference attenuation image is reconstructed. Afterwards, this attenuation image is used in the MLAA+ simultaneous reconstruction of attenuation and emission as a reference. We here propose the results of the reconstruction of patient data, based on the MLAA+ algorithm. In total, seven patients were scanned in a sequential PET/MRI scanner and afterwards in a CT scanner. The CT scan is used as an attenuation map to reconstruct the PET emission data with the well established MLEM algorithm. This reconstruction can be seen as the gold standard to which we can compare the MLAA and MLAA+ reconstructions. A preliminary study on one patient indicates that the MLAA+ algorithm results in better reconstructed emission and attenuation images as compared to the MLAA algorithm. If we compare the MLAA+ method to the gold standard, there is still room for improvement.

  16. An attenuated projector-backprojector for iterative SPECT reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gullberg, G.T.; Pelc, N.J.; Huesman, R.H.; Budinger, T.F.; Malko, J.A.

    1985-01-01

    A new ray-driven projector-backprojector which can easily be adapted for hardware implementation is described and simulated in software. The projector-backprojector discretely models the attenuated Radon transform of a source distributed within an attenuating medium as line integrals of discrete pixels, obtained using the standard sampling technique of averaging the emission source or attenuation distribution over small square regions. Attenuation factors are calculated for each pixel during the projection and backprojection operations instead of using precalculated values. The calculation of the factors requires a specification of the attenuation distribution, estimated either from an assumed constant distribution and an approximate body outline or from transmission measurements. The distribution of attenuation coefficients is stored in memory for efficient access during the projection and backprojection operations. The reconstruction of the source distribution is obtained by using a conjugate gradient or SIRT type iterative algorithm which requires one projection and one backprojection operation for each iteration. (author)

  17. Inverted Nipple Correction with Selective Dissection of Lactiferous Ducts Using an Operative Microscope and a Traction Technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sowa, Yoshihiro; Itsukage, Sizu; Morita, Daiki; Numajiri, Toshiaki

    2017-10-01

    An inverted nipple is a common congenital condition in young women that may cause breastfeeding difficulty, psychological distress, repeated inflammation, and loss of sensation. Various surgical techniques have been reported for correction of inverted nipples, and all have advantages and disadvantages. Here, we report a new technique for correction of an inverted nipple using an operative microscope and traction that results in low recurrence and preserves lactation function and sensation. Between January 2010 and January 2013, we treated eight inverted nipples in seven patients with selective lactiferous duct dissection using an operative microscope. An opposite Z-plasty was added at the junction of the nipple and areola. Postoperatively, traction was applied through an apparatus made from a rubber gasket attached to a sterile syringe. Patients were followed up for 15-48 months. Adequate projection was achieved in all patients, and there was no wound dehiscence or complications such as infection. Three patients had successful pregnancies and subsequent breastfeeding that was not adversely affected by the treatment. There was no loss of sensation in any patient during the postoperative period. Our technique for treating an inverted nipple is effective and preserves lactation function and nipple sensation. The method maintains traction for a longer period, which we believe increases the success rate of the surgery for correction of severely inverted nipples. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

  18. Correction factor to determine total hydrogen+deuterium concentration obtained by inert gas fusion-thermal conductivity detection (IGF- TCD) technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramakumar, K.L.; Sesha Sayi, Y.; Shankaran, P.S.; Chhapru, G.C; Yadav, C.S.; Venugopal, V.

    2004-01-01

    The limitation of commercially available dedicated equipment based on Inert Gas Fusion- Thermal Conductivity Detection (IGF - TCD) for the determination of hydrogen+deuterium is described. For a given molar concentration, deuterium is underestimated vis a vis hydrogen because of lower thermal conductivity and not considering its molecular weight in calculations. An empirical correction factor based on the differences between the thermal conductivities of hydrogen, deuterium and the carrier gas argon, and the mole fraction of deuterium in the sample has been derived to correct the observed hydrogen+deuterium concentration. The corrected results obtained by IGF - TCD technique have been validated by determining hydrogen and deuterium contents in a few samples using an independent method based on hot vacuum extraction-quadrupole mass spectrometry (HVE-QMS). Knowledge of mole fraction of deuterium (XD) is necessary to effect the correction. The correction becomes insignificant at low X D values (XD < 0.2) as the precision in the IGF measurements is comparable with the extent of correction. (author)

  19. Evaluation of natural attenuation, bioventing, bioaugmentation and bioaugmentation-bioventing techniques, for the biodegradation of diesel in a sandy soil, through column experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muskus Morales, Angelica Maria; Santoyo Munoz, Claudia; Plata Quintero, Luijesmarth Silvia

    2013-01-01

    The present study was developed within an inter-institutional agreement between the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, UPB-BBGA and the Colombian Petroleum Institute-ICP, in order to provide a solution to an environmental problem that occurs in areas where hydrocarbons are handled and where sandy soils have been found to be contaminated with diesel fuel with concentrations up to 6% at a maximum depth of 80 cm. For this study, the soil samples were artificially contaminated with diesel fuel in order to evaluate Natural Attenuation, Bioventing, Bioaugmentation and Bioaugmentation-Bioventing soil remediation techniques through the use of column experiments. The design parameters, column dimensions, inflow, diesel concentration, dissolved oxygen, bacterial growth, and monitoring was defined. Bioaugmentation was performed inoculating a bacterial consortium produced by the ICP. The experimental setup was assembled in triplicate and was monitored through a period of four months. The experimental results showed that Bioventing technique was the most effective, reaching up to 97% diesel removal from the contaminated soil; with the Bioaugmentation - Bioventing, diesel fuel removal percentage was 75%, and the Natural Attenuation and Bioaugmentation techniques resulted in diesel fuel removal percentages not greater than 48%. This study showed that the microbial consortium evaluated and provided by the Colombian Petroleum Institute proved to be not efficient for potentializing bioremediation processes of sandy soils contaminated with diesel fuel.

  20. The development of an experimental set-up for the measurement of acoustic attenuation in sea-water and studies of the usefulness of acoustic attenuation as a parameter in oceanographic research

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barkmann, R.

    1982-01-01

    A senson element is described for the measurement of ultrasound wave attenuation in water. This device has been developed for in-situ measurements of the additional attenuation caused by particles or air bubbles. Results are presented for the attenuation variations induced by ions and solid-state particles. The method is based on the emission of a 80 μs acoustic sine wave burst at about 10 MHz in a water container of 10 cm length. Then the amplitudes of the decaying echos are registrated, which are caused by reflections at the transducer and the reflector. The sound attenuation coefficient is obtained from the amplitude ratio of the first two echos, taking into account corrections caused by diffraction and reflection effects. (orig./RW) [de

  1. Clinical evaluation of respiration-induced attenuation uncertainties in pulmonary 3D PET/CT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kruis, Matthijs F; van de Kamer, Jeroen B; Vogel, Wouter V; Belderbos, José Sa; Sonke, Jan-Jakob; van Herk, Marcel

    2015-12-01

    In contemporary positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) scanners, PET attenuation correction is performed by means of a CT-based attenuation map. Respiratory motion can however induce offsets between the PET and CT data. Studies have demonstrated that these offsets can cause errors in quantitative PET measures. The purpose of this study is to quantify the effects of respiration-induced CT differences on the attenuation correction of pulmonary 18-fluordeoxyglucose (FDG) 3D PET/CT in a patient population and to investigate contributing factors. For 32 lung cancer patients, 3D-CT, 4D-PET and 4D-CT data were acquired. The 4D FDG PET data were attenuation corrected (AC) using a free-breathing 3D-CT (3D-AC), the end-inspiration CT (EI-AC), the end-expiration CT (EE-AC) or phase-by-phase (P-AC). After reconstruction and AC, the 4D-PET data were averaged. In the 4Davg data, we measured maximum tumour standardised uptake value (SUV)max in the tumour, SUVmean in a lung volume of interest (VOI) and average SUV (SUVmean) in a muscle VOI. On the 4D-CT, we measured the lung volume differences and CT number changes between inhale and exhale in the lung VOI. Compared to P-AC, we found -2.3% (range -9.7% to 1.2%) lower tumour SUVmax in EI-AC and 2.0% (range -0.9% to 9.5%) higher SUVmax in EE-AC. No differences in the muscle SUV were found. The use of 3D-AC led to respiration-induced SUVmax differences up to 20% compared to the use of P-AC. SUVmean differences in the lung VOI between EI-AC and EE-AC correlated to average CT differences in this region (ρ = 0.83). SUVmax differences in the tumour correlated to the volume changes of the lungs (ρ = -0.55) and the motion amplitude of the tumour (ρ = 0.53), both as measured on the 4D-CT. Respiration-induced CT variations in clinical data can in extreme cases lead to SUV effects larger than 10% on PET attenuation correction. These differences were case specific and correlated to differences in CT number

  2. Hybrid PET/MR imaging: an algorithm to reduce metal artifacts from dental implants in Dixon-based attenuation map generation using a multiacquisition variable-resonance image combination sequence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burger, Irene A; Wurnig, Moritz C; Becker, Anton S; Kenkel, David; Delso, Gaspar; Veit-Haibach, Patrick; Boss, Andreas

    2015-01-01

    It was the aim of this study to implement an algorithm modifying Dixon-based MR imaging datasets for attenuation correction in hybrid PET/MR imaging with a multiacquisition variable resonance image combination (MAVRIC) sequence to reduce metal artifacts. After ethics approval, in 8 oncologic patients with dental implants data were acquired in a trimodality setup with PET/CT and MR imaging. The protocol included a whole-body 3-dimensional dual gradient-echo sequence (Dixon) used for MR imaging-based PET attenuation correction and a high-resolution MAVRIC sequence, applied in the oral area compromised by dental implants. An algorithm was implemented correcting the Dixon-based μ maps using the MAVRIC in areas of Dixon signal voids. The artifact size of the corrected μ maps was compared with the uncorrected MR imaging μ maps. The algorithm was robust in all patients. There was a significant reduction in mean artifact size of 70.5% between uncorrected and corrected μ maps from 697 ± 589 mm(2) to 202 ± 119 mm(2) (P = 0.016). The proposed algorithm could improve MR imaging-based attenuation correction in critical areas, when standard attenuation correction is hampered by metal artifacts, using a MAVRIC. © 2015 by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Inc.

  3. Development of a practical image-based scatter correction method for brain perfusion SPECT: comparison with the TEW method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shidahara, Miho; Kato, Takashi; Kawatsu, Shoji; Yoshimura, Kumiko; Ito, Kengo; Watabe, Hiroshi; Kim, Kyeong Min; Iida, Hidehiro; Kato, Rikio

    2005-01-01

    An image-based scatter correction (IBSC) method was developed to convert scatter-uncorrected into scatter-corrected SPECT images. The purpose of this study was to validate this method by means of phantom simulations and human studies with 99m Tc-labeled tracers, based on comparison with the conventional triple energy window (TEW) method. The IBSC method corrects scatter on the reconstructed image I AC μb with Chang's attenuation correction factor. The scatter component image is estimated by convolving I AC μb with a scatter function followed by multiplication with an image-based scatter fraction function. The IBSC method was evaluated with Monte Carlo simulations and 99m Tc-ethyl cysteinate dimer SPECT human brain perfusion studies obtained from five volunteers. The image counts and contrast of the scatter-corrected images obtained by the IBSC and TEW methods were compared. Using data obtained from the simulations, the image counts and contrast of the scatter-corrected images obtained by the IBSC and TEW methods were found to be nearly identical for both gray and white matter. In human brain images, no significant differences in image contrast were observed between the IBSC and TEW methods. The IBSC method is a simple scatter correction technique feasible for use in clinical routine. (orig.)

  4. Development of a practical image-based scatter correction method for brain perfusion SPECT: comparison with the TEW method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shidahara, Miho; Watabe, Hiroshi; Kim, Kyeong Min; Kato, Takashi; Kawatsu, Shoji; Kato, Rikio; Yoshimura, Kumiko; Iida, Hidehiro; Ito, Kengo

    2005-10-01

    An image-based scatter correction (IBSC) method was developed to convert scatter-uncorrected into scatter-corrected SPECT images. The purpose of this study was to validate this method by means of phantom simulations and human studies with 99mTc-labeled tracers, based on comparison with the conventional triple energy window (TEW) method. The IBSC method corrects scatter on the reconstructed image I(mub)AC with Chang's attenuation correction factor. The scatter component image is estimated by convolving I(mub)AC with a scatter function followed by multiplication with an image-based scatter fraction function. The IBSC method was evaluated with Monte Carlo simulations and 99mTc-ethyl cysteinate dimer SPECT human brain perfusion studies obtained from five volunteers. The image counts and contrast of the scatter-corrected images obtained by the IBSC and TEW methods were compared. Using data obtained from the simulations, the image counts and contrast of the scatter-corrected images obtained by the IBSC and TEW methods were found to be nearly identical for both gray and white matter. In human brain images, no significant differences in image contrast were observed between the IBSC and TEW methods. The IBSC method is a simple scatter correction technique feasible for use in clinical routine.

  5. Neutron borehole logging correction technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goldman, L.H.

    1978-01-01

    In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, a method and apparatus is disclosed for logging earth formations traversed by a borehole in which an earth formation is irradiated with neutrons and gamma radiation produced thereby in the formation and in the borehole is detected. A sleeve or shield for capturing neutrons from the borehole and producing gamma radiation characteristic of that capture is provided to give an indication of the contribution of borehole capture events to the total detected gamma radiation. It is then possible to correct from those borehole effects the total detected gamma radiation and any earth formation parameters determined therefrom

  6. Exact fan-beam and 4π-acquisition cone-beam SPECT algorithms with uniform attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Qiulin; Zeng, Gengsheng L.; Wu Jiansheng; Gullberg, Grant T.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents analytical fan-beam and cone-beam reconstruction algorithms that compensate for uniform attenuation in single photon emission computed tomography. First, a fan-beam algorithm is developed by obtaining a relationship between the two-dimensional (2D) Fourier transform of parallel-beam projections and fan-beam projections. Using this relationship, 2D Fourier transforms of equivalent parallel-beam projection data are obtained from the fan-beam projection data. Then a quasioptimal analytical reconstruction algorithm for uniformly attenuated Radon data, developed by Metz and Pan, is used to reconstruct the image. A cone-beam algorithm is developed by extending the fan-beam algorithm to 4π solid angle geometry. The cone-beam algorithm is also an exact algorithm

  7. Dose calculation in eye brachytherapy with Ir-192 threads using the Sievert integral and corrected by attenuation and scattering with the Meisberg polynomials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vivanco, M.G. Bernui de; Cardenas R, A.

    2006-01-01

    The ocular brachytherapy many times unique alternative to conserve the visual organ in patients of ocular cancer, one comes carrying out in the National Institute of Neoplastic Illnesses (INEN) using threads of Iridium 192; those which, they are placed in radial form on the interior surface of a spherical cap of gold of 18 K; the cap remains in the eye until reaching the prescribed dose by the doctor. The main objective of this work is to be able to calculate in a correct and practical way the one time that the treatment of ocular brachytherapy should last to reach the dose prescribed by the doctor. To reach this objective I use the Sievert integral corrected by attenuation effects and scattering (Meisberg polynomials); calculating it by the Simpson method. In the calculations by means of the Sievert integral doesn't take into account the scattering produced by the gold cap neither the variation of the constant of frequency of exposure with the distance. The calculations by means of Sievert integral are compared with those obtained using the Monte Carlo Penelope simulation code, where it is observed that they agree at distances of the surface of the cap greater or equal to 2mm. (Author)

  8. Analytical fan-beam and cone-beam reconstruction algorithms with uniform attenuation correction for SPECT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Qiulin; Zeng, Gengsheng L; Gullberg, Grant T

    2005-01-01

    In this paper, we developed an analytical fan-beam reconstruction algorithm that compensates for uniform attenuation in SPECT. The new fan-beam algorithm is in the form of backprojection first, then filtering, and is mathematically exact. The algorithm is based on three components. The first one is the established generalized central-slice theorem, which relates the 1D Fourier transform of a set of arbitrary data and the 2D Fourier transform of the backprojected image. The second one is the fact that the backprojection of the fan-beam measurements is identical to the backprojection of the parallel measurements of the same object with the same attenuator. The third one is the stable analytical reconstruction algorithm for uniformly attenuated Radon data, developed by Metz and Pan. The fan-beam algorithm is then extended into a cone-beam reconstruction algorithm, where the orbit of the focal point of the cone-beam imaging geometry is a circle. This orbit geometry does not satisfy Tuy's condition and the obtained cone-beam algorithm is an approximation. In the cone-beam algorithm, the cone-beam data are first backprojected into the 3D image volume; then a slice-by-slice filtering is performed. This slice-by-slice filtering procedure is identical to that of the fan-beam algorithm. Both the fan-beam and cone-beam algorithms are efficient, and computer simulations are presented. The new cone-beam algorithm is compared with Bronnikov's cone-beam algorithm, and it is shown to have better performance with noisy projections

  9. Impact of PET - CT motion correction in minimising the gross tumour volume in non-small cell lung cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Masoomi

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available AbstractObjective: To investigate the impact of respiratory motion on localization, and quantification lung lesions for the Gross Tumour Volume utilizing an in-house developed Auto3Dreg programme and dynamic NURBS-based cardiac-torso digitised phantom (NCAT. Methods: Respiratory motion may result in more than 30% underestimation of the SUV values of lung, liver and kidney tumour lesions. The motion correction technique adopted in this study was an image-based motion correction approach using, an in-house developed voxel-intensity-based and a multi-resolution multi-optimisation (MRMO algorithm. All the generated frames were co-registered to a reference frame using a time efficient scheme. The NCAT phantom was used to generate CT attenuation maps and activity distribution volumes for the lung regions. Quantitative assessment including Region of Interest (ROI, image fidelity and image correlation techniques, as well as semi-quantitative line profile analysis and qualitatively overlaying non-motion and motion corrected image frames were performed. Results: the largest transformation was observed in the Z-direction. The greatest translation was for the frame 3, end inspiration, and the smallest for the frame 5 which was closet frame to the reference frame at 67% expiration. Visual assessment of the lesion sizes, 20-60mm at 3 different locations, apex, mid and base of lung showed noticeable improvement for all the foci and their locations. The maximum improvements for the image fidelity were from 0.395 to 0.930 within the lesion volume of interest. The greatest improvement in activity concentration underestimation, post motion correction, was 7% below the true activity for the 20 mm lesion. The discrepancies in activity underestimation were reduced with increasing the lesion sizes. Overlay activity distribution on the attenuation map showed improved localization of the PET metabolic information to the anatomical CT images. Conclusion: The respiratory

  10. Investigation of Compton scattering correction methods in cardiac SPECT by Monte Carlo simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silva, A.M. Marques da; Furlan, A.M.; Robilotta, C.C.

    2001-01-01

    The goal of this work was the use of Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the effects of two scattering correction methods: dual energy window (DEW) and dual photopeak window (DPW), in quantitative cardiac SPECT reconstruction. MCAT torso-cardiac phantom, with 99m Tc and non-uniform attenuation map was simulated. Two different photopeak windows were evaluated in DEW method: 15% and 20%. Two 10% wide subwindows centered symmetrically within the photopeak were used in DPW method. Iterative ML-EM reconstruction with modified projector-backprojector for attenuation correction was applied. Results indicated that the choice of the scattering and photopeak windows determines the correction accuracy. For the 15% window, fitted scatter fraction gives better results than k = 0.5. For the 20% window, DPW is the best method, but it requires parameters estimation using Monte Carlo simulations. (author)

  11. Recommendations for processing atmospheric attenuated backscatter profiles from Vaisala CL31 ceilometers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kotthaus, Simone; O'Connor, Ewan; Münkel, Christoph; Charlton-Perez, Cristina; Haeffelin, Martial; Gabey, Andrew M.; Grimmond, C. Sue B.

    2016-08-01

    Ceilometer lidars are used for cloud base height detection, to probe aerosol layers in the atmosphere (e.g. detection of elevated layers of Saharan dust or volcanic ash), and to examine boundary layer dynamics. Sensor optics and acquisition algorithms can strongly influence the observed attenuated backscatter profiles; therefore, physical interpretation of the profiles requires careful application of corrections. This study addresses the widely deployed Vaisala CL31 ceilometer. Attenuated backscatter profiles are studied to evaluate the impact of both the hardware generation and firmware version. In response to this work and discussion within the CL31/TOPROF user community (TOPROF, European COST Action aiming to harmonise ground-based remote sensing networks across Europe), Vaisala released new firmware (versions 1.72 and 2.03) for the CL31 sensors. These firmware versions are tested against previous versions, showing that several artificial features introduced by the data processing have been removed. Hence, it is recommended to use this recent firmware for analysing attenuated backscatter profiles. To allow for consistent processing of historic data, correction procedures have been developed that account for artefacts detected in data collected with older firmware. Furthermore, a procedure is proposed to determine and account for the instrument-related background signal from electronic and optical components. This is necessary for using attenuated backscatter observations from any CL31 ceilometer. Recommendations are made for the processing of attenuated backscatter observed with Vaisala CL31 sensors, including the estimation of noise which is not provided in the standard CL31 output. After taking these aspects into account, attenuated backscatter profiles from Vaisala CL31 ceilometers are considered capable of providing valuable information for a range of applications including atmospheric boundary layer studies, detection of elevated aerosol layers, and model

  12. PETPVC: a toolbox for performing partial volume correction techniques in positron emission tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Benjamin A.; Cuplov, Vesna; Bousse, Alexandre; Mendes, Adriana; Thielemans, Kris; Hutton, Brian F.; Erlandsson, Kjell

    2016-11-01

    Positron emission tomography (PET) images are degraded by a phenomenon known as the partial volume effect (PVE). Approaches have been developed to reduce PVEs, typically through the utilisation of structural information provided by other imaging modalities such as MRI or CT. These methods, known as partial volume correction (PVC) techniques, reduce PVEs by compensating for the effects of the scanner resolution, thereby improving the quantitative accuracy. The PETPVC toolbox described in this paper comprises a suite of methods, both classic and more recent approaches, for the purposes of applying PVC to PET data. Eight core PVC techniques are available. These core methods can be combined to create a total of 22 different PVC techniques. Simulated brain PET data are used to demonstrate the utility of toolbox in idealised conditions, the effects of applying PVC with mismatched point-spread function (PSF) estimates and the potential of novel hybrid PVC methods to improve the quantification of lesions. All anatomy-based PVC techniques achieve complete recovery of the PET signal in cortical grey matter (GM) when performed in idealised conditions. Applying deconvolution-based approaches results in incomplete recovery due to premature termination of the iterative process. PVC techniques are sensitive to PSF mismatch, causing a bias of up to 16.7% in GM recovery when over-estimating the PSF by 3 mm. The recovery of both GM and a simulated lesion was improved by combining two PVC techniques together. The PETPVC toolbox has been written in C++, supports Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems, is open-source and publicly available.

  13. Correction of quantification errors in pelvic and spinal lesions caused by ignoring higher photon attenuation of bone in [{sup 18}F]NaF PET/MR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schramm, Georg, E-mail: georg.schramm@kuleuven.be; Maus, Jens; Hofheinz, Frank; Petr, Jan; Lougovski, Alexandr [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute of Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Dresden 01328 (Germany); Beuthien-Baumann, Bettina; Oehme, Liane [Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden 01307 (Germany); Platzek, Ivan [Department of Radiology, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden 01307 (Germany); Hoff, Jörg van den [Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Institute for Radiopharmaceutical Cancer Research, Dresden 01328 (Germany); Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Dresden 01307 (Germany)

    2015-11-15

    Purpose: MR-based attenuation correction (MRAC) in routine clinical whole-body positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) is based on tissue type segmentation. Due to lack of MR signal in cortical bone and the varying signal of spongeous bone, standard whole-body segmentation-based MRAC ignores the higher attenuation of bone compared to the one of soft tissue (MRAC{sub nobone}). The authors aim to quantify and reduce the bias introduced by MRAC{sub nobone} in the standard uptake value (SUV) of spinal and pelvic lesions in 20 PET/MRI examinations with [{sup 18}F]NaF. Methods: The authors reconstructed 20 PET/MR [{sup 18}F]NaF patient data sets acquired with a Philips Ingenuity TF PET/MRI. The PET raw data were reconstructed with two different attenuation images. First, the authors used the vendor-provided MRAC algorithm that ignores the higher attenuation of bone to reconstruct PET{sub nobone}. Second, the authors used a threshold-based algorithm developed in their group to automatically segment bone structures in the [{sup 18}F]NaF PET images. Subsequently, an attenuation coefficient of 0.11 cm{sup −1} was assigned to the segmented bone regions in the MRI-based attenuation image (MRAC{sub bone}) which was used to reconstruct PET{sub bone}. The automatic bone segmentation algorithm was validated in six PET/CT [{sup 18}F]NaF examinations. Relative SUV{sub mean} and SUV{sub max} differences between PET{sub bone} and PET{sub nobone} of 8 pelvic and 41 spinal lesions, and of other regions such as lung, liver, and bladder, were calculated. By varying the assigned bone attenuation coefficient from 0.11 to 0.13 cm{sup −1}, the authors investigated its influence on the reconstructed SUVs of the lesions. Results: The comparison of [{sup 18}F]NaF-based and CT-based bone segmentation in the six PET/CT patients showed a Dice similarity of 0.7 with a true positive rate of 0.72 and a false discovery rate of 0.33. The [{sup 18}F]NaF-based bone

  14. Iterative reconstruction with attenuation compensation from cone-beam projections acquired via nonplanar orbits

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zeng, G.L.; Weng, Y.; Gullberg, G.T.

    1997-01-01

    Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging with cone-beam collimators provides improved sensitivity and spatial resolution for imaging small objects with large field-of-view detectors. It is known that Tuy's cone-beam data sufficiency condition must be met to obtain artifact-free reconstructions. Even though Tuy's condition was derived for an attenuation-free situation, the authors hypothesize that an artifact-free reconstruction can be obtained even if the cone-beam data are attenuated, provided the imaging orbit satisfies Tuy's condition and the exact attenuation map is known. In the authors' studies, emission data are acquired using nonplanar circle-and-line orbits to acquire cone-beam data for tomographic reconstructions. An extended iterative ML-EM (maximum likelihood-expectation maximization) reconstruction algorithm is derived and used to reconstruct projection data with either a pre-acquired or assumed attenuation map. Quantitative accuracy of the attenuation corrected emission reconstruction is significantly improved

  15. Advanced hardware design for error correcting codes

    CERN Document Server

    Coussy, Philippe

    2015-01-01

    This book provides thorough coverage of error correcting techniques. It includes essential basic concepts and the latest advances on key topics in design, implementation, and optimization of hardware/software systems for error correction. The book’s chapters are written by internationally recognized experts in this field. Topics include evolution of error correction techniques, industrial user needs, architectures, and design approaches for the most advanced error correcting codes (Polar Codes, Non-Binary LDPC, Product Codes, etc). This book provides access to recent results, and is suitable for graduate students and researchers of mathematics, computer science, and engineering. • Examines how to optimize the architecture of hardware design for error correcting codes; • Presents error correction codes from theory to optimized architecture for the current and the next generation standards; • Provides coverage of industrial user needs advanced error correcting techniques.

  16. High-resolution gamma ray attenuation density measurements on mining exploration drill cores, including cut cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, P.-S.; Bourke, A.

    2017-01-01

    Physical property measurements are increasingly important in mining exploration. For density determinations on rocks, one method applicable on exploration drill cores relies on gamma ray attenuation. This non-destructive method is ideal because each measurement takes only 10 s, making it suitable for high-resolution logging. However calibration has been problematic. In this paper we present new empirical, site-specific correction equations for whole NQ and BQ cores. The corrections force back the gamma densities to the "true" values established by the immersion method. For the NQ core caliber, the density range extends to high values (massive pyrite, 5 g/cm3) and the correction is thought to be very robust. We also present additional empirical correction factors for cut cores which take into account the missing material. These "cut core correction factors", which are not site-specific, were established by making gamma density measurements on truncated aluminum cylinders of various residual thicknesses. Finally we show two examples of application for the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Canada. The gamma ray attenuation measurement system is part of a multi-sensor core logger which also determines magnetic susceptibility, geochemistry and mineralogy on rock cores, and performs line-scan imaging.

  17. Respiratory lung motion analysis using a nonlinear motion correction technique for respiratory-gated lung perfusion SPECT images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ue, Hidenori; Haneishi, Hideaki; Iwanaga, Hideyuki; Suga, Kazuyoshi

    2007-01-01

    This study evaluated the respiratory motion of lungs using a nonlinear motion correction technique for respiratory-gated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images. The motion correction technique corrects the respiratory motion of the lungs nonlinearly between two-phase images obtained by respiratory-gated SPECT. The displacement vectors resulting from respiration can be computed at every location of the lungs. Respiratory lung motion analysis is carried out by calculating the mean value of the body axis component of the displacement vector in each of the 12 small regions into which the lungs were divided. In order to enable inter-patient comparison, the 12 mean values were normalized by the length of the lung region along the direction of the body axis. This method was applied to 25 Technetium (Tc)-99m-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) perfusion SPECT images, and motion analysis results were compared with the diagnostic results. It was confirmed that the respiratory lung motion reflects the ventilation function. A statistically significant difference in the amount of the respiratory lung motion was observed between the obstructive pulmonary diseases and other conditions, based on an unpaired Student's t test (P<0.0001). A difference in the motion between normal lungs and lungs with a ventilation obstruction was detected by the proposed method. This method is effective for evaluating obstructive pulmonary diseases such as pulmonary emphysema and diffuse panbronchiolitis. (author)

  18. Chemical effect on total mass attenuation coefficients of V, Cr, Mn, Co and Ni

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soeguet, Oe.; Colak, S.; Bueyuekkasap, E.; Kuecuekoender, A.

    2002-01-01

    Detailed interpretation of data obtained from X-ray transmission measurements usually depends on the assumption that the contribution of each element is additive. This assumption yields the mixture rule for X-ray attenuation coefficients which is valid if molecular and chemical effects are negligible. Total mass attenuation coefficients of V, Cr, Mn, Co and Ni in various their compounds was measured. Absorption corrections were carried on data for ligands in the compounds. It was found that V, Cr, Mn, Co and Ni had different total mass attenuation coefficients in the different compounds. Results were compared with theoretical values of HUBBELL and SELTZER. (author)

  19. Attenuation data of point isotropic neutron sources up to 400MeV in water, ordinary concrete and iron

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kotegawa, Hiroshi; Tanaka, Shun-ichi; Sakamoto, Yukio; Nakane, Yoshihiro; Nakashima, Hiroshi [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Tokai, Ibaraki (Japan). Tokai Research Establishment

    1994-08-01

    A comprehensive attenuation data of dose equivalent for point isotropic monoenergetic neutron sources up to 400MeV in infinite shields of water, ordinary concrete and iron has been calculated using the ANISN-JR code and a neutron-photon multigroup macroscopic cross section HIL086R. The attenuation factors were fitted to a 4th order polynomial exponent formula, making possible to use easily for point kernel codes. Additional data in finite shielding geometry was also calculated to correct the effect due to infinite medium, giving the maximum correction of 0.23 in the region for more 400 cm distance from neutron source of 400 MeV in iron shield. Effective attenuation length for monoenergetic neutrons have been studied in detail. Subsequently, it was shown that the attenuation length was strongly dependent upon the penetration length and the Moyer`s formula using a single attenuation length brought large error into the dose estimation behind thick shields for the intermediate energy neutrons up to 400 MeV. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that there was difference more than 50 % in the attenuation length of iron between the calculations with HIL086R and HIL086 because of the self-shielding effect. (author).

  20. Corrective measures evaluation report for Tijeras Arroyo groundwater.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Witt, Johnathan L (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID); Orr, Brennon R. (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID); Dettmers, Dana L. (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID); Hall, Kevin A. (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID); Howard, M. Hope (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID)

    2005-08-01

    This Corrective Measures Evaluation report was prepared as directed by a Compliance Order on Consent issued by the New Mexico Environment Department to document the process of selecting the preferred remedial alternative for Tijeras Arroyo Groundwater. Supporting information includes background concerning the site conditions and potential receptors and an overview of work performed during the Corrective Measures Evaluation. The evaluation of remedial alternatives included identifying and describing four remedial alternatives, an overview of the evaluation criteria and approach, comparing remedial alternatives to the criteria, and selecting the preferred remedial alternative. As a result of the Corrective Measures Evaluation, monitored natural attenuation of the contaminants of concern (trichloroethene and nitrate) is the preferred remedial alternative for implementation as the corrective measure for Tijeras Arroyo Groundwater. Design criteria to meet cleanup goals and objectives and the corrective measures implementation schedule for the preferred remedial alternative are also presented.

  1. Biomass of Eucalyptus grandis coffs harbour, by growth-ring identification using the gamma-ray attenuation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rezende, M.A.

    1984-01-01

    Samples of 13-year old Eucalyptus grandis were analysed using the gamma-ray attenuation technique. The density was obtained through the profile, and it was then possible to determine the mean density for each annual ring of the samples. The period from formation of two consecutive late-wood rings, i.e., two high density peaks, was considered as one year of tree life. An attempt was made to determine the annual increments at breast-heigh diameter, per height unit, based on volume, mass and energy, trying to estimate the cutting age for each of these elements and the relationship between them. Emphasis was also put on the importance with which density variations, and core to cork calorific value, should be considered when determining the cutting age. (M.A.C.) [pt

  2. Assessment of precipitates of isothermal aged austenitic stainless steel using measurement techniques of ultrasonic attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hun Hee; Kim, Hak Joon; Song, Sung Jin; Lim, Byeong Soo; Kim, Kyung Cho

    2014-01-01

    AISI 316L stainless steel is widely used as a structural material of high temperature thermoelectric power plants, since austenitic stainless steel has excellent mechanical properties. However, creep damage is generated in these components, which are operated under a high temperature and high pressure environment. Several researches have been done on how microstructural changes of precipitates affect to the macroscopic mechanical properties. And they investigate the relation between ultrasonic parameters and metallurgical results. But, these studies are limited by experiment results only. In this paper, attenuations of ultrasonic with isothermal damaged AISI 316L stainless steel were measured. Also, simulation of ultrasonic attenuation with variation of area fraction and size of precipitates were performed. And, from the measured attenuations, metallographic data and simulation results, we investigate the relations between the ultrasonic attenuations and the material properties which is area fraction of precipitates for the isothermal damaged austenitic stainless steel specimens. And, we studied parametric study for investigation of the relation between ultrasonic parameters and metallurgical results of the isothermal damaged AISI 316L stainless steel specimens using numerical methods.

  3. UV Digital Imaging of Sulfur Dioxide Emissions: Enhancing the Technique With Empirical Corrections

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalton, M. P.; Bluth, G. J.; Shannon, J. M.; Watson, I. M.

    2006-12-01

    SO2 emission measurements are an important component of monitoring volcanic processes, providing insight into the driving forces behind eruptions. Current spectrometric methods (COSPEC, DOAS) typically measure only a cross-section of the plume, which may not be representative of the actual emission flux, and coupled with the difficulty in determining wind speeds affecting the air mass, often leads to erratic SO2 flux values. In order to address these problems, we have developed a ground-based ultraviolet digital camera for the imaging and measurement of SO2 volcanic plumes. This camera improves on the spectrometric methods of SO2 observation by capturing a large portion of the plume in one measurement- a single image. The UV digital camera can also record multiple images every minute, producing a data set that is more comparable with other monitoring techniques. The UV digital camera has proven capable of imaging volcanic plumes under fairly demanding conditions, and determining SO2 fluxes that have roughly agreed with other SO2 measurement techniques. Initial field tests suggest that the data produced by the UV camera are significantly affected by atmospheric scattering. To better evaluate the errors and limitations associated with this new instrument, field experiments have been conducted to assess the effects that background sky brightness, meteorological conditions, and distance to the target have on the calculated SO2 concentrations and flux measurements. Our results will allow us to more accurately model and correct for changing atmospheric conditions and quantify the error associated with atmospheric background scattering. These corrections will make this remarkable new instrument a more accurate and valuable tool for monitoring volcanic emissions.

  4. Comparative CO2 flux measurements by eddy covariance technique using open- and closed-path gas analysers over the equatorial Pacific Ocean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fumiyoshi Kondo

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Direct comparison of air–sea CO2 fluxes by open-path eddy covariance (OPEC and closed-path eddy covariance (CPEC techniques was carried out over the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Previous studies over oceans have shown that the CO2 flux by OPEC was larger than the bulk CO2 flux using the gas transfer velocity estimated by the mass balance technique, while the CO2 flux by CPEC agreed with the bulk CO2 flux. We investigated a traditional conflict between the CO2 flux by the eddy covariance technique and the bulk CO2 flux, and whether the CO2 fluctuation attenuated using the closed-path analyser can be measured with sufficient time responses to resolve small CO2 flux over oceans. Our results showed that the closed-path analyser using a short sampling tube and a high volume air pump can be used to measure the small CO2 fluctuation over the ocean. Further, the underestimated CO2 flux by CPEC due to the attenuated fluctuation can be corrected by the bandpass covariance method; its contribution was almost identical to that of H2O flux. The CO2 flux by CPEC agreed with the total CO2 flux by OPEC with density correction; however, both of them are one order of magnitude larger than the bulk CO2 flux.

  5. A novel phantom design for emission tomography enabling scatter- and attenuation-''free'' single-photon emission tomography imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larsson, S.A.; Johansson, L.; Jonsson, C.; Pagani, M.; Jacobsson, H.

    2000-01-01

    ''real'' images degraded by photon scattering and attenuation losses. The method can serve as a tool for experimental validation and intercomparison of attenuation and scatter correction methods. Moreover, the large flexibility of this phantom design will allow investigations of arbitrary activity distributions and autoradiography or other imaging techniques such as PET, x-ray computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. (orig.)

  6. Thermal expansion and density measurements of molten and solid materials at high temperatures by the gamma attenuation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drotning, W.D.

    1979-05-01

    An apparatus is described for the measurement of the density and thermal expansion of molten materials to 3200 0 K using the gamma attenuation technique. The precision of the experimental technique was analytically examined for both absolute and relative density determinations. Three analytical expressions used to reduce data for liquid density determinations were evaluated for their precision. Each allows use of a different set of input data parameters, which can be chosen based on experimental considerations. Using experimentally reasonable values for the precision of the parameters yields a similar resultant density precision from the three methods, on the order of 0.2%. The analytical method for measurements of the linear thermal expansion of solids by the gamma method is also described. To demonstrate the use of the technique on reasonably well-characterized systems, data are presented for (1) the density and thermal expansion of molten tin, lead, and aluminum to 1300 0 K, (2) the thermal expansion of solid aluminum to the melting point, and (3) the thermal expansion of a low melting point glass through the transition temperature and melting region. The data agree very well with published results using other methods where such published data exist

  7. Implication of seismic attenuation for gas hydrate resource characterization, Mallik, Mackenzie Delta, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bellefleur, G.; Riedel, M.; Brent, T.; Wright, F.; Dallimore, S. R.

    2007-10-01

    Wave attenuation is an important physical property of hydrate-bearing sediments that is rarely taken into account in site characterization with seismic data. We present a field example showing improved images of hydrate-bearing sediments on seismic data after compensation of attenuation effects. Compressional quality factors estimated from zero-offset Vertical Seismic Profiling data acquired at Mallik, Northwest Territories, Canada, demonstrate significant wave attenuation for hydrate-bearing sediments. These results are in agreement with previous attenuation estimates obtained from sonic logs and crosshole data at different frequency intervals. The application of an inverse Q-filter to compensate attenuation effects of permafrost and hydrate-bearing sediments improved the resolution of surface 3D seismic data and its correlation with log data, particularly for the shallowest gas hydrate interval. Compensation of the attenuation effects of the permafrost likely explains most of the improvements for the shallow gas hydrate zone. Our results show that characterization of the Mallik gas hydrates with seismic data not corrected for attenuation would tend to overestimate thicknesses and lateral extent of hydrate-bearing strata and hence, the volume of hydrates in place.

  8. Patient position alters attenuation effects in multipinhole cardiac SPECT.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmins, Rachel; Ruddy, Terrence D; Wells, R Glenn

    2015-03-01

    Dedicated cardiac cameras offer improved sensitivity over conventional SPECT cameras. Sensitivity gains are obtained by large numbers of detectors and novel collimator arrangements such as an array of multiple pinholes that focus on the heart. Pinholes lead to variable amounts of attenuation as a source is moved within the camera field of view. This study evaluated the effects of this variable attenuation on myocardial SPECT images. Computer simulations were performed for a set of nine point sources distributed in the left ventricular wall (LV). Sources were placed at the location of the heart in both an anthropomorphic and a water-cylinder computer phantom. Sources were translated in x, y, and z by up to 5 cm from the center. Projections were simulated with and without attenuation and the changes in attenuation were compared. A LV with an inferior wall defect was also simulated in both phantoms over the same range of positions. Real camera data were acquired on a Discovery NM530c camera (GE Healthcare, Haifa, Israel) for five min in list-mode using an anthropomorphic phantom (DataSpectrum, Durham, NC) with 100 MBq of Tc-99m in the LV. Images were taken over the same range of positions as the simulations and were compared based on the summed perfusion score (SPS), defect width, and apparent defect uptake for each position. Point sources in the water phantom showed absolute changes in attenuation of ≤8% over the range of positions and relative changes of ≤5% compared to the apex. In the anthropomorphic computer simulations, absolute change increased to 20%. The changes in relative attenuation caused a change in SPS of position-dependent changes were removed with attenuation correction. Translation of a source relative to a multipinhole camera caused only small changes in homogeneous phantoms with SPS changing position-dependent changes in attenuation.

  9. [The role of information and training for workers on the correct use of earplugs in assessing real noise attenuation with E-A-RfitTM system].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cassano, Filippo; Aloise, Ingrid; Labianca, Graziano; Gaccione, Vincenzo; Mazzotta, Cosimo; Cardascia, Francesco; Garavaglia, Michela; Germano, Candida; Dentamaro, Antonella; Di Lorenzo, Luigi

    2015-07-08

    Laboratory levels of perceived noise attenuation as heard using earplugs are always higher than the real levels that can be achieved at the workplace. The employer is bound by law to supply individual hearing protection devices (HPDs), to assess their efficiency and efficacy, and also to inform and train workers on the correct use of HPDs. This study assessed the real "personal attenuation rating" (PAR) of HPDs  used by workers at the workplace, before (PAR A) and after (PAR B) specific and individual training. These values were also compared with the theoretical  "single number rating" (SNR) provided by the manufacturer. The study covered all the 65 male employees of an awnings factory, using the E-A-RfitTM computerized method, which can measure PARs, based on the difference between sound pressures recorded by an "outside" microphone and an "inside" microphone placed in the auditory canal, with earplugs inserted, before (PAR A) and after (PAR B), i.e., the specific and individual training described above. PARs B were always definitely higher than PARs A, both for all tested frequencies and the corresponding average values, which were automatically detected by E-A-RfitTM. Furthermore the same PARs B were  decidedly lower than the respective SNRs supplied by the manufacturer on the basis of laboratory assessments. These data prove that specific and individual training for workers improves the performance of earplugs, contributing to a more appropriate secondary prevention of the effects of noise on hearing; they also prove that the real attenuation recorded in workers are always lower than those supplied by the manufacturer of the devices. It is recommended that the E-A-RfitTM system, which allowed these results to be achieved objectively, should be normally used to assess exposure to noise in workers, when HPDs are worn.

  10. Effects of surface-mapping corrections and synthetic-aperture focusing techniques on ultrasonic imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barna, B.A.; Johnson, J.A.

    1981-01-01

    Improvements in ultrasonic imaging that can be obtained using algorithms that map the surface of targets are evaluated. This information is incorporated in the application of synthetic-aperture focusing techniques which also have the potential to improve image resolution. Images obtained using directed-beam (flat) transducers and the focused transducers normally used for synthetic-aperture processing are quantitatively compared by using no processing, synthetic-aperture processing with no corrections for surface variations, and synthetic-aperture processing with surface mapping. The unprocessed images have relatively poor lateral resolutions because echoes from two adjacent reflectors show interference effects which prevent their identification even if the spacing is larger than the single-hole resolution. The synthetic-aperture-processed images show at least a twofold improvement in lateral resolution and greatly reduced interference effects in multiple-hole images compared to directed-beam images. Perhaps more importantly, in images of test blocks with substantial surface variations portions of the image are displaced from their actual positions by several wavelengths. To correct for this effect an algorithm has been developed for calculating the surface variations. The corrected images produced using this algorithm are accurate within the experimental error. In addition, the same algorithm, when applied to the directed-beam data, produced images that are not only accurately positioned, but that also have a resolution comparable to conventional synthetic-aperture-processed images obtained from focused-transducer data. This suggests that using synthetic-aperture processing on the type of data normally collected during directed-beam ultrasonic inspections would eliminate the need to rescan for synthetic-aperture enhancement

  11. Development of a practical image-based scatter correction method for brain perfusion SPECT: comparison with the TEW method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shidahara, Miho; Kato, Takashi; Kawatsu, Shoji; Yoshimura, Kumiko; Ito, Kengo [National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology Research Institute, Department of Brain Science and Molecular Imaging, Obu, Aichi (Japan); Watabe, Hiroshi; Kim, Kyeong Min; Iida, Hidehiro [National Cardiovascular Center Research Institute, Department of Investigative Radiology, Suita (Japan); Kato, Rikio [National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Department of Radiology, Obu (Japan)

    2005-10-01

    An image-based scatter correction (IBSC) method was developed to convert scatter-uncorrected into scatter-corrected SPECT images. The purpose of this study was to validate this method by means of phantom simulations and human studies with {sup 99m}Tc-labeled tracers, based on comparison with the conventional triple energy window (TEW) method. The IBSC method corrects scatter on the reconstructed image I{sub AC}{sup {mu}}{sup b} with Chang's attenuation correction factor. The scatter component image is estimated by convolving I{sub AC}{sup {mu}}{sup b} with a scatter function followed by multiplication with an image-based scatter fraction function. The IBSC method was evaluated with Monte Carlo simulations and {sup 99m}Tc-ethyl cysteinate dimer SPECT human brain perfusion studies obtained from five volunteers. The image counts and contrast of the scatter-corrected images obtained by the IBSC and TEW methods were compared. Using data obtained from the simulations, the image counts and contrast of the scatter-corrected images obtained by the IBSC and TEW methods were found to be nearly identical for both gray and white matter. In human brain images, no significant differences in image contrast were observed between the IBSC and TEW methods. The IBSC method is a simple scatter correction technique feasible for use in clinical routine. (orig.)

  12. Application of Synthetic Storm Technique for Diurnal and Seasonal Variation of Slant Path Ka-Band Rain Attenuation Time Series over a Subtropical Location in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. S. Ojo

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available As technology advances and more demands are on satellite services, rain-induced attenuation still creates one of the most damaging effects of the atmosphere on the quality of radio communication signals, especially those operating above 10 GHz. System designers therefore require statistical information on rain-induced attenuation over the coverage area in order to determine the appropriate transmitter and receiver characteristics to be adopted. This paper presents results on the time-varying rain characterization and diurnal variation of slant path rain attenuation in the Ka-band frequency simulated with synthetic storm techniques over a subtropical location in South Africa using 10-year rain rate time-series data. The analysis is based on the CDF of one-minute rain rate; time-series seasonal variation of rain rate observed over four time intervals: 00:00–06:00, 06:00–12:00, 12:00–18:00, and 18:00–24:00; diurnal fades margin; and diurnal variation of rain attenuation. Comparison was also made between the synthesized values and measured attenuation data. The predicted statistics are in good agreement with those obtained from the propagation beacon measurement in the area. The overall results will be needed for an acceptable planning that can effectively reduce the fade margin to a very low value for an optimum data communication over this area.

  13. A scatter-corrected list-mode reconstruction and a practical scatter/random approximation technique for dynamic PET imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng, J-C; Rahmim, Arman; Blinder, Stephan; Camborde, Marie-Laure; Raywood, Kelvin; Sossi, Vesna

    2007-01-01

    We describe an ordinary Poisson list-mode expectation maximization (OP-LMEM) algorithm with a sinogram-based scatter correction method based on the single scatter simulation (SSS) technique and a random correction method based on the variance-reduced delayed-coincidence technique. We also describe a practical approximate scatter and random-estimation approach for dynamic PET studies based on a time-averaged scatter and random estimate followed by scaling according to the global numbers of true coincidences and randoms for each temporal frame. The quantitative accuracy achieved using OP-LMEM was compared to that obtained using the histogram-mode 3D ordinary Poisson ordered subset expectation maximization (3D-OP) algorithm with similar scatter and random correction methods, and they showed excellent agreement. The accuracy of the approximated scatter and random estimates was tested by comparing time activity curves (TACs) as well as the spatial scatter distribution from dynamic non-human primate studies obtained from the conventional (frame-based) approach and those obtained from the approximate approach. An excellent agreement was found, and the time required for the calculation of scatter and random estimates in the dynamic studies became much less dependent on the number of frames (we achieved a nearly four times faster performance on the scatter and random estimates by applying the proposed method). The precision of the scatter fraction was also demonstrated for the conventional and the approximate approach using phantom studies

  14. Radiometric Non-Uniformity Characterization and Correction of Landsat 8 OLI Using Earth Imagery-Based Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Frank Pesta

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Landsat 8 is the first satellite in the Landsat mission to acquire spectral imagery of the Earth using pushbroom sensor instruments. As a result, there are almost 70,000 unique detectors on the Operational Land Imager (OLI alone to monitor. Due to minute variations in manufacturing and temporal degradation, every detector will exhibit a different behavior when exposed to uniform radiance, causing a noticeable striping artifact in collected imagery. Solar collects using the OLI’s on-board solar diffuser panels are the primary method of characterizing detector level non-uniformity. This paper reports on an approach for using a side-slither maneuver to estimate relative detector gains within each individual focal plane module (FPM in the OLI. A method to characterize cirrus band detector-level non-uniformity using deep convective clouds (DCCs is also presented. These approaches are discussed, and then, correction results are compared with the diffuser-based method. Detector relative gain stability is assessed using the side-slither technique. Side-slither relative gains were found to correct streaking in test imagery with quality comparable to diffuser-based gains (within 0.005% for VNIR/PAN; 0.01% for SWIR and identified a 0.5% temporal drift over a year. The DCC technique provided relative gains that visually decreased striping over the operational calibration in many images.

  15. Signal Attenuation Curve for Different Surface Detector Arrays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vicha, J.; Travnicek, P.; Nosek, D.; Ebr, J.

    2014-06-01

    Modern cosmic ray experiments consisting of large array of particle detectors measure the signals of electromagnetic or muon components or their combination. The correction for an amount of atmosphere passed is applied to the surface detector signal before its conversion to the shower energy. Either Monte Carlo based approach assuming certain composition of primaries or indirect estimation using real data and assuming isotropy of arrival directions can be used. Toy surface arrays of different sensitivities to electromagnetic and muon components are assumed in MC simulations to study effects imposed on attenuation curves for varying composition or possible high energy anisotropy. The possible sensitivity of the attenuation curve to the mass composition is also tested for different array types focusing on a future apparatus that can separate muon and electromagnetic component signals.

  16. Image transfer with spatial coherence for aberration corrected transmission electron microscopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hosokawa, Fumio; Sawada, Hidetaka; Shinkawa, Takao; Sannomiya, Takumi

    2016-01-01

    The formula of spatial coherence involving an aberration up to six-fold astigmatism is derived for aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Transfer functions for linear imaging are calculated using the newly derived formula with several residual aberrations. Depending on the symmetry and origin of an aberration, the calculated transfer function shows characteristic symmetries. The aberrations that originate from the field’s components, having uniformity along the z direction, namely, the n-fold astigmatism, show rotational symmetric damping of the coherence. The aberrations that originate from the field’s derivatives with respect to z, such as coma, star, and three lobe, show non-rotational symmetric damping. It is confirmed that the odd-symmetric wave aberrations have influences on the attenuation of an image via spatial coherence. Examples of image simulations of haemoglobin and Si [211] are shown by using the spatial coherence for an aberration-corrected electron microscope. - Highlights: • The formula of partial coherence for aberration corrected TEM is derived. • Transfer functions are calculated with several residual aberrations. • The calculated transfer function shows the characteristic damping. • The odd-symmetric wave aberrations can cause the attenuation of image via coherence. • The examples of aberration corrected TEM image simulations are shown.

  17. Image transfer with spatial coherence for aberration corrected transmission electron microscopes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hosokawa, Fumio, E-mail: hosokawa@bio-net.co.jp [BioNet Ltd., 2-3-28 Nishikityo, Tachikwa, Tokyo (Japan); Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midoriku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan); Sawada, Hidetaka [JEOL (UK) Ltd., JEOL House, Silver Court, Watchmead, Welwyn Garden City, Herts AL7 1LT (United Kingdom); Shinkawa, Takao [BioNet Ltd., 2-3-28 Nishikityo, Tachikwa, Tokyo (Japan); Sannomiya, Takumi [Tokyo Institute of Technology, 4259 Nagatsuta, Midoriku, Yokohama 226-8503 (Japan)

    2016-08-15

    The formula of spatial coherence involving an aberration up to six-fold astigmatism is derived for aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy. Transfer functions for linear imaging are calculated using the newly derived formula with several residual aberrations. Depending on the symmetry and origin of an aberration, the calculated transfer function shows characteristic symmetries. The aberrations that originate from the field’s components, having uniformity along the z direction, namely, the n-fold astigmatism, show rotational symmetric damping of the coherence. The aberrations that originate from the field’s derivatives with respect to z, such as coma, star, and three lobe, show non-rotational symmetric damping. It is confirmed that the odd-symmetric wave aberrations have influences on the attenuation of an image via spatial coherence. Examples of image simulations of haemoglobin and Si [211] are shown by using the spatial coherence for an aberration-corrected electron microscope. - Highlights: • The formula of partial coherence for aberration corrected TEM is derived. • Transfer functions are calculated with several residual aberrations. • The calculated transfer function shows the characteristic damping. • The odd-symmetric wave aberrations can cause the attenuation of image via coherence. • The examples of aberration corrected TEM image simulations are shown.

  18. Motion correction in neurological fan beam SPECT using motion tracking and fully 3D reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fulton, R.R.; Hutton, B.; Eberl, S.; Meikle, S.; Braun, M.; Westmead Hospital, Westmead, NSW; University of Technology, Sydney, NSW

    1998-01-01

    Full text: We have previously proposed the use of fully three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction and continuous monitoring of head position to correct for motion artifacts in neurological SPECT and PET. Knowledge of the motion during acquisition provided by a head tracking system can be used to reposition the projection data in space in such a way as to negate motion effects during reconstruction. The reconstruction algorithm must deal with variations in the projection geometry resulting from differences in the timing and nature of motion between patients. Rotational movements about any axis other than the camera's axis of rotation give rise to projection geometries which necessitate the use of a fully 3D reconstruction algorithm. Our previous work with computer simulations assuming parallel hole collimation demonstrated the feasibility of correcting for motion. We have now refined our iterative 3D reconstruction algorithm to support fan beam data and attenuation correction, and developed a practical head tracking system for use on a Trionix Triad SPECT system. The correction technique has been tested in fan beam SPECT studies of the 3D Hoffman brain phantom. Arbitrary movements were applied to the phantom during acquisition and recorded by the head tracker which monitored the position and orientation of the phantom throughout the study. 3D reconstruction was then performed using the motion data provided by the tracker. The accuracy of correction was assessed by comparing the corrected images with a motion free study acquired immediately beforehand, visually and by calculating mean squared error (MSE). Motion correction reduced distortion perceptibly and, depending on the motions applied, improved MSE by up to an order of magnitude. 3D reconstruction of the 128x128x128 data set took 20 minutes on a SUN Ultra 1 workstation. The results of these phantom experiments suggest that the technique can effectively compensate for head motion under clinical SPECT imaging

  19. SEISMIC ATTENUATION FOR RESERVOIR CHARACTERIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joel Walls; M.T. Taner; Gary Mavko; Jack Dvorkin

    2002-01-01

    In Section 1 of this first report we will describe the work we are doing to collect and analyze rock physics data for the purpose of modeling seismic attenuation from other measurable quantities such as porosity, water saturation, clay content and net stress. This work and other empirical methods to be presented later, will form the basis for ''Q pseudo-well modeling'' that is a key part of this project. In Section 2 of this report, we will show the fundamentals of a new method to extract Q, dispersion, and attenuation from field seismic data. The method is called Gabor-Morlet time-frequency decomposition. This technique has a number of advantages including greater stability and better time resolution than spectral ratio methods.

  20. Self-absorption corrections for well-type germanium detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Appleby, P.G.; Richardson, N.; Nolan, P.J.

    1992-01-01

    Corrections for self-absorption are of vital importance to accurate determination by gamma spectrometry of radionuclides such as 210 Pb, 241 Am and 234 Th which emit low energy gamma radiation. A simple theoretical model for determining the necessary corrections for well-type germanium detectors is presented. In this model, self-absorption factors are expressed in terms of the mass attenuation coefficient of the sample and a parameter characterising the well geometry. Experimental measurements of self-absorption are used to evaluate the model and to determine a semi-empirical algorithm for improved estimates of the geometrical parameter. (orig.)

  1. Ultralow dose computed tomography attenuation correction for pediatric PET CT using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brady, Samuel L.; Shulkin, Barry L.

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: To develop ultralow dose computed tomography (CT) attenuation correction (CTAC) acquisition protocols for pediatric positron emission tomography CT (PET CT). Methods: A GE Discovery 690 PET CT hybrid scanner was used to investigate the change to quantitative PET and CT measurements when operated at ultralow doses (10–35 mA s). CT quantitation: noise, low-contrast resolution, and CT numbers for 11 tissue substitutes were analyzed in-phantom. CT quantitation was analyzed to a reduction of 90% volume computed tomography dose index (0.39/3.64; mGy) from baseline. To minimize noise infiltration, 100% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR) was used for CT reconstruction. PET images were reconstructed with the lower-dose CTAC iterations and analyzed for: maximum body weight standardized uptake value (SUV bw ) of various diameter targets (range 8–37 mm), background uniformity, and spatial resolution. Radiation dose and CTAC noise magnitude were compared for 140 patient examinations (76 post-ASiR implementation) to determine relative dose reduction and noise control. Results: CT numbers were constant to within 10% from the nondose reduced CTAC image for 90% dose reduction. No change in SUV bw , background percent uniformity, or spatial resolution for PET images reconstructed with CTAC protocols was found down to 90% dose reduction. Patient population effective dose analysis demonstrated relative CTAC dose reductions between 62% and 86% (3.2/8.3–0.9/6.2). Noise magnitude in dose-reduced patient images increased but was not statistically different from predose-reduced patient images. Conclusions: Using ASiR allowed for aggressive reduction in CT dose with no change in PET reconstructed images while maintaining sufficient image quality for colocalization of hybrid CT anatomy and PET radioisotope uptake

  2. Ultralow dose computed tomography attenuation correction for pediatric PET CT using adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brady, Samuel L., E-mail: samuel.brady@stjude.org [Division of Diagnostic Imaging, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105 (United States); Shulkin, Barry L. [Nuclear Medicine and Department of Radiological Sciences, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105 (United States)

    2015-02-15

    Purpose: To develop ultralow dose computed tomography (CT) attenuation correction (CTAC) acquisition protocols for pediatric positron emission tomography CT (PET CT). Methods: A GE Discovery 690 PET CT hybrid scanner was used to investigate the change to quantitative PET and CT measurements when operated at ultralow doses (10–35 mA s). CT quantitation: noise, low-contrast resolution, and CT numbers for 11 tissue substitutes were analyzed in-phantom. CT quantitation was analyzed to a reduction of 90% volume computed tomography dose index (0.39/3.64; mGy) from baseline. To minimize noise infiltration, 100% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR) was used for CT reconstruction. PET images were reconstructed with the lower-dose CTAC iterations and analyzed for: maximum body weight standardized uptake value (SUV{sub bw}) of various diameter targets (range 8–37 mm), background uniformity, and spatial resolution. Radiation dose and CTAC noise magnitude were compared for 140 patient examinations (76 post-ASiR implementation) to determine relative dose reduction and noise control. Results: CT numbers were constant to within 10% from the nondose reduced CTAC image for 90% dose reduction. No change in SUV{sub bw}, background percent uniformity, or spatial resolution for PET images reconstructed with CTAC protocols was found down to 90% dose reduction. Patient population effective dose analysis demonstrated relative CTAC dose reductions between 62% and 86% (3.2/8.3–0.9/6.2). Noise magnitude in dose-reduced patient images increased but was not statistically different from predose-reduced patient images. Conclusions: Using ASiR allowed for aggressive reduction in CT dose with no change in PET reconstructed images while maintaining sufficient image quality for colocalization of hybrid CT anatomy and PET radioisotope uptake.

  3. An FFT-based Method for Attenuation Correction in Fluorescence Confocal Microscopy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Roerdink, J.B.T.M.; Bakker, M.

    1993-01-01

    A problem in three-dimensional imaging by a confocal scanning laser microscope (CSLM) in the (epi)fluorescence mode is the darkening of the deeper layers due to absorption and scattering of both the excitation and the fluorescence light. In this paper we propose a new method to correct for these

  4. Atmospheric Pre-Corrected Differential Absorption Techniques to Retrieve Columnar Water Vapor: Theory and Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Borel, Christoph C.; Schlaepfer, Daniel

    1996-01-01

    Two different approaches exist to retrieve columnar water vapor from imaging spectrometer data: (1) Differential absorption techniques based on: (a) Narrow-Wide (N/W) ratio between overlapping spectrally wide and narrow channels; (b) Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio (CIBR) between a measurement channel and the weighted sum of two reference channels. (2) Non-linear fitting techniques which are based on spectral radiative transfer calculations. The advantage of the first approach is computational speed and of the second, improved retrieval accuracy. Our goal was to improve the accuracy of the first technique using physics based on radiative transfer. Using a modified version of the Duntley equation, we derived an "Atmospheric Pre-corrected Differential Absorption" (APDA) technique and described an iterative scheme to retrieve water vapor on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Next we compared both, the CIBR and the APDA using the Duntley equation for MODTRAN3 computed irradiances, transmissions and path radiance (using the DISORT option). This simulation showed that the CIBR is very sensitive to reflectance effects and that the APDA performs much better. An extensive data set was created with the radiative transfer code 6S over 379 different ground reflectance spectra. The calculated relative water vapor error was reduced significantly for the APDA. The APDA technique had about 8% (vs. over 35% for the CIBR) of the 379 spectra with a relative water vapor error of greater than +5%. The APDA has been applied to 1991 and 1995 AVIRIS scenes which visually demonstrate the improvement over the CIBR technique.

  5. Atmospheric pre-corrected differential absorption techniques to retrieve columnar water vapor: Theory and simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borel, C.C.; Schlaepfer, D.

    1996-03-01

    Two different approaches exist to retrieve columnar water vapor from imaging spectrometer data: (1) Differential absorption techniques based on: (a) Narrow-Wide (N/W) ratio between overlapping spectrally wide and narrow channels (b) Continuum Interpolated Band Ratio (CIBR) between a measurement channel and the weighted sum of two reference channels; and (2) Non-linear fitting techniques which are based on spectral radiative transfer calculations. The advantage of the first approach is computational speed and of the second, improved retrieval accuracy. Our goal was to improve the accuracy of the first technique using physics based on radiative transfer. Using a modified version of the Duntley equation, we derived an {open_quote}Atmospheric Pre-corrected Differential Absorption{close_quote} (APDA) technique and described an iterative scheme to retrieve water vapor on a pixel-by-pixel basis. Next we compared both, the CIBR and the APDA using the Duntley equation for MODTRAN3 computed irradiances, transmissions and path radiance (using the DISORT option). This simulation showed that the CIBR is very sensitive to reflectance effects and that the APDA performs much better. An extensive data set was created with the radiative transfer code 6S over 379 different ground reflectance spectra. The calculated relative water vapor error was reduced significantly for the APDA. The APDA technique had about 8% (vs. over 35% for the CIBR) of the 379 spectra with a relative water vapor error of greater than {+-}5%. The APDA has been applied to 1991 and 1995 AVIRIS scenes which visually demonstrate the improvement over the CIBR technique.

  6. Probabilistic atlas-based segmentation of combined T1-weighted and DUTE MRI for calculation of head attenuation maps in integrated PET/MRI scanners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poynton, Clare B; Chen, Kevin T; Chonde, Daniel B; Izquierdo-Garcia, David; Gollub, Randy L; Gerstner, Elizabeth R; Batchelor, Tracy T; Catana, Ciprian

    2014-01-01

    We present a new MRI-based attenuation correction (AC) approach for integrated PET/MRI systems that combines both segmentation- and atlas-based methods by incorporating dual-echo ultra-short echo-time (DUTE) and T1-weighted (T1w) MRI data and a probabilistic atlas. Segmented atlases were constructed from CT training data using a leave-one-out framework and combined with T1w, DUTE, and CT data to train a classifier that computes the probability of air/soft tissue/bone at each voxel. This classifier was applied to segment the MRI of the subject of interest and attenuation maps (μ-maps) were generated by assigning specific linear attenuation coefficients (LACs) to each tissue class. The μ-maps generated with this "Atlas-T1w-DUTE" approach were compared to those obtained from DUTE data using a previously proposed method. For validation of the segmentation results, segmented CT μ-maps were considered to the "silver standard"; the segmentation accuracy was assessed qualitatively and quantitatively through calculation of the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC). Relative change (RC) maps between the CT and MRI-based attenuation corrected PET volumes were also calculated for a global voxel-wise assessment of the reconstruction results. The μ-maps obtained using the Atlas-T1w-DUTE classifier agreed well with those derived from CT; the mean DSCs for the Atlas-T1w-DUTE-based μ-maps across all subjects were higher than those for DUTE-based μ-maps; the atlas-based μ-maps also showed a lower percentage of misclassified voxels across all subjects. RC maps from the atlas-based technique also demonstrated improvement in the PET data compared to the DUTE method, both globally as well as regionally.

  7. A practical attenuation compensation method for cone beam spect

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manglos, S.H.; Jaszczak, R.J.; Floyd, C.E.; Greer, K.L.; Coleman, R.E.

    1987-01-01

    An algorithm for attenuation compensation of cone beam SPECT images has been developed and implemented. The algorithm is based on a multiplicative post-processing method previously used for parallel and fan beam geometries. This method computes the compensation from the estimated average attenuation of photons originating from each image pixel. In the present development, a uniform attenuation coefficient inside of the body contour is assumed, although the method could be extended to include a non-uniform attenuation map. The algorithm is tested with experimental projections of a phantom obtained using a cone beam collimator. Profiles through the reconstructed images are presented as a quantitative test of the improvement due to the compensation. The algorithm provides adequate compensation for attenuation in a simple uniform cylindrical phantom, and the computational time is short compared to that expected for iterative reconstruction techniques. Also observed are image distortions in some reconstructed slices when the source distribution extends beyond the edge of the cone beam axial field-of-view

  8. Determination of H, C, N, O content of bulk materials from neutron-attenuation measurements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Overley, J.C.

    1985-01-01

    Several bulk samples ranging from chemical compounds to cereal grains have been nondestructively analyzed through neutron-attenuation measurements. A fast-neutron continuum was produced by an accelerator. Attenuations were measured by pulsed-beam, time-of-flight techniques. Average hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen contents were deduced by comparing attenuations to those measured for pure elements. Statistical precisions of 0.3-0.7 atomic percent were achieved for each element in about 10 min. Comparisons with results of other analysis techniques indicate that similar levels of accuracy are possible, even in the presence of small amounts of heavier elements. (author)

  9. A comparison of radiometric correction techniques in the evaluation of the relationship between LST and NDVI in Landsat imagery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Kok Chooi; Lim, Hwee San; Matjafri, Mohd Zubir; Abdullah, Khiruddin

    2012-06-01

    Atmospheric corrections for multi-temporal optical satellite images are necessary, especially in change detection analyses, such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) rationing. Abrupt change detection analysis using remote-sensing techniques requires radiometric congruity and atmospheric correction to monitor terrestrial surfaces over time. Two atmospheric correction methods were used for this study: relative radiometric normalization and the simplified method for atmospheric correction (SMAC) in the solar spectrum. A multi-temporal data set consisting of two sets of Landsat images from the period between 1991 and 2002 of Penang Island, Malaysia, was used to compare NDVI maps, which were generated using the proposed atmospheric correction methods. Land surface temperature (LST) was retrieved using ATCOR3_T in PCI Geomatica 10.1 image processing software. Linear regression analysis was utilized to analyze the relationship between NDVI and LST. This study reveals that both of the proposed atmospheric correction methods yielded high accuracy through examination of the linear correlation coefficients. To check for the accuracy of the equation obtained through linear regression analysis for every single satellite image, 20 points were randomly chosen. The results showed that the SMAC method yielded a constant value (in terms of error) to predict the NDVI value from linear regression analysis-derived equation. The errors (average) from both proposed atmospheric correction methods were less than 10%.

  10. Motion correction of PET brain images through deconvolution: I. Theoretical development and analysis in software simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faber, T. L.; Raghunath, N.; Tudorascu, D.; Votaw, J. R.

    2009-02-01

    Image quality is significantly degraded even by small amounts of patient motion in very high-resolution PET scanners. Existing correction methods that use known patient motion obtained from tracking devices either require multi-frame acquisitions, detailed knowledge of the scanner, or specialized reconstruction algorithms. A deconvolution algorithm has been developed that alleviates these drawbacks by using the reconstructed image to estimate the original non-blurred image using maximum likelihood estimation maximization (MLEM) techniques. A high-resolution digital phantom was created by shape-based interpolation of the digital Hoffman brain phantom. Three different sets of 20 movements were applied to the phantom. For each frame of the motion, sinograms with attenuation and three levels of noise were simulated and then reconstructed using filtered backprojection. The average of the 20 frames was considered the motion blurred image, which was restored with the deconvolution algorithm. After correction, contrast increased from a mean of 2.0, 1.8 and 1.4 in the motion blurred images, for the three increasing amounts of movement, to a mean of 2.5, 2.4 and 2.2. Mean error was reduced by an average of 55% with motion correction. In conclusion, deconvolution can be used for correction of motion blur when subject motion is known.

  11. Motion correction of PET brain images through deconvolution: I. Theoretical development and analysis in software simulations

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Faber, T L; Raghunath, N; Tudorascu, D; Votaw, J R [Department of Radiology, Emory University Hospital, 1364 Clifton Road, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30322 (United States)], E-mail: tfaber@emory.edu

    2009-02-07

    Image quality is significantly degraded even by small amounts of patient motion in very high-resolution PET scanners. Existing correction methods that use known patient motion obtained from tracking devices either require multi-frame acquisitions, detailed knowledge of the scanner, or specialized reconstruction algorithms. A deconvolution algorithm has been developed that alleviates these drawbacks by using the reconstructed image to estimate the original non-blurred image using maximum likelihood estimation maximization (MLEM) techniques. A high-resolution digital phantom was created by shape-based interpolation of the digital Hoffman brain phantom. Three different sets of 20 movements were applied to the phantom. For each frame of the motion, sinograms with attenuation and three levels of noise were simulated and then reconstructed using filtered backprojection. The average of the 20 frames was considered the motion blurred image, which was restored with the deconvolution algorithm. After correction, contrast increased from a mean of 2.0, 1.8 and 1.4 in the motion blurred images, for the three increasing amounts of movement, to a mean of 2.5, 2.4 and 2.2. Mean error was reduced by an average of 55% with motion correction. In conclusion, deconvolution can be used for correction of motion blur when subject motion is known.

  12. A weighted least-squares lump correction algorithm for transmission-corrected gamma-ray nondestructive assay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prettyman, T.H.; Sprinkle, J.K. Jr.; Sheppard, G.A.

    1993-01-01

    With transmission-corrected gamma-ray nondestructive assay instruments such as the Segmented Gamma Scanner (SGS) and the Tomographic Gamma Scanner (TGS) that is currently under development at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the amount of gamma-ray emitting material can be underestimated for samples in which the emitting material consists of particles or lumps of highly attenuating material. This problem is encountered in the assay of uranium and plutonium-bearing samples. To correct for this source of bias, we have developed a least-squares algorithm that uses transmission-corrected assay results for several emitted energies and a weighting function to account for statistical uncertainties in the assay results. The variation of effective lump size in the fitted model is parameterized; this allows the correction to be performed for a wide range of lump-size distributions. It may be possible to use the reduced chi-squared value obtained in the fit to identify samples in which assay assumptions have been violated. We found that the algorithm significantly reduced bias in simulated assays and improved SGS assay results for plutonium-bearing samples. Further testing will be conducted with the TGS, which is expected to be less susceptible than the SGS to systematic source of bias

  13. Building a new predictor for multiple linear regression technique-based corrective maintenance turnaround time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruz, Antonio M; Barr, Cameron; Puñales-Pozo, Elsa

    2008-01-01

    This research's main goals were to build a predictor for a turnaround time (TAT) indicator for estimating its values and use a numerical clustering technique for finding possible causes of undesirable TAT values. The following stages were used: domain understanding, data characterisation and sample reduction and insight characterisation. Building the TAT indicator multiple linear regression predictor and clustering techniques were used for improving corrective maintenance task efficiency in a clinical engineering department (CED). The indicator being studied was turnaround time (TAT). Multiple linear regression was used for building a predictive TAT value model. The variables contributing to such model were clinical engineering department response time (CE(rt), 0.415 positive coefficient), stock service response time (Stock(rt), 0.734 positive coefficient), priority level (0.21 positive coefficient) and service time (0.06 positive coefficient). The regression process showed heavy reliance on Stock(rt), CE(rt) and priority, in that order. Clustering techniques revealed the main causes of high TAT values. This examination has provided a means for analysing current technical service quality and effectiveness. In doing so, it has demonstrated a process for identifying areas and methods of improvement and a model against which to analyse these methods' effectiveness.

  14. Investigations on flexural wave propagation and attenuation in a modified one-dimensional acoustic black hole using a laser excitation technique

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, Hongli; Luo, Jing; Qiu, Jinhao; Cheng, Li

    2018-05-01

    Acoustic Black Holes (ABHs), as a new type of passive structure for vibration damping enhancement and noise attenuation, have been drawing increasing attentions of many researchers. Due to the difficulty in manufacturing the sharp edges required by the ABH structures, it is important to understand the wave propagation and attenuation process in the presence of damping layers in non-ideal ABHs with a truncated edge. In this paper, an analytical expression of the wave reflection coefficient in a modified one-dimensional ABH is derived and a time-domain experimental method based on a laser excitation technique is used to visualize the wave propagation. In the experimental studies, the flexural waves in the ABH were excited by a scanning pulse laser and measured by a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (LDV). The incident wave and reflected wave were separated from the measured original wave field and the decrease of the wave velocity in the ABH was exhibited. The reflection coefficient was calculated from the ratio of the amplitude of the reflected wave to that of the incident wave for different ABH parameters and different thicknesses of the damping layer. The measured reflection coefficients were used to identify the unknown coefficients in the theoretical formula. The results confirm that there exists an optimal thickness for the damping layer, which leads to the minimum wave reflection. Based on the laser-induced visualization technique and various signal processing and feature extraction methods, the entire process of the wave propagation in a non-ideal one-dimensional ABH structure can be visualized and scrutinized.

  15. Attenuation compensation for least-squares reverse time migration using the viscoacoustic-wave equation

    KAUST Repository

    Dutta, Gaurav

    2014-10-01

    Strong subsurface attenuation leads to distortion of amplitudes and phases of seismic waves propagating inside the earth. Conventional acoustic reverse time migration (RTM) and least-squares reverse time migration (LSRTM) do not account for this distortion, which can lead to defocusing of migration images in highly attenuative geologic environments. To correct for this distortion, we used a linearized inversion method, denoted as Qp-LSRTM. During the leastsquares iterations, we used a linearized viscoacoustic modeling operator for forward modeling. The adjoint equations were derived using the adjoint-state method for back propagating the residual wavefields. The merit of this approach compared with conventional RTM and LSRTM was that Qp-LSRTM compensated for the amplitude loss due to attenuation and could produce images with better balanced amplitudes and more resolution below highly attenuative layers. Numerical tests on synthetic and field data illustrated the advantages of Qp-LSRTM over RTM and LSRTM when the recorded data had strong attenuation effects. Similar to standard LSRTM, the sensitivity tests for background velocity and Qp errors revealed that the liability of this method is the requirement for smooth and accurate migration velocity and attenuation models.

  16. Attenuation compensation for least-squares reverse time migration using the viscoacoustic-wave equation

    KAUST Repository

    Dutta, Gaurav; Schuster, Gerard T.

    2014-01-01

    Strong subsurface attenuation leads to distortion of amplitudes and phases of seismic waves propagating inside the earth. Conventional acoustic reverse time migration (RTM) and least-squares reverse time migration (LSRTM) do not account for this distortion, which can lead to defocusing of migration images in highly attenuative geologic environments. To correct for this distortion, we used a linearized inversion method, denoted as Qp-LSRTM. During the leastsquares iterations, we used a linearized viscoacoustic modeling operator for forward modeling. The adjoint equations were derived using the adjoint-state method for back propagating the residual wavefields. The merit of this approach compared with conventional RTM and LSRTM was that Qp-LSRTM compensated for the amplitude loss due to attenuation and could produce images with better balanced amplitudes and more resolution below highly attenuative layers. Numerical tests on synthetic and field data illustrated the advantages of Qp-LSRTM over RTM and LSRTM when the recorded data had strong attenuation effects. Similar to standard LSRTM, the sensitivity tests for background velocity and Qp errors revealed that the liability of this method is the requirement for smooth and accurate migration velocity and attenuation models.

  17. Correction of moderate to severe hallux valgus with combined proximal opening wedge and distal chevron osteotomies: a reliable technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeyaseelan, L; Chandrashekar, S; Mulligan, A; Bosman, H A; Watson, A J S

    2016-09-01

    The mainstay of surgical correction of hallux valgus is first metatarsal osteotomy, either proximally or distally. We present a technique of combining a distal chevron osteotomy with a proximal opening wedge osteotomy, for the correction of moderate to severe hallux valgus. We reviewed 45 patients (49 feet) who had undergone double osteotomy. Outcome was assessed using the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) and the Short Form (SF) -36 Health Survey scores. Radiological measurements were undertaken to assess the correction. The mean age of the patients was 60.8 years (44.2 to 75.3). The mean follow-up was 35.4 months (24 to 51). The mean AOFAS score improved from 54.7 to 92.3 (p hallux valgus and intermetatarsal angles were improved from 41.6(o) to 12.8(o) (p < 0.001) and from 22.1(o) to 7.1(o), respectively (p < 0.001). The mean distal metatarsal articular angle improved from 23(o) to 9.7(o). The mean sesamoid position, as described by Hardy and Clapham, improved from 6.8 to 3.5. The mean length of the first metatarsal was unchanged. The overall rate of complications was 4.1% (two patients). These results suggest that a double osteotomy of the first metatarsal is a reliable, safe technique which, when compared with other metatarsal osteotomies, provides strong angular correction and excellent outcomes with a low rate of complications. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2016;98-B:1202-7. ©2016 The British Editorial Society of Bone & Joint Surgery.

  18. Nuclear equipment to determine soil and water mass attenuation coefficients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zucchi, O.L.A.D.; Nascimento Filho, V.F. do

    1984-01-01

    The feasibility of substituting the monochannel gamma spectrometer, traditionally used in the gamma ray attenuation technique, for a less sophisticated and less expensive system of integral counting is studied. The proposed system can be operated by a non-specialized person. Three detection systems were used in the determination of the mass attenuation coefficients for different types of soil and for water. (M.A.C.) [pt

  19. MRI-Based Nonrigid Motion Correction in Simultaneous PET/MRI

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chun, Se Young; Reese, Timothy G.; Ouyang, Jinsong; Guerin, Bastien; Catana, Ciprian; Zhu, Xuping; Alpert, Nathaniel M.; El Fakhri, Georges

    2014-01-01

    Respiratory and cardiac motion is the most serious limitation to whole-body PET, resulting in spatial resolution close to 1 cm. Furthermore, motion-induced inconsistencies in the attenuation measurements often lead to significant artifacts in the reconstructed images. Gating can remove motion artifacts at the cost of increased noise. This paper presents an approach to respiratory motion correction using simultaneous PET/MRI to demonstrate initial results in phantoms, rabbits, and nonhuman primates and discusses the prospects for clinical application. Methods Studies with a deformable phantom, a free-breathing primate, and rabbits implanted with radioactive beads were performed with simultaneous PET/MRI. Motion fields were estimated from concurrently acquired tagged MR images using 2 B-spline nonrigid image registration methods and incorporated into a PET list-mode ordered-subsets expectation maximization algorithm. Using the measured motion fields to transform both the emission data and the attenuation data, we could use all the coincidence data to reconstruct any phase of the respiratory cycle. We compared the resulting SNR and the channelized Hotelling observer (CHO) detection signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the motion-corrected reconstruction with the results obtained from standard gating and uncorrected studies. Results Motion correction virtually eliminated motion blur without reducing SNR, yielding images with SNR comparable to those obtained by gating with 5–8 times longer acquisitions in all studies. The CHO study in dynamic phantoms demonstrated a significant improvement (166%–276%) in lesion detection SNR with MRI-based motion correction as compared with gating (P < 0.001). This improvement was 43%–92% for large motion compared with lesion detection without motion correction (P < 0.001). CHO SNR in the rabbit studies confirmed these results. Conclusion Tagged MRI motion correction in simultaneous PET/MRI significantly improves lesion detection

  20. Temporal impulse and step responses of the human eye obtained psychophysically by means of a drift-correcting perturbation technique

    OpenAIRE

    Roufs, J.A.J.; Blommaert, F.J.J.

    1981-01-01

    Internal impulse and step responses are derived from the thresholds of short probe flashes by means of a drift-correcting perturbation technique. The approach is based on only two postulated systems properties: quasi-linearity and peak detection. A special feature of the technique is its strong reduction of the concealing effect of sensitivity drift within and between sessions. Results were found to be repeatable, even after about one year. For a 1° foveal disk at 1200 td stationary level, im...

  1. Evaluation of the attenuation properties of MR equipment for its use in a whole-body PET/MR scanner

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Delso, G; Martinez-Moeller, A; Bundschuh, R A; Ziegler, S I; Ladebeck, R; Candidus, Y; Faul, D

    2010-01-01

    The combination of magnetic resonance imaging (MR) and positron emission tomography (PET) scanners can provide a powerful tool for clinical diagnosis and investigation. Among the challenges of developing a combined scanner, obtaining attenuation maps for PET reconstruction is of critical importance. This requires accounting for the presence of MR hardware in the field of view. The attenuation introduced by this hardware cannot be obtained from MR data. We propose the creation of attenuation models of MR hardware, to be registered into the MR-based attenuation map prior to PET reconstruction. Two steps were followed to assess the viability of this method. First, transmission and emission measurements were performed on MR components (RF coils and medical probes). The severity of the artifacts in the reconstructed PET images was evaluated. Secondly, a high-exposure computed tomography (CT) scan was used to obtain a model of a head coil. This model was registered into the attenuation map of PET/CT scans of a uniform phantom fitted with the coil. The resulting PET images were compared to the PET/CT reconstruction in the absence of coils. The artifacts introduced by misregistration of the model were studied. The transmission scans revealed 17% count loss due to the presence of head and neck coils in the field of view. Important sources of attenuation were found in the lock, signal cables and connectors. However, the worst source of attenuation was the casing between both coils. None of the measured medical probes introduced a significant amount of attenuation. Concerning the attenuation model of the head coil, reconstructed PET images with model-based correction were comparable to the reference PET/CT reconstruction. However, inaccuracies greater than 1-2 mm in the axial positioning of the model led to important artifacts. In conclusion, the results show that model-based attenuation correction is possible. Using a high-exposure scan to create an attenuation model of the

  2. Gamma-rays attenuation of zircons from Cambodia and South Africa at different energies: A new technique for identifying the origin of gemstone

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Limkitjaroenporn, P.; Kaewkhao, J.

    2014-01-01

    In this work, the gamma-rays interaction properties of zircons from Cambodia and South Africa have been studied. The densities of Cambodian and South African’s zircons are 4.6716±0.0040 g/cm 3 and 4.5505±0.0018 g/cm 3 , respectively. The mass attenuation coefficient and the effective atomic number of gemstones were measured with the gamma-ray in energies range 223–662 keV using the Compton scattering technique. The mass attenuation coefficients of both zircons decreased with the increasing of gamma-rays energies. The different mass attenuation coefficients between the two zircons observed at gamma-ray energies below 400 keV are attributed to the differences in the photoelectric interaction. The effective atomic number of zircons was decreased with the increasing of gamma-ray energies and showed totally different values between the Cambodia and South Africa sources. The origins of the two zircons could be successfully identified by the method based on gamma-rays interaction with matter with advantage of being a non-destructive testing. - Highlights: • Gamma-rays interaction of zircons from Cambodia and South Africa studied. • Measured energy is during 223–662 keV. • Different μ m between the two zircons observed at gamma-ray energies below 400 keV. • The origins the two zircons could be successfully identified

  3. Weighted simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique for tomosynthesis imaging of objects with high-attenuation features

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levakhina, Y. M.; Müller, J.; Buzug, T. M.; Duschka, R. L.; Vogt, F.; Barkhausen, J.

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: This paper introduces a nonlinear weighting scheme into the backprojection operation within the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART). It is designed for tomosynthesis imaging of objects with high-attenuation features in order to reduce limited angle artifacts. Methods: The algorithm estimates which projections potentially produce artifacts in a voxel. The contribution of those projections into the updating term is reduced. In order to identify those projections automatically, a four-dimensional backprojected space representation is used. Weighting coefficients are calculated based on a dissimilarity measure, evaluated in this space. For each combination of an angular view direction and a voxel position an individual weighting coefficient for the updating term is calculated. Results: The feasibility of the proposed approach is shown based on reconstructions of the following real three-dimensional tomosynthesis datasets: a mammography quality phantom, an apple with metal needles, a dried finger bone in water, and a human hand. Datasets have been acquired with a Siemens Mammomat Inspiration tomosynthesis device and reconstructed using SART with and without suggested weighting. Out-of-focus artifacts are described using line profiles and measured using standard deviation (STD) in the plane and below the plane which contains artifact-causing features. Artifacts distribution in axial direction is measured using an artifact spread function (ASF). The volumes reconstructed with the weighting scheme demonstrate the reduction of out-of-focus artifacts, lower STD (meaning reduction of artifacts), and narrower ASF compared to nonweighted SART reconstruction. It is achieved successfully for different kinds of structures: point-like structures such as phantom features, long structures such as metal needles, and fine structures such as trabecular bone structures. Conclusions: Results indicate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm to reduce typical

  4. Weighted simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique for tomosynthesis imaging of objects with high-attenuation features

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Levakhina, Y. M. [Institute of Medical Engineering, University of Luebeck, Luebeck 23562, Germany and Graduate School for Computing in Medicine and Life Sciences, Luebeck 23562 (Germany); Mueller, J.; Buzug, T. M. [Institute of Medical Engineering, University of Luebeck, Luebeck 23562 (Germany); Duschka, R. L.; Vogt, F.; Barkhausen, J. [Clinic for Radiology, University Clinics Schleswig-Holstein, Luebeck 23562 (Germany)

    2013-03-15

    Purpose: This paper introduces a nonlinear weighting scheme into the backprojection operation within the simultaneous algebraic reconstruction technique (SART). It is designed for tomosynthesis imaging of objects with high-attenuation features in order to reduce limited angle artifacts. Methods: The algorithm estimates which projections potentially produce artifacts in a voxel. The contribution of those projections into the updating term is reduced. In order to identify those projections automatically, a four-dimensional backprojected space representation is used. Weighting coefficients are calculated based on a dissimilarity measure, evaluated in this space. For each combination of an angular view direction and a voxel position an individual weighting coefficient for the updating term is calculated. Results: The feasibility of the proposed approach is shown based on reconstructions of the following real three-dimensional tomosynthesis datasets: a mammography quality phantom, an apple with metal needles, a dried finger bone in water, and a human hand. Datasets have been acquired with a Siemens Mammomat Inspiration tomosynthesis device and reconstructed using SART with and without suggested weighting. Out-of-focus artifacts are described using line profiles and measured using standard deviation (STD) in the plane and below the plane which contains artifact-causing features. Artifacts distribution in axial direction is measured using an artifact spread function (ASF). The volumes reconstructed with the weighting scheme demonstrate the reduction of out-of-focus artifacts, lower STD (meaning reduction of artifacts), and narrower ASF compared to nonweighted SART reconstruction. It is achieved successfully for different kinds of structures: point-like structures such as phantom features, long structures such as metal needles, and fine structures such as trabecular bone structures. Conclusions: Results indicate the feasibility of the proposed algorithm to reduce typical

  5. X-ray beam hardening correction for measuring density in linear accelerator industrial computed tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Rifeng; Wang Jue; Chen Weimin

    2009-01-01

    Due to X-ray attenuation being approximately proportional to material density, it is possible to measure the inner density through Industrial Computed Tomography (ICT) images accurately. In practice, however, a number of factors including the non-linear effects of beam hardening and diffuse scattered radiation complicate the quantitative measurement of density variations in materials. This paper is based on the linearization method of beam hardening correction, and uses polynomial fitting coefficient which is obtained by the curvature of iron polychromatic beam data to fit other materials. Through theoretical deduction, the paper proves that the density measure error is less than 2% if using pre-filters to make the spectrum of linear accelerator range mainly 0.3 MeV to 3 MeV. Experiment had been set up at an ICT system with a 9 MeV electron linear accelerator. The result is satisfactory. This technique makes the beam hardening correction easy and simple, and it is valuable for measuring the ICT density and making use of the CT images to recognize materials. (authors)

  6. The effect, identification and correction of misalignment between PET transmission and emission scans on brain PET imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Xiangsong; He Zuoxiang; Tang Anwu; Qiao Suixian

    2004-01-01

    Objectives: To study the effect of misalignment between PET transmission and emission scans of brain on brain PET imaging, and the Methods to identify and correct it. Methods: 18F-FDG PET imaging was performed on 8 volunteers. The emission images were reconstructed with attenuation correction after some translations and rotations in the x-axis and transverse plane were given, 1 mm and 1 degree each step, respectively. The 3-D volume fusion of PET emission and transmission scans was used to identify the suspected misalignment on 10 18F-FDG PET brain imaging. Three Methods were used to correct the misalignment. First, to quantitate the amount of the misalignment by 3-D volume registration of PET emission and transmission scans, the emission images were reconstructed with corrected translations and rotations in x-direction and transverse plane. Second, the emission images were reconstructed with mathematic calculation of brain attenuation. Third, 18F-FDG PET brain imaging was redone with careful application of laser alignment. Results: The translations greater than 3 mm in x-direction and the rotations greater than 8 degrees in transverse plane could lead to visible artifacts, which were presented with decreasing radioactivity uptake in the cortex of half cerebrum and in the frontal cortex at the side in the translating or rotating direction, respectively. The 3-D volume fusion of PET emission and transmission scans could identify and quantitate the amount of misalignment between PET emission and transmission scans of brain. The PET emission images reconstructed with corrected misalignment and mathematic calculation of brain attenuation were consistent with redone PET brain imaging. Conclusions: The misalignment between PET transmission and emission scans of brain can lead to visible artifacts. The 3-D volume fusion of PET emission and transmission scans can identify and quantitate the amount of the misalignment. The visible artifacts caused by the misalignment can be

  7. Use of batch and column methodologies to assess utility waste leaching and subsurface chemical attenuation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zachara, J.M.; Streile, G.P.

    1991-05-01

    Waste leaching and chemical attenuation involve geochemical reactions between immobile solid surfaces in the waste or in other porous media and dissolved solutes in the mobile fluid phase. Because the geochemical reactions occur along with water flow, the question often arises whether waste leaching and chemical attenuation are best studied under static or dynamic conditions. To answer this question, the scientific literature was reviewed to identify how static (batch) and dynamic (column) approaches have been applied to obtain data on waste leaching and chemical attenuation and the types of information each technique has provided. This review made it possible to both (1) assess the specific merits of the batch and column experimental techniques and (2) develop an integrated research strategy for employing these techniques to quantify leaching and chemical attenuation processes under conditions relevant to the field. This review led to the conclusion that batch systems are best suited to systematically establishing the specific geochemical reactions involved in leaching and attenuation, obtaining thermodynamic and kinetic constants, and identifying the manifestation of these reactions in wastes or natural subsurface materials. 184 refs., 5 figs., 4 tabs

  8. HU deviation in lung and bone tissues: Characterization and a corrective strategy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ai, Hua A; Meier, Joseph G; Wendt, Richard E

    2018-05-01

    In the era of precision medicine, quantitative applications of x-ray Computed Tomography (CT) are on the rise. These require accurate measurement of the CT number, also known as the Hounsfield Unit. In this study, we evaluated the effect of patient attenuation-induced beam hardening of the x-ray spectrum on the accuracy of the HU values and a strategy to correct for the resulting deviations in the measured HU values. A CIRS electron density phantom was scanned on a Siemens Biograph mCT Flow CT scanner and a GE Discovery 710 CT scanner using standard techniques that are employed in the clinic to assess the HU deviation caused by beam hardening in different tissue types. In addition, an anthropomorphic ATOM adult male upper torso phantom was scanned on the GE Discovery 710 scanner. Various amounts of Superflab bolus material were wrapped around the phantoms to simulate different patient sizes. The mean HU values that were measured in the phantoms were evaluated as a function of the water-equivalent area (A w ), a parameter that is described in the report of AAPM Task Group 220. A strategy by which to correct the HU values was developed and tested. The variation in the HU values in the anthropomorphic ATOM phantom under different simulated body sizes, both before and after correction, were compared, with a focus on the lung and bone tissues. Significant HU deviations that depended on the simulated patient size were observed. A positive correlation between HU and A w was observed for tissue types that have an HU of less than zero, while a negative correlation was observed for tissue types with HU values that are greater than zero. The magnitude of the difference increases as the underlying attenuation property deviates further away from that of water. In the electron density phantom study, the maximum observed HU differences between the measured and reference values in the cortical bone and lung materials were 426 and 94 HU, respectively. In the anthropomorphic phantom

  9. Corrective measures evaluation report for technical area-v groundwater.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Witt, Johnathan L (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID); Orr, Brennon R. (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID); Dettmers, Dana L. (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID); Hall, Kevin A. (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID); Howard, Hope (North Wind, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID)

    2005-07-01

    This Corrective Measures Evaluation Report was prepared as directed by the Compliance Order on Consent issued by the New Mexico Environment Department to document the process of selecting the preferred remedial alternative for contaminated groundwater at Technical Area V. Supporting information includes background information about the site conditions and potential receptors and an overview of work performed during the Corrective Measures Evaluation. Evaluation of remedial alternatives included identification and description of four remedial alternatives, an overview of the evaluation criteria and approach, qualitative and quantitative evaluation of remedial alternatives, and selection of the preferred remedial alternative. As a result of the Corrective Measures Evaluation, it was determined that monitored natural attenuation of all contaminants of concern (trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, and nitrate) was the preferred remedial alternative for implementation as the corrective measure to remediate contaminated groundwater at Technical Area V of Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico. Finally, design criteria to meet cleanup goals and objectives and the corrective measures implementation schedule for the preferred remedial alternative are presented.

  10. Measurement of the x-ray mass attenuation coefficient and determination of the imaginary component of the atomic form factor of molybdenum over the 13.5-41.5-keV energy range

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jonge, Martin D. de; Tran, Chanh Q.; Chantler, Christopher T.; Barnea, Zwi; Dhal, Bipin B.; Cookson, David J.; Lee, Wah-Keat; Mashayekhi, Ali

    2005-01-01

    We use the x-ray extended-range technique (XERT) [Chantler et al., Phys. Rev. A 64, 062506 (2001)] to measure the mass attenuation coefficients of molybdenum in the x-ray energy range of 13.5-41.5 keV to 0.02-0.15 % accuracy. Measurements made over an extended range of the measurement parameter space are critically examined to identify, quantify, and correct where necessary a number of experimental systematic errors. These results represent the most extensive experimental data set for molybdenum and include absolute mass attenuation coefficients in the regions of the x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and x-ray-absorption near-edge structure (XANES). The imaginary component of the atomic form-factor f 2 is derived from the photoelectric absorption after subtracting calculated Rayleigh and Compton scattering cross sections from the total attenuation. Comparison of the result with tabulations of calculated photoelectric absorption coefficients indicates that differences of 1-15 % persist between the calculated and observed values

  11. Numerical Study of Shock Wave Attenuation in Two-Dimensional Ducts Using Solid Obstacles: How to Utilize Shock Focusing Techniques to Attenuate Shock Waves

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qian Wan

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Research on shock wave mitigation in channels has been a topic of much attention in the shock wave community. One approach to attenuate an incident shock wave is to use obstacles of various geometries arranged in different patterns. This work is inspired by the study from Chaudhuri et al. (2013, in which cylinders, squares and triangles placed in staggered and non-staggered subsequent columns were used to attenuate a planar incident shock wave. Here, we present numerical simulations using a different obstacle pattern. Instead of using a matrix of obstacles, an arrangement of square or cylindrical obstacles placed along a logarithmic spiral curve is investigated, which is motivated by our previous work on shock focusing using logarithmic spirals. Results show that obstacles placed along a logarithmic spiral can delay both the transmitted and the reflected shock wave. For different incident shock Mach numbers, away from the logarithmic spiral design Mach number, this shape is effective to either delay the transmitted or the reflected shock wave. Results also confirm that the degree of attenuation depends on the obstacle shape, effective flow area and obstacle arrangement, much like other obstacle configurations.

  12. 2-D Coda and Direct Wave Attenuation Tomography in Northern Italy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morasca, P; Mayeda, K; Gok, R; Phillips, W S; Malagnini, L

    2007-10-17

    A 1-D coda method was proposed by Mayeda et al. (2003) in order to obtain stable seismic source moment-rate spectra using narrowband coda envelope measurements. That study took advantage of the averaging nature of coda waves to derive stable amplitude measurements taking into account all propagation, site, and Sto-coda transfer function effects. Recently this methodology was applied to micro earthquake data sets from three sub-regions of northern Italy (i.e., western Alps, northern Apennines and eastern Alps). Since the study regions were small, ranging between local-to-near-regional distances, the simple 1-D path assumptions used in the coda method worked very well. The lateral complexity of this region would suggest, however, that a 2-D path correction might provide even better results if the datasets were combined, especially when paths traverse larger distances and complicated regions. The structural heterogeneity of northern Italy makes the region ideal to test the extent to which coda variance can be reduced further by using a 2-D Q tomography technique. The approach we use has been developed by Phillips et al. (2005) and is an extension of previous amplitude ratio techniques to remove source effects from the inversion. The method requires some assumptions such as isotropic source radiation which is generally true for coda waves. Our results are compared against direct Swave inversions for 1/Q and results from both share very similar attenuation features that coincide with known geologic structures. We compare our results with those derived from direct waves as well as some recent results from northern California obtained by Mayeda et al. (2005) which tested the same tomographic methodology applied in this study to invert for 1/Q. We find that 2-D coda path corrections for this region significantly improve upon the 1-D corrections, in contrast to California where only a marginal improvement was observed. We attribute this difference to stronger lateral

  13. Transmission-less attenuation estimation from time-of-flight PET histo-images using consistency equations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yusheng; Defrise, Michel; Metzler, Scott D.; Matej, Samuel

    2015-08-01

    In positron emission tomography (PET) imaging, attenuation correction with accurate attenuation estimation is crucial for quantitative patient studies. Recent research showed that the attenuation sinogram can be determined up to a scaling constant utilizing the time-of-flight information. The TOF-PET data can be naturally and efficiently stored in a histo-image without information loss, and the radioactive tracer distribution can be efficiently reconstructed using the DIRECT approaches. In this paper, we explore transmission-less attenuation estimation from TOF-PET histo-images. We first present the TOF-PET histo-image formation and the consistency equations in the histo-image parameterization, then we derive a least-squares solution for estimating the directional derivatives of the attenuation factors from the measured emission histo-images. Finally, we present a fast solver to estimate the attenuation factors from their directional derivatives using the discrete sine transform and fast Fourier transform while considering the boundary conditions. We find that the attenuation histo-images can be uniquely determined from the TOF-PET histo-images by considering boundary conditions. Since the estimate of the attenuation directional derivatives can be inaccurate for LORs tangent to the patient boundary, external sources, e.g. a ring or annulus source, might be needed to give an accurate estimate of the attenuation gradient for such LORs. The attenuation estimation from TOF-PET emission histo-images is demonstrated using simulated 2D TOF-PET data.

  14. Corrections to air kerma rate measurements of 125I brachytherapy sources to free space conditions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shipley, D.R.; Duane, S.

    1994-05-01

    Air kerma rate measurements have been made between 40 cm and 100 cm from one of a set of 125 I reference sources within the facilities of Amersham International plc. Monte Carlo techniques have been used to calculate the air kerma rate components over the same range of distances from this source. After comparing the calculated data with measurements, the compliance of the data with the inverse square law was investigated, and corrections were derived to obtain the air kerma rate at 1 m in free space from each source. Simulations of the experimental setup with an isotropic monoenergetic point source close to the effective energy of 125 I were found to reproduce the air kerma rate measurements reasonably accurately, and indicated that the contribution due to scattered photons was significant. The overall correction (which is defined as the product of individual corrections for chamber size effect, air attenuation and radiation scatter) required to the inverse square law to obtain the air kerma rate at 1 m in free space was found to be 0.981, 0.984 and 0.980, respectively, for air kerma rate measurements at 40 cm, 60 cm and 100 cm from the 125 I reference source. The total uncertainty in these corrections was estimated to be 0.88% at the 1σ level. (author)

  15. Skull's acoustic attenuation and dispersion modeling on photoacoustic signal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohammadi, Leila; Behnam, Hamid; Tavakkoli, Jahan; Nasiriavanaki, Mohammadreza

    2018-02-01

    Despite the promising results of the recent novel transcranial photoacoustic (PA) brain imaging technology, it has been demonstrated that the presence of the skull severely affects the performance of this imaging modality. We theoretically investigate the effects of acoustic heterogeneity induced by skull on the PA signals generated from single particles, with firstly developing a mathematical model for this phenomenon and then explore experimental validation of the results. The model takes into account the frequency dependent attenuation and dispersion effects occur with wave reflection, refraction and mode conversion at the skull surfaces. Numerical simulations based on the developed model are performed for calculating the propagation of photoacoustic waves through the skull. The results show a strong agreement between simulation and ex-vivo study. The findings are as follow: The thickness of the skull is the most PA signal deteriorating factor that affects both its amplitude (attenuation) and phase (distortion). Also we demonstrated that, when the depth of target region is low and it is comparable to the skull thickness, however, the skull-induced distortion becomes increasingly severe and the reconstructed image would be strongly distorted without correcting these effects. It is anticipated that an accurate quantification and modeling of the skull transmission effects would ultimately allow for aberration correction in transcranial PA brain imaging.

  16. Accounting for Laser Extinction, Signal Attenuation, and Secondary Emission While Performing Optical Patternation in a Single Plane

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Brown, C

    2002-01-01

    An optical patternation method is described where the effects of laser extinction and signal attenuation can be corrected for, and where secondary scattering effects are reduced by probing the spray...

  17. Comparative CO{sub 2} flux measurements by eddy covariance technique using open- and closed-path gas analysers over the equatorial Pacific Ocean

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kondo, Fumiyoshi (Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama Univ., Okayama (Japan); Atmosphere and Ocean Research Inst., Univ. of Tokyo, Tokyo (Japan)), Email: fkondo@aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp; Tsukamoto, Osamu (Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama Univ., Okayama (Japan))

    2012-04-15

    Direct comparison of airsea CO{sub 2} fluxes by open-path eddy covariance (OPEC) and closed-path eddy covariance (CPEC) techniques was carried out over the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Previous studies over oceans have shown that the CO{sub 2} flux by OPEC was larger than the bulk CO{sub 2} flux using the gas transfer velocity estimated by the mass balance technique, while the CO{sub 2} flux by CPEC agreed with the bulk CO{sub 2} flux. We investigated a traditional conflict between the CO{sub 2} flux by the eddy covariance technique and the bulk CO{sub 2} flux, and whether the CO{sub 2} fluctuation attenuated using the closed-path analyser can be measured with sufficient time responses to resolve small CO{sub 2} flux over oceans. Our results showed that the closed-path analyser using a short sampling tube and a high volume air pump can be used to measure the small CO{sub 2} fluctuation over the ocean. Further, the underestimated CO{sub 2} flux by CPEC due to the attenuated fluctuation can be corrected by the bandpass covariance method; its contribution was almost identical to that of H{sub 2}O flux. The CO{sub 2} flux by CPEC agreed with the total CO{sub 2} flux by OPEC with density correction; however, both of them are one order of magnitude larger than the bulk CO{sub 2} flux

  18. The UV attenuation in JWST target VV 191

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holwerda, Benne

    2017-08-01

    We aim to map the UV-near-IR attenuation curve along many sightlines within nearby disk galaxies to resolve a large fundamental uncertainty in galaxy evolution studies: the variance in the attenuation curve within an indivual galaxy disk on linear scales relatively blue elliptical beautifully backlights the outer disk of a foreground face-on spiral galaxy.Dither strategy:We opt for a 2-point dither in the case of the F336W observations (1 orbit) and a 3pt dither strategy for the F225W observations. The 9 orbits for the F225W observations are broken into three groupings of 3 orbits in the 3 dither pattern. This is to ensure correction of cosmics and detector artifacts. Our secondary aim is an HST/JWST image with good public outreach potential and our aim is to maximize image quality for this reason as well.

  19. Assessment of phacoaspiration techniques in clear lens extraction for correction of high myopia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mostafa A El-Helw

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Mostafa A El-Helw, Ahmed M EmarahDepartment of Ophthalmology, Cairo University, EgyptPurpose: To evaluate various phacoaspiration techniques in clear lens extraction for the incidence of intraoperative difficulties and complications.Patients and methods: This was a prospective study in which bilateral clear lens extraction was performed on 40 eyes of 20 patients, to correct high myopia. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group A underwent supracapsular phacoaspiration; group B were the contralateral eyes of the same patient. These patients were operated on with endocapsular phacoaspiration with the divide and conquer (D and C technique. Preoperative ocular examination data were recorded and tested for significance. Intraoperative difficulties and complications such as nucleus cracking, capsule rupture and vitreous loss, and repeated chamber collapse were recorded. Postoperative examination data were recorded.Results: Mean age was 35.65 ± 5.85 years. Mean follow-up time was 17.1 ± 8.56 months. In group A mean myopia was -17.3 ± 5.07 diopters; in group B myopia was -17.9 ± 4.20 diopters. Mean preoperative uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA was 0.04 ± 0.0167, while the mean postoperative UCVA was 0.435 ± 0.1442. There was a significant difference in pre and postoperative BCVA within both groups, but not between the two groups. In both groups endothelial cell count (ECC showed a significant difference between pre- and postoperative data; however, there was no statistically significant difference between both groups in postoperative ECC. The effective phacoaspiration time for group A was 4.6 ± 1.6 seconds, and for group B 9.90 ± 2.27 seconds (P < 0.005. No cases of capsule rupture occurred in group A, but 3 cases occurred in group B (15 % (not significant, P = 0.231. Nucleus cracking did not occur in group A, but in group B 13 cases occurred (65%. Chamber collapse occurred in 4 cases (20% in group A and 5 cases (25% in group B (not

  20. Correcting Poor Posture without Awareness or Willpower

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wernik, Uri

    2012-01-01

    In this article, a new technique for correcting poor posture is presented. Rather than intentionally increasing awareness or mobilizing willpower to correct posture, this approach offers a game using randomly drawn cards with easy daily assignments. A case using the technique is presented to emphasize the subjective experience of living with poor…

  1. Depth-profiling by confocal Raman microscopy (CRM): data correction by numerical techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomba, J Pablo; Eliçabe, Guillermo E; Miguel, María de la Paz; Perez, Claudio J

    2011-03-01

    The data obtained in confocal Raman microscopy (CRM) depth profiling experiments with dry optics are subjected to significant distortions, including an artificial compression of the depth scale, due to the combined influence of diffraction, refraction, and instrumental effects that operate on the measurement. This work explores the use of (1) regularized deconvolution and (2) the application of simple rescaling of the depth scale as methodologies to obtain an improved, more precise, confocal response. The deconvolution scheme is based on a simple predictive model for depth resolution and the use of regularization techniques to minimize the dramatic oscillations in the recovered response typical of problem inversion. That scheme is first evaluated using computer simulations on situations that reproduce smooth and sharp sample transitions between two materials and finally it is applied to correct genuine experimental data, obtained in this case from a sharp transition (planar interface) between two polymeric materials. It is shown that the methodology recovers very well most of the lost profile features in all the analyzed situations. The use of simple rescaling appears to be only useful for correcting smooth transitions, particularly those extended over distances larger than those spanned by the operative depth resolution, which limits the strategy to the study of profiles near the sample surface. However, through computer simulations, it is shown that the use of water immersion objectives may help to reduce optical distortions and to expand the application window of this simple methodology, which could be useful, for instance, to safely monitor Fickean sorption/desorption of penetrants in polymer films/coatings in a nearly noninvasive way.

  2. Physically corrected forward operators for induced emission tomography: a simulation study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viganò, Nicola Roberto; Solé, Vicente Armando

    2018-03-01

    X-ray emission tomography techniques over non-radioactive materials allow one to investigate different and important aspects of the matter that are usually not addressable with the standard x-ray transmission tomography, such as density, chemical composition and crystallographic information. However, the quantitative reconstruction of these investigated properties is hindered by additional problems, including the self-attenuation of the emitted radiation. Work has been done in the past, especially concerning x-ray fluorescence tomography, but this has always focused on solving very specific problems. The novelty of this work resides in addressing the problem of induced emission tomography from a much wider perspective, introducing a unified discrete representation that can be used to modify existing algorithms to reconstruct the data of the different types of experiments. The direct outcome is a clear and easy mathematical description of the implementation details of such algorithms, despite small differences in geometry and other practical aspects, but also the possibility to express the reconstruction as a minimization problem, allowing the use of variational methods, and a more flexible modeling of the noise involved in the detection process. In addition, we look at the results of a few selected simulated data reconstructions that describe the effect of physical corrections like the self-attenuation, and the response to noise of the adapted reconstruction algorithms.

  3. Simulation tools for scattering corrections in spectrally resolved x-ray computed tomography using McXtrace

    Science.gov (United States)

    Busi, Matteo; Olsen, Ulrik L.; Knudsen, Erik B.; Frisvad, Jeppe R.; Kehres, Jan; Dreier, Erik S.; Khalil, Mohamad; Haldrup, Kristoffer

    2018-03-01

    Spectral computed tomography is an emerging imaging method that involves using recently developed energy discriminating photon-counting detectors (PCDs). This technique enables measurements at isolated high-energy ranges, in which the dominating undergoing interaction between the x-ray and the sample is the incoherent scattering. The scattered radiation causes a loss of contrast in the results, and its correction has proven to be a complex problem, due to its dependence on energy, material composition, and geometry. Monte Carlo simulations can utilize a physical model to estimate the scattering contribution to the signal, at the cost of high computational time. We present a fast Monte Carlo simulation tool, based on McXtrace, to predict the energy resolved radiation being scattered and absorbed by objects of complex shapes. We validate the tool through measurements using a CdTe single PCD (Multix ME-100) and use it for scattering correction in a simulation of a spectral CT. We found the correction to account for up to 7% relative amplification in the reconstructed linear attenuation. It is a useful tool for x-ray CT to obtain a more accurate material discrimination, especially in the high-energy range, where the incoherent scattering interactions become prevailing (>50 keV).

  4. Correction of dental artifacts within the anatomical surface in PET/MRI using active shape models and k-nearest-neighbors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ladefoged, Claes N.; Andersen, Flemming L.; Keller, Sune H.

    2014-01-01

    n combined PET/MR, attenuation correction (AC) is performed indirectly based on the available MR image information. Metal implant-induced susceptibility artifacts and subsequent signal voids challenge MR-based AC. Several papers acknowledge the problem in PET attenuation correction when dental...... artifacts are ignored, but none of them attempts to solve the problem. We propose a clinically feasible correction method which combines Active Shape Models (ASM) and k- Nearest-Neighbors (kNN) into a simple approach which finds and corrects the dental artifacts within the surface boundaries of the patient...... anatomy. ASM is used to locate a number of landmarks in the T1-weighted MR-image of a new patient. We calculate a vector of offsets from each voxel within a signal void to each of the landmarks. We then use kNN to classify each voxel as belonging to an artifact or an actual signal void using this offset...

  5. Evaluation of MLACF based calculated attenuation brain PET imaging for FDG patient studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bal, Harshali; Panin, Vladimir Y.; Platsch, Guenther; Defrise, Michel; Hayden, Charles; Hutton, Chloe; Serrano, Benjamin; Paulmier, Benoit; Casey, Michael E.

    2017-04-01

    Calculating attenuation correction for brain PET imaging rather than using CT presents opportunities for low radiation dose applications such as pediatric imaging and serial scans to monitor disease progression. Our goal is to evaluate the iterative time-of-flight based maximum-likelihood activity and attenuation correction factors estimation (MLACF) method for clinical FDG brain PET imaging. FDG PET/CT brain studies were performed in 57 patients using the Biograph mCT (Siemens) four-ring scanner. The time-of-flight PET sinograms were acquired using the standard clinical protocol consisting of a CT scan followed by 10 min of single-bed PET acquisition. Images were reconstructed using CT-based attenuation correction (CTAC) and used as a gold standard for comparison. Two methods were compared with respect to CTAC: a calculated brain attenuation correction (CBAC) and MLACF based PET reconstruction. Plane-by-plane scaling was performed for MLACF images in order to fix the variable axial scaling observed. The noise structure of the MLACF images was different compared to those obtained using CTAC and the reconstruction required a higher number of iterations to obtain comparable image quality. To analyze the pooled data, each dataset was registered to a standard template and standard regions of interest were extracted. An SUVr analysis of the brain regions of interest showed that CBAC and MLACF were each well correlated with CTAC SUVrs. A plane-by-plane error analysis indicated that there were local differences for both CBAC and MLACF images with respect to CTAC. Mean relative error in the standard regions of interest was less than 5% for both methods and the mean absolute relative errors for both methods were similar (3.4%  ±  3.1% for CBAC and 3.5%  ±  3.1% for MLACF). However, the MLACF method recovered activity adjoining the frontal sinus regions more accurately than CBAC method. The use of plane-by-plane scaling of MLACF images was found to be a

  6. PET/MR imaging of bone lesions - implications for PET quantification from imperfect attenuation correction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Samarin, Andrei; Burger, Cyrill; Crook, David W.; Burger, Irene A.; Schmid, Daniel T.; Schulthess, Gustav K. von; Kuhn, Felix P.; Wollenweber, Scott D.

    2012-01-01

    Accurate attenuation correction (AC) is essential for quantitative analysis of PET tracer distribution. In MR, the lack of cortical bone signal makes bone segmentation difficult and may require implementation of special sequences. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the need for accurate bone segmentation in MR-based AC for whole-body PET/MR imaging. In 22 patients undergoing sequential PET/CT and 3-T MR imaging, modified CT AC maps were produced by replacing pixels with values of >100 HU, representing mostly bone structures, by pixels with a constant value of 36 HU corresponding to soft tissue, thereby simulating current MR-derived AC maps. A total of 141 FDG-positive osseous lesions and 50 soft-tissue lesions adjacent to bones were evaluated. The mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean) was measured in each lesion in PET images reconstructed once using the standard AC maps and once using the modified AC maps. Subsequently, the errors in lesion tracer uptake for the modified PET images were calculated using the standard PET image as a reference. Substitution of bone by soft tissue values in AC maps resulted in an underestimation of tracer uptake in osseous and soft tissue lesions adjacent to bones of 11.2 ± 5.4 % (range 1.5-30.8 %) and 3.2 ± 1.7 % (range 0.2-4 %), respectively. Analysis of the spine and pelvic osseous lesions revealed a substantial dependence of the error on lesion composition. For predominantly sclerotic spine lesions, the mean underestimation was 15.9 ± 3.4 % (range 9.9-23.5 %) and for osteolytic spine lesions, 7.2 ± 1.7 % (range 4.9-9.3 %), respectively. CT data simulating treating bone as soft tissue as is currently done in MR maps for PET AC leads to a substantial underestimation of tracer uptake in bone lesions and depends on lesion composition, the largest error being seen in sclerotic lesions. Therefore, depiction of cortical bone and other calcified areas in MR AC maps is necessary for accurate quantification of tracer uptake

  7. Attenuation of the Squared Canonical Correlation Coefficient under Varying Estimates of Score Reliability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Celia M.

    2010-01-01

    Research pertaining to the distortion of the squared canonical correlation coefficient has traditionally been limited to the effects of sampling error and associated correction formulas. The purpose of this study was to compare the degree of attenuation of the squared canonical correlation coefficient under varying conditions of score reliability.…

  8. Seismic Linear Noise Attenuation with Use of Radial Transform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Szymańska-Małysa, Żaneta

    2018-03-01

    One of the goals of seismic data processing is to attenuate the recorded noise in order to enable correct interpretation of the image. Radial transform has been used as a very effective tool in the attenuation of various types of linear noise, both numerical and real (such as ground roll, direct waves, head waves, guided waves etc). The result of transformation from offset - time (X - T) domain into apparent velocity - time (R - T) domain is frequency separation between reflections and linear events. In this article synthetic and real seismic shot gathers were examined. One example was targeted at far offset area of dataset where reflections and noise had similar apparent velocities and frequency bands. Another example was a result of elastic modelling where linear artefacts were produced. Bandpass filtering and scaling operation executed in radial domain attenuated all discussed types of linear noise very effectively. After noise reduction all further processing steps reveal better results, especially velocity analysis, migration and stacking. In all presented cases signal-to-noise ratio was significantly increased and reflections covered previously by noise were revealed. Power spectra of filtered seismic records preserved real dynamics of reflections.

  9. A correction scheme for thermal conductivity measurement using the comparative cut-bar technique based on 3D numerical simulation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xing, Changhu; Folsom, Charles; Jensen, Colby; Ban, Heng; Marshall, Douglas W

    2014-01-01

    As an important factor affecting the accuracy of thermal conductivity measurement, systematic (bias) error in the guarded comparative axial heat flow (cut-bar) method was mostly neglected by previous researches. This bias is primarily due to the thermal conductivity mismatch between sample and meter bars (reference), which is common for a sample of unknown thermal conductivity. A correction scheme, based on finite element simulation of the measurement system, was proposed to reduce the magnitude of the overall measurement uncertainty. This scheme was experimentally validated by applying corrections on four types of sample measurements in which the specimen thermal conductivity is much smaller, slightly smaller, equal and much larger than that of the meter bar. As an alternative to the optimum guarding technique proposed before, the correction scheme can be used to minimize the uncertainty contribution from the measurement system with non-optimal guarding conditions. It is especially necessary for large thermal conductivity mismatches between sample and meter bars. (paper)

  10. Ka-Band ARM Zenith Radar Corrections Value-Added Product

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, Karen [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Toto, Tami [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Giangrande, Scott [Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)

    2017-10-15

    The KAZRCOR Value -added Product (VAP) performs several corrections to the ingested KAZR moments and also creates a significant detection mask for each radar mode. The VAP computes gaseous attenuation as a function of time and radial distance from the radar antenna, based on ambient meteorological observations, and corrects observed reflectivities for that effect. KAZRCOR also dealiases mean Doppler velocities to correct velocities whose magnitudes exceed the radar’s Nyquist velocity. Input KAZR data fields are passed through into the KAZRCOR output files, in their native time and range coordinates. Complementary corrected reflectivity and velocity fields are provided, along with a mask of significant detections and a number of data quality flags. This report covers the KAZRCOR VAP as applied to the original KAZR radars and the upgraded KAZR2 radars. Currently there are two separate code bases for the different radar versions, but once KAZR and KAZR2 data formats are harmonized, only a single code base will be required.

  11. A Double-Resistive Active Power Filter System to Attenuate Harmonic Voltages of a Radial Power Distribution Feeder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Xiaofeng; Han, Ruijing; Shen, Hong

    2016-01-01

    voltages. This paper proposes a double-resistive active power filter (D-RAPF) system consisting of a terminal-RAPF and an attenuation-RAPF for each individual harmonic. The terminal-RAPF operating as the characteristic impedance of the feeder is installed at the end bus to suppress harmonic propagation......Harmonic propagation between power-factor correction capacitors and system inductors seriously deteriorates power quality in a radial power distribution feeder. Installation of a resistive active power filter (RAPF) at the end bus only suppresses harmonic propagation, not attenuates harmonic...... at all harmonic frequencies. The attenuation-RAPF, whose control gain can be set according to the requirements of the harmonic voltage distortion limit, is installed at a specific position for each individual harmonic to attenuate the corresponding harmonic voltages. The D-RAPF system not only suppresses...

  12. Adipose tissue and muscle attenuation as novel biomarkers predicting mortality in patients with extremity sarcomas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Veld, Joyce; Vossen, Josephina A.; Torriani, Martin; Bredella, Miriam A. [Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Division of Musculoskeletal Imaging and Intervention, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); De Amorim Bernstein, Karen [Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Department of Radiation Oncology, Francis H Burr Proton Therapy Center, Boston, MA (United States); Halpern, Elkan F. [Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Institute of Technology Assessment, Boston, MA (United States)

    2016-12-15

    To assess CT-attenuation of abdominal adipose tissue and psoas muscle as predictors of mortality in patients with sarcomas of the extremities. Our study was IRB approved and HIPAA compliant. The study group comprised 135 patients with history of extremity sarcoma (mean age: 53 ± 17 years) who underwent whole body PET/CT. Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and psoas muscle attenuation (HU) was assessed on non-contrast, attenuation-correction CT. Clinical information including survival, tumour stage, sarcoma type, therapy and pre-existing comorbidities were recorded. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine longitudinal associations between adipose tissue and muscle attenuation and mortality. There were 47 deaths over a mean follow-up period of 20 ± 17 months. Higher SAT and lower psoas attenuation were associated with increased mortality (p = 0.03 and p = 0.005, respectively), which remained significant after adjustment for age, BMI, sex, tumor stage, therapy, and comorbidities (p = 0.002 and p = 0.02, respectively). VAT attenuation was not associated with mortality. Attenuation of SAT and psoas muscle, assessed on non-contrast CT, are predictors of mortality in patients with extremity sarcomas, independent of other established prognostic factors, suggesting that adipose tissue and muscle attenuation could serve as novel biomarkers for mortality in patients with sarcomas. (orig.)

  13. Adipose tissue and muscle attenuation as novel biomarkers predicting mortality in patients with extremity sarcomas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Veld, Joyce; Vossen, Josephina A.; Torriani, Martin; Bredella, Miriam A.; De Amorim Bernstein, Karen; Halpern, Elkan F.

    2016-01-01

    To assess CT-attenuation of abdominal adipose tissue and psoas muscle as predictors of mortality in patients with sarcomas of the extremities. Our study was IRB approved and HIPAA compliant. The study group comprised 135 patients with history of extremity sarcoma (mean age: 53 ± 17 years) who underwent whole body PET/CT. Abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and psoas muscle attenuation (HU) was assessed on non-contrast, attenuation-correction CT. Clinical information including survival, tumour stage, sarcoma type, therapy and pre-existing comorbidities were recorded. Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine longitudinal associations between adipose tissue and muscle attenuation and mortality. There were 47 deaths over a mean follow-up period of 20 ± 17 months. Higher SAT and lower psoas attenuation were associated with increased mortality (p = 0.03 and p = 0.005, respectively), which remained significant after adjustment for age, BMI, sex, tumor stage, therapy, and comorbidities (p = 0.002 and p = 0.02, respectively). VAT attenuation was not associated with mortality. Attenuation of SAT and psoas muscle, assessed on non-contrast CT, are predictors of mortality in patients with extremity sarcomas, independent of other established prognostic factors, suggesting that adipose tissue and muscle attenuation could serve as novel biomarkers for mortality in patients with sarcomas. (orig.)

  14. The concept of power correction techniques and its use in the reactor regulation and protection systems in Indian PHWRs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vaswani, P.D.; Kelkar, M.G.; Ghoshal, B.; Ashok Kumar, B.

    2010-01-01

    Reactor Power Measurement is an essential part of the Reactor Power Control Loop in PHWRs. None of the available power measuring sensor offers characteristics which allow their direct use in the Reactor Power Control Loop. Thermal power, which is considered as relatively accurate, suffers from measurement delays and is used only as reference. Neutronic power sensors like Ion Chambers and Self Powered Neutron Detectors (SPNDs) which sense instantaneous power suffer from inaccuracies. A technique is required which makes use of both types-reference power and instantaneous power to extract real power information from the signals. This paper describes techniques to calibrate (correct) neutronic power that with the thermal reference power signals. The paper also brings out limitation of the calibration technique. (author)

  15. MicroCT Bone Densitometry: Context Sensitivity, Beam Hardening Correction and the Effect of Surrounding Media

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip L. Salmon

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The context-sensitivity of microCT bone densitometry due to beam hardening artefacts was assessed. Bones and teeth are scanned with varying thickness of surrounding media (water, alcohol, biological tissue and it is important to understand how this affects reconstructed attenuation (“density” of the mineralized tissue. Aluminium tubes and rods with thickness 0.127mm–5mm were scanned both in air or surrounded by up to 2cm of water. Scans were performed with different energy filters and degrees of software beam hardening correction (BHC. Also tested were the effects of signal-to-noise ratio, magnification and truncation. The thickness of an aluminium tube significantly affected its mean reconstructed attenuation. This effect of thickness could be reduced substantially by BHC for scans in air, but not for scans in water. Varying thickness of surrounding water also changed the mean attenuation of an aluminium tube. This artefact could be almost eliminated by an optimal BHC value. The “cupping” artefact of heterogeneous attenuation (elevated at outer surfaces could be corrected if aluminium was scanned in air, but in water BHC was much less effective. Scan truncation, changes to magnification and signal-to-noise ratio also caused artificial changes to measured attenuation. Measurement of bone mineral density by microCT is highly context sensitive. A surrounding layer of liquid or biological tissue reduces the ability of software BHC to remove bone density artefacts. Sample thickness, truncation, magnification and signal to noise ratio also affect reconstructed attenuation. Thus it is important for densitometry that sample and calibration phantom dimensions and mounting materials are standardised.

  16. Inverse scattering and refraction corrected reflection for breast cancer imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiskin, J.; Borup, D.; Johnson, S.; Berggren, M.; Robinson, D.; Smith, J.; Chen, J.; Parisky, Y.; Klock, John

    2010-03-01

    Reflection ultrasound (US) has been utilized as an adjunct imaging modality for over 30 years. TechniScan, Inc. has developed unique, transmission and concomitant reflection algorithms which are used to reconstruct images from data gathered during a tomographic breast scanning process called Warm Bath Ultrasound (WBU™). The transmission algorithm yields high resolution, 3D, attenuation and speed of sound (SOS) images. The reflection algorithm is based on canonical ray tracing utilizing refraction correction via the SOS and attenuation reconstructions. The refraction correction reflection algorithm allows 360 degree compounding resulting in the reflection image. The requisite data are collected when scanning the entire breast in a 33° C water bath, on average in 8 minutes. This presentation explains how the data are collected and processed by the 3D transmission and reflection imaging mode algorithms. The processing is carried out using two NVIDIA® Tesla™ GPU processors, accessing data on a 4-TeraByte RAID. The WBU™ images are displayed in a DICOM viewer that allows registration of all three modalities. Several representative cases are presented to demonstrate potential diagnostic capability including: a cyst, fibroadenoma, and a carcinoma. WBU™ images (SOS, attenuation, and reflection modalities) are shown along with their respective mammograms and standard ultrasound images. In addition, anatomical studies are shown comparing WBU™ images and MRI images of a cadaver breast. This innovative technology is designed to provide additional tools in the armamentarium for diagnosis of breast disease.

  17. Attenuation compensation in least-squares reverse time migration using the visco-acoustic wave equation

    KAUST Repository

    Dutta, Gaurav

    2013-08-20

    Attenuation leads to distortion of amplitude and phase of seismic waves propagating inside the earth. Conventional acoustic and least-squares reverse time migration do not account for this distortion which leads to defocusing of migration images in highly attenuative geological environments. To account for this distortion, we propose to use the visco-acoustic wave equation for least-squares reverse time migration. Numerical tests on synthetic data show that least-squares reverse time migration with the visco-acoustic wave equation corrects for this distortion and produces images with better balanced amplitudes compared to the conventional approach. © 2013 SEG.

  18. Comparison of the FFT/matrix inversion and system matrix techniques for higher-order probe correction in spherical near-field antenna measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pivnenko, Sergey; Nielsen, Jeppe Majlund; Breinbjerg, Olav

    2011-01-01

    correction of general high-order probes, including non-symmetric dual-polarized antennas with independent ports. The investigation was carried out by processing with each technique the same measurement data for a challenging case with an antenna under test significantly offset from the center of rotation...

  19. Impact of extraneous mispositioned events on motion-corrected brain SPECT images of freely moving animals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelis, Georgios I.; Ryder, William J.; Bashar, Rezaul; Meikle, Steven R.; Fulton, Roger R.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) brain imaging of freely moving small animals would allow a wide range of important neurological processes and behaviors to be studied, which are normally inhibited by anesthetic drugs or precluded due to the animal being restrained. While rigid body motion of the head can be tracked and accounted for in the reconstruction, activity in the torso may confound brain measurements, especially since motion of the torso is more complex (i.e., nonrigid) and not well correlated with that of the head. The authors investigated the impact of mispositioned events and attenuation due to the torso on the accuracy of motion corrected brain images of freely moving mice. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations of a realistic voxelized mouse phantom and a dual compartment phantom were performed. Each phantom comprised a target and an extraneous compartment which were able to move independently of each other. Motion correction was performed based on the known motion of the target compartment only. Two SPECT camera geometries were investigated: a rotating single head detector and a stationary full ring detector. The effects of motion, detector geometry, and energy of the emitted photons (hence, attenuation) on bias and noise in reconstructed brain regions were evaluated. Results: The authors observed two main sources of bias: (a) motion-related inconsistencies in the projection data and (b) the mismatch between attenuation and emission. Both effects are caused by the assumption that the orientation of the torso is difficult to track and model, and therefore cannot be conveniently corrected for. The motion induced bias in some regions was up to 12% when no attenuation effects were considered, while it reached 40% when also combined with attenuation related inconsistencies. The detector geometry (i.e., rotating vs full ring) has a big impact on the accuracy of the reconstructed images, with the full ring detector being more

  20. An experimental phantom study of the effect of gadolinium-based MR contrast agents on PET attenuation coefficients and PET quantification in PET-MR imaging: application to cardiac studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O' Doherty, Jim; Schleyer, Paul

    2017-12-01

    Simultaneous cardiac perfusion studies are an increasing trend in PET-MR imaging. During dynamic PET imaging, the introduction of gadolinium-based MR contrast agents (GBCA) at high concentrations during a dual injection of GBCA and PET radiotracer may cause increased attenuation effects of the PET signal, and thus errors in quantification of PET images. We thus aimed to calculate the change in linear attenuation coefficient (LAC) of a mixture of PET radiotracer and increasing concentrations of GBCA in solution and furthermore, to investigate if this change in LAC produced a measurable effect on the image-based PET activity concentration when attenuation corrected by three different AC strategies. We performed simultaneous PET-MR imaging of a phantom in a static scenario using a fixed activity of 40 MBq [18 F]-NaF, water, and an increasing GBCA concentration from 0 to 66 mM (based on an assumed maximum possible concentration of GBCA in the left ventricle in a clinical study). This simulated a range of clinical concentrations of GBCA. We investigated two methods to calculate the LAC of the solution mixture at 511 keV: (1) a mathematical mixture rule and (2) CT imaging of each concentration step and subsequent conversion to LAC at 511 keV. This comparison showed that the ranges of LAC produced by both methods are equivalent with an increase in LAC of the mixed solution of approximately 2% over the range of 0-66 mM. We then employed three different attenuation correction methods to the PET data: (1) each PET scan at a specific millimolar concentration of GBCA corrected by its corresponding CT scan, (2) each PET scan corrected by a CT scan with no GBCA present (i.e., at 0 mM GBCA), and (3) a manually generated attenuation map, whereby all CT voxels in the phantom at 0 mM were replaced by LAC = 0.1 cm -1 . All attenuation correction methods (1-3) were accurate to the true measured activity concentration within 5%, and there were no trends in image

  1. Attenuation measurements of ultrasound in a kaolin-water slurry. A linear dependence upon frequency

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Greenwood, M.S.; Mai, J.L.; Good, M.S.

    1993-01-01

    The attenuation of ultrasound through a kaolin-water slurry was measured for frequencies ranging from 0.5 to 3.0 MHz. The maximum concentration of the slurry was for a weight percentage of 44% (or a volume fraction of 0.24). The goal of these measurements was to assess the feasibility of using ultrasonic attenuation to determine the concentration of a slurry of known composition. The measurements were obtained by consecutively adding kaolin to the slurry and measuring the attenuation at each concentration. After reaching a maximum concentration a dilution technique was used, in which an amount of slurry was removed and water was added, to obtain the attenuation as a function of the concentration. The dilution technique was the more effective method to obtain calibration data. These measurements were carried out using two transducers, having a center frequency of 2.25 MHz, separated by 0.1016m (4.0 in.). The maximum attenuation measured in these experiments was about 100Np/m, but the experimental apparatus has the capability of measuring a larger attenuation if the distance between the two transducers is decreased. For a given frequency, the data show that ln V/V 0 depends linearly upon the volume fraction (V is the received voltage for the slurry and V 0 is that obtained for water). This indicated that each particle acts independently in attenuating ultrasound. 12 refs., 7 figs., 3 tabs

  2. Coping with Misinformation: Corrections, Backfire Effects, and Choice Architectures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lewandowsky, S.; Cook, J.; Ecker, U. K.

    2012-12-01

    The widespread prevalence and persistence of misinformation about many important scientific issues, from climate change to vaccinations or the link between HIV and AIDS, must give rise to concern. We first review the mechanisms by which such misinformation is disseminated in society, both inadvertently and purposely. We then survey and explain the cognitive factors that often render misinformation resistant to correction. We answer the question why retractions of misinformation can be so ineffective and why they can even backfire and ironically increase misbelief. We discuss the overriding role of ideology and personal worldviews in the resistance of misinformation to correction and show how their role can be attenuated. We discuss the risks associated with repeating misinformation while seeking to correct it and we point to the design of "choice architectures" as an alternative to the attempt to retract misinformation.

  3. Energy-angle correlation correction algorithm for monochromatic computed tomography based on Thomson scattering X-ray source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chi, Zhijun; Du, Yingchao; Huang, Wenhui; Tang, Chuanxiang

    2017-12-01

    The necessity for compact and relatively low cost x-ray sources with monochromaticity, continuous tunability of x-ray energy, high spatial coherence, straightforward polarization control, and high brightness has led to the rapid development of Thomson scattering x-ray sources. To meet the requirement of in-situ monochromatic computed tomography (CT) for large-scale and/or high-attenuation materials based on this type of x-ray source, there is an increasing demand for effective algorithms to correct the energy-angle correlation. In this paper, we take advantage of the parametrization of the x-ray attenuation coefficient to resolve this problem. The linear attenuation coefficient of a material can be decomposed into a linear combination of the energy-dependent photoelectric and Compton cross-sections in the keV energy regime without K-edge discontinuities, and the line integrals of the decomposition coefficients of the above two parts can be determined by performing two spectrally different measurements. After that, the line integral of the linear attenuation coefficient of an imaging object at a certain interested energy can be derived through the above parametrization formula, and monochromatic CT can be reconstructed at this energy using traditional reconstruction methods, e.g., filtered back projection or algebraic reconstruction technique. Not only can monochromatic CT be realized, but also the distributions of the effective atomic number and electron density of the imaging object can be retrieved at the expense of dual-energy CT scan. Simulation results validate our proposal and will be shown in this paper. Our results will further expand the scope of application for Thomson scattering x-ray sources.

  4. Robust, fully automatic delineation of the head contour by stereotactical normalization for attenuation correction according to Chang in dopamine transporter scintigraphy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lange, Catharina; Brenner, Winfried; Buchert, Ralph [Charite - Universitaetsmedizin Berlin, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Berlin (Germany); Kurth, Jens; Schwarzenboeck, Sarah; Krause, Bernd J. [Universitaetsmedizin Rostock, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Rostock (Germany); Seese, Anita; Steinhoff, Karen; Sabri, Osama; Hesse, Swen [Universitaetsklinikum Leipzig, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Leipzig (Germany); Umland-Seidler, Bert [GE Healthcare Buchler GmbH and Co. KG, Munich (Germany)

    2015-09-15

    Chang's method, the most widely used attenuation correction (AC) in brain single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), requires delineation of the outer contour of the head. Manual and automatic threshold-based methods are prone to errors due to variability of tracer uptake in the scalp. The present study proposes a new method for fully automated delineation of the head based on stereotactical normalization. The method was validated for SPECT with I-123-ioflupane. The new method was compared to threshold-based delineation in 62 unselected patients who had received I-123-ioflupane SPECT at one of 3 centres. The impact on diagnostic power was tested for semi-quantitative analysis and visual reading of the SPECT images (six independent readers). The two delineation methods produced highly consistent semi-quantitative results. This was confirmed by receiver operating characteristic analyses in which the putamen specific-to-background ratio achieved highest area under the curve with negligible effect of the delineation method: 0.935 versus 0.938 for stereotactical normalization and threshold-based delineation, respectively. Visual interpretation of DVR images was also not affected by the delineation method. Delineation of the head contour by stereotactical normalization appears useful for Chang AC in I-123-ioflupane SPECT. It is robust and does not require user interaction. (orig.)

  5. Video Error Correction Using Steganography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robie, David L.; Mersereau, Russell M.

    2002-12-01

    The transmission of any data is always subject to corruption due to errors, but video transmission, because of its real time nature must deal with these errors without retransmission of the corrupted data. The error can be handled using forward error correction in the encoder or error concealment techniques in the decoder. This MPEG-2 compliant codec uses data hiding to transmit error correction information and several error concealment techniques in the decoder. The decoder resynchronizes more quickly with fewer errors than traditional resynchronization techniques. It also allows for perfect recovery of differentially encoded DCT-DC components and motion vectors. This provides for a much higher quality picture in an error-prone environment while creating an almost imperceptible degradation of the picture in an error-free environment.

  6. Correcting attenuated total reflection-fourier transform infrared spectra for water vapor and carbon dioxide

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bruun, Susanne Wrang; Kohler, Achim; Adt, Isabelle

    2006-01-01

    an absorption band from either water vapor or CO(2). From two calibration data sets, gas model spectra were estimated in each of the four spectral regions, and these model spectra were applied for correction of gas absorptions in two independent test sets (spectra of aqueous solutions and a yeast biofilm (C...... of the growing yeast biofilm, the gas correction revealed otherwise hidden variations of relevance for modeling the growth dynamics. As the presented method improved the interpretation of the principle component analysis (PCA) models, it has proven to be a valuable tool for filtering atmospheric variation in ATR...

  7. Using Auditory Steady-State Responses for Measuring Hearing Protector Attenuation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olivier Valentin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Present methods of measuring the attenuation of hearing protection devices (HPDs have limitations. Objective measurements such as field microphone in real-ear do not assess bone-conducted sound. Psychophysical measurements such as real-ear attenuation at threshold (REAT are biased due to the low frequency masking effects from test subjects’ physiological noise and the variability of measurements based on subjective responses. An auditory steady-state responses (ASSRs procedure is explored as a technique which might overcome these limitations. Subjects and Methods: Pure tone stimuli (500 and 1000 Hz, amplitude modulated at 40 Hz, are presented to 10 normal-hearing adults through headphones at three levels in 10 dB steps. Two conditions were assessed: unoccluded ear canal and occluded ear canal. ASSR amplitude data as a function of the stimulation level are linearized using least-square regressions. The “physiological attenuation” is then calculated as the average difference between the two measurements. The technical feasibility of measuring earplug attenuation is demonstrated for the group average attenuation across subjects. Results: No significant statistical difference is found between the average REAT attenuation and the average ASSR-based attenuation. Conclusion: Feasibility is not yet demonstrated for individual subjects since differences between the estimates occurred for some subjects.

  8. Quantum error correction for beginners

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Devitt, Simon J; Nemoto, Kae; Munro, William J

    2013-01-01

    Quantum error correction (QEC) and fault-tolerant quantum computation represent one of the most vital theoretical aspects of quantum information processing. It was well known from the early developments of this exciting field that the fragility of coherent quantum systems would be a catastrophic obstacle to the development of large-scale quantum computers. The introduction of quantum error correction in 1995 showed that active techniques could be employed to mitigate this fatal problem. However, quantum error correction and fault-tolerant computation is now a much larger field and many new codes, techniques, and methodologies have been developed to implement error correction for large-scale quantum algorithms. In response, we have attempted to summarize the basic aspects of quantum error correction and fault-tolerance, not as a detailed guide, but rather as a basic introduction. The development in this area has been so pronounced that many in the field of quantum information, specifically researchers who are new to quantum information or people focused on the many other important issues in quantum computation, have found it difficult to keep up with the general formalisms and methodologies employed in this area. Rather than introducing these concepts from a rigorous mathematical and computer science framework, we instead examine error correction and fault-tolerance largely through detailed examples, which are more relevant to experimentalists today and in the near future. (review article)

  9. Principles underlying rational design of live attenuated influenza vaccines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Yo Han

    2012-01-01

    Despite recent innovative advances in molecular virology and the developments of vaccines, influenza virus remains a serious burden for human health. Vaccination has been considered a primary countermeasure for prevention of influenza infection. Live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) are particularly attracting attention as an effective strategy due to several advantages over inactivated vaccines. Cold-adaptation, as a classical means for attenuating viral virulence, has been successfully used for generating safe and effective donor strains of LAIVs against seasonal epidemics and occasional pandemics. Recently, the advent of reverse genetics technique expedited a variety of rational strategies to broaden the pool of LAIVs. Considering the breadth of antigenic diversity of influenza virus, the pool of LAIVs is likely to equip us with better options for controlling influenza pandemics. With a brief reflection on classical attenuating strategies used at the initial stage of development of LAIVs, especially on the principles underlying the development of cold-adapted LAIVs, we further discuss and outline other attenuation strategies especially with respect to the rationales for attenuation, and their practicality for mass production. Finally, we propose important considerations for a rational vaccine design, which will provide us with practical guidelines for improving the safety and effectiveness of LAIVs. PMID:23596576

  10. Shock wave attenuation in a micro-channel

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giordano, J.; Perrier, P.; Meister, L.; Brouillette, M.

    2018-05-01

    This work presents optical measurements of shock wave attenuation in a glass micro-channel. This transparent facility, with a cross section ranging from 1 mm× 150 μm to 1 mm× 500 μm, allowed for the use of high-speed schlieren videography to visualize the propagation of a shock wave within the entire micro-channel and to quantify velocity attenuation of the wave due to wall effects. In this paper, we present the experimental technique and the relevant data treatment we have used to increase the sensitivity of shock wave detection. Then, we compared our experimental results for different channel widths, lengths, and shock wave velocities with the analytical model for shock attenuation proposed by Russell (J Fluid Mech 27(2):305-314, 1967), which assumes laminar flow, and by Mirels (Attenuation in a shock tube due to unsteady-boundary-layer action, NACA Report 1333, 1957) for turbulent flow. We found that these models are inadequate to predict the observed data, owing to the presence of fully developed flow which violates the basic assumption of these models. The data are also compared with the empirical shock attenuation models proposed by Zeitoun (Phys Fluids 27(1):011701, 2015) and Deshpande and Puranik (Shock Waves 26(4):465-475, 2016), where better agreement is observed. Finally, we presented experimental data for the flow field behind the shock wave from measurements of the Mach wave angle which shows globally decreasing flow Mach numbers due to viscous wall effects.

  11. Validation of phenol red versus gravimetric method for water reabsorption correction and study of gender differences in Doluisio's absorption technique.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuğcu-Demiröz, Fatmanur; Gonzalez-Alvarez, Isabel; Gonzalez-Alvarez, Marta; Bermejo, Marival

    2014-10-01

    The aim of the present study was to develop a method for water flux reabsorption measurement in Doluisio's Perfusion Technique based on the use of phenol red as a non-absorbable marker and to validate it by comparison with gravimetric procedure. The compounds selected for the study were metoprolol, atenolol, cimetidine and cefadroxil in order to include low, intermediate and high permeability drugs absorbed by passive diffusion and by carrier mediated mechanism. The intestinal permeabilities (Peff) of the drugs were obtained in male and female Wistar rats and calculated using both methods of water flux correction. The absorption rate coefficients of all the assayed compounds did not show statistically significant differences between male and female rats consequently all the individual values were combined to compare between reabsorption methods. The absorption rate coefficients and permeability values did not show statistically significant differences between the two strategies of concentration correction. The apparent zero order water absorption coefficients were also similar in both correction procedures. In conclusion gravimetric and phenol red method for water reabsorption correction are accurate and interchangeable for permeability estimation in closed loop perfusion method. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Effective radiation attenuation calibration for breast density: compression thickness influences and correction

    OpenAIRE

    Thomas Jerry A; Cao Ke; Heine John J

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Background Calibrating mammograms to produce a standardized breast density measurement for breast cancer risk analysis requires an accurate spatial measure of the compressed breast thickness. Thickness inaccuracies due to the nominal system readout value and compression paddle orientation induce unacceptable errors in the calibration. Method A thickness correction was developed and evaluated using a fully specified two-component surrogate breast model. A previously developed calibrat...

  13. Low power consumption 4-channel variable optical attenuator array based on planar lightwave circuit technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren Mei-Zhen; Zhang Jia-Shun; An Jun-Ming; Wang Yue; Wang Liang-Liang; Li Jian-Guang; Wu Yuan-Da; Yin XiaoJie; Hu Xiong-Wei

    2017-01-01

    The power consumption of a variable optical attenuator (VOA) array based on a silica planar lightwave circuit was investigated. The thermal field profile of the device was optimized using the finite-element analysis. The simulation results showed that the power consumption reduces as the depth of the heat-insulating grooves is deeper, the up-cladding is thinner, the down-cladding is thicker, and the width of the cladding ridge is narrower. The materials component and thickness of the electrodes were also optimized to guarantee the driving voltage under 5 V. The power consumption was successfully reduced to as low as 155 mW at an attenuation of 30 dB in the experiment. (paper)

  14. Seismic velocities and attenuation in an underground granitic waste repository subjected to heating

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paulsson, B.N.P.; King, M.S.

    1984-03-01

    The behavior of a granitic rock mass subjected to thermal load has been studied by an acoustic cross-hole technique between four boreholes, over a period of some two years. Velocities between boreholes were obtained from the times-of-flight of pulses of acoustic waves between transducers clamped to the borehole wall. The attenuation was obtained by a spectral ratios technique. When the heater was turned on, the velocities increased rapidly to an asymptotic value. When the heater was turned off, the velocities decreased rapidly to their original values or below. Velocities along a particular profile were found to increase linearly with the mean temperature in the profile tested. The attenuation showed little correlation with changes in temperature or the associated thermal stresses, but there was a good correlation of attenuation with water content and the related changes in pore pressure. 18 references, 7 figures

  15. Correction for polychromatic X-ray image distortion in computer tomography images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1979-01-01

    A method and apparatus are described which correct the polychromatic distortion of CT images that is produced by the non-linear interaction of body constituents with a polychromatic X-ray beam. A CT image is processed to estimate the proportion of the attenuation coefficients of the constituents in each pixel element. A multiplicity of projections for each constituent are generated from the original image and are combined utilizing a multidimensional polynomial which approximates the non-linear interaction involved. An error image is then generated from the combined projections and is subtracted from the original image to correct for the polychromatic distortion. (Auth.)

  16. Video Error Correction Using Steganography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robie David L

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The transmission of any data is always subject to corruption due to errors, but video transmission, because of its real time nature must deal with these errors without retransmission of the corrupted data. The error can be handled using forward error correction in the encoder or error concealment techniques in the decoder. This MPEG-2 compliant codec uses data hiding to transmit error correction information and several error concealment techniques in the decoder. The decoder resynchronizes more quickly with fewer errors than traditional resynchronization techniques. It also allows for perfect recovery of differentially encoded DCT-DC components and motion vectors. This provides for a much higher quality picture in an error-prone environment while creating an almost imperceptible degradation of the picture in an error-free environment.

  17. Value of new MR techniques in MR-PET; Stellenwert neuer MR-Techniken in der MR-PET

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Attenberger, U.I.; Schoenberg, S.O. [Universitaetsmedizin Mannheim, Medizinische Fakultaet Mannheim der Universitaet Heidelberg, Institut fuer klinische Radiologie und Nuklearmedizin, Mannheim (Germany); Quick, H.H. [Friedrich-Alexander-Universitaet Erlangen-Nuernberg, Institut fuer Medizinische Physik, Erlangen (Germany); Guimaraes, A. [Massachusetts General Hospital, Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Charlestown (United States); Catalano, O. [University of Naples Federico II, Naples (Italy); Morelli, J.N. [The Johns Hopkins Hospital, The Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Baltimore (United States)

    2013-12-15

    The unparalleled soft tissue contrast of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the functional information obtainable with 18-F fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) render MR-PET well-suited for oncological and psychiatric imaging. The lack of ionizing radiation with MRI also makes MR-PET a promising modality for oncology patients requiring frequent follow-up and pediatric patients. Lessons learned with PET computed tomography (CT) over the last few years do not directly translate to MR-PET. For example, in PET-CT the Hounsfield units derived from CT are used for attenuation correction (AC). As 511 keV photons emitted in PET examinations are attenuated by the patient's body CT data are converted directly to linear attenuation coefficients (LAC); however, proton density measured by MRI is not directly related to the radiodensity or LACs of biological tissue. Thus, direct conversion to LAC data is not possible making AC more challenging in simultaneous MRI-PET scanning. In addition to these constraints simultaneous MRI-PET acquisitions also improve on some solutions to well-known challenges of hybrid imaging techniques, such as limitations in motion correction. This article reports on initial clinical experiences with simultaneously acquired MRI-PET data, focusing on the potential benefits and limitations of MRI with respect to motion correction as well as metal and attenuation correction artefacts. (orig.) [German] Die klinische Implementierung der neuen Hybridtechnologie MR-Positronenemissionstomographie (MR-PET) bietet durch die Kombination aus hochaufloesender Morphologie, Funktion und Metabolismus bisher ungeahnte diagnostische Moeglichkeiten, die nicht nur fuer die Diagnose und die Verlaufskontrolle onkologischer und psychiatrischer Erkrankungen von hoher Bedeutung sind. Verglichen mit der PET-CT wird dies mit reduzierter Strahlenbelastung fuer den Patienten moeglich, was wiederum insbesondere fuer Patienten in der Tumornachsorge, die

  18. Impact of Scattering Model on Disdrometer Derived Attenuation Scaling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zemba, Michael; Luini, Lorenzo; Nessel, James; Riva, Carlo (Compiler)

    2016-01-01

    NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) are currently entering the third year of a joint propagation study in Milan, Italy utilizing the 20 and 40 GHz beacons of the Alphasat TDP5 Aldo Paraboni scientific payload. The Ka- and Q-band beacon receivers were installed at the POLIMI campus in June of 2014 and provide direct measurements of signal attenuation at each frequency. Collocated weather instrumentation provides concurrent measurement of atmospheric conditions at the receiver; included among these weather instruments is a Thies Clima Laser Precipitation Monitor (optical disdrometer) which records droplet size distributions (DSD) and droplet velocity distributions (DVD) during precipitation events. This information can be used to derive the specific attenuation at frequencies of interest and thereby scale measured attenuation data from one frequency to another. Given the ability to both predict the 40 GHz attenuation from the disdrometer and the 20 GHz timeseries as well as to directly measure the 40 GHz attenuation with the beacon receiver, the Milan terminal is uniquely able to assess these scaling techniques and refine the methods used to infer attenuation from disdrometer data.In order to derive specific attenuation from the DSD, the forward scattering coefficient must be computed. In previous work, this has been done using the Mie scattering model, however, this assumes a spherical droplet shape. The primary goal of this analysis is to assess the impact of the scattering model and droplet shape on disdrometer derived attenuation predictions by comparing the use of the Mie scattering model to the use of the T-matrix method, which does not assume a spherical droplet. In particular, this paper will investigate the impact of these two scattering approaches on the error of the resulting predictions as well as on the relationship between prediction error and rain rate.

  19. Ultrasonic attenuation measurements and 'glassy' behaviour of neutron irradiated quartz

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laermans, C.; Esteves, V.; Vanelstraete, A.

    1986-01-01

    The ultrasonic attenuation of longitudinal acoustic waves in slightly disordered crystalline quartz has been measured over a temperature range from 1.3 to 300 K, using the pulse-echo technique. Neutron irradiation is demonstrated to increase the ultrasonic attenuation at low temperatures indicating the presence of two-level tunneling systems similar to those of glasses. The present low-temperature acoustic results agree with a frequency independence and a T 3 behaviour for the relaxation process predicted by the two-level tunneling TLS-model where the regime ωT 1 >> 1 holds. (author)

  20. Region specific optimization of continuous linear attenuation coefficients based on UTE (RESOLUTE)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ladefoged, Claes N; Benoit, Didier; Law, Ian

    2015-01-01

    The reconstruction of PET brain data in a PET/MR hybrid scanner is challenging in the absence of transmission sources, where MR images are used for MR-based attenuation correction (MR-AC). The main challenge of MR-AC is to separate bone and air, as neither have a signal in traditional MR images......-valued linear attenuation coefficients in bone that provides accurate reconstructed PET image data. A total of 164 [(18)F]FDG PET/MR patients were included in this study, of which 10 were used for training. MR-AC was based on either standard CT (reference), UTE or our method (RESOLUTE). The reconstructed PET...... on the reconstructed PET images, as well as limiting the number and extent of the outliers....