Optimization of Ecg Gating in Quantitative Femoral Angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nilsson, S.; Berglund, I.; Erikson, U.; Johansson, J.; Walldius, G.

2003-01-01

Purpose: To determine which phase of the heart cycle would yield the highest reproducibility in measuring atherosclerosis-related variables such as arterial lumen volume and edge roughness. Material and Methods: 35 patients with hypercholesterolemia underwent select ive femoral angiography, repeated four times at 10-min intervals. The angiographies were performed with Ecg-gated exposures. In angiographies 1 and 2 the delay from R-wave maximum to each exposure was 0.1 s, in angiographies 3 and 4 the delay was 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 or 0.7 s or the exposures were performed 1/s without Ecg gating. Arterial lumen volume and edge roughness were measured in a 20-cm segment of the superficial femoral artery using a computer-based densitometric method. Measurement reproducibility was determined by comparing angiographies 1-2 and angiographies 3-4. Results: When measuring arterial lumen volume and edge roughness of a 20-cm segment of the femoral artery, reproducibility was not dependent on Ecg gating. In measuring single arterial diameters and cross-sectional areas, the reproducibility was better when exposures were made 0.1 s after the R-wave maximum than when using other settings of the Ecg gating device or without Ecg gating. Conclusion: The influence of pulsatile flow upon quantitative measurement in femoral angiograms seems to be the smallest possible in early systole, as can be demonstrated when measuring single diameters and cross-sectional areas. In variables based on integration over longer segments, measurement reproducibility seems to be independent of phase

Optimization of Ecg Gating in Quantitative Femoral Angiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nilsson, S.; Berglund, I.; Erikson, U. [Univ. Hospital, Uppsala (Sweden). Dept. of Oncology, Radiology and Clinical Immunology; Johansson, J.; Walldius, G. [Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm (Sweden). King Gustav V Research Inst.

2003-09-01

Purpose: To determine which phase of the heart cycle would yield the highest reproducibility in measuring atherosclerosis-related variables such as arterial lumen volume and edge roughness. Material and Methods: 35 patients with hypercholesterolemia underwent select ive femoral angiography, repeated four times at 10-min intervals. The angiographies were performed with Ecg-gated exposures. In angiographies 1 and 2 the delay from R-wave maximum to each exposure was 0.1 s, in angiographies 3 and 4 the delay was 0.1, 0.3, 0.5 or 0.7 s or the exposures were performed 1/s without Ecg gating. Arterial lumen volume and edge roughness were measured in a 20-cm segment of the superficial femoral artery using a computer-based densitometric method. Measurement reproducibility was determined by comparing angiographies 1-2 and angiographies 3-4. Results: When measuring arterial lumen volume and edge roughness of a 20-cm segment of the femoral artery, reproducibility was not dependent on Ecg gating. In measuring single arterial diameters and cross-sectional areas, the reproducibility was better when exposures were made 0.1 s after the R-wave maximum than when using other settings of the Ecg gating device or without Ecg gating. Conclusion: The influence of pulsatile flow upon quantitative measurement in femoral angiograms seems to be the smallest possible in early systole, as can be demonstrated when measuring single diameters and cross-sectional areas. In variables based on integration over longer segments, measurement reproducibility seems to be independent of phase.

Evaluation of ECG-gated [(11)C]acetate PET for measuring left ventricular volumes, mass, and myocardial external efficiency.

Science.gov (United States)

Hansson, Nils Henrik; Tolbod, Lars; Harms, Johannes; Wiggers, Henrik; Kim, Won Yong; Hansen, Esben; Zaremba, Tomas; Frøkiær, Jørgen; Jakobsen, Steen; Sørensen, Jens

2016-08-01

Noninvasive estimation of myocardial external efficiency (MEE) requires measurements of left ventricular (LV) oxygen consumption with [(11)C]acetate PET in addition to LV stroke volume and mass with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR). Measuring LV geometry directly from ECG-gated [(11)C]acetate PET might enable MEE evaluation from a single PET scan. Therefore, we sought to establish the accuracy of measuring LV volumes, mass, and MEE directly from ECG-gated [(11)C]acetate PET. Thirty-five subjects with aortic valve stenosis underwent ECG-gated [(11)C]acetate PET and CMR. List mode PET data were rebinned into 16-bin ECG-gated uptake images before measuring LV volumes and mass using commercial software and compared to CMR. Dynamic datasets were used for calculation of mean LV oxygen consumption and MEE. LV mass, volumes, and ejection fraction measured by CMR and PET correlated strongly (r = 0.86-0.92, P PET (P PET-based MEE, corrected for bias, correlated fairly with PET/CMR-based MEE (r = 0.60, P PET-based MEE bias was strongly associated with LV wall thickness. Although analysis-related improvements in accuracy are recommended, LV geometry estimated from ECG-gated [(11)C]acetate PET correlate excellently with CMR and can indeed be used to evaluate MEE.

Step-and-shoot prospectively ECG-gated vs. retrospectively ECG-gated with tube current modulation coronary CT angiography using 128-slice MDCT patients with chest pain: diagnostic performance and radiation dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jeong Su; Choo, Ki Seok; Jeong, Dong Wook

2011-01-01

Background With increasing awareness for radiation exposure, the study of diagnostic accuracy of coronary CT angiography (CCTA) with low radiation dose techniques is mandatory to both radiologist and clinician. Purpose To compare diagnostic performance and effective radiation dose between step-and-shoot prospectively ECG-gated and retrospectively ECG-gated with tube current modulation (TCM) CCTA using 128-slice multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Material and Methods We retrospectively evaluated 60 patients who underwent CCTA with either of two different low-dose techniques using 128-slice MDCT (23 patients for step-and shoot-prospectively ECG-gated and 37 patients for retrospectively ECG-gated with TCM CCTA) followed by conventional coronary angiography. All coronary arteries and all segments thereof, except anatomical variants or small size (< 1.5 mm) ones, were included in analysis. Results In per-segment analysis, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 91/96%, 95/94%, 75/73%, and 98/99% for step-and-shoot prospectively ECG-gated and retrospectively ECG gated with TCM CCTA, respectively, relative to conventional coronary angiography. Effective radiation dose were 1.75 ± 0.83 mSv, 4.91 ± 1.71 mSv in the step-and-shoot prospectively ECG-gated and retrospectively ECG-gated with TCM CCTA groups, respectively. Conclusion The two low-radiation dose CCTA techniques using 128-slice MDCT yields comparable diagnostic performance for coronary artery disease in symptomatic patients with low heart rates

An integrated bioimpedance—ECG gating technique for respiratory and cardiac motion compensation in cardiac PET

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koivumäki, Tuomas; Nekolla, Stephan G; Fürst, Sebastian; Loher, Simone; Schwaiger, Markus; Vauhkonen, Marko; Hakulinen, Mikko A

2014-01-01

Respiratory motion may degrade image quality in cardiac PET imaging. Since cardiac PET studies often involve cardiac gating by ECG, a separate respiratory monitoring system is required increasing the logistic complexity of the examination, in case respiratory gating is also needed. Thus, we investigated the simultaneous acquisition of both respiratory and cardiac gating signals using II limb lead mimicking electrode configuration during cardiac PET scans of 11 patients. In addition to conventional static and ECG-gated images, bioimpedance technique was utilized to generate respiratory- and dual-gated images. The ability of the bioimpedance technique to monitor intrathoracic respiratory motion was assessed estimating cardiac displacement between end-inspiration and -expiration. The relevance of dual gating was evaluated in left ventricular volume and myocardial wall thickness measurements. An average 7.6  ±  3.3 mm respiratory motion was observed in the study population. Dual gating showed a small but significant increase (4 ml, p = 0.042) in left ventricular myocardial volume compared to plain cardiac gating. In addition, a thinner myocardial wall was observed in dual-gated images (9.3  ±  1.3 mm) compared to cardiac-gated images (11.3  ±  1.3 mm, p = 0.003). This study shows the feasibility of bioimpedance measurements for dual gating in a clinical setting. The method enables simultaneous acquisition of respiratory and cardiac gating signals using a single device with standard ECG electrodes. (paper)

Simultaneous ECG-gated PET imaging of multiple mice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seidel, Jurgen; Bernardo, Marcelino L.; Wong, Karen J.; Xu, Biying; Williams, Mark R.; Kuo, Frank; Jagoda, Elaine M.; Basuli, Falguni; Li, Changhui; Griffiths, Gary L.

2014-01-01

Introduction: We describe and illustrate a method for creating ECG-gated PET images of the heart for each of several mice imaged at the same time. The method is intended to increase “throughput” in PET research studies of cardiac dynamics or to obtain information derived from such studies, e.g. tracer concentration in end-diastolic left ventricular blood. Methods: An imaging bed with provisions for warming, anesthetic delivery, etc., was fabricated by 3D printing to allow simultaneous PET imaging of two side-by-side mice. After electrode attachment, tracer injection and placement of the animals in the scanner field of view, ECG signals from each animal were continuously analyzed and independent trigger markers generated whenever an R-wave was detected in each signal. PET image data were acquired in “list” mode and these trigger markers were inserted into this list along with the image data. Since each mouse is in a different spatial location in the FOV, sorting of these data using trigger markers first from one animal and then the other yields two independent and correctly formed ECG-gated image sequences that reflect the dynamical properties of the heart during an “average” cardiac cycle. Results: The described method yields two independent ECG-gated image sequences that exhibit the expected properties in each animal, e.g. variation of the ventricular cavity volumes from maximum to minimum and back during the cardiac cycle in the processed animal with little or no variation in these volumes during the cardiac cycle in the unprocessed animal. Conclusion: ECG-gated image sequences for each of several animals can be created from a single list mode data collection using the described method. In principle, this method can be extended to more than two mice (or other animals) and to other forms of physiological gating, e.g. respiratory gating, when several subjects are imaged at the same time

Measurement of ventricular function by ECG gating during atrial fibrillation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacharach, S.L.; Green, M.V.; Bonow, R.O.; Findley, S.L.; Ostrow, H.G.; Johnston, G.S.

1981-01-01

The assumptions necessary to perform ECG-gated cardiac studies are seemingly not valid for patients in atrial fibrillation (AF). To evaluate the effect of AF on equilibrium gated scintigraphy, beat-by-beat measurements of left-ventricular function were made on seven subjects in AF (mean heart rate 64 bpm), using a high-efficiency nonimaging detector. The parameters evaluated were ejection fraction (EF), time to end-systole (TES), peak rates of ejection and filling (PER,PFR), and their times of occurrence (TPER, TPFR). By averaging together single-beat values of EF, PER, etc., it was possible to determine the true mean values of these parameters. The single-beam mean values were compared with the corresponding parameters calculated from one ECG-gated time-activity curve (TAC) obtained by superimposing all the single-beat TACs irrespective of their length. For this population with slow heart rates, we find that the values for EF, etc., produced from ECG-gated time-activity curves, are very similar to those obtained from the single-beat data. Thus use of ECG gating at low heart rates may allow reliable estimation of average cardiac function even in subjects with AF

128-slice CT angiography of the aorta without ECG-gating: efficacy of faster gantry rotation time and iterative reconstruction in terms of image quality and radiation dose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Russo, Vincenzo; Garattoni, Monica; Buia, Francesco; Attina, Domenico; Lovato, Luigi; Zompatori, Maurizio [University Hospital ' ' S.Orsola' ' , Cardio-Thoracic-Vascular Department, Cardio-Thoracic Radiology Unit, Bologna (Italy)

2016-02-15

To evaluate image quality and radiation dose of non ECG-gated 128-slice CT angiography of the aorta (CTAA) with fast gantry rotation time and iterative reconstruction. Four hundred and eighty patients underwent non ECG-gated CTAA. Qualitative and quantitative image quality assessments were performed. Radiation dose was assessed and compared with the dose of patients who underwent ECG-gated CTAA (n = 126) and the dose of previous CTAA performed with another CT (n = 339). Image quality (aortic root-ascending portion) was average-to-excellent in more than 94 % of cases, without any non-diagnostic scan. For proximal coronaries, image quality was average-to-excellent in more than 50 %, with only 21.5 % of non-diagnostic cases. Quantitative analysis results were also good. Mean radiation dose for thoracic CTAA was 5.6 mSv versus 20.6 mSv of ECG-gated protocol and 20.6 mSv of 16-slice CTAA scans, with an average dose reduction of 72.8 % (p < 0.001). Mean radiation dose for thoracic-abdominal CTAA was 9.7 mSv, versus 20.9 mSv of 16-slice CTAA scans, with an average dose reduction of 53.6 % (p < 0.001). Non ECG-gated 128-slice CTAA is feasible and able to provide high quality visualization of the entire aorta without significant motion artefacts, together with a considerable dose and contrast media volume reduction. (orig.)

128-slice CT angiography of the aorta without ECG-gating: efficacy of faster gantry rotation time and iterative reconstruction in terms of image quality and radiation dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Russo, Vincenzo; Garattoni, Monica; Buia, Francesco; Attina, Domenico; Lovato, Luigi; Zompatori, Maurizio

2016-01-01

To evaluate image quality and radiation dose of non ECG-gated 128-slice CT angiography of the aorta (CTAA) with fast gantry rotation time and iterative reconstruction. Four hundred and eighty patients underwent non ECG-gated CTAA. Qualitative and quantitative image quality assessments were performed. Radiation dose was assessed and compared with the dose of patients who underwent ECG-gated CTAA (n = 126) and the dose of previous CTAA performed with another CT (n = 339). Image quality (aortic root-ascending portion) was average-to-excellent in more than 94 % of cases, without any non-diagnostic scan. For proximal coronaries, image quality was average-to-excellent in more than 50 %, with only 21.5 % of non-diagnostic cases. Quantitative analysis results were also good. Mean radiation dose for thoracic CTAA was 5.6 mSv versus 20.6 mSv of ECG-gated protocol and 20.6 mSv of 16-slice CTAA scans, with an average dose reduction of 72.8 % (p < 0.001). Mean radiation dose for thoracic-abdominal CTAA was 9.7 mSv, versus 20.9 mSv of 16-slice CTAA scans, with an average dose reduction of 53.6 % (p < 0.001). Non ECG-gated 128-slice CTAA is feasible and able to provide high quality visualization of the entire aorta without significant motion artefacts, together with a considerable dose and contrast media volume reduction. (orig.)

Low dose prospective ECG-gated delayed enhanced dual-source computed tomography in reperfused acute myocardial infarction comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Rui; Zhang Zhaoqi; Xu Lei; Ma Qin; He Yi; Lu Dongxu; Yu Wei; Fan Zhanming

2011-01-01

Purpose: To determine whether prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated delayed contrast-enhanced dual-source computed tomography (DCE-DSCT) can accurately delineate the extension of myocardial infarction (MI) compared with delayed enhanced cardiac MR (DE-MR). Material and methods: Eleven patients were examined using dual-source CT and cardiac MR in 2 weeks after a first reperfused MI. DCE-DSCT scan protocol was performed with prospective ECG-gating sequential scan model 7 min after contrast administration. In a 17-model, infarcted myocardium detected by DE-MR was categorized as transmural and subendocardial extension. Segment of infarcted location and graded transmurality were compared between DCE-MDCT and DE-MR. Results: In all eleven patients, diagnostic quality was obtained for depicting delayed enhanced myocardium. Agreement between DCE-DSCT and MR was good on myocardial segment based comparison (kappa = 0.85, p < 0.001), and on transmural and subendocardial infarction type comparison (kappa = 0.82, p < 0.001, kappa = 0.52, p < 0.001, respectively). CT value was higher on infarcted region than that of normal region (100.02 ± 9.57 HU vs. 72.63 ± 7.32 HU, p < 0.001). Radiation dose of prospectively ECG-gating protocol were 0.99 ± 0.08 mSv (0.82-1.19 mSv). Conclusions: Prospective ECG-gated DCE-DSCT can accurately assess the extension and the patterns of myocardial infarction with low radiation dose.

Low dose prospective ECG-gated delayed enhanced dual-source computed tomography in reperfused acute myocardial infarction comparison with cardiac magnetic resonance

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang Rui, E-mail: rui_wang1979@yahoo.cn [Department of Radiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100029 Beijing (China); Zhang Zhaoqi, E-mail: zhaoqi5000@vip.sohu.com [Department of Radiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100029 Beijing (China); Xu Lei, E-mail: leixu2001@hotmail.com [Department of Radiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100029 Beijing (China); Ma Qin, E-mail: tel1367@gmail.com [Department of Emergency, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100029 Beijing (China); He Yi, E-mail: heyi139@sina.com [Department of Radiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100029 Beijing (China); Lu Dongxu, E-mail: larry.hi@163.com [Department of Radiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100029 Beijing (China); Yu Wei, E-mail: yuwei02@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100029 Beijing (China); Fan Zhanming, E-mail: fanzm120@tom.com [Department of Radiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University, 100029 Beijing (China)

2011-11-15

Purpose: To determine whether prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated delayed contrast-enhanced dual-source computed tomography (DCE-DSCT) can accurately delineate the extension of myocardial infarction (MI) compared with delayed enhanced cardiac MR (DE-MR). Material and methods: Eleven patients were examined using dual-source CT and cardiac MR in 2 weeks after a first reperfused MI. DCE-DSCT scan protocol was performed with prospective ECG-gating sequential scan model 7 min after contrast administration. In a 17-model, infarcted myocardium detected by DE-MR was categorized as transmural and subendocardial extension. Segment of infarcted location and graded transmurality were compared between DCE-MDCT and DE-MR. Results: In all eleven patients, diagnostic quality was obtained for depicting delayed enhanced myocardium. Agreement between DCE-DSCT and MR was good on myocardial segment based comparison (kappa = 0.85, p < 0.001), and on transmural and subendocardial infarction type comparison (kappa = 0.82, p < 0.001, kappa = 0.52, p < 0.001, respectively). CT value was higher on infarcted region than that of normal region (100.02 {+-} 9.57 HU vs. 72.63 {+-} 7.32 HU, p < 0.001). Radiation dose of prospectively ECG-gating protocol were 0.99 {+-} 0.08 mSv (0.82-1.19 mSv). Conclusions: Prospective ECG-gated DCE-DSCT can accurately assess the extension and the patterns of myocardial infarction with low radiation dose.

ECG-gated multislice spiral CT for diagnosis of acute pulmonary embolism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marten, K.; Engelke, C.; Funke, M.; Obenauer, S.; Baum, F.; Grabbe, E.

2003-01-01

AIM: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of echocardiogram (ECG)-gated multi-slice CT angiography (MCTA) in patients with clinical suspicion of acute venous thromboembolism (VTE), to investigate the effect of ECG-gating on cardiac motion artefacts, and to determine the diagnostic reader agreement of ECG-gated MCTA in comparison with conventional MCTA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-eight consecutive patients were prospectively enrolled and randomly underwent ECG-gated (n=25, group 1) or non-ECG-gated (n=23, group 2) eight-slice pulmonary MCTA. Image data were evaluated by three independent chest radiologists with respect to the presence or absence of emboli at different arterial levels (main, lobar, segmental, and subsegmental arteries), and with regard to cardiac motion artefacts. Statistical tests used to calculate inter-observer agreement were weighted κ statistics, extended κ statistics and confidence indices indicating three-reader agreement accuracy. RESULTS: Twenty-seven patients (56.3%) were diagnosed to have pulmonary embolism (13 from group 1, 14 from group 2). Cardiac motion artefacts were significantly more frequent in group 2 (70% in group 2 versus 13% in group 1, p=0.0001). The overall diagnostic agreement was excellent with both MCTA techniques (three-reader confidence index for all vascular territories: 0.76 and 0.84 for groups 1 and 2, respectively (extended κ=0.69 and 0.78, respectively); three-reader confidence index for diagnosis of VTE: 0.94 and 0.85 for groups 1 and 2, respectively (extended κ=0.91 and 0.73, respectively), weighted κ=0.81-0.83 and 0.92-0.95 for groups 1 and 2, respectively, and did not differ significantly between the two groups. In addition there was no significant difference of inter-observer agreement in either group at any assessed pulmonary arterial level. CONCLUSION: ECG-gated pulmonary MCTA is feasible in patients with clinical suspicion of VTE. However, ECG-gated image acquisition did not

Prospective ECG-triggered axial CT at 140-kV tube voltage improves coronary in-stent restenosis visibility at a lower radiation dose compared with conventional retrospective ECG-gated helical CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horiguchi, Jun; Fujioka, Chikako; Kiguchi, Masao; Kohno, Shingo [Hiroshima University Hospital, Department of Clinical Radiology, Hiroshima (Japan); Yamamoto, Hideya; Kitagawa, Toshiro [Hiroshima University, Department of Molecular and Internal Medicine, Division of Clinical Medical Science, Programs for Applied Biomedicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima (Japan); Ito, Katsuhide [Hiroshima University, Department of Radiology, Division of Medical Intelligence and Informatics, Programs for Applied Biomedicine, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima (Japan)

2009-10-15

The purpose of this study was to compare coronary 64-slice CT angiography (CTA) protocols, specifically prospective electrocardiograph (ECG)-triggered and retrospective ECG-gated CT acquisition performed using a tube voltage of 140 kV and 120 kV, regarding intracoronary stent imaging. Coronary artery stents (n=12) with artificial in-stent restenosis (50% luminal reduction, 40 HU) on a cardiac phantom were examined by CT at heart rates of 50-75 beats per minute (bpm). The subjective visibility of in-stent restenosis was evaluated with a three-point scale (1 clearly visible, 2 visible, and 3 not visible), and artificial lumen narrowing [(inner stent diameter - measured lumen diameter)/inner stent diameter], lumen attenuation increase ratio [(in-stent attenuation - coronary lumen attenuation)/coronary lumen attenuation], and signal-to-noise ratio of in-stent lumen were determined. The effective dose was estimated. The artificial lumen narrowing (mean 43%), the increase of lumen attenuation (mean 46%), and signal-to-noise ratio (mean 7.8) were not different between CT acquisitions (p=0.12-0.91). However, the visibility scores of in-stent restenosis were different (p<0.05) between ECG-gated CTA techniques: (a) 140-kV prospective (effective dose 4.6 mSv), 1.6; (b) 120-kV prospective (3.3 mSv), 1.8; (c) 140-kV retrospective (16.4-18.8 mSv), 1.9; and (d) 120-kV retrospective (11.0-13.4 mSv), 1.9. Thus, 140-kV prospective ECG-triggered CTA improves coronary in-stent restenosis visibility at a lower radiation dose compared with retrospective ECG-gated CTA. (orig.)

Integrated cardio-thoracic imaging with ECG-Gated 64-slice multidetector-row CT: initial findings in 133 patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salem, Randa; Remy-Jardin, Martine; Delhaye, Damien; Khalil, Chadi; Teisseire, Antoine; Remy, Jacques; Delannoy-Deken, Valerie; Duhamel, Alain

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of assessing the underlying respiratory disease as well as cardiac function during ECG-gated CT angiography of the chest with 64-slice multidetector-row CT (MDCT). One hundred thirty-three consecutive patients in sinus rhythm with known or suspected ventricular dysfunction underwent an ECG-gated CT angiographic examination of the chest without β-blockers using the following parameters: (1) collimation: 32 x 0.6 mm with z-flying focal spot for the acquisition of 64 overlapping 0.6-mm slices (Sensation 64; Siemens); rotation time: 0.33 s; pitch: 0.3; 120 kV; 200 mAs; ECG-controlled dose modulation (ECG-pulsing) and (2) 120 ml of a 35% contrast agent. Data were reconstructed: (1) to evaluate the underlying respiratory disease (1-mm thick lung and mediastinal scans reconstructed at 55% of the R-R interval; i.e., ''morphologic scans'') and (2) to determine right (RVEF) and left (LVEF) ventricular ejection fractions (short-axis systolic and diastolic images; Argus software; i.e., ''functional scans''). The mean heart rate was 73 bpm (range: 42-120) and the mean scan time was 18.11±2.67 s (range: 10-27). A total of 123 examinations (92%) had both lung and mediastinal images rated as diagnostic scans, whereas 10 examinations (8%) had non-diagnostic images altered by the presence of respiratory-motion artifacts (n=4) or cyclic artifacts related to the use of a pitch value of 0.3 in patients with a very low heart rate during data acquisition (n=6). Assessment of right and left ventricular function was achievable in 124 patients (93%, 95% CI: 88-97%). For these 124 examinations, the mean RVEF was 46.10% (±9.5; range: 20-72) and the mean LVEF was 58.23% (±10.88; range: 20-83). In the remaining nine patients, an imprecise segmentation of the right and left ventricular cavities was considered as a limiting factor for precise calculation of end-systolic and end-diastolic ventricular volumes. The mean (±SD) DLP

ECG-gated computed tomography: a new role for patients with suspected aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fagman, Erika; Flinck, Agneta; Lamm, Carl [Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Gothenburg (Sweden); Perrotta, Sossio [Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Anaesthesia, Gothenburg (Sweden); Bech-Hanssen, Odd [Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Clinical Physiology, Gothenburg (Sweden); Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Gothenburg (Sweden); Olaison, Lars [Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Infectious Diseases, Gothenburg (Sweden); Svensson, Gunnar [Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Department of Cardiovascular Surgery and Anaesthesia, Gothenburg (Sweden); The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Department of Molecular and Clinical Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Gothenburg (Sweden)

2012-11-15

The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the agreement in findings between ECG-gated CT and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in patients with aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). Twenty-seven consecutive patients with PVE underwent 64-slice ECG-gated CT and TEE and the results were compared. Imaging was compared with surgical findings (surgery was performed in 16 patients). TEE suggested the presence of PVE in all patients [thickened aortic wall (n = 17), vegetation (n = 13), abscess (n = 16), valvular dehiscence (n = 10)]. ECG-gated CT was positive in 25 patients (93 %) [thickened aortic wall (n = 19), vegetation (n = 7), abscess (n = 18), valvular dehiscence (n = 7)]. The strength of agreement [kappa (95 % CI)] between ECG-gated CT and TEE was very good for thickened wall [0.83 (0.62-1.0)], good for abscess [0.68 (0.40-0.97)] and dehiscence [0.75 (0.48-1.0)], and moderate for vegetation [0.55 (0.26-0.88)]. The agreement was good between surgical findings (abscess, vegetation and dehiscence) and imaging for ECG-gated CT [0.66 (0.49-0.87)] and TEE [0.79 (0.62-0.96)] and very good for the combination of ECG-gated CT and TEE [0.88 (0.74-1.0)]. Our results indicate that ECG-gated CT has comparable diagnostic performance to TEE and may be a valuable complement in the preoperative evaluation of patients with aortic PVE. (orig.)

ECG-gated computed tomography: a new role for patients with suspected aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fagman, Erika; Flinck, Agneta; Lamm, Carl; Perrotta, Sossio; Bech-Hanssen, Odd; Olaison, Lars; Svensson, Gunnar

2012-01-01

The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the agreement in findings between ECG-gated CT and transoesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in patients with aortic prosthetic valve endocarditis (PVE). Twenty-seven consecutive patients with PVE underwent 64-slice ECG-gated CT and TEE and the results were compared. Imaging was compared with surgical findings (surgery was performed in 16 patients). TEE suggested the presence of PVE in all patients [thickened aortic wall (n = 17), vegetation (n = 13), abscess (n = 16), valvular dehiscence (n = 10)]. ECG-gated CT was positive in 25 patients (93 %) [thickened aortic wall (n = 19), vegetation (n = 7), abscess (n = 18), valvular dehiscence (n = 7)]. The strength of agreement [kappa (95 % CI)] between ECG-gated CT and TEE was very good for thickened wall [0.83 (0.62-1.0)], good for abscess [0.68 (0.40-0.97)] and dehiscence [0.75 (0.48-1.0)], and moderate for vegetation [0.55 (0.26-0.88)]. The agreement was good between surgical findings (abscess, vegetation and dehiscence) and imaging for ECG-gated CT [0.66 (0.49-0.87)] and TEE [0.79 (0.62-0.96)] and very good for the combination of ECG-gated CT and TEE [0.88 (0.74-1.0)]. Our results indicate that ECG-gated CT has comparable diagnostic performance to TEE and may be a valuable complement in the preoperative evaluation of patients with aortic PVE. (orig.)

Comparison between retrospective gating and ECG triggering in magnetic resonance velocity mapping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søndergaard, L; Ståhlberg, F; Thomsen, C

1993-01-01

ECG-triggered cinematographic studies of the cardiovascular system are hampered by several technical restrictions such as the inability to image end-diastole, ghosting, varying signal intensity, and phase contributions from eddy currents. Retrospective gating may solve these problems, but involves...... of flow pulses. However, by reducing the time window retrospectively gated flow measurements were in good agreement with those that are ECG triggered. When fulfilling the demand of a narrow time window for interpolation, retrospective gating offers several advantages in MR velocity mapping....

Clinical application of ECG-gated 256-slice CT angiography for diagnosis of congenital heart disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tian Xinhua; Liu Jianhua; Gong Tingting; Geng Lili; Sun Yong

2011-01-01

Objective: To investigate the clinical application of ECG-gated 256-slice CT angiography for diagnosis of congenital heart disease, and to evaluate the relationship of the image quality and radiation dose between prospective ECG-gated and retrospective ECG-gated cardiac CT angiography (CTA). Methods: Sixty patients who doubt congenital heart disease underwent cardiac CTA, and they were randomly divided into two groups. Thirty patients in group A underwent prospective ECG-gated cardiac CTA, and thirty patients in group B underwent retrospective ECG-gated cardiac CTA. Then the homogeneous enhancement of vascular structures, stair-step artifact, overall image quality and radiation dose were evaluated. Results: The homogeneous enhancement of vascular structures were 2.8±0.3 and 2.7±0.6, respectively, in two groups; and there was no statistical significance (P>0.05). The stair-step artifact were 3.0±0.9 and 3.1±0.9, respectively, in two groups; and there was also no statistical significance (P>0.05). The overall image quality were 3.0±0.8 and 3.1±0.9, respectively, in two group; and there was statistical significance (P>0.05). However, the effective dose were (5.24±0.52) mSv and (16.68±1.49) mSv, respectively, in two groups; and there was statistical significance (P<0.001). Conclusion: Compared with retrospective ECG-gated cardiac CTA, prospective ECG-gated cardiac CTA can reduce radiation dose about 68.6% , while maintaining the image quality which could be made diagnosis. (authors)

Ventricular short-axis measurements in patients with pulmonary embolism: Effect of ECG-gating on variability, accuracy, and risk prediction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Scheffel, Hans; Stolzmann, Paul; Leschka, Sebastian; Desbiolles, Lotus; Seifert, Burkhardt; Marincek, Borut; Alkadhi, Hatem

2012-01-01

Objective: To assess prospectively the intra- and interobserver variability, accuracy, and prognostic value of right and left ventricular short-axis diameter (RVd and LVd) measurements for risk stratification in patients with pulmonary embolism (PE) using ECG-gated compared to non-gated CT. Materials and methods: Sixty consecutive patients (33 women; mean age 58.7 ± 10.3 years) with suspicion of PE underwent both non-gated and ECG-gated chest CT. RVd and LVd on four-chamber views and intra- and interobserver agreements were calculated for both protocols. RVd/LVd ratios were calculated and were related to 30-days adverse clinical events using receiver operating characteristics with area-under-the-curve (AUC) analyses. Results: Both inter- and intraobserver variability showed narrower limits of agreement for all measurements with ECG-gated as compared to non-gated CT. Diameter measurements were significantly lower using non-ECG-gated CT as compared to ECG-gated CT for RVd and LVd (both p < .05). The AUC for the RVd/LVd ratio from ECG-gated CT was significantly larger than that from non-gated CT (0.956, 95% CI: 0.768–0.999 versus 0.675, 95% CI: 0.439–0.860; p = .048). Conclusion: RVd and LVd measurements from ECG-gated chest CT show less intra- and interobserver variability and more accurately reflect ventricular function. In our patient cohort ECG-gated chest CT allows better prediction of short-term outcome of patients with acute PE that needs to be validated in a larger outcome study

Hybrid ECG-gated versus non-gated 512-slice CT angiography of the aorta and coronary artery: image quality and effect of a motion correction algorithm.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Ji Won; Kim, Chang Won; Lee, Geewon; Lee, Han Cheol; Kim, Sang-Pil; Choi, Bum Sung; Jeong, Yeon Joo

2018-02-01

Background Using the hybrid electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated computed tomography (CT) technique, assessment of entire aorta, coronary arteries, and aortic valve can be possible using single-bolus contrast administration within a single acquisition. Purpose To compare the image quality of hybrid ECG-gated and non-gated CT angiography of the aorta and evaluate the effect of a motion correction algorithm (MCA) on coronary artery image quality in a hybrid ECG-gated aorta CT group. Material and Methods In total, 104 patients (76 men; mean age = 65.8 years) prospectively randomized into two groups (Group 1 = hybrid ECG-gated CT; Group 2 = non-gated CT) underwent wide-detector array aorta CT. Image quality, assessed using a four-point scale, was compared between the groups. Coronary artery image quality was compared between the conventional reconstruction and motion correction reconstruction subgroups in Group 1. Results Group 1 showed significant advantages over Group 2 in aortic wall, cardiac chamber, aortic valve, coronary ostia, and main coronary arteries image quality (all P ECG-gated CT significantly improved the heart and aortic wall image quality and the MCA can further improve the image quality and interpretability of coronary arteries.

ECG-gated myocardial imaging with 201Tl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baehre, M.

1980-01-01

ECG-gated myocardial scintigraphy by means of 201 TI was performed in 11 patients. Good scintigrams could be gained by using long imaging times, but there was no additional information when compared with static images. Disadvantages were long imaging time, higher technical expenditure, and the smaller number of projections. Furthermore, there is no possibility of performing myocardial imaging under stress. (orig.) [de

Residual motion compensation in ECG-gated interventional cardiac vasculature reconstruction

Science.gov (United States)

Schwemmer, C.; Rohkohl, C.; Lauritsch, G.; Müller, K.; Hornegger, J.

2013-06-01

Three-dimensional reconstruction of cardiac vasculature from angiographic C-arm CT (rotational angiography) data is a major challenge. Motion artefacts corrupt image quality, reducing usability for diagnosis and guidance. Many state-of-the-art approaches depend on retrospective ECG-gating of projection data for image reconstruction. A trade-off has to be made regarding the size of the ECG-gating window. A large temporal window is desirable to avoid undersampling. However, residual motion will occur in a large window, causing motion artefacts. We present an algorithm to correct for residual motion. Our approach is based on a deformable 2D-2D registration between the forward projection of an initial, ECG-gated reconstruction, and the original projection data. The approach is fully automatic and does not require any complex segmentation of vasculature, or landmarks. The estimated motion is compensated for during the backprojection step of a subsequent reconstruction. We evaluated the method using the publicly available CAVAREV platform and on six human clinical datasets. We found a better visibility of structure, reduced motion artefacts, and increased sharpness of the vessels in the compensated reconstructions compared to the initial reconstructions. At the time of writing, our algorithm outperforms the leading result of the CAVAREV ranking list. For the clinical datasets, we found an average reduction of motion artefacts by 13 ± 6%. Vessel sharpness was improved by 25 ± 12% on average.

Prospective and retrospective ECG-gating for CT coronary angiography perform similarly accurate at low heart rates

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Stolzmann, Paul, E-mail: paul.stolzmann@usz.ch [Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich (Switzerland); Goetti, Robert; Baumueller, Stephan [Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich (Switzerland); Plass, Andre; Falk, Volkmar [Clinic for Cardiovascular Surgery, University Hospital Zurich (Switzerland); Scheffel, Hans; Feuchtner, Gudrun; Marincek, Borut [Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich (Switzerland); Alkadhi, Hatem [Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich (Switzerland); Cardiac MR PET CT Program, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Leschka, Sebastian [Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University Hospital Zurich, Raemistrasse 100, 8091 Zurich (Switzerland)

2011-07-15

Objective: To compare, in patients with suspicion of coronary artery disease (CAD) and low heart rates, image quality, diagnostic performance, and radiation dose values of prospectively and retrospectively electrocardiography (ECG)-gated dual-source computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) for the diagnosis of significant coronary stenoses. Materials and methods: Two-hundred consecutive patients with heart rates {<=}70 bpm were retrospectively enrolled; 100 patients undergoing prospectively ECG-gated CTCA (group 1) and 100 patients undergoing retrospectively-gated CTCA (group 2). Coronary artery segments were assessed for image quality and significant luminal diameter narrowing. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values (PPV), negative predictive values (NPV), and accuracy of both CTCA groups were determined using conventional catheter angiography (CCA) as reference standard. Radiation dose values were calculated. Results: Both groups were comparable regarding gender, body weight, cardiovascular risk profile, severity of CAD, mean heart rate, heart rate variability, and Agatston score (all p > 0.05). There was no significant difference in the rate of non-assessable coronary segments between group 1 (1.6%, 24/1404) and group 2 (1.4%, 19/1385; p = 0.77); non-diagnostic image quality was significantly (p < 0.001) more often attributed to stair step artifacts in group 1. Segment-based sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy were 98%, 98%, 88%, 100%, and 100% among group 1; 96%, 99%, 90%, 100%, and 98% among group 2, respectively. Parameters of diagnostic performance were similar (all p > 0.05). Mean effective radiation dose of prospectively ECG-gated CTCA (2.2 {+-} 0.4 mSv) was significantly (p < 0.0001) smaller than that of retrospectively ECG-gated CTCA (8.1 {+-} 0.6 mSv). Conclusion: Prospectively ECG-gated CTCA yields similar image quality, performs as accurately as retrospectively ECG-gated CTCA in patients having heart rates {<=}70 bpm

Prospective ECG triggering versus low-dose retrospective ECG-gated 128-channel CT coronary angiography: comparison of image quality and radiation dose

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feng, Q.; Yin, Y.; Hua, X.; Zhu, R.; Hua, J.; Xu, J.

2010-01-01

Aim: To evaluate image quality and radiation dose for 128-detector prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) compared with a low-dose retrospective ECG-gated imaging protocol. Materials and methods: Thirty-one and 47 patients suspected of having coronary artery disease were enrolled into groups examined using prospective and low-dose retrospective ECG-gated CT protocols respectively. All examinations were performed on a 128-detector CT system (Definition AS, Siemens Healthcare, Forchheim, Germany). Prospective CTCA was performed using following parameters: tube voltage 100 kV; tube current 205 mAs; centre of acquisition window 70% of the RR interval. The tube current for low-dose retrospective ECG-gated CTCA was full dose during 40-70% of the RR interval and partial dose for the rest of RR interval. The pitch varied between 0.2 and 0.5 depending on heart rate and patient size. Image quality of coronary arteries was evaluated using a four-point grading scale. The signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of enhanced arteries and myocardium were also measured, corresponding contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) were calculated, and the radiation doses received were recorded. Results: There was a significant difference in the image quality scores between the retrospective and prospective gating protocols (Chi-square = 15.331, p = 0.009). There was no significant difference between the SNRs of the contrasted artery and myocardium in these two groups, but the CNRs were increased in the prospective group. The mean radiation dose of prospective gating group was 2.71 ± 0.67 mSv (range, 1.67-3.59 mSv), which was significantly lower than that of the retrospective group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Prospective CT angiography can achieve lower radiation dose than that of low-dose retrospective CT angiography, with preserved image quality.

Prospective ECG triggering versus low-dose retrospective ECG-gated 128-channel CT coronary angiography: comparison of image quality and radiation dose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Q.; Yin, Y.; Hua, X.; Zhu, R.; Hua, J. [Department of Radiology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai (China); Xu, J., E-mail: xujianr@hotmail.co [Department of Radiology, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai (China)

2010-10-15

Aim: To evaluate image quality and radiation dose for 128-detector prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) compared with a low-dose retrospective ECG-gated imaging protocol. Materials and methods: Thirty-one and 47 patients suspected of having coronary artery disease were enrolled into groups examined using prospective and low-dose retrospective ECG-gated CT protocols respectively. All examinations were performed on a 128-detector CT system (Definition AS, Siemens Healthcare, Forchheim, Germany). Prospective CTCA was performed using following parameters: tube voltage 100 kV; tube current 205 mAs; centre of acquisition window 70% of the RR interval. The tube current for low-dose retrospective ECG-gated CTCA was full dose during 40-70% of the RR interval and partial dose for the rest of RR interval. The pitch varied between 0.2 and 0.5 depending on heart rate and patient size. Image quality of coronary arteries was evaluated using a four-point grading scale. The signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of enhanced arteries and myocardium were also measured, corresponding contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) were calculated, and the radiation doses received were recorded. Results: There was a significant difference in the image quality scores between the retrospective and prospective gating protocols (Chi-square = 15.331, p = 0.009). There was no significant difference between the SNRs of the contrasted artery and myocardium in these two groups, but the CNRs were increased in the prospective group. The mean radiation dose of prospective gating group was 2.71 {+-} 0.67 mSv (range, 1.67-3.59 mSv), which was significantly lower than that of the retrospective group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Prospective CT angiography can achieve lower radiation dose than that of low-dose retrospective CT angiography, with preserved image quality.

Refined staging in hilar bronchial neoplasms with ECG-gated multislice-CT. Case report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohlmann, S.; Daliri, A.; Froelich, J.J.; Nowak, R.; Michulla, R.

2008-01-01

Equivocal initial CT-based staging in 2 patients with hilar bronchial neoplasms was reassessed with retrospective ECG-gated Multislice-CT and optimized examination parameters prior to definition of treatment. An initially suspected irresectable T 4 tumor with mediastinal infiltration was downstaged to T 2 in one case, while tumor infiltration into the left atrium could be confirmed in the other case. In doubtful conditions, ECG-gated multislice CT with optimized examination parameters may be helpful for refined staging in patients with hilar bronchial neoplasma, thus possibly influencing treatment strategies. (orig.)

Residual motion compensation in ECG-gated interventional cardiac vasculature reconstruction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwemmer, C; Müller, K; Hornegger, J; Rohkohl, C; Lauritsch, G

2013-01-01

Three-dimensional reconstruction of cardiac vasculature from angiographic C-arm CT (rotational angiography) data is a major challenge. Motion artefacts corrupt image quality, reducing usability for diagnosis and guidance. Many state-of-the-art approaches depend on retrospective ECG-gating of projection data for image reconstruction. A trade-off has to be made regarding the size of the ECG-gating window. A large temporal window is desirable to avoid undersampling. However, residual motion will occur in a large window, causing motion artefacts. We present an algorithm to correct for residual motion. Our approach is based on a deformable 2D–2D registration between the forward projection of an initial, ECG-gated reconstruction, and the original projection data. The approach is fully automatic and does not require any complex segmentation of vasculature, or landmarks. The estimated motion is compensated for during the backprojection step of a subsequent reconstruction. We evaluated the method using the publicly available CAVAREV platform and on six human clinical datasets. We found a better visibility of structure, reduced motion artefacts, and increased sharpness of the vessels in the compensated reconstructions compared to the initial reconstructions. At the time of writing, our algorithm outperforms the leading result of the CAVAREV ranking list. For the clinical datasets, we found an average reduction of motion artefacts by 13 ± 6%. Vessel sharpness was improved by 25 ± 12% on average. (paper)

Dose modulated retrospective ECG-gated versus non-gated 64-row CT angiography of the aorta at the same radiation dose: Comparison of motion artifacts, diagnostic confidence and signal-to-noise-ratios

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schernthaner, Ruediger E.; Stadler, Alfred; Beitzke, Dietrich; Homolka, Peter; Weber, Michael; Lammer, Johannes; Czerny, Martin; Loewe, Christian

2012-01-01

Purpose: To compare ECG-gated and non-gated CT angiography of the aorta at the same radiation dose, with regard to motion artifacts (MA), diagnostic confidence (DC) and signal-to-noise-ratios (SNRs). Materials and methods: Sixty consecutive patients prospectively randomized into two groups underwent 64-row CT angiography, with or without dose-modulated ECG-gating, of the entire aorta, due to several pathologies of the ascending aorta. MA and DC were both assessed using a four-point scale. SNRs were calculated by dividing the mean enhancement by the standard deviation. The dose-length-product (DLP) of each examination was recorded and the effective dose was estimated. Results: Dose-modulated ECG-gating showed statistically significant advantages over non-gated CT angiography, with regard to MA (p < 0.001) and DC (p < 0.001), at the aortic valve, at the origin of the coronary arteries, and at the dissection membrane, with a significant correlation (p < 0.001) between MA and DC. At the aortic wall, however, ECG-gated CT angiography showed statistically significant fewer MA (p < 0.001), but not a statistically significant higher DC (p = 0.137) compared to non-gated CT angiography. At the supra-aortic vessels and the descending aorta, the ECG-triggering showed no statistically significant differences with regard to MA (p = 0.861 and 0.526, respectively) and DC (p = 1.88 and 0.728, respectively). The effective dose of ECG-gated CT angiography (23.24 mSv; range, 18.43–25.94 mSv) did not differ significantly (p = 0.051) from that of non-gated CT angiography (24.28 mSv; range, 19.37–29.27 mSv). Conclusion: ECG-gated CT angiography of the entire aorta reduces MA and results in a higher DC with the same SNR, compared to non-gated CT angiography at the same radiation dose.

Evaluation of image quality and radiation dose at prospective ECG-triggered axial 256-slice multi-detector CT in infants with congenital heart disease

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Huang, Mei-ping; Liang, Chang-hong; Zhao, Zhen-jun; Liu, Hui; Li, Jing-lei; Zhang, Jin-e; Cui, Yan-hai; Yang, Lin; Liu, Qi-shun [Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, Department of Radiology, Guangzhou (China); Ivanc, Thomas B.; Vembar, Mani [Philips Healthcare, CT Clinical Science, Highland Heights, OH (United States)

2011-07-15

There are a limited number of reports on the technical and clinical feasibility of prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD). To evaluate image quality and radiation dose at weight-based low-dose prospectively gated 256-slice MDCT angiography in infants with CHD. From November 2009 to February 2010, 64 consecutive infants with CHD referred for pre-operative or post-operative CT were included. All were scanned on a 256-slice MDCT system utilizing a low-dose protocol (80 kVp and 60-120 mAs depending on weight: 60 mAs for {<=}3 kg, 80 mAs for 3.1-6 kg, 100 mAs for 6.1-10 kg, 120 mAs for 10.1-15 kg). No serious adverse events were recorded. A total of 174 cardiac deformities, confirmed by surgery or heart catheterization, were studied. The sensitivity of MDCT for cardiac deformities was 97.1%; specificity, 99.4%; accuracy, 95.9%. The mean heart rate during scan was 136.7 {+-} 14.9/min (range, 91-160) with a corresponding heart rate variability of 2.8 {+-} 2.2/min (range, 0-8). Mean scan length was 115.3 {+-} 11.7 mm (range, 93.6-143.3). Mean volume CT dose index, mean dose-length product and effective dose were 2.1 {+-} 0.4 mGy (range, 1.5-2.8), 24.7 {+-} 5.9 mGy.cm (range, 14.7-35.8) and 1.6 {+-} 0.3 mSv (range, 1.1-2.5), respectively. Diagnostic-quality images were achieved in all cases. Satisfactory diagnostic quality for visualization of all/proximal/distal coronary artery segments was achieved in 88.4/98.8/80.0% of the scans. Low-dose prospectively gated axial 256-slice CT angiography is a valuable tool in the routine clinical evaluation of infants with CHD, providing a comprehensive three-dimensional evaluation of the cardiac anatomy, including the coronary arteries. (orig.)

MR flow measurements for assessment of the pulmonary, systemic and bronchosystemic circulation: Impact of different ECG gating methods and breathing schema

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ley, Sebastian; Ley-Zaporozhan, Julia; Kreitner, Karl-Friedrich; Iliyushenko, Svitlana; Puderbach, Michael; Hosch, Waldemar; Wenz, Heiner; Schenk, Jens-Peter; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich

2007-01-01

Purpose: Different ECG gating techniques are available for MR phase-contrast (PC) flow measurements. Until now no study has reported the impact of different ECG gating techniques on quantitative flow parameters. The goal was to evaluate the impact of the gating method and the breathing schema on the pulmonary, systemic and bronchosystemic circulation. Material and methods: Twenty volunteers were examined (1.5 T) with free breathing phase-contrast flow (PC-flow) measurements with prospective (free-prospective) and retrospective (free-retrospective) ECG gating. Additionally, expiratory breath-hold retrospective ECG gated measurements (bh-retrospective) were performed. Blood flow per minute; peak velocity and time to peak velocity were compared. The clinically important difference between the systemic and pulmonary circulation (bronchosystemic shunt) was calculated. Results: Blood flow per minute was lowest for free-prospective (6 l/min, pulmonary trunc) and highest for bh-retrospective measurements (6.9 l/min, pulmonary trunc). No clinically significant difference in peak velocity was assessed (82-83 cm/s pulmonary trunc, 109-113 cm/s aorta). Time to peak velocity was shorter for retro-gated free-retrospective and bh-retrospective than for pro-gated free-prospective. The difference between systemic and pulmonary measurements was least for the free-retrospective technique. Conclusion: The type of gating has a significant impact on flow measurements. Therefore, it is important to use the same ECG gating method, especially for follow-up examinations. Retrospective ECG gated free breathing measurements allow for the most precise assessment of the bronchosystemic blood flow and should be used in clinical routine

Comparative study of image quality and radiation dose between prospective and retrospective ECG gating technique in coronary artery imaging with 64-slice spiral CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Jianxin; Liu Jian; Dou Yanbin; Wang Jichen; Sun Hongyue

2009-01-01

Objective: To compare the image quality and radiation dose between prospective ECG-trigering and retrospective ECG gating technique in coronary artery imaging. Methods: 33 patients suspected coronary artery disease were included in this study and divided into experimental group (prospective ECG-triggering coronary artery imaging, heart rate 0.05). The mean DLP of experimental group (234.4 mGy · cm) was DLP of control group (974.4 mGy · cm) 24.1%. The mean effective dose of prospective ECG gating coronary artery imaging was 3.2 mSv. Effective dose reduced 76.47 %. Conclusions: Prospective ECG gating coronary artery imaging can obtain the similar image quality compared with prospective ECG gating coronary artery imaging but the effective dose reduced 76.47 %. Prospective ECG gating coronary artery imaging has clinical value to peoples who are able to not accept high radiation dose and with low heart rate. (authors)

Self-gated fat-suppressed cardiac cine MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Ingle, R Reeve; Santos, Juan M; Overall, William R; McConnell, Michael V; Hu, Bob S; Nishimura, Dwight G

2015-05-01

To develop a self-gated alternating repetition time balanced steady-state free precession (ATR-SSFP) pulse sequence for fat-suppressed cardiac cine imaging. Cardiac gating is computed retrospectively using acquired magnetic resonance self-gating data, enabling cine imaging without the need for electrocardiogram (ECG) gating. Modification of the slice-select rephasing gradients of an ATR-SSFP sequence enables the acquisition of a one-dimensional self-gating readout during the unused short repetition time (TR). Self-gating readouts are acquired during every TR of segmented, breath-held cardiac scans. A template-matching algorithm is designed to compute cardiac trigger points from the self-gating signals, and these trigger points are used for retrospective cine reconstruction. The proposed approach is compared with ECG-gated ATR-SSFP and balanced steady-state free precession in 10 volunteers and five patients. The difference of ECG and self-gating trigger times has a variability of 13 ± 11 ms (mean ± SD). Qualitative reviewer scoring and ranking indicate no statistically significant differences (P > 0.05) between self-gated and ECG-gated ATR-SSFP images. Quantitative blood-myocardial border sharpness is not significantly different among self-gated ATR-SSFP ( 0.61±0.15 mm -1), ECG-gated ATR-SSFP ( 0.61±0.15 mm -1), or conventional ECG-gated balanced steady-state free precession cine MRI ( 0.59±0.15 mm -1). The proposed self-gated ATR-SSFP sequence enables fat-suppressed cardiac cine imaging at 1.5 T without the need for ECG gating and without decreasing the imaging efficiency of ATR-SSFP. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Evaluation of coronary artery disease by helical CT using retrospective ECG-gating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawawa, Yoko

2001-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of helical CT using retrospective ECG-gating for visualization of the coronary artery and detection of coronary artery disease. We performed a coronary artery phantom study and established this new application, with 1-mm collimation, 1-mm table increment, and 0.1-mm reconstruction (0.8 sec/rotation). Helical CT of 31 patients with 39 coronary artery diseases (34 coronary artery stenoses, 1 vasospastic angina, 1 coronary artery dissection, 1 coronary artery ectasia and 2 coronary artery aneurysms) was performed in a single breath hold and ECG-gating without and with intravenous injection of nonionic iodine contrast material. We selected the images which were not affected by cardiac motion from the reconstruction images, in order to visualize the coronary artery for detection of coronary artery disease. The coronary artery was well visualized in 32 out of 39 vessels (82%). A good visualization of the coronary artery was correlated with the heart rate. Further, in this well visualized group, coronary artery diseases were detected in 24 out of 31 cases (77%). One case of vasospastic angina was not included. It was difficult to detect coronary artery disease in cases of heavily calcified vessels or in the left circumflex artery. Helical CT using this retrospective ECG-gating is a useful noninvasive examination for evaluation of coronary artery disease. (author)

128-slice Dual-source Computed Tomography Coronary Angiography in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation: Image Quality and Radiation Dose of Prospectively Electrocardiogram-triggered Sequential Scan Compared with Retrospectively Electrocardiogram-gated Spiral Scan.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Lu; Wang, Yi-Ning; Kong, Ling-Yan; Jin, Zheng-Yu; Lu, Guang-Ming; Zhang, Zhao-Qi; Cao, Jian; Li, Shuo; Song, Lan; Wang, Zhi-Wei; Zhou, Kang; Wang, Ming

2013-01-01

Objective To evaluate the image quality (IQ) and radiation dose of 128-slice dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) coronary angiography using prospectively electrocardiogram (ECG)-triggered sequential scan mode compared with ECG-gated spiral scan mode in a population with atrial fibrillation. Methods Thirty-two patients with suspected coronary artery disease and permanent atrial fibrillation referred for a second-generation 128-slice DSCT coronary angiography were included in the prospective study. Of them, 17 patients (sequential group) were randomly selected to use a prospectively ECG-triggered sequential scan, while the other 15 patients (spiral group) used a retrospectively ECG-gated spiral scan. The IQ was assessed by two readers independently, using a four-point grading scale from excel-lent (grade 1) to non-assessable (grade 4), based on the American Heart Association 15-segment model. IQ of each segment and effective dose of each patient were compared between the two groups. Results The mean heart rate (HR) of the sequential group was 96±27 beats per minute (bpm) with a variation range of 73±25 bpm, while the mean HR of the spiral group was 86±22 bpm with a variationrange of 65±24 bpm. Both of the mean HR (t=1.91, P=0.243) and HR variation range (t=0.950, P=0.350) had no significant difference between the two groups. In per-segment analysis, IQ of the sequential group vs. spiral group was rated as excellent (grade 1) in 190/244 (78%) vs. 177/217 (82%) by reader1 and 197/245 (80%) vs. 174/214 (81%) by reader2, as non-assessable (grade 4) in 4/244 (2%) vs. 2/217 (1%) by reader1 and 6/245 (2%) vs. 4/214 (2%) by reader2. Overall averaged IQ per-patient in the sequential and spiral group showed equally good (1.27±0.19 vs. 1.25±0.22, Z=-0.834, P=0.404). The effective radiation dose of the sequential group reduced significantly compared with the spiral group (4.88±1.77 mSv vs. 10.20±3.64 mSv; t=-5.372, P=0.000). Conclusion Compared with retrospectively

Design and development of a new pulsating cardiac coronary phantom for ECG-gated CT and its experimental characteristics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shen, Yun; Sato, Munekuni; Kimura, Fumiko; Jinzaki, Masahiro; Kuribayashi, Sachio; Horiguchi, Jun; Ito, Katsuhide

2005-01-01

The optimal pulsating cardiac phantom is an important tool for the evaluation of cardiac images and cardiac applications on electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated multidetector-row CT (MDCT). The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the design and fabrication of the pulsating cardiac coronary phantom. The newly developed pulsating cardiac coronary phantom has the following five key advantages: a driver component that uses only one servomotor to move the phantom in three dimensions (X, Y, and Z directions) with 16 presets of different heart types (heartbeat: 0-120 bpm; ejection fraction: 0-90%); versatile pumping and filling phases to simulate a real heart in a cardiac cycle can be incorporated into the driver sequence including shift of patient heartbeat or irregular pulse (maximum: 200 different heart waves in one scan); a cardiac coronary component constituted of an acrylic/silicon/rubber tube (2-6 mm inner diameter) with stent/in-stent restenosis/stenosis/soft plaque/calcification parts and maximum 16 coronary arteries that can be attached to the phantom in the same scan; the complete phantom can be submerged in a tank to simulate the heart and its surrounding tissues; ECG gating can be from interior trigger and exterior trigger. It has been confirmed that the developed pulsating cardiac phantom is very useful to quantitatively assess imaging of the heart and coronary arteries during phantom experiments. (author)

An evaluation of the ECG gated cardiac CT on old myocardial infarction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tanegashima, Kazuhiro; Tejima, Yasuaki; Nakasone, Noriyo; Hyodo, Haruo

1984-01-01

In order to examine the accuracy of ECG gated cardiac CT (G-CCT), G-CCT findings were compared with ECG and cardiac echographic findings in 25 cases of old myocardial infarction. From the detection rate according to the infarct area, abnormal findings in the anterior wall and the septum obtained from G-CCT were in good accordance with those from ECG. Although all of the G-CCT findings did not agree with those of cardiac echography in cases in which abnormal findings were seen in multiple areas, the detection rate of cardiac abnormal findings as a whole by G-CCT was the same as that by cardiac echography. (Namekawa K.)

ECG-gated scintillation probe measurement of left ventricular function

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bacharach, S.L.; Green, M.V.; Borer, J.S.; Ostrow, H.G.; Redwood, D.R.; Johnston, G.S.

1977-01-01

A nonimaging, ECG-gated scintillation-probe system is described that permits real-time quantification, at high temporal resolution, of the time variation of left ventricular (LV) volume over a complete, average cardiac cycle. Linearity between counting rate and volume, probe positioning, and background correction were investigated for both cylindrically collimated (CC) and parallel-hole-collimated (PC) detectors. In 53 patient studies, results obtained with these probes were compared with results obtained from an ECG-gated gamma camera system (CS) with high temporal resolution. Time-activity curves obtained by all three devices were essentially identical in shape (for CC against CS, r = 0.93; for PC against CS, r = 0.98) and in intracycle timing. Left-ventricular ejection fractions obtained with the probes showed workable agreement with the camera: for CC against CS, r = 0.85 (N = 31); for PC against CS, r = 0.90 (N = 21). When LV background is removed as a source of error, the correlation between (PC) probe and camera is improved (r = 0.95, N = 21). This suggests that the portable probe system be used in circumstances where exact knowledge of LV background is minimally important--e.g., continuous bedside monitoring of changes in LV function

Low flip angle spin-echo MR imaging to obtain better Gd-DTPA enhanced imaging with ECG gating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sugimura, Kazuro; Kawamitsu, Hideaki; Yoshikawa, Kazuaki; Kasai, Toshifumi; Yuasa, Koji; Ishida, Tetsuya

1992-01-01

ECG-gated spin-echo imaging (ECG-SE) can reduce physiological motion artifact. However, ECG-SE does not provide strong T1-weighted images because repetition time (TR) depends on heart rate (HR). We investigated the usefulness of low flip angle spin-echo imaging (LFSE) in obtaining more T1-dependent contrast with ECG gating. In computer simulation, the predicted image contrast and single-to-noise ratio (SNR) obtained for each flip angle (0-180deg) and each TR (300 msec-1200 msec) were compared with those obtained by conventional T1-weighted spin-echo imaging (CSE: TR=500 msec, TE=20 msec). In clinical evaluation, tissue contrast [contrast index (CI): (SI of lesion-SI of muslce) 2* 100/SI of muscle] obtained by CSE and LFSE were compared in 17 patients. At a TR of 1,000 msec, T1-dependent contrast increased with decreasing flip angle and that at 38deg was identical to that with T1-weighted spin-echo. SNR increased with the flip angle until 100deg, and that at 53deg was identical to that with T1-weighted spin-echo. CI on LFSE (74.0±52.0) was significantly higher than CI on CSE (40.9±35.9). ECG-gated LFSE imaging provides better T1-dependent contrast than conventional ECG-SE. This method was especially useful for Gd-DTPA enhanced MR imaging. (author)

ECG gated magnetic resonance imaging in cardiovascular disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Jae Hyung; Im, Chung Kie; Han, Man Chung; Kim, Chu Wan

1985-01-01

Using KAIS 0.15 Tesla resistive magnetic imaging system, ECG gated magnetic resonance (MR) image of various cardiovascular disease was obtained in 10 patients. The findings of MR image of the cardiovascular disease were analysed and the results were as follows: 1. In 6 cases of acquired and congenital cardiac diseases, there were 2 cases of myocardial infarction, 1 case of mitral stenosis and 3 cases of corrected transportation of great vessels. The others were 3 cases of aortic disease and 1 case of pericardial effusion with lymphoma. 2. Myocardial thinning and left ventricular aneurysm were detected in MR images of myocardial infarction. The left atrium was well delineated and enlarged in the case of mitral stenosis. And segmental analysis was possible in the cases of corrected transposition since all cardiac structures were well delineated anatomically. 3. In aortic diseases, the findings of MR image were enlarged lumen, compressed cardiac chambers in ascending aortic aneurysm, intimal flap, enhanced false lumen in dissecting aneurysm and irregular narrowing of aorta with arterial obstruction in Takayasu's arteritis. 4. Pericardial effusion revealed a conspicuous contrast with neighboring mediastinal fat and cardiac wall due to it low signal encircling cardiac wall. 5. ECG gated MR image is an accurate non-invasive imaging modality for the diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and better results of its clinical application are expected in the future with further development in the imaging system and more clinical experiences

Prospectively ECG-triggered sequential dual-source coronary CT angiography in patients with atrial fibrillation: comparison with retrospectively ECG-gated helical CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu, Lei; Yang, Lin; Zhang, Zhaoqi [Capital Medical University, Department of Radiology, Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Beijing (China); Wang, Yining; Jin, Zhengyu [Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Department of Radiology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing (China); Zhang, Longjiang; Lu, Guangming [Nanjing University, Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Clinical School of Medical College, Nanjing, Jiangsu (China)

2013-07-15

To investigate the feasibility of applying prospectively ECG-triggered sequential coronary CT angiography (CCTA) to patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and evaluate the image quality and radiation dose compared with a retrospectively ECG-gated helical protocol. 100 patients with persistent AF were enrolled. Fifty patients were randomly assigned to a prospective protocol and the other patients to a retrospective protocol using a second-generation dual-source CT (DS-CT). Image quality was evaluated using a four-point grading scale (1 = excellent, 2 = good, 3 = moderate, 4 = poor) by two reviewers on a per-segment basis. The coronary artery segments were considered non-diagnostic with a quality score of 4. The radiation dose was evaluated. Diagnostic segment rate in the prospective group was 99.4 % (642/646 segments), while that in the retrospective group was 96.5 % (604/626 segments) (P < 0.001). Effective dose was 4.29 {+-} 1.86 and 11.95 {+-} 5.34 mSv for each of the two protocols (P < 0.001), which was a 64 % reduction in the radiation dose for prospective sequential imaging compared with retrospective helical imaging. In AF patients, prospectively ECG-triggered sequential CCTA is feasible using second-generation DS-CT and can decrease >60 % radiation exposure compared with retrospectively ECG-gated helical imaging while improving diagnostic image quality. (orig.)

Diagnostic value of axial CT scan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kiuchi, Sousuke

1983-01-01

Axial CT scan was used to investigate the radiological details of the temporal bone of 33 patients with chronic otitis media, secondary cholesteatoma, sensorineural hearing loss, Meniere disease, vertigo, facial spasm, and neoplasma. The axial scans showed anatomic details of the temporal bone, and at the same time clearly demonstrated the extent of the soft-tissue masses in the middle ears, as well as the destructions of the ossicles. Bone changes of the anterior walls of the epitympanum and external auditory meatus were more clearly demonstrated than by coronary CT scan. However, the axial scan had the disadvantages in demonstrating the stapes, crista transversa, and the mastoid portion of the facial canal. (author)

Assessment of left ventricular function by electrocardiogram-gated myocardial single photon emission computed tomography using quantitative gated single photon emission computed tomography software

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morita, Koichi; Adachi, Itaru; Konno, Masanori

1999-01-01

Electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) can assess left ventricular (LV) perfusion and function easily using quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) software. ECG-gated SPECT was performed in 44 patients with coronary artery disease under post-stress and resting conditions to assess the values of LV functional parameters, by comparison to LV ejection fraction derived from gated blood pool scan and myocardial characteristics. A good correlation was obtained between ejection fraction using QGS and that using cardiac blood pool scan (r=0.812). Some patients with myocardial ischemia had lower ejection fraction under post-stress compared to resting conditions, indicating post-stress LV dysfunction. LV wall motion and wall thickening were significantly impaired in ischemic and infarcted myocardium, and the degree of abnormality in the infarcted areas was greater than in the ischemia area. LV functional parameters derived using QGS were useful to assess post-stress LV dysfunction and myocardial viability. In conclusion, ECG-gated myocardial SPECT permits simultaneous quantitative assessment of myocardial perfusion and function. (author)

Diagnosis of accessory conduction pathway using ECG-gated emission CT analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Misaki, Takuro; Mukai, Keiichi; Tsubota, Makoto; Iwa, Takashi; Nakajima, Ken-ichi; Hisada, Kin-ichi

1987-01-01

Pinpointing the location of accessory conduction pathway (ACP) is of great importance in the surgical treatment for Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. For this purpose, this study explored the usefulness of ECG-gated emission computed tomography (Gated-ECT) in 30 patients who preoperatively underwent Gated-ECT. The site of earliest contraction at level of atrioventicular valves, obtained on tomographic phase analysis, was compared with the site of earliest activation, obtained on epicardial mapping during surgery. The concordance rate of the two methods was 94 % (28/30). Among them, one patient was found to have the association of corrected transposition of great arteries on Gated-ECT. Gated-ECT was, however, of limited value in differentiating right posterior ACP from right postseptal ACP. The discordance between the sites of earliest contraction and activation, which was observed in the two others, was likely due to decreased wall motion resulting from myocardial disturbance. Gated-ECT may have a diagnostic potential for the location of ACP, especially in view of providing images that corresponded to the surgical anatomy. (Namekawa, K.)

Low-dose ECG-gated 64-slices helical CT angiography of the chest: evaluation of image quality in 105 patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Agostino, A.G.; Remy-Jardin, M.; Khalil, C.; Remy, J.; Delannoy-Deken, V.; Duhamel, A.; Flohr, T.

2006-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate image quality of low-dose electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated multislice helical computed tomography (CT) angiograms of the chest. One hundred and five consecutive patients with a regular sinus rhythm (72 men; 33 women) underwent ECG-gated CT angiographic examination of the chest without administration of beta blockers using the following parameters: (a) collimation 32 x 0.6 mm with z-flying focal spot for the acquisition of 64 overlapping 0.6-mm slices, rotation time 0.33 s, pitch 0.3; (b) 120 kV, 200 mAs; (c) use of two dose modulation systems, including adjustment of the mAs setting to the patient's size and anatomical shape and an ECG-controlled tube current. Subjective and objective image quality was evaluated by two radiologists in consensus on 3-mm-thick scans reconstructed at 55% of the response rate (RR) interval. The population and protocol characteristics included: (a) a mean [±standard deviation (SD)] body mass index (BMI) of 24.47 (±4.64); (b) a mean (±SD) heart rate of 72.04 (±15.76) bpm; (c) a mean (±SD) scanning time of 18.3 (±2.73) s; (d) a mean (±SD) dose-length product (DLP) value of 260.57 (±83.67) mGy/cm; (e) an estimated average effective dose of 4.95 (±1.59) mSv. Subjective noise was depicted in a total of nine examinations (8.5%), always rated as mild. Objective noise was assessed by measuring the standard deviation of pixel values in a homogeneous region of interest within the trachea and descending aorta; SD was 15.91 HU in the trachea and 22.16 HU in the descending aorta, with no significant difference in the mean value of the standard deviations between the four categories of BMI except for obese patients, who had a higher mean SD within the aorta. Interpolation artefacts were depicted in 22 patients, with a mean heart rate significantly lower than that of patients without interpolation artifacts, rated as mild in 11 patients and severe in 11 patients. The severity of interpolation artefacts

Pulmonary artery and right ventricle assessment in pulmonary hypertension. Correlation between functional parameters of ECG-gated CT and right-side heart catheterization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abel, Elodie; Jankowski, Adrien; Pison, Christophe; Bosson, Jean Luc; Bouvaist, Helene; Ferretti, Gilbert R.

2012-01-01

Background: Right ventricular function predicts outcome in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Therefore accurate assessment of right ventricular function is essential to graduate severity, assess follow-up, and response to therapy. Purpose: To evaluate whether PH severity could be assessed using electrocardiography-gated CT (ECG-gated CT) functional parameters. A further objective was to evaluate cardiac output (CO) using two ECG-gated CT methods: the reference Simpson technique and the fully automatic technique generated by commercially available cardiac software. Material and Methods: Our institutional review board approved this study; patient consent was not required. Twenty-seven patients who had undergone ECG-gated CT and right heart catheterization (RHC) were included. Two independent observers measured pulmonary artery (PA) diameter, PA distensibility, aorta diameter, right ventricular cardiac output (CT-RVCO) and right ventricular ejection fraction (CT-RVEF) with automatic and Simpson techniques on ECG-gated CT. RHC-CO and mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) were measured on RHC. Relationship between ECG-gated CT and RHC measurements was tested with linear regression analysis. Results: Inter-observer agreement was good for all measurements (r > 0.7) except for CT-RVCO calculated with Simpson's technique (r = 0.63). Pulmonary artery (PA) distensibility was significantly correlated to mPAP (r = -0.426, P = 0.027). CT-RVEF was correlated with mPAP only when issued from Simpson technique (r = -0.417, P = 0.034). CT-RVEF was not significantly correlated to RHC-CO (P > 0.2). CT-RVCO measured with Simpson technique (r = 0.487, P = 0.010) and automatic segmentation (r = 0.549, P 0.005) correlated equally with RHC-CO. Conclusion: CT-RVEF and CT-RVCO measured on ECG-gated CT are significantly correlated, respectively, to mPAP and RHC-CO in this population with severe reduction of the right ventricular ejection fraction and could be useful for evaluating

Analysis of the cardiac motion in myocardial infarction by the ECG-synchronized CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Shigeru; Shimizu, Masahiko; Yoshida, Hideo; Morooka, Nobuhiro; Shukuya, Masaki

1981-01-01

The cardiac motion in patients with myocardial infarction was analyzed by the ECG-synchronized computed tomography (CT). For ECG synchronization, the ECG gating method and the data sorting method were used. By the ECG gating method, the gated cardiac images during 0.1 msec intervals at end-diastolic and the end-systolic phases were obtained. By the data sorting method, phasic CT images were reconstructed retrospectively by selecting appropriate data from a series of consecutive scans taken with simultaneous continuous ECG recordings. Six normal subjects and eight patients with myocardial infarction were studied by the ECG gating method, and 14 normal subjects and 25 patients with myocardial infarction were studied by the data sorting method. The end-diastolic and the end-systolic pictures at mid left ventricular level were superimposed and the cardiac borders were traced for the analysis (Fig. 4). Then the cardiac cross-sectional areas at each cardiac phase (40 msec) were calculated, and a cardiac area curve was obtained by plotting them consecutively. The cross-sectional images were divided into right anterior, right posterior, left anterior and left posterior segments. Cardiac area curves of the each segment were also obtained for further analysis. From these curves, the changing ratio of cardiac areas (maximum area - minimum area/maximum area) and the maximum area velocity in systole and diastole were calculated. On the images and the cardiac area curves in myocardial infarction patients, abnormal myocardial movements such as partial akinesis, hypokinesis or paradoxical movement were apparent asd the area of abnormal motions corresponded well with the location of infarction determined by ECG, RI scanning and angiography. A decrease of the changing ratio and the velocity in the infarction area were shown (Fig. 6, 7) and the functional disturbances were suggested during not only systole but diastole also. (author)

Impact of ECG gating in contrast-enhanced MR angiography for the assessment of the pulmonary veins and the left atrium anatomy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katoh, M.; Buecker, A.; Muehlenbruch, G.; Guenther, R.W.; Spuentrup, E.; Schauerte, P.

2006-01-01

Purpose: Implementation of ECG gating in contrast-enhanced MR angiography (ceMRA) for improved visualization of the pulmonary veins, the left atrium, and the thoracic vessels. Materials and Methods: CeMRA was performed on twelve patients with a history of recurrent atrial fibrillation for the purpose of an intra-individual comparison with and without ECG gating on a 1.5 Tesla MR system (Gyroscan Intera, Philips Medical Systems, Best, NL). Objective image quality parameters such as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the blood and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between the blood and myocardium or lung parenchyma were analyzed. The contour sharpness of the pulmonary veins, left atrium, ascending aorta, and pulmonary trunk was also measured. In addition, the artifact level was subjectively assessed by two observers blinded with respect to the sequence parameters. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between the procedures were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test and Pearson Chi-square test. Results: The use of ECG gating in ceMRA significantly reduced artifacts caused by cardiac motion and vessel pulsation. This in turn lead to a significant increase in the contour sharpness of the left atrium and the thoracic vessels. In addition, higher SNR and CNR were found using ECG-gated ceMRA compared to standard ceMRA. Conclusion: The use of ECG gating in ceMRA results in artifact-free and sharper delineation of the structures of the heart and thoracic vessels. (orig.)

Impact of ECG gating in contrast-enhanced MR angiography for the assessment of the pulmonary veins and the left atrium anatomy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katoh, M.; Buecker, A.; Muehlenbruch, G.; Guenther, R.W.; Spuentrup, E. [Klinik fuer Radiologische Diagnostik, Universitaetsklinikum RWTH Aachen (Germany); Schauerte, P. [Medizinische Klinik 1, Universitaetsklinikum RWTH Aachen (Germany)

2006-02-15

Purpose: Implementation of ECG gating in contrast-enhanced MR angiography (ceMRA) for improved visualization of the pulmonary veins, the left atrium, and the thoracic vessels. Materials and Methods: CeMRA was performed on twelve patients with a history of recurrent atrial fibrillation for the purpose of an intra-individual comparison with and without ECG gating on a 1.5 Tesla MR system (Gyroscan Intera, Philips Medical Systems, Best, NL). Objective image quality parameters such as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the blood and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) between the blood and myocardium or lung parenchyma were analyzed. The contour sharpness of the pulmonary veins, left atrium, ascending aorta, and pulmonary trunk was also measured. In addition, the artifact level was subjectively assessed by two observers blinded with respect to the sequence parameters. Statistically significant differences (p<0.05) between the procedures were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test and Pearson Chi-square test. Results: The use of ECG gating in ceMRA significantly reduced artifacts caused by cardiac motion and vessel pulsation. This in turn lead to a significant increase in the contour sharpness of the left atrium and the thoracic vessels. In addition, higher SNR and CNR were found using ECG-gated ceMRA compared to standard ceMRA. Conclusion: The use of ECG gating in ceMRA results in artifact-free and sharper delineation of the structures of the heart and thoracic vessels. (orig.)

Erroneous cardiac ECG-gated PET list-mode trigger events can be retrospectively identified and replaced by an offline reprocessing approach: first results in rodents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Böning, Guido; Todica, Andrei; Vai, Alessandro; Lehner, Sebastian; Xiong, Guoming; Mille, Erik; Ilhan, Harun; Fougère, Christian la; Bartenstein, Peter; Hacker, Marcus

2013-01-01

The assessment of left ventricular function, wall motion and myocardial viability using electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated [ 18 F]-FDG positron emission tomography (PET) is widely accepted in human and in preclinical small animal studies. The nonterminal and noninvasive approach permits repeated in vivo evaluations of the same animal, facilitating the assessment of temporal changes in disease or therapy response. Although well established, gated small animal PET studies can contain erroneous gating information, which may yield to blurred images and false estimation of functional parameters. In this work, we present quantitative and visual quality control (QC) methods to evaluate the accuracy of trigger events in PET list-mode and physiological data. Left ventricular functional analysis is performed to quantify the effect of gating errors on the end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes, and on the ejection fraction (EF). We aim to recover the cardiac functional parameters by the application of the commonly established heart rate filter approach using fixed ranges based on a standardized population. In addition, we propose a fully reprocessing approach which retrospectively replaces the gating information of the PET list-mode file with appropriate list-mode decoding and encoding software. The signal of a simultaneously acquired ECG is processed using standard MATLAB vector functions, which can be individually adapted to reliably detect the R-peaks. Finally, the new trigger events are inserted into the PET list-mode file. A population of 30 mice with various health statuses was analyzed and standard cardiac parameters such as mean heart rate (119 ms ± 11.8 ms) and mean heart rate variability (1.7 ms ± 3.4 ms) derived. These standard parameter ranges were taken into account in the QC methods to select a group of nine optimal gated and a group of eight sub-optimal gated [ 18 F]-FDG PET scans of mice from our archive. From the list-mode files of the optimal gated group

Noninvasive assessment of coronary artery disease by multislice spiral computed tomography using a new retrospectively ECG-gated image reconstruction technique. Comparison with angiographic results

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Sato, Yuichi; Matsumoto, Naoya; Kato, Masahiko [Nihon Univ., Tokyo (Japan). Surugadai Hospital] [and others

2003-04-01

The present study was designed to investigate the accuracy of multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) in detecting coronary artery disease, compared with coronary angiography (CAG), using a new retrospectively ECG-gated reconstruction method that reduced cardiac motion artifact. The study group comprised 54 consecutive patients undergoing MSCT and CAG. MSCT was performed using a SOMATOM Volume Zoom (4-detector-row, Siemens, Germany) with slice thickness 1.0 mm, pitch 1.5 (table feed: 1.5 mm per rotation) and gantry rotation time 500 ms. Metoprolol (20-60 mg) was administered orally prior to MSCT imaging. ECG-gated image reconstruction was performed with the reconstruction window (250 ms) positioned immediately before atrial contraction in order to reduce the cardiac motion artifact caused by the abrupt diastolic ventricular movement occurring during the rapid filling and atrial contraction periods. Following inspection of the volume rendering images, multiplanar reconstruction images and axial images of the left main coronary artery (LMCA), left anterior descending artery (LAD), left circumflex artery (LCx) and right coronary artery (RCA) were obtained and evaluated for luminal narrowing. The results were compared with those obtained by CAG. Of 216 coronary arteries, 206 (95.4%) were assessable; 10 arteries were excluded from the analysis because of severe calcification (n=4), stents (n=3) or insufficient contrast enhancement (n=3). The sensitivity to detect coronary stenoses {>=}50% was 93.5% and the specificity to define luminal narrowing <50% was 97.2%. The positive predictive value and the negative predictive value were 93.5% and 97.2%, respectively. The sensitivity was still satisfactory (80.6%) even when non-assessable arteries were included in the analysis. The new retrospectively ECG-gated reconstruction method for MSCT has excellent diagnostic accuracy in detecting significant coronary artery stenoses. (author)

Optimization of imaging before pulmonary vein isolation by radiofrequency ablation: breath-held ungated versus ECG/breath-gated MRA

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Allgayer, C.; Haller, S.; Bremerich, J. [University Hospital Basel, Department of Radiology, Basel (Switzerland); Zellweger, M.J.; Sticherling, C.; Buser, P.T. [University Hospital Basel, Department of Cardiology, Basel (Switzerland); Weber, O. [University Hospital Basel, Department of Medical Physics, Basel (Switzerland)

2008-12-15

Isolation of the pulmonary veins has emerged as a new therapy for atrial fibrillation. Pre-procedural magnetic resonance (MR) imaging enhances safety and efficacy; moreover, it reduces radiation exposure of the patients and interventional team. The purpose of this study was to optimize the MR protocol with respect to image quality and acquisition time. In 31 patients (23-73 years), the anatomy of the pulmonary veins, left atrium and oesophagus was assessed on a 1.5-Tesla scanner with four different sequences: (1) ungated two-dimensional true fast imaging with steady precession (2D-TrueFISP), (2) ECG/breath-gated 3D-TrueFISP, (3) ungated breath-held contrast-enhanced three-dimensional turbo fast low-angle shot (CE-3D-tFLASH), and (4) ECG/breath-gated CE-3D-TrueFISP. Image quality was scored from 1 (structure not visible) to 5 (excellent visibility), and the acquisition time was monitored. The pulmonary veins and left atrium were best visualized with CE-3D-tFLASH (scores 4.50 {+-} 0.52 and 4.59 {+-} 0.43) and ECG/breath-gated CE-3D-TrueFISP (4.47 {+-} 0.49 and 4.63 {+-} 0.39). Conspicuity of the oesophagus was optimal with CE-3D-TrueFISP and 2D-TrueFISP (4.59 {+-} 0.35 and 4.19 {+-} 0.46) but poor with CE-3D-tFLASH (1.03 {+-} 0.13) (p < 0.05). Acquisition times were shorter for 2D-TrueFISP (44 {+-} 1 s) and CE-3D-tFLASH (345 {+-} 113 s) compared with ECG/breath-gated 3D-TrueFISP (634 {+-} 197 s) and ECG/breath-gated CE-3D-TrueFISP (636 {+-} 230 s) (p < 0.05). In conclusion, an MR imaging protocol comprising CE-3D-tFLASH and 2D-TrueFISP allows assessment of the pulmonary veins, left atrium and oesophagus in less than 7 min and can be recommended for pre-procedural imaging before electric isolation of pulmonary veins. (orig.)

Research on comparison of exposure with electrocardiographic gated mA modulation (ECG) and ECG and CAREDose 4D mode in coronary multi-slice spiral CT angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Bin; Guo Senlin; Wei Lan; Fei Xiaolu; Bai Mei

2009-01-01

Objective: The objective of this article was to compare patients dose with electrocardiographic gated mA modulation (ECG) and ECG and CAREDose 4D mode during coronary MSCT angiography. Methods: The research was based on phantom experiment and computer simulation to get the mean value of peak skin dose data and effective dose data respectively and to analyze deterministic and stochastic radiation risk. Results: The peak skin dose using ECG mode alone and using ECG and CAREDose 4D mode with the same image noise level was (87.4 ± 0.9) and (45.9 ± 1.2) mGy respectively. Effective dose was 17 and 10 rosy for ECG mode and ECG and CAREDose 4D mode respectively. Comparing with ECG mode alone, ECG and CAREDose 4D mode reduced organ dose of gonad, red marrow, lung, stomach, breast and thyroid by 40.0%, 36.7%, 39.3%, 37.7%, 38.8% and 38.9%, respectively. Conclusion: Results showed that ECG and CAREDose 4D mode can reduce radiation dose effectively comparing using ECG mode alone, and that ECG and CAREDose 4D mode should be widely applied clinically with appropriate initial settings. (authors)

Correlation of resting ECG, stress ECG and thallium scan in the evaluation of coronary artery disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, A.; Amin, W.; Khan, M.Z.A.; Ahmed, A.; Kiani, M.R.

1987-01-01

This study includes 70 cases who underwent myocardial perfusion studies with thallium 201 during the year 1984-85. They were studied clinically, had their resting ECGs, stress ECGs and coronary angiograms. Majority of these patients were males, their ages ranged between 34-70 years. The patients population included with typical/atypical chest pain, some with resting ECG abnormalities, after coronary angiography and a few after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. The result of all the modalities were compared with the conventional gold standard for ischaemic heart disease, i.e. coronary angiogram. It is concluded that the sensitivity of resting ECG in the diagnosis of ischaemic heart disease is very low. The exercise test alone was found conclusive in about 74% of patients while sensitivity of thallium scan was 66% in this particular group of patients. (author)

Pulmonary artery and right ventricle assessment in pulmonary hypertension. Correlation between functional parameters of ECG-gated CT and right-side heart catheterization

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Abel, Elodie; Jankowski, Adrien [Clinique univ. de radiologie et imagerie medicale, CHU Grenoble (France); Pison, Christophe [Clinique univ. de pneumologie, CHU Grenoble (France); Bosson, Jean Luc [Dept. of Statistics, CIC, CHU Grenoble (France); Bouvaist, Helene [Clinique univ. de cardiologie, CHU Grenoble (France); Ferretti, Gilbert R. [Clinique univ. de radiologie et imagerie medicale, CHU Grenoble (France); Univ. J. Fourier, Grenoble (France); INSERM U 823, Inst. A. Bonniot, la Tronche (France)], e-mail: gferretti@chu-grenoble.fr

2012-09-15

Background: Right ventricular function predicts outcome in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH). Therefore accurate assessment of right ventricular function is essential to graduate severity, assess follow-up, and response to therapy. Purpose: To evaluate whether PH severity could be assessed using electrocardiography-gated CT (ECG-gated CT) functional parameters. A further objective was to evaluate cardiac output (CO) using two ECG-gated CT methods: the reference Simpson technique and the fully automatic technique generated by commercially available cardiac software. Material and Methods: Our institutional review board approved this study; patient consent was not required. Twenty-seven patients who had undergone ECG-gated CT and right heart catheterization (RHC) were included. Two independent observers measured pulmonary artery (PA) diameter, PA distensibility, aorta diameter, right ventricular cardiac output (CT-RVCO) and right ventricular ejection fraction (CT-RVEF) with automatic and Simpson techniques on ECG-gated CT. RHC-CO and mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) were measured on RHC. Relationship between ECG-gated CT and RHC measurements was tested with linear regression analysis. Results: Inter-observer agreement was good for all measurements (r > 0.7) except for CT-RVCO calculated with Simpson's technique (r = 0.63). Pulmonary artery (PA) distensibility was significantly correlated to mPAP (r = -0.426, P = 0.027). CT-RVEF was correlated with mPAP only when issued from Simpson technique (r = -0.417, P = 0.034). CT-RVEF was not significantly correlated to RHC-CO (P > 0.2). CT-RVCO measured with Simpson technique (r = 0.487, P = 0.010) and automatic segmentation (r = 0.549, P 0.005) correlated equally with RHC-CO. Conclusion: CT-RVEF and CT-RVCO measured on ECG-gated CT are significantly correlated, respectively, to mPAP and RHC-CO in this population with severe reduction of the right ventricular ejection fraction and could be useful for

Absolute quantitation of left ventricular wall and cavity parameters using ECG-gated PET

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Freiberg, Jacob; Hove, Jens D; Kofoed, Klaus F

2004-01-01

in a heart phantom and in healthy subjects. Twelve healthy men aged 64 +/- 8 years were studied by use of cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and ECG-gated FDG-PET during euglycemic glucose-insulin clamp. At increasing image noise levels, the estimated cavity volume of the heart phantom was within 2 m...

ECG gated NMR-CT for cardiovascular diseases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikawa, J.; Machida, K.; Iio, M.; Yoshimoto, N.; Sugimoto, T.; Kawaguchi, H.; Mano, H.

1984-01-01

The authors applied NMR-CT to cardiac study with ECG gated technique to evaluate the left ventricular (LV) function and compared it with cardiovascular nuclear medicine study (NM). The NMR-CT machine has resistive air-core magnet with 0.15 Tesla. The saturation recovery image or inversion recovery image were obtained as 256 x 256 matrix and 15 mm in thickness. The study population was ten patients who were evaluated both by NMR image and by NM performed within one week interval. The heart muscle was able to be visualized without any contrast material nor radioisotopes in inversion recovery images, whereas saturation recovery images failed to separate heart muscle from blood pool. The wall motions of LV in both methods were well correlated except for inferior wall. The values of ejection fraction in NMR image were moderately low, but two modalities showed satisfactory correlation (r=0.85). The region of myocardial infarction was revealed as wall thinning and/or wall motion abnormality. It is still preliminary to draw a conclusion, however, it can be said that in the evaluation of LV function, method by NMR might be of equal value to those of NM. It can be certain that eventually gated NMR-CT will become more effective method for various aspects of cardiovascular evaluation

Assessment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy by ECG gated cardiac computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeuchi, Kazuhide; Tanaka, Chujiro; Oku, Hisao

1981-01-01

The applicability of ECG gated cardiac computed tomography (CT) in 12 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was examined. Six of the 12 patients had hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, including one patient with mid-ventricular obstruction. Three of the 12 patients had hypertrophic non-obstructive cardiomyopathy, and three had apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was confirmed by the angiocardiogram in all patients. Cardiac CT was performed after intravenous administration of contrast media usually given as a bolus injection. The gantry was set with positive 20 0 tilt angle. In all patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy except for mid-ventricular obstruction, the hypertrophied interventricular septum in the basal and mid portions was observed, and the left ventricular cavity was narrowed in systole. In a patient with mid-ventricular obstruction, the marked hypertrophied interventricular septum and antero-lateral papillary muscle were observed. In diastole, the left ventricular cavity was narrow and divided into two parts. The apical cavity was completely disappeared in systole. In all patients with hypertrophic non-obstructive cardiomyopathy, the diffuse hypertrophied interventricular septum was observed in diastole. In systole, the apical portion of the left ventricular cavity was markedly narrow and antero-lateral papillary muscle was hypertrophic. In all patients with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the marked apical hypertrophy of the left ventricular wall was observed in diastole. It is concluded that ECG gated cardiac CT could estimate myocardial wall motion and thickness and differentiate the types of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy each other. (author)

Noninvasive coronary artery imaging by multislice spiral computed tomography. A novel approach for a retrospectively ECG-gated reconstruction technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Yuichi; Kanmatsuse, Katsuo; Inoue Fumio

2003-01-01

Although the excellent spatial resolution of multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) enables the coronary arteries to be visualized, its limited temporal resolution results in poor image reproducibility because of cardiac motion artifact (CMA) and hence limits its widespread clinical use. A novel retrospectively electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated reconstruction method has been developed to minimize CMA. In 88 consecutive patients, the scan data were reconstructed using 2 retrospectively ECG-gated reconstruction methods. Method 1: the end of the reconstruction window (250 ms) was positioned at the peak of the P wave on ECG, which corresponded to the end of the slow filling phase during diastole immediately before atrial contraction. Method 2 (conventional method): relative retrospective gating with 50% referred to the R-R interval was performed so that the beginning of the reconstruction window (250 ms) was positioned at the halfway point between the R-R intervals of the heart cycle. The quality of the coronary artery images was evaluated according to the presence or absence of CMA. The assessment was applied to the left main coronary artery (LMCA), the left anterior descending artery (LAD, segments no.6, no.7, and no.8), the left circumflex artery (LCx, segments no.11 and no.13) and the right coronary artery (RCA, segments no.1, no.2 and no.3). The first diagonal artery (no.9-1), the obtuse marginal artery (no.12-1), the posterior descending artery (no.4-PD), the atrioventricular node branch (no.4-AV) and the first right ventricular branch (RV) were also evaluated. Of the 88 patients, 85 were eligible for image evaluation. Method 1 allowed visualization of the major coronary arteries without CMA in the majority of patients. The left coronary artery (LCA) system (segments no.5-7, no.11 and no.13) and the proximal portion of the RCA were visualized in more than 94% of patients. Artifact-free visualization of the distal portion of the LAD (segment no.8) and RCA (no.4

ECG-gated interventional cardiac reconstruction for non-periodic motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohkohl, Christopher; Lauritsch, Günter; Biller, Lisa; Hornegger, Joachim

2010-01-01

The 3-D reconstruction of cardiac vasculature using C-arm CT is an active and challenging field of research. In interventional environments patients often do have arrhythmic heart signals or cannot hold breath during the complete data acquisition. This important group of patients cannot be reconstructed with current approaches that do strongly depend on a high degree of cardiac motion periodicity for working properly. In a last year's MICCAI contribution a first algorithm was presented that is able to estimate non-periodic 4-D motion patterns. However, to some degree that algorithm still depends on periodicity, as it requires a prior image which is obtained using a simple ECG-gated reconstruction. In this work we aim to provide a solution to this problem by developing a motion compensated ECG-gating algorithm. It is built upon a 4-D time-continuous affine motion model which is capable of compactly describing highly non-periodic motion patterns. A stochastic optimization scheme is derived which minimizes the error between the measured projection data and the forward projection of the motion compensated reconstruction. For evaluation, the algorithm is applied to 5 datasets of the left coronary arteries of patients that have ignored the breath hold command and/or had arrhythmic heart signals during the data acquisition. By applying the developed algorithm the average visibility of the vessel segments could be increased by 27%. The results show that the proposed algorithm provides excellent reconstruction quality in cases where classical approaches fail. The algorithm is highly parallelizable and a clinically feasible runtime of under 4 minutes is achieved using modern graphics card hardware.

Evaluation of left ventricular ejection fraction from radial long-axis tomography. A new reconstruction algorithm for ECG-gated technetium-99m Sestamibi SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsujimura, Eiichiro; Kusuoka, Hideo; Uehara, Toshiisa

1997-01-01

Radial long-axis tomography can provide views similar to contrast left ventriculography (LVG) including the basal and apical areas of the left ventricle, not possible in routine short-axis tomography. We applied this method to ECG-gated Tc-99m Sestamibi (MIBI) myocardial SPECT images to estimate the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). ECG-gated Tc-99m MIBI SPECT was performed with a temporal resolution of 10 frames per R-R interval. LVEF was calculated on the basis of left ventricular volume estimates at end diastole (ED) and end systole (ES) with using an ellipsoid body model. To validate this method, LVEF's derived from ECG-gated Tc-99m MIBI SPECT were compared with those from LVG in 11 patients with coronary artery disease. There was a close linear correlation between LVEF values calculated from Tc-99m MIBI SPECT and those from LVG (r=0.89, p<0.001), although the gated SPECT underestimated LVEF compared to LVG. The technique showed excellent reproducibility (intra-observer variability, r=0.96, p<0.001; inter-observer variability, r=0.71, p<0.005). The radial long-axis tomography technique gives a good estimate of LVEF, in agreement with estimates based on LVG. ECG-gated Tc-99m MIBI SPECT can, therefore, be applicable to assess myocardial perfusion and ventricular function at the same time. (author)

Evaluation of left ventricular ejection fraction from radial long-axis tomography. A new reconstruction algorithm for ECG-gated technetium-99m Sestamibi SPECT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tsujimura, Eiichiro; Kusuoka, Hideo; Uehara, Toshiisa [Osaka Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Medicine] [and others

1997-08-01

Radial long-axis tomography can provide views similar to contrast left ventriculography (LVG) including the basal and apical areas of the left ventricle, not possible in routine short-axis tomography. We applied this method to ECG-gated Tc-99m Sestamibi (MIBI) myocardial SPECT images to estimate the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). ECG-gated Tc-99m MIBI SPECT was performed with a temporal resolution of 10 frames per R-R interval. LVEF was calculated on the basis of left ventricular volume estimates at end diastole (ED) and end systole (ES) with using an ellipsoid body model. To validate this method, LVEF`s derived from ECG-gated Tc-99m MIBI SPECT were compared with those from LVG in 11 patients with coronary artery disease. There was a close linear correlation between LVEF values calculated from Tc-99m MIBI SPECT and those from LVG (r=0.89, p<0.001), although the gated SPECT underestimated LVEF compared to LVG. The technique showed excellent reproducibility (intra-observer variability, r=0.96, p<0.001; inter-observer variability, r=0.71, p<0.005). The radial long-axis tomography technique gives a good estimate of LVEF, in agreement with estimates based on LVG. ECG-gated Tc-99m MIBI SPECT can, therefore, be applicable to assess myocardial perfusion and ventricular function at the same time. (author)

Coronary artery visibility in free-breathing young children with congenital heart disease on cardiac 64-slice CT: dual-source ECG-triggered sequential scan vs. single-source non-ECG-synchronized spiral scan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goo, Hyun Woo; Yang, Dong Hyun [University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Department of Radiology and Research Institute of Radiology, Asan Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2010-10-15

The potential impact of dual-source ECG-triggered sequential CT scan on coronary artery visibility has not been evaluated in free-breathing young children. To compare coronary artery visibility in free-breathing young children with congenital heart disease on cardiac 64-slice CT between dual-source ECG-triggered sequential (DSET) scan and single-source non-ECG-synchronized spiral (SSNE) scan. In 93 young children, 108 cardiac 64-slice CT examinations were performed during free-breathing. Visibility of coronary arteries and side branches was compared between SSNE and DSET scans. Heart rates and trigger delays for DSET scan were recorded. Effective dose of each scan technique was calculated. Visual grades were significantly higher (P < 0.001 or =0.011) on DSET scan than on SSNE scan except for the distal left anterior descending artery. Coronary arteries were traceable in 79.3% on DSET scan and 54.3% on SSNE scan in the overlapped scan range (P < 0.0001), and 97.1% and 71.9% for the origins and proximal segments (P < 0.0001). Visibility of side branches was improved on DSET scan by a factor of 2.0. Heart rates and trigger delays for DSET scan were 131 {+-} 24 beats per min and 199 {+-} 44 ms, respectively. Effective doses of DSET and SSNE scans were 0.36 {+-} 0.12 mSv and 0.99 {+-} 0.23 mSv, respectively. DSET scan improves visibility of coronary arteries on cardiac 64-slice CT in free-breathing young children with congenital heart disease, compared with SSNE scan. (orig.)

Preliminary application of 320-detector spiral CT with ECG editing for assessing coronary artery in-stent restenosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Zhiming; Tan Lilian; Li Shuxin; Fu Xi; He Weihong; Liu Ke; Huang Yong; Yu Lin

2011-01-01

Objective: To determine the value of 320-detector spiral CT with retrospective ECG gating and editing software for detecting coronary artery in-stent restenosis. Methods: CT scans of 14 patients with coronary artery stnets were retrospectively analyzed. The examinations were performed using a 320-detector spiral CT scanner and retrospective ECG gating combined with ECG editing software. The image quality of reconstructed coronary artery in-stents was compared before and after the editing of synchronously recorded ECG. The paired-sample t test was used for statistical analysis. Results: Before ECG editing, arrhythmia and in-stent artifact resulted in image blurring, missing arterial segments, significant stepladder artifacts or non-visualization of the interior of stents. Of 14 cases before ECG editing, in-stent restenosis was detected in 10 and patency in 3. The coronary artery stent and distal bifurcation were delineated in one patient. After ECG editing, the image quality of coronary artery stents was improved with detection of in-stent restenosis (4 cases) including the one case that not evaluable before ECG editing. The average image quality score before ECG editing (2.14±0.86) was significantly (P<0.001) lower than that after ECG editing (3.07±0.73). Conclusion: Retrospective ECG gating combined with ECG editing of 320-detector spiral CT can reduce the artifacts produced by arrhythmia or in-stent swings and improve the imaging quality of coronary artery stents. (authors)

Diagnostic accuracy of prospective ECG gated coronary computed tomography on a 256 slices scanner: Daily practice experience

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed M. Fareed

2014-03-01

Conclusions: In a highly prevalence diseased population, prospective ECG-gated CTCA using 256-slice scanner is highly accurate for detection and quantification of the degree of coronary luminal stenosis in comparison to ICA.

Dual-detection confocal fluorescence microscopy: fluorescence axial imaging without axial scanning.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Dong-Ryoung; Kim, Young-Duk; Gweon, Dae-Gab; Yoo, Hongki

2013-07-29

We propose a new method for high-speed, three-dimensional (3-D) fluorescence imaging, which we refer to as dual-detection confocal fluorescence microscopy (DDCFM). In contrast to conventional beam-scanning confocal fluorescence microscopy, where the focal spot must be scanned either optically or mechanically over a sample volume to reconstruct a 3-D image, DDCFM can obtain the depth of a fluorescent emitter without depth scanning. DDCFM comprises two photodetectors, each with a pinhole of different size, in the confocal detection system. Axial information on fluorescent emitters can be measured by the axial response curve through the ratio of intensity signals. DDCFM can rapidly acquire a 3-D fluorescent image from a single two-dimensional scan with less phototoxicity and photobleaching than confocal fluorescence microscopy because no mechanical depth scans are needed. We demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed method by phantom studies.

Detection of Airway Anomalies in?Pediatric?Patients with Cardiovascular Anomalies with Low Dose Prospective ECG-Gated Dual-Source CT

OpenAIRE

Jiao, Hui; Xu, Zhuodong; Wu, Lebin; Cheng, Zhaoping; Ji, Xiaopeng; Zhong, Hai; Meng, Chen

2013-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To assess the feasibility of low-dose prospective ECG-gated dual-source CT (DSCT) in detecting airway anomalies in pediatric patients with cardiovascular anomalies compared with flexible tracheobronchoscopy (FTB). METHODS: 33 pediatrics with respiratory symptoms who had been revealed cardiovascular anomalies by transthoracic echocardiography underwent FTB and contrast material-enhanced prospective ECG-triggering CT were enrolled. The study was approved by our institution review bo...

Myocardial enhancement pattern in patients with acute myocardial infarction on two-phase contrast-enhanced Ecg-gated multidetector-row computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ko, S.M.; Seo, J.B.; Hong, M.K.; Do, K.H.; Lee, S.H.; Lee, J.S.; Song, J.W.; Park, S.J.; Park, S.W.; Lim, T.H.

2006-01-01

Aim: To evaluate the myocardial enhancement pattern of the left ventricle on two-phase contrast-enhanced electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) images in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: Two-phase contrast-enhanced ECG-gated MDCT examinations were performed in 16 patients with AMI. The presence, location and pattern of myocardial enhancement were evaluated. MDCT findings were compared with the catheter angiographic results. RESULTS: Subendocardial (n=9) or transmural (n=6) area of early perfusion defects of the myocardium was detected in 15 of 16 patients (94%) on early-phase CT images. Variable delayed myocardial enhancement patterns on late-phase CT images were observed in 12 patients (75%): (1) subendocardial residual perfusion defect and subepicardial late enhancement (n=6); (2) transmural late enhancement (n=1); (3) isolated subendocardial late enhancement (n=1); and (4) isolated subendocardial residual perfusion defect (n=2). On catheter angiography, 14 of 15 corresponding coronary arteries showed significant stenosis. CONCLUSION: Variable abnormal myocardial enhancement pattern was seen on two-phase, contrast-enhanced ECG-gated MDCT in patients with AMI. Assessment of myocardial attenuation on CT angiography gives additional information of the location and extent of infarction

Gated magnetic resonance imaging of congenital cardiac malformations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fletcher, B.D.; Jocobstein, M.D.; Nelson, A.D.; Riemenschneider, T.A.; Alfidi, R.J.

1984-01-01

Magnetic resonance (MR) images of a variety of cardiac malformations in 19 patients aged 1 week to 33 years were obtained using pulse plethysmographic- or ECG-gated spin echo pulse sequences. Coronal, axial, and sagittal images displaying intracardiac structures with excellent spatial and contrast resolution were acquired during systole or diastole. It is concluded that MR will be a valuable noninvasive method of diagnosing congenital heart disease

The relevance of electrostatics for scanning-gate microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schnez, S; Guettinger, J; Stampfer, C; Ensslin, K; Ihn, T

2011-01-01

Scanning-probe techniques have been developed to extract local information from a given physical system. In particular, conductance maps obtained by means of scanning-gate microscopy (SGM), where a conducting tip of an atomic-force microscope is used as a local and movable gate, seem to present an intuitive picture of the underlying physical processes. Here, we argue that the interpretation of such images is complex and not very intuitive under certain circumstances: scanning a graphene quantum dot (QD) in the Coulomb-blockaded regime, we observe an apparent shift of features in scanning-gate images as a function of gate voltages, which cannot be a real shift of the physical system. Furthermore, we demonstrate the appearance of more than one set of Coulomb rings arising from the graphene QD. We attribute these effects to screening between the metallic tip and the gates. Our results are relevant for SGM on any kind of nanostructure, but are of particular importance for nanostructures that are not covered with a dielectric, e.g. graphene or carbon nanotube structures.

Comparison of prospective electrocardiography-gating high-pitch mode and without electrocardiography-synchronization high-pitch mode acquisition for the image quality and radiation doses of the aortic using dual-source CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Jian; Huan Yi; Zhao Hongliang; Wang Ying; Liu Ying; Wei Mengqi; Shi Mingguo; Zheng Minwen

2013-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the application of prospective ECG-gating Flash spiral scan mode dual-source CT in aortography, and compare it's image quality and radiation dose with without ECG-synchronization high-pitch spiral scanning mode. Methods: Fifty consecutive patients (Group A) with suspected aortic dissection or after operations for the aortic dissection were scanned with prospective ECG-gated high-pitch scan and another 50 consecutive patients (Group B) were analyzed by non-ECG-gated high-pitch scan. Image quality of the aortic was assessed by two independent readers. Image noise was measured, radiation dose estimates were calculated. The imaging quality of the aortic and the radiation dose were compared with Mann-whitney U and t test. Results: The average image quality score [(1.18 ± 0.40) in group A and (1.23 ± 0.31) in group B] showed no significant difference between group A and group B (U = 1.20, P = 0.23). The mean radiation dose of group A was lower than that of group B [(1.49 ± 0.38) mSv in group A, (2.79 ± 0.54) mSv in group B, t = 13.677, P < 0.05]. Conclusion: Prospective ECG-gated dual source CT Flash spiral scanning with low radiation dose and good image quality in the aortic dissection with high value of clinical application. (authors)

In vitro measurement of CT density and estimation of stenosis related to coronary soft plaque at 100 kV and 120 kV on ECG-triggered scan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horiguchi, Jun, E-mail: horiguch@hiroshima-u.ac.jp [Department of Clinical Radiology, Hiroshima University Hospital, 1-2-3, Kasumi-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551 (Japan); Fujioka, Chikako, E-mail: fujioka@hiroshima-u.ac.jp [Department of Clinical Radiology, Hiroshima University Hospital, 1-2-3, Kasumi-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551 (Japan); Kiguchi, Masao, E-mail: kiguchi@hiroshima-u.ac.jp [Department of Clinical Radiology, Hiroshima University Hospital, 1-2-3, Kasumi-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551 (Japan); Yamamoto, Hideya, E-mail: hideyayama@hiroshima-u.ac.jp [Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Hiroshima University Hospital, 1-2-3, Kasumi-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551 (Japan); Shen, Yun, E-mail: Yuna.Shen@ge.com [CT Lab of Great China, GE Healthcare, L12 and L15, Office Tower, Langham Place, 8 Argyle Street, Mongkok Kowloon (Hong Kong); Kihara, Yasuki, E-mail: ykihara@hiroshima-u.ac.jp [Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Hiroshima University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Hiroshima University Hospital, 1-2-3, Kasumi-cho, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8551 (Japan)

2011-02-15

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to compare 100 kV and 120 kV prospective electrocardiograph (ECG)-triggered axial coronary 64-detector CT angiography (64-MDCTA) in soft plaque diagnosis. Materials and methods: Coronary artery models (n = 5) with artificial soft plaques (-32 HU to 53 HU at 120 kV) with three stenosis levels (25%, 50% and 75%) on a cardiac phantom (mimicking slim patient's environment) were scanned in heart rates of 55, 60 and 65 beats per minute (bpm). Four kinds of intracoronary enhancement (205 HU, 241 HU, 280 HU and 314 HU) were simulated. The soft plaque density and the measurement error of stenosis (in percentage), evaluated by two independent observers, were compared between 100 kV and 120 kV. The radiation dose was estimated. Results: Interobserver correlation of the measurement was excellent (density; r = 0.95 and stenosis measure; r = 0.97). Neither the density of soft plaque nor the measurement error of stenosis was different between 100 kV and 120 kV (p = 0.22 and 0.08). The estimated radiation doses were 2.0 mSv and 3.3 mSv (in 14 cm coverage) on 100 kV and 120 kV prospective ECG-triggered axial scans, respectively. Conclusion: The 100 kV prospective ECG-triggered coronary MDCTA has comparable performance to 120 kV coronary CTA in terms of soft plaque densitometry and measurement of stenosis, with a reduced effective dose of 2 mSv.

Assessment of Double Outlet Right Ventricle Associated with Multiple Malformations in Pediatric Patients Using Retrospective ECG-Gated Dual-Source Computed Tomography.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ke Shi

Full Text Available To evaluate the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of retrospective electrocardiographically (ECG-gated dual-source computed tomography (DSCT for the assessment of double outlet right ventricle (DORV and associated multiple malformations in pediatric patients.Forty-seven patients <10 years of age with DORV underwent retrospective ECG-gated DSCT. The location of the ventricular septal defect (VSD, alignment of the two great arteries, and associated malformations were assessed. The feasibility of retrospective ECG-gated DSCT in pediatric patients was assessed, the image quality of DSCT and the agreement of the diagnosis of associated malformations between DSCT and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE were evaluated, the diagnostic accuracies of DSCT and TTE were referred to surgical results, and the effective doses were calculated.Apart from DORV, 109 associated malformations were confirmed postoperatively. There was excellent agreement (κ = 0.90 for the diagnosis of associated malformations between DSCT and TTE. However, DSCT was superior to TTE in demonstrating paracardiac anomalies (sensitivity, coronary artery anomalies: 100% vs. 80.00%, anomalies of great vessels: 100% vs. 88.57%, separate thoracic and abdominal anomalies: 100% vs. 76.92%, respectively. Combined with TTE, DSCT can achieve excellent diagnostic performance in intracardiac anomalies (sensitivity, 91.30% vs. 100%. The mean image quality score was 3.70 ± 0.46 (κ = 0.76. The estimated mean effective dose was < 1 mSv (0.88 ± 0.34 mSv.Retrospective ECG-gated DSCT is a better diagnostic tool than TTE for pediatric patients with complex congenital heart disease such as DORV. Combined with TTE, it may reduce or even obviate the use of invasive cardiac catheterization, and thus expose the patients to a much lower radiation dose.

Non-enhanced ECG-gated respiratory-triggered 3-D steady-state free-precession MR angiography with slab-selective inversion: initial experience in visualisation of renal arteries in free-breathing children without renal artery abnormality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klee, Dirk; Lanzman, Rotem Shlomo; Blondin, Dirk; Antoch, Gerald; Schaper, Joerg; Schmitt, Peter; Oh, Jun; Salgin, Burak; Mayatepek, Ertan

2012-01-01

ECG-gated non-enhanced balanced steady-state free precession (bSSFP) MR angiography requires neither breath-holding nor administration of contrast material. To investigate the image quality of free-breathing ECG-gated non-enhanced bSSFP MR angiography of renal arteries in children. Fourteen boys and seven girls (mean age, 9.7 years; range, 7 weeks-17 years) with no history of renovascular disease were included. MRI was performed at 1.5 T. Subjective image quality of axial and coronal maximum-intensity-projection reconstructions of four segments (I, aorta and renal artery ostium; II, main renal artery; III, segmental branches; IV, intrarenal vessels) was evaluated using a 4-point scale (4 = excellent, 3 = good, 2 = acceptable, 1 = non-diagnostic). Image quality was excellent for segments I (mean ± SD, 3.9 ± 0.3) and II (4.0 ± 0.1), good for segment III (3.4 ± 0.9) and acceptable for segment IV (2.3 ± 1.1). Mean image quality did not differ between sedated and non-sedated children. bSSFP MR angiography enables visualisation of renal arteries in children. (orig.)

Visibility of the origin and proximal course of coronary arteries on non-ECG-gated heart CT in patients with congenital heart disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goo, Hyun Woo; Park, In-Sook; Ko, Jae Kon; Kim, Young Hwee; Seo, Dong-Man; Yun, Tae-Jin; Park, Jeong-Jun

2005-01-01

There is little information on the ability of non-ECG-gated cardiac CT to demonstrate the coronary arteries of children. To evaluate the visibility of the origin and proximal course of coronary arteries on non-ECG-gated cardiac CT, in which the coronary artery was not of primary diagnostic concern, in children with congenital heart disease. From December 2002 to March 2004, 126 cardiac CT examinations from 104 children (median age 11 months; age range 1 day to 15 years) were evaluated. All patients had ventriculo-arterial concordance and no malformations of the great arteries; those with coronary artery anomalies were excluded. Contrast-enhanced 16-slice spiral CT was performed without ECG-gating and multiplanar images for coronary arteries were obtained. The visibility of coronary artery origins was graded on a three-point scale, while nine segments of the arteries were graded on a four-point scale. CT images in which it was possible to trace the coronary arteries were considered diagnostic. The visibility of each whole coronary artery and the origins and proximal four segments of coronary arteries were calculated. The visibility of coronary arteries was also correlated with patient age. The percentage of CT images of diagnostic quality was 49.3% for the whole coronary artery and 81.7% for the origins and proximal four segments. There was a significant positive correlation between the visibility of coronary arteries and age. Non-ECG-gated cardiac CT, in which the coronary artery is not of primary diagnostic concern, is frequently able to visualize the origin and proximal course of coronary arteries and may be helpful in detecting coronary artery anomalies in children with congenital heart disease. (orig.)

Estimation of radiation exposure of retrospective gated and prospective triggered 128-slice triple-rule-out CT angiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ketelsen, Dominik; Fenchel, Michael; Thomas, Christoph; Boehringer, Nadine; Tsiflikas, Ilias; Kaempf, Michael; Claussen, Claus D; Heuschmid, Martin (Dept. of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Univ. Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen (Germany)), email: dominik.ketelsen@med.uni-tuebingen.de; Buchgeister, Markus (Depts. of Radiotherapy and Radiooncology, Univ. Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen (Germany))

2011-09-15

Background: CT has become an important role in the differential diagnosis of acute chest pain to exclude an aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism and acute coronary artery syndrome. However, the additional radiation exposure is a cause of concern and dose saving strategies should be applied, if possible. Purpose: To estimate effective dose of retrospective gated and prospective ECG-triggered triple-rule-out computed tomography angiography (TRO-CTA). Material and Methods: An Alderson-Rando-phantom equipped with thermoluminescent dosimeters was used for dose measurements. Exposure was performed on a 128-slice single source scanner. The following scan parameters were used (retrospective ECG-gated): 120 kV, 190 mAs/rot., collimation 128x0.6 mm, rotation time 0.3 s. Protocols with a simulated heart rate (HR) of 60 and 100 bpm were performed using the standard ECG-pulsing as well as MinDose. Additionally, a prospective triggered TRO-CTA was acquired (HR 60 bpm). Results: The estimated effective dose of retrospective ECG-gated TRO-CTA ranged from 7.4-13.4 mSv and from 10.1-17.5 mSv for men and women, respectively. Due to radiosensitive breast tissue, women received a significant increased effective dose of up to 64.7% +- 0.03% (p = 0.028) compared to men. MinDose reduces radiation exposure of up to 33.0% +- 6.5% in comparison to standard ECG-pulsing (p < 0.001). The effective dose increased significantly with lower heart rates (p < 0.001). Prospective ECG-triggered TRO-CTA showed an effective dose of 5.9 mSv and 8.2 mSv for men and women, respectively. Compared to retrospective ECG-gated TRO-CTA a significant dose reduction was observed (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Due to the significant different dose exposure, scan protocols should be specifically adapted in a patient- and problem-oriented manner

Estimation of radiation exposure of retrospective gated and prospective triggered 128-slice triple-rule-out CT angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ketelsen, Dominik; Fenchel, Michael; Thomas, Christoph; Boehringer, Nadine; Tsiflikas, Ilias; Kaempf, Michael; Claussen, Claus D; Heuschmid, Martin; Buchgeister, Markus

2011-01-01

Background: CT has become an important role in the differential diagnosis of acute chest pain to exclude an aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism and acute coronary artery syndrome. However, the additional radiation exposure is a cause of concern and dose saving strategies should be applied, if possible. Purpose: To estimate effective dose of retrospective gated and prospective ECG-triggered triple-rule-out computed tomography angiography (TRO-CTA). Material and Methods: An Alderson-Rando-phantom equipped with thermoluminescent dosimeters was used for dose measurements. Exposure was performed on a 128-slice single source scanner. The following scan parameters were used (retrospective ECG-gated): 120 kV, 190 mAs/rot., collimation 128x0.6 mm, rotation time 0.3 s. Protocols with a simulated heart rate (HR) of 60 and 100 bpm were performed using the standard ECG-pulsing as well as MinDose. Additionally, a prospective triggered TRO-CTA was acquired (HR 60 bpm). Results: The estimated effective dose of retrospective ECG-gated TRO-CTA ranged from 7.4-13.4 mSv and from 10.1-17.5 mSv for men and women, respectively. Due to radiosensitive breast tissue, women received a significant increased effective dose of up to 64.7% ± 0.03% (p = 0.028) compared to men. MinDose reduces radiation exposure of up to 33.0% ± 6.5% in comparison to standard ECG-pulsing (p < 0.001). The effective dose increased significantly with lower heart rates (p < 0.001). Prospective ECG-triggered TRO-CTA showed an effective dose of 5.9 mSv and 8.2 mSv for men and women, respectively. Compared to retrospective ECG-gated TRO-CTA a significant dose reduction was observed (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Due to the significant different dose exposure, scan protocols should be specifically adapted in a patient- and problem-oriented manner

Dose reduction in multi-slice CT of the heart by use of ECG-controlled tube current modulation (''ECG pulsing''): phantom measurements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poll, L.W.; Cohnen, M.; Brachten, S.; Moedder, U.; Ewen, K.

2002-01-01

To evaluate the effect of ECG-controlled tube current modulation on radiation exposure in retrospectively-ECG-gated multislice CT (MSCT) of the heart. Material and methods: Three different cardiac MSCT protocols with different slice collimation (4 x 1, and 4 x 2.5 mm), and a pitch-factor of 1.5 and 1.8 were investigated at a multi-slice CT scanner Somatom Volume Zoom, Siemens. An anthropomorphic Alderson-Rando phantom was equipped with LiF-Thermoluminescence dosimeters at several organ sites, and effective doses were calculated using ICRP-weighting factors. Scan protocols were performed with ECG-controlled tube current modulation ('ECG pulsing') at two different heart rates (60 and 80 bpm). These data were compared to previous data from MSCT of the heart without use of 'ECG pulsing'. Results: Radiation exposure with (60 bpm) and without tube current modulation using a 2.5 mm collimation was 1.8 mSv and 2.9 mSv for females, and 1.5 mSv and 2.4 mSv for males, respectively. For protocols using a 1 mm collimation with a pitch-factor of 1.5 (1.8), radiation exposure with and without tube current modulation was 5.6 (6.3) mSv and 9.5 (11.2) mSv for females, and 4.6 (5.2) mSv and 7.7 (9.2) mSv for males, respectively. At higher heart rates (80 bpm) radiation exposure is increased from 1.5-1.8 mSv to 1.8-2.1 mSv, using the 2.5 mm collimation, and from 4.6-5.6 mSv to 5.9-7.2 mSv, for protocols using 1 mm collimation. Conclusions: The ECG-controlled tube current modulation allows a dose reduction of 37% to 44% when retrospectively ECG-gated MSCT of the heart is performed. The tube current - as a function over time - and therefore the radiation exposure is dependent on the heart rate. (orig.) [de

MO-DE-207A-06: ECG-Gated CT Reconstruction for a C-Arm Inverse Geometry X-Ray System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slagowski, JM; Dunkerley, DAP [MA Speidel, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To obtain ECG-gated CT images from truncated projection data acquired with a C-arm based inverse geometry fluoroscopy system, for the purpose of cardiac chamber mapping in interventional procedures. Methods: Scanning-beam digital x-ray (SBDX) is an inverse geometry fluoroscopy system with a scanned multisource x-ray tube and a photon-counting detector mounted to a C-arm. In the proposed method, SBDX short-scan rotational acquisition is performed followed by inverse geometry CT (IGCT) reconstruction and segmentation of contrast-enhanced objects. The prior image constrained compressed sensing (PICCS) framework was adapted for IGCT reconstruction to mitigate artifacts arising from data truncation and angular undersampling due to cardiac gating. The performance of the reconstruction algorithm was evaluated in numerical simulations of truncated and non-truncated thorax phantoms containing a dynamic ellipsoid to represent a moving cardiac chamber. The eccentricity of the ellipsoid was varied at frequencies from 1–1.5 Hz. Projection data were retrospectively sorted into 13 cardiac phases. Each phase was reconstructed using IGCT-PICCS, with a nongated gridded FBP (gFBP) prior image. Surface accuracy was determined using Dice similarity coefficient and a histogram of the point distances between the segmented surface and ground truth surface. Results: The gated IGCT-PICCS algorithm improved surface accuracy and reduced streaking and truncation artifacts when compared to nongated gFBP. For the non-truncated thorax with 1.25 Hz motion, 99% of segmented surface points were within 0.3 mm of the 15 mm diameter ground truth ellipse, versus 1.0 mm for gFBP. For the truncated thorax phantom with a 40 mm diameter ellipse, IGCT-PICCS surface accuracy measured 0.3 mm versus 7.8 mm for gFBP. Dice similarity coefficient was 0.99–1.00 (IGCT-PICCS) versus 0.63–0.75 (gFBP) for intensity-based segmentation thresholds ranging from 25–75% maximum contrast. Conclusions: The

Experimental and clinical analyses of optimum Fourier filtering in ECG-gated blood pool scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimabukuro, Kunisada

1988-01-01

A phantom study was undertaken to determine the optimum order harmonics in Fourier analysis for volume curves obtained by ECG-gated blood pool scintigraphy. The volume curve obtained by Tc-99m scintigraphy was computed by the 1st through 10th order harmonics of Fourier transform. The shape of each volume curve fitted by Fourier transform was compared with the shape of the generated ideal curve. Curves fitted with the 3rd or more order harmonics were approximate to the ideal curve in shape during the systolic phase. The 6th to 10th order harmonics were suitable for the early diastole phase. As determined by peak ejection rate and peak filling rate (PFR), the 6th order harmonics was superior to the 3rd order harmonics in evaluating early diastolic abnormalities. In the clinical settings, there was no difference between the 3rd and 6th order harmonics in evaluating systolic abnormalities; however, the 6th order harmonics was more sensitive than the 3rd order harmonics in evaluating early diastolic abnormalities. The 6th order harmonics significantly reflected PFR in the group of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (n=10) and time to PFR in the groups of old myocardial infarction (n=10) and angina pectoris (n=10). In conclusion, the 6th to 9th order harmonics of Fourier analysis may be useful in analyzing both systolic and early diastolic phases inf left ventricular volume curves obtained from ECG-gated cardiac blood pool scintigraphy. (Namekawa, K)

Ventricular Geometry From Non-contrast Non-ECG-gated CT Scans: An Imaging Marker of Cardiopulmonary Disease in Smokers.

Science.gov (United States)

Rahaghi, Farbod N; Vegas-Sanchez-Ferrero, Gonzalo; Minhas, Jasleen K; Come, Carolyn E; De La Bruere, Isaac; Wells, James M; González, Germán; Bhatt, Surya P; Fenster, Brett E; Diaz, Alejandro A; Kohli, Puja; Ross, James C; Lynch, David A; Dransfield, Mark T; Bowler, Russel P; Ledesma-Carbayo, Maria J; San José Estépar, Raúl; Washko, George R

2017-05-01

Imaging-based assessment of cardiovascular structure and function provides clinically relevant information in smokers. Non-cardiac-gated thoracic computed tomographic (CT) scanning is increasingly leveraged for clinical care and lung cancer screening. We sought to determine if more comprehensive measures of ventricular geometry could be obtained from CT using an atlas-based surface model of the heart. Subcohorts of 24 subjects with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 262 subjects with echocardiography were identified from COPDGene, a longitudinal observational study of smokers. A surface model of the heart was manually initialized, and then automatically optimized to fit the epicardium for each CT. Estimates of right and left ventricular (RV and LV) volume and free-wall curvature were then calculated and compared to structural and functional metrics obtained from MRI and echocardiograms. CT measures of RV dimension and curvature correlated with similar measures obtained using MRI. RV and LV volume obtained from CT inversely correlated with echocardiogram-based estimates of RV systolic pressure using tricuspid regurgitation jet velocity and LV ejection fraction respectively. Patients with evidence of RV or LV dysfunction on echocardiogram had larger RV and LV dimensions on CT. Logistic regression models based on demographics and ventricular measures from CT had an area under the curve of >0.7 for the prediction of elevated right ventricular systolic pressure and ventricular failure. These data suggest that non-cardiac-gated, non-contrast-enhanced thoracic CT scanning may provide insight into cardiac structure and function in smokers. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Calculation of left ventricular volume and ejection fraction from ECG-gated myocardial SPECT. Automatic detection of endocardial borders by threshold method

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukushi, Shoji; Teraoka, Satomi.

1997-01-01

A new method which calculate end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV) and ejection fraction (LVEF) of the left ventricle from myocardial short axis images of ECG-gated SPECT using 99m Tc myocardial perfusion tracer has been designed. Eight frames per cardiac cycle ECG-gated 180 degrees SPECT was performed. Threshold method was used to detect myocardial borders automatically. The optimal threshold was 45% by myocardial SPECT phantom. To determine if EDV, ESV and LVEF can also be calculated by this method, 12 patients were correlated ventriculography (LVG) for 10 days each. The correlation coefficient with LVG was 0.918 (EDV), 0.935 (ESV) and 0.900 (LVEF). This method is excellent at objectivity and reproductivity because of the automatic detection of myocardial borders. It also provides useful information on heart function in addition to myocardial perfusion. (author)

The value of low-dose prospective ECG-gated dual-source CT angiography in the diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta in infants and children

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Nie, P. [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Diseases, Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong (China); Wang, X., E-mail: wxming369@yahoo.com.cn [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Diseases, Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong (China); Cheng, Z.; Duan, Y.; Ji, X. [Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardio-Cerebral Vascular Diseases, Shandong Medical Imaging Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong (China); Chen, J. [CT Research Collaboration, Siemens, Beijing (China); Zhang, H. [Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Shandong Provincial Hospital, Jinan, Shandong (China)

2012-08-15

Aim: To investigate the value of prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) in the diagnosis of coarctation of the aorta (CoA). Materials and methods: Seventeen patients clinically suspected of having CoA underwent prospective ECG-gated DSCT angiography and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). Surgery was performed in all patients. The diagnostic accuracy of DSCT angiography and TTE was compared with the surgical findings as the reference standard. Image quality was evaluated using a five-point scale. Effective radiation dose was calculated from the dose-length product (DLP). Results: CoA was diagnosed in 17 patients by DSCT angiography and in 16 patients by TTE. A total of 46 separate cardiovascular abnormalities were confirmed by surgical findings. The diagnostic accuracy of DSCT angiography and TTE was 96.32% and 97.06%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the diagnostic accuracy between DSCT angiography and TTE ({chi}{sup 2} = 0, p > 0.05). The mean score of image quality was 4.2 {+-} 0.8. The mean effective dose was 0.69 {+-} 0.09 mSv. Conclusion: Prospective ECG-gated DSCT with a low radiation dose is a valuable technique in the diagnosis of CoA in infants and children.

Identification and Assessment of Paradoxical Ventricular Wall Motion Using ECG Gated Blood Pool Scan - Comparison of cine Loop , Phase Analysis and Paradox Image -

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jae Tae; Kim, Gwang Weon; Lee, Kyu Bo; Chung, Byung Chun; Whang, Kee Suk; Chae, Sung Chul; Paek, Wee Hyun; Cheon, Jae Eun; Lee, Hyong Woo; Chung, Jin Hong

1990-01-01

Sixty-four patients with paradoxical ventricular wall motion noticed both in angiocardiography or 2-dimensional echocardiography were assessed by ECG gated blood pool scan (GBPS). Endless cine loop image, phase and amplitude images and paradox image obtained by visual inspection of each cardiac beat or Fourier transformation of acquired raw data were investigated to determine the incremental value of GBPS with these processing methods for identification of paradoxical ventricular wall motion. The results were as follows:1) Paradoxical wall motions were observed on interventricular septum in 34 cases, left ventricular free wall in 26 and right ventricular wall in 24. Underlying heart diseases were is chemic (23 cases) valvular(9), congenital heart disease (12), cardiomyopathy (5), pericardial effusion(5), post cardiac surgery(3), corpulmonale (2), endocarditis (l) and right ventricular tumor(l). 2) Left ventricular ejection fractions of patients with paradoxical left ventricular wall motion were significantly lower than those with paradoxical septal motion (p <0.005). 3) The sensitivity of each processing methods for detecting paradoxical wall motion was 76.9% by phase analysis, 74.6% by endless cine loop mapping and 68.4% by paradox image manipulation respectively. Paradoxial motions visualized only in phase, paradox or both images were appeared as hypokinesia or akinesia in cine loop image. 4) All events could be identified by at least one of above three processing methods, however only 34 cases (48.4%) showed the paradoxical motions in all of the three images. By these findings, we concluded that simultaneous inspection of all above three processing methods-endless cine loop, phase analysis and paradox image is necessary for accurate identification and assessment of paradoxical ventricular wall motion when performing GBPS.

Identification and Assessment of Paradoxical Ventricular Wall Motion Using ECG Gated Blood Pool Scan - Comparison of cine Loop , Phase Analysis and Paradox Image -

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jae Tae; Kim, Gwang Weon; Lee, Kyu Bo; Chung, Byung Chun; Whang, Kee Suk; Chae, Sung Chul; Paek, Wee Hyun; Cheon, Jae Eun [Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Hyong Woo; Chung, Jin Hong [Yeongnam National University College of Medicine, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

1990-07-15

Sixty-four patients with paradoxical ventricular wall motion noticed both in angiocardiography or 2-dimensional echocardiography were assessed by ECG gated blood pool scan (GBPS). Endless cine loop image, phase and amplitude images and paradox image obtained by visual inspection of each cardiac beat or Fourier transformation of acquired raw data were investigated to determine the incremental value of GBPS with these processing methods for identification of paradoxical ventricular wall motion. The results were as follows:1) Paradoxical wall motions were observed on interventricular septum in 34 cases, left ventricular free wall in 26 and right ventricular wall in 24. Underlying heart diseases were is chemic (23 cases) valvular(9), congenital heart disease (12), cardiomyopathy (5), pericardial effusion(5), post cardiac surgery(3), corpulmonale (2), endocarditis (l) and right ventricular tumor(l). 2) Left ventricular ejection fractions of patients with paradoxical left ventricular wall motion were significantly lower than those with paradoxical septal motion (p <0.005). 3) The sensitivity of each processing methods for detecting paradoxical wall motion was 76.9% by phase analysis, 74.6% by endless cine loop mapping and 68.4% by paradox image manipulation respectively. Paradoxial motions visualized only in phase, paradox or both images were appeared as hypokinesia or akinesia in cine loop image. 4) All events could be identified by at least one of above three processing methods, however only 34 cases (48.4%) showed the paradoxical motions in all of the three images. By these findings, we concluded that simultaneous inspection of all above three processing methods-endless cine loop, phase analysis and paradox image is necessary for accurate identification and assessment of paradoxical ventricular wall motion when performing GBPS.

The usefulness of treatment evaluation of severe heart failure by ECG-gated myocardial SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohkoshi, Nobuyuki; Watanabe, Shingo; Matsumoto, Tooru

2011-01-01

Our purpose of study was to investigate the usefulness of treatment evaluation of severe heart failure by Electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated myocardial single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). We evaluated the cardiac function in the case of severe heart failure by gated SPECT and compared it with the cardiac function obtained by left ventriculography (LVG), echocardiography, cardiac MRI, and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) values. We investigated the correlation of ejection fraction (EF), time lag of wall motion between the septal and lateral walls of the left ventricle for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and wall thickening (WT). We classified the left ventricular (LV) into basal, middle and apical areas for comparison of WT. We investigated the effect of a perfusion defect score in these comparisons. The gated SPECT results were correlated with comparative subjects in EF. The results were correlated with MRI on the middle area of the LV in the comparison of WT. We thought it was possible that there was an effect from a perfusion defect score in a time lag comparison of wall motion. Treatment evaluation of severe heart failure by gated SPECT is useful, because it is able to obtain three-dimensional cardiac function analysis, and it offers objectivity and reproducible quantitative evaluation. At the same time, perfusion SPECT is helpful for CRT and LV-plasty. (author)

Image quality in non-gated versus gated reconstruction of tongue motion using magnetic resonance imaging: a comparison using automated image processing

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Alvey, Christopher; Orphanidou, C.; Coleman, J.; McIntyre, A.; Golding, S.; Kochanski, G. [University of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom)

2008-11-15

The use of gated or ECG triggered MR is a well-established technique and developments in coil technology have enabled this approach to be applied to areas other than the heart. However, the image quality of gated (ECG or cine) versus non-gated or real-time has not been extensively evaluated in the mouth. We evaluate two image sequences by developing an automatic image processing technique which compares how well the image represents known anatomy. Four subjects practised experimental poly-syllabic sentences prior to MR scanning. Using a 1.5 T MR unit, we acquired comparable gated (using an artificial trigger) and non-gated sagittal images during speech. We then used an image processing algorithm to model the image grey along lines that cross the airway. Each line involved an eight parameter non-linear equation to model of proton densities, edges, and dimensions. Gated and non-gated images show similar spatial resolution, with non-gated images being slightly sharper (10% better resolution, less than 1 pixel). However, the gated sequences generated images of substantially lower inherent noise, and substantially better discrimination between air and tissue. Additionally, the gated sequences demonstrate a very much greater temporal resolution. Overall, image quality is better with gated imaging techniques, especially given their superior temporal resolution. Gated techniques are limited by the repeatability of the motions involved, and we have shown that speech to a metronome can be sufficiently repeatable to allow high-quality gated magnetic resonance imaging images. We suggest that gated sequences may be useful for evaluating other types of repetitive movement involving the joints and limb motions. (orig.)

Image quality in non-gated versus gated reconstruction of tongue motion using magnetic resonance imaging: a comparison using automated image processing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvey, Christopher; Orphanidou, C.; Coleman, J.; McIntyre, A.; Golding, S.; Kochanski, G.

2008-01-01

The use of gated or ECG triggered MR is a well-established technique and developments in coil technology have enabled this approach to be applied to areas other than the heart. However, the image quality of gated (ECG or cine) versus non-gated or real-time has not been extensively evaluated in the mouth. We evaluate two image sequences by developing an automatic image processing technique which compares how well the image represents known anatomy. Four subjects practised experimental poly-syllabic sentences prior to MR scanning. Using a 1.5 T MR unit, we acquired comparable gated (using an artificial trigger) and non-gated sagittal images during speech. We then used an image processing algorithm to model the image grey along lines that cross the airway. Each line involved an eight parameter non-linear equation to model of proton densities, edges, and dimensions. Gated and non-gated images show similar spatial resolution, with non-gated images being slightly sharper (10% better resolution, less than 1 pixel). However, the gated sequences generated images of substantially lower inherent noise, and substantially better discrimination between air and tissue. Additionally, the gated sequences demonstrate a very much greater temporal resolution. Overall, image quality is better with gated imaging techniques, especially given their superior temporal resolution. Gated techniques are limited by the repeatability of the motions involved, and we have shown that speech to a metronome can be sufficiently repeatable to allow high-quality gated magnetic resonance imaging images. We suggest that gated sequences may be useful for evaluating other types of repetitive movement involving the joints and limb motions. (orig.)

Coronary imaging quality in routine ECG-gated multidetector CT examinations of the entire thorax: preliminary experience with a 64-slice CT system in 133 patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delhaye, Damien; Remy-Jardin, Martine; Salem, Randa; Teisseire, Antoine; Khalil, Chadi; Remy, Jacques; Delannoy-Deken, Valerie; Duhamel, Alain

2007-01-01

To evaluate image quality in the assessment of the coronary arteries during routine ECG-gated multidetector CT (MDCT) of the chest. One hundred and thirty three patients in sinus rhythm underwent an ECG-gated CT angiographic examination of the entire chest without β-blockers with a 64-slice CT system. In 127 patients (95%), it was possible to assess the coronary arteries partially or totally; coronary artery imaging failed in six patients (5%), leading to a detailed description of the coronary arteries in 127 patients. Considering ten coronary artery segments per patient, 75% of coronary segments were assessable (948/1270 segments). When the distal segments were excluded from the analysis (i.e., seven coronary segments evaluated per patient), the percentage of assessable segments was 86% (768/889 proximal and mid coronary segments) and reached 93% (474/508) when assessing proximal segments exclusively. The mean number of assessable segments was significantly higher in patients with a heart rate ≤80 bpm (n=95) than in patients with a heart rate >80 bpm (n=38) (p<0.002). Proximal and mid-coronary segments can be adequately assessed during a whole-chest ECG-gated CT angiographic examination without administration of β-blockers in patients with a heart rate below 80 bpm. (orig.)

Comprehensive cardiovascular ECG-gated MDCT as a standard diagnostic tool in patients with acute chest pain

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Runza, G. [Department of Radiology, University of Palermo (Italy)], E-mail: grunza@sirm.org; La Grutta, L.; Alaimo, V. [Department of Radiology, University of Palermo (Italy); Evola, S. [Department of Cardiology, University of Palermo (Italy); Lo Re, F.; Bartolotta, T.V. [Department of Radiology, University of Palermo (Italy); Cademartiri, F. [Department of Radiology and Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam (Netherlands); Department of Radiology and Cardiology, Cardiovascular CT Unit, University Hospital, Parma (Italy); Midiri, M. [Department of Radiology, University of Palermo (Italy)

2007-10-15

Acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, and aortic dissection are diseases associated with acute chest pain and may lead to severe morbidity and mortality. These diseases may not be trivial to diagnose in the settings of emergency room. ECG-gated multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT), already established for the assessment of pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection, provides reliable information regarding the triage of patients with acute coronary syndrome in the emergency room. MDCT recently appeared to be logistically feasible and a promising comprehensive method for the evaluation of cardiac and non-cardiac chest pain in emergency department patients. The possibility to scan the entire thorax visualizing the thoracic aorta, the pulmonary arteries, and the coronary arteries could provide a new approach to the triage of acute chest pain. The inherent advantage of MDCT with cardiac state-of-the-art capabilities is the rapid investigation of the main sources of acute chest pain with a high negative predictive value. Recent studies also reports an advantage in terms of costs. With current evidence, the selection of patients with acute chest pain candidates to MDCT should remain restricted to avoid unjustified risk of ionizing radiation.

Comprehensive cardiovascular ECG-gated MDCT as a standard diagnostic tool in patients with acute chest pain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runza, G.; La Grutta, L.; Alaimo, V.; Evola, S.; Lo Re, F.; Bartolotta, T.V.; Cademartiri, F.; Midiri, M.

2007-01-01

Acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, and aortic dissection are diseases associated with acute chest pain and may lead to severe morbidity and mortality. These diseases may not be trivial to diagnose in the settings of emergency room. ECG-gated multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT), already established for the assessment of pulmonary embolism and aortic dissection, provides reliable information regarding the triage of patients with acute coronary syndrome in the emergency room. MDCT recently appeared to be logistically feasible and a promising comprehensive method for the evaluation of cardiac and non-cardiac chest pain in emergency department patients. The possibility to scan the entire thorax visualizing the thoracic aorta, the pulmonary arteries, and the coronary arteries could provide a new approach to the triage of acute chest pain. The inherent advantage of MDCT with cardiac state-of-the-art capabilities is the rapid investigation of the main sources of acute chest pain with a high negative predictive value. Recent studies also reports an advantage in terms of costs. With current evidence, the selection of patients with acute chest pain candidates to MDCT should remain restricted to avoid unjustified risk of ionizing radiation

Influence of Respiratory Gating, Image Filtering, and Animal Positioning on High-Resolution Electrocardiography-Gated Murine Cardiac Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography

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Chao Wu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Cardiac parameters obtained from single-photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT images can be affected by respiratory motion, image filtering, and animal positioning. We investigated the influence of these factors on ultra-high-resolution murine myocardial perfusion SPECT. Five mice were injected with 99m technetium (99mTc-tetrofosmin, and each was scanned in supine and prone positions in a U-SPECT-II scanner with respiratory and electrocardiographic (ECG gating. ECG-gated SPECT images were created without applying respiratory motion correction or with two different respiratory motion correction strategies. The images were filtered with a range of three-dimensional gaussian kernels, after which end-diastolic volumes (EDVs, end-systolic volumes (ESVs, and left ventricular ejection fractions were calculated. No significant differences in the measured cardiac parameters were detected when any strategy to reduce or correct for respiratory motion was applied, whereas big differences (> 5% in EDV and ESV were found with regard to different positioning of animals. A linear relationship (p < .001 was found between the EDV or ESV and the kernel size of the gaussian filter. In short, respiratory gating did not significantly affect the cardiac parameters of mice obtained with ultra-high-resolution SPECT, whereas the position of the animals and the image filters should be the same in a comparative study with multiple scans to avoid systematic differences in measured cardiac parameters.

Scanning gate microscopy on graphene: charge inhomogeneity and extrinsic doping

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jalilian, Romaneh; Tian Jifa; Chen, Yong P; Jauregui, Luis A; Lopez, Gabriel; Roecker, Caleb; Jovanovic, Igor; Yazdanpanah, Mehdi M; Cohn, Robert W

2011-01-01

We have performed scanning gate microscopy (SGM) on graphene field effect transistors (GFET) using a biased metallic nanowire coated with a dielectric layer as a contact mode tip and local top gate. Electrical transport through graphene at various back gate voltages is monitored as a function of tip voltage and tip position. Near the Dirac point, the response of graphene resistance to the tip voltage shows significant variation with tip position, and SGM imaging displays mesoscopic domains of electron-doped and hole-doped regions. Our measurements reveal substantial spatial fluctuation in the carrier density in graphene due to extrinsic local doping from sources such as metal contacts, graphene edges, structural defects and resist residues. Our scanning gate measurements also demonstrate graphene's excellent capability to sense the local electric field and charges.

Assessment of the effect of revascularization early after CABG using ECG-gated perfusion single-photon emission tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kubo, Shigeto; Tadamura, Eiji; Kudoh, Takashi; Inubushi, Masayuki; Konishi, Junji; Ikeda, Tadashi; Koshiji, Takaaki; Nishimura, Kazunobu; Komeda, Masashi; Tamaki, Nagara

2001-01-01

When an arterial graft is used, reversible perfusion defects on single-photon emission tomography (SPET) perfusion images are occasionally observed early after coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG), owing to the restricted flow capacity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the functional information obtained with electrocardiography (ECG)-gated perfusion SPET could be helpful in evaluating the effect of revascularization early after CABG. Twenty-three patients (18 men and 5 women, mean age 65±9 years) underwent stress/re-injection thallium-201 ECG-gated SPET before and 4 weeks after CABG (13 with exercise and 10 with dipyridamole). Patency of all grafts was confirmed by coronary angiography 1 month after CABG. Cardiac functional data including the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and the transient ischaemic dilatation (TID) ratio were analysed using a commercially available automated program. The conventional stress and re-injection tomograms were interpreted by means of a five-point scoring system in a nine-segment model. Stress-induced reversible 201 Tl perfusion defects were present in 64% of the myocardial segments bypassed by patent arterial grafts, in contrast to 42% of the myocardial segments bypassed by patent venous grafts (χ 2 =7.8, P=0.005). Of the 23 patients, 12 showed improvement in summed ischaemic scores (group 1), while 11 had no change or deterioration (group 2), although all grafts were patent on postoperative catheterization. The TID ratio improved in both group 1 and group 2 before and after CABG (1.14±0.13 vs 0.99±0.07, P=0.001 and 1.09±0.07 vs 0.94±0.05, P=0.002, respectively). However, LVEF did not significantly improve in group 1 or group 2 after CABG (42.5%±9.9% vs 47.5%±11.8%, and 52.1%±7.5% vs 53.1%±5.9%, respectively). Perfusion imaging or LVEF assessment is of limited value early after CABG. The TID ratio obtained with ECG-gated perfusion SPET may be a useful marker to evaluate the effect of

Calcium scoring with prospectively ECG-triggered CT: Using overlapping datasets generated with MPR decreases inter-scan variability

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rutten, A.; Isgum, I.; Prokop, M.

2011-01-01

Objective: To examine the feasibility of reducing the inter-scan variability of prospectively ECG-triggered calcium-scoring scans by using overlapping 3-mm datasets generated from multiplanar reformation (MPR) instead of non-overlapping 3-mm or 1.5-mm datasets. Patients and methods: Seventy-five women (59-79 years old) underwent two sequential prospectively ECG-triggered calcium-scoring scans with 16 mm x 1.5 mm collimation in one session. Between the two scans patients got off and on the table. We performed calcium scoring (Agatston and mass scores) on the following datasets: contiguous 3-mm sections reconstructed from the raw data (A), contiguous 3-mm sections from MPR (B), overlapping 3-mm sections from MPR (C) and contiguous 1.5-mm sections from the raw data (D). To determine the feasibility of the MPR approach, we compared MPR (B) with direct raw data reconstruction (A). Inter-scan variability was calculated for each type of dataset (A-D). Results: Calcium scores ranged from 0 to 1455 (Agatston) and 0 to 279 mg (mass) for overlapping 3-mm sections (C). Calcium scores (both Agatston and mass) were nearly identical for MPR (B) and raw data approaches (A), with inter-quartile ranges of 0-1% for inter-scan variability. Median inter-scan variability with contiguous 3-mm sections (B) was 13% (Agatston) and 11% (mass). Median variability was reduced to 10% (Agatston and mass) with contiguous 1.5-mm sections (D) and to 8% (Agatston) and 7% (mass) with overlapping 3-mm MPR (A). Conclusion: Calcium scoring on MPR yields nearly identical results to calcium scoring on images directly reconstructed from raw data. Overlapping MPR from prospectively ECG-triggered scans improve inter-scan variability of calcium scoring without increasing patient radiation dose.

Diagnosis of accessory conduction pathway using ECG-gated emission CT analysis. Studies in patients with WPW syndrome who underwent surgery

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Misaki, Takuro; Mukai, Keiichi; Tsubota, Makoto; Iwa, Takashi; Nakajima, Ken-ichi; Hisada, Kin-ichi

1987-09-01

Pinpointing the location of accessory conduction pathway (ACP) is of great importance in the surgical treatment for Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. For this purpose, this study explored the usefulness of ECG-gated emission computed tomography (Gated-ECT) in 30 patients who preoperatively underwent Gated-ECT. The site of earliest contraction at level of atrioventicular valves, obtained on tomographic phase analysis, was compared with the site of earliest activation, obtained on epicardial mapping during surgery. The concordance rate of the two methods was 94 % (28/30). Among them, one patient was found to have the association of corrected transposition of great arteries on Gated-ECT. Gated-ECT was, however, of limited value in differentiating right posterior ACP from right postseptal ACP. The discordance between the sites of earliest contraction and activation, which was observed in the two others, was likely due to decreased wall motion resulting from myocardial disturbance. Gated-ECT may have a diagnostic potential for the location of ACP, especially in view of providing images that corresponded to the surgical anatomy. (Namekawa, K.).

Manifold learning based ECG-free free-breathing cardiac CINE MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Usman, Muhammad; Atkinson, David; Kolbitsch, Christoph; Schaeffter, Tobias; Prieto, Claudia

2015-06-01

To present and validate a manifold learning (ML)-based method that can estimate both cardiac and respiratory navigator signals from electrocardiogram (ECG)-free free-breathing cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data to achieve self-gated retrospective CINE reconstruction. In this work the use of the ML method is demonstrated for 2D cardiac CINE to achieve both cardiac and respiratory self-gating without the need of an external navigator or ECG signal. This is achieved by sequentially applying ML to two sets of retrospectively reconstructed real-time images with differing temporal resolutions. A 1D cardiac signal is estimated by applying ML to high temporal resolution real-time images reconstructed from the acquired data. Using the estimated cardiac signal, a 1D respiratory signal was obtained by applying the ML method to low temporal resolution images reconstructed from the same acquired data for each cardiac cycle. Data were acquired in five volunteers with a 2D golden angle radial trajectory in a balanced steady-state free precession (b-SSFP) acquisition. The accuracy of the estimated cardiac signal was calculated as the standard deviation of the temporal difference between the estimated signal and the recorded ECG. The correlation between the estimated respiratory signal and standard pencil beam navigator signal was evaluated. Gated CINE reconstructions (20 cardiac phases per cycle, temporal resolution ∼30 msec) using the estimated cardiac and respiratory signals were qualitatively compared against conventional ECG-gated breath-hold CINE acquisitions. Accurate cardiac signals were estimated with the proposed method, with an error standard deviation in comparison to ECG lower than 20 msec. Respiratory signals estimated with the proposed method achieved a mean cross-correlation of 94% with respect to standard pencil beam navigator signals. Good quality visual scores of 2.80 ± 0.45 (scores from 0, bad, to 4, excellent quality) were observed for the

Estimation of the radiation exposure of a chest pain protocol with ECG-gating in dual-source computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ketelsen, Dominik; Luetkhoff, Marie H.; Thomas, Christoph; Werner, Matthias; Tsiflikas, Ilias; Reimann, Anja; Kopp, Andreas F.; Claussen, Claus D.; Heuschmid, Martin; Buchgeister, Markus; Burgstahler, Christof

2009-01-01

The aim of the study was to evaluate radiation exposure of a chest pain protocol with ECG-gated dual-source computed tomography (DSCT). An Alderson Rando phantom equipped with thermoluminescent dosimeters was used for dose measurements. Exposure was performed on a dual-source computed tomography system with a standard protocol for chest pain evaluation (120 kV, 320 mAs/rot) with different simulated heart rates (HRs). The dose of a standard chest CT examination (120 kV, 160 mAs) was also measured. Effective dose of the chest pain protocol was 19.3/21.9 mSv (male/female, HR 60), 17.9/20.4 mSv (male/female, HR 80) and 14.7/16.7 mSv (male/female, HR 100). Effective dose of a standard chest examination was 6.3 mSv (males) and 7.2 mSv (females). Radiation dose of the chest pain protocol increases significantly with a lower heart rate for both males (p = 0.040) and females (p = 0.044). The average radiation dose of a standard chest CT examination is about 36.5% that of a CT examination performed for chest pain. Using DSCT, the evaluated chest pain protocol revealed a higher radiation exposure compared with standard chest CT. Furthermore, HRs markedly influenced the dose exposure when using the ECG-gated chest pain protocol. (orig.)

ECG-gated blood pool tomography in the determination of left ventricular volume, ejection fraction, and wall motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Underwood, S.R.; Ell, P.J.; Jarritt, P.H.; Emanuel, R.W.; Swanton, R.H.

1984-01-01

ECG-gated blood pool tomography promises to provide a ''gold standard'' for noninvasive measurement of left ventricular volume, ejection fraction, and wall motion. This study compares these measurements with those from planar radionuclide imaging and contrast ventriculography. End diastolic and end systolic blood pool images were acquired tomographically using an IGE400A rotating gamma camera and Star computer, and slices were reconstructed orthogonal to the long axis of the heart. Left ventricular volume was determined by summing the areas of the slices, and wall motion was determined by comparison of end diastolic and end systolic contours. In phantom experiments this provided an accurate measurement of volume (r=0.98). In 32 subjects who were either normal or who had coronary artery disease left ventricular volume (r=0.83) and ejection fraction (r=0.89) correlated well with those using a counts based planar technique. In 16 of 18 subjects who underwent right anterior oblique X-ray contrast ventriculography, tomographic wall motion agreed for anterior, apical, and inferior walls, but abnormal septal motion which was not apparent by contrast ventriculography, was seen in 12 subjects tomographically. All 12 had disease of the left anterior descending coronary artery and might have been expected to have abnormal septal motion. ECG-gated blood pool tomography can thus determine left ventricular volume and ejection fraction accurately, and provides a global description of wall motion in a way that is not possible from any single planar image

Coronary endothelial function assessment using self-gated cardiac cine MRI and k-t sparse SENSE.

Science.gov (United States)

Yerly, Jérôme; Ginami, Giulia; Nordio, Giovanna; Coristine, Andrew J; Coppo, Simone; Monney, Pierre; Stuber, Matthias

2016-11-01

Electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated cine MRI, paired with isometric handgrip exercise, can be used to accurately, reproducibly, and noninvasively measure coronary endothelial function (CEF). Obtaining a reliable ECG signal at higher field strengths, however, can be challenging due to rapid gradient switching and an increased heart rate under stress. To address these limitations, we present a self-gated cardiac cine MRI framework for CEF measurements that operates without ECG signal. Cross-sectional slices of the right coronary artery (RCA) were acquired using a two-dimensional golden angle radial trajectory. This sampling approach, combined with the k-t sparse SENSE algorithm, allows for the reconstruction of both real-time images for self-gating signal calculations and retrospectively reordered self-gated cine images. CEF measurements were quantitatively compared using both the self-gated and the standard ECG-gated approach. Self-gated cine images with high-quality, temporal, and spatial resolution were reconstructed for 18 healthy volunteers. CEF as measured in self-gated images was in good agreement (R 2  = 0.60) with that measured by its standard ECG-gated counterpart. High spatial and temporal resolution cross-sectional cine images of the RCA can be obtained without ECG signal. The coronary vasomotor response to handgrip exercise compares favorably with that obtained with the standard ECG-gated method. Magn Reson Med 76:1443-1454, 2015. © 2015 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2015 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Self-gated golden angle spiral cine MRI for coronary endothelial function assessment.

Science.gov (United States)

Bonanno, Gabriele; Hays, Allison G; Weiss, Robert G; Schär, Michael

2018-08-01

Depressed coronary endothelial function (CEF) is a marker for atherosclerotic disease, an independent predictor of cardiovascular events, and can be quantified non-invasively with ECG-triggered spiral cine MRI combined with isometric handgrip exercise (IHE). However, MRI-CEF measures can be hindered by faulty ECG-triggering, leading to prolonged breath-holds and degraded image quality. Here, a self-gated golden angle spiral method (SG-GA) is proposed to eliminate the need for ECG during cine MRI. SG-GA was tested against retrospectively ECG-gated golden angle spiral MRI (ECG-GA) and gold-standard ECG-triggered spiral cine MRI (ECG-STD) in 10 healthy volunteers. CEF data were obtained from cross-sectional images of the proximal right and left coronary arteries in a 3T scanner. Self-gating heart rates were compared to those from simultaneous ECG-gating. Coronary vessel sharpness and cross-sectional area (CSA) change with IHE were compared among the 3 methods. Self-gating precision, accuracy, and correlation-coefficient were 7.7 ± 0.5 ms, 9.1 ± 0.7 ms, and 0.93 ± 0.01, respectively (mean ± standard error). Vessel sharpness by SG-GA was equal or higher than ECG-STD (rest: 63.0 ± 1.7% vs. 61.3 ± 1.3%; exercise: 62.6 ± 1.3% vs. 56.7 ± 1.6%, P < 0.05). CSA changes were in agreement among the 3 methods (ECG-STD = 8.7 ± 4.0%, ECG-GA = 9.6 ± 3.1%, SG-GA = 9.1 ± 3.5%, P = not significant). CEF measures can be obtained with the proposed self-gated high-quality cine MRI method even when ECG is faulty or not available. Magn Reson Med 80:560-570, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Nonenhanced ECG-gated quiescent-interval single-shot MRA (QISS-MRA) of the lower extremities: Comparison with contrast-enhanced MRA

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Klasen, J. [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Duesseldorf (Germany); Blondin, D., E-mail: blondin@med.uni-duesseldorf.de [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Duesseldorf (Germany); Schmitt, P. [Siemens AG, Healthcare Sector, Erlangen (Germany); Bi, X. [Siemens Healthcare, Chicago, IL (United States); Sansone, R. [Department of Cardiology, University of Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Duesseldorf (Germany); Wittsack, H.-J.; Kroepil, P.; Quentin, M.; Kuhlemann, J.; Miese, F. [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Duesseldorf (Germany); Heiss, C.; Kelm, M. [Department of Cardiology, University of Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Duesseldorf (Germany); Antoch, G.; Lanzman, R.S. [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Duesseldorf, Medical Faculty, Duesseldorf (Germany)

2012-05-15

Aim: To evaluate electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated quiescent-interval single-shot magnetic resonance angiography (QISS-MRA) for nonenhanced assessment of peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD) using contrast-enhanced MRA (CE-MRA) as the reference standard. Materials and methods: Twenty-seven patients (mean age 66.6 {+-} 10.8 years) with PAOD were included in the study. QISS-MRA and CE-MRA of the lower extremity were performed using a 1.5 T MR scanner. In each patient, subjective image quality and the degree of stenosis were evaluated on a four-point scale for 15 predefined arterial segments. Results: Twenty-five of the 27 patients were considered for analysis. Subjective image quality of QISS-MRA was significantly lower for the distal aorta, pelvic arteries, and femoral arteries as compared to CE-MRA (p < 0.01), while no significant difference was found for other vascular segments. The degree of stenosis was overestimated with QISS-MRA in 23 of 365 (6.3%) segments and underestimated in two of 365 (0.5%) segments. As compared to CE-MRA, QISS-MRA had a high sensitivity (98.6%), specificity (96%) as well as positive and negative predictive value (88.7 and 99.6%, respectively) for the detection of significant stenosis ({>=}50%). Conclusion: ECG-gated QISS-MRA is a promising imaging technique for reliable assessment of PAOD without the use of contrast material.

Value of 3D-Volume Rendering in the Assessment of Coronary Arteries with Retrospectively Ecg-Gated Multislice Spiral CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mahnken, A.H.; Wildberger, J.E.; Dedden, K.; Schmitz-Rode, T.; Guenther, R.W.; Sinha, A.M.; Hoffmann, R.; Stanzel, S.

2003-01-01

Purpose: To assess the diagnostic value and measurement precision of 3D volume rendering technique (3D-VRT) from retrospectively ECG-gated multislice spiral CT (MSCT) data sets for imaging of the coronary arteries. Material and Methods: In 35 patients, retrospectively ECG-gated MSCT of the heart using a four detector row MSCT scanner with a standardized examination protocol was performed as well as quantitative X-ray coronary angiography (QCA). The MSCT data was assessed on segmental basis using 3D-VRT exclusively. The coronary artery diameters were measured at the origin of each main coronary branch and 1 cm, 3 cm and 5 cm distally. The minimum, maximum and mean diameters were determined from MSCT angiography and compared to QCA. Results: A total of 353 of 525 (67.2%) coronary artery segments were assessable by MSCT angiography. The proximal segments were more often assessable when compared to the distal segments. Stenoses were detected with a sensitivity of 82.6% and a specificity of 92.8%. According to the Bland-Altman method the mean differences between QCA and MSCT ranged from 0.55 to 1.07 mm with limits of agreement from 2.2 mm to 2.7 mm. Conclusion: When compared to QCA, the ability of 3D-VRT to quantitatively assess coronary artery diameters and coronary artery stenoses is insufficient for clinical purposes

Nonenhanced ECG-gated quiescent-interval single-shot MRA (QISS-MRA) of the lower extremities: Comparison with contrast-enhanced MRA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klasen, J.; Blondin, D.; Schmitt, P.; Bi, X.; Sansone, R.; Wittsack, H.-J.; Kröpil, P.; Quentin, M.; Kuhlemann, J.; Miese, F.; Heiss, C.; Kelm, M.; Antoch, G.; Lanzman, R.S.

2012-01-01

Aim: To evaluate electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated quiescent-interval single-shot magnetic resonance angiography (QISS-MRA) for nonenhanced assessment of peripheral artery occlusive disease (PAOD) using contrast-enhanced MRA (CE-MRA) as the reference standard. Materials and methods: Twenty-seven patients (mean age 66.6 ± 10.8 years) with PAOD were included in the study. QISS-MRA and CE-MRA of the lower extremity were performed using a 1.5 T MR scanner. In each patient, subjective image quality and the degree of stenosis were evaluated on a four-point scale for 15 predefined arterial segments. Results: Twenty-five of the 27 patients were considered for analysis. Subjective image quality of QISS-MRA was significantly lower for the distal aorta, pelvic arteries, and femoral arteries as compared to CE-MRA (p < 0.01), while no significant difference was found for other vascular segments. The degree of stenosis was overestimated with QISS-MRA in 23 of 365 (6.3%) segments and underestimated in two of 365 (0.5%) segments. As compared to CE-MRA, QISS-MRA had a high sensitivity (98.6%), specificity (96%) as well as positive and negative predictive value (88.7 and 99.6%, respectively) for the detection of significant stenosis (≥50%). Conclusion: ECG-gated QISS-MRA is a promising imaging technique for reliable assessment of PAOD without the use of contrast material.

Accuracy and effectiveness of self-gating signals in free-breathing three-dimensional cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Shuo; Gao Song; Wang Lei; Zhu Yan-Chun; Yang Jie; Xie Yao-Qin; Fu Nan; Wang Yi

2016-01-01

Conventional multiple breath-hold two-dimensional (2D) balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) presents many difficulties in cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Recently, a self-gated free-breathing three-dimensional (3D) SSFP technique has been proposed as an alternative in many studies. However, the accuracy and effectiveness of self-gating signals have been barely studied before. Since self-gating signals are crucially important in image reconstruction, a systematic study of self-gating signals and comparison with external monitored signals are needed.Previously developed self-gated free-breathing 3D SSFP techniques are used on twenty-eight healthy volunteers. Both electrocardiographic (ECG) and respiratory bellow signals are also acquired during the scan as external signals. Self-gating signal and external signal are compared by trigger and gating window. Gating window is proposed to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of respiratory self-gating signal. Relative deviation of the trigger and root-mean-square-deviation of the cycle duration are calculated. A two-tailed paired t-test is used to identify the difference between self-gating and external signals. A Wilcoxon signed rank test is used to identify the difference between peak and valley self-gating triggers.The results demonstrate an excellent correlation ( P = 0, R > 0.99) between self-gating and external triggers. Wilcoxon signed rank test shows that there is no significant difference between peak and valley self-gating triggers for both cardiac ( H = 0, P > 0.10) and respiratory ( H = 0, P > 0.44) motions. The difference between self-gating and externally monitored signals is not significant (two-tailed paired-sample t-test: H = 0, P > 0.90).The self-gating signals could demonstrate cardiac and respiratory motion accurately and effectively as ECG and respiratory bellow. The difference between the two methods is not significant and can be explained. Furthermore, few ECG trigger errors

Electrocardiographic gating in positron emission computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoffman, E.J.; Phelps, M.E.; Wisenberg, G.; Schelbert, H.R.; Kuhl, D.E.

1979-01-01

Electrocardiographic (ECG) synchronized multiple gated data acquisition was employed with positron emission computed tomography (ECT) to obtain images of myocardial blood pool and myocardium. The feasibility and requirements of multiple gated data acquisition in positron ECT were investigated for 13NH3, ( 18 F)-2-fluoro-2-D-deoxyglucose, and ( 11 C)-carboxyhemoglobin. Examples are shown in which image detail is enhanced and image interpretation is facilitated when ECG gating is employed in the data collection. Analysis of count rate data from a series of volunteers indicates that multiple, statistically adequate images can be obtained under a multiple gated data collection format without an increase in administered dose

Gated CT imaging using a free-breathing respiration signal from flow-volume spirometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

D'Souza, Warren D.; Kwok, Young; Deyoung, Chad; Zacharapoulos, Nicholas; Pepelea, Mark; Klahr, Paul; Yu, Cedric X.

2005-01-01

Respiration-induced tumor motion is known to cause artifacts on free-breathing spiral CT images used in treatment planning. This leads to inaccurate delineation of target volumes on planning CT images. Flow-volume spirometry has been used previously for breath-holds during CT scans and radiation treatments using the active breathing control (ABC) system. We have developed a prototype by extending the flow-volume spirometer device to obtain gated CT scans using a PQ 5000 single-slice CT scanner. To test our prototype, we designed motion phantoms to compare image quality obtained with and without gated CT scan acquisition. Spiral and axial (nongated and gated) CT scans were obtained of phantoms with motion periods of 3-5 s and amplitudes of 0.5-2 cm. Errors observed in the volume estimate of these structures were as much as 30% with moving phantoms during CT simulation. Application of motion-gated CT with active breathing control reduced these errors to within 5%. Motion-gated CT was then implemented in patients and the results are presented for two clinical cases: lung and abdomen. In each case, gated scans were acquired at end-inhalation, end-exhalation in addition to a conventional free-breathing (nongated) scan. The gated CT scans revealed reduced artifacts compared with the conventional free-breathing scan. Differences of up to 20% in the volume of the structures were observed between gated and free-breathing scans. A comparison of the overlap of structures between the gated and free-breathing scans revealed misalignment of the structures. These results demonstrate the ability of flow-volume spirometry to reduce errors in target volumes via gating during CT imaging

Assessment of left ventricular performance by ECG-gated SPECT. Comparison with magnetic resonance imaging

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Tadamura, Eiji; Inubushi, Masayuki; Kubo, Shigeto; Matsumoto, Keiichi; Yokoyama, Hiroshi; Fujita, Toru; Konishi, Junji [Kyoto Univ. (Japan). Faculty of Medicine

1999-10-01

In the measurement of a left ventricular volume, MIBI-QGS was compared with MRI. Because it became clear by the experiment using phantom that a volume calculated with QGS was smaller than the actual volume, data of clinical study were corrected. Subjects were 20 patients with coronary artery disease. Fourteen patients had anamnesis of myocardial infarct. ECG-gated SPECT was performed one hour after intravenous injection of MIBI (600 MBq) in rest. End diastolic volume (EDV), end systolic volume (ESV) and ejection fraction (EF) were calculated using QGS. Cine-MR image was obtained by using MR system of 1.5 Tesla within 1 week after SPECT. A condition was as follows; segmented k-space gradient echo with view sharing, TR=11 ms, TE=1.4 ms, flip angle 20 degree, field of view 32 cm, matrix 256 x 196, 8 lines per segment. LVEF, ESV and EF were analysed by Bland-Altman method, and the difference between MIBI-gated-SPECT and MRI was no problem. Horizontal dislocation image and vertical major axis dislocation image were provided. Minor axis crossing images of 10-12 slice were also filmed in order to cover all left ventricles. As a result, availability of MIBI-QGS became clear. Some factors which produces the measurement error are examined. (K.H.)

Clinical usefullness of ECG-triggered single photon emission comuter tomography of blood-pool

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eilles, Chr.; Boerner, W.; Strauss, P.; Gerhards, W.; Reiners, Ch.

1982-01-01

ECT allows direct measurement of the volume of an organ and imaging without disturbing background-superposition. This makes ECT to an useful instrument for ECG-gated blood-pool imaging. Acquisition is made after the injection of 25 mCi Tc-99m HSA with a rotating Anger-Camera-System. ECG-gated imaging is done for each projection; herewith 50-70 cycles per projection are added according to the phase of the heart-cycle. Transversal-Sections of the heart are reconstructed with filtered-back-projection. For each slice a representative cycle, consisting of 10-16 frames, is computed. As shown by our group before a good quality of the reconstructed images can be obtained. Comparison is made with the results of the ECG-gated blood-pool-ECT, the results of the conventional blood-pool-studies and with the results of Laevo-Cardiography. (Author)

Cardiac imaging systems and methods employing computerized tomographic scanning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richey, J.B.; Wake, R.H.; Walters, R.G.; Hunt, W.F.; Cool, S.L.

1980-01-01

The invention relates to cardiac imaging systems and methods employing computerised tomographic scanning. Apparatus is described which allows an image of the radiation attenuation of the heart at a desired phase of the cardiac cycle. The patients ECG signal can be used in a transverse-and-rotate type CT scanner as a time base, so that the beam reaches the heart at a desired phase of the cardiac cycle, or, in a purely rotational-type CT scanner continuously generated scan data is only stored for corresponding phases of successive cardiac cycles. Alternatively, gating of the beams themselves by shuttering or switching the power supply can be controlled by the ECG signal. A pacemaker is used to stabilize the cardiac period. Also used is a system for recognising unacceptable variations in the cardiac period and discarding corresponding scan data. In a transverse-and-rotate type fan-beam CT scanner, the effective beam width is narrowed to reduce the duration of the traverse of the heart. (U.K.)

Diagnostic accuracy of sub-mSv prospective ECG-triggering cardiac CT in young infant with complex congenital heart disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Wei; Zhong, Yu Min; Sun, Ai Min; Wang, Qian; Ouyang, Rong Zhen; Hu, Li Wei; Qiu, Han Sheng; Wang, Shi Yu; Li, Jian Ying

2016-06-01

To explore the clinical value and evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of sub-mSv low-dose prospective ECG-triggering cardiac CT (CCT) in young infants with complex congenital heart disease (CHD). A total of 102 consecutive infant patients (53 boys and 49 girls with mean age of 2.9 ± 2.4 m and weight less than 5 kg) with complex CHD were prospectively enrolled. Scans were performed on a 64-slice high definition CT scanner with low dose prospective ECG-triggering mode and reconstructed with 80 % adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction algorithm. All studies were performed during free breathing with sedation. The subjective image quality was evaluated by 5-point grading scale and interobserver variability was calculated. The objective image noise (standard deviation, SD) and contrast to noise ratio (CNR) was calculated. The effective radiation dose from the prospective ECG-triggering mode was recorded and compared with the virtual conventional retrospective ECG-gating mode. The detection rate for the origin of coronary artery was calculated. All patients also underwent echocardiography before CCT examination. 81 patients had surgery and their preoperative CCT and echocardiography findings were compared with the surgical results and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values and accuracy were calculated for separate cardiovascular anomalies. Heart rates were 70-161 beats per minute (bpm) with mean value of 129.19 ± 14.52 bpm. The effective dose of 0.53 ± 0.15 mSv in the prospective ECG-triggering cardiac CT was lower than the calculated value in a conventional retrospective ECG-gating mode (2.00 ± 0.35 mSv) (p ECG-triggering CCT with sub-mSv effective dose provides excellent imaging quality and high diagnostic accuracy for young infants with complex CHD.

Reliability analysis of visual ranking of coronary artery calcification on low-dose CT of the thorax for lung cancer screening: comparison with ECG-gated calcium scoring CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Yoon Kyung; Sung, Yon Mi; Cho, So Hyun; Park, Young Nam; Choi, Hye-Young

2014-12-01

Coronary artery calcification (CAC) is frequently detected on low-dose CT (LDCT) of the thorax. Concurrent assessment of CAC and lung cancer screening using LDCT is beneficial in terms of cost and radiation dose reduction. The aim of our study was to evaluate the reliability of visual ranking of positive CAC on LDCT compared to Agatston score (AS) on electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated calcium scoring CT. We studied 576 patients who were consecutively registered for health screening and undergoing both LDCT and ECG-gated calcium scoring CT. We excluded subjects with an AS of zero. The final study cohort included 117 patients with CAC (97 men; mean age, 53.4 ± 8.5). AS was used as the gold standard (mean score 166.0; range 0.4-3,719.3). Two board-certified radiologists and two radiology residents participated in an observer performance study. Visual ranking of CAC was performed according to four categories (1-10, 11-100, 101-400, and 401 or higher) for coronary artery disease risk stratification. Weighted kappa statistics were used to measure the degree of reliability on visual ranking of CAC on LDCT. The degree of reliability on visual ranking of CAC on LDCT compared to ECG-gated calcium scoring CT was excellent for board-certified radiologists and good for radiology residents. A high degree of association was observed with 71.6% of visual rankings in the same category as the Agatston category and 98.9% varying by no more than one category. Visual ranking of positive CAC on LDCT is reliable for predicting AS rank categorization.

Use of ECG-gated computed tomography, echocardiography and selective angiography in five dogs with pulmonic stenosis and one dog with pulmonic stenosis and aberrant coronary arteries.

Science.gov (United States)

Laborda-Vidal, P; Pedro, B; Baker, M; Gelzer, A R; Dukes-McEwan, J; Maddox, T W

2016-12-01

Pulmonic stenosis (PS) is the most common congenital cardiac disease in dogs. Boxers and English bulldogs are among the most commonly affected breeds and also commonly associated with an aberrant coronary artery (CA). If an aberrant CA is suspected and balloon valvuloplasty indicated, an intra-operative angiography is recommended prior to the procedure. ECG-gated computed tomography (CT) can be used to screen for CA anomalies in a quick and minimally-invasive way (preventing side effects associated with selective catheter angiography) and allowing early planning of the procedure. The aim of this case series was to report CT findings associated with PS diagnosed by echocardiography. Our database was retrospectively searched for cases of dogs with PS diagnosed by echocardiography, where an ECG-gated CT was performed. A total of six cases were retrieved: all were diagnosed with severe PS. Four dogs had concurrent congenital defects: two dogs had a patent ductus arteriosus, one dog had a ventricular septal defect and an overriding aorta, one dog had an aberrant CA. Detailed CT findings of all cases were reported, including one case of a patent ductus arteriosus and an overriding aorta not identified by transthoracic echocardiography. In addition, an abnormal single left coronary ostium, with a pre-pulmonic right CA was described. In conclusion, despite echocardiography remaining the gold standard for diagnosis and assessment of PS, ECG-gated-CT angiography is a complementary diagnostic method that may provide additional relevant information, shorten surgery/anaesthesia time and reduce the amount of radiation to which the clinician is subjected. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Non-gated fetal MRI of umbilical blood flow in an acardiac twin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hata, Nobuhiko [University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Tokyo (Japan); Brigham and Women' s Hospital, Department of Radiology, Boston, MA (United States); Wada, Toru [University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Tokyo (Japan); Kashima, Kyoko; Okada, Yoshiyuki [National Center for Child Health and Development, Department of Radiology, Tokyo (Japan); Unno, Nobuya [Nagano Children' s Hospital, Center for Perinatal Medicine, Nagano (Japan); Kitagawa, Michihiro [National Center for Child Health and Development, Department of Prenatal Medicine and Maternal Care, Tokyo (Japan); Chiba, Toshio [National Center for Child Health and Development, Department of Strategic Medicine, Tokyo (Japan)

2005-08-01

Currently, the standard method of diagnosis of twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence is ultrasound imaging. The use of MRI for flow visualization may be a useful adjunct to US imaging for assessing the presence of retrograde blood flow in the acardiac fetus and/or umbilical artery. The technical challenge in fetal MRI flow imaging, however, is that fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring required for flow imaging is currently unavailable in the MRI scanner. A non-gated MRI flow imaging technique that requires no ECG monitoring was developed using the t-test to detect blood flow in 20 slices of phase-contrast MRI images randomly scanned at the same location over multiple cardiac cycles. A feasibility study was performed in a 24-week acardiac twin that showed no umbilical flow sonographically. Non-gated MRI flow images clearly indicated the presence of blood flow in the umbilical artery to the acardiac twin; however, there was no blood flow beyond the abdomen. This study leads us to conjecture that non-gated MRI flow imaging is sensitive in detecting low-range blood flow velocity and can be an adjunct to Doppler US imaging. (orig.)

Non-gated fetal MRI of umbilical blood flow in an acardiac twin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hata, Nobuhiko; Wada, Toru; Kashima, Kyoko; Okada, Yoshiyuki; Unno, Nobuya; Kitagawa, Michihiro; Chiba, Toshio

2005-01-01

Currently, the standard method of diagnosis of twin reversed arterial perfusion (TRAP) sequence is ultrasound imaging. The use of MRI for flow visualization may be a useful adjunct to US imaging for assessing the presence of retrograde blood flow in the acardiac fetus and/or umbilical artery. The technical challenge in fetal MRI flow imaging, however, is that fetal electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring required for flow imaging is currently unavailable in the MRI scanner. A non-gated MRI flow imaging technique that requires no ECG monitoring was developed using the t-test to detect blood flow in 20 slices of phase-contrast MRI images randomly scanned at the same location over multiple cardiac cycles. A feasibility study was performed in a 24-week acardiac twin that showed no umbilical flow sonographically. Non-gated MRI flow images clearly indicated the presence of blood flow in the umbilical artery to the acardiac twin; however, there was no blood flow beyond the abdomen. This study leads us to conjecture that non-gated MRI flow imaging is sensitive in detecting low-range blood flow velocity and can be an adjunct to Doppler US imaging. (orig.)

Future cardiac events in patients with ischemic ECG changes during adenosine infusion as a myocardial stress agent and normal cardiac scan.

Science.gov (United States)

Amer, Hamid; Niaz, Khalid; Hatazawa, Jun; Gasmelseed, Ahmed; Samiri, Hussain Al; Al Othman, Maram; Hammad, Mai Al

2017-11-01

We sought to determine the prognostic importance of adenosine-induced ischemic ECG changes in patients with normal single-photon emission computed tomography myocardial perfusion images (MPI). We carried out a retrospective analysis of 765 patients undergoing adenosine MPI between January 2013 and January 2015. Patients with baseline ECG abnormalities and/or abnormal scan were excluded. Overall, 67 (8.7%) patients had ischemic ECG changes during adenosine infusion in the form of ST depression of 1 mm or more. Of these, 29 [43% (3.8% of all patients)] had normal MPI (positive ECG group). An age-matched and sex-matched group of 108 patients with normal MPI without ECG changes served as control participants (negative ECG group). During a mean follow-up duration of 33.3±6.1 months, patients in the positive ECG group did not have significantly more adverse cardiac events than those in the negative ECG group. One (0.9%) patient in the negative ECG group had a nonfatal myocardial infarction (0.7% annual event rate after a negative MPI). Also in this group, two (1.8%) patients admitted with a diagnosis of CAD where they have been ruled out by angiography. A fourth case in this, in the negative ECG group, was admitted because of heart failure that proved to be secondary to a pulmonary cause and not CAD. A case only in the positive ECG group was admitted as a CAD that was ruled out by coronary angiography. Patients with normal myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in whom ST-segment depression develops during adenosine stress test appear to have no increased risk for future cardiac events compared with similar patients without ECG evidence of ischemia.

Doses of Coronary Study in 64 Channel Multi-Detector Computed Tomography : Reduced Radiation Dose According to Varity of Examnination Protocols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Moon Chan

2009-01-01

To compare radiation dose for coronary CT angiography (CTA) obtained with 6 examination protocols such as a retrospectively ECG gated helical scan, a prospectively ECG gated sequential scan, low kVp technique, and cardiac dose modulation technique. Coronary CTA was performed by using 6 current clinical protocols to evaluate effective dose and organ dose in primary beam area with anthropomorphic female phantom and glass dosimetric system in 64 channel multi-detector CT. After acquiring topograms of frontal and lateral projection with 80 kVp and 10 mA, main coronary scan was done with 0.35 sec tube rotation time, 40 mm collimation (0.625 mm x 64 ea), small scan field of view (32 cm diameter), 105 mm scan length. Heart beat rate of phantom was maintained 60 bpm in ECG gating. In constant mAs technique 120 kVp, 600 mA was used, and 100 kVp for low kVp technique. In a retrospectively ECG gated helical CT technique 0.22 pitch was used, peak mA (600 mA) was adopted in range of 40-80% of R-R interval and 120 mA (80% reduction) in others with cardiac dose modulation. And 210 mAs was used without cardiac dose modulation. In a prospectively ECG gated sequential CT technique data were acquired at 75% R-R interval (middle diastolic phase in cardiac cycle), and 120 msec additional padding of the tube-on time was used. For effective dose calculation region specific conversion factor of dose length product in thorax was used, which was recommended by EUR 16262. The mean effective dose for conventional coronary CTA without cardiac dose modulation in a retrospectively ECG gated helical scan was 17.8 mSv, and mean organ dose of heart was 103.8 mGy. With low kVp and cardiac dose modulation the mean effective dose showed 54.5% reduction, and heart dose showed 52.3% reduction, compared with that of conventional coronary CTA. And at the sequential scan(SnapShot pulse mode) under prospective ECG gating the mean effective dose was 4.9 mSv, this represents an 72.5% reduction compared with

CT imaging before transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) using variable helical pitch scanning and its diagnostic performance for coronary artery disease

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Matsumoto, Shunsuke; Yamada, Yoshitake; Hashimoto, Masahiro; Okamura, Teppei; Jinzaki, Masahiro [Keio University School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (Japan); Yamada, Minoru [Keio University School of Medicine, Research Park, Tokyo (Japan); Yashima, Fumiaki; Hayashida, Kentaro; Fukuda, Keiichi [Keio University School of Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Tokyo (Japan)

2017-05-15

To evaluate the effectiveness of CT before TAVI using variable helical pitch (VHP) scanning and its diagnostic performance for coronary artery disease (CAD). Sixty patients (84.4 ± 4.6 years) scheduled for TAVI underwent CT using VHP scanning with the contrast material (CM) volume calculated as scanning time x weight [kg] x 0.06 mL. Retrospective electrocardiography (ECG)-gated scanning was utilized to examine the thorax, and non-ECG-gated scanning of the abdomen immediately followed. We analyzed CT attenuation values of the coronary arteries, aorta, iliac and femoral arteries. The coronary CT angiography images were evaluated for the presence of stenosis (≥50 %); invasive coronary angiography served as a reference standard. The average attenuations of all of the arteries were greater than 400 HU. We could evaluate the peripheral access vessels and dimensions of the ascending aorta, aortic root, and aortic annulus in all patients. The average volume of CM was 38.7 ± 8.5 mL. On per-patient and vessel analysis, CT showed 91.7 % and 89.5 % sensitivity, and 91.3 % and 97.4 % negative predictive value (NPV). CT using VHP scanning with an average CM volume of 38.7 mL is useful before TAVI and had a high sensitivity and NPV in excluding obstructive CAD. (orig.)

Real-time QRS detection using integrated variance for ECG gated cardiac MRI

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Schmidt Marcus

2016-09-01

Full Text Available During magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, a patient’s vital signs are required for different purposes. In cardiac MRI (CMR, an electrocardiogram (ECG of the patient is required for triggering the image acquisition process. However, a reliable QRS detection of an ECG signal acquired inside an MRI scanner is a challenging task due to the magnetohydrodynamic (MHD effect which interferes with the ECG. The aim of this work was to develop a reliable QRS detector usable inside the MRI which also fulfills the standards for medical devices (IEC 60601-2-27. Therefore, a novel real-time QRS detector based on integrated variance measurements is presented. The algorithm was trained on ANSI/AAMI EC13 test waveforms and was then applied to two databases with 12-lead ECG signals recorded inside and outside an MRI scanner. Reliable results for both databases were achieved for the ECG signals recorded inside (DBMRI: sensitivity Se = 99.94%, positive predictive value +P = 99.84% and outside (DBInCarT: Se = 99.29%, +P = 99.72% the MRI. Due to the accurate R-peak detection in real-time this can be used for monitoring and triggering in MRI exams.

ECG-gated quiescent-interval single-shot MR angiography of the lower extremities: Initial experience at 3 T

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Knobloch, G.; Gielen, M.; Lauff, M.-T.; Romano, V.C.; Schmitt, P.; Rick, M.; Kröncke, T.J.; Huppertz, A.; Hamm, B.; Wagner, M.

2014-01-01

Aim: To evaluate the feasibility of unenhanced electrocardiography (ECG)-gated quiescent-interval single-shot magnetic resonance angiography (QISS-MRA) of the lower extremities at 3 T. Materials and methods: Twenty-five patients with known or suspected peripheral arterial disease underwent ECG-gated QISS-MRA and contrast-enhanced MRA (CE-MRA) at 3 T. Two independent readers performed a per-segment evaluation of the MRA datasets. Image quality was rated on a four-point scale (1 = excellent to 4 = non-diagnostic; presented as medians with interquartile range). Diagnostic performance of QISS-MRA was evaluated using CE-MRA as the reference standard. Results: QISS-MRA and CE-MRA of all patients were considered for analysis, resulting in 807 evaluated vessel segments for each MRA technique. Readers 1 and 2 rated image quality of QISS-MRA as diagnostic in 97.3% and 97% of the vessel segments, respectively. CE-MRA was rated diagnostic in all vessel segments. Image quality of the proximal vessel segments, including the infrarenal aorta, iliac arteries, and common femoral artery, was significantly lower on QISS-MRA compared to CE-MRA [image quality score across readers: 2 (1,3) versus 1 (1,1) p < 0.001]. In the more distal vessel segments, image quality of QISS-MRA was excellent and showed no significant difference compared to CE-MRA [image quality score across readers: 1 (1,1) versus 1 (1,1) p = 0.036]. Diagnostic performance of QISS-MRA was as follows (across readers): sensitivity: 87.5% (95% CI: 80.2–92.4%); specificity: 96.1% (95% CI: 93.6–97.6%); diagnostic accuracy: 94.9% (95% CI: 92.6–96.5%). Conclusions: QISS-MRA of the lower extremities is feasible at 3 T and provides high image quality, especially in the distal vessel segments

Diagnostic value of early post-exercise 99Tcm-MIBI ECG-gated myocardial perfusion imaging in severe coronary artery disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Dianfu; Huang Jun; Feng Jianlin; Cheng Xu; Li Xinli; Cao Kejiang

2005-01-01

Objective: To study and compare the diagnostic value in severe coronary artery disease (CAD) of 99 Tc m -methoxyisobutylisonitrile (MIBI) electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated early post-exercise myocardial perfusion imaging (G-MPI) with that of non-ECG-gated myocardial perfusion imaging (NG-MPI). Methods: Two hundred and fifteen suspected CAD patients had undergone G-MPI and coronary artery angiography (CAG) within one month were enrolled and distributed into three-vessel and non-three-vessel CAD groups according to CAG results (≥70%); the diagnostic values in severe CAD of G-MPI and NG-MPI were gained and compared to determine which one of the two protocols would be superior in identification of severe three-vessel CAD. Results: When the ≥70% diameter stenosis CAG was the diagnostic standard of severe CAD, the sensitivity of G-MPI and NG-MPI in the diagnosis of severe CAD were 95.3% (143/150) and 90.7% (136/150, χ 2 =2.509, P=0.113), but when the comparison specifically pinpointed to severe three-vessel CAD, there was significant difference between G-MPI [100%(51/51)] and NG-MPI [92.2% (47/51), χ 2 =4.163, P=0.041]. Diagnostic specificity of G-MPI was 80.0% and that of NG-MPI was 72.3% (χ 2 =1.059, P=0.303). Conclusions: The incremental diagnostic sensitivity of G-MPI adding to the NG-MPI in the diagnosis of severe CAD was mainly from the three-vessel subgroup patients. Exercise stress G-MPI has better diagnostic value in severe three-vessel CAD patients than NG-MPI. (authors)

Gated listmode acquisition with the QuadHIDAC animal PET to image mouse hearts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schaefers, K.P.; Lang, N.; Stegger, L.; Schober, O.; Schaefers, M.

2006-01-01

Purpose: the aim of this study was to develop ECG and respiratory gating in combination with listmode acquisition for the quadHIDAC small-animal PET scanner. Methods: ECG and respiratory gating was realized with the help of an external trigger device (BioVET) synchronized with the listmode acquisition. Listmode data of a mouse acquisition (injected with 6.5 MBq of 18 F-FDG) were sorted according to three different gating definitions: 12 cardiac gates, 8 respiratory gates and a combination of 8 cardiac and 8 respiratory gates. Images were reconstructed with filtered back-projection (ramp filter), and parameters like left ventricular wall thickness (WT), wall-to-wall separation (WS) and blood to myocardium activity ratios (BMR) were calculated. Results: cardiac gated images show improvement of all parameters (WT 2.6 mm, WS 4.1 mm, BRM 2.3) in diastole compared to ungated images (WT 3.0 mm, WS 3.4 mm, BMR 1.3). Respiratory gating had little effect on calculated parameters. Conclusion: ECG gating with the quadHIDAC can improve myocardial image quality in mice. This could have a major impact on the calculation of an image-derived input function for kinetic modelling. (orig.)

Cardiac magnetic resonance: is phonocardiogram gating reliable in velocity-encoded phase contrast imaging?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nassenstein, Kai; Schlosser, Thomas; Orzada, Stephan; Ladd, Mark E.; Maderwald, Stefan; Haering, Lars; Czylwik, Andreas; Jensen, Christoph; Bruder, Oliver

2012-01-01

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of phonocardiogram (PCG) gated velocity-encoded phase contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Flow quantification above the aortic valve was performed in 68 patients by acquiring a retrospectively PCG- and a retrospectively ECG-gated velocity-encoded GE-sequence at 1.5 T. Peak velocity (PV), average velocity (AV), forward volume (FV), reverse volume (RV), net forward volume (NFV), as well as the regurgitant fraction (RF) were assessed for both datasets, as well as for the PCG-gated datasets after compensation for the PCG trigger delay. PCG-gated image acquisition was feasible in 64 patients, ECG-gated in all patients. PCG-gated flow quantification overestimated PV (Δ 3.8 ± 14.1 cm/s; P = 0.037) and underestimated FV (Δ -4.9 ± 15.7 ml; P = 0.015) and NFV (Δ -4.5 ± 16.5 ml; P = 0.033) compared with ECG-gated imaging. After compensation for the PCG trigger delay, differences were only observed for PV (Δ 3.8 ± 14.1 cm/s; P = 0.037). Wide limits of agreement between PCG- and ECG-gated flow quantification were observed for all variables (PV: -23.9 to 31.4 cm/s; AV: -4.5 to 3.9 cm/s; FV: -35.6 to 25.9 ml; RV: -8.0 to 7.2 ml; NFV: -36.8 to 27.8 ml; RF: -10.4 to 10.2 %). The present study demonstrates that PCG gating in its current form is not reliable enough for flow quantification based on velocity-encoded phase contrast gradient echo (GE) sequences. (orig.)

Comparison of transaxial source images and 3-plane, thin-slab maximal intensity projection images for the diagnosis of coronary artery stenosis with using ECG-gated cardiac CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Choi, Jin Woo; Seo, Joon Beom; Do, Kyung Hyun

2006-01-01

We wanted to compare the transaxial source images with the optimized three plane, thin-slab maximum intensity projection (MIP) images from electrocardiographic (ECG)-gated cardiac CT for their ability to detect hemodynamically significant stenosis (HSS), and we did this by means of performing a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Twenty-eight patients with a heart rate less than 66 beats per minute and who were undergoing both retrospective ECG-gated cardiac CT and conventional coronary angiography were included in this study. The contrast-enhanced CT scans were obtained with a collimation of 16 x 0.75-mm and a rotation time of 420 msec. The tranaxial images were reconstructed at the mid-diastolic phase with a 1-mm slice thickness and a 0.5-mm increment. Using the transaxial images, the slab MIP images were created with a 4-mm thickness and a 2-mm increment, and they covered the entire heart in the horizontal long axis (4 chamber view), in the vertical long axis (2 chamber view) and in the short axis. The transaxial images and MIP images were independently evaluated for their ability to detect HSS. Conventional coronary angiograms of the same study group served as the standard of reference. Four radiologists were requested to rank each image with using a five-point scale (1 = definitely negative, 2 = probably negative, 3 = indeterminate, 4 = probably positive, and 5 definitely positive) for the presence of HSS; the data were then interpreted using ROC analysis. There was no statistical difference in the area under the ROC curve between transaxial images and MIP images for the detection of HSS (0.8375 and 0.8708, respectively; ρ > 0.05). The mean reading time for the transaxial source images and the MIP images was 116 and 126.5 minutes, respectively. The diagnostic performance of the MIP images for detecting HSS of the coronary arteries is acceptable and this technique's ability to detect HSS is comparable to that of the transaxial source images

Coronary computed tomography angiography using prospective electrocardiography-gated axial scans with 64-detector computed tomography. Evaluation of stair-step artifacts and padding time

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kimura, Fumiko; Umezawa, Tatsuo; Asano, Tomonari; Chihara, Ruri; Nishi, Naoko; Nishimura, Shigeyoshi; Sakai, Fumikazu

2010-01-01

We compared stair-step artifacts and radiation dose between prospective electrocardiography (ECG)-gated coronary computed tomography angiography (prospective CCTA) and retrospective CCTA using 64-detector CT and determined the optimal padding time (PT) for prospective CCTA. We retrospectively evaluated 183 patients [mean heart rate (HR) <65 beats/min, maximum HR instability <5 beats/min] who had undergone CCTA. We scored stair-step artifacts from 1 (severe) to 5 (none) and evaluated the effective dose in 53 patients with retrospective CCTA and 130 with prospective CCTA (PT 200 ms, n=32; PT 50 ms, n=98). Mean artifact scores were 4.3 in both retrospective and prospective CCTAs. However, statistically more arteries scored <3 (nonassessable) on prospective CCTA (P<0.001). Mean scores for prospective CCTA with 200- and 50-ms PT were 4.1 and 4.3, respectively (no significant difference). The radiation dose of prospective CCTA was reduced by 59.1% to 80.7%. Prospective CCTA reduces the radiation dose and allows diagnostic imaging in most cases but shows more nonevaluable artifacts than retrospective CCTA. Use of 50-ms instead of 200-ms PT appears to maintain image quality in patients with a mean HR <65 beats/min and HR instability of <5 beats/min. (author)

Meta-analysis: diagnostic accuracy of coronary CT angiography with prospective ECG gating based on step-and-shoot, Flash and volume modes for detection of coronary artery disease

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Yang, Linfeng; Zhou, Tao; Zhang, Ruijie; Peng, Zhaohui; Ding, Juan; Wang, Sen; Li, Min; Sun, Gang [Jinan Military General Hospital, Department of Medical Imaging, Jinan, Shandong Province (China); Xu, Lin [Jinan Military General Hospital, Department of Medical Cardiology, Jinan, Shandong Province (China)

2014-10-15

To investigate the diagnostic performance of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) with prospective electrocardiograph (ECG) gating based on step-and-shoot (SAS), Flash and volume imaging modes. We searched the electronic databases PubMed for all published studies regarding CCTA. We used an exact binomial rendition of the bivariate mixed-effects regression model developed for synthesis of diagnostic data. A total of 21,852 segments, 4,851 vessels and 1,375 patients were identified using database searches. Patient-level pooled sensitivity was 0.99 (95 % confidence interval [CI], 0.98-1.00); specificity was 0.88 (CI, 0.85-0.91). The results showed that the sensitivity and specificity for detection of significant stenosis did not differ in the three protocols (P = 0.24). No heterogeneity was found at the patient level for sensitivity (Q = 26.23; P = 0.12; I {sup 2} = 27.56 % [CI, 0.00-67.02 %]) and specificity (Q = 19.54; P = 0.42; I {sup 2} = 2.78 % [CI, 0.00-66.26 %]). CCTA with prospective ECG gating has similar high diagnostic value to rule out CAD in all three presented modes. (orig.)

The role of an axial MR scan on the diagnosis a meniscal tear of the knee joint

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yeom, Suk Keu; Kim, Baek Hyun; Hong, Suk Joo; Seol, Hae Young

2007-01-01

To evaluate the role of standard axial MR images for the diagnosis for meniscal tears of the knee. Forty-five patients with a prior MRI examination that underwent arthroscopic surgery of the knee due to clinical impression of a meniscal tear were included in the study group. The sequence for meniscal evaluation was an axial fat-saturated proton density-weighted image with a 4 mm slice thickness. Axial MR images were independently reviewed by two radiologists and were compared with findings of arthroscopy. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy of the axial MR scan for the diagnosis of the meniscal tear were calculated. A total 90 menisci of 45 patients were evaluated in the axial MR scans. Forty-two patients had meniscal tears, and two of the patients had tears in both menisci; thus, a total of 44 meniscal tears were found by arthroscopy. For meniscal tears, the sensitivity of the axial plane was 76.2%, the specificity was 89.1% and the accuracy was 81.1%. False negative meniscal tears were seen in 12 cases and false positive meniscal tears were seen in 5 cases on the axial MR images. In standard knee MRI examinations, axial images may be valuable for the detection and localization of meniscal tears

Assessment of left ventricular function by 201Tl FCG-gated myocardial SPECT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toba, Masahiro; Ishida, Yoshio; Fukuchi, Kazuki; Fukushima, Kazuhito; Katafuchi, Tetsurou; Hayashida, Kohei; Oka, Hisashi; Takamiya, Makoto

1999-01-01

We applied the QGS program for LV function analysis (described by Germano, 1995) to a 201 Tl SPECT study at rest, and estimated its accuracy. We performed 201 Tl ECG-gated myocardial SPECT in 25 patients with ischemic heart disease under an acquisition time used in the routine 99m Tc ECG-gated SPECT study. The quality of the gated images was visually assessed with a 4-point grading system. LVEDV, LVESV, LVEF determined by the QGS program were compared with those by Simpson's method on biplane LVG in 25 patients. Regional wall motion scores in 7 myocardial segments were assessed on the three-dimensional display created by the QGS program and the cine display of biplane LVG with a 5-point grading system. Wall motion scores obtained by the QGS program were compared with those by LVG. Although 72.0% of 201 Tl ECG-gated SPECT images were fair or poor in image quality, there were good correlations between the values obtained by the QGS program and LVG (LVEDV: r=0.82, LVESV: r=0.88, LVEF: r=0.89). In addition, wall motion scores by the QGS program were correspondent to those by LVG in 77.1% of all 175 myocardial segments. We conclude that the QGS program provides high accuracy in evaluating left ventricular function even from 201 Tl ECG-gated myocardial SPECT data. (author)

Accuracy and effectiveness of self-gating signals in free-breathing three-dimensional cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shuo; Wang, Lei; Zhu, Yan-Chun; Yang, Jie; Xie, Yao-Qin; Fu, Nan; Wang, Yi; Gao, Song

2016-12-01

Conventional multiple breath-hold two-dimensional (2D) balanced steady-state free precession (SSFP) presents many difficulties in cardiac cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Recently, a self-gated free-breathing three-dimensional (3D) SSFP technique has been proposed as an alternative in many studies. However, the accuracy and effectiveness of self-gating signals have been barely studied before. Since self-gating signals are crucially important in image reconstruction, a systematic study of self-gating signals and comparison with external monitored signals are needed. Previously developed self-gated free-breathing 3D SSFP techniques are used on twenty-eight healthy volunteers. Both electrocardiographic (ECG) and respiratory bellow signals are also acquired during the scan as external signals. Self-gating signal and external signal are compared by trigger and gating window. Gating window is proposed to evaluate the accuracy and effectiveness of respiratory self-gating signal. Relative deviation of the trigger and root-mean-square-deviation of the cycle duration are calculated. A two-tailed paired t-test is used to identify the difference between self-gating and external signals. A Wilcoxon signed rank test is used to identify the difference between peak and valley self-gating triggers. The results demonstrate an excellent correlation (P = 0, R > 0.99) between self-gating and external triggers. Wilcoxon signed rank test shows that there is no significant difference between peak and valley self-gating triggers for both cardiac (H = 0, P > 0.10) and respiratory (H = 0, P > 0.44) motions. The difference between self-gating and externally monitored signals is not significant (two-tailed paired-sample t-test: H = 0, P > 0.90). The self-gating signals could demonstrate cardiac and respiratory motion accurately and effectively as ECG and respiratory bellow. The difference between the two methods is not significant and can be explained. Furthermore, few ECG trigger errors

Electrocardiography-triggered high-resolution CT for reducing cardiac motion artifact. Evaluation of the extent of ground-glass attenuation in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishiura, Motoko; Johkoh, Takeshi; Yamamoto, Shuji

2007-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the decreasing of cardiac motion artifact and whether the extent of ground-glass attenuation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) was accurately assessed by electrocardiography (ECG)-triggered high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) by 0.5-s/rotation multidetector-row CT (MDCT). ECG-triggered HRCT were scanned at the end-diastolic phase by a MDCT scanner with the following scan parameters; axial four-slice mode, 0.5 mm collimation, 0.5-s/rotation, 120 kVp, 200 mA/rotation, high-frequency algorithm, and half reconstruction. In 42 patients with IPF, both conventional HRCT (ECG gating (-), full reconstruction) and ECG-triggered HRCT were performed at the same levels (10-mm intervals) with the above scan parameters. The correlation between percent diffusion of carbon monoxide of the lung (%DLCO) and the mean extent of ground-glass attenuation on both conventional HRCT and ECG-triggered HRCT was evaluated with the Spearman rank correlation coefficient test. The correlation between %DLCO and the mean extent of ground-glass attenuation on ECG-triggered HRCT (observer A: r=-0.790, P<0.0001; observer B: r=-0.710, P<0.0001) was superior to that on conventional HRCT (observer A: r=-0.395, P<0.05; observer B: r=-0.577, P=0.002) for both observers. ECG-triggered HRCT by 0.5 s/rotation MDCT can reduce the cardiac motion artifact and is useful for evaluating the extent of ground-glass attenuation of IPF. (author)

Prognostic significance of stress myocardial ECG-gated perfusion imaging in asymptomatic patients with diabetic chronic kidney disease on initiation of haemodialysis

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Momose, Mitsuru; Kondo, Chisato; Kobayashi, Hideki; Kusakabe, Kiyoko [Tokyo Women' s Medical University, School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (Japan); Babazono, Tetsuya [Tokyo Women' s Medical University, School of Medicine, Diabetes Centre, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (Japan); Nakajima, Takatomo [Tokyo Women' s Medical University, School of Medicine, Department of Cardiology, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo (Japan)

2009-08-15

Diabetic patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) frequently develop cardiac events within several years of the initiation of haemodialysis. The present study assesses the prognostic significance of stress myocardial ECG-gated perfusion imaging (MPI) in patients with diabetic CKD requiring haemodialysis. Fifty-five asymptomatic patients with diabetic stage V CKD and no history of heart disease scheduled to start haemodialysis were enrolled in this study (56{+-}11 years old; 49 with type 2 diabetes mellitus). All patients underwent {sup 201}Tl stress ECG-gated MPI 1 month before or after the initiation of haemodialysis to assess myocardial involvement. We evaluated SPECT images using 17-segment defect scores graded on a 5-point scale, summed stress score (SSS) and summed difference scores (SDS). The patients were followed up for at least 2 years (42{+-}15 months) to determine coronary intervention (CI) and heart failure (HF) as soft events and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and all causes of deaths as hard events. The frequencies of myocardial ischaemia, resting perfusion defects, low ejection fraction and left ventricular (LV) dilatation were 24,20,29 and 49%, respectively. Ten events (18%) developed during the follow-up period including four CI, one HF, one AMI and four sudden deaths. Multivariate Cox analysis selected SDS (p=0.0011) and haemoglobin A{sub 1c} (HbA{sub 1c}) (p=0.0076) as independent prognostic indicators for all events. Myocardial ischaemia, in addition to glycaemic control, is a strong prognostic marker for asymptomatic patients with diabetic CKD who are scheduled to start haemodialysis. Stress MPI is highly recommended for the management and therapeutic stratification of such patients. (orig.)

Evaluation by means of ECG-gated cardiac blood pool scintigraphy of global and regional left ventricular function at rest and during exercise in patients with coronary artery disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauer, E.; Sebening, H.; Lutilsky, L.; Dressler, H.; Hoer, G.; Pabst, H.W.; Bloemer, H.; Technische Univ. Muenchen

1978-01-01

ECG-gated cardiac blood pool scintigraphy permits a non-invasive determination of the end-diastolic and end-systolic ventricular volumens and of the ejection fraction as well as a qualitative description of regional ventricular wall motion at rest and during exercise. In 6 healthy persons a significant increase of the ejection fraction from 66 +- 7% at rest to 78 +- 3% during exercise (p [de

Freeware eLearning Flash-ECG for learning electrocardiography.

Science.gov (United States)

Romanov, Kalle; Kuusi, Timo

2009-06-01

Electrocardiographic (ECG) analysis can be taught in eLearning programmes with suitable software that permits the effective use of basic tools such as a ruler and a magnifier, required for measurements. The Flash-ECG (Research & Development Unit for Medical Education, University of Helsinki, Finland) was developed to enable teachers and students to use scanned and archived ECGs on computer screens and classroom projectors. The software requires only a standard web browser with a Flash plug-in and can be integrated with learning environments (Blackboard/WebCT, Moodle). The Flash-ECG is freeware and is available to medical teachers worldwide.

Cumulative impact of axial, structural, and repolarization ECG findings on long-term cardiovascular mortality among healthy individuals in Japan: National Integrated Project for Prospective Observation of Non-Communicable Disease and its Trends in the Aged, 1980 and 1990.

Science.gov (United States)

Inohara, Taku; Kohsaka, Shun; Okamura, Tomonori; Watanabe, Makoto; Nakamura, Yasuyuki; Higashiyama, Aya; Kadota, Aya; Okuda, Nagako; Murakami, Yoshitaka; Ohkubo, Takayoshi; Miura, Katsuyuki; Okayama, Akira; Ueshima, Hirotsugu

2014-12-01

Various cohort studies have shown a close association between long-term cardiovascular disease (CVD) outcomes and individual electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities such as axial, structural, and repolarization changes. The combined effect of these ECG abnormalities, each assumed to be benign, has not been thoroughly investigated. Community-dwelling Japanese residents from the National Integrated Project for Perspective Observation of Non-Communicable Disease and its Trends in the Aged, 1980-2004 and 1990-2005 (NIPPON DATA80 and 90), were included in this study. Baseline ECG findings were classified using the Minnesota Code and categorized into axial (left axis deviation, clockwise rotation), structural (left ventricular hypertrophy, atrial enlargement), and repolarization (minor and major ST-T changes) abnormalities. The hazard ratios of the cumulative impacts of ECG findings on long-term CVD death were estimated by stratified Cox proportional hazard models, including adjustments for cohort strata. In all, 16,816 participants were evaluated. The average age was 51.2 ± 13.5 years; 42.7% participants were male. The duration of follow up was 300,924 person-years (mean 17.9 ± 5.8 years); there were 1218 CVD deaths during that time. Overall, 4203 participants (25.0%) had one or more categorical ECG abnormalities: 3648 (21.7%) had a single abnormality, and 555 (3.3%) had two or more. The risk of CVD mortality increased as the number of abnormalities accumulated (single abnormality HR 1.29, 95% CI 1.13-1.48; ≥2 abnormalities HR 2.10, 95% CI 1.73-2.53). Individual ECG abnormalities had an additive effect in predicting CVD outcome risk in our large-scale cohort study. © The European Society of Cardiology 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Right Ventricular Ejection Fraction using ECG-Gated First Pass Cardioangiography

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Moon, Young Hee; Lee, Hae Giu; Lee, Sung Yong; Park, Suk Min; Chung, Soo Kyo; Yim, Jeong Ik; Bahk, Yong Whee; Shinn, Kyung Sub; Kim, Young Gyun; Kwon, Soon Seog [Catholic University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

1993-03-15

Radionuclide cardioangiography has been widely applied and has played major roles in moninvasive assessment of cardiac function. Three techniques, first-pass gated first and gated equilibrium methods have commonly been used to evaluate right ventricular ejection fraction which usually abnormal in the patients with cardiopulmonary disease. It has been known that the gated first pass method is most accurate method among the three techniques in assessment of fight ventricular ejection fraction. The radionuclide right ventricular ejection fraction values were determined in 13 normal subjects and in 15 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by the gated first pass method and compared with those of the first pass method because there has been no published data of fight ejection fraction by the gated first pass method were compared with the defects from the pulmonary function test performed in the patients with chronic obstructive pulmomary disease. The results were as follows; 1) The values of fight ventricular ejection fraction by the gated first pass method were 50.1 +- 6.1% in normal subjects and 38.5 +- 8.5 in the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There was statistically significant difference between the right ventricular ejection fraction of each of the two groups (p<0.05) 2) The right ventricular ejection fraction by the gated first pass method was not linearly correlated ith FEV{sub 1}, VC. DLCO. and FVC as well as P{sub a}O2 and P{sub a}CO2 of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We concluded that right ventricular ejection fraction by the gated first pass method using radionuclide cardioangiography may be useful in clinical assessment of the right ventricular function.

Prospective versus retrospective ECG gating for dual source CT of the coronary stent: Comparison of image quality, accuracy, and radiation dose

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhao Lei, E-mail: zhaolei219@sohu.com [Beijing Anzhen Hospital of the Capital University of Medical Sciences (China); Zhang Zhaoqi; Fan Zhanming; Yang Lin; Du Jing [Beijing Anzhen Hospital of the Capital University of Medical Sciences (China)

2011-03-15

Objective: To compare image quality, diagnostic accuracy and radiation dose of prospective and retrospective electrocardiogram (ECG) gated dual source computed tomography (DSCT) for the evaluation of the coronary stent, using conventional coronary angiography (CA) as a standard reference. Design, setting and patients: Sixty patients (heart rates {<=}70 bpm) with previous stent implantation who were scheduled for CA were divided in two groups, receiving either prospective or retrospective ECG gated DSCT separately. Two reviewers scored coronary stent image quality and evaluated stent lumen. Results: There was no significant difference in image quality between the two groups. In the prospective group, there were 86.4% (51/59) stents with interpretable images, in the retrospective group, there were 87.5% (49/56) stents with interpretable images. Image quality was not influenced by age, body mass index or heart rate in either group, but heart rate variability had a weak impact on the image quality of the prospective group. Image noise was higher in the prospective group, but this difference reached statistical significance only by using a smooth kernel reconstruction. Per-stent based sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value were 100%, 84.1%, 68.2%, and 100%, respectively, in the prospective CT angiography group and 94.4%, 86.8%, 77.3%, and 97.1%, respectively, in the retrospective CT angiography group. There was a significant difference in the effective radiation dose between the two groups, mean effective dose in the prospective and retrospective group was 2.2 {+-} 0.5 mSv (1.5-3.2 mSv) and 14.6 {+-} 3.3 mSv (10.0-20.4 mSv) (p < .001) respectively. Conclusions: Compared with retrospective CT angiography, prospective CT angiography has a similar performance in assessing coronary stent patency, but a lower effective dose in selected patients with regular heart rates {<=}70 bpm.

Study on motion artifacts in coronary arteries with an anthropomorphic moving heart phantom on an ECG-gated multidetector computed tomography unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greuter, Marcel J.W.; Dorgelo, Joost; Tukker, Wim G.J.; Oudkerk, Matthijs

2005-01-01

Acquisition time plays a key role in the quality of cardiac multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and is directly related to the rotation time of the scanner. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of heart rate and a multisector reconstruction algorithm on the image quality of coronary arteries of an anthropomorphic adjustable moving heart phantom on an ECG-gated MDCT unit. The heart phantom and a coronary artery phantom were used on a MDCT unit with a rotation time of 500 ms. The movement of the heart was determined by analysis of the images taken at different phases. The results indicate that the movement of the coronary arteries on the heart phantom is comparable to that in a clinical setting. The influence of the heart rate on image quality and artifacts was determined by analysis of several heart rates between 40 and 80 bpm where the movement of the heart was synchronized using a retrospective ECG-gated acquisition protocol. The resulting reformatted volume rendering images of the moving heart and the coronary arteries were qualitatively compared as a result of the heart rate. The evaluation was performed on three independent series by two independent radiologists for the image quality of the coronary arteries and the presence of artifacts. The evaluation shows that at heart rates above 50 bpm the influence of motion artifacts in the coronary arteries becomes apparent. In addition the influence of a dedicated multisector reconstruction technique on image quality was determined. The results show that the image quality of the coronary arteries is not only related to the heart rate and that the influence of the multisector reconstruction technique becomes significant above 70 bpm. Therefore, this study proves that from the actual acquisition time per heart cycle one cannot determine an actual acquisition time, but only a mathematical acquisition time. (orig.)

Three-dimensional thoracic aorta principal strain analysis from routine ECG-gated computerized tomography: feasibility in patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Science.gov (United States)

Satriano, Alessandro; Guenther, Zachary; White, James A; Merchant, Naeem; Di Martino, Elena S; Al-Qoofi, Faisal; Lydell, Carmen P; Fine, Nowell M

2018-05-02

Functional impairment of the aorta is a recognized complication of aortic and aortic valve disease. Aortic strain measurement provides effective quantification of mechanical aortic function, and 3-dimenional (3D) approaches may be desirable for serial evaluation. Computerized tomographic angiography (CTA) is routinely performed for various clinical indications, and offers the unique potential to study 3D aortic deformation. We sought to investigate the feasibility of performing 3D aortic strain analysis in a candidate population of patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Twenty-one patients with severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) referred for TAVR underwent ECG-gated CTA and echocardiography. CTA images were analyzed using a 3D feature-tracking based technique to construct a dynamic aortic mesh model to perform peak principal strain amplitude (PPSA) analysis. Segmental strain values were correlated against clinical, hemodynamic and echocardiographic variables. Reproducibility analysis was performed. The mean patient age was 81±6 years. Mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 52±14%, aortic valve area (AVA) 0.6±0.3 cm 2 and mean AS pressure gradient (MG) 44±11 mmHg. CTA-based 3D PPSA analysis was feasible in all subjects. Mean PPSA values for the global thoracic aorta, ascending aorta, aortic arch and descending aorta segments were 6.5±3.0, 10.2±6.0, 6.1±2.9 and 3.3±1.7%, respectively. 3D PSSA values demonstrated significantly more impairment with measures of worsening AS severity, including AVA and MG for the global thoracic aorta and ascending segment (panalysis is clinically feasible from routine ECG-gated CTA. Appropriate reductions in PSSA were identified with increasing AS hemodynamic severity. Expanded study of 3D aortic PSSA for patients with various forms of aortic disease is warranted.

Dual gated PET/CT imaging of small targets of the heart: method description and testing with a dynamic heart phantom.

Science.gov (United States)

Kokki, Tommi; Sipilä, Hannu T; Teräs, Mika; Noponen, Tommi; Durand-Schaefer, Nicolas; Klén, Riku; Knuuti, Juhani

2010-01-01

In PET imaging respiratory and cardiac contraction motions interfere the imaging of heart. The aim was to develop and evaluate dual gating method for improving the detection of small targets of the heart. The method utilizes two independent triggers which are sent periodically into list mode data based on respiratory and ECG cycles. An algorithm for generating dual gated segments from list mode data was developed. The test measurements showed that rotational and axial movements of point source can be separated spatially to different segments with well-defined borders. The effect of dual gating on detection of small moving targets was tested with a moving heart phantom. Dual gated images showed 51% elimination (3.6 mm out of 7.0 mm) of contraction motion of hot spot (diameter 3 mm) and 70% elimination (14 mm out of 20 mm) of respiratory motion. Averaged activity value of hot spot increases by 89% when comparing to non-gated images. Patient study of suspected cardiac sarcoidosis shows sharper spatial myocardial uptake profile and improved detection of small myocardial structures such as papillary muscles. The dual gating method improves detection of small moving targets in a phantom and it is feasible in clinical situations.

Assessment of left ventricular function using 201Tl electrocardiogram-gated myocardial single photon emission computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishikubo, Naotsugu; Tamai, Hiroyuki

2013-01-01

Advances in computed tomography (CT) technology make it possible to obtain left ventricular wall motion using 3D reconstruction. In this study, we compared the images obtained from CT and 201 Tl electrocardiogram (ECG) gated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). In 20 patients with ischemic heart disease, we performed 201 Tl ECG gated SPECT (GE Healthcare Millennium VG) and ECG gated CT (Philips Medical Systems Brilliance iCT) to evaluate of left ventricular wall motion during the resting phase. In SPECT, left ventricular images were reconstructed using quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) software. In CT, the images were reconstructed using Virtual Place (AZE Software). The left ventricle was classified into five regions (anterior, lateral, inferior, septal, and apical). The amplitude of the wall motion was classified into five grades according to AHA classification. The values of the wall motion were separately checked by two radiographers. Assessment of left ventricular function myocardial wall movement using the three-dimensional movie display with ECG gated myocardial SPECT data was in agreement with the evaluation by cardiac CT inspection, and corresponded with wall motion in 88 of all 100 segments. SPECT analysis has the same quantity as that of obtained from CT for evaluation of left ventricular wall motion. (author)

Pulse wave as an alternate signal for data synchronization during gated myocardial perfusion SPECT imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Lang, Otto; Trojanova, Helena; Balon, Helena R; Kunikova, Ivana; Bilwachs, Milos; Penicka, Martin; Kaminek, Milan; Myslivecek, Miroslav

2011-09-01

Proper identification of the cardiac cycle is essential for gated SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging. We have developed an alternate method of ECG for gating, that is, using the peripheral pulse wave (PW) as the triggering signal for gated SPECT acquisition. The aim of this study is to compare the use of this method of gating with the standard ECG trigger. We tested the PW triggering by comparing it with the ECG trigger. We evaluated 33 patients (25 males, 8 females), average age of 61 years (39-80) referred for stress myocardial perfusion imaging. Data from all patients were acquired twice and were processed by CEqual and QGS software. We compared the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), end-diastolic and end-systolic volumes (EDV, ESV). Paired t test and Pearson correlation coefficient were used for comparison. The mean LVEF, EDV, and ESV calculated with the ECG trigger were 0.52, 120, and 64, respectively, those with the pulse-wave trigger were 0.48, 126, and 71, respectively. Mean paired difference for LVEF was -0.034 (P<0.001), for EDV 5.9 (P=0.012), and for ESV 7.9 (P<0.001). Pearson correlation coefficient for LVEF was 0.955, for EDV 0.987, and for ESV 0.991 (P<0.001 for all correlations). Triggering of gated-data acquisition by the PW is feasible. Quantitative parameters of cardiac function correlate highly with those obtained from the ECG trigger and the absolute differences are not clinically significant across a wide range of values.

Angle-independent measure of motion for image-based gating in 3D coronary angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lehmann, Glen C.; Holdsworth, David W.; Drangova, Maria

2006-01-01

The role of three-dimensional (3D) image guidance for interventional procedures and minimally invasive surgeries is increasing for the treatment of vascular disease. Currently, most interventional procedures are guided by two-dimensional x-ray angiography, but computed rotational angiography has the potential to provide 3D geometric information about the coronary arteries. The creation of 3D angiographic images of the coronary arteries requires synchronization of data acquisition with respect to the cardiac cycle, in order to minimize motion artifacts. This can be achieved by inferring the extent of motion from a patient's electrocardiogram (ECG) signal. However, a direct measurement of motion (from the 2D angiograms) has the potential to improve the 3D angiographic images by ensuring that only projections acquired during periods of minimal motion are included in the reconstruction. This paper presents an image-based metric for measuring the extent of motion in 2D x-ray angiographic images. Adaptive histogram equalization was applied to projection images to increase the sharpness of coronary arteries and the superior-inferior component of the weighted centroid (SIC) was measured. The SIC constitutes an image-based metric that can be used to track vessel motion, independent of apparent motion induced by the rotational acquisition. To evaluate the technique, six consecutive patients scheduled for routine coronary angiography procedures were studied. We compared the end of the SIC rest period (ρ) to R-waves (R) detected in the patient's ECG and found a mean difference of 14±80 ms. Two simultaneous angular positions were acquired and ρ was detected for each position. There was no statistically significant difference (P=0.79) between ρ in the two simultaneously acquired angular positions. Thus we have shown the SIC to be independent of view angle, which is critical for rotational angiography. A preliminary image-based gating strategy that employed the SIC was

Imaging ballistic carrier trajectories in graphene using scanning gate microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Morikawa, Sei; Masubuchi, Satoru [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan); Dou, Ziwei; Wang, Shu-Wei; Smith, Charles G.; Connolly, Malcolm R., E-mail: mrc61@cam.ac.uk [Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0HE (United Kingdom); Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi [National Institute for Materials Science, 1-1 Namiki, Tsukuba 305-0044 (Japan); Machida, Tomoki, E-mail: tmachida@iis.u-tokyo.ac.jp [Institute of Industrial Science, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan); Institute for Nano Quantum Information Electronics, University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Komaba, Meguro, Tokyo 153-8505 (Japan)

2015-12-14

We use scanning gate microscopy to map out the trajectories of ballistic carriers in high-mobility graphene encapsulated by hexagonal boron nitride and subject to a weak magnetic field. We employ a magnetic focusing geometry to image carriers that emerge ballistically from an injector, follow a cyclotron path due to the Lorentz force from an applied magnetic field, and land on an adjacent collector probe. The local electric field generated by the scanning tip in the vicinity of the carriers deflects their trajectories, modifying the proportion of carriers focused into the collector. By measuring the voltage at the collector while scanning the tip, we are able to obtain images with arcs that are consistent with the expected cyclotron motion. We also demonstrate that the tip can be used to redirect misaligned carriers back to the collector.

Design of a scanning gate microscope for mesoscopic electron systems in a cryogen-free dilution refrigerator.

Science.gov (United States)

Pelliccione, M; Sciambi, A; Bartel, J; Keller, A J; Goldhaber-Gordon, D

2013-03-01

We report on our design of a scanning gate microscope housed in a cryogen-free dilution refrigerator with a base temperature of 15 mK. The recent increase in efficiency of pulse tube cryocoolers has made cryogen-free systems popular in recent years. However, this new style of cryostat presents challenges for performing scanning probe measurements, mainly as a result of the vibrations introduced by the cryocooler. We demonstrate scanning with root-mean-square vibrations of 0.8 nm at 3 K and 2.1 nm at 15 mK in a 1 kHz bandwidth with our design. Using Coulomb blockade thermometry on a GaAs/AlGaAs gate-defined quantum dot, we demonstrate an electron temperature of 45 mK.

Cardiac events in patients with positive exercise ECG and normal myocardial perfusion scan - a retrospective study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marshman, K.; Thomson, L.E.J.; Rowe, C.C.; Burns, A.J.; Woon, F.S.

2002-01-01

Full text: The low risk of future cardiac events following a normal myocardial perfusion study with normal stress ECG has been well documented. However, there is little literature regarding the prognosis in patients with a positive stress ECG (PosETT) and normal myocardial perfusion scan (MPS). A search of our database over an eighteen month period identified 21 patients who fitted study criteria. A PosETT was defined as stress induced horizontal or downsloping ST depression > 1mm in one or more leads with a normal baseline 12 lead ECG. Patients were divided into two subgroups depending on the severity of ST depression. A mildly PosETT was defined as ST depression of 1-1.5mm (n=10) and strongly PosETT was defined as ST depression of >2mm in at least one lead with depression in other leads (n=l 1). A normal MPS was defined as absence of reversible perfusion defects on SPECT imaging. Technetium 99m Tetrofosmin was the imaging agent used in 18/21 patients. All 21 patients exercised using the Bruce protocol for 3-12 minutes, and 9 experienced chest pain 12 months after the MPS, referring physicians were contacted. Cardiac events were defined as cardiac death, myocardial infarction, unstable angina, cardiac failure, revascularisation or a coronary angiogram demonstrating >70% stenosis. To date, follow up is complete in 11 patients with one confirmed case of single vessel revascularisation 3 months post MPS. Full follow up data will be presented. Copyright (2002) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

Audiovisual biofeedback improves image quality and reduces scan time for respiratory-gated 3D MRI

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, D.; Greer, P. B.; Arm, J.; Keall, P.; Kim, T.

2014-03-01

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that audiovisual (AV) biofeedback can improve image quality and reduce scan time for respiratory-gated 3D thoracic MRI. For five healthy human subjects respiratory motion guidance in MR scans was provided using an AV biofeedback system, utilizing real-time respiratory motion signals. To investigate the improvement of respiratory-gated 3D MR images between free breathing (FB) and AV biofeedback (AV), each subject underwent two imaging sessions. Respiratory-related motion artifacts and imaging time were qualitatively evaluated in addition to the reproducibility of external (abdominal) motion. In the results, 3D MR images in AV biofeedback showed more anatomic information such as a clear distinction of diaphragm, lung lobes and sharper organ boundaries. The scan time was reduced from 401±215 s in FB to 334±94 s in AV (p-value 0.36). The root mean square variation of the displacement and period of the abdominal motion was reduced from 0.4±0.22 cm and 2.8±2.5 s in FB to 0.1±0.15 cm and 0.9±1.3 s in AV (p-value of displacement audiovisual biofeedback improves image quality and reduces scan time for respiratory-gated 3D MRI. These results suggest that AV biofeedback has the potential to be a useful motion management tool in medical imaging and radiation therapy procedures.

Quantitative evaluation of renal dynamic scan with 99mTc-MAG3 assessment of interoposterior myocardial infarction using ECG gated SPECT with 99mTc-MIBI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cho, Keiichi; Kumita, Shinichiro; Mizumura, Sunao

1997-01-01

Simultaneous assessment of regional myocardial perfusion and local contraction ability of interoposterior myocardial infarction was examined by ECG gated SPECT. In thirteen cases of acute interoposterior myocardial infarction, the above-mentioned data were obtained by 180deg data acquisition method using L-shaped 2 detecting element type gamma camera. Mean and standard deviation of %Uptake and wall thickening (WT) in inferior wall were as follows: Infarction case; 57±9.2%/23±11.3%, normal case; 71±8.2%/61±10.2%. The significant depression (p<0.01/p<0.001) of both data were found in the infarction case. The both data in posterior wall were as follows: Infarction case; 55±10.7%/16±8.9%, normal case; 64±9.7%/41±15.0%. The significant depression (p<0.05/p<0.001) were also found in the infarction case. In both inferior wall and posterior wall, the AUC of ROC curve of WT was greater than that of %Uptake, and diagnostic ability of this method was favorable. The best sensitivity/specificity rate and the threshold were as follows: %Uptake of inferior wall 77/65, -0.5SD, WT of inferior wall 100/100, -2SD, %Uptake of posterior wall 62/82, -1SD, WT of posterior wall 85/88, -4SD. Accordingly, in diagnosis of interoposterior myocardial infarction, assessment of focus cardiac function, for example WT, is necessary as well as %Uptake. (K.H.)

Fabrication of Gate-tunable Graphene Devices for Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Studies with Coulomb Impurities

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Han Sae; Tsai, Hsin-Zon; Wong, Dillon; Germany, Chad; Kahn, Salman; Kim, Youngkyou; Aikawa, Andrew S.; Desai, Dhruv K.; Rodgers, Griffin F.; Bradley, Aaron J.; Velasco, Jairo; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Wang, Feng; Zettl, Alex; Crommie, Michael F.

2015-01-01

Owing to its relativistic low-energy charge carriers, the interaction between graphene and various impurities leads to a wealth of new physics and degrees of freedom to control electronic devices. In particular, the behavior of graphene’s charge carriers in response to potentials from charged Coulomb impurities is predicted to differ significantly from that of most materials. Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) can provide detailed information on both the spatial and energy dependence of graphene's electronic structure in the presence of a charged impurity. The design of a hybrid impurity-graphene device, fabricated using controlled deposition of impurities onto a back-gated graphene surface, has enabled several novel methods for controllably tuning graphene’s electronic properties.1-8 Electrostatic gating enables control of the charge carrier density in graphene and the ability to reversibly tune the charge2 and/or molecular5 states of an impurity. This paper outlines the process of fabricating a gate-tunable graphene device decorated with individual Coulomb impurities for combined STM/STS studies.2-5 These studies provide valuable insights into the underlying physics, as well as signposts for designing hybrid graphene devices. PMID:26273961

Flexible Graphene Electrodes for Prolonged Dynamic ECG Monitoring

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cunguang Lou

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the development of a graphene-based dry flexible electrocardiography (ECG electrode and a portable wireless ECG measurement system. First, graphene films on polyethylene terephthalate (PET substrates and graphene paper were used to construct the ECG electrode. Then, a graphene textile was synthesized for the fabrication of a wearable ECG monitoring system. The structure and the electrical properties of the graphene electrodes were evaluated using Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM, and alternating current impedance spectroscopy. ECG signals were then collected from healthy subjects using the developed graphene electrode and portable measurement system. The results show that the graphene electrode was able to acquire the typical characteristics and features of human ECG signals with a high signal-to-noise (SNR ratio in different states of motion. A week-long continuous wearability test showed no degradation in the ECG signal quality over time. The graphene-based flexible electrode demonstrates comfortability, good biocompatibility, and high electrophysiological detection sensitivity. The graphene electrode also combines the potential for use in long-term wearable dynamic cardiac activity monitoring systems with convenience and comfort for use in home health care of elderly and high-risk adults.

High-Definition Computed Tomography for Coronary Artery Stent Imaging: a Phantom Study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yang, Wen Jie; Chen, Ke Min; Pang, Li Fang; Zhang, Huang; Pan, Zi Lai [Rui Jin Hospital, Medical School, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shangha (China); Guo, Ying; Li, Jian Ying [Beijing Economic and Technology Development Area, Beijing (China)

2012-01-15

To assess the performance of a high-definition CT (HDCT) for imaging small caliber coronary stents ({<=} 3 mm) by comparing different scan modes of a conventional 64-row standard-definition CT (SDCT). A cardiac phantom with twelve stents (2.5 mm and 3.0 mm in diameter) was scanned by HDCT and SDCT. The scan modes were retrospective electrocardiography (ECG)-gated helical and prospective ECG-triggered axial with tube voltages of 120 kVp and 100 kVp, respectively. The inner stent diameters (ISD) and the in-stent attenuation value (AVin-stent) and the in-vessel extra-stent attenuation value (AVin-vessel) were measured by two observers. The artificial lumen narrowing (ALN = [ISD - ISDmeasured]/ISD) and artificial attenuation increase between in-stent and in-vessel (AAI = AVin-stent - AVin-vessel) were calculated. All data was analyzed by intraclass correlation and ANOVA-test. The correlation coefficient of ISD, AVin-vessel and AVin-stent between the two observers was good. The ALNs of HDCT were statistically lower than that of SDCT (30 {+-} 5.7% versus 35 {+-} 5.4%, p < 0.05). HDCT had statistically lower AAI values than SDCT (15.7 {+-} 81.4 HU versus 71.4 {+-} 90.5 HU, p < 0.05). The prospective axial dataset demonstrated smaller ALN than the retrospective helical dataset on both HDCT and SDCT (p < 0.05). Additionally, there were no differences in ALN between the 120 kVp and 100 kVp tube voltages on HDCT (p = 0.05). High-definition CT helps improve measurement accuracy for imaging coronary stents compared to SDCT. HDCT with 100 kVp and the prospective ECG-triggered axial technique, with a lower radiation dose than 120 kVp application, may be advantageous in evaluating coronary stents with smaller calibers ({<=} 3 mm).

Audiovisual biofeedback improves image quality and reduces scan time for respiratory-gated 3D MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, D; Keall, P; Kim, T; Greer, P B; Arm, J

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that audiovisual (AV) biofeedback can improve image quality and reduce scan time for respiratory-gated 3D thoracic MRI. For five healthy human subjects respiratory motion guidance in MR scans was provided using an AV biofeedback system, utilizing real-time respiratory motion signals. To investigate the improvement of respiratory-gated 3D MR images between free breathing (FB) and AV biofeedback (AV), each subject underwent two imaging sessions. Respiratory-related motion artifacts and imaging time were qualitatively evaluated in addition to the reproducibility of external (abdominal) motion. In the results, 3D MR images in AV biofeedback showed more anatomic information such as a clear distinction of diaphragm, lung lobes and sharper organ boundaries. The scan time was reduced from 401±215 s in FB to 334±94 s in AV (p-value 0.36). The root mean square variation of the displacement and period of the abdominal motion was reduced from 0.4±0.22 cm and 2.8±2.5 s in FB to 0.1±0.15 cm and 0.9±1.3 s in AV (p-value of displacement <0.01 and p-value of period 0.12). This study demonstrated that audiovisual biofeedback improves image quality and reduces scan time for respiratory-gated 3D MRI. These results suggest that AV biofeedback has the potential to be a useful motion management tool in medical imaging and radiation therapy procedures.

Measurement and comparison of left ventricular ejection fraction utilizing first transit and gated scintiangiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fletcher, J.W.; Herbig, F.K.; Daly, J.L.; Walter, K.E.

1975-01-01

Paired serial radionuclide scans were used for determinations of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in open chest dogs with constant cardiac output and varying ventricular rates following the left atrial injection of 99m-Tc human serum albumin. Values of LVEF obtained by first transit (high frequency) data analysis and ECG-gated scintiphotography were obtained over a wide range of ventricular rate and stroke volume. The results of this study show no significant difference in LVEF as determined by both of these methods of data acquisition and analysis and demonstrate the feasibility of rapid serial determination of LVEF by radioisotope techniques

Evaluation of diastolic phase by left ventricular volume curve using s2-gated equilibrium method among radioisotope angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Yoshirou; Sakai, Akira; Inada, Mitsuo; Shiraishi, Tomokuni; Kobayashi, Akitoshi

1982-01-01

S2-gated (the second heart sound) method was designed by authors. In 6 normal subjects and 16 patients (old myocardial infarction 12 cases, hypertension 2 cases and aortic regurgitation 2 cases), radioisotope (RI) angiography using S2-gated equilibrium method was performed. In RI angiography, sup(99m)Tc-human serum albumin (HSA) 555MBq (15mCi) as tracer, PDP11/34 as minicomputer and PCG/ECG symchromizer (Metro Inst.) were used. Then left ventricular (LV) volume curve by S2-gated and electrocardiogram (ECG) R wave-gated method were obtained. Using LV volume curve, left ventricular ejection fraction (EF), mean ejection rate (mER, s -1 ), mean filling rate (mFR, -1 ) and rapid filling fraction (RFF) were calculated. mFR indicated mean filling rate during rapid filling phase. RFF was defined as the filling fraction during rapid filling phase among stroke volume. S2-gated method was reliable in evaluation of early diastolic phase, compared with ECG-gated method. There was the difference between RFF in normal group and myocardial infarction (MI) group (p < 0.005). RFF in 2 groups were correlated with EF (r = 0.82, p < 0.01). RFF was useful in evaluating MI cases who had normal EF values. The comparison with mER by ECG-gated and mFR by S2-gated was useful in evaluating MI cases who had normal mER values. mFR was remarkably lower than mER in MI group, but was equal to mER in normal group approximately. In conclusion, the evaluation using RFF and mFR by S2-gated method was useful in MI cases who had normal systolic phase indices. (author)

Automatic extraction of left ventricular mass and volumes using parametric images from non-ECG-gated 15O-water PET/CT

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nordström, J; Harms, Hans; Lubberink, Mark

of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of measuring LV geometry using dynamic 15O-water PET/CT without ECG-gating. Methods: Parametric images of MBF, perfusable tissue fraction (PTF) and LV blood pool were generated automatically using kinetic modelling. Segmentation of the LV wall using PTF......Introduction: 15O-water positron emission tomography (PET) is considered the gold standard for non-invasive quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF). It has been shown to identify patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) with high accuracy. Hypertrophy with or without dilatation...... combined to measure stroke volume (SV=EDV-ESV) and ejection fraction (EF=SV/EDV). Accuracy was determined by comparing PET to cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in 30 asymptomatic patients with high grade LV regurgitation (group A). Precision was determined as inter-observer variation in group...

Seismocardiography-Based Cardiac Computed Tomography Gating Using Patient-Specific Template Identification and Detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Yao, Jingting; Tridandapani, Srini; Wick, Carson A; Bhatti, Pamela T

2017-01-01

To more accurately trigger cardiac computed tomography angiography (CTA) than electrocardiography (ECG) alone, a sub-system is proposed as an intermediate step toward fusing ECG with seismocardiography (SCG). Accurate prediction of quiescent phases is crucial to prospectively gating CTA, which is susceptible to cardiac motion and, thus, can affect the diagnostic quality of images. The key innovation of this sub-system is that it identifies the SCG waveform corresponding to heart sounds and determines their phases within the cardiac cycles. Furthermore, this relationship is modeled as a linear function with respect to heart rate. For this paper, B-mode echocardiography is used as the gold standard for identifying the quiescent phases. We analyzed synchronous ECG, SCG, and echocardiography data acquired from seven healthy subjects (mean age: 31; age range: 22-48; males: 4) and 11 cardiac patients (mean age: 56; age range: 31-78; males: 6). On average, the proposed algorithm was able to successfully identify 79% of the SCG waveforms in systole and 68% in diastole. The simulated results show that SCG-based prediction produced less average phase error than that of ECG. It was found that the accuracy of ECG-based gating is more susceptible to increases in heart rate variability, while SCG-based gating is susceptible to high cycle to cycle variability in morphology. This pilot work of prediction using SCG waveforms enriches the framework of a comprehensive system with multiple modalities that could potentially, in real time, improve the image quality of CTA.

ECG-triggered MDR-CT for the detection of pulmonary metastases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pauls, S.; Wahl, J.; Aschoff, A.J.; Brambs, H.J.; Fleiter, T.R.

2003-01-01

Purpose: Comparison of multidetector-row CT (MDR-CT) of the chest with and without ECG triggering for the detection of pulmonary metastases. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients with malignant tumors underwent CT of the chest. The unenhanced phase was performed with ECG-triggered MDR-CT and the contrast-enhanced phase with helical MDR-CT. The ECG-triggered and standard helical scans were interpreted in separate sessions, with the analysis determining the number and demarcation of the intrapulmonary nodules and the delineation of the mediastinal structure (rated 1 = excellent to 5 = poor). Results: ECG-MDR-CT images detected 38% more pulmonary nodules than MDR-CT. The detection rate for tumors [de

Assessing ECG signal quality indices to discriminate ECGs with artefacts from pathologically different arrhythmic ECGs.

Science.gov (United States)

Daluwatte, C; Johannesen, L; Galeotti, L; Vicente, J; Strauss, D G; Scully, C G

2016-08-01

False and non-actionable alarms in critical care can be reduced by developing algorithms which assess the trueness of an arrhythmia alarm from a bedside monitor. Computational approaches that automatically identify artefacts in ECG signals are an important branch of physiological signal processing which tries to address this issue. Signal quality indices (SQIs) derived considering differences between artefacts which occur in ECG signals and normal QRS morphology have the potential to discriminate pathologically different arrhythmic ECG segments as artefacts. Using ECG signals from the PhysioNet/Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2015 training set, we studied previously reported ECG SQIs in the scientific literature to differentiate ECG segments with artefacts from arrhythmic ECG segments. We found that the ability of SQIs to discriminate between ECG artefacts and arrhythmic ECG varies based on arrhythmia type since the pathology of each arrhythmic ECG waveform is different. Therefore, to reduce the risk of SQIs classifying arrhythmic events as noise it is important to validate and test SQIs with databases that include arrhythmias. Arrhythmia specific SQIs may also minimize the risk of misclassifying arrhythmic events as noise.

Fully automated intrinsic respiratory and cardiac gating for small animal CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuntz, J; Baeuerle, T; Semmler, W; Bartling, S H [Department of Medical Physics in Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Dinkel, J [Department of Radiology, German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg (Germany); Zwick, S [Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Medical Physics, Freiburg University (Germany); Grasruck, M [Siemens Healthcare, Forchheim (Germany); Kiessling, F [Chair of Experimental Molecular Imaging, RWTH-Aachen University, Medical Faculty, Aachen (Germany); Gupta, R [Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA (United States)], E-mail: j.kuntz@dkfz.de

2010-04-07

A fully automated, intrinsic gating algorithm for small animal cone-beam CT is described and evaluated. A parameter representing the organ motion, derived from the raw projection images, is used for both cardiac and respiratory gating. The proposed algorithm makes it possible to reconstruct motion-corrected still images as well as to generate four-dimensional (4D) datasets representing the cardiac and pulmonary anatomy of free-breathing animals without the use of electrocardiogram (ECG) or respiratory sensors. Variation analysis of projections from several rotations is used to place a region of interest (ROI) on the diaphragm. The ROI is cranially extended to include the heart. The centre of mass (COM) variation within this ROI, the filtered frequency response and the local maxima are used to derive a binary motion-gating parameter for phase-sensitive gated reconstruction. This algorithm was implemented on a flat-panel-based cone-beam CT scanner and evaluated using a moving phantom and animal scans (seven rats and eight mice). Volumes were determined using a semiautomatic segmentation. In all cases robust gating signals could be obtained. The maximum volume error in phantom studies was less than 6%. By utilizing extrinsic gating via externally placed cardiac and respiratory sensors, the functional parameters (e.g. cardiac ejection fraction) and image quality were equivalent to this current gold standard. This algorithm obviates the necessity of both gating hardware and user interaction. The simplicity of the proposed algorithm enables adoption in a wide range of small animal cone-beam CT scanners.

Scan direction induced charging dynamics and the application for detection of gate to S/D shorts in logic devices

Science.gov (United States)

Lei, Ming; Tian, Qing; Wu, Kevin; Zhao, Yan

2016-03-01

Gate to source/drain (S/D) short is the most common and detrimental failure mechanism for advanced process technology development in Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor-Field-Effect-Transistor (MOSFET) device manufacturing. Especially for sub-1Xnm nodes, MOSFET device is more vulnerable to gate-S/D shorts due to the aggressive scaling. The detection of this kind of electrical short defect is always challenging for in-line electron beam inspection (EBI), especially new shorting mechanisms on atomic scale due to new material/process flow implementation. The second challenge comes from the characterization of the shorts including identification of the exact shorting location. In this paper, we demonstrate unique scan direction induced charging dynamics (SDCD) phenomenon which stems from the transistor level response from EBI scan at post metal contact chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) layers. We found that SDCD effect is exceptionally useful for gate-S/D short induced voltage contrast (VC) defect detection, especially for identification of shorting locations. The unique SDCD effect signatures of gate-S/D shorts can be used as fingerprint for ground true shorting defect detection. Correlation with other characterization methods on the same defective location from EBI scan shows consistent results from various shorting mechanism. A practical work flow to implement the application of SDCD effect for in-line EBI monitor of critical gate-S/D short defects is also proposed, together with examples of successful application use cases which mostly focus on static random-access memory (SRAM) array regions. Although the capability of gate-S/D short detection as well as expected device response is limited to passing transistors and pull-down transistors due to the design restriction from standard 6-cell SRAM structure, SDCD effect is proven to be very effective for gate-S/D short induced VC defect detection as well as yield learning for advanced technology development.

The effects of tumor motion on planning and delivery of respiratory-gated IMRT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hugo, Geoffrey D.; Agazaryan, Nzhde; Solberg, Timothy D.

2003-01-01

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of object motion on the planning and delivery of IMRT. Two phantoms containing objects were imaged using CT under a variety of motion conditions. The effects of object motion on axial CT acquisition with and without gating were assessed qualitatively and quantitatively. Measurements of effective slice width and position for the CT scans were made. Mutual information image fusion was adapted for use as a quantitative measure of object deformation in CT images. IMRT plans were generated on the CT scans of the moving and gated object images. These plans were delivered with motion, with and without gating, and the delivery error between the moving deliveries and a nonmoving delivery was assessed using a scalable vector-based index. Motion during CT acquisition produces motion artifact, object deformation, and object mispositioning, which can be substantially reduced with gating. Objects that vary in cross section in the direction of motion exhibit the most deformation in CT images. Mutual information provides a useful quantitative estimate of object deformation. The delivery of IMRT in the presence of target motion significantly alters the delivered dose distribution in relation to the planned distribution. The utilization of gating for IMRT treatment, including imaging, planning, and delivery, significantly reduces the errors introduced by object motion

Prospectively Electrocardiogram-Gated High-Pitch Spiral Acquisition Mode Dual-Source CT Coronary Angiography in Patients with High Heart Rates: Comparison with Retrospective Electrocardiogram-Gated Spiral Acquisition Mode

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Sun, Kai; Ma, Rui; Wang, Li Jun [Dept. of Radiology, Baotou Central Hospital, Baotou (China); Li, Li Gang; Chen, Jiu Hong [CT BM Clinic Marketing, Siemens Healthcare, Beijing (China)

2012-11-15

To assess the image quality and effective radiation dose of prospectively electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated high-pitch spiral acquisition mode (flash mode) of dual-source CT (DSCT) coronary angiography (CTCA) in patients with high heart rates (HRs) as compared with retrospectively ECG-gated spiral acquisition mode. Two hundred and sixty-eight consecutive patients (132 female, mean age: 55 {+-} 11 years) with mean HR > 65 beats per minute (bpm) were prospectively included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups. Collection was performed in group A CTCA using flash mode setting at 20-30% of the R-R interval, and retrospectively ECG-gated spiral acquisition mode in group B. The image noise, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), image quality scores, effective radiation dose and influencing factors on image quality between the two groups were assessed. There were no significant differences in image quality scores and proportions of non-diagnostic coronary artery segments between two groups (image quality scores: 1.064 {+-} 0.306 [group A] vs. 1.084 {+-} 0.327 [group B], p = 0.063; proportion of non-diagnostic coronary artery segments: segment-based analysis 1.52% (group A) vs. 1.74% (group B), p = 0.345; patient-based analysis 7.5% (group A) vs. 6.7% (group B), p = 0.812). The estimated radiation dose was 1.0 {+-} 0.16 mSv in group A and 7.1 {+-} 1.05 mSv in group B (p = 0.001). In conclusion, in patients with HRs > 65 bpm without cardiac arrhythmia, the prospectively high-pitch spiral-acquisition mode with image-acquired timing set at 20-30% of the R-R interval provides a similar image quality and low rate of non-diagnostic coronary segments to the retrospectively ECG-gated low-pitch spiral acquisition mode, with significant reduction of radiation exposure.

Prospectively Electrocardiogram-Gated High-Pitch Spiral Acquisition Mode Dual-Source CT Coronary Angiography in Patients with High Heart Rates: Comparison with Retrospective Electrocardiogram-Gated Spiral Acquisition Mode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Kai; Ma, Rui; Wang, Li Jun; Li, Li Gang; Chen, Jiu Hong

2012-01-01

To assess the image quality and effective radiation dose of prospectively electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated high-pitch spiral acquisition mode (flash mode) of dual-source CT (DSCT) coronary angiography (CTCA) in patients with high heart rates (HRs) as compared with retrospectively ECG-gated spiral acquisition mode. Two hundred and sixty-eight consecutive patients (132 female, mean age: 55 ± 11 years) with mean HR > 65 beats per minute (bpm) were prospectively included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups. Collection was performed in group A CTCA using flash mode setting at 20-30% of the R-R interval, and retrospectively ECG-gated spiral acquisition mode in group B. The image noise, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), image quality scores, effective radiation dose and influencing factors on image quality between the two groups were assessed. There were no significant differences in image quality scores and proportions of non-diagnostic coronary artery segments between two groups (image quality scores: 1.064 ± 0.306 [group A] vs. 1.084 ± 0.327 [group B], p = 0.063; proportion of non-diagnostic coronary artery segments: segment-based analysis 1.52% (group A) vs. 1.74% (group B), p = 0.345; patient-based analysis 7.5% (group A) vs. 6.7% (group B), p = 0.812). The estimated radiation dose was 1.0 ± 0.16 mSv in group A and 7.1 ± 1.05 mSv in group B (p = 0.001). In conclusion, in patients with HRs > 65 bpm without cardiac arrhythmia, the prospectively high-pitch spiral-acquisition mode with image-acquired timing set at 20-30% of the R-R interval provides a similar image quality and low rate of non-diagnostic coronary segments to the retrospectively ECG-gated low-pitch spiral acquisition mode, with significant reduction of radiation exposure.

The effect of relaxing music on heart rate and heart rate variability during ECG GATED-myocardial perfusion scintigraphy.

Science.gov (United States)

Tan, Yusuf Ziya; Ozdemir, Semra; Temiz, Ahmet; Celik, Fatmanur

2015-05-01

The positive changes in human behavior caused by relaxing music demonstrate the psychological effect of music on human body. A meta-analytical study has shown that relaxing music affects blood pressure and heart rate in coronary heart patients and cancer patients. The aim of our study is to research whether there is a significant effect on heart rate and heart rate variability due to listening to relaxing music during ECG GATED MPS imaging under gamma camera. The music group (n = 50 patients) could choose from 15 different musical types including folk music (no lyric). The other 50 patients were placed in a "no music group" and did not get headphones or any music. There was a statistically significant reduction in the heart rate of patients in the music group compared to those in the control group. Relaxing music provides great benefits to both patient and clinician. There is close relationship between relaxing music and health procedure, can use every area of the health noninvasiv, safe, cheap and is a method don't have side effect. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An incidental finding of myocardial uptake on HDP bone scan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, T.

1998-01-01

Full text: A 75 year old male referred with a history of wrist pain for a HDP bone scan(700Mbq) had dynamic and blood pool images. A posterior sweep and planar images were performed after 2 hours. The scan demonstrated a fracture of the left radial styloid, other degenerative arthritis and diffuse tracer uptake throughout the myocardium. The differential diagnoses included cardiac amyloid, myocardial infarction (MI) and calcific pericarditis. The patient, a non insulin dependent diabetic with previous MI in 1978 and hypertension had nocturnal dyspnoea and no chest pain. Chest X-ray was normal. ECG revealed old inferior infarct. Echocardiography showed mild hypokinesis of the inferior wall, low normal LV contractility, normal pericardium and no evidence of amyloid. A Rest (400Mbq) / Stress(1200Mbq) Sestamibi(MIBI) was performed to assess status of ischaemic heart disease (IHD). The patient experienced leg fatigue and shortness of breath but no chest pain. Rest ECG showed sinus bradycardia with ST/T wave changes. Stress ECG showed ST segment depression (0.5mm). Planar and SPECT studies showed reversible perfusion defects in the anterior wall and apex with a fixed inferolateral defect. Gated SPECT showed normal wall motion apart from the inferolateral infarct. The exact cause of the HDP uptake in the myocardium is unknown. The echo findings exclude amyloid or pericarditis. The MIBI study confirmed a small inferolateral infarct and myocardial ischaemia in the anterior wall and apex. The scan has affected patient management by diagnosing a fracture of the radial styloid and confirming previous infarction and myocardial ischaemia. An open view must be taken of the cardiac HDP uptake. The most likely diagnosis in this patient is silent IHD, which has been demonstrated in one other case known to us

Respiratory gating of cardiac PET data in list-mode acquisition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Livieratos, Lefteris; Rajappan, Kim; Camici, Paolo G.; Stegger, Lars; Schafers, Klaus; Bailey, Dale L.

2006-01-01

Respiratory motion has been identified as a source of artefacts in most medical imaging modalities. This paper reports on respiratory gating as a means to eliminate motion-related inaccuracies in PET imaging. Respiratory gating was implemented in list mode with physiological signal recorded every millisecond together with the PET data. Respiration was monitored with an inductive respiration monitor using an elasticised belt around the patient's chest. Simultaneous ECG gating can be maintained independently by encoding ECG trigger signal into the list-mode data. Respiratory gating is performed in an off-line workstation with gating parameters defined retrospectively. The technique was applied on a preliminary set of patient data with C 15 O. Motion was visually observed in the cine displays of the sagittal and coronal views of the reconstructed respiratory gated images. Significant changes in the cranial-caudal position of the heart could be observed. The centroid of the cardiac blood pool showed an excursion of 4.5-16.5 mm (mean 8.5±4.8 mm) in the cranial-caudal direction, with more limited excursion of 1.1-7.0 mm (mean 2.5±2.2 mm) in the horizontal direction and 1.3-3.7 mm (mean 2.4±0.9 mm) in the vertical direction. These preliminary data show that the extent of motion involved in respiration is comparable to myocardial wall thickness, and respiratory gating may be considered in order to reduce this effect in the reconstructed images. (orig.)

Respiratory gating of cardiac PET data in list-mode acquisition.

Science.gov (United States)

Livieratos, Lefteris; Rajappan, Kim; Stegger, Lars; Schafers, Klaus; Bailey, Dale L; Camici, Paolo G

2006-05-01

Respiratory motion has been identified as a source of artefacts in most medical imaging modalities. This paper reports on respiratory gating as a means to eliminate motion-related inaccuracies in PET imaging. Respiratory gating was implemented in list mode with physiological signal recorded every millisecond together with the PET data. Respiration was monitored with an inductive respiration monitor using an elasticised belt around the patient's chest. Simultaneous ECG gating can be maintained independently by encoding ECG trigger signal into the list-mode data. Respiratory gating is performed in an off-line workstation with gating parameters defined retrospectively. The technique was applied on a preliminary set of patient data with C(15)O. Motion was visually observed in the cine displays of the sagittal and coronal views of the reconstructed respiratory gated images. Significant changes in the cranial-caudal position of the heart could be observed. The centroid of the cardiac blood pool showed an excursion of 4.5-16.5 mm (mean 8.5+/-4.8 mm) in the cranial-caudal direction, with more limited excursion of 1.1-7.0 mm (mean 2.5+/-2.2 mm) in the horizontal direction and 1.3-3.7 mm (mean 2.4+/-0.9 mm) in the vertical direction. These preliminary data show that the extent of motion involved in respiration is comparable to myocardial wall thickness, and respiratory gating may be considered in order to reduce this effect in the reconstructed images.

Computer-based automated left atrium segmentation and volumetry from ECG-gated coronary CT angiography data. Comparison with manual slice segmentation and ultrasound planimetric methods

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bauer, R.W.; Kraus, B.; Kerl, J.M.; Lehnert, T.; Vogl, T.J. [Universitaetsklinikum Frankfurt (Germany). Inst. fuer Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie; Bernhardt, D.; Vega-Higuera, F. [Siemens AG, Healthcare Sector, Forchheim (Germany). Computed Tomography; Ackermann, H. [Universitaetsklinikum Frankfurt (Germany). Inst. fuer Biostatistik und Mathematische Modellierung

2010-12-15

Purpose: Enlargement of the left atrium is a risk factor for cardiovascular or cerebrovascular events. We evaluated the performance of prototype software for fully automated segmentation and volumetry of the left atrium. Materials and Methods: In 34 retrospectively ECG-gated coronary CT angiography scans, the end-systolic (LAVsys) and end-diastolic (LAVdia) volume of the left atrium was calculated fully automatically by prototype software. Manual slice segmentation by two independent experienced radiologists served as the reference standard. Furthermore, two independent observers calculated the LAV utilizing two ultrasound planimetric methods ('area length' and 'prolate ellipse') on CTA images. Measurement periods were compared for all methods. Results: The left atrial volumes calculated with the prototype software were in excellent agreement with the results from manual slice segmentation (r = 0.97 - 0.99; p < 0.001; Bland-Altman) with excellent interobserver agreement between both radiologists (r = 0.99; p < 0.001). Ultrasound planimetric methods clearly showed a higher variation (r = 0.72 - 0.86) with moderate interobserver agreement (r = 0.51 - 0.79). The measurement period was significantly lower with the software (267 {+-} 28 sec; p < 0.001) than with ultrasound methods (431 {+-} 68 sec) or manual slice segmentation (567 {+-} 91 sec). Conclusion: The prototype software showed excellent agreement with manual slice segmentation with the least time consumption. This will facilitate the routine assessment of the LA volume from coronary CTA data and therefore risk stratification. (orig.)

Evaluation of left ventricular function using electrocardiographically gated myocardial SPECT with (123)I-labeled fatty acid analog.

Science.gov (United States)

Nanasato, M; Ando, A; Isobe, S; Nonokawa, M; Hirayama, H; Tsuboi, N; Ito, T; Hirai, M; Yokota, M; Saito, H

2001-12-01

Electrocardiographically (ECG) gated myocardial SPECT with (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin has been used widely to assess left ventricular (LV) function. However, the accuracy of variables using ECG gated myocardial SPECT with beta-methyl-p-(123)I-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid (BMIPP) has not been well defined. Thirty-six patients (29 men, 7 women; mean age, 61.6 +/- 15.6 y) with ischemic heart disease underwent ECG gated myocardial SPECT with (123)I-BMIPP and with (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin and left ventriculography (LVG) within 1 wk. LV ejection fraction (LVEF), LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV), and LV end-systolic volume (LVESV) were determined on gated SPECT using commercially available software for automatic data analysis. These volume-related items on LVG were calculated with an area-length method and were estimated by 2 independent observers to evaluate interobserver validity. The regional wall motion with these methods was assessed visually. LVEF was 41.1% +/- 12.5% on gated SPECT with (123)I-BMIPP, 44.5% +/- 13.1% on gated SPECT with (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin, and 46.0% +/- 12.7% on LVG. Global LV function and regional wall motion between both gated SPECT procedures had excellent correlation (LVEF, r = 0.943; LVEDV, r = 0.934; LVESV, r = 0.952; regional wall motion, kappa = 0.92). However, the correlations of global LV function and regional wall motion between each gated SPECT and LVG were significantly lower. Gated SPECT with (123)I-BMIPP showed the same interobserver validity as gated SPECT with (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin. Gated SPECT with (123)I-BMIPP provides high accuracy with regard to LV function and is sufficiently applicable for use in clinical SPECT. This technique can simultaneously reveal myocardial fatty acid metabolism and LV function, which may be useful to evaluate various cardiac diseases.

64-slice spiral CT coronary angiography with prospective electrocardiogram-gating: an initial study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuan Xuchun; Wang Xianzhu; Liao Wenling; Chen Qin; Deng Huiyi

2008-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-gating computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA). Methods: Sixty patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease underwent 64-slice CTCA using prospective ECG-gating. Multi-planar reconstruction ( MPR), curved-planar reconstruction (CPR), maximum intensity projection (MIP) and volume rendering (VR) were used to demonstrate the coronary arteries. The image quality and radiation dose was evaluated. Results: The mean effective radiation dose was (2.7±0.2) mSv. 93.3% (720/772) segments of all coronary arteries were of diagnostic image quality, 44.2% (341/772)was classified as excellent and 49.1% (379/772)was good. Non-diagnostic coronary segments were found in 6.7% (52/772) of all coronary arteries. There were 5(8.3%) cases with severe coronary stenosis(>75%) or occlusion, 17 (28.4%) cases with moderate stenosis (50%-75%), 18 (30.0%) cases with mild stenosis (<50% )or irregular lumen, 20(33.3%) cases with normal coronary, artery. Conclusion: With a low radiation dose, prospective electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated coronary 64-MSCT angiography has a good potential for the detection of coronary stenosis, especially for excluding coronary artery disease. (authors)

Use of multidetector-row computed tomography scan to detect pannus formation in prosthetic mechanical aortic valves.

Science.gov (United States)

Aladmawi, Mohamed A; Pragliola, Claudio; Vriz, Olga; Galzerano, Domenico

2017-04-01

Obstruction of a mechanical aortic valve by pannus formation at the subvalvular level is a major long-term complication of aortic valve replacement (AVR). In fact, pannus is sometime difficult to differentiate from patient-prosthesis mismatch or valve thrombosis. In most cases cine-angiography and echocardiography, either transthoracic or transesophageal, cannot correctly visualize the complication when the leaflets show a normal mobility. Recent technological refinements made this difficult diagnosis possible by ECG-gated computed tomography (CT) scan which shows adequate images in 90% of the cases and can differentiate pannus from fresh and organized thrombus.

FPGA-based electrocardiography (ECG signal analysis system using least-square linear phase finite impulse response (FIR filter

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohamed G. Egila

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a proposed design for analyzing electrocardiography (ECG signals. This methodology employs highpass least-square linear phase Finite Impulse Response (FIR filtering technique to filter out the baseline wander noise embedded in the input ECG signal to the system. Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT was utilized as a feature extraction methodology to extract the reduced feature set from the input ECG signal. The design uses back propagation neural network classifier to classify the input ECG signal. The system is implemented on Xilinx 3AN-XC3S700AN Field Programming Gate Array (FPGA board. A system simulation has been done. The design is compared with some other designs achieving total accuracy of 97.8%, and achieving reduction in utilizing resources on FPGA implementation.

New methodologies for measuring Brugada ECG patterns cannot differentiate the ECG pattern of Brugada syndrome from Brugada phenocopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottschalk, Byron H; Garcia-Niebla, Javier; Anselm, Daniel D; Jaidka, Atul; De Luna, Antoni Bayés; Baranchuk, Adrian

2016-01-01

Brugada phenocopies (BrP) are clinical entities characterized by ECG patterns that are identical to true Brugada syndrome (BrS), but are elicited by various clinical circumstances. A recent study demonstrated that the patterns of BrP and BrS are indistinguishable under the naked eye, thereby validating the concept that the patterns are identical. The aim of our study was to determine whether recently developed ECG criteria would allow for discrimination between type-2 BrS ECG pattern and type-2 BrP ECG pattern. Ten ECGs from confirmed BrS (aborted sudden death, transformation into type 1 upon sodium channel blocking test and/or ventricular arrhythmias, positive genetics) cases and 9 ECGs from confirmed BrP were included in the study. Surface 12-lead ECGs were scanned, saved in JPEG format for blind measurement of two values: (i) β-angle; and (ii) the base of the triangle. Cut-off values of ≥58° for the β-angle and ≥4mm for the base of the triangle were used to determine the BrS ECG pattern. Mean values for the β-angle in leads V1 and V2 were 66.7±25.5 and 55.4±28.1 for BrS and 54.1±26.5 and 43.1±16.1 for BrP respectively (p=NS). Mean values for the base of the triangle in V1 and V2 were 7.5±3.9 and 5.7±3.9 for BrS and 5.6±3.2 and 4.7±2.7 for BrP respectively (p=NS). The β-angle had a sensitivity of 60%, specificity of 78% (LR+ 2.7, LR- 0.5). The base of the triangle had a sensitivity of 80%, specificity of 40% (LR+ 1.4, LR- 0.5). New ECG criteria presented relatively low sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative predictive values to discriminate between BrS and BrP ECG patterns, providing further evidence that the two patterns are identical. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Clinical indications for Thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scanning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dunn, R.J.; Kelly, D.T.

1982-01-01

Thallium-201 myocardial perfusion scanning can assess regional myocardial perfusion non-invasively. As it is both time-consuming and expensive its use should be restricted to specific diagnostic problems. The clinical indications in known or suspected coronary artery disease are reviewed. In suspected coronary artery disease thallium scanning is most useful in patients with chest pain when the exercise ECG is uninterpretable, in men with probable angina but a negative exercise ECG, or conversely a positive exercise ECG without typical angina, and in women with probable angina and either a positive or a negative exercise ECG. In known coronary artery disease, thallium scanning may help determine the functional significance of a coronary obstruction found at angiography and may determine the site of myocardial ischaemia when multiple obstructions are present

A new method for measuring temporal resolution in electrocardiogram-gated reconstruction image with area-detector computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaneko, Takeshi; Takagi, Masachika; Kato, Ryohei; Anno, Hirofumi; Kobayashi, Masanao; Yoshimi, Satoshi; Sanda, Yoshihiro; Katada, Kazuhiro

2012-01-01

The purpose of this study was to design and construct a phantom for using motion artifact in the electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated reconstruction image. In addition, the temporal resolution under various conditions was estimated. A stepping motor was used to move the phantom over an arc in a reciprocating manner. The program for controlling the stepping motor permitted the stationary period and the heart rate to be adjusted as desired. Images of the phantom were obtained using a 320-row area-detector computed tomography (ADCT) system under various conditions using the ECG-gated reconstruction method. For estimation, the reconstruction phase was continuously changed and the motion artifacts were quantitatively assessed. The temporal resolution was calculated from the number of motion-free images. Changes in the temporal resolution according to heart rate, rotation time, the number of reconstruction segments and acquisition position in z-axis were also investigated. The measured temporal resolution of ECG-gated half reconstruction is 180 ms, which is in good agreement with the nominal temporal resolution of 175 ms. The measured temporal resolution of ECG-gated segmental reconstruction is in good agreement with the nominal temporal resolution in most cases. The estimated temporal resolution improved to approach the nominal temporal resolution as the number of reconstruction segments was increased. Temporal resolution in changing acquisition position is equal. This study shows that we could design a new phantom for estimating temporal resolution. (author)

Detection of respiratory tumour motion using intrinsic list mode-driven gating in positron emission tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Büther, Florian; Ernst, Iris; Dawood, Mohammad; Kraxner, Peter; Schäfers, Michael; Schober, Otmar; Schäfers, Klaus P

2010-12-01

Respiratory motion of organs during PET scans is known to degrade PET image quality, potentially resulting in blurred images, attenuation artefacts and erroneous tracer quantification. List mode-based gating has been shown to reduce these pitfalls in cardiac PET. This study evaluates these intrinsic gating methods for tumour PET scans. A total of 34 patients with liver or lung tumours (14 liver tumours and 27 lung tumours in all) underwent a 15-min single-bed list mode PET scan of the tumour region. Of these, 15 patients (8 liver and 11 lung tumours in total) were monitored by a video camera registering a marker on the patient's abdomen, thus capturing the respiratory motion for PET gating (video method). Further gating information was deduced by dividing the list mode stream into 200-ms frames, determining the number of coincidences (sensitivity method) and computing the axial centre of mass of the measured count rates in the same frames (centre of mass method). Additionally, these list mode-based methods were evaluated using only coincidences originating from the tumour region by segmenting the tumour in sinogram space (segmented sensitivity/centre of mass method). Measured displacement of the tumours between end-expiration and end-inspiration and the increase in apparent uptake in the gated images served as a measure for the exactness of gating. To estimate the accuracy, a thorax phantom study with moved activity sources simulating small tumours was also performed. All methods resolved the respiratory motion with varying success. The best results were seen in the segmented centre of mass method, on average leading to larger displacements and uptake values than the other methods. The simple centre of mass method performed worse in terms of displacements due to activities moving into the field of view during the respiratory cycle. Both sensitivity- and video-based methods lead to similar results. List mode-driven PET gating, especially the segmented centre of mass

ECG De-noising

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kærgaard, Kevin; Jensen, Søren Hjøllund; Puthusserypady, Sadasivan

2015-01-01

Electrocardiogram (ECG) is a widely used noninvasive method to study the rhythmic activity of the heart and thereby to detect the abnormalities. However, these signals are often obscured by artifacts from various sources and minimization of these artifacts are of paramount important. This paper...... proposes two adaptive techniques, namely the EEMD-BLMS (Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition in conjunction with the Block Least Mean Square algorithm) and DWT-NN (Discrete Wavelet Transform followed by Neural Network) methods in minimizing the artifacts from recorded ECG signals, and compares...... their performance. These methods were first compared on two types of simulated noise corrupted ECG signals: Type-I (desired ECG+noise frequencies outside the ECG frequency band) and Type-II (ECG+noise frequencies both inside and outside the ECG frequency band). Subsequently, they were tested on real ECG recordings...

Effectiveness of respiratory-gated radiotherapy with audio-visual biofeedback for synchrotron-based scanned heavy-ion beam delivery

Science.gov (United States)

He, Pengbo; Li, Qiang; Zhao, Ting; Liu, Xinguo; Dai, Zhongying; Ma, Yuanyuan

2016-12-01

A synchrotron-based heavy-ion accelerator operates in pulse mode at a low repetition rate that is comparable to a patient’s breathing rate. To overcome inefficiencies and interplay effects between the residual motion of the target and the scanned heavy-ion beam delivery process for conventional free breathing (FB)-based gating therapy, a novel respiratory guidance method was developed to help patients synchronize their breathing patterns with the synchrotron excitation patterns by performing short breath holds with the aid of personalized audio-visual biofeedback (BFB) system. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the treatment precision, efficiency and reproducibility of the respiratory guidance method in scanned heavy-ion beam delivery mode. Using 96 breathing traces from eight healthy volunteers who were asked to breathe freely and guided to perform short breath holds with the aid of BFB, a series of dedicated four-dimensional dose calculations (4DDC) were performed on a geometric model which was developed assuming a linear relationship between external surrogate and internal tumor motions. The outcome of the 4DDCs was quantified in terms of the treatment time, dose-volume histograms (DVH) and dose homogeneity index. Our results show that with the respiratory guidance method the treatment efficiency increased by a factor of 2.23-3.94 compared with FB gating, depending on the duty cycle settings. The magnitude of dose inhomogeneity for the respiratory guidance methods was 7.5 times less than that of the non-gated irradiation, and good reproducibility of breathing guidance among different fractions was achieved. Thus, our study indicates that the respiratory guidance method not only improved the overall treatment efficiency of respiratory-gated scanned heavy-ion beam delivery, but also had the advantages of lower dose uncertainty and better reproducibility among fractions.

Partial flip angle spin-echo imaging to obtain T1 weighted images with electrocardiographic gating

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kawamitsu, Hideaki; Sugimura, Kazuro; Kasai, Toshifumi; Kimino, Katsuji

1993-01-01

ECG-gated spin-echo (SE) imaging can reduce physiologic motion artifact. However, it does not provide strong T 1 -weighted images, because the repetition time (TR) depends on heart rate (HR). For odd-echo SE imaging, T 1 contrast can be maximized by using a smaller flip angle (FA) of initial excitation RF pulses. We investigated the usefulness of partial FA SE imaging in order to obtain more T 1 -dependent contrast with ECG gating and determined the optimal FA at each heart rate. In computer simulation and phantom study, the predicted image contrast and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) obtained for each FA (0∼180deg) and each HR (55∼90 beats per minute (bpm)) were compared with those obtained with conventional T 1 -weighted SE imaging (TR=500 ms, TE=20 ms, FA=90deg). The optimal FA was decreased by reducing HR. The FA needed to obtain T 1 -dependent contrast identical to that with T 1 -weighted SE imaging was 43deg at a HR of 65 bpm, 53deg at 70 bpm, 60deg at 75 bpm. This predicted FA were in excellent agreement with that obtained with clinical evaluation. The predicted SNR was decreased by reducing FA. The SNR of partial FA SE imaging at HR of 65 bpm (FA=43deg) was 80% of that with conventional T 1 -weighted SE imaging. However, this imaging method presented no marked clinical problem. ECG-gated partial FA SE imaging provides better T 1 -dependent contrast than conventional ECG-gated SE imaging, especially for Gd-DTPA enhanced imaging. (author)

MO-FG-CAMPUS-JeP2-02: Audiovisual Biofeedback Guided Respiratory-Gated MRI: An Investigation of Tumor Definition and Scan Time for Lung Cancer

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, D; Pollock, S; Keall, P [University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW (Australia); Greer, P; Lapuz, C; Ludbrook, J [Calvary Mater Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW (Australia); Kim, T [Virginia Commonwealth University, Glen Allen, VA (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: Breathing consistency variations can cause respiratory-related motion blurring and artifacts and increase in MRI scan time due to inadequate respiratory-gating and discarding of breathing cycles. In a previous study the concept of audiovisual biofeedback (AV) guided respiratory-gated MRI was tested with healthy volunteers and it demonstrated image quality improvement on anatomical structures and scan time reduction. This study tests the applicability of AV-guided respiratorygated MRI for lung cancer in a prospective patient study. Methods: Image quality and scan time were investigated in thirteen lung cancer patients who underwent two 3T MRI sessions. In the first MRI session (pre-treatment), respiratory-gated MR images with free breathing (FB) and AV were acquired at inhalation and exhalation. An RF navigator placed on the liver dome was employed for the respiratory-gated MRI. This was repeated in the second MRI session (mid-treatment). Lung tumors were delineated on each dataset. FB and AV were compared in terms of (1) tumor definition assessed by lung tumor contours and (2) intra-patient scan time variation using the total image acquisition time of inhalation and exhalation datasets from the first and second MRI sessions across 13 lung cancer patients. Results: Compared to FB AV-guided respiratory-gated MRI improved image quality for contouring tumors with sharper boundaries and less blurring resulted in the improvement of tumor definition. Compared to FB the variation of intra-patient scan time with AV was reduced by 48% (p<0.001) from 54 s to 28 s. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that AV-guided respiratorygated MRI improved the quality of tumor images and fixed tumor definition for lung cancer. These results suggest that audiovisual biofeedback breathing guidance has the potential to control breathing for adequate respiratory-gating for lung cancer imaging and radiotherapy.

MO-FG-CAMPUS-JeP2-02: Audiovisual Biofeedback Guided Respiratory-Gated MRI: An Investigation of Tumor Definition and Scan Time for Lung Cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, D; Pollock, S; Keall, P; Greer, P; Lapuz, C; Ludbrook, J; Kim, T

2016-01-01

Purpose: Breathing consistency variations can cause respiratory-related motion blurring and artifacts and increase in MRI scan time due to inadequate respiratory-gating and discarding of breathing cycles. In a previous study the concept of audiovisual biofeedback (AV) guided respiratory-gated MRI was tested with healthy volunteers and it demonstrated image quality improvement on anatomical structures and scan time reduction. This study tests the applicability of AV-guided respiratorygated MRI for lung cancer in a prospective patient study. Methods: Image quality and scan time were investigated in thirteen lung cancer patients who underwent two 3T MRI sessions. In the first MRI session (pre-treatment), respiratory-gated MR images with free breathing (FB) and AV were acquired at inhalation and exhalation. An RF navigator placed on the liver dome was employed for the respiratory-gated MRI. This was repeated in the second MRI session (mid-treatment). Lung tumors were delineated on each dataset. FB and AV were compared in terms of (1) tumor definition assessed by lung tumor contours and (2) intra-patient scan time variation using the total image acquisition time of inhalation and exhalation datasets from the first and second MRI sessions across 13 lung cancer patients. Results: Compared to FB AV-guided respiratory-gated MRI improved image quality for contouring tumors with sharper boundaries and less blurring resulted in the improvement of tumor definition. Compared to FB the variation of intra-patient scan time with AV was reduced by 48% (p<0.001) from 54 s to 28 s. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that AV-guided respiratorygated MRI improved the quality of tumor images and fixed tumor definition for lung cancer. These results suggest that audiovisual biofeedback breathing guidance has the potential to control breathing for adequate respiratory-gating for lung cancer imaging and radiotherapy.

Subclinical coronary atherosclerosis by multi-scan axial tomography and its association with hyperglycemia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buchaca Faxas, Emilio F; Bencomo Rodriguez, Llimia; Bermudez Rojas, Sergio

2010-01-01

A study was conducted to assess the usefulness of multi-scan axial tomography techniques to detect, in a subclinical stage, the coronary damage in patients presenting with diabetes mellitus (DM) to describe the frequency of asymptomatic atherosclerotic affection and its potential association with the fasting and postprandial hyperglycemia. In study were included 59 patients with type 2 diabetes to compare the results of coronary calcium determination with the findings of angiography by multi-scan axial computed tomography (CAT-M). There was a concordance of a 44.1% between both studies, as well as a predominance of soft plaques in the 55.9 % of patients. The 42.4 % showed a narrowing of arterial lumen, which was significant in the 16.5 % of total. A high figure of patients with hyperglycemia had coronary damage compared to those ills with a good glycemia control (p = 0.024). This relation was more evident with the postprandial hyperglycemia (= 0.016). Hyperglycemia had a high opportunity (5.99 times) to detect coronary lesions by TAC-C compared to other major atherosclerosis risk factors like the high blood pressure, smoking, dyslipemias expressed in a significant way (p 0.045). We conclude that Angio TAC-C and Calcio Score techniques are useful to detect lesions of coronary arteries in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus without symptoms of myocardial ischemia, which was associated to presence of a hyperglycemia, fundamentally postprandial

Respiratory gated lung CT using 320-row area detector CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sakamoto, Ryo; Noma, Satoshi; Higashino, Takanori

2010-01-01

Three hundred and twenty-row Area Detector CT (ADCT) has made it possible to scan whole lung field with prospective respiratory gated wide volume scan. We evaluated whether the respiratory gated wide volume scan enables to reduce motion induced artifacts in the lung area. Helical scan and respiratory gated wide volume scan were performed in 5 patients and 10 healthy volunteers under spontaneous breathing. Significant reduction of motion artifact and superior image quality were obtained in respiratory gated scan in comparison with helical scan. Respiratory gated wide volume scan is an unique method using ADCT, and is able to reduce motion artifacts in lung CT scans of patients unable to suspend respiration in clinical scenes. (author)

Possibilities for exposure reduction in computed tomography examination of acute chest pain; Moeglichkeiten der Dosisreduktion bei CT-Untersuchungen des akuten Thoraxschmerzes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Becker, H.C. [Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Muenchen, Campus Grosshadern, Institut fuer Klinische Radiologie, Muenchen (Germany)

2012-10-15

Electrocardiogram-gated (ECG) computed tomography (CT) investigations can be accompanied by high amounts of radiation exposure. This is particularly true for the investigation of patients with unclear and acute chest pain. The common approach in patients with acute chest pain is standard spiral CT of the chest. The chest pain or triple-rule-out CT protocol is a relatively new ECG-gated protocol of the entire chest. This article reviews and discusses different techniques for the CT investigation of patients with acute chest pain. By applying the appropriate scan technique, the radiation exposure for an ECG-gated protocol must not necessarily be higher than a standard chest CT scan Aortic pathologies are far better depicted by ECG-gated scan protocols and depending on the heart rate coronary artery disease can also be detected at the same time. The use of ECG-triggered scans will not support the diagnostics of the pulmonary arteries. However, in unspecific chest pain an ECG-triggered scan protocol can provide information on the differential diagnosis. (orig.) [German] EKG-getriggerte CT-Untersuchungen koennen mit einer relativ hohen Strahlenexposition einhergehen. Dies gilt im besonderen Masse fuer die Untersuchung des gesamten Thorax bei Patienten mit unklarem akutem Thoraxschmerz. Bisher wurden Untersuchungen bei Patienten mit akutem Thoraxschmerz in Spiraltechnik ohne EKG-Triggerung durchgefuehrt. Das ''Chest-pain-'' oder ''Triple-rule-out''-Protokoll ist ein neues EKG-getriggertes Untersuchungsprotokoll des gesamten Thorax. Im vorliegenden Artikel werden verschiedene Techniken zur CT-Untersuchung von Patienten mit akutem Thoraxschmerz vorgestellt und besprochen. Mit der richtigen Untersuchungstechnik muss die Strahlenexposition fuer ein EKG-getriggertes Untersuchungsprotokoll nicht hoeher sein als eine Standarduntersuchung ohne EKG. Mit einem EKG-getriggerten Untersuchungsprotokoll laesst sich die Aorta in Hinblick auf

Challenges of ECG monitoring and ECG interpretation in dialysis units.

Science.gov (United States)

Poulikakos, Dimitrios; Malik, Marek

Patients on hemodialysis (HD) suffer from high cardiovascular morbidity and mortality due to high rates of coronary artery disease and arrhythmias. Electrocardiography (ECG) is often performed in the dialysis units as part of routine clinical assessment. However, fluid and electrolyte changes have been shown to affect all ECG morphologies and intervals. ECG interpretation thus depends on the time of the recording in relation to the HD session. In addition, arrhythmias during HD are common, and dialysis-related ECG artifacts mimicking arrhythmias have been reported. Studies using advanced ECG analyses have examined the impact of the HD procedure on selected repolarization descriptors and heart rate variability indices. Despite the challenges related to the impact of the fluctuant fluid and electrolyte status on conventional and advanced ECG parameters, further research in ECG monitoring during dialysis has the potential to provide clinically meaningful and practically useful information for diagnostic and risk stratification purposes. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Axial Fan Blade Vibration Assessment under Inlet Cross-Flow Conditions Using Laser Scanning Vibrometry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Till Heinemann

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In thermal power plants equipped with air-cooled condensers (ACCs, axial cooling fans operate under the influence of ambient flow fields. Under inlet cross-flow conditions, the resultant asymmetric flow field is known to introduce additional harmonic forces to the fan blades. This effect has previously only been studied numerically or by using blade-mounted strain gauges. For this study, laser scanning vibrometry (LSV was used to assess fan blade vibration under inlet cross-flow conditions in an adapted fan test rig inside a wind tunnel test section. Two co-rotating laser beams scanned a low-pressure axial fan, resulting in spectral, phase-resolved surface vibration patterns of the fan blades. Two distinct operating points with flow coefficients of 0.17 and 0.28 were examined, with and without inlet cross-flow influence. While almost identical fan vibration patterns were found for both reference operating points, the overall blade vibration increased by 100% at the low fan flow rate as a result of cross-flow, and by 20% at the high fan flow rate. While numerically predicted natural frequency modes could be confirmed from experimental data as minor peaks in the vibration amplitude spectrum, they were not excited significantly by cross-flow. Instead, primarily higher rotation-rate harmonics were amplified; that is, a synchronous blade-tip flapping was strongly excited at the blade-pass frequency.

WaveformECG: A Platform for Visualizing, Annotating, and Analyzing ECG Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Winslow, Raimond L; Granite, Stephen; Jurado, Christian

2016-01-01

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most commonly collected data in cardiovascular research because of the ease with which it can be measured and because changes in ECG waveforms reflect underlying aspects of heart disease. Accessed through a browser, WaveformECG is an open source platform supporting interactive analysis, visualization, and annotation of ECGs.

Abnormal intraluminal signal within the pulmonary arteries on MR imaging: Differentiation between slow blood flow and thrombus using an ECG-gated; multiphasic: Spin-echo technique

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

White, R.D.; Higgins, C.B.

1986-01-01

The authors evaluated abnormal MR imaging signal patterns in the pulmonary arteries of 22 patients with pulmonary hypertension (n = 13), pulmonary embolus (n = 4), or both (n = 5). Using multiphasic (five or six phases; 19 patients) or standard (three patients with pulmonary embolus) ECG-gated, double spin-echo techniques, they were able to differentiate between causes of such abnormal signal patterns. The pattern of slow blood flow (abnormal signal in systole with fluctuating distribution during cardiac cycle, and intensity increasing visually from first to second echo) was noted in 89% of patients with pulmonary hypertension alone or in combination with pulmonary embolism, and was characteristic of high systolic pulmonary pressures (12 of 12 patients with pressure > 80 mm Hg, vs. 3 of 5 patients with pressure 55 mm Hg vs. 5 of 7 patients with pressures <55 mm Hg). This pattern was differentiated from that of thrombus (persistent signal with fixed distribution during cardiac cycle, and little to no visible intensity change from first to second echo), which was noted in six of seven proved embolus cases. Thus, gated multiphase MR imaging shows potential for the noninvasive visualization of pulmonary embolus and the differentiation of this entity from the slow blood flow of pulmonary hypertension

Cardiac MRI: evaluation of phonocardiogram-gated cine imaging for the assessment of global und regional left ventricular function in clinical routine

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nassenstein, Kai; Schlosser, Thomas; Orzada, Stephan; Haering, Lars; Czylwik, Andreas; Zenge, Michael; Mueller, Edgar; Eberle, Holger; Bruder, Oliver; Ladd, Mark E.; Maderwald, Stefan

2012-01-01

To validate a phonocardiogram (PCG)-gated cine imaging approach for the assessment of left ventricular (LV) function. In this prospective study, cine MR imaging of the LV was performed twice in 79 patients by using retrospectively PCG- and retrospectively ECG-gated cine SSFP sequences at 1.5 T. End-diastolic volumes (EDV), end-systolic volumes (ESV), stroke volumes (SV), ejection fraction (EF), muscle mass (MM), as well as regional wall motion were assessed. Subgroup analyses were performed for patients with valvular defects and for patients with dysrhythmia. PCG-gated imaging was feasible in 75 (95%) patients, ECG-gating in all patients. Excellent correlations were observed for all volumetric parameters (r > 0.98 for all variables analysed). No significant differences were observed for EDV (-0.24 ± 3.14 mL, P = 0.5133), ESV (-0.04 ± 2.36 mL, P = 0.8951), SV (-0.20 ± 3.41 mL, P = 0.6083), EF (-0.16 ± 1.98%, P = 0.4910), or MM (0.31 ± 4.2 g, P = 0.7067) for the entire study cohort, nor for either of the subgroups. PCG- and ECG-gated cine imaging revealed similar results for regional wall motion analyses (115 vs. 119 segments with wall motion abnormalities, P = 0.3652). The present study demonstrates that PCG-gated cine imaging enables accurate assessment of global and regional LV function in the vast majority of patients in clinical routine. (orig.)

Evaluation of left ventricular function in patients with atrial fibrillation by ECG gated blood pool scintigraphy. Using frame count normalization method

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Akanabe, Hiroshi; Oshima, Motoo; Sakuma, Sadayuki

1988-07-01

The assumption necessary to perform ECG gated blood pool scintigraphy (EGBPS) are seemingly not valid for patients with atrial fibrillation (af), since they have wide variability in cardiac cycle length. The data were acquired in frame mode within the limits of mean heart rate of fix the first diastolic volume, and were calculated by frame count normalization (FCN) method to correct total counts in each frame. EGBPS were performed twelve patients with af, who were operated against valvular disease. The data acquired within mean heart rate +-10 % in frame mode were divided to 32 frames, and calculated total frame counts. With FCN method total frame counts from at 22nd to 32nd frame were multiplied to be equal to the average of total frame counts. FCN method could correct total frame counts at the latter frames. And there was good correlation between left ventricular ejection fraction calculated from scintigraphy and that from contrast cineangiography. Thus EGBPS with FCN method may be allow estimation of cardiac function even in subjects with af.

Impact of heart rate and rhythm on radiation exposure in prospectively ECG triggered computed tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Luecke, Christian, E-mail: neep@gmx.de [University of Leipzig – Heart Center, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Strümpellstrasse 39, D-04289, Leipzig (Germany); Andres, Claudia; Foldyna, Borek [University of Leipzig – Heart Center, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Strümpellstrasse 39, D-04289, Leipzig (Germany); Nagel, Hans Dieter [Wissenschaft and Technik für die Radiologie, Buchhholz i.d.N (Germany); Hoffmann, Janine; Grothoff, Matthias; Nitzsche, Stefan; Gutberlet, Matthias; Lehmkuhl, Lukas [University of Leipzig – Heart Center, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Strümpellstrasse 39, D-04289, Leipzig (Germany)

2012-09-15

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of different heart rates and arrhythmias on scanner performance, image acquisition and applied radiation exposure in prospectively ECG triggered computed tomography (pCT). Materials and methods: An ECG simulator (EKG Phantom 320, Müller and Sebastiani Elektronik GmbH, Munich, Germany) was used to generate different heart rhythms and arrhythmias: sinus rhythm (SR) at 45, 60, 75, 90 and 120/min, supraventricular arrhythmias (e.g. sinus arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation) and ventricular arrhythmias (e.g. ventricular extrasystoles), pacemaker-ECGs, ST-changes and technical artifacts. The analysis of the image acquisition process was performed on a 64-row multidetector CT (Brilliance, Philips Medical Systems, Cleveland, USA). A prospectively triggered scan protocol as used for routine was applied (120 kV; 150 mA s; 0.4 s rotation and exposure time per scan; image acquisition predominantly in end-diastole at 75% R-R-interval, in arrythmias with a mean heart rate above 80/min in systole at 45% of the R-R-interval; FOV 25 cm). The mean dose length product (DLP) and its percentage increase from baseline (SR at 60/min) were determined. Result: Radiation exposure can increase significantly when the heart rhythm deviates from sinus rhythm. ECG-changes leading to a significant DLP increase (p < 0.05) were bifocal pacemaker (61%), pacemaker dysfunction (22%), SVES (20%), ventricular salvo (20%), and atrial fibrillation (14%). Significantly (p < 0.05) prolonged scan time (>8 s) could be observed in bifocal pacemaker (12.8 s), pacemaker dysfunction (10.7 s), atrial fibrillation (10.3 s) and sinus arrhythmia (9.3 s). Conclusion: In prospectively ECG triggered CT, heart rate and rhythm can provoke different types of scanner performance, which can significantly alter radiation exposure and scan time. These results might have an important implication for indication, informed consent and contrast agent injection protocols.

Evaluation of image quality and radiation dose of thoracic and coronary dual-source CT in 110 infants with congenital heart disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saad, Moez Ben; Rohnean, Adela; Sigal-Cinqualbre, Anne; Adler, Ghazal; Paul, Jean-Francois

2009-01-01

There are only a few reports on the diagnostic accuracy, and the technical and clinical feasibility, of multidetector CT (MDCT) in infants with congenital heart disease (CHD). To evaluate the image quality and radiation dose of DSCT in babies with CHD. From November 2006 to November 2007, 110 consecutive infants with CHD referred for pre- or postoperative CT evaluation were included. All these infants had a spiral angiothoracic DSCT scan after injection of 300 mg/ml iopromide at 0.5-1 ml/s with a power injector using a low-dose protocol (80 kVp and 10 mAs/kg). Of these infants, 34 also underwent an ECG-gated coronary CT scan for evaluation of the course of the coronary arteries. No serious adverse events were recorded. The mean dose-length product was 8±6 mGy.cm (effective dose 0.5±0.2 mSv) and 21±9 mGy.cm (effective dose 1.3±0.6 mSv) during the non-ECG-gated spiral acquisition and ECG-gated acquisition, respectively. Diagnostic quality images were achieved with the spiral acquisition in 89% of cases. Compared to the spiral mode, ECG-gated acquisition significantly improved the visualization of the coronary arteries, with a diagnostic rate of 91% and 84% for the left and right coronary arteries, respectively. DSCT together with iopromide at 300 mg/ml is a valuable tool for the routine clinical evaluation of infants with CHD. ECG-gated acquisition provides reliable visualization of the course of the coronary arteries. (orig.)

Assessment of myocardial perfusion using a new scanning agent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Khalil, M.N

1987-01-01

This work assessed a new compound: Tc-99m tertiary butyl isonitrile (T-BIN) in scanning the normal myocardium in dogs. Experimentally induced myocardial infarcts (M.I.) were detected. The compound cleared significantly from the blood within 15 minutes and from the lungs within an hour after intravenous administration. Liver uptake was high and remained so. Cardiac uptake occurred quickly and continued for 6 hours. Comparable results were obtained in normal humans and patients. Myocardial scanning was best after 60 minutes at rest or 30 minutes after exercise. Liver uptake sometimes obscured the detection of inferior M.I. but this problem was reduced using a 45/sup 0/ left anterior oblique view with a 20/sup 0/ cranial tilt. At rest 9/10 patients with M.I. showed defects corresponding to the infarct sites. In 20 patients with angina pectoris 16 had perfusion defects on exercise. In 15/16 patients reversible ischaemia was demonstrated. The reperfusion scans were best obtained at 4 hours post exercise. Both Tl-201 and T-BIN detected equally the infarcts (3/3) but in patients with angina 8/10 with T-BIN and 6/10 with Tl-201 showed defects. ECG gating of the T-BIN scans was also studied.

Assessment of thoracic aortic elasticity: a preliminary study using electrocardiographically gated dual-source CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Ning; Guo, Lijun; Sun, Haitao; Gao, Fei; Liu, Cheng; Beck, Thomas; Chen, Jiuhong; Biermann, Christina

2011-01-01

To gain a new insight into the elastic properties of the thoracic aorta in patients without aortic diseases using electrocardiographically (ECG)-gated dual-source (DS) CT. 56 subjects with no cardiovascular disease, selected from 2,700 people undergoing ECG-gated DSCT examination, were divided into three groups according to their age. CT data were reconstructed in 5% step throughout the RR interval. Diameter and area were measured at the curve of the ascending aorta (AA) and at the same level of the descending aorta (DA). The pulsation and elasticity of the aorta were evaluated. Aortic diameter changes were noted throughout the cardiac cycle. The maximum average diameter was seen at an RR interval of 24.02 ± 4.99% for the AA and 25.63 ± 4.77% for the DA. The minimum was at 93.5 ± 4.04% for the AA and 96.6 ± 4.58% for the DA. There was an age-dependent decrease in elasticity, while different correlation coefficients were found between various age groups and different elastic parameters. The properties of aortic pulsation and wall elasticity could be well shown by ECG-gated DSCT. The new findings regarding segment difference and age relevance were significant and should be taken into account in clinical trials and treatments for the elasticity related cardiovascular diseases. (orig.)

Efficacy and safety of balloon pulmonary angioplasty for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension guided by cone-beam computed tomography and electrocardiogram-gated area detector computed tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ogo, Takeshi, E-mail: ogo.takeshi.hp@mail.ncvc.go.jp [Division of Pulmonary Circulation, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Osaka (Japan); Department of Advanced Mediccal Research for Pulmonary Hypertension, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Osaka (Japan); Fukuda, Tetsuya [Department of Radiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Osaka (Japan); Tsuji, Akihiro; Fukui, Shigefumi; Ueda, Jin [Division of Pulmonary Circulation, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Osaka (Japan); Sanda, Yoshihiro [Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Osaka (Japan); Morita, Yoshiaki [Department of Radiology, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Osaka (Japan); Asano, Ryotaro; Konagai, Nao [Division of Pulmonary Circulation, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Osaka (Japan); Yasuda, Satoshi [Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre, Osaka (Japan)

2017-04-15

Highlights: • Recent advancement in CT enables distal CTEpH lesions to be visualized. • We investigated the efficacy and safety of BPA guided by CBCT or ECG-gated area detector CT. • BPA guided by CBCT or ECG-gated area detector CT is effective and safe in patients with CTEpH . • These new advanced CT techniques may be useful in pre-BPA target lesion assessment. - Abstract: Background: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a disease characterized by chronic obstructive thrombus and pulmonary hypertension. Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA), an emerging alternative catheter-based treatment for inoperable patients with CTEPH, has not yet been standardised, especially for lesion assessment in distal pulmonary arteries. Recent advancement in computed tomography enables distal CTEPH lesions to be visualized. Methods: We retrospectively studied 80 consecutive patients with inoperable CTEPH who received BPA guided by cone-beam computed tomography (CT) (CBCT) or electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated area detector CT (ADCT) for target lesion assessment. We collected clinical and hemodynamic data, including procedural complications, before BPA and at 3 months and 1 year after BPA. Results: Three hundred eight-five BPA sessions (4.8 sessions/patient) were performed for the lesions of subsegmental arteries (1155 lesions), segmental arteries (738 lesions), and lobar arteries (4 lesions) identified by CBCT or ECG-gated ADCT. Significant improvements in the symptoms, 6-min walk distance, brain natriuretic peptide level, exercise capacity, and haemodynamics were observed 3 months and 1 year after BPA. No cases of death or cardiogenic shock with a low rate of severe wire perforation (0.3%) and severe reperfusion oedema (0.3%) were observed. Conclusions: BPA guided by CBCT or ECG-gated ADCT is effective and remarkably safe in patients with CTEPH . These new advanced CT techniques may be useful in pre-BPA target lesion assessment.

Efficacy and safety of balloon pulmonary angioplasty for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension guided by cone-beam computed tomography and electrocardiogram-gated area detector computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogo, Takeshi; Fukuda, Tetsuya; Tsuji, Akihiro; Fukui, Shigefumi; Ueda, Jin; Sanda, Yoshihiro; Morita, Yoshiaki; Asano, Ryotaro; Konagai, Nao; Yasuda, Satoshi

2017-01-01

Highlights: • Recent advancement in CT enables distal CTEpH lesions to be visualized. • We investigated the efficacy and safety of BPA guided by CBCT or ECG-gated area detector CT. • BPA guided by CBCT or ECG-gated area detector CT is effective and safe in patients with CTEpH . • These new advanced CT techniques may be useful in pre-BPA target lesion assessment. - Abstract: Background: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a disease characterized by chronic obstructive thrombus and pulmonary hypertension. Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA), an emerging alternative catheter-based treatment for inoperable patients with CTEPH, has not yet been standardised, especially for lesion assessment in distal pulmonary arteries. Recent advancement in computed tomography enables distal CTEPH lesions to be visualized. Methods: We retrospectively studied 80 consecutive patients with inoperable CTEPH who received BPA guided by cone-beam computed tomography (CT) (CBCT) or electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated area detector CT (ADCT) for target lesion assessment. We collected clinical and hemodynamic data, including procedural complications, before BPA and at 3 months and 1 year after BPA. Results: Three hundred eight-five BPA sessions (4.8 sessions/patient) were performed for the lesions of subsegmental arteries (1155 lesions), segmental arteries (738 lesions), and lobar arteries (4 lesions) identified by CBCT or ECG-gated ADCT. Significant improvements in the symptoms, 6-min walk distance, brain natriuretic peptide level, exercise capacity, and haemodynamics were observed 3 months and 1 year after BPA. No cases of death or cardiogenic shock with a low rate of severe wire perforation (0.3%) and severe reperfusion oedema (0.3%) were observed. Conclusions: BPA guided by CBCT or ECG-gated ADCT is effective and remarkably safe in patients with CTEPH . These new advanced CT techniques may be useful in pre-BPA target lesion assessment.

Gated single-photon emission tomography imaging protocol to evaluate myocardial stunning after exercise

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hashimoto, Jun; Kubo, Atsushi; Iwasaki, Ryuichiro; Iwanaga, Shiro; Mitamura, Hideo; Ogawa, Satoshi; Kosuda, Shigeru

1999-01-01

This study was designed to apply ECG-gating to stress myocardial perfusion single-photon emission tomography (SPET) for the evaluation of myocardial stunning after exercise. Technetium-99m sestamibi was selected as the perfusion agent and a rest/exercise 1-day protocol was employed. Fourteen patients without coronary stenosis and 33 patients with coronary stenosis were enrolled in the study. We carried out three data acquisitions with ECG-gating: a 15-min data acquisition starting 30 min after the rest injection (AC1), a 5-min acquisition starting 5 min after the stress injection (AC2) and a 15-min acquisition starting 20 min after the stress injection (AC3). Calculation of left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) values was performed by means of automatic determination of the endocardial surface for all gating intervals in the cardiac cycle. Measured global EF values in 14 patients without coronary stenosis were 52.3%±7.6% (AC1), 60.6%±8.9% (AC2) and 55.6%±5.6% (AC3), and those in 11 patients with severe ischaemia were 53.6%±8.0% (AC1), 45.6%±12.1% (AC2) and 49.7%±10.7%. The magnitude of the depression of post-stress LVEF relative to the rest LVEF correlated with the severity of ischaemia (r=0.594, P=0.002), and segments manifesting post-stress functional depression were associated with ischaemic segments showing reversible perfusion defects. Stress myocardial perfusion SPET with ECG-gating is a feasible method for the evaluation of myocardial stunning as well as exercise-induced ischaemia. (orig.)

Evaluation of left ventricular function in patients with atrial fibrillation by ECG gated blood pool scintigraphy. Analysis of left ventricular filling and function curve

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Inagaki, Suetsugu; Adachi, Haruhiko; Sugihara, Hiroki

1985-12-01

ECG gated blood pool scintigraphy (EGBP) is not always valid for the patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), since they have wide variability in cardiac cycle length (CL). To evaluate the left ventricular (LV) function during AF by EGBP, we devised a new processing algorithm to construct multiple gated images discriminated by preceding R-R interval (PRR) from the data acquired in list mode. 18 patients with AF were studied as to; 1) How affect the PRR on cardiac indices such as EF, TES, PER or TPER, 2) Comparison with conventional method getting all CL data, 3) LV filling curves derived by plotting EDV against PRR, 4) The slope and position of LV function curves (LVFC) derived by plotting SV against EDV. In most cases, EF, PER and TES were increased with longer PRR, and those by conventional method nearly corresponded to the average values obtained by our new method. Impairment of ventricular filling was demonstrated in the cases of mitral stenosis and constrictive pericarditis. LVFC of CHF group was situated at right and downward to controls, and left and upward shift was observed after treatment. The slope of LVFC was reduced in relation to the progression of NYHA's functional class. In conclusion, this new algorithm processing irregular CL enables LV filling and function curves to draw, which are useful in the evaluation of cardiac performance in the subjects with AF.

Evaluation of regional wall motion in myocardial infarction using animation ECG gated cardiac computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimizu, Takahiko; Hyodo, Haruo; Hayashi, Terumi; Yamamoto, Hideo; Yagi, Shigeru

1984-01-01

Regional wall motion of the left ventricle was evaluated in 21 patients with myocardial infarction using an animation system of gated cardiac computed tomographic (CT) images (animation gated CCT). The results obtained were compared with data by two-dimensional echocardiography (2-DE). 1. Evaluation of the asynergic area by animation gated CCT and 2-DE: Animation gated CCT detected the following specific regions with asynergy established by 2-DE; 10/10 cases (100%) at the anterior wall of the left ventricle, 14/14 cases (100%) at the interventricular septum, and 9/11 cases (81.8%) at the infero-posterior wall. In addition, one false positive case and one negative case were observed at the lateral wall and the apex, respectively. Of 37 instances with asynergic areas established by 2-DE, 21 cases or 89.2% were detected by animation gated CCT; the sensitivity was 91.9%. 2. Evaluation of severity of asynergy by animation gated CCT and 2-DE: The degree of asynergy evaluated by both methods was compared with each other, and the agreement was as follows: 10/10 cases (100%) at the left-ventricular anterior wall, 13/13 cases (100%) at the interventricular septum, and 7/9 cases (77.8%) at the infero-posterior wall. 3. Evaluation of the asynergic area by nonanimation gated CCT and 2-DE: Nonanimation gated CCT detected asynergic areas ascertained by 2-DE at the following areas; 8/10 cases (80%) at the left-ventricular anterior wall, 12/14 cases (85.7%) at the interventricular septum, and 4/11 cases (36.4%) at the infero-posterior wall. The difference between animation and nonanimation gated CCT was statistically significant (p<0.05). The severity of asynergy could not be evaluated by nonanimation gated CCT. (J.P.N.)

Detection of a magnetic bead by hybrid nanodevices using scanning gate microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Corte-León, H.; Krzysteczko, P.; Marchi, F.; Motte, J.-F.; Manzin, A.; Schumacher, H. W.; Antonov, V.; Kazakova, O.

2016-05-01

Hybrid ferromagnetic(Py)/non-magnetic metal(Au) junctions with a width of 400 nm are studied by magnetotransport measurements, magnetic scanning gate microscopy (SGM) with a magnetic bead (MB) attached to the probe, and micromagnetic simulations. In the transverse geometry, the devices demonstrate a characteristic magnetoresistive behavior that depends on the direction of the in plane magnetic field, with minimum/maximum variation when the field is applied parallel/perpendicular to the Py wire. The SGM is performed with a NdFeB bead of 1.6 μm diameter attached to the scanning probe. Our results demonstrate that the hybrid junction can be used to detect this type of MB. A rough approximation of the sensing volume of the junction has the shape of elliptical cylinder with the volume of ˜1.51 μm3. Micromagnetic simulations coupled to a magnetotransport model including anisotropic magnetoresistance and planar Hall effects are in good agreement with the experimental findings, enabling the interpretation of the SGM images.

Tomography system having axial scanning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1976-01-01

An improved method and apparatus has been invented for the transaxial tomographic scanning of a patient to determine mass distribution internal to the patient. A scanning system is provided having a rotatably mounted X-ray radiation source/detector assembly which orbits and scans the patient in plane of orbit. The source provides a plurality of beams of radiation in the orbital plane. Beams pass through the patient to an array of detectors which are spaced in the plane of orbit and respectively aligned with one of the beams. Radiation intensity data is collected at predetermined orientations of each beam-detector pair as the assembly orbits about the patient

Low-dose prospectively electrocardiogram-gated axial dual-source CT angiography in patients with pulsatile bilateral bidirectional Glenn Shunt: an alternative noninvasive method for postoperative morphological estimation.

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Xiaopeng Ji

Full Text Available To explore the clinical value of low-dose prospectively electrocardiogram-gated axial dual-source CT angiography (low-dose PGA scanning, CTA in patients with pulsatile bilateral bidirectional Glenn shunt (bBDG as an alternative noninvasive method for postoperative morphological estimation.Twenty patients with pulsatile bBDG (mean age 4.2±1.6 years underwent both low-dose PGA scanning and conventional cardiac angiography (CCA for the morphological changes. The morphological evaluation included the anatomy of superior vena cava (SVC and pulmonary artery (PA, the anastomotic location, thrombosis, aorto-pulmonary collateral circulation, pulmonary arteriovenous malformations, etc. Objective and subjective image quality was assessed. Bland-Altman analysis and linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the correlation on measurements between CTA and CCA. Effective radiation dose of both modalities was calculated.The CT attenuation value of bilateral SVC and PA was higher than 300 HU. The average subjective image quality score was 4.05±0.69. The morphology of bilateral SVC and PA was displayed completely and intuitively by CTA images. There were 24 SVC above PA and 15 SVC beside PA. Thrombosis was found in 1 patient. Collateral vessels were detected in 13 patients. No pulmonary arteriovenous malformation was found in our study. A strong correlation (R2>0.8, P0.The mean effective dose of CTA and CCA was 0.50±0.17 mSv and 4.85±1.34 mSv respectively.CT angiography with a low-dose PGA scanning is an accurate and reliable noninvasive examination in the assessment of morphological changes in patients with pulsatile bBDG.

Usefulness of electrocardiography-gated dual-source computed tomography for evaluating morphological features of the ventricles in children with complex congenital heart defects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagawa, Motoo; Hara, Masaki; Sakurai, Keita; Asano, Miki; Shibamoto, Yuta; Ohashi, Kazuya

2011-01-01

Improved time resolution using dual-source computed tomography (DSCT) enabled adaptation of electrocardiography (ECG)-gated cardiac CT for children with a high heart rate. In this study, we evaluated the ability of ECG-gated DSCT (ECG-DSCT) to depict the morphological ventricular features in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Between August 2006 and March 2010, a total of 66 patients with CHD (aged 1 day to 9 years, median 11 months) were analyzed using ECG-DSCT. The type of anomaly was ventricular septal defect (VSD) in 32 (malaligned type in 20, perimembranous type in 7, supracristal type in 3, muscular type in 2), single ventricle (SV) in 11, and corrected transposition of the great arteries (cTGA) in 3. All patients underwent ECG-DSCT and ultrasonography (US). We evaluated the accuracy of diagnosing the type of VSD. For the cases with SV and cTGA, we evaluated the ability to depict anatomical ventricular features. In all 32 cases of VSD, DSCT could confirm the VSD defects, and the findings were identical to those obtained by US. Anatomical configurations of the SV and cTGA were correctly diagnosed, similar to that on US. Our study suggests that ECG-DSCT can clearly depict the configuration of ventricles. (author)

New approach for simplified and automated measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction by ECG gated blood pool scintigraphy

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Inagaki, Suetsugu; Adachi, Haruhiko; Sugihara, Hiroki; Katsume, Hiroshi; Ijichi, Hamao; Okamoto, Kunio; Hosoba, Minoru

1984-12-01

Background (BKG) correction is important but debatable in the measurement of Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) with ECG gated blood pool scintigraphy. We devised a new simplified BKG processing (fixed BKG method) without BKG region-of-interest (ROI) assignment, and the accuracy and reproducibility were assessed in 25 patients with various heart diseases and 5 normal subjects by comparison with LVEF obtained by contrast levolgraphy (LVG-EF). Four additional protocols for LVEF measurement with BKG-ROI assignment were also assessed for reference. LVEF calculated using the fixed BKG ratio of 0.64 (BKG count rates were 64%) of end-diastolic count rates of LV) with ''Fixed'' LV-ROI was best correlated with LVG-EF (r = 0.936, p < 0.001) and most approximated (Fixed BKG ratio method EF: 61.1 +- 20.1, LVG-EF: 61.2 +- 20.4% (mean +- SD)) among other protocols. The wide availability of the fixed value of 0.64 was tested in various diseases, body size and end-diastolic volume by LVG, and the results were to be little influenced by them. Furthermore, fixed BKG method produced lower inter-and intra- observer variability than other protocols requiring BKG-ROI assignment, probably due to its simplified processing. In conclusion, fixed BKG ratio method simplifies the measurement of LVEF, and is feasible for automated processing and single probe system.

Heritability of ECG Biomarkers in the Netherlands Twin Registry Measured from Holter ECGs.

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Emily C Hodkinson

2016-04-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCTIONThe resting ECG is the most commonly used tool to assess cardiac electrophysiology. Previous studies have estimated heritability of ECG parameters based on these snapshots of the cardiac electrical activity. In this study we set out to determine whether analysis of heart rate specific data from Holter ECGs allows more complete assessment of the heritability of ECG parameters.METHODS and RESULTSHolter ECGs were recorded from 221 twin pairs and analyzed using a multi-parameter beat binning approach. Heart rate dependent estimates of heritability for QRS duration, QT interval, Tpeak–Tend and Theight were calculated using structural equation modelling. QRS duration is largely determined by environmental factors whereas repolarization is primarily genetically determined. Heritability estimates of both QT interval and Theight were significantly higher when measured from Holter compared to resting ECGs and the heritability estimate of each was heart rate dependent. Analysis of the genetic contribution to correlation between repolarization parameters demonstrated that covariance of individual ECG parameters at different heart rates overlap but at each specific heart rate there was relatively little overlap in the genetic determinants of the different repolarization parameters.CONCLUSIONSHere we present the first study of heritability of repolarization parameters measured from Holter ECGs. Our data demonstrate that higher heritability can be estimated from the Holter than the resting ECG and reveals rate dependence in the genetic – environmental determinants of the ECG that has not previously been tractable. Future applications include deeper dissection of the ECG of participants with inherited cardiac electrical disease.

Impact of heart rate and rhythm on radiation exposure in prospectively ECG triggered computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Luecke, Christian; Andres, Claudia; Foldyna, Borek; Nagel, Hans Dieter; Hoffmann, Janine; Grothoff, Matthias; Nitzsche, Stefan; Gutberlet, Matthias; Lehmkuhl, Lukas

2012-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of different heart rates and arrhythmias on scanner performance, image acquisition and applied radiation exposure in prospectively ECG triggered computed tomography (pCT). Materials and methods: An ECG simulator (EKG Phantom 320, Müller and Sebastiani Elektronik GmbH, Munich, Germany) was used to generate different heart rhythms and arrhythmias: sinus rhythm (SR) at 45, 60, 75, 90 and 120/min, supraventricular arrhythmias (e.g. sinus arrhythmia, atrial fibrillation) and ventricular arrhythmias (e.g. ventricular extrasystoles), pacemaker-ECGs, ST-changes and technical artifacts. The analysis of the image acquisition process was performed on a 64-row multidetector CT (Brilliance, Philips Medical Systems, Cleveland, USA). A prospectively triggered scan protocol as used for routine was applied (120 kV; 150 mA s; 0.4 s rotation and exposure time per scan; image acquisition predominantly in end-diastole at 75% R-R-interval, in arrythmias with a mean heart rate above 80/min in systole at 45% of the R-R-interval; FOV 25 cm). The mean dose length product (DLP) and its percentage increase from baseline (SR at 60/min) were determined. Result: Radiation exposure can increase significantly when the heart rhythm deviates from sinus rhythm. ECG-changes leading to a significant DLP increase (p 8 s) could be observed in bifocal pacemaker (12.8 s), pacemaker dysfunction (10.7 s), atrial fibrillation (10.3 s) and sinus arrhythmia (9.3 s). Conclusion: In prospectively ECG triggered CT, heart rate and rhythm can provoke different types of scanner performance, which can significantly alter radiation exposure and scan time. These results might have an important implication for indication, informed consent and contrast agent injection protocols

Prospective ECG triggering reduces prosthetic heart valve-induced artefacts compared with retrospective ECG gating on 256-slice CT

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Symersky, P.; Habets, J.; Westers, P.; Mol, de B.A.J.M.; Prokop, M.; Budde, R.P.J.

2012-01-01

Objectives Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) has diagnostic value for the evaluation of prosthetic heart valve (PHV) dysfunction but it is hampered by artefacts. We hypothesised that image acquisition using prospective triggering instead of retrospective gating would reduce artefacts related

Improving ECG Services at a Children’s Hospital: Implementation of a Digital ECG System

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Frank A. Osei

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background. The use of digital ECG software and services is becoming common. We hypothesized that the introduction of a completely digital ECG system would increase the volume of ECGs interpreted at our children’s hospital. Methods. As part of a hospital wide quality improvement initiative, a digital ECG service (MUSE, GE was implemented at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in June 2012. The total volume of ECGs performed in the first 6 months of the digital ECG era was compared to 18 months of the predigital era. Predigital and postdigital data were compared via t-tests. Results. The mean ECGs interpreted per month were 53 ± 16 in the predigital era and 216 ± 37 in the postdigital era (p<0.001, a fourfold increase in ECG volume after introduction of the digital system. There was no significant change in inpatient or outpatient service volume during that time. The mean billing time decreased from 21 ± 27 days in the postdigital era to 12 ± 5 days in the postdigital era (p<0.001. Conclusion. Implementation of a digital ECG system increased the volume of ECGs officially interpreted and reported.

Validation of measurements of Fourier phase and amplitude analysis of technetium99 gated cardiac scans using artificial hearts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yiannikas, J.; Takatani, S.; MacIntyre, W.J.; Underwood, D.A.; Cook, S.A.; Go, R.T.; Napoli, C.; Nose, Y.

1982-01-01

The use of artificial hearts, developed for total heart replacement programs, allows assessment of the accuracy of measuring the first Fourier component phase and amplitude when applied to gated cardiac technetium 99 scans. In the extreme example of asynchrony of ventricular contraction in coronary artery disease that of ventricular aneurysms, the first Fourier component measurements of amplitude were highly correlated to volume increases suggesting that the calculated amplitude accurately reflects volume changes. The calculated asynchrony using Fourier analysis of the gated technetium 99 studies of two artificial hearts was highly accurate when compared to the predetermined calculation of phase angle difference and hence degree of asynchrony. The studies suggest that measurement of phase and amplitude using the first Fourier component of time-activity waves of gated cardiac technetium 99 studies accurately measure degree of asynchrony and volume changes respectively

Dual-source cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in the follow-up of cardiac transplant: comparison of image quality and radiation dose using three different imaging protocols

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Beitzke, D.; Berger-Kulemann, V.; Unterhumer, S.; Loewe, C.; Wolf, F. [Medical University Vienna, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image Guided Therapy, Division of Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, Vienna (Austria); Schoepf, V. [Medical University Vienna, Department of Biomedical Imaging and Image Guided Therapy, Division of Neuroradiology and Musculoskeletal Radiology, Vienna (Austria); Spitzer, E. [Bern University Hospital, Department of Cardiology, Bern (Switzerland); Feuchtner, G.M. [Innsbruck Medical University, Department of Radiology II, Innsbruck (Austria); Gyoengyoesi, M. [Medical University Vienna, Department of Cardiology, Vienna (Austria); Uyanik-Uenal, K.; Zuckermann, A. [Medical University Vienna, Department of Cardiac Surgery, Vienna (Austria)

2015-08-15

To prospectively evaluate image quality (IQ) and radiation dose of dual-source cardiac computed tomography (CCTA) using different imaging protocols. CCTA was performed in 150 patients using the retrospective ECG-gated spiral technique (rECG) the prospective ECG-gated technique (pECG), or the prospective ECG-gated technique with systolic imaging and automated tube voltage selection (pECGsys). IQ was rated using a 16-segment coronary artery model. Techniques were compared for overall IQ, IQ of the large and the small coronary artery segments. Effective dose was used for comparison of radiation dose. Overall IQ and IQ of the large segments showed no differences between the groups. IQ analysis of the small segments showed lowered IQ in pECGsys compared to rECG (p = 0.02), but not to pECG (p = 0.6). Effective dose did not differ significantly between rECG and pECG (p = 0.13), but was significantly lower for pECGsys (p < 0.001 vs. rECG and pECG). Radiation dose of dual-source CCTA in heart transplant recipients is significantly reduced by using prospective systolic scanning and automated tube voltage selection, while overall IQ and IQ of the large coronary segments are maintained. IQ appears to be lower compared to retrospective techniques with regard to small coronary segments. (orig.)

Dual-source cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in the follow-up of cardiac transplant: comparison of image quality and radiation dose using three different imaging protocols

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beitzke, D.; Berger-Kulemann, V.; Unterhumer, S.; Loewe, C.; Wolf, F.; Schoepf, V.; Spitzer, E.; Feuchtner, G.M.; Gyoengyoesi, M.; Uyanik-Uenal, K.; Zuckermann, A.

2015-01-01

To prospectively evaluate image quality (IQ) and radiation dose of dual-source cardiac computed tomography (CCTA) using different imaging protocols. CCTA was performed in 150 patients using the retrospective ECG-gated spiral technique (rECG) the prospective ECG-gated technique (pECG), or the prospective ECG-gated technique with systolic imaging and automated tube voltage selection (pECGsys). IQ was rated using a 16-segment coronary artery model. Techniques were compared for overall IQ, IQ of the large and the small coronary artery segments. Effective dose was used for comparison of radiation dose. Overall IQ and IQ of the large segments showed no differences between the groups. IQ analysis of the small segments showed lowered IQ in pECGsys compared to rECG (p = 0.02), but not to pECG (p = 0.6). Effective dose did not differ significantly between rECG and pECG (p = 0.13), but was significantly lower for pECGsys (p < 0.001 vs. rECG and pECG). Radiation dose of dual-source CCTA in heart transplant recipients is significantly reduced by using prospective systolic scanning and automated tube voltage selection, while overall IQ and IQ of the large coronary segments are maintained. IQ appears to be lower compared to retrospective techniques with regard to small coronary segments. (orig.)

On the Design of an Efficient Cardiac Health Monitoring System Through Combined Analysis of ECG and SCG Signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahoo, Prasan Kumar; Thakkar, Hiren Kumar; Lin, Wen-Yen; Chang, Po-Cheng; Lee, Ming-Yih

2018-01-28

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major public concern and socioeconomic problem across the globe. The popular high-end cardiac health monitoring systems such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computerized tomography scan (CT scan), and echocardiography (Echo) are highly expensive and do not support long-term continuous monitoring of patients without disrupting their activities of daily living (ADL). In this paper, the continuous and non-invasive cardiac health monitoring using unobtrusive sensors is explored aiming to provide a feasible and low-cost alternative to foresee possible cardiac anomalies in an early stage. It is learned that cardiac health monitoring based on sole usage of electrocardiogram (ECG) signals may not provide powerful insights as ECG provides shallow information on various cardiac activities in the form of electrical impulses only. Hence, a novel low-cost, non-invasive seismocardiogram (SCG) signal along with ECG signals are jointly investigated for the robust cardiac health monitoring. For this purpose, the in-laboratory data collection model is designed for simultaneous acquisition of ECG and SCG signals followed by mechanisms for the automatic delineation of relevant feature points in acquired ECG and SCG signals. In addition, separate feature points based novel approach is adopted to distinguish between normal and abnormal morphology in each ECG and SCG cardiac cycle. Finally, a combined analysis of ECG and SCG is carried out by designing a Naïve Bayes conditional probability model. Experiments on Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved licensed ECG/SCG signals acquired from real subjects containing 12,000 cardiac cycles show that the proposed feature point delineation mechanisms and abnormal morphology detection methods consistently perform well and give promising results. In addition, experimental results show that the combined analysis of ECG and SCG signals provide more reliable cardiac health monitoring compared to the

On the Design of an Efficient Cardiac Health Monitoring System Through Combined Analysis of ECG and SCG Signals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prasan Kumar Sahoo

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Cardiovascular disease (CVD is a major public concern and socioeconomic problem across the globe. The popular high-end cardiac health monitoring systems such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, computerized tomography scan (CT scan, and echocardiography (Echo are highly expensive and do not support long-term continuous monitoring of patients without disrupting their activities of daily living (ADL. In this paper, the continuous and non-invasive cardiac health monitoring using unobtrusive sensors is explored aiming to provide a feasible and low-cost alternative to foresee possible cardiac anomalies in an early stage. It is learned that cardiac health monitoring based on sole usage of electrocardiogram (ECG signals may not provide powerful insights as ECG provides shallow information on various cardiac activities in the form of electrical impulses only. Hence, a novel low-cost, non-invasive seismocardiogram (SCG signal along with ECG signals are jointly investigated for the robust cardiac health monitoring. For this purpose, the in-laboratory data collection model is designed for simultaneous acquisition of ECG and SCG signals followed by mechanisms for the automatic delineation of relevant feature points in acquired ECG and SCG signals. In addition, separate feature points based novel approach is adopted to distinguish between normal and abnormal morphology in each ECG and SCG cardiac cycle. Finally, a combined analysis of ECG and SCG is carried out by designing a Naïve Bayes conditional probability model. Experiments on Institutional Review Board (IRB approved licensed ECG/SCG signals acquired from real subjects containing 12,000 cardiac cycles show that the proposed feature point delineation mechanisms and abnormal morphology detection methods consistently perform well and give promising results. In addition, experimental results show that the combined analysis of ECG and SCG signals provide more reliable cardiac health monitoring compared to

Magnetic scanning gate microscopy of CoFeB lateral spin valve

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Héctor Corte-León

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Devices comprised of CoFeB nanostructures with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and non-magnetic Ta channel were operated in thermal lateral spin valve (LSV mode and studied by magnetotransport measurements and magnetic scanning gate microscopy (SGM. Due to the short spin diffusion length of Ta, the spin diffusion signal was suppressed, allowing the study of the contribution from the anomalous Nernst (ANE and anomalous Hall effects (AHE. The magnetotransport measurements identified the switching fields of the CoFeB nanostructures and demonstrated a combination of AHE and ANE when the devices were operated in thermally-driven spin-injection mode. Modified scanning probe microscopy probes were fabricated by placing a NdFeB magnetic bead (MB on the apex of a commercial Si probe. The dipole magnetic field distribution around the MB was characterized by using differential phase contrast technique and direct measurement of the switching field induced by the bead in the CoFeB nanodevices. Using SGM we demonstrate the influence of localized magnetic field on the CoFeB nanostructures near the non-magnetic channel. This approach provides a promising route towards the study of thermal and spin diffusion effects using local magnetic fields.

Magnetic scanning gate microscopy of CoFeB lateral spin valve

Science.gov (United States)

Corte-León, Héctor; Scarioni, Alexander Fernandez; Mansell, Rhodri; Krzysteczko, Patryk; Cox, David; McGrouther, Damien; McVitie, Stephen; Cowburn, Russell; Schumacher, Hans W.; Antonov, Vladimir; Kazakova, Olga

2017-05-01

Devices comprised of CoFeB nanostructures with perpendicular magnetic anisotropy and non-magnetic Ta channel were operated in thermal lateral spin valve (LSV) mode and studied by magnetotransport measurements and magnetic scanning gate microscopy (SGM). Due to the short spin diffusion length of Ta, the spin diffusion signal was suppressed, allowing the study of the contribution from the anomalous Nernst (ANE) and anomalous Hall effects (AHE). The magnetotransport measurements identified the switching fields of the CoFeB nanostructures and demonstrated a combination of AHE and ANE when the devices were operated in thermally-driven spin-injection mode. Modified scanning probe microscopy probes were fabricated by placing a NdFeB magnetic bead (MB) on the apex of a commercial Si probe. The dipole magnetic field distribution around the MB was characterized by using differential phase contrast technique and direct measurement of the switching field induced by the bead in the CoFeB nanodevices. Using SGM we demonstrate the influence of localized magnetic field on the CoFeB nanostructures near the non-magnetic channel. This approach provides a promising route towards the study of thermal and spin diffusion effects using local magnetic fields.

The accuracy of axial length measurements in cases of macula-off retinal detachment.

Science.gov (United States)

Abou-Shousha, Mohsen; Helaly, Hany Ahmed; Osman, Ihab Mohamed

2016-04-01

To assess the accuracy of axial length measurements in cases of macula-off retinal detachment using different methods (optical biometry, A-scan ultrasound, and combined applanation vector-A/B-scan biometry). This prospective clinical study included 100 eyes of 100 patients who underwent vitrectomy alone or phacovitrectomy for macula-off retinal detachment. All patients included signed an informed consent. Preoperative examination of the patients included recording the axial length measurements using optical biometry, A-scan ultrasound, and combined applanation vector-A/B-scan biometry. The mean postoperative IOLMaster axial length after macular reattachment was 26.11 ± 2.91 mm. The mean preoperative IOLMaster axial length with macula-off was 25.32 ± 2.72 mm. The mean preoperative A-scan axial length with macula-off was 25.29 ± 2.80 mm. The mean preoperative vector-A/B-scan axial length with macula-off was 26.03 ± 2.90 mm. The preoperative vector-A/B-scan mean absolute error was 0.59 ± 0.48 D (range, 0.10-2.25 D). Regular methods (optical biometry and A-scan biometry) of measuring the axial length in cases with a detached macula proved to be variable and less accurate. The vector-A/B-scan offered good measurements of the actual axial length in the patients. This was reflected on more accurate postoperative refractive outcome. Copyright © 2016 Canadian Ophthalmological Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Comparison of automated 4-chamber cardiac views versus axial views for measuring right ventricular enlargement in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wittenberg, R.; Vliet, J.W. van; Ghaye, B.; Peters, J.F.; Schaefer-Prokop, C.M.; Coche, E.

2012-01-01

Purpose: Compare the right ventricle to left ventricle (RV/LV) diameter ratio obtained from axial pulmonary CT angiograms (CTPA) with those derived from automatically generated 4-chamber (4-CH) reformats in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE). Methods: In this institutional review board-approved study we included 120 consecutive non ECG-gated CTPA from 3 institutions (mean age 60 ± 16 years; 71 women). Twenty 64-slice CTPA with PE and 20 without PE were selected per institution. For each patient the RV/LV diameter ratio was obtained from both axial CTPA images and automatically generated 4-CH reformats. Measurements were performed twice in two separated sessions by 2 experienced radiologists and 2 residents. The differences between the measurements on both views were evaluated. Results: The 4-CH view was successfully obtained in 113 patients. The mean axial and 4-CH diameter ratios were comparable for three of the four readers (p = 0.56, p = 0.13, p = 0.08). Although the mean diameters (1.0 and 1.03 respectively) for one resident were significantly different (p = 0.013), the difference of 0.03 seems negligible in clinical routine. Three readers achieved equally high intra-reader agreements with both measurements (ICCs of 0.94, 0.95 and 0.96), while one reader showed a different variability with ICCs of 0.96 for the axial view and 0.91 for the 4-CH view. The inter-reader agreement was equally high for both measurement types with ICCs of 0.95 and 0.94, respectively. Conclusion: In patients with suspected PE, RV/LV diameters ratio can be measured with the same reproducibility and accuracy using an automatically generated 4-CH view compared to the axial view.

Electrocardiographic-gated dual-isotope simultaneous acquisition SPECT using 18F-FDG and 99mTc-sestamibi to assess myocardial viability and function in a single study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsunari, Ichiro; Matsudaira, Masamichi; Hisada, Kinichi; Kanayama, Sugako; Yoneyama, Tatsuya; Nakajima, Kenichi; Taki, Junichi; Tonami, Norihisa; Nekolla, Stephan G.

2005-01-01

Dual-isotope simultaneous acquisition single-photon emission computed tomography (DISA SPECT) with 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and 99m Tc-sestamibi appears attractive for the detection of viable myocardium because it permits simultaneous assessment of glucose utilisation and perfusion. Another potential benefit of this approach is that the measurement of left ventricular (LV) function may be possible by ECG gating. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that both myocardial viability and LV function can be assessed by a single ECG-gated 18 F-FDG/ 99m Tc-sestamibi DISA SPECT study, based on comparison with 18 F-FDG/ 13 N-ammonia positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as reference techniques. Thirty-three patients with prior myocardial infarction underwent ECG-gated 18 F-FDG/ 99m Tc-sestamibi DISA SPECT and 18 F-FDG/ 13 N-ammonia PET on a single day. Of these, 25 patients also underwent cine-MRI to assess LV function. The LV myocardium was divided into nine regions, and each region was classified as viable or scar using a semiquantitative visual scoring system as well as quantitative analysis. The global and regional LV function measured by gated SPECT was compared with the results of MRI. There was good agreement in respect of viability (90-96%, κ0.74-0.85) between DISA SPECT and PET by either visual or quantitative analysis. Furthermore, although both global and regional LV function measured by gated SPECT agreed with those by MRI, 99m Tc-sestamibi showed a closer correlation with MRI than did 18 F-FDG. In conclusion, ECG-gated DISA SPECT provides information on myocardial viability, as well as global and regional LV function, similar to that obtained by PET and MRI. (orig.)

Low axial drift stage and temperature controlled liquid cell for z-scan fluorescence correlation spectroscopy in an inverted confocal geometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allgeyer, Edward S.; Sterling, Sarah M.; Neivandt, David J.; Mason, Michael D.

2011-01-01

A recent iteration of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), z-scan FCS, has drawn attention for its elegant solution to the problem of quantitative sample positioning when investigating two-dimensional systems while simultaneously providing an excellent method for extracting calibration-free diffusion coefficients. Unfortunately, the measurement of planar systems using (FCS and) z-scan FCS still requires extremely mechanically stable sample positioning, relative to a microscope objective. As axial sample position serves as the inherent length calibration, instabilities in sample position will affect measured diffusion coefficients. Here, we detail the design and function of a highly stable and mechanically simple inverted microscope stage that includes a temperature controlled liquid cell. The stage and sample cell are ideally suited to planar membrane investigations, but generally amenable to any quantitative microscopy that requires low drift and excellent axial and lateral stability. In the present work we evaluate the performance of our custom stage system and compare it with the stock microscope stage and typical sample sealing and holding methods.

Evaluating FDG uptake changes between pre and post therapy respiratory gated PET scans

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aristophanous, Michalis; Yong, Yue; Yap, Jeffrey T.; Killoran, Joseph H.; Allen, Aaron M.; Berbeco, Ross I.; Chen, Aileen B.

2012-01-01

Purpose: Whole body (3D) and respiratory gated (4D) FDG-PET/CT scans performed pre-radiotherapy (pre-RT) and post-radiotherapy (post-RT) were analyzed to investigate the impact of 4D PET in evaluating 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake changes due to therapy, relative to traditional 3D PET. Methods and materials: 3D and 4D sequential FDG-PET/CT scans were acquired pre-RT and approximately one month post-RT for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The lesions of high uptake targeted with radiotherapy were identified on the pre-RT scan of each patient. Each lesion on the 3D and each of the five phases of the 4D scan were analyzed using a region of interest (ROI). For each patient the ROIs of the pre-RT scans were used to locate the areas of initial FDG uptake on the post-RT scans following rigid registration. Post-RT ROIs were drawn and the FDG uptake was compared with that of the pre-RT scans. Results: Sixteen distinct lesions from 12 patients were identified and analyzed. Standardized uptake value (SUV) maxima were significantly higher (p-value <0.005) for the lesions as measured on the 4D compared to 3D PET. Comparison of serial pre and post-RT scans showed a mean 62% decrease in SUV with the 3D PET scan (range 36–89%), and a 67% decrease with the 4D PET scan (range 30–89%). The mean absolute difference in SUV change on 3D versus 4D scans was 4.9%, with a range 0–15% (p-value = 0.07). Conclusions: Signal recovery with 4D PET results in higher SUVs when compared to standard 3D PET. Consequently, differences in the evaluation of SUV changes between pre and post-RT plans were observed. Such difference can have a significant impact in PET-based response assessment.

Optimization of GEANT4 settings for Proton Pencil Beam Scanning simulations using GATE

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grevillot, Loic, E-mail: loic.grevillot@gmail.co [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); Creatis, CNRS UMR 5220, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Centre de Lutte Contre le Cancer Leon Berard, F-69373 Lyon (France); IBA, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Frisson, Thibault [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); Creatis, CNRS UMR 5220, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Centre de Lutte Contre le Cancer Leon Berard, F-69373 Lyon (France); Zahra, Nabil [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); IPNL, CNRS UMR 5822, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Centre de Lutte Contre le Cancer Leon Berard, F-69373 Lyon (France); Bertrand, Damien; Stichelbaut, Frederic [IBA, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium); Freud, Nicolas [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); CNDRI, INSA-Lyon, F-69621 Villeurbanne Cedex (France); Sarrut, David [Universite de Lyon, F-69622 Lyon (France); Creatis, CNRS UMR 5220, F-69622 Villeurbanne (France); Centre de Lutte Contre le Cancer Leon Berard, F-69373 Lyon (France)

2010-10-15

This study reports the investigation of different GEANT4 settings for proton therapy applications in the context of Treatment Planning System comparisons. The GEANT4.9.2 release was used through the GATE platform. We focused on the Pencil Beam Scanning delivery technique, which allows for intensity modulated proton therapy applications. The most relevant options and parameters (range cut, step size, database binning) for the simulation that influence the dose deposition were investigated, in order to determine a robust, accurate and efficient simulation environment. In this perspective, simulations of depth-dose profiles and transverse profiles at different depths and energies between 100 and 230 MeV have been assessed against reference measurements in water and PMMA. These measurements were performed in Essen, Germany, with the IBA dedicated Pencil Beam Scanning system, using Bragg-peak chambers and radiochromic films. GEANT4 simulations were also compared to the PHITS.2.14 and MCNPX.2.5.0 Monte Carlo codes. Depth-dose simulations reached 0.3 mm range accuracy compared to NIST CSDA ranges, with a dose agreement of about 1% over a set of five different energies. The transverse profiles simulated using the different Monte Carlo codes showed discrepancies, with up to 15% difference in beam widening between GEANT4 and MCNPX in water. A 8% difference between the GEANT4 multiple scattering and single scattering algorithms was observed. The simulations showed the inability of reproducing the measured transverse dose spreading with depth in PMMA, corroborating the fact that GEANT4 underestimates the lateral dose spreading. GATE was found to be a very convenient simulation environment to perform this study. A reference physics-list and an optimized parameters-list have been proposed. Satisfactory agreement against depth-dose profiles measurements was obtained. The simulation of transverse profiles using different Monte Carlo codes showed significant deviations. This point

ECG Electrocardiogram (For Parents)

Science.gov (United States)

... Staying Safe Videos for Educators Search English Español ECG (Electrocardiogram) KidsHealth / For Parents / ECG (Electrocardiogram) Print en ... whether there is any damage. How Is an ECG Done? There is nothing painful about getting an ...

Detection of a magnetic bead by hybrid nanodevices using scanning gate microscopy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

H. Corte-León

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Hybrid ferromagnetic(Py/non-magnetic metal(Au junctions with a width of 400 nm are studied by magnetotransport measurements, magnetic scanning gate microscopy (SGM with a magnetic bead (MB attached to the probe, and micromagnetic simulations. In the transverse geometry, the devices demonstrate a characteristic magnetoresistive behavior that depends on the direction of the in plane magnetic field, with minimum/maximum variation when the field is applied parallel/perpendicular to the Py wire. The SGM is performed with a NdFeB bead of 1.6 μm diameter attached to the scanning probe. Our results demonstrate that the hybrid junction can be used to detect this type of MB. A rough approximation of the sensing volume of the junction has the shape of elliptical cylinder with the volume of ∼1.51 μm3. Micromagnetic simulations coupled to a magnetotransport model including anisotropic magnetoresistance and planar Hall effects are in good agreement with the experimental findings, enabling the interpretation of the SGM images.

Subtraction imaging of the ECG gated cardiac CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tanegashima, K.; Fukui, M.; Hyodo, H.

1987-05-01

The subtracting manipulation of contrast-enhanced gated cardiac CT (GCCT) images was experimentally studied with TCT 60A - 30 type (Toshiba) for clinical use, thereby reducing the amount of contrast medium (CM). Initially the optimum relationship between the concentration of CM and its injected velocity was determined using the model of resected canine hearts and in actual dogs. The emphasized good-subtracted images were obtained when the difference of CT values was approximately 40 H.U. between cardiac cavity and myocardium. Such condition was feasible in the use of 25 % Diatrizoic acid and its injected velocity of 0.02 ml/kg/sec. Finally the reduction of the amount of CM by 1/3 became possible in clinical settings. The method is applicable to multi-slice GCCT in various heart diseases.

Phase analysis in gated blood pool tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakajima, Kenichi; Bunko, Hisashi; Tada, Akira; Taki, Junichi; Nanbu, Ichiro

1984-01-01

Phase analysis of gated blood pool study has been applied to detect the site of accessory conduction pathway (ACP) in the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome; however, there was a limitation to detect the precise location of ACP by phase analysis alone. In this study, we applied phase analysis to gated blood pool tomography using seven pin hole tomography (7PT) and gated emission computed tomography (GECT) in 21 patients with WPW syndrome and 3 normal subjects. In 17 patients, the sites of ACPs were confirmed by epicardial mapping and the result of the surgical division of ACP. In 7PT, the site of ACP grossly agreed to the abnormal initial phase in phase image in 5 out of 6 patients with left cardiac type. In GECT, phase images were generated in short axial, vertical and horizontal long axial sections. In 8 out of 9 patients, the site of ACP was correctly identified by phase images, and in a patient who had two ACPs, initial phase corresponded to one of the two locations. Phase analysis of gated blood pool tomography has advantages for avoiding overlap of blood pools and for estimating three-dimensional propagation of the contraction, and can be a good adjunctive method in patients with WPW syndrome. (author)

Cardiac gated ventilation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanson, C.W. III; Hoffman, E.A.

1995-01-01

There are several theoretic advantages to synchronizing positive pressure breaths with the cardiac cycle, including the potential for improving distribution of pulmonary and myocardial blood flow and enhancing cardiac output. The authors evaluated the effects of synchronizing respiration to the cardiac cycle using a programmable ventilator and electron beam CT (EBCT) scanning. The hearts of anesthetized dogs were imaged during cardiac gated respiration with a 50 msec scan aperture. Multi slice, short axis, dynamic image data sets spanning the apex to base of the left ventricle were evaluated to determine the volume of the left ventricular chamber at end-diastole and end-systole during apnea, systolic and diastolic cardiac gating. The authors observed an increase in cardiac output of up to 30% with inspiration gated to the systolic phase of the cardiac cycle in a non-failing model of the heart

Intrinsic respiratory gating in small-animal CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bartling, Soenke H.; Dinkel, Julien; Kauczor, Hans-Ulrich; Stiller, Wolfram; Semmler, Wolfhard; Grasruck, Michael; Madisch, Ijad; Gupta, Rajiv; Kiessling, Fabian

2008-01-01

Gating in small-animal CT imaging can compensate artefacts caused by physiological motion during scanning. However, all published gating approaches for small animals rely on additional hardware to derive the gating signals. In contrast, in this study a novel method of intrinsic respiratory gating of rodents was developed and tested for mice (n=5), rats (n=5) and rabbits (n=2) in a flat-panel cone-beam CT system. In a consensus read image quality was compared with that of non-gated and retrospective extrinsically gated scans performed using a pneumatic cushion. In comparison to non-gated images, image quality improved significantly using intrinsic and extrinsic gating. Delineation of diaphragm and lung structure improved in all animals. Image quality of intrinsically gated CT was judged to be equivalent to extrinsically gated ones. Additionally 4D datasets were calculated using both gating methods. Values for expiratory, inspiratory and tidal lung volumes determined with the two gating methods were comparable and correlated well with values known from the literature. We could show that intrinsic respiratory gating in rodents makes additional gating hardware and preparatory efforts superfluous. This method improves image quality and allows derivation of functional data. Therefore it bears the potential to find wide applications in small-animal CT imaging. (orig.)

Magnetic scanning gate microscopy of a domain wall nanosensor using microparticle probe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Corte-León, H., E-mail: hector.corte@npl.co.uk [National Physical Laboratory, Teddington TW11 0LW (United Kingdom); Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX (United Kingdom); Gribkov, B. [National Physical Laboratory, Teddington TW11 0LW (United Kingdom); Krzysteczko, P. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig D-38116 (Germany); Marchi, F.; Motte, J.-F. [University of Grenoble Alpes, Inst. NEEL, Grenoble F-38042 (France); CNRS, Inst. NEEL, Grenoble F-38042 (France); Schumacher, H.W. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Braunschweig D-38116 (Germany); Antonov, V. [Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX (United Kingdom); Kazakova, O. [National Physical Laboratory, Teddington TW11 0LW (United Kingdom)

2016-02-15

We apply the magnetic scanning gate microscopy (SGM) technique to study the interaction between a magnetic bead (MB) and a domain wall (DW) trapped in an L-shaped magnetic nanostructure. Magnetic SGM is performed using a custom-made probe, comprising a hard magnetic NdFeB bead of diameter 1.6 µm attached to a standard silicon tip. The MB–DW interaction is detected by measuring changes in the electrical resistance of the device as a function of the tip position. By scanning at different heights, we create a 3D map of the MB–DW interaction and extract the sensing volume for different widths of the nanostructure's arms. It is shown that for 50 nm wide devices the sensing volume is a cone of 880 nm in diameter by 1.4 µm in height, and reduces down to 800 nm in height for 100 nm devices with almost no change in its diameter. - Highlights: • AFM tips with a magnetic bead attached used to test interaction with domain wall. • Domain wall inside a nanostructure affect the electrical resistance. • Recording electrical resistance while scanning with modified AFM probe. • Change of resistance as a function of the position of the magnetic bead. • This allows comparing different devices in a reproducible and controllable way.

Hazardous situation in the MR bore: induction in ECG leads causes fire

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kugel, Harald; Bremer, Christoph; Fischbach, Roman; Lenzen, Horst; Tombach, Bernd; Heindel, Walter; Pueschel, Marco; Aken, Hugo van

2003-01-01

There is a potential hazard during examinations of patients with attached or implanted long conductors, e.g. ECG leads: an MR exam of the lumbar spine of a patient was performed in a 1.5-T scanner under ECG monitoring using equipment marked as MR compatible. Standard cabling of 370-cm length was guided without loops from the electrodes through the caudal opening of the magnet bore. During a sagittal T1-weighted turbo-spin-echo scan suddenly a flame of approximately 3 cm arose from the patient's shirt, close to the position of the electrodes. The supervising anaesthesiologist extinguished the flames with his hands. A subsequent physical examination revealed second- to third-degree burns. The analysis of the incident revealed that high voltages can be induced in straight conductors without loops as ECG cables by coupling with the electric component of the HF field. Local heating or sparking can cause an open flame at the position of the electrodes. This danger exists even with ECG equipment that is specifically marked as MR compatible. (orig.)

Multi-purpose ECG telemetry system.

Science.gov (United States)

Marouf, Mohamed; Vukomanovic, Goran; Saranovac, Lazar; Bozic, Miroslav

2017-06-19

The Electrocardiogram ECG is one of the most important non-invasive tools for cardiac diseases diagnosis. Taking advantage of the developed telecommunication infrastructure, several approaches that address the development of telemetry cardiac devices were introduced recently. Telemetry ECG devices allow easy and fast ECG monitoring of patients with suspected cardiac issues. Choosing the right device with the desired working mode, signal quality, and the device cost are still the main obstacles to massive usage of these devices. In this paper, we introduce design, implementation, and validation of a multi-purpose telemetry system for recording, transmission, and interpretation of ECG signals in different recording modes. The system consists of an ECG device, a cloud-based analysis pipeline, and accompanied mobile applications for physicians and patients. The proposed ECG device's mechanical design allows laypersons to easily record post-event short-term ECG signals, using dry electrodes without any preparation. Moreover, patients can use the device to record long-term signals in loop and holter modes, using wet electrodes. In order to overcome the problem of signal quality fluctuation due to using different electrodes types and different placements on subject's chest, customized ECG signal processing and interpretation pipeline is presented for each working mode. We present the evaluation of the novel short-term recorder design. Recording of an ECG signal was performed for 391 patients using a standard 12-leads golden standard ECG and the proposed patient-activated short-term post-event recorder. In the validation phase, a sample of validation signals followed peer review process wherein two experts annotated the signals in terms of signal acceptability for diagnosis.We found that 96% of signals allow detecting arrhythmia and other signal's abnormal changes. Additionally, we compared and presented the correlation coefficient and the automatic QRS delineation results

Thin-section CT of lung without ECG gating: 64-detector row CT can markedly reduce cardiac motion artifact which can simulate lung lesions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yanagawa, Masahiro; Tomiyama, Noriyuki; Sumikawa, Hiromitsu; Inoue, Atsuo; Daimon, Tadahisa; Honda, Osamu; Mihara, Naoki; Johkoh, Takeshi; Nakamura, Hironobu

2009-01-01

Purpose: Motion artifacts, which can mimic thickened bronchial wall and the cystic appearance of bronchiectasis, constitute a potential pitfall in the diagnosis of interstitial or bronchial disease. Therefore, purpose of our study was to evaluate whether 64-detector row CT (64-MDCT) enables a reduction in respiratory or cardiac motion artifacts in the lung area on thin-section CT without ECG gating, and to examine the correlation between cardiac motion artifact and heart rate. Materials and methods: Thirty-two patients with suspected diffuse lung disease, who underwent both 8- and 64-MDCT (gantry rotation time, 0.5 and 0.4 s, respectively), were included. The heart rates of an additional 155 patients were measured (range, 48-126 beats per minute; mean, 76 beats per minute) immediately prior to 64-MDCT, and compared to the degree of cardiac motion artifact. Two independent observers evaluated the following artifacts on a monitor without the knowledge of relevant clinical information: (1) artifacts on 8- and 64-MDCT images with 1.25-mm thickness and those on 64-MDCT images with 0.625-mm thickness in 32 patients; and (2) artifacts on 64-MDCT images with 0.625-mm thickness in 155 patients. Results: Interobserver agreement was good in evaluating artifacts on 8-MDCT images with 1.25-mm thickness (weighted Kappa test, κ = 0.61-0.71), and fair or poor in the other evaluations (κ < 0.31). Two observers stated that cardiac motion artifacts were more significant on 8-MDCT than on 64-MDCT in all 32 patients. Statistically significant differences were found at various checkpoints only in comparing artifacts between 8- and 64-MDCT for 1.25-mm thickness (Wilcoxon's signed-rank test, p < 0.0017). Cardiac motion artifacts on 64-MDCT had no significant correlation with heart rate (Spearman's correlation coefficient by rank test). Conclusion: The high temporal resolution of 64-MDCT appears to reduce cardiac motion artifact that can affect thin-section scans of the lung parenchyma

Thin-section CT of lung without ECG gating: 64-detector row CT can markedly reduce cardiac motion artifact which can simulate lung lesions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yanagawa, Masahiro [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: m-yanagawa@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Tomiyama, Noriyuki; Sumikawa, Hiromitsu; Inoue, Atsuo [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Daimon, Tadahisa [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498 (Japan); Honda, Osamu [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Mihara, Naoki [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Department of Radiology, Osaka Advanced Medical Imaging Center, 5-20-1 Momoyamadai, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0854 (Japan); Johkoh, Takeshi [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Department of Medical Physics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Nakamura, Hironobu [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)

2009-01-15

Purpose: Motion artifacts, which can mimic thickened bronchial wall and the cystic appearance of bronchiectasis, constitute a potential pitfall in the diagnosis of interstitial or bronchial disease. Therefore, purpose of our study was to evaluate whether 64-detector row CT (64-MDCT) enables a reduction in respiratory or cardiac motion artifacts in the lung area on thin-section CT without ECG gating, and to examine the correlation between cardiac motion artifact and heart rate. Materials and methods: Thirty-two patients with suspected diffuse lung disease, who underwent both 8- and 64-MDCT (gantry rotation time, 0.5 and 0.4 s, respectively), were included. The heart rates of an additional 155 patients were measured (range, 48-126 beats per minute; mean, 76 beats per minute) immediately prior to 64-MDCT, and compared to the degree of cardiac motion artifact. Two independent observers evaluated the following artifacts on a monitor without the knowledge of relevant clinical information: (1) artifacts on 8- and 64-MDCT images with 1.25-mm thickness and those on 64-MDCT images with 0.625-mm thickness in 32 patients; and (2) artifacts on 64-MDCT images with 0.625-mm thickness in 155 patients. Results: Interobserver agreement was good in evaluating artifacts on 8-MDCT images with 1.25-mm thickness (weighted Kappa test, {kappa} = 0.61-0.71), and fair or poor in the other evaluations ({kappa} < 0.31). Two observers stated that cardiac motion artifacts were more significant on 8-MDCT than on 64-MDCT in all 32 patients. Statistically significant differences were found at various checkpoints only in comparing artifacts between 8- and 64-MDCT for 1.25-mm thickness (Wilcoxon's signed-rank test, p < 0.0017). Cardiac motion artifacts on 64-MDCT had no significant correlation with heart rate (Spearman's correlation coefficient by rank test). Conclusion: The high temporal resolution of 64-MDCT appears to reduce cardiac motion artifact that can affect thin-section scans of

Surface ECG and Fluoroscopy are Not Predictive of Right Ventricular Septal Lead Position Compared to Cardiac CT.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowe, Matthew K; Moore, Peter; Pratap, Jit; Coucher, John; Gould, Paul A; Kaye, Gerald C

2017-05-01

Controversy exists regarding the optimal lead position for chronic right ventricular (RV) pacing. Placing a lead at the RV septum relies upon fluoroscopy assisted by a surface 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG). We compared the postimplant lead position determined by ECG-gated multidetector contrast-enhanced computed tomography (MDCT) with the position derived from the surface 12-lead ECG. Eighteen patients with permanent RV leads were prospectively enrolled. Leads were placed in the RV septum (RVS) in 10 and the RV apex (RVA) in eight using fluoroscopy with anteroposterior and left anterior oblique 30° views. All patients underwent MDCT imaging and paced ECG analysis. ECG criteria were: QRS duration; QRS axis; positive or negative net QRS amplitude in leads I, aVL, V1, and V6; presence of notching in the inferior leads; and transition point in precordial leads at or after V4. Of the 10 leads implanted in the RVS, computed tomography (CT) imaging revealed seven to be at the anterior RV wall, two at the anteroseptal junction, and one in the true septum. For the eight RVA leads, four were anterior, two septal, and two anteroseptal. All leads implanted in the RVS met at least one ECG criteria (median 3, range 1-6). However, no criteria were specific for septal position as judged by MDCT. Mean QRS duration was 160 ± 24 ms in the RVS group compared with 168 ± 14 ms for RVA pacing (P = 0.38). We conclude that the surface ECG is not sufficiently accurate to determine RV septal lead tip position compared to cardiac CT. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Measurement of left ventricular ejection fraction from gated technetium-99m sestamibi myocardial images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boonyaprapa, S.; Ekmahachai, M.; Thanachaikun, N.; Jaiprasert, W.; Sukthomya, V.; Poramatikul, N.

1995-01-01

Sixty patients underwent SPET imaging with MIBI. Immediately after SPET acquisition ECG-gated 99m Tc-MIBI perfusion images were acquired using 24 planar images per R-R interval. A new method for measurement of LVEF from the ECG-gated 99m Tc-MIBI perfusion images was developed. To validate the method, LVEF derived from MIBI perfusion images was compared with that from conventional radionuclide ventriculography in all 60 patients. Forty patients had evidence of myocardial infarction and 20 had normal perfusion on MIBI imaging. There was no statistically significant difference between LVEF computed from 99m Tc-MIBI perfusion images and that from radionuclide ventriculography (r=0.7062, P 99m Tc-MIBI perfusion images can be obtained at the same time as assessment of myocardial perfusion and in the same orientation and metabolism of the myocardium, thereby permitting more accurate and realistic prognosis and diagnosis in patients with coronary artery disease. (orig.)

ECG-based 4D-dose reconstruction of cardiac arrhythmia ablation with carbon ion beams: application in a porcine model

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, Daniel; Immo Lehmann, H.; Eichhorn, Anna; Constantinescu, Anna M.; Kaderka, Robert; Prall, Matthias; Lugenbiel, Patrick; Takami, Mitsuru; Thomas, Dierk; Bert, Christoph; Durante, Marco; Packer, Douglas L.; Graeff, Christian

2017-09-01

Noninvasive ablation of cardiac arrhythmia by scanned particle radiotherapy is highly promising, but especially challenging due to cardiac and respiratory motion. Irradiations for catheter-free ablation in intact pigs were carried out at the GSI Helmholtz Center in Darmstadt using scanned carbon ions. Here, we present real-time electrocardiogram (ECG) data to estimate time-resolved (4D) delivered dose. For 11 animals, surface ECGs and temporal structure of beam delivery were acquired during irradiation. R waves were automatically detected from surface ECGs. Pre-treatment ECG-triggered 4D-CT phases were synchronized to the R-R interval. 4D-dose calculation was performed using GSI’s in-house 4D treatment planning system. Resulting dose distributions were assessed with respect to coverage (D95 and V95), heterogeneity (HI  =  D5-D95) and normal tissue exposure. Final results shown here were performed offline, but first calculations were started shortly after irradiation The D95 for TV and PTV was above 95% for 10 and 8 out of 11 animals, respectively. HI was reduced for PTV versus TV volumes, especially for some of the animals targeted at the atrioventricular junction, indicating residual interplay effects due to cardiac motion. Risk structure exposure was comparable to static and 4D treatment planning simulations. ECG-based 4D-dose reconstruction is technically feasible in a patient treatment-like setting. Further development of the presented approach, such as real-time dose calculation, may contribute to safe, successful treatments using scanned ion beams for cardiac arrhythmia ablation.

Axial Ge/Si nanowire heterostructure tunnel FETs.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dayeh, Shadi A. (Los Alamos National Laboratory); Gin, Aaron V.; Huang, Jian Yu; Picraux, Samuel Thomas (Los Alamos National Laboratory)

2010-03-01

Axial Ge/Si heterostructure nanowires (NWs) allow energy band-edge engineering along the axis of the NW, which is the charge transport direction, and the realization of asymmetric devices for novel device architectures. This work reports on two significant advances in the area of heterostructure NWs and tunnel FETs: (i) the realization of 100% compositionally modulated Si/Ge axial heterostructure NWs with lengths suitable for device fabrication and (ii) the design and implementation of Schottky barrier tunnel FETs on these NWs for high-on currents and suppressed ambipolar behavior. Initial prototype devices with 10 nm PECVD SiN{sub x} gate dielectric resulted in a very high current drive in excess of 100 {micro}A/{micro}m (I/{pi}D) and 10{sup 5} I{sub on}/I{sub off} ratios. Prior work on the synthesis of Ge/Si axial NW heterostructures through the VLS mechanism have resulted in axial Si/Si{sub 1-x}Ge{sub x} NW heterostructures with x{sub max} {approx} 0.3, and more recently 100% composition modulation was achieved with a solid growth catalyst. In this latter case, the thickness of the heterostructure cannot exceed few atomic layers due to the slow axial growth rate and concurrent radial deposition on the NW sidewalls leading to a mixture of axial and radial deposition, which imposes a big challenge for fabricating useful devices form these NWs in the near future. Here, we report the VLS growth of 100% doping and composition modulated axial Ge/Si heterostructure NWs with lengths appropriate for device fabrication by devising a growth procedure that eliminates Au diffusion on the NW sidewalls and minimizes random kinking in the heterostructure NWs as deduced from detailed microscopy analysis. Fig. 1 a shows a cross-sectional SEM image of epitaxial Ge/Si axial NW heterostructures grown on a Ge(111) surface. The interface abruptness in these Ge/Si heterostructure NWs is of the order of the NW diameter. Some of these NWs develop a crystallographic kink that is {approx

Safety and efficacy of a drug regimen to control heart rate during 64-slice ECG-gated coronary CTA in children

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rigsby, Cynthia K.; Nicholas, Angela C.; deFreitas, R.A.; Leidecker, Christianne; Johanek, Andrew J.; Anley, Peter; Wang, Deli; Uejima, Tetsu

2010-01-01

The adult practice for ECG-gated single-source 64-slice coronary CTA (CCTA) includes administering beta-blockers to reduce heart rate. There are limited data on this process in children. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a drug regimen to decrease heart rate before performing CCTA in children. IV remifentanil and esmolol infusion were chosen to decrease heart rate in 41 children (mean age 6.5 years) while they were under general anesthesia (GA) for CCTA. Drug doses, changes in heart rate and procedural complications were recorded. CCTA image quality was graded on a scale of 1 to 5. The relationships between image quality and heart rate and image quality and age were evaluated. Patient effective radiation doses were calculated. Heart rates were lowered utilizing esmolol (4 children), remifentanil (2 children) or both (35 children); 26 children received nitroglycerin for coronary vasodilation. The mean decrease in heart rate was 26%. There were no major complications. The average image-quality score was 4.4. Higher heart rates were associated with worse image quality (r = 0.67, P < 0.0001). Older age was associated with better image quality (r = 0.66, P < 0.0001). Effective radiation doses were 0.7 to 7.0 mSv. Heart rate reduction for pediatric CCTA can be safely and effectively achieved while yielding high-quality images. (orig.)

Sequential Total Variation Denoising for the Extraction of Fetal ECG from Single-Channel Maternal Abdominal ECG.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kwang Jin; Lee, Boreom

2016-07-01

Fetal heart rate (FHR) is an important determinant of fetal health. Cardiotocography (CTG) is widely used for measuring the FHR in the clinical field. However, fetal movement and blood flow through the maternal blood vessels can critically influence Doppler ultrasound signals. Moreover, CTG is not suitable for long-term monitoring. Therefore, researchers have been developing algorithms to estimate the FHR using electrocardiograms (ECGs) from the abdomen of pregnant women. However, separating the weak fetal ECG signal from the abdominal ECG signal is a challenging problem. In this paper, we propose a method for estimating the FHR using sequential total variation denoising and compare its performance with that of other single-channel fetal ECG extraction methods via simulation using the Fetal ECG Synthetic Database (FECGSYNDB). Moreover, we used real data from PhysioNet fetal ECG databases for the evaluation of the algorithm performance. The R-peak detection rate is calculated to evaluate the performance of our algorithm. Our approach could not only separate the fetal ECG signals from the abdominal ECG signals but also accurately estimate the FHR.

ECG signal processing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

2009-01-01

A system extracts an ECG signal from a composite signal (308) representing an electric measurement of a living subject. Identification means (304) identify a plurality of temporal segments (309) of the composite signal corresponding to a plurality of predetermined segments (202,204,206) of an ECG

The acquisition and retention of ECG interpretation skills after a standardized web-based ECG tutorial

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rolskov Bojsen, Signe; Räder, Sune Bernd Emil Werner; Holst, Anders Gaardsdal

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation is of great importance for patient management. However, medical students frequently lack proficiency in ECG interpretation and rate their ECG training as inadequate. Our aim was to examine the effect of a standalone web-based ECG tutorial...... and to assess the retention of skills using multiple follow-up intervals. METHODS: 203 medical students were included in the study. All participants completed a pre-test, an ECG tutorial, and a post-test. The participants were also randomised to complete a retention-test after short (2-4 weeks), medium (10.......6), respectively). When comparing the pre-test to retention-test delta scores, junior students had learned significantly more than senior students (junior students improved 10.7 points and senior students improved 4.7 points, p = 0.003). CONCLUSION: A standalone web-based ECG tutorial can be an effective means...

Specificity of elevated intercostal space ECG recording for the type 1 Brugada ECG pattern

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holst, Anders G; Tangø, Mogens; Batchvarov, Velislav

2012-01-01

Right precordial (V1-3) elevated electrode placement ECG (EEP-ECG) is often used in the diagnosis of Brugada syndrome (BrS). However, the specificity of this has only been studied in smaller studies in Asian populations. We aimed to study this in a larger European population.......Right precordial (V1-3) elevated electrode placement ECG (EEP-ECG) is often used in the diagnosis of Brugada syndrome (BrS). However, the specificity of this has only been studied in smaller studies in Asian populations. We aimed to study this in a larger European population....

Altered carotid plaque signal among different repetition times on T1-weighted magnetic resonance plaque imaging with self-navigated radial-scan technique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Narumi, Shinsuke; Ohba, Hideki; Mori, Kiyofumi; Ohura, Kazumasa; Ono, Ayumi; Terayama, Yasuo [Iwate Medical University, Department of Neurology and Gerontology, Morioka (Japan); Sasaki, Makoto [Iwate Medical University, Advanced Medical Research Center, Morioka (Japan); Ogasawara, Kuniaki [Iwate Medical University, Department of Neurosurgery, Morioka (Japan); Hitomi, Jiro [Iwate Medical University, Department of Anatomy, Morioka (Japan)

2010-04-15

Magnetic resonance (MR) plaque imaging for carotid arteries is usually performed by using an electrocardiograph (ECG)-gating technique to eliminate pulsation-related artifacts, which can affect the plaque signals because of varied repetition time (TR) among patients. Hence, we investigated whether differences in TR causes signal alterations of the carotid plaque by using a non-gated plaque imaging technique. We prospectively examined 19 patients with carotid stenosis by using a T1-weighted self-navigated radial-scan technique with TRs of 500, 700, and 900 ms. The signal intensity of the carotid plaque was measured, and the contrast ratio (CR) relative to the adjacent muscle was calculated. CRs of the carotid plaques were 1.39 {+-} 0.39, 1.29 {+-} 0.29, and 1.23 {+-} 0.24 with TRs of 500, 700, and 900 ms, respectively, and were significantly different. Among the plaques, those with a hyperintensity signal (CR > 1.5) and moderate-intensity signal (CR 1.2-1.5) at 500 ms showed a TR-dependent signal decrease (hyperintensity plaques, 1.82 {+-} 0.26; 1.61 {+-} 0.19; and 1.48 {+-} 0.17; moderate-intensity plaques, 1.33 {+-} 0.08; 1.26 {+-} 0.08; and 1.19 {+-} 0.07), while those with an isointensity signal (CR < 1.2) remained unchanged regardless of TR (0.96 {+-} 0.12, 0.96 {+-} 0.11, and 0.97 {+-} 0.13). The signal intensity of the carotid plaque on T1-weighted imaging significantly varies among different TRs and tends to decrease with longer TR. MR plaque imaging with short and constant TR settings that the ECG-gating method cannot realize would be preferable for evaluating plaque characteristics. (orig.)

Assessment of left ventricular function in patients with atrial fibrillation by left ventricular filling and function curves determined by ECG gated blood pool scintigraphy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inagaki, Suetsugu

1986-06-01

Accurate cardiac function in patients with atrial fibrillation (Af) is difficult to assess, since a wide fluctuation of cardiac cycle makes the ventricular hemodynamics variable. Although ECG gated blood pool scintigraphy (EGBPS) is useful to evaluate left ventricular (LV) function, a conventional EGBPS might have a problem in applying to Af. Therefore, a new processing algorithm was devised to make multiple gated images discriminated by preceding R-R intervals (PRR), and LV filling and function curves were obtained in 62 patients with Af to evaluate LV function. LV filling curve, obtained by plotting end-diastolic volume (EDV) againt PRR, demonstrated that the blood filling was impaired in mitral stenosis and constrictive pericarditis, but recovered after mitral commissurotomy. LV function curve, by plotting stroke volume (SV) againt EDV, was quantitatively analysed by the indices such as Slope and Position. Both indices reduced significantly in heart failure. When compared among underlying diseases individually, the indices decreased in the following order; lone Af, hyperthyroidism, senile Af, hypertension, mitral valve disease, ischemic heart disease, dilated cardiomyopathy and aortic regurgitation. After the treatment with digitalis and/or diuretics, left and upward shift of function curve was observed. The rise in heart rate by atropine infusion made Slope and Position unchanged, and which implied that function curve was little influenced by heart rate per se. The rise in systolic blood pressure by angiotensin-II infusion caused shifts in function curve to rightward and downward. Downward shift, mostly seen in patients with gentler slope in control state, may imply afterload mismatch due to a decrease in preload reserve. (J.P.N.).

A Monte Carlo pencil beam scanning model for proton treatment plan simulation using GATE/GEANT4

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grevillot, L; Freud, N; Sarrut, D [Universite de Lyon, CREATIS, CNRS UMR5220, Inserm U1044, INSA-Lyon, Universite Lyon 1, Centre Leon Berard, Lyon (France); Bertrand, D; Dessy, F, E-mail: loic.grevillot@creatis.insa-lyon.fr [IBA, B-1348, Louvain-la Neuve (Belgium)

2011-08-21

This work proposes a generic method for modeling scanned ion beam delivery systems, without simulation of the treatment nozzle and based exclusively on beam data library (BDL) measurements required for treatment planning systems (TPS). To this aim, new tools dedicated to treatment plan simulation were implemented in the Gate Monte Carlo platform. The method was applied to a dedicated nozzle from IBA for proton pencil beam scanning delivery. Optical and energy parameters of the system were modeled using a set of proton depth-dose profiles and spot sizes measured at 27 therapeutic energies. For further validation of the beam model, specific 2D and 3D plans were produced and then measured with appropriate dosimetric tools. Dose contributions from secondary particles produced by nuclear interactions were also investigated using field size factor experiments. Pristine Bragg peaks were reproduced with 0.7 mm range and 0.2 mm spot size accuracy. A 32 cm range spread-out Bragg peak with 10 cm modulation was reproduced with 0.8 mm range accuracy and a maximum point-to-point dose difference of less than 2%. A 2D test pattern consisting of a combination of homogeneous and high-gradient dose regions passed a 2%/2 mm gamma index comparison for 97% of the points. In conclusion, the generic modeling method proposed for scanned ion beam delivery systems was applicable to an IBA proton therapy system. The key advantage of the method is that it only requires BDL measurements of the system. The validation tests performed so far demonstrated that the beam model achieves clinical performance, paving the way for further studies toward TPS benchmarking. The method involves new sources that are available in the new Gate release V6.1 and could be further applied to other particle therapy systems delivering protons or other types of ions like carbon.

Biometric security based on ECG

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ma, L.; Groot, de J.A.; Linnartz, J.P.M.G.

2011-01-01

Recently the electrocardiogram (ECG) has been proposed as a novel biometric. This paper aims to construct a reliable ECG verification system, in terms of privacy protection. To this end, an improved expression to estimate the capacity in the autocorrelation (AC) of the ECG is derived, which not only

Validity of computational hemodynamics in human arteries based on 3D time-of-flight MR angiography and 2D electrocardiogram gated phase contrast images

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Huidan (Whitney); Chen, Xi; Chen, Rou; Wang, Zhiqiang; Lin, Chen; Kralik, Stephen; Zhao, Ye

2015-11-01

In this work, we demonstrate the validity of 4-D patient-specific computational hemodynamics (PSCH) based on 3-D time-of-flight (TOF) MR angiography (MRA) and 2-D electrocardiogram (ECG) gated phase contrast (PC) images. The mesoscale lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is employed to segment morphological arterial geometry from TOF MRA, to extract velocity profiles from ECG PC images, and to simulate fluid dynamics on a unified GPU accelerated computational platform. Two healthy volunteers are recruited to participate in the study. For each volunteer, a 3-D high resolution TOF MRA image and 10 2-D ECG gated PC images are acquired to provide the morphological geometry and the time-varying flow velocity profiles for necessary inputs of the PSCH. Validation results will be presented through comparisons of LBM vs. 4D Flow Software for flow rates and LBM simulation vs. MRA measurement for blood flow velocity maps. Indiana University Health (IUH) Values Fund.

Competency in ECG Interpretation Among Medical Students

Science.gov (United States)

Kopeć, Grzegorz; Magoń, Wojciech; Hołda, Mateusz; Podolec, Piotr

2015-01-01

Background Electrocardiogram (ECG) is commonly used in diagnosis of heart diseases, including many life-threatening disorders. We aimed to assess skills in ECG interpretation among Polish medical students and to analyze the determinants of these skills. Material/Methods Undergraduates from all Polish medical schools were asked to complete a web-based survey containing 18 ECG strips. Questions concerned primary ECG parameters (rate, rhythm, and axis), emergencies, and common ECG abnormalities. Analysis was restricted to students in their clinical years (4th–6th), and students in their preclinical years (1st–3rd) were used as controls. Results We enrolled 536 medical students (females: n=299; 55.8%), aged 19 to 31 (23±1.6) years from all Polish medical schools. Most (72%) were in their clinical years. The overall rate of good response was better in students in years 4th–5th than those in years 1st–3rd (66% vs. 56%; pECG interpretation was higher in students who reported ECG self-learning (69% vs. 62%; pECG classes (66% vs. 66%; p=0.99). On multivariable analysis (pECG interpretation. Conclusions Polish medical students in their clinical years have a good level of competency in interpreting the primary ECG parameters, but their ability to recognize ECG signs of emergencies and common heart abnormalities is low. ECG interpretation skills are determined by self-education but not by attendance at regular ECG classes. Our results indicate qualitative and quantitative deficiencies in teaching ECG interpretation at medical schools. PMID:26541993

Quality assessment of digital annotated ECG data from clinical trials by the FDA ECG Warehouse.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarapa, Nenad

2007-09-01

The FDA mandates that digital electrocardiograms (ECGs) from 'thorough' QTc trials be submitted into the ECG Warehouse in Health Level 7 extended markup language format with annotated onset and offset points of waveforms. The FDA did not disclose the exact Warehouse metrics and minimal acceptable quality standards. The author describes the Warehouse scoring algorithms and metrics used by FDA, points out ways to improve FDA review and suggests Warehouse benefits for pharmaceutical sponsors. The Warehouse ranks individual ECGs according to their score for each quality metric and produces histogram distributions with Warehouse-specific thresholds that identify ECGs of questionable quality. Automatic Warehouse algorithms assess the quality of QT annotation and duration of manual QT measurement by the central ECG laboratory.

Axially modulated arch resonator for logic and memory applications

KAUST Repository

Hafiz, Md Abdullah Al

2018-01-17

We demonstrate reconfigurable logic and random access memory devices based on an axially modulated clamped-guided arch resonator. The device is electrostatically actuated and the motional signal is capacitively sensed, while the resonance frequency is modulated through an axial electrostatic force from the guided side of the microbeam. A multi-physics finite element model is used to verify the effectiveness of the axial modulation. We present two case studies: first, a reconfigurable two-input logic gate based on the linear resonance frequency modulation, and second, a memory element based on the hysteretic frequency response of the resonator working in the nonlinear regime. The energy consumptions of the device for both logic and memory operations are in the range of picojoules, promising for energy efficient alternative computing paradigm.

WAVELET ANALYSIS OF ABNORMAL ECGS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vasudha Nannaparaju

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Detection of the warning signals by the heart can be diagnosed from ECG. An accurate and reliable diagnosis of ECG is very important however which is cumbersome and at times ambiguous in time domain due to the presence of noise. Study of ECG in wavelet domain using both continuous Wavelet transform (CWT and discrete Wavelet transform (DWT, with well known wavelet as well as a wavelet proposed by the authors for this investigation is found to be useful and yields fairly reliable results. In this study, Wavelet analysis of ECGs of Normal, Hypertensive, Diabetic and Cardiac are carried out. The salient feature of the study is that detection of P and T phases in wavelet domain is feasible which are otherwise feeble or absent in raw ECGs.

Burn-Up Determination by High Resolution Gamma Spectrometry: Axial and Diametral Scanning Experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Forsyth, R S; Blackadder, W H; Ronqvist, N

1967-02-15

In the gamma spectrometric determination of burn-up the use of a single fission product as a monitor of the specimen fission rate is subject to errors caused by activity saturation or, in certain cases, fission product migration. Results are presented of experiments in which all the resolvable gamma peaks in the fission product spectrum have been used to calculate the fission rate; these results form a pattern which reflect errors in the literature values of the gamma branching ratios, fission yields etc., and also represent a series of empirical correction factors. Axial and diametral scanning experiments on a long-irradiated low-enrichment fuel element are also described and demonstrate that it is possible to differentiate between fissions in U-235 and in Pu-239 respectively by means of the ratios of the Ru-106 activity to the activities of the other fission products.

Optimization of GATE and PHITS Monte Carlo code parameters for spot scanning proton beam based on simulation with FLUKA general-purpose code

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kurosu, Keita [Department of Radiation Oncology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Department of Radiology, Osaka University Hospital, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Das, Indra J. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Moskvin, Vadim P. [Department of Radiation Oncology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202 (United States); Department of Radiation Oncology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105 (United States)

2016-01-15

Spot scanning, owing to its superior dose-shaping capability, provides unsurpassed dose conformity, in particular for complex targets. However, the robustness of the delivered dose distribution and prescription has to be verified. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation has the potential to generate significant advantages for high-precise particle therapy, especially for medium containing inhomogeneities. However, the inherent choice of computational parameters in MC simulation codes of GATE, PHITS and FLUKA that is observed for uniform scanning proton beam needs to be evaluated. This means that the relationship between the effect of input parameters and the calculation results should be carefully scrutinized. The objective of this study was, therefore, to determine the optimal parameters for the spot scanning proton beam for both GATE and PHITS codes by using data from FLUKA simulation as a reference. The proton beam scanning system of the Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center was modeled in FLUKA, and the geometry was subsequently and identically transferred to GATE and PHITS. Although the beam transport is managed by spot scanning system, the spot location is always set at the center of a water phantom of 600 × 600 × 300 mm{sup 3}, which is placed after the treatment nozzle. The percentage depth dose (PDD) is computed along the central axis using 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 mm{sup 3} voxels in the water phantom. The PDDs and the proton ranges obtained with several computational parameters are then compared to those of FLUKA, and optimal parameters are determined from the accuracy of the proton range, suppressed dose deviation, and computational time minimization. Our results indicate that the optimized parameters are different from those for uniform scanning, suggesting that the gold standard for setting computational parameters for any proton therapy application cannot be determined consistently since the impact of setting parameters depends on the proton irradiation

Optimization of GATE and PHITS Monte Carlo code parameters for spot scanning proton beam based on simulation with FLUKA general-purpose code

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurosu, Keita; Das, Indra J.; Moskvin, Vadim P.

2016-01-01

Spot scanning, owing to its superior dose-shaping capability, provides unsurpassed dose conformity, in particular for complex targets. However, the robustness of the delivered dose distribution and prescription has to be verified. Monte Carlo (MC) simulation has the potential to generate significant advantages for high-precise particle therapy, especially for medium containing inhomogeneities. However, the inherent choice of computational parameters in MC simulation codes of GATE, PHITS and FLUKA that is observed for uniform scanning proton beam needs to be evaluated. This means that the relationship between the effect of input parameters and the calculation results should be carefully scrutinized. The objective of this study was, therefore, to determine the optimal parameters for the spot scanning proton beam for both GATE and PHITS codes by using data from FLUKA simulation as a reference. The proton beam scanning system of the Indiana University Health Proton Therapy Center was modeled in FLUKA, and the geometry was subsequently and identically transferred to GATE and PHITS. Although the beam transport is managed by spot scanning system, the spot location is always set at the center of a water phantom of 600 × 600 × 300 mm 3 , which is placed after the treatment nozzle. The percentage depth dose (PDD) is computed along the central axis using 0.5 × 0.5 × 0.5 mm 3 voxels in the water phantom. The PDDs and the proton ranges obtained with several computational parameters are then compared to those of FLUKA, and optimal parameters are determined from the accuracy of the proton range, suppressed dose deviation, and computational time minimization. Our results indicate that the optimized parameters are different from those for uniform scanning, suggesting that the gold standard for setting computational parameters for any proton therapy application cannot be determined consistently since the impact of setting parameters depends on the proton irradiation technique

Ecg manifestations in dengue infection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tarique, S.; Murtaza, G.; Asif, S.; Qureshi, I.H.

2013-01-01

To determine the frequency of ECG changes in patients with dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever. Place of study: Department of Medicine, Mayo Hospital Lahore Duration of study: September to November 201 Study design: Cross sectional analytical study Patient and methods: 116 patients with dengue infection were enrolled in the study. Their clinical presentation and examination was duly noted. Each patient had baseline and then regular monitoring of blood counts, metabolic profile and fluid status. Patients with Dengue Hemorrhagic fever underwent radiological examination in form of chest radiograph and ultrasound abdomen. ECG was carried out in all patients. Results: Out of 116 patients, 61(52.6%) suffered from Dengue Fever and 55(47.4%) had Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever. Overall 78 patients had normal ECG. Abnormal ECG findings like tachycardia, bradycardia, supraventricular tachycardia, left bundle branch block, ST depression, poor progression of R wave were noted. There was no significant relationship of ECG findings with the disease. Conclusion: ECG changes can occur in dengue infection with or without cardiac symptoms. Commonly noted findings were ST depression and bradycardia. (author)

Utility of the CORD ECG Database in Evaluating ECG Interpretation by Emergency Medicine Residents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wong, Hubert E

2002-10-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Electrocardiograph (ECG interpretation is a vital component of Emergency Medicine (EM resident education, but few studies have formally examined ECG teaching methods used in residency training. Recently, the Council of EM Residency Directors (CORD developed an Internet database of 395 ECGs that have been extensively peer-reviewed to incorporate all findings and abnormalities. We examined the efficacy of this database in assessing EM residents' skills in ECG interpretation. METHODS: We used the CORD ECG database to evaluate residents at our academic three-year EM residency. Thirteen residents participated, including four first-year, four second-year, and five third-year residents. Twenty ECGs were selected using 14 search criteria representing a broad range of abnormalities, including infarction, rhythm, and conduction abnormalities. Exams were scored based on all abnormalities and findings listed in the teaching points accompanying each ECG. We assigned points to each abnormal finding based on clinical relevance. RESULTS: Out of a total of 183 points in our clinically weighted scoring system, first-year residents scored an average of 99 points (54.1% [9 1- 1191, second-year residents 11 1 points (60.4% [97-1261, and third-year residents 130 points (7 1.0% [94- 1501, p = 0.12. Clinically relevant abnormalities, including anterior and inferior myocardial infarctions, were most frequently diagnosed correctly, while posterior infarction was more frequently missed. Rhythm abnormalities including ventricular and supraventricular tachycardias were most frequently diagnosed correctly, while conduction abnormalities including left bundle branch block and atrioventricular (AV block were more frequently missed. CONCLUSION: The CORD database represents a valuable resource in the assessment and teaching of ECG skills, allowing more precise identification of areas upon which instruction should be further focused or individually tailored. Our

Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography to predict optimal tube pulsing window for coronary artery CT angiography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sun, Gang, E-mail: cjr.sungang@vip.163.com [Department of Medical Imaging, Jinan Military General Hospital, No. 25, Shifan Road, Jinan, Shandong Province 250031 (China); Li, Min, E-mail: limin22000@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Medical Imaging, Jinan Military General Hospital, No. 25, Shifan Road, Jinan, Shandong Province 250031 (China); Jiang, Xiang-sen, E-mail: jiangxiangsen123@126.com [Department of Medical Imaging, Jinan Military General Hospital, No. 25, Shifan Road, Jinan, Shandong Province 250031 (China); Li, Li, E-mail: leely1976@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Medical Imaging, Jinan Military General Hospital, No. 25, Shifan Road, Jinan, Shandong Province 250031 (China); Peng, Zhao-hui, E-mail: zhaohuipeng_R@163.com [Department of Medical Imaging, Jinan Military General Hospital, No. 25, Shifan Road, Jinan, Shandong Province 250031 (China); Mu, Nan-nan, E-mail: munannan22000@sohu.com [Department of Medical Imaging, Jinan Military General Hospital, No. 25, Shifan Road, Jinan, Shandong Province 250031 (China)

2012-09-15

Rationale and objective: To evaluate the feasibility of transthoracic Doppler echocardiography to determine the optimal pulsing windows for CT coronary angiography to narrow the pulsing windows further, especially in higher heart rate. Materials and methods: Doppler was performed on 135 patients before CT scanning. For Doppler, the intervals with minimal motion were evaluated during both systole and diastole integrating electrocardiogram (ECG) intervals. For CT scanning, the retrospective ECG-gating was applied and the optimal reconstruction intervals were determined. The accuracy of Doppler analysis to predict the optimal reconstruction intervals was tested. The predicted length of pulsing windows was compared between Doppler analysis and traditional prospective ECG-gating protocol (heart rate ≦ 65 bpm, 60–76%; 66–79 bpm, 30–77%; ≧80 bpm, 31–47%). Results: According to Doppler analysis, the mean length of intervals with minimal motion in systole was 106.4 ± 39.2 ms and 125.2 ± 92.0 ms in diastole. When the intervals with minimal motion during diastole > 90 ms, the optimal reconstruction intervals were located at diastole; otherwise, at systole (P < 0.001). The optimal reconstruction intervals in 93.8% (132/135) patients could be predicted accurately by Doppler analysis. If the optimal reconstruction intervals predicted by Doppler were applied as the exposure windows, the mean length of pulsing windows should has been 105.2 ± 69.4 ms (range: 26.9–510.3 ms), which was significantly shorter than that of traditional prospective ECG-gating protocol (232.0 ± 120.2 ms, range: 93.2–427.3 ms, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Doppler can help detecting the optimal pulsing windows accurately. Prospective ECG-gating incorporating Doppler analysis may narrow pulsing windows significantly while maintaining image quality.

Transthoracic Doppler echocardiography to predict optimal tube pulsing window for coronary artery CT angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Gang; Li, Min; Jiang, Xiang-sen; Li, Li; Peng, Zhao-hui; Mu, Nan-nan

2012-01-01

Rationale and objective: To evaluate the feasibility of transthoracic Doppler echocardiography to determine the optimal pulsing windows for CT coronary angiography to narrow the pulsing windows further, especially in higher heart rate. Materials and methods: Doppler was performed on 135 patients before CT scanning. For Doppler, the intervals with minimal motion were evaluated during both systole and diastole integrating electrocardiogram (ECG) intervals. For CT scanning, the retrospective ECG-gating was applied and the optimal reconstruction intervals were determined. The accuracy of Doppler analysis to predict the optimal reconstruction intervals was tested. The predicted length of pulsing windows was compared between Doppler analysis and traditional prospective ECG-gating protocol (heart rate ≦ 65 bpm, 60–76%; 66–79 bpm, 30–77%; ≧80 bpm, 31–47%). Results: According to Doppler analysis, the mean length of intervals with minimal motion in systole was 106.4 ± 39.2 ms and 125.2 ± 92.0 ms in diastole. When the intervals with minimal motion during diastole > 90 ms, the optimal reconstruction intervals were located at diastole; otherwise, at systole (P < 0.001). The optimal reconstruction intervals in 93.8% (132/135) patients could be predicted accurately by Doppler analysis. If the optimal reconstruction intervals predicted by Doppler were applied as the exposure windows, the mean length of pulsing windows should has been 105.2 ± 69.4 ms (range: 26.9–510.3 ms), which was significantly shorter than that of traditional prospective ECG-gating protocol (232.0 ± 120.2 ms, range: 93.2–427.3 ms, P < 0.001). Conclusion: Doppler can help detecting the optimal pulsing windows accurately. Prospective ECG-gating incorporating Doppler analysis may narrow pulsing windows significantly while maintaining image quality

Evaluation of a novel portable capacitive ECG system in the clinical practice for a fast and simple ECG assessment in patients presenting with chest pain: FIDET (Fast Infarction Diagnosis ECG Trial)

OpenAIRE

Rasenack, Eva C. L.; Oehler, Martin; Els?sser, Albrecht; Schilling, Meinhard; Maier, Lars S.

2012-01-01

Background Electrocardiogram (ECG) assessment plays a crucial role in patients presenting with chest pain and suspected acute coronary syndrome (ACS). In a pilot study, we previously evaluated a capacitive ECG system (cECG) as a novel ECG technique for a fast and simple ECG assessment in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). In a next step, the sensitivity and specificity of this novel ECG technique have to be assessed in patients with ACS. Hypothesis The Fast Infarction D...

SU-E-T-266: Development of Evaluation System of Optimal Synchrotron Controlling Parameter for Spot Scanning Proton Therapy with Multiple Gate Irradiations in One Operation Cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, T; Fujii, Y; Miyamoto, N; Matsuura, T; Takao, S; Matsuzaki, Y; Koyano, H; Shirato, H; Nihongi, H; Umezawa, M; Matsuda, K; Umegaki, K

2015-01-01

Purpose: We have developed a gated spot scanning proton beam therapy system with real-time tumor-tracking. This system has the ability of multiple-gated irradiation in a single synchrotron operation cycle controlling the wait-time for consecutive gate signals during a flat-top phase so that the decrease in irradiation efficiency induced by irregular variation of gate signal is reduced. Our previous studies have shown that a 200 ms wait-time is appropriate to increase the average irradiation efficiency, but the optimal wait-time can vary patient by patient and day by day. In this research, we have developed an evaluation system of the optimal wait-time in each irradiation based on the log data of the real-time-image gated proton beam therapy (RGPT) system. Methods: The developed system consists of logger for operation of RGPT system and software for evaluation of optimal wait-time. The logger records timing of gate on/off, timing and the dose of delivered beam spots, beam energy and timing of X-ray irradiation. The evaluation software calculates irradiation time in the case of different wait-time by simulating the multiple-gated irradiation operation using several timing information. Actual data preserved in the log data are used for gate on and off time, spot irradiation time, and time moving to the next spot. Design values are used for the acceleration and deceleration times. We applied this system to a patient treated with the RGPT system. Results: The evaluation system found the optimal wait-time of 390 ms that reduced the irradiation time by about 10 %. The irradiation time with actual wait-time used in treatment was reproduced with accuracy of 0.2 ms. Conclusion: For spot scanning proton therapy system with multiple-gated irradiation in one synchrotron operation cycle, an evaluation system of the optimal wait-time in each irradiation based on log data has been developed. Funding Support: Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through the FIRST

Measurement of time delay for a prospectively gated CT simulator.

Science.gov (United States)

Goharian, M; Khan, R F H

2010-04-01

For the management of mobile tumors, respiratory gating is the ideal option, both during imaging and during therapy. The major advantage of respiratory gating during imaging is that it is possible to create a single artifact-free CT data-set during a selected phase of the patient's breathing cycle. The purpose of the present work is to present a simple technique to measure the time delay during acquisition of a prospectively gated CT. The time delay of a Philips Brilliance BigBore (Philips Medical Systems, Madison, WI) scanner attached to a Varian Real-Time Position Management (RPM) system (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) was measured. Two methods were used to measure the CT time delay: using a motion phantom and using a recorded data file from the RPM system. In the first technique, a rotating wheel phantom was altered by placing two plastic balls on its axis and rim, respectively. For a desired gate, the relative positions of the balls were measured from the acquired CT data and converted into corresponding phases. Phase difference was calculated between the measured phases and the desired phases. Using period of motion, the phase difference was converted into time delay. The Varian RPM system provides an external breathing signal; it also records transistor-transistor logic (TTL) 'X-Ray ON' status signal from the CT scanner in a text file. The TTL 'X-Ray ON' indicates the start of CT image acquisition. Thus, knowledge of the start time of CT acquisition, combined with the real-time phase and amplitude data from the external respiratory signal, provides time-stamping of all images in an axial CT scan. The TTL signal with time-stamp was used to calculate when (during the breathing cycle) a slice was recorded. Using the two approaches, the time delay between the prospective gating signal and CT simulator has been determined to be 367 +/- 40 ms. The delay requires corrections both at image acquisition and while setting gates for the treatment delivery

Automatic intrinsic cardiac and respiratory gating from cone-beam CT scans of the thorax region

Science.gov (United States)

Hahn, Andreas; Sauppe, Sebastian; Lell, Michael; Kachelrieß, Marc

2016-03-01

We present a new algorithm that allows for raw data-based automated cardiac and respiratory intrinsic gating in cone-beam CT scans. It can be summarized in three steps: First, a median filter is applied to an initially reconstructed volume. The forward projection of this volume contains less motion information and is subtracted from the original projections. This results in new raw data that contain only moving and not static anatomy like bones, that would otherwise impede the cardiac or respiratory signal acquisition. All further steps are applied to these modified raw data. Second, the raw data are cropped to a region of interest (ROI). The ROI in the raw data is determined by the forward projection of a binary volume of interest (VOI) that includes the diaphragm for respiratory gating and most of the edge of the heart for cardiac gating. Third, the mean gray value in this ROI is calculated for every projection and the respiratory/cardiac signal is acquired using a bandpass filter. Steps two and three are carried out simultaneously for 64 or 1440 overlapping VOI inside the body for the respiratory or cardiac signal respectively. The signals acquired from each ROI are compared and the most consistent one is chosen as the desired cardiac or respiratory motion signal. Consistency is assessed by the standard deviation of the time between two maxima. The robustness and efficiency of the method is evaluated using simulated and measured patient data by computing the standard deviation of the mean signal difference between the ground truth and the intrinsic signal.

Deep Learning for ECG Classification

Science.gov (United States)

Pyakillya, B.; Kazachenko, N.; Mikhailovsky, N.

2017-10-01

The importance of ECG classification is very high now due to many current medical applications where this problem can be stated. Currently, there are many machine learning (ML) solutions which can be used for analyzing and classifying ECG data. However, the main disadvantages of these ML results is use of heuristic hand-crafted or engineered features with shallow feature learning architectures. The problem relies in the possibility not to find most appropriate features which will give high classification accuracy in this ECG problem. One of the proposing solution is to use deep learning architectures where first layers of convolutional neurons behave as feature extractors and in the end some fully-connected (FCN) layers are used for making final decision about ECG classes. In this work the deep learning architecture with 1D convolutional layers and FCN layers for ECG classification is presented and some classification results are showed.

Carbon-ion scanning lung treatment planning with respiratory-gated phase-controlled rescanning: simulation study using 4-dimensional CT data.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahashi, Wataru; Mori, Shinichiro; Nakajima, Mio; Yamamoto, Naoyoshi; Inaniwa, Taku; Furukawa, Takuji; Shirai, Toshiyuki; Noda, Koji; Nakagawa, Keiichi; Kamada, Tadashi

2014-11-11

To moving lung tumors, we applied a respiratory-gated strategy to carbon-ion pencil beam scanning with multiple phase-controlled rescanning (PCR). In this simulation study, we quantitatively evaluated dose distributions based on 4-dimensional CT (4DCT) treatment planning. Volumetric 4DCTs were acquired for 14 patients with lung tumors. Gross tumor volume, clinical target volume (CTV) and organs at risk (OARs) were delineated. Field-specific target volumes (FTVs) were calculated, and 48Gy(RBE) in a single fraction was prescribed to the FTVs delivered from four beam angles. The dose assessment metrics were quantified by changing the number of PCR and the results for the ungated and gated scenarios were then compared. For the ungated strategy, the mean dose delivered to 95% of the volume of the CTV (CTV-D95) was in average 45.3 ± 0.9 Gy(RBE) even with a single rescanning (1 × PCR). Using 4 × PCR or more achieved adequate target coverage (CTV-D95 = 46.6 ± 0.3 Gy(RBE) for ungated 4 × PCR) and excellent dose homogeneity (homogeneity index =1.0 ± 0.2% for ungated 4 × PCR). Applying respiratory gating, percentage of lung receiving at least 20 Gy(RBE) (lung-V20) and heart maximal dose, averaged over all patients, significantly decreased by 12% (p lung tumors without gating. The use of a respiratory-gated strategy in combination with PCR reduced excessive doses to OARs.

Strategies to reduce radiation dose in cardiac PET/CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Tung Hsin; Wu, Nien-Yun [Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Wang, Shyh-Jen [Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Department of Nuclear Medicine, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan (China); Wu, Jay [Institute of Radiological science, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan (China); Mok, Greta S.P. [Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau, Macau (China); Yang, Ching-Ching, E-mail: g39220003@yahoo.com.tw [Department of Radiological Technology, Tzu Chi College of Technology, 880, Sec.2, Chien-kuo Rd. Hualien 970, Taiwan (China); Huang, Tzung-Chi, E-mail: tzungchi.huang@mail.cmu.edu.tw [Department of Biomedical Imaging and Radiological Science, China Medical University, No.91 Hsueh-Shih Road, Taichung 40402, Taiwan (China)

2011-08-21

Background: Our aim was to investigate CT dose reduction strategies on a hybrid PET/CT scanner for cardiac applications. Materials: Image quality and dose estimation of different CT scanning protocols for CT coronary angiography (CTCA), and CT-based attenuation correction for PET imaging were investigated. Fifteen patients underwent CTCA, perfusion PET imaging at rest and under stress, and FDG PET for myocardial viability. These patients were divided into three groups based on the CTCA technique performed: retrospectively gated helical (RGH), ECG tube current modulation (ETCM), and prospective gated axial (PGA) acquisitions. All emission images were corrected for photon attenuation using CT images obtained by default setting and an ultra-low dose CT (ULDCT) scan. Results: Radiation dose in RGH technique was 22.2{+-}4.0 mSv. It was reduced to 10.95{+-}0.82 and 4.13{+-}0.31 mSv using ETCM and PGA techniques, respectively. Radiation dose in CT transmission scan was reduced by 96.5% (from 4.53{+-}0.5 to 0.16{+-}0.01 mSv) when applying ULDCT as compared to the default CT. No significant difference in terms of image quality was found among various protocols. Conclusion: The proposed CT scanning strategies, i.e. ETCM or PGA for CTCA and ULDCT for PET attenuation correction, could reduce radiation dose up to 47% without degrading imaging quality in an integrated cardiac PET/CT coronary artery examination.

Influence of the trigger technique on ventricular function measurements using 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging: comparison of ECG versus pulse wave triggering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sievers, Burkhard; Wiesner, Marco; Kiria, Nino; Speiser, Uwe; Schoen, Steffen; Strasser, Ruth H.

2011-01-01

Background Three Tesla cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (3T-CMR) is increasingly used in clinical practice. Despite many advantages one drawback is that ECG signal disturbances and artifacts increase with higher magnetic field strength resulting in trigger problems and false gating. This particularly affects cardiac imaging because most pulse sequences require ECG triggering. Pulse wave (PW) triggering is robust and might have advantages over ECG triggering. Purpose To evaluate differences in left ventricular (LV) function as an integral part of most CMR studies between ECG- and PW-triggered short-axis imaging using 3T-CMR. Material and Methods Forty-three patients underwent multiple short-axis cine imaging for LV-function assessment with ECG and PW triggering using standard multi breath hold steady-state free precession. LV-volumes (EDV, ESV), ejection fraction (EF), and mass were determined by slice summation. LV-wall motion was assessed by using a 4-point scoring scale. Bland Altman statistics for inter-observer variability were performed. Results ECG triggering failed in 15 patients (34.8%). Thus, analysis was performed in 28 patients (13 with impaired LV function). Difference in volumes (EDV 0.13 ± 1.8 mL, ESV 0.59 ± 1.1 mL), EF (-0.32 ± 0.6%) and mass (0.01 ± 1.1 g) between ECG and PW triggering were very small and significant only for ESV and EF (p 0.011). In patients with impaired LV function (n = 19) differences were not significant (p = 0.128). Wall motion scores did not differ between ECG and PW triggering (p = 0.295). Inter-observer variability for function measurements was low. Conclusion Short-axis cine imaging for LV-function assessment can accurately be performed using PW triggering on 3T magnets, and may be used in clinical practice when ECG triggering is disturbed

Comparative study of measured heart cycle phase durations: standard lead ECG versus original ascending aorta lead ECG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey V. Kolmakov

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Aims The present paper aims at evaluating the existing difference in duration measurements of the same heart cycle phases in the standard V3, V4, V5, V6 leads ECG versus original HDA lead ECG of the ascending aorta. Materials and methods The method of changing the filter pass band is used. Its essence is in artificial changing of the conditions of the signal recording carrying the informative indications of the initial information used in hemodynamic equations. The method also enables calculating the percentage deviation from the initial values. The principle of balance of the blood volume entering the heart and the blood volume leaving the heart is used to trace the minimal deviations and their respective recording conditions. Results In each of the V3, V4, V5, V6 ECG leads durations of the same phases have different values. The values measured on the ECG of the ascending aorta and those measured using the standard V4 ECG lead differ slightly. Conclusion For heart cycle phase analysis it is possible to use only the ECG of the ascending aorta and V4 standard lead ECG. Using conventional standard ECG leads causes an error up to 25%.

Effects of electrocardiogram gating on CT pulmonary angiography image quality

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ardley, Nicholas D.; Lau, Ken K.; Troupis, John M.; Buchan, Kevin; Paul, Eldho

2014-01-01

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is the third most common cause of death from cardiovascular disease. Computed-tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA) is an accurate and safe test for diagnosing PE. The aim of this retrospective analysis was to evaluate the effects on image quality (IQ) of electrocardiogram (ECG) gating during CTPA. Fifty consecutive patients presenting for CTPA were included in the study. A single acquisition was performed, resulting in two reconstructions: one at 75% of the R–R interval and the other without ECG influence. IQ evaluation was undertaken by two radiologists, focusing on respiratory and cardiac motion, image noise, low-contrast resolution, vessel and lung clarity, contrast media opacification and artefacts. Various regions of the lungs and vasculature were evaluated, and IQ scores were statistically compared. For the ECG-tagged reconstructions, IQ was noted to be better overall with regard to vessel clarity (P<0.05) and cardiac motion (P<0.05), while lung clarity was better only in the left lower zone (P<0.05). IQ was better with regard to image noise (P<0.05) and low-contrast resolution (P<0.05) in the non-ECG-tagged reconstructions. No statistical IQ difference between the two types of reconstruction was noted with regard to respiratory motion, contrast media opacification or presence of artefacts. The two types of reconstruction provide complementary information for evaluating CTPA results.

Experimental evaluations of wearable ECG monitor.

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Kiryong; Kim, Youngsung; Jung, Junyoung; Lee, Jeunwoo

2008-01-01

Healthcare industry is changing with ubiquitous computing environment and wearable ECG measurement is one of the most popular approaches in this healthcare industry. Reliability and performance of healthcare device is fundamental issue for widespread adoptions, and interdisciplinary perspectives of wearable ECG monitor make this more difficult. In this paper, we propose evaluation criteria considering characteristic of both ECG measurement and ubiquitous computing. With our wearable ECG monitors, various levels of experimental analysis are performed based on evaluation strategy.

Automatic cardiac gating of small-animal PET from list-mode data

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Herraiz, J.L.; Udias, J.M. [Universidad Complutense de Madrid Univ. (Spain). Grupo de Fisica Nuclear; Vaquero, J.J.; Desco, M. [Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain). Dept. de Bioingenieria e Ingenieria Aeroespacial; Cusso, L. [Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Maranon, Madrid (Spain). Unidad de Medicina y Cirugia Experimental

2011-07-01

This work presents a method to obtain automatically the cardiac gating signal in a PET study of rats, by employing the variation with time of the counts in the cardiac region, that can be extracted from list-mode data. In an initial step, the cardiac region is identified in the image space by backward-projecting a small fraction of the acquired data and studying the variation with time of the counts in each voxel inside said region, with frequencies within 2 and 8 Hz. The region obtained corresponds accurately to the left-ventricle of the heart of the rat. In a second step, the lines-of-response (LORs) connected with this region are found by forward-projecting this region. The time variation of the number of counts in these LORs contains the cardiac motion information that we want to extract. This variation of counts with time is band-pass filtered to reduce noise, and the time signal so obtained is used to create the gating signal. The result was compared with a cardiac gating signal obtained from an ECG acquired simultaneously to the PET study. Reconstructed gated images obtained from both gating information are similar. The method proposed demonstrates that valid cardiac gating signals can be obtained for rats from PET list-mode data. (orig.)

Resting ECG findings in elite football players.

Science.gov (United States)

Bohm, Philipp; Ditzel, Roman; Ditzel, Heribert; Urhausen, Axel; Meyer, Tim

2013-01-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate ECG abnormalities in a large sample of elite football players. Data from 566 elite male football players (57 of them of African origin) above 16 years of age were screened retrospectively (age: 20.9 ± 5.3 years; BMI: 22.9 ± 1.7 kg · m(-2), training history: 13.8 ± 4.7 years). The resting ECGs were analysed and classified according to the most current ECG categorisation of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) (2010) and a classification of Pelliccia et al. (2000) in order to assess the impact of the new ESC-approach. According to the classification of Pelliccia, 52.5% showed mildly abnormal ECG patterns and 12% were classified as distinctly abnormal ECG patterns. According to the classification of the ESC, 33.7% showed 'uncommon ECG patterns'. Short-QT interval was the most frequent ECG pattern in this group (41.9%), followed by a shortened PR-interval (19.9%). When assessed with a QTc cut-off-point of 340 ms (instead of 360 ms), only 22.2% would have had 'uncommon ECG patterns'. Resting ECG changes amongst elite football players are common. Adjustment of the ESC criteria by adapting proposed time limits for the ECG (e.g. QTc, PR) should further reduce the rate of false-positive results.

Image quality of high-resolution CT with 16-channel multidetector-row CT. Comparison between helical scan and conventional step-shoot scan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sumikawa, Hiromitsu; Johkoh, Takeshi; Koyama, Mitsuhiro

2005-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the image quality of high-resolution CT (HRCT) reconstructed from volumetric data with 16-channel multidetector-row CT (MDCT). Eleven autopsy lungs that were diagnosed histopathologically were scanned by 16-channel MDCT with the step-and-shoot scan mode and three helical scan modes. Each helical mode had each size of focal spot, pitch, and time of gantry rotation. HRCT images were reconstructed from the volumetric data with each helical mode and axial sequence data. Two observers evaluated the image quality and noted the most appropriate diagnosis for each imaging. Visualization of abnormal structures with one helical mode was equal to those with axial mode, whereas those with the other two helical modes were inferior to those with axial mode (Wilcoxon signed rank test; p<0.0001). There was no significant difference in diagnostic efficacy between modes. The image quality of HRCT with appropriate helical mode is equal to that with axial mode and diagnostic efficacy is equal among all modes. These results may indicate that sufficient HRCT images can be obtained by only one helical scan without the addition of conventional axial scans. (author)

'Brugada ECG' elicited by imipramine overdose

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van den Berg, M. P.; Tulleken, J. E.; Wilde, A. A. M.

2004-01-01

The ECG hallmark of the Brugada syndrome is ST-segment elevation in the right precordial leads. However, a 'Brugada ECG' may also occasionally be caused by other conditions. We report a case of a Brugada ECG due to an overdose of imipramine, a tricyclic antidepressant. The patient, a 66-year-old

Quantification of left ventricular regional functions using ECG-gated myocardial perfusion SPECT. Validation of left ventricular systolic functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Akira; Takahashi, Naoto; Iwahara, Shin-ichiro; Munakata, Kazuo; Hosoya, Tetsuo

2006-01-01

We have developed a program to quantify regional left ventricular (LV) function and wall motion synchrony using electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated myocardial perfusion SPECT (MPS). This preliminary study was undertaken to validate the use of this program for estimating regional LV systolic function. Patients were subjected to MPS by 99m Tc-sestamibi at rest. The study included 20 patients who were confirmed to have a low probability of coronary artery disease (LPG; low probability group), 19 heart disease patients who were examined by MPS and equilibrium radionuclide angiography (ERNA) (ERG; ERNA group), and 24 patients who were examined by MPS and 2-dimensional echocardiography (2DE) (2DEG; 2DE group). The values of the ejection fraction (EF) and peak ejection rate (PER) were estimated. The global functions evaluated by this program were compared with those obtained by ERNA in the ERG. For regional assessment, the reference values of the functional indices were obtained for 17 LV segments in LPG. The Z score, (reference average value of the segment-patient's value of the segment)/reference standard deviation of the segment, was used for the evaluation of regional functions; a score equal to or greater than 2 was defined as abnormal. Semiquantitative visual interpretation of 2DE was used as the standard to assess wall motion. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of these criteria and the relationship between 2DE grading and Z scoring were validated in 2DEG. The values of the global EF and PER evaluated by this program correlated with those determined by ERNA (r=0.76 and 0.58, respectively; p -10 ). The potential of this program to quantify the regional systolic function was validated. (author)

Comparison of 16-frame and 8-frame gated SPET imaging for determination of left ventricular volumes and ejection fraction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Navare, Sachin M.; Liu, Yi-Hwa; Wackers, Frans J.T.

2003-01-01

Electrocardiographic (ECG) gated single-photon emission tomography (SPET) allows for simultaneous assessment of myocardial perfusion and left ventricular (LV) function. Presently 8-frame per cardiac cycle ECG gating of SPET images is standard. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of 8-frame and 16-frame gated SPET on measurements of LV volumes and to evaluate the effects of the presence of myocardial perfusion defects and of radiotracer dose administered on the calculation of LV volumes. A total of 86 patients underwent technetium-99m SPET myocardial perfusion imaging using 16-frame per cardiac cycle acquisition. Eight-frame gated SPET images were generated by summation of contiguous frames. Left ventricular end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV) and ejection fraction (EF) were calculated from the 16-frame and 8-frame data sets. The patients were divided into groups according to the administered dose of the radiotracer and the size of the perfusion defect. Results. Sixteen frame per cardiac cycle acquisition resulted in significantly larger EDV (122±72 ml vs 115±68 ml, P<0.0001), smaller ESV (64±58.6 ml vs 67.6±59.5 ml, P<0.0001), and higher LVEF (55.3%±18% vs 49%±17.4%, P<0.0001) as compared to 8-frame SPET imaging. This effect was seen regardless of whether a high or a low dose was administered and whether or not significant perfusion defects were present. This study shows that EDV, ESV and LVEF determined by 16-frame gated SPET are significantly different from those determined by 8-frame gated SPET. The radiotracer dose and perfusion defects do not affect estimation of LV parameters by 16-frame gated SPET. (orig.)

Application of low dose radiation and low concentration contrast media in enhanced CT scans in children with congenital heart disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Zhimin; Song, Lei; Yu, Tong; Gao, Jun; Zhang, Qifeng; Jiang, Ling; Liu, Yong; Peng, Yun

2016-09-01

The aim of this study was to explore the feasibility of using low dose radiation and low concentration contrast media in enhanced CT examinations in children with congenital heart disease. Ninety patients with congenital heart disease were randomly divided into three groups of 30 patients each who underwent contrast-enhanced cardiac scans on a Discovery CT750 HD scanner. Group A received 270 mg I/mL iodixanol, and group B received 320 mg I/mL iodixanol contrast media and was scanned with prospective ECG triggering mode. Group C received 320 mg I/mL iodixanol and was scanned with conventional retrospective ECG gating mode. The same weight-based contrast injection protocol was used for all three groups. Images were reconstructed using a 30% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) algorithm and a 50% ASIR in groups A and B and a 30% ASIR in group C. The subjective and objective image quality evaluations, diagnostic accuracies, radiation doses and amounts of contrast media in the three groups were measured and compared. All images in the three groups met the diagnostic requirements, with the same diagnostic accuracy and image quality scores greater than 3 in a 4-point scoring system. However, ventricular enhancement and the objective noise, signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio and subjective image quality scores in group C were better than those in groups A and B (all Pcontrast dose (14% lower than that of groups B and C). Enhanced CT scan images with low dose radiation and low concentration contrast media can meet the diagnostic requirements for examining children with congenital heart disease while reducing the potential risk of radiation damage and contrast-induced nephropathy. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

e-SCP-ECG+ Protocol: An Expansion on SCP-ECG Protocol for Health Telemonitoring—Pilot Implementation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George J. Mandellos

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Standard Communication Protocol for Computer-assisted Electrocardiography (SCP-ECG provides standardized communication among different ECG devices and medical information systems. This paper extends the use of this protocol in order to be included in health monitoring systems. It introduces new sections into SCP-ECG structure for transferring data for positioning, allergies, and five additional biosignals: noninvasive blood pressure (NiBP, body temperature (Temp, Carbon dioxide (CO2, blood oxygen saturation (SPO2, and pulse rate. It also introduces new tags in existing sections for transferring comprehensive demographic data. The proposed enhanced version is referred to as e-SCP-ECG+ protocol. This paper also considers the pilot implementation of the new protocol as a software component in a Health Telemonitoring System.

Field programmable gate array based reconfigurable scanning probe/optical microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Nowak, Derek B; Lawrence, A J; Dzegede, Zechariah K; Hiester, Justin C; Kim, Cliff; Sánchez, Erik J

2011-10-01

The increasing popularity of nanometrology and nanospectroscopy has pushed researchers to develop complex new analytical systems. This paper describes the development of a platform on which to build a microscopy tool that will allow for flexibility of customization to suit research needs. The novelty of the described system lies in its versatility of capabilities. So far, one version of this microscope has allowed for successful near-field and far-field fluorescence imaging with single molecule detection sensitivity. This system is easily adapted for reflection, polarization (Kerr magneto-optical (MO)), Raman, super-resolution techniques, and other novel scanning probe imaging and spectroscopic designs. While collecting a variety of forms of optical images, the system can simultaneously monitor topographic information of a sample with an integrated tuning fork based shear force system. The instrument has the ability to image at room temperature and atmospheric pressure or under liquid. The core of the design is a field programmable gate array (FPGA) data acquisition card and a single, low cost computer to control the microscope with analog control circuitry using off-the-shelf available components. A detailed description of electronics, mechanical requirements, and software algorithms as well as examples of some different forms of the microscope developed so far are discussed.

Evaluation of global and regional left ventricular function obtained by quantitative gated SPECT using {sup 99m}Tc-tetrofosmin for left ventricular dysfunction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ban, Kazunobu; Nakajima, Tohru; Iseki, Harukazu; Abe, Sumihisa; Handa, Shunnosuke; Suzuki, Yutaka [Tokai Univ., Isehara, Kanagawa (Japan). School of Medicine

2000-08-01

The quantitative gated SPECT (QGS) software is able to calculate LV volumes and visualize LV wall motion and perfusion throughout the cardiac cycle using an automatic edge detection algorithm of the left ventricle. We evaluated the reliability of global and regional LV function assessment derived from QGS by comparing it with the results from left ventriculo-cineangiography (LVG). In 20 patients with left ventricular dysfunction who underwent ECG gated {sup 99m}Tc-tetrofosmin SPECT, the end-diastolic volume (EDV), end-systolic volume (ESV) and ejection fraction (LVEF) were calculated. The QGS-assessed regional wall motion was determined using the cinematic display. QGS-derived EDV, ESV and LVEF correlated well with those by LVG (p<0.001 for each). There was a good correlation between wall motion score (WMS) derived from the QGS and the LVG (r=0.40, p<0.05). In some patients with extensive myocardial infarction, there was a discrepancy in the regional wall motion results between QGS and LVG. The ECG-gated SPECT using QGS is useful to evaluate global and regional LV functions in left ventricular dysfunction. (author)

Evaluation on the influence of electrocardiograph modulated milliampere on image quality and exposure dosage of volume CT heart scan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Sen; Du Xiangke; Li Jianyin

2006-01-01

Objective: To find out whether the use of ECG modulated current (mA) will influence image quality and to decide whether the electrocardiograph (ECG) modulated mA will effectively reduce the exposure dosage. Methods: The cardiac pulsating phantom was set at three speed levels, i.e. high, medium, and low speed so as to simulate different heart rates. The phantom was scanned with ECG modulated mA turned on and off, and the exposure dosage of each scan sequence was documented. The images were reconstructed with reconstruction algorithm that matched the different levels of heart rate. CT values and their corresponding standard deviations at uniform areas on the images and the variation of the CT values at different locations were measured. The results from the two groups with and without ECG modulated mA were analyzed. Results: Under the same level of heart rate, the exposure dosage was remarkably reduced when the ECG modulated mA was on than when it was off. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference (P>0.05) between the images from the two groups. Conclusion: When scanning the heart with volume CT (VCT), the application of ECG modulated mA can effectively reduce the exposure dosage without sacrificing the image quality. (authors)

Scanning gate microscopy of quantum rings: effects of an external magnetic field and of charged defects.

Science.gov (United States)

Pala, M G; Baltazar, S; Martins, F; Hackens, B; Sellier, H; Ouisse, T; Bayot, V; Huant, S

2009-07-01

We study scanning gate microscopy (SGM) in open quantum rings obtained from buried semiconductor InGaAs/InAlAs heterostructures. By performing a theoretical analysis based on the Keldysh-Green function approach we interpret the radial fringes observed in experiments as the effect of randomly distributed charged defects. We associate SGM conductance images with the local density of states (LDOS) of the system. We show that such an association cannot be made with the current density distribution. By varying an external magnetic field we are able to reproduce recursive quasi-classical orbits in LDOS and conductance images, which bear the same periodicity as the Aharonov-Bohm effect.

[Analysis of pacemaker ECGs].

Science.gov (United States)

Israel, Carsten W; Ekosso-Ejangue, Lucy; Sheta, Mohamed-Karim

2015-09-01

The key to a successful analysis of a pacemaker electrocardiogram (ECG) is the application of the systematic approach used for any other ECG without a pacemaker: analysis of (1) basic rhythm and rate, (2) QRS axis, (3) PQ, QRS and QT intervals, (4) morphology of P waves, QRS, ST segments and T(U) waves and (5) the presence of arrhythmias. If only the most obvious abnormality of a pacemaker ECG is considered, wrong conclusions can easily be drawn. If a systematic approach is skipped it may be overlooked that e.g. atrial pacing is ineffective, the left ventricle is paced instead of the right ventricle, pacing competes with intrinsic conduction or that the atrioventricular (AV) conduction time is programmed too long. Apart from this analysis, a pacemaker ECG which is not clear should be checked for the presence of arrhythmias (e.g. atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, junctional escape rhythm and endless loop tachycardia), pacemaker malfunction (e.g. atrial or ventricular undersensing or oversensing, atrial or ventricular loss of capture) and activity of specific pacing algorithms, such as automatic mode switching, rate adaptation, AV delay modifying algorithms, reaction to premature ventricular contractions (PVC), safety window pacing, hysteresis and noise mode. A systematic analysis of the pacemaker ECG almost always allows a probable diagnosis of arrhythmias and malfunctions to be made, which can be confirmed by pacemaker control and can often be corrected at the touch of the right button to the patient's benefit.

Phase analysis in gated blood pool tomography. Detection of accessory conduction pathway

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Nakajima, Kenichi; Bunko, Hisashi; Tada, Akira; Taki, Junichi; Nanbu, Ichiro (Kanazawa Univ. (Japan). School of Medicine)

1984-02-01

Phase analysis of gated blood pool study has been applied to detect the site of accessory conduction pathway (ACP) in the Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome; however, there was a limitation to detect the precise location of ACP by phase analysis alone. In this study, we applied phase analysis to gated blood pool tomography using seven pin hole tomography (7PT) and gated emission computed tomography (GECT) in 21 patients with WPW syndrome and 3 normal subjects. In 17 patients, the sites of ACPs were confirmed by epicardial mapping and the result of the surgical division of ACP. In 7PT, the site of ACP grossly agreed to the abnormal initial phase in phase image in 5 out of 6 patients with left cardiac type. In GECT, phase images were generated in short axial, vertical and horizontal long axial sections. In 8 out of 9 patients, the site of ACP was correctly identified by phase images, and in a patient who had two ACPs, initial phase corresponded to one of the two locations. Phase analysis of gated blood pool tomography has advantages for avoiding overlap of blood pools and for estimating three-dimensional propagation of the contraction, and can be a good adjunctive method in patients with WPW syndrome.

Measurement of time delay for a prospectively gated CT simulator

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Goharian M

2010-01-01

Full Text Available For the management of mobile tumors, respiratory gating is the ideal option, both during imaging and during therapy. The major advantage of respiratory gating during imaging is that it is possible to create a single artifact-free CT data-set during a selected phase of the patient′s breathing cycle. The purpose of the present work is to present a simple technique to measure the time delay during acquisition of a prospectively gated CT. The time delay of a Philips Brilliance BigBore™ (Philips Medical Systems, Madison, WI scanner attached to a Varian Real-Time Position Management™ (RPM system (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA was measured. Two methods were used to measure the CT time delay: using a motion phantom and using a recorded data file from the RPM system. In the first technique, a rotating wheel phantom was altered by placing two plastic balls on its axis and rim, respectively. For a desired gate, the relative positions of the balls were measured from the acquired CT data and converted into corresponding phases. Phase difference was calculated between the measured phases and the desired phases. Using period of motion, the phase difference was converted into time delay. The Varian RPM system provides an external breathing signal; it also records transistor-transistor logic (TTL ′X-Ray ON′ status signal from the CT scanner in a text file. The TTL ′X-Ray ON′ indicates the start of CT image acquisition. Thus, knowledge of the start time of CT acquisition, combined with the real-time phase and amplitude data from the external respiratory signal, provides time-stamping of all images in an axial CT scan. The TTL signal with time-stamp was used to calculate when (during the breathing cycle a slice was recorded. Using the two approaches, the time delay between the prospective gating signal and CT simulator has been determined to be 367 ± 40 ms. The delay requires corrections both at image acquisition and while setting gates for

Measurement of time delay for a prospectively gated CT simulator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goharian, M.; Khan, R.F.H.

2010-01-01

For the management of mobile tumors, respiratory gating is the ideal option, both during imaging and during therapy. The major advantage of respiratory gating during imaging is that it is possible to create a single artifact-free CT data-set during a selected phase of the patient's breathing cycle. The purpose of the present work is to present a simple technique to measure the time delay during acquisition of a prospectively gated CT. The time delay of a Philips Brilliance BigBore (Philips Medical Systems, Madison, WI) scanner attached to a Varian Real-Time Position Management (RPM) system (Varian Medical Systems, Palo Alto, CA) was measured. Two methods were used to measure the CT time delay: using a motion phantom and using a recorded data file from the RPM system. In the first technique, a rotating wheel phantom was altered by placing two plastic balls on its axis and rim, respectively. For a desired gate, the relative positions of the balls were measured from the acquired CT data and converted into corresponding phases. Phase difference was calculated between the measured phases and the desired phases. Using period of motion, the phase difference was converted into time delay. The Varian RPM system provides an external breathing signal; it also records transistor-transistor logic (TTL) 'X-Ray ON' status signal from the CT scanner in a text file. The TTL 'X-Ray ON' indicates the start of CT image acquisition. Thus, knowledge of the start time of CT acquisition, combined with the real-time phase and amplitude data from the external respiratory signal, provides time-stamping of all images in an axial CT scan. The TTL signal with time-stamp was used to calculate when (during the breathing cycle) a slice was recorded. Using the two approaches, the time delay between the prospective gating signal and CT simulator has been determined to be 367 ± 40 ms. The delay requires corrections both at image acquisition and while setting gates for the treatment delivery

Mobile Cloud-Computing-Based Healthcare Service by Noncontact ECG Monitoring

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Ee-May Fong

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Noncontact electrocardiogram (ECG measurement technique has gained popularity these days owing to its noninvasive features and convenience in daily life use. This paper presents mobile cloud computing for a healthcare system where a noncontact ECG measurement method is employed to capture biomedical signals from users. Healthcare service is provided to continuously collect biomedical signals from multiple locations. To observe and analyze the ECG signals in real time, a mobile device is used as a mobile monitoring terminal. In addition, a personalized healthcare assistant is installed on the mobile device; several healthcare features such as health status summaries, medication QR code scanning, and reminders are integrated into the mobile application. Health data are being synchronized into the healthcare cloud computing service (Web server system and Web server dataset to ensure a seamless healthcare monitoring system and anytime and anywhere coverage of network connection is available. Together with a Web page application, medical data are easily accessed by medical professionals or family members. Web page performance evaluation was conducted to ensure minimal Web server latency. The system demonstrates better availability of off-site and up-to-the-minute patient data, which can help detect health problems early and keep elderly patients out of the emergency room, thus providing a better and more comprehensive healthcare cloud computing service.

A Prospective Cohort Study of Gated Stereotactic Liver Radiation Therapy Using Continuous Internal Electromagnetic Motion Monitoring

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Worm, Esben S; Høyer, Morten; Hansen, Rune

2018-01-01

PURPOSE: Intrafraction motion can compromise the treatment accuracy in liver stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). Respiratory gating can improve treatment delivery; however, gating based on external motion surrogates is inaccurate. The present study reports the use of Calypso-based internal...... electromagnetic motion monitoring for gated liver SBRT. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Fifteen patients were included in a study of 3-fraction respiratory gated liver SBRT guided by 3 implanted electromagnetic transponders. The planning target volume was created by a 5-mm axial and 7-mm (n = 12) or 10-mm (n = 3...

Accuracy and reliability of noninvasive stroke volume monitoring via ECG-gated 3D electrical impedance tomography in healthy volunteers

Science.gov (United States)

Proença, Martin; Adler, Andy; Riedel, Thomas; Thiran, Jean-Philippe; Solà, Josep

2018-01-01

Cardiac output (CO) and stroke volume (SV) are parameters of key clinical interest. Many techniques exist to measure CO and SV, but are either invasive or insufficiently accurate in clinical settings. Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) has been suggested as a noninvasive measure of SV, but inconsistent results have been reported. Our goal is to determine the accuracy and reliability of EIT-based SV measurements, and whether advanced image reconstruction approaches can help to improve the estimates. Data were collected on ten healthy volunteers undergoing postural changes and exercise. To overcome the sensitivity to heart displacement and thorax morphology reported in previous work, we used a 3D EIT configuration with 2 planes of 16 electrodes and subject-specific reconstruction models. Various EIT-derived SV estimates were compared to reference measurements derived from the oxygen uptake. Results revealed a dramatic impact of posture on the EIT images. Therefore, the analysis was restricted to measurements in supine position under controlled conditions (low noise and stable heart and lung regions). In these measurements, amplitudes of impedance changes in the heart and lung regions could successfully be derived from EIT using ECG gating. However, despite a subject-specific calibration the heart-related estimates showed an error of 0.0 ± 15.2 mL for absolute SV estimation. For trending of relative SV changes, a concordance rate of 80.9% and an angular error of −1.0 ± 23.0° were obtained. These performances are insufficient for most clinical uses. Similar conclusions were derived from lung-related estimates. Our findings indicate that the key difficulty in EIT-based SV monitoring is that purely amplitude-based features are strongly influenced by other factors (such as posture, electrode contact impedance and lung or heart conductivity). All the data of the present study are made publicly available for further investigations. PMID:29373611

Coronary artery calcification and ECG pattern of left ventricular hypertrophy or strain identify different healthy individuals at risk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Diederichsen, Søren Zöga; Gerke, Oke; Olsen, Michael Hecht

2013-01-01

PURPOSE:: To improve risk stratification for development of ischaemic heart disease, several markers have been proposed. Both the presence of coronary artery calcification (CAC) and ECG pattern of left ventricular hypertrophy/strain have been shown to provide independent prognostic information....... In this study, we investigated the association between established risk factors, ECG measurements and the presence of coronary artery calcification. METHOD:: A random sample of healthy men and women aged 50 or 60 years were invited to the screening study. Established risk factors were measured. A noncontrast...... computed tomographic (CT) scan was performed to assess the CAC score. ECG analysis included left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) using the Sokolow-Lyon criteria and the Cornell voltage × QRS duration product, and strain pattern based on ST segment depression and T-wave abnormalities. The association between...

Pulse-dilation enhanced gated optical imager with 5 ps resolution (invited)

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Hilsabeck, T. J.; Kilkenny, J. D. [General Atomics, P.O. Box 85608, San Diego, California 92186-5608 (United States); Hares, J. D.; Dymoke-Bradshaw, A. K. L. [Kentech Instruments Ltd., Wallingford, Oxfordshire OX10 (United Kingdom); Bell, P. M.; Koch, J. A.; Celliers, P. M.; Bradley, D. K.; McCarville, T.; Pivovaroff, M.; Soufli, R.; Bionta, R. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94550 (United States)

2010-10-15

A 5 ps gated framing camera was demonstrated using the pulse-dilation of a drifting electron signal. The pulse-dilation is achieved by accelerating a photoelectron derived information pulse with a time varying potential [R. D. Prosser, J. Phys. E 9, 57 (1976)]. The temporal dependence of the accelerating potential causes a birth time dependent axial velocity dispersion that spreads the pulse as it transits a drift region. The expanded pulse is then imaged with a conventional gated microchannel plate based framing camera and the effective gating time of the combined instrument is reduced over that of the framing camera alone. In the drift region, electron image defocusing in the transverse or image plane is prevented with a large axial magnetic field. Details of the unique issues associated with rf excited photocathodes were investigated numerically and a prototype instrument based on this principle was recently constructed. Temporal resolution of the instrument was measured with a frequency tripled femtosecond laser operating at 266 nm. The system demonstrated 20x temporal magnification and the results are presented here. X-ray image formation strategies and photometric calculations for inertial confinement fusion implosion experiments are also examined.

Study of optimal exposure windows using 320-Detector rows dynamic volume CT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gang Sun

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Gang Sun1, Min Li1, Li Li1, Guo-ying Li1, Zhi-wei Jing21Departments of Medical Imaging, 2Medical Statistics, Jinan Military General Hospital, Shandong Province, ChinaAbstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the optimal electrocardiographic (ECG pulsing windows and evaluate the effect on reduced dose and accuracy using 320-detector rows dynamic volume computed tomography (DVCT. A total of 170 patients were prospectively studied. The optimal reconstruction windows were analyzed in 76 patients scanned using retrospective ECG gating. Forty-seven patients were scanned by the predicted triggering windows. The optimal positions of exposure intervals according to different heart rates were evaluated. Optimal image quality, radiation dose, and diagnostic accuracy were then investigated by applying optimal triggering windows. The optimal ECG pulsing windows were determined as follows: when heart rate was <70 beats per minute, the exposure windows should be preset at 60%–80%; for a heart rate 70–90 beats per minute at 70%–90%; and for a heart rate ≥90 beats per minute at 30%–50%. The radiation dose for patients scanned with prospective ECG gating was significantly lower (5.9 versus 12.9 mSv, P < 0.001. However, because two or three heart beats were needed when heart rate was >70 beats per minute, the radiation dose increased with increasing heart rate for both retrospective and prospective ECG gating (r = 0.64, P < 0.001 and r = 0.59, P < 0.001, respectively. On the basis of a per segment analysis, overall sensitivity was 98.0% (49/50, specificity was 99.2% (602/607, the positive predictive value was 90.7% (49/54, and the negative predictive value was 99.8% (602/603. In conclusion, DVCT has the potential to provide high image quality across a wide range of heart rates using an optimized ECG pulsing window. However, it is recommended to control heart rate below 70 beats per minute, if possible, to decrease the radiation dose

Influence of trigger type, tube voltage and heart rate on calcified plaque imaging in dual source cardiac computed tomography: phantom study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Penzkofer, Tobias; Donandt, Eva; Isfort, Peter; Allmendinger, Thomas; Kuhl, Christiane K; Mahnken, Andreas H; Bruners, Philipp

2014-01-01

To investigate the impact of high pitch cardiac CT vs. retrospective ECG gated CT on the quantification of calcified vessel stenoses, with assessment of the influence of tube voltage, reconstruction kernel and heart rate. A 4D cardiac movement phantom equipped with three different plaque phantoms (12.5%, 25% and 50% stenosis at different calcification levels), was scanned with a 128-row dual source CT scanner, applying different trigger types (gated vs. prospectively triggered high pitch), tube voltages (100-120 kV) and heart rates (50–90 beats per minute, bpm). Images were reconstructed using different standard (B26f, B46f, B70f) and iterative (I26f, I70f) convolution kernels. Absolute and relative plaque sizes were measured and statistically compared. Radiation dose associated with the different methods (gated vs. high pitch, 100 kV vs. 120 kV) were compared. Compared to the known diameters of the phantom plaques and vessels both CT-examination techniques overestimated the degrees of stenoses. Using the high pitch CT-protocol plaques appeared larger (0.09 ± 0.31 mm, 2 ± 8 percent points, PP) in comparison to the ECG-gated CT-scans. Reducing tube voltage had a similar effect, resulting in higher grading of the same stenoses by 3 ± 8 PP. In turn, sharper convolution kernels lead to a lower grading of stenoses (differences of up to 5%). Pairwise comparison of B26f and I26f, B46f and B70f, and B70f and I70f showed differences of 0–1 ± 6–8 PP of the plaque depiction. Motion artifacts were present only at 90 bpm high pitch experiments. High-pitch protocols were associated with significantly lower radiation doses compared with the ECG-gated protocols (258.0 mGy vs. 2829.8 mGy CTDI vol , p ≤ 0.0001). Prospectively triggered high-pitch cardiac CT led to an overestimation of plaque diameter and degree of stenoses in a coronary phantom. This overestimation is only slight and probably negligible in a clinical situation. Even at higher heart rates high pitch CT-scanning

Self-gated golden-angle spiral 4D flow MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Bastkowski, Rene; Weiss, Kilian; Maintz, David; Giese, Daniel

2018-01-17

The acquisition of 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in cardiovascular applications has recently made large progress toward clinical feasibility. The need for simultaneous compensation of cardiac and breathing motion still poses a challenge for widespread clinical use. Especially, breathing motion, addressed by gating approaches, can lead to unpredictable and long scan times. The current work proposes a time-efficient self-gated 4D flow sequence that exploits up to 100% of the acquired data and operates at a predictable scan time. A self-gated golden-angle spiral 4D flow sequence was implemented and tested in 10 volunteers. Data were retrospectively binned into respiratory and cardiac states and reconstructed using a conjugate-gradient sensitivity encoding reconstruction. Net flow curves, stroke volumes, and peak flow in the aorta were evaluated and compared to a conventional Cartesian 4D flow sequence. Additionally, flow quantities reconstructed from 50% to 100% of the self-gated 4D flow data were compared. Self-gating signals for respiratory and cardiac motion were extracted for all volunteers. Flow quantities were in agreement with the standard Cartesian scan. Mean differences in stroke volumes and peak flow of 7.6 ± 11.5 and 4.0 ± 79.9 mL/s were obtained, respectively. By retrospectively increasing breathing navigator efficiency while decreasing acquisition times (15:06-07:33 minutes), 50% of the acquired data were sufficient to measure stroke volumes with errors under 9.6 mL. The feasibility to acquire respiratory and cardiac self-gated 4D flow data at a predictable scan time was demonstrated. Magn Reson Med, 2018. © 2018 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2018 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

ECG acquisition and automated remote processing

CERN Document Server

Gupta, Rajarshi; Bera, Jitendranath

2014-01-01

The book is focused on the area of remote processing of ECG in the context of telecardiology, an emerging area in the field of Biomedical Engineering Application. Considering the poor infrastructure and inadequate numbers of physicians in rural healthcare clinics in India and other developing nations, telemedicine services assume special importance. Telecardiology, a specialized area of telemedicine, is taken up in this book considering the importance of cardiac diseases, which is prevalent in the population under discussion. The main focus of this book is to discuss different aspects of ECG acquisition, its remote transmission and computerized ECG signal analysis for feature extraction. It also discusses ECG compression and application of standalone embedded systems, to develop a cost effective solution of a telecardiology system.

Prospective Comparison of F-18 Choline PET/CT Scan Versus Axial MRI for Detecting Bone Metastasis in Biochemically Relapsed Prostate Cancer Patients

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Wouter Huysse

2017-10-01

Full Text Available We compared fluor-18 choline positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT and axial skeleton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI prospectively obtained for the detection of bone metastases in non-castrated patients with biochemically recurrent prostate cancer following primary treatment. PET/CT was performed 45 min post-injection of 3–4 MBq/kg F-18 methyl choline. MRI included T1- and fluid sensitive T2-weighted images of the spine and pelvis. Readers were initially blinded from other results and all scans underwent independent double reading. The best valuable comparator (BVC defined the metastatic status. On the basis of the BVC, 15 out of 64 patients presented with 24 bone metastases. On a patient level, the sensitivity and specificity of MRI and PET were not significantly different. On a lesion level, the sensitivity of MRI was significantly better compared to PET, and the specificity did not differ significantly. In conclusion, axial MRI is an interesting screening tool for the detection of bone metastases because of its low probability of false negative results. However, F-18 choline PET is a valuable addition as it can overrule false positive MRI results and detect non-axial metastases.

Efficacy and safety of balloon pulmonary angioplasty for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension guided by cone-beam computed tomography and electrocardiogram-gated area detector computed tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Ogo, Takeshi; Fukuda, Tetsuya; Tsuji, Akihiro; Fukui, Shigefumi; Ueda, Jin; Sanda, Yoshihiro; Morita, Yoshiaki; Asano, Ryotaro; Konagai, Nao; Yasuda, Satoshi

2017-04-01

Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) is a disease characterized by chronic obstructive thrombus and pulmonary hypertension. Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA), an emerging alternative catheter-based treatment for inoperable patients with CTEPH, has not yet been standardised, especially for lesion assessment in distal pulmonary arteries. Recent advancement in computed tomography enables distal CTEPH lesions to be visualized. We retrospectively studied 80 consecutive patients with inoperable CTEPH who received BPA guided by cone-beam computed tomography (CT) (CBCT) or electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated area detector CT (ADCT) for target lesion assessment. We collected clinical and hemodynamic data, including procedural complications, before BPA and at 3 months and 1year after BPA. Three hundred eight-five BPA sessions (4.8 sessions/patient) were performed for the lesions of subsegmental arteries (1155 lesions), segmental arteries (738 lesions), and lobar arteries (4 lesions) identified by CBCT or ECG-gated ADCT. Significant improvements in the symptoms, 6-min walk distance, brain natriuretic peptide level, exercise capacity, and haemodynamics were observed 3 months and 1year after BPA. No cases of death or cardiogenic shock with a low rate of severe wire perforation (0.3%) and severe reperfusion oedema (0.3%) were observed. BPA guided by CBCT or ECG-gated ADCT is effective and remarkably safe in patients with CTEPH . These new advanced CT techniques may be useful in pre-BPA target lesion assessment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessment of automatic quantification of myocardial perfusion and left ventricular function derived from ECG gated myocardial SPECT with {sup 99m}Tc-tetrofosmin in ischemic heart disease

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Abe, Mitsunori; Habara, Hirokazu; Tatsuno, Hironari; Fukuda, Hiroshi; Hamada, Noriko; Kazatani, Yukio [Ehime Prefectural Central Hospital (Japan)

1999-09-01

Non-invasive assessment of ischemic heart disease (IHD) requires information of both myocardial perfusion and left ventricular (LV) function. Recently, automatic quantification of ECG-gated myocardial scintigraphy with {sup 99m}Tc-tetrofosmin (QGS) can provide both of them. QGS, coronary angiograms (CAG) and left venticulograms (LVG) were performed in 83 patients with severe IHD in same period. Significant stenosis of coronary artery in CAG were assessed by QGS. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of significant stenosis by QGS was excellent (85%, 93% and 88%). The LV end-distolic and end-systolic volumes (EDV and ESV), LV ejection fraction (EF) and regional LV wall motion determined by QGS were compared to LVG. There was a good correlation between the values obtained from QGS and LVG (EDV: r=0.86, ESV: r=0.94, EF: r=0.84, p<0.0001), but QGS tended to underestimate EDV and EF. High complete agreement of regional LV wall motion was gained with 427 (74.0%) out of total 581 segments. In conclusion, QGS data was considered to be useful for assessment of determine significant stenosis and LV function in severe IHD. (author)

The usefulness of measurement of whole body count in assessing bone marrow metastasis in cancer patients with increased periarticular bone uptake on follow-up bone scan: a comparison with bone marrow scan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jin, Seong Chan; Choi, Yun Young; Cho, Suk Shin

2003-01-01

Increased periarticular uptake could be associated with peripheral bone marrow expansion in cancer patients with axial bone marrow metastasis. We compared bone scan and bone marrow scan to investigate whether the increased whole body count in patients with increased periarticular uptake on bone scan is useful in the diagnosis of axial marrow metastasis, and evaluate the role of additional bone marrow scan in these cases. Twelve patients with malignant diseases who showed increased periarticular uptake on bone scan were included. Whole body count was measured on bone scan and it is considered to be increased when the count is more than twice of other patients. Bone marrow scan was taken within 3-7 days. Five hematologic malignancy, 3 stomach cancer, 2 breast cancer, 1 prostate cancer and 1 lung canner were included. All three patients with increased whole body count on bone scan showed axial marrow suppression and peripheral marrow expansion. Eight of 9 patients without increased whole body count showed axial marrow suppression and peripheral marrow expansion. One turned out to be blastic crisis of chronic myelogeneous leukemia, and seven showed normal axial marrow with peripheral marrow expansion in chronic anemia of malignancy. The last one without increased whole body count showed normal bone marrow scan finding. Increased whole body count on bone scan could be a clue to axial bone marrow metastasis in cancer patients with increased periarticular uptake, and bone marrow scan is a valuable method for differential diagnosis in these cases

Variable threshold method for ECG R-peak detection.

Science.gov (United States)

Kew, Hsein-Ping; Jeong, Do-Un

2011-10-01

In this paper, a wearable belt-type ECG electrode worn around the chest by measuring the real-time ECG is produced in order to minimize the inconvenient in wearing. ECG signal is detected using a potential instrument system. The measured ECG signal is transmits via an ultra low power consumption wireless data communications unit to personal computer using Zigbee-compatible wireless sensor node. ECG signals carry a lot of clinical information for a cardiologist especially the R-peak detection in ECG. R-peak detection generally uses the threshold value which is fixed. There will be errors in peak detection when the baseline changes due to motion artifacts and signal size changes. Preprocessing process which includes differentiation process and Hilbert transform is used as signal preprocessing algorithm. Thereafter, variable threshold method is used to detect the R-peak which is more accurate and efficient than fixed threshold value method. R-peak detection using MIT-BIH databases and Long Term Real-Time ECG is performed in this research in order to evaluate the performance analysis.

Common ECG Lead Placement Errors. Part I: Limb Lead Reversals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Allison V. Rosen

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Electrocardiography (ECG is a very useful diagnostic tool. However, errors in placement of ECG leads can create artifacts, mimic pathologies, and hinder proper ECG interpretation. It is important for members of the health care team to be able to recognize the common patterns resulting from lead placement errors. Methods: 12-lead ECGs were recorded in a single male healthy subject in his mid 20s. Six different limb lead reversals were compared to ECG recordings from correct lead placement. Results: Classic ECG patterns were observed when leads were reversed. Methods of discriminating these ECG patterns from true pathologic findings were described. Conclusion: Correct recording and interpretation of ECGs is key to providing optimal patient care. It is therefore crucial to be able to recognize common ECG patterns that are indicative of lead reversals.

Assessment of coronary arteries in infants by 64-detector-row multislice spiral computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tahara, Masahiro; Waki, Chiaki; Komatsu, Hiroaki; Hayashi, Tomohiro; Sato, Tomoyasu

2008-01-01

Heart rate is one of the most important factors for optimal visualization of cardiac CT. We investigated the relation between heart rate and visibility of the coronary arteries with 64-detector row multislice spiral computed tomography (MSCT). Three simulated coronary artery stenosis models (3, 4, and 5 mm) were attached to a moving heart phantom and scanned using 64-detector row MSCT. The heart rate of the phantom was varied between 60 and 150 beats per minutes (bpm). The visibility of simulated coronary arteries was assessed in comparison between cardiac half reconstruction (CHR) and multi-sector reconstruction (MSR). Then contrast-enhanced 64-detector row MSCT was performed in 16 patients under 3 years of age with congenital heart disease and Kawasaki disease without heart rate control. The visibility of coronary artery segments was graded on a three-point scale. The simulated coronary artery patency was detected in the moving phantom at maximum heart rate (150 bpm) with MSR. Minimum lumen diameter was 0.75 mm. Electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated cardiac CT was performed in 9 patients, and non-ECG-gated cardiac CT was performed in 7 patients. The origin and proximal course of coronary arteries in all 9 patients with ECG-gated acquisition were visually evaluated. 64-detector row MSCT with ECG-gated acquisition is able to visualize the origin and proximal course of coronary arteries in infants under 3 years of age. (author)

Axial Ge/Si nanowire heterostructure tunnel FETs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Picraux, Sanuel T [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Daych, Shadi A [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2010-01-01

The vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth of semiconductor nanowires allows doping and composition modulation along their axis and the realization of axial 1 D heterostructures. This provides additional flexibility in energy band-edge engineering along the transport direction which is difficult to attain by planar materials growth and processing techniques. We report here on the design, growth, fabrication, and characterization of asymmetric heterostructure tunnel field-effect transistors (HTFETs) based on 100% compositionally modulated Si/Ge axial NWs for high on-current operation and low ambipolar transport behavior. We discuss the optimization of band-offsets and Schottky barrier heights for high performance HTFETs and issues surrounding their experimental realization. Our HTFET devices with 10 nm PECVD SiN{sub x} gate dielectric resulted in a measured current drive exceeding 100 {mu}A/{mu}m (I/{pi}D) and 10{sup 5} I{sub on}/I{sub off} ratios.

Reliability of Computer Analysis of Electrocardiograms (ECG) of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Computer programmes have been introduced to electrocardiography (ECG) with most physicians in Africa depending on computer interpretation of ECG. This study was undertaken to evaluate the reliability of computer interpretation of the 12-Lead ECG in the Black race. Methodology: Using the SCHILLER ...

Reference Range of Functional Data of Gated Myocardial Perfusion SPECT by Quantitative Gated SPECT of Cedars-Sinai and 4D-MSPECT of Michigan University

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kang, Do Young; Kim, Moo Hyun; Kim, Young Dae [College of Medicine, Univ. of Donga, Pusan (Korea, Republic of)

2003-07-01

Various programs have been developed for gating of myocardial perfusion SPECT. Among the those program, the most popular program is the Quantitative Gated SPECT (QGS)? developed by Cedars-Sinai hospital and most recently released program is 4D-MSPECT? developed by university of Michigan. It is important to know the reference range of the functional data of gated myocardial perfusion SPECT because it is necessary to determine abnormality of individual patient and echocardiographic data is different from those of gated SPECT. Tc-99m MIBI gated myocardial perfusion SPECT image was reconstructed by dual head gamma camera (Siemens, BCAM, esoft) as routine procedure and analyzed using QGS? and 4D-MSPECT? program. All patients (M: F=9: 18, Age 69{+-}9 yrs) showed normal myocardial perfusion. The patients with following characteristics were excluded: previous angina or MI history, ECG change with Q wave or ST-T change, diabetes melitius, hypercholesterolemia, typical chest pain, hypertension and cardiomyopathy. Pre-test likelihood of all patients was low. (1) In stress gated SPECT by QGS?, EDV was 73{+-}25 ml, ESV 25{+-}14 ml, EF 67{+-}11 % and area of first frame of gating 106.4{+-}21cm{sup 2}. In rest gated SPECT, EDV was 76{+-}26 ml, ESV 27{+-}15 ml, EF 66{+-}12 and area of first frame of gating 108{+-}20cm{sup 2}. (2) In stress gated SPECT by 4D-MSPECT?, EDV was 76{+-}28 ml, ESV 23{+-}16 ml, EF 72{+-}11 %, mass 115{+-}24 g and ungated volume 42{+-}15 ml. In rest gated SPECT, EDV was 75{+-}27 ml, ESV 23{+-}12 ml, EF 71{+-}9%, mass 113{+-}25g and ungate dvolume 42{+-}15 ml, (3) s-EDV, s-EF, r-ESV and r-EF were significantly different between QGS? and 4D-MSPECT? (each p=0.016, p<0.001. p=0.003 and p=0.001). We determined the normal reference range of functional parameters by QGS? and 4D-MSPECT? program to diagnose individually the abnormality of patients. And the reference ranges have to adopted to be patients by each specific gating program.

21 CFR 892.1970 - Radiographic ECG/respirator synchronizer.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Radiographic ECG/respirator synchronizer. 892.1970... (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES RADIOLOGY DEVICES Diagnostic Devices § 892.1970 Radiographic ECG/respirator synchronizer. (a) Identification. A radiographic ECG/respirator synchronizer is a device intended to be used to...

Expert knowledge for computerized ECG interpretation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J.A. Kors (Jan)

1992-01-01

textabstractIn this study, two main questions are addressed: (1) Can the time consuming and cumbersome development and refinement of (heuristic) ECG classifiers be alleviated, and (2) Is it possible to increase diagnostic performance of ECG computer programs by combining knowledge from multiple

SU-E-T-401: Feasibility Study of Using ABC to Gate Lung SBRT Treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cao, D; Xie, X; Shepard, D

2014-01-01

Purpose: The current SBRT treatment techniques include free breathing (FB) SBRT and gated FB SBRT. Gated FB SBRT has smaller target and less lung toxicity with longer treatment time. The recent development of direct connectivity between the ABC and linac allowing for automated beam gating. In this study, we have examined the feasibility of using ABC system to gate the lung SBRT treatment. Methods: A CIRS lung phantom with a 3cm sphere-insert and a moving chest plate was used in this study. Sinusoidal motion was used for the FB pattern. An ABC signal was imported to simulate breath holds. 4D-CT was taken in FB mode and average-intensity-projection (AIP) was used to create FB and 50% gated FB SBRT planning CT. A manually gated 3D CT scan was acquired for ABC gated SBRT planning.An SBRT plan was created for each treatment option. A surface-mapping system was used for 50% gating and ABC system was used for ABC gating. A manually gated CBCT scan was also performed to verify setup. Results: Among three options, the ABC gated plan has the smallest PTV of 35.94cc, which is 35% smaller comparing to that of the FB plan. Consequently, the V20 of the left lung reduced by 15% and 23% comparing to the 50% gated FB and FB plans, respectively. The FB plan took 4.7 minutes to deliver, while the 50% gated FB plan took 18.5 minutes. The ABC gated plan delivery took only 10.6 minutes. A stationary target with 3cm diameter was also obtained from the manually gated CBCT scan. Conclusion: A strategy for ABC gated lung SBRT was developed. ABC gating can significantly reduce the lung toxicity while maintaining the target coverage. Comparing to the 50% gated FB SBRT, ABC gated treatment can also provide less lung toxicity as well as improved delivery efficiency. This research is funded by Elekta

ECG authentication in post-exercise situation.

Science.gov (United States)

Dongsuk Sung; Jeehoon Kim; Myungjun Koh; Kwangsuk Park

2017-07-01

Human authentication based on electrocardiogram (ECG) has been a remarkable issue for recent ten years. This paper proposed an authentication technology with the ECG data recorded after the harsh exercise. 55 subjects voluntarily attended to this experiment. A stepper was used as an exercise equipment. The subjects are asked to do stepper for 5 minutes and their ECG signals are acquired before and after the exercise in rest, sitting posture. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used for both feature extraction and classification. Even though, within the first 1 minute recording, the subject recognition accuracy was 59.64%, which is too low to utilize, after one minute the accuracy was higher than 90% and it increased up to 96.22% within 5 minutes, which is plausible to use in authentication circumstances. Therefore, we have concluded that ECG authentication techniques will be able to be used after 1 minute of catching breath.

Sparse Matrix for ECG Identification with Two-Lead Features

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kuo-Kun Tseng

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Electrocardiograph (ECG human identification has the potential to improve biometric security. However, improvements in ECG identification and feature extraction are required. Previous work has focused on single lead ECG signals. Our work proposes a new algorithm for human identification by mapping two-lead ECG signals onto a two-dimensional matrix then employing a sparse matrix method to process the matrix. And that is the first application of sparse matrix techniques for ECG identification. Moreover, the results of our experiments demonstrate the benefits of our approach over existing methods.

A capacitive ECG array with visual patient feedback.

Science.gov (United States)

Eilebrecht, Benjamin; Schommartz, Antje; Walter, Marian; Wartzek, Tobias; Czaplik, Michael; Leonhardt, Steffen

2010-01-01

Capacitive electrocardiogram (ECG) sensing is a promising technique for less constraining vital signal measurement and close to a commercial application. Even bigger trials testing the diagnostic significance were already done with single lead systems. Anyway, most applications to be found in research are limited to one channel and thus limited in its diagnostic relevance as only diseases coming along with a change of the heart rate can be diagnosed adequately. As a consequence the need for capacitive multi-channel ECGs combining the diagnostic relevance and the advantages of capacitive ECG sensing emerges. This paper introduces a capacitive ECG measurement system which allows the recording of standardized ECG leads according to Einthoven and Goldberger by means of an electrode array with nine electrodes.

Dual-gate operation and carrier transport in SiGe p-n junction nanowires

Science.gov (United States)

Delker, C. J.; Yoo, J. Y.; Bussmann, E.; Swartzentruber, B. S.; Harris, C. T.

2017-11-01

We investigate carrier transport in silicon-germanium nanowires with an axial p-n junction doping profile by fabricating these wires into transistors that feature separate top gates over each doping segment. By independently biasing each gate, carrier concentrations in the n- and p-side of the wire can be modulated. For these devices, which were fabricated with nickel source-drain electrical contacts, holes are the dominant charge carrier, with more favorable hole injection occurring on the p-side contact. Channel current exhibits greater sensitivity to the n-side gate, and in the reverse biased source-drain configuration, current is limited by the nickel/n-side Schottky contact.

A cloud computing based 12-lead ECG telemedicine service.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsieh, Jui-Chien; Hsu, Meng-Wei

2012-07-28

Due to the great variability of 12-lead ECG instruments and medical specialists' interpretation skills, it remains a challenge to deliver rapid and accurate 12-lead ECG reports with senior cardiologists' decision making support in emergency telecardiology. We create a new cloud and pervasive computing based 12-lead Electrocardiography (ECG) service to realize ubiquitous 12-lead ECG tele-diagnosis. This developed service enables ECG to be transmitted and interpreted via mobile phones. That is, tele-consultation can take place while the patient is on the ambulance, between the onsite clinicians and the off-site senior cardiologists, or among hospitals. Most importantly, this developed service is convenient, efficient, and inexpensive. This cloud computing based ECG tele-consultation service expands the traditional 12-lead ECG applications onto the collaboration of clinicians at different locations or among hospitals. In short, this service can greatly improve medical service quality and efficiency, especially for patients in rural areas. This service has been evaluated and proved to be useful by cardiologists in Taiwan.

Detecting Regional Myocardial Abnormalities in Patients With Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome With the Use of ECG-Gated Cardiac MDCT.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hye-Jeong; Uhm, Jae-Sun; Joung, Boyoung; Hong, Yoo Jin; Hur, Jin; Choi, Byoung Wook; Kim, Young Jin

2016-04-01

Myocardial dyskinesia caused by the accessory pathway and related reversible heart failure have been well documented in echocardiographic studies of pediatric patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. However, the long-term effects of dyskinesia on the myocardium of adult patients have not been studied in depth. The goal of the present study was to evaluate regional myocardial abnormalities on cardiac CT examinations of adult patients with WPW syndrome. Of 74 patients with WPW syndrome who underwent cardiac CT from January 2006 through December 2013, 58 patients (mean [± SD] age, 52.2 ± 12.7 years), 36 (62.1%) of whom were men, were included in the study after the presence of combined cardiac disease was excluded. Two observers blindly evaluated myocardial thickness and attenuation on cardiac CT scans. On the basis of CT findings, patients were classified as having either normal or abnormal findings. We compared the two groups for other clinical findings, including observations from ECG, echocardiography, and electrophysiologic study. Of the 58 patients studied, 16 patients (27.6%) were found to have myocardial abnormalities (i.e., abnormal wall thinning with or without low attenuation). All abnormal findings corresponded with the location of the accessory pathway. Patients with abnormal findings had statistically significantly decreased left ventricular function, compared with patients with normal findings (p syndrome. These abnormal findings might reflect the long-term effects of dyskinesia, suggesting irreversible myocardial injury that ultimately causes left ventricular dysfunction.

Wearable Textile Electrodes for ECG Measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lukas Vojtech

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The electrocardiogram (ECG is one of the most important parameters for monitoring of the physiological state of a person. Currently available systems for ECG monitoring are both stationary and wearable, but the comfort of the monitored person is not at a satisfactory level because these systems are not part of standard clothing. This article is therefore devoted to the development and measurement of wearable textile electrodes for ECG measurement device with high comfort for the user. The electrode material is made of electrically conductive textile. This creates a textile composite that guarantees high comfort for the user while ensuring good quality of ECG measurements. The composite is implemented by a carrier (a T-shirt with flame retardant and sensing electrodes embroidered with yarn based on a mixture of polyester coated with silver nanoparticles and cotton. The electrodes not only provide great comfort but are also antibacterial and antiallergic due to silver nanoparticles.

A Novel 12-Lead ECG T-Shirt with Active Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Boehm

2016-11-01

Full Text Available We developed an ECG T-shirt with a portable recorder for unobtrusive and long-term multichannel ECG monitoring with active electrodes. A major drawback of conventional 12-lead ECGs is the use of adhesive gel electrodes, which are uncomfortable during long-term application and may even cause skin irritations and allergic reactions. Therefore, we integrated comfortable patches of conductive textile into the ECG T-shirt in order to replace the adhesive gel electrodes. In order to prevent signal deterioration, as reported for other textile ECG systems, we attached active circuits on the outside of the T-shirt to further improve the signal quality of the dry electrodes. Finally, we validated the ECG T-shirt against a commercial Holter ECG with healthy volunteers during phases of lying down, sitting, and walking. The 12-lead ECG was successfully recorded with a resulting mean relative error of the RR intervals of 0.96% and mean coverage of 96.6%. Furthermore, the ECG waves of the 12 leads were analyzed separately and showed high accordance. The P-wave had a correlation of 0.703 for walking subjects, while the T-wave demonstrated lower correlations for all three scenarios (lying: 0.817, sitting: 0.710, walking: 0.403. The other correlations for the P, Q, R, and S-waves were all higher than 0.9. This work demonstrates that our ECG T-shirt is suitable for 12-lead ECG recordings while providing a higher level of comfort compared with a commercial Holter ECG.

Automatic ECG quality scoring methodology: mimicking human annotators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Johannesen, Lars; Galeotti, Loriano

2012-01-01

An algorithm to determine the quality of electrocardiograms (ECGs) can enable inexperienced nurses and paramedics to record ECGs of sufficient diagnostic quality. Previously, we proposed an algorithm for determining if ECG recordings are of acceptable quality, which was entered in the PhysioNet Challenge 2011. In the present work, we propose an improved two-step algorithm, which first rejects ECGs with macroscopic errors (signal absent, large voltage shifts or saturation) and subsequently quantifies the noise (baseline, powerline or muscular noise) on a continuous scale. The performance of the improved algorithm was evaluated using the PhysioNet Challenge database (1500 ECGs rated by humans for signal quality). We achieved a classification accuracy of 92.3% on the training set and 90.0% on the test set. The improved algorithm is capable of detecting ECGs with macroscopic errors and giving the user a score of the overall quality. This allows the user to assess the degree of noise and decide if it is acceptable depending on the purpose of the recording. (paper)

Axially Modulated Clamped-Guided Arch Resonator for Memory and Logic Applications

KAUST Repository

Hafiz, Md Abdullah Al; Tella, Sherif Adekunle; Alcheikh, Nouha; Fariborzi, Hossein; Younis, Mohammad I.

2017-01-01

We experimentally demonstrate memory and logic devices based on an axially modulated clamped-guided arch resonator. The device are electrostatically actuated and capacitively sensed, while the resonance frequency modulation is achieved through an axial electrostatic force from the guided side of the clamped-guided arch microbeam. We present two case studies: first, a dynamic memory based on the nonlinear frequency response of the resonator, and second, a reprogrammable two-input logic gate based on the linear frequency modulation of the resonator. These devices show energy cost per memory/logic operation in pJ, are fully compatible with CMOS fabrication processes, have the potential for on-chip system integration, and operate at room temperature.

Axially Modulated Clamped-Guided Arch Resonator for Memory and Logic Applications

KAUST Repository

Hafiz, Md Abdullah Al

2017-11-03

We experimentally demonstrate memory and logic devices based on an axially modulated clamped-guided arch resonator. The device are electrostatically actuated and capacitively sensed, while the resonance frequency modulation is achieved through an axial electrostatic force from the guided side of the clamped-guided arch microbeam. We present two case studies: first, a dynamic memory based on the nonlinear frequency response of the resonator, and second, a reprogrammable two-input logic gate based on the linear frequency modulation of the resonator. These devices show energy cost per memory/logic operation in pJ, are fully compatible with CMOS fabrication processes, have the potential for on-chip system integration, and operate at room temperature.

Basic principles of the ECG. The normal ECG

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Angel_D

Southern Sudan Medical Journal vol 3. no 2. 26. How to read an ... Reduce some of the anxiety juniors often experience when faced with an ECG. ... This overall direction of travel of the electrical .... Anne Lancey, Education Centre, St Mary's Hospital, Isle of Wight, UK. .... 'method' section explains how the literature search.

Individualized radiation dose control in 256-slice CT coronary angiography (CTCA) in retrospective ECG-triggered helical scans: Using a measure of body size to adjust tube current selection

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Jing-Lei, E-mail: lijinglei80@126.com [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Huang, Mei-Ping, E-mail: huang_meiping@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Liang, Chang-Hong, E-mail: cjr.lchh@vip.163.com [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Zhao, Zhen-Jun, E-mail: junabc2006@hotmail.com [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Liu, Hui, E-mail: liuhuijiujiu@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Cui, Yan-Hai, E-mail: yanhai_cui@126.com [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Liu, Qi-Shun, E-mail: liuqishun@yeah.net [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Zhang, Jin-E., E-mail: zhjine@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Yang, Lin, E-mail: yanglin001517@163.com [Department of Radiology, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangdong General Hospital, 106 Zhongshan Er Road, Guangzhou 510080 (China); Ivanc, Thomas B., E-mail: Thomas.ivanc@philips.com [CT Clinical Science, Philips Healthcare, Highland Heights, OH (United States); Yanof, Jeffrey H., E-mail: Jeffrey.yanof@philips.com [CT Clinical Science, Philips Healthcare, Highland Heights, OH (United States)

2012-11-15

Purpose: To reduce radiation dose for retrospective ECG-triggered helical 256-slice CTCA by determining an optimal body size index to prospectively adjust tube current. Methods: 102 consecutive patients with suspected CAD underwent retrospective ECG-triggered CTCA using 256-slice CT scanner. Six body size indexes including BMI, nipple level (NL) bust, thoracic anteroposterior diameter at NL, chest circumference (CC) at NL, left main and right coronary artery (RCA) origin level were measured and their correlation with noise was evaluated using linear regression. An equation was developed to use this index to adjust tube current. Additional 102 consecutive patients were scanned with the index-based mA s adjustment. A t-test for independent samples was used to compare radiation dose levels with and without the index-based mA s selection method. Results: Linear regression indicated that CC RCA had the best correlation with noise (R{sup 2} = 0.603). Effective radiation dose was reduced from 16.6 {+-} 0.9 to 9.8 {+-} 2.7 mSv (p < 0.01), i.e. 40.9% lower dose with the CC RCA-adapted tube current method. The image quality scores indicated no significant difference with and without the size-based mA s selection method. Conclusion: An accessible measure of body size, such as CC RCA, can be used to adapt tube current for individualized radiation dose control.

Individualized radiation dose control in 256-slice CT coronary angiography (CTCA) in retrospective ECG-triggered helical scans: Using a measure of body size to adjust tube current selection

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Jing-Lei; Huang, Mei-Ping; Liang, Chang-Hong; Zhao, Zhen-Jun; Liu, Hui; Cui, Yan-Hai; Liu, Qi-Shun; Zhang, Jin-E.; Yang, Lin; Ivanc, Thomas B.; Yanof, Jeffrey H.

2012-01-01

Purpose: To reduce radiation dose for retrospective ECG-triggered helical 256-slice CTCA by determining an optimal body size index to prospectively adjust tube current. Methods: 102 consecutive patients with suspected CAD underwent retrospective ECG-triggered CTCA using 256-slice CT scanner. Six body size indexes including BMI, nipple level (NL) bust, thoracic anteroposterior diameter at NL, chest circumference (CC) at NL, left main and right coronary artery (RCA) origin level were measured and their correlation with noise was evaluated using linear regression. An equation was developed to use this index to adjust tube current. Additional 102 consecutive patients were scanned with the index-based mA s adjustment. A t-test for independent samples was used to compare radiation dose levels with and without the index-based mA s selection method. Results: Linear regression indicated that CC RCA had the best correlation with noise (R 2 = 0.603). Effective radiation dose was reduced from 16.6 ± 0.9 to 9.8 ± 2.7 mSv (p < 0.01), i.e. 40.9% lower dose with the CC RCA-adapted tube current method. The image quality scores indicated no significant difference with and without the size-based mA s selection method. Conclusion: An accessible measure of body size, such as CC RCA, can be used to adapt tube current for individualized radiation dose control.

Are ECG abnormalities in Noonan syndrome characteristic for the syndrome?

Science.gov (United States)

Raaijmakers, R; Noordam, C; Noonan, J A; Croonen, E A; van der Burgt, C J A M; Draaisma, J M T

2008-12-01

Of all patients with Noonan syndrome, 50-90% have one or more congenital heart defects. The most frequent occurring are pulmonary stenosis (PS) and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The electrocardiogram (ECG) of a patient with Noonan syndrome often shows a characteristic pattern, with a left axis deviation, abnormal R/S ratio over the left precordium, and an abnormal Q wave. The objective of this study was to determine if these ECG characteristics are an independent feature of the Noonan syndrome or if they are related to the congenital heart defect. A cohort study was performed with 118 patients from two university hospitals in the United States and in The Netherlands. All patients were diagnosed with definite Noonan syndrome and had had an ECG and echocardiography. Sixty-nine patients (58%) had characteristic abnormalities of the ECG. In the patient group without a cardiac defect (n = 21), ten patients had a characteristic ECG abnormality. There was no statistical relationship between the presence of a characteristic ECG abnormality and the presence of a cardiac defect (p = 0.33). Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy had more ECG abnormalities in total (p = 0.05), without correlation with a specific ECG abnormality. We conclude that the ECG features in patients with Noonan syndrome are characteristic for the syndrome and are not related to a specific cardiac defect. An ECG is very useful in the diagnosis of Noonan syndrome; every child with a Noonan phenotype should have an ECG and echocardiogram for evaluation.

E-Bra system for women ECG measurement with GPRS communication, Nanosensor, and motion artifact remove algorithm

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Hyeokjun; Oh, Sechang; Kumar, Prashanth S.; Varadan, Vijay K.

2012-10-01

CardioVascular Disease(CVD)s lead the sudden cardiac death due to irregular phenomenon of the cardiac signal by the abnormal case of blood vessel and cardiac structure. For last two decades, cardiac disease research for man is under active discussion. As a result, the death rate by cardiac disease in men has been falling gradually compared with relatively increasing the women death rate due to CVD[2]. The main reason of this phenomenon causes the lack a sense of the seriousness to female CVD and different symptom of female CVD compared with the symptoms of male CVD. Usually, because the women CVD accompanies with ordinary symptoms unrecognizing the heart abnormality signal such as unusual fatigue, sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, anxiety, chest discomfort, and indigestion dyspepsia, most women CVD patients do not realize that these symptoms are related to the CVD symptoms. Therefore, periodic ECG signal observation is required for women cardiac disease patients. ElectroCardioGram(ECG) detection, treadmill test/exercise ECG, nuclear scan, coronary angiography, and intracoronary ultrasound are used to diagnose abnormality of heart. Among the medical checkup methods for CVDs checkup, it is very effective method for the diagnosis of cardiac disease and the early detection of heart abnormality to monitor ECG periodically. This paper suggests the effective ECG monitoring system for woman by attaching the system on woman's brassiere by using augmented chest lead attachment method. The suggested system in this paper consists of ECG signal transmission system and a server program to display and analyze the transmitted ECG. The ECG signal transmission system consists of three parts such as ECG physical signal detection part with two electrodes made by gold nanowire structure, data acquisition with AD converter, and data transmission part with GPRS(General Packet Radio Service) communication. Usually, to detect human bio signal, Ag/AgCl or gold cup electrodes are used

Ultrafast photon counting applied to resonant scanning STED microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Xundong; Toro, Ligia; Stefani, Enrico; Wu, Yong

2015-01-01

To take full advantage of fast resonant scanning in super-resolution stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy, we have developed an ultrafast photon counting system based on a multigiga sample per second analogue-to-digital conversion chip that delivers an unprecedented 450 MHz pixel clock (2.2 ns pixel dwell time in each scan). The system achieves a large field of view (∼50 × 50 μm) with fast scanning that reduces photobleaching, and advances the time-gated continuous wave STED technology to the usage of resonant scanning with hardware-based time-gating. The assembled system provides superb signal-to-noise ratio and highly linear quantification of light that result in superior image quality. Also, the system design allows great flexibility in processing photon signals to further improve the dynamic range. In conclusion, we have constructed a frontier photon counting image acquisition system with ultrafast readout rate, excellent counting linearity, and with the capacity of realizing resonant-scanning continuous wave STED microscopy with online time-gated detection. © 2014 The Authors Journal of Microscopy © 2014 Royal Microscopical Society.

A cloud computing based 12-lead ECG telemedicine service

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Due to the great variability of 12-lead ECG instruments and medical specialists’ interpretation skills, it remains a challenge to deliver rapid and accurate 12-lead ECG reports with senior cardiologists’ decision making support in emergency telecardiology. Methods We create a new cloud and pervasive computing based 12-lead Electrocardiography (ECG) service to realize ubiquitous 12-lead ECG tele-diagnosis. Results This developed service enables ECG to be transmitted and interpreted via mobile phones. That is, tele-consultation can take place while the patient is on the ambulance, between the onsite clinicians and the off-site senior cardiologists, or among hospitals. Most importantly, this developed service is convenient, efficient, and inexpensive. Conclusions This cloud computing based ECG tele-consultation service expands the traditional 12-lead ECG applications onto the collaboration of clinicians at different locations or among hospitals. In short, this service can greatly improve medical service quality and efficiency, especially for patients in rural areas. This service has been evaluated and proved to be useful by cardiologists in Taiwan. PMID:22838382

A cloud computing based 12-lead ECG telemedicine service

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hsieh Jui-chien

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Due to the great variability of 12-lead ECG instruments and medical specialists’ interpretation skills, it remains a challenge to deliver rapid and accurate 12-lead ECG reports with senior cardiologists’ decision making support in emergency telecardiology. Methods We create a new cloud and pervasive computing based 12-lead Electrocardiography (ECG service to realize ubiquitous 12-lead ECG tele-diagnosis. Results This developed service enables ECG to be transmitted and interpreted via mobile phones. That is, tele-consultation can take place while the patient is on the ambulance, between the onsite clinicians and the off-site senior cardiologists, or among hospitals. Most importantly, this developed service is convenient, efficient, and inexpensive. Conclusions This cloud computing based ECG tele-consultation service expands the traditional 12-lead ECG applications onto the collaboration of clinicians at different locations or among hospitals. In short, this service can greatly improve medical service quality and efficiency, especially for patients in rural areas. This service has been evaluated and proved to be useful by cardiologists in Taiwan.

A model-based Bayesian framework for ECG beat segmentation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sayadi, O; Shamsollahi, M B

2009-01-01

The study of electrocardiogram (ECG) waveform amplitudes, timings and patterns has been the subject of intense research, for it provides a deep insight into the diagnostic features of the heart's functionality. In some recent works, a Bayesian filtering paradigm has been proposed for denoising and compression of ECG signals. In this paper, it is shown that this framework may be effectively used for ECG beat segmentation and extraction of fiducial points. Analytic expressions for the determination of points and intervals are derived and evaluated on various real ECG signals. Simulation results show that the method can contribute to and enhance the clinical ECG beat segmentation performance

ECG telemetry in conscious guinea pigs.

Science.gov (United States)

Ruppert, Sabine; Vormberge, Thomas; Igl, Bernd-Wolfgang; Hoffmann, Michael

2016-01-01

During preclinical drug development, monitoring of the electrocardiogram (ECG) is an important part of cardiac safety assessment. To detect potential pro-arrhythmic liabilities of a drug candidate and for internal decision-making during early stage drug development an in vivo model in small animals with translatability to human cardiac function is required. Over the last years, modifications/improvements regarding animal housing, ECG electrode placement, and data evaluation have been introduced into an established model for ECG recordings using telemetry in conscious, freely moving guinea pigs. Pharmacological validation using selected reference compounds affecting different mechanisms relevant for cardiac electrophysiology (quinidine, flecainide, atenolol, dl-sotalol, dofetilide, nifedipine, moxifloxacin) was conducted and findings were compared with results obtained in telemetered Beagle dogs. Under standardized conditions, reliable ECG data with low variability allowing largely automated evaluation were obtained from the telemetered guinea pig model. The model is sensitive to compounds blocking cardiac sodium channels, hERG K(+) channels and calcium channels, and appears to be even more sensitive to β-blockers as observed in dogs at rest. QT interval correction according to Bazett and Sarma appears to be appropriate methods in conscious guinea pigs. Overall, the telemetered guinea pig is a suitable model for the conduct of early stage preclinical ECG assessment. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Methods for Improving the Diagnosis of a Brugada ECG Pattern.

Science.gov (United States)

Gottschalk, Byron H; Garcia-Niebla, Javier; Anselm, Daniel D; Glover, Benedict; Baranchuk, Adrian

2016-03-01

Brugada syndrome (BrS) is an inherited channelopathy that predisposes individuals to malignant arrhythmias and can lead to sudden cardiac death. The condition is characterized by two electrocardiography (ECG) patterns: the type-1 or "coved" ECG and the type-2 or "saddleback" ECG. Although the type-1 Brugada ECG pattern is diagnostic for the condition, the type-2 Brugada ECG pattern requires differential diagnosis from conditions that produce a similar morphology. In this article, we present a case that is suspicious but not diagnostic for BrS and discuss the application of ECG methodologies for increasing or decreasing suspicion for a diagnosis of BrS. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Respiratory gating in cardiac PET

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lassen, Martin Lyngby; Rasmussen, Thomas; Christensen, Thomas E

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Respiratory motion due to breathing during cardiac positron emission tomography (PET) results in spatial blurring and erroneous tracer quantification. Respiratory gating might represent a solution by dividing the PET coincidence dataset into smaller respiratory phase subsets. The aim...... of our study was to compare the resulting imaging quality by the use of a time-based respiratory gating system in two groups administered either adenosine or dipyridamole as the pharmacological stress agent. METHODS AND RESULTS: Forty-eight patients were randomized to adenosine or dipyridamole cardiac...... stress (82)RB-PET. Respiratory rates and depths were measured by a respiratory gating system in addition to registering actual respiratory rates. Patients undergoing adenosine stress showed a decrease in measured respiratory rate from initial to later scan phase measurements [12.4 (±5.7) vs 5.6 (±4...

Usefulness of ST elevation score by using vector-projected virtual 187-channel ECG for risk stratification in patients with Brugada-type ECG pattern

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shoko Ishikawa

2012-08-01

Conclusion: The ST elevation score in VP-ECG objectively documented the degree of ST elevation in surface ECG in Brugada-type ECG patterns. The ST-elevation score might be useful for risk stratification in patients with asymptomatic Brugada syndrome.

Assessment of left ventricular filling in various heart disease, especially in ischemic heart disease, by ECG-gated cardiac blood pool scintigraphy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakagawa, Hiroaki

1986-01-01

Using ECG-gated cardiac blood pool scintigraphy (BPS), left ventricular (LV) diastolic function was evaluated in various heart disease, especially in ischemic heart disease (IHD). LV function indices (2 systolic and 9 diastolic) were obtained from LV time activity curve derived from BPS. Among various diastolic indices, peak filling rate (PFR) and 2 other indices were significantly influenced by heart rate (HR), so corrected values for HR were used for this study. Various degrees of disturbance in diastolic filling were found in many cases without systolic impairment. According to the mechanism responsible for diastolic impairment, LV time activity curve showed a characteristic pattern. In IHD, filling disturbance in early diastole was observed before the impairment of systolic contraction developed, so it was thought to be an early predictor of cardiac failure. In the scar region of myocardial infarction (MI), decrease in regional ejection fraction and asynchrony in wall motion were shown, and these resulted in marked deterioration of early diastolic filling. On the other hand in angina pectoris (AP), such systolic disorders were not shown in the ischemic region perfused by stenotic coronary artery, although the disturbance of regional filling was found. The exercise capacity in AP was more related to the impairment in diastolic function at resting state than in systolic function, and furthermore the reserve of diastolic function as well as of systolic function was shown to be an important determinant of exercise capacity in AP. As HR increased, increase of PFR and decrease in time to peak filling was found, which was thought to be a sort of compensation for the shortening diastolic time due to increase in HR during exercise. Such compensation was decreased in AP with reduced exercise capacity. (J.P.N.)

Empirical mode decomposition of the ECG signal for noise removal

Science.gov (United States)

Khan, Jesmin; Bhuiyan, Sharif; Murphy, Gregory; Alam, Mohammad

2011-04-01

Electrocardiography is a diagnostic procedure for the detection and diagnosis of heart abnormalities. The electrocardiogram (ECG) signal contains important information that is utilized by physicians for the diagnosis and analysis of heart diseases. So good quality ECG signal plays a vital role for the interpretation and identification of pathological, anatomical and physiological aspects of the whole cardiac muscle. However, the ECG signals are corrupted by noise which severely limit the utility of the recorded ECG signal for medical evaluation. The most common noise presents in the ECG signal is the high frequency noise caused by the forces acting on the electrodes. In this paper, we propose a new ECG denoising method based on the empirical mode decomposition (EMD). The proposed method is able to enhance the ECG signal upon removing the noise with minimum signal distortion. Simulation is done on the MIT-BIH database to verify the efficacy of the proposed algorithm. Experiments show that the presented method offers very good results to remove noise from the ECG signal.

Biometric and Emotion Identification: An ECG Compression Based Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Brás, Susana; Ferreira, Jacqueline H T; Soares, Sandra C; Pinho, Armando J

2018-01-01

We present an innovative and robust solution to both biometric and emotion identification using the electrocardiogram (ECG). The ECG represents the electrical signal that comes from the contraction of the heart muscles, indirectly representing the flow of blood inside the heart, it is known to convey a key that allows biometric identification. Moreover, due to its relationship with the nervous system, it also varies as a function of the emotional state. The use of information-theoretic data models, associated with data compression algorithms, allowed to effectively compare ECG records and infer the person identity, as well as emotional state at the time of data collection. The proposed method does not require ECG wave delineation or alignment, which reduces preprocessing error. The method is divided into three steps: (1) conversion of the real-valued ECG record into a symbolic time-series, using a quantization process; (2) conditional compression of the symbolic representation of the ECG, using the symbolic ECG records stored in the database as reference; (3) identification of the ECG record class, using a 1-NN (nearest neighbor) classifier. We obtained over 98% of accuracy in biometric identification, whereas in emotion recognition we attained over 90%. Therefore, the method adequately identify the person, and his/her emotion. Also, the proposed method is flexible and may be adapted to different problems, by the alteration of the templates for training the model.

In Vivo Respiratory-Gated Micro-CT Imaging in Small-Animal Oncology Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dawn Cavanaugh

2004-01-01

Full Text Available Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT is becoming an accepted research tool for the noninvasive examination of laboratory animals such as mice and rats, but to date, in vivo scanning has largely been limited to the evaluation of skeletal tissues. We use a commercially available micro-CT device to perform respiratory gated in vivo acquisitions suitable for thoracic imaging. The instrument is described, along with the scan protocol and animal preparation techniques. Preliminary results confirm that lung tumors as small as 1 mm in diameter are visible in vivo with these methods. Radiation dose was evaluated using several approaches, and was found to be approximately 0.15 Gy for this respiratory-gated micro-CT imaging protocol. The combination of high-resolution CT imaging and respiratory-gated acquisitions appears well-suited to serial in vivo scanning.

Thallium myocardial scanning in the emergency department evaluation of chest pain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mace, S.E.

1989-01-01

Chest pain is a common complaint of patients seen in the emergency department. The causes are legion, and range from the non-life threatening to the potentially catastrophic. Thallium heart scanning was done prospectively in 20 patients with a ''classic'' history for myocardial infarction (eight patients) or atypical chest pain and/or associated symptoms plus an abnormal ECG (12 patients) to discern a subset of patients from whom thallium scintography may be indicated in the emergency department. Although further investigation is needed, our preliminary study suggests that myocardial scanning with thallium can be a safe, fairly rapid, and useful objective parameter in the emergency department detection of suspected myocardial infarction, and in differential diagnosis of chest pain when other data such as the history, physical examination, ECG, or enzymes are inconclusive

Hyperkalemia on ECG

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bryson Hicks

2016-09-01

Full Text Available History of present illness: A 34-year-old diabetic female presented to the emergency department with chest pain status-post AICD firing. She described the pain as a “12 out of 10” which woke her from sleep at 0200, one hour prior to arrival. Vitals were unremarkable. She had no known history of renal failure. Due to frequent ED visits for chronic pain, patient had difficult vascular access and nursing was initially unable to obtain IV access. An abnormal rhythm was noted on the cardiac monitor, and ECG was ordered. Significant findings: Initial ECG shows tall, peaked T waves, most prominently in V3 and V4, as well as QRS widening. These findings are consistent with hyperkalemia, which was promptly treated. Follow-up ECG post-treatment shows narrowing of the QRS complexes and normalization of peaked T waves. Discussion: The etiology of hyperkalemia may be due to an acute insult such as crush injury, drug side effect, or in acute renal failure, but may also occur in the setting of a chronic insult such as chronic kidney disease.1 As potassium rises, several abnormalities can be identified on ECG. Initially the T waves become peaked and the QRS complexes widen.2,3 This can devolve into a wide complex rhythm, ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, or asystole. Patients may also experience systemic symptoms such as weakness or paralysis.1 In this particular case, labs showed a potassium of 7.6-mmol/L after initial treatment (see repeat EKG. While the incidence of hyperkalemia in the general population is not defined, the incidence in hospitalized patients is 1.3-10%.4-8 Impaired kidney function is the most common risk factor found in 33-83% of affected patients.4,5,8,9 Treatment for hyperkalemia generally includes IV insulin and IV dextrose and nebulized albuterol for intracellular shift of potassium, IV furosemide and IV fluids for dilution and renal excretion of furosemide, and IV calcium for stabilization of cardiac membranes.2,3

Ability of a 5-minute electrocardiography (ECG) for predicting arrhythmias in Doberman Pinschers with cardiomyopathy in comparison with a 24-hour ambulatory ECG.

Science.gov (United States)

Wess, G; Schulze, A; Geraghty, N; Hartmann, K

2010-01-01

Ventricular premature contractions (VPCs) are common in the occult stage of cardiomyopathy in Doberman Pinschers. Although the gold standard for detecting arrhythmia is the 24-hour ambulatory electrocardiography (ECG) (Holter), this method is more expensive, time-consuming and often not as readily available as common ECG. Comparison of 5-minute ECGs with Holter examinations. Eight hundred and seventy-five 5-minute ECGs and Holter examinations of 431 Doberman Pinschers. Each examination included a 5-minute ECG and Holter examination. A cut-off value of > 100 VPCs/24 hours using Holter was considered diagnostic for the presence of cardiomyopathy. Statistical evaluation included calculation of sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value. Holter examinations revealed > 100 VPCs/24 hours in 204/875 examinations. At least 1 VPC during a 5-minute ECG was detected in 131 (64.2%) of these 204 examinations. No VPCs were found in the 5-minute ECG in 73 (35.8%) examinations of affected Doberman Pinschers. A 5-minute ECG with at least 1 VPC as cut-off had a sensitivity of 64.2%, a specificity of 96.7%, a positive predictive value of 85.6% and a negative predictive value of 89.9% for the presence of > 100 VPCs/24 hours. A 5-minute ECG is a rather insensitive method for detecting arrhythmias in Doberman Pinschers. However, the occurrence of at least 1 VPC in 5 minutes strongly warrants further examination of the dog, because specificity (96.7%) and positive predictive value (85.6%) are high and could suggest occult cardiomyopathy.

[ECG for non-competitive sports in childhood: strengths and disputes].

Science.gov (United States)

Poggi, Elena; Giannattasio, Alessandro; Bolloli, Sara; Beccaria, Andrea; Mezzano, Paola; Rocca, Paola; Del Vecchio, Cecilia

2016-11-01

Sport is very important for health promotion and conservation. Active lifestyle and regular exercise reduce cardiovascular disease incidence. The Italian Ministry of Health issued the Law Decree no. 243 (10/18/2014) concerning "guidelines for certification about non-competitive sports" to promote safety in sports. This regulation defines the activities for which a certificate is required, the professional actors involved and the clinical exams to be performed according to the patient's health status. In particular, the Law Decree recommends to perform an electrocardiogram (ECG) "at least once in a lifetime", introducing much greater news into pediatric practice. We proposed a survey evaluating frequency of ECG implementation for non-competitive sports and cardiovascular diseases incidence was administered to 7 Ligurian pediatricians. The number of ECG/year for pediatrician increased from 10 ECG/year to 50 ECG/year with an indication of suitability to non-competitive sports. One case of QT prolongation and 2 cases of type 1 Brugada ECG pattern were diagnosed. In addition, 3 patients had an atrial septal defect and 3 children had a ventricular septal defect. Forty-three percent of the pediatricians considered useful performing the ECG. ECG in children has enhanced the positive effects on the community health. However, it remains to be defined in agreement with scientific societies the age at which to perform ECG, the sports for which ECG is required and the cost-benefit ratio for the National Health System and families.

Female False Positive Exercise Stress ECG Testing - Fact Verses Fiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fitzgerald, Benjamin T; Scalia, William M; Scalia, Gregory M

2018-03-07

Exercise stress testing is a well validated cardiovascular investigation. Accuracy for treadmill stress electrocardiograph (ECG) testing has been documented at 60%. False positive stress ECGs (exercise ECG changes with non-obstructive disease on anatomical testing) are common, especially in women, limiting the effectiveness of the test. This study investigates the incidence and predictors of false positive stress ECG findings, referenced against stress echocardiography (SE) as a standard. Stress echocardiography was performed using the Bruce treadmill protocol. False positive stress ECG tests were defined as greater than 1mm of ST depression on ECG during exertion, without pain, with a normal SE. Potential causes for false positive tests were recorded before the test. Three thousand consecutive negative stress echocardiograms (1036 females, 34.5%) were analysed (age 59+/-14 years. False positive (F+) stress ECGs were documented in 565/3000 tests (18.8%). F+ stress ECGs were equally prevalent in females (194/1036, 18.7%) and males (371/1964, 18.9%, p=0.85 for the difference). Potential causes (hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, known coronary disease, arrhythmia, diabetes mellitus, valvular heart disease) were recorded in 36/194 (18.6%) of the female F+ ECG tests and 249/371 (68.2%) of the male F+ ECG tests (preinforce the value of stress imaging, particularly in women. Copyright © 2018 Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons (ANZSCTS) and the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand (CSANZ). All rights reserved.

ECG abnormalities in patients with chronic kidney disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shafi, S.; Saleem, M.; Anjum, R.; Abdullah, W.; Shafi, T.

2017-01-01

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities are common in CKD patients. However, there is variation in literature regarding frequency of ECG abnormalities in CKD patients and limited information in local population. Methods: The study design was cross-sectional in nature. All patients between ages of 20-80 years with CKD not previously on renal replacement therapy who were admitted to nephrology ward at a tertiary care facility over a 6-month period were included. All patients underwent 12 lead electrocardiograms (ECG). ECG abnormalities were defined based on accepted standard criteria. Results: Total number of patients included in the study was 124. Mean age of all patients was 49.9+-13.8 years, 106 (84.8%) had hypertension, 84 (70%) had diabetes mellitus, and 35 (29.9%) had known cardiovascular disease. Mean serum creatinine was 7.2+-3.4 mg/dl, mean eGFR was 10.6+-9.2 ml/min/1.73 m/sup 2/. Overall 78.4% of all CKD patients have one or more ECG abnormality. Left ventricular hypertrophy (40%), Q waves (27.2%), ST segment elevation or depression (23.4%), prolonged QRS duration (19.2%), tachycardia (17.6%) and left and right atrial enlargement (17.6%) were the most common abnormalities. Conclusion: ECG abnormalities are common in hospitalized CKD patients in local population. All hospitalized CKD patients should undergo ECG to screen for cardiovascular disease. (author)

Matrix of regularity for improving the quality of ECGs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xia, Henian; Garcia, Gabriel A; Zhao, Xiaopeng; Bains, Jujhar; Wortham, Dale C

2012-01-01

The 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) is the gold standard for diagnosis of abnormalities of the heart. However, the ECG is susceptible to artifacts, which may lead to wrong diagnosis and thus mistreatment. It is a clinical challenge of great significance differentiating ECG artifacts from patterns of diseases. We propose a computational framework, called the matrix of regularity, to evaluate the quality of ECGs. The matrix of regularity is a novel mechanism to fuse results from multiple tests of signal quality. Moreover, this method can produce a continuous grade, which can more accurately represent the quality of an ECG. When tested on a dataset from the Computing in Cardiology/PhysioNet Challenge 2011, the algorithm achieves up to 95% accuracy. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve is 0.97. The developed framework and computer program have the potential to improve the quality of ECGs collected using conventional and portable devices. (paper)

The PLR-DTW method for ECG based biometric identification.

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Jun; Bao, Shu-Di; Yang, Li-Cai; Li, Ye

2011-01-01

There has been a surge of research on electrocardiogram (ECG) signal based biometric for person identification. Though most of the existing studies claimed that ECG signal is unique to an individual and can be a viable biometric, one of the main difficulties for real-world applications of ECG biometric is the accuracy performance. To address this problem, this study proposes a PLR-DTW method for ECG biometric, where the Piecewise Linear Representation (PLR) is used to keep important information of an ECG signal segment while reduce the data dimension at the same time if necessary, and the Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) is used for similarity measures between two signal segments. The performance evaluation was carried out on three ECG databases, and the existing method using wavelet coefficients, which was proved to have good accuracy performance, was selected for comparison. The analysis results show that the PLR-DTW method achieves an accuracy rate of 100% for identification, while the one using wavelet coefficients achieved only around 93%.

Unveiling the Biometric Potential of Finger-Based ECG Signals

Science.gov (United States)

Lourenço, André; Silva, Hugo; Fred, Ana

2011-01-01

The ECG signal has been shown to contain relevant information for human identification. Even though results validate the potential of these signals, data acquisition methods and apparatus explored so far compromise user acceptability, requiring the acquisition of ECG at the chest. In this paper, we propose a finger-based ECG biometric system, that uses signals collected at the fingers, through a minimally intrusive 1-lead ECG setup recurring to Ag/AgCl electrodes without gel as interface with the skin. The collected signal is significantly more noisy than the ECG acquired at the chest, motivating the application of feature extraction and signal processing techniques to the problem. Time domain ECG signal processing is performed, which comprises the usual steps of filtering, peak detection, heartbeat waveform segmentation, and amplitude normalization, plus an additional step of time normalization. Through a simple minimum distance criterion between the test patterns and the enrollment database, results have revealed this to be a promising technique for biometric applications. PMID:21837235

Unveiling the biometric potential of finger-based ECG signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Lourenço, André; Silva, Hugo; Fred, Ana

2011-01-01

The ECG signal has been shown to contain relevant information for human identification. Even though results validate the potential of these signals, data acquisition methods and apparatus explored so far compromise user acceptability, requiring the acquisition of ECG at the chest. In this paper, we propose a finger-based ECG biometric system, that uses signals collected at the fingers, through a minimally intrusive 1-lead ECG setup recurring to Ag/AgCl electrodes without gel as interface with the skin. The collected signal is significantly more noisy than the ECG acquired at the chest, motivating the application of feature extraction and signal processing techniques to the problem. Time domain ECG signal processing is performed, which comprises the usual steps of filtering, peak detection, heartbeat waveform segmentation, and amplitude normalization, plus an additional step of time normalization. Through a simple minimum distance criterion between the test patterns and the enrollment database, results have revealed this to be a promising technique for biometric applications.

A novel biometric authentication approach using ECG and EMG signals.

Science.gov (United States)

Belgacem, Noureddine; Fournier, Régis; Nait-Ali, Amine; Bereksi-Reguig, Fethi

2015-05-01

Security biometrics is a secure alternative to traditional methods of identity verification of individuals, such as authentication systems based on user name and password. Recently, it has been found that the electrocardiogram (ECG) signal formed by five successive waves (P, Q, R, S and T) is unique to each individual. In fact, better than any other biometrics' measures, it delivers proof of subject's being alive as extra information which other biometrics cannot deliver. The main purpose of this work is to present a low-cost method for online acquisition and processing of ECG signals for person authentication and to study the possibility of providing additional information and retrieve personal data from an electrocardiogram signal to yield a reliable decision. This study explores the effectiveness of a novel biometric system resulting from the fusion of information and knowledge provided by ECG and EMG (Electromyogram) physiological recordings. It is shown that biometrics based on these ECG/EMG signals offers a novel way to robustly authenticate subjects. Five ECG databases (MIT-BIH, ST-T, NSR, PTB and ECG-ID) and several ECG signals collected in-house from volunteers were exploited. A palm-based ECG biometric system was developed where the signals are collected from the palm of the subject through a minimally intrusive one-lead ECG set-up. A total of 3750 ECG beats were used in this work. Feature extraction was performed on ECG signals using Fourier descriptors (spectral coefficients). Optimum-Path Forest classifier was used to calculate the degree of similarity between individuals. The obtained results from the proposed approach look promising for individuals' authentication.

A Study on the Optimal Positions of ECG Electrodes in a Garment for the Design of ECG-Monitoring Clothing for Male.

Science.gov (United States)

Cho, Hakyung; Lee, Joo Hyeon

2015-09-01

Smart clothing is a sort of wearable device used for ubiquitous health monitoring. It provides comfort and efficiency in vital sign measurements and has been studied and developed in various types of monitoring platforms such as T-shirt and sports bra. However, despite these previous approaches, smart clothing for electrocardiography (ECG) monitoring has encountered a serious shortcoming relevant to motion artifacts caused by wearer movement. In effect, motion artifacts are one of the major problems in practical implementation of most wearable health-monitoring devices. In the ECG measurements collected by a garment, motion artifacts are usually caused by improper location of the electrode, leading to lack of contact between the electrode and skin with body motion. The aim of this study was to suggest a design for ECG-monitoring clothing contributing to reduction of motion artifacts. Based on the clothing science theory, it was assumed in this study that the stability of the electrode in a dynamic state differed depending on the electrode location in an ECG-monitoring garment. Founded on this assumption, effects of 56 electrode positions were determined by sectioning the surface of the garment into grids with 6 cm intervals in the front and back of the bodice. In order to determine the optimal locations of the ECG electrodes from the 56 positions, ECG measurements were collected from 10 participants at every electrode position in the garment while the wearer was in motion. The electrode locations indicating both an ECG measurement rate higher than 80.0 % and a large amplitude during motion were selected as the optimal electrode locations. The results of this analysis show four electrode locations with consistently higher ECG measurement rates and larger amplitudes amongst the 56 locations. These four locations were abstracted to be least affected by wearer movement in this research. Based on this result, a design of the garment-formed ECG monitoring platform

PIC microcontroller-based RF wireless ECG monitoring system.

Science.gov (United States)

Oweis, R J; Barhoum, A

2007-01-01

This paper presents a radio-telemetry system that provides the possibility of ECG signal transmission from a patient detection circuit via an RF data link. A PC then receives the signal through the National Instrument data acquisition card (NIDAQ). The PC is equipped with software allowing the received ECG signals to be saved, analysed, and sent by email to another part of the world. The proposed telemetry system consists of a patient unit and a PC unit. The amplified and filtered ECG signal is sampled 360 times per second, and the A/D conversion is performed by a PIC16f877 microcontroller. The major contribution of the final proposed system is that it detects, processes and sends patients ECG data over a wireless RF link to a maximum distance of 200 m. Transmitted ECG data with different numbers of samples were received, decoded by means of another PIC microcontroller, and displayed using MATLAB program. The designed software is presented in a graphical user interface utility.

Electrochemical gating in scanning electrochemical microscopy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ahonen, P.; Ruiz, V.; Kontturi, K.; Liljeroth, P.; Quinn, B.M.

2008-01-01

We demonstrate that scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) can be used to determine the conductivity of nanoparticle assemblies as a function of assembly potential. In contrast to conventional electron transport measurements, this method is unique in that electrical connection to the film is not

A study of metal artifacts on MR imaging. Evaluation of scanning parameters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashiro, Mitsuaki

1999-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate scanning parameters on MR imaging for reducing metal artifacts using phantom study. Metal artifacts on sagittal images, perpendicular to static magnetic direction showed round shape in the relationship between shape of metal artifacts on MR images and scanning direction. Metal artifacts on both axial and coronal images, parallel to static magnetic direction showed oval shape in the direction of X-axis. In spin echo sequences, the largest dimension of metal artifacts was coronal image, followed by axial image and then sagittal image. In gradient echo sequences, the largest dimension of metal artifacts was axial image, followed by coronal image and then sagittal image. The best scanning plane for reducing metal artifacts was perpendicular to static magnetic direction. In scanning sequences, the largest dimensions of metal artifacts were gradient echo sequences, followed by T2-weighted spin echo sequence and then proton density-weighted and T1-weighted spin echo sequences. Large flip angle increased much metal artifacts on both axial and coronal images in gradient echo sequences. Small flip angle was useful for reducing metal artifacts on both axial and coronal images. The influence of flip angle on metal artifacts in sagittal images perpendicular static magnetic direction was less than for images in coronal and axial planes on gradient echo sequences. These results suggested that a study of metal artifacts on MR imaging about evaluation of scanning parameters was useful to reduce metal artifacts on MR images. (K.H.)

A wearable 12-lead ECG acquisition system with fabric electrodes.

Science.gov (United States)

Haoshi Zhang; Lan Tian; Huiyang Lu; Ming Zhou; Haiqing Zou; Peng Fang; Fuan Yao; Guanglin Li

2017-07-01

Continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) monitoring is significant for prevention of heart disease and is becoming an important part of personal and family health care. In most of the existing wearable solutions, conventional metal sensors and corresponding chips are simply integrated into clothes and usually could only collect few leads of ECG signals that could not provide enough information for diagnosis of cardiac diseases such as arrhythmia and myocardial ischemia. In this study, a wearable 12-lead ECG acquisition system with fabric electrodes was developed and could simultaneously process 12 leads of ECG signals. By integrating the fabric electrodes into a T-shirt, the wearable system would provide a comfortable and convenient user interface for ECG recording. For comparison, the proposed fabric electrode and the gelled traditional metal electrodes were used to collect ECG signals on a subject, respectively. The approximate entropy (ApEn) of ECG signals from both types of electrodes were calculated. The experimental results show that the fabric electrodes could achieve similar performance as the gelled metal electrodes. This preliminary work has demonstrated that the developed ECG system with fabric electrodes could be utilized for wearable health management and telemedicine applications.

Biometric and Emotion Identification: An ECG Compression Based Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susana Brás

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We present an innovative and robust solution to both biometric and emotion identification using the electrocardiogram (ECG. The ECG represents the electrical signal that comes from the contraction of the heart muscles, indirectly representing the flow of blood inside the heart, it is known to convey a key that allows biometric identification. Moreover, due to its relationship with the nervous system, it also varies as a function of the emotional state. The use of information-theoretic data models, associated with data compression algorithms, allowed to effectively compare ECG records and infer the person identity, as well as emotional state at the time of data collection. The proposed method does not require ECG wave delineation or alignment, which reduces preprocessing error. The method is divided into three steps: (1 conversion of the real-valued ECG record into a symbolic time-series, using a quantization process; (2 conditional compression of the symbolic representation of the ECG, using the symbolic ECG records stored in the database as reference; (3 identification of the ECG record class, using a 1-NN (nearest neighbor classifier. We obtained over 98% of accuracy in biometric identification, whereas in emotion recognition we attained over 90%. Therefore, the method adequately identify the person, and his/her emotion. Also, the proposed method is flexible and may be adapted to different problems, by the alteration of the templates for training the model.

Biometric and Emotion Identification: An ECG Compression Based Method

Science.gov (United States)

Brás, Susana; Ferreira, Jacqueline H. T.; Soares, Sandra C.; Pinho, Armando J.

2018-01-01

We present an innovative and robust solution to both biometric and emotion identification using the electrocardiogram (ECG). The ECG represents the electrical signal that comes from the contraction of the heart muscles, indirectly representing the flow of blood inside the heart, it is known to convey a key that allows biometric identification. Moreover, due to its relationship with the nervous system, it also varies as a function of the emotional state. The use of information-theoretic data models, associated with data compression algorithms, allowed to effectively compare ECG records and infer the person identity, as well as emotional state at the time of data collection. The proposed method does not require ECG wave delineation or alignment, which reduces preprocessing error. The method is divided into three steps: (1) conversion of the real-valued ECG record into a symbolic time-series, using a quantization process; (2) conditional compression of the symbolic representation of the ECG, using the symbolic ECG records stored in the database as reference; (3) identification of the ECG record class, using a 1-NN (nearest neighbor) classifier. We obtained over 98% of accuracy in biometric identification, whereas in emotion recognition we attained over 90%. Therefore, the method adequately identify the person, and his/her emotion. Also, the proposed method is flexible and may be adapted to different problems, by the alteration of the templates for training the model. PMID:29670564

A versatile LabVIEW and field-programmable gate array-based scanning probe microscope for in operando electronic device characterization.

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Andrew J; Page, Michael R; Jacob, Jan; Young, Justin R; Lewis, Jim; Wenzel, Lothar; Bhallamudi, Vidya P; Johnston-Halperin, Ezekiel; Pelekhov, Denis V; Hammel, P Chris

2014-12-01

Understanding the complex properties of electronic and spintronic devices at the micro- and nano-scale is a topic of intense current interest as it becomes increasingly important for scientific progress and technological applications. In operando characterization of such devices by scanning probe techniques is particularly well-suited for the microscopic study of these properties. We have developed a scanning probe microscope (SPM) which is capable of both standard force imaging (atomic, magnetic, electrostatic) and simultaneous electrical transport measurements. We utilize flexible and inexpensive FPGA (field-programmable gate array) hardware and a custom software framework developed in National Instrument's LabVIEW environment to perform the various aspects of microscope operation and device measurement. The FPGA-based approach enables sensitive, real-time cantilever frequency-shift detection. Using this system, we demonstrate electrostatic force microscopy of an electrically biased graphene field-effect transistor device. The combination of SPM and electrical transport also enables imaging of the transport response to a localized perturbation provided by the scanned cantilever tip. Facilitated by the broad presence of LabVIEW in the experimental sciences and the openness of our software solution, our system permits a wide variety of combined scanning and transport measurements by providing standardized interfaces and flexible access to all aspects of a measurement (input and output signals, and processed data). Our system also enables precise control of timing (synchronization of scanning and transport operations) and implementation of sophisticated feedback protocols, and thus should be broadly interesting and useful to practitioners in the field.

The Development of a Portable ECG Monitor Based on DSP

Science.gov (United States)

Nan, CHI Jian; Tao, YAN Yan; Meng Chen, LIU; Li, YANG

With the advent of global information, researches of Smart Home system are in the ascendant, the ECG real-time detection, and wireless transmission of ECG become more useful. In order to achieve the purpose we developed a portable ECG monitor which achieves the purpose of cardiac disease remote monitoring, and will be used in the physical and psychological disease surveillance in smart home system, we developed this portable ECG Monitor, based on the analysis of existing ECG Monitor, using TMS320F2812 as the core controller, which complete the signal collection, storage, processing, waveform display and transmission.

Deep Arm/Ear-ECG Image Learning for Highly Wearable Biometric Human Identification.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Qingxue; Zhou, Dian

2018-01-01

In this study, to advance smart health applications which have increasing security/privacy requirements, we propose a novel highly wearable ECG-based user identification system, empowered by both non-standard convenient ECG lead configurations and deep learning techniques. Specifically, to achieve a super wearability, we suggest situating all the ECG electrodes on the left upper-arm, or behind the ears, and successfully obtain weak but distinguishable ECG waveforms. Afterwards, to identify individuals from weak ECG, we further present a two-stage framework, including ECG imaging and deep feature learning/identification. In the former stage, the ECG heartbeats are projected to a 2D state space, to reveal heartbeats' trajectory behaviors and produce 2D images by a split-then-hit method. In the second stage, a convolutional neural network is introduced to automatically learn the intricate patterns directly from the ECG image representations without heavy feature engineering, and then perform user identification. Experimental results on two acquired datasets using our wearable prototype, show a promising identification rate of 98.4% (single-arm-ECG) and 91.1% (ear-ECG), respectively. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first study on the feasibility of using single-arm-ECG/ear-ECG for user identification purpose, which is expected to contribute to pervasive ECG-based user identification in smart health applications.

An ECG simulator for generating maternal-foetal activity mixtures on abdominal ECG recordings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Behar, Joachim; Andreotti, Fernando; Li, Qiao; Oster, Julien; Clifford, Gari D; Zaunseder, Sebastian

2014-01-01

Accurate foetal electrocardiogram (FECG) morphology extraction from non-invasive sensors remains an open problem. This is partly due to the paucity of available public databases. Even when gold standard information (i.e derived from the scalp electrode) is present, the collection of FECG can be problematic, particularly during stressful or clinically important events. In order to address this problem we have introduced an FECG simulator based on earlier work on foetal and adult ECG modelling. The open source foetal ECG synthetic simulator, fecgsyn, is able to generate maternal-foetal ECG mixtures with realistic amplitudes, morphology, beat-to-beat variability, heart rate changes and noise. Positional (rotation and translation-related) movements in the foetal and maternal heart due to respiration, foetal activity and uterine contractions were also added to the simulator. The simulator was used to generate some of the signals that were part of the 2013 PhysioNet Computing in Cardiology Challenge dataset and has been posted on Physionet.org (together with scripts to generate realistic scenarios) under an open source license. The toolbox enables further research in the field and provides part of a standard for industry and regulatory testing of rare pathological scenarios. (paper)

Usefulness of exercise ECG test with nitroglycerin and exercise cardiac scintigraphy in patients with false positive exercise ECG test

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moritani, Kohshiro

1984-01-01

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical usefulness of exercise (Ex) ECG test with sublingual nitroglycerin (NTG) and Ex cardiac scintigraphy in differentiating false positive responses from true positive responses of Ex ECG test. We examined 7 pts (age : 46+-7 years) with true positive Ex ECG test (TP) and 8 pts (age : 55+-10 years) with false positive Ex ECG test (FP). TP had significant coronary artery disease and FP did not. Ex test was done by multistage ergometer test. In 5 pts of TP and all pts of FP, Ex cardiac scintigraphy was performed. In TP, Ex cardiac scintigraphy revealed reversible perfusion deficit, but not in FP. NTG was administered 3 minutes before Ex test was started. Ex test with NTG was terminated at the same load as Ex test without NTG. Pressure-rate products at the end point of Ex test did not show significant difference between Ex test without NTG and that with NTG (TP: 203x10 2 , 213x10 2 , FP: 196x10 2 , 206x10 2 , respectively). In 7 pts of FP, ST depression in Ex test without NTG was not improved in Ex test with NTG. On the other hand, in all pts of TP, ST depression seen in Ex test without NTG, was not observed in Ex test with NTG. It may be concluded that Ex cardiac scintigraphy is diagnostic for differentiation of false positive responses from true positive responses of Ex ECG test, as well as Ex ECG test with NTG is. (author)

Enhancement of Twins Fetal ECG Signal Extraction Based on Hybrid Blind Extraction Techniques

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Kareem Abdullah

2017-07-01

Full Text Available ECG machines are noninvasive system used to measure the heartbeat signal. It’s very important to monitor the fetus ECG signals during pregnancy to check the heat activity and to detect any problem early before born, therefore the monitoring of ECG signals have clinical significance and importance. For multi-fetal pregnancy case the classical filtering algorithms are not sufficient to separate the ECG signals between mother and fetal. In this paper the mixture consists of mixing from three ECG signals, the first signal is the mother ECG (M-ECG signal, second signal the Fetal-1 ECG (F1-ECG, and third signal is the Fetal-2 ECG (F2-ECG, these signals are extracted based on modified blind source extraction (BSE techniques. The proposed work based on hybridization between two BSE techniques to ensure that the extracted signals separated well. The results demonstrate that the proposed work very efficiently to extract the useful ECG signals

Investigation of axial power gradients near a control rod tip

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Loberg, John, E-mail: John.Loberg@fysast.uu.se [Uppsala University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Division of Applied Nuclear Physics, Box 525, SE-75120 Uppsala (Sweden); Osterlund, Michael, E-mail: Michael.Osterlund@fysast.uu.se [Uppsala University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Division of Applied Nuclear Physics, Box 525, SE-75120 Uppsala (Sweden); Bejmer, Klaes-Hakan, E-mail: Klaes-Hakan.Bejmer@vattenfall.com [Vattenfall Nuclear Fuel AB, Jaemtlandsgatan 99, 162 60 Vaellingby, Stockholm (Sweden); Blomgren, Jan, E-mail: Jan.Blomgren@vattenfall.com [Vattenfall Nuclear Fuel AB, Jaemtlandsgatan 99, 162 60 Vaellingby, Stockholm (Sweden); Kierkegaard, Jesper, E-mail: Jesper.Kierkegaar@vattenfall.com [Vattenfall Nuclear Fuel AB, Jaemtlandsgatan 99, 162 60 Vaellingby, Stockholm (Sweden)

2011-07-15

Highlights: > Pin power gradients near BWR control rod tips have been investigated. > A control rod tip is modeled in MCNP and compared to simplified 2D/3D geometry. > Small nodes increases pin power gradients; standard nodes underestimates gradients. > The MCNP results are validated against axial gamma scan of a controlled fuel pin. - Abstract: Control rod withdrawal in BWRs induces large power steps in the adjacent fuel assemblies. This paper investigates how well a 2D/3D method, e.g., CASMO5/SIMULATE5 computes axial pin power gradients adjacent to an asymmetrical control-rod tip in a BWR. The ability to predict pin power gradients accurately is important for safety considerations whereas large powers steps induced by control rod withdrawal can cause Pellet Cladding Interaction. The computation of axial pin power gradients axially around a control rod tip is a challenging task for any nodal code. On top of that, asymmetrical control rod handles are present in some BWR designs. The lattice code CASMO requires diagonal symmetry of all control rod parts. This introduces an error in computed pin power gradients that has been evaluated by Monte Carlo calculations. The results show that CASMO5/SIMULATE5, despite the asymmetrical control rod handle, is able to predict the axial pin power gradient within 1%/cm for axial nodal sizes of 15-3.68 cm. However, a nodal size of 3.68 cm still causes underestimations of pin power gradients compared with 1 cm nodes. Furthermore, if conventional node sizes are used, {approx}15 cm, pin power gradients can be underestimated by over 50% compared with 1 cm nodes. The detailed axial pin power profiles from MCNP are corroborated by measured gamma scan data on fuel rods irradiated adjacent to control rods.

Investigation of axial power gradients near a control rod tip

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loberg, John; Osterlund, Michael; Bejmer, Klaes-Hakan; Blomgren, Jan; Kierkegaard, Jesper

2011-01-01

Highlights: → Pin power gradients near BWR control rod tips have been investigated. → A control rod tip is modeled in MCNP and compared to simplified 2D/3D geometry. → Small nodes increases pin power gradients; standard nodes underestimates gradients. → The MCNP results are validated against axial gamma scan of a controlled fuel pin. - Abstract: Control rod withdrawal in BWRs induces large power steps in the adjacent fuel assemblies. This paper investigates how well a 2D/3D method, e.g., CASMO5/SIMULATE5 computes axial pin power gradients adjacent to an asymmetrical control-rod tip in a BWR. The ability to predict pin power gradients accurately is important for safety considerations whereas large powers steps induced by control rod withdrawal can cause Pellet Cladding Interaction. The computation of axial pin power gradients axially around a control rod tip is a challenging task for any nodal code. On top of that, asymmetrical control rod handles are present in some BWR designs. The lattice code CASMO requires diagonal symmetry of all control rod parts. This introduces an error in computed pin power gradients that has been evaluated by Monte Carlo calculations. The results show that CASMO5/SIMULATE5, despite the asymmetrical control rod handle, is able to predict the axial pin power gradient within 1%/cm for axial nodal sizes of 15-3.68 cm. However, a nodal size of 3.68 cm still causes underestimations of pin power gradients compared with 1 cm nodes. Furthermore, if conventional node sizes are used, ∼15 cm, pin power gradients can be underestimated by over 50% compared with 1 cm nodes. The detailed axial pin power profiles from MCNP are corroborated by measured gamma scan data on fuel rods irradiated adjacent to control rods.

From Pacemaker to Wearable: Techniques for ECG Detection Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Ashish; Komaragiri, Rama; Kumar, Manjeet

2018-01-11

With the alarming rise in the deaths due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), present medical research scenario places notable importance on techniques and methods to detect CVDs. As adduced by world health organization, technological proceeds in the field of cardiac function assessment have become the nucleus and heart of all leading research studies in CVDs in which electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis is the most functional and convenient tool used to test the range of heart-related irregularities. Most of the approaches present in the literature of ECG signal analysis consider noise removal, rhythm-based analysis, and heartbeat detection to improve the performance of a cardiac pacemaker. Advancements achieved in the field of ECG segments detection and beat classification have a limited evaluation and still require clinical approvals. In this paper, approaches on techniques to implement on-chip ECG detector for a cardiac pacemaker system are discussed. Moreover, different challenges regarding the ECG signal morphology analysis deriving from medical literature is extensively reviewed. It is found that robustness to noise, wavelet parameter choice, numerical efficiency, and detection performance are essential performance indicators required by a state-of-the-art ECG detector. Furthermore, many algorithms described in the existing literature are not verified using ECG data from the standard databases. Some ECG detection algorithms show very high detection performance with the total number of detected QRS complexes. However, the high detection performance of the algorithm is verified using only a few datasets. Finally, gaps in current advancements and testing are identified, and the primary challenge remains to be implementing bullseye test for morphology analysis evaluation.

GATE Monte Carlo simulation of GE discovery 600 and a uniformity phantom

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sheen, Heesoon [Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); GE Healthcare Korea, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Im, Kichun; Choi, Yong; Shin, Hanback [Sogang University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Han, Youngyih [Samsung Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Chung, Kwangzoo; Cho, Junsang [Samsung Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ahn, Sanghee [Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2014-12-15

GATE (Geant4 Application Tomography Emission) Monte Carlo simulations have been successful in the application of emission tomography for precise modeling of various physical processes. Most previous studies on Monte Carlo simulations have only involved performance assessments using virtual phantoms. Although that allows the performance of simulated positron emission tomography (PET) to be evaluated, it does not reflect the reality of practical conditions. This restriction causes substantial drawbacks in GATE simulations of real situations. To overcome the described limitation and to provide a method to enable simulation research relevant to clinically important issues, we conducted a GATE simulation using real data from a scanner rather than a virtual phantom and evaluated the scanner is performance. For that purpose, the system and the geometry of a commercial GE PET/ CT (computed tomography) scanner, BGO-based Discovery 600 (D600), was developed for the first time. The performance of the modeled PET system was evaluated by using the National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA NU 2-2007 protocols and results were compared with those of the reference data. The sensitivity, scatter fraction, noise-equivalent count rate (NECR), and resolution were estimated by using the protocol of the NEMA NU2-2007. Sensitivities were 9.01 cps/kBq at 0 cm and 9.43 cps/kBq at 10 cm. Scatter fractions were 39.5%. The NECR peak was 89.7 kcps at 14.7 kBq/cc. Resolutions were 4.8 mm in the transaxial plane and 5.9 mm in the axial plane at 1 cm, and 6.2 mm in the transaxial plane and 6.4 mm in the axial plane at 10 cm. The resolutions exceeded the limited value provided by the manufacturer. The uniformity phantom was simulated using the CT and the PET data. The output data in a ROOT format were converted and then reconstructed by using the C program and STIR (Software for Tomographic Image Reconstruction). The reconstructed images of the simulated uniformity phantom data had

GATE Monte Carlo simulation of GE Discovery 600 and a uniformity phantom

Science.gov (United States)

Sheen, Heesoon; Im, Ki Chun; Choi, Yong; Shin, Hanback; Han, Youngyih; Chung, Kwangzoo; Cho, Junsang; Ahn, Sang Hee

2014-12-01

GATE (Geant4 Application Tomography Emission) Monte Carlo simulations have been successful in the application of emission tomography for precise modeling of various physical processes. Most previous studies on Monte Carlo simulations have only involved performance assessments using virtual phantoms. Although that allows the performance of simulated positron emission tomography (PET) to be evaluated, it does not reflect the reality of practical conditions. This restriction causes substantial drawbacks in GATE simulations of real situations. To overcome the described limitation and to provide a method to enable simulation research relevant to clinically important issues, we conducted a GATE simulation using real data from a scanner rather than a virtual phantom and evaluated the scanner is performance. For that purpose, the system and the geometry of a commercial GE PET/ CT (computed tomography) scanner, BGO-based Discovery 600 (D600), was developed for the first time. The performance of the modeled PET system was evaluated by using the National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA NU 2-2007 protocols and results were compared with those of the reference data. The sensitivity, scatter fraction, noise-equivalent count rate (NECR), and resolution were estimated by using the protocol of the NEMA NU2-2007. Sensitivities were 9.01 cps/kBq at 0 cm and 9.43 cps/kBq at 10 cm. Scatter fractions were 39.5%. The NECR peak was 89.7 kcps @ 14.7 kBq/cc. Resolutions were 4.8 mm in the transaxial plane and 5.9 mm in the axial plane at 1 cm, and 6.2 mm in the transaxial plane and 6.4 mm in the axial plane at 10 cm. The resolutions exceeded the limited value provided by the manufacturer. The uniformity phantom was simulated using the CT and the PET data. The output data in a ROOT format were converted and then reconstructed by using the C program and STIR (Software for Tomographic Image Reconstruction). The reconstructed images of the simulated uniformity phantom data had

GATE Monte Carlo simulation of GE discovery 600 and a uniformity phantom

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheen, Heesoon; Im, Kichun; Choi, Yong; Shin, Hanback; Han, Youngyih; Chung, Kwangzoo; Cho, Junsang; Ahn, Sanghee

2014-01-01

GATE (Geant4 Application Tomography Emission) Monte Carlo simulations have been successful in the application of emission tomography for precise modeling of various physical processes. Most previous studies on Monte Carlo simulations have only involved performance assessments using virtual phantoms. Although that allows the performance of simulated positron emission tomography (PET) to be evaluated, it does not reflect the reality of practical conditions. This restriction causes substantial drawbacks in GATE simulations of real situations. To overcome the described limitation and to provide a method to enable simulation research relevant to clinically important issues, we conducted a GATE simulation using real data from a scanner rather than a virtual phantom and evaluated the scanner is performance. For that purpose, the system and the geometry of a commercial GE PET/ CT (computed tomography) scanner, BGO-based Discovery 600 (D600), was developed for the first time. The performance of the modeled PET system was evaluated by using the National Electrical Manufacturers Association NEMA NU 2-2007 protocols and results were compared with those of the reference data. The sensitivity, scatter fraction, noise-equivalent count rate (NECR), and resolution were estimated by using the protocol of the NEMA NU2-2007. Sensitivities were 9.01 cps/kBq at 0 cm and 9.43 cps/kBq at 10 cm. Scatter fractions were 39.5%. The NECR peak was 89.7 kcps at 14.7 kBq/cc. Resolutions were 4.8 mm in the transaxial plane and 5.9 mm in the axial plane at 1 cm, and 6.2 mm in the transaxial plane and 6.4 mm in the axial plane at 10 cm. The resolutions exceeded the limited value provided by the manufacturer. The uniformity phantom was simulated using the CT and the PET data. The output data in a ROOT format were converted and then reconstructed by using the C program and STIR (Software for Tomographic Image Reconstruction). The reconstructed images of the simulated uniformity phantom data had

Bivariate empirical mode decomposition for ECG-based biometric identification with emotional data.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferdinando, Hany; Seppanen, Tapio; Alasaarela, Esko

2017-07-01

Emotions modulate ECG signals such that they might affect ECG-based biometric identification in real life application. It motivated in finding good feature extraction methods where the emotional state of the subjects has minimum impacts. This paper evaluates feature extraction based on bivariate empirical mode decomposition (BEMD) for biometric identification when emotion is considered. Using the ECG signal from the Mahnob-HCI database for affect recognition, the features were statistical distributions of dominant frequency after applying BEMD analysis to ECG signals. The achieved accuracy was 99.5% with high consistency using kNN classifier in 10-fold cross validation to identify 26 subjects when the emotional states of the subjects were ignored. When the emotional states of the subject were considered, the proposed method also delivered high accuracy, around 99.4%. We concluded that the proposed method offers emotion-independent features for ECG-based biometric identification. The proposed method needs more evaluation related to testing with other classifier and variation in ECG signals, e.g. normal ECG vs. ECG with arrhythmias, ECG from various ages, and ECG from other affective databases.

Free breathing whole-heart 3D CINE MRI with self-gated Cartesian trajectory.

Science.gov (United States)

Usman, M; Ruijsink, B; Nazir, M S; Cruz, G; Prieto, C

2017-05-01

To present a method that uses a novel free-running self-gated acquisition to achieve isotropic resolution in whole heart 3D Cartesian cardiac CINE MRI. 3D cardiac CINE MRI using navigator gating results in long acquisition times. Recently, several frameworks based on self-gated non-Cartesian trajectories have been proposed to accelerate this acquisition. However, non-Cartesian reconstructions are computationally expensive due to gridding, particularly in 3D. In this work, we propose a novel highly efficient self-gated Cartesian approach for 3D cardiac CINE MRI. Acquisition is performed using CArtesian trajectory with Spiral PRofile ordering and Tiny golden angle step for eddy current reduction (so called here CASPR-Tiger). Data is acquired continuously under free breathing (retrospective ECG gating, no preparation pulses interruption) for 4-5min and 4D whole-heart volumes (3D+cardiac phases) with isotropic spatial resolution are reconstructed from all available data using a soft gating technique combined with temporal total variation (TV) constrained iterative SENSE reconstruction. For data acquired on eight healthy subjects and three patients, the reconstructed images using the proposed method had good contrast and spatio-temporal variations, correctly recovering diastolic and systolic cardiac phases. Non-significant differences (P>0.05) were observed in cardiac functional measurements obtained with proposed 3D approach and gold standard 2D multi-slice breath-hold acquisition. The proposed approach enables isotropic 3D whole heart Cartesian cardiac CINE MRI in 4 to 5min free breathing acquisition. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A method of ECG template extraction for biometrics applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Xiang; Lu, Yang; Chen, Meng; Bao, Shu-Di; Miao, Fen

2014-01-01

ECG has attracted widespread attention as one of the most important non-invasive physiological signals in healthcare-system related biometrics for its characteristics like ease-of-monitoring, individual uniqueness as well as important clinical value. This study proposes a method of dynamic threshold setting to extract the most stable ECG waveform as the template for the consequent ECG identification process. With the proposed method, the accuracy of ECG biometrics using the dynamic time wraping for difference measures has been significantly improved. Analysis results with the self-built electrocardiogram database show that the deployment of the proposed method was able to reduce the half total error rate of the ECG biometric system from 3.35% to 1.45%. Its average running time on the platform of android mobile terminal was around 0.06 seconds, and thus demonstrates acceptable real-time performance.

Non-enhanced 3D MR angiography of the lower extremity using ECG-gated TSE imaging with non-selective refocusing pulses. Initial experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lanzman, R.S.; Blondin, D.; Orzechowski, D.; Scherer, A.; Moedder, U.; Kroepil, P.; Godehardt, E.

2010-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate non-enhanced 3D MR angiography using turbo spin echo (TSE) imaging with non-selective refocusing pulses (NATIVE SPACE MRA) for the visualization of the arteries of the lower extremity. Materials and Methods: Three-station imaging (iliac arteries, femoral arteries, arteries of the lower leg) was performed in 8 healthy volunteers and 3 patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) using a 1.5 T MR scanner. In 8 healthy volunteers, 4 different acquisition schemes were performed with the following imaging parameters: S 1: acquisition with every heartbeat (RR = 1), spoiler gradient of 25 % (SG = 25 %); S 2: RR = 1, SG = 0 %; S 3: RR = 2, SG = 25 %; S 4: RR = 2, SG = 0 %. The subjective image quality on a 4-point-scale (4 = excellent to 1 = not diagnostic) and relative SNR were assessed. In 3 patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD), SPACE MRA was performed for assessment of stenosis. Results: The mean subjective image quality was significantly lower for the iliac arteries compared to the femoral arteries and arteries of the lower leg (p < 0.0001). The subjective image quality for acquisition scheme S 1 was significantly lower than the image quality for S 3 and S 4 for the iliac arteries (p < 0.01), while the subjective image quality for acquisition scheme S 2 was significantly lower than S 3 and S 4 for the femoral arteries and the arteries of the lower leg (p < 0.01). The relative SNR was significantly higher for acquisition schemes S 3 and S 4 as compared to S 1 and S 2 (p < 0.0001) for all regions. SPACE MRA disclosed 7 significant stenoses in 3 PAD patients. Conclusion: ECG-gated SPACE MRA is a promising imaging technique for non-enhanced assessment of the arteries of the lower extremity. (orig.)

Development of a portable wireless system for bipolar concentric ECG recording

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Prats-Boluda, G; Ye-Lin, Y; Bueno Barrachina, J M; Senent, E; Rodriguez de Sanabria, R; Garcia-Casado, J

2015-01-01

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the biggest cause of deaths worldwide. ECG monitoring is a key tool for early diagnosis of CVDs. Conventional monitors use monopolar electrodes resulting in poor spatial resolution surface recordings and requiring extensive wiring. High-spatial resolution surface electrocardiographic recordings provide valuable information for the diagnosis of a wide range of cardiac abnormalities, including infarction and arrhythmia. The aim of this work was to develop and test a wireless recording system for acquiring high spatial resolution ECG signals, based on a flexible tripolar concentric electrode (TCE) without cable wiring or external reference electrode which would make more comnfortable its use in clinical practice. For this, a portable, wireless sensor node for analogue conditioning, digitalization and transmission of a bipolar concentric ECG signal (BC-ECG) using a TCE and a Mason-likar Lead-I ECG (ML-Lead-I ECG) signal was developed. Experimental results from a total of 32 healthy volunteers showed that the ECG fiducial points in the BC-ECG signals, recorded with external and internal reference electrode, are consistent with those of simultaneous ML-Lead-I ECG. No statistically significant difference was found in either signal amplitude or morphology, regardless of the reference electrode used, being the signal-to-noise similar to that of ML-Lead-I ECG. Furthermore, it has been observed that BC-ECG signals contain information that could not available in conventional records, specially related to atria activity. The proposed wireless sensor node provides non-invasive high-local resolution ECG signals using only a TCE without additional wiring, which would have great potential in medical diagnosis of diseases such as atrial or ventricular fibrillations or arrhythmias that currently require invasive diagnostic procedures (catheterization). (paper)

FastICA peel-off for ECG interference removal from surface EMG.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Maoqi; Zhang, Xu; Chen, Xiang; Zhu, Mingxing; Li, Guanglin; Zhou, Ping

2016-06-13

Multi-channel recording of surface electromyographyic (EMG) signals is very likely to be contaminated by electrocardiographic (ECG) interference, specifically when the surface electrode is placed on muscles close to the heart. A novel fast independent component analysis (FastICA) based peel-off method is presented to remove ECG interference contaminating multi-channel surface EMG signals. Although demonstrating spatial variability in waveform shape, the ECG interference in different channels shares the same firing instants. Utilizing the firing information estimated from FastICA, ECG interference can be separated from surface EMG by a "peel off" processing. The performance of the method was quantified with synthetic signals by combining a series of experimentally recorded "clean" surface EMG and "pure" ECG interference. It was demonstrated that the new method can remove ECG interference efficiently with little distortion to surface EMG amplitude and frequency. The proposed method was also validated using experimental surface EMG signals contaminated by ECG interference. The proposed FastICA peel-off method can be used as a new and practical solution to eliminating ECG interference from multichannel EMG recordings.

[Study for portable dynamic ECG monitor and recorder].

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Pengcheng; Li, Yongqin; Chen, Bihua

2012-09-01

This Paper presents a portable dynamic ECG monitor system based on MSP430F149 microcontroller. The electrocardiogram detecting system consists of ECG detecting circuit, man-machine interaction module, MSP430F149 and upper computer software. The ECG detecting circuit including a preamplifier, second-order Butterworth low-pass filter, high-pass filter, and 50Hz trap circuit to detects electrocardiogram and depresses various kinds of interference effectively. A microcontroller is used to collect three channel analog signals which can be displayed on TFT LCD. A SD card is used to record real-time data continuously and implement the FTA16 file system. In the end, a host computer system interface is also designed to analyze the ECG signal and the analysis results can provide diagnosis references to clinical doctors.

Extraction of ECG signal with adaptive filter for hearth abnormalities detection

Science.gov (United States)

Turnip, Mardi; Saragih, Rijois. I. E.; Dharma, Abdi; Esti Kusumandari, Dwi; Turnip, Arjon; Sitanggang, Delima; Aisyah, Siti

2018-04-01

This paper demonstrates an adaptive filter method for extraction ofelectrocardiogram (ECG) feature in hearth abnormalities detection. In particular, electrocardiogram (ECG) is a recording of the heart's electrical activity by capturing a tracingof cardiac electrical impulse as it moves from the atrium to the ventricles. The applied algorithm is to evaluate and analyze ECG signals for abnormalities detection based on P, Q, R and S peaks. In the first phase, the real-time ECG data is acquired and pre-processed. In the second phase, the procured ECG signal is subjected to feature extraction process. The extracted features detect abnormal peaks present in the waveform. Thus the normal and abnormal ECG signal could be differentiated based on the features extracted.

Imaging features suggestive of a conjoined nerve root on routine axial MRI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Su Jin; Lee, Joon Woo; Kang, Heung Sik [Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Department of Radiology, Gyeongi-do (Korea); Choi, Ja-Young; Hong, Sung Hwan; Kim, Na Ra [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea); Kim, Ki-Jeong; Chung, Sang-Ki; Kim, Hyun-Jib [Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Gyeongi-Do (Korea)

2008-02-15

The purpose of our study is to evaluate imaging features suggestive of a conjoined nerve root on routine axial MRI. Two radiologists and two surgeons retrospectively reviewed the MRI of three cases in which a conjoined nerve root was discovered during operation and found three suggestive signs on routine axial MR images: ''corner'' (asymmetric morphology of the anterolateral corner of the dural sac), ''fat crescent'' (intervening extradural fat between the asymmetric dura and the nerve root), and ''parallel'' signs (visualization of the entire parallel course of the nerve root at the disc level). Two radiologists prospectively found these signs during routine MRI interpretation sessions over a period of 6 months. If one or a combination of signs were noted on axial MR images, contiguous axial scans were additionally obtained. Three cases that were previously found during operations were also included. Prevalence and confidence scores for each sign were assessed on axial T1- and T2-weighted images. Twelve patients showed one or a combination of the three signs, 9 had contiguous axial MR scans. Five cases were confirmed by operation. The prevalence of the corner, fat crescent, and parallel signs were 12 out of 12 (100%), 6 out of 12 (50%), and 8 out of 12 (67.7%) on axial T1-weighted images. The overall diagnostic confidence was higher on T1- than on T2-weighted images (P < 0.05). On routine axial L-spine MRI, corner, fat crescent, and parallel signs are suggestive of and assist in the recognition of a conjoined nerve root. (orig.)

Clinical application of gated CT and dynamic CT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ishikawa, T; Oyama, Y; Ashida, H; Uji, T [Saint Marianna Univ., Kawasaki, Kanagawa (Japan). School of Medicine

1980-03-01

Gated CT and dynamic CT were outlined. Experiences of portal hypertension accompanied by venous mass in posterior mediastinum and the usefulness of dynamic CT for this disease were described. Gated CT of the heart could visualize intracardiac structures and morphological abnormalities by improving technique of post-data-aquisition correlation. Changes with time in CT images of normal kidneys were discussed on patients whose unilateral or bilateral kidneys were thought to be normal and who had received dynamic scan. Dynamic scan could visualize well blood circulation and mechanism of urine excretion in the kidney, which suggests a possibility of CT to detect not only morphological abnormalities but also functional disturbance of the kidney. The effectiveness of conventional CT study might be promoted in dynamic CT of the head.

Near Field Communication-based telemonitoring with integrated ECG recordings.

Science.gov (United States)

Morak, J; Kumpusch, H; Hayn, D; Leitner, M; Scherr, D; Fruhwald, F M; Schreier, G

2011-01-01

Telemonitoring of vital signs is an established option in treatment of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). In order to allow for early detection of atrial fibrillation (AF) which is highly prevalent in the CHF population telemonitoring programs should include electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. It was therefore the aim to extend our current home monitoring system based on mobile phones and Near Field Communication technology (NFC) to enable patients acquiring their ECG signals autonomously in an easy-to-use way. We prototypically developed a sensing device for the concurrent acquisition of blood pressure and ECG signals. The design of the device equipped with NFC technology and Bluetooth allowed for intuitive interaction with a mobile phone based patient terminal. This ECG monitoring system was evaluated in the course of a clinical pilot trial to assess the system's technical feasibility, usability and patient's adherence to twice daily usage. 21 patients (4f, 54 ± 14 years) suffering from CHF were included in the study and were asked to transmit two ECG recordings per day via the telemonitoring system autonomously over a monitoring period of seven days. One patient dropped out from the study. 211 data sets were transmitted over a cumulative monitoring period of 140 days (overall adherence rate 82.2%). 55% and 8% of the transmitted ECG signals were sufficient for ventricular and atrial rhythm assessment, respectively. Although ECG signal quality has to be improved for better AF detection the developed communication design of joining Bluetooth and NFC technology in our telemonitoring system allows for ambulatory ECG acquisition with high adherence rates and system usability in heart failure patients.

Can ECG-gated MDCT be considered an obligatory step to plan and manage a new chest-pain unit?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Runza, G.; Alaimo, V.; La Grutta, L.; Galia, M.; Basile, A.; Cademartiri, F.; Krestin, G.P.; Midiri, M.

2007-01-01

The recent improvements in multi-detector computed tomography technology and its application in cardiac field allow to consider this non-invasive imaging technique as a promising comprehensive method for detecting significant coronary stenoses in a chest-pain unit. The possibility to use the ECG-synchronisation acquisition protocol, normally limited to the cardiac volume, for the entire thoracic vascular system should have the remarkable potential to reduce invasive and non-invasive procedures actually used to investigate acute chest pain and the number of unnecessary hospital admissions without reducing appropriate admissions in patients with chest pain

[Implementation of ECG Monitoring System Based on Internet of Things].

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Liangliang; Chen, Minya

2015-11-01

In order to expand the capabilities of hospital's traditional ECG device and enhance medical staff's work efficiency, an ECG monitoring system based on internet of things is introduced. The system can monitor ECG signals in real time and analyze data using ECG sensor, PDA, Web servers, which embeds C language, Android systems, .NET, wireless network and other technologies. After experiments, it can be showed that the system has high reliability and stability and can bring the convenience to medical staffs.

ECG-gated myocardial tomo-scintigraphy by rotating bilateral collimator. Clinical application and artificial defect

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Komatani, Akio; Takahashi, Kazuei; Takanashi, Toshiyasu; Yamaguchi, Koichi [Yamagata Univ. (Japan)

1985-01-01

Tomo-scintigraphy of /sup 201/Tl-myocardium by rotating bilateral collimator was performed in synchronization with cardiac cycle. Ten frames per R-R interval were acquired with ECG pulse signal during 16 min and tomographic reconstruction of end-diastolic and end-systolic image was done. This method was very useful to estimate not only three dimensional distribution of Tl-201, but also wall motion and change of wall thickness during cardiac cycle. However, through its clinical application, artificial defect was frequently noticed at inferior-apical portion of the myocardium. In order to elucidate the cause of the artifact, influence of tilted projection and cardiac motion due to respiratory was also investigated. During inspiratory phase of patients in rest, increment of volume up to 40% and 15 mm of caudal deviation of the left ventricle were observed. Furthermore, periodic motion of the diaphragm interrupted emission of gamma ray from the myocardium. It is proved that main cause of the artifact was not tilting projection, but these influence of respiratory motion.

QRS detection based ECG quality assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hayn, Dieter; Jammerbund, Bernhard; Schreier, Günter

2012-01-01

Although immediate feedback concerning ECG signal quality during recording is useful, up to now not much literature describing quality measures is available. We have implemented and evaluated four ECG quality measures. Empty lead criterion (A), spike detection criterion (B) and lead crossing point criterion (C) were calculated from basic signal properties. Measure D quantified the robustness of QRS detection when applied to the signal. An advanced Matlab-based algorithm combining all four measures and a simplified algorithm for Android platforms, excluding measure D, were developed. Both algorithms were evaluated by taking part in the Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2011. Each measure's accuracy and computing time was evaluated separately. During the challenge, the advanced algorithm correctly classified 93.3% of the ECGs in the training-set and 91.6 % in the test-set. Scores for the simplified algorithm were 0.834 in event 2 and 0.873 in event 3. Computing time for measure D was almost five times higher than for other measures. Required accuracy levels depend on the application and are related to computing time. While our simplified algorithm may be accurate for real-time feedback during ECG self-recordings, QRS detection based measures can further increase the performance if sufficient computing power is available. (paper)

Aortoiliac stenooculusive disease and aneurysms. Screening with non-contrast enhanced two-dimensional cardiac gated cine phase contrast MR angiography with multiple velocity encoded values and cardiac gated two-dimensional time-of-flight MR angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Naganawa, Shinji; Koshikawa, Tokiko; Kato, Katsuhiko

2001-01-01

To evaluate the performance of two-dimensional cine phase contrast MRA with multi-velocity encoded values (multi-VENC cine PC) and ECG-gated two-dimensional time-of-flight MRA (ECG-2D-TOF) for the detection of stenoocclusive lesions and aneurysms in the aortoiliac area, when each method was used individually and when the two methods were used together. Forty-one patients were included in this study. Multi-VENC cine PC and ECG-2D-TOF were obtained first, then contrast enhanced three-dimensional magnetic resonance angiography (CE-3D-MRA) was performed as the standard of reference. Two observers reviewed the images separately without knowledge of patients' symptoms or histories. Sensitivities and specificities were obtained separately for stenooclusive lesions and aneurysms by two reviewers. When the two methods were applied together, high sensitivities (93.0 by observer 1 and 91.9% by observer 2) and adequate specificities (87.6 and 82.3%) were obtained for stenoocclusive lesions. For aneurysms, moderate to high sensitivities (91.1 and 71.1%) and high specificities (98.8 and 99.4%) were obtained. These results suggest that the performance of two non-contrast enhanced MRA techniques may be valuable as a screening tool when the two methods are applied together. (author)

Comparison of anterior segment measurements using Sirius Topographer® and Nidek Axial Length-Scan® with assessing repeatability in patients with cataracts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Resat Duman

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate anterior segment measurements obtained using CSO Sirius Topographer® (CSO, Firenze, Italy and Nidek Axial Length (AL-Scan® (Nidek CO., Gamagori, Japan. Methods: A total of 43 eyes of 43 patients were included in this prospective study. The central corneal thickness (CCT, anterior chamber depth (ACD, white-to-white distance (WTW, flat keratometry (K1, steep keratometry (K2, and mean keratometry (K values were randomly measured three times with each device by the same examiner. The intraclass correlation coefficient of repeatability was analyzed. The compatibility of both devices was evaluated using the 95% limits of the agreement proposed by Bland and Altman. Results: Examiner achieved high repeatability for all parameters on each device except the WTW measured by Sirius. All measurements except WTW and K1 taken with the Sirius were higher than that taken with the Nidek AL-Scan®. The difference in CCT, ACD, and WTW values was statistically significant. Conclusion: High repeatability of the measurements was achieved on both devices. Although Km, K1, and K2 measurements of the Sirius and the AL-Scan® showed good agreement, WTW, CCT, and ACD measurements significantly differed between two devices. Thus, anterior segment measurements except for Km, K1, and K2 cannot be used interchangeably between Sirius and Nidek AL-Scan® devices.

ECG fiducial point extraction using switching Kalman filter.

Science.gov (United States)

Akhbari, Mahsa; Ghahjaverestan, Nasim Montazeri; Shamsollahi, Mohammad B; Jutten, Christian

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose a novel method for extracting fiducial points (FPs) of the beats in electrocardiogram (ECG) signals using switching Kalman filter (SKF). In this method, according to McSharry's model, ECG waveforms (P-wave, QRS complex and T-wave) are modeled with Gaussian functions and ECG baselines are modeled with first order auto regressive models. In the proposed method, a discrete state variable called "switch" is considered that affects only the observation equations. We denote a mode as a specific observation equation and switch changes between 7 modes and corresponds to different segments of an ECG beat. At each time instant, the probability of each mode is calculated and compared among two consecutive modes and a path is estimated, which shows the relation of each part of the ECG signal to the mode with the maximum probability. ECG FPs are found from the estimated path. For performance evaluation, the Physionet QT database is used and the proposed method is compared with methods based on wavelet transform, partially collapsed Gibbs sampler (PCGS) and extended Kalman filter. For our proposed method, the mean error and the root mean square error across all FPs are 2 ms (i.e. less than one sample) and 14 ms, respectively. These errors are significantly smaller than those obtained using other methods. The proposed method achieves lesser RMSE and smaller variability with respect to others. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Designing ECG-based physical unclonable function for security of wearable devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Shihui Yin; Chisung Bae; Sang Joon Kim; Jae-Sun Seo

2017-07-01

As a plethora of wearable devices are being introduced, significant concerns exist on the privacy and security of personal data stored on these devices. Expanding on recent works of using electrocardiogram (ECG) as a modality for biometric authentication, in this work, we investigate the possibility of using personal ECG signals as the individually unique source for physical unclonable function (PUF), which eventually can be used as the key for encryption and decryption engines. We present new signal processing and machine learning algorithms that learn and extract maximally different ECG features for different individuals and minimally different ECG features for the same individual over time. Experimental results with a large 741-subject in-house ECG database show that the distributions of the intra-subject (same person) Hamming distance of extracted ECG features and the inter-subject Hamming distance have minimal overlap. 256-b random numbers generated from the ECG features of 648 (out of 741) subjects pass the NIST randomness tests.

ECG changes after a session of regional intraarterial hyperglycemia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Korobchenko, Z.A.; Livshits, L.I.

1988-01-01

ECG changes after a session of regional intraarterial hyperglycemia (RIH) in 13 patients (the mean age of 49 years) with locally advanced cancer of the tongue, oral mucosa and oropharynx were presented. Taking into account the mean age of patients and the negative ECG time course after a RIH session, the necessity of patients' examination (including ECG after a RIH session and, when indicated, a consultation by a cardiologist) was emphasized

Advanced ECG in 2016: is there more than just a tracing?

Science.gov (United States)

Reichlin, Tobias; Abächerli, Roger; Twerenbold, Raphael; Kühne, Michael; Schaer, Beat; Müller, Christian; Sticherling, Christian; Osswald, Stefan

2016-01-01

The 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most frequently used technology in clinical cardiology. It is critical for evidence-based management of patients with most cardiovascular conditions, including patients with acute myocardial infarction, suspected chronic cardiac ischaemia, cardiac arrhythmias, heart failure and implantable cardiac devices. In contrast to many other techniques in cardiology, the ECG is simple, small, mobile, universally available and cheap, and therefore particularly attractive. Standard ECG interpretation mainly relies on direct visual assessment. The progress in biomedical computing and signal processing, and the available computational power offer fascinating new options for ECG analysis relevant to all fields of cardiology. Several digital ECG markers and advanced ECG technologies have shown promise in preliminary studies. This article reviews promising novel surface ECG technologies in three different fields. (1) For the detection of myocardial ischaemia and infarction, QRS morphology feature analysis, the analysis of high frequency QRS components (HF-QRS) and methods using vectorcardiography as well as ECG imaging are discussed. (2) For the identification and management of patients with cardiac arrhythmias, methods of advanced P-wave analysis are discussed and the concept of ECG imaging for noninvasive localisation of cardiac arrhythmias is presented. (3) For risk stratification of sudden cardiac death and the selection of patients for medical device therapy, several novel markers including an automated QRS-score for scar quantification, the QRS-T angle or the T-wave peak-to-end-interval are discussed. Despite the existing preliminary data, none of the advanced ECG markers and technologies has yet accomplished the transition into clinical practice. Further refinement of these technologies and broader validation in large unselected patient cohorts are the critical next step needed to facilitate translation of advanced ECG technologies

Artifact reduction in maternal abdominal ECG recordings for fetal ECG estimation.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vullings, R.; Peters, C.H.L.; Mischi, M.; Sluijter, R.J.; Oei, S.G.; Bergmans, J.W.M.

2010-01-01

Monitoring the fetal electrocardiogram (1ECG) is currently one of the most promising methods to assess fetal health. However, the main problem associated with this method is that the signals recorded from the maternal abdomen are affected by noise and interferences: the maternal electrocardiogram

Robust and Accurate Anomaly Detection in ECG Artifacts Using Time Series Motif Discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Sivaraks, Haemwaan

2015-01-01

Electrocardiogram (ECG) anomaly detection is an important technique for detecting dissimilar heartbeats which helps identify abnormal ECGs before the diagnosis process. Currently available ECG anomaly detection methods, ranging from academic research to commercial ECG machines, still suffer from a high false alarm rate because these methods are not able to differentiate ECG artifacts from real ECG signal, especially, in ECG artifacts that are similar to ECG signals in terms of shape and/or frequency. The problem leads to high vigilance for physicians and misinterpretation risk for nonspecialists. Therefore, this work proposes a novel anomaly detection technique that is highly robust and accurate in the presence of ECG artifacts which can effectively reduce the false alarm rate. Expert knowledge from cardiologists and motif discovery technique is utilized in our design. In addition, every step of the algorithm conforms to the interpretation of cardiologists. Our method can be utilized to both single-lead ECGs and multilead ECGs. Our experiment results on real ECG datasets are interpreted and evaluated by cardiologists. Our proposed algorithm can mostly achieve 100% of accuracy on detection (AoD), sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value with 0% false alarm rate. The results demonstrate that our proposed method is highly accurate and robust to artifacts, compared with competitive anomaly detection methods. PMID:25688284

Realization of a quantum Hamiltonian Boolean logic gate on the Si(001):H surface.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolmer, Marek; Zuzak, Rafal; Dridi, Ghassen; Godlewski, Szymon; Joachim, Christian; Szymonski, Marek

2015-08-07

The design and construction of the first prototypical QHC (Quantum Hamiltonian Computing) atomic scale Boolean logic gate is reported using scanning tunnelling microscope (STM) tip-induced atom manipulation on an Si(001):H surface. The NOR/OR gate truth table was confirmed by dI/dU STS (Scanning Tunnelling Spectroscopy) tracking how the surface states of the QHC quantum circuit on the Si(001):H surface are shifted according to the input logical status.

A low-power portable ECG sensor interface with dry electrodes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pu Xiaofei; Wan Lei; Zhang Hui; Qin Yajie; Hong Zhiliang

2013-01-01

This paper describes a low-power portable sensor interface dedicated to sensing and processing electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. Dry electrodes were employed in this ECG sensor, which eliminates the need of conductive gel and avoids complicated and mandatory skin preparation before electrode attachment. This ECG sensor system consists of two ICs, an analog front-end (AFE) and a successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC) containing a relaxation oscillator. This proposed design was fabricated in a 0.18 μm 1P6M standard CMOS process. The AFE for extracting the biopotential signals is essential in this ECG sensor. In measurements, the AFE obtains a mid-band gain of 45 dB, a bandwidth from 0.6 to 160 Hz, and a total input referred noise of 2.8 μV rms while consuming 1 μW from the 1.8 V supply. The noise efficiency factor (NEF) of our design is 3.4. After conditioning, the amplified ECG signal is digitized by a 12-bit SAR ADC with 61.8 dB SNDR and 220 fJ/conversion-step. Finally, a complete ECG sensor interface with three dry copper electrodes is demonstrated in real-word setting, showing successful recordings of a capture ECG waveform. (semiconductor integrated circuits)

Low-power analog integrated circuits for wireless ECG acquisition systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsai, Tsung-Heng; Hong, Jia-Hua; Wang, Liang-Hung; Lee, Shuenn-Yuh

2012-09-01

This paper presents low-power analog ICs for wireless ECG acquisition systems. Considering the power-efficient communication in the body sensor network, the required low-power analog ICs are developed for a healthcare system through miniaturization and system integration. To acquire the ECG signal, a low-power analog front-end system, including an ECG signal acquisition board, an on-chip low-pass filter, and an on-chip successive-approximation analog-to-digital converter for portable ECG detection devices is presented. A quadrature CMOS voltage-controlled oscillator and a 2.4 GHz direct-conversion transmitter with a power amplifier and upconversion mixer are also developed to transmit the ECG signal through wireless communication. In the receiver, a 2.4 GHz fully integrated CMOS RF front end with a low-noise amplifier, differential power splitter, and quadrature mixer based on current-reused folded architecture is proposed. The circuits have been implemented to meet the specifications of the IEEE 802.15.4 2.4 GHz standard. The low-power ICs of the wireless ECG acquisition systems have been fabricated using a 0.18 μm Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) CMOS standard process. The measured results on the human body reveal that ECG signals can be acquired effectively by the proposed low-power analog front-end ICs.

Collimated trans-axial tomographic scintillation camera

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1980-01-01

The principal problem in trans-axial tomographic radioisotope scanning is the length of time required to obtain meaningful data. Patient movement and radioisotope migration during the scanning period can cause distortion of the image. The object of this invention is to reduce the scanning time without degrading the images obtained. A system is described in which a scintillation camera detector is moved to an orbit about the cranial-caudal axis relative to the patient. A collimator is used in which lead septa are arranged so as to admit gamma rays travelling perpendicular to this axis with high spatial resolution and those travelling in the direction of the axis with low spatial resolution, thus increasing the rate of acceptance of radioactive events to contribute to the positional information obtainable without sacrificing spatial resolution. (author)

Diagnostic Role of ECG Recording Simultaneously With EEG Testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Kendirli, Mustafa Tansel; Aparci, Mustafa; Kendirli, Nurten; Tekeli, Hakan; Karaoglan, Mustafa; Senol, Mehmet Guney; Togrol, Erdem

2015-07-01

Arrhythmia is not uncommon in the etiology of syncope which mimics epilepsy. Data about the epilepsy induced vagal tonus abnormalities have being increasingly reported. So we aimed to evaluate what a neurologist may gain by a simultaneous electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) recording in the patients who underwent EEG testing due to prediagnosis of epilepsy. We retrospectively evaluated and detected ECG abnormalities in 68 (18%) of 376 patients who underwent EEG testing. A minimum of 20 of minutes artifact-free recording were required for each patient. Standard 1-channel ECG was simultaneously recorded in conjunction with the EEG. In all, 28% of females and 14% of males had ECG abnormalities. Females (mean age 49 years, range 18-88 years) were older compared with the male group (mean age 28 years, range 16-83 years). Atrial fibrillation was more frequent in female group whereas bradycardia and respiratory sinus arrhythmia was higher in male group. One case had been detected a critical asystole indicating sick sinus syndrome in the female group and treated with a pacemaker implantation in the following period. Simultaneous ECG recording in conjunction with EEG testing is a clinical prerequisite to detect and to clarify the coexisting ECG and EEG abnormalities and their clinical relevance. Potentially rare lethal causes of syncope that mimic seizure or those that could cause resistance to antiepileptic therapy could effectively be distinguished by detecting ECG abnormalities coinciding with the signs and abnormalities during EEG recording. © EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ECNS) 2014.

Cardiovascular screening in Turner syndrome

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dawson, K.L.; Wright, A.M.; Pitlick, P.T.

1990-01-01

This paper determines the utility of MR imaging as a cardiovascular screening method in patients with Turner syndrome and to compare its utility with that of echocardiography. Forty females with karytotypically proved Turner syndrome were prospectively evaluated with MR imaging and echocardiography. A 0.38-T resistive magnet was used to obtain ECG-gated axial and off-sagittal oblique images through the thorax with a spin-echo pulse sequence and TR 400--600 msec, TE 15--30 msec. Two-dimensional, M-mode, and Doppler echocardiography were performed and standard echocardiographic views were obtained

Comparison of left ventricular ejection fraction by 201Tl gated SPECT and gated blood pool scan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lau, W.F.E.; Kelly, M.J.; O'Donnell, M.; Kalff, V.; Van Every, B.

2000-01-01

Full text: The aim of this study was to evaluate left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) determination by the Germano 201 Tl gated-SPECT myocardial perfusion (TLGSMP) method using gated blood pool scintigraphy (GBPS) as a reference. 21 patients underwent both TLGSMP and GBPS within eight days of each other from June 1997 to Jan 2000. Acquisition of TLGSMP was performed on a GE Optima NX dual head camera using Tl-201 dose of 1.5MBq/Kg and imaging time of 45 cardiac cycles/step with 16 steps/90 Deg of rotation per detector. All LVEF results were determined using a GE Genie workstation. GBPS results were compared with TLGSMP results for LVEF obtained from the reinjection images using automated Germano processing, and from the stress images using automatic and manual processing. Duplicate automatic analysis by a second observer produced identical mean TLGSMP LVEF results (r = 0.99). Stress TLGSMP LVEF by the automatic and manual processing correlate well (r = 0.99) but the manual LVEF is significantly lower. In conclusion LVEF determination using TLGSMP is highly reproducible and is also accurate when applied to reinjection data. Both manual processing and the use of stress data lead to underestimation of LVEF. Copyright (2000) The Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine Inc

External radioactive markers for PET data-driven respiratory gating in positron emission tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Büther, Florian; Ernst, Iris; Hamill, James; Eich, Hans T; Schober, Otmar; Schäfers, Michael; Schäfers, Klaus P

2013-04-01

Respiratory gating is an established approach to overcoming respiration-induced image artefacts in PET. Of special interest in this respect are raw PET data-driven gating methods which do not require additional hardware to acquire respiratory signals during the scan. However, these methods rely heavily on the quality of the acquired PET data (statistical properties, data contrast, etc.). We therefore combined external radioactive markers with data-driven respiratory gating in PET/CT. The feasibility and accuracy of this approach was studied for [(18)F]FDG PET/CT imaging in patients with malignant liver and lung lesions. PET data from 30 patients with abdominal or thoracic [(18)F]FDG-positive lesions (primary tumours or metastases) were included in this prospective study. The patients underwent a 10-min list-mode PET scan with a single bed position following a standard clinical whole-body [(18)F]FDG PET/CT scan. During this scan, one to three radioactive point sources (either (22)Na or (18)F, 50-100 kBq) in a dedicated holder were attached the patient's abdomen. The list mode data acquired were retrospectively analysed for respiratory signals using established data-driven gating approaches and additionally by tracking the motion of the point sources in sinogram space. Gated reconstructions were examined qualitatively, in terms of the amount of respiratory displacement and in respect of changes in local image intensity in the gated images. The presence of the external markers did not affect whole-body PET/CT image quality. Tracking of the markers led to characteristic respiratory curves in all patients. Applying these curves for gated reconstructions resulted in images in which motion was well resolved. Quantitatively, the performance of the external marker-based approach was similar to that of the best intrinsic data-driven methods. Overall, the gain in measured tumour uptake from the nongated to the gated images indicating successful removal of respiratory motion

Determinants of the response of left ventricular ejection fraction to vasodilator stress in electrocardiographically gated {sup 82}rubidium myocardial perfusion PET

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, Tracy L.Y.; Merrill, Jennifer; Bengel, Frank M. [Johns Hopkins University, Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Baltimore, MD (United States); Volokh, Lana [GE Healthcare, Haifa (Israel)

2008-02-15

Myocardial perfusion imaging with {sup 82}Rb PET allows for ECG-gated studies to be obtained early after radiotracer injection, capturing ventricular function close to peak pharmacologic action of dipyridamole. This is different from gated SPECT and may potentially provide additional diagnostic information. We sought to identify potential correlates of the PET-derived ejection fraction response to vasodilator stress. One hundred ten consecutive patients undergoing {sup 82}Rb PET myocardial perfusion imaging during evaluation for coronary artery disease were included. Using a GE Discovery STRx PET-CT scanner, ECG-gated images (eight bins) were obtained at rest and 4 min after dipyridamole infusion, 90 s after infusion of 1,480-2,220 MBq of {sup 82}Rb. Summed rest, stress, and difference scores (SRS, SSS, and SDS) were determined using a five-point scoring system and 20-segment model. Ejection fraction was calculated using automated QGS software. Significant reversibility (SDS {>=} 4) was found in 23 patients (21%). Mean LVEF in all patients was 47 {+-} 13% at rest and 53 {+-} 13% during dipyridamole. LVEF increased in 89 patients, and decreased in 17 patients during vasodilation. The change in LVEF was inversely correlated with SDS (r = -0.26; p = 0.007). Additionally, it was inversely correlated with resting LVEF (r = -0.20; p = 0.03) and SSS (r = -0.25; p = 0.009). No significant correlations were observed with SRS, heart rate, blood pressure, age, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or pretest likelihood of disease. At multivariate regression analysis, SDS was an independent predictor of the change in LVEF. Gated {sup 82}Rb PET during pharmacologic stress allows for assessment of the functional response to vasodilation. The magnitude of LVEF increase is determined by stress perfusion/reversible perfusion defects. Functional response to hyperemia may thus be incorporated in future evaluations of diagnostic and prognostic algorithms based on {sup 82}Rb PET. (orig.)

Analysis of Carina Position as Surrogate Marker for Delivering Phase-Gated Radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weide, Lineke van der; Soernsen de Koste, John R. van; Lagerwaard, Frank J.; Vincent, Andrew; Triest, Baukelien van; Slotman, Ben J.; Senan, Suresh

2008-01-01

Purpose: Respiratory gating can mitigate the effect of tumor mobility in radiotherapy (RT) for lung cancer. Because the tumor is generally not visualized, external surrogates of tumor position are used to trigger respiration-gated RT. We evaluated the suitability of the carina position as a surrogate in respiration-gated RT. Methods and Materials: A total of 30 four-dimensional (4D) computed tomography (CT) scans from 14 patients with lung cancer were retrospectively analyzed. Both uncoached (free breathing) and audio-coached 4D-CT scans were acquired from 9 patients, and 12 uncoached 4D-CT scans were acquired from 5 other patients during a 2-4-week period of stereotactic RT. The repeat scans were co-registered. The carina position was identified on the coronal cut planes in all 4D-CT phases. The correlation between the carina position and the total lung volume for each phase was determined, and the reproducibility of the carina position was studied in the 5 patients with repeat uncoached 4D-CT scans. Results: The mean extent of carina motion in 21 uncoached scans was 5.3 ± 1.6 mm in the craniocaudal (CC), 2.3 ± 1.4 mm in the anteroposterior, and 1.5 ± 0.7 mm in the mediolateral direction. Audio coaching resulted in a twofold increase in carina mobility in all directions. The CC carina position correlated with changes in the total lung volume (R = 0.89 ± 0.14), but the correlation was better for the audio-coached than for the uncoached 4D-CT scans (R = 0.93 ± 0.08 vs. R = 0.85 ± 0.17; paired t test, p = 0.034). Preliminary data from the 5 patients indicated that the CC carina motion correlated better with tumor motion than did the motion of the diaphragm. Conclusions: The CC position of the carina correlated well with the total lung volume, indicating that the carina is a good surrogate for verifying the total lung volume during respiration-gated RT

Scan cell design for enhanced delay fault testability

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Brakel, Gerrit; van Brakel, G.; Xing, Yizi; Xing, Y.; Kerkhoff, Hans G.

1992-01-01

Problems in testing scannable sequential circuits for delay faults are addressed. Modifications to improve circuit controllability and observability for the testing of delay faults are implemented efficiently in a scan cell design. A layout on a gate array is designed and evaluated for this scan

Live ECG readings using Google Glass in emergency situations.

Science.gov (United States)

Schaer, Roger; Salamin, Fanny; Jimenez Del Toro, Oscar Alfonso; Atzori, Manfredo; Muller, Henning; Widmer, Antoine

2015-01-01

Most sudden cardiac problems require rapid treatment to preserve life. In this regard, electrocardiograms (ECG) shown on vital parameter monitoring systems help medical staff to detect problems. In some situations, such monitoring systems may display information in a less than convenient way for medical staff. For example, vital parameters are displayed on large screens outside the field of view of a surgeon during cardiac surgery. This may lead to losing time and to mistakes when problems occur during cardiac operations. In this paper we present a novel approach to display vital parameters such as the second derivative of the ECG rhythm and heart rate close to the field of view of a surgeon using Google Glass. As a preliminary assessment, we run an experimental study to verify the possibility for medical staff to identify abnormal ECG rhythms from Google Glass. This study compares 6 ECG rhythms readings from a 13.3 inch laptop screen and from the prism of Google Glass. Seven medical residents in internal medicine participated in the study. The preliminary results show that there is no difference between identifying these 6 ECG rhythms from the laptop screen versus Google Glass. Both allow close to perfect identification of the 6 common ECG rhythms. This shows the potential of connected glasses such as Google Glass to be useful in selected medical applications.

Threshold-based system for noise detection in multilead ECG recordings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jekova, Irena; Krasteva, Vessela; Christov, Ivaylo; Abächerli, Roger

2012-01-01

This paper presents a system for detection of the most common noise types seen on the electrocardiogram (ECG) in order to evaluate whether an episode from 12-lead ECG is reliable for diagnosis. It implements criteria for estimation of the noise corruption level in specific frequency bands, aiming to identify the main sources of ECG quality disruption, such as missing signal or limited dynamics of the QRS components above 4 Hz; presence of high amplitude and steep artifacts seen above 1 Hz; baseline drift estimated at frequencies below 1 Hz; power–line interference in a band ±2 Hz around its central frequency; high-frequency and electromyographic noises above 20 Hz. All noise tests are designed to process the ECG series in the time domain, including 13 adjustable thresholds for amplitude and slope criteria which are evaluated in adjustable time intervals, as well as number of leads. The system allows flexible extension toward application-specific requirements for the noise levels in acceptable quality ECGs. Training of different thresholds’ settings to determine different positive noise detection rates is performed with the annotated set of 1000 ECGs from the PhysioNet database created for the Computing in Cardiology Challenge 2011. Two implementations are highlighted on the receiver operating characteristic (area 0.968) to fit to different applications. The implementation with high sensitivity (Se = 98.7%, Sp = 80.9%) appears as a reliable alarm when there are any incidental problems with the ECG acquisition, while the implementation with high specificity (Sp = 97.8%, Se = 81.8%) is less susceptible to transient problems but rather validates noisy ECGs with acceptable quality during a small portion of the recording. (paper)

Multistage principal component analysis based method for abdominal ECG decomposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Petrolis, Robertas; Krisciukaitis, Algimantas; Gintautas, Vladas

2015-01-01

Reflection of fetal heart electrical activity is present in registered abdominal ECG signals. However this signal component has noticeably less energy than concurrent signals, especially maternal ECG. Therefore traditionally recommended independent component analysis, fails to separate these two ECG signals. Multistage principal component analysis (PCA) is proposed for step-by-step extraction of abdominal ECG signal components. Truncated representation and subsequent subtraction of cardio cycles of maternal ECG are the first steps. The energy of fetal ECG component then becomes comparable or even exceeds energy of other components in the remaining signal. Second stage PCA concentrates energy of the sought signal in one principal component assuring its maximal amplitude regardless to the orientation of the fetus in multilead recordings. Third stage PCA is performed on signal excerpts representing detected fetal heart beats in aim to perform their truncated representation reconstructing their shape for further analysis. The algorithm was tested with PhysioNet Challenge 2013 signals and signals recorded in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. Results of our method in PhysioNet Challenge 2013 on open data set were: average score: 341.503 bpm 2 and 32.81 ms. (paper)

One-Dimensional Signal Extraction Of Paper-Written ECG Image And Its Archiving

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhi-ni; Zhang, Hong; Zhuang, Tian-ge

1987-10-01

A method for converting paper-written electrocardiograms to one dimensional (1-D) signals for archival storage on floppy disk is presented here. Appropriate image processing techniques were employed to remove the back-ground noise inherent to ECG recorder charts and to reconstruct the ECG waveform. The entire process consists of (1) digitization of paper-written ECGs with an image processing system via a TV camera; (2) image preprocessing, including histogram filtering and binary image generation; (3) ECG feature extraction and ECG wave tracing, and (4) transmission of the processed ECG data to IBM-PC compatible floppy disks for storage and retrieval. The algorithms employed here may also be used in the recognition of paper-written EEG or EMG and may be useful in robotic vision.

ECG Identification System Using Neural Network with Global and Local Features

Science.gov (United States)

Tseng, Kuo-Kun; Lee, Dachao; Chen, Charles

2016-01-01

This paper proposes a human identification system via extracted electrocardiogram (ECG) signals. Two hierarchical classification structures based on global shape feature and local statistical feature is used to extract ECG signals. Global shape feature represents the outline information of ECG signals and local statistical feature extracts the…

Heart rhythm analysis using ECG recorded with a novel sternum based patch technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saadi, Dorthe Bodholt; Fauerskov, Inge; Osmanagic, Armin

2013-01-01

, reliable long-term ECG recordings. The device is designed for high compliance and low patient burden. This novel patch technology is CE approved for ambulatory ECG recording of two ECG channels on the sternum. This paper describes a clinical pilot study regarding the usefulness of these ECG signals...... for heart rhythm analysis. A clinical technician with experience in ECG interpretation selected 200 noise-free 7 seconds ECG segments from 25 different patients. These 200 ECG segments were evaluated by two medical doctors according to their usefulness for heart rhythm analysis. The first doctor considered...... 98.5% of the segments useful for rhythm analysis, whereas the second doctor considered 99.5% of the segments useful for rhythm analysis. The conclusion of this pilot study indicates that two channel ECG recorded on the sternum is useful for rhythm analysis and could be used as input to diagnosis...

Low-cost compact ECG with graphic LCD and phonocardiogram system design.

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Kara, Sadik; Kemaloğlu, Semra; Kirbaş, Samil

2006-06-01

Till today, many different ECG devices are made in developing countries. In this study, low cost, small size, portable LCD screen ECG device, and phonocardiograph were designed. With designed system, heart sounds that take synchronously with ECG signal are heard as sensitive. Improved system consist three units; Unit 1, ECG circuit, filter and amplifier structure. Unit 2, heart sound acquisition circuit. Unit 3, microcontroller, graphic LCD and ECG signal sending unit to computer. Our system can be used easily in different departments of the hospital, health institution and clinics, village clinic and also in houses because of its small size structure and other benefits. In this way, it is possible that to see ECG signal and hear heart sounds as synchronously and sensitively. In conclusion, heart sounds are heard on the part of both doctor and patient because sounds are given to environment with a tiny speaker. Thus, the patient knows and hears heart sounds him/herself and is acquainted by doctor about healthy condition.

Risk stratifying asymptomatic aortic stenosis: role of the resting 12-lead ECG.

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