The V-SHARK high contrast imager at LBT

Science.gov (United States)

Pedichini, F.; Ambrosino, F.; Centrone, M.; Farinato, J.; Li Causi, G.; Pinna, E.; Puglisi, A.; Stangalini, M.; Testa, V.

2016-08-01

In the framework of the SHARK project the visible channel is a novel instrument synergic to the NIR channel and exploiting the performances of the LBT XAO at visible wavelengths. The status of the project is presented together with the design study of this innovative instrument optimized for high contrast imaging by means of high frame rate. Its expected results will be presented comparing the simulations with the real data of the "Forerunner" experiment taken at 630nm.

Improvements in gastric diagnosis by using high density contrast media with low viscosity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Toischer, H.P.

1983-01-01

In a retrospective clinical study, 150 unselected double contrast examinations of the stomach using conventional contrast media (100 g/100 ml barium sulphate) were compared with a similar number of examinations using a high density contrast medium of flow viscosity (250 g/100 ml barium sulphate). The high density contrast medium was distinctly better for demonstrating detail of the gastric mucosa. The uneveness of coating and instability of the older high density contrast media was observed in 15.5% of cases and, in no instance, did this make it impossible to reach a diagnosis. (orig.) [de

High-contrast x-ray microtomography in dental research

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Graham; Mills, David

2017-09-01

X-ray microtomography (XMT) is a well-established technique in dental research. The technique has been used extensively to explore the complex morphology of the root canal system, and to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate root canal instrumentation and filling efficacy in extracted teeth; enabling different techniques to be compared. Densitometric information can be used to identify and map demineralized tissue resulting from tooth decay (caries) and, in extracted teeth, the method can be used to evaluate different methods of excavation. More recently, high contrast XMT is being used to investigate the relationship between external insults to teeth and the pulpal reaction. When such insults occur, fluid may flow through dentinal tubules as a result of cracking or porosity in enamel. Over time, there is an increase in mineralization along the paths of the tubules from the pulp to the damaged region in enamel and this can be visualized using high contrast XMT. The scanner used for this employs time-delay integration to minimize the effects of detector inhomogeneity in order to greatly increase the upper limit on signal-to-noise ratio that can be achieved with long exposure times. When enamel cracks are present in extracted teeth, the presence of these pathways indicates that the cracking occurred prior to extraction. At high contrast, growth lines are occasionally seen in deciduous teeth which may have resulted from periods of maternal illness. Various other anomalies in mineralization resulting from trauma or genetic abnormalities can also be investigated using this technique.

Polarization-Independent Wideband High-Index-Contrast Grating Mirror

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bekele, Dagmawi Alemayehu; Park, Gyeong Cheol; Malureanu, Radu

2015-01-01

Island-type two-dimensional high-index-contrast grating mirror based on a standard silicon-on-insulator wafer have been experimentally demonstrated. The measured spectra shows a bandwidth of ∼192 nm with a reflectivity over 99% as well as polarization independence. Numerical simulations show...

High-contrast MacNeille-PBS-based LCOS projection systems

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Jianmin; Robinson, Michael G.; Sharp, Gary D.

2005-04-01

Contrast limits are investigated for MacNeille PBS based LCOS projection systems that use retarder stack filters (RSF). The two contributing factors are considered separately; namely the color management system and the panel port. To enhance performance of the former, skew ray compensated RSFs are introduced. For the latter, a general methodology is presented to optimize contrast by compensating the LCOS panel. It is shown that the orientation of the LCOS panel and compensator, relative to the MacNeille PBS, is critical. The significant impact of AR coating performance on system contrast is also revealed. A high contrast architecture will be presented by way of example.

Phase contrast imaging with coherent high energy X-rays

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Snigireva, I. [ESRF, Grenoble (France)

1997-02-01

X-ray imaging concern high energy domain (>6 keV) like a contact radiography, projection microscopy and tomography is used for many years to discern the features of the internal structure non destructively in material science, medicine and biology. In so doing the main contrast formation is absorption that makes some limitations for imaging of the light density materials and what is more the resolution of these techniques is not better than 10-100 {mu}m. It was turned out that there is now way in which to overcome 1{mu}m or even sub-{mu}m resolution limit except phase contrast imaging. It is well known in optics that the phase contrast is realised when interference between reference wave front and transmitted through the sample take place. Examples of this imaging are: phase contrast microscopy suggested by Zernike and Gabor (in-line) holography. Both of this techniques: phase contrast x-ray microscopy and holography are successfully progressing now in soft x-ray region. For imaging in the hard X-rays to enhance the contrast and to be able to resolve phase variations across the beam the high degree of the time and more importantly spatial coherence is needed. Because of this it was reasonable that the perfect crystal optics was involved like Bonse-Hart interferometry, double-crystal and even triple-crystal set-up using Laue and Bragg geometry with asymmetrically cut crystals.

High contrast computed tomography with synchrotron radiation

Science.gov (United States)

Itai, Yuji; Takeda, Tohoru; Akatsuka, Takao; Maeda, Tomokazu; Hyodo, Kazuyuki; Uchida, Akira; Yuasa, Tetsuya; Kazama, Masahiro; Wu, Jin; Ando, Masami

1995-02-01

This article describes a new monochromatic x-ray CT system using synchrotron radiation with applications in biomedical diagnosis which is currently under development. The system is designed to provide clear images and to detect contrast materials at low concentration for the quantitative functional evaluation of organs in correspondence with their anatomical structures. In this system, with x-ray energy changing from 30 to 52 keV, images can be obtained to detect various contrast materials (iodine, barium, and gadolinium), and K-edge energy subtraction is applied. Herein, the features of the new system designed to enhance the advantages of SR are reported. With the introduction of a double-crystal monochromator, the high-order x-ray contamination is eliminated. The newly designed CCD detector with a wide dynamic range of 60 000:1 has a spatial resolution of 200 μm. The resulting image quality, which is expected to show improved contrast and spatial resolution, is currently under investigation.

High-contrast multimodel nonlinear optical imaging of collagen and elastin

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhuo, S M [Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Science and Technology for Medicine (Fujian Normal University), Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350007 (China); Chen, J X [Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Science and Technology for Medicine (Fujian Normal University), Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350007 (China); Luo, T S [Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Science and Technology for Medicine (Fujian Normal University), Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350007 (China); Chen, H L [Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Science and Technology for Medicine (Fujian Normal University), Ministry of Education, Fuzhou 350007 (China); Zhao, J J [Department of Skin, Affiliated Xiehe Hospital, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou 350001 (China)

2007-07-15

Collagen and elastin, as the major components in the extracellular matrix (ECM), are intrinsic indicators of physiological and pathological states. Here, we have developed a high-contrast multimodel nonlinear optical imaging technique to imaging collagen and elastin by detecting simultaneously two photon-excited fluorescence (TPEF) from elastin and second-harmonic generation (SHG) from collagen. Our results show that this technique can obtain a high-contrast TPEF/SHG image in human dermis and permit direct visualization of collagen and elastin. It was shown that the technique can provide collagen and elastin structural information to determine collagen and elastin fibril orientation and distribution and acquire some morphometric properties. It was found that the in-depth TPEF/SHG imaging and 3-D reconstruction of TPEF/SHG images can extract more collagen and elastin structural and biochemical information. The study results suggest that the high-contrast multimodel nonlinear imaging provides a powerful tool to study ECM intrinsic components and has the potential to provide more important information for the diagnosis of tissue.

High-contrast multimodel nonlinear optical imaging of collagen and elastin

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhuo, S M; Chen, J X; Luo, T S; Chen, H L; Zhao, J J

2007-01-01

Collagen and elastin, as the major components in the extracellular matrix (ECM), are intrinsic indicators of physiological and pathological states. Here, we have developed a high-contrast multimodel nonlinear optical imaging technique to imaging collagen and elastin by detecting simultaneously two photon-excited fluorescence (TPEF) from elastin and second-harmonic generation (SHG) from collagen. Our results show that this technique can obtain a high-contrast TPEF/SHG image in human dermis and permit direct visualization of collagen and elastin. It was shown that the technique can provide collagen and elastin structural information to determine collagen and elastin fibril orientation and distribution and acquire some morphometric properties. It was found that the in-depth TPEF/SHG imaging and 3-D reconstruction of TPEF/SHG images can extract more collagen and elastin structural and biochemical information. The study results suggest that the high-contrast multimodel nonlinear imaging provides a powerful tool to study ECM intrinsic components and has the potential to provide more important information for the diagnosis of tissue

High-resolution breast tomography at high energy: a feasibility study of phase contrast imaging on a whole breast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sztrókay, A; Schlossbauer, T; Bamberg, F; Reiser, M F; Coan, P; Diemoz, P C; Brun, E; Bravin, A; Mayr, D

2012-01-01

Previous studies on phase contrast imaging (PCI) mammography have demonstrated an enhancement of breast morphology and cancerous tissue visualization compared to conventional imaging. We show here the first results of the PCI analyser-based imaging (ABI) in computed tomography (CT) mode on whole and large (>12 cm) tumour-bearing breast tissues. We demonstrate in this work the capability of the technique of working at high x-ray energies and producing high-contrast images of large and complex specimens. One entire breast of an 80-year-old woman with invasive ductal cancer was imaged using ABI-CT with monochromatic 70 keV x-rays and an area detector of 92×92 µm 2 pixel size. Sagittal slices were reconstructed from the acquired data, and compared to corresponding histological sections. Comparison with conventional absorption-based CT was also performed. Five blinded radiologists quantitatively evaluated the visual aspects of the ABI-CT images with respect to sharpness, soft tissue contrast, tissue boundaries and the discrimination of different structures/tissues. ABI-CT excellently depicted the entire 3D architecture of the breast volume by providing high-resolution and high-contrast images of the normal and cancerous breast tissues. These results are an important step in the evolution of PCI-CT towards its clinical implementation. (paper)

High-resolution breast tomography at high energy: a feasibility study of phase contrast imaging on a whole breast

Science.gov (United States)

Sztrókay, A.; Diemoz, P. C.; Schlossbauer, T.; Brun, E.; Bamberg, F.; Mayr, D.; Reiser, M. F.; Bravin, A.; Coan, P.

2012-05-01

Previous studies on phase contrast imaging (PCI) mammography have demonstrated an enhancement of breast morphology and cancerous tissue visualization compared to conventional imaging. We show here the first results of the PCI analyser-based imaging (ABI) in computed tomography (CT) mode on whole and large (>12 cm) tumour-bearing breast tissues. We demonstrate in this work the capability of the technique of working at high x-ray energies and producing high-contrast images of large and complex specimens. One entire breast of an 80-year-old woman with invasive ductal cancer was imaged using ABI-CT with monochromatic 70 keV x-rays and an area detector of 92×92 µm2 pixel size. Sagittal slices were reconstructed from the acquired data, and compared to corresponding histological sections. Comparison with conventional absorption-based CT was also performed. Five blinded radiologists quantitatively evaluated the visual aspects of the ABI-CT images with respect to sharpness, soft tissue contrast, tissue boundaries and the discrimination of different structures/tissues. ABI-CT excellently depicted the entire 3D architecture of the breast volume by providing high-resolution and high-contrast images of the normal and cancerous breast tissues. These results are an important step in the evolution of PCI-CT towards its clinical implementation.

Gd-HOPO Based High Relaxivity MRI Contrast Agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Datta, Ankona; Raymond, Kenneth

2008-11-06

Tris-bidentate HOPO-based ligands developed in our laboratory were designed to complement the coordination preferences of Gd{sup 3+}, especially its oxophilicity. The HOPO ligands provide a hexadentate coordination environment for Gd{sup 3+} in which all he donor atoms are oxygen. Because Gd{sup 3+} favors eight or nine coordination, this design provides two to three open sites for inner-sphere water molecules. These water molecules rapidly exchange with bulk solution, hence affecting the relaxation rates of bulk water olecules. The parameters affecting the efficiency of these contrast agents have been tuned to improve contrast while still maintaining a high thermodynamic stability for Gd{sup 3+} binding. The Gd- HOPO-based contrast agents surpass current commercially available agents ecause of a higher number of inner-sphere water molecules, rapid exchange of inner-sphere water molecules via an associative mechanism, and a long electronic relaxation time. The contrast enhancement provided by these agents is at least twice that of commercial contrast gents, which are based on polyaminocarboxylate ligands.

The advantage of high relaxivity contrast agents in brain perfusion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cotton, F.; Hermier, M.

2006-01-01

Accurate MRI characterization of brain lesions is critical for planning therapeutic strategy, assessing prognosis and monitoring response to therapy. Conventional MRI with gadolinium-based contrast agents is useful for the evaluation of brain lesions, but this approach primarily depicts areas of disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) rather than tissue perfusion. Advanced MR imaging techniques such as dynamic contrast agent-enhanced perfusion MRI provide physiological information that complements the anatomic data available from conventional MRI. We evaluated brain perfusion imaging with gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA, MultiHance; Bracco Imaging, Milan, Italy). The contrast-enhanced perfusion technique was performed on a Philips Intera 1.5-T MR system. The technique used to obtain perfusion images was dynamic susceptibility contrast-enhanced MRI, which is highly sensitive to T2* changes. Combined with PRESTO perfusion imaging, SENSE is applied to double the temporal resolution, thereby improving the signal intensity curve fit and, accordingly, the accuracy of the derived parametric images. MultiHance is the first gadolinium MR contrast agent with significantly higher T1 and T2 relaxivities than conventional MR contrast agents. The higher T1 relaxivity, and therefore better contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging, leads to significantly improved detection of BBB breakdown and hence improved brain tumor conspicuity and delineation. The higher T2 relaxivity allows high-quality T2*-weighted perfusion MRI and the derivation of good quality relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) maps. We determined the value of MultiHance for enhanced T2*-weighted perfusion imaging of histologically proven (by surgery or stereotaxic biopsy) intraaxial brain tumors (n=80), multiple sclerosis lesions (n=10), abscesses (n=4), neurolupus (n=15) and stroke (n=16). All the procedures carried out were safe and no adverse events occurred. The acquired perfusion images were of good quality in

High-contrast coronagraph performance in the presence of DM actuator defects

Science.gov (United States)

Sidick, Erkin; Shaklan, Stuart; Cady, Eric

2015-09-01

Deformable Mirrors (DMs) are critical elements in high contrast coronagraphs, requiring precision and stability measured in picometers to enable detection of Earth-like exoplanets. Occasionally DM actuators or their associated cables or electronics fail, requiring a wavefront control algorithm to compensate for actuators that may be displaced from their neighbors by hundreds of nanometers. We have carried out experiments on our High-Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) to study the impact of failed actuators in partial fulfilment of the Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph optical model validation milestone. We show that the wavefront control algorithm adapts to several broken actuators and maintains dark-hole contrast in broadband light.

High-Contrast Coronagraph Performance in the Presence of DM Actuator Defects

Science.gov (United States)

Sidick, Erkin; Shaklan, Stuart; Cady, Eric

2015-01-01

Deformable Mirrors (DMs) are critical elements in high contrast coronagraphs, requiring precision and stability measured in picometers to enable detection of Earth-like exoplanets. Occasionally DM actuators or their associated cables or electronics fail, requiring a wavefront control algorithm to compensate for actuators that may be displaced from their neighbors by hundreds of nanometers. We have carried out experiments on our High-Contrast Imaging Testbed (HCIT) to study the impact of failed actuators in partial fulfillment of the Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph optical model validation milestone. We show that the wavefront control algorithm adapts to several broken actuators and maintains dark-hole contrast in broadband light.

High-dose contrast-enhanced MRI in multiple sclerosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koudriavtseva, T.; Pozzilli, C.; Di Biasi, C.; Iannilli, M.; Trasimeni, G.; Gasperini, C.; Argentino, C.; Gualdi, G.F.

1996-01-01

Contrast-enhanced MRI is effective for assessing disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) and may provide an outcome measure for testing the efficacy of treatment in clinical trials. To compare the sensitivity of high-dose gadolinium-HP-DO3A with that of a standard dose of gadolinium-DTPA, we studied 16 patients with relapsing-remitting MS in the acute phase of the disease. Each underwent two MRI examinations within at most 48 h. The initial MRI study was with a standard dose of gadolinium-DTPA (0.1 mmol/kg), and the second one an experimental dose of gadolinium-HP-DO3A (0.3 mmol/kg). No adverse effects were attributed to the contrast media. The high-dose study revealed more enhancing lesions than the standard-dose study (56 vs 38). This difference was found to be more relevant for infratentorial and small lesions. Furthermore, with the higher dose, there was a marked qualitative improvement in the visibility and delineation of the lesions. (orig.). With 4 figs., 2 tabs

High-dose contrast-enhanced MRI in multiple sclerosis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Koudriavtseva, T. [Department of Neurosciences, University of Rome ``La Sapienza`` Rome (Italy); Pozzilli, C. [Department of Neurosciences, University of Rome ``La Sapienza`` Rome (Italy); Di Biasi, C. [MR Unit, Clinica Medica 1, University of Rome ``La Sapienza``, Rome (Italy); Iannilli, M. [MR Unit, Clinica Medica 1, University of Rome ``La Sapienza``, Rome (Italy); Trasimeni, G. [MR Unit, Clinica Medica 1, University of Rome ``La Sapienza``, Rome (Italy); Gasperini, C. [Department of Neurosciences, University of Rome ``La Sapienza`` Rome (Italy); Argentino, C. [Department of Neurosciences, University of Rome ``La Sapienza`` Rome (Italy); Gualdi, G.F. [MR Unit, Clinica Medica 1, University of Rome ``La Sapienza``, Rome (Italy)

1996-05-01

Contrast-enhanced MRI is effective for assessing disease activity in multiple sclerosis (MS) and may provide an outcome measure for testing the efficacy of treatment in clinical trials. To compare the sensitivity of high-dose gadolinium-HP-DO3A with that of a standard dose of gadolinium-DTPA, we studied 16 patients with relapsing-remitting MS in the acute phase of the disease. Each underwent two MRI examinations within at most 48 h. The initial MRI study was with a standard dose of gadolinium-DTPA (0.1 mmol/kg), and the second one an experimental dose of gadolinium-HP-DO3A (0.3 mmol/kg). No adverse effects were attributed to the contrast media. The high-dose study revealed more enhancing lesions than the standard-dose study (56 vs 38). This difference was found to be more relevant for infratentorial and small lesions. Furthermore, with the higher dose, there was a marked qualitative improvement in the visibility and delineation of the lesions. (orig.). With 4 figs., 2 tabs.

Laser-matter interaction at high intensity and high temporal contrast; Interaction laser matiere a haut flux et fort contraste temporel

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Doumy, G

2006-01-15

The continuous progress in the development of laser installations has already lead to ultra-short pulses capable of achieving very high focalized intensities (I > 10{sup 18} W/cm{sup 2}). At these intensities, matter presents new non-linear behaviours, due to the fact that the electrons are accelerated to relativistic speeds. The experimental access to this interaction regime on solid targets has long been forbidden because of the presence, alongside the femtosecond pulse, of a pedestal (mainly due to the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) which occurs in the laser chain) intense enough to modify the state of the target. In this thesis, we first characterized, both experimentally and theoretically, a device which allows an improvement of the temporal contrast of the pulse: the Plasma Mirror. It consists in adjusting the focusing of the pulse on a dielectric target, so that the pedestal is mainly transmitted, while the main pulse is reflected by the overcritical plasma that it forms at the surface. The implementation of such a device on the UHI 10 laser facility (CEA Saclay - 10 TW - 60 fs) then allowed us to study the interaction between ultra-intense, high contrast pulses with solid targets. In a first part, we managed to generate and characterize dense plasmas resulting directly from the interaction between the main pulse and very thin foils (100 nm). This characterization was realized by using an XUV source obtained by high order harmonics generation in a rare gas jet. In a second part, we studied experimentally the phenomenon of high order harmonics generation on solid targets, which is still badly understood, but could potentially lead to a new kind of energetic ultra-short XUV sources. (author)

High-contrast imaging in the cloud with klipReduce and Findr

Science.gov (United States)

Haug-Baltzell, Asher; Males, Jared R.; Morzinski, Katie M.; Wu, Ya-Lin; Merchant, Nirav; Lyons, Eric; Close, Laird M.

2016-08-01

Astronomical data sets are growing ever larger, and the area of high contrast imaging of exoplanets is no exception. With the advent of fast, low-noise detectors operating at 10 to 1000 Hz, huge numbers of images can be taken during a single hours-long observation. High frame rates offer several advantages, such as improved registration, frame selection, and improved speckle calibration. However, advanced image processing algorithms are computationally challenging to apply. Here we describe a parallelized, cloud-based data reduction system developed for the Magellan Adaptive Optics VisAO camera, which is capable of rapidly exploring tens of thousands of parameter sets affecting the Karhunen-Loève image processing (KLIP) algorithm to produce high-quality direct images of exoplanets. We demonstrate these capabilities with a visible wavelength high contrast data set of a hydrogen-accreting brown dwarf companion.

High-contrast imaging with an arbitrary aperture: Active compensation of aperture discontinuities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pueyo, Laurent; Norman, Colin

2013-01-01

We present a new method to achieve high-contrast images using segmented and/or on-axis telescopes. Our approach relies on using two sequential deformable mirrors (DMs) to compensate for the large amplitude excursions in the telescope aperture due to secondary support structures and/or segment gaps. In this configuration the parameter landscape of DM surfaces that yield high-contrast point-spread functions is not linear, and nonlinear methods are needed to find the true minimum in the optimization topology. We solve the highly nonlinear Monge-Ampere equation that is the fundamental equation describing the physics of phase-induced amplitude modulation. We determine the optimum configuration for our two sequential DM system and show that high-throughput and high-contrast solutions can be achieved using realistic surface deformations that are accessible using existing technologies. We name this process Active Compensation of Aperture Discontinuities (ACAD). We show that for geometries similar to the James Webb Space Telescope, ACAD can attain at least 10 –7 in contrast and an order of magnitude higher for both the future extremely large telescopes and on-axis architectures reminiscent of the Hubble Space Telescope. We show that the converging nonlinear mappings resulting from our DM shapes actually damp near-field diffraction artifacts in the vicinity of the discontinuities. Thus, ACAD actually lowers the chromatic ringing due to diffraction by segment gaps and struts while not amplifying the diffraction at the aperture edges beyond the Fresnel regime. This outer Fresnel ringing can be mitigated by properly designing the optical system. Consequently, ACAD is a true broadband solution to the problem of high-contrast imaging with segmented and/or on-axis apertures. We finally show that once the nonlinear solution is found, fine tuning with linear methods used in wavefront control can be applied to further contrast by another order of magnitude. Generally speaking, the

High-energy x-ray grating-based phase-contrast radiography of human anatomy

Science.gov (United States)

Horn, Florian; Hauke, Christian; Lachner, Sebastian; Ludwig, Veronika; Pelzer, Georg; Rieger, Jens; Schuster, Max; Seifert, Maria; Wandner, Johannes; Wolf, Andreas; Michel, Thilo; Anton, Gisela

2016-03-01

X-ray grating-based phase-contrast Talbot-Lau interferometry is a promising imaging technology that has the potential to raise soft tissue contrast in comparison to conventional attenuation-based imaging. Additionally, it is sensitive to attenuation, refraction and scattering of the radiation and thus provides complementary and otherwise inaccessible information due to the dark-field image, which shows the sub-pixel size granularity of the measured object. Until recent progress the method has been mainly limited to photon energies below 40 keV. Scaling the method to photon energies that are sufficient to pass large and spacious objects represents a challenging task. This is caused by increasing demands regarding the fabrication process of the gratings and the broad spectra that come along with the use of polychromatic X-ray sources operated at high acceleration voltages. We designed a setup that is capable to reach high visibilities in the range from 50 to 120 kV. Therefore, spacious and dense parts of the human body with high attenuation can be measured, such as a human knee. The authors will show investigations on the resulting attenuation, differential phase-contrast and dark-field images. The images experimentally show that X-ray grating-based phase-contrast radiography is feasible with highly absorbing parts of the human body containing massive bones.

Liver imaging with MDCT and high concentration contrast media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spielmann, Audrey L.

2003-01-01

Liver imaging has advanced greatly over the last 10 years with helical CT capability and more recently the addition of multidetector-row CT (MDCT). Multidetector CT technology facilitates imaging at faster speeds with improved image quality and less breathing artifact [Abdom. Imaging 25 (2000) 643]. Exquisite three-dimensional data sets can be obtained with thin collimation providing improved lesion detection, multiplanar imaging, and the ability to perform CT angiography of the liver and mesenteric vessels. New challenges arise with this advance in technology including safety considerations. The radiation dose to the patient has increased with MDCT and this is compounded by the ability to perform multi-phase liver imaging. Furthermore, issues of contrast media administration require reconsideration including optimal timing and rate of administration, the total volume of contrast needed and the ideal iodine concentration of the contrast media. Recently, the use of high concentration contrast media (HCCM) has been explored and study results to date will be reviewed

High contrast laser marking of alumina

Science.gov (United States)

Penide, J.; Quintero, F.; Riveiro, A.; Fernández, A.; del Val, J.; Comesaña, R.; Lusquiños, F.; Pou, J.

2015-05-01

Alumina serves as raw material for a broad range of advanced ceramic products. These elements should usually be identified by some characters or symbols printed directly on them. In this sense, laser marking is an efficient, reliable and widely implemented process in industry. However, laser marking of alumina still leads to poor results since the process is not able to produce a dark mark, yielding bad contrast. In this paper, we present an experimental study on the process of marking alumina by three different lasers working in two wavelengths: 1064 nm (Near-infrared) and 532 nm (visible, green radiation). A colorimetric analysis has been carried out in order to compare the resulting marks and its contrast. The most suitable laser operating conditions were also defined and are reported here. Moreover, the physical process of marking by NIR lasers is discussed in detail. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy, High Resolution Transmission Electron Microscopy and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy were also employed to analyze the results. Finally, we propose an explanation for the differences of the coloration induced under different atmospheres and laser parameters. We concluded that the atmosphere is the key parameter, being the inert one the best choice to produce the darkest marks.

High and low osmolar contrast media: Who pays?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goethlin, J.H.

1988-01-01

To possibly avoid a case of contrast medium-related death in Norway every second or third year will mean a cost of many millions of dollars. It is not feasible without many patients being deprived of diagnostic possibilities. The solution is at present to use LOCM in high risk patients and small children until sufficient data (large, controlled series) can give a reliable answer to if or when LOCM should be used. (orig.)

Ultra-High-Contrast Laser Acceleration of Relativistic Electrons in Solid Targets

Science.gov (United States)

Higginson, Drew Pitney

The cone-guided fast ignition approach to Inertial Confinement Fusion requires laser-accelerated relativistic electrons to deposit kilojoules of energy within an imploded fuel core to initiate fusion burn. One obstacle to coupling electron energy into the core is the ablation of material, known as preplasma, by laser energy proceeding nanoseconds prior to the main pulse. This causes the laser-absorption surface to be pushed back hundreds of microns from the initial target surface; thus increasing the distance that electrons must travel to reach the imploded core. Previous experiments have shown an order of magnitude decrease in coupling into surrogate targets when intentionally increasing the amount of preplasma. Additionally, for electrons to deposit energy within the core, they should have kinetic energies on the order of a few MeV, as less energetic electrons will be stopped prior to the core and more energetic electrons will pass through the core without depositing much energy. Thus a quantitative understanding of the electron energy spectrum and how it responds to varied laser parameters is paramount for fast ignition. For the first time, this dissertation quantitatively investigates the acceleration of electrons using an ultra-high-contrast laser. Ultra-high-contrast lasers reduce the laser energy that reaches the target prior to the main pulse; drastically reducing the amount of preplasma. Experiments were performed in a cone-wire geometry relevant to fast ignition. These experiments irradiated the inner-tip of a Au cone with the laser and observed electrons that passed through a Cu wire attached to the outer-tip of the cone. The total emission of Kalpha x-rays is used as a diagnostic to infer the electron energy coupled into the wire. Imaging the x-ray emission allowed an effective path-length of electrons within the wire to be determined, which constrained the electron energy spectrum. Experiments were carried out on the ultra-high-contrast Trident laser

Characterization of a high-energy in-line phase contrast tomosynthesis prototype.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Di; Yan, Aimin; Li, Yuhua; Wong, Molly D; Zheng, Bin; Wu, Xizeng; Liu, Hong

2015-05-01

In this research, a high-energy in-line phase contrast tomosynthesis prototype was developed and characterized through quantitative investigations and phantom studies. The prototype system consists of an x-ray source, a motorized rotation stage, and a CMOS detector with a pixel pitch of 0.05 mm. The x-ray source was operated at 120 kVp for this study, and the objects were mounted on the rotation stage 76.2 cm (R1) from the source and 114.3 cm (R2) from the detector. The large air gap between the object and detector guarantees sufficient phase-shift effects. The quantitative evaluation of this prototype included modulation transfer function and noise power spectrum measurements conducted under both projection mode and tomosynthesis mode. Phantom studies were performed including three custom designed phantoms with complex structures: a five-layer bubble wrap phantom, a fishbone phantom, and a chicken breast phantom with embedded fibrils and mass structures extracted from an ACR phantom. In-plane images of the phantoms were acquired to investigate their image qualities through observation, intensity profile plots, edge enhancement evaluations, and/or contrast-to-noise ratio calculations. In addition, the robust phase-attenuation duality (PAD)-based phase retrieval method was applied to tomosynthesis for the first time in this research. It was utilized as a preprocessing method to fully exhibit phase contrast on the angular projection before reconstruction. The resolution and noise characteristics of this high-energy in-line phase contrast tomosynthesis prototype were successfully investigated and demonstrated. The phantom studies demonstrated that this imaging prototype can successfully remove the structure overlapping in phantom projections, obtain delineate interfaces, and achieve better contrast-to-noise ratio after applying phase retrieval to the angular projections. This research successfully demonstrated a high-energy in-line phase contrast tomosynthesis

High-Fidelity Contrast Reaction Simulation Training: Performance Comparison of Faculty, Fellows, and Residents.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfeifer, Kyle; Staib, Lawrence; Arango, Jennifer; Kirsch, John; Arici, Mel; Kappus, Liana; Pahade, Jay

2016-01-01

Reactions to contrast material are uncommon in diagnostic radiology, and vary in clinical presentation from urticaria to life-threatening anaphylaxis. Prior studies have demonstrated a high error rate in contrast reaction management, with smaller studies using simulation demonstrating variable data on effectiveness. We sought to assess the effectiveness of high-fidelity simulation in teaching contrast reaction management for residents, fellows, and attendings. A 20-question multiple-choice test assessing contrast reaction knowledge, with Likert-scale questions assessing subjective comfort levels of management of contrast reactions, was created. Three simulation scenarios that represented a moderate reaction, a severe reaction, and a contrast reaction mimic were completed in a one-hour period in a simulation laboratory. All participants completed a pretest and a posttest at one month. A six-month delayed posttest was given, but was optional for all participants. A total of 150 radiologists participated (residents = 52; fellows = 24; faculty = 74) in the pretest and posttest; and 105 participants completed the delayed posttest (residents = 31; fellows = 17; faculty = 57). A statistically significant increase was found in the one-month posttest (P < .00001) and the six-month posttest scores (P < .00001) and Likert scores (P < .001) assessing comfort level in managing all contrast reactions, compared with the pretest. Test scores and comfort level for moderate and severe reactions significantly decreased at six months, compared with the one-month posttest (P < .05). High-fidelity simulation is an effective learning tool, allowing practice of "high-acuity" situation management in a nonthreatening environment; the simulation training resulted in significant improvement in test scores, as well as an increase in subjective comfort in management of reactions, across all levels of training. A six-month refresher course is suggested, to maintain knowledge and comfort level in

VIP: Vortex Image Processing Package for High-contrast Direct Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez Gonzalez, Carlos Alberto; Wertz, Olivier; Absil, Olivier; Christiaens, Valentin; Defrère, Denis; Mawet, Dimitri; Milli, Julien; Absil, Pierre-Antoine; Van Droogenbroeck, Marc; Cantalloube, Faustine; Hinz, Philip M.; Skemer, Andrew J.; Karlsson, Mikael; Surdej, Jean

2017-07-01

We present the Vortex Image Processing (VIP) library, a python package dedicated to astronomical high-contrast imaging. Our package relies on the extensive python stack of scientific libraries and aims to provide a flexible framework for high-contrast data and image processing. In this paper, we describe the capabilities of VIP related to processing image sequences acquired using the angular differential imaging (ADI) observing technique. VIP implements functionalities for building high-contrast data processing pipelines, encompassing pre- and post-processing algorithms, potential source position and flux estimation, and sensitivity curve generation. Among the reference point-spread function subtraction techniques for ADI post-processing, VIP includes several flavors of principal component analysis (PCA) based algorithms, such as annular PCA and incremental PCA algorithms capable of processing big datacubes (of several gigabytes) on a computer with limited memory. Also, we present a novel ADI algorithm based on non-negative matrix factorization, which comes from the same family of low-rank matrix approximations as PCA and provides fairly similar results. We showcase the ADI capabilities of the VIP library using a deep sequence on HR 8799 taken with the LBTI/LMIRCam and its recently commissioned L-band vortex coronagraph. Using VIP, we investigated the presence of additional companions around HR 8799 and did not find any significant additional point source beyond the four known planets. VIP is available at http://github.com/vortex-exoplanet/VIP and is accompanied with Jupyter notebook tutorials illustrating the main functionalities of the library.

High-resolution short-exposure small-animal laboratory x-ray phase-contrast tomography

Science.gov (United States)

Larsson, Daniel H.; Vågberg, William; Yaroshenko, Andre; Yildirim, Ali Önder; Hertz, Hans M.

2016-12-01

X-ray computed tomography of small animals and their organs is an essential tool in basic and preclinical biomedical research. In both phase-contrast and absorption tomography high spatial resolution and short exposure times are of key importance. However, the observable spatial resolutions and achievable exposure times are presently limited by system parameters rather than more fundamental constraints like, e.g., dose. Here we demonstrate laboratory tomography with few-ten μm spatial resolution and few-minute exposure time at an acceptable dose for small-animal imaging, both with absorption contrast and phase contrast. The method relies on a magnifying imaging scheme in combination with a high-power small-spot liquid-metal-jet electron-impact source. The tomographic imaging is demonstrated on intact mouse, phantoms and excised lungs, both healthy and with pulmonary emphysema.

1060-nm Tunable Monolithic High Index Contrast Subwavelength Grating VCSEL

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ansbæk, Thor; Chung, Il-Sug; Semenova, Elizaveta

2013-01-01

We present the first tunable vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) where the top distributed Bragg reflector has been completely substituted by an air-cladded high-index-contrast subwavelength grating (HCG) mirror. In this way, an extended cavity design can be realized by reducing...

Super-nonlinear fluorescence microscopy for high-contrast deep tissue imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Lu; Zhu, Xinxin; Chen, Zhixing; Min, Wei

2014-02-01

Two-photon excited fluorescence microscopy (TPFM) offers the highest penetration depth with subcellular resolution in light microscopy, due to its unique advantage of nonlinear excitation. However, a fundamental imaging-depth limit, accompanied by a vanishing signal-to-background contrast, still exists for TPFM when imaging deep into scattering samples. Formally, the focusing depth, at which the in-focus signal and the out-of-focus background are equal to each other, is defined as the fundamental imaging-depth limit. To go beyond this imaging-depth limit of TPFM, we report a new class of super-nonlinear fluorescence microscopy for high-contrast deep tissue imaging, including multiphoton activation and imaging (MPAI) harnessing novel photo-activatable fluorophores, stimulated emission reduced fluorescence (SERF) microscopy by adding a weak laser beam for stimulated emission, and two-photon induced focal saturation imaging with preferential depletion of ground-state fluorophores at focus. The resulting image contrasts all exhibit a higher-order (third- or fourth- order) nonlinear signal dependence on laser intensity than that in the standard TPFM. Both the physical principles and the imaging demonstrations will be provided for each super-nonlinear microscopy. In all these techniques, the created super-nonlinearity significantly enhances the imaging contrast and concurrently extends the imaging depth-limit of TPFM. Conceptually different from conventional multiphoton processes mediated by virtual states, our strategy constitutes a new class of fluorescence microscopy where high-order nonlinearity is mediated by real population transfer.

Characterization of low-mass deformable mirrors and ASIC drivers for high-contrast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Mejia Prada, Camilo; Yao, Li; Wu, Yuqian; Roberts, Lewis C.; Shelton, Chris; Wu, Xingtao

2017-09-01

The development of compact, high performance Deformable Mirrors (DMs) is one of the most important technological challenges for high-contrast imaging on space missions. Microscale Inc. has fabricated and characterized piezoelectric stack actuator deformable mirrors (PZT-DMs) and Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) drivers for direct integration. The DM-ASIC system is designed to eliminate almost all cables, enabling a very compact optical system with low mass and low power consumption. We report on the optical tests used to evaluate the performance of the DM and ASIC units. We also compare the results to the requirements for space-based high-contrast imaging of exoplanets.

Use of high concentration contrast media: principles and rationale--vascular district

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleischmann, Dominik.

2003-01-01

Optimal contrast medium delivery remains a crucial issue in CT angiography and it will become even more critical with continuously evolving, faster CT scanner technology. This review article first explains the fundamentals of arterial enhancement using mathematical models of early contrast medium dynamics. The relationship of contrast medium volume, injection flow rates and injection duration are explicitly illustrated. Next, current techniques of contrast medium application are reviewed, with particular attention to methods of accurate timing of the scanning delay (test-bolus and automated bolus triggering), tools for automated saline-flushing of the veins (double-syringe power injectors) and the use of high-concentration contrast medium. From there, rational CT angiographic injection protocols for a wide range of selectable acquisition times for 4-, 8- and 16-channel MDCT are proposed

The optimal use of contrast agents at high field MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trattnig, Siegfried; Pinker, Kathia; Ba-Ssalamah, Ahmed; Noebauer-Huhmann, Iris-Melanie

2006-01-01

The intravenous administration of a standard dose of conventional gadolinium-based contrast agents produces higher contrast between the tumor and normal brain at 3.0 Tesla (T) than at 1.5 T, which allows reducing the dose to half of the standard one to produce similar contrast at 3.0 T compared to 1.5 T. The assessment of cumulative triple-dose 3.0 T images obtained the best results in the detection of brain metastases compared to other sequences. The contrast agent dose for dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced perfusion MR imaging at 3.0 T can be reduced to 0.1 mmol compared to 0.2 mmol at 1.5 T due to the increased susceptibility effects at higher magnetic field strengths. Contrast agent application makes susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) at 3.0 T clinically attractive, with an increase in spatial resolution within the same scan time. Whereas a double dose of conventional gadolinium-based contrast agents was optimal in SWI with respect to sensitivity and image quality, a standard dose of gadobenate dimeglumine, which has a two-fold higher T1-relaxivity in blood, produced the same effect. For MR-arthrography, optimized concentrations of gadolinium-based contrast agents are similar at 3.0 and 1.5 T. In summary, high field MRI requires the optimization of the contrast agent dose in different clinical applications. (orig.)

Highly stable silica-coated manganese ferrite nanoparticles as high-efficacy T2 contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Ashfaq; Bae, Hongsub; Rhee, Ilsu

2018-05-01

Highly stable silica-coated manganese ferrite nanoparticles were fabricated for application as magnetic resonance imagining (MRI) contrast agents. The manganese ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized using a hydrothermal technique and coated with silica. The particle size was investigated using transmission electron microscopy and was found to be 40-60 nm. The presence of the silica coating on the particle surface was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The crystalline structure was investigated by X-ray diffraction, and the particles were revealed to have an inverse spinel structure. Superparamagnetism was confirmed by the magnetic hysteresis curves obtained using a vibrating sample magnetometer. The efficiency of the MRI contrast agents was investigated by using aqueous solutions of the particles in a 4.7 T MRI scanner. The T1 and T2 relaxivities of the particles were 1.42 and 60.65 s-1 mM-1, respectively, in water. The ratio r2/r1 was 48.91, confirming that the silica-coated manganese ferrite nanoparticles were suitable high-efficacy T2 contrast agents.

The Nonlinear Statistics of High-contrast Patches in Natural Images

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lee, Ann; Pedersen, Kim Steenstrup; Mumford, David

2003-01-01

described. In this study, we explore the space of data points representing the values of 3 × 3 high-contrast patches from optical and 3D range images. We find that the distribution of data is extremely sparse with the majority of the data points concentrated in clusters and non-linear low...

Ultra-High-Contrast Laser Acceleration of Relativistic Electrons in Solid Targets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Higginson, Drew Pitney [Univ. of California, San Diego, CA (United States)

2013-01-01

The cone-guided fast ignition approach to Inertial Con nement Fusion requires laser-accelerated relativistic electrons to deposit kilojoules of energy within an imploded fuel core to initiate fusion burn. One obstacle to coupling electron energy into the core is the ablation of material, known as preplasma, by laser energy proceeding nanoseconds prior to the main pulse. This causes the laser-absorption surface to be pushed back hundreds of microns from the initial target surface; thus increasing the distance that electrons must travel to reach the imploded core. Previous experiments have shown an order of magnitude decrease in coupling into surrogate targets when intentionally increasing the amount of preplasma. Additionally, for electrons to deposit energy within the core, they should have kinetic energies on the order of a few MeV, as less energetic electrons will be stopped prior to the core and more energetic electrons will pass through the core without depositing much energy. Thus a quantitative understanding of the electron energy spectrum and how it responds to varied laser parameters is paramount for fast ignition. For the rst time, this dissertation quantitatively investigates the acceleration of electrons using an ultra-high-contrast laser. Ultra-high-contrast lasers reduce the laser energy that reaches the target prior to the main pulse; drastically reducing the amount of preplasma. Experiments were performed in a cone-wire geometry relevant to fast ignition. These experiments irradiated the inner-tip of a Au cone with the laser and observed electrons that passed through a Cu wire attached to the outer-tip of the cone. The total emission of K x-rays is used as a diagnostic to infer the electron energy coupled into the wire. Imaging the x-ray emission allowed an e ective path-length of electrons within the wire to be determined, which constrained the electron energy spectrum. Experiments were carried out on the ultra-high-contrast Trident laser at Los

Asymmetric-detection time-stretch optical microscopy (ATOM) for ultrafast high-contrast cellular imaging in flow

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Terence T. W.; Lau, Andy K. S.; Ho, Kenneth K. Y.; Tang, Matthew Y. H.; Robles, Joseph D. F.; Wei, Xiaoming; Chan, Antony C. S.; Tang, Anson H. L.; Lam, Edmund Y.; Wong, Kenneth K. Y.; Chan, Godfrey C. F.; Shum, Ho Cheung; Tsia, Kevin K.

2014-01-01

Accelerating imaging speed in optical microscopy is often realized at the expense of image contrast, image resolution, and detection sensitivity – a common predicament for advancing high-speed and high-throughput cellular imaging. We here demonstrate a new imaging approach, called asymmetric-detection time-stretch optical microscopy (ATOM), which can deliver ultrafast label-free high-contrast flow imaging with well delineated cellular morphological resolution and in-line optical image amplification to overcome the compromised imaging sensitivity at high speed. We show that ATOM can separately reveal the enhanced phase-gradient and absorption contrast in microfluidic live-cell imaging at a flow speed as high as ~10 m/s, corresponding to an imaging throughput of ~100,000 cells/sec. ATOM could thus be the enabling platform to meet the pressing need for intercalating optical microscopy in cellular assay, e.g. imaging flow cytometry – permitting high-throughput access to the morphological information of the individual cells simultaneously with a multitude of parameters obtained in the standard assay. PMID:24413677

Depiction of normal gastrointestinal anatomy with MDCT: Comparison of low- and high-attenuation oral contrast media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Erturk, Sukru Mehmet; Mortele, Koenraad J.; Oliva, Maria-Raquel; Ichikawa, Tomoaki; Silverman, Stuart G.; Cantisani, Vito; Pagliara, Elisa; Ros, Pablo R.

2008-01-01

Purpose: To compare low- and high-attenuation oral contrast media for depiction of normal gastrointestinal anatomy with multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT). Materials and methods: A prospective, randomized study of 90 consecutive patients without known or suspected gastrointestinal disease was conducted after the approval of our Institutional Review Board. All patients underwent IV contrast-enhanced abdominal and pelvic CT scans after oral administration of 900 ml of either low- or high-attenuation barium sulphate suspension. Using a five-point scale, two radiologists independently graded distention and wall visualization of stomach, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The degree of distention and wall visualization was compared using Mann-Whitney U-test. Results: Duodenal, jejunal and ileal distention (p < 0.05, <0.001, <0.001, respectively) and wall visualization (p < 0.05, <0.01, <0.05, respectively) scores with low-attenuation contrast medium were significantly higher than those with high-attenuation barium sulphate preparation, for reader 1. Duodenal and jejunal wall visualization scores with low-attenuation contrast medium (p < 0.05, <0.01, respectively) were significantly higher than those with high-attenuation contrast medium, for reader 2. Interobserver agreement was fair to good for both distention (κ-range: 0.41-0.74) and wall visualization (κ-range: 0.48-0.71). Conclusion: MDCT with low-attenuation contrast medium provides distention and wall visualization of the GI tract that is equal or better than high-attenuation contrast medium

Tunable Resonant-Cavity-Enhanced Photodetector with Double High-Index-Contrast Grating Mirrors

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Learkthanakhachon, Supannee; Yvind, Kresten; Chung, Il-Sug

2013-01-01

In this paper, we propose a broadband-tunable resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetector (RCE-PD) structure with double high-index-contrast grating (HCG) mirrors and numerically investigate its characteristics. The detector is designed to operate at 1550-nm wavelength. The detector structure consists....... Furthermore, the fact that it can be fabricated on a silicon platform offers us a possibility of integration with electronics.......In this paper, we propose a broadband-tunable resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetector (RCE-PD) structure with double high-index-contrast grating (HCG) mirrors and numerically investigate its characteristics. The detector is designed to operate at 1550-nm wavelength. The detector structure consists...... of a top InP HCG mirror, a p-i-n photodiode embedding multiple quantum wells, and a Si HCG mirror formed in the Si layer of a silicon-on-insulator wafer. The detection wavelength can be changed by moving the top InP HCG mirror suspended in the air. High reflectivity and small penetration length of HCGs...

Specular Reflectivity and Hot-Electron Generation in High-Contrast Relativistic Laser-Plasma Interactions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kemp, Gregory Elijah [The Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH (United States)

2013-01-01

Ultra-intense laser (> 1018 W/cm2) interactions with matter are capable of producing relativistic electrons which have a variety of applications in state-of-the-art scientific and medical research conducted at universities and national laboratories across the world. Control of various aspects of these hot-electron distributions is highly desired to optimize a particular outcome. Hot-electron generation in low-contrast interactions, where significant amounts of under-dense pre-plasma are present, can be plagued by highly non-linear relativistic laser-plasma instabilities and quasi-static magnetic field generation, often resulting in less than desirable and predictable electron source characteristics. High-contrast interactions offer more controlled interactions but often at the cost of overall lower coupling and increased sensitivity to initial target conditions. An experiment studying the differences in hot-electron generation between high and low-contrast pulse interactions with solid density targets was performed on the Titan laser platform at the Jupiter Laser Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, CA. To date, these hot-electrons generated in the laboratory are not directly observable at the source of the interaction. Instead, indirect studies are performed using state-of-the-art simulations, constrained by the various experimental measurements. These measurements, more-often-than-not, rely on secondary processes generated by the transport of these electrons through the solid density materials which can susceptible to a variety instabilities and target material/geometry effects. Although often neglected in these types of studies, the specularly reflected light can provide invaluable insight as it is directly influenced by the interaction. In this thesis, I address the use of (personally obtained) experimental specular reflectivity measurements to indirectly study hot-electron generation in the context of high-contrast, relativistic

High-contrast gratings for long-wavelength laser integration on silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Sciancalepore, Corrado; Descos, Antoine; Bordel, Damien; Duprez, Hélène; Letartre, Xavier; Menezo, Sylvie; Ben Bakir, Badhise

2014-02-01

Silicon photonics is increasingly considered as the most promising way-out to the relentless growth of data traffic in today's telecommunications infrastructures, driving an increase in transmission rates and computing capabilities. This is in fact challenging the intrinsic limit of copper-based, short-reach interconnects and microelectronic circuits in data centers and server architectures to offer enough modulation bandwidth at reasonable power dissipation. In the context of the heterogeneous integration of III-V direct-bandgap materials on silicon, optics with high-contrast metastructures enables the efficient implementation of optical functions such as laser feedback, input/output (I/O) to active/passive components, and optical filtering, while heterogeneous integration of III-V layers provides sufficient optical gain, resulting in silicon-integrated laser sources. The latest ensure reduced packaging costs and reduced footprint for the optical transceivers, a key point for the short reach communications. The invited talk will introduce the audience to the latest breakthroughs concerning the use of high-contrast gratings (HCGs) for the integration of III-V-on-Si verticalcavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) as well as Fabry-Perot edge-emitters (EELs) in the main telecom band around 1.55 μm. The strong near-field mode overlap within HCG mirrors can be exploited to implement unique optical functions such as dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM): a 16-λ100-GHz-spaced channels VCSEL array is demonstrated. On the other hand, high fabrication yields obtained via molecular wafer bonding of III-V alloys on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) conjugate excellent device performances with cost-effective high-throughput production, supporting industrial needs for a rapid research-to-market transfer.

Breast tumor segmentation in high resolution x-ray phase contrast analyzer based computed tomography.

Science.gov (United States)

Brun, E; Grandl, S; Sztrókay-Gaul, A; Barbone, G; Mittone, A; Gasilov, S; Bravin, A; Coan, P

2014-11-01

Phase contrast computed tomography has emerged as an imaging method, which is able to outperform present day clinical mammography in breast tumor visualization while maintaining an equivalent average dose. To this day, no segmentation technique takes into account the specificity of the phase contrast signal. In this study, the authors propose a new mathematical framework for human-guided breast tumor segmentation. This method has been applied to high-resolution images of excised human organs, each of several gigabytes. The authors present a segmentation procedure based on the viscous watershed transform and demonstrate the efficacy of this method on analyzer based phase contrast images. The segmentation of tumors inside two full human breasts is then shown as an example of this procedure's possible applications. A correct and precise identification of the tumor boundaries was obtained and confirmed by manual contouring performed independently by four experienced radiologists. The authors demonstrate that applying the watershed viscous transform allows them to perform the segmentation of tumors in high-resolution x-ray analyzer based phase contrast breast computed tomography images. Combining the additional information provided by the segmentation procedure with the already high definition of morphological details and tissue boundaries offered by phase contrast imaging techniques, will represent a valuable multistep procedure to be used in future medical diagnostic applications.

High Contrast Imaging of Exoplanets and Exoplanetary Systems with JWST

Science.gov (United States)

Hinkley, Sasha; Skemer, Andrew; Biller, Beth; Baraffe, I.; Bonnefoy, M.; Bowler, B.; Carter, A.; Chen, C.; Choquet, E.; Currie, T.; Danielski, C.; Fortney, J.; Grady, C.; Greenbaum, A.; Hines, D.; Janson, M.; Kalas, P.; Kennedy, G.; Kraus, A.; Lagrange, A.; Liu, M.; Marley, M.; Marois, C.; Matthews, B.; Mawet, D.; Metchev, S.; Meyer, M.; Millar-Blanchaer, M.; Perrin, M.; Pueyo, L.; Quanz, S.; Rameau, J.; Rodigas, T.; Sallum, S.; Sargent, B.; Schlieder, J.; Schneider, G.; Stapelfeldt, K.; Tremblin, P.; Vigan, A.; Ygouf, M.

2017-11-01

JWST will transform our ability to characterize directly imaged planets and circumstellar debris disks, including the first spectroscopic characterization of directly imaged exoplanets at wavelengths beyond 5 microns, providing a powerful diagnostic of cloud particle properties, atmospheric structure, and composition. To lay the groundwork for these science goals, we propose a 39-hour ERS program to rapidly establish optimal strategies for JWST high contrast imaging. We will acquire: a) coronagraphic imaging of a newly discovered exoplanet companion, and a well-studied circumstellar debris disk with NIRCam & MIRI; b) spectroscopy of a wide separation planetary mass companion with NIRSPEC & MIRI; and c) deep aperture masking interferometry with NIRISS. Our primary goals are to: 1) generate representative datasets in modes to be commonly used by the exoplanet and disk imaging communities; 2) deliver science enabling products to empower a broad user base to develop successful future investigations; and 3) carry out breakthrough science by characterizing exoplanets for the first time over their full spectral range from 2-28 microns, and debris disk spectrophotometry out to 15 microns sampling the 3 micron water ice feature. Our team represents the majority of the community dedicated to exoplanet and disk imaging and has decades of experience with high contrast imaging algorithms and pipelines. We have developed a collaboration management plan and several organized working groups to ensure we can rapidly and effectively deliver high quality Science Enabling Products to the community.

Mode decomposition methods for flows in high-contrast porous media. Global-local approach

KAUST Repository

Ghommem, Mehdi; Presho, Michael; Calo, Victor M.; Efendiev, Yalchin R.

2013-01-01

In this paper, we combine concepts of the generalized multiscale finite element method (GMsFEM) and mode decomposition methods to construct a robust global-local approach for model reduction of flows in high-contrast porous media. This is achieved by implementing Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) techniques on a coarse grid computed using GMsFEM. The resulting reduced-order approach enables a significant reduction in the flow problem size while accurately capturing the behavior of fully-resolved solutions. We consider a variety of high-contrast coefficients and present the corresponding numerical results to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. This paper is a continuation of our work presented in Ghommem et al. (2013) [1] where we examine the applicability of POD and DMD to derive simplified and reliable representations of flows in high-contrast porous media on fully resolved models. In the current paper, we discuss how these global model reduction approaches can be combined with local techniques to speed-up the simulations. The speed-up is due to inexpensive, while sufficiently accurate, computations of global snapshots. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Mode decomposition methods for flows in high-contrast porous media. Global-local approach

KAUST Repository

Ghommem, Mehdi

2013-11-01

In this paper, we combine concepts of the generalized multiscale finite element method (GMsFEM) and mode decomposition methods to construct a robust global-local approach for model reduction of flows in high-contrast porous media. This is achieved by implementing Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) and Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) techniques on a coarse grid computed using GMsFEM. The resulting reduced-order approach enables a significant reduction in the flow problem size while accurately capturing the behavior of fully-resolved solutions. We consider a variety of high-contrast coefficients and present the corresponding numerical results to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. This paper is a continuation of our work presented in Ghommem et al. (2013) [1] where we examine the applicability of POD and DMD to derive simplified and reliable representations of flows in high-contrast porous media on fully resolved models. In the current paper, we discuss how these global model reduction approaches can be combined with local techniques to speed-up the simulations. The speed-up is due to inexpensive, while sufficiently accurate, computations of global snapshots. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Depiction of normal gastrointestinal anatomy with MDCT: comparison of low- and high-attenuation oral contrast media.

Science.gov (United States)

Erturk, Sukru Mehmet; Mortelé, Koenraad J; Oliva, Maria-Raquel; Ichikawa, Tomoaki; Silverman, Stuart G; Cantisani, Vito; Pagliara, Elisa; Ros, Pablo R

2008-04-01

To compare low- and high-attenuation oral contrast media for depiction of normal gastrointestinal anatomy with multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT). A prospective, randomized study of 90 consecutive patients without known or suspected gastrointestinal disease was conducted after the approval of our Institutional Review Board. All patients underwent IV contrast-enhanced abdominal and pelvic CT scans after oral administration of 900 ml of either low- or high-attenuation barium sulphate suspension. Using a five-point scale, two radiologists independently graded distention and wall visualization of stomach, duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The degree of distention and wall visualization was compared using Mann-Whitney U-test. Duodenal, jejunal and ileal distention (pcontrast medium were significantly higher than those with high-attenuation barium sulphate preparation, for reader 1. Duodenal and jejunal wall visualization scores with low-attenuation contrast medium (pcontrast medium, for reader 2. Interobserver agreement was fair to good for both distention (kappa-range: 0.41-0.74) and wall visualization (kappa-range: 0.48-0.71). MDCT with low-attenuation contrast medium provides distention and wall visualization of the GI tract that is equal or better than high-attenuation contrast medium.

Breast tumor segmentation in high resolution x-ray phase contrast analyzer based computed tomography

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brun, E., E-mail: emmanuel.brun@esrf.fr [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble 380000, France and Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Garching 85748 (Germany); Grandl, S.; Sztrókay-Gaul, A.; Gasilov, S. [Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, 81377 Munich (Germany); Barbone, G. [Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 (United States); Mittone, A.; Coan, P. [Department of Physics, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Garching 85748, Germany and Institute for Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, 81377 Munich (Germany); Bravin, A. [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), Grenoble 380000 (France)

2014-11-01

Purpose: Phase contrast computed tomography has emerged as an imaging method, which is able to outperform present day clinical mammography in breast tumor visualization while maintaining an equivalent average dose. To this day, no segmentation technique takes into account the specificity of the phase contrast signal. In this study, the authors propose a new mathematical framework for human-guided breast tumor segmentation. This method has been applied to high-resolution images of excised human organs, each of several gigabytes. Methods: The authors present a segmentation procedure based on the viscous watershed transform and demonstrate the efficacy of this method on analyzer based phase contrast images. The segmentation of tumors inside two full human breasts is then shown as an example of this procedure’s possible applications. Results: A correct and precise identification of the tumor boundaries was obtained and confirmed by manual contouring performed independently by four experienced radiologists. Conclusions: The authors demonstrate that applying the watershed viscous transform allows them to perform the segmentation of tumors in high-resolution x-ray analyzer based phase contrast breast computed tomography images. Combining the additional information provided by the segmentation procedure with the already high definition of morphological details and tissue boundaries offered by phase contrast imaging techniques, will represent a valuable multistep procedure to be used in future medical diagnostic applications.

Dynamics and structure of self-generated magnetics fields on solids following high contrast, high intensity laser irradiation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Albertazzi, B. [LULI, École Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau (France); INRS-EMT, 1650 bd L. Boulet, J3X1S2, Varennes, Québec (Canada); Graduate School of Engineering, University of Osaka, Suita, Osaka 565-087 (Japan); Chen, S. N.; Fuchs, J., E-mail: julien.fuchs@polytechnique.fr [LULI, École Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau (France); Institute of Applied Physics, 46 Ulyanov Street, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); Antici, P. [INRS-EMT, 1650 bd L. Boulet, J3X1S2, Varennes, Québec (Canada); Dept. SBAI, Universita di Roma “La Sapienza,” Via A. Scarpa 14, 00161 Rome (Italy); Böker, J.; Swantusch, M.; Willi, O. [Institut für Laser-und Plasmaphysik, Heinrich-Heine-Universität, Düsseldorf (Germany); Borghesi, M. [School of Mathematics and Physics, The Queen' s University, Belfast (United Kingdom); Breil, J.; Feugeas, J. L.; Nicolaï, Ph.; Tikhonchuk, V. T.; D' Humières, E. [CELIA, University of Bordeaux - CNRS - CEA, 33405 Talence (France); Dervieux, V.; Nakatsutsumi, M.; Romagnagni, L. [LULI, École Polytechnique, CNRS, CEA, UPMC, 91128 Palaiseau (France); Lancia, L. [Dept. SBAI, Universita di Roma “La Sapienza,” Via A. Scarpa 14, 00161 Rome (Italy); Shepherd, R. [LLNL, East Av., Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Sentoku, Y. [Department of Physics, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada 89557-0058 (United States); Starodubtsev, M. [Institute of Applied Physics, 46 Ulyanov Street, 603950 Nizhny Novgorod (Russian Federation); and others

2015-12-15

The dynamics of self-generated magnetic B-fields produced following the interaction of a high contrast, high intensity (I > 10{sup 19 }W cm{sup −2}) laser beam with thin (3 μm thick) solid (Al or Au) targets is investigated experimentally and numerically. Two main sources drive the growth of B-fields on the target surfaces. B-fields are first driven by laser-generated hot electron currents that relax over ∼10–20 ps. Over longer timescales, the hydrodynamic expansion of the bulk of the target into vacuum also generates B-field induced by non-collinear gradients of density and temperature. The laser irradiation of the target front side strongly localizes the energy deposition at the target front, in contrast to the target rear side, which is heated by fast electrons over a much larger area. This induces an asymmetry in the hydrodynamic expansion between the front and rear target surfaces, and consequently the associated B-fields are found strongly asymmetric. The sole long-lasting (>30 ps) B-fields are the ones growing on the target front surface, where they remain of extremely high strength (∼8–10 MG). These B-fields have been recently put by us in practical use for focusing laser-accelerated protons [B. Albertazzi et al., Rev. Sci. Instrum. 86, 043502 (2015)]; here we analyze in detail their dynamics and structure.

Contrast-enhanced CT with a High-Affinity Cationic Contrast Agent for Imaging ex Vivo Bovine, Intact ex Vivo Rabbit, and in Vivo Rabbit Cartilage

OpenAIRE

Stewart, Rachel C.; Bansal, Prashant N.; Entezari, Vahid; Lusic, Hrvoje; Nazarian, Rosalynn M.; Snyder, Brian D.; Grinstaff, Mark W.

2013-01-01

The high affinity of a cationic iodinated contrast agent for cartilage provides better tissue visualization, easier segmentation, higher contrast-to-noise ratios, and longer usable imaging windows and requires a lower dose of injected contrast agent compared with an anionic contrast agent.

Mode decomposition methods for flows in high-contrast porous media. A global approach

KAUST Repository

Ghommem, Mehdi; Calo, Victor M.; Efendiev, Yalchin R.

2014-01-01

We apply dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) and proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) methods to flows in highly-heterogeneous porous media to extract the dominant coherent structures and derive reduced-order models via Galerkin projection. Permeability fields with high contrast are considered to investigate the capability of these techniques to capture the main flow features and forecast the flow evolution within a certain accuracy. A DMD-based approach shows a better predictive capability due to its ability to accurately extract the information relevant to long-time dynamics, in particular, the slowly-decaying eigenmodes corresponding to largest eigenvalues. Our study enables a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the applicability of these techniques for flows in high-contrast porous media. Furthermore, we discuss the robustness of DMD- and POD-based reduced-order models with respect to variations in initial conditions, permeability fields, and forcing terms. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

DARKNESS: A Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detector Integral Field Spectrograph for High-contrast Astronomy

Science.gov (United States)

Meeker, Seth R.; Mazin, Benjamin A.; Walter, Alex B.; Strader, Paschal; Fruitwala, Neelay; Bockstiegel, Clint; Szypryt, Paul; Ulbricht, Gerhard; Coiffard, Grégoire; Bumble, Bruce; Cancelo, Gustavo; Zmuda, Ted; Treptow, Ken; Wilcer, Neal; Collura, Giulia; Dodkins, Rupert; Lipartito, Isabel; Zobrist, Nicholas; Bottom, Michael; Shelton, J. Chris; Mawet, Dimitri; van Eyken, Julian C.; Vasisht, Gautam; Serabyn, Eugene

2018-06-01

We present DARKNESS (the DARK-speckle Near-infrared Energy-resolving Superconducting Spectrophotometer), the first of several planned integral field spectrographs to use optical/near-infrared Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) for high-contrast imaging. The photon counting and simultaneous low-resolution spectroscopy provided by MKIDs will enable real-time speckle control techniques and post-processing speckle suppression at frame rates capable of resolving the atmospheric speckles that currently limit high-contrast imaging from the ground. DARKNESS is now operational behind the PALM-3000 extreme adaptive optics system and the Stellar Double Coronagraph at Palomar Observatory. Here, we describe the motivation, design, and characterization of the instrument, early on-sky results, and future prospects.

Novel Gd nanoparticles enhance vascular contrast for high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tot Bui

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Gadolinium (Gd, with its 7 unpaired electrons in 4f orbitals that provide a very large magnetic moment, is proven to be among the best agents for contrast enhanced MRI. Unfortunately, the most potent MR contrast agent based on Gd requires relatively high doses of Gd. The Gd-chelated to diethylene-triamine-penta-acetic acid (DTPA, or other derivatives (at 0.1 mmole/kg recommended dose, distribute broadly into tissues and clear through the kidney. These contrast agents carry the risk of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis (NSF, particularly in kidney impaired subjects. Thus, Gd contrast agents that produce higher resolution images using a much lower Gd dose could address both imaging sensitivity and Gd safety.To determine whether a biocompatible lipid nanoparticle with surface bound Gd can improve MRI contrast sensitivity, we constructed Gd-lipid nanoparticles (Gd-LNP containing lipid bound DTPA and Gd. The Gd-LNP were intravenously administered to rats and MR images collected. We found that Gd in Gd-LNP produced a greater than 33-fold higher longitudinal (T(1 relaxivity, r(1, constant than the current FDA approved Gd-chelated contrast agents. Intravenous administration of these Gd-LNP at only 3% of the recommended clinical Gd dose produced MRI signal-to-noise ratios of greater than 300 in all vasculatures. Unlike current Gd contrast agents, these Gd-LNP stably retained Gd in normal vasculature, and are eliminated predominately through the biliary, instead of the renal system. Gd-LNP did not appear to accumulate in the liver or kidney, and was eliminated completely within 24 hrs.The novel Gd-nanoparticles provide high quality contrast enhanced vascular MRI at 97% reduced dose of Gd and do not rely on renal clearance. This new agent is likely to be suitable for patients exhibiting varying degrees of renal impairment. The simple and adaptive nanoparticle design could accommodate ligand or receptor coating for drug delivery optimization and in vivo drug

Teachable, high-content analytics for live-cell, phase contrast movies.

Science.gov (United States)

Alworth, Samuel V; Watanabe, Hirotada; Lee, James S J

2010-09-01

CL-Quant is a new solution platform for broad, high-content, live-cell image analysis. Powered by novel machine learning technologies and teach-by-example interfaces, CL-Quant provides a platform for the rapid development and application of scalable, high-performance, and fully automated analytics for a broad range of live-cell microscopy imaging applications, including label-free phase contrast imaging. The authors used CL-Quant to teach off-the-shelf universal analytics, called standard recipes, for cell proliferation, wound healing, cell counting, and cell motility assays using phase contrast movies collected on the BioStation CT and BioStation IM platforms. Similar to application modules, standard recipes are intended to work robustly across a wide range of imaging conditions without requiring customization by the end user. The authors validated the performance of the standard recipes by comparing their performance with truth created manually, or by custom analytics optimized for each individual movie (and therefore yielding the best possible result for the image), and validated by independent review. The validation data show that the standard recipes' performance is comparable with the validated truth with low variation. The data validate that the CL-Quant standard recipes can provide robust results without customization for live-cell assays in broad cell types and laboratory settings.

Geometric variations in high index-contrast waveguides, coupled mode theory in curvilinear coordinates.

Science.gov (United States)

Skorobogatiy, Maksim; Jacobs, Steven; Johnson, Steven; Fink, Yoel

2002-10-21

Perturbation theory formulation of Maxwell's equations gives a theoretically elegant and computationally efficient way of describing small imperfections and weak interactions in electro-magnetic systems. It is generally appreciated that due to the discontinuous field boundary conditions in the systems employing high dielectric contrast profiles standard perturbation formulations fail when applied to the problem of shifted material boundaries. In this paper we developed a novel coupled mode and perturbation theory formulations for treating generic non-uniform (varying along the direction of propagation) perturbations of a waveguide cross-section based on Hamiltonian formulation of Maxwell equations in curvilinear coordinates. We show that our formulation is accurate and rapidly converges to an exact result when used in a coupled mode theory framework even for the high index-contrast discontinuous dielectric profiles. Among others, our formulation allows for an efficient numerical evaluation of induced PMD due to a generic distortion of a waveguide profile, analysis of mode filters, mode converters and other optical elements such as strong Bragg gratings, tapers, bends etc., and arbitrary combinations of thereof. To our knowledge, this is the first time perturbation and coupled mode theories are developed to deal with arbitrary non-uniform profile variations in high index-contrast waveguides.

High spatial resolution magnetic resonance imaging of experimental cerebral venous thrombosis with a blood pool contrast agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spuentrup, E.; Wiethoff, A.J.; Parsons, E.C.; Spangenberg, P.; Stracke, C.P.

2010-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the feasibility of clot visualization in small sinus and cortical veins with contrast enhanced MRA in a cerebral venous thrombosis animal model using a blood pool contrast agent, Gadofosveset, and high spatial resolution imaging. Material and methods: For induction of cerebral venous thrombosis a recently developed combined interventional and microsurgical model was used. Cerebral sinus and cortical vein thrombosis was induced in six pigs. Two further pigs died during the procedure. Standard structural, time-of-flight- and phase contrast-angiograms were followed by fast time resolved high resolution 3D MRA (4D MRA) and subsequent high spatial resolution 3D MRA in the equilibrium phase with and without addition of parallel imaging. Visualization of the clots using the different sequences was subjectively compared and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was assessed. Results: In the remaining six animals the procedure and MR-imaging protocol including administration of Gadofosveset was successfully completed. The 3D high resolution MRA in the equilibrium phase without the addition of parallel imaging was superior to all the other applied MR measurement techniques in terms of visualization of the clots. Only applying this sequence bridging vein thromboses were also seen as a small filling defect with a high CNR of >18. Conclusion: Only the non-accelerated high spatial resolution 3D MRA in the equilibrium in conjunction with the blood pool agent Gadofosveset allows for high-contrast visualization of very small clots in the cerebral sinus and cortical veins. Statement clinical impact: Detection of cortical vein thrombosis is of high clinical impact. Conventional MRI sequences often fail to visualize the clot. We could demonstrate that, in contrast to conventional sequences, with high spatial resolution 3D MRA in the equilibrium in conjunction with the blood pool agent Gadofosveset very small clots in the cerebral sinus and

[Comparison of diagnostic quality in hysterosalpingography between iodinated non-ionic contrast media with low and high osmolarity].

Science.gov (United States)

Piccotti, K; Guida, D; Carbonetti, F; Stefanetti, L; Macioce, A; Cremona, A; David, V

Comparison of diagnostic quality in hysterosalpingography between low and high-osmolality contrast media. We performed a retrospective evaluation of two cohorts of patients who underwent HSG using contrast media with different osmolarity: the first group ,47 patients, underwent hysterosalpingography in the period September 2011-December 2012 using Iopromide 370 mg/ml; the second group, 50 patients, underwent HSG from January 2013 to October 2013 using Iomeprol 400 mg/ml. Three radiologists, in consensus reading,, reviewed the radiographs by assessing the following four parameters: opacification of the uterine cavity, uterine profiles definition, Fallopian tubes visualization, contrast media spillage into peritoneum. A score-scale from 0 to 3 was assigned for each of the mentioned parameter (0 = minimum non-diagnostic exam, 1 = sufficient examination; 2 = good quality examination; maximum 3 = high quality images). We documented a statistically significant higher quality in displaying Fallopian tubes among patients studied through high osmolarity contrast medium (Iopromide 370 mg/ml) than what obtained through lower osmolarity contrast medium (Iomeprol 400 mg/ml). The use of high osmolarity contrast medium enabled better visualization of the tubes and a greater number of diagnoses of chronic aspecific salpigintis due to the increased osmolality and viscosity of Iomeprol 400 mg/ml. There were no significant differences between the two contrast agents in the evaluation of intra-uterine pathology and in the evaluation of the tubal patency.

High Contrast CRT.

Science.gov (United States)

1980-02-01

barium dioxide contains about 0.02% iron. For economical reasons, glass manufacturer’s probably use materials of lesser purity than reagent grade...otherwise the same procedure is followed. 2.4 Nonreflecting (NR) Film The NR film is a light abosrbing inhomogeneous film utilized to achieve a high...hour. No surface distortion of the disc occurred, thus ruling out any reaction between the carbon support plate and the glass disc that might have

Bounds and Estimates for Transport Coefficients of Random and Porous Media with High Contrasts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berryman, J G

2004-01-01

Bounds on transport coefficients of random polycrystals of laminates are presented, including the well-known Hashin-Shtrikman bounds and some newly formulated bounds involving two formation factors for a two-component porous medium. Some new types of self-consistent estimates are then formulated based on the observed analytical structure both of these bounds and also of earlier self-consistent estimates (of the CPA or coherent potential approximation type). A numerical study is made, assuming first that the internal structure (i.e., the laminated grain structure) is not known, and then that it is known. The purpose of this aspect of the study is to attempt to quantify the differences in the predictions of properties of a system being modeled when such organized internal structure is present in the medium but detailed spatial correlation information may or (more commonly) may not be available. Some methods of estimating formation factors from data are also presented and then applied to a high-contrast fluid-permeability data set. Hashin-Shtrikman bounds are found to be very accurate estimates for low contrast heterogeneous media. But formation factor lower bounds are superior estimates for high contrast situations. The new self-consistent estimators also tend to agree better with data than either the bounds or the CPA estimates, which themselves tend to overestimate values for high contrast conducting composites

High-contrast laser acceleration of relativistic electrons in solid cone-wire targets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Higginson, D. P. [Univ. of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Link, A. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Sawada, H. [Univ. of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Wilks, S. C. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Chawla, S. R. [Univ. of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Chen, C. D. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Jarrott, L. C. [Univ. of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Flippo, K. A. [Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States); McLean, H. S. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Patel, P. K. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Perez, F. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Beg, F. N. [Univ. of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Bartal, T. [Univ. of California-San Diego, La Jolla, CA (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); Wei, M. S. [General Atomics, San Diego, CA (United States)

2015-12-31

Optimization of electron coupling into small solid angles is of extreme importance to applications, such as Fast Ignition, that require maximum electron energy deposition within a small volume. To optimize this coupling, we use the ultra-high-contrast Trident laser, which remains below intensity of 10¹¹ W/cm² until < 0.1 ns before the main pulse, while still attaining high-energy, 75 J, and peak intensity of 5 x 10¹⁹ W/cm². Using a cone-wire target, we find that the coupling into the 40 μm diameter wire is increased by a factor of 2.7x over the low-contrast Titan laser at similar peak intensity. Full-scale simulations are used to model the laser interaction and quantitatively reproduce the experimental results. These show that increase in coupling is due to both a closer interaction, as well as the reduction of laser filamentation and self-focusing.

Semi-analytical approach for guided mode resonance in high-index-contrast photonic crystal slab: TE polarization.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Yi; Peng, Chao; Li, Zhengbin

2013-09-09

In high-contrast (HC) photonic crystals (PC) slabs, the high-order coupling is so intense that it is indispensable for analyzing the guided mode resonance (GMR) effect. In this paper, a semi-analytical approach is proposed for analyzing GMR in HC PC slabs with TE-like polarization. The intense high-order coupling is included by using a convergent recursive procedure. The reflection of radiative waves at high-index-contrast interfaces is also considered by adopting a strict Green's function for multi-layer structures. Modal properties of interest like band structure, radiation constant, field profile are calculated, agreeing well with numerical finite-difference time-domain simulations. This analysis is promising for the design and optimization of various HC PC devices.

High ambient contrast ratio OLED and QLED without a circular polarizer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tan, Guanjun; Zhu, Ruidong; Luo, Zhenyue; Wu, Shin-Tson; Tsai, Yi-Shou; Lee, Kuo-Chang; Lee, Yuh-Zheng

2016-01-01

A high ambient contrast ratio display device using a transparent organic light emitting diode (OLED) or transparent quantum-dot light-emitting diode (QLED) with embedded multilayered structure and absorber is proposed and its performance is simulated. With the help of multilayered structure, the device structure allows almost all ambient light to get through the display device and be absorbed by the absorber. Because the reflected ambient light is greatly reduced, the ambient contrast ratio of the display system is improved significantly. Meanwhile, the multilayered structure helps to lower the effective refractive index, which in turn improves the out-coupling efficiency of the display system. Potential applications for sunlight readable flexible and rollable displays are emphasized. (paper)

High Energy Resolution Hyperspectral X-Ray Imaging for Low-Dose Contrast-Enhanced Digital Mammography.

Science.gov (United States)

Pani, Silvia; Saifuddin, Sarene C; Ferreira, Filipa I M; Henthorn, Nicholas; Seller, Paul; Sellin, Paul J; Stratmann, Philipp; Veale, Matthew C; Wilson, Matthew D; Cernik, Robert J

2017-09-01

Contrast-enhanced digital mammography (CEDM) is an alternative to conventional X-ray mammography for imaging dense breasts. However, conventional approaches to CEDM require a double exposure of the patient, implying higher dose, and risk of incorrect image registration due to motion artifacts. A novel approach is presented, based on hyperspectral imaging, where a detector combining positional and high-resolution spectral information (in this case based on Cadmium Telluride) is used. This allows simultaneous acquisition of the two images required for CEDM. The approach was tested on a custom breast-equivalent phantom containing iodinated contrast agent (Niopam 150®). Two algorithms were used to obtain images of the contrast agent distribution: K-edge subtraction (KES), providing images of the distribution of the contrast agent with the background structures removed, and a dual-energy (DE) algorithm, providing an iodine-equivalent image and a water-equivalent image. The high energy resolution of the detector allowed the selection of two close-by energies, maximising the signal in KES images, and enhancing the visibility of details with the low surface concentration of contrast agent. DE performed consistently better than KES in terms of contrast-to-noise ratio of the details; moreover, it allowed a correct reconstruction of the surface concentration of the contrast agent in the iodine image. Comparison with CEDM with a conventional detector proved the superior performance of hyperspectral CEDM in terms of the image quality/dose tradeoff.

Multiscale modeling of high contrast brinkman equations with applications to deformable porous media

KAUST Repository

Brown, Donald

2013-06-18

Simulating porous media flows has a wide range of applications. Often, these applications involve many scales and multi-physical processes. A useful tool in the analysis of such problems in that of homogenization as an averaged description is derived circumventing the need for complicated simulation of the fine scale features. In this work, we recall recent developments of homogenization techniques in the application of flows in deformable porous media. In addition, homogenization of media with high-contrast. In particular, we recall the main ideas of the homogenization of slowly varying Stokes flow and summarize the results of [4]. We also present the ideas for extending these techniques to high-contrast deformable media [3]. These ideas are connected by the modeling of multiscale fluid-structure interaction problems. © 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers.

Current Status and Future Prospects of "J-KAREN" — High Contrast, High Intensity Laser for Studying Relativistic Laser-Matter Interactions

Science.gov (United States)

Kiriyama, Hiromitsu; Mori, Michiaki; Okada, Hajime; Shimomura, Takuya; Nakai, Yoshiki; Tanoue, Manabu; Kondo, Shuji; Kanazawa, Shuhei; Yogo, Akifumi; Sagisaka, Akito; Ogura, Koichi; Hayashi, Yukio; Sakaki, Hironao; Pirozhkov, Alexander S.; Kotaki, Hideyuki; Fukuda, Yuji; Nishiuchi, Mamiko; Kando, Masaki; Bulanov, Sergei V.; Yamagiwa, Mitsuru; Kondo, Kiminori; Sugiyama, Akira; Bolton, Paul R.

We present the design and characterization of a high-contrast, petawatt-class Ti:sapphire chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) laser system. Two saturable absorbers and low-gain optical parametric chirped-pulse amplification (OPCPA) preamplifier in the double CPA laser chain have improved the temporal contrast to 1.4 × 1012 on the subnanosecond time scale at 70 terawatt level. Final uncompressed broadband pulse energy is 28 J, indicating the potential for reaching peak power near 600 terawatt. We also discuss the going upgrade to over petawatt level at a 0.1 Hz repetition rate briefly.

High contrast high intensity petawatt J-KAREN-P laser facility at QST

Science.gov (United States)

Nishiuchi, Mamiko; Kiriyama, Hiromitsu; Sakaki, Hironao; Dover, Nicholas P.; Kondo, Kotaro; Pirozhkov, Alexander S.; Sagisaka, Akito; Fukuda, Yuji; Nishitani, Keita; Miyahara, Takumi; Ogura, Koichi; Alkhimova, Mariya A.; Pikuz, Tatiana A.; Faenov, Anatoly Y.; Watanabe, Yukinobu; Koga, James; Bulanov, Sergei V.; Kando, Masaki; Kondo, Kiminori

2017-05-01

We report on the J-KAREN-P laser facility at QST, which can provide PW peak power at 0.1 Hz on target. The system can deliver short pulses with an energy of 30 J and pulse duration of 30 fs after compression with a contrast level of better than 1012. Such performance in high field science will give rise to the birth of new applications and breakthroughs, which include relativistic particle acceleration, bright x-ray source generation, and nuclear activation. The current achieved laser intensity on target is up to > 9x1021 Wcm-2 with an energy of 9 J on target. The interaction with a 3 to 5- μm stainless steel tape target provides us electrons with a typical temperature of more than 10 MeV and energetic proton beams with typical maximum energies of > 40 MeV with good reproducibility. The protons are accelerated in the Target Normal Sheath Acceleration regime, which is suitable for many applications including as an injector into a beamline for medical use, which is one of our objectives.

Prospective randomized comparison of standard didactic lecture versus high-fidelity simulation for radiology resident contrast reaction management training.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Carolyn L; Schopp, Jennifer G; Petscavage, Jonelle M; Paladin, Angelisa M; Richardson, Michael L; Bush, William H

2011-06-01

The objective of our study was to assess whether high-fidelity simulation-based training is more effective than traditional didactic lecture to train radiology residents in the management of contrast reactions. This was a prospective study of 44 radiology residents randomized into a simulation group versus a lecture group. All residents attended a contrast reaction didactic lecture. Four months later, baseline knowledge was assessed with a written test, which we refer to as the "pretest." After the pretest, the 21 residents in the lecture group attended a repeat didactic lecture and the 23 residents in the simulation group underwent high-fidelity simulation-based training with five contrast reaction scenarios. Next, all residents took a second written test, which we refer to as the "posttest." Two months after the posttest, both groups took a third written test, which we refer to as the "delayed posttest," and underwent performance testing with a high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario graded on predefined critical actions. There was no statistically significant difference between the simulation and lecture group pretest, immediate posttest, or delayed posttest scores. The simulation group performed better than the lecture group on the severe contrast reaction simulation scenario (p = 0.001). The simulation group reported improved comfort in identifying and managing contrast reactions and administering medications after the simulation training (p ≤ 0.04) and was more comfortable than the control group (p = 0.03), which reported no change in comfort level after the repeat didactic lecture. When compared with didactic lecture, high-fidelity simulation-based training of contrast reaction management shows equal results on written test scores but improved performance during a high-fidelity severe contrast reaction simulation scenario.

Renal streaky artifact during contrast-enhanced abdominal and pelvic CT: Comparison of high versus low osmolality contrast media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Dae Hong; Kim, Jong Chul; Lee, Chung Keun; Shin, Kyoung Suk

1994-01-01

Introduction of low osmolality contrast agent(LOCA) has allowed safer, more comfortable contrast-enhanced CT examination, but there has been significant increase in image degradation when evaluating the kidneys due to streaky artifact. The authors reviewed findings of contrast- enhanced abdominal and pelvic computed tomography(CT) to know the difference of renal streaky artifact between a high osmolality contrast agent (HOCA) and LOCA. This study included two hundred contrast-enhanced CT in 200 patients, 100 performed with HOCA(meglumine ioglicate, 150 ml) and 100 performed with LOCA (iopromide,150 ml). The severity of renal streaky artifact was compared between HOCA and LOCA groups. Of the scans performed with HOCA, 40 had no artifact, 52 had grade I artifact, 6 had grade II artifact, and 2 had grade III artifact. Of the scans preformed with LOCA, 23 had no artifact, 44 had grade I artifact, 29 had grade II artifact, and 4 had grade III artifact. There was significant difference in the degree of the streaky artifact depending upon the osmolality of the contrast media used(by χ 2 -test, P=.0001). The results of this study revealed a statistically significant increased incidence of artifacts and distortions of renal image with LOCA when compared with HOCA

First application of liquid-metal-jet sources for small-animal imaging: High-resolution CT and phase-contrast tumor demarcation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsson, Daniel H.; Lundstroem, Ulf; Burvall, Anna; Hertz, Hans M. [Department of Applied Physics, KTH Royal Institute of Technology/Albanova, 10691 Stockholm (Sweden); Westermark, Ulrica K.; Arsenian Henriksson, Marie [Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC), Karolinska Institutet, 17177 Stockholm (Sweden)

2013-02-15

Purpose: Small-animal studies require images with high spatial resolution and high contrast due to the small scale of the structures. X-ray imaging systems for small animals are often limited by the microfocus source. Here, the authors investigate the applicability of liquid-metal-jet x-ray sources for such high-resolution small-animal imaging, both in tomography based on absorption and in soft-tissue tumor imaging based on in-line phase contrast. Methods: The experimental arrangement consists of a liquid-metal-jet x-ray source, the small-animal object on a rotating stage, and an imaging detector. The source-to-object and object-to-detector distances are adjusted for the preferred contrast mechanism. Two different liquid-metal-jet sources are used, one circulating a Ga/In/Sn alloy and the other an In/Ga alloy for higher penetration through thick tissue. Both sources are operated at 40-50 W electron-beam power with {approx}7 {mu}m x-ray spots, providing high spatial resolution in absorption imaging and high spatial coherence for the phase-contrast imaging. Results: High-resolution absorption imaging is demonstrated on mice with CT, showing 50 {mu}m bone details in the reconstructed slices. High-resolution phase-contrast soft-tissue imaging shows clear demarcation of mm-sized tumors at much lower dose than is required in absorption. Conclusions: This is the first application of liquid-metal-jet x-ray sources for whole-body small-animal x-ray imaging. In absorption, the method allows high-resolution tomographic skeletal imaging with potential for significantly shorter exposure times due to the power scalability of liquid-metal-jet sources. In phase contrast, the authors use a simple in-line arrangement to show distinct tumor demarcation of few-mm-sized tumors. This is, to their knowledge, the first small-animal tumor visualization with a laboratory phase-contrast system.

Probing ultrafast dynamics of solid-density plasma generated by high-contrast intense laser pulses

Science.gov (United States)

Jana, Kamalesh; Blackman, David R.; Shaikh, Moniruzzaman; Lad, Amit D.; Sarkar, Deep; Dey, Indranuj; Robinson, Alex P. L.; Pasley, John; Ravindra Kumar, G.

2018-01-01

We present ultrafast dynamics of solid-density plasma created by high-contrast (picosecond contrast ˜10-9), high-intensity (˜4 × 1018 W/cm2) laser pulses using time-resolved pump-probe Doppler spectrometry. Experiments show a rapid rise in blue-shift at early time delay (2-4.3 ps) followed by a rapid fall (4.3-8.3 ps) and then a slow rise in blue-shift at later time delays (>8.3 ps). Simulations show that the early-time observations, specifically the absence of any red-shifting of the reflected probe, can only be reproduced if the front surface is unperturbed by the laser pre-pulse at the moment that the high intensity pulse arrives. A flexible diagnostic which is capable of diagnosing the presence of low-levels of pre-plasma formation would be useful for potential applications in laser-produced proton and ion production, such as cancer therapy and security imaging.

Electron acceleration via high contrast laser interacting with submicron clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Lu; Chen Liming; Wang Weiming; Yan Wenchao; Yuan Dawei; Mao Jingyi; Wang Zhaohua; Liu Cheng; Shen Zhongwei; Li Yutong; Dong Quanli; Lu Xin; Ma Jinglong; Wei Zhiyi; Faenov, Anatoly; Pikuz, Tatiana; Li Dazhang; Sheng Zhengming; Zhang Jie

2012-01-01

We experimentally investigated electron acceleration from submicron size argon clusters-gas target irradiated by a 100 fs, 10 TW laser pulses having a high-contrast. Electron beams are observed in the longitudinal and transverse directions to the laser propagation. The measured energy of the longitudinal electron reaches 600 MeV and the charge of the electron beam in the transverse direction is more than 3 nC. A two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation of the interaction has been performed and it shows an enhancement of electron charge by using the cluster-gas target.

Polarization-independent high-index contrast grating and its fabrication tolerances

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ikeda, Kazuhiro; Takeuchi, Kazuma; Takayose, Kentaro

2013-01-01

also investigated the fabrication tolerances of the structure and found that, assuming careful optimizations of electron beam lithography for the precise grating width and dry-etching for the vertical sidewall, the suggested polarization-independent HCG can be fabricated using standard technologies.......A polarization-independent, high-index contrast grating (HCG) with a single layer of cross stripes allowing simple fabrication is proposed. Since the cross stripes structure can be suspended in air by selectively wet-etching the layer below, all the layers can be grown at once when implemented...

High-contrast controllable switching based on polystyrene nonlinear cavities in 2D hole-type photonic crystals

Science.gov (United States)

Paghousi, Roohollah; Fasihi, Kiazand

2018-05-01

We present a new high-contrast controllable switch, which is based on a polystyrene nonlinear cavity, and is implemented in a two dimensional (2D) hole-type photonic crystal (PC). We show that by applying a control signal, the input power can be transmitted to the output waveguide with a high contrast ratio. The operation of the proposed device is investigated through the use of coupled-mode theory (CMT) and finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method. The contrast ratio of the proposed device varies between 18 and 23, which is higher than the corresponding value in the previous investigations. Based on the simulation results, with increasing the control power the range of operating power will be increased, while the contrast ratio will be decreased. It has been shown that in a modified structure, at the expense of the range of operating power and the contrast ratio, the control power can be decreased, considerably.

Contrast nephropathy in high-risk patients undergoing coronary angiography and intervention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Uddin, M.A.; Rabbani, M.A.; Jafary, F.H.; Bhatti, M.A.; Islam, M.

2005-01-01

Objective: To determine the incidence of contrast nephropathy in high-risk patients undergoing coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), and to define the characteristics of this cohort. Design: Descriptive study. Place and Duration of Study: The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi from January to December 2002. Patients and Methods: One hundred and fifteen patients with serum creatinine greater than 1.4mg/dl who underwent coronary angiography or PCI were included. All patients received non-ionic contrast dye. Acute contrast nephropathy was defined as rise in serum creatinine of >0.5mg/dl within 48 hours following the index procedure. Means and standard deviations were calculated for continuous variables and frequencies for categorical variables. Results: Mean age of patients was 62.3 year + 8.83. Mean pre-contrast creatinine was 1.9+0.9mg/dl. Eleven (9.65%) patients developed contrast nephropathy. 4.4% of patients with serum creatinine 4.0(p-value 0.001). 11.9% diabetic patients developed nephropathy compared to 6.3% of non-diabetics (p-value 0.355). 11.4% of hypertensive and 3.7% of non-hypertensive patients developed contrast-nephropathy (p-value 0.454). 12.9% of low dose group ( 100ml) developed nephropathy (p-value 0.188). Mean serum creatinine in low dose group was higher (3.0mg/dl vs. 1.7 mg/dl). Conclusion: The incidence of contrast nephropathy in this study was similar to that reported in literature. Risk of CIN was found to be significantly proportional to the severity of baseline renal disease. Trends towards higher risk of CIN were seen in patients with diabetes and hypertension. Higher incidence of CIN in patients receiving low-dose contrast was confounded by higher baseline serum creatinine in that group. (author)

Guideline adherence for identification and hydration of high-risk hospital patients for contrast-induced nephropathy.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schilp, J.; Blok, C. de; Langelaan, M.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; Wagner, C.

2014-01-01

Background: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a common cause of acute renal failure in hospital patients. To prevent CIN, identification and hydration of high-risk patients is important. Prevention of CIN by hydration of high-risk patients was one of the themes to be implemented in the Dutch

Guideline adherence for identification and hydration of high-risk hospital patients for contrast-induced nephropathy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schilp, J.; de Blok, C.; Langelaan, M.; Spreeuwenberg, P.; Wagner, C.

2014-01-01

Background: Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) is a common cause of acute renal failure in hospital patients. To prevent CIN, identification and hydration of high-risk patients is important. Prevention of CIN by hydration of high-risk patients was one of the themes to be implemented in the Dutch

Prospective randomized study of contrast reaction management curricula: Computer-based interactive simulation versus high-fidelity hands-on simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, Carolyn L., E-mail: wangcl@uw.edu [Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195-7115 (United States); Schopp, Jennifer G.; Kani, Kimia [Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195-7115 (United States); Petscavage-Thomas, Jonelle M. [Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Department of Radiology, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033 (United States); Zaidi, Sadaf; Hippe, Dan S.; Paladin, Angelisa M.; Bush, William H. [Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Box 357115, 1959 NE Pacific Street, Seattle, WA 98195-7115 (United States)

2013-12-01

Purpose: We developed a computer-based interactive simulation program for teaching contrast reaction management to radiology trainees and compared its effectiveness to high-fidelity hands-on simulation training. Materials and methods: IRB approved HIPAA compliant prospective study of 44 radiology residents, fellows and faculty who were randomized into either the high-fidelity hands-on simulation group or computer-based simulation group. All participants took separate written tests prior to and immediately after their intervention. Four months later participants took a delayed written test and a hands-on high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario performance test graded on predefined critical actions. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the computer and hands-on groups’ written pretest, immediate post-test, or delayed post-test scores (p > 0.6 for all). Both groups’ scores improved immediately following the intervention (p < 0.001). The delayed test scores 4 months later were still significantly higher than the pre-test scores (p ≤ 0.02). The computer group's performance was similar to the hands-on group on the severe contrast reaction simulation scenario test (p = 0.7). There were also no significant differences between the computer and hands-on groups in performance on the individual core competencies of contrast reaction management during the contrast reaction scenario. Conclusion: It is feasible to develop a computer-based interactive simulation program to teach contrast reaction management. Trainees that underwent computer-based simulation training scored similarly on written tests and on a hands-on high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario performance test as those trained with hands-on high-fidelity simulation.

Prospective randomized study of contrast reaction management curricula: Computer-based interactive simulation versus high-fidelity hands-on simulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Carolyn L.; Schopp, Jennifer G.; Kani, Kimia; Petscavage-Thomas, Jonelle M.; Zaidi, Sadaf; Hippe, Dan S.; Paladin, Angelisa M.; Bush, William H.

2013-01-01

Purpose: We developed a computer-based interactive simulation program for teaching contrast reaction management to radiology trainees and compared its effectiveness to high-fidelity hands-on simulation training. Materials and methods: IRB approved HIPAA compliant prospective study of 44 radiology residents, fellows and faculty who were randomized into either the high-fidelity hands-on simulation group or computer-based simulation group. All participants took separate written tests prior to and immediately after their intervention. Four months later participants took a delayed written test and a hands-on high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario performance test graded on predefined critical actions. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the computer and hands-on groups’ written pretest, immediate post-test, or delayed post-test scores (p > 0.6 for all). Both groups’ scores improved immediately following the intervention (p < 0.001). The delayed test scores 4 months later were still significantly higher than the pre-test scores (p ≤ 0.02). The computer group's performance was similar to the hands-on group on the severe contrast reaction simulation scenario test (p = 0.7). There were also no significant differences between the computer and hands-on groups in performance on the individual core competencies of contrast reaction management during the contrast reaction scenario. Conclusion: It is feasible to develop a computer-based interactive simulation program to teach contrast reaction management. Trainees that underwent computer-based simulation training scored similarly on written tests and on a hands-on high-fidelity severe contrast reaction scenario performance test as those trained with hands-on high-fidelity simulation

High-Resolution Ultrasound-Switchable Fluorescence Imaging in Centimeter-Deep Tissue Phantoms with High Signal-To-Noise Ratio and High Sensitivity via Novel Contrast Agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheng, Bingbing; Bandi, Venugopal; Wei, Ming-Yuan; Pei, Yanbo; D'Souza, Francis; Nguyen, Kytai T; Hong, Yi; Yuan, Baohong

2016-01-01

For many years, investigators have sought after high-resolution fluorescence imaging in centimeter-deep tissue because many interesting in vivo phenomena-such as the presence of immune system cells, tumor angiogenesis, and metastasis-may be located deep in tissue. Previously, we developed a new imaging technique to achieve high spatial resolution in sub-centimeter deep tissue phantoms named continuous-wave ultrasound-switchable fluorescence (CW-USF). The principle is to use a focused ultrasound wave to externally and locally switch on and off the fluorophore emission from a small volume (close to ultrasound focal volume). By making improvements in three aspects of this technique: excellent near-infrared USF contrast agents, a sensitive frequency-domain USF imaging system, and an effective signal processing algorithm, for the first time this study has achieved high spatial resolution (~ 900 μm) in 3-centimeter-deep tissue phantoms with high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and high sensitivity (3.4 picomoles of fluorophore in a volume of 68 nanoliters can be detected). We have achieved these results in both tissue-mimic phantoms and porcine muscle tissues. We have also demonstrated multi-color USF to image and distinguish two fluorophores with different wavelengths, which might be very useful for simultaneously imaging of multiple targets and observing their interactions in the future. This work has opened the door for future studies of high-resolution centimeter-deep tissue fluorescence imaging.

Photoacoustic contrast imaging of biological tissues with nanodiamonds fabricated for high near-infrared absorbance.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ti; Cui, Huizhong; Fang, Chia-Yi; Su, Long-Jyun; Ren, Shenqiang; Chang, Huan-Cheng; Yang, Xinmai; Forrest, M Laird

2013-02-01

Radiation-damaged nanodiamonds (DNDs) are potentially ideal optical contrast agents for photoacoustic (PA) imaging in biological tissues due to their low toxicity and high optical absorbance. PA imaging contrast agents have been limited to quantum dots and gold particles, since most existing carbon-based nanoparticles, including fluorescent nanodiamonds, do not have sufficient optical absorption in the near-infrared (NIR) range. A new DND by He+ ion beam irradiation with very high NIR absorption was synthesized. These DNDs produced a 71-fold higher PA signal on a molar basis than similarly dimensioned gold nanorods, and 7.1 fmol of DNDs injected into rodents could be clearly imaged 3 mm below the skin surface with PA signal enhancement of 567% using an 820-nm laser wavelength.

High sensitivity phase retrieval method in grating-based x-ray phase contrast imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wu, Zhao; Gao, Kun; Chen, Jian; Wang, Dajiang; Wang, Shenghao; Chen, Heng; Bao, Yuan; Shao, Qigang; Wang, Zhili, E-mail: wangnsrl@ustc.edu.cn [National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029 (China); Zhang, Kai [Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Zhu, Peiping; Wu, Ziyu, E-mail: wuzy@ustc.edu.cn [National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230029, China and Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China)

2015-02-15

Purpose: Grating-based x-ray phase contrast imaging is considered as one of the most promising techniques for future medical imaging. Many different methods have been developed to retrieve phase signal, among which the phase stepping (PS) method is widely used. However, further practical implementations are hindered, due to its complex scanning mode and high radiation dose. In contrast, the reverse projection (RP) method is a novel fast and low dose extraction approach. In this contribution, the authors present a quantitative analysis of the noise properties of the refraction signals retrieved by the two methods and compare their sensitivities. Methods: Using the error propagation formula, the authors analyze theoretically the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the refraction images retrieved by the two methods. Then, the sensitivities of the two extraction methods are compared under an identical exposure dose. Numerical experiments are performed to validate the theoretical results and provide some quantitative insight. Results: The SNRs of the two methods are both dependent on the system parameters, but in different ways. Comparison between their sensitivities reveals that for the refraction signal, the RP method possesses a higher sensitivity, especially in the case of high visibility and/or at the edge of the object. Conclusions: Compared with the PS method, the RP method has a superior sensitivity and provides refraction images with a higher SNR. Therefore, one can obtain highly sensitive refraction images in grating-based phase contrast imaging. This is very important for future preclinical and clinical implementations.

High sensitivity phase retrieval method in grating-based x-ray phase contrast imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu, Zhao; Gao, Kun; Chen, Jian; Wang, Dajiang; Wang, Shenghao; Chen, Heng; Bao, Yuan; Shao, Qigang; Wang, Zhili; Zhang, Kai; Zhu, Peiping; Wu, Ziyu

2015-01-01

Purpose: Grating-based x-ray phase contrast imaging is considered as one of the most promising techniques for future medical imaging. Many different methods have been developed to retrieve phase signal, among which the phase stepping (PS) method is widely used. However, further practical implementations are hindered, due to its complex scanning mode and high radiation dose. In contrast, the reverse projection (RP) method is a novel fast and low dose extraction approach. In this contribution, the authors present a quantitative analysis of the noise properties of the refraction signals retrieved by the two methods and compare their sensitivities. Methods: Using the error propagation formula, the authors analyze theoretically the signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the refraction images retrieved by the two methods. Then, the sensitivities of the two extraction methods are compared under an identical exposure dose. Numerical experiments are performed to validate the theoretical results and provide some quantitative insight. Results: The SNRs of the two methods are both dependent on the system parameters, but in different ways. Comparison between their sensitivities reveals that for the refraction signal, the RP method possesses a higher sensitivity, especially in the case of high visibility and/or at the edge of the object. Conclusions: Compared with the PS method, the RP method has a superior sensitivity and provides refraction images with a higher SNR. Therefore, one can obtain highly sensitive refraction images in grating-based phase contrast imaging. This is very important for future preclinical and clinical implementations

Use of high concentration contrast media (HCCM): principles and rationale--body CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brink, James A.

2003-01-01

Numerous complex pharmacokinetic interrelationships affect the use of contrast media for computed tomography (CT) imaging. The volume, concentration, and rate of injection, all affect the degree of enhancement that is achieved with an injection of contrast material. In addition, the injection technique, whether the contrast is infused with a constant injection rate (uniphasic injection) or whether the rate is altered during the injection (multiphasic injection) also affect the magnitude and duration of contrast enhancement. In body CT imaging, the liver poses unique challenges in managing the use of intravenous contrast material because of its dual blood supply and the need to complete imaging before equilibrium occurs between the intravascular and extravascular compartments. The magnitude of hepatic enhancement that is ultimately achieved is related primarily to the amount of iodinated contrast material that accumulates in the extravascular space within the target organ, independent of the speed of the CT scanner. The key determinant of the onset of the equilibrium phase is the injection duration. Given that a high injection flow rate (4-5 ml/s) is desirable for arterial phase imaging, the injection duration is maintained with use of an appropriate contrast volume. Thus, modifications of total iodine dose are best done with alterations in contrast concentration. The magnitude of arterial enhancement that is achieved is related to both the concentration and rate of contrast administration. The speed of the scanner determines its ability to record image data during the most advantageous time period, the peak of arterial enhancement. Thus, rapid imaging is particularly advantageous for optimal contrast use in CT angiography as well as in multiphasic imaging of the parenchymal organs

Edge Contrast of the FLAIR Hyperintense Region Predicts Survival in Patients with High-Grade Gliomas following Treatment with Bevacizumab.

Science.gov (United States)

Bahrami, N; Piccioni, D; Karunamuni, R; Chang, Y-H; White, N; Delfanti, R; Seibert, T M; Hattangadi-Gluth, J A; Dale, A; Farid, N; McDonald, C R

2018-04-05

Treatment with bevacizumab is standard of care for recurrent high-grade gliomas; however, monitoring response to treatment following bevacizumab remains a challenge. The purpose of this study was to determine whether quantifying the sharpness of the fluid-attenuated inversion recovery hyperintense border using a measure derived from texture analysis-edge contrast-improves the evaluation of response to bevacizumab in patients with high-grade gliomas. MRIs were evaluated in 33 patients with high-grade gliomas before and after the initiation of bevacizumab. Volumes of interest within the FLAIR hyperintense region were segmented. Edge contrast magnitude for each VOI was extracted using gradients of the 3D FLAIR images. Cox proportional hazards models were generated to determine the relationship between edge contrast and progression-free survival/overall survival using age and the extent of surgical resection as covariates. After bevacizumab, lower edge contrast of the FLAIR hyperintense region was associated with poorer progression-free survival ( P = .009) and overall survival ( P = .022) among patients with high-grade gliomas. Kaplan-Meier curves revealed that edge contrast cutoff significantly stratified patients for both progression-free survival (log-rank χ 2 = 8.3, P = .003) and overall survival (log-rank χ 2 = 5.5, P = .019). Texture analysis using edge contrast of the FLAIR hyperintense region may be an important predictive indicator in patients with high-grade gliomas following treatment with bevacizumab. Specifically, low FLAIR edge contrast may partially reflect areas of early tumor infiltration. This study adds to a growing body of literature proposing that quantifying features may be important for determining outcomes in patients with high-grade gliomas. © 2018 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

NEW TECHNIQUES FOR HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING WITH ADI: THE ACORNS-ADI SEEDS DATA REDUCTION PIPELINE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandt, Timothy D.; Turner, Edwin L.; McElwain, Michael W.; Grady, C. A.; Abe, L.; Brandner, W.; Feldt, M.; Henning, T.; Carson, J.; Egner, S.; Golota, T.; Guyon, O.; Hayano, Y.; Hayashi, S.; Ishii, M.; Goto, M.; Hashimoto, J.; Hayashi, M.; Iye, M.; Hodapp, K. W.

2013-01-01

We describe Algorithms for Calibration, Optimized Registration, and Nulling the Star in Angular Differential Imaging (ACORNS-ADI), a new, parallelized software package to reduce high-contrast imaging data, and its application to data from the SEEDS survey. We implement several new algorithms, including a method to register saturated images, a trimmed mean for combining an image sequence that reduces noise by up to ∼20%, and a robust and computationally fast method to compute the sensitivity of a high-contrast observation everywhere on the field of view without introducing artificial sources. We also include a description of image processing steps to remove electronic artifacts specific to Hawaii2-RG detectors like the one used for SEEDS, and a detailed analysis of the Locally Optimized Combination of Images (LOCI) algorithm commonly used to reduce high-contrast imaging data. ACORNS-ADI is written in python. It is efficient and open-source, and includes several optional features which may improve performance on data from other instruments. ACORNS-ADI requires minimal modification to reduce data from instruments other than HiCIAO. It is freely available for download at www.github.com/t-brandt/acorns-adi under a Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) license.

High-contrast imaging of mycobacterium tuberculosis using third-harmonic generation microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Bo Ram; Lee, Eungjang; Park, Seung-Han

2015-07-01

Nonlinear optical microcopy has become an important tool in investigating biomaterials due to its various advantages such as label-free imaging capabilities. In particular, it has been shown that third-harmonic generation (THG) signals can be produced at interfaces between an aqueous medium (e.g. cytoplasm, interstitial fluid) and a mineralized lipidic surface. In this work, we have demonstrated that label-free high-contrast THG images of the mycobacterium tuberculosis can be obtained using THG microscopy.

New tubes and techniques for flash X-ray diffraction and high contrast radiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Charbonnier, F.M.; Barbour, J.P.; Brewster, J.L.

High energy electrons are particularly efficient in producing characteristic X-rays and soft polychromatic. A line of wide spectrum beryllium window flash X-ray tubes, ranging from 150 to 600kV, has been developed to exploit this property. Laue and Debye Scherrer flash X-ray diffraction patterns have been obtained using a single 30 ns pulse exposure. X-ray diffraction tests obtained are shown. Extremely high contrast flash radiography of small, low density objects has been obtained using industrial film without screen. Alternatively, particularly at high voltages and for subjects which include a broad range of materials and thicknesses, special film techniques can be used to produce extremely wide latitudes. Equipment, techniques and results are discussed

Evaluation of fast highly undersampled contrast-enhanced MR angiography (sparse CE-MRA) in intracranial applications - initial study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gratz, Marcel; Quick, Harald H.; Schlamann, Marc; Goericke, Sophia; Maderwald, Stefan

2017-01-01

To assess the image quality of sparsely sampled contrast-enhanced MR angiography (sparse CE-MRA) providing high spatial resolution and whole-head coverage. Twenty-three patients scheduled for contrast-enhanced MR imaging of the head, (N = 19 with intracranial pathologies, N = 9 with vascular diseases), were included. Sparse CE-MRA at 3 Tesla was conducted using a single dose of contrast agent. Two neuroradiologists independently evaluated the data regarding vascular visibility and diagnostic value of overall 24 parameters and vascular segments on a 5-point ordinary scale (5 = very good, 1 = insufficient vascular visibility). Contrast bolus timing and the resulting arterio-venous overlap was also evaluated. Where available (N = 9), sparse CE-MRA was compared to intracranial Time-of-Flight MRA. The overall rating across all patients for sparse CE-MRA was 3.50 ± 1.07. Direct influence of the contrast bolus timing on the resulting image quality was observed. Overall mean vascular visibility and image quality across different features was rated good to intermediate (3.56 ± 0.95). The average performance of intracranial Time-of-Flight was rated 3.84 ± 0.87 across all patients and 3.54 ± 0.62 across all features. Sparse CE-MRA provides high-quality 3D MRA with high spatial resolution and whole-head coverage within short acquisition time. Accurate contrast bolus timing is mandatory. (orig.)

Evaluation of fast highly undersampled contrast-enhanced MR angiography (sparse CE-MRA) in intracranial applications - initial study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gratz, Marcel; Quick, Harald H. [University of Duisburg-Essen, Erwin L. Hahn Institute for MR Imaging, Essen (Germany); University Hospital Essen, High Field and Hybrid MR Imaging, Essen (Germany); Schlamann, Marc [University Hospital Giessen and Marburg GmbH, Neuroradiology, Giessen (Germany); University Hospital Essen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Essen (Germany); Goericke, Sophia [University Hospital Essen, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, Essen (Germany); Maderwald, Stefan [University of Duisburg-Essen, Erwin L. Hahn Institute for MR Imaging, Essen (Germany)

2017-03-15

To assess the image quality of sparsely sampled contrast-enhanced MR angiography (sparse CE-MRA) providing high spatial resolution and whole-head coverage. Twenty-three patients scheduled for contrast-enhanced MR imaging of the head, (N = 19 with intracranial pathologies, N = 9 with vascular diseases), were included. Sparse CE-MRA at 3 Tesla was conducted using a single dose of contrast agent. Two neuroradiologists independently evaluated the data regarding vascular visibility and diagnostic value of overall 24 parameters and vascular segments on a 5-point ordinary scale (5 = very good, 1 = insufficient vascular visibility). Contrast bolus timing and the resulting arterio-venous overlap was also evaluated. Where available (N = 9), sparse CE-MRA was compared to intracranial Time-of-Flight MRA. The overall rating across all patients for sparse CE-MRA was 3.50 ± 1.07. Direct influence of the contrast bolus timing on the resulting image quality was observed. Overall mean vascular visibility and image quality across different features was rated good to intermediate (3.56 ± 0.95). The average performance of intracranial Time-of-Flight was rated 3.84 ± 0.87 across all patients and 3.54 ± 0.62 across all features. Sparse CE-MRA provides high-quality 3D MRA with high spatial resolution and whole-head coverage within short acquisition time. Accurate contrast bolus timing is mandatory. (orig.)

Semiconducting polymer dot as a highly effective contrast agent for photoacoustic imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Zhen; Zhang, Jian

2018-02-01

In this study, we developed a novel PIID-DTBT based semiconducting polymer dots (Pdots) that have broad and strong optical absorption in the visible-light region (500 nm - 700 nm). Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and gold nanorods (GNRs) that have been verified as an excellent photoacoustic contrast agent were compared with Pdots based on photoacoustic imaging method. Both ex vivo and in vivo experiment demonstrated Pdots have a better photoacoustic conversion efficiency at 532 nm than GNPs and similar photoacoustic performance with GNRs at 700 nm at the same mass concentration. Our work demonstrates the great potential of Pdots as a highly effective contrast agent for precise localization of lesions relative to the blood vessels based on photoacoustic tomography imaging.

PHASE QUANTIZATION STUDY OF SPATIAL LIGHT MODULATOR FOR EXTREME HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dou, Jiangpei; Ren, Deqing, E-mail: jpdou@niaot.ac.cn, E-mail: jiangpeidou@gmail.com [Physics and Astronomy Department, California State University Northridge, 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330 (United States)

2016-11-20

Direct imaging of exoplanets by reflected starlight is extremely challenging due to the large luminosity ratio to the primary star. Wave-front control is a critical technique to attenuate the speckle noise in order to achieve an extremely high contrast. We present a phase quantization study of a spatial light modulator (SLM) for wave-front control to meet the contrast requirement of detection of a terrestrial planet in the habitable zone of a solar-type star. We perform the numerical simulation by employing the SLM with different phase accuracy and actuator numbers, which are related to the achievable contrast. We use an optimization algorithm to solve the quantization problems that is matched to the controllable phase step of the SLM. Two optical configurations are discussed with the SLM located before and after the coronagraph focal plane mask. The simulation result has constrained the specification for SLM phase accuracy in the above two optical configurations, which gives us a phase accuracy of 0.4/1000 and 1/1000 waves to achieve a contrast of 10{sup -10}. Finally, we have demonstrated that an SLM with more actuators can deliver a competitive contrast performance on the order of 10{sup -10} in comparison to that by using a deformable mirror.

An eigenfunction method for reconstruction of large-scale and high-contrast objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Waag, Robert C; Lin, Feng; Varslot, Trond K; Astheimer, Jeffrey P

2007-07-01

A multiple-frequency inverse scattering method that uses eigenfunctions of a scattering operator is extended to image large-scale and high-contrast objects. The extension uses an estimate of the scattering object to form the difference between the scattering by the object and the scattering by the estimate of the object. The scattering potential defined by this difference is expanded in a basis of products of acoustic fields. These fields are defined by eigenfunctions of the scattering operator associated with the estimate. In the case of scattering objects for which the estimate is radial, symmetries in the expressions used to reconstruct the scattering potential greatly reduce the amount of computation. The range of parameters over which the reconstruction method works well is illustrated using calculated scattering by different objects. The method is applied to experimental data from a 48-mm diameter scattering object with tissue-like properties. The image reconstructed from measurements has, relative to a conventional B-scan formed using a low f-number at the same center frequency, significantly higher resolution and less speckle, implying that small, high-contrast structures can be demonstrated clearly using the extended method.

High frequency nonlinear scattering from a micrometer to submicrometer sized lipid encapsulated contrast agent

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goertz, David E.; Frijlink, Martijn E.; de Jong, N.; van der Steen, A.F.W.

2006-01-01

An experimental lipid encapsulated contrast agent comprised substantially of micrometer to submicrometer diameter bubbles was evaluated for its capacity to produce nonlinear scattering in response to high transmit frequencies. Agent characterization experiments were conducted at transmit frequencies

Peripheral Vasculature: High-Temporal- and High-Spatial-Resolution Three-dimensional Contrast-enhanced MR Angiography1

Science.gov (United States)

Haider, Clifton R.; Glockner, James F.; Stanson, Anthony W.; Riederer, Stephen J.

2009-01-01

Purpose: To prospectively evaluate the feasibility of performing high-spatial-resolution (1-mm isotropic) time-resolved three-dimensional (3D) contrast material–enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) angiography of the peripheral vasculature with Cartesian acquisition with projection-reconstruction–like sampling (CAPR) and eightfold accelerated two-dimensional (2D) sensitivity encoding (SENSE). Materials and Methods: All studies were approved by the institutional review board and were HIPAA compliant; written informed consent was obtained from all participants. There were 13 volunteers (mean age, 41.9; range, 27–53 years). The CAPR sequence was adapted to provide 1-mm isotropic spatial resolution and a 5-second frame time. Use of different receiver coil element sizes for those placed on the anterior-to-posterior versus left-to-right sides of the field of view reduced signal-to-noise ratio loss due to acceleration. Results from eight volunteers were rated independently by two radiologists according to prominence of artifact, arterial to venous separation, vessel sharpness, continuity of arterial signal intensity in major arteries (anterior and posterior tibial, peroneal), demarcation of origin of major arteries, and overall diagnostic image quality. MR angiographic results in two patients with peripheral vascular disease were compared with their results at computed tomographic angiography. Results: The sequence exhibited no image artifact adversely affecting diagnostic image quality. Temporal resolution was evaluated to be sufficient in all cases, even with known rapid arterial to venous transit. The vessels were graded to have excellent sharpness, continuity, and demarcation of the origins of the major arteries. Distal muscular branches and the communicating and perforating arteries were routinely seen. Excellent diagnostic quality rating was given for 15 (94%) of 16 evaluations. Conclusion: The feasibility of performing high-diagnostic-quality time-resolved 3D

Microbubble Composition and Preparation for High-Frequency Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging: In Vitro and in Vivo Evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

V. Daeichin (Verya); T. van Rooij (Tom); I. Skachkov (Ilya); B. Ergin (Bulent); P. Specht (Patricia); A.A.P. Lima (Alexandre ); C. Ince (Can); J.G. Bosch (Hans); A.F.W. van der Steen (Ton); N. de Jong (Nico); K. Kooiman (Klazina)

2017-01-01

textabstractAlthough high-frequency ultrasound imaging is gaining attention in various applications, hardly any ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) dedicated to such frequencies (>15 MHz) are available for contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging. Moreover, the composition of the limited

Microbubble Composition and Preparation for High-Frequency Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging : In Vitro and in Vivo Evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daeichin, Verya; van Rooij, Tom; Skachkov, Ilya; Ergin, Bulent; Specht, Patricia A.C.; Lima, Alexandre; Ince, Can; Bosch, Johan G.; van der Steen, A.F.W.; de Jong, N.; Kooiman, Klazina

2017-01-01

Although high-frequency ultrasound imaging is gaining attention in various applications, hardly any ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) dedicated to such frequencies (>15 MHz) are available for contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging. Moreover, the composition of the limited commercially

Microbubble Composition and Preparation for High-Frequency Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Imaging: In Vitro and In Vivo Evaluation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daeichin, Verya; van Rooij, Tom; Skachkov, Ilya; Ergin, Bulent; Specht, Patricia A. C.; Lima, Alexandre; Ince, Can; Bosch, Johan G.; van der Steen, Antonius F. W.; de Jong, Nico; Kooiman, Klazina

2017-01-01

Although high-frequency ultrasound imaging is gaining attention in various applications, hardly any ultrasound contrast agents (UCAs) dedicated to such frequencies (>15 MHz) are available for contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) imaging. Moreover, the composition of the limited commercially available

One-step patterning of double tone high contrast and high refractive index inorganic spin-on resist

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zanchetta, E.; Della Giustina, G.; Brusatin, G. [Industrial Engineering Department and INSTM, Via Marzolo 9, 35131 Padova (Italy)

2014-09-14

A direct one-step and low temperature micro-fabrication process, enabling to realize large area totally inorganic TiO₂ micro-patterns from a spin-on resist, is presented. High refractive index structures (up to 2 at 632 nm) without the need for transfer processes have been obtained by mask assisted UV lithography, exploiting photocatalytic titania properties. A distinctive feature not shared by any of the known available resists and boosting the material versatility, is that the system behaves either as a positive or as negative tone resist, depending on the process parameters and on the development chemistry. In order to explain the resist double tone behavior, deep comprehension of the lithographic process parameters optimization and of the resist chemistry and structure evolution during the lithographic process, generally uncommon in literature, is reported. Another striking property of the presented resist is that the negative tone shows a high contrast up to 19, allowing to obtain structures resolution down to 2 μm wide. The presented process and material permit to directly fabricate different titania geometries of great importance for solar cells, photo-catalysis, and photonic crystals applications.

Continuously tunable photonic fractional Hilbert transformer using a high-contrast germanium-doped silica-on-silicon microring resonator.

Science.gov (United States)

Shahoei, Hiva; Dumais, Patrick; Yao, Jianping

2014-05-01

We propose and experimentally demonstrate a continuously tunable fractional Hilbert transformer (FHT) based on a high-contrast germanium-doped silica-on-silicon (SOS) microring resonator (MRR). The propagation loss of a high-contrast germanium-doped SOS waveguide can be very small (0.02 dB/cm) while the lossless bend radius can be less than 1 mm. These characteristics lead to the fabrication of an MRR with a high Q-factor and a large free-spectral range (FSR), which is needed to implement a Hilbert transformer (HT). The SOS MRR is strongly polarization dependent. By changing the polarization direction of the input signal, the phase shift introduced at the center of the resonance spectrum is changed. The tunable phase shift at the resonance wavelength can be used to implement a tunable FHT. A germanium-doped SOS MRR with a high-index contrast of 3.8% is fabricated. The use of the fabricated MRR for the implementation of a tunable FHT with tunable orders at 1, 0.85, 0.95, 1.05, and 1.13 for a Gaussian pulse with the temporal full width at half-maximum of 80 ps is experimentally demonstrated.

The TRIDENT laser at LANL: New “dial-a-contrast” and high-contrast experimental capabilities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flippo K.A.

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The Trident laser facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL has served for more than 20 years as an important tool in inertial confinement fusion (ICF and Material Dynamics research. An energy and power upgrade of the short-pulse beam line to 100J / 200 TW was made in 2007 and contrast improvements have been made continually since. The combination of this powerful new short-pulse beamline with the two flexible long pulse beamlines, and a total of three different target areas, makes Trident a highly flexible and versatile research tool for high energy density laboratory plasma (HEDLP research. The newest “Dial-a-Contrast” (DaC features are described, along with nominal performance of the laser at the presently available highest contrast.

Ultra-high field upper extremity peripheral nerve and non-contrast enhanced vascular imaging.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shailesh B Raval

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of Ultra-high field [UHF] 7 Tesla [T] MRI as compared to 3T MRI in non-contrast enhanced [nCE] imaging of structural anatomy in the elbow, forearm, and hand [upper extremity].A wide range of sequences including T1 weighted [T1] volumetric interpolate breath-hold exam [VIBE], T2 weighted [T2] double-echo steady state [DESS], susceptibility weighted imaging [SWI], time-of-flight [TOF], diffusion tensor imaging [DTI], and diffusion spectrum imaging [DSI] were optimized and incorporated with a radiofrequency [RF] coil system composed of a transverse electromagnetic [TEM] transmit coil combined with an 8-channel receive-only array for 7T upper extremity [UE] imaging. In addition, Siemens optimized protocol/sequences were used on a 3T scanner and the resulting images from T1 VIBE and T2 DESS were compared to that obtained at 7T qualitatively and quantitatively [SWI was only qualitatively compared]. DSI studio was utilized to identify nerves based on analysis of diffusion weighted derived fractional anisotropy images. Images of forearm vasculature were extracted using a paint grow manual segmentation method based on MIPAV [Medical Image Processing, Analysis, and Visualization].High resolution and high quality signal-to-noise ratio [SNR] and contrast-to-noise ratio [CNR]-images of the hand, forearm, and elbow were acquired with nearly homogeneous 7T excitation. Measured [performed on the T1 VIBE and T2 DESS sequences] SNR and CNR values were almost doubled at 7T vs. 3T. Cartilage, synovial fluid and tendon structures could be seen with higher clarity in the 7T T1 and T2 weighted images. SWI allowed high resolution and better quality imaging of large and medium sized arteries and veins, capillary networks and arteriovenous anastomoses at 7T when compared to 3T. 7T diffusion weighted sequence [not performed at 3T] demonstrates that the forearm nerves are clearly delineated by fiber tractography. The

Gap-enhanced Raman tags for high-contrast sentinel lymph node imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Bao, Zhouzhou; Zhang, Yuqing; Tan, Ziyang; Yin, Xia; Di, Wen; Ye, Jian

2018-05-01

The sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is gaining in popularity as a procedure to investigate the lymphatic metastasis of malignant tumors. The commonly used techniques to identify the SLNs in clinical practice are blue dyes-guided visualization, radioisotope-based detection and near-infrared fluorescence imaging. However, all these methods have not been found to perfectly fit the clinical criteria with issues such as short retention time in SLN, poor spatial resolution, autofluorescence, low photostability and high cost. In this study, we have reported a new type of nanoprobes, named, gap-enhanced Raman tags (GERTs) for the SLN Raman imaging. With the advantageous features including unique "fingerprint" Raman signal, strong Raman enhancement, high photostability, good biocompatibility and extra-long retention time, we have demonstrated that GERTs are greatly favorable for high-contrast and deep SLN Raman imaging, which meanwhile reveals the dynamic migration behavior of the probes entering the SLN. In addition, a quantitative volumetric Raman imaging (qVRI) data-processing method is employed to acquire a high-resolution 3-dimensional (3D) margin of SLN as well as the content variation of GERTs in the SLN. Moreover, SLN detection could be realized via a cost-effective commercial portable Raman scanner. Therefore, GERTs hold the great potential to be translated in clinical application for accurate and intraoperative location of the SLN. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of a compact high-energy setup for x-ray phase-contrast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Schüttler, Markus; Yaroshenko, Andre; Bech, Martin; Potdevin, Guillaume; Malecki, Andreas; Chabior, Michael; Wolf, Johannes; Tapfer, Arne; Meiser, Jan; Kunka, Danays; Amberger, Maximilian; Mohr, Jürgen; Pfeiffer, Franz

2014-03-01

The main shortcoming of conventional biomedical x-ray imaging is the weak soft-tissue contrast caused by the small differences in the absorption coefficients between different materials. This issue can be addressed by x-ray phasesensitive imaging approaches, e.g. x-ray Talbot-Lau grating interferometry. The advantage of the three-grating Talbot-Lau approach is that it allows to acquire x-ray phase-contrast and dark-field images with a conventional lab source. However, through the introduction of the grating interferometer some constraints are imposed on the setup geometry. In general, the grating pitch and the mean x-ray energy determine the setup dimensions. The minimal length of the setup increases linearly with energy and is proportional to p2, where p is the grating pitch. Thus, a high-energy (100 keV) compact grating-based setup for x-ray imaging can be realized only if gratings with aspect-ratio of approximately 300 and a pitch of 1-2 μm were available. However, production challenges limit the availability of such gratings. In this study we consider the use of non-binary phase-gratings as means of designing a more compact grating interferometer for phase-contrast imaging. We present simulation and experimental data for both monochromatic and polychromatic case. The results reveal that phase-gratings with triangular-shaped structures yield visibilities that can be used for imaging purposes at significantly shorter distances than binary gratings. This opens the possibility to design a high-energy compact setup for x-ray phase-contrast imaging. Furthermore, we discuss different techniques to achieve triangular-shaped phase-shifting structures.

High Relaxivity Gadolinium Hydroxypyridonate-Viral Capsid Conjugates: Nano-sized MRI Contrast Agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meux, Susan C.; Datta, Ankona; Hooker, Jacob M.; Botta, Mauro; Francis, Matthew B.; Aime, Silvio; Raymond, Kenneth N.

2007-08-29

High relaxivity macromolecular contrast agents based on the conjugation of gadolinium chelates to the interior and exterior surfaces of MS2 viral capsids are assessed. The proton nuclear magnetic relaxation dispersion (NMRD) profiles of the conjugates show up to a five-fold increase in relaxivity, leading to a peak relaxivity (per Gd{sup 3+} ion) of 41.6 mM{sup -1}s{sup -1} at 30 MHz for the internally modified capsids. Modification of the exterior was achieved through conjugation to flexible lysines, while internal modification was accomplished by conjugation to relatively rigid tyrosines. Higher relaxivities were obtained for the internally modified capsids, showing that (1) there is facile diffusion of water to the interior of capsids and (2) the rigidity of the linker attaching the complex to the macromolecule is important for obtaining high relaxivity enhancements. The viral capsid conjugated gadolinium hydroxypyridonate complexes appear to possess two inner-sphere water molecules (q = 2) and the NMRD fittings highlight the differences in the local motion for the internal ({tau}{sub RI} = 440 ps) and external ({tau}{sub RI} = 310 ps) conjugates. These results indicate that there are significant advantages of using the internal surface of the capsids for contrast agent attachment, leaving the exterior surface available for the installation of tissue targeting groups.

Renal clearance of an ionic high-osmolar and a nonionic low-osmolar contrast medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomsen, H.S.; Vestergaard, A.; Nielsen, S.L.; Fogh-Andersen, N.; Golman, K.; Dorph, S.

1991-01-01

One hundred patients with normal serum creatinine concentration underwent intravenous urography with either an ionic high-osmolar (diatrizoate) or a nonionic low-osmolar (iopamidol) contrast medium after randomization. Before injection of the contrast medium, a blood sample was drawn for determinating serum creatinine concentration, and a urine sample for measurement of urine osmolality. Using x-ray fluorescence, the plasma concentration of iodine (contrast medium) was determined on blood samples drawn approximately 3 and 4 hours after injection of the contrast medium. The glomerular filtration rate was calculated by two different formulas: one requiring only a single sample and one requiring at least two samples (standard). There were poor correlations between the standard contrast medium clearance and the serum creatinine concentration, the estimated creatinine clearance (calculated from a nomogram), as well as the urine osmolality. The 3-hour and the 4-hour single-sample values correlated well with the two-sample values for both contrast media. In patients with normal serum creatinine, the glomerular filtration rate determined by measuring the contrast medium concentration in a single plasma sample obtained at 3 hours, is almost identical to the value determined from two samples. Consequently, two samples are unnecessary

Front-End Light Source for aWaveform-Controlled High-Contrast Few-Cycle Laser System for High-Repetition Rate Relativistic Optics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Lopez-Martens

2013-03-01

Full Text Available We present the current development of an injector for a high-contrast, ultrashort laser system devoted to relativistic laser-plasma interaction in the few-cycle regime. The front-end is based on CEP-stabilized Ti:Sa CPA followed by XPW filter designed at the mJ level for temporal cleaning and shortening. Accurate characterization highlights the fidelity of the proposed injector. Measured CEP drift is 170 mrad rms.

X-ray phase-contrast tomography for high-spatial-resolution zebrafish muscle imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Vågberg, William; Larsson, Daniel H.; Li, Mei; Arner, Anders; Hertz, Hans M.

2015-11-01

Imaging of muscular structure with cellular or subcellular detail in whole-body animal models is of key importance for understanding muscular disease and assessing interventions. Classical histological methods for high-resolution imaging methods require excision, fixation and staining. Here we show that the three-dimensional muscular structure of unstained whole zebrafish can be imaged with sub-5 μm detail with X-ray phase-contrast tomography. Our method relies on a laboratory propagation-based phase-contrast system tailored for detection of low-contrast 4-6 μm subcellular myofibrils. The method is demonstrated on 20 days post fertilization zebrafish larvae and comparative histology confirms that we resolve individual myofibrils in the whole-body animal. X-ray imaging of healthy zebrafish show the expected structured muscle pattern while specimen with a dystrophin deficiency (sapje) displays an unstructured pattern, typical of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The method opens up for whole-body imaging with sub-cellular detail also of other types of soft tissue and in different animal models.

High-resolution observation of phase contrast at 1MeV. Amorphous or crystalline objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bourret, A.; Desseaux, J.

1975-01-01

Many authors have stressed the possibilities of high voltage to improve resolution, but owing to numerous experimental difficulties the resolution limit at 1MeV, which lies around 1A for conventional lenses, has so far been unattainable. Thus the phase contrast at 1MeV has not been studied on evaporated objects. On the other hand the fringes of crystal planes have been observed at 1MeV. the CEN-G microscope having been considerably modified it has been possible to observe the phase contrast of amorphous or crystalline objects [fr

High-contrast imager for Complex Aperture Telescopes (HiCAT): testbed design and coronagraph developments

Science.gov (United States)

N'Diaye, Mamadou; Choquet, E.; Pueyo, L.; Elliot, E.; Perrin, M. D.; Wallace, J.; Anderson, R. E.; Carlotti, A.; Groff, T. D.; Hartig, G. F.; Kasdin, J.; Lajoie, C.; Levecq, O.; Long, C.; Macintosh, B.; Mawet, D.; Norman, C. A.; Shaklan, S.; Sheckells, M.; Sivaramakrishnan, A.; Soummer, R.

2014-01-01

We present a new high-contrast imaging testbed designed to provide complete solutions for wavefront sensing and control and starlight suppression with complex aperture telescopes (NASA APRA; Soummer PI). This includes geometries with central obstruction, support structures, and/or primary mirror segmentation. Complex aperture telescopes are often associated with large telescope designs, which are considered for future space missions. However, these designs makes high-contrast imaging challenging because of additional diffraction features in the point spread function. We present a novel optimization approach for the testbed optical and opto-mechanical design that minimizes the impact of both phase and amplitude errors from the wave propagation of testbed optics surface errors. This design approach allows us to define the specification for the bench optics, which we then compare to the manufactured parts. We discuss the testbed alignment and first results. We also present our coronagraph design for different testbed pupil shapes (AFTA or ATLAST), which involves a new method for the optimization of Apodized Pupil Lyot Coronagraphs (APLC).

CT of multiple sclerosis: reassessment of delayed scanning with high doses of contrast material

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spiegel, S.M.; Vinuela, F.; Fox, A.J.; Pelz, D.M.

1985-01-01

A prospective study involving 87 patients was carried out to evaluate the necessity for a high dose of contrast material in addition to delayed computed tomographic (CT) scanning for optimal detection of the lesions of multiple sclerosis in the brain. In patients with either clinically definite multiple sclerosis or laboratory-supported definite multiple sclerosis, CT scans were obtained with a uniform protocol. Lesions consistent with multiple sclerosis were demonstrated on the second scan in 54 patients. In 36 of these 54 patients, the high-dose delayed scan added information. These results are quite similar to those of a previous study from this institution using different patients, in whom the second scan was obtained immediately after the bolus injection of contrast material containing 40 g of organically bound iodine. The lack of real difference in the results of the two studies indicate that the increased dose, not just the delay in scanning, is necessary for a proper study

3.0 Tesla high spatial resolution contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) of the pulmonary circulation: initial experience with a 32-channel phased array coil using a high relaxivity contrast agent.

Science.gov (United States)

Nael, Kambiz; Fenchel, Michael; Krishnam, Mayil; Finn, J Paul; Laub, Gerhard; Ruehm, Stefan G

2007-06-01

To evaluate the technical feasibility of high spatial resolution contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) with highly accelerated parallel acquisition at 3.0 T using a 32-channel phased array coil, and a high relaxivity contrast agent. Ten adult healthy volunteers (5 men, 5 women, aged 21-66 years) underwent high spatial resolution CE-MRA of the pulmonary circulation. Imaging was performed at 3 T using a 32-channel phase array coil. After intravenous injection of 1 mL of gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOPTA) at 1.5 mL/s, a timing bolus was used to measure the transit time from the arm vein to the main pulmonary artery. Subsequently following intravenous injection of 0.1 mmol/kg of Gd-BOPTA at the same rate, isotropic high spatial resolution data sets (1 x 1 x 1 mm3) CE-MRA of the entire pulmonary circulation were acquired using a fast gradient-recalled echo sequence (TR/TE 3/1.2 milliseconds, FA 18 degrees) and highly accelerated parallel acquisition (GRAPPA x 6) during a 20-second breath hold. The presence of artifact, noise, and image quality of the pulmonary arterial segments were evaluated independently by 2 radiologists. Phantom measurements were performed to assess the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Statistical analysis of data was performed by using Wilcoxon rank sum test and 2-sample Student t test. The interobserver variability was tested by kappa coefficient. All studies were of diagnostic quality as determined by both observers. The pulmonary arteries were routinely identified up to fifth-order branches, with definition in the diagnostic range and excellent interobserver agreement (kappa = 0.84, 95% confidence interval 0.77-0.90). Phantom measurements showed significantly lower SNR (P < 0.01) using GRAPPA (17.3 +/- 18.8) compared with measurements without parallel acquisition (58 +/- 49.4). The described 3 T CE-MRA protocol in addition to high T1 relaxivity of Gd-BOPTA provides sufficient SNR to support highly accelerated parallel acquisition

High-contrast coronagraph performance in the presence of focal plane mask defects

Science.gov (United States)

Sidick, Erkin; Shaklan, Stuart; Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatham; Cady, Eric

2014-08-01

We have carried out a study of the performance of high-contrast coronagraphs in the presence of mask defects. We have considered the effects of opaque and dielectric particles of various dimensions, as well as systematic mask fabrication errors and the limitations of material properties in creating dark holes. We employ sequential deformable mirrors to compensate for phase and amplitude errors, and show the limitations of this approach in the presence of coronagraph image-mask defects.

Transient analysis of electromagnetic wave interactions on high-contrast scatterers using volume electric field integral equation

KAUST Repository

Sayed, Sadeed Bin

2014-07-01

A marching on-in-time (MOT)-based time domain volume electric field integral equation (TD-VEFIE) solver is proposed for accurate and stable analysis of electromagnetic wave interactions on high-contrast scatterers. The stability is achieved using band-limited but two-sided (non-causal) temporal interpolation functions and an extrapolation scheme to cast the time marching into a causal form. The extrapolation scheme is designed to be highly accurate for oscillating and exponentially decaying fields, hence it accurately captures the physical behavior of the resonant modes that are excited inside the dielectric scatterer. Numerical results demonstrate that the resulting MOT scheme maintains its stability as the number of resonant modes increases with the contrast of the scatterer.

High-Relaxivity MRI Contrast Agents: Where Coordination Chemistry Meets Medical Imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Werner, Eric J.; Datta, Ankona; Jocher, Christoph J.; Raymond, Kenneth N.

2008-01-15

The desire to improve and expand the scope of clinical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has prompted the search for contrast agents of higher efficiency. The development of better agents requires consideration of the fundamental coordination chemistry of the gadolinium(III) ion and the parameters that affect its efficacy as a proton relaxation agent. In optimizing each parameter, other practical issues such as solubility and in vivo toxicity must also be addressed, making the attainment of safe, high-relaxivity agents a challenging goal. Here we present recent advances in the field, with an emphasis on the hydroxypyridinone family of Gd{sup III} chelates.

High Contrast Coherent Population Trapping Resonances in Cs Vapour Cells with a Simple-Architecture Laser System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Xiaochi

2013-01-01

This thesis reports the development of a simple-architecture laser system resonant at 895 nm used for the detection of high-contrast coherent population trapping (CPT) resonances in Cs vapor cells. The laser system combines a distributed feedback-diode (DFB) laser, a pigtailed Mach-Zehnder intensity electro-optic modulator (EOM) driven at 4.596 GHz for the generation of optical sidebands frequency-split by 9.192 GHz and a Michelson delay-line system to produce a bi-chromatic optical field that alternates between right and left circular polarization. This polarization pumping scheme, first proposed by Happer's group in Princeton on K atoms, allows to optically pump a maximum number of Cs atoms into the 0-0 magnetic field insensitive clock transition. Advanced noise reduction techniques were implemented in order to stabilize the laser power, the optical carrier suppression at the output of the EOM and the DFB laser frequency. Using this system, we demonstrated the detection of CPT resonances with a contrast of 80% in cm-scale Cs vapor cells. This contrast was measured to be increased until a saturation effect with the laser power at the expense of the CPT line broadening. To circumvent this issue, we proposed with a simple setup Ramsey spectroscopy of CPT resonances in vapor cells to combine high-contrast and narrow line width of the CPT resonances. In this setup, the EOM is used both for optical sidebands generation and light switch to produce Ramsey interaction. Ramsey fringes of 166 Hz line width with a contrast better than 30% were detected with this setup. This laser system will be in a near future devoted to be used for the development of a high-performance CPT-based atomic clock. (author)

CT Image Contrast of High-Z Elements: Phantom Imaging Studies and Clinical Implications.

Science.gov (United States)

FitzGerald, Paul F; Colborn, Robert E; Edic, Peter M; Lambert, Jack W; Torres, Andrew S; Bonitatibus, Peter J; Yeh, Benjamin M

2016-03-01

To quantify the computed tomographic (CT) image contrast produced by potentially useful contrast material elements in clinically relevant imaging conditions. Equal mass concentrations (grams of active element per milliliter of solution) of seven radiodense elements, including iodine, barium, gadolinium, tantalum, ytterbium, gold, and bismuth, were formulated as compounds in aqueous solutions. The compounds were chosen such that the active element dominated the x-ray attenuation of the solution. The solutions were imaged within a modified 32-cm CT dose index phantom at 80, 100, 120, and 140 kVp at CT. To simulate larger body sizes, 0.2-, 0.5-, and 1.0-mm-thick copper filters were applied. CT image contrast was measured and corrected for measured concentrations and presence of chlorine in some compounds. Each element tested provided higher image contrast than iodine at some tube potential levels. Over the range of tube potentials that are clinically practical for average-sized and larger adults-that is, 100 kVp and higher-barium, gadolinium, ytterbium, and tantalum provided consistently increased image contrast compared with iodine, respectively demonstrating 39%, 56%, 34%, and 24% increases at 100 kVp; 39%, 66%, 53%, and 46% increases at 120 kVp; and 40%, 72%, 65%, and 60% increases at 140 kVp, with no added x-ray filter. The consistently high image contrast produced with 100-140 kVp by tantalum compared with bismuth and iodine at equal mass concentration suggests that tantalum could potentially be favorable for use as a clinical CT contrast agent.

Optical spatial differentiator based on subwavelength high-contrast gratings

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Zhewei; Si, Jiangnan; Yu, Xuanyi; Deng, Xiaoxu

2018-04-01

An optical spatial differentiator based on subwavelength high-contrast gratings (HCGs) is proposed experimentally. The spatial differentiation property of the subwavelength HCG is analyzed by calculating its spatial spectral transfer function based on the periodic waveguide theory. By employing the FDTD solutions, the performance of the subwavelength HCG spatial differentiator was investigated numerically. The subwavelength HCG differentiator with the thickness at the nanoscale was fabricated on the quartz substrate by electron beam lithography and Bosch deep silicon etching. Observed under an optical microscope with a CCD camera, the spatial differentiation of the incident field profile was obtained by the subwavelength HCG differentiator in transmission without Fourier lens. By projecting the images of slits, letter "X," and a cross on the subwavelength HCG differentiator, edge detections of images were obtained in transmission. With the nanoscale HCG structure and simple optical implementation, the proposed optical spatial differentiator provides the prospects for applications in optical computing systems and parallel data processing.

Grating-based X-ray phase-contrast tomography of atherosclerotic plaque at high photon energies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hetterich, Holger; Fill, Sandra [Klinikum der Ludwig-Maximilians-Univ., Muenchen (Germany). Inst. fuer Klinische Radiologie; Herzen, Julia [Technische Univ. Muenchen, Garching (Germany). Physik-Dept. und Inst. fuer Medizintechnik; Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Geesthacht (Germany). Zentrum fuer Materialforschung] [and others

2013-10-01

Background: Tissue characterization of atherosclerosis by absorption-based imaging methods is limited due to low soft-tissue contrast. Grating-based phase-contrast computed tomography (PC-CT) may become an alternative for plaque assessment if the phase signal can be retrieved at clinically applicable photon energies. The aims of this feasibility study were (i) to characterize arterial vessels at low and high photon energies, (ii) to extract qualitative features and (iii) quantitative phase-contrast Hounsfield units (HU-phase) of plaque components at 53 keV using histopathology as gold standard. Materials and methods: Five human carotid artery specimens underwent grating-based PC-CT using synchrotron radiation of either 23 keV or 53 keV and histological work-up. Specimens without advanced atherosclerosis were used to extract signal criteria of vessel layers. Diseased specimens were screened for important plaque components including fibrous tissue (FT), lipid (LIP), necrotic core (NEC), intraplaque hemorrhage (IPH), inflammatory cell infiltration (INF) and calcifications (CA). Qualitative features as well as quantitative HU-phase were analyzed. Results: Thirty-three regions in 6 corresponding PC-CT scans and histology sections were identified. Healthy samples had the same signal characteristics at 23 keV and 53 keV with bright tunica intima and adventitia and dark media. Plaque components showed differences in signal intensity and texture at 53 keV. Quantitative analysis demonstrated the highest HU-phase of soft plaque in dense FT. Less organized LIP, NEC and INF were associated with lower HU-phase values. The highest HU-phase were measured in CA. Conclusion: PC-CT of atherosclerosis is feasible at high, clinically relevant photon energies and provides detailed information about plaque structure including features of high risk vulnerable plaques. (orig.)

High Contrast Internal and External Coronagraph Masks Produced by Various Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatha; Wilson, Daniel; White, Victor; Muller, Richard; Dickie, Matthew; Yee, Karl; Ruiz, Ronald; Shaklan, Stuart; Cady, Eric; Kern, Brian;

High-field, high-resolution, susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging: improved image quality by addition of contrast agent and higher field strength in patients with brain tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pinker, K.; Noebauer-Huhmann, I.M.; Szomolanyi, P.; Weber, M.; Grabner, G.; Trattnig, S.; Stavrou, I.; Knosp, E.; Hoeftberger, R.; Stadlbauer, A.

2008-01-01

To demonstrate intratumoral susceptibility effects in malignant brain tumors and to assess visualization of susceptibility effects before and after administration of the paramagnetic contrast agent MultiHance (gadobenate dimeglumine; Bracco Imaging), an agent known to have high relaxivity, with respect to susceptibility effects, image quality, and reduction of scan time. Included in the study were 19 patients with malignant brain tumors who underwent high-resolution, susceptibility-weighted (SW) MR imaging at 3 T before and after administration of contrast agent. In all patients, Multihance was administered intravenously as a bolus (0.1 mmol/kg body weight). MR images were individually evaluated by two radiologists with previous experience in the evaluation of pre- and postcontrast 3-T SW MR images with respect to susceptibility effects, image quality, and reduction of scan time. In the 19 patients 21 tumors were diagnosed, of which 18 demonstrated intralesional susceptibility effects both in pre- and postcontrast SW images, and 19 demonstrated contrast enhancement in both SW images and T1-weighted spin-echo MR images. Conspicuity of susceptibility effects and image quality were improved in postcontrast images compared with precontrast images and the scan time was also reduced due to decreased TE values from 9 min (precontrast) to 7 min (postcontrast). The intravenous administration of MultiHance, an agent with high relaxivity, allowed a reduction of scan time from 9 min to 7 min while preserving excellent susceptibility effects and image quality in SW images obtained at 3 T. Contrast enhancement and intralesional susceptibility effects can be assessed in one sequence. (orig.)

80-nm-tunable high-index-contrast subwavelength grating long-wavelength VCSEL: Proposal and numerical simulations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chung, Il-Sug; Mørk, Jesper; Sirbu, Alexei

2010-01-01

A widely-tunable single-mode long wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser structure employing a MEMStunable high-index-contrast subwavelength grating (HCG) is suggested and numerically investigated. A very large 80- nm linear tuning range was obtained as the HCG was actuated by -220 to ...

Measurements of incoherent light and background structure at exo-Earth detection levels in the High Contrast Imaging Testbed

Science.gov (United States)

Cady, Eric; Shaklan, Stuart

2014-08-01

A major component of the estimation and correction of starlight at very high contrasts is the creation of a dark hole: a region in the vicinity of the core of the stellar point spread function (PSF) where speckles in the PSF wings have been greatly attenuated, up to a factor of 1010 for the imaging of terrestrial exoplanets. At these very high contrasts, removing these speckles requires distinguishing between light from the stellar PSF scattered by instrument imperfections, which may be partially corrected across a broad band using deformable mirrors in the system, from light from other sources which generally may not. These other sources may be external or internal to the instrument (e.g. planets, exozodiacal light), but in either case, their distinguishing characteristic is their inability to interfere coherently with the PSF. In the following we discuss the estimation, structure, and expected origin of this incoherent" signal, primarily in the context of a series of experiments made with a linear band-limited mask in Jan-Mar 2013. We find that the incoherent" signal at moderate contrasts is largely estimation error of the coherent signal, while at very high contrasts it represents a true floor which is stable over week-timescales.

High contrast enhancement aspect of dynamic computed tomography with arterial infusion - DCT-AI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kato, Seishi; Iwasaki, Naoya; Matsumura, Yoshimitsu; Kuramae, Shigeru; Mishiro, Tadashi

1983-01-01

Dynamic computed tomography was performed on 112 cases possibly having hepatic tumors with intraarterial infusion of undiluted contrast into a selectively placed catheter following angiographies. Our dynamic program could evaluate not only early phase of enhancement but also late phase up to 120 sec. Reconstructed views from early scans and magnified views were very useful to evaluate minute sequential changes. Hepatic masses less than 5 cm in size were found in thirty-one cases. Patterns of tumor enhancement and time-density curves have been analysed to correlate them with histology. Four types of tumor enhancement were noted: (1) homogeneous (2) patchy (3) mottled (4) ringed. Characteristic changes were observed in hepatocellular carcinoma - HCC - (mostly mottled) and haemangioma (mostly patchy). The former was divided in two groups reflecting the cellular maturity. The metastatic tumor could be enhanced in a ringed form with dendritic pattern of supplying vascularities in some cases. To support the use of undiluted contrast and to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of high contrast enhancement, experiments were performed by taking transaxial views of an acrylic phantom immersed in different concentrations of contrast. Analysis of CT images taken at different HU values ranging from 0 to 450 demonstrated that the higher the concentration of contrast, the better the spatial resolution was. Also larger magnification could be expected by using higher concentration of contrast. Although our Dynamic Computed Tomography with Arterial Infusion of Contrast still has drawbacks and limited indications, we advocate it as a better way of enhancement to detect and evaluate the hepatic masses, which sometimes elude the examiner's grasp with conventional way of enhancement. (author)

Detection of admittivity anomaly on high-contrast heterogeneous backgrounds using frequency difference EIT.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, J; Seo, J K

2015-06-01

This paper describes a multiple background subtraction method in frequency difference electrical impedance tomography (fdEIT) to detect an admittivity anomaly from a high-contrast background conductivity distribution. The proposed method expands the use of the conventional weighted frequency difference EIT method, which has been used limitedly to detect admittivity anomalies in a roughly homogeneous background. The proposed method can be viewed as multiple weighted difference imaging in fdEIT. Although the spatial resolutions of the output images by fdEIT are very low due to the inherent ill-posedness, numerical simulations and phantom experiments of the proposed method demonstrate its feasibility to detect anomalies. It has potential application in stroke detection in a head model, which is highly heterogeneous due to the skull.

Low Cost, High-Throughput 3-D Pulmonary Imager Using Hyperpolarized Contrast Agents and Low-Field MRI

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

greater gas polarizations and production amounts/ throughputs- benefiting in particular from the advent of com- pact, high-power, relatively low- cost ...Award Number: W81XWH-15-1-0271 TITLE: Low- Cost , High-Throughput 3-D Pulmonary Imager Using Hyperpolarized Contrast Agents and Low-Field MRI...DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the

High-contrast grating hollow-core waveguide splitter applied to optical phased array

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Che; Xue, Ping; Zhang, Hanxing; Chen, Te; Peng, Chao; Hu, Weiwei

2014-11-01

A novel hollow-core (HW) Y-branch waveguide splitter based on high-contrast grating (HCG) is presented. We calculated and designed the HCG-HW splitter using Rigorous Coupled Wave Analysis (RCWA). Finite-different timedomain (FDTD) simulation shows that the splitter has a broad bandwidth and the branching loss is as low as 0.23 dB. Fabrication is accomplished with standard Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) process. The experimental measurement results indicate its good performance on beam splitting near the central wavelength λ = 1550 nm with a total insertion loss of 7.0 dB.

Do intravenous N-acetylcysteine and sodium bicarbonate prevent high osmolal contrast-induced acute kidney injury? A randomized controlled trial.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio Jose Inda-Filho

Full Text Available N-acetylcysteine (NAC or sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3, singly or combined, inconsistently prevent patients exposed to radiographic contrast media from developing contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI.We asked whether intravenous isotonic saline and either NaHCO3 in 5% dextrose or else a high dose of NAC in 5% dextrose prevent CI-AKI in outpatients exposed to high-osmolal iodinated contrast medium more than does saline alone.This completed prospective, parallel, superiority, open-label, controlled, computer-randomized, single-center, Brazilian trial (NCT01612013 hydrated 500 adult outpatients (214 at high risk of developing CI-AKI exposed to ioxitalamate during elective coronary angiography and ventriculography. From 1 hour before through 6 hours after exposure, 126 patients (group 1 received a high dose of NAC and saline, 125 (group 2 received NaHCO3 and saline, 124 (group 3 received both treatments, and 125 (group 4 received only saline.Groups were similar with respect to age, gender, weight, pre-existing renal dysfunction, hypertension, medication, and baseline serum creatinine and serum cystatin C, but diabetes mellitus was significantly less prevalent in group 1. CI-AKI incidence 72 hours after exposure to contrast medium was 51.4% (257/500, measured as serum creatinine > (baseline+0.3 mg/dL and/or serum cystatin C > (1.1 · baseline, and 7.6% (38/500, measured as both serum creatinine and serum cystatin C > (baseline+0.3 mg/dL or > (1.25 · baseline. CI-AKI incidence measured less sensitively was similar among groups. Measured more sensitively, incidence in group 1 was significantly (p<0.05 lower than in groups 2 and 3 but not group 4; adjustment for confounding by infused volume equalized incidence in groups 1 and 3.We found no evidence that intravenous isotonic saline and either NaHCO3 or else a high dose of NAC prevent CI-AKI in outpatients exposed to high osmolal iodinated contrast medium more than does saline alone

Efficient quality-eactor estimation of a vertical cavity employing a high-contrast grating

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taghizadeh, Alireza; Mørk, Jesper; Chung, Il-Sug

2017-01-01

Hybrid vertical cavity lasers employing high-contrast grating reflectors are attractive for Si-integrated light source applications. Here, a method for reducing a three-dimensional (3D) optical simulation of this laser structure to lower-dimensional simulations is suggested, which allows for very...... fast and approximate analysis of the quality-factor of the 3D cavity. This approach enables us to efficiently optimize the laser cavity design without performing cumbersome 3D simulations....

ARTIFICIAL INCOHERENT SPECKLES ENABLE PRECISION ASTROMETRY AND PHOTOMETRY IN HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jovanovic, N.; Guyon, O.; Pathak, P.; Kudo, T. [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Subaru Telescope, 650 North A’Ohoku Place, Hilo, HI, 96720 (United States); Martinache, F. [Observatoire de la Cote d’Azur, Boulevard de l’Observatoire, F-06304 Nice (France); Hagelberg, J., E-mail: jovanovic.nem@gmail.com [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)

2015-11-10

State-of-the-art coronagraphs employed on extreme adaptive optics enabled instruments are constantly improving the contrast detection limit for companions at ever-closer separations from the host star. In order to constrain their properties and, ultimately, compositions, it is important to precisely determine orbital parameters and contrasts with respect to the stars they orbit. This can be difficult in the post-coronagraphic image plane, as by definition the central star has been occulted by the coronagraph. We demonstrate the flexibility of utilizing the deformable mirror in the adaptive optics system of the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme Adaptive Optics system to generate a field of speckles for the purposes of calibration. Speckles can be placed up to 22.5 λ/D from the star, with any position angle, brightness, and abundance required. Most importantly, we show that a fast modulation of the added speckle phase, between 0 and π, during a long science integration renders these speckles effectively incoherent with the underlying halo. We quantitatively show for the first time that this incoherence, in turn, increases the robustness and stability of the adaptive speckles, which will improve the precision of astrometric and photometric calibration procedures. This technique will be valuable for high-contrast imaging observations with imagers and integral field spectrographs alike.

Highly stabilized gadolinium chelates functionalized on metal nanoparticles as magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent

Science.gov (United States)

Siddiqui, Talha S.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive method for imaging and diagnosing tissue damage, organ function and the vascular system. Magnevist(TM) a complex of diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) and Gd3+ is a clinically approved contrast agent for MRI. A derivative of DTPA was formed by the addition of two cysteine groups (DTPA-L-Cys) through amide linkage. The Gd complex of this ligand bonds with the silver surfaces through the cysteine thiols. GdDTPA-L-Cys was bound to ˜10nm diameter Ag nanoparticles for use as a multifunctional MRI contrast agent. The ligand and complex were characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, ESI-MS and IR spectroscopy. The silver construct was characterized by TEM, TGA and UV-Vis absorption spectra. The per metal complex r1 relaxivity of GdDTPA-L-Cys{Ag} greater than that of Magnavist(TM) with the same molarity for both compounds. The synthesis of a DTPA derivative is described that allows it to bind to silver or gold nanoparticles through a single thiol linkage (DTPASH). The resulting Gd complex, GdDTPASH, was bound to Ag nanoparticles to create a single monolayer on the surface. The construct was further stabilized in buffered solution with the addition of a thiolated PEG chain. The highly stabilized nanoparticle construct delivers a high payload of Gd compelex and is an effective T1 brightening agent. The production of this type of construct opens the way for engineered multimodal MRI contrast agents.

Low-Cost, High-Throughput 3-D Pulmonary Imager Using Hyperpolarized Contrast Agents and Low-Field MRI

Science.gov (United States)

2017-10-01

low- cost and high-throughput was a key element proposed for this project, which we believe will be of significant benefit to the patients suffering...Award Number: W81XWH-15-1-0272 TITLE: Low- Cost , High-Throughput 3-D Pulmonary Imager Using Hyperpolarized Contrast Agents and Low-Field MRI...STATEMENT: Approved for Public Release; Distribution Unlimited The views, opinions and/or findings contained in this report are those of the author(s

Transient analysis of electromagnetic wave interactions on high-contrast scatterers using volume electric field integral equation

KAUST Repository

Sayed, Sadeed Bin; Ulku, Huseyin Arda; Bagci, Hakan

2014-01-01

A marching on-in-time (MOT)-based time domain volume electric field integral equation (TD-VEFIE) solver is proposed for accurate and stable analysis of electromagnetic wave interactions on high-contrast scatterers. The stability is achieved using

Evaluation of high frequency ultrasound methods and contrast agents for characterising tumor response to anti-angiogenic treatment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rix, Anne, E-mail: arix@ukaachen.de [Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Lederle, Wiltrud, E-mail: wlederle@ukaachen.de [Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Siepmann, Monica, E-mail: monica.siepmann@rub.de [Department of Medical Engineering, Universitätstraße 150, 44780 Bochum, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum (Germany); Fokong, Stanley, E-mail: sfokong@ukaachen.de [Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Behrendt, Florian F., E-mail: fbehrendt@ukaachen.de [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Bzyl, Jessica, E-mail: jbzyl@ukaachen.de [Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Grouls, Christoph, E-mail: cgrouls@ukaachen.de [Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Kiessling, Fabian, E-mail: fkiessling@ukaachen.de [Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Palmowski, Moritz, E-mail: mpalmowski@ukaachen.de [Department of Experimental Molecular Imaging, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany); Department of Nuclear Medicine, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, RWTH-Aachen University, Aachen (Germany)

2012-10-15

Purpose: To compare non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced high-frequency 3D Doppler ultrasound with contrast-enhanced 2D and 3D B-mode imaging for assessing tumor vascularity during antiangiogenic treatment using soft-shell and hard-shell microbubbles. Materials and methods: Antiangiogenic therapy effects (SU11248) on vascularity of subcutaneous epidermoid-carcinoma xenografts (A431) in female CD1 nude mice were investigated longitudinally using non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced 3D Doppler at 25 MHz. Additionally, contrast-enhanced 2D and 3D B-mode scans were performed by injecting hard-shell (poly-butyl-cyanoacrylate-based) and soft-shell (phospholipid-based) microbubbles. Suitability of both contrast agents for high frequency imaging and the sensitivity of the different ultrasound methods to assess early antiangiogenic therapy effects were investigated. Ultrasound data were validated by immunohistology. Results: Hard-shell microbubbles induced higher signal intensity changes in tumors than soft-shell microbubbles in 2D B-mode measurements (424 ± 7 vs. 169 ± 8 A.U.; p < 0.01). In 3D measurements, signals of soft-shell microbubbles were hardly above the background (5.48 ± 4.57 vs. 3.86 ± 2.92 A.U.), while signals from hard-shell microbubbles were sufficiently high (30.5 ± 8.06 A.U). Using hard-shell microbubbles 2D and 3D B-mode imaging depicted a significant decrease in tumor vascularity during antiangiogenic therapy from day 1 on. Using soft-shell microbubbles significant therapy effects were observed at day 4 after therapy in 2D B-mode imaging but could not be detected in the 3D mode. With non-enhanced and contrast-enhanced Doppler imaging significant differences between treated and untreated tumors were found from day 2 on. Conclusion: Hard-shell microbubble-enhanced 2D and 3D B-mode ultrasound achieved highest sensitivity for assessing therapy effects on tumor vascularisation and were superior to B-mode ultrasound with soft-shell microbubbles and to Doppler

A cross-stacked plasmonic nanowire network for high-contrast femtosecond optical switching.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yuanhai; Zhang, Xinping; Fang, Xiaohui; Liang, Shuyan

2016-01-21

We report an ultrafast optical switching device constructed by stacking two layers of gold nanowires into a perpendicularly crossed network, which works at a speed faster than 280 fs with an on/off modulation depth of about 22.4%. The two stacks play different roles in enhancing consistently the optical switching performance due to their different dependence on the polarization of optical electric fields. The cross-plasmon resonance based on the interaction between the perpendicularly stacked gold nanowires and its Fano-coupling with Rayleigh anomaly is the dominant mechanism for such a high-contrast optical switching device.

Evaluation of the acute adverse reaction of contrast medium with high and moderate iodine concentration in patients undergoing computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagamoto, Masashi; Gomi, Tatsuya; Terada, Hitoshi; Terada, Shigehiko; Kohda, Eiichi

2006-01-01

The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate and compare acute adverse reactions between contrast medium containing moderate and high concentrations of iodine in patients undergoing computed tomography (CT). A total of 945 patients undergoing enhanced CT were randomly assigned to receive one of two doses of contrast medium. We then prospectively investigated the incidence of adverse reactions. Iopamidol was used as the contrast medium, with a high concentration of 370 mgI/ml and a moderate concentration of 300 mgI/ml. The frequency of adverse reactions, such as pain at the injection site and heat sensation, were determined. Acute adverse reactions were observed in 2.4% (11/458) of the moderate-concentration group compared to 3.11% (15/482) of the high-concentration group; there was no significant difference in incidence between the two groups. Most adverse reactions were mild, and there was no significant difference in severity. One patient in the high-concentration group was seen to have a moderate adverse reaction. No correlation existed between the incidence of adverse reactions and patient characteristics such as sex, age, weight, flow amount, and flow rate. The incidence of pain was not significantly different between the two groups. In contrast, the incidence of heat sensation was significantly higher in the high-concentration group. The incidence and severity of acute adverse reactions were not significantly different between the two groups, and there were no severe adverse reactions in either group. (author)

Experiencing More Mathematics Anxiety than Expected? Contrasting Trait and State Anxiety in High Achieving Students

Science.gov (United States)

Roos, A.-L.; Bieg, M.; Goetz, T.; Frenzel, A. C.; Taxer, J.; Zeidner, M.

2015-01-01

This study examined mathematics anxiety among high and low achieving students (N = 237, grades 9 and 10) by contrasting trait (habitual) and state (momentary) assessments of anxiety. Previous studies have found that trait anxiety measures are typically rated higher than state measures. Furthermore, the academic self-concept has been identified to…

Scaling Limit of Symmetric Random Walk in High-Contrast Periodic Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Piatnitski, A.; Zhizhina, E.

2017-11-01

The paper deals with the asymptotic properties of a symmetric random walk in a high contrast periodic medium in Z^d, d≥1. From the existing homogenization results it follows that under diffusive scaling the limit behaviour of this random walk need not be Markovian. The goal of this work is to show that if in addition to the coordinate of the random walk in Z^d we introduce an extra variable that characterizes the position of the random walk inside the period then the limit dynamics of this two-component process is Markov. We describe the limit process and observe that the components of the limit process are coupled. We also prove the convergence in the path space for the said random walk.

Low index contrast heterostructure photonic crystal cavities with high quality factors and vertical radiation coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Ge, Xiaochen; Minkov, Momchil; Fan, Shanhui; Li, Xiuling; Zhou, Weidong

2018-04-01

We report here design and experimental demonstration of heterostructure photonic crystal cavities resonating near the Γ point with simultaneous strong lateral confinement and highly directional vertical radiation patterns. The lateral confinement is provided by a mode gap originating from a gradual modulation of the hole radii. High quality factor resonance is realized with a low index contrast between silicon nitride and quartz. The near surface-normal directional emission is preserved when the size of the core region is scaled down. The influence of the cavity size parameters on the resonant modes is also investigated theoretically and experimentally.

Enhancement tuning and control for high dynamic range images in multi-scale locally adaptive contrast enhancement algorithms

Science.gov (United States)

Cvetkovic, Sascha D.; Schirris, Johan; de With, Peter H. N.

2009-01-01

For real-time imaging in surveillance applications, visibility of details is of primary importance to ensure customer confidence. If we display High Dynamic-Range (HDR) scenes whose contrast spans four or more orders of magnitude on a conventional monitor without additional processing, results are unacceptable. Compression of the dynamic range is therefore a compulsory part of any high-end video processing chain because standard monitors are inherently Low- Dynamic Range (LDR) devices with maximally two orders of display dynamic range. In real-time camera processing, many complex scenes are improved with local contrast enhancements, bringing details to the best possible visibility. In this paper, we show how a multi-scale high-frequency enhancement scheme, in which gain is a non-linear function of the detail energy, can be used for the dynamic range compression of HDR real-time video camera signals. We also show the connection of our enhancement scheme to the processing way of the Human Visual System (HVS). Our algorithm simultaneously controls perceived sharpness, ringing ("halo") artifacts (contrast) and noise, resulting in a good balance between visibility of details and non-disturbance of artifacts. The overall quality enhancement, suitable for both HDR and LDR scenes, is based on a careful selection of the filter types for the multi-band decomposition and a detailed analysis of the signal per frequency band.

Ultrashort Echo Time Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Lung Using a High-Relaxivity T1 Blood-Pool Contrast Agent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joris Tchouala Nofiele

2014-10-01

Full Text Available The lung remains one of the most challenging organs to image using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI due to intrinsic rapid signal decay. However, unlike conventional modalities such as computed tomography, MRI does not involve radiation and can provide functional and morphologic information on a regional basis. Here we demonstrate proof of concept for a new MRI approach to achieve substantial gains in a signal to noise ratio (SNR in the lung parenchyma: contrast-enhanced ultrashort echo time (UTE imaging following intravenous injection of a high-relaxivity blood-pool manganese porphyrin T1 contrast agent. The new contrast agent increased relative enhancement of the lung parenchyma by over 10-fold compared to gadolinium diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA, and the use of UTE boosted the SNR by a factor of 4 over conventional T1-weighted gradient echo acquisitions. The new agent also maintains steady enhancement over at least 60 minutes, thus providing a long time window for obtaining high-resolution, high-quality images and the ability to measure a number of physiologic parameters.

Dose Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography provide more information additive to contrast enhanced MRI in highly suspected breast cancer patients?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Seong Jang; Kim, In Ju; Kim, Yong Ki; Bae, Young Tae

2000-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate whether Tc-99m MIBI scintimammography (SMM) provide more information than contrast enhanced MRI in highly suspected breast cancer patients. This study included 32 breast lesions of 29 highly suspected patients having breast cancer. All patients were performed SMM and contrast enhanced MRI. The SMMs and contrast enhanced MRI were correlated with histopathologic results. Thirty breast lesions were diagnosed malignant diseases and 2 were diagnosed benign diseases. SMM showed 29 true positives (TP), 1 true negative (TN), 1 false positive (FP), and 1 false negative (FN). The sensitivity was 96.6%. Contrast enhanced MRI revealed 24 TP, 0 TN, 1 FP, 3 FN and 4 indeterminate cases. The sensitivity was 88.8%. In the assessment of axillary lymph node metastasis, SMM showed 9 TP, 10 TN, 0 FP, and 3 FN. The sensitivity and specificity were 75% and 100%. Contrast enhanced MRI revealed 6 TP, 9 TN, 1 FP, and 6 FN. The sensitivity and specificity were 50% and 90%. Among 4 indeterminate cases with MRI findings, SMM correctly diagnosed malignant breast diseases in 3 lesions. However, SMM showed false positive in 1 lesion. SMM could correctly diagnosed malignant breast diseases more 5 lesions than contrast enhanced MRI. SMM revealed higher sensitivity in detection of primary breast cancer and axillary LN metastasis than contrast enhanced MRI. SMMs could correctly diagnosed malignant breast diseases even if the MRI showed indeterminate findings. In highly suspected patients having breast cancer, SMM may provide additive information in detection of breast cancer if contrast enhanced MRI showed indeterminate findings but this is to be determined later by large population based study

MR angiography of the carotid arteries and intracranial circulation: advantage of a high relaxivity contrast agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anzalone, N.; Scotti, R.; Iadanza, A.

2006-01-01

Several studies have shown the usefulness of contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA) for imaging the supraortic vessels, and, as a consequence, it has rapidly become a routine imaging modality. The main advantage over unenhanced techniques is the possibility to acquire larger volumes, allowing demonstration of the carotid artery from its origin to the intracranial portion. Most published studies on CE-MRA of the carotid arteries have been performed with standard Gd-based chelates whose T1 relaxivity values are similar. Recently new gadolinium chelates such as gadobenate dimeglumine (Gd-BOP-TA, MultiHance; Bracco Imaging, Milan, Italy) have been developed which have markedly higher intravascular T1 relaxivity values. When administered at an equivalent dose to that of a standard agent, these newer contrast agents produce significantly greater intravascular signal enhancement. The availability of an appropriate high-relaxivity contrast agent might also help to overcome some of the intrinsic technical problems (e. g. those related to flow) that affect time-of-flight (TOF) and phase contrast (PC) MR angiography of the intracranial vasculature. To avoid the problem of superimposition of veins, ultrafast gradient echo MRA techniques with very short TR and TE have been developed. Although the precise sequence parameters vary between manufacturers, they are basically similar. The choice between performing a time-resolved or high spatial resolution CE-MRA examination depends upon the precise clinical application. The most common applications include the study of cerebral aneurysms, arteriovenous malformations, dural arteriovenous fistulas and dural venous diseases

Sub-GHz-resolution C-band Nyquist-filtering interleaver on a high-index-contrast photonic integrated circuit.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhuang, Leimeng; Zhu, Chen; Corcoran, Bill; Burla, Maurizio; Roeloffzen, Chris G H; Leinse, Arne; Schröder, Jochen; Lowery, Arthur J

2016-03-21

Modern optical communications rely on high-resolution, high-bandwidth filtering to maximize the data-carrying capacity of fiber-optic networks. Such filtering typically requires high-speed, power-hungry digital processes in the electrical domain. Passive optical filters currently provide high bandwidths with low power consumption, but at the expense of resolution. Here, we present a passive filter chip that functions as an optical Nyquist-filtering interleaver featuring sub-GHz resolution and a near-rectangular passband with 8% roll-off. This performance is highly promising for high-spectral-efficiency Nyquist wavelength division multiplexed (N-WDM) optical super-channels. The chip provides a simple two-ring-resonator-assisted Mach-Zehnder interferometer, which has a sub-cm2 footprint owing to the high-index-contrast Si3N4/SiO2 waveguide, while manifests low wavelength-dependency enabling C-band (> 4 THz) coverage with more than 160 effective free spectral ranges of 25 GHz. This device is anticipated to be a critical building block for spectrally-efficient, chip-scale transceivers and ROADMs for N-WDM super-channels in next-generation optical communication networks.

Low osmolar (non-ionic) contrast media versus high osmolar (ionic) contrast media in intravenous urography and enhanced computerized tomography: a cost-effectiveness analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wangsuphachart, S

1991-12-01

The cost-effectiveness of three alternative policies for the use of intravenous contrast media for urography and enhanced computerized tomography (CT) are analyzed. Alternative #1 is to use high osmolar contrast media (HOCM) in all patients, the historical policy. Alternative #2 is to replace it with low osmolar contrast media (LOCM) in all patients. Alternative #3 is to use LOCM only in the high risk patients. Data on the 6,242 patients who underwent intravenous urography and enhanced CT at the Department of Radiology, Chulalongkorn Hospital in 1989 were used. Both societal and hospital viewpoints were analyzed. The incremental cost-effectiveness (ICE) between #2 and #1 was 26,739 Baht (US$1,070) per healthy day saved (HDS), while the ICE between #3 and #1 was 12,057 Baht (US$482) per HDS. For fatal cases only, ICE between #2 and #1 was 35,111 Baht (US$1,404) per HDS, while the ICE between #3 and #1 was 18,266 Baht (US$731) per HDS. The incremental cost (IC) per patient was 2,341 Baht (US$94) and 681 Baht (US$27) respectively. For the hospital viewpoint the ICE between #2 and #1 was 13,744 (US$550) and between #3 and #1 was 6,127 Baht (US$245) per HDS. The IC per patient was 1,203 Baht (US$48) and 346 Baht (US$14), respectively. From the sensitivity analysis, #3 should be used if the LOCM price is reduced more than 75% (equal to 626 Baht or less) and more than 80% of the patients are able to pay for the contrast media.

A hardware architecture for real-time shadow removal in high-contrast video

Science.gov (United States)

Verdugo, Pablo; Pezoa, Jorge E.; Figueroa, Miguel

2017-09-01

Broadcasting an outdoor sports event at daytime is a challenging task due to the high contrast that exists between areas in the shadow and light conditions within the same scene. Commercial cameras typically do not handle the high dynamic range of such scenes in a proper manner, resulting in broadcast streams with very little shadow detail. We propose a hardware architecture for real-time shadow removal in high-resolution video, which reduces the shadow effect and simultaneously improves shadow details. The algorithm operates only on the shadow portions of each video frame, thus improving the results and producing more realistic images than algorithms that operate on the entire frame, such as simplified Retinex and histogram shifting. The architecture receives an input in the RGB color space, transforms it into the YIQ space, and uses color information from both spaces to produce a mask of the shadow areas present in the image. The mask is then filtered using a connected components algorithm to eliminate false positives and negatives. The hardware uses pixel information at the edges of the mask to estimate the illumination ratio between light and shadow in the image, which is then used to correct the shadow area. Our prototype implementation simultaneously processes up to 7 video streams of 1920×1080 pixels at 60 frames per second on a Xilinx Kintex-7 XC7K325T FPGA.

High-contrast differentiation resolution 3D imaging of rodent brain by X-ray computed microtomography

Science.gov (United States)

Zikmund, T.; Novotná, M.; Kavková, M.; Tesařová, M.; Kaucká, M.; Szarowská, B.; Adameyko, I.; Hrubá, E.; Buchtová, M.; Dražanová, E.; Starčuk, Z.; Kaiser, J.

2018-02-01

The biomedically focused brain research is largely performed on laboratory mice considering a high homology between the human and mouse genomes. A brain has an intricate and highly complex geometrical structure that is hard to display and analyse using only 2D methods. Applying some fast and efficient methods of brain visualization in 3D will be crucial for the neurobiology in the future. A post-mortem analysis of experimental animals' brains usually involves techniques such as magnetic resonance and computed tomography. These techniques are employed to visualize abnormalities in the brains' morphology or reparation processes. The X-ray computed microtomography (micro CT) plays an important role in the 3D imaging of internal structures of a large variety of soft and hard tissues. This non-destructive technique is applied in biological studies because the lab-based CT devices enable to obtain a several-micrometer resolution. However, this technique is always used along with some visualization methods, which are based on the tissue staining and thus differentiate soft tissues in biological samples. Here, a modified chemical contrasting protocol of tissues for a micro CT usage is introduced as the best tool for ex vivo 3D imaging of a post-mortem mouse brain. This way, the micro CT provides a high spatial resolution of the brain microscopic anatomy together with a high tissue differentiation contrast enabling to identify more anatomical details in the brain. As the micro CT allows a consequent reconstruction of the brain structures into a coherent 3D model, some small morphological changes can be given into context of their mutual spatial relationships.

Phase contrast enhanced high resolution X-ray imaging and tomography of soft tissue

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jakubek, Jan; Granja, Carlos; Dammer, Jiri; Hanus, Robert; Holy, Tomas; Pospisil, Stanislav; Tykva, Richard; Uher, Josef; Vykydal, Zdenek

2007-01-01

A tabletop system for digital high resolution and high sensitivity X-ray micro-radiography has been developed for small-animal and soft-tissue imaging. The system is based on a micro-focus X-ray tube and the semiconductor hybrid position sensitive Medipix2 pixel detector. Transmission radiography imaging, conventionally based only on absorption, is enhanced by exploiting phase-shift effects induced in the X-ray beam traversing the sample. Phase contrast imaging is realized by object edge enhancement. DAQ is done by a novel fully integrated USB-based readout with online image generation. Improved signal reconstruction techniques make use of advanced statistical data analysis, enhanced beam hardening correction and direct thickness calibration of individual pixels. 2D and 3D micro-tomography images of several biological samples demonstrate the applicability of the system for biological and medical purposes including in-vivo and time dependent physiological studies in the life sciences

Optimization of Broadband Wavefront Correction at the Princeton High Contrast Imaging Laboratory

Science.gov (United States)

Groff, Tyler Dean; Kasdin, N.; Carlotti, A.

2011-01-01

Wavefront control for imaging of terrestrial planets using coronagraphic techniques requires improving the performance of the wavefront control techniques to expand the correction bandwidth and the size of the dark hole over which it is effective. At the Princeton High Contrast Imaging Laboratory we have focused on increasing the search area using two deformable mirrors (DMs) in series to achieve symmetric correction by correcting both amplitude and phase aberrations. Here we are concerned with increasing the bandwidth of light over which this correction is effective so we include a finite bandwidth into the optimization problem to generate a new stroke minimization algorithm. This allows us to minimize the actuator stroke on the DMs given contrast constraints at multiple wavelengths which define a window over which the dark hole will persist. This windowed stroke minimization algorithm is written in such a way that a weight may be applied to dictate the relative importance of the outer wavelengths to the central wavelength. In order to supply the estimates at multiple wavelengths a functional relationship to a central estimation wavelength is formed. Computational overhead and new experimental results of this windowed stroke minimization algorithm are discussed. The tradeoff between symmetric correction and achievable bandwidth is compared to the observed contrast degradation with wavelength in the experimental results. This work is supported by NASA APRA Grant #NNX09AB96G. The author is also supported under an NESSF Fellowship.

Generation of 25-TW Femtosecond Laser Pulses at 515 nm with Extremely High Temporal Contrast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Hornung

2015-12-01

Full Text Available We report on the frequency doubling of femtosecond laser pulses at 1030 nm center wavelength generated from the fully diode-pumped laser system POLARIS. The newly generated pulses at a center wavelength of 515 nm have a pulse energy of 3 J with a pulse duration of 120 fs. On the basis of initially ultra-high contrast seed pulses we expect a temporal intensity contrast better 10 17 200 ps before the peak of the main pulse. We analyzed the temporal intensity contrast from milliseconds to femtoseconds with a dynamic range covering more than 20 orders of magnitude. The pulses were focussed with a f/2-focussing parabola resulting in a peak intensity exceeding 10 20 W / cm 2 . The peak power and intensity are to the best of our knowledge the highest values for 515 nm-laser-pulses achieved so far.

Pulsed EM Field Response of a Thin, High-Contrast, Finely Layered Structure With Dielectric and Conductive Properties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Hoop, A.T.; Jiang, L.

2009-01-01

The response of a thin, high-contrast, finely layered structure with dielectric and conductive properties to an incident, pulsed, electromagnetic field is investigated theoretically. The fine layering causes the standard spatial discretization techniques to solve Maxwell's equations numerically to

Multiphase contrast-enhanced CT with highly concentrated contrast agent can be used for PET attenuation correction in integrated PET/CT imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aschoff, Philip; Plathow, Christian; Lichy, Matthias P.; Claussen, Claus D.; Pfannenberg, Christina; Beyer, Thomas; Erb, Gunter; Oeksuez, Mehmet Oe.

2012-01-01

State-of-the-art positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) systems incorporate multislice CT technology, thus facilitating the acquisition of multiphase, contrast-enhanced CT data as part of integrated PET/CT imaging protocols. We assess the influence of a highly concentrated iodinated contrast medium (CM) on quantification and image quality following CT-based attenuation correction (CT-AC) in PET/CT. Twenty-eight patients with suspected malignant liver lesions were enrolled prospectively. PET/CT was performed 60 min after injection of 400 MBq of 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) and following the biphasic administration of an intravenous CM (400 mg iodine/ml, Iomeron 400). PET images were reconstructed with CT-AC using any of four acquired CT image sets: non-enhanced, pre-contrast (n-PET), arterial phase (art-PET), portal venous phase (pv-PET) and late phase (late-PET). Normal tissue activity and liver lesions were assessed visually and quantitatively on each PET/CT image set. Visual assessment of PET following CT-AC revealed no noticeable difference in image appearance or quality when using any of the four CT data sets for CT-AC. A total of 44 PET-positive liver lesions was identified in 21 of 28 patients. There were no false-negative or false-positive lesions on PET. Mean standardized uptake values (SUV) in 36 evaluable lesions were: 5.5 (n-PET), 5.8 (art-PET), 5.8 (pv-PET) and 5.8 (late-PET), with the highest mean increase in mean SUV of 6%. Mean SUV changes in liver background increased by up to 10% from n-PET to pv-PET. Multiphase CT data acquired with the use of highly concentrated CM can be used for qualitative assessment of liver lesions in torso FDG PET/CT. The influence on quantification of FDG uptake is small and negligible for most clinical applications. (orig.)

High contrast two-photon imaging of fingermarks

Science.gov (United States)

Stoltzfus, Caleb R.; Rebane, Aleksander

2016-04-01

Optically-acquired fingermarks are widely used as evidence across law enforcement agencies as well as in the courts of law. A common technique for visualizing latent fingermarks on nonporous surfaces consists of cyanoacrylate fuming of the fingerprint material, followed by impregnation with a fluorescent dye, which under ultra violet (UV) illumination makes the fingermarks visible and thus accessible for digital recording. However, there exist critical circumstances, when the image quality is compromised due to high background scattering, high auto-fluorescence of the substrate material, or other detrimental photo-physical and photo-chemical effects such as light-induced damage to the sample. Here we present a novel near-infrared (NIR), two-photon induced fluorescence imaging modality, which significantly enhances the quality of the fingermark images, especially when obtained from highly reflective and/or scattering surfaces, while at the same time reducing photo-damage to sensitive forensic samples.

Effects of high iodine doses given parenterally as contrast medium on parameter of the pro/antioxidative balance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winkler, R.; Griebenow, S.; Scheidleder, B.; Bailer, H.

2002-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate effects of high iodine doses given parenterally as contrast medium on parameters of lipid status and thyroid hormone status as well as on parameters of the pro/antioxidative balance of spa patients. 29 patients with a comparable indication who had to undergo an angiography were chosen. The blood parameters of these patients were determined before and after the angiographic treatment. No provable changes of the thyroid parameters f-T 3 , f-T 4 and TSH were found after the angiography. In case of enzyme activities, the protective enzymes SOD and GSHPX showed no changes, while the concentrations of peroxides and MDA were increased significantly. Corresponding to this, the total antioxidative status and the vitamin E level decreased significantly. Altogether these results stand for a moderate deterioration of the antioxidative protective potential by the highly iodine containing contrast medium. (author)

Local contrast-enhanced MR images via high dynamic range processing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chandra, Shekhar S; Engstrom, Craig; Fripp, Jurgen; Neubert, Ales; Jin, Jin; Walker, Duncan; Salvado, Olivier; Ho, Charles; Crozier, Stuart

2018-09-01

To develop a local contrast-enhancing and feature-preserving high dynamic range (HDR) image processing algorithm for multichannel and multisequence MR images of multiple body regions and tissues, and to evaluate its performance for structure visualization, bias field (correction) mitigation, and automated tissue segmentation. A multiscale-shape and detail-enhancement HDR-MRI algorithm is applied to data sets of multichannel and multisequence MR images of the brain, knee, breast, and hip. In multisequence 3T hip images, agreement between automatic cartilage segmentations and corresponding synthesized HDR-MRI series were computed for mean voxel overlap established from manual segmentations for a series of cases. Qualitative comparisons between the developed HDR-MRI and standard synthesis methods were performed on multichannel 7T brain and knee data, and multisequence 3T breast and knee data. The synthesized HDR-MRI series provided excellent enhancement of fine-scale structure from multiple scales and contrasts, while substantially reducing bias field effects in 7T brain gradient echo, T 1 and T 2 breast images and 7T knee multichannel images. Evaluation of the HDR-MRI approach on 3T hip multisequence images showed superior outcomes for automatic cartilage segmentations with respect to manual segmentation, particularly around regions with hyperintense synovial fluid, across a set of 3D sequences. The successful combination of multichannel/sequence MR images into a single-fused HDR-MR image format provided consolidated visualization of tissues within 1 omnibus image, enhanced definition of thin, complex anatomical structures in the presence of variable or hyperintense signals, and improved tissue (cartilage) segmentation outcomes. © 2018 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography with High-Contrast Dielectrics

Science.gov (United States)

Nurge, Mark

2010-01-01

The Electrical Capacitance Volume Tomography (ECVT) system has been designed to complement the tools created to sense the presence of water in nonconductive spacecraft materials, by helping to not only find the approximate location of moisture but also its quantity and depth. The ECVT system has been created for use with a new image reconstruction algorithm capable of imaging high-contrast dielectric distributions. Rather than relying solely on mutual capacitance readings as is done in traditional electrical capacitance tomography applications, this method reconstructs high-resolution images using only the self-capacitance measurements. The image reconstruction method assumes that the material under inspection consists of a binary dielectric distribution, with either a high relative dielectric value representing the water or a low dielectric value for the background material. By constraining the unknown dielectric material to one of two values, the inverse math problem that must be solved to generate the image is no longer ill-determined. The image resolution becomes limited only by the accuracy and resolution of the measurement circuitry. Images were reconstructed using this method with both synthetic and real data acquired using an aluminum structure inserted at different positions within the sensing region. The cuboid geometry of the system has two parallel planes of 16 conductors arranged in a 4 4 pattern. The electrode geometry consists of parallel planes of copper conductors, connected through custom-built switch electronics, to a commercially available capacitance to digital converter. The figure shows two 4 4 arrays of electrodes milled from square sections of copper-clad circuit-board material and mounted on two pieces of glass-filled plastic backing, which were cut to approximately square shapes, 10 cm on a side. Each electrode is placed on 2.0-cm centers. The parallel arrays were mounted with the electrode arrays approximately 3 cm apart. The open ends

High-contrast direct imaging of exo-planets and circumstellar disks: from the self-coherent camera to NICI data analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mazoyer, Johan

2014-01-01

Out of the 1800 exo-planets detected to date, only 50 were by direct imaging. However, by allowing the observation of circumstellar disks and planets (sometimes simultaneously around the same star, as in the case of β-pictoris), this method is a fundamental tool for the understanding of planetary formation. In addition, direct access to the light of the detected objects allows spectroscopy, paving the way for the first time to the chemical and thermal analysis of their atmosphere and surface. However, direct imaging raises specific challenges: accessing objects fainter than their star (with a ration up to 10"-"8 to 10"-"1"1), and separated only by a fraction of arc-second. To obtain these values, several techniques must be implemented. A corona-graph, used in complement with a deformable mirror and active optical aberration correction methods, produces high-contrast images, which can be further processed by differential imaging techniques. My PhD thesis work took place at the intersection of these techniques. At first, I analyzed, in simulation and experimentally on the THD 'French acronym for very high contrast' bench of the Paris Observatory, the performance of the self-coherent camera, a wavefront sensing technique used to correct the optical aberrations in the focal plane. I managed to obtained high-contrast zones (called dark holes) with performance up to 3.10"-"8 between 5 and 12?/D, in monochromatic light. I also started an analysis of the performance in narrow spectral bands. In the second part of my thesis, I applied the latest differential imaging techniques to high contrast images from another corona-graphic instrument, NICI. The processing of these data revealed unprecedented views of the dust disk orbiting HD 15115. (author)

Enhancement tuning and control for high dynamic range images in multi-scale locally adaptive contrast enhancement algorithms

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cvetkovic, S.D.; Schirris, J.; With, de P.H.N.

2009-01-01

For real-time imaging in surveillance applications, visibility of details is of primary importance to ensure customer confidence. If we display High Dynamic-Range (HDR) scenes whose contrast spans four or more orders of magnitude on a conventional monitor without additional processing, results are

Carcinoma of the uterine cervix. High-resolution turbo spin-echo MR imaging with contrast-enhanced dynamic scanning and T2-weighting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abe, Y.; Yamashita, Y.; Namimoto, T.; Takahashi, M.; Katabuchi, H.; Tanaka, N.; Okamura, H.

1998-01-01

Purpose: To compare high-resolution contrast-enhanced (Gd-DTPA) dynamic MR imaging with T2-weighted turbo spin-echo (TSE) imaging in the evaluation of uterine cervical carcinoma. Material and Methods: Thirty-two patients with cervical carcinoma underwent MR imaging on a 1.5 T superconductive unit to have the extension of the disease assessed before treatment. A phased-array coil was used in all patients. In 25 patients, surgical confirmation of the diagnosis was obtained after imaging. Radiation therapy was selected for the remaining 7 patients with advanced carcinoma. Qualitative and quantitative image analyses were also performed. Results: The cervical carcinomas showed maximum contrast in the cervical stroma and myometrium in the early dynamic phase. The tumor/cervical-stroma contrast in the early dynamic phase obtained with the T1-weighted TSE technique (contrast-to-noise ratio 22.6) was significantly higher than that obtained in T2-weighted TSE imaging (contrast-to-noise ratio 4.3). In the evaluation of parametrial invasion, the accuracy of T2-weighted imaging was 71.8% and contrast-enhanced dynamic imaging 81.2%. Conclusion: High-resolution contrast-enhanced (Gd-DTPA) dynamic MR imaging in cervical cancer offers improved tumor/cervical-stroma contrast and provides useful information on parametrial invasion. (orig.)

Case with high cervical intramedullary hemangioblastoma associated with arteriovenous fistula. CT with simultaneous intravenous and intrathecal injection of contrast medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hashimoto, Takao; Shoji, Shin-ichi; Yanagisawa, Nobuo; Tada, Tsuyoshi; Kobayashi, Naoki

1988-02-01

A 34-year-old woman complained of right hemiparesis and pain in the right hand. Routine X-ray of the cervical portion failed to reveal abnormal findings. CT with intravenous contrast medium showed a large high-density mass in the spinal canal at the level of C2. Right vertebral angiography showed a hypervascular mass. With simultaneous intravenous and intrathecal injections of contrast medium, the tumor was shown as a moderately high-density area and the parenchyma of cord as a thin low-density area surrounding the tumor stain on CT. These CT appearances led to the final diagnosis of high cervical intramedullary hemangioblastoma associated with arteriovenous fistulae. Pathological findings are typical of hemangioblastoma. The usefulness of CT in detecting the localization of hypervascular spinal cord lesions is stressed. (Namekawa, K.).

Correlation of double-contrast high-density barium enema, colonoscopy, and histology in children with special attention to disparities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stringer, D.A.; Sherman, P.M.; Jakowenko, N.

1986-01-01

Colonscopic and double-contrast high-density barium enema (DCBE) findings were correlated in 68 patients (39 boys and 29 girls) aged 6 months to 18 years (mean 11.6 years) evaluated over a 24-month period. There was excellent correlation in 53 patients (78.0%) and good correlation in another 3 (4.4%) who had identical diagnoses and only slightly differing extent of disease reported. In 2 of these, DCBE showed more extensive disease, confirmed histologically in 1. Distal colitis seen on colonoscopy as reddening and neovascularity was missed on DCBE in 6 patients. Colonoscopy and DEBE failed to show a polyp in 1 patient each. One patient who had a normal DCBE and colonoscopy demonstrated a histological abnormality, and 1 patient with an abnormality on histology and DCBE was normal on colonscopy. A disparity resulted from the time between procedures in 1 patient and observer error in another. This high correlation is far better than any previously reported in children, supporting the use of high-density barium sulfate and double-contrast barium enemas in pediatric patients. (orig.)

High transmittance contrast in amorphous to hexagonal phase of Ge2Sb2Te5: Reversible NIR-window

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Palwinder; Singh, A. P.; Kanda, Neetu; Mishra, Monu; Gupta, Govind; Thakur, Anup

2017-12-01

Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST) is one of the best phase change materials because of its splendid set of properties, viz., high thermal stability, fast crystallization speed, good endurance, scalability, and reliability. Phase transition [amorphous → face centered cubic (fcc) → hexagonal close packed (hcp)] of GST thin films with annealing was studied using X-ray diffraction. Thin films in amorphous, fcc, and hcp phases are highly, medium, and negligible transparent in the near infra-red region, respectively. The optical transmission in amorphous, fcc, and hcp phases is ˜92%, ˜46%, and ˜2%, respectively, at the wavelength of 2740 nm. At 2740 nm, a high transmission contrast (˜90%) is observed with phase transition from the amorphous to hcp phase. By utilizing large transmission contrast, it is demonstrated that GST can be availed as a potential candidate for reversible near infra-red-window. The sharp change in optical transmission with phase transition can be understood from the change in density of states in the valence band.

Anisotropic photoconductivity and current deflection induced in Bi12SiO20 by high contrast interference pattern

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kukhtarev, N.V.; Lyuksyutov, S; Buchhave, Preben

1996-01-01

We have predicted and observed an anisotropic photocurrent induced in the cubic crystal Bi/sub 12/SiO/sub 20/ by a high-contrast interference pattern. The transverse current detected when the interference pattern is tilted is caused by deflection of the direct current generated by an external...

Highly stable polymer coated nano-clustered silver plates: a multimodal optical contrast agent for biomedical imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ray, Aniruddha; Mukundan, Ananya; Karamchand, Leshern; Kopelman, Raoul; Xie, Zhixing; Wang, Xueding

2014-01-01

Here, we present a new optical contrast agent based on silver nanoplate clusters embedded inside of a polymer nano matrix. Unlike nanosphere clusters, which have been well studied, nanoplate clusters have unique properties due to the different possible orientations of interaction between the individual plates, resulting in a significant broadening of the absorption spectra. These nanoclusters were immobilized inside of a polymer cladding so as to maintain their stability and optical properties under in vivo conditions. The polymer-coated silver nanoplate clusters show a lower toxicity compared to the uncoated nanoparticles. At high nanoparticle concentrations, cell death occurs mostly due to apoptosis. These nanoparticles were used for targeted fluorescence imaging in a rat glioma cell line by incorporating a fluorescent dye into the matrix, followed by conjugation of a tumor targeting an F3 peptide. We further used these nanoparticles as photoacoustic contrast agents in vivo to enhance the contrast of the vasculature structures in a rat ear model. We observed a contrast enhancement of over 90% following the nanoparticle injection. It is also shown that these NPs can serve as efficient contrast agents, with specific targeting abilities for broadband multimodal imaging that are usable for diagnostic applications and that extend into use as therapeutic agents as well. (paper)

Contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM) versus MRI in the high-risk screening setting: patient preferences and attitudes.

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Jordana; Miller, Matthew M; Mehta, Tejas S; Fein-Zachary, Valerie; Nathanson, Audrey; Hori, Wendy; Monahan-Earley, Rita; Slanetz, Priscilla J

Our study evaluates patient preferences toward screening CESM versus MRI. As part of a prospective study, high-risk patients had breast MRI and CESM. Patients completed an anonymous survey to evaluate preferences regarding the two modalities. 88% of participants completed the survey. 79% preferred CESM over MRI if the exams had equal sensitivity. 89% would be comfortable receiving contrast as part of an annual screening test. High-risk populations may accept CESM as a screening exam and may prefer it over screening MRI if ongoing trials demonstrate screening CESM to be clinically non-inferior MRI. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A note on variational multiscale methods for high-contrast heterogeneous porous media flows with rough source terms

KAUST Repository

Calo, Victor M.

2011-09-01

In this short note, we discuss variational multiscale methods for solving porous media flows in high-contrast heterogeneous media with rough source terms. Our objective is to separate, as much as possible, subgrid effects induced by the media properties from those due to heterogeneous source terms. For this reason, enriched coarse spaces designed for high-contrast multiscale problems are used to represent the effects of heterogeneities of the media. Furthermore, rough source terms are captured via auxiliary correction equations that appear in the formulation of variational multiscale methods [23]. These auxiliary equations are localized and one can use additive or multiplicative constructions for the subgrid corrections as discussed in the current paper. Our preliminary numerical results show that one can capture the effects due to both spatial heterogeneities in the coefficients (such as permeability field) and source terms (e.g., due to singular well terms) in one iteration. We test the cases for both smooth source terms and rough source terms and show that with the multiplicative correction, the numerical approximations are more accurate compared to the additive correction. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd.

Interaction of a high-order Bessel beam with a submerged spherical ultrasound contrast agent shell - Scattering theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitri, F G

2010-03-01

Acoustic scattering properties of ultrasound contrast agents are useful in extending existing or developing new techniques for biomedical imaging applications. A useful first step in this direction is to investigate the acoustic scattering of a new class of acoustic beams, known as helicoidal high-order Bessel beams, to improve the understanding of their scattering characteristics by an ultrasound contrast agent, which at present is very limited. The transverse acoustic scattering of a commercially available albuminoidal ultrasound contrast agent shell filled with air or a denser gas such as perfluoropropane and placed in a helicoidal Bessel beam of any order is examined numerically. The shell is assumed to possess an outer radius a=3.5 microns and a thickness of approximately 105 nm. Moduli of the total and resonance transverse acoustic scattering form functions are numerically evaluated in the bandwidth 0scattering of a helicoidal Bessel beam of order m1 so that the dynamics of contrast agents would be significantly altered. The main finding of the present theory is the suppression or enhancement for a particular resonance that may be used to advantage in imaging with ultrasound contrast agents for clinical applications. 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

High-resolution blood-pool-contrast-enhanced MR angiography in glioblastoma: tumor-associated neovascularization as a biomarker for patient survival. A preliminary study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Puig, Josep; Blasco, Gerard; Remollo, Sebastian; Hernandez, David; Pedraza, Salvador [Hospital Universitari Dr Josep Trueta, Research Unit of Diagnostic Imaging Institute (IDI), Department of Radiology [Girona Biomedical Research Institute] IDIBGI, Girona (Spain); Daunis-i-Estadella, Josep; Mateu, Gloria [University of Girona, Department of Computer Science, Applied Mathematics and Statistics, Girona (Spain); Alberich-Bayarri, Angel [La Fe Polytechnics and University Hospital, Biomedical Imaging Research Group (GIBI230), La Fe Health Research Institute, Valencia (Spain); Essig, Marco [University of Manitoba, Department of Radiology, Winnipeg (Canada); Jain, Rajan [NYU School of Medicine, Division of Neuroradiology, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Puigdemont, Montserrat [Hospital Universitari Dr Josep Trueta, Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO), Hospital Cancer Registry, Girona (Spain); Sanchez-Gonzalez, Javier [Philips Healthcare Iberica, Madrid (Spain); Wintermark, Max [Stanford University, Department of Radiology, Neuroradiology Division, Palo Alto, CA (United States)

2016-01-15

The objective of the study was to determine whether tumor-associated neovascularization on high-resolution gadofosveset-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) is a useful biomarker for predicting survival in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastomas. Before treatment, 35 patients (25 men; mean age, 64 ± 14 years) with glioblastoma underwent MRI including first-pass dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion and post-contrast T1WI sequences with gadobutrol (0.1 mmol/kg) and, 48 h later, high-resolution MRA with gadofosveset (0.03 mmol/kg). Volumes of interest for contrast-enhancing lesion (CEL), non-CEL, and contralateral normal-appearing white matter were obtained, and DSC perfusion and DWI parameters were evaluated. Prognostic factors were assessed by Kaplan-Meier survival and Cox proportional hazards model. Eighteen (51.42 %) glioblastomas were hypervascular on high-resolution MRA. Hypervascular glioblastomas were associated with higher CEL volume and lower Karnofsky score. Median survival rates for patients with hypovascular and hypervascular glioblastomas treated with surgery, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy were 15 and 9.75 months, respectively (P < 0.001). Tumor-associated neovascularization was the best predictor of survival at 5.25 months (AUC = 0.794, 81.2 % sensitivity, 77.8 % specificity, 76.5 % positive predictive value, 82.4 % negative predictive value) and yielded the highest hazard ratio (P < 0.001). Tumor-associated neovascularization detected on high-resolution blood-pool-contrast-enhanced MRA of newly diagnosed glioblastoma seems to be a useful biomarker that correlates with worse survival. (orig.)

High contrast stellar observations within the diffraction limit at the Palomar Hale telescope

Science.gov (United States)

Mennesson, B.; Hanot, C.; Serabyn, E.; Martin, S. R.; Liewer, K.; Loya, F.; Mawet, D.

2010-07-01

We report on high-accuracy, high-resolution (statistical method, baptized "Null Self-Calibration" (NSC), which provides astrophysical null measurements at the 0.001 level, with 1 σ uncertainties as low as 0.0003. Such accuracy translates into a dynamic range greater than 1000:1 within the diffraction limit, demonstrating that the approach effectively bridges the traditional gap between regular coronagraphs, limited in angular resolution, and long baseline visibility interferometers, whose dynamic range is restricted to 100:1. As our measurements are extremely sensitive to the brightness distribution very close to the optical axis, we were able to constrain the stellar diameters and amounts of circumstellar emission for a sample of very bright stars. With the improvement expected when the PALM-3000 extreme AO system comes on-line at Palomar, the same instrument now equipped with a state of the art low noise fast read-out near IR camera, will yield 10-4 to 10-3 contrast as close as 30 mas for stars with K magnitude brighter than 6. Such a system will provide a unique and ideal tool for the detection of young (AUs) of nearby (< 50pc) stars.

Reactive Burn Model Calibration for PETN Using Ultra-High-Speed Phase Contrast Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Carl; Ramos, Kyle; Bolme, Cindy; Sanchez, Nathaniel; Barber, John; Montgomery, David

2017-06-01

A 1D reactive burn model (RBM) calibration for a plastic bonded high explosive (HE) requires run-to-detonation data. In PETN (pentaerythritol tetranitrate, 1.65 g/cc) the shock to detonation transition (SDT) is on the order of a few millimeters. This rapid SDT imposes experimental length scales that preclude application of traditional calibration methods such as embedded electromagnetic gauge methods (EEGM) which are very effective when used to study 10 - 20 mm thick HE specimens. In recent work at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source we have obtained run-to-detonation data in PETN using ultra-high-speed dynamic phase contrast imaging (PCI). A reactive burn model calibration valid for 1D shock waves is obtained using density profiles spanning the transition to detonation as opposed to particle velocity profiles from EEGM. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) methods were used to operate the LANL hydrocode FLAG iteratively to refine SURF RBM parameters until a suitable parameter set attained. These methods will be presented along with model validation simulations. The novel method described is generally applicable to `sensitive' energetic materials particularly those with areal densities amenable to radiography.

Electric field conjugation for ground-based high-contrast imaging: robustness study and tests with the Project 1640 coronagraph

Science.gov (United States)

Matthews, Christopher T.; Crepp, Justin R.; Vasisht, Gautam; Cady, Eric

2017-10-01

The electric field conjugation (EFC) algorithm has shown promise for removing scattered starlight from high-contrast imaging measurements, both in numerical simulations and laboratory experiments. To prepare for the deployment of EFC using ground-based telescopes, we investigate the response of EFC to unaccounted for deviations from an ideal optical model. We explore the linear nature of the algorithm by assessing its response to a range of inaccuracies in the optical model generally present in real systems. We find that the algorithm is particularly sensitive to unresponsive deformable mirror (DM) actuators, misalignment of the Lyot stop, and misalignment of the focal plane mask. Vibrations and DM registration appear to be less of a concern compared to values expected at the telescope. We quantify how accurately one must model these core coronagraph components to ensure successful EFC corrections. We conclude that while the condition of the DM can limit contrast, EFC may still be used to improve the sensitivity of high-contrast imaging observations. Our results have informed the development of a full EFC implementation using the Project 1640 coronagraph at Palomar observatory. While focused on a specific instrument, our results are applicable to the many coronagraphs that may be interested in employing EFC.

The effect of intravenous contrast on SUV value in 18F-FDG PET/CT using diagnostic high energy CT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jeong, Young Jin; Kang, Do Young

2006-01-01

According to the development of CT scanner in PET/CT system, the role of CT unit as a diagnostic tool has been more important. To improve the diagnostic ability of CT scanner, it is a key aspect that CT scanning has to be performed with high dose energy and intravenous (IV) contrast. So we investigated the effect of IV contrast media on the maximum SUV (maxSUV) of normal tissues and pathologic lesions using PET/CT scanner with high dose CT scanning. The study enrolled 13 patients who required PET/CT evaluation. At first, the patients were performed whole body non-contrast CT (NCCT - 120 kVp, 130 mAs) scan. Than contrast enhanced CT (CECT) scan was performed immediately. Finally PET scan was followed. The PET emission data were reconstructed twice, once with the NCCT and again with the CECT. We measured the maxSUV of 10 different body regions that were considered as normal in all patients. Also pathologic lesions were investigated. There were not seen focal artifacts in PET images based on CT with IV contrast agent. Firstly, 130 normal regions in 13 patients were evaluated. The maxSUV was significantly different between two PET images (p < 0.001). The maxSUV was 1.1 ± 0.5 in PET images with CECT-corrected attenuation and 1.0 ± 0.5 in PET images with NCCT-corrected attenuation. The limit of agreement was 0.1 ± 0.3 in Bland-Altman analysis. Especially there were significant differences in 6 of 10 regions, apex and base of the right lung, ascending aorta, segment 6 and segment 8 of the liver and spleen (p <0.05). Secondly, 39 pathologic lesions were evaluated. The maxSUV was significantly different between two PET images (p < 0.001). The maxSUV was 4.7 ± 2.0 in PET images with CECT-corrected attenuation and 4.4 ± 2.0 in PET images with NCCT- corrected attenuation. The limit of agreement was 0.4 ± 0.8 in Bland-Altman analysis. Although there were increases of maxSUVs in the PET images based on CT with IV contrast agent, it was very narrow in the range of limit of

Numerical Investigation of Vertical Cavity Lasers With High-Contrast Gratings Using the Fourier Modal Method

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Taghizadeh, Alireza; Mørk, Jesper; Chung, Il-Sug

2016-01-01

We explore the use of a modal expansion technique, Fourier modal method (FMM), for investigating the optical properties of vertical cavities employing high-contrast gratings (HCGs). Three techniques for determining the resonance frequency and quality factor (Q-factor) of a cavity mode are compared......, the scattering losses of several HCG-based vertical cavities with inplane heterostructures which have promising prospects for fundamental physics studies and on-chip laser applications, are investigated. This type of parametric study of 3D structures would be numerically very demanding using spatial...

Moderate Contrast in the Evaluation of Paintings Is Liked More but Remembered Less than High Contrast

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katinka Dijkstra

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Many visual aspects of paintings, as well as exposure to art and cultural norms, contribute to the aesthetic evaluation of paintings. The current study looked at heightened visual contrast as an important factor in the appreciation of paintings. Participants evaluated abstract digitized paintings that were manipulated in contrast for an appreciation task and were later presented with these paintings in a memory task. The results indicated that for art appreciation, a moderate increase in contrast resulted in the highest appreciation for paintings whereas recognition memory was better for paintings with a higher increase in contrast. These results replicate earlier findings with regard to the role of contrast in aesthetic perception and extend these findings by demonstrating a surprising different effect of contrast manipulation for recognition memory. Confidence with which memory decisions were made was in line with art appreciation decisions not memory performance.

Integrative Analysis of High-throughput Cancer Studies with Contrasted Penalization

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Xingjie; Liu, Jin; Huang, Jian; Zhou, Yong; Shia, BenChang; Ma, Shuangge

2015-01-01

In cancer studies with high-throughput genetic and genomic measurements, integrative analysis provides a way to effectively pool and analyze heterogeneous raw data from multiple independent studies and outperforms “classic” meta-analysis and single-dataset analysis. When marker selection is of interest, the genetic basis of multiple datasets can be described using the homogeneity model or the heterogeneity model. In this study, we consider marker selection under the heterogeneity model, which includes the homogeneity model as a special case and can be more flexible. Penalization methods have been developed in the literature for marker selection. This study advances from the published ones by introducing the contrast penalties, which can accommodate the within- and across-dataset structures of covariates/regression coefficients and, by doing so, further improve marker selection performance. Specifically, we develop a penalization method that accommodates the across-dataset structures by smoothing over regression coefficients. An effective iterative algorithm, which calls an inner coordinate descent iteration, is developed. Simulation shows that the proposed method outperforms the benchmark with more accurate marker identification. The analysis of breast cancer and lung cancer prognosis studies with gene expression measurements shows that the proposed method identifies genes different from those using the benchmark and has better prediction performance. PMID:24395534

Dopaminergic control of food choice: contrasting effects of SKF 38393 and quinpirole on high-palatability food preference in the rat.

Science.gov (United States)

Cooper, S J; Al-Naser, H A

2006-06-01

The aim of the present study was to determine the behavioural effects of the selective dopamine D1 receptor agonist, SKF 38393, and of the selective dopamine D2/D3 receptor agonist, quinpirole, on the feeding performance of food-deprived rats in a model of food-preference behaviour. The animals were familiarised with a choice between a high-palatability, high-fat, high-sugar food (chocolate biscuits/cookies) and their regular maintenance diet. Following administration of either SKF 38393 (1.0-10.0 mg/kg, s.c.) or quinpirole (0.03-0.3 mg/kg, s.c.), the animals were observed throughout a 15-min test period, and their feeding behaviour was carefully monitored. Other behavioural categories were also observed. The resulting data were subject to a microstructural analysis to determine the loci of the behavioural effects. The results indicated that SKF 38393 and quinpirole had contrasting effects on the preference for the high-palatability chocolate food. SKF 38393 enhanced the preference, whereas quinpirole eliminated it. These data reinforce the view that forebrain dopamine mechanisms are closely involved in responses to high-palatability energy-dense food constituents, including chocolate. The data also indicate that pharmacological characterization is important, such that dopamine receptor subtypes appear to mediate contrasting effects on food preference for a high-fat, high-sugar food. Hence, brain dopamine appears to be involved in potentially complex ways in determining food preferences, and this may carry implications in the growing evidence for a link between brain dopamine and human obesity.

Experience of slowly infused high-iodine-dose contrast computed tomography (SHD) of intracranial tumors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muraoka, Kiyoaki; Numata, Hideharu; Hokama, Yasuo

1983-01-01

A study was done on 20 patients with intracranial tumors by means of the slowly infused high-iodine-dose (SHD) contrast-enhancement technique. An intravenous drip infusion of 300 ml of Angiografin was given for three hours. Computerized tomograms were taken 1 hour, (2 hours), and 3 hours after the beginning of the drip infusion. The authors divided the lesions into four groups by analyzing the sequential changes in CT numbers using a histograms or profile of the region of interest. In group I, additional lesions were visible on the SHD scan (one case of metastatic brain tumors from lung cancer). In group 2, lesions were better displayed on the SHD scan due to increased enhancement (17 cases). In group 3, SHD scans showed no change (2 cases of fibrous astrocytoma). In group 4, the enhancement was diminished, but the lesion per se was still clealy identifiable (no case). Finally, in 18 cases out of 20 (90%), an additional or better display of the lesion was detected on SHD enhanced CT. The rational for doing the SHD enhancement is to detect a lesion with a minimally impaired blood-brain barrier by exposing a prolonged high blood-iodine level, and so the scanning is delayed until detectable levels of the contrast medium have accumulated within the vascular-channel pool or extravascular space of the lesion. SHD enhancement is useful: I) for revealing any additional lesion in a metastatic brain tumor; 2) for better displaying an obscure lesion on a usual scan; 3) for differentiating the quality of the lesion (for example, malignancy or cyst formation), and 4) for predicting the prognosis of the lesion. (J.P.N.)

Contrast-enhanced ultra-high-field liver MRI: A feasibility trial

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Umutlu, Lale, E-mail: Lale.Umutlu@uk-essen.de [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen (Germany); Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen (Germany); Bitz, Andreas K.; Maderwald, Stefan; Orzada, Stephan; Kinner, Sonja; Kraff, Oliver; Brote, Irina; Ladd, Susanne C.; Schroeder, Tobias; Forsting, Michael; Antoch, Gerald; Ladd, Mark E. [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen (Germany); Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen (Germany); Quick, Harald H. [Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen (Germany); Institute of Medical Physics, University Nuernberg-Erlangen (Germany); Lauenstein, Thomas C. [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen (Germany); Erwin L. Hahn Institute for Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Essen (Germany)

2013-05-15

The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of dynamic contrast-enhanced 7 T MRI of the liver using an eight-channel radiofrequency (RF) transmit/receive body-coil. 16 healthy subjects were examined on a 7 T MR system utilizing a custom-built eight-channel RF body-coil suitable for RF-shimming. The following data were acquired: (1) steady state free precession imaging, (2) T2w turbo spin echo imaging, (3) T1w in and opposed-phase imaging, (4) T1w 3D FLASH images pre-contrast and in arterial, portal-venous and venous phase and (5) a fat-saturated pre- and post-contrast 2D FLASH sequence. Visual evaluation of (1) the delineation of liver vasculature, (2) the overall image quality, and (3) artifact presence and consequent image impairment was performed. SNR of the liver parenchyma was measured for the contrast-enhanced 2D and 3D FLASH sequences. For statistical analysis, a Wilcoxon-Rank Test was used. Best delineation of non-enhanced liver vasculature and overall image quality was found for 2D FLASH MRI, with only slight improvement in vessel conspicuity after the application of contrast media. T2-weighted TSE imaging remained strongly impaired, falling short of diagnostic relevance and precluding a clinical application. Our results demonstrate the feasibility and diagnostic potential of dedicated contrast-enhanced 7 T liver MRI as well as the potential for non-contrast-enhanced angiographic application.

Active optics: off axis aspherics generation for high contrast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Hugot, E.; Laslandes, M.; Ferrari, M.; Vives, S.; Moindrot, S.; El Hadi, K.; Dohlen, K.

2017-11-01

Active Optics methods, based on elasticity theory, allow the aspherisation of optical surfaces by stress polishing but also active aspherisation in situ. Researches in this field will impact the final performance and the final cost of any telescope or instrument. The stress polishing method is well suited for the superpolishing of aspheric components for astronomy. Its principle relies on spherical polishing with a full-sized tool of a warped substrate, which becomes aspherical once unwarped. The main advantage of this technique is the very high optical quality obtained either on form or on high spatial frequency errors. Furthermore, the roughness can be decreased down to a few angstroms, thanks the classical polishing with a large pitch tool, providing a substantial gain on the final scientific performance, for instance on the contrast on coronagraphic images, but also on the polishing time and cost. Stress polishing is based on elasticity theory, and requires an optimised deformation system able to provide the right aspherical form on the optical surface during polishing. The optical quality of the deformation is validated using extensive Finite Element Analysis, allowing an estimation of residuals and an optimisation of the warping harness. We describe here the work realised on stress polishing of toric mirrors for VLT-SPHERE and then our actual work on off axis aspherics (OAA) for the ASPIICS-Proba3 mission for solar coronagraphy. The ASPIICS optical design made by Vives et al is a three mirrors anastigmat including a concave off axis hyperboloid and a convex off axis parabola (OAP). We are developing a prototype in order to demonstrate the feasibility of this type of surface, using a multi-mode warping harness (Lemaitre et al). Furthermore, we present our work on variable OAP, meaning the possibility to adjust the shape of a simple OAP in situ with a minimal number of actuators, typically one actuator per optical mode (Focus, Coma and Astigmatism

Study of x-ray emission enhancement via high contrast femtosecond laser interacting with solid foil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Liming; Kando, Masaki; Bulanov, S.V.; Koga, James K.; Tajima, Toshiki; Xu M.H.; Yuan X.H.; Li Y.T.; Dong Q.L.; Zhang J.

2007-01-01

We studied the hard x-ray emission and the Kα x-ray conversion efficiency (η K ) produced by 60 fs high contrast frequency doubled Ti: sapphire laser pulse focused on Cu foil target. Cu Kα photon emission obtained with second harmonic laser pulse is more intense than the case of fundamental laser pulse. The Cu η K shows strong dependence on laser nonlinearly skewed pulse shape and reaches the maximum value 4x10 -4 with 100 fs negatively skewed pulse. It shows the electron spectrum shaping contribute to the increase of η K . (author)

Thermoacoustic contrast of prostate cancer due to heating by very high frequency irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patch, S K; Hull, D; Thomas, M; Jacobsohn, K; See, WA; Griep, SK

2015-01-01

Applying the thermoacoustic (TA) effect to diagnostic imaging was first proposed in the 1980s. The object under test is irradiated by high-power pulses of electromagnetic energy, which heat tissue and cause thermal expansion. Outgoing TA pressure pulses are detected by ultrasound transducers and reconstructed to provide images of the object. The TA contrast mechanism is strongly dependent upon the frequency of the irradiating electromagnetic pulse. When very high frequency (VHF) electromagnetic irradiation is utilized, TA signal production is driven by ionic content. Prostatic fluids contain high levels of ionic metabolites, including citrate, zinc, calcium, and magnesium. Healthy prostate glands produce more ionic metabolites than diseased glands. VHF pulses are therefore expected to generate stronger TA signal in healthy prostate glands than in diseased glands. A benchtop system for performing ex vivo TA computed tomography with VHF energy is described and images are presented. The system utilizes irradiation pulses of 700 ns duration exceeding 20 kW power. Reconstructions frequently visualize anatomic landmarks such as the urethra and verumontanum. TA reconstructions from three freshly excised human prostate glands with little, moderate, and severe cancerous involvement are compared with histology. TA signal strength is negatively correlated with percent cancerous involvement in this small sample size. For the 45 regions of interest analyzed, a reconstruction value of 0.4 mV provides 100% sensitivity but only 29% specificity. This sample size is far too small to draw sweeping conclusions, but the results warrant a larger volume study including comparison of TA images to the gold standard, histology. (paper)

On-sky Closed-loop Correction of Atmospheric Dispersion for High-contrast Coronagraphy and Astrometry

Science.gov (United States)

Pathak, P.; Guyon, O.; Jovanovic, N.; Lozi, J.; Martinache, F.; Minowa, Y.; Kudo, T.; Kotani, T.; Takami, H.

2018-02-01

Adaptive optic (AO) systems delivering high levels of wavefront correction are now common at observatories. One of the main limitations to image quality after wavefront correction comes from atmospheric refraction. An atmospheric dispersion compensator (ADC) is employed to correct for atmospheric refraction. The correction is applied based on a look-up table consisting of dispersion values as a function of telescope elevation angle. The look-up table-based correction of atmospheric dispersion results in imperfect compensation leading to the presence of residual dispersion in the point spread function (PSF) and is insufficient when sub-milliarcsecond precision is required. The presence of residual dispersion can limit the achievable contrast while employing high-performance coronagraphs or can compromise high-precision astrometric measurements. In this paper, we present the first on-sky closed-loop correction of atmospheric dispersion by directly using science path images. The concept behind the measurement of dispersion utilizes the chromatic scaling of focal plane speckles. An adaptive speckle grid generated with a deformable mirror (DM) that has a sufficiently large number of actuators is used to accurately measure the residual dispersion and subsequently correct it by driving the ADC. We have demonstrated with the Subaru Coronagraphic Extreme AO (SCExAO) system on-sky closed-loop correction of residual dispersion to instruments which require sub-milliarcsecond correction.

Line-scanning confocal microscopy for high-resolution imaging of upconverting rare-earth-based contrast agents

Science.gov (United States)

Higgins, Laura M.; Zevon, Margot; Ganapathy, Vidya; Sheng, Yang; Tan, Mei Chee; Riman, Richard E.; Roth, Charles M.; Moghe, Prabhas V.; Pierce, Mark C.

2015-01-01

Abstract. Rare-earth (RE) doped nanocomposites emit visible luminescence when illuminated with continuous wave near-infrared light, making them appealing candidates for use as contrast agents in biomedical imaging. However, the emission lifetime of these materials is much longer than the pixel dwell times used in scanning intravital microscopy. To overcome this limitation, we have developed a line-scanning confocal microscope for high-resolution, optically sectioned imaging of samples labeled with RE-based nanomaterials. Instrument performance is quantified using calibrated test objects. NaYF4:Er,Yb nanocomposites are imaged in vitro, and in ex vivo tissue specimens, with direct comparison to point-scanning confocal microscopy. We demonstrate that the extended pixel dwell time of line-scanning confocal microscopy enables subcellular-level imaging of these nanomaterials while maintaining optical sectioning. The line-scanning approach thus enables microscopic imaging of this emerging class of contrast agents for preclinical studies, with the potential to be adapted for real-time in vivo imaging in the clinic. PMID:26603495

Topography improvements in MEMS DMs for high-contrast, high-resolution imaging, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This project will develop and demonstrate an innovative microfabrication process to substantially improve the surface quality achievable in high-resolution...

PCA-based approach for subtracting thermal background emission in high-contrast imaging data

Science.gov (United States)

Hunziker, S.; Quanz, S. P.; Amara, A.; Meyer, M. R.

2018-03-01

Aims.Ground-based observations at thermal infrared wavelengths suffer from large background radiation due to the sky, telescope and warm surfaces in the instrument. This significantly limits the sensitivity of ground-based observations at wavelengths longer than 3 μm. The main purpose of this work is to analyse this background emission in infrared high-contrast imaging data as illustrative of the problem, show how it can be modelled and subtracted and demonstrate that it can improve the detection of faint sources, such as exoplanets. Methods: We used principal component analysis (PCA) to model and subtract the thermal background emission in three archival high-contrast angular differential imaging datasets in the M' and L' filter. We used an M' dataset of β Pic to describe in detail how the algorithm works and explain how it can be applied. The results of the background subtraction are compared to the results from a conventional mean background subtraction scheme applied to the same dataset. Finally, both methods for background subtraction are compared by performing complete data reductions. We analysed the results from the M' dataset of HD 100546 only qualitatively. For the M' band dataset of β Pic and the L' band dataset of HD 169142, which was obtained with an angular groove phase mask vortex vector coronagraph, we also calculated and analysed the achieved signal-to-noise ratio (S/N). Results: We show that applying PCA is an effective way to remove spatially and temporarily varying thermal background emission down to close to the background limit. The procedure also proves to be very successful at reconstructing the background that is hidden behind the point spread function. In the complete data reductions, we find at least qualitative improvements for HD 100546 and HD 169142, however, we fail to find a significant increase in S/N of β Pic b. We discuss these findings and argue that in particular datasets with strongly varying observing conditions or

Applications of focused MeV light ion beams for high resolution channeling contrast imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamieson, D N; Breese, M B.H.; Prawer, S; Dooley, S P; Allen, M G; Bettiol, A A; Saint, A [Melbourne Univ., Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics; Ryan, C G [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), North Ryde, NSW (Australia). Div. of Exploration Geoscience

1994-12-31

The technique of Nuclear Microscopy, utilizing a focused ion probe of typically MeV H{sup +} or He{sup +} ions, can produce images where the contrast depends on typical Ion Beam Analysis (lBA) processes. The probe forming lens system usually utilizes strong focusing, precision magnetic quadrupole lenses and the probe is scanned over the target to produce images. Originally, this imaging technique was developed to utilize backscattered particles with incident beam currents typically of a few nA, and the technique became known as Channeling Contrast Microscopy (CCM). Recently, the technique has been developed further to utilize the forward scattering of ions incident along a major crystal axis in thin crystals. This technique is known as Channeling Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (CSTIM). Since nearly all incident ions are detected, CSTIM is highly efficient and very low beam currents are sufficient for imaging, typically as low as a few fA. This allows probes as small as 50 nm to be used. In this paper we briefly review the recent applications of these emerging techniques to a variety of single crystal materials (authors). 13 refs., 5 figs.

Applications of focused MeV light ion beams for high resolution channeling contrast imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jamieson, D.N.; Breese, M.B.H.; Prawer, S.; Dooley, S.P.; Allen, M.G.; Bettiol, A.A.; Saint, A. [Melbourne Univ., Parkville, VIC (Australia). School of Physics; Ryan, C.G. [Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), North Ryde, NSW (Australia). Div. of Exploration Geoscience

1993-12-31

The technique of Nuclear Microscopy, utilizing a focused ion probe of typically MeV H{sup +} or He{sup +} ions, can produce images where the contrast depends on typical Ion Beam Analysis (lBA) processes. The probe forming lens system usually utilizes strong focusing, precision magnetic quadrupole lenses and the probe is scanned over the target to produce images. Originally, this imaging technique was developed to utilize backscattered particles with incident beam currents typically of a few nA, and the technique became known as Channeling Contrast Microscopy (CCM). Recently, the technique has been developed further to utilize the forward scattering of ions incident along a major crystal axis in thin crystals. This technique is known as Channeling Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (CSTIM). Since nearly all incident ions are detected, CSTIM is highly efficient and very low beam currents are sufficient for imaging, typically as low as a few fA. This allows probes as small as 50 nm to be used. In this paper we briefly review the recent applications of these emerging techniques to a variety of single crystal materials (authors). 13 refs., 5 figs.

Imaging of vaporised sub-micron phase change contrast agents with high frame rate ultrasound and optics

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shengtao; Zhang, Ge; Jamburidze, Akaki; Chee, Melisse; Hau Leow, Chee; Garbin, Valeria; Tang, Meng-Xing

2018-03-01

Phase-change ultrasound contrast agent (PCCA), or nanodroplet, shows promise as an alternative to the conventional microbubble agent over a wide range of diagnostic applications. Meanwhile, high-frame-rate (HFR) ultrasound imaging with microbubbles enables unprecedented temporal resolution compared to traditional contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging. The combination of HFR ultrasound imaging and PCCAs can offer the opportunity to observe and better understand PCCA behaviour after vaporisation captures the fast phenomenon at a high temporal resolution. In this study, we utilised HFR ultrasound at frame rates in the kilohertz range (5-20 kHz) to image native and size-selected PCCA populations immediately after vaporisation in vitro within clinical acoustic parameters. The size-selected PCCAs through filtration are shown to preserve a sub-micron-sized (mean diameter  1 µm) that originate from native PCCA emulsion. The results demonstrate imaging signals with different amplitudes and temporal features compared to that of microbubbles. Compared with the microbubbles, both the B-mode and pulse-inversion (PI) signals from the vaporised PCCA populations were reduced significantly in the first tens of milliseconds, while only the B-mode signals from the PCCAs were recovered during the next 400 ms, suggesting significant changes to the size distribution of the PCCAs after vaporisation. It is also shown that such recovery in signal over time is not evident when using size-selective PCCAs. Furthermore, it was found that signals from the vaporised PCCA populations are affected by the amplitude and frame rate of the HFR ultrasound imaging. Using high-speed optical camera observation (30 kHz), we observed a change in particle size in the vaporised PCCA populations exposed to the HFR ultrasound imaging pulses. These findings can further the understanding of PCCA behaviour under HFR ultrasound imaging.

High-resolution patterning of silver conductive lines by adhesion contrast planography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusaka, Yasuyuki; Ushijima, Hirobumi; Koutake, Masayoshi

2015-01-01

We developed printed electronics compatible planographic printing methods that enable single-micrometer-order patterning with high rectangularity and thickness uniformity. Instead of conventional planographic printing methods where selective wetting is used for pattern generation, an adhesive latent image produced on a silicone surface is exploited for patterning in the proposed printing methodologies. We further investigated the fundamental mechanisms of the proposed methods by focusing on adhesion contrasts between the blanket, printing area, and non-printing area of a printing plate (PP) and determined that printing is feasible when a simple magnitude relation of adhesions is satisfied for thin layers of size ranging from approximately 50 nm to 100 nm. Latent image formation can be carried out via a simple ultraviolet exposure of the silicone surface, thereby enabling the rapid prototyping of printed device fabrications. The easily preparable, single material-based flat PPs developed in this study have the advantages of flexibility in pattern designs, washing process, fabrication cost, and pattern-rewriting capability compared with the conventional printing methods in which raised surfaces such as stamps or clichés are required for patterning. (paper)

In vitro experiments for the development of a high density (HD) barium sulfate contrast medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klein, J.

1986-01-01

In vitro experiments with the high-density (HD) barium meal Falibaryt HD are described. Several charges of BaSO 4 were tested together with certain additives influencing dispersion, stability of the suspension, flowability, surface tension etc. Particle size spectra were measured by the manufacturer, VEB Fahlberg-List. With a simple PVC test plate containing several grooves simulating small details (areae gastricae) the diagnostic capabilities of the HD contrast medium were evaluated in an in vitro test. The developed barium meal Falibaryt HD is in its physical and chemical parameters comparable with Prontobario-HD, one of the best HD barium meals. (author)

Max CAPR: high-resolution 3D contrast-enhanced MR angiography with acquisition times under 5 seconds.

Science.gov (United States)

Haider, Clifton R; Borisch, Eric A; Glockner, James F; Mostardi, Petrice M; Rossman, Phillip J; Young, Phillip M; Riederer, Stephen J

2010-10-01

High temporal and spatial resolution is desired in imaging of vascular abnormalities having short arterial-to-venous transit times. Methods that exploit temporal correlation to reduce the observed frame time demonstrate temporal blurring, obfuscating bolus dynamics. Previously, a Cartesian acquisition with projection reconstruction-like (CAPR) sampling method has been demonstrated for three-dimensional contrast-enhanced angiographic imaging of the lower legs using two-dimensional sensitivity-encoding acceleration and partial Fourier acceleration, providing 1mm isotropic resolution of the calves, with 4.9-sec frame time and 17.6-sec temporal footprint. In this work, the CAPR acquisition is further undersampled to provide a net acceleration approaching 40 by eliminating all view sharing. The tradeoff of frame time and temporal footprint in view sharing is presented and characterized in phantom experiments. It is shown that the resultant 4.9-sec acquisition time, three-dimensional images sets have sufficient spatial and temporal resolution to clearly portray arterial and venous phases of contrast passage. It is further hypothesized that these short temporal footprint sequences provide diagnostic quality images. This is tested and shown in a series of nine contrast-enhanced MR angiography patient studies performed with the new method.

High-contrast 3D image acquisition using HiLo microscopy with an electrically tunable lens

Science.gov (United States)

Philipp, Katrin; Smolarski, André; Fischer, Andreas; Koukourakis, Nektarios; Stürmer, Moritz; Wallrabe, Ulricke; Czarske, Jürgen

2016-04-01

We present a HiLo microscope with an electrically tunable lens for high-contrast three-dimensional image acquisition. HiLo microscopy combines wide field and speckled illumination images to create optically sectioned images. Additionally, the depth-of-field is not fixed, but can be adjusted between wide field and confocal-like axial resolution. We incorporate an electrically tunable lens in the HiLo microscope for axial scanning, to obtain three-dimensional data without the need of moving neither the sample nor the objective. The used adaptive lens consists of a transparent polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) membrane into which an annular piezo bending actuator is embedded. A transparent fluid is filled between the membrane and the glass substrate. When actuated, the piezo generates a pressure in the lens which deflects the membrane and thus changes the refractive power. This technique enables a large tuning range of the refractive power between 1/f = (-24 . . . 25) 1/m. As the NA of the adaptive lens is only about 0.05, a fixed high-NA lens is included in the setup to provide high resolution. In this contribution, the scan properties and capabilities of the tunable lens in the HiLo microscope are analyzed. Eventually, exemplary measurements are presented and discussed.

The Moving Group Targets of the SEEDS High-contrast Imaging Survey of Exoplanets and Disks: Results and Observations from the First Three Years

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brandt, T.D.; et al., [Unknown; Thalmann, C.

2014-01-01

We present results from the first three years of observations of moving group (MG) targets in the Strategic Exploration of Exoplanets and Disks with Subaru (SEEDS) high-contrast imaging survey of exoplanets and disks using the Subaru telescope. We achieve typical contrasts of ~105 at 1'' and ~106

Neutron and high-contrast X-ray micro-radiography as complementary tools for monitoring organosilicon consolidants in natural building stones

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Slavíková, Monika, E-mail: Monika.Slavikova@vscht.cz [Department of Chemical Technology of Monuments Conservation, Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, Prague 6 CZ-16628 (Czech Republic); Krejčí, František [Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague 2 CZ-12800 (Czech Republic); Kotlík, Petr [Department of Chemical Technology of Monuments Conservation, Institute of Chemical Technology in Prague, Prague 6 CZ-16628 (Czech Republic); Jakůbek, Jan [Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague 2 CZ-12800 (Czech Republic); Tomandl, Ivo; Vacík, Jiří [Nuclear Physics Institute, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, CZ-25800, Rez Near Prague (Czech Republic)

2014-11-01

The monitoring of consolidants and other treatment product in stones is currently of great importance in various restoration studies. We use neutron and high-contrast X-ray micro-radiography as complementary non-destructive techniques for monitoring of organosilicon consolidants in the Opuka stone. Thanks to different sensitivities of both techniques in relation to the elemental composition, the effect of addition of the contrast agent (3-iodopropyl)trimethoxysilane commonly used in stone consolidation monitoring with X-ray radiography is evaluated. As the addition of the contrast agent to the original consolidation product alters important parameters such as the penetration depth, the understanding of the behaviour of the modified consolidation mixture is essential for verification of the reliability of the method. By comparing results from both methods, the respective radiographs show consistency in terms of homogeneity and penetration depth for all investigated concentrations of the used contrast agent. The presented results further demonstrate that the application of the contrast agent apparently changes the penetration depth, but these changes are, especially for very low concentrations (up to 1%) for most of the studies needed, negligible.

High-pitch dual-source CT coronary angiography with low volumes of contrast medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lembcke, Alexander; Hein, Patrick A.; Knobloch, Gesine; Durmus, Tahir; Hamm, Bernd; Schwenke, Carsten; Huppertz, Alexander

2014-01-01

To assess the effect of lower volumes of contrast medium (CM) on image quality in high-pitch dual-source computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA). One-hundred consecutive patients (body weight 65-85 kg, stable heart rate ≤65 bpm, cardiac index ≥2.5 L/min/m 2 ) referred for CTCA were prospectively enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to one of five groups of different CM volumes (G 30 , 30 mL; G 40 , 40 mL; G 50 , 50 mL; G 60 , 60 mL; G 70 , 70 mL; flow rate 5 mL/s each, iodine content 370 mg/mL). Attenuation within the proximal and distal coronary artery segments was analysed. Mean attenuation for men and women ranged from 345.0 and 399.1 HU in G 30 to 478.2 and 571.8 HU in G 70 . Mean attenuation values were higher in groups with higher CM volumes (P 30 , G 40 , G 50 , G 60 and G 70 were 89 %, 95 %, 98 %, 98 % and 99 %. CM volume of 30 mL in women and 40 mL in men proved to be sufficient to guarantee attenuation of at least 300 HU. In selected patients high-pitch dual-source CTCA can be performed with CM volumes of 40 mL in men or 30 mL in women. (orig.)

Supervised detection of exoplanets in high-contrast imaging sequences

Science.gov (United States)

Gomez Gonzalez, C. A.; Absil, O.; Van Droogenbroeck, M.

2018-06-01

Context. Post-processing algorithms play a key role in pushing the detection limits of high-contrast imaging (HCI) instruments. State-of-the-art image processing approaches for HCI enable the production of science-ready images relying on unsupervised learning techniques, such as low-rank approximations, for generating a model point spread function (PSF) and subtracting the residual starlight and speckle noise. Aims: In order to maximize the detection rate of HCI instruments and survey campaigns, advanced algorithms with higher sensitivities to faint companions are needed, especially for the speckle-dominated innermost region of the images. Methods: We propose a reformulation of the exoplanet detection task (for ADI sequences) that builds on well-established machine learning techniques to take HCI post-processing from an unsupervised to a supervised learning context. In this new framework, we present algorithmic solutions using two different discriminative models: SODIRF (random forests) and SODINN (neural networks). We test these algorithms on real ADI datasets from VLT/NACO and VLT/SPHERE HCI instruments. We then assess their performances by injecting fake companions and using receiver operating characteristic analysis. This is done in comparison with state-of-the-art ADI algorithms, such as ADI principal component analysis (ADI-PCA). Results: This study shows the improved sensitivity versus specificity trade-off of the proposed supervised detection approach. At the diffraction limit, SODINN improves the true positive rate by a factor ranging from 2 to 10 (depending on the dataset and angular separation) with respect to ADI-PCA when working at the same false-positive level. Conclusions: The proposed supervised detection framework outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in the task of discriminating planet signal from speckles. In addition, it offers the possibility of re-processing existing HCI databases to maximize their scientific return and potentially improve

Delayed frost formation on hybrid nanostructured surfaces with patterned high wetting contrast

Science.gov (United States)

Hou, Youmin; Zhou, Peng; Yao, Shuhuai

2014-11-01

Engineering icephobic surfaces that can retard the frost formation and accumulation are important to vehicles, wind turbines, power lines, and HVAC systems. For condensation frosting, superhydrophobic surfaces promote self-removal of condensed droplets before freezing and consequently delay the frost growth. However, a small thermal fluctuation may lead to a Cassie-to-Wenzel transition, and thus dramatically enhance the frost formation and adhesion. In this work, we investigated the heterogeneous ice nucleation on hybrid nanostructured surfaces with patterned high wetting contrast. By judiciously introducing hydrophilic micro-patches into superhydrophobic nanostructured surface, we demonstrated that such a novel hybrid structure can efficiently defer the ice nucleation as compared to a superhydrophobic surface with nanostructures only. We observed efficient droplet jumping and higher coverage of droplets with diameter smaller than 10 μm, both of which suppress frost formation. The hybrid surface avoids the formation of liquid-bridges for Cassie-to-Wenzel transition, therefore eliminating the `bottom-up' droplet freezing from the cold substrate. These findings provide new insights to improve anti-frosting and anti-icing by using heterogeneous wettability in multiscale structures.

High-contrast resolution of film-screen systems in oral and maxillofacial radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kaeppler, G.; Reinert, S.

2007-01-01

Purpose: The aim was to determine differences in high-contrast resolution of film-screen systems used in dental panoramic and cephalometric radiography by calculating the modulation transfer function (MTF). The radiographs used to determine the MTF should be taken by the same X-ray units as those used for patient radiographs. Materials and methods: The MTF was determined using a lead grid and according to DIN 6867 - 2 for 11 film-screen systems (speed 250, speed class 200 and 400) used in dental radiographic diagnostics. The optical density was measured using a microdensitometer developed by PTB. Results: With 10% of the modulation transfer factor, newly developed film-screen systems (speed class 200 and 400) demonstrated a resolution of 4.9 to 6 line pairs per mm (panoramic radiography). In cephalometric radiography a film-screen system (speed class 400 and green-sensitive film) had a resolution of 4.2 line pairs per mm and surpassed two film-screen systems (speed class 400, resolution of 3 line pairs per mm, blue-sensitive films). (orig.)

Estimation of chromatic errors from broadband images for high contrast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Sirbu, Dan; Belikov, Ruslan

2015-09-01

Usage of an internal coronagraph with an adaptive optical system for wavefront correction for direct imaging of exoplanets is currently being considered for many mission concepts, including as an instrument addition to the WFIRST-AFTA mission to follow the James Web Space Telescope. The main technical challenge associated with direct imaging of exoplanets with an internal coronagraph is to effectively control both the diffraction and scattered light from the star so that the dim planetary companion can be seen. For the deformable mirror (DM) to recover a dark hole region with sufficiently high contrast in the image plane, wavefront errors are usually estimated using probes on the DM. To date, most broadband lab demonstrations use narrowband filters to estimate the chromaticity of the wavefront error, but this reduces the photon flux per filter and requires a filter system. Here, we propose a method to estimate the chromaticity of wavefront errors using only a broadband image. This is achieved by using special DM probes that have sufficient chromatic diversity. As a case example, we simulate the retrieval of the spectrum of the central wavelength from broadband images for a simple shaped- pupil coronagraph with a conjugate DM and compute the resulting estimation error.

Co-Immobilization of Proteins and DNA Origami Nanoplates to Produce High-Contrast Biomolecular Nanoarrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Hager, Roland; Burns, Jonathan R; Grydlik, Martyna J; Halilovic, Alma; Haselgrübler, Thomas; Schäffler, Friedrich; Howorka, Stefan

2016-06-01

The biofunctionalization of nanopatterned surfaces with DNA origami nanostructures is an important topic in nanobiotechnology. An unexplored challenge is, however, to co-immobilize proteins with DNA origami at pre-determined substrate sites in high contrast relative to the nontarget areas. The immobilization should, in addition, preferably be achieved on a transparent substrate to allow ultrasensitive optical detection. If successful, specific co-binding would be a step towards stoichiometrically defined arrays with few to individual protein molecules per site. Here, we successfully immobilize with high specificity positively charged avidin proteins and negatively charged DNA origami nanoplates on 100 nm-wide carbon nanoislands while suppressing undesired adsorption to surrounding nontarget areas. The arrays on glass slides achieve unprecedented selectivity factors of up to 4000 and allow ultrasensitive fluorescence read-out. The co-immobilization onto the nanoislands leads to layered biomolecular architectures, which are functional because bound DNA origami influences the number of capturing sites on the nanopatches for other proteins. The novel hybrid DNA origami-protein nanoarrays allow the fabrication of versatile research platforms for applications in biosensing, biophysics, and cell biology, and, in addition, represent an important step towards single-molecule protein arrays. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Effects of high-fat diet and losartan on renal cortical blood flow using contrast ultrasound imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Declèves, Anne-Emilie; Rychak, Joshua J; Smith, Dan J; Sharma, Kumar

2013-11-01

Obesity-related kidney disease occurs as a result of complex interactions between metabolic and hemodynamic effects. Changes in microvascular perfusion may play a major role in kidney disease; however, these changes are difficult to assess in vivo. Here, we used perfusion ultrasound imaging to evaluate cortical blood flow in a mouse model of high-fat diet-induced kidney disease. C57BL/6J mice were randomized to a standard diet (STD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 30 wk and then treated either with losartan or a placebo for an additional 6 wk. Noninvasive ultrasound perfusion imaging of the kidney was performed during infusion of a microbubble contrast agent. Blood flow within the microvasculature of the renal cortex and medulla was derived from imaging data. An increase in the time required to achieve full cortical perfusion was observed for HFD mice relative to STD. This was reversed following treatment with losartan. These data were concurrent with an increased glomerular filtration rate in HFD mice compared with STD- or HFD-losartan-treated mice. Losartan treatment also abrogated fibro-inflammatory disease, assessed by markers at the protein and messenger level. Finally, a reduction in capillary density was found in HFD mice, and this was reversed upon losartan treatment. This suggests that alterations in vascular density may be responsible for the elevated perfusion time observed by imaging. These data demonstrate that ultrasound contrast imaging is a robust and sensitive method for evaluating changes in renal microvascular perfusion and that cortical perfusion time may be a useful parameter for evaluating obesity-related renal disease.

High-concentration contrast media (HCCM) in CT angiography of the carotid system: impact on therapeutic decision making

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuknecht, Bernhard

2007-01-01

CT angiography (CTA) is a minimally invasive technique that enables precise delineation of extracranial and intracranial vascular anatomy and pathology based on high intravascular density. With a 64-slice MDCT scanner, improved first-pass vascular visualization can be obtained with HCCM (400 mg I/ml) using 25 ml for combined intra-and extracranial studies and 20 ml for intracranial examinations alone. We reviewed 23 patients with extra-cranial stenoocclusive disease and 12 patients with intra-cranial aneurysms. Two additional patients presented with a mycotic aneurysm and a micro arteriovenous malformation (micro-AVM). In 23 patients with 27 significant (≥70%) vascular stenoses, high intraluminal contrast density and optimal projection of the stenosis profile facilitated precise delineation of the residual lumen in all vessels affected. Pseudoocclusion was present in 3 of the 27 vessels (11%) and ulceration in 5 (18.5%). CTA, in contrast to digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), was able to delineate the mural constituents of stenoses, particularly marked calcification (present in 17 of 27 vessels, 62.9%). Eccentric vessel wall narrowing indicated dissection in three vessels (11%) and circular postradiation fibrosis was found in two vessels (7.4%). High-quality CTA obviated the need for DSA for diagnostic purposes in every patient. The decision regarding surgical treatment in nine vessels (33%) was influenced by the location of the stenosis relative to the carotid bifurcation, the length of the stenosis, and the level of the carotid bifurcation. Endovascular treatment in 12 vessels (44.4%) and the appropriate choice and placement of endovascular devices was affected by the anatomic configuration of the supraaortic vessels, and by the intrastenotic dimensions relative to the dimensions of the vessel proximal and distal to the stenosis. (orig.)

Short term high dose atorvastatin for the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy in patients undergoing computed tomography angiography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamid Sanei

2014-09-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Statins are shown effective by some studies in preventing contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN. We evaluated the effectiveness of atorvastatin in the prevention of CIN in computed tomography angiography (CTA candidates. METHODS: This study was conducted on patients referring for elective CTA with normal renal function. Patients received atorvastatin (80 mg/day or placebo from 24 h before to 48 h after administration of the contrast material. Serum creatinine was measured before and 48 h after contrast material injection. CIN was defined as an increase in serum creatinine level of ≥ 0.5 mg/dl or ≥ 25% of the baseline creatinine. RESULTS: A total of 236 patients completed the study; 115 atorvastatin, 121 placebo, mean age = 58.40 ± 9.80 year, 68.6% male. Serum creatinine increased after contrast material injection in both the atorvastatin (1.00 ± 0.16-1.02 ± 0.15 mg/dl, P = 0.017 and placebo groups (1.03 ± 0.17-1.08 ± 0.18 mg/dl, P < 0.001. Controlling for age, gender, comorbidities, drug history, and baseline serum creatinine level, patients who received atorvastatin experienced less increase in serum creatinine after contrast material injection (beta = 0.127, P = 0.034. However, there was no difference between the atorvastatin and placebo groups in the incidence of CIN (4.3 vs. 5.0%, P = 0.535. CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing CTA, a short-term treatment with high dose atorvastatin is effective in preventing contrast-induced renal dysfunction, in terms of less increase in serum creatinine level after contrast material injection. Further trials including larger sample of patients and longer follow-ups are warranted.   Keywords: Kidney Diseases, Multidetector Computed Tomography, Contrast Media, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors, Atorvastatin 

Effects of contrast improvement on high voltage rectification type of x-ray diagnostic apparatus

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Hoo Min; Yoon, Joon [Dept. of Radiological technology, Dongnam Health University, Suwon (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Hyun Ju [Dept. of Radiology, Soonchunhyang University Hospital Buchen, Bucheon (Korea, Republic of)

2014-09-15

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect on the selectivity on of high-voltage rectification device that measured the performance of the grid, and the contrast improvement ability (K factor) by measuring the scattered radiation content of the transmitted X-rays. The scattered radiation generated when the X-ray flux comes from the diagnostic X-ray generator that passes through an object. Targeting four different rectifications of X-ray generators, the mean value of the tube voltage and the tube current was measured in order to maximize the accuracy of the generating power dose within the same exposure condition. Using fluorescence meter, the content of the scattered rays that are transmitted through the acrylic was measured depending on the grid usage. When grid is not used, the content of the scattered rays was the lowest (34.158%) with the single-phase rectifier, was increased with the inverter rectifier (37.043%) and the three-phase 24-peak rectification method (37.447%). The difference of the scattered radiation content of each device was significant from the lowest 0.404% to the highest 3.289% while using 8:1 grid, the content of the scattered ray was the lowest with the single content of the scattered ray was the lowest with the single-phase rectifier (18.258%), was increased with the rectifier (25.502%) and the 24-peaks rectification (24.217%). Furthermore, there was difference up to content 7.244% to the lowest content 1.285% within three-phase 24-peaks rectification, inverter rectifications, and single-phase rectifier depending on the selectivity of the grid. Drawn from the statistical analysis, there was a similar relationship between the contrast improvement factor and the K factor. As a result, the grid selectivity and the contrast were increased within the single-phase rectifier rather than the constant voltage rectifier.

Effects of contrast improvement on high voltage rectification type of x-ray diagnostic apparatus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Hoo Min; Yoon, Joon; Kim, Hyun Ju

2014-01-01

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect on the selectivity on of high-voltage rectification device that measured the performance of the grid, and the contrast improvement ability (K factor) by measuring the scattered radiation content of the transmitted X-rays. The scattered radiation generated when the X-ray flux comes from the diagnostic X-ray generator that passes through an object. Targeting four different rectifications of X-ray generators, the mean value of the tube voltage and the tube current was measured in order to maximize the accuracy of the generating power dose within the same exposure condition. Using fluorescence meter, the content of the scattered rays that are transmitted through the acrylic was measured depending on the grid usage. When grid is not used, the content of the scattered rays was the lowest (34.158%) with the single-phase rectifier, was increased with the inverter rectifier (37.043%) and the three-phase 24-peak rectification method (37.447%). The difference of the scattered radiation content of each device was significant from the lowest 0.404% to the highest 3.289% while using 8:1 grid, the content of the scattered ray was the lowest with the single content of the scattered ray was the lowest with the single-phase rectifier (18.258%), was increased with the rectifier (25.502%) and the 24-peaks rectification (24.217%). Furthermore, there was difference up to content 7.244% to the lowest content 1.285% within three-phase 24-peaks rectification, inverter rectifications, and single-phase rectifier depending on the selectivity of the grid. Drawn from the statistical analysis, there was a similar relationship between the contrast improvement factor and the K factor. As a result, the grid selectivity and the contrast were increased within the single-phase rectifier rather than the constant voltage rectifier

Fat suppression techniques for obtaining high resolution dynamic contrast enhanced bilateral breast MR images at 7 tesla

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

van der Velden, Tijl A; Schmitz, Alexander M Th; Gilhuijs, Kenneth G A

2016-01-01

contained 3D T1-weighted gradient echo images obtained with both WSE fat suppression, multi echo Dixon fat suppression, and without fat suppression. Images were acquired at a (0.8mm)(3) or (0.7mm)(3) isotropic resolution with equal field of view and optimized such to obtain a maximal SNR. Image quality...... was scored qualitatively on overall image quality, sharpness of anatomical details, presence of artefacts, inhomogeneous fat suppression and the presence of water-fat shift. A quantitative scoring was obtained from the signal to noise ratio and contrast to noise ratio. RESULTS: WSE scored significantly...... better in terms of overall image quality and the absence of artefacts. No significant difference in contrast to noise ratio was found between the two fat suppression methods. CONCLUSION: When maximizing temporal and spatial resolution of high resolution DCE MRI of the breast, water selective excitation...

High contrast sensitivity for visually guided flight control in bumblebees.

Science.gov (United States)

Chakravarthi, Aravin; Kelber, Almut; Baird, Emily; Dacke, Marie

2017-12-01

Many insects rely on vision to find food, to return to their nest and to carefully control their flight between these two locations. The amount of information available to support these tasks is, in part, dictated by the spatial resolution and contrast sensitivity of their visual systems. Here, we investigate the absolute limits of these visual properties for visually guided position and speed control in Bombus terrestris. Our results indicate that the limit of spatial vision in the translational motion detection system of B. terrestris lies at 0.21 cycles deg -1 with a peak contrast sensitivity of at least 33. In the perspective of earlier findings, these results indicate that bumblebees have higher contrast sensitivity in the motion detection system underlying position control than in their object discrimination system. This suggests that bumblebees, and most likely also other insects, have different visual thresholds depending on the behavioral context.

X-ray imaging for studying behavior of liquids at high pressures and high temperatures using Paris-Edinburgh press

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kono, Yoshio; Kenney-Benson, Curtis; Park, Changyong; Shen, Guoyin; Shibazaki, Yuki; Wang, Yanbin

2015-01-01

Several X-ray techniques for studying structure, elastic properties, viscosity, and immiscibility of liquids at high pressures have been integrated using a Paris-Edinburgh press at the 16-BM-B beamline of the Advanced Photon Source. Here, we report the development of X-ray imaging techniques suitable for studying behavior of liquids at high pressures and high temperatures. White X-ray radiography allows for imaging phase separation and immiscibility of melts at high pressures, identified not only by density contrast but also by phase contrast imaging in particular for low density contrast liquids such as silicate and carbonate melts. In addition, ultrafast X-ray imaging, at frame rates up to ∼10 5 frames/second (fps) in air and up to ∼10 4 fps in Paris-Edinburgh press, enables us to investigate dynamics of liquids at high pressures. Very low viscosities of melts similar to that of water can be reliably measured. These high-pressure X-ray imaging techniques provide useful tools for understanding behavior of liquids or melts at high pressures and high temperatures

X-ray imaging for studying behavior of liquids at high pressures and high temperatures using Paris-Edinburgh press

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kono, Yoshio; Kenney-Benson, Curtis; Park, Changyong; Shen, Guoyin [HPCAT, Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, Illinois 60439 (United States); Shibazaki, Yuki [Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University, Aramaki aza Aoba 6-3, Aoba-ku, Sendai 980-8578 (Japan); Wang, Yanbin [GeoSoilEnviroCARS, Center for Advanced Radiation Sources, The University of Chicago, 5640 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60637 (United States)

2015-07-15

Several X-ray techniques for studying structure, elastic properties, viscosity, and immiscibility of liquids at high pressures have been integrated using a Paris-Edinburgh press at the 16-BM-B beamline of the Advanced Photon Source. Here, we report the development of X-ray imaging techniques suitable for studying behavior of liquids at high pressures and high temperatures. White X-ray radiography allows for imaging phase separation and immiscibility of melts at high pressures, identified not only by density contrast but also by phase contrast imaging in particular for low density contrast liquids such as silicate and carbonate melts. In addition, ultrafast X-ray imaging, at frame rates up to ∼10{sup 5} frames/second (fps) in air and up to ∼10{sup 4} fps in Paris-Edinburgh press, enables us to investigate dynamics of liquids at high pressures. Very low viscosities of melts similar to that of water can be reliably measured. These high-pressure X-ray imaging techniques provide useful tools for understanding behavior of liquids or melts at high pressures and high temperatures.

Multilevel markov chain monte carlo method for high-contrast single-phase flow problems

KAUST Repository

Efendiev, Yalchin R.

2014-12-19

In this paper we propose a general framework for the uncertainty quantification of quantities of interest for high-contrast single-phase flow problems. It is based on the generalized multiscale finite element method (GMsFEM) and multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) methods. The former provides a hierarchy of approximations of different resolution, whereas the latter gives an efficient way to estimate quantities of interest using samples on different levels. The number of basis functions in the online GMsFEM stage can be varied to determine the solution resolution and the computational cost, and to efficiently generate samples at different levels. In particular, it is cheap to generate samples on coarse grids but with low resolution, and it is expensive to generate samples on fine grids with high accuracy. By suitably choosing the number of samples at different levels, one can leverage the expensive computation in larger fine-grid spaces toward smaller coarse-grid spaces, while retaining the accuracy of the final Monte Carlo estimate. Further, we describe a multilevel Markov chain Monte Carlo method, which sequentially screens the proposal with different levels of approximations and reduces the number of evaluations required on fine grids, while combining the samples at different levels to arrive at an accurate estimate. The framework seamlessly integrates the multiscale features of the GMsFEM with the multilevel feature of the MLMC methods following the work in [26], and our numerical experiments illustrate its efficiency and accuracy in comparison with standard Monte Carlo estimates. © Global Science Press Limited 2015.

High-pitch dual-source CT coronary angiography with low volumes of contrast medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lembcke, Alexander; Hein, Patrick A.; Knobloch, Gesine; Durmus, Tahir; Hamm, Bernd [Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Department of Radiology, Berlin (Germany); Schwenke, Carsten [SCO:SSiS - Schwenke Consulting, Berlin (Germany); Huppertz, Alexander [Charite - University Medicine Berlin, Department of Radiology, Berlin (Germany); ISI - Imaging Science Institute Charite, Berlin (Germany)

2014-01-15

To assess the effect of lower volumes of contrast medium (CM) on image quality in high-pitch dual-source computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA). One-hundred consecutive patients (body weight 65-85 kg, stable heart rate ≤65 bpm, cardiac index ≥2.5 L/min/m{sup 2}) referred for CTCA were prospectively enrolled. Patients were randomly assigned to one of five groups of different CM volumes (G{sub 30}, 30 mL; G{sub 40}, 40 mL; G{sub 50}, 50 mL; G{sub 60}, 60 mL; G{sub 70}, 70 mL; flow rate 5 mL/s each, iodine content 370 mg/mL). Attenuation within the proximal and distal coronary artery segments was analysed. Mean attenuation for men and women ranged from 345.0 and 399.1 HU in G{sub 30} to 478.2 and 571.8 HU in G{sub 70}. Mean attenuation values were higher in groups with higher CM volumes (P < 0.0001) and higher in women than in men (P < 0.0001). The proportions of segments with attenuation of at least 300 HU in G{sub 30}, G{sub 40}, G{sub 50}, G{sub 60} and G{sub 70} were 89 %, 95 %, 98 %, 98 % and 99 %. CM volume of 30 mL in women and 40 mL in men proved to be sufficient to guarantee attenuation of at least 300 HU. In selected patients high-pitch dual-source CTCA can be performed with CM volumes of 40 mL in men or 30 mL in women. (orig.)

Appearance of high signal intensity and gadolinium-DTPA contrast enhancement in hypertrophied myocardium by magnetic resonance imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimura, Tsunehiko; Yamada, Naoaki; Nagata, Seiki

1989-01-01

This study was undertaken to examine the potential role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for evaluating myocardial tissue characterization in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). ECG-gated MRI images were acquired in 32 HCM patients and 30 patients with hypertensive heart disease (HHD), using a 1.5 T superconducting magnet system. The thickened areas were depicted as high signal intensities in the septum of 12 HCM patients (38%) and the endocardium of 5 HHD patients (17%). Echocardiography revealed that MRI appearance of high signal intensity was associated with more thickened myocardial wall. For evaluable 16 patients receiving i.v. injection of Gd-DTPA in a dose of 0.1 mM/kg, enhancement effects were observed in 10 patients (63%). High signal intensity appearing in the hypertrophied myocardium, as well as contrast enhancement, may not be characteristic of HCM, but reflect the likelihood of myocardial degeneration associated with the hypertrophied myocardium. Although MRI may not be capable of differentiating tissue characterization in HCM from that in HHD, it may provide different information about tissue characterization in the hypertrophied myocardium from that obtained by other techniques. (N.K.)

A multi-wavelength, high-contrast contact radiography system for the study of low-density aerogel foams

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Opachich, Y. P., E-mail: opachiyp@nv.doe.gov; Koch, J. A.; Haugh, M. J.; Romano, E.; Lee, J. J.; Huffman, E.; Weber, F. A. [National Security Technologies, LLC, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); Bowers, J. W. [National Security Technologies, LLC, Livermore, California 94550 (United States); University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Benedetti, L. R.; Wilson, M.; Prisbrey, S. T.; Wehrenberg, C. E.; Baumann, T. F.; Lenhardt, J. M.; Cook, A.; Arsenlis, A.; Park, H.-S.; Remington, B. A. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California 94551 (United States)

2016-07-15

A multi-wavelength, high contrast contact radiography system has been developed to characterize density variations in ultra-low density aerogel foams. These foams are used to generate a ramped pressure drive in materials strength experiments at the National Ignition Facility and require precision characterization in order to reduce errors in measurements. The system was used to characterize density variations in carbon and silicon based aerogels to ∼10.3% accuracy with ∼30 μm spatial resolution. The system description, performance, and measurement results collected using a 17.8 mg/cc carbon based JX–6 (C{sub 20}H{sub 30}) aerogel are discussed in this manuscript.

Searching for Hα emitting sources around MWC 758. SPHERE/ZIMPOL high-contrast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Huélamo, N.; Chauvin, G.; Schmid, H. M.; Quanz, S. P.; Whelan, E.; Lillo-Box, J.; Barrado, D.; Montesinos, B.; Alcalá, J. M.; Benisty, M.; Gregorio-Monsalvo, I. de; Mendigutía, I.; Bouy, H.; Merín, B.; de Boer, J.; Garufi, A.; Pantin, E.

2018-05-01

Context. MWC 758 is a young star surrounded by a transitional disk. The disk shows an inner cavity and spiral arms that could be caused by the presence of protoplanets. Recently, a protoplanet candidate has been detected around MWC 758 through high-resolution L'-band observations. The candidate is located inside the disk cavity at a separation of 111 mas from the central star, and at an average position angle of 165.5°. Aims: We aim at detecting accreting protoplanet candidates within the disk of MWC 758 through angular spectral differential imaging (ASDI) observations in the optical regime. In particular, we explore the emission at the position of the detected planet candidate. Methods: We have performed simultaneous adaptive optics observations in the Hα line and the adjacent continuum using SPHERE/ZIMPOL at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). Results: The data analysis does not reveal any Hα signal around the target. The derived contrast curve in the B_Ha filter allows us to derive a 5σ upper limit of 7.6 mag at 111 mas, the separation of the previously detected planet candidate. This contrast translates into a Hα line luminosity of LHα ≲ 5×10-5 L⊙ at 111 mas. Assuming that LHα scales with Lacc as in classical T Tauri stars (CTTSs) as a first approximation, we can estimate an accretion luminosity of Lacc http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (http://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/613/L5Based on observations obtained at Paranal Observatory under program 096.C-0267(A) and 96.C-0248(A).

A laboratory measurement method for pressure sensitive adhesives in agglomeration deinking of mixed office waste paper: The high-low scanning contrast method

OpenAIRE

Guolin Tong; Shuang Sun; Cuixia Wang; Kecheng Fu; Yungchang F. Chin

2012-01-01

A simple measurement method for pressure sensitive adhesives (PSA) in an agglomeration deinking system of mixed office waste paper was studied. This method was based on the different scanning performance of ink and PSA specks in hot-pressed and oven-dried handsheets with the change of contrast values that had been selected and set in the image analysis software. The numbers of ink specks per square meter (NPM) were well recognized at both low and high contrast values and exhibited a very good...

Combining scanning tunneling microscopy and synchrotron radiation for high-resolution imaging and spectroscopy with chemical, electronic, and magnetic contrast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cummings, M.L.; Chien, T.Y.; Preissner, C.; Madhavan, V.; Diesing, D.; Bode, M.; Freeland, J.W.; Rose, V.

2012-01-01

The combination of high-brilliance synchrotron radiation with scanning tunneling microscopy opens the path to high-resolution imaging with chemical, electronic, and magnetic contrast. Here, the design and experimental results of an in-situ synchrotron enhanced x-ray scanning tunneling microscope (SXSTM) system are presented. The system is designed to allow monochromatic synchrotron radiation to enter the chamber, illuminating the sample with x-ray radiation, while an insulator-coated tip (metallic tip apex open for tunneling, electron collection) is scanned over the surface. A unique feature of the SXSTM is the STM mount assembly, designed with a two free-flex pivot, providing an angular degree of freedom for the alignment of the tip and sample with respect to the incoming x-ray beam. The system designed successfully demonstrates the ability to resolve atomic-scale corrugations. In addition, experiments with synchrotron x-ray radiation validate the SXSTM system as an accurate analysis technique for the study of local magnetic and chemical properties on sample surfaces. The SXSTM system's capabilities have the potential to broaden and deepen the general understanding of surface phenomena by adding elemental contrast to the high-resolution of STM. -- Highlights: ► Synchrotron enhanced x-ray scanning tunneling microscope (SXSTM) system designed. ► Unique STM mount design allows angular DOF for tip alignment with x-ray beam. ► System demonstrates ability to resolve atomic corrugations on HOPG. ► Studies show chemical sensitivity with STM tip from photocurrent and tunneling. ► Results show system's ability to study local magnetic (XMCD) properties on Fe films.

Using High-Dimensional Image Models to Perform Highly Undetectable Steganography

Science.gov (United States)

Pevný, Tomáš; Filler, Tomáš; Bas, Patrick

This paper presents a complete methodology for designing practical and highly-undetectable stegosystems for real digital media. The main design principle is to minimize a suitably-defined distortion by means of efficient coding algorithm. The distortion is defined as a weighted difference of extended state-of-the-art feature vectors already used in steganalysis. This allows us to "preserve" the model used by steganalyst and thus be undetectable even for large payloads. This framework can be efficiently implemented even when the dimensionality of the feature set used by the embedder is larger than 107. The high dimensional model is necessary to avoid known security weaknesses. Although high-dimensional models might be problem in steganalysis, we explain, why they are acceptable in steganography. As an example, we introduce HUGO, a new embedding algorithm for spatial-domain digital images and we contrast its performance with LSB matching. On the BOWS2 image database and in contrast with LSB matching, HUGO allows the embedder to hide 7× longer message with the same level of security level.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: MSX high-contrast IRDCs with NH3 (Chira+,

Science.gov (United States)

Chira, R.-A.; Beuther, H.; Linz, H.; Walmsley, C. M.; Menten, K. M.; Bonfman, L.

2013-02-01

Based on MSX data, a catalogue of more than 10,000 candidate IRDCs was compiled. From this catalogue we selected a complete sample of northern hemisphere high-contrast IRDCs with Galactic longitudes >=19.27° (and nine exceptions with Galactic longitudes <19°). The sample was observed in ammonia (1,1) and (2,2) inversion transitions with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope. NH3 parameters are derived for 109 sample sources. For each source galactic coordinates, brightness temperatures, line width FWHMs and optical depths of (1,1) and (2,2) inversion lines and LSR velocity of (1,1) inversion line are given. Furthermore, we derived the rotation and kinetic temperatures, ammonia column densities, kinematic distances and virial masses using the NH3 data. In addition, notes about whether the sources being associated with Spitzer sources or not are given. Using ATLASGAL data, the 870 micron flux densities gas masses, virial parameters, H2 column densities and NH3 abundances are given. In addition, we listed the sample sources where no ammonia which did not fulfil our selection criteria. (4 data files).

High spatiotemporal resolution measurement of regional lung air volumes from 2D phase contrast x-ray images.

Science.gov (United States)

Leong, Andrew F T; Fouras, Andreas; Islam, M Sirajul; Wallace, Megan J; Hooper, Stuart B; Kitchen, Marcus J

2013-04-01

Described herein is a new technique for measuring regional lung air volumes from two-dimensional propagation-based phase contrast x-ray (PBI) images at very high spatial and temporal resolution. Phase contrast dramatically increases lung visibility and the outlined volumetric reconstruction technique quantifies dynamic changes in respiratory function. These methods can be used for assessing pulmonary disease and injury and for optimizing mechanical ventilation techniques for preterm infants using animal models. The volumetric reconstruction combines the algorithms of temporal subtraction and single image phase retrieval (SIPR) to isolate the image of the lungs from the thoracic cage in order to measure regional lung air volumes. The SIPR algorithm was used to recover the change in projected thickness of the lungs on a pixel-by-pixel basis (pixel dimensions ≈ 16.2 μm). The technique has been validated using numerical simulation and compared results of measuring regional lung air volumes with and without the use of temporal subtraction for removing the thoracic cage. To test this approach, a series of PBI images of newborn rabbit pups mechanically ventilated at different frequencies was employed. Regional lung air volumes measured from PBI images of newborn rabbit pups showed on average an improvement of at least 20% in 16% of pixels within the lungs in comparison to that measured without the use of temporal subtraction. The majority of pixels that showed an improvement was found to be in regions occupied by bone. Applying the volumetric technique to sequences of PBI images of newborn rabbit pups, it is shown that lung aeration at birth can be highly heterogeneous. This paper presents an image segmentation technique based on temporal subtraction that has successfully been used to isolate the lungs from PBI chest images, allowing the change in lung air volume to be measured over regions as small as the pixel size. Using this technique, it is possible to measure

Short term reproducibility of a high contrast 3-D isotropic optic nerve imaging sequence in healthy controls

Science.gov (United States)

Harrigan, Robert L.; Smith, Alex K.; Mawn, Louise A.; Smith, Seth A.; Landman, Bennett A.

2016-03-01

The optic nerve (ON) plays a crucial role in human vision transporting all visual information from the retina to the brain for higher order processing. There are many diseases that affect the ON structure such as optic neuritis, anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and multiple sclerosis. Because the ON is the sole pathway for visual information from the retina to areas of higher level processing, measures of ON damage have been shown to correlate well with visual deficits. Increased intracranial pressure has been shown to correlate with the size of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) surrounding the ON. These measures are generally taken at an arbitrary point along the nerve and do not account for changes along the length of the ON. We propose a high contrast and high-resolution 3-D acquired isotropic imaging sequence optimized for ON imaging. We have acquired scan-rescan data using the optimized sequence and a current standard of care protocol for 10 subjects. We show that this sequence has superior contrast-to-noise ratio to the current standard of care while achieving a factor of 11 higher resolution. We apply a previously published automatic pipeline to segment the ON and CSF sheath and measure the size of each individually. We show that these measures of ON size have lower short- term reproducibility than the population variance and the variability along the length of the nerve. We find that the proposed imaging protocol is (1) useful in detecting population differences and local changes and (2) a promising tool for investigating biomarkers related to structural changes of the ON.

Post-processing of high-contrast observations of exoplanets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gladysz S.

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Post-processing of images delivered by the eXtreme Adaptive Optics (XAO instrumentation is a crucial step which can increase achievable contrast even by two orders of magnitude. In this communication I present a new class of algorithms for detection of extrasolar planets from a sequence of adaptive-optics-corrected images. In general, the methods discriminate between real sources and stellar PSF features based on statistics of recorded intensity. The methods are particularly useful in dealing with static speckles which are the greatest obstacle in detecting exoplanets.

Development of microbubble contrast agents for high frequency ultrasound microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jun, Se Jung; Kim, Eun A; Park, Sung Hoon; Lee, Hye Jin; Jun, Hong Young; Byun, Seung Jae; Yoon, Kwon Ha [Wonkwang University School of Medicine, Iksan (Korea, Republic of)

2007-05-15

To develop optimal microbubble contrast agents (MBCAs) for performing ultrasound microscopy when examining small animals. We prepared three types of MBCAs. First, a mixture of three parts of 40% dextran and one part of 5% human serum albumin were sonicated with perfluorocarbon (PFC) (MB{sub 1}-D40A5P). Second, three parts of 40% dextran and one part of 1% human serum albumin were sonicated with PFC (MB{sub 2}-D40A1P). Third, all parts of 1% bovine serum albumin were sonicated with PFC (MB{sub 3}-A1P). We measured the microbubbles' sizes and concentrations with using image analysis software. The acoustic properties of the microbubbles were assessed both in vitro and in vivo. The majority of the MB{sub 1}-D40A5Ps had a diameter of 2-5 {mu} m, the mean diameter of the MB{sub 2}-D40A1Ps was 2.5 {mu} m, and the mean diameter of the MB{sub 3}-A1Ps was less than 2.0 {mu} m. Among the microbubbles, the MB{sub 1}-D40A5Ps and MB{sub 2}-D40A1Ps showed increased echogenicity in the abdominal vessels, but the duration of their contrast effect was less than 30 sec. On the contrary, the MB3-A1Ps exhibited strong enhancement in the vessels and their duration was greater than 120 sec. A microbubble contrast agent consisting of all parts of 1% serum albumin sonicated with PFC is an effective contrast agent for ultrasound microscopy.

Ring-like spatial distribution of laser accelerated protons in the ultra-high-contrast TNSA-regime

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, G. A.; Tietze, S.; Keppler, S.; Reislöhner, J.; Bin, J. H.; Bock, L.; Brack, F.-E.; Hein, J.; Hellwing, M.; Hilz, P.; Hornung, M.; Kessler, A.; Kraft, S. D.; Kuschel, S.; Liebetrau, H.; Ma, W.; Polz, J.; Schlenvoigt, H.-P.; Schorcht, F.; Schwab, M. B.; Seidel, A.; Zeil, K.; Schramm, U.; Zepf, M.; Schreiber, J.; Rykovanov, S.; Kaluza, M. C.

2018-05-01

The spatial distribution of protons accelerated from submicron-thick plastic foil targets using multi-terawatt, frequency-doubled laser pulses with ultra-high temporal contrast has been investigated experimentally. A very stable, ring-like beam profile of the accelerated protons, oriented around the target’s normal direction has been observed. The ring’s opening angle has been found to decrease with increasing foil thicknesses. Two-dimensional particle-in-cell simulations reproduce our results indicating that the ring is formed during the expansion of the proton density distribution into the vacuum as described by the mechanism of target-normal sheath acceleration. Here—in addition to the longitudinal electric fields responsible for the forward acceleration of the protons—a lateral charge separation leads to transverse field components accelerating the protons in the lateral direction.

Modeling the Subjective Quality of Highly Contrasted Videos Displayed on LCD With Local Backlight Dimming

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mantel, Claire; Bech, Søren; Korhonen, Jari

2015-01-01

Local backlight dimming is a technology aiming at both saving energy and improving visual quality on television sets. As the rendition of the image is specified locally, the numerical signal corresponding to the displayed image needs to be computed through a model of the display. This simulated...... signal can then be used as input to objective quality metrics. The focus of this paper is on determining which characteristics of locally backlit displays influence quality assessment. A subjective experiment assessing the quality of highly contrasted videos displayed with various local backlight......-dimming algorithms is set up. Subjective results are then compared with both objective measures and objective quality metrics using different display models. The first analysis indicates that the most significant objective features are temporal variations, power consumption (probably representing leakage...

High-Spatial- and High-Temporal-Resolution Dynamic Contrast-enhanced MR Breast Imaging with Sweep Imaging with Fourier Transformation: A Pilot Study

Science.gov (United States)

Benson, John C.; Idiyatullin, Djaudat; Snyder, Angela L.; Snyder, Carl J.; Hutter, Diane; Everson, Lenore I.; Eberly, Lynn E.; Nelson, Michael T.; Garwood, Michael

2015-01-01

Purpose To report the results of sweep imaging with Fourier transformation (SWIFT) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for diagnostic breast imaging. Materials and Methods Informed consent was obtained from all participants under one of two institutional review board–approved, HIPAA-compliant protocols. Twelve female patients (age range, 19–54 years; mean age, 41.2 years) and eight normal control subjects (age range, 22–56 years; mean age, 43.2 years) enrolled and completed the study from January 28, 2011, to March 5, 2013. Patients had previous lesions that were Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System 4 and 5 based on mammography and/or ultrasonographic imaging. Contrast-enhanced SWIFT imaging was completed by using a 4-T research MR imaging system. Noncontrast studies were completed in the normal control subjects. One of two sized single-breast SWIFT-compatible transceiver coils was used for nine patients and five controls. Three patients and five control subjects used a SWIFT-compatible dual breast coil. Temporal resolution was 5.9–7.5 seconds. Spatial resolution was 1.00 mm isotropic, with later examinations at 0.67 mm isotropic, and dual breast at 1.00 mm or 0.75 mm isotropic resolution. Results Two nonblinded breast radiologists reported SWIFT image findings of normal breast tissue, benign fibroadenomas (six of six lesions), and malignant lesions (10 of 12 lesions) concordant with other imaging modalities and pathologic reports. Two lesions in two patients were not visualized because of coil field of view. The images yielded by SWIFT showed the presence and extent of known breast lesions. Conclusion The SWIFT technique could become an important addition to breast imaging modalities because it provides high spatial resolution at all points during the dynamic contrast-enhanced examination. © RSNA, 2014 PMID:25247405

Risk of contrast-medium-induced nephropathy in high-risk patients undergoing MDCT - A pooled analysis of two randomized trials

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thomsen, Henrik S.; Morcos, Sameh K.

2009-01-01

The incidence of contrast-medium-induced nephropathy (CIN) following intravenous (IV) CM administration of contrast media to renally impaired patients undergoing multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is not well characterized. Our objective was to investigate the incidence of CIN in patients with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) 40 ml/min, 4.6% when GFR <40 ml/min and 7.8% in patients with GFR <30 ml/min. The incidence of CIN was significantly higher after iodixanol than after LOCM (seven patients, 4.7% following IOCM, no CIN cases following the LOCM; p = 0.007). Significant differences in favor of the LOCM were also observed in patients with GFR <40 ml/min and GFR <30 ml/min. Following the IV administration of nonionic contrast agents in patients with moderate-to-severe renal insufficiency, the risk of significant CIN seems to be low. The IOCM iodixanol caused a higher rate of CIN than the LOCM iopamidol and iomeprol, especially in high-risk patients. Differences in osmolality between these LOCM and iodixanol do not play a role in the genesis of CIN. (orig.)

Examination of hepatic dynamic CT images following infusion of high-concentration contrast media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takeyama, Nobuyuki; Hayashi, Takaki; Kinebuchi, Yuko; Kitahara, Tadashi; Ohbuchi, Masao; Shinjyo, Hidenori; Ohgiya, Yoshimitsu

2008-01-01

There are scarce examinations on the integrated effects of given iodine weight (mgI) and its rate (mgI/sec) on the quality and diagnostic accuracy in the hepatic contrast CT imaging while the former is known to affect the image of parenchyma and the latter, of arterial systems. The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the effects qualitatively and quantitatively in hepatic dynamic CT images of patients with moderate body weight in whom different concentrations of I are given at the same flux rate and total weight. Patients having chronic hepatitis suspicious of carcinoma, or cirrhosis were 52-84 years old (M 50/F 55, b. wt. 50-65 kg) and were randomly divided in A and B group. A group received infusion of 25 sec in the right elbow vein of iopamidol, 300 mgI/100 mL, and B group, 370 mgI/80 mL: the I flux of ca. 1.2 gI/sec and total I of ca. 30 gI. Before and at 25 (early arterial phase), 40 (late art. phase), 70 (portal vein) and 180 (equilibrium) sec after infusion, CT images were obtained with the machine Light Speed select (GE Healthcare), Housfield Units before and after enhancing were used for quantitative evaluation, three experts qualitatively read images, and PACS system in Synapse 3.1.0 (Fuji Film Med.) was used for observation of tumor nodules if present. Neither qualitative nor quantitative differences were found in these CT images of the 4 phases and use of high-concentration contrast media was confirmed to be possible for lowered infusion rate. Authors also pointed out the importance of care for radiation exposure in this CT technique. (R.T.)

Feasibility of prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch coronary CT angiography with 30 mL iodinated contrast agent at 70 kVp: initial experience

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhang, Long Jiang; Qi, Li; Tang, Chun Xiang; Zhou, Chang Sheng; Ji, Xue Man; Lu, Guang Ming [Medical School of Nanjing University, Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu (China); Wang, Jing [Medical School of Nanjing University, Department of Cardiology, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu (China); Spearman, James V.; De Cecco, Carlo Nicola; Meinel, Felix G. [Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Charleston, SC (United States); Schoepf, U.J. [Medical School of Nanjing University, Department of Medical Imaging, Jinling Hospital, Nanjing, Jiangsu (China); Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Charleston, SC (United States)

2014-07-15

To evaluate the feasibility, image quality and radiation dose of prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch coronary CT angiography (CCTA) with 30 mL contrast agent at 70 kVp. Fifty-eight patients with suspected coronary artery disease, a body mass index (BMI) of less than 25 kg/m{sup 2}, sinus rhythm and a heart rate (HR) of less than 70 beats per minute (bpm) were prospectively enrolled in this study. Thirty mL of 370 mg I/mL iodinated contrast agent was administrated at a flow rate of 5 mL/s. All patients underwent prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch CCTA on a second-generation dual-source CT system at 70 kVp using automated tube current modulation. Fifty-six patients (96.6 %) had diagnostic CCTA images and two patients (3.4 %) had one vessel with poor image quality each rated as non-diagnostic. No significant effects of HR, HR variability and BMI on CCTA image quality were observed (all P > 0.05). Effective dose was 0.17 ± 0.02 mSv and the size-specific dose estimate was 1.03 ± 0.13 mGy. Prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch CCTA at 70 kVp with 30 mL of contrast agent can provide diagnostic image quality at a radiation dose of less than 0.2 mSv in patients with a BMI of less than 25 kg/m{sup 2} and an HR of less than 70 bpm. (orig.)

High contrast imaging and flexible photomanipulation for quantitative in vivo multiphoton imaging with polygon scanning microscope.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yongxiao; Montague, Samantha J; Brüstle, Anne; He, Xuefei; Gillespie, Cathy; Gaus, Katharina; Gardiner, Elizabeth E; Lee, Woei Ming

2018-02-28

In this study, we introduce two key improvements that overcome limitations of existing polygon scanning microscopes while maintaining high spatial and temporal imaging resolution over large field of view (FOV). First, we proposed a simple and straightforward means to control the scanning angle of the polygon mirror to carry out photomanipulation without resorting to high speed optical modulators. Second, we devised a flexible data sampling method directly leading to higher image contrast by over 2-fold and digital images with 100 megapixels (10 240 × 10 240) per frame at 0.25 Hz. This generates sub-diffraction limited pixels (60 nm per pixels over the FOV of 512 μm) which increases the degrees of freedom to extract signals computationally. The unique combined optical and digital control recorded fine fluorescence recovery after localized photobleaching (r ~10 μm) within fluorescent giant unilamellar vesicles and micro-vascular dynamics after laser-induced injury during thrombus formation in vivo. These new improvements expand the quantitative biological-imaging capacity of any polygon scanning microscope system. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Risk of contrast-medium-induced nephropathy in high-risk patients undergoing MDCT - A pooled analysis of two randomized trials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Thomsen, Henrik S. [University of Copenhagen, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev, and Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Herlev (Denmark); Morcos, Sameh K. [University of Sheffield, Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield (United Kingdom)

2009-04-15

The incidence of contrast-medium-induced nephropathy (CIN) following intravenous (IV) CM administration of contrast media to renally impaired patients undergoing multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is not well characterized. Our objective was to investigate the incidence of CIN in patients with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <60 ml/min undergoing contrast-enhanced MDCT examinations and to compare the rates of CIN following the IV administration of low-osmolar contrast media (LOCM, iopamidol and iomeprol) and an iso-osmolar contrast medium (IOCM, iodixanol). A total of 301 adult patients with moderate-to-severe renal failure received a similar IV contrast dose (40 gI). Serum creatinine (SCr) was measured at screening, baseline and 48-72 {+-} 6 h after the MDCT examination. Primary CIN outcome was an increase in SCr {>=}0.5 mg/dl ({>=}44.2 {mu}mol/l) from baseline. The CIN rates were 2.3% in the total population, 0.6% when GFR >40 ml/min, 4.6% when GFR <40 ml/min and 7.8% in patients with GFR <30 ml/min. The incidence of CIN was significantly higher after iodixanol than after LOCM (seven patients, 4.7% following IOCM, no CIN cases following the LOCM; p = 0.007). Significant differences in favor of the LOCM were also observed in patients with GFR <40 ml/min and GFR <30 ml/min. Following the IV administration of nonionic contrast agents in patients with moderate-to-severe renal insufficiency, the risk of significant CIN seems to be low. The IOCM iodixanol caused a higher rate of CIN than the LOCM iopamidol and iomeprol, especially in high-risk patients. Differences in osmolality between these LOCM and iodixanol do not play a role in the genesis of CIN. (orig.)

High contrast laser beam collimation testing using two proximately placed holographic optical elements

Science.gov (United States)

Rajkumar; Dubey, Rajiv; Debnath, Sanjit K.; Chhachhia, D. P.

2018-05-01

Accuracy in laser beam collimation is very important in systems used for precision measurements. The present work reports a technique for collimation testing of laser beams using two proximately placed holographic optical elements (HOEs). The required HOEs are designed and fabricated such that upon illumination with the test beam, they release two laterally sheared wavefronts, at desired angles from the directly transmitted beam, that superimpose each other to generate straight interference fringes. Deviation from the collimation of the test beam results in orientation of these otherwise horizontal fringes. The novelty of this setup comes from the fact that HOEs are lightweight, as well as easy to fabricate as compared to conventional wedge plates used for collimation testing, and generate high contrast fringes compared to other interferometry, holography, Talbot and Moiré based techniques in a compact manner. The proposed technique is experimentally validated by measuring the orientation of fringes by an angle of 16.4° when a collimating lens of focal length 200 mm is defocused by 600 μm. The accuracy in the setting of this collimation position is obtained to be 10 μm.

High-resolution motion compensated MRA in patients with congenital heart disease using extracellular contrast agent at 3 Tesla

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dabir Darius

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Using first-pass MRA (FP-MRA spatial resolution is limited by breath-hold duration. In addition, image quality may be hampered by respiratory and cardiac motion artefacts. In order to overcome these limitations an ECG- and navigator-gated high-resolution-MRA sequence (HR-MRA with slow infusion of extracellular contrast agent was implemented at 3 Tesla for the assessment of congenital heart disease and compared to standard first-pass-MRA (FP-MRA. Methods 34 patients (median age: 13 years with congenital heart disease (CHD were prospectively examined on a 3 Tesla system. The CMR-protocol comprised functional imaging, FP- and HR-MRA, and viability imaging. After the acquisition of the FP-MRA sequence using a single dose of extracellular contrast agent the motion compensated HR-MRA sequence with isotropic resolution was acquired while injecting the second single dose, utilizing the timeframe before viability imaging. Qualitative scores for image quality (two independent reviewers as well as quantitative measurements of vessel sharpness and relative contrast were compared using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Quantitative measurements of vessel diameters were compared using the Bland-Altman test. Results The mean image quality score revealed significantly better image quality of the HR-MRA sequence compared to the FP-MRA sequence in all vessels of interest (ascending aorta (AA, left pulmonary artery (LPA, left superior pulmonary vein (LSPV, coronary sinus (CS, and coronary ostia (CO; all p  Conclusions An ECG- and navigator-gated HR-MRA-protocol with infusion of extracellular contrast agent at 3 Tesla is feasible. HR-MRA delivers significantly better image quality and vessel sharpness compared to FP-MRA. It may be integrated into a standard CMR-protocol for patients with CHD without the need for additional contrast agent injection and without any additional examination time.

HematoPorphyrin Monomethyl Ether polymer contrast agent for ultrasound/photoacoustic dual-modality imaging-guided synergistic high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Sijing; Lu, Min; Ding, Xiaoya; Chen, Fei; He, Xuemei; Xu, Chunyan; Zhou, Hang; Wang, Qi; Hao, Lan; Zou, Jianzhong

2016-08-18

This study is to prepare a hematoporphyrin monomethyl ether (HMME)-loaded poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microcapsules (HMME/PLGA), which could not only function as efficient contrast agent for ultrasound (US)/photoacoustic (PA) imaging, but also as a synergistic agent for high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation. Sonosensitizer HMME nanoparticles were integrated into PLGA microcapsules with the double emulsion evaporation method. After characterization, the cell-killing and cell proliferation-inhibiting effects of HMME/PLGA microcapsules on ovarian cancer SKOV3 cells were assessed. The US/PA imaging-enhancing effects and synergistic effects on HIFU were evaluated both in vitro and in vivo. HMME/PLGA microcapsules were highly dispersed with well-defined spherical morphology (357 ± 0.72 nm in diameter, PDI = 0.932). Encapsulation efficiency and drug-loading efficiency were 58.33 ± 0.95% and 4.73 ± 0.15%, respectively. The HMME/PLGA microcapsules remarkably killed the SKOV3 cells and inhibited the cell proliferation, significantly enhanced the US/PA imaging results and greatly enhanced the HIFU ablation effects on ovarian cancer in nude mice by the HMME-mediated sono-dynamic chemistry therapy (SDT). HMME/PLGA microcapsules represent a potential multifunctional contrast agent for HIFU diagnosis and treatment, which might provide a novel strategy for the highly efficient imaging-guided non-invasive HIFU synergistic therapy for cancers by SDT in clinic.

Therapeutic response assessment of high intensity focused ultrasound therapy for uterine fibroid: Utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou Xiaodong; Ren Xiaolong; Zhang Jun; He Guangbin; Zheng Minjuan; Tian Xue; Li Li; Zhu Ting; Zhang Min; Wang Lei; Luo Wen

2007-01-01

Purpose: To assess the utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (ceUS) in the assessment of the therapeutic response to high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation in patients with uterine fibroid. Materials and methods: Sixty-four patients with a total of 64 uterine fibroids (mean: 5.3 ± 1.2 cm; range: 3.2-8.9 cm) treated with HIFU ablation under the ultrasound guidance were evaluated with ceUS after receiving an intravenous bolus injection of a microbubble contrast agent (SonoVue) within 1 week after intervention. We obtained serial ceUS images during the time period from beginning to 5 min after the initiation of the bolus contrast injection. All of the patients underwent a contrast enhanced MRI (ceMRI) and ultrasound guided needle puncture biopsy within 1 week after HIFU ablation. And as a follow-up, all of the patients underwent US at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after HIFU treatment. The volume change was observed and compared to pre- and post-HIFU ablation. The results of the ceUS were compared with those of the ceMRI in terms of the presence or absence of residual unablated tumor and pathologic change in the treated lesions. Results: On ceUS, diagnostic accuracy was 100%, while residual unablated tumors were found in three uterine fibroids (4.7%) and failed treatment was found in eight uterine fibroids (12.5%). All the 11 fibroids were subjected to additional HIFU ablation. Of the 58 ablated fibroids without residual tumors on both the ceUS and ceMRI after the HIFU ablation, the volumes of all the fibroids decreased in different degrees during the 1 year follow-up USs. And histologic examinations confirmed findings of necrotic and viable tumor tissue, respectively. Conclusion: CEUS is potentially useful for evaluating the early therapeutic effect of percutaneous HIFU ablation for uterine fibroids

Verification of the high density after contrast enhancement in the 2nd week in cerebroischemic lesion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shibata, T; Kanno, T; Sano, H; Katada, Kazuhiro; Futimoto, K [Fujita Gakuen Univ., Toyoake, Aichi (Japan). School of Medicine

1978-12-01

To determine the indication, it is necessary to make clear the relation among the Stage (time and course), the Strength, the Pathogenesis, and the Effects of the operation in these diseases (SSPE relation). In this report, we focused on the High Density of CT after the contrast enhancement in the cases of ischemic lesions (the High Density was named ''Ribbon H. D.''). Seventeen cases of Ribbon H. D. in fresh infarctions were verified concerning the time of the appearance of the H. D., the features of its location and nature, and the histological findings. The results were as follows: The Ribbon H. D. appeared in the early stage of infarctions, and had its peak density at the end of the 2nd week after the onset. The Ribbon H. D. was mostly located along the cortical line, showing a ribbon-like band. The Ribbon H. D. did not appear in the sharply demarcated coagulation necrosis in the early stage or in the defined Low Density (L. D.) in the late stage of infarctions. Although the Ribbon H. D. shows the extravasation of contrast media, it does not necessarily show the existence of the hemorrhagic infarction. Some part of the Ribbon H. D. changes to a well-defined L. D. and the rest of the part becomes relative isodensity in the late stage. This change corresponds to the change in the incomplete necrosis which is afterwards divided into a resolution with a cystic cavity and the glial replacement in the late stage. In conclusion, it is possible to understand that the Ribbon H. D. corresponds to the lesion of an incomplete necrosis, with neovascularization, in the early stage of infarctions. Therefore, in addition to the present indication of a by-pass operation (TIA, RIND), this incomplete necrosis (Ribbon H. D.), its surrounding area and just before the appearance of the Ribbon H. D. might be another indication of the operation.

High incidence of nephropathy in neurosurgical patients after intra-arterial administration of low-osmolar and iso-osmolar contrast media.

Science.gov (United States)

Serafin, Zbigniew; Karolkiewicz, Maciej; Gruszka, Marzena; Strózecki, Pawel; Lasek, Wladyslaw; Odrowaz-Sypniewska, Grazyna; Manitius, Jacek; Beuth, Wojciech

2011-05-01

Percutaneous endovascular examinations and interventions require significant amounts of iodinated contrast media (CM) and have been reported to be complicated by an increased incidence of post-contrast nephropathy. To evaluate renal function, the incidence of post-contrast nephropathy, and risk factors after interventional procedures in neurosurgical patients after intra-arterial administration of a low-osmolar contrast medium (LOCM) versus an iso-osmolar contrast medium (IOCM). This single-center, prospective, randomized, double-blinded study included 92 patients in its final analysis (mean age 49.6 ± 12.6 years, 29.3% men, mean eGFR 97.8 ± 26.3 mL/min/1.73 m(2)). LOCM was used in 48 patients (52.2%) and IOCM in 44 patients (47.8%). The patients were given an average of 151.2 ± 52.1 mL of contrast medium intra-arterially. Serum creatinine (SCr), urinary N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase (NAG) excretion, and creatinine clearance (CCr) were measured at baseline, and on days 1 and 3 after the procedure. Baseline risk factors, renal functional parameters, and average CM doses were not statistically different between the two groups. SCr, NAG, and CCr values did not differ significantly between the LOCM and IOCM groups on days 1 and 3 after CM administration. Nephropathy developed in 21 cases (22.8%): 13 (27.1%) after LOCM use and 8 (18.2%) after IOCM; (P = NS). The only significant risk factors of CIN were the diabetes (P = 0.0466) and atherosclerosis (P = 0.0498). We found a high incidence of nephropathy in neurosurgical patients after intra-arterial CM administration. The renal function values and incidence of nephropathy following LOCM administration were not statistically different from those following IOCM administration.

Perceived Barriers to the Use of High-Fidelity Hands-On Simulation Training for Contrast Reaction Management: Why Programs are Not Using It.

Science.gov (United States)

Chinnugounder, Sankar; Hippe, Daniel S; Maximin, Suresh; O'Malley, Ryan B; Wang, Carolyn L

2015-01-01

Although subjective and objective benefits of high-fidelity simulation have been reported in medicine, there has been slow adoption in radiology. The purpose of our study was to identify the perceived barriers in the use of high-fidelity hands-on simulation for contrast reaction management training. An IRB exempt 32 questions online web survey was sent to 179 non-military radiology residency program directors listed in the Fellowship and Residency Electronic Interactive Database Access system (FREIDA). Survey questions included the type of contrast reaction management training, cost, time commitment of residents and faculty, and the reasons for not using simulation training. Responses from the survey were summarized as count (percentage), mean ± standard deviation (SD), or median (range). 84 (47%) of 179 programs responded, of which 88% offered CRM training. Most (72%) conducted the CRM training annually while only 4% conducted it more frequently. Didactic lecture was the most frequently used training modality (97%), followed by HFS (30%) and computer-based simulation (CBS) (19%); 5.5% used both HFS and CBS. Of the 51 programs that offer CRM training but do not use HFS, the most common reason reported was insufficient availability (41%). Other reported reasons included cost (33%), no access to simulation centers (33%), lack of trained faculty (27%) and time constraints (27%). Although high-fidelity hands-on simulation training is the best way to reproduce real-life contrast reaction scenarios, many institutions do not provide this training due to constraints such as cost, lack of access or insufficient availability of simulation labs, and lack of trained faculty. As a specialty, radiology needs to better address these barriers at both an institutional and national level. Copyright © 2015 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Development of high sensitivity and high speed large size blank inspection system LBIS

Science.gov (United States)

Ohara, Shinobu; Yoshida, Akinori; Hirai, Mitsuo; Kato, Takenori; Moriizumi, Koichi; Kusunose, Haruhiko

2017-07-01

The production of high-resolution flat panel displays (FPDs) for mobile phones today requires the use of high-quality large-size photomasks (LSPMs). Organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays use several transistors on each pixel for precise current control and, as such, the mask patterns for OLED displays are denser and finer than the patterns for the previous generation displays throughout the entire mask surface. It is therefore strongly demanded that mask patterns be produced with high fidelity and free of defect. To enable the production of a high quality LSPM in a short lead time, the manufacturers need a high-sensitivity high-speed mask blank inspection system that meets the requirement of advanced LSPMs. Lasertec has developed a large-size blank inspection system called LBIS, which achieves high sensitivity based on a laser-scattering technique. LBIS employs a high power laser as its inspection light source. LBIS's delivery optics, including a scanner and F-Theta scan lens, focus the light from the source linearly on the surface of the blank. Its specially-designed optics collect the light scattered by particles and defects generated during the manufacturing process, such as scratches, on the surface and guide it to photo multiplier tubes (PMTs) with high efficiency. Multiple PMTs are used on LBIS for the stable detection of scattered light, which may be distributed at various angles due to irregular shapes of defects. LBIS captures 0.3mμ PSL at a detection rate of over 99.5% with uniform sensitivity. Its inspection time is 20 minutes for a G8 blank and 35 minutes for G10. The differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope on the inspection head of LBIS captures high-contrast review images after inspection. The images are classified automatically.

Comprehensive MRA of the lower limbs including high-resolution extended-phase infra-inguinal imaging with gadobenate dimeglumine: Initial experience with inter-individual comparison to the blood-pool contrast agent gadofosveset trisodium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Christie, A.; Chandramohan, S.; Roditi, G.

2013-01-01

Aim: To compare extended-phase imaging using an extracellular space contrast agent, gadobenate dimeglumine, to imaging with a blood-pool contrast agent, gadofosveset, for magnetic resonance angiography. Materials and methods: A lower-limb magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) protocol (dynamic crural, three-station bolus chase, and infra-inguinal high resolution) designed for blood-pool agent imaging was adapted for use with the extracellular agent, gadobenate dimeglumine, primarily by using a triphasic injection protocol. Ten patients scanned with gadofosveset were compared to 10 patients scanned with gadobenate. The dynamic, bolus chase, and high-resolution images were scored for quality on a Likert scale (from 1–5). Signal- and contrast-to-noise ratios were analysed, and Mann–Whitney U statistical analysis performed. Results: There was no significant difference for the dynamic imaging or the aorto-iliac station of the bolus chase. Infra-inguinal bolus chase images were higher quality (p < 0.05 Mann–Whitney U test) with gadobenate. Signal analysis confirmed lower signal and contrast for venous imaging on the high spatial resolution acquisitions with gadobenate; however, this allowed improved arterial conspicuity. Conclusion: Extended-phase imaging using an extracellular space contrast agent is feasible and provides image quality to equal imaging with a blood-pool contrast agent.

High-contrast fluorescence imaging based on the polarization dependence of the fluorescence enhancement using an optical interference mirror slide.

Science.gov (United States)

Yasuda, Mitsuru; Akimoto, Takuo

2015-01-01

High-contrast fluorescence imaging using an optical interference mirror (OIM) slide that enhances the fluorescence from a fluorophore located on top of the OIM surface is reported. To enhance the fluorescence and reduce the background light of the OIM, transverse-electric-polarized excitation light was used as incident light, and the transverse-magnetic-polarized fluorescence signal was detected. As a result, an approximate 100-fold improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio was achieved through a 13-fold enhancement of the fluorescence signal and an 8-fold reduction of the background light.

Low-High and High-Low Biphasic Injection Forms in Computed Tomography Examinations of the Upper Abdomen

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marti-Bonmati, L.; Arana, E.; Tobarra, E.; Sierra, C.

2006-01-01

Purpose: To analyze the influence of different biphasic and monophasic injection rate protocols in abdominal computed tomography (CT). Material and Methods: A randomized, consecutive, parallel group study was designed and conducted in 60 patients studied with the same CT helical protocol. Patients were randomly distributed into three groups: (A) monophasic (120 ml at 2.5 ml/s); (B) low-high biphasic (120 ml, first 60 ml at a rate of 2 ml/s, the other 60 ml at 2.5 ml/s); and (C) high-low biphasic (120 ml, first 60 ml at a rate of 2.5 ml/s, the other 60 ml at 2 ml/s). All patients were injected with 300 mg I/ml non-ionic contrast media at a fixed delay time of 55 s. Contrast enhancement efficacy was evaluated by attenuation coefficient measurements. Results: Although non-significant, monophasic protocol enhancements were higher than biphasic protocol enhancements in all measurements except aortic bifurcation (p = 0.003). At this level, biphasic protocols obtained an increased mean enhancement from 7.6% to 2.5% compared to monophasic protocols. Conclusion: Monophasic contrast agent injection in helical CT of the upper abdomen produces a higher enhancement of parenchymal and venous structures. No significant difference was observed between low-high and high-low biphasic protocols

Differentiating between Central Nervous System Lymphoma and High-grade Glioma Using Dynamic Susceptibility Contrast and Dynamic Contrast-enhanced MR Imaging with Histogram Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Murayama, Kazuhiro; Nishiyama, Yuya; Hirose, Yuichi; Abe, Masato; Ohyu, Shigeharu; Ninomiya, Ayako; Fukuba, Takashi; Katada, Kazuhiro; Toyama, Hiroshi

2018-01-10

We evaluated the diagnostic performance of histogram analysis of data from a combination of dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC)-MRI and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE)-MRI for quantitative differentiation between central nervous system lymphoma (CNSL) and high-grade glioma (HGG), with the aim of identifying useful perfusion parameters as objective radiological markers for differentiating between them. Eight lesions with CNSLs and 15 with HGGs who underwent MRI examination, including DCE and DSC-MRI, were enrolled in our retrospective study. DSC-MRI provides a corrected cerebral blood volume (cCBV), and DCE-MRI provides a volume transfer coefficient (K trans ) for transfer from plasma to the extravascular extracellular space. K trans and cCBV were measured from a round region-of-interest in the slice of maximum size on the contrast-enhanced lesion. The differences in t values between CNSL and HGG for determining the most appropriate percentile of K trans and cCBV were investigated. The differences in K trans , cCBV, and K trans /cCBV between CNSL and HGG were investigated using histogram analysis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis of K trans , cCBV, and K trans /cCBV ratio was performed. The 30 th percentile (C30) in K trans and 80 th percentile (C80) in cCBV were the most appropriate percentiles for distinguishing between CNSL and HGG from the differences in t values. CNSL showed significantly lower C80 cCBV, significantly higher C30 K trans , and significantly higher C30 K trans /C80 cCBV than those of HGG. In ROC analysis, C30 K trans /C80 cCBV had the best discriminative value for differentiating between CNSL and HGG as compared to C30 K trans or C80 cCBV. The combination of K trans by DCE-MRI and cCBV by DSC-MRI was found to reveal the characteristics of vascularity and permeability of a lesion more precisely than either K trans or cCBV alone. Histogram analysis of these vascular microenvironments enabled quantitative differentiation between

An exploratory study of contrast agents for soft tissue visualization by means of high resolution X-ray computed tomography imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Pauwels, E; Van Loo, D; Cornillie, P; Brabant, L; Van Hoorebeke, L

2013-04-01

High resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT), or microCT, is a promising and already widely used technique in various scientific fields. Also for histological purposes it has great potential. Although microCT has proven to be a valuable technique for the imaging of bone structures, the visualization of soft tissue structures is still an important challenge due to their low inherent X-ray contrast. One way to achieve contrast enhancement is to make use of contrast agents. However, contrary to light and electron microscopy, knowledge about contrast agents and staining procedures is limited for X-ray CT. The purpose of this paper is to identify useful X-ray contrast agents for soft tissue visualization, which can be applied in a simple way and are also suited for samples larger than (1 cm)(3) . And 28 chemical substances have been investigated. All chemicals were applied in the form of concentrated aqueous solutions in which the samples were immersed. First, strips of green Bacon were stained to evaluate contrast enhancement between muscle and adipose tissue. Furthermore it was also tested whether the contrast agents remained fixed in the tissue after staining by re-immersing them in water. Based on the results, 12 contrast agents were selected for further testing on postmortem mice hind legs, containing a variety of different tissues, including muscle, fat, bone, cartilage and tendons. It was evaluated whether the contrast agents allowed a clearer distinction between the different soft tissue structures present. Finally also penetration depth was measured. And 26 chemicals resulted in contrast enhancement between muscle and adipose tissue in the Bacon strips. Mercury(II)chloride (HgCl2 ), phosphotungstic acid (PTA), phosphomolybdic acid (PMA) and ammonium orthomolybdate ((NH4 )2 MoO4 ) remained fixed after re-immersion in water. The penetration tests showed that potassium iodide (KI) and sodium tungstate can be most efficiently used for large samples of the order

Searching for reflected light from τ Bootis b with high-resolution ground-based spectroscopy: Approaching the 10-5 contrast barrier

Science.gov (United States)

Hoeijmakers, H. J.; Snellen, I. A. G.; van Terwisga, S. E.

2018-02-01

Context. It is challenging to measure the starlight reflected from exoplanets because of the extreme contrast with their host stars. For hot Jupiters, this contrast is in the range of 10-6 to 10-4, depending on their albedo, radius and orbital distance. Searches for reflected light have been performed since the first hot Jupiters were discovered, but with very limited success because hot Jupiters tend to have low albedo values due to the general absence of reflective cloud decks. Aim. The aim of this study is to search for reflected light from τ Boo b, a hot Jupiter with one of the brightest host stars. Since its discovery in 1997, it has been the subject of several reflected-light searches using high-dispersion spectroscopy. Here we aim to combine these data in to a single meta-analysis. Methods: We analysed more than 2000 archival high-dispersion spectra obtained with the UVES, ESPaDOnS, NARVAL UES and HARPS-N spectrographs during various epochs between 1998 and 2013. Each spectrum was first cleaned of the stellar spectrum and subsequently cross-correlated with a PHOENIX model spectrum. These were then Doppler shifted to the planet rest-frame and co-added in time, weighted according to the expected signal-to-noise of the planet signal. Results: We reach a 3σ upper limit of the planet-to-star contrast of 1.5 × 10-5. Assuming a planet radius of 1.15 RJ, this corresponds to an optical albedo of between 400-700 nm. A low albedo is in line with secondary eclipse and phase curve observations of other hot Jupiters using space-based observatories, as well as theoretical predictions of their reflective properties.

Moderate contrast in the evaluation of paintings is liked more but remembered less than high contrast

NARCIS (Netherlands)

K. Dijkstra (Katinka); van Dongen, N.N.N. (Noah N.N.)

2017-01-01

textabstractMany visual aspects of paintings, as well as exposure to art and cultural norms, contribute to the aesthetic evaluation of paintings. The current study looked at heightened visual contrast as an important factor in the appreciation of paintings. Participants evaluated abstract digitized

Highly biocompatible TiO2:Gd3+ nano-contrast agent with enhanced longitudinal relaxivity for targeted cancer imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Chandran, Parwathy; Sasidharan, Abhilash; Ashokan, Anusha; Menon, Deepthy; Nair, Shantikumar; Koyakutty, Manzoor

2011-10-01

We report the development of a novel magnetic nano-contrast agent (nano-CA) based on Gd3+ doped amorphous TiO2 of size ~25 nm, exhibiting enhanced longitudinal relaxivity (r1) and magnetic resonance (MR) contrasting together with excellent biocompatibility. Quantitative T1 mapping of phantom samples using a 1.5 T clinical MR imaging system revealed that the amorphous phase of doped titania has the highest r1 relaxivity which is ~2.5 fold higher than the commercially used CA Magnevist™. The crystalline (anatase) samples formed by air annealing at 250 °C and 500 °C showed significant reduction in r1 values and MR contrast, which is attributed to the loss of proton-exchange contribution from the adsorbed water and atomic re-arrangement of Gd3+ ions in the crystalline host lattice. Nanotoxicity studies including cell viability, plasma membrane integrity, reactive oxygen stress and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, performed on human primary endothelial cells (HUVEC), human blood derived peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and nasopharyngeal epidermoid carcinoma (KB) cell line showed excellent biocompatibility up to relatively higher doses of 200 μg ml-1. The potential of this nano-CA to cause hemolysis, platelet aggregation and plasma coagulation were studied using human peripheral blood samples and found no adverse effects, illustrating the possibility of the safe intravenous administration of these agents for human applications. Furthermore, the ability of these agents to specifically detect cancer cells by targeting molecular receptors on the cell membrane was demonstrated on folate receptor (FR) positive oral carcinoma (KB) cells, where the folic acid conjugated nano-CA showed receptor specific accumulation on cell membrane while leaving the normal fibroblast cells (L929) unstained. This study reveals that the Gd3+ doped amorphous TiO2 nanoparticles having enhanced magnetic resonance contrast and high biocompatibility is a promising candidate for

High-pitch coronary CT angiography at 70 kVp adopting a protocol of low injection speed and low volume of contrast medium

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Feng, Ruiqi; Liu, Xiao Fei; Zhao, Yu; Zhang, Liang [Dept. of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang (China); Tong, Jia Jie [Dept. of Radiology, Hebei General Hospital, Shijiazhuang(China)

2017-09-15

To evaluate the feasibility and image quality (IQ) of prospectively high-pitch coronary CT angiography (CCTA) with low contrast medium injection rate at 70 kVp. One hundred and four patients with suspected coronary artery disease (body mass index < 26 kg/m{sup 2}, sinus rhythm and heart rate < 70 beats/min) were prospectively enrolled and randomly divided into two groups. In group A and group B, 28 mL and 40 mL of 370 mgI/mL iodinated contrast media was administrated at a flow rate of 3.5 and 5 mL/s, respectively. CT values, noise, signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the proximal segments of coronary arteries and subjective IQ were evaluated. The CT values and noise in group A were significantly lower than those in group B (434–485 Hounsfield units [HU] vs. 772–851 HU, all p < 0.001; 17.8–22.3 vs. 23.3–26.4, all p < 0.005). The CNRs of the right coronary artery and left main artery showed no statistical difference between the two groups (42.1 ± 13.8 vs. 36.8 ± 16.0, p = 0.074; 38.7 ± 10.6 vs. 38.1 ± 17.0, p = 0.819). No statistical difference was observed between the two groups in IQ scores (3.04 ± 0.75 vs. 3.0 ± 0.79, p = 0.526) and diagnostic ratio (96.1% [50/52] vs. 94.2% [49/52], p = 0.647). Prospective high-pitch CCTA at 70 kVp with 28 mL of contrast media and injection rate of 3.5 mL/s could provide diagnostic IQ for normal-weight patients with heart rate of < 70 beats/min.

Low-to-high refractive index contrast transition (RICT) device for low loss polymer-based optical coupling

Science.gov (United States)

Calabretta, N.; Cooman, I. A.; Stabile, R.

2018-04-01

We propose for the first time a coupling device concept for passive low-loss optical coupling, which is compatible with the ‘generic’ indium phosphide (InP) multi-project-wafer manufacturing. A low-to-high vertical refractive index contrast transition InP waveguide is designed and tapered down to adiabatically couple light into a top polymer waveguide. The on-chip embedded polymer waveguide is engineered at the chip facets for offering refractive-index and spot-size-matching to silica fiber-arrays. Numerical analysis shows that coupling losses lower than 1.5 dB can be achieved for a TE-polarized light between the InP waveguide and the on-chip embedded polymer waveguide at 1550 nm wavelength. The performance is mainly limited by the difficulty to control single-mode operation. However, coupling losses lower than 1.9 dB can be achieved for a bandwidth as large as 200 nm. Moreover, the foreseen fabrication process steps are indicated, which are compatible with the ‘generic’ InP multi-project-wafer manufacturing. A fabrication error tolerance study is performed, indicating that fabrication errors occur only in 0.25 dB worst case excess losses, as long as high precision lithography is used. The obtained results are promising and may open the route to large port counts and cheap packaging of InP-based photonic integrated chips.

A Stable Marching on-in-time Scheme for Solving the Time Domain Electric Field Volume Integral Equation on High-contrast Scatterers

KAUST Repository

Sayed, Sadeed Bin

2015-05-05

A time domain electric field volume integral equation (TD-EFVIE) solver is proposed for characterizing transient electromagnetic wave interactions on high-contrast dielectric scatterers. The TD-EFVIE is discretized using the Schaubert- Wilton-Glisson (SWG) and approximate prolate spherical wave (APSW) functions in space and time, respectively. The resulting system of equations can not be solved by a straightforward application of the marching on-in-time (MOT) scheme since the two-sided APSW interpolation functions require the knowledge of unknown “future” field samples during time marching. Causality of the MOT scheme is restored using an extrapolation technique that predicts the future samples from known “past” ones. Unlike the extrapolation techniques developed for MOT schemes that are used in solving time domain surface integral equations, this scheme trains the extrapolation coefficients using samples of exponentials with exponents on the complex frequency plane. This increases the stability of the MOT-TD-EFVIE solver significantly, since the temporal behavior of decaying and oscillating electromagnetic modes induced inside the scatterers is very accurately taken into account by this new extrapolation scheme. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed MOT solver maintains its stability even when applied to analyzing wave interactions on high-contrast scatterers.

A Stable Marching on-in-time Scheme for Solving the Time Domain Electric Field Volume Integral Equation on High-contrast Scatterers

KAUST Repository

Sayed, Sadeed Bin; Ulku, Huseyin; Bagci, Hakan

2015-01-01

A time domain electric field volume integral equation (TD-EFVIE) solver is proposed for characterizing transient electromagnetic wave interactions on high-contrast dielectric scatterers. The TD-EFVIE is discretized using the Schaubert- Wilton-Glisson (SWG) and approximate prolate spherical wave (APSW) functions in space and time, respectively. The resulting system of equations can not be solved by a straightforward application of the marching on-in-time (MOT) scheme since the two-sided APSW interpolation functions require the knowledge of unknown “future” field samples during time marching. Causality of the MOT scheme is restored using an extrapolation technique that predicts the future samples from known “past” ones. Unlike the extrapolation techniques developed for MOT schemes that are used in solving time domain surface integral equations, this scheme trains the extrapolation coefficients using samples of exponentials with exponents on the complex frequency plane. This increases the stability of the MOT-TD-EFVIE solver significantly, since the temporal behavior of decaying and oscillating electromagnetic modes induced inside the scatterers is very accurately taken into account by this new extrapolation scheme. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed MOT solver maintains its stability even when applied to analyzing wave interactions on high-contrast scatterers.

Laser-plasma harmonics with high-contrast pulses and designed prepulses

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marjoribanks, R. S.; Zhao, L.; Budnik, F. W.; Kulcsar, G.; Vitcu, A.; Higaki, H.; Wagner, R.; Maksimchuk, A.; Umstadter, D.; Le Blanc, S. P.; Downer, M. C.

1998-01-01

One aspect of the complexity of mid- and high-harmonic generation in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions is that nonlinear hydrodynamics is virtually always folded together with the nonlinear optical conversion process. We have partly dissected this issue in picosecond and subpicosecond interactions with preformed plasma gradients, imaging and spectrally resolving low- and mid-order harmonics. We describe spatial breakup of the picosecond beam in preformed plasmas, concomitant broadening and breakup of the harmonic spectrum, presumably through self-phase modulation, together with data on the sensitivity of harmonics production efficiency to the gradient or extent of preformed plasma. Lastly, we show preliminary data of regular Stokes-like and anti-Stokes-like satellites to the harmonics, accompanied by modification of the forward-scattered beam

High-contrast sub-Doppler absorption spikes in a hot atomic vapor cell exposed to a dual-frequency laser field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdel Hafiz, Moustafa; Coget, Grégoire; Boudot, Rodolphe; Brazhnikov, Denis; Taichenachev, Alexei; Yudin, Valeriy; De Clercq, Emeric

2017-01-01

The saturated absorption technique is an elegant method widely used in atomic and molecular physics for high-resolution spectroscopy, laser frequency standards and metrology purposes. We have recently discovered that a saturated absorption scheme with a dual-frequency laser can lead to a significant sign reversal of the usual Doppler-free dip, yielding a deep enhanced-absorption spike. In this paper, we report detailed experimental investigations of this phenomenon, together with a full in-depth theoretical description. It is shown that several physical effects can support or oppose the formation of the high-contrast central spike in the absorption profile. The physical conditions for which all these effects act constructively and result in very bright Doppler-free resonances are revealed. Apart from their theoretical interest, results obtained in this manuscript are of great interest for laser spectroscopy and laser frequency stabilization purposes, with applications in laser cooling, matter-wave sensors, atomic clocks or quantum optics. (paper)

Experimental studies on the development of Falibaryt HD, a new high density barium meal for double contrast examination of the stomach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dietze, R.

1985-01-01

During the development of a new double contrast barium meal barium sulfate preparations with different densities, additives and particle size distributions were tested. Phantoms made of leather, rubber and dissected stomachs of cows and pigs. High density bariumsulfat suspension (200 - 250 % weight/volume) of low viscosity and suitable particle size spectrum containing additives improving the adherence (e.g. natrium citrate) displayed the best quality parameters for optimal imaging of the fine mucosal relief. (author)

Multiscale finite element methods for high-contrast problems using local spectral basis functions

KAUST Repository

Efendiev, Yalchin

2011-02-01

In this paper we study multiscale finite element methods (MsFEMs) using spectral multiscale basis functions that are designed for high-contrast problems. Multiscale basis functions are constructed using eigenvectors of a carefully selected local spectral problem. This local spectral problem strongly depends on the choice of initial partition of unity functions. The resulting space enriches the initial multiscale space using eigenvectors of local spectral problem. The eigenvectors corresponding to small, asymptotically vanishing, eigenvalues detect important features of the solutions that are not captured by initial multiscale basis functions. Multiscale basis functions are constructed such that they span these eigenfunctions that correspond to small, asymptotically vanishing, eigenvalues. We present a convergence study that shows that the convergence rate (in energy norm) is proportional to (H/Λ*)1/2, where Λ* is proportional to the minimum of the eigenvalues that the corresponding eigenvectors are not included in the coarse space. Thus, we would like to reach to a larger eigenvalue with a smaller coarse space. This is accomplished with a careful choice of initial multiscale basis functions and the setup of the eigenvalue problems. Numerical results are presented to back-up our theoretical results and to show higher accuracy of MsFEMs with spectral multiscale basis functions. We also present a hierarchical construction of the eigenvectors that provides CPU savings. © 2010.

Evaluation of dynamic range for LLNL streak cameras using high contrast pulsed and pulse podiatry on the Nova laser system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Richards, J.B.; Weiland, T.L.; Prior, J.A.

1990-01-01

This paper reports on a standard LLNL streak camera that has been used to analyze high contrast pulses on the Nova laser facility. These pulses have a plateau at their leading edge (foot) with an amplitude which is approximately 1% of the maximum pulse height. Relying on other features of the pulses and on signal multiplexing, we were able to determine how accurately the foot amplitude was being represented by the camera. Results indicate that the useful single channel dynamic range of the instrument approaches 100:1

A verification of the high density after contrast enhancement in the 2nd week in cerebroischemic lesion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shibata, Taichiro; Kanno, Tetsuo; Sano, Hirotoshi; Katada, Kazuhiro; Fujimoto, Kazuo

1978-01-01

To determine the indication, it is necessary to make clear the relation among the Stage (time and course), the Strength, the Pathogenesis, and the Effects of the operation in these diseases (SSPE relation). In this report, we focused on the High Density of CT after the contrast enhancement in the cases of ischemic lesions (the High Density was named ''Ribbon H. D.''). Seventeen cases of Ribbon H. D. in fresh infarctions were verified concerning the time of the appearance of the H. D., the features of its location and nature, and the histological findings. The results were as follows: The Ribbon H. D. appeared in the early stage of infarctions, and had its peak density at the end of the 2nd week after the onset. The Ribbon H. D. was mostly located along the cortical line, showing a ribbon-like band. The Ribbon H. D. did not appear in the sharply demarcated coagulation necrosis in the early stage or in the defined Low Density (L. D.) in the late stage of infarctions. Although the Ribbon H. D. shows the extravasation of contrast media, it does not necessarily show the existence of the hemorrhagic infarction. Some part of the Ribbon H. D. changes to a well-defined L. D. and the rest of the part becomes relative isodensity in the late stage. This change corresponds to the change in the incomplete necrosis which is afterwards divided into a resolution with a cystic cavity and the glial replacement in the late stage. In conclusion, it is possible to understand that the Ribbon H. D. corresponds to the lesion of an incomplete necrosis, with neovascularization, in the early stage of infarctions. Therefore, in addition to the present indication of a by-pass operation (TIA, RIND), this incomplete necrosis (Ribbon H. D.), its surrounding area and just before the appearance of the Ribbon H. D. might be another indication of the operation. (author)

Safety of contrast media. Focus on contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuwatsuru, Ryohei

2011-01-01

Despite advances in imaging diagnosis, contrast media still play an important role in diagnosing the existence of the disease, demonstrating the extent of disease, and determining the perfusion of the disease, which is important to make a differential diagnosis. However, the administration of contrast media may cause contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN), especially in patients with renal impairment. It is estimated that 20-30% of patients with renal impairment who received contrast media develop CIN. Though the precise cause of CIN currently remains unknown, almost all injected contrast media are excreted through the kidney and the effects of contrast media on the kidney are easily understood. As CIN is the most common cause of death due to complications after receiving contrast media, prevention of CIN is important. There are several known risk factors for CIN. Patients with renal impairment, diabetes mellitus, and dehydration are at high risk for CIN. Furthermore, a high osmolar contrast media, excessive amount of contrast media, and ionic contrast media are also risk factors for CIN. CIN can be prevented in several ways. Certain drugs seem to be useful to prevent CIN, while others are harmful. Hydration is useful to prevent CIN, although there is no widely acceptable hydration method to prevent CIN. Both sodium bicarbonate and N-acetylcysteine are promising candidates for prevention of CIN. There are few reports to study CIN after intravenous administration, although reports of CIN after percutaneous cardiac intervention (PCI) and angiography are well recognized. In clinical situations, intravenous administration of contrast media is common. Therefore, a study of CIN after intravenous administration of contrast media should be performed. (author)

Nanocrystal core high-density lipoproteins: a multimodality contrast agent platform

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cormode, David P.; Skajaa, Torjus; van Schooneveld, Matti M.; Koole, Rolf; Jarzyna, Peter; Lobatto, Mark E.; Calcagno, Claudia; Barazza, Alessandra; Gordon, Ronald E.; Zanzonico, Pat; Fisher, Edward A.; Fayad, Zahi A.; Mulder, Willem J. M.

2008-01-01

High density lipoprotein (HDL) is an important natural nanoparticle that may be modified for biomedical imaging purposes. Here we developed a novel technique to create unique multimodality HDL mimicking nanoparticles by incorporation of gold, iron oxide, or quantum dot nanocrystals for computed

High-Contrast 3.8 Micron Imaging of the Brown Dwarf/Planet-Mass Companion to GJ 758

Science.gov (United States)

Currie, Thayne M.; Bailey, Vanessa; Fabrycky, Daniel; Murray-Clay, Ruth; Rodigas, Timothy; Hinz, Phil

2011-01-01

We present L' band (3.8 Micron) MMT/Clio high-contrast imaging data for the nearby star GJ 758, which was recently reported by Thalmann et al. (2009) to have one - possibly two - faint comoving companions (GJ 7588 and "C", respectively). GJ 758B is detected in two distinct datasets. Additionally, we report a \\textit{possible} detection of the object identified by Thalmann et al as "GJ 758C" in our more sensitive dataset, though it is likely a residual speckle. However, if it is the same object as that reported by Thalmann et al. it cannot be a companion in a bound orbit. GJ 7588 has a H-L' color redder than nearly all known L-T8 dwarfs. 8ased on comparisons with the COND evolutionary models, GJ 7588 has Te approx. 560 K (+150 K, -90 K) and a mass ranging from approx.10-20 Mj if it is approx.1 Gyr old to approx. 25-40 Mj if it is 8.7 Gyr old. GJ 7588 is likely in a highly eccentric orbit, e approx. 0.73 (+0.12,-0.21), with a semimajor axis of approx. 44 AU (+32 AU, -14 AU). Though GJ 7588 is sometimes discussed within the context of exoplanet direct imaging, its mass is likely greater than the deuterium-burning limit and its formation may resemble that of binary stars rather than that of jovian-mass planets.

Prognostic value of preoperative dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI perfusion parameters for high-grade glioma patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ulyte, Agne [Vilnius University, Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius (Lithuania); Katsaros, Vasileios K. [General Anticancer and Oncological Hospital ' ' St. Savvas' ' , Department of Advanced Imaging Modalities - CT and MRI, Athens (Greece); University of Athens, Department of Neurosurgery, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens (Greece); Liouta, Evangelia; Stranjalis, Georgios [University of Athens, Department of Neurosurgery, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens (Greece); Boskos, Christos [University of Athens, Department of Neurosurgery, Evangelismos Hospital, Athens (Greece); General Anticancer and Oncological Hospital ' ' St. Savvas' ' , Department of Radiation Oncology, Athens (Greece); Papanikolaou, Nickolas [Champalimaud Foundation, Department of Radiology, Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon (Portugal); Usinskiene, Jurgita [National Cancer Institute, Vilnius (Lithuania); Affidea Lietuva, Vilnius (Lithuania); Bisdas, Sotirios [University College London Hospitals, Department of Neuroradiology, The National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London (United Kingdom)

2016-12-15

The prognostic value of the dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI perfusion and its histogram analysis-derived metrics is not well established for high-grade glioma (HGG) patients. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate DCE perfusion transfer coefficient (K{sup trans}), vascular plasma volume fraction (v{sub p}), extracellular volume fraction (v{sub e}), reverse transfer constant (k{sub ep}), and initial area under gadolinium concentration time curve (IAUGC) as predictors of progression-free (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in HGG patients. Sixty-nine patients with suspected anaplastic astrocytoma or glioblastoma underwent preoperative DCE-MRI scans. DCE perfusion whole tumor region histogram parameters, clinical details, and PFS and OS data were obtained. Univariate, multivariate, and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were conducted. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to identify perfusion parameters with the best differentiation performance. On univariate analysis, v{sub e} and skewness of v{sub p} had significant negative impacts, while k{sub ep} had significant positive impact on OS (P < 0.05). v{sub e} was also a negative predictor of PFS (P < 0.05). Patients with lower v{sub e} and IAUGC had longer median PFS and OS on Kaplan-Meier analysis (P < 0.05). K{sup trans} and v{sub e} could also differentiate grade III from IV gliomas (area under the curve 0.819 and 0.791, respectively). High v{sub e} is a consistent predictor of worse PFS and OS in HGG glioma patients. v{sub p} skewness and k{sub ep} are also predictive for OS. K{sup trans} and v{sub e} demonstrated the best diagnostic performance for differentiating grade III from IV gliomas. (orig.)

[High-contrast resolution of film-screen systems in oral and maxillofacial radiology].

Science.gov (United States)

Kaeppler, G; Reinert, S

2007-11-01

The aim was to determine differences in high-contrast resolution of film-screen systems used in dental panoramic and cephalometric radiography by calculating the modulation transfer function (MTF). The radiographs used to determine the MTF should be taken by the same x-ray units as those used for patient radiographs. The MTF was determined using a lead grid and according to DIN 6867-2 for 11 film-screen systems (speed 250, speed class 200 and 400) used in dental radiographic diagnostics. The optical density was measured using a microdensitometer developed by PTB. With 10% of the modulation transfer factor, newly developed film-screen systems (speed class 200 and 400) demonstrated a resolution of 4.9 to 6 line pairs per mm (panoramic radiography). In cephalometric radiography a film-screen system (speed class 400 and green-sensitive film) had a resolution of 4.2 line pairs per mm and surpassed two film-screen systems (speed class 400, resolution of 3 line pairs per mm, blue-sensitive films). The relevance of this study is underlined by the diagnostic reference doses defined in the German X-ray Ordinance (RöV) which are also intended for dentistry. Film-screen systems (speed 250, speed class 200) previously used in dental panoramic and cephalometric radiography can be replaced by newly developed film-screen systems (speed class 400). In dental radiography dose reductions are possible with film-screen systems (speed class 400) without impairing diagnostic accuracy. The introduction of newly developed film-screen systems (speed class 400) requires lower milliampere-seconds and therefore an adjustment of the x-ray units to lower milliampere settings.

Comparison between diffraction contrast tomography and high-energy diffraction microscopy on a slightly deformed aluminium alloy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loïc Renversade

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The grain structure of an Al–0.3 wt%Mn alloy deformed to 1% strain was reconstructed using diffraction contrast tomography (DCT and high-energy diffraction microscopy (HEDM. 14 equally spaced HEDM layers were acquired and their exact location within the DCT volume was determined using a generic algorithm minimizing a function of the local disorientations between the two data sets. The microstructures were then compared in terms of the mean crystal orientations and shapes of the grains. The comparison shows that DCT can detect subgrain boundaries with disorientations as low as 1° and that HEDM and DCT grain boundaries are on average 4 µm apart from each other. The results are important for studies targeting the determination of grain volume. For the case of a polycrystal with an average grain size of about 100 µm, a relative deviation of about ≤10% was found between the two techniques.

Stakeholder engagement in patient-centered outcomes research: high-touch or high-tech?

Science.gov (United States)

Lavallee, Danielle C; Wicks, Paul; Alfonso Cristancho, Rafael; Mullins, C Daniel

2014-06-01

Patient and stakeholder engagement enhances the meaningfulness of patient-centered outcomes research. Continuous engagement of diverse patients helps to achieve representativeness and to avoid tokenism, but is perceived as challenging due to resource and time constraints. The widespread availability of the internet, mobile phones, and electronic devices makes 'high-tech' solutions appealing, but such approaches may trade-off larger sample sizes for shallower engagement and/or skewed perspectives if most participants reflect users of technology. More traditional 'high-touch' solutions such as in-person interviews, focus groups, and town hall meetings can provide qualitative and sociological context and potentially more in-depth insights from small numbers of patients, but such approaches are also prone to selection bias as well. We compare and contrast high-tech and high-touch approaches to engaging stakeholders and suggest hybrid processes.

High contrast enhancement aspect of dynamic computed tomography with arterial infusion - DCT-AI. Its clinical applications on hepatic tumors and basic experiments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kato, Seishi; Iwasaki, Naoya; Matsumura, Yoshimitsu; Kuramae, Shigeru; Mishiro, Tadashi

1983-06-01

Dynamic computed tomography was performed on 112 cases possibly having hepatic tumors with intraarterial infusion of undiluted contrast into a selectively placed catheter following angiographies. Our dynamic program could evaluate not only early phase of enhancement but also late phase up to 120 sec. Reconstructed views from early scans and magnified views were very useful to evaluate minute sequential changes. Hepatic masses less than 5 cm in size were found in thirty-one cases. Patterns of tumor enhancement and time-density curves have been analysed to correlate them with histology. Four types of tumor enhancement were noted: (1) homogeneous (2) patchy (3) mottled (4) ringed. Characteristic changes were observed in hepatocellular carcinoma - HCC - (mostly mottled) and haemangioma (mostly patchy). The former was divided in two groups reflecting the cellular maturity. The metastatic tumor could be enhanced in a ringed form with dendritic pattern of supplying vascularities in some cases. To support the use of undiluted contrast and to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of high contrast enhancement, experiments were performed by taking transaxial views of an acrylic phantom immersed in different concentrations of contrast. Analysis of CT images taken at different HU values ranging from 0 to 450 demonstrated that the higher the concentration of contrast, the better the spatial resolution was. Also larger magnification could be expected by using higher concentration of contrast. Although our Dynamic Computed Tomography with Arterial Infusion of Contrast still has drawbacks and limited indications, we advocate it as a better way of enhancement to detect and evaluate the hepatic masses, which sometimes elude the examiner's grasp with conventional way of enhancement. (author).

THE TRENDS HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING SURVEY. III. A FAINT WHITE DWARF COMPANION ORBITING HD 114174

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Crepp, Justin R.; Johnson, John Asher; Howard, Andrew W.; Marcy, Geoffrey W.; Gianninas, Alexandros; Kilic, Mukremin; Wright, Jason T.

2013-01-01

The nearby Sun-like star HD 114174 exhibits a strong and persistent Doppler acceleration indicating the presence of an unseen distant companion. We have acquired high-contrast imaging observations of this star using NIRC2 at Keck and report the direct detection of the body responsible for causing the ''trend''. HD 114174 B has a projected separation of 692 ± 9 mas (18.1 AU) and is 10.75 ± 0.12 mag (contrast of 5 × 10 –5 ) fainter than its host in the K-band, requiring aggressive point-spread function subtraction to identify. Our astrometric time baseline of 1.4 yr demonstrates physical association through common proper motion. We find that the companion has absolute magnitude, M J = 13.97 ± 0.11, and colors, J – K = 0.12 ± 0.16 mag. These characteristics are consistent with an ≈T3 dwarf, initially leading us to believe that HD 114174 B was a substellar object. However, a dynamical analysis that combines radial velocity measurements with available imaging data indicates a minimum mass of 0.260 ± 0.010 M ☉ . We conclude that HD 114174 B must be a white dwarf. Assuming a hydrogen-rich composition, atmospheric and evolutionary model fits yield an effective temperature T eff = 8200 ± 4000 K, surface gravity log g = 8.90 ± 0.02, and cooling age of t c ≈ 3.4 Gyr, which is consistent with the 4.7 +2.3 -2.6 Gyr host star isochronal age estimate. HD 114174 B is a benchmark object located only 26.14 ± 0.37 pc from the Sun. It may be studied at a level of detail comparable to Sirius and Procyon, and used to understand the link between the mass of white dwarf remnants with that of their progenitors

THE TRENDS HIGH-CONTRAST IMAGING SURVEY. III. A FAINT WHITE DWARF COMPANION ORBITING HD 114174

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Crepp, Justin R. [Department of Physics, University of Notre Dame, 225 Nieuwland Science Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (United States); Johnson, John Asher [Department of Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology, 1200 E. California Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Howard, Andrew W. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Marcy, Geoffrey W. [Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States); Gianninas, Alexandros; Kilic, Mukremin [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 (United States); Wright, Jason T., E-mail: jcrepp@nd.edu [Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802 (United States)

2013-09-01

The nearby Sun-like star HD 114174 exhibits a strong and persistent Doppler acceleration indicating the presence of an unseen distant companion. We have acquired high-contrast imaging observations of this star using NIRC2 at Keck and report the direct detection of the body responsible for causing the ''trend''. HD 114174 B has a projected separation of 692 {+-} 9 mas (18.1 AU) and is 10.75 {+-} 0.12 mag (contrast of 5 Multiplication-Sign 10{sup -5}) fainter than its host in the K-band, requiring aggressive point-spread function subtraction to identify. Our astrometric time baseline of 1.4 yr demonstrates physical association through common proper motion. We find that the companion has absolute magnitude, M{sub J} = 13.97 {+-} 0.11, and colors, J - K = 0.12 {+-} 0.16 mag. These characteristics are consistent with an Almost-Equal-To T3 dwarf, initially leading us to believe that HD 114174 B was a substellar object. However, a dynamical analysis that combines radial velocity measurements with available imaging data indicates a minimum mass of 0.260 {+-} 0.010 M{sub Sun }. We conclude that HD 114174 B must be a white dwarf. Assuming a hydrogen-rich composition, atmospheric and evolutionary model fits yield an effective temperature T{sub eff} = 8200 {+-} 4000 K, surface gravity log g = 8.90 {+-} 0.02, and cooling age of t{sub c} Almost-Equal-To 3.4 Gyr, which is consistent with the 4.7{sup +2.3}{sub -2.6} Gyr host star isochronal age estimate. HD 114174 B is a benchmark object located only 26.14 {+-} 0.37 pc from the Sun. It may be studied at a level of detail comparable to Sirius and Procyon, and used to understand the link between the mass of white dwarf remnants with that of their progenitors.

Exogenous contrast agents for thermoacoustic imaging: An investigation into the underlying sources of contrast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogunlade, Olumide; Beard, Paul

2015-01-01

Purpose: Thermoacoustic imaging at microwave excitation frequencies is limited by the low differential contrast exhibited by high water content tissues. To overcome this, exogenous thermoacoustic contrast agents based on gadolinium compounds, iron oxide, and single wall carbon nanotubes have previously been suggested and investigated. However, these previous studies did not fully characterize the electric, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of these agents thus precluding identification of the underlying sources of contrast. To address this, measurements of the complex permittivity, complex permeability, DC conductivity, and Grüneisen parameter have been made. These measurements allowed the origins of the contrast provided by each substance to be identified. Methods: The electric and magnetic properties of the contrast agents were characterized at 3 GHz using two rectangular waveguide cavities. The DC conductivity was measured separately using a conductivity meter. Thermoacoustic signals were then acquired and compared to those generated in water. Finally, 3D electromagnetic simulations were used to decouple the different contributions to the absorbed power density. Results: It was found that the gadolinium compounds provided appreciable electric contrast but not originating from the gadolinium itself. The contrast was either due to dissociation of the gadolinium salt which increased ionic conductivity or its nondissociated polar fraction which increased dielectric polarization loss or a combination of both. In addition, very high concentrations were required to achieve appreciable contrast, to the extent that the Grüneisen parameter increased significantly and became a source of contrast. Iron oxide particles were found to produce low but measurable dielectric contrast due to dielectric polarization loss, but this is attributed to the coating of the particles not the iron oxide. Single wall carbon nanotubes did not provide measurable contrast of any type

Exogenous contrast agents for thermoacoustic imaging: An investigation into the underlying sources of contrast

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ogunlade, Olumide, E-mail: o.ogunlade@ucl.ac.uk; Beard, Paul [Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom)

2015-01-15

Purpose: Thermoacoustic imaging at microwave excitation frequencies is limited by the low differential contrast exhibited by high water content tissues. To overcome this, exogenous thermoacoustic contrast agents based on gadolinium compounds, iron oxide, and single wall carbon nanotubes have previously been suggested and investigated. However, these previous studies did not fully characterize the electric, magnetic, and thermodynamic properties of these agents thus precluding identification of the underlying sources of contrast. To address this, measurements of the complex permittivity, complex permeability, DC conductivity, and Grüneisen parameter have been made. These measurements allowed the origins of the contrast provided by each substance to be identified. Methods: The electric and magnetic properties of the contrast agents were characterized at 3 GHz using two rectangular waveguide cavities. The DC conductivity was measured separately using a conductivity meter. Thermoacoustic signals were then acquired and compared to those generated in water. Finally, 3D electromagnetic simulations were used to decouple the different contributions to the absorbed power density. Results: It was found that the gadolinium compounds provided appreciable electric contrast but not originating from the gadolinium itself. The contrast was either due to dissociation of the gadolinium salt which increased ionic conductivity or its nondissociated polar fraction which increased dielectric polarization loss or a combination of both. In addition, very high concentrations were required to achieve appreciable contrast, to the extent that the Grüneisen parameter increased significantly and became a source of contrast. Iron oxide particles were found to produce low but measurable dielectric contrast due to dielectric polarization loss, but this is attributed to the coating of the particles not the iron oxide. Single wall carbon nanotubes did not provide measurable contrast of any type

Improving contrast enhancement in magnetic resonance imaging using 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX for high-grade gliomas.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamamoto, Junkoh; Kakeda, Shingo; Yoneda, Tetsuya; Ogura, Shun-Ichiro; Shimajiri, Shohei; Tanaka, Tohru; Korogi, Yukunori; Nishizawa, Shigeru

2017-03-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with a gadolinium-based contrast agent is the gold standard for high-grade gliomas (HGGs). The compound 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) undergoes a high rate of cellular uptake, particularly in cancer cells. In addition, fluorescence-guided resection with 5-ALA is widely used for imaging HGGs. 5-ALA is water soluble, while protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) is water insoluble. It was speculated whether converting from 5-ALA to PpIX may relatively increase intracellular water content, and consequently, might enhance the T2 signal intensity in HGG. The aim of the present study was to assess whether 5-ALA-induced PpIX enhances the T2 signal intensity in patients with HGGs. A total of 4 patients who were candidates for HGG surgical treatment were prospectively analyzed with preoperative MRI. Patients received oral doses of 5-ALA (20 mg/kg) 3 h prior to anesthesia. At 2.5 h post-5-ALA administration, T2-weighted images (T2WIs) were obtained from all patients. Subsequently, tumors were evaluated via fluorescence using a modified operating microscope. Fluorescent tumor tissues were obtained to analyze the accumulation of 5-ALA-induced PpIX within the tumors, which was confirmed quantitatively by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The MRI T2 signal intensity within the tumors was evaluated prior to and following 5-ALA administration. Three glioblastoma multiformes (GBMs) and 1 anaplastic oligodendroglioma (AO) were included in the analysis. Intraoperatively, all GBMs exhibited strong fluorescence of 5-ALA-induced PpIX, whilst no fluorescence was observed in the AO sample. HPLC analysis indicated a higher accumulation of 5-ALA-induced PpIX in the GBM samples compared with the AO sample. In total, 48 regions of interest were identified within the tumors from T2-WIs. In the GBM group, the relative T2 signal intensity value within the tumors following 5-ALA administration was significantly increased compared with the T2 signal

Efficacy of short-term high-dose statin in preventing contrast-induced nephropathy: a meta-analysis of seven randomized controlled trials.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongchuan Li

Full Text Available A few studies focused on statin therapy as specific prophylactic measures of contrast-induced nephropathy have been published with conflicting results. In this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, we aimed to assess the effectiveness of short-term high-dose statin treatment for the prevention of CIN and clinical outcomes and re-evaluate of the potential benefits of statin therapy.We searched PubMed, OVID, EMBASE, Web of science and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases for randomized controlled trials comparing short-term high-dose statin treatment versus low-dose statin treatment or placebo for preventing CIN. Our outcome measures were the risk of CIN within 2-5 days after contrast administration and need for dialysis.Seven randomized controlled trials with a total of 1,399 patients were identified and analyzed. The overall results based on fixed-effect model showed that the use of short-term high-dose statin treatment was associated with a significant reduction in risk of CIN (RR =0.51, 95% CI 0.34-0.76, p =0.001; I(2 = 0%. The incidence of acute renal failure requiring dialysis was not significant different after the use of statin (RR = 0.33, 95% CI 0.05-2.10, p = 0.24; I(2 = 0%. The use of statin was not associated with a significant decrease in the plasma C-reactive protein level (SMD -0.64, 95% CI: -1.57 to 0.29, P = 0.18, I(2 = 97%.Although this meta-analysis supports the use of statin to reduce the incidence of CIN, it must be considered in the context of variable patient demographics. Only a limited recommendation can be made in favour of the use of statin based on current data. Considering the limitations of included studies, a large, well designed trial that incorporates the evaluation of clinically relevant outcomes in participants with different underlying risks of CIN is required to more adequately assess the role for statin in CIN prevention.

SU-F-I-16: Short Breast MRI with High-Resolution T2-Weighted and Dynamic Contrast Enhanced T1-Weighted Images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, J; Son, J; Arun, B; Hazle, J; Hwang, K; Madewell, J; Yang, W; Dogan, B; Wang, K; Bayram, E

2016-01-01

Purpose: To develop and demonstrate a short breast (sb) MRI protocol that acquires both T2-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images in approximately ten minutes. Methods: The sb-MRI protocol consists of two novel pulse sequences. The first is a flexible fast spin-echo triple-echo Dixon (FTED) sequence for high-resolution fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging, and the second is a 3D fast dual-echo spoiled gradient sequence (FLEX) for volumetric fat-suppressed T1-weighted imaging before and post contrast agent injection. The flexible FTED sequence replaces each single readout during every echo-spacing period of FSE with three fast-switching bipolar readouts to produce three raw images in a single acquisition. These three raw images are then post-processed using a Dixon algorithm to generate separate water-only and fat-only images. The FLEX sequence acquires two echoes using dual-echo readout after each RF excitation and the corresponding images are post-processed using a similar Dixon algorithm to yield water-only and fat-only images. The sb-MRI protocol was implemented on a 3T MRI scanner and used for patients who had undergone concurrent clinical MRI for breast cancer screening. Results: With the same scan parameters (eg, spatial coverage, field of view, spatial and temporal resolution) as the clinical protocol, the total scan-time of the sb-MRI protocol (including the localizer, bilateral T2-weighted, and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images) was 11 minutes. In comparison, the clinical breast MRI protocol took 43 minutes. Uniform fat suppression and high image quality were consistently achieved by sb-MRI. Conclusion: We demonstrated a sb-MRI protocol comprising both T2-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images can be performed in approximately ten minutes. The spatial and temporal resolution of the images easily satisfies the current breast MRI accreditation guidelines by the American College of Radiology. The protocol has the

SU-F-I-16: Short Breast MRI with High-Resolution T2-Weighted and Dynamic Contrast Enhanced T1-Weighted Images

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ma, J; Son, J; Arun, B; Hazle, J; Hwang, K; Madewell, J; Yang, W; Dogan, B [UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX (United States); Wang, K; Bayram, E [GE Healthcare Technologies, Waukesha, Wisconsin (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To develop and demonstrate a short breast (sb) MRI protocol that acquires both T2-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images in approximately ten minutes. Methods: The sb-MRI protocol consists of two novel pulse sequences. The first is a flexible fast spin-echo triple-echo Dixon (FTED) sequence for high-resolution fat-suppressed T2-weighted imaging, and the second is a 3D fast dual-echo spoiled gradient sequence (FLEX) for volumetric fat-suppressed T1-weighted imaging before and post contrast agent injection. The flexible FTED sequence replaces each single readout during every echo-spacing period of FSE with three fast-switching bipolar readouts to produce three raw images in a single acquisition. These three raw images are then post-processed using a Dixon algorithm to generate separate water-only and fat-only images. The FLEX sequence acquires two echoes using dual-echo readout after each RF excitation and the corresponding images are post-processed using a similar Dixon algorithm to yield water-only and fat-only images. The sb-MRI protocol was implemented on a 3T MRI scanner and used for patients who had undergone concurrent clinical MRI for breast cancer screening. Results: With the same scan parameters (eg, spatial coverage, field of view, spatial and temporal resolution) as the clinical protocol, the total scan-time of the sb-MRI protocol (including the localizer, bilateral T2-weighted, and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images) was 11 minutes. In comparison, the clinical breast MRI protocol took 43 minutes. Uniform fat suppression and high image quality were consistently achieved by sb-MRI. Conclusion: We demonstrated a sb-MRI protocol comprising both T2-weighted and dynamic contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images can be performed in approximately ten minutes. The spatial and temporal resolution of the images easily satisfies the current breast MRI accreditation guidelines by the American College of Radiology. The protocol has the

Studies on image quality, high contrast resolution and dose for the axial skeleton and limbs with a new, dedicated CT system (ISO-C-3D)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rock, C.; Kotsianos, D.; Linsenmaier, U.; Fischer, T.

2002-01-01

Purpose: Evaluation of 3D-CT imaging of the axial skeleton and different joints of the lower and upper extremities with a new dedicated CT system (ISO-C-3D) based on a mobile isocentric C-arm image amplifier. Material and Methods: 27 cadaveric specimes of different joints of the lower and upper extremities and of the spinal column were examined with 3D-CT imaging (ISO-C-3d). All images were evaluated by 3 radiologists for image quality using a semiquantitative score (score value 1: poor quality; score value 4: excellent quality). In addition, dose measurements and measurements of high contrast resolution were performed in comparison to conventional and low-dose spiral CT using a high contrast phantom (Catphan, Phantom Laboratories). Results: Adequate image quality (mean score values 3-4) could be achieved with an applied dose comparable to low-dose CT in smaller joints such as wrist, elbow, ankle and knee. A remarkably inferior image quality resulted in imaging of the hip, lumbar and thoracic spine (mean score values 2-3) in spite of almost doubling the dose (dose increased by 85 percent). The image quality of shoulder examinations was insufficient (mean score value 1). Phantom studies showed a high-contrast resolution comparable to helical CT in the xy-axis (9 lp/cm). Conclusion: Preliminary results show, that image quality of C-arm-based CT-imaging (ISO-C-3D) seems to be adequate in smaller joints. ISO-C-3D images of the hip and axial skeleton show a decreased image quality, which does not seem to be sufficient for diagnosing subtle fractures. (orig.) [de

Applications of Poly(indole-6-carboxylic acid-co-2,2′-bithiophene Films in High-Contrast Electrochromic Devices

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chung-Wen Kuo

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Two homopolymers (poly(indole-6-carboxylic acid (PInc and poly(2,2′-bithiophene (PbT and a copolymer (poly(indole-6-carboxylic acid-co-2,2′-bithiophene (P(Inc-co-bT are electrodeposited on ITO electrode surfaces via electrochemical method. Electrochemical and electrochromic properties of PInc, PbT, and P(Inc-co-bT films were characterized using cyclic voltammetry and in situ UV-Vis spectroscopy. The anodic P(Inc-co-bT film prepared using Inc./bT = 1/1 feed molar ratio shows high optical contrast (30% at 890 nm and coloring efficiency (112 cm2 C−1 at 890 nm. P(Inc-co-bT film revealed light yellow, yellowish green, and bluish grey in the neutral, intermediate, and oxidation states, respectively. Electrochromic devices (ECDs were constructed using PInc, PbT, or P(Inc-co-bT film as anodic layer and PEDOT-PSS as cathodic layer. P(Inc-co-bT/PMMA-PC-ACN-LiClO4/PEDOT-PSS ECD showed high ∆T (31% at 650 nm, and PInc/PMMA-PC-ACN-LiClO4/PEDOT-PSS ECD displayed high coloration efficiency (416.7 cm2 C−1 at 650 nm. The optical memory investigations of PInc/PMMA-PC-ACN-LiClO4/PEDOT-PSS, PbT/PMMA-PC-ACN-LiClO4/PEDOT-PSS, and P(Inc-co-bT/PMMA-PC-ACN-LiClO4/PEDOT-PSS ECDs exhibited that ECDs had adequate optical memory in bleaching and coloring states.

MR imaging in recurrent pain after back surgery. A comparative study using standard and high doses of gadolinium contrast agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aakeson, P. [Univ. Hospital, Lund (Sweden). Dept. of Radiology; Annertz, M. [Univ. Hospital, Lund (Sweden). Dept. of Radiology; Kristoffersen, D.T. [Nycomed Imaging AS, Oslo (Norway); Jonsson, E. [Nycomed AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Holtaas, S. [Univ. Hospital, Lund (Sweden). Dept. of Radiology

1996-11-01

Purpose: To compare the diagnostic results following injection of (a) a high dose (0.3 mmol/kg b.w.) of gadodiamide injection and (b) the standard dose (0.1 mmol/kg b.w.) of Gd-DTPA, in patients with recurrent symptoms after surgery for lumbar disc herniation. Material and Methods: Twenty patients with recurrent or sustained symptoms after surgery for lumbar disc herniations were examined. MR imaging (0.3 T) was first performed before and after Gd-DTPA at 0.1 mmol/kg b.w., and then within one month (17 patients) or within 3 months (3 patients) before and after gadodiamide injection at 0.3 mmol/kg b.w. The examinations were first evaluated by 2 neuroradiologists blinded to dose but not to patient as the images were presented in pairs. Six months later the same investigators evaluated the examinations again, this time blinded to both dose and patient. Results: At the evaluation in pairs (with the investigators blinded to dose only) the high-dose examinations were considered the most informative (p=0.05). However, at the later evaluation (with the investigators blinded both to dose and patient) no significant difference between high and standard dose was found regarding diagnosis or diagnostic certainty. Conclusion: In this study the high-dose contrast enhancement of MR imaging at 0.3 T did not increase the diagnostic information for differentiating between scar and recurrent hernia. The high-dose images were considered more informative when evaluated in pairs, but gave no additional or different information when evaluated separately. The study also indicated that comparisons in pairs should be interpreted with caution. (orig.).

MR imaging in recurrent pain after back surgery. A comparative study using standard and high doses of gadolinium contrast agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aakeson, P.; Jonsson, E.; Holtaas, S.

1996-01-01

Purpose: To compare the diagnostic results following injection of (a) a high dose (0.3 mmol/kg b.w.) of gadodiamide injection and (b) the standard dose (0.1 mmol/kg b.w.) of Gd-DTPA, in patients with recurrent symptoms after surgery for lumbar disc herniation. Material and Methods: Twenty patients with recurrent or sustained symptoms after surgery for lumbar disc herniations were examined. MR imaging (0.3 T) was first performed before and after Gd-DTPA at 0.1 mmol/kg b.w., and then within one month (17 patients) or within 3 months (3 patients) before and after gadodiamide injection at 0.3 mmol/kg b.w. The examinations were first evaluated by 2 neuroradiologists blinded to dose but not to patient as the images were presented in pairs. Six months later the same investigators evaluated the examinations again, this time blinded to both dose and patient. Results: At the evaluation in pairs (with the investigators blinded to dose only) the high-dose examinations were considered the most informative (p=0.05). However, at the later evaluation (with the investigators blinded both to dose and patient) no significant difference between high and standard dose was found regarding diagnosis or diagnostic certainty. Conclusion: In this study the high-dose contrast enhancement of MR imaging at 0.3 T did not increase the diagnostic information for differentiating between scar and recurrent hernia. The high-dose images were considered more informative when evaluated in pairs, but gave no additional or different information when evaluated separately. The study also indicated that comparisons in pairs should be interpreted with caution. (orig.)

Iodinated contrast media nephrotoxicity. Nephrotoxicite des produits de contraste iodes

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meyrier, A. (Hopital Avicenne, 93 - Bobigny (France))

1994-01-01

In the late seventies, iodinated contrast agents (ICA) were considered to be a major cause of acute iatrogenic renal failure. Over the last decade new contrast agents have been synthesized, nonionic and less hyperosmolar. The incidence of acute renal failure due to ICAs, varies from 3.7 to 70% of cases according to the series, with an average figure of 10.2%. The pathophysiology of ICA nephrotoxicity was mainly studied in laboratory animal models. Three main factors are involved in an inducing ICA-mediated decrease in glomerular filtration rate: reduction of the renal plasma flow, a direct cytotoxic effect on renal tubular cells and erythrocyte alteration leading to intra-renal sludge. Excluding dysglobulinemias with urinary excretion of immunoglobulin light chains, which represent a special case of maximum nephrotoxicity, 4 main risk factors of renal toxicity have been identified in nondiabetic subjects: previous renal failure with serum creatinine levels greater than 140 [mu]mol per liter, extracellular dehydration, age over 60 and use of high doses of ICA and/or repeated ICA injections before serum creatinine levels return to baseline. Preventive measures for avoiding ICA nephrotoxicity are threefold: maintain or restore adequate hydration with saline infusion, stop NSAID treatment several days before ICA administration, and allow a 5 day interval before repeating contrast media injections. New, nonionic and moderately hyperosmolar contrast agents appear to be much less nephrotoxic than conventional ICAs in laboratory animals and in high-risk patients. It is advisable to select such contrast media for investigating high-risk patients. This approach was recently substantiated in well designed, randomized clinical studies which included more than 2 000 patients. (author).

Radiographic contrast media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golman, K.; Holtz, E.; Almen, T.

1987-01-01

Contrast media are used in diagnostic radiology to enhance the X-ray attenuation between a body structure of interest and the surrounding tissue. A detail becomes perceptible on a roentgenogram only when its contrast exceeds a minimum value in relation to the background. Small areas of interest must have higher contrast than the background. The contrast effect depends on concentration of the contrast media with the body. A high contrast media concentration difference thus gives rise to more morphological details in the radiographs. Contrast media can be divided into negative contrast media such as air and gas which attenuate X-rays less than the body tissues, and positive contrast materials which attenuate X-rays more than the body tissues. The positive contrast media all contain either iodine (atomic number 53) or barium (atomic number 56) and can be divided into water-insoluble and water-soluble contrast media

High impact  =  high statistical standards? Not necessarily so.

Science.gov (United States)

Tressoldi, Patrizio E; Giofré, David; Sella, Francesco; Cumming, Geoff

2013-01-01

What are the statistical practices of articles published in journals with a high impact factor? Are there differences compared with articles published in journals with a somewhat lower impact factor that have adopted editorial policies to reduce the impact of limitations of Null Hypothesis Significance Testing? To investigate these questions, the current study analyzed all articles related to psychological, neuropsychological and medical issues, published in 2011 in four journals with high impact factors: Science, Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, and three journals with relatively lower impact factors: Neuropsychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology-Applied and the American Journal of Public Health. Results show that Null Hypothesis Significance Testing without any use of confidence intervals, effect size, prospective power and model estimation, is the prevalent statistical practice used in articles published in Nature, 89%, followed by articles published in Science, 42%. By contrast, in all other journals, both with high and lower impact factors, most articles report confidence intervals and/or effect size measures. We interpreted these differences as consequences of the editorial policies adopted by the journal editors, which are probably the most effective means to improve the statistical practices in journals with high or low impact factors.

High Impact = High Statistical Standards? Not Necessarily So

Science.gov (United States)

Tressoldi, Patrizio E.; Giofré, David; Sella, Francesco; Cumming, Geoff

2013-01-01

What are the statistical practices of articles published in journals with a high impact factor? Are there differences compared with articles published in journals with a somewhat lower impact factor that have adopted editorial policies to reduce the impact of limitations of Null Hypothesis Significance Testing? To investigate these questions, the current study analyzed all articles related to psychological, neuropsychological and medical issues, published in 2011 in four journals with high impact factors: Science, Nature, The New England Journal of Medicine and The Lancet, and three journals with relatively lower impact factors: Neuropsychology, Journal of Experimental Psychology-Applied and the American Journal of Public Health. Results show that Null Hypothesis Significance Testing without any use of confidence intervals, effect size, prospective power and model estimation, is the prevalent statistical practice used in articles published in Nature, 89%, followed by articles published in Science, 42%. By contrast, in all other journals, both with high and lower impact factors, most articles report confidence intervals and/or effect size measures. We interpreted these differences as consequences of the editorial policies adopted by the journal editors, which are probably the most effective means to improve the statistical practices in journals with high or low impact factors. PMID:23418533

Repeated, long-distance migrations by a philopatric predator targeting highly contrasting ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Lea, James S E; Wetherbee, Bradley M; Queiroz, Nuno; Burnie, Neil; Aming, Choy; Sousa, Lara L; Mucientes, Gonzalo R; Humphries, Nicolas E; Harvey, Guy M; Sims, David W; Shivji, Mahmood S

2015-06-09

Long-distance movements of animals are an important driver of population spatial dynamics and determine the extent of overlap with area-focused human activities, such as fishing. Despite global concerns of declining shark populations, a major limitation in assessments of population trends or spatial management options is the lack of information on their long-term migratory behaviour. For a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier, we show from individuals satellite-tracked for multiple years (up to 1101 days) that adult males undertake annually repeated, round-trip migrations of over 7,500 km in the northwest Atlantic. Notably, these migrations occurred between the highly disparate ecosystems of Caribbean coral reef regions in winter and high latitude oceanic areas in summer, with strong, repeated philopatry to specific overwintering insular habitat. Partial migration also occurred, with smaller, immature individuals displaying reduced migration propensity. Foraging may be a putative motivation for these oceanic migrations, with summer behaviour showing higher path tortuosity at the oceanic range extremes. The predictable migratory patterns and use of highly divergent ecosystems shown by male tiger sharks appear broadly similar to migrations seen in birds, reptiles and mammals, and highlight opportunities for dynamic spatial management and conservation measures of highly mobile sharks.

Repeated, long-distance migrations by a philopatric predator targeting highly contrasting ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Lea, James S. E.; Wetherbee, Bradley M.; Queiroz, Nuno; Burnie, Neil; Aming, Choy; Sousa, Lara L.; Mucientes, Gonzalo R.; Humphries, Nicolas E.; Harvey, Guy M.; Sims, David W.; Shivji, Mahmood S.

2015-06-01

Long-distance movements of animals are an important driver of population spatial dynamics and determine the extent of overlap with area-focused human activities, such as fishing. Despite global concerns of declining shark populations, a major limitation in assessments of population trends or spatial management options is the lack of information on their long-term migratory behaviour. For a large marine predator, the tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier, we show from individuals satellite-tracked for multiple years (up to 1101 days) that adult males undertake annually repeated, round-trip migrations of over 7,500 km in the northwest Atlantic. Notably, these migrations occurred between the highly disparate ecosystems of Caribbean coral reef regions in winter and high latitude oceanic areas in summer, with strong, repeated philopatry to specific overwintering insular habitat. Partial migration also occurred, with smaller, immature individuals displaying reduced migration propensity. Foraging may be a putative motivation for these oceanic migrations, with summer behaviour showing higher path tortuosity at the oceanic range extremes. The predictable migratory patterns and use of highly divergent ecosystems shown by male tiger sharks appear broadly similar to migrations seen in birds, reptiles and mammals, and highlight opportunities for dynamic spatial management and conservation measures of highly mobile sharks.

High dynamic range vision sensor for automotive applications

Science.gov (United States)

Grenet, Eric; Gyger, Steve; Heim, Pascal; Heitger, Friedrich; Kaess, Francois; Nussbaum, Pascal; Ruedi, Pierre-Francois

2005-02-01

A 128 x 128 pixels, 120 dB vision sensor extracting at the pixel level the contrast magnitude and direction of local image features is used to implement a lane tracking system. The contrast representation (relative change of illumination) delivered by the sensor is independent of the illumination level. Together with the high dynamic range of the sensor, it ensures a very stable image feature representation even with high spatial and temporal inhomogeneities of the illumination. Dispatching off chip image feature is done according to the contrast magnitude, prioritizing features with high contrast magnitude. This allows to reduce drastically the amount of data transmitted out of the chip, hence the processing power required for subsequent processing stages. To compensate for the low fill factor (9%) of the sensor, micro-lenses have been deposited which increase the sensitivity by a factor of 5, corresponding to an equivalent of 2000 ASA. An algorithm exploiting the contrast representation output by the vision sensor has been developed to estimate the position of a vehicle relative to the road markings. The algorithm first detects the road markings based on the contrast direction map. Then, it performs quadratic fits on selected kernel of 3 by 3 pixels to achieve sub-pixel accuracy on the estimation of the lane marking positions. The resulting precision on the estimation of the vehicle lateral position is 1 cm. The algorithm performs efficiently under a wide variety of environmental conditions, including night and rainy conditions.

Application of iodic contrast media in roentgen examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mielecki, T.; Januszkiewicz-Mielecka, K.; Kukula, A.; Szechinski, J.

1993-01-01

An analysis of adverse reactions after administration of iodic contrast media in 1780 patients in 1952 various X-ray examinations is presented. Various preparations by different producers were used. As a rule, domestic contrast media were administered in non high-risk patients, whereas imported contrast media were applied in patients with documented high-risk factors (20%) and nonionic compounds were intended for patients of severe clinical condition (10%). Adverse reactions occurred in 6.9% of non high-risk patients and in 10.9% of high-risk patients. Nonionic preparations caused adverse reactions in 5.6%. Considering the significant differences in prices of domestic, imported and nonionic contrast media, authors advice to use safer but clearly more expensive preparations in patients with documented factors of increased risk. (author)

The vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser incorporating a high contrast grating mirror as a sensing device

Science.gov (United States)

Marciniak, Magdalena; Gebski, Marcin; Piskorski, Łukasz; Dems, Maciej; Wasiak, M.; Panajotov, Krassimir; Lott, James A.; Czyszanowski, Tomasz

2018-02-01

We propose a novel optical sensing system based on one device that both emits and detects light consisting of a verticalcavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) incorporating an high contrast grating (HCG) as a top mirror. Since HCGs can be very sensitive to the optical properties of surrounding media, they can be used to detect gases and liquid. The presence of a gas or a liquid around an HCG mirror causes changes of the power reflectance of the mirror, which corresponds to changes of the VCSEL's cavity quality factor and current-voltage characteristic. By observation of the current-voltage characteristic we can collect information about the medium around the HCG. In this paper we investigate how the properties of the HCG mirror depend on the refractive index of the HCG surroundings. We present results of a computer simulation performed with a three-dimensional fully vectorial model. We consider silicon HCGs on silica and designed for a 1300 nm VCSEL emission wavelength. We demonstrate that our approach can be applied to other wavelengths and material systems.

Applications of energy loss contrast STIM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bench, G.; Saint, A.; Legge, G.J.F.; Cholewa, M.

1992-01-01

Scanning Transmission Ion Microscopy (STIM) with energy loss contrast is a quantitative imaging technique. A focussed MeV ion microbeam is scanned over the sample and measured energy losses of residual ions at each beam location are used to provide the contrast in the image. The technique is highly efficient as almost every ion carries useful information from which quantitative data can be obtained. The high efficiency of data collection at present necessitates the use of small beam currents. Therefore small apertures can be used and fine spatial resolution can be achieved. High efficiency also makes it possible to collect large data sets for high definition imaging with a small radiation dose. Owing to the simple relationship between energy loss and areal density, STIM with energy loss contrast can provide a quantitative image that can be used to obtain areal density information on the sample. These areal density maps can be used not only to provide a high resolution image of the sample but also to normalise Particle Induced Xray Emission (PIXE) data. The small radiation dose required to form these areal density maps also allows one to use STIM with energy loss contrast to quantitatively monitor ion beam induced specimen changes caused by higher doses and dose rates used in other microanalytical techniques. STIM with energy loss contrast also provides the possibility of stereo imaging and ion microtomography. STIM has also been used in conjunction with channeling to explore transmission channeling in thin crystals. This paper will discuss these applications of STIM with energy loss contrast and look at further developments from them

Contrast sensitivity test and conventional and high frequency audiometry: information beyond that required to prescribe lenses and headsets

Science.gov (United States)

Comastri, S. A.; Martin, G.; Simon, J. M.; Angarano, C.; Dominguez, S.; Luzzi, F.; Lanusse, M.; Ranieri, M. V.; Boccio, C. M.

2008-04-01

In Optometry and in Audiology, the routine tests to prescribe correction lenses and headsets are respectively the visual acuity test (the first chart with letters was developed by Snellen in 1862) and conventional pure tone audiometry (the first audiometer with electrical current was devised by Hartmann in 1878). At present there are psychophysical non invasive tests that, besides evaluating visual and auditory performance globally and even in cases catalogued as normal according to routine tests, supply early information regarding diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, renal failure, cardiovascular problems, etc. Concerning Optometry, one of these tests is the achromatic luminance contrast sensitivity test (introduced by Schade in 1956). Concerning Audiology, one of these tests is high frequency pure tone audiometry (introduced a few decades ago) which yields information relative to pathologies affecting the basal cochlea and complements data resulting from conventional audiometry. These utilities of the contrast sensitivity test and of pure tone audiometry derive from the facts that Fourier components constitute the basis to synthesize stimuli present at the entrance of the visual and auditory systems; that these systems responses depend on frequencies and that the patient's psychophysical state affects frequency processing. The frequency of interest in the former test is the effective spatial frequency (inverse of the angle subtended at the eye by a cycle of a sinusoidal grating and measured in cycles/degree) and, in the latter, the temporal frequency (measured in cycles/sec). Both tests have similar duration and consist in determining the patient's threshold (corresponding to the inverse multiplicative of the contrast or to the inverse additive of the sound intensity level) for each harmonic stimulus present at the system entrance (sinusoidal grating or pure tone sound). In this article the frequencies, standard normality curves and abnormal threshold shifts

Pharmacokinetic and in vivo evaluation of a self-assembled gadolinium(III)-iron(II) contrast agent with high relaxivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Parac-Vogt, Tatjana N; Vander Elst, Luce; Kimpe, Kristof; Laurent, Sophie; Burtéa, Carmen; Chen, Feng; Van Deun, Rik; Ni, Yicheng; Muller, Robert N; Binnemans, Koen

2006-01-01

A high-molecular weight tetrametallic supramolecular complex [(Ln-DTPA-phen)3Fe]- (Ln = Gd, Eu, La) has been obtained upon self-assembly around one iron(II) ion of three 1,10-phenantroline-based molecules substituted in 5'-position with the polyaminocarboxylate diethylenetriamine-N,N,N',N',N'-pentaacetate, DTPA-phen(4-). The ICP-MS measurements indicated that the lanthanide:iron ratio is 3:1. Photoluminescence spectra of [Eu-DTPA-phen](-) and of [(Eu-DTPA-phen)3Fe]- are nearly identical, implying that the first coordination sphere of the lanthanide(III) ion has not been changed upon coordination of phenantroline unit to iron(II) ion. NMRD measurements revealed that at 20 MHz and 310 K the relaxivity of the [(Gd-DTPA-phen)3Fe]- is equal to 9.5 +/- 0.3 s(-1) mM(-1) of Gd (28.5 s(-1) per millimole per liter of complex) which is significantly higher than that for Gd-DTPA (3.9 s(-1) mM(-1)). The pharmacokinetic parameters of [(Gd-DTPA-phen)3Fe]- in rats indicate that the elimination of [(Gd-DTPA-phen)3Fe]- is significantly slower than that of Gd-DTPA and is correlated with a reduced volume of distribution. The low volume of distribution and the longer elimination time (T(e1/2)) suggest that the agent is confined to the blood compartment, so it could have an important potential as a blood pool contrast agent. The biodistribution profile of [(Gd-DTPA-phen)3Fe]- 2 h after injection indicates significantly higher concentrations of [(Gd-DTPA-phen)3Fe]- as compared with Gd-DTPA in kidney, liver, lungs, heart and spleen. The images obtained on rats by MR angiography show the enhancement of the abdominal blood vessels. The signal intensity reaches a maximum of 55% at 7 min post-contrast and remains around 25% after 90 min. MRI-histomorphological correlation studies of [Gd-DTPA-phen]- and [(Gd-DTPA-phen)3Fe]- showed that both agents displayed potent contrast enhancement in organs including the liver. The necrosis avidity tests indicated that, in contrast to the [Gd

High contrast tumor imaging with radio-labeled antibody Fab fragments tailored for optimized pharmacokinetics via PASylation.

Science.gov (United States)

Mendler, Claudia T; Friedrich, Lars; Laitinen, Iina; Schlapschy, Martin; Schwaiger, Markus; Wester, Hans-Jürgen; Skerra, Arne

2015-01-01

Although antigen-binding fragments (Fabs) of antibodies constitute established tracers for in vivo radiodiagnostics, their functionality is hampered by a very short circulation half-life. PASylation, the genetic fusion with a long, conformationally disordered amino acid chain comprising Pro, Ala and Ser, provides a convenient way to expand protein size and, consequently, retard renal filtration. Humanized αHER2 and αCD20 Fabs were systematically fused with 100 to 600 PAS residues and produced in E. coli. Cytofluorimetric titration analysis on tumor cell lines confirmed that antigen-binding activities of the parental antibodies were retained. The radio-iodinated PASylated Fabs were studied by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging and biodistribution analysis in mouse tumor xenograft models. While the unmodified αHER2 and αCD20 Fabs showed weak tumor uptake (0.8% and 0.2% ID/g, respectively; 24 h p.i.) tumor-associated radioactivity was boosted with increasing PAS length (up to 9 and 26-fold, respectively), approaching an optimum for Fab-PAS400. Remarkably, 6- and 5-fold higher tumor-to-blood ratios compared with the unmodified Fabs were measured in the biodistribution analysis (48 h p.i.) for αHER2 Fab-PAS100 and Fab-PAS200, respectively. These findings were confirmed by PET studies, showing high imaging contrast in line with tumor-to-blood ratios of 12.2 and 5.7 (24 h p.i.) for αHER2 Fab-PAS100 and Fab-PAS200. Even stronger tumor signals were obtained with the corresponding αCD20 Fabs, both in PET imaging and biodistribution analysis, with an uptake of 2.8% ID/g for Fab-PAS100 vs. 0.24% ID/g for the unmodified Fab. Hence, by engineering Fabs via PASylation, plasma half-life can be tailored to significantly improve tracer uptake and tumor contrast, thus optimally matching reagent/target interactions.

High density, high magnetic field concepts for compact fusion reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perkins, L.J.

1996-01-01

One rather discouraging feature of our conventional approaches to fusion energy is that they do not appear to lend themselves to a small reactor for developmental purposes. This is in contrast with the normal evolution of a new technology which typically proceeds to a full scale commercial plant via a set of graduated steps. Accordingly' several concepts concerned with dense plasma fusion systems are being studied theoretically and experimentally. A common aspect is that they employ: (a) high to very high plasma densities (∼10 16 cm -3 to ∼10 26 cm -3 ) and (b) magnetic fields. If they could be shown to be viable at high fusion Q, they could conceivably lead to compact and inexpensive commercial reactors. At least, their compactness suggests that both proof of principle experiments and development costs will be relatively inexpensive compared with the present conventional approaches. In this paper, the following concepts are considered: (1) The staged Z-pinch, (2) Liner implosion of closed-field-line configurations, (3) Magnetic ''fast'' ignition of inertial fusion targets, (4) The continuous flow Z-pinch

Evaluation of dynamic range for LLNL streak cameras using high contrast pulses and pulse podiatry'' on the Nova laser system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Richards, J.B.; Weiland, T.L.; Prior, J.A.

1990-07-01

A standard LLNL streak camera has been used to analyze high contrast pulses on the Nova laser facility. These pulses have a plateau at their leading edge (foot) with an amplitude which is approximately 1% of the maximum pulse height. Relying on other features of the pulses and on signal multiplexing, we were able to determine how accurately the foot amplitude was being represented by the camera. Results indicate that the useful single channel dynamic range of the instrument approaches 100:1. 1 ref., 4 figs., 1 tab.

Dual-energy contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM).

Science.gov (United States)

Daniaux, Martin; De Zordo, Tobias; Santner, Wolfram; Amort, Birgit; Koppelstätter, Florian; Jaschke, Werner; Dromain, Clarisse; Oberaigner, Willi; Hubalek, Michael; Marth, Christian

2015-10-01

Dual-energy contrast-enhanced mammography is one of the latest developments in breast care. Imaging with contrast agents in breast cancer was already known from previous magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography studies. However, high costs, limited availability-or high radiation dose-led to the development of contrast-enhanced spectral mammography (CESM). We reviewed the current literature, present our experience, discuss the advantages and drawbacks of CESM and look at the future of this innovative technique.

Suppressed speckle contrast of blue light emission out of white lamp with phosphors excited by blue laser diodes for high-brightness lighting applications

Science.gov (United States)

Kinoshita, Junichi; Ikeda, Yoshihisa; Takeda, Yuji; Ueno, Misaki; Kawasaki, Yoji; Matsuba, Yoshiaki; Heike, Atsushi

2012-11-01

The speckle contrast of blue light emission out of high-brightness white lamps using phosphors excited by InGaN/GaN blue laser diodes is evaluated as a measure of coherence. As a result, speckle contrast of as low as 1.7%, the same level as a blue light emitting diode, is obtained. This implies that the original blue laser light can be converted into incoherent light through lamp structures without any dynamic mechanisms. This unique speckle-free performance is considered to be realized by multiple scattering inside the lamp structure, the multi-longitudinal mode operation of the blue laser diodes, and the use of multiple laser diodes. Such almost-incoherent white lamps can be applied for general lighting without any nuisance of speckle noise and should be categorized as lamps rather than lasers in terms of laser safety regulation.

Documentation of normal and leukemic myelopoietic progenitor cells with high-resolution phase-contrast time-lapse cinematography.

Science.gov (United States)

Boll, I T

2001-08-01

The high-resolution phase-contrast, time-lapse cinematography using oil immersion lenses and 16-mm film demonstrates the kinetic cell events as maturation, locomotion, mitosis, and apoptosis of cells cultivated at 37 degrees C for up to 10 days. 0.5 v/v frozen-thawed sera with presumably high cytokine concentrations were added to the plasma or agar clot. Vital progenitor cells from human bone marrow and blood have a large, bright, unstructured nucleus with a large nucleolus and a narrow rim of cytoplasm (nuclear/cytoplasmic volume ratio = 0.7). Their nuclei are 6-14 micrometer in diameter and double their volume within 8 h. Many (70%) move at a mean speed of 2 micrometer/min, and many (30%) multiply with alpha-2alpha mitoses, generating progenitor cell families. Various disturbances during the course of mitosis lead to the formation of polyploid cells, thereby yielding the megakaryocytic cell line. Some of the progenitor cells undergo asymmetric alpha-alphan mitoses: One of the two initially identical daughter cells remains a progenitor cell in the morphological sense, whereas the other daughter cell - depending on the size of its mother cell - matures in the same culture medium to form a granulocytopoietic, monocytopoietic or erythrocytopoietic cell line. - In acute myeloid leukemias (AML), the blasts and their nuclei are slightly larger than the corresponding progenitor cells and move faster (5 micrometer/min). Symmetric alpha-2alpha mitoses permit unlimited multiplication of the leukemic blasts if contact with cytotoxic lymphocytes does not render them apoptotic. This results in more stromal cells than normal. Granulocytopenia, monocytopenia, and anemia occur due to the genetic impairment of signaling control for asymmetric alpha-alphan mitoses, and thrombocytopenia occurs due to the reduction in polyploidization. Copyright 2001 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg

Possibilities and limits of digital industrial radiology: the new high contrast sensitivity technique - Examples and system theoretical analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zscherpel, U.; Ewert, U.; Bavendiek, K.

2007-01-01

During the last years more and more reports about film replacement techniques are published using different ways to prove the required and obtained image quality. The motivation is usually cost reduction due to shorter exposure times and lower storage costs, smaller space requirements and elimination of chemical processing inclusive associated waste handling and disposal. There are no other publications known, which explore the upper limits of image quality achievable by the new digital techniques. This is important for inspection of safety relevant and high risk parts, as e.g. in nuclear or aerospace industries. A new calibration and measurement procedure for digital detector arrays (DDA) was explored to obtain the maximum signal/noise ratio achievable with DDAs. This procedure yields a contrast sensitivity which allows distinguishing wall thickness changes of up to 1/1000 of the penetrated material thickness. Standard film radiography using NDT film systems (with and without lead screens) achieves a wall thickness contrast which is not better than 1/100 even with the best film system class (class 'C1' according to EN 584-1 or 'special' according to ASTM E 1815). Computed Radiography (CR) using phosphor imaging plates is a true film replacement technique without enhancement of the image quality compared to NDT film systems. The comparison is based on parameter studies which measure signal/noise ratios and determine the basic spatial resolution as well as a comparison of radiological images with fine flaws. (authors)

Dissociative tendencies and individual differences in high hypnotic suggestibility.

Science.gov (United States)

Terhune, Devin Blair; Cardeña, Etzel; Lindgren, Magnus

2011-03-01

Inconsistencies in the relationship between dissociation and hypnosis may result from heterogeneity among highly suggestible individuals, in particular the existence of distinct highly suggestible subtypes that are of relevance to models of psychopathology and the consequences of trauma. This study contrasted highly suggestible subtypes high or low in dissociation on measures of hypnotic responding, cognitive functioning, and psychopathology. Twenty-one low suggestible (LS), 19 low dissociative highly suggestible (LDHS), and 11 high dissociative highly suggestible (HDHS) participants were administered hypnotic suggestibility scales and completed measures of free recall, working memory capacity, imagery, fantasy-proneness, psychopathology, and exposure to stressful life events. HDHS participants were more responsive to positive and negative hallucination suggestions and experienced greater involuntariness during hypnotic responding. They also exhibited impaired working memory capacity, elevated pathological fantasy and dissociative symptomatology, and a greater incidence of exposure to stressful life events. In contrast, LDHS participants displayed superior object visual imagery. These results provide further evidence for two highly suggestible subtypes: a dissociative subtype characterised by deficits in executive functioning and a predisposition to psychopathology, and a subtype that exhibits superior imagery and no observable deficits in functioning.

Dark-field hyperlens for high-contrast sub-wavelength imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Repän, Taavi; Zhukovsky, Sergei; Lavrinenko, Andrei

2016-01-01

By now superresolution imaging using hyperbolic metamaterial (HMM) structures – hyperlenses – has been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. The hyperlens operation relies on the fact that HMM allows propagation of waves with very large transverse wavevectors, which would be evanesc......By now superresolution imaging using hyperbolic metamaterial (HMM) structures – hyperlenses – has been demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. The hyperlens operation relies on the fact that HMM allows propagation of waves with very large transverse wavevectors, which would...... be evanescent in common isotropic media (thus giving rise to the diffraction limit). However, nearly all hyperlenses proposed so far have been suitable only for very strong scatterers – such as holes in a metal film. When weaker scatterers, dielectric objects for example, are imaged then incident light forms...... a very strong background, and weak scatterers are not visible due to a poor contrast. We propose a so-called dark-field hyperlens, which would be suitable for imaging of weakly scattering objects. By designing parameters of the HMM, we managed to obtain its response in such way that the hyperlens...

Utilizing generalized autocalibrating partial parallel acquisition (GRAPPA) to achieve high-resolution contrast-enhanced MR angiography of hepatic artery: Initial experience in orthotopic liver transplantation candidates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xu Pengju [Department of Radiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Road, Shanghai (China)]. E-mail: xpjbfc@163.com; Yan Fuhua [Department of Radiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Road, Shanghai (China)]. E-mail: yanfuhua@yahoo.com; Wang Jianhua [Department of Radiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Road, Shanghai (China); Lin Jiang [Department of Radiology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Road, Shanghai (China); Fan Jia [Liver Cancer Institute, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Road, Shanghai (China)

2007-03-15

Objective: To evaluate feasibility of using GRAPPA to acquire high-resolution 3D contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA) of hepatic artery and value of GRAPPA for displaying vessels anatomy. Materials and methods: High-resolution CE-MRA using GRAPPA was performed in 67 orthotopic liver transplantation recipient candidates. Signal intensity (SI) and relative SI, i.e., Cv-ro (vessel-to-liver contrast) of the aorta and the hepatic common artery (HCA), were measured. The SI and the relative SI were compared and analyzed using T-test. For purpose of qualitative evaluation, the vessel visualization quality and the order of depicted hepatic artery branches were evaluated by two radiologists independently and assessed by weighted kappa analysis. The depiction of hepatic arterial anatomy and variations was evaluated, and results were correlated with the findings in surgery. Results: The mean SI values were 283.29 {+-} 65.07 (mean {+-} S.D.) for aorta and 283.16 {+-} 64.07 for HCA, respectively. The mean relative SI values were 0.698 {+-} 0.09 for aorta and 0.696 {+-} 0.09 for HCA, respectively. Homogeneous enhancement between aorta and HCA was confirmed by statistically insignificant differences (p-values were 0.89 for mean SI values and 0.12 for mean relative SI values, respectively). The average score for vessel visualization ranged from good to excellent for different artery segments. Overall interobserver agreement in the visualization of different artery segments was excellent (kappa value > 0.80). The distal intrahepatic segmental arteries were well delineated for majority of patients with excellent interobserver agreement. Normal hepatic arterial anatomy was correctly demonstrated in 53 patients, and arterial anomalies were accurately detected on high-resolution MRA image of all 14 patients. Conclusion: High-resolution hepatic artery MRA acquired using GRAPPA in a reproducible manner excellently depicts and delineates small vessels and can be routinely used for

One-year refractive results, contrast sensitivity, high-order aberrations and complications after myopic small-incision lenticule extraction (ReLEx SMILE).

Science.gov (United States)

Sekundo, Walter; Gertnere, Jana; Bertelmann, Thomas; Solomatin, Igor

2014-05-01

To report one year results of the first cohort of routine refractive lenticule extraction through a small incision (ReLEx SMILE) for correction of myopia and myopic astigmatism. Fifty-four eyes of 27 patients with spherical equivalent of -4.68 ± 1.29D who underwent routine ReLEx SMILE by a single surgeon were prospectively followed-up for 1 year. We used the VisuMax femtosecond laser system (Carl Zeiss Meditec AG, Germany) with a 500 kHz repetition rate. Folow-up intervals were at 1 day, 1 week, 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. We obtained following parameters: uncorrected (UDVA) and distance-corrected visual acuity (CDVA), contrast sensitivity, and wave front measurements. We also recorded all complications. Because of suction loss in one eye, 12-month results were obtained in 53 eyes as follows. After 1 year, 88% of eyes with plano target had an UDVA of 20/20 or better. Twelve percent of eyes lost 1 line of CDVA, while 31% gained 1 line and 3% gained 2 lines. The mean SE after 1 year was -0.19 ± 0.19. The mean refraction change between month 1 and 12 was 0.08 D. Neither mesopic nor photopic contrast sensitivity showed any significant changes. The high-order aberrations (HOA) increased from 0.17 to 0.27 μm (Malacara notation). No visually threatening complications were observed. In this first cohort, ReLEx SMILE produced satisfactory refractive outcomes with moderate induction of HOA and unaffected contrast sensitivity after 1 year.

A Highly Stable Marching-on-in-Time Volume Integral Equation Solver for Analyzing Transient Wave Interactions on High-Contrast Scatterers

KAUST Repository

Bagci, Hakan

2014-01-06

). Numerical results demonstrate that this new MOT-VIE solver maintains its stability and accuracy even when used in analyzing transient wave interactions on high-contrast scatterers.

Iodinated contrast media and patients with high-risk kidneys. Aiming at rational prevention

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fontaine, B.; Frouge, C.; Gagey, N.

1994-01-01

Acute renal failure induced by iodinated contrast media (CM) accounts for about 10% of all hospital cases of renal failure, especially in azotemic patients. The specific anatomy and physiology of the inner medulla renalis render it particularly sensitive to even a moderate reduction in blood supply. Renal function will be estimated by measuring serum creatinine levels, before and within 72 hours after administration of the iodinated contrast medium. Hypovolaemia, diabetes mellitus-induced microangiopathy, nephrotoxic drugs and especially dehydratation may provoke renal accidents. Proper hydration, choosing a low osmolality medium and adequately spacing exposures to CM are elementary measures to be adopted to prevent renal failure. (authors)

Optical confinement and light guiding in high dielectric contrast materials systems

Science.gov (United States)

Foresi, James S.

A study of silicon photonic devices, including waveguides and microcavities, is presented in this thesis. The high index difference of Silicon-On-Insulator materials is used to design submicron devices capable of light localization and routing. Losses due to interface roughness between the high and low index materials are measured to be 40dB/cm. An analysis of lithographically induced interface roughness is performed and a method for evaluating nanometer-scale roughness is presented. High index differences lead to compact bends and power splitters. Bends of 2.0μm radius are measured to have losses less than 0.5dB. Splitting angles of 5o with losses less than 1.5dB are demonstrated. The bends and splitters are the most compact devices of their kind. The design, fabrication and analysis of two light confining devices in the SOI system are presented: photonic band gap (PBG) and microdisk microcavities. A PBG waveguide microcavity with minimum dimensions of 0.10μm is fabricated and transmission measurements reveal cavity Q's of 265, a resonant wavelength of 1564nm, and a modal volume of 0.27/mu m3. This is the first demonstration of PBG resonance at optical frequencies. The PBG microcavity volume is two orders of magnitude smaller than has been achieved in other microcavity devices. Microdisk and microring resonators are demonstrated. A waveguide-coupled microring is shown to operate as a channel dropping filter with Q's of 250 and a free spectral range of 25nm. The application of the microcavity devices to spontaneous emission control of erbium-doped silicon is analyzed. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)

Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Perfusion MRI of High Grade Brain Gliomas Obtained with Arterial or Venous Waveform Input Function.

Science.gov (United States)

Filice, Silvano; Crisi, Girolamo

2016-01-01

The aim of this study was to evaluate the differences in dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) perfusion estimates of high-grade brain gliomas (HGG) due to the use of an input function (IF) obtained respectively from arterial (AIF) and venous (VIF) approaches by two different commercially available software applications. This prospective study includes 20 patients with pathologically confirmed diagnosis of high-grade gliomas. The data source was processed by using two DCE dedicated commercial packages, both based on the extended Toft model, but the first customized to obtain input function from arterial measurement and the second from sagittal sinus sampling. The quantitative parametric perfusion maps estimated from the two software packages were compared by means of a region of interest (ROI) analysis. The resulting input functions from venous and arterial data were also compared. No significant difference has been found between the perfusion parameters obtained with the two different software packages (P-value < .05). The comparison of the VIFs and AIFs obtained by the two packages showed no statistical differences. Direct comparison of DCE-MRI measurements with IF generated by means of arterial or venous waveform led to no statistical difference in quantitative metrics for evaluating HGG. However, additional research involving DCE-MRI acquisition protocols and post-processing would be beneficial to further substantiate the effectiveness of venous approach as the IF method compared with arterial-based IF measurement. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Neuroimaging.

Stratified premedication strategy for the prevention of contrast media hypersensitivity in high-risk patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Suh-Young; Yang, Min Suk; Choi, Young-Hoon; Park, Chang Min; Park, Heung-Woo; Cho, Sang Heon; Kang, Hye-Ryun

2017-03-01

Although the severity of hypersensitivity reactions to iodinated contrast media varies, it is well correlated with the severity of recurrent reactions; however, prophylaxis protocols are not severity-stratified. To assess the outcomes of tailored prophylaxis according to the severity of hypersensitivity reactions to iodinated contrast media. Our premedication protocols were stratified based on the severity of previous reactions: (1) 4 mg of chlorpheniramine for mild reactions, (2) adding 40 mg of methylprednisolone for moderate reactions, and (3) adding multiple doses of 40 mg of methylprednisolone for severe index reactions. Cases of reexposure in patients with a history of hypersensitivity reactions were routinely monitored and mandatorily recorded. Among a total of 850 patients who underwent enhanced computed tomography after severity-tailored prophylaxis, breakthrough reactions occurred in 17.1%, but most breakthrough reactions (89.0%) were mild and did not require medical treatment. Additional corticosteroid use did not reduce the breakthrough reaction rate in cases with a mild index reaction (16.8% vs 17.2%, P = .70). However, underpremedication with a single dose of corticosteroid revealed significantly higher rates of breakthrough reaction than did double doses of corticosteroid in cases with a severe index reaction (55.6% vs 17.4%, P = .02). Changing the iodinated contrast media resulted in an additional reduction of the breakthrough reaction rate overall (14.9% vs 32.1%, P = .001). In a total severity-based stratified prophylaxis regimens and changing iodinated contrast media can be considered in patients with a history of previous hypersensitivity reaction to iodinated contrast media to reduce the risk of breakthrough reactions. Copyright © 2016 American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High-frequency behavior of magnetic composites

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lagarkov, Andrey N.; Rozanov, Konstantin N.

2009-01-01

The paper reviews recent progress in the field of microwave magnetic properties of composites. The problem under discussion is developing composites with high microwave permeability that are needed in many applications. The theory of magnetic composites is briefly sketched with the attention paid to the laws governing the magnetic frequency dispersion in magnetic materials and basic mixing rules for composites. Recent experimental reports on the microwave performance of magnetic composites, as well as data on the agreement of the mixing rules with the measured permeability of composites that are available from the literature are discussed. From the data, a conclusion is made that the validity of a mixing rule is determined by the permeability contrast in the composite, i.e., the difference between permeability of inclusions and that of the host matrix. When the contrast is low, the Maxwell Garnet mixing rule is frequently valid. When the contrast is high, which is of the most interest for obtaining high microwave permeability of a composite, no conventionally accepted theory is capable of accurately predicting the permeability of the composites. Therefore, the mixing rules do not allow the microwave properties of magnetic composites to be predicted when the permeability of inclusions is high, that is the case of the most interest. Because of that, general limitations to the microwave performance of composites are of importance. In particular, an important relation constraining the microwave permeability of composites follows from Kittel's theory of ferromagnetic resonance and analytical properties of frequency dependence of permeability. Another constraint concerning the bandwidth of electromagnetic wave absorbers follows from the Kramers-Kronig relations for the reflection coefficient. The constraints are of importance in design and analysis of electromagnetic wave absorbers and other devices that employ the microwave magnetic properties of composites, such as

Contrast enhanced cartilage imaging: Comparison of ionic and non-ionic contrast agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiener, Edzard; Woertler, Klaus; Weirich, Gregor; Rummeny, Ernst J.; Settles, Marcus

2007-01-01

Our objective was to compare relaxation effects, dynamics and spatial distributions of ionic and non-ionic contrast agents in articular cartilage at concentrations typically used for direct MR arthrography at 1.5 T. Dynamic MR-studies over 11 h were performed in 15 bovine patella specimens. For each of the contrast agents gadopentetate dimeglumine, gadobenate dimeglumine, gadoteridol and mangafodipir trinatrium three patellae were placed in 2.5 mmol/L contrast solution. Simultaneous measurements of T 1 and T 2 were performed every 30 min using a high-spatial-resolution 'MIX'-sequence. T 1 , T 2 and ΔR 1 , ΔR 2 profile plots across cartilage thickness were calculated to demonstrate the spatial and temporal distributions. The charge is one of the main factors which controls the amount of the contrast media diffusing into intact cartilage, but independent of the charge, the spatial distribution across cartilage thickness remains highly inhomogeneous even after 11 h of diffusion. The absolute ΔR 2 -effect in cartilage is at least as large as the ΔR 1 -effect for all contrast agents. Maximum changes were 5-12 s -1 for ΔR 1 and 8-15 s -1 for ΔR 2 . This study indicates that for morphologically intact cartilage only the amount of contrast agents within cartilage is determined by the charge but not the spatial distribution across cartilage thickness. In addition, ΔR 2 can be considered for quantification of contrast agent concentrations, since it is of the same magnitude and less time consuming to measure than ΔR 1

Characterization of the Edges and Contrasts in a digital image with the variation of the Parameters of the High-pass Filters used in the Estimation of Atmospheric Visibility

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martha C. Guzmán-Zapata

2013-11-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the edges and contrasts obtained with high-pass filters used in the estimation of daytime atmospheric visibility from digital images, and the behavior of these edges and contrasts is characterized by varying the parameters of high-pass filters such as the Ideal, Gaussian, and Homomorphic-Gaussian. A synthetic image of regions with different contrasts is used to apply different filters, then, we define an index to measure the quality of the edges obtained in the filtered image and it is used to analyze the results. The results show that both, the filter selection and the selection of its parameters: affects the characteristics and quality of the detected edges in the filtered image, also determine the amount of noise that the filter added to the image (artifacts that were not present in the original image, and also establish if achieved, or not, the edge detection. The results also show that the edge quality index reaches maximum values at certain combinations of the filters parameters, which means that some combinations of parameters reduce situations distorting the edges and distorting atmospheric visibility measures based on the Fourier transform. So these parameters which provide maximum quality edges are established as suitable for use in visibility measurement.

Ultrasound-induced Gas Release from Contrast Agent Microbubbles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Postema, M.A.B.; Postema, Michiel; Bouakaz, Ayache; Versluis, Michel; de Jong, N.

2005-01-01

We investigated gas release from two hard-shelled ultrasound contrast agents by subjecting them to high-mechanical index (MI) ultrasound and simultaneously capturing high-speed photographs. At an insonifying frequency of 1.7 MHz, a larger percentage of contrast bubbles is seen to crack than at 0.5

Iodinated contrast media nephrotoxicity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyrier, A.

1994-01-01

In the late seventies, iodinated contrast agents (ICA) were considered to be a major cause of acute iatrogenic renal failure. Over the last decade new contrast agents have been synthesized, nonionic and less hyperosmolar. The incidence of acute renal failure due to ICAs, varies from 3.7 to 70% of cases according to the series, with an average figure of 10.2%. The pathophysiology of ICA nephrotoxicity was mainly studied in laboratory animal models. Three main factors are involved in an inducing ICA-mediated decrease in glomerular filtration rate: reduction of the renal plasma flow, a direct cytotoxic effect on renal tubular cells and erythrocyte alteration leading to intra-renal sludge. Excluding dysglobulinemias with urinary excretion of immunoglobulin light chains, which represent a special case of maximum nephrotoxicity, 4 main risk factors of renal toxicity have been identified in nondiabetic subjects: previous renal failure with serum creatinine levels greater than 140 μmol per liter, extracellular dehydration, age over 60 and use of high doses of ICA and/or repeated ICA injections before serum creatinine levels return to baseline. Preventive measures for avoiding ICA nephrotoxicity are threefold: maintain or restore adequate hydration with saline infusion, stop NSAID treatment several days before ICA administration, and allow a 5 day interval before repeating contrast media injections. New, nonionic and moderately hyperosmolar contrast agents appear to be much less nephrotoxic than conventional ICAs in laboratory animals and in high-risk patients. It is advisable to select such contrast media for investigating high-risk patients. This approach was recently substantiated in well designed, randomized clinical studies which included more than 2 000 patients. (author)

The Moving Group Targets of the Seeds High-Contrast Imaging Survey of Exoplanets and Disks: Results and Observations from the First Three Years

Science.gov (United States)

Brandt, Timothy D.; Kuzuhara, Masayuki; McElwain, Michael W.; Schlieder, Joshua E.; Wisniewski, John P.; Turner, Edwin L.; Carson, J.; Matsuo, T.; Biller, B.; Bonnefoy, M.;

Improvements on Fresnel arrays for high contrast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Wilhem, Roux; Laurent, Koechlin

2018-03-01

The Fresnel Diffractive Array Imager (FDAI) is based on a new optical concept for space telescopes, developed at Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Toulouse, France. For the visible and near-infrared it has already proven its performances in resolution and dynamic range. We propose it now for astrophysical applications in the ultraviolet with apertures from 6 to 30 meters, aimed at imaging in UV faint astrophysical sources close to bright ones, as well as other applications requiring high dynamic range. Of course the project needs first a probatory mission at small aperture to validate the concept in space. In collaboration with institutes in Spain and Russia, we will propose to board a small prototype of Fresnel imager on the International Space Station (ISS), with a program combining technical tests and astrophysical targets. The spectral domain should contain the Lyman- α line ( λ = 121 nm). As part of its preparation, we improve the Fresnel array design for a better Point Spread Function in UV, presently on a small laboratory prototype working at 260 nm. Moreover, we plan to validate a new optical design and chromatic correction adapted to UV. In this article we present the results of numerical propagations showing the improvement in dynamic range obtained by combining and adapting three methods : central obturation, optimization of the bars mesh holding the Fresnel rings, and orthogonal apodization. We briefly present the proposed astrophysical program of a probatory mission with such UV optics.

High-resolution 3D X-ray imaging of intracranial nitinol stents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Snoeren, Rudolph M.; With, Peter H.N. de; Soederman, Michael; Kroon, Johannes N.; Roijers, Ruben B.; Babic, Drazenko

2012-01-01

To assess an optimized 3D imaging protocol for intracranial nitinol stents in 3D C-arm flat detector imaging. For this purpose, an image quality simulation and an in vitro study was carried out. Nitinol stents of various brands were placed inside an anthropomorphic head phantom, using iodine contrast. Experiments with objects were preceded by image quality and dose simulations. We varied X-ray imaging parameters in a commercially interventional X-ray system to set 3D image quality in the contrast-noise-sharpness space. Beam quality was varied to evaluate contrast of the stents while keeping absorbed dose below recommended values. Two detector formats were used, paired with an appropriate pixel size and X-ray focus size. Zoomed reconstructions were carried out and snapshot images acquired. High contrast spatial resolution was assessed with a CT phantom. We found an optimal protocol for imaging intracranial nitinol stents. Contrast resolution was optimized for nickel-titanium-containing stents. A high spatial resolution larger than 2.1 lp/mm allows struts to be visualized. We obtained images of stents of various brands and a representative set of images is shown. Independent of the make, struts can be imaged with virtually continuous strokes. Measured absorbed doses are shown to be lower than 50 mGy Computed Tomography Dose Index (CTDI). By balancing the modulation transfer of the imaging components and tuning the high-contrast imaging capabilities, we have shown that thin nitinol stent wires can be reconstructed with high contrast-to-noise ratio and good detail, while keeping radiation doses within recommended values. Experimental results compare well with imaging simulations. (orig.)

Supra-aortic low-dose contrast-enhanced time-resolved magnetic resonance (MR) angiography at 3 T: comparison with time-of-flight MR angiography and high-resolution contrast-enhanced MR angiography.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Youn-Joo; Kim, Bum-soo; Koo, Ja-Sung; Kim, Bom-Yi; Jang, Jinhee; Choi, Hyun Seok; Jung, So-Lyung; Ahn, Kook-Jin

2015-06-01

Low-dose, time-resolved, contrast-enhanced, magnetic resonance angiography (TR-CEMRA) has been described previously; however, a comparative study between low dose TR-CEMRA and time-of-flight MRA (TOF-MRA) in the diagnosis of supra-aortic arterial stenosis has not yet been published. To demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of low-dose TR-CEMRA compared with TOF-MRA, using high-resolution contrast-enhanced MRA (HR-CEMRA) as the reference standard. This prospective study consisted of 30 consecutive patients. All patients underwent TOF-MRA of the neck and circle of Willis and supra-aortic HR-CEMRA, followed by supra-aortic low-dose TR-CEMRA. Gadoterate meglumine (Gd-DOTA, Dotarem(®), Guerbet, Roissy CdG Cedex, France) was injected at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg for HR-CEMRA, followed by a 0.03 mmol/kg bolus for low-dose TR-CEMRA. Three readers evaluated the assessibility and image quality, and then two readers classified each stenosis into the following categories: normal (0-30%), mild stenosis (31-50%), moderate (51-70%), severe (71-99%), and occlusion. TR-CEMRA and HR-CEMRA showed a greater number of assessable arterial segments than TOF-MRA (P supra-aortic arterial stenosis, and could be more useful option than TOF-MRA. © The Foundation Acta Radiologica 2014 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Effect of contrast leakage on the detection of abnormal brain tumor vasculature in high-grade glioma.

Science.gov (United States)

LaViolette, Peter S; Daun, Mitchell K; Paulson, Eric S; Schmainda, Kathleen M

2014-02-01

Abnormal brain tumor vasculature has recently been highlighted by a dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI processing technique. The technique uses independent component analysis (ICA) to separate arterial and venous perfusion. The overlap of the two, i.e. arterio-venous overlap or AVOL, preferentially occurs in brain tumors and predicts response to anti-angiogenic therapy. The effects of contrast agent leakage on the AVOL biomarker have yet to be established. DSC was acquired during two separate contrast boluses in ten patients undergoing clinical imaging for brain tumor diagnosis. Three components were modeled with ICA, which included the arterial and venous components. The percentage of each component as well as a third component were determined within contrast enhancing tumor and compared. AVOL within enhancing tumor was also compared between doses. The percentage of enhancing tumor classified as not arterial or venous and instead into a third component with contrast agent leakage apparent in the time-series was significantly greater for the first contrast dose compared to the second. The amount of AVOL detected within enhancing tumor was also significantly greater with the second dose compared to the first. Contrast leakage results in large signal variance classified as a separate component by the ICA algorithm. The use of a second dose mitigates the effect and allows measurement of AVOL within enhancement.

Stochastic parallel gradient descent based adaptive optics used for a high contrast imaging coronagraph

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dong Bing; Ren Deqing; Zhang Xi

2011-01-01

An adaptive optics (AO) system based on a stochastic parallel gradient descent (SPGD) algorithm is proposed to reduce the speckle noises in the optical system of a stellar coronagraph in order to further improve the contrast. The principle of the SPGD algorithm is described briefly and a metric suitable for point source imaging optimization is given. The feasibility and good performance of the SPGD algorithm is demonstrated by an experimental system featured with a 140-actuator deformable mirror and a Hartmann-Shark wavefront sensor. Then the SPGD based AO is applied to a liquid crystal array (LCA) based coronagraph to improve the contrast. The LCA can modulate the incoming light to generate a pupil apodization mask of any pattern. A circular stepped pattern is used in our preliminary experiment and the image contrast shows improvement from 10 -3 to 10 -4.5 at an angular distance of 2λ/D after being corrected by SPGD based AO.

High day- and night-time temperatures affect grain growth dynamics in contrasting rice genotypes.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Wanju; Yin, Xinyou; Struik, Paul C; Solis, Celymar; Xie, Fangming; Schmidt, Ralf C; Huang, Min; Zou, Yingbin; Ye, Changrong; Jagadish, S V Krishna

2017-11-02

Rice grain yield and quality are predicted to be highly vulnerable to global warming. Five genotypes including heat-tolerant and susceptible checks, a heat-tolerant near-isogenic line and two hybrids were exposed to control (31 °C/23 °C, day/night), high night-time temperature (HNT; 31 °C/30 °C), high day-time temperature (HDT; 38 °C/23 °C) and high day- and night-time temperature (HNDT; 38 °C/30 °C) treatments for 20 consecutive days during the grain-filling stage. Grain-filling dynamics, starch metabolism enzymes, temporal starch accumulation patterns and the process of chalk formation were quantified. Compensation between the rate and duration of grain filling minimized the impact of HNT, but irreversible impacts on seed-set, grain filling and ultimately grain weight were recorded with HDT and HNDT. Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated irregular and smaller starch granule formation affecting amyloplast build-up with HDT and HNDT, while a quicker but normal amylopast build-up was recorded with HNT. Our findings revealed temporal variation in the starch metabolism enzymes in all three stress treatments. Changes in the enzymatic activity did not derail starch accumulation under HNT when assimilates were sufficiently available, while both sucrose supply and the conversion of sucrose into starch were affected by HDT and HNDT. The findings indicate differential mechanisms leading to high day and high night temperature stress-induced loss in yield and quality. Additional genetic improvement is needed to sustain rice productivity and quality under future climates. © Society for Experimental Biology 2017.

Measurement of porosity in a composite high explosive as a function of pressing conditions by ultra-small-angle neutron scattering with contrast variation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mang, Joseph Thomas [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Hjelm, Rex P [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Francois, Elizabeth G [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2009-01-01

We have used ultra-small-angle neutron scattering (USANS) with contrast variation to measure the porosity (voids and binder-filled regions) in a composite high explosive, PBX 9501, formulated with a deuterated binder. Little is known about the microstructure of pressed PBX 9501 parts and thus how it is affected by processing. Here, we explore the effect of varying the pressing intensity on the PBX 9501 microstructure. Disk-shaped samples of PBX 9501 were die-pressed with applied pressures ranging between 10,000 and 29,000 psi at 90 C. Five samples were prepared at each pressure that differed in the fraction of deuterated binder, facilitating variation of the neutron scattering length density contrast ({Delta}{rho}) and thus, the resolution of microstructural details. The sample composition was determined by calculation of the Porod Invariant as a function of {Delta}{rho} and compared with compositional estimates obtained from the bulk sample density. Structural modeling of the USANS data, at different levels of contrast, assuming both spherical and cylindrical morphologies, allowed the mean size and size distribution of voids and binder-filled regions to be determined. A decrease in the mean diameter of binder-filled regions was found with increasing pressing intensity, while the mean void diameter showed no significant change.

Contrast Media: Are There Differences in Nephrotoxicity among Contrast Media?

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Iodinated contrast agents are usually classified based upon their osmolality—high, low, and isosmolar. Iodinated contrast agents are also nephrotoxic in some but not all patients resulting in loss of glomerular filtration rate. Over the past 30 years, nephrotoxicity has been linked to osmolality although the precise mechanism underlying such a link has been elusive. Improvements in our understanding of the pathogenesis of nephrotoxicity and prospective randomized clinical trials have attempted to further explore the relationship between osmolality and nephrotoxicity. In this review, the basis for our current understanding that there are little if any differences in nephrotoxic potential between low and isosmolar contrast media will be detailed using data from clinical studies. PMID:24587997

Application of High-Resolution Magic-Angle Spinning NMR Spectroscopy to Define the Cell Uptake of MRI Contrast Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Calabi, Luisella; Alfieri, Goffredo; Biondi, Luca; De Miranda, Mario; Paleari, Lino; Ghelli, Stefano

2002-06-01

A new method, based on proton high-resolution magic-angle spinning ( 1H HR-MAS) NMR spectroscopy, has been employed to study the cell uptake of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents (MRI-CAs). The method was tested on human red blood cells (HRBC) and white blood cells (HWBC) by using three gadolinium complexes, widely used in diagnostics, Gd-BOPTA, Gd-DTPA, and Gd-DOTA, and the analogous complexes obtained by replacing Gd(III) with Dy(III), Nd(III), and Tb(III) (i.e., complexes isostructural to the ones of gadolinium but acting as shift agents). The method is based on the evaluation of the magnetic effects, line broadening, or induced lanthanide shift (LIS) caused by these complexes on NMR signals of intra- and extracellular water. Since magnetic effects are directly linked to permeability, this method is direct. In all the tests, these magnetic effects were detected for the extracellular water signal only, providing a direct proof that these complexes are not able to cross the cell membrane. Line broadening effects (i.e., the use of gadolinium complexes) only allow qualitative evaluations. On the contrary, LIS effects can be measured with high precision and they can be related to the concentration of the paramagnetic species in the cellular compartments. This is possible because the HR-MAS technique provides the complete elimination of bulk magnetic susceptibility (BMS) shift and the differentiation of extra- and intracellular water signals. Thus with this method, the rapid quantification of the MRI-CA amount inside and outside the cells is actually feasible.

Computer-aided diagnosis for phase-contrast X-ray computed tomography: quantitative characterization of human patellar cartilage with high-dimensional geometric features.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagarajan, Mahesh B; Coan, Paola; Huber, Markus B; Diemoz, Paul C; Glaser, Christian; Wismüller, Axel

2014-02-01

Phase-contrast computed tomography (PCI-CT) has shown tremendous potential as an imaging modality for visualizing human cartilage with high spatial resolution. Previous studies have demonstrated the ability of PCI-CT to visualize (1) structural details of the human patellar cartilage matrix and (2) changes to chondrocyte organization induced by osteoarthritis. This study investigates the use of high-dimensional geometric features in characterizing such chondrocyte patterns in the presence or absence of osteoarthritic damage. Geometrical features derived from the scaling index method (SIM) and statistical features derived from gray-level co-occurrence matrices were extracted from 842 regions of interest (ROI) annotated on PCI-CT images of ex vivo human patellar cartilage specimens. These features were subsequently used in a machine learning task with support vector regression to classify ROIs as healthy or osteoarthritic; classification performance was evaluated using the area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC). SIM-derived geometrical features exhibited the best classification performance (AUC, 0.95 ± 0.06) and were most robust to changes in ROI size. These results suggest that such geometrical features can provide a detailed characterization of the chondrocyte organization in the cartilage matrix in an automated and non-subjective manner, while also enabling classification of cartilage as healthy or osteoarthritic with high accuracy. Such features could potentially serve as imaging markers for evaluating osteoarthritis progression and its response to different therapeutic intervention strategies.

A Simplified Method for Upscaling Composite Materials with High Contrast of the Conductivity

KAUST Repository

Ewing, R.; Iliev, O.; Lazarov, R.; Rybak, I.; Willems, J.

2009-01-01

A large class of industrial composite materials, such as metal foams, fibrous glass materials, mineral wools, and the like, are widely used in insulation and advanced heat exchangers. These materials are characterized by a substantial difference between the thermal properties of the highly conductive materials (glass or metal) and the insulator (air) as well as low volume fractions and complex network-like structures of the highly conductive components. In this paper we address the important issue for the engineering practice of developing fast, reliable, and accurate methods for computing the macroscopic (upscaled) thermal conductivities of such materials. We assume that the materials have constant macroscopic thermal conductivity tensors, which can be obtained by upscaling techniques based on the postprocessing of a number of linearly independent solutions of the steady-state heat equation on representative elementary volumes (REVs). We propose, theoretically justify, and computationally study a numerical method for computing the effective conductivities of materials for which the ratio δ of low and high conductivities satisfies δ ≪ 1. We show that in this case one needs to solve the heat equation in the region occupied by the highly conductive media only. Further, we prove that under certain conditions on the microscale geometry the proposed method gives an approximation that is O(δ)-close to the upscaled conductivity. Finally, we illustrate the accuracy and the limitations of the method on a number of numerical examples. © 2009 Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.

Contrasting dynamic spin susceptibility models and their relation to high-temperature superconductivity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schuettler, H.; Norman, M.R.

1996-01-01

We compare the normal-state resistivities ρ and the critical temperatures T c for superconducting d x 2 -y 2 pairing due to antiferromagnetic (AF) spin fluctuation exchange in the context of two phenomenological dynamical spin susceptibility models for the cuprate high-T c materials, one based on fits to NMR data on Y-Ba-Cu-O (YBCO) proposed by Millis, Monien, and Pines (MMP) and Monthoux and Pines (MP), and the other based on fits to neutron scattering data on YBCO proposed by Radtke, Ullah, Levin, and Norman (RULN). Assuming comparable electronic bandwidths and resistivities in both models, we show that the RULN model gives a much lower d-wave T c (approx-lt 20 K) than the MMP model (with T c ∼100 K). We demonstrate that these profound differences in the T c close-quote s arise from fundamental differences in the spectral weight distributions of the two model susceptibilities at high (>100 meV) frequencies and are not primarily caused by differences in the calculational techniques employed by MP and RULN. Further neutron scattering experiments, to explore the spectral weight distribution at all wave vectors over a sufficiently large excitation energy range, will thus be of crucial importance to resolve the question whether AF spin fluctuation exchange can provide a viable mechanism to account for high-T c superconductivity. Limitations of the Migdal-Eliashberg approach in such models will be discussed. copyright 1996 The American Physical Society

High-frame-rate digital radiographic videography

Science.gov (United States)

King, Nicholas S. P.; Cverna, Frank H.; Albright, Kevin L.; Jaramillo, Steven A.; Yates, George J.; McDonald, Thomas E.; Flynn, Michael J.; Tashman, Scott

1994-10-01

High speed x-ray imaging can be an important tool for observing internal processes in a wide range of applications. In this paper we describe preliminary implementation of a system having the eventual goal of observing the internal dynamics of bone and joint reactions during loading. Two Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) gated and image intensified camera systems were used to record images from an x-ray image convertor tube to demonstrate the potential of high frame-rate digital radiographic videography in the analysis of bone and joint dynamics of the human body. Preliminary experiments were done at LANL to test the systems. Initial high frame-rate imaging (from 500 to 1000 frames/s) of a swinging pendulum mounted to the face of an X-ray image convertor tube demonstrated high contrast response and baseline sensitivity. The systems were then evaluated at the Motion Analysis Laboratory of Henry Ford Health Systems Bone and Joint Center. Imaging of a 9 inch acrylic disk with embedded lead markers rotating at approximately 1000 RPM, demonstrated the system response to a high velocity/high contrast target. By gating the P-20 phosphor image from the X-ray image convertor with a second image intensifier (II) and using a 100 microsecond wide optical gate through the second II, enough prompt light decay from the x-ray image convertor phosphor had taken place to achieve reduction of most of the motion blurring. Measurement of the marker velocity was made by using video frames acquired at 500 frames/s. The data obtained from both experiments successfully demonstrated the feasibility of the technique. Several key areas for improvement are discussed along with salient test results and experiment details.

Achieving high mobility ZnO : Al at very high growth rates by dc filtered cathodic arc deposition

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendelsberg, R J; Lim, S H N; Wallig, J; Anders, A; Zhu, Y K; Milliron, D J

2011-01-01

Achieving a high growth rate is paramount for making large-area transparent conducting oxide coatings at a low cost. Unfortunately, the quality of thin films grown by most techniques degrades as the growth rate increases. Filtered dc cathodic arc is a lesser known technique which produces a stream of highly ionized plasma, in stark contrast to the neutral atoms produced by standard sputter sources. Ions bring a large amount of potential energy to the growing surface which is in the form of heat, not momentum. By minimizing the distance from cathode to substrate, the high ion flux gives a very high effective growth temperature near the film surface without causing damage from bombardment. The high surface temperature is a direct consequence of the high growth rate and allows for high-quality crystal growth. Using this technique, 500-1300 nm thick and highly transparent ZnO : Al films were grown on glass at rates exceeding 250 nm min -1 while maintaining resistivity below 5 x 10 -4 Ω cm with electron mobility as high as 60 cm 2 V -1 s -1 . (fast track communication)

High-speed and high-ratio referential genome compression.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yuansheng; Peng, Hui; Wong, Limsoon; Li, Jinyan

2017-11-01

The rapidly increasing number of genomes generated by high-throughput sequencing platforms and assembly algorithms is accompanied by problems in data storage, compression and communication. Traditional compression algorithms are unable to meet the demand of high compression ratio due to the intrinsic challenging features of DNA sequences such as small alphabet size, frequent repeats and palindromes. Reference-based lossless compression, by which only the differences between two similar genomes are stored, is a promising approach with high compression ratio. We present a high-performance referential genome compression algorithm named HiRGC. It is based on a 2-bit encoding scheme and an advanced greedy-matching search on a hash table. We compare the performance of HiRGC with four state-of-the-art compression methods on a benchmark dataset of eight human genomes. HiRGC takes compress about 21 gigabytes of each set of the seven target genomes into 96-260 megabytes, achieving compression ratios of 217 to 82 times. This performance is at least 1.9 times better than the best competing algorithm on its best case. Our compression speed is also at least 2.9 times faster. HiRGC is stable and robust to deal with different reference genomes. In contrast, the competing methods' performance varies widely on different reference genomes. More experiments on 100 human genomes from the 1000 Genome Project and on genomes of several other species again demonstrate that HiRGC's performance is consistently excellent. The C ++ and Java source codes of our algorithm are freely available for academic and non-commercial use. They can be downloaded from https://github.com/yuansliu/HiRGC. jinyan.li@uts.edu.au. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author (2017). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Grain boundary engineering of highly deformable ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mecartney, M.L.

2000-01-01

Highly deformable ceramics can be created with the addition of intergranular silicate phases. These amorphous intergranular phases can assist in superplastic deformation by relieving stress concentrations and minimizing grain growth if the appropriate intergranular compositions are selected. Examples from 3Y-TZP and 8Y-CSZ ceramics are discussed. The grain boundary chemistry is analyzed by high resolution analytical TEM is found to have a strong influence on the cohesion of the grains both at high temperature and at room temperature. Intergranular phases with a high ionic character and containing large ions with a relatively weak bond strength appear to cause premature failure. In contrast, intergranular phases with a high degree of covalent character and similar or smaller ions than the ceramic and a high ionic bond strength are the best for grain boundary adhesion and prevention of both cavitation at high temperatures and intergranular fracture at room temperature

Contrast enhanced MRA: do contrast agents with a higher T1 relaxitivity improve the visualization of carotid artery stenoses?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Friese, S.; Krapf, H.; Skalej, M.; Kueker, W.; Fetter, M.; Vonthein, R.

2001-01-01

CE-MRA is a powerful tool for the non-invasive evaluation of carotid artery occlusive disease. However, due to certain drawbacks, it has not completely replaced DSA. The purpose of this study was to evaluate if Gd-BOPTA, a contrast agent with high T 1 relaxivity, can increase the diagnostic accuracy of CE-MRA. Material and Methods: The CE-MRA examinations of 54 consecutive patients were evaluated by two experienced radiologists, independently. The examinations of 27 patients were contrasted either with 20 ml Gd-BOPTA or with 20 ml Gd-DTPA. The reviewers were blinded to the contrast agent chosen and to the ultrasound results. They rated the overall image quality and the degree of the ICA stenoses. Results: For the estimation of the degree of the ICA stenoses there was a high interrater validity. In comparison to the ultrasound findings, 6 of 50 high-degree stenoses were underestimated as moderate stenoses. In one of seven sonographically occluded vessels, MRA revealed residual patency in the vessel lumen. It was not possible to identify the contrast agent that was taken for a study. Subjective estimation of the image quality (arterial contrast of the ICA, contrast of the other vessels, and general impression) did not significantly change with the contrast agent employed. Conclusion: The diagnostic accuracy of CE-MRA for the evaluation of internal carotid artery stenoses is not improved by Gd-BOPTA if identical volumina of contrast media are applied. The potential of this contrast agent can be the reduction of the amount of contrast without loss of diagnostic information. Further studies are necessary. (orig.) [de

Experimental study of proton acceleration with ultra-high intensity, high contrast laser beam

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flacco, A.

2008-07-01

This thesis reports experimental work in the domain of laser-matter interaction to study the production of energetic proton beams. The ion beams accelerated by laser have been increasing in quality, in energy and in repeatability as laser technology keeps improving. The presence of the pedestal before the high peak laser pulse introduces many unknowns in the accelerating conditions that are created on the front and on the rear surface of the target. The first part of the experimental activities is focused to a better comprehension and the experimental validation of the interaction of a 'pedestal-like', moderate intensity, laser pulse on Aluminum targets. The developed interferometric technique proved to be reliable and produced a complete set of maps of the early stages of the plasma expansion. The reflectometry experiment stresses the importance of the quality of the metallic targets and underlines some obscure points on the behaviour of the rear surface of the illuminated foil. For instance the reflectometry measurements on the thicker targets are significantly different from what is foreseen by the simulations about the timescale of the shock break out. In the second part, the XPW laser pulse is used in ion acceleration from thin metal foils. The laser and target parameters are varied to put in evidence the dependence of the ion beam to the experimental condition. In conclusion I can say that first, during the variation of the target thickness, an optimum is put in evidence. Secondly, the correlation between the laser pulse duration and the proton cutoff energy is qualitatively different between thicker (15 μm) and thinner (1.5 μm, 3 μm) targets. For the first, an optimal pulse duration exists while for the seconds, no variation is found - in the searched space - from the monotonic decreasing of the cutoff energy with the peak intensity. The experimental results put however in evidence some points that are not completely understood. (A.C.)

Utilizing generalized autocalibrating partial parallel acquisition (GRAPPA) to achieve high-resolution contrast-enhanced MR angiography of hepatic artery: Initial experience in orthotopic liver transplantation candidates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu Pengju; Yan Fuhua; Wang Jianhua; Lin Jiang; Fan Jia

2007-01-01

Objective: To evaluate feasibility of using GRAPPA to acquire high-resolution 3D contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA) of hepatic artery and value of GRAPPA for displaying vessels anatomy. Materials and methods: High-resolution CE-MRA using GRAPPA was performed in 67 orthotopic liver transplantation recipient candidates. Signal intensity (SI) and relative SI, i.e., Cv-ro (vessel-to-liver contrast) of the aorta and the hepatic common artery (HCA), were measured. The SI and the relative SI were compared and analyzed using T-test. For purpose of qualitative evaluation, the vessel visualization quality and the order of depicted hepatic artery branches were evaluated by two radiologists independently and assessed by weighted kappa analysis. The depiction of hepatic arterial anatomy and variations was evaluated, and results were correlated with the findings in surgery. Results: The mean SI values were 283.29 ± 65.07 (mean ± S.D.) for aorta and 283.16 ± 64.07 for HCA, respectively. The mean relative SI values were 0.698 ± 0.09 for aorta and 0.696 ± 0.09 for HCA, respectively. Homogeneous enhancement between aorta and HCA was confirmed by statistically insignificant differences (p-values were 0.89 for mean SI values and 0.12 for mean relative SI values, respectively). The average score for vessel visualization ranged from good to excellent for different artery segments. Overall interobserver agreement in the visualization of different artery segments was excellent (kappa value > 0.80). The distal intrahepatic segmental arteries were well delineated for majority of patients with excellent interobserver agreement. Normal hepatic arterial anatomy was correctly demonstrated in 53 patients, and arterial anomalies were accurately detected on high-resolution MRA image of all 14 patients. Conclusion: High-resolution hepatic artery MRA acquired using GRAPPA in a reproducible manner excellently depicts and delineates small vessels and can be routinely used for evaluating

Intra-observer agreement in single and joint double readings of contrast-enhanced breast MRI screening for women with high genetic breast cancer risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hugo C

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Objectives: To examine intra-observer reliability (IR for lesion detection on contrast-enhanced breast magnetic resonance images (MRI for screening women at high risk of breast cancer in single and joint double readings, without case selection. Methods: Contrast-enhanced breast MRIs were interpreted twice by the same independent reader and twice in joint readings. IR was assessed for lesion detection, normal MRI identification, mass, non-mass like enhancements (NMLE and focus characterisation, and BI-RADS assessment. Results: MRI examinations for 124 breasts, 65 women (mean age 43.4y were retrospectively reviewed with 110 lesions identified. Abnormal BIRADS (3-5 classifications were found for 52.3% in single readings and 58.5% in joint readings. Seven biopsies were performed for 4 histologically confirmed cancers. IR for BI-RADS classifications was good for single (0.63, 95% CI: 0.49-0.77, and joint readings (0.77, 95% CI: 0.61-0.93. IR for background parenchymal enhancement (BPE was moderate across single (0.53, 95% CI: 0.40-0.65 and joint readings (0.44, 95% CI: 0.33-0.56. IR for BI-RADS category according to each enhancement was poor for single (0.27, 95% CI: 0.10-0.44, and higher for joint readings, (0.58, 95% CI: 0.43-0.72. Conclusions: IR in BI-RADS breast assessments or BI-RADS lesion assessments are better with joint reading in screening for women with high genetic risks, in particular for abnormal MRI (BI-RADS 3, 4 and 5.

High-throughput characterization methods for lithium batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yingchun Lyu

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The development of high-performance lithium ion batteries requires the discovery of new materials and the optimization of key components. By contrast with traditional one-by-one method, high-throughput method can synthesize and characterize a large number of compositionally varying samples, which is able to accelerate the pace of discovery, development and optimization process of materials. Because of rapid progress in thin film and automatic control technologies, thousands of compounds with different compositions could be synthesized rapidly right now, even in a single experiment. However, the lack of rapid or combinatorial characterization technologies to match with high-throughput synthesis methods, limit the application of high-throughput technology. Here, we review a series of representative high-throughput characterization methods used in lithium batteries, including high-throughput structural and electrochemical characterization methods and rapid measuring technologies based on synchrotron light sources.

High day- and night-time temperatures affect grain growth dynamics in contrasting rice genotypes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Shi, Wanju; Yin, Xinyou; Struik, Paul C.; Solis, Celymar; Xie, Fangming; Schmidt, Ralf C.; Huang, Min; Zou, Yingbin; Ye, Changrong; Jagadish, S.V.K.

2017-01-01

Rice grain yield and quality are predicted to be highly vulnerable to global warming. Five genotypes including heat-tolerant and susceptible checks, a heat-tolerant near-isogenic line and two hybrids were exposed to control (31 °C/23 °C, day/night), high night-time temperature (HNT; 31 °C/30 °C),

Single-energy non-contrast hepatic steatosis criteria applied to virtual non-contrast images: is it still highly specific and positively predictive?

Science.gov (United States)

Haji-Momenian, S; Parkinson, W; Khati, N; Brindle, K; Earls, J; Zeman, R K

2018-06-01

To determine the sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of single-energy non-contrast hepatic steatosis criteria on dual-energy virtual non-contrast (VNC) images. Forty-eight computed tomography (CT) examinations, which included single-energy non-contrast (TNC) and contrast-enhanced dual-energy CT angiography (CTA) of the abdomen, were enrolled. VNC images were reconstructed from the CTA. Region of interest (ROI) attenuations were measured in the right and left hepatic lobes, spleen, and aorta on TNC and VNC images. The right and left hepatic lobes were treated as separate samples. Steatosis was diagnosed based on TNC liver attenuation of ≤40 HU or liver attenuation index (LAI) of ≤-10 HU, which are extremely specific and predictive for moderate to severe steatosis. The sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values of VNC images for steatosis were calculated. VNC-TNC deviations were correlated with aortic enhancement and patient water equivalent diameter (PWED). Thirty-two liver ROIs met steatosis criteria based on TNC attenuation; VNC attenuation had sensitivity, specificity, and a positive predictive value of 66.7%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. Twenty-one liver ROIs met steatosis criteria based on TNC LAI. VNC LAI had sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive values of 61.9%, 90.7%, and 65%, respectively. Hepatic and splenic VNC-TNC deviations did not correlate with one another (R 2 =0.08), aortic enhancement (R 2 predictive for moderate to severe steatosis on VNC reconstructions from the arterial phase. Hepatic attenuation performs better than LAI criteria. VNC deviations are independent of aortic enhancement and PWED. Copyright © 2018 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A survey of contrast media used in coronary angiograph

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weikl, A.; Hubmann, M.

1982-01-01

In recent years, various contrast media have been developed for use in coronary angiography. These contrast media may be divided into ionic contrast media of high osmolality, those of low osmolality, and nonionic contrast materials. We conducted our own clinical studies with 40 patients. In random succession a standard contrast medium (ionic, of high osmolality) and a new-generation contrast medium (either nonionic or ionic with low osmolality) were injected into the right and left coronary arteries. After each injection we measured the systolic and diastolic blood pressure using a liquid-filled coronary catheter. In addition, the change in the length of the cardiac cycle was registered in terms of the R-R interval (in ms) and at the same time, leads I, II, and III of the ECG were recorded. We studied the influence of the various contrast media on the activity of ATPase in in vitro experiments, using Lasser and Lang's. When ionic contrast media of low osmolality and nonionic contrast media were utilized the heart rate showed no change. Disturbances of rhythm such as ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation were not observed. All of the contrast media used produced the same ECG changes. These changes can be ascribed to the inhibition of ATPase. The arterial blood pressure was lowered significantly only by ionic contrast media of high osmolality only. (orig.)

Early biomarkers from dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging to predict the response to antiangiogenic therapy in high-grade gliomas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piludu, Francesca; Vidiri, Antonello [Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging Department, Rome (Italy); Marzi, Simona [Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Medical Physics Laboratory, Rome (Italy); Pace, Andrea; Villani, Veronica [Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Neurology Division, Rome (Italy); Fabi, Alessandra [Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Oncology Department, Rome (Italy); Carapella, Carmine Maria [Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Oncologic Surgery Department, Rome (Italy); Terrenato, Irene [Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Biostatistics-Scientific Direction, Rome (Italy); Antenucci, Anna [Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Clinical Pathology, Rome (Italy)

2015-12-15

The aim of this study is to investigate whether early changes in tumor volume and perfusion measurements derived from dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) may predict response to antiangiogenic therapy in recurrent high-grade gliomas. Twenty-seven patients who received bevacizumab every 3 weeks were enrolled in the study. For each patient, three MRI scans were performed: at baseline, after the first dose, and after the fourth dose of bevacizumab. The entire tumor volume (V{sub tot}), as well as contrast-enhanced and noncontrast-enhanced tumor subvolumes (V{sub CE-T1} and V{sub NON-CE-T1}, respectively) were outlined using post-contrast T1-weighted images as a guide for the tumor location. Histogram analysis of normalized IAUGC (nIAUGC) and transfer constant K{sup trans} maps were performed. Each patient was classified as a responder patient if he/she had a partial response or a stable disease or as a nonresponder patient if he/she had progressive disease. Responding patients showed a larger reduction in V{sub NON-CE-T1} after a single dose, compared to nonresponding patients. Tumor subvolumes with increased values of nIAUGC and K{sup trans}, after a single dose, significantly differed between responders and nonresponders. The radiological response was found to be significantly associated to the clinical outcome. After a single dose, V{sub tot} was predictive of overall survival (OS), while V{sub CE-T1} showed a tendency of correlation with OS. Tumor subvolumes with increased nIAUGC and K{sup trans} showed the potential for improving the diagnostic accuracy of DCE. Early assessments of the entire tumor volume, including necrotic areas, may provide complementary information of tumor behavior in response to anti-VEGF therapies and is worth further investigation. (orig.)

Tandem-pulsed acousto-optics: an analytical framework of modulated high-contrast speckle patterns

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Resink, Steffen; Steenbergen, Wiendelt

2015-01-01

Recently we presented acousto-optic (AO) probing of scattering media using addition or subtraction of speckle patterns due to tandem nanosecond pulses. Here we present a theoretical framework for ideal (polarized, noise-free) speckle patterns with unity contrast that links ultrasound-induced optical

Generation of ultra-intense and ultra-short laser pulses with high temporal contrast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Julien, A.

2006-03-01

The topic of this thesis work concerns the design and the characterization of an efficient device devoted to the temporal contrast improvement for ultra-intense femtosecond laser pulses. The contrast is defined as the intensity ratio between the main femtosecond pulse and its nanosecond pedestal. This pedestal is the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE), inherent with laser amplification mechanism. The ASE background has dramatic effects for laser-matter interactions on a solid target. The presented work consists in the theoretical and experimental study of a temporal filter based on a third order nonlinear effect acting on the pulse polarization. We have studied several kinds of nonlinear filters. The selected device is based on the process of cross-polarized wave generation (XPW) in crystals with an anisotropic third-order nonlinear susceptibility. This nonlinear filter has been experimented on various femtosecond systems. It allows a contrast improvement of several orders of magnitude, as demonstrated by temporal profiles measurements on a large intensity dynamic. A device to improve the nonlinear process conversion efficiency, it means the filter transmission, has also been achieved. This method is based on constructive interferences between XPW signals generated in different crystals. This setup has made it possible to reach experimentally the maximum theoretical efficiency ( >20%) and in the same time ensures the system stability. At least, we have demonstrated that the filter preserves, or even improves, spectral and spatial qualities of the laser pulse. These results are thus particularly promising and allow contemplating the implementation of the filter in current femtosecond systems. (author)

Magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents: Overview and perspectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yan Guoping; Robinson, Leslie; Hogg, Peter

2007-01-01

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a non-invasive clinical imaging modality, which has become widely used in the diagnosis and/or staging of human diseases around the world. Some MRI examinations include the use of contrast agents. The categorizations of currently available contrast agents have been described according to their effect on the image, magnetic behavior and biodistribution in the body, respectively. In this field, superparamagnetic iron oxide particles and soluble paramagnetic metal chelates are two main classes of contrast agents for MRI. This review outlines the research and development of MRI contrast agents. In future, the ideal MRI contrast agent will be focused on the neutral tissue- or organ-targeting materials with high relaxivity and specificity, low toxicity and side effects, suitable long intravascular duration and excretion time, high contrast enhancement with low dose in vivo, and with minimal cost

Effect of fuel and nozzle geometry on the off-axis oscillation of needle in diesel injectors using high-speed X-ray phase contrast imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, X.; Liu, J.; Wang, J.

2016-01-01

The diesel spray characteristics are strongly influenced by the flow dynamics inside the injector nozzle. Moreover, the off-axis oscillation of needle could lead to variation of orifice flow in the nozzle. In this paper, the needle oscillation was investigated using high-speed X-ray phase contrast imaging and quantitative image processing. The effects of fuel, injection pressure and nozzle geometry on the needle oscillation were analyzed. The results showed that the vertical and horizontal oscillation of needle was independent on the injection pressure. The maximum oscillation range of 14μ m was found. Biodiesel application slightly decreased the needle oscillation due to high viscosity. The needle oscillation range increased generally with increasing hole number. The larger needle oscillation in multi-hole injectors was dominated by the geometry problem or production issue at lower needle lift. In addition, the influence of needle oscillation on the spray morphology was also discussed.

Effect of fuel and nozzle geometry on the off-axis oscillation of needle in diesel injectors using high-speed X-ray phase contrast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, X.; Liu, J.; Wang, J.

2016-05-01

The diesel spray characteristics are strongly influenced by the flow dynamics inside the injector nozzle. Moreover, the off-axis oscillation of needle could lead to variation of orifice flow in the nozzle. In this paper, the needle oscillation was investigated using high-speed X-ray phase contrast imaging and quantitative image processing. The effects of fuel, injection pressure and nozzle geometry on the needle oscillation were analyzed. The results showed that the vertical and horizontal oscillation of needle was independent on the injection pressure. The maximum oscillation range of 14μ m was found. Biodiesel application slightly decreased the needle oscillation due to high viscosity. The needle oscillation range increased generally with increasing hole number. The larger needle oscillation in multi-hole injectors was dominated by the geometry problem or production issue at lower needle lift. In addition, the influence of needle oscillation on the spray morphology was also discussed.

Usefulness of multi-plane dynamic subtraction CT (MPDS-CT) for intracranial high density lesions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takagi, Ryo; Kumazaki, Tatsuo [Nippon Medical School, Tokyo (Japan)

1996-02-01

We present a new CT technique using the high speed CT scanner in detection and evaluation of temporal and spatial contrast enhancement of intracranial high density lesions. A multi-plane dynamic subtraction CT (MPDS-CT) was performed in 21 patients with intracranial high density lesions. These lesions consisted of 10 brain tumors, 7 intracerebral hemorrhages and 4 vascular malformations (2 untreated, 2 post-embolization). Baseline study was first performed, and 5 sequential planes of covering total high density lesions were selected. After obtaining the 5 sequential CT images as mask images, three series of multi-plane dynamic CT were performed for the same 5 planes with an intravenous bolus injection of contrast medium. MPDS-CT images were reconstructed by subtracting dynamic CT images from the mask ones. MPDS-CT were compared with conventional contrast-enhanced CT. MPDS-CT images showed the definite contrast enhancement of high density brain tumors and vascular malformations which were not clearly identified on conventional contrast-enhanced CT images because of calcified or hemorrhagic lesions and embolic materials, enabling us to eliminate enhanced abnormalities with non-enhanced areas such as unusual intracerebral hemorrhages. MPDS-CT will provide us further accurate and objective information and will be greatly helpful for interpreting pathophysiologic condition. (author).

High seed dispersal ability of Pinus canariensis in stands of contrasting density inferred from genotypic data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Unai López de Heredia

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Aim of the study: Models that combine parentage analysis from molecular data with spatial information of seeds and seedlings provide a framework to describe and identify the factors involved in seed dispersal and recruitment of forest species. In the present study we used a spatially explicit method (the gene shadow model in order to assess primary and effective dispersal in Pinus canariensis. Area of study: Pinus canariensis is endemic to the Canary Islands (Spain. Sampling sites were a high density forest in southern slopes of Tenerife and a low density stand in South Gran Canaria. Materials and methods: We fitted models based on parentage analysis from seeds and seedlings collected in two sites with contrasting stand density, and then compared the resulting dispersal distributions. Main results: The results showed that: 1 P. canariensis has a remarkable dispersal ability compared to other pine species; 2 there is no discordance between primary and effective dispersals, suggesting limited secondary dispersal by animals and lack of Janzen-Connell effect; and 3 low stand densities enhance the extent of seed dispersal, which was higher in the low density stand. Research highlights: The efficient dispersal mechanism of P. canariensis by wind inferred by the gene shadow model is congruent with indirect measures of gene flow, and has utility in reconstructing past demographic events and in predicting future distribution ranges for the species.

Text accessibility by people with reduced contrast sensitivity.

Science.gov (United States)

Crossland, Michael D; Rubin, Gary S

2012-09-01

Contrast sensitivity is reduced in people with eye disease, and also in older adults without eye disease. In this article, we compare contrast of text presented in print and digital formats with contrast sensitivity values for a large cohort of subjects in a population-based study of older adults (the Salisbury Eye Evaluation). Contrast sensitivity values were recorded for 2520 adults aged 65 to 84 years living in Salisbury, Maryland. The proportion of the sample likely to be unable to read text of different formats (electronic books, newsprint, paperback books, laser print, and LED computer monitors) was calculated using published contrast reserve levels required to perform spot reading, to read with fluency, high fluency, and under optimal conditions. One percent of this sample had contrast sensitivity less than that required to read newsprint fluently. Text presented on an LED computer monitor had the highest contrast. Ninety-eight percent of the sample had contrast sensitivity sufficient for high fluent reading of text (at least 160 words/min) on a monitor. However, 29.6% were still unlikely to be able to read this text with optimal fluency. Reduced contrast of print limits text accessibility for many people in the developed world. Presenting text in a high-contrast format, such as black laser print on a white page, would increase the number of people able to access such information. Additionally, making text available in a format that can be presented on an LED computer monitor will increase access to written documents.

Contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasound

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Săftoiu, A; Dietrich, C F; Vilmann, P

2012-01-01

Second-generation intravenous blood-pool ultrasound contrast agents are increasingly used in endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for characterization of microvascularization, differential diagnosis of benign and malignant focal lesions, and improving staging and guidance of therapeutic procedures. Although...... initially used as Doppler signal enhancers, second-generation microbubble contrast agents are now used with specific contrast harmonic imaging techniques, which benefit from the highly nonlinear behavior of the microbubbles. Contrast-specific modes based on multi-pulse technology are used to perform...... contrast-enhanced harmonic EUS based on a very low mechanical index (0.08 - 0.12). Quantification techniques based on dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound have been recommended for perfusion imaging and monitoring of anti-angiogenic treatment, mainly based on time-intensity curve analysis. Most...

Image Quality in High-resolution and High-cadence Solar Imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Denker, C.; Dineva, E.; Balthasar, H.; Verma, M.; Kuckein, C.; Diercke, A.; González Manrique, S. J.

2018-03-01

Broad-band imaging and even imaging with a moderate bandpass (about 1 nm) provides a photon-rich environment, where frame selection (lucky imaging) becomes a helpful tool in image restoration, allowing us to perform a cost-benefit analysis on how to design observing sequences for imaging with high spatial resolution in combination with real-time correction provided by an adaptive optics (AO) system. This study presents high-cadence (160 Hz) G-band and blue continuum image sequences obtained with the High-resolution Fast Imager (HiFI) at the 1.5-meter GREGOR solar telescope, where the speckle-masking technique is used to restore images with nearly diffraction-limited resolution. The HiFI employs two synchronized large-format and high-cadence sCMOS detectors. The median filter gradient similarity (MFGS) image-quality metric is applied, among others, to AO-corrected image sequences of a pore and a small sunspot observed on 2017 June 4 and 5. A small region of interest, which was selected for fast-imaging performance, covered these contrast-rich features and their neighborhood, which were part of Active Region NOAA 12661. Modifications of the MFGS algorithm uncover the field- and structure-dependency of this image-quality metric. However, MFGS still remains a good choice for determining image quality without a priori knowledge, which is an important characteristic when classifying the huge number of high-resolution images contained in data archives. In addition, this investigation demonstrates that a fast cadence and millisecond exposure times are still insufficient to reach the coherence time of daytime seeing. Nonetheless, the analysis shows that data acquisition rates exceeding 50 Hz are required to capture a substantial fraction of the best seeing moments, significantly boosting the performance of post-facto image restoration.

One-dimensional contrast modulations in [001] high-resolution reverse images of Bi2Sr2(Cu1-xNdx)Cu2O8+δ ceramics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Onozuka, T.

1993-01-01

The one-dimensional contrast modulation along the b axis of [001] high-resolution reverse images of the compounds Bi 2 Sr 2 (Ca 1-x Nd x )Cu 2 O 8+δ (x=0.05+0.1n; n=1, 2, 6 and 7) is examined closely using the density distribution recorded from a wide area of the negative film by microphotometric densitometry. Three typical short units of the density distribution, of lengths 4.5b 0 , 5b 0 and 4b 0 , characterized by twin peaks or a single maximum peak with subpeaks in the middle of the unit, are discerned. The density distributions of the three units and the contrast modulations of their images are reproduced well by computer simulations, using three structure models modulated with longitudinal displacement waves along the b axis of the metal atoms. The one-dimensional contrast modulation is attributed to sinusoidal changes in the effective scattering amplitudes for the [001] electron beam of the metal-atom chains along the c axis. The results of the simulation are applied to investigation of the (2, 1) 5 and (3, 1) 4 modulation modes in the modulated structure. (orig.)

Feasibility of low-dose contrast medium high pitch CT angiography for the combined evaluation of coronary, head and neck arteries.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiwei Wang

Full Text Available PURPOSE: To evaluate the image quality and radiation dose of combined heart, head, and neck CT angiography (CTA using prospectively electrocardiography (ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral scan protocol, compared with single coronary CTA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 151 consecutive patients were prospectively included and randomly divided into three groups. Group 1 (n = 47 underwent combined heart, neck, and head CTA using prospectively ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral (Flash scan protocol with a single-phase intravenous injection of iodinated contrast and saline flush; Group 2 (n = 51 underwent single coronary CTA with Flash scan protocol; and Group 3 (n = 53 underwent single coronary CTA with prospective sequence scan protocol. All patients were examined on a dual source CT (Definition FLASH. The image quality was determined for each CT study. RESULTS: Patients of scanning protocol Group 1, 2, and 3 showed no significant differences in age, sex, heart rates, and BMI. Evaluation of coronary artery image quality showed comparable results in the three scanning protocol groups on a per patient-based analysis. In group 1, image quality was found to be sufficient to be diagnostic in all arterial segments of carotid arteries. The mean dose-length product (DLP for group 1 was 256.3±24.5 mGy×cm and was significantly higher in comparison with group 2 (93.4±19.9 mGy×cm; p < 0.001. However, there was no significant difference of DLP between group 1 and group 3 (254.1±69.9 mGy×cm. CONCLUSIONS: The combined heart, neck, and head arteries scan using prospectively electrocardiography (ECG-triggered high-pitch spiral scan protocol in 1 single examination resulted in an excellent opacification of the aorta, the carotid arteries, and the coronary arteries and provided a good image quality with low radiation dose.

High current, high bandwidth laser diode current driver

Science.gov (United States)

Copeland, David J.; Zimmerman, Robert K., Jr.

1991-01-01

A laser diode current driver has been developed for free space laser communications. The driver provides 300 mA peak modulation current and exhibits an optical risetime of less than 400 ps. The current and optical pulses are well behaved and show minimal ringing. The driver is well suited for QPPM modulation at data rates up to 440 Mbit/s. Much previous work has championed current steering circuits; in contrast, the present driver is a single-ended on/off switch. This results in twice the power efficiency as a current steering driver. The driver electrical efficiency for QPPM data is 34 percent. The high speed switch is realized with a Ku-band GaAsFET transistor, with a suitable pre-drive circuit, on a hybrid microcircuit adjacent to the laser diode.

Preoperative mapping of arterial spinal supply using 3.0-T MR angiography with an intravasal contrast medium and high-spatial-resolution steady-state

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mordasini, Pasquale; El-Koussy, Marwan; Schmidli, Jürg; Bonel, Harald Marcel; Ith, Michael; Gralla, Jan; Schroth, Gerhard; Hoppe, Hanno

2012-01-01

Introduction: Preoperative mapping of the arterial spinal supply prior to thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair is highly relevant because of high risk for postoperative ischemic spinal cord injuries such as paraparesis or paraplegia. Methods: Twenty-four consecutive patients prior to surgical thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair were investigated. All patients underwent steady-state MR angiography (MRA) of the spinal vasculature with 3-T MRI. The sequence used was a steady-state coronary 3D FLASH with 0.7-mm isotropic voxels. MRA was performed using an intravasal contrast agent. Studies were evaluated by three readers including delineation of arterial spinal supply including both aortic origin and spinal canal entry by three readers. Results: Identification and localization of the Adamkiewicz artery and its spinal canal entry was successful in all patients. Overall depiction of the vascular anatomy was graded as very good in 3 (12.5%), good in 14 (58.4%), sufficient in 5 (20.8%), and poor in 2 (8.3%) patients. Depiction of segmental artery aortic exit level was graded as good in 6 (25.0%), sufficient in 10 (41.7%), poor in 4 (16.7%) and not identifiable in 4 (16.7%) patients. Delineation of segmental artery entry level into the spinal canal was graded as very good in 4 (16.7%), good in 11 (45.8%), sufficient in 6 (25.0%), and poor in 3 (12.5%) patients. Conclusions: The use of 3-T MRA with an intravascular contrast agent and steady-state enables AKA localization including its segmental arteries with regard to the level of aortic origin and spinal canal entry in most patients.

High signal intensity of fat on fast spin echo imaging

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ogura, Akio; Yamazaki, Masaru; Hongoh, Takaharu; Inoue, Hiroshi; Ishikuro, Akihiro

2000-01-01

The fast spin echo (FSE) technique of producing T 2 -weighted images in greatly reduced imaging times has recently been used for routine clinical study. FSE images show contrast that is very similar in most tissues to that of conventional SE images. However, fat shows a high signal intensity that is influenced by j-coupling and the magnetization transfer effect. The purpose of this study was to assess whether the higher signal intensity of fat is different among MRI systems and to examine the effects of j-coupling and magnetization transfer on the high signal intensity of fat on FSE. The contrast in signal intensity between fat and water was measured for various echo train lengths (ETL) with and without multislicing on FSE using a contrast phantom. Measurements were obtained with four different MRI systems. In addition, the effective T 2 values of fat were calculated for the above conditions. Results indicated that contrast for fat and water was reduced with increased ETL and by using multislicing and was different among the four MRI systems. The effective T 2 values of fat were extended for increased ETL and were not dependent on multislicing. They also differed among the four MRI systems. The extent of effective T 2 values was affected by j-coupling. In this study, it was indicated that the degree of the high signal intensity of fat on FSE differed for different MRI systems. In addition, the reasons for the high signal intensity of fat on FSE were related to the effects of j-coupling and magnetization transfer. (author)

Parametric based morphological transformation for contrast ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

for contrast enhancement of color images in poor-lighting ... high and low mean brightness value, there is a significant change in the view of the enhanced ... The two most fundamental morphological operations dilation and erosion are defined by ..... Menotti David 2007 Multi-histogram equalization methods for contrast ...

Paradoxical perfusion metrics of high-grade gliomas with an oligodendroglioma component: quantitative analysis of dynamic susceptibility contrast perfusion MR imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sunwoo, Leonard; Park, Sun-Won [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul Metropolitan Government - Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Seung Hong [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University, Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science, and School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Yoo, Roh-Eul; Kang, Koung Mi; Yun, Tae Jin; Kim, Ji-hoon; Sohn, Chul-Ho [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae Min; Lee, Se-Hoon [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Chul-Kee [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Won, Jae-Kyung; Park, Sung-Hye [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Il Han [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2015-11-15

The aim of this study is to investigate perfusion characteristics of glioblastoma with an oligodendroglioma component (GBMO) compared with conventional glioblastoma (GBM) using dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) perfusion magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and microvessel density (MVD). The study was approved by the institutional review board. Newly diagnosed high-grade glioma patients were enrolled (n = 72; 20 GBMs, 14 GBMOs, 19 anaplastic astrocytomas (AAs), 13 anaplastic oligodendrogliomas (AOs), and six anaplastic oligoastrocytomas (AOAs)). All participants underwent preoperative MR imaging including DSC perfusion MR imaging. Normalized cerebral blood volume (nCBV) values were analyzed using a histogram approach. Histogram parameters were subsequently compared across each tumor subtype and grade. MVD was quantified by immunohistochemistry staining and correlated with perfusion parameters. Progression-free survival (PFS) was assessed according to the tumor subtype. GBMO displayed significantly reduced nCBV values compared with GBM, whereas grade III tumors with oligodendroglial components (AO and AOA) exhibited significantly increased nCBV values compared with AA (p < 0.001). MVD analyses revealed the same pattern as nCBV results. In addition, a positive correlation between MVD and nCBV values was noted (r = 0.633, p < 0.001). Patients with oligodendroglial tumors exhibited significantly increased PFS compared with patients with pure astrocytomas in each grade. In contrast to grade III tumors, the presence of oligodendroglial components in grade IV tumors resulted in paradoxically reduced perfusion metrics and MVD. In addition, patients with GBMO exhibited a better clinical outcome compared with patients with GBM. (orig.)

Plasma PCSK9 concentrations during an oral fat load and after short term high-fat, high-fat high-protein and high-fructose diets

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cariou Bertrand

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background PCSK9 (Proprotein Convertase Subtilisin Kexin type 9 is a circulating protein that promotes hypercholesterolemia by decreasing hepatic LDL receptor protein. Under non interventional conditions, its expression is driven by sterol response element binding protein 2 (SREBP2 and follows a diurnal rhythm synchronous with cholesterol synthesis. Plasma PCSK9 is associated to LDL-C and to a lesser extent plasma triglycerides and insulin resistance. We aimed to verify the effect on plasma PCSK9 concentrations of dietary interventions that affect these parameters. Methods We performed nutritional interventions in young healthy male volunteers and offspring of type 2 diabetic (OffT2D patients that are more prone to develop insulin resistance, including: i acute post-prandial hyperlipidemic challenge (n=10, ii 4 days of high-fat (HF or high-fat/high-protein (HFHP (n=10, iii 7 (HFruc1, n=16 or 6 (HFruc2, n=9 days of hypercaloric high-fructose diets. An acute oral fat load was also performed in two patients bearing the R104C-V114A loss-of-function (LOF PCSK9 mutation. Plasma PCSK9 concentrations were measured by ELISA. For the HFruc1 study, intrahepatocellular (IHCL and intramyocellular lipids were measured by 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Hepatic and whole-body insulin sensitivity was assessed with a two-step hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp (0.3 and 1.0 mU.kg-1.min-1. Findings HF and HFHP short-term diets, as well as an acute hyperlipidemic oral load, did not significantly change PCSK9 concentrations. In addition, post-prandial plasma triglyceride excursion was not altered in two carriers of PCSK9 LOF mutation compared with non carriers. In contrast, hypercaloric 7-day HFruc1 diet increased plasma PCSK9 concentrations by 28% (p=0.05 in healthy volunteers and by 34% (p=0.001 in OffT2D patients. In another independent study, 6-day HFruc2 diet increased plasma PCSK9 levels by 93% (p Conclusions Plasma PCSK9 concentrations vary

High Performance Liquid Chromatography-mass Spectrometry Analysis of High Antioxidant Australian Fruits with Antiproliferative Activity Against Cancer Cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Sirdaarta, Joseph; Maen, Anton; Rayan, Paran; Matthews, Ben; Cock, Ian Edwin

2016-05-01

High antioxidant capacities have been linked to the treatment and prevention of several cancers. Recent reports have identified several native Australian fruits with high antioxidant capacities. Despite this, several of these species are yet to be tested for anticancer activity. Solvent extracts prepared from high antioxidant native Australian fruits were analyzed for antioxidant capacity by the di (phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) iminoazanium free radical scavenging assay. Antiproliferative activities against CaCo2 and HeLa cancer cells were determined by a multicellular tumor spheroid-based cell proliferation assay. Toxicity was determined by Artemia franciscana bioassay. Methanolic extracts of all plant species displayed high antioxidant contents (equivalent to approximately 7-16 mg of vitamin C per gram of fruit extracted). Most aqueous extracts also contained relatively high antioxidant capacities. In contrast, the ethyl acetate, chloroform, and hexane extracts of most species (except lemon aspen and bush tomato) had lower antioxidant contents (below 1.5 mg of vitamin C equivalents per gram of plant material extracted). The antioxidant contents correlated with the ability of the extracts to inhibit proliferation of CaCo2 and HeLa cancer cell lines. The high antioxidant methanolic extracts of all species were potent inhibitors of cell proliferation. The methanolic lemon aspen extract was particularly effective, with IC50 values of 480 and 769 μg/mL against HeLa and CaCo2 cells, respectively. In contrast, the lower antioxidant ethyl acetate and hexane extracts (except the lemon aspen ethyl acetate extract) generally did not inhibit cancer cell proliferation or inhibited to only a minor degree. Indeed, most of the ethyl acetate and hexane extracts induced potent cell proliferation. The native tamarind ethyl acetate extract displayed low-moderate toxicity in the A. franciscana bioassay (LC50 values below 1000 μg/mL). All other extracts were nontoxic. A total of

High Performance Liquid Chromatography-mass Spectrometry Analysis of High Antioxidant Australian Fruits with Antiproliferative Activity Against Cancer Cells

Science.gov (United States)

Sirdaarta, Joseph; Maen, Anton; Rayan, Paran; Matthews, Ben; Cock, Ian Edwin

2016-01-01

Background: High antioxidant capacities have been linked to the treatment and prevention of several cancers. Recent reports have identified several native Australian fruits with high antioxidant capacities. Despite this, several of these species are yet to be tested for anticancer activity. Materials and Methods: Solvent extracts prepared from high antioxidant native Australian fruits were analyzed for antioxidant capacity by the di (phenyl)-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl) iminoazanium free radical scavenging assay. Antiproliferative activities against CaCo2 and HeLa cancer cells were determined by a multicellular tumor spheroid-based cell proliferation assay. Toxicity was determined by Artemia franciscana bioassay. Results: Methanolic extracts of all plant species displayed high antioxidant contents (equivalent to approximately 7–16 mg of vitamin C per gram of fruit extracted). Most aqueous extracts also contained relatively high antioxidant capacities. In contrast, the ethyl acetate, chloroform, and hexane extracts of most species (except lemon aspen and bush tomato) had lower antioxidant contents (below 1.5 mg of vitamin C equivalents per gram of plant material extracted). The antioxidant contents correlated with the ability of the extracts to inhibit proliferation of CaCo2 and HeLa cancer cell lines. The high antioxidant methanolic extracts of all species were potent inhibitors of cell proliferation. The methanolic lemon aspen extract was particularly effective, with IC50 values of 480 and 769 μg/mL against HeLa and CaCo2 cells, respectively. In contrast, the lower antioxidant ethyl acetate and hexane extracts (except the lemon aspen ethyl acetate extract) generally did not inhibit cancer cell proliferation or inhibited to only a minor degree. Indeed, most of the ethyl acetate and hexane extracts induced potent cell proliferation. The native tamarind ethyl acetate extract displayed low-moderate toxicity in the A. franciscana bioassay (LC50 values below 1000 �

Contrast sensitivity abnormalities in deaf individuals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masoud Khorrami-Nejad

2018-01-01

Conclusion: Hearing impaired boys are at a greater risk for contrast sensitivity abnormalities than boys with normal hearing. The larger frequency of contrast sensitivity abnormalities in high spatial frequencies than in other frequencies may demonstrate greater defects in the central visual system compared with the periphery in individuals with hearing loss.

Compressive Phase Contrast Tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maia, Filipe; MacDowell, Alastair; Marchesini, Stefano; Padmore, Howard A.; Parkinson, Dula Y.; Pien, Jack; Schirotzek, Andre; Yang, Chao

2010-01-01

When x-rays penetrate soft matter, their phase changes more rapidly than their amplitude. Interference effects visible with high brightness sources creates higher contrast, edge enhanced images. When the object is piecewise smooth (made of big blocks of a few components), such higher contrast datasets have a sparse solution. We apply basis pursuit solvers to improve SNR, remove ring artifacts, reduce the number of views and radiation dose from phase contrast datasets collected at the Hard X-Ray Micro Tomography Beamline at the Advanced Light Source. We report a GPU code for the most computationally intensive task, the gridding and inverse gridding algorithm (non uniform sampled Fourier transform).

High pressure study of high-temperature superconductors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Souliou, Sofia-Michaela

2014-09-29

Imm2). The structural transition is clearly reflected in the high pressure Raman data through the appearance of several new modes, allowing us to map in detail the (P,T) phase diagram and determine the transition line between the two phases. In the new phase, the renormalization of the buckling mode is completely suppressed, while no anomalies are observed in any of the other Raman active phonons. According to ab initio calculations, the coupling of the buckling mode to the electronic system is not significantly affected by the structural phase transition. The absence of phonon renormalizations in the presence of sizable electron-phonon coupling, indicate that, in contrast to earlier transport studies, YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 4}O{sub 8} is not superconducting anymore under hydrostatic pressures higher than 10 GPa. Finally we proceeded with the investigation of the high pressure structural and vibrational properties of SmFeAsO, a member of the ''1111'' family (space group P4/nmm) of the Fe-based superconductors, in which superconductivity is commonly induced either by substituting F/H for O or by applying high pressures on the parent magnetic compound. The magnetic transition of the undoped compound is accompanied with a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural distortion, both of which are commonly suppressed upon the emergence of superconductivity. In the SmFeAsO{sub x}F{sub 1-x} system while the magnetic transition is totally suppressed already at low doping levels, structural studies have reported either the gradual suppression of the orthorhombic distortion or its retention over a wide regime of the superconducting phase. We addressed this controversy using high pressure as an alternative tuning parameter to suppress the magneto-structural transition and induce superconductivity in the parent compound. Our high pressure, low temperature X-ray diffraction measurements on single crystals of SmFeAsO have revealed that the tetragonal

High pressure study of high-temperature superconductors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Souliou, Sofia-Michaela

2014-01-01

Raman data through the appearance of several new modes, allowing us to map in detail the (P,T) phase diagram and determine the transition line between the two phases. In the new phase, the renormalization of the buckling mode is completely suppressed, while no anomalies are observed in any of the other Raman active phonons. According to ab initio calculations, the coupling of the buckling mode to the electronic system is not significantly affected by the structural phase transition. The absence of phonon renormalizations in the presence of sizable electron-phonon coupling, indicate that, in contrast to earlier transport studies, YBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 is not superconducting anymore under hydrostatic pressures higher than 10 GPa. Finally we proceeded with the investigation of the high pressure structural and vibrational properties of SmFeAsO, a member of the ''1111'' family (space group P4/nmm) of the Fe-based superconductors, in which superconductivity is commonly induced either by substituting F/H for O or by applying high pressures on the parent magnetic compound. The magnetic transition of the undoped compound is accompanied with a tetragonal-to-orthorhombic structural distortion, both of which are commonly suppressed upon the emergence of superconductivity. In the SmFeAsO x F 1-x system while the magnetic transition is totally suppressed already at low doping levels, structural studies have reported either the gradual suppression of the orthorhombic distortion or its retention over a wide regime of the superconducting phase. We addressed this controversy using high pressure as an alternative tuning parameter to suppress the magneto-structural transition and induce superconductivity in the parent compound. Our high pressure, low temperature X-ray diffraction measurements on single crystals of SmFeAsO have revealed that the tetragonal-to-orthorhombic transition survives with the application of high pressures up to 85 kbars. In addition, our Raman data

SANS contrast in iota-carrageenan gels and solutions in D2O

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mischenko, N.; Denef, B.; Mortensen, K.

1997-01-01

SANS of Na+-iota-carrageenan in D2O/saline solutions was measured as a function of concentration, temperature and type of counterions (K+ or Na+). High and low scattering-contrasted gels and solutions were detected. High contrast is caused by aggregation of low-hydrated chains at high concentration...

Contrast-enhanced peripheral MRA. Technique and contrast agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nielsen, Yousef W.; Thomsen, Henrik S.

2012-01-01

In the last decade contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) has gained wide acceptance as a valuable tool in the diagnostic work-up of patients with peripheral arterial disease. This review presents current concepts in peripheral CE-MRA with emphasis on MRI technique and contrast agents. Peripheral CE-MRA is defined as an MR angiogram of the arteries from the aortic bifurcation to the feet. Advantages of CE-MRA include minimal invasiveness and lack of ionizing radiation. The basic technique employed for peripheral CE-MRA is the bolus-chase method. With this method a paramagnetic MRI contrast agent is injected intravenously and T1-weighted images are acquired in the subsequent arterial first-pass phase. In order to achieve high quality MR angiograms without interfering venous contamination or artifacts, a number of factors need to be taken into account. This includes magnetic field strength of the MRI system, receiver coil configuration, use of parallel imaging, contrast bolus timing technique, and k-space filling strategies. Furthermore, it is possible to optimize peripheral CE-MRA using venous compression techniques, hybrid scan protocols, time-resolved imaging, and steady-state MRA. Gadolinium(Gd)-based contrast agents are used for CE-MRA of the peripheral arteries. Extracellular Gd agents have a pharmacokinetic profile similar to iodinated contrast media. Accordingly, these agents are employed for first-pass MRA. Blood-pool Gd-based agents are characterized by prolonged intravascular stay, due to macromolecular structure or protein binding. These agents can be used for first-pass, as well as steady-state MRA. Some Gd-based contrast agents with low thermodynamic stability have been linked to development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with severe renal insufficiency. Using optimized technique and a stable MRI contrast agent, peripheral CE-MRA is a safe procedure with diagnostic accuracy close to that of conventional catheter X

DIfferential Subsampling with Cartesian Ordering (DISCO): a high spatio-temporal resolution Dixon imaging sequence for multiphasic contrast enhanced abdominal imaging.

Science.gov (United States)

Saranathan, Manojkumar; Rettmann, Dan W; Hargreaves, Brian A; Clarke, Sharon E; Vasanawala, Shreyas S

2012-06-01

To develop and evaluate a multiphasic contrast-enhanced MRI method called DIfferential Sub-sampling with Cartesian Ordering (DISCO) for abdominal imaging. A three-dimensional, variable density pseudo-random k-space segmentation scheme was developed and combined with a Dixon-based fat-water separation algorithm to generate high temporal resolution images with robust fat suppression and without compromise in spatial resolution or coverage. With institutional review board approval and informed consent, 11 consecutive patients referred for abdominal MRI at 3 Tesla (T) were imaged with both DISCO and a routine clinical three-dimensional SPGR-Dixon (LAVA FLEX) sequence. All images were graded by two radiologists using quality of fat suppression, severity of artifacts, and overall image quality as scoring criteria. For assessment of arterial phase capture efficiency, the number of temporal phases with angiographic phase and hepatic arterial phase was recorded. There were no significant differences in quality of fat suppression, artifact severity or overall image quality between DISCO and LAVA FLEX images (P > 0.05, Wilcoxon signed rank test). The angiographic and arterial phases were captured in all 11 patients scanned using the DISCO acquisition (mean number of phases were two and three, respectively). DISCO effectively captures the fast dynamics of abdominal pathology such as hyperenhancing hepatic lesions with a high spatio-temporal resolution. Typically, 1.1 × 1.5 × 3 mm spatial resolution over 60 slices was achieved with a temporal resolution of 4-5 s. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

In an animal model nephrogenic systemic fibrosis cannot be induced by intraperitoneal injection of high-dose gadolinium based contrast agents

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Langer, R.D., E-mail: rlanger@uaeu.ac.ae [Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain (United Arab Emirates); Lorke, D.E. [Florida International University, Miami, FL (United States); Neidl van Gorkom, K.F. [Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain (United Arab Emirates); Petroianu, G. [Florida International University, Miami, FL (United States); Azimullah, S.; Nurulain, S.M.; Singh, S. [Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain (United Arab Emirates); Fuchsjäger, M. [Al Ain Hospital, MUV-VAMED, Al Ain (United Arab Emirates)

2012-10-15

Aim and objective: Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) has been reported in humans to be most likely induced by gadolinium based contrast agents (GBCA), namely by gadodiamide, gadopentetate dimeglumine, and gadoversetamide, rarely by other GBCA. The pathogenesis of NSF remains unclear; different hypotheses are under discussion. The objective of the study is to assess if in the animal model human-like NSF changes can be induced by high-dose, intraperitoneal GBCA injections over four weeks. Materials and methods: After approval by the institutional animal ethics committee, six rats each were randomly assigned to groups, and treated with seven different GBCA. Intraperitoneal (IP) injections – proven in the animal model to be effective – were chosen to prolong the animals’ exposure to the respective GBCA. GBCA doses of previous intravenous (IV) animal studies were applied. After five weeks all rats were sacrificed. Sham controls were treated with IP saline injections, employing the same regimen. Results: No findings comparable with human NSF were observed in all animals after IP treatment with all seven GBCA at daily doses of 2.5 and 5.0 mmol/kg body weight (BW). No histopathological abnormalities of all examined organs were noted. Weight loss was stated in weeks three and four with GBCA injections at doses of 5.0 mmol/kg BW, but rats regained weight after cessation of GBCA treatment. Conclusions: NSF-comparable pathological findings could not be induced by high dose intraperitoneal injection of seven GBCA.

In an animal model nephrogenic systemic fibrosis cannot be induced by intraperitoneal injection of high-dose gadolinium based contrast agents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Langer, R.D.; Lorke, D.E.; Neidl van Gorkom, K.F.; Petroianu, G.; Azimullah, S.; Nurulain, S.M.; Singh, S.; Fuchsjäger, M.

2012-01-01

Aim and objective: Nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) has been reported in humans to be most likely induced by gadolinium based contrast agents (GBCA), namely by gadodiamide, gadopentetate dimeglumine, and gadoversetamide, rarely by other GBCA. The pathogenesis of NSF remains unclear; different hypotheses are under discussion. The objective of the study is to assess if in the animal model human-like NSF changes can be induced by high-dose, intraperitoneal GBCA injections over four weeks. Materials and methods: After approval by the institutional animal ethics committee, six rats each were randomly assigned to groups, and treated with seven different GBCA. Intraperitoneal (IP) injections – proven in the animal model to be effective – were chosen to prolong the animals’ exposure to the respective GBCA. GBCA doses of previous intravenous (IV) animal studies were applied. After five weeks all rats were sacrificed. Sham controls were treated with IP saline injections, employing the same regimen. Results: No findings comparable with human NSF were observed in all animals after IP treatment with all seven GBCA at daily doses of 2.5 and 5.0 mmol/kg body weight (BW). No histopathological abnormalities of all examined organs were noted. Weight loss was stated in weeks three and four with GBCA injections at doses of 5.0 mmol/kg BW, but rats regained weight after cessation of GBCA treatment. Conclusions: NSF-comparable pathological findings could not be induced by high dose intraperitoneal injection of seven GBCA

Characterizing the pseudogap in the high- Tc superconductors using very high magnetic fields: implications on the phase diagram

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Guo-qing; Ozaki, H.; Kitaoka, Y.; Clark, W. G.; Kodama, Y.; Kondo, T.; Shimakawa, Y.; Kubo, Y.; Kuhns, P.; Reyes, A. P.; Moulton, W. G.

2001-11-01

We find contrastive response of the pseudogap (PG) to high magnetic fields up to 28.5 T based on 63Cu NMR measurements. In the slightly overdoped TlSr 2CaCu 2O 6.8, the PG is strongly field dependent and shown to be due to the superconducting fluctuations. By contrast, the PG in the underdoped YBa 2Cu 4O 8 does not depend on magnetic fields up to 28.5 T. These results imply that there exists a field-insensitive PG up to a certain doping level beyond which it is taken over by the superconducting fluctuations-induced one.

Ultra-Low Loss, Chip-Based Hollow-Core Waveguide Using High-Contrast Grating

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-28

AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSORIMONITQR’S ACR.ONYM(S> DARPA/CMO Michael Blackstone 3701 N. Fairfax Drive 11. SPONSORING.IM.ONITORING Arlington, VA 22203...Scale-up of basic waveguides and devices into a delay-based processor whose performance is commensurate with a realistic military environment ...fundamental mode scattering into high order modes, which have much higher propagation losses. The noise is due to environmental vibration and defects along

High energy spin isospin modes in nuclei

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chanfray, G.; Ericson, M.

1984-01-01

The high energy response of nuclei to a spin-isospin excitation is investigated. We show the existence of a strong contrast between the spin transverse and spin longitudinal responses. The second one undergoes a shadow effect in the Δ region and displays the occurrence of the pionic branch

MR-Venography Using High Resolution True-FISP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Spuentrup, E. [Technische Hochschule Aachen (Germany). Klinik fuer Radiologische Diagnostik; Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA (United States). Dept. of Medicine; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Buecker, A.; Guenther, R.W. [Technische Hochschule Aachen (Germany). Klinik fuer Radiologische Diagnostik; Stuber, M. [Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA (United States). Dept. of Medicine; Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States); Philips Med. Syst., Best (Netherlands)

2001-08-01

A new fast MR-venography approach using a high resolution True-FISP imaging sequence was investigated in 20 patients suffering from 23 deep vein thromboses. Diagnosis was proven by X-ray venography, CT or ultrasound examination. The presented technique allowed for clear thrombus visualization with a high contrast to the surrounding blood pool even in calf veins. Acquisition time was less than 10 minutes for imaging the pelvis and the legs. No contrast media was needed. The presented high resolution True-FISP MR-veography is a promising non-invasive, fast MR-venography approach for detection of deep venous thrombosis. (orig.) [German] Eine neue schnelle, oertlich hochaufgeloeste MR-Phlebographietechnik mit einer axialen True-FISP Bildgebungssequenz wurde an 20 Patienten mit 23 nach-gewiesenen tiefen Beinvenenthrombosen untersucht. Die Befunde wurden mit einer konventionellen Roentgenphlebographie, einer CT oder einer Sonographie gesichert. Die vorgestellte Technik erlaubte in allen Faellen eine Thrombusdarstellung mit hohem Kontrast zum umgebenden venoesen Blut, wobei aufgrund der hohen Ortsaufloesung auch die Unterschenkelvenen beurteilt werden konnten. Die Datenaufnahmezeit zur Untersuchung des Beckens und der Beine betrug weniger als 10 Minuten. Kontrastmittel wurde nicht benoetigt. Die vorgestellte MR-Phlebographietechnik unter Verwendung einer oertlich hochauf-geloesten True-FISP Sequenz ist eine neue, vielversprechende, nicht-invasive Technik zur Diagnostik der tiefen Bein- und Beckenvenenthrombose. (orig.)

X-ray phase microtomography with a single grating for high-throughput investigations of biological tissue.

Science.gov (United States)

Zdora, Marie-Christine; Vila-Comamala, Joan; Schulz, Georg; Khimchenko, Anna; Hipp, Alexander; Cook, Andrew C; Dilg, Daniel; David, Christian; Grünzweig, Christian; Rau, Christoph; Thibault, Pierre; Zanette, Irene

2017-02-01

The high-throughput 3D visualisation of biological specimens is essential for studying diseases and developmental disorders. It requires imaging methods that deliver high-contrast, high-resolution volumetric information at short sample preparation and acquisition times. Here we show that X-ray phase-contrast tomography using a single grating can provide a powerful alternative to commonly employed techniques, such as high-resolution episcopic microscopy (HREM). We present the phase tomography of a mouse embryo in paraffin obtained with an X-ray single-grating interferometer at I13-2 Beamline at Diamond Light Source and discuss the results in comparison with HREM measurements. The excellent contrast and quantitative density information achieved non-destructively and without staining using a simple, robust setup make X-ray single-grating interferometry an optimum candidate for high-throughput imaging of biological specimens as an alternative for existing methods like HREM.

High-speed reconstruction of compressed images

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Jerome R., Jr.; Moore, Stephen M.

1990-07-01

A compression scheme is described that allows high-definition radiological images with greater than 8-bit intensity resolution to be represented by 8-bit pixels. Reconstruction of the images with their original intensity resolution can be carried out by means of a pipeline architecture suitable for compact, high-speed implementation. A reconstruction system is described that can be fabricated according to this approach and placed between an 8-bit display buffer and the display's video system thereby allowing contrast control of images at video rates. Results for 50 CR chest images are described showing that error-free reconstruction of the original 10-bit CR images can be achieved.

Epitaxial growth of quantum rods with high aspect ratio and compositional contrast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, L. H.; Patriarche, G.; Fiore, A.

2008-01-01

The epitaxial growth of quantum rods (QRs) on GaAs was investigated. It was found that GaAs thickness in the GaAs/InAs superlattice used for QR formation plays a key role in improving the QR structural properties. Increasing the GaAs thickness results in both an increased In compositional contrast between the QRs and surrounding layer, and an increased QR length. QRs with an aspect ratio of up to 10 were obtained, representing quasiquantum wires in a GaAs matrix. Due to modified confinement and strain potential, such nanostructure is promising for controlling gain polarization

Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma by three-dimensional sonography with a perflubutane-based contrast agent

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Numata, Kazushi; Fukuda, Hiroyuki; Ohto, Masao; Itou, Ryu; Nozaki, Akito; Kondou, Masaaki; Morimoto, Manabu; Karasawa, Eii; Tanaka, Katsuaki

2010-01-01

Objective: We performed contrast-enhanced three-dimensional sonography (CE 3D US) with a perflubutane-based contrast agent to immediately evaluate the completeness of ablation of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions by extracorporeal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Subjects and methods: Twenty-one HCC lesions were treated by a single ultrasound-guided HIFU ablation session, and CE 3D US was performed before, immediately after, and 1 week, and 1 month after HIFU, and contrast-enhanced CT (CE CT) or contrast-enhanced MRI (CE MRI) was performed before HIFU, 1 week and 1 month after HIFU, and during the follow-up period. Results: Immediately and 1 month after HIFU, 17 lesions were evaluated as adequately ablated by CE 3D US, and the other 4 lesions as residual tumors. One month after HIFU, 18 were evaluated as adequately ablated by CE CT or CE MRI, and the other 3 as residual tumors. The evaluation by CE 3D US immediately after HIFU and by CE CT or CE MRI 1 month after HIFU was concordant with 20 lesions. The kappa value for agreement between the findings of CE 3D US and other modalities by two blinded observers was 0.83. When the 1-month CE CT or CE MRI findings were used as the reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CE 3D US immediately after HIFU for the diagnosis of the adequate ablation were 100%, 75%, and 95%, respectively. Conclusion: CE 3D US appears to be a useful method for immediate evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of HIFU ablation of HCC lesions.

Evaluation of the therapeutic efficacy of high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma by three-dimensional sonography with a perflubutane-based contrast agent

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Numata, Kazushi, E-mail: kz-numa@urahp.yokohama-cu.ac.j [Gastroenterological Center, Yokohama City University Medical Center, 4-57 Urafune-cho, Minami-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0024 (Japan); Fukuda, Hiroyuki; Ohto, Masao; Itou, Ryu [Department of Internal Medicine, Naruto General Hospital, 167 Naruto, Sanbu, Chiba 289-1326 (Japan); Nozaki, Akito; Kondou, Masaaki; Morimoto, Manabu [Gastroenterological Center, Yokohama City University Medical Center, 4-57 Urafune-cho, Minami-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0024 (Japan); Karasawa, Eii [Department of Gastroenterology, International University of Health and Welfare Atami Hospital, 13-1 Higashi Kaigan-cho, Atami, Shizuoka 413-0012 (Japan); Tanaka, Katsuaki [Gastroenterological Center, Yokohama City University Medical Center, 4-57 Urafune-cho, Minami-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 232-0024 (Japan)

2010-08-15

Objective: We performed contrast-enhanced three-dimensional sonography (CE 3D US) with a perflubutane-based contrast agent to immediately evaluate the completeness of ablation of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) lesions by extracorporeal high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU). Subjects and methods: Twenty-one HCC lesions were treated by a single ultrasound-guided HIFU ablation session, and CE 3D US was performed before, immediately after, and 1 week, and 1 month after HIFU, and contrast-enhanced CT (CE CT) or contrast-enhanced MRI (CE MRI) was performed before HIFU, 1 week and 1 month after HIFU, and during the follow-up period. Results: Immediately and 1 month after HIFU, 17 lesions were evaluated as adequately ablated by CE 3D US, and the other 4 lesions as residual tumors. One month after HIFU, 18 were evaluated as adequately ablated by CE CT or CE MRI, and the other 3 as residual tumors. The evaluation by CE 3D US immediately after HIFU and by CE CT or CE MRI 1 month after HIFU was concordant with 20 lesions. The kappa value for agreement between the findings of CE 3D US and other modalities by two blinded observers was 0.83. When the 1-month CE CT or CE MRI findings were used as the reference standard, the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CE 3D US immediately after HIFU for the diagnosis of the adequate ablation were 100%, 75%, and 95%, respectively. Conclusion: CE 3D US appears to be a useful method for immediate evaluation of therapeutic efficacy of HIFU ablation of HCC lesions.

Contrast-enhanced peripheral MRA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Yousef W; Thomsen, Henrik S

2012-01-01

MRI contrast agent is injected intravenously and T1-weighted images are acquired in the subsequent arterial first-pass phase. In order to achieve high quality MR angiograms without interfering venous contamination or artifacts, a number of factors need to be taken into account. This includes magnetic......-state MRA. Gadolinium(Gd)-based contrast agents are used for CE-MRA of the peripheral arteries. Extracellular Gd agents have a pharmacokinetic profile similar to iodinated contrast media. Accordingly, these agents are employed for first-pass MRA. Blood-pool Gd-based agents are characterized by prolonged...... intravascular stay, due to macromolecular structure or protein binding. These agents can be used for first-pass, as well as steady-state MRA. Some Gd-based contrast agents with low thermodynamic stability have been linked to development of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with severe renal...

Cellular internalization and morphological analysis after intravenous injection of a highly hydrophilic octahedral rhenium cluster complex - a new promising X-ray contrast agent.

Science.gov (United States)

Krasilnikova, Anna A; Solovieva, Anastasiya O; Trifonova, Kristina E; Brylev, Konstantin A; Ivanov, Anton A; Kim, Sung-Jin; Shestopalov, Michael A; Fufaeva, Maria S; Shestopalov, Alexander M; Mironov, Yuri V; Poveshchenko, Alexander F; Shestopalova, Lidia V

2016-11-01

The octahedral cluster compound Na 2 H 8 [{Re 6 Se 8 }(P(C 2 H 4 CONH 2 )(C 2 H 4 COO) 2 ) 6 ] has been shown to be highly radio dense, thus becoming a promising X-ray contrast agent. It was also shown that this compound had low cytotoxic effect in vitro, low acute toxicity in vivo and was eliminated rapidly from the body through the urinary tract. The present contribution describes a more detailed cellular internalization assay and morphological analysis after intravenous injection of this hexarhenium cluster compound at different doses. The median lethal dose (LD 50 ) of intravenously administrated compound was calculated (4.67 ± 0.69 g/kg). Results of the study clearly indicated that the cluster complex H n [{Re 6 Se 8 }(P(C 2 H 4 CONH 2 )(C 2 H 4 COO) 2 ) 6 ] n-10 was not internalized into cells in vitro and induced only moderate morphological alterations of kidneys at high doses without any changes in morphology of liver, spleen, duodenum, or heart of mice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Effect of microbubble contrast agent during high intensity focused ultrasound ablation on rabbit liver in vivo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, Dong Jin; Cho, Se Hyun; Lee, Jae Mun; Hahn, Seong-Tae

2012-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a microbubble contrast agent (SonoVue) during HIFU ablation of a rabbit liver. Materials and methods: HIFU ablations (intensity of 400 W/cm 2 for 4 s, six times, with a 5 s interval between exposures) were performed upon 16 in vivo rabbit livers before and after intravenous injection of a microbubble contrast agent (0.8 ml). A Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare mean ablation volume and time required to tissue ablation on real-time US. Shape of ablation and pattern of coagulative necrosis were analyzed by Fisher's exact test. Results: The volume of coagulative necrosis was significantly larger in the combination microbubble and HIFU group than in the HIFU alone group (P < 0.05). Also, time to reach ablation was shorter in the combination microbubble and HIFU group than in the HIFU alone group (P < 0.05). When analyzing the shape of tissue ablation, a pyramidal shape was more prevalently in the HIFU alone group compared to the combination microbubble and HIFU group (P < 0.05). Following an analysis of the pattern of coagulative necrosis, non-cavitary necrosis was found in ten and cavitary necrosis in six of the samples in the combination microbubble and HIFU group. Conversely, non-cavitary necrosis occurred in all 16 samples in the HIFU alone group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: HIFU of in vivo rabbit livers with a microbubble contrast agent produced larger zones of ablation and more cavitary tissue necrosis than without the use of a microbubble contrast agent. Microbubble contrast agents may be useful in tissue ablation by enhancing the treatment effect of HIFU.

Prognosis prediction of non-enhancing T2 high signal intensity lesions in glioblastoma patients after standard treatment: application of dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Rihyeon; Yun, Tae Jin; Kim, Ji-Hoon; Sohn, Chul-Ho [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Radiology, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Choi, Seung Hong [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Radiology, 101 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, and Institute of Radiation Medicine, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University, Center for Nanoparticle Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Seoul National University, School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Soon-Tae [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Neurology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Chul-Kee [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Tae Min [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sun-Won [Seoul National University College of Medicine, Department of Radiology, SMG-SNU Boramae Medical Center, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Park, Sung-Hye [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Il Han [Seoul National University Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-03-15

To identify candidate imaging biomarkers for early disease progression in glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) patients by analysis of dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MR parameters of non-enhancing T2 high signal intensity (SI) lesions. Forty-nine GBM patients who had undergone preoperative DCE MR imaging and received standard treatment were retrospectively included. According to the Response Assessment in Neuro-Oncology criteria, patients were classified into progression (n = 21) or non-progression (n = 28) groups. We analysed the pharmacokinetic parameters of Ktrans, Ve and Vp within non-enhancing T2 high SI lesions of each tumour. The best percentiles of each parameter from cumulative histograms were identified by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and were compared using multivariate stepwise logistic regression. For the differentiation of early disease progression, the highest AUC values were found in the 99th percentile of Ktrans (AUC 0.954), the 97th percentile of Ve (AUC 0.815) and the 94th percentile of Vp (AUC 0.786) (all p < 0.05). The 99th percentile of Ktrans was the only significant independent variable from the multivariate stepwise logistic regression (p = 0.002). We found that the Ktrans of non-enhancing T2 high SI lesions in GBM patients holds potential as a candidate prognostic marker in future prospective studies. (orig.)

Nitrogen retention in contrasting temperate forests exposed to high nitrogen deposition

Science.gov (United States)

Staelens, J.; Adriaenssens, S.; Wuyts, K.; Verheyen, K.; Boeckx, P. F.

2011-12-01

A better understanding of factors affecting nitrogen (N) retention is needed to assess the impact of changing anthropogenic N emissions and climatic conditions on N cycling and N loss by terrestrial ecosystems. Retention of N has been demonstrated for a wide range of forests, including ecosystems exposed to chronically enhanced N deposition, but it is still unclear which factors determine this N retention capacity. Therefore, we examined the possible effects of forest type on N retention using stable N isotopes. The study was carried out in adjacent equal-aged deciduous (pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.)) and coniferous (Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.)) stands with a similar stand history and growing on a well-drained sandy soil in a region with enhanced N deposition (Belgium). The N input-output budgets and gross soil N transformation rates differed significantly between the two stands. The forest floor was exposed to a high inorganic N input from atmospheric deposition, which was nearly twice as high in the pine stand (33 ± 2 kg N ha-1 yr-1; mean ± standard error) as in the oak stand (18 ± 1 kg N ha-1 yr-1). The N input was reflected in the soil solution under the rooting zone, but the mean nitrate concentration was eight times higher under pine (19 ± 5 mg N L-1) than under oak (2.3 ± 0.9 mg N L-1). Gross N dynamics in the mineral topsoil were determined by in situ 15N labelling of undisturbed soil cores combined with numerical data analysis. Gross N mineralization was two times faster in the oak soil while nitrate production was two times faster in the pine soil, indicating a dominant effect of vegetation cover on soil N cycling. The higher gross nitrification, particularly due to oxidation of organic N, in the pine soil compared to the oak soil, combined with negligible nitrate immobilization, was in line with the higher nitrate leaching under the pine forest. On a larger spatial and temporal scale, the fate of dissolved inorganic N within these forests

Preliminary study of 3.0 T contrast-enhanced whole heart coronary MR angiography using 32-channel coils with high acceleration factor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Qi; Li Kuncheng; Du Xiangying; Ma Heng; An Jing; Li Han; Xu Dong; Bi Xiaoming; Li Debiao

2010-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 3.0 T contrast enhanced (CE) whole-heart coronary MRA (CE MRA) using 32-channel coils with high acceleration factor. Methods: Sixty patients with suspected coronary artery disease who were scheduled for coronary angiography (CAG) underwent CE CMRA at 3.0 T MRI scanner. A 32-channel receiver coil was used for data acquisition. For image acquisition, an ECG triggered,navigator-gated, inversion-recovery prepared, segmented gradient-echo sequence was used with an acceleration factor of three in the phase-encoding direction using GRAPPA reconstruction. Gd-BOPTA (0.15 mmol/kg body weight) was intravenously administered at a rate of 0.3 ml/s. The diagnostic accuracy in detecting significant stenoses (≥50% of vessel lumen) was evaluated using χ 2 test with X-ray angiography as the reference. Results: Whole-heart CE CMRA was successfully completed in 56 patients who were scheduled for CAG. The averaged imaging time was (6.0±1.3) min. 3.0 T CE CMRA using 32 channel coils correctly identified significant CAD in 28 patients and correctly ruled out CAD in 23 patients. The sensitivity and specificity were 93.3% and 88.5% respectively. Conclusion: Combined with dedicated 32-channel coils, 3.0 T CE CMRA allows significant reduction in imaging speed and reduced dose of the contrast agent. These improvements resulted in substantially improved overall accuracy of CE CMRA in detecting coronary artery disease. (authors)

High-speed measurement of firearm primer blast waves

OpenAIRE

Courtney, Michael; Daviscourt, Joshua; Eng, Jonathan; Courtney, Amy

2012-01-01

This article describes a method and results for direct high-speed measurements of firearm primer blast waves employing a high-speed pressure transducer located at the muzzle to record the blast pressure wave produced by primer ignition. Key findings are: 1) Most of the lead styphnate based primer models tested show 5.2-11.3% standard deviation in the magnitudes of their peak pressure. 2) In contrast, lead-free diazodinitrophenol (DDNP) based primers had standard deviations of the peak blast p...

{sup 18}F-FDG PET/contrast enhanced CT in the standard surveillance of high risk colorectal cancer patients

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jiménez Londoño, Germán Andrés, E-mail: gjimenez91@yahoo.com [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); García Vicente, Ana María [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); Sánchez Pérez, Victoria [Department of Oncology, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); Jiménez Aragón, Fátima [Department of Radiology, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); León Martin, Alberto [Investigation Unit, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); Cano Cano, Juana María [Department of Oncology, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); Domínguez Ferreras, Esther [Department of Radiology, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); Gómez López, Ober Van [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); Espinosa Arranz, Javier [Department of Oncology, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain); Soriano Castrejón, Ángel María [Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real (Spain)

2014-12-15

Highlights: • We assessed the accuracy of FDG-PET/contrast enhanced CT (FDG-PET/ceCT) in the detection of unsuspected recurrence of colorectal cancer. In regard to our knowledge, no previous experience has been reported about the combined acquisition and interpretation of a FDG-PET/ceCT in the surveillance of colorectal cancer. • We designed a prospective study and performed an individual and combined assessment of both techniques (PET and ceCT), in a patient-based analysis and a lesion-based analysis. • The value of PET and ceCT was found to be similar in the detection of unsuspected recurrence of CRC in a patient-based analysis. The most interesting of our result, is that the combined assessment of PET/ceCT improves the accuracy in the lesion-based analysis. - Abstract: Objective: To assess the accuracy of FDG-PET/contrast enhanced CT (FDG-PET/ceCT) in the detection of unsuspected recurrence of colorectal cancer (CRC) in patients with high risk of relapse. Methods: Thirty-three patients (14 females and 19 males, mean age: 62, range: 41–78), with CRC in complete remission, were prospectively included. All patients underwent FDG-PET/ceCT (58 studies). FDG-PET/ceCT was requested in the surveillance setting, and performed following a standardized protocol. A portal venous phase CT scan was performed after the injection of iodinated contrast agent. An individual and combined assessment of both techniques (PET and ceCT) was performed. Concordant and discordant findings of PET, ceCT and FDG-PET/ceCT were compared in a patient-based and a lesion-based analysis. The final diagnosis, recurrence or disease free status (DFS), were established by histopathology or clinical/radiological follow-up of at least 6 months. Results: Seven out of 33 patients had a confirmed recurrence and the rest of patients had a DFS. In a patient-based analysis the sensitivity and specificity of PET, ceCT and PET/ceCT was of 86% and 88%, 86% and 92%, 86% and 85%, respectively. Attending to

Porous Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}-SiO{sub 2} core-shell nanorods as high-performance MRI contrast agent and drug delivery vehicle

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Beg, Muhammad Shahbaz [Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India); Mohapatra, Jeotikanta; Pradhan, Lina [Centre for Research in Nanotechnology and Science (CRNTS), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India); Patkar, D. [Department of MRI, Dr. Balabhai Nanavati Hospital and Research Center, Mumbai 400056 (India); Bahadur, D., E-mail: dhirenb@iitb.ac.in [Department of Metallurgical Engineering and Materials Science, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India); Centre for Research in Nanotechnology and Science (CRNTS), Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Mumbai 400076 (India)

2017-04-15

A high-performance MRI contrast agent and a drug nanocarrier have been realized in porous Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@SiO{sub 2} nanorods (NRs). The Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@SiO{sub 2} NRs of length ~520 nm and diameter ~180 nm are synthesized by annealing FeOOH@SiO{sub 2} nanorods at a temperature of 300 ℃ under continuous flow of forming gas. The magnetic measurement confirms that the Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@SiO{sub 2} NRs is ferrimagnetic in nature with magnetization of 20 emu/g and coercivity H{sub C} ~450 Oe. The aqueous suspension of the NRs is stable over a time frame of one month and exhibits a high R{sub 2} relaxivity value of 192 mM{sup −1} s{sup −1}. The R{sub 2} darkening effect is also observed in HeLa cells incubated with NRs in comparison to untreated control cells. The porous Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@SiO{sub 2} NRs further work as an excellent carrier for doxorubicin (DOX) drug with loading efficiency of 65%. The drug release study shows a pH-dependent behavior and is higher in acidic pH (4.3) as compared to the physiological pH (7.4). After 72 h, the cumulative DOX release is found to be ~58% at pH 4.3 and ~17% at pH 7.4. The induction heating studies of the NRs exhibit a sharp increasing trend of SAR value with the increase of magnetic field. - Highlights: • Porous Fe{sub 3}O{sub 4}@SiO{sub 2} NRs shows enhanced MRI contrast agent and drug carrier properties. • The stable aqueous dispersion of NRs exhibits a high R{sub 2} relaxivity of 192 mM{sup −1} s{sup −1}. • The porous NRs also work as a nanocarrier for DOX with a loading efficiency of 65%. • The drug release study shows a pH-dependent behavior and is higher in acidic pH (4.3).

High Pressure Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and High PressureX-ray Photoemission Spectroscopy Studies of Adsorbate Structure,Composition and Mobility during Catalytic Reactions on A Model SingleCrystal

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Montano, Max O. [Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)

2006-01-01

Our research focuses on taking advantage of the ability of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to operate at high-temperatures and high-pressures while still providing real-time atomic resolution images. We also utilize high-pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HPXPS) to monitor systems under identical conditions thus giving us chemical information to compare and contrast with the structural and dynamic data provided by STM.

High-contrast mammography with a moving grid: assessment of clinical utility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sickles, E.A.; Weber, W.N.

1986-01-01

Mammography techniques using moving grids produce superior breast images in many patients but result in increased radiation dose. This prospective controlled study of 1000 unselected screen-film mammography patients identifies a subset of women who are most likely to benefit from higher-dose grid-assisted techniques. In approximately 60% of the patients, the increased contrast of grid films produced a noticeable improvement in overall image quality. In only 20% of cases did this translate into clinically useful information, however, usually resulting in an increased level of confidence in interpretation. In virtually all the cases in which grid images aided mammographic diagnosis, the patients were women having more than 50% dense fibroglandular tissue or compressed breast thickness greater than 6 cm (only 37% of the study population). We suggest that the use of grid techniques be restricted to patients with such dense or thick breasts, because only in these women can the increase in radiation dose be justified

Shoulder arthrography: comparison of morbidity after use of various contrast media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hall, F.M.; Goldberg, R.P.; Wyshak, G.; Kilcoyne, R.F.

1985-01-01

This prospective study compares immediate and delayed patient discomfort in 177 patients following shoulder arthrography using intraarticular combinations of metrizamide, meglumine/sodium diatrizoate, meglumine diatrizoate, lidocaine, epinephrine, and air. Patients receiving conventional ionic monomeric positive contrast media had a 60% (90/150) incidence of moderate or severe delayed exacerbation of their baseline symptoms; only 14% (3/21) of patients receiving metrizamide, a nonionic contrast medium had similar levels of postprocedural discomfort. Morbidity was somewhat diminished with the use of double-contrast (45%, 34/75) rather than single-contrast (75%, 56/75) examinations, and with avoidance of sodium-containing contrast agents or epinephrine. Nonionic or monovalent polymeric contrast media, despite their present high cost, may be the agents of choice if single-contrast arthrography is performed in joints associated with a high incidence of postprocedural pain

Risk of contrast-medium-induced nephropathy in high-risk patients undergoing MDCT--a pooled analysis of two randomized trials

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thomsen, Henrik S; Morcos, Sameh K

2009-01-01

of the LOCM were also observed in patients with GFR contrast agents in patients with moderate-to-severe renal insufficiency, the risk of significant CIN seems to be low. The IOCM iodixanol caused a higher rate of CIN than the LOCM......The incidence of contrast-medium-induced nephropathy (CIN) following intravenous (IV) CM administration of contrast media to renally impaired patients undergoing multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) is not well characterized. Our objective was to investigate the incidence of CIN in patients...... with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) contrast-enhanced MDCT examinations and to compare the rates of CIN following the IV administration of low-osmolar contrast media (LOCM, iopamidol and iomeprol) and an iso-osmolar contrast medium (IOCM, iodixanol). A total of 301 adult patients...

64-Slice multidetector row CT angiography of the abdomen: comparison of low versus high concentration iodinated contrast media in a porcine model

Science.gov (United States)

Holalkere, N-S; Matthes, K; Kalva, S P; Brugge, W R; Sahani, D V

2011-01-01

Objective In this study we aimed to assess the image quality and degree of vascular enhancement using low-concentration contrast media (LCCM) (300 mg I ml–1) and high-concentration contrast media (HCCM) (370 mg I ml–1) on 64-slice multidetector row CT (MDCT) abdominal CT angiography (CTA). In addition, we aimed to study the feasibility of using HCCM with a reduced total iodine dose. Methods CTA of the abdomen on a 64-slice MDCT was performed on 15 anaesthetised pigs. Study pigs were divided into three groups of five each based on the iodine concentration and dose received: Group A (LCCM; 300 mg I ml–1), Group B (HCCM; 370 mg I ml–1) and Group C HCCM with 20% less iodine dose. The total iodine injected was kept constant (600 mg kg–1) in Groups A and B. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were performed to study and compare each group for image quality, visibility of the branch order of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA), artefacts, degree of enhancement in the aorta and main stem arteries and uniformity of enhancement in the aorta. Groups were compared using the analysis of variance test. Results The image quality of 64-slice MDCT angiography was excellent with a mean score of 4.63 and confident visualisation of the third to fifth order branches of the SMA in all groups. Group B demonstrated superior vascular enhancement, as compared with Groups A and C (p≤0.05). Uniform aortic enhancement was achieved with the use of LCCM and HCCM with 20% less iodine dose. Conclusion 64-slice MDCT angiography of the abdomen was of excellent quality. HCCM improves contrast enhancement and overall CTA image quality and allows the iodine dose to be reduced. PMID:21081582

Dual-energy CT for detection of contrast enhancement or leakage within high-density haematomas in patients with intracranial haemorrhage

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watanabe, Yoshiyuki; Tsukabe, Akio; Kunitomi, Yuki; Nishizawa, Mitsuo; Arisawa, Atsuko; Tanaka, Hisashi; Tomiyama, Noriyuki [Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Suita, Osaka (Japan); Yoshiya, Kazuhisa; Shimazu, Takeshi [Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Traumatology and Acute Critical Medicine, Osaka (Japan)

2014-04-15

Our study aimed to elucidate the diagnostic performance of dual-energy CT (DECT) in the detection of contrast enhancement in intracranial haematomas (ICrH) with early phase dual-energy computed tomography angiography (CTA) and compare the results with those obtained by delayed CT enhancement. Thirty-six patients with ICrH were retrospectively included in this study. All patients had undergone single-energy non-contrast CT and contrast-enhanced dual-source DECT. DECT images were post-processed with commercial software, followed by obtaining iodine images and virtual non-contrast images and generating combined images that created the impression of 120-kVp images. Two neuroradiologists, blinded to the patients' data, reviewed two reading sessions: session A (non-contrast CT and combined CT) and session B (non-contrast CT, combined CT, and iodine images) for detection of contrast enhancement in the haematomas. Contrast leakage or enhancement was detected in 23 (57.5 %) out of 40 haemorrhagic lesions in 36 patients on delayed CT. Three enhanced lesions were depicted only in the DECT iodine images. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of session A were 82.6, 94.1, 95.0, and 80.0 %, respectively, and those of session B were 95.7, 94.1, 95.7, and 94.1 %, respectively. DECT emphasised the iodine enhancement and facilitated the detection of contrast enhancement or leakage. (orig.)

Dual-energy CT for detection of contrast enhancement or leakage within high-density haematomas in patients with intracranial haemorrhage.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Yoshiyuki; Tsukabe, Akio; Kunitomi, Yuki; Nishizawa, Mitsuo; Arisawa, Atsuko; Tanaka, Hisashi; Yoshiya, Kazuhisa; Shimazu, Takeshi; Tomiyama, Noriyuki

2014-04-01

Our study aimed to elucidate the diagnostic performance of dual-energy CT (DECT) in the detection of contrast enhancement in intracranial haematomas (ICrH) with early phase dual-energy computed tomography angiography (CTA) and compare the results with those obtained by delayed CT enhancement. Thirty-six patients with ICrH were retrospectively included in this study. All patients had undergone single-energy non-contrast CT and contrast-enhanced dual-source DECT. DECT images were post-processed with commercial software, followed by obtaining iodine images and virtual non-contrast images and generating combined images that created the impression of 120-kVp images. Two neuroradiologists, blinded to the patients' data, reviewed two reading sessions: session A (non-contrast CT and combined CT) and session B (non-contrast CT, combined CT, and iodine images) for detection of contrast enhancement in the haematomas. Contrast leakage or enhancement was detected in 23 (57.5 %) out of 40 haemorrhagic lesions in 36 patients on delayed CT. Three enhanced lesions were depicted only in the DECT iodine images. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of session A were 82.6, 94.1, 95.0, and 80.0 %, respectively, and those of session B were 95.7, 94.1, 95.7, and 94.1 %, respectively. DECT emphasised the iodine enhancement and facilitated the detection of contrast enhancement or leakage.

Dual-energy CT for detection of contrast enhancement or leakage within high-density haematomas in patients with intracranial haemorrhage

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Yoshiyuki; Tsukabe, Akio; Kunitomi, Yuki; Nishizawa, Mitsuo; Arisawa, Atsuko; Tanaka, Hisashi; Tomiyama, Noriyuki; Yoshiya, Kazuhisa; Shimazu, Takeshi

2014-01-01

Our study aimed to elucidate the diagnostic performance of dual-energy CT (DECT) in the detection of contrast enhancement in intracranial haematomas (ICrH) with early phase dual-energy computed tomography angiography (CTA) and compare the results with those obtained by delayed CT enhancement. Thirty-six patients with ICrH were retrospectively included in this study. All patients had undergone single-energy non-contrast CT and contrast-enhanced dual-source DECT. DECT images were post-processed with commercial software, followed by obtaining iodine images and virtual non-contrast images and generating combined images that created the impression of 120-kVp images. Two neuroradiologists, blinded to the patients' data, reviewed two reading sessions: session A (non-contrast CT and combined CT) and session B (non-contrast CT, combined CT, and iodine images) for detection of contrast enhancement in the haematomas. Contrast leakage or enhancement was detected in 23 (57.5 %) out of 40 haemorrhagic lesions in 36 patients on delayed CT. Three enhanced lesions were depicted only in the DECT iodine images. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of session A were 82.6, 94.1, 95.0, and 80.0 %, respectively, and those of session B were 95.7, 94.1, 95.7, and 94.1 %, respectively. DECT emphasised the iodine enhancement and facilitated the detection of contrast enhancement or leakage. (orig.)

Synthesis of highly stable and biocompatible gold nanoparticles for use as a new X-ray contrast agent.

Science.gov (United States)

Iranpour, Pooya; Ajamian, Maral; Safavi, Afsaneh; Iranpoor, Nasser; Abbaspour, Abdolkarim; Javanmardi, Sanaz

2018-04-18

This work reports a novel reduction procedure for the synthesis of Gum Arabic (GA) capped-gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) in glucosammonium formate as a new ionic liquid. The GA coated AuNPs show good stability in physiological media. The synthesized AuNPs were characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, dynamic light scattering and X-ray diffraction analysis. These stable AuNPs are introduced as a new contrast agent for X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT). These nanoparticles have higher contrasting properties than the commercial contrast agent, Visipaque. The precursors used (Gum Arabic and glucose based-ionic liquid) for synthesis of AuNPs are biocompatible and non-toxic.

Quantitative differential phase contrast imaging at high resolution with radially asymmetric illumination.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Yu-Zi; Huang, Kuang-Yuh; Luo, Yuan

2018-06-15

Half-circle illumination-based differential phase contrast (DPC) microscopy has been utilized to recover phase images through a pair of images along multiple axes. Recently, the half-circle based DPC using 12-axis measurements significantly provides a circularly symmetric phase transfer function to improve accuracy for more stable phase recovery. Instead of using half-circle-based DPC, we propose a new scheme of DPC under radially asymmetric illumination to achieve circularly symmetric phase transfer function and enhance the accuracy of phase recovery in a more stable and efficient fashion. We present the design, implementation, and experimental image data demonstrating the ability of our method to obtain quantitative phase images of microspheres, as well as live fibroblast cell samples.

Possible origins of the susceptibility contrast in the brain. Presidential award proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukunaga, Masaki; Li, T.Q.; Lee, J.; Matsuura, Eiji; Gelderen, P.V.; Zwart, J.A. de; Merkle, H.; Duyn, J.H.

2011-01-01

The magnetic susceptibility contrast derived from high resolution T 2 *-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at ultra high field strength has been used to reveal laminar contrast in the gray matter (GM) and fiber bundle-like structure in the white matter (WM) of the human brain. This contrast has been attributed to subtle variations in the magnetic properties of brain tissue, which possibly reflect varying iron and myelin content and haemoglobin in the microvasculature. To investigate the origin of this contrast, MRI data from postmortem brain samples were compared with histological staining for iron and myelin. The laminar susceptibility variations in GM strongly correlate with local iron content, which generally co-localized with myelin. On the other hand, fiber bundles in white matter, shows strong susceptibility contrast in the absence of iron while myelin is high. The results suggest that iron contributes significantly to susceptibility contrast across the cortical GM, but myelin is the dominant source of susceptibility in WM bundles. (author)

High-resolution electron microscopy and its applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, F H

1987-12-01

A review of research on high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) carried out at the Institute of Physics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is presented. Apart from the direct observation of crystal and quasicrystal defects for some alloys, oxides, minerals, etc., and the structure determination for some minute crystals, an approximate image-contrast theory named pseudo-weak-phase object approximation (PWPOA), which shows the image contrast change with crystal thickness, is described. Within the framework of PWPOA, the image contrast of lithium ions in the crystal of R-Li2Ti3O7 has been observed. The usefulness of diffraction analysis techniques such as the direct method and Patterson method in HREM is discussed. Image deconvolution and resolution enhancement for weak-phase objects by use of the direct method are illustrated. In addition, preliminary results of image restoration for thick crystals are given.

Amorphous silicon rich silicon nitride optical waveguides for high density integrated optics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Philipp, Hugh T.; Andersen, Karin Nordström; Svendsen, Winnie Edith

2004-01-01

Amorphous silicon rich silicon nitride optical waveguides clad in silica are presented as a high-index contrast platform for high density integrated optics. Performance of different cross-sectional geometries have been measured and are presented with regards to bending loss and insertion loss...

Seaweed supplements normalise metabolic, cardiovascular and liver responses in high-carbohydrate, high-fat fed rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Senthil Arun; Magnusson, Marie; Ward, Leigh C; Paul, Nicholas A; Brown, Lindsay

2015-02-02

Increased seaweed consumption may be linked to the lower incidence of metabolic syndrome in eastern Asia. This study investigated the responses to two tropical green seaweeds, Ulva ohnoi (UO) and Derbesia tenuissima (DT), in a rat model of human metabolic syndrome. Male Wistar rats (330-340 g) were fed either a corn starch-rich diet or a high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet with 25% fructose in drinking water, for 16 weeks. High-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats showed the signs of metabolic syndrome leading to abdominal obesity, cardiovascular remodelling and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Food was supplemented with 5% dried UO or DT for the final 8 weeks only. UO lowered total final body fat mass by 24%, systolic blood pressure by 29 mmHg, and improved glucose utilisation and insulin sensitivity. In contrast, DT did not change total body fat mass but decreased plasma triglycerides by 38% and total cholesterol by 17%. UO contained 18.1% soluble fibre as part of 40.9% total fibre, and increased magnesium, while DT contained 23.4% total fibre, essentially as insoluble fibre. UO was more effective in reducing metabolic syndrome than DT, possibly due to the increased intake of soluble fibre and magnesium.

Seaweed Supplements Normalise Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Liver Responses in High-Carbohydrate, High-Fat Fed Rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Senthil Arun Kumar

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Increased seaweed consumption may be linked to the lower incidence of metabolic syndrome in eastern Asia. This study investigated the responses to two tropical green seaweeds, Ulva ohnoi (UO and Derbesia tenuissima (DT, in a rat model of human metabolic syndrome. Male Wistar rats (330–340 g were fed either a corn starch-rich diet or a high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet with 25% fructose in drinking water, for 16 weeks. High-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats showed the signs of metabolic syndrome leading to abdominal obesity, cardiovascular remodelling and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Food was supplemented with 5% dried UO or DT for the final 8 weeks only. UO lowered total final body fat mass by 24%, systolic blood pressure by 29 mmHg, and improved glucose utilisation and insulin sensitivity. In contrast, DT did not change total body fat mass but decreased plasma triglycerides by 38% and total cholesterol by 17%. UO contained 18.1% soluble fibre as part of 40.9% total fibre, and increased magnesium, while DT contained 23.4% total fibre, essentially as insoluble fibre. UO was more effective in reducing metabolic syndrome than DT, possibly due to the increased intake of soluble fibre and magnesium.

Seaweed Supplements Normalise Metabolic, Cardiovascular and Liver Responses in High-Carbohydrate, High-Fat Fed Rats

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Senthil Arun; Magnusson, Marie; Ward, Leigh C.; Paul, Nicholas A.; Brown, Lindsay

2015-01-01

Increased seaweed consumption may be linked to the lower incidence of metabolic syndrome in eastern Asia. This study investigated the responses to two tropical green seaweeds, Ulva ohnoi (UO) and Derbesia tenuissima (DT), in a rat model of human metabolic syndrome. Male Wistar rats (330–340 g) were fed either a corn starch-rich diet or a high-carbohydrate, high-fat diet with 25% fructose in drinking water, for 16 weeks. High-carbohydrate, high-fat diet-fed rats showed the signs of metabolic syndrome leading to abdominal obesity, cardiovascular remodelling and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Food was supplemented with 5% dried UO or DT for the final 8 weeks only. UO lowered total final body fat mass by 24%, systolic blood pressure by 29 mmHg, and improved glucose utilisation and insulin sensitivity. In contrast, DT did not change total body fat mass but decreased plasma triglycerides by 38% and total cholesterol by 17%. UO contained 18.1% soluble fibre as part of 40.9% total fibre, and increased magnesium, while DT contained 23.4% total fibre, essentially as insoluble fibre. UO was more effective in reducing metabolic syndrome than DT, possibly due to the increased intake of soluble fibre and magnesium. PMID:25648511

Benchtop phase-contrast X-ray imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gundogdu, O. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)], E-mail: o.gundogdu@surrey.ac.uk; Nirgianaki, E.; Che Ismail, E.; Jenneson, P.M.; Bradley, D.A. [Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH (United Kingdom)

2007-12-15

Clinical radiography has traditionally been based on contrast obtained from absorption when X-rays pass through the body. The contrast obtained from traditional radiography can be rather poor, particularly when it comes to soft tissue. A wide range of media of interest in materials science, biology and medicine exhibit very weak absorption contrast, but they nevertheless produce significant phase shifts with X-rays. The use of phase information for imaging purposes is therefore an attractive prospect. Some of the X-ray phase-contrast imaging methods require highly monochromatic plane wave radiation and sophisticated X-ray optics. However, the propagation-based phase-contrast imaging method adapted in this paper is a relatively simple method to implement, essentially requiring only a microfocal X-ray tube and electronic detection. In this paper, we present imaging results obtained from two different benchtop X-ray sources employing the free space propagation method. X-ray phase-contrast imaging provides higher contrast in many samples, including biological tissues that have negligible absorption contrast.

High damage tolerance of electrochemically lithiated silicon

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xueju; Fan, Feifei; Wang, Jiangwei; Wang, Haoran; Tao, Siyu; Yang, Avery; Liu, Yang; Beng Chew, Huck; Mao, Scott X.; Zhu, Ting; Xia, Shuman

2015-01-01

Mechanical degradation and resultant capacity fade in high-capacity electrode materials critically hinder their use in high-performance rechargeable batteries. Despite tremendous efforts devoted to the study of the electro–chemo–mechanical behaviours of high-capacity electrode materials, their fracture properties and mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here we report a nanomechanical study on the damage tolerance of electrochemically lithiated silicon. Our in situ transmission electron microscopy experiments reveal a striking contrast of brittle fracture in pristine silicon versus ductile tensile deformation in fully lithiated silicon. Quantitative fracture toughness measurements by nanoindentation show a rapid brittle-to-ductile transition of fracture as the lithium-to-silicon molar ratio is increased to above 1.5. Molecular dynamics simulations elucidate the mechanistic underpinnings of the brittle-to-ductile transition governed by atomic bonding and lithiation-induced toughening. Our results reveal the high damage tolerance in amorphous lithium-rich silicon alloys and have important implications for the development of durable rechargeable batteries. PMID:26400671

Time-dependent change of blood flow in the prostate treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound.

Science.gov (United States)

Shoji, Sunao; Tonooka, Akiko; Hashimoto, Akio; Nakamoto, Masahiko; Tomonaga, Tetsuro; Nakano, Mayura; Sato, Haruhiro; Terachi, Toshiro; Koike, Junki; Uchida, Toyoaki

2014-09-01

Avascular areas on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging have been considered to be areas of localized prostate cancer successfully treated by high-intensity focused ultrasound. However, the optimal timing of magnetic resonance imaging has not been discussed. The thermal effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound is degraded by regional prostatic blood flow. Conversely, the mechanical effect of high-intensity focused ultrasound (cavitation) is not affected by blood flow, and can induce vessel damage. In this series, the longitudinal change of blood flow on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging was observed from postoperative day 1 to postoperative day 14 in 10 patients treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound. The median rates of increase in the non-enhanced volume of the whole gland, transition zone and peripheral zone from postoperative day 1 to postoperative day 14 were 36%, 39%, and 34%, respectively. In another pathological analysis of the prostate tissue of 17 patients immediately after high-intensity focused ultrasound without neoadjuvant hormonal therapy, we observed diffuse coagulative degeneration and partial non-coagulative prostate tissue around arteries with vascular endothelial cell detachment. These observations on contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging support a time-dependent change of the blood flow in the prostate treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound. Additionally, our pathological findings support the longitudinal changes of these magnetic resonance imaging findings. Further large-scale studies will investigate the most appropriate timing of contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for evaluation of the effectiveness of high-intensity focused ultrasound for localized prostate cancer. © 2014 The Japanese Urological Association.

MRI and CT contrast media extravasation

Science.gov (United States)

Heshmatzadeh Behzadi, Ashkan; Farooq, Zerwa; Newhouse, Jeffery H.; Prince, Martin R.

2018-01-01

Abstract Background: This systematic review combines data from multiple papers on contrast media extravasation to identify factors contributing to increased extravasation risk. Methods: Data were extracted from 17 papers reporting 2191 extravasations in 1,104,872 patients (0.2%) undergoing computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Results: Extravasation rates were 0.045% for gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCA) and nearly 6-fold higher, 0.26% for iodinated contrast agents. Factors associated with increased contrast media extravasations included: older age, female gender, using an existing intravenous (IV) instead of placing a new IV in radiology, in-patient status, use of automated power injection, high injection rates, catheter location, and failing to warm up the more viscous contrast media to body temperature. Conclusion: Contrast media extravasation is infrequent but nearly 6 times less frequent with GBCA for MRI compared with iodinated contrast used in CT. PMID:29489663

Effects of age and brightness contrast on perception of the Wundt-Hering illusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Astor-Stetson, E; Purnell, T G

1990-10-01

Susceptibility to the Wundt-Hering illusion was studied as a function of age and contrast. Preschoolers, third-graders and college students were shown light-grey, medium-grey, and black Wundt-Hering figures on white ground. Pre-schoolers were most susceptible to the illusion, differing from third graders in the medium and high contrast conditions and from college students in all contrast conditions. Low contrast figures resulted in significantly less distortion than did high contrast figures for the preschoolers. The significant interaction of age and contrast effects highlights the importance of a developmental approach to the study of illusions.

Indication-related dosing for magnetic resonance contrast media

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuh, W.T.C.; Parker, J.R.; Carvlin, M.J.

1997-01-01

This presentation reviews the issue of contrast media dosing and imaging protocols for the optimal MR imaging detection and characterization of pathology. The cumulative clinical experience gained in performing contrast-enhanced MR examinations with gadolinium chelates indicates that a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg body weight provides safe and effective enhancement of most CNS pathology. Doses lower than 0.1 mmol/kg have been shown to be inadequate for delineating all but selected types of CNS pathology, such as masses with a high lesion to background ratio on post-contrast images (acoustic neuromas) or lesions located in areas in which the normal tissue very rapidly takes up contrast agent (e. g. microadenomas in the pituitary gland). Recent clinical studies have suggested a role for high dose gadolinium administration (up to 0.3 mmol/kg) for the optimal detection and delineation of cerebral metastases or other small or poorly enhancing lesions. Differences in the histopathologic characteristics (capillary permeability, vascularity, location, size) of specific diseased tissues may require varying doses or even a different contrast agent to be used for optimal imaging results. As new MR contrast agents and new scanning techniques are introduced, the specific diagnostic question posed will likely determine the choice of pulse sequence, contrast agent and dose used. (orig.)

The effect of partial reinforcement on instrumental successive negative contrast in inbred Roman High- (RHA-I) and Low- (RLA-I) Avoidance rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Cuenya, L; Sabariego, M; Donaire, R; Fernández-Teruel, A; Tobeña, A; Gómez, M J; Mustaca, A; Torres, C

2012-03-20

Frustration is an emotional response that can be induced by the sudden devaluation of a reinforcer in the presence of greater reinforcement expectancies (e.g. instrumental successive negative contrast, iSNC). This emotional response seems to be similar to anxiety and can be attenuated by previous experiences of reward loss (e.g. partial reinforcement, PR, as opposed to continuous reinforcement, CR). In this study we used iSNC and PR procedures in order to compare the performance of two strains of rats psychogenetically selected on the basis of their emotional reactivity: the inbred Roman High- (RHA-I, low anxiety) and Low- (RLA-I, high anxiety) Avoidance rats. Animals were exposed to a straight alley, where they were changed from 12 pellets in the preshift phase (presented in 100% of trials-CR vs. 50% of trials-PR) to 2 pellets in the postshift phase, or exposed to 2 pellets throughout the training. The results indicated that the iSNC only appeared in RLA-I rats exposed to CR, as opposed to RLA-I animals exposed to PR and to RHA-I rats exposed to PR or CR. These data seem to support the implication of emotional responses in both iSNC and PR situations, and indicate that the behavioral reactivity to reward loss experiences is modulated by genetic variables. Published by Elsevier Inc.

High-Throughput Scoring of Seed Germination.

Science.gov (United States)

Ligterink, Wilco; Hilhorst, Henk W M

2017-01-01

High-throughput analysis of seed germination for phenotyping large genetic populations or mutant collections is very labor intensive and would highly benefit from an automated setup. Although very often used, the total germination percentage after a nominated period of time is not very informative as it lacks information about start, rate, and uniformity of germination, which are highly indicative of such traits as dormancy, stress tolerance, and seed longevity. The calculation of cumulative germination curves requires information about germination percentage at various time points. We developed the GERMINATOR package: a simple, highly cost-efficient, and flexible procedure for high-throughput automatic scoring and evaluation of germination that can be implemented without the use of complex robotics. The GERMINATOR package contains three modules: (I) design of experimental setup with various options to replicate and randomize samples; (II) automatic scoring of germination based on the color contrast between the protruding radicle and seed coat on a single image; and (III) curve fitting of cumulative germination data and the extraction, recap, and visualization of the various germination parameters. GERMINATOR is a freely available package that allows the monitoring and analysis of several thousands of germination tests, several times a day by a single person.

Pupil remapping for high contrast astronomy: results from an optical testbed.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotani, T; Lacour, S; Perrin, G; Robertson, G; Tuthill, P

2009-02-02

The direct imaging and characterization of Earth-like planets is among the most sought-after prizes in contemporary astrophysics, however current optical instrumentation delivers insufficient dynamic range to overcome the vast contrast differential between the planet and its host star. New opportunities are offered by coherent single mode fibers, whose technological development has been motivated by the needs of the telecom industry in the near infrared. This paper presents a new vision for an instrument using coherent waveguides to remap the pupil geometry of the telescope. It would (i) inject the full pupil of the telescope into an array of single mode fibers, (ii) rearrange the pupil so fringes can be accurately measured, and (iii) permit image reconstruction so that atmospheric blurring can be totally removed. Here we present a laboratory experiment whose goal was to validate the theoretical concepts underpinning our proposed method. We successfully confirmed that we can retrieve the image of a simulated astrophysical object (in this case a binary star) though a pupil remapping instrument using single mode fibers.

High-contrast, high-intensity petawatt-class laser and applications

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kiriyama, H.; Mori, M.; Pirozhkov, A.S.; Ogura, K.; Sagisaka, A.; Kon, A.; Esirkepov, T.Z.; Hayashi, Y.; Kotaki, H.; Kanasaki, M.; Sakaki, H.; Fukuda, Y.; Koga, J.; Nishiuchi, M.; Kando, M.; Bulanov, S.; Kondo, K.; Bolton, P.R.; Slezák, Ondřej; Vojna, David; Sawicka-Chyla, Magdalena; Jambunathan, Venkatesan; Lucianetti, Antonio; Mocek, Tomáš

2015-01-01

Roč. 21, č. 1 (2015), s. 1601118 ISSN 0018-9197 R&D Projects: GA MŠk ED2.1.00/01.0027; GA MŠk EE2.3.20.0143; GA MŠk EE2.3.30.0057 Grant - others:HILASE(XE) CZ.1.05/2.1.00/01.0027; OP VK 6(XE) CZ.1.07/2.3.00/20.0143; OP VK 4 POSTDOK(XE) CZ.1.07/2.3.00/30.0057 Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : petawatt laser * applications * Ti:saphire * ASE Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.843, year: 2015

Sheppard-Taylor Isolated High Boost DC-DC Converter

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chub, Andrii; Siwakoti, Yam Prasad; Vinnikov, Dmitri

2017-01-01

This paper presents a new galvanically isolated step-up dc-dc converter intended for low-power but high step-up applications. The proposed converter is capable of regulating output voltage within a wide range of the input voltage or load variations. In contrast to competitors, the converter can...

Baring high-albedo soils by overgrazing - A hypothesized desertification mechanism

Science.gov (United States)

Otterman, J.

1974-01-01

Observations are reported of high-albedo soils denuded by overgrazing which appear bright, in high contrast to regions covered by natural vegetation. Measurements and modeling show that the denuded surfaces are cooler, when compared under sunlit conditions. This observed 'thermal depression' effect should, on theoretical grounds, result in a decreased lifting of air necessary for cloud formation and precipitation, and thus lead to regional climatic desertification.

Noninvasive 3D Structural Analysis of Arthropod by Synchrotron X-Ray Phase Contrast Tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yao, S.; Zong, Y.; Fan, J.; Sun, Z.; Jiang, H.

2015-01-01

X-ray imaging techniques significantly advanced our understanding of materials and biology, among which phase contrast X-ray microscopy has obvious advantages in imaging biological specimens which have low contrast by conventional absorption contrast microscopy. In this paper, three-dimensional microstructure of arthropod with high contrast has been demonstrated by synchrotron X-ray in-line phase contrast tomography. The external morphology and internal structures of an earthworm were analyzed based upon tomographic reconstructions with and without phase retrieval. We also identified and characterized various fine structural details such as the musculature system, the digestive system, the nervous system, and the circulatory system. This work exhibited the high efficiency, high precision, and wide potential applications of synchrotron X-ray phase contrast tomography in nondestructive investigation of low-density materials and biology.

Patient safety and adverse events in contrast medium examinations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Enge, I.; Edgren, J.

1989-01-01

This volume contains six contributions dealing with the properties, safety and economic aspects (lower risks but higher costs of new low-osmonality contrast media compared to the older high-osmonality, ionic ones) of contrast media used in radiology, and risks involved in procedures for administering of radiologic contrast media. (H.W.). refs.; figs.; tabs

High and ultra-high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging in prostate cancer: a quantitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wetter, Axel; Nensa, Felix; Lipponer, Christine; Guberina, Nika; Olbricht, Tobias; Schenck, Marcus; Schlosser, Thomas W; Gratz, Marcel; Lauenstein, Thomas C

2015-08-01

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) is routinely used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of prostate cancer. However, the routine use of b values higher than 1000 s/mm(2) is not clear up to present. Moreover, the complex diffusion behavior of malignant and benign prostate tissues hampers precise predictions of contrast in DWI images and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps. To quantitatively analyze DWI with different b values in prostate cancer and to identify b values best suitable for cancer detection. Forty-one patients with histologically proven prostate cancer were examined with high resolution T2-weighted imaging and DWI at 3 Tesla. Five different b values (0, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 s/mm(2)) were applied. ADC values of tumors and reference areas were measured on ADC maps derived from different pairs of b values. Furthermore, signal intensities of DW images of tumors and reference areas were measured. For analysis, contrast ratios of ADC values and signal intensities of DW images were calculated and compared. No significant differences were found between contrast ratios measured on ADC maps of all analyzed b value pairs (P = 0.43). Contrast ratios calculated from signal intensities of DW images were highest at b values of 1500 and 2000 s/mm(2) and differed significantly from contrast ratios at b values of 800 and 1000 s/mm(2) (P values, contrast ratios of DW images are significantly higher at b-values of 1500 and 2000 s/mm(2) in comparison to b values of 800 and 1000 s/mm(2). Therefore, diagnostic performance of DWI in prostate cancer might be increased by application of b values higher than 1000 s/mm(2). © The Foundation Acta Radiologica 2014.

Sheath impedance effects in very high frequency plasma experiments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarzenbach, W.; Howling, A.A.; Fivaz, M.; Brunner, S.; Hollenstein, C.

1995-05-01

The frequency dependence (13.56 MHz to 70 MHz) of the ion energy distribution at the ground electrode was measured by mass spectrometry in a symmetrical capacitive argon discharge. Reduced sheath impedance at Very High Frequency allows high levels of plasma power and substrate ion flux whilst maintaining low levels of ion energy and electrode voltage. The lower limit of ion bombardment energy is fixed by the sheath floating potential at high frequency, in contrast to low frequencies where only the rf voltage amplitude is determinant. The capacitive sheaths are thinner at high frequencies which accentuates the high frequency reduction in sheath impedance. It is argued that the frequency dependence of sheath impedance is responsible for the principal characteristics of Very High Frequency plasmas. The measurements are summarised by simple physical descriptions and compared with a Particle-In-Cell simulation. (author) figs., tabs., refs

The Value of Contrast Echocardiography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shannon C. Treiber

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: There is much evidence-based research proving the effectiveness of contrast echocardiography, but there are still questions and concerns about its specific uses. This study tested the effectiveness of contrast echocardiography in defining the left ventricular endocardial border. Methods: From 30 patients, a total of 60 echocardiograms –– 30 with and 30 without use of contrast –– were retrospectively reviewed by four blinded cardiologists with advanced training in echocardiography. No single cardiologist reviewed contrast and noncontrast images of the same patient. Each set of 30 echocardiograms was then studied for wall-motion scoring. Visualization of left ventricular wall segments and a global visualization confidence level of interpretation were recorded. Results: Of all wall segments (N = 510, 91% were visualized in echocardiograms with use of contrast, whereas 75% of the walls were visualized in echocardiograms without contrast (P < 0.001. Of 30 examinations, 17 contrast echocardiograms were read with high confidence compared to 6 without contrast use (P = 0.004. The number of walls visualized with contrast was increased in 18 patients (60%, whereas noncontrast echocardiograms yielded more visualized walls in 6 patients (20%, P = 0.002. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that contrast is valuable to echocardiographic imaging. Its use should be supported throughout echocardiography clinics and encouraged in certain patients for whom resting and stress echocardiography results without contrast often prove uninterpretable.

Bolus timing in high-pitch CT angiography of the aorta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beeres, Martin; Loch, Matthias; Schulz, Boris; Kerl, Matthias; Al-Butmeh, Firas; Bodelle, Boris; Herrmann, Eva; Gruber-Rouh, Tatjana; Lee, Clara; Jacobi, Volkmar; Vogl, Thomas J.

2013-01-01

Objective: To investigate the bolus geometry in high-pitch CT angiography (CTA) of the aorta without ECG synchronisation in comparison to single-source CT. Methods: Overall 160 consecutive patients underwent CTA either in conventional single-source mode with a pitch of 1.2 (group 1), or in dual-source mode with a pitch of 3.0 (groups 2, 3 and 4) using different contrast media timings with bolus triggering at 140 HU (5 s, group 1; 10 s, group 2; 12 s, group 3; 14 s, group 4). Contrast material, saline flush, flow rate and kV/mAs settings were kept equal for optimum comparability. Aortic attenuation was measured along the z-axis of the patient at different anatomic landmarks and subjective image quality was compared. Results: The most homogeneous enhancement of the aorta was reached with a delay of 10 s after reaching the trigger threshold. The imaging length was not significantly different, but the examination time was significantly (p < 0.001) shorter in the high-pitch group (7.7 s vs. 1.7 s for group 1 vs. 2, 3 and 4). Conclusion: In high-pitch CT angiography using a start delay of 10 s after a trigger threshold of 140 HU in the descending aorta is reached, a homogenous contrast along the z-axis is accomplished

Visual function of cataract with high myopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jian-Tao Ren

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Cataract with high myopia is research priority associated with the large amount of high myopia patients. The unaided visual acuity and the best-corrected visual acuity are partial for the visual acuity of the patients with cataract. The mechanism and clinical significance of modern visual function measurements associated with cataract and high myopia, including accommodation and convergence, stereoscopic vision, contrast sensitivity, have been introduced. These measurements could be of great value in early diagnosis of cataract, assessment of surgical indication, customized intraocular lens(IOLselection and evaluation of visual performance after IOL implantation. They could also be helpful to the analysis of postoperative impaired visual function and its management. Having an adequate understanding of the contents and significance of visual function was helpful to the improvement of cataract surgery techniques and postoperative visual acuity.

Contrast-enhanced dedicated breast CT detection of invasive breast cancer preceding mammographic diagnosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolas D. Prionas, MD, PhD

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Dedicated breast computed tomography (bCT generates high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the pendent uncompressed breast. Intravenous iodinated contrast during bCT provides additional physiologic information. In this case, a 10.0-mm invasive ductal carcinoma was visualized using contrast-enhanced breast CT one year before mammographic detection. Mammography four months before bCT was negative. The bCT contrast enhancement pattern closely matched the dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI obtained after diagnosis. Lesion enhancement at contrast-enhanced breast CT matched previously published enhancement values of breast cancer. Contrast-enhanced dedicated bCT provided high-resolution tomographic images and physiologic contrast enhancement data that facilitated the detection of an early breast cancer.

Prevalence Study of Proximal Vertebral Artery Stenosis Using High-Resolution Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Angiography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, S.H.; Lee, J.S.; Kwon, O.K.; Han, M.K.; Kim, J.H.

2005-01-01

Purpose: To evaluate the prevalence of proximal vertebral artery stenosis, compared with those of the distal vertebral/basilar artery and extracranial internal carotid artery, in a large population of stroke and non-stroke patients. Material and Methods: Nine-hundred-and-thirty-five patients who underwent high-resolution contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography in a regional general hospital were categorized into six groups based on neurological symptoms and disease: an asymptomatic group (n ∼ 182), a minor symptom group with headache or dizziness (n ∼ 519), a cardiac group with coronary artery steno-occlusive disease (n ∼ 15), a hemorrhagic group with old cerebral hemorrhage (n ∼ 26), an anterior circulation infarct group (n ∼ 121), and posterior circulation infarct group (n ∼ 72). Prevalence of stenosis of the proximal vertebral artery, distal vertebral/basilar artery, and internal carotid artery was analyzed. Results: The prevalence of stenosis of the proximal vertebral artery, distal vertebral/basilar artery, and internal carotid artery was 12.9%, 5.5%, and 7.2%, respectively, in the study population, and rose as the age increased (P <0.0001 for all arteries). The prevalence of stenosis of the proximal vertebral artery, distal vertebral/basilar artery, and internal carotid artery was 3.3%, 0.5%, and.1%, respectively, in the asymptomatic group; 8.3%, 2.1%, and 3.7%, respectively, in the minor symptom group; 13.3%, 6.7%, and 6.7%, respectively, in the cardiac group; 19.2%, 7.7%, and 7.7%, respectively, in the hemorrhagic group; 27.3%, 8.3%, and 25.6%, respectively, in the anterior circulation infarct group; and 44.4%, 36.1%, and 16.7%, respectively, in the posterior circulation infarct group. This increasing tendency of stenosis accordingly was statistically significant ( P <0.0001 for all arteries). Conclusion: The prevalence of proximal vertebral artery stenosis was highest, compared with those of the distal vertebral/basilar artery and

Contrasting the Chromosomal Organization of Repetitive DNAs in Two Gryllidae Crickets with Highly Divergent Karyotypes.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Octavio M Palacios-Gimenez

Full Text Available A large percentage of eukaryotic genomes consist of repetitive DNA that plays an important role in the organization, size and evolution. In the case of crickets, chromosomal variability has been found using classical cytogenetics, but almost no information concerning the organization of their repetitive DNAs is available. To better understand the chromosomal organization and diversification of repetitive DNAs in crickets, we studied the chromosomes of two Gryllidae species with highly divergent karyotypes, i.e., 2n(♂ = 29,X0 (Gryllus assimilis and 2n = 9, neo-X1X2Y (Eneoptera surinamensis. The analyses were performed using classical cytogenetic techniques, repetitive DNA mapping and genome-size estimation. Conserved characteristics were observed, such as the occurrence of a small number of clusters of rDNAs and U snDNAs, in contrast to the multiple clusters/dispersal of the H3 histone genes. The positions of U2 snDNA and 18S rDNA are also conserved, being intermingled within the largest autosome. The distribution and base-pair composition of the heterochromatin and repetitive DNA pools of these organisms differed, suggesting reorganization. Although the microsatellite arrays had a similar distribution pattern, being dispersed along entire chromosomes, as has been observed in some grasshopper species, a band-like pattern was also observed in the E. surinamensis chromosomes, putatively due to their amplification and clustering. In addition to these differences, the genome of E. surinamensis is approximately 2.5 times larger than that of G. assimilis, which we hypothesize is due to the amplification of repetitive DNAs. Finally, we discuss the possible involvement of repetitive DNAs in the differentiation of the neo-sex chromosomes of E. surinamensis, as has been reported in other eukaryotic groups. This study provided an opportunity to explore the evolutionary dynamics of repetitive DNAs in two non-model species and will contribute to the

Application of gold nanoparticles as contrast agents in confocal laser scanning microscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lemelle, A; Veksler, B; Piletsky, S A; Meglinski, I [Cranfield Health, Cranfield University, Cranfield, MK43 0AL (United Kingdom); Kozhevnikov, I S; Akchurin, G G, E-mail: a.lemelle.s06@cranfield.ac.uk [Physics Faculty, Saratov State University, Saratov 410012 (Russian Federation)

2009-01-15

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is a modern high-resolution optical technique providing detailed image of tissue structure with high (down to microns) spatial resolution. Aiming at a concurrent improvement of imaging depth and image quality the CLSM requires the use of contrast agents. Commonly employed fluorescent contrast agents, such as fluorescent dyes and proteins, suffer from toxicity, photo-bleaching and overlapping with the tissues autofluorescence. Gold nanoparticles are potentially highly attractive to be applied as a contrast agent since they are not subject to photo-bleaching and can target biochemical cells markers associated with the specific diseases. In current report we consider the applicability of gold nano-spheres as a contrast agent to enhance quality of CLSM images of skin tissues in vitro versus the application of optical clearing agent, such as glycerol. The enhancement of CLSM image contrast was observed with an application of gold nano-spheres diffused within the skin tissues. We show that optical clearing agents such as a glycerol provide better CLSM image contrast than gold nano-spheres.

Application of gold nanoparticles as contrast agents in confocal laser scanning microscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lemelle, A; Veksler, B; Piletsky, S A; Meglinski, I; Kozhevnikov, I S; Akchurin, G G

2009-01-01

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is a modern high-resolution optical technique providing detailed image of tissue structure with high (down to microns) spatial resolution. Aiming at a concurrent improvement of imaging depth and image quality the CLSM requires the use of contrast agents. Commonly employed fluorescent contrast agents, such as fluorescent dyes and proteins, suffer from toxicity, photo-bleaching and overlapping with the tissues autofluorescence. Gold nanoparticles are potentially highly attractive to be applied as a contrast agent since they are not subject to photo-bleaching and can target biochemical cells markers associated with the specific diseases. In current report we consider the applicability of gold nano-spheres as a contrast agent to enhance quality of CLSM images of skin tissues in vitro versus the application of optical clearing agent, such as glycerol. The enhancement of CLSM image contrast was observed with an application of gold nano-spheres diffused within the skin tissues. We show that optical clearing agents such as a glycerol provide better CLSM image contrast than gold nano-spheres

Application of gold nanoparticles as contrast agents in confocal laser scanning microscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Lemelle, A.; Veksler, B.; Kozhevnikov, I. S.; Akchurin, G. G.; Piletsky, S. A.; Meglinski, I.

2009-01-01

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) is a modern high-resolution optical technique providing detailed image of tissue structure with high (down to microns) spatial resolution. Aiming at a concurrent improvement of imaging depth and image quality the CLSM requires the use of contrast agents. Commonly employed fluorescent contrast agents, such as fluorescent dyes and proteins, suffer from toxicity, photo-bleaching and overlapping with the tissues autofluorescence. Gold nanoparticles are potentially highly attractive to be applied as a contrast agent since they are not subject to photo-bleaching and can target biochemical cells markers associated with the specific diseases. In current report we consider the applicability of gold nano-spheres as a contrast agent to enhance quality of CLSM images of skin tissues in vitro versus the application of optical clearing agent, such as glycerol. The enhancement of CLSM image contrast was observed with an application of gold nano-spheres diffused within the skin tissues. We show that optical clearing agents such as a glycerol provide better CLSM image contrast than gold nano-spheres.

Quantitative breast tissue characterization using grating-based x-ray phase-contrast imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Willner, M.; Herzen, J.; Grandl, S.; Auweter, S.; Mayr, D.; Hipp, A.; Chabior, M.; Sarapata, A.; Achterhold, K.; Zanette, I.; Weitkamp, T.; Sztrókay, A.; Hellerhoff, K.; Reiser, M.; Pfeiffer, F.

2014-04-01

X-ray phase-contrast imaging has received growing interest in recent years due to its high capability in visualizing soft tissue. Breast imaging became the focus of particular attention as it is considered the most promising candidate for a first clinical application of this contrast modality. In this study, we investigate quantitative breast tissue characterization using grating-based phase-contrast computed tomography (CT) at conventional polychromatic x-ray sources. Different breast specimens have been scanned at a laboratory phase-contrast imaging setup and were correlated to histopathology. Ascertained tumor types include phylloides tumor, fibroadenoma and infiltrating lobular carcinoma. Identified tissue types comprising adipose, fibroglandular and tumor tissue have been analyzed in terms of phase-contrast Hounsfield units and are compared to high-quality, high-resolution data obtained with monochromatic synchrotron radiation, as well as calculated values based on tabulated tissue properties. The results give a good impression of the method’s prospects and limitations for potential tumor detection and the associated demands on such a phase-contrast breast CT system. Furthermore, the evaluated quantitative tissue values serve as a reference for simulations and the design of dedicated phantoms for phase-contrast mammography.

HIGH PERFORMANCE PIAA CORONAGRAPHY WITH COMPLEX AMPLITUDE FOCAL PLANE MASKS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guyon, Olivier; Martinache, Frantz; Belikov, Ruslan; Soummer, Remi

2010-01-01

We describe a coronagraph approach where the performance of a Phase-Induced Amplitude Apodization (PIAA) coronagraph is improved by using a partially transmissive phase-shifting focal plane mask and a Lyot stop. This approach combines the low inner working angle offered by phase mask coronagraphy, the full throughput and uncompromized angular resolution of the PIAA approach, and the design flexibility of Apodized Pupil Lyot Coronagraph. A PIAA complex mask coronagraph (PIAACMC) is fully described by the focal plane mask size, or, equivalently, its complex transmission which ranges from 0 (opaque) to -1 (phase shifting). For all values of the transmission, the PIAACMC theoretically offers full on-axis extinction and 100% throughput at large angular separations. With a pure phase focal plane mask (complex transmission = -1), the PIAACMC offers 50% throughput at 0.64 λ/D while providing total extinction of an on-axis point source. This performance is very close to the 'fundamental performance limit' of coronagraphy derived from first principles. For very high contrast level, imaging performance with PIAACMC is in practice limited by the angular size of the on-axis target (usually a star). We show that this fundamental limitation must be taken into account when choosing the optimal value of the focal plane mask size in the PIAACMC design. We show that the PIAACMC enables visible imaging of Jupiter-like planets at ∼1.2 λ/D from the host star, and can therefore offer almost three times more targets than a PIAA coronagraph optimized for this type of observation. We find that for visible imaging of Earth-like planets, the PIAACMC gain over a PIAA is probably much smaller, as coronagraphic performance is then strongly constrained by stellar angular size. For observations at 'low' contrast (below ∼ 10 8 ), the PIAACMC offers significant performance enhancement over PIAA. This is especially relevant for ground-based high contrast imaging systems in the near-IR, where

The study of two methods for high pressure injection in CT enhancement to display the aortic dissecting aneurysm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Yang; Zhu Bin; Zhang Zhen

2008-01-01

Objective: To discuss the consequences of two different methods of high pressure injection in CT contrast enhancement to display the aortic dissecting aneurysm. Methods: 100 patients underwent Lightspeed 16 MS CT with contrast enhancement of Stellant D high pressure injector (Medrad), injecting speed of 4.0 mL/s and 80 ml dosage of contrast medium. All patients were divided into A and B groups with 50 in each. The single high pressure injection was applied to A group without isotonic Na chloride flush. B group underwent the same high pressure injection and followed by isotonic Na chloride flush. The method of evaluation was carried out by double blind observation. Results: A group revealed radiologic artifact up to 40 cases with positive rate of 80%. B group demonstrated the same kind of radiologic artifact in 26 cases with positive rate of 52%. Conclusions: Using normal saline (sodium chloride solution)flush after high pressure injection of contrast medium during MSCT angiography is obviously better to demonstrate the internal structures of treatvessels. (authors)

ELMs IN DIII-D HIGH PERFORMANCE DISCHARGES

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

TURNBULL, A.D; LAO, L.L; OSBORNE, T.H; SAUTER, O; STRAIT, E.J; TAYLOR, T.S; CHU, M.S; FERRON, J.R; GREENFIELD, C.M; LEONARD, A.W; MILLER, R.L; SNYDER, P.B; WILSON, H.R; ZOHM, H

2003-01-01

A new understanding of edge localized modes (ELMs) in tokamak discharges is emerging [P.B. Snyder, et al., Phys. Plasmas, 9, 2037 (2002)], in which the ELM is an essentially ideal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) instability and the ELM severity is determined by the radial width of the linearly unstable MHD kink modes. A detailed, comparative study of the penetration into the core of the respective linear instabilities in a standard DIII-D ELMing, high confinement mode (H-mode) discharge, with that for two relatively high performance discharges shows that these are also encompassed within the framework of the new model. These instabilities represent the key, limiting factor in extending the high performance of these discharges. In the standard ELMing H-mode, the MHD instabilities are highly localized in the outer few percent flux surfaces and the ELM is benign, causing only a small temporary drop in the energy confinement. In contrast, for both a very high confinement mode (VH-mode) and an H-mode with a broad internal transport barrier (ITB) extending over the entire core and coalesced with the edge transport barrier, the linearly unstable modes penetrate well into the mid radius and the corresponding consequences for global confinement are significantly more severe. The ELM accordingly results in an irreversible loss of the high performance

Highly porous nanoberyllium for X-ray beam speckle suppression

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goikhman, Alexander, E-mail: agoikhman@ymail.com; Lyatun, Ivan; Ershov, Petr [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Nevskogo str. 14, Kaliningrad 236041 (Russian Federation); Snigireva, Irina [European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, BP 220, 38043 Grenoble (France); Wojda, Pawel [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Nevskogo str. 14, Kaliningrad 236041 (Russian Federation); Gdańsk University of Technology, 11/12 G. Narutowicza, Gdańsk 80-233 (Poland); Gorlevsky, Vladimir; Semenov, Alexander; Sheverdyaev, Maksim; Koletskiy, Viktor [A. A. Bochvar High-Technology Scientific Research Institute for Inorganic Materials, Rogova str. 5a, Moscow 123098 (Russian Federation); Snigirev, Anatoly [Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, Nevskogo str. 14, Kaliningrad 236041 (Russian Federation); European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, BP 220, 38043 Grenoble (France)

2015-04-09

A speckle suppression device containing highly porous nanoberyllium is proposed for manipulating the spatial coherence length and removing undesirable speckle structure during imaging experiments. This paper reports a special device called a ‘speckle suppressor’, which contains a highly porous nanoberyllium plate squeezed between two beryllium windows. The insertion of the speckle suppressor in an X-ray beam allows manipulation of the spatial coherence length, thus changing the effective source size and removing the undesirable speckle structure in X-ray imaging experiments almost without beam attenuation. The absorption of the nanoberyllium plate is below 1% for 1 mm thickness at 12 keV. The speckle suppressor was tested on the ID06 ESRF beamline with X-rays in the energy range from 9 to 15 keV. It was applied for the transformation of the phase–amplitude contrast to the pure amplitude contrast in full-field microscopy.

Highly porous nanoberyllium for X-ray beam speckle suppression

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goikhman, Alexander; Lyatun, Ivan; Ershov, Petr; Snigireva, Irina; Wojda, Pawel; Gorlevsky, Vladimir; Semenov, Alexander; Sheverdyaev, Maksim; Koletskiy, Viktor; Snigirev, Anatoly

2015-01-01

A speckle suppression device containing highly porous nanoberyllium is proposed for manipulating the spatial coherence length and removing undesirable speckle structure during imaging experiments. This paper reports a special device called a ‘speckle suppressor’, which contains a highly porous nanoberyllium plate squeezed between two beryllium windows. The insertion of the speckle suppressor in an X-ray beam allows manipulation of the spatial coherence length, thus changing the effective source size and removing the undesirable speckle structure in X-ray imaging experiments almost without beam attenuation. The absorption of the nanoberyllium plate is below 1% for 1 mm thickness at 12 keV. The speckle suppressor was tested on the ID06 ESRF beamline with X-rays in the energy range from 9 to 15 keV. It was applied for the transformation of the phase–amplitude contrast to the pure amplitude contrast in full-field microscopy

Active phase correction of high resolution silicon photonic arrayed waveguide gratings.

Science.gov (United States)

Gehl, M; Trotter, D; Starbuck, A; Pomerene, A; Lentine, A L; DeRose, C

2017-03-20

Arrayed waveguide gratings provide flexible spectral filtering functionality for integrated photonic applications. Achieving narrow channel spacing requires long optical path lengths which can greatly increase the footprint of devices. High index contrast waveguides, such as those fabricated in silicon-on-insulator wafers, allow tight waveguide bends which can be used to create much more compact designs. Both the long optical path lengths and the high index contrast contribute to significant optical phase error as light propagates through the device. Therefore, silicon photonic arrayed waveguide gratings require active or passive phase correction following fabrication. Here we present the design and fabrication of compact silicon photonic arrayed waveguide gratings with channel spacings of 50, 10 and 1 GHz. The largest device, with 11 channels of 1 GHz spacing, has a footprint of only 1.1 cm2. Using integrated thermo-optic phase shifters, the phase error is actively corrected. We present two methods of phase error correction and demonstrate state-of-the-art cross-talk performance for high index contrast arrayed waveguide gratings. As a demonstration of possible applications, we perform RF channelization with 1 GHz resolution. Additionally, we generate unique spectral filters by applying non-zero phase offsets calculated by the Gerchberg Saxton algorithm.

Radiochromic film dosimetry of contrast-enhanced radiotherapy (CERT)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morris, Kevin N; Weil, Michael D; Malzbender, Rainer

2006-01-01

Contrast-enhanced radiotherapy (CERT) employs elevated concentrations of high-Z contrast media in targets to dramatically increase the absorbed dose of radiation relative to the surrounding tissues. However, it is difficult to measure the dose enhancement with routine clinical instruments because the photoelectrons and Auger electrons produced by the interaction of kilovoltage x-rays with the contrast agent travel extremely short distances. We have developed a technique utilizing unlaminated radiochromic film to measure the maximum dose enhancement factor attainable in solutions of contrast agent with iodine concentrations ranging from 0% to 37% (w/v). The films were also used to simultaneously measure the dose enhancement and beam attenuation through solutions containing 0%, 5% and 10% iodine (w/v). These depth-dose measurements were made in phantoms representing 3 cm targets located 0 and 4.8 cm deep in acrylic. Higher concentrations of contrast yielded greater dose enhancement and target-to-surface dose ratios, but caused more rapid attenuation of the beam as it traversed the target. The dose distribution across the entire target could be improved by employing multiple beams. These results, using concentrations of contrast that are clinically achievable by intratumoural injection, illustrate the potential of CERT for the specific delivery of high doses of radiation to targets at depth

High PRF high current switch

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Stuart L.; Hutcherson, R. Kenneth

1990-03-27

A triggerable, high voltage, high current, spark gap switch for use in pu power systems. The device comprises a pair of electrodes in a high pressure hydrogen environment that is triggered by introducing an arc between one electrode and a trigger pin. Unusually high repetition rates may be obtained by undervolting the switch, i.e., operating the trigger at voltages much below the self-breakdown voltage of the device.

A New Bis(aquated) High Relaxivity Mn(II) Complex as an Alternative to Gd(III)-Based MRI Contrast Agent.

Science.gov (United States)

Phukan, Bedika; Mukherjee, Chandan; Goswami, Upashi; Sarmah, Amrit; Mukherjee, Subhajit; Sahoo, Suban K; Moi, Sankar Ch

2018-03-05

Disclosed here are a piperazine, a pyridine, and two carboxylate groups containing pentadentate ligand H 2 pmpa and its corresponding water-soluble Mn(II) complex (1). DFT-based structural optimization implied that the complex had pentagonal bipyramidal geometry where the axial positions were occupied by two water molecules, and the equatorial plane was constituted by the ligand ON 3 O donor set. Thus, a bis(aquated) disc-like Mn(II) complex has been synthesized. The complex showed higher stability compared with Mn(II)-EDTA complex [log K MnL = 14.29(3)] and showed a very high r 1 relaxivity value of 5.88 mM -1 s -1 at 1.41 T, 25 °C, and pH = 7.4. The relaxivity value remained almost unaffected by the pH of the medium in the range of 6-10. Although the presence of 200 equiv of fluoride and bicarbonate anions did not affect the relaxivity value appreciably, an increase in the value was noticed in the presence of phosphate anion due to slow tumbling of the complex. Cell viability measurements, as well as phantom MR images using clinical MRI imager, consolidated the possible candidature of complex 1 as a positive contrast agent.

Identification of highly susceptible individuals in complex networks

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Shaoting; Teng, Xian; Pei, Sen; Yan, Shu; Zheng, Zhiming

2015-08-01

Identifying highly susceptible individuals in spreading processes is of great significance in controlling outbreaks. In this paper, we explore the susceptibility of people in susceptible-infectious-recovered (SIR) and rumor spreading dynamics. We first study the impact of community structure on people's susceptibility. Although the community structure can reduce the number of infected people for same infection rate, it will not significantly affect nodes' susceptibility. We find the susceptibility of individuals is sensitive to the choice of spreading dynamics. For SIR spreading, since the susceptibility is highly correlated to nodes' influence, the topological indicator k-shell can better identify highly susceptible individuals, outperforming degree, betweenness centrality and PageRank. In contrast, in rumor spreading model, where nodes' susceptibility and influence have no clear correlation, degree performs the best among considered topological measures. Our finding highlights the significance of both topological features and spreading mechanisms in identifying highly susceptible population.