Comparison between manual and semi-automatic segmentation of nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses from CT images.

PubMed

Tingelhoff, K; Moral, A I; Kunkel, M E; Rilk, M; Wagner, I; Eichhorn, K G; Wahl, F M; Bootz, F

2007-01-01

Segmentation of medical image data is getting more and more important over the last years. The results are used for diagnosis, surgical planning or workspace definition of robot-assisted systems. The purpose of this paper is to find out whether manual or semi-automatic segmentation is adequate for ENT surgical workflow or whether fully automatic segmentation of paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity is needed. We present a comparison of manual and semi-automatic segmentation of paranasal sinuses and the nasal cavity. Manual segmentation is performed by custom software whereas semi-automatic segmentation is realized by a commercial product (Amira). For this study we used a CT dataset of the paranasal sinuses which consists of 98 transversal slices, each 1.0 mm thick, with a resolution of 512 x 512 pixels. For the analysis of both segmentation procedures we used volume, extension (width, length and height), segmentation time and 3D-reconstruction. The segmentation time was reduced from 960 minutes with manual to 215 minutes with semi-automatic segmentation. We found highest variances segmenting nasal cavity. For the paranasal sinuses manual and semi-automatic volume differences are not significant. Dependent on the segmentation accuracy both approaches deliver useful results and could be used for e.g. robot-assisted systems. Nevertheless both procedures are not useful for everyday surgical workflow, because they take too much time. Fully automatic and reproducible segmentation algorithms are needed for segmentation of paranasal sinuses and nasal cavity.

Automatic ultrasound image enhancement for 2D semi-automatic breast-lesion segmentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Kongkuo; Hall, Christopher S.

2014-03-01

Breast cancer is the fastest growing cancer, accounting for 29%, of new cases in 2012, and second leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States and worldwide. Ultrasound (US) has been used as an indispensable tool for breast cancer detection/diagnosis and treatment. In computer-aided assistance, lesion segmentation is a preliminary but vital step, but the task is quite challenging in US images, due to imaging artifacts that complicate detection and measurement of the suspect lesions. The lesions usually present with poor boundary features and vary significantly in size, shape, and intensity distribution between cases. Automatic methods are highly application dependent while manual tracing methods are extremely time consuming and have a great deal of intra- and inter- observer variability. Semi-automatic approaches are designed to counterbalance the advantage and drawbacks of the automatic and manual methods. However, considerable user interaction might be necessary to ensure reasonable segmentation for a wide range of lesions. This work proposes an automatic enhancement approach to improve the boundary searching ability of the live wire method to reduce necessary user interaction while keeping the segmentation performance. Based on the results of segmentation of 50 2D breast lesions in US images, less user interaction is required to achieve desired accuracy, i.e. < 80%, when auto-enhancement is applied for live-wire segmentation.

Semi-automatic computerized approach to radiological quantification in rheumatoid arthritis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steiner, Wolfgang; Schoeffmann, Sylvia; Prommegger, Andrea; Boegl, Karl; Klinger, Thomas; Peloschek, Philipp; Kainberger, Franz

2004-04-01

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a common systemic disease predominantly involving the joints. Precise diagnosis and follow-up therapy requires objective quantification. For this purpose, radiological analyses using standardized scoring systems are considered to be the most appropriate method. The aim of our study is to develop a semi-automatic image analysis software, especially applicable for scoring of joints in rheumatic disorders. The X-Ray RheumaCoach software delivers various scoring systems (Larsen-Score and Ratingen-Rau-Score) which can be applied by the scorer. In addition to the qualitative assessment of joints performed by the radiologist, a semi-automatic image analysis for joint detection and measurements of bone diameters and swollen tissue supports the image assessment process. More than 3000 radiographs from hands and feet of more than 200 RA patients were collected, analyzed, and statistically evaluated. Radiographs were quantified using conventional paper-based Larsen score and the X-Ray RheumaCoach software. The use of the software shortened the scoring time by about 25 percent and reduced the rate of erroneous scorings in all our studies. Compared to paper-based scoring methods, the X-Ray RheumaCoach software offers several advantages: (i) Structured data analysis and input that minimizes variance by standardization, (ii) faster and more precise calculation of sum scores and indices, (iii) permanent data storing and fast access to the software"s database, (iv) the possibility of cross-calculation to other scores, (v) semi-automatic assessment of images, and (vii) reliable documentation of results in the form of graphical printouts.

Diagnostic accuracy of semi-automatic quantitative metrics as an alternative to expert reading of CT myocardial perfusion in the CORE320 study.

PubMed

Ostovaneh, Mohammad R; Vavere, Andrea L; Mehra, Vishal C; Kofoed, Klaus F; Matheson, Matthew B; Arbab-Zadeh, Armin; Fujisawa, Yasuko; Schuijf, Joanne D; Rochitte, Carlos E; Scholte, Arthur J; Kitagawa, Kakuya; Dewey, Marc; Cox, Christopher; DiCarli, Marcelo F; George, Richard T; Lima, Joao A C

To determine the diagnostic accuracy of semi-automatic quantitative metrics compared to expert reading for interpretation of computed tomography perfusion (CTP) imaging. The CORE320 multicenter diagnostic accuracy clinical study enrolled patients between 45 and 85 years of age who were clinically referred for invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Computed tomography angiography (CTA), CTP, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and ICA images were interpreted manually in blinded core laboratories by two experienced readers. Additionally, eight quantitative CTP metrics as continuous values were computed semi-automatically from myocardial and blood attenuation and were combined using logistic regression to derive a final quantitative CTP metric score. For the reference standard, hemodynamically significant coronary artery disease (CAD) was defined as a quantitative ICA stenosis of 50% or greater and a corresponding perfusion defect by SPECT. Diagnostic accuracy was determined by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Of the total 377 included patients, 66% were male, median age was 62 (IQR: 56, 68) years, and 27% had prior myocardial infarction. In patient based analysis, the AUC (95% CI) for combined CTA-CTP expert reading and combined CTA-CTP semi-automatic quantitative metrics was 0.87(0.84-0.91) and 0.86 (0.83-0.9), respectively. In vessel based analyses the AUC's were 0.85 (0.82-0.88) and 0.84 (0.81-0.87), respectively. No significant difference in AUC was found between combined CTA-CTP expert reading and CTA-CTP semi-automatic quantitative metrics in patient based or vessel based analyses(p > 0.05 for all). Combined CTA-CTP semi-automatic quantitative metrics is as accurate as CTA-CTP expert reading to detect hemodynamically significant CAD. Copyright © 2018 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Integrating different tracking systems in football: multiple camera semi-automatic system, local position measurement and GPS technologies.

PubMed

Buchheit, Martin; Allen, Adam; Poon, Tsz Kit; Modonutti, Mattia; Gregson, Warren; Di Salvo, Valter

2014-12-01

Abstract During the past decade substantial development of computer-aided tracking technology has occurred. Therefore, we aimed to provide calibration equations to allow the interchangeability of different tracking technologies used in soccer. Eighty-two highly trained soccer players (U14-U17) were monitored during training and one match. Player activity was collected simultaneously with a semi-automatic multiple-camera (Prozone), local position measurement (LPM) technology (Inmotio) and two global positioning systems (GPSports and VX). Data were analysed with respect to three different field dimensions (small, <30 m 2 to full-pitch, match). Variables provided by the systems were compared, and calibration equations (linear regression models) between each system were calculated for each field dimension. Most metrics differed between the 4 systems with the magnitude of the differences dependant on both pitch size and the variable of interest. Trivial-to-small between-system differences in total distance were noted. However, high-intensity running distance (>14.4 km · h -1 ) was slightly-to-moderately greater when tracked with Prozone, and accelerations, small-to-very largely greater with LPM. For most of the equations, the typical error of the estimate was of a moderate magnitude. Interchangeability of the different tracking systems is possible with the provided equations, but care is required given their moderate typical error of the estimate.

Building a semi-automatic ontology learning and construction system for geosciences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babaie, H. A.; Sunderraman, R.; Zhu, Y.

2013-12-01

We are developing an ontology learning and construction framework that allows continuous, semi-automatic knowledge extraction, verification, validation, and maintenance by potentially a very large group of collaborating domain experts in any geosciences field. The system brings geoscientists from the side-lines to the center stage of ontology building, allowing them to collaboratively construct and enrich new ontologies, and merge, align, and integrate existing ontologies and tools. These constantly evolving ontologies can more effectively address community's interests, purposes, tools, and change. The goal is to minimize the cost and time of building ontologies, and maximize the quality, usability, and adoption of ontologies by the community. Our system will be a domain-independent ontology learning framework that applies natural language processing, allowing users to enter their ontology in a semi-structured form, and a combined Semantic Web and Social Web approach that lets direct participation of geoscientists who have no skill in the design and development of their domain ontologies. A controlled natural language (CNL) interface and an integrated authoring and editing tool automatically convert syntactically correct CNL text into formal OWL constructs. The WebProtege-based system will allow a potentially large group of geoscientists, from multiple domains, to crowd source and participate in the structuring of their knowledge model by sharing their knowledge through critiquing, testing, verifying, adopting, and updating of the concept models (ontologies). We will use cloud storage for all data and knowledge base components of the system, such as users, domain ontologies, discussion forums, and semantic wikis that can be accessed and queried by geoscientists in each domain. We will use NoSQL databases such as MongoDB as a service in the cloud environment. MongoDB uses the lightweight JSON format, which makes it convenient and easy to build Web applications using

Semi-automatic object geometry estimation for image personalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Hengzhou; Bala, Raja; Fan, Zhigang; Eschbach, Reiner; Bouman, Charles A.; Allebach, Jan P.

2010-01-01

Digital printing brings about a host of benefits, one of which is the ability to create short runs of variable, customized content. One form of customization that is receiving much attention lately is in photofinishing applications, whereby personalized calendars, greeting cards, and photo books are created by inserting text strings into images. It is particularly interesting to estimate the underlying geometry of the surface and incorporate the text into the image content in an intelligent and natural way. Current solutions either allow fixed text insertion schemes into preprocessed images, or provide manual text insertion tools that are time consuming and aimed only at the high-end graphic designer. It would thus be desirable to provide some level of automation in the image personalization process. We propose a semi-automatic image personalization workflow which includes two scenarios: text insertion and text replacement. In both scenarios, the underlying surfaces are assumed to be planar. A 3-D pinhole camera model is used for rendering text, whose parameters are estimated by analyzing existing structures in the image. Techniques in image processing and computer vison such as the Hough transform, the bilateral filter, and connected component analysis are combined, along with necessary user inputs. In particular, the semi-automatic workflow is implemented as an image personalization tool, which is presented in our companion paper.1 Experimental results including personalized images for both scenarios are shown, which demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithms.

Semi-automated CCTV surveillance: the effects of system confidence, system accuracy and task complexity on operator vigilance, reliance and workload.

PubMed

Dadashi, N; Stedmon, A W; Pridmore, T P

2013-09-01

Recent advances in computer vision technology have lead to the development of various automatic surveillance systems, however their effectiveness is adversely affected by many factors and they are not completely reliable. This study investigated the potential of a semi-automated surveillance system to reduce CCTV operator workload in both detection and tracking activities. A further focus of interest was the degree of user reliance on the automated system. A simulated prototype was developed which mimicked an automated system that provided different levels of system confidence information. Dependent variable measures were taken for secondary task performance, reliance and subjective workload. When the automatic component of a semi-automatic CCTV surveillance system provided reliable system confidence information to operators, workload significantly decreased and spare mental capacity significantly increased. Providing feedback about system confidence and accuracy appears to be one important way of making the status of the automated component of the surveillance system more 'visible' to users and hence more effective to use. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Semi-automatic knee cartilage segmentation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dam, Erik B.; Folkesson, Jenny; Pettersen, Paola C.; Christiansen, Claus

2006-03-01

Osteo-Arthritis (OA) is a very common age-related cause of pain and reduced range of motion. A central effect of OA is wear-down of the articular cartilage that otherwise ensures smooth joint motion. Quantification of the cartilage breakdown is central in monitoring disease progression and therefore cartilage segmentation is required. Recent advances allow automatic cartilage segmentation with high accuracy in most cases. However, the automatic methods still fail in some problematic cases. For clinical studies, even if a few failing cases will be averaged out in the overall results, this reduces the mean accuracy and precision and thereby necessitates larger/longer studies. Since the severe OA cases are often most problematic for the automatic methods, there is even a risk that the quantification will introduce a bias in the results. Therefore, interactive inspection and correction of these problematic cases is desirable. For diagnosis on individuals, this is even more crucial since the diagnosis will otherwise simply fail. We introduce and evaluate a semi-automatic cartilage segmentation method combining an automatic pre-segmentation with an interactive step that allows inspection and correction. The automatic step consists of voxel classification based on supervised learning. The interactive step combines a watershed transformation of the original scan with the posterior probability map from the classification step at sub-voxel precision. We evaluate the method for the task of segmenting the tibial cartilage sheet from low-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of knees. The evaluation shows that the combined method allows accurate and highly reproducible correction of the segmentation of even the worst cases in approximately ten minutes of interaction.

Automatic computation of transfer functions

DOEpatents

Atcitty, Stanley; Watson, Luke Dale

2015-04-14

Technologies pertaining to the automatic computation of transfer functions for a physical system are described herein. The physical system is one of an electrical system, a mechanical system, an electromechanical system, an electrochemical system, or an electromagnetic system. A netlist in the form of a matrix comprises data that is indicative of elements in the physical system, values for the elements in the physical system, and structure of the physical system. Transfer functions for the physical system are computed based upon the netlist.

Application of a Novel Semi-Automatic Technique for Determining the Bilateral Symmetry Plane of the Facial Skeleton of Normal Adult Males.

PubMed

Roumeliotis, Grayson; Willing, Ryan; Neuert, Mark; Ahluwalia, Romy; Jenkyn, Thomas; Yazdani, Arjang

2015-09-01

The accurate assessment of symmetry in the craniofacial skeleton is important for cosmetic and reconstructive craniofacial surgery. Although there have been several published attempts to develop an accurate system for determining the correct plane of symmetry, all are inaccurate and time consuming. Here, the authors applied a novel semi-automatic method for the calculation of craniofacial symmetry, based on principal component analysis and iterative corrective point computation, to a large sample of normal adult male facial computerized tomography scans obtained clinically (n = 32). The authors hypothesized that this method would generate planes of symmetry that would result in less error when one side of the face was compared to the other than a symmetry plane generated using a plane defined by cephalometric landmarks. When a three-dimensional model of one side of the face was reflected across the semi-automatic plane of symmetry there was less error than when reflected across the cephalometric plane. The semi-automatic plane was also more accurate when the locations of bilateral cephalometric landmarks (eg, frontozygomatic sutures) were compared across the face. The authors conclude that this method allows for accurate and fast measurements of craniofacial symmetry. This has important implications for studying the development of the facial skeleton, and clinical application for reconstruction.

Semi Automatic Ontology Instantiation in the domain of Risk Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makki, Jawad; Alquier, Anne-Marie; Prince, Violaine

One of the challenging tasks in the context of Ontological Engineering is to automatically or semi-automatically support the process of Ontology Learning and Ontology Population from semi-structured documents (texts). In this paper we describe a Semi-Automatic Ontology Instantiation method from natural language text, in the domain of Risk Management. This method is composed from three steps 1 ) Annotation with part-of-speech tags, 2) Semantic Relation Instances Extraction, 3) Ontology instantiation process. It's based on combined NLP techniques using human intervention between steps 2 and 3 for control and validation. Since it heavily relies on linguistic knowledge it is not domain dependent which is a good feature for portability between the different fields of risk management application. The proposed methodology uses the ontology of the PRIMA1 project (supported by the European community) as a Generic Domain Ontology and populates it via an available corpus. A first validation of the approach is done through an experiment with Chemical Fact Sheets from Environmental Protection Agency2.

Quantitative analysis of the patellofemoral motion pattern using semi-automatic processing of 4D CT data.

PubMed

Forsberg, Daniel; Lindblom, Maria; Quick, Petter; Gauffin, Håkan

2016-09-01

To present a semi-automatic method with minimal user interaction for quantitative analysis of the patellofemoral motion pattern. 4D CT data capturing the patellofemoral motion pattern of a continuous flexion and extension were collected for five patients prone to patellar luxation both pre- and post-surgically. For the proposed method, an observer would place landmarks in a single 3D volume, which then are automatically propagated to the other volumes in a time sequence. From the landmarks in each volume, the measures patellar displacement, patellar tilt and angle between femur and tibia were computed. Evaluation of the observer variability showed the proposed semi-automatic method to be favorable over a fully manual counterpart, with an observer variability of approximately 1.5[Formula: see text] for the angle between femur and tibia, 1.5 mm for the patellar displacement, and 4.0[Formula: see text]-5.0[Formula: see text] for the patellar tilt. The proposed method showed that surgery reduced the patellar displacement and tilt at maximum extension with approximately 10-15 mm and 15[Formula: see text]-20[Formula: see text] for three patients but with less evident differences for two of the patients. A semi-automatic method suitable for quantification of the patellofemoral motion pattern as captured by 4D CT data has been presented. Its observer variability is on par with that of other methods but with the distinct advantage to support continuous motions during the image acquisition.

Does semi-automatic bone-fragment segmentation improve the reproducibility of the Letournel acetabular fracture classification?

PubMed

Boudissa, M; Orfeuvre, B; Chabanas, M; Tonetti, J

2017-09-01

The Letournel classification of acetabular fracture shows poor reproducibility in inexperienced observers, despite the introduction of 3D imaging. We therefore developed a method of semi-automatic segmentation based on CT data. The present prospective study aimed to assess: (1) whether semi-automatic bone-fragment segmentation increased the rate of correct classification; (2) if so, in which fracture types; and (3) feasibility using the open-source itksnap 3.0 software package without incurring extra cost for users. Semi-automatic segmentation of acetabular fractures significantly increases the rate of correct classification by orthopedic surgery residents. Twelve orthopedic surgery residents classified 23 acetabular fractures. Six used conventional 3D reconstructions provided by the center's radiology department (conventional group) and 6 others used reconstructions obtained by semi-automatic segmentation using the open-source itksnap 3.0 software package (segmentation group). Bone fragments were identified by specific colors. Correct classification rates were compared between groups on Chi 2 test. Assessment was repeated 2 weeks later, to determine intra-observer reproducibility. Correct classification rates were significantly higher in the "segmentation" group: 114/138 (83%) versus 71/138 (52%); P<0.0001. The difference was greater for simple (36/36 (100%) versus 17/36 (47%); P<0.0001) than complex fractures (79/102 (77%) versus 54/102 (53%); P=0.0004). Mean segmentation time per fracture was 27±3min [range, 21-35min]. The segmentation group showed excellent intra-observer correlation coefficients, overall (ICC=0.88), and for simple (ICC=0.92) and complex fractures (ICC=0.84). Semi-automatic segmentation, identifying the various bone fragments, was effective in increasing the rate of correct acetabular fracture classification on the Letournel system by orthopedic surgery residents. It may be considered for routine use in education and training. III: prospective

Semi-Automatic Extraction Algorithm for Images of the Ciliary Muscle

PubMed Central

Kao, Chiu-Yen; Richdale, Kathryn; Sinnott, Loraine T.; Ernst, Lauren E.; Bailey, Melissa D.

2011-01-01

Purpose To development and evaluate a semi-automatic algorithm for segmentation and morphological assessment of the dimensions of the ciliary muscle in Visante™ Anterior Segment Optical Coherence Tomography images. Methods Geometric distortions in Visante images analyzed as binary files were assessed by imaging an optical flat and human donor tissue. The appropriate pixel/mm conversion factor to use for air (n = 1) was estimated by imaging calibration spheres. A semi-automatic algorithm was developed to extract the dimensions of the ciliary muscle from Visante images. Measurements were also made manually using Visante software calipers. Interclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and Bland-Altman analyses were used to compare the methods. A multilevel model was fitted to estimate the variance of algorithm measurements that was due to differences within- and between-examiners in scleral spur selection versus biological variability. Results The optical flat and the human donor tissue were imaged and appeared without geometric distortions in binary file format. Bland-Altman analyses revealed that caliper measurements tended to underestimate ciliary muscle thickness at 3 mm posterior to the scleral spur in subjects with the thickest ciliary muscles (t = 3.6, p < 0.001). The percent variance due to within- or between-examiner differences in scleral spur selection was found to be small (6%) when compared to the variance due to biological difference across subjects (80%). Using the mean of measurements from three images achieved an estimated ICC of 0.85. Conclusions The semi-automatic algorithm successfully segmented the ciliary muscle for further measurement. Using the algorithm to follow the scleral curvature to locate more posterior measurements is critical to avoid underestimating thickness measurements. This semi-automatic algorithm will allow for repeatable, efficient, and masked ciliary muscle measurements in large datasets. PMID:21169877

A system for automatic analysis of blood pressure data for digital computer entry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, R. L.

1972-01-01

Operation of automatic blood pressure data system is described. Analog blood pressure signal is analyzed by three separate circuits, systolic, diastolic, and cycle defect. Digital computer output is displayed on teletype paper tape punch and video screen. Illustration of system is included.

Efficient Semi-Automatic 3D Segmentation for Neuron Tracing in Electron Microscopy Images

PubMed Central

Jones, Cory; Liu, Ting; Cohan, Nathaniel Wood; Ellisman, Mark; Tasdizen, Tolga

2015-01-01

0.1. Background In the area of connectomics, there is a significant gap between the time required for data acquisition and dense reconstruction of the neural processes contained in the same dataset. Automatic methods are able to eliminate this timing gap, but the state-of-the-art accuracy so far is insufficient for use without user corrections. If completed naively, this process of correction can be tedious and time consuming. 0.2. New Method We present a new semi-automatic method that can be used to perform 3D segmentation of neurites in EM image stacks. It utilizes an automatic method that creates a hierarchical structure for recommended merges of superpixels. The user is then guided through each predicted region to quickly identify errors and establish correct links. 0.3. Results We tested our method on three datasets with both novice and expert users. Accuracy and timing were compared with published automatic, semi-automatic, and manual results. 0.4. Comparison with Existing Methods Post-automatic correction methods have also been used in [1] and [2]. These methods do not provide navigation or suggestions in the manner we present. Other semi-automatic methods require user input prior to the automatic segmentation such as [3] and [4] and are inherently different than our method. 0.5. Conclusion Using this method on the three datasets, novice users achieved accuracy exceeding state-of-the-art automatic results, and expert users achieved accuracy on par with full manual labeling but with a 70% time improvement when compared with other examples in publication. PMID:25769273

A method for semi-automatic segmentation and evaluation of intracranial aneurysms in bone-subtraction computed tomography angiography (BSCTA) images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krämer, Susanne; Ditt, Hendrik; Biermann, Christina; Lell, Michael; Keller, Jörg

2009-02-01

The rupture of an intracranial aneurysm has dramatic consequences for the patient. Hence early detection of unruptured aneurysms is of paramount importance. Bone-subtraction computed tomography angiography (BSCTA) has proven to be a powerful tool for detection of aneurysms in particular those located close to the skull base. Most aneurysms though are chance findings in BSCTA scans performed for other reasons. Therefore it is highly desirable to have techniques operating on standard BSCTA scans available which assist radiologists and surgeons in evaluation of intracranial aneurysms. In this paper we present a semi-automatic method for segmentation and assessment of intracranial aneurysms. The only user-interaction required is placement of a marker into the vascular malformation. Termination ensues automatically as soon as the segmentation reaches the vessels which feed the aneurysm. The algorithm is derived from an adaptive region-growing which employs a growth gradient as criterion for termination. Based on this segmentation values of high clinical and prognostic significance, such as volume, minimum and maximum diameter as well as surface of the aneurysm, are calculated automatically. the segmentation itself as well as the calculated diameters are visualised. Further segmentation of the adjoining vessels provides the means for visualisation of the topographical situation of vascular structures associated to the aneurysm. A stereolithographic mesh (STL) can be derived from the surface of the segmented volume. STL together with parameters like the resiliency of vascular wall tissue provide for an accurate wall model of the aneurysm and its associated vascular structures. Consequently the haemodynamic situation in the aneurysm itself and close to it can be assessed by flow modelling. Significant values of haemodynamics such as pressure onto the vascular wall, wall shear stress or pathlines of the blood flow can be computed. Additionally a dynamic flow model can be

Semi-automatic mapping of cultural heritage from airborne laser scanning using deep learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Due Trier, Øivind; Salberg, Arnt-Børre; Holger Pilø, Lars; Tonning, Christer; Marius Johansen, Hans; Aarsten, Dagrun

2016-04-01

This paper proposes to use deep learning to improve semi-automatic mapping of cultural heritage from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data. Automatic detection methods, based on traditional pattern recognition, have been applied in a number of cultural heritage mapping projects in Norway for the past five years. Automatic detection of pits and heaps have been combined with visual interpretation of the ALS data for the mapping of deer hunting systems, iron production sites, grave mounds and charcoal kilns. However, the performance of the automatic detection methods varies substantially between ALS datasets. For the mapping of deer hunting systems on flat gravel and sand sediment deposits, the automatic detection results were almost perfect. However, some false detections appeared in the terrain outside of the sediment deposits. These could be explained by other pit-like landscape features, like parts of river courses, spaces between boulders, and modern terrain modifications. However, these were easy to spot during visual interpretation, and the number of missed individual pitfall traps was still low. For the mapping of grave mounds, the automatic method produced a large number of false detections, reducing the usefulness of the semi-automatic approach. The mound structure is a very common natural terrain feature, and the grave mounds are less distinct in shape than the pitfall traps. Still, applying automatic mound detection on an entire municipality did lead to a new discovery of an Iron Age grave field with more than 15 individual mounds. Automatic mound detection also proved to be useful for a detailed re-mapping of Norway's largest Iron Age grave yard, which contains almost 1000 individual graves. Combined pit and mound detection has been applied to the mapping of more than 1000 charcoal kilns that were used by an iron work 350-200 years ago. The majority of charcoal kilns were indirectly detected as either pits on the circumference, a central mound, or both

A dorsolateral prefrontal cortex semi-automatic segmenter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Al-Hakim, Ramsey; Fallon, James; Nain, Delphine; Melonakos, John; Tannenbaum, Allen

2006-03-01

Structural, functional, and clinical studies in schizophrenia have, for several decades, consistently implicated dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in the etiology of the disease. Functional and structural imaging studies, combined with clinical, psychometric, and genetic analyses in schizophrenia have confirmed the key roles played by the prefrontal cortex and closely linked "prefrontal system" structures such as the striatum, amygdala, mediodorsal thalamus, substantia nigra-ventral tegmental area, and anterior cingulate cortices. The nodal structure of the prefrontal system circuit is the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), or Brodmann area 46, which also appears to be the most commonly studied and cited brain area with respect to schizophrenia. 1, 2, 3, 4 In 1986, Weinberger et. al. tied cerebral blood flow in the DLPFC to schizophrenia.1 In 2001, Perlstein et. al. demonstrated that DLPFC activation is essential for working memory tasks commonly deficient in schizophrenia. 2 More recently, groups have linked morphological changes due to gene deletion and increased DLPFC glutamate concentration to schizophrenia. 3, 4 Despite the experimental and clinical focus on the DLPFC in structural and functional imaging, the variability of the location of this area, differences in opinion on exactly what constitutes DLPFC, and inherent difficulties in segmenting this highly convoluted cortical region have contributed to a lack of widely used standards for manual or semi-automated segmentation programs. Given these implications, we developed a semi-automatic tool to segment the DLPFC from brain MRI scans in a reproducible way to conduct further morphological and statistical studies. The segmenter is based on expert neuroanatomist rules (Fallon-Kindermann rules), inspired by cytoarchitectonic data and reconstructions presented by Rajkowska and Goldman-Rakic. 5 It is semi-automated to provide essential user interactivity. We present our results and provide details on

Preclinical Biokinetic Modelling of Tc-99m Radiophamaceuticals Obtained from Semi-Automatic Image Processing.

PubMed

Cornejo-Aragón, Luz G; Santos-Cuevas, Clara L; Ocampo-García, Blanca E; Chairez-Oria, Isaac; Diaz-Nieto, Lorenza; García-Quiroz, Janice

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to develop a semi automatic image processing algorithm (AIPA) based on the simultaneous information provided by X-ray and radioisotopic images to determine the biokinetic models of Tc-99m radiopharmaceuticals from quantification of image radiation activity in murine models. These radioisotopic images were obtained by a CCD (charge couple device) camera coupled to an ultrathin phosphorous screen in a preclinical multimodal imaging system (Xtreme, Bruker). The AIPA consisted of different image processing methods for background, scattering and attenuation correction on the activity quantification. A set of parametric identification algorithms was used to obtain the biokinetic models that characterize the interaction between different tissues and the radiopharmaceuticals considered in the study. The set of biokinetic models corresponded to the Tc-99m biodistribution observed in different ex vivo studies. This fact confirmed the contribution of the semi-automatic image processing technique developed in this study.

StandFood: Standardization of Foods Using a Semi-Automatic System for Classifying and Describing Foods According to FoodEx2

PubMed Central

Eftimov, Tome; Korošec, Peter; Koroušić Seljak, Barbara

2017-01-01

The European Food Safety Authority has developed a standardized food classification and description system called FoodEx2. It uses facets to describe food properties and aspects from various perspectives, making it easier to compare food consumption data from different sources and perform more detailed data analyses. However, both food composition data and food consumption data, which need to be linked, are lacking in FoodEx2 because the process of classification and description has to be manually performed—a process that is laborious and requires good knowledge of the system and also good knowledge of food (composition, processing, marketing, etc.). In this paper, we introduce a semi-automatic system for classifying and describing foods according to FoodEx2, which consists of three parts. The first involves a machine learning approach and classifies foods into four FoodEx2 categories, with two for single foods: raw (r) and derivatives (d), and two for composite foods: simple (s) and aggregated (c). The second uses a natural language processing approach and probability theory to describe foods. The third combines the result from the first and the second part by defining post-processing rules in order to improve the result for the classification part. We tested the system using a set of food items (from Slovenia) manually-coded according to FoodEx2. The new semi-automatic system obtained an accuracy of 89% for the classification part and 79% for the description part, or an overall result of 79% for the whole system. PMID:28587103

StandFood: Standardization of Foods Using a Semi-Automatic System for Classifying and Describing Foods According to FoodEx2.

PubMed

Eftimov, Tome; Korošec, Peter; Koroušić Seljak, Barbara

2017-05-26

The European Food Safety Authority has developed a standardized food classification and description system called FoodEx2. It uses facets to describe food properties and aspects from various perspectives, making it easier to compare food consumption data from different sources and perform more detailed data analyses. However, both food composition data and food consumption data, which need to be linked, are lacking in FoodEx2 because the process of classification and description has to be manually performed-a process that is laborious and requires good knowledge of the system and also good knowledge of food (composition, processing, marketing, etc.). In this paper, we introduce a semi-automatic system for classifying and describing foods according to FoodEx2, which consists of three parts. The first involves a machine learning approach and classifies foods into four FoodEx2 categories, with two for single foods: raw (r) and derivatives (d), and two for composite foods: simple (s) and aggregated (c). The second uses a natural language processing approach and probability theory to describe foods. The third combines the result from the first and the second part by defining post-processing rules in order to improve the result for the classification part. We tested the system using a set of food items (from Slovenia) manually-coded according to FoodEx2. The new semi-automatic system obtained an accuracy of 89% for the classification part and 79% for the description part, or an overall result of 79% for the whole system.

Semi-automatic tracking, smoothing and segmentation of hyoid bone motion from videofluoroscopic swallowing study.

PubMed

Kim, Won-Seok; Zeng, Pengcheng; Shi, Jian Qing; Lee, Youngjo; Paik, Nam-Jong

2017-01-01

Motion analysis of the hyoid bone via videofluoroscopic study has been used in clinical research, but the classical manual tracking method is generally labor intensive and time consuming. Although some automatic tracking methods have been developed, masked points could not be tracked and smoothing and segmentation, which are necessary for functional motion analysis prior to registration, were not provided by the previous software. We developed software to track the hyoid bone motion semi-automatically. It works even in the situation where the hyoid bone is masked by the mandible and has been validated in dysphagia patients with stroke. In addition, we added the function of semi-automatic smoothing and segmentation. A total of 30 patients' data were used to develop the software, and data collected from 17 patients were used for validation, of which the trajectories of 8 patients were partly masked. Pearson correlation coefficients between the manual and automatic tracking are high and statistically significant (0.942 to 0.991, P-value<0.0001). Relative errors between automatic tracking and manual tracking in terms of the x-axis, y-axis and 2D range of hyoid bone excursion range from 3.3% to 9.2%. We also developed an automatic method to segment each hyoid bone trajectory into four phases (elevation phase, anterior movement phase, descending phase and returning phase). The semi-automatic hyoid bone tracking from VFSS data by our software is valid compared to the conventional manual tracking method. In addition, the ability of automatic indication to switch the automatic mode to manual mode in extreme cases and calibration without attaching the radiopaque object is convenient and useful for users. Semi-automatic smoothing and segmentation provide further information for functional motion analysis which is beneficial to further statistical analysis such as functional classification and prognostication for dysphagia. Therefore, this software could provide the

Semi-automatic feedback using concurrence between mixture vectors for general databases

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Larabi, Mohamed-Chaker; Richard, Noel; Colot, Olivier; Fernandez-Maloigne, Christine

2001-12-01

This paper describes how a query system can exploit the basic knowledge by employing semi-automatic relevance feedback to refine queries and runtimes. For general databases, it is often useless to call complex attributes, because we have not sufficient information about images in the database. Moreover, these images can be topologically very different from one to each other and an attribute that is powerful for a database category may be very powerless for the other categories. The idea is to use very simple features, such as color histogram, correlograms, Color Coherence Vectors (CCV), to fill out the signature vector. Then, a number of mixture vectors is prepared depending on the number of very distinctive categories in the database. Knowing that a mixture vector is a vector containing the weight of each attribute that will be used to compute a similarity distance. We post a query in the database using successively all the mixture vectors defined previously. We retain then the N first images for each vector in order to make a mapping using the following information: Is image I present in several mixture vectors results? What is its rank in the results? These informations allow us to switch the system on an unsupervised relevance feedback or user's feedback (supervised feedback).

Response Evaluation of Malignant Liver Lesions After TACE/SIRT: Comparison of Manual and Semi-Automatic Measurement of Different Response Criteria in Multislice CT.

PubMed

Höink, Anna Janina; Schülke, Christoph; Koch, Raphael; Löhnert, Annika; Kammerer, Sara; Fortkamp, Rasmus; Heindel, Walter; Buerke, Boris

2017-11-01

Purpose  To compare measurement precision and interobserver variability in the evaluation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and liver metastases in MSCT before and after transarterial local ablative therapies. Materials and Methods  Retrospective study of 72 patients with malignant liver lesions (42 metastases; 30 HCCs) before and after therapy (43 SIRT procedures; 29 TACE procedures). Established (LAD; SAD; WHO) and vitality-based parameters (mRECIST; mLAD; mSAD; EASL) were assessed manually and semi-automatically by two readers. The relative interobserver difference (RID) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated. Results  The median RID for vitality-based parameters was lower from semi-automatic than from manual measurement of mLAD (manual 12.5 %; semi-automatic 3.4 %), mSAD (manual 12.7 %; semi-automatic 5.7 %) and EASL (manual 10.4 %; semi-automatic 1.8 %). The difference in established parameters was not statistically noticeable (p > 0.05). The ICCs of LAD (manual 0.984; semi-automatic 0.982), SAD (manual 0.975; semi-automatic 0.958) and WHO (manual 0.984; semi-automatic 0.978) are high, both in manual and semi-automatic measurements. The ICCs of manual measurements of mLAD (0.897), mSAD (0.844) and EASL (0.875) are lower. This decrease cannot be found in semi-automatic measurements of mLAD (0.997), mSAD (0.992) and EASL (0.998). Conclusion  Vitality-based tumor measurements of HCC and metastases after transarterial local therapies should be performed semi-automatically due to greater measurement precision, thus increasing the reproducibility and in turn the reliability of therapeutic decisions. Key points   · Liver lesion measurements according to EASL and mRECIST are more precise when performed semi-automatically.. · The higher reproducibility may facilitate a more reliable classification of therapy response.. · Measurements according to RECIST and WHO offer equivalent precision semi-automatically

Computational analysis of semi-span model test techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milholen, William E., II; Chokani, Ndaona

1996-01-01

A computational investigation was conducted to support the development of a semi-span model test capability in the NASA LaRC's National Transonic Facility. This capability is required for the testing of high-lift systems at flight Reynolds numbers. A three-dimensional Navier-Stokes solver was used to compute the low-speed flow over both a full-span configuration and a semi-span configuration. The computational results were found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. The computational results indicate that the stand-off height has a strong influence on the flow over a semi-span model. The semi-span model adequately replicates the aerodynamic characteristics of the full-span configuration when a small stand-off height, approximately twice the tunnel empty sidewall boundary layer displacement thickness, is used. Several active sidewall boundary layer control techniques were examined including: upstream blowing, local jet blowing, and sidewall suction. Both upstream tangential blowing, and sidewall suction were found to minimize the separation of the sidewall boundary layer ahead of the semi-span model. The required mass flow rates are found to be practicable for testing in the NTF. For the configuration examined, the active sidewall boundary layer control techniques were found to be necessary only near the maximum lift conditions.

Semi-automatic Data Integration using Karma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garijo, D.; Kejriwal, M.; Pierce, S. A.; Houser, P. I. Q.; Peckham, S. D.; Stanko, Z.; Hardesty Lewis, D.; Gil, Y.; Pennington, D. D.; Knoblock, C.

2017-12-01

Data integration applications are ubiquitous in scientific disciplines. A state-of-the-art data integration system accepts both a set of data sources and a target ontology as input, and semi-automatically maps the data sources in terms of concepts and relationships in the target ontology. Mappings can be both complex and highly domain-specific. Once such a semantic model, expressing the mapping using community-wide standard, is acquired, the source data can be stored in a single repository or database using the semantics of the target ontology. However, acquiring the mapping is a labor-prone process, and state-of-the-art artificial intelligence systems are unable to fully automate the process using heuristics and algorithms alone. Instead, a more realistic goal is to develop adaptive tools that minimize user feedback (e.g., by offering good mapping recommendations), while at the same time making it intuitive and easy for the user to both correct errors and to define complex mappings. We present Karma, a data integration system that has been developed over multiple years in the information integration group at the Information Sciences Institute, a research institute at the University of Southern California's Viterbi School of Engineering. Karma is a state-of-the-art data integration tool that supports an interactive graphical user interface, and has been featured in multiple domains over the last five years, including geospatial, biological, humanities and bibliographic applications. Karma allows a user to import their own ontology and datasets using widely used formats such as RDF, XML, CSV and JSON, can be set up either locally or on a server, supports a native backend database for prototyping queries, and can even be seamlessly integrated into external computational pipelines, including those ingesting data via streaming data sources, Web APIs and SQL databases. We illustrate a Karma workflow at a conceptual level, along with a live demo, and show use cases of

Total reduction of distorted echelle spectrograms - An automatic procedure. [for computer controlled microdensitometer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterson, R. C.; Title, A. M.

1975-01-01

A total reduction procedure, notable for its use of a computer-controlled microdensitometer for semi-automatically tracing curved spectra, is applied to distorted high-dispersion echelle spectra recorded by an image tube. Microdensitometer specifications are presented and the FORTRAN, TRACEN and SPOTS programs are outlined. The intensity spectrum of the photographic or electrographic plate is plotted on a graphic display. The time requirements are discussed in detail.

An integrated radiation physics computer code system.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Steyn, J. J.; Harris, D. W.

1972-01-01

An integrated computer code system for the semi-automatic and rapid analysis of experimental and analytic problems in gamma photon and fast neutron radiation physics is presented. Such problems as the design of optimum radiation shields and radioisotope power source configurations may be studied. The system codes allow for the unfolding of complex neutron and gamma photon experimental spectra. Monte Carlo and analytic techniques are used for the theoretical prediction of radiation transport. The system includes a multichannel pulse-height analyzer scintillation and semiconductor spectrometer coupled to an on-line digital computer with appropriate peripheral equipment. The system is geometry generalized as well as self-contained with respect to material nuclear cross sections and the determination of the spectrometer response functions. Input data may be either analytic or experimental.

Semi-automatic forensic approach using mandibular midline lingual structures as fingerprint: a pilot study.

PubMed

Shaheen, E; Mowafy, B; Politis, C; Jacobs, R

2017-12-01

Previous research proposed the use of the mandibular midline neurovascular canal structures as a forensic finger print. In their observer study, an average correct identification of 95% was reached which triggered this study. To present a semi-automatic computer recognition approach to replace the observers and to validate the accuracy of this newly proposed method. Imaging data from Computer Tomography (CT) and Cone Beam Computer Tomography (CBCT) of mandibles scanned at two different moments were collected to simulate an AM and PM situation where the first scan presented AM and the second scan was used to simulate PM. Ten cases with 20 scans were used to build a classifier which relies on voxel based matching and results with classification into one of two groups: "Unmatched" and "Matched". This protocol was then tested using five other scans out of the database. Unpaired t-testing was applied and accuracy of the computerized approach was determined. A significant difference was found between the "Unmatched" and "Matched" classes with means of 0.41 and 0.86 respectively. Furthermore, the testing phase showed an accuracy of 100%. The validation of this method pushes this protocol further to a fully automatic identification procedure for victim identification based on the mandibular midline canals structures only in cases with available AM and PM CBCT/CT data.

Implementation of a microcontroller-based semi-automatic coagulator.

PubMed

Chan, K; Kirumira, A; Elkateeb, A

2001-01-01

The coagulator is an instrument used in hospitals to detect clot formation as a function of time. Generally, these coagulators are very expensive and therefore not affordable by a doctors' office and small clinics. The objective of this project is to design and implement a low cost semi-automatic coagulator (SAC) prototype. The SAC is capable of assaying up to 12 samples and can perform the following tests: prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), and PT/APTT combination. The prototype has been tested successfully.

A semi-automatic parachute separation system for balloon payloads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farman, M.

At the National Scientific balloon Facility (NSBF), when operating stratospheric balloons with scientific payloads, the current practice for separating the payload from the parachute after descent requires the sending of commands, over a UHF uplink, from the chase airplane or the ground control site. While this generally works well, there have been occasions when, due to shadowing of the receive antenna or unfavorable aircraft attitude, the command has not been received and the parachute has failed to separate. In these circumstances the payload may be dragged for long distances before being recovered, with consequent danger of damage to expensive and sometimes irreplaceable scientific instrumentation. The NSBF has therefore proposed a system which would automatically separate the parachute without the necessity for commanding after touchdown. Such a system is now under development.. Mechanical automatic release systems have been tried in the past with only limited success. The current design uses an electronic system based on a tilt sensor which measures the angle that the suspension train subtends relative to the gravity vector. With the suspension vertical, there is minimum output from the sensor. When the payload touches down, the parachute tilts and in any tilt direction the sensor output increases until a predetermined threshold is reached. At this point, a threshold detector is activated which fires the pyrotechnic cutter to release the parachute. The threshold level is adjustable prior to the flight to enable the optimum tilt angle to be determined from flight experience. The system will not operate until armed by command. This command is sent during the descent when communication with the on-board systems is still normally reliable. A safety interlock is included to inhibit arming if the threshold is already high at the time the command is sent. While this is intended to be the primary system, the manual option would be retained as a back- up. A market

A semi-automatic method for positioning a femoral bone reconstruction for strict view generation.

PubMed

Milano, Federico; Ritacco, Lucas; Gomez, Adrian; Gonzalez Bernaldo de Quiros, Fernan; Risk, Marcelo

2010-01-01

In this paper we present a semi-automatic method for femoral bone positioning after 3D image reconstruction from Computed Tomography images. This serves as grounding for the definition of strict axial, longitudinal and anterior-posterior views, overcoming the problem of patient positioning biases in 2D femoral bone measuring methods. After the bone reconstruction is aligned to a standard reference frame, new tomographic slices can be generated, on which unbiased measures may be taken. This could allow not only accurate inter-patient comparisons but also intra-patient comparisons, i.e., comparisons of images of the same patient taken at different times. This method could enable medical doctors to diagnose and follow up several bone deformities more easily.

An intelligent system for real time automatic defect inspection on specular coated surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Jinhua; Parker, Johné M.; Hou, Zhen

2005-07-01

Product visual inspection is still performed manually or semi automatically in most industries from simple ceramic tile grading to complex automotive body panel paint defect and surface quality inspection. Moreover, specular surfaces present additional challenge to conventional vision systems due to specular reflections, which may mask the true location of objects and lead to incorrect measurements. There are some sophisticated visual inspection methods developed in recent years. Unfortunately, most of them are highly computational. Systems built on those methods are either inapplicable or very costly to achieve real time inspection. In this paper, we describe an integrated low-cost intelligent system developed to automatically capture, extract, and segment defects on specular surfaces with uniform color coatings. The system inspects and locates regular surface defects with lateral dimensions as small as a millimeter. The proposed system is implemented on a group of smart cameras using its on-board processing ability to achieve real time inspection. The experimental results on real test panels demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of proposed system.

Comparison Of Semi-Automatic And Automatic Slick Detection Algorithms For Jiyeh Power Station Oil Spill, Lebanon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Osmanoglu, B.; Ozkan, C.; Sunar, F.

2013-10-01

After air strikes on July 14 and 15, 2006 the Jiyeh Power Station started leaking oil into the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The power station is located about 30 km south of Beirut and the slick covered about 170 km of coastline threatening the neighboring countries Turkey and Cyprus. Due to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Lebanon, cleaning efforts could not start immediately resulting in 12 000 to 15 000 tons of fuel oil leaking into the sea. In this paper we compare results from automatic and semi-automatic slick detection algorithms. The automatic detection method combines the probabilities calculated for each pixel from each image to obtain a joint probability, minimizing the adverse effects of atmosphere on oil spill detection. The method can readily utilize X-, C- and L-band data where available. Furthermore wind and wave speed observations can be used for a more accurate analysis. For this study, we utilize Envisat ASAR ScanSAR data. A probability map is generated based on the radar backscatter, effect of wind and dampening value. The semi-automatic algorithm is based on supervised classification. As a classifier, Artificial Neural Network Multilayer Perceptron (ANN MLP) classifier is used since it is more flexible and efficient than conventional maximum likelihood classifier for multisource and multi-temporal data. The learning algorithm for ANN MLP is chosen as the Levenberg-Marquardt (LM). Training and test data for supervised classification are composed from the textural information created from SAR images. This approach is semiautomatic because tuning the parameters of classifier and composing training data need a human interaction. We point out the similarities and differences between the two methods and their results as well as underlining their advantages and disadvantages. Due to the lack of ground truth data, we compare obtained results to each other, as well as other published oil slick area assessments.

Semi-automatic 10/20 Identification Method for MRI-Free Probe Placement in Transcranial Brain Mapping Techniques.

PubMed

Xiao, Xiang; Zhu, Hao; Liu, Wei-Jie; Yu, Xiao-Ting; Duan, Lian; Li, Zheng; Zhu, Chao-Zhe

2017-01-01

The International 10/20 system is an important head-surface-based positioning system for transcranial brain mapping techniques, e.g., fNIRS and TMS. As guidance for probe placement, the 10/20 system permits both proper ROI coverage and spatial consistency among multiple subjects and experiments in a MRI-free context. However, the traditional manual approach to the identification of 10/20 landmarks faces problems in reliability and time cost. In this study, we propose a semi-automatic method to address these problems. First, a novel head surface reconstruction algorithm reconstructs head geometry from a set of points uniformly and sparsely sampled on the subject's head. Second, virtual 10/20 landmarks are determined on the reconstructed head surface in computational space. Finally, a visually-guided real-time navigation system guides the experimenter to each of the identified 10/20 landmarks on the physical head of the subject. Compared with the traditional manual approach, our proposed method provides a significant improvement both in reliability and time cost and thus could contribute to improving both the effectiveness and efficiency of 10/20-guided MRI-free probe placement.

Investigating helmet promotion for cyclists: results from a randomised study with observation of behaviour, using a semi-automatic video system.

PubMed

Constant, Aymery; Messiah, Antoine; Felonneau, Marie-Line; Lagarde, Emmanuel

2012-01-01

Half of fatal injuries among bicyclists are head injuries. While helmet use is likely to provide protection, their use often remains rare. We assessed the influence of strategies for promotion of helmet use with direct observation of behaviour by a semi-automatic video system. We performed a single-centre randomised controlled study, with 4 balanced randomisation groups. Participants were non-helmet users, aged 18-75 years, recruited at a loan facility in the city of Bordeaux, France. After completing a questionnaire investigating their attitudes towards road safety and helmet use, participants were randomly assigned to three groups with the provision of "helmet only", "helmet and information" or "information only", and to a fourth control group. Bikes were labelled with a colour code designed to enable observation of helmet use by participants while cycling, using a 7-spot semi-automatic video system located in the city. A total of 1557 participants were included in the study. Between October 15th 2009 and September 28th 2010, 2621 cyclists' movements, made by 587 participants, were captured by the video system. Participants seen at least once with a helmet amounted to 6.6% of all observed participants, with higher rates in the two groups that received a helmet at baseline. The likelihood of observed helmet use was significantly increased among participants of the "helmet only" group (OR = 7.73 [2.09-28.5]) and this impact faded within six months following the intervention. No effect of information delivery was found. Providing a helmet may be of value, but will not be sufficient to achieve high rates of helmet wearing among adult cyclists. Integrated and repeated prevention programmes will be needed, including free provision of helmets, but also information on the protective effect of helmets and strategies to increase peer and parental pressure.

Semi-automatic motion compensation of contrast-enhanced ultrasound images from abdominal organs for perfusion analysis.

PubMed

Schäfer, Sebastian; Nylund, Kim; Sævik, Fredrik; Engjom, Trond; Mézl, Martin; Jiřík, Radovan; Dimcevski, Georg; Gilja, Odd Helge; Tönnies, Klaus

2015-08-01

This paper presents a system for correcting motion influences in time-dependent 2D contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) images to assess tissue perfusion characteristics. The system consists of a semi-automatic frame selection method to find images with out-of-plane motion as well as a method for automatic motion compensation. Translational and non-rigid motion compensation is applied by introducing a temporal continuity assumption. A study consisting of 40 clinical datasets was conducted to compare the perfusion with simulated perfusion using pharmacokinetic modeling. Overall, the proposed approach decreased the mean average difference between the measured perfusion and the pharmacokinetic model estimation. It was non-inferior for three out of four patient cohorts to a manual approach and reduced the analysis time by 41% compared to manual processing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Resources monitoring and automatic management system for multi-VO distributed computing system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, J.; Pelevanyuk, I.; Sun, Y.; Zhemchugov, A.; Yan, T.; Zhao, X. H.; Zhang, X. M.

2017-10-01

Multi-VO supports based on DIRAC have been set up to provide workload and data management for several high energy experiments in IHEP. To monitor and manage the heterogeneous resources which belong to different Virtual Organizations in a uniform way, a resources monitoring and automatic management system based on Resource Status System(RSS) of DIRAC has been presented in this paper. The system is composed of three parts: information collection, status decision and automatic control, and information display. The information collection includes active and passive way of gathering status from different sources and stores them in databases. The status decision and automatic control is used to evaluate the resources status and take control actions on resources automatically through some pre-defined policies and actions. The monitoring information is displayed on a web portal. Both the real-time information and historical information can be obtained from the web portal. All the implementations are based on DIRAC framework. The information and control including sites, policies, web portal for different VOs can be well defined and distinguished within DIRAC user and group management infrastructure.

Semi-automatic recognition of marine debris on beaches

PubMed Central

Ge, Zhenpeng; Shi, Huahong; Mei, Xuefei; Dai, Zhijun; Li, Daoji

2016-01-01

An increasing amount of anthropogenic marine debris is pervading the earth’s environmental systems, resulting in an enormous threat to living organisms. Additionally, the large amount of marine debris around the world has been investigated mostly through tedious manual methods. Therefore, we propose the use of a new technique, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), for the semi-automatic recognition of marine debris on a beach because of its substantially more efficient role in comparison with other more laborious methods. Our results revealed that LIDAR should be used for the classification of marine debris into plastic, paper, cloth and metal. Additionally, we reconstructed a 3-dimensional model of different types of debris on a beach with a high validity of debris revivification using LIDAR-based individual separation. These findings demonstrate that the availability of this new technique enables detailed observations to be made of debris on a large beach that was previously not possible. It is strongly suggested that LIDAR could be implemented as an appropriate monitoring tool for marine debris by global researchers and governments. PMID:27156433

Semi-automatic recognition of marine debris on beaches

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ge, Zhenpeng; Shi, Huahong; Mei, Xuefei; Dai, Zhijun; Li, Daoji

2016-05-01

An increasing amount of anthropogenic marine debris is pervading the earth’s environmental systems, resulting in an enormous threat to living organisms. Additionally, the large amount of marine debris around the world has been investigated mostly through tedious manual methods. Therefore, we propose the use of a new technique, light detection and ranging (LIDAR), for the semi-automatic recognition of marine debris on a beach because of its substantially more efficient role in comparison with other more laborious methods. Our results revealed that LIDAR should be used for the classification of marine debris into plastic, paper, cloth and metal. Additionally, we reconstructed a 3-dimensional model of different types of debris on a beach with a high validity of debris revivification using LIDAR-based individual separation. These findings demonstrate that the availability of this new technique enables detailed observations to be made of debris on a large beach that was previously not possible. It is strongly suggested that LIDAR could be implemented as an appropriate monitoring tool for marine debris by global researchers and governments.

An online semi-supervised brain-computer interface.

PubMed

Gu, Zhenghui; Yu, Zhuliang; Shen, Zhifang; Li, Yuanqing

2013-09-01

Practical brain-computer interface (BCI) systems should require only low training effort for the user, and the algorithms used to classify the intent of the user should be computationally efficient. However, due to inter- and intra-subject variations in EEG signal, intermittent training/calibration is often unavoidable. In this paper, we present an online semi-supervised P300 BCI speller system. After a short initial training (around or less than 1 min in our experiments), the system is switched to a mode where the user can input characters through selective attention. In this mode, a self-training least squares support vector machine (LS-SVM) classifier is gradually enhanced in back end with the unlabeled EEG data collected online after every character input. In this way, the classifier is gradually enhanced. Even though the user may experience some errors in input at the beginning due to the small initial training dataset, the accuracy approaches that of fully supervised method in a few minutes. The algorithm based on LS-SVM and its sequential update has low computational complexity; thus, it is suitable for online applications. The effectiveness of the algorithm has been validated through data analysis on BCI Competition III dataset II (P300 speller BCI data). The performance of the online system was evaluated through experimental results on eight healthy subjects, where all of them achieved the spelling accuracy of 85 % or above within an average online semi-supervised learning time of around 3 min.

Localization accuracy from automatic and semi-automatic rigid registration of locally-advanced lung cancer targets during image-guided radiation therapy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robertson, Scott P.; Weiss, Elisabeth; Hugo, Geoffrey D.

2012-01-15

Purpose: To evaluate localization accuracy resulting from rigid registration of locally-advanced lung cancer targets using fully automatic and semi-automatic protocols for image-guided radiation therapy. Methods: Seventeen lung cancer patients, fourteen also presenting with involved lymph nodes, received computed tomography (CT) scans once per week throughout treatment under active breathing control. A physician contoured both lung and lymph node targets for all weekly scans. Various automatic and semi-automatic rigid registration techniques were then performed for both individual and simultaneous alignments of the primary gross tumor volume (GTV{sub P}) and involved lymph nodes (GTV{sub LN}) to simulate the localization process in image-guidedmore » radiation therapy. Techniques included ''standard'' (direct registration of weekly images to a planning CT), ''seeded'' (manual prealignment of targets to guide standard registration), ''transitive-based'' (alignment of pretreatment and planning CTs through one or more intermediate images), and ''rereferenced'' (designation of a new reference image for registration). Localization error (LE) was assessed as the residual centroid and border distances between targets from planning and weekly CTs after registration. Results: Initial bony alignment resulted in centroid LE of 7.3 {+-} 5.4 mm and 5.4 {+-} 3.4 mm for the GTV{sub P} and GTV{sub LN}, respectively. Compared to bony alignment, transitive-based and seeded registrations significantly reduced GTV{sub P} centroid LE to 4.7 {+-} 3.7 mm (p = 0.011) and 4.3 {+-} 2.5 mm (p < 1 x 10{sup -3}), respectively, but the smallest GTV{sub P} LE of 2.4 {+-} 2.1 mm was provided by rereferenced registration (p < 1 x 10{sup -6}). Standard registration significantly reduced GTV{sub LN} centroid LE to 3.2 {+-} 2.5 mm (p < 1 x 10{sup -3}) compared to bony alignment, with little additional gain offered by the other registration techniques. For simultaneous target alignment, centroid LE

Design of cylindrical pipe automatic welding control system based on STM32

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Shuaishuai; Shen, Weicong

2018-04-01

The development of modern economy makes the demand for pipeline construction and construction rapidly increasing, and the pipeline welding has become an important link in pipeline construction. At present, there are still a large number of using of manual welding methods at home and abroad, and field pipe welding especially lacks miniature and portable automatic welding equipment. An automated welding system consists of a control system, which consisting of a lower computer control panel and a host computer operating interface, as well as automatic welding machine mechanisms and welding power systems in coordination with the control system. In this paper, a new control system of automatic pipe welding based on the control panel of the lower computer and the interface of the host computer is proposed, which has many advantages over the traditional automatic welding machine.

MOLGENIS/connect: a system for semi-automatic integration of heterogeneous phenotype data with applications in biobanks.

PubMed

Pang, Chao; van Enckevort, David; de Haan, Mark; Kelpin, Fleur; Jetten, Jonathan; Hendriksen, Dennis; de Boer, Tommy; Charbon, Bart; Winder, Erwin; van der Velde, K Joeri; Doiron, Dany; Fortier, Isabel; Hillege, Hans; Swertz, Morris A

2016-07-15

While the size and number of biobanks, patient registries and other data collections are increasing, biomedical researchers still often need to pool data for statistical power, a task that requires time-intensive retrospective integration. To address this challenge, we developed MOLGENIS/connect, a semi-automatic system to find, match and pool data from different sources. The system shortlists relevant source attributes from thousands of candidates using ontology-based query expansion to overcome variations in terminology. Then it generates algorithms that transform source attributes to a common target DataSchema. These include unit conversion, categorical value matching and complex conversion patterns (e.g. calculation of BMI). In comparison to human-experts, MOLGENIS/connect was able to auto-generate 27% of the algorithms perfectly, with an additional 46% needing only minor editing, representing a reduction in the human effort and expertise needed to pool data. Source code, binaries and documentation are available as open-source under LGPLv3 from http://github.com/molgenis/molgenis and www.molgenis.org/connect : m.a.swertz@rug.nl Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

MOLGENIS/connect: a system for semi-automatic integration of heterogeneous phenotype data with applications in biobanks

PubMed Central

Pang, Chao; van Enckevort, David; de Haan, Mark; Kelpin, Fleur; Jetten, Jonathan; Hendriksen, Dennis; de Boer, Tommy; Charbon, Bart; Winder, Erwin; van der Velde, K. Joeri; Doiron, Dany; Fortier, Isabel; Hillege, Hans

2016-01-01

Motivation: While the size and number of biobanks, patient registries and other data collections are increasing, biomedical researchers still often need to pool data for statistical power, a task that requires time-intensive retrospective integration. Results: To address this challenge, we developed MOLGENIS/connect, a semi-automatic system to find, match and pool data from different sources. The system shortlists relevant source attributes from thousands of candidates using ontology-based query expansion to overcome variations in terminology. Then it generates algorithms that transform source attributes to a common target DataSchema. These include unit conversion, categorical value matching and complex conversion patterns (e.g. calculation of BMI). In comparison to human-experts, MOLGENIS/connect was able to auto-generate 27% of the algorithms perfectly, with an additional 46% needing only minor editing, representing a reduction in the human effort and expertise needed to pool data. Availability and Implementation: Source code, binaries and documentation are available as open-source under LGPLv3 from http://github.com/molgenis/molgenis and www.molgenis.org/connect. Contact: m.a.swertz@rug.nl Supplementary information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online. PMID:27153686

Computer vision for automatic inspection of agricultural produce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molto, Enrique; Blasco, Jose; Benlloch, Jose V.

1999-01-01

Fruit and vegetables suffer different manipulations from the field to the final consumer. These are basically oriented towards the cleaning and selection of the product in homogeneous categories. For this reason, several research projects, aimed at fast, adequate produce sorting and quality control are currently under development around the world. Moreover, it is possible to find manual and semi- automatic commercial system capable of reasonably performing these tasks.However, in many cases, their accuracy is incompatible with current European market demands, which are constantly increasing. IVIA, the Valencian Research Institute of Agriculture, located in Spain, has been involved in several European projects related with machine vision for real-time inspection of various agricultural produces. This paper will focus on the work related with two products that have different requirements: fruit and olives. In the case of fruit, the Institute has developed a vision system capable of providing assessment of the external quality of single fruit to a robot that also receives information from other senors. The system use four different views of each fruit and has been tested on peaches, apples and citrus. Processing time of each image is under 500 ms using a conventional PC. The system provides information about primary and secondary color, blemishes and their extension, and stem presence and position, which allows further automatic orientation of the fruit in the final box using a robotic manipulator. Work carried out in olives was devoted to fast sorting of olives for consumption at table. A prototype has been developed to demonstrate the feasibility of a machine vision system capable of automatically sorting 2500 kg/h olives using low-cost conventional hardware.

A semi-automatic framework of measuring pulmonary arterial metrics at anatomic airway locations using CT imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Dakai; Guo, Junfeng; Dougherty, Timothy M.; Iyer, Krishna S.; Hoffman, Eric A.; Saha, Punam K.

2016-03-01

Pulmonary vascular dysfunction has been implicated in smoking-related susceptibility to emphysema. With the growing interest in characterizing arterial morphology for early evaluation of the vascular role in pulmonary diseases, there is an increasing need for the standardization of a framework for arterial morphological assessment at airway segmental levels. In this paper, we present an effective and robust semi-automatic framework to segment pulmonary arteries at different anatomic airway branches and measure their cross-sectional area (CSA). The method starts with user-specified endpoints of a target arterial segment through a custom-built graphical user interface. It then automatically detect the centerline joining the endpoints, determines the local structure orientation and computes the CSA along the centerline after filtering out the adjacent pulmonary structures, such as veins or airway walls. Several new techniques are presented, including collision-impact based cost function for centerline detection, radial sample-line based CSA computation, and outlier analysis of radial distance to subtract adjacent neighboring structures in the CSA measurement. The method was applied to repeat-scan pulmonary multirow detector CT (MDCT) images from ten healthy subjects (age: 21-48 Yrs, mean: 28.5 Yrs; 7 female) at functional residual capacity (FRC). The reproducibility of computed arterial CSA from four airway segmental regions in middle and lower lobes was analyzed. The overall repeat-scan intra-class correlation (ICC) of the computed CSA from all four airway regions in ten subjects was 96% with maximum ICC found at LB10 and RB4 regions.

Semi-automatic brain tumor segmentation by constrained MRFs using structural trajectories.

PubMed

Zhao, Liang; Wu, Wei; Corso, Jason J

2013-01-01

Quantifying volume and growth of a brain tumor is a primary prognostic measure and hence has received much attention in the medical imaging community. Most methods have sought a fully automatic segmentation, but the variability in shape and appearance of brain tumor has limited their success and further adoption in the clinic. In reaction, we present a semi-automatic brain tumor segmentation framework for multi-channel magnetic resonance (MR) images. This framework does not require prior model construction and only requires manual labels on one automatically selected slice. All other slices are labeled by an iterative multi-label Markov random field optimization with hard constraints. Structural trajectories-the medical image analog to optical flow and 3D image over-segmentation are used to capture pixel correspondences between consecutive slices for pixel labeling. We show robustness and effectiveness through an evaluation on the 2012 MICCAI BRATS Challenge Dataset; our results indicate superior performance to baselines and demonstrate the utility of the constrained MRF formulation.

Investigating Helmet Promotion for Cyclists: Results from a Randomised Study with Observation of Behaviour, Using a Semi-Automatic Video System

PubMed Central

Constant, Aymery; Messiah, Antoine; Felonneau, Marie-Line; Lagarde, Emmanuel

2012-01-01

Introduction Half of fatal injuries among bicyclists are head injuries. While helmet use is likely to provide protection, their use often remains rare. We assessed the influence of strategies for promotion of helmet use with direct observation of behaviour by a semi-automatic video system. Methods We performed a single-centre randomised controlled study, with 4 balanced randomisation groups. Participants were non-helmet users, aged 18–75 years, recruited at a loan facility in the city of Bordeaux, France. After completing a questionnaire investigating their attitudes towards road safety and helmet use, participants were randomly assigned to three groups with the provision of “helmet only”, “helmet and information” or “information only”, and to a fourth control group. Bikes were labelled with a colour code designed to enable observation of helmet use by participants while cycling, using a 7-spot semi-automatic video system located in the city. A total of 1557 participants were included in the study. Results Between October 15th 2009 and September 28th 2010, 2621 cyclists' movements, made by 587 participants, were captured by the video system. Participants seen at least once with a helmet amounted to 6.6% of all observed participants, with higher rates in the two groups that received a helmet at baseline. The likelihood of observed helmet use was significantly increased among participants of the “helmet only” group (OR = 7.73 [2.09–28.5]) and this impact faded within six months following the intervention. No effect of information delivery was found. Conclusion Providing a helmet may be of value, but will not be sufficient to achieve high rates of helmet wearing among adult cyclists. Integrated and repeated prevention programmes will be needed, including free provision of helmets, but also information on the protective effect of helmets and strategies to increase peer and parental pressure. PMID:22355384

Automatic Computer Mapping of Terrain

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smedes, H. W.

1971-01-01

Computer processing of 17 wavelength bands of visible, reflective infrared, and thermal infrared scanner spectrometer data, and of three wavelength bands derived from color aerial film has resulted in successful automatic computer mapping of eight or more terrain classes in a Yellowstone National Park test site. The tests involved: (1) supervised and non-supervised computer programs; (2) special preprocessing of the scanner data to reduce computer processing time and cost, and improve the accuracy; and (3) studies of the effectiveness of the proposed Earth Resources Technology Satellite (ERTS) data channels in the automatic mapping of the same terrain, based on simulations, using the same set of scanner data. The following terrain classes have been mapped with greater than 80 percent accuracy in a 12-square-mile area with 1,800 feet of relief; (1) bedrock exposures, (2) vegetated rock rubble, (3) talus, (4) glacial kame meadow, (5) glacial till meadow, (6) forest, (7) bog, and (8) water. In addition, shadows of clouds and cliffs are depicted, but were greatly reduced by using preprocessing techniques.

Asteroid (21) Lutetia: Semi-Automatic Impact Craters Detection and Classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jenerowicz, M.; Banaszkiewicz, M.

2018-05-01

The need to develop an automated method, independent of lighting and surface conditions, for the identification and measurement of impact craters, as well as the creation of a reliable and efficient tool, has become a justification of our studies. This paper presents a methodology for the detection of impact craters based on their spectral and spatial features. The analysis aims at evaluation of the algorithm capabilities to determinate the spatial parameters of impact craters presented in a time series. In this way, time-consuming visual interpretation of images would be reduced to the special cases. The developed algorithm is tested on a set of OSIRIS high resolution images of asteroid Lutetia surface which is characterized by varied landforms and the abundance of craters created by collisions with smaller bodies of the solar system.The proposed methodology consists of three main steps: characterisation of objects of interest on limited set of data, semi-automatic extraction of impact craters performed for total set of data by applying the Mathematical Morphology image processing (Serra, 1988, Soille, 2003), and finally, creating libraries of spatial and spectral parameters for extracted impact craters, i.e. the coordinates of the crater center, semi-major and semi-minor axis, shadow length and cross-section. The overall accuracy of the proposed method is 98 %, the Kappa coefficient is 0.84, the correlation coefficient is ∼ 0.80, the omission error 24.11 %, the commission error 3.45 %. The obtained results show that methods based on Mathematical Morphology operators are effective also with a limited number of data and low-contrast images.

Automatic weld torch guidance control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smaith, H. E.; Wall, W. A.; Burns, M. R., Jr.

1982-01-01

A highly reliable, fully digital, closed circuit television optical, type automatic weld seam tracking control system was developed. This automatic tracking equipment is used to reduce weld tooling costs and increase overall automatic welding reliability. The system utilizes a charge injection device digital camera which as 60,512 inidividual pixels as the light sensing elements. Through conventional scanning means, each pixel in the focal plane is sequentially scanned, the light level signal digitized, and an 8-bit word transmitted to scratch pad memory. From memory, the microprocessor performs an analysis of the digital signal and computes the tracking error. Lastly, the corrective signal is transmitted to a cross seam actuator digital drive motor controller to complete the closed loop, feedback, tracking system. This weld seam tracking control system is capable of a tracking accuracy of + or - 0.2 mm, or better. As configured, the system is applicable to square butt, V-groove, and lap joint weldments.

HEPMath 1.4: A mathematica package for semi-automatic computations in high energy physics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wiebusch, Martin

2015-10-01

This article introduces the Mathematica package HEPMath which provides a number of utilities and algorithms for High Energy Physics computations in Mathematica. Its functionality is similar to packages like FormCalc or FeynCalc, but it takes a more complete and extensible approach to implementing common High Energy Physics notations in the Mathematica language, in particular those related to tensors and index contractions. It also provides a more flexible method for the generation of numerical code which is based on new features for C code generation in Mathematica. In particular it can automatically generate Python extension modules which make the compiled functions callable from Python, thus eliminating the need to write any code in a low-level language like C or Fortran. It also contains seamless interfaces to LHAPDF, FeynArts, and LoopTools.

Automatic retinal interest evaluation system (ARIES).

PubMed

Yin, Fengshou; Wong, Damon Wing Kee; Yow, Ai Ping; Lee, Beng Hai; Quan, Ying; Zhang, Zhuo; Gopalakrishnan, Kavitha; Li, Ruoying; Liu, Jiang

2014-01-01

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of automatic computer-based systems for the detection of eye diseases such as glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. However, in practice, retinal image quality is a big concern as automatic systems without consideration of degraded image quality will likely generate unreliable results. In this paper, an automatic retinal image quality assessment system (ARIES) is introduced to assess both image quality of the whole image and focal regions of interest. ARIES achieves 99.54% accuracy in distinguishing fundus images from other types of images through a retinal image identification step in a dataset of 35342 images. The system employs high level image quality measures (HIQM) to perform image quality assessment, and achieves areas under curve (AUCs) of 0.958 and 0.987 for whole image and optic disk region respectively in a testing dataset of 370 images. ARIES acts as a form of automatic quality control which ensures good quality images are used for processing, and can also be used to alert operators of poor quality images at the time of acquisition.

Semi-automatic 3D lung nodule segmentation in CT using dynamic programming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sargent, Dustin; Park, Sun Young

2017-02-01

We present a method for semi-automatic segmentation of lung nodules in chest CT that can be extended to general lesion segmentation in multiple modalities. Most semi-automatic algorithms for lesion segmentation or similar tasks use region-growing or edge-based contour finding methods such as level-set. However, lung nodules and other lesions are often connected to surrounding tissues, which makes these algorithms prone to growing the nodule boundary into the surrounding tissue. To solve this problem, we apply a 3D extension of the 2D edge linking method with dynamic programming to find a closed surface in a spherical representation of the nodule ROI. The algorithm requires a user to draw a maximal diameter across the nodule in the slice in which the nodule cross section is the largest. We report the lesion volume estimation accuracy of our algorithm on the FDA lung phantom dataset, and the RECIST diameter estimation accuracy on the lung nodule dataset from the SPIE 2016 lung nodule classification challenge. The phantom results in particular demonstrate that our algorithm has the potential to mitigate the disparity in measurements performed by different radiologists on the same lesions, which could improve the accuracy of disease progression tracking.

Denver RTD's computer aided dispatch/automatic vehicle location system : the human factors consequences

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-09-01

This report documents what happened to employees' work procedures when their employer when their employer installed Computer Aided Disptach/Automatic Vehicle Locator (CAD/AVL) technology to provide real-time surveillance of vehicles and to upgrade ra...

Semi-Markov adjunction to the Computer-Aided Markov Evaluator (CAME)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosch, Gene; Hutchins, Monica A.; Leong, Frank J.; Babcock, Philip S., IV

1988-01-01

The rule-based Computer-Aided Markov Evaluator (CAME) program was expanded in its ability to incorporate the effect of fault-handling processes into the construction of a reliability model. The fault-handling processes are modeled as semi-Markov events and CAME constructs and appropriate semi-Markov model. To solve the model, the program outputs it in a form which can be directly solved with the Semi-Markov Unreliability Range Evaluator (SURE) program. As a means of evaluating the alterations made to the CAME program, the program is used to model the reliability of portions of the Integrated Airframe/Propulsion Control System Architecture (IAPSA 2) reference configuration. The reliability predictions are compared with a previous analysis. The results bear out the feasibility of utilizing CAME to generate appropriate semi-Markov models to model fault-handling processes.

Automatic computation for optimum height planning of apartment buildings to improve solar access

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seong, Yoon-Bok; Kim, Yong-Yee; Seok, Ho-Tae

2011-01-15

The objective of this study is to suggest a mathematical model and an optimal algorithm for determining the height of apartment buildings to satisfy the solar rights of survey buildings or survey housing units. The objective is also to develop an automatic computation model for the optimum height of apartment buildings and then to clarify the performance and expected effects. To accomplish the objective of this study, the following procedures were followed: (1) The necessity of the height planning of obstruction buildings to satisfy the solar rights of survey buildings or survey housing units is demonstrated by analyzing through amore » literature review the recent trend of disputes related to solar rights and to examining the social requirements in terms of solar rights. In addition, the necessity of the automatic computation system for height planning of apartment buildings is demonstrated and a suitable analysis method for this system is chosen by investigating the characteristics of analysis methods for solar rights assessment. (2) A case study on the process of height planning of apartment buildings will be briefly described and the problems occurring in this process will then be examined carefully. (3) To develop an automatic computation model for height planning of apartment buildings, geometrical elements forming apartment buildings are defined by analyzing the geometrical characteristics of apartment buildings. In addition, design factors and regulations required in height planning of apartment buildings are investigated. Based on this knowledge, the methodology and mathematical algorithm to adjust the height of apartment buildings by automatic computation are suggested and probable problems and the ways to resolve these problems are discussed. Finally, the methodology and algorithm for the optimization are suggested. (4) Based on the suggested methodology and mathematical algorithm, the automatic computation model for optimum height of apartment

Semi-automatic volume measurement for orbital fat and total extraocular muscles based on Cube FSE-flex sequence in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy.

PubMed

Tang, X; Liu, H; Chen, L; Wang, Q; Luo, B; Xiang, N; He, Y; Zhu, W; Zhang, J

2018-05-24

To investigate the accuracy of two semi-automatic segmentation measurements based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) three-dimensional (3D) Cube fast spin echo (FSE)-flex sequence in phantoms, and to evaluate the feasibility of determining the volumetric alterations of orbital fat (OF) and total extraocular muscles (TEM) in patients with thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO) by semi-automatic segmentation. Forty-four fatty (n=22) and lean (n=22) phantoms were scanned by using Cube FSE-flex sequence with a 3 T MRI system. Their volumes were measured by manual segmentation (MS) and two semi-automatic segmentation algorithms (regional growing [RG], multi-dimensional threshold [MDT]). Pearson correlation and Bland-Altman analysis were used to evaluate the measuring accuracy of MS, RG, and MDT in phantoms as compared with the true volume. Then, OF and TEM volumes of 15 TAO patients and 15 normal controls were measured using MDT. Paired-sample t-tests were used to compare the volumes and volume ratios of different orbital tissues between TAO patients and controls. Each segmentation (MS RG, MDT) has a significant correlation (p<0.01) with true volume. There was a minimal bias for MS, and a stronger agreement between MDT and the true volume than RG and the true volume both in fatty and lean phantoms. The reproducibility of Cube FSE-flex determined MDT was adequate. The volumetric ratios of OF/globe (p<0.01), TEM/globe (p<0.01), whole orbit/globe (p<0.01) and bone orbit/globe (p<0.01) were significantly greater in TAO patients than those in healthy controls. MRI Cube FSE-flex determined MDT is a relatively accurate semi-automatic segmentation that can be used to evaluate OF and TEM volumes in clinic. Copyright © 2018 The Royal College of Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scheduling algorithms for automatic control systems for technological processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chernigovskiy, A. S.; Tsarev, R. Yu; Kapulin, D. V.

2017-01-01

Wide use of automatic process control systems and the usage of high-performance systems containing a number of computers (processors) give opportunities for creation of high-quality and fast production that increases competitiveness of an enterprise. Exact and fast calculations, control computation, and processing of the big data arrays - all of this requires the high level of productivity and, at the same time, minimum time of data handling and result receiving. In order to reach the best time, it is necessary not only to use computing resources optimally, but also to design and develop the software so that time gain will be maximal. For this purpose task (jobs or operations), scheduling techniques for the multi-machine/multiprocessor systems are applied. Some of basic task scheduling methods for the multi-machine process control systems are considered in this paper, their advantages and disadvantages come to light, and also some usage considerations, in case of the software for automatic process control systems developing, are made.

A methodology for the semi-automatic digital image analysis of fragmental impactites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chanou, A.; Osinski, G. R.; Grieve, R. A. F.

2014-04-01

A semi-automated digital image analysis method is developed for the comparative textural study of impact melt-bearing breccias. This method uses the freeware software ImageJ developed by the National Institute of Health (NIH). Digital image analysis is performed on scans of hand samples (10-15 cm across), based on macroscopic interpretations of the rock components. All image processing and segmentation are done semi-automatically, with the least possible manual intervention. The areal fraction of components is estimated and modal abundances can be deduced, where the physical optical properties (e.g., contrast, color) of the samples allow it. Other parameters that can be measured include, for example, clast size, clast-preferred orientations, average box-counting dimension or fragment shape complexity, and nearest neighbor distances (NnD). This semi-automated method allows the analysis of a larger number of samples in a relatively short time. Textures, granulometry, and shape descriptors are of considerable importance in rock characterization. The methodology is used to determine the variations of the physical characteristics of some examples of fragmental impactites.

a New Approach for the Semi-Automatic Texture Generation of the Buildings Facades, from Terrestrial Laser Scanner Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oniga, E.

2012-07-01

The result of the terrestrial laser scanning is an impressive number of spatial points, each of them being characterized as position by the X, Y and Z co-ordinates, by the value of the laser reflectance and their real color, expressed as RGB (Red, Green, Blue) values. The color code for each LIDAR point is taken from the georeferenced digital images, taken with a high resolution panoramic camera incorporated in the scanner system. In this article I propose a new algorithm for the semiautomatic texture generation, using the color information, the RGB values of every point that has been taken by terrestrial laser scanning technology and the 3D surfaces defining the buildings facades, generated with the Leica Cyclone software. The first step is when the operator defines the limiting value, i.e. the minimum distance between a point and the closest surface. The second step consists in calculating the distances, or the perpendiculars drawn from each point to the closest surface. In the third step we associate the points whose 3D coordinates are known, to every surface, depending on the limiting value. The fourth step consists in computing the Voronoi diagram for the points that belong to a surface. The final step brings automatic association between the RGB value of the color code and the corresponding polygon of the Voronoi diagram. The advantage of using this algorithm is that we can obtain, in a semi-automatic manner, a photorealistic 3D model of the building.

Saturn S-2 Automatic Software System /SASS/

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parker, P. E.

1967-01-01

SATURN S-2 Automatic Software System /SASS/ was designed and implemented to aid SATURN S-2 program development and to increase the overall operating efficiency within the S-2 data laboratory. This program is written in FORTRAN 2 for SDS 920 computers.

Semi-automatic assessment of skin capillary density: proof of principle and validation.

PubMed

Gronenschild, E H B M; Muris, D M J; Schram, M T; Karaca, U; Stehouwer, C D A; Houben, A J H M

2013-11-01

Skin capillary density and recruitment have been proven to be relevant measures of microvascular function. Unfortunately, the assessment of skin capillary density from movie files is very time-consuming, since this is done manually. This impedes the use of this technique in large-scale studies. We aimed to develop a (semi-) automated assessment of skin capillary density. CapiAna (Capillary Analysis) is a newly developed semi-automatic image analysis application. The technique involves four steps: 1) movement correction, 2) selection of the frame range and positioning of the region of interest (ROI), 3) automatic detection of capillaries, and 4) manual correction of detected capillaries. To gain insight into the performance of the technique, skin capillary density was measured in twenty participants (ten women; mean age 56.2 [42-72] years). To investigate the agreement between CapiAna and the classic manual counting procedure, we used weighted Deming regression and Bland-Altman analyses. In addition, intra- and inter-observer coefficients of variation (CVs), and differences in analysis time were assessed. We found a good agreement between CapiAna and the classic manual method, with a Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) of 0.95 (P<0.001) and a Deming regression coefficient of 1.01 (95%CI: 0.91; 1.10). In addition, we found no significant differences between the two methods, with an intercept of the Deming regression of 1.75 (-6.04; 9.54), while the Bland-Altman analysis showed a mean difference (bias) of 2.0 (-13.5; 18.4) capillaries/mm(2). The intra- and inter-observer CVs of CapiAna were 2.5% and 5.6% respectively, while for the classic manual counting procedure these were 3.2% and 7.2%, respectively. Finally, the analysis time for CapiAna ranged between 25 and 35min versus 80 and 95min for the manual counting procedure. We have developed a semi-automatic image analysis application (CapiAna) for the assessment of skin capillary density, which agrees well with the

Comprehensive automatic assessment of retinal vascular abnormalities for computer-assisted retinopathy grading.

PubMed

Joshi, Vinayak; Agurto, Carla; VanNess, Richard; Nemeth, Sheila; Soliz, Peter; Barriga, Simon

2014-01-01

One of the most important signs of systemic disease that presents on the retina is vascular abnormalities such as in hypertensive retinopathy. Manual analysis of fundus images by human readers is qualitative and lacks in accuracy, consistency and repeatability. Present semi-automatic methods for vascular evaluation are reported to increase accuracy and reduce reader variability, but require extensive reader interaction; thus limiting the software-aided efficiency. Automation thus holds a twofold promise. First, decrease variability while increasing accuracy, and second, increasing the efficiency. In this paper we propose fully automated software as a second reader system for comprehensive assessment of retinal vasculature; which aids the readers in the quantitative characterization of vessel abnormalities in fundus images. This system provides the reader with objective measures of vascular morphology such as tortuosity, branching angles, as well as highlights of areas with abnormalities such as artery-venous nicking, copper and silver wiring, and retinal emboli; in order for the reader to make a final screening decision. To test the efficacy of our system, we evaluated the change in performance of a newly certified retinal reader when grading a set of 40 color fundus images with and without the assistance of the software. The results demonstrated an improvement in reader's performance with the software assistance, in terms of accuracy of detection of vessel abnormalities, determination of retinopathy, and reading time. This system enables the reader in making computer-assisted vasculature assessment with high accuracy and consistency, at a reduced reading time.

Automatic detection of pulmonary nodules at spiral CT: first clinical experience with a computer-aided diagnosis system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wormanns, Dag; Fiebich, Martin; Wietholt, Christian; Diederich, Stefan; Heindel, Walter

2000-06-01

We evaluated the practical application of a Computer-Aided Diagnosis (CAD) system for viewing spiral computed tomography (CT) of the chest low-dose screening examinations which includes an automatic detection of pulmonary nodules. A UNIX- based CAD system was developed including a detection algorithm for pulmonary nodules and a user interface providing an original axial image, the same image with nodules highlighted, a thin-slab MIP, and a cine mode. As yet, 26 CT examinations with 1625 images were reviewed in a clinical setting and reported by an experienced radiologist using both the CAD system and hardcopies. The CT studies exhibited 19 nodules found on the hardcopies in consensus reporting of 2 experienced radiologists. Viewing with the CAD system was more time consuming than using hardcopies (4.16 vs. 2.92 min) due to analyzing MIP and cine mode. The algorithm detected 49% (18/37) pulmonary nodules larger than 5 mm and 30% (21/70) of all nodules. It produced an average of 6.3 false positive findings per CT study. Most of the missed nodules were adjacent to the pleura. However, the program detected 6 nodules missed by the radiologists. Automatic nodule detection increases the radiologists's awareness of pulmonary lesions. Simultaneous display of axial image and thin-slab MIP makes the radiologist more confident in diagnosis of smaller pulmonary nodules. The CAD system improves the detection of pulmonary nodules at spiral CT. Lack of sensitivity and specificity is still an issue to be addressed but does not prevent practical use.

A cloud-based system for automatic glaucoma screening.

PubMed

Fengshou Yin; Damon Wing Kee Wong; Ying Quan; Ai Ping Yow; Ngan Meng Tan; Gopalakrishnan, Kavitha; Beng Hai Lee; Yanwu Xu; Zhuo Zhang; Jun Cheng; Jiang Liu

2015-08-01

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the use of automatic computer-based systems for the detection of eye diseases including glaucoma. However, these systems are usually standalone software with basic functions only, limiting their usage in a large scale. In this paper, we introduce an online cloud-based system for automatic glaucoma screening through the use of medical image-based pattern classification technologies. It is designed in a hybrid cloud pattern to offer both accessibility and enhanced security. Raw data including patient's medical condition and fundus image, and resultant medical reports are collected and distributed through the public cloud tier. In the private cloud tier, automatic analysis and assessment of colour retinal fundus images are performed. The ubiquitous anywhere access nature of the system through the cloud platform facilitates a more efficient and cost-effective means of glaucoma screening, allowing the disease to be detected earlier and enabling early intervention for more efficient intervention and disease management.

Semi-automatic breast ultrasound image segmentation based on mean shift and graph cuts.

PubMed

Zhou, Zhuhuang; Wu, Weiwei; Wu, Shuicai; Tsui, Po-Hsiang; Lin, Chung-Chih; Zhang, Ling; Wang, Tianfu

2014-10-01

Computerized tumor segmentation on breast ultrasound (BUS) images remains a challenging task. In this paper, we proposed a new method for semi-automatic tumor segmentation on BUS images using Gaussian filtering, histogram equalization, mean shift, and graph cuts. The only interaction required was to select two diagonal points to determine a region of interest (ROI) on an input image. The ROI image was shrunken by a factor of 2 using bicubic interpolation to reduce computation time. The shrunken image was smoothed by a Gaussian filter and then contrast-enhanced by histogram equalization. Next, the enhanced image was filtered by pyramid mean shift to improve homogeneity. The object and background seeds for graph cuts were automatically generated on the filtered image. Using these seeds, the filtered image was then segmented by graph cuts into a binary image containing the object and background. Finally, the binary image was expanded by a factor of 2 using bicubic interpolation, and the expanded image was processed by morphological opening and closing to refine the tumor contour. The method was implemented with OpenCV 2.4.3 and Visual Studio 2010 and tested for 38 BUS images with benign tumors and 31 BUS images with malignant tumors from different ultrasound scanners. Experimental results showed that our method had a true positive rate (TP) of 91.7%, a false positive (FP) rate of 11.9%, and a similarity (SI) rate of 85.6%. The mean run time on Intel Core 2.66 GHz CPU and 4 GB RAM was 0.49 ± 0.36 s. The experimental results indicate that the proposed method may be useful in BUS image segmentation. © The Author(s) 2014.

A semi-automatic 2D-to-3D video conversion with adaptive key-frame selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ju, Kuanyu; Xiong, Hongkai

2014-11-01

To compensate the deficit of 3D content, 2D to 3D video conversion (2D-to-3D) has recently attracted more attention from both industrial and academic communities. The semi-automatic 2D-to-3D conversion which estimates corresponding depth of non-key-frames through key-frames is more desirable owing to its advantage of balancing labor cost and 3D effects. The location of key-frames plays a role on quality of depth propagation. This paper proposes a semi-automatic 2D-to-3D scheme with adaptive key-frame selection to keep temporal continuity more reliable and reduce the depth propagation errors caused by occlusion. The potential key-frames would be localized in terms of clustered color variation and motion intensity. The distance of key-frame interval is also taken into account to keep the accumulated propagation errors under control and guarantee minimal user interaction. Once their depth maps are aligned with user interaction, the non-key-frames depth maps would be automatically propagated by shifted bilateral filtering. Considering that depth of objects may change due to the objects motion or camera zoom in/out effect, a bi-directional depth propagation scheme is adopted where a non-key frame is interpolated from two adjacent key frames. The experimental results show that the proposed scheme has better performance than existing 2D-to-3D scheme with fixed key-frame interval.

Semi-automatic version of the potentiometric titration method for characterization of uranium compounds.

PubMed

Cristiano, Bárbara F G; Delgado, José Ubiratan; da Silva, José Wanderley S; de Barros, Pedro D; de Araújo, Radier M S; Dias, Fábio C; Lopes, Ricardo T

2012-09-01

The potentiometric titration method was used for characterization of uranium compounds to be applied in intercomparison programs. The method is applied with traceability assured using a potassium dichromate primary standard. A semi-automatic version was developed to reduce the analysis time and the operator variation. The standard uncertainty in determining the total concentration of uranium was around 0.01%, which is suitable for uranium characterization and compatible with those obtained by manual techniques. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) vehicle gas cylinder filling semi-physical simulation training and assessment system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Jie; Zheng, Jianrong; Zhao, Yinghui

2017-08-01

With the rapid development of LNG vehicle in China, the operator's training and assessment of the operating skills cannot operate on material objects, because of Vehicle Gas Cylinder's high pressure, flammable and explosive characteristics. LNG Vehicle Gas Cylinder's filling simulation system with semi-physical simulation technology presents the overall design and procedures of the simulation system, and elaborates the realization of the practical analog machine, data acquisition and control system and the computer software, and introduces the design process of equipment simulation model in detail. According to the designed assessment system of the Vehicle Gas Cylinder, it can obtain the operation on the actual cylinder filling and visual effects for the operator, and automatically record operation, the results of real operation with its software, and achieve the operators' training and assessment of operating skills on mobile special equipment.

Semi-Automatic Segmentation Software for Quantitative Clinical Brain Glioblastoma Evaluation

PubMed Central

Zhu, Y; Young, G; Xue, Z; Huang, R; You, H; Setayesh, K; Hatabu, H; Cao, F; Wong, S.T.

2012-01-01

Rationale and Objectives Quantitative measurement provides essential information about disease progression and treatment response in patients with Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The goal of this paper is to present and validate a software pipeline for semi-automatic GBM segmentation, called AFINITI (Assisted Follow-up in NeuroImaging of Therapeutic Intervention), using clinical data from GBM patients. Materials and Methods Our software adopts the current state-of-the-art tumor segmentation algorithms and combines them into one clinically usable pipeline. Both the advantages of the traditional voxel-based and the deformable shape-based segmentation are embedded into the software pipeline. The former provides an automatic tumor segmentation scheme based on T1- and T2-weighted MR brain data, and the latter refines the segmentation results with minimal manual input. Results Twenty six clinical MR brain images of GBM patients were processed and compared with manual results. The results can be visualized using the embedded graphic user interface (GUI). Conclusion Validation results using clinical GBM data showed high correlation between the AFINITI results and manual annotation. Compared to the voxel-wise segmentation, AFINITI yielded more accurate results in segmenting the enhanced GBM from multimodality MRI data. The proposed pipeline could be used as additional information to interpret MR brain images in neuroradiology. PMID:22591720

Computing with impure numbers - Automatic consistency checking and units conversion using computer algebra

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stoutemyer, D. R.

1977-01-01

The computer algebra language MACSYMA enables the programmer to include symbolic physical units in computer calculations, and features automatic detection of dimensionally-inhomogeneous formulas and conversion of inconsistent units in a dimensionally homogeneous formula. Some examples illustrate these features.

Research and Development of Fully Automatic Alien Smoke Stack and Packaging System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xudong; Ge, Qingkuan; Peng, Tao; Zuo, Ping; Dong, Weifu

2017-12-01

The problem of low efficiency of manual sorting packaging for the current tobacco distribution center, which developed a set of safe efficient and automatic type of alien smoke stack and packaging system. The functions of fully automatic alien smoke stack and packaging system adopt PLC control technology, servo control technology, robot technology, image recognition technology and human-computer interaction technology. The characteristics, principles, control process and key technology of the system are discussed in detail. Through the installation and commissioning fully automatic alien smoke stack and packaging system has a good performance and has completed the requirements for shaped cigarette.

Robust semi-automatic segmentation of pulmonary subsolid nodules in chest computed tomography scans

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lassen, B. C.; Jacobs, C.; Kuhnigk, J.-M.; van Ginneken, B.; van Rikxoort, E. M.

2015-02-01

The malignancy of lung nodules is most often detected by analyzing changes of the nodule diameter in follow-up scans. A recent study showed that comparing the volume or the mass of a nodule over time is much more significant than comparing the diameter. Since the survival rate is higher when the disease is still in an early stage it is important to detect the growth rate as soon as possible. However manual segmentation of a volume is time-consuming. Whereas there are several well evaluated methods for the segmentation of solid nodules, less work is done on subsolid nodules which actually show a higher malignancy rate than solid nodules. In this work we present a fast, semi-automatic method for segmentation of subsolid nodules. As minimal user interaction the method expects a user-drawn stroke on the largest diameter of the nodule. First, a threshold-based region growing is performed based on intensity analysis of the nodule region and surrounding parenchyma. In the next step the chest wall is removed by a combination of a connected component analyses and convex hull calculation. Finally, attached vessels are detached by morphological operations. The method was evaluated on all nodules of the publicly available LIDC/IDRI database that were manually segmented and rated as non-solid or part-solid by four radiologists (Dataset 1) and three radiologists (Dataset 2). For these 59 nodules the Jaccard index for the agreement of the proposed method with the manual reference segmentations was 0.52/0.50 (Dataset 1/Dataset 2) compared to an inter-observer agreement of the manual segmentations of 0.54/0.58 (Dataset 1/Dataset 2). Furthermore, the inter-observer agreement using the proposed method (i.e. different input strokes) was analyzed and gave a Jaccard index of 0.74/0.74 (Dataset 1/Dataset 2). The presented method provides satisfactory segmentation results with minimal observer effort in minimal time and can reduce the inter-observer variability for segmentation of

Semi-Automatic Electronic Stent Register: a novel approach to preventing ureteric stents lost to follow up.

PubMed

Macneil, James W H; Michail, Peter; Patel, Manish I; Ashbourne, Julie; Bariol, Simon V; Ende, David A; Hossack, Tania A; Lau, Howard; Wang, Audrey C; Brooks, Andrew J

2017-10-01

Ureteric stents are indispensable tools in modern urology; however, the risk of them not being followed-up once inserted poses medical and medico-legal risks. Stent registers are a common solution to mitigate this risk; however, manual registers are logistically challenging, especially for busy units. Western Sydney Local Health District developed a novel Semi-Automatic Electronic Stent Register (SAESR) utilizing billing information to track stent insertions. To determine the utility of this system, an audit was conducted comparing the 6 months before the introduction of the register to the first 6 months of the register. In the first 6 months of the register, 457 stents were inserted. At the time of writing, two of these are severely delayed for removal, representing a rate of 0.4%. In the 6 months immediately preceding the introduction of the register, 497 stents were inserted, and six were either missed completely or severely delayed in their removal, representing a rate of 1.2%. A non-inferiority analysis found this to be no worse than the results achieved before the introduction of the register. The SAESR allowed us to improve upon our better than expected rate of stents lost to follow up or severely delayed. We demonstrated non-inferiority in the rate of lost or severely delayed stents, and a number of other advantages including savings in personnel costs. The semi-automatic register represents an effective way of reducing the risk associated with a common urological procedure. We believe that this methodology could be implemented elsewhere. © 2017 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Semi-automatic handling of meteorological ground measurements using WeatherProg: prospects and practical implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langella, Giuliano; Basile, Angelo; Bonfante, Antonello; De Mascellis, Roberto; Manna, Piero; Terribile, Fabio

2016-04-01

WeatherProg is a computer program for the semi-automatic handling of data measured at ground stations within a climatic network. The program performs a set of tasks ranging from gathering raw point-based sensors measurements to the production of digital climatic maps. Originally the program was developed as the baseline asynchronous engine for the weather records management within the SOILCONSWEB Project (LIFE08 ENV/IT/000408), in which daily and hourly data where used to run water balance in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum or pest simulation models. WeatherProg can be configured to automatically perform the following main operations: 1) data retrieval; 2) data decoding and ingestion into a database (e.g. SQL based); 3) data checking to recognize missing and anomalous values (using a set of differently combined checks including logical, climatological, spatial, temporal and persistence checks); 4) infilling of data flagged as missing or anomalous (deterministic or statistical methods); 5) spatial interpolation based on alternative/comparative methods such as inverse distance weighting, iterative regression kriging, and a weighted least squares regression (based on physiography), using an approach similar to PRISM. 6) data ingestion into a geodatabase (e.g. PostgreSQL+PostGIS or rasdaman). There is an increasing demand for digital climatic maps both for research and development (there is a gap between the major of scientific modelling approaches that requires digital climate maps and the gauged measurements) and for practical applications (e.g. the need to improve the management of weather records which in turn raises the support provided to farmers). The demand is particularly burdensome considering the requirement to handle climatic data at the daily (e.g. in the soil hydrological modelling) or even at the hourly time step (e.g. risk modelling in phytopathology). The key advantage of WeatherProg is the ability to perform all the required operations and

Model reduction by trimming for a class of semi-Markov reliability models and the corresponding error bound

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, Allan L.; Palumbo, Daniel L.

1991-01-01

Semi-Markov processes have proved to be an effective and convenient tool to construct models of systems that achieve reliability by redundancy and reconfiguration. These models are able to depict complex system architectures and to capture the dynamics of fault arrival and system recovery. A disadvantage of this approach is that the models can be extremely large, which poses both a model and a computational problem. Techniques are needed to reduce the model size. Because these systems are used in critical applications where failure can be expensive, there must be an analytically derived bound for the error produced by the model reduction technique. A model reduction technique called trimming is presented that can be applied to a popular class of systems. Automatic model generation programs were written to help the reliability analyst produce models of complex systems. This method, trimming, is easy to implement and the error bound easy to compute. Hence, the method lends itself to inclusion in an automatic model generator.

Automatic Dialogue Scoring for a Second Language Learning System

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Huang, Jin-Xia; Lee, Kyung-Soon; Kwon, Oh-Woog; Kim, Young-Kil

2016-01-01

This paper presents an automatic dialogue scoring approach for a Dialogue-Based Computer-Assisted Language Learning (DB-CALL) system, which helps users learn language via interactive conversations. The system produces overall feedback according to dialogue scoring to help the learner know which parts should be more focused on. The scoring measures…

Systems analysis of the space shuttle. [communication systems, computer systems, and power distribution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schilling, D. L.; Oh, S. J.; Thau, F.

1975-01-01

Developments in communications systems, computer systems, and power distribution systems for the space shuttle are described. The use of high speed delta modulation for bit rate compression in the transmission of television signals is discussed. Simultaneous Multiprocessor Organization, an approach to computer organization, is presented. Methods of computer simulation and automatic malfunction detection for the shuttle power distribution system are also described.

Semi-automatic registration of 3D orthodontics models from photographs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Destrez, Raphaël.; Treuillet, Sylvie; Lucas, Yves; Albouy-Kissi, Benjamin

2013-03-01

In orthodontics, a common practice used to diagnose and plan the treatment is the dental cast. After digitization by a CT-scan or a laser scanner, the obtained 3D surface models can feed orthodontics numerical tools for computer-aided diagnosis and treatment planning. One of the pre-processing critical steps is the 3D registration of dental arches to obtain the occlusion of these numerical models. For this task, we propose a vision based method to automatically compute the registration based on photos of patient mouth. From a set of matched singular points between two photos and the dental 3D models, the rigid transformation to apply to the mandible to be in contact with the maxillary may be computed by minimizing the reprojection errors. During a precedent study, we established the feasibility of this visual registration approach with a manual selection of singular points. This paper addresses the issue of automatic point detection. Based on a priori knowledge, histogram thresholding and edge detection are used to extract specific points in 2D images. Concurrently, curvatures information detects 3D corresponding points. To improve the quality of the final registration, we also introduce a combined optimization of the projection matrix with the 2D/3D point positions. These new developments are evaluated on real data by considering the reprojection errors and the deviation angles after registration in respect to the manual reference occlusion realized by a specialist.

A 3D THz image processing methodology for a fully integrated, semi-automatic and near real-time operational system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brook, A.; Cristofani, E.; Vandewal, M.; Matheis, C.; Jonuscheit, J.; Beigang, R.

2012-05-01

The present study proposes a fully integrated, semi-automatic and near real-time mode-operated image processing methodology developed for Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave (FMCW) THz images with the center frequencies around: 100 GHz and 300 GHz. The quality control of aeronautics composite multi-layered materials and structures using Non-Destructive Testing is the main focus of this work. Image processing is applied on the 3-D images to extract useful information. The data is processed by extracting areas of interest. The detected areas are subjected to image analysis for more particular investigation managed by a spatial model. Finally, the post-processing stage examines and evaluates the spatial accuracy of the extracted information.

System for computer controlled shifting of an automatic transmission

DOEpatents

Patil, Prabhakar B.

1989-01-01

In an automotive vehicle having an automatic transmission that driveably connects a power source to the driving wheels, a method to control the application of hydraulic pressure to a clutch, whose engagement produces an upshift and whose disengagement produces a downshift, the speed of the power source, and the output torque of the transmission. The transmission output shaft torque and the power source speed are the controlled variables. The commanded power source torque and commanded hydraulic pressure supplied to the clutch are the control variables. A mathematical model is formulated that describes the kinematics and dynamics of the powertrain before, during and after a gear shift. The model represents the operating characteristics of each component and the structural arrangement of the components within the transmission being controlled. Next, a close loop feedback control is developed to determine the proper control law or compensation strategy to achieve an acceptably smooth gear ratio change, one in which the output torque disturbance is kept to a minimum and the duration of the shift is minimized. Then a computer algorithm simulating the shift dynamics employing the mathematical model is used to study the effects of changes in the values of the parameters established from a closed loop control of the clutch hydraulic and the power source torque on the shift quality. This computer simulation is used also to establish possible shift control strategies. The shift strategies determine from the prior step are reduced to an algorithm executed by a computer to control the operation of the power source and the transmission.

Automatically-computed prehospital severity scores are equivalent to scores based on medic documentation.

PubMed

Reisner, Andrew T; Chen, Liangyou; McKenna, Thomas M; Reifman, Jaques

2008-10-01

Prehospital severity scores can be used in routine prehospital care, mass casualty care, and military triage. If computers could reliably calculate clinical scores, new clinical and research methodologies would be possible. One obstacle is that vital signs measured automatically can be unreliable. We hypothesized that Signal Quality Indices (SQI's), computer algorithms that differentiate between reliable and unreliable monitored physiologic data, could improve the predictive power of computer-calculated scores. In a retrospective analysis of trauma casualties transported by air ambulance, we computed the Triage Revised Trauma Score (RTS) from archived travel monitor data. We compared the areas-under-the-curve (AUC's) of receiver operating characteristic curves for prediction of mortality and red blood cell transfusion for 187 subjects with comparable quantities of good-quality and poor-quality data. Vital signs deemed reliable by SQI's led to significantly more discriminatory severity scores than vital signs deemed unreliable. We also compared automatically-computed RTS (using the SQI's) versus RTS computed from vital signs documented by medics. For the subjects in whom the SQI algorithms identified 15 consecutive seconds of reliable vital signs data (n = 350), the automatically-computed scores' AUC's were the same as the medic-based scores' AUC's. Using the Prehospital Index in place of RTS led to very similar results, corroborating our findings. SQI algorithms improve automatically-computed severity scores, and automatically-computed scores using SQI's are equivalent to medic-based scores.

[Development of automatic urine monitoring system].

PubMed

Wei, Liang; Li, Yongqin; Chen, Bihua

2014-03-01

An automatic urine monitoring system is presented to replace manual operation. The system is composed of the flow sensor, MSP430f149 single chip microcomputer, human-computer interaction module, LCD module, clock module and memory module. The signal of urine volume is captured when the urine flows through the flow sensor and then displayed on the LCD after data processing. The experiment results suggest that the design of the monitor provides a high stability, accurate measurement and good real-time, and meets the demand of the clinical application.

An automatic granular structure generation and finite element analysis of heterogeneous semi-solid materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sharifi, Hamid; Larouche, Daniel

2015-09-01

The quality of cast metal products depends on the capacity of the semi-solid metal to sustain the stresses generated during the casting. Predicting the evolution of these stresses with accuracy in the solidification interval should be highly helpful to avoid the formation of defects like hot tearing. This task is however very difficult because of the heterogeneous nature of the material. In this paper, we propose to evaluate the mechanical behaviour of a metal during solidification using a mesh generation technique of the heterogeneous semi-solid material for a finite element analysis at the microscopic level. This task is done on a two-dimensional (2D) domain in which the granular structure of the solid phase is generated surrounded by an intergranular and interdendritc liquid phase. Some basic solid grains are first constructed and projected in the 2D domain with random orientations and scale factors. Depending on their orientation, the basic grains are combined to produce larger grains or separated by a liquid film. Different basic grain shapes can produce different granular structures of the mushy zone. As a result, using this automatic grain generation procedure, we can investigate the effect of grain shapes and sizes on the thermo-mechanical behaviour of the semi-solid material. The granular models are automatically converted to the finite element meshes. The solid grains and the liquid phase are meshed properly using quadrilateral elements. This method has been used to simulate the microstructure of a binary aluminium-copper alloy (Al-5.8 wt% Cu) when the fraction solid is 0.92. Using the finite element method and the Mie-Grüneisen equation of state for the liquid phase, the transient mechanical behaviour of the mushy zone under tensile loading has been investigated. The stress distribution and the bridges, which are formed during the tensile loading, have been detected.

Use of Semi-Autonomous Tools for ISS Commanding and Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brzezinski, Amy S.

2014-01-01

As the International Space Station (ISS) has moved into a utilization phase, operations have shifted to become more ground-based with fewer mission control personnel monitoring and commanding multiple ISS systems. This shift to fewer people monitoring more systems has prompted use of semi-autonomous console tools in the ISS Mission Control Center (MCC) to help flight controllers command and monitor the ISS. These console tools perform routine operational procedures while keeping the human operator "in the loop" to monitor and intervene when off-nominal events arise. Two such tools, the Pre-positioned Load (PPL) Loader and Automatic Operators Recorder Manager (AutoORM), are used by the ISS Communications RF Onboard Networks Utilization Specialist (CRONUS) flight control position. CRONUS is responsible for simultaneously commanding and monitoring the ISS Command & Data Handling (C&DH) and Communications and Tracking (C&T) systems. PPL Loader is used to uplink small pieces of frequently changed software data tables, called PPLs, to ISS computers to support different ISS operations. In order to uplink a PPL, a data load command must be built that contains multiple user-input fields. Next, a multiple step commanding and verification procedure must be performed to enable an onboard computer for software uplink, uplink the PPL, verify the PPL has incorporated correctly, and disable the computer for software uplink. PPL Loader provides different levels of automation in both building and uplinking these commands. In its manual mode, PPL Loader automatically builds the PPL data load commands but allows the flight controller to verify and save the commands for future uplink. In its auto mode, PPL Loader automatically builds the PPL data load commands for flight controller verification, but automatically performs the PPL uplink procedure by sending commands and performing verification checks while notifying CRONUS of procedure step completion. If an off-nominal condition

Construction, implementation and testing of an image identification system using computer vision methods for fruit flies with economic importance (Diptera: Tephritidae).

PubMed

Wang, Jiang-Ning; Chen, Xiao-Lin; Hou, Xin-Wen; Zhou, Li-Bing; Zhu, Chao-Dong; Ji, Li-Qiang

2017-07-01

Many species of Tephritidae are damaging to fruit, which might negatively impact international fruit trade. Automatic or semi-automatic identification of fruit flies are greatly needed for diagnosing causes of damage and quarantine protocols for economically relevant insects. A fruit fly image identification system named AFIS1.0 has been developed using 74 species belonging to six genera, which include the majority of pests in the Tephritidae. The system combines automated image identification and manual verification, balancing operability and accuracy. AFIS1.0 integrates image analysis and expert system into a content-based image retrieval framework. In the the automatic identification module, AFIS1.0 gives candidate identification results. Afterwards users can do manual selection based on comparing unidentified images with a subset of images corresponding to the automatic identification result. The system uses Gabor surface features in automated identification and yielded an overall classification success rate of 87% to the species level by Independent Multi-part Image Automatic Identification Test. The system is useful for users with or without specific expertise on Tephritidae in the task of rapid and effective identification of fruit flies. It makes the application of computer vision technology to fruit fly recognition much closer to production level. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Automatic humidification system to support the assessment of food drying processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ortiz Hernández, B. D.; Carreño Olejua, A. R.; Castellanos Olarte, J. M.

2016-07-01

This work shows the main features of an automatic humidification system to provide drying air that match environmental conditions of different climate zones. This conditioned air is then used to assess the drying process of different agro-industrial products at the Automation and Control for Agro-industrial Processes Laboratory of the Pontifical Bolivarian University of Bucaramanga, Colombia. The automatic system allows creating and improving control strategies to supply drying air under specified conditions of temperature and humidity. The development of automatic routines to control and acquire real time data was made possible by the use of robust control systems and suitable instrumentation. The signals are read and directed to a controller memory where they are scaled and transferred to a memory unit. Using the IP address is possible to access data to perform supervision tasks. One important characteristic of this automatic system is the Dynamic Data Exchange Server (DDE) to allow direct communication between the control unit and the computer used to build experimental curves.

A semi-automated vascular access system for preclinical models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berry-Pusey, B. N.; Chang, Y. C.; Prince, S. W.; Chu, K.; David, J.; Taschereau, R.; Silverman, R. W.; Williams, D.; Ladno, W.; Stout, D.; Tsao, T. C.; Chatziioannou, A.

2013-08-01

Murine models are used extensively in biological and translational research. For many of these studies it is necessary to access the vasculature for the injection of biologically active agents. Among the possible methods for accessing the mouse vasculature, tail vein injections are a routine but critical step for many experimental protocols. To perform successful tail vein injections, a high skill set and experience is required, leaving most scientists ill-suited to perform this task. This can lead to a high variability between injections, which can impact experimental results. To allow more scientists to perform tail vein injections and to decrease the variability between injections, a vascular access system (VAS) that semi-automatically inserts a needle into the tail vein of a mouse was developed. The VAS uses near infrared light, image processing techniques, computer controlled motors, and a pressure feedback system to insert the needle and to validate its proper placement within the vein. The VAS was tested by injecting a commonly used radiolabeled probe (FDG) into the tail veins of five mice. These mice were then imaged using micro-positron emission tomography to measure the percentage of the injected probe remaining in the tail. These studies showed that, on average, the VAS leaves 3.4% of the injected probe in the tail. With these preliminary results, the VAS system demonstrates the potential for improving the accuracy of tail vein injections in mice.

Automatic mathematical modeling for real time simulation system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Caroline; Purinton, Steve

1988-01-01

A methodology for automatic mathematical modeling and generating simulation models is described. The models will be verified by running in a test environment using standard profiles with the results compared against known results. The major objective is to create a user friendly environment for engineers to design, maintain, and verify their model and also automatically convert the mathematical model into conventional code for conventional computation. A demonstration program was designed for modeling the Space Shuttle Main Engine Simulation. It is written in LISP and MACSYMA and runs on a Symbolic 3670 Lisp Machine. The program provides a very friendly and well organized environment for engineers to build a knowledge base for base equations and general information. It contains an initial set of component process elements for the Space Shuttle Main Engine Simulation and a questionnaire that allows the engineer to answer a set of questions to specify a particular model. The system is then able to automatically generate the model and FORTRAN code. The future goal which is under construction is to download the FORTRAN code to VAX/VMS system for conventional computation. The SSME mathematical model will be verified in a test environment and the solution compared with the real data profile. The use of artificial intelligence techniques has shown that the process of the simulation modeling can be simplified.

Automatic Learning of Fine Operating Rules for Online Power System Security Control.

PubMed

Sun, Hongbin; Zhao, Feng; Wang, Hao; Wang, Kang; Jiang, Weiyong; Guo, Qinglai; Zhang, Boming; Wehenkel, Louis

2016-08-01

Fine operating rules for security control and an automatic system for their online discovery were developed to adapt to the development of smart grids. The automatic system uses the real-time system state to determine critical flowgates, and then a continuation power flow-based security analysis is used to compute the initial transfer capability of critical flowgates. Next, the system applies the Monte Carlo simulations to expected short-term operating condition changes, feature selection, and a linear least squares fitting of the fine operating rules. The proposed system was validated both on an academic test system and on a provincial power system in China. The results indicated that the derived rules provide accuracy and good interpretability and are suitable for real-time power system security control. The use of high-performance computing systems enables these fine operating rules to be refreshed online every 15 min.

Semi-automatic mapping of linear-trending bedforms using 'Self-Organizing Maps' algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foroutan, M.; Zimbelman, J. R.

2017-09-01

Increased application of high resolution spatial data such as high resolution satellite or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) images from Earth, as well as High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) images from Mars, makes it necessary to increase automation techniques capable of extracting detailed geomorphologic elements from such large data sets. Model validation by repeated images in environmental management studies such as climate-related changes as well as increasing access to high-resolution satellite images underline the demand for detailed automatic image-processing techniques in remote sensing. This study presents a methodology based on an unsupervised Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm, known as Self Organizing Maps (SOM), to achieve the semi-automatic extraction of linear features with small footprints on satellite images. SOM is based on competitive learning and is efficient for handling huge data sets. We applied the SOM algorithm to high resolution satellite images of Earth and Mars (Quickbird, Worldview and HiRISE) in order to facilitate and speed up image analysis along with the improvement of the accuracy of results. About 98% overall accuracy and 0.001 quantization error in the recognition of small linear-trending bedforms demonstrate a promising framework.

[Can the degree of renal artery stenosis be automatically quantified?].

PubMed

Cherrak, I; Jaulent, M C; Azizi, M; Plouin, P F; Degoulet, P; Chatellier, G

2000-08-01

The objective of the reported study is to validate a computer system, QUASAR, dedicated to the quantification of renal artery stenoses. This system estimates automatically the reference diameter and calculates the minimum diameter to compute a degree of stenosis. A hundred and eighty images of atheromatous stenoses between 10% and 80% were collected from two French independent protocols. For the 49 images of the EMMA protocol, the results from QUASAR were compared with the visual estimation of an initial investigator and with the results from a reference method based on a panel of fixe experienced experts. For the 131 images of the ASTARTE protocol, the results from QUASAR were compared with those from a semi-automatic quantification system and with those from a system based on densitometric analysis. The present work validates QUASAR in a population of narrow atheromatous stenoses (> 50%). In the context of the EMMA protocol, QUASAR is not significantly different from the mean of the fixe experts. It is unbiased and more precise than the estimation of a single investigator. In the context of the ASTARTE protocol, there is no significant difference between the three methods for the stenoses higher than 50%, however, globally, QUASAR surestimates significantly (up to 10%) the degree of stenosis.

Semi-automatic aircraft control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gilson, Richard D. (Inventor)

1978-01-01

A flight control type system which provides a tactile readout to the hand of a pilot for directing elevator control during both approach to flare-out and departure maneuvers. For altitudes above flare-out, the system sums the instantaneous coefficient of lift signals of a lift transducer with a generated signal representing ideal coefficient of lift for approach to flare-out, i.e., a value of about 30% below stall. Error signals resulting from the summation are read out by the noted tactile device. Below flare altitude, an altitude responsive variation is summed with the signal representing ideal coefficient of lift to provide error signal readout.

Semi-Automatic Normalization of Multitemporal Remote Images Based on Vegetative Pseudo-Invariant Features

PubMed Central

Garcia-Torres, Luis; Caballero-Novella, Juan J.; Gómez-Candón, David; De-Castro, Ana Isabel

2014-01-01

A procedure to achieve the semi-automatic relative image normalization of multitemporal remote images of an agricultural scene called ARIN was developed using the following procedures: 1) defining the same parcel of selected vegetative pseudo-invariant features (VPIFs) in each multitemporal image; 2) extracting data concerning the VPIF spectral bands from each image; 3) calculating the correction factors (CFs) for each image band to fit each image band to the average value of the image series; and 4) obtaining the normalized images by linear transformation of each original image band through the corresponding CF. ARIN software was developed to semi-automatically perform the ARIN procedure. We have validated ARIN using seven GeoEye-1 satellite images taken over the same location in Southern Spain from early April to October 2010 at an interval of approximately 3 to 4 weeks. The following three VPIFs were chosen: citrus orchards (CIT), olive orchards (OLI) and poplar groves (POP). In the ARIN-normalized images, the range, standard deviation (s. d.) and root mean square error (RMSE) of the spectral bands and vegetation indices were considerably reduced compared to the original images, regardless of the VPIF or the combination of VPIFs selected for normalization, which demonstrates the method’s efficacy. The correlation coefficients between the CFs among VPIFs for any spectral band (and all bands overall) were calculated to be at least 0.85 and were significant at P = 0.95, indicating that the normalization procedure was comparably performed regardless of the VPIF chosen. ARIN method was designed only for agricultural and forestry landscapes where VPIFs can be identified. PMID:24604031

New computer system simplifies programming of mathematical equations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reinfelds, J.; Seitz, R. N.; Wood, L. H.

1966-01-01

Automatic Mathematical Translator /AMSTRAN/ permits scientists or engineers to enter mathematical equations in their natural mathematical format and to obtain an immediate graphical display of the solution. This automatic-programming, on-line, multiterminal computer system allows experienced programmers to solve nonroutine problems.

A real-time digital computer program for the simulation of automatic spacecraft reentries

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaylor, J. T.; Powell, L. F.; Powell, R. W.

1977-01-01

The automatic reentry flight dynamics simulator, a nonlinear, six-degree-of-freedom simulation, digital computer program, has been developed. The program includes a rotating, oblate earth model for accurate navigation calculations and contains adjustable gains on the aerodynamic stability and control parameters. This program uses a real-time simulation system and is designed to examine entries of vehicles which have constant mass properties whose attitudes are controlled by both aerodynamic surfaces and reaction control thrusters, and which have automatic guidance and control systems. The program has been used to study the space shuttle orbiter entry. This report includes descriptions of the equations of motion used, the control and guidance schemes that were implemented, the program flow and operation, and the hardware involved.

Optimum spaceborne computer system design by simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, T.; Kerner, H.; Weatherbee, J. E.; Taylor, D. S.; Hodges, B.

1973-01-01

A deterministic simulator is described which models the Automatically Reconfigurable Modular Multiprocessor System (ARMMS), a candidate computer system for future manned and unmanned space missions. Its use as a tool to study and determine the minimum computer system configuration necessary to satisfy the on-board computational requirements of a typical mission is presented. The paper describes how the computer system configuration is determined in order to satisfy the data processing demand of the various shuttle booster subsytems. The configuration which is developed as a result of studies with the simulator is optimal with respect to the efficient use of computer system resources.

A Multiple Sensor Machine Vision System for Automatic Hardwood Feature Detection

Treesearch

D. Earl Kline; Richard W. Conners; Daniel L. Schmoldt; Philip A. Araman; Robert L. Brisbin

1993-01-01

A multiple sensor machine vision prototype is being developed to scan full size hardwood lumber at industrial speeds for automatically detecting features such as knots holes, wane, stain, splits, checks, and color. The prototype integrates a multiple sensor imaging system, a materials handling system, a computer system, and application software. The prototype provides...

Semi-Automatic Modelling of Building FAÇADES with Shape Grammars Using Historic Building Information Modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dore, C.; Murphy, M.

2013-02-01

This paper outlines a new approach for generating digital heritage models from laser scan or photogrammetric data using Historic Building Information Modelling (HBIM). HBIM is a plug-in for Building Information Modelling (BIM) software that uses parametric library objects and procedural modelling techniques to automate the modelling stage. The HBIM process involves a reverse engineering solution whereby parametric interactive objects representing architectural elements are mapped onto laser scan or photogrammetric survey data. A library of parametric architectural objects has been designed from historic manuscripts and architectural pattern books. These parametric objects were built using an embedded programming language within the ArchiCAD BIM software called Geometric Description Language (GDL). Procedural modelling techniques have been implemented with the same language to create a parametric building façade which automatically combines library objects based on architectural rules and proportions. Different configurations of the façade are controlled by user parameter adjustment. The automatically positioned elements of the façade can be subsequently refined using graphical editing while overlaying the model with orthographic imagery. Along with this semi-automatic method for generating façade models, manual plotting of library objects can also be used to generate a BIM model from survey data. After the 3D model has been completed conservation documents such as plans, sections, elevations and 3D views can be automatically generated for conservation projects.

Automatic computational labeling of glomerular textural boundaries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ginley, Brandon; Tomaszewski, John E.; Sarder, Pinaki

2017-03-01

The glomerulus, a specialized bundle of capillaries, is the blood filtering unit of the kidney. Each human kidney contains about 1 million glomeruli. Structural damages in the glomerular micro-compartments give rise to several renal conditions; most severe of which is proteinuria, where excessive blood proteins flow freely to the urine. The sole way to confirm glomerular structural damage in renal pathology is by examining histopathological or immunofluorescence stained needle biopsies under a light microscope. However, this method is extremely tedious and time consuming, and requires manual scoring on the number and volume of structures. Computational quantification of equivalent features promises to greatly ease this manual burden. The largest obstacle to computational quantification of renal tissue is the ability to recognize complex glomerular textural boundaries automatically. Here we present a computational pipeline to accurately identify glomerular boundaries with high precision and accuracy. The computational pipeline employs an integrated approach composed of Gabor filtering, Gaussian blurring, statistical F-testing, and distance transform, and performs significantly better than standard Gabor based textural segmentation method. Our integrated approach provides mean accuracy/precision of 0.89/0.97 on n = 200Hematoxylin and Eosin (HE) glomerulus images, and mean 0.88/0.94 accuracy/precision on n = 200 Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) glomerulus images. Respective accuracy/precision of the Gabor filter bank based method is 0.83/0.84 for HE and 0.78/0.8 for PAS. Our method will simplify computational partitioning of glomerular micro-compartments hidden within dense textural boundaries. Automatic quantification of glomeruli will streamline structural analysis in clinic, and can help realize real time diagnoses and interventions.

Validation of a semi-automatic protocol for the assessment of the tear meniscus central area based on open-source software

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pena-Verdeal, Hugo; Garcia-Resua, Carlos; Yebra-Pimentel, Eva; Giraldez, Maria J.

2017-08-01

Purpose: Different lower tear meniscus parameters can be clinical assessed on dry eye diagnosis. The aim of this study was to propose and analyse the variability of a semi-automatic method for measuring lower tear meniscus central area (TMCA) by using open source software. Material and methods: On a group of 105 subjects, one video of the lower tear meniscus after fluorescein instillation was generated by a digital camera attached to a slit-lamp. A short light beam (3x5 mm) with moderate illumination in the central portion of the meniscus (6 o'clock) was used. Images were extracted from each video by a masked observer. By using an open source software based on Java (NIH ImageJ), a further observer measured in a masked and randomized order the TMCA in the short light beam illuminated area by two methods: (1) manual method, where TMCA images was "manually" measured; (2) semi-automatic method, where TMCA images were transformed in an 8-bit-binary image, then holes inside this shape were filled and on the isolated shape, the area size was obtained. Finally, both measurements, manual and semi-automatic, were compared. Results: Paired t-test showed no statistical difference between both techniques results (p = 0.102). Pearson correlation between techniques show a significant positive near to perfect correlation (r = 0.99; p < 0.001). Conclusions: This study showed a useful tool to objectively measure the frontal central area of the meniscus in photography by free open source software.

Semi-automatic assessment of pediatric hydronephrosis severity in 3D ultrasound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cerrolaza, Juan J.; Otero, Hansel; Yao, Peter; Biggs, Elijah; Mansoor, Awais; Ardon, Roberto; Jago, James; Peters, Craig A.; Linguraru, Marius George

2016-03-01

Hydronephrosis is the most common abnormal finding in pediatric urology. Thanks to its non-ionizing nature, ultrasound (US) imaging is the preferred diagnostic modality for the evaluation of the kidney and the urinary track. However, due to the lack of correlation of US with renal function, further invasive and/or ionizing studies might be required (e.g., diuretic renograms). This paper presents a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) tool for the accurate and objective assessment of pediatric hydronephrosis based on morphological analysis of kidney from 3DUS scans. The integration of specific segmentation tools in the system, allows to delineate the relevant renal structures from 3DUS scans of the patients with minimal user interaction, and the automatic computation of 90 anatomical features. Using the washout half time (T1/2) as indicative of renal obstruction, an optimal subset of predictive features is selected to differentiate, with maximum sensitivity, those severe cases where further attention is required (e.g., in the form of diuretic renograms), from the noncritical ones. The performance of this new 3DUS-based CAD system is studied for two clinically relevant T1/2 thresholds, 20 and 30 min. Using a dataset of 20 hydronephrotic cases, pilot experiments show how the system outperforms previous 2D implementations by successfully identifying all the critical cases (100% of sensitivity), and detecting up to 100% (T1/2 = 20 min) and 67% (T1/2 = 30 min) of non-critical ones for T1/2 thresholds of 20 and 30 min, respectively.

Alleviating Search Uncertainty through Concept Associations: Automatic Indexing, Co-Occurrence Analysis, and Parallel Computing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Hsinchun; Martinez, Joanne; Kirchhoff, Amy; Ng, Tobun D.; Schatz, Bruce R.

1998-01-01

Grounded on object filtering, automatic indexing, and co-occurrence analysis, an experiment was performed using a parallel supercomputer to analyze over 400,000 abstracts in an INSPEC computer engineering collection. A user evaluation revealed that system-generated thesauri were better than the human-generated INSPEC subject thesaurus in concept…

High-speed, automatic controller design considerations for integrating array processor, multi-microprocessor, and host computer system architectures

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jacklin, S. A.; Leyland, J. A.; Warmbrodt, W.

1985-01-01

Modern control systems must typically perform real-time identification and control, as well as coordinate a host of other activities related to user interaction, online graphics, and file management. This paper discusses five global design considerations which are useful to integrate array processor, multimicroprocessor, and host computer system architectures into versatile, high-speed controllers. Such controllers are capable of very high control throughput, and can maintain constant interaction with the nonreal-time or user environment. As an application example, the architecture of a high-speed, closed-loop controller used to actively control helicopter vibration is briefly discussed. Although this system has been designed for use as the controller for real-time rotorcraft dynamics and control studies in a wind tunnel environment, the controller architecture can generally be applied to a wide range of automatic control applications.

A Limited-Vocabulary, Multi-Speaker Automatic Isolated Word Recognition System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Paul, James E., Jr.

Techniques for automatic recognition of isolated words are investigated, and a computer simulation of a word recognition system is effected. Considered in detail are data acquisition and digitizing, word detection, amplitude and time normalization, short-time spectral estimation including spectral windowing, spectral envelope approximation,…

Personal Computer System for Automatic Coronary Venous Flow Measurement

PubMed Central

Dew, Robert B.

1985-01-01

We developed an automated system based on an IBM PC/XT Personal computer to measure coronary venous blood flow during cardiac catheterization. Flow is determined by a thermodilution technique in which a cold saline solution is infused through a catheter into the coronary venous system. Regional temperature fluctuations sensed by the catheter are used to determine great cardiac vein and coronary sinus blood flow. The computer system replaces manual methods of acquiring and analyzing temperature data related to flow measurement, thereby increasing the speed and accuracy with which repetitive flow determinations can be made.

An automatic tsunami warning system: TREMORS application in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reymond, D.; Robert, S.; Thomas, Y.; Schindelé, F.

1996-03-01

An integrated system named TREMORS (Tsunami Risk Evaluation through seismic Moment of a Real-time System) has been installed in EVORA station, in Portugal which has been affected by historical tsunamis. The system is based on a three component long period seismic station linked to a compatible IBM_PC with a specific software. The goals of this system are the followings: detect earthquake, locate them, compute their seismic moment, give a seismic warning. The warnings are based on the seismic moment estimation and all the processing are made automatically. The finality of this study is to check the quality of estimation of the main parameters of interest in a goal of tsunami warning: the location which depends of azimuth and distance, and at last the seismic moment, M 0, which controls the earthquake size. The sine qua non condition for obtaining an automatic location is that the 3 main seismic phases P, S, R must be visible. This study gives satisfying results (automatic analysis): ± 5° errors in azimuth and epicentral distance, and a standard deviation of less than a factor 2 for the seismic moment M 0.

Automatic identification of watercourses in flat and engineered landscapes by computing the skeleton of a LiDAR point cloud

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broersen, Tom; Peters, Ravi; Ledoux, Hugo

2017-09-01

Drainage networks play a crucial role in protecting land against floods. It is therefore important to have an accurate map of the watercourses that form the drainage network. Previous work on the automatic identification of watercourses was typically based on grids, focused on natural landscapes, and used mostly the slope and curvature of the terrain. We focus in this paper on areas that are characterised by low-lying, flat, and engineered landscapes; these are characteristic to the Netherlands for instance. We propose a new methodology to identify watercourses automatically from elevation data, it uses solely a raw classified LiDAR point cloud as input. We show that by computing twice a skeleton of the point cloud-once in 2D and once in 3D-and that by using the properties of the skeletons we can identify most of the watercourses. We have implemented our methodology and tested it for three different soil types around Utrecht, the Netherlands. We were able to detect 98% of the watercourses for one soil type, and around 75% for the worst case, when we compared to a reference dataset that was obtained semi-automatically.

Design of a modular digital computer system, DRL 4. [for meeting future requirements of spaceborne computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1972-01-01

The design is reported of an advanced modular computer system designated the Automatically Reconfigurable Modular Multiprocessor System, which anticipates requirements for higher computing capacity and reliability for future spaceborne computers. Subjects discussed include: an overview of the architecture, mission analysis, synchronous and nonsynchronous scheduling control, reliability, and data transmission.

Semi-automatic image analysis methodology for the segmentation of bubbles and drops in complex dispersions occurring in bioreactors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taboada, B.; Vega-Alvarado, L.; Córdova-Aguilar, M. S.; Galindo, E.; Corkidi, G.

2006-09-01

Characterization of multiphase systems occurring in fermentation processes is a time-consuming and tedious process when manual methods are used. This work describes a new semi-automatic methodology for the on-line assessment of diameters of oil drops and air bubbles occurring in a complex simulated fermentation broth. High-quality digital images were obtained from the interior of a mechanically stirred tank. These images were pre-processed to find segments of edges belonging to the objects of interest. The contours of air bubbles and oil drops were then reconstructed using an improved Hough transform algorithm which was tested in two, three and four-phase simulated fermentation model systems. The results were compared against those obtained manually by a trained observer, showing no significant statistical differences. The method was able to reduce the total processing time for the measurements of bubbles and drops in different systems by 21-50% and the manual intervention time for the segmentation procedure by 80-100%.

Upper and lower bounds for semi-Markov reliability models of reconfigurable systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

White, A. L.

1984-01-01

This paper determines the information required about system recovery to compute the reliability of a class of reconfigurable systems. Upper and lower bounds are derived for these systems. The class consists of those systems that satisfy five assumptions: the components fail independently at a low constant rate, fault occurrence and system reconfiguration are independent processes, the reliability model is semi-Markov, the recovery functions which describe system configuration have small means and variances, and the system is well designed. The bounds are easy to compute, and examples are included.

Semi-automatic detection of Gd-DTPA-saline filled capsules for colonic transit time assessment in MRI

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harrer, Christian; Kirchhoff, Sonja; Keil, Andreas; Kirchhoff, Chlodwig; Mussack, Thomas; Lienemann, Andreas; Reiser, Maximilian; Navab, Nassir

2008-03-01

Functional gastrointestinal disorders result in a significant number of consultations in primary care facilities. Chronic constipation and diarrhea are regarded as two of the most common diseases affecting between 2% and 27% of the population in western countries 1-3. Defecatory disorders are most commonly due to dysfunction of the pelvic floor or the anal sphincter. Although an exact differentiation of these pathologies is essential for adequate therapy, diagnosis is still only based on a clinical evaluation1. Regarding quantification of constipation only the ingestion of radio-opaque markers or radioactive isotopes and the consecutive assessment of colonic transit time using X-ray or scintigraphy, respectively, has been feasible in clinical settings 4-8. However, these approaches have several drawbacks such as involving rather inconvenient, time consuming examinations and exposing the patient to ionizing radiation. Therefore, conventional assessment of colonic transit time has not been widely used. Most recently a new technique for the assessment of colonic transit time using MRI and MR-contrast media filled capsules has been introduced 9. However, due to numerous examination dates per patient and corresponding datasets with many images, the evaluation of the image data is relatively time-consuming. The aim of our study was to develop a computer tool to facilitate the detection of the capsules in MRI datasets and thus to shorten the evaluation time. We present a semi-automatic tool which provides an intensity, size 10, and shape-based 11,12 detection of ingested Gd-DTPA-saline filled capsules. After an automatic pre-classification, radiologists may easily correct the results using the application-specific user interface, therefore decreasing the evaluation time significantly.

Computer vision and soft computing for automatic skull-face overlay in craniofacial superimposition.

PubMed

Campomanes-Álvarez, B Rosario; Ibáñez, O; Navarro, F; Alemán, I; Botella, M; Damas, S; Cordón, O

2014-12-01

Craniofacial superimposition can provide evidence to support that some human skeletal remains belong or not to a missing person. It involves the process of overlaying a skull with a number of ante mortem images of an individual and the analysis of their morphological correspondence. Within the craniofacial superimposition process, the skull-face overlay stage just focuses on achieving the best possible overlay of the skull and a single ante mortem image of the suspect. Although craniofacial superimposition has been in use for over a century, skull-face overlay is still applied by means of a trial-and-error approach without an automatic method. Practitioners finish the process once they consider that a good enough overlay has been attained. Hence, skull-face overlay is a very challenging, subjective, error prone, and time consuming part of the whole process. Though the numerical assessment of the method quality has not been achieved yet, computer vision and soft computing arise as powerful tools to automate it, dramatically reducing the time taken by the expert and obtaining an unbiased overlay result. In this manuscript, we justify and analyze the use of these techniques to properly model the skull-face overlay problem. We also present the automatic technical procedure we have developed using these computational methods and show the four overlays obtained in two craniofacial superimposition cases. This automatic procedure can be thus considered as a tool to aid forensic anthropologists to develop the skull-face overlay, automating and avoiding subjectivity of the most tedious task within craniofacial superimposition. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An automatic locating system for cloud-to-ground lightning. [which utilizes a microcomputer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Krider, E. P.; Pifer, A. E.; Uman, M. A.

1980-01-01

Automatic locating systems which respond to cloud to ground lightning and which discriminate against cloud discharges and background noise are described. Subsystems of the locating system, which include the direction finder and the position analyzer, are discussed. The direction finder senses the electromagnetic fields radiated by lightning on two orthogonal magnetic loop antennas and on a flat plate electric antenna. The position analyzer is a preprogrammed microcomputer system which automatically computes, maps, and records lightning locations in real time using data inputs from the direction finder. The use of the locating systems for wildfire management and fire weather forecasting is discussed.

SYMBOD - A computer program for the automatic generation of symbolic equations of motion for systems of hinge-connected rigid bodies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macala, G. A.

1983-01-01

A computer program is described that can automatically generate symbolic equations of motion for systems of hinge-connected rigid bodies with tree topologies. The dynamical formulation underlying the program is outlined, and examples are given to show how a symbolic language is used to code the formulation. The program is applied to generate the equations of motion for a four-body model of the Galileo spacecraft. The resulting equations are shown to be a factor of three faster in execution time than conventional numerical subroutines.

Computer memory management system

DOEpatents

Kirk, III, Whitson John

2002-01-01

A computer memory management system utilizing a memory structure system of "intelligent" pointers in which information related to the use status of the memory structure is designed into the pointer. Through this pointer system, The present invention provides essentially automatic memory management (often referred to as garbage collection) by allowing relationships between objects to have definite memory management behavior by use of coding protocol which describes when relationships should be maintained and when the relationships should be broken. In one aspect, the present invention system allows automatic breaking of strong links to facilitate object garbage collection, coupled with relationship adjectives which define deletion of associated objects. In another aspect, The present invention includes simple-to-use infinite undo/redo functionality in that it has the capability, through a simple function call, to undo all of the changes made to a data model since the previous `valid state` was noted.

Tool Efficiency Analysis model research in SEMI industry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Ma; Nana, Zhang; Zhongqiu, Zhang

2018-06-01

One of the key goals in SEMI industry is to improve equipment through put and ensure equipment production efficiency maximization. This paper is based on SEMI standards in semiconductor equipment control, defines the transaction rules between different tool states, and presents a TEA system model which is to analysis tool performance automatically based on finite state machine. The system was applied to fab tools and verified its effectiveness successfully, and obtained the parameter values used to measure the equipment performance, also including the advices of improvement.

An automatically tuning intrusion detection system.

PubMed

Yu, Zhenwei; Tsai, Jeffrey J P; Weigert, Thomas

2007-04-01

An intrusion detection system (IDS) is a security layer used to detect ongoing intrusive activities in information systems. Traditionally, intrusion detection relies on extensive knowledge of security experts, in particular, on their familiarity with the computer system to be protected. To reduce this dependence, various data-mining and machine learning techniques have been deployed for intrusion detection. An IDS is usually working in a dynamically changing environment, which forces continuous tuning of the intrusion detection model, in order to maintain sufficient performance. The manual tuning process required by current systems depends on the system operators in working out the tuning solution and in integrating it into the detection model. In this paper, an automatically tuning IDS (ATIDS) is presented. The proposed system will automatically tune the detection model on-the-fly according to the feedback provided by the system operator when false predictions are encountered. The system is evaluated using the KDDCup'99 intrusion detection dataset. Experimental results show that the system achieves up to 35% improvement in terms of misclassification cost when compared with a system lacking the tuning feature. If only 10% false predictions are used to tune the model, the system still achieves about 30% improvement. Moreover, when tuning is not delayed too long, the system can achieve about 20% improvement, with only 1.3% of the false predictions used to tune the model. The results of the experiments show that a practical system can be built based on ATIDS: system operators can focus on verification of predictions with low confidence, as only those predictions determined to be false will be used to tune the detection model.

Design of a modular digital computer system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

A Central Control Element (CCE) module which controls the Automatically Reconfigurable Modular System (ARMS) and allows both redundant processing and multi-computing in the same computer with real time mode switching, is discussed. The same hardware is used for either reliability enhancement, speed enhancement, or for a combination of both.

Development of a semi-automated model identification and calibration tool for conceptual modelling of sewer systems.

PubMed

Wolfs, Vincent; Villazon, Mauricio Florencio; Willems, Patrick

2013-01-01

Applications such as real-time control, uncertainty analysis and optimization require an extensive number of model iterations. Full hydrodynamic sewer models are not sufficient for these applications due to the excessive computation time. Simplifications are consequently required. A lumped conceptual modelling approach results in a much faster calculation. The process of identifying and calibrating the conceptual model structure could, however, be time-consuming. Moreover, many conceptual models lack accuracy, or do not account for backwater effects. To overcome these problems, a modelling methodology was developed which is suited for semi-automatic calibration. The methodology is tested for the sewer system of the city of Geel in the Grote Nete river basin in Belgium, using both synthetic design storm events and long time series of rainfall input. A MATLAB/Simulink(®) tool was developed to guide the modeller through the step-wise model construction, reducing significantly the time required for the conceptual modelling process.

Addressing case specific biogas plant tasks: industry oriented methane yields derived from 5L Automatic Methane Potential Test Systems in batch or semi-continuous tests using realistic inocula, substrate particle sizes and organic loading.

PubMed

Kolbl, Sabina; Paloczi, Attila; Panjan, Jože; Stres, Blaž

2014-02-01

The primary aim of the study was to develop and validate an in-house upscale of Automatic Methane Potential Test System II for studying real-time inocula and real-scale substrates in batch, codigestion and enzyme enhanced hydrolysis experiments, in addition to semi-continuous operation of the developed equipment and experiments testing inoculum functional quality. The successful upscale to 5L enabled comparison of different process configurations in shorter preparation times with acceptable accuracy and high-through put intended for industrial decision making. The adoption of the same scales, equipment and methodologies in batch and semi-continuous tests mirroring those at full scale biogas plants resulted in matching methane yields between the two laboratory tests and full-scale, confirming thus the increased decision making value of the approach for industrial operations. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Computer Vision Assisted Virtual Reality Calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, W.

1999-01-01

A computer vision assisted semi-automatic virtual reality (VR) calibration technology has been developed that can accurately match a virtual environment of graphically simulated three-dimensional (3-D) models to the video images of the real task environment.

Semi-automated identification of leopard frogs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Petrovska-Delacrétaz, Dijana; Edwards, Aaron; Chiasson, John; Chollet, Gérard; Pilliod, David S.

2014-01-01

Principal component analysis is used to implement a semi-automatic recognition system to identify recaptured northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens). Results of both open set and closed set experiments are given. The presented algorithm is shown to provide accurate identification of 209 individual leopard frogs from a total set of 1386 images.

Automatic bone detection and soft tissue aware ultrasound-CT registration for computer-aided orthopedic surgery.

PubMed

Wein, Wolfgang; Karamalis, Athanasios; Baumgartner, Adrian; Navab, Nassir

2015-06-01

The transfer of preoperative CT data into the tracking system coordinates within an operating room is of high interest for computer-aided orthopedic surgery. In this work, we introduce a solution for intra-operative ultrasound-CT registration of bones. We have developed methods for fully automatic real-time bone detection in ultrasound images and global automatic registration to CT. The bone detection algorithm uses a novel bone-specific feature descriptor and was thoroughly evaluated on both in-vivo and ex-vivo data. A global optimization strategy aligns the bone surface, followed by a soft tissue aware intensity-based registration to provide higher local registration accuracy. We evaluated the system on femur, tibia and fibula anatomy in a cadaver study with human legs, where magnetically tracked bone markers were implanted to yield ground truth information. An overall median system error of 3.7 mm was achieved on 11 datasets. Global and fully automatic registration of bones aquired with ultrasound to CT is feasible, with bone detection and tracking operating in real time for immediate feedback to the surgeon.

Automatic aortic root segmentation in CTA whole-body dataset

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Xinpei; Kitslaar, Pieter H.; Scholte, Arthur J. H. A.; Lelieveldt, Boudewijn P. F.; Dijkstra, Jouke; Reiber, Johan H. C.

2016-03-01

Trans-catheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is an evolving technique for patients with serious aortic stenosis disease. Typically, in this application a CTA data set is obtained of the patient's arterial system from the subclavian artery to the femoral arteries, to evaluate the quality of the vascular access route and analyze the aortic root to determine if and which prosthesis should be used. In this paper, we concentrate on the automated segmentation of the aortic root. The purpose of this study was to automatically segment the aortic root in computed tomography angiography (CTA) datasets to support TAVR procedures. The method in this study includes 4 major steps. First, the patient's cardiac CTA image was resampled to reduce the computation time. Next, the cardiac CTA image was segmented using an atlas-based approach. The most similar atlas was selected from a total of 8 atlases based on its image similarity to the input CTA image. Third, the aortic root segmentation from the previous step was transferred to the patient's whole-body CTA image by affine registration and refined in the fourth step using a deformable subdivision surface model fitting procedure based on image intensity. The pipeline was applied to 20 patients. The ground truth was created by an analyst who semi-automatically corrected the contours of the automatic method, where necessary. The average Dice similarity index between the segmentations of the automatic method and the ground truth was found to be 0.965±0.024. In conclusion, the current results are very promising.

Assessment of local pulse wave velocity distribution in mice using k-t BLAST PC-CMR with semi-automatic area segmentation.

PubMed

Herold, Volker; Herz, Stefan; Winter, Patrick; Gutjahr, Fabian Tobias; Andelovic, Kristina; Bauer, Wolfgang Rudolf; Jakob, Peter Michael

2017-10-16

Local aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a measure for vascular stiffness and has a predictive value for cardiovascular events. Ultra high field CMR scanners allow the quantification of local PWV in mice, however these systems are yet unable to monitor the distribution of local elasticities. In the present study we provide a new accelerated method to quantify local aortic PWV in mice with phase-contrast cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (PC-CMR) at 17.6 T. Based on a k-t BLAST (Broad-use Linear Acquisition Speed-up Technique) undersampling scheme, total measurement time could be reduced by a factor of 6. The fast data acquisition enables to quantify the local PWV at several locations along the aortic blood vessel based on the evaluation of local temporal changes in blood flow and vessel cross sectional area. To speed up post processing and to eliminate operator bias, we introduce a new semi-automatic segmentation algorithm to quantify cross-sectional areas of the aortic vessel. The new methods were applied in 10 eight-month-old mice (4 C57BL/6J-mice and 6 ApoE (-/-) -mice) at 12 adjacent locations along the abdominal aorta. Accelerated data acquisition and semi-automatic post-processing delivered reliable measures for the local PWV, similiar to those obtained with full data sampling and manual segmentation. No statistically significant differences of the mean values could be detected for the different measurement approaches. Mean PWV values were elevated for the ApoE (-/-) -group compared to the C57BL/6J-group (3.5 ± 0.7 m/s vs. 2.2 ± 0.4 m/s, p < 0.01). A more heterogeneous PWV-distribution in the ApoE (-/-) -animals could be observed compared to the C57BL/6J-mice, representing the local character of lesion development in atherosclerosis. In the present work, we showed that k-t BLAST PC-MRI enables the measurement of the local PWV distribution in the mouse aorta. The semi-automatic segmentation method based on PC-CMR data allowed rapid determination of

Comparison of automatic control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oppelt, W

1941-01-01

This report deals with a reciprocal comparison of an automatic pressure control, an automatic rpm control, an automatic temperature control, and an automatic directional control. It shows the difference between the "faultproof" regulator and the actual regulator which is subject to faults, and develops this difference as far as possible in a parallel manner with regard to the control systems under consideration. Such as analysis affords, particularly in its extension to the faults of the actual regulator, a deep insight into the mechanism of the regulator process.

Computer automation for feedback system design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Mathematical techniques and explanations of various steps used by an automated computer program to design feedback systems are summarized. Special attention was given to refining the automatic evaluation suboptimal loop transmission and the translation of time to frequency domain specifications.

The PR2D (Place, Route in 2-Dimensions) automatic layout computer program handbook

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Edge, T. M.

1978-01-01

Place, Route in 2-Dimensions is a standard cell automatic layout computer program for generating large scale integrated/metal oxide semiconductor arrays. The program was utilized successfully for a number of years in both government and private sectors but until now was undocumented. The compilation, loading, and execution of the program on a Sigma V CP-V operating system is described.

Development of an Automatic Dispensing System for Traditional Chinese Herbs.

PubMed

Lin, Chi-Ying; Hsieh, Ping-Jung

2017-01-01

The gathering of ingredients for decoctions of traditional Chinese herbs still relies on manual dispensation, due to the irregular shape of many items and inconsistencies in weights. In this study, we developed an automatic dispensing system for Chinese herbal decoctions with the aim of reducing manpower costs and the risk of mistakes. We employed machine vision in conjunction with a robot manipulator to facilitate the grasping of ingredients. The name and formulation of the decoction are input via a human-computer interface, and the dispensing of multiple medicine packets is performed automatically. An off-line least-squared curve fitting method was used to calculate the amount of material grasped by the claws and thereby improve system efficiency as well as the accuracy of individual dosages. Experiments on the dispensing of actual ingredients demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed system.

Physiological typing of Pseudallescheria and Scedosporium strains using Taxa Profile, a semi-automated, 384-well microtitre system.

PubMed

Horré, R; Schaal, K P; Marklein, G; de Hoog, G S; Reiffert, S-M

2011-10-01

During the last few decades, Pseudallescheria and Scedosporium infections in humans are noted with increasing frequency. Multi-drug resistance commonly occurring in this species complex interferes with adequate therapy. Rapid and correct identification of clinical isolates is of paramount significance for optimal treatment in the early stages of infection, while strain typing is necessary for epidemiological purposes. In view of the development of physiological diagnostic parameters, 570 physiological reactions were evaluated using the Taxa Profile Micronaut system, a semi-automatic, computer-assisted, 384-well microtitre platform. Thirty two strains of the Pseudallescheria and Scedosporium complex were analysed after molecular verification of correct species attribution. Of the compounds tested, 254 proved to be polymorphic. Cluster analysis was performed with the Micronaut profile software, which is linked to the ntsypc® program. The systemic opportunist S. prolificans was unambiguously separated from the remaining species. Within the P. boydii/P. apiosperma complex differentiation was noted at the level of individual strains, but no unambiguous parameters for species recognition were revealed. © 2011 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Semi automatic indexing of PostScript files using Medical Text Indexer in medical education.

PubMed

Mollah, Shamim Ara; Cimino, Christopher

2007-10-11

At Albert Einstein College of Medicine a large part of online lecture materials contain PostScript files. As the collection grows it becomes essential to create a digital library to have easy access to relevant sections of the lecture material that is full-text indexed; to create this index it is necessary to extract all the text from the document files that constitute the originals of the lectures. In this study we present a semi automatic indexing method using robust technique for extracting text from PostScript files and National Library of Medicine's Medical Text Indexer (MTI) program for indexing the text. This model can be applied to other medical schools for indexing purposes.

Applications of automatic differentiation in computational fluid dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Green, Lawrence L.; Carle, A.; Bischof, C.; Haigler, Kara J.; Newman, Perry A.

1994-01-01

Automatic differentiation (AD) is a powerful computational method that provides for computing exact sensitivity derivatives (SD) from existing computer programs for multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) or in sensitivity analysis. A pre-compiler AD tool for FORTRAN programs called ADIFOR has been developed. The ADIFOR tool has been easily and quickly applied by NASA Langley researchers to assess the feasibility and computational impact of AD in MDO with several different FORTRAN programs. These include a state-of-the-art three dimensional multigrid Navier-Stokes flow solver for wings or aircraft configurations in transonic turbulent flow. With ADIFOR the user specifies sets of independent and dependent variables with an existing computer code. ADIFOR then traces the dependency path throughout the code, applies the chain rule to formulate derivative expressions, and generates new code to compute the required SD matrix. The resulting codes have been verified to compute exact non-geometric and geometric SD for a variety of cases. in less time than is required to compute the SD matrix using centered divided differences.

Optimum spaceborne computer system design by simulation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, T.; Weatherbee, J. E.; Taylor, D. S.

1972-01-01

A deterministic digital simulation model is described which models the Automatically Reconfigurable Modular Multiprocessor System (ARMMS), a candidate computer system for future manned and unmanned space missions. Use of the model as a tool in configuring a minimum computer system for a typical mission is demonstrated. The configuration which is developed as a result of studies with the simulator is optimal with respect to the efficient use of computer system resources, i.e., the configuration derived is a minimal one. Other considerations such as increased reliability through the use of standby spares would be taken into account in the definition of a practical system for a given mission.

Support for Debugging Automatically Parallelized Programs

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hood, Robert; Jost, Gabriele; Biegel, Bryan (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This viewgraph presentation provides information on the technical aspects of debugging computer code that has been automatically converted for use in a parallel computing system. Shared memory parallelization and distributed memory parallelization entail separate and distinct challenges for a debugging program. A prototype system has been developed which integrates various tools for the debugging of automatically parallelized programs including the CAPTools Database which provides variable definition information across subroutines as well as array distribution information.

Automatic control study of the icing research tunnel refrigeration system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kieffer, Arthur W.; Soeder, Ronald H.

1991-01-01

The Icing Research Tunnel (IRT) at the NASA Lewis Research Center is a subsonic, closed-return atmospheric tunnel. The tunnel includes a heat exchanger and a refrigeration plant to achieve the desired air temperature and a spray system to generate the type of icing conditions that would be encountered by aircraft. At the present time, the tunnel air temperature is controlled by manual adjustment of freon refrigerant flow control valves. An upgrade of this facility calls for these control valves to be adjusted by an automatic controller. The digital computer simulation of the IRT refrigeration plant and the automatic controller that was used in the simulation are discussed.

Airborne Advanced Reconfigurable Computer System (ARCS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bjurman, B. E.; Jenkins, G. M.; Masreliez, C. J.; Mcclellan, K. L.; Templeman, J. E.

1976-01-01

A digital computer subsystem fault-tolerant concept was defined, and the potential benefits and costs of such a subsystem were assessed when used as the central element of a new transport's flight control system. The derived advanced reconfigurable computer system (ARCS) is a triple-redundant computer subsystem that automatically reconfigures, under multiple fault conditions, from triplex to duplex to simplex operation, with redundancy recovery if the fault condition is transient. The study included criteria development covering factors at the aircraft's operation level that would influence the design of a fault-tolerant system for commercial airline use. A new reliability analysis tool was developed for evaluating redundant, fault-tolerant system availability and survivability; and a stringent digital system software design methodology was used to achieve design/implementation visibility.

Automatic Aircraft Collision Avoidance System and Method

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skoog, Mark (Inventor); Hook, Loyd (Inventor); McWherter, Shaun (Inventor); Willhite, Jaimie (Inventor)

2014-01-01

The invention is a system and method of compressing a DTM to be used in an Auto-GCAS system using a semi-regular geometric compression algorithm. In general, the invention operates by first selecting the boundaries of the three dimensional map to be compressed and dividing the three dimensional map data into regular areas. Next, a type of free-edged, flat geometric surface is selected which will be used to approximate terrain data of the three dimensional map data. The flat geometric surface is used to approximate terrain data for each regular area. The approximations are checked to determine if they fall within selected tolerances. If the approximation for a specific regular area is within specified tolerance, the data is saved for that specific regular area. If the approximation for a specific area falls outside the specified tolerances, the regular area is divided and a flat geometric surface approximation is made for each of the divided areas. This process is recursively repeated until all of the regular areas are approximated by flat geometric surfaces. Finally, the compressed three dimensional map data is provided to the automatic ground collision system for an aircraft.

A deep-learning based automatic pulmonary nodule detection system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yiyuan; Zhao, Liang; Yan, Zhennan; Wolf, Matthias; Zhan, Yiqiang

2018-02-01

Lung cancer is the deadliest cancer worldwide. Early detection of lung cancer is a promising way to lower the risk of dying. Accurate pulmonary nodule detection in computed tomography (CT) images is crucial for early diagnosis of lung cancer. The development of computer-aided detection (CAD) system of pulmonary nodules contributes to making the CT analysis more accurate and with more efficiency. Recent studies from other groups have been focusing on lung cancer diagnosis CAD system by detecting medium to large nodules. However, to fully investigate the relevance between nodule features and cancer diagnosis, a CAD that is capable of detecting nodules with all sizes is needed. In this paper, we present a deep-learning based automatic all size pulmonary nodule detection system by cascading two artificial neural networks. We firstly use a U-net like 3D network to generate nodule candidates from CT images. Then, we use another 3D neural network to refine the locations of the nodule candidates generated from the previous subsystem. With the second sub-system, we bring the nodule candidates closer to the center of the ground truth nodule locations. We evaluate our system on a public CT dataset provided by the Lung Nodule Analysis (LUNA) 2016 grand challenge. The performance on the testing dataset shows that our system achieves 90% sensitivity with an average of 4 false positives per scan. This indicates that our system can be an aid for automatic nodule detection, which is beneficial for lung cancer diagnosis.

Computer-aided system design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Walker, Carrie K.

1991-01-01

A technique has been developed for combining features of a systems architecture design and assessment tool and a software development tool. This technique reduces simulation development time and expands simulation detail. The Architecture Design and Assessment System (ADAS), developed at the Research Triangle Institute, is a set of computer-assisted engineering tools for the design and analysis of computer systems. The ADAS system is based on directed graph concepts and supports the synthesis and analysis of software algorithms mapped to candidate hardware implementations. Greater simulation detail is provided by the ADAS functional simulator. With the functional simulator, programs written in either Ada or C can be used to provide a detailed description of graph nodes. A Computer-Aided Software Engineering tool developed at the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (CSDL CASE) automatically generates Ada or C code from engineering block diagram specifications designed with an interactive graphical interface. A technique to use the tools together has been developed, which further automates the design process.

77 FR 37733 - Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C68a, Airborne Automatic Dead Reckoning Computer Equipment...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-06-22

..., Airborne Automatic Dead Reckoning Computer Equipment Utilizing Aircraft Heading and Doppler Ground Speed.... ACTION: Notice of intent to cancel Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C68a, Airborne automatic dead reckoning... dead reckoning computer equipment utilizing aircraft heading and Doppler ground speed and drift angle...

Cost-effective computational method for radiation heat transfer in semi-crystalline polymers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boztepe, Sinan; Gilblas, Rémi; de Almeida, Olivier; Le Maoult, Yannick; Schmidt, Fabrice

2018-05-01

This paper introduces a cost-effective numerical model for infrared (IR) heating of semi-crystalline polymers. For the numerical and experimental studies presented here semi-crystalline polyethylene (PE) was used. The optical properties of PE were experimentally analyzed under varying temperature and the obtained results were used as input in the numerical studies. The model was built based on optically homogeneous medium assumption whereas the strong variation in the thermo-optical properties of semi-crystalline PE under heating was taken into account. Thus, the change in the amount radiative energy absorbed by the PE medium was introduced in the model induced by its temperature-dependent thermo-optical properties. The computational study was carried out considering an iterative closed-loop computation, where the absorbed radiation was computed using an in-house developed radiation heat transfer algorithm -RAYHEAT- and the computed results was transferred into the commercial software -COMSOL Multiphysics- for solving transient heat transfer problem to predict temperature field. The predicted temperature field was used to iterate the thermo-optical properties of PE that varies under heating. In order to analyze the accuracy of the numerical model experimental analyses were carried out performing IR-thermographic measurements during the heating of the PE plate. The applicability of the model in terms of computational cost, number of numerical input and accuracy was highlighted.

49 CFR 236.825 - System, automatic train control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false System, automatic train control. 236.825 Section..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Definitions § 236.825 System, automatic train control. A system so arranged that its operation will automatically...

49 CFR 236.825 - System, automatic train control.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false System, automatic train control. 236.825 Section..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Definitions § 236.825 System, automatic train control. A system so arranged that its operation will automatically...

Automatic multi-camera calibration for deployable positioning systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Axelsson, Maria; Karlsson, Mikael; Rudner, Staffan

2012-06-01

Surveillance with automated positioning and tracking of subjects and vehicles in 3D is desired in many defence and security applications. Camera systems with stereo or multiple cameras are often used for 3D positioning. In such systems, accurate camera calibration is needed to obtain a reliable 3D position estimate. There is also a need for automated camera calibration to facilitate fast deployment of semi-mobile multi-camera 3D positioning systems. In this paper we investigate a method for automatic calibration of the extrinsic camera parameters (relative camera pose and orientation) of a multi-camera positioning system. It is based on estimation of the essential matrix between each camera pair using the 5-point method for intrinsically calibrated cameras. The method is compared to a manual calibration method using real HD video data from a field trial with a multicamera positioning system. The method is also evaluated on simulated data from a stereo camera model. The results show that the reprojection error of the automated camera calibration method is close to or smaller than the error for the manual calibration method and that the automated calibration method can replace the manual calibration.

Semi-Automatic Determination of Rockfall Trajectories

PubMed Central

Volkwein, Axel; Klette, Johannes

2014-01-01

In determining rockfall trajectories in the field, it is essential to calibrate and validate rockfall simulation software. This contribution presents an in situ device and a complementary Local Positioning System (LPS) that allow the determination of parts of the trajectory. An assembly of sensors (herein called rockfall sensor) is installed in the falling block recording the 3D accelerations and rotational velocities. The LPS automatically calculates the position of the block along the slope over time based on Wi-Fi signals emitted from the rockfall sensor. The velocity of the block over time is determined through post-processing. The setup of the rockfall sensor is presented followed by proposed calibration and validation procedures. The performance of the LPS is evaluated by means of different experiments. The results allow for a quality analysis of both the obtained field data and the usability of the rockfall sensor for future/further applications in the field. PMID:25268916

HIPAA-compliant automatic monitoring system for RIS-integrated PACS operation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, Jin; Zhang, Jianguo; Chen, Xiaomeng; Sun, Jianyong; Yang, Yuanyuan; Liang, Chenwen; Feng, Jie; Sheng, Liwei; Huang, H. K.

2006-03-01

As a governmental regulation, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was issued to protect the privacy of health information that identifies individuals who are living or deceased. HIPAA requires security services supporting implementation features: Access control; Audit controls; Authorization control; Data authentication; and Entity authentication. These controls, which proposed in HIPAA Security Standards, are Audit trails here. Audit trails can be used for surveillance purposes, to detect when interesting events might be happening that warrant further investigation. Or they can be used forensically, after the detection of a security breach, to determine what went wrong and who or what was at fault. In order to provide security control services and to achieve the high and continuous availability, we design the HIPAA-Compliant Automatic Monitoring System for RIS-Integrated PACS operation. The system consists of two parts: monitoring agents running in each PACS component computer and a Monitor Server running in a remote computer. Monitoring agents are deployed on all computer nodes in RIS-Integrated PACS system to collect the Audit trail messages defined by the Supplement 95 of the DICOM standard: Audit Trail Messages. Then the Monitor Server gathers all audit messages and processes them to provide security information in three levels: system resources, PACS/RIS applications, and users/patients data accessing. Now the RIS-Integrated PACS managers can monitor and control the entire RIS-Integrated PACS operation through web service provided by the Monitor Server. This paper presents the design of a HIPAA-compliant automatic monitoring system for RIS-Integrated PACS Operation, and gives the preliminary results performed by this monitoring system on a clinical RIS-integrated PACS.

49 CFR 236.826 - System, automatic train stop.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false System, automatic train stop. 236.826 Section 236..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Definitions § 236.826 System, automatic train stop. A system so arranged that its operation will automatically...

49 CFR 236.826 - System, automatic train stop.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false System, automatic train stop. 236.826 Section 236..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Definitions § 236.826 System, automatic train stop. A system so arranged that its operation will automatically...

Case-based synthesis in automatic advertising creation system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Yueting; Pan, Yunhe

1995-08-01

Advertising (ads) is an important design area. Though many interactive ad-design softwares have come into commercial use, none of them ever support the intelligent work -- automatic ad creation. The potential for this is enormous. This paper gives a description of our current work in research of an automatic advertising creation system (AACS). After careful analysis of the mental behavior of a human ad designer, we conclude that case-based approach is appropriate to its intelligent modeling. A model for AACS is given in the paper. A case in ads is described as two parts: the creation process and the configuration of the ads picture, with detailed data structures given in the paper. Along with the case representation, we put forward an algorithm. Some issues such as similarity measure computing, and case adaptation have also been discussed.

An investigation of automatic exposure control calibration for chest imaging with a computed radiography system.

PubMed

Moore, C S; Wood, T J; Avery, G; Balcam, S; Needler, L; Beavis, A W; Saunderson, J R

2014-05-07

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of three physical image quality metrics in the calibration of an automatic exposure control (AEC) device for chest radiography with a computed radiography (CR) imaging system. The metrics assessed were signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and mean effective noise equivalent quanta (eNEQm), all measured using a uniform chest phantom. Subsequent calibration curves were derived to ensure each metric was held constant across the tube voltage range. Each curve was assessed for its clinical appropriateness by generating computer simulated chest images with correct detector air kermas for each tube voltage, and grading these against reference images which were reconstructed at detector air kermas correct for the constant detector dose indicator (DDI) curve currently programmed into the AEC device. All simulated chest images contained clinically realistic projected anatomy and anatomical noise and were scored by experienced image evaluators. Constant DDI and CNR curves do not appear to provide optimized performance across the diagnostic energy range. Conversely, constant eNEQm and SNR do appear to provide optimized performance, with the latter being the preferred calibration metric given as it is easier to measure in practice. Medical physicists may use the SNR image quality metric described here when setting up and optimizing AEC devices for chest radiography CR systems with a degree of confidence that resulting clinical image quality will be adequate for the required clinical task. However, this must be done with close cooperation of expert image evaluators, to ensure appropriate levels of detector air kerma.

An investigation of automatic exposure control calibration for chest imaging with a computed radiography system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, C. S.; Wood, T. J.; Avery, G.; Balcam, S.; Needler, L.; Beavis, A. W.; Saunderson, J. R.

2014-05-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the use of three physical image quality metrics in the calibration of an automatic exposure control (AEC) device for chest radiography with a computed radiography (CR) imaging system. The metrics assessed were signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and mean effective noise equivalent quanta (eNEQm), all measured using a uniform chest phantom. Subsequent calibration curves were derived to ensure each metric was held constant across the tube voltage range. Each curve was assessed for its clinical appropriateness by generating computer simulated chest images with correct detector air kermas for each tube voltage, and grading these against reference images which were reconstructed at detector air kermas correct for the constant detector dose indicator (DDI) curve currently programmed into the AEC device. All simulated chest images contained clinically realistic projected anatomy and anatomical noise and were scored by experienced image evaluators. Constant DDI and CNR curves do not appear to provide optimized performance across the diagnostic energy range. Conversely, constant eNEQm and SNR do appear to provide optimized performance, with the latter being the preferred calibration metric given as it is easier to measure in practice. Medical physicists may use the SNR image quality metric described here when setting up and optimizing AEC devices for chest radiography CR systems with a degree of confidence that resulting clinical image quality will be adequate for the required clinical task. However, this must be done with close cooperation of expert image evaluators, to ensure appropriate levels of detector air kerma.

49 CFR 236.824 - System, automatic block signal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false System, automatic block signal. 236.824 Section... § 236.824 System, automatic block signal. A block signal system wherein the use of each block is governed by an automatic block signal, cab signal, or both. ...

Semi-automatic segmentation of brain tumors using population and individual information.

PubMed

Wu, Yao; Yang, Wei; Jiang, Jun; Li, Shuanqian; Feng, Qianjin; Chen, Wufan

2013-08-01

Efficient segmentation of tumors in medical images is of great practical importance in early diagnosis and radiation plan. This paper proposes a novel semi-automatic segmentation method based on population and individual statistical information to segment brain tumors in magnetic resonance (MR) images. First, high-dimensional image features are extracted. Neighborhood components analysis is proposed to learn two optimal distance metrics, which contain population and patient-specific information, respectively. The probability of each pixel belonging to the foreground (tumor) and the background is estimated by the k-nearest neighborhood classifier under the learned optimal distance metrics. A cost function for segmentation is constructed through these probabilities and is optimized using graph cuts. Finally, some morphological operations are performed to improve the achieved segmentation results. Our dataset consists of 137 brain MR images, including 68 for training and 69 for testing. The proposed method overcomes segmentation difficulties caused by the uneven gray level distribution of the tumors and even can get satisfactory results if the tumors have fuzzy edges. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method is robust to brain tumor segmentation.

Practical automatic Arabic license plate recognition system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammad, Khader; Agaian, Sos; Saleh, Hani

2011-02-01

Since 1970's, the need of an automatic license plate recognition system, sometimes referred as Automatic License Plate Recognition system, has been increasing. A license plate recognition system is an automatic system that is able to recognize a license plate number, extracted from image sensors. In specific, Automatic License Plate Recognition systems are being used in conjunction with various transportation systems in application areas such as law enforcement (e.g. speed limit enforcement) and commercial usages such as parking enforcement and automatic toll payment private and public entrances, border control, theft and vandalism control. Vehicle license plate recognition has been intensively studied in many countries. Due to the different types of license plates being used, the requirement of an automatic license plate recognition system is different for each country. [License plate detection using cluster run length smoothing algorithm ].Generally, an automatic license plate localization and recognition system is made up of three modules; license plate localization, character segmentation and optical character recognition modules. This paper presents an Arabic license plate recognition system that is insensitive to character size, font, shape and orientation with extremely high accuracy rate. The proposed system is based on a combination of enhancement, license plate localization, morphological processing, and feature vector extraction using the Haar transform. The performance of the system is fast due to classification of alphabet and numerals based on the license plate organization. Experimental results for license plates of two different Arab countries show an average of 99 % successful license plate localization and recognition in a total of more than 20 different images captured from a complex outdoor environment. The results run times takes less time compared to conventional and many states of art methods.

A conceptual study of automatic and semi-automatic quality assurance techniques for round image processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1983-01-01

This report summarizes the results of a study conducted by Engineering and Economics Research (EER), Inc. under NASA Contract Number NAS5-27513. The study involved the development of preliminary concepts for automatic and semiautomatic quality assurance (QA) techniques for ground image processing. A distinction is made between quality assessment and the more comprehensive quality assurance which includes decision making and system feedback control in response to quality assessment.

Automatic code generation in SPARK: Applications of computer algebra and compiler-compilers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nataf, J.M.; Winkelmann, F.

We show how computer algebra and compiler-compilers are used for automatic code generation in the Simulation Problem Analysis and Research Kernel (SPARK), an object oriented environment for modeling complex physical systems that can be described by differential-algebraic equations. After a brief overview of SPARK, we describe the use of computer algebra in SPARK's symbolic interface, which generates solution code for equations that are entered in symbolic form. We also describe how the Lex/Yacc compiler-compiler is used to achieve important extensions to the SPARK simulation language, including parametrized macro objects and steady-state resetting of a dynamic simulation. The application of thesemore » methods to solving the partial differential equations for two-dimensional heat flow is illustrated.« less

Automatic code generation in SPARK: Applications of computer algebra and compiler-compilers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nataf, J.M.; Winkelmann, F.

We show how computer algebra and compiler-compilers are used for automatic code generation in the Simulation Problem Analysis and Research Kernel (SPARK), an object oriented environment for modeling complex physical systems that can be described by differential-algebraic equations. After a brief overview of SPARK, we describe the use of computer algebra in SPARK`s symbolic interface, which generates solution code for equations that are entered in symbolic form. We also describe how the Lex/Yacc compiler-compiler is used to achieve important extensions to the SPARK simulation language, including parametrized macro objects and steady-state resetting of a dynamic simulation. The application of thesemore » methods to solving the partial differential equations for two-dimensional heat flow is illustrated.« less

33 CFR 401.20 - Automatic Identification System.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

...' maritime Differential Global Positioning System radiobeacon services; or (7) The use of a temporary unit... Identification System. (a) Each of the following vessels must use an Automatic Identification System (AIS... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic Identification System...

Semi-physical Simulation Platform of a Parafoil Nonlinear Dynamic System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, Hai-Tao; Yang, Sheng-Bo; Zhu, Er-Lin; Sun, Qing-Lin; Chen, Zeng-Qiang; Kang, Xiao-Feng

2013-11-01

Focusing on the problems in the process of simulation and experiment on a parafoil nonlinear dynamic system, such as limited methods, high cost and low efficiency we present a semi-physical simulation platform. It is designed by connecting parts of physical objects to a computer, and remedies the defect that a computer simulation is divorced from a real environment absolutely. The main components of the platform and its functions, as well as simulation flows, are introduced. The feasibility and validity are verified through a simulation experiment. The experimental results show that the platform has significance for improving the quality of the parafoil fixed-point airdrop system, shortening the development cycle and saving cost.

Set Up of an Automatic Water Quality Sampling System in Irrigation Agriculture

PubMed Central

Heinz, Emanuel; Kraft, Philipp; Buchen, Caroline; Frede, Hans-Georg; Aquino, Eugenio; Breuer, Lutz

2014-01-01

We have developed a high-resolution automatic sampling system for continuous in situ measurements of stable water isotopic composition and nitrogen solutes along with hydrological information. The system facilitates concurrent monitoring of a large number of water and nutrient fluxes (ground, surface, irrigation and rain water) in irrigated agriculture. For this purpose we couple an automatic sampling system with a Wavelength-Scanned Cavity Ring Down Spectrometry System (WS-CRDS) for stable water isotope analysis (δ2H and δ18O), a reagentless hyperspectral UV photometer (ProPS) for monitoring nitrate content and various water level sensors for hydrometric information. The automatic sampling system consists of different sampling stations equipped with pumps, a switch cabinet for valve and pump control and a computer operating the system. The complete system is operated via internet-based control software, allowing supervision from nearly anywhere. The system is currently set up at the International Rice Research Institute (Los Baños, The Philippines) in a diversified rice growing system to continuously monitor water and nutrient fluxes. Here we present the system's technical set-up and provide initial proof-of-concept with results for the isotopic composition of different water sources and nitrate values from the 2012 dry season. PMID:24366178

Pilot control through the TAFCOS automatic flight control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wehrend, W. R., Jr.

1979-01-01

The set of flight control logic used in a recently completed flight test program to evaluate the total automatic flight control system (TAFCOS) with the controller operating in a fully automatic mode, was used to perform an unmanned simulation on an IBM 360 computer in which the TAFCOS concept was extended to provide a multilevel pilot interface. A pilot TAFCOS interface for direct pilot control by use of a velocity-control-wheel-steering mode was defined as well as a means for calling up conventional autopilot modes. It is concluded that the TAFCOS structure is easily adaptable to the addition of a pilot control through a stick-wheel-throttle control similar to conventional airplane controls. Conventional autopilot modes, such as airspeed-hold, altitude-hold, heading-hold, and flight path angle-hold, can also be included.

Density estimation in aerial images of large crowds for automatic people counting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Herrmann, Christian; Metzler, Juergen

2013-05-01

Counting people is a common topic in the area of visual surveillance and crowd analysis. While many image-based solutions are designed to count only a few persons at the same time, like pedestrians entering a shop or watching an advertisement, there is hardly any solution for counting large crowds of several hundred persons or more. We addressed this problem previously by designing a semi-automatic system being able to count crowds consisting of hundreds or thousands of people based on aerial images of demonstrations or similar events. This system requires major user interaction to segment the image. Our principle aim is to reduce this manual interaction. To achieve this, we propose a new and automatic system. Besides counting the people in large crowds, the system yields the positions of people allowing a plausibility check by a human operator. In order to automatize the people counting system, we use crowd density estimation. The determination of crowd density is based on several features like edge intensity or spatial frequency. They indicate the density and discriminate between a crowd and other image regions like buildings, bushes or trees. We compare the performance of our automatic system to the previous semi-automatic system and to manual counting in images. By counting a test set of aerial images showing large crowds containing up to 12,000 people, the performance gain of our new system will be measured. By improving our previous system, we will increase the benefit of an image-based solution for counting people in large crowds.

Automatic Calibration of a Semi-Distributed Hydrologic Model Using Particle Swarm Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bekele, E. G.; Nicklow, J. W.

2005-12-01

Hydrologic simulation models need to be calibrated and validated before using them for operational predictions. Spatially-distributed hydrologic models generally have a large number of parameters to capture the various physical characteristics of a hydrologic system. Manual calibration of such models is a very tedious and daunting task, and its success depends on the subjective assessment of a particular modeler, which includes knowledge of the basic approaches and interactions in the model. In order to alleviate these shortcomings, an automatic calibration model, which employs an evolutionary optimization technique known as Particle Swarm Optimizer (PSO) for parameter estimation, is developed. PSO is a heuristic search algorithm that is inspired by social behavior of bird flocking or fish schooling. The newly-developed calibration model is integrated to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). SWAT is a physically-based, semi-distributed hydrologic model that was developed to predict the long term impacts of land management practices on water, sediment and agricultural chemical yields in large complex watersheds with varying soils, land use, and management conditions. SWAT was calibrated for streamflow and sediment concentration. The calibration process involves parameter specification, whereby sensitive model parameters are identified, and parameter estimation. In order to reduce the number of parameters to be calibrated, parameterization was performed. The methodology is applied to a demonstration watershed known as Big Creek, which is located in southern Illinois. Application results show the effectiveness of the approach and model predictions are significantly improved.

LTRsift: a graphical user interface for semi-automatic classification and postprocessing of de novo detected LTR retrotransposons.

PubMed

Steinbiss, Sascha; Kastens, Sascha; Kurtz, Stefan

2012-11-07

Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons are a class of eukaryotic mobile elements characterized by a distinctive sequence similarity-based structure. Hence they are well suited for computational identification. Current software allows for a comprehensive genome-wide de novo detection of such elements. The obvious next step is the classification of newly detected candidates resulting in (super-)families. Such a de novo classification approach based on sequence-based clustering of transposon features has been proposed before, resulting in a preliminary assignment of candidates to families as a basis for subsequent manual refinement. However, such a classification workflow is typically split across a heterogeneous set of glue scripts and generic software (for example, spreadsheets), making it tedious for a human expert to inspect, curate and export the putative families produced by the workflow. We have developed LTRsift, an interactive graphical software tool for semi-automatic postprocessing of de novo predicted LTR retrotransposon annotations. Its user-friendly interface offers customizable filtering and classification functionality, displaying the putative candidate groups, their members and their internal structure in a hierarchical fashion. To ease manual work, it also supports graphical user interface-driven reassignment, splitting and further annotation of candidates. Export of grouped candidate sets in standard formats is possible. In two case studies, we demonstrate how LTRsift can be employed in the context of a genome-wide LTR retrotransposon survey effort. LTRsift is a useful and convenient tool for semi-automated classification of newly detected LTR retrotransposons based on their internal features. Its efficient implementation allows for convenient and seamless filtering and classification in an integrated environment. Developed for life scientists, it is helpful in postprocessing and refining the output of software for predicting LTR

The Infrared Automatic Mass Screening (IRAMS) System For Printed Circuit Board Fault Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hugo, Perry W.

1987-05-01

Office of the Program Manager for TMDE (OPM TMDE) has initiated a program to develop techniques for evaluating the performance of printed circuit boards (PCB's) using infrared thermal imaging. It is OPM TMDE's expectation that the standard thermal profile (STP) will become the basis for the future rapid automatic detection and isolation of gross failure mechanisms on units under test (UUT's). To accomplish this OPM TMDE has purchased two Infrared Automatic Mass Screening ( I RAMS) systems which are scheduled for delivery in 1987. The IRAMS system combines a high resolution infrared thermal imager with a test bench and diagnostic computer hardware and software. Its purpose is to rapidly and automatically compare the thermal profiles of a UUT with the STP of that unit, recalled from memory, in order to detect thermally responsive failure mechanisms in PCB's. This paper will review the IRAMS performance requirements, outline the plan for implementing the two systems and report on progress to date.

AISLE: an automatic volumetric segmentation method for the study of lung allometry.

PubMed

Ren, Hongliang; Kazanzides, Peter

2011-01-01

We developed a fully automatic segmentation method for volumetric CT (computer tomography) datasets to support construction of a statistical atlas for the study of allometric laws of the lung. The proposed segmentation method, AISLE (Automated ITK-Snap based on Level-set), is based on the level-set implementation from an existing semi-automatic segmentation program, ITK-Snap. AISLE can segment the lung field without human interaction and provide intermediate graphical results as desired. The preliminary experimental results show that the proposed method can achieve accurate segmentation, in terms of volumetric overlap metric, by comparing with the ground-truth segmentation performed by a radiologist.

An automatic dose verification system for adaptive radiotherapy for helical tomotherapy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mo, Xiaohu; Chen, Mingli; Parnell, Donald; Olivera, Gustavo; Galmarini, Daniel; Lu, Weiguo

2014-03-01

Purpose: During a typical 5-7 week treatment of external beam radiotherapy, there are potential differences between planned patient's anatomy and positioning, such as patient weight loss, or treatment setup. The discrepancies between planned and delivered doses resulting from these differences could be significant, especially in IMRT where dose distributions tightly conforms to target volumes while avoiding organs-at-risk. We developed an automatic system to monitor delivered dose using daily imaging. Methods: For each treatment, a merged image is generated by registering the daily pre-treatment setup image and planning CT using treatment position information extracted from the Tomotherapy archive. The treatment dose is then computed on this merged image using our in-house convolution-superposition based dose calculator implemented on GPU. The deformation field between merged and planning CT is computed using the Morphon algorithm. The planning structures and treatment doses are subsequently warped for analysis and dose accumulation. All results are saved in DICOM format with private tags and organized in a database. Due to the overwhelming amount of information generated, a customizable tolerance system is used to flag potential treatment errors or significant anatomical changes. A web-based system and a DICOM-RT viewer were developed for reporting and reviewing the results. Results: More than 30 patients were analysed retrospectively. Our in-house dose calculator passed 97% gamma test evaluated with 2% dose difference and 2mm distance-to-agreement compared with Tomotherapy calculated dose, which is considered sufficient for adaptive radiotherapy purposes. Evaluation of the deformable registration through visual inspection showed acceptable and consistent results, except for cases with large or unrealistic deformation. Our automatic flagging system was able to catch significant patient setup errors or anatomical changes. Conclusions: We developed an automatic dose

Patient-specific semi-supervised learning for postoperative brain tumor segmentation.

PubMed

Meier, Raphael; Bauer, Stefan; Slotboom, Johannes; Wiest, Roland; Reyes, Mauricio

2014-01-01

In contrast to preoperative brain tumor segmentation, the problem of postoperative brain tumor segmentation has been rarely approached so far. We present a fully-automatic segmentation method using multimodal magnetic resonance image data and patient-specific semi-supervised learning. The idea behind our semi-supervised approach is to effectively fuse information from both pre- and postoperative image data of the same patient to improve segmentation of the postoperative image. We pose image segmentation as a classification problem and solve it by adopting a semi-supervised decision forest. The method is evaluated on a cohort of 10 high-grade glioma patients, with segmentation performance and computation time comparable or superior to a state-of-the-art brain tumor segmentation method. Moreover, our results confirm that the inclusion of preoperative MR images lead to a better performance regarding postoperative brain tumor segmentation.

AutoTag and AutoSnap: Standardized, semi-automatic capture of regions of interest from whole slide images

PubMed Central

Marien, Koen M.; Andries, Luc; De Schepper, Stefanie; Kockx, Mark M.; De Meyer, Guido R.Y.

2015-01-01

Tumor angiogenesis is measured by counting microvessels in tissue sections at high power magnification as a potential prognostic or predictive biomarker. Until now, regions of interest1 (ROIs) were selected by manual operations within a tumor by using a systematic uniform random sampling2 (SURS) approach. Although SURS is the most reliable sampling method, it implies a high workload. However, SURS can be semi-automated and in this way contribute to the development of a validated quantification method for microvessel counting in the clinical setting. Here, we report a method to use semi-automated SURS for microvessel counting: • Whole slide imaging with Pannoramic SCAN (3DHISTECH) • Computer-assisted sampling in Pannoramic Viewer (3DHISTECH) extended by two self-written AutoHotkey applications (AutoTag and AutoSnap) • The use of digital grids in Photoshop® and Bridge® (Adobe Systems) This rapid procedure allows traceability essential for high throughput protein analysis of immunohistochemically stained tissue. PMID:26150998

Alternative Delivery Systems for the Computer-Aided Instruction Study Management System (CAISMS).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nievergelt, Jurg; And Others

The Computer-Assisted Instruction Study Management System (CAISMS) was developed and implemented on the PLATO system to monitor and guide student study of text materials. It administers assignments, gives quizzes, and automatically keeps track of a student's progress. This report describes CAISMS and several hypothetical implementations of CAISMS…

Semi-automatic geographic atrophy segmentation for SD-OCT images.

PubMed

Chen, Qiang; de Sisternes, Luis; Leng, Theodore; Zheng, Luoluo; Kutzscher, Lauren; Rubin, Daniel L

2013-01-01

Geographic atrophy (GA) is a condition that is associated with retinal thinning and loss of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) layer. It appears in advanced stages of non-exudative age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and can lead to vision loss. We present a semi-automated GA segmentation algorithm for spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT) images. The method first identifies and segments a surface between the RPE and the choroid to generate retinal projection images in which the projection region is restricted to a sub-volume of the retina where the presence of GA can be identified. Subsequently, a geometric active contour model is employed to automatically detect and segment the extent of GA in the projection images. Two image data sets, consisting on 55 SD-OCT scans from twelve eyes in eight patients with GA and 56 SD-OCT scans from 56 eyes in 56 patients with GA, respectively, were utilized to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate the proposed GA segmentation method. Experimental results suggest that the proposed algorithm can achieve high segmentation accuracy. The mean GA overlap ratios between our proposed method and outlines drawn in the SD-OCT scans, our method and outlines drawn in the fundus auto-fluorescence (FAF) images, and the commercial software (Carl Zeiss Meditec proprietary software, Cirrus version 6.0) and outlines drawn in FAF images were 72.60%, 65.88% and 59.83%, respectively.

Semi-automatic central-chest lymph-node definition from 3D MDCT images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Kongkuo; Higgins, William E.

2010-03-01

Central-chest lymph nodes play a vital role in lung-cancer staging. The three-dimensional (3D) definition of lymph nodes from multidetector computed-tomography (MDCT) images, however, remains an open problem. This is because of the limitations in the MDCT imaging of soft-tissue structures and the complicated phenomena that influence the appearance of a lymph node in an MDCT image. In the past, we have made significant efforts toward developing (1) live-wire-based segmentation methods for defining 2D and 3D chest structures and (2) a computer-based system for automatic definition and interactive visualization of the Mountain central-chest lymph-node stations. Based on these works, we propose new single-click and single-section live-wire methods for segmenting central-chest lymph nodes. The single-click live wire only requires the user to select an object pixel on one 2D MDCT section and is designed for typical lymph nodes. The single-section live wire requires the user to process one selected 2D section using standard 2D live wire, but it is more robust. We applied these methods to the segmentation of 20 lymph nodes from two human MDCT chest scans (10 per scan) drawn from our ground-truth database. The single-click live wire segmented 75% of the selected nodes successfully and reproducibly, while the success rate for the single-section live wire was 85%. We are able to segment the remaining nodes, using our previously derived (but more interaction intense) 2D live-wire method incorporated in our lymph-node analysis system. Both proposed methods are reliable and applicable to a wide range of pulmonary lymph nodes.

Automatic mathematical modeling for space application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, Caroline K.

1987-01-01

A methodology for automatic mathematical modeling is described. The major objective is to create a very friendly environment for engineers to design, maintain and verify their model and also automatically convert the mathematical model into FORTRAN code for conventional computation. A demonstration program was designed for modeling the Space Shuttle Main Engine simulation mathematical model called Propulsion System Automatic Modeling (PSAM). PSAM provides a very friendly and well organized environment for engineers to build a knowledge base for base equations and general information. PSAM contains an initial set of component process elements for the Space Shuttle Main Engine simulation and a questionnaire that allows the engineer to answer a set of questions to specify a particular model. PSAM is then able to automatically generate the model and the FORTRAN code. A future goal is to download the FORTRAN code to the VAX/VMS system for conventional computation.

Development report: Automatic System Test and Calibration (ASTAC) equipment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Thoren, R. J.

1981-01-01

A microcomputer based automatic test system was developed for the daily performance monitoring of wind energy system time domain (WEST) analyzer. The test system consists of a microprocessor based controller and hybrid interface unit which are used for inputing prescribed test signals into all WEST subsystems and for monitoring WEST responses to these signals. Performance is compared to theoretically correct performance levels calculated off line on a large general purpose digital computer. Results are displayed on a cathode ray tube or are available from a line printer. Excessive drift and/or lack of repeatability of the high speed analog sections within WEST is easily detected and the malfunctioning hardware identified using this system.

Automatization of hardware configuration for plasma diagnostic system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wojenski, A.; Pozniak, K. T.; Kasprowicz, G.; Kolasinski, P.; Krawczyk, R. D.; Zabolotny, W.; Linczuk, P.; Chernyshova, M.; Czarski, T.; Malinowski, K.

2016-09-01

Soft X-ray plasma measurement systems are mostly multi-channel, high performance systems. In case of the modular construction it is necessary to perform sophisticated system discovery in parallel with automatic system configuration. In the paper the structure of the modular system designed for tokamak plasma soft X-ray measurements is described. The concept of the system discovery and further automatic configuration is also presented. FCS application (FMC/ FPGA Configuration Software) is used for running sophisticated system setup with automatic verification of proper configuration. In order to provide flexibility of further system configurations (e.g. user setup), common communication interface is also described. The approach presented here is related to the automatic system firmware building presented in previous papers. Modular construction and multichannel measurements are key requirement in term of SXR diagnostics with use of GEM detectors.

MAIL LOG, program theory, volume 1. [Scout project automatic data system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harris, D. K.

1979-01-01

The program theory used to obtain the software package, MAIL LOG, developed for the Scout Project Automatic Data System, SPADS, is described. The program is written in FORTRAN for the PRIME 300 computer system. The MAIL LOG data base consists of three main subfiles: (1) incoming and outgoing mail correspondence; (2) design information releases and reports; and (3) drawings and engineering orders. All subroutine descriptions, flowcharts, and MAIL LOG outputs are given and the data base design is described.

Semi-automatic image personalization tool for variable text insertion and replacement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Hengzhou; Bala, Raja; Fan, Zhigang; Eschbach, Reiner; Bouman, Charles A.; Allebach, Jan P.

2010-02-01

Image personalization is a widely used technique in personalized marketing,1 in which a vendor attempts to promote new products or retain customers by sending marketing collateral that is tailored to the customers' demographics, needs, and interests. With current solutions of which we are aware such as XMPie,2 DirectSmile,3 and AlphaPicture,4 in order to produce this tailored marketing collateral, image templates need to be created manually by graphic designers, involving complex grid manipulation and detailed geometric adjustments. As a matter of fact, the image template design is highly manual, skill-demanding and costly, and essentially the bottleneck for image personalization. We present a semi-automatic image personalization tool for designing image templates. Two scenarios are considered: text insertion and text replacement, with the text replacement option not offered in current solutions. The graphical user interface (GUI) of the tool is described in detail. Unlike current solutions, the tool renders the text in 3-D, which allows easy adjustment of the text. In particular, the tool has been implemented in Java, which introduces flexible deployment and eliminates the need for any special software or know-how on the part of the end user.

GESA--a two-dimensional processing system using knowledge base techniques.

PubMed

Rowlands, D G; Flook, A; Payne, P I; van Hoff, A; Niblett, T; McKee, S

1988-12-01

The successful analysis of two-dimensional (2-D) polyacrylamide electrophoresis gels demands considerable experience and understanding of the protein system under investigation as well as knowledge of the separation technique itself. The present work concerns the development of a computer system for analysing 2-D electrophoretic separations which incorporates concepts derived from artificial intelligence research such that non-experts can use the technique as a diagnostic or identification tool. Automatic analysis of 2-D gel separations has proved to be extremely difficult using statistical methods. Non-reproducibility of gel separations is also difficult to overcome using automatic systems. However, the human eye is extremely good at recognising patterns in images, and human intervention in semi-automatic computer systems can reduce the computational complexities of fully automatic systems. Moreover, the expertise and understanding of an "expert" is invaluable in reducing system complexity if it can be encapsulated satisfactorily in an expert system. The combination of user-intervention in the computer system together with the encapsulation of expert knowledge characterises the present system. The domain within which the system has been developed is that of wheat grain storage proteins (gliadins) which exhibit polymorphism to such an extent that cultivars can be uniquely identified by their gliadin patterns. The system can be adapted to other domains where a range of polymorpic protein sub-units exist. In its generalised form, the system can also be used for comparing more complex 2-D gel electrophoretic separations.

Characteristics of a semi-custom library development system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yancey, M.; Cannon, R.

1990-01-01

Standard cell and gate array macro libraries are in common use with workstation computer aided design (CAD) tools for application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) semi-custom application and have resulted in significant improvements in the overall design efficiencies as contrasted with custom design methodologies. Similar design methodology enhancements in providing for the efficient development of the library cells is an important factor in responding to the need for continuous technology improvement. The characteristics of a library development system that provides design flexibility and productivity enhancements for the library development engineer as he provides libraries in the state-of-the-art process technologies are presented. An overview of Gould's library development system ('Accolade') is also presented.

Nonlinear analysis of switched semi-active controlled systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eslaminasab, Nima; Vahid A., Orang; Golnaraghi, Farid

2011-02-01

Semi-active systems improve suspension performance of the vehicles more effectively than conventional passive systems by simultaneously improving ride comfort and road handling. Also, because of size, weight, price and performance advantages, they have gained more interest over the active as well as passive systems. Probably the most neglected aspect of the semi-active on-off control systems and strategies is the effects of the added nonlinearities of those systems, which are introduced and analysed in this paper. To do so, numerical techniques, analytical method of averaging and experimental analysis are deployed. In this paper, a new method to analyse, calculate and compare the performances of the semi-active controlled systems is proposed; further, a new controller based on the observations of actual test data is proposed to eliminate the adverse effects of added nonlinearities. The significance of the proposed new system is the simplicity of the algorithm and ease of implementation. In fact, this new semi-active control strategy could be easily adopted and used with most of the existing semi-active control systems.

Automatic detection of spiculation of pulmonary nodules in computed tomography images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ciompi, F.; Jacobs, C.; Scholten, E. T.; van Riel, S. J.; W. Wille, M. M.; Prokop, M.; van Ginneken, B.

2015-03-01

We present a fully automatic method for the assessment of spiculation of pulmonary nodules in low-dose Computed Tomography (CT) images. Spiculation is considered as one of the indicators of nodule malignancy and an important feature to assess in order to decide on a patient-tailored follow-up procedure. For this reason, lung cancer screening scenario would benefit from the presence of a fully automatic system for the assessment of spiculation. The presented framework relies on the fact that spiculated nodules mainly differ from non-spiculated ones in their morphology. In order to discriminate the two categories, information on morphology is captured by sampling intensity profiles along circular patterns on spherical surfaces centered on the nodule, in a multi-scale fashion. Each intensity profile is interpreted as a periodic signal, where the Fourier transform is applied, obtaining a spectrum. A library of spectra is created by clustering data via unsupervised learning. The centroids of the clusters are used to label back each spectrum in the sampling pattern. A compact descriptor encoding the nodule morphology is obtained as the histogram of labels along all the spherical surfaces and used to classify spiculated nodules via supervised learning. We tested our approach on a set of nodules from the Danish Lung Cancer Screening Trial (DLCST) dataset. Our results show that the proposed method outperforms other 3-D descriptors of morphology in the automatic assessment of spiculation.

Automatic Payroll Deposit System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Davidson, D. B.

1979-01-01

The Automatic Payroll Deposit System in Yakima, Washington's Public School District No. 7, directly transmits each employee's salary amount for each pay period to a bank or other financial institution. (Author/MLF)

Semi-automatic mapping for identifying complex geobodies in seismic images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Domínguez-C, Raymundo; Romero-Salcedo, Manuel; Velasquillo-Martínez, Luis G.; Shemeretov, Leonid

2017-03-01

Seismic images are composed of positive and negative seismic wave traces with different amplitudes (Robein 2010 Seismic Imaging: A Review of the Techniques, their Principles, Merits and Limitations (Houten: EAGE)). The association of these amplitudes together with a color palette forms complex visual patterns. The color intensity of such patterns is directly related to impedance contrasts: the higher the contrast, the higher the color intensity. Generally speaking, low impedance contrasts are depicted with low tone colors, creating zones with different patterns whose features are not evident for a 3D automated mapping option available on commercial software. In this work, a workflow for a semi-automatic mapping of seismic images focused on those areas with low-intensity colored zones that may be associated with geobodies of petroleum interest is proposed. The CIE L*A*B* color space was used to perform the seismic image processing, which helped find small but significant differences between pixel tones. This process generated binary masks that bound color regions to low-intensity colors. The three-dimensional-mask projection allowed the construction of 3D structures for such zones (geobodies). The proposed method was applied to a set of digital images from a seismic cube and tested on four representative study cases. The obtained results are encouraging because interesting geobodies are obtained with a minimum of information.

Use of an automatic earth resistivity system for detection of abandoned mine workings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peters, W.R.; Burdick, R.

1982-04-01

Under the sponsorship of the US Bureau of Mines, a surface-operated automatic high resolution earth resistivity system and associated computer data processing techniques have been designed and constructed for use as a potential means of detecting abandoned coal mine workings. The hardware and software aspects of the new system are described together with applications of the method to the survey and mapping of abandoned mine workings.

Qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative simulation of the osmoregulation system in yeast

PubMed Central

Pang, Wei; Coghill, George M.

2015-01-01

In this paper we demonstrate how Morven, a computational framework which can perform qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative simulation of dynamical systems using the same model formalism, is applied to study the osmotic stress response pathway in yeast. First the Morven framework itself is briefly introduced in terms of the model formalism employed and output format. We then built a qualitative model for the biophysical process of the osmoregulation in yeast, and a global qualitative-level picture was obtained through qualitative simulation of this model. Furthermore, we constructed a Morven model based on existing quantitative model of the osmoregulation system. This model was then simulated qualitatively, semi-quantitatively, and quantitatively. The obtained simulation results are presented with an analysis. Finally the future development of the Morven framework for modelling the dynamic biological systems is discussed. PMID:25864377

Volumetric glioma quantification: comparison of manual and semi-automatic tumor segmentation for the quantification of tumor growth.

PubMed

Odland, Audun; Server, Andres; Saxhaug, Cathrine; Breivik, Birger; Groote, Rasmus; Vardal, Jonas; Larsson, Christopher; Bjørnerud, Atle

2015-11-01

Volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is now widely available and routinely used in the evaluation of high-grade gliomas (HGGs). Ideally, volumetric measurements should be included in this evaluation. However, manual tumor segmentation is time-consuming and suffers from inter-observer variability. Thus, tools for semi-automatic tumor segmentation are needed. To present a semi-automatic method (SAM) for segmentation of HGGs and to compare this method with manual segmentation performed by experts. The inter-observer variability among experts manually segmenting HGGs using volumetric MRIs was also examined. Twenty patients with HGGs were included. All patients underwent surgical resection prior to inclusion. Each patient underwent several MRI examinations during and after adjuvant chemoradiation therapy. Three experts performed manual segmentation. The results of tumor segmentation by the experts and by the SAM were compared using Dice coefficients and kappa statistics. A relatively close agreement was seen among two of the experts and the SAM, while the third expert disagreed considerably with the other experts and the SAM. An important reason for this disagreement was a different interpretation of contrast enhancement as either surgically-induced or glioma-induced. The time required for manual tumor segmentation was an average of 16 min per scan. Editing of the tumor masks produced by the SAM required an average of less than 2 min per sample. Manual segmentation of HGG is very time-consuming and using the SAM could increase the efficiency of this process. However, the accuracy of the SAM ultimately depends on the expert doing the editing. Our study confirmed a considerable inter-observer variability among experts defining tumor volume from volumetric MRIs. © The Foundation Acta Radiologica 2014.

49 CFR 236.824 - System, automatic block signal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false System, automatic block signal. 236.824 Section..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Definitions § 236.824 System, automatic block signal. A block signal system wherein the use of each block is...

49 CFR 236.824 - System, automatic block signal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false System, automatic block signal. 236.824 Section..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Definitions § 236.824 System, automatic block signal. A block signal system wherein the use of each block is...

49 CFR 236.824 - System, automatic block signal.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false System, automatic block signal. 236.824 Section..., INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Definitions § 236.824 System, automatic block signal. A block signal system wherein the use of each block is...

Distribution of Software Changes for Battlefield Computer Systems: A lingering Problem

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-06-03

Defense, 10 June 1963), pp. 1-4. 3 Ibid. 4Automatic Data Processing Systems, Book - 1 Introduction (U.S. Army Signal School, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, 15...January 1960) , passim. 5Automatic Data Processing Systems, Book - 2 Army Use of ADPS (U.S. Army Signal School, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, 15 October...execute an application or utility program. It controls how the computer functions during a given operation. Utility programs are merely general use

SARNAclust: Semi-automatic detection of RNA protein binding motifs from immunoprecipitation data

PubMed Central

Dotu, Ivan; Adamson, Scott I.; Coleman, Benjamin; Fournier, Cyril; Ricart-Altimiras, Emma; Eyras, Eduardo

2018-01-01

RNA-protein binding is critical to gene regulation, controlling fundamental processes including splicing, translation, localization and stability, and aberrant RNA-protein interactions are known to play a role in a wide variety of diseases. However, molecular understanding of RNA-protein interactions remains limited; in particular, identification of RNA motifs that bind proteins has long been challenging, especially when such motifs depend on both sequence and structure. Moreover, although RNA binding proteins (RBPs) often contain more than one binding domain, algorithms capable of identifying more than one binding motif simultaneously have not been developed. In this paper we present a novel pipeline to determine binding peaks in crosslinking immunoprecipitation (CLIP) data, to discover multiple possible RNA sequence/structure motifs among them, and to experimentally validate such motifs. At the core is a new semi-automatic algorithm SARNAclust, the first unsupervised method to identify and deconvolve multiple sequence/structure motifs simultaneously. SARNAclust computes similarity between sequence/structure objects using a graph kernel, providing the ability to isolate the impact of specific features through the bulge graph formalism. Application of SARNAclust to synthetic data shows its capability of clustering 5 motifs at once with a V-measure value of over 0.95, while GraphClust achieves only a V-measure of 0.083 and RNAcontext cannot detect any of the motifs. When applied to existing eCLIP sets, SARNAclust finds known motifs for SLBP and HNRNPC and novel motifs for several other RBPs such as AGGF1, AKAP8L and ILF3. We demonstrate an experimental validation protocol, a targeted Bind-n-Seq-like high-throughput sequencing approach that relies on RNA inverse folding for oligo pool design, that can validate the components within the SLBP motif. Finally, we use this protocol to experimentally interrogate the SARNAclust motif predictions for protein ILF3. Our

Novel semi-dry electrodes for brain-computer interface applications.

PubMed

Wang, Fei; Li, Guangli; Chen, Jingjing; Duan, Yanwen; Zhang, Dan

2016-08-01

Modern applications of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on electroencephalography rely heavily on the so-called wet electrodes (e.g. Ag/AgCl electrodes) which require gel application and skin preparation to operate properly. Recently, alternative 'dry' electrodes have been developed to increase ease of use, but they often suffer from higher electrode-skin impedance and signal instability. In the current paper, we have proposed a novel porous ceramic-based 'semi-dry' electrode. The key feature of the semi-dry electrodes is that their tips can slowly and continuously release a tiny amount of electrolyte liquid to the scalp, which provides an ionic conducting path for detecting neural signals. The performance of the proposed electrode was evaluated by simultaneous recording of the wet and semi-dry electrodes pairs in five classical BCI paradigms: eyes open/closed, the motor imagery BCI, the P300 speller, the N200 speller and the steady-state visually evoked potential-based BCI. The grand-averaged temporal cross-correlation was 0.95 ± 0.07 across the subjects and the nine recording positions, and these cross-correlations were stable throughout the whole experimental protocol. In the spectral domain, the semi-dry/wet coherence was greater than 0.80 at all frequencies and greater than 0.90 at frequencies above 10 Hz, with the exception of a dip around 50 Hz (i.e. the powerline noise). More importantly, the BCI classification accuracies were also comparable between the two types of electrodes. Overall, these results indicate that the proposed semi-dry electrode can effectively capture the electrophysiological responses and is a feasible alternative to the conventional dry electrode in BCI applications.

Automatic braking system modification for the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) Transportation Systems Research Vehicle (TSRV)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Coogan, J. J.

1986-01-01

Modifications were designed for the B-737-100 Research Aircraft autobrake system hardware of the Advanced Transport Operating Systems (ATOPS) Program at Langley Research Center. These modifications will allow the on-board flight control computer to control the aircraft deceleration after landing to a continuously variable level for the purpose of executing automatic high speed turn-offs from the runway. A bread board version of the proposed modifications was built and tested in simulated stopping conditions. Test results, for various aircraft weights, turnoff speed, winds, and runway conditions show that the turnoff speeds are achieved generally with errors less than 1 ft/sec.

14 CFR 29.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

14 CFR 29.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

14 CFR 29.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

14 CFR 29.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

14 CFR 29.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

ALOHA: Automatic libraries of helicity amplitudes for Feynman diagram computations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Aquino, Priscila; Link, William; Maltoni, Fabio; Mattelaer, Olivier; Stelzer, Tim

2012-10-01

We present an application that automatically writes the HELAS (HELicity Amplitude Subroutines) library corresponding to the Feynman rules of any quantum field theory Lagrangian. The code is written in Python and takes the Universal FeynRules Output (UFO) as an input. From this input it produces the complete set of routines, wave-functions and amplitudes, that are needed for the computation of Feynman diagrams at leading as well as at higher orders. The representation is language independent and currently it can output routines in Fortran, C++, and Python. A few sample applications implemented in the MADGRAPH 5 framework are presented. Program summary Program title: ALOHA Catalogue identifier: AEMS_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEMS_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen's University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: http://www.opensource.org/licenses/UoI-NCSA.php No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 6094320 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 7479819 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Python2.6 Computer: 32/64 bit Operating system: Linux/Mac/Windows RAM: 512 Mbytes Classification: 4.4, 11.6 Nature of problem: An effcient numerical evaluation of a squared matrix element can be done with the help of the helicity routines implemented in the HELAS library [1]. This static library contains a limited number of helicity functions and is therefore not always able to provide the needed routine in the presence of an arbitrary interaction. This program provides a way to automatically create the corresponding routines for any given model. Solution method: ALOHA takes the Feynman rules associated to the vertex obtained from the model information (in the UFO format [2]), and multiplies it by the different wavefunctions or propagators. As a result the analytical expression of the helicity routines is obtained. Subsequently, this expression is

14 CFR 27.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the alignment of... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

14 CFR 27.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the alignment of... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

14 CFR 27.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the alignment of... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

14 CFR 27.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the alignment of... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

14 CFR 27.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate to the pilot the alignment of... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (e) If the automatic pilot integrates...

Hybrid Automatic Building Interpretation System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pakzad, K.; Klink, A.; Müterthies, A.; Gröger, G.; Stroh, V.; Plümer, L.

2011-09-01

HABIS (Hybrid Automatic Building Interpretation System) is a system for an automatic reconstruction of building roofs used in virtual 3D building models. Unlike most of the commercially available systems, HABIS is able to work to a high degree automatically. The hybrid method uses different sources intending to exploit the advantages of the particular sources. 3D point clouds usually provide good height and surface data, whereas spatial high resolution aerial images provide important information for edges and detail information for roof objects like dormers or chimneys. The cadastral data provide important basis information about the building ground plans. The approach used in HABIS works with a multi-stage-process, which starts with a coarse roof classification based on 3D point clouds. After that it continues with an image based verification of these predicted roofs. In a further step a final classification and adjustment of the roofs is done. In addition some roof objects like dormers and chimneys are also extracted based on aerial images and added to the models. In this paper the used methods are described and some results are presented.

General collaboration offer of Johnson Controls regarding the performance of air conditioning automatic control systems and other buildings` automatic control systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gniazdowski, J.

1995-12-31

JOHNSON CONTROLS manufactures measuring and control equipment (800 types) and is as well a {open_quotes}turn-key{close_quotes} supplier of complete automatic controls systems for heating, air conditioning, ventilation and refrigerating engineering branches. The Company also supplies Buildings` Computer-Based Supervision and Monitoring Systems that may be applied in both small and large structures. Since 1990 the company has been performing full-range trade and contracting activities on the Polish market. We have our own well-trained technical staff and we collaborate with a series of designing and contracting enterprises that enable us to have our projects carried out all over Poland. The prices of ourmore » supplies and services correspond with the level of the Polish market.« less

Usefulness of model-based iterative reconstruction in semi-automatic volumetry for ground-glass nodules at ultra-low-dose CT: a phantom study.

PubMed

Maruyama, Shuki; Fukushima, Yasuhiro; Miyamae, Yuta; Koizumi, Koji

2018-06-01

This study aimed to investigate the effects of parameter presets of the forward projected model-based iterative reconstruction solution (FIRST) on the accuracy of pulmonary nodule volume measurement. A torso phantom with simulated nodules [diameter: 5, 8, 10, and 12 mm; computed tomography (CT) density: - 630 HU] was scanned with a multi-detector CT at tube currents of 10 mA (ultra-low-dose: UL-dose) and 270 mA (standard-dose: Std-dose). Images were reconstructed with filtered back projection [FBP; standard (Std-FBP), ultra-low-dose (UL-FBP)], FIRST Lung (UL-Lung), and FIRST Body (UL-Body), and analyzed with a semi-automatic software. The error in the volume measurement was determined. The errors with UL-Lung and UL-Body were smaller than that with UL-FBP. The smallest error was 5.8% ± 0.3 for the 12-mm nodule with UL-Body (middle lung). Our results indicated that FIRST Body would be superior to FIRST Lung in terms of accuracy of nodule measurement with UL-dose CT.

A web-based computer aided system for liver surgery planning: initial implementation on RayPlus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Ming; Yuan, Rong; Sun, Zhi; Li, Tianhong; Xie, Qingguo

2016-03-01

At present, computer aided systems for liver surgery design and risk evaluation are widely used in clinical all over the world. However, most systems are local applications that run on high-performance workstations, and the images have to processed offline. Compared with local applications, a web-based system is accessible anywhere and for a range of regardless of relative processing power or operating system. RayPlus (http://rayplus.life.hust.edu.cn), a B/S platform for medical image processing, was developed to give a jump start on web-based medical image processing. In this paper, we implement a computer aided system for liver surgery planning on the architecture of RayPlus. The system consists of a series of processing to CT images including filtering, segmentation, visualization and analyzing. Each processing is packaged into an executable program and runs on the server side. CT images in DICOM format are processed step by to interactive modeling on browser with zero-installation and server-side computing. The system supports users to semi-automatically segment the liver, intrahepatic vessel and tumor from the pre-processed images. Then, surface and volume models are built to analyze the vessel structure and the relative position between adjacent organs. The results show that the initial implementation meets satisfactorily its first-order objectives and provide an accurate 3D delineation of the liver anatomy. Vessel labeling and resection simulation are planned to add in the future. The system is available on Internet at the link mentioned above and an open username for testing is offered.

Channel Measurements for Automatic Vehicle Monitoring Systems

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1974-03-01

Co-channel and adjacent channel electromagnetic interference measurements were conducted on the Sierra Research Corp. and the Chicago Transit Authority automatic vehicle monitoring systems. These measurements were made to determine if the automatic v...

Automatic channel trimming for control systems: A concept

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vandervoort, R. J.; Sykes, H. A.

1977-01-01

Set of bias signals added to channel inputs automatically normalize differences between channels. Algorithm and second feedback loop compute trim biases. Concept could be applied to regulators and multichannel servosystems for remote manipulators in undersea mining.

77 FR 53962 - Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C68a, Airborne Automatic Dead Reckoning Computer Equipment...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-04

..., Airborne Automatic Dead Reckoning Computer Equipment Utilizing Aircraft Heading and Doppler Ground Speed.... ACTION: Notice of cancellation of Technical Standard Order (TSO)-C68a, Airborne Automatic Dead Reckoning... . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background Doppler radar is a semiautomatic self-contained dead reckoning navigation...

Qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative simulation of the osmoregulation system in yeast.

PubMed

Pang, Wei; Coghill, George M

2015-05-01

In this paper we demonstrate how Morven, a computational framework which can perform qualitative, semi-quantitative, and quantitative simulation of dynamical systems using the same model formalism, is applied to study the osmotic stress response pathway in yeast. First the Morven framework itself is briefly introduced in terms of the model formalism employed and output format. We then built a qualitative model for the biophysical process of the osmoregulation in yeast, and a global qualitative-level picture was obtained through qualitative simulation of this model. Furthermore, we constructed a Morven model based on existing quantitative model of the osmoregulation system. This model was then simulated qualitatively, semi-quantitatively, and quantitatively. The obtained simulation results are presented with an analysis. Finally the future development of the Morven framework for modelling the dynamic biological systems is discussed. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Forensic Odontology: Automatic Identification of Persons Comparing Antemortem and Postmortem Panoramic Radiographs Using Computer Vision.

PubMed

Heinrich, Andreas; Güttler, Felix; Wendt, Sebastian; Schenkl, Sebastian; Hubig, Michael; Wagner, Rebecca; Mall, Gita; Teichgräber, Ulf

2018-06-18

 In forensic odontology the comparison between antemortem and postmortem panoramic radiographs (PRs) is a reliable method for person identification. The purpose of this study was to improve and automate identification of unknown people by comparison between antemortem and postmortem PR using computer vision.  The study includes 43 467 PRs from 24 545 patients (46 % females/54 % males). All PRs were filtered and evaluated with Matlab R2014b including the toolboxes image processing and computer vision system. The matching process used the SURF feature to find the corresponding points between two PRs (unknown person and database entry) out of the whole database.  From 40 randomly selected persons, 34 persons (85 %) could be reliably identified by corresponding PR matching points between an already existing scan in the database and the most recent PR. The systematic matching yielded a maximum of 259 points for a successful identification between two different PRs of the same person and a maximum of 12 corresponding matching points for other non-identical persons in the database. Hence 12 matching points are the threshold for reliable assignment.  Operating with an automatic PR system and computer vision could be a successful and reliable tool for identification purposes. The applied method distinguishes itself by virtue of its fast and reliable identification of persons by PR. This Identification method is suitable even if dental characteristics were removed or added in the past. The system seems to be robust for large amounts of data.   · Computer vision allows an automated antemortem and postmortem comparison of panoramic radiographs (PRs) for person identification.. · The present method is able to find identical matching partners among huge datasets (big data) in a short computing time.. · The identification method is suitable even if dental characteristics were removed or added.. · Heinrich A, Güttler F, Wendt S et al. Forensic Odontology

Assessment of Techniques for Evaluating Computer Systems for Federal Agency Procurements. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Letmanyi, Helen

Developed to identify and qualitatively assess computer system evaluation techniques for use during acquisition of general purpose computer systems, this document presents several criteria for comparison and selection. An introduction discusses the automatic data processing (ADP) acquisition process and the need to plan for uncertainty through…

LTRsift: a graphical user interface for semi-automatic classification and postprocessing of de novo detected LTR retrotransposons

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons are a class of eukaryotic mobile elements characterized by a distinctive sequence similarity-based structure. Hence they are well suited for computational identification. Current software allows for a comprehensive genome-wide de novo detection of such elements. The obvious next step is the classification of newly detected candidates resulting in (super-)families. Such a de novo classification approach based on sequence-based clustering of transposon features has been proposed before, resulting in a preliminary assignment of candidates to families as a basis for subsequent manual refinement. However, such a classification workflow is typically split across a heterogeneous set of glue scripts and generic software (for example, spreadsheets), making it tedious for a human expert to inspect, curate and export the putative families produced by the workflow. Results We have developed LTRsift, an interactive graphical software tool for semi-automatic postprocessing of de novo predicted LTR retrotransposon annotations. Its user-friendly interface offers customizable filtering and classification functionality, displaying the putative candidate groups, their members and their internal structure in a hierarchical fashion. To ease manual work, it also supports graphical user interface-driven reassignment, splitting and further annotation of candidates. Export of grouped candidate sets in standard formats is possible. In two case studies, we demonstrate how LTRsift can be employed in the context of a genome-wide LTR retrotransposon survey effort. Conclusions LTRsift is a useful and convenient tool for semi-automated classification of newly detected LTR retrotransposons based on their internal features. Its efficient implementation allows for convenient and seamless filtering and classification in an integrated environment. Developed for life scientists, it is helpful in postprocessing and refining the output of software

Method and apparatus for routing data in an inter-nodal communications lattice of a massively parallel computer system by semi-randomly varying routing policies for different packets

DOEpatents

Archer, Charles Jens; Musselman, Roy Glenn; Peters, Amanda; Pinnow, Kurt Walter; Swartz, Brent Allen; Wallenfelt, Brian Paul

2010-11-23

A massively parallel computer system contains an inter-nodal communications network of node-to-node links. Nodes vary a choice of routing policy for routing data in the network in a semi-random manner, so that similarly situated packets are not always routed along the same path. Semi-random variation of the routing policy tends to avoid certain local hot spots of network activity, which might otherwise arise using more consistent routing determinations. Preferably, the originating node chooses a routing policy for a packet, and all intermediate nodes in the path route the packet according to that policy. Policies may be rotated on a round-robin basis, selected by generating a random number, or otherwise varied.

Adaptive pseudolinear compensators of dynamic characteristics of automatic control systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Skorospeshkin, M. V.; Sukhodoev, M. S.; Timoshenko, E. A.; Lenskiy, F. V.

2016-04-01

Adaptive pseudolinear gain and phase compensators of dynamic characteristics of automatic control systems are suggested. The automatic control system performance with adaptive compensators has been explored. The efficiency of pseudolinear adaptive compensators in the automatic control systems with time-varying parameters has been demonstrated.

49 CFR 236.504 - Operation interconnected with automatic block-signal system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 49 Transportation 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Operation interconnected with automatic block... Operation interconnected with automatic block-signal system. (a) A continuous inductive automatic train stop or train control system shall operate in connection with an automatic block signal system and shall...

Novel semi-dry electrodes for brain-computer interface applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Fei; Li, Guangli; Chen, Jingjing; Duan, Yanwen; Zhang, Dan

2016-08-01

Objectives. Modern applications of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) based on electroencephalography rely heavily on the so-called wet electrodes (e.g. Ag/AgCl electrodes) which require gel application and skin preparation to operate properly. Recently, alternative ‘dry’ electrodes have been developed to increase ease of use, but they often suffer from higher electrode-skin impedance and signal instability. In the current paper, we have proposed a novel porous ceramic-based ‘semi-dry’ electrode. The key feature of the semi-dry electrodes is that their tips can slowly and continuously release a tiny amount of electrolyte liquid to the scalp, which provides an ionic conducting path for detecting neural signals. Approach. The performance of the proposed electrode was evaluated by simultaneous recording of the wet and semi-dry electrodes pairs in five classical BCI paradigms: eyes open/closed, the motor imagery BCI, the P300 speller, the N200 speller and the steady-state visually evoked potential-based BCI. Main results. The grand-averaged temporal cross-correlation was 0.95 ± 0.07 across the subjects and the nine recording positions, and these cross-correlations were stable throughout the whole experimental protocol. In the spectral domain, the semi-dry/wet coherence was greater than 0.80 at all frequencies and greater than 0.90 at frequencies above 10 Hz, with the exception of a dip around 50 Hz (i.e. the powerline noise). More importantly, the BCI classification accuracies were also comparable between the two types of electrodes. Significance. Overall, these results indicate that the proposed semi-dry electrode can effectively capture the electrophysiological responses and is a feasible alternative to the conventional dry electrode in BCI applications.

An automatic gore panel mapping system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shiver, John D.; Phelps, Norman N.

1990-01-01

The Automatic Gore Mapping System is being developed to reduce the time and labor costs associated with manufacturing the External Tank. The present chem-milling processes and procedures are discussed. The down loading of the simulation of the system has to be performed to verify that the simulation package will translate the simulation code into robot code. Also a simulation of this system has to be programmed for a gantry robot instead of the articulating robot that is presently in the system. It was discovered using the simulation package that the articulation robot cannot reach all the point on some of the panels, therefore when the system is ready for production, a gantry robot will be used. Also a hydrosensor system is being developed to replace the point-to-point contact probe. The hydrosensor will allow the robot to perform a non-contact continuous scan of the panel. It will also provide a faster scan of the panel because it will eliminate the in-and-out movement required for the present end effector. The system software is currently being modified so that the hydrosensor will work with the system. The hydrosensor consists of a Krautkramer-Branson transducer encased in a plexiglass nozzle. The water stream pumped through the nozzle is the couplant for the probe. Also, software is being written so that the robot will have the ability to draw the contour lines on the panel displaying the out-of-tolerance regions. Presently the contour lines can only be displayed on the computer screens. Research is also being performed on improving and automating the method of scribing the panels. Presently the panels are manually scribed with a sharp knife. The use of a low power laser or water jet is being studied as a method of scribing the panels. The contour drawing pen will be replaced with scribing tool and the robot will then move along the contour lines. With these developments the Automatic Gore Mapping Systems will provide a reduction in time and labor costs

NASA automatic subject analysis technique for extracting retrievable multi-terms (NASA TERM) system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kirschbaum, J.; Williamson, R. E.

1978-01-01

Current methods for information processing and retrieval used at the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Facility are reviewed. A more cost effective computer aided indexing system is proposed which automatically generates print terms (phrases) from the natural text. Satisfactory print terms can be generated in a primarily automatic manner to produce a thesaurus (NASA TERMS) which extends all the mappings presently applied by indexers, specifies the worth of each posting term in the thesaurus, and indicates the areas of use of the thesaurus entry phrase. These print terms enable the computer to determine which of several terms in a hierarchy is desirable and to differentiate ambiguous terms. Steps in the NASA TERMS algorithm are discussed and the processing of surrogate entry phrases is demonstrated using four previously manually indexed STAR abstracts for comparison. The simulation shows phrase isolation, text phrase reduction, NASA terms selection, and RECON display.

[An automatic system for anatomophysiological correlation in three planes simultaneously during functional neurosurgery].

PubMed

Teijeiro, E J; Macías, R J; Morales, J M; Guerra, E; López, G; Alvarez, L M; Fernández, F; Maragoto, C; Seijo, F; Alvarez, E

The Neurosurgical Deep Recording System (NDRS) using a personal computer takes the place of complex electronic equipment for recording and processing deep cerebral electrical activity, as a guide in stereotaxic functional neurosurgery. It also permits increased possibilities of presenting information in direct graphic form with automatic management and sufficient flexibility to implement different analyses. This paper describes the possibilities of automatic simultaneous graphic representation in three almost orthogonal planes, available with the new 5.1 version of NDRS so as to facilitate the analysis of anatomophysiological correlation in the localization of deep structures of the brain during minimal access surgery. This new version can automatically show the spatial behaviour of signals registered throughout the path of the electrode inside the brain, superimposed simultaneously on sagittal, coronal and axial sections of an anatomical atlas of the brain, after adjusting the scale automatically according to the dimensions of the brain of each individual patient. This may also be shown in a tridimensional representation of the different planes themselves intercepting. The NDRS system has been successfully used in Spain and Cuba in over 300 functional neurosurgery operations. The new version further facilitates analysis of spatial anatomophysiological correlation for the localization of brain structures. This system has contributed to increase the precision and safety in selecting surgical targets in the control of Parkinson s disease and other disorders of movement.

14 CFR 25.904 - Automatic takeoff thrust control system (ATTCS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Automatic takeoff thrust control system... Automatic takeoff thrust control system (ATTCS). Each applicant seeking approval for installation of an engine power control system that automatically resets the power or thrust on the operating engine(s) when...

14 CFR 25.904 - Automatic takeoff thrust control system (ATTCS).

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 14 Aeronautics and Space 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Automatic takeoff thrust control system... Automatic takeoff thrust control system (ATTCS). Each applicant seeking approval for installation of an engine power control system that automatically resets the power or thrust on the operating engine(s) when...

An automatic system to study sperm motility and energetics.

PubMed

Shi, Linda Z; Nascimento, Jaclyn M; Chandsawangbhuwana, Charlie; Botvinick, Elliot L; Berns, Michael W

2008-08-01

An integrated robotic laser and microscope system has been developed to automatically analyze individual sperm motility and energetics. The custom-designed optical system directs near-infrared laser light into an inverted microscope to create a single-point 3-D gradient laser trap at the focal spot of the microscope objective. A two-level computer structure is described that quantifies the sperm motility (in terms of swimming speed and swimming force) and energetics (measuring mid-piece membrane potential) using real-time tracking (done by the upper-level system) and fluorescent ratio imaging (done by the lower-level system). The communication between these two systems is achieved by a gigabit network. The custom-built image processing algorithm identifies the sperm swimming trajectory in real-time using phase contrast images, and then subsequently traps the sperm by automatically moving the microscope stage to relocate the sperm to the laser trap focal plane. Once the sperm is stably trapped (determined by the algorithm), the algorithm can also gradually reduce the laser power by rotating the polarizer in the laser path to measure the trapping power at which the sperm is capable of escaping the trap. To monitor the membrane potential of the mitochondria located in a sperm's mid-piece, the sperm is treated with a ratiometrically-encoded fluorescent probe. The proposed algorithm can relocate the sperm to the center of the ratio imaging camera and the average ratio value can be measured in real-time. The three parameters, sperm escape power, sperm swimming speed and ratio values of the mid-piece membrane potential of individual sperm can be compared with respect to time. This two-level automatic system to study individual sperm motility and energetics has not only increased experimental throughput by an order of magnitude but also has allowed us to monitor sperm energetics prior to and after exposure to the laser trap. This system should have application in both the

An automatic system to study sperm motility and energetics

PubMed Central

Nascimento, Jaclyn M.; Chandsawangbhuwana, Charlie; Botvinick, Elliot L.; Berns, Michael W.

2012-01-01

An integrated robotic laser and microscope system has been developed to automatically analyze individual sperm motility and energetics. The custom-designed optical system directs near-infrared laser light into an inverted microscope to create a single-point 3-D gradient laser trap at the focal spot of the microscope objective. A two-level computer structure is described that quantifies the sperm motility (in terms of swimming speed and swimming force) and energetics (measuring mid-piece membrane potential) using real-time tracking (done by the upper-level system) and fluorescent ratio imaging (done by the lower-level system). The communication between these two systems is achieved by a gigabit network. The custom-built image processing algorithm identifies the sperm swimming trajectory in real-time using phase contrast images, and then subsequently traps the sperm by automatically moving the microscope stage to relocate the sperm to the laser trap focal plane. Once the sperm is stably trapped (determined by the algorithm), the algorithm can also gradually reduce the laser power by rotating the polarizer in the laser path to measure the trapping power at which the sperm is capable of escaping the trap. To monitor the membrane potential of the mitochondria located in a sperm’s mid-piece, the sperm is treated with a ratiometrically-encoded fluorescent probe. The proposed algorithm can relocate the sperm to the center of the ratio imaging camera and the average ratio value can be measured in real-time. The three parameters, sperm escape power, sperm swimming speed and ratio values of the mid-piece membrane potential of individual sperm can be compared with respect to time. This two-level automatic system to study individual sperm motility and energetics has not only increased experimental throughput by an order of magnitude but also has allowed us to monitor sperm energetics prior to and after exposure to the laser trap. This system should have application in both

Automatic finite element generators

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wang, P. S.

1984-01-01

The design and implementation of a software system for generating finite elements and related computations are described. Exact symbolic computational techniques are employed to derive strain-displacement matrices and element stiffness matrices. Methods for dealing with the excessive growth of symbolic expressions are discussed. Automatic FORTRAN code generation is described with emphasis on improving the efficiency of the resultant code.

An Intention-Driven Semi-autonomous Intelligent Robotic System for Drinking.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhijun; Huang, Yongqian; Chen, Siyuan; Qu, Jun; Pan, Xin; Yu, Tianyou; Li, Yuanqing

2017-01-01

In this study, an intention-driven semi-autonomous intelligent robotic (ID-SIR) system is designed and developed to assist the severely disabled patients to live independently. The system mainly consists of a non-invasive brain-machine interface (BMI) subsystem, a robot manipulator and a visual detection and localization subsystem. Different from most of the existing systems remotely controlled by joystick, head- or eye tracking, the proposed ID-SIR system directly acquires the intention from users' brain. Compared with the state-of-art system only working for a specific object in a fixed place, the designed ID-SIR system can grasp any desired object in a random place chosen by a user and deliver it to his/her mouth automatically. As one of the main advantages of the ID-SIR system, the patient is only required to send one intention command for one drinking task and the autonomous robot would finish the rest of specific controlling tasks, which greatly eases the burden on patients. Eight healthy subjects attended our experiment, which contained 10 tasks for each subject. In each task, the proposed ID-SIR system delivered the desired beverage container to the mouth of the subject and then put it back to the original position. The mean accuracy of the eight subjects was 97.5%, which demonstrated the effectiveness of the ID-SIR system.

Auspice: Automatic Service Planning in Cloud/Grid Environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiu, David; Agrawal, Gagan

Recent scientific advances have fostered a mounting number of services and data sets available for utilization. These resources, though scattered across disparate locations, are often loosely coupled both semantically and operationally. This loosely coupled relationship implies the possibility of linking together operations and data sets to answer queries. This task, generally known as automatic service composition, therefore abstracts the process of complex scientific workflow planning from the user. We have been exploring a metadata-driven approach toward automatic service workflow composition, among other enabling mechanisms, in our system, Auspice: Automatic Service Planning in Cloud/Grid Environments. In this paper, we present a complete overview of our system's unique features and outlooks for future deployment as the Cloud computing paradigm becomes increasingly eminent in enabling scientific computing.

Morphometric synaptology of a whole neuron profile using a semiautomatic interactive computer system.

PubMed

Saito, K; Niki, K

1983-07-01

We propose a new method of dealing with morphometric synaptology that processes all synapses and boutons around the HRP marked neuron on a large composite electron micrograph, rather than a qualitative or a piecemeal quantitative study of a particular synapse and/or bouton that is not positioned on the surface of the neuron. This approach requires the development of both neuroanatomical procedures, by which a specific whole neuronal profile is identified, and valuable specialized tools, which support the collection and analysis of a great volume of morphometric data from composite electron micrographs, in order to reduce the burden of the morphologist. The present report is also concerned with the total and reliable semi-automatic interactive computer system for gathering and analyzing morphometric data that has been under development in our laboratory. A morphologist performs the pattern recognition portion by using a large-sized tablet digitizer and a menu-sheet command, and the system registers the various morphometric values of many different neurons and performs statistical analysis. Some examples of morphometric measurements and analysis show the usefulness and efficiency of the proposed system and method.

Preliminary clinical evaluation of semi-automated nailfold capillaroscopy in the assessment of patients with Raynaud's phenomenon.

PubMed

Murray, Andrea K; Feng, Kaiyan; Moore, Tonia L; Allen, Phillip D; Taylor, Christopher J; Herrick, Ariane L

2011-08-01

  Nailfold capillaroscopy is well established in screening patients with Raynaud's phenomenon for underlying SSc-spectrum disorders, by identifying abnormal capillaries. Our aim was to compare semi-automatic feature measurement from newly developed software with manual measurements, and determine the degree to which semi-automated data allows disease group classification.   Images from 46 healthy controls, 21 patients with PRP and 49 with SSc were preprocessed, and semi-automated measurements of intercapillary distance and capillary width, tortuosity, and derangement were performed. These were compared with manual measurements. Features were used to classify images into the three subject groups.   Comparison of automatic and manual measures for distance, width, tortuosity, and derangement had correlations of r=0.583, 0.624, 0.495 (p<0.001), and 0.195 (p=0.040). For automatic measures, correlations were found between width and intercapillary distance, r=0.374, and width and tortuosity, r=0.573 (p<0.001). Significant differences between subject groups were found for all features (p<0.002). Overall, 75% of images correctly matched clinical classification using semi-automated features, compared with 71% for manual measurements.   Semi-automatic and manual measurements of distance, width, and tortuosity showed moderate (but statistically significant) correlations. Correlation for derangement was weaker. Semi-automatic measurements are faster than manual measurements. Semi-automatic parameters identify differences between groups, and are as good as manual measurements for between-group classification. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Automatic differentiation for design sensitivity analysis of structural systems using multiple processors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, Duc T.; Storaasli, Olaf O.; Qin, Jiangning; Qamar, Ramzi

1994-01-01

An automatic differentiation tool (ADIFOR) is incorporated into a finite element based structural analysis program for shape and non-shape design sensitivity analysis of structural systems. The entire analysis and sensitivity procedures are parallelized and vectorized for high performance computation. Small scale examples to verify the accuracy of the proposed program and a medium scale example to demonstrate the parallel vector performance on multiple CRAY C90 processors are included.

Computer systems for annotation of single molecule fragments

DOEpatents

Schwartz, David Charles; Severin, Jessica

2016-07-19

There are provided computer systems for visualizing and annotating single molecule images. Annotation systems in accordance with this disclosure allow a user to mark and annotate single molecules of interest and their restriction enzyme cut sites thereby determining the restriction fragments of single nucleic acid molecules. The markings and annotations may be automatically generated by the system in certain embodiments and they may be overlaid translucently onto the single molecule images. An image caching system may be implemented in the computer annotation systems to reduce image processing time. The annotation systems include one or more connectors connecting to one or more databases capable of storing single molecule data as well as other biomedical data. Such diverse array of data can be retrieved and used to validate the markings and annotations. The annotation systems may be implemented and deployed over a computer network. They may be ergonomically optimized to facilitate user interactions.

Automatic lesion tracking for a PET/CT based computer aided cancer therapy monitoring system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Opfer, Roland; Brenner, Winfried; Carlsen, Ingwer; Renisch, Steffen; Sabczynski, Jörg; Wiemker, Rafael

2008-03-01

Response assessment of cancer therapy is a crucial component towards a more effective and patient individualized cancer therapy. Integrated PET/CT systems provide the opportunity to combine morphologic with functional information. However, dealing simultaneously with several PET/CT scans poses a serious workflow problem. It can be a difficult and tedious task to extract response criteria based upon an integrated analysis of PET and CT images and to track these criteria over time. In order to improve the workflow for serial analysis of PET/CT scans we introduce in this paper a fast lesion tracking algorithm. We combine a global multi-resolution rigid registration algorithm with a local block matching and a local region growing algorithm. Whenever the user clicks on a lesion in the base-line PET scan the course of standardized uptake values (SUV) is automatically identified and shown to the user as a graph plot. We have validated our method by a data collection from 7 patients. Each patient underwent two or three PET/CT scans during the course of a cancer therapy. An experienced nuclear medicine physician manually measured the courses of the maximum SUVs for altogether 18 lesions. As a result we obtained that the automatic detection of the corresponding lesions resulted in SUV measurements which are nearly identical to the manually measured SUVs. Between 38 measured maximum SUVs derived from manual and automatic detected lesions we observed a correlation of 0.9994 and a average error of 0.4 SUV units.

Automatic Thesaurus Generation for an Electronic Community System.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Hsinchun; And Others

1995-01-01

This research reports an algorithmic approach to the automatic generation of thesauri for electronic community systems. The techniques used include term filtering, automatic indexing, and cluster analysis. The Worm Community System, used by molecular biologists studying the nematode worm C. elegans, was used as the testbed for this research.…

Design and development of a prototypical software for semi-automatic generation of test methodologies and security checklists for IT vulnerability assessment in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Möller, Thomas; Bellin, Knut; Creutzburg, Reiner

2015-03-01

The aim of this paper is to show the recent progress in the design and prototypical development of a software suite Copra Breeder* for semi-automatic generation of test methodologies and security checklists for IT vulnerability assessment in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Computer-operated analytical platform for the determination of nutrients in hydroponic systems.

PubMed

Rius-Ruiz, F Xavier; Andrade, Francisco J; Riu, Jordi; Rius, F Xavier

2014-03-15

Hydroponics is a water, energy, space, and cost efficient system for growing plants in constrained spaces or land exhausted areas. Precise control of hydroponic nutrients is essential for growing healthy plants and producing high yields. In this article we report for the first time on a new computer-operated analytical platform which can be readily used for the determination of essential nutrients in hydroponic growing systems. The liquid-handling system uses inexpensive components (i.e., peristaltic pump and solenoid valves), which are discretely computer-operated to automatically condition, calibrate and clean a multi-probe of solid-contact ion-selective electrodes (ISEs). These ISEs, which are based on carbon nanotubes, offer high portability, robustness and easy maintenance and storage. With this new computer-operated analytical platform we performed automatic measurements of K(+), Ca(2+), NO3(-) and Cl(-) during tomato plants growth in order to assure optimal nutritional uptake and tomato production. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Use of the Elektronika-T3-16M special-purpose computer for the automatic processing of cytophotometric and cytofluorimetric data].

PubMed

Loktionov, A S; Prianishnikov, V A

1981-05-01

A system has been proposed to provide the automatic analysis of data on: a) point cytophotometry, b) two-wave cytophotometry, c) cytofluorimetry. The system provides the input of the data from a photomultiplier to a specialized computer "Electronica-T3-16M" in addition to the simultaneous statistical analysis of these. The information on the programs used is presented. The advantages of the system, compared with some commercially available cytophotometers, are indicated.

A Distributed-Memory Package for Dense Hierarchically Semi-Separable Matrix Computations Using Randomization

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rouet, François-Henry; Li, Xiaoye S.; Ghysels, Pieter

In this paper, we present a distributed-memory library for computations with dense structured matrices. A matrix is considered structured if its off-diagonal blocks can be approximated by a rank-deficient matrix with low numerical rank. Here, we use Hierarchically Semi-Separable (HSS) representations. Such matrices appear in many applications, for example, finite-element methods, boundary element methods, and so on. Exploiting this structure allows for fast solution of linear systems and/or fast computation of matrix-vector products, which are the two main building blocks of matrix computations. The compression algorithm that we use, that computes the HSS form of an input dense matrix, reliesmore » on randomized sampling with a novel adaptive sampling mechanism. We discuss the parallelization of this algorithm and also present the parallelization of structured matrix-vector product, structured factorization, and solution routines. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated on large problems from different academic and industrial applications, on up to 8,000 cores. Finally, this work is part of a more global effort, the STRUctured Matrices PACKage (STRUMPACK) software package for computations with sparse and dense structured matrices. Hence, although useful on their own right, the routines also represent a step in the direction of a distributed-memory sparse solver.« less

A Distributed-Memory Package for Dense Hierarchically Semi-Separable Matrix Computations Using Randomization

DOE PAGES

Rouet, François-Henry; Li, Xiaoye S.; Ghysels, Pieter; ...

2016-06-30

In this paper, we present a distributed-memory library for computations with dense structured matrices. A matrix is considered structured if its off-diagonal blocks can be approximated by a rank-deficient matrix with low numerical rank. Here, we use Hierarchically Semi-Separable (HSS) representations. Such matrices appear in many applications, for example, finite-element methods, boundary element methods, and so on. Exploiting this structure allows for fast solution of linear systems and/or fast computation of matrix-vector products, which are the two main building blocks of matrix computations. The compression algorithm that we use, that computes the HSS form of an input dense matrix, reliesmore » on randomized sampling with a novel adaptive sampling mechanism. We discuss the parallelization of this algorithm and also present the parallelization of structured matrix-vector product, structured factorization, and solution routines. The efficiency of the approach is demonstrated on large problems from different academic and industrial applications, on up to 8,000 cores. Finally, this work is part of a more global effort, the STRUctured Matrices PACKage (STRUMPACK) software package for computations with sparse and dense structured matrices. Hence, although useful on their own right, the routines also represent a step in the direction of a distributed-memory sparse solver.« less

Automatic flatness detection system for micro part

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luo, Yi; Wang, Xiaodong; Shan, Zhendong; Li, Kehong

2016-01-01

An automatic flatness detection system for micro rings is developed. It is made up of machine vision module, ring supporting module and control system. An industry CCD camera with the resolution of 1628×1236 pixel, a telecentric with magnification of two, and light sources are used to collect the vision information. A rotary stage with a polished silicon wafer is used to support the ring. The silicon wafer provides a mirror image and doubles the gap caused by unevenness of the ring. The control system comprise an industry computer and software written in LabVIEW Get Kernel and Convolute Function are selected to reduce noise and distortion, Laplacian Operator is used to sharp the image, and IMAQ Threshold function is used to separate the target object from the background. Based on this software, system repeating precision is 2.19 μm, less than one pixel. The designed detection system can easily identify the ring warpage larger than 5 μm, and if the warpage is less than 25 μm, it can be used in ring assembly and satisfied the final positionary and perpendicularity error requirement of the component.

Research in Automatic Russian-English Scientific and Technical Lexicography. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wayne State Univ., Detroit, MI.

Techniques of reversing English-Russian scientific and technical dictionaries into Russian-English versions through semi-automated compilation are described. Sections on manual and automatic processing discuss pre- and post-editing, the task program, updater (correction of errors and revision by specialist in a given field), the system employed…

RFA-cut: Semi-automatic segmentation of radiofrequency ablation zones with and without needles via optimal s-t-cuts.

PubMed

Egger, Jan; Busse, Harald; Brandmaier, Philipp; Seider, Daniel; Gawlitza, Matthias; Strocka, Steffen; Voglreiter, Philip; Dokter, Mark; Hofmann, Michael; Kainz, Bernhard; Chen, Xiaojun; Hann, Alexander; Boechat, Pedro; Yu, Wei; Freisleben, Bernd; Alhonnoro, Tuomas; Pollari, Mika; Moche, Michael; Schmalstieg, Dieter

2015-01-01

In this contribution, we present a semi-automatic segmentation algorithm for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) zones via optimal s-t-cuts. Our interactive graph-based approach builds upon a polyhedron to construct the graph and was specifically designed for computed tomography (CT) acquisitions from patients that had RFA treatments of Hepatocellular Carcinomas (HCC). For evaluation, we used twelve post-interventional CT datasets from the clinical routine and as evaluation metric we utilized the Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC), which is commonly accepted for judging computer aided medical segmentation tasks. Compared with pure manual slice-by-slice expert segmentations from interventional radiologists, we were able to achieve a DSC of about eighty percent, which is sufficient for our clinical needs. Moreover, our approach was able to handle images containing (DSC=75.9%) and not containing (78.1%) the RFA needles still in place. Additionally, we found no statistically significant difference (p<;0.423) between the segmentation results of the subgroups for a Mann-Whitney test. Finally, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first time a segmentation approach for CT scans including the RFA needles is reported and we show why another state-of-the-art segmentation method fails for these cases. Intraoperative scans including an RFA probe are very critical in the clinical practice and need a very careful segmentation and inspection to avoid under-treatment, which may result in tumor recurrence (up to 40%). If the decision can be made during the intervention, an additional ablation can be performed without removing the entire needle. This decreases the patient stress and associated risks and costs of a separate intervention at a later date. Ultimately, the segmented ablation zone containing the RFA needle can be used for a precise ablation simulation as the real needle position is known.

Automatic acquisition of motion trajectories: tracking hockey players

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okuma, Kenji; Little, James J.; Lowe, David

2003-12-01

Computer systems that have the capability of analyzing complex and dynamic scenes play an essential role in video annotation. Scenes can be complex in such a way that there are many cluttered objects with different colors, shapes and sizes, and can be dynamic with multiple interacting moving objects and a constantly changing background. In reality, there are many scenes that are complex, dynamic, and challenging enough for computers to describe. These scenes include games of sports, air traffic, car traffic, street intersections, and cloud transformations. Our research is about the challenge of inventing a descriptive computer system that analyzes scenes of hockey games where multiple moving players interact with each other on a constantly moving background due to camera motions. Ultimately, such a computer system should be able to acquire reliable data by extracting the players" motion as their trajectories, querying them by analyzing the descriptive information of data, and predict the motions of some hockey players based on the result of the query. Among these three major aspects of the system, we primarily focus on visual information of the scenes, that is, how to automatically acquire motion trajectories of hockey players from video. More accurately, we automatically analyze the hockey scenes by estimating parameters (i.e., pan, tilt, and zoom) of the broadcast cameras, tracking hockey players in those scenes, and constructing a visual description of the data by displaying trajectories of those players. Many technical problems in vision such as fast and unpredictable players' motions and rapid camera motions make our challenge worth tackling. To the best of our knowledge, there have not been any automatic video annotation systems for hockey developed in the past. Although there are many obstacles to overcome, our efforts and accomplishments would hopefully establish the infrastructure of the automatic hockey annotation system and become a milestone for

A PC-based computer package for automatic detection and location of earthquakes: Application to a seismic network in eastern sicity (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patanè, Domenico; Ferrari, Ferruccio; Giampiccolo, Elisabetta; Gresta, Stefano

Few automated data acquisition and processing systems operate on mainframes, some run on UNIX-based workstations and others on personal computers, equipped with either DOS/WINDOWS or UNIX-derived operating systems. Several large and complex software packages for automatic and interactive analysis of seismic data have been developed in recent years (mainly for UNIX-based systems). Some of these programs use a variety of artificial intelligence techniques. The first operational version of a new software package, named PC-Seism, for analyzing seismic data from a local network is presented in Patanè et al. (1999). This package, composed of three separate modules, provides an example of a new generation of visual object-oriented programs for interactive and automatic seismic data-processing running on a personal computer. In this work, we mainly discuss the automatic procedures implemented in the ASDP (Automatic Seismic Data-Processing) module and real time application to data acquired by a seismic network running in eastern Sicily. This software uses a multi-algorithm approach and a new procedure MSA (multi-station-analysis) for signal detection, phase grouping and event identification and location. It is designed for an efficient and accurate processing of local earthquake records provided by single-site and array stations. Results from ASDP processing of two different data sets recorded at Mt. Etna volcano by a regional network are analyzed to evaluate its performance. By comparing the ASDP pickings with those revised manually, the detection and subsequently the location capabilities of this software are assessed. The first data set is composed of 330 local earthquakes recorded in the Mt. Etna erea during 1997 by the telemetry analog seismic network. The second data set comprises about 970 automatic locations of more than 2600 local events recorded at Mt. Etna during the last eruption (July 2001) at the present network. For the former data set, a comparison of the

Customizable Computer-Based Interaction Analysis for Coaching and Self-Regulation in Synchronous CSCL Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lonchamp, Jacques

2010-01-01

Computer-based interaction analysis (IA) is an automatic process that aims at understanding a computer-mediated activity. In a CSCL system, computer-based IA can provide information directly to learners for self-assessment and regulation and to tutors for coaching support. This article proposes a customizable computer-based IA approach for a…

Automatic systems and the low-level wind hazard

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schaeffer, Dwight R.

1987-01-01

Automatic flight control systems provide means for significantly enhancing survivability in severe wind hazards. The technology required to produce the necessary control algorithms is available and has been made technically feasible by the advent of digital flight control systems and accurate, low-noise sensors, especially strap-down inertial sensors. The application of this technology and these means has not generally been enabled except for automatic landing systems, and even then the potential has not been fully exploited. To fully exploit the potential of automatic systems for enhancing safety in wind hazards requires providing incentives, creating demand, inspiring competition, education, and eliminating prejudicial disincentitives to overcome the economic penalties associated with the extensive and riskly development and certification of these systems. If these changes will come about at all, it will likely be through changes in the regulations provided by the certifying agencies.

The NASA computer aided design and test system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gould, J. M.; Juergensen, K.

1973-01-01

A family of computer programs facilitating the design, layout, evaluation, and testing of digital electronic circuitry is described. CADAT (computer aided design and test system) is intended for use by NASA and its contractors and is aimed predominantly at providing cost effective microelectronic subsystems based on custom designed metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) large scale integrated circuits (LSIC's). CADAT software can be easily adopted by installations with a wide variety of computer hardware configurations. Its structure permits ease of update to more powerful component programs and to newly emerging LSIC technologies. The components of the CADAT system are described stressing the interaction of programs rather than detail of coding or algorithms. The CADAT system provides computer aids to derive and document the design intent, includes powerful automatic layout software, permits detailed geometry checks and performance simulation based on mask data, and furnishes test pattern sequences for hardware testing.

Automatic domain updating technique for improving computational efficiency of 2-D flood-inundation simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tanaka, T.; Tachikawa, Y.; Ichikawa, Y.; Yorozu, K.

2017-12-01

Flood is one of the most hazardous disasters and causes serious damage to people and property around the world. To prevent/mitigate flood damage through early warning system and/or river management planning, numerical modelling of flood-inundation processes is essential. In a literature, flood-inundation models have been extensively developed and improved to achieve flood flow simulation with complex topography at high resolution. With increasing demands on flood-inundation modelling, its computational burden is now one of the key issues. Improvements of computational efficiency of full shallow water equations are made from various perspectives such as approximations of the momentum equations, parallelization technique, and coarsening approaches. To support these techniques and more improve the computational efficiency of flood-inundation simulations, this study proposes an Automatic Domain Updating (ADU) method of 2-D flood-inundation simulation. The ADU method traces the wet and dry interface and automatically updates the simulation domain in response to the progress and recession of flood propagation. The updating algorithm is as follow: first, to register the simulation cells potentially flooded at initial stage (such as floodplains nearby river channels), and then if a registered cell is flooded, to register its surrounding cells. The time for this additional process is saved by checking only cells at wet and dry interface. The computation time is reduced by skipping the processing time of non-flooded area. This algorithm is easily applied to any types of 2-D flood inundation models. The proposed ADU method is implemented to 2-D local inertial equations for the Yodo River basin, Japan. Case studies for two flood events show that the simulation is finished within two to 10 times smaller time showing the same result as that without the ADU method.

Automatic Exposure Control Systems Designed to Maintain Constant Image Noise: Effects on Computed Tomography Dose and Noise Relative to Clinically Accepted Technique Charts

PubMed Central

Favazza, Christopher P.; Yu, Lifeng; Leng, Shuai; Kofler, James M.; McCollough, Cynthia H.

2015-01-01

Objective To compare computed tomography dose and noise arising from use of an automatic exposure control (AEC) system designed to maintain constant image noise as patient size varies with clinically accepted technique charts and AEC systems designed to vary image noise. Materials and Methods A model was developed to describe tube current modulation as a function of patient thickness. Relative dose and noise values were calculated as patient width varied for AEC settings designed to yield constant or variable noise levels and were compared to empirically derived values used by our clinical practice. Phantom experiments were performed in which tube current was measured as a function of thickness using a constant-noise-based AEC system and the results were compared with clinical technique charts. Results For 12-, 20-, 28-, 44-, and 50-cm patient widths, the requirement of constant noise across patient size yielded relative doses of 5%, 14%, 38%, 260%, and 549% and relative noises of 435%, 267%, 163%, 61%, and 42%, respectively, as compared with our clinically used technique chart settings at each respective width. Experimental measurements showed that a constant noise–based AEC system yielded 175% relative noise for a 30-cm phantom and 206% relative dose for a 40-cm phantom compared with our clinical technique chart. Conclusions Automatic exposure control systems that prescribe constant noise as patient size varies can yield excessive noise in small patients and excessive dose in obese patients compared with clinically accepted technique charts. Use of noise-level technique charts and tube current limits can mitigate these effects. PMID:25938214

Automatic exposure control systems designed to maintain constant image noise: effects on computed tomography dose and noise relative to clinically accepted technique charts.

PubMed

Favazza, Christopher P; Yu, Lifeng; Leng, Shuai; Kofler, James M; McCollough, Cynthia H

2015-01-01

To compare computed tomography dose and noise arising from use of an automatic exposure control (AEC) system designed to maintain constant image noise as patient size varies with clinically accepted technique charts and AEC systems designed to vary image noise. A model was developed to describe tube current modulation as a function of patient thickness. Relative dose and noise values were calculated as patient width varied for AEC settings designed to yield constant or variable noise levels and were compared to empirically derived values used by our clinical practice. Phantom experiments were performed in which tube current was measured as a function of thickness using a constant-noise-based AEC system and the results were compared with clinical technique charts. For 12-, 20-, 28-, 44-, and 50-cm patient widths, the requirement of constant noise across patient size yielded relative doses of 5%, 14%, 38%, 260%, and 549% and relative noises of 435%, 267%, 163%, 61%, and 42%, respectively, as compared with our clinically used technique chart settings at each respective width. Experimental measurements showed that a constant noise-based AEC system yielded 175% relative noise for a 30-cm phantom and 206% relative dose for a 40-cm phantom compared with our clinical technique chart. Automatic exposure control systems that prescribe constant noise as patient size varies can yield excessive noise in small patients and excessive dose in obese patients compared with clinically accepted technique charts. Use of noise-level technique charts and tube current limits can mitigate these effects.

Advances of FishNet towards a fully automatic monitoring system for fish migration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kratzert, Frederik; Mader, Helmut

2017-04-01

Restoring the continuum of river networks, affected by anthropogenic constructions, is one of the main objectives of the Water Framework Directive. Regarding fish migration, fish passes are a widely used measure. Often the functionality of these fish passes needs to be assessed by monitoring. Over the last years, we developed a new semi-automatic monitoring system (FishCam) which allows the contact free observation of fish migration in fish passes through videos. The system consists of a detection tunnel, equipped with a camera, a motion sensor and artificial light sources, as well as a software (FishNet), which helps to analyze the video data. In its latest version, the software is capable of detecting and tracking objects in the videos as well as classifying them into "fish" and "no-fish" objects. This allows filtering out the videos containing at least one fish (approx. 5 % of all grabbed videos) and reduces the manual labor to the analysis of these videos. In this state the entire system has already been used in over 20 different fish passes across Austria for a total of over 140 months of monitoring resulting in more than 1.4 million analyzed videos. As a next step towards a fully automatic monitoring system, a key feature is the automatized classification of the detected fish into their species, which is still an unsolved task in a fully automatic monitoring environment. Recent advances in the field of machine learning, especially image classification with deep convolutional neural networks, sound promising in order to solve this problem. In this study, different approaches for the fish species classification are tested. Besides an image-only based classification approach using deep convolutional neural networks, various methods that combine the power of convolutional neural networks as image descriptors with additional features, such as the fish length and the time of appearance, are explored. To facilitate the development and testing phase of this approach

Visual and semi-automatic non-invasive detection of interictal fast ripples: A potential biomarker of epilepsy in children with tuberous sclerosis complex.

PubMed

Bernardo, Danilo; Nariai, Hiroki; Hussain, Shaun A; Sankar, Raman; Salamon, Noriko; Krueger, Darcy A; Sahin, Mustafa; Northrup, Hope; Bebin, E Martina; Wu, Joyce Y

2018-04-03

We aim to establish that interictal fast ripples (FR; 250-500 Hz) are detectable on scalp EEG, and to investigate their association to epilepsy. Scalp EEG recordings of a subset of children with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)-associated epilepsy from two large multicenter observational TSC studies were analyzed and compared to control children without epilepsy or any other brain-based diagnoses. FR were identified both by human visual review and compared with semi-automated review utilizing a deep learning-based FR detector. Seven out of 7 children with TSC-associated epilepsy had scalp FR compared to 0 out of 4 children in the control group (p = 0.003). The automatic detector has a sensitivity of 98% and false positive rate with average of 11.2 false positives per minute. Non-invasive detection of interictal scalp FR was feasible, by both visual and semi-automatic detection. Interictal scalp FR occurred exclusively in children with TSC-associated epilepsy and were absent in controls without epilepsy. The proposed detector achieves high sensitivity of FR detection; however, expert review of the results to reduce false positives is advised. Interictal FR are detectable on scalp EEG and may potentially serve as a biomarker of epilepsy in children with TSC. Copyright © 2018 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. All rights reserved.

[Automatic adjustment control system for DC glow discharge plasma source].

PubMed

Wan, Zhen-zhen; Wang, Yong-qing; Li, Xiao-jia; Wang, Hai-zhou; Shi, Ning

2011-03-01

There are three important parameters in the DC glow discharge process, the discharge current, discharge voltage and argon pressure in discharge source. These parameters influence each other during glow discharge process. This paper presents an automatic control system for DC glow discharge plasma source. This system collects and controls discharge voltage automatically by adjusting discharge source pressure while the discharge current is constant in the glow discharge process. The design concept, circuit principle and control program of this automatic control system are described. The accuracy is improved by this automatic control system with the method of reducing the complex operations and manual control errors. This system enhances the control accuracy of glow discharge voltage, and reduces the time to reach discharge voltage stability. The glow discharge voltage stability test results with automatic control system are provided as well, the accuracy with automatic control system is better than 1% FS which is improved from 4% FS by manual control. Time to reach discharge voltage stability has been shortened to within 30 s by automatic control from more than 90 s by manual control. Standard samples like middle-low alloy steel and tin bronze have been tested by this automatic control system. The concentration analysis precision has been significantly improved. The RSDs of all the test result are better than 3.5%. In middle-low alloy steel standard sample, the RSD range of concentration test result of Ti, Co and Mn elements is reduced from 3.0%-4.3% by manual control to 1.7%-2.4% by automatic control, and that for S and Mo is also reduced from 5.2%-5.9% to 3.3%-3.5%. In tin bronze standard sample, the RSD range of Sn, Zn and Al elements is reduced from 2.6%-4.4% to 1.0%-2.4%, and that for Si, Ni and Fe is reduced from 6.6%-13.9% to 2.6%-3.5%. The test data is also shown in this paper.

Application of automatic image analysis in wood science

Treesearch

Charles W. McMillin

1982-01-01

In this paper I describe an image analysis system and illustrate with examples the application of automatic quantitative measurement to wood science. Automatic image analysis, a powerful and relatively new technology, uses optical, video, electronic, and computer components to rapidly derive information from images with minimal operator interaction. Such instruments...

Computer-based route-definition system for peripheral bronchoscopy.

PubMed

Graham, Michael W; Gibbs, Jason D; Higgins, William E

2012-04-01

Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) scanners produce high-resolution images of the chest. Given a patient's MDCT scan, a physician can use an image-guided intervention system to first plan and later perform bronchoscopy to diagnostic sites situated deep in the lung periphery. An accurate definition of complete routes through the airway tree leading to the diagnostic sites, however, is vital for avoiding navigation errors during image-guided bronchoscopy. We present a system for the robust definition of complete airway routes suitable for image-guided bronchoscopy. The system incorporates both automatic and semiautomatic MDCT analysis methods for this purpose. Using an intuitive graphical user interface, the user invokes automatic analysis on a patient's MDCT scan to produce a series of preliminary routes. Next, the user visually inspects each route and quickly corrects the observed route defects using the built-in semiautomatic methods. Application of the system to a human study for the planning and guidance of peripheral bronchoscopy demonstrates the efficacy of the system.

Comparison of a semi-automatic annotation tool and a natural language processing application for the generation of clinical statement entries.

PubMed

Lin, Ching-Heng; Wu, Nai-Yuan; Lai, Wei-Shao; Liou, Der-Ming

2015-01-01

Electronic medical records with encoded entries should enhance the semantic interoperability of document exchange. However, it remains a challenge to encode the narrative concept and to transform the coded concepts into a standard entry-level document. This study aimed to use a novel approach for the generation of entry-level interoperable clinical documents. Using HL7 clinical document architecture (CDA) as the example, we developed three pipelines to generate entry-level CDA documents. The first approach was a semi-automatic annotation pipeline (SAAP), the second was a natural language processing (NLP) pipeline, and the third merged the above two pipelines. We randomly selected 50 test documents from the i2b2 corpora to evaluate the performance of the three pipelines. The 50 randomly selected test documents contained 9365 words, including 588 Observation terms and 123 Procedure terms. For the Observation terms, the merged pipeline had a significantly higher F-measure than the NLP pipeline (0.89 vs 0.80, p<0.0001), but a similar F-measure to that of the SAAP (0.89 vs 0.87). For the Procedure terms, the F-measure was not significantly different among the three pipelines. The combination of a semi-automatic annotation approach and the NLP application seems to be a solution for generating entry-level interoperable clinical documents. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.comFor numbered affiliation see end of article.

Semi-Automatic Building Models and FAÇADE Texture Mapping from Mobile Phone Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeong, J.; Kim, T.

2016-06-01

Research on 3D urban modelling has been actively carried out for a long time. Recently the need of 3D urban modelling research is increased rapidly due to improved geo-web services and popularized smart devices. Nowadays 3D urban models provided by, for example, Google Earth use aerial photos for 3D urban modelling but there are some limitations: immediate update for the change of building models is difficult, many buildings are without 3D model and texture, and large resources for maintaining and updating are inevitable. To resolve the limitations mentioned above, we propose a method for semi-automatic building modelling and façade texture mapping from mobile phone images and analyze the result of modelling with actual measurements. Our method consists of camera geometry estimation step, image matching step, and façade mapping step. Models generated from this method were compared with actual measurement value of real buildings. Ratios of edge length of models and measurements were compared. Result showed 5.8% average error of length ratio. Through this method, we could generate a simple building model with fine façade textures without expensive dedicated tools and dataset.

WOLF; automatic typing program

USGS Publications Warehouse

Evenden, G.I.

1982-01-01

A FORTRAN IV program for the Hewlett-Packard 1000 series computer provides for automatic typing operations and can, when employed with manufacturer's text editor, provide a system to greatly facilitate preparation of reports, letters and other text. The input text and imbedded control data can perform nearly all of the functions of a typist. A few of the features available are centering, titles, footnotes, indentation, page numbering (including Roman numerals), automatic paragraphing, and two forms of tab operations. This documentation contains both user and technical description of the program.

[Expert systems and automatic diagnostic systems in histopathology--a review].

PubMed

Tamai, S

1999-02-01

In this decade, the pathological information system has gradually been settled in many hospitals in Japan. Pathological reports and images are now digitized and managed in the database, and are referred by clinicians at the peripherals. Tele-pathology is also developing; and its users are increasing. However, in many occasions, the problem solving in diagnostic pathology is completely dependent on the solo-pathologist. Considering the need for timely and efficient supports to the solo-pathologist, I reviewed the papers on the knowledge-based interactive expert systems. The interpretations of the histopathological images are dependent on the pathologist, and these expert systems have been evaluated as "educational". With the view of the success in the cytological screening, the development of "image-analysis-based" automatic "histopathological image" classifier has been on ongoing challenges. Our 3 years experience of the development of the pathological image classifier using the artificial neural networks technology is briefly presented. This classifier provides us a "fitting rate" for the individual diagnostic pattern of the breast tumors, such as "fibroadenoma pattern". The diagnosis assisting system with computer technology should provide pathologists, especially solo-pathologists, a useful tool for the quality assurance and improvement of pathological diagnosis.

A semi-automatic method for extracting thin line structures in images as rooted tree network

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brazzini, Jacopo; Dillard, Scott; Soille, Pierre

2010-01-01

This paper addresses the problem of semi-automatic extraction of line networks in digital images - e.g., road or hydrographic networks in satellite images, blood vessels in medical images, robust. For that purpose, we improve a generic method derived from morphological and hydrological concepts and consisting in minimum cost path estimation and flow simulation. While this approach fully exploits the local contrast and shape of the network, as well as its arborescent nature, we further incorporate local directional information about the structures in the image. Namely, an appropriate anisotropic metric is designed by using both the characteristic features of the targetmore » network and the eigen-decomposition of the gradient structure tensor of the image. Following, the geodesic propagation from a given seed with this metric is combined with hydrological operators for overland flow simulation to extract the line network. The algorithm is demonstrated for the extraction of blood vessels in a retina image and of a river network in a satellite image.« less

Conceptual design of semi-automatic wheelbarrow to overcome ergonomics problems among palm oil plantation workers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nawik, N. S. M.; Deros, B. M.; Rahman, M. N. A.; Sukadarin, E. H.; Nordin, N.; Tamrin, S. B. M.; Bakar, S. A.; Norzan, M. L.

2015-12-01

An ergonomics problem is one of the main issues faced by palm oil plantation workers especially during harvesting and collecting of fresh fruit bunches (FFB). Intensive manual handling and labor activities involved have been associated with high prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among palm oil plantation workers. New and safe technology on machines and equipment in palm oil plantation are very important in order to help workers reduce risks and injuries while working. The aim of this research is to improve the design of a wheelbarrow, which is suitable for workers and a small size oil palm plantation. The wheelbarrow design was drawn using CATIA ergonomic features. The characteristic of ergonomics assessment is performed by comparing the existing design of wheelbarrow. Conceptual design was developed based on the problems that have been reported by workers. From the analysis of the problem, finally have resulting concept design the ergonomic quality of semi-automatic wheelbarrow with safe and suitable used for palm oil plantation workers.

Clinical experience with a computer-aided diagnosis system for automatic detection of pulmonary nodules at spiral CT of the chest

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wormanns, Dag; Fiebich, Martin; Saidi, Mustafa; Diederich, Stefan; Heindel, Walter

2001-05-01

The purpose of the study was to evaluate a computer aided diagnosis (CAD) workstation with automatic detection of pulmonary nodules at low-dose spiral CT in a clinical setting for early detection of lung cancer. Two radiologists in consensus reported 88 consecutive spiral CT examinations. All examinations were reviewed using a UNIX-based CAD workstation with a self-developed algorithm for automatic detection of pulmonary nodules. The algorithm was designed to detect nodules with at least 5 mm diameter. The results of automatic nodule detection were compared to the consensus reporting of two radiologists as gold standard. Additional CAD findings were regarded as nodules initially missed by the radiologists or as false positive results. A total of 153 nodules were detected with all modalities (diameter: 85 nodules <5mm, 63 nodules 5-9 mm, 5 nodules >= 10 mm). Reasons for failure of automatic nodule detection were assessed. Sensitivity of radiologists for nodules >=5 mm was 85%, sensitivity of CAD was 38%. For nodules >=5 mm without pleural contact sensitivity was 84% for radiologists at 45% for CAD. CAD detected 15 (10%) nodules not mentioned in the radiologist's report but representing real nodules, among them 10 (15%) nodules with a diameter $GREW5 mm. Reasons for nodules missed by CAD include: exclusion because of morphological features during region analysis (33%), nodule density below the detection threshold (26%), pleural contact (33%), segmentation errors (5%) and other reasons (2%). CAD improves detection of pulmonary nodules at spiral CT significantly and is a valuable second opinion in a clinical setting for lung cancer screening. Optimization of region analysis and an appropriate density threshold have a potential for further improvement of automatic nodule detection.

Towards semi-automatic rock mass discontinuity orientation and set analysis from 3D point clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guo, Jiateng; Liu, Shanjun; Zhang, Peina; Wu, Lixin; Zhou, Wenhui; Yu, Yinan

2017-06-01

Obtaining accurate information on rock mass discontinuities for deformation analysis and the evaluation of rock mass stability is important. Obtaining measurements for high and steep zones with the traditional compass method is difficult. Photogrammetry, three-dimensional (3D) laser scanning and other remote sensing methods have gradually become mainstream methods. In this study, a method that is based on a 3D point cloud is proposed to semi-automatically extract rock mass structural plane information. The original data are pre-treated prior to segmentation by removing outlier points. The next step is to segment the point cloud into different point subsets. Various parameters, such as the normal, dip/direction and dip, can be calculated for each point subset after obtaining the equation of the best fit plane for the relevant point subset. A cluster analysis (a point subset that satisfies some conditions and thus forms a cluster) is performed based on the normal vectors by introducing the firefly algorithm (FA) and the fuzzy c-means (FCM) algorithm. Finally, clusters that belong to the same discontinuity sets are merged and coloured for visualization purposes. A prototype system is developed based on this method to extract the points of the rock discontinuity from a 3D point cloud. A comparison with existing software shows that this method is feasible. This method can provide a reference for rock mechanics, 3D geological modelling and other related fields.

The Thirty Meter Telescope Site Testing Robotic Computer System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riddle, Reed L.; Schöck, M.; Skidmore, W.; Els, S.; Travouillon, T.

2008-03-01

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) project is currently testing five remote sites as candidates for the final location of the telescope. Each site has several instruments, including seeing monitors, weather stations, and turbulence profile measuring systems, each of which is computer controlled. As the sites are remote, they require a control system that can automatically manage the operations of all the varied subsystems, keep the systems safe from damage and recover from errors during operation. The robotic system must also be robust enough to operate without human intervention and when internet connections are lost. It is also critical that a data archiving system diligently records all data as gathered. This is a discussion of the TMT site testing robotic computer system as implemented.

Computer automation of ultrasonic testing. [inspection of ultrasonic welding

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yee, B. G. W.; Kerlin, E. E.; Gardner, A. H.; Dunmyer, D.; Wells, T. G.; Robinson, A. R.; Kunselman, J. S.; Walker, T. C.

1974-01-01

Report describes a prototype computer-automated ultrasonic system developed for the inspection of weldments. This system can be operated in three modes: manual, automatic, and computer-controlled. In the computer-controlled mode, the system will automatically acquire, process, analyze, store, and display ultrasonic inspection data in real-time. Flaw size (in cross-section), location (depth), and type (porosity-like or crack-like) can be automatically discerned and displayed. The results and pertinent parameters are recorded.

46 CFR 161.002-9 - Automatic fire detecting system, power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. 161.002-9 Section 161.002-9 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT...-9 Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. The power supply for an automatic fire detecting...

46 CFR 161.002-9 - Automatic fire detecting system, power supply.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 46 Shipping 6 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. 161.002-9 Section 161.002-9 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) EQUIPMENT...-9 Automatic fire detecting system, power supply. The power supply for an automatic fire detecting...

The software for automatic creation of the formal grammars used by speech recognition, computer vision, editable text conversion systems, and some new functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kardava, Irakli; Tadyszak, Krzysztof; Gulua, Nana; Jurga, Stefan

2017-02-01

For more flexibility of environmental perception by artificial intelligence it is needed to exist the supporting software modules, which will be able to automate the creation of specific language syntax and to make a further analysis for relevant decisions based on semantic functions. According of our proposed approach, of which implementation it is possible to create the couples of formal rules of given sentences (in case of natural languages) or statements (in case of special languages) by helping of computer vision, speech recognition or editable text conversion system for further automatic improvement. In other words, we have developed an approach, by which it can be achieved to significantly improve the training process automation of artificial intelligence, which as a result will give us a higher level of self-developing skills independently from us (from users). At the base of our approach we have developed a software demo version, which includes the algorithm and software code for the entire above mentioned component's implementation (computer vision, speech recognition and editable text conversion system). The program has the ability to work in a multi - stream mode and simultaneously create a syntax based on receiving information from several sources.

Design of automatic leveling and centering system of theodolite

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chun-tong; He, Zhen-Xin; Huang, Xian-xiang; Zhan, Ying

2012-09-01

To realize the theodolite automation and improve the azimuth Angle measurement instrument, the theodolite automatic leveling and centering system with the function of leveling error compensation is designed, which includes the system solution, key components selection, the mechanical structure of leveling and centering, and system software solution. The redesigned leveling feet are driven by the DC servo motor; and the electronic control center device is installed. Using high precision of tilt sensors as horizontal skew detection sensors ensures the effectiveness of the leveling error compensation. Aiming round mark center is located using digital image processing through surface array CCD; and leveling measurement precision can reach the pixel level, which makes the theodolite accurate centering possible. Finally, experiments are conducted using the automatic leveling and centering system of the theodolite. The results show the leveling and centering system can realize automatic operation with high centering accuracy of 0.04mm.The measurement precision of the orientation angle after leveling error compensation is improved, compared with that of in the traditional method. Automatic leveling and centering system of theodolite can satisfy the requirements of the measuring precision and its automation.

Preliminary Investigation on the Effects of Shockwaves on Water Samples Using a Portable Semi-Automatic Shocktube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wessley, G. Jims John

2017-10-01

The propagation of shock waves through any media results in an instantaneous increase in pressure and temperature behind the shockwave. The scope of utilizing this sudden rise in pressure and temperature in new industrial, biological and commercial areas has been explored and the opportunities are tremendous. This paper presents the design and testing of a portable semi-automatic shock tube on water samples mixed with salt. The preliminary analysis shows encouraging results as the salinity of water samples were reduced up to 5% when bombarded with 250 shocks generated using a pressure ratio of 2. 5. Paper used for normal printing is used as the diaphragm to generate the shocks. The impact of shocks of much higher intensity obtained using different diaphragms will lead to more reduction in the salinity of the sea water, thus leading to production of potable water from saline water, which is the need of the hour.

Application of nonlinear transformations to automatic flight control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Meyer, G.; Su, R.; Hunt, L. R.

1984-01-01

The theory of transformations of nonlinear systems to linear ones is applied to the design of an automatic flight controller for the UH-1H helicopter. The helicopter mathematical model is described and it is shown to satisfy the necessary and sufficient conditions for transformability. The mapping is constructed, taking the nonlinear model to canonical form. The performance of the automatic control system in a detailed simulation on the flight computer is summarized.

Floquet band structure of a semi-Dirac system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Qi; Du, Liang; Fiete, Gregory A.

2018-01-01

In this work we use Floquet-Bloch theory to study the influence of circularly and linearly polarized light on two-dimensional band structures with semi-Dirac band touching points, taking the anisotropic nearest neighbor hopping model on the honeycomb lattice as an example. We find that circularly polarized light opens a gap and induces a band inversion to create a finite Chern number in the two-band model. By contrast, linearly polarized light can either open up a gap (polarized in the quadratically dispersing direction) or split the semi-Dirac band touching point into two Dirac points (polarized in the linearly dispersing direction) by an amount that depends on the amplitude of the light. Motivated by recent pump-probe experiments, we investigated the nonequilibrium spectral properties and momentum-dependent spin texture of our model in the Floquet state following a quench in the absence of phonons, and in the presence of phonon dissipation that leads to a steady state independently of the pump protocol. Finally, we make connections to optical measurements by computing the frequency dependence of the longitudinal and transverse optical conductivity for this two-band model. We analyze the various contributions from interband transitions and different Floquet modes. Our results suggest strategies for optically controlling band structures and experimentally measuring topological Floquet systems.

Terrain-driven unstructured mesh development through semi-automatic vertical feature extraction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bilskie, Matthew V.; Coggin, David; Hagen, Scott C.; Medeiros, Stephen C.

2015-12-01

validation techniques are necessary for state-of-the-art flood inundation models. In addition, the semi-automated, unstructured mesh generation process presented herein increases the overall accuracy of simulated storm surge across the floodplain without reliance on hand digitization or sacrificing computational cost.

Design and implementation of online automatic judging system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Haohui; Chen, Chaojie; Zhong, Xiuyu; Chen, Yuefeng

2017-06-01

For lower efficiency and poorer reliability in programming training and competition by currently artificial judgment, design an Online Automatic Judging (referred to as OAJ) System. The OAJ system including the sandbox judging side and Web side, realizes functions of automatically compiling and running the tested codes, and generating evaluation scores and corresponding reports. To prevent malicious codes from damaging system, the OAJ system utilizes sandbox, ensuring the safety of the system. The OAJ system uses thread pools to achieve parallel test, and adopt database optimization mechanism, such as horizontal split table, to improve the system performance and resources utilization rate. The test results show that the system has high performance, high reliability, high stability and excellent extensibility.

Implementation of a computer-assisted monitoring system for the detection of adverse drug reactions in gastroenterology.

PubMed

Dormann, H; Criegee-Rieck, M; Neubert, A; Egger, T; Levy, M; Hahn, E G; Brune, K

2004-02-01

To investigate the effectiveness of a computer monitoring system that detects adverse drug reactions (ADRs) by laboratory signals in gastroenterology. A prospective, 6-month, pharmaco-epidemiological survey was carried out on a gastroenterological ward at the University Hospital Erlangen-Nuremberg. Two methods were used to identify ADRs. (i) All charts were reviewed daily by physicians and clinical pharmacists. (ii) A computer monitoring system generated a daily list of automatic laboratory signals and alerts of ADRs, including patient data and dates of events. One hundred and nine ADRs were detected in 474 admissions (377 patients). The computer monitoring system generated 4454 automatic laboratory signals from 39 819 laboratory parameters tested, and issued 2328 alerts, 914 (39%) of which were associated with ADRs; 574 (25%) were associated with ADR-positive admissions. Of all the alerts generated, signals of hepatotoxicity (1255), followed by coagulation disorders (407) and haematological toxicity (207), were prevalent. Correspondingly, the prevailing ADRs were concerned with the metabolic and hepato-gastrointestinal system (61). The sensitivity was 91%: 69 of 76 ADR-positive patients were indicated by an alert. The specificity of alerts was increased from 23% to 76% after implementation of an automatic laboratory signal trend monitoring algorithm. This study shows that a computer monitoring system is a useful tool for the systematic and automated detection of ADRs in gastroenterological patients.

Three-dimensional computer-assisted dissection of pancreatic lymphatic anatomy on human fetuses: a step toward automatic image alignment.

PubMed

Bardol, T; Subsol, G; Perez, M-J; Genevieve, D; Lamouroux, A; Antoine, B; Captier, G; Prudhomme, M; Bertrand, M M

2018-05-01

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth cause of death by cancer worldwide. Lymph node (LN) involvement is known to be the main prognostic factor. However, lymphatic anatomy is complex and only partially characterized. The aim of the study was to study the pancreatic lymphatic system using computer-assisted anatomic dissection (CAAD) technique and also to update CAAD technique by automatizing slice alignment. We dissected three human fetuses aged from 18 to 34 WA. 5-µm serial sections of duodeno-pancreas and spleen blocks were stained (hematoxylin-eosin, hematoxylin of Mayer and Masson trichrome), scanned, aligned and modeled in three dimensions. We observed a rich, diffuse but not systematized lymphatic network in the peri-pancreatic region. There was an equal distribution of LNs between the cephalic and body-tail portions. The lymphatic vascularization appeared in continuity from the celiac trunk to the distal ends of its hepatic and splenic arterial branches parallel to the nerve ramifications of the celiac plexus. We also observed a continuity between the drainage of the pancreatic head and the para-aortic region posteriorly. In view of the wealth of peri-pancreatic LNs, the number of LNs to harvest could be increased to improve nodal staging and prognostic evaluation. Pancreatic anatomy as described does not seem to be compatible with the sentinel LN procedure in pancreatic surgery. Finally, we are now able to offer an alternative to manual alignment with a semi-automated alignment.

High speed television camera system processes photographic film data for digital computer analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Habbal, N. A.

1970-01-01

Data acquisition system translates and processes graphical information recorded on high speed photographic film. It automatically scans the film and stores the information with a minimal use of the computer memory.

Automatic cloud tracking applied to GOES and Meteosat observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Endlich, R. M.; Wolf, D. E.

1981-01-01

An improved automatic processing method for the tracking of cloud motions as revealed by satellite imagery is presented and applications of the method to GOES observations of Hurricane Eloise and Meteosat water vapor and infrared data are presented. The method is shown to involve steps of picture smoothing, target selection and the calculation of cloud motion vectors by the matching of a group at a given time with its best likeness at a later time, or by a cross-correlation computation. Cloud motion computations can be made in as many as four separate layers simultaneously. For data of 4 and 8 km resolution in the eye of Hurricane Eloise, the automatic system is found to provide results comparable in accuracy and coverage to those obtained by NASA analysts using the Atmospheric and Oceanographic Information Processing System, with results obtained by the pattern recognition and cross correlation computations differing by only fractions of a pixel. For Meteosat water vapor data from the tropics and midlatitudes, the automatic motion computations are found to be reliable only in areas where the water vapor fields contained small-scale structure, although excellent results are obtained using Meteosat IR data in the same regions. The automatic method thus appears to be competitive in accuracy and coverage with motion determination by human analysts.

A Semi-Automatic Alignment Method for Math Educational Standards Using the MP (Materialization Pattern) Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Choi, Namyoun

2010-01-01

Educational standards alignment, which matches similar or equivalent concepts of educational standards, is a necessary task for educational resource discovery and retrieval. Automated or semi-automated alignment systems for educational standards have been recently available. However, existing systems frequently result in inconsistency in…

Configuration of automatic exposure control on mammography units for computed radiography to match patient dose of screen film systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Chang-Ying Joseph; Huang, Weidong

2009-02-01

Computed radiography (CR) is considered a drop-in addition or replacement for traditional screen-film (SF) systems in digital mammography. Unlike other technologies, CR has the advantage of being compatible with existing mammography units. One of the challenges, however, is to properly configure the automatic exposure control (AEC) on existing mammography units for CR use. Unlike analogue systems, the capture and display of digital CR images is decoupled. The function of AEC is changed from ensuring proper and consistent optical density of the captured image on film to balancing image quality with patient dose needed for CR. One of the preferences when acquiring CR images under AEC is to use the same patient dose as SF systems. The challenge is whether the existing AEC design and calibration process-most of them proprietary from the X-ray systems manufacturers and tailored specifically for SF response properties-can be adapted for CR cassettes, in order to compensate for their response and attenuation differences. This paper describes the methods for configuring the AEC of three different mammography units models to match the patient dose used for CR with those that are used for a KODAK MIN-R 2000 SF System. Based on phantom test results, these methods provide the dose level under AEC for the CR systems to match with the dose of SF systems. These methods can be used in clinical environments that require the acquisition of CR images under AEC at the same dose levels as those used for SF systems.

ATIPS: Automatic Travel Itinerary Planning System for Domestic Areas

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Leisure travel has become a topic of great interest to Taiwanese residents in recent years. Most residents expect to be able to relax on a vacation during the holidays; however, the complicated procedure of travel itinerary planning is often discouraging and leads them to abandon the idea of traveling. In this paper, we design an automatic travel itinerary planning system for the domestic area (ATIPS) using an algorithm to automatically plan a domestic travel itinerary based on user intentions that allows users to minimize the process of trip planning. Simply by entering the travel time, the departure point, and the destination location, the system can automatically generate a travel itinerary. According to the results of the experiments, 70% of users were satisfied with the result of our system, and 82% of users were satisfied with the automatic user preference learning mechanism of ATIPS. Our algorithm also provides a framework for substituting modules or weights and offers a new method for travel planning. PMID:26839529

ATIPS: Automatic Travel Itinerary Planning System for Domestic Areas.

PubMed

Chang, Hsien-Tsung; Chang, Yi-Ming; Tsai, Meng-Tze

2016-01-01

Leisure travel has become a topic of great interest to Taiwanese residents in recent years. Most residents expect to be able to relax on a vacation during the holidays; however, the complicated procedure of travel itinerary planning is often discouraging and leads them to abandon the idea of traveling. In this paper, we design an automatic travel itinerary planning system for the domestic area (ATIPS) using an algorithm to automatically plan a domestic travel itinerary based on user intentions that allows users to minimize the process of trip planning. Simply by entering the travel time, the departure point, and the destination location, the system can automatically generate a travel itinerary. According to the results of the experiments, 70% of users were satisfied with the result of our system, and 82% of users were satisfied with the automatic user preference learning mechanism of ATIPS. Our algorithm also provides a framework for substituting modules or weights and offers a new method for travel planning.

Stored program concept for analog computers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hannauer, G., III; Patmore, J. R.

1971-01-01

Optimization of three-stage matrices, modularization, and black boxes design techniques provides for automatically interconnecting computing component inputs and outputs in general purpose analog computer. Design also produces relatively inexpensive and less complex automatic patching system.

14 CFR 23.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... control. (c) Unless there is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (f) Each system must be designed so...

14 CFR 23.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... control. (c) Unless there is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (f) Each system must be designed so...

14 CFR 23.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... control. (c) Unless there is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (f) Each system must be designed so...

14 CFR 23.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... control. (c) Unless there is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (f) Each system must be designed so...

14 CFR 23.1329 - Automatic pilot system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... control. (c) Unless there is automatic synchronization, each system must have a means to readily indicate... that corrective action begins within a reasonable period of time. (f) Each system must be designed so...

A simulator evaluation of an automatic terminal approach system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinton, D. A.

1983-01-01

The automatic terminal approach system (ATAS) is a concept for improving the pilot/machine interface with cockpit automation. The ATAS can automatically fly a published instrument approach by using stored instrument approach data to automatically tune airplane avionics, control the airplane's autopilot, and display status information to the pilot. A piloted simulation study was conducted to determine the feasibility of an ATAS, determine pilot acceptance, and examine pilot/ATAS interaction. Seven instrument-rated pilots each flew four instrument approaches with a base-line heading select autopilot mode. The ATAS runs resulted in lower flight technical error, lower pilot workload, and fewer blunders than with the baseline autopilot. The ATAS status display enabled the pilots to maintain situational awareness during the automatic approaches. The system was well accepted by the pilots.

Development of automatic and manual flight director landing systems for the XV-15 tilt rotor aircraft in helicopter mode

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hofmann, L. G.; Hoh, R. H.; Jewell, W. F.; Teper, G. L.; Patel, P. D.

1978-01-01

The objective of this effort is to determine IFR approach path and touchdown dispersions for manual and automatic XV-15 tilt rotor landings, and to develop missed approach criteria. Only helicopter mode XV-15 operation is considered. The analysis and design sections develop the automatic and flight director guidance equations for decelerating curved and straight-in approaches into a typical VTOL landing site equipped with an MLS navigation aid. These system designs satisfy all known pilot-centered, guidance and control requirements for this flying task. Performance data, obtained from nonstationary covariance propagation dispersion analysis for the system, are used to develop the approach monitoring criteria. The autoland and flight director guidance equations are programmed for the VSTOLAND 1819B digital computer. The system design dispersion data developed through analysis and the 1819B digital computer program are verified and refined using the fixed-base, man-in-the-loop XV-15 VSTOLAND simulation.

Semi-Automatic Terminology Generation for Information Extraction from German Chest X-Ray Reports.

PubMed

Krebs, Jonathan; Corovic, Hamo; Dietrich, Georg; Ertl, Max; Fette, Georg; Kaspar, Mathias; Krug, Markus; Stoerk, Stefan; Puppe, Frank

2017-01-01

Extraction of structured data from textual reports is an important subtask for building medical data warehouses for research and care. Many medical and most radiology reports are written in a telegraphic style with a concatenation of noun phrases describing the presence or absence of findings. Therefore a lexico-syntactical approach is promising, where key terms and their relations are recognized and mapped on a predefined standard terminology (ontology). We propose a two-phase algorithm for terminology matching: In the first pass, a local terminology for recognition is derived as close as possible to the terms used in the radiology reports. In the second pass, the local terminology is mapped to a standard terminology. In this paper, we report on an algorithm for the first step of semi-automatic generation of the local terminology and evaluate the algorithm with radiology reports of chest X-ray examinations from Würzburg university hospital. With an effort of about 20 hours work of a radiologist as domain expert and 10 hours for meetings, a local terminology with about 250 attributes and various value patterns was built. In an evaluation with 100 randomly chosen reports it achieved an F1-Score of about 95% for information extraction.

SURE reliability analysis: Program and mathematics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, Ricky W.; White, Allan L.

1988-01-01

The SURE program is a new reliability analysis tool for ultrareliable computer system architectures. The computational methods on which the program is based provide an efficient means for computing accurate upper and lower bounds for the death state probabilities of a large class of semi-Markov models. Once a semi-Markov model is described using a simple input language, the SURE program automatically computes the upper and lower bounds on the probability of system failure. A parameter of the model can be specified as a variable over a range of values directing the SURE program to perform a sensitivity analysis automatically. This feature, along with the speed of the program, makes it especially useful as a design tool.

System for Automatic Generation of Examination Papers in Discrete Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fridenfalk, Mikael

2013-01-01

A system was developed for automatic generation of problems and solutions for examinations in a university distance course in discrete mathematics and tested in a pilot experiment involving 200 students. Considering the success of such systems in the past, particularly including automatic assessment, it should not take long before such systems are…

A semi-supervised learning framework for biomedical event extraction based on hidden topics.

PubMed

Zhou, Deyu; Zhong, Dayou

2015-05-01

Scientists have devoted decades of efforts to understanding the interaction between proteins or RNA production. The information might empower the current knowledge on drug reactions or the development of certain diseases. Nevertheless, due to the lack of explicit structure, literature in life science, one of the most important sources of this information, prevents computer-based systems from accessing. Therefore, biomedical event extraction, automatically acquiring knowledge of molecular events in research articles, has attracted community-wide efforts recently. Most approaches are based on statistical models, requiring large-scale annotated corpora to precisely estimate models' parameters. However, it is usually difficult to obtain in practice. Therefore, employing un-annotated data based on semi-supervised learning for biomedical event extraction is a feasible solution and attracts more interests. In this paper, a semi-supervised learning framework based on hidden topics for biomedical event extraction is presented. In this framework, sentences in the un-annotated corpus are elaborately and automatically assigned with event annotations based on their distances to these sentences in the annotated corpus. More specifically, not only the structures of the sentences, but also the hidden topics embedded in the sentences are used for describing the distance. The sentences and newly assigned event annotations, together with the annotated corpus, are employed for training. Experiments were conducted on the multi-level event extraction corpus, a golden standard corpus. Experimental results show that more than 2.2% improvement on F-score on biomedical event extraction is achieved by the proposed framework when compared to the state-of-the-art approach. The results suggest that by incorporating un-annotated data, the proposed framework indeed improves the performance of the state-of-the-art event extraction system and the similarity between sentences might be precisely

Semi-Lagrangian particle methods for high-dimensional Vlasov-Poisson systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cottet, Georges-Henri

2018-07-01

This paper deals with the implementation of high order semi-Lagrangian particle methods to handle high dimensional Vlasov-Poisson systems. It is based on recent developments in the numerical analysis of particle methods and the paper focuses on specific algorithmic features to handle large dimensions. The methods are tested with uniform particle distributions in particular against a recent multi-resolution wavelet based method on a 4D plasma instability case and a 6D gravitational case. Conservation properties, accuracy and computational costs are monitored. The excellent accuracy/cost trade-off shown by the method opens new perspective for accurate simulations of high dimensional kinetic equations by particle methods.

A VxD-based automatic blending system using multithreaded programming.

PubMed

Wang, L; Jiang, X; Chen, Y; Tan, K C

2004-01-01

This paper discusses the object-oriented software design for an automatic blending system. By combining the advantages of a programmable logic controller (PLC) and an industrial control PC (ICPC), an automatic blending control system is developed for a chemical plant. The system structure and multithread-based communication approach are first presented in this paper. The overall software design issues, such as system requirements and functionalities, are then discussed in detail. Furthermore, by replacing the conventional dynamic link library (DLL) with virtual X device drivers (VxD's), a practical and cost-effective solution is provided to improve the robustness of the Windows platform-based automatic blending system in small- and medium-sized plants.

Body composition estimation from selected slices: equations computed from a new semi-automatic thresholding method developed on whole-body CT scans.

PubMed

Lacoste Jeanson, Alizé; Dupej, Ján; Villa, Chiara; Brůžek, Jaroslav

2017-01-01

Estimating volumes and masses of total body components is important for the study and treatment monitoring of nutrition and nutrition-related disorders, cancer, joint replacement, energy-expenditure and exercise physiology. While several equations have been offered for estimating total body components from MRI slices, no reliable and tested method exists for CT scans. For the first time, body composition data was derived from 41 high-resolution whole-body CT scans. From these data, we defined equations for estimating volumes and masses of total body AT and LT from corresponding tissue areas measured in selected CT scan slices. We present a new semi-automatic approach to defining the density cutoff between adipose tissue (AT) and lean tissue (LT) in such material. An intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to validate the method. The equations for estimating the whole-body composition volume and mass from areas measured in selected slices were modeled with ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regressions and support vector machine regression (SVMR). The best predictive equation for total body AT volume was based on the AT area of a single slice located between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae (L4-L5) and produced lower prediction errors (|PE| = 1.86 liters, %PE = 8.77) than previous equations also based on CT scans. The LT area of the mid-thigh provided the lowest prediction errors (|PE| = 2.52 liters, %PE = 7.08) for estimating whole-body LT volume. We also present equations to predict total body AT and LT masses from a slice located at L4-L5 that resulted in reduced error compared with the previously published equations based on CT scans. The multislice SVMR predictor gave the theoretical upper limit for prediction precision of volumes and cross-validated the results.

Body composition estimation from selected slices: equations computed from a new semi-automatic thresholding method developed on whole-body CT scans

PubMed Central

Villa, Chiara; Brůžek, Jaroslav

2017-01-01

Background Estimating volumes and masses of total body components is important for the study and treatment monitoring of nutrition and nutrition-related disorders, cancer, joint replacement, energy-expenditure and exercise physiology. While several equations have been offered for estimating total body components from MRI slices, no reliable and tested method exists for CT scans. For the first time, body composition data was derived from 41 high-resolution whole-body CT scans. From these data, we defined equations for estimating volumes and masses of total body AT and LT from corresponding tissue areas measured in selected CT scan slices. Methods We present a new semi-automatic approach to defining the density cutoff between adipose tissue (AT) and lean tissue (LT) in such material. An intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to validate the method. The equations for estimating the whole-body composition volume and mass from areas measured in selected slices were modeled with ordinary least squares (OLS) linear regressions and support vector machine regression (SVMR). Results and Discussion The best predictive equation for total body AT volume was based on the AT area of a single slice located between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae (L4-L5) and produced lower prediction errors (|PE| = 1.86 liters, %PE = 8.77) than previous equations also based on CT scans. The LT area of the mid-thigh provided the lowest prediction errors (|PE| = 2.52 liters, %PE = 7.08) for estimating whole-body LT volume. We also present equations to predict total body AT and LT masses from a slice located at L4-L5 that resulted in reduced error compared with the previously published equations based on CT scans. The multislice SVMR predictor gave the theoretical upper limit for prediction precision of volumes and cross-validated the results. PMID:28533960

Automatic user customization for improving the performance of a self-paced brain interface system.

PubMed

Fatourechi, Mehrdad; Bashashati, Ali; Birch, Gary E; Ward, Rabab K

2006-12-01

Customizing the parameter values of brain interface (BI) systems by a human expert has the advantage of being fast and computationally efficient. However, as the number of users and EEG channels grows, this process becomes increasingly time consuming and exhausting. Manual customization also introduces inaccuracies in the estimation of the parameter values. In this paper, the performance of a self-paced BI system whose design parameter values were automatically user customized using a genetic algorithm (GA) is studied. The GA automatically estimates the shapes of movement-related potentials (MRPs), whose features are then extracted to drive the BI. Offline analysis of the data of eight subjects revealed that automatic user customization improved the true positive (TP) rate of the system by an average of 6.68% over that whose customization was carried out by a human expert, i.e., by visually inspecting the MRP templates. On average, the best improvement in the TP rate (an average of 9.82%) was achieved for four individuals with spinal cord injury. In this case, the visual estimation of the parameter values of the MRP templates was very difficult because of the highly noisy nature of the EEG signals. For four able-bodied subjects, for which the MRP templates were less noisy, the automatic user customization led to an average improvement of 3.58% in the TP rate. The results also show that the inter-subject variability of the TP rate is also reduced compared to the case when user customization is carried out by a human expert. These findings provide some primary evidence that automatic user customization leads to beneficial results in the design of a self-paced BI for individuals with spinal cord injury.

Automatic segmentation of relevant structures in DCE MR mammograms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koenig, Matthias; Laue, Hendrik; Boehler, Tobias; Peitgen, Heinz-Otto

2007-03-01

The automatic segmentation of relevant structures such as skin edge, chest wall, or nipple in dynamic contrast enhanced MR imaging (DCE MRI) of the breast provides additional information for computer aided diagnosis (CAD) systems. Automatic reporting using BI-RADS criteria benefits of information about location of those structures. Lesion positions can be automatically described relatively to such reference structures for reporting purposes. Furthermore, this information can assist data reduction for computation expensive preprocessing such as registration, or for visualization of only the segments of current interest. In this paper, a novel automatic method for determining the air-breast boundary resp. skin edge, for approximation of the chest wall, and locating of the nipples is presented. The method consists of several steps which are built on top of each other. Automatic threshold computation leads to the air-breast boundary which is then analyzed to determine the location of the nipple. Finally, results of both steps are starting point for approximation of the chest wall. The proposed process was evaluated on a large data set of DCE MRI recorded by T1 sequences and yielded reasonable results in all cases.

Integration of wireless sensor networks into automatic irrigation scheduling of a center pivot

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A six-span center pivot system was used as a platform for testing two wireless sensor networks (WSN) of infrared thermometers. The cropped field was a semi-circle, divided into six pie shaped sections of which three were irrigated manually and three were irrigated automatically based on the time tem...

Automatic system for 3D reconstruction of the chick eye based on digital photographs.

PubMed

Wong, Alexander; Genest, Reno; Chandrashekar, Naveen; Choh, Vivian; Irving, Elizabeth L

2012-01-01

The geometry of anatomical specimens is very complex and accurate 3D reconstruction is important for morphological studies, finite element analysis (FEA) and rapid prototyping. Although magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography and laser scanners can be used for reconstructing biological structures, the cost of the equipment is fairly high and specialised technicians are required to operate the equipment, making such approaches limiting in terms of accessibility. In this paper, a novel automatic system for 3D surface reconstruction of the chick eye from digital photographs of a serially sectioned specimen is presented as a potential cost-effective and practical alternative. The system is designed to allow for automatic detection of the external surface of the chick eye. Automatic alignment of the photographs is performed using a combination of coloured markers and an algorithm based on complex phase order likelihood that is robust to noise and illumination variations. Automatic segmentation of the external boundaries of the eye from the aligned photographs is performed using a novel level-set segmentation approach based on a complex phase order energy functional. The extracted boundaries are sampled to construct a 3D point cloud, and a combination of Delaunay triangulation and subdivision surfaces is employed to construct the final triangular mesh. Experimental results using digital photographs of the chick eye show that the proposed system is capable of producing accurate 3D reconstructions of the external surface of the eye. The 3D model geometry is similar to a real chick eye and could be used for morphological studies and FEA.

Container-code recognition system based on computer vision and deep neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yi; Li, Tianjian; Jiang, Li; Liang, Xiaoyao

2018-04-01

Automatic container-code recognition system becomes a crucial requirement for ship transportation industry in recent years. In this paper, an automatic container-code recognition system based on computer vision and deep neural networks is proposed. The system consists of two modules, detection module and recognition module. The detection module applies both algorithms based on computer vision and neural networks, and generates a better detection result through combination to avoid the drawbacks of the two methods. The combined detection results are also collected for online training of the neural networks. The recognition module exploits both character segmentation and end-to-end recognition, and outputs the recognition result which passes the verification. When the recognition module generates false recognition, the result will be corrected and collected for online training of the end-to-end recognition sub-module. By combining several algorithms, the system is able to deal with more situations, and the online training mechanism can improve the performance of the neural networks at runtime. The proposed system is able to achieve 93% of overall recognition accuracy.

Automatic Extraction of Metadata from Scientific Publications for CRIS Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kovacevic, Aleksandar; Ivanovic, Dragan; Milosavljevic, Branko; Konjovic, Zora; Surla, Dusan

2011-01-01

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to develop a system for automatic extraction of metadata from scientific papers in PDF format for the information system for monitoring the scientific research activity of the University of Novi Sad (CRIS UNS). Design/methodology/approach: The system is based on machine learning and performs automatic extraction…

Automatic network coupling analysis for dynamical systems based on detailed kinetic models.

PubMed

Lebiedz, Dirk; Kammerer, Julia; Brandt-Pollmann, Ulrich

2005-10-01

We introduce a numerical complexity reduction method for the automatic identification and analysis of dynamic network decompositions in (bio)chemical kinetics based on error-controlled computation of a minimal model dimension represented by the number of (locally) active dynamical modes. Our algorithm exploits a generalized sensitivity analysis along state trajectories and subsequent singular value decomposition of sensitivity matrices for the identification of these dominant dynamical modes. It allows for a dynamic coupling analysis of (bio)chemical species in kinetic models that can be exploited for the piecewise computation of a minimal model on small time intervals and offers valuable functional insight into highly nonlinear reaction mechanisms and network dynamics. We present results for the identification of network decompositions in a simple oscillatory chemical reaction, time scale separation based model reduction in a Michaelis-Menten enzyme system and network decomposition of a detailed model for the oscillatory peroxidase-oxidase enzyme system.

Automatic vehicle monitoring systems study. Report of phase O. Volume 1: Executive summary

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1977-01-01

A set of planning guidelines is presented to help law enforcement agencies and vehicle fleet operators decide which automatic vehicle monitoring (AVM) system could best meet their performance requirements. Improvements in emergency response times and resultant cost benefits obtainable with various operational and planned AVM systems may be synthesized and simulated by means of special computer programs for model city parameters applicable to small, medium, and large urban areas. Design characteristics of various AVM systems and the implementation requirements are illustrated and cost estimated for the vehicles, the fixed sites, and the base equipments. Vehicle location accuracies for different RF links and polling intervals are analyzed.

An integrated exhaust gas analysis system with self-contained data processing and automatic calibration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, R. C.; Summers, R. L.

1981-01-01

An integrated gas analysis system designed to operate in automatic, semiautomatic, and manual modes from a remote control panel is described. The system measures the carbon monoxide, oxygen, water vapor, total hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, and oxides of nitrogen. A pull through design provides increased reliability and eliminates the need for manual flow rate adjustment and pressure correction. The system contains two microprocessors to range the analyzers, calibrate the system, process the raw data to units of concentration, and provides information to the facility research computer and to the operator through terminal and the control panels. After initial setup, the system operates for several hours without significant operator attention.

49 CFR 236.504 - Operation interconnected with automatic block-signal system.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... GOVERNING THE INSTALLATION, INSPECTION, MAINTENANCE, AND REPAIR OF SIGNAL AND TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Automatic Train Stop, Train Control and Cab Signal Systems Standards § 236.504... or train control system shall operate in connection with an automatic block signal system and shall...

14 CFR 29.672 - Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... power-operated systems. 29.672 Section 29.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 29.672 Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated system is necessary to show...

14 CFR 29.672 - Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... power-operated systems. 29.672 Section 29.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 29.672 Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated system is necessary to show...

14 CFR 27.672 - Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... power-operated systems. 27.672 Section 27.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 27.672 Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated systems is necessary to show...

14 CFR 29.672 - Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... power-operated systems. 29.672 Section 29.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 29.672 Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated system is necessary to show...

14 CFR 27.672 - Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... power-operated systems. 27.672 Section 27.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 27.672 Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated systems is necessary to show...

14 CFR 29.672 - Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... power-operated systems. 29.672 Section 29.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 29.672 Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated system is necessary to show...

14 CFR 27.672 - Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... power-operated systems. 27.672 Section 27.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 27.672 Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated systems is necessary to show...

14 CFR 27.672 - Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... power-operated systems. 27.672 Section 27.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 27.672 Stability augmentation, automatic, and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated systems is necessary to show...

Utilization of Automatic Tagging Using Web Information to Datamining

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sugimura, Hiroshi; Matsumoto, Kazunori

This paper proposes a data annotation system using the automatic tagging approach. Although annotations of data are useful for deep analysis and mining of it, the cost of providing them becomes huge in most of the cases. In order to solve this problem, we develop a semi-automatic method that consists of two stages. In the first stage, it searches the Web space for relating information, and discovers candidates of effective annotations. The second stage uses knowledge of a human user. The candidates are investigated and refined by the user, and then they become annotations. We in this paper focus on time-series data, and show effectiveness of a GUI tool that supports the above process.

A modular, prospective, semi-automated drug safety monitoring system for use in a distributed data environment.

PubMed

Gagne, Joshua J; Wang, Shirley V; Rassen, Jeremy A; Schneeweiss, Sebastian

2014-06-01

The aim of this study was to develop and test a semi-automated process for conducting routine active safety monitoring for new drugs in a network of electronic healthcare databases. We built a modular program that semi-automatically performs cohort identification, confounding adjustment, diagnostic checks, aggregation and effect estimation across multiple databases, and application of a sequential alerting algorithm. During beta-testing, we applied the system to five databases to evaluate nine examples emulating prospective monitoring with retrospective data (five pairs for which we expected signals, two negative controls, and two examples for which it was uncertain whether a signal would be expected): cerivastatin versus atorvastatin and rhabdomyolysis; paroxetine versus tricyclic antidepressants and gastrointestinal bleed; lisinopril versus angiotensin receptor blockers and angioedema; ciprofloxacin versus macrolide antibiotics and Achilles tendon rupture; rofecoxib versus non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (ns-NSAIDs) and myocardial infarction; telithromycin versus azithromycin and hepatotoxicity; rosuvastatin versus atorvastatin and diabetes and rhabdomyolysis; and celecoxib versus ns-NSAIDs and myocardial infarction. We describe the program, the necessary inputs, and the assumed data environment. In beta-testing, the system generated four alerts, all among positive control examples (i.e., lisinopril and angioedema; rofecoxib and myocardial infarction; ciprofloxacin and tendon rupture; and cerivastatin and rhabdomyolysis). Sequential effect estimates for each example were consistent in direction and magnitude with existing literature. Beta-testing across nine drug-outcome examples demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed semi-automated prospective monitoring approach. In retrospective assessments, the system identified an increased risk of myocardial infarction with rofecoxib and an increased risk of rhabdomyolysis with cerivastatin years

The design of automatic software testing module for civil aviation information system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qi, Qi; Sun, Yang

2018-05-01

In this paper, the practical innovation design is carried out according to the urgent needs of the automatic testing module of civil aviation information system. Firstly, the background and significance of the automatic testing module of civil aviation information system is expounded, and the current research status of automatic testing module and the advantages and disadvantages of related software are analyzed. Then, from the three aspects of macro demand, module functional requirement and module nonfunctional demand, we further study the needs of automatic testing module of civil aviation information system. Finally, from the four aspects of module structure, module core function, database and security, we have made an innovative plan for the automatic testing module of civil aviation information system.

Trauma Pod: a semi-automated telerobotic surgical system.

PubMed

Garcia, Pablo; Rosen, Jacob; Kapoor, Chetan; Noakes, Mark; Elbert, Greg; Treat, Michael; Ganous, Tim; Hanson, Matt; Manak, Joe; Hasser, Chris; Rohler, David; Satava, Richard

2009-06-01

The Trauma Pod (TP) vision is to develop a rapidly deployable robotic system to perform critical acute stabilization and/or surgical procedures, autonomously or in a teleoperative mode, on wounded soldiers in the battlefield who might otherwise die before treatment in a combat hospital could be provided. In the first phase of a project pursuing this vision, a robotic TP system was developed and its capability demonstrated by performing selected surgical procedures on a patient phantom. The system demonstrates the feasibility of performing acute stabilization procedures with the patient being the only human in the surgical cell. The teleoperated surgical robot is supported by autonomous robotic arms and subsystems that carry out scrub-nurse and circulating-nurse functions. Tool change and supply delivery are performed automatically and at least as fast as performed manually by nurses. Tracking and counting of the supplies is performed automatically. The TP system also includes a tomographic X-ray facility for patient diagnosis and two-dimensional (2D) fluoroscopic data to support interventions. The vast amount of clinical protocols generated in the TP system are recorded automatically. Automation and teleoperation capabilities form the basis for a more comprehensive acute diagnostic and management platform that will provide life-saving care in environments where surgical personnel are not present.

System for definition of the central-chest vasculature

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taeprasartsit, Pinyo; Higgins, William E.

2009-02-01

Accurate definition of the central-chest vasculature from three-dimensional (3D) multi-detector CT (MDCT) images is important for pulmonary applications. For instance, the aorta and pulmonary artery help in automatic definition of the Mountain lymph-node stations for lung-cancer staging. This work presents a system for defining major vascular structures in the central chest. The system provides automatic methods for extracting the aorta and pulmonary artery and semi-automatic methods for extracting the other major central chest arteries/veins, such as the superior vena cava and azygos vein. Automatic aorta and pulmonary artery extraction are performed by model fitting and selection. The system also extracts certain vascular structure information to validate outputs. A semi-automatic method extracts vasculature by finding the medial axes between provided important sites. Results of the system are applied to lymph-node station definition and guidance of bronchoscopic biopsy.

Semi-automatic measuring of arteriovenous relation as a possible silent brain infarction risk index in hypertensive patients.

PubMed

Vázquez Dorrego, X M; Manresa Domínguez, J M; Heras Tebar, A; Forés, R; Girona Marcé, A; Alzamora Sas, M T; Delgado Martínez, P; Riba-Llena, I; Ugarte Anduaga, J; Beristain Iraola, A; Barandiaran Martirena, I; Ruiz Bilbao, S M; Torán Monserrat, P

2016-11-01

To evaluate the usefulness of a semiautomatic measuring system of arteriovenous relation (RAV) from retinographic images of hypertensive patients in assessing their cardiovascular risk and silent brain ischemia (ICS) detection. Semi-automatic measurement of arterial and venous width were performed with the aid of Imedos software and conventional fundus examination from the analysis of retinal images belonging to the 976 patients integrated in the cohort Investigating Silent Strokes in Hypertensives: a magnetic resonance imaging study (ISSYS), group of hypertensive patients. All patients have been subjected to a cranial magnetic resonance imaging (RMN) to assess the presence or absence of brain silent infarct. Retinal images of 768 patients were studied. Among the clinical findings observed, association with ICS was only detected in patients with microaneurysms (OR 2.50; 95% CI: 1.05-5.98) or altered RAV (<0.666) (OR: 4.22; 95% CI: 2.56-6.96). In multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted by age and sex, only altered RAV continued demonstrating as a risk factor (OR: 3.70; 95% CI: 2.21-6.18). The results show that the semiautomatic analysis of the retinal vasculature from retinal images has the potential to be considered as an important vascular risk factor in hypertensive population. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Oftalmología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Support vector machine for automatic pain recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monwar, Md Maruf; Rezaei, Siamak

2009-02-01

Facial expressions are a key index of emotion and the interpretation of such expressions of emotion is critical to everyday social functioning. In this paper, we present an efficient video analysis technique for recognition of a specific expression, pain, from human faces. We employ an automatic face detector which detects face from the stored video frame using skin color modeling technique. For pain recognition, location and shape features of the detected faces are computed. These features are then used as inputs to a support vector machine (SVM) for classification. We compare the results with neural network based and eigenimage based automatic pain recognition systems. The experiment results indicate that using support vector machine as classifier can certainly improve the performance of automatic pain recognition system.

On a program manifold's stability of one contour automatic control systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zumatov, S. S.

2017-12-01

Methodology of analysis of stability is expounded to the one contour systems automatic control feedback in the presence of non-linearities. The methodology is based on the use of the simplest mathematical models of the nonlinear controllable systems. Stability of program manifolds of one contour automatic control systems is investigated. The sufficient conditions of program manifold's absolute stability of one contour automatic control systems are obtained. The Hurwitz's angle of absolute stability was determined. The sufficient conditions of program manifold's absolute stability of control systems by the course of plane in the mode of autopilot are obtained by means Lyapunov's second method.

Automatic measurements and computations for radiochemical analyses

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rosholt, J.N.; Dooley, J.R.

1960-01-01

In natural radioactive sources the most important radioactive daughter products useful for geochemical studies are protactinium-231, the alpha-emitting thorium isotopes, and the radium isotopes. To resolve the abundances of these thorium and radium isotopes by their characteristic decay and growth patterns, a large number of repeated alpha activity measurements on the two chemically separated elements were made over extended periods of time. Alpha scintillation counting with automatic measurements and sample changing is used to obtain the basic count data. Generation of the required theoretical decay and growth functions, varying with time, and the least squares solution of the overdetermined simultaneous count rate equations are done with a digital computer. Examples of the complex count rate equations which may be solved and results of a natural sample containing four ??-emitting isotopes of thorium are illustrated. These methods facilitate the determination of the radioactive sources on the large scale required for many geochemical investigations.

[An automatic system controlled by microcontroller for carotid sinus perfusion].

PubMed

Yi, X L; Wang, M Y; Fan, Z Z; He, R R

2001-08-01

To establish a new method for controlling automatically the carotid perfusion pressure. A cheap practical automatic perfusion unit based on AT89C2051 micro controller was designed. The unit, LDB-M perfusion pump and the carotid sinus of an animal constituted an automatic perfusion system. This system was able to provide ramp and stepwise updown perfusion pattern and has been used in the research of baroreflex. It can insure the precision and reproducibility of perfusion pressure curve, and improve the technical level in corresponding medical field.

Automatic Welding System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-01-01

Robotic welding has been of interest to industrial firms because it offers higher productivity at lower cost than manual welding. There are some systems with automated arc guidance available, but they have disadvantages, such as limitations on types of materials or types of seams that can be welded; susceptibility to stray electrical signals; restricted field of view; or tendency to contaminate the weld seam. Wanting to overcome these disadvantages, Marshall Space Flight Center, aided by Hayes International Corporation, developed system that uses closed-circuit TV signals for automatic guidance of the welding torch. NASA granted license to Combined Technologies, Inc. for commercial application of the technology. They developed a refined and improved arc guidance system. CTI in turn, licensed the Merrick Corporation, also of Nashville, for marketing and manufacturing of the new system, called the CT2 Optical Trucker. CT2 is a non-contracting system that offers adaptability to broader range of welding jobs and provides greater reliability in high speed operation. It is extremely accurate and can travel at high speed of up to 150 inches per minute.

Efficiency analysis of semi-open sorption heat pump systems

DOE PAGES

Gluesenkamp, Kyle R.; Chugh, Devesh; Abdelaziz, Omar; ...

2016-08-10

Sorption systems traditionally fall into two categories: closed (heat pumps and chillers) and open (dehumidification). Recent work has explored the possibility of semi-open systems, which can perform heat pumping or chilling while utilizing ambient humidity as the working fluid of the cycle, and are still capable of being driven by solar, waste, or combustion heat sources. The efficiencies of closed and open systems are well characterized, and can typically be determined from four temperature s. In this work, the performance potential of semi-open systems is explored by adapting expressions for the efficiency of closed and open systems to the novelmore » semi-open systems. A key new parameter is introduced, which involves five temperatures, since both the ambient dry bulb and ambient dew point are used. Furthermore, this additional temperature is necessary to capture the open absorber performance in terms of both the absorption of humidity and sensible heat transfer with surrounding air.« less

Efficiency analysis of semi-open sorption heat pump systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gluesenkamp, Kyle R.; Chugh, Devesh; Abdelaziz, Omar

Sorption systems traditionally fall into two categories: closed (heat pumps and chillers) and open (dehumidification). Recent work has explored the possibility of semi-open systems, which can perform heat pumping or chilling while utilizing ambient humidity as the working fluid of the cycle, and are still capable of being driven by solar, waste, or combustion heat sources. The efficiencies of closed and open systems are well characterized, and can typically be determined from four temperature s. In this work, the performance potential of semi-open systems is explored by adapting expressions for the efficiency of closed and open systems to the novelmore » semi-open systems. A key new parameter is introduced, which involves five temperatures, since both the ambient dry bulb and ambient dew point are used. Furthermore, this additional temperature is necessary to capture the open absorber performance in terms of both the absorption of humidity and sensible heat transfer with surrounding air.« less

A Machine Vision System for Automatically Grading Hardwood Lumber - (Proceedings)

Treesearch

Richard W. Conners; Tai-Hoon Cho; Chong T. Ng; Thomas H. Drayer; Joe G. Tront; Philip A. Araman; Robert L. Brisbon

1990-01-01

Any automatic system for grading hardwood lumber can conceptually be divided into two components. One of these is a machine vision system for locating and identifying grading defects. The other is an automatic grading program that accepts as input the output of the machine vision system and, based on these data, determines the grade of a board. The progress that has...

Automatic visual inspection system for microelectronics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Micka, E. Z. (Inventor)

1975-01-01

A system for automatically inspecting an integrated circuit was developed. A device for shining a scanning narrow light beam at an integrated circuit to be inspected and another light beam at an accepted integrated circuit was included. A pair of photodetectors that receive light reflected from these integrated circuits, and a comparing system compares the outputs of the photodetectors.

Design of an optimum computer vision-based automatic abalone (Haliotis discus hannai) grading algorithm.

PubMed

Lee, Donggil; Lee, Kyounghoon; Kim, Seonghun; Yang, Yongsu

2015-04-01

An automatic abalone grading algorithm that estimates abalone weights on the basis of computer vision using 2D images is developed and tested. The algorithm overcomes the problems experienced by conventional abalone grading methods that utilize manual sorting and mechanical automatic grading. To design an optimal algorithm, a regression formula and R(2) value were investigated by performing a regression analysis for each of total length, body width, thickness, view area, and actual volume against abalone weights. The R(2) value between the actual volume and abalone weight was 0.999, showing a relatively high correlation. As a result, to easily estimate the actual volumes of abalones based on computer vision, the volumes were calculated under the assumption that abalone shapes are half-oblate ellipsoids, and a regression formula was derived to estimate the volumes of abalones through linear regression analysis between the calculated and actual volumes. The final automatic abalone grading algorithm is designed using the abalone volume estimation regression formula derived from test results, and the actual volumes and abalone weights regression formula. In the range of abalones weighting from 16.51 to 128.01 g, the results of evaluation of the performance of algorithm via cross-validation indicate root mean square and worst-case prediction errors of are 2.8 and ±8 g, respectively. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

Automatic Radiated Susceptibility Test System for Payload Equipment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ngo, Hoai T.; Sturman, John C.; Sargent, Noel B.

1995-01-01

An automatic radiated susceptibility test system (ARSTS) was developed for NASA Lewis Research Center's Electro-magnetic Interference laboratory. According to MSFC-SPEC 521B, any electrical or electronic equipment that will be transported by the spacelab and space shuttle must be tested for susceptibility to electromagnetic interference. This state-of-the-art automatic test system performs necessary calculations; analyzes, processes, and records a great quantity of measured data; and monitors the equipment being tested in real-time and with minimal user intervention. ARSTS reduces costly test time, increases test accuracy, and provides reliable test results.

A computer system for processing data from routine pulmonary function tests.

PubMed Central

Pack, A I; McCusker, R; Moran, F

1977-01-01

In larger pulmonary function laboratories there is a need for computerised techniques of data processing. A flexible computer system, which is used routinely, is described. The system processes data from a relatively large range of tests. Two types of output are produced--one for laboratory purposes, and one for return to the referring physician. The system adds an automatic interpretative report for each set of results. In developing the interpretative system it has been necessary to utilise a number of arbitrary definitions. The present terminology for reporting pulmonary function tests has limitations. The computer interpretation system affords the opportunity to take account of known interaction between measurements of function and different pathological states. Images PMID:329462

Oral and maxillofacial surgery with computer-assisted navigation system.

PubMed

Kawachi, Homare; Kawachi, Yasuyuki; Ikeda, Chihaya; Takagi, Ryo; Katakura, Akira; Shibahara, Takahiko

2010-01-01

Intraoperative computer-assisted navigation has gained acceptance in maxillofacial surgery with applications in an increasing number of indications. We adapted a commercially available wireless passive marker system which allows calibration and tracking of virtually every instrument in maxillofacial surgery. Virtual computer-generated anatomical structures are displayed intraoperatively in a semi-immersive head-up display. Continuous observation of the operating field facilitated by computer assistance enables surgical navigation in accordance with the physician's preoperative plans. This case report documents the potential for augmented visualization concepts in surgical resection of tumors in the oral and maxillofacial region. We report a case of T3N2bM0 carcinoma of the maxillary gingival which was surgically resected with the assistance of the Stryker Navigation Cart System. This system was found to be useful in assisting preoperative planning and intraoperative monitoring.

Assessing the impact of graphical quality on automatic text recognition in digital maps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiang, Yao-Yi; Leyk, Stefan; Honarvar Nazari, Narges; Moghaddam, Sima; Tan, Tian Xiang

2016-08-01

Converting geographic features (e.g., place names) in map images into a vector format is the first step for incorporating cartographic information into a geographic information system (GIS). With the advancement in computational power and algorithm design, map processing systems have been considerably improved over the last decade. However, the fundamental map processing techniques such as color image segmentation, (map) layer separation, and object recognition are sensitive to minor variations in graphical properties of the input image (e.g., scanning resolution). As a result, most map processing results would not meet user expectations if the user does not "properly" scan the map of interest, pre-process the map image (e.g., using compression or not), and train the processing system, accordingly. These issues could slow down the further advancement of map processing techniques as such unsuccessful attempts create a discouraged user community, and less sophisticated tools would be perceived as more viable solutions. Thus, it is important to understand what kinds of maps are suitable for automatic map processing and what types of results and process-related errors can be expected. In this paper, we shed light on these questions by using a typical map processing task, text recognition, to discuss a number of map instances that vary in suitability for automatic processing. We also present an extensive experiment on a diverse set of scanned historical maps to provide measures of baseline performance of a standard text recognition tool under varying map conditions (graphical quality) and text representations (that can vary even within the same map sheet). Our experimental results help the user understand what to expect when a fully or semi-automatic map processing system is used to process a scanned map with certain (varying) graphical properties and complexities in map content.

Multi-party Semi-quantum Key Agreement with Delegating Quantum Computation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Wen-Jie; Chen, Zhen-Yu; Ji, Sai; Wang, Hai-Bin; Zhang, Jun

2017-10-01

A multi-party semi-quantum key agreement (SQKA) protocol based on delegating quantum computation (DQC) model is proposed by taking Bell states as quantum resources. In the proposed protocol, the participants only need the ability of accessing quantum channel and preparing single photons {|0〉, |1〉, |+〉, |-〉}, while the complicated quantum operations, such as the unitary operations and Bell measurement, will be delegated to the remote quantum center. Compared with previous quantum key agreement protocols, this client-server model is more feasible in the early days of the emergence of quantum computers. In order to prevent the attacks from outside eavesdroppers, inner participants and quantum center, two single photon sequences are randomly inserted into Bell states: the first sequence is used to perform the quantum channel detection, while the second is applied to disorder the positions of message qubits, which guarantees the security of the protocol.

The SURE reliability analysis program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, R. W.

1986-01-01

The SURE program is a new reliability tool for ultrareliable computer system architectures. The program is based on computational methods recently developed for the NASA Langley Research Center. These methods provide an efficient means for computing accurate upper and lower bounds for the death state probabilities of a large class of semi-Markov models. Once a semi-Markov model is described using a simple input language, the SURE program automatically computes the upper and lower bounds on the probability of system failure. A parameter of the model can be specified as a variable over a range of values directing the SURE program to perform a sensitivity analysis automatically. This feature, along with the speed of the program, makes it especially useful as a design tool.

The SURE Reliability Analysis Program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Butler, R. W.

1986-01-01

The SURE program is a new reliability analysis tool for ultrareliable computer system architectures. The program is based on computational methods recently developed for the NASA Langley Research Center. These methods provide an efficient means for computing accurate upper and lower bounds for the death state probabilities of a large class of semi-Markov models. Once a semi-Markov model is described using a simple input language, the SURE program automatically computes the upper and lower bounds on the probability of system failure. A parameter of the model can be specified as a variable over a range of values directing the SURE program to perform a sensitivity analysis automatically. This feature, along with the speed of the program, makes it especially useful as a design tool.

Automatic target alignment of the Helios laser system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liberman, I.; Viswanathan, V. K.; Klein, M.; Seery, B. D.

1980-05-01

An automatic target-alignment technique for the Helios laser facility is reported and verified experimentally. The desired alignment condition is completely described by an autocollimation test. A computer program examines the autocollimated return pattern from the surrogate target and correctly describes any changes required in mirror orientation to yield optimum target alignment with either aberrated or misaligned beams. Automated on-line target alignment is thus shown to be feasible.

29 CFR 1910.159 - Automatic sprinkler systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... supply is out of service, except for systems of 20 or fewer sprinklers. (5) Hose connections for fire fighting use. The employer may attach hose connections for fire fighting use to wet pipe sprinkler systems... 29 Labor 5 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic sprinkler systems. 1910.159 Section 1910.159...

29 CFR 1910.159 - Automatic sprinkler systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... supply is out of service, except for systems of 20 or fewer sprinklers. (5) Hose connections for fire fighting use. The employer may attach hose connections for fire fighting use to wet pipe sprinkler systems... 29 Labor 5 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Automatic sprinkler systems. 1910.159 Section 1910.159...

29 CFR 1910.159 - Automatic sprinkler systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... supply is out of service, except for systems of 20 or fewer sprinklers. (5) Hose connections for fire fighting use. The employer may attach hose connections for fire fighting use to wet pipe sprinkler systems... 29 Labor 5 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Automatic sprinkler systems. 1910.159 Section 1910.159...

29 CFR 1910.159 - Automatic sprinkler systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... supply is out of service, except for systems of 20 or fewer sprinklers. (5) Hose connections for fire fighting use. The employer may attach hose connections for fire fighting use to wet pipe sprinkler systems... 29 Labor 5 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Automatic sprinkler systems. 1910.159 Section 1910.159...

29 CFR 1910.159 - Automatic sprinkler systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... supply is out of service, except for systems of 20 or fewer sprinklers. (5) Hose connections for fire fighting use. The employer may attach hose connections for fire fighting use to wet pipe sprinkler systems... 29 Labor 5 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic sprinkler systems. 1910.159 Section 1910.159...

Semi-automatic characterization and simulation of VCSEL devices for high speed VSR communications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pellevrault, S.; Toffano, Z.; Destrez, A.; Pez, M.; Quentel, F.

2006-04-01

Very short range (VSR) high bit rate optical fiber communications are an emerging market dedicated to local area networks, digital displays or board to board interconnects within real time calculators. In this technology, a very fast way to exchange data with high noise immunity and low-cost is needed. Optical multimode graded index fibers are used here because they have electrical noise immunity and are easier to handle than monomode fibers. 850 nm VCSEL are used in VSR communications because of their low cost, direct on-wafer tests, and the possibility of manufacturing VCSEL arrays very easily compared to classical optical transceivers using edge-emitting laser diodes. Although much research has been carried out in temperature modeling on VCSEL emitters, few studies have been devoted to characterizations over a very broad range of temperatures. Nowadays, VCSEL VSR communications tend to be used in severe environments such as space, avionics and military equipments. Therefore, a simple way to characterize VCSEL emitters over a broad range of temperature is required. In this paper, we propose a complete characterization of the emitter part of 2.5 Gb/s opto-electrical transceiver modules operating from -40°C to +120°C using 850 nm VCSELs. Our method uses simple and semi-automatic measurements of a given set of chosen device parameters in order to make fast and efficient simulations.

Implementation of Automatic Focusing Algorithms for a Computer Vision System with Camera Control.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-08-15

obtainable from real data, rather than relying on a stock database. Often, computer vision and image processing algorithms become subconsciously tuned to...two coils on the same mount structure. Since it was not possible to reprogram the binary system, we turned to the POPEYE system for both its grey

Automatic documentation system extension to multi-manufacturers' computers and to measure, improve, and predict software reliability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simmons, D. B.

1975-01-01

The DOMONIC system has been modified to run on the Univac 1108 and the CDC 6600 as well as the IBM 370 computer system. The DOMONIC monitor system has been implemented to gather data which can be used to optimize the DOMONIC system and to predict the reliability of software developed using DOMONIC. The areas of quality metrics, error characterization, program complexity, program testing, validation and verification are analyzed. A software reliability model for estimating program completion levels and one on which to base system acceptance have been developed. The DAVE system which performs flow analysis and error detection has been converted from the University of Colorado CDC 6400/6600 computer to the IBM 360/370 computer system for use with the DOMONIC system.

49 CFR 236.401 - Automatic block signal system and interlocking standards applicable to traffic control systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... TRAIN CONTROL SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND APPLIANCES Traffic Control Systems Standards § 236.401 Automatic... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Automatic block signal system and interlocking standards applicable to traffic control systems. 236.401 Section 236.401 Transportation Other Regulations...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2013-07-01 2013-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

30 CFR 75.1103-6 - Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 1 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire... Protection § 75.1103-6 Automatic fire sensors; actuation of fire suppression systems. Point-type heat sensors or automatic fire sensor and warning device systems may be used to actuate deluge-type water systems...

A closed-loop automatic control system for high-intensity acoustic test systems.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Slusser, R. A.

1973-01-01

Sound at sound pressure levels in the range from 130 to 160 dB is used in the investigation. Random noise is passed through a series of parallel filters, generally 1/3-octave wide. A basic automatic system is investigated because of preadjustment inaccuracies and high costs found in a study of a typical manually controlled acoustic testing system. The unit described has been successfully used in automatic acoustic tests in connection with the spacecraft tests for the Mariner 1971 program.

New conversion factors between human and automatic readouts of the CDMAM phantom for CR systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hummel, Johann; Homolka, Peter; Osanna-Elliot, Angelika; Kaar, Marcus; Semtrus, Friedrich; Figl, Michael

2016-03-01

Mammography screenings demand for profound image quality (IQ) assessment to guarantee their screening success. The European protocol for the quality control of the physical and technical aspects of mammography screening (EPQCM) suggests a contrast detail phantom such as the CDMAM phantom to evaluate IQ. For automatic evaluation a software is provided by the EUREF. As human and automatic readouts differ systematically conversion factors were published by the official reference organisation (EUREF). As we experienced a significant difference for these factors for Computed Radiography (CR) systems we developed an objectifying analysis software which presents the cells including the gold disks randomly in thickness and rotation. This allows to overcome the problem of an inevitable learning effect where observers know the position of the disks in advance. Applying this software, 45 computed radiography (CR) systems were evaluated and the conversion factors between human and automatic readout determined. The resulting conversion factors were compared with the ones resulting from the two methods published by EUREF. We found our conversion factors to be substantially lower than those suggested by EUREF, in particular 1.21 compared to 1.42 (EUREF EU method) and 1.62 (EUREF UK method) for 0.1 mm, and 1.40 compared to 1.73 (EUREF EU) and 1.83 (EUREF UK) for 0.25 mm disc diameter, respectively. This can result in a dose increase of up to 90% using either of these factors to adjust patient dose in order to fulfill image quality requirements. This suggests the need of an agreement on their proper application and limits the validity of the assessment methods. Therefore, we want to stress the need for clear criteria for CR systems based on appropriate studies.

An automatic target recognition system based on SAR image

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Qinfu; Wang, Jinquan; Zhao, Bo; Luo, Furen; Xu, Xiaojian

2009-10-01

In this paper, an automatic target recognition (ATR) system based on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is proposed. This ATR system can play an important role in the simulation of up-to-data battlefield environment and be used in ATR research. To establish an integral and available system, the processing of SAR image was divided into four main stages which are de-noise, detection, cluster-discrimination and segment-recognition, respectively. The first three stages are used for searching region of interest (ROI). Once the ROIs are extracted, the recognition stage will be taken to compute the similarity between the ROIs and the templates in the electromagnetic simulation software National Electromagnetic Scattering Code (NESC). Due to the lack of the SAR raw data, the electromagnetic simulated images are added to the measured SAR background to simulate the battlefield environment8. The purpose of the system is to find the ROIs which can be the artificial military targets such as tanks, armored cars and so on and to categorize the ROIs into the right classes according to the existing templates. From the results we can see that the proposed system achieves a satisfactory result.

Seismpol_ a visual-basic computer program for interactive and automatic earthquake waveform analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patanè, Domenico; Ferrari, Ferruccio

1997-11-01

A Microsoft Visual-Basic computer program for waveform analysis of seismic signals is presented. The program combines interactive and automatic processing of digital signals using data recorded by three-component seismic stations. The analysis procedure can be used in either an interactive earthquake analysis or an automatic on-line processing of seismic recordings. The algorithm works in the time domain using the Covariance Matrix Decomposition method (CMD), so that polarization characteristics may be computed continuously in real time and seismic phases can be identified and discriminated. Visual inspection of the particle motion in hortogonal planes of projection (hodograms) reduces the danger of misinterpretation derived from the application of the polarization filter. The choice of time window and frequency intervals improves the quality of the extracted polarization information. In fact, the program uses a band-pass Butterworth filter to process the signals in the frequency domain by analysis of a selected signal window into a series of narrow frequency bands. Significant results supported by well defined polarizations and source azimuth estimates for P and S phases are also obtained for short-period seismic events (local microearthquakes).

AUTOCASK (AUTOmatic Generation of 3-D CASK models). A microcomputer based system for shipping cask design review analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gerhard, M.A.; Sommer, S.C.

1995-04-01

AUTOCASK (AUTOmatic Generation of 3-D CASK models) is a microcomputer-based system of computer programs and databases developed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) for the structural analysis of shipping casks for radioactive material. Model specification is performed on the microcomputer, and the analyses are performed on an engineering workstation or mainframe computer. AUTOCASK is based on 80386/80486 compatible microcomputers. The system is composed of a series of menus, input programs, display programs, a mesh generation program, and archive programs. All data is entered through fill-in-the-blank input screens that contain descriptive data requests.

The symbolic computation and automatic analysis of trajectories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grossman, Robert

1991-01-01

Research was generally done on computation of trajectories of dynamical systems, especially control systems. Algorithms were further developed for rewriting expressions involving differential operators. The differential operators involved arise in the local analysis of nonlinear control systems. An initial design was completed of the system architecture for software to analyze nonlinear control systems using data base computing.

Automatic Coal-Mining System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Collins, E. R., Jr.

1985-01-01

Coal cutting and removal done with minimal hazard to people. Automatic coal mine cutting, transport and roof-support movement all done by automatic machinery. Exposure of people to hazardous conditions reduced to inspection tours, maintenance, repair, and possibly entry mining.

Automatic exposure control calibration and optimisation for abdomen, pelvis and lumbar spine imaging with an Agfa computed radiography system.

PubMed

Moore, C S; Wood, T J; Avery, G; Balcam, S; Needler, L; Joshi, H; Saunderson, J R; Beavis, A W

2016-11-07

The use of three physical image quality metrics, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and mean effective noise equivalent quanta (eNEQ m ) have recently been examined by our group for their appropriateness in the calibration of an automatic exposure control (AEC) device for chest radiography with an Agfa computed radiography (CR) imaging system. This study uses the same methodology but investigates AEC calibration for abdomen, pelvis and spine CR imaging. AEC calibration curves were derived using a simple uniform phantom (equivalent to 20 cm water) to ensure each metric was held constant across the tube voltage range. Each curve was assessed for its clinical appropriateness by generating computer simulated abdomen, pelvis and spine images (created from real patient CT datasets) with appropriate detector air kermas for each tube voltage, and grading these against reference images which were reconstructed at detector air kermas correct for the constant detector dose indicator (DDI) curve currently programmed into the AEC device. All simulated images contained clinically realistic projected anatomy and were scored by experienced image evaluators. Constant DDI and CNR curves did not provide optimized performance but constant eNEQ m and SNR did, with the latter being the preferred calibration metric given that it is easier to measure in practice. This result was consistent with the previous investigation for chest imaging with AEC devices. Medical physicists may therefore use a simple and easily accessible uniform water equivalent phantom to measure the SNR image quality metric described here when calibrating AEC devices for abdomen, pelvis and spine imaging with Agfa CR systems, in the confidence that clinical image quality will be sufficient for the required clinical task. However, to ensure appropriate levels of detector air kerma the advice of expert image evaluators must be sought.

Automatic exposure control calibration and optimisation for abdomen, pelvis and lumbar spine imaging with an Agfa computed radiography system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moore, C. S.; Wood, T. J.; Avery, G.; Balcam, S.; Needler, L.; Joshi, H.; Saunderson, J. R.; Beavis, A. W.

2016-11-01

The use of three physical image quality metrics, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and mean effective noise equivalent quanta (eNEQm) have recently been examined by our group for their appropriateness in the calibration of an automatic exposure control (AEC) device for chest radiography with an Agfa computed radiography (CR) imaging system. This study uses the same methodology but investigates AEC calibration for abdomen, pelvis and spine CR imaging. AEC calibration curves were derived using a simple uniform phantom (equivalent to 20 cm water) to ensure each metric was held constant across the tube voltage range. Each curve was assessed for its clinical appropriateness by generating computer simulated abdomen, pelvis and spine images (created from real patient CT datasets) with appropriate detector air kermas for each tube voltage, and grading these against reference images which were reconstructed at detector air kermas correct for the constant detector dose indicator (DDI) curve currently programmed into the AEC device. All simulated images contained clinically realistic projected anatomy and were scored by experienced image evaluators. Constant DDI and CNR curves did not provide optimized performance but constant eNEQm and SNR did, with the latter being the preferred calibration metric given that it is easier to measure in practice. This result was consistent with the previous investigation for chest imaging with AEC devices. Medical physicists may therefore use a simple and easily accessible uniform water equivalent phantom to measure the SNR image quality metric described here when calibrating AEC devices for abdomen, pelvis and spine imaging with Agfa CR systems, in the confidence that clinical image quality will be sufficient for the required clinical task. However, to ensure appropriate levels of detector air kerma the advice of expert image evaluators must be sought.

An independent software system for the analysis of dynamic MR images.

PubMed

Torheim, G; Lombardi, M; Rinck, P A

1997-01-01

A computer system for the manual, semi-automatic, and automatic analysis of dynamic MR images was to be developed on UNIX and personal computer platforms. The system was to offer an integrated and standardized way of performing both image processing and analysis that was independent of the MR unit used. The system consists of modules that are easily adaptable to special needs. Data from MR units or other diagnostic imaging equipment in techniques such as CT, ultrasonography, or nuclear medicine can be processed through the ACR-NEMA/DICOM standard file formats. A full set of functions is available, among them cine-loop visual analysis, and generation of time-intensity curves. Parameters such as cross-correlation coefficients, area under the curve, peak/maximum intensity, wash-in and wash-out slopes, time to peak, and relative signal intensity/contrast enhancement can be calculated. Other parameters can be extracted by fitting functions like the gamma-variate function. Region-of-interest data and parametric values can easily be exported. The system has been successfully tested in animal and patient examinations.

14 CFR 25.672 - Stability augmentation and automatic and power-operated systems.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... power-operated systems. 25.672 Section 25.672 Aeronautics and Space FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION... Construction Control Systems § 25.672 Stability augmentation and automatic and power-operated systems. If the functioning of stability augmentation or other automatic or power-operated systems is necessary to show...

Application of computer vision to automatic prescription verification in pharmaceutical mail order

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alouani, Ali T.

2005-05-01

In large volume pharmaceutical mail order, before shipping out prescriptions, licensed pharmacists ensure that the drug in the bottle matches the information provided in the patient prescription. Typically, the pharmacist has about 2 sec to complete the prescription verification process of one prescription. Performing about 1800 prescription verification per hour is tedious and can generate human errors as a result of visual and brain fatigue. Available automatic drug verification systems are limited to a single pill at a time. This is not suitable for large volume pharmaceutical mail order, where a prescription can have as many as 60 pills and where thousands of prescriptions are filled every day. In an attempt to reduce human fatigue, cost, and limit human error, the automatic prescription verification system (APVS) was invented to meet the need of large scale pharmaceutical mail order. This paper deals with the design and implementation of the first prototype online automatic prescription verification machine to perform the same task currently done by a pharmacist. The emphasis here is on the visual aspects of the machine. The system has been successfully tested on 43,000 prescriptions.

Semi-2-interpenetrating polymer networks of high temperature systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hanky, A. O.; St. Clair, T. L.

1985-01-01

A semi-interpenetrating (semi-IPN) polymer system of the semi-2-IPN type is described in which a polymer of acetylene-terminated imidesulfone (ATPISO2) is cross linked in the presence of polyimidesulfone (PISO2). Six different formulations obtained by mixing of either ATPISO2-1n or ATPISO2-3n with PISO2 in three different proportions were characterized in terms of glass transition temperature, thermooxidative stability, inherent viscosity, and dynamic mechanical properties. Adhesive (lap shear) strength was tested at elevated temperatures on aged samples of adhesive scrim cloth prepared from each resin. Woven graphite (Celion 1000)/polyimide composites were tested for flexural strength, flexural modulus, and shear strength. The network polymers have properties intermediate between those of the component polymers alone, have greatly improved processability over either polyimide, and are able to form good adhesive bonds and composites, making the semi-2-IPN systems superior materials for aerospace structures.

A computer program for analyzing the energy consumption of automatically controlled lighting systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1982-01-01

A computer code to predict the performance of controlled lighting systems with respect to their energy saving capabilities is presented. The computer program provides a mathematical model from which comparisons of control schemes can be made on an economic basis only. The program does not calculate daylighting, but uses daylighting values as input. The program can analyze any of three power input versus light output relationships, continuous dimming with a linear response, continuous dimming with a nonlinear response, or discrete stepped response. Any of these options can be used with or without daylighting, making six distinct modes of control system operation. These relationships are described in detail. The major components of the program are discussed and examples are included to explain how to run the program.

Development of a parameter optimization technique for the design of automatic control systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitaker, P. H.

1977-01-01

Parameter optimization techniques for the design of linear automatic control systems that are applicable to both continuous and digital systems are described. The model performance index is used as the optimization criterion because of the physical insight that can be attached to it. The design emphasis is to start with the simplest system configuration that experience indicates would be practical. Design parameters are specified, and a digital computer program is used to select that set of parameter values which minimizes the performance index. The resulting design is examined, and complexity, through the use of more complex information processing or more feedback paths, is added only if performance fails to meet operational specifications. System performance specifications are assumed to be such that the desired step function time response of the system can be inferred.

From Laser Scanning to Finite Element Analysis of Complex Buildings by Using a Semi-Automatic Procedure.

PubMed

Castellazzi, Giovanni; D'Altri, Antonio Maria; Bitelli, Gabriele; Selvaggi, Ilenia; Lambertini, Alessandro

2015-07-28

In this paper, a new semi-automatic procedure to transform three-dimensional point clouds of complex objects to three-dimensional finite element models is presented and validated. The procedure conceives of the point cloud as a stacking of point sections. The complexity of the clouds is arbitrary, since the procedure is designed for terrestrial laser scanner surveys applied to buildings with irregular geometry, such as historical buildings. The procedure aims at solving the problems connected to the generation of finite element models of these complex structures by constructing a fine discretized geometry with a reduced amount of time and ready to be used with structural analysis. If the starting clouds represent the inner and outer surfaces of the structure, the resulting finite element model will accurately capture the whole three-dimensional structure, producing a complex solid made by voxel elements. A comparison analysis with a CAD-based model is carried out on a historical building damaged by a seismic event. The results indicate that the proposed procedure is effective and obtains comparable models in a shorter time, with an increased level of automation.

A Cloud-Based System for Automatic Hazard Monitoring from Sentinel-1 SAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meyer, F. J.; Arko, S. A.; Hogenson, K.; McAlpin, D. B.; Whitley, M. A.

2017-12-01

Despite the all-weather capabilities of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and its high performance in change detection, the application of SAR for operational hazard monitoring was limited in the past. This has largely been due to high data costs, slow product delivery, and limited temporal sampling associated with legacy SAR systems. Only since the launch of ESA's Sentinel-1 sensors have routinely acquired and free-of-charge SAR data become available, allowing—for the first time—for a meaningful contribution of SAR to disaster monitoring. In this paper, we present recent technical advances of the Sentinel-1-based SAR processing system SARVIEWS, which was originally built to generate hazard products for volcano monitoring centers. We outline the main functionalities of SARVIEWS including its automatic database interface to Sentinel-1 holdings of the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF), and its set of automatic processing techniques. Subsequently, we present recent system improvements that were added to SARVIEWS and allowed for a vast expansion of its hazard services; specifically: (1) In early 2017, the SARVIEWS system was migrated into the Amazon Cloud, providing access to cloud capabilities such as elastic scaling of compute resources and cloud-based storage; (2) we co-located SARVIEWS with ASF's cloud-based Sentinel-1 archive, enabling the efficient and cost effective processing of large data volumes; (3) we integrated SARVIEWS with ASF's HyP3 system (http://hyp3.asf.alaska.edu/), providing functionality such as subscription creation via API or map interface as well as automatic email notification; (4) we automated the production chains for seismic and volcanic hazards by integrating SARVIEWS with the USGS earthquake notification service (ENS) and the USGS eruption alert system. Email notifications from both services are parsed and subscriptions are automatically created when certain event criteria are met; (5) finally, SARVIEWS-generated hazard products are now

Automatic Management of Parallel and Distributed System Resources

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yan, Jerry; Ngai, Tin Fook; Lundstrom, Stephen F.

1990-01-01

Viewgraphs on automatic management of parallel and distributed system resources are presented. Topics covered include: parallel applications; intelligent management of multiprocessing systems; performance evaluation of parallel architecture; dynamic concurrent programs; compiler-directed system approach; lattice gaseous cellular automata; and sparse matrix Cholesky factorization.

Automatic Detection and Estimation of Unannounced Meals for Multivariable Artificial Pancreas System.

PubMed

Samadi, Sediqeh; Rashid, Mudassir; Turksoy, Kamuran; Feng, Jianyuan; Hajizadeh, Iman; Hobbs, Nicole; Lazaro, Caterina; Sevil, Mert; Littlejohn, Elizabeth; Cinar, Ali

2018-03-01

Automatically attenuating the postprandial rise in the blood glucose concentration without manual meal announcement is a significant challenge for artificial pancreas (AP) systems. In this study, a meal module is proposed to detect the consumption of a meal and to estimate the amount of carbohydrate (CHO) intake. The meals are detected based on qualitative variables describing variation of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) readings. The CHO content of the meals/snacks is estimated by a fuzzy system using CGM and subcutaneous insulin delivery data. The meal bolus amount is computed according to the patient's insulin to CHO ratio. Integration of the meal module into a multivariable AP system allows revision of estimated CHO based on knowledge about physical activity, sleep, and the risk of hypoglycemia before the final decision for a meal bolus is made. The algorithm is evaluated by using 117 meals/snacks in retrospective data from 11 subjects with type 1 diabetes. Sensitivity, defined as the percentage of correctly detected meals and snacks, is 93.5% for meals and 68.0% for snacks. The percentage of false positives, defined as the proportion of false detections relative to the total number of detected meals and snacks, is 20.8%. Integration of a meal detection module in an AP system is a further step toward an automated AP without manual entries. Detection of a consumed meal/snack and infusion of insulin boluses using an estimate of CHO enables the AP system to automatically prevent postprandial hyperglycemia.

Closed loop computer control for an automatic transmission

DOEpatents

Patil, Prabhakar B.

1989-01-01

In an automotive vehicle having an automatic transmission that driveably connects a power source to the driving wheels, a method to control the application of hydraulic pressure to a clutch, whose engagement produces an upshift and whose disengagement produces a downshift, the speed of the power source, and the output torque of the transmission. The transmission output shaft torque and the power source speed are the controlled variables. The commanded power source torque and commanded hydraulic pressure supplied to the clutch are the control variables. A mathematical model is formulated that describes the kinematics and dynamics of the powertrain before, during and after a gear shift. The model represents the operating characteristics of each component and the structural arrangement of the components within the transmission being controlled. Next, a close loop feedback control is developed to determine the proper control law or compensation strategy to achieve an acceptably smooth gear ratio change, one in which the output torque disturbance is kept to a minimum and the duration of the shift is minimized. Then a computer algorithm simulating the shift dynamics employing the mathematical model is used to study the effects of changes in the values of the parameters established from a closed loop control of the clutch hydraulic and the power source torque on the shift quality. This computer simulation is used also to establish possible shift control strategies. The shift strategies determined from the prior step are reduced to an algorithm executed by a computer to control the operation of the power source and the transmission.

Incremental Ontology-Based Extraction and Alignment in Semi-structured Documents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thiam, Mouhamadou; Bennacer, Nacéra; Pernelle, Nathalie; Lô, Moussa

SHIRIis an ontology-based system for integration of semi-structured documents related to a specific domain. The system’s purpose is to allow users to access to relevant parts of documents as answers to their queries. SHIRI uses RDF/OWL for representation of resources and SPARQL for their querying. It relies on an automatic, unsupervised and ontology-driven approach for extraction, alignment and semantic annotation of tagged elements of documents. In this paper, we focus on the Extract-Align algorithm which exploits a set of named entity and term patterns to extract term candidates to be aligned with the ontology. It proceeds in an incremental manner in order to populate the ontology with terms describing instances of the domain and to reduce the access to extern resources such as Web. We experiment it on a HTML corpus related to call for papers in computer science and the results that we obtain are very promising. These results show how the incremental behaviour of Extract-Align algorithm enriches the ontology and the number of terms (or named entities) aligned directly with the ontology increases.

Multimodal system for the planning and guidance of bronchoscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higgins, William E.; Cheirsilp, Ronnarit; Zang, Xiaonan; Byrnes, Patrick

2015-03-01

Many technical innovations in multimodal radiologic imaging and bronchoscopy have emerged recently in the effort against lung cancer. Modern X-ray computed-tomography (CT) scanners provide three-dimensional (3D) high-resolution chest images, positron emission tomography (PET) scanners give complementary molecular imaging data, and new integrated PET/CT scanners combine the strengths of both modalities. State-of-the-art bronchoscopes permit minimally invasive tissue sampling, with vivid endobronchial video enabling navigation deep into the airway-tree periphery, while complementary endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) reveals local views of anatomical structures outside the airways. In addition, image-guided intervention (IGI) systems have proven their utility for CT-based planning and guidance of bronchoscopy. Unfortunately, no IGI system exists that integrates all sources effectively through the complete lung-cancer staging work flow. This paper presents a prototype of a computer-based multimodal IGI system that strives to fill this need. The system combines a wide range of automatic and semi-automatic image-processing tools for multimodal data fusion and procedure planning. It also provides a flexible graphical user interface for follow-on guidance of bronchoscopy/EBUS. Human-study results demonstrate the system's potential.

Recent advances in automatic alignment system for the National Ignition Facility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilhelmsen, Karl; Awwal, Abdul A. S.; Kalantar, Dan; Leach, Richard; Lowe-Webb, Roger; McGuigan, David; Miller Kamm, Vicki

2011-03-01

The automatic alignment system for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a large-scale parallel system that directs all 192 laser beams along the 300-m optical path to a 50-micron focus at target chamber in less than 50 minutes. The system automatically commands 9,000 stepping motors to adjust mirrors and other optics based upon images acquired from high-resolution digital cameras viewing beams at various locations. Forty-five control loops per beamline request image processing services running on a LINUX cluster to analyze these images of the beams and references, and automatically steer the beams toward the target. This paper discusses the upgrades to the NIF automatic alignment system to handle new alignment needs and evolving requirements as related to various types of experiments performed. As NIF becomes a continuously-operated system and more experiments are performed, performance monitoring is increasingly important for maintenance and commissioning work. Data, collected during operations, is analyzed for tuning of the laser and targeting maintenance work. Handling evolving alignment and maintenance needs is expected for the planned 30-year operational life of NIF.

GEM System: automatic prototyping of cell-wide metabolic pathway models from genomes.

PubMed

Arakawa, Kazuharu; Yamada, Yohei; Shinoda, Kosaku; Nakayama, Yoichi; Tomita, Masaru

2006-03-23

Successful realization of a "systems biology" approach to analyzing cells is a grand challenge for our understanding of life. However, current modeling approaches to cell simulation are labor-intensive, manual affairs, and therefore constitute a major bottleneck in the evolution of computational cell biology. We developed the Genome-based Modeling (GEM) System for the purpose of automatically prototyping simulation models of cell-wide metabolic pathways from genome sequences and other public biological information. Models generated by the GEM System include an entire Escherichia coli metabolism model comprising 968 reactions of 1195 metabolites, achieving 100% coverage when compared with the KEGG database, 92.38% with the EcoCyc database, and 95.06% with iJR904 genome-scale model. The GEM System prototypes qualitative models to reduce the labor-intensive tasks required for systems biology research. Models of over 90 bacterial genomes are available at our web site.

An Evaluation of Automatic Control System Concepts for General Aviation Airplanes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stewart, E. C.

1990-01-01

A piloted simulation study of automatic longitudinal control systems for general aviation airplanes has been conducted. These automatic control systems were designed to make the simulated airplane easy to fly for a beginning or infrequent pilot. Different control systems are presented and their characteristics are documented. In a conventional airplane control system each cockpit controller commands combinations of both the airspeed and the vertical speed. The best system in the present study decoupled the airspeed and vertical speed responses to cockpit controller inputs. An important feature of the automatic system was that neither changing flap position nor maneuvering in steeply banked turns affected either the airspeed or the vertical speed. All the pilots who flew the control system simulation were favorably impressed with the very low workload and the excellent handling qualities of the simulated airplane.

A Machine Vision System for Automatically Grading Hardwood Lumber - (Industrial Metrology)

Treesearch

Richard W. Conners; Tai-Hoon Cho; Chong T. Ng; Thomas T. Drayer; Philip A. Araman; Robert L. Brisbon

1992-01-01

Any automatic system for grading hardwood lumber can conceptually be divided into two components. One of these is a machine vision system for locating and identifying grading defects. The other is an automatic grading program that accepts as input the output of the machine vision system and, based on these data, determines the grade of a board. The progress that has...

Feedback Improvement in Automatic Program Evaluation Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Skupas, Bronius

2010-01-01

Automatic program evaluation is a way to assess source program files. These techniques are used in learning management environments, programming exams and contest systems. However, use of automated program evaluation encounters problems: some evaluations are not clear for the students and the system messages do not show reasons for lost points.…

Strategies for automatic processing of large aftershock sequences

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kvaerna, T.; Gibbons, S. J.

2017-12-01

Aftershock sequences following major earthquakes present great challenges to seismic bulletin generation. The analyst resources needed to locate events increase with increased event numbers as the quality of underlying, fully automatic, event lists deteriorates. While current pipelines, designed a generation ago, are usually limited to single passes over the raw data, modern systems also allow multiple passes. Processing the raw data from each station currently generates parametric data streams that are later subject to phase-association algorithms which form event hypotheses. We consider a major earthquake scenario and propose to define a region of likely aftershock activity in which we will detect and accurately locate events using a separate, specially targeted, semi-automatic process. This effort may use either pattern detectors or more general algorithms that cover wider source regions without requiring waveform similarity. An iterative procedure to generate automatic bulletins would incorporate all the aftershock event hypotheses generated by the auxiliary process, and filter all phases from these events from the original detection lists prior to a new iteration of the global phase-association algorithm.

Hydrogen maser frequency standard computer model for automatic cavity tuning servo simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Potter, P. D.; Finnie, C.

1978-01-01

A computer model of the JPL hydrogen maser frequency standard was developed. This model allows frequency stability data to be generated, as a function of various maser parameters, many orders of magnitude faster than these data can be obtained by experimental test. In particular, the maser performance as a function of the various automatic tuning servo parameters may be readily determined. Areas of discussion include noise sources, first-order autotuner loop, second-order autotuner loop, and a comparison of the loops.

Computerized breast cancer analysis system using three stage semi-supervised learning method.

PubMed

Sun, Wenqing; Tseng, Tzu-Liang Bill; Zhang, Jianying; Qian, Wei

2016-10-01

A large number of labeled medical image data is usually a requirement to train a well-performed computer-aided detection (CAD) system. But the process of data labeling is time consuming, and potential ethical and logistical problems may also present complications. As a result, incorporating unlabeled data into CAD system can be a feasible way to combat these obstacles. In this study we developed a three stage semi-supervised learning (SSL) scheme that combines a small amount of labeled data and larger amount of unlabeled data. The scheme was modified on our existing CAD system using the following three stages: data weighing, feature selection, and newly proposed dividing co-training data labeling algorithm. Global density asymmetry features were incorporated to the feature pool to reduce the false positive rate. Area under the curve (AUC) and accuracy were computed using 10 fold cross validation method to evaluate the performance of our CAD system. The image dataset includes mammograms from 400 women who underwent routine screening examinations, and each pair contains either two cranio-caudal (CC) or two mediolateral-oblique (MLO) view mammograms from the right and the left breasts. From these mammograms 512 regions were extracted and used in this study, and among them 90 regions were treated as labeled while the rest were treated as unlabeled. Using our proposed scheme, the highest AUC observed in our research was 0.841, which included the 90 labeled data and all the unlabeled data. It was 7.4% higher than using labeled data only. With the increasing amount of labeled data, AUC difference between using mixed data and using labeled data only reached its peak when the amount of labeled data was around 60. This study demonstrated that our proposed three stage semi-supervised learning can improve the CAD performance by incorporating unlabeled data. Using unlabeled data is promising in computerized cancer research and may have a significant impact for future CAD system

Computer interface system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Anderson, T. O. (Inventor)

1976-01-01

An interface logic circuit permitting the transfer of information between two computers having asynchronous clocks is disclosed. The information transfer involves utilization of control signals (including request, return-response, ready) to generate properly timed data strobe signals. Noise problems are avoided because each control signal, upon receipt, is verified by at least two clock pulses at the receiving computer. If control signals are verified, a data strobe pulse is generated to accomplish a data transfer. Once initiated, the data strobe signal is properly completed independently of signal disturbances in the control signal initiating the data strobe signal. Completion of the data strobe signal is announced by automatic turn-off of a return-response control signal.

Mining Software Usage with the Automatic Library Tracking Database (ALTD)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hadri, Bilel; Fahey, Mark R

2013-01-01

Tracking software usage is important for HPC centers, computer vendors, code developers and funding agencies to provide more efficient and targeted software support, and to forecast needs and guide HPC software effort towards the Exascale era. However, accurately tracking software usage on HPC systems has been a challenging task. In this paper, we present a tool called Automatic Library Tracking Database (ALTD) that has been developed and put in production on several Cray systems. The ALTD infrastructure prototype automatically and transparently stores information about libraries linked into an application at compilation time and also the executables launched in a batchmore » job. We will illustrate the usage of libraries, compilers and third party software applications on a system managed by the National Institute for Computational Sciences.« less

Automatic brightness control of laser spot vision inspection system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Yang; Zhang, Zhaoxia; Chen, Xiaodong; Yu, Daoyin

2009-10-01

The laser spot detection system aims to locate the center of the laser spot after long-distance transmission. The accuracy of positioning laser spot center depends very much on the system's ability to control brightness. In this paper, an automatic brightness control system with high-performance is designed using the device of FPGA. The brightness is controlled by combination of auto aperture (video driver) and adaptive exposure algorithm, and clear images with proper exposure are obtained under different conditions of illumination. Automatic brightness control system creates favorable conditions for positioning of the laser spot center later, and experiment results illuminate the measurement accuracy of the system has been effectively guaranteed. The average error of the spot center is within 0.5mm.

Automatic discovery of the communication network topology for building a supercomputer model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobolev, Sergey; Stefanov, Konstantin; Voevodin, Vadim

2016-10-01

The Research Computing Center of Lomonosov Moscow State University is developing the Octotron software suite for automatic monitoring and mitigation of emergency situations in supercomputers so as to maximize hardware reliability. The suite is based on a software model of the supercomputer. The model uses a graph to describe the computing system components and their interconnections. One of the most complex components of a supercomputer that needs to be included in the model is its communication network. This work describes the proposed approach for automatically discovering the Ethernet communication network topology in a supercomputer and its description in terms of the Octotron model. This suite automatically detects computing nodes and switches, collects information about them and identifies their interconnections. The application of this approach is demonstrated on the "Lomonosov" and "Lomonosov-2" supercomputers.

Fully automatic region of interest selection in glomerular filtration rate estimation from 99mTc-DTPA renogram.

PubMed

Lin, Kun-Ju; Huang, Jia-Yann; Chen, Yung-Sheng

2011-12-01

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is a common accepted standard estimation of renal function. Gamma camera-based methods for estimating renal uptake of (99m)Tc-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) without blood or urine sampling have been widely used. Of these, the method introduced by Gates has been the most common method. Currently, most of gamma cameras are equipped with a commercial program for GFR determination, a semi-quantitative analysis by manually drawing region of interest (ROI) over each kidney. Then, the GFR value can be computed from the scintigraphic determination of (99m)Tc-DTPA uptake within the kidney automatically. Delineating the kidney area is difficult when applying a fixed threshold value. Moreover, hand-drawn ROIs are tedious, time consuming, and dependent highly on operator skill. Thus, we developed a fully automatic renal ROI estimation system based on the temporal changes in intensity counts, intensity-pair distribution image contrast enhancement method, adaptive thresholding, and morphological operations that can locate the kidney area and obtain the GFR value from a (99m)Tc-DTPA renogram. To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, 30 clinical dynamic renograms were introduced. The fully automatic approach failed in one patient with very poor renal function. Four patients had a unilateral kidney, and the others had bilateral kidneys. The automatic contours from the remaining 54 kidneys were compared with the contours of manual drawing. The 54 kidneys were included for area error and boundary error analyses. There was high correlation between two physicians' manual contours and the contours obtained by our approach. For area error analysis, the mean true positive area overlap is 91%, the mean false negative is 13.4%, and the mean false positive is 9.3%. The boundary error is 1.6 pixels. The GFR calculated using this automatic computer-aided approach is reproducible and may be applied to help nuclear medicine physicians in

Automatic rectum limit detection by anatomical markers correlation.

PubMed

Namías, R; D'Amato, J P; del Fresno, M; Vénere, M

2014-06-01

Several diseases take place at the end of the digestive system. Many of them can be diagnosed by means of different medical imaging modalities together with computer aided detection (CAD) systems. These CAD systems mainly focus on the complete segmentation of the digestive tube. However, the detection of limits between different sections could provide important information to these systems. In this paper we present an automatic method for detecting the rectum and sigmoid colon limit using a novel global curvature analysis over the centerline of the segmented digestive tube in different imaging modalities. The results are compared with the gold standard rectum upper limit through a validation scheme comprising two different anatomical markers: the third sacral vertebra and the average rectum length. Experimental results in both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography colonography (CTC) acquisitions show the efficacy of the proposed strategy in automatic detection of rectum limits. The method is intended for application to the rectum segmentation in MRI for geometrical modeling and as contextual information source in virtual colonoscopies and CAD systems. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Semi-automatic spray pyrolysis deposition of thin, transparent, titania films as blocking layers for dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells

PubMed Central

Krýsová, Hana; Kavan, Ladislav

2018-01-01

For proper function of the negative electrode of dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells, the deposition of a nonporous blocking film is required on the surface of F-doped SnO2 (FTO) glass substrates. Such a blocking film can minimise undesirable parasitic processes, for example, the back reaction of photoinjected electrons with the oxidized form of the redox mediator or with the hole-transporting medium can be avoided. In the present work, thin, transparent, blocking TiO2 films are prepared by semi-automatic spray pyrolysis of precursors consisting of titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) as the main component. The variation in the layer thickness of the sprayed films is achieved by varying the number of spray cycles. The parameters investigated in this work were deposition temperature (150, 300 and 450 °C), number of spray cycles (20–200), precursor composition (with/without deliberately added acetylacetone), concentration (0.05 and 0.2 M) and subsequent post-calcination at 500 °C. The photo-electrochemical properties were evaluated in aqueous electrolyte solution under UV irradiation. The blocking properties were tested by cyclic voltammetry with a model redox probe with a simple one-electron-transfer reaction. Semi-automatic spraying resulted in the formation of transparent, homogeneous, TiO2 films, and the technique allows for easy upscaling to large electrode areas. The deposition temperature of 450 °C was necessary for the fabrication of highly photoactive TiO2 films. The blocking properties of the as-deposited TiO2 films (at 450 °C) were impaired by post-calcination at 500 °C, but this problem could be addressed by increasing the number of spray cycles. The modification of the precursor by adding acetylacetone resulted in the fabrication of TiO2 films exhibiting perfect blocking properties that were not influenced by post-calcination. These results will surely find use in the fabrication of large-scale dye-sensitized and perovskite solar

Semi-automatic spray pyrolysis deposition of thin, transparent, titania films as blocking layers for dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells.

PubMed

Krýsová, Hana; Krýsa, Josef; Kavan, Ladislav

2018-01-01

For proper function of the negative electrode of dye-sensitized and perovskite solar cells, the deposition of a nonporous blocking film is required on the surface of F-doped SnO 2 (FTO) glass substrates. Such a blocking film can minimise undesirable parasitic processes, for example, the back reaction of photoinjected electrons with the oxidized form of the redox mediator or with the hole-transporting medium can be avoided. In the present work, thin, transparent, blocking TiO 2 films are prepared by semi-automatic spray pyrolysis of precursors consisting of titanium diisopropoxide bis(acetylacetonate) as the main component. The variation in the layer thickness of the sprayed films is achieved by varying the number of spray cycles. The parameters investigated in this work were deposition temperature (150, 300 and 450 °C), number of spray cycles (20-200), precursor composition (with/without deliberately added acetylacetone), concentration (0.05 and 0.2 M) and subsequent post-calcination at 500 °C. The photo-electrochemical properties were evaluated in aqueous electrolyte solution under UV irradiation. The blocking properties were tested by cyclic voltammetry with a model redox probe with a simple one-electron-transfer reaction. Semi-automatic spraying resulted in the formation of transparent, homogeneous, TiO 2 films, and the technique allows for easy upscaling to large electrode areas. The deposition temperature of 450 °C was necessary for the fabrication of highly photoactive TiO 2 films. The blocking properties of the as-deposited TiO 2 films (at 450 °C) were impaired by post-calcination at 500 °C, but this problem could be addressed by increasing the number of spray cycles. The modification of the precursor by adding acetylacetone resulted in the fabrication of TiO 2 films exhibiting perfect blocking properties that were not influenced by post-calcination. These results will surely find use in the fabrication of large-scale dye-sensitized and perovskite solar

Computer-Controlled System for Plasma Ion Energy Auto-Analyzer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wu, Xian-qiu; Chen, Jun-fang; Jiang, Zhen-mei; Zhong, Qing-hua; Xiong, Yu-ying; Wu, Kai-hua

2003-02-01

A computer-controlled system for plasma ion energy auto-analyzer was technically studied for rapid and online measurement of plasma ion energy distribution. The system intelligently controls all the equipments via a RS-232 port, a printer port and a home-built circuit. The software designed by Lab VIEW G language automatically fulfils all of the tasks such as system initializing, adjustment of scanning-voltage, measurement of weak-current, data processing, graphic export, etc. By using the system, a few minutes are taken to acquire the whole ion energy distribution, which rapidly provides important parameters of plasma process techniques based on semiconductor devices and microelectronics.

Automatic analysis of microscopic images of red blood cell aggregates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Menichini, Pablo A.; Larese, Mónica G.; Riquelme, Bibiana D.

2015-06-01

Red blood cell aggregation is one of the most important factors in blood viscosity at stasis or at very low rates of flow. The basic structure of aggregates is a linear array of cell commonly termed as rouleaux. Enhanced or abnormal aggregation is seen in clinical conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, producing alterations in the microcirculation, some of which can be analyzed through the characterization of aggregated cells. Frequently, image processing and analysis for the characterization of RBC aggregation were done manually or semi-automatically using interactive tools. We propose a system that processes images of RBC aggregation and automatically obtains the characterization and quantification of the different types of RBC aggregates. Present technique could be interesting to perform the adaptation as a routine used in hemorheological and Clinical Biochemistry Laboratories because this automatic method is rapid, efficient and economical, and at the same time independent of the user performing the analysis (repeatability of the analysis).

Research on automatic control system of greenhouse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yi; Qi, Guoyang; Li, Zeyu; Wu, Qiannan; Meng, Yupeng

2017-03-01

This paper introduces a kind of automatic control system of single-chip microcomputer and a temperature and humidity sensor based on the greenhouse, describes the system's hardware structure, working principle and process, and a large number of experiments on the effect of the control system, the results show that the system can ideally control temperature and room temperature and humidity, can be used in indoor breeding and planting, and has the versatility and portability.

Commutated automatic gain control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yost, S. R.

1982-01-01

The commutated automatic gain control (AGC) system was designed and built for the prototype Loran-C receiver is discussed. The current version of the prototype receiver, the Mini L-80, was tested initially in 1980. The receiver uses a super jolt microcomputer to control a memory aided phase loop (MAPLL). The microcomputer also controls the input/output, latitude/longitude conversion, and the recently added AGC system. The AGC control adjusts the level of each station signal, such that the early portion of each envelope rise is about at the same amplitude in the receiver envelope detector.

Commutated automatic gain control system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yost, S. R.

1982-01-01

A commutated automatic gain control (AGC) system was designed and built for a prototype Loran C receiver. The receiver uses a microcomputer to control a memory aided phase-locked loop (MAPLL). The microcomputer also controls the input/output, latitude/longitude conversion, and the recently added AGC system. The circuit designed for the AGC is described, and bench and flight test results are presented. The AGC circuit described actually samples starting at a point 40 microseconds after a zero crossing determined by the software lock pulse ultimately generated by a 30 microsecond delay and add network in the receiver front end envelope detector.

Novel semi-automated kidney volume measurements in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease.

PubMed

Muto, Satoru; Kawano, Haruna; Isotani, Shuji; Ide, Hisamitsu; Horie, Shigeo

2018-06-01

We assessed the effectiveness and convenience of a novel semi-automatic kidney volume (KV) measuring high-speed 3D-image analysis system SYNAPSE VINCENT ® (Fuji Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients. We developed a novel semi-automated KV measurement software for patients with ADPKD to be included in the imaging analysis software SYNAPSE VINCENT ® . The software extracts renal regions using image recognition software and measures KV (VINCENT KV). The algorithm was designed to work with the manual designation of a long axis of a kidney including cysts. After using the software to assess the predictive accuracy of the VINCENT method, we performed an external validation study and compared accurate KV and ellipsoid KV based on geometric modeling by linear regression analysis and Bland-Altman analysis. Median eGFR was 46.9 ml/min/1.73 m 2 . Median accurate KV, Vincent KV and ellipsoid KV were 627.7, 619.4 ml (IQR 431.5-947.0) and 694.0 ml (IQR 488.1-1107.4), respectively. Compared with ellipsoid KV (r = 0.9504), Vincent KV correlated strongly with accurate KV (r = 0.9968), without systematic underestimation or overestimation (ellipsoid KV; 14.2 ± 22.0%, Vincent KV; - 0.6 ± 6.0%). There were no significant slice thickness-specific differences (p = 0.2980). The VINCENT method is an accurate and convenient semi-automatic method to measure KV in patients with ADPKD compared with the conventional ellipsoid method.

Maxwell: A semi-analytic 4D code for earthquake cycle modeling of transform fault systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandwell, David; Smith-Konter, Bridget

2018-05-01

We have developed a semi-analytic approach (and computational code) for rapidly calculating 3D time-dependent deformation and stress caused by screw dislocations imbedded within an elastic layer overlying a Maxwell viscoelastic half-space. The maxwell model is developed in the Fourier domain to exploit the computational advantages of the convolution theorem, hence substantially reducing the computational burden associated with an arbitrarily complex distribution of force couples necessary for fault modeling. The new aspect of this development is the ability to model lateral variations in shear modulus. Ten benchmark examples are provided for testing and verification of the algorithms and code. One final example simulates interseismic deformation along the San Andreas Fault System where lateral variations in shear modulus are included to simulate lateral variations in lithospheric structure.

Semi-automatic medical image segmentation with adaptive local statistics in Conditional Random Fields framework.

PubMed

Hu, Yu-Chi J; Grossberg, Michael D; Mageras, Gikas S

2008-01-01

Planning radiotherapy and surgical procedures usually require onerous manual segmentation of anatomical structures from medical images. In this paper we present a semi-automatic and accurate segmentation method to dramatically reduce the time and effort required of expert users. This is accomplished by giving a user an intuitive graphical interface to indicate samples of target and non-target tissue by loosely drawing a few brush strokes on the image. We use these brush strokes to provide the statistical input for a Conditional Random Field (CRF) based segmentation. Since we extract purely statistical information from the user input, we eliminate the need of assumptions on boundary contrast previously used by many other methods, A new feature of our method is that the statistics on one image can be reused on related images without registration. To demonstrate this, we show that boundary statistics provided on a few 2D slices of volumetric medical data, can be propagated through the entire 3D stack of images without using the geometric correspondence between images. In addition, the image segmentation from the CRF can be formulated as a minimum s-t graph cut problem which has a solution that is both globally optimal and fast. The combination of a fast segmentation and minimal user input that is reusable, make this a powerful technique for the segmentation of medical images.

Automatic electronic fish tracking system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osborne, P. W.; Hoffman, E.; Merriner, J. V.; Richards, C. E.; Lovelady, R. W.

1976-01-01

A newly developed electronic fish tracking system to automatically monitor the movements and migratory habits of fish is reported. The system is aimed particularly at studies of effects on fish life of industrial facilities which use rivers or lakes to dump their effluents. Location of fish is acquired by means of acoustic links from the fish to underwater Listening Stations, and by radio links which relay tracking information to a shore-based Data Base. Fish over 4 inches long may be tracked over a 5 x 5 mile area. The electronic fish tracking system provides the marine scientist with electronics which permit studies that were not practical in the past and which are cost-effective compared to manual methods.

[Modeling and implementation method for the automatic biochemistry analyzer control system].

PubMed

Wang, Dong; Ge, Wan-cheng; Song, Chun-lin; Wang, Yun-guang

2009-03-01

In this paper the system structure The automatic biochemistry analyzer is a necessary instrument for clinical diagnostics. First of is analyzed. The system problems description and the fundamental principles for dispatch are brought forward. Then this text puts emphasis on the modeling for the automatic biochemistry analyzer control system. The objects model and the communications model are put forward. Finally, the implementation method is designed. It indicates that the system based on the model has good performance.

Automatic-Control System for Safer Brazing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stein, J. A.; Vanasse, M. A.

1986-01-01

Automatic-control system for radio-frequency (RF) induction brazing of metal tubing reduces probability of operator errors, increases safety, and ensures high-quality brazed joints. Unit combines functions of gas control and electric-power control. Minimizes unnecessary flow of argon gas into work area and prevents electrical shocks from RF terminals. Controller will not allow power to flow from RF generator to brazing head unless work has been firmly attached to head and has actuated micro-switch. Potential shock hazard eliminated. Flow of argon for purging and cooling must be turned on and adjusted before brazing power applied. Provision ensures power not applied prematurely, causing damaged work or poor-quality joints. Controller automatically turns off argon flow at conclusion of brazing so potentially suffocating gas does not accumulate in confined areas.

Automatic control system for uniformly paving iron ore pellets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Bowen; Qian, Xiaolong

2014-05-01

In iron and steelmaking industry, iron ore pellet qualities are crucial to end-product properties, manufacturing costs and waste emissions. Uniform pellet pavements on the grate machine are a fundamental prerequisite to ensure even heat-transfer and pellet induration successively influences performance of the following metallurgical processes. This article presents an automatic control system for uniformly paving green pellets on the grate, via a mechanism mainly constituted of a mechanical linkage, a swinging belt, a conveyance belt and a grate. Mechanism analysis illustrates that uniform pellet pavements demand the frontend of the swinging belt oscillate at a constant angular velocity. Subsequently, kinetic models are formulated to relate oscillatory movements of the swinging belt's frontend to rotations of a crank link driven by a motor. On basis of kinetic analysis of the pellet feeding mechanism, a cubic B-spline model is built for numerically computing discrete frequencies to be modulated during a motor rotation. Subsequently, the pellet feeding control system is presented in terms of compositional hardware and software components, and their functional relationships. Finally, pellet feeding experiments are carried out to demonstrate that the control system is effective, reliable and superior to conventional methods.

Automatic Positioning System of Small Agricultural Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Momot, M. V.; Proskokov, A. V.; Natalchenko, A. S.; Biktimirov, A. S.

2016-08-01

The present article discusses automatic positioning systems of agricultural robots used in field works. The existing solutions in this area have been analyzed. The article proposes an original solution, which is easy to implement and is characterized by high- accuracy positioning.

Development of an integrated semi-automated system for in vitro pharmacodynamic modelling.

PubMed