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Sample records for suppressing speckle noise

  1. M2 FILTER FOR SPECKLE NOISE SUPPRESSION IN BREAST ULTRASOUND IMAGES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E.S. Samundeeswari

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Breast cancer, commonly found in women is a serious life threatening disease due to its invasive nature. Ultrasound (US imaging method plays an effective role in screening early detection and diagnosis of Breast cancer. Speckle noise generally affects medical ultrasound images and also causes a number of difficulties in identifying the Region of Interest. Suppressing speckle noise is a challenging task as it destroys fine edge details. No specific filter is designed yet to get a noise free BUS image that is contaminated by speckle noise. In this paper M2 filter, a novel hybrid of linear and nonlinear filter is proposed and compared to other spatial filters with 3×3 kernel size. The performance of the proposed M2 filter is measured by statistical quantity parameters like MSE, PSNR and SSI. The experimental analysis clearly shows that the proposed M2 filter outperforms better than other spatial filters by 2% high PSNR values with regards to speckle suppression.

  2. Speckle Suppression by Weighted Euclidean Distance Anisotropic Diffusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fengcheng Guo

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available To better reduce image speckle noise while also maintaining edge information in synthetic aperture radar (SAR images, we propose a novel anisotropic diffusion algorithm using weighted Euclidean distance (WEDAD. Presented here is a modified speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD method, which constructs a new edge detection operator using weighted Euclidean distances. The new edge detection operator can adaptively distinguish between homogenous and heterogeneous image regions, effectively generate anisotropic diffusion coefficients for each image pixel, and filter each pixel at different scales. Additionally, the effects of two different weighting methods (Gaussian weighting and non-linear weighting of de-noising were analyzed. The effect of different adjustment coefficient settings on speckle suppression was also explored. A series of experiments were conducted using an added noise image, GF-3 SAR image, and YG-29 SAR image. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can not only significantly suppress speckle, thus improving the visual effects, but also better preserve the edge information of images.

  3. Wavelet tree structure based speckle noise removal for optical coherence tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Xin; Liu, Xuan; Liu, Yang

    2018-02-01

    We report a new speckle noise removal algorithm in optical coherence tomography (OCT). Though wavelet domain thresholding algorithms have demonstrated superior advantages in suppressing noise magnitude and preserving image sharpness in OCT, the wavelet tree structure has not been investigated in previous applications. In this work, we propose an adaptive wavelet thresholding algorithm via exploiting the tree structure in wavelet coefficients to remove the speckle noise in OCT images. The threshold for each wavelet band is adaptively selected following a special rule to retain the structure of the image across different wavelet layers. Our results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm outperforms conventional wavelet thresholding, with significant advantages in preserving image features.

  4. Statistical characterization of speckle noise in coherent imaging systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yaroslavsky, Leonid; Shefler, A.

    2003-05-01

    Speckle noise imposes fundamental limitation on image quality in coherent radiation based imaging and optical metrology systems. Speckle noise phenomena are associated with properties of objects to diffusely scatter irradiation and with the fact that in recording the wave field, a number of signal distortions inevitably occur due to technical limitations inherent to hologram sensors. The statistical theory of speckle noise was developed with regard to only limited resolving power of coherent imaging devices. It is valid only asymptotically as much as the central limit theorem of the probability theory can be applied. In applications this assumption is not always applicable. Moreover, in treating speckle noise problem one should also consider other sources of the hologram deterioration. In the paper, statistical properties of speckle due to the limitation of hologram size, dynamic range and hologram signal quantization are studied by Monte-Carlo simulation for holograms recorded in near and far diffraction zones. The simulation experiments have shown that, for limited resolving power of the imaging system, widely accepted opinion that speckle contrast is equal to one holds only for rather severe level of the hologram size limitation. For moderate limitations, speckle contrast changes gradually from zero for no limitation to one for limitation to less than about 20% of hologram size. The results obtained for the limitation of the hologram sensor"s dynamic range and hologram signal quantization reveal that speckle noise due to these hologram signal distortions is not multiplicative and is directly associated with the severity of the limitation and quantization. On the base of the simulation results, analytical models are suggested.

  5. A Nonlinear Diffusion Equation-Based Model for Ultrasound Speckle Noise Removal

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    Zhou, Zhenyu; Guo, Zhichang; Zhang, Dazhi; Wu, Boying

    2018-04-01

    Ultrasound images are contaminated by speckle noise, which brings difficulties in further image analysis and clinical diagnosis. In this paper, we address this problem in the view of nonlinear diffusion equation theories. We develop a nonlinear diffusion equation-based model by taking into account not only the gradient information of the image, but also the information of the gray levels of the image. By utilizing the region indicator as the variable exponent, we can adaptively control the diffusion type which alternates between the Perona-Malik diffusion and the Charbonnier diffusion according to the image gray levels. Furthermore, we analyze the proposed model with respect to the theoretical and numerical properties. Experiments show that the proposed method achieves much better speckle suppression and edge preservation when compared with the traditional despeckling methods, especially in the low gray level and low-contrast regions.

  6. Accelerated numerical processing of electronically recorded holograms with reduced speckle noise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trujillo, Carlos; Garcia-Sucerquia, Jorge

    2013-09-01

    The numerical reconstruction of digitally recorded holograms suffers from speckle noise. An accelerated method that uses general-purpose computing in graphics processing units to reduce that noise is shown. The proposed methodology utilizes parallelized algorithms to record, reconstruct, and superimpose multiple uncorrelated holograms of a static scene. For the best tradeoff between reduction of the speckle noise and processing time, the method records, reconstructs, and superimposes six holograms of 1024 × 1024 pixels in 68 ms; for this case, the methodology reduces the speckle noise by 58% compared with that exhibited by a single hologram. The fully parallelized method running on a commodity graphics processing unit is one order of magnitude faster than the same technique implemented on a regular CPU using its multithreading capabilities. Experimental results are shown to validate the proposal.

  7. 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.

  8. 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

  9. Signal-to-noise based local decorrelation compensation for speckle interferometry applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Molimard, Jerome; Cordero, Raul; Vautrin, Alain

    2008-01-01

    Speckle-based interferometric techniques allow assessing the whole-field deformation induced on a specimen due to the application of load. These high sensitivity optical techniques yield fringe images generated by subtracting speckle patterns captured while the specimen undergoes deformation. The quality of the fringes, and in turn the accuracy of the deformation measurements, strongly depends on the speckle correlation. Specimen rigid body motion leads to speckle decorrelation that, in general, cannot be effectively counteracted by applying a global translation to the involved speckle patterns. In this paper, we propose a recorrelation procedure based on the application of locally evaluated translations. The proposed procedure implies dividing the field into several regions, applying a local translation, and calculating, in every region, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Since the latter is a correlation indicator (the noise increases with the decorrelation) we argue that the proper translation is that which maximizes the locally evaluated SNR. The search of the proper local translations is, of course, an interactive process that can be facilitated by using a SNR optimization algorithm. The performance of the proposed recorrelation procedure was tested on two examples. First, the SNR optimization algorithm was applied to fringe images obtained by subtracting simulated speckle patterns. Next, it was applied to fringe images obtained by using a shearography optical setup from a specimen subjected to mechanical deformation. Our results show that the proposed SNR optimization method can significantly improve the reliability of measurements performed by using speckle-based techniques

  10. Speckle suppression via sparse representation for wide-field imaging through turbid media.

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    Jang, Hwanchol; Yoon, Changhyeong; Chung, Euiheon; Choi, Wonshik; Lee, Heung-No

    2014-06-30

    Speckle suppression is one of the most important tasks in the image transmission through turbid media. Insufficient speckle suppression requires an additional procedure such as temporal ensemble averaging over multiple exposures. In this paper, we consider the image recovery process based on the so-called transmission matrix (TM) of turbid media for the image transmission through the media. We show that the speckle left unremoved in the TM-based image recovery can be suppressed effectively via sparse representation (SR). SR is a relatively new signal reconstruction framework which works well even for ill-conditioned problems. This is the first study to show the benefit of using the SR as compared to the phase conjugation (PC) a de facto standard method to date for TM-based imaging through turbid media including a live cell through tissue slice.

  11. Speckle noise reduction for computer generated holograms of objects with diffuse surfaces

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    Symeonidou, Athanasia; Blinder, David; Ahar, Ayyoub; Schretter, Colas; Munteanu, Adrian; Schelkens, Peter

    2016-04-01

    Digital holography is mainly used today for metrology and microscopic imaging and is emerging as an important potential technology for future holographic television. To generate the holographic content, computer-generated holography (CGH) techniques convert geometric descriptions of a 3D scene content. To model different surface types, an accurate model of light propagation has to be considered, including for example, specular and diffuse reflection. In previous work, we proposed a fast CGH method for point cloud data using multiple wavefront recording planes, look-up tables (LUTs) and occlusion processing. This work extends our method to account for diffuse reflections, enabling rendering of deep 3D scenes in high resolution with wide viewing angle support. This is achieved by modifying the spectral response of the light propagation kernels contained by the look-up tables. However, holograms encoding diffuse reflective surfaces depict significant amounts of speckle noise, a problem inherent to holography. Hence, techniques to improve the reduce speckle noise are evaluated in this paper. Moreover, we propose as well a technique to suppress the aperture diffraction during numerical, viewdependent rendering by apodizing the hologram. Results are compared visually and in terms of their respective computational efficiency. The experiments show that by modelling diffuse reflection in the LUTs, a more realistic yet computationally efficient framework for generating high-resolution CGH is achieved.

  12. Speckle noise reduction technique for Lidar echo signal based on self-adaptive pulse-matching independent component analysis

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    Xu, Fan; Wang, Jiaxing; Zhu, Daiyin; Tu, Qi

    2018-04-01

    Speckle noise has always been a particularly tricky problem in improving the ranging capability and accuracy of Lidar system especially in harsh environment. Currently, effective speckle de-noising techniques are extremely scarce and should be further developed. In this study, a speckle noise reduction technique has been proposed based on independent component analysis (ICA). Since normally few changes happen in the shape of laser pulse itself, the authors employed the laser source as a reference pulse and executed the ICA decomposition to find the optimal matching position. In order to achieve the self-adaptability of algorithm, local Mean Square Error (MSE) has been defined as an appropriate criterion for investigating the iteration results. The obtained experimental results demonstrated that the self-adaptive pulse-matching ICA (PM-ICA) method could effectively decrease the speckle noise and recover the useful Lidar echo signal component with high quality. Especially, the proposed method achieves 4 dB more improvement of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than a traditional homomorphic wavelet method.

  13. Speckle Noise Reduction for the Enhancement of Retinal Layers in Optical Coherence Tomography Images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fereydoon Nowshiravan Rahatabad

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Introduction One of the most important pre-processing steps in optical coherence tomography (OCT is reducing speckle noise, resulting from multiple scattering of tissues, which degrades the quality of OCT images. Materials and Methods The present study focused on speckle noise reduction and edge detection techniques. Statistical filters with different masks and noise variances were applied on OCT and test images. Objective evaluation of both types of images was performed, using various image metrics such as peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR, root mean square error, correlation coefficient and elapsed time. For the purpose of recovery, Kuan filter was used as an input for edge enhancement. Also, a spatial filter was applied to improve image quality. Results The obtained results were presented as statistical tables and images. Based on statistical measures and visual quality of OCT images, Enhanced Lee filter (3×3 with a PSNR value of 43.6735 in low noise variance and Kuan filter (3×3 with a PSNR value of 37.2850 in high noise variance showed superior performance over other filters. Conclusion Based on the obtained results, by using speckle reduction filters such as Enhanced Lee and Kuan filters on OCT images, the number of compounded images, required to achieve a given image quality, could be reduced. Moreover, use of Kuan filters for promoting the edges allowed smoothing of speckle regions, while preserving image tissue texture.

  14. Multiresolution edge detection using enhanced fuzzy c-means clustering for ultrasound image speckle reduction

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    Tsantis, Stavros [Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Rion, GR 26504 (Greece); Spiliopoulos, Stavros; Karnabatidis, Dimitrios [Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Rion, GR 26504 (Greece); Skouroliakou, Aikaterini [Department of Energy Technology Engineering, Technological Education Institute of Athens, Athens 12210 (Greece); Hazle, John D. [Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States); Kagadis, George C., E-mail: gkagad@gmail.com, E-mail: George.Kagadis@med.upatras.gr, E-mail: GKagadis@mdanderson.org [Department of Medical Physics, School of Medicine, University of Patras, Rion, GR 26504, Greece and Department of Imaging Physics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas 77030 (United States)

    2014-07-15

    Purpose: Speckle suppression in ultrasound (US) images of various anatomic structures via a novel speckle noise reduction algorithm. Methods: The proposed algorithm employs an enhanced fuzzy c-means (EFCM) clustering and multiresolution wavelet analysis to distinguish edges from speckle noise in US images. The edge detection procedure involves a coarse-to-fine strategy with spatial and interscale constraints so as to classify wavelet local maxima distribution at different frequency bands. As an outcome, an edge map across scales is derived whereas the wavelet coefficients that correspond to speckle are suppressed in the inverse wavelet transform acquiring the denoised US image. Results: A total of 34 thyroid, liver, and breast US examinations were performed on a Logiq 9 US system. Each of these images was subjected to the proposed EFCM algorithm and, for comparison, to commercial speckle reduction imaging (SRI) software and another well-known denoising approach, Pizurica's method. The quantification of the speckle suppression performance in the selected set of US images was carried out via Speckle Suppression Index (SSI) with results of 0.61, 0.71, and 0.73 for EFCM, SRI, and Pizurica's methods, respectively. Peak signal-to-noise ratios of 35.12, 33.95, and 29.78 and edge preservation indices of 0.94, 0.93, and 0.86 were found for the EFCM, SIR, and Pizurica's method, respectively, demonstrating that the proposed method achieves superior speckle reduction performance and edge preservation properties. Based on two independent radiologists’ qualitative evaluation the proposed method significantly improved image characteristics over standard baseline B mode images, and those processed with the Pizurica's method. Furthermore, it yielded results similar to those for SRI for breast and thyroid images significantly better results than SRI for liver imaging, thus improving diagnostic accuracy in both superficial and in-depth structures. Conclusions: A

  15. Multiresolution edge detection using enhanced fuzzy c-means clustering for ultrasound image speckle reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsantis, Stavros; Spiliopoulos, Stavros; Karnabatidis, Dimitrios; Skouroliakou, Aikaterini; Hazle, John D.; Kagadis, George C.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Speckle suppression in ultrasound (US) images of various anatomic structures via a novel speckle noise reduction algorithm. Methods: The proposed algorithm employs an enhanced fuzzy c-means (EFCM) clustering and multiresolution wavelet analysis to distinguish edges from speckle noise in US images. The edge detection procedure involves a coarse-to-fine strategy with spatial and interscale constraints so as to classify wavelet local maxima distribution at different frequency bands. As an outcome, an edge map across scales is derived whereas the wavelet coefficients that correspond to speckle are suppressed in the inverse wavelet transform acquiring the denoised US image. Results: A total of 34 thyroid, liver, and breast US examinations were performed on a Logiq 9 US system. Each of these images was subjected to the proposed EFCM algorithm and, for comparison, to commercial speckle reduction imaging (SRI) software and another well-known denoising approach, Pizurica's method. The quantification of the speckle suppression performance in the selected set of US images was carried out via Speckle Suppression Index (SSI) with results of 0.61, 0.71, and 0.73 for EFCM, SRI, and Pizurica's methods, respectively. Peak signal-to-noise ratios of 35.12, 33.95, and 29.78 and edge preservation indices of 0.94, 0.93, and 0.86 were found for the EFCM, SIR, and Pizurica's method, respectively, demonstrating that the proposed method achieves superior speckle reduction performance and edge preservation properties. Based on two independent radiologists’ qualitative evaluation the proposed method significantly improved image characteristics over standard baseline B mode images, and those processed with the Pizurica's method. Furthermore, it yielded results similar to those for SRI for breast and thyroid images significantly better results than SRI for liver imaging, thus improving diagnostic accuracy in both superficial and in-depth structures. Conclusions: A

  16. Speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography images based on wave atoms

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    Du, Yongzhao; Liu, Gangjun; Feng, Guoying; Chen, Zhongping

    2014-01-01

    Abstract. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging noninvasive imaging technique, which is based on low-coherence interferometry. OCT images suffer from speckle noise, which reduces image contrast. A shrinkage filter based on wave atoms transform is proposed for speckle reduction in OCT images. Wave atoms transform is a new multiscale geometric analysis tool that offers sparser expansion and better representation for images containing oscillatory patterns and textures than other traditional transforms, such as wavelet and curvelet transforms. Cycle spinning-based technology is introduced to avoid visual artifacts, such as Gibbs-like phenomenon, and to develop a translation invariant wave atoms denoising scheme. The speckle suppression degree in the denoised images is controlled by an adjustable parameter that determines the threshold in the wave atoms domain. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively remove the speckle noise and improve the OCT image quality. The signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio, average equivalent number of looks, and cross-correlation (XCOR) values are obtained, and the results are also compared with the wavelet and curvelet thresholding techniques. PMID:24825507

  17. Noise reduction in digital speckle pattern interferometry using bidimensional empirical mode decomposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bernini, Maria Belen; Federico, Alejandro; Kaufmann, Guillermo H.

    2008-01-01

    We propose a bidimensional empirical mode decomposition (BEMD) method to reduce speckle noise in digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI) fringes. The BEMD method is based on a sifting process that decomposes the DSPI fringes in a finite set of subimages represented by high and low frequency oscillations, which are named modes. The sifting process assigns the high frequency information to the first modes, so that it is possible to discriminate speckle noise from fringe information, which is contained in the remaining modes. The proposed method is a fully data-driven technique, therefore neither fixed basis functions nor operator intervention are required. The performance of the BEMD method to denoise DSPI fringes is analyzed using computer-simulated data, and the results are also compared with those obtained by means of a previously developed one-dimensional empirical mode decomposition approach. An application of the proposed BEMD method to denoise experimental fringes is also presented

  18. Speckle noise reduction for optical coherence tomography based on adaptive 2D dictionary

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    Lv, Hongli; Fu, Shujun; Zhang, Caiming; Zhai, Lin

    2018-05-01

    As a high-resolution biomedical imaging modality, optical coherence tomography (OCT) is widely used in medical sciences. However, OCT images often suffer from speckle noise, which can mask some important image information, and thus reduce the accuracy of clinical diagnosis. Taking full advantage of nonlocal self-similarity and adaptive 2D-dictionary-based sparse representation, in this work, a speckle noise reduction algorithm is proposed for despeckling OCT images. To reduce speckle noise while preserving local image features, similar nonlocal patches are first extracted from the noisy image and put into groups using a gamma- distribution-based block matching method. An adaptive 2D dictionary is then learned for each patch group. Unlike traditional vector-based sparse coding, we express each image patch by the linear combination of a few matrices. This image-to-matrix method can exploit the local correlation between pixels. Since each image patch might belong to several groups, the despeckled OCT image is finally obtained by aggregating all filtered image patches. The experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method over other state-of-the-art despeckling methods, in terms of objective metrics and visual inspection.

  19. Intrinsic speckle noise in in-line particle holography due to polydisperse and continuous particle sizes

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    Edwards, Philip J.; Hobson, Peter R.; Rodgers, G. J.

    2000-08-01

    In-line particle holography is subject to image deterioration due to intrinsic speckle noise. The resulting reduction in the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of the replayed image can become critical for applications such as holographic particle velocimetry (HPV) and 3D visualisation of marine plankton. Work has been done to extend the mono-disperse model relevant to HPV to include poly-disperse particle fields appropriate for the visualisation of marine plankton. Continuous and discrete particle fields are both considered. It is found that random walk statistics still apply for the poly-disperse case. The speckle field is simply the summation of the individual speckle patters due to each scatter size. Therefor the characteristic speckle parameter (which encompasses particle diameter, concentration and sample depth) is alos just the summation of the individual speckle parameters. This reduces the SNR calculation to the same form as for the mono-disperse case. For the continuous situation three distributions, power, exponential and Gaussian are discussed with the resulting SNR calcuated. The work presented here was performed as part of the Holomar project to produce a working underwater holographic camera for recording plankton.

  20. Available number of multiplexed holograms based on signal-to-noise ratio analysis in reflection-type holographic memory using three-dimensional speckle-shift multiplexing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nishizaki, Tatsuya; Matoba, Osamu; Nitta, Kouichi

    2014-09-01

    The recording properties of three-dimensional speckle-shift multiplexing in reflection-type holographic memory are analyzed numerically. Three-dimensional recording can increase the number of multiplexed holograms by suppressing the cross-talk noise from adjacent holograms by using depth-direction multiplexing rather than in-plane multiplexing. Numerical results indicate that the number of multiplexed holograms in three-layer recording can be increased by 1.44 times as large as that of a single-layer recording when an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio is set to be 2 when NA=0.43 and the thickness of the recording medium is 0.5 mm.

  1. Kalman filtering techniques for reducing variance of digital speckle displacement measurement noise

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Donghui Li; Li Guo

    2006-01-01

    @@ Target dynamics are assumed to be known in measuring digital speckle displacement. Use is made of a simple measurement equation, where measurement noise represents the effect of disturbances introduced in measurement process. From these assumptions, Kalman filter can be designed to reduce variance of measurement noise. An optical and analysis system was set up, by which object motion with constant displacement and constant velocity is experimented with to verify validity of Kalman filtering techniques for reduction of measurement noise variance.

  2. Speckle Interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiang, F. P.; Jin, F.; Wang, Q.; Zhu, N.

    Before the milestone work of Leedertz in 1970 coherent speckles generated from a laser illuminated object are considered noise to be eliminated or minimized. Leedertz shows that coherent speckles are actually information carriers. Since then the speckle technique has found many applications to fields of mechanics, metrology, nondestructive evaluation and material sciences. Speckles need not be coherent. Artificially created socalled white light speckles can also be used as information carriers. In this paper we present two recent developments of speckle technique with applications to micromechanics problems using SIEM (Speckle Interferometry with Electron Microscopy), to nondestructive evaluation of crevice corrosion and composite disbond and vibration of large structures using TADS (Time-Average Digital Specklegraphy).

  3. Speckle Reduction on Ultrasound Liver Images Based on a Sparse Representation over a Learned Dictionary

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohamed Yaseen Jabarulla

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Ultrasound images are corrupted with multiplicative noise known as speckle, which reduces the effectiveness of image processing and hampers interpretation. This paper proposes a multiplicative speckle suppression technique for ultrasound liver images, based on a new signal reconstruction model known as sparse representation (SR over dictionary learning. In the proposed technique, the non-uniform multiplicative signal is first converted into additive noise using an enhanced homomorphic filter. This is followed by pixel-based total variation (TV regularization and patch-based SR over a dictionary trained using K-singular value decomposition (KSVD. Finally, the split Bregman algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem and estimate the de-speckled image. The simulations performed on both synthetic and clinical ultrasound images for speckle reduction, the proposed technique achieved peak signal-to-noise ratios of 35.537 dB for the dictionary trained on noisy image patches and 35.033 dB for the dictionary trained using a set of reference ultrasound image patches. Further, the evaluation results show that the proposed method performs better than other state-of-the-art denoising algorithms in terms of both peak signal-to-noise ratio and subjective visual quality assessment.

  4. Speckle-modulating optical coherence tomography in living mice and humans

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    Liba, Orly; Lew, Matthew D.; Sorelle, Elliott D.; Dutta, Rebecca; Sen, Debasish; Moshfeghi, Darius M.; Chu, Steven; de La Zerda, Adam

    2017-06-01

    Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a powerful biomedical imaging technology that relies on the coherent detection of backscattered light to image tissue morphology in vivo. As a consequence, OCT is susceptible to coherent noise (speckle noise), which imposes significant limitations on its diagnostic capabilities. Here we show speckle-modulating OCT (SM-OCT), a method based purely on light manipulation that virtually eliminates speckle noise originating from a sample. SM-OCT accomplishes this by creating and averaging an unlimited number of scans with uncorrelated speckle patterns without compromising spatial resolution. Using SM-OCT, we reveal small structures in the tissues of living animals, such as the inner stromal structure of a live mouse cornea, the fine structures inside the mouse pinna, and sweat ducts and Meissner's corpuscle in the human fingertip skin--features that are otherwise obscured by speckle noise when using conventional OCT or OCT with current state of the art speckle reduction methods.

  5. Understanding the exposure-time effect on speckle contrast measurements for laser displays

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    Suzuki, Koji; Kubota, Shigeo

    2018-02-01

    To evaluate the influence of exposure time on speckle noise for laser displays, speckle contrast measurement method was developed observable at a human eye response time using a high-sensitivity camera which has a signal multiplying function. The nonlinearity of camera light sensitivity was calibrated to measure accurate speckle contrasts, and the measuring lower limit noise of speckle contrast was improved by applying spatial-frequency low pass filter to the captured images. Three commercially available laser displays were measured over a wide range of exposure times from tens of milliseconds to several seconds without adjusting the brightness of laser displays. The speckle contrast of raster-scanned mobile projector without any speckle-reduction device was nearly constant over various exposure times. On the contrary to this, in full-frame projection type laser displays equipped with a temporally-averaging speckle-reduction device, some of their speckle contrasts close to the lower limits noise were slightly increased at the shorter exposure time due to the noise. As a result, the exposure-time effect of speckle contrast could not be observed in our measurements, although it is more reasonable to think that the speckle contrasts of laser displays, which are equipped with the temporally-averaging speckle-reduction device, are dependent on the exposure time. This discrepancy may be attributed to the underestimation of temporal averaging factor. We expected that this method is useful for evaluating various laser displays and clarify the relationship between the speckle noise and the exposure time for a further verification of speckle reduction.

  6. Optimized suppression of coherent noise from seismic data using the Karhunen-Loeve transform

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Montagne, Raul; Vasconcelos, Giovani L.

    2006-01-01

    Signals obtained in land seismic surveys are usually contaminated with coherent noise, among which the ground roll (Rayleigh surface waves) is of major concern for it can severely degrade the quality of the information obtained from the seismic record. This paper presents an optimized filter based on the Karhunen-Loeve transform for processing seismic images contaminated with ground roll. In this method, the contaminated region of the seismic record, to be processed by the filter, is selected in such way as to correspond to the maximum of a properly defined coherence index. The main advantages of the method are that the ground roll is suppressed with negligible distortion of the remnant reflection signals and that the filtering procedure can be automated. The image processing technique described in this study should also be relevant for other applications where coherent structures embedded in a complex spatiotemporal pattern need to be identified in a more refined way. In particular, it is argued that the method is appropriate for processing optical coherence tomography images whose quality is often degraded by coherent noise (speckle)

  7. Noise suppression and crosstalk analysis of on-chip magnetic film-type noise suppressor

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Jingyan; Muroga, Sho; Endo, Yasushi; Hashi, Shuichiro; Naoe, Masayuki; Yokoyama, Hiroo; Hayashi, Yoshiaki; Ishiyama, Kazushi

    2018-05-01

    This paper discusses near field, conduction and crosstalk noise suppression of magnetic films with uniaxial anisotropy on transmission lines for a film-type noise suppressor in the GHz frequency range. The electromagnetic noise suppressions of magnetic films with different permeability and resistivity were measured and simulated with simple microstrip lines. The experimental and simulated results of Co-Zr-Nb and CoPd-CaF2 films agreed with each other. The results indicate that the higher permeability leads to a better near field shielding, and in the frequency range of 2-7 GHz, a higher conduction noise suppression. It also suggests that the higher resistivity results in a better crosstalk suppression in the frequency range below 2 GHz. These results can support the design guidelines of the magnetic film-type noise suppressor used in the next generation IC chip.

  8. Speckle Noise Reduction via Nonconvex High Total Variation Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yulian Wu

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available We address the problem of speckle noise removal. The classical total variation is extensively used in this field to solve such problem, but this method suffers from the staircase-like artifacts and the loss of image details. In order to resolve these problems, a nonconvex total generalized variation (TGV regularization is used to preserve both edges and details of the images. The TGV regularization which is able to remove the staircase effect has strong theoretical guarantee by means of its high order smooth feature. Our method combines the merits of both the TGV method and the nonconvex variational method and avoids their main drawbacks. Furthermore, we develop an efficient algorithm for solving the nonconvex TGV-based optimization problem. We experimentally demonstrate the excellent performance of the technique, both visually and quantitatively.

  9. Spiking cortical model-based nonlocal means method for speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xuming; Li, Liu; Zhu, Fei; Hou, Wenguang; Chen, Xinjian

    2014-06-01

    Optical coherence tomography (OCT) images are usually degraded by significant speckle noise, which will strongly hamper their quantitative analysis. However, speckle noise reduction in OCT images is particularly challenging because of the difficulty in differentiating between noise and the information components of the speckle pattern. To address this problem, the spiking cortical model (SCM)-based nonlocal means method is presented. The proposed method explores self-similarities of OCT images based on rotation-invariant features of image patches extracted by SCM and then restores the speckled images by averaging the similar patches. This method can provide sufficient speckle reduction while preserving image details very well due to its effectiveness in finding reliable similar patches under high speckle noise contamination. When applied to the retinal OCT image, this method provides signal-to-noise ratio improvements of >16 dB with a small 5.4% loss of similarity.

  10. Noise Suppression and Enhanced Focusability in Plasma Raman Amplifier with Multi-frequency Pump

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balakin, A.A.; Fraiman, G.M.; Fisch, N.J.; Malkin, V.M.

    2003-01-01

    Laser pulse compression/amplification through Raman backscattering in plasmas can be facilitated by using multi-frequency pump laser beams. The efficiency of amplification is increased by suppressing the Raman instability of thermal fluctuations and seed precursors. Also the focusability of the amplified radiation is enhanced due to the suppression of large-scale longitudinal speckles in the pump wave structure

  11. A pilot study to image the vascular network of small melanocytic choroidal tumors with speckle noise-free 1050-nm swept source optical coherence tomography (OCT choroidal angiography).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maloca, Peter; Gyger, Cyrill; Hasler, Pascal W

    2016-06-01

    To visualize and measure the vascular network of melanocytic choroidal tumors with speckle noise-free swept source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT choroidal angiography). Melanocytic choroidal tumors from 24 eyes were imaged with 1050-nm optical coherence tomography (Topcon DRI OCT-1 Atlantis). A semi-automated algorithm was developed to remove speckle noise and to extract and measure the volume of the choroidal vessels from the obtained OCT data. In all cases, analysis of the choroidal vessels could be performed with SS-OCT without the need for pupillary dilation. The proposed method allows speckle noise-free, structure-guided visualization and measurement of the larger choroidal vessels in three dimensions. The obtained data suggest that speckle noise-free OCT may be more effective at identifying choroidal structures than traditional OCT methods. The measured volume of the extracted choroidal vessels of Haller's layer and Sattler's layer in the examined tumorous eyes was on average 0.982463955 mm(3) /982463956 μm(3) (range of 0.209764406 mm(3) /209764405.9 μm(3)to 1.78105544 mm(3) /1781055440 μm(3)). Full thickness obstruction of the choroidal vasculature by the tumor was found in 18 cases (72 %). In seven cases (18 %), choroidal vessel architecture did not show pronounced morphological abnormalities (18 %). Speckle noise-free OCT may serve as a new illustrative imaging technology and enhance visualization of the choroidal vessels without the need for dye injection. OCT can be used to identify and evaluate the choroidal vessels of melanocytic choroidal tumors, and may represent a potentially useful tool for imaging and monitoring of choroidal nevi and melanoma.

  12. Hearing aid noise suppression and working memory function

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neher, Tobias; Wagener, Kirsten C.; Fischer, Rosa-Linde

    2018-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Research findings concerning the relation between benefit from hearing aid (HA) noise suppression and working memory function are inconsistent. The current study thus investigated the effects of three noise suppression algorithms on auditory working memory and the relation with reading......-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement. Auditory working memory was assessed at +6 dB SNR using listening span and N-back paradigms. STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty experienced HA users ages 55-80 with large differences in reading span. RESULTS: For the listening span measurements, there was an influence of HA setting....... CONCLUSIONS: HA noise suppression may affect the recognition and recall of speech at positive SNRs, irrespective of individual reading span. Future work should improve the reliability of the auditory working memory measurements....

  13. Hearing aid noise suppression and working memory function

    OpenAIRE

    Fischer, Rosa-Linde; Neher, Tobias; Wagener, Kirsten C.

    2017-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Research findings concerning the relation between benefit from hearing aid (HA) noise suppression and working memory function are inconsistent. The current study thus investigated the effects of three noise suppression algorithms on auditory working memory and the relation with reading span.DESIGN: Using a computer simulation of bilaterally fitted HAs, four settings were tested: (1) unprocessed, (2) directional microphones, (3) single-channel noise reduction and (4) binaural cohere...

  14. Local scattering property scales flow speed estimation in laser speckle contrast imaging

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miao, Peng; Chao, Zhen; Feng, Shihan; Ji, Yuanyuan; Yu, Hang; Thakor, Nitish V; Li, Nan

    2015-01-01

    Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has been widely used in in vivo blood flow imaging. However, the effect of local scattering property (scattering coefficient µ s ) on blood flow speed estimation has not been well investigated. In this study, such an effect was quantified and involved in relation between speckle autocorrelation time τ c and flow speed v based on simulation flow experiments. For in vivo blood flow imaging, an improved estimation strategy was developed to eliminate the estimation bias due to the inhomogeneous distribution of the scattering property. Compared to traditional LSCI, a new estimation method significantly suppressed the imaging noise and improves the imaging contrast of vasculatures. Furthermore, the new method successfully captured the blood flow changes and vascular constriction patterns in rats’ cerebral cortex from normothermia to mild and moderate hypothermia. (letter)

  15. Speckle reduction in digital holography with resampling ring masks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wenhui; Cao, Liangcai; Jin, Guofan

    2018-01-01

    One-shot digital holographic imaging has the advantages of high stability and low temporal cost. However, the reconstruction is affected by the speckle noise. Resampling ring-mask method in spectrum domain is proposed for speckle reduction. The useful spectrum of one hologram is divided into several sub-spectra by ring masks. In the reconstruction, angular spectrum transform is applied to guarantee the calculation accuracy which has no approximation. N reconstructed amplitude images are calculated from the corresponding sub-spectra. Thanks to speckle's random distribution, superimposing these N uncorrelated amplitude images would lead to a final reconstructed image with lower speckle noise. Normalized relative standard deviation values of the reconstructed image are used to evaluate the reduction of speckle. Effect of the method on the spatial resolution of the reconstructed image is also quantitatively evaluated. Experimental and simulation results prove the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method.

  16. Color speckle in laser displays

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuroda, Kazuo

    2015-07-01

    At the beginning of this century, lighting technology has been shifted from discharge lamps, fluorescent lamps and electric bulbs to solid-state lighting. Current solid-state lighting is based on the light emitting diodes (LED) technology, but the laser lighting technology is developing rapidly, such as, laser cinema projectors, laser TVs, laser head-up displays, laser head mounted displays, and laser headlamps for motor vehicles. One of the main issues of laser displays is the reduction of speckle noise1). For the monochromatic laser light, speckle is random interference pattern on the image plane (retina for human observer). For laser displays, RGB (red-green-blue) lasers form speckle patterns independently, which results in random distribution of chromaticity, called color speckle2).

  17. 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.

  18. GPK heading machines with noise suppression means. [USSR

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Geshlin, L.A.; Anenberg, G.I.

    1981-11-01

    Chain conveyor is the main noise pollution source of the GPK heading machine. When the conveyor forms a straight line its noise level ranges from 100 to 106 dB and when bent at a 30 degree angle the noise level is from 102 to 107 dB. The mean noise level in the two positions is 103 and 105 dB respectively. The Donetsk Research Scientific Institute for Occupational Hygiene has developed a system for noise suppression using rubber elements which are particularly efficient when the conveyor is bent. Rubber elements also reduce mechanical vibrations of the chain. Design of the modernized conveyors is shown in three schemes. Operational tests show that use of rubber suppresses noise by 5 to 10 dB, and on the average by 8 dB. Noise level measured at the operator's working place amounts to 89 dB. The noise pollution control measures developed by the Institute are economical and do not exceed 1% of the conveyor price.

  19. Edge Probability and Pixel Relativity-Based Speckle Reducing Anisotropic Diffusion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mishra, Deepak; Chaudhury, Santanu; Sarkar, Mukul; Soin, Arvinder Singh; Sharma, Vivek

    2018-02-01

    Anisotropic diffusion filters are one of the best choices for speckle reduction in the ultrasound images. These filters control the diffusion flux flow using local image statistics and provide the desired speckle suppression. However, inefficient use of edge characteristics results in either oversmooth image or an image containing misinterpreted spurious edges. As a result, the diagnostic quality of the images becomes a concern. To alleviate such problems, a novel anisotropic diffusion-based speckle reducing filter is proposed in this paper. A probability density function of the edges along with pixel relativity information is used to control the diffusion flux flow. The probability density function helps in removing the spurious edges and the pixel relativity reduces the oversmoothing effects. Furthermore, the filtering is performed in superpixel domain to reduce the execution time, wherein a minimum of 15% of the total number of image pixels can be used. For performance evaluation, 31 frames of three synthetic images and 40 real ultrasound images are used. In most of the experiments, the proposed filter shows a better performance as compared to the state-of-the-art filters in terms of the speckle region's signal-to-noise ratio and mean square error. It also shows a comparative performance for figure of merit and structural similarity measure index. Furthermore, in the subjective evaluation, performed by the expert radiologists, the proposed filter's outputs are preferred for the improved contrast and sharpness of the object boundaries. Hence, the proposed filtering framework is suitable to reduce the unwanted speckle and improve the quality of the ultrasound images.

  20. A New Approach for Speckle Reduction in Holographic 3D printer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Utsugi, Takeru; Yamaguchi, Masahiro

    2013-01-01

    A Holographic 3D printer produces a high quality 3D image reproduced by a full-color, full-parallax holographic stereogram with high-density light-ray recording. But speckle-pattern noise localized behind the reconstructed image is causing a loss of the display quality. This noise is originated from the speckle generated by a diffuser for equalizing the intensity distribution of the object light on the recording medium. We analyze some conventional ways for speckle reduction using a band-limited diffuser, and it is found that these ways cannot reduce the noise sufficiently. Then we propose two methods, one introduces a moving diffuser and the other introduces multiple exposures and a digital diffuser called as 4L-PRPS.

  1. Speckle noise reduction on a laser projection display via a broadband green light source.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Nan Ei; Choi, Ju Won; Kang, Heejong; Ko, Do-Kyeong; Fu, Shih-Hao; Liou, Jiun-Wei; Kung, Andy H; Choi, Hee Joo; Kim, Byoung Joo; Cha, Myoungsik; Peng, Lung-Han

    2014-02-10

    A broadband green light source was demonstrated using a tandem-poled lithium niobate (TPLN) crystal. The measured wavelength and temperature bandwidth were 6.5 nm and 100 °C, respectively, spectral bandwidth was 36 times broader than the periodically poled case. Although the conversion efficiency was smaller than in the periodic case, the TPLN device had a good figure of merit owing to the extremely large bandwidth for wavelength and temperature. The developed broadband green light source exhibited speckle noise approximately one-seventh of that in the conventional approach for a laser projection display.

  2. Physical limits of feedback noise-suppression in biological networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Jiajun; Yuan, Zhanjiang; Zhou, Tianshou

    2009-01-01

    Feedback is a ubiquitous control mechanism of biological networks, and has also been identified in a variety of regulatory systems and organisms. It has been shown that, for a given gain and with negligible intrinsic noise, negative feedback impairs noise buffering whereas positive feedback enhances noise buffering. We further investigate the influence of negative and positive feedback on noise in output signals by considering both intrinsic and extrinsic noise as well as operator noise. We find that, while maintaining the system sensitivity, either there exists a minimum of the output noise intensity corresponding to a biologically feasible feedback strength, or the output noise intensity is a monotonic function of feedback strength bounded by both biological and dynamical constraints. In both cases, feedback noise-suppression is physically limited. In other words, noise suppressed by negative or positive feedback cannot be reduced without limitation even in the case of slow transcription

  3. Statistical Image Recovery From Laser Speckle Patterns With Polarization Diversity

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-01

    several techniques for speckle suppression in optical imaging [19]. However, averaging nonimaged laser speckle patterns does not yield the same result...Comparison”. Applied Optics , 21(15):2758–2769, August 1982. 13. Fienup, James R. “Image Formation from Nonimaged Laser Speckle Patterns”. S. R. Robinson...6 ν Optical Frequency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 t Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 ϕ

  4. Speckle interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirohi, Rajpal S.

    2002-03-01

    Illumination of a rough surface by a coherent monochromatic wave creates a grainy structure in space termed a speckle pattern. It was considered a special kind of noise and was the bane of holographers. However, its information-carrying property was soon discovered and the phenomenon was used for metrological applications. The realization that a speckle pattern carried information led to a new measurement technique known as speckle interferometry (SI). Although the speckle phenomenon in itself is a consequence of interference among numerous randomly dephased waves, a reference wave is required in SI. Further, it employs an imaging geometry. Initially SI was performed mostly by using silver emulsions as the recording media. The double-exposure specklegram was filtered to extract the desired information. Since SI can be configured so as to be sensitive to the in-plane displacement component, the out-of-plane displacement component or their derivatives, the interferograms corresponding to these were extracted from the specklegram for further analysis. Since the speckle size can be controlled by the F number of the imaging lens, it was soon realized that SI could be performed with electronic detection, thereby increasing its accuracy and speed of measurement. Furthermore, a phase-shifting technique can also be incorporated. This technique came to be known as electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI). It employed the same experimental configurations as SI. ESPI found many industrial applications as it supplements holographic interferometry. We present three examples covering diverse areas. In one application it has been used to measure residual stress in a blank recordable compact disk. In another application, microscopic ESPI has been used to study the influence of relative humidity on paint-coated figurines and also the effect of a conservation agent applied on top of this. The final application is to find the defects in pipes. These diverse applications

  5. Ultrasound speckle reduction based on fractional order differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Dangguo; Zhou, Ting; Liu, Fan; Yi, Sanli; Xiang, Yan; Ma, Lei; Xiong, Xin; He, Jianfeng

    2017-07-01

    Ultrasound images show a granular pattern of noise known as speckle that diminishes their quality and results in difficulties in diagnosis. To preserve edges and features, this paper proposes a fractional differentiation-based image operator to reduce speckle in ultrasound. An image de-noising model based on fractional partial differential equations with balance relation between k (gradient modulus threshold that controls the conduction) and v (the order of fractional differentiation) was constructed by the effective combination of fractional calculus theory and a partial differential equation, and the numerical algorithm of it was achieved using a fractional differential mask operator. The proposed algorithm has better speckle reduction and structure preservation than the three existing methods [P-M model, the speckle reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD) technique, and the detail preserving anisotropic diffusion (DPAD) technique]. And it is significantly faster than bilateral filtering (BF) in producing virtually the same experimental results. Ultrasound phantom testing and in vivo imaging show that the proposed method can improve the quality of an ultrasound image in terms of tissue SNR, CNR, and FOM values.

  6. All-electronic suppression of mode hopping noise in diode lasers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bager, L.

    1990-01-01

    A simple all-electronic stabilization scheme is presented for suppression of external-cavity mode-hopping noise in diode lasers. This excess noise is generated when the laser is subjected to optical feedback and may degrade the overall performance of optical systems including sensors. Suppression...

  7. Speckle Imaging of Binary Stars with Large-Format CCDs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horch, E.; Ninkov, Z.; Slawson, R. W.; van Altena, W. F.; Meyer, R. D.; Girard, T. M.

    1997-12-01

    In the past, bare (unintensified) CCDs have not been widely used in speckle imaging for two main reasons: 1) the readout rate of most scientific-grade CCDs is too slow to be able to observe at the high frame rates necessary to capture speckle patterns efficiently, and 2) the read noise of CCDs limits the detectability of fainter objects where it becomes difficult to distinguish between speckles and noise peaks in the image. These facts have led to the current supremacy of intensified imaging systems (such as intensified-CCDs) in this field, which can typically be read out at video rates or faster. We have developed a new approach that uses a large format CCD not only to detect the incident photons but also to record many speckle patterns before the chip is read out. This approach effectively uses the large area of the CCD as a physical ``memory cache'' of previous speckle data frames. The method is described, and binary star observations from the University of Toronto Southern Observatory 60-cm telescope and the Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO (WIYN) 3.5-m telescope are presented. Plans for future observing and instrumentation improvements are also outlined.

  8. Single-shot speckle reduction in numerical reconstruction of digitally recorded holograms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hincapie, Diego; Herrera-Ramírez, Jorge; Garcia-Sucerquia, Jorge

    2015-04-15

    A single-shot method to reduce the speckle noise in the numerical reconstructions of electronically recorded holograms is presented. A recorded hologram with the dimensions N×M is split into S=T×T sub-holograms. The uncorrelated superposition of the individually reconstructed sub-holograms leads to an image with the speckle noise reduced proportionally to the 1/S law. The experimental results are presented to support the proposed methodology.

  9. Hearing aid noise suppression and working memory function

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neher, Tobias; Wagener, Kirsten C.; Fischer, Rosa-Linde

    2018-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: Research findings concerning the relation between benefit from hearing aid (HA) noise suppression and working memory function are inconsistent. The current study thus investigated the effects of three noise suppression algorithms on auditory working memory and the relation with reading......-to-noise ratio (SNR) improvement. Auditory working memory was assessed at +6 dB SNR using listening span and N-back paradigms. STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty experienced HA users ages 55-80 with large differences in reading span. RESULTS: For the listening span measurements, there was an influence of HA setting...... on sentence-final word recognition and recall, with the directional microphones leading to ~6% better performance than the single-channel noise reduction. For the N-back measurements, there was substantial test-retest variability and no influence of HA setting. No interactions with reading span were found...

  10. Damage monitoring in historical murals by speckle interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinsch, Klaus D.; Gulker, Gerd; Joost, Holger

    2003-11-01

    In the conservation of historical murals it is important to identify loose plaster sections that threaten to fall off. Electronic speckle interferometry in combination with acoustic excitation of the object has been employed to monitor loose areas. To avoid disadvantages of high sound irradiation of the complete building a novel directional audio-sound source based on nonlinear mixing of ultrasound has been introduced. The optical system was revised for optimum performance in the new environment. Emphasis is placed on noise suppression to increase sensitivity. Furthermore, amplitude and phase data of object response over the frequency-range inspected are employed to gain additional information on the state of the plaster or paint. Laboratory studies on sample specimen supplement field campaigns at historical sites.

  11. Measurement of eye aberrations in a speckle field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larichev, A V; Ivanov, P V; Iroshnikov, N G; Shmalgauzen, V I

    2001-01-01

    The influence of speckles on the performance of a Shark-Hartmann wavefront sensor is investigated in the eye aberration studies. The dependence of the phase distortion measurement error on the characteristic speckle size is determined experimentally. Scanning of the reference source was used to suppress the speckle structure of the laser beam scattered by the retina. The technique developed by us made it possible to study the time dependence of the human eye aberrations with a resolution of 30 ms. (laser applications and other topics in quantum electronics)

  12. En face speckle reduction in optical coherence microscopy by frequency compounding.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magnain, Caroline; Wang, Hui; Sakadžić, Sava; Fischl, Bruce; Boas, David A

    2016-05-01

    We report the use of frequency compounding to significantly reduce speckle noise in optical coherence microscopy, more specifically on the en face images. This method relies on the fact that the speckle patterns recorded from different wavelengths simultaneously are independent; hence their summation yields significant reduction in noise, with only a single acquisition. The results of our experiments with microbeads show that the narrow confocal parameter, due to a high numerical aperture objective, restricts the axial resolution loss that would otherwise theoretically broaden linearly with the number of optical frequency bands used. This speckle reduction scheme preserves the lateral resolution since it is performed on individual A-scans. Finally, we apply this technique to images of fixed human brain tissue, showing significant improvements in contrast-to-noise ratio with only moderate loss of axial resolution, in an effort to improve automatic three-dimensional detection of cells and fibers in the cortex.

  13. Speckle noise reduction in breast ultrasound images: SMU (srad median unsharp) approch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Njeh, I.; Sassi, O. B.; Ben Hamida, A.; Chtourou, K.

    2011-01-01

    Image denoising has become a very essential for better information extraction from the image and mainly from so noised ones, such as ultrasound images. In certain cases, for instance in ultrasound images, the noise can restrain information which is valuable for the general practitioner. Consequently medical images are very inconsistent, and it is crucial to operate case to case. This paper presents a novel algorithm SMU (Srad Median Unsharp) for noise suppression in ultrasound breast images in order to realize a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) for breast cancer.

  14. Camera-based speckle noise reduction for 3-D absolute shape measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Hao; Kuschmierz, Robert; Czarske, Jürgen; Fischer, Andreas

    2016-05-30

    Simultaneous position and velocity measurements enable absolute 3-D shape measurements of fast rotating objects for instance for monitoring the cutting process in a lathe. Laser Doppler distance sensors enable simultaneous position and velocity measurements with a single sensor head by evaluating the scattered light signals. The superposition of several speckles with equal Doppler frequency but random phase on the photo detector results in an increased velocity and shape uncertainty, however. In this paper, we present a novel image evaluation method that overcomes the uncertainty limitations due to the speckle effect. For this purpose, the scattered light is detected with a camera instead of single photo detectors. Thus, the Doppler frequency from each speckle can be evaluated separately and the velocity uncertainty decreases with the square root of the number of camera lines. A reduction of the velocity uncertainty by the order of one magnitude is verified by the numerical simulations and experimental results, respectively. As a result, the measurement uncertainty of the absolute shape is not limited by the speckle effect anymore.

  15. The Analysis and Suppression of the spike noise in vibrator record

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, H.; Jiang, T.; Xu, X.; Ge, L.; Lin, J.; Yang, Z.

    2013-12-01

    During the seismic exploration with vibrator, seismic recording systems have often been affected by random spike noise in the background, which leads to strong data distortions as a result of the cross-correlation processing of the vibrator method. Partial or total loss of the desired seismic information is possible if no automatic spike reduction is available in the field prior to correlation of the field record. Generally speaking, original record of vibrator is uncorrelated data, in which the signal is non-wavelet form. In order to obtain the seismic record similar to explosive source, the signal of uncorrelated data needs to use the correlation algorithm to compress into wavelet form. The correlation process results in that the interference of spike in correlated data is not only being suppressed, but also being expanded. So the spike noise suppression of vibrator is indispensable. According to numerical simulation results, the effect of spike in the vibrator record is mainly affected by the amplitude and proportional points in the uncorrelated record. When the spike noise ratio in uncorrelated record reaches 1.5% and the average amplitude exceeds 200, it will make the SNR(signal-to-noise ratio) of the correlated record lower than 0dB, so that it is difficult to separate the signal. While the amplitude and ratio is determined by the intensity of background noise. Therefore, when the noise level is strong, in order to improve SNR of the seismic data, the uncorrelated record of vibrator need to take necessary steps to suppress spike noise. For the sake of reducing the influence of the spike noise, we need to make the detection and suppression of spike noise process for the uncorrelated record. Because vibrator works by inputting sweep signal into the underground long time, ideally, the peak and valley values of each trace have little change. On the basis of the peak and valley values, we can get a reference amplitude value. Then the spike can be detected and

  16. Speckle Reduction and Structure Enhancement by Multichannel Median Boosted Anisotropic Diffusion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Zhi

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose a new approach to reduce speckle noise and enhance structures in speckle-corrupted images. It utilizes a median-anisotropic diffusion compound scheme. The median-filter-based reaction term acts as a guided energy source to boost the structures in the image being processed. In addition, it regularizes the diffusion equation to ensure the existence and uniqueness of a solution. We also introduce a decimation and back reconstruction scheme to further enhance the processing result. Before the iteration of the diffusion process, the image is decimated and a subpixel shifted image set is formed. This allows a multichannel parallel diffusion iteration, and more importantly, the speckle noise is broken into impulsive or salt-pepper noise, which is easy to remove by median filtering. The advantage of the proposed technique is clear when it is compared to other diffusion algorithms and the well-known adaptive weighted median filtering (AWMF scheme in both simulation and real medical ultrasound images.

  17. Hearing aid noise suppression and working memory function

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fischer, Rosa-Linde; Neher, Tobias; Wagener, Kirsten C.

    Research findings concerning the relation between outcome from hearing aid (HA) noise suppression and working memory function are unclear. The current study thus investigated the effects of three noise suppression algorithms on auditory working memory as well as the relation with reading span......) improvement. Auditory working memory was assessed at +6 dB SNR using a listening span and an N-back paradigm. Twenty experienced HA users aged 55-80 yr with large differences in reading span took part. For the listening span measurements, there was an influence of HA setting on final word recognition...... and recall, with the directional microphone setting leading to approx. 6% better performance than the single-channel noise reduction setting. For the N-back measurements, there was substantial test-retest variability and no influence of HA setting. No interactions with reading span were found. These results...

  18. Near-source noise suppression of AMT by compressive sensing and mathematical morphology filtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Guang; Xiao, Xiao; Tang, Jing-Tian; Li, Jin; Zhu, Hui-Jie; Zhou, Cong; Yan, Fa-Bao

    2017-12-01

    In deep mineral exploration, the acquisition of audio magnetotelluric (AMT) data is severely affected by ambient noise near the observation sites; This near-field noise restricts investigation depths. Mathematical morphological filtering (MMF) proved effective in suppressing large-scale strong and variably shaped noise, typically low-frequency noise, but can not deal with pulse noise of AMT data. We combine compressive sensing and MMF. First, we use MMF to suppress the large-scale strong ambient noise; second, we use the improved orthogonal match pursuit (IOMP) algorithm to remove the residual pulse noise. To remove the noise and protect the useful AMT signal, a redundant dictionary that matches with spikes and is insensitive to the useful signal is designed. Synthetic and field data from the Luzong field suggest that the proposed method suppresses the near-source noise and preserves the signal well; thus, better results are obtained that improve the output of either MMF or IOMP.

  19. Edge enhancement and noise suppression for infrared image based on feature analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Meng

    2018-06-01

    Infrared images are often suffering from background noise, blurred edges, few details and low signal-to-noise ratios. To improve infrared image quality, it is essential to suppress noise and enhance edges simultaneously. To realize it in this paper, we propose a novel algorithm based on feature analysis in shearlet domain. Firstly, as one of multi-scale geometric analysis (MGA), we introduce the theory and superiority of shearlet transform. Secondly, after analyzing the defects of traditional thresholding technique to suppress noise, we propose a novel feature extraction distinguishing image structures from noise well and use it to improve the traditional thresholding technique. Thirdly, with computing the correlations between neighboring shearlet coefficients, the feature attribute maps identifying the weak detail and strong edges are completed to improve the generalized unsharped masking (GUM). At last, experiment results with infrared images captured in different scenes demonstrate that the proposed algorithm suppresses noise efficiently and enhances image edges adaptively.

  20. Noise suppression in surface microseismic data by τ-p transform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forghani-Arani, Farnoush; Batzle, Mike; Behura, Jyoti; Willis, Mark; Haines, Seth; Davidson, Michael

    2013-01-01

    Surface passive seismic methods are receiving increased attention for monitoring changes in reservoirs during the production of unconventional oil and gas. However, in passive seismic data the strong cultural and ambient noise (mainly surface-waves) decreases the effectiveness of these techniques. Hence, suppression of surface-waves is a critical step in surface microseismic monitoring. We apply a noise suppression technique, based on the τ — p transform, to a surface passive seismic dataset recorded over a Barnett Shale reservoir undergoing a hydraulic fracturing process. This technique not only improves the signal-to-noise ratios of added synthetic microseismic events, but it also preserves the event waveforms.

  1. 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

  2. Adaptive Active Noise Suppression Using Multiple Model Switching Strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Quanzhen Huang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Active noise suppression for applications where the system response varies with time is a difficult problem. The computation burden for the existing control algorithms with online identification is heavy and easy to cause control system instability. A new active noise control algorithm is proposed in this paper by employing multiple model switching strategy for secondary path varying. The computation is significantly reduced. Firstly, a noise control system modeling method is proposed for duct-like applications. Then a multiple model adaptive control algorithm is proposed with a new multiple model switching strategy based on filter-u least mean square (FULMS algorithm. Finally, the proposed algorithm was implemented on Texas Instruments digital signal processor (DSP TMS320F28335 and real time experiments were done to test the proposed algorithm and FULMS algorithm with online identification. Experimental verification tests show that the proposed algorithm is effective with good noise suppression performance.

  3. Correlation of Spatially Filtered Dynamic Speckles in Distance Measurement Application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Semenov, Dmitry V.; Nippolainen, Ervin; Kamshilin, Alexei A.; Miridonov, Serguei V.

    2008-01-01

    In this paper statistical properties of spatially filtered dynamic speckles are considered. This phenomenon was not sufficiently studied yet while spatial filtering is an important instrument for speckles velocity measurements. In case of spatial filtering speckle velocity information is derived from the modulation frequency of filtered light power which is measured by photodetector. Typical photodetector output is represented by a narrow-band random noise signal which includes non-informative intervals. Therefore more or less precious frequency measurement requires averaging. In its turn averaging implies uncorrelated samples. However, conducting research we found that correlation is typical property not only of dynamic speckle patterns but also of spatially filtered speckles. Using spatial filtering the correlation is observed as a response of measurements provided to the same part of the object surface or in case of simultaneously using several adjacent photodetectors. Found correlations can not be explained using just properties of unfiltered dynamic speckles. As we demonstrate the subject of this paper is important not only from pure theoretical point but also from the point of applied speckle metrology. E.g. using single spatial filter and an array of photodetector can greatly improve accuracy of speckle velocity measurements

  4. A decade of innovation with laser speckle metrology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ettemeyer, Andreas

    2003-05-01

    Speckle Pattern Interferometry has emerged from the experimental substitution of holographic interferometry to become a powerful problem solving tool in research and industry. The rapid development of computer and digital imaging techniques in combination with minaturization of the optical equipment led to new applications which had not been anticipated before. While classical holographic interferometry had always required careful consideration of the environmental conditions such as vibration, noise, light, etc. and could generally only be performed in the optical laboratory, it is now state of the art, to handle portable speckle measuring equipment at almost any place. During the last decade, the change in design and technique has dramatically influenced the range of applications of speckle metrology and opened new markets. The integration of recent research results into speckle measuring equipment has led to handy equipment, simplified the operation and created high quality data output.

  5. The noise background and its suppression in high energy physics experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meng Xiangcheng

    1996-01-01

    In the modern high energy physics experiments, system is very complicated and from a lot of sources may originate noise and background. How to reduce and restrain noise and backgrounds? It should use different suppression mode for different kinds of noise and backgrounds

  6. Lagrangian speckle model and tissue-motion estimation--theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maurice, R L; Bertrand, M

    1999-07-01

    It is known that when a tissue is subjected to movements such as rotation, shearing, scaling, etc., changes in speckle patterns that result act as a noise source, often responsible for most of the displacement-estimate variance. From a modeling point of view, these changes can be thought of as resulting from two mechanisms: one is the motion of the speckles and the other, the alterations of their morphology. In this paper, we propose a new tissue-motion estimator to counteract these speckle decorrelation effects. The estimator is based on a Lagrangian description of the speckle motion. This description allows us to follow local characteristics of the speckle field as if they were a material property. This method leads to an analytical description of the decorrelation in a way which enables the derivation of an appropriate inverse filter for speckle restoration. The filter is appropriate for linear geometrical transformation of the scattering function (LT), i.e., a constant-strain region of interest (ROI). As the LT itself is a parameter of the filter, a tissue-motion estimator can be formulated as a nonlinear minimization problem, seeking the best match between the pre-tissue-motion image and a restored-speckle post-motion image. The method is tested, using simulated radio-frequency (RF) images of tissue undergoing axial shear.

  7. Speckle reduction in optical coherence tomography images of human skin by a spatial diversity method - art. no. 66270P

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jørgensen, Thomas Martini; Thrane, Lars; Mogensen, M.

    2007-01-01

    the scheme with a mobile fiber-based time-domain real-time OCT system. Essential enhancement was obtained in image contrast when performing in vivo imaging of normal skin and lesions. Resulting images show improved delineation of structure in correspondence with the observed improvements in contrast...... system. Here, we consider a method that in principle can be fitted to most OCT systems without major modifications. Specifically, we address a spatial diversity technique for suppressing speckle noise in OCT images of human skin. The method is a variant of changing the position of the sample relative...

  8. Speckle reduction methods in laser-based picture projectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akram, M. Nadeem; Chen, Xuyuan

    2016-02-01

    Laser sources have been promised for many years to be better light sources as compared to traditional lamps or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for projectors, which enable projectors having wide colour gamut for vivid image, super brightness and high contrast for the best picture quality, long lifetime for maintain free operation, mercury free, and low power consumption for green environment. A major technology obstacle in using lasers for projection has been the speckle noise caused by to the coherent nature of the lasers. For speckle reduction, current state of the art solutions apply moving parts with large physical space demand. Solutions beyond the state of the art need to be developed such as integrated optical components, hybrid MOEMS devices, and active phase modulators for compact speckle reduction. In this article, major methods reported in the literature for the speckle reduction in laser projectors are presented and explained. With the advancement in semiconductor lasers with largely reduced cost for the red, green and the blue primary colours, and the developed methods for their speckle reduction, it is hoped that the lasers will be widely utilized in different projector applications in the near future.

  9. Noise suppression by noise

    OpenAIRE

    Vilar, J. M. G. (José M. G.), 1972-; Rubí Capaceti, José Miguel

    2001-01-01

    We have analyzed the interplay between an externally added noise and the intrinsic noise of systems that relax fast towards a stationary state, and found that increasing the intensity of the external noise can reduce the total noise of the system. We have established a general criterion for the appearance of this phenomenon and discussed two examples in detail.

  10. Amplitude Noise Suppression and Orthogonal Multiplexing Using Injection-Locked Single-Mode VCSEL

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lyubopytov, Vladimir; von Lerber, Tuomo; Lassas, Matti

    2017-01-01

    We experimentally demonstrate BER reduction and orthogonal modulation using an injection locked single-mode VCSEL. It allows us suppressing an amplitude noise of optical signal and/or double the capacity of an information channel.......We experimentally demonstrate BER reduction and orthogonal modulation using an injection locked single-mode VCSEL. It allows us suppressing an amplitude noise of optical signal and/or double the capacity of an information channel....

  11. Short wavelength limits of current shot noise suppression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nause, Ariel; Dyunin, Egor; Gover, Avraham

    2014-01-01

    Shot noise in electron beam was assumed to be one of the features beyond control of accelerator physics. Current results attained in experiments at Accelerator Test Facility in Brookhaven and Linac Coherent Light Source in Stanford suggest that the control of the shot noise in electron beam (and therefore of spontaneous radiation and Self Amplified Spontaneous Emission of Free Electron Lasers) is feasible at least in the visible range of the spectrum. Here, we present a general linear formulation for collective micro-dynamics of e-beam noise and its control. Specifically, we compare two schemes for current noise suppression: a quarter plasma wavelength drift section and a combined drift/dispersive (transverse magnetic field) section. We examine and compare their limits of applicability at short wavelengths via considerations of electron phase-spread and the related Landau damping effect

  12. Short wavelength limits of current shot noise suppression

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nause, Ariel, E-mail: arielnau@post.tau.ac.il [Faculty of Exact Sciences, Department of Physics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel); Dyunin, Egor; Gover, Avraham [Faculty of Engineering, Department of Physical Electronics, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv (Israel)

    2014-08-15

    Shot noise in electron beam was assumed to be one of the features beyond control of accelerator physics. Current results attained in experiments at Accelerator Test Facility in Brookhaven and Linac Coherent Light Source in Stanford suggest that the control of the shot noise in electron beam (and therefore of spontaneous radiation and Self Amplified Spontaneous Emission of Free Electron Lasers) is feasible at least in the visible range of the spectrum. Here, we present a general linear formulation for collective micro-dynamics of e-beam noise and its control. Specifically, we compare two schemes for current noise suppression: a quarter plasma wavelength drift section and a combined drift/dispersive (transverse magnetic field) section. We examine and compare their limits of applicability at short wavelengths via considerations of electron phase-spread and the related Landau damping effect.

  13. Analysis of statistical properties of laser speckles, forming in skin and mucous of colon: potential application in laser surgery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rubtsov, Vladimir; Kapralov, Sergey; Chalyk, Iuri; Ulianova, Onega; Ulyanov, Sergey

    2013-02-01

    Statistical properties of laser speckles, formed in skin and mucous of colon have been analyzed and compared. It has been demonstrated that first and second order statistics of "skin" speckles and "mucous" speckles are quite different. It is shown that speckles, formed in mucous, are not Gaussian one. Layered structure of colon mucous causes formation of speckled biospeckles. First- and second- order statistics of speckled speckles have been reviewed in this paper. Statistical properties of Fresnel and Fraunhofer doubly scattered and cascade speckles are described. Non-gaussian statistics of biospeckles may lead to high localization of intensity of coherent light in human tissue during the laser surgery. Way of suppression of highly localized non-gaussian speckles is suggested.

  14. High frequency measurements of shot noise suppression in atomic-scale metal contacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wheeler, Patrick J.; Evans, Kenneth; Russom, Jeffrey; King, Nicholas; Natelson, Douglas

    2009-03-01

    Shot noise provides a means of assessing the number and transmission coefficients of transmitting channels in atomic- and molecular-scale junctions. Previous experiments at low temperatures in metal and semiconductor point contacts have demonstrated the expected suppression of shot noise when junction conductance is near an integer multiple of the conductance quantum, G0≡2e^2/h. Using high frequency techniques, we demonstrate the high speed acquisition of such data at room temperature in mechanical break junctions. In clean Au contacts conductance histograms with clear peaks at G0, 2G0, and 3G0 are acquired within hours, and histograms of simultaneous measurements of the shot noise show clear suppression at those conductance values. We describe the dependence of the noise on bias voltage and analyze the noise vs. conductance histograms in terms of a model that averages over transmission coefficients.

  15. Optimization of valve opening process for the suppression of impulse exhaust noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jingxiang; Zhao, Shengdun

    2017-02-01

    Impulse exhaust noise generated by the sudden impact of discharging flow of pneumatic systems has significant temporal characteristics including high sound pressure and rapid sound transient. The impulse noise exposures are more hazardous to hearing than the energy equivalent uniform noise exposures. This paper presents a novel approach to suppress the peak sound pressure as a major indicator of impulsiveness of the impulse exhaust noise by an optimization of the opening process of valve. Relationships between exhaust flow and impulse noise are described by thermodynamics and noise generating mechanism. Then an optimized approach by controlling the valve opening process is derived under a constraint of pre-setting exhaust time. A modified servo-direct-driven valve was designed and assembled in a typical pneumatic system for the verification experiments comparing with an original solenoid valve. Experimental results with groups of initial cylinder pressures and pre-setting exhaust times are shown to verify the effects of the proposed optimization. Some indicators of energy-equivalent and impulsiveness are introduced to discuss the effects of the noise suppressions. Relationship between noise reduction and exhaust time delay is also discussed.

  16. Noise suppressed partial volume correction for cardiac SPECT/CT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chan, Chung; Liu, Chi, E-mail: chi.liu@yale.edu [Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States); Liu, Hui [Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 and Key Laboratory of Particle and Radiation Imaging (Tsinghua University), Ministry of Education, Beijing 100084 (China); Grobshtein, Yariv [GE Healthcare, Haifa 3910101 (Israel); Stacy, Mitchel R. [Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States); Sinusas, Albert J. [Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 and Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06520 (United States)

    2016-09-15

    Purpose: Partial volume correction (PVC) methods typically improve quantification at the expense of increased image noise and reduced reproducibility. In this study, the authors developed a novel voxel-based PVC method that incorporates anatomical knowledge to improve quantification while suppressing noise for cardiac SPECT/CT imaging. Methods: In the proposed method, the SPECT images were first reconstructed using anatomical-based maximum a posteriori (AMAP) with Bowsher’s prior to penalize noise while preserving boundaries. A sequential voxel-by-voxel PVC approach (Yang’s method) was then applied on the AMAP reconstruction using a template response. This template response was obtained by forward projecting a template derived from a contrast-enhanced CT image, and then reconstructed using AMAP to model the partial volume effects (PVEs) introduced by both the system resolution and the smoothing applied during reconstruction. To evaluate the proposed noise suppressed PVC (NS-PVC), the authors first simulated two types of cardiac SPECT studies: a {sup 99m}Tc-tetrofosmin myocardial perfusion scan and a {sup 99m}Tc-labeled red blood cell (RBC) scan on a dedicated cardiac multiple pinhole SPECT/CT at both high and low count levels. The authors then applied the proposed method on a canine equilibrium blood pool study following injection with {sup 99m}Tc-RBCs at different count levels by rebinning the list-mode data into shorter acquisitions. The proposed method was compared to MLEM reconstruction without PVC, two conventional PVC methods, including Yang’s method and multitarget correction (MTC) applied on the MLEM reconstruction, and AMAP reconstruction without PVC. Results: The results showed that the Yang’s method improved quantification, however, yielded increased noise and reduced reproducibility in the regions with higher activity. MTC corrected for PVE on high count data with amplified noise, although yielded the worst performance among all the methods

  17. Analysis and suppression of passive noise in surface microseismic data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forghani-Arani, Farnoush

    Surface microseismic surveys are gaining popularity in monitoring the hydraulic fracturing process. The effectiveness of these surveys, however, is strongly dependent on the signal-to-noise ratio of the acquired data. Cultural and industrial noise generated during hydraulic fracturing operations usually dominate the data, thereby decreasing the effectiveness of using these data in identifying and locating microseismic events. Hence, noise suppression is a critical step in surface microseismic monitoring. In this thesis, I focus on two important aspects in using surface-recorded microseismic seismic data: first, I take advantage of the unwanted surface noise to understand the characteristics of these noise and extract information about the propagation medium from the noise; second, I propose effective techniques to suppress the surface noise while preserving the waveforms that contain information about the source of microseisms. Automated event identification on passive seismic data using only a few receivers is challenging especially when the record lengths span over long durations of time. I introduce an automatic event identification algorithm that is designed specifically for detecting events in passive data acquired with a small number of receivers. I demonstrate that the conventional STA/LTA (Short-term Average/Long-term Average) algorithm is not sufficiently effective in event detection in the common case of low signal-to-noise ratio. With a cross-correlation based method as an extension of the STA/LTA algorithm, even low signal-to-noise events (that were not detectable with conventional STA/LTA) were revealed. Surface microseismic data contains surface-waves (generated primarily from hydraulic fracturing activities) and body-waves in the form of microseismic events. It is challenging to analyze the surface-waves on the recorded data directly because of the randomness of their source and their unknown source signatures. I use seismic interferometry to extract

  18. Analysis of the speckle properties in a laser projection system based on a human eye model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cui, Zhe; Wang, Anting; Ma, Qianli; Ming, Hai

    2014-03-01

    In this paper, the properties of the speckle that is observed by humans in laser projection systems are theoretically analyzed. The speckle pattern on the fovea of the human retina is numerically simulated by introducing a chromatic human eye model. The results show that the speckle contrast experienced by humans is affected by the light intensity of the projected images and the wavelength of the laser source when considering the paracentral vision. Furthermore, the image quality is also affected by these two parameters. We believe that these results are useful for evaluating the speckle noise in laser projection systems.

  19. Feedback suppression of rotating external kink instabilities in the presence of noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanson, Jeremy M.; De Bono, Bryan; James, Royce W.; Levesque, Jeffrey P.; Mauel, Michael E.; Maurer, David A.; Navratil, Gerald A.; Pedersen, Thomas Sunn; Shiraki, Daisuke

    2008-01-01

    The authors report on the first experimental demonstration of active feedback suppression of rotating external kink modes near the ideal wall limit in a tokamak using Kalman filtering to discriminate the n=1 kink mode from background noise. The Kalman filter contains an internal model that captures the dynamics of a rotating, growing n=1 mode. Suppression of the external kink mode is demonstrated over a broad range of phase angles between the sensed mode and applied control field, and performance is robust at noise levels that render proportional gain feedback ineffective. Suppression of the kink mode is accomplished without excitation of higher frequencies as was observed in previous experiments using lead-lag loop compensation [A. J. Klein et al., Phys Plasmas 12, 040703 (2005)

  20. Comparison of phase unwrapping algorithms for topography reconstruction based on digital speckle pattern interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuanbo; Cui, Xiaoqian; Wang, Hongbei; Zhao, Mengge; Ding, Hongbin

    2017-10-01

    Digital speckle pattern interferometry (DSPI) can diagnose the topography evolution in real-time, continuous and non-destructive, and has been considered as a most promising technique for Plasma-Facing Components (PFCs) topography diagnostic under the complicated environment of tokamak. It is important for the study of digital speckle pattern interferometry to enhance speckle patterns and obtain the real topography of the ablated crater. In this paper, two kinds of numerical model based on flood-fill algorithm has been developed to obtain the real profile by unwrapping from the wrapped phase in speckle interference pattern, which can be calculated through four intensity images by means of 4-step phase-shifting technique. During the process of phase unwrapping by means of flood-fill algorithm, since the existence of noise pollution, and other inevitable factors will lead to poor quality of the reconstruction results, this will have an impact on the authenticity of the restored topography. The calculation of the quality parameters was introduced to obtain the quality-map from the wrapped phase map, this work presents two different methods to calculate the quality parameters. Then quality parameters are used to guide the path of flood-fill algorithm, and the pixels with good quality parameters are given priority calculation, so that the quality of speckle interference pattern reconstruction results are improved. According to the comparison between the flood-fill algorithm which is suitable for speckle pattern interferometry and the quality-guided flood-fill algorithm (with two different calculation approaches), the errors which caused by noise pollution and the discontinuous of the strips were successfully reduced.

  1. Self-noise suppression schemes in blind image steganography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramkumar, Mahalingam; Akansu, Ali N.

    1999-11-01

    Blind or oblivious data hiding, can be considered as a signaling method where the origin of the signal constellation is not known. The origin however, can be estimated, by means of self-noise suppression techniques. In this paper, we propose such a technique, and present both theoretical and numerical evaluations of its performance in an additive noise scenario. The problem of optimal choice of the parameters of the proposed technique is also explored, and solutions are presented. Though the cover object is assumed to be an image for purposes of illustration, the proposed method is equally applicable for other types of multimedia data, like video, speech or music.

  2. Noise suppression and long-range exchange coupling for gallium arsenide spin qubits

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Malinowski, Filip

    This thesis presents the results of the experimental study performed on spin qubits realized in gate-defined gallium arsenide quantum dots, with the focus on noise suppression and long-distance coupling. First, we show that the susceptibility to charge noise can be reduced by reducing the gradien...

  3. Performance Improvement of Raman Distributed Temperature System by Using Noise Suppression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jian; Li, Yunting; Zhang, Mingjiang; Liu, Yi; Zhang, Jianzhong; Yan, Baoqiang; Wang, Dong; Jin, Baoquan

    2018-06-01

    In Raman distributed temperature system, the key factor for performance improvement is noise suppression, which seriously affects the sensing distance and temperature accuracy. Therefore, we propose and experimentally demonstrate dynamic noise difference algorithm and wavelet transform modulus maximum (WTMM) to de-noising Raman anti-Stokes signal. Experimental results show that the sensing distance can increase from 3 km to 11.5 km and the temperature accuracy increases to 1.58 °C at the sensing distance of 10.4 km.

  4. IMAGE ENHANCEMENT AND SPECKLE REDUCTION OF FULL POLARIMETRIC SAR DATA BY GAUSSIAN MARKOV RANDOM FIELD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Mahdian

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available In recent years, the use of Polarimetric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PolSAR data in different applications dramatically has been increased. In SAR imagery an interference phenomenon with random behavior exists which is called speckle noise. The interpretation of data encounters some troubles due to the presence of speckle which can be considered as a multiplicative noise affecting all coherent imaging systems. Indeed, speckle degrade radiometric resolution of PolSAR images, therefore it is needful to perform speckle filtering on the SAR data type. Markov Random Field (MRF has proven to be a powerful method for drawing out eliciting contextual information from remotely sensed images. In the present paper, a probability density function (PDF, which is fitted well with the PolSAR data based on the goodness-of-fit test, is first obtained for the pixel-wise analysis. Then the contextual smoothing is achieved with the MRF method. This novel speckle reduction method combines an advanced statistical distribution with spatial contextual information for PolSAR data. These two parts of information are combined based on weighted summation of pixel-wise and contextual models. This approach not only preserves edge information in the images, but also improves signal-to-noise ratio of the results. The method maintains the mean value of original signal in the homogenous areas and preserves the edges of features in the heterogeneous regions. Experiments on real medium resolution ALOS data from Tehran, and also high resolution full polarimetric SAR data over the Oberpfaffenhofen test-site in Germany, demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm compared with well-known despeckling methods.

  5. Laser speckle: theory and applications. January 1970-May 1988 (Citations from the Engineering Index data base). Report for January 1970-May 1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-05-01

    This bibliography contains citations concerning applications and theoretical considerations pertaining to laser speckle interferometry. Topics include experimental and theoretical investigations, applications in stress and vibrational analysis, velocity and displacement measurement, and surface analysis. Speckle noise-reduction techniques and speckle photography are also treated. (This updated bibliography contains 247 citations, 22 of which are new entries to the previous edition.)

  6. Suppression of contour perception by band-limited noise and its relation to nonclassical receptive field inhibition

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Petkov, Nicolai; Westenberg, Michel A.

    Band-spectrum noise has been shown to suppress the visual perception of printed letters. The suppression exhibits a specific dependence on the spatial frequency of the noise, and the frequency domain of most effective inhibition has been related to the size of the letters. In this paper, we address

  7. A Robust Approach For Acoustic Noise Suppression In Speech Using ANFIS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martinek, Radek; Kelnar, Michal; Vanus, Jan; Bilik, Petr; Zidek, Jan

    2015-11-01

    The authors of this article deals with the implementation of a combination of techniques of the fuzzy system and artificial intelligence in the application area of non-linear noise and interference suppression. This structure used is called an Adaptive Neuro Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS). This system finds practical use mainly in audio telephone (mobile) communication in a noisy environment (transport, production halls, sports matches, etc). Experimental methods based on the two-input adaptive noise cancellation concept was clearly outlined. Within the experiments carried out, the authors created, based on the ANFIS structure, a comprehensive system for adaptive suppression of unwanted background interference that occurs in audio communication and degrades the audio signal. The system designed has been tested on real voice signals. This article presents the investigation and comparison amongst three distinct approaches to noise cancellation in speech; they are LMS (least mean squares) and RLS (recursive least squares) adaptive filtering and ANFIS. A careful review of literatures indicated the importance of non-linear adaptive algorithms over linear ones in noise cancellation. It was concluded that the ANFIS approach had the overall best performance as it efficiently cancelled noise even in highly noise-degraded speech. Results were drawn from the successful experimentation, subjective-based tests were used to analyse their comparative performance while objective tests were used to validate them. Implementation of algorithms was experimentally carried out in Matlab to justify the claims and determine their relative performances.

  8. General filtering method for electronic speckle pattern interferometry fringe images with various densities based on variational image decomposition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Biyuan; Tang, Chen; Gao, Guannan; Chen, Mingming; Tang, Shuwei; Lei, Zhenkun

    2017-06-01

    Filtering off speckle noise from a fringe image is one of the key tasks in electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI). In general, ESPI fringe images can be divided into three categories: low-density fringe images, high-density fringe images, and variable-density fringe images. In this paper, we first present a general filtering method based on variational image decomposition that can filter speckle noise for ESPI fringe images with various densities. In our method, a variable-density ESPI fringe image is decomposed into low-density fringes, high-density fringes, and noise. A low-density fringe image is decomposed into low-density fringes and noise. A high-density fringe image is decomposed into high-density fringes and noise. We give some suitable function spaces to describe low-density fringes, high-density fringes, and noise, respectively. Then we construct several models and numerical algorithms for ESPI fringe images with various densities. And we investigate the performance of these models via our extensive experiments. Finally, we compare our proposed models with the windowed Fourier transform method and coherence enhancing diffusion partial differential equation filter. These two methods may be the most effective filtering methods at present. Furthermore, we use the proposed method to filter a collection of the experimentally obtained ESPI fringe images with poor quality. The experimental results demonstrate the performance of our proposed method.

  9. Using Correlated Photons to Suppress Background Noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Deborah; Hockney, George; Dowling, Jonathan

    2003-01-01

    A proposed method of suppressing the effect of background noise in an optical communication system would exploit the transmission and reception of correlated photons at the receiver. The method would not afford any advantage in a system in which performance is limited by shot noise. However, if the performance of the system is limited by background noise (e.g., sunlight in the case of a free-space optical communication system or incoherently scattered in-band photons in the case of a fiber-optic communication system), then the proposed method could offer an advantage: the proposed method would make it possible to achieve a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) significantly greater than that of an otherwise equivalent background- noise-limited optical communication system based on the classical transmission and reception of uncorrelated photons. The figure schematically depicts a classical optical-communication system and a system according to the proposed method. In the classical system, a modulated laser beam is transmitted along an optical path to a receiver, the optics of which include a narrow-band-pass filter that suppresses some of the background noise. A photodetector in the receiver detects the laser-beam and background photons, most or all of which are uncorrelated. In the proposed system, correlated photons would be generated at the transmitter by making a modulated laser beam pass through a nonlinear parametric down-conversion crystal. The sum of frequencies of the correlated photons in each pair would equal the frequency of the incident photon from which they were generated. As in the classical system, the correlated photons would travel along an optical path to a receiver, where they would be band-pass filtered and detected. Unlike in the classical system, the photodetector in the receiver in this system would be one that intrinsically favors the detection of pairs of correlated photons over the detection of uncorrelated photons. Even though there would be no

  10. Noise suppress or express exponential growth for hybrid Hopfield neural networks

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhu Song; Shen Yi; Chen Guici

    2010-01-01

    In this Letter, we will show that noise can make the given hybrid Hopfield neural networks whose solution may grows exponentially become the new stochastic hybrid Hopfield neural networks whose solution will grows at most polynomially. On the other hand, we will also show that noise can make the given hybrid Hopfield neural networks whose solution grows at most polynomially become the new stochastic hybrid Hopfield neural networks whose solution will grows at exponentially. In other words, we will reveal that the noise can suppress or express exponential growth for hybrid Hopfield neural networks.

  11. Analysis of Minute Features in Speckled Imagery with Maximum Likelihood Estimation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alejandro C. Frery

    2004-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with numerical problems arising when performing maximum likelihood parameter estimation in speckled imagery using small samples. The noise that appears in images obtained with coherent illumination, as is the case of sonar, laser, ultrasound-B, and synthetic aperture radar, is called speckle, and it can neither be assumed Gaussian nor additive. The properties of speckle noise are well described by the multiplicative model, a statistical framework from which stem several important distributions. Amongst these distributions, one is regarded as the universal model for speckled data, namely, the 𝒢0 law. This paper deals with amplitude data, so the 𝒢A0 distribution will be used. The literature reports that techniques for obtaining estimates (maximum likelihood, based on moments and on order statistics of the parameters of the 𝒢A0 distribution require samples of hundreds, even thousands, of observations in order to obtain sensible values. This is verified for maximum likelihood estimation, and a proposal based on alternate optimization is made to alleviate this situation. The proposal is assessed with real and simulated data, showing that the convergence problems are no longer present. A Monte Carlo experiment is devised to estimate the quality of maximum likelihood estimators in small samples, and real data is successfully analyzed with the proposed alternated procedure. Stylized empirical influence functions are computed and used to choose a strategy for computing maximum likelihood estimates that is resistant to outliers.

  12. Optical design of the comet Shoemaker-Levy speckle camera

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bissinger, H. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

    1994-11-15

    An optical design is presented in which the Lick 3 meter telescope and a bare CCD speckle camera system was used to image the collision sites of the Shoemaker-Levy 9 comet with the Planet Jupiter. The brief overview includes of the optical constraints and system layout. The choice of a Risley prism combination to compensate for the time dependent atmospheric chromatic changes are described. Plate scale and signal-to-noise ratio curves resulting from imaging reference stars are compared with theory. Comparisons between un-corrected and reconstructed images of Jupiter`s impact sites. The results confirm that speckle imaging techniques can be used over an extended time period to provide a method to image large extended objects.

  13. Compensation for the signal processing characteristics of ultrasound B-mode scanners in adaptive speckle reduction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawford, D C; Bell, D S; Bamber, J C

    1993-01-01

    A systematic method to compensate for nonlinear amplification of individual ultrasound B-scanners has been investigated in order to optimise performance of an adaptive speckle reduction (ASR) filter for a wide range of clinical ultrasonic imaging equipment. Three potential methods have been investigated: (1) a method involving an appropriate selection of the speckle recognition feature was successful when the scanner signal processing executes simple logarithmic compressions; (2) an inverse transform (decompression) of the B-mode image was effective in correcting for the measured characteristics of image data compression when the algorithm was implemented in full floating point arithmetic; (3) characterising the behaviour of the statistical speckle recognition feature under conditions of speckle noise was found to be the method of choice for implementation of the adaptive speckle reduction algorithm in limited precision integer arithmetic. In this example, the statistical features of variance and mean were investigated. The third method may be implemented on commercially available fast image processing hardware and is also better suited for transfer into dedicated hardware to facilitate real-time adaptive speckle reduction. A systematic method is described for obtaining ASR calibration data from B-mode images of a speckle producing phantom.

  14. Integration of image exposure time into a modified laser speckle imaging method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    RamIrez-San-Juan, J C; Salazar-Hermenegildo, N; Ramos-Garcia, R; Munoz-Lopez, J [Optics Department, INAOE, Puebla (Mexico); Huang, Y C [Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of California, Irvine, CA (United States); Choi, B, E-mail: jcram@inaoep.m [Beckman Laser Institute and Medical Clinic, University of California, Irvine, CA (United States)

    2010-11-21

    Speckle-based methods have been developed to characterize tissue blood flow and perfusion. One such method, called modified laser speckle imaging (mLSI), enables computation of blood flow maps with relatively high spatial resolution. Although it is known that the sensitivity and noise in LSI measurements depend on image exposure time, a fundamental disadvantage of mLSI is that it does not take into account this parameter. In this work, we integrate the exposure time into the mLSI method and provide experimental support of our approach with measurements from an in vitro flow phantom.

  15. Integration of image exposure time into a modified laser speckle imaging method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    RamIrez-San-Juan, J C; Salazar-Hermenegildo, N; Ramos-Garcia, R; Munoz-Lopez, J; Huang, Y C; Choi, B

    2010-01-01

    Speckle-based methods have been developed to characterize tissue blood flow and perfusion. One such method, called modified laser speckle imaging (mLSI), enables computation of blood flow maps with relatively high spatial resolution. Although it is known that the sensitivity and noise in LSI measurements depend on image exposure time, a fundamental disadvantage of mLSI is that it does not take into account this parameter. In this work, we integrate the exposure time into the mLSI method and provide experimental support of our approach with measurements from an in vitro flow phantom.

  16. New hybrid technique for impulsive noise suppression in OFDM systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mirza, A.; Zeb, A.; Sheikh, S.A.

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, a new hybrid technique employing RS (Reed Solomon) coding and adaptive filter for impulsive noise suppression in OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) systems is presented. Adaptive filter creates a more accurate estimate of the original OFDM signal after impulsive noise cancellation. The residual impulsive noise is further mitigated by RS decoder in the second stage of proposed technique. Three members of adaptive filters family i.e. NLMS (Normalized Least Mean Square) algorithm, RLS (Recursive Least Square) algorithm and Bhagyashri algorithm are tested with RS decoder in the proposed hybrid technique. Furthermore, the results in terms of steady state MSE (Mean Square Error) reduction, BER (Bit Error Rate) improvement and SNR (Signal to Noise Ratio) enhancement confirm the effectiveness of the proposed dual faceted technique when compared with the recently reported techniques in literature. (author)

  17. Optimized digital speckle patterns for digital image correlation by consideration of both accuracy and efficiency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Zhenning; Shao, Xinxing; Xu, Xiangyang; He, Xiaoyuan

    2018-02-01

    The technique of digital image correlation (DIC), which has been widely used for noncontact deformation measurements in both the scientific and engineering fields, is greatly affected by the quality of speckle patterns in terms of its performance. This study was concerned with the optimization of the digital speckle pattern (DSP) for DIC in consideration of both the accuracy and efficiency. The root-mean-square error of the inverse compositional Gauss-Newton algorithm and the average number of iterations were used as quality metrics. Moreover, the influence of subset sizes and the noise level of images, which are the basic parameters in the quality assessment formulations, were also considered. The simulated binary speckle patterns were first compared with the Gaussian speckle patterns and captured DSPs. Both the single-radius and multi-radius DSPs were optimized. Experimental tests and analyses were conducted to obtain the optimized and recommended DSP. The vector diagram of the optimized speckle pattern was also uploaded as reference.

  18. Shot Noise Suppression in a Quantum Point Contact with Short Channel Length

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeong, Heejun

    2015-01-01

    An experimental study on the current shot noise of a quantum point contact with short channel length is reported. The experimentally measured maximum energy level spacing between the ground and the first excited state of the device reached up to 7.5 meV, probably due to the hard wall confinement by using shallow electron gas and sharp point contact geometry. The two-dimensional non-equilibrium shot noise contour map shows noise suppression characteristics in a wide range of bias voltage. Fano factor analysis indicates spin-polarized transport through a short quantum point contact. (paper)

  19. Single-shot speckle reduction in numerical reconstruction of digitally recorded holograms: comment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maycock, Jonathan; Hennelly, Bryan; McDonald, John

    2015-09-01

    We comment on a recent Letter by Hincapie et al. [Opt. Lett.40, 1623 (2015)], in which the authors proposed a method to reduce the speckle noise in digital holograms. This method was previously published by us in Maycock ["Improving reconstructions of digital holograms," Ph.D. thesis (National University of Ireland, 2012)] and Maycock and Hennelly [Improving Reconstructions of Digital Holograms: Speckle Reduction and Occlusions in Digital Holography (Lambert Academic, 2014)]. We also wish to highlight an important limitation of the method resulting from the superposition of different perspectives of the object/scene, which was not addressed in their Letter.

  20. Noise suppression in duct

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahmed, A.; Barfeh, M.A.G.

    2001-01-01

    In air-conditioning system the noise generated by supply fan is carried by conditioned air through the ductwork. The noise created in ductwork run may be transmission, regenerative and ductborne. Transmission noise is fan noise, regenerative noise is due to turbulence in flow and ductborne noise is the noise radiating from duct to surroundings. Some noise is attenuated in ducts also but if noise level is high then it needs to be attenuated. A simple mitre bend can attenuate-noise. This principle is extended to V and M-shape ducts with inside lining of fibreglass, which gave maximum attenuation of 77 dB and 62 dB respectively corresponding to 8 kHz frequency as compared to mitre, bend giving maximum 18 dB attenuation. Sound level meter measured sound levels with octave band filter and tests were conducted in anechoic room. A V-shape attenuator can be used at fan outlet and high frequency noise can be minimized greatly. (author)

  1. Software phantom with realistic speckle modeling for validation of image analysis methods in echocardiography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Yuen C.; Tenbrinck, Daniel; Jiang, Xiaoyi; Kuhlen, Torsten

    2014-03-01

    Computer-assisted processing and interpretation of medical ultrasound images is one of the most challenging tasks within image analysis. Physical phenomena in ultrasonographic images, e.g., the characteristic speckle noise and shadowing effects, make the majority of standard methods from image analysis non optimal. Furthermore, validation of adapted computer vision methods proves to be difficult due to missing ground truth information. There is no widely accepted software phantom in the community and existing software phantoms are not exible enough to support the use of specific speckle models for different tissue types, e.g., muscle and fat tissue. In this work we propose an anatomical software phantom with a realistic speckle pattern simulation to _ll this gap and provide a exible tool for validation purposes in medical ultrasound image analysis. We discuss the generation of speckle patterns and perform statistical analysis of the simulated textures to obtain quantitative measures of the realism and accuracy regarding the resulting textures.

  2. Suppression of background noise in a transonic wind-tunnel test section

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schutzenhofer, L. A.; Howard, P. W.

    1975-01-01

    Some exploratory tests were recently performed in the transonic test section of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center 14-in. wind tunnel to suppress the background noise. In these tests, the perforated walls of the test section were covered with fine wire screens. The screens eliminated the edge tones generated by the holes in the perforated walls and significantly reduced the tunnel background noise. The tunnel noise levels were reduced to such a degree by this simple modification at Mach numbers 0.75, 0.9, 1.1, 1.2, and 1.46 that the fluctuating pressure levels of a turbulent boundary layer could be measured on a 5-deg half-angle cone.

  3. Noise suppression system of OCDMA with spectral/spatial 2D hybrid code

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matem, Rima; Aljunid, S. A.; Junita, M. N.; Rashidi, C. B. M.; Shihab Aqrab, Israa

    2017-11-01

    In this paper, we propose a novel 2D spectral/spatial hybrid code based on 1D ZCC and 1D MD where the both present a zero cross correlation property analyzed and the influence of the noise of optical as Phase Induced Intensity Noise (PIIN), shot and thermal noise. This new code is shown effectively to mitigate the PIIN and suppresses MAI. Using 2D ZCC/MD code the performance of the system can be improved in term of as well as to support more simultaneous users compared of the 2D FCC/MDW and 2D DPDC codes.

  4. Noise suppression system of OCDMA with spectral/spatial 2D hybrid code

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matem Rima

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we propose a novel 2D spectral/spatial hybrid code based on 1D ZCC and 1D MD where the both present a zero cross correlation property analyzed and the influence of the noise of optical as Phase Induced Intensity Noise (PIIN, shot and thermal noise. This new code is shown effectively to mitigate the PIIN and suppresses MAI. Using 2D ZCC/MD code the performance of the system can be improved in term of as well as to support more simultaneous users compared of the 2D FCC/MDW and 2D DPDC codes.

  5. Entendue invariance in speckle fields

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Medina, F.F.; Garcia-Sucerquia, J.; Henao, R.; Trivi, M.

    2000-04-01

    Experimental evidence is shown that confirms the Entendue invariance in speckle fields. Because of this condition, the coherence patch of the speckle field can be significantly greater than the mean size of the speckles, as is shown by double exposure speckle interferometry. (author)

  6. Evaluation of substrate noise suppression method to mitigate crosstalk among trough-silicon vias

    Science.gov (United States)

    Araga, Yuuki; Kikuchi, Katsuya; Aoyagi, Masahiro

    2018-04-01

    Substrate noise from a single through-silicon via (TSV) and the noise attenuation by a substrate tap and a guard ring are clarified. A CMOS test vehicle is designed, and 6-µm-diameter TSVs are manufactured on a 20-µm-thick silicon substrate by the via-last method. An on-chip waveform-capturing circuitry is embedded in the test vehicle to capture transient waveforms of substrate noise. The embedded waveform-capturing circuitry demonstrates small and local noise propagation. Experimental results show increased substrate noise level induced by TSVs and the effectiveness of the substrate tap and guard ring for mitigating the crosstalk among TSVs. An analytical model to explain substrate noise propagation is developed to validate experimental results. Results obtained using the substrate model with a multilayer mesh shows good consistency with experimental results, indicating that the model can be used for examination of noise suppression methods.

  7. Suppression of excess noise in Transition-Edge Sensors using magnetic field and geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ullom, J.N.; Doriese, W.B.; Hilton, G.C.; Beall, J.A.; Deiker, S.; Irwin, K.D.; Reintsema, C.D.; Vale, L.R.; Xu, Y.

    2004-01-01

    We report recent progress at NIST on Mo/Cu Transition-Edge Sensors (TESs). While the signal-band noise of our sensors agrees with theory, we observe excess high-frequency noise. We describe this noise and demonstrate that it can be strongly suppressed by a magnetic field perpendicular to the plane of the sensor. Both the excess noise and α=(T/R)(dR/dT) depend strongly on field so our results show that accurate comparisons between devices are only possible when the field is well known or constant. We also present results showing the noise performance of TES designs incorporating parallel and perpendicular normal metal bars, an array of normal metal islands, and in wedge-shaped devices. We demonstrate significant reduction of high-frequency noise with the perpendicular bar devices at the cost of reduced α. Both the bars and the magnetic field are useful noise reduction techniques for bolometers

  8. Multiscale KF Algorithm for Strong Fractional Noise Interference Suppression in Discrete-Time UWB Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liyun Su

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to suppress the interference of the strong fractional noise signal in discrete-time ultrawideband (UWB systems, this paper presents a new UWB multi-scale Kalman filter (KF algorithm for the interference suppression. This approach solves the problem of the narrowband interference (NBI as nonstationary fractional signal in UWB communication, which does not need to estimate any channel parameter. In this paper, the received sampled signal is transformed through multiscale wavelet to obtain a state transition equation and an observation equation based on the stationarity theory of wavelet coefficients in time domain. Then through the Kalman filter method, fractional signal of arbitrary scale is easily figured out. Finally, fractional noise interference is subtracted from the received signal. Performance analysis and computer simulations reveal that this algorithm is effective to reduce the strong fractional noise when the sampling rate is low.

  9. Development of noise-suppressed detector for single ion hit system

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sakai, Takuro; Hamano, Tsuyoshi; Suda, Tamotsu; Hirao, Toshio; Kamiya, Tomihiro [Japan Atomic Energy Research Inst., Takasaki, Gunma (Japan). Takasaki Radiation Chemistry Research Establishment

    1997-03-01

    A noise-suppressed detector for single ion detection has been developed, and combined with the heavy ion microbeam apparatus. This detector consists of a pair of micro channel plates (MCP`s) and a very thin carbon foil. The detection signal is formed by the coincidence of the signals from these MCP`s, so that this detector and the coincidence measurement unit can reduce miscounting in the circuit. The detection efficiency for 15 MeV heavy ions was evaluated to be comparable to that of a silicon surface-barrier detector (SSD) and the miscounting rate was 4 orders lower than the noise rate of a single MCP. The rise time of the detection signal was also estimated. (author)

  10. Suppression of thermal noise in a non-Markovian random velocity field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ueda, Masahiko

    2016-01-01

    We study the diffusion of Brownian particles in a Gaussian random velocity field with short memory. By extending the derivation of an effective Fokker–Planck equation for the Lanvegin equation with weakly colored noise to a random velocity-field problem, we find that the effect of thermal noise on particles is suppressed by the existence of memory. We also find that the renormalization effect for the relative diffusion of two particles is stronger than that for single-particle diffusion. The results are compared with those of molecular dynamics simulations. (paper: classical statistical mechanics, equilibrium and non-equilibrium)

  11. Blind Source Parameters for Performance Evaluation of Despeckling Filters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nagashettappa Biradar

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The speckle noise is inherent to transthoracic echocardiographic images. A standard noise-free reference echocardiographic image does not exist. The evaluation of filters based on the traditional parameters such as peak signal-to-noise ratio, mean square error, and structural similarity index may not reflect the true filter performance on echocardiographic images. Therefore, the performance of despeckling can be evaluated using blind assessment metrics like the speckle suppression index, speckle suppression and mean preservation index (SMPI, and beta metric. The need for noise-free reference image is overcome using these three parameters. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of eleven types of despeckling filters for echocardiographic images in terms of blind and traditional performance parameters along with clinical validation. The noise is effectively suppressed using the logarithmic neighborhood shrinkage (NeighShrink embedded with Stein’s unbiased risk estimation (SURE. The SMPI is three times more effective compared to the wavelet based generalized likelihood estimation approach. The quantitative evaluation and clinical validation reveal that the filters such as the nonlocal mean, posterior sampling based Bayesian estimation, hybrid median, and probabilistic patch based filters are acceptable whereas median, anisotropic diffusion, fuzzy, and Ripplet nonlinear approximation filters have limited applications for echocardiographic images.

  12. Blind Source Parameters for Performance Evaluation of Despeckling Filters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biradar, Nagashettappa; Dewal, M L; Rohit, ManojKumar; Gowre, Sanjaykumar; Gundge, Yogesh

    2016-01-01

    The speckle noise is inherent to transthoracic echocardiographic images. A standard noise-free reference echocardiographic image does not exist. The evaluation of filters based on the traditional parameters such as peak signal-to-noise ratio, mean square error, and structural similarity index may not reflect the true filter performance on echocardiographic images. Therefore, the performance of despeckling can be evaluated using blind assessment metrics like the speckle suppression index, speckle suppression and mean preservation index (SMPI), and beta metric. The need for noise-free reference image is overcome using these three parameters. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis and evaluation of eleven types of despeckling filters for echocardiographic images in terms of blind and traditional performance parameters along with clinical validation. The noise is effectively suppressed using the logarithmic neighborhood shrinkage (NeighShrink) embedded with Stein's unbiased risk estimation (SURE). The SMPI is three times more effective compared to the wavelet based generalized likelihood estimation approach. The quantitative evaluation and clinical validation reveal that the filters such as the nonlocal mean, posterior sampling based Bayesian estimation, hybrid median, and probabilistic patch based filters are acceptable whereas median, anisotropic diffusion, fuzzy, and Ripplet nonlinear approximation filters have limited applications for echocardiographic images.

  13. Relation between speckle decorrelation and optical phase conjugation (OPC)-based turbidity suppression through dynamic scattering media: a study on in vivo mouse skin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Mooseok; Ruan, Haowen; Vellekoop, Ivo M.; Judkewitz, Benjamin; Chung, Euiheon; Yang, Changhuei

    2014-01-01

    Light scattering in biological tissue significantly limits the accessible depth for localized optical interrogation and deep-tissue optical imaging. This challenge can be overcome by exploiting the time-reversal property of optical phase conjugation (OPC) to reverse multiple scattering events or suppress turbidity. However, in living tissue, scatterers are highly movable and the movement can disrupt time-reversal symmetry when there is a latency in the OPC playback. In this paper, we show that the motion-induced degradation of the OPC turbidity-suppression effect through a dynamic scattering medium shares the same decorrelation time constant as that determined from speckle intensity autocorrelation – a popular conventional measure of scatterer movement. We investigated this decorrelation characteristic time through a 1.5-mm-thick dorsal skin flap of a living mouse and found that it ranges from 50 ms to 2.5 s depending on the level of immobilization. This study provides information on relevant time scales for applying OPC to living tissues. PMID:25657876

  14. Sound recovery via intensity variations of speckle pattern pixels selected with variance-based method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Ge; Yao, Xu-Ri; Qiu, Peng; Mahmood, Waqas; Yu, Wen-Kai; Sun, Zhi-Bin; Zhai, Guang-Jie; Zhao, Qing

    2018-02-01

    In general, the sound waves can cause the vibration of the objects that are encountered in the traveling path. If we make a laser beam illuminate the rough surface of an object, it will be scattered into a speckle pattern that vibrates with these sound waves. Here, an efficient variance-based method is proposed to recover the sound information from speckle patterns captured by a high-speed camera. This method allows us to select the proper pixels that have large variances of the gray-value variations over time, from a small region of the speckle patterns. The gray-value variations of these pixels are summed together according to a simple model to recover the sound with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Meanwhile, our method will significantly simplify the computation compared with the traditional digital-image-correlation technique. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been verified by applying a variety of objects. The experimental results illustrate that the proposed method is robust to the quality of the speckle patterns and costs more than one-order less time to perform the same number of the speckle patterns. In our experiment, a sound signal of time duration 1.876 s is recovered from various objects with time consumption of 5.38 s only.

  15. OBSERVATIONS OF BINARY STARS WITH THE DIFFERENTIAL SPECKLE SURVEY INSTRUMENT. I. INSTRUMENT DESCRIPTION AND FIRST RESULTS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horch, Elliott P.; Veillette, Daniel R.; Shah, Sagar C.; O'Rielly, Grant V.; Baena Galle, Roberto; Van Altena, William F.

    2009-01-01

    First results of a new speckle imaging system, the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument, are reported. The instrument is designed to take speckle data in two filters simultaneously with two independent CCD imagers. This feature results in three advantages over other speckle cameras: (1) twice as many frames can be obtained in the same observation time which can increase the signal-to-noise ratio for astrometric measurements, (2) component colors can be derived from a single observation, and (3) the two colors give substantial leverage over atmospheric dispersion, allowing for subdiffraction-limited separations to be measured reliably. Fifty-four observations are reported from the first use of the instrument at the Wisconsin-Indiana-Yale-NOAO 3.5 m Telescope 9 The WIYN Observatory is a joint facility of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Indiana University, Yale University, and the National Optical Astronomy Observatories. in 2008 September, including seven components resolved for the first time. These observations are used to judge the basic capabilities of the instrument.

  16. Suppression of Growth by Multiplicative White Noise in a Parametric Resonant System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishihara, Masamichi

    2015-02-01

    The growth of the amplitude in a Mathieu-like equation with multiplicative white noise is studied. To obtain an approximate analytical expression for the exponent at the extremum on parametric resonance regions, a time-interval width is introduced. To determine the exponents numerically, the stochastic differential equations are solved by a symplectic numerical method. The Mathieu-like equation contains a parameter α determined by the intensity of noise and the strength of the coupling between the variable and noise; without loss of generality, only non-negative α can be considered. The exponent is shown to decrease with α, reach a minimum and increase after that. The minimum exponent is obtained analytically and numerically. As a function of α, the minimum at α≠0, occurs on the parametric resonance regions of α=0. This minimum indicates suppression of growth by multiplicative white noise.

  17. Speckle Filtering of GF-3 Polarimetric SAR Data with Joint Restriction Principle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Jinwei; Li, Zhenfang; Zhou, Chaowei; Fang, Yuyuan; Zhang, Qingjun

    2018-05-12

    Polarimetric SAR (PolSAR) scattering characteristics of imagery are always obtained from the second order moments estimation of multi-polarization data, that is, the estimation of covariance or coherency matrices. Due to the extra-paths that signal reflected from separate scatterers within the resolution cell has to travel, speckle noise always exists in SAR images and has a severe impact on the scattering performance, especially on single look complex images. In order to achieve high accuracy in estimating covariance or coherency matrices, three aspects are taken into consideration: (1) the edges and texture of the scene are distinct after speckle filtering; (2) the statistical characteristic should be similar to the object pixel; and (3) the polarimetric scattering signature should be preserved, in addition to speckle reduction. In this paper, a joint restriction principle is proposed to meet the requirement. Three different restriction principles are introduced to the processing of speckle filtering. First, a new template, which is more suitable for the point or line targets, is designed to ensure the morphological consistency. Then, the extent sigma filter is used to restrict the pixels in the template aforementioned to have an identical statistic characteristic. At last, a polarimetric similarity factor is applied to the same pixels above, to guarantee the similar polarimetric features amongst the optional pixels. This processing procedure is named as speckle filtering with joint restriction principle and the approach is applied to GF-3 polarimetric SAR data acquired in San Francisco, CA, USA. Its effectiveness of keeping the image sharpness and preserving the scattering mechanism as well as speckle reduction is validated by the comparison with boxcar filters and refined Lee filter.

  18. Speckle reduction process based on digital filtering and wavelet compounding in optical coherence tomography for dermatology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gómez Valverde, Juan J.; Ortuño, Juan E.; Guerra, Pedro; Hermann, Boris; Zabihian, Behrooz; Rubio-Guivernau, José L.; Santos, Andrés.; Drexler, Wolfgang; Ledesma-Carbayo, Maria J.

    2015-07-01

    Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) has shown a great potential as a complementary imaging tool in the diagnosis of skin diseases. Speckle noise is the most prominent artifact present in OCT images and could limit the interpretation and detection capabilities. In this work we propose a new speckle reduction process and compare it with various denoising filters with high edge-preserving potential, using several sets of dermatological OCT B-scans. To validate the performance we used a custom-designed spectral domain OCT and two different data set groups. The first group consisted in five datasets of a single B-scan captured N times (with N<20), the second were five 3D volumes of 25 Bscans. As quality metrics we used signal to noise (SNR), contrast to noise (CNR) and equivalent number of looks (ENL) ratios. Our results show that a process based on a combination of a 2D enhanced sigma digital filter and a wavelet compounding method achieves the best results in terms of the improvement of the quality metrics. In the first group of individual B-scans we achieved improvements in SNR, CNR and ENL of 16.87 dB, 2.19 and 328 respectively; for the 3D volume datasets the improvements were 15.65 dB, 3.44 and 1148. Our results suggest that the proposed enhancement process may significantly reduce speckle, increasing SNR, CNR and ENL and reducing the number of extra acquisitions of the same frame.

  19. TH-A-18C-07: Noise Suppression in Material Decomposition for Dual-Energy CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dong, X; Petrongolo, M; Wang, T; Zhu, L

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: A general problem of dual-energy CT (DECT) is that the decomposition is sensitive to noise in the two sets of dual-energy projection data, resulting in severely degraded qualities of decomposed images. We have previously proposed an iterative denoising method for DECT. Using a linear decomposition function, the method does not gain the full benefits of DECT on beam-hardening correction. In this work, we expand the framework of our iterative method to include non-linear decomposition models for noise suppression in DECT. Methods: We first obtain decomposed projections, which are free of beam-hardening artifacts, using a lookup table pre-measured on a calibration phantom. First-pass material images with high noise are reconstructed from the decomposed projections using standard filter-backprojection reconstruction. Noise on the decomposed images is then suppressed by an iterative method, which is formulated in the form of least-square estimation with smoothness regularization. Based on the design principles of a best linear unbiased estimator, we include the inverse of the estimated variance-covariance matrix of the decomposed images as the penalty weight in the least-square term. Analytical formulae are derived to compute the variance-covariance matrix from the measured decomposition lookup table. Results: We have evaluated the proposed method via phantom studies. Using non-linear decomposition, our method effectively suppresses the streaking artifacts of beam-hardening and obtains more uniform images than our previous approach based on a linear model. The proposed method reduces the average noise standard deviation of two basis materials by one order of magnitude without sacrificing the spatial resolution. Conclusion: We propose a general framework of iterative denoising for material decomposition of DECT. Preliminary phantom studies have shown the proposed method improves the image uniformity and reduces noise level without resolution loss. In the future

  20. Complex noise suppression using a sparse representation and 3D filtering of images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kravchenko, V. F.; Ponomaryov, V. I.; Pustovoit, V. I.; Palacios-Enriquez, A.

    2017-08-01

    A novel method for the filtering of images corrupted by complex noise composed of randomly distributed impulses and additive Gaussian noise has been substantiated for the first time. The method consists of three main stages: the detection and filtering of pixels corrupted by impulsive noise, the subsequent image processing to suppress the additive noise based on 3D filtering and a sparse representation of signals in a basis of wavelets, and the concluding image processing procedure to clean the final image of the errors emerged at the previous stages. A physical interpretation of the filtering method under complex noise conditions is given. A filtering block diagram has been developed in accordance with the novel approach. Simulations of the novel image filtering method have shown an advantage of the proposed filtering scheme in terms of generally recognized criteria, such as the structural similarity index measure and the peak signal-to-noise ratio, and when visually comparing the filtered images.

  1. Digital Speckle Photography of Subpixel Displacements of Speckle Structures Based on Analysis of Their Spatial Spectra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maksimova, L. A.; Ryabukho, P. V.; Mysina, N. Yu.; Lyakin, D. V.; Ryabukho, V. P.

    2018-04-01

    We have investigated the capabilities of the method of digital speckle interferometry for determining subpixel displacements of a speckle structure formed by a displaceable or deformable object with a scattering surface. An analysis of spatial spectra of speckle structures makes it possible to perform measurements with a subpixel accuracy and to extend the lower boundary of the range of measurements of displacements of speckle structures to the range of subpixel values. The method is realized on the basis of digital recording of the images of undisplaced and displaced speckle structures, their spatial frequency analysis using numerically specified constant phase shifts, and correlation analysis of spatial spectra of speckle structures. Transformation into the frequency range makes it possible to obtain quantities to be measured with a subpixel accuracy from the shift of the interference-pattern minimum in the diffraction halo by introducing an additional phase shift into the complex spatial spectrum of the speckle structure or from the slope of the linear plot of the function of accumulated phase difference in the field of the complex spatial spectrum of the displaced speckle structure. The capabilities of the method have been investigated in natural experiment.

  2. Speckle-based spectrometer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chakrabarti, Maumita; Jakobsen, Michael Linde; Hanson, Steen Grüner

    2015-01-01

    A novel spectrometer concept is analyzed and experimentally verified. The method relies on probing the speckle displacement due to a change in the incident wavelength. A rough surface is illuminated at an oblique angle, and the peak position of the covariance between the speckle patterns observed...

  3. A Novel Method for Vertical Acceleration Noise Suppression of a Thrust-Vectored VTOL UAV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Huanyu; Wu, Linfeng; Li, Yingjie; Li, Chunwen; Li, Hangyu

    2016-12-02

    Acceleration is of great importance in motion control for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), especially during the takeoff and landing stages. However, the measured acceleration is inevitably polluted by severe noise. Therefore, a proper noise suppression procedure is required. This paper presents a novel method to reduce the noise in the measured vertical acceleration for a thrust-vectored tail-sitter vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) UAV. In the new procedure, a Kalman filter is first applied to estimate the UAV mass by using the information in the vertical thrust and measured acceleration. The UAV mass is then used to compute an estimate of UAV vertical acceleration. The estimated acceleration is finally fused with the measured acceleration to obtain the minimum variance estimate of vertical acceleration. By doing this, the new approach incorporates the thrust information into the acceleration estimate. The method is applied to the data measured in a VTOL UAV takeoff experiment. Two other denoising approaches developed by former researchers are also tested for comparison. The results demonstrate that the new method is able to suppress the acceleration noise substantially. It also maintains the real-time performance in the final estimated acceleration, which is not seen in the former denoising approaches. The acceleration treated with the new method can be readily used in the motion control applications for UAVs to achieve improved accuracy.

  4. A Novel Method for Vertical Acceleration Noise Suppression of a Thrust-Vectored VTOL UAV

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huanyu Li

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Acceleration is of great importance in motion control for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, especially during the takeoff and landing stages. However, the measured acceleration is inevitably polluted by severe noise. Therefore, a proper noise suppression procedure is required. This paper presents a novel method to reduce the noise in the measured vertical acceleration for a thrust-vectored tail-sitter vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL UAV. In the new procedure, a Kalman filter is first applied to estimate the UAV mass by using the information in the vertical thrust and measured acceleration. The UAV mass is then used to compute an estimate of UAV vertical acceleration. The estimated acceleration is finally fused with the measured acceleration to obtain the minimum variance estimate of vertical acceleration. By doing this, the new approach incorporates the thrust information into the acceleration estimate. The method is applied to the data measured in a VTOL UAV takeoff experiment. Two other denoising approaches developed by former researchers are also tested for comparison. The results demonstrate that the new method is able to suppress the acceleration noise substantially. It also maintains the real-time performance in the final estimated acceleration, which is not seen in the former denoising approaches. The acceleration treated with the new method can be readily used in the motion control applications for UAVs to achieve improved accuracy.

  5. Development of Speckle Interferometry Algorithm and System

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shamsir, A. A. M.; Jafri, M. Z. M.; Lim, H. S.

    2011-01-01

    Electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) method is a wholefield, non destructive measurement method widely used in the industries such as detection of defects on metal bodies, detection of defects in intergrated circuits in digital electronics components and in the preservation of priceless artwork. In this research field, this method is widely used to develop algorithms and to develop a new laboratory setup for implementing the speckle pattern interferometry. In speckle interferometry, an optically rough test surface is illuminated with an expanded laser beam creating a laser speckle pattern in the space surrounding the illuminated region. The speckle pattern is optically mixed with a second coherent light field that is either another speckle pattern or a smooth light field. This produces an interferometric speckle pattern that will be detected by sensor to count the change of the speckle pattern due to force given. In this project, an experimental setup of ESPI is proposed to analyze a stainless steel plate using 632.8 nm (red) wavelength of lights.

  6. Objective speckle velocimetry for autonomous vehicle odometry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Francis, D; Charrett, T O H; Waugh, L; Tatam, R P

    2012-06-01

    Speckle velocimetry is investigated as a means of determining odometry data with potential for application on autonomous robotic vehicles. The technique described here relies on the integration of translation measurements made by normalized cross-correlation of speckle patterns to determine the change in position over time. The use of objective (non-imaged) speckle offers a number of advantages over subjective (imaged) speckle, such as a reduction in the number of optical components, reduced modulation of speckles at the edges of the image, and improved light efficiency. The influence of the source/detector configuration on the speckle translation to vehicle translation scaling factor for objective speckle is investigated using a computer model and verified experimentally. Experimental measurements are presented at velocities up to 80  mm s(-1) which show accuracy better than 0.4%.

  7. Speckle pattern processing by digital image correlation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gubarev Fedor

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Testing the method of speckle pattern processing based on the digital image correlation is carried out in the current work. Three the most widely used formulas of the correlation coefficient are tested. To determine the accuracy of the speckle pattern processing, test speckle patterns with known displacement are used. The optimal size of a speckle pattern template used for determination of correlation and corresponding the speckle pattern displacement is also considered in the work.

  8. Low-complexity linewidth-tolerant time domain sub-symbol optical phase noise suppression in CO-OFDM systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Xuezhi; Hong, Xiaojian; Zhang, Junwei; He, Sailing

    2016-03-07

    Two linewidth-tolerant optical phase noise suppression algorithms, non-decision aided sub-symbol optical phase noise suppression (NDA-SPS) and partial-decision aided sub-symbol optical phase noise suppression (PDA-SPS), based on low-complexity time domain sub-symbol processing are proposed for coherent optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CO-OFDM) systems. High accuracy carrier phase estimation is achieved in the NDA-SPS algorithm without decision error propagation. Compared with NDA-SPS, partial-decision aided estimation is introduced in PDA-SPS to reduce the pilot-overhead by half, yet only a small performance degradation is induced. The principles and computational complexities of the proposed algorithms are theoretically analyzed. By adopting specially designed comb-type pilot subcarriers, multiplier-free observation-based matrix generation is realized in the proposed algorithms. Computationally intensive discrete Fourier transform (DFT) or inverse DFT (IDFT) operations, which are usually carried out in other high-performance inter-carrier-interference (ICI) mitigation algorithms multiple times, are completely avoided. Compared with several other sub-symbol algorithms, the proposed algorithms with lower complexities offer considerably larger laser linewidth tolerances as demonstrated by Monte-Carlo simulations. Numerical analysis verifies that the optimal performance of PDA-SPS can be achieved with moderate numbers of sub-symbols.

  9. Speckle: Friend or foe?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Joseph W.

    2013-05-01

    Speckle appears whenever coherent radiation of any kind is used. We review here the basic properties of speckle, the negative effects it has on imaging systems of various kinds, and the positive benefits it offers in certain nondestructive testing and metrology problems.

  10. Communication system with adaptive noise suppression

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kozel, David (Inventor); Devault, James A. (Inventor); Birr, Richard B. (Inventor)

    2007-01-01

    A signal-to-noise ratio dependent adaptive spectral subtraction process eliminates noise from noise-corrupted speech signals. The process first pre-emphasizes the frequency components of the input sound signal which contain the consonant information in human speech. Next, a signal-to-noise ratio is determined and a spectral subtraction proportion adjusted appropriately. After spectral subtraction, low amplitude signals can be squelched. A single microphone is used to obtain both the noise-corrupted speech and the average noise estimate. This is done by determining if the frame of data being sampled is a voiced or unvoiced frame. During unvoiced frames an estimate of the noise is obtained. A running average of the noise is used to approximate the expected value of the noise. Spectral subtraction may be performed on a composite noise-corrupted signal, or upon individual sub-bands of the noise-corrupted signal. Pre-averaging of the input signal's magnitude spectrum over multiple time frames may be performed to reduce musical noise.

  11. Optical encryption and QR codes: secure and noise-free information retrieval.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrera, John Fredy; Mira, Alejandro; Torroba, Roberto

    2013-03-11

    We introduce for the first time the concept of an information "container" before a standard optical encrypting procedure. The "container" selected is a QR code which offers the main advantage of being tolerant to pollutant speckle noise. Besides, the QR code can be read by smartphones, a massively used device. Additionally, QR code includes another secure step to the encrypting benefits the optical methods provide. The QR is generated by means of worldwide free available software. The concept development probes that speckle noise polluting the outcomes of normal optical encrypting procedures can be avoided, then making more attractive the adoption of these techniques. Actual smartphone collected results are shown to validate our proposal.

  12. [Suppression of tinnitus by band noise masker--a study of 600 cases].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watanabe, K; Kamio, T; Ohkawara, D; Aoki, H; Baba, S; Yagi, T

    1997-09-01

    We performed Band Noise Masker (BNM) therapy for the suppression of tinnitus in 600 patients and measured the pitch, loudness and masking level of tinnitus and residual inhibition (RI). We examined the efficiency of BNM therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanism of suppression of tinnitus by BNM. Tinnitus was suppressed in 394 patients (66%) after BNM therapy. In the group of patients in whom we suppressed tinnitus, the loudness of tinnitus was reduced from 7.7 +/- 5.7dBSL to 7.5 +/- 5.5dBSL (p pitch of tinnitus did not exhibit a marked change. In the group of patients in whom we did not suppress tinnitus, the loudness and pitch of tinnitus did not exhibit a marked change. The efficiency of BNM therapy was high in the cases of presbyacusis and low in the cases of sudden deafness. There was no significant relationship between RI and the efficiency of BNM therapy. We examined these data and discussed the mechanism of suppression of tinnitus by BNM therapy. In all cases, after BNM therapy, the auditory threshold did not become worse. In 4 cases tinnitus became worse temporarily. In conclusion, BNM therapy is an effective mode for tinnitus control, is easily performed in our outpatient clinic or at home, and has no serious complications.

  13. Speckle perception and disturbance limit in laser based projectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verschaffelt, Guy; Roelandt, Stijn; Meuret, Youri; Van den Broeck, Wendy; Kilpi, Katriina; Lievens, Bram; Jacobs, An; Janssens, Peter; Thienpont, Hugo

    2016-04-01

    We investigate the level of speckle that can be tolerated in a laser cinema projector. For this purpose, we equipped a movie theatre room with a prototype laser projector. A group of 186 participants was gathered to evaluate the speckle perception of several, short movie trailers in a subjective `Quality of Experience' experiment. This study is important as the introduction of lasers in projection systems has been hampered by the presence of speckle in projected images. We identify a speckle disturbance threshold by statistically analyzing the observers' responses for different values of the amount of speckle, which was monitored using a well-defined speckle measurement method. The analysis shows that the speckle perception of a human observer is not only dependent on the objectively measured amount of speckle, but it is also strongly influenced by the image content. As is also discussed in [Verschaffelt et al., Scientific Reports 5, art. nr. 14105, 2015] we find that, for moving images, the speckle becomes disturbing if the speckle contrast becomes larger than 6.9% for the red, 6.0% for the green, and 4.8% for the blue primary colors of the projector, whereas for still images the speckle detection threshold is about 3%. As we could not independently tune the speckle contrast of each of the primary colors, this speckle disturbance limit seems to be determined by the 6.9% speckle contrast of the red color as this primary color contains the largest amount of speckle. The speckle disturbance limit for movies thus turns out to be substantially larger than that for still images, and hence is easier to attain.

  14. Real time speckle monitoring to control retinal photocoagulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bliedtner, Katharina; Seifert, Eric; Brinkmann, Ralf

    2017-07-01

    Photocoagulation is a treatment modality for several retinal diseases. Intra- and inter-individual variations of the retinal absorption as well as ocular transmission and light scattering makes it impossible to achieve a uniform effective exposure with one set of laser parameters. To guarantee a uniform damage throughout the therapy a real-time control is highly requested. Here, an approach to realize a real-time optical feedback using dynamic speckle analysis in-vivo is presented. A 532 nm continuous wave Nd:YAG laser is used for coagulation. During coagulation, speckle dynamics are monitored by a coherent object illumination using a 633 nm diode laser and analyzed by a CMOS camera with a frame rate up to 1 kHz. An algorithm is presented that can discriminate between different categories of retinal pigment epithelial damage ex-vivo in enucleated porcine eyes and that seems to be robust to noise in-vivo. Tissue changes in rabbits during retinal coagulation could be observed for different lesion strengths. This algorithm can run on a FPGA and is able to calculate a feedback value which is correlated to the thermal and coagulation induced tissue motion and thus the achieved damage.

  15. Characteristics Analysis of Joint Acoustic Echo and Noise Suppression in Periodic Drillstring Waveguide

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Cheng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A new method of wireless data telemetry used by oil industry uses compressional acoustic waves to transmit downhole information from the bottom hole to the surface. Unfortunately, acoustic echoes and drilling vibration noises in periodic drillstring are a major issue in transmission performance. A combined acoustic echo and noise suppression method based on wave motion characteristic in drillstring is adopted to enhance an upward-going transmitted acoustic signal. The presented scheme consists of a primary acoustic echo canceller using an array of two accelerometers for dealing with the downward-going noises and a secondary acoustic insulation structure for restraining the upward-going vibration noises. Furthermore, the secondary acoustic insulation structure exhibits a banded and dispersive spectral structure because of periodic groove configuration. By using a finite-differential algorithm for the one-dimensional propagation of longitudinal waves, acoustic receiving characteristics of transmitted signals are simulated with additive Gaussian noise in a periodic pipe structure of limited length to investigate the effects on transmission performance optimization. The results reveal that the proposed scheme can achieve a much lower error bit ratio over a specified acoustic isolation frequency range with a 30–40 dB reduction in the average noise level compared to traditional single-receiver scheme.

  16. Simultaneously Suppressing Low-Frequency and Relaxation Oscillation Intensity Noise in a DBR Single-Frequency Phosphate Fiber Laser

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiao Yu; Li Can; Xu Shan-Hui; Feng Zhou-Ming; Yang Chang-Sheng; Zhao Qi-Lai; Yang Zhong-Min

    2015-01-01

    Effective multiple optoelectronic feedback circuits for simultaneously suppressing low-frequency and relaxation oscillation intensity noise in a single-frequency phosphate fiber laser are demonstrated. The forward transfer function, which relates the laser output intensity to the pump modulations, is measured and analyzed. A custom two-path feedback system operating at different frequency bands is designed to adjust the pump current directly. The relative intensity noise is decreased by 20 dB from 0.2 to 5kHz and over 10 dB from 5 to 10 kHz. The relaxation oscillation peak is suppressed by 22 dB. In addition, a long term (24 h) laser instability of less than 0.05% is achieved. (paper)

  17. X-ray speckle correlation interferometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eisenhower, Rachel; Materlik, Gerhard

    2000-01-01

    Speckle Pattern Correlation Interferometry (SPCI) is a well-established technique in the visible-light regime for observing surface disturbances. Although not a direct imaging technique, SPCI gives full-field, high-resolution information about an object's motion. Since x-ray synchrotron radiation beamlines with high coherent flux have allowed the observation of x-ray speckle, x-ray SPCI could provide a means to measure strains and other quasi-static motions in disordered systems. This paper therefore examines the feasibility of an x-ray speckle correlation interferometer

  18. Suppression of fixed pattern noise for infrared image system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Changhan; Han, Jungsoo; Bae, Kyung-Hoon

    2008-04-01

    In this paper, we propose suppression of fixed pattern noise (FPN) and compensation of soft defect for improvement of object tracking in cooled staring infrared focal plane array (IRFPA) imaging system. FPN appears an observable image which applies to non-uniformity compensation (NUC) by temperature. Soft defect appears glittering black and white point by characteristics of non-uniformity for IR detector by time. This problem is very important because it happen serious problem for object tracking as well as degradation for image quality. Signal processing architecture in cooled staring IRFPA imaging system consists of three tables: low, normal, high temperature for reference gain and offset values. Proposed method operates two offset tables for each table. This is method which operates six term of temperature on the whole. Proposed method of soft defect compensation consists of three stages: (1) separates sub-image for an image, (2) decides a motion distribution of object between each sub-image, (3) analyzes for statistical characteristic from each stationary fixed pixel. Based on experimental results, the proposed method shows an improved image which suppresses FPN by change of temperature distribution from an observational image in real-time.

  19. Noise Suppression on the Tunable Laser for Precise Cavity Length Displacement Measurement

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Šmíd, Radek; Čížek, Martin; Mikel, Břetislav; Hrabina, Jan; Lazar, Josef; Číp, Ondřej

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 16, č. 9 (2016), 1428:1-11 ISSN 1424-8220 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GPP102/12/P962; GA ČR GB14-36681G; GA MŠk(CZ) LO1212; GA MŠk ED0017/01/01 Institutional support: RVO:68081731 Keywords : Fabry-Perot cavity * unbalance Michelson interferometer * noise suppression * heterodyne interferometry * displacement measurement Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Laser s Impact factor: 2.677, year: 2016

  20. Suppression of the four-wave-mixing background noise in a quantum memory retrieval process by channel blocking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Kai; Guo, Jinxian; Chen, L. Q.; Yuan, Chunhua; Ou, Z. Y.; Zhang, Weiping

    2014-09-01

    In a quantum memory scheme with the Raman process, the read process encounters noise from four-wave mixing (FWM), which can destroy the nonclassical properties of the generated quantum fields. Here we demonstrate experimentally that the noise from FWM can be greatly suppressed by simply reducing the FWM transition channels with a circularly polarized read beam while at the same time retaining relatively high retrieval efficiency.

  1. Suppression of interferometric crosstalk and ASE noise using a polarization multiplexing technique and an SOA

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zheng, Xueyan; Liu, Fenghai; Wolfson, David

    2000-01-01

    Noise suppression at 10 Gbit/s and 20 Gbit/s is demonstrated using a gain saturated semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA) and a polarization multiplexing technique, where no impairments like waveform distortion and extinction ratio degradation caused by the gain saturation of the SOA appear. More...

  2. Design and evaluation of noise suppression sheet for GHz band utilizing magneto-elastic effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Igarashi, Toshiyuki; Kondo, Koichi; Yoshida, Shigeyoshi

    2017-12-01

    Feasibility of realizing a noise suppression sheet (NSS) coping with the low SHF band such as the 5 GHz band was investigated, which was composed of soft magnetic metal flakes dispersed in a polymer. For suppressing noises, the higher frequency one of the bimodal frequency dispersion (lower frequency one: Dispersion DII, higher frequency one: Dispersion DIII) seen in the imaginary permeability (μ″; magnetic loss component) spectrum of the NSS was aimed to utilize. Referring to the previous finding that Dispersion DIII is originated from a magneto-elastic effect, several magnetic composite sheets were prepared using various alloy flakes with different saturation magnetostriction (λs), and their frequency (fr(DIII)) and magnitude (μ″(DIII)) of Dispersion DIII were investigated. It was found that the NSS containing flakes with higher λs exhibited higher fr(DIII) and higher μ″(DIII)/μ″(DII), which was ratio of μ″(DIII) to the magnitude of Dispersion DII (μ″(DII)). The fr(DIII) for the NSS having the highest λs containing Fe-Co alloy flake reached 7.45 GHz and μ″ in the 5 GHz band was approximately twice as high as the conventional NSS containing Fe-Si-Al alloy flake. For transmission attenuation power ratio (Rtp) when an NSS was placed on a microstrip line with characteristic impedance of 50 Ω, NSS with larger fr(DIII)2 · μ″(DIII) ∝ Ms2 (Ms: saturation magnetization), which theoretically gave the frequency limit of imaginary permeability for a thin film, exhibited larger Rtp in the low SHF band. These results suggested that an NSS containing a magnetic flake material with both large λs and Ms was suitable for suppressing low SHF band noises.

  3. The SKED: speckle knife edge detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharpies, S D; Light, R A; Achamfuo-Yeboah, S O; Clark, M; Somekh, M G

    2014-01-01

    The knife edge detector—also known as optical beam deflection—is a simple and robust method of detecting ultrasonic waves using a laser. It is particularly suitable for detection of high frequency surface acoustic waves as the response is proportional to variation of the local tilt of the surface. In the case of a specular reflection of the incident laser beam from a smooth surface, any lateral movement of the reflected beam caused by the ultrasonic waves is easily detected by a pair of photodiodes. The major disadvantage of the knife edge detector is that it does not cope well with optically rough surfaces, those that give a speckled reflection. The optical speckles from a rough surface adversely affect the efficiency of the knife edge detector, because 'dark' speckles move synchronously with 'bright' speckles, and their contributions to the ultrasonic signal cancel each other out. We have developed a new self-adapting sensor which can cope with the optical speckles reflected from a rough surface. It is inelegantly called the SKED—speckle knife edge detector—and like its smooth surface namesake it is simple, cheap, compact, and robust. We describe the theory of its operation, and present preliminary experimental results validating the overall concept and the operation of the prototype device

  4. The SKED: speckle knife edge detector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharpies, S. D.; Light, R. A.; Achamfuo-Yeboah, S. O.; Clark, M.; Somekh, M. G.

    2014-06-01

    The knife edge detector—also known as optical beam deflection—is a simple and robust method of detecting ultrasonic waves using a laser. It is particularly suitable for detection of high frequency surface acoustic waves as the response is proportional to variation of the local tilt of the surface. In the case of a specular reflection of the incident laser beam from a smooth surface, any lateral movement of the reflected beam caused by the ultrasonic waves is easily detected by a pair of photodiodes. The major disadvantage of the knife edge detector is that it does not cope well with optically rough surfaces, those that give a speckled reflection. The optical speckles from a rough surface adversely affect the efficiency of the knife edge detector, because 'dark' speckles move synchronously with 'bright' speckles, and their contributions to the ultrasonic signal cancel each other out. We have developed a new self-adapting sensor which can cope with the optical speckles reflected from a rough surface. It is inelegantly called the SKED—speckle knife edge detector—and like its smooth surface namesake it is simple, cheap, compact, and robust. We describe the theory of its operation, and present preliminary experimental results validating the overall concept and the operation of the prototype device.

  5. A review on noise suppression and aberration compensation in holographic particle image velocimetry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K.F. Tamrin

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Understanding three-dimensional (3D fluid flow behaviour is undeniably crucial in improving performance and efficiency in a wide range of applications in engineering and medical fields. Holographic particle image velocimetry (HPIV is a potential tool to probe and characterize complex flow dynamics since it is a truly three-dimensional three-component measurement technique. The technique relies on the coherent light scattered by small seeding particles that are assumed to faithfully follow the flow for subsequent reconstruction of the same the event afterward. However, extraction of useful 3D displacement data from these particle images is usually aggravated by noise and aberration which are inherent within the optical system. Noise and aberration have been considered as major hurdles in HPIV in obtaining accurate particle image identification and its corresponding 3D position. Major contributions to noise include zero-order diffraction, out-of-focus particles, virtual image and emulsion grain scattering. Noise suppression is crucial to ensure that particle image can be distinctly differentiated from background noise while aberration compensation forms particle image with high integrity. This paper reviews a number of HPIV configurations that have been proposed to address these issues, summarizes the key findings and outlines a basis for follow-on research.

  6. Tracking speckle displacement by double Kalman filtering

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Donghui Li; Li Guo

    2006-01-01

    @@ A tracking technique using two sequentially-connected Kalman filter for tracking laser speckle displacement is presented. One Kalman filter tracks temporal speckle displacement, while another Kalman filter tracks spatial speckle displacement. The temporal Kalman filter provides a prior for the spatial Kalman filter, and the spatial Kalman filter provides measurements for the temporal Kalman filter. The contribution of a prior to estimations of the spatial Kalman filter is analyzed. An optical analysis system was set up to verify the double-Kalman-filter tracker's ability of tracking laser speckle's constant displacement.

  7. Speckle disturbance limit in laser-based cinema projection systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verschaffelt, Guy; Roelandt, Stijn; Meuret, Youri; van den Broeck, Wendy; Kilpi, Katriina; Lievens, Bram; Jacobs, An; Janssens, Peter; Thienpont, Hugo

    2015-09-01

    In a multi-disciplinary effort, we investigate the level of speckle that can be tolerated in a laser cinema projector based on a quality of experience experiment with movie clips shown to a test audience in a real-life movie theatre setting. We identify a speckle disturbance threshold by statistically analyzing the observers’ responses for different values of the amount of speckle, which was monitored using a well-defined speckle measurement method. The analysis shows that the speckle perception of a human observer is not only dependent on the objectively measured amount of speckle, but it is also strongly influenced by the image content. The speckle disturbance limit for movies turns out to be substantially larger than that for still images, and hence is easier to attain.

  8. Speckle dynamics under ergodicity breaking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sdobnov, Anton; Bykov, Alexander; Molodij, Guillaume; Kalchenko, Vyacheslav; Jarvinen, Topias; Popov, Alexey; Kordas, Krisztian; Meglinski, Igor

    2018-04-01

    Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is a well-known and versatile approach for the non-invasive visualization of flows and microcirculation localized in turbid scattering media, including biological tissues. In most conventional implementations of LSCI the ergodic regime is typically assumed valid. However, most composite turbid scattering media, especially biological tissues, are non-ergodic, containing a mixture of dynamic and static centers of light scattering. In the current study, we examined the speckle contrast in different dynamic conditions with the aim of assessing limitations in the quantitative interpretation of speckle contrast images. Based on a simple phenomenological approach, we introduced a coefficient of speckle dynamics to quantitatively assess the ratio of the dynamic part of a scattering medium to the static one. The introduced coefficient allows one to distinguish real changes in motion from the mere appearance of static components in the field of view. As examples of systems with static/dynamic transitions, thawing and heating of Intralipid samples were studied by the LSCI approach.

  9. Random noise suppression of seismic data using non-local Bayes algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, De-Kuan; Yang, Wu-Yang; Wang, Yi-Hui; Yang, Qing; Wei, Xin-Jian; Feng, Xiao-Ying

    2018-02-01

    For random noise suppression of seismic data, we present a non-local Bayes (NL-Bayes) filtering algorithm. The NL-Bayes algorithm uses the Gaussian model instead of the weighted average of all similar patches in the NL-means algorithm to reduce the fuzzy of structural details, thereby improving the denoising performance. In the denoising process of seismic data, the size and the number of patches in the Gaussian model are adaptively calculated according to the standard deviation of noise. The NL-Bayes algorithm requires two iterations to complete seismic data denoising, but the second iteration makes use of denoised seismic data from the first iteration to calculate the better mean and covariance of the patch Gaussian model for improving the similarity of patches and achieving the purpose of denoising. Tests with synthetic and real data sets demonstrate that the NL-Bayes algorithm can effectively improve the SNR and preserve the fidelity of seismic data.

  10. Noise suppression via generalized-Markovian processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Jeffrey; Campos Venuti, Lorenzo; Zanardi, Paolo

    2017-11-01

    It is by now well established that noise itself can be useful for performing quantum information processing tasks. We present results which show how one can effectively reduce the error rate associated with a noisy quantum channel by counteracting its detrimental effects with another form of noise. In particular, we consider the effect of adding on top of a purely Markovian (Lindblad) dynamics, a more general form of dissipation, which we refer to as generalized-Markovian noise. This noise has an associated memory kernel and the resulting dynamics are described by an integrodifferential equation. The overall dynamics are characterized by decay rates which depend not only on the original dissipative time scales but also on the new integral kernel. We find that one can engineer this kernel such that the overall rate of decay is lowered by the addition of this noise term. We illustrate this technique for the case where the bare noise is described by a dephasing Pauli channel. We analytically solve this model and show that one can effectively double (or even triple) the length of the channel, while achieving the same fidelity, entanglement, and error threshold. We numerically verify this scheme can also be used to protect against thermal Markovian noise (at nonzero temperature), which models spontaneous emission and excitation processes. A physical interpretation of this scheme is discussed, whereby the added generalized-Markovian noise causes the system to become periodically decoupled from the background Markovian noise.

  11. Optoelectronic imaging of speckle using image processing method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jinjiang; Wang, Pengfei

    2018-01-01

    A detailed image processing of laser speckle interferometry is proposed as an example for the course of postgraduate student. Several image processing methods were used together for dealing with optoelectronic imaging system, such as the partial differential equations (PDEs) are used to reduce the effect of noise, the thresholding segmentation also based on heat equation with PDEs, the central line is extracted based on image skeleton, and the branch is removed automatically, the phase level is calculated by spline interpolation method, and the fringe phase can be unwrapped. Finally, the imaging processing method was used to automatically measure the bubble in rubber with negative pressure which could be used in the tire detection.

  12. Emittance growth due to noise and its suppression with the Feedback system in large hadron colliders

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lebedev, V.; Parkhomchuk, V.; Shiltsev, V.; Stupakov, G.

    1993-03-01

    The problem of emittance growth due to random fluctuation of the magnetic field in hadron colliders is considered. Based on a simple one-dimensional linear model, a formula for an emittance growth rate as a function of the noise spectrum is derived. Different sources of the noise are analyzed and their role is estimated for the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC). A theory of feedback suppression of the emittance growth is developed which predicts the residual growth of the emittance in the accelerator with a feedback system

  13. Low-frequency noise suppression of a fiber laser based on a round-trip EDFA power stabilizer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pan, Z Q; Zhou, J; Yang, F; Ye, Q; Cai, H W; Qu, R H; Fang, Z J

    2013-01-01

    We have designed a power stabilizer based on a round-trip erbium-doped fiber amplifier (EDFA) structure to suppress the low-frequency relative intensity noise (RIN) for a narrow linewidth fiber laser. The noise suppressor is analyzed theoretically and its feasibility is verified experimentally. For a short-cavity single-frequency fiber laser with this device, about 20 dB low-frequency RIN improvement is achieved (down to −120 dB Hz −1 at 10 Hz). The corresponding frequency noise is also reduced by a factor of 1.6. The proposed method is an effective solution to achieve a low-frequency low RIN laser source for highly coherent detection applications. (paper)

  14. Speckle-learning-based object recognition through scattering media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ando, Takamasa; Horisaki, Ryoichi; Tanida, Jun

    2015-12-28

    We experimentally demonstrated object recognition through scattering media based on direct machine learning of a number of speckle intensity images. In the experiments, speckle intensity images of amplitude or phase objects on a spatial light modulator between scattering plates were captured by a camera. We used the support vector machine for binary classification of the captured speckle intensity images of face and non-face data. The experimental results showed that speckles are sufficient for machine learning.

  15. Laser speckle imaging of rat retinal blood flow with hybrid temporal and spatial analysis method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Haiying; Yan, Yumei; Duong, Timothy Q.

    2009-02-01

    Noninvasive monitoring of blood flow in retinal circulation will reveal the progression and treatment of ocular disorders, such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration and glaucoma. A non-invasive and direct BF measurement technique with high spatial-temporal resolution is needed for retinal imaging. Laser speckle imaging (LSI) is such a method. Currently, there are two analysis methods for LSI: spatial statistics LSI (SS-LSI) and temporal statistical LSI (TS-LSI). Comparing these two analysis methods, SS-LSI has higher signal to noise ratio (SNR) and TSLSI is less susceptible to artifacts from stationary speckle. We proposed a hybrid temporal and spatial analysis method (HTS-LSI) to measure the retinal blood flow. Gas challenge experiment was performed and images were analyzed by HTS-LSI. Results showed that HTS-LSI can not only remove the stationary speckle but also increase the SNR. Under 100% O2, retinal BF decreased by 20-30%. This was consistent with the results observed with laser Doppler technique. As retinal blood flow is a critical physiological parameter and its perturbation has been implicated in the early stages of many retinal diseases, HTS-LSI will be an efficient method in early detection of retina diseases.

  16. Finding small displacements of recorded speckle patterns: revisited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hanson, Steen Grüner; Jakobsen, Michael Linde; Chakrabarti, Maumita

    2015-01-01

    An analytical expression for the bias effect in digital speckle correlation is derived based on a Gaussian approximation of the spatial pixel size and array extent. The evaluation is carried out having assumed an incident speckle field. The analysis is focused on speckle displacements in the order...

  17. Speckle imaging algorithms for planetary imaging

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johansson, E. [Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

    1994-11-15

    I will discuss the speckle imaging algorithms used to process images of the impact sites of the collision of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 with Jupiter. The algorithms use a phase retrieval process based on the average bispectrum of the speckle image data. High resolution images are produced by estimating the Fourier magnitude and Fourier phase of the image separately, then combining them and inverse transforming to achieve the final result. I will show raw speckle image data and high-resolution image reconstructions from our recent experiment at Lick Observatory.

  18. Restoration of Medical Images with Different Types of Noise; Restauracion de Imagenes Medicas con Diferentes Tipos de Ruido

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanchez, M. G.; Vidal, V.; Verdu, G.; Mayo, P.; Rodenas, F.

    2013-07-01

    In this paper, a method is proposed to reduce the Gaussian, speckle and impulsive noise. This filter, named PGMFDNL filter combines a nonlinear diffusion and fuzzy peer group. The proposed filter can effectively reduce image noise without any information about the noise present in the image. As a result, the proposed method obtains good performance in different types of noise.

  19. Suppression of Noise to Obtain a High-Performance Low-Cost Optical Encoder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergio Alvarez-Rodríguez

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Currently, commercial encoders endowed with high precision are expensive sensors, and optical low-cost designs to measure the positioning angle have undesirable levels of system noise which reduce the good performance of devices. This research is devoted to the designing of mathematical filters to suppress noise in polarized transducers, in order to obtain high accuracy, precision, and resolution, along with an adaptive maximum response speed for low-cost optical encoders. This design was proved through a prototype inside a research platform, and experimental results show an accuracy of 3.9, a precision of 26, and a resolution of 17 [arc seconds], at least for the specified working conditions, for the sensing of the angular position of a rotary polarizer. From this work has been obtained a high-performance low-cost polyphase optical encoder, which uses filtering mathematical principles potentially generalizable to other inventions.

  20. GPU-Based Block-Wise Nonlocal Means Denoising for 3D Ultrasound Images

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu Li

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Speckle suppression plays an important role in improving ultrasound (US image quality. While lots of algorithms have been proposed for 2D US image denoising with remarkable filtering quality, there is relatively less work done on 3D ultrasound speckle suppression, where the whole volume data rather than just one frame needs to be considered. Then, the most crucial problem with 3D US denoising is that the computational complexity increases tremendously. The nonlocal means (NLM provides an effective method for speckle suppression in US images. In this paper, a programmable graphic-processor-unit- (GPU- based fast NLM filter is proposed for 3D ultrasound speckle reduction. A Gamma distribution noise model, which is able to reliably capture image statistics for Log-compressed ultrasound images, was used for the 3D block-wise NLM filter on basis of Bayesian framework. The most significant aspect of our method was the adopting of powerful data-parallel computing capability of GPU to improve the overall efficiency. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can enormously accelerate the algorithm.

  1. Twisted speckle entities inside wave-front reversal mirrors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Okulov, A. Yu

    2009-01-01

    The previously unknown property of the optical speckle pattern reported. The interference of a speckle with the counterpropagating phase-conjugated (PC) speckle wave produces a randomly distributed ensemble of a twisted entities (ropes) surrounding optical vortex lines. These entities appear in a wide range of a randomly chosen speckle parameters inside the phase-conjugating mirrors regardless to an internal physical mechanism of the wave-front reversal. These numerically generated interference patterns are relevant to the Brillouin PC mirrors and to a four-wave mixing PC mirrors based upon laser trapped ultracold atomic cloud.

  2. Multiple speckle illumination for optical-resolution photoacoustic imaging

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poisson, Florian; Stasio, Nicolino; Moser, Christophe; Psaltis, Demetri; Bossy, Emmanuel

    2017-03-01

    Optical-resolution photoacoustic microscopy offers exquisite and specific contrast to optical absorption. Conventional approaches generally involves raster scanning a focused spot over the sample. Here, we demonstrate that a full-field illumination approach with multiple speckle illumination can also provide diffraction-limited optical-resolution photoacoustic images. Two different proof-of-concepts are demonstrated with micro-structured test samples. The first approach follows the principle of correlation/ghost imaging,1, 2 and is based on cross-correlating photoacoustic signals under multiple speckle illumination with known speckle patterns measured during a calibration step. The second approach is a speckle scanning microscopy technique, which adapts the technique proposed in fluorescence microscopy by Bertolotti and al.:3 in our work, spatially unresolved photoacoustic measurements are performed for various translations of unknown speckle patterns. A phase-retrieval algorithm is used to reconstruct the object from the knowledge of the modulus of its Fourier Transform yielded by the measurements. Because speckle patterns naturally appear in many various situations, including propagation through biological tissue or multi-mode fibers (for which focusing light is either very demanding if not impossible), speckle-illumination-based photoacoustic microscopy provides a powerful framework for the development of novel reconstruction approaches, well-suited to compressed sensing approaches.2

  3. Injection-locked single-mode VCSEL for orthogonal multiplexing and amplitude noise suppression

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chipouline, Arkadi; Lyubopytov, Vladimir S.; Malekizandi, Mohammadreza

    2017-01-01

    It has been shown earlier, that the injection locked semiconductor lasers enable effective amplitude noise suppression [1] and makes possible an extra level of signal multiplexing-orthogonal modulation [2], where DPSK and ASK NRZ channels propagate at the same wavelength [3]. In our work we use...... an injection-locked 1550 nm VCSEL as a slave laser providing separation of amplitude and phase modulations, carrying independent information flows. To validate the possibility of phase modulation extraction by an injection-locked VCSEL, an experimental setup shown in Fig. 1 has been built....

  4. Statistics of spatially integrated speckle intensity difference

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hanson, Steen Grüner; Yura, Harold

    2009-01-01

    We consider the statistics of the spatially integrated speckle intensity difference obtained from two separated finite collecting apertures. For fully developed speckle, closed-form analytic solutions for both the probability density function and the cumulative distribution function are derived...... here for both arbitrary values of the mean number of speckles contained within an aperture and the degree of coherence of the optical field. Additionally, closed-form expressions are obtained for the corresponding nth statistical moments....

  5. Identification of a chemical inhibitor for nuclear speckle formation: Implications for the function of nuclear speckles in regulation of alternative pre-mRNA splicing

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kurogi, Yutaro; Matsuo, Yota; Mihara, Yuki; Yagi, Hiroaki; Shigaki-Miyamoto, Kaya; Toyota, Syukichi; Azuma, Yuko [Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan); Igarashi, Masayuki [Laboratory of Disease Biology, Institute of Microbial Chemistry, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-0021 (Japan); Tani, Tokio, E-mail: ttani@sci.kumamoto-u.ac.jp [Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science and Technology, Kumamoto University, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555 (Japan)

    2014-03-28

    Highlights: • We identified tubercidin as a compound inducing aberrant formation of the speckles. • Tubercidin causes delocalization of poly (A){sup +}RNAs from nuclear speckles. • Tubercidin induces dispersion of splicing factors from nuclear speckles. • Tubercidin affects alternative pre-mRNA splicing. • Nuclear speckles play a role in regulation of alternative pre-mRNA splicing. - Abstract: Nuclear speckles are subnuclear structures enriched with RNA processing factors and poly (A){sup +} RNAs comprising mRNAs and poly (A){sup +} non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Nuclear speckles are thought to be involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression, such as pre-mRNA splicing. By screening 3585 culture extracts of actinomycetes with in situ hybridization using an oligo dT probe, we identified tubercidin, an analogue of adenosine, as an inhibitor of speckle formation, which induces the delocalization of poly (A){sup +} RNA and dispersion of splicing factor SRSF1/SF2 from nuclear speckles in HeLa cells. Treatment with tubercidin also decreased steady-state MALAT1 long ncRNA, thought to be involved in the retention of SRSF1/SF2 in nuclear speckles. In addition, we found that tubercidin treatment promoted exon skipping in the alternative splicing of Clk1 pre-mRNA. These results suggest that nuclear speckles play a role in modulating the concentration of splicing factors in the nucleoplasm to regulate alternative pre-mRNA splicing.

  6. Suppression of laser phase noise in direct-detection optical OFDM transmission using phase-conjugated pilots

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lu; Ming, Yi; Li, Jin

    2017-11-01

    Due to the unique phase noise (PN) characteristics in direct-detection optical OFDM (DDO-OFDM) systems, the design of PN compensator is considered as a difficult task. In this paper, a laser PN suppression scheme with low complexity for DDO-OFDM based on coherent superposition of data carrying subcarriers and their phase conjugates is proposed. Through theoretical derivation, the obvious PN suppression is observed. The effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated by simulation of a 4-QAM DDO-OFDM system over 1000 km transmission length at different laser line-width and subcarrier frequency spacing. The results show that the proposed scheme can significantly suppress both varied phase rotation term (PTR) and inter-carrier interference (ICI), and the laser line-width can be relaxed with up to 9 dB OSNR saving or even breakthrough of performance floor.

  7. An Unsupervised Change Detection Method Using Time-Series of PolSAR Images from Radarsat-2 and GaoFen-3.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Wensong; Yang, Jie; Zhao, Jinqi; Shi, Hongtao; Yang, Le

    2018-02-12

    The traditional unsupervised change detection methods based on the pixel level can only detect the changes between two different times with same sensor, and the results are easily affected by speckle noise. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to detect change based on time-series data from different sensors. Firstly, the overall difference image of the time-series PolSAR is calculated by omnibus test statistics, and difference images between any two images in different times are acquired by R j test statistics. Secondly, the difference images are segmented with a Generalized Statistical Region Merging (GSRM) algorithm which can suppress the effect of speckle noise. Generalized Gaussian Mixture Model (GGMM) is then used to obtain the time-series change detection maps in the final step of the proposed method. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, we carried out the experiment of change detection using time-series PolSAR images acquired by Radarsat-2 and Gaofen-3 over the city of Wuhan, in China. Results show that the proposed method can not only detect the time-series change from different sensors, but it can also better suppress the influence of speckle noise and improve the overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient.

  8. SU-E-J-243: Possibility of Exposure Dose Reduction of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography in An Image Guided Patient Positioning System by Using Various Noise Suppression Filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kamezawa, H; Arimura, H; Ohki, M; Shirieda, K; Kameda, N

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: To investigate the possibility of exposure dose reduction of the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in an image guided patient positioning system by using 6 noise suppression filters. Methods: First, a reference dose (RD) and low-dose (LD)-CBCT (X-ray volume imaging system, Elekta Co.) images were acquired with a reference dose of 86.2 mGy (weighted CT dose index: CTDIw) and various low doses of 1.4 to 43.1 mGy, respectively. Second, an automated rigid registration for three axes was performed for estimating setup errors between a planning CT image and the LD-CBCT images, which were processed by 6 noise suppression filters, i.e., averaging filter (AF), median filter (MF), Gaussian filter (GF), bilateral filter (BF), edge preserving smoothing filter (EPF) and adaptive partial median filter (AMF). Third, residual errors representing the patient positioning accuracy were calculated as an Euclidean distance between the setup error vectors estimated using the LD-CBCT image and RD-CBCT image. Finally, the relationships between the residual error and CTDIw were obtained for 6 noise suppression filters, and then the CTDIw for LD-CBCT images processed by the noise suppression filters were measured at the same residual error, which was obtained with the RD-CBCT. This approach was applied to an anthropomorphic pelvic phantom and two cancer patients. Results: For the phantom, the exposure dose could be reduced from 61% (GF) to 78% (AMF) by applying the noise suppression filters to the CBCT images. The exposure dose in a prostate cancer case could be reduced from 8% (AF) to 61% (AMF), and the exposure dose in a lung cancer case could be reduced from 9% (AF) to 37% (AMF). Conclusion: Using noise suppression filters, particularly an adaptive partial median filter, could be feasible to decrease the additional exposure dose to patients in image guided patient positioning systems

  9. SU-E-J-243: Possibility of Exposure Dose Reduction of Cone-Beam Computed Tomography in An Image Guided Patient Positioning System by Using Various Noise Suppression Filters

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kamezawa, H [Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka (Japan); Fujimoto General Hospital, Miyakonojo, Miyazaki (Japan); Arimura, H; Ohki, M [Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka (Japan); Shirieda, K; Kameda, N [Fujimoto General Hospital, Miyakonojo, Miyazaki (Japan)

    2014-06-01

    Purpose: To investigate the possibility of exposure dose reduction of the cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in an image guided patient positioning system by using 6 noise suppression filters. Methods: First, a reference dose (RD) and low-dose (LD)-CBCT (X-ray volume imaging system, Elekta Co.) images were acquired with a reference dose of 86.2 mGy (weighted CT dose index: CTDIw) and various low doses of 1.4 to 43.1 mGy, respectively. Second, an automated rigid registration for three axes was performed for estimating setup errors between a planning CT image and the LD-CBCT images, which were processed by 6 noise suppression filters, i.e., averaging filter (AF), median filter (MF), Gaussian filter (GF), bilateral filter (BF), edge preserving smoothing filter (EPF) and adaptive partial median filter (AMF). Third, residual errors representing the patient positioning accuracy were calculated as an Euclidean distance between the setup error vectors estimated using the LD-CBCT image and RD-CBCT image. Finally, the relationships between the residual error and CTDIw were obtained for 6 noise suppression filters, and then the CTDIw for LD-CBCT images processed by the noise suppression filters were measured at the same residual error, which was obtained with the RD-CBCT. This approach was applied to an anthropomorphic pelvic phantom and two cancer patients. Results: For the phantom, the exposure dose could be reduced from 61% (GF) to 78% (AMF) by applying the noise suppression filters to the CBCT images. The exposure dose in a prostate cancer case could be reduced from 8% (AF) to 61% (AMF), and the exposure dose in a lung cancer case could be reduced from 9% (AF) to 37% (AMF). Conclusion: Using noise suppression filters, particularly an adaptive partial median filter, could be feasible to decrease the additional exposure dose to patients in image guided patient positioning systems.

  10. Suppression of Squeal Noise Excited by the Pressure Pulsation from the Flapper-Nozzle Valve inside a Hydraulic Energy System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meng Chen

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Squeal noise often occurs in a two-stage electrohydraulic servo-valve, which is an unfavorable issue of modern hydraulic energy systems. The root causes of such noise from the servo-valve are still unclear. The objective of this paper is to explore the noise mechanism in a servo-valve excited by the pressure pulsations from the hydraulic energy system perspective. The suppressing capability of squeal noise energy is investigated by changing the pressure pulsation frequency and natural frequency of the flapper-armature assembly. The frequencies of the pressure pulsations are adjusted by setting different speeds of the hydraulic pump varying from 10,400–14,400 rpm, and two flapper-armature assemblies with different armature lengths are used in the tested hydraulic energy system. The first eight vibration mode shapes and natural frequencies of the flapper-armature assembly are obtained by numerical modal analysis using two different armature lengths. The characteristics of pressure pulsations at the pump outlet and in the chamber of the flapper-nozzle valve, armature vibration and noise are tested and compared with the natural frequencies of the flapper-armature assembly. The results reveal that the flapper-armature assembly vibrates and makes the noise with the same frequencies as the pressure pulsations inside the hydraulic energy system. Resonance appears when the frequency of the pressure pulsations coincides with the natural frequency of the flapper-armature assembly. Therefore, it can be concluded that the pressure pulsation energy from the power supply may excite the vibration of the flapper-armature assembly, which may consequently cause the squeal noise inside the servo-valve. It is verified by the numerical simulations and experiments that setting the pressure pulsation frequencies different from the natural frequencies of the flapper-armature assembly can suppress the resonance and squeal noise.

  11. Analysis of a simplified normalized covariance measure based on binary weighting functions for predicting the intelligibility of noise-suppressed speech.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Fei; Loizou, Philipos C

    2010-12-01

    The normalized covariance measure (NCM) has been shown previously to predict reliably the intelligibility of noise-suppressed speech containing non-linear distortions. This study analyzes a simplified NCM measure that requires only a small number of bands (not necessarily contiguous) and uses simple binary (1 or 0) weighting functions. The rationale behind the use of a small number of bands is to account for the fact that the spectral information contained in contiguous or nearby bands is correlated and redundant. The modified NCM measure was evaluated with speech intelligibility scores obtained by normal-hearing listeners in 72 noisy conditions involving noise-suppressed speech corrupted by four different types of maskers (car, babble, train, and street interferences). High correlation (r = 0.8) was obtained with the modified NCM measure even when only one band was used. Further analysis revealed a masker-specific pattern of correlations when only one band was used, and bands with low correlation signified the corresponding envelopes that have been severely distorted by the noise-suppression algorithm and/or the masker. Correlation improved to r = 0.84 when only two disjoint bands (centered at 325 and 1874 Hz) were used. Even further improvements in correlation (r = 0.85) were obtained when three or four lower-frequency (<700 Hz) bands were selected.

  12. A SIMPLE HETERODYNE TEMPORAL SPECKLE-PATTERN INTERFEROMETER

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wong, W. O.; Gao, Z.; Lu, J.

    2010-01-01

    A common light path design of heterodyne speckle pattern interferometer based on temporal speckle pattern interferometry is proposed for non-contact, full-field and real-time continuous displacement measurement. Double frequency laser is produced by rotating a half wave plate. An experiment was carried out to measure the dynamic displacement of a cantilever plate for testing the proposed common path heterodyne speckle pattern interferometer. The accuracy of displacement measurement was checked by measuring the motion at the mid-point of the plate with a point displacement sensor.

  13. Speckle reduction in echocardiography by temporal compounding and anisotropic diffusion filtering

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giraldo-Guzmán, Jader; Porto-Solano, Oscar; Cadena-Bonfanti, Alberto; Contreras-Ortiz, Sonia H.

    2015-01-01

    Echocardiography is a medical imaging technique based on ultrasound signals that is used to evaluate heart anatomy and physiology. Echocardiographic images are affected by speckle, a type of multiplicative noise that obscures details of the structures, and reduces the overall image quality. This paper shows an approach to enhance echocardiography using two processing techniques: temporal compounding and anisotropic diffusion filtering. We used twenty echocardiographic videos that include one or three cardiac cycles to test the algorithms. Two images from each cycle were aligned in space and averaged to obtain the compound images. These images were then processed using anisotropic diffusion filters to further improve their quality. Resultant images were evaluated using quality metrics and visual assessment by two medical doctors. The average total improvement on signal-to-noise ratio was up to 100.29% for videos with three cycles, and up to 32.57% for videos with one cycle.

  14. Noise Suppression in ECG Signals through Efficient One-Step Wavelet Processing Techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Castillo

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper illustrates the application of the discrete wavelet transform (DWT for wandering and noise suppression in electrocardiographic (ECG signals. A novel one-step implementation is presented, which allows improving the overall denoising process. In addition an exhaustive study is carried out, defining threshold limits and thresholding rules for optimal wavelet denoising using this presented technique. The system has been tested using synthetic ECG signals, which allow accurately measuring the effect of the proposed processing. Moreover, results from real abdominal ECG signals acquired from pregnant women are presented in order to validate the presented approach.

  15. Stochastic Resonance-Like and Resonance Suppression-Like Phenomena in a Bistable System with Time Delay and Additive Noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shu Chang-Zheng; Nie Lin-Ru; Zhou Zhong-Rao

    2012-01-01

    Stochastic resonance (SR)-like and resonance suppression (RS)-like phenomena in a time-delayed bistable system driven by additive white noise are investigated by means of stochastic simulations of the power spectrum, the quality factor of the power spectrum, and the mean first-passage time (MFPT) of the system. The calculative results indicate that: (i) as the system is driven by a small periodic signal, the quality factor as a function delay time exhibits a maximal value at smaller noise intensities, i.e., an SR-like phenomenon. With the increment in additive noise intensity, the extremum gradually disappears and the quality factor decreases monotonously with delay time. (ii) As the additive noise intensity is smaller, the curve of the MFPT with respect to delay time displays a peak, i.e., an RS-like phenomenon. At higher levels of noise, however, the non-monotonic behavior is lost. (general)

  16. Advances in speckle metrology and related techniques

    CERN Document Server

    Kaufmann, Guillermo H

    2010-01-01

    Speckle metrology includes various optical techniques that are based on the speckle fields generated by reflection from a rough surface or by transmission through a rough diffuser. These techniques have proven to be very useful in testing different materials in a non-destructive way. They have changed dramatically during the last years due to the development of modern optical components, with faster and more powerful digital computers, and novel data processing approaches. This most up-to-date overview of the topic describes new techniques developed in the field of speckle metrology over the l

  17. Optimization of the GOES-1 Imagers radiometric accuracy: Drift and 1/f noise suppression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bremer, J.C.; Comeyne, G.J. III

    1994-01-01

    The raw output of many scanning radiometers is a small, rapidly varying signal superimposed on a large background that varies more slowly, due to thermal drifts and 1/f noise. To isolate the signal, it is necessary to perform a differential measurement: measure a known reference and subtract it from each of the raw outputs, canceling the common-mode background. Calibration is also a differential measurement: the difference between two outputs is divided by the difference between the two known references that produced them to determine the gain. The GOES-I Imager views space as its background subtraction reference and a full-aperture blackbody as its second reference for calibration. The background suppression efficiency of a differential measurement algorithm depends on its timing. The Imager measures space references before and after each scan line and performs interpolated background subtraction: a unique, linearly weighted average of the two references is subtracted from each scene sample in that line, canceling both constant bias and linear drift. One model quantifies the Gaussian noise and 1/f noise terms in the noise equivalent bandwidth, which is minimized to optimize the algorithm. The authors have obtained excellent agreement between the analytical predictions and Monte Carlo computer simulations

  18. Speckle imaging of globular clusters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sams, B.J. III

    1990-01-01

    Speckle imaging is a powerful tool for high resolution astronomy. Its application to the core regions of globular clusters produces high resolution stellar maps of the bright stars, but is unable to image the faint stars which are most reliable dynamical indicators. The limits on resolving these faint, extended objects are physical, not algorithmic, and cannot be overcome using speckle. High resolution maps may be useful for resolving multicomponent stellar systems in the cluster centers. 30 refs

  19. Observation of modulation speed enhancement, frequency modulation suppression, and phase noise reduction by detuned loading in a coupled-cavity semiconductor laser

    OpenAIRE

    Vahala, Kerry; Paslaski, Joel; Yariv, Amnon

    1985-01-01

    Simultaneous direct modulation response enhancement, phase noise (linewidth) reduction, and frequency modulation suppression are produced in a coupled-cavity semiconductor laser by the detuned loading mechanism.

  20. Effective noise-suppressed and artifact-reduced reconstruction of SPECT data using a preconditioned alternating projection algorithm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Si; Xu, Yuesheng, E-mail: yxu06@syr.edu [Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Computational Science, School of Mathematics and Computational Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275 (China); Zhang, Jiahan; Lipson, Edward [Department of Physics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244 (United States); Krol, Andrzej; Feiglin, David [Department of Radiology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, New York 13210 (United States); Schmidtlein, C. Ross [Department of Medical Physics, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York 10065 (United States); Vogelsang, Levon [Carestream Health, Rochester, New York 14608 (United States); Shen, Lixin [Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Computational Science, School of Mathematics and Computational Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China and Department of Mathematics, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244 (United States)

    2015-08-15

    square errors (MSEs), and report the convergence speed and computation time. Results: HOTV-PAPA yields the best signal-to-noise ratio, followed by TV-PAPA and TV-OSL/GPF-EM. The local spatial resolution of HOTV-PAPA is somewhat worse than that of TV-PAPA and TV-OSL. Images reconstructed using HOTV-PAPA have the lowest local noise power spectrum (LNPS) amplitudes, followed by TV-PAPA, TV-OSL, and GPF-EM. The LNPS peak of GPF-EM is shifted toward higher spatial frequencies than those for the three other methods. The PAPA-type methods exhibit much lower ensemble noise, ensemble voxel variance, and image roughness. HOTV-PAPA performs best in these categories. Whereas images reconstructed using both TV-PAPA and TV-OSL are degraded by severe staircase artifacts; HOTV-PAPA substantially reduces such artifacts. It also converges faster than the other three methods and exhibits the lowest overall reconstruction error level, as measured by MSE. Conclusions: For high-noise simulated SPECT data, HOTV-PAPA outperforms TV-PAPA, GPF-EM, and TV-OSL in terms of hot lesion detectability, noise suppression, MSE, and computational efficiency. Unlike TV-PAPA and TV-OSL, HOTV-PAPA does not create sizable staircase artifacts. Moreover, HOTV-PAPA effectively suppresses noise, with only limited loss of local spatial resolution. Of the four methods, HOTV-PAPA shows the best lesion detectability, thanks to its superior noise suppression. HOTV-PAPA shows promise for clinically useful reconstructions of low-dose SPECT data.

  1. Effective noise-suppressed and artifact-reduced reconstruction of SPECT data using a preconditioned alternating projection algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Si; Xu, Yuesheng; Zhang, Jiahan; Lipson, Edward; Krol, Andrzej; Feiglin, David; Schmidtlein, C. Ross; Vogelsang, Levon; Shen, Lixin

    2015-01-01

    square errors (MSEs), and report the convergence speed and computation time. Results: HOTV-PAPA yields the best signal-to-noise ratio, followed by TV-PAPA and TV-OSL/GPF-EM. The local spatial resolution of HOTV-PAPA is somewhat worse than that of TV-PAPA and TV-OSL. Images reconstructed using HOTV-PAPA have the lowest local noise power spectrum (LNPS) amplitudes, followed by TV-PAPA, TV-OSL, and GPF-EM. The LNPS peak of GPF-EM is shifted toward higher spatial frequencies than those for the three other methods. The PAPA-type methods exhibit much lower ensemble noise, ensemble voxel variance, and image roughness. HOTV-PAPA performs best in these categories. Whereas images reconstructed using both TV-PAPA and TV-OSL are degraded by severe staircase artifacts; HOTV-PAPA substantially reduces such artifacts. It also converges faster than the other three methods and exhibits the lowest overall reconstruction error level, as measured by MSE. Conclusions: For high-noise simulated SPECT data, HOTV-PAPA outperforms TV-PAPA, GPF-EM, and TV-OSL in terms of hot lesion detectability, noise suppression, MSE, and computational efficiency. Unlike TV-PAPA and TV-OSL, HOTV-PAPA does not create sizable staircase artifacts. Moreover, HOTV-PAPA effectively suppresses noise, with only limited loss of local spatial resolution. Of the four methods, HOTV-PAPA shows the best lesion detectability, thanks to its superior noise suppression. HOTV-PAPA shows promise for clinically useful reconstructions of low-dose SPECT data

  2. Noise suppression for dual-energy CT via penalized weighted least-square optimization with similarity-based regularization

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harms, Joseph; Wang, Tonghe; Petrongolo, Michael; Zhu, Lei, E-mail: leizhu@gatech.edu [Nuclear and Radiological Engineering and Medical Physics Programs, The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332 (United States); Niu, Tianye [Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine (China); Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310016 (China)

    2016-05-15

    Purpose: Dual-energy CT (DECT) expands applications of CT imaging in its capability to decompose CT images into material images. However, decomposition via direct matrix inversion leads to large noise amplification and limits quantitative use of DECT. Their group has previously developed a noise suppression algorithm via penalized weighted least-square optimization with edge-preservation regularization (PWLS-EPR). In this paper, the authors improve method performance using the same framework of penalized weighted least-square optimization but with similarity-based regularization (PWLS-SBR), which substantially enhances the quality of decomposed images by retaining a more uniform noise power spectrum (NPS). Methods: The design of PWLS-SBR is based on the fact that averaging pixels of similar materials gives a low-noise image. For each pixel, the authors calculate the similarity to other pixels in its neighborhood by comparing CT values. Using an empirical Gaussian model, the authors assign high/low similarity value to one neighboring pixel if its CT value is close/far to the CT value of the pixel of interest. These similarity values are organized in matrix form, such that multiplication of the similarity matrix to the image vector reduces image noise. The similarity matrices are calculated on both high- and low-energy CT images and averaged. In PWLS-SBR, the authors include a regularization term to minimize the L-2 norm of the difference between the images without and with noise suppression via similarity matrix multiplication. By using all pixel information of the initial CT images rather than just those lying on or near edges, PWLS-SBR is superior to the previously developed PWLS-EPR, as supported by comparison studies on phantoms and a head-and-neck patient. Results: On the line-pair slice of the Catphan{sup ©}600 phantom, PWLS-SBR outperforms PWLS-EPR and retains spatial resolution of 8 lp/cm, comparable to the original CT images, even at 90% reduction in noise

  3. Noise suppression in an atomic system under the action of a field in a squeezed coherent state

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gelman, A. I.; Mironov, V. A.

    2010-01-01

    The interaction of a quantized electromagnetic field in a squeezed coherent state with a three-level Λ-atom is studied numerically by the quantum Monte Carlo method and analytically by the Heisenberg-Langevin method in the regime of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). The possibility of noise suppression in the atomic system through the quantum properties of squeezed light is considered in detail; the characteristics of the atomic system responsible for the relaxation processes and noise in the EIT band have been found. Further applications of the Monte Carlo method and the developed numerical code to the study of more complex systems are discussed.

  4. X-ray pulse wavefront metrology using speckle tracking

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berujon, Sebastien; Ziegler, Eric; Cloetens, Peter

    2015-01-01

    The theoretical description and experimental implementation of a speckle-tracking-based instrument which permits the characterisation of X-ray pulse wavefronts. An instrument allowing the quantitative analysis of X-ray pulsed wavefronts is presented and its processing method explained. The system relies on the X-ray speckle tracking principle to accurately measure the phase gradient of the X-ray beam from which beam optical aberrations can be deduced. The key component of this instrument, a semi-transparent scintillator emitting visible light while transmitting X-rays, allows simultaneous recording of two speckle images at two different propagation distances from the X-ray source. The speckle tracking procedure for a reference-less metrology mode is described with a detailed account on the advanced processing schemes used. A method to characterize and compensate for the imaging detector distortion, whose principle is also based on speckle, is included. The presented instrument is expected to find interest at synchrotrons and at the new X-ray free-electron laser sources under development worldwide where successful exploitation of beams relies on the availability of an accurate wavefront metrology

  5. An adaptive Kalman filter for speckle reductions in ultrasound images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Castellini, G.; Labate, D.; Masotti, L.; Mannini, E.; Rocchi, S.

    1988-01-01

    Speckle is the term used to describe the granular appearance found in ultrasound images. The presence of speckle reduces the diagnostic potential of the echographic technique because it tends to mask small inhomogeneities of the investigated tissue. We developed a new method of speckle reductions that utilizes an adaptive one-dimensional Kalman filter based on the assumption that the observed image can be considered as a superimposition of speckle on a ''true images''. The filter adaptivity, necessary to avoid loss of resolution, has been obtained by statistical considerations on the local signal variations. The results of the applications of this particular Kalman filter, both on A-Mode and B-MODE images, show a significant speckle reduction

  6. Adaptive Noise Suppression of Pediatric Lung Auscultations With Real Applications to Noisy Clinical Settings in Developing Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emmanouilidou, Dimitra; McCollum, Eric D.; Park, Daniel E.

    2015-01-01

    Goal Chest auscultation constitutes a portable low-cost tool widely used for respiratory disease detection. Though it offers a powerful means of pulmonary examination, it remains riddled with a number of issues that limit its diagnostic capability. Particularly, patient agitation (especially in children), background chatter, and other environmental noises often contaminate the auscultation, hence affecting the clarity of the lung sound itself. This paper proposes an automated multiband denoising scheme for improving the quality of auscultation signals against heavy background contaminations. Methods The algorithm works on a simple two-microphone setup, dynamically adapts to the background noise and suppresses contaminations while successfully preserving the lung sound content. The proposed scheme is refined to offset maximal noise suppression against maintaining the integrity of the lung signal, particularly its unknown adventitious components that provide the most informative diagnostic value during lung pathology. Results The algorithm is applied to digital recordings obtained in the field in a busy clinic in West Africa and evaluated using objective signal fidelity measures and perceptual listening tests performed by a panel of licensed physicians. A strong preference of the enhanced sounds is revealed. Significance The strengths and benefits of the proposed method lie in the simple automated setup and its adaptive nature, both fundamental conditions for everyday clinical applicability. It can be simply extended to a real-time implementation, and integrated with lung sound acquisition protocols. PMID:25879837

  7. RF and microwave noise suppression in a transmission line using Fe-Si-Al/Ni-Zn magnetic composite films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, J. W.; Hong, Y. K.; Kim, K.; Joo, J.; Yoon, Y. W.; Kim, S. W.; Kim, Y. B.; Kim, K. Y.

    2006-01-01

    Radio-frequency (RF) and microwave noise suppression by using magnetic composite films on a microstrip line (MSL) was studied in the frequency range from 50 MHz to 13.5 GHz. The MSL was composed of a Cu transmission line, dielectric materials, and a Cu substrate. The Fe-Si-Al/Ni-Zn magnetic composite films were placed on the MSL, and the reflection and the transmission characteristics were investigated. We observed that RF and microwave noise suppression caused by the Fe-Si-Al/Ni-Zn magnetic composite films varied with the concentration ratio of the sendust (Fe-Si-Al) and the Ni-Zn ferrite. The frequency dependence of the power loss due to the composite films on the MSL was measured and the power loss increased at higher frequencies with increasing concentration of the sendust in the composites. The electromagnetic interference shielding efficiencies of the magnetic composite films in the far-field region are also discussed.

  8. Ectoparasites and intestinal helminths of speckled pigeon ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ectoparasites and intestinal helminths of speckled pigeon ( Columba guinea Hartlaub and Finsch 1870) in Zaria, Nigeria. ... Science World Journal ... A total of 30 (20 males and 10 females) Speckled Pigeons trapped from the wild in Zaria and its environs, Nigeria, were examined for ectoparasites and intestinal helminths, ...

  9. Laser speckle imaging based on photothermally driven convection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regan, Caitlin; Choi, Bernard

    2016-02-01

    Laser speckle imaging (LSI) is an interferometric technique that provides information about the relative speed of moving scatterers in a sample. Photothermal LSI overcomes limitations in depth resolution faced by conventional LSI by incorporating an excitation pulse to target absorption by hemoglobin within the vascular network. Here we present results from experiments designed to determine the mechanism by which photothermal LSI decreases speckle contrast. We measured the impact of mechanical properties on speckle contrast, as well as the spatiotemporal temperature dynamics and bulk convective motion occurring during photothermal LSI. Our collective data strongly support the hypothesis that photothermal LSI achieves a transient reduction in speckle contrast due to bulk motion associated with thermally driven convection. The ability of photothermal LSI to image structures below a scattering medium may have important preclinical and clinical applications.

  10. Modal noise impact in radio over fiber multimode fiber links.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gasulla, I; Capmany, J

    2008-01-07

    A novel analysis is given on the statistics of modal noise for a graded-index multimode fiber (MMF) link excited by an analog intensity modulated laser diode. We present the speckle contrast as a function of the power spectrum of the modulated source and the transfer function of the MMF which behaves as an imperfect transversal microwave photonic filter. The theoretical results confirm that the modal noise is directly connected with the coherence properties of the optical source and show that the performance of high-frequency Radio Over Fiber (ROF) transmission through MMF links for short and middle reach distances is not substantially degraded by modal noise.

  11. Laser-induced speckle scatter patterns in Bacillus colonies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huisung eKim

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Label-free bacterial colony phenotyping technology called BARDOT (BActerial Rapid Detection using Optical scattering Technology provided successful classification of several different bacteria at the genus, species, and serovar level. Recent experiments with colonies of Bacillus species provided strikingly different characteristics of elastic light scatter (ELS patterns, which were comprised of random speckles compared to other bacteria, which are dominated by concentric rings and spokes. Since this laser-based optical sensor interrogates the whole volume of the colony, 3-D information of micro- and macro-structures are all encoded in the far-field scatter patterns. Here, we present a theoretical model explaining the underlying mechanism of the speckle formation by the colonies from Bacillus species. Except for Bacillus polymyxa, all Bacillus spp. produced random bright spots on the imaging plane, which presumably dependent on the cellular and molecular organization and content within the colony. Our scatter model-based analysis revealed that colony spread resulting in variable surface roughness can modify the wavefront of the scatter field. As the center diameter of the Bacillus spp. colony grew from 500 μm to 900 μm, average speckles area decreased 2-fold and the number of small speckles increased 7-fold. In conclusion, as Bacillus colony grows, the average speckle size in the scatter pattern decreases and the number of smaller speckle increases due to the swarming growth characteristics of bacteria within the colony.

  12. Phase-processing as a tool for speckle reduction in pulse-echo images

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Healey, AJ; Leeman, S; Forsberg, F

    1991-01-01

    . Traditional speckle reduction procedures regard speckle correction as a stochastic process and trade image smoothing (resolution loss) for speckle reduction. Recently, a new phase acknowledging technique has been proposed that is unique in its ability to correct for speckle interference with no image......Due to the coherent nature of conventional ultrasound medical imaging systems interference artefacts occur in pulse echo images. These artefacts are generically termed 'speckle'. The phenomenon may severely limit low contrast resolution with clinically relevant information being obscured...

  13. Theoretical and experimental study of fundamental differences in the noise suppression of high-speed SOA-based all-optical switches

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Mads Lønstrup; Mørk, Jesper; Suzuki, R.

    2005-01-01

    We identify a fundamental difference between the ASE noise filtering properties of different all-optical SOA-based switch configurations, and divide the switches into two classes. An in-band ASE suppression ratio quantifying the difference is derived theoretically and the impact of the ASE...

  14. Fractional order integration and fuzzy logic based filter for denoising of echocardiographic image.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saadia, Ayesha; Rashdi, Adnan

    2016-12-01

    Ultrasound is widely used for imaging due to its cost effectiveness and safety feature. However, ultrasound images are inherently corrupted with speckle noise which severely affects the quality of these images and create difficulty for physicians in diagnosis. To get maximum benefit from ultrasound imaging, image denoising is an essential requirement. To perform image denoising, a two stage methodology using fuzzy weighted mean and fractional integration filter has been proposed in this research work. In stage-1, image pixels are processed by applying a 3 × 3 window around each pixel and fuzzy logic is used to assign weights to the pixels in each window, replacing central pixel of the window with weighted mean of all neighboring pixels present in the same window. Noise suppression is achieved by assigning weights to the pixels while preserving edges and other important features of an image. In stage-2, the resultant image is further improved by fractional order integration filter. Effectiveness of the proposed methodology has been analyzed for standard test images artificially corrupted with speckle noise and real ultrasound B-mode images. Results of the proposed technique have been compared with different state-of-the-art techniques including Lsmv, Wiener, Geometric filter, Bilateral, Non-local means, Wavelet, Perona et al., Total variation (TV), Global Adaptive Fractional Integral Algorithm (GAFIA) and Improved Fractional Order Differential (IFD) model. Comparison has been done on quantitative and qualitative basis. For quantitative analysis different metrics like Peak Signal to Noise Ratio (PSNR), Speckle Suppression Index (SSI), Structural Similarity (SSIM), Edge Preservation Index (β) and Correlation Coefficient (ρ) have been used. Simulations have been done using Matlab. Simulation results of artificially corrupted standard test images and two real Echocardiographic images reveal that the proposed method outperforms existing image denoising techniques

  15. Dynamical properties of speckled speckles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hanson, Steen Grüner; Iversen, Theis Faber Quist; Hansen, Rene Skov

    2010-01-01

    the static diffuser and the plane of observation consist of an optical system that can be characterized by a complex-valued ABCD-matrix (e.g. simple and complex imaging systems, free space propagation in both the near-and far-field, and Fourier transform systems). The use of the complex ABCD-method means...... to be Gaussian but the derived expressions are not restricted to a plane incident beam. The results are applicable for speckle-based systems for determining mechanical displacements, especially for long-range systems, and for analyzing systems for measuring biological activity beyond a diffuse layer, e.g. blood...

  16. Speckle interferometry of asteroids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Drummond, J.

    1988-01-01

    By studying the image two-dimensional power spectra or autocorrelations projected by an asteroid as it rotates, it is possible to locate its rotational pole and derive its three axes dimensions through speckle interferometry under certain assumptions of uniform, geometric scattering, and triaxial ellipsoid shape. However, in cases where images can be reconstructed, the need for making the assumptions is obviated. Furthermore, the ultimate goal for speckle interferometry of image reconstruction will lead to mapping albedo features (if they exist) as impact areas or geological units. The first glimpses of the surface of an asteroid were obtained from images of 4 Vesta reconstructed from speckle interferometric observations. These images reveal that Vesta is quite Moon-like in having large hemispheric-scale albedo features. All of its lightcurves can be produced from a simple model developed from the images. Although undoubtedly more intricate than the model, Vesta's lightcurves can be matched by a model with three dark and four bright spots. The dark areas so dominate one hemisphere that a lightcurve minimum occurs when the maximum cross-section area is visible. The triaxial ellipsoid shape derived for Vesta is not consistent with the notion that the asteroid has an equilibrium shape in spite of its having apparently been differentiated

  17. Statistical spatial properties of speckle patterns generated by multiple laser beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Le Cain, A.; Sajer, J. M.; Riazuelo, G.

    2011-01-01

    This paper investigates hot spot characteristics generated by the superposition of multiple laser beams. First, properties of speckle statistics are studied in the context of only one laser beam by computing the autocorrelation function. The case of multiple laser beams is then considered. In certain conditions, it is shown that speckles have an ellipsoidal shape. Analytical expressions of hot spot radii generated by multiple laser beams are derived and compared to numerical estimates made from the autocorrelation function. They are also compared to numerical simulations performed within the paraxial approximation. Excellent agreement is found for the speckle width as well as for the speckle length. Application to the speckle patterns generated in the Laser MegaJoule configuration in the zone where all the beams overlap is presented. Influence of polarization on the size of the speckles as well as on their abundance is studied.

  18. GENERALIZATION OF RAYLEIGH MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD DESPECKLING FILTER USING QUADRILATERAL KERNELS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Sridevi

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Speckle noise is the most prevalent noise in clinical ultrasound images. It visibly looks like light and dark spots and deduce the pixel intensity as murkiest. Gazing at fetal ultrasound images, the impact of edge and local fine details are more palpable for obstetricians and gynecologists to carry out prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease. A robust despeckling filter has to be contrived to proficiently suppress speckle noise and simultaneously preserve the features. The proposed filter is the generalization of Rayleigh maximum likelihood filter by the exploitation of statistical tools as tuning parameters and use different shapes of quadrilateral kernels to estimate the noise free pixel from neighborhood. The performance of various filters namely Median, Kuwahura, Frost, Homogenous mask filter and Rayleigh maximum likelihood filter are compared with the proposed filter in terms PSNR and image profile. Comparatively the proposed filters surpass the conventional filters.

  19. Suppressing the relaxation oscillation noise of injection-locked WRC-FPLD for directly modulated OFDM transmission.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Min-Chi; Chi, Yu-Chieh; Li, Yi-Cheng; Tsai, Cheng-Ting; Lin, Gong-Ru

    2014-06-30

    By up-shifting the relaxation oscillation peak and suppressing its relative intensity noise in a weak-resonant-cavity Fabry-Perot laser diode (WRC-FPLD) under intense injection-locking, the directly modulated transmission of optical 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) data-stream is demonstrated. The total bit rate of up to 20 Gbit/s within 5-GHz bandwidth is achieved by using the OFDM subcarrier pre-leveling technique. With increasing the injection-locking power from -12 to -3 dBm, the effective reduction on threshold current of the WRC-FPLD significantly shifts its relaxation oscillation frequency from 5 to 7.5 GHz. This concurrently induces an up-shift of the peak relative intensity noise (RIN) of the WRC-FPLD, and effectively suppresses the background RIN level to -104 dBc/Hz within the OFDM band between 3 and 6 GHz. The enhanced signal-to-noise ratio from 16 to 20 dB leads to a significant reduction of bit-error-rate (BER) of the back-to-back transmitted 16-QAM-OFDM data from 1.3 × 10(-3) to 5 × 10(-5), which slightly degrades to 1.1 × 10(-4) after 25-km single-mode fiber (SMF) transmission. However, the enlarged injection-locking power from -12 to -3 dBm inevitably declines the modulation throughput and increases its negative throughput slope from -0.8 to -1.9 dBm/GHz. After pre-leveling the peak amplitude of the OFDM subcarriers to compensate the throughput degradation of the directly modulated WRC-FPLD, the BER under 25-km SMF transmission can be further improved to 3 × 10(-5) under a receiving power of -3 dBm.

  20. Compound speckles and their statistical and dynamical properties

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hanson, Steen Grüner; Jakobsen, Michael Linde; Skov Hansen, Rene

    2008-01-01

    Two issues will be treated in this presentation, both focusing on gaining a deeper understanding of dynamic speckles, aiming at the use for probing dynamical properties of scattering structures. The first issue to be addressed is the dynamics of speckles arising from illuminating a solid surface...

  1. The POKEMON Speckle Survey of Nearby M-Dwarfs

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Belle, Gerard; von Braun, Kaspar; Horch, Elliott; Clark, Catherine; DSSI Speckle Team

    2018-01-01

    The POKEMON (Pervasive Overview of Kompanions of Every M-dwarf in Our Neighborhood) survey of nearby M-dwarfs intends to inspect, at diffraction-limited resolution, every low-mass star out to 15pc, along with selected additional objects to 25pc. The primary emphasis of the survey is detection of low-mass companions to these M-dwarfs for refinement of the low-mass star multiplicity rate. The resultant catalog of M-dwarf companions will also guide immediate refinement of transit planet detection results from surveys such as TESS. POKEMON is using Lowell Observatory's 4.3-m Discovery Channel Telescope (DCT) with the Differential Speckle Survey Instrument (DSSI) speckle camera, along with the NN-Explore Exoplanet Stellar Speckle Imager (NESSI) speckle imager on 3.5-m WIYN; the survey takes advantage of the extremely rapid observing cadence rates possible with WIYN and (especially) DCT. The current status and preliminary results from the first 20+ nights of observing will be presented. Gotta observe them all!

  2. Analyzing speckle contrast for HiLo microscopy optimization

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazzaferri, J.; Kunik, D.; Belisle, J. M.; Singh, K.; Lefrançois, S.; Costantino, S.

    2011-07-01

    HiLo microscopy is a recently developed technique that provides both optical sectioning and fast imaging with a simple implementation and at a very low cost. The methodology combines widefield and speckled illumination images to obtain one optically sectioned image. Hence, the characteristics of such speckle illumination ultimately determine the quality of HiLo images and the overall performance of the method. In this work, we study how speckle contrast influence local variations of fluorescence intensity and brightness profiles of thick samples. We present this article as a guide to adjust the parameters of the system for optimizing the capabilities of this novel technology.

  3. Applications of polarization speckle in skin cancer detection and monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Tim K.; Tchvialeva, Lioudmila; Phillips, Jamie; Louie, Daniel C.; Zhao, Jianhua; Wang, Wei; Lui, Harvey; Kalia, Sunil

    2018-01-01

    Polarization speckle is a rapidly developed field. Unlike laser speckle, polarization speckle consists of stochastic interference patterns with spatially random polarizations, amplitudes and phases. We have been working in this exciting research field, developing techniques to generate polarization patterns from skin. We hypothesize that polarization speckle patterns could be used in biomedical applications, especially, for detecting and monitoring skin cancers, the most common neoplasmas for white populations around the world. This paper describes our effort in developing two polarization speckle devices. One of them captures the Stokes parameters So and S1 simultaneously, and another one captures all four Stokes parameters So, S1, S2, and S3 in one-shot, within milliseconds. Hence these two devices could be used in medical clinics and assessed skin conditions in-vivo. In order to validate our hypothesis, we conducted a series of three clinical studies. These are early pilot studies, and the results suggest that the devices have potential to detect and monitor skin cancers.

  4. Dynamical speckles in watery surfaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Llovera-Gonzalez, J.J.; Moreno-Yeras, A.; Garcia-Diaz, M.; Alvarez-Salgado, Y.

    2009-01-01

    Recovery of watery surfaces with monolayer of surfactant substances is of interest in diverse technological applications. The format ion and study of molecular monolayer deposited in these surfaces require the application of measurements techniques that allow evaluating the recovery grade locally without modifying practically the studied surface. In this paper the preliminary results obtained by the authors it plows exposed applying the technique of dynamic speckle interferometry in watery surfaces and their consideration like to possible resource to measure the grade of local recovery of these surfaces on the it bases that the speckles pattern dog reveal the dynamics of evaporation that takes place in the same ones. (Author)

  5. MODERN POSSIBILITIES OF SPECKLE TRACKING ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY IN CLINICAL PRACTICE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. S. Nikiforov

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Speckle-tracking echocardiography is promising modern technique for evaluation of structural and functional changes in the myocardium. It evaluates the indicator of global longitudinal myocardial deformation, which is more sensitive than ejection fraction to early changes of left ventricular contractility. The diagnostic capabilities of speckle tracking echocardiography are reflected in clinical recommendations and consensus statements of European Society of Cardiology (ESC, European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging (EACVI and American Society of Echocardiography (ASE. The aim of this paper is describe basic principles of speckle tracking echocardiography and clinical applications of this new technology. Attention is paid to the use of speckle tracking echocardiography in such heart pathologies as heart failure, coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction, left ventricular hypertrophy in arterial hypertension, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and amyloidosis of the heart, valvular heart disease, constrictive pericarditis and cancer therapy-induced cardiotoxicity.

  6. Understanding noise suppression in heterojunction field-effect transistors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, F.

    1996-01-01

    Full text: The enhanced transport properties displayed by quantum-well-confined, two-dimensional, electron systems underpin the success of heterojunction, field-effect transistors. At cryogenic temperatures, these devices exhibit impressive mobilities and, as a result, high signal gain and low noise. Conventional wisdom has it that the same favourable conditions also hold for normal room-temperature operation. In that case, however, high mobilities are precluded by abundant electron-phonon scattering. Our recent study of nonequilibrium current noise shows that quantum confinement, not high mobility, is the principal source of noise in these devices; this opens up new and exciting opportunities in low-noise transistor design. As trends in millimetre-wave technology push frequencies beyond 100 GHz, it is essential to develop a genuine understanding of noise processes in heterojunction devices

  7. Quantization analysis of speckle intensity measurements for phase retrieval

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Maallo, Anne Margarette S.; Almoro, Percival F.; Hanson, Steen Grüner

    2010-01-01

    Speckle intensity measurements utilized for phase retrieval (PR) are sequentially taken with a digital camera, which introduces quantization error that diminishes the signal quality. Influences of quantization on the speckle intensity distribution and PR are investigated numerically...... and experimentally in the static wavefront sensing setup. Resultsshowthat 3 to 4 bits are adequate to represent the speckle intensities and yield acceptable reconstructions at relatively fast convergence rates. Computer memory requirements may be eased down by 2.4 times if a 4 bit instead of an 8 bit camera is used...

  8. Modeling laser speckle imaging of perfusion in the skin (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Regan, Caitlin; Hayakawa, Carole K.; Choi, Bernard

    2016-02-01

    Laser speckle imaging (LSI) enables visualization of relative blood flow and perfusion in the skin. It is frequently applied to monitor treatment of vascular malformations such as port wine stain birthmarks, and measure changes in perfusion due to peripheral vascular disease. We developed a computational Monte Carlo simulation of laser speckle contrast imaging to quantify how tissue optical properties, blood vessel depths and speeds, and tissue perfusion affect speckle contrast values originating from coherent excitation. The simulated tissue geometry consisted of multiple layers to simulate the skin, or incorporated an inclusion such as a vessel or tumor at different depths. Our simulation used a 30x30mm uniform flat light source to optically excite the region of interest in our sample to better mimic wide-field imaging. We used our model to simulate how dynamically scattered photons from a buried blood vessel affect speckle contrast at different lateral distances (0-1mm) away from the vessel, and how these speckle contrast changes vary with depth (0-1mm) and flow speed (0-10mm/s). We applied the model to simulate perfusion in the skin, and observed how different optical properties, such as epidermal melanin concentration (1%-50%) affected speckle contrast. We simulated perfusion during a systolic forearm occlusion and found that contrast decreased by 35% (exposure time = 10ms). Monte Carlo simulations of laser speckle contrast give us a tool to quantify what regions of the skin are probed with laser speckle imaging, and measure how the tissue optical properties and blood flow affect the resulting images.

  9. On the link between the speckle free nature of optoacoustics and visibility of structures in limited-view tomography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xosé Luís Deán-Ben

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Similar to pulse-echo ultrasound, optoacoustic imaging encodes the location of optical absorbers by the time-of-flight of ultrasound waves. Yet, signal generation mechanisms are fundamentally different for the two modalities, leading to significant distinction between the optimum image formation strategies. While interference of back-scattered ultrasound waves with random phases causes speckle noise in ultrasound images, speckle formation is hindered by the strong correlation between the optoacoustic responses corresponding to individual sources. However, visibility of structures is severely hampered when attempting to acquire optoacoustic images under limited-view tomographic geometries. In this tutorial article, we systematically describe the basic principles of optoacoustic signal generation and image formation for objects ranging from individual sub-resolution absorbers to a continuous absorption distribution. The results are of relevance for the proper interpretation of optoacoustic images acquired under limited-view scenarios and may also serve as a basis for optimal design of tomographic acquisition geometries and image formation strategies.

  10. Deformation measurements of materials at low temperatures using laser speckle photography method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sumio Nakahara; Yukihide Maeda; Kazunori Matsumura; Shigeyoshi Hisada; Takeyoshi Fujita; Kiyoshi Sugihara

    1992-01-01

    The authors observed deformations of several materials during cooling down process from room temperature to liquid nitrogen temperature using the laser speckle photography method. The in-plane displacements were measured by the image plane speckle photography and the out-of-plane displacement gradients by the defocused speckle photography. The results of measurements of in-plane displacement are compared with those of FEM analysis. The applicability of laser speckle photography method to cryogenic engineering are also discussed

  11. Objective assessment of subjective tinnitus through contralateral suppression of otoacoustic emissions by white noise; suggested cut-off points.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riga, M; Komis, A; Maragkoudakis, P; Korres, G; Danielides, V

    2016-12-01

    Normative otoacoustic emission (OAE) suppression values are currently lacking and the role of cochlear efferent innervation in tinnitus is controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between tinnitus and medial olivocochlear bundle (MOCB) malfunction. Potential suppression amplitude cut-off criteria that could differentiate participants with tinnitus from those without were sought. Mean suppression amplitudes of transient evoked OAEs and distortion product OAEs by contralateral white noise (50 dBSL) were recorded. Six mean suppression amplitudes criteria were validated as possible cut-off points. The population consisted of normal hearing (n = 78) or presbycusic adults (n = 19) with tinnitus or without (n = 28 and 13, respectively) chronic tinnitus (in total, n = 138 78 females/60males, aged 49 ± 14 years). Participants with mean suppression values lower than 0.5-1 dBSPL seem to present a high probability to report tinnitus (specificity 88-97%). On the other hand, participants with mean suppression values larger than 2-2.5dBSPL seem to present a high probability of the absence of tinnitus (sensitivity 87-99%). Correlations were stronger among participants with bilateral presence or absence of tinnitus. This study seem to confirm an association between tinnitus and low suppression amplitudes (<1 dBSPL), which might evolve into an objective examination tool, supplementary to conventional audiological testing.

  12. A novel transmitter IQ imbalance and phase noise suppression method utilizing pilots in PDM CO-OFDM system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Haoyuan; Ma, Xiurong; Li, Pengru

    2018-04-01

    In this paper, we develop a novel pilot structure to suppress transmitter in-phase and quadrature (Tx IQ) imbalance, phase noise and channel distortion for polarization division multiplexed (PDM) coherent optical orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (CO-OFDM) systems. Compared with the conventional approach, our method not only significantly improves the system tolerance of IQ imbalance as well as phase noise, but also provides higher transmission speed. Numerical simulations of PDM CO-OFDM system is used to validate the theoretical analysis under the simulation conditions: the amplitude mismatch 3 dB, the phase mismatch 15°, the transmission bit rate 100 Gb/s and 560 km standard signal-mode fiber transmission. Moreover, the proposed method is 63% less complex than the compared method.

  13. Multimode waveguide speckle patterns for compressive sensing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valley, George C; Sefler, George A; Justin Shaw, T

    2016-06-01

    Compressive sensing (CS) of sparse gigahertz-band RF signals using microwave photonics may achieve better performances with smaller size, weight, and power than electronic CS or conventional Nyquist rate sampling. The critical element in a CS system is the device that produces the CS measurement matrix (MM). We show that passive speckle patterns in multimode waveguides potentially provide excellent MMs for CS. We measure and calculate the MM for a multimode fiber and perform simulations using this MM in a CS system. We show that the speckle MM exhibits the sharp phase transition and coherence properties needed for CS and that these properties are similar to those of a sub-Gaussian MM with the same mean and standard deviation. We calculate the MM for a multimode planar waveguide and find dimensions of the planar guide that give a speckle MM with a performance similar to that of the multimode fiber. The CS simulations show that all measured and calculated speckle MMs exhibit a robust performance with equal amplitude signals that are sparse in time, in frequency, and in wavelets (Haar wavelet transform). The planar waveguide results indicate a path to a microwave photonic integrated circuit for measuring sparse gigahertz-band RF signals using CS.

  14. Optical coherence tomography noise modeling and fundamental bounds on human retinal layer segmentation accuracy (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    DuBose, Theodore B.; Milanfar, Peyman; Izatt, Joseph A.; Farsiu, Sina

    2016-03-01

    The human retina is composed of several layers, visible by in vivo optical coherence tomography (OCT) imaging. To enhance diagnostics of retinal diseases, several algorithms have been developed to automatically segment one or more of the boundaries of these layers. OCT images are corrupted by noise, which is frequently the result of the detector noise and speckle, a type of coherent noise resulting from the presence of several scatterers in each voxel. However, it is unknown what the empirical distribution of noise in each layer of the retina is, and how the magnitude and distribution of the noise affects the lower bounds of segmentation accuracy. Five healthy volunteers were imaged using a spectral domain OCT probe from Bioptigen, Inc, centered at 850nm with 4.6µm full width at half maximum axial resolution. Each volume was segmented by expert manual graders into nine layers. The histograms of intensities in each layer were then fit to seven possible noise distributions from the literature on speckle and image processing. Using these empirical noise distributions and empirical estimates of the intensity of each layer, the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB), a measure of the variance of an estimator, was calculated for each boundary layer. Additionally, the optimum bias of a segmentation algorithm was calculated, and a corresponding biased CRLB was calculated, which represents the improved performance an algorithm can achieve by using prior knowledge, such as the smoothness and continuity of layer boundaries. Our general mathematical model can be easily adapted for virtually any OCT modality.

  15. Statistics of polarization speckle: theory versus experiment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Wei; Hanson, Steen Grüner; Takeda, Mitsuo

    2010-01-01

    In this paper, we reviewed our recent work on the statistical properties of polarization speckle, described by stochastic Stokes parameters fluctuating in space. Based on the Gaussian assumption for the random electric field components and polar-interferometer, we investigated theoretically...... and experimentally the statistics of Stokes parameters of polarization speckle, including probability density function of Stokes parameters with the spatial degree of polarization, autocorrelation of Stokes vector and statistics of spatial derivatives for Stokes parameters....

  16. Noise Reduction Techniques

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallas, Tony

    There are two distinct kinds of noise - structural and color. Each requires a specific method of attack to minimize. The great challenge is to reduce the noise without reducing the faint and delicate detail in the image. My most-used and favorite noise suppression is found in Photoshop CS 5 Camera Raw. If I cannot get the desired results with the first choice, I will use Noise Ninja, which has certain advantages in some situations that we will cover.

  17. Simulations of multi-contrast x-ray imaging using near-field speckles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zdora, Marie-Christine [Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department & Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany); Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DE, United Kingdom and Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Thibault, Pierre [Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Herzen, Julia; Pfeiffer, Franz [Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department & Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany); Zanette, Irene [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department & Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany)

    2016-01-28

    X-ray dark-field and phase-contrast imaging using near-field speckles is a novel technique that overcomes limitations inherent in conventional absorption x-ray imaging, i.e. poor contrast for features with similar density. Speckle-based imaging yields a wealth of information with a simple setup tolerant to polychromatic and divergent beams, and simple data acquisition and analysis procedures. Here, we present a simulation software used to model the image formation with the speckle-based technique, and we compare simulated results on a phantom sample with experimental synchrotron data. Thorough simulation of a speckle-based imaging experiment will help for better understanding and optimising the technique itself.

  18. An intelligent despeckling method for swept source optical coherence tomography images of skin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adabi, Saba; Mohebbikarkhoran, Hamed; Mehregan, Darius; Conforto, Silvia; Nasiriavanaki, Mohammadreza

    2017-03-01

    Optical Coherence Optical coherence tomography is a powerful high-resolution imaging method with a broad biomedical application. Nonetheless, OCT images suffer from a multiplicative artefacts so-called speckle, a result of coherent imaging of system. Digital filters become ubiquitous means for speckle reduction. Addressing the fact that there still a room for despeckling in OCT, we proposed an intelligent speckle reduction framework based on OCT tissue morphological, textural and optical features that through a trained network selects the winner filter in which adaptively suppress the speckle noise while preserve structural information of OCT signal. These parameters are calculated for different steps of the procedure to be used in designed Artificial Neural Network decider that select the best denoising technique for each segment of the image. Results of training shows the dominant filter is BM3D from the last category.

  19. Spatial filtering velocimetry of objective speckles for measuring out-of-plane motion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jakobsen, Michael Linde; Yura, H. T.; Hanson, Steen Grüner

    2012-01-01

    This paper analyzes the dynamics of objective laser speckles as the distance between the object and the observation plane continuously changes. With the purpose of applying optical spatial filtering velocimetry to the speckle dynamics, in order to measure out-of-plane motion in real time......, a rotational symmetric spatial filter is designed. The spatial filter converts the speckle dynamics into a photocurrent with a quasi-sinusoidal response to the out-of-plane motion. The spatial filter is here emulated with a CCD camera, and is tested on speckles arising from a real application. The analysis...

  20. Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging: theory, instrumentation and applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Senarathna, Janaka; Rege, Abhishek; Li, Nan; Thakor, Nitish V

    2013-01-01

    Laser Speckle Contrast Imaging (LSCI) is a wide field of view, non scanning optical technique for observing blood flow. Speckles are produced when coherent light scattered back from biological tissue is diffracted through the limiting aperture of focusing optics. Mobile scatterers cause the speckle pattern to blur; a model can be constructed by inversely relating the degree of blur, termed speckle contrast to the scatterer speed. In tissue, red blood cells are the main source of moving scatterers. Therefore, blood flow acts as a virtual contrast agent, outlining blood vessels. The spatial resolution (~10 μm) and temporal resolution (10 ms to 10 s) of LSCI can be tailored to the application. Restricted by the penetration depth of light, LSCI can only visualize superficial blood flow. Additionally, due to its non scanning nature, LSCI is unable to provide depth resolved images. The simple setup and non-dependence on exogenous contrast agents have made LSCI a popular tool for studying vascular structure and blood flow dynamics. We discuss the theory and practice of LSCI and critically analyze its merit in major areas of application such as retinal imaging, imaging of skin perfusion as well as imaging of neurophysiology.

  1. Enhanced deterministic phase retrieval using a partially developed speckle field

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Almoro, Percival F.; Waller, Laura; Agour, Mostafa

    2012-01-01

    A technique for enhanced deterministic phase retrieval using a partially developed speckle field (PDSF) and a spatial light modulator (SLM) is demonstrated experimentally. A smooth test wavefront impinges on a phase diffuser, forming a PDSF that is directed to a 4f setup. Two defocused speckle...... intensity measurements are recorded at the output plane corresponding to axially-propagated representations of the PDSF in the input plane. The speckle intensity measurements are then used in a conventional transport of intensity equation (TIE) to reconstruct directly the test wavefront. The PDSF in our...

  2. The Magnetic Nanoparticle Movement in Magnetic Fluid Characterized by the Laser Dynamic Speckle Interferometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xijun Wang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A dual scanning laser speckle interferometry experiment was designed to observe the dynamic behavior of the magnetic fluid actuated by a magnetic field. In order to improve the spatial resolution of the dynamic speckle measurement, the phase delay scanning was used to compensate the additional phase variation which was caused by the transverse scanning. The correlation coefficients corresponding to the temporal dynamic speckle patterns within the same time interval scattering from the nanoparticles were calculated in the experiment on nanoscale magnetic clusters. In the experiment, the speckle of the magnetic nanoparticle fluid movement has been recorded by the lens unmounted CCD within the interferometry strips, although the speckle led to the distinguished annihilation of the light coherence. The results have showed that the nanoparticle fluid dynamic properties appeared synergistically in the fringe speckles. The analyses of the nanoparticle's relative speed and the speckle pattern moving amount in the fringes have proved the nanoparticle’s movement in a laminar flow in the experiment.

  3. Speckle Tracking and Transthyretin Amyloid Cardiomyopathy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alexandre Marins Rocha

    Full Text Available Abstract Background: Amyloidosis is a disease caused by deposits of insoluble fibrils in extracellular spaces. The most common type of familial amyloidosis is mediated by mutation of transthyretin, especially Val30Met. Symptoms and ejection fraction decrease may occur in cardiac amyloidosis only in case of poor prognosis. Myocardial strain detected by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography can indicate changes in myocardial function at early stages of the disease. Objective: To determine the accuracy of left ventricular longitudinal strain by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography in patients with familial amyloidosis caused by Val30Met transthyretin mutation. Methods: Eighteen consecutive patients, carriers of transthyretin mutation, were evaluated by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography, by which myocardial strain curves were obtained, following the American Society of Echocardiography recommendations. Results: Patients were divided into three groups: 1- Val30Met with cardiac amyloidosis; 2-Val30Met with extracardiac amyloidosis; 3 - Val30Met without evidence of disease. As the three groups were compared by the Mann-Whitney test, we found a statistically significant difference between groups 1 and 2 in the mean longitudinal tension (p=0.01, mean basal longitudinal strain (p=0.014; in mean longitudinal tension and mean longitudinal strain between groups 1 and 3 (p=0.005; and in the ratio of longitudinal strain of apical septum segment to longitudinal strain of basal septum (p=0.041 between groups 2 and 3. Conclusion: Left ventricular longitudinal strain detected by two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography is able to diagnose left ventricular dysfunction in early stages of familial amyloidosis caused by transthyretin Val30Met mutation.

  4. Noise Analysis of MAIA System and Possible Noise Suppression

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Švihlík, J.; Fliegel, K.; Koten, Pavel; Vítek, S.; Páta, P.

    2011-01-01

    Roč. 20, č. 1 (2011), s. 110-117 ISSN 1210-2512. [International Conference on Telecommunications and Signal Processing /33./ - TSP 2010. Baden near Vienna, 17.08.2010-20.08.2010] Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10030501 Keywords : MAIA * meteor * noise analysis Subject RIV: BN - Astronomy, Celestial Mechanics, Astrophysics Impact factor: 0.739, year: 2011

  5. Newtonian noise cancellation in tensor gravitational wave detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paik, Ho Jung; Harms, Jan

    2016-01-01

    Terrestrial gravity noise produced by ambient seismic and infrasound fields poses one of the main sensitivity limitations in low-frequency ground-based gravitational-wave (GW) detectors. This noise needs to be suppressed by 3-5 orders of magnitude in the frequency band 10 mHz to 1 Hz, which is extremely challenging. We present a new approach that greatly facilitates cancellation of gravity noise in full-tensor GW detectors. It makes explicit use of the direction of propagation of a GW, and can therefore either be implemented in directional searches for GWs or in observations of known sources. We show that suppression of the Newtonian-noise foreground is greatly facilitated using the extra strain channels in full-tensor GW detectors. Only a modest number of auxiliary, high-sensitivity environmental sensors is required to achieve noise suppression by a few orders of magnitude. (paper)

  6. A practical approach to optimizing the preparation of speckle patterns for digital-image correlation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lionello, Giacomo; Cristofolini, Luca

    2014-01-01

    The quality of strain measurements by digital image correlation (DIC) strongly depends on the quality of the pattern on the specimen’s surface. An ideal pattern should be highly contrasted, stochastic, and isotropic. In addition, the speckle pattern should have an average size that exceeds the image pixel size by a factor of 3–5. (Smaller speckles cause poor contrast, and larger speckles cause poor spatial resolution.) Finally, the ideal pattern should have a limited scatter in terms of speckle sizes. The aims of this study were: (i) to define the ideal speckle size in relation to the specimen size and acquisition system; (ii) provide practical guidelines to identify the optimal settings of an airbrush gun, in order to produce a pattern that is as close as possible to the desired one while minimizing the scatter of speckle sizes. Patterns of different sizes were produced using two different airbrush guns with different settings of the four most influential factors (dilution, airflow setting, spraying distance, and air pressure). A full-factorial DOE strategy was implemented to explore the four factors at two levels each: 36 specimens were analyzed for each of the 16 combinations. The images were acquired using the digital cameras of a DIC system. The distribution of speckle sizes was analyzed to calculate the average speckle size and the standard deviation of the corresponding truncated Gaussian distribution. A mathematical model was built to enable prediction of the average speckle size in relation to the airbrush gun settings. We showed that it is possible to obtain a pattern with a highly controlled average and a limited scatter of speckle sizes, so as to match the ideal distribution of speckle sizes for DIC. Although the settings identified here apply only to the specific equipment being used, this method can be adapted to any airbrush to produce a desired speckle pattern. (technical design note)

  7. Multi-wavelength speckle reduction for laser pico-projectors using diffractive optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Weston H.

    Personal electronic devices, such as cell phones and tablets, continue to decrease in size while the number of features and add-ons keep increasing. One particular feature of great interest is an integrated projector system. Laser pico-projectors have been considered, but the technology has not been developed enough to warrant integration. With new advancements in diode technology and MEMS devices, laser-based projection is currently being advanced for pico-projectors. A primary problem encountered when using a pico-projector is coherent interference known as speckle. Laser speckle can lead to eye irritation and headaches after prolonged viewing. Diffractive optical elements known as diffusers have been examined as a means to lower speckle contrast. Diffusers are often rotated to achieve temporal averaging of the spatial phase pattern provided by diffuser surface. While diffusers are unable to completely eliminate speckle, they can be utilized to decrease the resultant contrast to provide a more visually acceptable image. This dissertation measures the reduction in speckle contrast achievable through the use of diffractive diffusers. A theoretical Fourier optics model is used to provide the diffuser's stationary and in-motion performance in terms of the resultant contrast level. Contrast measurements of two diffractive diffusers are calculated theoretically and compared with experimental results. In addition, a novel binary diffuser design based on Hadamard matrices will be presented. Using two static in-line Hadamard diffusers eliminates the need for rotation or vibration of the diffuser for temporal averaging. Two Hadamard diffusers were fabricated and contrast values were subsequently measured, showing good agreement with theory and simulated values. Monochromatic speckle contrast values of 0.40 were achieved using the Hadamard diffusers. Finally, color laser projection devices require the use of red, green, and blue laser sources; therefore, using a

  8. Speckle Interferometry with the McMath-Pierce East Auxiliary Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harshaw, Richard; Ray, Jimmy; Douglass, David; Prause, Lori; Genet, Russell

    2015-09-01

    Engineering runs and tests on the McMath-Pierce 0.8 meter East Auxiliary telescope successfully configured the telescope for speckle interferometry observations of close visual double stars. This paper reports the procedure and results of the speckle analysis of four double stars.

  9. Linearly interpolated sub-symbol optical phase noise suppression in CO-OFDM system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Xuezhi; Hong, Xiaojian; He, Sailing

    2015-02-23

    An optical phase noise suppression algorithm, LI-SCPEC, based on phase linear interpolation and sub-symbol processing is proposed for CO-OFDM system. By increasing the temporal resolution of carrier phase tracking through dividing one symbol into several sub-blocks, i.e., sub-symbols, inter-carrier-interference (ICI) mitigation is achieved in the proposed algorithm. Linear interpolation is employed to obtain a reliable temporal reference for sub-symbol phase estimation. The new algorithm, with only a few number of sub-symbols (N(B) = 4), can provide a considerably larger laser linewidth tolerance than several other ICI mitigation algorithms as demonstrated by Monte-Carlo simulations. Numerical analysis verifies that the best performance is achieved with an optimal and moderate number of sub-symbols. Complexity analysis shows that the required number of complex-valued multiplications is independent of the number of sub-symbols used in the proposed algorithm.

  10. Accuracy concerns in digital speckle photography combined with Fresnel digital holographic interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Yuchen; Zemmamouche, Redouane; Vandenrijt, Jean-François; Georges, Marc P.

    2018-05-01

    A combination of digital holographic interferometry (DHI) and digital speckle photography (DSP) allows in-plane and out-of-plane displacement measurement between two states of an object. The former can be determined by correlating the two speckle patterns whereas the latter is given by the phase difference obtained from DHI. We show that the amplitude of numerically reconstructed object wavefront obtained from Fresnel in-line digital holography (DH), in combination with phase shifting techniques, can be used as speckle patterns in DSP. The accuracy of in-plane measurement is improved after correcting the phase errors induced by reference wave during reconstruction process. Furthermore, unlike conventional imaging system, Fresnel DH offers the possibility to resize the pixel size of speckle patterns situated on the reconstruction plane under the same optical configuration simply by zero-padding the hologram. The flexibility of speckle size adjustment in Fresnel DH ensures the accuracy of estimation result using DSP.

  11. Simulation of speckle patterns with pre-defined correlation distributions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Lipei; Zhou, Zhen; Wang, Xueyan; Zhao, Xing; Elson, Daniel S.

    2016-01-01

    We put forward a method to easily generate a single or a sequence of fully developed speckle patterns with pre-defined correlation distribution by utilizing the principle of coherent imaging. The few-to-one mapping between the input correlation matrix and the correlation distribution between simulated speckle patterns is realized and there is a simple square relationship between the values of these two correlation coefficient sets. This method is demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. The square relationship enables easy conversion from any desired correlation distribution. Since the input correlation distribution can be defined by a digital matrix or a gray-scale image acquired experimentally, this method provides a convenient way to simulate real speckle-related experiments and to evaluate data processing techniques. PMID:27231589

  12. Passive Newtonian noise suppression for gravitational-wave observatories based on shaping of the local topography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harms, Jan; Hild, Stefan

    2014-09-01

    In this article we propose a new method for reducing Newtonian noise (NN) in laser-interferometric gravitational wave detectors located on the Earth's surface. We show that by excavating meter-scale recesses in the ground around the main test masses of a gravitational wave detector it is possible to reduce the coupling of Rayleigh wave driven seismic disturbances to test mass displacement. A discussion of the optimal recess shape is given and we use finite element simulations to derive the scaling of the NN suppression with the parameters of the recess as well as the frequency of the seismic excitation. Considering an interferometer similar to an Advance LIGO configuration, our simulations indicate a frequency dependent NN suppression factor of 2-4 in the relevant frequency range for a recesses of 4 m depth and a width and length of 11 m and 5 m, respectively. Though a retrofit to existing interferometers seems not impossible, the application of our concept to future infrastructures seems to provide a better benefit/cost ratio and therefore a higher feasibility.

  13. Passive Newtonian noise suppression for gravitational-wave observatories based on shaping of the local topography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harms, Jan; Hild, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    In this article we propose a new method for reducing Newtonian noise (NN) in laser-interferometric gravitational wave detectors located on the Earth's surface. We show that by excavating meter-scale recesses in the ground around the main test masses of a gravitational wave detector it is possible to reduce the coupling of Rayleigh wave driven seismic disturbances to test mass displacement. A discussion of the optimal recess shape is given and we use finite element simulations to derive the scaling of the NN suppression with the parameters of the recess as well as the frequency of the seismic excitation. Considering an interferometer similar to an Advance LIGO configuration, our simulations indicate a frequency dependent NN suppression factor of 2–4 in the relevant frequency range for a recesses of 4 m depth and a width and length of 11 m and 5 m, respectively. Though a retrofit to existing interferometers seems not impossible, the application of our concept to future infrastructures seems to provide a better benefit/cost ratio and therefore a higher feasibility. (paper)

  14. Static speckle experiments using white synchrotron radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sant, Tushar; Panzner, Tobias; Pietsch, Ullrich [Solid State Physics Group, University of Siegen (Germany)

    2008-07-01

    Static speckle experiments were performed using coherent white X-ray radiation from a bending magnet at BESSYII. Semiconductor and polymer surfaces were investigated under incidence condition smaller than the critical angle of total external reflection. The scattering pattern of the sample results from the illumination function modified by the surface undulations. The periodic oscillations are caused by the illumination function whereas other irregular features are associated with sample surface. The speckle map of reflection from a laterally periodic structure like GaAs grating is studied. Under coherent illumination the grating peaks split into speckles because of fluctuations on the sample surface. It is important to understand which length scales on the sample surface are responsible for the oscillations in reflectivity map. To investigate this experiments are done with a triangular shaped sample. Different parts of the sample are illuminated with the footprint on the sample larger or smaller than the actual sample length. This gives prior information about total illuminated area on the sample. Using this additional information a detailed surface profile of the sample is reconstructed.

  15. Speckles generated by skewed, short-coherence light beams

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brogioli, D; Salerno, D; Ziano, R; Mantegazza, F; Croccolo, F

    2011-01-01

    When a coherent laser beam impinges on a random sample (e.g. a colloidal suspension), the scattered light exhibits characteristic speckles. If the temporal coherence of the light source is too short, then the speckles disappear, along with the possibility of performing homodyne or heterodyne scattering detection or photon correlation spectroscopy. Here we investigate the scattering of a so-called ‘skewed coherence beam’, i.e. a short-coherence beam modified such that the field is coherent within slabs that are skewed with respect to the wave fronts. We show that such a beam generates speckles and can be used for heterodyne scattering detection, despite its short temporal coherence. Moreover, we show that the heterodyne signal is not affected by multiple scattering. We suggest that the phenomenon presented here can be used as a means of carrying out heterodyne scattering measurement with any short-coherence radiation, including x-rays. (paper)

  16. Three-dimensional displacement measurement by fringe projection and speckle photography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barrientos, B.; Garcia-Marquez, J.; Cerca, M.; Hernandez-Bernal, C.

    2008-01-01

    3D displacement fields are measured by the combination of two optical methods, fringe projection and speckle photography. The use of only one camera recording the necessary information implies that no calibration procedures are necessary as is the case in techniques based on stereoscopy. The out-of-plane displacement is measured by fringe projection whereas speckle photography yields the 2-D in-plane component. To show the feasibility of the technique, we analyze a detailed morphological spatio-temporal evolution of a model of the Earth's crust while subjected to compression forces. The results show that the combination of fringe projection and speckle photography is well suited for this type of studies

  17. Research of shot noise based on realistic nano-MOSFETs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaofei Jia

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Experimental measurements and simulation results have shown that the dominant noise source of current noise changes from thermal noise to shot noise with scaling of MOSFET, and shot noise were suppressed by Fermi and Coulomb interactions. In this paper, Shot noise test system is established, and experimental results proved that shot noise were suppressed, and the expressions of shot noise in realistic nano-MOSFETs are derived with considering Fermi effect, Coulomb interaction and the combination of the both co-existence, respectively. On this basis, the variation of shot noise with voltage, temperature and source-drain doping were researched. The results we obtained are consistent with those from experiments and the theoretically explanation is given. At the same time, the shot noise test system is suitable for traditional nanoscale electronic components; the shot noise model is suitable for nanoscale MOSFET.

  18. Review of speckle observations of Supernova 1987A

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meikle, W.P.S.

    1988-01-01

    SN 1987A is sufficiently close to allow a unique examination of the morphology of a supernova, using speckle interferometry. Several groups [Center for Astrophysics (CfA); Imperial College (IC); Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories/Anglo-Australian Observatory (M/A)] have reported optical speckle observations. At Hα, both CfA and M/A have determined the angular extent of the emission, and reasonable agreement is obtained. The speckle-derived values are consistent with those obtained from line profiles. IC has also succeeded in resolving the supernova at Hα. At wavelengths other than Hα, at early epochs, angular diameters obtained by CfA are larger than those derived from photometric and spectroscopic measurements, possibly due to scattering effects. At later epochs, the diameters exhibit little variation between the wavelengths examined. CfA reports significant asymmetry in the late epoch data. Several attempts have been made to re-observe (at optical wavelengths) the companion object, but none have succeeded. The nature of this phenomenon is still controversial, but the evidence indicates that the companion was real, with emission from dust apparently being the least problematic explanation. Support for this may lie in IR speckle observations (Haute Provence/Lyon) which, on about day 115, indicated the presence of one or more resolved components at an angular displacement comparable to that of the optical companion. 39 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab

  19. Speckle imaging using the principle value decomposition method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sherman, J.W.

    1978-01-01

    Obtaining diffraction-limited images in the presence of atmospheric turbulence is a topic of current interest. Two types of approaches have evolved: real-time correction and speckle imaging. A speckle imaging reconstruction method was developed by use of an ''optimal'' filtering approach. This method is based on a nonlinear integral equation which is solved by principle value decomposition. The method was implemented on a CDC 7600 for study. The restoration algorithm is discussed and its performance is illustrated. 7 figures

  20. Differences in the suppression of distortion product otoacoustic emissions by contralateral white noise between patients with acute or chronic tinnitus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riga, Maria; Komis, Agis; Marangoudakis, Pavlos; Naxakis, Stefanos; Ferekidis, Eleftherios; Kandiloros, Dimitrios; Danielides, Vasilios

    2017-08-01

    The mechanisms underlying the shift from acute tinnitus to chronic remain obscure. An association between tinnitus and medial olivocochlear bundle (MOCB) reflex dysfunction has been hypothesised by several studies. The differences between participants with acute and chronic tinnitus have not yet been investigated. Participants were examined with distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) suppression elicited by contralateral white noise. They were compared in terms of frequency regions with non-recordable DPOAEs, suppression amplitudes and the presence of DPOAE enhancement. Eighteen participants with acute tinnitus, 40 age-matched adults with chronic tinnitus and 17 controls were included. All participants (aged 34.7 ± 9.6years; mean ± Standard deviation) had normal hearing. Tinnitus was bilateral in 22 participants and unilateral in 36. Ears with chronic tinnitus presented significantly lower DPOAE suppression amplitudes than ears with acute tinnitus (p tinnitus ears present a high prevalence of enhancement, significantly different from controls (p tinnitus and control groups (p tinnitus becomes chronic, DPOAEs suppression presents changes that might reveal corresponding steps in tinnitus pathophysiology. Treatment implications are discussed.

  1. Vegetation Detection in Stress of Moisture Shortage Based on Laser Speckle Recognition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ishizawa, Hiroaki; Matsuo, Tsukasa; Miki, Takashi

    This paper describes a new measuring method of plant vigor by using Laser speckle pattern. Furthermore, this proposes a practical application of this presented measurement system. The measuring instrument is consisted by a He-Ne Laser as the light source, and a set of optics, such as reflectors, a beam expander. The speckle pattern could be measured by a CCD camera through lenses. A Pothos (Epiremnum aureum) and Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) were used as the sample plant. Their intact leaves were measured the speckle pattern images. Visible but small vigor veins could be clearly observed in the images obtained by the speckle patterns. On the other hand, withered ones have shown different images. The relationship has been obtained between the feature of the images and the chlorophyll degradation. It would be expected that the symptom of plant against some stress could be detected by measuring the Laser speckle pattern. It could be used as the sensor of the field server system at every field monitoring site.

  2. Speckle Interferometry with the OCA Kuhn 22" Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wasson, Rick

    2018-04-01

    Speckle interferometry measurements of double stars were made in 2015 and 2016, using the Kuhn 22-inch classical Cassegrain telescope of the Orange County Astronomers, a Point Grey Blackfly CMOS camera, and three interference filters. 272 observations are reported for 177 systems, with separations ranging from 0.29" to 2.9". Data reduction was by means of the REDUC and Speckle Tool Box programs. Equipment, observing procedures, calibration, data reduction, and analysis are described, and unusual results for 11 stars are discussed in detail.

  3. QR code based noise-free optical encryption and decryption of a gray scale image

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, Shuming; Zou, Wenbin; Li, Xia

    2017-03-01

    In optical encryption systems, speckle noise is one major challenge in obtaining high quality decrypted images. This problem can be addressed by employing a QR code based noise-free scheme. Previous works have been conducted for optically encrypting a few characters or a short expression employing QR codes. This paper proposes a practical scheme for optically encrypting and decrypting a gray-scale image based on QR codes for the first time. The proposed scheme is compatible with common QR code generators and readers. Numerical simulation results reveal the proposed method can encrypt and decrypt an input image correctly.

  4. Correcting for motion artifact in handheld laser speckle images

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lertsakdadet, Ben; Yang, Bruce Y.; Dunn, Cody E.; Ponticorvo, Adrien; Crouzet, Christian; Bernal, Nicole; Durkin, Anthony J.; Choi, Bernard

    2018-03-01

    Laser speckle imaging (LSI) is a wide-field optical technique that enables superficial blood flow quantification. LSI is normally performed in a mounted configuration to decrease the likelihood of motion artifact. However, mounted LSI systems are cumbersome and difficult to transport quickly in a clinical setting for which portability is essential in providing bedside patient care. To address this issue, we created a handheld LSI device using scientific grade components. To account for motion artifact of the LSI device used in a handheld setup, we incorporated a fiducial marker (FM) into our imaging protocol and determined the difference between highest and lowest speckle contrast values for the FM within each data set (Kbest and Kworst). The difference between Kbest and Kworst in mounted and handheld setups was 8% and 52%, respectively, thereby reinforcing the need for motion artifact quantification. When using a threshold FM speckle contrast value (KFM) to identify a subset of images with an acceptable level of motion artifact, mounted and handheld LSI measurements of speckle contrast of a flow region (KFLOW) in in vitro flow phantom experiments differed by 8%. Without the use of the FM, mounted and handheld KFLOW values differed by 20%. To further validate our handheld LSI device, we compared mounted and handheld data from an in vivo porcine burn model of superficial and full thickness burns. The speckle contrast within the burn region (KBURN) of the mounted and handheld LSI data differed by burns. Collectively, our results suggest the potential of handheld LSI with an FM as a suitable alternative to mounted LSI, especially in challenging clinical settings with space limitations such as the intensive care unit.

  5. Dynamic laser speckle for non-destructive quality evaluation of bread

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stoykova, E.; Ivanov, B.; Shopova, M.; Lyubenova, T.; Panchev, I.; Sainov, V.

    2010-10-01

    Coherent illumination of a diffuse object yields a randomly varying interference pattern, which changes over time at any modification of the object. This phenomenon can be used for detection and visualization of physical or biological activity in various objects (e.g. fruits, seeds, coatings) through statistical description of laser speckle dynamics. The present report aims at non-destructive full-field evaluation of bread by spatial-temporal characterization of laser speckle. The main purpose of the conducted experiments was to prove the ability of the dynamic speckle method to indicate activity within the studied bread samples. In the set-up for acquisition and storage of dynamic speckle patterns an expanded beam from a DPSS laser (532 nm and 100mW) illuminated the sample through a ground glass diffuser. A CCD camera, adjusted to focus the sample, recorded regularly a sequence of images (8 bits and 780 x 582 squared pixels, sized 8.1 × 8.1 μm) at sampling frequency 0.25 Hz. A temporal structure function was calculated to evaluate activity of the bread samples in time using the full images in the sequence. In total, 7 samples of two types of bread were monitored during a chemical and physical process of bread's staling. Segmentation of images into matrixes of isometric fragments was also utilized. The results proved the potential of dynamic speckle as effective means for monitoring the process of bread staling and ability of this approach to differentiate between different types of bread.

  6. Contrast masking in strabismic amblyopia: attenuation, noise, interocular suppression and binocular summation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baker, Daniel H; Meese, Tim S; Hess, Robert F

    2008-07-01

    To investigate amblyopic contrast vision at threshold and above we performed pedestal-masking (contrast discrimination) experiments with a group of eight strabismic amblyopes using horizontal sinusoidal gratings (mainly 3c/deg) in monocular, binocular and dichoptic configurations balanced across eye (i.e. five conditions). With some exceptions in some observers, the four main results were as follows. (1) For the monocular and dichoptic conditions, sensitivity was less in the amblyopic eye than in the good eye at all mask contrasts. (2) Binocular and monocular dipper functions superimposed in the good eye. (3) Monocular masking functions had a normal dipper shape in the good eye, but facilitation was diminished in the amblyopic eye. (4) A less consistent result was normal facilitation in dichoptic masking when testing the good eye, but a loss of this when testing the amblyopic eye. This pattern of amblyopic results was replicated in a normal observer by placing a neutral density filter in front of one eye. The two-stage model of binocular contrast gain control [Meese, T.S., Georgeson, M.A. & Baker, D.H. (2006). Binocular contrast vision at and above threshold. Journal of Vision 6, 1224-1243.] was 'lesioned' in several ways to assess the form of the amblyopic deficit. The most successful model involves attenuation of signal and an increase in noise in the amblyopic eye, and intact stages of interocular suppression and binocular summation. This implies a behavioural influence from monocular noise in the amblyopic visual system as well as in normal observers with an ND filter over one eye.

  7. Spatially resolved speckle-correlometry of sol-gel transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isaeva, A. A.; Isaeva, E. A.; Pantyukov, A. V.; Zimnyakov, D. A.

    2018-04-01

    Sol-gel transition was studied using the speckle correlometry method with a localized light source and spatial filtering of backscattered radiation. Water solutions of technical or food gelatin with added TiO2 nanoparticles were used as studied objects. Structural transformation of "sol-gel" system was studied at various temperatures from 25°C to 50°C using analysis of the correlation and structure functions of speckle intensity fluctuations. The characteristic temperatures of "sol - gel" transition were evaluated for studied systems. Obtained results can be used for various applications in biomedicine and food industry.

  8. PENGHILANGAN NOISE PADA CITRA BERWARNA DENGAN METODE TOTAL VARIATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anny Yuniarti

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Saat ini multimedia telah menjadi teknologi yang cukup dominan. Tukar menukar informasi dalam bentuk citra sudah banyak dilakukan oleh masyarakat. Citra dengan kualitas yang baik sangat diperlukan dalam penyajian informasi. Citra yang memiliki noise kurang baik digunakan sebagai sarana informasi, oleh karena itu diperlukan suatu metode untuk memperbaiki kualitas citra. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode total variation untuk penghilangan noise yang dapat diterapkan untuk model warna nonlinier, yaitu Chromaticity-Brightness (CB dan Hue-Saturation-Value (HSV. Filter total variation disebut filter yang bergantung pada data citra karena koefisien filternya diperoleh dari pemrosesan data citra dengan rumusan yang baku. Sehingga filter mask untuk masing-masing piksel memiliki kombinasi koefisien yang berbeda. Metode ini menggunakan proses iterasi untuk menyelesaikan persamaan dasar yang nonlinier. Uji coba dilakukan dengan menggunakan 30 data dengan berbagai jenis noise, yaitu gaussian, salt and pepper dan speckle. Uji coba pembandingan dengan metode filter median dan filter rata-rata. Dari percobaan ini menunjukkan bahwa metode total variation menghasilkan citra yang lebih baik daripada metode

  9. New developments in NDT through electronic speckle pattern interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mohan, S.; Murugesan, P; Mas, R.H.

    2007-01-01

    Full text: Optical holography and speckle interferometry are the emerging optical techniques that can be used for the measurements of microscopic parameters such as displacement, strain, stress and slope. These techniques are applied in various fields such as surface studies, non destructive testing, speckle metrology and steller interferometry. Even though many new NDT methods are available, the suitability for a specific application is based on the material property, nature of defects and sensitivity of detection. Difficulty in radiographic technique is that it fails in detecting tight cracks, planar defects and debonds. Microwave techniques has limited sensitivity for the defect detection and it is not suitable for the objects with metallic cases since the metals are perfect reflectors for the microwaves. Low modulus material attenuates the acoustic energy completely, making ultrasonic testing techniques not feasible. The recently evolved optoelectronic technique namely Electronic Speckle Pattern interferometry (ESPI) is a fast developing optical technique widely used for measuring displacement components, their derivatives, surface roughness, surface contours, shape and others. Due to non contact nature and high sensitivity, this technique has been used as a powerful on line inspection tool for non destructive pattern of materials in industrial environment. The salient feature of ESPI is its capability to display the correlation fringes in a real time on a monitor without the need of photographic processing or optical filtering. ESPI is an alternate non destructive technique suitable for propellant grains and other low modulus materials used in space vehicle systems. The optoelectronic technique can be used to detect cracks, voids and residual stresses etc.., in the components in the industrial environment. In the present investigation, speckle non destructive testing has been carried out on some selected low modulus materials used in space vehicles. The

  10. The application of cost-effective lasers in coherent UDWDM-OFDM-PON aided by effective phase noise suppression methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yue; Yang, Chuanchuan; Yang, Feng; Li, Hongbin

    2014-03-24

    Digital coherent passive optical network (PON), especially the coherent orthogonal frequency division multiplexing PON (OFDM-PON), is a strong candidate for the 2nd-stage-next-generation PON (NG-PON2). As is known, OFDM is very sensitive to the laser phase noise which severely limits the application of the cost-effective distributed feedback (DFB) lasers and more energy-efficient vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) in the coherent OFDM-PON. The current long-reach coherent OFDM-PON experiments always choose the expensive external cavity laser (ECL) as the optical source for its narrow linewidth (usuallyOFDM-PON and study the possibility of the application of the DFB lasers and VCSEL in coherent OFDM-PON. A typical long-reach coherent ultra dense wavelength division multiplexing (UDWDM) OFDM-PON has been set up. The numerical results prove that the OBE method can stand severe phase noise of the lasers in this architecture and the DFB lasers as well as VCSEL can be used in coherent OFDM-PON. In this paper, we have also analyzed the performance of the RF-pilot-aided (RFP) phase noise suppression method in coherent OFDM-PON.

  11. Effects of Long-Term Speech-in-Noise Training in Air Traffic Controllers and High Frequency Suppression. A Control Group Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pérez Zaballos, María Teresa; Ramos de Miguel, Ángel; Pérez Plasencia, Daniel; Zaballos González, María Luisa; Ramos Macías, Ángel

    2015-12-01

    To evaluate 1) if air traffic controllers (ATC) perform better than non-air traffic controllers in an open-set speech-in-noise test because of their experience with radio communications, and 2) if high-frequency information (>8000 Hz) substantially improves speech-in-noise perception across populations. The control group comprised 28 normal-hearing subjects, and the target group comprised 48 ATCs aged between 19 and 55 years who were native Spanish speakers. The hearing -in-noise abilities of the two groups were characterized under two signal conditions: 1) speech tokens and white noise sampled at 44.1 kHz (unfiltered condition) and 2) speech tokens plus white noise, each passed through a 4th order Butterworth filter with 70 and 8000 Hz low and high cutoffs (filtered condition). These tests were performed at signal-to-noise ratios of +5, 0, and -5-dB SNR. The ATCs outperformed the control group in all conditions. The differences were statistically significant in all cases, and the largest difference was observed under the most difficult conditions (-5 dB SNR). Overall, scores were higher when high-frequency components were not suppressed for both groups, although statistically significant differences were not observed for the control group at 0 dB SNR. The results indicate that ATCs are more capable of identifying speech in noise. This may be due to the effect of their training. On the other hand, performance seems to decrease when the high frequency components of speech are removed, regardless of training.

  12. Laser speckle imaging: a novel method for detecting dental erosion.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nelson H Koshoji

    Full Text Available Erosion is a highly prevalent condition known as a non-carious lesion that causes progressive tooth wear due to chemical processes that do not involve the action of bacteria. Speckle images proved sensitive to even minimal mineral loss from the enamel. The aim of the present study was to investigate the use of laser speckle imaging analysis in the spatial domain to quantify shifts in the microstructure of the tooth surface in an erosion model. 32 fragments of the vestibular surface of bovine incisors were divided in for groups (10 min, 20 min. 30 min and 40 min of acid etching immersed in a cola-based beverage (pH approximately 2.5 twice a day during 7 days to create an artificial erosion. By analyzing the laser speckle contrast map (LASCA in the eroded region compared to the sound it was observed that the LASCA map shifts, proportionally to the acid each duration, by: 18%; 23%; 39% and 44% for the 10 min; 20 min; 30 min and 40 min groups, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the correlation between speckle patterns and erosion progression.

  13. Combination of oriented partial differential equation and shearlet transform for denoising in electronic speckle pattern interferometry fringe patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Wenjun; Tang, Chen; Gu, Fan; Cheng, Jiajia

    2017-04-01

    It is a key step to remove the massive speckle noise in electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI) fringe patterns. In the spatial-domain filtering methods, oriented partial differential equations have been demonstrated to be a powerful tool. In the transform-domain filtering methods, the shearlet transform is a state-of-the-art method. In this paper, we propose a filtering method for ESPI fringe patterns denoising, which is a combination of second-order oriented partial differential equation (SOOPDE) and the shearlet transform, named SOOPDE-Shearlet. Here, the shearlet transform is introduced into the ESPI fringe patterns denoising for the first time. This combination takes advantage of the fact that the spatial-domain filtering method SOOPDE and the transform-domain filtering method shearlet transform benefit from each other. We test the proposed SOOPDE-Shearlet on five experimentally obtained ESPI fringe patterns with poor quality and compare our method with SOOPDE, shearlet transform, windowed Fourier filtering (WFF), and coherence-enhancing diffusion (CEDPDE). Among them, WFF and CEDPDE are the state-of-the-art methods for ESPI fringe patterns denoising in transform domain and spatial domain, respectively. The experimental results have demonstrated the good performance of the proposed SOOPDE-Shearlet.

  14. Electronic speckle pattern interferometry observation of brick–mortar interface behaviour under compression

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vermeltfoort, A.T.; Martens, D.R.W; Zijl, van G.P.A.G.

    2007-01-01

    The brick–mortar interaction is important in the mechanical behaviour of masonry. It affects the load transfer considerably, as shown by detailed deformation measurements taken using electronic speckle pattern interferometry (ESPI), a laser speckle interference technique. A companion paper [Canadian

  15. Shift-Invariant Image Reconstruction of Speckle-Degraded Images Using Bispectrum Estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    1990-05-01

    process with the requisite negative exponential pelf. I call this model the Negative Exponential Model ( NENI ). The NENI flowchart is seen in Figure 6...Figure ]3d-g. Statistical Histograms and Phase for the RPj NG EXP FDF MULT METHOD FILuteC 14a. Truth Object Speckled Via the NENI HISTOGRAM OF SPECKLE

  16. Granulometry use for the study of dynamics speckles patterns

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mavilioa, Adriana; Fernandez, Margarita; Trivi, Marcelo; Rabal, Hector; Arizaga, Ricardo

    2009-01-01

    Dynamic speckle patterns are generated by laser light scattering on surfaces that exhibit some kind of activity, due to physical or biological processes that take place in the illuminated object. The characterization of this dynamic process is carried out by studying the texture changes of auxiliary images: temporal history of the speckle pattern (THSP) obtained from this speckles patterns. The drying process of water borne paint is studied through a method based on mathematical morphology applied to the THSP image processing. It is based on obtaining the granulometry of these images and their characteristic granulometric spectrum. From the granulometric size distribution of each THSP image four parameters are obtained: mean length, standard deviation, asymmetry and kurtosis. These parameters are found to be suitable as texture features. The Mahalanobis distance is calculated between the texture features of the THSP images representative of the temporary stages of the drying process and the features of the final stage or pattern texture. The behavior of the distance function describes satisfactorily the drying process of the water borne paint. Finally, these results are compared with the obtained by other methods. Compared with others, the granulometric method reported in this work distinguished by its simplicity and easy implementation and can be used to characterize the evolution of any process recorded through dynamic speckles. (Author)

  17. Density of states in an optical speckle potential

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falco, G. M.; Fedorenko, A. A.; Giacomelli, J.; Modugno, M.

    2010-01-01

    We study the single-particle density of states of a one-dimensional speckle potential, which is correlated and non-Gaussian. We consider both the repulsive and the attractive cases. The system is controlled by a single dimensionless parameter determined by the mass of the particle, the correlation length, and the average intensity of the field. Depending on the value of this parameter, the system exhibits different regimes, characterized by the localization properties of the eigenfunctions. We calculate the corresponding density of states using the statistical properties of the speckle potential. We find good agreement with the results of numerical simulations.

  18. Investigation of Portevin-Le Chatelier band with temporal phase analysis of speckle interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Zhenyu; Zhang, Qingchuan; Wu, Xiaoping

    2003-04-01

    A new method combining temporal phase analysis with dynamic digital speckle pattern interferometry is proposed to study Portevin-Le Chatelier effect quantitatively. The principle bases on that the phase difference of interference speckle patterns is a time-dependent function related to the object deformation. The interference speckle patterns of specimen are recorded with high sampling rate while PLC effect occurs, and the 2D displacement map of PLC band and its width are obtained by analyzing the displacement of specimen with proposed method.

  19. Analysis of strain in reinforced concrete components by laser speckle photography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gross, K.P.

    1982-01-01

    Laser speckle photography is an optical process for non-contact measurement of strain in a plane at right angles to the axis of the optical system. The material composition and relief of the surface of a test sample have a great effect on the applicability of the process. Bodies with too smooth or too rough surfaces, and bodies of a transparent structure (salt bearing rocks) cannot be examined by speckle photography without previous surface treatment. The principle of the process and its application to the examination of reinforced concrete components is described. The capability of speckle photography, the accuracy of measurement which can be achieved and possible sources of error are discussed. (orig./RW) [de

  20. How best to assess suppression in patients with high anisometropia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jinrong; Hess, Robert F; Chan, Lily Y L; Deng, Daming; Chen, Xiang; Yu, Minbin; Thompson, Benjamin S

    2013-02-01

    We have recently described a rapid technique for measuring suppression using a dichoptic signal/noise task. Here, we report a modification of this technique that allows for accurate measurements to be made in amblyopic patients with high levels of anisometropia. This was necessary because aniseikonic image size differences between the two eyes can provide a cue for signal/noise segregation and, therefore, influence suppression measurement in these patients. Suppression was measured using our original technique and with a modified technique whereby the size of the signal and noise elements was randomized across the stimulus to eliminate size differences as a cue for task performance. Eleven patients with anisometropic amblyopia, five with more than 5 diopters (D) spherical equivalent difference (SED), six with less than 5 D SED between the eyes, and 10 control observers completed suppression measurements using both techniques. Suppression measurements in controls and patients with less than 5 D SED were constant across the two techniques; however, patients with more than 5 D SED showed significantly stronger suppression on the modified technique with randomized element size. Measurements made with the modified technique correlated with the loss of visual acuity in the amblyopic eye and were in good agreement with previous reports using detailed psychophysical measurements. The signal/noise technique for measuring suppression can be applied to patients with high levels of anisometropia and aniseikonia if element size is randomized. In addition, deeper suppression is associated with a greater loss of visual acuity in patients with anisometropic amblyopia.

  1. Reducing Sensor Noise in MEG and EEG Recordings Using Oversampled Temporal Projection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larson, Eric; Taulu, Samu

    2018-05-01

    Here, we review the theory of suppression of spatially uncorrelated, sensor-specific noise in electro- and magentoencephalography (EEG and MEG) arrays, and introduce a novel method for suppression. Our method requires only that the signals of interest are spatially oversampled, which is a reasonable assumption for many EEG and MEG systems. Our method is based on a leave-one-out procedure using overlapping temporal windows in a mathematical framework to project spatially uncorrelated noise in the temporal domain. This method, termed "oversampled temporal projection" (OTP), has four advantages over existing methods. First, sparse channel-specific artifacts are suppressed while limiting mixing with other channels, whereas existing linear, time-invariant spatial operators can spread such artifacts to other channels with a spatial distribution which can be mistaken for one produced by an electrophysiological source. Second, OTP minimizes distortion of the spatial configuration of the data. During source localization (e.g., dipole fitting), many spatial methods require corresponding modification of the forward model to avoid bias, while OTP does not. Third, noise suppression factors at the sensor level are maintained during source localization, whereas bias compensation removes the denoising benefit for spatial methods that require such compensation. Fourth, OTP uses a time-window duration parameter to control the tradeoff between noise suppression and adaptation to time-varying sensor characteristics. OTP efficiently optimizes noise suppression performance while controlling for spatial bias of the signal of interest. This is important in applications where sensor noise significantly limits the signal-to-noise ratio, such as high-frequency brain oscillations.

  2. 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.

  3. Suppression of tonal noise in a centrifugal fan using guide vanes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paramasivam, Kishokanna; Rajoo, Srithar; Romagnoli, Alessandro

    2015-11-01

    This paper presents the work aiming for tonal noise reduction in a centrifugal fan. In previous studies, it is well documented that tonal noise is the dominant noise source generated in centrifugal fans. Tonal noise is generated due to the aerodynamic interaction between the rotating impeller and stationary diffuser vanes. The generation of tonal noise is related to the pressure fluctuation at the leading edge of the stationary vane. The tonal noise is periodic in time which occurs at the blade passing frequency (BPF) and its harmonics. Much of previous studies, have shown that the stationary vane causes the tonal noise and generation of non-rotational turbulent noise. However, omitting stationary vanes will lead to the increase of non-rotational turbulent noise resulted from the high velocity of the flow leaving the impeller. Hence in order to reduce the tonal noise and the non-rotational noise, guide vanes were designed as part of this study to replace the diffuser vanes, which were originally used in the chosen centrifugal fan. The leading edge of the guide vane is tapered. This modification reduces the strength of pressure fluctuation resulting from the interaction between the impeller outflow and stationary vane. The sound pressure level at blade passing frequency (BPF) is reduced by 6.8 dB, the 2nd BPF is reduced by 4.1 dB and the 3rd BPF reduced by about 17.5 dB. The overall reduction was 0.9 dB. The centrifugal fan with tapered guide vanes radiates lower tonal noise compared to the existing diffuser vanes. These reductions are achieved without compromising the performance of the centrifugal fan. The behavior of the fluid flow was studied using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) tools and the acoustics characteristics were determined through experiments in an anechoic chamber.

  4. Fabrication of nanoscale speckle using broad ion beam milling on polymers for deformation analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qinghua Wang

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available We first report a fabrication technique of nanoscale speckle patterns on polymers using broad ion beam milling. The proposed technique is simple and low-cost to produce speckles ranging from dozens of nanometers to less than three micrometers in a large area of several millimeters. Random patterns were successfully produced with an argon (Ar ion beam on the surfaces of four kinds of polymers: the epoxy matrix of carbon fiber reinforced plastic, polyester, polyvinyl formal-acetal, and polyimide. The speckle morphologies slightly vary with different polymers. The fabricated speckle patterns have good time stability and are promising to be used to measure the nanoscale deformations of polymers using the digital image correlation method.

  5. Modulator noise suppression in the LISA time-delay interferometric combinations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tinto, Massimo; Armstrong, J W; Estabrook, Frank B

    2008-01-01

    Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is a mission to detect and study low-frequency cosmic gravitational radiation through its influence on the phases of six modulated laser beams exchanged between three remote spacecraft. We previously showed how the measurements of some 18 time series of relative frequency or phase shifts could be combined (1) to cancel the phase noise of the lasers, (2) to cancel the Doppler fluctuations due to non-inertial motions of the six optical benches and (3) to remove the phase noise of the onboard reference oscillators required to track the photodetector fringes, all the while preserving signals from passing gravitational waves. Here we analyze the effect of the additional noise due to the optical modulators used for removing the phase fluctuations of the onboard reference oscillators. We use the recently measured noise spectrum of an individual modulator (Klipstein et al 2006 Proc. 6th Int. LISA Symp. (Greenbelt, MA) (AIP Conf. Proc. vol 873) ed S M Merkowitz and J C Livas pp 19-23) to quantify the contribution of modulator noise to the first and second-generation time-delay interferometric (TDI) combinations as a function of the modulation frequency. We show that modulator noise can be made smaller than the expected proof-mass acceleration and optical-path noises if the modulation frequencies are larger than ∼682 MHz in the case of the unequal-arm Michelson TDI combination X 1 , ∼ 1.08 GHz for the Sagnac TDI combination α 1 , and ∼706 MHz for the symmetrical Sagnac TDI combination ζ 1 . These modulation frequencies are substantially smaller than previously estimated and may lead to less stringent requirements on the LISA's oscillator noise calibration subsystem. The measurements in Klipstein et al were performed in a laboratory experiment for a range of modulation frequencies, but we emphasize that, for the reference oscillator noise calibration algorithm to work, the modulation frequencies must be equal to the

  6. NESSI and `Alopeke: Two new dual-channel speckle imaging instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, Nicholas J.

    2018-01-01

    NESSI and `Alopeke are two new speckle imagers built at NASA's Ames Research Center for community use at the WIYN and Gemini telescopes, respectively. The two instruments are functionally similar and include the capability for wide-field imaging in additional to speckle interferometry. The diffraction-limited imaging available through speckle effectively eliminates distortions due to the presence of Earth's atmosphere by `freezing out' changes in the atmosphere by taking extremely short exposures and combining the resultant speckles in Fourier space. This technique enables angular resolutions equal to the theoretical best possible for a given telescope, effectively giving space-based resolution from the ground. Our instruments provide the highest spatial resolution available today on any single aperture telescope.A primary role of these instruments is exoplanet validation for the Kepler, K2, TESS, and many RV programs. Contrast ratios of 6 or more magnitudes are easily obtained. The instrument uses two emCCD cameras providing simultaneous dual-color observations help to characterize detected companions. High resolution imaging enables the identification of blended binaries that contaminate many exoplanet detections, leading to incorrectly measured radii. In this way small, rocky systems, such as Kepler-186b and the TRAPPIST-1 planet family, may be validated and thus the detected planets radii are correctly measured.

  7. Developing and setting up optical methods to study the speckle patterns created by optical beam smoothing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Surville, J.

    2005-12-01

    We have developed three main optical methods to study the speckles generated by a smoothed laser source. The first method addresses the measurement of the temporal and spatial correlation functions of the source, with a modified Michelson interferometer. The second one is a pump-probe technique created to shoot a picture of a speckle pattern generated at a set time. And the third one is an evolution of the second method dedicated to time-frequency coding, thanks to a frequency chirped probe pulse. Thus, the speckles can be followed in time and their motion can be described. According to these three methods, the average size and duration of the speckles can be measured. It is also possible to measure the size and the duration of each of them and mostly their velocity in a given direction. All the results obtained have been confronted to the different existing theories. We show that the statistical distributions of the measured speckles'size and speckles'intensity agree satisfactorily with theoretical values

  8. Modeled and Measured Partially Coherent Illumination Speckle Effects from Sloped Surfaces for Tactical Tracking

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-03-26

    the number of speckle samples obtained, laser power and coherence length, spot size, target reflectance, speckle size, and pixels per speckle width...gated imaging systems,” Proc. SPIE, 6542: 654218, April 2007. 90 St. Pierre, Randall J. and others. “Active Tracker Laser (ATLAS),” IEEE J. Sel...numerical model developed here and existing theory developed by Hu. A 671 nm diode laser source with coherence length of 259 +/- 7 µm is reflected

  9. Holographic interferometry and laser speckle photography as aids to assessment of pressurised components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, D.J.V.

    1975-01-01

    This summary gives defect detection holographic technique and describes laser speckle photography to evaluate in-plane movement and strain in pressurized components and conclusions. In holography no lens is used, coherent light is reflected from all points of an object to all parts of a photosensitive surface, such as a photographic plate, simultaneously light of the same wave length and coherence is made to illuminate at a different angle the same plate. These two beams, the object and the reference, cause primary fringes. The developed plate when illuminated with the reference reconstructs the original object in three dimensions. If a double exposure is made on the same plate and if parts of the object have moved between exposure the reconstructed object will be lined with secondary fringes, each fringe representing displacement down the line of sight of one wavelength of the light used. Speckle photography is the same as conventional photography excepting, that instead of using daylight or a flash lamp a coherent light beam is used. Minute points on the object illuminated by divergent laser beam act as point sources of light giving the surface a speckled appearance. In speckle photography a camera records on the plate the object and speckles. A double exposure taken on the same plate when the object has moved between exposures will, after development, when illuminated with the laser beam from Youngs fringes. Speckles and fringes are related to points on the object therefore it is possible to obtain movement and strain. The holographic tests show that it is possible to detect on the outside of tube defects in the bore approximately 10% of thickness deep. Speckle photography gives object lateral movement, direction and strain

  10. Image pre-filtering for measurement error reduction in digital image correlation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yihao; Sun, Chen; Song, Yuntao; Chen, Jubing

    2015-02-01

    In digital image correlation, the sub-pixel intensity interpolation causes a systematic error in the measured displacements. The error increases toward high-frequency component of the speckle pattern. In practice, a captured image is usually corrupted by additive white noise. The noise introduces additional energy in the high frequencies and therefore raises the systematic error. Meanwhile, the noise also elevates the random error which increases with the noise power. In order to reduce the systematic error and the random error of the measurements, we apply a pre-filtering to the images prior to the correlation so that the high-frequency contents are suppressed. Two spatial-domain filters (binomial and Gaussian) and two frequency-domain filters (Butterworth and Wiener) are tested on speckle images undergoing both simulated and real-world translations. By evaluating the errors of the various combinations of speckle patterns, interpolators, noise levels, and filter configurations, we come to the following conclusions. All the four filters are able to reduce the systematic error. Meanwhile, the random error can also be reduced if the signal power is mainly distributed around DC. For high-frequency speckle patterns, the low-pass filters (binomial, Gaussian and Butterworth) slightly increase the random error and Butterworth filter produces the lowest random error among them. By using Wiener filter with over-estimated noise power, the random error can be reduced but the resultant systematic error is higher than that of low-pass filters. In general, Butterworth filter is recommended for error reduction due to its flexibility of passband selection and maximal preservation of the allowed frequencies. Binomial filter enables efficient implementation and thus becomes a good option if computational cost is a critical issue. While used together with pre-filtering, B-spline interpolator produces lower systematic error than bicubic interpolator and similar level of the random

  11. An Efficient SAR Image Segmentation Framework Using Transformed Nonlocal Mean and Multi-Objective Clustering in Kernel Space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dongdong Yang

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Synthetic aperture radar (SAR image segmentation usually involves two crucial issues: suitable speckle noise removing technique and effective image segmentation methodology. Here, an efficient SAR image segmentation method considering both of the two aspects is presented. As for the first issue, the famous nonlocal mean (NLM filter is introduced in this study to suppress the multiplicative speckle noise in SAR image. Furthermore, to achieve a higher denoising accuracy, the local neighboring pixels in the searching window are projected into a lower dimensional subspace by principal component analysis (PCA. Thus, the nonlocal mean filter is implemented in the subspace. Afterwards, a multi-objective clustering algorithm is proposed using the principals of artificial immune system (AIS and kernel-induced distance measures. The multi-objective clustering has been shown to discover the data distribution with different characteristics and the kernel methods can improve its robustness to noise and outliers. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method is able to partition the SAR image robustly and accurately than the conventional approaches.

  12. Self-Consistent Theory of Shot Noise Suppression in Ballistic Conductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bulashenko, O. M.; Rubí, J. M.; Kochelap, V. A.

    Shot-noise measurements become a fundamental tool to probe carrier interactions in mesoscopic systems [1]. A matter of particular interest is the significance of Coulomb interaction which may keep nearby electrons more regularly spaced rather than strictly at random and lead to the noise reduction. That effect occurs in different physical situations. Among them are charge-limited ballistic transport, resonant tunneling, single-electron tunneling, etc. In this communication we address the problem of Coulomb correlations in ballistic conductors under the space-charge-limited transport conditions, and present for the first time a semiclassical self-consistent theory of shot noise in these conductors by solving analytically the kinetic equation coupled self-consistently with a Poisson equation. Basing upon this theory, exact results for current noise in a two-terminal ballistic conductor under the action of long-range Coulomb correlations has been derived. The noise reduction factor (in respect to the uncorrelated value) is obtained in a closed analytical form for a full range of biases ranging from thermal to shot-noise limits which describe perfectly the results of the Monte Carlo simulations for a nondegenerate electron gas [2]. The magnitude of the noise reduction exceeds 0.01, which is of interest from the point of view of possible applications. Using these analytical results one may estimate a relative contribution to the noise from different groups of carriers (in energy space and/or real space) and to investigate in great detail the correlations between different groups of carriers. This leads us to suggest an electron energy spectroscopy experiment to probe the Coulomb correlations in ballistic conductors. Indeed, while the injected carriers are uncorrelated, those in the volume of the conductor are strongly correlated, as follows from the derived formulas for the fluctuation of the distribution function. Those correlations may be observed experimentally by

  13. Monitoring of bread cooling by statistical analysis of laser speckle patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lyubenova, Tanya; Stoykova, Elena; Nacheva, Elena; Ivanov, Branimir; Panchev, Ivan; Sainov, Ventseslav

    2013-03-01

    The phenomenon of laser speckle can be used for detection and visualization of physical or biological activity in various objects (e.g. fruits, seeds, coatings) through statistical description of speckle dynamics. The paper presents the results of non-destructive monitoring of bread cooling by co-occurrence matrix and temporal structure function analysis of speckle patterns which have been recorded continuously within a few days. In total, 72960 and 39680 images were recorded and processed for two similar bread samples respectively. The experiments proved the expected steep decrease of activity related to the processes in the bread samples during the first several hours and revealed its oscillating character within the next few days. Characterization of activity over the bread sample surface was also obtained.

  14. Random resampling masks: a non-Bayesian one-shot strategy for noise reduction in digital holography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bianco, V; Paturzo, M; Memmolo, P; Finizio, A; Ferraro, P; Javidi, B

    2013-03-01

    Holographic imaging may become severely degraded by a mixture of speckle and incoherent additive noise. Bayesian approaches reduce the incoherent noise, but prior information is needed on the noise statistics. With no prior knowledge, one-shot reduction of noise is a highly desirable goal, as the recording process is simplified and made faster. Indeed, neither multiple acquisitions nor a complex setup are needed. So far, this result has been achieved at the cost of a deterministic resolution loss. Here we propose a fast non-Bayesian denoising method that avoids this trade-off by means of a numerical synthesis of a moving diffuser. In this way, only one single hologram is required as multiple uncorrelated reconstructions are provided by random complementary resampling masks. Experiments show a significant incoherent noise reduction, close to the theoretical improvement bound, resulting in image-contrast improvement. At the same time, we preserve the resolution of the unprocessed image.

  15. Multiple rotation assessment through isothetic fringes in speckle photography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angel, Luciano; Tebaldi, Myrian; Bolognini, Nestor

    2007-01-01

    The use of different pupils for storing each speckled image in speckle photography is employed to determine multiple in-plane rotations. The method consists of recording a four-exposure specklegram where the rotations are done between exposures. This specklegram is then optically processed in a whole field approach rendering isothetic fringes, which give detailed information about the multiple rotations. It is experimentally demonstrated that the proposed arrangement permits the depiction of six isothetics in order to measure either six different angles or three nonparallel components for two local general in-plane displacements

  16. Computer vision elastography: speckle adaptive motion estimation for elastography using ultrasound sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Revell, James; Mirmehdi, Majid; McNally, Donal

    2005-06-01

    We present the development and validation of an image based speckle tracking methodology, for determining temporal two-dimensional (2-D) axial and lateral displacement and strain fields from ultrasound video streams. We refine a multiple scale region matching approach incorporating novel solutions to known speckle tracking problems. Key contributions include automatic similarity measure selection to adapt to varying speckle density, quantifying trajectory fields, and spatiotemporal elastograms. Results are validated using tissue mimicking phantoms and in vitro data, before applying them to in vivo musculoskeletal ultrasound sequences. The method presented has the potential to improve clinical knowledge of tendon pathology from carpel tunnel syndrome, inflammation from implants, sport injuries, and many others.

  17. Detection of radiation deformation in crystalline polymers using the speckle photography technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    El-Ghandoor, H.; Hashem, A.A.; Sharaf, F.

    1995-01-01

    In order to measure the resulting deformation due to gamma irradiation of polymers, a new optical technique, namely speckle-photography, was established and used. Thin films of tetrafluoroethene, with constant thickness were irradiated by different doses of gamma rays and the diffraction patterns of a laser beam passing through these films were recorded using the speckle photography technique. This technique has been applied to detect the radiation deformation in (Teflon) TFE, which is a crystalline polymer. A diffraction pattern due to the TFE thin layer is obtained and superimposed on the interference pattern displaying the speckle pattern pairs recorded on the same emulsion. (author)

  18. Early detection and treatment of Speckled leukoplakia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Selviana Tampoma

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Leukoplakia is one of potentially malignant disorders that can be found on oral mucosa. Speckled leukoplakia is a rare type of leukoplakia with a very high risk of premalignant growth. Approximately 3 % of worldwide population has suffered from leukoplakia, 5-25% of which tend to be malignant leukoplakia. Purpose: This case report was aimed to discuss about early detection of speckled leukoplakia as one of potentially malignant disorders. Case: A 62 year old male patient came with chief complaint of bald and painful tongue since one month ago. The patient has a history of allergic reaction, hypertension, uric acid, and hepatitis B. He had been a heavy smoker since young until 10 years ago. Intra oral examination showed a firm, rough, non scrapable white plaque lesion with a size of 1 x 1.5 cm, surrounded by painful erosion with diffuse boundary. Case Management: Based on cytology examination, the patient was reffered to oncologist to get an excisional biopsy. Next, the patient succesfully underwent the excisional biopsy and came for control. The results showed the healing process of the lesion with a minimal complaint of bald tongue, especially when eating spicy or hot meal. To improve healing process, the patient then was given an antibacterial mouth rinse containing zinc and mulvitamin. Conclusion: Speckled leukoplakia could show high malignant transformation rate, therefore, early detection and treatment are necessary.

  19. Jet Noise Modeling for Supersonic Business Jet Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, James R.; Krejsa, Eugene A.; Clark, Bruce J.

    2004-01-01

    This document describes the development of an improved predictive model for coannular jet noise, including noise suppression modifications applicable to small supersonic-cruise aircraft such as the Supersonic Business Jet (SBJ), for NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). For such aircraft a wide range of propulsion and integration options are under consideration. Thus there is a need for very versatile design tools, including a noise prediction model. The approach used is similar to that used with great success by the Modern Technologies Corporation (MTC) in developing a noise prediction model for two-dimensional mixer ejector (2DME) nozzles under the High Speed Research Program and in developing a more recent model for coannular nozzles over a wide range of conditions. If highly suppressed configurations are ultimately required, the 2DME model is expected to provide reasonable prediction for these smaller scales, although this has not been demonstrated. It is considered likely that more modest suppression approaches, such as dual stream nozzles featuring chevron or chute suppressors, perhaps in conjunction with inverted velocity profiles (IVP), will be sufficient for the SBJ.

  20. Theoretical investigations on dual-beam illumination electronic speckle pattern interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goudemand, Nicolas

    2006-01-01

    Contrary to what is found in most of the existing scientific literature,where a specific frame is developed, the theory of speckle interferometry is (conveniently) presented here as a particular case of the more general theory of holographic interferometry. In addition to the intellectual benefit of dealing with a single unified theory, this brings about many advantages when it comes to discuss fundamental topics such as the three-dimensional evolution of the complex amplitude of the diffuse optical wave fronts, the degree of approximation of the leading formulas, the loss of fringe contrast,the decorrelation effects, the real influence of the terms generally neglected in out-of-focus regions. In the same way, the statistical properties of the speckle fields, usually treated as a separate subject matter, are also integrated in the theory, thus providing a comprehensive knowledge of the qualitative features of speckle interferometry methods, otherwise difficult to understand

  1. Theoretical investigations on dual-beam illumination electronic speckle pattern interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goudemand, Nicolas

    2006-07-01

    Contrary to what is found in most of the existing scientific literature, where a specific frame is developed, the theory of speckle interferometry is (conveniently) presented here as a particular case of the more general theory of holographic interferometry. In addition to the intellectual benefit of dealing with a single unified theory, this brings about many advantages when it comes to discuss fundamental topics such as the three-dimensional evolution of the complex amplitude of the diffuse optical wavefronts, the degree of approximation of the leading formulas, the loss of fringe contrast, the decorrelation effects, the real influence of the terms generally neglected in out-of-focus regions. In the same way, the statistical properties of the speckle fields, usually treated as a separate subject matter, are also integrated in the theory, thus providing a comprehensive knowledge of the qualitative features of speckle interferometry methods, otherwise difficult to understand.

  2. Real time processor for array speckle interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chin, G.; Florez, J.; Borelli, R.; Fong, W.; Miko, J.; Trujillo, C.

    1989-01-01

    With the construction of several new large aperture telescopes and the development of large format array detectors in the near IR, the ability to obtain diffraction limited seeing via IR array speckle interferometry offers a powerful tool. We are constructing a real-time processor to acquire image frames, perform array flat-fielding, execute a 64 x 64 element 2D complex FFT, and to average the power spectrum all within the 25 msec coherence time for speckles at near IR wavelength. The processor is a compact unit controlled by a PC with real time display and data storage capability. It provides the ability to optimize observations and obtain results on the telescope rather than waiting several weeks before the data can be analyzed and viewed with off-line methods

  3. X-ray speckle contrast variation at a sample-specific absorption edges

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Retsch, C. C.; Wang, Y.; Frigo, S. P.; Stephenson, G. B.; McNulty, I.

    2000-01-01

    The authors measured static x-ray speckle contrast variation with the incident photon energy across sample-specific absorption edges. They propose that the variation depends strongly on the spectral response function of the monochromator. Speckle techniques have been introduced to the x-ray regime during recent years. Most of these experiments, however, were done at photon energies above 5 keV. They are working on this technique in the 1 to 4 keV range, an energy range that includes many important x-ray absorption edges, e.g., in Al, Si, P, S, the rare-earths, and others. To their knowledge, the effect of absorption edges on speckle contrast has not yet been studied. In this paper, they present their initial measurements and understanding of the observed phenomena

  4. Elevational spatial compounding for enhancing image quality in echocardiography

    OpenAIRE

    Perperidis, Antonios; McDicken, Norman; MacGillivray, Tom; Anderson, Tom

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Echocardiography is commonly used in clinical practice for the real-time assessment of cardiac morphology and function. Nevertheless, due to the nature of the data acquisition, cardiac ultrasound images are often corrupted by a range of acoustic artefacts, including acoustic noise, speckle and shadowing. Spatial compounding techniques have long been recognised for their ability to suppress common ultrasound artefacts, enhancing the imaged cardiac structures. However, they require...

  5. Suppression of 3D coherent noise by areal geophone array; Menteki jushinki array ni yoru sanjigen coherent noise no yokusei

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Murayama, R; Nakagami, K; Tanaka, H [Japan National Oil Corp., Tokyo (Japan). Technology Research Center

    1996-05-01

    For improving the quality of data collected by reflection seismic exploration, a lattice was deployed at one point of a traverse line, and the data therefrom were used to study the 3D coherent noise suppression effect of the areal array. The test was conducted at a Japan National Oil Corporation test field in Kashiwazaki City, Niigata Prefecture. The deployed lattice had 144 vibration receiving points arrayed at intervals of 8m composing an areal array, and 187 vibration generating points arrayed at intervals of 20m extending over 6.5km. Data was collected at the vibration receiving points in the lattice, each point acting independently from the others, and processed for the composition of a large areal array, with the said data from plural vibration receiving points added up therein. As the result of analysis of the records covering the data collected at the receiving points in the lattice, it is noted that an enlarged areal array leads to a higher S/N ratio and that different reflection waves are emphasized when the array direction is changed. 1 ref., 6 figs.

  6. Position control of ECRH launcher mirrors by laser speckle sensor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michelsen, Poul K.; Bindslev, Henrik; Hansen, Rene Skov; Hanson, Steen G.

    2003-01-01

    The planned ECRH system for JET included several fixed and steerable mirrors some of which should have been fixed to the building structure and some to the JET vessel structure. A similar system may be anticipated for ITER and for other fusion devices in the future. In order to have high reproducibility of the ECRH beam direction, it is necessary to know the exact positions of the mirrors. This is not a trivial problem because of thermal expansion of the vessel structures and of the launcher itself and of its support structure, the mechanical load on mirrors and support structures, and the accessibility to the various mirrors. We suggest to use a combination of infrared diagnostic of beam spot positions and a new technique published recently, which is based on a non-contact laser speckle sensor for measuring one- and two-dimensional angular displacement. The method is based on Fourier transforming the scattered field from a single laser beam that illuminates the target. The angular distribution of the light field at the target is linearly mapped onto an array image sensor placed in the Fourier plane. Measuring the displacement of this so-called speckle pattern facilitates the determination of the mirror orientation. Transverse target movement can be measured by observing the speckle movement in the image plane of the object. No special surface treatment is required for surfaces having irregularities of the order of or larger than the wavelength of the incident light. For the JET ECRH launcher it is mainly for the last mirror pointing towards the plasma where the technique may be useful. This mirror has to be steerable in order to reflect the microwave beam in the correct direction towards the plasma. Maximum performance of the microwave heating requires that the beam hits this mirror at its centre and that the mirror is turned in the correct angle. Inaccuracies in the positioning of the pull rods for controlling the mirror turning and thermal effects makes it

  7. Enhanced diagnostic of skin conditions by polarized laser speckles: phantom studies and computer modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tchvialeva, Lioudmila; Lee, Tim K.; Markhvida, Igor; Zeng, Haishan; Doronin, Alexander; Meglinski, Igor

    2014-03-01

    The incidence of the skin melanoma, the most commonly fatal form of skin cancer, is increasing faster than any other potentially preventable cancer. Clinical practice is currently hampered by the lack of the ability to rapidly screen the functional and morphological properties of tissues. In our previous study we show that the quantification of scattered laser light polarization provides a useful metrics for diagnostics of the malignant melanoma. In this study we exploit whether the image speckle could improve skin cancer diagnostic in comparison with the previously used free-space speckle. The study includes skin phantom measurements and computer modeling. To characterize the depolarization of light we measure the spatial distribution of speckle patterns and analyse their depolarization ratio taken into account radial symmetry. We examine the dependences of depolarization ratio vs. roughness for phantoms which optical properties are of the order of skin lesions. We demonstrate that the variation in bulk optical properties initiates the assessable changes in the depolarization ratio. We show that image speckle differentiates phantoms significantly better than free-space speckle. The results of experimental measurements are compared with the results of Monte Carlo simulation.

  8. Synchronized renal blood flow dynamics mapped with wavelet analysis of laser speckle flowmetry data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brazhe, Alexey R; Marsh, Donald J; von Holstein-Rathlou, Niels-Henrik

    2014-01-01

    of rat kidneys. The regulatory mechanism in the renal microcirculation generates oscillations in arterial blood flow at several characteristic frequencies. Our approach to laser speckle image processing allows detection of frequency and phase entrainments, visualization of their patterns, and estimation......Full-field laser speckle microscopy provides real-time imaging of superficial blood flow rate. Here we apply continuous wavelet transform to time series of speckle-estimated blood flow from each pixel of the images to map synchronous patterns in instantaneous frequency and phase on the surface...... of the extent of synchronization in renal cortex dynamics....

  9. A compact clinical instrument for quantifying suppression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Black, Joanne M; Thompson, Benjamin; Maehara, Goro; Hess, Robert F

    2011-02-01

    We describe a compact and convenient clinical apparatus for the measurement of suppression based on a previously reported laboratory-based approach. In addition, we report and validate a novel, rapid psychophysical method for measuring suppression using this apparatus, which makes the technique more applicable to clinical practice. By using a Z800 dual pro head-mounted display driven by a MAC laptop, we provide dichoptic stimulation. Global motion stimuli composed of arrays of moving dots are presented to each eye. One set of dots move in a coherent direction (termed signal) whereas another set of dots move in a random direction (termed noise). To quantify performance, we measure the signal/noise ratio corresponding to a direction-discrimination threshold. Suppression is quantified by assessing the extent to which it matters which eye sees the signal and which eye sees the noise. A space-saving, head-mounted display using current video technology offers an ideal solution for clinical practice. In addition, our optimized psychophysical method provided results that were in agreement with those produced using the original technique. We made measures of suppression on a group of nine adult amblyopic participants using this apparatus with both the original and new psychophysical paradigms. All participants had measurable suppression ranging from mild to severe. The two different psychophysical methods gave a strong correlation for the strength of suppression (rho = -0.83, p = 0.006). Combining the new apparatus and new psychophysical method creates a convenient and rapid technique for parametric measurement of interocular suppression. In addition, this apparatus constitutes the ideal platform for suppressors to combine information between their eyes in a similar way to binocularly normal people. This provides a convenient way for clinicians to implement the newly proposed binocular treatment of amblyopia that is based on antisuppression training.

  10. Bit-rate reduction strategies for noise suppression with a remote wireless microphone

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cvijanovic, N.; Sadiq, O.; Srinivasan, S.

    2012-01-01

    In single channel non-stationary noise reduction it is paramount that a good noise reference is available in a timely manner to maintaina high quality speech signal. Using a remote wireless microphone placed close to a noise source, a good estimate of the noise power spectral density (PSD) can be

  11. Bit rate reduction strategies for noise suppression using a remote wireless microphone

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cvijanovic, N.; Sadiq, O.; Srinivasan, S.

    2012-01-01

    In single-channel non-stationary noise reduction it is paramount that a good noise reference is available in a timely manner to maintain a high quality speech signal. Using a remote wireless microphone placed close to a noise source, a good estimate of the noise power spectral density (PSD) can be

  12. Unsteady numerical simulation of a round jet with impinging microjets for noise suppression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lew, Phoi-Tack; Najafi-Yazdi, Alireza; Mongeau, Luc

    2013-09-01

    The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of a lattice-Boltzmann method (LBM)-Large Eddy Simulation methodology for the prediction of sound radiation from a round jet-microjet combination. The distinct advantage of LBM over traditional computational fluid dynamics methods is its ease of handling problems with complex geometries. Numerical simulations of an isothermal Mach 0.5, Re(D) = 1 × 10(5) circular jet (D(j) = 0.0508 m) with and without the presence of 18 microjets (D(mj) = 1 mm) were performed. The presence of microjets resulted in a decrease in the axial turbulence intensity and turbulent kinetic energy. The associated decrease in radiated sound pressure level was around 1 dB. The far-field sound was computed using the porous Ffowcs Williams-Hawkings surface integral acoustic method. The trend obtained is in qualitative agreement with experimental observations. The results of this study support the accuracy of LBM based numerical simulations for predictions of the effects of noise suppression devices on the radiated sound power.

  13. Eliminating thermal violin spikes from LIGO noise

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Santamore, D. H.; Levin, Yuri

    2001-08-15

    We have developed a scheme for reducing LIGO suspension thermal noise close to violin-mode resonances. The idea is to monitor directly the thermally induced motion of a small portion of (a 'point' on) each suspension fiber, thereby recording the random forces driving the test-mass motion close to each violin-mode frequency. One can then suppress the thermal noise by optimally subtracting the recorded fiber motions from the measured motion of the test mass, i.e., from the LIGO output. The proposed method is a modification of an analogous but more technically difficult scheme by Braginsky, Levin and Vyatchanin for reducing broad-band suspension thermal noise. The efficiency of our method is limited by the sensitivity of the sensor used to monitor the fiber motion. If the sensor has no intrinsic noise (i.e. has unlimited sensitivity), then our method allows, in principle, a complete removal of violin spikes from the thermal-noise spectrum. We find that in LIGO-II interferometers, in order to suppress violin spikes below the shot-noise level, the intrinsic noise of the sensor must be less than {approx}2 x 10{sup -13} cm/Hz. This sensitivity is two orders of magnitude greater than that of currently available sensors.

  14. Eliminating thermal violin spikes from LIGO noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santamore, D. H.; Levin, Yuri

    2001-01-01

    We have developed a scheme for reducing LIGO suspension thermal noise close to violin-mode resonances. The idea is to monitor directly the thermally induced motion of a small portion of (a 'point' on) each suspension fiber, thereby recording the random forces driving the test-mass motion close to each violin-mode frequency. One can then suppress the thermal noise by optimally subtracting the recorded fiber motions from the measured motion of the test mass, i.e., from the LIGO output. The proposed method is a modification of an analogous but more technically difficult scheme by Braginsky, Levin and Vyatchanin for reducing broad-band suspension thermal noise. The efficiency of our method is limited by the sensitivity of the sensor used to monitor the fiber motion. If the sensor has no intrinsic noise (i.e. has unlimited sensitivity), then our method allows, in principle, a complete removal of violin spikes from the thermal-noise spectrum. We find that in LIGO-II interferometers, in order to suppress violin spikes below the shot-noise level, the intrinsic noise of the sensor must be less than ∼2 x 10 -13 cm/Hz. This sensitivity is two orders of magnitude greater than that of currently available sensors

  15. Implementation Considerations, Not Topological Differences, Are the Main Determinants of Noise Suppression Properties in Feedback and Incoherent Feedforward Circuits.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzi, Gentian; Khammash, Mustafa

    2016-06-01

    Biological systems use a variety of mechanisms to deal with the uncertain nature of their external and internal environments. Two of the most common motifs employed for this purpose are the incoherent feedforward (IFF) and feedback (FB) topologies. Many theoretical and experimental studies suggest that these circuits play very different roles in providing robustness to uncertainty in the cellular environment. Here, we use a control theoretic approach to analyze two common FB and IFF architectures that make use of an intermediary species to achieve regulation. We show the equivalence of both circuits topologies in suppressing static cell-to-cell variations. While both circuits can suppress variations due to input noise, they are ineffective in suppressing inherent chemical reaction stochasticity. Indeed, these circuits realize comparable improvements limited to a modest 25% variance reduction in best case scenarios. Such limitations are attributed to the use of intermediary species in regulation, and as such, they persist even for circuit architectures that combine both IFF and FB features. Intriguingly, while the FB circuits are better suited in dealing with dynamic input variability, the most significant difference between the two topologies lies not in the structural features of the circuits, but in their practical implementation considerations.

  16. Implementation Considerations, Not Topological Differences, Are the Main Determinants of Noise Suppression Properties in Feedback and Incoherent Feedforward Circuits.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gentian Buzi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Biological systems use a variety of mechanisms to deal with the uncertain nature of their external and internal environments. Two of the most common motifs employed for this purpose are the incoherent feedforward (IFF and feedback (FB topologies. Many theoretical and experimental studies suggest that these circuits play very different roles in providing robustness to uncertainty in the cellular environment. Here, we use a control theoretic approach to analyze two common FB and IFF architectures that make use of an intermediary species to achieve regulation. We show the equivalence of both circuits topologies in suppressing static cell-to-cell variations. While both circuits can suppress variations due to input noise, they are ineffective in suppressing inherent chemical reaction stochasticity. Indeed, these circuits realize comparable improvements limited to a modest 25% variance reduction in best case scenarios. Such limitations are attributed to the use of intermediary species in regulation, and as such, they persist even for circuit architectures that combine both IFF and FB features. Intriguingly, while the FB circuits are better suited in dealing with dynamic input variability, the most significant difference between the two topologies lies not in the structural features of the circuits, but in their practical implementation considerations.

  17. Implementation Considerations, Not Topological Differences, Are the Main Determinants of Noise Suppression Properties in Feedback and Incoherent Feedforward Circuits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buzi, Gentian; Khammash, Mustafa

    2016-01-01

    Biological systems use a variety of mechanisms to deal with the uncertain nature of their external and internal environments. Two of the most common motifs employed for this purpose are the incoherent feedforward (IFF) and feedback (FB) topologies. Many theoretical and experimental studies suggest that these circuits play very different roles in providing robustness to uncertainty in the cellular environment. Here, we use a control theoretic approach to analyze two common FB and IFF architectures that make use of an intermediary species to achieve regulation. We show the equivalence of both circuits topologies in suppressing static cell-to-cell variations. While both circuits can suppress variations due to input noise, they are ineffective in suppressing inherent chemical reaction stochasticity. Indeed, these circuits realize comparable improvements limited to a modest 25% variance reduction in best case scenarios. Such limitations are attributed to the use of intermediary species in regulation, and as such, they persist even for circuit architectures that combine both IFF and FB features. Intriguingly, while the FB circuits are better suited in dealing with dynamic input variability, the most significant difference between the two topologies lies not in the structural features of the circuits, but in their practical implementation considerations. PMID:27257684

  18. Thermoregulation under semi-natural conditions in speckled ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    We recorded body temperature (Tb) in speckled mousebirds (Colius striatus) under semi-natural conditions in outdoor aviaries, and examined interactions between behavioural and metabolic thermoregulation by experimentally manipulating food availability and communal roosting behaviour. When food was available ad ...

  19. 1/f noise in carbon nanotubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collins, Philip G.; Fuhrer, M. S.; Zettl, A.

    2000-01-01

    The electrical noise characteristics of single-walled carbon nanotubes have been investigated. For all three cases of individual isolated nanotubes, thin films of interconnected nanotubes, and bulk nanotube mats, anomalously large bias-dependent 1/f noise is found. The noise magnitude greatly exceeds that commonly observed in metal films, carbon resistors, or even carbon fibers with comparable resistances. A single empirical expression describes the noise for all nanotube samples, suggesting a common noise-generating mechanism proportional only to the number of nanotubes in the conductor. We consider likely sources of the fluctuations, and consequences for electronic applications of nanotubes if the excessive noise cannot be suppressed. (c) 2000 American Institute of Physics

  20. CDKL5 influences RNA splicing activity by its association to the nuclear speckle molecular machinery.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricciardi, Sara; Kilstrup-Nielsen, Charlotte; Bienvenu, Thierry; Jacquette, Aurélia; Landsberger, Nicoletta; Broccoli, Vania

    2009-12-01

    Mutations in the human X-linked cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 (CDKL5) gene have been shown to cause severe neurodevelopmental disorders including infantile spasms, encephalopathy, West-syndrome and an early-onset variant of Rett syndrome. CDKL5 is a serine/threonine kinase whose involvement in Rett syndrome can be inferred by its ability to directly bind and mediate phosphorylation of MeCP2. However, it remains to be elucidated how CDKL5 exerts its function. Here, we report that CDKL5 localizes to specific nuclear foci referred to as nuclear speckles in both cell lines and tissues. These sub-nuclear structures are traditionally considered as storage/modification sites of pre-mRNA splicing factors. Interestingly, we provide evidence that CDKL5 regulates the dynamic behaviour of nuclear speckles. Indeed, CDKL5 overexpression leads to nuclear speckle disassembly, and this event is strictly dependent on its kinase activity. Conversely, its down-regulation affects nuclear speckle morphology leading to abnormally large and uneven speckles. Similar results were obtained for primary adult fibroblasts isolated from CDKL5-mutated patients. Altogether, these findings indicate that CDKL5 controls nuclear speckle morphology probably by regulating the phosphorylation state of splicing regulatory proteins. Nuclear speckles are dynamic sites that can continuously supply splicing factors to active transcription sites, where splicing occurs. Notably, we proved that CDKL5 influences alternative splicing, at least as proved in heterologous minigene assays. In conclusion, we provide evidence that CDKL5 is involved indirectly in pre-mRNA processing, by controlling splicing factor dynamics. These findings identify a biological process whose disregulation might affect neuronal maturation and activity in CDKL5-related disorders.

  1. Speckle reduction techniques in digital holography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Monaghan, David; Kelly, Damien; Hennelly, Bryan [Department of Computer Science, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Co. Kildare (Ireland); Javidi, Bahram, E-mail: bryanh@cs.nuim.i [University of Connecticut Electrical and Computer Engineering Department 371 Fairfield Road, Unit 2157 Storrs, CT 06269-2157 (United States)

    2010-02-01

    We have studied several speckle reduction techniques, applicable to digital holography. These include the use of optical diffusers, wavelet filtering, simulating temporal incoherence and filtering in the Fourier domain. The Digital Holograms (DHs) used in this study are captured using a Phase Shift Interferometric (PSI) in-line setup and subsequently reconstructed numerically.

  2. Effect of static scatterers in laser speckle contrast imaging: an experimental study on correlation and contrast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vaz, Pedro G.; Humeau-Heurtier, Anne; Figueiras, Edite; Correia, Carlos; Cardoso, João

    2018-01-01

    Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is a non-invasive microvascular blood flow assessment technique with good temporal and spatial resolution. Most LSCI systems, including commercial devices, can perform only qualitative blood flow evaluation, which is a major limitation of this technique. There are several factors that prevent the utilization of LSCI as a quantitative technique. Among these factors, we can highlight the effect of static scatterers. The goal of this work was to study the influence of differences in static and dynamic scatterer concentration on laser speckle correlation and contrast. In order to achieve this, a laser speckle prototype was developed and tested using an optical phantom with various concentrations of static and dynamic scatterers. It was found that the laser speckle correlation could be used to estimate the relative concentration of static/dynamic scatterers within a sample. Moreover, the speckle correlation proved to be independent of the dynamic scatterer velocity, which is a fundamental characteristic to be used in contrast correction.

  3. SPECKLE OBSERVATIONS OF BINARY STARS WITH THE WIYN TELESCOPE. VII. MEASURES DURING 2008-2009

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horch, Elliott P.; Bahi, Lizzie Anne P.; Gaulin, Joseph R.; Howell, Steve B.; Sherry, William H.; Baena Gallé, Roberto; Van Altena, William F.

    2012-01-01

    Five hundred thirty-one speckle measures of binary stars are reported. These data were taken mainly during the period 2008 June through 2009 October at the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope at Kitt Peak and represent the last data set of single-filter speckle observations taken in the WIYN speckle program prior to the use of the current two-channel speckle camera. The astrometric and photometric precision of these observations is consistent with previous papers in this series: we obtain a typical linear measurement uncertainty of approximately 2.5 mas, and the magnitude differences reported have typical uncertainties in the range of 0.1-0.14 mag. In combination with measures already in the literature, the data presented here permit the revision of the orbit of A 1634AB (= HIP 76041) and the first determination of visual orbital elements for HDS 1895 (= HIP 65982).

  4. Research status and trend of wind turbine aerodynamic noise?

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Xiaodong LI; Baohong BAI; Yingbo XU; Min JIANG

    2016-01-01

    The main components of the wind turbine aerodynamic noise are introduced. A detailed review is given on the theoretical prediction, experimental measurement, and numerical simulation methods of wind turbine noise, with speci?c attention to appli-cations. Furthermore, suppression techniques of wind turbine aerodynamic noise are discussed. The perspective of future research on the wind turbine aerodynamic noise is presented.

  5. The Study Of Optometry Apparatus Of Laser Speckles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bao-cheng, Wang; Kun, Yao; Xiu-qing, Wu; Chang-ying, Long; Jia-qi, Shi; Shi-zhong, Shi

    1988-01-01

    Based on the regularity of laser speckles movement the method of exam the uncorrected eyes is determined. The apparatus with micro-computer and optical transformation is made. Its practical function is excellent.

  6. Recruitment of phosphorylated small heat shock protein Hsp27 to nuclear speckles without stress

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bryantsev, A.L.; Chechenova, M.B.; Shelden, E.A.

    2007-01-01

    During stress, the mammalian small heat shock protein Hsp27 enters cell nuclei. The present study examines the requirements for entry of Hsp27 into nuclei of normal rat kidney (NRK) renal epithelial cells, and for its interactions with specific nuclear structures. We find that phosphorylation of Hsp27 is necessary for the efficient entry into nuclei during heat shock but not sufficient for efficient nuclear entry under control conditions. We further report that Hsp27 is recruited to an RNAse sensitive fraction of SC35 positive nuclear speckles, but not other intranuclear structures, in response to heat shock. Intriguingly, Hsp27 phosphorylation, in the absence of stress, is sufficient for recruitment to speckles found in post-anaphase stage mitotic cells. Additionally, pseudophosphorylated Hsp27 fused to a nuclear localization peptide (NLS) is recruited to nuclear speckles in unstressed interphase cells, but wildtype and nonphosphorylatable Hsp27 NLS fusion proteins are not. The expression of NLS-Hsp27 mutants does not enhance colony forming abilities of cells subjected to severe heat shock, but does regulate nuclear speckle morphology. These data demonstrate that phosphorylation, but not stress, mediates Hsp27 recruitment to an RNAse soluble fraction of nuclear speckles and support a site-specific role for Hsp27 within the nucleus

  7. Complementary Speckle Patterns: Deterministic Interchange of Intrinsic Vortices and Maxima through Scattering Media.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gateau, Jérôme; Rigneault, Hervé; Guillon, Marc

    2017-01-27

    Intensity maxima and zeros of speckle patterns obtained behind a diffuser are experimentally interchanged by applying a spiral phase delay of charge ±1 to the impinging coherent beam. This transform arises from the expectation that tightly focused beams, which have a planar wave front around the focus, are so changed into vortex beams and vice versa. The statistics of extrema locations and the intensity distribution of the so-generated "complementary" patterns are characterized by numerical simulations. It is demonstrated experimentally that the incoherent superposition of the three "complementary speckle patterns" yield a synthetic speckle grain size enlarged by a factor of sqrt[3]. A cyclic permutation of optical vortices and intensity maxima is unexpectedly observed and discussed.

  8. Coupling of relative intensity noise and pathlength noise to the length measurement in the optical metrology system of LISA Pathfinder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittchen, Andreas; the LPF Collaboration

    2017-05-01

    LISA Pathfinder is a technology demonstration mission for the space-based gravitational wave observatory, LISA. It demonstrated that the performance requirements for the interferometric measurement of two test masses in free fall can be met. An important part of the data analysis is to identify the limiting noise sources. [1] This measurement is performed with heterodyne interferometry. The performance of this optical metrology system (OMS) at high frequencies is limited by sensing noise. One such noise source is Relative Intensity Noise (RIN). RIN is a property of the laser, and the photodiode current generated by the interferometer signal contains frequency dependant RIN. From this electric signal the phasemeter calculates the phase change and laser power, and the coupling of RIN into the measurement signal depends on the noise frequency. RIN at DC, at the heterodyne frequency and at two times the heterodyne frequency couples into the phase. Another important noise at high frequencies is path length noise. To reduce the impact this noise is suppressed with a control loop. Path length noise not suppressed will couple directly into the length measurement. The subtraction techniques of both noise sources depend on the phase difference between the reference signal and the measurement signal, and thus on the test mass position. During normal operations we position the test mass at the interferometric zero, which is optimal for noise subtraction purposes. This paper will show results from an in-flight experiment where the test mass position was changed to make the position dependant noise visible.

  9. 3D shape measurement using deterministic phase retrieval and a partially developed speckle field

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Almoro, Percival F.; Waller, Laura; Agour, Mostafa

    2012-01-01

    Fourier domain. The local variations of the recorded speckle patterns and the defocus distance approximate the axial intensity derivative which, in turn, is required to recover the wavefront phase via the transport of intensity equation (TIE). The SLM setup reduces the speckle recording time and the TIE...

  10. Phase conjugation of speckle-inhomogeneous radiation in a holographic Nd:YAG laser with a short thermal hologram

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yarovoi, V V; Kirsanov, A V

    2002-01-01

    A model of the so-called short hologram, which does not exhibit in-depth diffraction deformation of the fine speckle pattern of the recording fields, is studied. The investigation is performed by the example of a thermal hologram recorded by two speckle waves, which is the output mirror of a ring laser produced as a result of this recording. It is shown that the ability of this short hologram to select a wave conjugated to a speckle signal in the mode of the holographic laser depends both on the degree of mutual mixing of the speckles of recording beams in the hologram volume and on the effects of its saturation by the beams. The maximum accuracy of phase conjugation of speckle radiation in the holographic Nd:YAG laser achieved upon the best selection of the conjugate wave by the short thermal hologram was 93%. (nonlinear optical phenomena)

  11. Coherent noise reduction in digital holographic microscopy by averaging multiple holograms recorded with a multimode laser.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, Feng; Yang, Lizhi; Xiao, Wen

    2017-09-04

    In digital holographic microscopy (DHM), it is undesirable to observe coherent noise in the reconstructed images. The sources of the noise are mainly the parasitic interference fringes caused by multiple reflections and the speckle pattern caused by the optical scattering on the object surface. Here we propose a noise reduction approach in DHM by averaging multiple holograms recorded with a multimode laser. Based on the periodicity of the temporal coherence of a multimode semiconductor laser, we acquire a series of holograms by changing the optical path length difference between the reference beam and object beam. Because of the use of low coherence light, we can remove the parasitic interference fringes caused by multiple reflections in the holograms. In addition, the coherent noise patterns change in this process due to the different optical paths. Therefore, the coherent noise can be reduced by averaging the multiple reconstructions with uncorrelated noise patterns. Several experiments have been carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach for coherent noise reduction in DHM. It is shown a remarkable improvement both in amplitude imaging quality and phase measurement accuracy.

  12. Simulations of x-ray speckle-based dark-field and phase-contrast imaging with a polychromatic beam

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zdora, Marie-Christine, E-mail: marie-christine.zdora@diamond.ac.uk [Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department & Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany); Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE (United Kingdom); Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Thibault, Pierre [Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, London WC1E 6BT (United Kingdom); Pfeiffer, Franz [Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department & Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany); Zanette, Irene [Lehrstuhl für Biomedizinische Physik, Physik-Department & Institut für Medizintechnik, Technische Universität München, 85748 Garching (Germany); Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE (United Kingdom)

    2015-09-21

    Following the first experimental demonstration of x-ray speckle-based multimodal imaging using a polychromatic beam [I. Zanette et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 112(25), 253903 (2014)], we present a simulation study on the effects of a polychromatic x-ray spectrum on the performance of this technique. We observe that the contrast of the near-field speckles is only mildly influenced by the bandwidth of the energy spectrum. Moreover, using a homogeneous object with simple geometry, we characterize the beam hardening artifacts in the reconstructed transmission and refraction angle images, and we describe how the beam hardening also affects the dark-field signal provided by speckle tracking. This study is particularly important for further implementations and developments of coherent speckle-based techniques at laboratory x-ray sources.

  13. MATLAB for laser speckle contrast analysis (LASCA): a practice-based approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Postnikov, Eugene B.; Tsoy, Maria O.; Postnov, Dmitry E.

    2018-04-01

    Laser Speckle Contrast Analysis (LASCA) is one of the most powerful modern methods for revealing blood dynamics. The experimental design and theory for this method are well established, and the computational recipie is often regarded to be trivial. However, the achieved performance and spatial resolution may considerable differ for different implementations. We comprise a minireview of known approaches to the spatial laser speckle contrast data processing and their realization in MATLAB code providing an explicit correspondence to the mathematical representation, a discussion of available implementations. We also present the algorithm based on the 2D Haar wavelet transform, also supplied with the program code. This new method provides an opportunity to introduce horizontal, vertical and diagonal speckle contrasts; it may be used for processing highly anisotropic images of vascular trees. We provide the comparative analysis of the accuracy of vascular pattern detection and the processing times with a special attention to details of the used MATLAB procedures.

  14. Laser speckle technology in stomatology. diagnostics of stresses and strains of hard biotissues and orthodontic and orthopedic structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denisova, Yu. L.; Bazylev, N. B.; Rubnikovich, S. P.; Fomin, N. A.

    2013-07-01

    We have investigated the formation and dynamics of speckle biofi elds formed by hard biotissues of the oral cavity irradiated with low-intensity radiation. We present experimental methods for diagnosing the stressed-strained state of the maxillodental system and orthodontic and orthopedic structures based on speckle technologies and crosscorrelation analysis of speckle biofi elds.

  15. ADC common noise correction and zero suppression in the PIBETA detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frlez, E.; Pocanic, D.; Ritt, S.

    2001-01-01

    We describe a simple procedure for reducing Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) common noise in modular detectors that does not require additional hardware. A method using detector noise groups should work well for modular particle detectors such as segmented electromagnetic calorimeters, plastic scintillator hodoscopes, cathode strip wire chambers, segmented active targets, and the like. We demonstrate a 'second pedestal noise correction' method by comparing representative ADC pedestal spectra for various elements of the PIBETA detector before and after the applied correction

  16. Speckle Reduction for Ultrasonic Imaging Using Frequency Compounding and Despeckling Filters along with Coded Excitation and Pulse Compression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joshua S. Ullom

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available A method for improving the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR while maintaining the −6 dB axial resolution of ultrasonic B-mode images is proposed. The technique proposed is known as eREC-FC, which enhances a recently developed REC-FC technique. REC-FC is a combination of the coded excitation technique known as resolution enhancement compression (REC and the speckle-reduction technique frequency compounding (FC. In REC-FC, image CNR is improved but at the expense of a reduction in axial resolution. However, by compounding various REC-FC images made from various subband widths, the tradeoff between axial resolution and CNR enhancement can be extended. Further improvements in CNR can be obtained by applying postprocessing despeckling filters to the eREC-FC B-mode images. The despeckling filters evaluated were the following: median, Lee, homogeneous mask area, geometric, and speckle-reducing anisotropic diffusion (SRAD. Simulations and experimental measurements were conducted with a single-element transducer (f/2.66 having a center frequency of 2.25 MHz and a −3 dB bandwidth of 50%. In simulations and experiments, the eREC-FC technique resulted in the same axial resolution that would be typically observed with conventional excitation with a pulse. Moreover, increases in CNR of 348% were obtained in experiments when comparing eREC-FC with a Lee filter to conventional pulsing methods.

  17. Aero-acoustic design and test of a multiple splitter exhaust noise suppressor for a 0.914m diameter lift fan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stimpert, D. L.

    1973-01-01

    A lift fan exhaust suppression system to meet future VTOL aircraft noise goals was designed and tested. The test vehicle was a 1.3 pressure ratio, 36 inch (91.44 cm) diameter lift fan with two chord rotor to stator spacing. A two splitter fan exhaust suppression system thirty inches (76.2 cm) long achieved 10 PNdB exhaust suppression in the aft quadrant compared to a design value of 20 PNdB. It was found that a broadband noise floor limited the realizable suppression. An analytical investigation of broadband noise generated by flow over the treatment surfaces provided very good agreement with the measured suppression levels and noise floor sound power levels. A fan thrust decrement of 22% was measured for the fully suppressed configuration of which 11.1% was attributed to the exhaust suppression hardware.

  18. Speckle and fringe dynamics in imagingspeckle-pattern interferometry for spatial-filtering velocimetry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jakobsen, Michael Linde; Iversen, Theis F. Q.; Yura, Harold T.

    2011-01-01

    This paper analyzes the dynamics of laser speckles and fringes, formed in an imaging-speckle-pattern interferometer with the purpose of sensing linear three-dimensional motion and out-of-plane components of rotation in real time, using optical spatial-filtering-velocimetry techniques. The ensemble......-average definition of the cross-correlation function is applied to the intensity distributions, obtained in the observation plane at two positions of the object. The theoretical analysis provides a description for the dynamics of both the speckles and the fringes. The analysis reveals that both the magnitude...... and direction of all three linear displacement components of the object movement can be determined. Simultaneously, out-ofplane rotation of the object including the corresponding directions can be determined from the spatial gradient of the in-plane fringe motion throughout the observation plane. The theory...

  19. Suppression of enhanced physiological tremor via stochastic noise: initial observations.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Trenado

    Full Text Available Enhanced physiological tremor is a disabling condition that arises because of unstable interactions between central tremor generators and the biomechanics of the spinal stretch reflex. Previous work has shown that peripheral input may push the tremor-related spinal and cortical systems closer to anti-phase firing, potentially leading to a reduction in tremor through phase cancellation. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether peripherally applied mechanical stochastic noise can attenuate enhanced physiological tremor and improve motor performance. Eight subjects with enhanced physiological tremor performed a visuomotor task requiring the right index finger to compensate a static force generated by a manipulandum to which Gaussian noise (3-35 Hz was applied. The finger position was displayed on-line on a monitor as a small white dot which the subjects had to maintain in the center of a larger green circle. Electromyogram (EMG from the active hand muscles and finger position were recorded. Performance was measured by the mean absolute deviation of the white dot from the zero position. Tremor was identified by the acceleration in the frequency range 7-12 Hz. Two different conditions were compared: with and without superimposed noise at optimal amplitude (determined at the beginning of the experiment. The application of optimum noise reduced tremor (accelerometric amplitude and EMG activity and improved the motor performance (reduced mean absolute deviation from zero. These data provide the first evidence of a significant reduction of enhanced physiological tremor in the human sensorimotor system due to application of external stochastic noise.

  20. Differential expression of speckled POZ protein, SPOP: Putative ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2014-05-01

    May 1, 2014 ... In other mouse tissues and human cancer cell lines analysed, only low SPOP ... speckled POZ protein; SRC-3, steroid receptor co-activator-3; TNF, tumour necrosis factor; ...... complexity of primary human prostate cancer.

  1. Gamma camera scatter suppression unit WAM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kishi, Haruo; Shibahara, Noriyuki; Hirose, Yoshiharu; Shimonishi, Yoshihiro; Oumura, Masahiro; Ikeda, Hozumi; Hamada, Kunio; Ochi, Hironobu; Itagane, Hiroshi.

    1990-01-01

    In gamma camera imaging, scattered radiation is one of big factors to decrease image contrast. Simply, scatter suppression makes signal to noise ratio larger, but it makes statistics error because of radionuclide injection limit to the human body. EWA is a new method that suppresses scattered radiation and improves image contrast. In this article, WAM which is commercialized EWA method by Siemens Gammasonics Inc. is presented. (author)

  2. Observations of binary stars by speckle interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morgan, B.L.; Beckmann, G.K.; Scaddan, R.J.

    1980-01-01

    This is the second paper in a series describing observations of binary stars using the technique of speckle interferometry. Observations were made using the 2.5-m Isaac Newton Telescope and the 1-m telescope of the Royal Greenwich Observatory and the 1.9-m telescope of the South African Astronomical Observatory. The classical Rayleigh diffraction limits are 0.050 arcsec for the 2.5-m telescope, 0.065 arcsec for the 1.9-m telescope and 0.125 arcsec for the 1-m telescope, at a wavelength of 500 nm. The results of 29 measurements of 26 objects are presented. The objects include long period spectroscopic binaries from the 6th Catalogue of Batten, close visual binary systems from the 3rd Catalogue of Finsen and Worley and variable stars. Nine of the objects have not been previously resolved by speckle interferometry. New members are detected in the systems β Cep, p Vel and iota UMa. (author)

  3. Theoretical Modeling of Intensity Noise in InGaN Semiconductor Lasers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moustafa Ahmed

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper introduces modeling and simulation of the noise properties of the blue-violet InGaN laser diodes. The noise is described in terms of the spectral properties of the relative intensity noise (RIN. We examine the validity of the present noise modeling by comparing the simulated results with the experimental measurements available in literature. We also compare the obtained noise results with those of AlGaAs lasers. Also, we examine the influence of gain suppression on the quantum RIN. In addition, we examine the changes in the RIN level when describing the gain suppression by the case of inhomogeneous spectral broadening. The results show that RIN of the InGaN laser is nearly 9 dB higher than that of the AlGaAs laser.

  4. Analysis of microvascular perfusion with multi-dimensional complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise algorithm: Processing of laser speckle contrast images recorded in healthy subjects, at rest and during acetylcholine stimulation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Humeau-Heurtier, Anne; Marche, Pauline; Dubois, Severine; Mahe, Guillaume

    2015-01-01

    Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) is a full-field imaging modality to monitor microvascular blood flow. It is able to give images with high temporal and spatial resolutions. However, when the skin is studied, the interpretation of the bidimensional data may be difficult. This is why an averaging of the perfusion values in regions of interest is often performed and the result is followed in time, reducing the data to monodimensional time series. In order to avoid such a procedure (that leads to a loss of the spatial resolution), we propose to extract patterns from LSCI data and to compare these patterns for two physiological states in healthy subjects: at rest and at the peak of acetylcholine-induced perfusion peak. For this purpose, the recent multi-dimensional complete ensemble empirical mode decomposition with adaptive noise (MCEEMDAN) algorithm is applied to LSCI data. The results show that the intrinsic mode functions and residue given by MCEEMDAN show different patterns for the two physiological states. The images, as bidimensional data, can therefore be processed to reveal microvascular perfusion patterns, hidden in the images themselves. This work is therefore a feasibility study before analyzing data in patients with microvascular dysfunctions.

  5. Longitudinal space charge assisted echo seeding of a free-electron laser with laser-spoiler noise suppression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsten Hacker

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Seed lasers are employed to improve the temporal coherence of free-electron laser (FEL light. However, when these seed pulses are short relative to the particle bunch, the noisy, temporally incoherent radiation from the unseeded electrons can overwhelm the coherent, seeded radiation. In this paper, a technique to seed a particle bunch with an external laser is presented in which a new mechanism to improve the contrast between coherent and incoherent free electron laser radiation is employed together with a novel, simplified echo-seeding method. The concept relies on a combination of longitudinal space charge wakes and an echo-seeding technique to make a short, coherent pulse of FEL light together with noise background suppression. Several different simulation codes are used to illustrate the concept with conditions at the soft x-ray free-electron laser in Hamburg, FLASH.

  6. Combining Simulated and Experimental Data to Simulate Ultrasonic Array Data From Defects in Materials With High Structural Noise.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloxham, Harry A; Velichko, Alexander; Wilcox, Paul David

    2016-12-01

    Ultrasonic nondestructive testing inspections using phased arrays are performed on a wide range of components and materials. All real inspections suffer, to varying extents, from coherent noise, including image artifacts and speckle caused by complex geometries and grain scatter, respectively. By its nature, this noise is not reduced by averaging; however, it degrades the signal-to-noise ratio of defects and ultimately limits their detectability. When evaluating the effectiveness of an inspection, a large pool of data from samples containing a range of different defects are important to estimate the probability of detection of defects and to help characterize them. For a given inspection, coherent noise is easy to measure experimentally but hard to model realistically. Conversely, the ultrasonic response of defects can be simulated relatively easily. This paper proposes a novel method of simulating realistic array data by combining noise-free simulations of defect responses with coherent noise taken from experimental data. This removes the need for costly physical samples with known defects to be made and allows for large data sets to be created easily.

  7. Speckle correlation resolution enhancement of wide-field fluorescence imaging (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yilmaz, Hasan

    2016-03-01

    Structured illumination enables high-resolution fluorescence imaging of nanostructures [1]. We demonstrate a new high-resolution fluorescence imaging method that uses a scattering layer with a high-index substrate as a solid immersion lens [2]. Random scattering of coherent light enables a speckle pattern with a very fine structure that illuminates the fluorescent nanospheres on the back surface of the high-index substrate. The speckle pattern is raster-scanned over the fluorescent nanospheres using a speckle correlation effect known as the optical memory effect. A series of standard-resolution fluorescence images per each speckle pattern displacement are recorded by an electron-multiplying CCD camera using a commercial microscope objective. We have developed a new phase-retrieval algorithm to reconstruct a high-resolution, wide-field image from several standard-resolution wide-field images. We have introduced phase information of Fourier components of standard-resolution images as a new constraint in our algorithm which discards ambiguities therefore ensures convergence to a unique solution. We demonstrate two-dimensional fluorescence images of a collection of nanospheres with a deconvolved Abbe resolution of 116 nm and a field of view of 10 µm × 10 µm. Our method is robust against optical aberrations and stage drifts, therefore excellent for imaging nanostructures under ambient conditions. [1] M. G. L. Gustafsson, J. Microsc. 198, 82-87 (2000). [2] H. Yilmaz, E. G. van Putten, J. Bertolotti, A. Lagendijk, W. L. Vos, and A. P. Mosk, Optica 2, 424-429 (2015).

  8. Shot-noise at a Fermi-edge singularity: Non-Markovian dynamics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ubbelohde, N.; Maire, N.; Haug, R. J. [Institut für Festkörperphysik, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Appelstraße 2, D-30167 Hannover (Germany); Roszak, K. [Institute of Physics, Wrocław University of Technology, PL-50370 Wrocław (Poland); Hohls, F. [Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, D-38116 Braunschweig (Germany); Novotný, T. [Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University, CZ-12116 Prague (Czech Republic)

    2013-12-04

    For an InAs quantum dot we study the current shot noise at a Fermi-edge singularity in low temperature cross-correlation measurements. In the regime of the interaction effect the strong suppression of noise observed at zero magnetic field and the sequence of enhancement and suppression in magnetic field go beyond a Markovian master equation model. Qualitative and quantitative agreement can however be achieved by a generalized master equation model taking non-Markovian dynamics into account.

  9. Speckle photography applied to measure deformations of very large structures

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conley, Edgar; Morgan, Chris K.

    1995-04-01

    Fundamental principles of mechanics have recently been brought to bear on problems concerning very large structures. Fields of study include tectonic plate motion, nuclear waste repository vault closure mechanisms, the flow of glacier and sea ice, and highway bridge damage assessment and residual life prediction. Quantitative observations, appropriate for formulating and verifying models, are still scarce however, so the need to adapt new methods of experimental mechanics is clear. Large dynamic systems often exist in environments subject to rapid change. Therefore, a simple field technique that incorporates short time scales and short gage lengths is required. Further, the measuring methods must yield displacements reliably, and under oft-times adverse field conditions. Fortunately, the advantages conferred by an experimental mechanics technique known as speckle photography nicely fulfill this rather stringent set of performance requirements. Speckle seemed to lend itself nicely to the application since it is robust and relatively inexpensive. Experiment requirements are minimal -- a camera, high resolution film, illumination, and an optically rough surface. Perhaps most important is speckle's distinct advantage over point-by-point methods: It maps the two dimensional displacement vectors of the whole field of interest. And finally, given the method's high spatial resolution, relatively short observation times are necessary. In this paper we discuss speckle, two variations of which were used to gage the deformation of a reinforced concrete bridge structure subjected to bending loads. The measurement technique proved to be easily applied, and yielded the location of the neutral axis self consistently. The research demonstrates the feasibility of using whole field techniques to detect and quantify surface strains of large structures under load.

  10. Acousto-electrical speckle pattern in Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grasland-Mongrain, Pol; Destrempes, François; Cloutier, Guy; Mari, Jean-Martial; Souchon, Rémi; Catheline, Stefan; Chapelon, Jean-Yves; Lafon, Cyril

    2015-01-01

    Ultrasound speckle is a granular texture pattern appearing in ultrasound imaging. It can be used to distinguish tissues and identify pathologies. Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography is an ultrasound-based medical imaging technique of the tissue electrical conductivity. It is based on the application of an ultrasound wave in a medium placed in a magnetic field and on the measurement of the induced electric current due to Lorentz force. Similarly to ultrasound imaging, we hypothesized that a speckle could be observed with Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography imaging. In this study, we first assessed the theoretical similarity between the measured signals in Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography and in ultrasound imaging modalities. We then compared experimentally the signal measured in both methods using an acoustic and electrical impedance interface. Finally, a bovine muscle sample was imaged using the two methods. Similar speckle patterns were observed. This indicates the existence of an ‘acousto-electrical speckle’ in the Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography with spatial characteristics driven by the acoustic parameters but due to electrical impedance inhomogeneities instead of acoustic ones as is the case of ultrasound imaging. (paper)

  11. Acousto-electrical speckle pattern in Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grasland-Mongrain, Pol; Destrempes, François; Mari, Jean-Martial; Souchon, Rémi; Catheline, Stefan; Chapelon, Jean-Yves; Lafon, Cyril; Cloutier, Guy

    2015-05-01

    Ultrasound speckle is a granular texture pattern appearing in ultrasound imaging. It can be used to distinguish tissues and identify pathologies. Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography is an ultrasound-based medical imaging technique of the tissue electrical conductivity. It is based on the application of an ultrasound wave in a medium placed in a magnetic field and on the measurement of the induced electric current due to Lorentz force. Similarly to ultrasound imaging, we hypothesized that a speckle could be observed with Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography imaging. In this study, we first assessed the theoretical similarity between the measured signals in Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography and in ultrasound imaging modalities. We then compared experimentally the signal measured in both methods using an acoustic and electrical impedance interface. Finally, a bovine muscle sample was imaged using the two methods. Similar speckle patterns were observed. This indicates the existence of an ‘acousto-electrical speckle’ in the Lorentz force electrical impedance tomography with spatial characteristics driven by the acoustic parameters but due to electrical impedance inhomogeneities instead of acoustic ones as is the case of ultrasound imaging.

  12. Quantitative X-ray dark-field and phase tomography using single directional speckle scanning technique

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, Hongchang, E-mail: hongchang.wang@diamond.ac.uk; Kashyap, Yogesh; Sawhney, Kawal [Diamond Light Source, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire OX11 0DE (United Kingdom)

    2016-03-21

    X-ray dark-field contrast tomography can provide important supplementary information inside a sample to the conventional absorption tomography. Recently, the X-ray speckle based technique has been proposed to provide qualitative two-dimensional dark-field imaging with a simple experimental arrangement. In this letter, we deduce a relationship between the second moment of scattering angle distribution and cross-correlation degradation of speckle and establish a quantitative basis of X-ray dark-field tomography using single directional speckle scanning technique. In addition, the phase contrast images can be simultaneously retrieved permitting tomographic reconstruction, which yields enhanced contrast in weakly absorbing materials. Such complementary tomography technique can allow systematic investigation of complex samples containing both soft and hard materials.

  13. The Effect of Learning Disability on Contralateral Suppression of Otoacoustic Emissions in Primary Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saeid Sarough Farahani

    2006-06-01

    Full Text Available Background and Aim: One of the most significant complaints of children with learning disability (LD is difficulty in understanding speech in the presence of background noise. Different studies have shown that the medial olivocochlear bundle(MOCB may play a role in hearing in noise. The MOCB function can be evaluated by the contralateral suppression of tone burst evoked otoacoustic emissions (TBEOAEs.The aim of the present study was to evaluate frequency specifications of MOCB by the contralateral suppression of TBEOAEs at 1,2,3 and 4 KHz in response to contralateral white noise in LD students. Materials and Methods: This case-control study was conducted on 34 LD students aged 7-11 years and 31 normal students matched for age.The contralateral suppression of TBEOAEs was evaluated by comparing TBEOAEs amplitudes with and without contralateral white noise. Results: In the absence of noise there was no significant difference between TBEOAEs amplitudes of two groups. In the presence of noise significant decrease was seen in TBEOAEs amplitudes at 1,2,3 and 4 KHz in both groups. In LD students the amount of this decrement at 1,2 and 4 KHz was lower than in the normal students. Conclusion: A significant diminished suppression effect at 1,2 and 4 KHz in LD students indicates that at these frequency regions MOCB function was reduced. Therefore it suggests that the assessment of MOCB by evaluating the suppression effect of TBEOAEs included in the test battery approach used in the diagnostic of LD students.

  14. [The advances of suppression in research of amblyopia].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, S; Liu, H

    2016-04-11

    Suppression that is the result of interocular competition is an important machanism of amblyopia. The imbalance of suppression may lead the consequence to amblyopia. In the early study, researchers had raised the theory of II. Quadratic Summation which had revealed the relationship of interocular interaction and suppression. In some basic researches, other studies had showed the most possible anatomic location of suppression. Recently, researchers found a new method to quantify the interocular suppression named the noise model. Further studies found a novel disinhibition therapy to treat amblyopia. We summarized the research advances in suppression and disinhibition treatment in amblyopia. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2016, 52: 305-308).

  15. Detection of fungi colony growth on bones by dynamic speckle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vincitorio, F. M.; Budini, N.; Mulone, C.; Spector, M.; Freyre, C.; López Díaz, A. J.; Ramil, A.

    2013-11-01

    In this work we have studied the dynamic speckle patterns of mucor fungi colonies, which were inoculated on different samples. We were interested in analyzing the development of fungi colonies in bones, since during the last two years, a series of infections by mucor fungi have been reported on patients from different hospitals in Argentina. Coincidentally, all of these infections appeared on patients that were subjected to a surgical intervention for implantation of a titanium prosthesis. Apparently, the reason of the infection was a deficient sterilization process in conjunction with an accidental contamination. We observed that fungi growth, activity and death can be distinguished by means of the dynamic speckle technique.

  16. Hypertonic-induced lamin A/C synthesis and distribution to nucleoplasmic speckles is mediated by TonEBP/NFAT5 transcriptional activator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Favale, Nicolas O.; Sterin Speziale, Norma B.; Fernandez Tome, Maria C.

    2007-01-01

    Lamin A/C is the most studied nucleoskeletal constituent. Lamin A/C expression indicates cell differentiation and is also a structural component of nuclear speckles, which are involved in gene expression regulation. Hypertonicity has been reported to induce renal epithelial cell differentiation and expression of TonEBP (NFAT5), a transcriptional activator of hypertonicity-induced gene transcription. In this paper, we investigate the effect of hypertonicity on lamin A/C expression in MDCK cells and the involvement of TonEBP. Hypertonicity increased lamin A/C expression and its distribution to nucleoplasm with speckled pattern. Microscopy showed codistribution of TonEBP and lamin A/C in nucleoplasmic speckles, and immunoprecipitation demonstrated their interaction. TonEBP silencing caused lamin A/C redistribution from nucleoplasmic speckles to the nuclear rim, followed by lamin decrease, thus showing that hypertonicity induces lamin A/C speckles through a TonEBP-dependent mechanism. We suggest that lamin A/C speckles could serve TonEBP as scaffold thus favoring its role in hypertonicity

  17. SPECKLE CAMERA OBSERVATIONS FOR THE NASA KEPLER MISSION FOLLOW-UP PROGRAM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howell, Steve B.; Everett, Mark E.; Sherry, William; Horch, Elliott; Ciardi, David R.

    2011-01-01

    We present the first results from a speckle imaging survey of stars classified as candidate exoplanet host stars discovered by the Kepler mission. We use speckle imaging to search for faint companions or closely aligned background stars that could contribute flux to the Kepler light curves of their brighter neighbors. Background stars are expected to contribute significantly to the pool of false positive candidate transiting exoplanets discovered by the Kepler mission, especially in the case that the faint neighbors are eclipsing binary stars. Here, we describe our Kepler follow-up observing program, the speckle imaging camera used, our data reduction, and astrometric and photometric performance. Kepler stars range from R = 8 to 16 and our observations attempt to provide background non-detection limits 5-6 mag fainter and binary separations of ∼0.05-2.0 arcsec. We present data describing the relative brightness, separation, and position angles for secondary sources, as well as relative plate limits for non-detection of faint nearby stars around each of 156 target stars. Faint neighbors were found near 10 of the stars.

  18. Holographic interferometry and laser speckle photography as aids to assessment of pressurized components

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, D.J.V.

    1975-01-01

    This paper gives details of the defect detection holographic technique and describes laser speckle photography to evaluate in phase movement and strain in pressurized components. The new fibre optic technique and system appraisal is included. The holographic tests show that it is possible to detect on the outside of tubes defects in the bore approximately 10% of thickness deep. Speckle photography gives object lateral movement, direction and strain. (Auth.)

  19. Adaptive iterated function systems filter for images highly corrupted with fixed - Value impulse noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shanmugavadivu, P.; Eliahim Jeevaraj, P. S.

    2014-06-01

    The Adaptive Iterated Functions Systems (AIFS) Filter presented in this paper has an outstanding potential to attenuate the fixed-value impulse noise in images. This filter has two distinct phases namely noise detection and noise correction which uses Measure of Statistics and Iterated Function Systems (IFS) respectively. The performance of AIFS filter is assessed by three metrics namely, Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), Mean Structural Similarity Index Matrix (MSSIM) and Human Visual Perception (HVP). The quantitative measures PSNR and MSSIM endorse the merit of this filter in terms of degree of noise suppression and details/edge preservation respectively, in comparison with the high performing filters reported in the recent literature. The qualitative measure HVP confirms the noise suppression ability of the devised filter. This computationally simple noise filter broadly finds application wherein the images are highly degraded by fixed-value impulse noise.

  20. Extraction of Overt Verbal Response from the Acoustic Noise in a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Scan by Use of Segmented Active Noise Cancellation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Kwan-Jin; Prasad, Parikshit; Qin, Yulin; Anderson, John R.

    2013-01-01

    A method to extract the subject's overt verbal response from the obscuring acoustic noise in an fMRI scan is developed by applying active noise cancellation with a conventional MRI microphone. Since the EPI scanning and its accompanying acoustic noise in fMRI are repetitive, the acoustic noise in one time segment was used as a reference noise in suppressing the acoustic noise in subsequent segments. However, the acoustic noise from the scanner was affected by the subject's movements, so the reference noise was adaptively adjusted as the scanner's acoustic properties varied in time. This method was successfully applied to a cognitive fMRI experiment with overt verbal responses. PMID:15723385

  1. Non-moving Hadamard matrix diffusers for speckle reduction in laser pico-projectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Weston; Middlebrook, Christopher

    2014-12-01

    Personal electronic devices such as cell phones and tablets continue to decrease in size while the number of features and add-ons keep increasing. One particular feature of great interest is an integrated projector system. Laser pico-projectors have been considered, but the technology has not been developed enough to warrant integration. With new advancements in diode technology and MEMS devices, laser-based projection is currently being advanced for pico-projectors. A primary problem encountered when using a pico-projector is coherent interference known as speckle. Laser speckle can lead to eye irritation and headaches after prolonged viewing. Diffractive optical elements known as diffusers have been examined as a means to lower speckle contrast. This paper presents a binary diffuser known as a Hadamard matrix diffuser. Using two static in-line Hadamard diffusers eliminates the need for rotation or vibration of the diffuser for temporal averaging. Two Hadamard diffusers were fabricated and contrast values measured showing good agreement with theory and simulated values.

  2. Noise in CdZnTe detectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luke, P. N.; Amman, M.; Lee, J. S.; Manfredi, P. F.

    2000-01-01

    Noise in CdZnTe devices with different electrode configurations was investigated. Measurements on devices with guard-ring electrode structures showed that surface leakage current does not produce any significant noise. The parallel white noise component of the devices appeared to be generated by the bulk current alone, even though the surface current was substantially higher. This implies that reducing the surface leakage current of a CdZnTe detector may not necessarily result in a significant improvement in noise performance. The noise generated by the bulk current is also observed to be below full shot noise. This partial suppression of shot noise may be the result of Coulomb interaction between carriers or carrier trapping. Devices with coplanar strip electrodes were observed to produce a 1/f noise term at the preamplifier output. Higher levels of this 1/f noise were observed with decreasing gap widths between electrodes. The level of this 1/f noise appeared to be independent of bias voltage and leakage current but was substantially reduced after certain surface treatments

  3. Background Noise Contributes to Organic Solvent Induced Brain Dysfunction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O’neil W. Guthrie

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Occupational exposure to complex blends of organic solvents is believed to alter brain functions among workers. However, work environments that contain organic solvents are also polluted with background noise which raises the issue of whether or not the noise contributed to brain alterations. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not repeated exposure to low intensity noise with and without exposure to a complex blend of organic solvents would alter brain activity. Female Fischer344 rats served as subjects in these experiments. Asynchronous volume conductance between the midbrain and cortex was evaluated with a slow vertex recording technique. Subtoxic solvent exposure, by itself, had no statistically significant effects. However, background noise significantly suppressed brain activity and this suppression was exacerbated with solvent exposure. Furthermore, combined exposure produced significantly slow neurotransmission. These abnormal neurophysiologic findings occurred in the absence of hearing loss and detectable damage to sensory cells. The observations from the current experiment raise concern for all occupations where workers are repeatedly exposed to background noise or noise combined with organic solvents. Noise levels and solvent concentrations that are currently considered safe may not actually be safe and existing safety regulations have failed to recognize the neurotoxic potential of combined exposures.

  4. Background Noise Contributes to Organic Solvent Induced Brain Dysfunction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthrie, O'neil W.; Wong, Brian A.; McInturf, Shawn M.; Reboulet, James E.; Ortiz, Pedro A.; Mattie, David R.

    2016-01-01

    Occupational exposure to complex blends of organic solvents is believed to alter brain functions among workers. However, work environments that contain organic solvents are also polluted with background noise which raises the issue of whether or not the noise contributed to brain alterations. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not repeated exposure to low intensity noise with and without exposure to a complex blend of organic solvents would alter brain activity. Female Fischer344 rats served as subjects in these experiments. Asynchronous volume conductance between the midbrain and cortex was evaluated with a slow vertex recording technique. Subtoxic solvent exposure, by itself, had no statistically significant effects. However, background noise significantly suppressed brain activity and this suppression was exacerbated with solvent exposure. Furthermore, combined exposure produced significantly slow neurotransmission. These abnormal neurophysiologic findings occurred in the absence of hearing loss and detectable damage to sensory cells. The observations from the current experiment raise concern for all occupations where workers are repeatedly exposed to background noise or noise combined with organic solvents. Noise levels and solvent concentrations that are currently considered safe may not actually be safe and existing safety regulations have failed to recognize the neurotoxic potential of combined exposures. PMID:26885406

  5. Background Noise Contributes to Organic Solvent Induced Brain Dysfunction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guthrie, O'neil W; Wong, Brian A; McInturf, Shawn M; Reboulet, James E; Ortiz, Pedro A; Mattie, David R

    2016-01-01

    Occupational exposure to complex blends of organic solvents is believed to alter brain functions among workers. However, work environments that contain organic solvents are also polluted with background noise which raises the issue of whether or not the noise contributed to brain alterations. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether or not repeated exposure to low intensity noise with and without exposure to a complex blend of organic solvents would alter brain activity. Female Fischer344 rats served as subjects in these experiments. Asynchronous volume conductance between the midbrain and cortex was evaluated with a slow vertex recording technique. Subtoxic solvent exposure, by itself, had no statistically significant effects. However, background noise significantly suppressed brain activity and this suppression was exacerbated with solvent exposure. Furthermore, combined exposure produced significantly slow neurotransmission. These abnormal neurophysiologic findings occurred in the absence of hearing loss and detectable damage to sensory cells. The observations from the current experiment raise concern for all occupations where workers are repeatedly exposed to background noise or noise combined with organic solvents. Noise levels and solvent concentrations that are currently considered safe may not actually be safe and existing safety regulations have failed to recognize the neurotoxic potential of combined exposures.

  6. Three Dimensional Speckle Imaging Employing a Frequency-Locked Tunable Diode Laser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cannon, Bret D.; Bernacki, Bruce E.; Schiffern, John T.; Mendoza, Albert

    2015-09-01

    We describe a high accuracy frequency stepping method for a tunable diode laser to improve a three dimensional (3D) imaging approach based upon interferometric speckle imaging. The approach, modeled after Takeda, exploits tuning an illumination laser in frequency as speckle interferograms of the object (specklegrams) are acquired at each frequency in a Michelson interferometer. The resulting 3D hypercube of specklegrams encode spatial information in the x-y plane of each image with laser tuning arrayed along its z-axis. We present laboratory data of before and after results showing enhanced 3D imaging resulting from precise laser frequency control.

  7. Gradient-Type Magnetoelectric Current Sensor with Strong Multisource Noise Suppression.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Mingji; Or, Siu Wing

    2018-02-14

    A novel gradient-type magnetoelectric (ME) current sensor operating in magnetic field gradient (MFG) detection and conversion mode is developed based on a pair of ME composites that have a back-to-back capacitor configuration under a baseline separation and a magnetic biasing in an electrically-shielded and mechanically-enclosed housing. The physics behind the current sensing process is the product effect of the current-induced MFG effect associated with vortex magnetic fields of current-carrying cables (i.e., MFG detection) and the MFG-induced ME effect in the ME composite pair (i.e., MFG conversion). The sensor output voltage is directly obtained from the gradient ME voltage of the ME composite pair and is calibrated against cable current to give the current sensitivity. The current sensing performance of the sensor is evaluated, both theoretically and experimentally, under multisource noises of electric fields, magnetic fields, vibrations, and thermals. The sensor combines the merits of small nonlinearity in the current-induced MFG effect with those of high sensitivity and high common-mode noise rejection rate in the MFG-induced ME effect to achieve a high current sensitivity of 0.65-12.55 mV/A in the frequency range of 10 Hz-170 kHz, a small input-output nonlinearity of <500 ppm, a small thermal drift of <0.2%/℃ in the current range of 0-20 A, and a high common-mode noise rejection rate of 17-28 dB from multisource noises.

  8. Singular trajectories: space-time domain topology of developing speckle fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasil'ev, Vasiliy; Soskin, Marat S.

    2010-02-01

    It is shown the space-time dynamics of optical singularities is fully described by singularities trajectories in space-time domain, or evolution of transverse coordinates(x, y) in some fixed plane z0. The dynamics of generic developing speckle fields was realized experimentally by laser induced scattering in LiNbO3:Fe photorefractive crystal. The space-time trajectories of singularities can be divided topologically on two classes with essentially different scenario and duration. Some of them (direct topological reactions) consist from nucleation of singularities pair at some (x, y, z0, t) point, their movement and annihilation. They possess form of closed loops with relatively short time of existence. Another much more probable class of trajectories are chain topological reactions. Each of them consists from sequence of links, i.e. of singularities nucleation in various points (xi yi, ti) and following annihilation of both singularities in other space-time points with alien singularities of opposite topological indices. Their topology and properties are established. Chain topological reactions can stop on the borders of a developing speckle field or go to infinity. Examples of measured both types of topological reactions for optical vortices (polarization C points) in scalar (elliptically polarized) natural developing speckle fields are presented.

  9. Clinical utility of speckle-tracking echocardiography in cardiac resynchronisation therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Sitara G; Klettas, Dimitris; Kapetanakis, Stam; Monaghan, Mark J

    2016-03-01

    Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) can profoundly improve outcome in selected patients with heart failure; however, response is difficult to predict and can be absent in up to one in three patients. There has been a substantial amount of interest in the echocardiographic assessment of left ventricular dyssynchrony, with the ultimate aim of reliably identifying patients who will respond to CRT. The measurement of myocardial deformation (strain) has conventionally been assessed using tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), which is limited by its angle dependence and ability to measure in a single plane. Two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography is a technique that provides measurements of strain in three planes, by tracking patterns of ultrasound interference ('speckles') in the myocardial wall throughout the cardiac cycle. Since its initial use over 15 years ago, it has emerged as a tool that provides more robust, reproducible and sensitive markers of dyssynchrony than TDI. This article reviews the use of two-dimensional and three-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in the assessment of dyssynchrony, including the identification of echocardiographic parameters that may hold predictive potential for the response to CRT. It also reviews the application of these techniques in guiding optimal LV lead placement pre-implant, with promising results in clinical improvement post-CRT. © 2016 The authors.

  10. Airplane wing deformation and flight flutter detection method by using three-dimensional speckle image correlation technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jun; Yu, Zhijing; Wang, Tao; Zhuge, Jingchang; Ji, Yue; Xue, Bin

    2017-06-01

    Airplane wing deformation is an important element of aerodynamic characteristics, structure design, and fatigue analysis for aircraft manufacturing, as well as a main test content of certification regarding flutter for airplanes. This paper presents a novel real-time detection method for wing deformation and flight flutter detection by using three-dimensional speckle image correlation technology. Speckle patterns whose positions are determined through the vibration characteristic of the aircraft are coated on the wing; then the speckle patterns are imaged by CCD cameras which are mounted inside the aircraft cabin. In order to reduce the computation, a matching technique based on Geodetic Systems Incorporated coded points combined with the classical epipolar constraint is proposed, and a displacement vector map for the aircraft wing can be obtained through comparing the coordinates of speckle points before and after deformation. Finally, verification experiments containing static and dynamic tests by using an aircraft wing model demonstrate the accuracy and effectiveness of the proposed method.

  11. Demonstration of a Speckle Based Sensing with Pulse-Doppler Radar for Vibration Detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozana, Nisan; Bauer, Reuven; Ashkenazy, Koby; Sasson, Nissim; Schwarz, Ariel; Shemer, Amir; Zalevsky, Zeev

    2018-05-03

    In previous works, an optical technique for extraction and separation of remote static vibrations has been demonstrated. In this paper, we will describe an approach in which RF speckle movement is used to extract remote vibrations of a static target. The use of conventional radar Doppler methods is not suitable for detecting vibrations of static targets. In addition, the speckle method has an important advantage, in that it is able to detect vibrations at far greater distances than what is normally detected in classical optical methods. The experiment described in this paper was done using a motorized vehicle, which engine was turned on and off. The results showed that the system was able to distinguish between the different engine states, and in addition, was able to determine the vibration frequency of the engine. The first step towards real time detection of human vital signs using RF speckle patterns is presented.

  12. A Hybrid Technique for De-Noising Multi-Modality Medical Images by Employing Cuckoo’s Search with Curvelet Transform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qaisar Javaid

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available De-noising of the medical images is very difficult task. To improve the overall visual representation we need to apply a contrast enhancement techniques, this representation provide the physicians and clinicians a good and recovered diagnosis results. Various de-noising and contrast enhancements methods are develops. However, some of the methods are not good in providing the better results with accuracy and efficiency. In our paper we de-noise and enhance the medical images without any loss of information. We uses the curvelet transform in combination with ridglet transform along with CS (Cuckoo Search algorithm. The curvlet transform adapt and represents the sparse pixel informations with all edges. The edges play very important role in understanding of the images. Curvlet transform computes the edges very efficiently where the wavelets are failed. We used the CS to optimize the de-noising coefficients without loss of structural and morphological information. Our designed method would be accurate and efficient in de-noising the medical images. Our method attempts to remove the multiplicative and additive noises. Our proposed method is proved to be an efficient and reliable in removing all kind of noises from the medical images. Result indicates that our proposed approach is better than other approaches in removing impulse, Gaussian, and speckle noises.

  13. Selectivity and balance of spatial filtering velocimetry of objective speckles for measuring out-of-plane motion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jakobsen, Michael Linde; Yura, Hal T.; Hanson, Steen Grüner

    2015-01-01

    We probe the dynamics of objective laser speckles as the axial distance between the object and the observation plane changes. With the purpose of measuring out-of-plane motion in real time, we apply optical spatial filtering velocimetry to the speckle dynamics. To achieve this, a rotationally sym...

  14. Formation and suppression of acoustic memories during human sleep.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andrillon, Thomas; Pressnitzer, Daniel; Léger, Damien; Kouider, Sid

    2017-08-08

    Sleep and memory are deeply related, but the nature of the neuroplastic processes induced by sleep remains unclear. Here, we report that memory traces can be both formed or suppressed during sleep, depending on sleep phase. We played samples of acoustic noise to sleeping human listeners. Repeated exposure to a novel noise during Rapid Eye Movements (REM) or light non-REM (NREM) sleep leads to improvements in behavioral performance upon awakening. Strikingly, the same exposure during deep NREM sleep leads to impaired performance upon awakening. Electroencephalographic markers of learning extracted during sleep confirm a dissociation between sleep facilitating memory formation (light NREM and REM sleep) and sleep suppressing learning (deep NREM sleep). We can trace these neural changes back to transient sleep events, such as spindles for memory facilitation and slow waves for suppression. Thus, highly selective memory processes are active during human sleep, with intertwined episodes of facilitative and suppressive plasticity.Though memory and sleep are related, it is still unclear whether new memories can be formed during sleep. Here, authors show that people could learn new sounds during REM or light non-REM sleep, but that learning was suppressed when sounds were played during deep NREM sleep.

  15. Estudo da Mecânica Cardíaca pelo Speckle Tracking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Cristina Donadio Abduch

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Speckles, ou marcadores naturais do miocárdio, originam se da interferência construtiva e destrutiva do feixe de ultrassom que incide sobre os tecidos, podem fornecer um diagnóstico precoce das alterações miocárdicas e atuar na predição de certos eventos cardíacos. Devido à sua relativa estabilidade temporal, os speckles podem ser rastreados durante o ciclo cardíaco por software dedicados, promovendo a análise da função sistólica e diastólica. São identificados tanto pela escala de cinza da ecocardiografia 2D convencional quanto pela ecocardiografia 3D, sendo independentes do ângulo de incidência do ultrassom, permitindo assim a avaliação da mecânica cardíaca nos três planos espaciais: longitudinal, circunferencial e radial. O objetivo do presente artigo é discutir o papel e o significado da deformação cardíaca obtida por meio do speckle tracking durante a avaliação da fisiologia cardíaca, e discutir as aplicações clínicas desta tecnologia ecocardiográfica inovadora.

  16. Gradient-Type Magnetoelectric Current Sensor with Strong Multisource Noise Suppression

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-01-01

    A novel gradient-type magnetoelectric (ME) current sensor operating in magnetic field gradient (MFG) detection and conversion mode is developed based on a pair of ME composites that have a back-to-back capacitor configuration under a baseline separation and a magnetic biasing in an electrically-shielded and mechanically-enclosed housing. The physics behind the current sensing process is the product effect of the current-induced MFG effect associated with vortex magnetic fields of current-carrying cables (i.e., MFG detection) and the MFG-induced ME effect in the ME composite pair (i.e., MFG conversion). The sensor output voltage is directly obtained from the gradient ME voltage of the ME composite pair and is calibrated against cable current to give the current sensitivity. The current sensing performance of the sensor is evaluated, both theoretically and experimentally, under multisource noises of electric fields, magnetic fields, vibrations, and thermals. The sensor combines the merits of small nonlinearity in the current-induced MFG effect with those of high sensitivity and high common-mode noise rejection rate in the MFG-induced ME effect to achieve a high current sensitivity of 0.65–12.55 mV/A in the frequency range of 10 Hz–170 kHz, a small input-output nonlinearity of <500 ppm, a small thermal drift of <0.2%/℃ in the current range of 0–20 A, and a high common-mode noise rejection rate of 17–28 dB from multisource noises. PMID:29443920

  17. Development of principles of two-cascaded laser speckle-microscopy with implication to high-precision express diagnostics of chlamydial infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulianova, Onega; Moiseeva, Yulia; Filonova, Nadezhda; Subbotina, Irina; Zaitsev, Sergey; Saltykov, Yury; Polyanina, Tatiana; Lyapina, Anna; Ulyanov, Sergey; Larionova, Olga; Utz, Sergey; Feodorova, Valentina

    2018-04-01

    Principles of two-cascaded laser speckle-microscopy prospect for application to express diagnostics of chlamydial infection are developed. Prototype of two-cascaded speckle-microscope is designed and tested. Specific case of illumination of bacterial cells by dynamic speckles is considered. Express method of detection of epithelial cells, containing defects, which are caused by Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, is suggested. Results of improved recognition of C. trachomatis bacteria are discussed.

  18. [Speckle tracking--a new ultrasound tool for the assessment of fetal myocardial function].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willruth, A; Geipel, A; Merz, W; Gembruch, U

    2012-06-01

    Speckle tracking is a new ultrasound tool to assess 2D ventricular global and segmental myocardial velocity and deformation (strain, strain rate). Multiple factors such as fetal motion, high heart rates, low blood pressure, small size of the heart, physiological cardiac translation, filling and maturational changes of myocardium, polyhydramnion, maternal obesity and aortic pulsation can degrade the image quality and result in artifacts and measurement errors which may have an impact on the final analysis. Therefore deformation indices such as strain and strain rate offer a quantitative technique for the estimation of global and segmental myocardial function and contractility. At present longitudinal peak systolic strain is the most commonly applied deformation parameter used to analyse segmental and global myocardial contractility in adults. When obtained using Doppler methods, these measurements are angle dependent, whereas speckle tracking techniques overcome the limitations of Doppler echocardiography which is a particular advantage in foetal echocardiography. Nevertheless, the time and training necessary to acquire high-quality video clips limit the implementation of speckle tracking into clinical routine. It is not yet clear whether this new technique will identify subclinical myocardial impairment earlier than with current techniques or allow for better discrimination between healthy fetuses and fetuses with congenital heart disease. The clinical use of speckle tracking will have to be demonstrated in larger groups of complicated pregnancies. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  19. Sensitivity evaluation of dynamic speckle activity measurements using clustering methods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Etchepareborda, Pablo; Federico, Alejandro; Kaufmann, Guillermo H.

    2010-01-01

    We evaluate and compare the use of competitive neural networks, self-organizing maps, the expectation-maximization algorithm, K-means, and fuzzy C-means techniques as partitional clustering methods, when the sensitivity of the activity measurement of dynamic speckle images needs to be improved. The temporal history of the acquired intensity generated by each pixel is analyzed in a wavelet decomposition framework, and it is shown that the mean energy of its corresponding wavelet coefficients provides a suited feature space for clustering purposes. The sensitivity obtained by using the evaluated clustering techniques is also compared with the well-known methods of Konishi-Fujii, weighted generalized differences, and wavelet entropy. The performance of the partitional clustering approach is evaluated using simulated dynamic speckle patterns and also experimental data.

  20. Measurement of deformation field in CT specimen using laser speckle

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeon, Moon Chang; Kang, Ki Ju

    2001-01-01

    To obtain A 2 experimentally in the J-A 2 theory, deformation field on the lateral surface of a CT specimen was to be determined using laser speckle method. The crack growth was measured using direct current potential drop method and most procedure of experimental and data reduction was performed according to ASTM Standard E1737-96. Laser speckle images during crack propagation were monitored by two CCD cameras to cancel the effect of rotation and translation of the specimen. An algorithm to pursue displacement of a point from each image was developed and successfully used to measure A 2 continuously as the crack tip was propagated. The effects of specimen thickness on J-R curve and A 2 were explored

  1. Application of laser speckle to randomized numerical linear algebra

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valley, George C.; Shaw, Thomas J.; Stapleton, Andrew D.; Scofield, Adam C.; Sefler, George A.; Johannson, Leif

    2018-02-01

    We propose and simulate integrated optical devices for accelerating numerical linear algebra (NLA) calculations. Data is modulated on chirped optical pulses and these propagate through a multimode waveguide where speckle provides the random projections needed for NLA dimensionality reduction.

  2. Patient-reported speech in noise difficulties and hyperacusis symptoms and correlation with test results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spyridakou, Chrysa; Luxon, Linda M; Bamiou, Doris E

    2012-07-01

    To compare self-reported symptoms of difficulty hearing speech in noise and hyperacusis in adults with auditory processing disorders (APDs) and normal controls; and to compare self-reported symptoms to objective test results (speech in babble test, transient evoked otoacoustic emission [TEOAE] suppression test using contralateral noise). A prospective case-control pilot study. Twenty-two participants were recruited in the study: 10 patients with reported hearing difficulty, normal audiometry, and a clinical diagnosis of APD; and 12 normal age-matched controls with no reported hearing difficulty. All participants completed the validated Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability questionnaire, a hyperacusis questionnaire, a speech in babble test, and a TEOAE suppression test using contralateral noise. Patients had significantly worse scores than controls in all domains of the Amsterdam Inventory questionnaire (with the exception of sound detection) and the hyperacusis questionnaire (P reported symptoms of difficulty hearing speech in noise and speech in babble test results in the right ear (ρ = 0.624, P = .002), and between self-reported symptoms of hyperacusis and TEOAE suppression test results in the right ear (ρ = -0.597 P = .003). There was no significant correlation between the two tests. A strong correlation was observed between right ear speech in babble and patient-reported intelligibility of speech in noise, and right ear TEOAE suppression by contralateral noise and hyperacusis questionnaire. Copyright © 2012 The American Laryngological, Rhinological, and Otological Society, Inc.

  3. Effects of random noise in a dynamical model of love

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Xu Yong, E-mail: hsux3@nwpu.edu.cn [Department of Applied Mathematics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi' an 710072 (China); Gu Rencai; Zhang Huiqing [Department of Applied Mathematics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi' an 710072 (China)

    2011-07-15

    Highlights: > We model the complexity and unpredictability of psychology as Gaussian white noise. > The stochastic system of love is considered including bifurcation and chaos. > We show that noise can both suppress and induce chaos in dynamical models of love. - Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the stochastic model of love and the effects of random noise. We first revisit the deterministic model of love and some basic properties are presented such as: symmetry, dissipation, fixed points (equilibrium), chaotic behaviors and chaotic attractors. Then we construct a stochastic love-triangle model with parametric random excitation due to the complexity and unpredictability of the psychological system, where the randomness is modeled as the standard Gaussian noise. Stochastic dynamics under different three cases of 'Romeo's romantic style', are examined and two kinds of bifurcations versus the noise intensity parameter are observed by the criteria of changes of top Lyapunov exponent and shape of stationary probability density function (PDF) respectively. The phase portraits and time history are carried out to verify the proposed results, and the good agreement can be found. And also the dual roles of the random noise, namely suppressing and inducing chaos are revealed.

  4. Effects of random noise in a dynamical model of love

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Yong; Gu Rencai; Zhang Huiqing

    2011-01-01

    Highlights: → We model the complexity and unpredictability of psychology as Gaussian white noise. → The stochastic system of love is considered including bifurcation and chaos. → We show that noise can both suppress and induce chaos in dynamical models of love. - Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the stochastic model of love and the effects of random noise. We first revisit the deterministic model of love and some basic properties are presented such as: symmetry, dissipation, fixed points (equilibrium), chaotic behaviors and chaotic attractors. Then we construct a stochastic love-triangle model with parametric random excitation due to the complexity and unpredictability of the psychological system, where the randomness is modeled as the standard Gaussian noise. Stochastic dynamics under different three cases of 'Romeo's romantic style', are examined and two kinds of bifurcations versus the noise intensity parameter are observed by the criteria of changes of top Lyapunov exponent and shape of stationary probability density function (PDF) respectively. The phase portraits and time history are carried out to verify the proposed results, and the good agreement can be found. And also the dual roles of the random noise, namely suppressing and inducing chaos are revealed.

  5. Statistics on gene-based laser speckles with a small number of scatterers: implications for the detection of polymorphism in the Chlamydia trachomatis omp1 gene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulyanov, Sergey S.; Ulianova, Onega V.; Zaytsev, Sergey S.; Saltykov, Yury V.; Feodorova, Valentina A.

    2018-04-01

    The transformation mechanism for a nucleotide sequence of the Chlamydia trachomatis gene into a speckle pattern has been considered. The first and second-order statistics of gene-based speckles have been analyzed. It has been demonstrated that gene-based speckles do not obey Gaussian statistics and belong to the class of speckles with a small number of scatterers. It has been shown that gene polymorphism can be easily detected through analysis of the statistical characteristics of gene-based speckles.

  6. 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...

  7. Advanced supersonic propulsion study. [with emphasis on noise level reduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabatella, J. A. (Editor)

    1974-01-01

    A study was conducted to determine the promising propulsion systems for advanced supersonic transport application, and to identify the critical propulsion technology requirements. It is shown that noise constraints have a major effect on the selection of the various engine types and cycle parameters. Several promising advanced propulsion systems were identified which show the potential of achieving lower levels of sideline jet noise than the first generation supersonic transport systems. The non-afterburning turbojet engine, utilizing a very high level of jet suppression, shows the potential to achieve FAR 36 noise level. The duct-heating turbofan with a low level of jet suppression is the most attractive engine for noise levels from FAR 36 to FAR 36 minus 5 EPNdb, and some series/parallel variable cycle engines show the potential of achieving noise levels down to FAR 36 minus 10 EPNdb with moderate additional penalty. The study also shows that an advanced supersonic commercial transport would benefit appreciably from advanced propulsion technology. The critical propulsion technology needed for a viable supersonic propulsion system, and the required specific propulsion technology programs are outlined.

  8. Demonstration of a Speckle Based Sensing with Pulse-Doppler Radar for Vibration Detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nisan Ozana

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available In previous works, an optical technique for extraction and separation of remote static vibrations has been demonstrated. In this paper, we will describe an approach in which RF speckle movement is used to extract remote vibrations of a static target. The use of conventional radar Doppler methods is not suitable for detecting vibrations of static targets. In addition, the speckle method has an important advantage, in that it is able to detect vibrations at far greater distances than what is normally detected in classical optical methods. The experiment described in this paper was done using a motorized vehicle, which engine was turned on and off. The results showed that the system was able to distinguish between the different engine states, and in addition, was able to determine the vibration frequency of the engine. The first step towards real time detection of human vital signs using RF speckle patterns is presented.

  9. Potential of the McMath-Pierce 1.6-Meter Solar Telescope for Speckle Interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harshaw, Richard; Jones, Gregory; Wiley, Edward; Boyce, Patrick; Branston, Detrick; Rowe, David; Genet, Russell

    2015-09-01

    We explored the aiming and tracking accuracy of the McMath-Pierce 1.6 m solar telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory as part of an investigation of using this telescope for speckle interferometry of close visual double stars. Several slews of various lengths looked for hysteresis in the positioning system (we found none of significance) and concluded that the 1.6 m telescope would make a useful telescope for speckle interferometry.

  10. The ISWI chromatin remodeler organizes the hsrω ncRNA-containing omega speckle nuclear compartments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria C Onorati

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The complexity in composition and function of the eukaryotic nucleus is achieved through its organization in specialized nuclear compartments. The Drosophila chromatin remodeling ATPase ISWI plays evolutionarily conserved roles in chromatin organization. Interestingly, ISWI genetically interacts with the hsrω gene, encoding multiple non-coding RNAs (ncRNA essential, among other functions, for the assembly and organization of the omega speckles. The nucleoplasmic omega speckles play important functions in RNA metabolism, in normal and stressed cells, by regulating availability of hnRNPs and some other RNA processing proteins. Chromatin remodelers, as well as nuclear speckles and their associated ncRNAs, are emerging as important components of gene regulatory networks, although their functional connections have remained poorly defined. Here we provide multiple lines of evidence showing that the hsrω ncRNA interacts in vivo and in vitro with ISWI, regulating its ATPase activity. Remarkably, we found that the organization of nucleoplasmic omega speckles depends on ISWI function. Our findings highlight a novel role for chromatin remodelers in organization of nucleoplasmic compartments, providing the first example of interaction between an ATP-dependent chromatin remodeler and a large ncRNA.

  11. In-situ measurement of the strain distribution in a tensile specimen by using a digital speckle pattern interferometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Seung-Kyu; Baik, Sung-Hoon; Cha, Hyung-Ki; Kim, Young-Suk; Cheong, Yong-Moo

    2010-01-01

    Less sensitivity to environmental vibrations is essential for industrial applications of a digital speckle pattern interferometer (DSPI) to measure micro deformations. In this paper, a robust DSPI using single fringe to mechanical vibrations is designed for measuring the strain distribution of a tensile specimen. This system adopts a noise-immune signal processing algorithm to acquire a 3D strain distribution image. To acquire an accurate strain distribution for a tensile-specimen, locally-averaged and directionally-oriented filters operating in the frequency domain are used. This system uses a path-independent least-squares phase-unwrapping algorithm to acquire the 3D shape of the strain distribution. As for the initial experiments to measure the strain distribution of a tensile specimen in a vibration field, this system demonstrated a feasibility for industrial applications by providing reliable strain data.

  12. Laser speckle technique to study the effect of chemical pre-treatment on the quality of minimally processed apples

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minz, Preeti D; Nirala, A K

    2016-01-01

    In the present study, the laser speckle technique has been used for the quality evaluation of chemically treated cut apples. Chemical pre-treatment includes 1% (w/v) solution of citric acid (CA), sodium chloride (SC), and a combination of CA and sodium chloride (CS). The variation in weight loss, respiration rate, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and absorbance of chemically treated cut apples stored at 5 °C was monitored for 11 d. The speckle grain size was calculated by an autocovariance method from the speckled images of freshly cut chemically treated apples. The effect of chemicals on TSS and the TA content variation of the cut apples were well correlated to the linear speckle grain size. Circular degree of polarization confirms the presence of a small scatterer and hence Rayleigh diffusion region. For all the treated cut apples, a decrease in the concentration of small particles nearly after the mid-period of storage results in the fast decay of circular degree of polarization. For non-invasive and fast analysis of the chemical constituent of fruits during minimal processing, the laser speckle can be practically used in the food industry. (paper)

  13. Laser speckle technique to study the effect of chemical pre-treatment on the quality of minimally processed apples

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minz, Preeti D.; Nirala, A. K.

    2016-04-01

    In the present study, the laser speckle technique has been used for the quality evaluation of chemically treated cut apples. Chemical pre-treatment includes 1% (w/v) solution of citric acid (CA), sodium chloride (SC), and a combination of CA and sodium chloride (CS). The variation in weight loss, respiration rate, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), and absorbance of chemically treated cut apples stored at 5 °C was monitored for 11 d. The speckle grain size was calculated by an autocovariance method from the speckled images of freshly cut chemically treated apples. The effect of chemicals on TSS and the TA content variation of the cut apples were well correlated to the linear speckle grain size. Circular degree of polarization confirms the presence of a small scatterer and hence Rayleigh diffusion region. For all the treated cut apples, a decrease in the concentration of small particles nearly after the mid-period of storage results in the fast decay of circular degree of polarization. For non-invasive and fast analysis of the chemical constituent of fruits during minimal processing, the laser speckle can be practically used in the food industry.

  14. Estudio de técnicas speckle opto-digitales

    OpenAIRE

    Henao Henao, Rodrigo de Jesús

    1997-01-01

    El presente Trabajo de Tesis se dirigió a la investigación, creación, desarrollo e implementación de técnicas que hacen uso del speckle y de su correlación digital, siendo su representante mas exitoso el DPSI. Doctor en Física(Facultad de Ciencias Exactas)

  15. Speckle contrast diffuse correlation tomography of complex turbid medium flow

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Huang, Chong; Irwin, Daniel; Lin, Yu; Shang, Yu; He, Lian; Kong, Weikai; Yu, Guoqiang [Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506 (United States); Luo, Jia [Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky 40506 (United States)

    2015-07-15

    Purpose: Developed herein is a three-dimensional (3D) flow contrast imaging system leveraging advancements in the extension of laser speckle contrast imaging theories to deep tissues along with our recently developed finite-element diffuse correlation tomography (DCT) reconstruction scheme. This technique, termed speckle contrast diffuse correlation tomography (scDCT), enables incorporation of complex optical property heterogeneities and sample boundaries. When combined with a reflectance-based design, this system facilitates a rapid segue into flow contrast imaging of larger, in vivo applications such as humans. Methods: A highly sensitive CCD camera was integrated into a reflectance-based optical system. Four long-coherence laser source positions were coupled to an optical switch for sequencing of tomographic data acquisition providing multiple projections through the sample. This system was investigated through incorporation of liquid and solid tissue-like phantoms exhibiting optical properties and flow characteristics typical of human tissues. Computer simulations were also performed for comparisons. A uniquely encountered smear correction algorithm was employed to correct point-source illumination contributions during image capture with the frame-transfer CCD and reflectance setup. Results: Measurements with scDCT on a homogeneous liquid phantom showed that speckle contrast-based deep flow indices were within 12% of those from standard DCT. Inclusion of a solid phantom submerged below the liquid phantom surface allowed for heterogeneity detection and validation. The heterogeneity was identified successfully by reconstructed 3D flow contrast tomography with scDCT. The heterogeneity center and dimensions and averaged relative flow (within 3%) and localization were in agreement with actuality and computer simulations, respectively. Conclusions: A custom cost-effective CCD-based reflectance 3D flow imaging system demonstrated rapid acquisition of dense boundary

  16. Close Binary Star Speckle Interferometry on the McMath-Pierce 0.8-Meter Solar Telescope

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wiley, Edward; Harshaw, Richard; Jones, Gregory; Branston, Detrick; Boyce, Patrick; Rowe, David; Ridgely, John; Estrada, Reed; Genet, Russell

    2015-09-01

    Observations were made in April 2014 to assess the utility of the 0.8-meter solar telescope at the McMath-Pierce Solar Observatory at Kitt Peak National Observatory for performing speckle interferometry observations of close binary stars. Several configurations using science cameras, acquisition cameras, eyepieces, and flip mirrors were evaluated. Speckle images were obtained and recommendations for further improvement of the acquisition system are presented.

  17. Feedback to Suppress Phase Noise at Aladdin

    CERN Document Server

    Bosch, Robert A; Kleman, Kevin J

    2005-01-01

    The performance of the Aladdin infrared beamline is adversely affected by a Robinson mode in which all bunches move in unison with a frequency of 3 kHz. To decrease these oscillations, feedback has been installed in the radiofrequency system to damp longitudinal motion of the bunch centroids. Simulations indicate that at frequencies around 3 kHz, the phase noise generated by Robinson modes may be reduced 20 dB by feedback with a damping time of 0.3 ms. This agrees with the measured performance of feedback circuitry. Since the feedback greatly improves operation of the infrared beamline, it is now incorporated into the standard operation of Aladdin.

  18. Dynamic laser speckle to detect motile bacterial response of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sendra, H; Murialdo, S; Passoni, L

    2007-01-01

    This proposal deals with the technique for detection of motile response of Pseudomonas aeruginosa using dynamic laser speckle or biospeckle as an alternative method. The study of bacterial displacement plays an essential role in biocatalysts processes and biodegradation. Hence, some biodegrading enzymes are benign catalytic that could be used for the production of industrially useful compounds as well as in wastewater treatments. This work presents an experimental set up and a computational process using frame sequences of dynamic laser speckle as a novel application. The objective was the detection of different levels of motility in bacteria. The encouraging results were achieved through a direct and non invasive observation method of the phenomenon

  19. Speckle-illuminated fluorescence confocal microscopy, using a digital micro-mirror device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jiang, Shi-Hong; Walker, John G

    2009-01-01

    An implementation of a speckle-illuminated fluorescence confocal microscope using a digital micro-mirror device (DMD) is described. The DMD not only projects a sequence of imaged binary speckle patterns onto the specimen at a very high frame rate but also operates as a spatial light modulator to perform real-time optical data processing. Frame averaging is accomplished by CCD charge accumulation during a single exposure. The recorded time-averaged image is a confocal image plus an unwanted non-confocal image which can be removed by recording a separate image. Experimental results with image acquisition within a fraction of a second are shown. Images of a thin biological sample are also shown to demonstrate practical application of the technique

  20. Polarization speckles and generalized Stokes vector wave: a review [invited

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Takeda, Mitsuo; Wang, Wei; Hanson, Steen Grüner

    2010-01-01

    We review some of the statistical properties of polarization-related speckle phenomena, with an introduction of a less known concept of polarization speckles and their spatial degree of polarization. As a useful means to characterize twopoint vector field correlations, we review the generalized...... Stokes parameters proposed by Korotkova and Wolf, and introduce its time-domain representation to describe the space-time evolution of the correlation between random electric vector fields at two different space-time points. This time-domain generalized Stokes vector, with components similar to those...... of the beam coherence polarization matrix proposed by Gori, is shown to obey the wave equation in exact analogy to a coherence function of scalar fields. Because of this wave nature, the time-domain generalized Stokes vector is referred to as generalized Stokes vector wave in this paper....

  1. An optical sensor for local strain measuring of an object by means of a speckle correlation method

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Horváth, P.; Šmíd, Petr; Hrabovský, M.; Hamarová, Ivana

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 106, s3 (2012), s. 425-427 ISSN 0009-2770 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR KAN301370701 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : non-contact measurement * strain * speckle * speckle correlation Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 0.453, year: 2012

  2. Effects of contralateral noise on the 20-Hz auditory steady state response--magnetoencephalography study.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hajime Usubuchi

    Full Text Available The auditory steady state response (ASSR is an oscillatory brain response, which is phase locked to the rhythm of an auditory stimulus. ASSRs have been recorded in response to a wide frequency range of modulation and/or repetition, but the physiological features of the ASSRs are somewhat different depending on the modulation frequency. Recently, the 20-Hz ASSR has been emphasized in clinical examinations, especially in the area of psychiatry. However, little is known about the physiological properties of the 20-Hz ASSR, compared to those of the 40-Hz and 80-Hz ASSRs. The effects of contralateral noise on the ASSR are known to depend on the modulation frequency to evoke ASSR. However, the effects of contralateral noise on the 20-Hz ASSR are not known. Here we assessed the effects of contralateral white noise at a level of 70 dB SPL on the 20-Hz and 40-Hz ASSRs using a helmet-shaped magnetoencephalography system in 9 healthy volunteers (8 males and 1 female, mean age 31.2 years. The ASSRs were elicited by monaural 1000-Hz 5-s tone bursts amplitude-modulated at 20 and 39 Hz and presented at 80 dB SPL. Contralateral noise caused significant suppression of both the 20-Hz and 40-Hz ASSRs, although suppression was significantly smaller for the 20-Hz ASSRs than the 40-Hz ASSRs. Moreover, the greatest suppression of both 20-Hz and 40-Hz ASSRs occurred in the right hemisphere when stimuli were presented to the right ear with contralateral noise. The present study newly showed that 20-Hz ASSRs are suppressed by contralateral noise, which may be important both for characterization of the 20-Hz ASSR and for interpretation in clinical situations. Physicians must be aware that the 20-Hz ASSR is significantly suppressed by sound (e.g. masking noise or binaural stimulation applied to the contralateral ear.

  3. Quantitative, depth-resolved determination of particle motion using multi-exposure, spatial frequency domain laser speckle imaging.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rice, Tyler B; Kwan, Elliott; Hayakawa, Carole K; Durkin, Anthony J; Choi, Bernard; Tromberg, Bruce J

    2013-01-01

    Laser Speckle Imaging (LSI) is a simple, noninvasive technique for rapid imaging of particle motion in scattering media such as biological tissue. LSI is generally used to derive a qualitative index of relative blood flow due to unknown impact from several variables that affect speckle contrast. These variables may include optical absorption and scattering coefficients, multi-layer dynamics including static, non-ergodic regions, and systematic effects such as laser coherence length. In order to account for these effects and move toward quantitative, depth-resolved LSI, we have developed a method that combines Monte Carlo modeling, multi-exposure speckle imaging (MESI), spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI), and careful instrument calibration. Monte Carlo models were used to generate total and layer-specific fractional momentum transfer distributions. This information was used to predict speckle contrast as a function of exposure time, spatial frequency, layer thickness, and layer dynamics. To verify with experimental data, controlled phantom experiments with characteristic tissue optical properties were performed using a structured light speckle imaging system. Three main geometries were explored: 1) diffusive dynamic layer beneath a static layer, 2) static layer beneath a diffuse dynamic layer, and 3) directed flow (tube) submerged in a dynamic scattering layer. Data fits were performed using the Monte Carlo model, which accurately reconstructed the type of particle flow (diffusive or directed) in each layer, the layer thickness, and absolute flow speeds to within 15% or better.

  4. Elastic modulus measurements of LDEF glasses and glass-ceramics using a speckle technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiedlocher, D.E.; Kinser, D.L.

    1992-01-01

    Elastic moduli of five glass types and the glass-ceramic Zerodur, exposed to a near-earth orbit environment on the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF), were compared to that of unexposed samples. A double exposure speckle photography technique utilizing 633 nm laser light was used in the production of the speckle pattern. Subsequent illumination of a double exposed negative using the same wavelength radiation produces Young's fringes from which the in-plane displacements are measured. Stresses imposed by compressive loading produced measurable strains in the glasses and glass-ceramic

  5. Adaptive photodetectors for vibration monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sokolov, I.A.

    2003-01-01

    We present characteristics of laser vibrometer using semiconductor GaAs and molecular SnS 2 adaptive photodetectors (AP) based on the effect of the non-steady-state photoelectromotive force. AP enable efficient direct conversion of high-frequency phase modulation of speckle-like optical wave reflected from the vibrating object into an output electrical signal with concomitant setting of optimal operation point of the interferometer and suppression of amplitude laser noise. The sensitivity of the setup is analyzed and further improvements in operation of AP are discussed

  6. Measurement of elasto-plastic deformations by speckle interferometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bova, Marco; Bruno, Luigi; Poggialini, Andrea

    2010-09-01

    In the paper the authors present an experimental equipment for elasto-plastic characterization of engineering materials by tensile tests. The stress state is imposed to a dog bone shaped specimen by a testing machine fixed on the optical table and designed for optimizing the performance of a speckle interferometer. All three displacement components are measured by a portable speckle interferometer fed by three laser diodes of 50 mW, by which the deformations of a surface of about 6×8 mm2 can be fully analyzed in details. All the equipment is driven by control electronics designed and realized on purpose, by which it is possible to accurately modify the intensity of the illumination sources, the position of a PZT actuator necessary for applying phase-shifting procedure, and the overall displacement applied to the specimen. The experiments were carried out in National Instrument LabVIEW environment, while the processing of the experimental data in Wolfram Mathematica environment. The paper reports the results of the elasto-plastic characterization of a high strength steel specimen.

  7. Retrieval of reflections from ambient noise using illumination diagnosis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vidal, C. Almagro; Draganov, D.; van der Neut, J.; Drijkoningen, G.; Wapenaar, K.

    2014-09-01

    Seismic interferometry (SI) enables the retrieval of virtual sources at the location of receivers. In the case of passive SI, no active sources are used for the retrieval of the reflection response of the subsurface, but ambient-noise recordings only. The resulting retrieved response is determined by the illumination characteristics of the recorded ambient noise. Characteristics like geometrical distribution and signature of the noise sources, together with the complexity of the medium and the length of the noise records, determine the quality of the retrieved virtual-shot events. To retrieve body wave reflections, one needs to correlate body-wave noise. A source of such noise might be regional seismicity. In regions with notable human presence, the dominant noise sources are generally located at or close to the surface. In the latter case, the noise will be dominated by surface waves and consequently also the retrieved virtual common-source panels will contain dominant retrieved surface waves, drowning out possible retrieved reflections. In order to retrieve reflection events, suppression of the surface waves becomes the most important pre-processing goal. Because of the reasons mentioned above, we propose a fast method to evaluate the illumination characteristics of ambient noise using the correlation results from ambient-noise records. The method is based on the analysis of the so-called source function of the retrieved virtual-shot panel, and evaluates the apparent slowness of arrivals in the correlation results that pass through the position of the virtual source and at zero time. The results of the diagnosis are used to suppress the retrieval of surface waves and therefore to improve the quality of the retrieved reflection response. We explain the approach using modelled data from transient and continuous noise sources and an example from a passive field data set recorded at Annerveen, Northern Netherlands.

  8. Enhancement of SAR images using fuzzy shrinkage technique

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    This paper presents speckle noise reduction in SAR images using a combination of curvelet and fuzzy logic technique to restore speckle-affected images. This method overcomes the limitation of discontinuity in hard threshold and permanent deviation in soft threshold. First, it decomposes noise image into different ...

  9. Colour Terms Affect Detection of Colour and Colour-Associated Objects Suppressed from Visual Awareness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forder, Lewis; Taylor, Olivia; Mankin, Helen; Scott, Ryan B.; Franklin, Anna

    2016-01-01

    The idea that language can affect how we see the world continues to create controversy. A potentially important study in this field has shown that when an object is suppressed from visual awareness using continuous flash suppression (a form of binocular rivalry), detection of the object is differently affected by a preceding word prime depending on whether the prime matches or does not match the object. This may suggest that language can affect early stages of vision. We replicated this paradigm and further investigated whether colour terms likewise influence the detection of colours or colour-associated object images suppressed from visual awareness by continuous flash suppression. This method presents rapidly changing visual noise to one eye while the target stimulus is presented to the other. It has been shown to delay conscious perception of a target for up to several minutes. In Experiment 1 we presented greyscale photos of objects. They were either preceded by a congruent object label, an incongruent label, or white noise. Detection sensitivity (d’) and hit rates were significantly poorer for suppressed objects preceded by an incongruent label compared to a congruent label or noise. In Experiment 2, targets were coloured discs preceded by a colour term. Detection sensitivity was significantly worse for suppressed colour patches preceded by an incongruent colour term as compared to a congruent term or white noise. In Experiment 3 targets were suppressed greyscale object images preceded by an auditory presentation of a colour term. On congruent trials the colour term matched the object’s stereotypical colour and on incongruent trials the colour term mismatched. Detection sensitivity was significantly poorer on incongruent trials than congruent trials. Overall, these findings suggest that colour terms affect awareness of coloured stimuli and colour- associated objects, and provide new evidence for language-perception interaction in the brain. PMID:27023274

  10. Colour Terms Affect Detection of Colour and Colour-Associated Objects Suppressed from Visual Awareness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forder, Lewis; Taylor, Olivia; Mankin, Helen; Scott, Ryan B; Franklin, Anna

    2016-01-01

    The idea that language can affect how we see the world continues to create controversy. A potentially important study in this field has shown that when an object is suppressed from visual awareness using continuous flash suppression (a form of binocular rivalry), detection of the object is differently affected by a preceding word prime depending on whether the prime matches or does not match the object. This may suggest that language can affect early stages of vision. We replicated this paradigm and further investigated whether colour terms likewise influence the detection of colours or colour-associated object images suppressed from visual awareness by continuous flash suppression. This method presents rapidly changing visual noise to one eye while the target stimulus is presented to the other. It has been shown to delay conscious perception of a target for up to several minutes. In Experiment 1 we presented greyscale photos of objects. They were either preceded by a congruent object label, an incongruent label, or white noise. Detection sensitivity (d') and hit rates were significantly poorer for suppressed objects preceded by an incongruent label compared to a congruent label or noise. In Experiment 2, targets were coloured discs preceded by a colour term. Detection sensitivity was significantly worse for suppressed colour patches preceded by an incongruent colour term as compared to a congruent term or white noise. In Experiment 3 targets were suppressed greyscale object images preceded by an auditory presentation of a colour term. On congruent trials the colour term matched the object's stereotypical colour and on incongruent trials the colour term mismatched. Detection sensitivity was significantly poorer on incongruent trials than congruent trials. Overall, these findings suggest that colour terms affect awareness of coloured stimuli and colour- associated objects, and provide new evidence for language-perception interaction in the brain.

  11. Colour Terms Affect Detection of Colour and Colour-Associated Objects Suppressed from Visual Awareness.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lewis Forder

    Full Text Available The idea that language can affect how we see the world continues to create controversy. A potentially important study in this field has shown that when an object is suppressed from visual awareness using continuous flash suppression (a form of binocular rivalry, detection of the object is differently affected by a preceding word prime depending on whether the prime matches or does not match the object. This may suggest that language can affect early stages of vision. We replicated this paradigm and further investigated whether colour terms likewise influence the detection of colours or colour-associated object images suppressed from visual awareness by continuous flash suppression. This method presents rapidly changing visual noise to one eye while the target stimulus is presented to the other. It has been shown to delay conscious perception of a target for up to several minutes. In Experiment 1 we presented greyscale photos of objects. They were either preceded by a congruent object label, an incongruent label, or white noise. Detection sensitivity (d' and hit rates were significantly poorer for suppressed objects preceded by an incongruent label compared to a congruent label or noise. In Experiment 2, targets were coloured discs preceded by a colour term. Detection sensitivity was significantly worse for suppressed colour patches preceded by an incongruent colour term as compared to a congruent term or white noise. In Experiment 3 targets were suppressed greyscale object images preceded by an auditory presentation of a colour term. On congruent trials the colour term matched the object's stereotypical colour and on incongruent trials the colour term mismatched. Detection sensitivity was significantly poorer on incongruent trials than congruent trials. Overall, these findings suggest that colour terms affect awareness of coloured stimuli and colour- associated objects, and provide new evidence for language-perception interaction in the brain.

  12. Speckle evolution with multiple steps of least-squares phase removal

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Chen, M

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available vortex density and scintillation index. Statistical results show that almost all the optical vortices can be removed from a speckle field, which finally decays into a quasiplane wave after such an iterative process....

  13. Origin and Reduction of 1 /f Magnetic Flux Noise in Superconducting Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, P.; Sendelbach, S.; Beck, M. A.; Freeland, J. W.; Wang, Zhe; Wang, Hui; Yu, Clare C.; Wu, R. Q.; Pappas, D. P.; McDermott, R.

    2016-10-01

    Magnetic flux noise is a dominant source of dephasing and energy relaxation in superconducting qubits. The noise power spectral density varies with frequency as 1 /fα, with α ≲1 , and spans 13 orders of magnitude. Recent work indicates that the noise is from unpaired magnetic defects on the surfaces of the superconducting devices. Here, we demonstrate that adsorbed molecular O2 is the dominant contributor to magnetism in superconducting thin films. We show that this magnetism can be reduced by appropriate surface treatment or improvement in the sample vacuum environment. We observe a suppression of static spin susceptibility by more than an order of magnitude and a suppression of 1 /f magnetic flux noise power spectral density of up to a factor of 5. These advances open the door to the realization of superconducting qubits with improved quantum coherence.

  14. Waveguide generated mitigation of speckle and scintillation on an actively illuminated target

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moore, Trevor D.; Raynor, Robert A.; Spencer, Mark F.; Schmidt, Jason D.

    2016-09-01

    Active illumination is often used when passive illumination cannot produce enough signal intensity to be a reliable imaging method. However, an increase in signal intensity is often achieved by using highly coherent laser sources, which produce undesirable effects such as speckle and scintillation. The deleterious effects of speckle and scintillation are often so immense that the imaging camera cannot receive intelligible data, thereby rendering the active illumination technique useless. By reducing the spatial coherence of the laser beam that is actively illuminating the object, it is possible to reduce the corruption of the received data caused by speckle and scintillation. The waveguide method discussed in this paper reduces spatial coherence through multiple total internal reflections, which create multiple virtual sources of diverse path lengths. The differing path lengths between the virtual sources and the target allow for the temporal coherence properties of the laser to be translated into spatial coherence properties. The resulting partial spatial coherence helps to mitigate the self-interference of the beam as it travels through the atmosphere and reflects off of optically rough targets. This mitigation method results in a cleaner, intelligible image that may be further processed for the intended use, unlike its unmitigated counterpart. Previous research has been done to independently reduce speckle or scintillation by way of spatial incoherence, but there has been no focus on modeling the waveguide, specifically the image plane the waveguide creates. Utilizing a ray-tracing method we can determine the coherence length of the source necessary to create incoherent spots in the image plane, as well as accurately modeling the image plane.

  15. Analysis and removing noise from speech using wavelet transform

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tomala, Karel; Voznak, Miroslav; Partila, Pavol; Rezac, Filip; Safarik, Jakub

    2013-05-01

    The paper discusses the use of Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and Stationary Wavelet Transform (SWT) wavelet in removing noise from voice samples and evaluation of its impact on speech quality. One significant part of Quality of Service (QoS) in communication technology is the speech quality assessment. However, this part is seriously overlooked as telecommunication providers often focus on increasing network capacity, expansion of services offered and their enforcement in the market. Among the fundamental factors affecting the transmission properties of the communication chain is noise, either at the transmitter or the receiver side. A wavelet transform (WT) is a modern tool for signal processing. One of the most significant areas in which wavelet transforms are used is applications designed to suppress noise in signals. To remove noise from the voice sample in our experiment, we used the reference segment of the voice which was distorted by Gaussian white noise. An evaluation of the impact on speech quality was carried out by an intrusive objective algorithm Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality (PESQ). DWT and SWT transformation was applied to voice samples that were devalued by Gaussian white noise. Afterwards, we determined the effectiveness of DWT and SWT by means of objective algorithm PESQ. The decisive criterion for determining the quality of a voice sample once the noise had been removed was Mean Opinion Score (MOS) which we obtained in PESQ. The contribution of this work lies in the evaluation of efficiency of wavelet transformation to suppress noise in voice samples.

  16. Impact of transducer frequency setting on speckle tracking measures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Flemming Javier; Svendsen, Jesper Hastrup; Køber, Lars

    2018-01-01

    .5/3.0 MHz. The images were obtained immediately after each other at the exact same position for the two settings. Speckle tracking was performed in three apical projections, allowing for acquisition of layered global longitudinal strain (GLS) and strain rate measures. Concordance between the frequency...

  17. Speckle-tracking echocardiography for predicting outcome in chronic aortic regurgitation during conservative management and after surgery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Olsen, Niels Thue; Søgaard, Peter; Larsson, Henrik B W

    2011-01-01

    Objectives The aim of this study was to test myocardial deformation imaging using speckle-tracking echocardiography for predicting outcomes in chronic aortic regurgitation. Background In chronic aortic regurgitation, left ventricular (LV) dysfunction must be detected early to allow timely surgery....... Speckle-tracking echocardiography has been proposed for this purpose, but the clinical value of this method in aortic regurgitation has not been established. Methods A longitudinal study was performed in 64 patients with moderate to severe aortic regurgitation. Thirty-five patients were managed...... conservatively with frequent clinical visits and sequential echocardiography and followed for an average of 19 ± 8 months, while 29 patients underwent surgery for the valve lesion and were followed for 6 months post-operatively. Baseline LV function by speckle-tracking and conventional echocardiography...

  18. Coherence and Polarization of Polarization Speckle Generated by Depolarizers and Their Changes through Complex ABCD Matrix

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ma, Ning; Hanson, Steen Grüner; Lee, Tim K.

    2015-01-01

    Recent research work on speckle patterns indicates a variation of the polarization state during propagation and its nonuniformly spatial distribution. The preliminary step for the investigation of this polarization speckle is the generation of the corresponding field. In this paper, a kind...... of special depolarizer: the random roughness birefringent screen (RRBS) is introduced to meet this requirement. The statistical properties of the field generated by the depolarizer is investigated and illustrated in terms of the 2x2 beam coherence and polarization matrix (BCPM) with the corresponding degree...... of coherence (DoC). and degree of polarization (DoP) P. The changes of the coherence and polarization when the speckle field propagates through any optical system are analysed within the framework of the complex ABCD-matrix theory....

  19. A method of background noise cancellation for SQUID applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    He, D F; Yoshizawa, M

    2003-01-01

    When superconducting quantum inference devices (SQUIDs) operate in low-cost shielding or unshielded environments, the environmental background noise should be reduced to increase the signal-to-noise ratio. In this paper we present a background noise cancellation method based on a spectral subtraction algorithm. We first measure the background noise and estimate the noise spectrum using fast Fourier transform (FFT), then we subtract the spectrum of background noise from that of the observed noisy signal and the signal can be reconstructed by inverse FFT of the subtracted spectrum. With this method, the background noise, especially stationary inferences, can be suppressed well and the signal-to-noise ratio can be increased. Using high-T C radio-frequency SQUID gradiometer and magnetometer, we have measured the magnetic field produced by a watch, which was placed 35 cm under a SQUID. After noise cancellation, the signal-to-noise ratio could be greatly increased. We also used this method to eliminate the vibration noise of a cryocooler SQUID

  20. Algorithmic processing of intrinsic signals in affixed transmission speckle analysis (ATSA) (Conference Presentation)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghijsen, Michael T.; Tromberg, Bruce J.

    2017-03-01

    Affixed Transmission Speckle Analysis (ATSA) is a method recently developed to measure blood flow that is based on laser speckle imaging miniaturized into a clip-on form factor the size of a pulse-oximeter. Measuring at a rate of 250 Hz, ATSA is capable or obtaining the cardiac waveform in blood flow data, referred to as the Speckle-Plethysmogram (SPG). ATSA is also capable of simultaneously measuring the Photoplethysmogram (PPG), a more conventional signal related to light intensity. In this work we present several novel algorithms for extracting physiologically relevant information from the combined SPG-PPG waveform data. First we show that there is a slight time-delay between the SPG and PPG that can be extracted computationally. Second, we present a set of frequency domain algorithms that measure harmonic content on pulse-by-pulse basis for both the SPG and PPG. Finally, we apply these algorithms to data obtained from a set of subjects including healthy controls and individuals with heightened cardiovascular risk. We hypothesize that the time-delay and frequency content are correlated with cardiovascular health; specifically with vascular stiffening.

  1. DEPENDENCE OF THE SPECKLE-PATTERNS SIZE AND THEIR CONTRAST ON THE BIOPHYSICAL AND STRUCTURAL PARAMETERS OF BIOLOGICAL TISSUES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. D. Abramovich

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Speckle fields are widely used in optical diagnostics of biotissues and evaluation of the functional state of bioobjects. The speckle field is formed by laser radiation scattered from the object under study. It bears information about the average dimensions of the scatterers, the degree of surface roughness makes it possible to judge the structural and biophysical characteristics of individual tissue cells (particles, on the one hand, and the integral optical characteristics of the entire biological tissue. The aim of the study was – the determination of connections between the biophysical and structural characteristics of the biotissue and the light fields inside the biotissues.The model developed of the medium gives a direct relationship between the optical and biophysical parameters of the biotissue. Calculations were carried out using known solutions of the radiation transfer equation, taking into account the multilayer structure of the tissue, multiple scattering in the medium, and multiple reflection of irradiation between the layers.With the increase wavelength, the size of speckles formed by the non-scattered component (direct light of laser radiation increases by a factor of 2 from 400 to 800 μm in the stratum corneum and 5 times from 0.6 to 3 μm for the epidermis and from 0.27 to 1.4 μm to the dermis. Typical values of sizes of speckles formed by the diffraction component of laser radiation for the stratum corneum and epidermis range from 0.02 to 0.15 μm. For the dermis typical spot sizes are up to 0.03 μm. The speckle-spot size of the diffusion component in the dermis can vary from ±10 % at 400 nm and up to ±23 % for 800 nm when the volume concentration of blood capillaries changes. Characteristic dependencies are obtained and biophysical factors associated with the volume concentration of blood and the degree of it’s oxygenation that affect the contrast of the speckle structure in the dermis are discussed.The of speckles

  2. Changes in speckle patterns induced by load application onto an optical fiber and its possible application for sensing purpose

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasegawa, Makoto; Okumura, Jyun-ya; Hyuga, Akio

    2015-08-01

    Speckle patterns to be observed in an output light spot from an optical fiber are known to be changed due to external disturbances applied onto the optical fiber. In order to investigate possibilities of utilizing such changes in speckle patterns for sensing application, a certain load was applied onto a jacket-covered communication-grade multi-mode glass optical fiber through which laser beams emitted from a laser diode were propagating, and observed changes in speckle patterns in the output light spot from the optical fiber were investigated both as image data via a CCD camera and as an output voltage from a photovoltaic panel irradiated with the output light spot. The load was applied via a load application mechanism in which several ridges were provided onto opposite flat plates and a certain number of weights were placed there so that corrugated bending of the optical fiber was intentionally induced via load application due to the ridges. The obtained results showed that the number of speckles in the observed pattern in the output light spot as well as the output voltage from the photovoltaic panel irradiated with the output light spot showed decreases upon load application with relatively satisfactory repeatability. When the load was reduced, i.e., the weights were removed, the number of speckles then showed recovery. These results indicate there is a certain possibility of utilizing changes in speckle patterns for sensing of load application onto the optical fiber.

  3. Using phase information to enhance speckle noise reduction in the ultrasonic NDE of coarse grain materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lardner, Timothy; Gachagan, Anthony [Centre for Ultrasonic Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, G1 1XW (United Kingdom); Li, Minghui [School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ (United Kingdom)

    2014-02-18

    Materials with a coarse grain structure are becoming increasingly prevalent in industry due to their resilience to stress and corrosion. These materials are difficult to inspect with ultrasound because reflections from the grains lead to high noise levels which hinder the echoes of interest. Spatially Averaged Sub-Aperture Correlation Imaging (SASACI) is an advanced array beamforming technique that uses the cross-correlation between images from array sub-apertures to generate an image weighting matrix, in order to reduce noise levels. This paper presents a method inspired by SASACI to further improve imaging using phase information to refine focusing and reduce noise. A-scans from adjacent array elements are cross-correlated using both signal amplitude and phase to refine delay laws and minimize phase aberration. The phase-based and amplitude-based corrected images are used as inputs to a two-dimensional cross-correlation algorithm that will output a weighting matrix that can be applied to any conventional image. This approach was validated experimentally using a 5MHz array a coarse grained Inconel 625 step wedge, and compared to the Total Focusing Method (TFM). Initial results have seen SNR improvements of over 20dB compared to TFM, and a resolution that is much higher.

  4. Using phase information to enhance speckle noise reduction in the ultrasonic NDE of coarse grain materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lardner, Timothy; Li, Minghui; Gachagan, Anthony

    2014-02-01

    Materials with a coarse grain structure are becoming increasingly prevalent in industry due to their resilience to stress and corrosion. These materials are difficult to inspect with ultrasound because reflections from the grains lead to high noise levels which hinder the echoes of interest. Spatially Averaged Sub-Aperture Correlation Imaging (SASACI) is an advanced array beamforming technique that uses the cross-correlation between images from array sub-apertures to generate an image weighting matrix, in order to reduce noise levels. This paper presents a method inspired by SASACI to further improve imaging using phase information to refine focusing and reduce noise. A-scans from adjacent array elements are cross-correlated using both signal amplitude and phase to refine delay laws and minimize phase aberration. The phase-based and amplitude-based corrected images are used as inputs to a two-dimensional cross-correlation algorithm that will output a weighting matrix that can be applied to any conventional image. This approach was validated experimentally using a 5MHz array a coarse grained Inconel 625 step wedge, and compared to the Total Focusing Method (TFM). Initial results have seen SNR improvements of over 20dB compared to TFM, and a resolution that is much higher.

  5. Statistical model for OCT image denoising

    KAUST Repository

    Li, Muxingzi

    2017-08-01

    Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive technique with a large array of applications in clinical imaging and biological tissue visualization. However, the presence of speckle noise affects the analysis of OCT images and their diagnostic utility. In this article, we introduce a new OCT denoising algorithm. The proposed method is founded on a numerical optimization framework based on maximum-a-posteriori estimate of the noise-free OCT image. It combines a novel speckle noise model, derived from local statistics of empirical spectral domain OCT (SD-OCT) data, with a Huber variant of total variation regularization for edge preservation. The proposed approach exhibits satisfying results in terms of speckle noise reduction as well as edge preservation, at reduced computational cost.

  6. Classical, Semi-classical and Quantum Noise

    CERN Document Server

    Poor, H; Scully, Marlan

    2012-01-01

    David Middleton was a towering figure of 20th Century engineering and science and one of the founders of statistical communication theory. During the second World War, the young David Middleton, working with Van Fleck, devised the notion of the matched filter, which is the most basic method used for detecting signals in noise. Over the intervening six decades, the contributions of Middleton have become classics. This collection of essays by leading scientists, engineers and colleagues of David are in his honor and reflect the wide  influence that he has had on many fields. Also included is the introduction by Middleton to his forthcoming book, which gives a wonderful view of the field of communication, its history and his own views on the field that he developed over the past 60 years. Focusing on classical noise modeling and applications, Classical, Semi-Classical and Quantum Noise includes coverage of statistical communication theory, non-stationary noise, molecular footprints, noise suppression, Quantum e...

  7. Comparison of muzzle suppression and ear-level hearing protection in firearm use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Branch, Matthew Parker

    2011-06-01

    To compare noise reduction of commercially available ear-level hearing protection (muffs/inserts) to that of firearm muzzle suppressors. Experimental sound measurements under consistent environmental conditions. None. Muzzle suppressors for 2 pistol and 2 rifle calibers were tested using the Bruel & Kjaer 2209 sound meter and Bruel & Kjaer 4136 microphone calibrated with the Bruel & Kjaer Pistonphone using Military-Standard 1474D placement protocol. Five shots were recorded unsuppressed and 10 shots suppressed under consistent environmental conditions. Sound reduction was then compared with the real-world noise reduction rate of the best available ear-level protectors. All suppressors offered significantly greater noise reduction than ear-level protection, usually greater than 50% better. Noise reduction of all ear-level protectors is unable to reduce the impulse pressure below 140 dB for certain common firearms, an international standard for prevention of sensorineural hearing loss. Modern muzzle-level suppression is vastly superior to ear-level protection and the only available form of suppression capable of making certain sporting arms safe for hearing. The inadequacy of standard hearing protectors with certain common firearms is not recognized by most hearing professionals or their patients and should affect the way hearing professionals counsel patients and the public.

  8. Giant Suppression of the Activation Rate in Dynamical Systems Exhibiting Chaotic Transitions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gac, J. M.; Xafebrowski, J. J.

    2008-05-01

    The phenomenon of giant suppression of activation, when two or more correlated noise signals act on the system, was found a few years ago in dynamical bistable or metastable systems. When the correlation between these noise signals is strong enough and the amplitudes of the noise are chosen correctly --- the life time of the metastable state may be longer than in the case of the application of only a single noise even by many orders of magnitude. In this paper, we investigate similar phenomena in systems exhibiting several chaotic transitions: Pomeau--Manneville intermittency, boundary crisis and interior crisis induced intermittency. Our goal is to show that, in these systems the application of two noise components with the proper choice of the parameters in the case of intermittency can also lengthen the mean laminar phase length or, in the case of boundary crisis, lengthen the time the trajectory spends on the pre-crisis attractor. In systems with crisis induced intermittency, we introduce a new phenomenon we called quasi-deterministic giant suppression of activation in which the lengthening of the laminar phase lengths is caused not by the action of two correlated noise signals but by a single noise term which is correlated with one of the chaotic variables of the system.

  9. Reduction of environmental MHz noise for SQUID application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Araya, T. [Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531 (Japan)]. E-mail: araya@sup.ee.es.osaka-u.ac.jp; Kitamura, Y. [Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531 (Japan); Kamishiro, M. [Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531 (Japan); Sakuta, K. [Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531 (Japan); Itozaki, H. [Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, 1-3 Machikaneyama, Toyonaka, Osaka 560-8531 (Japan)]. E-mail: itozaki@ee.es.osaka-u.ac.jp

    2006-10-01

    It is important to remove large environmental noise in measurement using SQUIDs without magnetic shielding. Active noise control (ANC) is an effective method to remove the environmental noise. The environmental noise has been reduced by the ANC system in the radio frequency region around MHz. The anti-phase waves of the environmental noise should be generated by this system. The ANC system including the phase and amplitude control circuit was developed to make the anti-phase waves in the MHz region. In this paper, sinusoidal waves with a MHz frequency were used as the environmental noise. When a coil antenna was used for a receiver antenna, this ANC system suppressed these sinusoidal waves to the white noise level about 40 dB. When we used a SQUID as a receiver antenna, we also cancelled sinusoidal waves to the white noise level by this system. This shows that the ANC system is useful to reduce an environmental noise when this ANC system is developed to cancel multi-frequency noise.

  10. Reduction of environmental MHz noise for SQUID application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araya, T.; Kitamura, Y.; Kamishiro, M.; Sakuta, K.; Itozaki, H.

    2006-01-01

    It is important to remove large environmental noise in measurement using SQUIDs without magnetic shielding. Active noise control (ANC) is an effective method to remove the environmental noise. The environmental noise has been reduced by the ANC system in the radio frequency region around MHz. The anti-phase waves of the environmental noise should be generated by this system. The ANC system including the phase and amplitude control circuit was developed to make the anti-phase waves in the MHz region. In this paper, sinusoidal waves with a MHz frequency were used as the environmental noise. When a coil antenna was used for a receiver antenna, this ANC system suppressed these sinusoidal waves to the white noise level about 40 dB. When we used a SQUID as a receiver antenna, we also cancelled sinusoidal waves to the white noise level by this system. This shows that the ANC system is useful to reduce an environmental noise when this ANC system is developed to cancel multi-frequency noise

  11. Fractional optical cryptographic protocol for data containers in a noise-free multiuser environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jaramillo, Alexis; Barrera, John Fredy; Zea, Alejandro Vélez; Torroba, Roberto

    2018-03-01

    Optical encryption systems have great potential for flexible and high-performance data protection, making them an area of rapid development. However, most approaches present two main issues, namely, the presence of speckle noise, and the degree of security they offer. Here we introduce an experimental implementation of an optical encrypting protocol that tackles these issues by taking advantage of recent developments in the field. These developments include the introduction of information containers for noise free information retrieval, the use of multiplexing to allow for a multiple user environment and an architecture based on the Joint fractional Fourier transform that allows increased degrees of freedom and simplifies the experimental requirements. Thus, data handling via QR code containers involving multiple users processed in a fractional joint transform correlator produce coded information with increased security and ease of use. In this way, we can guarantee that only the user with the correct combination of encryption key and security parameters can achieve noise free information after deciphering. We analyze the performance of the system when the order of the fractional Fourier transform is changed during decryption. We show experimental results that confirm the validity of our proposal.

  12. Noise-driven diamagnetic susceptibility of impurity doped quantum dots: Role of anisotropy, position-dependent effective mass and position-dependent dielectric screening function

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bera, Aindrila; Saha, Surajit; Ganguly, Jayanta; Ghosh, Manas

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Diamagnetic susceptibility (DMS) of doped quantum dot is studied. • The dot is subjected to Gaussian white noise. • Role of anisotropy, PDEM and PDDSF have been analyzed. • Noise amplifies and suppresses DMS depending on particular condition. • Findings bear significant technological importance. - Abstract: We explore Diamagnetic susceptibility (DMS) of impurity doped quantum dot (QD) in presence of Gaussian white noise introduced to the system additively and multiplicatively. In view of this profiles of DMS have been pursued with variations of geometrical anisotropy and dopant location. We have invoked position-dependent effective mass (PDEM) and position-dependent dielectric screening function (PDDSF) of the system. Presence of noise sometimes suppresses and sometimes amplifies DMS from that of noise-free condition and the extent of suppression/amplification depends on mode of application of noise. It is important to mention that the said suppression/amplification exhibits subtle dependence on use of PDEM, PDDSF and geometrical anisotropy. The study reveals that DMS, or more fundamentally, the effective confinement of LDSS, can be tuned by appropriate mingling of geometrical anisotropy/effective mass/dielectric constant of the system with noise and also on the pathway of application of latter.

  13. Noise reduction in optically controlled quantum memory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Lijun; Slattery, Oliver; Tang, Xiao

    2018-05-01

    Quantum memory is an essential tool for quantum communications systems and quantum computers. An important category of quantum memory, called optically controlled quantum memory, uses a strong classical beam to control the storage and re-emission of a single-photon signal through an atomic ensemble. In this type of memory, the residual light from the strong classical control beam can cause severe noise and degrade the system performance significantly. Efficiently suppressing this noise is a requirement for the successful implementation of optically controlled quantum memories. In this paper, we briefly introduce the latest and most common approaches to quantum memory and review the various noise-reduction techniques used in implementing them.

  14. Becoming-Speckled Warbler: Re/Creating Australian Natural History Pedagogy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Alistair

    2011-01-01

    The speckled warbler and other woodland birds of south-eastern Australia have declined dramatically since European settlement; many species are at risk of becoming locally and/or nationally extinct. Coincidently, Australian environmental education research of the last decade has largely been silent on the development of pedagogy that reflects the…

  15. Application of speckle decorrelation method for small translation measurements

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Horváth, Pavel; Hrabovský, Miroslav; Šmíd, Petr

    2004-01-01

    Roč. 34, č. 2 (2004), s. 203-218 ISSN 0078-5466 R&D Projects: GA MŠk LN00A015 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z1010921 Keywords : speckle * decorrelation * in-plane and normal translation Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 0.308, year: 2004

  16. Real-time three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography: technical aspects and clinical applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sorrentino R

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Regina Sorrentino, Roberta Esposito, Enrica Pezzullo, Maurizio Galderisi Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Interdepartmental Laboratory of Cardiac Imaging, Federico II University Hospital, Naples, Italy Abstract: Three-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography (3D STE is a novel technique for the quantification of cardiac deformation based on tracking of ultrasonic speckles in gray scale full-volume 3D images. Developments in ultrasound technologies have made 3D speckle tracking widely available. Two-dimensional echocardiography has intrinsic limitations regarding estimation of left ventricular (LV volumes, ejection fraction, and LV mechanics, due to its inherent foreshortening errors and dependency on geometric models. The development of 3D echocardiography has improved reproducibility and accuracy. Data regarding the feasibility, accuracy, and clinical applications of 3D STE are rapidly assembling. From the tracking results, 3D STE derives several parameters, including longitudinal, circumferential and radial strain, as well as a combined assessment of longitudinal and circumferential strain, termed area strain. 3D STE can also quantify LV rotational movements such as rotation, twist, and torsion. 3D STE provides a better insight on global and regional myocardial deformation. Main applications include detection of subclinical myocardial involvement in heart failure, arterial hypertension, dyssynchrony, and ischemic heart disease. Emerging areas of application include a large spectrum of heart-involving systemic conditions, such as prediction of rejection in heart transplant patients, early detection of cardiotoxicity in patients receiving chemotherapy for cancer, and deeper physiological understanding of LV contraction mechanics in different types of athletes. Aim of this review is to discuss background, technical acquisition and processing aspects as well as recognized and developing clinical applications of this emerging

  17. Detection of white spot lesions by segmenting laser speckle images using computer vision methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gavinho, Luciano G; Araujo, Sidnei A; Bussadori, Sandra K; Silva, João V P; Deana, Alessandro M

    2018-05-05

    This paper aims to develop a method for laser speckle image segmentation of tooth surfaces for diagnosis of early stages caries. The method, applied directly to a raw image obtained by digital photography, is based on the difference between the speckle pattern of a carious lesion tooth surface area and that of a sound area. Each image is divided into blocks which are identified in a working matrix by their χ 2 distance between block histograms of the analyzed image and the reference histograms previously obtained by K-means from healthy (h_Sound) and lesioned (h_Decay) areas, separately. If the χ 2 distance between a block histogram and h_Sound is greater than the distance to h_Decay, this block is marked as decayed. The experiments showed that the method can provide effective segmentation for initial lesions. We used 64 images to test the algorithm and we achieved 100% accuracy in segmentation. Differences between the speckle pattern of a sound tooth surface region and a carious region, even in the early stage, can be evidenced by the χ 2 distance between histograms. This method proves to be more effective for segmenting the laser speckle image, which enhances the contrast between sound and lesioned tissues. The results were obtained with low computational cost. The method has the potential for early diagnosis in a clinical environment, through the development of low-cost portable equipment.

  18. Pseudo-stokes vector from complex signal representation of a speckle pattern and its applications to micro-displacement measurement

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, W.; Ishijima, R.; Matsuda, A.

    2010-01-01

    As an improvement of the intensity correlation used widely in conventional electronic speckle photography, we propose a new technique for displacement measurement based on correlating Stokes-like parameters derivatives for transformed speckle patterns. The method is based on a Riesz transform of ...... are presented that demonstrate the validity and advantage of the proposed pseudo-Stokes vector correlation technique over conventional intensity correlation technique....... of the intensity speckle pattern, which converts the original real-valued signal into a complex signal. In closest analogy to the polarisation of a vector wave, the Stokes-like vector constructed from the spatial derivative of the generated complex signal has been applied for correlation. Experimental results...

  19. Body size evolution in insular speckled rattlesnakes (Viperidae: Crotalus mitchellii.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesse M Meik

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Speckled rattlesnakes (Crotalus mitchellii inhabit multiple islands off the coast of Baja California, Mexico. Two of the 14 known insular populations have been recognized as subspecies based primarily on body size divergence from putative mainland ancestral populations; however, a survey of body size variation from other islands occupied by these snakes has not been previously reported. We examined body size variation between island and mainland speckled rattlesnakes, and the relationship between body size and various island physical variables among 12 island populations. We also examined relative head size among giant, dwarfed, and mainland speckled rattlesnakes to determine whether allometric differences conformed to predictions of gape size (and indirectly body size evolving in response to shifts in prey size.Insular speckled rattlesnakes show considerable variation in body size when compared to mainland source subspecies. In addition to previously known instances of gigantism on Angel de la Guarda and dwarfism on El Muerto, various degrees of body size decrease have occurred frequently in this taxon, with dwarfed rattlesnakes occurring mostly on small, recently isolated, land-bridge islands. Regression models using the Akaike information criterion (AIC showed that mean SVL of insular populations was most strongly correlated with island area, suggesting the influence of selection for different body size optima for islands of different size. Allometric differences in head size of giant and dwarf rattlesnakes revealed patterns consistent with shifts to larger and smaller prey, respectively.Our data provide the first example of a clear relationship between body size and island area in a squamate reptile species; among vertebrates this pattern has been previously documented in few insular mammals. This finding suggests that selection for body size is influenced by changes in community dynamics that are related to graded differences in area over

  20. Updating working memory in aircraft noise and speech noise causes different fMRI activations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saetrevik, Bjørn; Sörqvist, Patrik

    2015-02-01

    The present study used fMRI/BOLD neuroimaging to investigate how visual-verbal working memory is updated when exposed to three different background-noise conditions: speech noise, aircraft noise and silence. The number-updating task that was used can distinguish between "substitution processes," which involve adding new items to the working memory representation and suppressing old items, and "exclusion processes," which involve rejecting new items and maintaining an intact memory set. The current findings supported the findings of a previous study by showing that substitution activated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, the posterior medial frontal cortex and the parietal lobes, whereas exclusion activated the anterior medial frontal cortex. Moreover, the prefrontal cortex was activated more by substitution processes when exposed to background speech than when exposed to aircraft noise. These results indicate that (a) the prefrontal cortex plays a special role when task-irrelevant materials should be denied access to working memory and (b) that, when compensating for different types of noise, either different cognitive mechanisms are involved or those cognitive mechanisms that are involved are involved to different degrees. © 2014 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology published by Scandinavian Psychological Associations and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Spatial Behaviour of Singularities in Fractal- and Gaussian Speckle Fields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Angelsky, Oleg V.; Maksimyak, Alexander P.; Maksimyak, Peter P.

    2009-01-01

    Peculiarities of the spatial behaviour of the dislocation lines resulting from scattering of coherent radiation from random and fractal rough surfaces are studied. The technique of optical correlation is proposed for diagnostics of phase singularities in a complex speckle field by comparing...

  2. Intensity dependent waiting time for strong electron trapping events in speckle stimulated raman scatter

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rose, Harvey [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Daughton, W [Los Alamos National Laboratory; Yin, L [Los Alamos National Laboratory

    2009-01-01

    The onset of Stimulated Raman scatter from an intense laser speckle is the simplest experimentally realizable laser-plasma-interaction environment. Despite this data and recent 3D particle simulations, the controlling mechanism at the onset of backscatter in the kinetic regime when strong electron trapping in the daughter Langmuir wave is a dominant nonlinearity is not understood. This paper explores the consequences of assuming that onset is controlled by large thermal fluctuations. A super exponential dependence of mean reflectivity on speckle intensity in the onset regime is predicted.

  3. Adaptive cancellation of geomagnetic background noise for magnetic anomaly detection using coherence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Dunge; Xu, Xin; Huang, Chao; Zhu, Wanhua; Liu, Xiaojun; Fang, Guangyou; Yu, Gang

    2015-01-01

    Magnetic anomaly detection (MAD) is an effective method for the detection of ferromagnetic targets against background magnetic fields. Currently, the performance of MAD systems is mainly limited by the background geomagnetic noise. Several techniques have been developed to detect target signatures, such as the synchronous reference subtraction (SRS) method. In this paper, we propose an adaptive coherent noise suppression (ACNS) method. The proposed method is capable of evaluating and detecting weak anomaly signals buried in background geomagnetic noise. Tests with real-world recorded magnetic signals show that the ACNS method can excellently remove the background geomagnetic noise by about 21 dB or more in high background geomagnetic field environments. Additionally, as a general form of the SRS method, the ACNS method offers appreciable advantages over the existing algorithms. Compared to the SRS method, the ACNS algorithm can eliminate the false target signals and represents a noise suppressing capability improvement of 6.4 dB. The positive outcomes in terms of intelligibility make this method a potential candidate for application in MAD systems. (paper)

  4. Optical characterization of display screens by speckle patterns

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pozo, Antonio M.; Castro, José J.; Rubiño, Manuel

    2013-10-01

    In recent years, flat-panel display (FPD) technology has undergone great development, and now FPDs appear in many devices. A significant element in FPD manufacturing is the display front surface. Manufacturers sell FPDs with different types of front surfaces, which can be matte (also called anti-glare) or glossy screens. Users who prefer glossy screens consider these displays to show more vivid colors compared with matte-screen displays. However, on the glossy screens, external light sources may cause unpleasant reflections that can be reduced by a matte treatment in the front surface. In this work, we present a method to characterize FPD screens using laser-speckle patterns. We characterize three FPDs: a Samsung XL2370 LCD monitor of 23 in. with matte screen, a Toshiba Satellite A100 LCD laptop of 15.4 in. with glossy screen, and a Grammata Papyre 6.1 electronic book reader of 6 in. with ePaper screen (E-ink technology). The results show great differences in speckle-contrast values for the three screens characterized and, therefore, this work shows the feasibility of this method for characterizing and comparing FPDs that have different types of front surfaces.

  5. Speckle reduction for a laser light sectioning sensor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tutsch Rainer

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Automated optical inspection is an important test procedure in electronic circuits assembly. Frequently 3d information is required and laser light sectioning sensors are often applied. However, some effects complicate the reliable automatic detection of the shape of such assemblies and their components. The packages of electronic components often are made of black plastics or ceramics so that the intensity available for the optical detection is quite low, especially in comparison to the surface of the PCBs where the components are mounted on. In addition due to rough surfaces of the components and the coherence length of the laser light speckle structures arise. In the work presented here a piezo actuator is used to oscillate the illuminating laser lines along the direction of the lines. The aim is to reduce the visibility of the speckle structures by averaging while maintaining the geometrical shape of the lines. In addition, image processing methods like segmentation and skeletonization are used to allow the detection of the shape of components and assemblies also if materials with distinct differences in the reflectivity are involved. Investigations include the influence of the parameters amplitude and frequency of the piezo actuator.

  6. 10 Hz Amplitude Modulated Sounds Induce Short-Term Tinnitus Suppression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick Neff

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: Acoustic stimulation or sound therapy is proposed as a main treatment option for chronic subjective tinnitus. To further probe the field of acoustic stimulations for tinnitus therapy, this exploratory study compared 10 Hz amplitude modulated (AM sounds (two pure tones, noise, music, and frequency modulated (FM sounds and unmodulated sounds (pure tone, noise regarding their temporary suppression of tinnitus loudness. First, it was hypothesized that modulated sounds elicit larger temporary loudness suppression (residual inhibition than unmodulated sounds. Second, with manipulation of stimulus loudness and duration of the modulated sounds weaker or stronger effects of loudness suppression were expected, respectively.Methods: We recruited 29 participants with chronic tonal tinnitus from the multidisciplinary Tinnitus Clinic of the University of Regensburg. Participants underwent audiometric, psychometric and tinnitus pitch matching assessments followed by an acoustic stimulation experiment with a tinnitus loudness growth paradigm. In a first block participants were stimulated with all of the sounds for 3 min each and rated their subjective tinnitus loudness to the pre-stimulus loudness every 30 s after stimulus offset. The same procedure was deployed in the second block with the pure tone AM stimuli matched to the tinnitus frequency, manipulated in length (6 min, and loudness (reduced by 30 dB and linear fade out. Repeated measures mixed model analyses of variance (ANOVA were calculated to assess differences in loudness growth between the stimuli for each block separately.Results: First, we found that all sounds elicit a short-term suppression of tinnitus loudness (seconds to minutes with strongest suppression right after stimulus offset [F(6, 1331 = 3.74, p < 0.01]. Second, similar to previous findings we found that AM sounds near the tinnitus frequency produce significantly stronger tinnitus loudness suppression than noise [vs. Pink

  7. Silence is golden : keeping a lid on noise quiets opposition to oilpatch operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macedo, R.

    2006-01-01

    Record levels of drilling activity have led to denser well spacings that are often close to residential areas. Many oil and gas operators are now investing in noise suppression technology in order to suppress public concern over noise levels. This article reviewed some new silencing technologies available to the oil and gas industry. Issues concerning permissible sound levels for remote facilities were discussed. Silencing equipment details were presented for turbine exhaust engines, turbo inlet systems, reciprocating engines, and specialty silencers for ventilation systems. Issues concerning acoustical systems and retrofits for existing buildings were also examined. It was noted that a new muffler has been acoustically engineered to provide engine exhaust noise removal along with an internal acoustic treatment to eliminate radiated noise from the muffler shell. The loudest noise source at a compression station is often the engine exhaust of large reciprocating engines. Various computer programs are now available that analyze noise, create models to predict noise levels in decibels for nearby residents, and help to engineer noise control plans. It was concluded that many of the new sound-proofing technologies for the walls and roofs of buildings and enclosures were developed during the design of new compression units built by TransCanada Pipeline on main pipelines across Canada. 2 figs

  8. Speckle-based at-wavelength metrology of x-ray optics at Diamond Light Source

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hongchang; Zhou, Tunhe; Kashyap, Yogesh; Sawhney, Kawal

    2017-08-01

    To achieve high resolution and sensitivity on the nanometer scale, further development of X-ray optics is required. Although ex-situ metrology provides valuable information about X-ray optics, the ultimate performance of X-ray optics is critically dependent on the exact nature of the working conditions. Therefore, it is equally important to perform in-situ metrology at the optics' operating wavelength (`at-wavelength' metrology) to optimize the performance of X-ray optics and correct and minimize the collective distortions of the upstream beamline optics, e.g. monochromator, windows, etc. Speckle-based technique has been implemented and further improved at Diamond Light Source. We have demonstrated that the angular sensitivity for measuring the slope error of an optical surface can reach an accuracy of two nanoradians. The recent development of the speckle-based at-wavelength metrology techniques will be presented. Representative examples of the applications of the speckle-based technique will also be given - including optimization of X-ray mirrors and characterization of compound refraction lenses. Such a high-precision metrology technique will be extremely beneficial for the manufacture and in-situ alignment/optimization of X-ray mirrors for next-generation synchrotron beamlines.

  9. Color quality improvement of reconstructed images in color digital holography using speckle method and spectral estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Funamizu, Hideki; Onodera, Yusei; Aizu, Yoshihisa

    2018-05-01

    In this study, we report color quality improvement of reconstructed images in color digital holography using the speckle method and the spectral estimation. In this technique, an object is illuminated by a speckle field and then an object wave is produced, while a plane wave is used as a reference wave. For three wavelengths, the interference patterns of two coherent waves are recorded as digital holograms on an image sensor. Speckle fields are changed by moving a ground glass plate in an in-plane direction, and a number of holograms are acquired to average the reconstructed images. After the averaging process of images reconstructed from multiple holograms, we use the Wiener estimation method for obtaining spectral transmittance curves in reconstructed images. The color reproducibility in this method is demonstrated and evaluated using a Macbeth color chart film and staining cells of onion.

  10. Co-localisation studies of Arabidopsis SR splicing factors reveal different types of speckles in plant cell nuclei

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lorkovic, Zdravko J.; Hilscher, Julia; Barta, Andrea

    2008-01-01

    SR proteins are multidomain splicing factors which are important for spliceosome assembly and for regulation of alternative splicing. In mammalian nuclei these proteins localise to speckles from where they are recruited to transcription sites. By using fluorescent protein fusion technology and different experimental approaches it has been shown that Arabidopsis SR proteins, in addition to diffuse nucleoplasmic staining, localise into an irregular nucleoplasmic network resembling speckles in mammalian cells. As Arabidopsis SR proteins fall into seven conserved sub-families we investigated co-localisation of members of the different sub-families in transiently transformed tobacco protoplast. Here we demonstrate the new finding that members of different SR protein sub-families localise into distinct populations of nuclear speckles with no, partial or complete co-localisation. This is particularly interesting as we also show that these proteins do interact in a yeast two-hybrid assay as well as in pull-down and in co-immunopreciptiation assays. Our data raise the interesting possibility that SR proteins are partitioned into distinct populations of nuclear speckles to allow a more specific recruitment to the transcription/pre-mRNA processing sites of particular genes depending on cell type and developmental stage

  11. Evaluation of Subclinical Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction in Chronic Asymptomatic Alcoholics by Speckle Tracking Echocardiography

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murathan Kucuk

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available By using two-dimensional speckle tracking echocardiography, we aimed to investigate the structural and functional changes on myocardium in chronic asymptomatic alcoholics without any cardiovascular disease. Forty-one consecutive asymptomatic male alcoholics who were admitted to the outpatient alcoholism unit and 30 age matched healthy male volunteers selected as the control group were enrolled in the study. The study group were investigated by using standard two-dimensional echocardiography and speckle tracking echocardiography. The left ventricular (LV global longitudinal strain and LV global circumferential strain were significantly lower in alcoholics when compared with control subjects. There was no difference in global radial strain between the two groups. To demonstrate the effect of total life time dose of ethanol (TLDE on echocardiographic abnormalities, we assessed the correlation analysis. There was a nonsignificant weak correlation between global LV circumferential strain and TLDE (r=0.27, p=0.083. Speckle tracking echocardiography derived left ventricular systolic function was impaired in chronic alcoholic patients when compared with healthy controls.

  12. Background noise exerts diverse effects on the cortical encoding of foreground sounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malone, B J; Heiser, Marc A; Beitel, Ralph E; Schreiner, Christoph E

    2017-08-01

    In natural listening conditions, many sounds must be detected and identified in the context of competing sound sources, which function as background noise. Traditionally, noise is thought to degrade the cortical representation of sounds by suppressing responses and increasing response variability. However, recent studies of neural network models and brain slices have shown that background synaptic noise can improve the detection of signals. Because acoustic noise affects the synaptic background activity of cortical networks, it may improve the cortical responses to signals. We used spike train decoding techniques to determine the functional effects of a continuous white noise background on the responses of clusters of neurons in auditory cortex to foreground signals, specifically frequency-modulated sweeps (FMs) of different velocities, directions, and amplitudes. Whereas the addition of noise progressively suppressed the FM responses of some cortical sites in the core fields with decreasing signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs), the stimulus representation remained robust or was even significantly enhanced at specific SNRs in many others. Even though the background noise level was typically not explicitly encoded in cortical responses, significant information about noise context could be decoded from cortical responses on the basis of how the neural representation of the foreground sweeps was affected. These findings demonstrate significant diversity in signal in noise processing even within the core auditory fields that could support noise-robust hearing across a wide range of listening conditions. NEW & NOTEWORTHY The ability to detect and discriminate sounds in background noise is critical for our ability to communicate. The neural basis of robust perceptual performance in noise is not well understood. We identified neuronal populations in core auditory cortex of squirrel monkeys that differ in how they process foreground signals in background noise and that may

  13. Spiking cortical model based non-local means method for despeckling multiframe optical coherence tomography data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Yameng; Zhang, Xuming

    2017-05-01

    Optical coherence tomography (OCT) images are severely degraded by speckle noise. Existing methods for despeckling multiframe OCT data cannot deliver sufficient speckle suppression while preserving image details well. To address this problem, the spiking cortical model (SCM) based non-local means (NLM) method has been proposed in this letter. In the proposed method, the considered frame and two neighboring frames are input into three SCMs to generate the temporal series of pulse outputs. The normalized moment of inertia (NMI) of the considered patches in the pulse outputs is extracted to represent the rotational and scaling invariant features of the corresponding patches in each frame. The pixel similarity is computed based on the Euclidean distance between the NMI features and used as the weight. Each pixel in the considered frame is restored by the weighted averaging of all pixels in the pre-defined search window in the three frames. Experiments on the real multiframe OCT data of the pig eye demonstrate the advantage of the proposed method over the frame averaging method, the multiscale sparsity based tomographic denoising method, the wavelet-based method and the traditional NLM method in terms of visual inspection and objective metrics such as signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), equivalent number of looks (ENL) and cross-correlation (XCOR).

  14. Contralateral Suppression of DPOAEs in Mice after Ouabain Treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jieying Li

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Medial olivocochlear (MOC efferent feedback is suggested to protect the ear from acoustic injury and to increase its ability to discriminate sounds against a noisy background. We investigated whether type II spiral ganglion neurons participate in the contralateral suppression of the MOC reflex. The application of ouabain to the round window of the mouse cochlea selectively induced the apoptosis of the type I spiral ganglion neurons, left the peripherin-immunopositive type II spiral ganglion neurons intact, and did not affect outer hairs, as evidenced by the maintenance of the distorted product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs. With the ouabain treatment, the threshold of the auditory brainstem response increased significantly and the amplitude of wave I decreased significantly in the ouabain-treated ears, consistent with the loss of type I neurons. Contralateral suppression was measured as reduction in the amplitude of the 2f1−f2 DPOAEs when noise was presented to the opposite ear. Despite the loss of all the type I spiral ganglion neurons, virtually, the amplitude of the contralateral suppression was not significantly different from the control when the suppressor noise was delivered to the treated cochlea. These results are consistent with the type II spiral ganglion neurons providing the sensory input driving contralateral suppression of the MOC reflex.

  15. Cross correlation measurement of low frequency conductivity noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jain, Aditya Kumar; Nigudkar, Himanshu; Chakraborti, Himadri; Udupa, Aditi; Gupta, Kantimay Das

    2018-04-01

    In order to study the low frequency noise(1/f noise)an experimental technique based on cross correlation of two channels is presented. In this method the device under test (DUT)is connected to the two independently powered preamplifiers in parallel. The amplified signals from the two preamplifiers are fed to two channels of a digitizer. Subsequent data processing largelyeliminates the uncorrelated noise of the two channels. This method is tested for various commercial carbon/metal film resistors by measuring equilibrium thermal noise (4kBTR). The method is then modified to study the non-equilibrium low frequency noise of heterostructure samples using fiveprobe configuration. Five contact probes allow two parts of the sample to become two arms of a balanced bridge. This configuration helps in suppressing the effect of power supply fluctuations, bath temperature fluctuations and contact resistances.

  16. Superpositions of higher-order bessel beams and nondiffracting speckle fields

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Dudley, Angela L

    2009-08-01

    Full Text Available speckle fields. The paper reports on illuminating a ring slit aperture with light which has an azimuthal phase dependence, such that the field produced is a superposition of two higher-order Bessel beams. In the case that the phase dependence of the light...

  17. Evolution of the optical vortex density in phase corrected speckle fields

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Roux, FS

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available In an attempt to understand the process whereby the phase modulation due to atmospheric turbulance causes phase singularities (also called optical vortices), the authors investigated the effect of phase perturbations in speckle beams. They perturb...

  18. Speckle interferometry. Data acquisition and control for the SPID instrument.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altarac, S.; Tallon, M.; Thiebaut, E.; Foy, R.

    1998-08-01

    SPID (SPeckle Imaging by Deconvolution) is a new speckle camera currently under construction at CRAL-Observatoire de Lyon. Its high spectral resolution and high image restoration capabilities open new astrophysical programs. The instrument SPID is composed of four main optical modules which are fully automated and computer controlled by a software written in Tcl/Tk/Tix and C. This software provides an intelligent assistance to the user by choosing observational parameters as a function of atmospheric parameters, computed in real time, and the desired restored image quality. Data acquisition is made by a photon-counting detector (CP40). A VME-based computer under OS9 controls the detector and stocks the data. The intelligent system runs under Linux on a PC. A slave PC under DOS commands the motors. These 3 computers communicate through an Ethernet network. SPID can be considered as a precursor for VLT's (Very Large Telescope, four 8-meter telescopes currently built in Chile by European Southern Observatory) very high spatial resolution camera.

  19. A simulation analysis of an extension of one-dimensional speckle correlation method for detection of general in-plane translation

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hamarová, Ivana; Šmíd, Petr; Horváth, P.; Hrabovský, M.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 2014, č. 1 (2014), "704368-1"-"704368-12" ISSN 1537-744X R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-12301S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : one-dimensional speckle correlation * speckle * general In-plane translation Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers Impact factor: 1.219, year: 2013

  20. Noise Depression of Parasitic Capacitance for Frequency Detection of Micromechanical Bulk Disk Resonator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tang, Meng; Cagliani, Alberto; Escouflaire, Marie

    2010-01-01

    the frequency noise of the system. A capacitor cancellation circuit is used to subtract the parasitic capacitor. Measurements are conducted before and after the cancellation, and results show that after cancellation, the anti resonance is suppressed and the frequency noise is decreased, thus decreasing...

  1. What Do Contrast Threshold Equivalent Noise Studies Actually Measure? Noise vs. Nonlinearity in Different Masking Paradigms.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex S Baldwin

    Full Text Available The internal noise present in a linear system can be quantified by the equivalent noise method. By measuring the effect that applying external noise to the system's input has on its output one can estimate the variance of this internal noise. By applying this simple "linear amplifier" model to the human visual system, one can entirely explain an observer's detection performance by a combination of the internal noise variance and their efficiency relative to an ideal observer. Studies using this method rely on two crucial factors: firstly that the external noise in their stimuli behaves like the visual system's internal noise in the dimension of interest, and secondly that the assumptions underlying their model are correct (e.g. linearity. Here we explore the effects of these two factors while applying the equivalent noise method to investigate the contrast sensitivity function (CSF. We compare the results at 0.5 and 6 c/deg from the equivalent noise method against those we would expect based on pedestal masking data collected from the same observers. We find that the loss of sensitivity with increasing spatial frequency results from changes in the saturation constant of the gain control nonlinearity, and that this only masquerades as a change in internal noise under the equivalent noise method. Part of the effect we find can be attributed to the optical transfer function of the eye. The remainder can be explained by either changes in effective input gain, divisive suppression, or a combination of the two. Given these effects the efficiency of our observers approaches the ideal level. We show the importance of considering these factors in equivalent noise studies.

  2. Measurements of 427 Double Stars With Speckle Interferometry: The Winter/Spring 2017 Observing Program at Brilliant Sky Observatory, Part 1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harshaw, Richard

    2018-04-01

    In the winter and spring of 2017, an aggressive observing program of measuring close double stars with speckle interferometry and CCD imaging was undertaken at Brilliant Sky Observatory, my observing site in Cave Creek, Arizona. A total of 596 stars were observed, 8 of which were rejected for various reasons, leaving 588 pairs. Of these, 427 were observed and measured with speckle interferometry, while the remaining 161 were measured with a CCD. This paper reports the results of the observations of the 427 speckle cases. A separate paper in this issue will report the CCD measurements of the 161 other pairs.

  3. 3-color photometry of a sunspot using speckle masking techniques

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wiehr, E.; Sütterlin, P.

    1998-01-01

    A three-colour photometry is used to deduce the temperature of sunspot fine-structures. Using the Speckle-Masking method for image restoration, the resulting images (one per colour and burst) have a spatial resolution only limited by the telescope's aperture, i.e. 95km (blue), 145 km (red) and

  4. Speckle-based three-dimensional velocity measurement using spatial filtering velocimetry

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Iversen, Theis Faber Quist; Jakobsen, Michael Linde; Hanson, Steen Grüner

    2011-01-01

    pattern is formed in the observation plane of the imaging system due to reflection from an area of the object illuminated by a coherent light source. The speckle pattern translates in response to in-plane translation of the object, and the presence of an angular offset reference wave coinciding...

  5. Reduction of Non-stationary Noise using a Non-negative Latent Variable Decomposition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schmidt, Mikkel Nørgaard; Larsen, Jan

    2008-01-01

    We present a method for suppression of non-stationary noise in single channel recordings of speech. The method is based on a non-negative latent variable decomposition model for the speech and noise signals, learned directly from a noisy mixture. In non-speech regions an over complete basis...... is learned for the noise that is then used to jointly estimate the speech and the noise from the mixture. We compare the method to the classical spectral subtraction approach, where the noise spectrum is estimated as the average over non-speech frames. The proposed method significantly outperforms...

  6. Development of an optimized algorithm for the characterization of microflow using speckle patterns present in optical coherence tomography signal; Desenvolvimento de um algoritimo otimizado para caracterizacao de fluxos microfluidicos utilizando padroes de speckle presentes no sinal de tomografia por coerencia optica

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pretto, Lucas Ramos de

    2015-07-01

    This work discusses the Optical Coherence Tomography system (OCT) and its application to the microfluidics area. To this end, physical characterization of microfluidic circuits were performed using 3D (three-dimensional) models constructed from OCT images of such circuits. The technique was thus evaluated as a potential tool to aid in the inspection of microchannels. Going further, this work paper studies and develops analytical techniques for microfluidic flow, in particular techniques based on speckle pattern. In the first instance, existing methods were studied and improved, such as Speckle Variance - OCT, where a gain of 31% was obtained in processing time. Other methods, such as LASCA (Laser Speckle Contrast Analysis), based on speckle autocorrelation, are adapted to OCT images. Derived from LASCA, the developed analysis technique based on intensity autocorrelation motivated the development of a custom OCT system as well as an optimized acquisition software, with a sampling rate of 8 kHz. The proposed method was, then, able to distinguish different flow rates, and limits of detection were tested, proving its feasibility for implementation on Brownian motion analysis and flow rates below 10 μl/min. (author)

  7. Colored noise and memory effects on formal spiking neuron models

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, L. A.; Vilela, R. D.

    2015-06-01

    Simplified neuronal models capture the essence of the electrical activity of a generic neuron, besides being more interesting from the computational point of view when compared to higher-dimensional models such as the Hodgkin-Huxley one. In this work, we propose a generalized resonate-and-fire model described by a generalized Langevin equation that takes into account memory effects and colored noise. We perform a comprehensive numerical analysis to study the dynamics and the point process statistics of the proposed model, highlighting interesting new features such as (i) nonmonotonic behavior (emergence of peak structures, enhanced by the choice of colored noise characteristic time scale) of the coefficient of variation (CV) as a function of memory characteristic time scale, (ii) colored noise-induced shift in the CV, and (iii) emergence and suppression of multimodality in the interspike interval (ISI) distribution due to memory-induced subthreshold oscillations. Moreover, in the noise-induced spike regime, we study how memory and colored noise affect the coherence resonance (CR) phenomenon. We found that for sufficiently long memory, not only is CR suppressed but also the minimum of the CV-versus-noise intensity curve that characterizes the presence of CR may be replaced by a maximum. The aforementioned features allow to interpret the interplay between memory and colored noise as an effective control mechanism to neuronal variability. Since both variability and nontrivial temporal patterns in the ISI distribution are ubiquitous in biological cells, we hope the present model can be useful in modeling real aspects of neurons.

  8. Experimental quantum verification in the presence of temporally correlated noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavadia, S.; Edmunds, C. L.; Hempel, C.; Ball, H.; Roy, F.; Stace, T. M.; Biercuk, M. J.

    2018-02-01

    Growth in the capabilities of quantum information hardware mandates access to techniques for performance verification that function under realistic laboratory conditions. Here we experimentally characterise the impact of common temporally correlated noise processes on both randomised benchmarking (RB) and gate-set tomography (GST). Our analysis highlights the role of sequence structure in enhancing or suppressing the sensitivity of quantum verification protocols to either slowly or rapidly varying noise, which we treat in the limiting cases of quasi-DC miscalibration and white noise power spectra. We perform experiments with a single trapped 171Yb+ ion-qubit and inject engineered noise (" separators="∝σ^ z ) to probe protocol performance. Experiments on RB validate predictions that measured fidelities over sequences are described by a gamma distribution varying between approximately Gaussian, and a broad, highly skewed distribution for rapidly and slowly varying noise, respectively. Similarly we find a strong gate set dependence of default experimental GST procedures in the presence of correlated errors, leading to significant deviations between estimated and calculated diamond distances in the presence of correlated σ^ z errors. Numerical simulations demonstrate that expansion of the gate set to include negative rotations can suppress these discrepancies and increase reported diamond distances by orders of magnitude for the same error processes. Similar effects do not occur for correlated σ^ x or σ^ y errors or depolarising noise processes, highlighting the impact of the critical interplay of selected gate set and the gauge optimisation process on the meaning of the reported diamond norm in correlated noise environments.

  9. Spectral OCT with speckle contrast reduction for evaluation of the healing process after PRK and transepithelial PRK

    OpenAIRE

    Kaluzny, Bartlomiej J.; Szkulmowski, Maciej; Bukowska, Danuta M.; Wojtkowski, Maciej

    2014-01-01

    We evaluate Spectral OCT (SOCT) with a speckle contrast reduction technique using resonant scanner for assessment of corneal surface changes after excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and we compare healing process between conventional PRK and transepithelial PRK. The measurements were performed before and after the surgery. Obtained results show that SOCT with a resonant scanner speckle contrast reduction is capable of providing information regarding the healing process after PRK....

  10. Quiet comfort: noise, otherness, and the mobile production of personal space.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagood, Mack

    2011-01-01

    Marketing, news reports, and reviews of Bose QuietComfort noise-canceling headphones position them as essential gear for the mobile rational actor of the neoliberal market—the business traveler. This article concerns noise-canceling headphones’ utility as soundscaping devices, which render a sense of personal space by mediating sound. The airplane and airport are paradoxical spaces in which the pursuit of freedom impedes its own enjoyment. Rather than fight the discomforts of air travel as a systemic problem, travelers use the tactic of soundscaping to suppress the perceived presence of others. Attention to soundscaping enables the scholar to explore relationships between media, space, freedom, otherness, and selfhood in an era characterized by neoliberalism and increased mobility. Air travel is a moment in which people with diverse backgrounds, beliefs, and bodies crowd together in unusually close proximity. Noise is the sound of individualism and difference in conflict. Noise is othered sound, and like any type of othering, the perception of noise is socially constructed and situated in hierarchies of race, class, age, and gender. The normative QuietComfort user in media representations is white, male, rational, monied, and mobile; women, children, and “chatty” passengers are cast as noisemakers. Moreover, in putting on noise-canceling headphones, diverse selves put on the historically Western subjectivity that has been built into their technology, one that suppresses the noise of difference in favor of the smooth circulation of people, information, and commodities.

  11. Diameter of the useful diffraction halo in double-exposure speckle photographs recorded under various conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alejo, A.; Marti, L.; Moreno, A.; Ostrovskii, Iu. I.; Serra, R.

    1985-06-01

    Consideration is given to the relationship between the diffraction halo radius Theta(h) and the displacement (Delta) of the object in double exposed speckle photographs taken in various conditions. The numerical values of Theta(h)/Delta were obtained for several speckle recordings having exposure times in the range 0.5-3.8 s. It is shown that long exposure times did not significantly decrease the minimum measureable displacement of the object. The radii of the diffraction halo were the same in the case of both long and short exposure times.

  12. Time-frequency peak filtering for random noise attenuation of magnetic resonance sounding signal

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Tingting; Zhang, Yang; Yi, Xiaofeng; Fan, Tiehu; Wan, Ling

    2018-05-01

    When measuring in a geomagnetic field, the method of magnetic resonance sounding (MRS) is often limited because of the notably low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Most current studies focus on discarding spiky noise and power-line harmonic noise cancellation. However, the effects of random noise should not be underestimated. The common method for random noise attenuation is stacking, but collecting multiple recordings merely to suppress random noise is time-consuming. Moreover, stacking is insufficient to suppress high-level random noise. Here, we propose the use of time-frequency peak filtering for random noise attenuation, which is performed after the traditional de-spiking and power-line harmonic removal method. By encoding the noisy signal with frequency modulation and estimating the instantaneous frequency using the peak of the time-frequency representation of the encoded signal, the desired MRS signal can be acquired from only one stack. The performance of the proposed method is tested on synthetic envelope signals and field data from different surveys. Good estimations of the signal parameters are obtained at different SNRs. Moreover, an attempt to use the proposed method to handle a single recording provides better results compared to 16 stacks. Our results suggest that the number of stacks can be appropriately reduced to shorten the measurement time and improve the measurement efficiency.

  13. Integration of instrumentation and processing software of a laser speckle contrast imaging system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carrick, Jacob J.

    Laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) has the potential to be a powerful tool in medicine, but more research in the field is required so it can be used properly. To help in the progression of Michigan Tech's research in the field, a graphical user interface (GUI) was designed in Matlab to control the instrumentation of the experiments as well as process the raw speckle images into contrast images while they are being acquired. The design of the system was successful and is currently being used by Michigan Tech's Biomedical Engineering department. This thesis describes the development of the LSCI GUI as well as offering a full introduction into the history, theory and applications of LSCI.

  14. Time warping of evolutionary distant temporal gene expression data based on noise suppression

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Papatsenko Dmitri

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Comparative analysis of genome wide temporal gene expression data has a broad potential area of application, including evolutionary biology, developmental biology, and medicine. However, at large evolutionary distances, the construction of global alignments and the consequent comparison of the time-series data are difficult. The main reason is the accumulation of variability in expression profiles of orthologous genes, in the course of evolution. Results We applied Pearson distance matrices, in combination with other noise-suppression techniques and data filtering to improve alignments. This novel framework enhanced the capacity to capture the similarities between the temporal gene expression datasets separated by large evolutionary distances. We aligned and compared the temporal gene expression data in budding (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and fission (Schizosaccharomyces pombe yeast, which are separated by more then ~400 myr of evolution. We found that the global alignment (time warping properly matched the duration of cell cycle phases in these distant organisms, which was measured in prior studies. At the same time, when applied to individual ortholog pairs, this alignment procedure revealed groups of genes with distinct alignments, different from the global alignment. Conclusion Our alignment-based predictions of differences in the cell cycle phases between the two yeast species were in a good agreement with the existing data, thus supporting the computational strategy adopted in this study. We propose that the existence of the alternative alignments, specific to distinct groups of genes, suggests presence of different synchronization modes between the two organisms and possible functional decoupling of particular physiological gene networks in the course of evolution.

  15. Novel effect of interplay of internal and external noise on the dynamics of calcium oscillations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Hongying; Ma Juan

    2010-01-01

    Graphical abstract: When the external noise is small (D ≤ 0.8), R goes through a maximum at an optimal system size V, indicating the occurring of internal-noise stochastic resonance (INSR), and the curves become higher with the increases of D, which shows that INSR can be enhanced by the external noise in a certain range of external noise intensity ((D ≤ 0.8). If D > 0.8, R monotonically increases and the peak disappears. When D increases further, the R curve becomes lower. Research highlights: → External noise coherence resonance (ENCR) can be suppressed by internal noise. → Internal noise stochastic resonance (INSR) can be enhanced by external noise. → When INSR occurs, the optimal system size can be regulated by the external noise. - Abstract: Using a mesoscopic stochastic model, the effect of interplay of external and internal noise on the dynamics of calcium oscillations was studied. When the system was tuned near a Hopf bifurcation point and driven by external noise or internal noise only, the existence of external noise coherence resonance (ENCR) or internal-noise stochastic resonance (INSR) was found, respectively. When both of the noises were considered, it was found that ENCR could be suppressed by internal noise, while INSR could be enhanced by external noise in a certain range of external noise intensity. It was also interesting to note that the optimal system size can be regulated by the external noise when the INSR occurs. The cell system may adapt to adjust the optimal size according to the external noise, indicating some kind of self-tuning mechanism involved in stochastic calcium dynamics.

  16. The MUC1 extracellular domain subunit is found in nuclear speckles and associates with spliceosomes.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priyadarsini Kumar

    Full Text Available MUC1 is a large transmembrane glycoprotein and oncogene expressed by epithelial cells and overexpressed and underglycosylated in cancer cells. The MUC1 cytoplasmic subunit (MUC1-C can translocate to the nucleus and regulate gene expression. It is frequently assumed that the MUC1 extracellular subunit (MUC1-N does not enter the nucleus. Based on an unexpected observation that MUC1 extracellular domain antibody produced an apparently nucleus-associated staining pattern in trophoblasts, we have tested the hypothesis that MUC1-N is expressed inside the nucleus. Three different antibodies were used to identify MUC1-N in normal epithelial cells and tissues as well as in several cancer cell lines. The results of immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy analyses as well as subcellular fractionation, Western blotting, and siRNA/shRNA studies, confirm that MUC1-N is found within nuclei of all cell types examined. More detailed examination of its intranuclear distribution using a proximity ligation assay, subcellular fractionation, and immunoprecipitation suggests that MUC1-N is located in nuclear speckles (interchromatin granule clusters and closely associates with the spliceosome protein U2AF65. Nuclear localization of MUC1-N was abolished when cells were treated with RNase A and nuclear localization was altered when cells were incubated with the transcription inhibitor 5,6-dichloro-1-b-d-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB. While MUC1-N predominantly associated with speckles, MUC1-C was present in the nuclear matrix, nucleoli, and the nuclear periphery. In some nuclei, confocal microscopic analysis suggest that MUC1-C staining is located close to, but only partially overlaps, MUC1-N in speckles. However, only MUC1-N was found in isolated speckles by Western blotting. Also, MUC1-C and MUC1-N distributed differently during mitosis. These results suggest that MUC1-N translocates to the nucleus where it is expressed in nuclear speckles and that MUC1-N and MUC

  17. Strain dyssynchrony index determined by three-dimensional speckle area tracking can predict response to cardiac resynchronization therapy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onishi Tetsuari

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background We have previously reported strain dyssynchrony index assessed by two-dimensional speckle tracking strain, and a marker of both dyssynchrony and residual myocardial contractility, can predict response to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT. A newly developed three-dimensional (3-D speckle tracking system can quantify endocardial area change ratio (area strain, which coupled with the factors of both longitudinal and circumferential strain, from all 16 standard left ventricular (LV segments using complete 3-D pyramidal datasets. Our objective was to test the hypothesis that strain dyssynchrony index using area tracking (ASDI can quantify dyssynchrony and predict response to CRT. Methods We studied 14 heart failure patients with ejection fraction of 27 ± 7% (all≤35% and QRS duration of 172 ± 30 ms (all≥120 ms who underwent CRT. Echocardiography was performed before and 6-month after CRT. ASDI was calculated as the average difference between peak and end-systolic area strain of LV endocardium obtained from 3-D speckle tracking imaging using 16 segments. Conventional dyssynchrony measures were assessed by interventricular mechanical delay, Yu Index, and two-dimensional radial dyssynchrony by speckle-tracking strain. Response was defined as a ≥15% decrease in LV end-systolic volume 6-month after CRT. Results ASDI ≥ 3.8% was the best predictor of response to CRT with a sensitivity of 78%, specificity of 100% and area under the curve (AUC of 0.93 (p Conclusions ASDI can predict responders and LV reverse remodeling following CRT. This novel index using the 3-D speckle tracking system, which shows circumferential and longitudinal LV dyssynchrony and residual endocardial contractility, may thus have clinical significance for CRT patients.

  18. Analysis of a sub-shot-noise power recycled Michelson interferometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McKenzie, K; Buchler, B C; Shaddock, D A; Lam, P K; McClelland, D E

    2004-01-01

    The sensitivity of interferometric gravitational wave detectors is ultimately limited by the 'quantum noise' of light. In this paper we compare results from a bench-top experiment and a theoretical model which show how squeezed states of light may be used to modify the quantum noise behaviour of a power recycled Michelson interferometer. We develop a simple theoretical model of the experiment and find close agreement of theoretical and experimental results. We measure quantum noise suppression of 2.3 dB and demonstrate the lock stability of the experiment for long periods

  19. An approach to remove impulse noise from a corrupted image

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jin, Cong; Yan, Meng; Jin, Shu-Wei

    2013-01-01

    In this paper, we propose an efficient approach for detecting the impulse noise from corrupted images. This method is based on the principle that the feature of the digital image is usually local correlation and the feature of the impulse noise is usually located near one of the two ends of the image’s maximum and minimum gray values. After the noisy pixel has been detected by the proposed detector, a modified version of the mean filter is proposed to remove the detected impulse noise. Experimental results show that the implementation of the proposed method is simple, and it has better performance than comparison filters with regard to effective noise suppression and preservation of detail, especially when the noise ratio is very high. (paper)

  20. Texture Based Quality Analysis of Simulated Synthetic Ultrasound Images Using Local Binary Patterns †

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Prerna Singh

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Speckle noise reduction is an important area of research in the field of ultrasound image processing. Several algorithms for speckle noise characterization and analysis have been recently proposed in the area. Synthetic ultrasound images can play a key role in noise evaluation methods as they can be used to generate a variety of speckle noise models under different interpolation and sampling schemes, and can also provide valuable ground truth data for estimating the accuracy of the chosen methods. However, not much work has been done in the area of modeling synthetic ultrasound images, and in simulating speckle noise generation to get images that are as close as possible to real ultrasound images. An important aspect of simulated synthetic ultrasound images is the requirement for extensive quality assessment for ensuring that they have the texture characteristics and gray-tone features of real images. This paper presents texture feature analysis of synthetic ultrasound images using local binary patterns (LBP and demonstrates the usefulness of a set of LBP features for image quality assessment. Experimental results presented in the paper clearly show how these features could provide an accurate quality metric that correlates very well with subjective evaluations performed by clinical experts.

  1. Second-order oriented partial-differential equations for denoising in electronic-speckle-pattern interferometry fringes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Chen; Han, Lin; Ren, Hongwei; Zhou, Dongjian; Chang, Yiming; Wang, Xiaohang; Cui, Xiaolong

    2008-10-01

    We derive the second-order oriented partial-differential equations (PDEs) for denoising in electronic-speckle-pattern interferometry fringe patterns from two points of view. The first is based on variational methods, and the second is based on controlling diffusion direction. Our oriented PDE models make the diffusion along only the fringe orientation. The main advantage of our filtering method, based on oriented PDE models, is that it is very easy to implement compared with the published filtering methods along the fringe orientation. We demonstrate the performance of our oriented PDE models via application to two computer-simulated and experimentally obtained speckle fringes and compare with related PDE models.

  2. Extreme Ultraviolet Bragg mirrors with suppressed infrared reflectivity properties

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Medvedev, Viacheslav; Yakshin, Andrey; Louis, Eric; van de Kruijs, Robbert Wilhelmus Elisabeth; van den Boogaard, Toine; Krivtsun, V.M.; Yakinun, A.M.; Bijkerk, Frederik

    2013-01-01

    Many optical applications demand high reflectivity in a particular wavelength range while simultaneously requiring suppression of radiation outside this range. Such parasitic radiation can for instance lead to image distortions in imaging applications or poor signal-noise ratios in spectroscopy. The

  3. Extreme Ultraviolet Bragg mirrors with suppressed infrared reflectivity properties

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Medvedev, Viacheslav; Yakshin, Andrey; Louis, Eric; van de Kruijs, Robbert Wilhelmus Elisabeth; van den Boogaard, Toine; Krivtsun, V.M.; Yakunin, A.M.; Bijkerk, Frederik

    2012-01-01

    Many optical applications demand high reflectivity in a particular wavelength range while simultaneously requiring suppression of radiation outside this range. Such parasitic radiation can for instance lead to image distortions in imaging applications or poor signal-noise ratios in spectroscopy. The

  4. A Novel Sub-pixel Measurement Algorithm Based on Mixed the Fractal and Digital Speckle Correlation in Frequency Domain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhangfang Hu

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The digital speckle correlation is a non-contact in-plane displacement measurement method based on machine vision. Motivated by the facts that the low accuracy and large amount of calculation produced by the traditional digital speckle correlation method in spatial domain, we introduce a sub-pixel displacement measurement algorithm which employs a fast interpolation method based on fractal theory and digital speckle correlation in frequency domain. This algorithm can overcome either the blocking effect or the blurring caused by the traditional interpolation methods, and the frequency domain processing also avoids the repeated searching in the correlation recognition of the spatial domain, thus the operation quantity is largely reduced and the information extracting speed is improved. The comparative experiment is given to verify that the proposed algorithm in this paper is effective.

  5. The Research on Denoising of SAR Image Based on Improved K-SVD Algorithm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Linglong; Li, Changkai; Wang, Yueqin

    2018-04-01

    SAR images often receive noise interference in the process of acquisition and transmission, which can greatly reduce the quality of images and cause great difficulties for image processing. The existing complete DCT dictionary algorithm is fast in processing speed, but its denoising effect is poor. In this paper, the problem of poor denoising, proposed K-SVD (K-means and singular value decomposition) algorithm is applied to the image noise suppression. Firstly, the sparse dictionary structure is introduced in detail. The dictionary has a compact representation and can effectively train the image signal. Then, the sparse dictionary is trained by K-SVD algorithm according to the sparse representation of the dictionary. The algorithm has more advantages in high dimensional data processing. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can remove the speckle noise more effectively than the complete DCT dictionary and retain the edge details better.

  6. Laser speckle velocimetry for robot manufacturing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Charrett, Thomas O. H.; Bandari, Yashwanth K.; Michel, Florent; Ding, Jialuo; Williams, Stewart W.; Tatam, Ralph P.

    2017-06-01

    A non-contact speckle correlation sensor for the measurement of robotic tool speed is presented for use in robotic manufacturing and is capable of measuring the in-plane relative velocities between a robot end-effector and the workpiece or other surface. The sensor performance was assessed in the laboratory with the sensor accuracies found to be better than 0:01 mm/s over a 70 mm/s velocity range. Finally an example of the sensors application to robotic manufacturing is presented where the sensor was applied to tool speed measurement for path planning in the wire and arc additive manufacturing process using a KUKA KR150 L110/2 industrial robot.

  7. Variability of global left ventricular deformation analysis using vendor dependent and independent two-dimensional speckle-tracking software in adults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Risum, Niels; Ali, Sophia; Olsen, Niels T

    2012-01-01

    Evaluation of myocardial deformation by two-dimensional speckle-tracking is useful for clinical and research purposes. However, differences may exist among different ultrasound machines, software packages, frame rates, and observers.......Evaluation of myocardial deformation by two-dimensional speckle-tracking is useful for clinical and research purposes. However, differences may exist among different ultrasound machines, software packages, frame rates, and observers....

  8. Developments In Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometry For Automotive Vibration Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davies, Jeremy C.; Buckberry, Clive H.; Jones, Julian D. C.; Pannell, Chris N.

    1989-01-01

    The incorporation of monomode fibre optics into an argon ion powered Electronic Speckle Pattern Interferometer (ESPI) is reported. The system, consisting of an optics assembly linked to the laser and a CCD camera transceiver, flexibly connected by 40m of monomode fibre optic cable to the optics, has been used to analyse the modal behaviour of structures up to 5m X 3m X 2m in size. Phase modulation of the reference beam in order to operate in a heterodyne mode has been implemented using a piezo-electric crystal operating on the monomode fibre. A new mode of operation - sequential time-average subtraction - and the results of a new processing algorithm are also reported. Their implementation enables speckle free, time-average vibration maps to be generated in real-time on large, unstable structures. Example results for a four cylinder power unit, a vehicle body shell component and an engine oil pan are included. In all cases the analysis was conducted in a general workshop environment without the need for vibration isolation facilities.

  9. Laser speckle velocimetry applied to Rayleigh-Benard convection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Arroyo, M.P.; Yonte, T.; Quintanilla, M.; Saviron, J.M.

    1986-01-01

    An application of speckle velocimetry technique to Rayleigh-Benard convection is presented. A 5-mW He-Ne laser allows precise determination of the two-dimensional velocity flow field, up to several mm/sec. The digital techniques used to analyze automatically the multiexposed photographs and to generate velocity and vorticity fields are described. The obtained results are in good agreement with previously reported data. The ability of the technique to cover other experimental conditions is discussed. 14 references

  10. Lensless Photoluminescence Hyperspectral Camera Employing Random Speckle Patterns.

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Žídek, Karel; Denk, Ondřej; Hlubuček, Jiří

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 7, č. 1 (2017), č. článku 15309. ISSN 2045-2322 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) LO1206; GA ČR(CZ) GJ17-26284Y Institutional support: RVO:61389021 Keywords : compressed sensing * photoluminescence imaging * laser speckles * single-pixel camera Subject RIV: BH - Optics, Masers, Lasers OBOR OECD: Optics (including laser optics and quantum optics) Impact factor: 4.259, year: 2016 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-14443-4

  11. Active control of the noise

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez V, Luis Alfonso; Lopez Q, Jose German

    2001-01-01

    The problems of acoustic noise are more and more preponderant in the measure in that the amount of equipment and industrial machinery is increased such as fans, transformers, compressors etc. the use of devices passive mechanics for the reduction of the noise is effective and very appreciated because its effects embrace a wide range of acoustic frequency. However, to low frequencies, such devices become too big and expensive besides that present a tendency to do not effective. The control of active noise, CAN, using the electronic generation anti-noise, constitutes an interesting solution to the problem because their operation principle allows achieving an appreciable reduction of the noise by means of the use of compact devices. The traditional techniques for the control of acoustic noise like barriers and silenced to attenuate it, are classified as passive and their works has been accepted as norm as for the treatment of problems of noise it refers. Such techniques are considered in general very effective in the attenuation of noise of wide band. However, for low frequency, the required passive structures are too big and expensive; also, their effectiveness diminishes flagrantly, that which makes them impractical in many applications. The active suppression is profiled like a practical alternative for the reduction of acoustic noise. The idea in the active treatment of the noise it contemplates the use of a device electro-acoustic, like a speaker for example that it cancels to the noise by the generation of sounds of Same width and of contrary phase (anti-noise). The cancellation phenomenon is carried out when the ant-noise combines acoustically with the noise, what is in the cancellation of both sounds. The effectiveness of the cancellation of the primary source of noise depends on the precision with which the width and the phase of the generated ant-noise are controlled. The active control of noise, ANC (activates noise control), it is being investigated for

  12. Impact of atmospheric turbulence on Van Cittert-Zernike speckle cell area estimates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morris, J.R.

    1995-01-01

    Simulations of laser beam propagation at 3.5 microns wavelength through atmospheric turbulence are used to characterize on-target irradiance profiles and the Van Cittert-Zemike speckle cell areas associated therewith. Results for a 3 km horizontal path with C N 2 values between 2.5 x 10 -14 and 5 x 10 -13 m -2/3 are compared with those for a 20 km near-vertical slant path for a C N 2 versus altitude with a near-ground value of 5 x 10 --13 m -2/3 and a Huffnagel-Valley type shape. The irradiance fluctuations for the slant path are much smaller than for the shorter horizontal path. The speckle cell area for the slant path is approximately the vacuum-path value; for the 3 km horizontal path it is at most 3 times the vacuum-path value

  13. A Study on Residual Stress Measurements by Using Laser Speckle Interferometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rho, Kyung Wan; Kang, Young June; Hong, Seong Jin; Kang, Hyung Soo

    1999-01-01

    Residual stress is one of the causes which make defects in engineering components and materials. And interest in the measurement of residual stress exists in many industries. There are commonly used methods by which residual stresses are currently measured. But these methods have a little demerits: time consumption and other problems. Therefore we devised a new experimental technique to measure residual stress in materials with a combination of laser speckle pattern interferometry, finite element method and spot heating. The speckle pattern interferometer measures in-plane deformations while the heating provides for very localized stress relief. FEM is used for determining heat temperature and other parameters. The residual stresses are determined by the amount of strain that is measured subsequent to the heating and cool-down of the region being interrogated. A simple model is presented to provide a description of the method. In this paper, the ambiguity problem for the fringe patterns has solved by a phase shifting method

  14. Quantitative measurement of interocular suppression in children with amblyopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Narasimhan, Sathyasri; Harrison, Emily R; Giaschi, Deborah E

    2012-08-01

    In this study we explored the possibility of using a dichoptic global motion technique to measure interocular suppression in children with amblyopia. We compared children (5-16 years old) with unilateral anisometropic and/or strabismic amblyopia to age-matched control children. Under dichoptic viewing conditions, contrast interference thresholds were determined with a global motion direction-discrimination task. Using virtual reality goggles, high contrast signal dots were presented to the amblyopic eye, while low contrast noise dots were presented to the non-amblyopic fellow eye. The contrast of the noise dots was increased until discrimination of the motion direction of the signal dots reached chance performance. Contrast interference thresholds were significantly lower in the strabismic group than in the anisometropic and control group. Our results suggest that interocular suppression is stronger in strabismic than in anisometropic amblyopia. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Updating working memory in aircraft noise and speech causes different fMRI activations

    OpenAIRE

    Sætrevik, Bjørn; Sörqvist, Patrik

    2014-01-01

    The present study used fMRI/BOLD neuroimaging to investigate how visual-verbal working memory is updated when exposed to three different background-noise conditions: speech noise, aircraft noise and silence. The number-updating task that was used can distinguish between ?substitution processes,? which involve adding new items to the working memory representation and suppressing old items, and ?exclusion processes,? which involve rejecting new items and maintaining an intact memory set. The cu...

  16. Development of an optimized algorithm for the characterization of microflow using speckle patterns present in optical coherence tomography signal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pretto, Lucas Ramos de

    2015-01-01

    This work discusses the Optical Coherence Tomography system (OCT) and its application to the microfluidics area. To this end, physical characterization of microfluidic circuits were performed using 3D (three-dimensional) models constructed from OCT images of such circuits. The technique was thus evaluated as a potential tool to aid in the inspection of microchannels. Going further, this work paper studies and develops analytical techniques for microfluidic flow, in particular techniques based on speckle pattern. In the first instance, existing methods were studied and improved, such as Speckle Variance - OCT, where a gain of 31% was obtained in processing time. Other methods, such as LASCA (Laser Speckle Contrast Analysis), based on speckle autocorrelation, are adapted to OCT images. Derived from LASCA, the developed analysis technique based on intensity autocorrelation motivated the development of a custom OCT system as well as an optimized acquisition software, with a sampling rate of 8 kHz. The proposed method was, then, able to distinguish different flow rates, and limits of detection were tested, proving its feasibility for implementation on Brownian motion analysis and flow rates below 10 μl/min. (author)

  17. Functional assessment of the diaphragm by speckle tracking ultrasound during inspiratory loading

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mos-Oppersma, Eline; Hatam, Nima; Doorduin, Jonne; van der Hoeven, Johannes G.; Marx, Gernot; Goetzenich, Andreas; Fritsch, Sebastian; Heunks, Leo M.A.; Bruells, Christian S.

    2017-01-01

    Assessment of diaphragmatic effort is challenging, especially in critically ill patients in the phase of weaning. Fractional thickening during inspiration assessed by ultrasound has been used to estimate diaphragm effort. It is unknown whether more sophisticated ultrasound techniques such as speckle

  18. Superlinearly scalable noise robustness of redundant coupled dynamical systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kohar, Vivek; Kia, Behnam; Lindner, John F; Ditto, William L

    2016-03-01

    We illustrate through theory and numerical simulations that redundant coupled dynamical systems can be extremely robust against local noise in comparison to uncoupled dynamical systems evolving in the same noisy environment. Previous studies have shown that the noise robustness of redundant coupled dynamical systems is linearly scalable and deviations due to noise can be minimized by increasing the number of coupled units. Here, we demonstrate that the noise robustness can actually be scaled superlinearly if some conditions are met and very high noise robustness can be realized with very few coupled units. We discuss these conditions and show that this superlinear scalability depends on the nonlinearity of the individual dynamical units. The phenomenon is demonstrated in discrete as well as continuous dynamical systems. This superlinear scalability not only provides us an opportunity to exploit the nonlinearity of physical systems without being bogged down by noise but may also help us in understanding the functional role of coupled redundancy found in many biological systems. Moreover, engineers can exploit superlinear noise suppression by starting a coupled system near (not necessarily at) the appropriate initial condition.

  19. Quantum lubrication: Suppression of friction in a first-principles four-stroke heat engine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feldmann, Tova; Kosloff, Ronnie

    2006-02-01

    A quantum model of a heat engine resembling the Otto cycle is employed to explore strategies to suppress frictional losses. These losses are caused by the inability of the engine’s working medium to follow adiabatically the change in the Hamiltonian during the expansion and compression stages. By adding external noise to the engine frictional losses can be suppressed.

  20. Complex differential variance angiography with noise-bias correction for optical coherence tomography of the retina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braaf, Boy; Donner, Sabine; Nam, Ahhyun S; Bouma, Brett E; Vakoc, Benjamin J

    2018-02-01

    Complex differential variance (CDV) provides phase-sensitive angiographic imaging for optical coherence tomography (OCT) with immunity to phase-instabilities of the imaging system and small-scale axial bulk motion. However, like all angiographic methods, measurement noise can result in erroneous indications of blood flow that confuse the interpretation of angiographic images. In this paper, a modified CDV algorithm that corrects for this noise-bias is presented. This is achieved by normalizing the CDV signal by analytically derived upper and lower limits. The noise-bias corrected CDV algorithm was implemented into an experimental 1 μm wavelength OCT system for retinal imaging that used an eye tracking scanner laser ophthalmoscope at 815 nm for compensation of lateral eye motions. The noise-bias correction improved the CDV imaging of the blood flow in tissue layers with a low signal-to-noise ratio and suppressed false indications of blood flow outside the tissue. In addition, the CDV signal normalization suppressed noise induced by galvanometer scanning errors and small-scale lateral motion. High quality cross-section and motion-corrected en face angiograms of the retina and choroid are presented.

  1. 3D polarisation speckle as a demonstration of tensor version of the van Cittert-Zernike theorem for stochastic electromagnetic beams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Ning; Zhao, Juan; Hanson, Steen G.; Takeda, Mitsuo; Wang, Wei

    2016-10-01

    Laser speckle has received extensive studies of its basic properties and associated applications. In the majority of research on speckle phenomena, the random optical field has been treated as a scalar optical field, and the main interest has been concentrated on their statistical properties and applications of its intensity distribution. Recently, statistical properties of random electric vector fields referred to as Polarization Speckle have come to attract new interest because of their importance in a variety of areas with practical applications such as biomedical optics and optical metrology. Statistical phenomena of random electric vector fields have close relevance to the theories of speckles, polarization and coherence theory. In this paper, we investigate the correlation tensor for stochastic electromagnetic fields modulated by a depolarizer consisting of a rough-surfaced retardation plate. Under the assumption that the microstructure of the scattering surface on the depolarizer is as fine as to be unresolvable in our observation region, we have derived a relationship between the polarization matrix/coherency matrix for the modulated electric fields behind the rough-surfaced retardation plate and the coherence matrix under the free space geometry. This relation is regarded as entirely analogous to the van Cittert-Zernike theorem of classical coherence theory. Within the paraxial approximation as represented by the ABCD-matrix formalism, the three-dimensional structure of the generated polarization speckle is investigated based on the correlation tensor, indicating a typical carrot structure with a much longer axial dimension than the extent in its transverse dimension.

  2. Improving image-quality of interference fringes of out-of-plane vibration using temporal speckle pattern interferometry and standard deviation for piezoelectric plates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chien-Ching Ma; Ching-Yuan Chang

    2013-07-01

    Interferometry provides a high degree of accuracy in the measurement of sub-micrometer deformations; however, the noise associated with experimental measurement undermines the integrity of interference fringes. This study proposes the use of standard deviation in the temporal domain to improve the image quality of patterns obtained from temporal speckle pattern interferometry. The proposed method combines the advantages of both mean and subtractive methods to remove background noise and ambient disturbance simultaneously, resulting in high-resolution images of excellent quality. The out-of-plane vibration of a thin piezoelectric plate is the main focus of this study, providing information useful to the development of energy harvesters. First, ten resonant states were measured using the proposed method, and both mode shape and resonant frequency were investigated. We then rebuilt the phase distribution of the first resonant mode based on the clear interference patterns obtained using the proposed method. This revealed instantaneous deformations in the dynamic characteristics of the resonant state. The proposed method also provides a frequency-sweeping function, facilitating its practical application in the precise measurement of resonant frequency. In addition, the mode shapes and resonant frequencies obtained using the proposed method were recorded and compared with results obtained using finite element method and laser Doppler vibrometery, which demonstrated close agreement.

  3. Noise enhanced stability effect in a metastable system with two different kinds of time delays and cross-correlated noises

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jia Zhenglin; Mei Dongcheng

    2011-01-01

    We numerically investigate the influences of the time delay τ simultaneously existing in both the deterministic and fluctuating forces, the time delay τ r existing only in the fluctuating force and the cross-correlation strength λ on the enhancement of the mean first-passage time (MFPT) as a function of the additive D and the multiplicative α noise intensities in a metastable system. The results indicate that both the multiplicative and additive noises can induce the noise-enhanced stability (NES) effect. An increase of λ can enhance or weaken the NES effect induced by the additive noise, depending on the value of τ. However, it weakens the NES effect induced by the multiplicative noise with a suppression of the effect of λ caused by increasing τ. The τ-induced critical behavior on both NES effects can be observed, i.e. an increase of τ can enhance or restrain the NES effects induced by the two kinds of noises. With an increase of λ and τ, MFPT versus D shows a transition from one peak to two peaks and finally one peak, implying the multiple NES effect caused by λ and τ. An increase of τ r can enhance the NES effect induced by the additive noise and weaken the NES effect induced by the multiplicative noise.

  4. Intensity Noise Transfer Through a Diode-pumped Titanium Sapphire Laser System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tawfieq, Mahmoud; Hansen, Anders Kragh; Jensen, Ole Bjarlin

    2017-01-01

    higher RIN than a setup with only a single nonlinear crystal. The Ti:S is shown to have a cut-off frequency around 500 kHz, which means that noise structures of the pump laser above this frequency are strongly suppressed. Finally, the majority of the Ti:S noise seems to originate from the laser itself......In this paper, we investigate the noise performance and transfer in a titanium sapphire (Ti:S) laser system. This system consists of a DBR tapered diode laser, which is frequency doubled in two cascaded nonlinear crystals and used to pump the Ti:S laser oscillator. This investigation includes...... electrical noise characterizations of the utilized power supplies, the optical noise of the fundamental light, the second harmonic light, and finally the optical noise of the femtosecond pulses emitted by the Ti:S laser. Noise features originating from the electric power supply are evident throughout...

  5. Role of Active Listening and Listening Effort on Contralateral Suppression of Transient Evoked Otoacousic Emissions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalaiah, Mohan Kumar; Theruvan, Nikhitha B; Kumar, Kaushlendra; Bhat, Jayashree S

    2017-04-01

    The present study aimed to investigate the effect of active listening and listening effort on the contralateral suppression of transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (CSTEOAEs). Twenty eight young adults participated in the study. Transient evoked otoacoustic emissions (TEOAEs) were recorded using 'linear' clicks at 60 dB peSPL, in three contralateral noise conditions. In condition 1, TEOAEs were obtained in the presence of white noise in the contralateral ear. While, in condition 2, speech was embedded into white noise at +3, -3, and -9 dB signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and delivered to the contralateral ear. The SNR was varied to investigate the effect of listening effort on the CSTEOAE. In condition 3, speech was played backwards and embedded into white noise at -3 dB SNR. The conditions 1 and 3 served as passive listening condition and the condition 2 served as active listening condition. In active listening condition, the participants categorized the words in to two groups (e.g., animal and vehicle). CSTEOAE was found to be largest in the presence of white noise, and the amount of CSTEOAE was not significantly different between active and passive listening conditions (condition 2 and 3). Listening effort had an effect on the CSTEOAE, the amount of suppression increased with listening effort, when SNR was decreased from +3 dB to -3 dB. However, when the SNR was further reduced to -9 dB, there was no further increase in the amount of CSTEOAE, instead there was a reduction in the amount of suppression. The findings of the present study show that listening effort might affect CSTEOAE.

  6. Common mode noise on the main Tevatron bus and associated beam emittance growth

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, P.; Johnson, R.P.; Kuchnir, M.; Siergiej, D.; Wolff, D.

    1991-05-01

    Overlap of betatron tune frequencies with the power supply noise spectrum can cause transverse beam emittance growth in a storage ring. We have studied this effect for tunes near the integer, where the betatron frequency is low. By injecting noise onto the main power supply bus, it was determined that common mode noise was the dominant source of emittance growth. A noise suppression feed-back loop was then used to reduce the noise and the emittance growth. These experiments are described as are investigations of the common mode propagation along the Tevatron bus and measurements of the fields generated by common mode excitation of isolated Tevatron magnets. 3 refs., 4 figs

  7. Infrared suppression by hybrid EUV multilayer - IR lossy etalon structures

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Medvedev, Viacheslav; Yakshin, Andrey; van de Kruijs, Robbert Wilhelmus Elisabeth; Krivtsun, V.M.; Yakunin, A.M.; Bijkerk, Frederik

    2012-01-01

    Many optical applications demand high reflectivity in a particular wavelength range and, simultaneously, suppression of radiation outside this prime range. Such parasitic radiation can lead to image distortions in imaging applications, or poor signal-noise ratios in spectroscopy. When working with

  8. Statistical CT noise reduction with multiscale decomposition and penalized weighted least squares in the projection domain

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang Shaojie; Tang Xiangyang

    2012-01-01

    Purposes: The suppression of noise in x-ray computed tomography (CT) imaging is of clinical relevance for diagnostic image quality and the potential for radiation dose saving. Toward this purpose, statistical noise reduction methods in either the image or projection domain have been proposed, which employ a multiscale decomposition to enhance the performance of noise suppression while maintaining image sharpness. Recognizing the advantages of noise suppression in the projection domain, the authors propose a projection domain multiscale penalized weighted least squares (PWLS) method, in which the angular sampling rate is explicitly taken into consideration to account for the possible variation of interview sampling rate in advanced clinical or preclinical applications. Methods: The projection domain multiscale PWLS method is derived by converting an isotropic diffusion partial differential equation in the image domain into the projection domain, wherein a multiscale decomposition is carried out. With adoption of the Markov random field or soft thresholding objective function, the projection domain multiscale PWLS method deals with noise at each scale. To compensate for the degradation in image sharpness caused by the projection domain multiscale PWLS method, an edge enhancement is carried out following the noise reduction. The performance of the proposed method is experimentally evaluated and verified using the projection data simulated by computer and acquired by a CT scanner. Results: The preliminary results show that the proposed projection domain multiscale PWLS method outperforms the projection domain single-scale PWLS method and the image domain multiscale anisotropic diffusion method in noise reduction. In addition, the proposed method can preserve image sharpness very well while the occurrence of “salt-and-pepper” noise and mosaic artifacts can be avoided. Conclusions: Since the interview sampling rate is taken into account in the projection domain

  9. Application of virtual phase-shifting speckle-interferometry for detection of polymorphism in the Chlamydia trachomatis omp1 gene

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feodorova, Valentina A.; Saltykov, Yury V.; Zaytsev, Sergey S.; Ulyanov, Sergey S.; Ulianova, Onega V.

    2018-04-01

    Method of phase-shifting speckle-interferometry has been used as a new tool with high potency for modern bioinformatics. Virtual phase-shifting speckle-interferometry has been applied for detection of polymorphism in the of Chlamydia trachomatis omp1 gene. It has been shown, that suggested method is very sensitive to natural genetic mutations as single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Effectiveness of proposed method has been compared with effectiveness of the newest bioinformatic tools, based on nucleotide sequence alignment.

  10. Measurement of natural convection by speckle photography

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wernekinck, U.; Merzkirch, W.

    1986-01-01

    The principle of speckle photography can be applied to the measurement of density variations in fluids. A modification of existing experimental arrangements allows for the measurement of large values of the light deflection angles as they may occur in heat and mass transfer situations. The method is demonstrated for the case of a helium jet exhausting into still air and the natural convective flow along a heated plate. The obtained data are compared with results measured with classical optical interferometers, and good agreement is found. The advantages of the new technique over the classical optical methods are briefly discussed. 11 references

  11. Surface modeling method for aircraft engine blades by using speckle patterns based on the virtual stereo vision system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Zhijing; Ma, Kai; Wang, Zhijun; Wu, Jun; Wang, Tao; Zhuge, Jingchang

    2018-03-01

    A blade is one of the most important components of an aircraft engine. Due to its high manufacturing costs, it is indispensable to come up with methods for repairing damaged blades. In order to obtain a surface model of the blades, this paper proposes a modeling method by using speckle patterns based on the virtual stereo vision system. Firstly, blades are sprayed evenly creating random speckle patterns and point clouds from blade surfaces can be calculated by using speckle patterns based on the virtual stereo vision system. Secondly, boundary points are obtained in the way of varied step lengths according to curvature and are fitted to get a blade surface envelope with a cubic B-spline curve. Finally, the surface model of blades is established with the envelope curves and the point clouds. Experimental results show that the surface model of aircraft engine blades is fair and accurate.

  12. Simultaneous acquisition of 3D shape and deformation by combination of interferometric and correlation-based laser speckle metrology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dekiff, Markus; Berssenbrügge, Philipp; Kemper, Björn; Denz, Cornelia; Dirksen, Dieter

    2015-12-01

    A metrology system combining three laser speckle measurement techniques for simultaneous determination of 3D shape and micro- and macroscopic deformations is presented. While microscopic deformations are determined by a combination of Digital Holographic Interferometry (DHI) and Digital Speckle Photography (DSP), macroscopic 3D shape, position and deformation are retrieved by photogrammetry based on digital image correlation of a projected laser speckle pattern. The photogrammetrically obtained data extend the measurement range of the DHI-DSP system and also increase the accuracy of the calculation of the sensitivity vector. Furthermore, a precise assignment of microscopic displacements to the object's macroscopic shape for enhanced visualization is achieved. The approach allows for fast measurements with a simple setup. Key parameters of the system are optimized, and its precision and measurement range are demonstrated. As application examples, the deformation of a mandible model and the shrinkage of dental impression material are measured.

  13. Adaptive elimination of optical fiber transmission noise in fiber ocean bottom seismic system

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Qiuwen; Hu, Zhengliang; Cao, Chunyan; Dong, Hongsheng

    2017-10-01

    In this paper, a pressure and acceleration insensitive reference Interferometer is used to obtain laser and public noise introduced by transmission fiber and laser. By using direct subtraction and adaptive filtering, this paper attempts to eliminate and estimation the transmission noise of sensing probe. This paper compares the noise suppression effect of four methods, including the direct subtraction (DS), the least mean square error adaptive elimination (LMS), the normalized least mean square error adaptive elimination (NLMS) and the least square (RLS) adaptive filtering. The experimental results show that the noise reduction effect of RLS and NLMS are almost the same, better than LMS and DS, which can reach 8dB (@100Hz). But considering the workload, RLS is not conducive to the real-time operating system. When it comes to the same treatment effect, the practicability of NLMS is higher than RLS. The noise reduction effect of LMS is slightly worse than that of RLS and NLMS, about 6dB (@100Hz), but its computational complexity is small, which is beneficial to the real time system implementation. It can also be seen that the DS method has the least amount of computational complexity, but the noise suppression effect is worse than that of the adaptive filter due to the difference of the noise amplitude between the RI and the SI, only 4dB (@100Hz) can be reached. The adaptive filter can basically eliminate the influence of the transmission noise, and the simulation signal of the sensor is kept intact.

  14. Effect of feedback and noise on fast ion instability

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chao, A.W.; Stupakov, G.V.

    1997-07-01

    One can use a feedback system to suppress the fast ion instability. However, the feedback noise (and also other sources of noise in the machine) continuously excites the transient oscillations in the electron beam that are amplified through the electron interaction with the ions. We calculate the equilibrium level of these oscillations under the influence of the feedback and show how they grow exponentially from the head to the tail of the bunch train in a linear theory. Nonlinear saturation effects are assume negligible

  15. Temperature mapping of sunspots and pores from speckle reconstructed three colour photometry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Sütterlin, P.; Wiehr, E.

    1998-01-01

    The two-dimensional temperature distribution in a highly structured sunspot and in two small umbrae is determined from a three-colour photometry in narrow spectral continua. Disturbing influences from the earth’s atmosphere are removed by speckle masking techniques, yielding a spatial resolution

  16. Speckle tracking echocardiography in mature Irish Wolfhound dogs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Westrup, Ulrik; McEvoy, Fintan

    2013-01-01

    Two-dimensional strain measurements obtained by speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) have been reported in both humans and dogs. Incorporation of this technique into canine clinical practice requires the availability of measurements from clinically normal dogs, ideally of the same breed, taken...... under normal clinical conditions.The aims of this prospective study were to assess if it is possible to obtain STE data during a routine echocardiographic examination in Irish Wolfhound dogs and that these data will provide reference values and an estimation of measurement error....

  17. Rat retinal vasomotion assessed by laser speckle imaging

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Neganova, Anastasiia Y; Postnov, Dmitry D; Sosnovtseva, Olga

    2017-01-01

    Vasomotion is spontaneous or induced rhythmic changes in vascular tone or vessel diameter that lead to rhythmic changes in flow. While the vascular research community debates the physiological and pathophysiological consequence of vasomotion, there is a great need for experimental techniques...... that can address the role and dynamical properties of vasomotion in vivo. We apply laser speckle imaging to study spontaneous and drug induced vasomotion in retinal network of anesthetized rats. The results reveal a wide variety of dynamical patterns. Wavelet-based analysis shows that (i) spontaneous...

  18. Noncontact speckle-based optical sensor for detection of glucose concentration using magneto-optic effect

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozana, Nisan; Beiderman, Yevgeny; Anand, Arun; Javidi, Baharam; Polani, Sagi; Schwarz, Ariel; Shemer, Amir; Garcia, Javier; Zalevsky, Zeev

    2016-06-01

    We experimentally verify a speckle-based technique for noncontact measurement of glucose concentration in the bloodstream. The final device is intended to be a single wristwatch-style device containing a laser, a camera, and an alternating current (ac) electromagnet generated by a solenoid. The experiments presented are performed in vitro as proof of the concept. When a glucose substance is inserted into a solenoid generating an ac magnetic field, it exhibits Faraday rotation, which affects the temporal changes of the secondary speckle pattern distributions. The temporal frequency resulting from the ac magnetic field was found to have a lock-in amplification role, which increased the observability of the relatively small magneto-optic effect. Experimental results to support the proposed concept are presented.

  19. External noise distinguishes attention mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Z L; Dosher, B A

    1998-05-01

    We developed and tested a powerful method for identifying and characterizing the effect of attention on performance in visual tasks as due to signal enhancement, distractor exclusion, or internal noise suppression. Based on a noisy Perceptual Template Model (PTM) of a human observer, the method adds increasing amounts of external noise (white gaussian random noise) to the visual stimulus and observes the effect on performance of a perceptual task for attended and unattended stimuli. The three mechanisms of attention yield three "signature" patterns of performance. The general framework for characterizing the mechanisms of attention is used here to investigate the attentional mechanisms in a concurrent location-cued orientation discrimination task. Test stimuli--Gabor patches tilted slightly to the right or left--always appeared on both the left and the right of fixation, and varied independently. Observers were cued on each trial to attend to the left, the right, or evenly to both stimuli, and decide the direction of tilt of both test stimuli. For eight levels of added external noise and three attention conditions (attended, unattended, and equal), subjects' contrast threshold levels were determined. At low levels of external noise, attention affected threshold contrast: threshold contrasts for non-attended stimuli were systematically higher than for equal attention stimuli, which were, in turn, higher than for attended stimuli. Specifically, when the rms contrast of the external noise is below 10%, there is a consistent 17% elevation of contrast threshold from attended to unattended condition across all three subjects. For higher levels of external noise, attention conditions did not affect threshold contrast values at all. These strong results are characteristic of a signal enhancement, or equivalently, an internal additive noise reduction mechanism of attention.

  20. The magnitude and colour of noise in genetic negative feedback systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voliotis, Margaritis; Bowsher, Clive G

    2012-08-01

    The comparative ability of transcriptional and small RNA-mediated negative feedback to control fluctuations or 'noise' in gene expression remains unexplored. Both autoregulatory mechanisms usually suppress the average (mean) of the protein level and its variability across cells. The variance of the number of proteins per molecule of mean expression is also typically reduced compared with the unregulated system, but is almost never below the value of one. This relative variance often substantially exceeds a recently obtained, theoretical lower limit for biochemical feedback systems. Adding the transcriptional or small RNA-mediated control has different effects. Transcriptional autorepression robustly reduces both the relative variance and persistence (lifetime) of fluctuations. Both benefits combine to reduce noise in downstream gene expression. Autorepression via small RNA can achieve more extreme noise reduction and typically has less effect on the mean expression level. However, it is often more costly to implement and is more sensitive to rate parameters. Theoretical lower limits on the relative variance are known to decrease slowly as a measure of the cost per molecule of mean expression increases. However, the proportional increase in cost to achieve substantial noise suppression can be different away from the optimal frontier-for transcriptional autorepression, it is frequently negligible.